EDITORIAL
Clinton weakness on
Iraq will imperil peace
Facing poverty, crime and a restive army at home.
Saddam Hussein is again amassing a substantial troop
presence near the Iraqi border with Kuwait. With most
of his elite Republican Guard left intact after the Gulf
War, the buildup presonts a threat not only to Kuwait,
but to the stability of the Middle East peace process.
The domestic strife permeating every aspect of Iraqi
society after four years of sanctions imposed by the
United Nations has loosened Hussein’s once tenacious
grip on power. A recent coup attempt and large-scale
daily desertions from the Iraqi armed forces add to Hus
sein’s already mounting problems, fust as in 1990, Hus
sein may again take on the world to improve a fractured
domestic image and consolidate his fragile power base.
President Clinton warned Hussein of America's
resolve to protect Kuwait, But Hussein may be counting
on Clinton's inability to successfully field recent inter
national curve balls — Bosnia and Haiti in particular.
Clinton's alienation of Western leaders over the quag
mire in Bosnia suggests coalition building like that
accomplished by the Bush Administration in 1990 will
be much more difficult in the event of another Iraqi
invasion Clinton’s waffling policy on Haiti sends a clear
message to Hussein that the current U.S president is
uncomfortable playing on the world stage.
Maybe Hussein is expei ling Jimmy Carter to show up
in Basra ami remake him in tin* image of Kamil Ccdras
a man who went from criminal thug to honorable
humanitarian In the spar e of 24 hours.
Some may blame Hush for not destroying the Iraqi
army four years ago. thus allowing Hussein an to oppor*
tunity to repeat his ill-conceived colonial designs. Hut
that was never the intention of Operation Desert Storm.
Such an action would have left a power vacuum in the
Middle bast, an invitation for Iran or Syria to become
the biggest bullies on the block.
The I f.S. is in an increasingly precocious position this
time around. Moving additional military assets to the
Persian Culf to strengthen existing forces is a prudent
precaution. Clinton should stand ready to decimate
Hussein's forces should they step foot inside Kuwait.
But another Culf War at this point in time could derail
the negotiations between Israel and its restless neighbors
in Jordan and Syria. If the U.S. were to become
embroiled in a battle with Iraq, its role as principal
mediator would be placed in Jeopardy.
Hussein is hoping veiled threats and troop shuffling
will pressure the U.N, to lift the constricting sanctions
now strangling Iraq. Any weakness on Clinton's part
will only act as the provocation Hussein needs to launch
an attack
The best solution in light of Iraq’s recent actions is to
maintain a highly visible military presence in the area
and for Clinton to show stronger resolve than in the
Haiti and Bosnia situations. Hussein is depending on a
lackluster and Ill-defined policy concerning Iraq. This
may very well be the case, considering Clinton's track
record.
Oregon Doily
Emerald
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LETTERS
No on 15
Him* vuu seen the commer
cial on television supporting
Measure 15' It status that Mea
sure lri vs 111 i.ontiinit! full fund
ing of current service* for K-12
and community colleges, with
out any tax increase Do you
know what is missing? Higher
education The state budget for
higher education will he cut 25
(win on! if Measure 15 passes' To
compensate for this loss of fund
ing, tiie University will he
fort ed to consider raising tuition
as much as .1(1 pen out per year
for tiie next two years This
would shut tiie door on people
who cannot afford to pay the
outrageous tuition, even though
they may be qualified to attend
the University What should we
do about people who will be
priced or shut out by this so
called kids first measure? I agree
steps need to he taken to fund
education in Oregon However,
the steps we take must fie fair
and focused on long term solu
tions
Vote no on Measure 15. Edu
cation cannot stop when matur
ing minds are just beginning to
open.
Steve Thoennes
Psychology
Remain vigilant
Two October's ago, I wouldn't
have believed it of someone had
asked me to explain the mean
ing of Ballot Measure 9 During
that campaign, propaganda tar
geting gays and lesbians was
everywhere, thanks in part to
fundamentalist Christian Pat
Robertson's heavy donations to
the Oregon Citizens Alliance.
The grassroots campaign to
oppose the OCA was over
whelming and the anti-gay mea
sure was soundlv defeated
Last week, during the Street
Fair*, when a hip-looking stu
dent asked me what my button
said. 1 masked my surprise and
explained that Measure 19 was
the "Son of 9." that is. it was the
(X’.A's latest attempt to legalize
discrimination against people
due to their sexual orientation.
She said she know all about it
and opposed the (X'.A. but won
dered why she. a native-born
Oregonian, hadn't heard about
the measure.
We speculated that the 1H
measures on the ballot diluted
the impact of our visibility, or
that the media had lost interest
once the novelty diminished
But for whatever reason, it is a
serious mistake to underesti
mate the OCA Although the
OCA is dangerous zealots, it is
also well-funded, technological
l\ on-line and for the time
being, politically potent.
It is a political truism that
increased repression creates
either a more determined
response or capitulation. My
appeal to the University com
munity is this: don't lapse into
complacency. The voter regis
tration deadline is two weeks
away. Tuesday, Oc1. 1H Register
and vote no on measure 13.
Guy Burton
Psychology
Injustice
The irony and injustice of tint
Amazon housing replacement
decision has been graphii ally
illustrated in the Sept. 2H issue
of The Eugene Weekly by juxta
posing pictures of a University
freshman and some of the Amo
zon units scheduled for demoli
tion. The entering freshman is
currently living in a motel room
where he has been placed by the
University housing office until
other space is found for him.
Where will Amazon tenants live
w hen their housing is gone?
Amazon provides low-cost
family housing for a compara
tively small number of students,
all of whom qualify for public
assistance. Those who cannot
gut into the limited family hous
ing are given little help by the
University, and t ertainlv no
lodging in motels. If the planned
demolition of the 244 Amazon
units proceeds, the current resi
dents will he evicted According
to Mike Eyster, housing office
spokesman, it is “expected” that
these students and their families
will be accommodated at the
other University low-cost facili
ty. Westmoreland. The waiting
list there is always long, so
Kyster's solution for Amazon
residents to be housed there "by
attrition" offers scant hope and
no assurance
There is bitter irony in the fai t
that University President Dave
Frohnmayer, who often seemed
compassionate, has apparently
made his decision on the fate of
Amazon without consideration
of the practical and sound pro
posal made by the Amazon
Board. Frohnmayer visited the
site and examined many of the
units that have been left vacant
over the past year. But he did
not speak to any of the current
residents nor did he inspet t
their units where maintenance
has been done.
A-. a concerned alumna who
was among those who had no
housing problem years ago, 1
urge President Frohnmayer to
fulfill his obligation to those stu
dents for whom the demolition
of Amazon will jeopardize their
college work or end it complete
ly. We must ask whether Frohn
mayer ami the Oregon State Sys
tem of Higher Education are
concerned only with the more
fortunate students or whether
they truly care for those less
advantaged students whose
housing problems endanger
their opportunity to complete
their education.
Florence K. Douglas
Eugene
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