EDITORIAL
Vietnam embargo
just hasn’t worked
As the pages of the Now World Order textbook con
tinue to bo turned, vot another Cold War adversary has
been fully welcomed into the Western economic: fold.
President Clinton's decision last week to lift this
country s iti-yoar traoo
ombargo against Vietnam
represents a win-win situ
ation for both countries,
with little to lose and bil
lions of dollars to gain.
The biggest concern
about ending the embargo
has been voiced by veter
ans groups and the fami
lies of MlAs. who are wor
The U.S. gave
the embargo
chances to
work... 19 years'
worth of
chances.
rieti that without the embargo there will be little
incentive for Vietnam to turn over or search for the
remains of American servicemen still missing in action.
Some 2.232 MIAs are still unaccounted for in Vietnam.
Laos and Cambodia.
Hut in the nearly 20 years since the embargo was put
into effect, only 250 MIAs' remains have been returned.
And while the embargo may have helped encourage the
Vietnamese government to cooperate in finding that
250. it certainly did not have it over a barrel.
Vietnam was not. and still is not. desperate (or Amer
ican trade. For most of th»* embargo. Vietnam could
count on trade with its Communist bloc allies enough to
sustain the country, even if it wasn't sufficient to allow
much growth.
When the Soviet l htion collapsed, Vietnam may have
lost one ally but it gained several more. Kurope and
Japan have since begun trading vigorously with Viet
nam, so at no time has the country been seriously crip
pled bv a lack of American trade. Hut American compa
nies have been losing out all along.
Embargoes are rarely an effective means of bringing
about political aims. The United States has maintained
an embargo against neighboring Cuba for over three
dec ados with nary a dent to that nation’s political struc
ture (it's even led by the same guy after all these years.)
And Cuba, because of its geographic location, loses
much more as a result of a l J.S. embargo than Vietnam
ever did.
The only way for an embargo to be truly effective is
if all (or virtually all) the nations of the world agree to
participate in it. The embargo against Iraq that coincid
ed with the Gulf War was such an embargo and it did
have severe economic effects on that country. But even
those effects did not succeed in bringing about politi
cal ihange
The United States gave the embargo chances to work...
1U years' worth of chances. All the ITS. got in return
was a tenth of the MIAs still missing in Vietnam and bil
lions of dollars in lost business.
Trading with Vietnam Is not a validation of Vietnam's
political organization or its government. It is a recogni
tion of reality. The embargo was accomplishing next to
nothing, and it was time for it to go.
Oregon Daily
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LETTERS
Discrepancy
On |an 11 lilt- Emerald ran an
article alxiut how the House vot
ed on a resolution urging Clin
ton at his meeting with German
(.ham ellor Helmut Kohl to seek
reparations fora Jewish survivor
of Na/i atrocities
At the same time, hundreds of
thousands of Muslim Bosnian
vie tims of the ongoing holocaust
in the former Yugoslavia could
have and still can he saved had
the same House voted on a sim
ilar resolution (on the lines
"never again") to put a decisive
end to the Serb and Croat bar
barity and genocide And speak
ing of reparations, why has the
Israeli government been acquit
ted of having to pay reparation
to the 700.0(H) Palestinians (now
numbering the millions) who,
following the war in 1‘1-tH, lost
their homes and land to Zionist
settlers'’
Clearly, there is a widening
asymmetry with regards to
human rights in the civilized
Western nations, e g. Muslim
lives less valuable than others
lu an effort to eliminate this
dangerous discrepancy, today
the Muslim Student Association
is sponsoring a talk titled "The
Palestinian-Israel i Peace
Process Strategy for Peace or
Tadic for War" from 1 to 5 p in
in the EMU Walnut Room The
elected Imam (spiritual and
praver leader) of the Islamic
(.enter in Washington, D.C..
Mohammad Al-Asi, will present
.in analysis of the Pl.O-Israeli
Agreement and what it means
for its signatories We encourage
the University campus and
Eugene communities to attend
t)us talk so that we may all help
further the cause of humanity.
Hanan Ranahi
MSA
Destiny
It's obvious to all Emerald
readers who have ever seen
Moonlighting or anyone of a
number of Doris Day and Koi:L
Hudson movies, that Lia Saleh •
ciu and the So. Cal. man are
made for each other.
Von two can fool each other,
you (.m mi'ii fool yourselves,
hut von i a 11't fool 11 n and you
can't fool destiny The sweet
smell of romance is in the air
and the sound of wedding hells
can't help hut follow Submit to
your fates and to your feelings
for eat li other, for our sake, if
not vouf own There lies your
path to happiness and love.
Fred O. Roellig
Peer Advising
Fighters
People who fought for their
homeland against ih t upational
colonialism were considered
freedom fighters and were treat
ed with respect throughout his
tory However, when Palestini
ans want to stand up to free
their homeland, whv are they
t ailed terrorists7
Pulestines are not for war.
They are for peace Unfortunate
ly. there is no peace if Palestini
ans are not allowed to exist and
to have their own state If you
live by a river, you teat.It your
children how to swim; not just
!>ei ause swimming is good, but
because you do not want your
children to drown. We teach our
children because we want them
to survive As the children who
live close to the river learn to
swim, the Palestinian children
need to know how to stand up
lor their rights.
Currently, Israel receives
more than one half of all ll.S
foreign aid annually. The horri
fying result of ITS. economic,
diplomatic and military support
of Israel is destruction of Pales
tinians' homes; however, they
cannot crush the Palestinians'
spirit Mothers and fathers are
living in daily fear for their chil
dren’s lives. Many Palestinians
have been forced to leave their
lands Those who remain are
being denied their basic human
rights
The U.S. government policy
of supporting Israel is virtually
like issuing death certificates
and destruction to Palestinians.
Peace starts with the justice.
What do we live for, if it is not
for peace and justice? Peace is
possible it we try to bring the
truth of the Palestine struggle to
the world, despite all road
blocks I arn convinced that
truth and thi; will of Palestine
will surmount all obstacles.
Ali Keyhonfard
Eugene
Watchdog
lid ward Kiopfenstein's illu
sive expose (Ol)/:. Jan. 27) ol the
invidious racism to be found
"even in the University's own
slide collection” did not go
nearly far enough in its sensa
tional revelations.
Not only does "Jap" appear as
part of the call number for every
Japanese slide, but many other
derogatory terms are routinely
used, as well, such "Chi" for
China, Hus" for Russia, "Cer"
for Germany, and even "Max"
for Mexico! Klopfenstein is to be
commended for being the first
investigative journalist to call
attention to this pattern; let the
University community heed his
call that something be done
about this kudos to the watch
dogs of the press
Charles Lachman
Art History
Ball-caps
Last term, H7 percent of the
students on campus with ball
caps were wearing them back
ward. This term, only 5 percent
are wearing them backward
Who says college education
doesn't have an effect?
Douglas Hintzman
Psychology Professor
LETTERS
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