editorial
Congress should not
fund the MX missile
First we were told by President Ronald Reagan that the
MX missile was needed to close the U.S. “window of
vulnerability” that would give the Soviets nuclear superiori
ty. Then we were told that the MX was essential for
America’s strategic ability. Now we are told that the MX is
needed as a bargaining chip for the upcoming arms control
negotiations with the Soviets in Geneva.
Speaking about the success of his first term in office,
Reagan told the American public in November that his
military policies have closed that “window of vulnerabili
ty.” The Scowcroft Commission, appointed by Reagan to
study the MX, concluded in 1983 that the MX is not the best
thing for strategic stability. But Reagan, never one to give up
on big defense spending, has renewed his crusade to build
the largest, most accurate, and most destructive nuclear
missile to date. Reagan calls it the Peacekeeper. The idea is
that this isn’t just any nuclear missile with typical nasty
warheads that can vaporize people and melt buildings upon
impact. This one is a kind and gentle missile, a peacekeeper,
designed to bring you comfort and safety.
The problem with this so-called “peace” missile is that
it is unnecessary, costly, and would escalate the arms race,
while also increasing the risk of a Soviet pre-emptive strike
on MX silos. Reagan claims that the MX is necessary to put
pressure on the Soviets at the Geneva arms control talks. He
says that to back down from his proposal to build 100 MX
missiles would show a lack of national will. This is
ridiculous. Since Reagan became president, the United
States has embarked upon a nuclear build-up frenzy. The
Trident D-5 submarine-launched missile, the Bl-bomber,
the Stealth bomber, the Pershing II, the Midgetman ICBM,
the B-52 with its nuclear capability, and naval ships equip
ped with cruise missiles have all been successfully pro
moted, funded and developed by the Reagan administra
tion. These weapons offer the United States more than am
ple bargaining leverage in Geneva.
With a national budget deficit already out of control,
Reagan seeks a total of $25 billion from the House and
Senate to build the MX arsenal. This will have a crippling ef
fect on the national economy, leading to more drastic cuts in
social programs to make up for military overspending. Con
sidering Soviet concerns that the MX is a first-strike
weapon, Reagan’s plan to deploy the MX in old Minuteman
missile silos in the Midwest will make them sitting-duck
targets for a Soviet pre-emptive strike.
The MX is neither a bargaining chip nor is it a vital addi
tion to U.S. nuclear forces. The entire rationale behind
Reagan’s approach to arms negotiations has been to try and
scare the Soviets into making arms reductions. But that has
never worked in the past and it is not likely to work now.
When Reagan was confronted early in 1980 with the
possibility that Soviet ICBMs could destroy American land
based missiles, he didn’t make concessions to the Soviets at
the negotiating table. His response was to build bigger and
more effective nuclear weapons. Faced with the MX missile,
which is designed to be able to destroy Soviet land-based
missiles, the Kremlin will most likely do as Reagan did:
launch another nuclear build-up. not negotiate reductions in
its nuclear arsenal. This process is what has kept the arms
race in perpetual motion since 1945.
Enough is enough. It’s time for Congress to put a hold
on the current nuclear mania in this country by not funding
the MX missile. We have more than enough weapons to
bargain with. The game of nuclear overkill has been played
for too long.
letters
Xkt.
_
Oregon doily
emerald
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Paap 2A
Commitment
I noticed the ROTC ad in the
Monday Emerald and wanted to
add the folowing information.
While doing research on ROTC,
I discovered the following:
While cadets are given an op
portunity to state their
preference, the Army assigns
cadets to active duty or reserve
to meet the Army’s needs. You
must go where you are
assigned.
To be fair the ROTC scholar
ship program is credited with
improving the operational ef
ficency of entry-level officers.
However the ROTC's emphasis
on technical skills may not give
graduates the broader
background needed in the
senior ranks of the Army.
ROTC scholarships are not of
fered at most historically
minority schools because these
institutions are considered
academically inferior. Less than
8 percent of officers are black or
Hispanic: it is hoped that ROTC
recruitment of minority
students at predominately
white colleges will remedy this
imbalance.
ROTC officers are trained as
battlefield replacements. The
picture of cadets practicing
water survival without getting
your gun wet should tell that
fact. Read “Camp Adventure”
in “ARMY,” May 1984, if you
have doubts.
1 would like to urge all
students considering joining
the ROTC program to read all
the pamphlets available in
cluding the ones that appear not
to apply to your situation; get
all promises in writing; read
“Camp Adventure”; and know
what you are committing
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yourseii iu utjiure juuu ug any
branch of the military.
Shasta Hatter
Eugene
Lousy job
Why would anyone want to
move to Eugene? Why would
anyone with a personal
business or corporation want to
locate in a city which spends
over $14,000 of its taxpayers*
money from our city coffers to
advertise to the world (Register
Guard Feb. 23)the lousy job the
state has done maintaining (2)
three lane highways (6th and
7th Avenue).
What rationally minded
businessperson would offer the
Oregon Department of
Transportation (ODOT) $7.2
million to widen 6th and 7th
Avenues to four lanes (besides
our federal and state govern
ments), when they won’t even
take care of three?
Maybe if we asked ODOT
nicely enough, they would do
their job and rebuild 6th and 7th
within the current three-lane
boundaries, and maybe throw
in a few ornamental trees just
for looks.
Wouldn’t that be lovely?
Ya know, it's so refreshing to
see the amount of effort our city
council is putting in to spen
ding our tax dollars. 1 can't
think of a more appropriate use
for $14,000 of our money.
Well, I guess that’s why !’in
not a member of our city coun
cil. It’s always so hard to spend
someone else’s money,
appropriately!
Richard Gold
English
In support
We of the Rainbow Coalition
strongly support Dean Derrick
Bell’s principled decision to
resign on Feb.6 following the
law school faculty’s refusal to
hire their finalist candidate, a
Chinese-American woman, to
the law school faculty.
We believe that the candidate
was rejected precisely because
she is a person of color. As
members of this community, we
believe this action calls into
question the character of the en
tire institution of the University
of Oregon in its failure to act on
its avowed endorsement of Af
firmative Action.
We urge an outside investiga
IIVSII Ul *•*»-» immvi . »* W VI*«1/1«V
the Minority l>aw Students
Association's request to the law
school faculty to abolish the
"substantial objections” rule,
which allowed three members
of sixteen to deny the candidate
the position due to her.
We see this as a double loss.
First, the loss of one of the most
outstanding law school deans in
the country; second, the loss of
the candidate and the contribu
tion another person of color
could have made to the Univer
sity and the community. These
losses add up to another gain for
racism.
Deborah Cooke
Member
Lane Co. Rainbow Coalition
Eugene
Hunger at home
The organizers of African
Relief Week and Oxfam
America should be commended
for a successful operation.
However. 1 cannot understand
why this effort was aimed al
such a distant land. People are
starving not only in Third
World countries, as some would
have us believe, but right here
in the United States as well. In
fact, a recent study by the Har
vard School of Public Health in
dicates that 2 0 million
Americans are suffering from
severe hunger. 35 million are
living below the poverty level.
Some claim that suffering of
this magnitude has not been
seen in this country since the
Great Depression. Furthermore,
this situation is bound to get
worse, as federal aid must be
cut if the budget is ever to be
balanced.
The responsibility of helping
the homeless and hungry in this
country should be a priority and
must rest on our shoulders. We
cannot continue to pass this
burden on to the feds. Our
neighbors in need and the
hungry strangers on our streets
have been ignored for too long.
There is no need to search dis
tant shores for recipients of our
goodwill, they are right here.
Should we not get our house in
order before we try to feed the
world? 1 challenge the
organizers of African Relief
Week and Oxfam America to
promote a similar fund raiser to
benefit the needy of Eugene.
Dave Edlund
Eugene
Wednesday, March 6, 1985