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VOL. CLVIV . . No. 54,631 NEW YORK, SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2009 FREE
INTERNATIONAL A4-5 leaving their companies, and public ance Act, which finally brings the U.S. NEW YORK A12 EDITORIAL A13
officials from accepting management up to par with other developed nations, A Lobbyist Defends Lobbying
Gitmo, Other Centers Closed positions at large corporations for the representatives of Kaiser, Cigna and other
The notorious Guantánamo Bay, Cuba The Ban on Lobbying bill is not with-
same period. Coupled with the Ban on health insurance companies are vowing out victims. PAGE A13
detention camp will be closed, along with Lobbying bill, the bill will reduce the to “fight tooth and nail” to protect their
a network of secret C.I.A.-run facilities influence of large corporations on public interests. PAGE A7
in Eastern Europe, Afghanistan and else- policy. PAGE B1 Thomas L. Friedman
where. PAGE A24 The columnist resigns, and will put
Bush to Face Charges
Most observers weren’t surprised by the down his pen to take up a screwdriver.
PAGE A13
Iraqi Refugees Worldwide high treason indictment itself, but rather
Celebrate Withdrawal by the party that brought it. The case
Two million Iraqi exiles, and three million could also provide an unexpected boost A Baboon Troop’s Experience
internal refugees, celebrated the end of to the International Criminal Court, pav- A particularly peaceful baboon troop
hostilities and began making plans to ing the way for more indictments. PAGE A5 may have lessons to teach us. PAGE A13
return to their homes. PAGE A4
BUSINESS A10-11 More Inside The Times.
Corporate Personhood Gets Real PAGE A2 ➤
NATIONAL A6-9
An initiative to abolish limited liabil- Bicycle Lanes Inaugurated HELP MAKE THE NEWS, TODAY
Conflict of Interest Law Will Stop ity will make shareholders pay for the With the completion of the 9th Avenue
Revolving Door bike lane and groundbreaking on other
Health Insurance Act Clears House crimes their corporations commit —
The “Revolving Door” bill will prohibit avenues, New York is on the (bike) path
While almost all are celebrating the even if they only own one or two shares
high-ranking corporate officers from to becoming as livable as other world
passage of the National Health Insur- in a mutual fund. PAGE A11
holding public office for ten years upon cities. PAGE A12
A2 THE NEW YORK TIMES SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2009
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THE NEW YORK TIMES SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2009 A3
That’s why
we applaud the
end of the war
The invasion of
in Iraq.
Iraq was supposed to mean
Times have changed. Oil fields have reverted back to a It's also an opportunity to turn over a new leaf. As
newly independent Iraq, and Congress has mandated Exxon finds itself under federal oversight, we are more
“Fair Trade,” in which most profits go not to brokers, than happy to use our profits to develop sustainable,
stockholders, and a small management circle, but flow decentralized energy production. This will help fight
directly to those who produce. Exxon is excited about further climate change, and prevent costly new wars over
helping do things better — not just because it's the law, energy in the future. After all, if everyone can turn the sun
but because Exxon has always been about innovation. or wind into power, what’s there to fight about?
Brought to you by Exxon. Finding decent ways to deliver the energy you need.
International
A4
After Withdrawal Peace Spreads United Nations Unanimously Passes Weapons Ban
to Conflict Zones Worldwide By HELEN PREJEAN
Times Reporter to Embed with Peace Groups What the Future Holds for Afghanistan
By EMIL LEDERER Afghani leaders are hopeful that
By DARLA ZIMBALIST whom the protests were aimed. Against the War, who stage simu-
future powerful states will finally
Veteran Times reporter John lated military operations in Ameri- A 400-page plan, written by Af- attend to the lessons learned by
Recent studies have shown that Hess noted that during his 24 can cities in order to “make the ghani leaders under U.N. supervi-
embedded reporters lose per- truth of this war visible”; United previous imperial powers, in-
years of service at the paper he
sion, outlines the final stages of cluding Britain, Russia, and now
spective and objectivity. Thrust “never saw a foreign intervention for Peace and Justice, a coalition
U.S. and NATO withdrawal, and de- the U.S. Mikhail Gorbachev, in a
into high-tension situations of that the Times did not support, of 1400 peace groups nationwide;
tails a rebuilding effort on a scale recently-published book on the
dangerous conflict, and surround- never saw a fare increase or a rent and CODEPINK, a group singled
not seen since World War Two. collapse of the Soviet Union, has
ed by a corps of strong personali- increase or a utility rate increase out by former President Bush as Nick Tucker
Core to the plan is the presence revealed that he warned President
ties devoted to a single objective, that it did not endorse, never saw
of the U.N. peacekeeping and hu- was toppled by U.S.-backed Muja- George W. Bush against attempting
journalists almost inevitably write it take the side of labor in a strike
manitarian forces in order to guar- hedeen in 1992. “An abundance of to occupy Afghanistan. Mr. Bush’s
subjectively and sympathetically or lockout, or advocate a raise for To right a longstanding antee the quality of life of all citi- research has shown that individu- response: “Hey, Gorby, lighten up.
of situations that are best ad- underpaid workers.” When anti-
dressed analytically. war protesters are covered, the bias, a focus on those zens through assurances of peace, als worldwide who are literate are The Taliban and the Mujahedeen
Yet there are other subjects Times has regularly undercounted a means to earn a living, and basic less likely to address problems may have brought you down, but
fighting for change food and health care. “Afghani with non-diplomatic means” the it was we who provided the fund-
that might be better served by a the numbers and glossed over
more sympathetic approach— violent acts by riot police. It has warlords and the Taliban use ac- report states, adding that this is ing. They’re in our pocket and
like the cause of those who work never given the demonstrators cess to resources as a source of also true for U.S. political leaders. they know it.”
to correct injustices done by our editorial support. setting a “dangerous, radical agen- power. When these resources are One Taliban official, who was “I wonder what he thinks now
country abroad. Yet The Times’ After returning stateside from da” for American politics. readily available, their authority in a minority opposing the plans, that U.S. missiles are bringing
coverage of protesters has often 16 weeks embedded with the Beginning next week, embed- will be neutralized or minimized,” explained that his group was be- down U.S. drones, and the U.S.
been anything but sympathetic. 101st Airborne division in Iraq, ded reports from this movement the report states. ing supported by Baptist groups had to nationalize banks because
This paper has belittled the move- this reporter decided to right this will be featured every week in this The plan focuses heavily on in the U.S. which “understand the Americans wanted control of the
ment, marked its participants as imbalance herself, beginning with space. You, like The Times, will rebuilding schools and retrain- need for men to rule women and means of production and not just
wingnuts, and all in all written as if some of the most interesting anti- come to see these organizations ing teachers who have not taught the legitimacy of martyrdom as a blank checks for the financiers,”
it were beholden to those against war protest groups: Iraq Veterans in an entirely different light. since the Soviet-backed regime political strategy.” Mr. Gorbachev said.
THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2009 A5
Global Solution
to internal injuries, and was either
BAGHDAD — Secretary of De- the 93,067th, the 755,265th or the
fense Scott Ritter was joined by 1,233,657th Iraqi civilian casualty
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki of the war. (No accurate records
From Page A1 and representatives of the former were kept, and estimates from dif-
“Coalition of the Willing” in Bagh- ferent sources conflict wildly.)
level rise has been overblown.
And one thing I’m sure of, is that dad this afternoon for the ground- “Ahmed’s life coincided with the
nationalizing private industry is breaking of a monument to the last absolute worst episode in the his-
just another name for theft.” to die during the allies’ occupation
“The private oil interests have of Iraq.
been involved in theft for de- An enormous granite obelisk to An American repre-
cades,” responded Deputy Un- the Iraqi dead, 300 feet high, will
der Secretary of the E.P.A. Gavin stand in Firdos Square, where co- sentative tells the
Newsom. “They’ve stolen our air, alition troops famously attempted Iraqis that some
our oceans, our health, and our to topple a 40-foot-tall statue of
land. They’ve proven they can’t Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein in Americans tried, to
run their business without mas- April 2003. A 15-foot-high obelisk polite applause.
sive theft.” will stand nearby, honoring the
“If we’re going to give corpora- coalition casualties.
tions the same rights as people,” The difference in size between tory of the Middle East,” Mr. Maliki
the two obelisks will represent said of the boy, who was born just
the different numbers of casual- after the Iraq War started. “May
‘They’ve stolen our ties. For the Iraqi dead, the most his life and death represent the
air, our oceans, our conservative estimate of 93,067 importance of never again see-
was chosen to avoid the coalition ing such catastrophe rain on our
health, and our land. monument being absurdly small heads, whether for false pretences
They’ve proven they or the Iraqi monument prohibi- or even real ones.”
tively large. “I stand before you as a repre-
can’t run their busi- On the side of the allies, the sentative of the American people
ness without massive last to die was Corporal William to tell you that some of us tried,”
Whitman, age 28, of Quinnesec, Mr. Ritter told an audience of main-
theft.’ Michigan. Just as fighting began to ly Iraqi veterans and their families.
Photo By Telstar Logistics. Photo caption vestibulum nec ligula et lorem consequat ullamcorper. Nulla facilisi.
Fusce magna sem, gravida in, feugiat ac, molestie eget, wisi. Vivamus urna.
wane, he took up an exposed posi- “We may have failed to stop this in
said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, tion while on a foot patrol and was time, but at least we did try. It only
“then we need to hold them ac- struck by a sniper’s bullet. He died remains for us, the heirs of our vic-
countable like people. When instantly, the 4,314th American ca- tims’ legacy, to have the courage
parents abuse their children, the sualty of the war. In retaliation, a and the character to make sure it
government takes over. When oil U.S. attack helicopter fired rockets never happens again.”
companies abuse the planet, the into a nearby apartment building, Ritter’s statements were met
government needs to take over killing the sniper and six Iraqi civil- with polite applause.
too.”
ians. Moments later, U.S. soldiers
Arco C.E.O. Rex W. Tillerson was
received word that they were to
philosophical. “We fought this ONLINE EXCLUSIVE TIMES
cease fire immediately and pre-
long and hard. We did everything
pare to return home. 3D INTERACTIVE MODEL
we could do. But do we want more
blood in the streets? Or do we Mr. Al-Maliki commemorated To explore the interactive, full-
want to move on?” Ahmed Yahya, a 5-year-old boy color, virtual monument in a
“You can’t fight the street,” said who was inside the building digital 3D architectural rendering,
Mr. Newsom. “The people are go- the sniper had fired from. Res- featuring zooming and panning
ing to do what the people are go- cue workers dug him out of the capabilities, see: MIKE ERNST/THE NEW YORK TIMES
ing to do. And the oil companies rubble from the rocket blast. The nytimes-se.com/world/virtual/~3D.html The last American and Iraqi to die during the war will be commemorated by obelisks in downtown Baghdad.
are just going to have live with it.” boy survived overnight but suc-
Rice: Troops Never Faced Annihilation Risk War Brides (and Husbands) Find
Their Place in a New Iraq
From Page A1 By LEN G. WILKINS Ibrahim Khan, when he was hired
believes that it was former Presi- to work as her translator during
BASRA — Following service in
dent Bush’s trial for high treason the war. It is a role he continues
that spurred the revelations. Iraq and an honorable discharge
to serve as Ms. Blaine’s Arabic im-
“There’s nothing to hide any- last April, Lieutenant Samantha
proves.
more,” said Ms. Rice. “We are re- Blaine returned to Iraq to start a
Ms. Blaine claims that it hasn’t
lieved to finally be able tell you, small construction company.
been hard to adjust to life in Iraq.
the troops who fought for us, that She is far from alone. The
we love our soldiers and we al- “I expected to have to deal with a
growth of the postwar economy in
ways have. We would never have lot of sexism. But until the inva-
Iraq has proven so tempting that
put you in such obvious harm’s dozens of members of the U.S. sion, this was a modern, secular
way.” military chose to remain in Iraq. society.”
Thus a region long associated Sergeant Rahim Rafiqi has also
with its citizens fleeing abroad has benefited from the new construc-
A sheepish former seen unprecedented volumes of tion, opening an insurance agency
immigration. that caters to the construction
secretary expresses Seven years ago, Ms. Blaine industry. Prior to joining the mili-
respect and concern had no experience with safety tary, Mr. Rafiqi had worked at his
father’s small insurance company.
for the troops. engineering or building codes but
“I was able to get backing for what
was sent to Basra to assist in the
rebuilding of the Iraqi infrastruc- some would have seen as a risky
ture. Today, her private contract- investment, but we were in the
Ms. Rice also confirmed Secre- ing company is benefiting from a black pretty quickly,” says Mr.
tary of Defense Scott Ritter’s rev- local building boom. Rafiqi.
elation that he had provided the According to the recent émigrés,
“For the first year of our busi-
C.I.A. with documentation in the the cultural adjustments that are
ness, most of the work was gov-
1990s, when he was a U.N. weap-
ernment contracts,” said Blaine, necessary to move from the Unit-
ons inspector, that Iraq lacked
biological or nuclear weapons pro- “but after the major infrastructure ed States to Iraq are more than
grams. “We were then already far work was done and the Iraqi econ- worth enduring to be a part of the
more than 99 percent certain that omy began to rebound, there was new Iraq. “Getting sent to Iraq was
Hussein had zero W.M.D.s and that a surge in demand for new hous- the best thing to happen to me,”
Rob 7812/AP if he did, he would not be able to ing.” said Ms. Blaine. “I’m finally living
A lone helmet lies in the desert near Atrush, Iraq, a monument to absence. use them against us.” Ms. Blaine met her husband, the American Dream.”
National
A6
American Evangelical Churches Announce New Policy of Sanctuary for Iraqi Refugees
By W. WILBERFORCE withdrawal.
Biofuels Ban Act Signed Into Law, Seeks to Ease Food Shortage Torture,
By WILLIAM PETTY ers sent a memo announcing they
would refuse all future campaign
Rendition
WASHINGTON — In a dizzying
about-face, the White House an-
nounced that the president will
contributions from the powerful
firms. “Not Such
Good Ideas
Today the stock of both corpo-
be signing the Ban Biofuels Act rations registered their sharpest
tomorrow. single-day drop on record at the
After All”
The controversial legislation Dow. Neither company would re-
was pushed through Congress by turn calls for comment.
newly elected Democrats unchar- International response has been
acteristically willing to stand up to mixed. “I must admit, no one saw By DIEGO TAVERA
big agribusiness, bolstered by in- this coming,” said a World Bank
tense public pressure in part due Washington — In response to
official who spoke on condition of
to the efforts of international orga- anonymity. “We’ve all known there 36 million handwritten letters, the
nizations like Friends of the Earth, were big problems with our subsi- president made a formal apology
Greenpeace and the Rainforest Ac- dies for biofuel crops in develop- today to Canadian citizen and ex-
tion Network. ing countries, especially as they traordinary rendition victim Ma-
The shift was cheered by envi- encroached on other crops, and her Arar and presented him with
ronmental activists as well as av- on native ecosystems. We were the Presidential Medal of Free-
erage Americans worn down by examining that. We just never ex- dom.
the steep rise in food prices. “Veg- pected to be pushed on it by U.S. Mr. Arar was a software engineer
etable oil and corn are for feeding officials.” changing planes at J.F.K. Airport
people, not cars,” said Elizabeth Analysts at the World Bank pre- on his way home to Canada from
Johnson, a hospital worker and dict that the legislation will have a family vacation when he was
mother of three, at yesterday’s a ripple effect, eventually easing detained, kept from counsel, and
demonstration outside Capitol pressure on the remaining rainfor- sent to Syria for a year of torture
Hill. “There was only so much ests. and interrogation.
more we could keep paying.” The letters in support of Mr.
Six nationwide protests over the
Arar were part of a campaign or-
last four months had prepared the Food riots highlight a ganized by a coalition of human
terrain for the bill’s success, ac-
cording to Andrew Kohut of the need for real solutions rights groups including Witness
Against Torture, Amnesty Inter-
Pew Research Center, who said
that national polls indicate a sharp national, the Center for Constitu-
jim media “If the demand for biofuels tional Rights, and MoveOn.org.
decrease in public approval of bio- drops, then there’s far less incen-
fuels and increased concern about Acres of corn now to be used for feeding people, rather than being converted to car and truck fuel. His case has come to represent
tive to clear-cut native forests,” some of the worst excesses of the
global warming. “The public sees explained a spokesperson from
the use of biofuels as profoundly In addition to turning off the said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ceives subsidy payments from the previous administration’s national
Friends of the Earth Indonesia,
irresponsible both environmen- tap on plant-based petrol, the at a press conference yesterday. federal government. “We’ve been security policies.
also known as Walhí. “This is what
tally and socially,” Kohut said. Ban Biofuels Act sets out an ambi- In acknowledging her failure in the getting a lot of heat from our con- The context for the apology is
the people in the rainforest have
He added that recent investiga- tious plan of shifting over $10 bil- past to support alternative fuels in stituents on this issue,” explained the White House’s new Truth and
been fighting for for years.”
tive reporting on the effects of bio- lion in annual direct and indirect a meaningful way, Pelosi credited Rep. Daniel Seals, Democrat of Illi- The spokesperson added that Prosecution Program, which has
fuels, including one piece in the subsidies from oil companies to activists for her increased under- nois. “We had to do something and the struggle would not be over exposed and reversed policy on
New York Times and several on the construction of wind farms in standing of the need for renewable now was the time.” until similar controls are imple- secret C.I.A. interrogation and tor-
C.N.N., had been key in sparking rural areas of Texas, Kansas and energy. Top executives from Cargill and mented by governments around ture centers worldwide, warrant-
public outrage. “Television and Wyoming. Delivering yet another jolt to Archer Daniels Midland rushed to the globe. “Ecological destruction less wiretapping, illegal infiltration
print journalism haven’t done this “One of the great things about Republicans, House Democrats the Capitol late last night for an is a systemic problem, it’s not just of activist meetings (and Quaker
type of reporting for years,” Kohut the act is that it mandates the tacked onto the act a manda- emergency closed-door session one company or one place. The quilting bees), and extraordinary
said. “We found that when people building of transmission lines, tory transition of cropland from with the vice president. Accord- only way we’ll have real justice is rendition, the extrajudicial trans-
weren’t barraged with disinfor- which has been a big infrastructur- chemical-intensive “conventional” ing to an aide who attended the if those who prosper from exploi- fer of suspected terrorists to coun-
mation, they developed a much al hurdle to getting renewable en- farming to chemical-free organic meeting, negotiations quickly un- tation have nowhere else to go, tries known to torture prisoners.
sharper analysis of the situation.” ergy on track in the United States,” cultivation on all acreage that re- raveled when congressional lead- and have to go somewhere else.” The program works to assist the
Attorney General’s criminal pros-
ecutions of former Bush admin-
Congress Returns Civics Labor Dept. istration officials for their role in
torture policy and taking the coun-
USA Patriot Popular “America’s Army” Video Game, Recruiting Tool Cancelled
Act Repealed New Game
The State Department has high their differences with diplomacy. the game represents a major shift lessons of the wars in Iraq and Af-
hopes for America’s Diplomat, It’s so awesome,” he said. in focus. “The next generation of ghanistan is that military success
By SYBIL LUDINGTON Will Recruit Young given its predecessor’s highly suc- Purvill also said he excitedly government game-playing kids is not sufficient to win,” he noted.
cessful history. In 2005, 40 percent anticipates the expansion of the may not be able to kill very well, Unlike its predecessor, America’s
Eight years after being enacted, Diplomats of all recruits surveyed had played game in the coming months. This but they’ll be able to practice di- Diplomat has been pronounced
and three years after being reau- America’s Army game prior to en- is expected to include new mis- plomacy. That’s what our national suitable for children of any age by
thorized, the controversial USA By Wilfred Sassoon listing. As the game’s popularity sion updates such as “United Na- security calls for.” the Entertainment Software Rating
Patriot Act was repealed by Con- grew, and after dozens of new re-
WASHINGTON — The Depart- tions,” “Peace Corps,” “Swords to Defense Secretary Scott Ritter Board.
gress by a vote of 99 to 1 in the
ment of Defense announced leases, the America’s Army brand Plowshares” and “Gandhi’s Hun- acknowledged that national secu-
Senate and 520 to 18 in the House.
yesterday the cancellation of its expanded to include console and gerStrike!” rity could benefit from the new America’s Diplomat is available
No fanfare greeted the repeal in
highly successful and popular cell-phone games, T-shirts, and the Demsfold acknowledged that game. “One of the most important online: americasdiplomat.com
either house. Absent were the 40-
“America’s Army” online game and Real Heroes program, a section of
minute speeches and foam-core
charts predicting Armageddon. recruitment tool. The program has the America’s Army website that
The act was repealed with a sim- already been converted into a new highlighted actual soldiers in Iraq
ple vote cast late in the day by a game, operated by the State De- and Afghanistan, and even recre-
Congress ashamed of what it had partment, entitled “America’s Dip- ated them as action figures.
done and what the Act had meant lomat.” State Department spokes- The avowed purpose of Amer-
for Americans. person Donald Demsfold called ica’s Diplomat is to encourage
In related news, Congress yes- this “a pretty good step towards young people to consider careers
terday repealed the Animal Enter- nurturing a generation committed in the diplomatic corps, and to
prise Terrorism Act and agreed to to the principles of diplomacy and present non-military alternatives
peaceful negotiation.” in a positive light. Where the abil-
America’s Army was an online ity to aggressively attack and kill
An obvious error, game designed by the Army to at- opponents spelled success in
quietly buried. tract young recruits via simulated America’s Army, America’s Dip-
combat missions, many of which lomat stresses situations that de-
were modeled on actual battle- mand negotiation, dialogue and
permanently shelve the Violent peaceful outcomes.
fields in the Middle East.
Radicalization and Homegrown Reactions from gamers have
During its use as a recruitment
Terrorism Prevention Act. “These been intense as those attempt-
tool, America’s Army consistently
acts were worded in such a way ing to access the America’s Army
ranked among the top 20 Internet-
that they could be interpreted to website have been redirected to
equate political dissent with ter- based games. First launched in
July of 2002 at a cost of $10 million the new America’s Diplomat site.
rorism. In any case none of these Lenny Purvill, a 16-year-old
bills did a thing to protect Ameri- dollars, America’s Army’s annual
support budget was estimated at player, noted an initial disappoint-
cans,” said Speaker of the House
$1.5 million. ment in finding his favorite online
Nancy Pelosi.
The cancellation of the game game replaced. “I liked to pretend I
Most past supporters of the act
comes as part of the elimination was in the army going on missions
refused comment, but Senator Jon
Kyl (R-AR) explained his lone vote of the Army’s entire $583 million in Iraq. And blowing stuff up was
to retain the Act: “I wish I could recruiting budget. fun,” he told the press. Purvill, who
say I was as principled as Russ Early versions of the game were has been playing the game since
Feingold [the only Senator who only moderately successful with he was 13, had been considering
opposed the Patriot Act in 2001], young people, but the more subtle signing up when he turned 18.
but the truth is that I had too game is expected to inspire longer- His initial disappointment, how-
much wine at lunch, hit the wrong term dedication. “I’ve never expe- ever, was replaced by fascination
button, and then was too inebri- rienced such an exciting simula- as he facilitated a peaceful negotia-
ated to notice. I hope my constitu- tion of international negotiations,” tions between Sunni and Shiite mi-
ents, who overwhelmingly wanted Greg Hauser, 14, told the press. litiamen. “It was like, are they gon- COURTESY OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT
me to vote for the bill’s repeal, will Hauser is president of the Eastern na shoot each other? No! They’re
In the discontinued “America’s Army” video game/recruiting tool, players stormed villages.
forgive me.” High School debate club. not! ’Cause I’m helping them settle
THE NEW YORK TIMES NATIONAL SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2009 A9
Bush Resumes Golf Game An Exclusive Interview with Former President Bush
By James Braid in Crawford, Texas. Former President George W. further. I’m your scapegoat, right BUSH: Scott, Osama bin Laden, just find it incredible that you are
Meticulous records kept by CBS Bush gave his first post-indictment here, made to order. Me. he’s our enemy. Make no mistake, personally going to hunt Osama
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Former News, however, trace the Presi- interview yesterday to Scott Pelley Of course that doesn’t stop me he’s our enemy, and he’s not down. bin Laden. I mean, jail...
U.S. President George W. Bush re- dent’s last official round of golf to of 60 Minutes. The interview, con- from picking up firewood! (Laugh- And we have not really pursued BUSH: Well, “personally” is an
turned to the fairway this week, af- October 13, 2003. ducted at Bush’s Crawford, Texas ter.) him. I wouldn’t say that I didn’t do awfully big word here, Scott. A
ter previously giving up the game One source close to the Presi- ranch is scheduled to air Sunday PELLEY: Mr. President, what anything. But sometimes what you business organization has a lot
out of respect for the families of dent’s caddy claimed that Bush’s evening. 60 Minutes has provided are your plans now, besides being want to do, or think you might do, is of members, we have a lot of re-
U.S. soldiers killed in the conflict dismal score at that last game did, the Times with excerpts of their dis- a scapegoat? not really all there is, and you even- sources. Over the last eight years,
in Iraq in 2003. in fact, come out of solidarity with cussion. BUSH: Well, just because I’m tually see that. private-sector fighting organiza-
“I saw him polishing his clubs
PELLEY: It’s been several not in that Oval Office, doesn’t We did remove Osama bin Lad- tions have developed in a way I am
last week,” stated a White House
months since you left the White mean I can just sit down. I started en’s enemy, Saddam Hussein. I’m amazed to see.
security agent, who wished to re-
House, and although you’ve con- out with a plan, and my obligation proud of our servicemen and wom- So obviously I’m not going to do
main anonymous. “Of course, we
demned the war in Iraq, and your to this country is to fill out that plan, en who did that. Maybe I wouldn’t it alone. But I’m going to have the
all assumed he was just sneaking
own role in leading us to it, you’ve fulfill it. do that today, but that’s what I did time and also the resources, and
out to play like he usually does.”
also made clear you have some PELLEY: So you will be… back then. And now here I am. the freedom, to do what I want to
In an interview with Yahoo! News
business you’d like to finish. What BUSH: I’m going to pursue Osa- But what’s important is that we do, which is finish the search for
and Politico in 2003, Bush resolved
do you have planned for the next ma Bin Laden. made mistakes, and one thing Osama bin Laden. We will have
to refrain from his leisure pursuit year? PELLEY: I’m sorry? when you make mistakes is you resources that I never had as presi-
out of solidarity with the families BUSH: First, Scott, let me tell BUSH: I’m going on my own can’t undo them. And now I’m not dent. When you’re commander in
of soldiers in Iraq. “I think playing you where I’m at. I’ve had more search for Osama bin Laden to undoing them, I’m doing the only chief there are laws,there’s limita-
golf during a war just sends the time to look at the big picture since bring a killer to justice. I have set right thing for right now. tions and diplomacy you have to
wrong signal,” he said. I left office. Abu Ghraib was a mis- up a $500,000 reward, of my own PELLEY: Sir, forgive me, but work within. Now I’ll have more
“I don’t want some mom whose take. Using posturing language like money, for tips. Laura helped me many people will say that you’re freedom, frankly, even in jail.
son may have recently died to see “mission accomplished” and “bring set up a toll-free hot line to field not equipped for this. Your health The presidency isn’t a popularity
the Commander-in-Chief playing it on” was a mistake. Troop levels those tips. — this isn’t a one-man job. contest. I had to make tough deci-
golf.” may have been a mistake. Getting Near the beginning of my terms, BUSH: A lot of people thought sions. But I was the president when
ReUters
The U.S. President claims to have us in there in the first place was ob- my nation was attacked by Saudi I wasn’t equipped to be President this war happened. I want to be the
renounced the game during the troops stationed in Iraq. “It’s like, viously a big mistake. I think history Arabian terrorists. So I started a either. (Laughs.) But really, once I one to bring closure for the Ameri-
August 19, 2003 bombing of the they’re having a hard time, he was is going to look back and see a lot hunt for Osama bin Laden and make up my mind, I need to follow can people.
United Nations headquarters in having a hard time…. At some of ways we could have done things the Taliban in Afghanistan. We got through and give it my best shot. Maybe you can think of it as a
Baghdad, in which Sergio Vieira de point, I think he was just like, ‘I’ve better, no question about it, all the the Taliban, we didn’t get the main See this, Scott? This is the same second career, or a retirement, but
Mello, the world body’s top official been out here for, like, six hours. way from day one to day now. man. Then, Iraq. rifle we issue to our Marine marks- I’m going to have more time on my
in Iraq, was killed. I was sure I was gonna win at But the reason I bring all this up is I’m going to finish the job. It’s not men. I’ve been training with this hands. And what I will do is shoul-
“I remember when de Mello got the 2nd hole. When is this gonna mainly that I don’t want people out just the good thing to do, it’s the for the past 6 months here on the der this burden, and do this work
killed in Baghdad as a result of end?’” there blaming the folks in the mili- need to do it thing. And that’s what ranch. I’m ready for this. We can that has not been done, myself. I
these murderers who were taking Bush assured The Times that the tary for what’s happened in Iraq. If I’m going to do. shoot some cans later, if you need will spend whatever time needs to
this good man’s life.” The tragedy game will not interfere with his regular American people need a PELLEY: Why didn’t you do this any proof. (Laughs.) be spent to hunt that killer, I will find
forced Bush off the fairway at the continued search for Osama bin scapegoat, well they can look no during your terms as President? PELLEY: Pardon me, sir, but I him, and I will bring him to justice.
12th hole, and home to his ranch Laden.
“True Cost”
hoax was considered decisive in consumer spending decreased, tee returning veterans prominent ment. Saatchi & Saatchi, one of the ing which shortly preceded the
turning popular opinion toward government spending increased, placement on television programs largest ad firms in the world, fired passage of the new regulations.
PRICING SET
war against Iraq. and the coffers of some private such as “Wife Swap,” “Trading over 300 employees in its Word- “The mystical power of the con-
“It’s unfortunate that our hard firms expanded. Of the 40 percent Spaces,” and “Punk’d.” of-Mouth Division. Leo Burnett in sumer isn’t going to change that
work is being discussed under of Iraq War spending that went to One P.R. firm, MediaLink World- Chicago is expected to release all — whereas the actual power of the
these circumstances,” said Cyn- private military contractors since wide, plans to cut its media com- part-time staff later this week. citizen is. That’s where legislation
From Page A1
thia Knowlton, granddaughter of the 2003 invasion, a full 10 per- mentator funding, a substantial It’s a vast network of influence, comes in.”
Pelham Bay, New York, referring
to General Motors’ EV1, an electric
New York Bike Path System Expanded Dramatically University to Rescue Iraqi Scholars
for bicycle speed. “Riding your bike up By AMAL MAAMLAJI gram faced significant challenges. “The
Miles of Segregated Bicycle or down the avenue, the traffic lights are situation for Iraqi scholars today is even
going to change in sync,” explained Blair. The New School University in New York worse than for Jewish scholars in 1933,
Lanes Will Be Paved by 2010 “You ride 10-15 miles per hour, and you’ll announced yesterday the launch of the but it’s our doing this time, and so the
be hitting all greens.” New University In Exile, a program to pro- available funding is a whole lot less. It’s
By MEDE SIVRAC “Now that our country is taking its right- vide small grants and visas to scholars psychologically easier to help people
ful place among the world’s developed from Iraq. The program is inspired by the when one’s tax dollars aren’t instrumen-
NEW YORK — Officials from the Depart- nations,” said Mayor Bloomberg, “it is University In Exile, a New School program tal in killing them, which is probably also
ment of Transportation today opened the time for our greatest city to take its place that rescued over one hundred Jewish why there’s more concern for the victims
9th Avenue bike lane, which now extends among the world’s great cities.” scholars from Nazi Germany beginning of Darfur than of the much larger crises
the entire length of Manhattan. The fes- Bloomberg recently visited Paris to ex- in 1933. in Iraq or the Congo.” But we’ve got to do
tivities were then moved to 2nd Avenue, amine its popular public bicycle rental “As in World War II, scholarship today what we can.
where ground was broken on a similar program. Although he initially expressed faces one particular crisis that dwarfs all “While the academic riches of Iraq will
path to extend the full length of the is- doubts as to whether it could work, pub- others,” said New School President Bob never be restored, and its archaeological
land. lic pressure has helped convince him it Kerrey. “In Iraq today, almost four hun- sites, museums, and libraries will remain
Over the next two years, every other can, and national legislation sealed the dred scholars have been assassinated, a mere memory, the academic commu-
avenue will also receive a full bike lane, deal. (For more on the new transportation and most others have been sent into per- nity must attempt to in some small mea-
blocked off from traffic, while every fifth initiatives, also see “Crumbling Infrastruc- manent exile. Iraq’s universities, libraries, sure make amends for what our country
crosstown street will be opened exclu- ture Brings Opportunities,” Page A6.) museums, and archeological sites have has done, and do what it can to save the
sively to bicyclists and pedestrians begin- Blair, watching the dedication from a for the most part been completely de- scholarly heritage of a nation,” Mr. Kerrey
ning next month. cherry picker above 9th Avenue com- stroyed. The scale of devastation places said.
Mark Blair, a transit worker from mented, “From cesspool to world city, it’s it among the worst tragedies in all his- The New School hopes to be joined in
Queens, was busy re-timing traffic lights just fantastic. I love this place.” Payton Chung tory.” the effort by other universities anxious to
The New School will make available live up to their stated ethical aims.
small grants to scholars, facilitate visas,
City Council Votes to Beat Swords Into Plowshares and provide shared office space with New
School faculty members. See also “Hope for Iraqi Refugees?”
Page A13.
Mr. Kerrey acknowledged that the pro-
campuses. “If our leaders of the past eight years had
At Jesuit-run Xavier High School in Man- had that sort of training, we wouldn’t be
R.O.T.C. Funding Reallocated
to Organic Gardens for Youth
hattan, 33 percent of students belong to
the J.R.O.T.C. “It’s the only gang the Fa-
in the huge mess we’re in.”
Retired General David Petraeus defend-
Streets Come Alive as Relief and
Exuberance Greet End of Conflicts
thers let us join,” bubbled Senior Cadet ed the program. The only way a volunteer
By ED SHARSNEK Leader Bernard Goetz Jr. “But it’s plenty army can recruit is if we can get them
good for me.” early. The fact is, it works. Plus, J.R.O.T.C.
NEW YORK — The New York City Coun- Not all the Jesuits support the program. students who don’t join the army tell us By SCHUYLER FRANK watching the news.”
cil is scheduled to vote later this week Father Jon Sobrino, who supervises the the leadership training they receive helps Juan Villarosa, 18, agreed. “My brother
on a measure that may finally close the school’s ethics curriculum, said that the them find work in security and related Thousands are already taking to the was killed in combat last year in a war
doors on the City’s Junior Reserve Officer J.R.O.T.C. obedience training seemed to fields.” streets of Manhattan, mainly around that never should have happened. You
Training Corps, following complaints by stunt some students’ reasoning skills. Critics argue that those students who Times Square, to celebrate the announced don’t turn to Wolf Blitzer for answers
parents and teachers, and a recent spate “‘Lock-and-load’ is not a recognized ethi- do go on to join the Army fare especially end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. in that situation,” he said. The crowd at
of student walkouts. cal philosophy,” Sobrino said. poorly. According to the Veterans Admin- Police are responding by organizing water the uptown sandwich shop bubbled with
Critics contend that the training corps, With the end of the war in Iraq, concerns istration, veterans earn less than non-vet- distribution centers and places to rest. conversation about America’s new direc-
whose official mandate is educational, is a voiced for months at Parent Teacher As- erans; one-third of homeless men are vet- “We’re all guaranteed the right to peace- tion.
recruiting arm of the U.S. Army. They note sociation meetings around the five bor- erans; and at least 10 percent of federal ably assemble,” said New York City Police “People are saying hello to each other
that the J.R.O.T.C. provides no non-mil- oughs received renewed urgency. “We are and state prisoners are veterans. Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly. “Today, in the street. I just had lunch with a group
itary training, and that the firearm train- asking Secretary of Defense Scott Ritter to
The City Council vote follows outrage by we’re going to try responding the way po- of total strangers where we just talked
ing offered by 90 percent of the J.R.O.T.C. shift these funds into training programs in
area principals over Mayor Bloomberg’s lice do in many other developed nations.” about what’s going on right now,” said
programs undermines the no-weapons nonviolence and communication,” Queens
proposal to cut $180 million from the In the past, New York City police have Carrie Moore, a photographer’s assis-
policies widely promoted on high school Borough P.T.A. head Estelle Chavez said.
Department of Education’s budget in the usually responded to demonstrations tant living in midtown. “It’s like this huge
current fiscal year, and $324 million in with forces in riot gear. stress has been lifted.”
the following year, cuts which will most After pausing a moment Kelly added, Makeshift signs were visible in office
likely effect after school programs, arts “You know, everyone on the force, we’re windows, among them: “Sleep with me”;
programming, and programs for children all just glad we’re here to help celebrate “The end of our lives” with the V crossed
with special needs. peace this time.” out; and, simply, “YES.”
One group of critics has been working The spontaneous street celebrations The street celebrations were unusual in
with Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein to were the manner in which many first the preponderance of business suits and
redirect the $2 million J.R.O.T.C. budget heard about the withdrawal. In Man- professional attire. One celebrant, Far-
to Urban Green, an after-school program hattan, as thousands thronged the city sala LaRue, 72, speculated on the somber
that promotes environmental leadership streets with Commissioner Kelly, only hues.
for youth by creating organic gardens in a few tuned in radios or checked news “This is an issue that affected us all, on
vacant lots. Klein’s office issued a memo sites on the Internet. “I’ve just gotten a daily basis, for seven years,” she said,
yesterday acknowledging the effort. overwhelmed by all the bad news, and pausing from a hopscotch game she was
“Our office feels that the J.R.O.T.C. bud- I’m tired of learning that so much of what playing with her 7-year-old neighbor. “Not
were told was lies,” Linda Negrobi, 42, just the anti-war people, not just young
get might best be redirected to what we
told The New York Times in Washington people, not even just Democrats,” she
might call Victory Gardens, in celebration
Square Park, which was full of revelers. said. “All of America is here today. I think
heraldpost of a new direction for our country and for
“At some point or other, I just stopped it’s wonderful.”
J.R.O.T.C. members-turned-gardeners, planting eggplant for the fall semester. our nation’s youth.”
THE NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIALS/LETTERS/OP-ED SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2009 A13
We Apologize
The momentous occasion of the end of the war in Iraq on the Iraq war have consistently excluded the views of
also marks a time for reflection at The Times. As many of people with a track record of being right. Conversely, in
our readers have pointed out for years, this newspaper January 2008, we boosted Bill Kristol’s already consider-
played no small part in making the case for the war in the able national platform by offering him a regular column. It
first place, and in supporting the costly and deadly U.S. oc- is hard to say why.
cupation of Iraq for five years — long after public opinion
had turned against it.
As early as 1997, Kristol had penned a Weekly Standard
cover story, “Saddam Must Go,” in which he and contrib-
A Baboon Study Remembered
We have in the past acknowledged botched reporting. In uting editor Robert Kagan called for war against Iraq: “We While thinking about the recent changes Until very recently, we in this country
May 2006, we published an editors’ note acknowledging no know it seems unthinkable to propose another ground at- in this country, I recalled an article by Rob- couldn’t imagine life without the aggressive
fewer than nine articles that uncritically repeated errone- tack to take Baghdad. But it’s time to start thinking the un- ert M. Sapolsky (in Foreign Affairs, January baboons who, by hook and by crook (mostly
ous claims about W.M.D.s by anonymous officials. thinkable.” They argued that Saddam Hussein had humili- 2006), who lived for a while among a troop of by crook), were dominating our politics. But
Those admissions, we realize, didn’t go nearly far enough. ated the United States by expelling U.S. officials from U.N. baboons in the wild, and witnessed a remark- then one day, those baboons ate out of the
Notably, we failed to single out the instrumental role that able transformation. garbage dump of a deeply mad foreign policy,
weapons inspection teams. The editorial cited unspecified
Times reporter Judith Miller played in bringing unfounded Forest Troop was initially composed of and quickly killed themselves off.
sources about Iraq’s chemical and biological weapons capa-
W.M.D. allegations to a national audience. a regular mixture of baboons: gentle ones, We are not baboons, of course. For one
bilities, and concluded with this dark warning: “If you don’t
Miller’s prominent stories hyping purported Iraqi weap- mean ones, and a few in-between. One day, thing, no microbes killed off our jerks; rather,
like this option, we’ve got another one for you: continue
ons go back to 1998, and were full of dramatic but unveri- a nearby hotel expanded its garbage dump, we nicer folks did it. For another, the resource-
along the present course and get ready for the day when
fied claims and unreliable sources. “All of Iraq is one large and another troop of baboons claimed the hunting adventures of our own hostile males
storage facility” for W.M.D.s, she credulously quoted one Saddam has biological and chemical weapons at the tips of
dump as territory and primary food source. didn’t result in just a few dinged-up fat guys,
source (September 8, 2002). Miller systematically played missiles aimed at Israel and at American forces in the Gulf.
Forest Troop’s meaner males (let’s call them but rather one million dead and four and a
down skepticism and conflicting evidence, both of which That day may not be far off.” Clique W) decided they would raid this excit- half million refugees.
were readily available to any reporter. In so doing Miller lent Why did we decide to reward Kristol for having been ut- ing new resource, even if that meant beating Another key difference between us and For-
crucial support to the Bush administration’s agenda. It took terly — and lethally — wrong on Iraq? We can’t say for sure, up a number of the newly obese males from est Troop may be that in our case, it wasn’t
Miller’s involvement in the vengeful leak of a C.I.A. officer’s but as of yesterday Mr. Kristol has been terminated as a col- the garbage dump troop. enough to rid ourselves of some of the creep
name before we finally let her go — with a hefty severance umnist at The Times. In the same spirit, we also welcome After feasting on the other troop’s half- baboons at the top. A lot of the supposedly
package. Thomas Friedman’s resignation. rotten hamburgers for a while, Clique W got gentler ones voted for war as well. Rather,
Even after this episode, we continued publishing articles Beginning today, you will see a giant overhaul of our pa- what was coming to them and died of food- right after the elections, and for many months
based on claims by anonymous officials advancing unveri- per, from the front page to this page, as, belatedly shoul- borne tuberculosis. All that remained in For- after, we had to keep pushing with all our
fied claims — this time, against Iran. dering our responsibilities as the newspaper of record, we est Troop were females and nice males. And might to make sure that everyone, at all lev-
As for our opinion pages, what we passed off as “debates” make a practice of hiring writers who get it right. even today, at fifteen years after all the origi- els of power, understood that America would
nal docile males died of old age, Forest Troop now be a culture of peace and generosity.
remains a gentle culture, much more welcom- Fortunately, that’s just what we did. And
Hope for Iraqi Refugees? ing to new members, with a lot less fighting
and a lot more cooperation, and a lot more
playing with each other’s hair, even among
though human nature hasn’t changed, nor
the nature of politics, we’ve made our desires
so clear that there is now no more room in
One of the many terrible consequences of the Iraq war creating it. The number adult males. And new members quickly learn Forest Troop U.S.A. for the garbage adventur-
has been the displacement of millions of Iraqis since the of Iraqis so far granted that things are different in Forest Troop. ing that dominated our last thirty years.
Iraq War began in March 2003. According to the most recent asylum in the U.S. is
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