TUESDAY,MAY 9 2006
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 5A
WAR IN JRAQ
Rice: Bush isn't swayed by public opinion
BY ANNE GEARAN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday that Americans want to see progress in Iraq, but that President Bush will not be swayed by domestic politics when deciding how long U.S. forces should stay.
"I think the president will do what he thinks is best," regardless of public opinion or the fall elections, Rice said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Bush is at his lowest point in the polls, with only one-third of Americans saying they approve of the way he is handling the job, and the three-year-old Iraq war is a major reason for his decline.
Bush is at his lowest point in the polls, with only one-third of Americans saying they approve of the way he is handling the job, and the three-year-old Iraq war is a major reason for his decline.
Republicans are expected to suffer in congressional elections in November in part because of an erosion of support for the notion that the president's political party is best equipped to handle the fight against terrorism and other foreign policy matters.
"This is an extraordinary
time," Rice said. "It means taking difficult decisions and doing what's right because you're not doing it for the midterm elections."
"You're doing it for the standing of the United States and the ability of the United States to influence well into the future and
the future of the Middle East," Rice said.
The Bush administration sees a stable democracy in Iraq as the linchpin to spread political freedom elsewhere in the region.
invasion have dimmed some of Iraq's political gains, but Rice said newly selected leaders understand the consequence of failure.
Continued insurgent and sectarian violence more than three years after the U.S.-led
"They literally will hang separately or hang together. Literally," Rice said. "There is no stronger incentive to get it right."
Violence killed at least 34 people including a U.S. soldier in Iraq on Monday, as efforts to finish choosing the new Cabinet bogged down in a web of 'conflicting interests.
Bush has been straightforward with the public that 'we're
going to have to be in this war for awhile," Rice said of the struggle against terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
"I think Americans just want to know that progress is being made, and I know that it's hard sometimes when Americans see what's on their television screens." Rice said.
The top U.S. diplomat offered no updated timetable for U.S. force withdrawals below the current level of about 130,000, although other U.S. officials have said they expect some reduction this year.
WORLD
Moussaoui says he lied about plot
BY MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Convicted Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui says he lied on the witness stand about being involved in the terrorist plot and wants to withdraw his guilty plea and go to trial. The judge turned him down.
Moussaoui said he was "extremely surprised" that he was sentenced to life in prison instead of execution and now believes he can get a fair trial from an American jury.
In a motion filed Monday, Moussaoui said he testified on March 27 that he was supposed to hijack a fifth plane on Sept. 11, 2001, and fly it into the White House "even though I knew that was a complete fabrication."
A federal court jury spared the 37-year-old Frenchman the death penalty last Wednesday.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema gave him six life sentences, to run as two consecutive life terms, in the federal supermax prison at Florence, Colo.
As she handed down the sentence, Brinkema told Moussaoui that he could appeal the life term but that she doubted he would win. "I believe it would an act of futility," she said.
The judge also pointed out that, although he could appeal the sentence, he had lost his right to appeal his conviction when he pled guilty in April 2005. "You
now see that it is possible that I can receive a fair trial even with Americans as jurors."
Zacarias Moussaoui Convicted Sept. 11 conspirator
waived that right," she said.
On Monday, Brinkema said his request to set aside his guilty plea and go back to trial on the facts of the case was "too late" under federal rules and must be rejected.
Explaining his latest reversal, Moussaoul said in an affidavit:
"I had thought I would be sentenced to death based on the emotions and anger toward me for the deaths on Sept. 11. But after reviewing the jury verdict and reading how the jurors set aside their emotions and disgust for me and focused on the law and the evidence ... I now see that it is possible that I can receive a fair trial even with Americans as jurors."
The defense lawyers were not immediately available for comment Monday. Brinkema said they would be replaced after they filed any appeal Moussaoui might want.
The motion said Moussaoui told his lawyers Friday that he wanted to withdraw his guilty plea because when he entered it his "understanding of the American legal system was completely flawed."
Contributed photo
Connor Meigs, a KU student who died in 2004, draw this sketch of his neighbor, Omaha, Neb., billionaire Warren Buffett. The drawing, now autographed by Buffett, is being auctioned on eBav at a $10,000 minimum bid to renovate the gallery where Meigs' art is on display. The auction ends at 10 tonight.
Connor
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
The Florence Mill is a historical site that was built in 1846 and has now been transformed into a non-profit art gallery that houses Connor's work.
The site needs $250,000 to complete its renovation.
The Florence Mill now features more than 50 pieces of artwork from Connor and will
present an exhibition of his work during the summer.
The KU hockey club team traveled to the mill after a game against the University of Nebraska this year. The team visited on Feb. 25; coincidentally that would have been Connor's 21st birthday.
Mark Quinn knew Connor for six years before they were teammates on the hockey team. Quinn, Omaha sophomore, said Connor was a friend who was
dedicated to hockey, family and his artwork.
The family has also created the Connor Meigs Award, which will be given annually to an outstanding recent art student graduate. The recipient will have a solo exhibit in the mill, and the first scheduled exhibit will take place in May 2007. If they are not successful in receiving bids for the autographed drawing, the family plans to have the artwork remain with the family. The outcome of the auction will not bother the family, Linda Meigs said.
"If a pretzel in the shape of Madonna can go for $10,000, then this picture should have some permanent value," she said. "This auction is a collaboration of angels — between Connor, wherever he is, and Mr. Buffett, who is right down the street."
Edited by Frank Tankard