Nation & world briefing
News briefs
France, Germany offer
disarmament plan
WASHINGTON — United Na
tions weapons inspectors on Sun
day said Iraqi officials appear to be
taking disarmament talks more se
riously and have handed over new
documents on anthrax, nerve gas
and missile development.
But President Bush kept up the
pressure on the United Nations. In a
speech before a Republican policy
conference in White Sulphur Springs,
W. Va., Bush said the international
body faces a “a moment of truth.”
“The United Nations gets to de
cide shortly whether or not it is go
ing to be relevant in terms of keep
ing the peace — whether or not its
words mean anything,” Bush said.
France and Germany have pro
posed to beef up inspectors and
add U.N. forces. The German mag
azine Der Spiegel reported details
of a plan by the two countries, say
ing U.N. peacekeepers would be de
ployed, U.N. weapons inspections
would be tripled and all Iraqi flights
would be banned.
German Defense Minister Peter
Struck confirmed a plan was being
discussed but would not give de
tails. He said German forces “could
well take part” in any peacekeeping
in Iraq.
Secretary of State Colin Powell,
pushing the administration’s case on
the Sunday morning television news
shows, rejected the French-German
proposal. Powell called it “a diver
sion, not a solution.”
Also Sunday, Russian President
Vladimir Putin after a meeting with
German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder in Berlin said he sup
ported a peaceful disarmament and
saw no reason for using military
force against Iraq.
— Shannon McCaffrey,
Daniel Rubin and Diego Ibarguen,
Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT)
Israel, U.S. plan to oust
Arafat, newspaper says
JERUSALEM — Israel and Wash
ington have reached a secret agree
ment on conditions for ousting
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat after
the U.S. topples Saddam Hussein in
Iraq, a leading Israeli newspaper re
ported Sunday.
Reached by Knight Ridder News
papers, spokesmen for both Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon and the U.S.
Embassy in Tel Aviv declined to ei
ther confirm or deny the report car
ried in the tabloid Yediot Aharanot
under the headline, “After Saddam:
It is Going to be Arafat’s Turn.”
But Palestinian Authority regime
change has been a long-standing goal
of Sharon, whose Likud Party recently
swept national elections and who has
rejected Arafat as a suitable negotiat
ing peace partner. Sharon has dis
patched trusted aide Dov Weisglass to
Washington several times in recent
months and, according to the newspa
per report, the U.S. and Israel now
have a secret agreement—in writing.
It did not report the terms.
But Weisglass told state-run Israel
Radio over the weekend that, rather
than exile the Palestinian leader, or
kill him, Israel wants the Palestini
ans to create the position of a pow
erful prime minister, leaving Arafat
in a ceremonial role as president. Is
rael has such a system.
If Arafat refuses the transfer of
power, “We’ll kick him out of here
with American authorization,” ac
cording to an unnamed “high-rank
ing Israeli official” quoted in the arti
cle. “In the White House’s eyes,
Arafat is no different from Saddam
Hussein,” the official told the paper.
— Carol Rosenberg, Knight
Ridder Newspapers (KRT)
Author
Alan Siporin
University of Oregon
Knight Library Browsing Room
Tuesday, February 11*7 p.m. • Free
“Fire’s Edge”
Local award winning writer and public radio commentator, Siporin
incorporates years of reporting on hate crimes into his first novel.
A free Readin’ in the Rain event.
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
BOOKSTORE
Information on Alan Siporin and other author events online at uobookstore.com
IT'S COMING!
National Condom Day February 14th
Find out about free contraception services throush FPEP and
your Health Center. Pick up a sweet sex treat for your
valentine. Let the Peer Health Educators answer your
questions about safer sex and other intimate matters. Find
them at these Condom Week events:
• Student Rec. Center Condom Fair - Wednesday 3-5 p.m.
• UO Bookstore Condom Fair - Friday 12-2 p.m.
• Vasina Monologues - Thursday-Saturday 7:30 p.m. in the
EMU ballroom.
• Peer Health Education Office at the UO Health Center
during regular business hours.
For more information or to schedule a speaker on related
health topics, contact Peer Health Education Coordinator
Ramah Leith at 346-0562
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
HEALTH CENTER