No credibility for. U.S. Carl Warder, Langley, writes: Jimmy Carter, from the Moment he became president of the United States, went out of his way to worsen relations bet- ween his country and the Soviet Union. Peace overtures made by the Soviet Union went Unanswered or brushed off as Msincere. In effect he told the Soviet Union, ‘‘look, we ap- Pointed you our enemy 62 years 4g0, and don’t try to sweet talk your way out of it.”’ On becoming president he told us that Americans should have no guilt feelings about Vietnam. He continued to blockade Cuba, Vietnam and North Korea. Instead of de- creasing arms spending as he Promised, he increased it. When China attacked Vietnam and slaughtered more thousands of citizens of that long suffering country, I didn’t hear a squeak from Jimmy Carter, When the shah was shooting thousands of Iranians for demonstrating against him, there wasn’t a whisper from the White House. His admission of the shah to the United States was an act of Provocation against the Iranian people and he had been warned against it. The consequences could have been foreseen by a 14-year-old schoolchild. Not Once has he admitted the shah Was a torturer and a thief, as most of the world now knows. Now, along comes Afghanistan and Carter is Outraged without any con- sideration of the explanation by the Soviet Union. There seems to be no doubt that the GFA ‘had its hands in the Afghan cookie jar and were just frustrated by the action of the Soviet Union. Now, Jimmy Carter has an- nounced further sanctions against the Soviet Union, a threat to pull out of the Olym- Pics and lots more arms to the 80vernment of Pakistan. If Gibbon were still alive | think he would be well into the ~ couver second volume of the Decline and Fall of American Im- perialism. And Lewis Carroll (if he were still alive) would be writing a political Alice in Wonderland. Don’t look now, Mr. Carter, but your credibility gap is show- ing. Slowing down weapons race Drew Howard, Vernon, writes: The delay in the ratifica- tion of SALT II is a disappoint- ment, to say the least. I was speaking to a Maoist recently who condemned it as a re- gressive move due to the massive build-up of arms on both sides. Although I agree it has shortcomings, I found myself defending the treaty on the following grounds: If two are driving in a 40-mph zone at a speed of 90 mph and make an agreement to reduce their speed: to 65 mph, is it not an improve- ment? Since SALT II is the most that can be agreed upon, I, asa left-wing NDP’er, urge the speedy ratification of the treaty by the U.S. government. For the record Rosaleen Ross, secretary, B.C. Peace Council, writes: Just a small correction to your front page story on the Pershing missile threat (Tribune, Dec. 7, 1979): The letter to the Van- Labor -Gouncil’ came from the Coalition for World Disarmament, not the B.C. Peace Council. Though we area part of that Coalition, we feel that credit should go to the other 16 groups which make up the Coalition, including the Vancouver Labor Council itself. Very many thanks, however, for the story. | Sub drive nets 189 The dust has settled; mountains of figures have been sifted _ through and the anxiously awaited results of the Tribune fall Circulation drive arrived at. are a significant gain. és walk, with 27 new subs. for December. In just-12 weeks our readers and supporters signed up an- Other 189 new subscribers and renewed 529. The circulation drive was a qualified success. We have al- _ Ways set ambitious targets and it isn’t new that we have once again fallen a little shy of our goal, this year for 200 new subs and 750 renewals. The nearly 200 new readers won, however, In the competition among press clubs, Nanaimo club is the winner of the circulation drive shield in the regions outside Greater Vancouver. Nanaimo’s nine new subs and many more renewals was just enough to edge past Penticton. In Greater Vancouver it was the Nikos Beliogiannis club, made up of Greek-Canadians, who took top honors in a Not surprisingly it was the Beliogiannis club’s press direc- tor, Dennis Haikalis, who took the top individual honor by selling 13 new subs. We will be pleased to pass on to Dennis a $60 library from the People’s Co-op Bookstore. Second among sub-getters was Gary Willis of the Courte- nay club who netted seven, good for a $35 library from the Co-op Bookstore. Tied at six subs for third spot were Belio- giannis’ Elias Stavrides and Vernon’s Nick Woroniuk,. The strong finish to the circulation drive helped make 1979 a year of growth for the Tribune. Altogether 438 new subscribers were added to our rolls, up from only 383 the year before. And our rate of growth in subscription circuulation also rose from 2.9 per cent in 1978 to 4.1 per cent in 1979, The task now is to see that we keep our gains and build on them. That is why we ask our supporters to continue their ef- forts to bring in the more than 200 renewals still outstanding. Soviets aid to Afghanistan thwarted U.S. provocations Continued from page 1 Amin who later was executed by sentence of a _ revolutionary court, which convicted him of “crimes against the Afghan people.”’ In a nation-wide radio broadcast, he said that the peo- ple of Afghanistan had been ‘subjected to intolerable violence and tortures from the bloody apparatus of Hafizullah Amin and his henchmen, these agents of U.S. imperialism.’’ Karmal had been leader of the underground Marxist Parcham (Banner) Party which had united after the April, 1978 revolution with the Khalq (Peo- ple’s) Party to form the leading People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan. — The formation of the new government also resulted in the release of scores of political prisoners jailed by Amin, in- cluding members of Karmal’s party and the wife of former Afghan president Tarak. But the reaffirmation of the revolution by the new govern- ment and the assistance given by the Soviet Union has brought a massive reaction from the U.S. whose strategy of using Pakistan as a base of subversive operations to counter waning influence in the area was thwarted by the Soviet action. U.S. president Carter has created growing international tension with his announcement of a postponement of the SALT II ratification, the embargo on U.S. grain destined for the USSR. and—far more. ominous —the affirmation by U.S. defence minister Harold Brown of the military alliance with China. The U.S. actions have also coincided with a_ well- orchestrated campaign charging the Soviet Union with ‘‘unbridl- ed aggression’’. Close observers have, however,-= seen sin=-the background the loss of U.S. in- fluence in the ‘strategic arc’’ of countries on the southern border of the Soviet Union and the attempt to use Pakistan as a new launching-off point. ; Significantly, the leader of the ClA-sponsored Afghan Burns Night Jan. 26 at 6:30 p.m. @ Haggis @ Baron of beef @ Entertainment ® Dancing Russian People’s Home 600 Campbell Ave. _ $7.50 counter-revolution, Zia Nassary, was in New York Dec. 27 where he told a press con- ference that the new president of Afghanistan, Babrak Kar- mal, was ‘‘an even worse Com- munist than Amin.’’ The assess- ment has been one of on which subsequent U.S. policy is based. Nassary, although he is a U.S. citizen, operates the so- called ‘‘Afghan Islamic and Na- tionalist Revolutionary Coun- cil’’ out of Pakistan where the CIA regional headquarters is now located, in the capital of Islamabad. Maek Sou: Nassary’s organization is also part of the U.S. strategy to turn U.S. and Chinese intervention in Afghanistan into a ‘holy’ Moslem war. The CIA has established 12 bases for the Afghan counter- revolution in Pakistan along the Earlier charges by the Afghan government that the-rebels were armed and given military ad- visors by the U.S. and China were confirmed by the capture during fighting this week of U.S. and Chinese weapons, taken from rebel forces. The U.S. also has moved a huge naval force into the Indian Ocean just south of Iran and Afghanistan. The force includes 22 warships of which’four are aircraft carriers, and 360 planes — double the size of the carrier force that the U.S. maintained off the Vietnamese coast when it was bombing that country. A statement Dec. 31 by Tass news agency said that the Soviet contingent .‘‘will be completely pulled out of Afghanistan when the reason’ which necessitated such an action exists no longer.’’ Afghan border. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING COMING EVENTS JAN. 17 — Canadian Cuban Friendship Association meets third Thursday of each month, 8 p.m., Rm. L4, Britannia Centre, Van. All welcome. JAN. 19 — Celebrate the birth of Jose Marti. Banquet and social eve- ning, 6 p.m., Mt. Pleasant Neigh- borhood House, 535 E. Broadway. Hot turkey dinner with all the trim- mings. Adults $6; children $3. Tickets at Co-op Books. Canadian- Cuban Friendship Association. KAMLOOPS JAN. 19 — Potluck supper, slides of the USSR at the Harpers, 1 p.m. For directions, phone 577-3528. Proceeds to the Tribune. Spon- sored by the Kamloops Club. FEB. 2 — Van. East Election dinner for Fred Wilson campaign. Full meal, entertainment. $5. Ukrainian Hall, 805 E. Pender. For tickets, phone 254-9797 or 254-4035. ‘Rankin, ROOF REPAIRS — Reasonable. New roofs and alum. gutters, 277-1364 or 277-3352. TRADE UNIONIST seeks re- search, writing work. Phone Ron Sostad — 980-5157. WILL SHOW SLIDES to your club or group of recent 8-city Soviet tour. Phone 684-6668, days and Saturdays. LEGAL SERVICES Stone, McMurray, Bar- risters and Solicitors. 500 Ford Building, 193 East Hastings St:, Vancouver 682-7471.: : 93: HALLS FOR RENT RUSSIAN PEOPLE’S HOME — Available for rentals. For reserva- tions phone 254-3430. COMMERCIAL alten Galles ~Jewellery and Watch Repairs. Reasonable charge. Phone 254-7678. ‘WEBSTERS CORNERS HALL — Available for banquets, meetings, etc. For rates: Ozzie, 325-4171 or 685-5836. UKRAINIAN CANADIAN CUL- ‘TURAL CENTRE — 805 East Pen- der St., Vancouver. Available for banquets, weddings, meetings. Ph. 254-3436. ~ THE COMPLETE TRAVEL SERVICE We will professionally look after all your travel needs. We specialize in tickets, tours, passports, permits and reservations. Call us today — for prompt personalized service. GLOBE TOURS 2679 E: Hastings St., Vancouver, B.C. 253-1221 6 ie x PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JANUARY 11, 1980—Page 7 oe ae