2 THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2007
THE CHRONICLiE
Bush threatens veto over Iraq
Iran, Britain clash over navy seizure by
Nasser Karimi
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TEHRAN, Iran Iran aired a video Wednesday of 15 captured British sailors and marines, showing the only woman captive saying her group had “trespassed” in Iranian waters. Britain angrily denounced the video as a “completely unacceptable” display of prisoners. The Iranian foreign minister said the woman, sailor Faye Turney, could be released soon, but backed off reports she would be freed as early as Wednesday. British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government announced it was freezing all dealings with Iran except to negotiate the
release of its personnel, adding to a public exchange of sharp comments that pushed up tensions in a standoff helping fuel a spike in world oil prices. Britain’s military released a GPS readout it said proved the Royal Navy personnel were seized 1.7 nautical miles inside Iraqi waters
Friday.
But Iranian state television quoted an unidentified Iranian official as saying the first phase of an investigation had determined the two British boat crews were “definitely” in Iran’s territorial waters. A few hours later, a brief video of the captured Britons was shown on Iran’s Arabic language satellite television sta-
tion, Al-Alam One segment showed sailors and marines sitting in an Iranian boat in open waters immediately after their capture. The video also displayed what appeared to be a handwritten letter from Turney, 26, to her family. Turney was the only detainee to be shown speaking, giving her name and saying she had been in the navy for nine years. “Obviously we trespassed into their waters,” Turney said at one point, her voice audible under a simultaneous AraSEE IRAN ON PAGE 4
Report explains prosecutor firings by
Laurie Kellman
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON Eight federal prosecutors were fired last year because they did not sufficiently support President George W. Bush’s priorities, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ former chief of staff says in remarks prepared for delivery to Congress Thursday. Separately, the Justice Department admitted Wednesday it gave senators inaccurate informationabout the firings and presidential political adviser Karl Rove’s role in trying to secure a U.S. attorney’s post for one of his former aides, Tim Griffin.
In a letter accompanying new documents sent to the House and Senate Judiciary com-
mittees, Justice officials acknowledged that a Feb. 23 letter to four Democratic senators erred in asserting that the department was not aware of any role Rove played in the decision to appoint Griffin to replace U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins in Litde Rock, Ark. Gonzales’ former chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, in remarks obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, spoke dismissively of Democrats’ condemnation of what they call political pressure in the firings. “The distinction between ‘political’ and ‘performance-related’ reasons for remov-
ing a United States attorney is, in my view,
largely artificial,” he said. “A U.S. attorney who is unsuccessful from a political perspective... is unsuccessful.” Democrats have described the firings as an “intimidation by purge” and a warning to remaining U.S. attorneys to fall in line with Bush’s priorities. Political pressure, Democrats say, can skew the judgment of prosecutors when deciding whom to investigate and which indictments to pursue. Sampson, who resigned this month because of the furor over the firings, is to
President George W. Bush and the Democratic-controlled Congress lurched toward a veto showdown over Iraq Wednesday, the commander in chief demanding a replenishment of war funding with no strings and Speaker Nancy Pelosi counseling him, "Calm down with the threats."
S.C. sex scandal stirs tensions Two white female teachers who were arrested on charges of having sex with six of
their male students—who were black—were released on bail, bringing on cries of lingering racism in one of South Carolina's most conservative counties.
King denounces U.S. presence King Abdullah denounced U.S. military presence in Iraq Wednesday as an "illegitimate foreign occupation" and called on the West to end its financial embargo against the Palestinians. The Saudi monarch's speech also urged Arab leaders to show unity.
WHO, U.N. urge circumcision Heterosexual men should be circumcised because of compelling evidence it reduces their chances of contracting HIV by up to 60 percent, the World Health Organization and UNAIDS said Wednesday. News briefs complied from wire reports "You're nobody'til somebody kills you." Notorious BIG.
SEE ATTORNEYS ON PAGE 7
Learn about Marine MeCjafeuna with internationally known conservation biologist and turtle expert, Larry Crowder, director of the Duke Center for Marine Conservation based at the MarineLab. Crowder will teach Biology 127 *on the Durham campus this fall, 11:20 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., Monday and Friday. The course includes at least one weekend field trip to Beaufort. *
Remember:
1 Get a pin from your academic advisor.
Bio 127. Marine Megafauna. NS, STS Ecology, systematics, and beh animals including giant squid, bony fishes, sharks, sea turtles, seabi Relations between ocean dynamics, large marine animals, and the Impact of human activities and technological advancement on po[ and policy considerations in the protection of threatened species. Prerequisite: Biology 25L or equivalent, or permission of instruct'
NICHOLAS SCHOOL OF
THE
ENVIRONMENT AND EARTH SCIENCES
DUKE
UNIVERSITY
2 Go to ACES (after March 26) and put Biology 127 in your primary Bookbag! 3 Click Enroll All. We'll see you in Durham this fall!
For more information, contact Lauren Stulgis at megafauna@nkholas.duke.edu or 252-504-7531, or go to www.nicholas.duke.edu/marinelab/programs.