2 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 20, 2002 NATION/WORLD Arafat, Sharon focus on cease-fire UPPER MANeGASt Philippines Muslim rebels attack Filipino troops JERUSALEM (AP) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said yesterday that Yasser Arafat will be free to travel to an Arab summit next week if the Palestinian leader agrees to a cease-fire, but hinted Arafat may not be allowed back if the violence persists while he is gone. In another incentive for a truce, Vice President Dick Cheney said he would meet Arafat if it is achieved. It would be Arafat's highest-level contact with the Bush administration. Both sides said a truce to halt 18 months of Pales- tinian-Israeli violence could be declared after a cru- cial meeting of security commanders set for today. Violence continued yesterday, with an Israeli soldier and two Palestinians dying in a gunbattle and a Palestinian civilian shot to death by Israel troops. In a statement yesterday, the Palestinian Cabinet said it is prepared to implement a cease-fire "accord- ing to a time table agreed on by both sides, without any delay." The statement complained that "troops are still surrounding the Palestinian territories with a tight siege and continuous aggression against the Palestinian people." Cheney, ending a 24-hour stop in Israel, said he expected Arafat to take decisive steps to end Pales- tinian attacks on Israelis by week's end. "I cannot emphasize enough how important it will be this week for Chairman Arafat to take the steps to get the cease-fire started," Cheney said at a news conference with Sharon. Arafat wants to attend a March 27-28 Arab sum- mit in Beirut, at which Saudi Arabia is expected to present a proposal for broad Arab-Israeli peace in exchange for a return of the territories Israel occu- pied in 1967 - the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. These ideas have been welcomed by the United States and European Union, but Sharon opposes a total withdrawal from territory he considers strategi- cally valuable. Sharon expressed his expectations of Arafat at the summit and added an implied warning. "We would expect that he will speak on the impor- tance of peace and regional stability," Sharon said. Asked whether Arafat would be allowed to return to the Palestinian territories after the summit, Sharon said: "If it turns out that he didn't act in that way, the Cabinet will meet and will have to make a decision. I wouldn't rule out any possibilities." Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat denounced the comments, saying, "Sharon cannot put an obstacle on the movement of Arafat and cannot dictate to us what we should say or not say," he said. bTaliban egroup an-d plan d comeback PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) - Protected by sympathetic clerics, up to 1,000 Taliban and al-Qaida lead- ers are hiding in Pakistan and plan- ning a Taliban comeback in Afghanistan, according to Taliban IlWW.fiI~ members and others familiar with the Islamic movement. Most of the exiles - including some of the best-known figures in the Islamic militia - live quietly in Pak- istan's lawless frontier region, protect- ed by tribal leaders of their own Pashtun ethnic group in an area where the central government's authority is limited. Many of the Taliban fugitives remain convinced that interim Prime Minister Hamid Karzai's hold on power depends on U.S. support and once the Americans are gone, they will have little trouble dealing with WWW.d Afghans who are now allied with Washington. "I am waiting for the big war," said Mullah Towha, former chief of securi- ty for the Taliban governor of Afghanistan's Nangharhar province. "America and Britain will have to leave one day, and then we will have a jihad against those Afghans who fought with them against other Mus- lim." The mullah, who has trimmed his beard and abandoned his distinctive Taliban turban for a white skullcap, spoke to The Associated Press in a car as it weaved through the Khyber Pass a a in the middle of Pakistan's tribal belt. He lives in an Islamic shrine protected by a "pir," or holy man. Pakistan has repeatedly denied knowingly harboring al-Qaida and Taliban renegades and has insisted that intelligence service links to extremists were severed after Presi- dent Pervez Musharraf threw his sup- port to the U.S.-led war on terrorism last year. "There is absolutely no truth in these reports," chief government spokesman Maj. Gen. Rashid Quereshi told AP yesterday. He called the idea that Pakistani intelligence was still supporting Taliban fugitives "nonsense" and "part of a malicious campaign against Pakistan." Nonetheless, the Taliban fugitives reportedly living in Pakistan include some of the most high-profile and influ- ential members of the hard-line Islamic movement. All once worked closely with Pakistan's powerful intelligence service and have close ties to influential figures in the Pakistani military and government establishment. According to Taliban and other sources, they include former Defense Minister Mullah Obeidullah, former Interior Minister Abdul Razzak, former Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Hasan Akhund and Amir Khan Muttaqi, spokesman for the Taliban's supreme leader Mullah Mohammed Omar. It is unclear why the Pakistani gov- ernment has made no move to round them up. Local chiefs in the border area wield considerable power and tracking them down would take time and resources and doubtless meet local resistance. Also, before Sept. 11, top fugitives were close to powerful figures in Pak- istan, who may be protecting them. The list also includes Jalaluddin Haqqani, who several Afghans say was the mastermind of al-Qaida and Taliban efforts to regroup in his stronghold of Paktia province - tar- get of the just-concluded U.S.-led Operation Anaconda. The police chief of Paktia's provin- cial capital Gardez, Haji Mohammed Ishaq, said Haqqani lives in Pakistan's South Waziristan region along the Muslim extremists unleashed a volley of grenades and small arms fire on a Filipino army patrol yesterday, wounding two soldiers, and prompting Green Berets to try to retrieve the injured men - only the second time Americans have ventured into the combat zone. The clash between about 30 Filipino troops and a group of Abu Sayyaf rebels erupted within earshot of the Green Berets as they attended a town meeting on the southern island of Basilan to discuss local residents' safety concerns. Abu Sayyaf is believed to have links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida ter- rorist network. At least four rebels were killed in several hours of fighting on the out- skirts of Lantawan town, officials said. Elite Philippine troops captured six more rebels as they fled the fighting. After a series of frantic radio calls, the four Green Berets learned that Fil- ipino platoon commander Lt. Lemuel Beduya had a serious head wound and one of his men was shot in the arm. Both were pinned down by enemy fire only about two miles from where the Americans were meeting local resi- dents at Atong Atong village. I Worst flood in decades hits southern states The National Guard was sent to help evacuate residents affected by a storm that caused the worst flooding to hit eastern Kentucky in 25 years, damaging or destroying at least 250 homes. Flood warnings remained in effect yesterday for parts of Kentucky and Ten- nessee, but the flood threat appeared to be over in Virginia, the National Weath- er Service said. On Monday, floods and mudslides forced residents to flee rugged sections of all three states. More rain fell on Kentucky yesterday and rain also was forecast across the region for the rest of the week. At least seven deaths in Tennessee were blamed on the storm, including 3 1/2- year-old Cody Haun, who fell into a swollen creek behind his home in Erwin and was swept about 150 feet downstream. In Virginia, where up to 7 inches of rain fell, Gov. Mark Warner declared emergencies Monday in seven counties in the southwestern part of the state and sent National Guard troops to help evacuate hundreds of residents. WASHINGTON Bush tries to improve security at the border The White House is nearing a deci- sion on merging the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Customs Service in a bid to better protect U.S. borders and enhance homeland security. President Bush was reviewing the plan, which has been endorsed by his top advisers, yesterday and could make a decision as early as this week. The plan, which requires congressional approval, would be a significant move to reshape the government's border security functions. Under the plan, the Justice Depart- ment would probably oversee the new border security agency. The Customs Service is part of the Treasury Department, and Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill reportedly has endorsed the idea. The Justice Department already over- sees the INS, which the administration has been overhauling after years of gaffes and charges of incompetence. WASHINGTON Fed optimistic about economic situation The Federal Reserve left a key inter- est rate unchanged yesterday and began preparing Americans for the possibility that short-term rates will go higher this year as the country bounces back from recession. After 11 consecutive rate reductions last year, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and his colleagues opted to continue to hold the federal funds rate at 1.75 percent, the lowest level in 40 years. The decision was announced after a closed-door meeting. Stocks fell after the announcement. In January, the Fed, citing signs of an economic rebound, ended a year- long stretch of uninterrupted credit easing when it left the funds rate unchanged. Yesterday, the Fed policy-makers were even more upbeat about the econ- omy's prospects. WASHINGTON Students could be subject to drug tests A rural Oklahoma school district took a sensible approach to stemming what it saw as the general problem of drug use among students when it required drug testing before students could participate in after-school activi- ties, the school lawyer argued to the Supreme Court yesterday. Several justices seemed ready to agree with the school that the random drug tests are constitutional even though the school had reported no widespread drug problem in the past and there was no reason to suspect the students in band or 4-H of using drugs. "You think life and death is not'at issue in the fight against drugs?" Jus- tice Antonin Scalia barked at an Ameri- can Civil Liberties Union lawyer challenging the tests. - Compiled from Daily wire reports. l E, iil~i~tn+ tiU The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $105. Winter term (January through April) is $110, yearlong (September through April) is $190. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscrip- tions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Colle- giate Press. ADDRESS: The Michigan Daily, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1327. PHONE NUMBERS (All area code 734): News 76-DAILY; Arts 763-0379; Sports 647-3336; Opinion 764-0552; Circulation 764-0558; Classified advertising 764-0557; Display advertising 764-0554; Billing 764-0550. E-mail letters to the editor to letters@michigandaily.com. World Wide Web: www.michigandaily.com. 11 EITRA STF Jo ScharzEitriChe NEWS Lisa Koivu, Managing Editor EDITORS: Rachel Green, Usa Hoffman, Elizabeth Kassab, Jacquelyn Nixon STAFF: Jeremy Berkowitz, Kay Bhagat, Tyler Boersen, Ted Borden, Nick Bunkley, Soojung Chang, Mica Doctoroff, David Enders, Margaret Engoren, Michael Gazdecki, Rahwa Ghebre-Ab, Annie Gleason, Rob Goodspeed, Shoshana Hurand, Christopher Johnson, C. Price Jones, Shabina S. Khatri, Kylene Kiang, Daniel Kim, Tomislav Ladika, Louie Meizlish, Jennifer Misthal, Shannon Pettypiece, Karen Schwartz, Jordan Schrader, Maria Sprow, Kara Wenzel CALENDAR: Shabina S. Khatri EDITORIAL Johanna Hanink, Editor ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Aubrey Henretty, Jess Piskor, Manish Ralji STAFF: Howard Chung, Rachel Fisher, Michael Grass, John Honkala, Adam Konner, David Livshiz, Garrett Lee, Kevin McNeil, Christopher Miller, Paul Neuman, Ari Paul, Zachary Peskowitz, Laura Platt, Rachel Roth, Lauren Strayer CARTOONISTS: Sam Butler, Chip Cullen, Thomas Kulurgis COLUMNISTS: Babawole Akin-Aina, Peter Cunniffe, Geoffrey Gagnon, David Horn, Yael Kohen, Jeremy W. Peters, Dustin J. Seibert, Nick Woomer, Amer G. Zahr SPORTS Steve Jackson, Managing Editor SENIOR EDITORS: Arun Gopal, David Horn, Jeff Phillips, Joe Smith NIGHT EDITORS: Chris Burke, Seth Klempner, Courtney Lewis, J. Brady McCollough, Kyle O'Neill, Naweed Sikora STAFF: Rohit Bhave, Dan Bremmer, Evan Brown, Eric Chan, Kareem Copeland, Raphael Goodstein, Josh Holman, Bob Hunt, Melanie Kebler, Shawn Kemp, Matt Kramer, David Oxfeld, Charles Paradis, Swapnil Patel, Dan Rosen, Mike Rosen, Brian Schick, Brian Steere, Jim Weber ARTS Lyle Henretty, Luke Smith, Managing Editors EDITOR: Jeff Dickerson WEEKEND EDITORS: Matt Grandstaff, Jane Kruli SUB-EDITORS: Ryan Blay, Keith Dusenberry, Caitlin Nish, Neal Pais, Jim Schiff, Andy Taylor-Fabe STAFF: Chaty Atchison, Marie Bernard, Matthew C. Borushko, Rob Brode, Autumn Brown, Japya Buns, Katie Cloud, Laura Deneau, Kan Diwela, Will EH-Niaeef, Jenifer Fogel, Ben Goldstein, Melissa Gollob,NicholasHarp, JeryJltes, CarmenJohnson, ChrstineLasek, Rachel Lewis, Laura LGerfo, EizbthMaiasse, Beatrice Maroich, Maureen McKnney, Tayn OLeary, Gina Pensiero, Rebecca Ramsey, Darren Ringel, Dustin Seibert, Christian Smith, ToddiWeisw, Janet Wng PHOTO David Katz, Editor ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Danny Moloshok, Brett Mountain, Brendan O'Donnell, Alyssa Wood STAFF: Lauren Braun, Laurie Brescoll, Tom Feldcamp, Emma Fosdick, Patrick Jones, Ryan Leventhal, Kelly Lin, Debbie Mizel, John Pratt, David Rochkind, Jonathon Triest, Leslie Ward, Jessica Yurasek ONLINE Paul Wong, Managing Editor STAFF: Marc Allen, Soojung Chang, Chuck Goddeeris, Melanie Kebler, Timothy Najmolhoda r' 0 rf rl III r r RIISIFS SAFF..-Coumrtknv Mo..rae. Busines.- aa... N. auainwa aimrr %,vull lay InVIONVOY ou0111caa nianasv- J DISPLAY SALES Micah Winter, Manager ASSOCIATE MANAGER: Carrie Wozniak STAFF: Ayalla Barkai, Brad Davies, Belinda Chung, Joanna Eisen, Laura Frank, Ellen Gagnet, Rebecca Goodman, Jennifer Kaczmarek, Zipo Lat, Julie Lee, Leslie Olinek, Anne Sause, Tarah Saxon, Debbie Shapiro, Nicole Siegel, David Soberman, Ryan Zuckerman (CLASSIFIED SALES Esther Choi, Manager I U a JLJL I 5 U U UL a IN ULSSiESAS