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NEWS AND VIEWS

Summaries of and links to online news reports and commentaries.

Concerning Cruelty And Clemency, And Whether It Is Better To Be Loved Than Feared
http://daemon.ilt.columbia.edu/academic/digitexts/machiavelli/the_prince/cha pter17.html
THE PRINCE CHAPTER XVII
by Nicolo Machiavelli, written 1505 - Translated by W. K. Marriott "Upon this a question arises: whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? It may be answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with."

Missile Defense Accord Brings Discord
http://wp2.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-03/25/067L-032597-idx.html Bradley Graham Washington Post - 25 March 1997; page A04 " ...as suggested by the fierceness of the argument, the issue involves more than antimissile shields. At root, according to experts in both camps, is whether the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty can still function as a cornerstone of Washington-Moscow relations or should be scrapped in order to allow for new defensive weaponry."

White House Defends Missile Accord
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/world/us-missile-defense.html
STEVEN ERLANGER, The New York Times - March 25, 1997
"Because it is effectively an amendment to that treaty, the agreement must be ratified by Congress, either with a two-thirds vote by the Senate or a majority in both houses."

White House defends new arms deal with Moscow news:Rrussia-usa-armsURYT0_7MO.Runl_7MO@clari.net
Mon, 24 Mar 1997 15:50:59 PST (Reuter / Gene Gibbons)
"Robert Bell, the senior director for defense policy at the White House-based National Security Council... made an appearance at the White House press briefing to answer Republican charges that the new accord would halt development of the most effective ballistic missile defense. Bell's unusual public appearance was clearly part of an effort to keep Gingrich and his allies from muddying the waters on the issue."

Clinton starts lobbying for arms deal with Moscow news:Rrussia-usa-armsURYT0_7MO@clari.net
Mon, 24 Mar 1997 11:12:38 PST (Reuter / Gene Gibbons)
"WASHINGTON (Reuter) - President Clinton moved to counter Republican sniping at a new arms control understanding with Russia Monday by telephoning members of Congress to explain the Helsinki summit agreement. Clinton planned to brief lawmakers on his agreement with Russian President Boris Yeltsin last week that none of the six U.S. theater missile-defense systems now under development will violate the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty..."

HCJ00081 * RUSSIA * USA * SUMMIT * DISARMAMENT * ROGOV * USA AND CANADA INSTITUTE DIRECTOR SERGEI ROGOV BELIEVES THAT A "SERIOUS BREAKTHROUGH WAS ACHIEVED" AT THE HELSINKI MEETING OF THE RUSSIAN AND US PRESIDENTS IN THE AREA OF NUCLEAR ARSENAL REDUCTION MOSCOW, MARCH 25 http://www.russia.net/ria/hotline/hy24033.htm

HELSINKI: A SUMMIT OF COMPROMISES
http://www.russia.net/ria/dr/dp24031.htm Valentin KUNIN, RIA Novosti political analyst
(RIA Novosti, March 24) "The presidents made a breakthrough in arms control by coordinating the principles of the delimitation of tactical and strategic ABM systems. This promises to preserve the ABM Treaty and to preclude the possibilities of bypassing it, something the US Congress is pressing for."

* RUSSIA * NUCLEAR POWER * INDIA * CHINA * RUSSIA'S MINISTRY OF THE NUCLEAR POWER INDUSTRY PLANS TO SIGN CONTRACTS FOR BUILDING NUCLEAR-POWER UNITS IN INDIA AND CHINA MOSCOW, http://www.russia.net/ria/hotline/hy24034.htm

The Case in Favor of US Nuclear Weapons Robert G. Spulak - Parameters - Spring 1997
http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/97spring/spulak.htm
"Robert G. Spulak looks at a specific aspect of national power, the possession or lack of nuclear weapons. He points out that many who focus only on the risks of possessing nuclear weapons ignore the tangible and intangible benefits to ourselves and others of US membership in the still-exclusive club of responsible owners. He suggests that those who favor US denuclearization have usually overlooked the real-world consequences of such a policy." [THANKS TO STEVE SCHWARTZ FOR THIS ONE!!!]

U.S. mulling retaliation against Belarus
://www.merc.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2088149-c3e
United States said Monday it may retaliate against Belarus for what it considers the unwarranted and unjustifiable arrest and expulsion of U.S. diplomat Serzh Alexandrov. "We are studying our options," acting State Department spokesman John Dinger told reporters, adding that one of those options "is to reciprocate."

Gingrich visits South Korea
http://www.merc.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2082510-d78

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich arrived in South Korea Monday for a three-day visit expected to focus on North Korea and thorny trade issues.

Taiwan military says no sign of China war games
http://www.merc.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2084047-6e0
Taiwan's Defense Ministry said Monday it had detected no signs that rival China planned April war games in three nearby provinces, but vowed to monitor the situation closely. A source was responding to a report in Taipei's paper that quoted military intelligence saying Beijing planned to hold military exercises in April along three coastal provinces.