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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Sarah Kickler
EDITORIAL EDITOR
Mike Schmiertrach
NIGHT EDITOR
Carl Yeh
Bombing could be destructive and ineffective
An attack on Iraq is more
likely to kill civilians than
stop weapons production
or oust Hussein
I don’t really remember being
cognizant of what exactly
was happening during the
Persian Gulf War, but 1 re
member what I saw on TV. Most
ly yellow ribbons, miniature
American flags and missiles
called Patriots. One of the few
concrete memories I have is of a
CNN report on the final death
toll. The story had an accompa
nying graphic, icons that looked
bafflingly similar to gingerbread
men. Each one represented 100
casualties. This
disturbed me,
OPINION
]§ although at the
| time 1 cnan t
know why.
I eventually
realized the rea
son those fig
Kameron
Cole
ures bothered
me so much. It
was because
they had been
so easily comprehended by a
seventh-grade brain, like it had
been produced especially for 12
year olds. The human cost of war
had been negated. The existence
of real people, soldiers and civil
ians, had been reduced to a
sharp-looking graphic for the
evening news.
Since the current Iraqi crisis
arose several months ago, the
Clinton administration has been
working hard to curry public fa
vor for what now seems to be an
impending military strike. And
depending on which poll you be
lieve, such support has been
forthcoming.
It is a testament to the legacy of
the Gulf War and its popular
support that this newest Iraqi
conflict has been tailored to fit
into a familiar mold. There is a
good guy, a bad guy, and if prece
dent holds, the media will even
tually declare a winner.
To make war, which is absurd
and unpleasant, palatable to the
American people, it needs to be
reduced to this kind of simplici
ty. The government learned this
lesson the hard way, and now it
realizes that some of its most im
portant battles are fought in the
American media.
But the issues involved in the
current crisis aren’t simple and
require more than flag-waving
propaganda.
Someone asked me recently:
“Aren’t you afraid that if we
don’t bomb the hell out of Sad
dam Hussein, he’ll become an
other Hitler?” Actually, I’m
afraid that if we do bomb the hell
out of Iraq, it will become anoth
er Vietnam.
Here’s the truth — the ugly,
unedited truth. The only way to
stop Iraq, to stop any country
from producing weapons of mass
destruction, is to annihilate
them, to take them off the map.
Consider this: It doesn’t take a
terribly large amount
of space to produce
many of the
weapons in ques
tion. It would be
perfectly feasible for
Saddam Hussein to
set up labs in the most
unlikely of places. A non
descript cottage can be just as
effective a storage facility as i
presidential palace.
And let’s not forget the
questionable wisdom of
blowing up chemical
weapons. That means set
ting them on fire, folks.
And since no one knows
what Saddam has been
cooking up in the past five
years, the very real possi
bility exists that this could
make Hiroshima look like a
picnic.
It’s true that Saddam Hus
sein is a perfect target for the
world’s ire. Through his actions,
such as gassing Kurds and terror
izing his own people when they
oppose him, he has pretty much
drawn the Hitler parallels him
self. But the U.S. shouldn’t sacri
fice rational decision-making to a
tyrant.
The government and the media
are presenting the public with a
package deal by inextricably link
ing opposition to Saddam with
support for military strikes. But if
military action that endangers the
lives of people on both sides of
the conflict fails to remove the
threat, will this package deal
have been worth the price?
Kameron Cole is a columnist for the
Emerald. Her work appears on al
ternate Wednesdays. Her views
do not necessarily represent those
of the newspaper.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Frohnmayer’s views questionable
In response to the article "Frohnmayer asks
board to review cases” (ODE Feb. 2), I would
like to express two concerns regarding com
ments made by President Frohnmayer.
The first refers to Frohnmayer’s comment,
“but where the accuser has had a prior sexual
relationship with the accused, that’s a differ
ent story.” (This comment was in reference to
the rape-shield policy). I would like to re
mind the readers that any time a woman does
not consent to sex, it is rape. Frohnmayer’s
comment suggests his personal views drift
from the view that rape is non-consensual
sex. He is quoted “that it is a different story”
because the two have had a sexual history.
Their past relationship is irrelevant because
non-consensual sex is rape.
The second concern with Frohnmayer’s
comments is his quote, “He [Donta] could be
living in the City of Eugene. It would pose no
greater threat presumably than any place that
he lives.” President Frohnmayer is responsi
ble for the University and the safety of the
students. If Dont4 lives in Eugene, that is our
own safety concern, but students demand
President Frohnmayer to respect our safety
concerns on campus.
I feel President Frohnmayer has reweighed
the evidence, as his quotes in the article ex
press an opinion in favor of Dont4 Graham
Preston. I had hoped for our University presi
dent to support the victims and to support
the review board’s decision, but I guess I ex
pected too much.
Edith Webster
History
Many hungry, homeless
1 am writing in response to the article “Per
mission to sleep” (ODE, Feb. 9). It gives me
great pride to see the Emerald is paying no
tice to one of the biggest problems facing our
nation and local communities today. The
United States is one of the richest nations of
the world, yet 3 million people each night are
forced to sleep in cars, shelters and under
bridges.
Hunger is a way of life for many people
around us. In the United States, 27 million
people, and one in five children, go to bed
hungry every night. These people are not far
from our lives because we see them around
us every day. Alcoholics, drug addicts and
crazy people actually make up less than half
of the homeless population, with the most
rapid growth among children and women.
The hunger and homelessness group at the
University chapter of OSPIRG is working to
gether this term with several student and vol
unteer organizations to fight this growing
problem in our community. We have several
great projects coming up. To volunteer and to
learn more about what you can do to help the
hungry and homeless, come by the OSPIRG
office in EMU Suite 1 or call 346-4377.
Jessica Klausmerer
OSPIRG
CORRECTIONS
The story “UO to honor black
history, achievement” (ODE, Feb,
16) should have identified the
founder of Black History Month as
Carter G. Woodson.
The headline “Akili Smith sus
pended after drunken driving"
(ODE, Feb. 17) should have read
“Akili Smith suspended indefinitely
after arrest.” Also, the story should
have read “Smith, the Ducks’ start
ing quarterback, was arrested by
Eugene police on Feb. 14 and
charged with drunken driving on
East 7th Avenue near Pearl Street,
the Emerald learned Monday.”
In the story “ASUO board revises
rules on elections" (ODE, Feb. 13),
Taylor Sturges should have been
identified as the ASUO elections
board publicity coordinator.
The Emerald regrets the errors.