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Thursday, February 26, 1998

UCLA students unsure of U.S. motives in Iraq

WAR: Many say civilian warfare, not economics, should be top conern

By Catherine Turner

Daily Bruin Contributor

Though over 5,000 miles away from the Iraqi crisis, UCLA students have expressed concern and anger toward the position of the United States and welfare of the Iraqi people.

Specifically, some students are unsure of the motives of the United States, the well-being of the Iraqi people and American soldiers and the future actions of Saddam Hussein, the United States and the United Nations.

The Muslim Student Association (MSA) is one organization currently demonstrating its concerns that the Iraqi people are uneducated, unfed and dying without action from any nation with the power to change things.

"The Iraqi people have nowhere to turn," said Shaan Sethi, a first-year business economics student, who believes that the people are caught in the middle of Hussein's greed for national power and the rest of the world's desire to impede it.

An agreement made about weapons inspections reached by U.N. Chief Kofi Annan and Hussein is still awaiting approval from the United States. Although the agreement has quieted the United States' threat of bombing, it has not completely resolved the situation.

"I am happy the agreement took place, but I am still cynical that bombing will not occur," said Ahmed Shama, editor for the Muslim newsmagazine Al-Talib.

Madeleine Albright of the Clinton Administration said, "It is possible that (Annan) will come up with something we don't like, in which case we will pursue our national interest," as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

The United States previously put sanctions on the importation of items such as medicine and food into Iraq in order to pressure Hussein to comply to unlimited weapons inspections.

These sanctions have been unsuccessful, but the United States has not moved to end them.

"Saddam Hussein is not feeling any of the effects of the sanctions; he has numerous homes and money. The Iraqi people are suffering," said Salar Rizvi, MSA director of programs.

The implementation of troops into Iraq has also caused harm to both the soldiers and innocent people.

"Babies are being born with defects and soldiers are suffering from memory loss and genetic mutation from exposure to the defective uranium found in U.S. bullets," said Rizvi said.

MSA has protested the U.S. policy, claiming that it is inhumane and purposeless, and has even referred to it as "genocidal." In response to concerns like these, Albright said that the Clinton administration's policy of military aggression is to ensure "that (Americans) can sleep at night."

Students unaffiliated with the MSA also raised interest in the Iraqi crisis.

Many students at UCLA are against bombing Iraq.

"With such strong world opposition to military action against Iraq, anything less than all-out defiance by Saddam Hussein will probably be tolerated," said Doug Kolozsvari, a third-year sociology student.

Other students feel that innocent casualties are just part of the natural causes of war and conflict and cannot be avoided.

"National warfare is unbiased in its killing and sometimes innocent people get hurt," said Samira Kapadia, a first-year undeclared student.

Some students feel that the U.S.' policy is equally as tyrannical as Hussein's actions and has been motivated by economic pursuit rather than the welfare and basic needs of humanity.

"The U.S. government will not kill Saddam Hussein because he is a promoter of war. War is good because it strengthens the economy of the country," said Nami Ishimori, a first-year undeclared student.

Without the Iraqi situation, Doug Stetzer, a broker with the ED and F Man in New York, said that the U.S. market would be "fundamentally weak." Conflict in the Gulf drives oil prices up. But prices fell after Annan's spokesman, Fred Eckhardt, said a deal had been reached with Iraq.

Years of conflict with Hussein and the continual oppression of the Iraqi people, despite the actions of both the United States and the United Nations, have caused speculation on why the United States has not considered tactics other than sanctions and military mobilization.

"The U.S. should stop Saddam Hussein through different avenues," said Rizvi, who feels that the bombing of Iraq and sanctions have only succeeded in causing the Iraqis to needlessly suffer.

Shama agreed. "First, Saddam Hussein must be removed from power. Second, the U.S.' policy must be changed in regards to the people of Iraq," he said.

Some students feel that the United States should withdraw troops from Iraq and not involve themselves.

"The U.S. should just mind their own business and leave Iraq alone," said Shannon Moore, a first-year undeclared student.

Shama also agreed that United States should abstain from action, but for different reasons.

"The U.S. is not the country that should remove Hussein from power. The U.S. has proved to be oppressive and only interested in fulfilling economic needs," Shama said.

"I really wish that a humanitarian country would remove Hussein from power, but the power does not lay in humanitarian countries," he added.

MSA believes that the United States is the only country with enough power to make any difference in Iraq, and, so far, no actions have been productive enough to resolve their complicated problems.

"If America isn't going to care, who will?" Rizvi asked.