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Opinion
The Battalion
Page 5B • Thursday, November 20, 2003
Harsh stance
Bush's move to prevent tortured soldiers from receiving compensation wrong
MIDHAT
FAROOQI
A ir Force pilot Lt.
Col. Dale Storr’s A-
10 fighter jet was
shot down by Iraqi fire dur
ing the Persian Gulf War in
1991. The Iraqis held the
Air Force pilot captive for
33 days — a period in
which they beat him with
clubs, broke his nose, uri
nated on him and threatened
to cut off his fingers unless he revealed mili
tary secrets.
What’s worse, the Bush administration is
seeking to block Storr and 16 other former
prisoners of war from collecting any of the
hundreds of millions of dollars they
won last summer in a lawsuit against
the government of Saddam Hussein.
The Bush administration should sup
port the troops with actions, not just
words.
The case dates from April 2002,
when the former POWs filed suit
against Saddam’s government in the
Federal District Court in Washington,
D.C. The soldiers wanted Saddam to
pay damages for the physical and emo
tional injuries they had suffered as a
result of torture while in captivity.
When the Iraqi government did not
respond to the lawsuit by July 2003,
U.S. District Court Judge Richard W.
Roberts ordered it to pay damages
totaling almost $1 billion: $653 mil
lion in compensatory damages and $306
million in punitive damages.
However, by July, Saddam’s regime
because the former Iraqi government due to the
American invasion of Iraq. The Bush adminis
tration moved within days of the decision to
block the troops from collecting any of the
money, stating that it was needed for Iraq’s
reconstruction. On July 30, according to court
documents, Roberts reluctantly sided with the
government, stating that President George W.
Bush had signed an executive order in March
that confiscated Iraqi assets and made them the
property of the U.S. government. With the
money no longer in Iraq’s possession, there
could be no payment to the former POWs.
John Moore, one of the lawyers in the case,
was stunned. “It never
occurred to me in my
wildest dreams that I
would see (our)
government com
ing in on the side
of Saddam Hussein
and his regime to
absolve them of
responsibility for
the brutal tor
ture of
Americans.”
the former
prisoners are appeal
ing the decision
through the United
States Court of
Appeals for the
District of
Columbia
Circuit,
according
Mahesh Neelakantan • THE BATTALION to The New
Dirty politics
Arrest of Russian oil tycoon suspicious
O n Oct. 25,
Mikhail
Khodorkovsky,
CEO of the Russian
oil company Yukos,
was arrested at gun
point on his private jet
in Siberia. The
Russian government
charged him with
fraud, embezzlement
and tax evasion. On Nov. 4,
Khodorkovsky resigned his
position as head of the oil
giant from his jail cell. The $8
billion man is the richest of the
so-called oligarchs in Russia.
The Russian government’s
actions are suspicious because
the arrest came less than two
months before Duma — the
Russian Senate — elections in
December, and five months
before the March 2004 presi
dential election. While the ■
arrest appears to be politically
motivated — Khodorkovsky
was getting too powerful —
because of the history of secre
cy within the region, the real
story behind Khodorkovsky’s
arrest is not likely to emerge.
Khodorkovsky and the
other tycoon oligarchs became
rich overnight as they snatched
up enormous fortunes when
the industry privatized in the
mid-1990s under Boris Yeltsin.
During this time, old Soviet
state assets were sold at
extraordinarily cheap prices. In
Khodorkovsky’s case, he pur
chased 78 percent of Yukos
shares at an auction held in
1995 by Menatep Bank, also
conveniently owned by
Khodorkovsky. Khodorkovsky
made Yukos more efficient by
drastically downsizing its
workforce, consolidating oper
ations and creating a work
environment that pitted
employees against one another.
The private industry in
Russia, however, is still at the
mercy of the Kremlin. In the
oil industry, for example, pri
vate investors may own the
companies, but the government
controls the oil pipeline sys
tem. Even if the oil giants fund
new pipeline projects, the state
will still claim control.
Although the state and the oli
garchs have been at
odds since the privati
zation era, it is said
that President Vladimir
Putin has made an
agreement with the oli
garchs that allows them
to keep their money,
but they must stay out
of politics.
Khodorkovsky
crossed this line too often
recently, which led to his arrest.
He has funded two opposition
parties, the Union of Right
Forces and Yabloko. During
arguments on recent oil legisla
tion, he has allegedly outspent
even the Kremlin to influence
Duma members. Russian news
agency Rosbalt reported Oct. 28
that Khodorkovsky was being
considered as the communist
party’s candidate for the 2004
presidential
of the powerful
election. And
The New York
Times has
reported that
Khodorkovsky
might be consid
ering a bid for
the presidency
against Putin in
the election next
March from jail.
It is for
actions such as
these that many
people, includ
ing internation
al financier
George Soros,
believe Putin
arrested Khodorkovsky for
political reasons. Putin sent a
message to all of the oli
garchs that he is still in con
trol. Russia is formally a
democracy, but some have
accused Putin of wanting to
revert to Soviet times, where
one man controls all as he
pleases. Putin even pushed to
reinstate the old Soviet .
anthem as the national song
in December 2000.
It has long been known
that rules in Russia are bro
ken and rights are frequently
violated through government
corruption and favors being
given to friends of the power
ful. Police frequently stop
a
It has long been
known that rules in
Russia are broken and
rights are frequently
violated through
government
corruption and favors
being given to friends
York Times.
Officials are arguing that the money is no
longer the property of Iraq, and that it is
required for rebuilding Iraq — a matter of
“national security.” In a sworn court filing, L.
Paul Bre/ner III, the American administrator in
Iraq, said the money won by the former
prisoners had already been “complete
ly obligated or expended’’ in recon
struction efforts. “These funds are
critical to maintaining peace and sta
bility in Iraq,” Bremer said.
David Eberly, a retired Air Force
colonel whose F-15
fighter was shot
down over northwest
Iraq, does not buy
the argument. “The
administration wants $87 billion for
Iraq,” he said. “The money in our
case is just a drop in the bucket.”
Even if the Bush administration
feels the money is needed in Iraq,
it should at least grant a portion of
the sum to the troops.
Denying the soldiers any
compensation, despite
their supreme sacrifice in
the service of their coun
try, is an extremely harsh stance.
The Bush administration also rejected a pro
posal that would have allowed the United States
to delay the payments to the troops for months
or years, according to The Times. Stephen A.
Fennell, another lawyer representing the former
prisoners, believes that such a proposal would
have allowed the Bush administration to provide
the money after the reconstruction of Iraq was
well underway.
“My guys are obviously real patriots, and
they authorized us to tell the government that
we were willing to wait,” he said. “But that was
turned down.”
These actions by the Bush administration
not only hurt the soldiers in question, but
future American troops as well. The lawyers
who had initially brought the case on
behalf of the former prisoners said such a
huge penalty against Iraq would discourage
governments from torturing American
troops. Now, with the damages left unpaid,
there is no such deterrent for other terror
ist states in the future.
Cynthia Acree, whose husband
Clifford is a Marine colonel held by the
Iraqis for 47 days, said “The money is
not the issue and it never has been. I
remember it so well, the look
on my husband’s face when
he heard the decision,
because finally there was a
public record.”
“But now, our govern
ment wants to act like none
of this happened, to throw
out the entire case,” Acree
said. “My husband is an
active-duty Marine colonel, and President Bush
is his commander in chief. But I’m not. And I
can say that I feel betrayed.”
If the Bush administration is truly serious
about supporting American troops, Acree would
not feel that way.
Midhat Farooqi is a senior
genetics major.
pedestrians for little reason,
which commonly results in an
“unofficial fine.” The Times
reported that one can evade
the draft for $5,000.
Additionally, Russia’s gov
ernment still allows torture to
be used on its criminals,
which is why England recent
ly rejected a Russian request
to extradite a Chechen rebel
leader. Russia’s three main
television stations are all con
trolled by the state. Putin
himself is a former KGB spy.
If that doesn’t raise eyebrows
of alarm, then nothing will.
With all of the underhanded
ness that occurs in Russia and
the behind-the-scenes dealing
between organizations and com
panies, the whole truth behind
the actions that led to the arrest
of Khodorkovsky might never
be known.
Business is con-
ducte'd under the
table, govern
ment gives and
takes as it pleas
es and facts are
covered up. Did
Khodorkovsky
bend some rules
on his path to
wealth?
Probably, but
this is no sur
prise when the
topic of conver
sation is Russia.
Furthermore,
why did Putin
wait to arrest
him until now if the charges
involve $1 billion in tax eva
sion? Surely the Kremlin knew
of this earlier. It’s just that they
let it slide until someone
attempted to turn economic
power into political power that
rivaled them. Even after the
verdict has been decided, how
will Americans ever know if it
was correct when the standards
in Russia are so different?
Look for books to be written
20 years from now concerning
the “real” truth of
Khodorkovsky v. Putin.
David Ege is a junior
computer engineering major.
Aggie Spirit goes
beyond Bonfire
Texas A&M did not create
Aggie Spirit or Aggie tradi
tions. They exist or do not
exist because of the students.
I get extremely concerned
when I hear students say that
the Aggie Spirit is declining
because we no longer have
Bonfire. I simply do not
believe that. If true, the Aggie
Spirit is much more fragile
than we all believe.
If I were to look into a “crystal
ball” for you and tell you that
Bonfire will never return to
Texas A&M, will you and other
students simply write off Aggie
Spirit as dead — as a thing of
the past? If you do, I would tell
you that you are letting down
the many generations of
Aggies who built and sustained
that spirit that you claim to
cherish so much.
Aggie Spirit was real before
Bonfire ever existed. Aggie
Spirit was real while Bonfire
was simply something that a
few Aggies threw together a
couple of days before the t.u.
game. Bonfire grew to become
a popular and significant Aggie
tradition only in the latter part of
its existence.
If you truly believe that Aggie
Spirit is on the decline then I
believe you are asking the
wrong question. Instead of
asking the University what it is
going to do to bring back
Bonfire so Aggie Spirit can
survive — you and your fellow
students should be asking
yourselves what you are going
to do to assure that Aggie
Spirit remains alive and well
MAIL CALL
for future Aggies. The respon
sibility for sustaining Aggie
Spirit rests squarely on the
shoulders of Aggies, past,
present and future.
Bill Kibler
Interim Vice President for
Student Affairs
Moore abused his
power as judge
In response to a Nov. 19
mail call:
When you hold public office
or any position of authority, the
line between personal and
public opinion is often insepa
rable. For example, if University
President Robert M. Gates
were to say that the Corp of
Cadets sucked and should be
disbanded, there would be a lot
of people calling for his dis
missal even though he is
expressing a personal opinion.
By virtue of his position,
President Gates represents the
administration of this fine
University. In the same way,
Judge Moore represents, or
rather represented, the judici
ary of Alabama.
He had used, or rather
abused, his position as chief
justice to defiantly install a
Judea-Christian monument in
the power-center of Alabama’s
judiciary; something that I am
sure no ordinary Alabama resi
dent would be able to accom
plish by himself.
Judge Moore’s position as
chief justice and the location of
this monument clearly say to
the people of Alabama that
Christianity prevails in the judi
ciary of the state.
Establishment of religion does
n’t always have to be in the
form of official proclamation.
Here’s an acid test for those
who still disagree: Would you
still feel the same way if Judge
Moore had instead installed a
statue of Buddha or Koran
inscribed with the teachings or
laws of those religions?
Kenny Kwong
Graduate Student
Demonstration by
YCT disgusting
I was just writing to express
my disgust at the anti-diversi
ty protest staged by the
Young Conservatives of
Texas in the Academic Plaza
on Wednesday. YCT contin
ues to embarrass the
University and perpetuate the
belief that all Aggies are
ignorant and hateful.
Considering their activities
this year, it is no wonder that
minorities are under-repre
sented at Texas A&M, and we
were listed by the Princeton
Review as the 12th most gay
unfriendly campus in the
nation. The only group with
an information table counter
ing the YCT rally was the
Society of Mexican-American
Engineers. While their effort
was admirable, it is time for
all Aggies to stand up to the
Young Conservatives,
regardless of major, race or
political affiliation.
Casey Foster
Class of 2005