One hundred eleven years ofeditorialfreedom t NEWS: 76-DAILY CLASSIFIED: 764-0557 www mlchigandail y. com Friday April 5, 2002 I .. Mitchell: Peace is possible rn By Louie Meizlish Daily Staff Reporter As hopeless as the situation in the Middle East may appear, peace is still possible in the region, for- mer U.S. Sen. George Mitchell of Maine told an audience at Hill Auditorium yesterday afternoon. Mitchell, whose lecture was entitled, "Is World Peace an Impossible Dream?" was the architect of the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland, credited with ending most sectarian violence in the country while making way for a semi-autonomous national government. Mitchell was also the chairman of an international fact-finding committee in the Middle East, which was established to find a way of ending violence and restoring confidence between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority. After warming up the crowd with humorous sto- ries of his early days in the Senate, Mitchell quickly addressed the global response to the events of Sept. 11. Earlier in the day, Mitchell spent a half hour with students in a mini-course entitled, "Religion, Security, and Violence in Global Contexts." "We have always felt that the terrible things that happen in distant lands could never happen here," he said. "No place is immune to terrorism." Mitchell emphasized that the 21st Century will be the second century when the United States is the leading world power, a circumstance Americans can use for either good or bad. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Mitchell said he asked numerous world leaders, "Do you believe the United States should withdraw its forces to its own territory? Without exception, the answer was imme- diate and emphatic - No." Mitchell said, while he did not believe all conflicts and disputes in the world would ever cease, there is a possibility of avoiding major conflicts and wars. "I believe the direction of human history is more knowledge and more broadly-shared prosperity," he said. "It took 75 years and a bloody war to extend the votes to all males in this country" and another 55 years to extend the vote to women, he said. The United States should strive for "a world large- ly at peace with education and prosperity extending to more people in the world. To America that is our challenge, and as Americans, it is our destiny." Following his opening remarks, Mitchell opened himself up to questions from the audience. In one instance Mitchell invited LSA junior Ahmad Kayali to climb onto the stage and ask his question from the podium so that the audi- ence could hear. Kayali questioned the United States' policy sup- porting economic sanctions on Iraq and also asked whether the U.S. government is treating the Palestini- ans fairly in attempting to mediate the. dispute. Other audience members questioned whether the Israeli government, given that it has been using mili- tary forces to attempt to curb violence, should have received U.S. support. while saying there "is no mili- tary solution to violence," Mitchell said he supported the United States' "long-standing policy for Israel's sovereignty and independence." He also said he only supported a peacekeeping force in the region if both sides supported one. After the event, Mitchell said he supported Presi- See MITCHELL, Page 7 BRENDAN O'DONNELL/Daily Former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell (D-Maine) gestures during his lecture on the future of peace in the world at Hill Auditorium yesterday. Bush urges. Israeli withdrawl WASHINGTON (AP) - Under pressure to curb Middle East violence, President Bush urged Israel on yesterday to pull its troops back from Palestinian cities and dis- missed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as a failed leader who "betrayed the hopes of his people." He ordered Secretary of State Colin Powell to the region next week seek- ing a cease-fire. With Powell standing at his side in the Rose Garden, Bush pressed Arab leaders to do more to end terrorism and emulate the peacemaking traditions begun by the late President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and King Hussein of Jordan and carried forward by their successors, Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah. "As Israel steps back, responsible Pales- tinian leaders and Israel's Arab neighbors must step forward and show the world that they are truly on the side of peace," Bush said. "The choice and the burden will be theirs." As Bush spoke, Mubarak urged the administration to "exert its maximum effort" to secure an Israeli withdrawal. In an address to his natioi l1ubarak said Israel's military campaign will create hatred among 300 million Arabs. The Mideast crisis was sure to dominate Bush's weekend meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the president's ranch near Crawford, Texas. The Israel-Palestinian bloodshed has put Bush under enormous political and diplo- matic pressure to do something to stem the violence. He sought yesterday to spread blame and issue challenges evenly between the parties. Arafat and his Cabinet issued a statement early today unconditionally accepting the renewed U.S. effort, but Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat rejected Bush's criticism of Arafat as "unjustified and unacceptable." See BUSH, Page 2 Israeli troops move deeper in West Bank NABLUS, West Bank (AP) - Israeli tanks tightened their chokehold on the West Bank's biggest city, and battles raged yesterday at nearby Palestinian refugee camps. The United States intensified its involvement - sending a mediator to meet Yasser Arafat and ordering in the secretary of state. An Israeli soldier was killed in Hebron, one of just two key West Bank cities still under Palestinian control. The military called the Hebron action a pinpoint opera- tion - not a takeover - that continued into the early hours Friday. No other details were immediately avail- able. President Bush demanded that Israel halt its week- long military offensive and pull out of Palestinian terri- tory. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon avoided a direct public response. "Operation Defensive Shield will con- tinue," his office said in a statement, although officials said it was not a reaction to Bush's announcement. Both the Israelis and Palestinians welcomed Bush's statement and decision to send Secretary of State Colin Powell to the region. A statement from the office of Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer suggested Israel had no plans for AP PHOTO an immediate withdrawal. It said the military chief "emphasizes that Israel will See FIGHTING, Paget.2 DANNY MOLOSHUK/Daily Josh Blackburn and his fellow teammates stand in defeat last night as the Wolverines lose to Minnesota bringing their Frozen Four experience to a close. season ends with Frozen Fouir defeat By Naweed Sikora Daily Sports Writer ST. PAUL, Minn. - All season long, the Michi- gan hockey team had been accomplishing feats nobody believed possible. With all its inexperience, Michigan wasn't expected to reach the Frozen Four for a second straight year. But the Wolverines ignored the non-believers and focused on their goals, as they fought their way to a CCHA regular season title, a CCHA Tournament title and a berth in the Frozen Four. Last night against Minnesota, they had yet anoth- er opportunity to win a game in which nobody was ready to give them a chance. But after surprising so many people down the stretch with their success, the Wolverines just didn't have enough left to do it again and lost to Minnesota 3-2 in the national semifinals. The Gophers will face Maine in tomor- row night's championship game. Minnesota's speed, aggression and home-crowd advantage, combined with a lackluster all-around effort by the Wolverines, allowed the Gophers to dominate the game at both ends of the ice. "From our perspective, we didn't get the kind of flow we needed," Michigan Coach Red Berenson said. "I thought we struggled in finishing on (Min- nesota goalie Adam) Hauser. We knew it would be a big home-ice opportunity for them and a chal- lenge for us, and they were a great team." It became an uphill battle very early on for Michigan, as a turnover by defenseman Eric Wern- er in front of his own net led to Minnesota's first goal by Grant Potulny just 4:20 into the game. Werner attempted an outlet pass from behind the net, but it hit Minnesota's Jeff Taffe and deflected toward Michigan senior goalie Josh Blackburn. The senior, who played in his final game for the Wolver- ines, made the initial stop, but Potulny was on the doorstep to hammer it home. The early goal drastically shifted the momentum See GOPHERS, Page 7 A group of demonstrators gathers near the Israeli embassy in Washington yesterday afternoon to protest Israeli actions in the West Bank. White takes a stance on Martin scandal [Hot rod lights up for Hash Bash this weekend By Rob Goodspeed Daily Staff Reporter By Jeremy Berkowitz and Shannon Pettypiece Daily Staff Reporter§ Although Athletic Director Bill Martin said last week that the University will not be imposing sanctions on itself following the indictment of former basketball booster Ed Martin two weeks ago, interim University President B. Joseph White is still trying to proactively respond to the situation and deal with the University's past actions. "Our plan is to face themusic - no excuses, no complaints, no hoping it will go away," White said. White personally wrote a letter to the Universi- ty community yesterday in which he expressed his feelings on the situation, which threaten to hinder the University's reputation. "I am angry that the good name and athletic traditions of the University of Michigan are being . . L a , ..11.,....,,1 _.. i' . ... i.. White said in the letter. "If the allegations in the indictment are true, the amounts of money involved are shocking, as is the corrupt behavior of some former Michigan athletes." If the allegations are proven true, White said he would not sympathize with the former Michigan basketball players who allegedly accepted $616,000 from Ed Martin. White said, if he could, he would tell Martin to "fess up." "Let's get this over, this things has been going on for years," he added. As to why he waited to make a formal state- ment, White said he wanted time to reflect on the situation. He also said he hopes the letter will be as much about integrity as it is athletics. "I think there is a teaching moment for all of us on an issue about integrity," White said. "It's just important for everyone to realize there are issues about integrity facing us everyday." Rdca kae FthaT Tnim '+v nmmnnity in+- Marijuana aficionados nationwide will converge on Ann Arbor this weekend for the 31st annual Hash Bash planned for Saturday. The planned activities include a vigil held at the Ann Arbor Federal Building at 11 a.m., and one hour of bands and speakers on the Diag from noon-1 p.m. In addition, the organizers have scheduled six speakers and two bands for the one hour slot on the Diag. "There's going to be good weather ... we're expect- ing big crowds," Hash Bash organizer Adam Brook said. Forecasters are predicting partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the 50s. The University's Department of Public Safety has also been planning for the event. "There will be a full contingent of DPS officers enforcing state law and University ordinances." DPS _ I _ _U U LK/ LO J.J. Masuda helps Art and Design sophomore Barbara Riso receive assistance I I