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GRAVE
NEWTHREAT TO
THE FREE WORLD
Whi/e the United States was bogged down hopelessly in lran, the Soviet military machine moved
dramatical/y into neighboring Afghanistan. The Red Army is now within a three-day's drive from
the crucial oil reserves and transport /anes of the Middle East.
I
SRAEL!
Pri me Minister Menachem
Begin called it "a turning point in
the world's hi story." Egyptian
Presiden ! Anwar Sa da t warned ,
"The battle around the area's oil
stores has begun." London's
Daily
Telegruph
called it a "power-politi–
cal earthquake that threatens to
change the map of the Middle East
and southern Asia."
All were referring to the full-scale
Soviet intervention in Afghanistan.
Tbis mountainous, moonscaped na–
tion, historica lly a buffer state
be–
tween Russia and southwest Asia, is
the strategic ga teway to the oil-rich
Middle East.
A neutral Afghanistan-called by
some the "cockpit of Asia"- is no
more. Signiflcantly, Soviet ftghter–
bombers are now sta tioned less than
350 miles from the strategic Strait of
Hormuz- the funnel through which
passes half of the Free World's oil
imports.
Slowly, but surely, a communist
"ring of steel" is being tightened
around the Middle East. Where-,–
and when- will the Soviets strike
March 1980
by
Gene H. Hogberg
next? Will they
ever be
met by
superior force? Has America- has
Europe- finally awakened to the
danger?
Moscow Reacts with Force
Nothing could possibly contrast the
fortunes of the United States and the
Soviet Union more than t he events
unfolding in the Middle East.
In an attempt to secure the release
of its embassy personnel held hostage
in l ran, Washington has chosen a
policy of "restraint." Foreswea ring
mi litary action, Presiden! Jimmy
Carter has instead leaned on the
weak
reeds
of the United Nations,
the World Court, and "world public
opinion:' Nothing has worked.
The Soviet Union on the other
ha nd, decided to ac t
fasr
to preserve
its nagging interests in neighboring
Afghanistan. Nearly two years ago
a coup brought an autonomous yet
pro- Moscow leadership to power in
Ka bul. Afghanista n's capital. Suc–
cessivc leadcrs, however, wcre un–
ablc to bring to hecl unruly Moslem
tribesmen who were drawing inspi-
ration from Moslem resurgence in
lran.
The situation got so bad that by
the end of 1979 Moscow felt com–
pelled to move in forcefully to take
direct command of events.
The Soviets showed they were will–
ing to endure the muted scorn of the
world to protect and advance their
own intercsts. This occurred while
Prcsident Carter called upon Ameri–
cans to bombard Tehran- with
Christmas cards!
The world is taking notice of the
vast difference in the way the two
superpowers react to danger. Says
one Asían diploma! , ' 'Asians may
fear or dislike the Russians, but a lot
of us respect a na tion that is not
reluctant to use its power ."
By projecting its power, the So–
viets are at last near an age-old
dream: the acquisition of warm–
water ports on the lndian Ocean.
(Sec article on page 35 for the hi stor–
ical background behind the crisis in
Afghanistan.) Only faction-ridden
l ran and truncated Pakistan (half its
former sel f) líe in the way. Any
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