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monday, april 28,1980
daily nebraskan
Iran crisis is worst in US. history
By Skip Volkmann
Relations between the United States and the Soviet
Union have reached a crisis point, said Professor Charles
Gati of Columbia University and Union College fa New
York, in a Friday speech in the Nebraska Union. The
crisis, precipitated by the Soviet Union's what Gati
called "opportunistic" invasion of Afghanistan, is the
third since World War II.
It is certainly the most dangerous crisis, Gati said, be
cause America is reacting to the Soviet challenge and the
Iranian crisis like an indecisive, declining world power. The
Soviet Union, however, is militarily better equipped than
in past crises and is confident that it has nothing to fear
from the United States, he said.
The other two crisis confrontations between the super
powers were the Berlin Airlift in 194849 and the Cuban
Missile Crisis in 1962. In both crises, Gati said, Soviet
action was met by firm and decisive American resolution
and superior American military might.
"The Soviet reaction to the humiliation (of the Cuban
Missile Crisis) has been pragmatic. They started, on one
hand, detente, primarily interested in trade, but also good
relations,' he said.
UnparaUed buildup
"On the other hand, they began a massive military
buildup unparalleled in history. The Soviet Union has
spent 12 percent to 15 percent of its gross national pro
duct on military hardware preparing for the possibility
that a (third) confrontation might happen," Gati stated.
4In which case, it will not have to give in as it had done in
Berlin and Cuba. This is why the current crisis is potential,
ly far more dangerous, he said.
In addition to achieving equal strength in both
conventional and nuclear weapons, Gati said the Soviet
Union has stabilized its position in world affairs. The
government enjoys the overwhelming support of the
Soviet people. It has increased its influence in the Third
World using its Cuban "proxies, he said.
Soviet economic growth has been between 3 and 5
percent annually, "quite good, quite steady, and there
relatively few problems in Soviet-controlled Easter Europe
during the 70s, Gati said.
'Historians will say that the 70s was the decade when
the Soviet Union made great steps forward, Gati said.
American decline
He contrasted the rise of Soviet influence and stability
with the "decline of the United States during the '60s
and 70s.
There was the U.S. preoccupation with Vietnam and
the post-Vietnam lethargy. We experienced division
perhaps unparalleled in U.S. history, especially in foreign
policy questions.
"We have lost confidence in our leaders. We are
skeptical of their motives-often rightly so-and Congress
has assumed a foreign policy-making role that is irrelevant
to the era in which we live," he added.
Tlie CIA is no longer a useful agency in the making of
foreign policy, Gati said. And the United States is having
problems with its economy and its allies. Of particular
concern to Gati is that the United States is no longer a
leader in technological advancement, having been eclipsed
by England, West Germany, Switzerland, and Japan
Referring to the unsuccessful attempt to rescue the
Iranian hostages, he 'questioned US. helicopter
technology.
.Fofoeer labontory
'It is no longer the 1950s when the United States was
the social, economic and technological laboratory of the
world. This is what we were, not what we are now, Gati
said.
Gati sees the US. response to the Iranian crisis as the
of a transitional, slowly declining world power, the
characteristic of which is the "deferment of choice.
"The problem is, we have not gone as far on the peace,
ful path as we could have, nor have we taken the military
path because we can't make up our minds, he said.
'We gp step by step, incrementally, watching the polls.'
And neither policy works. It's a guarantee of failure to
pursue two policies at the same time.
"As a result, we choose the worst option," he said, "an
embargo. An embargo has never worked. It will only turn
Iran to the Soviet Union to pick up the tab, as it is already
doing.
Although he said he does not think the Carter adrninis.
tration is handling the Iran crisis well, Gati said the other
presidential candidates don't offer easily judgeable foreign
policy.
He said that Bush has the most experience, while
Kennedy offers little in the area of foreign policy, and
Reagan may not be as "hard-Line" as he says. Anderson
has character possibly suited to handling foreign affairs,
Gati said.
11 1
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ill
Nebraska Union Board
Proposed Bylaw Change
CURRENT:
'This committee shall consist of Board
members, Program Council members,
representatives of organizations served
by CAP, and a CAP office staff member."
PROPOSED CHANGE:
'This committee will invite each Prograi.
Council to provide a representative to
serve as a committee member."
The intent of this proposed change is
to restructure Programs and Activities
Committee.
Proposed amendment is posted in Ne
braska Union and East Union.
To be considered May 21,
at the Nebraska Union Board
meeting at 7:00 p.m.
II
1
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Need a loan?
Better apply
for it how
Students needing federal
ly guaranteed student loans
for summer and fall should
apply for them now, the
financial aids office director
said.
'The processing time for
guaranteed student loans
has not speeded up as much
as we thought it might,"
Don Aripoli said. "There
fore the time to process a
guaranteed student loan is
about eight to 12 weeks.
Aripoli said that al
though UNL completes
application forms three days
after they are received, the
guaranteeing agency takes
longer to process forms be
cause of the number of
places the forms must be
sent.
"Students who want
loans for the pre-session and
have not yet applied for
them have virtually no
chance of getting the money
while they are still en
rolled ,M he said. "We will
still take these applications
and process them, but the
students should not count
on the money being there."
Aripo. said the financial
aids office has adjusted for
the longer processing time.
To make things more
convenient for the students,
we are taking applications
for guaranteed loans starting
May 5 instead of June 1"
he said. This would enable
students to turn in their
application forms before
they go home, Aripoli
added.
Aripoli said most delays
in receiving guaranteed
student loans are caused by
student error.
Aripoli said students
should type their applica
tions io reduce errors and
illegibility.
He said he was not aware
of any delays in the pro
cessing of Basic Educational
Opportunity Grants.
"It normally takes four
to six weeks to process i
grant he said.