Nation & world briefing
Turkey basks in diplomatic clout
Sudarsan Raghavan
Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT)
ANKARA, Turkey—Huseyin Okur
soy hasn’t sold a ear at his Mitsubishi
dealership in more than eight months.
Yet he’s proud that Turkey risked los
ing a $30 billion U.S. aid package three
days ago when Parliament refused to
allow U.S. troops to enter Turkey on
the way to invade Iraq.
“It’s what the people wanted/’ said
Okursoy, 63, a burly, gray-haired
man. “This is the first step towards a
functioning democracy. I know I may
pay a heavy price, but we don’t need
to depend on America.”
Turkey’s rejection of the United
States has sparked a wave of national
pride in this secular Muslim nation
long ruled by autocratic politicians arid
military leaders. Tom between the will
of the people and intense U.S. pres
sure, 99 legislators of the ruling Justice
and Development Party defected from
the party line and voted against the
measure to allow U.S. troops.
Many Turks say the decision could
harm not only Turkey’s economy but
also the goal of foiling the creation of an
independent Kurdish nation that might
seek to include part of Turkey. Yet it still
felt good to defy what many Thrks be
lieved were heavy-handed U.S. negoti
ating tactics and insensitivity to TYirks.
“They don’t want to be seen as the
legionnaires of the United States,”
said Ali Carkoglu, research director
of the Turkish Economic and Social
Studies Foundation in Istanbul.
At the same time, many of the Jus
tice Party legislators who voted
against the measure are inexperi
enced newcomers who are now hav
ing second thoughts that their vote
could harm the economy while doing
little to stop Turkey’s involvement in
a war against Iraq.
Already, national pride is giving
way to a looming reality that war will
severely affect Turkey whether it
wants U.S. troops or not, and that
could change the outcome in a possi
ble second vote in a week or two.
“I can’t help but feel proud about the
parliament’s decision,” said Ahmet
Sari, 31, a stock market analyst. “The
idea of Turkey resisting U.S. pressure
makes me feel better about myself.
This doesn’t mean that I think the de
cision was in Turkey’s best interest.
“I hope they pass the vote this
month, or else our economy will be
badly affected in the long run.”
U.S. military planners had less
trouble convincing Turkey, a NATO
ally, to allow the use of its bases
against Iraq in the 1991 Persian Gulf
War, despite the war’s unpopularity.
This time, the democracy and free
thought the United States encouraged
in Turkey for years has come to haunt
Washington. Public opinion polls
showed 90 percent of Turks oppose
war. The Justice and Development
Party was elected only four months
ago on a populist platform that blamed
Turkey’s elite for economic crisis.
€> 2003, Knight Ridder/Tribune
information Services.
U.b. lists more terrorism breakthroughs
Shannon McCaffrey
and Martin Merzer
Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT)
WASHINGTON—U.S. anti-terror
ism agents announced two more
breakthroughs Tuesday—the arrest
of a man known as “the Lion of God”
who inherited a hatred of America
from his terrorist father and the cap
ture of a man who allegedly handed
Osama bin Laden $20 million.
The first man, Mohammed Omar
Abdel-Rahman, was seized last
month in Pakistan. His arrest helped
lead to the weekend capture of
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, self-de
scribed engineer of the Sept. 11 ter
rorist attacks, according to U.S. intel
ligence officials.
ICAT EE
GOLF CLUB
(faty at tta
College Students -
o $22 for 18 holes &
$12 for 9 holes
!822-3220
STOREWIDE
Ski Equipment
Downhill * Cross Country
Snowboards • Clothing
On Now!
13th & Lawrence • 683-1300 • www.faergsskishop.com
Among other things, conversa
tions between the two al-Qaida oper
atives apparently were monitored by
U.S. agents,
Abdel-Rahman, whose arrest was
announced Tuesday, served al-Qaida
as an operations chief and is believed
to rank just below Khalid Shaikh Mo
hammed in the group’s hierarchy.
Known to colleagues as “the Lion
of God,” he allegedly once ran a ter
rorist training camp in Afghanistan.
His brother, Ahmad Abdel-Rah
man, was captured in Afghanistan in
late 2001.
Both are sons of Omar Abdel-Rah
man, a radical Egyptian cleric said to
be the mentor of those responsible for
the first bombing of the World Trade
ODE Classifieds
346-4343
Center in 1993. The elder AlxJel-Rah
man was competed in 1995 for plotting
to destroy bridges and tunnels in New
York City and is now serving a life sen
tence in federal prison.
The financier whose arrest was
also announced Tuesday — Sheik
Mohammed Ali Hassan al Moayad of
Yemen—allegedly raised money and
recruited operatives for al-Qaida.
Al Moayad and a Yemeni assis
tant, Mohammed Mohsen Yahya Za -
yed, were arrested Jan. 10 in a sting
operation in Germany that capped
a yearlong undercover operation,
officials said.
A complaint unsealed Tuesday in
federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., ac
cused them of funneling money,
weapons and recruits to al-Qaida and
other terrorist groups.
Attorney General John Ashcroft
said al Moavad, 54, bragged to an FBI
informant that he handed bin Laden
$20 million before the Sept. 11 at
tacks that killed more than 3,000
people. Al Moayad also boasted that
he was bin Laden’s spiritual adviser.
German police arrested the two
men at the request of U.S. investiga
tors. German officials have been asked
to extradite the two men to the United
States. If convicted, al Moayad could
face up to 60 years and Zayed could be
imprisoned for up to 30 years.
© 2003, Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services. Knight Ridder
researcher Tish Wells contributed
to this report.
The Prayer Path Labyrinth is a contemporary version
music, meditations, art, and media at stations alon<
Wednesday, March 5 and
Thursday, March 6
9;00am - 5:30pm
Come and 30 at anytime during the above hours.
(next door to the UO bookstore)
Questions can be directed to Jeremy at 3404694 or
The Trestle at Pope
lick (reek
By Naomi Wallace
March j, 6,7,«613,14,15
Begin* at 8pm
rickets (old at the 1)0 Ticket Office on
the main floor of the EMU (Erb Mem.
Union), Call 541-^46-456^
• Tim play contains Strong Sexual (entoit. -
iftcfeyfr.
x&s->xx£*. ySfoputefo WM&tSiSb, &f$so
.
/
•>
**> ***»«&_ *9^*6, #^*-*2* vx*>x^,
Mfrfafr *&*&&, '*&
Save $100 with the New
Apple PowerBook 12.1"
Purchase a PowerBook 12.1” and get up
to $100 off the cost of additional items.
Examples:
Reg, price After Discount
Sony Playstation 2
Hewlett Packard Printer 3820
(also eligible for $99.00 rebate
from Hewlett Packard)
M8760LL/A $ 1 ^699
Discounted from retail price $1,799
$199.99
$99.99
$99.99
$0
digital DUCK
12.1 -inch TFT Display • 867MHz PowerPC G4 • 40GB
Ultra ATA/100 • Combo Drive (CD-RW/DVD-ROM)
Some conditions apply. See store for details or call 346-4331. Offer ends March 31,2003.
Need cash? Get a summer job.
Qar00r Center 220 Hendricks Hall • (541)346-3235 • http://uocareer.uoregon.edu ®