WSP12997 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Ut'll~ lUl~ . ~Middle East peace process When the late Prime Ninister YitZhak Rabin indicated that Israel would be pre- pared to return the occupied Golan Heights to Syria, the interest of the Syrian President Assad was clearly aroused. If this position, which accords with both prin- ciples mentioned above, is confirmed, I be- lieve that appropriate security arrange- ments in the Golan'protecting Israel, including demilitarization: and even the re- tention of the Israeli early warning station there - manned by Americans and French as already suggested - could be agreed to by Syria Israel has further exacerbated the cur- rent situation by declaring null and void It is unfair to place all of the blame on Israel, since both the Palestinians and Syrians have dem0n- strated extreme obstinacy. the 1996 agreement brokered by the Unit- ed States between Israel and the HezboUah to confine their attacks in the Israeli-occu- pied buffer zone in South Lebanon to mili- tary targets in order to spare civilian casu- alties. Israel's current action comes after a se- ries of Hezbollah ambushes and rocket at- tacks resulting in the death of several Is- raeli soldiers. These attacks, it should be noted, occurred within the limitations pre- scribed by the 1996 agreement, but have provoked Israeli retaliation, ordered by Barak, which bombed not only suspected HezboUah instaIlations, but also three pow- er stations, all located outside of the buffer zone, causing civilian casualties and leav- ing thousands of Lebanese without power in three major cities. President Clinton's admirable ambition to help create peace in the Middle East, a goal toward which he has already contrib- uted through past accomplishments, seems destined for a sad end. He is now faced with two choices: the first to abandon further efforts, leaving the problem to his. successor, or, secondly, to try to bring seri- ous political and economic pressure on Is- rael to exhibit a more forthcoming attitude toward the final resolution of these prob- lems. It is unfair to place all of the blame on Is- rael, despite its violent reactions, since bo~ the Palestinians and Syrians have demonstrated extreme obstinacy and re- sorted to the support of violent acts that have previously derailed progress toward peace in the area We must also recognize that a consider- able part of the blames fall on the U.S. gov- ernment, both in its executive and legisla- tive branches, as well as on the public itself, in its often misplaced support and lack of understanding of the Middle East problems due to inadequate and biased in- formation provided by the American me- dia The fact is that we have supported, through extremely generous military, eco- nomic and outright financial assistance, the occupation of the Palestinian people for half a century, and also for 17 years the Is- raeli occupation of a segment of Lebanon in contravention of intemationallaw. lbis is a sad commentary on a great nation which has as its principal foreign policy ob- jectives the promotion of democracy, free- dom and hmnan rights throughout the world. Lelters to the Editor The San Diego Union- Triinlne welcomes letters to the editor. To be considered for publication. a letter must include a daytime phone number and, if faxed or mailed. be signed. It may be sent to Letters Editor, 17/e San Diego Union-Tribune, Post Office Box 120191. San Diego, CA 921lW191, faxed to (619) 293-1440 or e-mailed to letters@uniontrib,com. Letters may be edited Letters submitted may be used in print or in digital form in any publication or service offered by the Union-Tribune Publishing Co. New Prop. 13 will help address state's water crisis The Bay Delta lies at the heart of Cali- fornia's triIlion-do1Iar economy. It supplies inigation water to millions of acres of the state's most productive farmland and drinking water to 22 mil- lion people. It is inconceivable that five years after these agricultural and urban water us- ers made a deal to give up part of their existing water supply to begin a process - of improving the delta's ecosystem and rebuilding the state's key water infra- structure, they now find themselves in a worse situation. Since giving up roughly 1 million acre feet of dry-year supplies when the Bay- Delta Accord was signed in 1995, water users have suffered the loss of another 400,000 acre feet from federal regulato- ry actions. Pending federal regulatory actions threaten to double this losses. But the CalFed Bay Delta Program's draft plan, announced lastJune, offers no balanced approach and fails to pur- sue improvements in the state's water supply. Under the draft, $2 billion, including . $995 million from the passage of Propo- sition 204 and $430 million in federal ap- propriations, have been eannarked for environmental restoration projects. To date, more than 250 projects are being implemented, promising dramatic im- provements for fish and wildlife. Unfortunately, water gains for fish have translated into water loss for the economy. Water supplies for urban and - agricultural users continue to decline, while the state's population over the last decade has increased by 3 million. The quality of Delta water is currently inadequate for urban users, since it con- tains high concentrations of salts and or- ganic compounds. While California has risen to the chal- lenge of the environmental crisis, we have not taken the neceSS3ly actions to avert the looming crisis in water quality . and supply. We are at risk of trading one crisis for another. We must move be- yond penalizing one group to help an- other. The caWed Bay-Delta Program won't succeed unless it provides a sulu- lion th:lt hpln~ PVPr"'.1f)f1P. eVERY nME r 7RY Ttl c.~os~ Tl.lE BORDER r WIND vp BA,<:.K, IN PALE.mIllE. and Waikiki in favor of the less develop- ed outer islands, you have to wonder how long San Diego will have anything to offer visitors that the rest of Southem California doesn't. Anaheim has Disneyland, but I wouldn't want to live there. Do we want our only "claim to fame" to be SeaWorld and the zoo, or do we want the quality of life and unique character here to contin- ue as attractions for all? We need to se- verely manage growth to preserve our beautiful city. MARK HEINZE Sa" Diego A high school seniors enlightening stOIy Re: "Is this really the worst school in San Diego?" (Opinion, Feb. 4): After endless weariness and chagrin from reading the pronouncements about what is wrong with our schools and what to do about it, I was awakened from such dogmatic slumbers by the ar- ticle of Emma Dannin, a senior at what is supposed to be one of the county's "worst" schools, San Diego High, Her arguments supporting the school were inspiring. Someone who has genuine responsi- bility for education in the public schools of the county should run, notwaIk. to San Diego High, find Dannin and ask her which teacher taught and inspired her the most. Then, immediately offer that teacher the position of school su- perintendent. Don't haggle over salary, offer whatever is neceSS3ly. That per- son has what is needed to lead a school system. What I fear most about Dannin's com- pelling article is that school systems in other states will check out our "worst" schools and start raiding their faculties. C. DALEjOHNSON EscOlUlido Cal State tuitions are quite a bargain Re: "Conege tuition, rising 50 percent. in 10 years, causes some to drop out" (A-section, Feb. 10): The story by Lance Gay of Scripps- '1'_1,.".".-...1 ,!.......~.C' c..--......;#~." ~I.."',.......,.-......"....