The Michigan Daily-Thursday, May 28, 1981-Page 9
Reagan, Bush
call for strong
U.S. military
AP Photo
The fighting continues
British troops dodge flames from Molotov cocktails in Londonderry, Nor-
thern Ireland yesterday. The violence erupted following the death of IRA
hunger striker Patsy O'Hara. Meanwhile hunger striker Brendan
McLaughin called off his 14-day fast late yesterday and agreed to accept full
medical treatment for his perforated ulcer and internal bleeding.
Habib returns to-
U.S. Begin says
Syria mo biptlizing army
S~ I 'ye
From AP and UPI
WEST POINT, N.Y. - President
Reagan said yesterday in a speech to
U.S. Military Academy graduates that
an erosion of respect for the military
has been reversed by "a hunger to once
again be proud of all that America is '
and can be" and promised the Army's
newest officers they would find better
pay, work and weaponry.
Meanwhile, at Annapolis, Md., Vice
President George Bush said the days of
anti-militarism are past and told Naval
Academy graduates that the ad-
ministration plans to improve the
Navy's ability to operate at- strength
worldwide.
"THE ERA OF self-doubt is over"
President Reagan told 906 graduating
cadets, including 58 women, at the U.S.
Military Academy. "We've stopped
looking at our warts and rediscovered
how much there is to love in this blessed
land," he said.
That especially means renewed pride
in the defense profession, Reagan said,
adding: "Let friend and foe alike be
made aware of the spirit that is
sweeping across our land, for it means
we will meet our responsibility to the
free world. Very much a part of this
new spirit is patriotism."
SPEAKING UNDER a broiling sun,
Reagan also played down nuclear arms
limitation treaties in favor of building
military strength. "No nation that
placed its faith in parchment or paper
while at the same time it gave up its
protective hardware ever lasted long
enough to write many pages in
history," he declared, quoting the
theme of the book entitled "The Treaty
Trap."
"This is not to say we shouldn't seek
treaties and understanding and even
mutual reduction of strategic
weapons," he added.
Reagan said there was bipartisan
agreement in Congress about
rebuilding military strength. "The.
argument, if there is any, will be over
which weapons and not whether we
Reagan
... stop looking at our warts
should forsake weaponry for treaties
and agreements," he said.
REAGAN, WHO has rejected the
strategic arms limitation treaty
negotiated by President Carter, has yet
to set a date for new talks with the
Soviet Union. But preparatory ex-
changes are expected to begin before
the end of theyear.
Also yesterday, Vice President
George Bush told a receptive crowd at
the Naval Academy graduation in An-
napolis, Maryland that the Reagan ad-
ministration will make sure the U.S.
Navy is "second to none on the face of
the earth."
Bush delivered a brief commen-
cement address as the academy handed
out 947 bachelor's degrees and com-
missioned 19 graduates as second
lieutenants in the Marine Corps and 831
graduates as Navy ensigns.
Bush, a carrier pilot during World
War II, also extended his sympathies to
the families of 14 men killed in an ac-
cident while a plane was landing
aboard the USS Nimitz off Jacksonville.
WASHINGTON (AP)-President
Reagan called home his special
Mideast envoy, Philip Habib, yesterday
to consult over the next U.S. attempt to
prevent an outbreak of fighting bet-
ween Israel and Syria. Reagan rejected
any suggestion that the mission so far
has failed.
Reagan said Israel and Syria had
been "on the verge of war and that has
not happened." And he declared that
Habib had done . "a remarkable job"
during his three weeks of shuttle
diplomacy in Lebanon, Syria, Israel
and Saudi Arabia.
REAGAN SAID the veteran
American diplomat, who is due in
Washington today, would return to the
region after talks which are expected to
last several days.
But there was mounting evidence
that Habib had come up empty-handed
in the attempt to use Saudi Arabia as a
mediary for pressuring Syria to with-
draw its Soviet-made missiles from
Lebanon, as demanded by Israel.
Israeli radio said Habib's efforts had
been rebuffed. But State Department
spokesman David Passage said, "While
it probably would be premature to say
that the mission was a success, it cer-
tainly would be incorrect to say it was a
failure."
HABIB SAID he would return to the
Mideast for more talks next week and
urged Israel and Syria not to go to war
in his absence.
A senior state department official,
who did not wish to be identified, made
it clear that the administration does not
expect Israel to use Habib's departure
as an excuse to attack Syrian SAM
missile sites.
In Tel Aviv yesterday, Israeli Prime
Minister Menachem Begin accused
Syria of mobilizing "tens of thousands"
of reservists and deploying more
missiles along the Lebanese border.
ASKED WHETHER the situation had
deteriorated with Habib's departure,
Begin said, "There is no basic change,
but of course when you call up the
troops and move missiles, that is of
course a worsening."
"It must be admitted that so far the
diplomatic effort has not borne fruit,"
Begin said, but he added: "Under no
circumstances should we lose hope that
after further efforts there will be a
positive outcome."
The U.S. official who requested
anonymity said the Habib mission has,
at the least, bought more time.. "The
time frame we had initially envisaged
for success or failure has been drawn
out," he said. "We have no reason to
believe that the Israelis are going to
strike the SAM missiles just because
Phil Habib is coming back to
Washington."
Earlier, the administration main-
tained that it didn't think Israel would
attack the sites as long as Habib was in
the region. ..'
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