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Russia) By Teresa K. Weaver Gamecock Staff Writer The Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan was more of a defensive move than an offensive one in the view of a USC professor of government and international studies. Gordon Jmith, a specialist in . Soviet polities and foreign policy, said, "The American political leaders seem to assume the intention of the Soviet action in Afghanistan was one of trying to get to the sea and the Persian Gulf oil supplies. I'm just not willing to assume that the Soviets had designs." Smith has spent a total of about iwo years in me ^oviei Union, beginning with a one-year stay as an exchange scholar at Leningrad State University. He has also led a delegation of U.S. political leaders on tours of the Soviet Union. In may 1980, if Soviet-American relations don't further deteriorate. Smith will lead a group from the American Bar Association on a Soviet tour. CITING SUCH FACTORS as worsening relations with China, political reversals in Somalia. stagnated economy and the inability of the U.S. Senate to ratify SALT II, Smith said the Soviet Union felt that the balance of I power was shifting away from i them and that they had nothing to I lose by staging an invasion. "The Soviets share a 4,000 mile j long border with their single most j hostile enemy, China. And since the Iranian revolution, there's been a tremendous area of instability on the Iranian border of the Soviet Union. That instability on the border is something they've got to be very concerned about," Smith said. The Soviet Union fears the revolutionary movement in Iran will foster similar movements in the border area of the Soviet Union which Smith said is a critical industrial and agricultural region. j TONIGHT I ; for you I Hootenanny ;j at Wendy Ethel's I Enter your act to night by . | 8:00 p.m. to be eligible for a ' i $25 gift certificate. s " Happy Hour Beer | ! 8 pm Until li | 779-9211 I Main St Across from wade Hampton i l ,? j < scrap gold! rM A a a ?*? ? ' I| UIAIVIUINU) |J iKINGSj flgl 611 MAIN 1437 MAtWg The GAMECOCK is the student newspaper of the University of South Carolina and is published three times a week dii Mondays. Wednesdays and Fridays during the fall and spring semesters and once weekly on Thursdays during both summer sessions with the exception of university holidays and examination periods Opinions expressed in the QAMF.COCK are those of the editors and not those of the University of South CaroHna. The University of South CaroHna is an equal opportunity institution The Board of Student Publications and Communications is the publisher of the Gamecock The Student Media Office is the parent organisation of the Gamecock. Change of address forms, subscription requests and other correspondence should be sent to the GAMECOCK. Box 85131. Russoll House. University of S.C.. Columbia. S C. 29208. Subscription rates are $5 50 per semester and $2 for the summer sessions I Third class postage pak) at Columbia. E S C I )* J* f jn> r* n invasioi The Soviets entered Afghanistan with the intention of stabilizing the situation there, Smith said. He said he believes when the military gains control of Afghanistan, the Soviet Union will establish a stable form of government. When that occurs. Smith said the Soviets will withdraw with the exception of some advisers. SECRETARY OK STATE Cyrus Vance has told the Soviet Union that if their military forces are not withdrawn from Afghanistan by mid-February, the United States will not participate in the 1980 1V/I r*cnm?f uuiiiiuvi v/i 7 nipiv.0 in muoww . Smith said he doesn't believe the Soviets will leave the country by that time. He said, "Carter, by setting a deadline, sort of discourages the Soviets from getting out by that time because it will appear they are backing down to an American demand. American participation is simply not that important to them." An American boycott would be harmful if the support of a majority of western nations were gained. Smith said if a boycott ^'T01 v Your C Ca ( $64.9! Drawii VtSA c 4f ?> %** + .- # r ^ . ..,, / / ; n labelled JmHHuIr J&mwM m JBS JBbfjHIH - - B MP I?#- HHjT> &SSpr ^F ' " .' gg Gordon Smith ..1 J : 1 1 1 r _ r n. _ uuuiu invuive nan 01 me participant nations of the games it would be damaging not only to the prestige of the Olympics, but also to the sort of political gains the Soviet Union would like to achieve through the Olympics. "One of the things the Soviet Union wants to gain most from the Olympics is the international recognition and acceptance that is HODDAUU :ampus Bool Cray from 1 Here to Help 1 ilculator Proble TheT :ome By an< Register i 5 Printing C; ng will be at Check Tii Tl 1030 Datachron xi *ir 11 J J TI55 Tl 58C Tl 59 P100C Printer Tl 50 BA 11 MRA 1750 cn/in g^v^W 5025 "HE CAMPUS Russell I "Your Partner i I defcnsiv ? sort of implied in hosting the ? games," Smith said. He said | Germany and Japan were both w anxious to host the Olympics after ' World War II in order to reI establish their international aci eeptability. F R O M A N K C O N () M I C STANDPOINT, the Soviets could lose about $250 to $3(H) million in western currency, not including revenue from concessions and broadcast rights. Smith said. "They badly need western currency to buy western technology." Smith saiH hp Hnncn'f fool strongly about the possibility of an American boycott of the Olympics. "My normal feeling is that politics and sports should not mix," he said. "But that's a bit unrealistic, because there has always been a high degree of nationalism and national sentiment involved in the Olympics. I don't care for that, but I guess it's a fact of life." Smith said American participation would not necessarily confer legitimacy on the Soviet presence in Afghanistan, but would depend on how the administration presented it to the American public. r bstue n k store is Br 'exas instru rou with Your ms?ana to Den l Line. l Meet stev< For a Free alculator (Ti : 3 PM on th< lese Prices: Reg. Retail Jan. 3 15.95 34.95 22.25 42.50 106.25 254.95 2 169.96 1 33.95 38.25 59.50 19.95 rvo A i? 64.95 BOOKSTORE House n Education" sfr*w-" --yrrr-^ '? r-~ " "'" -""' >! "'* - e move t4If the administration decided that they didn't want to use the Olympics as a political tool, they could go before the people and say, 'We don't intend to mix politics and sports.' But this administration has chosen not to take that route," Smith said. "DETENTE WAS ALREADY on the rocks before they invaded Aignanistan, and the Soviets felt there was nothing they were jeopardizing by taking this action." he said. Future Soviet-American relations need to be based more on incentives for cooperation than they have been in the past, Smith said. Where conflicts do arise, the United States has a vested interest in minimizing the confrontation, he said. "The bottom line," he said, "is that we have to try to understand why the other is acting the way it does. That's absolutely crucial. If we assume that the Soviet Union is out for world domination, that is just going to reinforce their perception of the hostility and aggressiveness of the American military, and they will counterrespond with increasingly defensive actions." I AY! I inging ments no B 5025) B 31St. 1st spec. 14.95 32.95 20.95 39.95 99.95 >41.95 3?.95 32.25 36.25 56.50 18.75 87.95 61.70 I I 'kJVJjkju'A ?,- lB " "-rut < - a