Thursday, June 26,1
) or less (price must
iring personal possess# 1
>e. If item doesn't sell,
id to qualify for the 5
s cancelled early.
Opinion
The Battalion
Page 7 • Thursday, June 26, 2003
PETS
i very sweet and playfi
i mix, Is available for aocn
td. The Cat’s Cradle,
3EAL ESTATE
rm/2bth home, buy or I
$900/mo., Bryan, Man
ROOMMATES
ian roommate needed#
. $275/mo +1/3 bills, to
79)680-8797.
id new 3/3112 brick
$375/deposit. 832-642®
Governor Arnold
As Davis faces recall, Schwarzenegger poised to take California governorship
R!
iking female roommates
ew 3bdrm/2bth towntai
’e-in, year lease,
rinutes from campus, (3ti#
:es needed for a 1®
tryan. College students
:t Matt 979-257-9985
es needed for a 1906
iryan. College studentsw
oom and hot tub. Contadll
)85.
3/2house, large backya:
3 smoking/animals $325!!
12-3355.
ates needed fordbdrmte I
On Southgate. S25i
832-282-f!
@ aol.com
apartment. Fumislied,
1. 2 1 0-326-2420.
8/1 or earlier, non-snw
for 4/3 new home, SIX 6i
v/d, $400/mo. +1/4uliliteS
>-396-0766.
'25, Male non-smoking ffl
d Spring, 2bd/1ba Bran
. On bus stop, $295re
vid 694-7171
a needed 3bd/3badi)|ka!i
■03, $380/mo. If inlerestsi
85.
mmate needed. ForW
mobile home, $275ft‘l3■
696-2119.
one M/F roommate,
large rooms. SmlmM 1
00/mo. Please r
te for 2bdrm/2t)iti
1/2 bills. Call 218-5734.
CS'I
le, 2/2 house, new, fi* 1 *
tilities paid. 979-218-6288
nate needed ASAP!
s. Call 979-224-1071101
roommate for fall
apartment. Call (713|i
message. $350/mo.
iser in 4bdrm/2bth apa#
ng, summer. Call 9792
needed ASAP. I
house, $350/mo. +1/4
-2971.
wanted. 4bd/3ba., $415'
ce house, close to
0, 979-696-7817.
SERVICES
epublleans and Democrats
alike can’t help but be
intrigued by the California
gubernatorial picture. Democratic
Gov. Gray Davis — after only
seven months in office — is fac
ing a recall at the hands of
California constituents already displeased with
his term. And as interesting as this turn of
events is, one GOP candidate potentially vying
for the governorship is perhaps even more
interesting: “Terminator 3” star Arnold
Schwarzenegger. The idea of Schwarzenegger
as California governor is somewhat scary, not
because the actor isn’t qualified, but because
his qualifications pose a legitimate threat to
Davis. Schwarzenegger has said many times in
recent months that he would run for governor
“if the state needs me.” The state needs anyone
but Davis.
Many already know that Schwarzenegger
has flirted with the idea of being California
governor before, years ago, at the time of
Davis’ first term. He wasn’t ready then, as a
column I wrote stated, but he is now.
Times change and so do people — some
grow and mature while others lose touch. As a
man and a politician, Schwarzenegger has
grown. Conversely, Davis has only lost touch,
as is evident by the recent tripling of various
California vehicle taxes and increased efforts
by others to get signatures for his recall. It is
recall that has given Schwarzenegger his
window of opportunity — one he is poised to
:e advantage of.
The recall effort, which only started gaining
momentum in May, must produce 897,158
signatures by Sept. 2 to force an election
next year, according to The Associated Press.
Last month, there were reportedly only 18,590
signatures submitted. As of June 16 — the
most recent statistics available — that number
grew to 376,008.
GEORGE DEUTSCH
Dave Gilliard, who is oversee
ing the petition drive, told
Sacramento’s Mercury News on
Tuesday that the campaign
recently turned in a total of
625,000 signatures with another
240,000 ready to hand over. If the
campaign can submit enough valid signatures
by July 16, according to the AP, it could force
a special election this fall instead of next year.
Because an election next fall coinciding with
the state’s primary election would encourage
an increased Democratic voter turnout, it
would be in the GOP’s best interests to act
swiftly. In either case, Davis’job is in real
jeopardy — that much is inarguable.
But what about Schwarzenegger the politi
cian? His main strengths fall into the realm of
education, specifically programs for latchkey
kids and the poor. Schwarzenegger has spent
the past 10 years heading the National Inner-
City Games Foundation, a non-profit group
that “provides free after-school and summer
activities to low-income children,” according
to the AP. This group alone “reaches 250,000
kids in 15 cities year-round,” according to
Parade.
Schwarzenegger even authored
Proposition 49 in 2002, requiring state grants j
for all California middle and elementary
schools’ after-school programs. Passing with
56 percent of the vote, the proposition is
now law. Schwarzenegger has political ties
through his wife Maria Shriver, a renowned
journalist and member of the Kennedy fami
ly. He also works with well-known political
adviser George Gorton and, according to the
AP, has spent recent months “having discus
sions with political insiders and potential
supporters.” The headline on the cover of
this month’s Esquire, which features
Schwarzenegger, says, “The Next Governor
of California. Really.”
Bush’s competition
in 2004 is legitimate
T 1
mt. M-T(6piD-9pni|i
i, Fri.&Sat.- Fri(6pm , S
:30pm), Sat(8am-2:3i7
DfAmerica. Walk-ins
ish. Lowest price alio#*
iv. Dr., Ste.217. 84W 1
nin. early.
mance. Mow, edgf'
i and up. Free esti^
mdon.
TUTORS
Algebra through Calc« t:
/e message.
he run up to the 2004
presidential election is
reminiscent of the 1992
election when everyone was
asking who would be the
Democratic candidate to get
defeated by George Bush, Sr.
Nobody expected a young governor from
Arkansas to come out of nowhere, defeat
Bush, stay in office for two terms and then
oversee the largest economic expansion in
JUSTIN HILL
Defensive Driving. Lot- history, but it happened.
-lotii Ticket dismissal'-I Ldte 1992, the Democratic field is once
again crowded with candidates, many of
whom might have no chance of being elected
in mainstream America. Americans are liv
ing in fear, and the Republican party has suc
cessfully sold Americans on the fact that its
the only party that can guarantee military and
national security.
But, there are two Democratic candidates
who the Bush team will not be able to tout as
soft on security and inept on military matters
— a strategy Republicans used in 2002 and
one they will most likely use in 2004.
Senator John Kerry and General Wesley
Clark, of Massachusettes and Arkansas
respectively, would have a firm grasp on mil
itary and security concerns if they were to
grab the Democratic Party nomination.
Neither of these men have easily recogniza
ble names, but neither did Bill Clinton in
1992. What makes these men extraordinary is
their history of military service and work
with security matters.
To date, Kerry is the only one officially in
the race for the presidency. Kerry is a deco
rated Vietnam veteran and an author of multi
ple books on international crime and terror
ism. He enlisted in the Navy for Vietnam
after graduating from Yale, while President
George W. Bush wasn’t fulfilling his national
ICO Ifll guard duty obligations and Vice President
TT. — I Dick Cheney proclaims, “I had other priori-
ties in the ’60s than military service,” accord
ing to abcnews.com.
While in service, Kerry won three Purple
Hearts, a Bronze Star and a Silver Star. But
he is more than just a military man. He has a
compassionate record as a senator and has
worked hard to bring about change to help
Working class Americans. Kerry voted for the
war in Iraq but spoke out vehemently against
Bush’s failed diplomacy. And he will also be
able to compete with Bush in fundraising.
With a personal fortune of more than $ 100
million and his wife’s fortune of more than
million, Kerry might fare a little better
iattal^
lassifids
e an
ad, ph° ne
than most in competing with the
Republican money machine.
Like Kerry, Clark also served
in Vietnam after graduating
number one in his class from
West Point and then going to
Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.
But unlike Kerry, Clark stayed in the military
and served as a four-star General, Supreme
NATO Commander and won the Defense
Distinguished Service Medal, a Silver Star
and a Purple Heart followed by a list of other
awards.
Clark has still not announced his bid to
run for office and was not a declared
Democrat-until a few years back. Clark is
still untainted by the partisan bickering of
Washington and still speaks from the heart
and not solely from political ambitions. He
speaks of running for president because he
feels the country is headed in the wrong
direction. The public response to his cam
paign has been huge and a Web site,
www.draftwesleyclark.com, has been set up
to help his run with thousands of encourag
ing responses.
What we find in these two candidates are
the Bush administration’s worst nightmares.
They both eclipse Bush on military mat
ters. Kerry has a voting record to back the
compassion that Bush espouses in rhetoric
only, and Clark has the ability to speak to
people like a concerned citizen and not a
political opportunist. Neither of them could
do much worse than the Bush administration
on the economy. The strategy in the 2002
election of using the war and national securi
ty matters to win in the elections will not be
an easy sell when you are going up against
two decorated veterans.
Kerry and Clark are a dream team for
America considering the questionable situa
tions with Osama bin Laden, Saddam
Hussein, Homeland Security and all the other
issues that are scaring Americans.
The Republican party may already be
exploiting the tragedy of Sept. 11 by choos
ing to hold its convention in New York City
very close to the anniversary. It will, howev
er, be hard for the Bush administration to
play on Americans’ fears and run a campaign
intended to make the competitors look weak
on the military when the competitors are a
four-star general or a Vietnam veteran with
three Purple Hearts.
Justin Hill is a junior
management major.
Celebrities have traditionally fared well in
politics. Ronald Reagan, a former actor, was
one of this country’s greatest presidents.
Former wrestler Jesse Ventura was once gover
nor of Minnesota. Actor Clint Eastwood has
been mayor of Carmel, Calif, and the late
singer Sonny Bono was a Republican con
gressman from California. So if the past is
any indication of things to come, a celebri
ty will do well in politics, especially in
California.
In any event, the citizens of California
are not pleased with their current leadership,
this much is inarguable, and
Schwarzenegger represents change. Davis
has called the efforts to recall him “sour
grapes by a bunch of losers.” If all goes
well, by next March, America will see
what a loser Davis is.
Forces deployed too
late for peace in Bunia
MIDHAT
A few days
ago,
France led
the deployment of
a multinational
force of 1,400
troops to impose
peace in Bunia, the capital of
Ituri, in the northeastern region
of the Democratic Republic of
Congo. This was done at the
behest of U. N. Secretary
General Kofi Annan and with
the blessings of the U.N.
Security Council.
Unfortunately, such a move is
trivial and comes much too late
to instill peace.
The fighting in Bunia first
began May 7. The day before,
the United Nations replaced a
peacekeeping force of 6,000
with only 700 Uruguayan sol
diers. This gave the warring
Hema and Lendu tribes — com
prised of children and men
armed with machetes, spears
and guns — the perfect opportu
nity to charge into the power
vacuum. The resulting battle
developed into a grotesque mas
sacre of 500 Bunia civilians.
In the streets of the city, the
Hema and Lendu militias
fought anyone they could find.
Both tribes hacked entire fami
lies to death. Many victims
were tortured, some were even
cannibalized — their hearts,
kidneys or sexual organs
removed to be worn or eaten by
their murderers. 20,000 towns
people sought sanctuary at the
U.N. compound nearby, while
nearly 250,000 people escaped
to the countryside.
People all over the world
were outraged by the inaction
of the 700 Uruguayan peace
keepers. However, they could
not have done much to prevent
the slaughter. This was the first
time many of the troops had
even heard combat fire, and
since fighting broke out seven
have had nervous breakdowns
and been hospitalized. Also,
their U.N. mandate was patheti
cally narrow: the
Uruguayan troops
were there to pro
tect U.N. workers
and buildings.
They were told
not to intervene in
any local fighting.
The new French-led force
will do better than the
Uruguayan one in preventing
future massacres in the city of
Bunia. However, the force does
nothing to ease Congo’s des
perate situation, one that is not
confined to Bunia or even the
region of Ituri. This effort is a
soft attempt to resolve a severe
problem. The U.N. force will
be there for only three months.
It is mandated only to protect
civilians, and cannot disarm the
two warring Hema and Lendu
tribes or venture outside the
town.
a
In the streets of
the city, the Hema
and Lendu militias
fought anyone they
could find. Both
tribes hacked entire
families to death.
As quoted by The Guardian,
a British newspaper, a report by
the International Crisis Group
testifies that, “This interven
tion, on the face of it, is totally
insufficient to meet the needs
of Ituri's pacification.”
The Guardian also obtained
a French military paper used to
brief the troops before they left.
The document explicitly states
that the force “will have a neg
ligible impact on tribal con
flict” and that “France has no
specific interest in the area
except solidarity with the inter
national community.” The
briefing paper also maintains
that the troops departure date is
“firmly established” - Sept. 1,
2003.
By not disarming the mili
tants and then leaving in three
months, this French-led force is
just sentencing the people of
Bunia to death at a later date.
Nothing will prevent the Hema
and Lendu militias from bat
tling for the town again when
the U.N. peacekeepers leave.
Meanwhile, since the U.N.
troops are confined to Bunia,
they cannot prevent the Hema
and Lendu from massacring
civilians in other towns.
Bunia is just the tip of the
iceberg. The only reason that
the French-led force is in that
town is due to its proximity to
a U.N. compound. It does noth
ing for the Ituri region where
more than 50,000 people have
been killed since 1999. And it
does nothing for the 3.3 million
people who have died in Congo
during that same period of
time.
Imagine 3.3 million people
dead — twice the population of
Houston. This is the most
recent estimate by the
International Rescue
Committee. In terms of deaths,
the amount is equivalent to
Saddam Hussein’s gassing the
Kurds 330 times! The problem
is so large that sending only
1,400 troops to a country five
times the size of Iraq will
accomplish nothing significant
at all.
The United Nations needs to
be more serious about bringing
stability to Congo. It needs to
commit more funds and troops
and pressure Congo's govern
ment to actively prevent the
butchery of its citizens. Its cur
rent attempt is only inaction in
the guise of action, and that is
worse than no action at all.
Midhat Farooqi is a senior
genetics major.