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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (March 1, 1982)
‘Peace is the main concern’ Speakers debate US foreign policy By Brad Barton Ot the Emerald ASUO's Northwest National Security Conference began Thursday with an emotional debate on national security policy between a military official and a political commentator Speaking on the topic "motivations influencing our national security policy and strategies after World War II,” Robert Cocklin, a former U S Army Maj Gen , represented the government's po sition Cocklin is the Executive Director of the Association of the U S Army Author, researcher and political com mentator Laurence Shoup attacked U S foreign policy on several fronts Cocklin identified several influences on U S foreign policy since the end of the second world war Stabilizing Eu rope. deterring general war. containing communism and preventing other con flicts have been the major concerns, Cocklin said, adding that last of these influences has been the least successful Through the mid-'50s, the United States was the only country with nuclear capabilities and nuclear deterrence "was not a problem,” Cocklin said But as Russia developed their own atomic weapons, the Eisenhower administration developed a "massive retaliation” policy, he said IN THE EARLY 60S, the Kennedy ad ministration perceived a gap (in Russia's favor) in Soviet versus American missle deployment As a result, policy became one of flexible response,'' to maintain a variety of alternative reactions to "what ever happens," Cocklin said The government believed that Russia's capability had grown to almost parity" with the United States As a result, dis cussion of mutual deterrents became necessary, Cocklin said He identified Accountants offer grants Accounting scholarships worth $500 each will be awarded 10 Oregon ac counting students this year by the Scholarship Foundation of the Oregon Association of Public Accountants Scholarship applications must be completed by April 1, 1982, says Raymond Cass, foundation chairer. Ap plications may be obtained by writing to Cass at 117 SE Ninth St., Albany, OR 97321, and enclosing a stamped, self-addressed envelope To quality for an award, students must be Oregon residents and must be en rolled in. or have been accepted by, an accredited school for the study of ac counting in Oregon Scholarships will be awarded accord ing to scholastic achievement, financial need, personal qualifications and professional promise Winners will be announced by June 1 \s1m ALTERNATIVE TRAVEL _ S.F. NIGHT POACH Travel comfortably and in good company aboard customized sleeper coaches Stop at Wilbur Hot Springs tor a soaK and cook-out breakfast Special prices to points along the way Eugene 343-5081 v Portland 225-0310 j ~j or (800) 227-4766 j “think tanks " These organizations are "not well known,” and the public is “not well informed" about policy motives, Shoup said The interests of the "upper class,” which is the “most class-conscious,” are different from those of the general pub lic, Shoup said The corporate elite wants to preserve the "status quo at home and abroad," said Shoup He ad ded that their interests are "the survival of the world capitalist system.” Shoup identified two "reinforcing conceptual frameworks," which are prime motivations behind the goals and tactics of U S foreign policy One is geo-economics: the concern with keep ing geographic areas important to the system within the Western orbit. The other is geopolitics: keeping important transportation routs between govern ments within the Western sphere. The tactics used to maintain the power of the the corporate elite is not in the best interests of the public, Shoup said He identified several tactics that he said support this premise. These include: • The cold war against socialism, a "containment doctrine” in name, but actually a "rollback policy” intended to destroy world communism. • Constant covert and overt interven tionalism Shoup said there is an in stance of this “every few years.” • The threatened use of nuclear weapons • Support of "brutal, reactionary dicta torships,” which exploit the common people of underdeveloped nations by substituting cash crops for subsistence crops. This result is much starvation and malnutrition. • Alliances with powerful Western block nations and with the largest communist state (China), which involve "regional control.” Examples of this include: The United States in Latin America, France in central Africa and Isreal in the Middle East. • Attempts to gain support for U S. for eign policy by directing the human rights issue against the Soviet Union. Shoup said that these tactics have endangered rather than enhanced na tional security, calling them a “tragic failure ” Shoup said that the nuclear arms race threatens the very existence of human life He blamed the arms race on the United States because it has threatened the use of nuclear weapons 11 times since World War II This strategy is used to "coerce non-nuclear nations or threaten the Soviets,”he claimed Shoup said that in blaming the arms race on the Soviet Union, the govern ment has neglected several factors. He explained that the United States has instigated new weapons systems in al most every case These include the atomic, hydrogen and neutron bombs, nuclear-armed submarines and Inter continental Ballistic Missies. Shoup also said that “the Soviets have been much more responsible than the United States in the nuclear non proliferation area.” He noted the United States vetoed the Strategic Arms Limita tion Treaty agreements. Shoup said that the United States has supported, and at times even created, third-world dictatorships. He said these dictatorships would collapse without support from the corporate system’s economic interests that they serve. In his rebuttal, Cocklin said it is “ludicrous to suggest that corporations run the world.” He said he “can’t accept Shoup’s elitist group theory,” and that “there is a will of the people that gets expressed, and over time this is what directs national policy.” Former U.S.Maj. Gen. Robert Cock I in, now Executive Director of the Associa tion of the U.S.Army, represented the government's position. test-bans and non-proliferation treaties as results of these discussions Cocklin said the present group of mu tually supporting treaties recognizes the "essential equivalence" of United States and Soviet strength, although we are "not sure of Soviet capabilities ” Peace is the main concern” in foreign policy, Cocklin said He compared the traditional American definition of peace as “the absence of war" to the Soviet contention that "peace can only come when the socialist system prevails in the world ” We know foreign policy has been successful, Cocklin said, because there have been no major wars in Europe and no use of nuclear weapons anywhere since the end of World War II SHOUP CLAIMS that the government sets short-term foreign policy in re sponse to long-range plans recom mended by "private organizations." He identified these organizations as Amer ica s corporate elite in conjunction with Pranksters misuse call boxes Sixteen call boxes are scattered around the University campus as part of a University effort to deter crime But they haven't deterred misuse by pranksters Even the possiblity of a $500 fine hasn't stopped students from misusing the call boxes — up to seven times a day. Like anything new. they've been misused." says Richard Tanner, the University's associate director of pub lic safety Actually, four of the brass boxes weren't new when they were installed four years ago; they were recycled from navigation instruments The boxes, water-tight and virtually maintenance free. housed the equipment when ships went out to sea The use of navigation boxes help to keep costs down The call-boxes cost $1,500 each, including research and development, says Harold Babcock, director of the physical plant. The phy sical plant build the other 12 boxes. Three call boxes were installed Fall term, near Walton and Bean Com plexes and on Hayward Field near the west grandstand New installations near dormitories bring the most false alarms, according to Tanner. To use a call box, anyone who needs assistance hits the call box button, triggering an alarm system at the security office. A board lights up to indicate the location of the call and ractoo signals allow conversation between the dispatcher and the caller If circumstanses indicate a serious incident, security officers are sent at once Tanner says that for every call with no verbal response, officers must be sent out because the student may have been yanked away from the call box speaker before a response was possi ble. They can’t take the chance that the caller is crying wolf, Tanner says. “It's a dangerous prank The officer must drop what ever he's doing and respond, which takes between 15 and 20 minutes of his time, he says It costs the taxpayers money. It’s not funny." To deter students from hitting the button as a practical joke, signs were recently posted on all call boxes in forming them that such action could bring violators a $500 fine. “Quite a few students are not aware that they can be used for non-emergency situations as well,” says Tanner Assistance of any type, including campus directions, can be obtained from the service PANEL DISCUSSION WITH THE POLISH CRISIS TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 7:30 pm EMU 167 SPONSORED BY THE UO RUSSIAN AND EAST EUROPEAN STUDIES CENTER JOSEPH FISZMAN (DEPT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE) JEANNE JAZOVICK (JAGIELLONIAN U , KRAKOW) GEORGE MAKOWSKI (GTF. DEPT OF HISTORY) STEVE REYNOLDS (DEPT OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES) RON WIXMAN (DEPT OF GEOGRAPHY) coupon I coupon PRECISION HAIRWORKS no appointments taken 29 th&Willamette (behind Patty’s Pizza) :oupon good thru March 15,1982 343-1182 coupon
