EDITOR
Erin Gibson
OPINION
EDITOR
Cliff Hicks
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Nancy Christensen
Brad Davis
Sam McKewon
Jeff Randall
Bret Schulte
I
Our
VIEW
In over
our heads
Enforcing peace
accord could be tough
Friday’s Middle East peace accord ranks
among the most blatant examples of Uncle
Sam’s increasingly heavy hand in interna
tional relations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and Palestinian Leader Yasser
Arafat signed the accord Friday at the White
House after nine days of intense bargaining
on Maryland’s Wye River.
The final result of their bargaining was a
trade deal: land for peace.
Israel gives up another 13 percent of its
territory on the West Bank of the Jordan
River in return for Palestinian leaders
strengthening anti-terrorist measures.
But the enforcer of the essential anti-ter
rorist requisite isn’t among those who
signed the accord. The enforcer is the CIA.
According to provisions of the accord,
the CIA will monitor Palestinian progress in
arresting alleged terrorists and in confiscat
ing weapons.
CIA operatives will referee disputes
about the handling of suspected terrorists,
will monitor who is arrested and jailed by
officials on both sides of the accord and will
help establish top-notch border checkpoints.
It’s a new and precarious role for the U.S.
agency. It’s a role that broadens the agency’s
mission and international influence and
could ruin the work of Middle East opera
tives.
Although CIA operatives have per
formed some of the duties required by the
accord for three years, they have performed
them quietly and without sole responsibility
for monitoring and verifying actions of
Palestinian and Israeli officials.
Under the accord, the CIA - the new
international umpire - will be blamed if any
thing goes direly wrong in the Palestinian
Israeli peace game.
The possibility of failure is great.
Already violent Palestinian protests of the
accord prove that peace could remain elu-*
sive and sporadic, even after the accord’s
three-month implementation period. One
terrorist attack during the period could shat
ter me accord. •
The accord also compromises the safety
and effectiveness of CIA operatives in the
Middle East. In the past, the quiet nature of
operatives’ work there has ensured their
sources, methods and safety. All could be
jeopardized by their roles in the internation
al limelight as required by the accord.
As a result, although the Wye River
accord takes important, if unpopular, steps
that could promise a tenable peace between
two historically warring peoples, it relies
too heavily on U.S. interference and moni
toring.
The United States isn’t the facilitator of
this accord, but its pillar and its crutch.
Unless Israelis and Palestinians find the
peace accord so essential that they’re willing
to police themselves, the accord is doomed.
■ —-■—|
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the Spring 1998 Daily Nebraskan. They
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f
Mr. personalit(ies)
' Clearing up the editor’s note confusion
CLIFF HICKS is a senior
news-editorial and English
major and the Daily ->
Nebraskan opinion editor.
(Editor’s note: This column was
written with both factual and humor
ous intent. Please consume to enable a
better understanding ofthe paper; i.e.
read it, knucklehead, and it’ll all
become abundantly clear.)
A lot of people over the past few
months have asked me who writes
those damn things. The answer isn’t as
clear as you’d probably like it to be.
(Editor’s note: Oh sure it is.ydu ’re
just complicating things.)
Look, be quiet you, I'm talking to
die audience here.
(Sorry.)
Thank you. Now, as I was
auyuig. ...
(They’re not listening, you know.)
Foils, let me tell you what’s
bizarre about this. That guy in italics,
the one with all the snide remarks ami
weird flippant comments, that Is usual
ly me.
(Liar!)
Oh hush up.
(You ’re not me. I’m you.)
That ’s perhaps one of the most
ridiculous things I’ve ever seen in
print on these pages.
And that’s saying something.
Dropping the parentheses, are we?
They’re crumping my style, man.
Right Whatever. Anyway, more
often than not, I write these weird little
things called editor’s notes. They
aren’t from the editor in chief, so don’t
blame her for these often-imposing
comments that seem to sneak into
columns more and more regularly.
We don’t write all of them, though.
That’s what you told me last week.
We? I told you? I have GOT to be
going crazy. I’m right, though. I don’t
write all of the editor’s notes.
Well, if I don’t write them, and the'
editor in chief doesn’t write them, who
the hell does?
The columnists.
The who?
You know, those people who write
the columns?
But, but, but... but they ’re not edi
tors!
Who said they had to be?
It quite clearly says “Editor’s
note.’’ If they aren’tfrom an editor,
that’s misleading the public, that is.
What are you blithering about?
Editor’s notes should be from edi
tors!
Well, I approve diem, so they’re
from me, indiiecdy.
It’s not the same..
Too bad
But you write most ofthem?
Most of them, yeah.
So why do you have so much to
say in all these columns, then?'
A 1 -a __T»_11
a tut ui umwd) wuvu j. ui iwouiii^
through a column with a columnist, I
make little comments out loud that are
more for my own amusement than
anything else. They help me think.
Occasionally, a columnist thinks those
remarks would fit in perfectly in a col
umn. And thusly, they are added.
So, in other words, you just won’t
shut up.
Basically, yeah... hey, wait a
minute! How can I be insulting
myself? ^
It’s not that hard, believe me.
You're a big help.
Believe me, man, I’m trying.
The thing that’s been reassuring to
me is that a lot of people seem to red
ly enjoy the editor^ notes. It’s that
same kind of artistic masochism that
spawned “Mystery Science Theater
3000.”
You ’re not half as cute as Crow is,
though, nor a quarter as witty as Tom
Servo.
Don’t make me delete your for
matting.
You wouldn’t dare.
Try me.
Gulp. I’ll behave.
Thanks. So, as I was trying to say,
you can Name me or the columnists ,
for editor’s notes, but don’t take them
to the editor in chief. They aren’t her
fault
Yeah, blame me. I’m an italics
addict. Icon’t help it. Hi, my name’s
Cliff and I’m an italiholic.
“ffiCKffiWeloveyouP
What die hell was that?
Beats me, man. /don’t know who
let those boldface people in here.
Now, 1 am starting to get weirded
out
You and me both, brother.
Well, at least they love me.
They say that to alcoholics too,
man. Let’s get out of here before this
gets out of hand.
I’m not going to be intimidated by
my own writing.
OK, whatever, yourfuneral. Later
man, I’m outta here.
Where are you going?
Damned split personalities. While
I’ve got the open floor, though, let me
make a few more points to the general
public.
Most importantly, these are the
opinion pages. Look to your left It’s
there in huge letters. Now see those t
other pieces, like this one, that have |
mug shots of die person that wrote it?
Those are columns. Say it with me.
“Coiumiis!” $
Um, right
Bet that scared the life out ofycn§
huh?
Yeah, I wasn’t exactly expecting a
response. *
Pssh. Don "t mention it. Now why.
are we stressing that they ’re columns ?
Because so many letter writers }
have written regarding our “articles.”
They aren’t articles, dammit, they’re
columns!
Yeah! You tell’em!
And that thing on the left side of
the page, underneath the words “Our
View” thath an editorial!
Yeah! Oh Cliff?
'Ybah,man?
We’re out of space.
Dammit Bye folks. We’ll continue
this another time.
(.Editor’s note: Oh Lord, I hope
not.)