2A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 14, 2003 NATION WORLD U.S. vows NEWS IN BRIEF CK-86922 PETE COLUMBIA YOR N FORGOT DAY I THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED FOLLOW-UP TO HIS DEBUT "musicforthemorningafter" 12 NEW SONGS FEATURING COME BACK HOME, CRYSTAL VILLAGE AND PASS ME BY IN STORES TUESDAY, APRIL www.peteyorn.com www.columbiarecords.com "ColumUia" and * Reg. U.S, Pat. & tn Off. Marcy RegWtrad.J4, 003 Sony Music Enterammtent Inc On Sale at BORDERS® BOOKS MUSIC MOVIES CAFE 15 to curtail looting in Baghdad BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Manning roadblocks, Sgt. Steven Christopher found himself picking up Arabic phras- es he'd never heard but suddenly need- ed: "You are a thief. Do you think I am stupid? If you steal, we can shoot you." Sporadic but tough measures by Marines, along with checkpoints and vigilante groups thrown together by Iraqis, combined yesterday to curb looters who have gutted parts of Bagh- dad, shut down commerce and pilfered priceless art from millenniums of human history. From Baghdad south to Basra, coali- tion forces are starting to work with local people to. reclaim Iraqi towns from the chaos that followed a war now all but won. In the capital, smoke from the Min- istry of Trade, the Rashid Theater of Fine Arts, offices and apartment build- ings was vivid testament that looting and arson continued. Robbery seemed to have eased, probably because the choicest and easiest booty was gone. "I don't know what I'm going to do with these toilets," Christopher mused, M-16 in hand, as he surveyed the bath- room fixtures and a loudspeaker con- fiscated from a pickup truck driven by suspected looters. Yesterday, Christopher and the other Marine riflemen and tank crews with him worked a checkpoint leading to the Tamooze Bridge over the Tigris River, stopping suspicious vehicles - chiefly pickups piled high with goods. Chairs, bookcases, refrigerators and toilets seized by the Marines piled high by the side of the road. Confiscated hot-wired cars and trucks sat parked on a side street awaiting owners with proper papers. Local men, desperate to see calm and normalcy return, helped the Marines translate and finger the guilty. "I came here thinking I wouldn't need any Arabic at all -just 'Put your hands up' and 'Put your weapons down'," Christopher said. "They've been teaching me how to talk to the thieves. ... Things like, 'You are lying, I'm not stupid,' and 'If you steal, we will kill you."' In other parts of town, no such polic- ing had kicked in. "We have plans to stop it," Sgt. SpenceWilliamford said at a medi- an outside the Information Ministry as a looter passed by pushing an office chair stacked with purloined goods. "It's only been a day since we've been taking fire," Williamford answered. "As long as there's chaos, we've got other things to worry about. Right now our first priority is to keep U.S. soldiers alive." In Basra, southern Iraq's largest city, efforts were under way to bring Iraqis into policing. WAR Continued from Page 1A Company and had the Americans with them. Another spokesman for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Capt. Neil Murphy, said those Iraqis had been abandoned by their officers and "realiz- ing that it was the right thing to do, they brought these guys back." Two helicopter crewmen and five members of the 507th Maintenance Company convoy who were ambushed March 23 were let go. Two had gunshot wounds, Franks said. They were found a day after Pvt. Jessica Lynch, their POW comrade rescued in a commando raid, returned to the United States for further treatment of her many injuries. In Pennsauken, N.J., the parents of Sgt. James Riley, 31, had just returned from church services when they heard their son had been found. "It's just an emotional roller coaster, and we're just happy he's safe," said his mother, Jane. She spoke with her son by phone later yesterday and relayed news that the sergeant's sister, Mary, 29, had died two weeks ago from a neurological disorder after two months in a coma. POWs Continued from Page IA with so much happiness." Drivers who passed the family bungalow in southern Texas responded to a sign that said "Honk for Edgar" by beeping their horns or stopping to join the party. In Fort Hood, Texas, the family of the second rescued helicopter pilot, 30-year-old David S. Williams, was smiling as well. "I've always remained positive," c- hi- father -aid Willims Sr. WASHINGTON U.S. detains, questions top Iraqi officials Several top officials of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, including the presi- dent's half brother and a former science adviser, have been captured by allied forces. The Iraqis are being interrogated about Iraq's suspected chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs, U.S. officials said yesterday. They also are being pressed for details on where Saddam is, if he is alive, as well as the whereabouts of other former Iraqi leaders. The captured Iraqis include Watban Ibrahim Hasan, one of Saddam's three half brothers, who once served as Iraq's interior minister. Hasan was the five of spades in the deck of playing cards the U.S. military issued with pictures of wanted Iraqi officials. The war's commander, Gen. Tommy Franks, said yesterday that the Unit- ed States was holding several high-ranking Iraqi prisoners in western Iraq. Neither he nor Pentagon officials would say how many leading Iraqis have been captured. As the fighting in Iraq winds down, American forces are stepping up the search for the chemical and biological weapons the United States accuses Saddam's gov- ernment of having stashed away. So far, no caches of weapons of mass destruc- tion have been confirmed in Iraq, military officials said yesterday. JERUSALEM Palestinian Cabinet awaiting govt. approval The incoming Palestinian prime minister completed a new Cabinet yester- day in line with a leadership overhaul the United States sought, keeping the key post of security czar for himself and appointing several professionals and reformers. Once the Cabinet of Mahmoud Abbas is approved by the Palestinian parlia- ment, possibly later this week, President Bush is expected to unveil a "road map" to Palestinian statehood, starting the clock ticking on the three-year plan. Israel's willingness to go along with the plan remains unclear, although Prime Minister Ariel Sharon did stake out a relatively moderate position in an interview published yesterday. Sharon reiterated that he has many reservations about the plan, but also believes the Iraq war has created a chance for reaching a peace deal more quickly than anticipated. In the past, Sharon advocated an interim deal, saying a final treaty must be delayed for years because of the gaps in positions. Sharon also told the Israeli daily Haaretz that Palestinian statehood is inevitable and suggested he is ready to dismantle some Jewish settlements. I--- --l It - WASHINGTON Attitudes toward taxes remain ambivalent Six in 10 Americans say they are against more tax cuts when the country is at war and already faces budget deficits, according to an Associated Press poll. Still, half of all Americans say their taxes are too high. The poll, taken in the days before tomorrow's tax deadline, found that 61 percent say it would be better to hold off on additional tax- cuts right now to avoid making budget deficits worse and ensure there is adequate money to pay for the war. Half that many, 31 percent, said they think it is more important to pass more tax cuts to give people more money to spend and to stimulate the economy, said the poll conducted for the AP by ICR/International Communications Research of Media, Pa.. "I think they need to figure out how to pay for the war,'said Joseph Ames, a 28- year-old cook from Boise, Idaho, who considers himself a political independent. LAGOS, Nigeria Nigerian riots disrupt elections for 2nd day Fighting between tribal and political rivals disrupted legislative elections in Nigeria's oil-producing south for a sec- ond day yesterday. At least two dozen people were killed in the voting and hun- dreds forced to flee their homes, witness- es and election monitors said. The vote for 469 seats is a key gauge 0 0 of civil tensions a week ahead of presi- dential elections and an important test for democracy in the Africa's most populous nation. Military coups have scuttled Nigeria's previous attempts to hold dem- ocratic, civilian-run elections. The voting began on Saturday but was extended until yesterday in several areas where the balloting was marred. The oil-rich region has been the scene of numerous clashes in recent weeks between Ijaw militants and government troops over voting districts the Ijaws say favor their ethnic rivals, the Itsekiris. SINGAPORE Wrist tags mandated for SARS patients Singapore authorities stepped up efforfs fo 6intain a deadly feW Vif ds Saturday, including issuing electron- ic wrist tags to keep track of those under quarantine. Reports Saturday of nine more deaths worldwide brought the death toll from Severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS to at least 125 in 20 countries. The virus, which has sickened over 2,700, has no known cure. Symptoms include shortness of breath, fever, coughing and body aches. In Singapore, where 558 people are under home quarantine, the gov- ernment issued its first electronic wrist tags, which sound an alarm and issue an alert to a monitoring station if a person breaks the bracelet or leaves the house. - Compiledfrom Daily wire reports. 6 Winci free DVD player! Enter ct Senior Days 2003. While you're there, sign up for a F RE E one-year membership in the Alumni Association and get a free graduation gift! ]iAO IL [6m - ff] huE E, ~ '' 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Pierpont Commons Outside the Piano Lounge The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by stu- dents at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily's office for $2. 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. 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Price Jones, Kylene Kiang, Jennifer Misthal, Jordan Schrader STAFF: Elizabeth Anderson, Jeremy Berkowitz, Kyle Brouwer, Soojung Chang, Ahdiraj Dutt, Sara Eber, Victoria Edwaids, Margaret Engoren, Rahwa Ghebre-Ab, Alison Go, Michael Gurovitsch, Lauren Hodge, Lisa Hoffman, Carmen Johnson, Michael Kan, Andrew Kaplan, Emily Itiaack, Elizabeth Kassab, Lisa Koivu, Tomislav Ladika, Lydia K. Leung, Andrew McCormack, Jacquelyn Nixon, Shannon Pettypiece, Mona Rafeeq, Erin Saylor, Maria Sprow, Dan Trudeau, Ryan Vcko, Min Kyung Yton OPINION Aubrey Henretty, Zac Peskowitz, Editors ASSOCIATE EDITORS: John Honkala, Jess Piskor STAFF: Dan Adams, Sravya Chirumamilla, Aymar Jean, Bonnie Keliman, Sowmya Krishnamurthy, Garrett Lee, Joey Litman, Christopher Miller, Suhael Momin, An Paul, Jason Pesick, Laura Platt, Ben Royal, Lauren Strayer, Courtney Taymour, Joseph Torigian, Joe Zanger-Nadis CARTOONISTS: Sam Butler, Joel Hoard, Scott Seila COLUMNISTS:Peter Cunniffe, David Enders, Johanna Hanink, David Horn, Hussain Rahim, Jon Schwartz, Kashif Sheikh, Luke Smith SPORTS J. Brady McCollough, Managing Editor SENIOR EDITORS: Chris Burke, Courtney Lewis, Kyle O'Neill, Naweed Sikora NIGHT EDITORS: Daniel Bremmer, Gennaro Filice, Bob Hunt, Dan Rosen, Brian Schick, Jim Weber STAFF: Gina Adduci, Nazeema Alli, Jeremy Antar, Eric Ambinder, Chris Amos, Waldemar Centeno, Eric Chan, Mustafizur Choudhury, Josh Holman, David Horn, Steve Jackson, Brad Johnson, Melanie Kebler, Albert Kim, Seth Klempner, Megan Kolodgy, Matt Kramer, Kevin Maratea, Shared Mattu, Ellen McGarrity, Michael Nisson, Charles Paradis, Jeff Phillips, Jake Rosenwasser, Steven Shears, Joe Smith, Mike Wolking ARTS Todd Weiser, Managing Editor EDITORS: Jason Roberts, Scott Serilla WEEKEND MAGAZINE EDITORS: Charles Paradls, Rebecca Ramsey SUB-EDITORS: Katie Marie Gates, Johanna Hanink, Joel M. Hoard, Ryan Lewis, Sarah Peterson STAFF: Marie Bernard, Tara Billik, Ryan Blay, Sean Dailey, Jeff Dickerson, Andrew M. Gaerig, Meredith Graupner, Lynn Hasselbarth, Laura Haber, Stephanie Kapera, Graham Kelly, Jeremy Kressmann, Christine Lasek, John Laughlin, Joseph Litman, Laura LoGerfo, Zach Mabee, Maureen McKinney, Josh Neidus, Jared Newman, Caitlin Nish, James Pfent, Archana Ravi, Adam Rottenberg, Melissa Runstrom, Mike Saltsman, Niamh Slevin, Christian Smith, Luke Smith, Jaya Soni, Brian Stephens, Andy Taylor-Fabe, Douglas Wernert, Alex Woisky, Daniel Yowell PHOTO Tony Ding, Brett Mountain, Managing Editors ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Brendan O'Donnell, Alyssa Wood STAFF: Nicholas Azzaro, Elise Bergman, Jason Cooper, Ashley Harper, Seth Lower, David Katz, Danny Moloshok, Lisa Oshinsky, Sarah Paup, Frank Payne, Rebecca Sahn, Nicole Terwilliger, Jonathon Triest, Ryan Weiner ONLINE Geoffrey Fink, Managing Editor EDITOR: Ashley Jardine ll L4 IE' I Si- Si w -r 7rUArr ' rrr 1r. i 0 l"I[ '1 [! C!L' IM.1 Wi U LW " lam ! "I 1 lh- ! 'Wjfl5 1 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Sophia B. 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