2 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 6, 2004 NATION/WORLD A REVOLUTIONARY STEP FOR DEMOCRACY* Afg GHAZNI, Afghanistan (AP) - Watched over by American bodyguards and sharpshooters, Afghanistan's eter- nally optimistic interim president told a campaign rally of 10,000 people yester- day that this weekend's election is a key step in their recovery from decades of war and hardship. The gathering was one of three big rallies by leading presidential contenders on the most active day yet in a campaign that has mostly been waged behind closed doors, with the candidates courting the support of tribal elders who can influence how whole villages vote. It was only President Hamid Karzai's tan prepares Karzai told his security detail when they tried to keep the man away. "This is democracy. This is emotion!" People in the crowd danced and sang, while drummers beat out a traditional song. Karzai's main rival, former Interior Minister Yunus Qanooni, addressed more than 2,000 people at the Kabul sports sta- dium to appeal for support. Qanooni, an ethnic Tajik, is expected to finish second but hopes to hold Karzai below the major- ity vote needed to avoid a runoff. In the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, Uzbek strongman Abdul Rashid Dostum told several thousand people that Karzai's ' government had fallen proud short on promises of reconstruction and n, a improved security. Afterward, Dostum ianistan, mounted a brown horse - his elec- toral symbol - as the crowd pressed in n. around him, chant- ing his name. Hamid Karzai In the conserva- of Afghanistan tive south, about 500 leaders of Karzai's for elections NEWS IN BRIEF . WASHINGTON Officials prepare for flu shot shortage Most healthy adults should delay or skip getting flu shots this year so that the elderly and others most at risk from influenza can get scarce supplies, U.S. health officials said yesterday as they scrambled to manage a surprise - and record - shortage. British regulators abruptly shut down a major flu-shot supplier yesterday, cut- ting in half the U.S. supply of vaccine just as flu season is about to begin. The Bush administration urged the public and doctors to begin voluntary rationing of the roughly 54 million flu shots that will be available this year. Vaccine should be reserved for groups including babies and toddlers ages 6 to 23 months, people 65 or older, anyone with a chronic condition such as heart or lung disease and pregnant women. For everyone else, "take a deep breath. This is not an emergency," said Julie Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We don't want people to rush out and look for a vaccine today." The government cannot impound existing vaccine to enforce the recom- mendations. It has urged voluntary rationing before, during a shortage in 2000 - but never before has the nation lost half its supply. second campaign trip out of the cap- ital since an assas- sination attempt by Taliban reb- els last month, and security was tight. Truckloads of Afghan police lined the road leading to the dusty field, and everyone attend- ing the rally had to pass through security checkpoints "We want a Afghanistai stable Afgh a peaceful Afghanistai -r President c TEHRAN, Iran Iran claims missiles' range has increased Iran said yesterday its missiles now have a range of more than 1,200 miles, a substantial extension of their previously declared range. The old version of Iran's Shahab-3 missile had a range of 810 miles, capable of reaching Israel and various U.S. military bases in the Middle East. In August, Iran tested a new version of the Shahab-3, and Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani said the country was trying to improve the range and accuracy of the missile in response to efforts by Israel to upgrade its missile system. Several days ago, Iran said it had added a "strategic missile" to its arsenal after a successful test. "Today we have the power to fire missiles to a range of 2,000 kilometers" - about 1,250 miles, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani said yesterday, according o o to a report by the official Islamic Republic News Agency. "Experts know that a country that possesses this can obtain all subsequent stag- es" in missile production, Rafsanjani told staff at the Aerospace Research Institute in Tehran. as U.S. helicopters flew overhead. Karzai, the overwhelming favorite among the 18 contenders, said Saturday's election is an opportunity to build a new future for a country that has known noth- ing but war, drought and poverty for a quarter century. "Brothers and sisters of Afghanistan, I ask you to vote for me freely, with no pres- sure," Karzai told the crowd in Ghazni, about 75 miles south of Kabul. "We want a proud Afghanistan, a stable Afghani- stan, a peaceful Afghanistan." After the rally, he mingled in the crowd, shaking hands with an old man who pressed closer to meet him. "Don't push him! Don't push him!" ethnic Pashtun kins- men joined one of Karzai's brothers at a tribal council in a village near Kandahar to endorse the interim leader. Speakers lauded Karzai as the only man to stop infighting among Afghan warlords, keep Taliban rebels at bay and maintain the world's interest in helping the country. "He doesn't smoke and nobody ever heard him use bad language," said Mau- lawi Obeidullah, a white-bearded cleric. "He's a Muslim, a holy warrior and a great Afghan." The lackluster campaigning has been in part a product of Afghan-style politics, and in part due to fears that Taliban and al-Qaida rebels could attack campaign gatherings. Afghan President Hamid Karzai looks out over the crowd during a campaign stop in Ghazni, Afghanistan, 110 kilometers outside Kabul yesterday. 6 On Monday, Afghan soldiers and police raided a hideout where Taliban militants were suspected of preparing attacks to disrupt the presidential elec- tion, prompting a three-hour battle that killed seven insurgents, officials said yesterday. Seven police officers were reported killed yesterday when their vehicle struck a land mine close to the Pakistani border, and police said gunmen shot at a U.N. vehicle, wounding three Afghan election workers. The Taliban, which was driven from power by a U.S.-led coalition in late 2001, has staged a string of attacks on election workers, made frequent rocket assaults on U.S. bases and sprung occasional ambushes. But the rebels have not launched the major assault that many people had feared in the days leading up to the vote. Major new Iraq offensive launched BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - More than 3,000 U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a major operation yesterday against insur- gent strongholds just south of Baghdad, their second mission in five days to wrest control from militants whose attacks threaten national elections seen as cru- cial tostabilizing this turbulent country. The operation in the Babil province - an area notorious for kidnappings and ambushes and home to the fabled, ancient city of Babylon - follows last week's U.S.-Iraqi drive to oust insurgent forces from Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad. The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Iraqi forces went into action after a string of bombings set off clashes yes- terday between U.S. troops and gunmen west of Baghdad and in the northern city of Mosul, and as the discovery of five beheaded bodies over two days indicat- ed the pace of such grisly killings was also surging. The Marines and Iraqis punched their way across the Euphrates River, round- ed up 30 suspects, seized a suspected training camp and took control of a major bridge, the U.S. command said. The bridge, spanning the Euphrates, is believed to be a favored corridor linking insurgent areas around Baghdad, Fallu- jah and towns farther south. The area in which they were oper- ating was an estimated 40 to 45 miles northwest of ancient Babylon. The capi- tal-of Babil province is Hillah, about 65 miles south of Baghdad. The provincial capital sits near the Euphrates in a belt of rich agricultural land between that river and the nearby Tigris. Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said the tempo of attacks against insurgent strongholds would increase but acknowl- edged that the security challenge was a "source of worry." "I don't want to deny the impact of security situation nor minimize the size of the challenges we face," Allawi said during a speech yesterday in Baghdad. "I believe that many of the Iraqi people agree with me that we should not let ter- rorist forces decide our agenda. "It's true that the security situation in which the country is living commands most of your attention and maybe your questions too. It's true that it is a source of worry to many who are concerned The tempo of attacks against insurgent strongholds will increase, but security challenges remain a source of concern, Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said. about Iraq's future. But it's better than surrendering to the evil forces or giving in to their demands." As part of the campaign, Allawi's government has been negotiating with followers of renegade Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to halt weeks of fight- ing with U.S. troops in the Baghdad district Sadr City. During his speech, Allawi said the two sides had reached the basis of a deal and talks were con- tinuing. However, clashes between al-Sadr's militia and American troops continued despite the talks. Residents of the Shiite district reported hearing explosions last night. U.S. troops also battled gunmen in an insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad and in Mosul after a series of bombings. At least five American soldiers were wounded - underscoring the role of homemade explosives as the insurgent weapon of choice in a country awash in military ordnance. In Ramadi, about 70 miles west of Baghdad, American troops and insur- gents exchanged gunfire after a car bomb exploded, police Capt. Nassir Hassan said. The U.S. military had no report of the incident, but an Associated Press photographer saw two dead Iraqis and four wounded at the scene. Later, a roadside bomb detonated as a U.S. military convoy was passing near the Grand Mosque in the eastern section of Ramadi, wounding one soldier, said Marine spokesman 1st Lt. Lyle Gilbert. He said seven Iraqis were wounded. However, Diaa al-Haity at Ramadi General Hospital said four Iraqis were killed and two wounded. WASH INGTON Sen. Clinton targeted for fundraising violations The Republican-run Justice Department is setting its sights on Sen. Hillary Rod- ham Clinton's 2000 Senate campaign in pursuit of possible fundraising violations. In targeting a rising star in the Democratic Party, prosecutors are trying to gain the cooperation of an indicted businessman who raised the allegations, interviews and documents indicate. The FBI has told a U.S. magistrate in Los Angeles it has evidence the former first lady's campaign deliberately understated its fundraising costs so it would have more money to spend on elections, and prosecutors allege one of her fundraisers helped because he wanted a pardon from her husband. Noel Hillman, the Justice Department's top public corruption attorney and a career official, has met three times with lawyers for fundraiser Peter Paul to discuss a plea. WASHINGTON Lawmakers may allow foreign-born presidents It's not about Arnold, lawmakers indicated. But the California governor certainly was one of the rising stars on many minds yesterday as a Senate panel talked about amending the Constitution to let immi- grants occupy the White House. Measures discussed by the senators would remove the prohibition against for- eign-born presidents, opening the job to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, along with millions of others. "This restriction has become an anachronism that is decidedly un-American," said Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. - Compiled from Daily wire reports MARKE T UPDATE TUE. CLOSE CHANGE DOW JONES 10,177.68 - 38.86 NASDAQ 1,955.50 + 3.10 S&P 500 1,134.48 - 0.69 www.michigandaily.com The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Mondays during the spring and summer terms by students at the University of Michigan. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $110. Winter term (January through April) is $115, yearlong (September through April) is $195. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. Yearlong on-campus subscriptions are $40. Subscriptions 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 tothedaiy@michigandaily.com. 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