2A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 1, 2002 NATION/WORLD Bush silent about Mideast conflict Los Angeles Times President Bush is under growing pressure to do something - almost anything - to defuse the intense hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians, which flared anew yesterday with two more suicide bombings and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's solemn pronouncement that his country is in "a war over our home." Unlike the many world leaders who weighed in on the mounting crisis, Bush was silent yesterday. His only public appearance was at Easter services at a Baptist church near his Texas ranch, and aides said- he made no calls to Mideast leaders. Bush's thoughts were relayed indirectly following the day's suicide bombings, which killed 17 and injured more than 40. White House spokesman Gor- don Johndroe told reporters that Bush "condemns these acts of terrorism. The president will not let these latest attacks deter him from the pursuit of peace." But as European presidents, Arab princes and reli- gious leaders made their own appeals yesterday for peace, current and former U.S. officials questioned the lack of American action as the region plunged into deeper conflict. Perhaps the most poignant words came from an ailing Pope John Paul II, who denounced the "horror and despair" that have converted the holy lands into a war zone. Using his annual Easter message to urge international intervention to end the bloodshed, the pontiff said, "No one can remain silent and inactive, no political or religious leader." Many had tough words for the Bush administra- tion. At home, former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski - who served in the Carter administration, which orchestrated the first Mideast peace accord, between Israel and Egypt in 1978 - said U.S. policy in recent months reflected "strate- gic incoherence." Brzezinski also faulted the Bush administra- tion for responding only to the "outrage" of ter- rorism, and not to a simultaneous offer of peace made at an Arab League summit in Beirut, Lebanon, last week. "Three days ago, we had an outrage, the bombing (of a Passover Seder), but we had a moment of historic opportunity - the proposal made by the Arabs, for the first time in 50 years ... to recognize Israel and to live with it in peace. The United States has seized on the outrage. It is not exploiting the opportunity. And that is a major strategic shortcoming," he said on ABC's "This Week." NEWS NBRIEF VATICAN CITY° Ailing priest pleas for end to violence Struggling with his own physical suffering, Pope John Paul II used his Easter mes- sage to issue a forceful plea for an end to a bloody spiral of violence that has created "horror and despair" in the Holy Land. Following a string of Palestinian suicide bombings and the Israeli takeover of Yasser Arafat's compound in the West Bank, John Paul dedicated much of the tradi- tional address, entitled "Urbi et Orbi" - "To the city and to the world" - to the conflict. Assisted by two cardinals, the frail, 81-year-old pope celebrated Mass on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica. It was a victory of sorts for John Paul, who in recent days was forced to defer to his doctors and give up several of his traditions, including celebrating Palm Sunday and Holy Thursday Masses and walking in a Good Friday procession at the Colosseum. The Vatican has said the pope is cutting back his activities to rest a knee afflicted with painful arthrosis, a joint disease. Yesterday, a Rome surgeon said the Vatican is looking into the possibility of knee surgery soon for the pontiff. At times yesterday, the pope's face was contorted in apparent pain, his left hand shook as he rested it on the altar and he clenched a prayer book stand for extra support. WANA, Pakistan Extremists aim to punish Musharraf's alliance Ramallal rocked by Israeli attacks RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - This city used to be a Palestinian suc- cess story, a bustling commercial hub top-heavy with academics and profes- sionals. Yesterday, two days after Israeli troops and tanks swept in, Ramallah looked as if it had been hit by a hurri- cane. Broken glass and shattered concrete crunched underfoot. The streets were dotted with the flattened wrecks of cars - some of them luxury models like BMWs - that had been smashed by advancing tanks. Lampposts and sign- posts leaned at crazy angles. Water gushed from broken mains, flooding across pavement chewed up by tank treads. Israel's principal target so far has been the stone compound of Yasser Arafat, where troops punched their way through the perimeter walls, moved in tanks and cornered the Palestinian leader together with about 100 aides - punishing him, Israeli officials said, for a relentless wave of suicide bombings. At least 15 people were killed yesterday and scores injured in the latest suicide attack, a powerful blast that ripped through an eatery in the port city of Haifa. While the 3-day-old siege of Arafat's headquarters was capturing the greatest share of attention, the Israeli military presence was felt in every corner of this city as troops searched for militants and weapons caches. Palestinians trapped in their homes by the fighting described a mixture of ter- ror and tedium as the hours and days dragged on. "We hear the sound of gunfire and tank shells, and the children are afraid, and then it stops, and we have nothing to do but talk about things we have talked about over and over again," said Emad el-Atshan, 38, whose apartment house, home to six families, is less than 50 yards from Arafat's compound. Troops have commandeered homes and buildings, set up sandbag emplace- ments draped with camouflage netting on residential streets, erected barricades and dug trenches, turning the hilly streets into a near-impassable maze. "My car," said Ziad Abu Arah, gestur- ing toward a late-model tan Ford that had been run over by a tank. "It's the second one of mine this happened to." Almost the only vehicles out in the streets were Israeli armored per- sonnel carriers, the occasional ambulance and journalists' cars that maneuvered gingerly - often turned back by tanks that swiveled their turrets and trained their big guns on anything or anyone that ventured too close. Power and water had been cut in many districts. "Everything has rot- ted in the refrigerator - it smells terrible - and we can't even wash our clothes," said 20-year-old Sireen Abdel Hadi, who lives with her parents and three sisters in an affluent hillside neighborhood. Just below her home, neighbors rigged up lengths of garden hose to catch the runoff from a water pipe shattered when Israeli armor carved a deep trench across the road. A couple of small children were fill- MIDEAST Continued from Page A back-to-back attacks yesterday that killed 15 Israelis. In an expansion of Israel's "Operation Protective Wall," dozens of Israeli tanks entered the West Bank town of Qalqiliya late yesterday, governor Mustafa Malki said. Electricity was cut off and exchanges of fire could be heard. Armored vehicles also amassed near biblical Bethlehem. In Ramallah, under Israeli control since Friday, dozens of European peace activists, their arms raised and holding white flags, marched past bewildered Israeli soldiers into Yasser Arafat's office to protest the confinement of the Palestinian leader by Israel. The protesters said they would stay with Arafat, who has accused Israel of trying to kill him, human shields. Earlier in the day, Israeli forces surrounding the building exchanged fire with Arafat's guards, and Palestinian officials said Arafat was just a few yards from the fighting. Several guards were wounded, two of them seriously. At least 15 Pales- tinians and two Israeli soldiers have been killed in Ramallah since Friday. The Israeli army spokesman, Brig. Gen. Ron Kitrey, acknowledged that Arafat was at risk, even if he was not a target. Addressing the nation in a five-minute televised speech, Sharon said Israel is fighting a "war over our home." New At Bell's: Milkshakes $3.25 Vanilla, Strawberry, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip, Coffee, Peanut Butter, Mint, Raspberry, Pineapple, and Banana Ever special of '4 Two Medium heese Pizzas $11.49 Extra Items $1.25 each per Pizza Only $8.49 Monday thru Thursday Special One Large Pizza with Cheese & 1 Item Extra Items $1.40 Each ing plastic bottles and pitchers from the hose. A university lecturer watching the scene, who gave his name only as Abed, could hardly contain his anger and bit- terness. "We used to see scenes like this in Palestinian refugee camps," he said, his sweeping gesture taking in the chil- dren and the comfortable nearby homes. "And now here:' Throughout the city, businesses and shops were shuttered tight. One grocery store opened briefly and furtively, crack- ing open one of its outer doors to let customers in while keeping the lights out in the storefront. "Kids need milk - we feel we have to open for a little while at least," said the proprietor, who feared the activity would attract the attention of the soldiers a few streets away. Despite pockets of intense poverty, Ramallah - whose area has some 200,000 people - has long had an air of cosmopolitan sophistication. It boasts fine schools and is home to many Pales- tinian-Americans. Journalist in West Bank shot, wounded , RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - An.American reporter was shot and wounded in the shoulder in Ramallah yesterday, and Israel warned that for- eign journalists were at risk and should not be in the occupied West Bank city. Anthony Shadid, a Washington- based Boston Globe reporter on assignment in Ramallah, was standing in a doorway of a shop with Globe stringer Said al-Ghazali when he was shot in the shoulder, said Globe for- eign editor James Smith. Shadid, who is in his early 30s, was conscious and in stable condition in a private Arab hospital in Ramallah, Smith said. The bullet was lodged in the shoulder. Globe officials were talking with Shadid's family members about the best course of action, and how to get him out the West Bank. Large numbers of Israeli troops control the empty streets in the area where Shadid was shot, though it was not clear who shot him. Israel's army said it was investigating. A group of about 10 Western and Palestinian journalists went to the hospital to see Shadid, and soldiers who were just inside the door would not allow them to enter. They waited for an about an hour and left just before sunset, when travel on the city's streets becomes more dangerous. A short while later, Dr. Moussa Abu Hmeid, a Palestinian Health Ministry official, said troops confined the doc- tors and nurses in the hospital to sev- eral rooms and cut off the phone lines. The military spokesman's office said it would investigate the claim. Israeli officials, meanwhile, warned that the city was a closed military zone and journalists should not be in it. The city was declared a closed zone on Friday, but this was only sporadi- cally enforced and journalists and other foreigners were able to get in as late as yesterday morning. However, officials had been complaining that the reporters are getting in the way. "No foreign citizens (including members of the media) are allowed to be in the closed zone," said a state- ment issued by the Government Press Office. "Anyone found in the closed zone henceforth will beremoved. Members of the media are advised that their presence in the closed zone~ In Pakistan's wild country along the Afghan border, al-Qaida fugitives and home- grown Islamic extremists are teaming up to confront Pakistan's government and its American allies. Pakistanis and Afghans familiar with extremist organizations say their aim is to punish President Pervez Musharraf for abandoning the Afghan Taliban and banning several militant groups in Pakistan in connection with the U.S.-led war on terrorism. Police fear the kidnapping and slaying of Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl and the March 17 grenade attack on an Islamabad church attended by foreign- ers may be examples of what the extremists have in store. "It is their hate for America that bonds them," said retired Maj. Gen. Anwar Sher, who worked with militant Islamic groups during the war against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s. "This hate against America naturally is also directed at Musharraf. He has joined with America and these religious groups don't like it." Evidence of that cooperation surfaced last week when Pakistani police, assisted by FBI agents, raided extremist hide-outs in two Pakistani cities, arresting about 60 peo- ple, including 25 Arabs and four Afghans. LONDON Britain pays homage to Queen Mother The great State Bell of St. Paul's Cathedral tolled yesterday in remem- brance of the Queen Mother as people across Britain prayed for her at Easter services and admirers lined up at royal palaces to sign books of condolence. Queen Elizabeth II, who has lost her mother and her only sister, Princess Margaret, within seven weeks, attended a private service at Windsor Castle, grieving a much-loved royal matriarch who died Saturday at 101. Prince Charles and his sons flew home from a ski trip in Switzerland to join the rest of the royal family. Crowds of admirers gathered out- side WindsorCastle's gates, and, some left flowers and notes. More than 50 bright bouquets of spring flowers rested.against a St. James's Palace wall in central London where hundreds of people lined up on a chilly and overcast morning to sign books of condolence. NEW YORK Wal-Mart captures top Fortune 500 spot Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the dis- counter that has become the domi- nant force in American retailing, is now the largest company in the nation and in the world, capturing the top spot on the annual Fortune 500 list. Wal-Mart, No. 2 on the list a year ago, traded places with oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. in the rankings compiled on the basis of companies' annual revenue figures. The retail- er's ascendancy was expected after both companies issued their 2001 results earlier this year. The list of America's 500 biggest companies, published in the issue of Fortune magazine that reaches news- stands today, has some surprises, most notably bankrupt Enron Corp. moving up two notches to No. 5 despite its downward spiral. KABUL, Afghanistan Afghan assembly to choose new officials In an important step for Afghanistan's political transition, an independent com- mission announced yesterday the final plans and rules for a nationwide assem- bly in June that will choos!, a.new gov- ernment to hold office for 18 months. The week-long assembly, known as a loya jirga, will be virtually the first attempt in Afghanistan's modern histo- ry to choose a representative govern- ment, and it will follow a quarter-century of war, civil conflict and repressive religious rule. The commission said that any Afghan - including former members of the Taliban militia or armed political factions - could be elected to the 1,500-member loya jirga, as long as he or she has no ties to terrorist groups and has not been involved in crime or human rights abuses. - Compiledfrom Daily wire reports. 0 Purchaser must pay sales tax for both specials OPEN UNTIL 4 A.M . 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