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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 1994)
By The Associated Press Edited by Kristine Long NEWS DIGEST Neljraskan Thursday, February 3,1994 Clinton pressured to lift trade ban WASHINGTON—It is one of the quirks of histoiy that a president who protested the Vietnam war could undo the war’s legacy of distrust. “This is an issue for the present day,” President Clinton said Wednes day as he weighed recommendations to lift the U.S. trade embargo against Vietnam. Aides said the president was pre paring to lift the 19-year-old ban, President Bill Clinton urged oy u.a. ousi nesses and encour aged by Vietnam’s cooperation in help ing resolve ques tions about unac counted-for Amer ican soldiers. Dogged during the presidential campaign by ques tions about how he avoided the Viet nam draft, and shadowed in office by strained relations with the military, Cl inton would like nothing better than to put the war behind him. He rejected suggestions that his past would make the decision politi cally more difficult, saying, “We just have to do what’s right.” Yet because of who he is the decision could carry special risks. One administration official, speak ing only on condition of anonymity, expressed a fear that “this issue’s go ing to eat us alive.” Such concerns persist although the president got some political cover when the Senate voted last week to support lifting the embargo. Clinton sought understanding for those who had “come to find them selves still loving their country but loathing the military.” Keenly aware that such a past placed him in a sensitive position on veterans’ issues, Clinton came into office talking tough on Vietnam. „ He promised to make resolution of the POW-MIA issue “a national pri ority” by insisting on a full accounting of all those soldiers still listed as miss ing before normalizing relations with Vietnam. On Memorial Day, he confronted his detractors directly in a visit to the Vietnam War Memorial. Amid cheers and jeers, as some veterans turned their backs on him, Clinton declared: “Let us continue to disagree if we must about the war. But let us not let it divide us as a people any longer.” His pledge on that day to the fam ilies of soldiers who did not come home from Vietnam: “We will do all we can to give you not only the atten tion you have asked for, but the an swers you deserve.” Clinton said his college-age pro tests against the war would not make his decision on the embargo more difficult because “there were so many distinguished veterans who think the embargo should be lifted, and there are people on the other side... who arc not veterans.” It is true that veterans groups and families of missing Americans arc divided on whether the ban should stand. And some who oppose lifting the ban say Clinton’s background should not be an issue. “The real measure is a real objec tive assessment of what the Vietnam ese have and haven’t done,” said Ann Mills Griffiths of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia. Her group believes the ban should be main tained until Vietnam offers more help in resolving POW-MIA cases. Prime ministers visit besieged Sarajevo SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Hcrzegovina — As Serbs fired from surrounding hills, Benazir Bhutto and Tansu Ciller came to Sarajevo Wednesday to com fort its besieged residents. After a brief visit to the capital defended by Muslim-led forces, prime ministers Bhuttoof Pakistan andCiller of Turkey appealed to the world to act decisively to the 21-month-old war. Turkey and Pakistan have been among the strongest backers of Bosnia’s Muslim-led government, whose troops are fighting a desperate battle against better-armed Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats. “Rarely in the annals of human history has a nation been subjected to such merciless savagery in the full view of the world,” Mrs. Bhutto and Ms. Ciller said in a joint statement. “We who live in peace take life and peace for granted,” Mrs. Bhutto said later. “In Sarajevo, we saw shattered people, a shattered city and shattered lives.” Elsewhere in the city, at least five people were killed by Serb shelling Wednesday. Mrs. Bhutto later called for air strikes against Bosnian Serbs and ex empting the Slavic Muslim-led gov ernment from a U.N. arms embargo imposed on former Yugoslavia. Bosnia’s Muslim president, Alija Izetbegovie, said the two were ready to give “material and other help to our country. I thank them for that.” The visit was welcomed by most Sarajevans. Many Bosnian Croats and Serbs remain loyal to the Muslim-led government. Sporadic gunfire sounded from the Serb-held hillsides surrounding the city as Mrs. Bhutto and Ms. Ciller arrived at the downtown Bosnian pres idency building. The prime ministers visited for AP/Cari Fox four hours, but Mrs. Bhutto said the brief stay was “cruel” and left them “emotionally exhausted.” Senate demands tougn stance on Korea WASHINUIUN — l ne senate demanded a tougher policy toward North Korea, seeking international sanctions and a renewed U.S. nuclear presence on the Korean peninsula, as it wound up a week of debate on foreign policy. Two amendments to the State De partment budget bill, both approved by voice vote Tuesday, demonstrated congressional sentiment that the Clinton administration has not done enough to stop North Korea from ad vancing its reported nuclear weapons program. “We better get serious,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., sponsor of one of the amendments. “And we better learn that when we try appeasement to avoid war, we usually get both.” The Senate planned to vote Wednes V uay on l inai passage oi tne autnonza tion bill, which is laden with riders seeking more forceful U.S. policies toward Bosnia, Vietnam and NATO, as well as North Korea. There was little debate on the core of the bill, which authorizes spending of some $6.1 billion this fiscal year and $6.3 billion in the budget year starting Oct. 1 for the State Depart ment, the U.S. Information Agency and the Peace Corps. The Senate must reconcile its ver sion with the House, which already has passed its authorization bill. McCain’s amendment on North Korea urges the president to seek in ternational trade sanctions and other measures to compel the communist stale to agree to inspections of its nuclear iacimies ana 10 stop Duuaing nuclear weapons. It also rejects administration plans tocancel military exercises with South Korea in exchange for an agreement with the North for inspections, saying the exercises are an important demon stration ofU.S. commitment to defend the South. That defense should be bolstered by sending Patriot missiles to South Korea, the amendment says. A separate amendment by Sen. Charles Robb, D-Va., states that if North Korea continues to resist Inter national Atomic Energy Agency in spections of its nuclear facilities, the United States should prepare to rein troduce tactical nuclear weapons into South Korea. Nebraskan Editor Managing Editor Assoc News Editors Assoc. Nsws Editor/ Editorial Page Editor Wire Editor Copy Desk Editor Sports Editor Assistant Sports Editor Arts & Entertainment Editor Supplements Editor Photo Chief Jere^n^r Fitrprtrich Adsana Lsftin Jeff Zeteny ire Smith 1 Rowell Kristine Long Todd Cooper Jeff Ortesch Sarah Duey Kristine Long Stsci McKee Night News Editor* Jeff Robb Art Director General Manager Production Manager Advertising Manager Senior Acct Exec. Publications Board Chairman Professional Adviser DeOra Janssen i Dunne Katherine Pollcky Jay Cruse «i i 1/ i_a. i onvvv WillVWVAl Doug Fiedler 43MM7 Don Walton 473-7301 FAX NUMBER 472-1761 The Daily Nebraakan(USPS 144-080) ia published by the UNL Publication* Board, Nebraaka Union 34,1400 R St.. Lincoln, NE 68588 0448, Monday through Friday during the academic year, weekly duringjwmmer aeaaiona. _ Reader* are encouraged to aubmit atory ideas and comment* to the Daily NebraMjan byphoning 472-1763 between 9a nv and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday^The public aiao has access to the Publication* Board. For Information, contact Doug Fiedler. 436-6287. Postmaster lend ad^eMrtwgesU) the Daily Nebraskan. Nebraaka Union 34, 1400 R St.,lincoln. NE 68588-0448. Second-claaa postage paid at Lincoln, NE _ _ _ ___ ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 1994 DAILY NEBRASKAN IRA political leader makes most of U.S. visit NEW YORK—He preached to the converted and the unconvinced. He did Donahue, Larry King and “Good Morning America.” He met with the press .. and met with the press ... and met with the press again. Gerry Adams, leader of the legal Sinn Fein political party that is allied with the outlawed Irish Re publican Army became America’s guest during his 48-hour visit, cease lessly putting his own spin on peace in Northern Ireland. “Mr. Adams . is America’s media star of the moment,” The Guardian, a liberal London news paper, said. Two hundred reporters covered his two days of near-non stop stumping. “I come here to engage with people,” he said Wednesday on CNN. “I am not trying to force my opinions down people’s throats.” Adams, 44, packed more into two days than the typical politician does in two months. All on a trip that was unthinkable for the past two decades, when U.S. officials rejected eight of his visa requests because of rules banning leaders of organizations deemed to be pro moters of terrorism. President Clinton approved a waiver of the rules, granting a spe cial visa so Adams could attend a New York conference on peace in Northern Ireland. Secretary of State Warren Christopher and the U.S. Embassy in London argued against the visa, but eventually bowed to Clinton’s view that Adams’ visit would advance the cause of peace, an administration official said. The mediagcnic Adams cajoled and charmed, repeating his mes sage: “We want to take the gun out of Irish politics.” Adams didn’t get the ticker-tape parade that Nelson Mandela got when he took the city by storm in 1990 following his release from a South African prison. Adams’ last day featured inter views with Charlie Rose for PBS, and CNBC’s Phil Donahue and Gerald Posner. The only thing missing on this trip was “the sleeping period.” Adams’ first news conference was held before he even left the airport after his arrival Monday. He was up past midnight writing his speech for the conference on peace, and rose at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday to prepare for “Good Morning Amer ica.” He did a Canadian cable pro gram and a local morning show. He met with four members of Con gress and did a news conference. He sat down with a local newspa per. He held another news confer ence and delivered his speech. Then he held another news con ference. Backers ages 6 to 60 turned out for a triumphant appearance Tues day night before l ,500 people, with his arrival accompanied by bag pipes and drums. After another late night, he was back up Wednesday for more TV tapings. Adams’ high-profile visit an gered politicians and the media in Britain, where the Sinn Fein lead er’s voice is barred from broadcast on television. “This phoney has conned all America,” wrote The Sun, a con servative London tabloid. Adams was not preaching peace, but pro paganda, The Sun charged. Confusion among soldiers may have sparked shooting MOGADISHU, Somalia — Evi dence suggests better troop coordina tion may have prevented the deaths of eight Somalis in a shooting involving U.S. Marines in Somalia. The Marines say their convoy was returning fire from snipers when it drove around a comer and encoun tered an unexpected crowd of people waiting for a food handout. They say some of those Somalis had rifles and also began firing. Somali witnesses offered a differ ent version of Monday’s shooting. They said there were no snipers ami that the Marines did not fire until they came upon the crowd and panicked after mistaking the people for a mob trying to waylay the convoy. They said some Somalis then shot in self-de fense. U.S. officials said the Marines did not know Saudi peacekeepers were at an aid center handing out food, an event sure to draw a crowd in Soma lia’s war-wrecked capital. The con voy could have taken a different route through the area, which the Ameri cans consider one of the most danger ous in Mogadishu. Despite criticism from relief work ers and other U.N. troops, Saudi sol diers often distribute free food without notifying the U.N. commander or re lief agencies, said Uli Schmid, a sup ply officer for the World Food Pro gram. That is what happened Monday, when hundreds of people lined up in the street outside a distribution center waiting to get flair, sugar and dates. The commander of Saudi Arabian troops in Somalia,Col. Ali Alghamdt, conceded Wednesday that a crowd jammed the street outside the food center. But he scoffed at the idea the Saudis should warn other peacekeep ers before giving out food. “We’ve never had any problem doing this before, and 1 have never heard any complaints,” he said in an interview. Defense nominee warns Senate of possible conflict in Korea WASHINGTON — President Clinton’s choice for defense secretary told the Senate at his confirmation hearing Wednesday that the United States faced a possible “nightmare scenario” in Korea. William Perry, now the No. 2 man at the Pentagon, said the end of the Cold War had not eliminated the mil itary threats facing the United States. “Old threats can still pose new dangers to peace and security — I refer to the potential for conflict on the Korean peninsula,” Perry told the Senate Armed Services Committee. The prospect of the rogue regime of North Korea acquiring a nuclear weapons capability to add to their massive conventional forces is em blematic of proliferation problems we face,” Perry said. Perry said the United States was pursuing aggressive “diplomatic ef forts to deuwith this nightmare sce nario,” and said the presence of 100,000 U.S. soldiers, sailors and air men in the Western Pacific served as a deterrent. The main challenge facing the de fense secretary, Perry said, is the de cline of defense spending at a time of world instability. “Historically, we have not man aged wellsuch budget declines,” Perry said. “This time we must get it right or we will pay the cost later, either in blood or treasure or both.”
