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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 10, 1980)
thursday, april 10, 1980 daily nebraskan page5 Harry Allen Strunk has once again adopted a simplistic, black-and-white view of the world. He advocates sending Iranians back to Iran and not admitting any more. What he fails to take into account is the fact that many Iranians who are here are here because they differed with the Shah's regime and many who want to come differ with the present regime. Dissidents such as these have always been accepted in the United States (perhaps even Strunk's great-great-grandfathers). Would Strunk, then, have us close our borders to the Viet namese, the Cambodians, the Cubans, the Afghans, the Russians,' the Czechs, et al.? Apparently so. Yet Strunk himself disagrees with certain policies of our government. Should we lock him up - or allow him to seek re fuge elsewhere - perhaps in South Africa whose government policies he more likely agrees with? Feeling personally humiliated, Strunk suggests we think about taking "drastic measures". What are these? Would he have us stage another Mayaguez Incident in which more of our men were killed in the rescue operation than the number of men being rescued? If this is what Strunk wants, I suggest that he be the first to sign up. Sally Stoddard Graduate, Linguistics Analysis lacking Once again Harry Allen Strunk has suc cumbed to the simplicity of the issues without any effort at factual or intellectual analysis. Mr. Strunk attacks U.S. foreign aid programs because past recipients have not been grateful enough to toe the U.S. line or syig the praises of the U.S. on their knees. Mr. Strunk uses the examples of Iran and Vietnam as instances of indiscriminate aid to "back stabbing" nations. The fact is that U.S. aid was used to support regimes friendly to U.S. interests. Is it surprising hat the viclorioii;;.enemieSi of those, regimes should be hostile to the nation that opposed their efforts? Quite frankly, when you support a loser you pay the conse quences. France is also deemed to be ungrateful because it refuses to join the U.S. boycott of the Summer Olympics, even though it has received $7.6 billion in U.S. aid since 1946. The fact is that France has not received any significant aid from the U.S. since the 1950s. Strunk describes Pakistan's military aid as looking a gift horse in the mouth. The U.S. was not giving Pakistan much of any thing. In return for the aid the U.S. wanted Pakistan to serve as a buffer state against possible Soviet aggression. Also, there were indications the U.S. wanted Pakistan to defer development of an atomic weapon. In view of U.S. demands and Pakistan's needs $400 million may well have been "peanuts." Finally , Mr. Strunk states that American aid should be determined by which nations deserve it rather than by which nation will fall under Soviet influence or which has the lowest per capita income. How are we to decide which nations "deserve" the aid? By how loudly they say thank you? Re warding nations which support U.S. positions can be a factor, but to use it as the only factor in distributing foreign aid would be both cynicaF and dangerous. Some nations deserve U.S. aid because their people live in intolerable conditions. When people are starving or living in abject poverty, the question should not be, "When did you last thank Uncle Sam?" In other instances, aid is an influencing factor. When the U.S. is in competition with the Soviet Union in various parts of the world , aid can be an effective weapon. To stop foreign aid programs because we have been burned a few times is to take oneself out of the competition without chance of success. The purpose of this letter is not to pro vide answers to the problem of how foreign aid should be distributed. Rather it is to show that simplistic and inaccurate views as expressed by Mr. Strunk are more danger ous than useful. Timothy E. Divis SeniorLaw lm oi fow IBniat rmaDtt H3k What's care? Extra things. Like free consultation appoint ments. Appointments within 24 hours. A 30-day trial. And help for anyone with a contact lens problem. Care is all these things, plus pro fessional eye exams. So shop around. Then buy your contacts and a lot of extra care. From International Contact Lens. International Contact Lens 3200 "O" Street Lincoln 475-1030 NO WbNDER THERE'S SO MUCH CONCERN ABOUT THE DW6BRS OF FOOTBALL .THE TURKEYS GONNA ftLLHlSUJMSOUTt a &sJl y " "ft Yn'vfrAl " XI I CiTSr AH. THE ' Yk WMy DO WU THINK. THEY CALL ESA M 7ATBL!DS ANVWAYl tUHG Of U I RS ifU n BUKH INC SI IOUIS