U.S., world still face enemies
The Soviet Union has broken
up. Iraq has been silenced.
Communism is now a mere
curiosity.
A person viewing the world scene
mightconcludc that the United States
after the Cold War has no real en
emies left.
In Somalia this week,
however, we discovered
a new adversary just as
difficult as any we’ve
faced before.
Our immediate enemy
in Somalia is starvation
and the local clan lead
ers and thugs who are
perpetuating it. But in a
larger sense, we can define our new
enemy as any group or country that
takes away peoples’ human rights.
That is the standard set for those
we oppose w hen we agreed to lead a
United Nations force into the African
nation this week. The United States
will provide 28,000 troops to help
restore order to the country and the
flow of relief supplies to the millions
starving there.
By agreeing to lead the U.N. force,
we in effect set a precedent in U.S.
foreign policy. We told suffering coun
tries that they don’t need to sit on oil
rich land or near strategically impor
tant sites like the Panama Canal in
order for us to send troops to help
them.
It has been a while since such
selfless and morally guided principles
were applied to the use of U.S. troops
abroad. It is good to sec them return.
Operation Restore Hope, as it is
being called, represents everything
that is good about the United States.
We are going to Somalia for one
reason only: to help a people who are
in trouble. We are using our power
and prestige not only for our own
interest, but for the benefit of others.
Americans should be very proud of
whal we are doing in Somalia. In a
complex world where we must make
complicated foreign policy decisions,
we can say without a doubt that we
have done what is right with Opera
tion Restore Hope.
Traditionally, U.S. foreign policy
has been guided by doctrines or phi
losophies. The Monroe Doctrine was
one of the earliest, the containment of
Communism was one of our last.
Today, in a world that presents no
immediate threat to our safely and
security, we need a new foreign policy
doctrine. Devoting ourselves to pro
tecting human rights would certainly
be as good a choice as any.
Our new foreign policy Could be
called the Human Rights Doctrine. It
would simply state that any country or
group that takes away peoples’ hu
man rights would be our adversary.
We would devote as much energy
and resources to fighting fpr human
rights as we have to fighting commu
nism in the last 50 years.
The result would be a victory not
for one political philosophy at the
expense of another, but for people
everywhere.
Is it crazy to think that the United
States could be guided by such a goal?
No.
We have certainly devoted our
selves to less important missions in
the past and have seen them through.
Conventional wisdom says Ameri
cans need a clearly defined challenge
to keep us moving forward, from fight
ing Germany in World War II to con
taining communism intheColdWar.
If that’s true, we may have discov
ered our largest challenge yet: the
fight against oppression, hunger and
poverty around the world.
Some will argue that it is not the
business of the United States to be
involving itself in the affairs of other
countries and peoples. They will cor
rectly point out that we have our own
difficulties to deal with.
But we also have an obligation as
the world’ssole remaining supeipower
to do what we can about these issues.
If we don’t act, no one will.
Perhaps it is unfair that we are
expected to play such a large role in
solving the world’s problems. We are
lucky to be in the country that is
expected to help everyone rather than
one that needs help.
Our only certain reward for help
ing the citizens of Somalia and other I
countries around the world is the
knowledge that we have done what is
right.
But we will likely have other re
wards as well.
The Somalian people, for example,
will not soon forget who came to their
aid. Other countries we help will not
forget, either.
The friendships we develop with
these countries are sure to benefit us
in the future.
When they modernize and need to
trade, they will remember. If there is
ever a world crisis and we need their
help, they will remember.
America is not perfect.
We have made our own share of
human rights mistakes, to both for
eign citizens and our own.
We cannot change that past. But
we can shape a future based upon
principles of ensuring the human rights
and well-being of all peoples.
In doing so we will both do what is
right and make friends that arc sure to
benefit us in the future.
Taking on that responsibility will
not be easy. But sitting back and
watching people suffer when we could
do something about it would be much
more difficult.
Fitzpatrick Is a junior political science
major, the Daily Nebraskan opinion page
editor and a columnist.
~ti d"
MEMORIAL SERVICE
for
CANDICE M. HARMS
Monday, December 14th
8:00 p.m.
Kimball Recital Hall
' C|.J 1
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Operator dogs hound wanna-be I
The Democrats arc all set to
storm into the White House.
Every day we arc treated to
another story about who Bill’s going
to pick for this job, who he’s going to
pick for that job.
It’s wearisome, but exciting at the
*cme time
Al From, head of the
Clinton domestic policy
team, said h is phone had
been ringing off the wall
with Democrats clam
oring for jobs. He said
he even finds r<Ssum6s
stuck into his morning
_ paper.
All of this is wonderful, because
with our bloated, inefficient govern
ment, employment opportunities
abound. That’s why I’m sending in
my rdsumd today.
Anyone can gel a government job.
And the fringe benefits arc excellent:
security, retirement plans, fast cars,
big guns, junkets to Europe and pot
pies, to name a few.
A lot of these slobs applying for
government positions arc shooting for
the lop — maybe a Cabinet post,
diplomat to some island resort coun
try or university operator. But I’m
looking a little farther down the lad
der.
I think the ideal government job
would be to be one of those drug
sniffing dogs. Maybe I could land
something such as that: sniff drugs all
day, get a bowl full of chow at night—
wag your tail and lake a ride on the
Gravy Train.
The collar would be a downer, but
because I have opposable thumbs, I
could probably work my way out of it
atnight. During business hours, I would
have to wear it, 1 suppose.
But that goes with the territory.
I talked to a Secret Service guy
with a bomb-sniffing dog when Danny
Quayle, head of Dan ’%, came to
Omaha. I don’t think bomb sniffing
would be as fun as drug sniffing. If
one went off, it would be bye-bye
nose city. What kind of work would a
noseless-sniffin’ dog be able to find?
None, that’s what.
The Secret Service would be an
OK job, I suppose. They get to wear
nice clothes and talk to their sleeves.
Presumably, they have some kind of
radio in there. I would be frightened,
as a president, if my Secret Service
people just talked to their sleeves for
no reason.
“Hey Mr. President,” I can imag
ine them saying, “how arc you today?
My sleeve, Steve, says he’s okey
dokey. Let’s go play, sleeve.”
Secret Service Agents don’t talk a
lot. They mostly just stand around
behind their sunglasses, scanning
crowds. They have little pins on their
lapels. On the whole, I guess you
could call them secretive. What a
cake job.
I’m not sure what kind of experi
ence you need to be a drug-sniffing
dog or a Secret Service Agent. I would
imagine they must be trustworthy,
and probably house-trained. I like to
think I am both of those things. I can
also roll over, but I’m still working on
fetching.
As far as previous employment,
my time in the ShopKo Lawn and
Garden department makes me an ex
pert with plants, where most drugs
come from.
As a drug dog, I would work hard.
•I’d come in real early in the morning
to gel a nice load of drugs sniffed
before noon. Sometimes I’d probably
work right through the lunch hour,
sniffing away. And 1 wouldn’t clod;
out until late at night — not undl all
my work was done and all the drugs I
could sniff were snuffed.
I wasn’t sure how to go about
applying for a job in the new admin
istration because I’m not a Washing
ton insider. So I called up the While
House switchboard.
I
The woman who answered had a
littlcbilof trouble understanding what
I meant. 1 must have said “drug-sniffi n ’
dogs” about a thousand times. Fi
nally, she caught on.
“You mean the dogs that work
with the Secret Service?”
Exactly, I told her. What would
look good on a rdsumd if I wanted to
apply to be a drug-sniffing dog, I
asked. She connected me with some
police guy, who told me to call “per
sonnel.
But all the personnel I got over the
weekend were at an answering ser
vice. A rather mean lady there didn’t
know if the Secret Service was ac
cepting applications for dogs or agents
or anything else.
“Call during business hours,” she
said curtly. There were no drug-sniff
ing dogs at the answering service, she
said.
If 1 were to become a drug-sniffing
dog, I think one of the first places I
would go would be the Personnel
Answering Service. They weren’ l very
nice there, and it would be fun to bust
them, or at least bark at that lady.
Thai’s the trouble with most people
who have government jobs under the
old administration. They’re so will
ing to pass the buck.
“Call here, call there,” they say. |
“Drug-sniffin’ dog? Talk to some- j
body else.” No one is ready to take j
responsibility for anything.
Maybe that’s the job 1 should apply i
for. I could answer phones at the
White House or the answering ser
vice. 1 wouldn’tbe one of those namby
pamby phone ladies who pawns off
callers to some other department.
I f someone cal led me up and asked
about how to become a drug-sniffing
dog, I know just what I would say.
°‘Gct a life.”
Phelps is a junior news-editorial major,
the Daily Nebraskan managing editor and a
columnist.
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