OPINION 4 Page 6 The Michigan Daily Thursday, July 28, 1983 i The Michigan Daily Vol. XCIII, No. 28-S 93 Years of Editorial Freedom Managed and Edited by students of The University of Michigan Sinclair 'SUMMER 'Eguirq 4 Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily Editorial Board Those Washington Bullets again s , , - . . a , - . : ,' -,._._ -' " - .; _ POOR PRESIDENT Reagan. Seems he can't get a bit of respect these days. To show the world his deep concern for creating peace in Central America, he sends out a powerful naval task force to both coasts of Nicaragua and what happens? He gets lambasted by the press for provoking war. Gee, Mr. President, we really feel for you. Perhaps the press and other Reagan critics would lay off a little if the President cleared up some political ambiguities. For example: " What are our "vital interests" in Central America? The President and his colleagues frequently use the vague term without ever really defining it. If they mean that preventing the spread of communism is a "vital interest," then we are in for serious trouble. Just by looking at the recent past it is clear that the U.S. cannot prevent the spread of communism through military force - and whenever we try to we lose much more than we gain. " Why is it that Nicaragua is a "dirty-rotten- filthy" country because they supply the leftist guerrillas in El Salvador with limited amounts of weapons; but the U.S. is a bastion of righteousness because we supply the op- pressive rightist government of El Salvador with everything from weapons to advisers? If the President wants to criticize evil foreign in- fluence in El Salvador than he ought to cut off U.S. military aid there. Otherwise, he doesn't have a firm leg to stand on. " What right does the President - of the sup- posedly most democratic country in the world - have to speak about covertly overthrowing another government? To be sure, the San- dinista government in Nicaragua is far from perfect. But let's not forget the evil dictatorship that existed there before the Sandinistas rose to power. To hear the Reagan administration talk about overthrowing the Nicaraguan gover- nment, you'd think they were speaking about a football game. Unfortunately, however, Central America is no game - the people of Nicaragua, for the most part, support the Sandinista government. So why can't we just leave them alone? The only way to achieve peace in Central, America is through direct negotiation with the countries involved in the potential hostilities - and that includes Nicaragua. Kissinger-type muscle flexing will only push countries such as! Nicaragua closer to the Soviet Union, which is the ultimate fear of patriotic Americans, like President Reagan. Someone should tell him that. E I x Tide turns against generals By Sandy Close The bloody wars in Central America now being debated in congress soon may be over- shadowed by political turbulence in the countries farther south. Sparked by the worst economic recession of the century, that turmoil could mark the twilight of the ruling generals all across Latin America. Chile is the most dramatic case - where a once bitterly divided population now is unified in its opposition to military rule. In Brazil and Argentina, where the generals have sought to stave off popular protest through reform, the momentum for civilian rule appears irreversible. In Uruguay demands are mounting for democratization. Bolivia kicked its generals out of office last year.aAnd in Peru, a right-leaning civilian government with close ties to the military faces a growing insurgency. The countries that are faring the best - Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador - are those that haven't been ruled by generals for a long time and whose ec- nomies benefit from valuable natural resources. As University of New Mexico scholar Nelson Valdes notes, three themes are common to the rising tide of anti-militarism: - Resistance to austerity measures!coupled with demands for popular participation in the economy. - 'A resurgent nationalism coupled with resentment against the military for betraying the national interests to foreign powers. - Far-reaching demands for human rights, inspired by a revulsion against the murder, torture and disappearance of thousands at the hands of military goons and death squads. Fom this vantage, the ferocity of the right-wing generals and oligarchs in Central America may be explained in part by their sense that the tide is turning against their kind - particularly in the Southern Cone to which they traditionally looked for sup- port and legitimacy. Ten years ago, it looked as if military rule was the long-term destiny of these countries; now that destiny seems to be crumbling. Before the Reagan ad- ministration shoves more aid to its military and right-wing allies in Central America, it should consider whether it's bucking a storm that could sweep over all of Latin America. Close wrote this article for the Pacific News Service. A I .4 LETTERS TO THE DAILY 'JAP'story 'not inappropriate' To the Daily : As one who admired and read The Daily when I was a student at the University (M.A., 1949), I am depressed to read that over 4,000 students would threaten the existence of the newspaper for a single article on "The Jewish- American Princess." (See The New York Times, Tuesday, July 19, 1983, page A1O.) However of- fensive the Jewish Princess stereotype may be, the phrase is used a great deal by many Jews in the New York City area where I have lived for over 30 years, and a scholarly essay on the subject should not be inappropriate for The Michigan Daily. Even if the article published in Ann Arbor was offensive, I find the reaction to it, especially by the Hillel Foundation, grossly unfair. The protest against the article was probably in order, but to withdraw support of the paper for a single mistake by students is to encourage rather than to discourage anti-Semitism. Indeed, I believe that the members of Hillel should become active supporters of The Michigan Daily and otherwise show their interest in the entire student body at the University in the spirit of the great Jewish scholar for whom the organization is named. - Wm. Walter Duncan July 19,1983 4 Letters and columns represent the opinions of the individual author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the attitudes or beliefs of the Daily.