2A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 10, 2006 NATION/WORLD Egypt's head questions Shiites' loyalty NEWS IN BRIEF /{li 4 Mubarak angers Iraqi leaders by saying most Shiites' main loyalties lie with Iran CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak angered Iraqi leaders yesterday by saying Shiites there and across the Middle East are more loyal to Iran than to their own countries as he gave a startlingly frank warning about possible civil war in Iraq. The flap highlights the escalating ten- sions between predominantly Sunni Arab countries - alarmed by possible Kurdish and Shiite domination of their neighbor - and Iraqis who say they are not getting enough support from their Arab broth- ers. .rs"Definitely Iran has influence on Shiites," Mubarak said in an interview broadcast Saturday evening by Al-Ara- biya television. "Shiites are 65 percent of the Iraqis ... Most of the Shiites are loyal to Iran, and not to the countries they are living in." He also said civil war "has almost started" in Iraq. "At the moment, Iraq is almost close to destruction,"he warned. Mubarak has rarely commented on the situation in Iraq and his statements usually are broad, vague expressions of concern over the violence and political turmoil there. Arab leaders also gener- ally avoid pointed criticism of their fellow leaders. So the interview startled not only Iraqis but also the Shiites who form large communities in a number of Mideast nations - particularly the Gulf, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Some of them said Mubarak's comments only fuel momen- tum toward civil war. Mubarak's spokesman, Suleiman Awad, tried Sunday to soften the impact. He said the president was talking about Iiw~ miu ui ~ a ai~wv aiuiu mumu wY u * i . .J ' zIJZI i Y^! WASHINGTON Intruder makes it to White House lawn A screaming intruder made it onto the front lawn of the White House yesterday while President Bush was at home before being apprehended by Secret Service officers. Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren described the man as "someone who has come to our attention in the past as a fence jumper." The bearded man, wearing blue jeans and a white T-shirt that said "God Bless America," jumped the fence outside the White House and ran across the north lawn while repeatedly yelling, "I am a victim of terrorism!" Members of the Secret Service emergency response team, including one holding a barking dog, chased the man with their guns drawn and surrounded him near the row of cameras set up for television stand-ups. "I have intelligence information for the president," he said, waving his arms in the air. "I'm not afraid of you," he screamed at the officers who were ordering him to the ground with guns drawn. JERUSALEM Israeli officals rule out peace talks with Abbas Top Israeli security officials yesterday recommended cutting all ties with the Hamas-led Palestinian government and ruled out peace talks with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, as long as the Islamic militant group refuses to renounce violence. The recommendation, which essentially approved what has been Israeli policy since Hamas won elections in January, raised the likelihood that Israel will push forward with acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's plan to impose a border in the West Bank by 2010. In a statement, the ministers said there will be "no personal boycott" of Abbas, but rejected any substantive negotiations with the Palestinian leader - a moderate who hopes to restart peace talks. The Israeli Security Cabinet, a small group of top government officials, made the recommendation amid increasing Israeli military pressure on Hamas in response to Palestinian rocket fire into southern Israel. CARACAS, Venezuela Chavez threatens to expel U.S. ambassador Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez -said the U.S. ambassador was "provoking the Venezuelan people" and threatened yesterday to expel the American diplomat, whose convoy was chased by pro-government protesters on motorcycles. Chavez condemned the crowd of protesters for pelting U.S. Ambassador Wil- liam Brownfield's car with eggs and tomatoes, saying his government "rejects any kind of aggression." But he suggested Brownfield, who was returning from a visit to a ballpark in Caracas' poor Coche neighborhood, a Chavez stronghold, sought a confrontation by failing to advise authorities adequately of his travel plans and venturing into a place where his presence was unwelcome. I AP PHOTO Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, center, and President Omar El-Bashir inspect an honor guard as Mubarak arrives in Khartoum, Sudan last week for talks with El-Bashir on the conflict in the Darfur region. Shiite sympathy with Iran "in view of its hosting of (Shiite) holy shrines." "The president's statement about Iraq was only reflecting his increasing wor- ries about the deteriorating situation and his keenness to maintain Iraq's national unity'" Awad said in a statement carried by the state news agency MENA. That did not seem to mollify Iraqi leaders. Iraqi interim leadership said they were "annoyed" by Mubarak's remarks. "This is a stab in their (Shiites') patrio- tism and their civilization," Iraq's three highest-ranking Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni Arab leaders - President Jalal Tal- abani, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and Parliament Speaker Adnan Pachachi - said in a joint statement yesterday. "Reality and historical facts show that the Shiites always have been patriotic and genuine Iraqis. This unfair accusation against Shiites is baseless," Talabani, a Kurd, later told Iraqi television. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari complained to Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Aboul Gheit about Mubarak's remarks, an Iraqi diplomat in Cairo said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the infor- mation. Mubarak's comments are likely to fuel complaints by Iraq's new Shiite and Kurdish leaders that Sunni-led Arab nations are biased toward the country's Sunni Arab minority and do not consider their government legitimate. Last month, Zebari lashed out at Arab leaders in a summit in Khartoum, Sudan - that Mubarak did not attend - telling them they are to blame if Iran has influ- ence because they have not supported Iraq since Saddam Hussein's fall in 2003. Iraq has demanded Arab countries fol- low through on promises to send ambas- sadors to Baghdad, and it sees their failure to do so as a lack of support and recognition. Iraqi leaders also want their Arab neighbors to forgive their debt and condemn the insurgents, most of whom are Sunni Arabs. VA hospital helps vets cope with trauma Nepal opposition vows anti-monarchy action I Veterans of wars in Iraq, -Afghanistan suffer from brutal memories of conflict HINES, Ill. (AP) - Josh Dobbelstein drives as close to the middle of the road as he can. Over on the side, in a plastic bag or stuffed in the carcass of a dead Kdog, that's where he knows the enemy intent on killing him hides bombs. Just the other day he dove to the floor of a vehicle he ;vas riding in when he mistook the sound of a trucker hitting his brakes for a machine gun They are the kinds of precautions that keep soldiers at war alive. But Dobbelstein left Iraq more than 16 months ago, and for him they are vestiges of a war he can't seem to shake. He's trying, though. The 23-year-old is getting help from a clinic at Hines VA Hospital just outside Chi- cago set up to help veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder. Programs for veterans suffering from what once was called "shell shock" aren't unique. At Hines, though, every veteran who comes in for treatment, no matter the reason, is checked out for post-traumatic stress disorder. And they all have access both to individual therapy and a support group with fellow veterans. "If they register for any type of care, for a rash or depression, they will be screened," said Chirag Raval, a psychiatrist at Hines who has treated about 150 vet- erans at the clinic he established after serving three months in Iraq. The effort, which Hines officials say is unlike any in the nation, is evidence that VA hospitals and mili- tary leaders are finding new ways to locate and help veterans returning Iraq in Afghanistan. In Florida, for example, the Pensacola Naval Hos- pital has placed advertisements in civilian newspa- per to make families - not just veterans themselves - aware of its counseling program. Navy hospitals are also reaching families through a series of online videos about post-traumatic stress syndrome. "They are a different breed and they need to be han- dled differently," Raval said of the Iraq and Afghani- stan veterans. A cornerstone of the treatment is the recognition that while these veterans share experiences familiar to anyone who has seen combat, their war was different. "You never really knew the enemy," said Dob- belstein, whose job included scouring roadways for explosive devices. "It could be the guy standing next to you who detonated the bomb, for all you knew." That meant never dropping your guard. "It's like you're driving down the highway, and you're like, 'Just let me see it, let me see it, don't let me miss something that could get us killed,"' Dobbelstein said. Raval said because everyone from truck drivers to infantrymen were at risk, virtually all of his patients have seen a bomb explode or known someone injured or killed. "On the base where I was, the psychiatrist before me was injured when a mortar exploded in front of him," he said. "So, nobody's safe." Because the focus is on a particular group of vet- erans, those who come to Hines recognize quickly they aren't the only ones who, for example, become enraged when another vehicle gets too close when they're driving. "I know I'm not alone, I'm not the only one feeling this," said Jim Dinella, a former Marine and member of the support group at Hines. One recent study found a third of U.S. soldiers who served in Iraq the first year of the war later sought mental health treatment - a statistic that suggests thousands of veterans might need help. The Department of Veterans Affairs says it is step- ping up its efforts to offer psychological help - point- ing out that besides readjustment counseling at more than 200 community-based Vet Centers established after Vietnam, 44 Returning Veterans Outreach and Care programs were established last year and more than 40 more are scheduled to open. But there is concern that many of today's veterans aren't getting the help they need. One reason is that they aren't asking for it out of fear they could derail their military careers. "A lot of guys, they see it as a nick in their armor: 'If want to do 20 (years) or more, I don't want to be seen as a nut case,"' said Capt. Jeffrey Weyeneth, a psychiatrist at Pensacola Naval Hospital, who esti- mates that continued counseling programs reach only about a tenth of the troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Steve Robinson, director of the National Gulf War Center, a veterans advocacy group, says the bigger problem is that there aren't enough places for veterans to get help. As a result, Robinson said it's unclear how many veterans didn't get help because it wasn't avail- able when they asked for it. The crisis in this Himalayan nation deepened yesterday as angry crowds demand- ing the restoration of democracy took to the streets across Nepal in defiance of a daytime curfew, throwing stones at security forces and burning government offices. With King Gyanendra and his swelling opposition both refusing to back down, the situation appeared to be reaching its most volatile point since he seized absolute power more than a year ago. The well-armed communist insurgency has allied itself with the political opposition, which vowed Sunday to continue demonstra- tions indefinitely. The government warned of harsher measures in response. - Compiled from Daily wire reports CORRECTIONS A story on Friday's front page (Alum came to 'U' after months as POW) incor- rectly said University alum Leon Zimmerman enlisted in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. Zimmerman enlisted in the Army Air Corps, the Air Force's predeces- sor. The Air Force was not created until 1947. Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@michigandaily.com. 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com DoNN M. FRESARD Editor in Chief fresard@michigandaily.com 647-3336 Sun.-Thurs. 5 p.m. - 2 a.m. JONATHAN DOBBERSTEIN Business Manager business@michigandaily.com 764-0558 Mon-Fri. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. U Eli -'7 *- <'- MCAT LSAT GMAT GRE DAT Beat the Price Increase The prices of our Classroom and Premium Online Courses are going up. Enroll by May 1 to lock in the current price! 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