OPINION
Page 6 The Michigan Daily Saturday, August 13, 1983
Seymour Hersh clears the air
Pulitzer Prize winning journalist
Seymour Hersh was in Detroit
Thursday night to appear on the
television . program "PBS
Latenight." The winner of more
than a dozen major journalism
awards, Hersh received the 1970
Pulitzer for his exposure of the My
Lai massacre. He has written four
books, including his most recent,
The Price of Power: Kissinger in the
Nixon White House. Corruption in the
means of power is the underlying
theme of the controversial, - best-
selling book.
His career in journalism has taken
Hersh to the AP, UPI, the New
York Times, and currently, as
national correspondent for the
Atlantic magazine. Daily Opinion
Page editor Bill Hanson spoke with
Hersh about his book, U.S. foreign
policy, American politics, and a
hnt nf nther tnnie
who so totally seems dependent on
power. I don't think he gets an awful lot
of gratification from any other major
thing; power seems to be his thing, and
I thought there was some justice that he
was out of power. I knew he desperately
wanted to get back in, but I really didn't
think this administration would have
him because of Reagan's conservative
views. I was stunned when he came
back in, and irritated - and mad, very
angry. What does it take to keep
somebody out of public office, you
know, what does it take?
Daily; What brought on Reagan's ap-
pointing Kissinger as head of the Cen-
tral American commission?
Hersh: I think in part, Kissinger liked
the idea. What brought it on (was that)
Kissinger wanted in. I think there's no
question, well among other things, that
he was stung by my book, and I think
that might have been one minor aspect
- I don't think it was anything more
than that - that made him take a job
that's basically not a very good job.
He's got a commission that he won't be
able to control like he would have five
years ago because everybody's much
more on to him now, they're going to be
much more sensitive to his
manipulation, I think. So, I would say
that Kissinger's basic asset right now is
that he's definitely going to deliver
what Reagan wants, and this has some
use. If Reagan wants a tough report to
show that the Russians are behind
everything and it's all geopolitical -
which is Kissinger's favorite word; one
of his favorite words - Kissinger will
Seymour Hersh won't take rap for telling truth about Kissinger.
Daily: In the epilogue of The Price o
Power you write that as of spring 1983
(Kissinger) had not rejoined the gover-
nment, almost as if you knew someday
he would, did you?
Hersh: Oh, no. At the time I thought
there was some justice - here's a man
he Michigan Daily
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Nuclear Wargames
FOR THOSE WHO THOUGHT the movie Wargames was
nothing but Hollywood sensationalism, the recent alleged
computer-crimes by at least 12 people only prove the drama is
frighteningly realistic.
Ranging in age from 15 to 22, a group of computer-whizzes had
little trouble gaining access to the data banks of a nuclear
weapons laboratory in New Mexico. Drawing inspiration from the
movie Wargames, the group keyed into some of the most top
secret military information in the United States.
Like the young boy in Wargames, the group faces serious
federal charges of threatening national security. More astoun-
ding, however, is the ease with which the suspects could allegedly
be privy to such vital information.
The mad scramble to build up nuclear arsenals, as Wargames
so astutely pointed out, is similar to playing a game of Tic Tac
Toe. Intelligent, reasonable, thinking people learn early on that
such a game is meaningless. Meaningless because neither in Tic
c P nor n the arms build up can there ever be a winner.
deliver. If Reagan is in trouble on the
whole Central American issue by the
spring of '84, in terms of the political
elections, Kissinger will also deliver a
kind of report that (Reagan) could use
to sort of tiptoe out. (Kissinger's) a safe
choice in that way - he's not going to
give you anything you don't want. I
mean that's one thing you know about
Henry Kissinger - he's the ultimate
toady. Nothing's going to be served by
the commission, I don't think it's very
important, except as a message to the
Nicaraguans and El Salvadorans on the
left, anyway, that the man who helped
destroy the Allende government - and
the man who's been, if anything,
scathing in his denunciations of the
significance of Latin America - is back
in power.
Daily: Kissinger's appointment seems
rather ironic since, as you point out in
your book, he once said he knows
nothing about Central America and that
what goes on there is of no importance.
Hersh: Look, you understand what's
going on in Central America is this:
There's been no evidence,,and they've
been able to produce nothing significant
to show that the Russians have a
terrifically strong interest in Central
America - there's been nothing. If
they'd had anything they would have
shoved it in there, and look, I know a lot
about the CIA and a lot about in-
telligence. I haven't been writing about
Central America but let me tell you
something, I talk to people and there's
nothing, there is nothing. What there is
is a president who's decided that
history is going to judge him by
whether he stands up to communism in
Central America. The Joint Chiefs of
Staff don't want it; (Reagan's) CIA
Director, Bill Casey wants it. But, see
Bill Casey is not really the CIA Director
he's also the campaign manager. I'm
not saying this literally, I'm just telling
you what my perception of reality is.
Central America is seen as a political
chance for Reagan, it's the chance for
him to do what Margaret Thatcher did
-- have a wonderful victory. It's his
Falklands. He'd prefer to have the vic-
tory without having to fight, but he's
willing to fight if he has to. And if you
understand that, you understand a
great deal about what's going on, which
is that they are politicizing what could
be another military operation. It's
really as blatant as that.
Daily: Do you expect some direct U.S.
involvement then?
Hersh: Oh, I think it's inevitable.
Daily: One of the most disturbing
things in your book was how you point
out that neither Kissinger's nor
Nixon's memoirs make any mention of
regret for the huge number of civilians
killed in Vietnam, or Chile for that mat-
ter...
Hersh: Let me just tell you more.
Nixon's been out of office nine years
and Kissinger seven years, and I defy
anybody who reads this to come forth with
any evidence that either has ever said
publicly at any point, or done any act,
public or private, in support of the
American Vet. Neither has ever, you
know why? Because it's in the great
American tradition - you mouth cer-
tain things but you really don't give a
goddamn about the people you send to
fight wars. And now you have a
president over 70 who wants to send
more people to die . . . But neither
Nixon or Kissinger has ever demon-
strated any interest in the goddamned
people who went and fought their war,
never mind the Vietnamese who died;
the innocent - remember that
photograph of the little girl burning-
never mind those, they're never coun-
ted. And you know, it gets me angry -
as the guy who wrote about My Lai, if it
didn't get me angry there'd be
something wrong with me. People ask
me if I was objective about the war;
you tell me anybody who can write
about a group of GI's scared, terrified,
dumb, ignorant - lining up 350 or 550
people and executing them - and not get
mad for them for being as much vic-
tims as the people they shot; and mad
at the people who sent them to. war.
How am I going to be dispassionate
about that?
Daily: Do you think there's a problem
with that in the press today, not caring
- See HERSH's, Page 7
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