British Columbia Peace activities have been abating somewhat in the wake of the historic INF treaty that removes nuclear missiles from Europe — but there is every reason to step up protests against a still escalating arms race, a retired U.S. admiral and peace activist told a Vancouver press con- ference April 18. Eugene Carroll of the Washington, D.C. based Centre for Defence Informa- tion warned that the Pentagon is seeking to “close the gap” left by the four-per-cent armaments by enhancing other weapons systems, including missiles on submarines. What is needed is a new way of thinking between East and West, Carroll, in town for the annual Walk for Peace, declared. “The opportunity for change is im- mense. Even the rabid anti-communist, the Evil Empire man, Ronald Reagan, changed during his tenure as president,” he observed. The former U.S. president held historic _ Meetings with Soviet leader Mikhail Gor- bachev and oversaw the signing of the INF treaty. But his successor, George Bush, appears to have “‘a great reluctance to continue this change.” Many in the military establishment would in fact like to see Gorbachev’s downfall, “with the idea that the govern- ment that came in behind him would be a throwback to the good old days in which the Soviets were clearly an enemy,” Car- roll contended. Carroll is a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars — he calls the latter a “fracas” — and a several times decorated sailor who served as director of military operations in Europe under Gen. Alex- ander Haig in the late Seventies. After that he worked five months in the Pentagon as reduction in U.S. and Soviet nuclear the number two planner of naval defence strategy, but said he quit in frustration because of the continued emphasis on nuclear weapons. “We (the U.S.) don’t know how to deal with Gorbachev and his ability to com- mand the world stage and his initiatives which promise a somewhat more sensible and co-operative relationship,” Carroll said. The former rear admiral noted that the U.S. wants Canada to shoulder a greater burden in NATO to confront the Soviet Union, while at the time itself cutting back somewhat on arms spending. “But we’re cutting back in the wrong ways,” he said. Carroll said it was ironic that U.S politi- cal leaders are now talking about closing the gap in nuclear weapons after support- ing the INF treaty. He said some politi- cians probably supported the treaty in order to set the stage for weapons upgrad- ing elsewhere. *‘We even cheated on the INF treaty already,” by modifying components accountable under the treaty as parts for ground-launched cruise missiles for use in the sea-launched type, which are not covered by the treaty, he said. “(It is) a direction violation of the INF treaty, in my estimation. If the Soviets had been doing it, we’d really be sore.” Carroll lambasted the Forward Mari- time Strategy, a scenario which envisions surrounding the Soviet Union with war- ships, as “absolute idiocy.” And he critic- ized the U.S. insistence at current arms talks in Vienna that nuclear arms strength, chemical weapons stockpiles and the size of NATO forces are not negotiable. “We cannot win a war anymore, so we have to find new means of security that U.S. stil'in cold war thinking, says admiral EUGENE CARROLL... Bush administration balking at new trend towards peace initiatives, does not rely on destroying the enemy,” he said. The idea of a nuclear deterrence is unworkable, because the continued exist- ence of some 50,000 nuclear weapons means sooner or later they will be used, Carroll asserted. Carroll, who also addressed an audience Thursday on behalf of the Veterans Against Nuclear Arms, hailed Vancouy- er’s recent decision to request the federal government keep nuclear-armed and nuclear-powered ships out of its port. Opponents have charged that the move, ‘which largely affects visiting U.S. war- ships, is anti-American. But Carroll said there is nothing anti-American about it. “We could be decent about it and tell you when there’s no nuclear weapons on our warships,” he said. It is U.S. Navy policy to neither confirm or deny the pres- ence of nuclear arms on board, which, according to Carroll, are carried on some 80 per cent of U.S. Navy vessels. The arguments for nuclear-weapons- free zones, such as Vancouver, are so pow- erful there should be no reason for anyone’ in the U.S. to object, he said. Immediate ban on offshore drilling urged Continued from page 1 Cabinet has established a task force led by deputy ministers to examine Canada’s resources to meet an oil spill in the wake of the fouling of B.C. beaches in December from a rupture in a U.S. oil barge carrying bunker-C fuel. The federal government came under fire for its tardy response to the spill, which dumped congealed globs of oil along hundreds of kilometres of Vancouver Island coastline. Much of the clean-up was performed by local residents and volun- teers. The disastrous spill from the Exxon Val- dez supertanker in Prince William Sound off Alaska last month has raised renewed concerns about how oil is transported over water and the obvious lack of ability by governments and corporations to deal with accidents. Bouchard acknowledged that in the meeting the high-ranking Tories had received a “very strong plea for a public inquiry.” But the minister did not pledge his government toa public inquiry, although he promised to raise it with cabinet this week. He promoted the government’s task force, which will meet in private session and pro- duce recommendations expected in June. Following that, Bouchard said, the cabinet will decide on the form further pub- lic involvement will take. He acknowledged that there had to be some form of public input. Bouchard, who did virtually all the talk- ing for the government side, said the government approved the task force method because it could work quickly and produce much needed recommendations for short-term planning. Silvaine Zimmermann, an oceanographer Federal ministers Lucien Bouchard (r) and Tom Siddon field questions on public: inquiry into oil transshipment and extraction following meeting with concerned citizens April 14. who works on a campaign to halt offshore oil exploration and drilling for Greenpeace Canada, said a public inquiry is the only way the government can restore public con- fidence in its leadership, and that “a lot can be learned from the people and their feelings about offshore exploration.” And, she said, a public inquiry can be empowered to subpoena witnesses and require the release of long-suppressed information, such as a secret government list of oil and chemical spills that occur daily offshore. Zimmermann, who attended the meeting with the cabinet ministers, said a key objec- tion of the ministers was that a public inquiry would be time-consuming and costly, and not produce recommendations that are needed now. But the residents countered that a public inquiry does not have to impede the government from implement certain measures immediately, she said. An immediate step would be to ban or put on hold all offshore exploration into hydrocarbon deposits, Zimmermann said. The provincial government reimposed a moratorium on oil drilling offshore follow- ing the December spill. But that morato-* rium merely acknowledges the stalemate between the province and the federal government, both of whom claim under- water mineral rights for territory in key straits and inlets, Zimmermann said. Once negotiations produce a_ long- awaited Pacific Accord — the earliest date would likely be two years hence — followed by two to three years of seismic tests, the moratorium will probably be lifted, she warned. ~ : The federal government has in fact been engaged in seismic testing, in the name of scientific inquiry, for some 18 years in Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound, areas outside provincial jurisdiction, Zim- mermann said. One of the key licence holders for hydro- carbon exploration and extraction is Chev- ron, who holds its permit from Shell Petroleum. Because the area is currently under dispute and moratorium, the federal government has waived the usual require- ment that the company drill annually to maintain its licence, Zimmermann said. Zimmermann said the feds have “re- pressed”’ a three-year old report that sources claim outlines the dangers of current off- shore drilling in the Beaufort Sea. She called for a ban on all offshore seismic testing, exploration and drilling. The B.C. government struck a task force with the west coast U.S. states in the wake of the December disaster. But it is a “half- hearted attempt” to deal with oil spills, Zimmermann charged. She noted it was ironic that B.C. Envir- onment Minister Bruce Strachan has chided Ottawa for not calling a public inquiry while at the same time keeping the dealings of its own task force secret. The proceedings are, however, open in the state of Washington, she said. The group of prominent British Colum- bians, which Thompson stresses are not formed into a coalition, have called on the federal government to establish a public inquiry to include examination of the marine transportation of oil and other sub- stances, the ability to respond to spills, and the impact of spills on coastal communities. Pacific Tribune, April 24, 1989 « 3