As international tensions heighten and war looms, The Reveille chose to discuss conflicts in particular “hot spot” countries to offer LSU student and faculty insight into global situations. The Reveille chose these countries based on their current and potential prominence in foreign affairs.
North Korea
CURRENT SITUATION
There are two competing theories about what North Korea’s plan is, assistant political science professor Leonard Ray said. The first is North Korea is bargaining nuclear weapons with food aid, energy assistance and foreign oil.
The other theory says North Korea is afraid the United States will launch a preemptive strike. In that case, North Korea would be developing nuclear weapons to hit the United States, Ray said.
“They have developed a missile that can hit us and nuclear warheads,” he said.
The United States tried to negotiate with North Korea but did not agree with the terms, Ray said.
“So now they say they want to talk to North Korea without using the word ‘negotiate,'” he said. “The policy toward North Korea is unclear.”
Ray said the United States wants to get Japan, China, Russia and South Korea involved to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.
LEADERS
Head of State Kim Jong II since 1994.
Premier Hong Song Nam since 1997.
GEOGRAPHY
North Korea is slightly smaller than Mississippi.
POPULATION
22,224,195 as of July 2002.
MILITARY AVAILABILITY
North Korea’s military manpower availability as of 2002 was 6,032,376.
UNIVERSITY INPUT
There are no students registered with the International Cultural Center from North Korea and 63 registered from South Korea, said Harald Leder, manager of the ICC.
Kent Mathewson, a geography and anthropology associate professor, said the North Koreans have formed a type of a religious cult, in which the people worship the leader of the country.
“North Korea is changing,” said Kyojik Song, a finance graduate student from South Korea.
Song has been in the United States for five years, he said.
He wants the Bush administration to get rid of North Korea peacefully; however, he does not think North Korea is trying to develop nuclear weapons.
“I think North Korea is using nuclear power to develop their economy,” Song said. “North Korea has lots of economic problems now,” he said.
India
CURRENT SITUATION
India and Pakistan have been accusing each other’s diplomats of spying and have been expelling them, assistant political science professor Leonard Ray said.
India has accused Pakistan of harboring “freedom fighters” — or terrorists — and has threatened to attack the bases where the terrorists train, he said.
“The situation with India and Pakistan is cooler now than it was last summer,” he said.
Ray said the conflict stems from the dispute over the province of Kashmir. Both countries claim the province as part of their territory, he said.
“Both are nuclear powers, so that is troubling,” Ray said.
The United States has remained evenhanded recently, though it leaned more toward Pakistan before, he said.
This is a conflict between two religiously fundamental countries, Ray said.
India is ruled by Hindu fundamentalists, and Pakistan is ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, he said.
LEADERS
President Abdul Kalam has been chief of state since July 2002.
GEOGRAPHY
India is slightly more than one-third the size of the United States.
POPULATION
1,045,845,226 as of July 2002.
MILITARY AVAILABILITY
India’s military manpower availability — males between the ages of 15 and 49 — was 285,729,565 as of 2002.
UNIVERSITY INPUT
There are 376 people registered with ICC from India, Harald Leder, manager of the ICC said.
“The U.S. promotes itself as an anti-terror nation, and Pakistan is known to be a terrorist supporter, and the U.S. has not taken a stance against them,” said Raj Koona, a general studies senior.
Koona moved from India to the United States five years ago, he said.
He said India has not attacked a neighboring country first for the past 2,000 to 3,000 years.
“India has been a target of terrorism for the past 20 years,” said Thirumalesh Aedunuthula, an accounting graduate student.
“Kashmir technically belongs to us, but Pakistan is still fighting over it,” Koona said.
Pakistan
CURRENT SITUATION
The United States has not included Pakistan in the war against terror, because it needs Pakistan to root out al-Qaeda, assistant political science professor Leonard Ray said.
The Pakistani government is fragmented internally. The intelligence services are more sympathetic to the Taliban — the ousted government of Afghanistan — than the regular army, he said.
“The United States cannot take the entire world on at once,” he said. “We have to treat Pakistan gingerly.”
LEADERS
Following a military takeover Oct. 12, 1999, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, chief of army staff and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee, suspended the constitution and named himself chief executive.
Musharraf was elected President with overwhelming support April 30, 2002.
GEOGRAPHY
Pakistan is slightly larger than twice the size of California.
POPULATION
147,663,429 as of July 2002.
MILITARY AVAILABILITY
Pakistan’s military manpower availability was 36,941,592 as of 2002.
UNIVERSITY INPUT
There are 22 people registered with ICC from Pakistan, Harald Leder, manager of the ICC said.
A University student from Pakistan, who wished not to be identified for fear of ridicule, said he does not think the Indian people have any right to Kashmir because Kashmir is populated by Muslim people.
“This thing is never going to be solved,” he said.
After Sept. 11, Americans have had to remain on good terms with Pakistan because they needed a place to land their planes and keep the troops they send into Afghanistan, he said.
“Pakistani people are cheaters, but they are sweet,” the student said. “Indian people are sweet on the outside, but keep your distance.”
Iraq
CURRENT SITUATION
Weapons inspectors gave Iraq a March 1 deadline to destroy its short-range missiles, assistant political science professor Leonard Ray said.
“Out of all of these countries, Iraq is the only country where nuclear weapons have not been found,” Ray said.
If Iraq meets the deadline, it will be almost impossible for the United States to get a resolution of war, he said.
If Iraq refuses to meet the deadline, it will be harder to cooperate, and the United States will get the resolution of war, Ray said.
The rumor is the United States is waiting until March 10 because their troops are not in position to attack in the North yet, he said.
If the United States attacks Iraq, it will start with a massive aerial bombardment using cruise missiles, which is called “shock and awe,” Ray said. The purpose of this method is to stun Iraq into submission, he said.
A day or two after the initial strike, a quarter-million American troops will roll in and occupy the country for an indefinite period of time, Ray said.
“Most people who are reading this newspaper will graduate before the war ends,” he said.
LEADERS
President Saddam Hussein since July 16, 1979.
POPULATION
24,001,816 as of July 2002.
GEOGRAPHY
Slightly more than twice the size of Idaho.
MILITARY AVAILABILITY
Iraq’s military manpower availability as of 2002 was 6,135,847.
UNIVERSITY INPUT
There is one University student from Iraq, who was unavailable for comment.
The northern side of Iraq — Kurdistan — is populated by the Kurds, who have had their own government for 10 years, Ray said. The Turks do not want Kurdistan to have its own government, so if the United States goes into Iraq, the Turks will go into Kurdistan alongside the United States, he said.
“This is not particularly good for Iraq,” Ray said.
The United States was friends with Saddam in 1983, Kent Mathewson, a geography and anthropology associate professor said.
“We supported him because he was a blockboard to Islamic fundamentalism in Iran,” he said.
Israel
CURRENT SITUATION
On May 14, 1948, the Jews declared their independence from Palestine under the 1947 United Nations Partitions Plan. The next day, the Arabs started bombing cities in Israel, and the war has been going on since then, except in times of peace, said Barry Weinstein, Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Israel on Acadian Thruway.
Palestine is not a state, but it wants to be, Weinstein said.
The conflict has to do with religion and which country gets to keep the land of Jerusalem. Both countries claim the land as their own, he said.
Recent elections in Israel ended in the creation of a three-party coalition that disagrees on whether Palestine should be a state or not, assistant political science professor Leonard Ray said.
To keep unity within its newly formed government, Israel has put the Palestine issue on the back burner, he said.
The Israeli government is waiting for the U.S. war with Iraq to be over before it decides to do anything with Palestine, Ray said.
The Israelis hope the United States will destabilize the Middle East — making it better — by bringing down Saddam Hussein, he said.
The United States has been providing millions of dollars in assistance to Israel for 20 years, he said.
“If the U.S. wanted Israel to concede, they could do it by cutting off aid, but they aren’t telling them to do anything,” Ray said.
LEADERS
Yasser Arafat has been President of the Palestinian Council since 1996.
Israeli President Moshe Katsav since July 31, 2000.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon since March 7, 2001.
POPULATION
6,029,529 as of 2002.
GEOGRAPHY
Israel is slightly smaller than New Jersey.
MILITARY AVAILABILITY
Israel’s military manpower availability in 2002 was 1,542,835.
UNIVERSITY INPUT
There are 22 students registered with ICC with passports from Jordan, which would include some Palestinians, Harald Leder, manager of the ICC said.
There is one student from Israel registered with ICC, who was unavailable for comment.
Weinstein said it is a day-to-day struggle for Israel to stay alive as a nation.
“It is fighting for its life every single day,” Weinstein said.
If what was going on in Israel was going on in the United States, 30,000 Americans would have died, he said.
The families of the terrorists who blow up people’s homes get a monetary reward from the Palestinian Council, he said.
“Jews have a right to a homeland in Israel,” Weinstein said.
Palestinians need to realize once they have peace, they will have their own state, he said.
“If they didn’t bomb us, we would have peace,” he said. “As an American Jew, I mourn the loss of every Arab or Jew’s life — I believe peace can come.”