Thursday
February 6, 2003
@2003 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXII1, No. 89
One-hundred-twelve years ofeditorialfreedom
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Powell: Iraq hides behind 'web of lies'
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Secretary of
State Colin Powell, relying on a stream of U.S.
intelligence, urged the U.N. Security Council
yesterday to move against Saddam Hussein
because Iraq has failed to disarm, harbors ter-
rorists and hides behind a "web of lies."
His extraordinary presentation in the packed
council chamber included satellite photo-
graphs, intercepted conversations between sen-
ior Iraqi officers and statements from
informants that could make or break support
for going to war with Iraq.
Russia, France, China and other council
Meia file
lawsuit
against U
of Minn.
By Jeremy Bekowitz
Daily Staff Reporter
members skeptical of the need for a military
confrontation said they would review the evi-
dence and demand answers from Baghdad.
Most said weapons inspections should contin-
ue, Iraq must immediately cooperate and diplo-
matic efforts should be sought to avert war.
France and Germany went further, calling for
strengthening the inspections regime that was
already toughened up in November under a
Security Council resolution crafted by Wash-
ington and adopted by an unanimous council.
Three months after Iraq pledged that it
would disarm, Powell presented his evidence to
a high-level audience of foreign ministers and
ambassadors in an appearance that was tele-
vised live to an anxious world.
"The gravity of this moment is matched by the
gravity of the threat that Iraq's weapons of mass
destruction pose to the world," Powell said. "This
body places itself in danger of irrelevance if it
allows Iraq to continue to defy its will."
While Powell spoke, Iraqi TV carried a day-
old interview with Saddam.
Iraqi officials dismissed Powell's case as a
collection of "stunts" and "special effects" that
relied on "unknown sources" and was aimed at
undermining the work of the inspectors.
"What we heard today was for the general
public and mainly the uninformed, in order to
influence their opinion and to commit aggres-
sion on Iraq," said Lt. Gen. Amir al-Saadi, an
adviser to Saddam. AI-Saadi, who spoke in
Baghdad, was personally vilified in Powell's
speech for deceiving inspectors.
Addressing the Security Council after all 15
members spoke, Iraqi Ambassador Mohammed
al-Douri dismissed Powell's charges that his
country is hiding banned weapons and has
links to terrorists.
Powell's presentation was part of a diplomat-
ic offensive that intensified with President
Bush's State of the Union address last week.
The administration's next move is to determine
whether council members are willing to sup-
port a new U.N. resolution specifically author-
izing force against Iraq.
Bush has said that the United States - with
or without its allies - will forcibly disarm Iraq
if it does not immediately comply with U.N.
resolutions. But winning U.N. approval would
mean the United States could share the costs of
See POWELL, Page 2A
N Granholm pitches
plan to strengthen
faltering economy
The type of accusations and lawsuits
that once targeted the University of
Michigan's policies in publicizing infor-
mation about presidential searches are
now being pointed at the University of
Minnesota.
Several Minnesota newspapers have
sued the University of Minnesota, stat-
ing that it violated the state's Open
Meetings Law during a presidential
search last fall. The search concluded by
promoting then-interim president Robert
Bruininks to the top job in November.
The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in
December, and Hennepin County Dis-
trict Court Judge Pamela Alexander
heard arguments in her courtroom last
week.
At the beginning of November, the
University of Minnesota Board of
Regents voted not to follow the Open
Meetings Law, keeping search meetings
private until the selection of a president.
Minnesota Newspaper Association
attorney Mark Anf'mson said the regents
had previously announced they had five
or six finalists whom they wanted to
interview privately.
"We geafed up to try and get a tempo-
rary restraining order, to block them
from interviewing without complying
with the law," Anfinson said. "Under
both our Open Records Law and our
Open Meetings Law in Minnesota, it's
pretty clear that the regents should have
conducted their final search far more
publicly"
According to Minnesota's Data Prac-
tices Act, if a body is interviewing can-
didates for a public employee position,
those candidates immediately become
finalists and therefore their names must
be publicized. In addition, Minnesota's
Open Meetings Law states such inter-
views must be open to the public.
But the University of Minnesota has
said that it has constitutional autonomy
from the state legislature regarding the
internal matters and operations of the
school.
"There are certain universities ... that
See SEARCH, Page 3A
By Andrew McCormack
and Dan Trudeau
Daily Staff Reporters
LANSING - Gov. Jennifer Granholm bluntly
acknowledged Michigan's urgent budget crisis in
her first State of the State address last night.
Granholm stressed the necessity for a frugal gov-
ernment, and said her administration is taking all
necessary steps to put the state budget back in
balance.
"The fiscal year 2004 budget will ensure that
our government will live within its means, but it
will have to cut deep to do so," Granholm said.
"We will work to protect what matters most, but
every department, every agency, every local gov-
ernment and every citizen will feel the scale of
this problem.
"Just how much is 1.7 billion? Let me give it
to you straight. We could close every prison in
the state and still not have enough to fill the gap."
Granholm likened the state's budget problem
to that of a struggling family that must cut costs
to stay afloat. But some legislators feel that low-
ering the state's electric bill will not adequately
solve the problem.
* "You're not going to solve a $1.7 billion
deficit by measures like turning the lights out,
but that's not a criticism," Senate Majority
Leader Ken Sikkema (R-Wyoming) said. "You're
going to have to cut deeply into government and
more importantly, you're going to have to decide
what are core government services; what is
essential and what is nice ... and we're going to
go through that debate."
"You're going to have to
cut deeply into
government and more
importantly, you're going
to have to decide what
are core governmental
services."
- State Sen. Ken Sikkema
(R-Wyoming)
Granholm said education is her top priority in
rationing the state's limited resources. In particu-
lar, she stressed the need for early childhood edu-
cation through her proposal of the Great Start
Program, which she said will encourage learning
for children from ages zero to five.
The governor stated that by starting the educa-
tional experience in the home, families will
improve their children's potential for success.
"By the time a child arrives for kindergarten,
85 percent of the brain is developed. If the brain
is purposefully stimulated and nurtured before a
child is old enough to tie his or her own shoes,
that child's lifelong capacity to learn will be for-
ever enhanced," Granholm said.
See GRANHOLM, Page 3A
Echoing themes from her inaugural address, Gov. Jennifer Granholm asks citizens to care for seniors, children
and the poor as she looks for ways to trim the state deficit in her State of the State address last night.
Faculty call for innovation after shuttle's fall
By Emily Kraack
Daily Staff Reporter
In the face of tragedy, innovation should spring
out of creative minds.
This was the message sent by University facul-
ty, who reacted to Saturday's Columbia shuttle
accident with sadness, optimism for the future of
space travel and calls for technological develop-
ment at NASA.
"I would hate when something goes wrong for
the country to shrivel up and stop trying," Electri-
cal Engineering Prof. Tony England said.
Aerospace Engineering Prof. Gerard Faeth
said he expects NASA to continue space explo-
ration after looking into the causes of the acci-
dent. President Bush "stated pretty clearly that
NASA's main objective is opening new fron-
tiers," Faeth said. "Similar to the Challenger,
there will be an extended safety investigation
and ultimately the program will continue. That's
what NASA leadership has stated."
Thomas Zurbuchen, a research scientist in space
physics, said he hopes the accident will bring about
more research into technology that could replace
space shuttles. He said the Columbia shuttle was
meant to be experimental but was used regularly as
a "truck" to haul research experiments and astro-
nauts into space. Zurbuchen said the question now
facing NASA is, "How can we develop something
to use as a truck?"
England said the shuttle's vulnerability to
human error makes it ill-equipped for space trav-
el. "The shuttle is an extremely fragile instru-
ment. It takes extreme care to operate. It's
probably not a suitable vehicle," he said.
He said NASA needs to develop a new
reusable space vehicle to replace the shuttle. "I
would like us to continue operating (shuttles)
very carefully, but start trying to find out this
next generation of transportation."
The Columbia accident represents a loss for the
science community both at the University and
across the country, Faeth said. "None of the remain-
ing shuttles have a docking system like Columbia
for a space lab hookup," he said. "Replacing the
Columbia is prohibitively expensive."
The space lab is a capsule that could be docked
onto the Columbia and used to carry scientific
experiments into space.
As part of Faeth's project studying pollutants
See SHUTTLE, Page 3A
Debaters square off on
U.S. foreign policy in Iraq,
ISon and silence
Debaters take issue with
Bush's foreign policy and the
possible threat Saddam poses
to national security
By Elizabeth Anderson
Daily Staff Reporter
The merits of a possible pre-emptive strike on
Iraq were analyzed and dissected by panelists in a
heated debate last night that prompted both
applause and criticism.
Law student Amer Zahr, a member of the Arab-
American Anti-Discrimination Committee, and
LSA sophomore Eric Singer, a representative
from Students Against Terror, participated in the
debate. The two panelists presented opposing
viewpoints on the need for an attack on Iraq.
Zahr said the United States has no proof that
Saddam Hussein poses a threat to national securi-
ty. But Singer said the U.S. needs proof that he is
not a threat.
Zahr said any strike would be premature until
the United States produces proof that Saddam has
destructive weaoons or was involved in recent ter-
"We're saying we don't know what (weapons)
he has. It's hard to prove the negative," Zahr said.
"We simply have no evidence that he had any-
thing to do with September 11, al-Qaida and
Osama bin Laden."
Singer took an opposing view, saying the
United States has no knowledge that Hussein
has destroyed any of his weapons.
"He hasn't shown us that he doesn't have
weapons," Singer said. "Saddam Hussein has
been in clear violation of the United Nations
since the Persian Gulf War."
The panelists also disagreed on President
Bush's foreign policy and his reasons for going to
war in Iraq.
Bush "wants to go to war to get re-elected,"
Zahr said. "We're going to war to ignore the fact
that we're in a recession."
But Singer added that he has faith in the presi-
dent. "I would have supported a pre-emptive
strike without the U.N.'s approval," Singer said.
When referring to the situation of the Iraqi
people, the panelists differed again. "I can tell
you with 100 percent confidence what's best
for the Iraqi people - get rid of Saddam Hus-
sein," Singer said. "Iraqis have no freedom.
Students pursue
various business
ventures at U
By Adhiraj Dutt
Daily Staff Reporter
The University's presence makes Ann Arbor a fertile place
to start a company, and some students have taken advantage
of the resources offered to them.
Business School junior Slava Leykind, president of
the University Entrepreneurs Club, said the University
produces a great deal of commercial technology that
brings venture capitalists from across the country to
Ann Arbor, creating an environment conducive to entre-
preneurship.
"The Michigan Entrepreneurs Club educates students
about how to start businesses and provides workshops
and coffee hours where we bring in speakers to help
students work on particular business skills," Leykind
said. "We also provide a forum where students can net-
work and make contacts and create strong business
plans."
Among the students taking advantage of their
resources is Business School junior Rob Salter who,
along with his brother and a friend, helped create
Schlepper's, a company that helps students move in dur-
ing welcome week by laying carpet, moving furniture
I~Shuttle uring a moment of