Mnndia Au st 5. ') 20 -T5a Mirhian - VIEWPOINT A chess match: Russia, Iraq and the U.S took the Chechen campaign, he has BY DAvID LivsHiz won broad public support. Unlike Boris Yeltsin, who was seen as responsible Over the past few weeks, it has for the fall of the USSR, Putin is become increasingly clear that the Bush viewed as someone who takes Russian administration is intent on invading prestige seriously and would not allow Iraq. Iraq's recent offer to allow UN Russia to be humiliated. While Yeltsin inspectors in the nation did not satisfy was forced to act tough to demonstrate President Bush, with even the adminis- Russian power, Putin is now able to sit tration's doves ambivalent with the pro- on the sidelines. The second assump- posal. Concurrently, detailed leaks tion is equally problematic. Iraq has describing the invasion strategy have indeed been one of Russia's client states been appearing in newspapers almost since the Baath Party came to power. daily. Increasing anticipation of U.S. This relationship, however, does not military action against Iraq has resulted imply that Russia will come to Iraq's in a debate about the benefits that this aid. In Middle East policy, Russia has action will produce. And as with the always stopped short of unconditional case of the National Missile Defense support of her allies. In the past, Russia debate last year, Russia's opposition to has always acted to protect her relation- the proposed U.S. policy occupies a ship with the West before aiding allies central role in the debate. in the Mid-East and as of yet there is no * The invasion's opponents argue reason to believe that this conflict that any attack against Iraq, a Russian would breed a different policy analysis ally, will anger Russian leadership. in Moscow. Invasion opponents add that President What makes Russia's support of Putin's anger at Bush's actions is likely Iraq even less likely is what it stands to to manifest itself in increasing Russian gain from acquiescing to the invasion. aid to rouge regimes. Since Russia's The single most important issue to role is central to the debate over the Putin is the war in Chechnya that he costs and benefits of invading Iraq, this sees as critical to the survival of the argument should be examined in full. Russian Federation. Many feel that if Those who argue that Russia will Chechnya is allowed to secede from the oppose any U.S. military actions base federation others will follow, creating a their argument on two assumptions. domino effect that will eventually lead The first is that the Russian leadership to a small, impotent Russia. This is why is likely to see any unilateral action in Russia has turned to increasingly brutal Iraq as arrogant behavior designed to military operation in Chechaya to pt embarrass Russia. This resentment is dowathe reellion. likely to evolve into tensions between Putin feels that if he is allowed to the Russian and U.S. governments. Left pursue his war in Chechnya; Russia unspoken in these arguments is the will eventually win. The one thing that assumption that Putin is under pressure can stop him: Vocal criticisms by the from Russian hardliners to demonstrate United States and the international that Russia is still a major power The community. So far, America has chose second is that Russia will oppose the to remain quiet in its critique of Rus- Iraq invasion in orderto protectherally, sia's military behavior, and the rest of thereby demonstrating her influence in the world has played along. However, the world. Putin understands that a Bush decision Unfortunately, both of these to pressure Russia might cause not only assumptions are incorrect. The view diplomatic problems with the West, but that Russia has a deteriorating military also increase domestic opposition to the and a floundering economy is simply war. Putin has therefore been very wrong. First, the image of Russia as a eager to find a way to silence American third world economy is false. While criticism of his war. Russia's coopera- Russia's economy collapsed in the early tion with Bush on the development of '90s, over the past few years Russia has the NMD was largely a result of a tacit made a comeback and is now consid- agreement whereby the United States ered a first world economy. Second, would look the other way on Chechnya, Russia's military is not as weak as while Russia would agree to the U.S. many claim. After the fall ofthe USSR, abrogation of the ABM treaty. With it did appear that the Red Army was not Russia's war in Chechnya drawing as powerful as before. However, in the a a i y at patfwyasthe Rassian military has icesncrtimislklyha returned as one of the most sophisticat- Sven a hoice to suppois in iion and ed and powerful armies in the world. . The Second Chechnya War, while it foi r e f' ch ss rep r o can't be termed an absolute success, quite a fondness for has proven that the Russian military is ly thinks of international affairs as a capable of carrying out sophisticated chess game. When the issue in question operations. Moreover, the recent unveil- Iraq, might choose to scrifice ing of advanced weapon systems has a queen (Iraq) to win the game (secure demonstrated that Russia is still a top- support for Russia's war in Chechnya notch military power. This new image while maintaining good relations with of a powerful Russia, held by ordinary the West). This doesn't mean that Ru-s Russias and internatiomi military pro- sia will necessarnly support the invasion fessionals alike, has largely erased the or that the invasion is advisable even if same felt by many Russians in the it does. But to get a clearer understand- aftermath of the Cold War and thereby ing of what the invasion will entail, we weakened the influence of the ultra- need to helter understand all the right in Russia. assumptions and intricacies that are Furthermore. Putin is not under likely to go into the decision. MlUy, g rutU, e c gan ft aVI;lpf Uly --J The DLC's twisted ascent to prominence ZAC PESKOWITZ THE LOWER FREQUENCIES Tn Manhattan last week, the best and the brightest of the Democratic Party gathered to take part in the Democratic Leadership Council's National Conversa- tion. The conference took on extra signifi- cance this year with presidential hopefuls jockeying for recognition over others in the lackluster field. The conversation was a propitious moment for 2004's presiden- tial aspirants to pander to the DLC elite. DLC CEO and founder Al From and Democratic National Committee Chair- man Terry McAuliffe presided over this grim spectacle, unrepentantly abandoning the Democratic Party's spirit. The DLC has made itself the self- appointed gatekeeper of the Democratic Party. Following former President Clinton's longshot rise to the presidency, the DLC became the panacea for the party's short- comings. Their ideas were gospel, their rhetoric unchallenged. Although the Gin- grich revolution provided a temporary obstacle, the DLC was able to secure the reelection of a Democratic chief executive for the first time in over 50 years. The DLC offered the solutions for an increasingly des- perate political apparatus and the Democrat- ic Party's big city and rural constituents followed into the DLC's fold. But beneath the DLC's successes, dis- content is festering. The DLC's sorties to corporations and the political center have let the party emasculated from its tradi- tional base. The DLC's modus operari is to create a successful party, principles be damned. "We need to constantly modernize our policy ideas to keep pace with a chang- ing electorate" was one of From's key ini- tiatives that he articulated at the National Conservation. The political repercussions of this unin- spiring mindset showed in a 2000 election in which the DLC-approved presidential ticket failed to win a single Southern state. The DLC's platform was an uninspiring and incoherent collection of ideas designed for the sole purpose of winning a nation-wide election. But when a vice president who enjoyed a strong economy is unable to win his home state or that of his president in the general election, there is a serious problem with their message. For the DLC the failure of the Gore- Lieberman campaign was that the 2000 presidential ticket was too liberal. In a pre- sentation to the National Conversation, DLC pollster Mark Penn argued that the 2004 candidate will have to generate appeal to more conservative voters. High- lights of this strategy include emphasizing the candidates' support of the death penal- ty and attempting to persuade "Swing II" voters to embrace the Democratic Party. Swing II voters are characterized as "fis- cally conservative" and "responsibility ori- ented." The DLC's unctuous attempts to sway moderates and conservatives in to its base has resulted in a party that can no longer claim to be the unchallenged advo- cates of a progressive agenda. Al Gore, as he illustrated in yesterday's New York Times op-ed page, is now the lib- eral black sheep of the Democratic Party. Gore, following the advice of campaign guru Bob Shrum, has tentatively decided to renounce his DLC roots and once again remake himself While his decision to "let it rip" is a duplicitous last ditch effort to seek the glory of the Oval Office, it is promising that someone with extensive ties to the DLC has recognized its sham promises. The recent spat between Gore and Lieberman is indicative of the growing divide in the high- est level of the party. The extent of the DLC's power and whether the Democratic Party can be salvaged will likely be clear by the time the 2004 conventions. Ten years ago, Mickey Kaus penned "The End of Equality," an intricately crafted argument for social equality. Kaus attacked the Democratic establishment and plead for a new direction for the party. He portrayed a party in a deep crisis, paralyzed in the past. Despite the party's inability to earn nation- wide support, the Democratic Party had been able to secure a majority in the House and Senate for decades. The failure to win a presidential election lead the party to accept the message of the upstart DLC. Ten years after Clinton's election, the new ideas of the DLC have proven to be an ineffective tool for the longterm health of the party. The DNC has abandoned its purpose for the thrill of power during a fleeting Democratic presidency. Zac Peskowitz can be reached at zpeskowi@umich.edu. VIEWPOINT Support David Bonior in tomorrow's primary BY JARED COOK As a supporter of Rep. David Bonior (D-Mt.Clemens) I was disap- pointed in seeing the Daily's endorse- ment of Jennifer Granholm, "Granholm, by a nose" (07/29/02). Even more troubling than the endorsement itself, however, was the reasoning, or lack thereof, in the endorsement. The Daily seems to think that because Granholm is from Harvard and is young, she holds the most promise. Not a single issue or position of Granholm's is discussed in the Daily's endorserment. But this should not come as a surprise, as Granholm is a listless, ineffective, and agenda-less candidate. She waffles on the issues-and does not campaign with a clear and focused agenda. In fact, she waffles greatly on the issue of abortion. In a recent Detroit Free Press question- naire, Attorney General Granholm refused to answer 3 out of I1 ques- tions about her views on various aspects of abortion. This is quite odd given her EMILY's List backing, which supposedly is only for strong abortion-rights candidates. While the Daily blasts Bonior on abortion, it doesn't even bother to men- tion Granholm's questionable stance on the issue. Further, had the Daily done some research, it would have found that Bonior's running mate, state Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith, is an unques- tionable supporter of abortion rights. Further, Bonior supports a woman's right to an abortion in the cases of rape, incest or when the woman's life is in danger. Also, Bonior has supported federal funding for the testing of RU-486. While the Daily spent half of its column telling us why Granholm is the most experienced candidate, it did not inform voters of her positions. In sid- ing with Granholm, there was no clear explanation of why she is the best can- didate. The best the Daily could offer was that Blanchard was too old and that Bonior was pro-life and too far behind in the polls. In two recent polls, though, a near dead heat among all three candidates has been docu- mented. The Daily should not mislead voters on such important issues and should check out its facts, which clear- ly was not done in this case. Further, the Daily failed to men- tion that David Bonior has been endorsed by the state's most influen- tial labor unions and environmental groups as the only choice for gover- nor. He is recognized as a national leader in the fights for workers rights and environmental quality. In a state like Michigan, where labor and the environment represent two of the most salient political issues, a leader with a clear voice on these issues is needed. David Bonior believes in the right to unionize, the right to a secure pension and health care for all of Michigan's children. While Jennifer Granholm has acted as a rubber stamp for the Engler administration by refusing to stand up to their extreme right-wing agenda, David Bonior has been the majority whip in the House, and has stood up to former Rep. Newt Gingrich (D-Georgia,) helping to force his ouster. Granholm, on the other hand, has voted with Republican Gov. Engler on the State Administrative Board 16,000 times and only against him once. Granholm has refused to fight for Democratic ideals. David Bonior has national experience and will be able to use his Washington, D.C. con- nections to help direct federal fund- ing back to Michigan. While the Daily might like to believe that Granholm can do the most for Detroit, it is Bonior who has been endorsed by Detroit's congressional representatives. Itis Bonior who grew up in east Detroit. And it is Bonior who is fighting for more universal health care and workers rights, issues that most affect Detroit residents. While Granholm may be young and appealing, she has proven ineffective as attorney general and has not been able to tell voters what she believes in. David Bonior, on the other hand, is a proven leader. I urge you to vote for David Bonior tomorrow, Aug. 6th. Cook is an LSA senior pressure from hardliners that plagued his predecessor. Ever since Putin under- Livshiz is an University alum.