Basic HTML Version
• •
f •
-9-
In the October 30 issue of U.S. News & World Report Hayakawa was asked:
"Do you believe the U.S. would jeopardize its relations with all of
black Africa by doing business with the present Rhodesian government?"
His answer: "Not one bit. It seems to me the administration continues
to frighten itself with bogymen. They say, 'What will the front-line
states say?' Well, it's not what they're going to say that matters;
it's what they're going to do that matters.
"Just in the past few weeks, Zambia opened up its borders to Rhodesia
because they're just having such a terrible economic crisis there.
Zambia, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique -- all depend enormously either on
South Africa or Rhodesia, or both. And so, front-line states can make
all the angry noises they like, but they're still dependent upon the
advanced nations like Rhodesia and South Africa."
And then, in a conclusion which shows that sanity has not totally
departed from U.S. officialdom yet, Hayakawa thundered:
"As it is, the United States is so frightened of the disapproval of the
so-called front-line states -- those miserably weak, economically
fragile front-line states which put on a big front, backed up by Russian
weaponry, but have no inner strength -- that we don't dare do anything.
And we're peculiarly paralyzed� our� fears.
"I am very much ashamed at the present time that the United States is
frightened of Russia. D--- it, Russia should be frightened of us. But
every move we take we say, 'What will the Russians say?' 'What will
the Russians say?' The h--- with what they say. They should be asking
about every move they make, 'What will the Americans say?'"
--Gene H. Hogberg, News Bureau