Lithuanian Independence

In speaking of events in Lithuania and the Soviet Union, the CNN reporter said of Gorbachev: “Lithuanians will provide an early test of his presidential mettle.” Well, the same applies to President Bush!

We want to see some proof that he is not the wimp that some people have accused him of being.

Will he have the guts to stand up for the freedom of Lithuania? He seems to have conveniently forgotten that the United States had never recognized the Baltic states to be legally part of the Soviet Union. We heard him talk on CNN: “Well, we have to wait and see, who’ll be in charge of this territory . . . and it must all be peaceful. . . .” Since when is there any question about the land of Lithuania belonging to its people? They certainly have gone about their declaration of independence in a peaceful and orderly fashion.

Does Bush now mean that if the Russians send in their tanks and start killing people in the streets as they did in Hungary and Czechoslovakia “things won’t be peaceful” and therefore he washes his hands of the whole thing?

There were suspicions about his behavior at the time of the Tian An Men Square massacre and subsequent covert dealings with the Chinese government. Now his abandonment of Lithuania will serve as further proof of his lack of strength to stand up against the true enemies of the free world. It’s easy to throw your weight around invading poor run-down countries like Panama or Libya, but now that he has to match his strength against that of Gorbachev he might come off a poor second in the eyes of the world.

Will he show his mettle and support free Lithuania, or remain sitting on the fence?

IRENE and FRANK GODDARD

Arcadia