Reagan Silence on Iran-Iraq
President Reagan in his speech before the joint session of the Congress, in the aftermath of the Geneva summit, reported that he has proposed negotiations with the Soviet Union to stop the wars in Nicaragua, Ethiopia, Angola and Afghanistan.
How can the United States and the Soviet Union speak of “world peace” when they continue to ignore a conflict unprecedented in the history of the Middle East?
It is bitterly disappointing to have the leaders of the two superpowers meet without any reference to the Iran-Iraq war, perhaps the bloodiest conflict since the last World War. Statistics by regional experts speak of figures as high as half a million dead, more than a million injured and as many as 3 million people displaced and homeless.
Not only has the continuation of this war resulted in the ever more oppressive and barbaric policies of the regime of the Ayatollah Khomeini, but it has also opened the doors for greater Soviet presence in the region. The Soviet Union and her allies--Libya and North Korea--have been supplying the Islamic republic with arms. And, the Soviet Union has recently signed accords with Kuwait and Oman.
Ironically, it is also known that some U.S. allies--Israel, Britain, Italy, France and West Germany--have facilitated the sale of armaments to both warring factions.
The total silence by both superpowers regarding this most bloody affair can only be interpreted as their tacit approval for the continuation of a conflict that has grim internal and regional consequences.
SAID DJABBARI
Pasadena
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