The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 26, 2001 - 7 Saudi Arabia severs ties with Taliban ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - All but sealing Afghanistan's isolation, Saudi Ara- bia formally severed relations with the hard- line Taliban government yesterday. Stung, the Taliban denounced the Saudi move as intolerable to all Muslims and accused it of siding with "the infidel forces." Fierce fighting was reported in northern Afghanistan, where an opposition alliance is trying to wrest strategic territory from Tal- iban fighters. Reports were sketchy, and the two sides made conflicting claims that could not be reconciled. From the organization of Osama bin Laden, the accused terrorist mastermind at the heart of the hardening confrontation between Afghanistan and a U.S.-led coali- tion, came a volley of new threats. "Wher- ever there are Americans and Jews, they will be targeted," said a statement issued in the name of Naseer Ahmed Mujahed, mili- tary chief for bin Laden's al-Qaida network. "The holy warriors are fully prepared," added the statement, faxed to news organi- zations in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. Muslims everywhere, it said, "should pre- pare for jihad (holy war), and by the grace of God, victory will be Islam's." Later, the Taliban's leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, appealed to Americans to "be wise" and urged Washington to reconsid- er its policies toward Islamic countries, as well as its next move. His statement also was faxed to news organizations in Islamabad. In the two weeks since suicide attackers used hijacked planes to topple the twin towers of the World Trade Center and smash a wing of the Pentagon, many Islamic nations have agreed to support the emerging US.-led anti- terror coalition. But the prospect of American retaliation against Afghanistan has stirred anger in much of the Muslim world. In a drumbeat of rhetoric, bin Laden and his Afghan hosts have sought to exacerbate anti-American sentiment and portray the showdown over the exiled Saudi millionaire as a battle between the West and Islam. American and European officials, including President Bush, have worked equally hard to counter that view. In the rugged mountains of northern Afghanistan, where the opposition alliance is battling Taliban troops, reports say heavy fighting erupted yesterday around Mazar-e- Sharif, a city that has been in Taliban hands since the late 1990s. Accounts of the battle came from Afghan nationals working for the United Nations, said Rudy Rodrigues, head of UNICEF in neighboring Uzbekistan. Alliance spokesman Mohammed Ashraf Nadeem, reached by telephone from the Afghan capital, Kabul, said the opposition captured several villages in the northern Sangcharak district and killed six Taliban soldiers amid duels fought with artillery, tanks, mortars and rocket launchers. Several alliance soldiers were wounded, he said. Taliban military officials, though, scoffed at reports that Mazar-e-Sharif might fall, and Taliban-run radio said the attacks had been repulsed and the opposition suffered many casualties. It gave no details. AP PHOTO Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi gestures during a meeting with U.S. President Bush yesterday in the White House Rose Garden. ATTAC KS Continued from Page 1 people from defending freedom," Bush said, wagging his finger for emphasis during a Rose Garden cere- mony with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The White House sharply cut back a scheduled presidential trip to Asia in October to keep Bush close to home. The pace of events quickened as Washington readied for war, though government officials refused to say how soon the first strike might come. Bush's gathering international coali- tion received a boost when Russian President Vladimir Putin, meeting with German leaders, offered fresh words of support. "We must give no quarter to terrorists," he said. At the White House, Koizumi pledged $40 million in aid to help maintain Pakistan's stability. Two Japanese newspapers said the country will send warships to the Indian Ocean as early as this week to carry out intel- ligence and surveillance. The U.S. economy remained a nag- ging concern, with the stock market fluctuating and new data showing con- sumer confidence has plunged in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told lawmakers privately that if they pass an economic stimulus package of tax cuts and other mea- sures, a proper total could be as much as $100 billion, senators said. Bush is weighing his own package. A s investigators tried to track terror- ists to bin Laden, Bush backed Ashcroft's push to impose stronger penalties on those who harbor or finance terrorists, increase punish- ments of terrorists and expand the FBIs wiretapping powers. "We've got to know what's on their minds," Bush told weary FBI agents. For the first time, Bush suggested that the people of Afghanistan should rise up against the Taliban. He said the best way to fight ter- rorism "is to ask for the cooperation of citizens within Afghanistan who may be tired of having the Taliban in place or tired having Osama bin Laden." Powell said the Taliban could be spared - and perhaps even receive Western aid - if they hand over bin Laden and rip up the al-Qaida terror- ism network. MSA Contiued from Page 1 regarding their landlords' legal obligations and students' roles as tenants in Ann Arbor. "If you want to see the AATU here this year, $26,000 is the amount it needs to survive," said Law Rep. Chris Sheehan. The money in the MSA budget, meant to fund student groups and services, comes from a mandatory fee added to each student's tuition. MSA supports the Ann Arbor Tenant's Union, which is not a student group, with 5 percent to 7 per- cent of its budget each year. The increase was opposed by some who argued that the money would be more beneficial if allocated elsewhere. "Last year the AATU missed deadlines even when they were given extensions. They have done nothing and continue to do nothing," said Siafa Hage, last year's MSA treasurer. BAMN member Agnes Aleobua speaks at last night's Michigan Student Assembly meeting. TEACH-IN Continued from Page 1 "I think it depends what kind of media you look at or look to, to process it by working through different people's reactions," she said. "Television is biased but a forum like this provides a much more real and varied explanation than what you'd get on CNN, NPR or any of the major networks.' The panel included experts from the anthropology, history, political science and Near Eastern studies departments as well as a graduate student who had recently completed field work in Pak- istan. Speakers commented on topics ranging from the history of the current crisis to the politics and perspectives impacting attitudes around the nation and the world. "To the extent that we in this country think this is what Islam said, it doesn't lead us anywhere to think this is Islam's opinion about the U.S.," said political science Prof. Mark Tessler. "This isn't an Islamic position; religion doesn't tell us how people are going to think." Tessler said instead that global per- ceptions of the United States are root- ed in policy as opposed to culture. Ann Arbor resident Jan Calle said she came to see the panel because of the variety of speakers and found the panel informative and equally impor- tantly, challenging. "They're new ways to look at the information we're being given," she said, "and to see the number of students and mature adults at the teach in -- that it is available to us and people are taking advantage of it - it shows that this is a questioning community looking for answers to their personal questions." BILL Continued from Page 1 paid ... so they wanted additional leverage," he said. State Rep. Mike Kowall (R-White Lake Twp.), the bill's sponsor, downplayed the possibility of jail time for viola- tors. "I'm talking about 15- to 16-year-olds and when there's a chronic problem," Kowall said. "It is not aimed at first offenders. It is aimed at chronic offenders." Sen. Gary Peters, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, who voted against the bill in its first reading, said he is keeping an open mind about the bill but that he believes jail time is too harsh of a penalty. "We need to have punishment that is commensurate with the offense," said Peters, of Bloomfield Township. Sen. Bill Bullard (R-Highland) concurred with Peters. "I think the court has other ways of seeking compliance with court orders other than jail time," he said. Another criticism aimed at the bill is the fact that district judges already have the ability to place those who do not pay fines, attend treatment or participate in community ser- vice under contempt and that there is no need for a bill offering penalties such as jail time. Sen. William Van Regenmorter (R-Georgetown Twp.), the chairman of the committee, said jail time issued for con- tempt of court for an MIP violation might be constitutional- ly challengeable and thus the legislation is necessary. "Jailing someone for contempt of court when the under- lying offense doesn't carry jail time is illogical," said Van Regenmorter, who plans to bring the bill up for another vote in committee but expects it to be amended substantially. C oldwyn dye aoud X cingularsm WIRELESS What do you have to say?- ,WAR Continued from Page 1 those responsible for the attacks. "The public is so angry that they want not just retribution for vengeance sake; the public wants to prevent these das- tardly set of events from occurring again," said political science Prof. Emeritus Raymond Tanter, a scholar-in- residence at the Middle East Institute in Washington. Tanter said he also believes the polling data suggests the public is sending a message to President Bush to "take his time and get it right." Far less certain is what officials might be forced to do should another terrorist strike take place before the United States begins its offensive. Yes- terday's poll shows 66 percent of Amer- icans think more attacks could happen. But while most agree that Bush has time on his side, University of Michigan political science Prof. J. David Singer believes the president's war rhetoric has left him with little room to maneuver. "The administration is, I think, com- mitting a very serious blunder, because as you get the public revved up for war, you've got to do something," adding, "There really is so little that can be done from a pragmatic point of view" Despite overwhelmingly high poll numbers showing support for the Pres- ident and his current strategy, many students remain divided on what form a U.S. response should take. "This is going to last more than a year, and I think people's attitudes are going to change when we start sending soldiers over there and they begin coming back in bodybags," said LSA senior Joanna Parnell. Music sophomore Stephen Dimos said not enough is being done by stu- dents or the University administration. "The only way to cure hate is to replace it with love and respect," Dimos said. "Students need to be more active, and Bollinger needs to be more vocal." Organizers of anti-war and anti-dis- crimination groups said the polls did not phase them. This Saturday in Washington, what was originally a protest against the World Bank and International Monetary fund has become the People's Summit to Glob- alize Justice and Peace. The newly formed Coalition to Stop Racial Scapegoating and the War met Monday night to organize students to attend the Summit. They also are sup- porting a national green armband cam- paign which encourages people to stand in solidarity with Arabs, Mus- lims, and Middle-Easterners. nedeOdAa FREE ADVANCE SCREENING UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN - ANN ARBOR @ State Theater, 233 State Street 7:00 PM Wednesday f1 October 3, 2001 Passes available at State Theater, 233 State Street. Passes required. Seating is limited and not guaranteed. Please arrive early. ID required. No one under the age of 13 will be admitted without parent or legal guardian. Presented in association with YouthStream Event Marketing. DMARRIED Continued from Page 1 That reaction and the fact that neither he nor Annie knows of anyone else here who is married speak to the small number of students who marry while still in school. While the University does not keep data on marital status, occupancy rates from Housing do provide more information. Married couples live in 1,143 (78 percent) out of 1,462 Family Housing apartments on campus, said Jeffrey Micale, data systems manager for University Housing. Of the 1,143 couples, 4 percent are undergraduates, 86 percent are graduate students, and the remaining 115 10 percent are faculty or staff. would have been another two years. "If we feel we're right for each other and ready to make that commitment, what's the point of waiting when we have the capability of getting married in college," he said. Brandon said he and Annie also felt it wasn't necessary to wait because their parents supported them in their decision. Annie agrees that they - and everyone else thinking of getting married while in school - "really need the parents' support" "If you don't have it, there's a reason," she said. Counseling and Psychological Services does offer cou- ples counseling on a couple-by-couple basis but does not have anything specifically geared toward those looking to Y1 9 .w i., , - ..: i;, .,. .. ... .. ., .