MMMMOI 4 2 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 1, 2003 NATION/WORLD Senate panel OKs $87B Iraq plan WASHINGTON (AP) - Republi- cans muscled President Bush's $87 bil- lion plan for Iraq and Afghanistan through a Senate committee yesterday but signaled that they may ultimately defy the White House and structure some of the aid as a loan. The Senate Appropriations Commit- tee approved the bill 29-0, with Democrats reluctant to oppose a bill dominated by funds for U.S. troops. But the unanimous tally belied sharp partisan divisions over $20.3 billion included for Iraqi reconstruction, and the fight on the Senate floor seems likely to last until after lawmakers return from a Columbus Day recess in mid-October. With even GOP senators flashing signs of unease over the Iraq rebuilding money, the panel's chair- man said a bipartisan compromise was being explored to provide some of the rebuilding assistance as loans that Iraq eventually would have to repay. A compromise might be included when Congress considers the bill in coming weeks. It would envision that "part of it should be considered repayable when oil comes out of the ground" in Iraq, said Senate Appropri- ations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, (R-Alaska.). Administration officials have opposed strongly transforming the reconstruction spending into loans. They say it would make it harder for Iraq's economy to grow and would fuel Arab arguments that the United States is interested chiefly in Iraqi oil. The willingness of some GOP lawmakers to strike a deal, however, underscores how effectively Democ- rats have turned the plan's $20.3 bil- lion for Iraqi reconstruction into a political issue. "We oughtn't be too fast to give away $20 billion if we can find a way not to," said Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), who is up for re-election next year. Democrats have built their politi- cal case, in part, by arguing that with record federal deficits and a weak domestic economy, Americans should not foot the entire cost of rebuilding a country with the world's second largest oil reserves. Remai.ning U.S. peacekeeping force in Liberia departs NEWS BBRIEF HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE WORLD WASHINGTON -.-. Third prison camp worker arrested A civilian translator at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was arrested at a Boston airport after authorities found classified information in his possession, officials said yesterday. The arrest was the third involving someone who worked closely with the large- ly Muslim, non-English-speaking population of about 660 suspected al-Qaida and Taliban fighters being held at the Guantanamo Bay camp. Two military personnel are also in custody. Dennis Murphy, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said the arrest came at Boston's Logan International Airport. The suspect was identi- fied as Ahmed Mehalba, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Egypt who had flown Monday to Boston from Cairo, with a stop in Milan, Italy. At a brief hearing yesterday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Boston, Mehal- ba entered no plea and was detained pending another hearing scheduled for Oct. 8. On the charge of making false statements, he could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted. Mehalba, wearing jeans and an orange golf shirt, said nothing during the hear- ing, except to tell the judge that he could not afford his own attorney. BRUSSELS, Belgium Former soccer player guilty of terrorism A former pro soccer player who joined the al-Qaida terrorist network was con- victed and sentenced to prison yesterday for plotting to bomb a NATO base believed to contain nuclear weapons. Nizar Trabelsi of Tunisia, who once played professional soccer in Germany, received the maximum sentence of 10 years in prison from a court that also con- victed 17 other men and acquitted five others in the largest terrorism trial in Bel- gium's history. Trabelsi admitted planning to drive a car bomb into the canteen of the Kleine Brogel air base, a Belgian military post used by NATO where U.S. troops are stationed. Trabelsi testified that he intended to kill American soldiers, not to detonate the nuclear warheads that are believed to be at the base. Two accomplices - Amor Sliti, 44, and Abdelcrim El-Haddouti, 26 - each got five years in prison. MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) - U.S. military planes and helicopters car- ried the last few U.S. ground forces out of war-ruined Liberia yesterday - leaving Liberians thankful for their help, but dismayed at their silent withdrawal. About 30 members of a U.S. mili- tary liaison team flew out of Liberia's main airport, ending their work with a West African-led peace mission. Their ship, the USS Iwo Jima, ED ITING 1 st HOUR FREE * Engfish 'sage * Organizing * S ortening * 15 years Eperience 734.717.2546 danstein@umich.edu was no longer visible from Mon- rovia's shore by yesterday after- noon, and was due to leave the region within hours. The Iwo Jima was the last of three U.S. warships deployed in early August off Liberia's capital, Mon- rovia, where fighting killed more than 1,000 civilians in June and July as rebels besieged the city. The mission of Joint Task Force Liberia Mission "has been accom- plished," a U.S. military spokesman said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The presence of the U.S. troops helped drive President Charles Taylor into exile, clearing the way for a power-sharing deal between his gov- ernment and rebels after 14 years of devastating conflict. More than 100 heavily armed U.S. Marines went ashore in Liberia on Aug. 14, prodded by internation- AP PHOTO A young Liberian man who helped out at a U.S. forces base near the Liberian capital Monrovia waits for the remaining U.S. forces to depart by air from the war-torn West-African nation yesterday. al appeals to intervene as Liberia's three-year civil war pressed upon the capital. Liberians said yesterday they had wanted to give the Americans a proper send-off. "We welcomed the Americans BaUTn C327 What do Howard Dean, Across Democratic Presidential )663-3111hopeful, and embattled Japanese Cuisine California Governor Gray Davis have in common? . m w. ' m Brans CtVisit www.xialumns.org/deandavis.htm to find out! when they arrived here overtly. Why their quiet departure?" asked 39-year old Mark Tingeh. "To leave without a ceremony to bid them goodbye is to present Liberians as an ungrateful people," Tingeh said. TRAVEL Continued from Page 1 can approach an airline for better rates than you're having now." In addition to maintaining a web- site, the University has created a task force to gather faculty input on travel management, Abruzzi said. The "task team" will hold their first meeting this month. But he added that employees will still have to choose the optimal rate and book the travel themselves. "Its sort of a cross between Trave- locity and a travel agent, but all the arrangements will continue to be done by the travelers," he said. Among faculty, the University's proposal for data centralization earned cautious praise. While Uni- versity personnel said they look for- ward to planning their business travel through the University, they added that they would be wary of systems channeling reservations through a single travel agency. "I would like a system where a travel agency would do (the booking) if they assured me that I'd get the cheaper ticket," said Business School Prof. Sendil Ethiraj, citing that a lack of competition in such a monopoly could dissuade agencies from offering attractive discounts. But Timothy Slottow, chief finan- cial officer for the University, said he would not force faculty to purchase travel through any agency. "Although we would not do it, of course we could save money if we mandated a central travel agent," Slottow said. Slottow added that the University has already negotiated contracts with several travel agencies, but that their services are optional to faculty. Other faculty said they hoped for better travel discounts, but ques- tioned the viability of the Universi- ty's plan. "My general reaction is I'm not sure how much leverage the Univer- sity would have with Northwest (Air- lines)," said economics Prof. Gary Saxonhouse, referring to Northwest's economic hub at Detroit Metro Air- port. "The situation with Michigan State (University) is quite different. Lansing is not a hub. A number of different airlines fly in there.... Michigan State is in position to bar- gain for better rates." Some officials at other universi- ties said they opposed centralization altogether. "We're very decentralized and don't really see that large of an advantage in having a centralized travel system," said Mike Hardiman, purchasing director for the Universi- ty of Wisconsin. He added that a cen- BOURNEMOUTH, England Blair defends war in address to party A defiant Prime Minister Tony Blair, bruised by dissent over the war in Iraq, faced down his critics yesterday and defended the U.S.-led campaign to top- ple Saddam Hussein. In an often somber address to his restless Labor Party, Blair said 6 1/2 years in office and growing unease over his policies had left him battered. But he defended his government's record, said it was ready for a historic third term in office and insisted his forthright leadership was best for Britain. "It's the only leadership I can offer. And it's the only type of leadership worth having," he said. At the end of his highly personal 50- minute address, Blair basked in a mas- sive ovation - deafening applause that faded long after he left the cavernous conference hall. NEW YORK AOL starts Latino Internet service Tienes e-mail. America Online is launching a serv- ice today for the burgeoning number of U.S. households where Spanish is the main or the only language spoken. The AOL Latino service is wholly in Spanish, from the familiar "You've got mail" greeting down to the instructions on the installation CDs. The U.S. Hispanic population has grown over the past two years at nearly four times the rate of the overall population, and Hispanics are now the country's largest minori- ty group. Yahoo! Inc. already has a "Yahoo! En Espanol" site with news, maps and even greeting cards in Spanish, while Microsoft's MSN has acquired the Spanish-language Yupi portal. Both companies also offer instant- messaging software and Web-based e-mail in Spanish. WASHINGTON Studies: Students have less homework It's a troubling story: Public school students get so loaded with homework that they stress out and lose out on chances to be playful kids. But that story is largely wrong, two new studies contend. Most students actually have less than an hour of homework a night, said Tom Loveless, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at The Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. Compelling anecdotes of overwhelmed kids and exasperated parents don't reflect what most families face, accord- ing to a Brookings analysis of a broad range of homework research. "People are unduly alarmed over the amount of homework," Loveless said. "They should realize kids are not over- worked - and indeed, there is room for even more work." 4 4 WWW.MICHIGANDAILY.COM The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students 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. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscrip- tions must be prepaid. 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