OPINION
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4
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Saturday, January 15, 1983
Reagan, Andro
ov: Ready, set, sui
q
By Helen Thomas
WASHINGTON (UPI) - President
Reagan is beginning the new year with at
new, more aggressive search for a
nuclear arms reduction agreement
w.ith the Soviets.
There are also strong signs in the
hwindthat a summit meeting may be
;: shaping up in the coming months bet-
ween Reagan and Soviet President Yuri
Andropov, if only to take each other's
measure.
THE ACCELERATED drive for a
Strategic Arms Reduction accord will
begin at the Geneva bargaining table
next month.
Reagan is being pushed to speed up the
process by events at home and abroad.
The nuclear freeze movement,
headed by U.S. Catholic bishops, with
wide public support, cannot be ignored.
There is also the question of
deployment later this year of 572 cruise
r_ and Pershing missiles on European
soil. Although the NATO nations have
agreed on the deployment, it is expec-
ted to be a major issue in the upcoming
German elections.
Edited and managed b
SINCE HE TOOK office on the death
of President Leonid Brezhnev, An-
dropov has been making several
missile reduction proposals and holding
out the prospect of a summit in hopes of
heading off deployment of U.S. inter-
mediate range missiles in Europe.
The U.S. reaction to such proposals
has been basically negative, although
Reagan has indicated he is receptive to
a high-level meeting with Andropov
with proper preparation - the same
condition the Soviet leader has laid
down.
European leaders are looking for
more flexibility from Reagan and are
beginning to voice their concern that he
will not compromise on his zero option
- no missiles on either side - in
Europe.
DYRING A recent visit to
Washington, Hans Vogel, the West
German opposition party candidate for
chancellor, described the Soviet
proposals as worth studying. Since then
Vogel has conferred with Andropov and
has indicated that his talk with the Kremlin
leader has increased his hopes of a
nuclear weapons compromise.
relations with the Soviet Union is close
consultation with our allies on common
political and security issues." Reagan
said in his radio address last week.
ON HIS RETURN, Bush is bound to
bring Reagan a message that the
Europeans are deeply concerned that
not enough is being done to prevent a
nuclear clash.
Reagan's chief negotiator in Geneva,
Gen. Edward Rowny, has spoken of the
possibility of an agreement with the
Soviets this year.
Meantime, the president's arms con-
trol agency is in disarray. Reagan
named all hardliners to help for-
mulate his arms control policy and to
negotiate with the Russians. But even
they are having their troubles defining
Reagan policy and coming up with new
positions. ,
BOTH HIS key appointee, Eugene
Rostow, head of the Arms Control and
Disarmament Agency, and Paul Nitze,
negotiator at the intermediate range
missile talks, are having their troubles.
Some White House officials have in-
Bush and Reagan: A summit in the works?
In hopes of reassuring European
allies and Pope John Paul II of his sin-
cerity in seeking an accord, Reagan is
dispatching Vice President George
Bush to Europe at the end of the month
on what is viewed as Bush's most im-
portant mission to date.
"The cornerstone of our approach to
y stn atg
by students at The University~ of Michigan
Wasserman
Vol. XCIII, No. 86
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board
A move on the Mideast
FTR NEARLY a month of haggling
over what to talk about, Israel and
Lebanon are finally going to talk over
their differences. But without a big
k k .from Washington, ya comprehen-
e pice planfor the Middle East
lefergetoff the ground.£
After it was announced with much
fanfare in September, the Reagan ad-
ministration's loud call for peace in the
Middle East has grown fainter and
fainter. Although the plan was im-
o mediately rejected by Israel and not
%exactly wholeheartedly endorsed by
the Arab world, it presented a
"workable starting point for
negotiations. But when the heady op-
timism over the plan's chances for suc-
cess waned, so did the essential en-
thusiasm and drive of the only working
I vehicle for any kind of Middle East
peace - the United States.
The Reagan plan is already several
months behind schedule. Lebanon and
Israel did set an agenda for the coming
meetings, but that was supposed to be
accomplished early in the fall. The
administration's goal was to have all
foreign troops - Israeli, Syrian, and
Palestinian - out of Lebanon by the
end of 1982.
Any attempt to achieve a
breakthrough in a stalemate that has
dragged on for decades obviously in-
volves incalculable difficulties and lots
of time. But as past diplomatic suc-
cesses - and failures - have shown,
innovative initiatives must be followed
by a sustained effort to develop
momentum.
Three reasons why the Reagan
peace plan needs immediate action:
" Whatever one thinks of the PLO, con-
trol of the organization currently lies in
the hands of moderates - albeit
relative to PLO standards. These
moderates are being challenged by an
organized and radical group who are
arguing for a return to the even more
ruthless tactics of the past;
" In Jordan, King Hussein has just
returned from Moscow. He was the
first head of state invited to meet new
Soviet leader Yuri Andropov. That
may signal a renewed Soviet interest
in becoming active in the Middle East
again, something the Reagan ad-
ministration hopes to forestall;
" In addition, the president will not
want to make the Middle East peace an
issue of the 1984 elections. Unless
Reagan has some kind of success in
hand, the plan will be abandoned by the
end of the year.
As a prerequisite for comprehensive
peace talks, the administration needs
to put more pressure on both the
Lebanese and the Israelis to figure out
an orderly foreign troop withdrawal
from Lebanon. The most important
objective is to lay more groundwork
for a workable plan. This should be
followed by the active involvement of
higher level U.S. officials as arbiters to
demonstrate the president is serious
about chances for peace.
Any involvement of high level of-
ficials would involve obvious risks -
risks of failure. But the time for
workable negotiations is fading and
with it any hopes that the Reagan
plan can rise above the spectacular
failures of past peace plans.
HiWSAb M EE v N K _.
The Michigan Daily
mmit
icated that Rostow may be on his way
ut. And Nitze's attempts to find some
fiddle ground with the Russians and to
reak the deadlock have been rebuked
side the administration.
The president has been grappling
ith the budget and other domestic
sues. But time is running out and the
essure is on to develop a new
gotiating position at Geneva to offset
ie Andropov propaganda gains that
ive put the United States on the defen-
ve.
And for all his negative feelings about
e Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty
at President Carter negotiated with
e Russians but did not see ratified,
e document is in effect, and both sides
:pect to abide by it.
SOME OBSERVERS believe that
ly a summit by the superpower
aders will be able to break the
adlock since the authority of the
gotiators is very limited.
Thomas is the United Press Inter-
tional White House correspon-
nt.
YOO) i&USe
1T?
MPTRY
politics, there are a number of
opportunities for action. First,
and most importantly, make sure
you are registered to vote in the
city of Ann Arbor. Remember,
every student spends the
majority of each year at the
University living in the city (in-
cluding the traditional voting
months, November and April).
Even out-of-state students are
considered residents for voting
purposes.
The Coalition for Better
Housing offers additional oppor-
tunities to those wishing to put
more energy into winning
passage of the "Energy Savings
in Rental Housing" law. Coalition
members will be registering new
voters, speaking, writing,
working with the media, and en-
couraging the voters on April 4,
all for a successful ballot drive
The "energy savings" law
provides a dual opportunity for
student tenants. First, it will
allow them to exercise control
over the costs of their energy
consumption and their ability to
live comfortably in their apar-
tments. Second, it's a chance to
contribute to solving our com-
munity's energy problems, by
conserving energy in an area that
is one of our largest users -
space heating. It's time to seize
both opportunities at once;
through support of the "Energy
As those who rent off-campus
housing know, utility bills are on
the rise. Renters paying for
utilities in addition to their
regular rent have little protection
from gas, oil, and electricity
price increases. And even those
not actively paying for utilities
are forced to absorb these in-
flated costs in the form of yearly
rent hikes.
Since few student tenants in
Ann Arbor remain in one house or
apartment for very long, there is
no incentive for them to substan-
tially invest in insulating, or
"weatherizing," their homes.
Many landlords take advantage
of this situation by shirking
responsibility for helping tenants
conserve heat and electricity.
THIS APRIL, however, Ann
Arbor voters will have a unique
opportunity to decide for them-
selves just how essential energy
conservation in rented homes
really is. Members of the
Coalition for Better Housing,
which includes members of
PIRGIM (Public Interest
Research Group in Michigan)
and the Ann Arbor Tenants
Union, worked over the last six
weeks - gathering more than
6,300 signatures in a petition
drive to get an "Energy Savings
in Rental Housing" proposal on
the April general city election
ballot. Significant student voter
turnout could well determine the
proposal's fate.
nirns f a niin cr-
A better
way. to
"wea th erize"
Ann Arbor
By Robert Gadon
That's an essential factor in
helping keep rent costs down. To
bolster that, the proposal offers a
nine-year compliance schedule,
so landlords may extend the
costs of installing storm win-
dows, attic insulation, and the
like.
Additionally, the law requires
very specific improvements to be
made where necessary, following
the nine-year compliance
schedule. For example, caulking
and weatherstripping of doors
and windows must be completed
after six months, and installation
of floor insulation beneath any
living spaces about an unheated
any health risk, either to tenant
or to installer. Most of the
materials to be used would
probably be found in any home or
apartment where the residents
live permanently. If anything, a
tenant's health may improve is
he or she survive winter indoors
or a comfortable temperature -
and have enough money left to
buy food after utility bills are
paid.
The proposed law is flexible in
allowing landlords extensions on
their compliance time if they
demonstrate financial hardship.
The law also partially waives
compliance for owners of historic
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