is
T et
a
threat?
Not
so,
U.
S.
o icers
claim
PLEIKU, Vietnam (P) - Hanoi's
highly touted offensive in the Cen-
tral Highlands has so far been so
inoffensive, that many field offi-
cers privately doubt the dire pre-
dictions from Washington.
"I don't know what they're say-
ing in Saigon and Washington but
I'm out here and I don't buy it,"
says a U.S. captain who has spent
two years advising South Vietna-
mese Rangers at isolated outposts
along the Cambodian and Laotian
borders.
"This is the dry season. We al-
ways have some fighting around
Tet and they always call it an
offensive. It might have added sig-
nificance this year because of Pres-
ident Nixon's trip to Peking. But
from what I've seen of enemy
movements out here, it won't be
any bigger than last year."
Another ranger adviser points
out that the Communist command
usually tries to overrun one out-
post or fire base in the central
highlands after the monsoon rains.
It was Ben Het in 1969, Dak Seang
in 1970 and Fire Base 6 in 1971.
"They'll try for one again this
year," he suys. "There'll be some
headlines and some siege stories
and I think they'll be satisfied
with that. But it's 'nothing out of
the ordinary."
The apparent *non - offensive"
this year is becoming an increas-
ing source of embarrassment for
U.S .officials. Since the beginning
of December, U.S. bombers have
been carrying a record number of
missions against Communist indus-
trial areas and supply routes in
North Vietnam and Laos.
Pentagon pundits, Nixon admin-
istration officials and others have
justified these increased bombings
as necessary to counteract a major
offensive. Even John Paul Vann,
the highly respected senior Ameri-
can advisor in South Vietnam's 2nd
military region, had predicted that
Hanoi would stage a Tet offensive
with some 50,000 troops and would
be prepared to take 10,000 casual-
ties for "psychological effect."
He has been echoed by cabinet
members, the U.S. Army Chief of
Staff, Gen. William Westmoreland;
the U.S. Ambassador to Saigon,
Ellsworth Bunker, and Ambassador
William Porter, -chief American
negotiator at the Paris peace talks.
Apparently, however, the "major
offensive" has not come, nor are
there signs that it will occur at all.
Vann concedes his predictions
are based on the Communist coin-
mand's intentions rather t h a n
known capability, and he also con-
cedes there is a "10 to 1 disparity
ratio between what the enemy rays
he will do and what he actually
accomplishes."
Buthe cites intelligence reports
of unprecedented enemy activity,
taken from captured documents,
defectors, prisoners of war, agents
and electronic sensors.
Vann was one of the few rank-
ing Americans to predict the Tet
offensive in 1968.
Some colonels at Pleiku head-
quarters see the current lack of
ground fighting as the "lull before
the storm," but junior officers in
the field contend the military situ-
ation has been overdramatized.
"The Montagnards are the best
indicators of any offensive," said
one ranger adviser at Duc Co, a
smal loutpost in western Pleiku
Province. "When they start leaving
their villages and head for the
cities we know there's going to be
some tough fighting.
"Look at them." He pointed to
the stilt-houses of a neighboring
Mcntagnard village. "They're still
there. As long as they stay I know
I'm going to be okay."
Another officer questioned the
validity of statements attributed
to defectors and prisoners.
"Maybe they're plants," he sug-
gested. "Maybe Hanoi is telling
them to say this. Maybe they're
just saying yes to please us."
Opinions vary on the quality of
allied intelligence reports. Vann
has conceded that Vietnamese esti-
mates of the number of enemy
tanks are far higher than Ameri-
can estimates. One ranger captain
said his intelligence was good but
another officer 10 miles away call-
ed his very bad.
One reason for the disparity be-
tween the combat reports and the
Pentagon predictions is the rigid
disciplinary system of the Army.
Nearly all junior field officers
prefer to remain anonymous when
contradicting their superiors, and
thus, their opinions and insight
into Communist actions are often
overshadowed by the publicity
given high-ranking personages.
The result has been poor cover-
age of the war by the media. For
example, one South Vietnamese
Assemblyman accused American
news agencies of "nurturing dark
schemes through the overestimate
of the strength of North Vietna-
mese forces in the Central High-
lands."
In some cases, there have, been
reports of attacks that never hap-
pened. One news story recently
told of Communist sappers attack-
See OFFICERS, Page 8
Gen. Westmoreland
PUBLISHING
FACULTY SALARIES
See Editorial Page
C I
4c
5k 43Z
:I3itF
THE USUAL
High=15
Low-5
Slight possibility
of snow
Vol. LXXXII, No. 100 Ann Arbor, Michigan-Tuesday, February 8, 1972 Ten Cents
Ten Pages
HRP selects
ive or city
council seats
By DAVE BURHENN
The Human Rights Party of Ann Arbor (HRP) ended its
two weekend long convention Sunday night with the nomi-
nation of candidates for five city council seats.
Party nominees are:
-First Ward: Jerry De Grieck, '72, former SGC executive
4 vice president and unsuccessful Radical Independent candi-
date for the Second Ward council seat last spring;
Second Ward: Nancy Wechsler, former party coordina-
tor;
-Third Ward: Genie Plamondon, wife of jailed radical
leader Pun Plamondon and a member of the Rainbow Peo-
ple's party;
-Fourth Ward: David Black, a
political science teaching fellow;
-Fffth Ward: Nancy Romer
SACUABurghardt, Grad.
Plamondon was nominated by
John Sinclair, founder and chair-
man of the Rainbow People's par-
orw ard s ty, after Sinclair said his party
wanted to work with HRP in this
spring's election. Plamondon de-
n feated Phil Carroll for the nomi-
union planI nation.
David Black, wh(., :? r, ive
By ROBERT BARKIN in the Fourth Ward, decided to
The Senate Advisory Committee run for the seat in order to chal-
on University Affairs (SACUA) lenge existing city wcd residency
yesterday took action for the first laws for candidates. He was op-
time on a controversial report call- posed by Dan Boothby. All the
ing for "consultative negotiations" other candidates ran without op-
as a' means of bargaining for the position.
University's faculty. All candidates were required to
The discussion centered on the face the audience of about 45 to
Report of the Committee on Rights state possible disagreements with
and Responsibilities of Faculty the party's platform and answer
Members, also named the "Reed questions about their qualifica-
Report" after committee chairman, tions and positions.
law Prof. John Reed. Other provisions of the party
SACUA voted to present the structure p 1 a n k adopted stip-
section on consultative negotiations elate that "candidates are ex-
to Senate Assembly, the faculty pected to be bound by the party
representative body, at its Feb- platform," but that they will "be
ruary meeting. allowed to state briefly and con-
ruar meeing.cisely minority positions concern-
The Reed committee was ap-
pointed last February to report on ing the party platform in public."
how the faculty could best increase In other party elections. Doug
its role in financial andorganiza- Cornell, former RIP candidate for
tional policies of the University. mayor.as tee passyncoodi-
The controversial section of its nator and Steve Nissen campaigtn
report isnconcerned with faculty manager. A new steering commit-
compensation. The committee has tee was also selected, consisting of
called for "consultative negotia- 5 men and 5 women.
tions" which, according to the re- Party strategy for the upcom-
port, "stops short of full collective ing April city elections was also
bargaining but aims at fulfilling discussed at the convention. It was
similar goals." decided that HRP should concen-
The negotiations would, accord- Irate party resources primarily in
ing to the report,' take place with th first. second, and third wards,
the highest level of the adminis- where it is expected to garner the
tration. If negotiations did not most votes.
prove satisfactory, the ultimate HRP is expected to attract a
option for the Senate Assembly large proportion of student voters
would be a vote of censure on the many of whom will be voting for
See SACUA, Page 8 See HRP, Page 8
'Day
of
disruption'
N. Ireland
-Associated Pres
BELFAST youngsters aim a gun at a portrait of Britain's Queen Elizabeth yesterday (left), while
British Prime Minister Edward Heath urges Catholic leaders to "think again" in the aftermath o
the Iondonderry killings (right).
'SPIRIT OF '76' REVISITED:
New bi centennial puts
the rev in revolution
set or
BELFAST (R) - Bernadette
Devlin and a Roman Catholic
civil rights group promised
y e s t e r d a y that tomorrow
would be a "day of disruption"
in Northern Ireland with sit-
ins, sit-downs and all sorts of
things," while other leaders of
the Catholic minority spoke
out against those plans and
called instead for a 24-hour
fast.
The unofficial rival Ulster par-
liament-formed last year when
opposition members walked out of
the provincial legislature-said it
opposed the "D-Day of Disrup-
tion" planned by the Civil Rights
Association because it "did not
want to risk the livelihood of any-
one in the province."
The assembly proposed a fast
i starting at midnight Tuesday in
Londonderry "Free Derry Corner."
f That is the place where demon-
strators clashed with British
troops on Jan. 30 when 13 civil-
ians were fatally shot.
The rival parliament met in
Belfast with the prospect that its
members soon may find them-
selves in jail.
Police said they have taken out_
court summonses against 26 lead-
ers of last Sunday's 20,000-strong
anti-internment march in Newry, -
which was illegal under the gov-
go-ernment's Special Powers Act.
IMarchers included the provincial
parliament's entire opposition So-
ge cial Democratic caucus.
ed Devlin. the 24-year-old civil
rights activist who sits in the Bri-
ri- tish Parliament, said she would
as lend a hand on the day of dis-
m- ruption and promised the sit-ins
ts and sit-downs. Detailed plans
in- were kent secret. s
ce Though the Newry march -
an passed peacefully, the weekend 6
he produced four more dead. bring-
er ing the toll of violence since Au-
ho- gust 1969 to 239. i
a Two members of the outlawed e
il- IRA were blown to pieces while P
olanting bombs in a sabotage op-
ial eration on Lov-h Neavh. an inland t
)c- sea 1est of Belfast. IRA leaders in p
ls, Dublin. the canital of the Irish
of reoublic, identified t h e m as
.S. Charles McCann and Phelim a
up Grant, both of a provisional unit.
als The bodies were found in a
sunken barve after a hand was i
ad, spotted floating on the water. t
on The IRA has sworn to kill 13 d
ex- soldiers in revenge for 13 people d
ct- shot dead in Londonderry when
is- paratrooners moved against riotersp
>gy See DAY, Page 8
By SUSAN BROWN
Average American school chil-
dren are rarely taught that
Helen Keller was an avowed so-
cialist. Or that Davy Crockett
advocated the abolition of West
Point, or that the'Boston Tea
Party was America's first guer-
rilla theater.
These are facts of American
history, however, that a new
group of young radicals is try-
ing to bring to light. Calling it-
self the People's American Rev-
olutionary Bi-Centennial Commis-
sion, the group has a five-year
plan to offset the celebrations
of the government's American
Revolution Bicentennial Commis-
sion with its own view of U.S.
history.
Through emphasizing America's
200-year revolutionary heritage,
the group hopes to win the aver-
age American over to the left
by proving that radicalism is as
American as J. Edgar Hoover.
A People's Commission spokes-
man at its Washington head-
quarters said the group is pre-
senting "a new philosophical ap-
proach to activism founded on
American radical traditions." As
a result, the group predicts that
political, social, and economic
reforms will be more easily
achieved.
The radical tradition, commis-
sion literature explains, begins
with the great revolutionaries at
the time of the founding of the
nation such as Thomas Paine
and Sam Adams, extending from
the Sons of Liberty to the aboli-
tionists, the populists, through
the women's suffrage movement,
to the labor radicals of the 20th
century.
Along the way there were in-
dividuals such as blind and deaf
socialist Helen Keller, who wrote
of liberals, "I don't give a damn
about semi-radicals," and Davy
Crockett, who as a Tennessee
congressman in fear of a lar
military esablishment, propos
the abolition of West Point.
To point out that the Ame
can heritage is reactionary
well as revolutionary, the co
mission has dug up obscure fac
such as when the first U.S.i
tervention in Vietnam took pla
-1845. At that time, America
naval officer resulted from t
outrage of a naval officer ov
the death sentencing of a Cath
lie bishop in Vietnam led to
massacre of Vietnamese civ
ians.
The P e o p 1 e 's Bi-Centenn:
Commission was formed in O
tober, 1971, by several radica
many of whom are veteransi
the Citziens' Inquiry Into U
War Crimes in Vietnam, a gro
-which sponsored GI testimonia
of U.S. atrocities.
Proclaiming the New Left dea
J e r e m y Rifkin, Washingt
spokesman for the group,e
plains it failed because it reje
ed American revolutionary h
tory and took on the ideolo
and rhetoric of Asian, Europe
and Third World revolutiona
struggles.
As a result, says Rifkin, t
New Left alienated most mid
Americans and make it eas:
for itsenemies to label thesld
as "subversives"' or "outside'
elements.
Rifkin believes his alternati
for the left will allow patriotis
to attract large sectors of t
American populationmasksuppoi
ens and perhaps make son
changes.
"The revolutionary herita
must be used as a tactical wea
on to isolate the existing insti
tions and those in power by c
stantly focusing public attenti
on their inability to translate o
revolutionary dreams into re
-Associated Press
A grin for gramps
Democratic presidential hopeful George McGovern gets a chance
to try out his baby tactics on his three-day-old grandsot at home
in Washington yesterday.
20,000 NAMES SOUGH T:
PIRGIM volunteers
launch petitlion drive
By DORIS WALTZ
A campus-wide petition drive aimed at obtaining 20,000 student
ignatures supporting the establishment of a student-funded and
controlled consumer interest group was launched yesterday by over
00 university students.
The idea for the organization, the Public Interest Research Group
n Michigan (PIRGIM), became popular last spring when various state
nvironmental groups heard Ralph Nader urge the establishment of
PIRGS around the country.
PIRGIM plans to fight for public concerns through the media,
he legislature, government agencies and the courts. Expected areas of
PIRGIM efforts are environmental quality, consumer protection, oc-
cupational safety, race and sex discrimination, housing, and the oper-
ation of public and private institutions in the state.
Students who sign the petition will agree to pay a $3 persyear
fee, which will be included in their fee assessment by the University,
f approved by the Regents. If all students in the state participate in
the organization, PIRGIM's budget will top $900,000 per year. Stu-
dents not wishing to finance the group will be refunded the fee
during the first two weeks of the semester, according to the PIRGIM
plan.
See PIRGIM, Page 8
NEW MANAGERS
Daily business staff named
The Senior Managers of the
Michigan Daily Business Staff
have announced theirssucces-
sors.
Andy Golding, a Roslyn, New
York journalism and speech ma-
jor and a sports broadcaster on
WCBN, will be the new Business
Manager. Golding is responsi-
ble for the entire operation of
the Daily as a student managed
business.
A new position, Associate
Business Manager, will be filled
and training of new business
staff members.
Appointed to the position of
Advertising Manager is sopho-
more Harry Hirsch, from Chica-
go, Illinois. Hirsch, an anthro-
pology major, will supervise the
Daily's advertising departments
is responsible for setting adver-
tising guidelines and policies.
Diane Carnevale and Paul
Wenzloff are the new Sales and
Promotions Managers. Carne-
vale, a junior from Dearborn
an
ry
he
dle
ier
eft
ve
sm
he
)rt-
me
ge
ap-
tu-
on-
on
ur
al-
Chicago 7 defendants' appeals
begin, today after 2 year wait
CHICAGO, Ill. (A) - A federal
appeals court will begin hearing
two days of oral arguments to-
day on the complicated appeals
of the Chicago 7 defendants
whose stormy trial ended two
years ago.
But the arguments before three
judges of the 7th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals were expected
to contain little of the verbal ex-
plosions which marked the trial
complex that a ruling is expect-
ed to take some time.
The lawyers will argue tomor-
row against the contempt sen-
tences imposed at the end of the
trial by Judge Julius Hoffman
of U.S. District Court.
The judge sentenced the seven
defendants and two defense law-
yers, William Kunstler of New
York and Leonard Weinglass of
Newark, N.J., to terms ranging
I ~
WEE.':>> z:,?>"