THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY MARCH 26 2007
MONDAY, MARCH 26, 2007
NEWS
5A
Still raising voices
Stefano Paltera/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Leticia Tepetitlia, 9, front left, wears a U.S. flag as she and others march around the Federal Building in Los Angeles on Sunday. Dueling rallies marked the one-year anniversary of a massive pro-immigrant demonstration that jammed Los Angeles streets with a half-million protesters.
>> IRAQ WAR
Timetable raises tensions in Washington
BY HOPE YEN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — With his go-it-alone approach on Iraq, President Bush is flushing Congress and the public, so angering lawmakers that some consider impeachment an option over his war policy, a senator from Bush's own party said Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Senate's No. 2 Republican leader harshly criticized House Democrats for setting an "artificial date" for withdrawing troops from Iraq and said he believes Republicans have enough votes to prevent passage of a similar bill in the Senate.
"We need to put that kind of decision in the hands of our commanders who are there on the ground with the men and women," said Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) "For Congress to impose an artificial date of any kind is totally irresponsible."
GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a frequent critic of the war, stopped short of calling for Bush's impeachment. But he made clear that some lawmakers viewed that as an option should Bush choose to push ahead despite public sentiment against the war.
"Any president who says, I don't care, or I will not respond to what the people of this country are saying about Iraq or anything else, or I don't care what the Congress does, I am going to proceed — if a president really believes that, then there are — what I was pointing out, there are ways to deal with that," said Hagel.
who is considering a 2008 presidential run.
The White House had no immediate reaction to Hagel's comments.
The Senate planned to begin debate Monday on a war spending bill that would set a nonbinding goal of March 31,2008, for the removal of combat troops.
That comes after the House narrowly passed a bill Friday that would pay for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year but would require that combat troops come home from Iraq before September 2008 — or earlier if the Iraqi government did not meet certain requirements.
On Sunday, Hagel said he was bothered by Bush's apparent disregard of congressional sentiment on Iraq. He said lawmakers now stood ready to stand up to the president when necessary.
In his weekly address Saturday, Bush accused Democrats of partisanship in the House vote and said it would cut the number of troops below a level that U.S. military commanders say they need. Vice President Dick Cheney also accused Democrats of undermining U.S. troops in Iraq and of sending a message to terrorists that America will retreat in the face danger.
"We have clearly a situation where the president has lost the confidence of the American people in his war effort," Hagel said. "It is now time, going into the fifth year of that effort, for the Congress to step forward and be part of setting some boundaries and some conditions as to our involvement."
"This is not a monarchy," he added, referring to the possibility that some lawmakers may seek impeachment. "There are ways to deal with it. And I would hope the president understands that."
Lott said setting withdrawal dates was a futile and potentially dangerous exercise because Bush has made clear he will veto any such legislation.
"There are members in the Senate in both parties that are not comfortable with how things have gone in
Iraq" Lott said. "But they understand that artificial timetables, even as goals, are a problem. We will try to take out the arbitrary dates."
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) said the Senate bill seeks to heed the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group by setting a goal of withdrawing some troops while leaving others behind to train the Iraqi army for border patrol and other missions.
University plans to hold 2008 Midwest Asian-American Student Union conference
Taste of Asia
After planning a budget and guest accommodations, students in the Asian-American student union presented a proposal to a panel for judging.
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Meagan Cheung, internal vice president and lola junior, said she was excited that it was the first year the University could be the host.
The University of Kansas was selected to hold the Midwest Asian American Student Union conference for the first time in March 2008.
BY KATY BLAIR
"We worked hard to put our bid proposal together," said Grant Huang, St. Louis junior and president of the AANU. "We're really excited. No one really comes to Kansas for events like this."
The University was chosen from 12 other universities as the conference site. The events brings in more than 700 students to learn about Asian-American social and political issues.
Cheung and her fellow AASU members are working on finding sponsors within the Lawrence community to fund the event. Cheung said this year's conference was well-researched and planned, and she hoped to bring the same organization to MAASU 2008.
"I was impressed by the conference because it was students who did everything, all while juggling school" said Cheung.
》 CULTURE
nity."
The conference, held from March 9 to 11 at the University of Illinois, began with a variety show. Saturday's events included 16 workshops, a career fair and a closing banquet where the following year's location was announced.
Susan Noh, external vice president of AASU and Overland Park junior, said this year's conference was the best she had seen, and she hoped to hold one even better next year.
The Office of Multicultural Affairs and Student Senate provided funding for 32 students to attend this year's conference at the University of Illinois, whereas only 16 students were able to go last year.
"It was inspirational," said Noh. "It showed us how we could make a difference by being more active in the Asian-American commu-
Kansan staff writer Katy Blain can be contacted at kblair@kansan.com.
Edited by Katie Sullivan
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