[CHLOES defence of Reagan's aggressive, warmongering policy is…]

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CHLOES defence of Reagan's aggressive, warmongering policy is part of a pattern of similar statements emerging from White House aides in the last two months.

But in the last week the anti-Soviet rhetoric from Reagan's closest political advisors has reached a pitch that has even embarrassed the government itself.

Most outrageous of all was the speech last week by the White House National Security Council's "Soviet affairs expert" a Mr Robert Pipes.

"Detente does not exist," he delated, "Nothing is left of The Soviet leaders face a choice of "peacefully changing" their social system to line up with that in the capitalist coun tries "or going to war".

"There is no other alternative, and it could go either way.

Pipes looked towards

sistent with early statements by Mr Reagan and Secretary of State Alexander Haig."

And indeed Pipes' superior, General Haig, had only just completed testimony Congress in which he talked of the war in El Salvador in terms that revived the "domino theory" which was used as the pretext for US military intervention in Vietnam.

Claiming that the Soviet bureaucracy stands behind the struggles of the liberation forces in El Salvador, Haig declared that this was the second stage of a four-phase operation:

"one of which has already been completed-the seizure of Nicaragua. Next is El Salvador, to be followed by Honduras and Guatemala.

I wouldn't necessarily call it a domino theory ... but a hit list if you will."

It was also revealed that the vicious thugs of the US "Green Demonstrate Against Immigration Hyde, Park, London Up.m. Sund April guerrillas in Angola, and to the Argentinian dictatorship. He is openly increasing one supply of imperialist arms to the Afghan rebels.

• And there are rumours that South African Prime Minister Botha might be invited to make the first post-war state visit of a South African leader to the USA-as a means of consolidating Reagan's alliance with a regime seen as both a crucial supplier of raw materials and a bastion of anti-communism.

But of course Reagan is not alone in his international orientation. His every move warmly greeted by the Thatcher government in Britain. British workers must act to break this potentially lethal alliancebefore it turns, as in El Salvador, from warmongering in words to warmongering in fact.

US Hands off El Salvador!

Saturday 4 April Assemble 2.00 pm Evening social Called by Oxford Latin America Committee The Sunday Times quotes Sir Thomas Hetherington, the Director of Public Prosecutions, in his evidence to the Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure.

He said:

"In deciding whether ot not to authorise a prosecution, we must have reguard to the effect which the prosecution . . would have upon public morale and order, and with any other considerations affecting public policy."

That policy was certainly followed by the DPP in the infamous Paedophile trial.

Tom O'Carroll, who was campaigning for paedophilia, was jailed for two. years for conspiracy; while Sir Peter Hayman, former High Commissioner in Canada, had his name covered up in the court proceedings, despite being a central figure in the child pornography circle.

Clearly public morale' is done no harm at all by launching a conspiracy trial against O 'Carroll and jailing him.

But to pillory an establishment figure who is amongst other things chairman of his local Tory constituency party, might just undermine public confidence in the dignity of the aristocracy and therefore in the state.

Geoffrey Dickens, a Tory MP who has not come to terms with the patrician wing of the party, blew the whistle.

Up to this point the had been wallowing along in the wake of events.

When Dickens named Hayman in Parliament the story filled the front pages for two days-once on the leak and once attacking it.

At this point the press began to make the running. The paedophile witch-hunt had turned over a stone they had not meant to turn and found a scorpion that stung its keeper.

Even while inside pages were still running profile pieces on the Knight they called Humpty Dumpty, the front pages had the knives out for Dickens.

Mary Kenny wrote a piece in the Daily Mail saying that even 'liberal opinion' was outraged by paedophilia: but the press was about to demonstrate that it does not discriminate between paedophilia and adultery when it has a target in its sights.

Dickens, half realising what was: about to happen, announced the break-up of his marriage at a press conferenceand then phoned home to tell his wife.

The break-up of his marriage was the lead story in every tabloid paper the next day.

His wife was interviewed almost as she heard the news. The skeleton in the cupboard was rattled as loudly as the bones would stand.

Headlines spoke for themselves: Confession of Porn Row MP (Sun), The Skeleton in My Cupboard (Mail); My Secret Life (Mirror); Porn Row MP Leaves Wife (Express); and Porn Case MP says I've left my wife but please don't tell her yet' (Star).

• The following day the story was still the lead in the Mirror and Star. A 'third woman' was named.

By now it was the hapless Dickens who was linked with the child sex material!

Hayman had disappeared from the headlines while Dickens was Porn Row MP' (a description which had also equated pictures of children being sexually assaulted with "porn' in any other sense).

Dickens was also-at least by implication and sometimes more directly -accused of hypocrisy fancy pointing the finger at Hayman while he had a mistress' Passive role The woman of course was cast in a passive role throughout. Dickens 'had' a wife and a mistress (or two, or three depending on which paper you were reading).

So within a few days we had arrived at a position where the same papers which had treated O 'Carroll as a monster were now giving the MP who exposed Hayman similar treatment.

This narrow, bigoted, prudish and evangelical attack on Dickens did not just flow from sexual pruriance.

It began from a need to deflect attention from Hayman and the establishment. • The 'morality' displayed by the proprietors of our great and truth loving daily gutter sheets has, as usual, a direct and crude material base.

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