From: harelb@math.cornell.edu (misc.activism.progressive co-moderator)
Subject: In GATT They Trust (V)
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: daemon@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: misc.activism.progressive on UseNet ; ACTIV-L@UMCVMB
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 05:10:24 GMT

In GATT They Trust (V)


The following article was taken from the _Covert Action_ Spring 1992
[special issue dedicated to  Native people's rights/struggles]
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Terry Allen is co-editor of CAIB [CovertAction Information Bulletin] 
and a journalist who has worked in the U.S. and abroad. 
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For more information about CovertAction Information Bulletin and
subscription information, please see bottom or email Rich Winkel at
rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
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=========================== 
GATT and the 1992 Elections 
=========================== 

President Bush is now under major political attack in two main areas: 
the disastrous domestic economy and the spending of too much time on 
foreign affairs.  The President's stratagists hope that if the 
Democrats in Congress can be convince to sign onto GATT, Bush will 
portray this support as an endorsement of his overall economic 
approach.  HIs "let's grow our way out of the domestic recession by 
expanding world trade" approach would then go a lond way toward 
undercutting the abuility of the eventual Democratic nominee to 
critique the domestic economic crisis and help assure a Republican 
victory. 

Given these high stakes, it is not surprising then that Republican 
Party and big buiness media "spin doctors" have been working overtime 
to build support for GATT as part of an overall election strategy. 
Immediately after the release of the final GATT draft in December, 
editorial and columns began to appear trying to put the best face on 
the situation.  In an editorial, the _New York Times_, grasping for 
somthing positive to say, called the draft a "will ploy" and a "shrewd 
tactic" although it was forced to admit that the proposed text "may 
have misstepped in places." The _Times_ did mention the concern of 
environmentalists who had, according to the editorial called the plan 
"monstrous" because "it would interfere with a country's right to set 
health, safety, and environmental standards[see article for 
citation]." 

Perhaps the most ideological spin came in a December, 22, 1991, 
syndicated column from _Boston Globe_ writer David Warsh titled "GATT 
and Gulf War Offer Legacy of Hope." Warsh argued that Americans 
suffering under the ecomomic crisis should "Look across the valley of 
recession to the highly promising peaks beyond." Quoting from the 
London _Financial Times_ to bolster his argumenets, Warsh claimed that 
it was GATT, "not spending on armaments, enabled the West to win the 
Cold War,... has underpinned the Western world's prosperity," and 
"determines the livelihood of billions."  GATT, he argues is, "along 
with the U.N., the World Bank and the IMF, part of the sturdy fabric 
of a suitably loose but effective world government." 

Columnist Warsh never mentions when or where the people of the United 
States decided to subject themselves to a new world government, but he 
obviously seems pleased. 


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