2 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 9, 2005 NATION/WORLD Bush: Mideast democracy progressing NEWS IN BRIEF WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush said yesterday that authori- tarian rule in the Middle East has begun to ease, and he insisted anew that Syria must end its nearly three- decade occupation of Lebanon. "Today, I have a message for the people of Lebanon: All the world is witnessing your great movement of conscience," Bush said during a speech on terrorism at National Defense University. "The American people are at your side." Nearly 500,000 pro-Syrian dem- onstrators in Lebanon, however, had a different message. The mass protest in Beirut by people chant- ing anti-American slogans and car- rying placards that read, "America is the source of terrorism," far out- numbered the 70,000 protesters who shouted "Syria out" on the streets on Monday. TheBush administration brushed aside the anti-American sentiment, saying it was happy to see people peacefully express their views. Bush, undaunted, listed nations - Russia, France, Germany and Saudi Arabia - that have called for Syria's with- drawal from Lebanon. "Freedom will prevail in Leba- non," he said. "History is moving quickly and leaders in the Middle East have important choices to make," Bush said. "The world community ... has presented the Syrian government with one of those choices: to end its nearly 30-year occupation of Leba- non or become even more isolated from the world." The war on terrorism was the theme of Bush's re-election cam- paign, yet he has focused in the early days of his second term on reform- ing Social Security. His wide-ranging speech was filled with what he called "welcome signs" of democratic reform in the Middle East, including elections in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Palestin- ian territories. "The chances of democratic prog- ress in the broader Middle East have AP PHOTO A Lebanese policeman observes a pro-Syrian demonstration in Beirut yesterday that drew an estimated 500,000. The protest was organized by the militant Islamist group Hezbollah to voice opposition to foreign intervention. seemed frozen in place for decades," he said. "Yet, at last, clearly and sud- denly, the thaw has begun." Bush said America was safer because dozens of nations have stepped up their efforts to fight ter- rorists. Bush cited Pakistan's capture of more than 100 extremists across its nation, Britain's arrest of an al-Qaeda operative who had provided detailed casing reports on American targets to senior al-Qaeda leaders, the Ger- man arrest of extremists planning attacks against U.S. and coalition targets in Iraq, and the Philippines' new Anti-Terrorism Task Force's success in helping capture more than a dozen terrorist suspects. Former White House security adviser Richard Clarke disagrees that more democracy will mean less terrorism. "President Bush's democracy-pro- motion policy will be appropriate and laudable at the right rime in the right nations, but it is not the cure for terrorism," Clark, the former top counterterrorism adviser to Bush, said in a recent opinion piece. He said growing resentment is breeding terrorism, "but it is chiefly resent- ment of us, not of the absence of democracy." The speech by Bush did not have the unilateralist overtones of previ- ous addresses. He trained his most forceful rhet- oric on Syria and Iran, nations that he said have long histories of sup- porting terrorist groups determined to sow division and chaos in the Middle East. "The time has come for Syria and Iran to stop using murder as a tool of policy and to end all support for ter- rorism," the president said. Bush again rejected Syrian Presi- dent Bashar Assad's pledge for a partial pullout of troops in Lebanon. The/plan set no deadline for a com- plete withdrawal of the 14,000 Syr- ian troops and intelligence agents. Bush has said that all Syrian mili- tary forces and intelligence person- nel must withdraw for the Lebanese elections in May to be free and fair. At the White House, Bush received support from former presidents Bush and Clinton as they provided an update on aid for tsunami victims in South Asia. Former President George H.W. Bush said events in Lebanon, the recent elections in Iraq and Egyp- tian President Hosni Mubarak's recent promise to allow multi-can- didate presidential elections are encouraging. "There's still a lot of work to do. But my own view is, it's positive," he said. Clinton said: "Sooner or later, the Syrians are going to have to get out of there and give the Lebanese their country back. And I think the fact that the Lebanese are in the street, demanding it, is wonderful. EREZ CROSSING, Israel Israel will turn over two Palestinian towns Israel will turn over two West Bank towns to Palestinian control in the coming days, Israel's defense minister announced yesterday after meeting the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, but disagreements remained over how much land around the towns would be transferred. The two-hour meeting at the main crossing point between Gaza and Israel was Abbas's first with an Israeli leader since a Feb. 8 summit, when he and Prime Min- ister Ariel Sharon declared a truce to end four years of bloodshed. Transferring control of five West Bank towns was part of the truce package. Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Israel would hand over control of Tulkarem and Jericho in the coming days, but he did not say exactly when, which would be first, or how much territory would be included - reflecting disagree- ments with the Palestinians. "In the next few days we will apparently transfer control over two ... towns, after a meeting of security officers" today, Mofaz said. "We are talking about Tulkarem and Jericho." ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia Chechen leader of Beslan massacre killed Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov, blamed by Russia for last year's school hostage crisis and other deadly terrorist acts, was killed during a raid, the head of the Federal Security Service told President Vladimir Putin yesterday. One report said he was killed accidentally by his bodyguards. The shirtless body of the gray-bearded Maskhadov, lying on a concrete floor, was shown on Russia's NTV channel. The death of Maskhadov, 53, would be a coup for Russia in its conflict with the Chechens and a political boost for Putin after a series of setbacks. Even beyond any possible revenge by Chechens, there could be longer-term implica- tions because Maskhadov was the most prominent voice for moderation among the rebels and commanded respect in many European countries. His killing might have closed off the clearest path to talks ending the bloodshed that has raged in Chechnya for much of a decade. BAGHDAD, Iraq U.S. to investigate Italian hostage shooting The U.S.-led coalition in Iraq ordered a follow-up investigation yesterday into the fatal shooting of an Italian intelligence officer as he accompanied a former hostage to Baghdad's airport last week. The announcement came after clashes erupted earlier yesterday between U.S. troops and insurgents in the troubled city of Ramadi, west of the capital, leaving at least two people dead, officials said. In the capital, gunmen assassinated the deputy chief of the Interior Ministry's immigration office, Gen. Ghazi Mohammed Issa, in a drive-by shooting that al- Qaida in Iraq purportedly claimed responsibility for in an Internet statement. The claim could not be verified. Volleys of automatic weapons-fire erupted in central Baghdad late Tuesday near a main hotel housing foreign journalists. It was not immediately known what sparked the violence. NEW YORK Bill Clinton to have minor heart surgery Six months after undergoing heart bypass surgery, former President Clinton will return to the hospital this week to have a rare buildup of fluid and scar tissue removed from his chest. "I feel fine," Clinton said yesterday in Washington, adding that he plans to play golf in Florida a day before the operation. Doctors at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, where Clinton is scheduled to have the procedure tomorrow, said the surgery is low- risk. During the procedure, known as a decortication, doctors will remove scar tissue that is pressing down on his left lung. The surgery will be done either through a small incision or with a video-assisted thorascope inserted between his ribs. The former president said doctors discovered the condition during a recent X- ray, and he called the surgery a "routine sort of deal." China threatens Taiwan with new law BEIJING (AP) - China unveiled a law yesterday authorizing an attack if Tai- wan moves toward formal independence, increasing pressure on the self-ruled island while warning other countries not to interfere. Taiwan denounced the legis- lation as a "blank check to invade" and announced war games aimed at repelling an attack. The proposed anti-secession law, read out for the first time before the ceremo- nial National People's Congress, doesn't specify what actions might invite a Chi- nese attack. "If possibilities for a peaceful reunifi- cation should be completely exhausted, the state shall employ nonpeaceful means and other necessary measures to protect China's sovereignty and territorial integ- rity," Wang Zhaoguo, deputy chairman of the congress's Standing Committee, told the nearly 3,000 members gathered in the Great Hall of the People. Beijing claims Taiwan, which split from China since 1949, as part of its ter- ritory. The communist mainland repeat- edly has threatened to invade if Taiwan tries to make its independence perma- nent, and the new law doesn't impose any new conditions or make new threats. It lays out for the first time legal require- ments for military action. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Coun- cil, which handles the island's China policy, said the law gives China's mili- tary "a blank check to invade Taiwan" and "exposed the Chinese communists' attempt to use force to annex Taiwan and to be a regional power." The island's vice president, Annette Lu, accused Beijing of violating interna- tional norms for peacefully resolving dis- putes, as Taipei prepared for an invasion. Large-scale military exercises would be held from mid-April to August, with troops practicing knocking down Chi- nese missiles and fighting communist commandos, said Taiwan's Defense Ministry spokesman Liu Chih-chien. Mainland lawmakers immediately expressed support for the anti-seces- sion measure, which is sure to be passed when they vote March 14. The congress routinely approves all legislation already decided by Communist Party leaders. "We must join hands and absolute- ly not allow Taiwan to separate from China," said Chang Houchun, a busi- nessman and member of congress from southern China's Guangdong province. Chinese officials say the law was prompted in part by Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian's plans for a referendum on a new constitution for the island that Beijing worries might include a declara- tion of independence. Chen says the vote would be aimed at building a better political system, not at formalizing Taiwan's de facto independence. Chinese leaders have appealed in recent months for Taiwan to return to talks on unification. They insist that Tai- wanese leaders first declare that the two sides are "one China." In Taipei, Chen Chin-jun, a legislative leader of the ruling Democratic Progres- sive Party, said the island wants peace and trade with China. However, he said, "We will not accept any resolution to allow the Chi- nese Communists to unilaterally decide Taiwan's future, and it will only antago- nize the Taiwanese." China and Taiwan have no official ties and most direct travel and shipping between the two sides is banned. Taiwan- ese companies have invested more than $100 billion in the mainland and there is a thriving indirect trade. Wang said the law promises that Chi- nese military forces would try to avoid harming Taiwanese civilians. He said the rights of Taiwanese on China's mainland also would be protected. Until recently, China's military was thought to be incapable of carrying out an invasion across the 100-mile-wide 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 $110. Winter term (January through April) is $115, yearlong (September through April) is $195. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. 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 tothedaily@michigandaily.com. AP PHOTO Wang Zhaoguo, vice chairman of the National People's Congress Stand- ing Committee, explains the anti-secession law during a session of the National People's Congress in Beijing's Great Hall of the People yesterday. Taiwan Strait. But Beijing has spent billions of dollars buying Russian- made submarines, destroyers and other high-tech weapons to extend the reach of the 2.5 million-member People's Liberation Army. The United States has appealed to both sides to settle Taiwan's status peacefully, with no unilateral changes by either side. Washington is Taiwan's main arms supplier and could be drawn into any conflict. 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