Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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?Guest Column ? Case for not boycotting games By Skot Garrick Journalism junior Should the U.S. boycott the 1980 Olympic games to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan? It is the opinion of this student that we should not. It is already apparent that the United States objects to the Soviet invasion. The wheat embargo is a strong note of objection, as well our attempts to align with other countries for 4'possible serious diplomatic actions." There is no need for this country to deprive America's best athletes of the goals they have worked so hard for. MANY ATHLETES have only one shot at the coveted Olympic gold medal, and to rob them of this chance would be a heartless crime. The South African athletes who were barred from the Canadian Olympics are examples of this; none of them have competed in any major form of competition since that tragic drama. Holding related events in various parts of the world is a poor excuse for the sheer grandeur and glory that only the Olympics offer. There ran hp nn cnhctitutpc If the U.S. had boycotted the 1936 "Nazi" Olympics, the results would have been grave for the world. Hitler had hoped to virtually flood the games with his Aryan master men and walk away with the bulk of awards. It did not happen that way. The U.S., along with other European countries, helped to prove to the world that Hitler's "genetic engineering" was not as successful as he had hoped. In the various international contests that determine just who is the best of the American teams, our athletes have shown themselves to be the best Olympic team that our country has produced. We have the capability to be a major force in the games. THE SOVIETS have a program that is state owned and controlled for the specific purpose of producing Olympic winners. The U.S. has no such program. If an athlete from the U.S. makes it to the Olympics, it's because it is a decision that he or she made. It is a goal that he or she has strived for of their own free will. They have to search for means of practice and for financial support. An American who makes it to the Olympics embodies the truest representation of what America is. They, more than Jimmy Carter or even Col. Sanders, epitomize the American Heratio Alger spirit. MOVING THE Olympics to another city is one possible answer, but a decision must be made soon if this is to be the case. The preparation of an Olympic arena is something that takes time, and the Olympics are almost here. The Moscow games are not the only subject in question here. If the U.S. boycotts the games or causes them to be moved, should they in turn allow Russian athletes to perform at Lake Placid? In the past, politics have come near to destroying the games. The potential for disaster in the 1980 games is severe and apparent. If there is a repeated episode of the 1972 disaster when several athletes were held hostage and killed, what dire circumstances would prevail? It is sad to think that the spirit of the Olympics will be ruined by paranoid security measures, but it is a necessity in this case. THE RESULTS of the 1980 Olympics will definitely be far reaching. With two major world powers locking horns over such controversial questions as who will play where (it seems silly, doesn't it?), this student is somewhat worried over the possibilities that we may be on the brink of "the big one." Qamecock Ooinion I Founded 1 90R Tom Travis Edito' m Chief M . . Brian Ounciin Copy Desk Chief * v J ?N Michael Goodinq. ? Mcas Editor ... . I tic (..imciotk welcomes letters from 11rBrett Fnedlander Sports Editor readers All letters musl he typewritten and , q c . c .. triple spaced on a r>5-space line and should he <i James Rokosnv Entertainment Editor ' , ' maximum ol .(on words Robert Ariail Graphics Editor Letters must l>e signed with the writer "> Janet Gibson Ed,tonal Page Ed?o. v"rrw"1 najnu*- '? ma.linR address class standing and major Pseudonyms art Cylinda Calvert WireFditor unacceptable, but the writer's name may Im Mark Platte Assistant News Editor withheld by request if circumstances warrant We reserve the right to edit letter* lor spact Steve Riddell Assistant Sports Editor and style Address letters to: Campus Opinion Jeffrey Charney Assistant Entertainmont Ed ' amecock, Drawer A. 1<S( . ( olumbia , S.C 29208 Carl Babcock Graduate Assistant 1 Anthony Gray Advertising Manager S * I Bill Outlaw General Manager V ^ 01/14/ III/ ns William Tinsley Production Manager ln an effor{ to jut.rt.ase reader input inlc Mark Ethridge Jr Adviser future issues, the Gamecock offers a weekl> guest column Newsroom 777 7181 : Columns must be limited to one newsworthy Advertising 777 4249 ' and musl ,M' no more ,han four yP^1 Business Office: 777 3888 Pa?fs A)1 columns must he typewritten and triple spaced on a 65-space line All facts must Sole reproduction rights granted to the Jk- accurate The editorial pa#e editor Associated Press. All other material contained reserves the riiiht to reircl anv enlnmn fur -juv herein may not be reprinted without the reason and edit for space, content, style and permission of the editor. accuracy Opinions expressed in the Gamecock are <"olumns must be signed with correct name, those, If Signed, of the writer and. if unsigned. ad?ress. telephone, major and class standing of the senior editorial staff. "r acuity position Address columns to: Guest V J Column, The Gamecock. Drawer A. (JSC. Columbia. S C 29208 I I 4 C ^ / A Brief This Olympic TO Carter surp WASHINGTON?President Carter was dumbfounded to learn that Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev had lied to him about Russia's military thrust into Afghanistan. But our sources in the intelligence network tell us that Carter had had at least six months advance warning of the storm clouds over the strife-torn Middle Eastern country that has fused the onset of Cold War II. Here's the chronology of the crisis we pieced together: LAST SL'MMER the White House received alerts of disturbing Kremlin moves involving their puppet neighbor state of Afghanistan. Intelligence sources reported that a 400-man Soviet force was installed near the border town of Baghian. Then there was an influx oi Russian military advisers into the bleak barren land that promises a gateway to the oil riches of Arabia. In September, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had . enough secret information to caution that a Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was a probability. In November, when the Iranian - hostage crisis began, Red Army units were deployed to the Afghan border. Pakistan's P'oreign Minister Agha Shahi called the buildup to the attention of i Secretary of State Cyrus Vance in 1 a personal visit. Washington officials sought an explanation from Moscow and were assured that no military aggression was contemplated by the Kremlin. Carter, distracted by the mushrooming events in Tehran, accepted President Leonid Brezhnev's sweet talk despite the evidence accumulated by the American intelligence advisers. > The president belatedly discovered that Brezhnev apparently never read the story of i George Washington and the cherry i tree. His hard-headed Kremlin "hotline" counterpart was willing not only to wield the ax but to lie about it as well. Afghan springboard? In the secret map rooms of the White House and the Pentagon, a History of Fblitlcs in oment is brought te>)ou by; ctsBWH rised by Bre tiny sandspit of an island is being pinpointed these days as the potential flash point between the United States and the Soviet Union. It is Hormil7. whirh li#?c in fho narrow strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. IIORMUZ STANDS athwart the lifeline of oil shipments from Iran, rf President Carter decides to impose a naval blockade upon Ayatollah Khomeini's rabid regime, Hormuz would be the place for U S warships to take up stations. At the same time, the Soviet move into Afghanistan has placed Russian bases less than 500 miles from the vital strait. This means Soviet planes and missiles are within easy striking distance of the jugular vein of the seaway artery carrying oil to the non-Communist world. We've learned that U.S. strategists believe that the Kremlin is more wolfishly interested in the oil woalth nf fh*> Middle East than access to the warm water ports of the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. CIA anaylsts believe that the Kremlin is hoping to splinter Iran into separate ethnic autonomies that can be eventually engulfed into the Soviet empire. Afghanistan may be merely a springboard. A secret report written even before the Afghan incursion commented: "It is entirely possible that the Soviets U/OlllH I ICO tho A f fltll 111 wox, viiv iMgnauo, l ailllcllU) and Baluchis as proxy forces to form a surrogate army, thus avoiding the use of Soviet troops and a major confrontation with the United States." SIGNIFICANTLY, many of the troops airlifted into Afchnni?t?n are fluent in Middle East languages. Soviet propaganda broadcasts into Iran have been beating the tom-toms to stir up the ethnic dissidents in that tumultuous country. Energy turnabout With a decade of energy ad f BREZHNEV N J the Olympics the Mghan Ubwatton Front HHHHH sfaxinRl zhnev's lie v.ersity facing the nation, the White House has suddenly discovered that gasohol might provide an answer three years after we first wrote that mass production of the alcohol fuel could be a boon. In 1977. this column advocated the benefits of converting agricultural snrnltisp*; timhor -O ? ? 1 v4t,,^v'i waste and garbage into gasohol for American cars. PRESIDENT CARTER is now a Johnny-come-lately on the bandwagon. His advisers are promoting a crash program to encouragc gasohol production. Three years ago, however, Carter devoted only a single sentence in a 103-page national energy proposal to the potential of the synthesized fuel. Despite the fact that a massive switch to gasohol would ;providfe a way to use surplus grain because of Carter's embargo on sales to Russia, it's doubtful if the program will get off the ground. Congress authorized loan guarantees for pilot gasohol plants three years ago but not a single plant has neared completion. Meanwhile, the big gasoline companies are moving in on the market nd will probably rake in the government subsidies in the future. Jmiketing lawmakers Congress has its traditions. One of them is that our elected representatives somehow find time to seek out sunny climes when the House and Senate aren't in session and always at taxpayer expense. Here's just a partial list of current lawmakers who have managed to satisfy their wanderlust this recess: Sens. Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas, and Bill Roth, R-Del, junketed to the Far East for two weeks; Rep. John Brademas. D-Ind.. followed the sun to Spain and Portugal; Sen. Carl Levin, DMich., traveled to the Philippines and California ; Sen. S.I. Hayakawa, R-Calif., found some interesting fact-finding in Hawaii, Hong Kong, and the South Pacific paradise of Bali. Copyright. 1900. United Features Syndicate, Inc.