2 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 28, 2004 NATION/WORLD U.N. planning to play 'constructive role' in resolving Iraqi conflict BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The United Nations agreed yesterday to send a team to Iraq to help break the impasse over electing a new government, as the deaths of six more American soldiers in roadside bombings underscored concerns about security in the volatile nation. A bomb that exploded south of Baghdad killed three U.S. soldiers and wounded three others last night, hours after another bombing west of the capital killed three U.S. paratroopers and wounded one, the military said. In addition, two CNN employees of died in a shooting south of Baghdad. Elsewhere, U.S. troops killed three suspected members of a guerrilla cell during raids yesterday in the central Iraqi town of Beiji, the Army said. And a suspected car bomb was discovered near coalition and Iraqi Governing Council offices. The United States has cited the ongoing violence in arguing against demands by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani for the direct election of a pro- visional legislature, which in turn would select a government to take power by July 1. Instead, Washington wants the lawmakers chosen in 18 regional caucuses. The Americans and the U.S.- appointed Iraqi Governing Council asked U.N. Secre- tary-General Kofi Annan to send a team to determine whether an early election would be feasible. In Paris, Annan said he believes the United Nations can play "a constructive role" in helping to break the impasse, and would send such a team to Iraq "once I am satisfied that the (coalition) will pro- vide adequate security arrangements." Annan said the mission will solicit the views of Iraqis to find alternative ways to choose a provision- al government. Shiite Muslim leaders have said al- Sistani wants to hear alternatives to the caucus plan if the U.N. team says it's not feasible to hold elec- tions by the end of June. The U.N. chief also said sending in "blue helmet" peacekeepers was not on the agenda, although he favored a multinational force for Iraq sometime in the future. "I believe what we can anticipate would be a multinational force authorized by the Security Council, which could help and work with Iraqis to stabilize Iraq and make it safer," Annan said. "I believe what we can anticipate would be a multinational force authorized by the Security Council which could work and help with raqis to stabilize Iraq:' - Kofi Annan Secretary-General United Nations "This would be a multinational force, with the support of the Security Council, and not 'blue hel- mets' per se." In Baghdad, coalition spokesman Dan Senor wel- comed Annan's decision and said the United States and its partners would protect the U.N. team. "We believe we have got sufficient capability to maintain a reasonable security level here in the coun- try and we look forward to the U.N. coming down to make that (assessment) as well," said Brig. Gen. NEWS IN BRIEF.{,M- At least three more killed in Baghdad A car bomb exploded in front of a hotel in central Baghdad today, destroying the facade of the three-story building and setting cars on fire. Several casualties were feared, police said. "We know there was some sort of explosion and troops are heading that way," said U.S. military spokesman Capt. Dave Malakoff. A part of the al-Shaheen hotel's concrete front was torn away by the blast, and the walls that remained were blackened. Several fire trucks tried to douse the fire in the building. A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the devastation was caused by a car bomb. It was not clear if the car was parked or moving when it exploded. He said the hotel was packed with guests at the time of the blast, and expects several casualties. The hotel is close to the former U.S. Embassy and a police station. The blast occurred a day after two roadside bombs exploded west and south of Baghdad, killing six U.S. troops and two Iraqis. Also Tuesday, two CNN employees were shot and killed by unidentified assailants on a highway, just outside Baghdad when they were driving back from an assignment. WASHINGTON Panel: Hijacking risk downplayed before 9-11 The Federal Aviation Administration focused on the danger of explosives aboard planes rather than a suicide hijacking before the Sept. 11 attacks even though its own security officers warned terrorists might try to crash an airliner, a federal panel said yesterday. The FAA's Office of Civil Aviation Security considered the risk of a suicide hijacking at least as early as March 1998, says the preliminary report by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. The commission report acknowledges there was no specific intelligence indi- cating suicide hijackings would occur but says the FAA still had a responsibility to protect the flying public against such a threat. The commission wrapped up two days of hearings on aviation and border security lapses. The panel, which has been investigating the Sept. 11 attacks for a year and has held seven public hearings, wants Congress to extend its May 27 deadline by at least two months, saying it needs more time to review all the material. At yester- day's hearing, the commission provided documents showing the FAA was aware of the possibility of suicide hijackings but did not pass the information to airlines. Bush reaffirms Iraq posed threat to U.S. WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush said yesterday that Iraq undoubtedly posed a threat to America last year and the U.S.-led invasion was justified, despite his outgoing arms inspector's conclusion that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction. But Bush and his aides backed away from oft-stated predictions that such weapons will eventually be found in Iraq. And the president deflected questions about the discrepancies between his dire warnings on Iraq and Kay's findings. "There is no doubt in my mind that Saddam Hussein was a grave and gather- ing threat to America and the world," Bush said. "And I say that based upon intelligence that I saw prior to the decision to go into Iraq and I say that based upon what I know today. And the world is better off without him." Kay believes his team's failure to find banned weapons in Iraq points to prob- lems in the intelligence suggesting they were there, and he said over the weekend that the CIA owes Bush an explanation. Bush, during a meeting with Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, said he had "great confidence in our intelligence community," and he displayed no interest in such an accounting from the CIA. The president said he wanted to let American weapons inspectors complete their search in Iraq before drawing conclusions. That work is 85 percent com- plete, Kay has said. Last year, the president made Iraq's alleged weapons cache a central rationale for the Iraq invasion. On Jan. 22, 2003, Bush told an audience in St. Louis, "The dictator of Iraq has got weapons of mass destruction." On the eve of the war in March, he said, "Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised." Sunday, after nine months of searching, Kay said, "I don't think they exist." Kay quit his post on Friday. Bush cited other reasons yesterday behind his decision to go to war, and he tried to direct Americans' attention to the future of Iraq, not his own past assertions. "America is more secure, the world is safer, and the people of Iraq are free," Bush said. "We're now at the business of making sure Iraq is free and democratic," Bush said. "That's important, as well, for long-term stability and peace in the world, and we're making good progress toward that goal." Bush made no mention of twin roadside bombings west of Baghdad that killed AP FPHOT Bush answers questions on evidence of weapons of mass destruction and states he has "great confidence" in the intelligence community yesterday in the Oval Office of the White House. three American soldiers yesterday. The Polish leader offered his own defense of Bush, saying many experts believed before the war that Iraq had built banned weapons. Kwasniewski said a top U.N. weapons inspector had told him several months before the invasion that "Saddam has these weapons or is ready to produce these weapons." Senate minority leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) demanded a new investigation by an independent commission, or a broadened probe by the Senate Intelligence Committee, into the "administration's role in the intelligence failures leading up to the war with Iraq." The Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee is currently looking into what the CIA knew before the war, but the scope does- n't include the Bush administration's role. Bush ignored a reporter's question about whether he would support or resist a new probe. Daschle's request for a new inquiry led to a testy exchange in the Cabinet Room yesterday afternoon. Bush met with congressional leaders of both parties, and Daschle told him it was important to get to the bottom of whether intelli- gence was misused. KABUL, Afghanistan Taliban attack kills two more people A suicide bomber killed a Canadian soldier and an Afghan civilian yesterday in an attack on a convoy of the NATO-led security force patrolling Kabul. The Tal- iban claimed responsibility. The soldier was the first foreign vic- tim of a fresh wave of violence that has claimed more than 60 lives this month. The attack came a day after Afghanistan's president signed the country's first post-Taliban constitution into law. Three other Canadian troops and eight civilians, including a Frenchman, were wounded in the attack on a three- jeep convoy on a main road in the west of the city. Lt. Col. Don Denne, a Canadian commander of the security force, said the attacker blew himself up as a jeep slowed down to negotiate a rut in the road, peppering the soldiers and bystanders with shrapnel. BEIJING China becomes 10th nation with bird flu Bird flu reached China, the world's most populous nation, as officials acknowledged yesterday that at least one duck was infected with the disease , 1Ca and opened an investigation into sus- pect cases of other dead poultry. The announcement opened a poten- tially fearsome new front in the fight against the virus that now has appeared in 10 Asian nations. In Atlanta, the head of the US. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged American doctors to test patients with flu-like symptoms if they had recently been to areas with bird flu outbreaks. China's announcement also led to unease about the food supply for Chinese still shaken by last year's SARS outbreak. NEW YORK Prosecutors: Stewart received insider tips Martha Stewart sold stock based on "a secret tip" that no one else had, then told an avalanche of lies to save her reputa- tion and enormous fortune, prosecutors said yesterday as they laid out their case against the homemaking queen. Stewart's attorney insisted the case was based on "speculation, surmise and guesswork" and suggested the govern- ment's pursuit of the domestic style-setter was reminiscent of George Orwell's Big Brother novel "1984." The jury listened to three hours of opening statements out- lining different portrayals of Stewart's sale of nearly 4,000 shares of biotechnol- ogy company lImClone Systems. - Compiled from Daily wire reports . 1 i I Former prisoner of war accuses Israelis of rape, sodomy; gov't denies all his charges TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - A Lebanese guerrilla leader about to be freed in a prisoner swap testified yesterday that Israeli interrogators raped him, sodomized him with a club and kept him naked for weeks in a round-the-clock effort to extract informa- tion on a missing Israeli aviator. State prosecutor Shamai Becker said interroga- tors never touched Mustafa Dirani. The prosecutor said Dirani "sang like a bird" and made up allega- tions of abuse to explain why he gave Israel infor- mation. Human rights groups have accused Israel of routinely mistreating Arab prisoners, but rarely to the extremes Dirani alleged to a Tel Aviv court in his $1.3 million lawsuit against the Israeli govern- ment. Dirani is one of hundreds of Arab prisoners to be released tomorrow in exchange for an Israeli busi- nessman and the bodies of three Israeli soldiers - all kidnapped by the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah in October 2000. The prisoners to be freed by Israel include 400 Palestinians, 34 people from Arab countries and a German convicted of spying for Hezbollah. The Israeli Justice Ministry said a Moroccan inmate on the list was released a few days ago. Yesterday, a white bus filled with prisoners drove into the Sharon Prison in central Israel under heavy guard. Prisoners peeked from tiny wire mesh-cov- ered windows, and some tried unsuccessfully to spread their fingers in V-for-victory signs through the tightly wrought metal. The German-mediated swap is to take place tomorrow. Security officials said the prisoners from Arab countries and the German would be flown today to Germany. Israel will release the Palestinians into the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and will hand over 59 bodies of Lebanese militants killed in clash- es with Israeli troops. All the Palestinians had less than three years to serve and were not involved in wounding or killing Israelis, according to a list released yester- day. About two-thirds were scheduled to be released this year. Some Palestinians greeted the list with disappoint- ment, noting Israel has often freed prisoners convict- ed of nonviolent offenses on Muslim holidays or as part of peace talks. "I look at this like a routine release," said Issa Karake, head of the Palestinian Prisoners' Asso- ciation. Dirani is among the most prominent of the pris- oners named. Israeli forces burst into his home in Lebanon in 1994, kidnapped him and held him without charges for a decade, yet allowed him access to its court system to sue the government for torture. 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. 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University of Michigan Health Poticy Student Association) The Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003: Policy implications of the new drug prescription benefit law Datn : January 28, 2004 7:00 with reception following the discussion Michigan Room, 2nd Floor, Michigan League 911 North University ARTS Todd Weiser, Managing Editor 763.0379, artspage@michigandally.com EDITORS: Jason Roberts, Scott SerilIla WEEKEND MAGAZINE EDITORS: Charles Paradis, Rebecca Ramsey SUB-EDITORS: Katie Marie Gates, Joel Hoard, Ryan Lewis, Sarah Peterson, Melissa Runstrom STAFF: Jennie Adler, Aliya Chowdhri, Sean Dailey, Laurence Freedman, Andrew M. Gaerig, Matthew Grinshpun, Brandon Harig, Lynn Hasselbarth, Mary Hillemeier, Andrew Horowitz, Lia Izenberg, Megan Jacobs, Alexandra Jones, Michelle Kijek, Zach Mabee, Vanessa Miller, Jared Newman, James Pfent, Christopher Pitoun, Adam Rottenberg, Niamh Stevin, Jaya Soni, Anthea Stolz, Justin Weiner, Douglas Wernert, Alex Wolsky r 1 "UNDER THE SKIN OF THE CITY" (Zir-e Pousr-e Shahr) Middle East Film Series - Part One PHOTO Tony Ding, Brett Mountain, Managing Edito 764.0563, photo@michigandallycom ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Elise Bergman, Seth Lower NIGHT EDITORS: Jason Cooper, Ryan Weiner STAFF: Trevor Campbell, Forest Casey, Joel Friedman, Jeff Lehnert, Kelly Lin, Danny Moloshok, Brendan O'Donnell, Shubra Ohri, Laura Shlecter, Jonathon Triest, David Tuman ONLINE Geoffrey Fink, Managing Edit 763.2459, onlineo@mlchlgandally.com EDITOR: Ashley Jardina STAFF: John Becic, Kate Green, Janna Hutz, Mira Levitan rs or Thursday, January 29, 7:30 PM, Rackham Amphitheatre Open to the Public - Free Admission The first US release of a film by Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, Iran's "First Lady _c r__.,.:.... ^.,,......,It . 4 -.mf,^ 4 - 6 in dnIl~ m ntgs nortrin i "I ilwigg-4.--dis-o-&-v-@-m-ichijtandaliv.com I