LETTER TO THE EDITOR The Michigan Daily - Monday, August 4, 2003 - 5 When the "caf' is away JASON PESICK ONE SMAIL VOICE Memo does not belong to Kauffman TO THE DAILY: I wish to clarify what I said when asked by a reporter about the original memo that seems to have started much of this (Intel- lectual fraud trial against 'U' post- poned, 7/28/03). I agreed that the original draft was written by Pro- fessor Kauffman. By the time it reached me I said that "I had madeno substantial changes in the memo." I understand that my other two colleagues that signed the final memo made changes. In any case the memo was not, in my opinion, a proprietary pro- posal belonging to Professor Kauffman and certainly not after the other three of us signed the final memo. JOE G. EiSLEY EmeritussProfessor VIEWPOINT Bush botches war on terror "Brin Bush cha groups i forces. W fear of f throwing ing is th administ illusions ruthless, ment of i istration t the stops ' crucial e tional mi tial misa ideology, nal negl overstep A pla policy sid 'you'rev administ democrat American istration tatorships Pakistan neglectin from equ Syria asd tasy allow( escape, sneaked t evidence ligence o pinpoint does not because o helping t Saudi Ara the 9/11 administr those who material words, th( really con neither wi After! widespre began to hundreds to start a intelligen Hezbollah nel with th an explos the 5th F administra heaps of i in custody and Osam them ove BY JOSEPH TORIGI A e declined. Why? Because the Iranians wanted in exchange the handover of ng 'em on." And so President members of Mujahedeen Khalq, an anti- allenged Fedayeen and Qaida Iranian terrorist cell. The United States n Iraq to fight against U.S. labeled them terrorists, and the group Vhile brazen enough to inspire targeted Americans, but the United fate accepting this hubristic States chose to leave them be because of of the gauntlet, itsis unsurpris- a desire to have another tool against he context of a conservative Iran. Where is the "moral clarity" of ration that prides its lack of using terrorists against a regime that toward human nature and a offers help? Apparently the administra- almost theological tempera- tion's right/wrong ideology only counts ts war on terror. Yet an admin- if the policy is wrong. hat seems to be pulling out all The administration has yet to par- on its anti-terror quest made take in the "idea" war. The Islamist rrors that stem from interna- scholar Sayyid Qutb developed a serious sperceptions and a consequen- terrorist ideology. Madrasas spout hate- pplication of overly simplified ful rhetoric in the absence of a secular while exercising almost crimi- response. As the writer T. H. White igence and unconstitutional writes, "Jesus did not turn the disciples on the homefront. into stormtroopers, burn down the tem- itform of the anti-terror foreign ple at Jerusalem, and fix the blame on de is the black/white claim of Pilate." Ideas are cheaper and more with us or against us." The moral thanmilitary solutions. tration has also claimed that Os to the homeland. The ways I acy is essential to a stable have been asked to personally fight ter- relationship. But the admin- ror are to follow the Smokey-the-Bear- sbee coddling sinister dic- like color system and spy on others for Scompromised by terror in suspicious activity. The administration g and Saudi Arabia, while should be requesting money. The Trans- potentially valuable support portation Safety Administration cut bag- m gage screeners and air marshals. The Iran. n-Afghaista, the - Director of the Emergency Responders: ed a corridor for Pakistanis 5 Drastically Underfunded, Dangerously shile thousands of al-Qaida Unprepared Project said, "The United indicates that Pakistan's intel- States is not doing enough, and it would rganization has been able to be a terrible, terrible tragedy if it took rizadeniorhasobesabeu5t another disaster like 9/11 to drive that inLaeformtheU ntdhStas, point home." Dan Benjamin, a former inform the United States National Security Agency aide, has said concessions they swindle for Bush has done no "bureaucratic head- he "search." The section on banging" to end interagency rifts. The ibian support for terrorism in lack of an intelligence center led U.S. report was censored by the Rep. Jim Turner (D-Texas) to say, " . ration, despite statements by there is more confusion than clarity. have seen it that no sensitive is present. Eves with harsh Surely almost two years after 9/st ... we is administration has yetsto could come up with one consistent frot these countries who are watch list." Yet amidst this negligence, ithus nor against us. Kate Martin of the Center for National 9/11 the Syrians, who have Security Studies still says, "Major anti- yad infiltration of al-Qaida terrorism resources have been used to upply the United States with identify, intimidate and deport thou- of files on the group, hoping sands ... no more than a handful ... had new chapter in relations. Its any connection to terrorism." nce chief offered to limit As for Osama bin Forgotten, who in exchange for a back chan- escaped capture at Tora Bora he CIA. Syria even helped stop because of the administration's fear ive-laced glider from hitting of putting boots on the ground, still leet headquarters. Yet the runs free. Bush's response? "I truly tion chose confrontation over am not that concerned about him." ntel. on Qaida agents. Iran has Bring 'em on. Uhoh. m hey say that if you want to suc- ceed in Wash- ington, you should show up to work first and leave last. I think there's a few reasons for this: First, hard work does pay off. Sec- ond, there might actual- ly be some truth to the saying that 90 percent of success in life is just showing up. But the third reason is that Washington is a city where power matters more than in any other. I've only been to the nation's capital twice, but I have a feeling that when you're not at the office there, your co-workers and under- lings are more likely to commit Machiavel- lian acts to gain leverage and power. All this probably applies to workplaces across the country to a certain extent, but I think things are more serious in Washington than the rest of the country, seeing as it is full of ambitious, powerful people who love poli- tics. All of this is even more applicable to the White House. In any administration, it's a tough building to work in, and you always have to be on your toes. But things have got to be nuts in the Bush White House. Neocon- servatives, traditional conservatives, realists - people extremely obsessed with power - populate this White House. There are no touchy-feely liberals at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue right now. Everyone has sharp teeth, and no matter who you are, you should always be keeping track of how things stand. The president is starting a month-long working vacation at his ranch in Texas. This bothers some people because they feel that the president doesn't deserve such a long break. President Clinton worked like a gradu- ate student 365 days a year. While Bush's rel- atively easy schedule that permits time for daily exercise stands in sharp contrast to his predecessor's, his aides are correct in saying that because of modern communication tech- nology, the president can conductpresidential business from the Crawford ranch. The prob- lem is that while the ranch probably has great phone service, when the president is there, he's not in the office. And a month is a long time to be out of the office, especially if your office is in the White House. Some of Bush's officials are really creepy and need to be watched at all times. Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell can't even keep control of Rove, Ashcroft, Rumsfeld and especially Cheney when Bush is in town. That's why he's so much weaker than President Clinton was. Despite an unfriendly Congress, Clinton was able to avoid imposing the damaging steel tariffs or signing anything as ridiculous as that farm bill. I had the sense that he actu- ally ran the country. Even though Bush should be a giant now because he's a wartime president, he's never been able to exercise his veto - even when he's wanted to. Then there's the vice president. Let's not forget how he became the vice president. He was supposed to find Bush a running mate, and he chose himself. Before Sept. 11, he did things like crafting the nation's energy policy in secret. Only a few days after the attacks, The New York Times reported that on Sept. 11, the vice president "told Bush to stay away from Washington, ordered the Congressional leadership evacuated, dispersed cabinet mem- bers to emergency shelters, and urged Mr. Bush to direct fighter jets to shoot down any rogue airliner that threatened the Capitol or the White House." What I found most significant about the Niger-Iraq nuclear flap is that Cheney knew the 16 words weren't true because he told the CIA to go check it out. He was the one visit- ing the agency and intimidating its agents into finding (or manufacturing) evidence to support the administration's case for war. I can't for the life of me imagine a situation where Bill Clinton would allow Al Gore to have such influence over a decision to go to war. Some people say that Clinton was a micromanager; I think he just wanted to know what was going on. In his book "From Beirut to Jerusalem," the oft-quoted journalist extraordinaire turned columnist extraordinaire Thomas Friedman writes that he learned that in the Middle East, the people he was able to talk to often weren't worth talking to. He says, "It's the people who won't talk to me whom Ireal- ly want to meet" During his recent press con- ferences, Bush has babbled a lot of nonsense, such as blaming the bad economy on the cable networks because they talked so much about the war in raq- a war that many cyn- ics felt was partly waged to distract people from the bad economy. This silliness is not important, but what is important is who does- n't speak to the press - the vice president. He doesn't take month-long vacations either. Pesickcan be reached at jzpesick@umich.edu. The passionate centrist AYMAR JEAN No HM, JUS TREASON NEW YORK - t the end of summer and onset of fall, pundits are gearing up for the Democratic presidential primaries. Recently, columnists have churned out a slew of articles profil- ing, criticizing and praising the candi- dates. Rating the candidates, writers have given the health insurance gold medal to Kerry, the centrist medal to Lieberman and the leftist medal to Dean. Absent from all this politicking, howev- er, is discussion on the Democratic strategy. Aside from TIME magazine's "How to Build a Better Democrat' no columnist has provided a comprehensive or innovative view of the identity Democrats need to assume in the coming election. It seems each party is having an identity crisis. George Will, the conservative colum- nist for the Washington Post, stated, "For- eign and domestic developments constitute an identity crisis of conservatism, which is being recast - and perhaps rendered inco- herent." In an effort to broaden their image, Republicans created an unassailable fagade of "compassion," claiming to be "for" all those typically overlooked by the system: the elderly, minorities, the poor. A cue for Democrats: To broaden your image, embrace the idea of passionate cen- trism. A 1997 USA Today story quoted then Governor of Vermont Howard Dean as calling himself a "passionate centrist." A cursory look at his governorship proves this to be true. And so, Dean's success, both as a governor (he's won five consecutive elec- tions) and a presidential candidate, is based on impassioned moderation. Uncannily, pundits label Dean both as a moderate and also an inflammatory zealot. And this has been the key to his success, his ability to reject the claim that liberals are quixotic coupled with his abil- ity to inspire party activists. Currently, Dean's leftism has brought him notoriety, but be prepared to see the real Dean stand up soon. His call for universal healthcare, a call that has liberals lining up to support him, is actually based on a system of tax breaks and "buying into a government plan." Dean supports tax breaks for corpora- tions to pay for employee health insurance: "Business tax deductions [are] part of a compact between American taxpayers and corporate America." Other Democrats, like John Kerry, have followed suit in an effort to control costs while purporting the idealistic notion of universal healthcare. (Dean's healthcare efforts have largely worked in Vermont, which can tout one of the nation's best health insurance programs.) Consider Dean's statement on the death penalty: "I believe the death penalty should be available for extreme and heinous crimes, such as terrorism or the killing of police officers or young chil- dren." Capital punishment does not receive Dean's unfettered support; he backs the Innocence Protection Act, intended to raise the bar on prosecution procedures. But he remains passionate about his pragmatic approach, appealing to the emotional side of the death penalty (note the reference to national security and family values in the aforementioned quote) but realizing the reality of our judicial proceedings. During his tenure, Howard Dean has cut taxes and proclaimed states' rights in gun control. Yet, he has remained a true Democrat on time-honored issues, on expanding a broad slate of social programs and endorsing paid family leave. He has balanced the budget and maintained popu- larity. How? "By engaging moderates, Democratic and Republican. By rejecting the agenda of the extremes, including his own party," according to a 2000 editorial in the Burlington Free Press. This is not an endorsement of Howard Dean. He, like any politician, has his flaws. Itsis very likely that John Edward's appeal to the working class (Dean hails from a heritage of investment bankers and was raised on Park Avenue) or John Kerry's strong stance on national security are more politically advantageous. Clearly though, Dean has been doing something right, and this, if nothing else, is a cue for Democrats to appropriate some of his political mojo. A challenge for Democ- rats: How do you speak in ideals (universal healthcare, human rights, an improved edu- cation system) and still retain those virtues afforded to conservatives (resolute, fiscally responsible and scrupulous)? Walk like a pragmatist, but talk with passion. Jeancan be reachedat acean@umichkedu. al-Qaida's 3rd-in-command ia's son. Iran offered to turn r, but the administration Torigian is an LSA sophomore and a member of theDaily's editorialboard.