Monday, May 7, 2007 4 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com C, he Micbt-ganDailu NOTABLE QUOTABLE Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu JOE LUCAS S , Get Me The GHSTBUSTERS! - IMRAN SYED EDITOR IN CHIEF GARY GRACA EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR The fact that it's in Honolulu, it's a bonus." 4 Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. All other signed articlessand illustrations represent solely the views of their authors. FROM T HE DAILY Worth the wait Light rail important in region's renaissance T he long-awaited commuter train connecting Ann Arbor and Howell inched closer to real- ity last Wednesday. At the Ann Arbor Ecology Center Mayor John Hieftje reiterated that the plan is on a three-year timetable. Although many were hoping for progress to be made as early as this year, Hieftje's statement is a reassurance that this important plan is - Matt Allen, spokesman for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick on the mayor's week-long conference about pensions, as reported last week by the Detroit Free Press. FROM THE DAILY Keeping promises Bush goes through with veto; Congress must continue pressure still a priority. As planned, the train would use existing tracks to allow commuters to park their. cars in Ann Arbor or Howell and take the train, instead of the express- way, to the other city. A similar plan to connect Ann Arbor with Detroit is also in the works. The benefits of the new plan for Ann Arbor would be two- fold. First there would be a reduction in traffic congestion and standstills. Also, with less traffic downtown, carbon diox- ide emissions would be reduced, something that should always be a priority - especially for a city like Ann Arbor. Less carbon dioxide comes with the obvi- ous benefit of better air quality, helping the health of the planet and city residents. A commuter transit system could additionally serve as a valuahle model for the rest of the state. If the Ann Arbor-Howell train is a success, state officials may finally turn their atten- tion to building a comprehen- sive mass-transit system in the Metro-Detroit area, something that remains conspicuously absent in the region. As Detroit struggles to rein- vent itself in the aftermath of the automotive industry's decline, a commuter train to Ann Arbor could be key to its recovery. Con- necting Detroit to Ann Arbor dually allows Ann Arbor resi- dents and University students an easy way to travel to events in Detroit and brings some of Ann Arbor's vibrance and youth to a city that desperately needs it to attract businesses. If the Ann Arbor-Howell train proves that public transit can work, it mightbejust the thing to help get Detroit hack on track. After months of prom- ising to veto any Iraq spending bill that included timetables, President Bush made good on his prom- ise last Tuesday. For a war that has been mismanaged since the start, the bill attempted for the first time to bring organi- zation into Iraq and a sched- uled withdrawal of American involvement. While this is the misguided and counterproduc- tive action from the president that we would expect, until the Democratic Congress finds a way to end the illegal war that it is funding, it has to share part of the blame. The battle over the Iraq spending bill began with the expectation that funds for American troops in Iraq would dry up by June of this year. Although Congress's bill autho- rized the additional funding requested, it added a schedule of goals that need to be met. In classic form, Bush found this more organized approach to be an extra-constitutional micro- management of the war, calling the proposal "a prescription for chaos and confusion." After his veto, the House failed to get the necessary two-thirds majority to override the veto. Now, we're back where we started. Despite what the president and many Republicans think, there is nothing extraconstitu- tional about aiming for accom- plishment by a certain date. It seems ironic that while many Republicans argue for a tough- er approach to the fumbling Iraqi government, they oppose a schedule for accomplishing these goals and tracking Iraqi progress. If Republicans care so much about things being extracon- stitutional, then how about considering that this war has lasted more than four years and cost billions of dollars but never received a Congressional decla- ration of war. Additionally, those opposed to the timetables argue that Congress was just schedul- ing a date for defeat. By their logic, insurgents would mark their calendars and wait out the storm. And we all know what happens then - the ter- rorists win. But by Bush's logic, everyone gets all the time in the world to meet undefined goals. That has a name - stagnation. A fear of defeat should not be an excuse to allow the U.S. mil- itary and the Iraqi government to drag their feet. Timelines don't restrain the military; they simply help ensure that prog- ress isbeing made. You'll under- stand if that's a foreign concept to the Bush administration. This bill has been seen as a valiant effort to begin end- ing American involvement in the war in Iraq. But this isn't strictly true. After all, Bush's veto was widely expected. Was this doomed bill just an election ploy to make the Democrats look like the opponents of an increasingly unpopular war? America doesn't need more hollow action from Congress - we've had plenty of that since 2003 - we need Congress to force the Bush administration to end an American involve- ment that is only worsening the situation. Sadly, there is no magical cure to eliminate the violence, rebuild the infrastruc- ture and develop a unified Iraq. And unfortunately, cutting off funding completely may not be the answer. But Congress can continue to push for timetables, work to internationalize the effort and patch up the relation- ships that Bush has destroyed. Bush made good on his prom- ise to veto the timetables. Can Democrats make good on their promise and end the war? I I 4 4 Editorial Board Members: Mike Eber, Brian Flaherty, Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Wagner