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Nation & World Greenspan confirmed for fourth term by Martin Crutsinger Associated Press Washington — Hailed as the “great est central banker in the history of the world,” Alan Greenspan overwhelming ly won confirmation Thursday for a fourth term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. The Senate voted 89-4 to approve President Clinton’s nomination of the Republican Greenspan, 73, for a four year term that will run until June 2004. His confirmation came one day after the Federal Reserve voted to boost a key interest rate for a fourth time since June in an effort to slow down the U.S. economy down and keep inflation in check. Greenspan was first nominated to the Fed job, often called the second most powerful in the country because of the central bank’s control over interest rates, by Ronald Reagan in 1987. He subsequently was nominated for three more four-year terms — once by Geoige Bush in 1992 and twice by Clin ton, first in 1996 and then again in Jan uary. Clinton’s decision to nominate Greenspan again was widely expected. It was unlikely a Democratic president could have gotten anyone else confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate so close to the end of the presidential term. After the Senate vote, Clinton said in a statement that “Greenspan’s wise and steady leadership has inspired confi dence here in America and around the world... He has made a truly remarkable contribution in helping lead our nation to the longest economic expansion in our history.” Greenspan’s Senate supporters also cited the current 107-month economic expansion, which this week became the longest in U.S. history, as evidence Greenspan’s tenure has been success ful. “I believe a strong case can be made that Alan Greenspan is the greatest cen tral banker in the history of the world,” said Senate Banking Committee Chair man Phil Gramm, R-Texas, citing vari ous economic statistics, from the low un employment rate to the soaring stock market. The small group of liberal Democ ratic senators who opposed Greenspan’s nomination complained about the Fed rate increase, announced just as the Sen ate debate began Wednesday. They said the rise was evidence Greenspan has been overly worried about inflation at the ex pense of average Americans. Sen. Byron Dorgan called the rate in creases “a tax on every single American citizen” while Sen. Tom Harkin said of the four quarter-point increases since June: “A little nick here, a little nick there; pretty soon you’re bleeding pret ty badly.” In addition to Dorgan, D-N.D., and Harkin, D-Iowa, the other two senators voting against Greenspan’s nomination were Democrats Harry Reid of Nevada and Paul Wellstone of Minnesota. Meantime, Clinton said he hoped the Senate would “move quickly” to con firm his other two pending nominations to the Fed. In August, Clinton nominated Car ol Parry, a former executive at Chase Manhattan Bank, to fill a vacancy on the seven-member Fed board that has ex isted since June 1998, when Susan Phillips resigned. Israel-Palestmian summit dissolves into recriminations by Ron Kampeas Associated Press Erez Crossing, Gaza Strip—Less than a month after one much-touted Is raeli-Arab peace initiative crumbled, an other dissolved Thursday into mutual re criminations — and the comprehensive Mideast peace Prime Minister Ehud Barak promised by year’s end seems further away than ever. Palestinians said peace talks were in “crisis” after Barak refused to budge on terms for an interim territory withdraw al during a tense two-hour summit with Yasser Arafat at this Israeli military out post on the Israel-Gaza border. It was the second peace blow for Barak in three weeks — talks with Syr ia went into deep freeze in mid-January — and he scrambled to deflect Pales tinian talk of a dead end “I am convinced that this barrier will be overcome,” Barak told senior officials of his Labor Party. “There is a deep in terest by both sides.” The Palestinians want the pullout from 6.1 percent of the West Bank out lined in an interim agreement signed in September to include populous Arab sub urbs of Jerusalem. The Israelis refuse, at least for now. “Once the confidence and credibil ity and integrity of the peace process be come absent, the element of trust disap pears and both sides find themselves in a crisis situation, and that’s where we are now,” lead Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said in an interview. Israel says it alone determines what land goes back in the withdrawals, al though it will take Palestinian consider ations into account. Barak is concerned the Palestinians will use total control of the suburbs, cur rently under joint control, as the first stake in a claim to Jerusalem, the city both sides claim as their capital. Erekat said Arafat suggested using U.S. Mideast peace envoy Dennis Ross, who is in the region, as an arbitrator. “We hope that through the good of fices of the American administration... we can restore the confidence and cred ibility,” he said. Barak’s Foreign Minister David Levy rejected that idea, accusing the Pales tinians of engineering the dispute in or der to invite U.S. intervention. “No outside force can do the work instead of us,” Levy said, pledging the pullout would go ahead next week as planned. “No one can do this instead of the sides.” Both the Israelis and Palestinians see President Clinton as eager for a legacy as his presidency winds down, and like ly to press Israel into concessions. Erekat also accused Israel of wanti ng to delay a Feb. 13 deadline for an out line of a final status agreement, due to be in place by September. Levy said Feb. 13 was “not sacred,” but denied plans for a delay. Barak’s of fice said marathon talks aimed at meet ing the deadline would resume on Sun day. A senior Palestinian official, speak ing on condition of anonymity, said the Palestinians are now operating under the assumption that Barak is shelving the talks to focus on reviving talks with Syria. The U.S.-brokered talks with Syria broke down after Israel refused to meet a Syrian condition to withdraw to the border before the 1967 Mideast war, when Israel captured the strategic Golan Heights. Israel also balked at Syria’s in sistence on equivalent demilitarized zones. Islamic militants in southern Lebanon have since stepped up their attacks on Is raeli forces, killing three Israeli soldiers and a senior officer of an allied militia this week. Barak accused Syria, the main power broker in Lebanon, of allowing the violence to increase. Barak is additionally in trouble be cause of a growing scandal over how his party financed his election campaign in May. Sensing his weakness, some part ners in his fragile coalition are flirting with the opposition. Barak denied that domestic consid erations have led him to neglect his am bitious Mideast peace plans. “This is not a government that is look ing for excuses not to progress,” he said. “It is rather a government... determined to move toward agreements with all the neighbors around.” |No outside force can do the work instead of us.’ David Levy Israeli foreign minister Democrats from page A3 Congress, particularly on comprehen sive health care reform and lifting the ban on homosexuals in the military. Gore, noting his 16 years in the House and Senate, suggested he would bring more experience than Clinton didin 1993 when he went straight from the Arkansas governor’s mansion to the White House. “A governor who comes to the White House without previous experience in the Congress brings certain strengths. Someone who has served in the House and the Senate brings certain other strengths,” Gore told Brier and a couple of dozen others. “I have experience in both chambers and longstanding friendships and personal relationships on both sides of the aisle in both in the House and the Senate,” Gore said. “In serving in the Congress, I was known quite frequently for a willingness to cross party lines in order to put to gether bipartisan coalitions in support of the national interest.” As examples, he cited his work on national security matters and on pushing investments in the Department of De fense research that helped spawn the In ternet. From the start of Clinton’s first term, critics faulted him for not learning “ Wash ington's ways” and forging closer per sonal relationships with Capitol power brokers. Brier, a Democrat who said he re mains undecided in the primary, said after Gore’s presentation, “I was disap pointed he didn’t outline a strategy for getting comprehensive health reform passed.” Friendships in Congress aside, Brier added, Gore “doesn’t have Clinton’s charisma and I have my doubts he can do any better.” Meanwhile, one of Bradley’s most active Senate supporters, Paul Wfellstone of Minnesota, said the former New Jer sey senator took too long to respond to criticism from Gore. “From the word go, I was saying, ’Don’t let them attack you without re sponding,’” said Wfellstone, who spent much of January campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire for Bradley. “You can fight back in a principled way. “It was a big mistake not to — and it hurt him.” Hodges: Compromise on flag needed soon by Jim Davenport Associated Press With the nation’s eyes turning to ward South Carolina for this month’s Re publican presidential primary, Gov. Jim Hodges says the fight over flying the Confederate flag from the state Capital needs to be resolved soon. “Tins is an opportunity for us to show everyone in the state and the nation that South Carolinians can take a difficult problem that has plagued us for some time and find a way of resolving it,” Hodges said Wednesday. His comments came after flag sup porters and opponents met for seven hours with key senators trying to broker a compromise. In his State of the State address, Hodges said the flag should be moved from the Capital dome, where it has flown since 1962. The fate of the flag has become one of the most divisive issues in the state. Some see the flag as a sign of racism, while others see it as a symbol of her itage. The National Association for the Ad vancement of Colored People has or ganized a tourism boycott of the state until the flag comes down. The key to ending the standstill is finding a solution that puts the flag in the right historical setting in a respectful way, Hodges said. The NAACP says the flag should be put in the state’s Confederate Relic Room. But Wednesday, state NAACP pres ident James Gallman said the civil rights group, “would explore the possibility of a Confederate flag being placed in a glass encasement in the Capital with appro priate inscriptions depicting both the pro flag and anti-flag views.” The encased flag idea will “fly like a lead balloon,” said Republican Sen. Glenn McConnell of Charleston, one of the flag’s most ardent supporters. McConnell was among those who said Wfednesday’s meeting did little to im prove the situation. Others, including Hodges, were more optimistic. “We had a good discussion,” the gov ernor said. “I think we made some progress.” Only the Legislature can remove the flag from the dome. House leaders have said they will wait for the Senate to send them a compromise bill before taking any action on the matter. Hodges urged both sides to reach a compromise soon. The “longer we allow this issue to drag on, the greater harm it does to busi ness and tourism in our state,” Hodges said “Everyone in South Carolina is weary of this debate. It is one they want to see some final resolution to. I think we owe it to the state to come to some fi nal resolution.” -- _ ML.. ■ __ _ cc^uUallu/in^Ue^'... 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