The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 23, 1992- Page 7
Kissinger: U.S. did
not knowingly leave
* soldiers in Vietnam
Vietnamese to be
added as new U-M
lagugecourse
WASHINGTON (AP) - Henry
Kissinger yesterday denounced as "a
flat-out lie" the allegation that he
and others knew U.S. soldiers were
left behind when the war in
Southeast Asia ended two decades
ago.
Two people who made such sug-
gestions Monday were Kissinger's
colleagues from the Nixon adminis-
tration - defense secretaries James
Schlesinger and Melvin Laird.
The former secretary of state and
national security adviser acknowl-
edged that even as Kissinger negoti-
ated peace with the North Viet-
namese, he recognized they had not
provided an adequate accounting for
missing Americans.
"I think it's improbable any are
alive today," Kissinger said. "I have
always kept open the possibility in
my mind there were some in Laos."
Kissinger testified a day after
other former Nixon officials, includ-
ing Schlesinger and Laird, said they
believed some American prisoners
'If we had known, if
we hadheard this, we
would have acted on
it.... No confirmed
report of living
American prisoners
ever crossed my desk
... The allegation is a
flat-out lie.'
Henry Kissinger
former Nixon aide
were still in Vietnam or Laos after
the withdrawal of U.S. troops and
the 1973 release of more than 591
prisoners of war. The former defense
secretaries cited reliable reports of
more POWs than were released.
"If we had known, if we had
heard this, we would have acted on
it," Kissinger said.
He bitterly disputed suggestions
"that when President Nixon an-
nounced that all prisoners were on
the way home, he or his aides knew
that many were left behind."
"The allegation is a flat-out lie,"
Kissinger said, blaming the asser-
tions on "leaks that could only have
come from this inquiry."
Kissinger acknowledged receiv-
ing "some reports alleging that live
Americans were still in Indochina,"
and said they "were taken seriously"
by U.S. officials.
"But no confirmed report of liv-
ing American prisoners ever crossed
my desk, although I am not saying
they did not exist," he said.
The Senate committee room was
crowded with spectators, some
Vietnam veterans wearing camou-
flage jackets and war decorations.
Some were relatives of men still un-
accounted for, such as Collene Shine
of Arlington, Va., whose father, Air
Force Lt. Col. Anthony Shine, was
downed Dec. 2, 1972 on the Lao-
North Vietnam border.
"The families have been lied to,"
she said. "We have been victims of
lies and a lack of effort. I'd like the
priority to be focused on returning
Americans alive."
Kissinger insisted that the ad-
ministration has pressed the North
Vietnamese strongly for release of
all prisoners and an accounting of
the missing, including those in
neighboring Laos. But he contended
the administration's efforts were un-
dercut by actions in Congress to
force an end to U.S. military opera-
tions, including bombing of the
North.
"I had no means of pressure left,"
Kissinger said, referring to his nego-
tiations in Paris with the North
Vietnamese. "All I could do is bluff
my way through this."
Kissinger challenged the commit-
tee's chair, Sen. John Kerry (D-
Mass.) He said Kerry's anti-war ef-
forts at that time contributed to the
political climate that made it impos-
sible for the administration to obtain
a fuller accounting from North
Vietnam, even after one was re-
quired by the Paris peace accords.
"It is totally inappropriate for
those who prevented any sort of mil-
itary action to blame those of us who
wanted to enforce the agreement,"
Kissinger said.
by Abigail Schweitzer
Although the Asian Languages
and Culture Department has existed
at the University for several years, a
Vietnamese language class is being
offered for the first time this
semester.
A combined effort of the
Vietnamese Student Association
(VSA), Asian Languages and
Cultures Department, Center for
South and Southeast Asian Studies,
and the Business School brought the
class to the university.
"There are Korean, Chinese and
Japanese classes offered. (The class)
will help us to explore our own iden-
tities," said VSA President Tiffany
Nguyen.
International Areas in the
Business School, the VSA on cam-
pus, the Vietnamese community in
Ann Arbor and other organizations
realized the need for the class, said
Kenneth J. DeWoskin, chair of
Asian Languages and Cultures.
"The VSA is very important in
helping to get the students in-
volved," said DeWoskin.
The Center of Asian Studies pro-
vided the resources and funding nec-
essary to begin the class. The class
will be run on outside money in the
form of grants for the next two
years. The Center hopes the U-M
will fund the class after that period.
Nguyen Thi Nga will teach the
five-credit class - which meets
Monday through Friday.
Nga came to the university from
Geneva after the local Vietnamese
community reccommended her for
the position.
About 40 students and several
faculty members attended a mass
meeting about the class Saturday in
East Quad. Although only six peo-
ple are enrolled in the class, there is
room for 15 students.
"The professor is willing to ac-
comodate the students. Many stu-
dents are in other colleges, like the
Business School, and have less
flexible schedules. The Monday-
Friday class is hard to fit in," said
DeWoskin.
Bridge over troubled waters
The bridge on Glen Road that leads to North Campus is still under
construction and causing problems for students who do not live on
central campus.
Computerized classroom hits North Campus---
by David Carrel
I
The forecast is bright for the
1990s style of teaching now being
implemented in the Space Research
Building on North Campus.
In constructing a new wing for
the building and modernizing other
classrooms, the Department of
Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space
Sciences discarded the old model
classroom of chalk and blackboards
and replaced it instead with comput-
ers and video monitors.
This type of classroom - the
first of its kind on the U-M campus
- is the wave of the future, said
Evan Eldridge, a graduate student in
meteorology. Shaped like an am-
phitheater, the classroom is centered
around a podium in the front of the
room containing a Macintosh com-
puter and two monitor screens in-
stalled inside.
From this computer the instructor
is able to access any computer hard-
ware, software or simply personal
notes on a separate file, and connect
with other computers around
campus.
Two meteorology classes use this
classroom and the students say they
like its transformation.
Evan Eldridge, a graduate student
in meteorology, has a class in the
new classroom and said "chalk may
become a lost cause."
Mark Kulie, a senior in
Atmospheric Sciences, said, "The
old chalk board method turns me
off."
He added that he enjoys the new
technology because "it's really inter-
active, a shot in the arm, a whole
new thing."
Kulie explained that the profes-
sors are now able to "click through
the screens really fast" and that "the
graphics are a lot better."
Although the system allows pro-
fessors to move more quickly, Kulie
said taking notes during the class is
not a problem because the professor
passes out computer-printed notes to
the class. In addition the system is
still new to the professors so they
move slowly. But Kulie conceded he
"could foresee a problem" in the
future.
Eldridge said the new classroom
is "invaluable as a learning tool,"
explaining that the computer enables
the instructor to display digitized
satellite images directly onto the
video screen positioned where a
chalk board was once located.
A liquid crystal display behind
the screen allows the computer's
monitor to be projected onto the
screen in front of the class. In a field
such as meteorology and space sci-
ences, immediate access to satellite
images is indispensable, making the
images and maps more readable and
flexible, said Associate Professor
Peter J. Sousousanis.
When completed, the addition of
the new wing to the Space Research
Building - which cost $2.5 million
- will also incorporate the use of
computer graphics in the weather
room.
Sousousanis, who was involved
with the implementation of the new
technology, plans to replace com-
puter-printed paper maps with two
rows of wall computer screens.
These screens - to be located in the
room where students forecast the
weather - will simultaneously dis-
play an array of atmospheric condi-
tions and allow students to view
more information.
Sousousanis said this will enable
students to assess the immediate
picture. He emphasized that it is a
"tremendous tool for the students,"
providing "increased access and
greater efficiency."
Roles of American and German women to be focus of U-M conference
by Yawar Murad
The role of contemporary
women in the United States and
Germany will be the focus of a con-
ference held by the women's studies
program Sept. 24-26.
"Crossing Currents" is part of
the 20th anniversary celebration of
the program and will take place in
the Rackham Assembly Hall.
"I hope that coming out of the
conference people will gain a better
understanding of the women's
movements in the United States and
Germany," said women's studies
program associate Donna
Ainsworth.
Conference organizers said they
will compare and contrast women
in the United States and Germany.
Ainsworth said the conference
will also attempt to remove some
of the stereotypes associated with
women's movements and promote
understanding of the complexities
of the issue.
The conference has been divided
into five main sessions, each of
which will cover a different aspect
of the women's movement.
Topics for discussion include
Post-War Histories of Women,
Working and Social Policy, Gaining
Political Power, Cultural Practices
and Reproductive Rights.
Each session will feature a
German and American speaker,
along with numerous films and
presentations.
Speakers from several universi-
ties and institutes will be in atten-
dance including Hanna Schissler
from the German Historical
Institute in Washington D.C.; Ina
Merkel, Humboldt University,
Berlin; Mary Romero, University
of Oregon; and Ute Gerhard-
Teuscher, University of Frankfurt.
Conference participants are ex-
pected to hail mostly from northern
Ohio and Michigan, though some
Germans will also be attending,
Ainsworth said.
The women's studies department
is organizing the conference with
the sponsorship of the Goethe
Institute of Ann Arbor.
Financial leaders debate European economic and currency crisis
WASHINGTON (AP) - Global
finance officials waged a war of
words yesterday over the best way to
cope with a stagnant economy and
the worst currency crisis in 20 years.
Treasury Secretary Nicholas
Brady rejected calls for higher U.S.
interest rates from European officials
and said further rate reductions were
needed to spur global investment.
Michel Camdessus, the managing
director of the International Mone-
tary Fund, said that the "most
serious mistake we could make to-
day" would be for central govern-
ments to overdo credit easing and
lay the seeds for higher inflation.
Camdessus said, "It is not tight
monetary policy, but rather the
weakness of fiscal and structural
policies that has undermined confi-
dence, resulted in high long-term
interest rates and hindered growth."
Meanwhile, Germany continued
to resist pleas from the United States
and other countries that it reduce in-
terest rates further to relieve pressure
on weak European currencies.
German Finance Minister Theo
Waigel insisted that recent currency
market turbulence was not caused by
a "stability-oriented policy in
Germany. To the contrary, stability
is definitely the basis for orderly
market conditions."
I
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BAHA'1 WORLD CONGRESS New York
November 1992 "The earth is but one
country, and mankind its citizens."
Baha'u'llah.
SEN IORS!
Remember to have your
senior portrait taken this
week in the basement of
the UGLi from 8:30 a.m. to
4:45 p.m. Monday -
Friday. There is a $5
sitting fee, so please bring
that as well. Don't miss
your chance to be a part of
Michigan history!
sANNmUacMEsNT
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