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The Birth Of An Arms Race
By Vernon E.. Jordan, Jr.
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Editorial
Weep, Oh Mother of Exiles
Monday morning, the bodies of thirty-three refugees from the
Caribbean island of Haiti and the tyranny of it's "President-For-Life"
Jean-Paul "Baby Doc" Duvalier washed up on the
shores of Florida. Their small leaky boat had started out, over a
month ago, with 57 on board and was swamped by high seas.
Thirty-four made it tired, poor, yearning to breathe free.
America has welcomed refugees from lands of white people
and yellow people and brown people. The Haitians are from a
land of black people. President Ronald Reagan has ordered the
Coast Guard to interdict Haitians on the high seas. In other
words, catch 'em before they get here and send 'em back where
they're coming from America doesn't want 'em. He justifies
this by talking abotjt some nebulous "agreement" with the
Duvalier government that they will not be persecuted when they
return home. Any dumb bunny in the street knows that's just
empty rhetoric. Ronald Reagan knows better. He simply doesn't
care what happens to those black folk.
When Emma Lazarus wrote of America's promise symbolized
by the Statue of Liberty . . .Mother of Exiles. From her
beacon-hand glows world-wide welcome;5. . . .'Give, me your
tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning ticbrsafees4
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore? Senlthese, the
homeless, tempest-tost to me. . . ."', she must have known that
many of the world's "huddled masses" would not possess white
skins. Those who chose to engrave her poem on the tablet within
the statue's pedestal, must also have known. We wonder if Presi
dent Reagan has ever read Emma Lazarus' poem or this nation's
Constitution. We wonder if President Reagan and his cronies
can't see beyond' the ends of their noses. It is simply dumb to
alienate non-whites from anywhere. They must remember that (1)
they are destroying America's image around the world; (2) they
are weakening America's foundation; (3) a whole lot of non
white folks have made valuable contributions to the building of
this reatmation it wouldn't be where it is today without them;
(4) four-fifths of this world's population is non-white; and, (5)in
the words of the late, great black orator, Mordecai Johnson, ' 'the
same elevator that takes you up, can and will bring you down and
the same people you pass on your way up, you will pass oh your
way down."
The American dream and promise are too significant in human
history to be scuttled by arrbw-minded, shortsighted, racist, lit
tle people. Whatever it takes, we must ALL strive and continue to
do whatever we can to make America work for ALL, irrespective
of skin color. We can not let 'Mother of Exiles' lamp be ex
tinguished with her tears. . . ."beside the golden door"
Wake tup, Mr. Reagan. You are the watchman on duty. The
watchman cannot sleep at his post. Danger always, lurks at the
gate. No more tarnish on our golden door.
The President's decision to back a new !
strategic arms package including the
reborn MX missile and the once-dead B-l
bomber signals the. Starr of a new arms
race that will make the world an even
more dangerous place. '
The debate over the President's plan
will feature volumes .of expert analysis
both for and against the specifics of each
weapons system. ,
But amid the welter of conflicting
claims one basic fact is not expected to
emerge with any clarity, so it might be
well to state it now and to remember it in
the days to Come.
Both the United States and Russia have
enough nuclear missiles to blow any
enemy off the face of the earth and to
wipe out much of the rest of humanity at
the same time.
That's it. You can forget all about the
supposed "window of vulnerability"
theory that says the Russians can take out
our missiles unless we install new delivery
systems. They won't, unless they are mad
enough to accept a retaliatory strike that
would leave them in nuclear ashes as well.
If, as the Pentagon fears, land-based
U.S. missiles are vulnerable to attack,
'then the Russians still have to take into
account airborne and submarine
launched missiles.
The scariest part, of the MX fiasco is
that it could only make an enemy more
likely to jump the gun and make a first
' strike. In the words of one expert: "It is a
weapon system -that can be both a means
to lauijch an atomic strike and a magnet .
to attract 'an atomic strike against it
and us."
Besides increasing the likelihood of a
miscalculation ' leading to a nuclear
holocaust, the MX inevitably will lead to
some, Russian response such as an ABM
defensive system. Then we would have to
' build one. Then they would do something
else 10 yhich we would respond, and so
on up the arms race spiral until one or the
other side pulls the trigger or goes broke.
. And going broke is a real possibility.
The strategic weapons plan of the Ad
ministration come to a whopping $180
billion tt and that is before the cost over
runs that double and triple the ultimate
price of new weapons, a scandal rarely
noted.
How will we pay for these -and other
defense bills? Perhaps the idea is to
finance them with proceeds of our record
wheat sales to the Russians.
There's another paradox. The Ad
ministration cuts food subsidy programs
for the American poor while selling food
grains to the Russians, whose payments
are partially applied to buying weapons
that will be aimed at Moscow!
The new weapons systems the President
wants have either been rejected before as
unnecessary, such as the B-I, or, in the
case of the MX, considered a destabilizing
danger to bur security.
Instead of throwing money at the Pen
tagon for weapons that can only escalate
the arms race and ' decrease national
security, we ought to be making a new
thrust to arms limitation., , ,
The Russians are tough customers and
we should be under no jllusions about
their protestations of peaceful intentions.
But at the same time it is in their interest
as much as ours to get off the escalator to
doom. . ' ,
The same energy and effort that went
into devising the new weapons proposals
should instead go into a negotiating pro
cess that slows the arms race. National
defense would be better' served by plugg
ing gaps in conventional forces ' and
negotiating arms limitation with the Rus
sians.' Y ":"-v !.'T. ,','
As President Eisenhower once ; said:
"when you get tQ the point that the
outlook comes close to the destruction of
the enemy and suicide for ourselves. . ..
.then arguments as to the exact amount of
avai lable st rength as compared to
somebody else's are no longer the vital
issues." '
It is ironic that an Administration
pledged to fiscal austerity, less govern
ment, and strong defense has embraced
policies that will bust the budget, increase
government power, and weaken national
security.
The Plight Gf The World's Refugees
By Bayard Rustin
A . Philip Randolph Institute
The awarding of the 1981 Nobel Peace
Prize to the Office of the United Nation;
High Commissioner for Refugees is an act
that should be heartily applauded. The
award will serve to focus world attention
on an international problem which has
reached epidemic proportions: the plight
pf the world's refugees,
.' it is estimated that this year there are
between 14 million and 18 million
refugees in the world. These millions
upon millions of men, and women, and
children have been forced to flee their
' disease, "and-poveny. Srnce SOtyell
over one million people" have' fled
Ethiopia as a consequence of war and the
policies of a barbaric Leninist regime.
Refugees from Afghanistan now number
over 1.4 million. These figures are shock
ing and horrible. And yet they are dwarf
ed by the number of refugees from In
dochina. These total over six million and
include approximately four million
displaced Cambodians who have been
forced to abandon their towns and
villages as a direct result of the Pol 'Pot
regime's barbarism, and as a consequence
of a Vietnamese and Soviet-backed inva
sion. Organizations such as CARE, the
International Rescue Committee, and the
French-based Physicians Across Borders
have exhibited remarkable skill in coor
dinating support for refugees the world
over. Many such organizations have ad:
dressed the refugee problem without
regard to political considerations and
have provided charitable aid to Haitian
refugees fleeing dictatorial oppression,
Soviet Jews fleeing Kremlin-inspired anti
Semitism, Vietnamese boat people, and
Cuban refugees fleeing Castro's prison
island. Yet this flood of refugees cannot
be dealt with by charity alone. The pro
blem must also be resolved by attacking it
at its roots the absence of democracy,
the expansion of totalitarianism, and the
upsurge in war. War, much of it a conse
quence of Soviet expansionism, and a
"ML V9Xtr9lKh Mnseauence, pf jdtx
nationalism- antf chauvinism' is one of the
great scourges of our times. Clearly, the
efforts of charitable organizations must
be complemented by an American foreign
policy which fcas as its aim the limiting of
Soviet aggression and the construction of
a stable and peaceful world.
The plight of refugees has not been
alleviated by the economic difficulties
that have afflicted Western Europe and
the United States. It is these countries
which have supplied the bulk of assistance
to the poor of the world. Yet ,at a time
when their own populations are feeling
the serious effects of an economic
downturn which is eroding their own stan
dard of living it is often difficult for many
Americans and their West European
counterparts to understand why massive
aid to refugees is of vital importance.
Black Americans disproportionately suf
fer from unemployment and poverty.
Arid some blacks have argued that we
should take care of our own problems
first and not worry about those of the rest
of the world. Yet this, in my judgment, is
a remarkably short-sighted and narrow
point-of-view. For if America is not wihV
ing to help in relieving the plight of those"
refugees who are starving and near death,
how can ve be sure it will be compas
sionate enough to solve the problems
which afflict our own nation's poor and
working poor? It is important for blacks
and all Americans to realize that, suffering
JCOui;cumry has histoncally provided, a
haven for the world's refugees. In part, it
is their contribution which has helped to
, make our country great. American policy
must continue to reflect this tradition.
This policy must reflect the spirit of 4he
Nobel Committee's award statement.
"Refugees whb dare not return to their
native land must be given an opportunity
to start a fresh life in their host country.
Still more important in the long run is the
work of insuring that people are not com
pelled to save their Ivies by escaping from
their native land with no prospect of ever
returning,"
America can continue to help alleviate
the plight of the world's most unfor
tunate. Yet America will only do so If its
leaders recognize that compassion knows
no boundaries and that government must
play a vital role in alleviating suffering
both a home and abroad.
Fighting An Unwinnable War
By Congressman Augustus F, Hawkins
Things You Should Know
v y i.iirii ik; ntsiiiu
1
TURNER
5-
. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio,
February 3, 1867, ' he attended
school there and won his Master of
Science degree in 1892. He did so
well tn the field of biology that he
was awarded a Ph.D. Summa Cum
Laude in 19071 His far-reaching
discovries on the habits of bees and
ants are world famous!
Continental Features
The Reagan Administration's "window
of vulnerability" is a morbid fantasy
designed to instill fear while gathering
support for one of the most expensive, yet
questionable defense projects yet to be
presented: the MX missile. While I am
among the first to champion the need for
a strong America, I believe that if the Ad
ministration is truly serious about cutting
government spending and waste, it should
establish a rational policy of budget cuts,
for as it stands now, they are pursuing
policies where every dollar they waste on
. obsolete, nuclear weapons is being sub
tracted from vitally needed domestic pro
grams: food, housing,, health, training,
education and other human needs. It is,
therefore, essential that defense expen
ditures not be treated as a ''sacrtd cow."
In recent days, many questions have
arisen regarding the Administration's
decision to give full support to the MX
project. These doubts center around the
Administration's claim that in the event
. the Soviet Union is able to execute a first
strike on the United States, destroying
most of our missiles based in the west and
mid-west, without the MX missile we
would be unable to retaliate with a blow
strong enough to force the Soviets into
complete surrender. However, the MX
missiles will do absolutely nothing to
strengthen the so-called , "window of
vulnerability".
The present plan proposed by the
Reagan Administration for the MX
system is a complete sham. The Ad
ministration proposes the building of one
hundred MX mis'siles at a total projected
s cost of twenty billion dollars. Moreover,
the Reagan Administration! would place
the MX missile in existing silos, which
would be "hardened" to withstand the
impact of a nuclear near miss. I submit
that in unclear terms, there is no such
thing as a near miss.
A single, one megaton warhead which
explodes on impact would make a crater
in the earth 200 feet deep and 1,000 feet
wide. At ground zero, the temperatures
would approximate those on the surface
of the sun. For a two mile radius around
the crater, the force of the blast would in
cinerate all living things and level all
buildings. Further, common sense would
dictate that if the Soviets have the ability
to precisely target their warheads, then
there is the added threat of our own
warheads exploding in their silos.
There arc alternatives to pouring
billions of tax dollars into systems which
are ill-thought out and obsolete before
they are even off the ground. Our present
fleet of B-52 bombers could be equipped
with cruise missiles and hardened with
electronic equipment which could pro
duce confusing effects on enemy radar
screens. This would be one step in the
direction of a more sane maximization of
our defense resources.
If the MX missiles are actually built
(even though they are indeed obsolete),
what then? The answer is obvious. Using
the fear tactics of bygone era, the call will
go up for yet another round of whopping
defense spending. It is a simple game. The
fear of falling behind the -Russians in
defense capability will be used as incentive
to spend enormous sums of tax dollars for
more weapons which, themselves, will be
obsolete. You get the idea. An end must
be brought to this vicious cycle of spen
ding, spending and more spending to ease
the fear of Russian superiority. The Ad
ministration can take the lead on this by
rational planning and by giving careful
. (Continued on Page 20
L.E. AUSTIN
Editor-Publisher 1927-1971
lUSPS 091-380)
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