2 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, January 27, 2004 4 NATION/WORLD Judge strikes down part o Patiot t NEWS IN BRIEF HEALtNES R IEFRL LOS ANGELES (AP) - For the asserted that the portion at issue in the the plaintiffs were threatened with 15 Kurdistan Workers' Party and the Lib- fwct ~ m nPo - ln~-o1- Ao.I..- a _ -I. . .._.. - "- -"'--' -he-.--p" rtnIn at..issue,.in. thet irst time, a federal judge has declared unconstitutional a section of the USA Patriot Act that bars giving expert advice or assistance to groups desig- nated foreign terrorist organizations. In a ruling handed down late Friday and made available yesterday, U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins said the ban is impermissibly vague in its wording. The U.S. Justice Department is reviewing the ruling, spokesman Mark Corallo said in a statement from Wash- mgton. Corallo called the Patriot Act - the federal anti-terrorism statute passed in the aftermath of Sept. 11 - "an essen- tial tool in the war on terror" and ruling was only a modest amendment to a pre-existing anti-terrorism law. . David Cole, a Georgetown Universi- ty law professor who argued the case on behalf of the Humanitarian Law Project, declared the ruling "a victory for everyone who believes the war on terrorism ought to be fought consistent with constitutional principles." "It is the first federal court decision declaring any part of the Patriot Act unconstitutional," he said. The case before the court involved five groups and two U.S. citizens seek- ing to provide support for lawful, non- violent activities on behalf of Kurdish refugees in Turkey. The Humanitarian Law Project said years in prison if. they advised groups on seeking a peaceful resolution of the Kurds' campaign for self-determina- tion in Turkey. The judge's ruling said the law, as written, does not differentiate between impermissible advice on violence and encouraging the use of peaceful, non- violent means to achieve goals. "The USA Patriot Act places no lim- itation on the type of expert advice and assistance which is prohibited and instead bans the provision of all expert advice and assistance regardless of its nature," the judge said. The ruling specified that the plain- tiffs seek to provide support to "the lawful, nonviolent activities" of the eration Tigers of Tamil Eelam, an advocate group for the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. Both groups are on a list issued by former Secretary of State Madeline Albright in 1997 of "foreign terrorist organizations" In Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tiger rebels have been engaged in a two-decade civil war that has killed more than 65,000 people. Turkey's military has been battling Kurdish rebels seeking autonomy since 1984, a fight that has left some 37,000 people dead. Under the Patriot Act, the U.S. pro- hibition on providing "material sup- port" or "resources" to terrorist groups was expanded to include "expert advice or assistance." Bush officials soften Iraqi WMD claims Celebrity endorsement WASHINGTON Deficits to total $2.4 trillion over 10 years Federal deficits will total nearly $2.4 trillion over the next decade, the Congres- sional Budget Office projected yesterday, a worsening of nearly $1 trillion since its last forecast in August. In its annual wintertime economic update, Congress' nonpartisan fiscal analyst also projected that the red ink would hit a record $477 billion this year. Though the report envisions next year's shortfall dipping to $362 billion, the estimates are sure to become ammunition in the election-year fight over red ink. Already, Democrats are hitting President Bush for the stark reversal from huge surpluses of just three years ago, while conservative Republicans are criticizing him for excessive spending as well. "The president wants to go to Mars, and he's got deficits going to the moon," said Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota, top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee. Treasury Secretary John Snow, in a speech delivered via satellite to a confer- ence in London, repeated the administration's commitment to cut the deficit in half over the next five years. "Makeno mistake; President Bush is serious about the deficit," Snow said. BAGHDAD, Iraq Gunmen kill seven police officers in Iraq Insurgents fired a rocket at the headquarters of the US.-led coalition yesterday night after gunmen killed seven Iraqi policemen in a pair of attacks west of Bagh- dad. A senior Iraqi official blamed al-Qaida for many of the suicide bombings around the country in recent weeks. In the north, military divers searched the muddy waters of the Tigris River for three missing U.S. soldiers, including two pilots of an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter that crashed Sunday in Mosul during rescue operations after a patrol boat capsized. It was the fifth U.S. helicopter lost in Iraq this month. Strong explosions reverberated through the heart of this troubled capital about 10:35 p.m., followed by sirens and a recorded message warning those in the coali- tion headquarters compound known as the green zone to "take cover." A coalition official said at least one rocket, apparently fired from across the Tigris, exploded in a parking lot near the Republican Palace, used by America's top civilian administrator in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, and senior coalition staff, but it caused no damage or casualties. WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House retreated yesterday from its once-confident claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and Democrats swiftly sought to turn the about-face into an election-year issue against President Bush. The administration's switch came after retired chief U.S. weapons inspec- tor David Kay said he had concluded, after nine months of searching, that Saddam Hussein did not have stockpiles of forbidden weapons. Asked about Kay's remarks, White House spokesman Scott McClellan refused to repeat oft-stated assertions that prohibit- ed weapons eventually would be found. McClellan said the inspectors should continue their work "so that they can draw as complete a picture as possible. And then we can learn - it will help us learn the truth." Kay was called to appear at a public hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee tomorrow and agreed to attend, a Senate aide said. Sen. John Kerry, seeking the Democ- ratic presidential nomination, said Bush had misled the nation. "When the presi- dent of the United States looks at you and tells you something, there should be some trust," Kerry said from the cam- paign trail in Keene, N.H. "He's broken every one of those promises." Democratic candidate Howard Dean said, "The White House has not been candid with the American people about virtually anything with the Iraq war." The U.S. war against terrorism is Bush's strongest suit against Democ- rats, and his handling of Iraq has the approval of more than half of Ameri- cans questioned in polls. Analysts said it was doubtful the weapons issue would hurt Bush much. "It depends on how the Democrats play it," said James Thurber, director of the Center for Congressional and Pres- idential Studies at American Universi- ty. "Basically they're dominating the news as much as the president is these days, and if they continue to criticize the president on this, then it begins to hurt a little bit. "But basically he is doing so well in the polls at this point, on the economy but also even on the war, that I don't see it as a major hit,' Thurber said. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle called for an investigation into the "administration's role in the intelligence failures leading up to the war with Iraq." Sen. Joe Lieberman, another Demo- cratic candidate, campaigning in New Hampshire, also urged an investigation or congressional hearings "on the intelligence that some of us saw direct- ly, and the statements that the adminis- tration was making and the emphasis the administration was putting on weapons of mass destruction." Vice President Dick Cheney, meet- ing in Rome with Italian Premier Sil- vio Berlusconi, did not answer when a reporter asked if he felt prewar intelli- gence was faulty. JEFF LEHNERT/Daily Martin Sheen introduces Howard Dean yesterday at a campaign rally in Manchester, N.H., the site of today's presidential primaries. MISSED OUR MASS MEETINGS? WHO CAMES! YOU CAN STILL BE A WRITER FOR THE MICHIGANDAIwy STOP BY 42 MAYNARD ST. DURING THE DAY TO PICK UP A STORY, OR CALL 76-DAILY KABUL, Afghanistan Karzai approves new Afghan constitution President Hamid Karzai signed Afghanistan's new constitution into law yesterday, putting into force a charter meant to reunite his war-shattered nation and help defeat a virulent Tal- iban insurgency. Seated next to Afghanistan's former King Mohammed Zaher Shah in a palace at the Foreign Ministry, Karzai signed a decree formally declaring the 162-article document ratified earlier this month as the country's supreme law. "Congratulations!" he called to Afghan leaders who helped draw up the new charter, as Cabinet ministers and foreign diplomats applauded at the brief ceremony. The step was just the latest under a U.N.-sponsored peace drive designed to rebuild the Afghan state since a U.S.- led invasion drove out the Taliban two years ago. The constitution outlines a tolerant, democratic Islamic state under a strong presidency. WASH INGTON High court to review execution of minors The Supreme Court, which two years ago abolished executions for the men- tally retarded, said yesterday it will now consider ending the execution of killers who were younger than 18 when they committed their crimes. The court said it will reopen the ques- tion of whether executing very young killers violates the Constitution's ban on "cruel and unusual punishment." Cur- rently, states that allow the death penalty may impose it on killers who were 16 or 17 at the time of their crimes. A decision will probably come in the court's next term, as the court continues to re-examine who belongs on death row and how the death penalty is carried out. TOKYO 4 PETITION Continued from Page 1 on greek life, Harper said no changes have been finalized. Harper's plan is perceived as affect- ing mostly fraternities, because sorori- ties already have live-in advisors and substance-free housing policies in place. But Stasik noted that both frater- nities and sororities would be affected by a delay on rushing. The petition, which was ratified at an IFC meeting last week, was devel- oped in response to what members of the Greek community felt was a lack of student input in the formation of the University's proposal. "It is unfortunate that some mem- bers of the Greek community do not feel as though they have been involved," Harper said. Harper said she has already met with Greek Council representatives and other meetings have been planned with the Greek community, the campus community, the Michigan Student Assembly, Greek alums, University faculty and staff and others. Harper said her initial recommenda- tions are not the end of the process of reforming the Greek system. "The next steps include ... establish- ing the Greek Life Advisory Board, a broad-based group that will include students, faculty and staff," she said. "Any final recommendations will be preceded by thorough discussions with students and other stakeholders." A meeting between Harper and the IFC has not yet been arranged, but Bourke said he and other IFC execu- tive members would like to set up an opportunity for discussion as soon as possible. Harper said she was not aware of the petition until yesterday but said the University's goal is to encourage stu- dents to play a role in shaping the cam- pus community. "While students are free to sign peti- tions, I also hope they will take the opportunity to actively participate in upcoming sessions to discuss these issues," she said. Bourke added that the petition is not so much an exhortation as it is "more of an information-gathering tool to gauge where the community and the University stands," he said. Because the petition has only been in rirrln+n f nr la ce t+an n mAfl., it is Toyota passes Ford in global auto sales For months, sales data had been pre- dicting a milestone for Toyota Motor Corp. Yesterday, it was official: The Japanese automaker surpassed Ford Motor Co. of the United States in glob- al sales for 2003 as the world's No. 2 automaker. But Toyota officials are shrugging off the achievement. "We have so much more to learn," Toyota President Fujio Cho told reporters recently when asked about the expected ranking change. "If this were a marathon, we're so far behind we still can't see Ford's back." Toyota confirmed the tally it gave last Friday for worldwide sales for 2003 of 6.78 million vehicles. - Compiled from Daily wire reports 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. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press. ADDRESS: The Michigan Daily, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1327. E-mail letters to the editor to letters@michigandaily.com. NEWS Shabina S. 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