Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 1990)
Npwq P)i o-pQt J*. ^ W W kJ* JL £bi| w Edited by Jana Pedersen Bush pledges to give Israel armaments edge # U.S., Israeli leaders discuss gulf crisis WASHINGTON - President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir put a positive face Tuesday on relations strained by new U.S. ties to Israel’s Arab foes. Bush promised to keep Israel’s “qualitative edge” in weaponry, an American official said. The two leaders, in a “friendly and good exchange of views” on the Per sian Gulf crisis and other subjects, also discussed prospects for increased U.S. aid to ease Israel’s immigration burden, said Assistant Secretary of Slate John Kelly. But Bush voiced U.S. concerns about treatment of Palestinians living in the Israeli occupied territory, Kelly said, though the president did not bring up the touchy matter of the slaying of 17 Palestinians by Israeli police during an October riot at a Jerusalem holy site. Nor did Bush press Shamir to cooperate with a planned United Nations investigation cf that incident, because their discussion “evolved that way,” without that subject coming up, Kelly said. Shamir told reporters he felt as sured by Bush that the United States would not accept a deal with Iraq that would threaten Israel, especially in light of Israel’s increasing edginess over new U.S. alliances in the region. “I trust the president, what he said. He has said it several limes, and he said it to me now again, that there will not be any deal at the expense of Israel,” Shamir said after spending nearly two hours with Bush and his aides. Having promised the United States it will lie low in the Persian Gulf crisis, Israeli leaders have indicated fear that the administration would accept a diplomatic solution that would leave intact Iraq’s stores of chemical and biological weapons. Israel also is worried about Bush’s ?lans to sell Saudi Arabia some S20 million in sophisticated arms and has w w asked for an increase in U.S. military aid to offset the unprecedented sale. “The prime minister was assured by the president that we will maintain a qualitative edge in armaments for Israel, but at the same time we want to help out with the legitimate self-de fense needs of our Arab friends in the region,” Kelly told reporters after the meeting. On immigration, Shamir told Bush that Israel “would be looking for additional help” to cope with influx of Jewish immigrants from the Soviet Union and Ethiopia. Shamir did not ask for a specific amount, and Bush was generally supportive, Kelly said. But he said the administration was waiting to see the impact of its current loan pro gram, under which the United States has guaranteed $400 million in loans for new immigrant housing on condi tion that the homes not be built in the occupied territories. After the meeting, both Shamir and Kelly stressed the nations’ com mon opposition to Iraqi aggression in the gulf area. “We have been delighted to ex press our full support for the leader ship of the president, for the policy of the United States in this recent crisis of the gulf,” Shamir said. “And the president also expresses his support for our behavior, for our policy” in the crisis, Shamir added. Israeli officials had said Shamir would assure Bush Israel would not launch any pre-emptive strikes against Iraq. But when asked about that, Kelly said Shamir didn’t talk about “poten tial Israeli actions.” He said Bush thanked him for keeping a low profile in the crisis. As delicate diplomatic aspects of the gulf crisis proceed, senior Israeli officials have suggested that Israel might go after Iraq’s military ma chine if the United States does not. Billions of dollars J* ) i M Knight-Ridder Tribune News - ft-—' , The prime minister was assured by the president that we will maintain a qualitative edge in arma ments for Israel, but at the same time we want to help out with the legitmate self-defense needs of our Arab friends in the region. Kelly assistant secretary of state Shevardnadze urges peaceful gulf solution Baker meets with Soviet leader tary measures. While Baker gave a positive ac count of the U S.-Soviet meetings held in his home town, no agreements were announced except that Shevard nadze said the two sides had decided to suspend weapons shipments to warring factions in Afghanistan. The foreign minister said the date for the cutoff had not been set. And Baker said he did not ex peel an agree ment on such issues as assistance to rehabilitate the war-tom country “in ihe near term.” Shevardnadze bluntly appealed for U.S. food aid before a meeting Mon day with Baker. And officials in Washington said the White House could unveil an economic assistance package for the Soviet Union as early as today when Bush meets with Shevardnadze. Extensive discussion of the Per sian Gulf crisis apparently slowed consideration by Baker and Shevard nadze of remaining roadblocks to a treaty to reduce U.S. and Soviet long range weapons stockpiles. However, they planned to meet Tuesday night to consider the results of bargaining between their arms experts. Shevardnadze said no date had been set for Bush to go to Moscow to sign the treaty at a summit meeting with Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev. “We are facing a difficult task .... We have to complete a historic agree ment and have it ready for signing by the time President Bush pays a his toric visit to Moscow,” Shevardnadze said. Among the unsettled issues are how to police the treaty to make sure provisions to reduce U.S. and Soviet long-range bombers, missiles and submarines by about 30 percent are not undercut. Contraceptive pill-cancer link weak GENEVA - A decade-long study of possible links between oral contra ceptive use and cancer found the evidence too inconclusive to warrant changes in prescribing the pill, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. An expert panel said family plan ning programs based on the pill do not need to be changed. The agency reported on studies in eight developing and three industrial ized countries that explored whether using the pill increases the risk of cancer. Experts from 11 countries met privately at WHO headquarters in Geneva to review the studies and other evidence, according to a statement issued by the agency. Their findings included: • Most studies suggest no general link between the pill and cervical or breast cancer. More research is needed because some studies have found connections between long-term oral contraceptive use and the risk of ei ther cancer among some groups of women. But the link could also be due to better disease detection or special characteristics of women using the pill. • Oral contraceptives increase the risk of benign liver tumors, but this is a very rare complication. • The pill can reduce the risk of ovarian cancer, cancer of the inner lining of the uterus and benign breast diseases. The general conclusion was that “evidence about the association be tween oral contraceptives and vari ous types of tumors does not indicate there is any need for a change in policy in prescribing the contracep tive pill,” said Dr. Ojof Meirik, an official in WHO’s human reproduc tion program. Nebraskan Editor Eric Planner Sales Manager Todd Sears 472-1766 Photo Chief Al Schaben Managing Editor Victoria Ayotte Night News Editors Matt Herek Assoc News Editors Darcie Wiegert Chuck Green Diane Brayton Art Director Brian Shellito Editorial Page Editor Lisa Donovan General Manager Dan Shattil Wire Editor Jana Pedersen Production Manager Katherine Policky Copy Desk Editor Emily Rosenbaum Advertising Manager Loren Melrose Arts & Entertainment Publications Board Editor Michael Deeds Chairman Bill Vobejda Diversions Editors Lee Rood 436-9993 Amy Edwards Professional Adviser Don Walton 473-7301 The Daily NebraskanfUSPS 144 080) is published by tne UNI Publications Board. Ne braska Union 34, 1400 R St, Lincoln, NE, Monday through Friday during the academic year, weekly during summer sessions Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas and comments to the Daily Nebraskan by phoning 472-1763 between 9am and 5pm Monday through Friday The public also has access to the Publications Board. For information, contact Bill Vobe]da. 436 9993 Subscription price is $45 for one year Postmaster Send address changes to the Daily Nebraskan Nebraska Union 34, 1400 R St Lincoln, NE 68588 0448 Second class postage paid at Lincoln NF ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 1990 DAILY NEBRASKAN U.S. foreign trade deficit widens, government says WASHINGTON - The nation's foreign trade deficit, hurt by higher oil prices and increased military spending from the Persian Gulf crisis, widened a sharp 13.9 per cent in the July-September quar ter, the government said Tuesday. The Commerce Department said the $25.6 billion third quarter defi cit was up from a second quarter deficit of $22.5 billion. It was the largest quarterly imbalance since a $26.7 billion gap in the final three months of 1989. The new report covered the current account, which is consid ered the most important yardstick of the country’s international per formance because it measures not only trade in merchandise but also trade in services and investment flows between countries. The higher deficit in the July September quarter was viewed as especially ominous because an improving trade balance had been the only bright spot in a lackluster economy this year. A rising trade deficit would make the recession many economists believe has already started even steeper by removing the strength that export growth has provided to the manufacturing sector over the past several years. Before Iraq *s Aug. 2 invasion of Kuwait sent oil prices soaring, some analysts had forecast that the trade deficit for this year could drop as low as $90 billion, which would have been the smallest imbalance since 1983. For the third quarter, the pri mary weakness came from a 29 percent jump in the merchandise trade deficit, which rose to $29.75 billion as imports hit an all-time high. More than half of the in crease in imports reflected higher petroleum prices. Another factor contributing to the increase in the third quarter deficit was a rise in direct spending for U.S. military operations over seas, which climbed to $4.31 bil lion, a 17 percent increase reflect ing the troop buildup in the Middle East. That increase lowered the over all services balance to $5.8 billion in the third quarter. In one bright spot in the report, the balance on investment earn ings shifted into a surplus of $2.46 billion, reflecting improved earn ings by Americans on their over seas investments. That had been in deficit by $1 billion in the second quarter. The other component of the current account, unilateral transfer payments, primarily foreign aid payments and government pension payments to Americans living overseas, increased the deficit by $4.11 billion in the third quarter. The current account trade defi cit is closely watched because it translates directly into the amount of money America must borrow from overseas to cover the short fall between what the United States exports in goods and serv ices and what it imports. ___ Soviet foreign minister to meet with rebels WASHINGTON - The Soviet Union’s top diplomat will meet here today with the leader of the Angolan rebel group which has been fighting the Soviet-backed government for more than 15 years. Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze told a news confer ence in Houston, where he was wind ing up discussions with Secretary of State James A. Baker III, that he has agreed to meet with Jonas Savimbi, whose UN1TA rebels have been fight ing the leftist government in Luanda since shortly after it seized power. It is the first meeting between Shevardnadze and Savimbi. At the same lime, the State Dc partment announced that Angolan Foreign Minister Pedro de Castro van Duncm will meet separately with Baker today. Baker met with Angolan Presi dent Jose Eduardo dos Santos last March in Namibia. The United States and the Soviet Union have been supporting rival (actions in Angola’s civil war, but lately have been encouraging the two sides to reach a negotiated settle ment. lWc arc trying to do what we can to help bring the panics closer to gether so the next round of negotia tions set lor January in Lisbon will be successful,” a State Department offi cial said. “This is a major development that demonstrates continued Soviet-Amcn can efforts to cooperate on these is sues,” the U.S. official said. The official said the Savimbi Shcvardnadze meeting was “^per cent nailed” dow n before Baker opener talks with the Soviet diplomat on Monday in Houston. A State Department statement is sued late Tuesday said the meetings will discuss such issues as a cease fire, free participation ol UNH A a other parties in Angola’s P° lllc , process and the convening ol i j elections with monitoring by ncu observers. HOUSTON - Soviet Foreign Min ister Eduard A. Shevardnadze urged the Bush administration Tuesday to make a last-ditch diplomatic effort to avert war in the Persian Gulf. “It is also my strong hope that U.S. troops will not see action,” Shevard nadze said at a news conference near the end of a two-day meeting here with Secretary of State James A. Baker III. Referring to the high-level talks President Bush has proposed with Iraq, the Soviet foreign minister said,‘‘We pin much hope on the coming con tacts.” But Baker said Baghdad had still not agreed on a date for him to go to Iraq to see President Saddam Hussein. He offered any time between Dec. 20 and Jan. 3, but again rejected any Iraqi attempt to delay the visit until just before the Jan. 15 deadline set by the U.N. Security Council for Iraq to pull out or face the prospect of mili
