asss*a®— News Digest
Friday, November 18, 1994 Page 2
U.S. may supply
arms to Bosnia
WASHINGTON — The United
States is considering sending up to
$5 billion in military aid to Bosnia
along with a program of military
training for the Bosnian government
Army, sources said Thursday.
Two sources familiar with a clas
sified briefing to congressional lead
ers earlier this week said Pentagon
and State Department officials pre
sented “heavy” and “light” options
for aiding the Bosnian government
once the United States decides to
openly defy the international arms
embargo.
The heavy option would involve
up to $5 billion in financial assis
tance, weaponry and supplies, ac
cording to a source who attended the
meeting in the Capitol Building's
secure room used for intelligence
briefings. The light option would be
far more modest, about $500 million
in aid, said the source, speaking on
the condition of anonymity.
A second source said Pentagon
officials also discussed the possibil
ity of US. military forces training the
Bosnian government forces, much as
was done in the early stages of the
Vietnam War. The lawmakers attend
ing the meeting raised concerns about
this option and said any direct help
provided on the ground should be
limited, the source said.
A Pentagon official, speaking on
condition of anonymity, said the op
tions presented to the lawmakers were
preliminary. He said more meetings
with key lawmakers will be held over
the coming weeks.
“Options arc being refined and
changes will continue to be provided
to the Hill,” the official said.
Attending the meeting were Sens.
John Warner, R-Va., vice chairman
of the Senate Intelligence Commit
tee; Strom Thurmond, R-S.C.. soon
to become chairman of the Senate
Armed Services Committee; Frank
Lautcnberg, D-N.J., a member of the
Senate Appropriations defense sub
committee; and Paul Simon, D-lll., a
member of the Senate Foreign Rela
tions Committee.
The Senate, particularly Republi
cans led by Minority Leader Bob
Dole, has been pushing the Clinton
administration to end the stalemate
in Bosnia.
Spread of AIDS cases
may be slowing down
ATLANTA — The AIDS epi
demic is growing at a slower pace,
though a revised definition of the ill
ness initially causal a huge jump in
the number of new cases being re
ported, federal health officials said
Thursday.
The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, based on the new
definition, had said that 105,990
AIDS cases were reported in the
United Slates during 1993, more than
double the 49,016 reported in 1992.
But the expanded definition
“dumped into the system” many
people who did not truly qualify as
new cases, said Dr. John Ward, chief
of the Atlanta-based CDC’s AIDS
surveillance branch.
The old definition diagnosed HIV
patients with AIDS when they got any
of 23 indicator diseases.
The new definition lists three ad
ditional diseases — tuberculosis, re
current pneumonia and invasive cer
vical cancer — plus severely sup
pressed immune systems as AIDS
indicators. It took effect Jan. 1,1993.
p . ' 1 " 1 ■"
Growing more slowly
Estimated number of persons diagnosed
annually with AIDS-related illness:
Source: Centers for Disease Control AP
GOP incumbents invested
excess funds in candidates
WASHINGTON — When Newt
Gingrich spoke, Republicans lis
tened.
With remarkable discipline,
safe GOP incumbents funneied
tens of thousands of dollars in ex
cess campaign funds to their breth
ren locked in tight races.
Their giving was in response to
a blunt request from Gingrich, and
it paid off on Election Day.
An Associated Press analysis of
16 close House races, those decided
by four points or less, found 64
GOP incumbents donated
$178,600 to their colleagues.
Each time, the Republican won.
The Republican largesse in the
16 contests was three times more
than what the Democrats mustered
—just $60,125, according to Fed
eral Election Commission records
reviewed by the AP.
The generosity, much of it in the
last days of the campaign, was no
accident. In early October,
Gingrich sent a forceful memo to
GOP colleagues in line for leader
ship posts or committee chairman
ships, asking them to open their
campaign war chests.
By that time, Republicans were
well aware of the key races they
had a chance to win in their effort
Vie level of
sophistication was
beyond anything we’ve
seen before, and it was
happening out of sight
of all of us. ”
■
ELLEN MILLER
Director, Center for Respon
sive Politics.
to capture the House for the first
time in 40 years.
“I didn't view it as a strong-arm
tactic, but there were some who
were obviously being resistant, and
they were being encouraged to
give,” said Rep. Bill McCollum, R
Fla., an early and generous donor.
“The simple message was that
all of us ranking types should do
what we needed to do”
While the GOP surge amounted
to just a fraction of the total con
tributions involved in those races,
the effort was crucial and calcu
lated. That’s because in 11 of the
16 races, the Democratic candidate
had entered the final three weeks
of the campaign with more money.
“The level of sophistication was
beyond anything we’ve seen be
fore, and it was happening out of
sight of all of us, said Ellen
Miller, director of the Center for
Responsive Politics, which moni
tors campaign spending.
“I think that’s why Washington
insiders were so surprised by the
magnitude of their victory. The or
ganizational apparatus obviously
worked,” she said.
One GOP beneficiary was Cali
fornian Brian Bilbray, who un
seated freshman Democrat Lynn
Schenk in San Diego. While
Bilbray raised slightly more than
$500,000 from January through
Oct. 19, Schenk amassed a war
chest of nearly $800,000 during
the same period.
Fellow Republican candidates,
however, gave $23,000 to Bilbray,
three-quarters of it in the last two
months of the campaign. Schenk,
by contrast, got just $2,000 from
fellow Democrats. Bilbray won by
less than 3 percentage points.
Ito’s wife called in to testify!
LOS ANGELES—The lawyer for
a detective who helped build the
Srosecution’s case against O.J.
impson lashed out today at the lat
est attempt to cast doubt on the
officer’s credibility.
“Clearly, they’re desperate, snoop
ing defense attorneys,” said Robert
Tourtelot, lawyer for Detective Mark
Fuhrman, who reported finding a
bloody glove behind Simpson's guest
house the morning alter the murder
of Simpson’s ex-wife and her friend.
Police say they found a matching
glove near the bodies.
The defense has suggested
Fuhrman, who is white, is a racist
who may have planted the glove.
The latest defense attack on his
credibility is a hearing to explore
whether Capt. Peggy York, wife of
Superior Court Judge Lance Ito,
played any role in an internal inves
tigation of him when they worked at
the same station.
York has agreed to appear at the
hearing before a different judge on
Monday.
Fuhrman's lawyer, Robert
Tourtelot, acknowledged the two “had
some disagreements*but denounced
the hearing as a diversionary tactic.
“Mark and she did not see eye to
eye. The fact is, though, no charges
against Mark were sustained,”
Tourtelot said, declining to elaborate
on what charges might have been
brought.
A source told The Associated
Press that Fuhrman came under scru
tiny over allegations he was involved
in a group called “Men Against
Women” around the time York was
assigned to the West Los Angeles sta
tion in 1985.
York was not believed to be di
rectly involved in any investigation,
the source said, but as watch com
---,
“Clearly; they're
desperate, snooping I
defense attorneys."
■
ROBERT TOURTELOT
Lawyer for Mark Fuhrman
mandcr at the station, she would havfl
had knowledge of the inquiry an<B
might also have been involved iifl
drafting Fuhrman’s performance re«|
ports. |
Fuhrman has denied accusations
he is racist and fought successfully
during pretrial hearings to keep his
police personnel records out of the
hands of Simpson’s lawyers.
i----l
Colorado Springs man charged with
attempted, assassination of president
WASHINGTON — A man ac
cused of firing a Chinese-made as
sault rifle at the White House was
indicted today on new charges of
attempting to assassinate President
Clinton. He could face up to life in
prison.
Francisco Martin Duran was
charged by a federal grand jury
with 10 other counts, including
assault on federal officers, destruc
tion of federal property, weapons
possession by a convicted felon,
use of a gun during a crime and
interstate transportation of a fire
arm.
Duran, 26, of Colorado Springs,
Colo., was arrested on a public
sidewalk outside the White House
grounds after the Oct. 29 attack.
He was expected to be arraigned
before U S. District Judge Charles
R. Richey within the next several
days.
U.S. Attorney Eric Holder, who
announced the indictment, chas
tised unidentified people, includ
ing some at the scene of the shoot
ing, who “had information about
Mr. Duran’s intentions” but didn’t
tell authorities.
“Certain people did have infor
mation, did have contact with Mr.
Duran," but failed to relay infor
mation that had given them “a ba
sis to believe he was going to do
what exactly did occur."
Clinton was in the White House
at the time of the Oct. 29 attack.
The mansion was struck by several
gunshots, but nobody was hurt.
Duran did not speak during his
arraignment before U.S. District
Judge Charles R. Richey. Public
defender Leigh A. Kenny entered
the plea on his behalf.
Prosecutors filed court papers
asking Duran’s lawyers to disclose
whether they plan to assert an in
sanity defense. Richey gave
Duran’s lawyers until Monday to
PThc judge did not immediately
rule on a request by The Washing
ton Post, The New York Times and
NBC television that he release a
letter written by Duran that was the
basis for a government-requested
competency examination of the
defendant. A psychiatrist found
that he was able to understand the
charges against him.
Public defender A.J. Kramer
told Richey the letter should not
be released, at least for now, be
cause it could cause prejudice
against Duran.
“This letter says nothing about
the president. ... It has nothing to
say about any harm intended to the
president,” Kramer said.
An 11-count federal grand jury
indictment also charged Duran
with assault on Secret Service
agents, destruction of federal prop
erty, weapons possession by a con
victed felon, use of a gun during a
crime and interstate transportation
of a firearm.
Clinton was in the mansion’s
family quarters watching football
on TV when a man raked the
White House with a semiautomatic
rifle.
Holder said evidence against
Duran includes statements he
made to people in Colorado before
the shooting, observations by
people in Washington and materi
als recovered in searches.
“Wc’rc quite confident that the
information we arc going to put be
fore the jury will convince them
that he was attempting to assassi
nate the president,’’ Holder said.
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