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M rs . F ra n c e s S c h o e n -N e w s p a p e r U n i v e r s i t y o f O re g o n L ib r E u g e n e , O re g o n January 15: M artin Luther King, Jr.'s Date of Birth The Observer salutes his dream of a better nation 97403 I he Portland Observer honors M a rtin L u th e r K in g, Jr. w ith this special annual edition... , don't miss it! Room P O R T L fl ERVER Volume XXI Number 3 25<P January 15,1991 "The Eyes and Ears o f The Community" If Diplomacy Fails On Duty in the Persian Gulf Nearly a mill¡ion Iraqi and allied troops are poised for battle, and if war comes to the Arabian desert it will be far swifter and deadlier than anything either side has ever seen "Whose War Was It Anyhow?" Kuwait, saudi Arabia, Iraq or America? BY A. LEE HENDERSON PAGE 2 Business Profile Billy flowers PAGE 4 Liz Narvaez Speaks Out Against Drugs PAGE 5 lomats eager to negotiate a last-minute compromise with Iraq. As the United (U.S. News, January 14,1991) N ations’ January 15 deadline for an efore finally arranging to meet Iraqi withdrawal from K uw ait draws with Iraqi Foreign Minister near, the spotlight is clearly on diplo Tariq Aziz in Geneva on Janu macy - for now. ary 9, Secretary o f State James Baker The E uropeans’ enthusiasm for a diplomatic way out was sum m ed up by had found him self almost trampled by Jacques Poos, Luxem bourg’s foreign a stampede o f W estern and Arab dip SHOWDOWN IN THE GULF Perspectives Down With Gloom & Doom, Forward With History page 5 Seperate and Unequal B page 6 No war In The Middle East Section B Martin Luther King, Jr. Special INDEX News Religion News News News Classifieds Bids/Sub Bids 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Section B Martin Luther King Jr. Special B 1-10 Next Week More on the Persian Gulf Crisis 4 • .4 4 ♦ A*;»» ‘ m inister and the current president of the European Com m unity’s Council o f M inisters, which also has sought a meeting with Iraqi officials this week. “ W e are not heading for a w ar,” said Poos, “ because I have a feeling Sad dam Hussein will pull out o f Kuwait at the last minute. W hether the Iraqi leader stands BY: BETTE LEE_________________ 1\T° in T \|“ B rin g Middle East,” the T ro o p s H om e,” and “ Support GI Resistance” were the loud and clear messages re peated over and over again by the speak ers at a forum sponsored by the C oali tion against U.S. Military Intervention in the Middle East last Tuesday eve ning on the present crisis in the Persian Gulf. Hubert Evans, an Afro-American and spokesperson for the Coalition, told a crow d of over 200 at the Northwest Service Center that over 32% of the * Al»,* » »« » ♦ t • *-* » armed forces are black men and women. “ They are over there in the desert of Saudi Arabia, and they need to know that there are Afro-Americans here who want to support them and bring them hom e,” he said. Evans, a 10-year veteran in the army, has a brother who was in Viet nam for 4 years, and another stationed in the air force in Japan who may be transferred to Saudi Arabia in the fu ture. Asked why he opposes war in the Middle East, Evans observed that while black soldiers will be called to fight and die if w ar breaks out in the Persian Gulf, black people in American cities arc being destroyed by poverty, crime, drugs, poor quality of education, and a high death rate for black babies. “ The mainstream society in this country doesn’t care about what happens to us, so what are we fighting and dying for over there? We are being destroyed at both ends,” he said. He called on the pre-dom inantly white audience to work together with the black community to improve the social and economic con ditions for Afro-Americans even after the crisis in the Middle East is over. Evans is presently a student major ing in criminal justice at Cascade Community College. He hopes to or ganize Afro-Americans who want to get involved in opposition to war in the Middle East. He announced that the Coalition is organizing a rally for Peace in the Middle East on Saturday, Janu ary 12, at the Pioneer Courthouse Square >* ■* at 12 noon, and urged people to partici pate. O ther speakers at the forum in cluded Michael Job, a Vietnam Veteran who visited Iraq and Jordan in late October, Masoud Kheirabadi, A ssis tant Professor o f History and Religious Studies at Lewis and Clark College, Gretchen Kafoury, City Commissioner, and Mary Siebertson, a mother whose son is stationed in Saudi Arabia. Michael Job, who was the key speaker at the forum, was in Vietnam in 1960-70, and is presently a member of the Veterans Peace Action Teams. He presented the audience with an eye witness report o f his trip to Jordan and Iraq in October, including a slide show o f his visits to a refugee camp in Jor dan, hospitals, schools, government offices, homes, mosques, and holy shrines. As a slide of Bagdad flashed across the screen. Job commented on its beauty and history. “ Imagine if a bomb were dropped on Bagdad, m il lions of people would get killed. The whole city with its beautiful mosques and holy shrines hundreds o f years old would be completely destroyed. T hat’s like dropping a bomb on a major city in the U.S. like Portland, or San Fran cisco, or New Y ork.” “ Peter Jennings of ABC reported that there were no war preparations going on amongst the people of Bagdad; that was my observation too. The Iraqis arc people like us. They want a good education for their children, decent jobs, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 pat or plays one o f the many cards in his hand - trying to prolong a diplo matic dialogue, for example, or an nouncing a partial withdrawal from K uw ait - will depend less on the flurry o f 11th-hour diplomacy than on his appraisal o f the military threat he faces. That, in turn, will be determined not simply by the tanks, planes and artillery pieces arrayed against him, or by their state o f readiness, but by his calculation o f whether the United States is ready to ask its sons and daughters to die to liberate Kuwait and teach a lesson to any other would- be disturbers o f the post-cold-war peace. Bush ’sdecision tooffer a ‘ ‘last chance” for peace, and NATO’s decision to send three squadrons of obsolete fighters to Turkey, suppos edly to demonstrate W estern resolve, may only have reinforced Hussein’s conviction that the allied military buildup is nothing but a cold-war- style bluff. Moreover, M ideast intel ligence sources believe the Iraqi leader thinks that even if the United States does attack he can inflict enough casualties in the first few days to turn the American public against the war and force a negotiated settlem ent Some American strategists, also mindful o f public opinion, hope the furious aerial bombardment that would precede a ground attack might be enough to break Iraq’s will. The top American commanders-most of whom happen to be Army generals-are pre pared, however, to use both air and ground forces to ensure a swift vic tory. But the unique challenges and uncertainties of desert war-challenges the U.S. Army has not faced since 1942 in North Africa-complicate any simple calculations o f when America w ill be ready to fight, the chances of success or the price o f victory. USAF Seargent Andrew Evans We salute you and your squadron. Our prayers will be with you for a safe r turn home. The Portland Observer Staff and Management --------------------------------------------------------------------------------■ Do you have loved ones in the Persian Gulf? The Portland Ob server will be high lighting events as they occur in the Middle East. If you have loved ones who are stationed in the Gulf please let us know, and send photo if available. Young Supporter Attends New Governor's Reception Teri Bowles with Oregon's new Governor, Barbara Roberts O regon's first woman G over nor, Barbara Roberts, is congratulated by Teri Bowles, a Portland teenager, at the People's Inauguration on January 14 at the State Capitol Building in Salem. "Governor Roberts is an ex cellent role model for all Oregonians, and particularly for women," Teri said. "I am especially impressed by the fact that she earned her college degree while working, and being a single parent of a handicapped child. These arc circum- stances that common people can relate to in their everyday lives.” Bowles said. "I think Barbara Roberts will be a great G overnor because of her back ground. She will be concerned about the welfare of all o f us, not just the rich and privelcged." Teri, 15, a sophomore at St. Mary's Academy in downtown Port land, was escorted to the Governor's inaugural reception by her uncle, Jimmy Bang-Bang W alker.