2A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, October 27, 2003
NATION WORLD
Wolfowitz survives hotel rocket attack NEWS IN BRIEF
HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE WORr
BAGHDADIraq(AP)-A "science some still in pajamas or shorts toa
project" of a rocket launcher forced the nearby convention center. The concrete :K "
5----. : i
U.S. occupation authority to retreat
-from its main hotel yesterday, after a
,barrage by the Iraqi resistance that
killed an American colonel, wounded
18 other people and sent scores of U.S.
officials scurrying for safety, including
-the visiting deputy defense secretary.
Paul Wolfowitz, the shaken-looking
but unhurt Pentagon deputy, said the
strike against the Al Rasheed Hotel,
from nearly point-blank range, "will
,not deter us from completing our mis-
sion" in Iraq.
But the bold blow at the heart of the
U.S. presence here clearly rattled U.S.
confidence that it is defeating Iraq's
shadowy insurgents. "We'll have to get
the security situation under control,"
Secretary of State Colin Powell told
NBC's "Meet the Press." He said the
Bush administration knew postwar
security would be a challenge, but "we
didn't expect it would be quite this
intense this long."
The assault was likely planned over
at least the past two months, a top
U.S. commander said, as the insur-
gents put together the improvised
rocket launcher and figured out how
to wheel it into the park just across
the street from the hotel.
The effect of the 6:10 a.m. volley of
rockets was dramatic: U.S. officials
and officers fled from the Al Rasheed,
western face of the 18-story building
was pockmarked with a half-dozen or
more blast holes, and shattered win-
dows in at least two dozen rooms.
The modern, 462-room Al-Rasheed,
housing civilian officials of the U.S.-
led Coalition Provisional Authority
and U.S. military personnel, is a sym-
bol of the occupation. The assault
pointed up the vulnerability of even
heavily guarded U.S. facilities in Iraq,
where American forces sustain an
average of 26 lower-profile attacks
daily, and where Wolfowitz had come
to assess ways to defeat the stubborn
6-month-old insurgency.
More than 15 hours after the rocket
fire and after U.S. security officials
flooded the neighborhood, two explo-
sions went off in the same downtown
area. An Iraqi policeman said an
assailant fired a rocket-propelled
grenade at a U.S. convoy next to the al-
Mansour Hotel, about a mile away
from the Al Rasheed. He said there
were no casualties.
A day earlier, a rocket-propelled
grenade had forced down a U.S. Army
Black Hawk helicopter north of Bagh-
dad, the 4th Infantry Division con-
firmed yesterday. The incident
occurred just hours after Wolfowitz left
that area on the second day of his three-
day visit. One soldier was injured.
WASHINGTON
Analysts predict better times for economy
A long time coming, the U.S. economy finally appears to be perking up. Growth
over the summer sizzled. Even the downtrodden labor market is showing signs of
life. Just don't tell Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and his colleagues,
who meet tomorrow to decide whether to change interest rates.
The central bank is widely expected to turn a blind eye to all the good news. Poli-
cy-makers do not want to spook jittery bond investors into thinking the faster growth
will lead the Fed to start raising interest rates.
Economists predict no change in the benchmark federal funds rate, now at 1 per-
cent, a 45-year low. They also expect Fed officials to continue to indicate it will be
some time before they begin to consider raising rates.
"Clearly, the Fed is not going to be talking about hiking interest rates anytime
soon," said Sung Won Sohn, chief economist at Wells Fargo in Minneapolis. "The
Fed doesn't want to do anything dramatic that would shock the markets."
Normally, stronger economic growth would cause the Fed to think about nudging
rates higher to make sure that increased demand for goods and services did not cause
inflation to rise. Many economists believe the economy raced ahead at an annual rate
of 6 percent or better in the July-September quarter. If confirmed when the govern-
ment releases the data on Thursday, that would be the fastest growth in the gross
domestic product since late 1999.
WASHINGTON
White House cancels GOP North Korea trip
AP PHOTO
The Al Rasheed Hotel stands in the background as a U.S. Army tank
secures the area after eight rockets struck the building early yesterday.
The U.S. command said the wounded
included seven American civilians, four
U.S. military personnel and five non-
U.S. civilians working for the coalition.
Two Iraqi security guards also were hurt.
The command did not immediately
identify the dead American, but Wol-
fowitz said he was a U.S. colonel.
A senior FBI official said the bureau,
the Defense Department, the State
Department and Iraqi police were all
involved in the investigation. Wolfowitz
and his aides were very close to the area
of the hotel that was struck, but there
was no indication the attack was direct-
ed at Wolfowitz, the Pentagon said.
Brig. Gen. Martin Dempsey of the
1st Armored Division said he believed
the insurgents timed the attack with the
lifting this weekend of an overnight
curfew in Baghdad and the reopening
of a main city bridge.
"Any time we demonstrate a return
to normalcy, there are those who will
push back at that," said Dempsey, who
is responsible for security in Baghdad.
Iraqi police said the attacker or attack-
ers, in a white Chevrolet pickup, boldly
drove to the edge of the city's main
Zawra Park and Zoo, just 400 yards
from the hotel, towing what looked like
a portable, two-wheeled generator.
A Republican congressman said yesterday that opposition from the White House
caused him to scrub plans to lead a group of U.S. lawmakers to the site of North
Korea's nuclear weapons program.
"At the 11th hour, the White House withdrew its support for our bipartisan visit to
North Korea," Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) said in a statement. It said yesterday's sched-
uled departure has been delayed temporarily.
KCNA, North Korea's official news agency, reported that the congressional dele-
gation had notified Kim Jong Il's government Friday that the trip was canceled "due
to the opposition of the White House." The White House had no immediate comment
yesterday on Weldon's statement or the KCNA announcement.
Weldon is considered an expert on foreign policy matters, especially involving
Russia, China and other former Cold War rivals such as North Korea.
He had planned to visit the communist-led North from tomorrow through Fri-
day. He led a delegation there in late May and said on his return that North
Korea's government was ready to bargain about its weapons development pro-
gram and nuclear stockpiles.
Democratic candidates brinzg campaign to Detroit
4
DEBATE
Continued from Page A
resources to capturing Osama Bin
Laden, instead saving key military per-
sonal for the war against Iraq.
"I've been against this war from the
beginning ... and I'm against it now. It
was an unnecessary war," Clark said.
"(President Bush) didn't use diplomacy,
he didn't use leadership - he didn't
bring the rest of the world with us."
Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts,
who voted in favor of the war but has
criticized Bush's reconstruction efforts,
said, "What I voted for was to hold Sad-
dam Hussein accountable, but to do it
right."
Calling for an international alliance to
handle postwar reforms, he added, "You
have to take the target off American
troops - you have get rid of the sense
of American occupation."
"We blew up the place and now we
need to fix it," said Sen. Moseley Braun
of Illinois, referring to America's
rebuilding of Iraq.
Sharpton, who also said he supported
America's reconstruction efforts over-
seas, added that postwar management
must be a multinational task.
"We need to go to the U.N. - we
need to ask them for a multilateral com-
mitment and we need to show the troops
we love them by bringing them home"
Sharpton said.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, whose com-
ments consistently triggered massive
applause from the crowd, echoed
Edwards' statements.
Although other candidates also voted
in favor of the war, they said they
opposed his and decision to appropriate
$87 billion to the reconstruction effort,
often adding that the monies could have
been better spent domestically.
"To vote 'yes' on (the $87 billion
appropriation) would be to give this
president a blank check - and I will not
give George Bush a blank check," said
Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina.
But Clark, who has made his foreign
policy experience the centerpiece of his
platform thus far, had to defend himself
against accusations that his stance on the
war has been inconsistent and "confus-
ing" as described by Huel Perkins, one
of the debate moderators and news
anchor for Detroit's WJBK-TV
"It took (Clark) four days to decide
whether voting on $87 billion was a
good idea," said Sen. Joseph Lieberman
of Connecticut, referring to Clark's
opposition to the appropriations but his
vocal support for the war last March.
Clark, who released his economic
platform just last week, has drawn criti-
cism for lacking a sound domestic poli-
cy. As moderators shifted the debate to
domestic issues, candidates voiced their
opposition to Bush's income-tax cuts
and debated methods to salvage the
Medicare program and increase national
employment.
"I think what you've got in this coun-
try is a real absence of responsible gov-
ernment," Clark said. "We need to
recapture some of the revenues that were
given away in those tax cuts to the
wealthy Americans."
Illustrating his plan to aid the econo-
my and boost employment, Rep. Dennis
Kucinich of Ohio said his plan would
repeal some of the Bush tax cuts, allo-
cate funds for higher education and cre-
ate a public works program.
Putting to rest speculation that he
would reduce the scope of Medicare,
Dean said, "Medicare is not on the table.
I am a strong supporter of Medicare....
What you need to do is get rid of every
dime of the Bush tax cuts."
Many candidates pointed to Bush's
trade policies with countries such as
China as the cause of economic misfor-
tune at home, adding that China has
undermined American manufacturing
by withholding its currency from inter-
national markets.
Resounding with many of the other
candidates, Sharpton said Bush's tax
cuts benefited mainly wealthy families.
In addition, he said foreign trade poli-
cies have encouraged American manu-
facturers to move their businesses
overseas, burdening many working-class
families.
"To lecture the working class Ameri-
cans on how they can do more when you
have the Enrons of the world offshore
doing nothing - I think it's an insult to
the American people," Sharpton said.
Speaking on Bush's foreign policy,
Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri said,
"All the candidates now ... say they
would never sign a treaty like (the North
American Free Trade Agreement) with
countries (like China) that wouldn't have
protection for labor and environment."
He added, "We need a new trade policy
that is optimistic - that raises standards
for other countries."
But not all candidates expressed con-
summate domestic policies.
Despite his leading status in
Newsweek poll released last week, Dean
has been criticized along with Clark for
not pronouncing the details of his plan
to balance the budget. Fielding ques-
tions following the debate, Dean said,
"we have a plan that we're working on,
but we haven't made it public yet."
Responding to questions as to
whether the debate was productive,
Democratic National Committee Chair-
man Terry McAuliffe said he thought
the lineup of nine candidates did not
clutter the debate.
Voicing her approval of the debate,
Michigan Student Assembly Vice Presi-
dent Monique Perry - who attended
the debate along with 14 other students
of Students Supporting Affirmative
Action - said, "Al (Sharpton) played
the favor with this crowd in general."
She added that "(the debate) was a good
thing for Detroit."
EDGITING
1 st HOUR FREE If
eEngish Vsage
" Organizing
Shortening
" 15 years Experience
734.71 7.2546 danstein@umich.edu
FOD FORTHOUGHT1
Manipulating Opinion
JERUSALEM mayor of
Sre ae day after
HrualLS prepares to referend
discuss halting attacks Presiden
results re
Hamas said yesterday it is ready to talk referenda
to the Palestinian prime minister about sary tool
halting attacks on Israelis, even though tion and]
the Islamic militant group participated in The r
a deadly attack on a Jewish settlement in defeat to
the Gaza Strip two days earlier. ed to off
Israel yesterday retaliated for the pledges
attack on the Netzarim settlement, blow- nation i
ing up three uninhabited high-rise build- corrupti
ings the army says were used as lookouts
by the assailants, one from Hamas and SAN AN
the other from the smaller Islamic Jihad Ft
group, who killed three Israeli soldiers at Fats,
the isolated, heavily guarded settlement Stan
southwest of Gaza City. More clashes r
were reported in Gaza, leaving at least Even'
one suspected Palestinian militant dead. many A]
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister ing the
Ariel Sharon told his Cabinet he would plague
try to persuade European leaders not to much fa
support an unofficial peace proposal fruits an
reached by Palestinian officials and A nev
Israeli opposition figures with Swiss youngst
backing. bers of
BOGOTA downin
and sod
Colombian electron Child
names new officials about 9
study fc
After a bloody campaign period in for that
which dozens of candidates were killed, - an e
Colombians elected state and municipal For tho
leaders yesterday, with a former commu- old, the
nist union leader leading the race for about 2(
fBogota. The election was held a
voters rejected most points of a
.um championed by hard-line
nt Alvaro Uribe, according to
leased yesterday. Uribe said the
tum would give him the neces-
s to fight terrorism and corrup-
boost the faltering economy.
eferendum was the greatest
o hit Uribe since he was elect-
Tice by a landslide last year on
to put this violence-wracked
n order and clamp down on
on.
TONIO
sugars found as
es in kids' diets
before their second birthday,
rmerican children are develop-
same bad eating habits that
the nation's adults - too
at, sugar and salt and too few
nd vegetables.
.w study of more than 3,000
ters found significant num-
f infants and toddlers are
g french fries, pizza, candy
a.
ren aged 1 to 2 years require
50 calories per day, but the
ound that the median intake
age group is 1,220 calories,
xcess of nearly 30 percent.
se 7 months to 11 months
e daily caloric surplus was
0 percent.
0
U
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