NEWS
TUESDAY. MARCH 29. 2005
7A
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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Minister: Secure Iraq nearing
MIDDLE EAST
BY TRACI CARL
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's outgoing interior minister predicted yesterday that his country's emerging police and army may be capable of securing the nation in 18 months, saying his officers are beginning to take over from coalition forces.
Insurgents, meanwhile, targeted Shiite pilgrims, setting off two blasts that killed at least three people.
ds
Interim Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib's comments came as security was heightened in the already heavily fortified Green Zone, where the National Assembly will hold its long-awaited second session today to choose a parliament speaker and two deputies.
Negotiators haggled over who would get the parliament speaker job, considering interim President Ghazi al-Yawer. They hope the inclusion of Sunni Arabs like him in the new government will help quell the Sunni-led insurgency.
But al-Yawer turned down the post and instead asked the Shite-led United Iraqi Alliance for the vice president's post, said Ali Faisal, political coordinator for the Shite Political Council, which is part of the alliance.
Alliance members agreed to nominate former nuclear scientist Hussain al-Shahristani as one of two deputy parliament speakers and interim Finance Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi as one of two vice presidents.
Alliance negotiator Jawad alMaliki said the Sunni Arabs were expected to name a candidate for the parliament's speaker position today.
Al-Naqib predicted that militants would target Tuesday's National Assembly meeting -- only the second since the parliament was elected nearly two months ago in the nation's first free election in 50 years. The lawmakers met March 16 but repeatedly have postponed a second meeting because of negotiations over Cabinet positions.
Roads were blocked off yesterday, and security was tightened around the area, already surrounded by concrete blast walls and barbed wire. Several mortar rounds slammed into the banks of the Tigris River, just short of the Green Zone.
Underscoring tensions with the country's majority Shiites — who make up 60 percent of Iraq's estimated 26 million people — insurgents set off two explosions targeting Shiite pilgrims heading to
Karbala for a major religious ceremony.
In Musayyib, 40 miles south of Baghdad, a suicide bomber on a bicycle blew himself up near a police patrol protecting the pilgrims, Capt. Muthana al-Furati of the Hillah police force said. Two policemen were killed. The attack wounded two other officers and three civilians.
The other bombing took place at the Imam al-Khedher shrine compound in Kalis, 50 miles north of Baghdad. The attack killed one pilgrim and wounded two others resting at the compound, Col. Abdullah Hessoni Abdullah said.
Pilgrims travel to Karbala to mark al-Arbaeen, the end of a 40-day mourning period after the anniversary of the 7th-century martyrdom of Imam Hussein, one of the Shiite religion's top saints.
In a news conference, al-Naqib outlined progress by the country's fledgling security forces, predicting that U.S. troops would be able to begin slowly pulling out of parts of the country, and that "hopefully, within 18 months at the most we will be capable of securing Iraq."
"We hope that next summer there will be a huge reduction in
the numbers of multinational patrols," he said. "In some cities, there will be no foreign troops at all."
He said Iraqi police had better intelligence on local insurgents and criminal gangs that have flourished since the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion, helping reduce the number of casualties caused by car bombs and other attacks.
"I think it will collapse very soon," he said of the country's insurgency.
The interior minister added that Iraq's most-wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, "has been surrounded in more than one area, and we hope for the best."
Al-Zarqawi's organization has claimed responsibility for kidnappings and killings across Iraq. On Sunday, militants posted a video on the Internet showing the purported execution of a man identifying himself as Interior Ministry official Col. Ryadh Gatie Olyway. The authenticity of the tape could not be verified.
Al-Naqib gave no timeline for a complete U.S. withdrawal, something U.S. officials have repeatedly said hinged on the security situation in Iraq and the wishes of the Iraqi government.
Thefts
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
stealing gas, including pre-paying for gas.
One Lawrence station now requires that all customers pay before they pump.
Jeff Smith, a clerk at Conoco,
955 E. 23rd Street, said once the gas price rose above $2.10, the owner decided to begin using a pre-pay system.
"We lost $160 one Saturday from drive-offs," Smith said.
Other stores, such as Zarco,
are more reluctant to use a pre-
pay system because it may inconvenience some customers, Williams said.
In the next few weeks, it's very likely that Zarco stores will go to a pre-pay system to prevent people from stealing gas, Long said.
Although Long hasn't seen a
significant increase in gas thefts, he said any theft was a big problem for a business.
"It's one of those things where someone does something illegal and we all have to pay for it." Long said.
— Edited by Ross Fitch
often adjust their prices according to the competition.
Dressler said four gas stations were in the area, and each set its prices based on what the other
gas stations were charging.
Although stores are trying to help customers when and how they can, the stores still need to receive payment.
"We don't really do any discounts," said Mike Dressler, assistant manager of Diamond Shamrock, Ninth and Ohio Streets. "We always have low prices because of competition."
"It hasn't been bad enough yet to start making everyone prepay," he said.
Long said he has thought about making people pay at the pump, which he hopes will discourage drivers from fueling without paying.
Dressler said his station has not yet considered requiring pre-
davment.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
Gas attendants are responsible for all cars that are filled at the station, Long said. However, gas thefts have not been on a dramatic rise for Zarco, he said.
But incentives don't always validate high gas prices for some individuals. Bike riding, running and walking are alternatives to the rising cost of driving.
"I try and ride my bike to campus two to three times a week," said Jenny Hoyt, Topeka senior.
Long said he has seen more people walking now than in the past. But he said he has not seen a boycott on gas sales yet.
Her home is located near Sixth and Kasold Streets. "I'll ride a lot more now that the weather is getting nicer."
Prices
Lawrence public transit, University of Kansas transit and even motorized scooters get students to where they want to be.
- Edited by Ross Fitch
The Vickers family selected Coulter for the series. J.A. Vickers, Sr. was a 1916 graduate of the University and founded Vickers Patroleum Co. in Wichita. His son Robert Vickers, Sr. also supported the lecture series.
Coulter is a lawyer and has appeared on numerous talk shows. She also wrote The New York Times best-seller "Slander: Liberal Lies about the American Right."
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
Members of the KU College Republicans plan to show up early and get good seats for the event. Josh Steward, chairman of the College Republicans, invited members to show up at 5 p.m. and eat pizza while they wait in line.
Steward said Coulter was a controversial person and that many people on campus disliked her.
Some students are lining up ahead of time in anticipation of her lecture.
"Lastly, she speaks her mind — strike three. People get upset if you don't say what they want to hear."
Coulter
"A lot of people on campus hate conservatives, so that is strike one." Steward said.
"And if you're a woman or a minority, and prominent in politics, then some people dislike you more because you don't fit their stereotype, so that is strike two.
Coulter definitely strikes out for many people, Steward said.
He said he had never heard
Coulter speak before and was
curious to know what she
would talk about.
Coulter is known for criticizing liberal politics and making controversial statements about Democratic officials, such as former presidential candidate John Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry.
"I hope she makes a few good political points instead of just attacks." Steward said.
"I guess I'm going for the same reason people go to scary movies," Behgam said. "I want to see what happens."
"People like her do it for notoriety rather than the education of the public," Beghgam said. "I think she's just saying things for marketing, not her true beliefs."
As controversial as she is,
Coulter has attracted
Democrats in addition to
Republicans.
Behgam said he thought Coulter was more of an entertainer than a real political analyst.
Bryan Behgam, vice president of the KU Young Democrats, said he planned on attending the event tonight. Behgam said he wanted to hear what Coulter had to say.
Whatever people's opinions are of her, Coulter has sparked curiosity among both sides of the political spectrum.
The lecture is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required for the event.
Edited by John Scheirman
Credit
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
Students across campus yesterday were divided as to whether KUnited should be able to claim the issue as its own.
Kim Cooper. Lawrence senior, said KUnited should control the issue.
"If they're participating in the process, they have every right to put it on their platform," she said.
Reginald Mitchell, Wichita freshman, said the issue should not be restricted to one coalition's platform.
"If it's going to happen anyway, it should be on everyone's platform." Mitchell said.
Apart from being able to redeem ticket purchases online.
Sterner said other facets of the new system that KUUnited representatives and Marchiony have discussed included ensuring students' ability to be able to trade and sell their tickets to other students, stopping students who have graduated from using their KUIDs to get into games, reducing long lines, and separating big games into different periods to reduce the chance of lotteries.
Marchiony said the department had a long way to go before it could implement the system, so it was too early to say exactly how the system would work. But he said he hoped to have it in place by the start of the 2005-2006 basketball season.
-Edited by Kendall Dix
Half-Price Tickets for KU Students!
Available at Lied Center, University Theatre, and SAU Ticket Office. *SENIOR*
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Drum Drum world music from Papua New Guinea
Friday, April 1* - 7:30 p.m.
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Lied Center lobby exhibit on Papua New Guinea and related cultures through Monday, April 4.
- Pre-Performance Lecture - 6:30 p.m.
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Zuill Bailey, cellist with Robert Koenig, pianist Sunday, April 3* - 2:00 p.m.
- Program: Mendelssohn's Variations Concertantes, Op. 17; Beethoven's Sonata No. 3 in A major; Debussy's Sonata in D minor; Saint-Saulin's Concerto No. 2 in D minor
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