41 2A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, February 5, 2004 NATION/WORLD Group admits role in Iraq bombings NEWS IN BRIEF TIKRIT, Iraq (AP) - A senior U.S. commander to hand over sovereignty to a provisional Iraqi gov- said yesterday that recent attacks in Iraq are the work ernment on June 30. The United Nations soon will t -f _- or groups seeking to sabotag -orailergen vi iuu~ ~~i1 LI) ~oo~ge - or gain ieverage in - a future independent Iraqi government that is due to take power by July. Maj. Gen. Raymond Odierno, commander of the Army's 4th Infantry Division, also predicted that coalition forces would be able to crush the insur- gency within a year, despite continued American losses since the Dec. 13 capture of Saddam Hussein. "There are ethnic issues. People are now position- ing themselves to see what their role is in the next government, and they are doing it by force," Odierno said after a tour of this city, Saddam's hometown. "They are trying to disrupt the way things are going so they can get a little advantage." Yesterday, an Iraqi insurgent group claimed respon- sibility for twin bombings that killed 109 people at the offices of two Kurdish political parties on Sunday. The "Jaish Ansar al-Sunna" said it targeted the "dens of the devils" because of the parties' ties to the United States. The claim could not be independently confirmed. The U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority plans dispatch a team to Iraq to resolve differences between the Americans and the Shiite Muslim clergy over how to choose the new Iraqi leadership. "We have six to 12 months left of this insur- gency," Odierno said. "I think constant pressure will bring it down." So far, 528 U.S. service members have died since the Iraq war began March 20, including 368 by hos- tile fire. Forty-five soldiers died in January and three more in the first three days of February. The January toll was five more than in December, despite hopes that Saddam's capture would weaken the insurgency and slow the killings from roadside bombs and other attacks. In another fatality, a Spanish military adviser who fell into a coma after being seriously wounded in a shootout last month died yesterday, the Spanish Defense Ministry said. The shootout occurred in the town of Hamsa, about 25 miles south of Diwaniyah, where the Spanish troops are based. Civil Guard commander Gonzalo Perez Garcia's "We have six to 12 months left of this insurgency. I think constant pressure will bring it down. - U.S. Maj. Gen. Raymond Odierno commander of the Army's 4th Infantry Division BOSTON ; - Mass. takes last step for same-sex marriages The Massachusetts high court declared yesterday that gays are entitled to noth- ing less than marriage and that Vermont-style civil unions will not suffice, setting the stage for the nation's first legally sanctioned same-sex weddings by the spring. The court issued the advisory opinion at the request of legislators who wanted to know whether civil unions would be enough to satisfy the court after its November ruling that said gay couples are entitled to all the rights of marriage. That decision had been written in such a way that it left open the possibility that civil unions might be allowed. But yesterday's opinion by the Supreme Judicial Court left no doubt: Only mar- riage would pass constitutional muster. "The history of our nation has demonstrated that separate is seldom, if ever, equal," four justices wrote. "For no rational reason the marriage laws of the com- monwealth discriminate against a defined class; no amount of tinkering with lan- guage will eradicate that stain. The (civil unions) bill would have the effect of maintaining and fostering a stigma of exclusion that the Constitution prohibits." Paul Martinek, editor of Lawyers Weekly USA, said that the blunt opinion eras- es any confusion. "The fat lady has sung and she's singing the wedding march," Martinek said. "It's clear from reading the majority opinion that there's no basis on which the (court) will OK anything other than marriage." death brought to 11 the number of Spaniards that have been killed in Iraq since August. Odierno, the U.S. major general who is in charge of security over a large swath of north-central Iraq, did not elaborate on how insurgent attacks were aimed at gain- ing advantage before the power transfer. He also did not offer specific examples of such attacks. However, a recent series of major attacks were clear- ly aimed at Iraqi targets, raising fears that insurgents were going after those who would play major political and security roles in a future Iraqi government. U.S. lacl l&A'ed SASHINGTON U.S. blackm ailed nate offices reopen after toxn discovery AP PHOTO Pigeons fly away as a worker rushes to trap them in a cage in People's Square, in Shanghai, China yesterday. Aslan states, take measures against BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Asia's human Human cases o: death toll from bird flu rose to 15 yesterday any other count while China addressed its broadening zone of China said y infected poultry with a new bird flu headquarters tions, but that o and Singaporeans turned in pet chickens for poultry in 12 of slaughter. A new Natior Health experts say the wide range of the bird ters has opene flu striking Asia's poultry boosts chances that the efforts to kill a virus could mutate into a global menace for peo- on people wh pl'e, but say the disease is "nowhere close" to unclear how th being declared a pandemic. cal communica ' Most human cases have been traced directly to ernments and B cntact with sick birds, and although human-to- "The wholec human transmission has not been ruled out in the flu," Foreign cse of one Vietnamese family, the experts say Qiyue said. there is no sign of a new strain that can easily Health exper infect many people. infected poultry A WHO official acknowledged that the race ing out the culls apainst the disease's spread was tough. Thailand's de "The virus is faster than we are," said Peter day that officia Cordingley, the agency's regional spokesman in the virus from t M9ianila, Philippines. "Until the surveillance sys- The virus has s tems are working properly, we're going to have try's provinces. trouble keeping up with the virus." After the New deaths were announced yesterday in Viet- announced Sun rhm, where a 16-year-old girl became the coun- mission couldr try's 10th bird flu fatality, and Thailand, where a Vietnamese fan 6-year-old boy died, bringing its toll to five. recent days to p k- bi 1rd flu f bird flu have not been reported in ries. yesterday it has no human infec- fficials were investigating cases in fits 31 regions. ral Bird Flu Prevention Headquar- d in Beijing to oversee regional ll sick birds and keep close watch o handled them, though it was e center would overcome the typi- tions obstacles between local gov- eijing. of China is trying to prevent bird Ministry spokeswoman Zhang ts say the best policy is to dIestroy while ensuring that people carry- s are not exposed to the virus. eputy prime minister said yester- als there believe they'll eradicate the country's farms by week's end. truck more than half of the coun- World Health Organization nday that human-to-human trans- not be ruled out in the case of the nily, the organization has sought in lay down concerns. Palestinians, says Araat adviser RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - A senior adviser to Yasser Arafat yesterday accused the United States of "black- mailing" the Palestinians by withholding aid - unusually harsh criticism reflecting exasperation with perceived U.S. disengagement from the Mideast conflict. Israeli and Palestinian officials, meanwhile, failed again yesterday reach agreement on a date for a meeting between their two leaders. Such a summit is seen as vital for reviving the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said repeatedly in recent weeks he would go ahead with unilateral measures, including dismantling some settlements and imposing a boundary on the Palestinians, if there is no progress in com- ing months. Earlier this week, he proposed dismantling virtually all the Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, a political bomb- shell that is threatening his center-right coalition. Sharon is facing mounting opposition, including from within his Likud Party. Challenging his critics, Sharon said yesterday he would support a referendum on the issue. Polls indicate a large majority of Israelis support a Gaza pullout. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher offered a mixed response to Sharon's Gaza initiative. Boucher said that while removing settlements is good, the United States is concerned about "any steps that could attempt to unilaterally end the process or unilaterally impose a settlement." In the West Bank city of Ramallah, Jibril Rajoub, a senior security adviser to Arafat, charged that the United States is cutting aid and scaling back involvement in Mideast diplo- macy because the Palestinians have failed to find those responsible for an attack on a U.S. convoy in Gaza in Octo- ber. Three U.S. security guards were killed in the roadside bombing. "I think this is blackmail," said Rajoub, who enjoyed close relations with U.S. agencies when he served as securi- ty chief in the West Bank. U.S. officials have complained about lack of progress in the investigation of the attack. In December, U.S. envoy William Burns said the United States "cannot carry out our full range of assistance projects" without progress in the probe. Boucher on yesterday dismissed Rajoub's comments as "ridiculous." He said Palestinians should improve their secu- rity, but added that the United States remains engaged in peacemaking. He said Israeli Vice Premier Ehud Olmert will confer today with Secretary of State Colin Powell in Wash- ington. Olmert is Sharon's top deputy. Palestinian officials have complained privately about what they see as Washington's disengagement from the Israeli- Palestinian conflict during a U.S. election year. However, a harsh public comment like Rajoub's is rare. The road map, meanwhile, suffered another setback yes- terday, when aides for Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minis- ter Ahmed Qureia failed to agree on a summit agenda. A Senate rattled by a ricin attack began returning to normalcy yesterday, and the lack of any reported illnesses prompted leaders to plan to reopen shuttered office buildings. As lawmakers awaited the results of tests measuring the potency of the powdery poison, officials said none of the several dozen workers who were potentially exposed seemed ill. Senators voted - for the first time this week - on a judge- ship nomination, and at least three Senate committees held hearings, though they borrowed rooms in House office buildings to do so. "Everybody's doing great," Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn) told reporters. "We're outside the window where you'd expect to see symptoms at all, and it seems well contained." Bowing to growing complaints, Senate leaders were even letting senators and aides briefly re-enter their offices to remove needed documents and equipment. That included the very fourth-floor corridor in the Dirksen Senate office building where the deadly toxin was discovered Monday in the mail- room of Frist. ISLAMABAD Terrorists may have acquired nuke plans The nuclear black market that let Iran, Libya and North Korea acquire weapons technology from Pakistan under the noses of international monitors raises suspicions that terror groups also acquired bomb compo- nents or plans, experts told The Associated Press. Al-Qaida apparently has shown interest in acquiring nuclear technol- ogy. Two Pakistani nuclear scientists were detained in late 2001 after meeting Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan on suspicion of giving away secrets, but they were later released without being charged. The military, which controlled the weapons program, also is known to have elements who sympathize with the Taliban and bin Laden. VATICAN CITY Cardinal: Health of Pope has improved A top Vatican cardinal said in a magazine interview released yesterday that Pope John Paul II's health has recently improved and that talk of term limits is not relevant to the current papacy. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said he would not rule out term limits in the future. With people living longer "one also would consider new norms," he said. Asked by Famiglia Cristiana (Christ- ian Family), a leading Italian religious affairs magazine, how the pope was feeling, Ratzinger replied, "Well. Since Christmas his physical condition has been improving." The pope looked alert during his general audience yesterday. NEW YORK Ex-broker: Stewart sold stock after tip In the most damaging testimony yet against Martha Stewart, a former Merrill Lynch assistant said yesterday that the homemaking mogul ordered all her ImClone Systems stock sold after she learned the cominy founder vls dirip= ing his own shares. Douglas Faneuil, the government's star witness, said he passed the tip from bro- ker Peter Bacanovic to Stewart when she called on Dec. 27, 2001, on her way to a vacation in Mexico. Faneuil said he then placed a sell order for Stewart on her orders, netting about $228,000 for Stewart. - 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. 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Brady McCollough, Michael Nisson, Kyle O'Neill, Jake Rosenwasser, Steven Shears, Naweed Sikora, Matt Singer, Ryan Sosin, Anne Uible, Matt Venegoni ARTS Jason Roberts, Managing Editor 763.0379, artspage@mchgandallycom EDITORS: Adam Rottenberg, Alex Wolsky SENIOR EDITOR, WEEKEND MAGAZINE: Niamh Slevin EDITORS, WEEKEND MAGAZINE: Sravya Chlrumamilla, Sean Dailey SUB-EDITORS: Andrew M. Gaerig, Zach Mabee, Sarah Peterson, Melissa Runstrom, Doug Wernert STAFF: Jennie Adler, Aliya Chowdhri, Laurence Freedman, Katie Marie Gates, Matthew Grinshpun, Brandon Hang, Lynn Hasselbarth, Mary Hllemeier, Joel Hoard, Andrew Horowitz, Lia Izenberg, Megan Jacobs, Alexandra Jones, Michelle Kijek, Jiwon Lee, Ryan Lewis, Vanessa Miller, Jared Newman, Charles Paradis, James Pfent, Christopher Pitoun, Rebecca Ramsey, Scott Serilla, Jaya Soni, Anthea Stolz, Justin Weiner, Todd Weiser r r 4 I 6 r The Department of Philosophy The University of Michigan THE TANNER LECTURE ON HUMAN VALUES 2003-04 Christine Korsgaard Arthur Kingsley Porter Professor