The Week That Was

THE NATION

Each week the 30-odd members of the U.S. Armed Forces Policy Council hear grim briefings from the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on how much conflict there is in the world. Two weeks ago, there was a pleasant surprise. Admiral Thomas H. Moorer reported that as well as he could determine, during the week of Feb. 17 to 24 "virtually nobody is shooting at anybody anyplace." Moorer went on to declare that it was "more quiet around the world last week than at any time since I have been Chairman of the Joint Chiefs" -- a period covering the last 3 1/2 years. It may have come from a perspective that only a military man could adopt wholeheartedly, but Moorer's assessment was bracing nonetheless. Said one aide, "He didn't mean there weren't some people getting shot in Northern Ireland or that the shelling of Phnom-Penh couldn't resume. But in organized military operations, nothing was happening." The peace was brief. Last week government forces overran three insurgent positions south of Phnom-Penh, heavy air and artillery attacks took place near the Plain of Reeds in South Viet Nam, and thousands of soldiers mutinied in Ethiopia (see THE WORLD).

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.