Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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U.S. Embasssy evacuates after rocket attacks By DANIEL COONEY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS KABUL, Afghanistan — A rocket slammed into the Afghan capital near the U.S. Embassy and other diplomatic missions early Friday, a day before landmark elections. All U.S. embassy staff were ordered to briefly take cover in an underground bunker. The rocket hit a parking lot near a media accreditation center for the elections, causing no damage or casualties, said Lt. Commander Ken MacKillop, a spokesman for international peacekeepers. He said peacekeepers suspected a second rocket may have hit nearby, but no impact site was found. “We are alert and investigating,” he said. Heavily-armed U.S. and Afghan troops sealed off the roads leading to the diplomatic area. Beth Lee, a spokeswoman for the U.S. embassy, said all staff had been ordered to take cover in an underground bunker as a precaution. A senior U.S. official in Washington said embassy staff were allowed out of the bunkers a short time later. The blast shattered a relatively calm lead-up to Saturday’s vote, at least in the capital. It was loud enough to shake windows and rouse people from bed. The headquarters for the 9,000 strong NATO-led International Security Assistance Force is also close to the U.S. Embassy, as are the German and Pakistani missions. It was the first apparent attack in Kabul since August 28, when a huge car bomb outside a private U.S. security firm killed 10 people. Three of them were Americans. The Americans were helping train anti-narcotics police. Taliban and al-Qaida rebels have kept up a steady stream of attacks throughout Afghanistan since campaigning for the election began Sept. 7, but they have so far failed to launch the type of high-impact assault that might derail the vote. Afghanistan’s Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali said Thursday that Afghan forces had thwarted at least 20 attacks and arrested more than 100 people since the start of the campaign, but that the rebels had managed more than 60 rocket or bomb attacks during the period, most in the provinces. He put the death toll at more than 60, including 15 civilians, 19 security forces and 30 suspected rebels. Six Afghan troops were taken hostage. In addition to rebel violence, drug smugglers are believed to be posing an increasingly large threat to the country’s stability. Jalali said drug traffickers, not the Taliban, were responsible for an attack Wednesday on interim leader Hamid Karzai’s vice presidential running mate, Ahmed Zia Massood. One person was killed and five others wounded in the bombing, including the former governor of Badakhshan, a mountainous northeastern poppy growing region. Massood was unhurt. Jalali said “the evidence shows that it was the work of drug smugglers, because this process (the election) is against their interests.” The attack was the third against Karzai and his political allies since :ampaigning began. The president survived a rocket -assault on his helicopter on Sept. 16 in the eastern city of Gardez, and one of his four current vice presidents survived a bomb attack four days later. The Taliban was suspected in those attacks. During the last majot political event in Kabul, the loya jirga, or grand council, in December and January, militants fired a series of rockets on the city, though there were no casualties. Karzai on Thursday praised his people for embracing the elections, despite the recent bloodshed. He acknowledged problems of rebel violence and warlord intimidation, some being carried out in his name, but said Afghanistan could not wait forever to hold its vote. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS An Afghan man sits at historic Khajeh Abdullah Ansari’s cemetery in Heart in Afghanistan on Thursday. Afghanistan’s first direct presidential elections will be held on Saturday. ■ POLITICS Continued from page 1 throughout the country. “I have made a conscious effort not to advocate one way or another in politics. It’s important for people in my position as a reverend not to abuse their power of authority, which sadly, many people do,” he said. Lijewski said he wanted more than just lip service from politicians. “It is one thing for Bush to go around saying he is pro-life, but I want to see what he has done or is going to do to overturn Roe v. Wade,” he said. Lijewski said the reason a lot of southern Catholics are converting to the Republican Party is mainly because of the abortion issue. “I try to have readings and homilies that address other issues, like how you cannot serve God and money. It is important to be balanced,” he said. Lijewski said his friend and former congresswoman, Liz Patterson of Spartanburg, is a Democrat and would wear a pin with her name on it. He joked that he might start wearing a Kerry pin just to stir up some reaction and involvement. Both Samuels and Lijewski agreed that an American could justifiably be religious and be a Republican, Democrat or Independent. “It’s easier for a preacher to tell them who to vote for. People do not want the complexity of these issues,” Samuel said. “People who have an understanding of all the issues will probably make the right choice,” Lijewski said. “I have to believe that it is all in God’s hands. He is above politics, and I put my confidence in God to make the right decision,” Samuels said. Comments on this story? E-mail ga7necocknews@givm.se. edu ■ IDs Continued from page 1 that they weren’t going to accept them much longer and that I needed to get a new one.” The rumor is untrue, Massaro said, because the proposed switch has been “taken off the table” and no plans of reconsideration have been set. “We don’t see any reason to change,” Massaro said. “It would be a disservice to make them get a new ID when their current ones are perfectly fine.” Whether or not the older IDs will be accepted, students like Hunter and Hood are proud to have them. “I strived to keep my ID,” Hood said, “because I knew when I got to my senior year, I would be one of the only people to still possess one.” Mills said that students would be allowed to keep their IDs for now but that the students will still have to pay $25 for a ‘CarolinaCard replacement. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@gwm.sc. edu The old vs. the new Changes from the old card to the new: ♦ Social security number no longeron the face of the card ♦ The card can now be used for a wider range * f or purchases GRAPHIC BY DAVID STAGG/THE GAMECOCK ■ •After the Game, Show or Concert ,ci •Free PI Delivery to USC Housing •Late Night Menu • Ct • Fresh Home Cooking K- ' •Daily Blue Plate Specials .u •Located in the Heart of Five Points •Trolley Stop at Front Door •Free Parking in Lot •Designated To-Go Parking •Large Parties Welcome (please call ahead) •Catering for Meetings or Events r f* tt/ i^* Sunday-Thursday 11:15 a.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday 11:15 a.m.-1:00 a.m. "N -p 2030 Devine Street 799-0196 (To Go) 799 0049 (Catering) ~ * r Jt @ five points www.yesterdayssc.com Kaitlin Bailey Holly Burt Alex Campion Wendi Carabello Nichole Caraway Kelly Cavanaugh Sarah Chakales Lauren Comer Karen Copeland Katie Crawley Austin Crockett Caitlynn D'Angelo Ann Del Bello Sarah Dendy O uiji Amy Eddings Allison Edwards Alexa Erbach Lauren Fabian Chrissy Geli atly Leigh Gilbert Emily Gore Katie Kirkland Kathleen Lawson Kerry McClurg Taylor McInville Brittany Minogui Diana Montagu Kathryn Palmer Catherine Pearson Jenny Prudhomme Liz Radford Allyson Richards Midge Selberg Kristen Smith Amber White Sarah Workman Lori Ballentine Amber Johnson Sarah Kim : Amber Martin Liz Myers Libby Proctor GET AN EXTRA 10% OFF EVERYTHING WITH A USC OR GAMECOCK LOGO* D*USC STUDENT ID REQUIRED THE COUEGE SHOPS AT 2909 Platt Springs Rd.-100136 Two Notch Rd.-817 St. Andrews Rd.