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Don’t call it
a comeback
Rise of Netanyahu cause for U.S. concern
A s the violence that consumes the
Middle East moves into its third
month, an interesting power strug
gle is forming in Israel.
■ Unlike the Palestine Liberation Orga-
niption (PLO), whose leader Yasser
Jafat enjoys nearly unchallenged su
premacy, Israel is a functioning parlia
mentary democracy with the inevitable
power struggles that typify the govern
mental process.
I It appears that now, in the midst of domestic crisis, for
mer Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is position
ing himself for another chance to lead the Israeli people. Ne
tanyahu, prime minister from 1996 to 1999, won Israel’s
first direct election for the post and continues to be a force
in Israeli politics even though he is now a private citizen.
■ If Netanyahu returns to power in the next few months, as
many experts are predicting, the United States must re-eval-
uate its position on the Middle East and its role as Israel’s
■equivocal ally.
I The re-establishment of a hard-liner such as Netanyahu
will not resolve the tenuous situation in Israel; it will only
make peace harder to attain.
I Throughout his term, Netanyahu gained a reputation in
the international community as an obstacle to the Middle
East peace process. During negotiations, he steadfastly
maintained that giving any amount of land to the Palestini
ans would undermine Israel’s national security — a sacrifice
he was not willing to make to satisfy his enemies.
I Israeli political author Robert Rosenberg noted, “Ne
tanyahu’s aim from the start was to make the peace process
so difficult, so tiresome, so frustrating for the Arabs that
they eventually would breach it, thus proving to his con
stituency — and the world, via CNN — that the Arabs could
not be trusted.”
I Ultimately, under immense pressure from the United
States, Netanyahu advanced the peace process, signing the
Hebron Accord and the Wye River Agreement with Arafat.
In doing so, he lost the support of the rightist coalition that
had catapulted him into power and soon began losing his
grip on control.
I In the months that followed, Netanyahu attempted to
ifight back. He escalated tensions with the Palestinians and
began vigorously attacking his domestic political oppo
nents, dividing the country and securing his own doom.
According to The New York Times, Ne
tanyahu has come out ahead of Barak
in a number of recent national surveys.
[.hou5ing101.net f
.-I “Israelis turned against Netanyahu for practicing the pol-
IfBtics of division,” wrote political analyst William Schneider
ft The National Journal. Israel needed a lebder who could
unite the country, not tear it apart.
I Now, the man affectionately known to millions as “Bibi”
has re-emerged into the political spotlight. After escaping a
3^5 Corruption investigation untouched, Netanyahu has made
jackguarai® his views on the current governing coalition very public.
In July, the private businessman, who no longer holds of-
ks,crfw |cial ties to any Israeli political party, addressed the nation
in a live television speech. During the prime time telecast,
Netanyahu said that the peace negotiations then taking place
at Camp David left him with a “deep feeling that the future
| o! the country is in danger.”
I “It’s better to leave Camp David now without an agree
ment,” Netanyahu said, “than to come back with a bad
^■ arrangement that endangers the future of the state.”
I Even from the sidelines, Netanyahu has managed to
voice his unilateral rejection of the peace process, preaching
the politics of division with Palestinians as the target.
Now, Israeli public opinion shifts further away from a
eaceful settlement with each additional bomb that explodes
in the West Bank, and it appears that Netanyahu’s no-bar-
nining position is beginning to look attractive to Israeli vot-
|rs once again.
In a poll conducted in October by Bar-Ilan University’s
Institute for Community Research in Tel Aviv, a majority of
~ poll’s respondents favored early elections to determine
fate of current Prime Minister Ehud Barak. In a hypo
thetical race between Barak and Netanyahu, the poll's re
sults were too close to predict a clear winner.
According to The New York Times, Netanyahu has come
out ahead of Barak in a number of recent national surveys.
Israel is certainly not the winner,” said the institute’s di-
octor, Dr. Ya’acov Katz. “People seem to long for Ne-
mtyahu’s strong leadership — they want someone who is
aot a sucker and would stand firm. They want the reciproci-
y associated with Netanyahu.”
The result of a second Netanyahu administration would
'ertainly be reciprocity, in the form of escalated attacks by
Israeli forces in response to Palestinian uprisings.
The situation is already bad enough, with Israeli heli-
: opters firebombing Palestinian buildings in retaliation tor
Palestinian protests and mob violence. The Middle East
loes not need Netanyahu to throw gasoline onto the al-
eady-flaming fire.
If the United States is truly committed to peace in the
middle East, it cannot allow Netanyahu to destroy what is
left of the peace process. If Netanyahu does return to power
and the United States tolerates his politics of division, it will
become glaringly obvious that America is only interested in
blindly protecting Israel.
Since 1949, the United States has defended Israel with-
°ut question. If Israelis elect a man who is so clearly com
mitted to fostering unrest in the Middle East, America s role
as Israel’s unwavering ally must be reconsidered.
Netanyahu may be the strong leader Israel wants, but he
’s not the advocate of peace that the world needs. Peace,
'vhich the United States purports to want for the people of
[be Middle East, cannot be attained with Netanyahu at the
bargaining table.
It is time for the United States to stand up for peace in
stead of sticking to 50 years of policy that no longer makes
sense.
3S
-yr
NT
THE BATTALION
Page 7
Quit your
Smokers suing tobacco companies ludicrous; already knew health risks
O n Nov. 6,
Florida Cir
cuit Judge
Robert Kaye upheld
a record-setting ver
dict that resulted in
the largest punitive
damages awarded
in U.S. history.
The verdict,
which awarded $145 billion dollars to
sick smokers, had been rejected by a
federal court after that court ruled that
it did not have jurisdiction over the
case.
In July, the plaintiffs in the Florida
case accused the five largest tobacco
giants of knowingly making a deadly
and dangerous product and, as a
result, they were award
ed $12.7 million in
compensatory damages.
The amount of mon
ey being given to plaintiffs in
these recent court cases almost
makes people wish they were
addicted to cigarettes.
Although these companies
knowingly make a danger
ous and addictive product, ^
smokers themselves
must bear some respon
sibility for their health.
Some smokers told
reporters that they did
not know smoking was
dangerous to their health and
were quick to condemn the to
bacco industry for their problems.
Many people would have ho
trouble realizing that inhaling thick,
black smoke into their lungs is not a
good thing to do. Smokers often put
the consequences of their next cigarette
out of their minds in favor of the buzz
it gives them.
This passing of the buck is not new
to American society. For example, in
bars across America, individuals drink
more than their limit, ignoring the ad
verse affects alcohol has on their bodies.
The act of indulging one
self while ignoring unfa
vorable side effects has
almost become a part
of American culture.
The cigarette
industry, while
bearing a part
For smokers who became acquaint
ed with cigarettes in the past, before
the industry was forced to inform the
RUBEN DELUNA/Thb BattaTO
of the responsibility,
should not be held completely respon
sible for the actions of millions of
smokers.
public of health risks, some spe
cial consideration should be rpade.
These individuals were victimized
by the tobacco industry and should be
compensated. Individuals who started
smoking cigarettes after information
condemning the health issues involved
should be shown very little, if any, spe
cial consideration.
Americans must learn to take into
account the repercussions of their ac
tions. Since smoking is legal, individu
als are left to decide for themselves
whether they want to smoke.
This simple fact places much of
the blame for smokers’ problems on
the smokers themselves.
The plight faced by thou
sands of sick smokers in the
United States is a sad one. Those who
want to use the majority of the $145
billion award to fund a national public
health campaign against smoking
should be applauded.
This can greatly help
inform the population of
the risks involved
in lighting up.
It is a re
sponsibility of
the tobacco industry to
•N, make the pub-
lie aware of
the risks in
volved. To
bacco giants
like Phillip Morris
have taken steps to inform nonsmokers
and smokers of the risks involved in
smoking cigarettes.
While their efforts may fall short of
what anti-smoking advocates deem ac
ceptable, they are making an effort to
atone for the actions of the past.
It will be a great day in America
when lawsuits like this one are in the
past and future Americans decide to
take more responsibility for their ac
tions.
Only then will lawsuits cease to be
the method many Americans “pass the
buck.”
Marcus White is a sophomore
general studies major.
Bad Bull — For an Aggie, there are
few things more rewarding than slipping
on that hard-earned Aggie ring for the
first time.
Beware, however — a serious case
of “senioritis” could soon follow.
With the light of graduation visible at
the end of the tunnel, it becomes easy
to get careless and absent-minded
about class.
If serious enough, this
lapse in work ethic could
spell disaster— imagine a
student having to stay in
school an extra semes
ter because of a failing
grade.
Bull Board
Nicholas Roznovsky is a senior political science major.
David Lee
Comparing license to
drive to gun owner
ship incorrect
In response to Nicholas
Roznovsky’s Nov. 18 column.
As I suspect a long letter would
not get published, I will not take the
time to refute every point
Roznovsky made.
I will simply point out that, while
driving is not protected by the Con
stitution, firearms ownership is.
“The right of the people to keep
and bear arms shall not be in
fringed.”
In every other instance in the
Constitution where the term “the
people” is used, it is referring to
the general citizenry.
The Second Amendment plainly
states that the government is not.
allowed to interfere with the natural
human right of self-defense.
Roznovsky seems to think that li
censing would not interfere with
this right.
In that case, may I suggest that
we also begin forcing people to fill
out an application, pay a fee and
pass a test before they may speak
freely in public or assemble or be
fore they petition the government.
Any member of the press will de
cry the above proposals as exces
sively infringing on freedom of
speech, freedom of press and other
rights that the Constitution express
ly prohibits the government from in
fringing.
Why then this double standard?
Jonathan Hightower
Class of ‘03
Good Bull—Although heated debate surrounds
genetically engineered foods in the United States and
Western Europe, it appears that researchers at Cor
nell University may have found a valuable use for
them in Third-World nations.
According to a report from Reuters, Cornell scien
tists are close to developing an edible vaccine for
Hepatitis B, a virus that can lead to liver disease, cancer
and death. I.
It is estimated that nearly a third of the world’s population
is infected with the vims. The majority of the cases are found
in underdeveloped nations.
By creating a vaccfn^ that can be carried in the skin of a
potato, scientists are^atstd)? closer to solving immunization
problems around the world.
Researchers iacif that future vaccines may be car
ried in foods s
bars.
D/The Battalion
as corn, spinach or even candy
niiqS
stuoi
iiiq8
— Nicholas Roznovsky
The Battalion encourages letters to the
editor. Letters must be 300 words or less
and include the author’s name, class and
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The opinion editor reserves the right to
edit letters for length, style, and accuracy.
Letters may be submitted in person at 014
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ters may also be mailed to:
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They do not necessarily reflect the opin
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istrators, faculty or staff.
Mail Call
If Roznovsky had
bothered to look at the
laws dealing with licensing car own
ers and gun owners, he would have
discovered that they are virtually
the same.
If one drives a vehicle only on pri
vate property and never on public
roads, no license is needed.
Likewise, here in Texas, as in
many other states, in order to carry
a handgun in public, one must ob
tain a license, but not so if the gun
is only carried on private property.
If he had looked at similar coun
tries such as Australia and Great
Britain where licensing exists, he
would have found that it has only led
to confiscating and a rise in crime.
Our Constitution guarantees us
the right to bear arms in order to pro
tect against government tyranny. A
freedom that is licensed and restrict
ed is one that can be taken away.
Enforcing gun laws already on
the books and teaching others to
be respectful and responsible citi
zens of society is what will reduce
crime, not the licensing of responsi
ble law-abiding gun owners.
Mark Kelly'
Class of ‘01
’ <3*£STTiTO*i:<n~>