Students fret over possible war
SEARCH class on nuclear war draws sell-out crowd
By GAYLA LEOPARD
Of fh* Emerald
At last count the sociology
SEARCH course "War in the
Nuclear Age” had an enrollment
of 153 students — not bad con
sidering 400-level sociology
courses usually draw about 25.
Students take the class, says
instructor Joseph Austin,
because they are scared.
"We're going to blow our
selves up by accident if we don’t
some other way," Austin says.
"They’re (students) frightened,
they’re concerned."
That concern is not confined
to University students. Last
Tuesday, Austin spoke by
phone for two hours to a Miami
radio talk-show audience. And
Pres. Jimmy Carter spoke of the
threat of nuclear war in his
farewell address to the nation
the following evening.
Austin devotes a lot of class
time to discussing the United
States’ vulnerability to nuclear
attack. In a report on the
proposed MX missile system,
one author says the United
States won't have an adequate
defense until 1988, Austin says.
But even when our defense
against nuclear attack is con
sidered adequate, Austin says
he won’t be optimistic.
Austin says possible defen
sive nuclear weapons are really
weapons of retaliation. And
whatever the motives of military
planners, "it means hemorr
haging the resources of this
country” to build a means of
totally destroying our enemies,
he says.
That destruction may not
necessarily result from aggres
sion, Austin says. It may be
caused by simple errors.
“Three times last year, we
nearly blew up the world
through human error," Austin
says, referring to faulty signals
received by the United States'
early warning systems.
A 20-megaton weapon can
devastate 200 square miles, ac
cording to Austin. The intense
heat can ignite wooden houses
30 miles away.
Although he is "not neces
sarily for unilateral disarm
ament," Austin says he is an
gered by politicians who ad
vocate nuclear acceleration.
"I can only think of two words
— insanity or ignorance."
The public’s ignorance on the
issue of nuclear war is fed by
political misinformation about
defense, Austin says. For this
reason, he backs up his lectures
with "home-grown and reliable”
scientific writings.
"Get it off the shelves," Aus
tin advises. Although he says he
can’t, in good conscience, as
sign pro-war material to his
class, he does encourage vary
ing views in classroom discus
sions.
Emerald Graphic
Vet: U.S. mobilizing for Mideastern invasion
By DOUG BUTLER
Of the Emerald
The United States’ military
has crossed the line separating
contingency planning from a
real commitment to war, a
University Veterans Association
member claims.
Dave Isenberg, acting UVA
director, says scraps of infor
mation from U.S. military
documents seem innocuous
when examined individually, but
provide "pretty conclusive
proof” of gradual war mobiliza
tion when studied collectively.
Detailed plans for the inva
sion of Iran and the creation of a
desert training camp and mili
tary and political analyses of
Middle East fighting all indicate
U.S. involvement in a resource
war — a war for oil, Isenberg
says.
A group of policy-makers in
Washington is spearheading
this movement because they
see a war in the Middle East as
inevitable and believe the Unit
ed States could gain the upper
hand by striking first, he says.
Isenberg says he believes
members of this pro-war group
are in the administration, Con
gress and Pentagon.
To win such a war, the military
needs transport systems, ma
terial, experienced personnel,
plans and public backing. Isen
berg claims the group is
becoming increasingly suc
cessful in securing these needs.
Isenberg's arguments include:
• Continued draft registra
tion.
• Mock draft lottery and call
up staged by the Selective Ser
vice.
• The formulation of new
guidelines for draft evaders.
• Joint military exercises
between the United States and
Egypt.
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• Egyptian leader Anwar
Sadat’s offer of the use of
Egypt’s military facilities in the
event of a western intervention.
• The military’s recall of re
tired personnel for service on
the continent so younger peo
ple will be released for de
ployment overseas.
Isenberg says moves have
been made in Washington to
spend billions of dollars on a
training center in Barstow,
Calif., on the creation of a rapid
deployment force, on military
transport systems and on the
material needs of the 82nd Air
borne Division.
"This is the critical stuff
needed for operation and main
tenance of fighting forces,”
Isenberg says.
These new expenditures
don’t mesh with the stated goals
of the Defense Department, he
says.
"These acquistions are not
earmarked for NATO or Korea
or Southeast Asia. They have no
official purpose."
The training center in
Barstow is described by the
military as a NATO facility, but
European topography is noth
ing like the California scrub de
sert, Isenberg says.
With the military well on its
way to being prepared, the war
effort is aimed at convincing
people that war is necessary,
Isenberg says. The conflict in
Afghanistan boosted the Amer
ican public's willingness to ac
cept war, he says.
"If the majority of people think
we are being economically
strangulated by the Middle
East,” then pre-war buildup
essentially will go unopposed,
he says.
"They are working for a na
tional consensus.”
Draft registration, a small part
of the war process, has en
countered the most opposition,
Isenberg says. People must
make their own decisions about
registering, but resisting regis
tration draws the most attention
to war preparation, he adds.
Isenberg, called Doctor Doom
because of his grim forecasts,
predicts that “it’s just a matter
of time before it's put into gear.”
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