Vietnamization with a vengeance! Saigon SAIGON — Two American scientists. accused the U.S. of turning over to the Thieu pup- pet regime more than 1,500,000 gallons of “Agent Orange” —a poisonous defoliation chemical— and of causing widespread en- vironmental damage to South Vietnam. The scientists made their charge in a news conference here. They are Professors A. H. Westing and E. W. Pfeiffer, who for five years have been study- ing the effect of U.S. war meth- ods on South Vietnam’s natural environment. The U.S., they noted, had been forced to give up the use of Agent Orange because of the public outcry against it. It was found to be teratogenic, i.e., monster-forming, in its effects on human fetuses. But the two scientists pointed out that the U.S. military had simply turned over all stocks of Agent Orange to the Saigon puppet regime. They also said that the US. had used giant plows to denude more than 750,000 acres in South Vietnam of all vegetation. Westing, a botanist at Wind- ham College in Vermont, said: “When we found out that Agent Orange caused fetal malforma- tions, we stopped using it. It would be the height of irrespon- sibility to leave the ‘chemicals behind for the Saigon army to use as we pull out of Vietnam.” He added, “It appears as if plowing has now replaced chemi- cal defoliants as the primary means of denying cover to the enemy.” The plowing is done by bull- dozers with specially equipped gets poison gas plow blades called “Rome plows.” The blades were first developed in the city of Rome, Ga. Every day, the U.S. has 100- 150 bulldozers working, plowing up South Vietnam’s forests and turning them into flat waste- lands denuded of topsoil and vegetation. “The erosion of the topsoil is seriously affecting the water- holding capacity of the land and is preparing the way for serious flooding,” said Pfeiffer, a Uni- versity of Montana zoologist. “For the wildlife, it has already been disastrous.” He said more than 750,000 acres had been plowed up and turned into des- ert. Nothing will grow there ex- cept elephant grass. The two scientists also said that the use of new, 15,000- pound bombs by the U.S. to “clear” areas had created havoc in the South Vietnamese coun- tryside: one such bomb kills everything within a 760-acre area, they said. The bombs were originally designed to explode horizontally to clear landing-spaces for heli- copters, but the U.S. is now us- ing them in day-to-day combat as anti-personnel weapons. They are so large they have to be dropped from C-119. “Flying Boxcar” transport planes. Berlin pact to open new paths By NORMAN BORODIN Public opinion, the press and also government leaders of a number of countries have wel- comed the understanding reach- ed between the Soviet, British, French and United States am- bassadors on the draft agree- ment on West Berlin as a major event in international life. Deep satisfaction is being expressed that despite sombre predictions of some Western reactionary circles: agreement has _ been reached on this complicated issue. These circles not only pre- dicted the “inevitable failure” of the Berlin talks, but con- stantly sabotaged the solution of many other important Euro- pean problems. They regarded the agreement on West Berlin as a preliminary condition for the discussion of other prob- lems. Now they have the ground cut from under their feet. The Council of Ministers of the German Democratic Repub- lic, having discussed the draft agreement on West Berlin, highly appraised the persistent and constructive policy of the Soviet government, which play- ed the decisive role in the suc- cess of the negotiations. Stress- ing its readiness to fulfil the clauses of the draft agreement on West Berlin, the GDR gov- ernment expressed sincere gra- titude to the USSR for its efforts to achieve the understanding which fully reflects the GDR’s interests. Although the four - power agreement on West Berlin en- ee & Git tier us: pe € PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1971—PAGE8”’. . : = joys ‘almost universal support, there are critics, too. Some reactionary circles in the West, including the neo- fascist and revanchist elements in West Germany, call it a “deal” in favor of the East, while the Maoists says it’s a “deal” in favor of the West. But these nonsensical allegations are made by those in the West and in the Far East who are by no means interested in the easing of tension and improving the political climate in Europe. They are interested, each for North Vietnam anniversary The Communist Party of Can- ada has sent greetings on the anniversary of the founding of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in September 1945. “This was an event of great historic significance for the en- tire Vietnamese people, the peo- ples of Indochina and the cause of national and. social libera- tion,” declares a message sign- ed by CPC general secretary W. Kashtan. ‘‘We wish further suc- cesses to the Democratic Repub- lic of Vietnam and its people in the building of a new society.” Expressing continued solidar- ity and all-out support for “the just and heroic struggle of the Vietnamese people against U.S. imperialist aggression,” the mes- sage declares the aggressors “will inevitably meet an igno- minious defeat.” Pat Re Th Ke their own reasons, in the direct opposite. Of course, there is nothing surprising about the fact that Peking and the extreme reac- tionaries and neo-fascist circles in the West have found them- selves on the same side of the barricades and are sending poi- soned arrows to one and the same target. It is not the first time, after all, that they are act- ing in concert on the common platform of anti-Communism and anti-Sovietism ... Most leading observers in the world press emphasize that the four-power agreement on West Berlin, backed by the govern- ments of the GDR and the FRG, makes even more imperative the solution of other vital European problems. The main thing now is that some Western powers have lost their main pretext for opposing the convocation of