spot
2004
Opinion
The Battalion
Page 5 • Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Intolerance is the answer
ooperation with Middle Eastern insurgents will only bring more violence
lor a country so pow- they had hurt others. a ^ dk
i erhil, the United “We are opening the door of forgiveness...to Wm A I M jh M W ^
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or a country so pow
erful, the United
States is weak
America’s ability to win
ars is waning because
olitical correctness is part
f the battle plan. Turning
n the news day after day
hear of yet another
lostage beheading or a
omb killing
—Vmerican soldiers,
s ’ “ le ^waders in the Arab
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NICHOLAS
more DAV is
while
world
work of “extremists” has
It’s time to reevaluate our outlook.
The latest beheading of engineer, Paul
ohnson was chilling. He was kidnapped while
riving home from work and held in exchange for
Mingsi ie re i ease 0 f terrorists linked to al-Qaida.
Of course, the United States maintained the
lolicy of not negotiating with terrorists.
Pictures of Johnson’s gruesome murder sur-
aced with a message attached in which, accord-
ng to Fox News, the group reiterated its ulti-
nate goal of driving all non-
uslims from the Arabian
’eninsula.
Most Americans have been led
|o believe that these terrorists are
art of a sick, fundamentalist
pinoff of the Islamic religion,
ut this is becoming harder to
elieve.
According to The New York
imes, following Johnson’s mur-
er, discussions on an Islamic Web
ite raged as Muslims discussed
hether the beheadings fell within
;he religion’s parameters of accept-
|ble behavior.
What’s troubling is that the
liews expressed on the Web site
Ivere mixed.
Even more disconcerting is the latest
nnouncement from Saudi Arabia’s Prince
bdullah that terrorists would be granted
mnesty for surrendering within a month and
If America's
interest is to re
main in the .
Arab world...
then the United
States must
crackdown hard
on terrorists...
;emi'
3S SCI Avould not face the death penalty. In fact, capitu-
n , Hating terrorists would only face prosecution if
they had hurt others
We are opening the door of forgiveness...to
everyone who deviated from the path of right and
committed a crime in the name of religion,”
Prince Abdullah stated.
It’s clear the Saudis are not America’s allies,
and never have been. They begrudgingly comply
with the United States only because of business
relations.
Nevertheless, the Saudis are not the only prob
lematic ones in the Muslim world. While U.S.
soldiers quell threats in Afghanistan, or wait
around in Iraq to fall victim to an ambush, Syria,
Turkey, Pakistan, the Palestinians and most
notably Iran, which is funding resurgences in Iraq
and pursuing a nuclear weapon, are challenging
the United States.
So who are we to trust? It would be nice to
believe that these extremists represent only a
minority of Muslims, but due to the number of
extremists, it sure doesn’t appear that way.
Here is the problem: the United States waged
war on terrorism without clearly identifying the
enemy. This may come as a shock to some, but
al-Qaida is not the only terrorist
organization in the world. Moreover,
the causes of terrorism are not sim
ply linked to the cliched sociological
explanation of disenfranchised
youths angry at the transformation
of their culture into a more
Westernized society.
Unfortunately, the roots of ter
rorism may be in the Islamic reli
gion itself, especially with the dif
ferent interpretations of the word
“Jihad.” Why else would so many
Muslims be calling for Holy War?
These people are not a bunch of
uneducated fanatics; high-ranking
clerics like Sheik Saleh Al-Fawzan
are doing it as well.
Thus, while not all Muslims physi
cally participate, many sympathize with the
cause, making it extremely difficult to locate
people willing to identify terrorists.
Truthfully, the Islamic religion is not a
peaceful one, but it’s possible for our two cul
tures to live in peace. First, though, the United
States must decide on a goal. If America’s
interest is to remain in the Arab World, achiev
ing globalization and intertwining economies,
then the United States must crack down hard on
terrorists and their supporters/sympathizers.
They should be so frightened of touching an
American that to even think of kidnapping one
would spell devastation to many Arabs, not just
the kidnappers.
On the other hand, if the United States desires
to play babysitter, trying to befriend the people it
is fighting, while it is fighting them, time and
money are being wasted and Americans are dying
in vain. The United States must no longer tolerate
the hostility of the Arab world and must end the
military occupation in the Arab World to ensure
its safety.
Nicholas Davis is a senior
political science major.
Graphic by Tony Piedra
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MAIL CALL
NASA is necessary
i6-2j
thanp
i for ft
In response to Mike Walter’s June 29
column:
As the son of a NASA employee, the col
umn put quite a damper on my day.
People like you are the reason NASA is
constantly forced to cut budgets and
scrap programs that would benefit the
United States. Unlike private industries,
which act only in self-interest, NASA pro
vides a public service.
While I support private space programs
and am excited about Rutan’s
Spaceshipone, Rutan’s company is
focused on only one aspect of the space
industry: tourism. They do not have any
enterprise in the many other areas such as
astronomy, medical, propulsion and mate
rials research. NASA does all of these and
has produced GPS, MRI scanners, pace
maker batteries and the anti-corrosive
paint used on the Statue of Liberty.
You also mentioned NASA's “theft of
American money.” NASA's budget is one-
tenth of a percent of our nation’s budget.
The point is, let private industries build
their toys, but leave the real work to the
big boys.
Jim Foreman
Class of 2006
Spaceshipone failed
In response to Mike Walter’s June 29
column:
It is true that the feat by Burt Rutan
was history making. However, one must
not get caught up in emotions generated
by this event and dismiss the facts.
This accomplishment was not without a
marred report. After a few major upsets,
it ended up reaching only 62 miles plus
400 feet, barely reaching into space and
far from its goal of 68 miles and was 22
miles off course!
The craft did not attain the speed neces
sary to orbit the earth. At such low speeds,
it is much easier to re-enter the atmos
phere and use normal flight methods.
Bringing commercialization into space
is a great pursuit, but to call for the disso
lution of NASA is premature at best. I
challenge someone to find a corporation
that would have funded the Hubble Space
Telescope, one of NASA's greatest
achievements for verifying and spawning
countless ideas and theories. If knowl
edge is a reward in itself, NASA still has
plenty of jobs set before it.
Paul Gesting
Graduate Student
Aerospace Engineering
A&M should recruit Whites
In response to the June 29 article "White
People to become the Minority."
If this research holds true and next
spring, white people do in fact become
the minority population in the state of
Texas, will the University change its
recruiting efforts?
Right now the University is highly
focused on recruiting minorities, so next
year if white people become the minority,
will the University gear its efforts towards
recruiting white people, or will it stay true
to the ideas of diversity, which is just a
form of racism against whites and keep
on recruiting ethnic minorities?
Eric Brown
Class of 2004
Bush a liar, not Moore
In response to Andy Thaxton's June 28
mail call:
Republicans are utterly threatened by
what “Fahrenheit 9/11" has the capacity
to accomplish in this country. The award
winning film will open the eyes of a delud
ed audience.
As a country founded upon truth and
integrity, we have always placed full faith
in our leaders to be the best, but current
evidence reveals a diminishing confidence
in that foundation. If Moore didn’t chal
lenge the administration’s lies who would?
He is merely addressing Bush’s inexcus
able “justification” for war.
As for the accuracy of the documentary,
it has only been torn apart by critics who
are frustrated with the message given by
the film. The liar here isn’t Michael Moore.
I hope more "staunch, conservative"
Aggies go out and see "Fahrenheit 9/11"
and witness the extent of our Bush
whacked nation.
Sara Runnels
Class of 2006
Jurors in Peterson trial
must ignore legal games
Despite prosecution's poor courtroom tactics,
jury must convict Peterson for double murder
T he 1995 acquittal
of O.J. Simpson
was only the
beginning. Now, the
American judicial sys
tem has transformed
from presentation and
examination of evidence
into reckless disregard
for the facts. It is no
longer which team of
lawyers is presenting the
truth, but which has better theatrical
presentations. Unfortunately for the
family of Laci Peterson, her death
could just be one more victory for
the power of expensive litigation.
The evidence has piled up
against Scott Peterson, who is on
trial for allegedly murdering his
wife in December of 2002. The
prosecution in the case seems to be
ignoring its resources, paving the
way for Peterson to walk out of the
courtroom a free man.
There is more than enough evi
dence to incriminate Peterson.
Shortly after Lad’s disappearance,
he dyed his hair blonde and was
found in Mexico with $10,000 in
cash and his brother’s driver’s
license on him. He told a friend that
if he ever killed someone he would
drown his victim. He told police he
had been fishing on his boat at the
time of Laci’s disappearance in the
San Francisco Bay area, three miles
from where Laci’s body was even
tually found. Police found a hair of
Laci’s on the boat as evidence that
her body had been there recently.
He was not secretive about his dis
inclination toward his upcoming
fatherhood and his lack of concern
at Laci’s disappearance.
Yes, the prosecution has stated
all of these facts. It is the method in
which the team of lawyers has pre
sented the facts, however,
that makes the case weak.
They began by outlining
Peterson’s infidelity which,
as the defense duly noted,
makes Peterson an adulter
er but not necessarily a
murderer. Although
Peterson’s affair might give
him a motive for murdering
his wife, that is still specu
lation. The prosecution has
taken these incriminating facts and
mentioned them only as a side note
compared to the time and energy
devoted to outlining Peterson’s infi
delity. In the time that remains in
the trial, the prosecution must
remind jurors of the facts the
defense has dismissed.
The defense, however, is giving
the jury a show rivaling the notori
ous “the glove doesn’t fit” episode
in the Simpson case. Aside from
dismissing Peterson’s infidelity as
commonplace, the lawyers have
dreamed up unrealistic theories
about Laci’s murder that don’t add
up. Perhaps Laci was the victim of
a cult of religious fanatics who sac
rifice unborn children. Perhaps
she, despite frequently exhibiting
excitement about the) birth of her
child, was secretly depressed and
ran away without so much as
bringing her purse. The defense
insists that either possibility is
more likely than Peterson,
described by the defense as an
innocent and loving husband, mur
dering his wife.
Besides conspiracy theories that
border on lunacy, the defense has
also discredited veteran detective
Allen Brocchini to the point that
even Mark Fuhrman, the detective
scrutinized in the Simpson trial,
looks more credible. The public
search for Laci after her disappear
ance, which went on unaided by
her loving husband, turned up hun
dreds of tips from people all over
the country. Brocchini testified that
he pursued every tip to the best of
his ability and manpower. Yet, the
defense paints a picture of a sloppy
investigative job that convicted
Peterson as a last result, and the
prosecution has done a poor job of
proving the legitimacy of the inves
tigation.
Undoubtedly, in every murder
investigation certain facts will be
overlooked in favor of others, but
that alone doesn’t discredit the sig
nificant amount of evidence against
Peterson. If the investigation was
indeed sloppy, the facts they dug up
on Peterson are all the more
impressive.
Unfortunately, the theatrical
tactics used by the defense lawyers
look like they may work. Maybe
the jurors would like to believe that
nothing would possess a husband to
murder his wife, but if they chose
to acquit Scott Peterson, they are
only fooling themselves and mak
ing a mockery of the American
judicial system.
The power is in the hands of the
jury. Regardless of the honesty and
good the jurors may want to place
in the heart of Peterson, they cannot
ignore the facts, however ill-pre
sented by the prosecution they
might be. If the jurors choose to
convict Peterson of a crime he
doubtlessly committed, they will
reestablish moral codes that stand
regardless of showy lawyers insert
ing doubts into susceptible minds.
Sara Foley is a senior
journalism major.