The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 04, 1991, Page 3, Image 3
Israel
Israeli actions reverse progress
with treatment of Palestinians
Most people in the world were outraged at the Iraqi missile
tacks on civilian targets in Israel. These attacks were a coldly c
culated plan to draw Israel into the war and turn fundamenta
* x?1: A T
iviuMim upmiuu luwaiu liaq.
Israel was praised world-wide for its refusal to retaliate,
showed courage and faith in the United States that Israel
American forces defend it from attack.
That makes it so much sadder that Israel continues its ruthl
suppression of the Palestinian people. Israeli Navy vessels shel
Palestinian camps in southern Lebanon in response to rocket
tacks from Lebanon. As usual, Israel attacked die Palestinian ci
lian population to respond to terrorist attacks from a small min
ity of Palestinian extremists.
Even more disturbing are the allegations that Israeli-opera
Patriot missiles were not fired to stop an Iraqi SCUD that v
heading toward the West Bank (where most Palestinians in Isn
territory live).
The Israelis deny this charge, but it would not be the first ti
the Israeli government has shown a callous disregard for Pale
nian safety during the war. Palestinians were the last to rece
gas-masks when they were distributed to all Israelis. Even touri
had been given masks before the Palestinians. As of last we
many Palestinians had still not received chemical-protection gea
The Israeli general in charge of the distribution said that
Palestinians didn't have to worry as they were not targets of
Iraqis. This has proven to be wrong as at least two Iraqi SCU]
whether by accident or design, have now hit the West Bank.
Israel has.also imposed a 24-hour curfew in the Occupied Te
tories (the West Bank and the Gaza Strip) since the start of
war. This is racism pure and simple, with no justification of
than a desire to oppress Palestinian resistance to Israeli rule.
One of the few good things to come out of this war is the pre
ise by Secretary of State Baker and Soviet Foreign Minister Be
mertnykh to address the Palestinian issue at future Middle E
peace talks following the war.
Israel should not use its new-found support in the Persian G
War as cover to hide its mistreatment of a people within the coi
try's boundaries. The whole world is watching.
THE 8ACK-TO-THE-FUTURE MACH/ME
The Gamecock
News: 777-7726 Advertising: 111-42'
Kathy Blackwell robyn Thompson
Editor in Chief Managing Editor
Jennifer Jablonski David Bowden
Copy Desk Chief Viewpoint Editor
Lucy Soto Kathy Heberger
News Editor Carolina Life Editor
Steve Johnson Renee Meyer
Sports Editor Photography Editor
Aaron Sheinin Tige Wati
Assistant News Editor Assistant News Edit
Octavia Wright Patrick Villeg/
Assistant Carolina Life Editor Assistant Sports Edit
Chris Silvestri Julie Bouchillc
Assistant Copy Desk Chief Assistant Photography Edit
Eric Glenn
Darkroom Lab Technician
Ed Bonza Erik Colli?
Director of Student Media Faculty Advis
Laura S. Day ray Burgc
Production Manager Assistant Production Manag
Renee Gibson Kyle Berb
Advertising Manager Assistant Advertising Manag
Carolyn Griffin
Business Manager
Letters Policy: The Gamecock will try to print all letters received. Letters shoi
be, at maximum, 250 to 300 words long. The writer must include full name, pi
fessional title if a USC employee or South Carolina resident, or year and majoi
a student. An address and phone number are required with all letters sent. T
Gamecock reserves the right to edit letters for style, possible libel or in case
space limitations. The newspaper will not withhold names under ai
circumstance.
||^|g^|fcfpTnbue'
S Reporters
ek,
r Iraq, Iraq, Iraq, Iraq... Can you star
say it one more time?
As an obscure member of the met
p. munity I do understand the important
s' word at this juncture in history. Hell,
war and war means lots of extremely i
m" news. But the key word in that sentent
the portant news. Now is it just me or is thi
her can public being drowned in a murky
"reporting" that is becoming just plain j
im- Live coverage is a great way to get i
:SS_ ence involved. Strategic diagrams are
;ast tive. Interviews with families and soli
touching. Periodic updates keep us c<
,f on top of the situation. Right now I'm
,u ing to figure out,how desperately the /
jn~ television audience needs to know aboi
feet of the war on the tatoo industry.
No, this is not something I made up.
you probably saw that story on the ti
And I was really disturbed when I saw
LETTERS T(
m. T A A A
fNation twists 1
(
truth in war ;
I
To the editor:
We are appalled by Michele i
Marple's letter to the editor (Wed- !
nesday, Jan. 23) likening the war a
in the Persian Gulf to a basketball c
game. We find it hard to imagine 1
that, in this day and age, anyone
can hold such a callous view of r
warfare. s
Before we all jump on the "fight I
now" bandwagon, as Ms. Marple t
suggests we do, we ought to at r
least examine what we are being I
asked to support. p
Do we know why we are fight- 1
ing in the gulf? We hear a lot of v
high-minded talk about the "liberation
of Kuwait" and defending <3
against "naked aggression." But g
neither of these reasons approaches ^
the truth. If Zambia invaded Mo- g
zambique, would President Bush 5
have responded by deploying tens 1
of thousands of American troops r
and immediately demanded the v
49 "liberation of Mozambique?" Of
? course not a
If Kuwait had no oil, Bush tl
would have no interest in its "lib- c
? eration." Besides, the "legitimate s
government" of Kuwait is a feudal ti
mnnarrhv A rmintrv must he free
in the first place before it can be n
"liberated." a
Is the Gulf War entirely about s
oil? Perhaps initially, but as time 1;
as passed, it became more of a c
? personal vendetta for Bush. Having s
PS put his reputation on the line with o
or the United Nations resolutions and n
^ the Jan. 15 deadline, Bush backed is
or himself into a corner.
lN Neither he nor Saddam Hussein E
or could back down without suffering tl
a serious international embarrass- p
ment. Thus, as the deadline ap- C
proached, the administration g
pushed several arguments for war, si
_ often distorting the facts in the a
sTs process.
er The unsubstantiated and exag)S
gerated claims include:
,er 1. Iraq's invasion of Kuwait was
,y unprovoked. (The two countries
hoiro o lr\nrr_efonHinrr Hier\ntp> onH
uavv a ouiuuui^ uu^/utv, u?u
Iraq has accused Kuwait of "eco- ^
nomic warfare" in driving down *
the price of oil.)
2. Hussein would soon have nu- I
~ clear weapons. (Experts said it
0. would take him five to ten years.) -]
,lf 3. Iraq would invade Saudi Aro?
abia. (The CIA predicted the inva- . 1
ny sion of Kuwait but said that Saudi a
Arabia was not in danger.) S
J 4. Saddam Hussein is another g
push liniit
lia com- Cue
s of that -T ont
this is a -?
mportant
:e is im
a Ameriries
about the impact on
ocean o tiques selling desert can
the^audi- g3S maSkS'. rm JUSt P?sit
. . new iook in spnng ward
informa- me, but I like lo be educ
ters are ^ave m? intelligence insu]
Bul since J?urnal
,s . " pressed for stories, maybe
erican Qr twQ ^ ^ beauties:
it the ef
Coverage of a sting
Many of all copies of Playboy shi
jbe, too. bound like the Koran.
r the sto- Guest appearance b
3 THE EDITO
Jitler. (Hussein is by no means an
exemplary character, but he has
leither the military might nor the
jenocidal ideology which Hitler
assessed.)
So, on Jan. 16, 1991, the United
States launched "Operation Desert
/nn Irvnrrar "TAacorf
/IUIlit lUU^Vl i^V/OV/ll UIUV/1U J
ind initiated the war with Iraq. In
essence, Bush started a war to save
lis reputation. This is inexcusable.
A responsible world leader does
lot begin offensive wars on peronal
whims. And while our.
lombs and cruise missiles continue
o "light up Baghdad like a Christnas
tree" (we suppose this is what
iush really meant by a "thousand
oints of light"), we should not get
ost in the excitement and forget
vhat war is all about.
War is death, destruction and
levastation. War is licensed agression.
War is organized murder.
According to some predictions, a
round war in Kuwait could bring
0,000 casualities and cost over
0,000 American lives (not to
nention Iraqi casualities, which
vould be even higher).
If Bush indeed orders a ground
ssault, he will have on his hands
tie blood of thousands of Amerian
soldiers. And for what ? to
ave him from an embarrassing siiiation?
Inexcusable.
We realize the value of a strong
ational defense and even of an
rtivf fnrpicrn nnlifv Rut nr? rpQ_
on ? no excuse ? justifies
lunching an offensive war. If our
ountry is attacked, we certainly
hould be prepared to defend
urselves. But we must always relember
that war is not a game; it
> an extremely serious matter.
One final thought: both George
lush and Saddam Hussein claim
lat God is on their side. Suposedly,
they worship the same
rod ? a God who believes in
ood will toward mankind and the
anctity of human life. Would such
God not favor peace?
David Cohn
Interdisciplinary studies senior
Tom McPherson
Art history senior
Students aided
by safeguards
fa the editor:
For the past two years, I have
ived in the Towers dormitory
rea. The heavy congestion of
lumter Street has always posed a
[rave danger to pedestrians such as
'ERATION
SERT SE/v
^
:s with war
pert to discus*
purchase Sadda
LLEY MAGEE puK^
up the fact tha
"some incredil
dered them to (
i fashion. With' bou- Live cove
louflage jumpers and jn2 ?f
ive we'll see a whole ^nS "Good tr
robes. Maybe it's just anyway!"
afpH hv thp npuic not A Tha
Mivv* KJJ Miv Iivno, HWI W 111^/ dUVA/f
Ited. There." Saudi .
ism world seems so cover unsightl
i they could pilfer one dodgers.
Story on
operation impounding Barbie" (Barbi
ipped to Saudi Arabia Barbie B-52 so
Airing of
y a psychological ex- Hussein's bunk
Q
n
myself in getting to and from the g<
main area of campus.
Many times I have almost be- hi
come another unlucky student g<
struck down by oncoming traffic di
from both Devine and Sumter jo
streets. However, I was pleased to w
see in the Friday, Jan. 25 issue of tii
The Gamecock that there is a plan w,
for improvement about to be ec
implemented.
Hopefully, this plan will allevi- sc
ate the situation and insure pedest- ti<
rian safety. I would like to thank
Sen. Tom Young of the Student
Senate for his initiative in urging
the university to endorse the plan,
and I look forward to the begin- '
ning of the construction to improve #
this area.
Kevin Beach
Chemistry junior Ti
Giants aren't ?
stupid, lucky ?
To the editor: ^
I am writing in response to Mr.
Johnson's Super Bowl article
("Soldiers Anxiously Awaiting re
Super Bowl Sunday," Jan. 25). ai
Maybe, Mr. Johnson, you should u]
sit back during the football season ^
and actually watch a few Giants w
games before you make pathetic ^
accusations about the team. ^
For example, you stated that the ai
Giants have no recievers (sic)
worth mentioning. Any football ^
fan will tell you that Stephen j1.
Baker, Mark Ingram and Mark ^
Bavaro (Bavaro is actually a tight _
end, not a wide receiver, ed.) were w
a great asset to the team. Next, I a<
must refer to your brief history les- c]
son about backup quarterbacks.
This lesson said backup quarter- Q]
backs get up for one game, but
then flop the next week. Just be- tj.
cause Cody Carlson had a great y(
game one week and then flopped U!
hard the next day does not mean ir
that it will happen to all backup a,
quarterbacks. w
Jeff Hostetler took the Giants e]
through the playoffs and was the sj
winning quarterback in the Super ^
Bowl. This fact obviously proves
your brief lesson invalid ? sorrv.
Now, I'll bring up a name you ^
might not be too familiar with ? dl
Jumbo Eliot (sic). He was the man
who handled Bruce Smith very
well through the whole game.
Smith did have a sack for a safety, 0
but that was due to a Hostetler:
trip.
Don't get me wrong. Bruce c?
Smith is a great defensive player,
but he wasn't the best in this C
coverage
> the instability of people who
im Hussein shower heads.
;port that Exxon is sending over
> directors to help Hussein cover
it he was under the influence of
?le Turkish hash" when he or)pen
the pipeline.
rage of nude oil wrestling featuri
crowd holding up banners sayy
Saddam, we're rolling in it
dng story: "What's Really Under
Arabian women wearing veils to
y facial hair are actually draft
record sales of new "Combat
e tent with air conditioner and
Id separately.)
top-secret CIA tapes of Saddam
er bantering with God.
*
ime. You know that
I did not see Phil Simms throw
is crutches^ in disgust after the
ime like you said he would. If he
d throw it, it was either in pure
y or the fact that he didn't get to
in the Super Bowl for the second
me in 4 years (Super Bowl XXV
as the Giants' second in 5 years,
I.).
Watch football during the sea>n
before making stupid predicts
about the Super Bowl.
Doug Raynor
Business sophomore
tVar must end
mmediately
0 the editor:
People of this world must learn
1 accept what they have ? re?ice
in what is their own, not lust
"ter another's possessions. Having
lose possessions will not make
du happier, but strengthen your
ssire for more.
People must learn that there are
ifferences among us. They must
^cognize the variety of culture
id ideas in this world. They must
iderstand them and accept them,
everyone was the same there
ould be nc point of existence.
It were all put here to learn from
ich other ? not to live in ignorice
of one another.
Through r morance comes dis
usi ana mrougn aistrust comes
itred. This iiatred leads to misust
which manifests into reality
- WAR. In this game, blame is
holly placec on the opponent, but
? Francois l>uc de la Rochefoutuld
said, ' Quarrels would not
st long if the fault were only on
ne side."
And there are rules placed on
lis game ? rules that say how
ou can or cannot kill people or
se them. There should be no killig
at all. People see their enemy
s "the enemy" when, if they
ould stand face-to-face with "the
iemy," they would see that he/
le is a real human being just like
ley are.
I do not want to see this war go
own in history as one ending with
eath ? the deaths of many men
nd women on both sides and
lose not involved. I want to see
lie \x/Qr pnH u/itVi lif/* thp 1i\roc
Llj TT Ul V11U TT1M1 I11V UIV 1ITVJ
f those men and women whp
rive to make peace despite the
atred and resistance before a few
asualities turn into many.
Susan E. Burdick
hemical engineering sophomore