The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 07, 1983, Page 4, Image 4
S.C. congressi
discusses Mar
By Ann Farmer
Three weeks before the Oct. 23 bombing
of U.S. Marines in Beirut, their commanding
officer told a congressional delegation that
the Marines' position was virtually indefensihlf>
Eolith P nrnlina P nnorpccman Inhn
Spratt said.
"The commanding officer said that if
anyone wanted to harm the Marines, clearly
they could," Spratt said in an address to the
South Carolina Student Legislature at a banquet
Saturday night.
The base was chosen for diplomatic and
political reasons, to keep the highways and
airports open. The position is even weaker
than it has to be, Spratt said.
THE DELEGATION reported on its
return that the diplomatic and political process
placed the Marines stationed in Beirut in
a highly exposed position, he said.
"Sixteen hundred Marines cannot keep
peace in that country. They know it," he
said.
If the Marines cannot be protected in their
present position, they should be repositioned.
If they can't be repositioned, the main
body should be sent to. the 15 ships in the
flotilla there, he said.
The situation is fraught with risk, not just
for the Marines at the airport, but for the entire
United States. There is a clear danger of
deeper involvement in a Lebanese civil war or
in a Middle East war, he said.
"THERE ARE 7,000 Soviet troops in
Syria; that's the closest we've come to a confrontation
with the Soviet Union in recent
times," he said.
Spratt said a growing frustration in Congress
over its inability to act led to the in~e
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"The problem is as old as the Constitution,"
he said. "What is the role of Congress
as the legislative branch in the commitment
of armed forces to hostility when there is no
war?"
The War Powers Act attempts to define
how the powers of Congress and the president
are to be exercised where they overlap in
committing armed forces.
IF THE president does what the act says
he cannot do, he is implored to report to
Congress within 48 hours, and to remove the
trooos after 60 davs if the action is nr>t an
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proved by Congress, or after 90 days if required
for a safe withdrawl, Spratt said.
Once a force is committed, the image of
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man Spratt
ines in Beirut
the United States is at stake, he said. If the
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wrn i? liivuKcu, congress nas iwu ciiuncs;
to agree with the president's commitment, or
to call the troops home.
Spratt stressed the application of the War
Powers Act to Lebanon as a precedent.
"Two months ago the President denied the
applicability of the WPA, saying that as
commander-in-chief he could deploy
troops," Spratt said. "Four weeks ago he
acknowledged that it does apply and sent letters
to (congressional) leaders agreeing not to
increase the numbers or change the mission
without getting Congressional authority."
IF THE WPA applies to 1,600 Marines
now, it may very well apply to more in El
Salvador tomorrow, he said.
Spratt also talked about feelings in the
House during the vote on the deployment of
troops and the future of the situation in
f
LCUtlllUll.
He said most of those reluctant to allow
the troops to remain were older, more conservative
members who had voted on sending
troops to Vietnam.
He said the most effective speech came
from an Arizona representative who had
been a prisoner in North Vietnam for six
years and who quoted the English Gen. Maxwell
Taylor as saying that to be a police action,
the mission must be explainable to the
man in the street in 10 seconds or less.
"We've spent hours in the House and have
not discerned the mission yet," Spratt said.
THE OBJECTIVE is limited at best, he
said. When a declared objective ceases to
nave meaning, we snouia wnnaraw.
One year ago the Marines were sent to
Lebanon for a limited period until the
Israelis withdrew. Now the Israelis are gone
and the Marines stay so the Lebanese can
reunite and train an army, he said.
At a luncheon, the Lebanese Foreign
Minister pleaded for America to deliver on
its commitment to Lebanon, a commitment
he said was to get the Syrians out of
Lebanon, Spratt said.
The country is divided into many internal
factions, each with its own militia, and
they're using us to promote their own internal
struggles, he said.
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Amin Gemayal must concede considerable
power for reconciliation to take place, Spratt
said. Added to the internal problems are the
involvement of the Syrians, PLO, Libyans
and Iranians.
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