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■ see page 4
Mountain Jam
Here Come the Festivals
7
Volume 37 Issue 7
The University of North Carolina at Asheville
March 27, 2003
Ground troops continue push towards Baghdad
Beth Wyche
News Reporter
With a week’s worth of war un
derway and the coalition death toll
at 45, U.S. troops continue to press
towards Baghdad.
“I’ve found that (resistance) really
surprising,” said Somanna
Muthanna, a senior industrial en
gineering management major.
“I think a lot of people expected
it to be really quick, with all of our
military might and technology. It
has been surprising knowing how
many people are dying and that are
being held prisoner.”
Despite hopes of a quick victory,
the events early in the week have
shown that “Operation Iraqi Free
dom” will not end without encoun
tering serious resistance.
“The military is making good pro
gression in Iraq, yet this war is far
from over,” said President Bush to
troops and families at MacDill Air
Force Base in Florida early Wednes
day morning, according to The As
sociated Press.
“As they approach Baghdad, our
fighting units are facing the most
desperate elements of a doomed
regime,” said Bush. “We cannot
know the duration of this war, but
we are prepared for the battle
ahead.”
Some UNCA students express
concern for those experiencing the
war firsthand.
“I hurt for the people that we’re
losing; that they’re (Iraqis’) losing
and I just wish something would
shift,” said Cynthia Baldwin, a jun
ior psychology major.
“You can’t expect to interact with
someone who has behaviors like
Saddam Hussein, or his regime’s
COURTESY OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
COURTESY OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
U.S. and coalition troops have faced blinding sandstorms in Iraq, slowing down the progression of ground forces towards Baghdad (above left). American marines from the
15th Marine Expeditionary Unit give a detained Iraqi soldier water after approximately 200 Iraqi troops surrendered in Southern Iraq (above right).
behaviors, and expect to come out
OK. Now that the killing has be
gun, I am deeply disappointed that
it’s come to that.”
U.S. and coalition forces have
faced the strongest resistance in and
around the cities of An Najaf, Basra,
and Nasiryia from Iraq’s Republi
can Guard, as well as the paramili
tary groups Saddam Fedayeen.
Fierce fighting continues in Najaf,
located in central Iraq about 90
miles southwest of Baghdad, ac
cording to The New York Times.
After the U.S. enclosure of Najaf,
reports of around 1,000 Iraqi mili
tary vehicles traveling towards Najaf
emerged. Iraqi forces hope to seize
control of a key Euphrates River
bridge, according to CNN’s Web
The New York reported that
the U.S. Army’s Third Infantry
troops secured three bridges and
encircled Najaf after an intense 36
hours of battle.
“What I’ve done is to surround
the city and cut it off,” said the
division’s commander, Maj. Gen.
Buford C. Blount 3'*'.
Najaf was not an original target
for military officials; rather Iraqis
launched an offensive attack on
troops headed for Baghdad, accord
ing to The New York Times.
U.S. forces killed between an esti
mated 150 to 500 Iraqi troops, a
senior defense official told The As
sociated Press.
However, within the city of Najaf
clashes continue between U.S.
troops and the remaining estimated
1,000 Iraqi troops.
An intensive sandstorm on Tues
day impeded the Air force’s ability
to protect ground troops during
the fighting resulting in some
American losses, according to the
CNN Web site.
Meanwhile in the southern port
city of Basra, British forces con
tinue to fight more than 1,000 Iraqi
militia, according to The New York
Coalition forces have struggled in
securing this city in an effort to
bring in humanitarian aid.
With a population of 1.3 million
residents and no electricity since air
strikes began, food and water con
tinue to run low, according to The
New York Times.
U.S. warplanes dropped satellite
guided bombs on Basra to assist the
British. Also, conflicting reports
have emerged claiming that Iraqi
uprisings against Saddam Hussein
have occurred in Basra.
British sources say that Basra Shiite
Muslim residents are attacking
largely Sunni Muslim Baath and
Iraqi fighters, according to The New
York Times.
However, Iraqi)Irformation Min
ister Mohammed al-Sahhaf denied
such an uprising on the Iraqi televi
sion media, Al-Jazeera.
Al-Jazeera also claimed as many as
See WAR Page 12
Red Cross faces nation-wide blood shortages
Becky Reese
News Reporter
The American Red Cross has suf
fered from a regional and nation
wide blood shortage this winter.
“We collect and supply blood for
around 100 hospitals in the area,
with the majority of the people
living in the piedmont and central
part of the state,” said Joyce Brooks,
American Red Cross public rela
tions representative. “When those
ice storms started hitting early on in
December, we lost thousands of
units of blood, and then the West
ern part of the state would be hit
and the next week we would have
another snowstorm.”
This time of year also proves diffi
cult for the Red Cross due to schools
being out for breaks and snow.
“We’re getting about 20 percent
of our blood collections from
schools, either high schools or col
leges and universities,” said Brooks.
“So when those aren’t in regular
session around holiday time, we
don’t get that particular popula
tion of donations.”
The Red Cross typically experi
ences a blood shortage at this time
of the year. The shortage also ex
tends outside of the local area, the
Carolina blood services region, to
the entire nation. As snow repeat
edly accumulates in the northeast,
as well as the eastern seaboard, blood
donations go down everywhere,
according to Brooks.
“I think that it’s been more chal
lenging this year simply because of
the weather, and we gauge and know
that people are going to be sick and
things like that during this time, so
that’s also a concern,” said Brooks.
“People aren’t going to get out when
it’s bad weather to give blood. I
mean, they barely get out to get
milk and bread.”
The Carolina blood service region
consists of almost all of N orth Caro
lina, a small part of northern Geor
gia and part of Eastern Tennessee.
The Carolina blood service re
gion currently has only a two-day
supply of the five blood types, and
any traumatic event, such as a car
wreck or fire, can drain the blood
MAX TAINTOR/STAFE PHOTOGRAPHER
Local residents Bob Walther and Dorothy Rosenberg give blood at the Red Cross on Edgewood Road.
collections, (but) about three days
is as much as we can get at any given
supply dramatically, according ti
Brooks.
“Theoretically, nationally, we
would like to have a seven day sup- In a time when war hovers over
ply of every blood type,” said the head of America, the blood
Brooks. “We are one of the top supply, or lack thereof, can become
regions in the nation with blood a big issue very quickly. If the mili
tary needs blood from the civilian
population, the Red Cross supplies
it, according to Brooks.
“We work very closely with the
military, and should there be a need
for blood from the civil population
we would work with the military to
supply that blood,” said Brooks.
“We always have, and we always
will have that connection with the
military. That (connection) goes
back a long way in our history.”
However, even the military has
problems with getting blood. With
restrictions on who can donate
blood safely, military travel has
eliminated many servicemen from
the potential pool of donors, ac
cording to Brooks.
“Even the military has found that
they’re running into some chal
lenges with collecting blood among
themselves, because there are so
many restrictions now for travel
outside the United States, particu
larly European countries because of
mad cow disease,” said Brooks. “As
a result of that, a lot of servicemen
have served in Europe and other
overseas countries, and that makes
them ineligible to give blood, so
they’re particularly challenged
about meeting their own needs
during this time period.”
As March begins Red Cross
Month, the Red Cross has a new
See RED CROSS Page 12
Serving UNCA Since 1982
WWW. unca. edu/hanner