Editorials
Friday, December 25, 1998

Christmas 1998
finds much of
world at peace

CHRISTMAS celebrates the birth of the prince of peace. This year we are pleased to note that Christmas finds the world with fewer conflicts than in many years in the past. The missile attacks on Iraq by U.S. and British forces, aimed at reducing Saddam Hussein's arsenal of weapons of mass destruction, mercifully ended before the date customarily observed as the birthday of Jesus. Our forces in the Persian Gulf can relax a little for the holiday observance.

In Bosnia and elsewhere in the world, including Hawaii, American servicemen and women are engaged in peacekeeping missions and manning posts to guard the nation against attack. But none are engaged in combat on this Christmas, and for that we should be thankful.

Despite the collapse of Soviet communism, the world remains a dangerous place. True peace eludes us. The nation must maintain a strong military and a tireless vigil against attack, as we in Hawaii know all too well. But this year threats to the peace seem remote. The call of peace on Earth, good will to men does not ring hollow. Merry Christmas!

Military pay raises

THIS is a good Christmas for members of the armed forces. The Pentagon has proposed the biggest increases in military pay and pensions since 1982. Previously announced was an increase of 4.4 percent for all 1.4 million service personnel effective in January 2000.

The new proposal would earmark additional raises for officers and enlisted personnel who have been leaving the services in large numbers because their experience and training have given them high market value in the private sector. To stem the tide, the Defense Department is proposing raises as high as 9.9 percent for mid-career officers and noncommissioned officers.

Also included in the package announced by Secretary of Defense William Cohen and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Henry H. Shelton, is an increase in retirement benefits, considered essential for boosting recruiting and retaining highly qualified personnel. Cohen explained, "We want the best that we can attract, and we are working in an environment in which it's very hard to compete against a robust economy."

Not since former President Reagan approved increases of 14.3 percent for officers and 10 to 17 percent for enlisted personnel in 1982 has the military received such a big pay and pension raise. Since then the Cold War has ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the defense budget has been slashed repeatedly.

However, it has dawned on our lawmakers that there are still vital tasks for the armed services and cutting their funding too sharply can be dangerous. The White House quickly endorsed the Pentagon's proposals and Congress is expected to approve them.

The importance of retaining highly qualified personnel in the armed services should be evident to anyone. Despite the end of the Cold War, U.S. military strength must be maintained in a world that continues to be turbulent. The four days of missile attacks on Iraq were only the latest example of the vital role the armed forces play. The nation can't permit them to be decimated by inadequate pay.

Russian budget

RUSSIAN Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov has persuaded the Communist-led parliament to approve his budget proposal to repair the country's crippled economy. He will need next to convince the International Monetary Fund that his proposal will keep Russia on track toward market reforms. The budget's projected revenue assumes the IMF will end its freeze on loans, but Russia shouldn't count on it.

Primakov became prime minister in September after the collapse of government finances prompted President Boris Yeltsin to sack all the economic reformists in the Kremlin. Yeltsin promised that reforms would continue, because future loans depend on them.

However, Primakov has been joined in the revised cabinet by former Soviet managers whose dedication to market reform is questionable.

Since then the ruble has fallen in value from 6.4 to the dollar to 21.5, or from more than 15 cents to less than a nickel. Millions of people are months behind in receiving their wages. Barter is said to account for three-fourths of the country's transactions, compared with two-thirds before the crisis began. Printing more money to pay back wages is likely to trigger hyperinflation.

The budget passed the Duma, Russia's lower house, by a 303-65 vote, opposed only by the center-left liberals of Grigory Yavlinsky's Yabloko Party. The budget does not satisfy the private economists who have favored reforms. However, Primakov has been careful to promise the IMF that "we do not intend to retreat by a single step from the progress we have made over the last few years" in moving toward a free market.

At this point, financial stability may be as important as economic reforms, particularly the kind of "shock therapy" that some reformists have wanted. In the early stages of its coldest winter in 30 years, Russia is in a dire situation that requires assistance from the West. The IMF should find a way to continue its financial aid to Russia through its present crisis.

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Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited Partnership

Rupert E. Phillips, CEO

John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher

David Shapiro, Managing Editor

Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor

Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors

A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor