Tuesday, April 8, 2003

by Roxanne Yaghoubi
Gazette News Reporter

Dr. Daniel Pipes gave a talk on “The Palestinian-Israeli War” on Monday
evening. Held at 7:30 in Kirby Lecture Hall, the talk was attended by over
150 students, faculty, and community members. Randy Goldstein ’05, who as a
member of the College Republicans and STIR (Students for a Truthful Israel
Representation) helped to bring the speaker to campus, introduced Dr. Pipes.

After the introduction, Dr. Pipes went on to explain the two main points of
his talk. The first was where the war came from, and the second was what the
US should be doing to stop the war. The premise underlying both of these
points was that “militant Islam is the problem, while moderate Islam is the
solution.”  He told the audience that it was important to draw a distinction
between the Islamic religion and fundamentalist Islam, the latter of which
could sometimes be compared to fascism, according to Pipes.

Dr. Pipes emphasized that the underlying assumption of American foreign
policy in the region has been that the Arabs have come to accept the
existence of Israel. Arguing that this assumption is seriously flawed, Pipes
went on to say that once the Palestinians have accepted this premise then,
and only then, can negotiations take place.

He believes that the reason the 2000 Camp David agreements did not work,
was, in fact, because there was no such change of heart for the
Palestinians. Once such a change of heart occurs, Pipes argued, then the
Palestinian people can free themselves from the poverty that they currently
live in. American foreign policy towards Israel-Palestine must thus be
focused around changing Palestinian attitudes in this way in order to make
sure that the “Jews living in the West Bank need as little protection as
Arabs living in Israel.”

The talk lasted about half-an-hour and was then followed by an hour-long
question and answer period. During the period, Pipes clarified that it was
mainly the Palestinians who needed to have this change of heart, since most
of the rest of the Arab world had already done so.

Two questions were also asked about the role of assassinated Israeli Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin in the peace process. Pipes said that while Rabin had
been killed by an Israeli opposed to the peace process, this had little to
do with the outcome of the process, since most of the mistakes had already
been made.

Some of the questions challenged Pipes’ points more directly, with several
audience members reacting strongly to what they felt was offensive language
in Pipes’ speech.  One questioner asked the speaker whether or not Israeli
behavior was the reason for anti-Israel sentiment in the region –  an
argument that Pipes strongly denied.

Though most of the talk and ensuing discussion centered around
Israel-Palestine, a question was also raised concerning an article Dr. Pipes
had written in 1987, urging the US to aid Iraq in its war against Iran. The
speaker defended the article by saying that the job of US foreign policy is
often, and should be, to play two sides off of each other.

*****

* US Officials announced early Tuesday that a B-1 bomber had dropped four
2000 pound bombs equipped with JDAM guidance systems on a building in
Baghdad based on time-sensitive intelligence that Iraqi officials, including
Saddam Hussein and his sons, might be in the building. Officials said they
did not know precisely which officials were in the building but  classified
the intelligence they received Monday as “very good”. Some of the
intelligence was labeled human intelligence, meaning it came from informants
in Iraq. Coalition forces also took two of Saddam’s palaces on Monday, and
military sources have said that elements of the US Army’s 2nd Brigade will
remain inside Baghdad overnight.

* Soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division have found what might be a
stockpile of chemical weapons in an agricultural complex near Karbala.
Brigadier General Benjamin Freakly said that initial tests indicate the
presence of non-weaponized chemical agents. “It’s a liquid chemical, but it
hasn’t been put in a delivery means or anything that could be dispersed
against our soldiers,” he said. It is possible that the chemicals could just
be pesticides. Further tests have been ordered.

* United Nations officials confirmed on Monday that more than 950 civilians
have been killed in a massacre in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The
massacre occurred in and around the Roman Catholic parish of Drodro, near
the border with Uganda. According to the Associated Press, investigators
found about 20 mass graves. It is thought that the massacre happened last
Thursday, only a few days after rival Congolese factions signed a settlement
to end four and a half years of conflict. It is unclear who committed the
atrocity. Witnesses have said that the attackers included men, women and
children, some of whom wore military attire and some of whom did not. There
have also been accusations that forces from the Ugandan military were
involved, a charge which Uganda has denied.

*****

“Critics, Criticism and Choruses in Aristophanes’ Frogs”
by Andrew Ford, Professor of Classics at Princeton University
Scheuer Room – Kohlberg, 4:30 p.m.

German Film Series
Kohlberg 328, 7:00 p.m.

“Real Life Notes: Reflections and Strategies for Life After Graduation”
by Author Kenneth Jedding
Scheuer Room – Kohlberg, 7:00 p.m.

“New Perennials From Around the World”
LPAC Cinema, 7:30 p.m.

Rabbi Akiva’s Rabbinic Biography: Midrash and Polemics
Lodge 5, 7:30 p.m.

Tango Dance Lessons
Upper Tarble, 9:00 p.m.

Observatory Open House,
Sproul, 9:00 p.m.

Good Schools PA Meeting
Parrish Parlors – West, 10:00 p.m.

Student Council Meeting
CRC – Parrish 2nd, 10:30 p.m.

——

REAL LIFE NOTES:
Reflections and Strategies for Life After Graduation

Tuesday April 8, 7 p.m. – Scheuer

It’s complicated – if you consider how many jobs, opportunities, and
directions there are, and how many decisions you have to make……..

Author Kenneth Jedding will share powerful notes on Career…including
finding direction when you feel clueless, Keeping Perspective…by keeping
the right frame of mind while you make this transition and
Relationships…giving and getting what you need.

Sponsored by Career Services

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

Yesterday’s golf match at Franklin & Marshall and softball game against
Rutgers-Camden were cancelled due to the spring snowfall.  Today’s baseball
contest against Ursinus has been postponed until tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.

*****

Today:
Softball hosts Muhlenberg (DH), 3:00 p.m.
Women’s tennis at Haverford, 3:30 p.m.
Women’s lacrosse at Chestnut Hill, 4:00 p.m.

Tomorrow:
Baseball hosts Ursinus, 4:00 p.m.
Men’s lacrosse at Muhlenberg, 7:00

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Idleness is not doing nothing. Idleness is being free to do anything.”
–Floyd Dell

*****
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