Pennsylvania State University at Capitol Campus
C 1111 Ilte
Volume 10, No. 3
C. C. Reader Interviews Dr. Robert Bresler
by Jeff Drinnan
An American military at
tack is not the answer to
stopping the Soviet's invasion
of Afghanistan, said Dr.
Robert Bresler, associate
professor of social and politi
cal science, in an interview
with the C.C. Reader.
A U.S. offensive would be
"logistically impossible,"
according to Bresler. "There
is no staging location" to
launch an attack, he said,
citing the lack of a U.S.
military base close enough to
do so. He believes that we
shouldn't set up the bases
needed for this purpose.
"American military bases are
an anathema to the Third
A gift to grow with
Hillel. a Jewish youth
group, planted a cherry tree
on campus on Feb. 1, 1980.
The tree-planting is in
recognition of the holiday, Tu
Shevat, a traditional
Jewish and Israeli day of
recognition for trees and their
role in ecological survival.
The tree, provided by
Davis Turf Company of
Elizabethtown and Colonial
Park, was accepted on behalf
of Capitol Campus by Dr.
Duane Smith, associate pro
vost and dean.
The tree was presented by
Frances Delinko and Dafna
Meltzer, leaders of the Hillel
chapter. "We hope that this
will be the start of a new
No draft needed
World," Bresler said.
Soviet presence in
Afghanistan is a threat if it is
"a prelude to further Russian
probes," Brealer said. If the
Soviets took over the Persian
Gulf, the oil interests of
many countries would be at
stake. For example, 28 %of
U.S. imported oil comes from
the Persian Gulf and Japan
gets 72.8% of its supplies
from there also.
A key to stopping the
Soviet offensive is to give the
Soviet-occupied countries aid
to "help them help
themselves," Bresler said. He
added that the governments
we choose to give aid to
should be stable ones that
don't have internal conflicts,
as Vietnam had.
tradition," said Delinko. "This
is an excellent way for stu
dent groups to show their
graditude to the campus."
Meltzer noted that the
tree-planting reflects several
Israeli-American traditions.
"Much of Israel has been
forested through American
gifts," said Meltzer. "Now it is
our turn to help landscape this
small piece of America."
Dr. Smith expressed the
gratitude of Penn State for
the gift. "It is a delight to see
students interested in work
ing for the campus," said Dr.
Smith. "And it is especially
pleasing to see their efforts
showing such faith in and
dedication to the future."
photo by Dos Shoemaker
Bresler believes that the
government we choose to help
should be independent from
the U.S. "We don't want to
have a relation with a gov
ernment like we had with
Vietnam. We should develop
an alliance with countries
which havethe common in
terest of stopping the Soviets.
They should not be clients,"
Bresler explained.
Up until President
Carter's State of the Union
address, Bresler agreed with
Carter's actions on the Af
ghanistan invasion, agreeing
that we should put economic
and political pressure
on Russia. "In his address,
Carter seems to indicate a
military solution," Bresler
said, calling this view
~. ~".«
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The construction during the past couple of months near the
heating plant was discovered to be a clever ploy to install the
beer pipeline. Tips from unidentified sources led C.C. Reader
reporters to the office of R.I. Dieulons, creator of the beer
pipeline plan, who, under pressure, admitted to the coverup.
Evidently, the construction company was commissioned by
Diculous to sneak beer from TM into the student center. Beer
pipes were found 20 feet below the surface. The two curled
pipes (lower left corner) are valves to let out excess foam.
"alarmist." "Let Russia get
bogged down and learn like
we did in Vietnam. It would
have a chastening effect.
They would then be reluctant
to intervene again," said
Bresler.
The draft is unnecessary,
according to Bressler. It
would not make us stronger.
"It may make us weaker," he
said, explaining that military
spending may accentuate the
already existing inflation.
Draft registration, even
for a contingency plan,
"doesn't make sense," Bresler
said. He believes that not
much time is gained by draft
registration. "You don't have
to equate patriotism with war
but with self-sacrifice," he
stressed.
Boycotting the Moscow
~~.~
8 February 1980
Olympics would hurt the
Soviets. according to Bresler.
"I wouldn't underestimate the
power of a boycott. It would
have a severe psychological
effect. It is the single most
important international event
to take place in Moscow since
WW 11. The prestige of the
Russian government is bound
up in sports competition," he
said.
Bresler said that politics
has been mixed with sports
Hitler.
protest American action in
Vietnam, Moscow boycotted a
sports event the U.S. held.
"If you had to choose
between the health of the
Olympics and punishing ag
gression -- boycotting the
Olympics you would have to
choose to punish aggression,"
Bresler stressed.
, .
AltA r if
"411 k
photo by Jeff Drinnan