Military

DATE=09/27/01

TYPE=U-S EDITORIAL DIGEST

TITLE=THURSDAY'S EDITORIALS

NUMBER=6-12478

BYLINE=ANDREW GUTHRIE

DATELINE=Washington

EDITOR=Assignments

TELEPHONE=619-3335

CONTENT=

INTRO: In the United States press a debate over the arming of airline pilots continues in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks using jetliners as flying bombs. Other editorials this Thursday include other security issues; geopolitical alliances in Central Asia against terror; the law enforcement versus civil liberties debate and the president's newfound popularity.

Other topics include the deteriorating peace effort in Northern Ireland; improvements in relations between the Israelis and Palestinians and Michael Jordan's return to playing basketball. Now, here is ___________ with a closer look and some quotes in today's U-S Opinion Roundup.

TEXT: After hijackers crashed four passenger jets, three of them into buildings causing great loss of life and human casualties, aircraft security is very much in the news. A proposal by the largest airline pilots union to carry guns continues to generate editorial debate. "Keep guns out of the cockpit" says The San Francisco Chronicle.

VOICE: Airline pilots should not be cast as the nation's last line of defense against suicidal terrorism. ... There are many objections to such a desperate measure... the whole idea of pilots trained ...to shoot potential hijackers takes away from [their]... responsibility to safely fly ...the aircraft.

TEXT: "Arm the pilots" counters today's Washington [D-C] Times, which calls the proposal "reasonable" and adds:

VOICE: Giving pilots the means to defend themselves is an idea whose time has come. It ...is certainly more cost-effective than hiring armed "sky marshals" and placing one on every commercial flight. Armed flight crews ...provides some much-needed leveling of the playing field between ...good guys and ...bad guys.

TEXT: In Chicago today, President Bush is expected to announce several new safety measures for passenger aviation, and the Chicago Tribune says:

VOICE: [He] is expected to announce that airlines will install nearly impregnable cockpit... doors to protect pilots. The plan may include video cameras in the cockpit to relay ...activity ...to the ground... and pilots may be permitted to carry stun guns. ...Airport security - - arguably the weakest link - - is likely to be taken over by some form of private agency working ... with the U-S Department of Transportation. ... All this is likely to get a warm reception in Congress...

TEXT: Today's Dallas [Texas] Morning News urges Congress to consider the idea, but adds, better doors and arming pilots will "leave passengers to fend for themselves."

On to the financial war against alleged terror mastermind Osama bin Laden, The Tacoma [Washington] News Tribune lauds President Bush's freezing of related accounts, but warns:

VOICE: ... freezing assets and shutting down terrorism's money pipeline domestically should only be the start. ... [Mr.] Bush ... should insist that U-S investigators have the right to track ...terrorist money ...through the financial records of foreign [banks]...

TEXT: Bio-terrorism and American preparedness occupies the San Jose [California] Mercury News which suggests: "It's clear terrorists would use weapons of mass destruction; germ warfare is tough to pull off [Editors: slang for "execute successfully"], but preparedness is crucial nonetheless."

In Georgia, The Augusta Chronicle, outlining increased U-S army patrols at some area dams, but no security for the city's water supply, laments that we "Can't guard everything."

Portland's Oregonian laments the profiling of Middle Eastern men on aircraft, but concedes: "it isn't an incomprehensible response, either." The paper concludes however, a narrow focus on any one group could be fatally short-sighted." As regards the alleged terrorist lair, The New York Times says this country must prepare for some "nation-building in Afghanistan," warning:

VOICE: As President Bush draws up plans to deal with Afghanistan, apparently the first target in the war against terrorism, he must do a better job than some of his predecessors in thinking through the potential consequences of American intervention. There are a lot of tripwires on the road to Kabul.

TEXT: The Times says a U-S misstep could cause a civil war in neighboring Pakistan. Whatever he does, Mr. Bush is riding an unprecedented wave of popularity, notes today's Dallas Morning News which cites a USA Today/CNN poll giving Mr. Bush a job approval rating of 90 percent. Says the Dallas daily:

VOICE: He is more popular than Harry Truman was as the curtain closed on World War Two, and more popular than was Franklin Roosevelt after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. ... [The] President should use his political capital wisely."

TEXT: The San Antonio Express News is pleased that one consequence of the terror attacks is that this country is finally paying its overdue 582-million-dollar U-N dues. As regards the post-attack economy, the Chicago Tribune notes the country stopped in its tracks on the eleventh of September and the economy is only now approaching pre-attack levels. It cautions:

VOICE: The worst mistake ...government could make right now is hastily passing measures that undermine the long-term fiscal health of the nation.

TEXT: Noting Pope John Paul's just-completed visit to Kazakhstan, New Hampshire's Union Leader is heartened by the holy father's understanding of a U-S military response to the attacks. The paper calls the Pope's comment "a small miracle" agreeing with his view that "self-defense sometimes means using violence."

Briefly to comments on other topics, including the deteriorating peace process in Northern Ireland, where, the Cleveland, Ohio, Plain Dealer says the "tenuous peace unravels at an ever-increasing rate. ... The alternative ... is a return to sole British rule, an outcome all parties move closer to each day.'

Pittsburgh's Post-Gazette criticizes the Irish Republican Army for its failure to disarm, the heart, it says, of the problem.

Good news from the Mideast, as peace talks there appear to be gaining ground, in the wake of the U-S terror attacks, which has had a "sobering influence on the ...conflict" according to the Charleston, South Carolina Post and Courier.

The return to professional basketball with the Washington Wizards, of legendary super star Michael Jordan is being greeted with cheers from some, caution from others. The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tennessee sums up this way: "If Jordan can get this [terrible] team into the playoffs, he can fairly add "miracle worker" to his ...accolades. On the other hand, at the end of [the] grueling season, he may be just a beat-up old guy who unretired once too often."

TEXT: Finally, a word about Yom Kippur, today's Jewish Day of Atonement, from Pennsylvania's Greensburg Tribune Review.

VOICE: If one is so disposed, this ritual of self-examination and re-dedication to principle gentles the spirit and strengthens the character. One hopes that we are a l l so disposed on the eve of our nation's great test ...

TEXT: That ends this editorial sampling from Thursday's U-S press.

NEB/ANG/RH