
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, July 17, 1990                   TAG: 9007170310
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

U.S. OUGHT NOT FORSAKE IRAN'S MODERATES

WILLIAM D. Stallard (letter July 5) said that aid should not be sent to Iran because of its activities over the past decade. The United States has a long history of using aid in various forms to strengthen ties with nations, an investment that may not pay off for many years.

Stallard said the majority of Iranians denounce America. At this time, a great division exists in Iran. Ten years of war with Iraq, economic sanctions and virtual isolation from the world community have wreaked havoc on the Iranian population. For the first time in the 11 years since Khomeini's return, there are voices in favor of restoring ties with the West.

Should these moderates be abandoned, given nothing they can point to as an example of American good will? If so, expect the fanatical fundamentalists to thrive. Failure by the United States to show compassion in the face of personal suffering of such magnitude (50,000 deaths, hundreds of thousands injured, homeless and orphaned) would be to concede to the fundamentalists that Americans are everything they say we are.

On a more personal note, hundreds of thousands of Iranians now reside in the United States - work, pay taxes, vote, and show concern over the bad relations between their birthland and their adoptive homeland. Should less concern be shown for the personal connection of these citizens than was shown for Mexican-Americans in the Mexico City earthquake or for Armenian-Americans in the Soviet Union earthquake?

Human suffering is the same whether American, Mexican, Armenian, or Iranian. Compassion should also be the same, regardless of nationality.

SUSAN H. KARBAF\ BLACKSBURG

by CNB