4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, November 28, 2005
OPINION
Wbe £idii &dan I
JASON Z. PESICK
Editor in Chief
SUHAEL MOMIN
SAM SINGER
Editorial Page Editors
ALISON Go
Managing Editor
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT
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ANN ARBOR, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
NOTABLE
QUOTABLE
It tastes good."
- Zhang Zuoji, governor of Heilongjiang
province in China, upon tasting the city
of Harbin's water to assure residents
it is safe to drink, as reported
yesterday by The Associated Press. A chemical
explosion on Nov. 13 dumped 100 tons of
benzene into the nearby Songhua River.
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President Bush's liberal war LISTEN
Hear the author discuss this
SUHAEL MOMIN NO SURRENDER column at www.michigandaiy.com.
T he term "neo- Standard "bring-the-troops-home-now" as yet, we haven't honored it.
con" is tossed logic proceeds roughly as follows: Iraq isn't Leaving in the foreseeable future would
around in liberal our country, our invasion wasn't justified, our no doubt save American lives. And that
circles like a curse. Neo- soldiers are dying for a war we can't justify, I believe is why a rapid pullout is gaining
conservatism, suppos- let's leave. If the Left had raised similar claims political popularity. But in order to leave
edly, represents all that before the war in 2003 - if those claims had early, we have to renege on our commitment
is wrong with American been persuasive in 2003 - they would have to the Iraqi people. We have to leave their
foreign policy. Yet for all been relevant. But just as kids aren't supposed nation - which we invaded and destabilized
practical purposes, neo- to cry over spilled milk, the Left shouldn't be - less secure, less safe and less hospitable
conservatism isn't new or refighting a political fight it lost in 2003. than we found it. We have to publicly aban-
conservative; the concept The fact is that the war did start. Saddam is don our commitment to liberal constitution-
of using American power to establish democracy no more. U.S. troops, whether the Left likes it al democracy. We have to adopt a radically
and protect freedom is at its core a liberal, inter- or not, are deeply involved in Iraq. Advocat- unilateral and selfish foreign policy - one
nationalist idea. Of course, liberals and neocon- ing a pullout just because the war wasn't justi- that few Democrats, internationalists or
servatives diverge when it comes to strategy and fied conveniently sidesteps three bloody years multilateralists would otherwise accept.
execution - but they stand together against more of war and the unavoidable reality that U.S. At this point, battling over the whether the
traditional, actually conservative isolationism. troops are holding Iraq together. war was justified is futile. Even if Democrats
In the modern era, it was President John F. When America marched to war in 2003, it create a broad consensus against Bush's march
Kennedy, a New England liberal, who first sug- signed a costly contract with Iraq: We'll top- to war, cutting and running from Iraq today
gested that American power could serve as a ple your dictator because it's in our interest, because of mistakes made in 2003 wouldn't be
force for good. He detested the idea of impe- but we'll set the foundation for a new demo- the "liberal" thing to do. Kennedy realized in
rialism (He made that clear.) but was willing cratic, liberal, sovereign Iraq. The costs of this 1960 that America's power could be leveraged
to "pay any price, bear any burden" to ensure arrangement weren't secret; anyone willing to create a freer, more democratic world order,
the success of liberty. In his day, conservatives to listen would have heard the military com- and liberals today accept that belief each time
denounced the message as irresponsible hubris. manders, civilian strategists and Middle East they suggest intervention to stop genocides and
But the tables have turned. Today, America experts warn an invasion of Iraq would entail comparable atrocities around the world.
has a conservative president enacting Kenne- billions of dollars, thousands of lives and years This is not to say Kennedy would have
dy's vision in Iraq - with Democrats and lib- of effort. Nonetheless, about 90 percent of started this war, that Bush started this war in
erals leading the charge for disengagement. surveyed adults agreed that toppling Saddam the best manner or that the administration's
On a cynical level, it is the perfect time was in America's best interest. Both houses of deceptive campaign for war is acceptable. This
for Democrats and war opponents to reassert Congress approved the war by wide margins. is to say all those concerns are immaterial. By
themselves. For the first time, casualty-averse And with captains Bush, Cheney and Rums- toppling Saddam, America signed up for a
Americans are turning against the war. For the feld at the helm, we sailed down the Euphrates long-term commitment. Liberals - who have
first time, Democratic moderates are joining to Baghdad. historically supported a foreign policy that
with the party's leftist wing to loudly oppose That events did not transpire as Bush and actively tackles humanitarian crises all over
the war. For the first time, calls for a "pullout Co. promised does not mean we can abandon the globe - should be the first to understand
timetable" are gathering strength in the Repub- the commitment we made to Iraqis. We still why leaving now would be catastrophic.
lican Senate. toppled a foreign government and dismantled
This is not good news for President Bush. its military, social programs and security ser- Momin can be reached
But it could be worse news for Iraqis. vices. Our pledge to rebuild still exists. And, at momin@michigandaily.com.
VIEWPOINT
The Ludacris 'debacle:' politics as usual
BY MELTON LEE (outside of Michigan vs. Ohio State games, how the Daily is now criticizing the concert
of course). 2) Thousands of people from all as a poor production - despite the review
Wow. As the chief student organizer of walks of life came together to experience written by its own music editor (who actually
the Ludacris show, I've been confused and A-list entertainment and party like never attended the show) that directly contradicts
amused at how the concert and its goals before. 3) Department of Public Safety these criticisms (Hill 'acts a fool' for Ludacris',
have been grossly convoluted and misrepre- officials said it was the safest, most well- 11/04/2005). Alrighty then.
sented in the Daily over the week - so let's run pop music show they'd ever been a part So you see, politics can be ugly and
clear some things up! of, setting the precedent for future student- annoying, but they are what they are. Alas,
First, the primary goal of the concert was run major event initiatives. 4) Beyond that, it's always much easier to sit back as a spec-
never to make money. This concert, like it was a historical achievement, being the tator, criticizing things from the sidelines
every other Michigan Student Assembly first major rap concert this campus has ever - with the sheer luxury of hindsight -
initiative, was not a financial venture (as seen - ever. 5) We only spent $20,000 to rather than actually doing something tan-
outlined in the unanimously passed MSA pull it all off! 6) What more do you want? gible to make positive things happen. MSA
funding resolution) - it was an investment But of course, it's impossible to please stays on the grind, and it does what it does
in the vitality of the campus community everybody (especially people with long- for its constituents. The students told us
and culture. Of course we wanted to be able established biases and motives behind slam- they wanted a major concert, so guess what,
to generate as much revenue as possible, but ming every move MSA makes). Take for we brought them a major concert - and a
even if the show had completely sold out, instance the handful of people that make up damn good one at that.
Hill Auditorium just didn't have enough the Daily's editorial board: They preferred a The Ludacris concert stands firmly as an
seats to allow us to make money from the more "relevant" act than Ludacris that would unparalleled success. But please, don't just
show at the price we set for the seats - and spark more "meaningful political discourse." take my word for it. You can ask the thou-
that's okay. Gotcha. Well, conservatives slammed us sands of screaming students, faculty, staff
Why? Get this: Colleges are not concert and protested when we brought Oscar-win- and locals who packed Hill Auditorium on
promoters, we're programming bodies. For ning director Michael Moore to campus show night. But don't stop there. Ask Uni-
the unaware, schools don't host major con- last year (an event supported by the Daily). versity administrators. Ask DPS. Ask Hill
certs to make money (like a business); we Okay. When we held our Sept. 11 Confer- Auditorium staffers. Hell, ask The Ann
do it to put on a great show that is attrac- ence on campus last year with former U.N. Arbor News. Ask the University commu-
tive to as many students as possible and is weapons inspector Scott Ritter, U.S. Senator nity at large whether it feels the 20 grand
financially affordable (which means stu- Carl Levin and CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin, was money well spent.
dents get to see a music and movie super- the Daily said it was "marked by politics." Afterward, you'll have no problem under-
star like Ludacris for $25 instead of $75, Fine. This year, we loosened up and brought standing exactly what all of this politically
right in their backyard) - and that's exact- A-list entertainer Ludacris live in concert so motivated B.S. you've been reading really
ly what we did. students can have fun for a change, and we is: LUDACRIS!
Here's the bottom line: 1) The Ludac- get slammed again by the Daily for not being
ris concert was arguably the most fun and "political" enough - big surprise, right Lee is an LSA senior, MSA representative
exciting event to take place on this campus (They have to have something to write about, and member of the MSA Budget Priorities
for as far back as most of us can remember of course.)? So it's really not surprising to see Committee.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
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Editorial Board Members: Amy Anspach, Reggie Brown, Gabrielle D'Angelo, John Davis,
Whitney Dibo, Milly Dick, Sara Eber, Jesse Forester, Mara Gay, Jared Goldberg, Ashwin
Jagannathan, Theresa Kennelly, Mark Kuehn, Will Kerridge, Kirsty McNamara, Rajiv Prab-
Individuals can choose to be
transgender, run narked
To THE DAILY:
tarily choose to change their sex, and now
they want to extend the University bylaws to
include this vague idea of "gender identity
and expression." What does that even mean?
If I want to run around naked on campus,
this foggy notion of "gender identity and
expression." Do not make a mockery of such
a fine institution.
Joshua Birk
LSA sophomore