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.! Military stretched infighting insurgency After U. S. forces storm Iraqi towns, rebel forces live to fight again Antonio Castaneda THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HADITHA, IRAQ — Periodic U S. offensives across Iraq’s huge western region aim to keep insurgents on the run. But stamping them out completely is another matter: Once Overstretched American forces can’t keep a permanent presence in the swath of territory leading to the Syrian border — an area the size of West Virginia — and too few Iraqi forces are on the ground to hold the towns. Til t . I t • i ne laicsi operation, utununcu Saturday when 1,000 mostly Marines stormed the village of Sadah near the Syrian border, could end the same way several other offensives have since this spring — with partial control of a spot for only a limited period of time. *The problem, the Marines say, is he lack of Iraqi troops or soldiers to maintain control once U.S. troops have swept through, searching block by-block for suspects. “We do maintenance work up and down here ... We just keep sweeping the trash back to Syria,” Col. Stephen W. Davis, who commands Marine operations in western Anbar province, said in a recent interview. Now, with open talk by the top U.S. commander in Iraq of a possible staged American withdrawal next year, the question of the sweeps’ effectiveness has become more urgent. This area could — if substantial ^^raqi forces are not added, or if U.S. Worces are trimmed during a pullout — foretell a future where Sunni tribes with ties to the insurgency rule large parts of Iraq. IRAQ • 3 For first time, Spurrier drops 3 straight in SEC Use coach Steve Spurrier lost three consecutive conference games for the first time Saturday night, as the Auburn Tigers defeated the Gamecocks, 48-7. In front of a capacity crowd of more than 87,000 at Jordan-Hare Stadium, the Tigers dominated Carolina on both sides of the ball. Former Gamecock Kenny Irons, now a running back at Auburn, and Columbia native Travis Williams, a linebacker for the Tigers, got in on the action as Irons scored twice and Williams recorded 11 tackles. Redshirt freshman Antonio Heffner made his first collegiate start Saturday and struggled, leading USC to only one touchdown on the game. The Memphis native fumbled once but didn’t throw any interceptions. ™ The loss dropped the Gamecocks to 2-3 and left them still looking for their first conference victory. To reach Spurrier’s goal of six wins and a bowl berth, the Gamecocks will have to win four of their final six games, including at least one against rivals Tennessee, Florida or Clemson. For complete coverage, see page 10. —Jonathan Hillyard 1 A ■ * Au-Burned ■ Juan Bias/THE GAMECOCK Columbia native Travis Williams stops Daccus Turman in Saturday’s game against Auburn. USC lost 48-7. Thomas Cooper gets long-awaited overhaul Library renovations include more student study areas, writing center 'outpost’ Kelly Cavanaugh FOR THE GAMECOCK It’s their one-and-a-half-year-long dream come true. Or at least that’s how Thomas Cooper Library officials describe the long-awaited renovations that provide additional seating on the main and mezzanine levels. “We just know that this is going to mean so much to the kids,” said Jane Olsgaard, coordinator the library’s processing services. The furniture for the south end of the main level arrived Thursday. Library officials had hoped the new study area would be open by the time students returned this fall, but a furniture delivery caused delays, Olsgaard said. The main level contains 238 additional seats, and the mezzanine contains 24, Olsgaard said. Three former offices have been converted to study rooms on the main level, a result of the catalog and acquisitions department moving down a floor at the end of the spring semester, Jessica Munday /THE GAMECOCK Clifford Marsh, a graduate social work student, studies in the Thomas Cooper Library on Sunday. The library has been renovated to make room for more student study areas. Olsgaard said, and a fourth group study room could be added in the future. The library is home to a new “outpost” of the writing center on the main level, which doubles as a group study room during off hours, Olsgaard said. New computers strictly for student, faculty and staff [ use occupy some of the area. In addition, Olsgaard said eventually | the library wants the computer area J to have the “same type of setup that the computer lab (on Level 5) has.” A print station will be added near the computers, Olsgaard said. The equipment has been ordered, and library officials are waiting for it to arrive, she said. A dictionary” stand and a station with handouts will also LIBRARY • 3 CONGRESS ADVISORY BOARD TAPS MEMBERS SG Treasurer Preston helps begin nations first college student coalition Justin Chapura ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR The nation’s first campus-to Congress liaison group chose its first members over the weekend at USC in a project designed to give students a direct avenue of collaboration between Columbia and Washington. The USC Student Congressional Advisory Board, a project spearheaded by Student Government Treasurer Tommy Preston, took applications at the beginning of the academic year for a 12-body policy research and recommendation committee, that will poll students, research issues and advise South Carolina’s federal delegation about education issues. Preston, a third-year political science student, said the board is the first of its kind for college campuses in the nation and is partially modeled after a high school advisory board started by Rep. Anna Eshoo, D Calif., in 1993. Eshoo created the board as a means for high school students in California’s 14th District to research issues and develop policy recommendations. Constant communication with the federal legislative branch of government is the cornerstone of the group, and Preston said the board will travel to Washington at least once a year to present a report of issues important to students in the state. “The board will be looking at a variety of issues that are of a concern to students .... (The board) will compile all of the concerns ... into a report, which they will present to BORRD • 3 AFTERMATH Many return to Gulf after hurricanes; Katrina victims wary of excess stress In spite of back-to-back disasters, proponents defend coastal living Jermaine T. Jackson (U. MISSISSIPPI) DAILY MISSISSIPPI OXFORD, Miss. — After two hurricanes struck the Gulf Coast within weeks of each other, destroyed coastal towns and billions of dollars of damage are all that remain. Nearly 300 damaged public schools in Mississippi will cost an estimated $1.22 billion to repair. The question on the minds of many people is, “Why live on the coast at all?” Susan Storey, public relations manager of SouthCoast USA, which specializes in arranging travel and living arrangements on the coasts of Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Louisiana, said there is a certain allure with living on the coast. “I think there’s a draw to coastal living,” Storey said. “It’s a certain quality of life: ambiance and small town living.” According to Storey, living on the coast provides people with more jobs than they would find inland. “A lot of people make their living on the coast,” she said. “With the large catfish, shipbuilding and shrimping industries that Mississippi has, a lot of jobs are provided for coastal citizens.” Storey said she has seen the coast hit many times. “I’ve worked with coastal regions RCTURn • l 1 i Morry Gash /The Associated Press Bishop DeBruce Nelson holds a service on the street outside his Lighthouse Apostolic Church on Sunday in Biloxi, Miss. In the churches that operate in the shadows of Biloxi’s tattered casinos, religious opposition to gambling is colliding with the region’s economic reality. INSIDE Viewpoints Andrew Bentz shares his vision of what an ideal campus tour; Valene Sims chastises rude stu dents for disrespecting police officers at football games. 4 The Mix Crystal therapy More people are using holistic healing methods to stave illness. 5 Sports Crash in Auburn Complete coverage of USC’s 48-7 loss to the Tigers, Carolina’s 3rd consecutive conference defeat. 10 www. dailygamecock. com Students picking up pieces, moving on in wake of Category-4 storm Cicely fi. Richard THE (LSU) REVEILLE BATON ROUGE, La. — Sofia Hujabre, film senior and New Orleans resident, had her last year of college all planned out. She even bought a planner to plot the events leading to her graduation from the University of New Orleans in May 2006. But when Hurricane Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29, Hujabre’s life changed. “cl _ _ •_i_» -1. • j . r .i uuv lumtu my mC) otiv. adiu ui uu. hurricane. Hujabre said she has lost her senior year of college. Now, she will have to take an extra semester of school to get her degree in film because LSU does not have a film program. “I feel I’m out of my comfort zone,” she said. Just as she was trying to find some sense of normality, Hurricane Rita came. “I was supposed to go to Austin City Limits in Texas to hear some good, relaxing music,” she said. She even made special arrangements with the event’s ticket office because her tickets were in her apartment in New Orleans, but couldn’t go because of the evacuation of certain areas of Texas. Hujabre’s overwhelming pressure can be attributed to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder — reliving a traumatic STRESS • 2 i I .