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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 17, 2002)
Sports: Offense should learn from Wrecking Crew • Page 1 B Aggielife: Co-ed homefront • Page 3A 'TUT I il wlume 109 • Issue 13 • 14 pages B ATTALI0 N www.thebatt.com Tuesday, September 17, 2002 rive al-Qaida suspects handed over to U.S. ■KARACHI. Pakistan (AP) — An alleged organizer of the Sept. 11 attacks was handed over to U.S. aunorities Monday along with four other al-Qaida suspects who were anv ted here last week in a major blew to the terrorist network. ■The five suspects — including R^inzi Binalshibh, a Yemeni who allegedly wired money to the hijack ers in the United States and provided thlm logistical support — were flown out of Pakistan, several senior Pal ! stani officials said. ■The handover took place after a Pakistani official said police were investigating whether some of those arrested with Binalshibh were infolved in the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was abducted in Karachi in January. If a link were established, it would be the first evidence that al- Qaida may have been involved in Pearl’s abduction and killing. President Bush said Binalshibh's arrest showed the war on terrorism had not flagged. “I had the feeling that after September the 11th. that some around the world would grow weary and tired of this effort,” Bush said in Iowa. "But that's not how America feels. That’s not how that fellow who’s been picked up in Pakistan feels, too.” German prosecutors believe the 30-year-old Binalshibh was meant to be the fourth suicide pilot in the attacks on the United States. After he was refused a U.S. visa, he instead arranged payments to American flight schools and made frequent organizational trips. "After his exclusion as the fourth pilot, Binalshibh became the most significant contact person inside the network,” chief German prosecutor Kay Nehm told reporters in August. Although U.S. officials say Binalshibh was a key figure in the German-based cell that helped carry out the Sept. 11 attacks, they say he was not an overall leader in Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network. The FBI believes he is a key aide to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who is thought to have been a top planner of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon and to have plotted several al-Qaida attacks since. The arrests of Binalshibh and the other militants marked one of the biggest successes in the U.S.-led war against terrorism since Abu Zubaydah, the third-ranking official in the al-Qaida network, was cap tured in March in Faisalabad, Pakistan. Binalshibh was seized in a raid on an apartment building in a middle- class neighborhood Wednesday — the anniversary of the Sept. 1 1 See al-Qaida on page 2 z&wofw Egypttan . 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Groups hope to bring Bonfire back to A&M By Rolando Garcia THE BATTALION A group planning to build an off-campus bonfire came under criticism Monday from student leaders and University officials. A separate organization working to return Aggie Bonfire to cam pus announced its plans to lobby the new administration of A&M President Dr. Robert M. Gates. Efforts to revive the 90- year-old tradition that has been on hold since the 1999 Aggie Bonfire Collapse are proceed ing on parallel paths. But lead ers of the Unity Project, which unveiled plans to hold an off- campus bonfire, and of the Bonfire Coalition say they share the ultimate goal of even tually having a University- sanctioned Bonfire. The Unity Project, like past efforts to build an off-campus bonfire, is facing opposition from many quarters. “We will do everything in our power to discourage student participation because we are concerned about students’ safe ty,” said Cynthia Lawson, direc tor of University Relations. Lawson said student leaders in particular will be discouraged from taking part, because their participation could be miscon strued as University endorse ment of the off-campus bonfire. Luke Cheatham, leader of the Unity Project, declined to com ment. Zac Coventry, student body president and a senior agricul tural development major, said the project was a poor substitute for the real thing. “It won’t be an Aggie Bonfire,” Coventry said. “IBonfire] is about bringing the Aggie community together, but the Aggie Band won’t be there, the football team won’t be there, the Corps of Cadets won’t be there, and the list goes on. (The off-campus bonfire) will not be representative of the student body.” Coventry said he supports returning Bonfire to campus if it can be done safely. Before it moves forward with its off-campus bonfire, the Unity Project must raise $100,(XX). To minimize risk of injury. Unity Project leaders said stu dents Who want to participate in the off-campus bonfire will be required to attend safety training. Students will cut the logs, but the logs will be stacked mechanically. Even with these precautions. Lawson said the project remains potentially hazardous. “If you look at the track record of Bonfire, most the injuries hap pened at cut, and that’s where the risk of a major accident is the highest,” Lawson said. Former A&M President Dr. Ray M. Bowen cancelled plans in February for a 2002 Bonfire, citing cost and liability con cerns. Gates has said he has not made any decision about hold ing Bonfire in 2003. To help Gates make his decision, the Bonfire Coalition plans to survey other universi ties that hold events similar to Bonfire, said Marc Barringer, the group’s leader and a senior political science major. “WeTl compile that data and present it to the adminis tration to show that things can be done to minimize risks,” Barringer said. The coalition does not have a position on off-campus bonfires, Barringer said, adding that both the coalition and the Unity Project would like to see Bonfire return to campus. Barringer said the coalition plans to meet with Gates and work closely with the adminis tration to bring back Bonfire, even if it is drastically scaled down from the 60-foot-high stacks of past years. “If it means going back to our roots and holding an OF Army Bonfire with just a trash pile, that’s fine. We just want to reignite the tradition,” Barringer said. The coalition, formed last spring in the wake of Bowen’s decision, has grown steadily as it gamers support from students and former students who want to see Bonfire return, Barringer said. MANDY ROUQUETTF. • THE BATTALION SEARCHING FOR A NEW BONFIRE -3. UNiTY (»( )AI: to eventually have Bonfire hack on ca mpus HOW: • study how other universities tackle projects similar to Bonfire • meet with President («ates C»OAI - to build Bonfire | off campus until it can return to campus 1IOW: • raise funds tor Bonfire through donations • keep students trained |§ in building Bonfire Iraq agrees to U.N. inspections UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Iraq agreed Monday to allow the return of weapons inspectors to “remove any doubts” it still has weapons of mass destruction, Iraq’s foriegn minister said. I “The government of the republic of Iraq has based its decision concerning the return of inspectors on its desire to complete the implementation of relevant security council resolu tions and to remove any doubts that Iraq still possesses weapons Of mass destruction,” Naji Sabri said in the letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Sabri gave the letter to Annan, who announced the stunning turnabout in Iraq’s position on the inspectors. The end to four years of stalemate came days after President Bush addressed the U.N. General Assembly debate and said that Iraq must comply with Security Council resolu tions or face military action. In the letter, Iraq called on the Security Council members. which includes the United States, to “respect the sover eignty, territorial integrity and political independence of Iraq.” The letter further said that Iraq was responding to an earli er appeal by Annan for Baghdad’s compliance with Security Council resolutions calling for unfettered access to inspectors, and to an appeal by the Arab League and other Islamic countries. Annan forwarded the letter to all 15 members of the U.N. Security Council and to the chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix. It was not clear when the council would meet to consider the letter. “I can confirm to you that I have received a letter from the Iraqi authorities conveying this decision to allow the return of inspectors without conditions to continue their work,” a pleased Annan told reporters. See Iraq on page 2 A&M continues efforts to keep ODP By Rob Phillips THE BATTALION I A review committee from Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI) met with Texas A&M officials last week regarding a potential partnership for the next ocean hilling project beginning October 2003. JOI, which manages the existing Ocean drilling Program, will vote Sept. 25 to lecide which institution it will align itself with for the new project. A&M is the current science operator for the ODP. The work the University has done over the past two decades has brought A&M international prestige in the oceanography world. A&M has expressed interest in continuing its relationship with JOI and its role in the program. The contract partnering the two institutions ends in September 2003. The JOI review committee had an on site visit with A&M officials last week. Jeff Fox, head of the Ocean Drilling Program, said the meeting went well from A&M’s perspective but said the JOI com mittee would not comment on their impressions. The existing Ocean Drilling Program, an international organization which explores the history and structure of the Earth through scientific ocean drilling, is dominat ed by American influence. The National See ODP on page 2 Bush demands Senate action on federal budget DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Two weeks before the start of the new budget year. President Bush took to an emptied Iowa facto ry floor on Monday to demand restraint as Congress heads toward a Sept. 30 deadline to finish spending legislation. Bush, in a four-hour visit to this Mississippi River city, also picked up $225,000 for the local congressman. Rep. Jim Nussle, chairman of the House Budget Committee. Nussle won presiden tial praise for getting a budget approved by the Republican-con trolled House and gave Bush a foil for criticizing the Senate’s Democratic majority, which has not approved an overall federal spending blueprint for the budget year that begins on Oct. 1. “Without some kind of constraint on the appropriations process in Washington, as they might say in this part of the world, somebody is liable to go hog wild,” Bush said at the $100-per- plate picnic lunch benefiting Nussle’s re-election fight. Congress is scheduled to adjourn in a month to campaign for November’s midterm elections. It has completed none of the 13 annual spending bills that must be enacted to keep federal agen cies running after Sept. 30. Bush, in the name of the sputtering economy, tried to head off a spending spree on anything other than the Department of Defense and homeland security. “If you overspend, it creates a fundamental weakness in the foundation of economic growth. And so I’m working with Congress to make sure they hear the message — the message of fiscal responsibility,” Bush said. His remarks came six days after the Senate voted 79-16 to See Bush on page 2
