2 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 13, 2004 NATION WORLD WAR IN IRAQ Militants pull back; release 12 hostages Wihdrawal follows cease-fire between United States and Iraqi militants BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - As a tenu- ous cease-fire held in the Sunni city of Fallujah, a radical Shiite cleric was on the retreat yesterday, pulling his militia- men out of parts of the holy city of Najaf in hopes of averting a U.S. assault. Still, a U.S. commander said the American mission remained to "kill or capture" the cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr. Another toll from the week's violence: More than 40 foreigners reportedly were taken hostage by insurgents. Though a dozen had been released Sunday and yesterday, those still believed held included three Japanese and American truck driver Thomas Hamill, whose cap- tors had threatened to kill them. With quiet on both fronts, the scale of Iraq's worst fighting since the fall of Saddam Hussein became clearer: The military reported about 70 coalition troops and 700 Iraqi insurgents killed so far this month. It was the biggest loss of life on both sides since the end of major combat a year ago. A hospital official said more than 600 Iraqis were killed in Fallujah alone - mostly women, children and the elderly. The withdrawal of al-Sadr's al-Mahdi Army militia from police stations and government buildings in Najaf, Karbala and Kufa was a key U.S. demand. But al-Sadr followers rebuffed an American demand to disband the militia, which launched a bloody uprising in Baghdad and the south this month. "Al-Sadr issued instructions for his followers to leave the sites of police and the government," said lawyer Mur- tada al-Janabi, al-Sadr's representatives in the talks. American troops were seen on the outskirts of Najaf, where the radical cleric is thought to be in his office. The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, said "the mission of U.S. forces is to kill or capture Muqta- da al-Sadr." The son of Iraq's most powerful Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, met with al-Sadr in his office yesterday, telling him al-Sistani rejects any military move against al-Sadr and the holy city, a person who attended the meeting said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Al-Sistani is a moderate who has shunned anti-American violence. In addition to his son, the sons of Iraq's two other grand ayatollahs also were at the meeting, the source said. U.S.-allied Iraqis were negotiating separately with representatives from Fal- lujah and al-Sadr. The U.S. military has moved more forces into both areas and is threatening to push into the cities if talks fall through. The burst of violence since April 4 has exposed weaknesses in Iraq's U.S.- trained security forces. A battalion of the Iraqi army refused to fight in Fallujah, Sanchez said. And some police defected to al-Sadr's forces, said Gen. John Abizaid, the top commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East. In an effort to toughen the Iraqi forces, Abizaid said the U.S. military will reach out to former senior members of Saddam's disbanded army - a rever- sal in strategy. The military in the past has tried to avoid relying on top officials from the ousted regime. NEWS IN BRIEF !_ HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE WORLD WASHINGTON 9/11 commission to question Ashcroft The nation's top law enforcement officials say they recognized the threat posed by al-Qaida in the months leading up to the Sept. 11 attacks, but mem- bers of the commission looking into the attacks say they want proof that con- cern equaled action. The panel begins a new two-day hearing today with testimony from former FBI Director Louis Freeh, Attorney General John Ashcroft and former Attorney Gen- eral Janet Reno. Thomas Pickard, who served as acting FBI director in the months just before the attacks, and former CIA counterterrorism center director Cofer Black also are scheduled to testify. Aides to Ashcroft said he plans to rebut criticism that he was more focused on issues such as illegal drugs and gun crimes than terrorism before the attacks. They point to a May 9, 2001, Senate hearing in which Ashcroft testified his agency had "no higher priority" than protecting against terrorist attacks. In an article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, Freeh said the FBI "relentlessly did its job pursuing terrorists" before the attacks but was hampered by lack of resources and political will. MAA LEH ADUMIM, West Bank Sharon seeks to keep parts of West Bank Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday named five large West Bank settlement blocs he wants to keep as part of his final peace plan - and then sought U.S. sup- port for the "disengagement" effort. Sharon appeared to confirm Palestinian fears that Israel plans to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and four smaller West Bank settlements in order to strengthen its hold over other parts of the West Bank. Sharon spoke just hours before leaving for Washington where he will ask Presi- dent Bush to back the plan. Bush said yesterday that he would welcome a Gaza withdrawal as a "positive development," but it appears unlikely the U.S. president will meet Israel's request - a U.S. declaration that Israel can keep part of the West Bank in a final peace deal with the Palestinians. Such a declaration would undermine the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan, which envisions a Palestinian state by next year, with the borders to be negotiated AP PHOTO A Red Cross sign is reflected in a glass door of Canape Vert hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, yesterday. The international Committee for the Red Cross has spent thousands on protection upgrades at hospitals in Port-au-Prince and Gonalves, Haiti's two largest cities. T 1r 1 111TT 0 *e 91 In wake or rebeilion, tnaitian by both sides. DOVER, Del. e * * Chemical company hospitals increase security tocut 3,500 workers Z ofV PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Large coils of new barbed wire run along the fence outside Canape Vert hospital, and an armed guard checks visitors for weapons. Hospital security is the biggest chal- lenge for the International Committee for the Red Cross in Haiti, where patients have been shot or dragged away by armed gangs during and after the rebellion that ousted President Jean- Bertrand Aristide in February. "If tomorrow we have a similar crisis, will people respect the hospitals and see them as a place where the fighting should stop?" asked Felipe Donoso, head of the ICRC in Haiti. "The answer at this point is no. There has been a ter- rible erosion of values here." The Geneva-based ICRC has spent thousands of dollars upgrading security at hospitals in the capital Port-au-Prince and the northern city of Gonaives. The group also is advising smaller hospitals around the country on how to better protect their facilities, Donoso said. In the violent rebellion surrounding Aristide's ouster on Feb. 29, hundreds "If tomorrow we have a similar crisis, will people respect the hospitals and see them as a place where the fighting should stop?" - Felipe Donoso Head of International Committee for the Red Cross in Haiti of wounded Haitians were brought to hospitals such as Canape Vert. But all too often, the fighting between Aristide opponents and sup- porters continued inside hospital halls. Gun-toting gangs roamed the wards, looking to finish off wounded enemies. At least one man was killed in Gonaives's public hospital, and rob- beries and beatings occurred in hospi- tals all over the country. Police were just as likely as gangs to barge into operating rooms looking for enemies, Donoso said. "Aristide supporters and police would rush in here and rough people up," said Marys Edmond, a nurse at Canape Vert. "It was not an easy atmosphere to work in, and there's fear it will be like that again." A disarmament campaign by the U.S.-led multinational force of about 3,600 soldiers has barely made headway. For a month after Aristide left, French troops guarded Canape Vert and other hospitals in Port-au-Prince. Now, American, Canadian and Chilean troops join the French in reg- ularly patrolling them. Josette Bijoux, Haiti's interim health minister, said in a radio inter- view that she had asked the multina- tional force to increase hospital patrols. "We are working mainly on security right now," she said. Last month, U.S. soldiers burst into Canape Vert with M-16s at the ready, pursuing a report of an injured Ameri- can citizen. They later apologized. DuPont Co. will eliminate 3,500 jobs, or about 6 percent of its global work force, by the end of this year as part of cost-cutting plans it announced late last year. The Wilmington-based chemical giant said yesterday it will cut about 3,000 positions, roughly two-thirds of them in the United States and Canada, and expects to trim 500 jobs through attri- tion. DuPont also will eliminate 450 contractor positions, most of them in the United States. The company announced in December that it would trim $900 million in costs over the next two years by cutting jobs, streamlining product lines and making other changes. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Charles Holliday Jr. sent employees an e-mail yesterday. WASHINGTON Charities speak out against tax revisions Charities fear that potential donors may conclude it's not worth the hassle to donate used cars if Congress follows through with plans to clamp down on inflated tax deductions. Lawmakers started looking into the subject a year ago when government auditors discovered a wide gap between proceeds reaped by charities and the value of donated cars claimed on tax returns. Charities sometimes make pennies on the dollar of a car's estimated value. The gap occurs because charities typ- ically sell donated cars at dealer auc- tions for wholesale prices. Donors calculate their tax deductions by esti- mating the car's retail value, sometimes ignoring its condition and mileage. Congress and the Treasury Department want to narrow the gap. BANNU, Pakistan Tribesmen ready to negotiate with troops A Pakistani army cordon tightening around their mud-brick compounds, leaders of a tribe along the Pakistan- Afghanistan border say they are desper- ate to avoid bloodshed as a deadline to turn over al-Qaida suspects rapidly draws near. Four elders of the Jani Khel tribe said they are ready to negotiate with the mili- tary, although the leaders insist they aren't harboring foreign terrorists and their mountainous land is too forbidding for Osama bin Laden and his men. The elders descended the rugged peaks of Shawal, in North Waziristan, to meet with The Associated Press this weekend and give their side of the conflict. - Compiled fom Daily wire reports Court OKs national Ephedra ban NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - A federal judge allowed a nationwide ban on dietary supplements containing ephedra to take effect yesterday, turning aside a plea from two manufacturers. Ephedra, once hugely popular for weight loss and bodybuilding, has been linked to 155 deaths, including that of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler a year ago. U.S. District Judge Joel Pisano refused to grant a temporary restrain- ing order that would have prevented the Food and Drug Administration from banning the products. After years of fighting manufacturers over the risks, the FDA announced in December that it was banning the sale of the amphetamine-like herb -- the first such ban of a dietary supplement. "These products pose unacceptable health risks, and any consumers who are still using them should stop imme- diately," Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said. NVE Pharmaceuticals of Newton, manufacturer of the diet supplement Stacker 2, had hoped to head off the ban, arguing its product is safe if used as directed. It was joined by a second company, the National Institute for Clinical Weight Loss, manufacturer of a product called Thermalean. The judge said the manufacturers did not meet several legal requirements, including proving that they are likely to win the case and that they would suffer irreparable harm if the ban took effect. Pisano's ruling means the ban will be in effect at least until NVE's lawsuit can be heard. No trial date has been set. Ephedra sales already had plummet- ed because of publicity about the risks, especially after Bechler's death a year ----------- Awest Jlpartment (6mmunitj in &4nn ellror * Minutes from U of M, downtown, and major freeways * 1-2-3 bedroom apartment homes (with 1-3 bathrooms!) * Unique, Spacious floor plans with vaulted ceilings and wood-burning fireplaces * Pool, hot tub, dry sauna, tennis court, 24/7 fitness center, in home washer/dryer * On the bus route COOKER HAPPY HOUR: M-F (4-7) $1 OFF DOMESTIC BEERS AND WELL DRINKS 112 OFF ALL APPETIZERS OPEN UNTIL 11PM EVERY DAY Plymouth Rd. across from the watertower (2000 Commonwealth Blvd.) (734) 761-5858 ^hxhs. ago. Three states - New York, Illinois and California - prohibited the stimu- lant on their own. "Ephedra has killed more than 100 individuals and injured thousands of others," said Bruce Silverglade, legal director of the Washington-based Cen- ter for Science in the Public Interest. "The only problem is, it took the FDA almost 10 years to ban the substance." Unlike medications, which must be proven safe and effective before they are allowed to be sold, federal law allows dietary supplements to be mar- keted without any such proof. To curb a supplement, the FDA must show it poses a significant health threat. NVE maintains that the FDA failed to prove such a threat if the supplement is taken correctly, and was swayed by the outcry over ephedra deaths. "The FDA chose to ignore valid sci- ence that showed that there wasn't a problem," said Walter Timpone, a lawyer for NVE. "In 1999, (there were) 104 deaths as a result of aspirin inges- tion. Are we going to ban aspirin now?" Andrew Clark, a Justice Department lawyer arguing the case for the FDA, said the ban is based on sound science. Research shows ephedra can speed heart rate and constrict blood vessels even in seemingly healthy people, and is particularly risky for those who have heart disease or high blood pressure or engage in strenuous exercise. GRADUATES! CIt~ R Wake up. Get coffee. Change the world. Spend 10 months (Sept-June) in full-time community service in the metro Detroit area - Receive a $4,725 scholarship, weekly stipend & health benefits * Tutor and mentor children " Lead after school programs and NEWS Tomislav Ladika, Managing Editor 763.2459, news@nlchlgandally.com EDITORS: Jeremy Berkowitz, Carmen Johnson, Andrew Kaplan, Emily Kraack STAFF: Farayha Arrine. Melissa Benton David Branson, Andrea Carone, Adrian Chen, Ashley Dinges, Adhiraj Dutt, Victoria Edwards, Yasmin Elsayed, Cianna Freeman, Donn M. Fresard. Alison Go, Michael Gurovitsch, Marie Handfield, Aymar Jean, Anne Joling, C. Price Jones. 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