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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 1973)
1 . 1 "'J editoriol pM Peace with honor President Nixon has at last found an acceptable formula for the "peace with honor" which he has promised for the last four years. The parties to the 12-page agreement have paid a staggering price for that diplomatic document which will be signed in Paris Saturday. A United Press International Washington dispatch published Wednesday listed the major statistics on casualties of the Indochina conflict for the period of Jan. 1, 1961 to Jan. 13, 1973: -45,933 U.S. combat dead; K" ' -153,300 U.S. wounded, requiring hospitalization -150,316 U.S. wounded", not requiring hospitalization; -1340 U.S. missing; -589 (confirmed) U.S. servicemen held prisoner; -10,293 U.S. deaths from noncombat causes; -183,528 South Vietnamese combat dead; -5,225 other allied dead; -925,000 estimated Communist combat dead; -415,000 (estimated) South Vietnamese civilian deaths; -935,000 (estimated) South Vietnamese civilians injured; -no estimate of North Vietnamese civilian casualties; -dollar cost of the war to the U.S.: $105 billion. . Any peace so preciously purchased should be given every possible chance to work. But any war so tragically costly should be given no chance at all of reoccurrence. .... , There is at least one very dangerous implication or both the President's words and of his manner, that is, that the peace agreement is a vindication of the Nixon war policies and tactics. After the loss of more than 1.5 million human lives, the situation in Indochina has progressed only a faltering step forward from the Geneva Conference of 1954. Ana the U.S. is leaving South Vietnam with a good deal less than it originally took there. More than 55,000 American lives have been left behind. And there is at least a fragment of our national honor (President Nixon to the contrary) that has been muddied in the rice paddies of Vietnam. It has been pointed out before that there has often been lamentable difference between the rhetoric and the reality of U.S. policy in Southeast Asia. Let us hope that the honor which the President believes he has achieved will not become a hollow word of rhetorical resolution. PgSCG Tom Lansworth HELLO ?IX)VE OF PEACE? UUAftDAVA POIH SATURDAY' OH JT S.? Bands, crowds absent as Peron bids farewell Over two month have now elapsed since Argentina's former strongman, Juan Domingo Peron, returned to his native land after 17 years of exile in a vain hope to rekindle the fires of once omnipotent Peronism. It is a relief that we now can say that not a thing has happened to change the lives of the people in that South American nation since he came back. For el Lider decided to stay only four weeks, thanks to the peoples' demonstration that, Evita to the contrary, they had had enough of the old caudillo to last a good while longer. It took the reappearance of the 77year-old dictator to bring the john yihstcdt legend of Peron down to size. Instead of mammoth crowds and spontaneous signs of adoration, relative calm and, perhaps symbolically, rainy weather greeted Peron's homecoming. No bands played, the streets were virtually deserted as he arrived at the airport to say farewell to his homeland forever after a month of futile political maneuvering. It anticlimatically ended what he had somehow hoped would be an historic come-back to power and glory after the long years of banishment in Madrid. His scenario was that his return would spark an attempt by the country's armed forces to overthrow Lt. Gen. Alejandro Lanusse from the presidency. If anything, Lanusse is more securely in power than before. Since Lanusse assumed presidential power as head of the military junta that seized the government's reins 72 months ago (from another military government), the country has re-established a sense of law and order, and is well on the way to returning to constitutional government with elections scheduled for March. Granted that the economic situation is precarious and social needs haven't yet been adequately met, but the people of Argentina would sooner endure inflation and outdoor plumbing rather than suffer under the heavy hand of Peron's opportunistic bankrupt totalitarianism. The caudillo has learned that gothic politics of a bygone era cannot be pushed on an unwilling country, ending the myth, once and for all, of how well off Argentina was under his control. Peron has been relegated to the rather inconsequential niche of anachronistic elder statesman. Nothing more, t The impending retirement of Milan D. Bish of Grand Island as Republican State Chairman is provoking numerous questions related to the Nebraska political scene. Bish simultaneously declined a top job offer with the U.S. Interior Department, sparking further speculation that he may be laying the groundwork for a 1974 Republican gubernatorial nomination bid. The large-statued and folksy politician, having recently sold his farm equipment business, Is tree to: maneuver himself into a position to seize the GOP standard. Ironically, his party could well wind up the weaker for Bish's departure. A large vacuum in the Nebraska Republican organization must be filled, and the Republican state central committee will be hard put to come up with a person that even comes close to matching Bish's personal charm and technical, "nuts and bolts" approach to solving party problems. His probing, pointed commentary and inquiries into the state's myriad of Exon-engendered problems were deeply appreciated by vigilant Nebraskans. Moreover, thoro will surely be "rough and tumble" competition to succoed him-competition which may seriously damage party solidarity. A united GOP front is essential if there is any hope of evicting J.J. from his mansion. No more hassles atiout being or not being of age at the local drinking establishment is just one of the many fringe benofits Cornhuskers will realfre if State Sen. Gerald Stromer's bill (LB 128) is enacted into law this year. The Kearney legislator's bill would require identifying color photographs on all Nebraska driver's licenses to be funded by a $1 increase (from $6 to $7) at renewal time every four years. Naturally, this extra money will be more than reimbursed by license holders to the state for its initial outlays for cameras and other equipment. But our governor vetoed appropriations for the bill last year on the grounds that it was too costly. page 4 daily nebraskan thursday, january 25, 1973