Bush, Israel’s Sharon discuss Iraq war
Bob Kemper and Howard Witt
Chicago Tribune (KRT)
WASHINGTON — President
Bush called on the United Nations
to “face up to our global responsi
bilities” and force Iraq to disarm,
even as he met with Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon on Wednes
day to discuss the fallout Israel
could face from a U.S.-led war
against Baghdad.
The United Nations, meanwhile,
began a contentious two-day de
bate over an Iraq resolution, and
at the White House, the president
signed a congressional resolution
formally authorizing the use of
U.S. military force against the
regime of Saddam Hussein.
Neither Bush nor Sharon would
say after their meeting whether
Bush had asked Israel to hold its
fire should Iraq attack the Jewish
state in retaliation for the U.S. in
vasion and, if so, whether Sharon
had agreed. But Bush said Sharon
would be free to respond if “Iraq
attacked Israel tomorrow.”
The two leaders also did not say
whether Bush promised to target
Iraqi missile sites that could
threaten Israel.
“Our hope is that the Iraqi
regime will disarm peacefully,”
Bush said.
As the U.N. debate opened,
Bush called on its members to
force Hussein to dismantle his
chemical, biological and nuclear
weapons programs.
“The time has arrived once
again for the United Nations to
live up to the purposes of its
founding to protect our common
security,” Bush said. “Every na
tion that shares in the benefits of
peace also shares in the duty of
defending the peace.”
As U.S. diplomats continue to
negotiate with members of the
U.N. Security Council over the
form and language of an Iraq res
olution, Bush said he expected
the world body to significantly
toughen its stance against Hus
sein. For 11 years — 4,199 days
by Bush’s count — Hussein has
defied U.N. resolutions demand
ing that he disarm.
“For Iraq, the old weapons in
North Korea reveals it has
nuclear weapons program
David E. Sanger
New York Times
WASHINGTON — Confronted by
new American intelligence, North
Korea has admitted that it has been
conducting a major clandestine nu
clear-weapons development pro
gram for the past several years, the
Bush administration said Wednes
day night. Officials added that North
Korea had also informed them that it
was terminating a 1994 agreement
with the United States to freeze all of
its nuclear activity.
North Korea’s surprise revelation
came 12 days ago in Pyongyang,
the North Korean capital, after a
senior American diplomat con
fronted his North Korean counter
parts with American intelligence
data suggesting a secret project was
under way. At first, the North Kore
an officials denied the allegation,
according to an American official
who was present.
The next day they acknowledged
the nuclear program and according
to one American official said “they
have more powerful things as well.”
American officials have interpreted
that cryptic comment as an ac
knowledgment that North Korea
possesses other weapons of mass
destruction.
Administration officials refused to
say Wednesday night whether the
North Koreans had acknowledged
successfully producing a nuclear
weapon from the project, which uses
highly enriched uranium. Nor would
administration officials say whether,
based on American intelligence,
they believe North Korea has pro
duced such a weapon.
“We’re not certain that it’s been
weaponized yet,” said one official,
noting that North Korea has con
ducted no nuclear testing, which the
United States could easily detect.
The news immediately alters the
delicate nuclear balance in Asia and
confronts the Bush administration
with two simultaneous crises involv
ing nations developing weapons of
mass destruction: one in Iraq, the
other on the Korean Peninsula.
“We seek a peaceful resolution to
this situation,” a senior administra
tion official said Wednesday night,
briefing reporters as news of the
North Korean program began to
leak. “No peaceful nation wants to
see a nuclear-armed North Korea.”
At a meeting Wednesday of the
National Security Council, President
Bush and his aides, who have been
seeking to rid Iraq of suspected
weapons of mass destruction (by
U.N. mandate if possible, and by
force if necessary), decided to han
dle the North Korean declarations
through diplomatic channels.
They have dispatched two senior
officials to China and other nations
in the region in hopes of defusing the
situation. One senior official said
Wednesday that North Korea was
“belligerent,” rather than apologetic,
in its declaration and that it would
not end its program.
U. Maryland students deal
with tension of sniper fallings
Jessica Billingsley
and Laura Kennedy
The Diamondback (U. Maryland)
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (U-WIRE)
— For the first time since Sept. 11,
2001, University of Maryland stu
dents have been forced to bridge a
unique gap between the isolated
university community and the out
side world. Area residents remain
on heightened alert as a sniper con
tinues to attack people in the Wash
ington area. The sniper has already
killed nine victims and injured two
others in the past two weeks, con
tinuing to instill fear in many.
Last year, in addition to the Sept.
11 terrorist attacks, the university
community was rocked by the Sep
tember deaths of students Alexan
der Klochkoff and Colleen and Erin
Marlatt from drug intoxication and
tornadoes, respectively.
With yet another series of
tragedies occurring close to home,
some students are fearful of the
sniper, while others take comfort in
what they consider to be the securi
ty of their environment.
Jonathan Kandell, assistant di
rector of the university Counsel
ing Center, said students’ differing
reactions result from their rela
tively recent experiences with
traumatic events.
“People on campus seem to be
experiencing less stress related to
this event, especially in light of
events like 9/11 and the tornadoes
(on the campus) last year,” Kan
dell said.
Appointments at the Counseling
Center have not increased as a re
sult of the shootings, but the issue
sometimes arises in discussions,
he said.
For many, the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks had little effect on
daily routines. The sniper attacks
have the opposite effect, as many
College Park residents are now
more cautious when performing
everyday tasks.
“When I cross Route 1, I make
sure to cross with a pack of girls
from my (sorority) house,” said
sophomore American studies major
Lauren Angelo. “I feel like it’s more
of a deterrent (to any shooters).”
Angelo also said she parked closer
to the Target store’s entrance in
Greenbelt on a recent visit.
Some students said they feel the
events of the last year, particularly
those near the university, numbed
them to tragedy.
“I can’t really say that (coping
with the shootings is) easier.
Tragedy is tragedy,” sophomore
communication major Daniel Lee
said. “Nine-eleven was a tragedy
like we’d never seen before, so
yeah, I feel a little bit desensitized.”
Similarly, many students said the
impact of the shootings has been
dulled by the onslaught of media
coverage. The relentless coverage
following the Sept. 11 terrorist at
tacks has been paralleled on a
smaller scale by the sniper cover
age, and many students are calling
it excessive.
“It’s definitely something we need
to know about,” said Ryan Fisher, a
freshman mechanical engineering
major. “But we don’t need to be
constantly reminded. They don’t
need to interrupt the NLGS game
five times to give us the latest up
dates.”
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spection process was little more
than a game, in which cheating
was never punished,” Bush said.
“And that game is over.”
Bush said the United States
wants a U.N. resolution requiring
Hussein to account for all ele
ments of his weapons programs
and to allow U.N. weapons in
spectors “access to any site in
Iraq, at any time, without pre
clearance, without delay, without
exceptions.” Witnesses to Hus
sein’s weapons activities should
be allowed to leave the country,
along with their families, so they
can be debriefed by U.S. officials,
Bush said.
Bush began his day by signing
a congressional resolution for
nially authorizing him to use the
U.S. military against Iraq. Despite
that authority, Bush said, mili
tary action should not be consid
ered inevitable.
“Yet confronting the threat
posed by Iraq is necessary, by
whatever means that requires,” he
said. “Either the Iraqi regime will
give up its weapons of mass de
struction, or, for the sake of peace,
the United States will lead a global
coalition to disarm that regime.”
“If any doubt our nation’s re
solve, our determination,” Bush
said, “they would be unwise to
test it.”
© 2002, Chicago Tribune. Distributed by
Knight Ridder/Tribune Information
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