OPINION i Page 4 Wednesday, March 27, 1985 The Michigan Daily Edted mdtsa n fa n Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Write your party chairman Vol. XCV, No. 139 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board Deja vu RONALD Reagan's call for a sum- mit meeting with Mikhail Gor- bachev sounds remarkably familiar. When Leonid Brezhnev died in November of 1982, President Reagan stated he was "looking forward" to meeting the new Soviet leader in order to improve relations between the superpowers. But this new leader, Yuri Andropov, died without ever having met President Reagan. Then, Reagan expressed interest in a summit meeting with the new Soviet leader, Konstantin Chernenko. Again, however, Chernenko died, as Andropov had, without ever meeting Reagan. Reagan not only failed to meet these leaders, but he also failed to attend. each of their funerals. The summit meetings were ,made impossible, Reagan claimed, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the downed Korean airliner strained the already tense relationship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, eliminating the chance for the first summit meeting. Secondly, as both Andropov and. Chernenko were ill during most of their short terms, it was .impossible to schedule a meeting with either of them. In explanations for his choosing not to attend any of the funerals, Reagan and other administration of- ficials explained that: It was not the usual practice for Presidents to attend such funerals. eReagan was busy with other, more pressing matters. " Reagan wished for a face-to-face en- counter with the new Soviet chief only after substantial preparation. " Reagan feared that people in the United States would view his attendan- ce at the funeral as politically motivated. Last Friday, Reagan again called for a summit meeting with the new Soviet leader. Not surprisingly, Reagan had failed the previous week to attend Chernenko's funeral, using many of the same explanations that he had used when he avoided the last two Soviet leaders' funerals. That failure suggests to the world that the United States is not fully committed to negotiation as a means of solving world conflict. Since there is an unquestionable need for improvement in the United States-Soviet Union relations, it should be hoped that Reagan is finally serious about a meeting-with the Soviet leader. In order to make such a meeting ef- fective, both Reagan and Gorbachev will have to be positive. Their con- fidence is necessary before significant gains-such as agreements to future arms talks or to regularly scheduled summit talks-can be made. Reagan has been consistent in his call for a summit meeting with Gor- bachev, which suggests that on his third chance, at least, he might ac- tually stage one. By George F. Mmdle The SS-18 is a large missile carrying 10 dif- ferent warheads (re-entry vehicles). (It has been tested holding up to 14 re-entry vehicles. This, however, is not a violation of the SALT II Treaty which both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. claim to be following. The extra four RV's were not actually warheads, but merely decoys having the same mass and flight characteristics of warheads.) The large number of warheads carried by the SS-18 makes it an attractive target for enemy missiles. This is because the Americans, by expending only the one or two warheads necessary to destroy an SS-18 could thereby eliminate 10 warheads-a 1:5 or 1:10 ratio. In order to be effective, therefore, the SS-18 would have to be launched early in a conflict situation in order to prevent an enemy pre- emptive strike. This is further reinforced by the fact that the SS-18 is deployed in old SS-9 silos built during the 1960s. The SS-18 is not survivable, and presents an irresistable target in a conflict situation because of its large destructive capacity. The SS-18, then, would be useful only as a first-strike weapon. This is not to say that the SS-18 was inten- ded to serve as a first-strike weapon. To dev- "elop such a weapon would violate the Soviet principle of the un-winnability of a nuclear war, as well as the General Secretary's oft- Mindle is a senior in LSA. stated "no first use" policy. Through over- sight, however, this first-strike weapon has been developed and deployed to the tune of 308 missiles in silos stretching from Estonia to Siberia. The United States, however, has used the "flimsy" excuse of the existence of the SS-18 to justify the development of the so-called MX or "Peacekeeper" missile, capable of holding up to 12 different warheads and "truly" a fir- st-strike weapon. People in the Pentagon and elsewhere have devised "hare-brained schemes" in which 2,100 warheads from only 210 of the Soviet Union's 308 SS-18s could destroy the American ICBM force. (This ignores the stated Soviet "no first use"policy.) Furthermore, they have used this as a justification to create a "need" for the MX as a "bargaining chip" at the Geneva arms control talks. The fate of the so-called "Peacekeeper" is still uncertain; there still remains many votes in the U.S. House of Representatives which must approve the fur- ther development of the "Peacekeeper", and many people are working towards the elimination of this and many other "destabilizing" A merican "first-strike weapons.' The Soviet Union's motives for the deployment of the SS-18 supposedly cannot be counted. Representatives of the Soviet Union have declared again and again that the U.S.S.R., as a "socialist" country, has no in- terest in war and in a nuclear first-strike. The motives of the "warmongers" in the Pen- tagon, however, cannot be so well trusted. aTheyarefused to make a "no first use" declaration. They would deploy the MX and develop "Star Wars" no matter what the Soviet Union and so-called "Peoples Democracies" did. (Or so the story goes.) If this is true, then it is high time for the leaders in the Kremlin to show up this American charade for what it is-a weak a tempt at justifying nuclear intimidation an blackmail, and preparation for an all-out nuclear war. As it claims to be a peaceloving nation, the Soviet Union has no need for first- strike weapons such as the SS-18. The Soviet Union should 'offer to reduce or eliminate the SS-18 in return for the elimination of the "Peacekeeper" and "Star Wars" programs. The world will then see if the United States backs away from disarmament proposals aimed at reducing its own first-strikq capability. If the U.S.does this, then the world will see once and for all, "whence the threat to peace." And if the U.S. accepts? (Naw, they couldn't be serious about that, could they?) As the Soviet Union claims to have no use for first-strike weapons, it should have no problem in offering to reduce the numbers of its SS-18s as a "bargaining chip." Writing to representatives is always an important tool for influencing decisions, but in this case it is more important than ever. Please call o4 write the General Secretary of the Com- munist Party of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, as soon as possible; if his line is busy, try the Soviet Foreign Minister, Andrei Gromyko. (While you are at it, write Rep. Pursell and put in a plug for the Midget- man-thought expensive, it would be a lot less de-stabilizing than the MX). Sinclair ..M WEt4 I V1 GERAR? SElFW1R( , Y GOuy, y~l SREOUM'A '?E AaSE 15CU A PEAL Will SoMEOWE!°' IAEMoAiHS AWIJI NoT, *LAABLE i STRES 1 'mI 4 I II I I7 i lTTmI D What is truth? 4 I 1-7 E ACH day a staggering number of people die utterly senseless deaths. Death squads in South America slaughter innocents, Iraqi troops poison Iranian soldiers with mustard gas, and people are vic- timized by terrorism nearly everywhere, from Beirut to Belfast. One particularly new ahd alar- mingly horrible form of destruction is coming via the suicide bombers of the Middle East. Martyrs working for God are sacrificing themselves in the hope of being able to kill dozens of others, a particularly vicious new form of terrorism that is incredibly difficult to' defend against. Recently, two CBS journalists lost their lives in an incident in Southern Lebanon in which their car was ex- ploded by an Israeli tank 600-800 yards away, and the circumstances around which this incident occured were ap- parently quite fuzzy. CBS, which issued an immediate condemnation of the in- cident, argued that the Israelis had no right to fire on the vehicle, which was apparently far from the action. Israel, in defense of the shooting, claimed that the car was traveling through a war zone and was a victim of the battle. Although the circumstances surrounding the event will probably remain unclear, Israel should not receive undue criticism for their ac- tions. With the suicide bombings that have plagued the Mideast, any moving vehicle is a potential threat. Had troops approached and then been killed by a car full of explosives, the Israeli commanders would have suffered tremendous guilt and criticism for not taking the proper precautions, and many more people would have died. Israel is accustomed to all varieties of terrorism and goes to great lengths in order to insure its own soldiers' safety. Had the United States possessed the same attitude there might right now be many more Marines alive in Lebanon. Additionally, in the middle of a war zone, there is no K guarantee for anybody's safety. Special demar- cations separating what is or is not "attackable" frequently fade to nothing when armies are exchanging fire with each other. It is certainly a tragedy that the two reporters lost their lives in the incident and their deaths stand as an unfor- tunate reminder of the continued tur- moil in the Middle East. Unfortunately, terrorism has become a sad truth in today's world. When negotiation does not exist, the only effective way to deal with it has been through aggression. Assuming fault and blaming Israel is unjust. Israel is plagued by terrorism and cannot afford to scrutinize every vehicle from afar during wartime. If someone need be blamed, then it might be better to point fingers at the suicide terrorists who have killed countless more people and have caused the situation in the Middle East to decay much further than it did following the initial invasion of Lebanon. Every sen- seless death is moving the Middle East further- from peaceful resolution rather than bringing the region closer to it. And this is the saddest truth of the all. k A I;A -q 4 Letters Woe To the Daily: I was incensed by Kevin Michaels' article, "MSA: Skewed Priorities" (Daily, Mar- ch 20). What disturbed me the most was Michaels' statement that MSA should make "campus issues and problems, such as rape" its priority. Those issues already are MSA's top priority ! As Clair of the MSA's Women's Issues Committee, I have been in- timately involved with the work being done this year to both prevent campus sexual assaults and provide services for assault victims. Michaels was sup- posedly a member of my commit- tee. His presence, however, at committee meetings was a rare occurence. Moreover, he has yet to complete tasks he volunteered to do last September. Women's safety is a high priority of the current Assembly; there is reason to doubt it is high on Michaels' list. These observations suggest 'S issues are MSA S9 Michaels lamented that there is not a campus escort service, yet I would wager that Michaels does not know how much progress the Women's Issue Committee has made towards implementing A such a service. But, this is not the main point. While an escort service would Daily ignored To the Daily: I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with your coverage of the "Feel the Velvet" billboard incident (Daily, March 9). The painting of the phrase "Objects Never - Women Forever" was not a random act of vandalism, but a deliberate at- tempt to confront and reject the advertisement's blatant sexism. It is true that the Daily did not directly state that the act was in- significant or random. However, BLOOM COUNTY obviously promote safe passage, it alone cannot Abate sexual. assault on campus. This is not something Michaels comprehen- ds. Instead, he is acting oppor- tunistically, raping the benefits of a hot campus issue for his own political gain. As chair of a com- mittee dedicated to making the priority, University safer for women, will not remain mum whe remarks like Michaels's ar made. What Michaels needs what he argued in his arti student government sho avoid: education. -Anne Ry March' objectification in billboare you did not discuss its important implications for the issue of sexism, either. The story brings up something which affects all women. Day-to-day sexual harrassment occurs on all levels, including omnipresent visual ad- vertising which promotes the sexual objectification of women. For the most part, a woman is expected to either not notice it or internalize the message that she is a sex object. The person or people who painted that billboard were breaking the tacit ru whic s ths t everyone shou your coverage of the inciden nothing more than a law be broken, you implied that tl sexual objectification of wom< is natural. As a woman, I objq to that view. As a student, I o ject to my student newspap perpetuating it. - Catherine Fisch March by Berke Breathe I I1