I November20, îg7S / 3Ol la * T PEACE AND FREEDOM THRÚ NONVIOLENT ACTION IS THE US WAGING \A/EATHER WARFARB? NATO, South Africa and the USA Interview \l/ith ä Portuguese Soldier Unionizing the Military I 1. Ç ÇT Þat I c¡(r i:jiilÍ-::j Hi¡ -(: i 'Lrfrï"llA- ij :tr' tlii_j{i riþ Jli 7t: l¿ Å{: itj_i -¡ 3 U tlT-t S.if t_ t She believes that the¡e a¡e those who want her killed-as an example to other radical feminists. And we have come, painfully, to agree with her. Most of he¡ adversaries, I am sure, would be content to have her good name destroyed- and radical feminism discredited with her. Others would like to see her literally dead. Does this sound melodramatic? The bulletin inserted in Midnight Specíal, trying to make her fellow prisoners believe they had an informer in I thought your response to Leah Éritz urr fair. You try to make her sound like a very unreasonable female. But her anger at having her name used in a current ñ¡ndraiser should not have taken you by zurprise. You cut several sentences from he¡ letter before'printing it. One of those sentences tefets to a previous letter of hers which you didn't print and which contained many objections to the way you had been treating her recently. So it might have ociurred to you that she'd mind hiving her name used now as in the past. Your letter is not fair, eithe¡ to Karla Iay, who wanted to edit a special issue on Jane Alpert. Shp didn't refuse to zubmit to you material already written. You'd seen ' one of the pieces she wanted to use. None of the other pieces some ofus planned had their midst, is evidence enough. You say that all of us who wanted to write for the special issue were coming f¡om one position. If you mean the position that Jane's life should be defended, yes we we¡e, And if you mean the position that the radical feminist movement must,survive, yes we were, My hope of course had been that WIN would identify with this position (which still allows fo¡ a wide variety of views among us). But you couldn't quite hear us-when we were talking life and death. Here is one reason why some ofus who have felt in the pasthappy enough to be referred to in your ads asmemberJ of the 1VIN "gang" begin to shy at that label. But as I wrote to WIN recently, I am addicted to optimism. I can't yet believe that you won't begin to hea¡ us. It is my deep conviction that a?this point in history, a commitment to nonviolence-which WIN declares-reEtires a commitment to feminism; requires a recogniiion of the truth feminists have begun to speak-that the root of all violence is the violence men do women, ha¡der to identify than any othe¡ violence becaúse this violence has been eroticized. No, I can't yet believe that you won't begin to hear us. -BARBARA DEMING . yet been written. The question of the Jane Alpert issue is mo¡e cn¡cial than perhaps you realize yet. You write that you felt WIN å¿d defended Jane. Yes, you had printed two essays of mine in her defense and you had printed a letter of Kay Van Deurs' and a lette¡ of. Diana Davies'. But.Kay and Dianaand and Kaúa Jay and Lealt FriÞ, and Andrea Dworkin ¿¿d J ane Gapen and Ca¡ol G¡os berg-which is to say almost all the fèminists who have written for you-felt strongly that very much more remained to be saidWe felt, ín the first place-we still feelthat the very life of a sister is at stake. Jane Alpert lives, quite literally, in fear of l- assassination. You didn't want to persorts alize a political issue, you say. But it is not we who have personalized a political issue. It is Jane's adve¡saries who have done that. 'Jayk piece about being a victim, IWIN, l0l23l75l for example. I can ¡ead thaí sort of muddled reasoning in fhe Dailv News o,r New York Magazine or in teítimonials for.the local karate school. It's a far cry from the eloquent article of over a year ago on a nonviolent response to prison raoe. Then there's Brad Lyttle's reply to Barbara Deming [MN, 10/30/75] . I missed the Deming article, but it must have been a ¡eal tant¡um, to push a nice man like Brad to subscribe to an "androgynous ideat." Good heavens, that's Pete¡ Pan all over again. An "androgynous ideal'? is the stuff of childhood dteams, when we ate too busy discovering ourselves to admit that we a¡e different f¡om momma and daddy and sisters and b¡others. Kicking the "androgynous ideal" is another way of saying "grow-ing up." It's when we can ûnally admit that we are separate and diferent from our parents and others. Ifwe nevet reach that point how can we be tolerant ofracial, cultural : and age dife¡ences? How can we be the adults our children so badly need as models? OJr well, I sigh, maybe I'm just getting to old for WIN, which does have a lovely and maddening quality of eternal youth. And then I turn from B¡ad Lyttle to læah Fritz's lette¡ and reply, IWIN, 10/30/751 and I write my check. There, really, is everything I admire you for. You give Leah Fritz her forum (where she, too,.wants it both ways; "Dissociate me from WIN but send me lette¡s at their add¡ess"). but in your comment you never once stoop.to her level of anger. Yours is indeed a soft answer that tu¡neth away wrath. The Workshop in Nonviolence lives; howwer'fitfutly; arid I pledge my continued support. . Monticello, NY Ossining, NY t am a longtime WIN reader and radical, faggot whose developing feminist consciousness owes much to the writing of Leah FriE, and others, in these pages. Thus I am very disturbed by the vindictive turn of some of her recent writings, to wit: This zumme¡ she wrote a malediction Cambridge, Mass. against Chuck Fager [VIN, 6/12175] forhis opposition to abortion t81221751. I happen to think Chuck is wrorig-and I agree with her major premises: l) that it is preposterous The annual subscription notice comes, and for me, a male, to tell women the rights for thd trst time in years, I pause before and wrongs of abortion, and 2) that men automatically renewing. Dollars must be had better take reiponsibility for preventing counted carefully, and I have begun to unwanted ptegnancy. But I felt her abusivewonde¡ about my suppott. I have always ness toward Chuck was unnecessary. been attracted to WIN as a ',workshop in And I'm sorry, I found her letter of nonviolence," but lately I wonder if the October 30 largely petty. I cannotjudge ' editors still seè it that way. Take Karla WIN's inte¡nal hassles, though I do feel that I accuses WIN of. Regretfully, after many yeæg I must cancel my subscription. Your response to Leah Frite's lette¡ in the WIN of October 30th does not meet the issue of yorir token response to the women's movement -HELEN L. GRAY It seems to me as a fairly constant reader, that WIN is giving a lot of coverage to feminism, sexism and gay matters.,That's ok. The primary job of a pacifist and Gandhian publication is to oppose war and to be involved in fighting the injustices that lead to wars and violence. There are many such areas including sexism, nuclear arms important. Those who are hipped on one particular injustice, because of their background, should properly work in that field, and join organizations whose sole aim is correcting. that particular injustice. If, in addition, they want nonviolent remedies (not every feminist believes in nonviolence), WIN is ' the proper fon¡m for their ideas. It's understandable that everyone would like thei¡ own particular "hu¡t" to be given a fuller play. Farmworkers fear loss of jobs, disarmament workers fear a world reduced to molten lava an{ stripped of life. An editorial committee can have its hands full comitant þsrice. -rr?"ï:ii As an avid reade¡ ôf WIN Magazine I was beginning to think too much emphasis was being exerted for the feminist movemenl The¡e are so many areas in the world requiring enlightenment to your readers that you could not concentfate on just one movement to the exclusion of all othe¡s. As Leah Fritz's points IWlN, l0/30/751 may not, I really don't know, but I do know tliat we have no right ûght' ing among ourselves when there are so rnany""enemies" to combat: The American l,eft has perennially devoured itself in necdless internecine struggles like this one within the women's movement. Hdve we learncd nothing at all in the lasf, 150 years? Please can't we get it together with good friends like Leah F¡itz and the wonderful folks ¿it WIN! . $10,000 $15,000 $20,000 $25,000 $ @@ 2 WtN 4. ls the US Waging Weather Waifaie? Mork Looney S. NATq. South Africa and the USA Cambridge, Mass. . Peter D. Jones . -PETER HOLLORAN 10. An lnterview With an Armed Forces Assembly Member I Fred Strasser 13. Getting the Muste,lnstitute Go¡ng lUendy Schwartz 14. Unibnizatiön and Democracy in the Military l'Dovi d Cortrìght 16. The Sinai Disengagement - Poulo Royman 1 CORRECTION Steve Barkan wrote to point out that in hisiarticle, "Taking the Law into Our Own Hands" [WlN, 11116175l¡ in the secoñd new paragraph on page6, the line beginning "ln all these matters the judge..." should read: "ln all these matters the judge often feels constrained to allow the defendant a good deal of latitude in what he or ir she says, prec¡sely because the pro se defendant is considered ignorant of traditional rules of evidence and courtroom procedure. As a result the pro se defendant's legal naivete can enable hím or her to inject political and moral issues into the proceedings." The material from the Milwau kee "12 trial came from Francine du Plessix Gray's article "The UltraResistance" which appeared in The New York Review of Books and was repr¡nted in Trials of the Resistance, $35,562.91 0 Nov. 20, 1975 lVol. Xl No. be well takeri or r.i maliing decisions on coverage. Temporary overemphasis on one topic, howcver, needn't cause concern. All endeavors work toward the same goal, peacq and its con- . Irritz'$ lette¡ oflensive a¡d zuggest she step out in to the sunlight, take,a good ha¡d look at our world and open her mind to all that is around us. We need more publications like WIN to kpep us informed. _ESTHER ROSENtsLITH Altamonte Springs, Fla. -JOHN KypE,R Roxbury, Mass and power, ecology, race relations, farmworkers, etc. A balance has to be established in covering these areas. They are all equally -BARBARA WALKER often happens to people with one goal in mindl they forget àbout the other oppressions in our socie,ty that should be brought to the attention of your readers-many areas which are not covered in national magazines and newspapers which are corrupted by their advertisers. I found Leah WIN could use a more thoroughgoing feminist perspective on all the subjects it covers I don't feel that the malc power games of politics are irrelevant, because they affect my lii'e, usually to my detriment. The systematic murde¡ and assassination conducted by the CIA, NSA, et al. since a generation ago in postwar Germany may. well be a precufser of what they want to inflict on us if they eve¡ deciiJe to pull a ' coup. As one who particularly appreciated 'Leah's lette¡ l.WlN, 8/14/751 puncturing Dan Berrigan's mæculine pomposity, l lvas most anguished by her latest letter bccause 'of she seemed in,danger strccumbing to the very same "c,grrect line" ideology that she 7. Changes 19. Reyiews Cover: Drawing by Paul Spina. STAFF . Maris Cakars . Susan Cakars Dnight Ernest . Mary Mayo . Susan Pines Fred Rosen . Murray Rosenblith UNINDICTED CO.CONSPIRATORS B¡rri, Lrnca Balvlll. . Tom Bruckar i ': Jarry Coffnù' LynnaShrtzhln Coilnr 'j Ann Orvldon. Dl¡n. O.vl.¡. Ruth D.rr R¡lph ÞlGl¡rr Brlrn Doh.rty. Wllll.m Oouth.idi Jrn Krran Durblnt, Chuck F¡g¡r. S.th Foldy -..:t.' ' ,.,1 ;i Jlm For.¡t. Lalh Frltz. Lrrry Glrr Joåñ Llbby Hlwkr. NGll H¡úorth. Ed H¡dcnilnn Grôcå Hodcmann. Hcndrlk H€rtzbcrgr Karla Jay. Marty Jezerr. Becky Johnson Nancy Johnson. Paul Johnson, Alison Karpel Cralg KarÞel . John Kyper. Elllot Llnzôrt Jâck5on Mac Low. Davld McR€ynoldsr Dâvld Morrls. lvtark Moirlsr ' Jlm Pcck Trd Rlchrrds. larl Ròodcnko'Nåncy Roscn Ed srndârl, wqñdy schwrrtzr. Mrrth! Thoma¡at ¡it Úrcrow. ¡ilcñ Young . S.vrrly vüoogwrro t Mamö.i ol WIN .Editoriå¡ BoòÍrl. . i. , Box 547 / Rifton / New lork 12471 Telcphone: 91 ¡l-339-4585 $40,000 $45,000 $50,000 WIN ls pubtt¡hrd w..kty cxcepi for tho frst two warks ln Janu¡ry, thc last wsok ln Mtrch, thc llßt wÊck ln Junc, thc lrst two wsek¡ lri ¡ug.rl!!, .nd th. ltrst two wrcks tn S.ptrmbrÌ Pv ry!!.N. Mrgrztn. tnc. wlth ttrc sudpori oi tha Wtr R.rl¡tcrs Lêåguè Subscrlpt¡óns rra plr y.!r. S.cond ctür portegb p¡td tt l]f N.w York, NY ¡0001. tndtvidutt -wrti¡r¡ rr¡ .xpr.r¡.d Ind rccurtcy -oplnlon¡ ot fact¡ glv.n. Sorry-m.nurcrlpt¡ c¡nnot b¡ ró turnad unlat¡ tccomp¡nl.d by-! ralf,addra¡¡ad prtnt.d ¡n USA ¡t¡mp.C.nv.lopa ra-agonrlÞla for WIN 3 ,ìt ' ' q 'thoto by cam smtt As economic compet¡tlon omong mony dlsødvontoged nations hqightens, it may be to a countryts odvantoge to insure a peaceful, naturol envlronment for ltself ond o disturbed envifonment for lts competitots. . . Such,a secret war need never be declored or known by the offected populotions. . .The yeorc ofdrought ønd storm could be ottributed to unkindly ¡toture -Dr. Gordan J.F. MacDonald, former mernber"of the Presídent's Council on Environmental Qual¡ty -hearings before the US Senaten |an.25,1974 Mark Looney is o p.eoce act¡v¡st based i.n l'lashington,DC 4 WtN Let me soy this before rain becomes o ut¡lity thdt they plan and distribute for money: By "they" I mean the people who cannot understond.that rain ls o festìual, who do not oppreciate the gratuity, who think thatwhat has no price has no volue, thot what connot be sold is not reol, so that the only way to make something octuol is to place it on the market. The time will come when they will sell you even. your min. -Thomas Merton, " Rain and the Rhinocerous" from RaÌds on the Unspeakoble Modern weaponry ¡n the 20th century has increasing: ly shocked us with its vast array of sophisticated scientific instruments of death. From the ruins of Hiroshima to the iungles of lndochina, we have see4 con the devastating results of the misuse of science and the misappropriation of resources by the Alherican government. lndochina served as a testing ground for [hese new weapons. lt also served as the proviirg groundbf US imperialism for controlpf the Third World. The war changed from Arherican combat 'troups and counter-þuerrilla warfare to autonqated battlefields; direct himan contact by Americans was removed further and ff¡rther as protests grew at home. ln a world where nâtions are increasJngly choosing socialism'to redesign their'societies, it is likely,that the US government will implement a policy of covert warfare for the Third.World. AlJende's Chile was an example of such activity. A case san be made that the Americari gorúernment is currently waging a ú¡ar with the rest of the world for control of mineral resources through increasing domination of the world'S food supply. Food has become a weapon;qf our countryperhaps more powerful and subtle thán all the shiÞs, bombs and planes in the American military garrisons. We have only begun to realize the existence and ramifications of this food war. ln this same conflict, añothcr weapon thát was used extensively in Vietnam appears-weather modification. For the past 80 years the Ameri,can government has been sin king money into a myriad of weather meddling experiments. Two early experimenters were C.W. Post of Post (Toasties) Cereal fame, who con- ; ducted private rainmaking tests with bombs in 19111912, and Charles Warren Hatfield, who roamed the land with his 26 foot fuming platform. ln the 1930's many ofher countries,began to get.involved in the act, such as the Russians and the Germans. Big advances in weather tar.npering were made during World War ll by Uncle Sam and General Electric who employed lrving Langmuir, Vincent Schaefer and Bernard Vonnegut (for all you weather mod triviäfans that's Kurt's brother) to develop chemicals such as dry ice for rainmaking. Directly after the war many drought expgriments were executed by the Air Force over the Southwest which enraged Texas cattle farmqrs. As chemicals produced ran through cloud seeding, it was also discovered that overseeding led to extensive cold dissipation and droughts Corporations have developed whose sole activity is to change our weather. Dr. lrving Krick est¿blished the first one in 1950, Water Resources Development Corporation, which contracted w¡th various governments, domestic and foreign, and with farmers. ln the early 1950's, it was estimated that 1Ùo/o of the US territory wæ having its weather modified. ln 1957 lke appointed a Committee on Weather Control that concluded that weather modific4tion is wonderful and should be funded by the govêrnment. During the 50's numerous American military figures stressed the importance of developing weather modification as a $reapon before the Russians did. Weather modification, more specifically rain modification, was a complicated scientjfic weapon that the American military experimented with ¡n North Vietnam, South Vietnam and Laos from'1967-1972. Due to the efforts of Senator Clairborne Pell and the Chicago Science for Vietnam Collective a wealth of information on military weather tamperíng in lndo cli¡na and elsewhere wás collected during hlarings held in the summer of "1972 and early 1974. Fall's rjhief motivat¡ons were to flush out information on what occurred in lndochina to enlighten world opinion and hopefully to enact international treaties banning weather and environmenhl warfare. After much lying ' (Laird once told Fulbright that they never used weather ,modification in lndochina) and stalling, a secret (now unclassified) session was held between Pell, Sen. Case, and milltary brass on March 2O '1974, regarding lnde china. This hearing revealed the Pentagon soaked a total of $21.3 million in flying 2,602 rainmaking I sorties over lndochina between Lt. Col. Ed Soyster testifiêd that in October 1966 the Pentagon ran a series of testsjo determine if they could increase rainfall over parts qf lndochina¡ eoh, Soyster stated that the program was to determ¡ne ¡f ' íncreased rainfall could further soften roads, cause' '1967-'1972. landslides, wash out river crossings and in general aug: ment poor traffic conditiorìs. By November the tests were completed and it wæ concluded that cl oudseecli nf to indu ce additional : rai n over infi ltration routes "could be used as a valuable tactical weapon." On March 20,1967, the Pentagon bèg¿n cloudseeding " ôperations over North Viçtnani using WC-1 30rveather reconnaissance and RF-4C photô reconnaissance aircraft. According to the heaiings, rainfall was increased 9,1966, r 'by.over 3Ùo/oinlselected areas. Apparently the first time weather modification wæ acnrally used ¡n Viêt nam was over Hue in 1963 by the ClA. It is important to examine the, ñil¡táry woather . modification apparatüs and the inTerconnected "civilian" agencies that are involved. Although Air Forcè, Army and Navy units have all been act¡vely researçh'ing and testing weather modification as a weapon, lndocl¡ína weaüher weaponry w.as coord¡nated b"y the ', Air Forçq-more Fpecifically by Air Weather Service. This umbrella weather agency of the A¡r Force has been writing det¿iled exposes on the weather of other countries since the mid-'|94O's. Global Weather Con trol at Offet Field near Omaha, Nebraska and Scott Air Field in East St. Louis are two important bases for A¡r Weather Servicg but the most important weather modification research was conducted by sciçntists at the Cambridge Research Laboratories at Hanscom Field outside qf Boston. This base worked closely on the lndochina rainmaking operations. Along with Hanscom Field, another key bæe ir the Navy's China Lake Base, China Lake, California (neqr Los Angeles). Pierre St. Amand, the top rnilitary weathef modification expert testified before Senator Pellrs subcommittee in January of 1974 describing their work. Rain control is top on their agenda and they have the technology. Yet they have also been able to clear fog rèduce hâil, influence cloud formation, snow and lightning This base has dispersed fog fn the Panama C¡nel Zone; produced rain in lndia (after drought), produced rain in Okinawa'and the Phillippines in 1969 and'1971 respectively. Afgharf¡stan, Argentina,Brazil, Chile, Cypìus, Ethiopià, Iran,' Kenya, Libya and Taiwan also petitioned this base to assist in weather modification. Over 60 countries have contracted for the services of private US weather modifi cation corporations. Au stral ia, Braz il, I nilia, lsrael, Japan, Mexico, Phillippines, Soviet Union, France, Canadapnd ltaly all have ac,tive weather modification.programs of their own. Yet the Un¡ted States'seems to have the most developed technology. Our advanced computerization of weather information gives us a considerable edge in perfecting weather ' as a weapon. Both thç Air Force and Navy maintain their own weather satellite systems. Several very sophisticated satellites have been kept aloft for the last nine years. The Navy's Fleet Numerical Weather Control in Monterel4, California and the Air Force's Global Weather Control serve as the command bases for these wtN 5 ri ..4, I i i I despite an ou.tward "civilian" appeärances.) Many of the first satellites in the 1950's were weathór satellites. A total of 22 TIROS and ITOS weather satellites were launched. Weather rockets are launched frequently by NASA at'Wallops lsland, Virginia. I LLIAC 4 weather' modification computers are operated jointly by DOD l l L and NASA at NASA's Ames Research-Center at Moffet Field, California. The purpose of these computers, which were installed in 1973, is to study how humanmade changes in the weather affect the global climate. I Manned spaceflights such as Skylab alsolollected in- , form¿tion on weather. At the NASA LBJ Space Center in Houston, Texas, displays and movies iefer to the use of this information in relation to weather modifca- l tion research. \ Numerous unclassifed documents indicate that the Army is also heavily involved in weather modification research at places like the Army Electronics Conr mand Base at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, the Cold R9Si9n¡ Lab at Hanover, New Harnpihire ând various missile bases such as the Army Missile Command at Huntsville,-Alabama and the US Signal Missile Support Agency at Whitç Sands, New Mexiðo. The whole US government weather scene is dominated by the mili- ' tary. The "civilian" US Weather Service was created by the Army Signal Corps. Today the Weather Service anâ its parent organization the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are overflowing with old and active Air Weather Se.rvice-Air Force " people. Dr. George Crossman, present Director of the Bureau, worked computerizing the.Air Forbe before he came to the Weather Bureau. Now the Weather Bureau is being totally computerized by Crossman. \ Meteorological schools are also iwamped bv thd military with scholarships, jobs (OOD is the largest employer of weatherpeople) contracts, consultint feei, etc. Various civilian ag'encies are extensively involved in weather tampering research includíne the Deot. of Transportation, lnterior, Commerce -(NOAA), National - 6 WIN House hearings this summer was withdrawn: Two years I ago the Senate passed a resolution calling for an inter- cause severe ond protracted drought during.the grow lng season in a country dependent on certain crops for national treaty to ban weathef modification. Thq House has yet to act on this resolufion, but its Sub' committee on lnternational Relatipns þ¿5 þes¡*" '4 . frustrated in its attempts to shape a strong treaty wilh tl¡e Ford Administration. Letters sent by House Coñgressional members have enjoyed weak or no responses food and forelgn exchànge. n August of '1974, the Office of Political Re' searchif the CIA ieleased an imbórbnt report titled "Potential lmplications of Trends in f agency that is heavily dorninated by the military l fication resolution to evaluate and disseminate all research information. Government witnesses at Congressional hearings have often given little information, èxcept for St. Amand, unless they were pressured. The only government witness scheduled to appear at Stroteg¡c use would be use that tended to ugset the economy of another country {or o long perlöd of time, .or to cause extensive domoge to the crops of thot country. , .lt might, to.toke o negative vÌewpolnt, be advontageous to couse heavy roin during planting seoson to preclude sprouting and þrowth pnd then to operations. High over our heads the military weather satellites are providing both visiblelight infiared imagery for day and night cloud surueillance in addition to making vertical temperature profiles. This data from the satellites is received at secret ground stations around the world and is converted to digital computer format at the two base stations. When tñis system was reyealed three years ago, then Under-Secretárv of the Air.Force John McLucas revealed that ,,certaín aspects of the data system remain classified.,' NASA satellites have contributed a great deal to the military's understanding of weathei. (NASA is an I , Science Foundation, AEÇ Agriculture, etc. We can as sume that the numerous expelimental proiects funded are of value to the m¡litary. project Stormiury, a joint DOD and Commerce operation ieeded four hûrrióanes to affect their course between 1961-1971 . Numerous other projects with names like Climax, Wh¡teióp, ãñã others involved numerous civilian Fedôral asencies in from Ford's ' ' US. . rainmaking experiments prior to use in Vietiam. Controlling rain has been at the top of the list for the military-not.only increasing it, but stopping it. A great deal of work has been donè on cloud äispeïion which results in droughts. ln the late 1940's, tile Air Force discovered to the disgust and anger ofTexas and Arizona cattle ranchers thaa drought cõuld bè created th rou gh overseed ing. Weather modification expert Gordan MacDonald confirms thís in his article ,,How to Wreck the Environment,' from lJnless peoce Comes: Preltminary anolysis suggests that there is:no effect 20&300 mlles down range but thot continued seeding ove,r o long stretch of dry land clearly could remove sufficÌent moisture to prevent roin t00 miles down wind. This extended effect leods to the possibilÌty of covertly removing moìsture from the aimosphere so , that o'natìon dependent on Woter vopor crossing o. t competitor country could be subjected to yeori of drought. The operotion could be conceoled bv the stotisticol irregularity of the atmosphere. A iotlon possess i ng su p e ri or t ech no I ogy i n env i ron m en ta I monipulation could damoge on adversary without re-, veøling iß intent, ln addition to rain tampering (the more publicized aspect of weather modification) numerous military experiments and research have been conducted with' missiles to effect atmospheric temperature and ozone content. Much of this research seems to be centered at Hanscom Field. This work which began in the early 1960's, studied the effect of the releãse of various gases and other substairces on the temperature of the upper atmosphere. Rocket exhaust materials ôan apparently ch_ange termp.erature and electron density-¿¡¡ of which affects rainfall. Ozone research Uy the military has also tjeen developed in relation to temÞerature. lt is generally admítted that a weakened ozone belt could create climate changes. A thinnins of the ozone layer aroqnd the globe could mean a ðrop in temperature, wind shifts, which would affect rainfall, desert belts and sea levels. Why would the United States government have such a strong interest in contr_olling the rain and temperatrlre? Perhaps the answer was supplied by pierre St. Amand, Director of the Nayv's China Ljke Base, when he appeared before Senator Pell's Sub-Committee on January 25, "1974: World Population, Food Píoduction and;Climate," The report describes how providing adequate food stocks for the world will-þecome an increasing problem in thé years ahead with a key role falling to the ,il . . .in the of odrrrse chonges in clìmote, "rtnìt the outcome cøn only be grwe, . , The US now provides nearly three fourths of the world's net groin exports and ìts role ii almost certo¡n to grow over the next severol decades. The world's increasing dependence on American surpluses portends an increase in.US power and influence, especiolly visa-vls the food defrcit poor countires lndeed, ¡n time of shortoges the US wìll face dlfficult choices about how to allocate its surpluses between affiuent purchaserc and the hungry world. The implÌcotìons for the world food situation and for US lnterests could be considerobly greoter if clìmotologists who believe o cooling trend is undenuay prove to be right, lf the trend continue!; for several decades there would olmost certoinly,be on obsolute shortoge of food. The high-latitude areas, lncluding the USSR ond North China, would experience'shortèr growìng seasons and a drop in' output. The monsoon-fed lands in Asia and Africo would olso be adversely affec.tgd. US production would probably not be hurt much. As custodian of the.bulk of the world's exportable grain, the US might regain the primacy in world affairs it held in the immediate past World War ll era. . . . . ln the poor and powerless areas, population would have to drop to levels thotläuid be supported. The poputotion problem would have solved itself in thë most unpleasant foshion. ln1972 Radio Havana charged that the CIA had modified Cuba's rainfall to affect her sugar crop. The Thai government has modified weather against liberation troops in its northeast sector according to hearings held before the House last Septeniber. Rhodesia was accused by her neighbors of weather warfare in '1973. Dr. Jorge Vivq director of the Georgraphic Research Center of the University of Mexico, charged that the United Statés artifically detoured Hurrican Fifi into Honduras last year to save Florida's tourist industry. This charge wâs denied by the US govern- aides. As a result of the .f uly 1974 Nixon-Brezhnev sum- I mit and weather modification communigue, American and Russian negotiators bargained three times ih the læt year to prevent a draft treaty to the United Nations this August. Numerbus arrñs control experts view this treaty as weak since ít prohibits only catastrophic use of weather modification that has wi d çspread, severe, I on g- lasti ng effects. Sh ort-term tactical bans and bans on small areas wêre ¡ntent¡onally absent from the proposed treaty. Many feel that American deployment of rainmakin$ in lndocbina would not be banned by the treaty'. This.draft treaty will be discussed in the UN General Assembly and , probably will be acted upon when the Geneva Dis. armament Conference reconvenes in February. Weathbr modification is something that requires at tention, investigation; protest and civil disobedience. The military bases and their personnel need to be studied. Congress should inquire into possiblç current use of weathér modification in'relatíon to food production. ln this upcoming election year, Ford and other candidates ought to be confronted with weather modifcation as an issue. Above all, in a world where na. tions are increasingly discarding capitalism as an antique and dangerous system, we need to build a more united movement for democratic socialism in America. To give food aid to countrles just because people are staving is o pretty weak reason. -Danny Ellerman, Staffperson, US National Security Council Posr, Decemb er 9, 197 4 llÌash.i ngton Staruotion, hunger and food shortages wilt unleosh and shorpen att the basic controdictìons, The imperiolists will respond with solutions like populatìon control, war and greøter monopoly power, But hunger ìs too stork ond the conflict irrecoíciliable, The situation could well defrne the coming period. -Prai rie Fì ré,,Wezther Underground, ment. Yet the record of the US government in weather of lies anä deception. Along with lies to Fulbright about use in Vietnam, the US delegation to the Stockholm Environmental Conference in 1972 weakened a clause in a weather modi- modification is one ' .Laird's , wlN 7 -t .l Although the American losses in SE Asia appear to a poticy re-think in that ur"" of ih. ruorld, -lg.-:1lr:d rhe chang¡ng pattern of events in Southern Africa since the coup in portugal in April 1974, do not seem Ì l to have had a símiliar effecl Even beforó the changei in Portugal, US policy rowards Southeìn Ãñca;ä9r.rr4 g!.r support for the white minoriry regimes, and this drift seems to have strengthened over tñe lasl l2 months. Both the Organizatiõn of African ùnits (O{_U] ana the liberaiion rou"rànö *ãie iriticat of the US decision ro repl-ace Donald Earu, S;cr.r;;y of State for African affairs with Nathaniel Oav¡s, wñi was ambassador to Chile at the time of Allende'i over- l l I l t throw. . T!gr. has also been íncreasing collusion between the US and South African miliralry, srppôrtãã-úySecre?ry.of Srår9 H9¡ry..(isingei. inïpiii, ì sentarive. Les Aspin (D-Wis) reveãled thai uíder ä conqaï ytg a company called US Nuclear CorÞoration 0gr,. I enn., US has senr 97 tbs. of highly -"]_y_1* ff uranium to _rhe ennched Soutlr Africa over the last yeãr, ' with,a balance of 28lbs. still due to be ¿etiuãre¿ under the terms of the same contract_enough to make nine atomic bombs. Rep. Aspin tdded rh;¿',;sourh Africa has the féar ro wanr ti¡ Uuit¿ a Uómú has the rechnical skill to be able to Uuilli UãmU.,, South Africa has not signed rhe nuririr' nãñ_óiäjif.r_ tion treaty. '] n.ór" L --Jii' ïhe_tilt in US policy goes back ro National Se curity-_Study Memorandum 39 (NSSM 39)dnwn up in 1969, and approved by ex-pràsidentñ¡lõn ¡n tebruary 1.970. The content ívas revealed in an article in Es.quire in October 1974 by Tad Szulc unJer the lea.ding "Why are we in Johañn.ab*g? Ãñ ;clusive rooK at your government,s bright new idea.', The document showed a tilt towards the white minority q regimes in the context of mounting'aangãri'öoseA to thery. black liberarion movemen-rs, bür du; toìh; þ¡r sensibilities of certain se-ctions of nníericâñ ãp¡n¡ðn, the new p_otícy was tty ãonüi;ã.îh;iarionat security Council ""r"t lntêrdepartmental Group for Africi laa !99t9$ ar five policy-opríons ,,Tar,ñóírn-ôpììänz, wìich then acquired the name "n¿ Baby," after the Brer Rabbit story ! The fundamenhl asóúmption ot the memorandum ùas: ,,The whites are here to a1d the only way that constructive change can ltayr come about is through them. There is no hope"for the to gain the.polirical rights they seek tiìrough 9]1:-kr v¡otence, which,will only lead to chaos and increalsed opportunities for the Communists. We can, by setec_ tive relaxation of our stance towards the níhiríe regimes,- encourage some modification of theìicur. rent racial and colonial policies and through more substantial economic asi¡srance to the uliäi itatei Peter lones is a member of the Namibio Transnational - Collective ond European Utorkgroiþ [fO:nj.- 1 based at Norfotk, Virlinia¡ until approved the otawa . o" Ãt"rli¡ä'[u"tions which included direcr support foiñnf-O ìlær_ vention ourside rhe Charrer arää in Árt¡¿tá ìb_t first time that NATO has offciaily appiovã¿ ãf suctr " a move! ln December 1974 the lohonnesburo Stor paften, repórted from eirisels: .9.9r¡qspo¡d9n! Tim "NATO Defense Ministers áre maintaíni"¿ cloak.of sec-recy but ir has been ma¿eii"äipriü¿rely that the defense of the Cape sea route is wdlí ioveár¿'¡ in a contingen cy ptan, and'that Sortñ Ãfritä'doula rece¡ve naval assistance if the oil route was threatened. This conctusion was given io iäuOî rr-ans or ñ i;ih; NATO headquarters while the Defense Minii ters of the 15 NATO member countries met in restricted session of the Defense planning õômmittee. The conclusion does not constitute a .lea"k,-irom the highþ secretive SACLANT rtray ãn tt ã-inji¿î or"rn and Cape route which has been únder way foi more rhan two.years, bur it is rhe firsr hint tt ti",ã iépórt rgnlin.ggncy-ptans have been given a"inòa ofäf., 1!d pr.oy?|. Details of the contingency-plan as well as SACLANT's obvious dealiniwitÉ it,e Sált¡ Áirican Defense Forces through ,a ,ñrmo"i càrntry; *iir ..r_ ta¡nly.neryer be gíven. The assurance, from ã wellplaced NATO source has, however, únveiled that contact was made wirh south Àrrrci and that the conclusions have almost cóa¡niv U""n relayed to Mr. Vorster's Government. ln a óiér, ference the US Defense Secretary tvtr. JamJs ictrles"on, inger refused to be drawn out on the súbject, Àsked jr;i;;iü;;ï-' which'ij headed by South Africa critic Rep-. Charles (ln January 1975 Rep. Diggs was refused avisa toiÏsit'Soúth Afiica after goingið Mozambique and Diggs. " was confined to the transit secfiõn of theJan Smuts lnternational Airport in Johannesburg.) ln May '1914 i't was reported that tlvo Washington attorneys specializing in political lobbying Donald DeKieffer and Thomãs Shannon, of thefirm of Collier, Shannon, Rill and Edwards, had been operat¡n-g'ras agents of the South African Department of lnformation in an attempt to change American policies on South Africa without knowledge of the South Afrþ can Embæsy in Washington."-ior as it turned out, of the US State Department either. They were paid by the Deputy Secret¿ry of lnformation at the Qepart' menq Mr.'L.E.S. de Villiers, at asalary-of $50 an hour.' They'lobbied key Congressmen, including Thomæ E. Morgan; an arrangemeñt which only camé to light wheñ D'eKieffer plotested to the State Department aeainst its refusai of a visa for Admiral Hugo H. Bierrñann. Admiral Biermann is Commander-in-Chief of the South African Defense Forces and his original application for'd visa was turned down by the State Depart' ment: the decision was overruled at a h¡gher level-the matter went to Henry Kissinger's offce. Admiral Biermânn arrived in May on a tourist visa and called on Acting Secretary of the Navy, J'. William Middendorf, o 8 WIN hoÍiê." ments and acts as liâson between foreign buyers and US exporters of arqlaments. Later he met Rgna!-d Reagan, the editorial staffs of The Los Angeles Tlmes andlhe New York Times, and in Washington he saw House Maiority leader Tip O'Neil, and Rep, Thomas Morgan, chairman of the-þlouse Foreign Affairs Committõe, parent body of the Subcornmittee on Africa Dectaratìãn BY Peter D Jones USÄas a person.al guest, bui Pretoria said that V¡ã" ÿtit.t'Johnsonîould not have time to iò1nei1' tfris vear becaúse of service cornmitements-they de-"' ,clined however to comment on whether he would visit the US at a later date. Early in 1975 s!1 US Congress meniisited South Africa led by Bob Wilson of California, Senior, Republiôan on the US Armed Services Öomniittee, Wilsón said that he wanted to bring-an.. official American committee to explore the possibility of using Simonstown as an American naVal base. He went oñ to sav that he had been keen to discuss'the oãiriu¡iiw ,näfrciallv durins the visi! but predicted trtat tre dóuid "have â problem selling the idea at Frãr¡Jrtit Ford, and'later with Vice Admiral-Ray Peet in the lnternatíonal Security Affairs offce which oyer' sees sales of military equipment to foreign govern' Mttitis;.- ";;;;;;; i¡. Embæsy in Washington. Hé conferred with.then Vice was asked to implement the directive, and he ordered hrs staft to prepare plans on how the NATO forces could protect the sea lanes aroun'd the Cape of Good Hope in an emergency. ln June t gZ+ thã ñãrih ¡r_ tantic Council and the Heads of NATO qovernments I Mr. commander of SACLANT (Supreme Allied Command Atlanric then went to a dinner hosted by Rep. Robert E. Baurnann, and,reported¡y attended by 17 US admirals. Before lèaving he met Admiral Thomal!. ll-oorer, retirins chairman of the f oint Chiefs of Staff.' ln'Ñovember, Senatoi Louis Wyman, a member of the US Commitiee on Appropriation and 4 member of the subcommittee on defense, invited Vice Admir:al J' Af¡igan Navy, to visit f ohhson, Chief of the South about the German concern (which had criticiscd Britain for its decision to scr4p the Simonstown Agree ment this ,f une) as,well as NATO and US attitud"es to*irãr lhe ¿eiense of the cape sea'route, Mr. órflËti"eti.dopte¿ tne well-worn NATO line of'non¡ involvemlnt ouiside the NATO area. Despite Schlesineer's line, one diplomatic source hinteU that the nego-tiatíons betweo¡ the British and South African gãveinme4ts to,erid the Simönstown Agreement *tùf ¿ U" based'on tlle assurance that the sea-route was còvered in the NATO contingency plan'" What is quite evident is that the changes in Angola and Mozambique have not alterèd lhe US policy direction in any way, despite the completely false assumptions behind NSSM 39-"there is no hope for th'e blàcks to gain the political rights they see( through violeñce." Two importani-visi-t¡ were made by Soúth African offcials to the USAtr$ the [rs-thalf 'ot lgl+.ln Januâry, Connie Mulder, Söuth African . Minister of the lnterior and of lnformation, and tipped as Vorster's successor, made a hush-hush vtsit td itre US¡ on a trip arranged by the South Afriga¡ help to draw the two groups together and exert some influence on both forÞeacetuI ðt ó,i-ångibte interests form a bæis for our contacis "ng".in itr. refion, and these can be maintained at an acceptaUle pätitiäat cosL" This was based on the guiding piinciptes of American policy in rhe area: õolidcãl'stabitiiy ana current containment of Communist influences in Af. rica's southern zone; cohtinued use ofair and naval fac¡lities in South Africa and the portuguese colonies in sJ.¡pport of US naval presence in ttre ín¿lan Ocean and other activìties; easy access to South Airica's raw notably.uranium; and concern witfr ordeily f{griaþ trading in her gold. To this extent the US already hií a numberof agreements with South Africa, and ihe CIA and th.e South African secret services fooperate closely witlr each other under an agreement similar to that accorded to NATO governmeñß. Further involvement wittr NRTO arose from the , recommendation.of a sub-committee of the Military Committee of the North Atlantic Àtr.rOiv headed by the right-wing Br,itish Conservative nf Þ ånJu"marine, Patrick Wall, to plan for the protection of the Cape route. U!-fll.ayV A.dmi¡al Ralph Cousins, top , ' ' . considerations: ¡ts stñtegic value in relation to the tndian Ocean and thè oil route from the Përsian Gulf to North Americá, and its role as a supplier of valuable minerals (particularly from the contested international terridôry of Namibia, formerly South West Africa.) Fressuró hæ been growing steadily this vear for an Ámerican interest in the, British naval base ät Oiego Garcia in the lndiah Ocean, while interest in Soulh Africa hæ also increased due to the energy cri3is and growing demand for strategic minerals. A secret US ituay cãlled the 'JCritical lmported Minerals Report'r stressed that South Africa was the major sudplier to the Wesf of gold, chrome and platinumali,ót which are available in quantity elsewhere only in the USSR. lt also expressed the fear that unrest in South Africa could disrupt the flow of mineral sup . plies to North America and Western Europe, therehy. lhreatening Western security, and went on to assert that the sea lanes around the southern tip of Africa are the most crucial naval areâ in thq world. Also at stake for several allied powers is the enorm-ous uranium mine in Namibia, initiated by the l-ondon þased Rio . Tinto Zinc Corporat¡on, which has contracts to sell substantial ¿mounts of iiranium to Br¡ta¡n, Frarice and Japan between 1976 and the 1980's. Tþese considei¿ticins were paramount ¡n the triple veto exerciped twice in the last year in the Seci¡r¡ty Council by Britain, France and the USA, to save South Africa boÍh from expulsion from the UN and sanctions propose{ to force her from her illegal occtrþetion of Namibia which she refused to leave following the end of the Security Council deadline on May 30th this year. ,lf Amerícan investment was redirected away from South ,Africa, the US would not merely end its supoort of racism and hasten the fall of a white supremabist regime in Africa,þut might contributq more signifiõantly to the econorûic development of the resi oiAfrica, as well as reduce tlre dangers of a world. conflict between the supþr-powers on the basis of a black;white axis, let alone a rich:poor one. At the moment Africa is fairly clear of Cold War politics comoared to Asia or Europe, but if South Africa dragi ttre US and NATO powers into the defense of , her-dream of an anti-communist Southern Africa political'ând economic market, thén the dangers of a þeater confrontati on are im meast¡ rably i ncreased. wrN 9 rit i. attacks are made against the Commtlnist Party- it is' not only against the Pa-rty, it is against the.left in"Portugal An IntenvÍw wÍth an titisÏt the easiest way to attack the left. Among the organs of power, the Assembly is the most independJnt otguñ of pówer, and the nearest tq our idea of a as 1 I 1 BY Fned Sfrasser This interview with a member of the Armed Forces Assembly took place in Lisbon on August 25, "lg7S. He was a deserter fror¡l the army prioito the'April 25th revolution and liúed in various countries o? Europe where he was active in the anti-Fascíst move ment against the Portuguese government. He has participated in b¡nkrobberies and raids on the Portuguese consulates/embassies as a member of that movement. He returned, to the army after the 25th of April coup and now holds a position equivalent to lieutenant in the US, in command of 150 men. Could you ìntroduce yourself? I am an officer of the Portuguese Army from a fprce of the urban guerrilla trained men, I am one of the members of the M FA Assembly. I'am an old deserter th.e, Portuguese army before the 25th of April, .f19m '74, and have lived in France and Belgium and l-iol-' land. Sometimes, during this exile, I came to'pora carry on political work with various organizallS:l 1 îHJ* exptaÌn whot the Armed Forces Assembty The.various kinds of power in Portugal are not very rigid now. We have no consultative organ nor a constitutional assembly, a real constitutional assembly. We have some organs of power which are at the same time executive and consultative, and one of these organs is the Assembly of the MFA. After the 25th of April, a long evolution took place in these organs and in the definition of positions of each person-who was.in those organi, io the Armed Forces'Assembly hæ lost its reactionary members. Noù I can say thát it is really an organ of the revolutionary left and is more or less like a national assemblv in the armed forces. Becauso it is the armed forcés that are the leading forces, the role of the assembly is really the role of the national assembly, civilian type of ássembly How do the people who are on the Assembly get to be on the AssemblyT Fred'Strasser has been in Lisbon since March. 10 WIN It's a process of varíous kinds of elections 3nd appointments. For example, the elected representatives of the various military regions are on the Assembly. There are also members directly named by Otello Carvalhq and by the President of the Republic, General Costa Gomes, and by the Revolutionary Council and by the headquarters of each branch of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy, and the Air Force). lilere you elected by your men? Yes, I have been elected in my regime.nt a_nd in .the , meeting of representatives of eacñ unit of my regrment I was elected to represent my regiment in t-he MFA Assembly in Lisbon. I l non-par:tisan movemçnt and the creation of p-opular . po*tt. I will trv to explain what I mean by tþe words, 'ipopular powei¡' and 'lrevolutionary left." Popular power is thé development ofspontaneous kinds of organizations and of acting and the develop' ment of self-sufficiency in people. The local organs that have been created in Portugal and that now defend popular power are the comrnissions of neighborhoods, the revolutionary councils bf w-orkers,,the rural ievoíutionary cùoperatives, the factory councils, the autogestion councils in factories and villages, the self-defense groups that are now armed in villågesbeing created in border-villages-to dFfend Portugal from the introduction of weapons froïn the Fascists in Spain and to stop the flight of capital into Spain which is very ilangerous to the revolutionary economy. When I say the revolutionary left I mean those people in many countries who have developed politics and now understand that the party is not important. The really import¿nt point of politics is to create popular pow"r. The people who really do work in this iine, whó do practical work, I consider to be making popular power. There are some political organizations tnát coui¿ be termed in the revolutionary left, they aie LUAR (League of Revolutionary Action and Unity)and ttre PRp (Revolutionary Party of the Proleáriat). Prior to'the 25th of April, they.were based in Belgium and France and did guerilla activity in . Portufal. After the 25th of April coup,.they directly worked in the construction of the revolutionary councils, in the case-of PRP, and in the case of LUAR in ' . the construction of rural co'operatives. There is a campaign in the capitalist press-and its other face, the sociaf democratic press-to present the idea that we are close to a dictatorship. This is com' ' pletely untrue. The people who have Lived under a fascist government for 48 years haVe experienced a liberafión and an explosion of creativity and a dis' covery of things like liberty of press, speech and ac' tlon-the discovery of personal power which belongs to each member of a revolutionary society. After all these discoveries, the creation of a dictatorship by these people,is almost impossible. : / . Thä reäl danger of a dictatdrship is the tendency of /, the capitalist press and governrnenlJ to say that the / :' reds aie taking power iñPortugal, that it ¡s a rniliuiry dictatorship, ãnd thdn refuse to deal with PorÛgal. " ' These governments are well known because of their' stands;-historically, on behalf of capiølism against revoluiionary peoþle. These are the social'democratic t rrrof. r"âq by the ;;;;;;ñ;dJr-'."üur Shtes, and every government that is interested in Africa and the forrner colonies of Portugal. These were the governments that wanted to help Portuga! when Spinola was president iust after the April 25th revolu-. tion. He was'a Nazi; he fought with the "Blue Legion" of the Nazi's in Stalingrad and Leningrad and the Spanish Civil War. He wæ part of the same college as Goering and Rommel and the other leaders of united Nazisrn-in Germany. These goverhments wanted to help us whert Spinola wæ in power becàuse they saw the future of AÎrica in neqcolonist terms and the future of Portugd as neocapitalist with some form of -democracY. When these governments saw that Spinola was reiected and thãt this was really a revolution-the complete transformation of each person's everydaylife ánd not only a transformation of the owners of property or the'government-they stopped helping us än¿ Uegân to figñt against us. Some months ago they used Mãrio Soares, the leader of the Socialist'in-name only Party, to fightus by attempting to make a coup two or thiee times. They continue their campaign npw by attacking the Communist party and the revoluticjnrep ressive social ary left. I think it would be impossible for the US to make it did on the 13th of' a move against'Portugal like Do you think the Assembly ¡s representat¡ve of the mojority of the soldìers at th¡s t¡me? No, t think the Assembly is a vanguard, a revolutionary vanguard at,this time; they are really the repre sentatives of about half of the units of ihe country- directly or indirectly. But I think that it's not so important that it include everyone because the elections are made in the rneetings of the military units and the units controlled by the fascist commãnders or officers are very unreal and dangerous if they were allowed to elect members to the MfA Assem6ty. ln the American press they tend to put all the actions octions of the Communist Party, how much influence does the Communist Porty have in the/ssembty? You used the words, "revóluüonary left" earlier in the discussion,do you see the Com: qtqn_ist Party being different from the revolutionary of the MFA os left? It is certain that the Communist Party has representa- tion in'the Assembly of the MFA, but it is certain that the Assembly'is not controlled by the Communist Party. There are a lot of rumors of the control of the grgans of power by the Communist Party. We pei,haps don't agree with the Communist Party, but when the Demonstratioñ ln L¡sbon bY the People's Öemocratic Un ion against the goìrernment on Sèptember 2E, Photo by Rosott€ corryell/LNS. wlN 11 { '.,7 March this year, two days after Spinola,s had failed. Then it stationed its warships off the coast of poftu_ gal to put military pressure on us. also various cases of the election You said before thot popular power Ìs ,,non-barûdor_ ion',' Cøn you tell us what thot mèons? f rst commander. Non-partidarian means that at the base it is not conparty and rhe peopte have made ideotogi!lgl1:.9,!f l cat evaluat¡ons which permit them to do without a " party. Because a party is something invented to make a specific kind of society or power. But if ttte different parties were reatly interested in the evolution ðC'-'-"people., they would only lead the people till peôple could lead themselves. jl is ¡s the meåning oi nonpartidariàn. The people who are in those ñon-partidarian organs have discovered that they can lead themselves, that they have no need for leadórs. And this m"ins--' something else also-that killing revolutionary leaders in Portugal will not stop the reiolution. l l I Can ,] yan glve on example of one of the orgons of \ populor power and how it functions? Yes. For example the Neighborhood Commissions. ln Portugat there are many people living in slums and shantytowns. There are dso ã lot of iery olã-ñorres that have no water or plumbing and so ón. So in each village. o¡ region of the city, Coimmissioñs *.i. ,r..trd buitding rhar wéren,r tived in, Uuiiaingi-tlh; P [iqbe!h.remodelled could to make cafetênias ånd child"care centers for the working people. This is the kind of practical work of these Conimissions. The tin¿ of ¡nternal relations and work in the Commisions is tl L I I variable from region to region, but noim;lltlhere are very egalitarian roles. For example the áecision to occu.py a house is made by all th'e members, and normally. with the presence of the neigt bors. óniy the .' iltue dects¡ons are made by an executive qrouo. oghlr kinds of orguns of poprrui pãr"åiãiå trl, KuÌal cooperatives. l,ve worked in some, and helped t9 Qegin others. An example of the pracúcal organs of decision making were ourSunday meetings, wtrïctr were held each week. We díscussed wtrat ñe'e¿eã to Ue done in the coming week and ¡oU ãrrieñ;;n;. W" would talk about buy_ing new þroducË, like á tractor, or.eslablishing.a new herd. Weid also aÁalyze the t ^ political situation. With¡n the Armed Forces there otso exis;ts the same movement of populor power, rÌght? Yes. We created in the Armed Forces a democratic organiza_tion to express the will and opinionioieach OU¡iously; the kind.of organiz'arion in rhe Army 11f !, rs very d¡fferent from civilian organizations. Because an Army, and principally a Sevolutionary army, is a machine that has to work with some homogeíéity anO some discipline. Not a military discipline, bit a révolutionary discipline. Sq we havó creat'ed wirãt we cat¡ democratic assemblies of units (ADU), which are the general assembly of soldiers of èach uîit to disius thetr problems and the political situation, and to reach decisions. ' some There are some kinds of decisions which are not mad.e i¡ the assemblies, like operational, technical or tactical ones. But indirectly the,assembly is involved there also, because those offcers an¿ comman¿ãriã"¿ serg€ants are there only because the assembly ãecides that they command the unit. lt is not in the bower of the assembly to elect the offcers, but, it is in'the. power of the assembly to reject officers. And we have wtN l, i I for understanding that the search for peace'cannot be sepanted from the search for social iustice. Programs for the lnstitute are still in the planning stage. Although the groundwork for the lnstitute was begtrn over fivl yeariago, the lnternal Rgvellg Service gianted it tax-exempt status only recently. Unfor' [unately many of tlie original'proposals and ideas of the cbmmander. For example, the commander of RAL1, a base near Lisbon, wæ rhe second in command on ihe I i ffãün, and for his actions at that time, his men elected him ' ln colláboration and coordination with this asTTbJy is the G DU, the dinimization group of rhe unit. This is divided in two parts-interior a-nd exteríor dinimization. The kind of wbrk these groups do is to try to create a new style of living life in thè Army, to create inte.reqt in things in^each ðay,s life in the Áimy, to create the possibility of real democratic Þower through information, by holding meetings, hiatcing explanations, making schools inlhe unitõ io,teacti l-rench and.English, for example, and other things. The work of the exterior dínimization is to giie the same. possib¡lities to the civiliin ôóprlition to U" i nformed and.active,. really active, i n the revolu tionary process. But the work is not only to talk. We build roads, electrify some villages, heip the peasants work-: ing on the land, help the cboperatives w¡th the machines we have, trucks and bulldozers. Each ADU has an equal represent4tion in the As_ s.embly of the military regionj elected representati;n. And each military region has a representãtion in the central mil itary power. went undeveloped artd are nory outdated. A major proiect of the lnstitutê-one of pri¡nary^ importance-is to purchase the "Peace Pentagon" inNew York City, lt's the building'which houses the ; War Resisters League and about half dozen other radical groups. lticonference room is the place where many movement plans are mapped, issues debated-:a room where the kind of ideas A.J. liked arè created. WRL currently holds the mortgage, but is in desperate need of the funds already invested in the bûilding. .,Contributions to the lnstitute are tax'deductibJe, and when the lnititute buys the building from WRL, WRL's investment can be released for more activist projects. So far the lnstitute has helped send WRL's dele gafes to the War Resisters lnternatipnal Triennial Conferenqe and to the Conference for Peace Aotivists and Peace Researchers, both held in pelgium last summer. tt also helped finance a national tour by Devi?rasad, former Cttairman of the WRl, who conveys the excite ment and hope of the international pacifist struggle wherever he goes. And last, but surely of equal importance, ihe lnstitute generated several large coñtributions for WIN from donors who wanted their gifts to be f,ax-'exempt. This special fr¡nction of the lnstitute--to provide a way for people to make tax-exempt contributions to nonviolent proiects which arèn't themselves taxexempt-is increæingly important since the end of the lndochina War has dried up some previously major funding sources. There are, naturally, legal restrictions on the way the lnst¡tute can allocate its monies, but the type of programs that are needed now in this , The violence takÌng ploce in the north, which hos leen ryainly dlrected at the Communist party, hos been front page news in the tJnited States. ítíno, your units hove been involved in ¡nteuention ìn these riots. Con you talk some obout what you see to be the sítuotion ìn the north, and just whot these rtots - mean? .The north of Portug¿l is a very specific region in its history, social conditions, way oî thinkinË, in íts cul_ ture, and in the kind of game played by Sãlazar and Caetano, both in religion and a sort of me¿ieval respect for the master, which they preserved all thosq years. The people of the north arê normally very baaiy i¡formed, and.very.easy ro conrrol and leaå. Àj¡siy,' they ar€ easy, but the revolutionaries in their work ' have tried not to lead people, but to inform people, tried to make some kind of developmenÇ thóv havó tried to give new ways of thinking'to ttré'påoóte of tne north, anil everyone knows that a process likè this is not rapid. But the forces of the right d_on,t act like this. They really want to control peoþle. So with ttre vãrv well ' A.J. Muste. Photo by,Nell Haworth.. cou !i WENDY SCHWARTZ The A.J. Muste Memorial lnstitute is a new tax- exempt foundation which hopefully will ease the way a bit for nonviolent activists and others who are corirmitted to making peace in our world ln a time of firrancial crisis and waningradicalism. The lnstitute will develop its own educational proiects-a literature program, conferences, a speakers bureau, and the like-and will help fund the programs of other groups -which are consonant with ¡ts own priorities. Thè lnstitute,has several priorities, all based on the concerns to whiih A.J. dedicated himself during his .knoqn tactics, which they learned with Salazár, they have begun to make a campaign against the revólutión in the north, based on some fãctsãf real failure of rev.olutionary þower in the area. The campaign is very well organized and itj very easy to see in itroõe ¿emoirstrations-like in Braga whére it was based on religion, long and type retigion-a very well organizeO irouþ of activists leading people in the attack on tfre neã¿- ' quarters of the CP. But those attzckí are not asainst VtjaUf g Ages the Comr.nunist Party. They are against every lãft movement. They have been attacking many organs of regional power and the offices of some'partíes. They sayihe revolution doesn't give you this or that, and if we take power we will give you these things. lt,s obvious that this ,type of propaganda is dangerous, but it is ev¡dent also that the Portuguese working class has gained m.ore in a year thanln the last haïf centJry, and so I believe that people will look, and see ctelrlv who are in fact the enemies and who-the friends. t fruitful lifetime. Not one to see nonviolence in ivacuum, A.J. applied its discipline to a wide range of struggles for social justice-early twentieth century labor issues, civil rights, civil liberties, and, of course, peace. ln fact, the roots of presqnt:day Amerìcan pacifism are firmly planted in his biography: his never' ceasing search for the best ways to end war-and achievé iustice led him both in and out of the pacifist tradition in his early years, making his-ultimate commitment to nonviolence all the more significant. Those of us whó have wavered similarl y in our commitments can draw strength and comfort from A.J.'s persorial quests. And the peace movement is certainly richer Wendy Schwortz is on edÍtor of hrlN, ntry-largely edu cational -are those wh ich fi t. perfecily inio the role the lnstitlte is allowed to play in the movement for sdcial change. lf the lnstitute can absorb the cost of printed materials, conferences, and other informational tools, then organizations like WRL can focus théir energiei and resources on direct' action. Though the lndochina War period was a continuing nightmare, it did spoil us in one way: we became accultomed to having at least a minimal amount of money available for proiects. People were generous, and'their financial resources and the skills of organizers combined to create many successful antiwar projecfs. Now that the urgency for paiifistectivity is less obvi- " ous, we shall have to work harder at raising money: simply continui¡g to develop programs without special attention to funding them will bankrupt the move ment. . This is a particularly opportune time to introduce the A.J. Muste Memorial lnstitute to the public. lt is a new organization about to develop new programs in a new political period using new funding means. Yet it refleör the pácifist traditlon and the cãncerns of ä; man whose wisdom guided radicals through ovei half a century of activism. CONTACT: , , A.f . Muste Memorial lnstitute 339 Lafayette Street New York, NY 10012 wrN 13 q ,,t, \ THE MILITARY UNIONIZATION AND DEMOCRACY DAVID CORTR¡GHT ln late June the American Federation of Government Employees, (AFGE) the nation's largest federal employee union, publicly stated its intention to organize among active duty servicemembers-in effect to unionize the armed forces. The announcement sent\ shockwaves through the military establishment and brought forth cries of "sheer horror" from top Pentagon commanders. With a total union membership of over 650,000, AFGE now represents over 390,000 civilian military employees and apparently feels that the time has come to seek additional members among active duty people. ln testimony before the Defense Manpower Commissj.on on August 18, AFGE President Clyde Webber spgke positively of "the mutual benefits of bringing military personnel into AFGE," and reported that a top level committee was continuing its investigations into possible Gl membership. lf the union decides to go ahead, as nov/ seems likely, or' ganizing of servicemembers would not begin until after August of 1976, when the union's convention could authorize such.a drive. The main issue for any AFGE campaign among servicemembers would be military pay, and the annual cost of living wage negotiations. AFGE already spends agrcat deal of tir4e lobbying for increased pay adiustments and emphasizes that, since federal civilian and military pay are linked, active duty people stand to gain from these efforts. ln 1974 and again this year, AFGE mobilized Gls to support their wage bargaining. Hundreds of thousands of leaflets were distributed this year and last urging servicepeople to pressure Congress for a full cost of living pay increase, Gls have reacted positively to these initiatives, according to President Webber, responding with a "heavy letter writing effort " L d.fl Other issues of interest to the union include pensions and health care benefits. This latter concern may be come a major focus of AFGE efforts if current cut' backs in military health benefits continue. ln addition, Webber and others point out that in the process of representing several thousand National GUard and Reserye technicians AFGE has become involved in "a number of other gripe areas"-among them hair length disputes, and uniform requirements. AFGE has so far made no mention of dealing with Gl grievances on the job, nor of protecting Gl interests in disciplinary disputes. lndeed the union seems to avoid possible conflicts with commandêrs, and in some cases adopts a cooperative, almost cemanage ment posture. Webber claimed in his August 18 remarks that 1'the mood of management has mellowed" and that AFGE is now "helping management in the writing of their own regulations." This agreeable attitude is refleòted in AFGE's t¿lk of integrating all ranks into one union, and in particular in the Federation's approach to a possible union legal plan. AFGE, like many other American unions today, is considering the adoption of a prepaid legal plan for its civilian and military members. According to General Counsel 14 WIN Dovid Cortright is an Associate at the Center for Notional Securìty Studies in lüashington, DC. His lotest book, Soldiers in Revolt, hos just been published by A n ch or Press, Dou b I ed oy, ri o(l oKt. mtde thc Southern military bases, and with a sizeable membership in m¡l¡tary-dominated districts the union has a considerable amount of leveragê on armed Services committee members. The AFGE drive is cert¿in to have important implications for the G I movement and the cause of enlíited rights. While AFGE may or may not present a progressive union package, the point of their effort-is obviouò: unionization of the armed services now seems inevitable. Those who are concerned over,possible use of the armed forces and a more responsive and demo cratically controlled military must now begin to think positively and realistically about the issue of unionization. The idea of a G I .union was proposed and atter,npted frequently during the late'60's, but the resources for such an undertaking were never available. Now the union issue has been t¿ken over by AFGE, and anti-militarist :forces may be eclipsed if they are not.flexible enough to respond to the new Webber and other officials describe AFGE as an ror at the prospect of unionization and have railed against "any organization which competes with the chain of command," some elemênts within the Defense Department are likely to accept the AFGE drive. A staff person of the Defense Manpower Commission told me recentl! that the private react¡on of military commanders is far less strident than the public hysteria being reportod in the press. From h'is readíng of command opinion at several local bases, this source felt that the response to AFGE could well be positive. To be sure, a storm of protest can bq expected from hardline conseryatives, including a number of important Congressional military apologists. Senator John Tower (R-Tx) has already announced strong opposition to unionization, and other conservat¡ves can be expected to follow. lndeed acceptance by the powerful armed services committees could be AFGE's biggest obstacle. Even here, however, the union may be able to gain agreemenl Many of AFGE's members work at cartoon rrom LNS' of yourscl9a3." Leo Pellerzi, "this is the type of thing which in the future would make the union attractive to military people." However, the approach now under considera' tion at AFGE would be a "joint contribution plan" under which jôb-related offenses would be excluded and Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ ) matters would not be coverQd. Obviously such a legal plan would be totally unresponsive to pleas for greater Gl ;i;h;;""d;oui¿ ó;&hì;t to improve thã soldiet's I legal standing within the military disciplinary system. Simílarly, on the question of military policy, AFGE steadfastly refuses to address the larger issues of the purpose and mission of the armed forces. Mr. "economic" rather than "ideological" union, and they scrupulously avoid becoming involved in these questions. ln attempting to dispel criticisms that a military uníon might undermine military efectiveness, Webber told the Defense Manpower Commission that "our primary objectives are limited to the more pragmatic" . and that questions of.peace and war "must be rele gated to the aggregate of American public opinion." Although the services have publicly ei