opinion
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We call it the Iranian Crisis. It should be
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I called the Iranian Horror. That’s what it is.
I While we Americans sleepsafe and sound in
I our beds, we forget to realize that we are
I facing the most terrifying situation since
I the Cuban Missile Crisis.
I
Right now, innocent, full-blooded U.S.
I citizens are being held ransom for one man:
I the Shah.. The Shah is hiding in a hospital
I suite in New York.
I
Iran wants the Shah back to have justice
I served for what the man did as Iranian dic
I tator» Now, stripped of his power< the
I deposed shah is undergoing treatment for
I cancer. .
I
Our president, Jimmy Carter, meets with
I various
and consults over the
I situation. people
We,
the
people, sit and wait.
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I Carter faces the most difficult decision of
I his career as president and his life as a man.
I There are many different ways he can go,
I and which ever way he chooses will make
I somebody angry.
I If he gives the Shah up, he will possibly
I save the lives of the hostages, but he opens
I the door for more terrorists to do the same
I thing. That’s what this situation is, pure
I terrorism, and if we pay the ransom we will
I always be threatened by terrorists. Who
I] wants to see someone hijack a plane with,
I 127 people aboard and threaten to blow it
I up if we don’t give them someone who is
-1! rotting in a jail cell? Sure, it happens
I anyway, but we don’t need to aggravate that
I fact by paying ransom and letting other
l| people think that because Iran got away
I with it, they can.
I Carter could send in military force and
l make Iran give up the fight. He won’t make
I them give up their fight without a fight, and
I who wants to go to war? Well, if you do, sign
I up now.
I One suggestion is that Carter send over
I planes and blow up the embassy. Oh yea,
I you who think that are few. The American
I people would not go for a president killing
l their
own people.
i Carter
facing an easy job. We
I should be is a not
little more supportive. How
I many of you would like to be in his shoes?
i l Didn’t think so.
I As the crisis goes into its fourth week, we
I look for an end. What we can do how is give
I I our leaders support as they face this, andz
\ I maybe with us behind them we can solve
l the problem together.
l_
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Iranian Horror |
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feedback
To the Editor:
/
The cartoon pictured in The
Print on Nov. 14 was in the
poorest taste, and speaks of the
effects of a youth-oriented
society. I doubt that those in an
Oriental culture, where age is
revered, would see any humor
in your cartoon. They associate .
the aged with wisdom and un-
Page 2
destanding to be passed on to
thé young. How sad that our
culture
views
“old”
as
synonymous with “bag,” ugly,
and useless.
In addition, the cartoon is
sexist, as only older women are
referred to in such derogatory
terms, and again shows a need
in our society for values that
commentary
By Kelly Laughlin
Of The Print
Emotions are running high,
both in Mideast and America,
with regard to the crash of the
U.S. Embassy in Tehran, and
the taking of some 60
American hostages. Iranians
there are shouting, “Death to
the Shah, death to America.”
Last Saturday, a Chicago man
wrote- Senator Adalai Steven
son, “I am outraged; invade
Iran.” A Delmar, New York,
man wrote to Representative
Samuel S. Stratton, “Tell
Khomeini to take his oil and
stick it.” Meanwhile, the
Khomeini
has
Ayatullah
denounced the U.S. as “the
great Satan.”
Even after the release of 13
hostages and the return to their
families on Thanksgiving, the
crisis still brews. America has
threatened military action
against Iran if any of the
remaining 49 hostages are
harmed, and President Carter
denounced Iran’s acts as what
he calls “an act of terrorism
totally outside the bounds of in
ternational terrorism or black
mail.”
Since the chant, “Give us the
Shah!” continues, the crisis
seems to be stalemated: the
Ayatullah Khomeini refuses to
negotiate with American
diplomats,
and
most
Americans here can only wait.
Some grow more hostile
toward Iranian students outside
the embassy, and possibly
develop a greater dislike for
Iranians everywhere.
At the center of the crisis is
one man, the ex-monarch of
Iran, Shah Reza Pahlavi. The
Iranian government and anti
shah activists in the U.S.
charged that the Shah has used
his apparent illness as a political
ploy to seek sanctuary here.
This, however, may be only in
part true, since he now resides
on floor 17 of a Manhatten
hospital suite. Time magazine
reports he is still recovering
from the removal of his gall
bladder and is awaiting
chemotherapy treatments
which should determine *the
future of his health.
Throughout the crisis, which
is now ending its 26th day.
America’s position,, both
politically and economically,
has been one of “firmness,
and “restraint,” said Carter.
The freezing of billions of
dollars of Iranian assets her,
transcend physical appearan
ces and’ teach us to see
another’s inner being. As An
toine de SaintrExupery writes
in The Little Prince, “It is only
with the heart that one can see
rightly; what is essential is in
visible to the eye.”
Lorraine VanderZanden
and U.S. military occupation
off the Saudi Arabian coast
have helped to make this coun
try’s posture quite clear: The
appeasment of the Iranian
students’ demands will only set
a precedent for future terrorist
acts.
A limited amount of time,
though, has been spent
assessing, and reaching an
understanding about the
Iranian government’s stand on
the issue. While it is understan
dable that most Americans
don’t know firsthand what it’s
like to be ruled under a monar
ch or dictator, the hostage
taking shouldn’t be dismissed
as an irrational means to an
end. While the hostage-taking
does violate international law,
the act represents years of op
pression under the deposed
Shah.
Mohamed Javad Bahonar,
an Islamic Scholar, who has
been a leading figure on Iran’s
15-member Revolutionary
Council, was quoted saying,
“For you, it is easy to say that
Iranians need a scapegoat and
the regime wants to muster
political support, but you are
wrong. What this nation has
suffered at the hands of the
Shah is no less serious than
what the Jews suffered at the
hands of the Nazis. The United
States insulted the Iranian
national honor and Islamic
revolution by giving the
deposed Shah a visa. The dic
tator represents all the pain,
torture,
humiliation,
deprivation and repression suf
fered for decades by our
nation. The people want to
prove to the world, once and
for all, what a heinous criminal
he was. It is the principal, not
the man, that matters.”
The legal implications of the
embassy seige and hostage
taking were rebutted by
Bahonar: “Your insistence on
the legalistic aspects of the em
bassy siege are specious. The
Revolutionary Council did not
do it. You deserve the credl
for unleashing this rebellio!
Don’t talk to me about whethl
the seige is right or wrong. Tall
to the very people you havl
provoked into hysteria. Yol
think you can get away wifl
murder by hiding behind th!
law. The Islamic canol
recognizes the right of an ol
pressed people, faced'by I
government that cites the lai
in order to betray justice, tol
rebellion. The Iranian people!
occupation of the U.S. enl
bassy falls squarely within :hi
principle.”
What is the issue? Fl
Americans, the embassy sei!
is a violation of a sacred il
stitution. Coupled with :h|
hostage-talking, our wellbeinl
is threatened, both here al
abroad. The issue for Iranial
is not political, it is person!
Their 37-year struggle with th!
Shah’s regime, and his su|
sequent flight from Iran gal
the Iranians hope for a new
future, and new governmenj
Their hopes were aggrevatel
when the Shah entered thl
U.S., interpreted by them as al
intention for the Shah to legal
power.
|
The name calling on bo!
sides is representative of a la!
of understanding and empat!
for either country’s stand in thq
matter. It is my consensoustM
if the U.S. and Iran make no|
attempts
tp
stop no!
productive “death” and ill-wi
statement?,, the crisis ml
become more enflamed than!
has become already. If this ol
curs, the prospects for a speed!
resolution is improbable.
The existence of a crisis I
this intensity is undesirable
enough on its own merits. Bui
a long-term crisis is always worl
se because it tests our ability!
reason, and more important!
our ability to assess anotfl
viewpoint without using oil
undirected emotions to exprH
ourselves. This would only add]
more fuel to the fire now burl
ning in Iran.
sprint
19600 S. Molalla Avenue, Oregon City, Oregon 97045
Office: Trailer B; telephone: 656-2631, ext. 309
editor: Leanne Lally; news editor: Mike Koller
arts editor: Elena Vancil; feature editor: Kelly Laughlin
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'
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professional adviser: Suzie Boss
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covering the campus community as thoroughly as possible
Opinions expressed in The Print do not necessarily reflect those
of the CCC administration, faculty or Associated Student Govea
nment.
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