Events on Capitol Hill may result in an unsettling, bleak holiday season
COMMENTARY
Monique Bhimani

With the holidays approaching, I expect that few college students will keep up with national events (though I doubt that even if students are not thinking of the holidays, that they would keep up with the news). That said, here are four events happening on Capitol Hill that just might cause this holiday season to be a little more disturbing and unsettling than usual.

First is the well-known conflict with Iraq. As many know, the United Nations has sent inspectors to Iraq to search for weapons of mass destruction. Although these inspectors will not report back to the United Nations until February, it should be stated that the United States is already prepared for a military invasion in case no such weapons are found.

In response to such a scenario, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told CNN, “It would prove that the inspection process had been successfully defeated by the Iraqis. There’s no question that the Iraqi regime is clever; they’ve spent a lot of time hiding things, dispersing things, tunneling underground.”

So much for trying to avoid combat.

Next comes our situation with North Korea. This nation has essentially openly admitted to the world that it has (or plans to make) nuclear weapons. So far, the only action the United States has made in response was to freeze our oil shipments to North Korea beginning in December. Now, let’s take the situation back several months: As I recall there was a certain speech President Bush made saying there was an “axis of evil” that included Iraq, Iran and North Korea.

To bring the comparison down to a smaller scale, let’s say that the president of the Student Government Association and I were business partners. I would give advice to SGA and in turn the president would advise me about my organization. Let’s also say the relationship was a bit uneasy due to some really bad arguments that occurred some time back, but is currently managing well.

Well, one day the president announces to TCU that I am the root of all evil. And, on top of that, the president also spreads the word to all of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and it is broadcast on TV, the radio and is printed is numerous newspapers. Wouldn’t it be natural for me to feel just a bit resentful?

With this scenario in mind, one can understand why North Korea would want to violate a previous agreement that marked a peaceful understanding between both parties. Meanwhile North Korean representatives have said this whole crisis could be settled if the United States would back off from its “hostile policy” toward the nation. In other words, North Korea wants a public apology.

The third topic goes to the new Homeland Security bill. Personally, I think to have 22 powerful agencies (including the Secret Service, Border Patrol and Customs) under one office is a little dangerous. However, what really bothers me about it is that this bill could cause difficulties with the Freedom of Information Act. For those unfamiliar with this, the FOIA is what gives anyone the right to access federal agency records. In this bill, it could make it a criminal act for agency employees to reveal “secretive” information.

Last, but most certainly not least, is the issue of unemployment benefits. Every American knows that at this time the U.S. economy is in a pretty bad shape. There have been numerous layoffs and many will be struggling financially this holiday season. Last week, Congress failed to pass a bill that would extend unemployment benefits 13 weeks from the current extension, which expires Dec. 28. So while thousands of the unemployed might get by with a decent Christmas celebration, these people also face a very harsh, bleak New Year.

Monique Bhimani is a sophomore international communications major from San Antonio.