Nation & World News
Israeli air strike targets Syrian base
I he retaliatory move comes
after Islamic Jihad claims
responsibility for a suicide
bombing on Saturday
By Joel Greenberg
Chicago Tribune (KRT)
JERUSALEM — In the first Israeli at
tack on Syrian territory in nearly three
decades, Israeli warplanes on Sunday
struck what the army said was a Pales
tinian militant training base 10 miles
from Damascus in retaliation for a
Palestinian suicide bombing on Satur
day that killed 19 Israelis.
The army said warplanes had struck
deep in Syria at the Ein Saheb base,
which a military spokesman described
as an Iranian-supported training camp
for militant groups, including Islamic
Jihad and Hamas. Islamic Jihad
claimed responsibility for Saturday's
bombing in the port city of Haifa.
The strike in Syna was a significant
departure from previous Israeli retalia
tions after suicide bombings because
it was the first time during the past
three years of violent conflict with the
Palestinians that Israel had hit back in
a neighboring Arab country. Previous
strikes had hit targets in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip.
Israeli officials asserted that Syria
and Iran expanded the arena of con
flict by hosting, funding and direct
ing Palestinian militants from across
the border. They noted that the Unit
ed States had launched military cam
paigns in Afghanistan and Iraq as
part of its declared war on terrorism
and has demanded that Syria close
offices of militant groups operating
from Damascus.
"Illis attack against Islamic Jihad
shows that in this axis of terror no one
will have immunity," said Raanan
Gissin, a spokesman for Prime Minis
ter Ariel Sharon. "No geographical lo
cation and no distance will serve as an
impediment if these organizations and
their leaders continue to issue orders
and plan strikes against Israel. We are
exercising our right to self-defense. *
Syria urged the U.N. Security Coun
cil on Sunday to condemn the
airstrike. Syria's United Nations am
bassador, Fayssal Mekdad, said the
strike was blatant military aggression,
telling an emergency meeting of the
15-member council that "Arabs and
many people across the globe feel that
Israel is above the law."
An Islamic Jihad spokesman in
Beirut denied that the group had
bases in Syria.
"We do not have any training
camps or bases in Syria or any other
country," the spokesman, Abu Imad
al-Rifai, told the Al-Jazeera satellite
channel. "All our bases are inside the
Palestinian-occupied territories."
A commander of the militant Pop
ular Front for the Liberation of Pales
tine told The Associated Press in
Damascus that the camp struck by Is
rael was one of its deserted bases and
that a civilian guard had been injured.
However, an Israeli security official
said militants from Islamic lihad and
Hamas were trained at the camp in
using explosives, artillery and guerrilla
tactics. Some of the militant trainees
eventually returned to the West Bank
and Gaza Strip to set up operational
networks, while others are active in
Lebanon, the official said.
Deputy Defense Minister Zeev
Boim said that the possibility of a Syr
ian military response had been taken
into consideration when planning
Sunday's airstrike.
"Ibis is a risk we are taking," he told
Israel Radio. "But this is part of the war
we have to wage against terror. *
(c) 2003, Chicago Tribune. Distributed
by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information
Services.
Supreme Court faces election spotlight
As the presidential election
nears, high-stakes cases
are expected to illustrate
divisions in the court
By Jan Crawford Greenburg
Chicago Tribune (KRT)
WASHINGTON — After a block
buster term with landmark rulings on
affirmative action and gay rights, the
Supreme Court returns to the bench
this week to begin a new session that
could find the nine justices once again
in a glaring spotlight.
The court's cases — focusing on
everything from campaign finance re
form to separation of church and state
— will be scrutinized closely as always.
But this time there's a twist: The justices
also will find themselves a major issue
in the presidential campaign.
Already, candidates are pointing to
the court to illustrate the high stakes
in next year's election. With the jus
tices divided 5-4 on a host of contro
versial issues — including race, reli
gion and restrictions on abortion —
the next president could have a dra
matic impact on American life with
just one or two appointments.
And most observers say those ap
pointments are inevitable for the next
presidential term, since it appears Presi
dent Bush will not nominate a justice
by the end of 2004. The current court
has been intact since 1994, a record in
the modem era, and the same nine are
expected to return next year because
justices historically have not retired dur
ing presidential election years.
"The most extraordinary thing is
the continuity we've had with these
nine justices," said Christopher Lan
dau, a Washington attorney who prac
tices before the court.
As a result, it appears even more
certain the next president will have a
chance to put a unique stamp on the
court. Four of the justices are over
70; Justice John Paul Stevens is the
oldest, at 83, and Chief Justice
William Rehnquist is 79.
With so much on the line, the can
didates already have begun turning
their attention to the court. On Friday,
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., argued in a
speech to the National Council of Ne
gro Women that a second term for
Bush would produce right-wing nom
inees who would restrict affirmative
action, hate crimes laws, abortion
rights and voting rights.
Just one new justice, for example,
could have meant a different outcome
in last summer's historic affirmative ac
tion decision, which said colleges and
universities could take race into account
in creating a diverse student body.
And the court has several high-pro
file cases coming up this term that
could divide the justices and sharply
illustrate the stakes for the future. Al
ready the justices have announced
they will decide a key religion case,
another involving a state's obligations
under the Americans with Disabilities
Act and several addressing the power
of police to stop and search people.
Other important cases include chal
lenges to policies adopted after the ter
rorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001; a chal
lenge to federal efforts to prohibit
doctors from telling patients about
medical marijuana; and an appeal of a
decision prohibiting school children
from saying "under God" in the Pledge
of Allegiance The court will announce
in coming weeks whether it will take up
those cases, which would significantly
ratchet up the term's importance.
(c) 2003, Chicago tribune. Distributed
by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information
Services.
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