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8 SENIORS Time is running out! Don't miss your opportunity to be in the 2003 Aggieland yearbook. Get your picture taken at AR Photography by Feb. 13 404 University Dr. E., Ste. F (in shopping center across from Albertson's) Questions? Call 693-8183 or 845-2682 Aggieland 2003 WORI Friday, January 17, 2003 THE BATTALIC Iraq inspectors find chemical warhead Empty warheads a possible U.N. breach Public unsure about war By Hamza Hendawi THE ASSOCIATED PRESS An inspection team searching bunkers in southern Iraq on Thursday found 11 empty chemi cal warheads that Iraqi officials had not declared to the United Nations, a U.N. spokesman said. Iraq insisted that it had reported the rockets, which it said were old and never used for chemical weapons. A 12th warhead was also found that needed further evalua tion, and samples were taken for chemical testing, said Hiro Ueki, the inspectors’ spokesman in Baghdad. It was not clear if the discov ery constituted a “material breach” of the U.N. resolution requiring Iraq to itemize its weapons of mass destruction and their components. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the Bush administration was “aware of the reports and we look forward to receiving information from the inspectors.” McClellan would not comment on the signif icance of the find. U.S. officials said the discov ery may not amount to a “smok ing gun” unless some sort of chemical agent is also detected. Key questions about the find are whether any chemical weapons were ever loaded into the ord nance, and, if so, when, officials said. Serial numbers on the rock ets should tell inspectors where and when they were made. The United States, which has begun a heavy military buildup in the Persian Gulf, has threatened war on Iraq if it is found to be hiding banned weapons pro grams. The Iraqi government says it no longer has any chemi cal, biological or nuclear weapons and submitted a 12,000- page declaration to the United Nations last month that it said proved its case. The 122 mm warheads were found in bunkers built in the late 1990s at the Ukhaider Ammunition Storage Area, 75 miles south of Baghdad, Ueki said in a statement. The team examined one of the warheads with X-ray equipment and took away samples for chemical testing, the statement added. Ueki said the shells were not accounted for in Iraq’s dec laration. But Lt. Gen. Hossam Mohammed Amin, the chief Iraqi Inspectors find empty warheads U.N. inspectors found 11 empty undeclared chemical warheads in "excellent” condition on Thursday. TURKEY . No-fly zone 0 100 mi 0 100 km SYRIA IRAQ IRAN Ukhaider Ammunition Storage Area Karbala Warheads found No-fly zone SAUDI ARABIA KUWAIT SOURCES: Associated Press: ESRI liaison officer to the inspection teams, said they were short-range shells imported in 1988 and men tioned in Iraq’s report. Amin said the inspectors found the munitions in a sealed box that had never been opened. “When these boxes were opened, they found 122 mm rockets with empty warheads. No chemical or biological war heads. Just empty rockets which are expired and imported in 1988,” Amin told reporters. By Will Lester THE ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL The Iraq question President Bush has yet to convince Americans that war with Iraq is justified, according to a poll that suggests the White House has much work to do to win public support for military force. “I think a little more diploma cy would be in order,” said Creig Crippen, an 84-year-old retired Air Force veteran from Deland, Fla. There is widespread support for removing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, but that support is conditional on proof of a threat from Iraq and on the support of allies, said the poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. The poll was released Thursday as the United Nations said it had discovered empty chemical warheads south of Baghdad. Two-thirds or more in the Pew poll say they favor military action against Iraq — but only under certain circumstances. For example, the Pew poll suggested that support for war is strong, 76 percent, if United Nations inspectors find nuclear, biological or chemical weapons. The support is evenly split if they find no weapons but determine Iraq has the ability to make these weapons. The public does not buy the administration's argument that Iraq must prove it does not have these weapons. Almost two- thirds, 63 percent, said that would not be a sufficient reason for a war. More than half, 53 percent, say the president has not yet explained clearly what’s at stake to justify the United States using military force to end Saddam’s rule, according to the poll. Some 42 percent say he has. At the White House, spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush continues to work with other countries on a peaceful solution. “But if Saddam Hussein will not disarm peacefully and it becomes necessary to disarm him A recent poll suggests that Americans conditionally favc military action in Iraq. I Yes | No I I Not si Ta 1. Would you favor or oppose military action in Iraq to end Hussein s rule? 2. Would you favor or oppose action in Iraq to end Hussein's even if it meant that U.S. forces might suffer thousands of casuafe I-Oppose 3. Would it be a reason to take military action If... ... the inspectors find that Ira; hiding nuclear, biological or chemical weapons? 7% ...the inspectors do not find a weapons program, but the lr»j government cannot prove the) * not have such a program 8% Note: Poll of 1.218 adults taken Jar 12 has an error margin of plus or mi 3 percentage points SOURCE Pew Research Center foi the People & the Press by force, then what we would; doing is not only disarmint real and growing threat, liberating Iraqi people fron brutal, oppressive regime McClellan said. The Pew poll of 1,218 was taken Jan. 8-12 and hav error margin of plus or mimt percentage points. Though the president hash increase dis] making his case against In sumer spent since last September, Wli« you can begi House officials say the heave® 2003 F-250 lifting doesn’t begin until Jan. j| Bush's pi when Bush delivers his State j the Union address. That’s oiw; after LJ.N. weapons inspe® issue their preliminary repott. economy an them. His pi debt placed double taxat ing unemplc dealt with el tinue to gro\ Accordin ing drives Because of t lege of pay the federal ernment, wt less dispi income to The presi plan make future tax reductions ] in 2001 efl this year, rc tive to Janu After the p passed, he order the Tr Department adjust incon withhold: immediately The drumbeat for war coat bed couples ues Jan. 31, when Bush meets Camp David with his staunch: anti-Iraq ally, British Pm Minister Tony Blair. more Amerh bracket to t increases tfu House estim will pump IK Price Index shows inflation in econonn By Jeannine Aversa THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Consumer prices Consumer prices barely budged in December and closed out a year in which costs other than energy rose by the smallest amount since 1964. The generally tame inflation climate in 2002 offered some shoppers — especially those buying cars, clothes, computers and airline tickets — some good deals because prices fell for those items. But people paying energy, medical and education expens es, including tuition and books, took a hit in the wallet as those prices rose sharply. Energy prices, which can fluctuate wildly from year to year, rose by 10.7 percent in 2002, a turnaround from the 13 percent drop registered in 2001. Still, Thursday’s report on the Consumer Price Index, the government’s most closely watched inflation gauge, merely confirmed what Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan was saying all last year: inflation isn’t a problem for the ecojiomy. Many companies have limited power to raise prices given the uneven economic recovery, economists said. Consumer prices rose a mere 0.1 percent in December from the previous month, marking the second month in a row that prices went up by that amount, the Labor Department reported. December’s showing marked a better reading on inflation than the 0.2 percent rise economists were forecasting. But on Wall Street, cautious investors pulled stocks lower. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 25.31 points to close at 8,697.87. For all of 2002, consumer prices rose by 2.4 percent, up from the 1.6 percent increase in Here is a look at percent changes from the preceding month in the Consumer Pri« Index. Seasonally adjusted 0.5%- families by passed in 2C riage-penalt; financial bo< sconomy du with familie ome summ On the c< sanies pay t f the com] some of tho: — dividend o.o J F M A M J J A S 0N| 2002 SOURCE : Bureau of Labor Statistics 2001. But most of that pickup from rising energy costs, in ing gasoline, which mo'l higher on tensions in the East and worries about disruptions if the United SB] went to war with Iraq. Excluding energy pri ( consumer prices went up by 1.8 percent in’2002. That the smallest increase since a percent rise in 1964, anddf from a 2.8 percent increase 2001. “If you have the means the attitude to spend, you have to hunt too long to fir good bargain,” said Q Tannenbaum, chief economic LaSalle Bank. “Discounting' heavy and financing incent are common.” While that’s good for sumers, companies cutting prices may see their profit gins squeezed fui? Tannenbaum added. With inflation under c<#; the Fed likely will hold intfl rates at a 41-year low of percent at its next meeting 28-29, economists said. I t will b( of worh the dec mine the q we pass on for us to tl ing when i Right ni environme destruction Nations Fa the 90s v known hi.' London w Valley. In measurerm the ozone grown to ; kilometers UV-B radi; skin cance This dama back to rm Serving militar) In responst column: While I d points tha against rein dated his I ion. That is he wrote | elect to set ing. . . the Anglo-Ame
