How business, doctors and journalists prey on your food anxieties I
How business, doctors and journalists prey on your food anxieties I
How business, doctors and journalists prey on your food anxieties I
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Commentary<br />
<strong>on</strong> events at home <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> abroad<br />
By Caspar W. Weinberger, Cliaivinan<br />
AS THE U .N . PECEhBEPNG EFFORTS in Bosnia disappear<br />
into ignominy, it is apparent that bills designed to prevent<br />
U .S . involvement in this kind of fiasco must be passed <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
signed into law. Currently, there are bills before C<strong>on</strong>gress<br />
requiring diat : (1) a President certify that the missi<strong>on</strong> sen e<br />
the nati<strong>on</strong>al securiryinterest before he can place U .S . forces<br />
under U .N . comm<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>; (2) C<strong>on</strong>gress be told t;te purpose<br />
of such a missi<strong>on</strong>, who else is taking part <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> wkat dac<br />
expected costs are ; <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> (3) America retain the right to<br />
withdraw its forces at any time <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> to take w hatever steps<br />
necessarv to protect them . If these requirements are met,<br />
a President can send troops to back up a U .N . missi<strong>on</strong> .<br />
Yet the Clint<strong>on</strong> Adminisnzti<strong>on</strong><br />
has lened increasiuglv &antic charges<br />
that such proposals are isolati<strong>on</strong>ist<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> c otild . if implemented, m .vk<br />
the withdrawal of America fiom<br />
internati<strong>on</strong>al activities of all kinds .<br />
The requirements in these bills<br />
essentially spell out what any President<br />
should specify before committing<br />
U .S . troops . If he cannot<br />
fulfill these requiremenzs, he should<br />
not commit our forces . The charge<br />
that these c<strong>on</strong>diti<strong>on</strong>s c<strong>on</strong>stitute<br />
isolati<strong>on</strong>ism is not <strong>on</strong>ly maliciously<br />
ISOLATIONISM-OR COMMON SENSE?<br />
Refugees of Srehrenica : What must they think<br />
as the world watches <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> waits?<br />
foolish but also quite wr<strong>on</strong>g .<br />
Isolati<strong>on</strong>ism is a totally flawed, impossibly NNr<strong>on</strong>g policv .<br />
It would be turning our back <strong>on</strong> foreign events <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> retreating<br />
within what used to be called inculnerable "Fortress<br />
America ." Onlv a few fanatics propose a return to this<br />
ruinous policy . An accusati<strong>on</strong> of isolati<strong>on</strong>ism is <strong>on</strong>e of the<br />
cheapest <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> oldest political tricks, setting up a false associati<strong>on</strong><br />
between P~publicanism <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> isolati<strong>on</strong>ism <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> then<br />
proceeding to attack as if the associati<strong>on</strong> were prm °en .<br />
The Administrati<strong>on</strong>'s aim seems to be to enable the Pres<br />
ident to send U .S . troops to join so-called peacekeeping cfforts<br />
in hopeless situati<strong>on</strong>s where there is no peace . The<br />
aggressive arrogance with which the Serbs drove a few<br />
lightly armed U .N . peacekeepers from Srcbrcnica illustrates<br />
che absurd <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> highly dangerous missi<strong>on</strong>s to which brave<br />
-soldiers can be subjected . As the city came under attack <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
-some 30,000 Muslim civilians, al<strong>on</strong>g with dte peaeekeepers,<br />
were sent flecing north, the ailv punishment (after<br />
lC)ng negotiati<strong>on</strong>s) was another pinprick NATO air strike .<br />
Now- we have been promised `significant" air strikes if<br />
the Serbs attack Gorazde . Two days after this threat was<br />
made, the Serbs brazenly c<strong>on</strong>tinued their heaw shelling of<br />
Sarajevo <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> Bihac <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> their ground attacks <strong>on</strong> Zepa, with<br />
no NATO resp<strong>on</strong>se . It is not ket clear if U .N . civilian<br />
authority approval will be required to initiate strikes . If it is,<br />
the ne v threat will be as empty as all the others . Secretary<br />
General Boutros-Ghali, me :unvhile, has been in Afiica,<br />
dem<strong>on</strong>strating, as he said, that the crisis is overrated, making<br />
the battle for Srebrenica sound "like Stalingrad" A<br />
more likely explanati<strong>on</strong> is that there are more votes in<br />
Afiica for his reelecti<strong>on</strong> than there are in Bosnia .<br />
The tragedv for Bosnia <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> for the<br />
bra\e U .N . soldiers there is that<br />
tltey oan do nothing to stop Serbian<br />
aggressi<strong>on</strong> . Mhen peacekeepers<br />
oet in the w °av of Serbia's \car plans,<br />
dte\, are brushed aside, jailed or<br />
chained to NATO targets . One<br />
«unders what tkotdd hase happened<br />
to Ku~sait if die West's <strong>on</strong>iv<br />
remed~had been using a U .N .<br />
peacekeeping force that had orders<br />
not to harm Saddam Hussein .<br />
President Bush's acti<strong>on</strong>s were the<br />
opposite of isolati<strong>on</strong>ism . The coaliti<strong>on</strong><br />
of 30 nati<strong>on</strong>s that Bush put<br />
together, inspired be our decisi<strong>on</strong> to proceed al<strong>on</strong>e if necessary,<br />
secured the defeat of Iraq . Nothing in the GOP bills<br />
would prevent any President from taking the same course .<br />
The Gulf «•as not a U .N . operati<strong>on</strong>, <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> no <strong>on</strong>e but Mr .<br />
Clint<strong>on</strong> would describe that cictorv as isolati<strong>on</strong>ism .<br />
There are two c<strong>on</strong>tinuing problems : (I) the Clint<strong>on</strong><br />
Administrati<strong>on</strong>'s failure to exercise anv leadership in<br />
deterring Serbian aggressi<strong>on</strong> vvhile a1wa1•s seeking nmltilateral<br />
c<strong>on</strong>sensus ; <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> (2) the weakening of our armed<br />
forces through anemic budgeting, which, if c<strong>on</strong>tinued<br />
for fi%e ntore pe :us, will make it impossible for us to take<br />
the type of effective acti<strong>on</strong> that ~~e took in the Gulf<br />
These problems are correctable, but not by Mr . Ciint<strong>on</strong>'s<br />
frantic political attempts to raise the specter of<br />
isolati<strong>on</strong>ism against those who are trying to restrain the<br />
use of American forces in doomed <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> perilous efforts<br />
such as "peacekeeping" in Bosnia . Such restraint is not<br />
isolati<strong>on</strong>ism ; it is simple comm<strong>on</strong> sense. ~<br />
r<br />
Forbes a August 14, 1995<br />
http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/agf97d00/pdf<br />
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