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Inside this issue -
Issues on Campus:
Students Respond to Colin Powell's Speech on Iraq
Yale:
 Secretary of State Colin Powell presented evidence of Saddam Hussein's defiance of the international community. Hopefully, the Yale community will respectfully consider his case with an open mind. By Matthew Louchheim (Yale Daily News)
Michigan:
"True confessions of a reluctant warrior." I want to be opposed to this war. As much as I tend to disagree with everything Bush proposes, I am not 100 percent against war with Iraq. It would be a bad thing if Saddam Hussein developed weapons of mass destruction. That fact should be indisputable. The real reason we should go to war is if - and only if - the weapons inspectors find evidence of non-compliance with Hussein's promise to disarm and peaceful means are exhausted. By Jess Piskor (Michigan Daily)
UCLA:
 "War viable option only if diplomacy fails." Even if war is the likeliest option in the United States' vendetta against Iraq, it still has to be the last option. If the United States goes to war before all diplomacy is exhausted, its citizens - especially those who will have loved ones killed - will always wonder whether a peaceful solution would have been possible if the United States waited for the international community to be on its side. (Editorial, Daily Bruin)
Rutgers:
 "Do not be fooled by the madman." The onus is on the Iraqi dictator, not on the inspectors. He is the one who has promised to cooperate, a promise he has broken time and time again. Nations like France, fresh off its most recent colonial debacle in Ivory Coast, are delusional if they think Saddam is eventually going to give up his weapons programs. When has he ever cooperated with the world community? By Patrick Devenny (Rutgers Daily Targum)
Georgetown:
 "Remove Students from Turkey Before War Strikes." There are currently 11 Georgetown University students and two Georgetown faculty members living and studying at the university's center in Alanya, Turkey. As a war in Iraq becomes imminent, it is necessary that Georgetown's Office of International Programs make preparations to bring home the students and faculty currently residing in Turkey. (Editorial, The Hoya)
Duke: School President Says "No Divestment"
 President Nan Keohane issued a strongly worded rebuttal Tuesday afternoon to the DukeDivest group's call for University divestment from companies with military ties to Israel. Calling the situation between Israel and Palestine a "complex issue" on a different level from the apartheid of South Africa, Keohane argued that the divestment tactic is poorly designed for the circumstances. "The divestment petition targets only one side in this tragic situation," she said. (Duke Chronicle)
FBI Forges Closer Ties To Campus Cops
Federal authorities have begun enlisting campus police officers in the domestic war on terror, renewing fears among some faculty and student groups of overzealous FBI spying at colleges and universities that led to scandals in decades past. The bureau is questioning as many as 50,000 Iraqis living in the United States in a search for potential terrorist cells, spies or people who might provide information helpful to a U.S. war effort. (CBS News)
News:
Powell Piling Up the Evidence Against Iraq
Secretary of State Powell Wednesday made a comprehensive and detailed case to the UN to demonstrate a pattern of Iraqi deceit. He provided new details about Iraq's effort to develop mobile laboratories to make germ weapons. He asserted that Iraq has sought to hide missiles in its western desert. Significantly, he cited intelligence reports that Saddam Hussein has authorized his military to use poison gas if the U.S. invades. (New York Times)
Powell Briefing: Key Points (BBC)
Powell Briefing: Full Text (State Department)
Powell's UN Slide Presentation (The Age - Melbourne)
Terrorism Alert in the U.S. Raises another Notch
The Bush administration raised the national threat alert from "yellow" to "orange" Friday after receiving new intelligence reports that pointed to the possibility of multiple imminent attacks by Al Qaeda against Jewish groups and Jewish-owned businesses inside the United States. FBI officials began contacting Jewish leaders and rabbis around the country Friday to warn them to be especially vigilant and to enhance security at Sabbath services and other events over the weekend. (Newsweek)
Voices from the Campus:
Israel, the Columbia, and the Electoral Mirror Image By Matthew Cohen
The United States and Israel are currently mourning the loss of the space shuttle Columbia, which carried an American crew and the first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon. The mission was symbolic of the firm relationship between the United States and Israel. Israel and the United States are close allies -- democratic nations committed to the rule of law and the advancement of humanity. In the midst of national tragedies both countries are beginning a new political course for the upcoming years following recent elections. The two electoral outcomes appear to be mirror images of one another. The Republicans and Likud were able to rally around security and fighting terrorism, while the Democratic and Labor parties self-imploded. There was no reasonable alternative or opposition in either election, and the electorate responded with overwhelming support for Bush and Sharon. (Cornell Sun)
UCLA: Gay Israeli politician discusses social norms at home, in U.S.
The first openly gay member of the Israeli parliament, Uzi Even, explained his belief that being openly gay in Israel is more socially accepted than in the United States. "I dare say being gay in Tel Aviv is as a open and free as in San Francisco," said Uzi Even. On the whole, Even said he has been well accepted in Israeli politics. Asked about homosexuality in the Arab world and Palestinian territories, Even replied that in the Arab world homosexuality is a severe sin with the punishment of imprisonment and sometimes execution. "It is not surprising that many of them come to Israel to find refuge. We are a refugee camp for the gay people of the Palestinian Authority." (Daily Bruin)
Yale: Singing the praises of dictators By James Kirchick, freshman at Yale
In the aftermath of terrorist attacks committed by 15 of its nationals, Saudi Arabia has spared no expense in trying to persuade the American public that its theocratic monarchy shares the values of the United States. Last week, a group of 10 Yale students from the Department of Epidemiology returned from an exchange program sponsored by Saudi Arabia. Upon their return one student proudly sang the praises of that regime. She stated that "[the Saudis] are perplexed as to why American relations with Saudi Arabia are so bad in the media." I would venture to guess that the Saudi Arabian government's payments to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers might account for a small part of this strained relationship. I am all for cultural exchanges, but I expect someone with a Yale education to display a little more intelligence and insight rather than reproduce propagandistic rhetoric. The whole charade is disturbingly reminiscent of the Treblinka concentration camp, specially established by the Nazis as a "model" to disguise their crimes and dupe outside observer groups like the Red Cross. (Yale Daily News)
Brandeis: Solidarity with Hebron U. Ignores School's Terror Links By Bazalel Stern
[Marina Pevzner '04, an Israeli Jew criticized Brandeis for its silence on the closing of two Palestinians schools by Israel. "Whether they agree or disagree with the closures, they have a duty to express their point of view," she said. "Hundreds of Israeli scholars have adamantly condemned policies which close or impede access to Palestinian universities."]
In response, Stern wrote, "Hebron University is only a 'university' in the broadest sense of the term. The 'university' is widely known to be a hotbed of terrorism. In a recent election of the student government of the university, the parties to win most of the seats were none other than Hamas and Islamic Jihad, both of which admittedly carry out attacks on Israeli civilians. The students at the school are trained in propaganda - suicide bombing is routinely extolled, and Israel is seen as a hated enemy." (The Justice)
Michigan: You Can't Be Neutral By Ari Paul
In another public display of Beavis vs. Butthead, a bunch of Palestinian supporters held a vigil on one side of State Street, while a pro-Israel counter-protest took place on the other side. I got in the middle of State Street and conducted the orchestra, and - wishing that I had both an Israeli and Palestinian flag - came up with my own chant, "You are all lame and stupid." It's sad when rational-thinking observers are marginalized so that one can advance an agenda, rather than seek peace for all. (Michigan Daily)
Wisconsin: Israel: A Nation that Cannot Catch a Break By Matt Modell
Ramon gave Israelis a reason to dream. Although he had fought in the Israeli army, he was a man of peace. He repeatedly stated during the mission how he desired and dreamt of a day when Israel would be as peaceful on the ground as it appeared from outer space. Israel's struggle in the region will continue. Stricken by grief once again, Israelis will need to remain strong and will need to soon look ahead to the challenges it faces: a struggling economy, a decline in immigration and students coming to study abroad, and the terrorism it faces on an almost daily basis. (Badger Herald)
Campus Organizations:
Hillel Seeks Visionary Leader
 With the departure of Richard Joel from Hillel to take up duties as president of Yeshiva University, the campus organization has announced its search for a new leader who will build on the strong structure established during Joel's tenure. Hillel's search committee is comprised of students, professionals and lay leaders.
Talking Points:
The Case for U.S. Action in Iraq - (Washington Post)
- It is clear that Iraq has not complied with Resolution 1441, which offered it a "final opportunity" to voluntarily disarm. Neither the UN weapons inspectors nor any permanent member of the council contends that Iraq has "fully" cooperated, as the resolution requires.
- It would be a mistake for the United States and its allies, confronted with continued intransigence, to shrink again from decisive action in Iraq. The U.S. should lead a force to remove Saddam Hussein's dictatorship and locate and destroy its chemical and biological weapons and its nuclear program.
- The Iraqi regime poses a threat not just to the U.S. but to global order. The removal of Saddam Hussein would advance the task of containing the spread of weapons of mass destruction to rogue states. A continued failure to act would send dictators and terrorists a devastating message about the impotence of the U.S. and the UN, and would encourage extremists in their rush for nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.
- Those who advocate containment through inspections ignore that strategy's costly failure during the 1990s. Inspectors traipsed through Iraq for seven years as Baghdad defied or ignored one Security Council resolution after the next. The most dangerous chemical and biological weapons were not discovered for four years, and then only with the help of a defector.
- The people of Iraq and its region would benefit from an end to the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, who is guilty of some of the most terrible war crimes and human rights violations of the past 50 years. He has tortured, gassed, and slaughtered his people and has invaded two neighboring nations. His removal would free millions of Iraqis from deprivation and oppression and make possible a broader movement to reshape the Arab Middle East.
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