Defense Secretary William Cohen called efforts by United Nations inspectors to uncover Iraq's chemical and biological weapons program a "long-term project" and said there were no plans to withdraw the extra warships and planes that the United States has rushed to the Persian Gulf region in anticipation of a possible military showdown with Iraq.
Cohen suggested that several weeks might pass before the United States and its allies can determine Iraq's willingness to permit the kind of unfettered access to sites that U.N. inspectors have demanded.
His remarks and similar comments by other U.S. officials appeared aimed at countering a Russian move at the United Nations to win an early easing of sanctions against Iraq. Since persuading Iraq to allow U.S. members of the U.N. inspection team back into the country, Russia has stepped up diplomatic pressure to declare Iraq free of banned weapons, arguing that Baghdad has made enough progress to end intrusive inspections of nuclear and missile programs.
In Baghdad, the government issued a statement yesterday again demanding a timeframe for completing U.N. inspections.
When President Clinton signs the last of the 1998 appropriations bills today, he will approve the largest amount of overall government spending ever - as well as the most substantial increase in domestic spending in eight years. The budget will not be in balance.
The signing, which formally finishes work on the 1998 budget, also will mark a reversal of the Republicans' effort since taking control of Congress in 1995 to shrink the size of the federal government. In some cases, the Republicans even allowed substantial increases in programs they once vociferously opposed.
After weathering three years of cuts, spending on domestic programs other than the major entitlements such as Medicare and Medicaid will increase by $22.6 billion - about 10 percent or nearly four times the rate of inflation.
The total budget will hit a record $1.7 trillion.
And although Congress and the president each have been touting the five-year balanced budget agreement as the year's prime accomplishment, the reality is that in Year One the deficit likely will increase.
In scenes reminiscent of "The Godfather," the indictments describe alleged mobsters from the Genovese and Bonanno families, bearing nicknames like "Curly," "Butch" and "Mike the Russian," engaging in "walk and talks" and "sit downs," and using intimidation and threats against the family of one executive to keep him in line.
11-26-97
| Previous Article | Next Article |
should be sent to: daily.letters@umich.edu | should be sent to: online.daily@umich.edu |