Organ-ized Crime?
The U.S. reaction to the U.N.-brokered Iraq deal is the consensus top story.
The papers report that President Clinton gave his tentative OK to it, but also
that he will keep the built-up U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf region to make
sure Iraq keeps up its end. It's also noted all around that in his remarks
yesterday, Clinton reserved the right to respond in the "manner of our own
choosing" to any Iraqi breach of the new accord.
The actual details of the deal are still somewhat unclear, but it has
emerged that the U.N. weapons inspectors will be accompanied by diplomats--as
yet unidentified-- in their tours of the disputed Iraqi presidential sites. The
Washington Post reports that some U.S. and U.N.
officials said that the proposed arrangement implicitly supports the Iraqi
critique of the original inspection set-up. But perhaps more telling, the paper
also reports that the president's senior advisors expressed relief at the
last-minute veer away from an air war. And that includes military advisors, one
of whom is quoted, "We had a tough time seeing where this was going to take
us."
In a New York Times
front-page "news analysis" piece, R.W. Apple states that Clinton didn't have
much choice about the U.N. deal because he was unwilling from the start to
contemplate a campaign that would drive Hussein from power, but only one that
would make him submit to U.N. authority.
The Times has the most reporting on the domestic political reaction
to the deal, stating that some Republicans charge that Clinton has abdicated
the making of foreign policy to the U.N., and that the general mood in Congress
was caution and skepticism. Trent Lott is quoted as being concerned that the
administration had "subcontracted its foreign policy to [the U.N.'s Kofi]
Annan." Surprisingly, Newt Gingrich said he didn't have those qualms.
Democratic Senator John Kerry articulates the central worry: "How do we avoid
this ratcheting up on an annual basis?"
The WP front reports that Kenneth Starr has subpoenaed White House
adviser Sidney Blumenthal to appear before a grand jury to answer questions
about any role he might have had in disseminating negative information about
Starr's staff to reporters. The paper says the subpoena is "particularly broad"
and signals "an escalation in the battle between the White House and the
independent counsel." The NYT says Blumenthal was incensed and also that
he accuses Starr of leaking his subpoena to the media.
The NYT front reports that an FBI undercover operation in New York,
prompted by a tip from celebrated Chinese exiled dissident Harry Wu, has
produced the arrest of two men for trying to sell organs from the bodies of
executed Chinese prisoners. Allegedly, it was eye corneas at $5,000 a pair, and
kidney transplants for $20,000 plus. Also in the offing apparently were
pancreases, livers, lungs and skin. The WP runs its organs-for-sale
story inside, pointing out that one of the arrested men said that he could
guarantee skin from young prisoners and lungs from ones who didn't smoke.
Provided that the "donors" in question are legitimately tried and executed,
neither piece, it seems, really makes it clear exactly why this practice is
inherently deplorable. After all, the Post notes, the U.S. suffers from
an acute shortage of organs for transplant.
The Wall Street Journal "Work Week" column reports that a
researcher has found that despite worker assumptions to the contrary, childless
employees do not work longer hours than their colleagues raising kids.
Does Mary Bono, Sonny's widow, believe in good old-fashioned conservative
family values? The WP reports that Ms. Bono has left her newly
fatherless seven-year-old and nine-year-old in school back in California while
she came to Washington to raise money for her campaign to win her late
husband's congressional seat. Does the prospect of even lengthier absences,
should she win, daunt her? Well, Bono says, "Congress is in recess often enough
where I could be [with the children in Palm Springs] for weeks at a time."
