The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Monday, March 3,2008 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
MOSCOW, Russia
Russia elects new
president
Vladimir Putin congratulated
his hand-picked successor on a
presidential election victory yester-
day after preliminary results and
exit polls confirmed the expected
landslide win, and said the results
would guarantee the continuity of
the course Putin set for Russia.
With half the ballots counted, the
tally showed Dmitry Medvedev with
68 percent of the vote and his party
said the inauguration would be held
May 7. Medvedev appeared along-
side his mentor in Red Square and
vowed to pursue Putin's policies.
Putin has agreed to be his prime
minister, the second highest post in
Russia.
WESTERVILLE, Ohio
Obama defends his
foreign policy
experience
DemocratBarackObamaworked
to fend off an intensified attack on
his foreign policy credentials from
rival Hillary Rodham Clinton yes-
terday as their paths crossed two
days ahead of a potentially race-
ending showdown in Ohio and
Texas.
"What precise foreign-policy
experience is she claiming that
makes her qualified to answer that
telephone call at 3 a.m. in the morn-
ing?" Obama asked of the former
first lady at a town-hall meeting. It
was a reference to dueling televi-
sion ads over who would exercise
superior judgment in responding to
a national emergency in the middle
of the night.
The Illinois senator also sought
to ease lingering Internet-fed con-
cerns about his religion, in particu-
lar whether he was a closet Muslim.
Students for Obama go door-to-
door before tomorrow's contest
On historic Baghdad visit, Iran's Ahmadinejad
says United States is fueling violence in Iraq
STUDENTS From Page 1A
gone on TV talking about how
they need to win both Ohio and
Texas," Duvall said. "It makes
every effort from Michigan even
more important."
Members of the University's
chapter of Students for Hillary
said the group did not have plans
to canvass in Ohio. Students for
Hillary chair Kelly Bernero, an
LSA sophomore, could not be
reached for comment.
The Obama campaign orga-
nized charter buses to take Mich-
igan volunteers to Ohio over the
weekend. Two buses are sched-
uled to take volunteers to Cleve-
land and Columbus tomorrow.
Five students from Aquinas
College, a school in Grand Rap-
ids, drove to Sandusky to canvass
yesterday. Tim Ramsay, a senior
at Aquinas and former president
of the school's chapter of College
Democrats, said he wanted to be
involved in a campaign he found
inspiring, even if it meant driving
to another state.
"Barack Obama is the person
for the job," Ramsay said. "Ohio
is only three hours away, so we
decided to come down to work our
butts off and get him elected."
Ramsay said the decision to
move the Michigan primary up
was "not in the best interests of
the party or the country" because
it split Democratic votes that he
said would have gone to Obama
under normal circumstances.
"I understand why the party
decided to move up our primary,"
Ramsay said. "Michigan is the
state that's feeling the pain of the
economy, and we should have a
voice."
If this race remains tight
beyond tomorrow - Obama cur-
rently leads Hillary Clinton 1,336
delegates to 1,251, according
to The Associated Press count
- Michigan voters may get the
opportunity to hold a caucus.
Obama supporters from Michi-
gan think the state should have
another contest if neither candi-
date has won the 2,025 delegates
necessary to clinch the party's
nomination.
"I really do think we should
have another caucus and have a
real campaign," Ramsay said.
President discusses
economic, security
issues with Iraqis
BAGHDAD (AP) - Iranian Presi-
dent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said
on an historic trip to Baghdad yes-
terday that America fueled the vio-
lence in Iraq, portraying his nation
as a close friend of the neighbor it
once fought in a bitter eight-year
war.
Ahmadinejad, the first Iranian
president to visit Iraq, disputed U.S.
allegations that Tehran is training
and equipping Shiite militias there.
The American presence, he said, was
responsible for drawingterrorists.
"The Iraqi people do not like
the Americans," Ahmadinejad
said at a press conference with
U.S.-backed Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki in the Green Zone - the
heart of the American diplomatic
presence.
"Six years ago, there were no
terrorists in our region. As soon as
the others landed in this country
and the region, we witnessed their
arrival and presence," Ahmadine-
jad said Sunday night after meeting
Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of
Iraq's largest Shiite political bloc.
The trip by Ahmadinejad, who
once fought Saddam Hussein's
Sunni-dominated regime as a
member of Iran's Revolutionary
Guard, was a dramatic illustration
of one of the unintended conse-
quences of the 2003 U.S. invasion
- the replacement of Saddam with
Shiite forces closely allied to the
cleric-led Islamic republic next
door.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a
Sunni Kurd, greeted Ahmadinejad
with an honor guard and a band
that playedboth countries' national
anthems. The two held hands at the
red-carpet welcome ceremony in
a traditional display of friendship.
Talabani told Ahmadinejad to call
him "Uncle Jalal," as he known in
Iraq's Kurdish north.
Talabanisaid he andAhmadinejad
discussed economic, political, secu-
rity and oil issues and planned to sign
severalunspecified agreements.
"We hadverygoodtalksthat were
friendly and brotherly," Ahmadine-
jad said. "We have mutual under-
standings and views in all fields, and
both sides plan to improve relations
as much as possible."
Then he cut through the Green
Zone to visit al-Maliki in his Cabi-
net offices.
The sprawling, American-con-
trolled zone contains a massive
new U.S. embassy and is heavily
protected against occasional rocket
attacks, which the Americans have
blamed on Iranian-backed Shiite
extremists.
Ahmadinejad denied the charges
at least twice during the day.
"Such accusations increase the
problems of the Americans in the
region," he said.
Al-Maliki said Ahmadinejad's
visit was "an expression of the
strong desire of enhancing rela-
tions and developing mutual inter-
ests after the past tension during
the dictatorship era."
AboutImillion people died inthe
catastrophic war that erupted after
Saddam invaded Iran in 1980.
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip
Palestinians C 1/2ow
418 S. Wagner Road Lg&
suspendtalks as Ann Arbor, Mi 48103 Bikini Waxing
734 665 7207
Gaza dashes grow
www.francoysalon.com *Student ID required
The Palestinian president sus-
pended peace talks yesterday as
Israel brushed off international
criticism and vowed to press ahead
with its Gaza offensive until mili-
tants halt rocket attacks.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud
Barak said an even broader Gaza
operation was possible, aimed at
crushing militant rocket squads
but also to "weaken the Hamas
rule, in the right circumstances, W
even to bring it down."
-The Palestinian death toll rose
by 21, bringing the number killed
to 109 since the latest bout of fight-
ing erupted on Wednesday, ac-
cording to Palestinian medical of-
ficials and militant groups. At least
54 Palestinians and two Israelis
were killed on Saturday, the single
deadliest day in more than seven
years of fighting.
The Gaza onslaught has failed Free Blue B
to protect southern Israel, where
residents have faced repeated Need blue boo
rocket attacks since 2001. Gaza Stop at the
militants fired more than 25 rock-
ets at southern Israel yesterday, ALumni Center.
the military said, scoring direct AL
hits on houses in the city of Ash-
kelon and the town of Sderot. fM Y
WASHINGTON
Compromise sought
on eavesdropping
immunity bill
The House Intelligence Com-
mittee chairman expects a com-
promise soon on renewal of an
eavesdropping law that could pro- To play: Complete the grid so that eve
vide legal protections for telecom- and every 3x3 box contains the dig
munications companies as Presi-
dent Bush has insisted.
Rep. Silvestre Reyes, in a televi- There is no guessing or math in
sion interview broadcast yesterday, just use logic to solve. Good Luck
did not specifically say whether
the House proposal would mir- Difficulty: Medium
ror the Senate's version. The Sen-
ate measure provides retroactive
legal immunity to the companies
that helped the government wire- 4 5 3 1
tap U.S. computer and phone lines
after the Sept. 11 attacks without 3
clearance from a secret court. 1 1 T
- Compiled from 5 7 3 1
Daily wire reports A R
P25 of.f*
Any Service
Over $50
(New customers only)
*Student ID required
, 3,973
Number of American service mem-
bers who have died in the war in
Iraq, according to The Associated
Press. There were no deaths identi-
fied yesterday.
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