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Perspectives
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Sarah Kickler
EDITORIAL EDITOR
Mike Schmierbach
NIGHT EDITOR
Mike Schmierbach
The difficulties of schedulina an Iraa attack
To plan a u ar. Clinton
has to look at a calendar
as well as at a map
We can't have a war
yet; we don't have
a free day until at
least mid-May.
Believe it or not, the United
States is dismantling the Execu
tive Day Planner trying to find a
good day to start round two of
the war against Iraq. Dates and
agendas for starting attacks have
been tossed around like a hand
grenade since before Christ
mas. Without looking at the
calendar of world events,
however, more than a
cruise missile is likely to
explode.
Despite unrest in many
countries, our world has
turned into a much more
closely knit place, particu
Jonas
Allen
larly in
the last
few years.
As the world
has gotten
smaller, each
country has be
come more
aware of the cul
tural differences
between na
tions. One of the
most prominent differences is re
ligion.
Studying these differences in
faith makes us better world citi
zens, but it also takes away from
our freedom to do battle. This is
arguably a good change, but
nonetheless a very confusing one.
Because of this global familiarity,
the need to plan a date for “re
spectfully” starting a war has
gone from improbable to impera
tive, particularly in American de
bates of attacking Iraq.
Years ago, wars were wars;
they were simple but brutal bat
tles between two basic sides.
Governments did not concern
themselves with the religious
implications of starting a war,
nor were they concerned about
hurting cultural relations with
international allies.
Take, for example, a planned
attack on San Francisco during
World War n. The attack was to
be on Christmas Eve but never
happened because Japanese offi
cials didn’t want to injure Japan
ese-Americans in the area. There
was no debate over whether to at
tack on a Christian holy day.
More recently, the first war
against Iraq started near a reli
gious celebration. Forces in Oper
ation Desert Storm began their
bombing missions within days of
the Muslim holy month of Ra
madan. one of the big “no-no's" of
the current plan of attack and a
major reason the Clinton adminis
tration has not yet declared war.
How far we’ve come in a few
short years. At least that’s one
way to look at it, if respect for reli
gious celebrations is a barometer
of international closeness.
Wars are no longer just coun
try versus country — they are
culture against culture. As the
world gets smaller and cultural
borders disappear, beliefs can
mingle from nation to nation. By
starting hostilities, the United
States will no longer declare
war on Iraq; it will risk person
ally attacking every area with
cultural and religious ties to
Kuwait’s northern neighbor.
Several Middle Eastern coun
tries have voiced opposition to
American attacks on Iraq. Saudi
Arabia, a strong American ally
during Desert Storm, has vowed
to prohibit American warplanes
from landing at Saudi airfields.
Other Islamic nations oppose a
war in the near future as Muslims
observe their hajj, an annual pil
grimage to the holy cities of Mec
ca and Medina.
Even countries as far away as
Japan have asked that hostilities
hold off, at least until the end of
the Nagano Olympics. Accord
ing to The Associated Press, the
International Olympic Com
mittee agrees, which means
to avoid the wrath of yet
'V another international
Winter Games come to
5?^ an end.
Aside from international con
cerns, several Catholic and
Protestant groups in America
have voiced strong opposition to
attacking Iraq. Even Clinton’s
own schedule, filled with trips to
the First School (Stanford) and
Africa, seems to conflict with an
imminent war.
With the presidential planner
chock full of engagements and the
intercontinental calendar
crammed with religious holidays,
the potential date to respectfully
start an offensive is mid- to late
summer.
But this is not a case where it’s
better late than never. American
forces must carefully choose their
dates for air strikes. Russia claims
an imprudent move or ill-timed
attack on Iraq may cause a third
world war.
If Clinton’s schedule of world
events is ignored, that may just
well be the case.
Jonas Allen is a columnistfor the
Emerald. His work appears on al
ternate Fridays. His views do not
necessarily represent those of the
newspaper
body, Clinton must wait
two weeks until the
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Evaluations help registration
Course registration time is coming up. Be
ing a new student on campus, I am not fa
miliar with the courses or instructors here.
My first term, I registered solely by my re
quirements, not considering any other is
sues. Luckily, my courses turned out all
right, and I had good instructors for the win
ter term. Not that there are bad instructors
necessarily, but it would be nice to have an
idea how well the instructors have been rat
ed in their courses in the past, as well as the
quality of the courses themselves.
In the middle of this term I discovered
the ASUO's "Professor/Course Evalua
tion" books. They have great information
in them, and the revised edition for the
spring will have extra things as well. The
book is easier to read, gives more informa
tion and is better organized. I know I will
make sure to use it before I select my class
es this spring. There is no need to guess
about the classes when I can make an edu
cated selection.
The ASUO “Professor/Course Evalua
tion” books will be available beginning on
Feb. 15 at the bookstore, and, best of all,
they are free.
Ractielle Ptvao
Sociology
Pesticide awareness key
Amidst symptoms of decay in our soci
ety largely due to investor-owned corpo
rate domination, there is one which trou
bles me the most. Between the insidious
destruction of community solidarity, the
increasing isolation of individuals, the so
cial-economic stratification, the homoge
nizing (and near eradication) of diverse
culture and perspective that defines our
sterile, uniform American mainstream, the
conglomeration of commerce into the one
world corporation stunting small, family
owned businesses, not to mention the des
ecration of the natural ecosystem that sup
ports us all, the disarming of public
freedom appalls me.
All forms of oppression seek to disable
our basic human need: the freedom to cre
ate and chose the way we live. Without our
rights, you and 1 can do nothing to change
the rules we must live by and we are but
slaves to the system.
In this age of environmental healing, of
crucial importance to our survival, aware
ness is fundamental to social change. Out
side “national security,” the need of which
can be argued, we have the right to know
about everything that affects us.
OSPIRG’s statewide Pesticides Right to
Know campaign is aimed directly at re
claiming this public right. A few facts from
OSPLRG and the Northwest Coalition
Against Pesticides: Did you know that only
98 percent of pesticides reach their targets?
The rest go on to kill other life. For hu
mans, this can mean neural damage, repro
ductive disorders, cancer and other nega
tive effects. In the Willamette River, the
U.S. Geological Survey found Atrazine,
one of thousands of pesticides, in 90 per
cent of the samples taken. Only 6 percent
of the hazardous waste produced in the
United States is regulated by law. Back
wardly, the Environmental Protection
Agency first determines the chemicals that
cause serious health effects before they can
ban them instead of proving their safety
before allowing their use. The EPA is far
behind reviewing chemicals currently
used, not to mention the newly synthe
sized. Many good alternatives exist.
My point is, we don't have the crucial
right to know who is responsible for the
toxins that affect us. Empower yourself and
become aware. Demand your right to
know. OSPIRG’s campaign on campus this
week is a good opportunity to do both.
Please use it.
Austin Moon
Undeclared
Chess competition offered
I write this letter to the Emerald and all
its readers to inform you about an excit
ing event that's taking place this Satur
day. Feb. 21 in Gerlinger 220.
I speak of a Chess Championship that
is a brand new event on campus, an oc
casion that has the opportunity to be
come a tradition at the University. How
ever. it needs support here in its
ground-breaking year.
The tournament itself is sponsored by
Delta Sigma Phi. which is donating all
proceeds from the $15 registration fee to
the March of Dimes. Five rounds of com
petition determine the UO Chess Cham
pion, and since it is a philanthropy
event, we’re only able to offer trophies to
the top three finishers. Students of all
skill levels are welcome to participate,
since there will bo upper and lower divi
sions, and women are especially encour
aged to enter.
II you’re interested or have any friends
that play, registration forms are available
in the Greek Life Office, EMU Suite 7, or
you can e-mail me at
dhall@gladstone.uoregon.edu, and I’ll
arrange to get one to you personally.
David Hall
Delta Sigma Phi