Nation & world briefing
News briefs
Bin Laden tape urges
Muslims to strike U.S.
WASHINGTON — Amid renewed
U.S. warnings of an imminent ter
ror attack, a new audiotape be
lieved to be from Osama bin Laden
on Tuesday urged Muslims around
the world to join Iraq in a global
holy war against the United States
and its allies.
The tape, aired Tuesday by the
Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television
network, calls for “martyrdom oper
ations” — code for suicide bombings
— and urges Muslims to overthrow
Islamic governments that side with
the United States.
U.S. officials said the tape offers
new evidence of a growing alliance
between Iraqi leader Saddam Hus
sein and the al-Qaida terrorist net
work. But the speaker on the tape
seems to have nothing but contempt
for Hussein, suggesting that Muslims
should side with him only because
his enemy is worse.
The tape’s release came as the
heads of the CIA and the FBI ex
pressed fears that al-Qaida terrorists
will strike again, perhaps as soon as
the end of the week. In chilling testi
mony Tuesday before the Senate In
telligence Committee CIA Director
George Tenet and FBI Director
Robert Mueller warned of possible
attacks using chemical, biological or
radioactive materials against shop
ping malls, churches, schools or oth
er so-called soft targets that are light
ly protected.
The message aired five days after
U.S. officials elevated the national ter
rorism alert to the second highest lev
el, citing increased electronic “chat
ter” among suspected terrorists.
Though the speaker on the tape
does not specifically call for attacks
on U.S. soil, he urges Muslims to do
whatever they can to defeat what the
speaker calls “agents of the devil.”
“Killing the infidels is a good thing
that will get you to heaven,” the
taped voice says. “As God said, stick
together and unite, because that’s
the only way to victory.”
— Ron Hutcheson and
Shannon McCaffrey, Knight
Ridder Newspapers (KRT)
Federal student aid
programs in jeopardy
BALTIMORE — Federal funding to
some student financial aid programs
would be cut this year under propos
als currently being debated by Con
gress and the Bush administration.
Conferees from the House of Rep
resentatives and Senate were sched
uled to meet Monday night to begin
negotiating a final appropriations bill
that includes federal student aid pro
grams. Much of the debate currently
centers on the Pell Grant program,
which helps low-income families pay
college tuition.
The Bush administration an
nounced last week it opposes a Sen
ate bill to increase the maximum
Pell Grant by #100 to #4,100. The
White House has proposed main
taining the #4,000 limit, while in
creasing total funding to the program
by #1.9 billion to cover its current
deficit. Many university lobbyists are
working to maintain increases called
for in the Senate’s bill, citing in
creased need brought about by in
creasing enrollment, tuition costs
and the weak economy. An estimat
ed 4.4 million students received Pell
Grants in 2002.
“If there is a cutback in the federal
student aid programs, the entity that
has to make up the difference is the
college,” said Mark Lindenmeyer,
Loyola’s director of financial aid and
a member of the College Scholarship
Service Assembly Council.
—Mike Memoli,
The Greyhound, Loyola
College-Maryland (U-WIRE)
Greenspan questions
new stimulus package
WASHINGTON — Federal Re
serve Chairman Alan Greenspan
weighed into the debate over Presi
dent Bush’s proposed tax cut Tues
day, voicing concern about the rising
federal budget deficit and question
ing the need for a new economic
stimulus package.
He also surprised some analysts
with a cautiously upbeat assessment
of the U.S. economy’s prospects,
though he said that fears of war with
Iraq make it difficult to gauge the
economy’s underlying health.
Greenspan’s testimony to the Sen
ate Banking Committee is likely to
bolster Democratic opposition to
Bush’s proposal to reduce taxes to
boost economic growth. Bush
shocked many lawmakers and ana
lysts last week when he unveiled a
tax cut and budget proposal that his
administration estimates will push
up the annual deficit to #300 billion.
A budget deficit of #100 billion to
#200 billion is manageable,
Greenspan said, implying that any
thing larger risks a dangerous hike in
the federal government’s debt.
“A rise in the debt increases the
amount of interest payments, which
in turn increases the debt still fur
ther, and there is an accelerating
pattern after you reach a certain
point of no return,” he said.
— Ken Moritsugu, Knight
Ridder Newspapers (KRT)
Ksi www.daiiyemerald.com
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