Page 4- The Michigan Daily -Thursday, January 17,1991
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
420 Ma ard Street
AnnArbor, ichigan 48109

Viewpoint
War has begun; get behind Bush

NOAH FJNKEL
Editor in Chief

DAVID SCHWARTZ
Opinion Editor

Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board. All other cartoons,
signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily.
Dashed hopes
Attack was unfortunate; renew the push for peace

By Andrew M. Levy and
Manuel F. Olave
Last night, United States and Allied
forces attacked strategic military targets in
Iraq and Kuwait. This action, code named
"Operation Desert Storm," represents the
culmination of the broad-based interna-
tional coalition opposing the mindless ag-
gression of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
War is never the preferable course of
action. However, we support the actions
of the President, acting on behalfaof the
coalition, because we see no other option
that he could have taken. Our primary
concern in the events of the past five
months has been the unrestrained and ag-
gressive actions of Hussein.
For five months, President Bush has
maintained a clear military presence in the
Persian Gulf, and has insisted that he
wants Hussein out of Kuwait.
A man who would array himself
against the most powerful military coali-
tion in the history of the world and believe
that he will prevail can be seen as nothing
less than an immediate danger to global
security.
There are many examples of Hussein's
insanity.
The dictator engaged in a bloody, eight-
year war against Iraq's neighbor, Iran, with
Levy is an LSA sophomore majoring in
political science and a member of the
Daily Opinion staff. Olave is a senior in
LSA, majoring in political science.

massive casualties on both sides.
In recent years, Hussein has actively
sought the capability to use nuclear ar-
maments. Beyond this, he has used a vast
arsenal of chemical weapons, even against
the Kurdish minority in his own nation.
Now, this monster has thought noth-
ing at all of putting the entire population
of his nation up as a shield to protect his
ill-attained gains in Kuwait.
Hussein's delusion has even caused
him to believe that he can be the leader of

night, these sanctions were not working in
the way that they were intended to. The
fact that Hussein hasn't budged in light
the massive military force proves th
sanctions would not have affected him.
Sending the CIA in to surgically re-
move Saddam Hussein and his political
machine in Iraq also might have avoided
war. However, this type of strike on the
head of a sovereign state is illegal, and
while it would cause much fewer casual-
ties, such an act is no more excusable than

War is never the preferable course of action.
However, we support the actions of the President,
acting on behalf of the coalition, because we see no
other option that he could have taken.

THE UNITED STATES IS AT WAR.
President George Bush, despite
mixed opinions from citizens around
the country, last night authorized an air
attack on Iraq and Iraqi-controlled
Kuwait. On national television imme-
diately after the strike, Bush vowed to
continue attempts to forcibly "liberate"
Kuwait through military might.
No one yet knows the number of
casualties, either of American soldiers
or of Iraqi and Kuwaiti civilians.
Further, no one yet knows how long
the war will last, or how many more
will die.
It is shameful that Bush, while
speaking of peace, would launch an
attack without first exhausting all pos-
sible diplomatic options. Even eco-
nomic sanctions, which the president
assured us would force Saddam
Hussein's hand, have not been given
enough time for an adequate assess-
ment of their effectiveness.
Bush's action has put hundreds of
thousands of people at risk. He was
aided by a U.S.-pressured United
Nations resolution, which set Jan. 15
as the arbitrary deadline for Iraqi with-
drawal. The deadline allowed those
hungry for war, like Bush, to abandon
dialogue and negotiation in favor of
aggression.
Unfortunately, lamenting last
night's attack willnot change the fact '
that the country is at war, nor will it
bring back those people who have al-
ready been killed. Though many
Americans have already expressed op-
position to war, we must now focus
our attention on ways to halt the mili-
tary conflict.
Even those who were in favor of an
attack must now see that the importance
of any subsequent attack has been di-
minished; clearly, Bush's promise of

an attack on Iraq can no longer be seen
as an unsubstantiated threat. Saddam
must surely hold no illusions about
why U.S. troops have been sent to the
Persian Gulf.
The United States should halt
bombing and give Iraqi troops a chance
to withdraw from Kuwait. The United
States should also seek to reopen ne-
gotiations, confident that Saddam now
recognizes the willingness of the
United States to use force.
Ultimately, it will be discussions
and dialogue that end the aggression.
Bush said he would attack "sooner
rather than later," and backed up his
words; now, negotiation would be
better "sooner rather than later." The
longer the attacks continue, both by the
United States and by Iraq, the more
people who will be unnecessarily
killed.
If Bush means what he said last
night to a national television audience,
he will demonstrate his commitment to
human life with more than rhetoric.
Talking, and not violence, is the best
way to solve problems.
Here in Ann Arbor, people must
think of and support U.S. troops,
many of whom are our friends or rela-
tives; it is not the soldiers' fault the
country is at war.
Students and members of the com-
munity must also demonstrate their op-
position to continued military conflict.
There will be a rally at11 am today on
the Diag, and anti-war leaders will an-
nounce subsequent rallies at that time.
Go, and make sure your voice is heard
in Washington.
Whether we like it or not, the United
States is at war. And though anyone
can resort to violence, it takes strong-
willed people to make peace. Amer-
icans must now make it clear we
support peace through negotiation, not
more killing through war.

a "jihad," or holy war, on behalf of the en-
tire Arab population, while the leaders of
other nations in the Arab League have
constantly reaffirmed their support for the
multi-national coalition opposed to his
aggression.
We would have preferred to avoid war.
However, other options for the removal of
Hussein have not proven viable.
The economic sanctions implemented
by the United Nations Security Council
would not have worked to wear down Hus-
sein's resolve. As the President said last

war.
At this point, we, as students at a ma-
jor university, should support our Com@
mander-in-Chief, and especially our troops
fighting this war. Many of the soldiers in
the Gulf are our peers; they share our same
desires and concerns. Yet at this very mo-
ment they are facing down one of the most
despotic rulers in recent history, while we
continue with our daily routine. We owe it
to our country to support them and our
President both as individuals, and as a na-
tion.

When a soapbox is the only place to be

Oversight committee
MSA should fulfill duties, submit nominations

THOUGH ANTI-DEPUTIZATION PRO-
testers have opposed the University's
decision to create its own police force,
plans for the squad's implementation
have progressed hastily. While protest
and active defiance should not be aban-
doned, it is time for the leadership of
the movement to look at realistic ways
to stave off the possible violation of
students' rights.
Clearly, there is legitimate skepti-.
cism as to how conscious the Univer-
sity police will be of student rights.
The administration has, in the past,
consistently disregarded student
interest and opinion, and has expressed
a desire to quell opposition to
University policy; the campus police
force could be used to further these
ends. Thus, students need a way to
supervise the operations of the new
police.
The University has created a deputi-
zation oversight committee, which may
or may not provide real power to stu-
dents. The committee will be made up
of faculty, administrators and students,
and will review the actions of the police
force.
While the committee leaves much to
be desired in the way of formidable
student input, any sort of student check
on the new police guarantees some pro-
tection of student rights. If the Uni-
versity officers overstep-their bounds
and infringe upon freedoms now en-
joyed by the student body, a student
representative on the committee would
provide a vehicle for opposition.
Therefore, the Michigan Student
Assembly's refusal to submit nomina-
tions for the committee is puzzling, and

may ultimately sacrifice the push for
the preservation of student rights.
The most vocal opposition to depu-
tization has come from MSA's Student
Rights Commission (SRC). The
protests and demonstrations in
November were a result of the hard
work and organization of the SRC;
certainly, the assembly should nomi-
nate someone from the commission to
serve on the oversight committee.
If MSA does not nominate anyone,
the administration will be free to hand-
pick students traditionally more
friendly with administrators and their
decisions.
As of yet, the assembly has not
submitted any nominations, and Presi-
dent Jennifer Van Valey has expressed
reservations about doing so. At Tues-
day's MSA meeting, the assembly
tabled a resolution supporting nomina-
tions, citing "constitutional conflicts."
The end result is a sacrifice of students'
interest - chances are slim the as-
sembly could make nominations at all
now.
Deputization is now a reality, and
students cannot hide their eyes and
hope the problem will somehow dis-
appear. Opposition to the regents' de-
cision should continue, but students
must now also respond to the presence
of the police force. The oversight
committee, while not the answer to a
complex problem, provides an open-
ing.
When the assembly reconvenes next
week, it should reverse itself and fulfill
its primary function - the protection
of students and their rights.

By Mike Fischer
I write this piece barely able to
think, let alone capable of writing some-
thing coherent. I write this piece having
spent most of the evening watching my
friends and colleagues alternately chok-
ing and crying as they tried to grapple
with what has happened. I write this
piece three hours after learning that the
United States had initiated a war almost
nobody wanted, for goals almost nobody
understands, and for the sake of pious
principles from which almost nobody in
this country benefits.
I'm sorry - I didn't mean to get on a
soapbox, and I don't mean to preach. I,
like everyone else in this country and
around the world, am scared - not fully
comprehending what is going on around
me. Not quite able to believe that no
matter where I turned tonight - on
streets throughout Ann Arbor, in meet-
ings both connected and unconnected to
the war, talking on the phone to those I
love, in the University Club where I and
hundreds of other students watched in
horror as George Bush spoke - the talk
was of war and casualties, Tomahawks
and Scuds, the dead and the dying, the
dead... and the dying.
I'm sorry - I didn't mean to get on a
soapbox, but how else can I articulate
what I feel about a president who risks
thousands of lives for a principle he has
consistently violated? About a president
who talks of defending "the American
way of life" and then sends those whom
that lifestyle exploits and breaks to die
for the rich? About "a new world order"
that fosters violence and "a thousand
points of light" that bring darkness?
I'm sorry - I didn't mean to get on a
soapbox. But sometimes one doesn't
Fischer is a teaching assistant in the En-
glish Department, and an Associate Opin-
ion Editor for the Daily.
Don't raise tuition to
ease budget cuts
To the Daily:
It is already quite obvious that a Uni-
versity of Michigan education is out of the
grasp of most middle-class Michigan citi-
zens, not to mention the underprivileged.
If this college is to remain the
University of Michigan and not become
the University of the Suburbs of Detroit,
it is necessary that tuition not be
continually raised far above the rate of
inflation. I was quite upset to read in the
Daily (12/11/90) that because of state
budget cuts, University Provost and Vice
President for Academic Affairs Gilbert
Whitaker said students can expect a tuition
increase.,
Now I'm not sure what administrators
do, and I'm sure it is many wondrous
and noble things, but do we really need
so many of them? I'm sure students,
faculty and staff could implement codes
and lobby in Congress just as well as
University administrators do.
Perhaps we should be looking at what
cuts should be made in the administration
instead of them telling us what they will
cut and how much more we will be
na:vino'.

I'm sorry - I didn't mean to get on a soapbox, but how
else can I articulate what I feel about a president who
risks thousands of lives for a principle he has
consistently violated?

have any choice. Sometimes, as Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. said in the ex-
cerpts from his Vietnam speech the
Daily ran this week, to remain silent is
to commit betrayal - betrayal against
all the values this country claims to
stand for and never upholds, betrayal of
all the values I claim to stand for and
wish to uphold, and betrayal of what it
means to be a human being in a country
whose leadership is once again demon-
strating its callous intent to sacrifice its
people and its future for the sake of cor-
porate profits and stock futures.
Maybe what I'm most sorry for is that
I have to be so damned self-conscious
about how angry I feel. So concerned
about appearing reasonable and trying to
convince. After all, that is my job here
- one I have come to believe in, and
one I undertake with pride. I cannot
write reasonably now. But I write all the
more truly for that, and in a context
where I must and do believe that such
anger resonates among those who read
this - among those many anguished
faces which I saw tonight, and which I
shall never forget.
Nonetheless. I would indeed be sorry

Bush

if I ended with this anger alone, instead
of making an effort -- an effort we must
all make in the next few days - to
channel that anger. To make it collec-
tive. To forge a real sense of community
with those many others around us who
share our anger.
There will be many protests and ral-
lies today, and all of us in Ann Arbor
should be at each and every one. There
Being that the University is a school
for students of this state, I think we, as
students, need to decide how the state's
money is spent on our education. Obvi-
ously, Whitaker is not worth the money.
Darcy Nuffer
RC Sophomore
Readers misled by
rape story headline
To the Daily:
It was refreshing to read the non-
judgemental article concerning the rape
that took place on campus, reported in the
Daily on Tuesday, January 15, 1991. We
are impressed with the effort of the Daily
news staff to include accounts of sexual
assault in their reports of campus crime.
Although the article in itself did not
fall into the common trap of victim-blam-
ing, the choice of words used in the head-
line created a sense of doubt about the va-
lidity of the woman's actual attack. By
reading, "Woman reports rape on Diag,"
one is left to question, whether or not the
incident occurred.
We sincerely doubt that if the article
was written about a stabbing on State St.

will be a meeting and a debate concern-
ing a student strike tonight. All of uo
should attend that meeting. All of us
should support that strike. I won't be
teaching if students call for one; hope-
fully my colleagues won't be either. Be-
cause, sometimes, events warrant that
the only place to be is in the streets. Or
on a soapbox. Sometimes, silence is be-
trayal.
What will you die for?
To the Daily:
When it comes time to die, what will you
die for?
Will it be a case of survival or for a
political cause?
Will you die for the children or from the
hand of another?
It's your final statement, what will you
say?
Buddhist monks died for freedom,
Earhart for her dream, and
Cromwell for his beliefs.
Using every last effort for compassion,
and
Love, they speak through their silence.
We are all soldiers,fighting the confusion
of
Society, struggling to define morals with
which to
Order our surroundings. The casualties
from battle
dominate the news, depressing, tear-
drawing.
Our lives span seconds, yet can impact
the
World. Be strong my compatriot, we wil
not live
Vainly. We shall refuse the luring
entrapment of


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