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From: pollack@uicsl.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: Foreign Policy Flaming - (nf)
Message-ID: <3107@uiucdcs.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 4-Oct-83 22:05:51 EDT
Article-I.D.: uiucdcs.3107
Posted: Tue Oct  4 22:05:51 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 7-Oct-83 05:00:03 EDT
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#R:uicsl:4300074:uicsl:4300090:000:2193
uicsl!pollack    Oct  4 17:30:00 1983

To clarify and answer some direct mail scorches:

 1. The term "Freedom Fighter" is meaningless and only indicates the
    persuasion of the author, in anonymous's case, the Washington Post.
    Every revolution has a group of intellectuals defining its
    goals, and in the Salvadoran case, Zamora is one of them.
    In our own revolution, Washington was a "guerilla" and
    Jefferson was an "intellectual"...

 2. I agree with jj's comments to some extent, but I think Reagan
    is personally as ideologically slanted as the "real totalitarians"
    jj mentions, and gives them as much as possible without alienating
    other, larger constituencies. (which is possible for military issues
    but not for social ones...)

"What does Israel have to do with Argentina?"

 3. Argentina, since after the cutoff of US aid under Carter,
    has become Israel's single largest arms customer.

"How can you argue that the USSR didn't shoot down the plane?"

 4. I didn't argue that the USSR didn't shoot down the plane. I didn't
    argue Russia's lie that it was doing espionage for the CIA and that
    the US bears full responsibility. Both are obviously false, since
    the plane WAS shot down, and since satellites obviate the need for
    such espionage and the trigger puller is always responsible. I would
    argue, however, that the plane was not innocently wandering over
    their military base in order to save gas, but was deliberately
    there, hoping to get forced down, as in the similar 1978 incident.
    Two people dead, especially Americans (more especially, a
    congressman) would have been enough to crystallize "anti-communist"
    public and congressional opinion, facilitating the funding of nerve
    gas, the MX, Radio Marti, and aid to El Salvador and the
    Somocistas.  I think that even the planners of this little game
    were surprised that the plane was shot down.  If, as expected, it
    had been only forced down, you can be sure that it wouldn't have
    taken Reagan a week to get off his horse and respond; and the same
    response would have SEEMED much stronger!  Again, you have to look
    at who benefits from well-orchestrated incidents.