DATE=05/12/98
TYPE=U-S EDITORIAL DIGEST
NUMBER=6-10707
TITLE=TUESDAY'S EDITORIALS
BYLINE=ANDREW N. GUTHRIE
TELEPHONE=619-3335
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
EDITOR=ASSIGNMENTS
CONTENT=
///// ED'S: DATED AFTER 10 P-M E-D-T. /////
INTRO: ACROSS THE FRONT PAGES OF MOST U-S NEWSPAPERS ARE BIG
HEADLINES REGARDING THE THREE NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS DETONATED MONDAY
BY INDIA. ALTHOUGH MANY PAPERS ARE STILL DIGESTING THE NEWS, AND
ASSAYING ITS SIGNIFICANCE AND CONSEQUENCES, BEFORE WRITING
EDITORIALS, SEVERAL ARE COMMENTING.
..............
TEXT: ON LONG ISLAND, THE LEAD HEADLINE IN "NEWSDAY"
READS:"INDIA'S BIG BANG," AND THE SUB HEADLINE CONTINUES: "THE
NEW GOVERNMENT WAS MOST UNWISE TO TEST NUKES; NOW SANCTIONS MUST
BE APPLIED."
VOICE: WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE THEY THINKING? INDIAN LEADERS'
DECISION TO EXPLODE THREE NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN UNDERGROUND
TESTS YESTERDAY WAS PROVOCATIVE, RECKLESS, AND
INCREDIBLY STUPID. ...THE UNITED STATES WILL HAVE NO
CHOICE BUT TO RETALIATE WITH THE STIFF SANCTIONS
DEMANDED BY LAW: AN IMMEDIATE CUTOFF OF ECONOMIC AND
MILITARY AID AND A FREEZE ON LOANS BY INTERNATIONAL
LENDING INSTITUTIONS. .../// OPT /// WORTH MONITORING
WILL BE THE REACTIONS OF THE RUSSIAN AND CHINESE
GOVERNMENTS. ...NONE OF THIS BODES WELL. THE TESTS ARE
PARTICULARLY DISTRESSING BECAUSE THEY WERE GRATUITOUS --
AN ABSURD MOVE MOTIVATED IN ALL LIKELIHOOD, BY INDIA'S
CHAOTIC DOMESTIC POLITICS. /// END OPT ///
TEXT: "THE SUN" IN BALTIMORE IS ALSO CONCERNED, AS IT TRIES TO
ANALYZE THE MOTIVE BEHIND THE BLASTS.
VOICE: STRATEGICALLY, INDIA'S EXPLOSION OF THREE NUCLEAR
DEVICES BENEATH THE DESERT NEAR PAKISTAN... IS AIMED AT
A STRONGER CHINA. THE TWO FOUGHT IN 1962 NEAR THEIR
HIMALAYAN BORDERS WHEN NEITHER WAS NUCLEAR. NOW CHINA
IS DEVELOPING ITS MILITARY CAPABILITIES RAPIDLY, AND ITS
GROWING NAVAL CAPABILITIES DISTURB INDIA.
DIPLOMATICALLY, INDIA'S MUSCLE-FLEXING IS AIMED MORE AT
PAKISTAN, THE WEAKER NEIGHBOR THAT UNDERMINES INDIA'S
RULE IN DISPUTED KASHMIR AND JAMMU.
/// OPT ///
...FOR MUCH OF INDIA'S TECHNOLOGY SECTOR, THE TESTS ARE
A WELCOME DISPLAY OF NATIONAL PROWESS. BUT INDIA'S
FIRST TESTING SINCE 1974 OF MORE SOPHISTICATED DEVICES
IS DESTABILIZING. IT COULD PANIC PAKISTAN INTO OPEN
COMPETITION.
TEXT: AND IN CALIFORNIA, "THE LOS ANGELES TIMES" CALLS THE MOVE
PLAYING "WITH NUCLEAR FIRE."
VOICE: INDIA'S NEW GOVERNMENT TOOK POWER TWO MONTHS AGO WITH A
HARD FOREIGN POLICY LINE, INCLUDING THE APPALLING THREAT
TO DEVELOP NUCLEAR WEAPONS. EVEN MORE SHOCKING WAS
MONDAY'S ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THREE UNDERGROUND NUCLEAR
DEVICES HAD BEEN DETONATED ... MONDAY'S EXPLOSIONS
...RAISE THE STAKES AGAIN IN SOUTH ASIA, A RESTIVE
REGION LONG CONSIDERED VULNERABLE TO NUCLEAR WAR. ///
OPT /// PAKISTAN, PREDICTABLY, PLEDGED TO TAKE 'ALL
APPROPRIATE MEASURES FOR ITS SECURITY.' NUCLEAR EXPERTS
BELIEVE ...THE ISLAMABAD REGIME IS CAPABLE OF ASSEMBLING
A NUCLEAR WEAPON ON SHORT NOTICE. CHINA, WHICH FOUGHT A
WAR WITH INDIA IN 1962, OBVIOUSLY MUST BE CONCERNED BY
MONDAY'S NEWS.
...............
TEXT: THAT BRINGS TO A CLOSE THIS SAMPLING OF SOME OF THE
EDITORIALS TO BE FOUND AMONG THE U-S PRESS THIS TUESDAY.
NEB/ANG/RAE
12-May-98 10:41 AM EDT (1441 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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