Page Four

SCARLET AND BLACK

Friday. November 7, 1969

 

State Department Official confronts Vietnam War Critics Here

By John Gardner

Thomas Barnes, 8 U.S. State
Department Far East special-
ist who visited Grinnell last
week, encountered serious
questioning on the American
role in Vietnam, mild heck-
ling, and, by his account, the
first happening he had ever
witnessed.

The heckling came from a
number of the estimated 200
students present tor his speech

} Washington

Continued from Page 1

Committee to coordinate the
bus transportation.

In addition to the scheduled
activities, actions are also being
planned by a militant “red ﬂag
contingent.” The radical group
is being formulated by a coali-
tion including the Black Pane
ther Party, the Committees
Against Fascism, Youth Against
War and Fascism, the Commit-
tee of Returned Volunteers,
Yippies, and various factions of
SDS.

Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hotl-
man, two of the defendants in
the “Conspiracy 8" trial, are
expected to participate in the
Washington action.

Plans at the present call for
a march on the headquarters
of the Department of Justice
with demands oi “Stop the
Trial” (or the Conspiracy 8)
and ”Free All Political
Prisoners.” A march on the
“Injustice Department” will
tollow the mass march on Sat-
urday. During the mass march,
members of the “red flag con»
tingent” wrll march together
carrying red ilags, Viet Cong
flags, and banners showing
solidarity with the Vietnamese
people.

The planning for the radical
faction, was begun at a meeting
in Newark, N. 1., with much
oi the impetus coming from the
newly formed “Mad Dog"
caucus of SDS which supports
neither the Weatherman or
RYMVII factions. Although
RYM—II is expected to par-
ticipate in the Washington
action, Weatherman as yet has
not been involved.

All plans tor Washington are
tentative as the 5&3 goes to
press, pending the securing of
parade permits and the con-
firmation Of final arrange-
ments.

The Justice Department has
so for denied a permit for the
Saturday march, fearing vio-
lence while the “White House
is surrounded."

MOYER'S
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repairs
shoes

Next to
Crinnell
State Bank

Thursday night (Oct. 30) in
Herrick Chapel, and the hapr
pening was staged by Jacob
Margolin, a New Jersey sopho-
more, who took a microphone
in the questionrandranswer ses-
sion that followed Barnes’
speech and lambasted the
“Pig” of American foreign
policy.

Barnes appeared under the
auspices of the International
Studies Program, and was
seated with a panel composed
of iacuity members Alan Nas—
ser (Phil), Terry Farssinen
(History), and Jolln Guthrie
(Diplomat-in-Residence), along
with F, W. (“Tommy”) Toma-
sek, a local attorney. From
the panel members, as well as
the students. came the chal—
lenges to the facticity of the
utficial’s analyses of American
presence in the Far East, as
well as to his predictions for
the future in Vietnam. His
official topic was “Vietnam ~
Present and Future.”

The program began with
Barnes' general analyses of
the political and economic Sltllr
ations of those Southeast Asian
countries with which Barnes
was most familiar from his
service in Bien Long in Viet-
nam, and his current position
as "country officer” in Laos
with the State Department’s
Bureau of East Asian Affairs.

His descriptions of the ”rich
ness” of each of the countries
he touched on later served to
introduce the question oi
American economic motives in
interfering with the internal
affairs of each of the countries.

Before Nasser introduced
this problem, the town attor-
ney scored Barnes in the words
of an old Walter Lippman col»
umn on the dangers of Ameri-
can intervention in a country
"reasonably beyond our sphere
of influence.” Barnes replied
that America would have to be
more careful of its use of
power in the future (after
Vietnam), “because it makes
good sense.”

Speaking while a student
held a viet Cong tlag througlir
out the program and the ques-
tion-andanswer session that
followed it, the official replied
to points Nasser raised about
the economic underscoring or

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the intervention of America in
the affairs of thirdrworld (and
primarily exporting) countries
by saying that he did not think
that the U.S. was in Vietnam
“for tungsten and tin," and
that he did, in fact believe,
there was a certain moral im»
perative in the us, presence.

Commenting later in the pro
gram that he said he did not
regard the American interven
tion as necessarily immoral or
unjust, for one reason, he said,
because “President Nixon has
clearly enunciated a policy of
withdrawal."

State Department official po-
sition appeared to enter into
Barnes’ views on the history or
the Viet Cong and the relative
power of the National Libera-
tion Front in South Vietnam;
both views were hotly critir
Cized by both Nasser and Stu-
dents in the audience. Barnes
stated that the formation of
the Viet Cong dated from the
1950's, and was in fact formed
on directive from Peking, to a
counterpoint of quiet state-
ments such as “That is a lie"
from the philosophy professor.
The power of the Viet Cong,
the official stated, is broken at
the present time, although. he
conceded, it could build itself
up to its former high-water-
mark in four to iive years.

As the question-andanswer

W

Thomas Barnes, a Far East specialist with the State Depart-
ment, spoke in Gr-innell recently and countered criticism of
US. policies by students and faculty members.

session continued. the magni-
tude and necessity of such
American sacrifices as the
“defense” of Hue were dressed
in the pragmatic‘and iinemo
tional style of Barnes expla-
nations. The State Department
official retained his dispassinnr
ate calm until the end of the
evening, however, and at one
point deflected a question on
President Nixon’s war plans
by saying, “Let's wait and see
what Mr. Nixon says on No-
vember 3."

Although it seemed evident

Barnes neither expected nor
considered possible a major
policy switch by Nixon, he
commented that the nation
might well be surprised by the
President’s remarks. However,
in the long heralded speech
delivered Monday night, Nixon
announced no major policy
changes.

At the end or Barnes‘ ape
penrance, the Viet Cong flag
was still waving languidiy
from the handrnailed stick in
the unidentified student's hand.

 

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