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By ROBERT MILLER
THE REGENTS and President Robben Flem-
ing have demonstrated their blatant con-
tempt for the graduating class by inviting Henry
Kissinger to speak at commencement exercises.
Kissinger is not respected by the people of Ann
Arbor and to many would find his appearance
at graduation offensive.
Henry Kissinger is the architect and repre-
sentative of American foreign policy. The ef-
fect of this policy has been the systematic
frustration of democratic government. The U.S.
has supported military dictatorships in South
Korea, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Greeze, and
South Vietnam. It has also encouraged the over-
throw of Allende in Chile and Makarios in Cy-
press. Kissinger, however, remains indifferent
to the violation of human rights.
He supported the decision to invade Cambodia
although four of his aides resigned in protest.
Later, these assistants were bugged lest they
tell the American people what their govern-
ment was doing.
KISSINGER COULD have worked out a set-
tlement in Vietnam in 1969 had he and Nixon
been willing to cut loose from the corrupt gen-
erals in Saigon. Ted Szulc says "there is no satis-
factory reason for Kissinger to have refused to
recognize reality for three years". Vietnamese
and American lives were needlessly sacrificed so
the Nixon administration could emerge from the
war with "honor". The cost: 15,000 American
dead, 110,000 wounded, $50 billion spent, 600,000
South Vietnamese dead and wounded and great-
er casualties for the North Vietnamese.
Then came the Christmas bombings in De-
cember, 1972. The accords signed after this
horrible and pitiless action were only marginally
different from those already agreed upon a few
months earlier.
When the Russians put up the Berlin Wall
Unwelcome
guest
in 1961, Kissinger demanded that the US tear it
down to demonstrate our credibility to Bonn.
When the Pakistanis were killing thousands ,n
Bangladesh, he sent an aircraft carrier to the
Bay of Bengal to "persuade" the Indians not to
intervene. When during the Yom Kippur War
the Russians suggested that a joint Soviet-Amer-
ican force be sent to Egypt, he called a full scale
nuclear alert", which he never explained as he
said he would.
TO KISSINGER, "power is the ultimate aphro-
disiac". He revels in the exercise of power
and the politics of confrontation.
Kissinger and the class he represents are cal-
lously amoral. They allocate food to Fascist gov-
ernments before giving aid to the neediest. In
order to protect the capitalist system the U.S.
is arming half the world in a last ditch effort
to improve our balance of payments. Business-
men and arms producers have benefited while
third world peoples and American people suf-
fer.
The final decision to invite Kissinger was made
by the Regents. First, the Regents submitted
Kissinger's name to the Honorary Degree Com-
mittee which includes eight faculty members
appointed by the Regents upon recommendation
of Robben Fleming. Then the Committee reach-
ed a consensus supporting Kissinger as fi r s t
choice. Not the slightest effort was made to
ascertain whether or not any of the graduating
seniors want to hear Kissinger speak.
STUDENTS MUST demand immediately t h e
right to select a speaker for their own grad-
uation. It is also imperative that all members
of the Ann Arbor community respond to this
slap in the face with spirited educational and
political activity.
Robert Miller is a member of the Edi-
torial Page staff.
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THE MILIWAUKEE JOURNAL
Field Newspaper Syndicate, 1975
l
'One, you can't swim - two, you're already married -
and three, she's a myth anyway!'
T4l str t gaxeBt
Eighty-Five Years of Editorial Freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
LIFE AFTER FAISAL
Tension; uncertainty belie Saudi calm
Saturday, April 12, 1975
News Phone: 764-0552
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104
Plastic progress runs wild
HY IS IT THAT some people just
refuse to have good taste when
they deal with beautiful old buildings.
First they turn the Old A and D build-
ing into a CRISPatorium, and then,
for the latest atrocity, they turn the
Grad library study room into a grade
B cosmic light show, "Blasphemy in
Steel."
The disgusting protrusions that
bathe the room in light are fine if you
are only going there to study, but you
could achieve the same aesthetic ef-
fect by studying in your bathroom.
It is undoubtedly a waste of elec-
tricity to flood the room with such
blinding light that sunglasses must
be standard apparatus. The old lights
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Jay Levin, Rob Meachum,
Cheryl Pilate, Sara Rimer, S t e v e
Selbst, Jim Tobin, Bill Turque.
Editorial Page: Peter Blaisdell, Barb
Cornell, Paul Haskins, Doc Kralik,
Robert Miller, Steve Stojic
Arts Page: Chris Kochmanski
Photo Technician: Ken Fink
were just fine, if someone
only taken the time to
occasional light bulb.
would have
change an
But getting back to the thundering
travesty of the luscious lights, it is
impossible to see why whoever design-
ed the ditties insists upon giving the
grad library the same starkness that
gave the undergraduate library its
most appropriate nickname. Probably
the next step will be to replace the
wood with delightful Formica, and the
two frescoes with golden arches.
From the outside, the room with its
former intimate atmosphere, looks
like a movie set.
In the old days, the reading room
was dimly lit enough to lend some
feeling of solitude. Now "progress"
means that students can sit, on one
side of the room and watch some un-
wary reader emptying his nasal pas-
sages on the other.
Woe unto us who are forced to study
under these less than acceptable con-
ditions. What's done is done at the
grad library, and. it must now be
left in its lamentable state. But be
on guard when the mischief makers
decide to close the law library for
renovation, and don't be surprised if
when it reopens, all the charm is re-
placed with a Burger King decor.
By RICK JURGENS
WTITH THE assassination of
Saudi Arabia's King Fai-
sal, the leading American oil
companies have lost - in the
words of Henry Kissinger - "a
good friend." A good friend, be-
cause he depended as much on
the American oil companies that
made up 'Aramco (the Arabian
American Oil Company) as they
did upon him. And an important
friend, because he had proven
his ability to hold together a
country which sits atop nearly a
quarter of the world's proven
reserves of crude petroleum.
Saudi Arabia itself is a mere
four years older than the oil
company created in 1936 to ex-
ploit its oil riches - now Aram-
co. The country is the product of
the conquests over other tribes
by Islamic warriors led by Fai-
sal's father in the early years of
the twentieth century. Faisal
himself fought in these wars.
DURING ITS early diys,
Aramco - a consortium of Ex-
.. . .C.
"Faisal ruled a small,
underdeveloped, semi-
feudal country which
now receives more
than $20 billion a year
in oil revenues. Be-
tween four and eight
million people live ire
Saudi Arabia - no one
is sure for there has
never been a census."
Faisal occupied most key ,osts
in his government.
THE ONLY law in Saudi Ara-
bia is the sharia, or Islamic
law. The punishment for theft is
to cut off the right hand of the
thief, for fornication '100 lash-
es, for highway robbery the cut-
ting off of alternate hands and
feet, or death by crucifixion if
it involves a homicide. In cases
of adultery both parties a r e
stoned to death.
The Saud family relies on the
National Guard to protect the
throne. The National Guard is
composed entirely of members
of elite Bedouin tribes - de-
scendants of the Islamic war-
riors who fought for Faisal's
father.
The National Guard olavs a
critical role since the S a u d
family does not trust the arniv.
To ensure control over the
army, the family has isolated it
from main population centers -
the two key military bases are
500 miles beyond any major ur-
ban area - and restricts its ac-
cess to ammunition by storing it
in an arsenal 12 miles o'uside
the canital to which a trusted
aide of the king holds the key
FAISAL'S special value to
Aramco and the U.S. lay in his
ab'ility to claim the allegiance
of the conservative religious and
tribal officials who protected ris
throne - earned because ha had
ridden into battle with the fier-
cest tribes and was a discip-
lined - if not devout - follow-
er of Islam. At the same time
he wassa sophisticated repr>-
sentative of the interests and
needs of the oil companies.
Faisal's death comes at a
time when the conservative ele-
ments of Saudi society are un-
der great strain. Western influ-
ence is growing. Most of the
younger members of the Saudi
ruling elite have been trained at
American universities. The gov-
ernment bureaucracy, trained
by the Ford Foundation and
United Nations, is implementing
a five-year plan drawn up by
the Stanford Research Institute.
In addition, the inflow of
foreign investment and petro-
dollars has forced the ruling
elite to rely increasingly on bur-
eaucrats recruited from the
more cosmopolitant Arab world
- including Palestinians a n d
Iraqis.
AS YET no member of the
Saud family has emerged who
annears capable of preserving
the tenuous alliance between the
traditional and modern elements
in Saudi Arabia. For Aramco,
which has relied upon the Saud
family to preserve the status
aoo. that is a frightening pro-
snect.
It is doubtful that any newv
"status ono" to emerge at this
time would preserve Aramco's
access to the massive Saudi oil
reserves.
Most neonle are aware that
the Saudis - in the nerson of
their urbane. Harvard-edncaP'd
P-troleum Minister, Sheikh Ya-
mani - have been a nro-w t-
ern, conservative force it n
Sheikh Yamani Minister of Pe-
troleumsto replace a genuine
nationalist, Abdullah 7.ar'qi.
Tariqi had played a leading role
in the formation of OPEC in
1960, and was calling for Saudi
control over production, trans-
portation, and marketing of its
petroleum.
By contrast, Yamana has said
that "we donot want thetra-
jos(i.e. Aramco) to lose their
power . . . We want the pre-
sent set-up to continue as long
as possible and at' all costs to
avoid any disastrous clash of
interests which would shike the
foundations of the whole o i I
business."
Several weeks ago, an Amer-
ican in Saudi Arabia with cl.wse
contacts with its highest offic-
ials was quoted as saying that
"when Faisal is gone, Yamani
will fall from grace - and pow-
er." Yamani is reportedly n't ''n
good terms with Prince Fahd,
the dominant member of the
new regime.
THE SAUDI Petroleum M;n-
ister has an extremely pow rf'il
voice within OPEC - sin.;e his
country accounts for nearly a
quarter of all western oil pro-
duction. Yamani has used his
position to channel the militance
of the more radical oil preduc-
ing nationsin directions intend-
ed to pose less of a direct
threat to the interests of the
major oil companies.
If Yamani were to be replac-
ed by a more radical Saudi Pe-
troleum Minister, the ec Iiomic
militance of the OPEC countries
would be greatly increesed. At
the very least, Yamani withoilt
the patronage of Faisal will be
a less effective counterweight
to the more ardent nationalists
within OPEC.
Faisal's death may open the
door within Saudi Arabia fwr a
more serious quesioning of
Aramco's privileged access to
the country's petroleum ri:Ies.
It may also strengthen voees
within the Arab world who see
the Saudi regime and the other
Persian Gulf oil sheikhs as re-
actionary obstacles to a unified
Arab nation - as envisaged by
Saudi Arabia's radical Arab
neighbors. Such a nation woulJ
redirect its oil revenues away
from foreign interests and their
handfull of local clients towards
a program intended to benefit
the 200 million Arab people.
FAISAL understood the r'1e
of the American-backed govern-
ments in Israel and Iran in pro-
tecting his regime from the rad-
ical Arab nations. As U.S. Sen-
ator Henry Jackson (Dej-
Wash.) put it, Saudi Arahla de-
pends on Israel and Iran to "in-
hibit and contain irresponsible
and radical elements in certain
Arab states."
While deliberating the anti-Is-
rael rhetoric required of any
Arab leaderias evidence of his
concern for the 1.4 million dis-
placed Palestinians, Faisal care-
fully channelled financial sup-
port to conservative eOeme1s in
Egypt (where he was a major
land-owner), Syria, and in the
Palestinian movement itself.
Faisal was adept' at using his
petrodollars and religious au-
thority to offset radical voices
throughout the Arab world Now
that he is dead, the hand of
the Arab nationalists will be
strengthened, especially in light
of the internal contradictions in
Saudi Arabia.
Rick Jurgens regularly
monitors the activities of
multinational corporations
for Pacific News Service.
Copyright, Pacific News
Service, 1975.
Letters to The Da ly
xon, Mobil, Texaco and Stand-
ard Oil of California - describ-
ed its major problem in Saudi
Arabia as "financing an inde-
pendent country and keeping the
King on the throne." More re-
cently, a well known U.S. pe-
troleum expert told a gathering
of top U.S. policymakers, "Do
you think the King of Saudi
Arabia. could survive without
some very indirect support he
gets from us? After all, the dy-
nasties in the Arab countries are
not very strong in terms of local
acceptance, and that much
wealth, that much power, makes
them even more vulnerable."
Faisal ruled a small, under-
developed, semi-feudal count-y
which now receives more than
$20 billion a year in oil revenues.
Between four and eight million
people live in Saudi Arabia -
no one is sure for there has
never been a census.
TODAY, MOST of the people
are illiterate. The life expectan-
cy at birth is 42 years. There
are five newspapers with a total
circulation of 55,000. The min-
imum wage is $1.11 a day, the
minimum working age is 10
years old, per capita income is
$344 a year, and labor unins
and strikes are forbidden.
By contrast, when Faisal de-
posed his brother Saud as King
ir 10K bek Hir mi nrr l 1
dogs
To The Daily:
WE WISH TO present a ser-
ious proposal regarding the
health and safety problems
caused by rampant canines with-
in Ann Arbor, as described by
Andrea Lilly's article entitled
"Unleashed dogs run rampant
on campus" appearing in your
March 28th edition. We suggest
that the Ann Arbor City Council,
enact an ordinance creating a
"Canine Death Squad", charged
with the duty of executing all
dogs running loose in the city
and not within the confines of
their owner's private property.
We are aware of constitutional
objections to such legislation,
but we nevertheless think that
they are immaterial, citing Law-
ton v. Steele, North American
Cold, Storage Co. v. Chicago
Ewing v. Mytinger & Casselber-
ry, Inc. and Mitchell v. W. T.
Grant Co. as generally support-
ing the validity of the proposed
ordinance. In addition to its co:-
stitutionality, we believe that
this law would probably embody
good social policy. Indeed, t h a
problem would disappear in a
few weeks after the ordinance
would take effect.
-The University of Mich-
igan Law School Con-
servative Coalition
March 28
lifeboat
To The Daily:
O B S C E N E, INSIDIOUS,
rrimi nni i.t -1unrrth. e
How long do we think we can
continue to feed and care for an
exponentially expanding popu-
lation - 50 years? 100 years?
Certainly not much longer than
that, even given Revelle's (not
Rovelle) most optimistic esti-
mate. And when one considers
the incredible energy input, fer-
tilizers, and accompanying bio-
spheric disruption bound to ac-
company such an increase, one
can only wonder just how long
such a level, once reached,
could be sustained. No popula-
tion has ever grown exponent-
ially for an extended length of
time - it either levels off or
crashes. It is clear that the
present exponential growth
phase of human population is
only a temporary phenomenon,
and no amount of political
idealizing, . economic reorganiz-
ing or scientific miracles can
change that fact.
BY CHANGING DIETARY
habits (among other things) we
should be able to feed every-
one in today's world adequately.
But we must not forget that we
are only postponing the inevit-
able, and that any attempt to
find a long term solution to the
food problem will fail if we do
not also do something to stop
the exponential growth rate of
human population. To act for
the short term is much easier
than planning, and then acting,
for the long term. To condemn
is obscene, but is it not equally
obscene to condemn the citi-
zens of the future to starvation?
To allow ourselves to reach a
point where the lifeboat ethic is
a real solution, especially when
we have the means to prevent
Ferency and/or the libaral men-
tality, it escaped me. Me. Buck-
ley to me s e e m e d his usual
self, although on TV one does
not see how tightly he holds his
body, how he stands on his toes
when addressing an audience or
how curiously detached he is,
considering the smile on which
his famous tongue dances when
he sees the kill. To be less
catty, Mr. Buckley, as always,
evaded issues, was bitchy and
defensive, answered economic
issues with moral platitudes and
moral issues with economic sim-
plifications, remained what he
is essentially, an excellent stand-
up comic and raconteur, a sym-
bol to the young and left of a
rightist cult figure who is harm-
less in "his irrelevance and twist-
ed, legalistic intelligence, and
a third-rate mind and hypocrite.
I suspect that if Mr. Buckley
hadn't been born with several
dozen millions in his pocket, an
excellent education in the soc-
ial graces and a flair for ver-
bal aggressiveness that relies
not on truth but on logic for its
support, he would probably have
long ago been put away in a
public institution. The audience,
incidentally, was as high as any
at a boxing match or roller
derby, almost randomly hissed
or applauded the various re-
marks, depending on how ser-
iously they were intended (Mr.
Bullard suffered worst nere,
since he was damned serious),
and was thoroughly ingratiated
by the introduction of Mr.
Trowbridge, who cheerfully an-
nounced that he was too drunk
to rea his note.
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