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JEWISH NEWS T-SHIRT 27676 Franklin Road Southfield, Mich. 48034 NAME This offer is for new subscriptions only. Current subscribers may order the T-shirt for $4.75. Allow four weeks for delivery. 12 ADDRESS CITY STATE 7.IP (Circle One) 1 year: 6 29 (Circle One) ADULT EX. W. ADULT LARGE, ADULT MED. CHILD LARGE CHILD MED. CHILD SMALL 2 years: $52 Out of State: $37 enclosed $ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1991 Winning, Losing Continued from Page 7 democracies and decentraliz- ed economies as people show- ed an overwhelming desire to live in freedom. A democracy's highest priority is to meet the inter- nal challenge of making a better life for its citizens. There is no need to distract the population or deflect resentment outwardly by military adventure. There- fore, democracies are reliable peace partners. If the collec- tive will of the world can punish and/or deter would-be agressors, peace can become the international norm. As il- legitimate force is interdicted, more and more democracies will emerge. The new structure can come into being only if dictators understand that their use of force will be overridden, by force if necessary. This was Saddam Hussein's miscalcu- lation. He assumed that democracies treasure life so much and America's will was so weak that it would yield rather than go to war. President Bush understood the tragic truth of history. Without steadfast will to stop aggression — even at the cost of lives now — there will be many more wars and many more lives lost later. Unless Iraq is now stripped of its extraordinary military resources and its chemical and nuclear machinery dismantled, it will emerge from this war as a greater threat. Yet the European and Arab nations that sought to appease Hussein to the very end now urge a settlement that stops with the evacua- tion of Kuwait. Any agreement that allows Hussein to escape with most of his military might (and possibly.with an imposed set- tlement on Israel as well) could turn his defeat in the Gulf war into a triumph. To avoid this danger, Presi- dent Bush must correct a cen- tral weakness of American policy: the impression that he fears to make democracy and peace the decisive criteria of policy. Bush's embrace of Hafez Assad, with his terrorism unrenounced, even as he ostentatiously avoided telephoning Yitzhak Shamir; the concealment of the American soldiers (and all Christian and Jewish sym- bols) lest Saudi Arabians be offended; America's verbal protest, • without taking substantive action as the Soviet Union moved to crush Baltic independence — all give the impression that he so much needs allied approval that he will do anything or swallow any national policy, however wrong, to keep the allies on board. Nowhere is this inner con- flict of American policy more visible than in its treatment of Israel during the past six months. Arab hostility to Israel was a given and not to be challenged — as if our Arab allies were doing us a favor. Instead of affirming that support for democracy is the bedrock of our policy and stipulating that our armies must be able to call upon the resources of our militarily strongest ally, America press- ed a low profile on Israel. At times, America came close to treating Israel like a pariah. But which allies were at risk of jumping ship? Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, which can only be saved by American ar- mies? Egypt and Turkey, which are at peace with Israel and affirm its right to self-defense? Only Syria and those Palestinians and Jordanians driven by blind hatred for Israel would be offended. In any event, Syria has made clear that its limited con- tingents will not fight in any strategically useful way. From long historical ex- perience, we Jews have learn- ed that treatment of the Jews is a litmus test of nations' health. It is equally a highly accurate early warning of soundness or sickness in policy. The weakness which this shabby treatment of Israel revealed, combined with the desperate, fawning European attempts at appeasement, may well have convinced Sad- dam Hussein that he would get his way. The move to supply Israel with Patriot missiles must be more than an attempt to en- courage it not to retaliate. Sending American troops in to man the missiles carries the overtone of open embrace of Israel as an ally and of an end to fear of the Arab reaction. Arabs and Russians, even the Europeans, will deeply respect the dignity and in- tegrity of this gesture, especially if it is followed up by further acts of open cooperation. This gesture should become an important turning point toward a firmer American policy. American military might is so great that it can assuredly win any war with Iraq. Combining power with a new integrity and moral leadership can assure an American policy strong enough to win the peace worldwide. ❑