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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1999)
Battalion NION Page 9 • Thursday, April 1, 1999 r in ad). This rale® cu get an addita j sduled to end toe, nde Sam, professional laughingstock United States not respected by other countries due to history of involvement in civil conflicts Brendan GUY n/2bath house, C.Sn §' * 1/3 utilities. ' are 3bdnri/2tiatli n tar TAMU. 764- «r '99. Gorgeous ok Call 680-0807 iRVICES GABRIEL RUENESAFhe Battalion I n the year 168 B.C. the Se- leucid Empire invaded Egypt. As Egypt was an ally of the Roman Republic, Rome was understandably upset by this action and sent an envoy to the Seleucids to register their disapproval. The Roman delegate Popil- lius met with the Seleucid king Antiochus and drew a circle in the sand around the king, telling Antiochus to de cide whether he would have peace or war before he stepped out of the circle. Antiochus backed down and withdrew his army from Egypt. Rome was the most powerful nation in the ancient world and Antiochus knew that to re sist Rome would bring destruction on him and his people. Today, the United States is supposedly the most powerful nation in the world. But despite our su perpower status, we have proven consistently in capable of maintaining any kind of international order. Rogue terrorist states like Iraq and Yu goslavia openly and consistently defy the United States, while American efforts to control them prove ludicrously ineffective. When Rome ruled the world it was able to keep the peace by sending a single man to talk to its en emies, why is it the United States can not even maintain order with cruise missiles and stealth fighters? The answer is simple, the ancient world feared Rome, the modern world does not fear the United States. The principle reason why the United States is not feared is because of something called the Viet nam Syndrome. Essentially the Vietnam Syndrome is the paralyzing fear the United States has had of getting into a major war ever since Vietnam. In some ways this has been a good thing as it has probably helped save American lives by keep ing us out of needless foreign conflicts. Unfortu nately, it has also deeply eroded America’s inter national credibility. The international community no longer believes America will go the distance if it comes to it. In stead they believe that when the going gets tough, America will get going. And quite frankly most of the evidence supports their position. When the hostage rescue mission in Iran failed, the United States backed down and did not try again. When American forces in Lebanon were at tacked by suicide bombers, the United States promptly pulled out of the country. And when the Somalia operation turned violent, we quickly abandoned it and gave up. Even our recent victories have done little to re store international confidence. Grenada and Pana ma were both quick and relatively bloodless opera tions. As for the Persian Gulf War, which President Bush attempted to cite as proof that America had moved beyond Vietnam, it was largely inconclu sive. The Gulf War amply demonstrated American technical mastery and tactical skill, but it was won so quickly that it offered no evidence that the Unit ed States had the will to suffer through a long, drawn out conflict. To make matters worse, since the Gulf War America’s enemies have gotten a lot smarter. Sad dam Hussein has learned the futility of attempting to challenge the United States to a conventional battle, so now he has adopted a far more insidious strategy of just trying to outlast the United States. He knows America will never invade Iraq, so he just has to be patient and wait. The worst we can do to him is to launch the occasional air strike or cruise missile attack and what does he have to fear from that? Such attacks actually strengthen his position at home as he comes off looking like a hero for standing up to the hated Americans, and they make the United States look like a bully to the in ternational community. Hussein knows he just has to stay in power until he finally gets some nuclear weapons and then the United States will have to back off or risk losing Riyadh or Tel Aviv. Slobadan Milosevic has adopted the exact same strategy. He knows air power cannot win a war by itself, and that President Clinton has ruled out sending American ground forces to Kosovo. Therefore, he has nothing to fear from the Unit ed States. Milosevic called our bluff and he won. The on going air strikes are doing nothing to stop his forces (Serbian atrocities have reportedly in creased since the air raids began), the only thing that will stop Milosevic is if the United States com mits ground forces to the region. Something that is probably not going to happen. If the United States is going to insist on trying to contain the Husseins and Milosevics of the world, we are going to have to realize that this is going to require sacrifice. The half measures that have been used against Iraq and are currently being used against Yu goslavia are simply not working. Neither Hussein nor Milosevic fear the United States, because while they know we have the power to crush them, they do not believe we have the will to use that power. And right now it looks like they are right. Rome understood that ruling the world had a price tag attached to it, it is time for the United States to learn the same lesson. To stop Milosevic (or Hussein) is going to require Americans on the ground, and that is going to mean Americans’ guts on the ground. It is time for the United States to decide if we are willing to pay that price or not, because what we are doing right now is worse than useless. Brendan Guy is a senior political science and history major. omosexual hotel should be allowed, residents’ fear irrational omosexuals are all child molesters who iDriving. Lots-ol-W Tnce discounl, M’f (Spm-8pni) iSa#' side Nations-Ban* li: , ™ west price allowed 7 Unit el y do UOt de- «-6ii7. stamp serve a place to relax and enjoy them- ISSSIselveyneasujvat ng, etc.? cptoeSfiwhat Christian ( |SA — Jkotesters are saying ’ FOOX letonefreelllAny* in response tO the Friday only. allnsci^ s{ }-, omosexua ] Pq- el in the Galveston area. However, these protesters are con- Free Quotes, far name brand 8S sorierSw* fused, close-minded and bigoted. But more importantly, they are JTORS wrong. jive speaker red*'| A homosexual hotel is no more an rthbusmessaii^ i na pp r0 p r j ate anc j offensive place then „ is a dog-lovers convention to people jHi LOSo W ] 10 p re f er ca t s . ft j s time to leave the i wanted: i^ homosexuals alone and concentrate on lor recommended. ^ f | Call 279-9899. more important issues. The Hollywood Guesthouse is open ing on the beach in Galveston and of fers a completely secluded area within the walls of the hotel where guests can stroll around nude or semi-nude if they choose to do so. To protest, Grace Baptist Church pastor Ken Barber wrote an opinion column to the The Daily News (Galve ston’s newspaper) saying that “in re gard to the sodomite hotel ... every body better grab your little boys off the beach. These guys love fresh meat. They will molest your children.” Needless to say, it is better to have a homosexual hotel that is not harming anyone — whatever Barber misguided- ly thinks — than have a protest led by somebody who has no compunction about labeling an entire group of peo- eiiii' 1 i Plus. Enjoy t Energy booster-f/'j, i6983 or 693-2650-qL ICS I CasbChed^'™ pie as child molesters. This is a stigma that while untrue, will be believed by a huge percentage of the willing masses. Look at the Holocaust. That is exact ly what the Nazis did to the Jews. Be cause, if someone is labeled a child-molester, the general perception is very slow to fade. Further, the hotel harms no one. Even if somebody believes that homo sexuality is a sin, everybody sins to one extent or another. Instead of protesting somebody else’s sins and la beling those sinners as sexual deviants, people should focus inward and try to improve their own lives. Now, this is not to say that all the protesting Christians believe what Bar ber so virulently preached, but it is just as bad to protest the hotel’s open- MAIL CALL ing for more “morally correct” reasons. The homosexuals have a right, a le gal right, to open whatever kind of es tablishment they want to. If society starts curtailing this right, because “these people are sodomites,” it is just as bad as if society does not allow African-Americans the right to open a hotel where African-Americans can re lax. It is just as bad as saying that no nudist colonists should be allowed. Where can one draw the line? Start with homosexuals, end with an Aryan nation. Galveston city council member David Bowers said, “When hate rears its head, it should be identified as such. My comment was, ‘When hate wears a religious collar, it is still hate.’” This statement explains how society should approach a homosexual hotel. Do not preach hate against the “sin ners,” do not use all sorts of slurs against them, do not make them feel unwanted in this society. Let them own their hotel in peace. As editor of The Daily News Heber Taylor said, “We could stop insisting we are motivated by love of fellow man when we try to belittle or disen franchise them.” Read the Bible, everyone. While it might preach homosexuality is a sin, so is lying, cheating, stealing and gos siping. Did Jesus not say that “he who is without sin can cast the first stone?” Please, all the perfect sinless people out there, stop badgering the homosexuals. You have better things to worry about. Lisa Foox is a senior journalism major. loss, energy, ip & compare. 69*^| '‘tolerance not as pOffi « important as liberty H6-2887. How misguided are we as a na tion when we replace the cry for ^liberty with a demand for toler ance. It seems that anyone who stands and exercises his or her edom of speech is accused of being intolerant. It is a sad day when the weak nrnnded cries, “Can’t we all just get along?” outnumber those who ,i t • we i iClesire t0 b 0, dly test their ideas WIC ® a and beliefs in the free market of Tuesday ideas. Sure we may not agree. In ctwe may disagree 100 per- |nt, but let us always be free to argue, to discuss, and to chal- Jinge each other. Tolerance is for the weak spirit- for those who fear opposing ^ALl0^ ideas - Liberty is far more chal- Bnging. It requires that though I dnesdayi [ HE may disagree with you completely, I will do everything in my power defending your right to disagree with me. I am a Christian. I do believe the Bible is true. I know many of you do not. Let us disagree and the other is wrong. Let us try to persuade the other to our way of thinking. Let us be civil and re spectful, but let us be free. Liberty is a hard road to follow, but it is only here, when we are free to dis agree, that truth can be found. Curtis Sandlin Class of ’00 Ignorance at A&M blocks progress The Constitution of this country graciously grants us certain rights that we hold dear, granting a free dom not found in many parts of this world. But, it seems many take these rights for granted, exercising them without the responsibility that goes hand-in-hand with these rights. It seems that certain Aggies have exerted their freedom of speech and added a new shirt I hope will not become a regular mainstay of this campus’ wardrobe. Dawning a reprehensible phrase, “No fags, A tradition since the beginning” followed by soon to be forgotten quote, this shirt rep resents the ignorance that still persists within this one of the top schools in this country by imple menting the “Vision 2020” plan. It is disheartening to see that while we strive to present our selves as one of the best in the country, certain people tarnish this school and themselves by adorning themselves with this shirt. I would, like no other, love to see A&M reach the pinnacle of higher education, distancing our selves from the second-rate school down the road. Unfortu nately, certain members of this campus still live in a world where hate and intolerance prevail. I hope that these people can take the blinders society has put on them and examine why they feel so much hate for certain groups, and perhaps figure out for themselves whether disdain and malice, as opposed to love and understanding, can truly bring an absolution to the fears and igno rance festering within. Ricardo Romanillos Class of ’01 Picture tasteless, insensitive, sad Our condolences are sent to the family and friends of William Berry, Jr. It is horrible to lose a loved one in this manner. Al though many of us did not know William, as Aggies we will mourn his passing. However, the choice of The Battalion staff to print such a tasteless picture to cover Berry’s death sickens us. A picture of him should ac company the article— a photo graph to help us put a face with his name, not the clean-up of the aftermath of his death. The judg ment of the editors is certainly flawed when no consideration was shown for Berry’s memory or the feelings of his loved ones. By printing such a tasteless pic ture, The Battalion is searching for sensationalism in order to attract readers. As the campus newspaper, its circulation is already guaranteed without having to use such tacky and cheap tactics. Jane E. Bearden Class of ’99 Accompanied by 57 signatures The Battalion encourages letters to the ed itor. Letters must be 300 words or less and In clude the author's name, class and phone number. The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 013 Reed Mc Donald with a valid student ID. Letters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Campus Mail: 1111 Fax: (409) 845-2647 E-mail: batt@tamvml.tamu.edu