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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 14, 2018)
Page 4A East Oregonian Thursday, June 14, 2018 CHRISTOPHER RUSH Publisher KATHRYN B. BROWN Owner DANIEL WATTENBURGER Managing Editor TIM TRAINOR Opinion Page Editor Founded October 16, 1875 OUR VIEW World peace and the World Cup T he World Cup kicks off today and, for a world in turmoil, it could not arrive at a better time. Some international athletic tournaments have long had the high ideals of promoting entertainment and sport, along with peace and rule-bound competition. Pierre de Coubertin, the French academic and historian largely credited as being the father of the modern Olympics, saw athletics as an opportunity to promote understanding between cultures and reduce the danger of war. The ancient Olympics in Greece was a literal truce: wars paused to allow for safe travel to the games and sportsmanship secured it at the event itself. But de Coubertin thought that, by promoting friendly competition and cultural exchange, a worldwide sporting event could provide more than a temporary truce. Soccer is the best avenue for doing so. The Olympics are grand and historic, but Euro-centric and dominated by rich nations — and Nordic ones especially so in the winter. Soccer, on the other foot, is a sport that does not require a gargantuan budget. You need only a dozen top-notch athletes who have practiced with an inexpensive ball and AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky An Iranian fan dances in front of the Saviour of Spilled Blood Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Wednesday. Iran will face Morocco in the 2018 soccer World Cup match on Friday in St.Petersburg. an open field since they could stand up. That’s why such diverse countries as Germany and Brazil are co-favorites to win this year’s cup and smaller, poorer countries like Uruguay and Poland could advance far in the tournament. For local audiences, there is a huge missing ingredient in this summer’s event: the American team. It felt close to a national tragedy when the United States failed to qualify last year, though in our new geopolitical environment that may have been a blessing in disguise. President Donald Trump can now remain far from Russia. And the world gets to play without us, an apt metaphor for Trump’ “America Alone” policy. Granted, the World Cup is not without its faults, just like the world at large. FIFA is a corrupt organization. And yes, Russia bribed FIFA officials to secure these games, and Putin will use the World Cup — as he used the Olympics — to promote nationalism and Russian influence. But the world can combat that with friendship and camaraderie, both for their country and for the sport. After all, a win is just a win and a loss does not correspond to a loss of life. We are proud of our places, our countries and our cultures. And we humans are competitive. So isn’t it great to compete in something where no one dies? We’re prone to diminish sport by calling it a distraction, but that’s exactly what it is. And in times like these, isn’t it a blessing? There are a lot of problems out there. But the more capital — emotional and literal — that the world puts into sport and games, the better off it will be. As you watch this summer’s tournament, seize the opportunity of not having the focus on the American team. Study the faces of foreign players, listen to their stories and find empathy with their dreams and goals. Learn to cheer for them in their own languages. Become a fan of the world, then work to protect it. OTHER VIEWS On North Korea, a president who tried something different R OTHER VIEWS Infrastructure key to attracting more airport business A recent editorial in the East such improvements. For some Oregonian talked extensively about reason this EDA grant wasn’t even the risks involved with developing mentioned in the EO editorial, the infrastructure at the Pendleton and yet it is the catalyst required Regional Airport and its associated to spur any new building projects UAV test range. The editorial called at the airport. Without the EDA the plans to put in more robust money, improvements will proceed utilities at the airport “a detriment, much more slowly. not a benefit, to most residents.” The talk of spending $25 John The article seemed to infer million is for the total scope of Turner that improving the airport’s projects in the master plan and Comment infrastructure was an ill-conceived would probably be spread over gamble with taxpayer dollars. many years, if not a couple of The EO also voiced discontent with a city decades. council “who barely deigned to discuss this The EO article said I was “out of touch” pivot to an expensive new project.” I found because I emphasized the hundreds of this attitude quite curious and can only ask thousands of dollars that the UAS test the authors: Where have you been? range returns to Pendleton more than the For the past year, the city council and I importance of job creation. Let’s be honest, have been talking to dozens of civic groups the test range is creating some well-paying about the turnaround that has been taking jobs, but we have hundreds of jobs with place at the airport and its UAV test range. benefits sitting open in Pendleton right Progress reports have been given to the now. council in public meetings. We have been The revenues generated by the test range saying, very consistently, that as the airport have put airport operations in the black generates more money we need to reinvest (we have started to pay off the airport debt those profits into making our test range and have ceased loaning the airport money more available, safe and modern. each year to pay for operations). Revenues Included in this idea is the building are up by about 60 percent this fiscal year of more hangars and office spaces so and are projected to double again next year. new customers can have a place to work. What is not to like about that? Also necessary are the water, sewer, and Improvements at the airport are not a power lines that this type of infrastructure case of “if we build it they will come.” requires. They, our customers, are already here and In fact, for the past six months, we new infrastructure is the key to attracting have been working closely with the more. Economic Development Administration ■ to apply for a $3 million grant for just John Turner is the mayor of Pendleton. Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. eaction to President Trump’s something called “maximum summit with North Korean pressure and engagement.” He dictator Kim Jong Un has imposed sanctions on top of the broken down along the usual sanctions that have long been in Trump/anti-Trump divisions. The place against North Korea. He truth is, it will take a while before made more progress than previous it’s clear whether the summit administrations in enlisting China achieved anything or not. to help. And he made military Byron But give the president credit plans. York for trying a new approach to an Have you heard people say war Comment intractable problem. is not an option in North Korea, Trump had no electoral or that it is unthinkable? Trump mandate on North Korea. Despite started thinking about it. His the oversized role it has played in his top military officers worked through a number of scenarios for war on the Korean presidency, the issue of Kim Jong Un did peninsula. And while they were doing it, not come up much in the 2016 campaign. It was rarely discussed in the GOP primary Trump escalated his anti-Kim rhetoric to unheard-of levels. Kim was “Little Rocket debates and wasn’t a factor in the Trump- Man,” and North Korean aggression would Clinton general election debates. be “met with fire, fury, and frankly power, Even when it did come up, the the likes of which this world has never discussion could be pretty unedifying, as seen before.” when rival GOP candidate Sen. Marco Trump later explained he did it because Rubio compared candidate Trump to Kim. he believed the old way had not worked. “You have a lunatic in North Korea trying “Other administrations ... had a policy of to get access to nuclear weapons,” Rubio silence,” he told Fox News’ Sean Hannity said in February 2016. “We have a lunatic after the summit. “That’s not the answer. in America trying to get hold of them, That’s not what you have to do. So I think too.” the rhetoric — I hated to do it, sometimes To the extent that he had a position on I felt foolish doing it — but we had no North Korea, Trump’s was that he would choice.” be willing to hold direct negotiations with So while Trump bellowed threats, his Kim. While he said he would not travel to administration quietly planned to make North Korea to see Kim, and would not good on those threats, if it came to that. honor him with a White House dinner, Put it together, and what seemed Trump made clear he saw benefit in talking to some critics like a reckless strategy to the North Korean leader. worked — or worked enough to pressure “I would speak to him,” Trump said the North Koreans into at least temporarily in May 2016, shortly after effectively stopping their provocations and wanting clinching the Republican nomination. “I to talk. And when, after the talks were on would have no problem speaking to him.” track, the North Koreans resumed their Of all the controversial proposals that provocative statements, Trump abruptly Trump made during the campaign — canceled them — and the North got back that wasn’t one of them. And that was on board. because of the long record of failure of So now the talks have happened, and talks between the U.S. and North Korea. North Korea has agreed — much like What was wrong with suggesting a new it has in years past — to denuclearize. approach to a problem no other president Critics rightly point out that Kim and his had been able to solve? The problem was, North Korea became predecessors never kept their promises before. On the other hand, these talks were a front-burner issue almost immediately the result of a series of events unlike those after Trump took office, when Kim began in the past. a series of provocative acts to test the new Maybe Trump’s plan will work. Maybe president. On Feb. 12, 2017, North Korea tested a new ballistic missile. On March 6, it will work a little and not work a little. it fired four ballistic missiles into the ocean Or maybe it will fail altogether. But it’s the result of a president re-thinking a problem near Japan. On April 5, it fired another that desperately needed a new approach. missile. On April 16, another missile. ■ On April 28, another. Later, there was a Byron York is chief political correspon- nuclear weapons test. And so on. dent for The Washington Examiner. In response, Trump came up with The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Letters must be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. Send letters to managing editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.
