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Ready and waiting
R.C. Slocum says he has
wanted this final game
with UT for a long time.
Sports, Page 7
Hitting it home I Successful gamble
Benson: Parents must
rear kids with firm rules
and consequences.
Opinion, Page 11
oISCIp
Swift: Casino pays off big
with shocking violence
and classic mafia story.
Aggielife, Page 3
Battalion
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Clinton makes case on sending troops to Bosnia
In a prime-time address,
the president said a small
number of troops will be
sent to Bosnia next week.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking
support for a risky military mission.
President Clinton presented his case
Monday night for sending 20,000 U.S.
troops to enforce a fragile peace treaty
in Bosnia. “In the choice between
peace and war,” Clinton declared,
IT America must choose peace.”
Without American force, “the war
■will reignite. The slaughter of innocents
■ will begin again,” he said.
" Despite misgivings, it appeared Con
gress would give Clinton his way. Sen
ate Majority Leader Bob Dole said he
believed in the constitutional authority
of the president and added, “No doubt
about it, whether Congress agrees or
not, troops will go to Bosnia.”
In a prime-time address from the
Oval Office, Clinton acknowledged
American troops will face danger and he
assumed “full responsibility” for any ca
sualties. However, he laid down a mark
er to anyone threatening the peacekeep
ers: “America protects its own. Anyone
— anyone — who takes on our troops
will suffer the consequences. We will
fight fire with fire and then some.”
He said a small number of American
troops would go into Bosnia sometime
next week to lay the groundwork for
thousands more to come, probably be
fore Christmas.
“Let us lead,” Clinton implored in a
20-minute speech de
livered in somber
tones. “That is our
responsibility as
Americans.”
Clinton pledged
that the U.S. mission
— expected to last up
to a year — would be
limited, focused and
under the command of
an American general.
“America cannot
and must not be the
world’s policemen,” he said. “We cannot
stop all war for all time but we can stop
Clinton
some wars. We cannot save all women
and all children but we can save many
of them. We can’t do everything but we
must do what we can do.”
“My fellow Americans, in this new
era, there are still times when America
— and America alone — can and should
make the difference for peace.”
Clinton’s prime-time address kicked
off an intense administration campaign
to break down skepticism to what Pen
tagon planners regard as the most dan
gerous U.S. military operation since the
Persian Gulf War.
Clinton tried to assuage fears that
the operation would evolve into a major
conflict, what critics refer to as “mission
creep.” Four times in the speech he de
scribed the operation in narrow terms
— “limited, focused” — and said it
would have “realistic goals that can be
achieved in a finite period of time.”
The American troops would be part
of a 60,000-man NATO force enforcing a
600-mile long separation zone between
the warring factions. Headquartered in
Tuzla in northeast Bosnia, the Ameri
cans would be deployed in a mountain
ous, mine-strewn countryside in harsh
winter conditions.
The dangers would be compounded by
the bitter ethnic rivalries and suspicions
that tore apart Yugoslavia. To some in
Bosnia, the NATO troops are more likely
to be seen as an unwelcome occupying
force than as peacekeeping saviors.
See Clinton, Page 2
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Cadets share holiday spirit
with Brazos Valley families
□ Cadets will give Christmas gifts to area
families through the Adopt-A-Family
service project.
By Courtney Walker
The Battalion
Most students are aware of the Corps of Cadets’ par
ticipation in Silver Taps, Muster and the nighttime es
cort service, but cadets said most people are not famil
iar with several off-campus service traditions.
From community-wide Big Brother and Big Sis
ter programs and reading to elementary children
during book fairs, to their largest
service project, March To The
Brazos, the Corps keeps busy
helping the community.
Marc Mulkey, Corps public rela
tions officer and a senior industrial
distribution major, said the Corps is
misunderstood and people do not
know what the Corps represents.
“To change the stereotypical
image we, are getting out in the
community and helping so people can see the other
side of the Corps,” Mulkey said.
Cadets will wrap up what they said has been the
best semester for off-campus community service with
an Adopt-A-Family project for Christmas.
The Corps will help 30 families in the Brazos Val
ley by providing them Christmas gifts to be delivered
after final exams.
Alex King, Corps public relations sergeant, said
the cadets should get involved outside the University
because community service provided by the Corps re
flects on A&M.
Along with trying to make someone’s Christmas
brighter, cadets began an effort to make a differ
ence earlier this semester in the lives of children
and teenagers.
Cadets participated in several elementary school
mentor programs and volunteered at Still Creek Boys
Ranch throughout the semester.
“We started the mentor programs the third and
fourth week of school,” King said, “and there are
freshmen who are still doing it.”
Cindi Ericson, a Corps public relations officer and a
junior international studies and political science major,
said reading to elementary children during book fairs
was one of the most rewarding projects for her.
“It was so much fun,” Ericson said, “and it exposed
the children to a different environment than they
were accustomed to.”
Another program in which the cadets served as
role models for children is Special Children’s Day,
where outfit members bring a handicapped host child
on campus for a day. Cadets show the children
around and take them to formations, drills and other
Corps activities.
■ Cadets said they have seen an
I L VJPn® ■ K, increase in community service this
year from previous years.
• “The student leaders have
worked incredibly hard this year to
aSL* sgl Iglsfth, create a community where people
llli Hi ariml care a 6° u f end results and attitudes
11 mJp are better,” King said.
Things are not perfect yet. King
said, and there is room for further
improvement.
“For example the Bloody Cross project was at the
same time as the Big Event, and other things ran
into each other,” he said, “so coordination between
everyone is a priority this year.”
Community service project ideas this year have
stemmed from brainstorming sessions with Corps
public relation officers. Many ideas come from people
who call the Corps for help.
Once an idea has been presented, it is taken to the
Corps commander, then approved by the comman
dants in the Corps Center. Then a memo is distrib
uted to all Corps units.
Ericson said it is never a problem finding cadets to
volunteer for projects because most are willing to give
their time.
“A lot of times a cadet will come tell us about an
idea,” she said, “and we go from there.”
Representatives stress need for
U.N. support in Bosnian conflict
hi
9
□ Bosnian and Croatian
representatives said the
communities will need
the help of other nations
to preserve peace.
By Kristen Homyk
The Battalion
United Nations involvement in
the current Bosnian conflict is in
strumental to the peace process
now underway, Bosnian and Croa
tian representatives said.
During “A People Divided,” a
presentation of the MSC Wiley Lec
ture Series, Dr. Jelena Polic, con
sular in charge of Croatian congres
sional affairs, and Malik Skaljic,
consular of economic affairs in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, stressed the
importance of international involve
ment to coqtinue peace in the area
of former Yugoslavia.
Skaljic, who called previous at
tempts by the international commu
nity to stop the fighting in the region
“absurd,” said that while the inhabi
tants of the different communities
are now willing to work for peace,
they will need help.
“Bosnia-Herzegovina still needs
help for the implementation and
preservation of peace,” he said.
“There is also a big reconstruction
in front of us.”
Polic said the international sup
port for Croatia has thus far been
insufficient. Croatia is currently
providing for 200,000 Bosnian
refugees and 200,000 Croatian
refugees at a cost of $528 million.
“Support from the international
community covers only about 17
percent of that,” she said.
The peace is dependent upon
the United Nations and its allied
forces, Polic said.
“It would require a major commit
ment by the implementation force
for this peace to work,” she said.
The involvement of the United
States in the peace talks has been
positive, Polic said*, and the peace
accords are expected to be
See Bosnia, Page 2
Shane Elkins, The Battalion
It's that time of year again
Erik Peterson, a freshman biomedical science major, and Melanie Bauml, a sophomore general
studies major, hang Christmas lights on trees outside All Faiths Chapel Monday afternoon for
the Student Y. The lighting ceremony will take place Wednesday at 8:30 p.m.
Aggie Democrats plan Kickoff
:■
Gwendolyn Struve, The Battalion
Malik Skaljic, consular of econom
ic affairs in Bosnia-Herzegovina,
stressed the importance of interna
tional involvement to continue
peace in the area.
uCecile Richards, daughter of
former governor Ann Richards
and founder of the Texas Freedom
Alliance, will address the issue of
Texas education.
By Michelle Lyons
The Battalion
The Aggie Democrats, in conjunction with
the Brazos County Democratic Party and the
Texas Democratic Women of the Brazos Valley,
is sponsoring a Fall Kickoff Nov. 28 at 6 p.m. in
the Brazos Center.
Kristi Perez, Aggie Democrats president,
said the event is an excellent opportunity for
area Democrats to get together before election
season actually begins.
“It’s sort of a kickoff for the Brazos County
Democrats, and it’s our end of the semester
event,” Perez said. “Anyone can go; it’s in the
local paper, and we’ve sent out postcards to
area residents.”
Perez said she hopes the event will draw a
few hundred people from the Brazos area, as
well as from surrounding counties.
“We’re hoping at least 150 to 200, possibly
more, will attend,” she said. “We’ve spoken with
surrounding county parties, so it could actually
end up being a lot bigger than we are expecting.
“I think it’s going to be wonderful — local
Democrats are excited about it.”
Perez said because members of Aggie Democ
rats have been so active this year, students are
thrilled to be taking a role in the kickoff.
“We are actually going to be running some of
the tables there, so we’re really excited about
that,” she said.
Linda Parrish, Texas Democratic Women of
See Democrats, Page 2