LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Monday, September 22, 2003 -- 3A
Activist lectures on mistakes
of current U.S. foreign policy
Man's shirt stolen,
returned for cash
in exchange
Department of Public Safety logs
show that a caller reported a shirt
stolen by a male subject in the Michi-
gan League on Saturday afternoon. The
caller stated that the subject returned
the shirt in exchange for $48.
Sleeping man in
Union arrested on
Warrants
A male found sleeping under the
stairs of the Michigan Union com-
puting site was warned for trespass-
ing and arrested on outstanding
warrants Saturday morning, DPS
records indicate.
Water-main break
floods Washtenaw
Avenue area
A broken water main flooded the
200 block of Washtenaw Avenue on
Saturday morning, according to DPS
reports. No damage was reported.
Several computer
chairs stolen on
North Campus
By Adrian Chen
and Michael Kan
Daily Staff Reporters
In a discussion titled "Militarism Meets Globaliza-
tion," prominent anti-war activist Rahul Mahajan said
the Bush administration's actions in Iraq were "insane."
Sponsored by Anti-War Action! and other student
groups, Mahajan argued that the Iraq conflict was one
example of America's many recent foreign policy blun-
ders.
"There has been virtually no nation building in Iraq,"
Mahajan said. He added that the living situation of the
Iraqi people has not improved under the U.S. occupa-
tion.
Mahajan said that in some cases, Iraqis are worse off
than under Saddam Hussein's rule. "(America) is get-
ting rid of their jobs when their country has no new
ones," said Mahajan citing an instance when Americans
laid off 400,000 Iraqi employees.
Iraqi civilians have even been shot at during peaceful
protests, Mahajan said. "But nobody (in America) talks
about it."
These setbacks have caused a major backlash against
the American presence in Iraq, he said.
"American soldiers are the last people to run coun-
tries," since they cannot even communicate with the
Iraqi people, he said.
Mahajan compared the war in Iraq to previous wars
such as in Vietnam, calling them "colonial wars." He
said, like in Vietnam, the U.S. may be unable to with-
draw from Iraq. The never-ending pursuit of empire is
destroying American society, he said.
Mahajan's message was not popular with everyone on
campus. "The war in Iraq is not a failure and it is not
an imperial affair," said LSA sophomore Robert
Raham, a member of Young Americans for Freedom, a
conservative student group. "The war was to convert an
authoritarian government into a democracy for the peo-
ple of Iraq."
But for Engineering junior Harlyn Pacheco, Maha-
jan's words provided a unique way to look at the world.
"He also told us that we should be progressive and find
ways to speak for ourselves," Pacheco said.
According to Mahajan, Iraq is just a small part of the
Bush administration's attempt at establishing a "new
world order."
"This new world order is, in a large part, the U.S.
trying to take control of other countries," he said.
Using its vast resources, the U.S. imposes this global
domination through military and economic force and
"civil-society operations," Mahajan said. "These civil-
society operations consist of the control of media and
See ANTI-WAR, Page 5A
NICK AZZARO/Daily
Anti-war activist Rahul Mahajan discusses his views on U.S. foreign policy and
military involvement In Iraq. The lecture was held Saturday in Angell Hall.
Ambassador discusses future of U.S.-China relations
A caller from Baits I
Hall reported that six
chairs had been taken
computing sites over the
according to DPS.
Residence
computer
from two
past week,
By Aymar Jean
and John Meszaros
Daily Staff Reporters
Clark Randt, U.S. ambassador to
China, said size really does matter
when referring to China's popula-
tion of 1.3 million, which he said
cannot be ignored in the global
economy.
Randt, a Law School alum who
became ambassador under the Bush
administration, expounded on the
state of U.S.-China relations Friday
in Hutchins Hall.
He spoke about former Chinese
President Jiang Zemin's phone call
to President Bush the night of Sept.
11, 2001, during which he offered
condolences.
After the terrorist attacks, China
immediately sealed its border with
Afghanistan and sent an ambassa-
dor to the Pakistani capital of
Islamabad, urging the government
there to cooperate with the United
States in rooting out members of
Al-Qaida, Randt said.
He said this action was self-inter-
est on China's part, as that nation
has also felt the threat of terrorism.
China has continued to work with
the United States in areas such as
law enforcement, intelligence shar-
ing and seizure of financial support
for terrorists, he said.
Randt also spoke of the common
U.S.-China interest in the nuclear
disarmament of North Korea. China
has been alarmed by North Korea's
avowed steps toward attaining
nuclear weapons, as those actions
could push Japan, its former enemy,
to rearm.
The majority of the ambassador's
speech focused on China's involve-
ment in the World Trade Organiza-
tion and the country's economic
reforms.
Randt praised the progress China
has made in recent years, citing the
election of President Hu Jintao in
March as the most peaceful transfer
of power in modern Chinese histo-
ry. He also noted the addition of
several financial entrepreneurs to
the Communist Party government.
"China is a work in progress,"
Randt said. "It's caught up in trans-
forming itself from a planned econ-
omy to a market economy, from an
agrarian society to an industrialized
society, from a go-it-alone isolated
and self-sufficient nation to a
responsible and integrated member
of the global community."
In relations between the U.S. and
China, a large trade deficit on the
U.S. side has been particularly
problematic, he said. China is
enjoying the benefits of America's
lowered tariffs, but has yet to open
its own markets to the outside.
The ambassador stressed the
importance of international law, as
well as regular, frank dialogue with
other countries in an atmosphere of
mutual respect.
Randt has lived and worked in
Asia for more than 20 years and has
See AMBASSADOR, Page 5A
Masturbating
man arrested,
sent to jail
A caller reported a male subject
laying down and masturbating in the
carport on Thayer Street on Friday
afternoon. DPS records state the
man was arrested and transported to
the Washtenaw County Jail.
Golf course
outhouse is home
to trespasser
DPS records indicate a male sub-
ject locked himself in one of the
University Golf Course outhouses
Friday night. The subject refused to
leave. DPS advised him that he was
trespassing and escorted him from
the golf course.
Engineering school's
anniversary banner
reported missing
A caller Thursday reported that
the 150th anniversary banner locat-
ed outside the Engineering Pro-
grams Building had been stolen,
according to DPS.
Student reports
racial harassment
on, off campus
DPS records show that a caller on
Thursday at Michigan Stadium report-
ed that she had been receiving harass-
ing mail both on campus and at her
residence. The mail contained racist
statements.
Peeping tom seen
in window of
bathroom
A caller from the Northwood Apart-
ments reported seeing a face pressed
against the bathroom window early
Friday morning, DPS records show.
Officers checked the surrounding area
but did not find a suspect.
Man seen
fondling self
outside League
On Thursday evening, DPS
records show a caller reported see-
ing a male subject fondling himself
in the area of the fountain between
the Michigan League and the Mod-
ern Languages Building.
Officers checked the area but
have no suspects.
Wallet stolen from
weight-lifting
CCRB patron
According to DPS reports, a wal-
let was taken Friday afternoon from
the Central Campus Recreation
Building. The wallet was taken
while the owner was using the
Correction:
The Multicultural Greek Council was referred to by the wrong title in a col-
umn on Page 4 of Friday's Daily.
the daily
-mens a
The
nceton
Review
1-800-2-REVIEW
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
WELCOME STUDENTS... BELATEDLY
I am a private businessman in Ann Arbor - and a Vietnam Vet. After
being interviewed by UM history students in the early 1990s, I got a
feel for what was being taught about the Vietnam War based on the
questions asked. For the record, I never killed one of my officers; nor
did any of my friends. I never raped a Vietnamese woman; nor did any
of my friends. In reality, the people I served with then and the Vietnam
Veterans I know now have more character than any other group I have
ever known.
The questions we Vietnam vets fielded in our interviews often reflected
the old propaganda that was disseminated in those turbulent years.
Somehow, propaganda had become history - in some circles. As a
result, I decided to run ads that I call Food for Thought. They are my
attempt to dispel some of the myths of the Vietnam War. Those myths
are an insult not only to we who served, but more importantly, to the
memory of those who died. They, their children and families deserve
better.
An example of a Vietnam War urban legend is that nearly everyone
who served there was a draftee, dragged to Vietnam against their will.
Fact: 69% of those who served in Vietnam were volunteers. By con-
trast, only 26% of the U.S. military in World War I11were volunteers.
A myth that lives today is that of "Blacks fighting a white man's war."
Fact: Department of Defense records show that blacks account for
12.49% of the war deaths, while the 1970 U.S. Census Abstract shows
that blacks made up 12% of the U.S. population and 15% of the draft-
age population. Indeed, there was an historic root to the myth. In the
early days of the military build-up, Secretary of Defense Robert McNa-
mara proposed a secret plan to President Lyndon Johnson called Proj-
ect 100,000; a plan to draft 100,000 men from a demographic that was
least likely to protest. So, they went for poor, uneducated teenagers
from inner cities, Appalachia and areas of the Deep South. That caught
up a disproportionate number of blacks. However, the administration
was caught and protests did take place. They were forced to
adjust the draft and a disproportionate number of people from
areas like Ann Arbor were then drafted, until, by mid-1966, the first
full year of America's build-up, the numbers balanced. But the pro-
testors had latched onto another means of dividing the nation and
throughout the war continued to make the claim that blacks were
carrying the brunt of the fighting.
At times I will try to compare the Vietnam War to current events. My
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