June 5, 1998
ON MY MIND
/
By A.M. ROSENTHAL
He Didn't Do It Alone
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ill Clinton did not do it all by
himself.
Beneath the scandals about the
Clinton Administration's betrayal of
democracy in China, its abandonment
of human rights as an international
priority, its strengthening of Chinese
missile forces with American money
and engineering, its acceptance of
campaign funds from Beijing and its
carefully blind eye toward the Chinese sales of nuclear technology that
suddenly bring the threat of war in
Asia -- beneath all that is the fact that
he got all the help he needed, from
America's own political, economic
and intellectual leadership.
Sometimes it arrived with instructions on what to do or not do. But Mr.
Clinton, famous fast learner, soon did
not need instruction kits.
The American public was generally uncaring, passive or supportive, in
the inane belief that his betrayals
and appeasement policies were creating huge profits for the U.S.
Beijing
was amused, and piled up a $50 billion trade surplus over the U.S.
The American public cannot absolve itself of appeasement responsibility and just enjoy the shame of Bill
Clinton, assuming he feels any.
Americans have to make sure that
investigations and hearings continue
even if they lead to jail for those who
took Chinese money and impeachment for those who permitted it.
And Americans have the responsibility to remember that even more
hurtful to their country than dirty
money are dirty policies, and that
their own society enabled Mr. Clinton
to create and commit them. Otherwise it will all happen again in this
and the next Presidency.
We will have plenty of chances to
show we remember, starting now.
Administration decisions to help Chinese technology carry missiles to
target and to ignore Chinese dispatch of nuclear technology to Pakistan led India to prove its own nuclear capabilities by testing them.
Indians dropped huge hints to let
Washington know in advance, but the
poor fellows failed. The stunning U.S.
ineptitude showed that the surveillance on which the no-testing treaty
depends sometimes would not work.
It showed too that determined nations
could put together all the makings of
nuclear bombs, without any testing.
Some knowledgeable supporters of
the treaty say it has lost credibility
as an anti-nuclear safeguard. All
right, then: Should we tickle ourselves into believing the treaty is our
protection or at last go for antiballistic missile defense? All opposed to
that defense please raise hands; now
tell us what you offer that could
substitute for both ABM and the anti-testing mirage.
Presidential campaign time is not
coming -- it's here. Will we get candidates who will face the truth about
appeasement of China? Not likely,
unless the U.S. public fights hard --
because for both parties it has been
an embarrassingly bipartisan path.
Al Gore, I think, can win or lose the
Presidency depending on whether he
repudiates or sticks to the Clintonian
China policies. Mr. Gore, do you think,
as Samuel Berger, the national political-security adviser, lectures us with
straight face, that selling China missile technology is real good for America? What job do you plan for him?
Will you support the ugly campaign of the Administration and the
U.S.-China lobbies to castrate in the
Senate the House bill that puts at
least some American influence into
fighting persecution of Christians in
China and some Muslim countries?
Or will you risk Mr. Clinton's anger
by supporting an effective bill --
before the Senate vote?
And will we let Republican candidates get away with not repudiating
the Reagan and Bush licensing of
missile help for China?
Money: taking political contributions from the Communist apparatus
is moral treachery, at least. Yes --
and U.S. businesses and economic
lobbies ceaselessly manipulate and
despoil our political life by using
scores of millions of dollars to buy
the services of U.S. politicians for the
China lobbies.
Are we mad? That is a possible
answer.
If not, Clinton appeasement has
become so obviously against U.S.
interests and democratic morality that
maybe Americans will do our duty:
expose and fight that policy, as long
as we have breath or print.