’5.;
PINION
The Battalion
Page 5B • Thursday, March 25, 2004
A coalition in jeopardy?
lesults of recent election in Spain will do little to deter the terrorist threat there
le
ionally
tions,
isa
SSOCMI
omewhere out there, in
the many caves and holes
throughout the Arab
world, celebrations are under
way. And based on the recent
occurrences in Spain, Islamic
extremists are surely having
quite a party, because the
Nicholas strength of the U.S. coalition is
DAVIS now questionable.
Three days after the devas-
g Madrid bombings, which claimed some
innocent lives and wounded 1,500 more,
lections in Spain transpired as scheduled but
oduced a shocking result: The Socialist Party
placed the highly-favored Popular Party, mark-
ig a tremendous victory for the terrorists.
For eight years, the Popular Party controlled
e Spanish government, enjoying success in
leform of steady economic growth, reduced
Inemployment, improvement of Spain’s esteem
roughout the international community and
Ire-election polls even predicted a substantial
[ictory.
However, two elements posed a problem.
First, former Prime Minister Aznar steadfast-
supported the United States and devoted
panish troops to aid in the Iraq war even
lough the majority of Spain’s citizens opposed
itervention.
Secondly, Spain suffered a terrorist attack dur-
igthe Popular Party’s political watch.
Surprisingly, though, many Spanish citizens
:garded the terrorist attack not as an assault on
le lifestyle or freedom of their country, but
nstead as a direct consequence of allying itself
closely with the Bush administration’s war
in terror.
Such an outlook is difficult for many
Americans to understand or even sympathize
isportatj vith.Think about it: Nearly 3,000 U.S. citizens
ost their lives in the Sept. 11 attacks, and the
juse I esponseby most patriotic, rational individuals
irhapsl
l amaii
ite and)
)ublish
i in the a:
n Bm
iss oil
rking
was to seek
out the per
petrators
and rid
their
despotic
presence
from the world.
The Spaniards, how
ever, have chosen a dif
ferent method of
addressing terrorism:
appeasement. It resem
bles an isolationist
defense synonymous
with sticking one’s
head in the ground,
hoping and praying
that whatever danger
arises passes them
by. If the threat of
danger remains, the
apparent line of
thinking goes, pay it
off with concessions
or “tribute.”
Consider this
statement by a
Spanish citizen
reported by Fox News:
“I wasn’t planning to
vote, but I am here today
because the Popular Party
is responsible for the
murders here and in
Iraq.” Another
citizen, quoted
by The New
York Times,
stated.
l
\\v
“Maybe al-Qaida will leave us alone now.”
How these individuals can believe
the government is culpable and
not the radical
Muslims
is beyond
all rational
comprehen
sion.
Moreover, the
truly disturbing
matter is that mil
lions of other delusional
people subscribe to this
same view.
So what has Spain’s trib
ute purchased?
The country has been
allotted time from the terror
ists to uphold the new
Socialist Party’s pledge of with
drawing troops from Iraq, and can
now enjoy a life of perpetual fear
complemented nicely by a feeling of
powerlessness as it awaits
other terrorist demands.
Sounds good, right?
But wait, there’s
more. Spain also has the
leadership of a misguid
ed and equally fright
ened prime minister,
Jose Luis Rodriguez
Zapatero, to guide
the country
through the tur
bulent years
ahead.
I “Rather
than defeat
terrorism, U.S. military actions risk fueling it,”
the prime minister said. He also claimed that nei
ther bombs nor shock and awe tactics could
defeat terrorism, saying instead, “Terrorism is
fought by the state of laws.”
To believe that the presence of laws alone can
rid the world of international terrorism is naive,
and to refuse to confront terrorists using any
means necessary, is a sign of a cowardice. Prime
Minister Zapatero is guilty of both.
Here is the crux of the matter. Losing 1,300
Spanish troops is no big material loss. The
United States will do what it always does and
carry the rest of the load. The real problem,
though, is symbolic in nature. No longer does the
coalition appear united. No longer does the free
world share the same intensity and resolve in
combating terrorism.
To the contrary, it now appears terrorists can
win by frightening countries into submission.
Where will they venture to next? How about
Britain? After all, a substantial portion of the
population disagreed with the Iraq war. No one
knows if such an attack could motivate parlia
ment to oust British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Nevertheless, to the terrorists it is probably worth
a shot. It worked in Spain.
Perhaps terrorists will spare appeasing
countries the pain of future attacks, but there is
a catch. These countries will always be indebt
ed to the terrorists for each day of tranquility
they enjoy. Such security comes at too high of
a price.
4.
Nicholas Davis is a senior
political science major.
Graphic by Chris Griffin
oncemsl
]t"Kn
ssofU
ush’s prescription drug
lan invasive, expensive
Government can't protect people from selves
MAIL CALL
r hen the
govern
ment
te away your
, you should
2 outraged. When
takes away your
ps because it is
mating you as if mike
i were a child, waiters
|just plain
'suiting. On March 1, President
"sh announced a new strategy to
ackdown on the illegal use of pre-
l-.nption drugs, at a price tag of $ 10
11 'on from taxpayers. Not only
Joes Bush want to take away money
jjatyou have earned by working, he
|antsto spend it on making sure
Pjaren t taking Tylenol with
rfcine instead of Advil for that
'adache.
I's time to let a little secret out
a ults know what they’re doing
e n they light up a cigarette,
^ a k eer or smoke marijuana,
o honestly thinks that what
T re doing is completely safe
on they can see black smoke bil-
J outh?° Ut ^ t ^ Ni * 6 * r n ° Se anC *
Ib/i' 8 ^ an t0 w '^ en th e scope of
I , a jondy-doomed war on drugs to
me not only illegal drugs, but
LP rescr 'Pti on medications is
*n its very premise of advo-
■ § n paternalistic state at the cost
at T nCm 1 ‘gh ts and in the idea
aim Can 1 solve th e problems it
bnsto be able to.
o thc big question is: Where
)L f § overnr nent think it gets the
* e ;to tel! us howto live our
«i»css 0 o/t P the Peace ’ ■' has ,he
iher!! * kee P'ng men safe from
dves not sa ^ e f rom them-
;ss n ° i ^ ree t0 P urs ue happi-
I lake o 60 * 3 C 1111181 a ' so I 36 f ree t0
le a J\ 0 d ar, d bad choices. If peo-
avemn? acce P t fhe idea that the
irethfv en > t 18 ^urg 6 ^ with making
irtheJ, a , Ways do the right thing
NenderT VeS ’ the situa tion is an
hould [ZT l0n ° f bad P arentin g-
tent a i P §° vern ment then imple-
, gal bedtime for everyone?
“I’d like someone to show me
Congress’ constitutional authority
for the government protecting me
from making unwise choices,”
wrote Dr. Walter Williams, an
opinion writer for Capitalism
Magazine. The simple fact is that
no one could. Although taking
drugs may involve certain risks, the
principle of individual rights
demands that government stay out
of one’s pursuit of his own happi
ness, which includes any choice
that does not infringe upon others’
rights. America was founded on the
principle of individual rights and
has no authority to act in opposi
tion to this.
r
This plan to widen
the scope of the
already-doomed war
on drugs to
include not only
illegal drugs, but also
prescription
medications is flawed in
its very remise of advo
cating a paternalistic
state at the cost of
American rights.
Furthermore, Bush’s plan will
not even solve the problems he
thinks it will. He’s claiming his plan
of cracking down on prescription
drugs will solve the problem of
teenagers buying drugs such as
Xanax and Vicodin off the Internet
with their parents’ credit cards. But
if you have a child who’s willing
and able to steal your credit card to
buy something off the Internet, hurt
ing their chances of buying Valium
is really the least of your worries,
and it certainly won’t fix what s
wrong with him.
Not only would this be a failed
attempt to take care of other peo
ple’s children, but the crackdown
would have repercussions on med
ical workers and everyone under
their care. The Associated Press
reported that another $138 million
would be dedicated toward physi
cian training and education pro
grams as well as fighting illegal
Internet sales. This means that doc
tors, who are already under the
stress of dodging malpractice suits
and paying for the related insur
ance, will have to spend even more
stressful hours to attend seminars
and training, while worrying that
Big Brother is breathing down their
necks with every painkiller they
prescribe.
“The principal impact of this
campaign when you step up the law
enforcement response is that doctors
will err on the side of under-treating
pain,” warns Ethan Nadelmann, .
executive director of the Drug
Policy Alliance. And do you really
want doctors under-treating your
pain when you are hurting, all on
account of rebellious teenagers and
parents who are incompetent at rais
ing children?
It’s time for Americans to wake
up and smell reality. The govern
ment wasn’t created to baby-sit the
punk children of irresponsible par
ents, and it has no authority to regu
late bad decisions that harm only
the person making them. The idea
of being free starts with being free
to make one’s own choices when
they affect only oneself — where to
go to college, what to buy at the
grocery store, whether to risk can
cer by smoking and even the risk of
taking more dangerous substances.
People own their lives — it’s time
to stop letting the government say
that it does.
Yell Leader positions for
Corps of Cadets only
In response to a March 24 news article:
I am a junior mechanical engineering
major and am also a non-reg. I disagree with
some of the comments made in the article
regarding the topic of non-reg yell leaders.
First of all, if yell leaders are supposed to
represent and reflect the entire student
body, wouldn't it follow that we would need
to elect women to that position? That is a
ridiculous concept because the yell leaders
are a reflection of our traditions, not a reflec
tion of the student body. The student body is
represented by the SBP, class officers and
student government. Second of all, I feel that
Justin Woods' comments in the article were
chosen very selectively. The Corps members
are not more qualified simply because of
their work ethics. They are more qualified
because of their dedication to Texas A&M
and its traditions. They are more qualified
than any non-reg to lead this school in some
of our most important traditions. It is an
honor to do that, and I feel that members of
the Corps of Cadets are the most deserving
of that honor. They have chosen to give up
the normal college life to dedicate four years
to the traditions of our school, and quite a
few have also dedicated time after college to
serve our country.
If Jacob Scher has such a love for the
Aggie Spirit, why isn't he in the Corps? To
me, that is the epitome of representing
Texas A&M.
Personally, I will never vote for a non-reg
yell leader. Call me prejudiced, but I don't
feel that that position is one that should go to
just any student at Texas A&M. The Corps of
Cadets is the glue that holds this school and
its traditions together. They are the "Keepers
of the Spirit.” Let's give them the respect
they deserve and allow them to do that job.
Amy Gray
Class of 2005
SBP candidates’ campaign
should not focus on race
Spring is in the air, or at least discarded fly
ers are. Campaigning via association is a
very popular idea with student elections
coming up. Five Corps guys have the votes of
the Corps for yell leader. Two other guys are
out to represent the other 43,000 students
for yell leader. SBP candidates are out to
prove who has the most friends, and most
students are already tired of getting flyers
and it’s only day four. But one campaigner
for “NDC for SBP" really reached a low point
with a campaigning slogan, or more so slur.
“She’s black — You gotta vote for her!" the
young lady exclaimed in the middle of
Academic Plaza Wednesday mid-morning.
It’s shameful enough that the administration
only sees diversity as being a race issue, but
when students are going out on the same
weak branch, we’re all doomed to fall.
Granted, the elections are mainly populari
ty contests and most voters don’t care about
the empty promises of the candidates, but I
would hope the candidates would associate
themselves with their accomplishments and
involvement in campus organizations, not
race, sex or religion. I’m sure the candidate
probably doesn’t agree with the words of her
campaigner, but she must know who is rep
resenting her and the ideas that are being let
out in her name. To all the candidates, best
of luck in campaigning and represent some
thing worth the students’ time and votes.
Terri Wilson
Class of 2007
The Battalion encourages letters to the editor.
Letters must be 200 words or less and include
the author’s name, class and phone number.
The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters
for length, style and accuracy. Letters may be sub
mitted in person at 014 Reed McDonald with a
valid student ID. Letters also may be mailed to:
014 Reed McDonald, MS 1111, Texas A&M
University. College Station, TX 77843-1 111. Fax:
(979) 845-2647 Email:
mailcall@thebattalion.net
Mike Walters is a senior
psychology major.