fIidingscandals in the Army high command
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Editorials printed in The Michigan Doily express the individual opinions of staff writers.
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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1972
Closing pot loopholes
'S NOW official. $5 tokes.
And it's about time.
City Council last May passed what is
probably the most radical marijuana law
in the country. The law called for the
maximum'fine for use, possession, or sale
of grass to be a $5 fine.
Council members, dope smokers, and
the general citizenry waited on edge for
the first case to come up.. Would the city
attorney prosecute under the new city
law o'r the harsher state law? What would
the judges do with the new law?
The first case came up this summer
and the Human Rights Party realized
Today's staff:
News:. Pat Bauer, Jan Benedetti, Cindy
Hill, Diane Levick, Debra rhal
Editorial Page: Lindsay Chaney
Photo Technician: Rolfe Tessem
Editorial Staff
SARA FITZGERALD
Editor
PAT BAITER........,.,.... Associate Managing Editor
ROSE SUE BERSTEIN .... Associate Managing Editor
LINDSAY CHANEY ...............Editorial Director
MARK DILLEN ......................Magazine Editor
LINDA DREEBEN ........Associate Managing Editor
TAMMY JACOBS................Managing Editor
LORIN LABARDEE..............Personnel Director
ARTHURALERNER...............EditorialrDirector
JONATHAN MILLER.................Feature Editor
ROBERT SCHREINER............Editorial Director
GLORIA SMITH ......................... Arts Editor
ED SUROVELL.......................Books Editor
PAUL TRAVIS..........Associate Managing Editor
NIGHT EDITORS: Robert Barkin, Jan Benedetti,
Chris Parks, Gene Robinson, Zachary Schiller, Ted
Stein.
COPY EDITORS: Diane Levick, Jim O'Brien, Charles
Stein, Marcia Zoslaw.
DAY EDITORS: Dave Burhenn, Daniel Jacobs, Jim
Kentch, Marilyn Riley, Nancy Rosenbaum, Judy
Ruskin, Paul Ruskin, Sue Stephenson, Karen Tink-
lenberg, Becky Warner.
ASSISTANT NIGHT EDITORS: Susan Brown, Jim
risinger, Matt Gerson, Nancy Hackmeer, Cindy
Hill, John Marston, Linda Rosenthal, Eric Schoch
Marty Stern, David Stoll, Doris Waltz.
Photography Staff
TERRY McCARTHY ....... Chief Photographer
ROLFE TESSEM u. . .. ..P regEditor
DENNY GAINER............... Staff Photographer
TOM GOTTLIEB...............Staff Photographer
DAVID} MARGOLICK........... Staff Photographer
Sports Staff
JOHN PAPANEK
Sports Editor
ELLIOT LEGOW
Executive Sports Editor
BILL ALTERMAN ............Associate Sports Editor
BOB ANDREWS ..............Assistant Sports Editor
SANDI GENIS................Assistant Sports Editor
MICHAEL OLIN..........Contributing Sports Editor
RANDYPHILLIPS.......Contributing Sports Editor
NIGHT EDITORS: Chuck Bloom, Dan Borus, Chuck
Drukis, Joel Greer, George Hastings, Bob Heuer,
Frank Longo, Bob McGinn, Rich Stuck.
ASSISTANT NIGHT EDITORS: Marc Feldman. Rob
Halvaks, Roger Rossiter, Theresa Swedo, Debbie
wissner.
Business Staff
ANDY GOLDING
Business Manager
they left a slight loophole in their pet
project. The law set a maximum penalty
but neglected to set a minimum. At the
time the laws was passed no one realized
that the judges still had the option to
put offenders on probation, and when the
fine is only $5, a year or two of probation
is in reality a much harsher sentence.
IF THE JUDGES were allowed to place
an offender on probation the poor
soul could really end up in hot water if
he was busted again. On top of a possi-
ble fine the judge could place the person
in jail for violating the terms of the pro-
bation.
This was of course in direct contradic-
tion to the intent of the law.
The law, as HRP members said when
it was first passed in May, was supposed
to decriminalize marijuana as much as
was legally possible under city law.
The addition of the amendments by
council Monday night insures that when
you get busted for a marijuana violation
it will only be a $5 fine. And you don't
even have to leave the comfort of your
home or local smoking den to pay the
fine.
The amendment allows you to simply
put your money inside an envelope and
drop it in the mail box. No appearing in
court. No interview with a probation of-
ficer. No trouble at all.
But it shouldn't end there.
IN MICHIGAN there is an organization
called the Michigan Marijuana Initi-
ative. They started late and didn't have
enough help to get the question of legal-
izing marijuana on the Nov. 7 ballot.
But they haven't given up. Their tar-
get date is 1974 and they need the signa-
tures of 265,000 registered voters to get
the question on the ballot. The question
deserves to .come before all the voters of
the state.
Let's get pot. on the ballot in 1974.
-PAUL TRAVIS
Associate Managing Editor
Crime victims
EVERY YEAR the United States spends
billions of dollars on its law enforce-
ment agencies.
Depending on the size of his crime,
the criminal will be the object of an in-
tensive search by either the city police,
the county sheriffs, the state police, or, if
he's been particularly nasty, the FBI.
His victim, on the other hand, has be-
come just another statistic. While recov-
ering from bodily injuries of varying de-
gree and psychological scars of undeter-
mined size, the most he can expect is a
few "get-well" cards and maybe some
insurance coverage.
Things might be changing. The Senate
has recently passed a bill to compensate
some victims of violent crime with- up
to $50,000. The proposal would also pro-
vide for payments to Good Samaritans
who suffered injuries or death trying to
stop a crime.
This proposal has considerable merit.
The money given out would probably be
insignificant compared to the vast sums
spent on the capture and rehabilitation
of criminals, but to the victims and their
families it would be far more important.
-JOHN ONODA
By MARTIN STERN
THE SIGNIFICANCE of the c u r r e ii t
Senate hearings on the unauthorized
bombing misions carried out in North
Vietnam between November 8 of last
year through March 8 of this year is
that it' appears once again that t h e
Army has. tried to cover up controver-
sial actions and the persons behind the
actions.
With the memories of My Lai and Lt.
William Calley all too fresh in our minds,
the Army has again apparently chosen
a patsy to publicly take the blame -
in this case General John D. Lavelle,
former commander of the 7th Air Force
in Vietnam..
Furthermore, it appears that General
Creighton W. Abrams, President Nixon's
nominee for Chief of Staff of the Army,
may have known that the illegal bomb-
ing raids were being carried out.
The pending scandal, as more details
come out, promises to be as exciting as
this year's other top scandals, such as
the ITT incident, or the glamorous Wat-
ergate affair. For those unfamiliar with
the details of the Lavelle story, here is
a brief, up-to-date rundown:
The first indication that the public had
about anything strange going on in Viet-
nam was an obscure news item, dated
April 7, noting that Lavelle had been
replaced as commander. The official rea-
son given at that time was "ill health,"
and the General's voluntary retirement.
THE DEFENSE department had a dif-
ferent version. on May 16, when Defense
Secretary Laird admitted that Lavelle.
"had been relieved of his command re-
sponsibility because the Air Force Chief
of Staff (General John D. Ryan) had
lost confidence in his carrying out the
command responsibilities and because of
certain irregularities in carrying out
those command responsibilities."
What irregularities vwas Laird refer-
ring to? No elaboration was given at
that time. A coverup was indeed taking
place, because the Air Force top brass
on March 8 began a secret invstigation
into the unauthorized bombing raids,
which led to the hushed up dismissal and
demotion to lieutenant general of La-
velle..
The House of Representatives, tipped
off about Lavelle's dismissal, conducted
its own investigation, and in June had
determined that 20 to 28 illegally ordered
raids against tank depots,, airfields, and
oil stockpiles had been made, and also
that three reports had been falsified.
Lavelle, called to testify before the
House Armed Services Committee on
June 12 acknowledged responsibility for
having authorized the missions. How-
ever, he stated that he believes that he
never disobeyed the orders and guidance
provided by the military authorities be-
hind him.
Lavelle claimed that the airstrikes
were legal according to his interpreta-
tion of the "protective reaction'' rule.
Under the rules of "protective reac-
tion," U.S. planes at that time (before
Nixon authorized bombing of North Viet-
nam) could attack if the enemy fired
misiles at them or indicated an intent to
Secrets? Me? Why I have no secret files.
Everything I know is open to the air.
The confirmation of Abrams to Chief
of Staff was then delayed, while the
Senate Armed Services Committee began
a new series of hearings into the matter.
Lavelle,called to testify again, ap-
parently had been bothered by the in-
famy and discredit to his years of serve
ice that had been placed on him because
of his earlier admissions. He thus chang-
ed his story, either in defiance of ear-
lier efforts to silence him, or perhaps
because he now believed himself inno-
cent where earlier he had not. Whatever
the case, on September 12, Lavelle testi-
field that General Abrams with Admiral
Thomas H. Moore had given Permission
for the raids.
IN OTHER statements made last week'
before the Senate, Lavelle claimed that
he had discussed aspects of the raids
against airfields at Vinh, Donghai, and
Quanglang in North Vietnam 1with Ab-
rams and Moorer, both of whom he
claims approved.
He further claimed that after the first
mission on November 8, he had given
Moorer a package of poststrike recon-
naissance photos. Also, that a month af-
ter his first bombing mission, he was
criticized by higher ranking officers, be-
cause his planes missed their targets, and
that Washington wanted Lavelle to be
more aggressive, and to make the best
use possible of the existing combat rules.
Abrams and Morer, who testified be-
fore the Senate latei in the week,. both
denied any responsibility in authorizing
the raids, or even in knowing of their il-
legality.
SENATOR HAROLD E. Hughes of
Iowa, for one, was unsatisfied with their
testimonies.He contended that the evi-
dence proved without a doubt that there
was knowledge from top to bottom in
the 7th AIr Force of falsifications of re-
ports.
In yesterday's hearing, General Ryan,
in defending his decision to punish only
Lavelle, stated that he knew of no com-
munications between Lavelle and any
civilin or military officials which would
have given him reason to believe that
he had permission for carrying out the
raids.
The Senate, at this point, appears sat-
isfied that Abrams did not know, or
authorize the raids. But doubts do re-
main as to who did actually know about
the raids, and why theyweren't report-
ed to the public.
The obvious answer is, of course, that
a cover up did take place to save the
Army and the Air Force from embar-
rassment over public indignation. Hope-
fully, the Senate will not stop their in-
vestigation until some other officials
have been named and blamed in the mat-
ter.
Richard Kleindiest became Attorney
General while questions still remained
about the ITT affair. This time, all ques-
tions should be answered before General
Abrams, or anyone else, is prbmoted to a
top position.
Martin Stern is a Daily staff member.
.c
do so by "locking" on the planes with
missile guiding radar systems.
In January, after the North Vietnamese
had acquired an improved ground radar
systems making it' difficult for American
pilots to determine if they were being
"locked" on, the rules Wxere exp'nded to
allow missions to be flown against these
radar stations.
HOWEVER, other members of La-
velle's 7th Air, Force testified that mis-
sions planned in January through March
included raids against truck depots, oi+
stockpiles, and similar targets that had
little or nothing to do with North Viet-
namese radar.
Furthermore, Lonnie B. Franks, a
young Air Force sergeant who had been
one of the first to report the violations,
contended that more than 200 pilots ind
officers of the Seventh Air Force h a dx
falsified after-action reports of such iris-
sions, listing all of them as 'protective
reaction."
Lavelle at this point contradicted him-
self by admiting that he had ordered all
subordinates to depict all strikes as "pro-
tective reaction," and then later insist-
ing that he had not known of this falsi-
fication until he was informed of them
by representatives of the Air Force in-
vestigating team which covered them.
He also, at that time, absolved Gen.
Abrams, then military commander in
Vietnam, of any responsibility for the
raids. On June 12, he said "I think Gen-
eral Abrams knew what I was doing, but,
I'm positive that (he) had no idea w:hat
the reporting requirements were."
But doubts over who was responsible
remained, and Representative Otis G.
Pike of New York was one of the first
to publicly express his suspicions about
the matter. After trying for several
weeks prior to the House hearings in
June to get information from the Air
Force on the matter and getting nothing
but a runaround, he acused the Air Force
of trying to sweep a scandal under the
rug by withholding information f r o m
Congress. He noted that the incident in,
volved "a grave question of civilian con-
trol of the military."
Furthermore, he stated that- he didn't
"honestly know whether General Lavelle
is a villian or a hero, but I do think that
this is the kind of cover-up which makes
the American people lose faith in the
credibility of our military."
THE CHARGE OF cover-up was heard
again on September 8, when Senator
William Proxmire made public a letter
from four Air Force intelligence serg-
eants. Dated June 27, ,the letter stated
that permanent files on the raids had
been destroyed and that reponnaissance
films. of the missions had been diverted
from shipment to higher headquarters by
officers who were attached to Lavelle's
7th.
Spies in Hong Kong:
The pressure is on
i 1
Letters to The Daily
BILL ABBOTT ..........Associate Business
HARRY HIRSCH . .. .....Advertising
FRANCINE HYMEN ............. Personnel
DIANE CARNE VALE ..... . Sales
PAUL WENZLOFF ....... ...Promotions
STEVEN EVSEEFF ............Circulation
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
By JACK ANDERSON
For 'decades, British-controlled
Hong Kong has functioned as an
international watch tower for fore-
ign nations trying to find out what's
going on inside mainland China.
Now that China has begun to
open its doors to the world, it has
also begun to complain quietly to
the British about foreign spy op-
erations in Hong Kong directed
against the mainland. In response
the British have effectively crack-
ed down on Soviet and Chinese Na-
tionalist spy rings.
However, the British will make
no overt move to force the United
States to reduce its oversized
China consulate in Hong Kong. But
the British will caution the United
States to limit its operations to
monitoring Chinese broadcasts and
interpreting Chinese periodicals.
--DIFFERENT ENEMY-
A recent Defense Intelligence
Agency report discusses those anti-
ballistic missiles that the Soviets.
have installed around Moscow and
Leningrad.-
In the past, it was assumed that
the Russians were worried. about
an attack from the United States.
But the DIA report suggests that
the Russians were really worried
about the medium-range nuclear
missiles which the Chinese w e r e
developing. There will be capable
of striking cities deep within the
Soviet Union.
We have already reported t h a t
the Chinese have deployed a small
arsenal of short-ranged nuclear
missile - all aimed at the Soviet
port of Vladivostock, located just
30 miles from the Chinese border.
DEPARTMENT MANAGERS AND ASSOCIATES: Wil-
liam Blackford, Bob Davidoff, Jim Dykema, L'Tanya
Haith, Sherry Kastle, Karen Laakko, Dave Lawson,
Patti Wilkinson.
ASSISTANT MANAGERS: Ray Catallno, Linda Cole-
man, Sandy Fienberg, Nelson Leavitt, Sheila Martin,
Susan Morrison, Sharon Pocock, Ashish Sarkar, Pat
Saykilly, Alan Weinberger, Carol Wieck.
Tickets
To The Daily:
ONE OF the most devious rooks
of the year has been perpetrated
against many of the staff and fa-
culty of the University!
It has been established, by tra-
dition if nothing else, that one
of the benefits of being staff at the
U. of M. is the option to buy sea-
son football tickets at a price of
three dollars per game. L, a s t
year, with seven home games, the
cost to staff was twenty-one dollars
per season. The year prior to that,
with six home games, the cost to
staff was eighteen dollars.
This year, the price to staff for
the six home games is eighteen
dollars. HOWEVER, for at least
the past three weeks, the Athletic
Office has been selling to staff a
season package of five home games
for the same price of eighteen dol-
lars (with the M.S.U. game miss-
ing).
No mention of this is made by
the Athletic Office at the time
of purchase, unless by chance dis-
covered by the purchaser of the
season tickets, who is then given
the explanation that any remaining
students tickets for the M.S.U.
game will be mailed to staff, later,
to complete the package.
A question arises at this point.
When, in the past few years, have
there been student tickets remain-
ing for the MSU game? This ap-
parent misleading of many loyal,
staff football fans is disturbing not
becadse of the dollar cost of the
season package to staff, because it
still is a bargain; but that the Ath-
letic Office, in a never ending at-
tempt to make a buck, has, in
fact sold the MSU ticket, TWICE!
They have charged someone the
six dollar price and also charged
the staff season ticket holder the
three dollars for it.
Cant you see we just don't have any
MSU tickets?
A
DACE
TO
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War tax
To The Daily:
I AM WRITING to correct the
numerous errors in your September
17 article about the Ann A r b o r
Life Priorities Fund (AALPF).
Contrary to your article, I and
the other members of AALPF do
not refuse all taxes. And we do
not keep the money we refuse to
give the taxman.,
I have refused to give the Fed-
eral government my telephone ex-
cise tax for ,the last three years.
Last April I refused 2. of my
1971 income tax (approximately 2/3
of the federal budget is spent for
military purposes). Some members
of AALPF refuse all of their in-
come tax since any noney t h e y
would pay could be spent on war.
Others are at this time refusing
only the telephone tax.'
The refused money is pooled in
the AALPF. Some will be held in
escrow, the rest will be loaned or
Although deposits in AALPF are
not as safe as deposits in a
F.D.I.C. bank, depositors- are as-
sured of getting most, if not all, of
their money back. They are also
assured that their money will be
put to good, peaceful uses here in
Ann Arbor and not invested by the
bank in companies like Honeywell
Fragmentation Bombs, Inc.
--Michael Merrick
Member AALPF
Sept. 19
Get involved--
write your reps!
Sen. Philip Hart (Dem), Rm.
253, Old Senate Bldg., Capitol
Hill, Washington, D.C. 20515.
Sen. Robert Griffin (Rep),
Rm. 353 Old Senate Bldg., Cap-
itol Hill, Washington, D.C.
20I515E.
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