NO, NOT THE OIL! #191 (1/4)

[R Kym Horsell]

From the World-Wide Resourses of the Western Australia
Reserch Senter(*)
OIL THE NEWS THAT FITS MY VIEWS #191
===============================
In the Run-Up to World War III, Reliably Reporting the News Relevant
to Extreme Right-Wing Democratic Socialists Everywhere
(validated for RiteThink(tm) by the Office of Our Man in Can-berra).

Our Home Page: <http://www.chickenhead.com/loserscopes/>
The Undeniable Evidence: <http://www.evil-doers.org/evidence>
Even More Uneniable Evidence: <http://www.abc.net.au/cnnnn/profiteering/terrorthon/>

US Centcom News Releases: <http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/release_list.asp>
Iraqi Body Count: <http://www.iraqbodycount.net/> [7,968+ as at 13 Jan 2004].
UN Mailing List: <http://www.kymhorsell.com/UN/>
Some Of The News, Some Of The Time: <http://www.chaser.com.au/default.asp?check=No>
This Stuff Blogged: <http://kymhorsell.blogspot.com/>
Also Kindly Archived: <http://www.kymhorsell.com/OIL/ >

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Selecting latest news stories and other data for you...
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We expect [the US hostages] to be treated humanely... just like we do
with our prisoners. If not... the people who mistreat prisoners will
be treated as war criminals.
-- Pres Bush Jr, Apr 2003.
Rule 20 mm. In asymmetric war, Geneva Conventions won't apply to
both sides.

Because we acted, torture rooms are closed. Rape rooms are closed.
-- Pres Bush Jr, Apr 2004.
That was last week in politics. Pres Bush was at that delicate
point before switching from blanking out bad news about his own
troops and concentrating on his enemy, to prostrating himself
before the King of Jordan.

Secretary Rumsfeld is... a really good secretary of defence.
-- Pres Bush Jr, 06 May 2004.
Fulsome praise. But Congress and OBL are demanding heads roll.

Those in power in Washington are unaware that Arab pride and dignity
are very precious, and only revenge will bring peace to the victims.
-- Op/Ed, Egyptian state-controlled newspaper, 05 May 2004.
The POW abuse shown on CBS. Wait until they see the NEXT set of
al-Qaeda recruitment posters in Washington Post.

Without a proper punishment, the Iraqi people will not be satisfied
with the situation.
-- Dep IGC FM Dr Hamid al-Bayati, 05 May 2004.
Now it emerges 3 dozen POWS have "died" in custody, with at least
2 cases classified as murder even by the Coal'n.

In this film you're going to see laid out -- for the first time -- the
relationship between Mr Bush and the [Bin Laden family].
-- Bare knucks champ Michael Moore, promo for "Fahrenheit 9/11", 2004.
Oh, no you won't!

We didn't want to be in the middle of a political controversy in an
election year.
-- Disney CEO Michael Eisner, 05 May 2004.
Moore says Eisner is worried Gov Jeb Bush could pull tax write-offs
for Disney's Florida business if there's any political controversy
in an election year.

This is an isolated incident which does not affect whatsoever the
safety of the Olympic Games.
-- Greek Olympic min, 05 May 2004.
Alarm bells are ringing around the world after 3 bombs went off in
an allegedly highly secure suburb of Athens, nr a police stn.
Everywhere but in Athens.

I think we should be reliant on the Greek authorities ... They have
60,000 people on the ground.
-- Aussie Oly Pres John Coates, 06 May 2004.

We've all been around long enough to know, it's all designed to
prevent a positive message.
-- PM John Howard, 06 May 2004.
Mr Howard says his govt is all about avoiding negative messages.

Renewable energy... Yep! We're in favour of it.
-- "PM John Howard", Clarke & Dawe "7.30 Report", 06 May 2004.
It turns out Australia is practically MADE of fossil fuels.

----------------------------------------
Thu, 06 May 2004.

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:
US soldier, 15 Iraqis killed in S Iraq
Iraqi families seek compensation over deaths
Iraq war "will cost us more"
Iran's Stirrings in Iraq
Fighting flares in Iraq
Fallujah and the Forging of the New Iraq
Bush's pledge on Iraq abuse rings hollow among Arabs
Bush promises justice after "abhorrent" Iraq abuse
Annan Sees UN Endorsing Multinat'l Force in Iraq
Abducted Canadian freed in Iraq
9 US soldiers killed in Iraq attacks
3 killed in Afghan violence
Baghdad blast kills US soldier
Baghdad bridge blasted nr US HQ
Border incursion prompts Pakistan Govt protest
Brit celebrates Bannister's magic mark
Disney blocks new Sep 11 doco
Embattled leader leaves Georgia's renegade region
Fallujah gunmen celebrate US pullback
Georgia clamps down on province protest
Greek officials shore up security support
Israeli warplanes fire missiles over S Lebanon
Markets quiet after rates decision
N Korea to test new weapon
North Korea tells S to stop US exercises
Picasso painting sets new world record price
Police raid Mitsubishi Motors HQ in Japan
Spain frees 3 accused in Madrid bombing
US guardsman investigated over naked soldier photos
US soldiers killed in operation against Sadr militiamen
Workers who lost health after Chernobyl disaster neglected

AUSSIE HEADLINES:
Lawyer crackdown to "ease" migration case load
Leaked report to re-ignite detention centre debate
ALP refers Telstra price hikes to ACCC
Baby abandoned at petrol station
Brit police in AUS to search for child sex suspect
Building materials tested in terrorism bomb exercises
Court to decide on retrial of gang rapists
Dealer donates collection of lifetime to NGV
Ethanol fuel may not be viable
ExxonMobil AUS posts loss
Govt to unveil science package
Hill expects hero's welcome for troops
Howard unveils spy funding boost
Labor supports armed guards for athletes
PM not surprised at inclusion on Al Qaeda hit list
Police search for missing teenager
Production to begin on environmentally-friendly fuel
Qld police defend boy's imprisonment
Retail figures strengthen
SYD brothers to face new rape trial
Science funds to boost Aussie research sales
Trade deal music to APRA's ears
Westpac profits up
Westpac, Leighton shares down on profit results

ExxonMobil AUS posts loss
Sydney (AAP). The Aussie downstream business of US-based ExxonMobil
Corp has recorded an operating loss after tax of $129 mn for 2003 as
excess refining capacity continued to cut into earnings.
"Excess refining capacity in the Asia Pacific region continued to
place pressure on the profitability of ExxonMobil's Aussie business,"
ExxonMobil AUS chairman Robert Olsen said.
The $129 mn operating loss after tax included inventory valuation losses.
Excluding inventory effects, the operating result was a profit of $22
mn, compared with a 2002 operating loss of $91 mn.
"While the improvement in the downstream underlying operating profit
is encouraging, it remains unsatisfactory given the significant amount
of capital employed," Mr Olsen said.
In Apr last y ExxonMobil said it would mothball its Adel refinery
because of poor margins.
The company also operates the 100,000 barrels per day Altona refinery
in MEL, where Mr Olsen said work was continuing to improve performance
through increased efficiencies and operational enhancements.
ExxonMobil said earnings from upstream oil and gas exploration and
production activities in AUS decreased by $41 mn over 2002 to $681 mn
in 2003.
Net liquids production from Gippsland, central AUS and W AUS totalled
110,000 bpd, a reduction of 10% compared with 2002.
Net gas sales from the 3 regions were slightly lower than 2002 at 450
mn cubic feet per day.
"As crude production continues to decline from existing fields in Bass
Strait, the achievement of cost savings and efficiencies will be
important to our future success," Mr Olsen said.

Ethanol fuel may not be viable
Canberra (AAP). A Fed Govt report has warned that fuels made from
grain or sugar can't compete with petrol without continuing long-term
taxpayer support, The Aussie said.
The report comes just a wk after the govt announced a sugar industry
bailout which included $75 mn to develop new industries such as
ethanol, the paper said.
The yet-to-be-released report, by the Aussie Bureau of Agricultural
and Resource Economics (ABARE), says sugar has less chance of
long-term success than its bio-fuel competitors.
It said predictions of oil prices, grain prices and the value of the
dollar indicated ethanol made from sugar cane may not be as viable as
that made from sorghum or feed wheat.
It meant ABARE would not be able to determine if an ethanol industry
in AUS would be viable in the long term without govt assistance beyond
2011, the paper said.

Production to begin on environmentally-friendly fuel
Adelaide. Production is set to begin on an environmentally friendly
alternative to diesel fuel. AUS's 1st large-scale operation to
produce an environmentally friendly alternative to diesel fuel is
expected to be operating in Adel by early next y. Bio-diesel is
produced from animal fats and vegetable oils, such as canola and soy.
Backers of the plant to be built at Birkenhead in Adel's NW say they
will start with an annual production target of 45-mn litres. Aussie
Renewable Fuels managing director Darryl Butcher says it is a
significantly cleaner fuel than diesel. "The quoted nasty carcinogens
in diesel exhaust are reduced by 80 and 90%," he said. "If you're
using 100% bio-diesel there just simply isn't any black smoke coming
out of the exhaust regardless of how old the engine is, [it's] just a
much cleaner and healthier burning fuel."

Markets quiet after rates decision
NY/Sydney. There have been subdued overall movements on global
financial markets overnight.
On Wall Street, investors are still poring over the tea-leaves of the
US Fed Reserve's latest statement on monetary policy.
Although it yesterday held steady on interest rates again, it also
altered the language of its statement to say that rises would be "measured".
Although that is seen as signalling a conservative approach to
tightening, it could mean the process begins fairly soon.
In the meantime, there has been a very strong reading on the giant US
services sector overnight.
The non-manufacturing index put out by the Institute of Supply Management
has jumped to the highest level since the survey started in mid 1997.
It has risen 2.60 points to 68.4, with a figure over 50 indicating
expansion.
It is also the 13th consecutive m of growth.
On the NY Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones industrial average has swung
in a relatively tight 60-point range.
It has finished just 6 points lower at 10,311.
US investors are also wary of the spiralling oil price, now at around
13-y highs.
Meanwhile, prices on the high-tech Nasdaq exchange have managed to
move ahead.
The Nasdaq composite index has added 7 points to 1,957.
The Brit market has also made useful headway.
Oil majors, BP and Shell, have led the way, accompanied by Vodafone.
But there has been a sharp 6% drop in Royal Bank shares on its plans
to buy the US bank, Charter One.
However, London's FT-100 index has gained 22 points to 4,570.
Yesterday in AUS, with the Reserve Bank again holding steady on
interest rates, the local share market moved higher.
Leading resource stocks were sought out while there were also advances
among industrial, media, insurance and banking stocks.
The All Ords rose 15 points to 3,414.
On foreign exchange markets the Aussie dollar this morning remains
above 73 US cents.
At 7.00 am it was being quoted at 73.24 US cents up 0.1 of a cent on
the night.
The gold price is at $US393.70/oz.
Amid continuing security concerns in the Middle East, W Texas crude
oil is at $US39.63/bbl.

Picasso painting sets new world record price
NY (AFP). The 1905 masterpiece by Pablo Picasso, Garcon a la Pipe,
has set a new world record of more than $US104 mn for an auctioned art work.
The sale at Sotheby's auction house in NY, beat the $US82.5 mn for Van
Gogh's Portrait of Dr Gachet, sold in NY in 1990.
The painting, also known as Boy with a Pipe, went under the hammer at
$US93 mn but a substantial buyers premium and fees are added.
Bids faltered at the $US70 mn and $US80 mn levels but each time a new
bidder came in to boost the offers.
Picasso painted Garcon a la Pipe when he was 24, shortly after
settling in Paris.
The painting was bought for $US30,000 in 1950 by John Whitney, a
former US ambassador to Brit.
It is being sold by the Greentree Foundation, a philanthropic body
created in 1982 by Mr Whitney's wife, Betsey, following the death of
her husband.
The previous most expensive Picasso sold at auction, Woman with
Crossed Arms (1901-02), from the artist's Blue period, went for $US55
mn in Nov 2000 in NY.
The work depicts a young Parisian working boy holding a pipe in his
left hand.
The subject gazes absently into space, a mysterious presence crowned with
a garland of roses and framed with 2 large bouquets on the wall behind him.

Police raid Mitsubishi Motors HQ in Japan
Tokyo. Japanese police have raided the HQ of Mitsubishi's
truck-making operations. Police have obtained arrest warrants for 7
former Mitsubishi Motors executives. It is alleged they tried to
cover up the cause of a deadly accident in 2002. A wheel came off a
Mitsubishi truck, hitting and killing a woman and injuring her 2
children. The company told the Govt the accident was caused by poor
maintenance, however police believe the company knew that there were
defects in the wheel hubs of some of its large vehicles. It is the
latest safety scandal to hit Mitsubishi and is likely to further
undermine its reputation in Japan.

Westpac, Leighton shares down on profit results
Westpac profits up but share price down
Sydney. Shares in the Westpac Bank and construction giant Leighton
Holdings have been marked down heavily on the Aussie Stock Exchange
after their latest profit results.
Investor disenchantment with Westpac comes despite a record half-year
result from the bank.
In the 6 m to Mar, after-tax profit is up 17% to $1.23 bn.
That is up nearly 17% on the previous corresponding period.
A fully-franked interim dividend of 42-cents a share has been declared.
And Westpac is also to embark on a $500-mn share buy-back.
While Westpac's interest margins have contracted in the latest period,
lending volumes have been strong.
And the bank's results contain a solid contribution from its wealth
management operation, BT Financial Group.
Over the remainder of its financial year, Westpac expects slowing
consumer activity and housing investment to be offset by increased
business spending and a stronger export performance.
Chief executive officer David Morgan has announced the details.
"We think the outlook for the operating environment remains
accommodating," he said.
"Credit growth will be lower, but still above its long-term average
growth rate."
But with Westpac losing market share in home lending, the bank's
shares are down 43 cents, or 2.5%, to $17.50.
Shares in Leighton Holdings have plunged $2.03, or 20% to $8.18, with its
latest results hurt by the Spencer Street Station project in MEL, the
SYD Hilton Hotel and a write-off of its investment in the Southland Colliery.

N Korea to test new weapon
Seoul (AFP). N Korea is reportedly set to test engines for a new
ballistic missile with a range of up to 6,000 km -- far enough to hit
US territory.
North Korea has restored facilities for missile engine testing
destroyed by an explosion in Dec 2002, the JoongAng newspaper said,
citing South Korean diplomatic and defence sources.
The range would bring Hawaii, Alaska and the western fringes of the US
within the missile's scope.
The US has accused N Korea of being a leading global proliferator of
weapons of mass destruction. But the cash-strapped country has refused
to stop missile exports, a major source of hard currency earnings.
The US and S Korea stepped up surveillance of the test site following
intel reports that N Korea was resuming development of Taepodong-2
missiles, the newspaper said.
"We have confirmed that they have moved the crane that would hoist the
oxidiser -- the liquid fuel of the missile -- and the rocket," an
unnamed official was quoted as saying.
He said N Korea was pushing ahead with its missile development to
increase its negotiating leverage with the US.
North Korea has already deployed short-range Scuds and Rodongs with a
range of 1,300 km, while actively developing longer-range missiles.
US intel reports say N Korea has developed ballistic missiles with a
range of up to 4,000 km.
US State Dept rep Richard Boucher urged the impoverished country to
stop selling arms overseas and put economic energies into helping its people.
"North Korea has been a problem in terms of proliferation ... We don't
think it's right for North Korea to become a source of proliferation and,
therefore, a danger to the rest of the world," he said at a press briefing.
The comment followed a claim by N Korea's number 2, Kim Yong-Nam, that
Pyongyang is "entitled to sell missiles to earn foreign exchange".
Kim, however, ruled out exports of nuclear technology or material, the
London-based Financial Times said, adding his remarks were made in an
interview with Selig Harrison, a US expert on North Korea.
Pyongyang sold $US60 mn worth of missiles and parts to Iraq, Iran,
Syria and Yemen in 2002, according to S Korean defence data.
Meanwhile, N and S Korea are working to bridge differences over
military issues during a second day of cabinet-level talks in Pyongyang.

North Korea tells S to stop US exercises
North Korea has urged the S to stop its military exercises with the US.
Seoul. The 2 Koreas are currently holding important political talks.
The Cabinet level talks are being held in Pyongyang. In his keynote
speech, S Korea's chief delegate urged the N to resolve the crisis
surrounding Pyongyang's nuclear weapons ambitions. The top N Korean
official replied by accusing Washington of preparing a pre-emptive
nuclear strike and insisting that joint US-South Korean military
drills be scrapped. At a dinner on Tue night, the N Koreans expressed
gratitude for the aid send to victims of a recent train tragedy. 4
hundred people injured in the disaster are still in hospital.

Disney blocks new Sep 11 doco
[Eisner says Disney doesn't want to be in the middle of a political
controversy in an election year].
LA (AP). The Walt Disney Company is blocking its Miramax Films
division from distributing Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit
9/11, which criticises Pres George W Bush's handling of Sep 11 and
connects the Bush family with that of Osama bin Laden.
Moore attributes Disney's decision to concerns that the documentary
will endanger tax breaks the company receives from Florida, where
Bush's brother Jeb is governor.
"I would have hoped by now that I would be able to put my work out to
the public without having to experience the profound censorship
obstacles I often seem to encounter," Moore wrote in a statement on
his Web site.
The filmmaker did not immediately respond to a request for comment
from The Associated Press. Miramax confirmed that Disney told the
company it can't release the film.
"We hope to amicably resolve the situation in the near future,"
Miramax rep Matthew Hiltzik told The Associated Press.
Disney representatives Zenia Mucha and John Spelich did not return calls.
Disney has a contractual agreement with Miramax principals Bob and
Harvey Weinstein allowing it to prevent the company from distributing
films under certain circumstances, such as an NC-17 rating which bars
anyone under age 17 from being admitted to the film, or a budget of
more than $US30-35 mn.
"Some people may be afraid of this movie because of what it will show,"
Moore wrote. "But there's nothing they can do about it now because
it's done, it's awesome, and if I have anything to say about it,
you'll see it this summer -- because, after all, it is a free country."
According to The NY Times, which 1st reported the story, Fahrenheit
9/11 describes decades-old financial links between the Bush family and
prominent Saudi Arabian families.
The film says the govt helped members of bin Laden's family leave the
US after the terrorist attacks of Sep 11, 2001.
The confrontational Moore won an Oscar for his 2002 documentary
Bowling for Columbine, about the Columbine High School shooting and US
gun control policy.
The film earned $US21.6 mn at the box office, making it the
highest-grossing documentary ever.
He is also known for the 1989 film Roger & Me, which explored the
effects of Gen Motors on his hometown of Flint, Michigan.
Fahrenheit 9/11 will have a high-profile screening as one of 18 films
in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, which begins May 12.
Moore ran into similar interference with his book "Stupid White Men,"
which almost never made it to print. Publication was postponed after
Sep 11, and publisher HarperCollins considered cancelling the book or
editing its criticisms.

Bush promises justice after "abhorrent" Iraq abuse
George W Bush has sought to repair America's image among Iraqis.
Washington (ABC/Reuters). The US Pres, George W Bush, has appeared on
Arab television to denounce the conduct of American soldiers who have
abused Iraqi prisoners.
Pres Bush appeared on 2 networks which broadcast throughout the Middle
East, to try to limit the damage.
"People in Iraq must understand that I view those practices as
abhorrent," he said.
While Pres Bush did not offer an apology himself, the Whitehouse made
a statement later, saying the Pres is deeply sorry for the behaviour
of the American soldiers, who were captured in photographs abusing and
humiliating Iraqis being held at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.
The US is promising justice will be delivered and is now investigating
abuse allegations in prisons in Iraq, Afghanistan and at Guantanamo Bay.
Mr Bush sought to repair America's image among Iraqis by making a
personal pledge on Arab television that soldiers who murdered and
abused Iraqi prisoners would be punished.
"In a democracy everything is not perfect. Mistakes are made. But in a
democracy as well, those mistakes will be investigated and people will
be brought to justice," he told the US-funded Alhurra channel.
"It's a matter that reflects badly on my country. Our citizens in
America are appalled by what they saw, just like people in the Middle
East are appalled," he also told Dubai-based Al-Arabiya.
A wk after pictures were published of grinning soldiers abusing naked
Iraqis at a prison once used by Saddam Hussein's torturers, the US
army revealed that 25 prisoners have died in Iraq and Afghanistan in
US custody, including 2 Iraqi prisoners murdered by Americans and one
ruled a justifiable homicide.
12 of the prisoners were found to have died by natural or undetermined
causes and 10 are still being investigated.
The CIA also said it was investigating the deaths of 3 prisoners who
were interrogated by agency personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan but it
did not say if these 3 deaths were among the 25 already revealed by
the Army.
Def Sec Donald Rumsfeld, who knew about abuse allegations in Jan, was
asked to testify at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing
tentatively set for Thu.
Last week's pictures sparked worldwide outrage and a hasty
damage-control exercise in Washington, where official inquiries into
the allegations began in Jan.
* Jail demo
Meanwhile 100s of demonstrators have rallied at the Abu Ghraib prison
nr Baghdad.
US troops watched from guard towers as more than 500 Iraqis
demonstrated at the entrance of the prison.
The protesters carried banners and chanted anti-American slogans.
Muslim clerics addressed the crowd, warning that Iraqis will take
revenge against US forces.
The US officer in charge of the Iraqi prison system, Maj Gen Geoffrey
Miller offered a personal apology for the mistreatment of Iraqi
prisoners. He promised that the abuse would not be repeated.
The US military says it will review its interrogation procedures and
allow the Internat'l Committee of the Red Cross to monitor conditions
in Iraqi prisons.
In another development, Pres Bush is to ask Congress for an additional
$US25-bn for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, breaking a
pledge not to seek more money before the Nov election.
Senior Admin officials have reportedly started to brief key lawmakers
on the plan although the request is not expected to come up for 30-days.

US guardsman investigated over naked soldier photos
Baghdad (Reuters). The head of a US military police unit at Baghdad's
Abu Ghraib prison is under investigation following charges he secretly
photographed naked female American soldiers, officials said.
Leo Merck, 32, a member of the California Nat'l Guard who commanded
the 870th Military Police Company, is under US Army investigation and
has been relieved of duty, they said.
"He was their cmdr and he led them into Iraq. While he was there this
alleged incident happened," California Nat'l Guard rep Andrew Hughan said.
Mr Merck, a veteran of the 1st Gulf war who worked as a financial
analyst before going to Iraq, is suspected of photographing the
soldiers as they showered at the prison.
The guard said complaints were made against him in Nov.
The incident is the latest embarrassment to the US occupying force in Iraq.
Last wk a US television network aired pictures of grinning soldiers
abusing naked male Iraqi prisoners at the same prison, once used by
Saddam Hussein's torturers.
Mr Merck, who is married, is at an undisclosed location under US Army control.

Fighting flares in Iraq
Protesters have rallied outside the Abu Ghraib prison.
Baghdad (ABC/BBC, Sally Sara). Up to 10 militiamen and 3 coalition soldiers
have been killed during the latest fighting in Iraq, which comes as a
snr United States cmdr apologises for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.
Under pressure from all directions, the US military says it will
review its treatment of detainees.
Prison cmdr Maj Gen Geoffrey Miller offered a personal apology for the
abuse of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib jail outside Baghdad.
He says the mistreatment will never happen again.
More than 500 protesters rallied outside the jail.
They warned that Iraqis will take revenge against US forces.
US troops watched from guard towers as Muslim clerics led more than
500 Iraqis at the entrance of the prison.
The protesters carried banners and chanted anti-American slogans.
The US military says it will review its interrogation procedures and
allow the Internat'l Committee of the Red Cross to monitor conditions
in Iraqi prisons.
In a separate incident, a US soldier was killed when attackers drove a
truck into a checkpoint nr the holy city of Karbala.
Up to 10 Iraqi gunmen were also killed when Polish troops took control
of several buildings in the city.
* Abuse condemned
Meanwhile, in an appearance on Arabic-language television, United
States Pres George W Bush has not said he was sorry for the American
abuse of prisoners in Iraq, even though he strongly condemned it.
Later, when a rep for the Pres was asked why Mr Bush didn't apologise,
he said: "I'm saying it for him right now," and the nat'l security
adviser said it for him yesterday.
Mr Bush's rival in Nov's presid'l election, John Kerry, is trying
to take advantage of the growing prisoner scandal.
Mr Kerry has called on Pres Bush to offer the world an explanation and
to take responsibility for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.
Mr Kerry's call for the Pres to express regret suggests he does not
think Mr Bush has done enough to show the world that America is
willing to correct its mistakes.
But while he singled out the Pentagon for criticism, he did not echo
the call made by some members of Congress for the Def Sec, Donald
Rumsfeld, to resign.
Mr Rumsfeld is appearing before congress on Fri to answer questions
about why, despite reportedly knowing about the photos for months, he
did not inform either the Pres or Congress leaving them to find out
about the photos through the media.

Iraq war "will cost us more"
Gen Richard Myers and Deputy Def Sec Paul Wolfowitz testified before
Congress on Tue.
"They haven't asked for one single penny for next y for Afghanistan
and Iraq."
-- Sen Joe Biden, D-Del.
Washington (CBS). Iraq Answers Demanded A top Pentagon official told
lawmakers Wed the Iraqi military operation "is going to cost us more
money" than anticipated, and the Whitehouse left open the possibility
it will seek the additional funds before the end of the year.
A rough 1st estimate showed that the decision to keep 20,000 troops in
Iraq for some 90 days longer to deal with increased violence will cost
about $700 mn, Gen Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, told the House Armed Services Committee.
Defense officials are studying their budget now to determine how much and
whether some monies can be moved from other Pentagon accounts, Myers said.
"We're in the middle of that analysis right now," he said.
Whitehouse rep Scott McClellan said the Whitehouse had received
assurances from Pentagon officials "that the funding they have now is
more than adequate to meet their needs."
But he said the issue was constantly being evaluated. "The decisions
should be based on what the cmdrs in the field feel is necessary," he said.
McClellan spoke as Myers told lawmakers that the extended deployments
of forces in Iraq and the increased tempo of operations "is going to
cost us more money."
Pres Bush, meanwhile, met Wed morning with Def Sec Donald H
Rumsfeld. There was no immediate indication what they discussed.
On Capitol Hill, 2 leading lawmakers urged the Bush Admin to present
Congress with a projected price tag of Iraq operations next y, a
politically delicate step the Whitehouse has said it does not intend
to take in an election year.
"They haven't asked for one single penny for next y for Afghanistan
and Iraq," said Sen Joe Biden of Delaware, the ranking Democrat on the
Foreign Relations Committee. "Give me a break. Give me a break!"
Sen Chuck Hagel, a Republican also on the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, said he smelled election-y politics.
"The Admin would be well served here to come forward now, be honest
about this, because the continuity and the confidence in this policy
is going to be required to sustain it," Hagel said. "And that means be
honest with the Congress, be honest with the American people.
Both senators spoke on NBC television.
Whitehouse budget director Joshua Bolten said earlier this y that the
Admin will eventually need more money beyond the $87 bn Congress
authorised for this y. But Bolten said the Admin would not request it
this y, meaning such a $multi bn appeal will come after the Nov election.
Through Dec, the military had spent $56 bn in Iraq, and was spending
at a rate of about $4 bn a month. That's separate from what the
Coalition Provisional Authority is spending. Prior to the invasion
last y, the Whitehouse refused to estimate what the war would cost.
Some lawmakers fear that spiralling violence in Iraq mean that more
money will be needed soon.
Biden and Hagel also raised the possibility that compulsory military
service might be necessary to relieve pressure on US troops stretched
around the globe.
The nation is engaged "in a generational war here against terrorism,"
Hagel said. "It's going to require resources."
"Should we continue to burden the middle class who represents most all
of our soldiers, and the lower-middle class?" Hagel said. "Should we
burden them with the fighting and the dying if in fact this is a
generational -- probably 25-y -- war?"
"I am not proposing a draft, but I think some kind of mandatory
service for this country for all our citizens, for the privileged, the
rich, all those who have a lot, should be something we take seriously
here," Hagel said.
"Our military is not large enough. Our standing Army is not large
enough," Biden added.
McClellan said a draft was not currently under consideration.
The rep also deflected questions about whether Mr Bush's coalition in
Iraq is unravelling. The Dominican Republic on Tue joined Spain and
Honduras in announcing it was withdrawing its troops from Iraq.
"The coalition remains strong. Their resolve is strong," he said.
He noted that there have been strong statements issued by Brit, Japan,
Italy and Portugal.
Later Wed, Deputy Def Sec Paul Wolfowitz appeared before another panel
of lawmakers, a day after he irritated some senators with a half-hr
speech on how brutal Saddam Hussein was, and how much better off Iraq
was without him.
On Wed before the House Armed Services Committee, Wolfowitz focused
more on answering questions that have been raised, though he gave few
new details.
"Some say we have no plan. We have a plan," he said referring to UN
suggestions for forming an interim govt to take over from occupation
authorities. Sens want to know more -- exactly who those people will
be, how they will be picked, what happens if fractious Iraqis cannot
agree on their selection before the hand-over.

Bush's pledge on Iraq abuse rings hollow among Arabs
Dubai (Daily News, NZ). Arabs were unconvinced by US Pres George W
Bush's televised pledge overnight to punish Americans who abused and
killed Iraqi prisoners, saying the gesture amounted to too little, too late.
"The damage is done," said Palestinian Reem Hosari. "Iraqis lost
confidence in the big ideas of American democracy and freedom. Regardless
of what he said, they have seen the opposite of what they were promised.
"Under a democracy these things should not happen at all."
"This is not going to wash with the Arab audience," said Jawad
al-Anani, former Jordanian foreign minister. "It's a good gesture but
he should have publicly apologised."
Bush sought to repair America's image among Iraqis and Arabs by making
a personal pledge on Arab television that Americans behind the abuse
and killings of Iraqi detainees would be punished.
"I want to tell the people of the Middle E that the practices that
took place in that prison are abhorrent and they don't represent
America," he told Al Arabiya TV.
"In a democracy everything is not perfect. Mistakes are made.
But in a democracy as well those mistakes will be investigated and
people will be brought to justice," he added.
However, his words rang hollow among many ordinary Arabs.
"Talk is cheap. What's been done has been done and Bush's talking to
an Arab network does not make it go away," said Jordanian Jumana
Ahmad. "The US's aim behind ousting Saddam Hussein was for torturing
his people, and the American soldiers did just the same to the Iraqis."
Jihan, a 29-yo Lebanese woman, added: "This is a show, they're trying
to cover this up. If they hadn't been exposed, Bush would not have
done this."
Last week's pictures of naked and hooded detainees, 1st shown on the
US television network CBS and later broadcast on Arab televisions and
splashed across newspapers, sparked worldwide outrage and inflamed Arabs.
A US general's probe into abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib recounted
prisoners being sodomised and beaten by US soldiers who also forced
them to masturbate while being filmed.
The US military also said it had investigated the deaths of 25
prisoners held by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and determined
that an Army soldier and a CIA contractor each murdered a prisoner in
Iraq, where most of the deaths occurred.
* BUSH "UNCONVINCING AND INEFFECTIVE"
Middle E expert Patrick Seale said Bush's address was "totally
unconvincing and ineffective" and underlined an attempt to limit the
damage the abuse scandal inflicted on US policy that advocates
democracy and freedom to the world.
Many Arabs said Bush had long lost credibility by backing Israel's
occupation of Palestinian land and waging war on Iraq on false claims
that it possessed WMD.
"Bush is the biggest liar and his lies, from invading Iraq to this
prisoners scandal, have been exposed. If he wants people to believe
him, he must end his occupation of Iraq and make Israel leave
Palestinian land," said Egyptian Magda Ghazaly.
At a coffee shop in Baghdad, where men gathered to watch Bush on
television. One customer, Abdul-Kader Abdul-Rahim, said he did not
doubt that the US military would investigate the abuse. But he doubted
that this would change conditions in Iraq.
"I do believe the Pres when he talks about investigation because
they live in a democracy and in this democracy even Bush can be
investigated," he said.
"But what is happening in Iraq is different from their democratic
regimes. We're all treated like prisoners here."
Many Arabs said the Iraqi prisoners' abuse showed US contempt towards Arabs.
"I don't believe Bush will punish his soldiers the same as if they had
committed crimes against Americans. One case of rape in the US causes
an uproar. So what do they say about this barbaric rape and the filth
of Bush's soldiers?", asked Saudi Mohammad Husni Sultan, 39.
"Before Bush apologises for the abuse of prisoners he should stop his
troops from mistreating and killing innocent Iraqi civilians," added
Ahmad Turki, 42.

Greek officials shore up security support
Police search for clues after 3 bomb blasts in central Athens.
Athens. Greek security chiefs are in the US this morning attempting
to shore up support for their preparations for the Athens Olympics.
Representatives of the Greek Govt, the police and the nat'l intel
agency had been in Washington DC preparing for a meeting with the CIA
and FBI when 3 bombs exploded outside a police station in Athens.
Despite the blasts, the Greek Govt insists its security preparations,
which involve NATO, are adequate and almost complete.
Brit PM Tony Blair and French Pres Jacques Chirac have also expressed
confidence in the arrangements after the Greek PM Costas
Karamanlis blamed local left-wing extremists, not internat'l
terrorists, for the blasts.
* Howard
The PM says he is disturbed by 3 bomb attacks in Athens,
although they may not be the work of terrorists.
John Howard has told the ABC's Lateline program it is too early to
know who is responsible.
"There's no evidence yet that it's a terrorist attack, in the context
of that expression in recent times," Mr Howard said.
"There is a long history of anarchist bombings in Athens.
"That may change as further info becomes available.
"It's obviously disturbing and it will re-emphasise the need for tight
security for the Olympic games.
"We will take all the steps that are appropriate to maximise the
security for our young men and women."
Mr Howard says all security options are being considered, including
the possibility of having armed guards accompany the team to Athens.
But he has warned there can be no guarantee of safety.
"Of course with any internat'l sporting event of a major proportion
and there is none larger than the Olympic Games, there is always a
danger," he said.
"We live in that kind of world, sadly enough."
Mr Howard says AUS will face the same worry in 2 y time when the
Commonwealth Games are held in MEL.
* World leaders
World leaders insist they remain confident of Greek security measures
following yesterday's bomb attack.
However some have said they are considering extra protection for their
athletes due in Athens in less than 100 days.
The Internat'l Olympic Committee has since stated it does not believe
the incident was related to preparations for the Games.
Greece's Deputy Culture Min, Fani Palli-Petralia, says she does not
think any country or any athlete will cancel their trip to Athens.
"It's a big dream to come back to Greece for the Olympics in the
homeland," she said.
"So I don't blame the news or the internat'l press, but I have to
insist by saying that it is an isolated incident."

Labor supports armed guards for athletes
Athens (ABC/BBC). The Fed Opp'n says it will support armed guards
accompanying Aussie athletes who will compete in the Athens Olympics.
3 small bombs exploded in Athens yesterday although the Greek Govt
says there is no evidence to link the attacks with the Olympics or
internat'l terrorists.
PM John Howard has asked for advice on whether security for the
Aussie Olympic team should be upgraded, including the possibility of
sending armed guards to protect athletes.
Labor's foreign affairs rep Kevin Rudd says Mr Howard should make an
announcement on the issue.
"If the advice to the Aussie Govt is that extra Aussie armed security
is necessary and if that is the decision that Mr Howard takes based on
that advice, then you'll have no argument from us," he said.
"But I wish he would simply cut to the chase on this rather than
dangle bits out here and there on this subject."
* Talks
Only a day after the 3 bomb blasts, Greece's Public Order Min has held
talks in Washington with the US' Homeland Security Secretary.
No details were available after their security conference but in
Athens the Greek Govt said it is confident the Games will be safe.
No effort is being spared in trying to ensure that outcome and Greek
authorities are calling preparations for the Olympic Games the biggest
security operation in history.
This is probably no exaggeration with just about every security and
intel agency in the world involved in protecting the 1000s of athletes
due to converge on Athens this summer.
NATO, the EU, the CIA and Brit's Scotland Yard are all playing a
central role in advising the Olympic planners on how to deal with the
very real threat from terrorism.
Practical counter-measures include the deployment of nearly 50,000
police, military and security officers, 100s of surveillance cameras
and an airborne early warning aircraft.

Spain frees 3 accused in Madrid bombing
Madrid (Reuters). A Spanish judge has freed 3 Moroccans accused of
collaboration in the Madrid train bombings without bail but left
accusations against them standing. The 3 remain formally accused,
along with 10 other Moroccans, one Syrian and one Spaniard still in
jail, in connection with the Mar 11 attacks which killed around
200-people and injured 1,900 others. 20 others have been arrested and
freed without accusations while 7 suspects blew themselves up rather
than surrender to police. Authorities have said the attacks were
carried out by Islamic militants in the name of Al Qaeda to exact
revenge on Spain for sending troops to Iraq.

Annan Sees UN Endorsing Multinat'l Force in Iraq
Washington (Reuters). UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan said on Sun he expected
the Sec Council to authorise a multinat'l force for Iraq and that
Washington was stepping up diplomacy with France, Germany and Russia.
But he saw little chance the 3 nations, who opposed the US-led
invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, would send their own troops to Iraq
any time soon and acknowledged the global security climate had
worsened since the war last y.
"When you look at the situation in the Middle E and the countries
around, the violence has increased. There (are) more terrorist
attacks," Annan told NBC's "Meet the Press."
"Would these have happened without an attack on Iraq? Is the attack on
Iraq responsible for that? It is difficult to say precisely. But the
fact is we do have a very difficult security environment around the
world, not just in Iraq."
Annan said the resolution, which the US is considering but has not yet
circulated, would cover the period after Jun 30, when Washington plans
to hand sovereignty to an Iraqi caretaker govt to rule until elections
next y.
"There will be a resolution authorising a multinat'l force and
encouraging govts to come together in a genuine internat'l effort to
help stabilise Iraq."
"Quite frankly, it's in everybody's interest to do whatever we can to
stabilise Iraq," he said.
The resolution would bless any new caretaker Iraqi govt and authorise
a multinat'l force under US command. The UN would not send its own
peacekeeping forces or direct any security operations.
Annan said the force might help the US withdraw some of its troops if
enough countries sent soldiers. But French, German and Russian troops
will probably not be among them, Annan said.
"At this stage, I cannot say that they are ready to do it. But down
the line, one never knows."
On the other hand, Annan said he was aware that the US was stepping up
its contacts with the 3 govts.

US soldier, 15 Iraqis killed in S Iraq
Najaff (AP). US-led forces launched their biggest assault yet against
militiamen loyal to a radical Shiite cleric, raiding hideouts in
several cities Wed and clashing with gunmen in the world's biggest
cemetery. At least 15 Iraqis and a US soldier were killed.
Moderate Shiites tried to persuade anti-American cleric Muqtada
al-Sadr to back away from his confrontation with the US a reflection
of their growing concern.
Skirmishes between US troops and al-Sadr's al-Mahdi Army militia have
grown deadlier recently as the military steps up pressure on the
cleric while trying to avoid an offensive in the Shiite holy city of Najaff.
"The operation will continue until the goal of eliminating and
disarming al-Sadr's militia is met," Polish forces rep Lt Col Robert
Strzelecki said. "I think that will take place soon."
The militiamen also have increased attacks, apparently to push the
United States into negotiations or goad it into an offensive that
could rally other Shiites behind al-Sadr.
Iraqi Governing Council member Mohammed Bahr al-Ulloum delivered a
message to al-Sadr from a group of influential Shiites calling on his
militia to disarm and leave Najaff, council member Raja Habib
Al-Khuzaai told The Associated Press.
The message from the group made up of about 500 Shiites, including
local council members, tribal officials and others represented the
most public effort by Shiite leaders to push al-Sadr into making
concessions to end the standoff, which began when his militia launched
an uprising in early Apr.
Meanwhile, the director of Abu Ghraib prison promised to open the
facility to the internat'l Red Cross and the Iraqi Interior and Human
Rights ministries amid an outcry over abuse of Iraqi prisoners.
Maj Gen Geoffrey Miller also apologised for the "illegal or
unauthorised acts" committed by a "small number of our soldiers" at
Abu Ghraib, where photographs showed stripped and hooded Iraqis being
abused by US guards.
Pres Bush went on 2 Arabic-language TV stations to try to assuage
outrage across the Middle E over the abuse. Bush condemned the
prisoners' treatment as "abhorrent" and pledged that those found
guilty "will be brought to justice" but stopped short of an apology.
The heaviest fighting in the S part of the military's Operation Iron
Saber came in the holy city of Karbala, where coalition forces raided
a hotel, the local former Baath Party HQ and the regional governor's
office, where al-Sadr fighters had been stockpiling weapons, Brig Gen
Mark Kimmitt said.
In the overnight raid on the governor's office, troops came under
fire, Kimmitt said in Baghdad. He said 10 al-Sadr followers were killed.
The US soldier died when a dump truck tried to ram a checkpoint in
Karbala, the military said. He was the 20th US serviceman killed in
Iraq in May.
Outside the city of Kufa, US forces attacked a van where Iraqis were
seen unloading weapons. The vehicle was destroyed and 5 Iraqis were
killed, Kimmitt said.
In Najaff, US troops battled al-Mahdi Army fighters outside a cemetery
near the Imam Ali Shrine, Iraq's holiest Shiite site. The soldiers
opened fire with machine guns on militiamen who had ambushed them.
More than 50 militiamen took part in the fighting in Najaff's sprawling
cemetery, ambushing 3 US Humvees. As the Americans returned fire,
mourners who had come to bury their dead ran for safety.
"American forces tried to enter Najaff from Najaff Lake, but they were
repelled by the al-Mahdi Army which forced them to flee," said a
militia official, Mushtaq al-Khafaji. He said no militiamen were hurt.
The Army says al-Sadr's militiamen are hiding weapons in the cemetery,
the world's largest with 5 mn graves. One Najaff resident said he saw
stocks of RPGs and other weapons stored in his family plot, but when
he returned later the arms were gone.
Coalition troops also raided and occupied al-Sadr's office in Diwaniyah,
an operation to "reduce militia influence in the city," Kimmitt said.
The troops were fired on from a vehicle, which was destroyed. Coalition
forces found RPGs and mortars in a nearby school.
The military has said they will avoid the Imam Ali Shrine and other
holy sites in Najaff and Karbala. Shiite leaders have warned that offensives
near the shrines would spark Shiite anger and even turn the revolt by
al-Sadr followers into a wider uprising by Iraq's majority Shiites.
The statement drawn up Tue by the 500 prominent Shiites reflected
increasing concern over the standoff ahead of the installation of a
new Iraqi govt on Jun 30.
"We demanded in our statement that arms should be put down, be taken
out of school, mosques and holy places. We also asked (al-Sadr) to get
out of the holy city of Najaff," Governing Council member al-Khuzaai said.
"Our aim is to solve the problem in Najaff and spare its people any evil."
Another group of Najaff leaders said US officials rejected their
proposals for resolving the standoff. The group is pushing a plan
under which US forces and al-Sadr's fighters would leave the city, and
al-Sadr would escape prosecution on charges he ordered a rival cleric
slain last year.
US officials have insisted al-Sadr face the murder charges.
In Fallujah, W of Baghdad, the US military distributed leaflets Wed
inviting residents to apply for compensation for damage done during
the Marine siege in Apr. The military also promised to clean up the
streets, improve water facilities and rebuild schools and mosques.
Marines have been turning over responsibility for the city to a new
force made up of former members of the Iraqi army.

9 US soldiers killed in Iraq attacks
Camp Fallujah (Reuters). 9 US servicemen have been killed in Iraq, 6
of them in a mortar attack on a military base in the west of the
country, a US military spokesmen says.
A survivor of the mortar attack W of Fallujah said he was knocked to
the ground by the blast.
"I didn't know who was dead and who was wounded. I knew it was a
mortar from the black smoke. There were about 100 people taking care
of us. Now I am worried about my boys in the unit. It was a bad day,"
the 27-yo American said on Sun.
The deaths took to 14 the number of US servicemen killed in Iraq in
the 1st 2 days of May. In total, 552 soldiers have been killed in
action since the US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.
Apr was the bloodiest m for the US military since the invasion of Iraq
in Mar last y with 129 combat deaths, nearly a quarter of all the
Americans killed in action in Iraq and more than during the 3-wk war
which ousted Saddam.
Marine Maj T V Johnson said the mortar attack was launched on a
military base in W Iraq 2 hr drive from Fallujah, the rebellious city
50 km W of Baghdad, but would give no further details.
At a clinic at US Marine HQ in Camp Fallujah just outside the city, the
survivor said 2 mortar bombs landed on the base 2 days after his unit
was attacked with roadside bombs and one mortar bomb.
He said the 2nd mortar bomb to hit the base landed in the middle of
his unit as they turned to move away from the first.
"Thirty or 40 of us were turning away after the 1st mortar hit and
then suddenly a 2nd mortar hit," he said.
Near the N oil city of Kirkuk, one US soldier was killed and 10 were
wounded when insurgents detonated a roadside bomb and fired assault
rifles at a US base, a US military rep said.
2 US soldiers and 2 members of the Iraqi Civil Defence Corps were
killed early in the morning in NW Baghdad.
2 more American soldiers were killed nr Amara on Sat when their convoy
came under fire from small arms and a rocket-propelled grenade, a snr
US military official said on Sun.
On Sat, 3 Brit soldiers and an Iraqi policemen were wounded in a rare
clash between Brit forces and the Mehdi Army of wanted Shi'ite cleric
Muqtada al-Sadr in Amara, 365 km south of Baghdad following a swoop.
A Brit military rep said numerous individuals had been arrested in a
raid which netted "significant amounts of arms, explosives and
bomb-making equipment".
He said Brit forces sustained a number of casualties in a RPG attack
on a convoy in the town. A Brit officer at the scene said 3 soldiers
were wounded, one seriously.

Baghdad bridge blasted nr US HQ
Baghdad (AFP). A suspected car bomb, which caused a loud explosion,
caused several casualties and left cars ablaze on a Baghdad bridge at
the entrance to the sprawling HQ of the US-led coalition in Iraq,
according to witnesses.
"We saw a car on fire. We think it was a car bomb.
There were 2 bodies covered in sheets," said Mohammed Talum, who lives
close to the 14th of Jul Bridge.
Flames licked the 14th of Jul Bridge, sealed off to the general public
and used only by the military and employees of the US-led Coalition
Provisional Authority, at the edge of the Karrade district in eastern Baghdad.
A loud boom shook the neighbourhood at around 7.00 am, rattling
windows, and people in the area claimed it was a car bomb.
"All we know is we heard a large explosion," a military rep said.

Baghdad blast kills US soldier
Baghdad (AP). A suicide car bomb exploded at a checkpoint close to
the zone that houses US administrative offices in central Baghdad,
killing 6 Iraqi civilians and one US soldier and injuring 25 people,
the US military said.
The injured included 2 US soldiers and 3 Iraqi policemen, the military said.
The bomb, hidden inside an orange-and-white Baghdad taxi, exploded
outside a metre-high concrete blast wall.
The wall shields cars driving up to a checkpoint just before a bridge
spanning the Tigris River that leads into the so-called Green Zone, a
sprawling area that houses the US-led coalition and is walled off from
the rest of Baghdad.
"At 7.26 am, what appeared to be a suicide bomber in a car pulled up
to the checkpoint, and then three cars back from the checkpoint,
detonated his bomb," said Col John Murray of the US Army's Texas-based
1st Cavalry Division.
About 10 Iraqi cars were lined up inside the blast barriers when the
car bomb exploded.
The blast incinerated 3 cars, reducing them to hulks of twisted,
charred metal. Another 5 cars were badly damaged, some turned on their
side from the force of the blast.
The explosion was so strong that it hurled the engine of the car
carrying the bomb some 5 metres from the site of the blast.
Shattered glass from nearby shops littered the area.
A column of thick black smoke rose from the blast site and drifted
across Baghdad.
Residents living in homes as far as 100 metres away from the blast
reported shattered widows and doors becoming unhinged.
The car that held the bomb burned after the blast and it took several
firefighters to put out the flames.
On Jan 17, a suicide truck bombing at a Green Zone gate in central
Baghdad killed 24 people and wounded about 120.
3 US civilians and 3 American soldiers were among the injured in that
bombing at what US soldiers call the Assassins' Gate, an ornate gate
leading to Saddam Hussein's former Republican Palace compound, now the
HQ of the US-led occupation.
Blast walls and dirt-filled baskets were erected at that gate and
other checkpoints in the Iraqi capital following the Jan blast.
Murray said US military checkpoints for car and pedestrian traffic
remained "security worries".
The checkpoints are used by foreigners who live and work inside the
Green Zone, as well as 1000s of Iraqis going to and from jobs inside
the zone.
Several hundred Iraqi families also live inside the Green Zone and are
issued with special passes and are subjected to stringent searches on
entering the area.

US soldiers killed in operation against Sadr militiamen
Baghdad. 3 US soldiers were killed during clashes with militiamen of
the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in the S Iraqi city of Diwaniya,
the US-led coalition said.
The 3 soldiers were killed in operations in the city 180 km S of
Baghdad as US-led forces upped the pressure on the cleric whose
militia have led a m-long revolt.
"Targets included buildings and fighting positions used by Moqtada's
militia during 2 earlier attacks on Coalition forces," the US military
said in a statement.
"One of these attacks resulted in the deaths of 3 US soldiers."
More than 30 people were killed in battles that erupted on Tue and
flared again on Wed across S cities, coalition and Iraqi sources said.
The coalition said militiamen had fired at soldiers from a school and
the military had responded, gunning down several armed men in a car
who had wounded one coalition soldier.
Sadr has been holed up in the Shiite holy city of Najaff where he has
vowed to lead his followers to martyrdom, but has also embarked on
tentative moves to try to strike a deal with the US forces surrounding
the city.
He is wanted over the killing of a rival cleric last y and the US say
they want him to face trial.

Fallujah and the Forging of the New Iraq
[Walden Bello is executive director of the Bangkok-based Focus on the
Global S and professor of sociology and public Admin at the University
of the Philippines. A visitor to Baghdad shortly before the American
invasion in Mar 2003, he is heading up the Internat'l Parliamentary
and Civil Society Mission to Investigate the Political Transition in
Iraq that is scheduled to visit Baghdad soon].
Op/Ed (Bellaciao). A defiant slogan repeated by residents of Fallujah
over the last y was that their city would be "the graveyard of the
Americans." The last 2 wk has seen that chant become a reality, with
most of the 88 US combat deaths falling in the intense fighting around
Fallujah. But there is a bigger sense in which the slogan is true:
Fallujah has become the graveyard of US policy in Iraq.
* Fallujah: a Strategic Dilemma
The battle for the city is not yet over, but the Iraqi resistance has
already won it. Irregular fighters fuelled mainly by spirit and courage
were able to fight the elite of America's colonial legions-the US
Marines--to a standstill on the outer neighbourhoods of Fallujah.
Moreover, so frustrated were the Americans that, in their trademark
fashion of technology- intensive warfare, they unleashed firepower
indiscriminately, leading to the deaths of some 600 people, mainly
women and children, according to eyewitness accounts. Captured
graphically by Arab television, these 2 developments have created both
inspiration and deep anger that is likely to be translated into 1000s
of new recruits for the already burgeoning resistance.
The Americans are now confronted with an unenviable dilemma: they
stick to the ceasefire and admit they can't handle Fallujah, or they go
in and take it at a terrible cost both to the civilian population and
to themselves. There is no doubt the heavily armed Marines can pacify
Fallujah, but the costs are likely to make that victory a Pyrrhic one.
As if one battlefield blunder did not suffice, the US sent a 2500-man
force to Najaff to arrest the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Again,
even before the battle has begun, they have created a fine mess for
themselves. The threat of an American assault has merely brought over
more Shiites, including the widely respected Ayatollah Sistani to the
defence of al-Sadr. If the Americans do not attack, they will be seen
by the Iraqis as being scared of taking on al-Sadr. If they attack,
then they will have to engage in the same sort of high-casualty,
close-quarters combat cum indiscriminate firepower that can only
deliver the same outcome as an assault on Fallujah: tactical victory,
strategic defeat.
* The Making of a Quagmire
The last few days have left us with indelible images that will forever
underline the quicksand that is US policy in Iraq. There are the
marines blaring speakers at Fallujah insurgents taunting them for hiding
behind women and children, when the reality is that women and children
are part of the Iraqi resistance. There is Def Sec Donald Rumsfeld
cursing telecasts by Al Arabiya and Al Jezeerah claiming there are 600
women and children dead when even CNN has admitted that a high proportion
of the dead and wounded in Fallujah were indeed women and children. Then
there is George W Bush vowing not to "cut and run" but not offering
any way out of the impasse except the application of more of the
military force with which the Americans have ruled Iraq in the last y.
To some analysts, the problem lies in the miscalculations of
Rumsfeld. The man, in this view, simply underestimated what it would
take to have a successful military occupation of Iraq. Rumsfeld
thought 160,000 troops would suffice to invade and occupy Iraq.
The result, according to James Fallows in the latest issue of the
Atlantic, is that "it is only a slight exaggeration to say that today
the entire US military is either in Iraq, returning from Iraq, or
getting ready to go." 40% of the troops deployed to Iraq this year
will not be professional soldiers but members of the Nat'l Guard or
Reserves, who signed up on the understanding that they were only going
to be weekend warriors. To many it now seems that the estimates of
military professionals like Gen Anthony Zinni, who said that it would
take 500,000 troops to secure Iraq, were more on the mark. But even
Zinni's figure-the high-water mark of the US troop presence in
Vietnam-may now been outstripped by the wildfire speed of the
insurgency racing through rural and urban Iraq.
To other observers, it has been the ineptitude of Paul Bremer, the
American proconsul, that has created the crisis. In this view, Bremer
made 3 big mistakes of a political nature, all during his 1st m in
office: removing top-ranking Ba'ath Party figures, some 30,000 of
them, from office; dissolving the Iraqi Army, thus throwing a quarter
of a mn Iraqis out of work; and making a hand-over of power indefinite
and dependent on the writing of a constitution under military occupation.
Add to these his recent closing of a Shiite newspaper critical of the
occupation and his ordering the arrest of an aide of Muqtada al-Sadr -- moves
that, Canadian journalist Naomi Klein contends, were calculated to
draw al-Sadr into open confrontation in order to crush him.
Inept, Rumsfeld and Bremer have certainly been, but their military and
political blunders were inevitable consequences of the collective
delusion of George Bush and the reigning neoconservatives at the Whitehouse.
One element of this delusion was the belief that the Iraqis hated
Saddam so much that they would tolerate an indefinite political and
military occupation that had the license to blunder at will. A 2nd
element was persisting in the illusion that that it was mainly
"remnants" of the Saddam Hussein regime that were behind the spreading
insurgency when everybody else in Baghdad realized the resistance had
grassroots backing. A 3rd was that the Shiite-Sunni divide was so deep
that their coming together for a common enterprise against the US on a
nat'list and religious platform was impossible. In other words, it
was the Americans themselves who spun their own web of false
fundamental assumptions that entrapped them.
The Bushites are hopelessly out of touch with reality. But so are
others in Washington's hegemonic conservative circles. An influential
conservative critic of the Admin's policy, Fareed Zakaria, editor of
Newsweek's internat'l editions, for instance, has this to offer as the
way out: "The US must bribe, cajole, and coopt various Sunni leaders
to separate the insurgents from the local population ... [T]he tribal
sheiks, former low-level Baathists, and regional leaders must be courted
assiduously. In addition, money must start flowing into Iraqi hands."
* Nat'lism and Islam: Fuel of the Resistance
The truth is, the neoconservative scenario of quick invasion,
pacification of the population with chocolates and cash, installation
of a puppet "democracy" dominated by Washington's proteges, then
withdrawal to distant military bastions while an American-trained army
and police force took over security in the cities was dead on
arrival. For all its many fractures, the cross-ethnic appeal of
nat'lism and Islam is strong in Iraq. This was brought home to me by 2
incidents when I visited Iraq along with a parliamentary delegation
shortly before the American bombing. When we asked a class at Baghdad
University what they thought of the coming invasion, a young woman
answered firmly that had George Bush studied his history, he would
have known that the Americans would face the same fate as the
countless armies that had invaded and pillaged Mesopotamia for the
last 4,000 y. Leaving Baghdad, we were convinced that the young men
and women we talked to were not the kind that would submit easily to
foreign occupation.
2 days later, at the Syrian border, hours before the American bombing,
we encountered a group of Mujaheddin heading in the opposite
direction, full of energy and enthusiasm to take on the
Americans. They were from Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Palestine, and
Syria, and they were the cutting edge of droves of Islamic volunteers
that would stream into Iraq over the next few m to participate in what
they welcomed as the decisive battle with the Americans.
As the invasion began, many of us predicted that the American invasion
would face an urban resistance that would be difficult to pacify in
Baghdad and elsewhere in the country. Famously, Scott Ritter, the
former UN arms inspector, said that the Americans would be forced to
exit Iraq like Napoleon from Russia, their ranks harried by
partisans. We were wrong, of course, since there was little popular
resistance to the entry of the Americans to Baghdad. But we were
eventually proved right. Our mistake lay in underestimating the time
it would take to transform the population from an unorganised,
submissive mass under Saddam to a force empowered by nat'lism and
Islam. Bush and Bremer constantly talk about their dream of a "new
Iraq." Ironically, the new post-Saddam Iraq is being forged in a
common struggle against a hated occupation.
* Steep Learning Curve
The Americans thought they could coerce and buy the Iraqis into
submission. They failed to reckon with one thing: spirit. Of course,
spirit is not enough, and what we have seen over the last y is a
movement travelling on a steep learning curve from clumsy and
amateurish acts of resistance to a sophisticated repertoire combining
the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), hit-and-run tactics,
stand-your-ground firefights, and ground missile attacks.
Unfortunately, these tactics have also included strategically planned
car bombings and kidnappings that have harmed civilians along with
Coalition combatants and mercenaries. Unfortunately, too, in the
resistance's daring effort to sap the will of the enemy by carrying
the battle to the latter's territory, it has included missions that
deliberately target civilians, like the Madrid subway bombing that
killed 100s of innocents.
Such acts are unjustified and deeply deplorable, but to those quick to
condemn, one must point out that the indiscriminate killing of
some10,000 Iraqi civilians by US troops in the 1st y of the occupation
and the current targeting of civilians in the siege of Fallujah are on
the same moral plane as these methods of the Iraqi and Islamic
resistance. Indeed, the "American way of war" has always involved the
killing and punishing of the civilian population. The bombing of
Dresden, the fire-bombing of Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Operation
Phoenix in Vietnam-all had the strategic objective of winning wars via
the deliberate targeting of civilians.
So, please, no moralising about the West's "civilised warfare" and
Islamic "barbarism."
* The Loyal Opp'n Problem
The resistance is on the ascendant in Iraq, but the balance of forces
continues to be on the American side. The Iraq war has developed into
a multi-front war, with the struggle for public opinion in the US
being one of the key battles. Here, there has been no decisive break
so far. The liberals are hopeless. At a time that they should be
calling for a fundamental reexamination of US policy and pushing
withdrawal as an option, their line, as the liberal Financial Times
columnist Gerard Baker, expresses it, is, "Whether or not you believe
Iraq was a real threat under Saddam Hussein, you cannot deny that a US
defeat there will make it one now." It does not help to point out to
Baker and others that this is a non-sequitur. For the liberals are not
responding to logic but to baiting from the same frothing right wing
that, 3 decades ago, predicted chaos, massacre, and civil war should
the US withdraw from Vietnam.
For presid'l contender John Kerry and the Democrats, the alternative
is stabilisation via greater participation by the UN and the US'
European allies, which, of course, hardly distinguishes them from
George Bush, who is desperate to bring in the UN and more troops from
the Coalition of the Willing to relieve US troops in front-line positions.
One of the reasons Democratic leaders do not call for withdrawal is
their fear that this could harm them in the Nov elections--despite the
fact that, according to the Pew Research Center, 44% of Americans now
say that troops should be brought home as soon as possible, up from
32% last Sep. But an even more fundamental reason is that they agree
with Baker's position that while the invasion of Iraq may not have
been justified, a unilateral withdrawal cannot be allowed since this
would strike an incalculable blow to American prestige and leadership.
* Where is the Peace Movement?
The paralysis that has gripped the Democrats on Iraq can only be
broken by one thing: a strong anti-war movement such as that which
took to the streets daily and in the 1000s before and after the Tet
Offensive in 1968. So far that has not materialised, though disillusion
with US policy in Iraq has spread to more than half of the US population.
Indeed, at the very time that it is needed by developments in Iraq,
the internat'l peace movement has had trouble getting in gear. The
demos on Mar 20 of this y were significantly smaller than the Feb.10
marches last y, when tens of mn marched throughout the world against
the projected invasion of Iraq. The kind of internat'l mass pressure
that makes an impact on policymakers-the daily staging of demo after
demo in the 100s of 1000s in city after city-is simply not in
evidence, at least not yet. Which raises the question: Was the NY
Times premature in calling internat'l civil society the world's
"second greatest superpower" in the wake of the Feb. 10 demos?
All this indicates that the dramatic Apr events in Iraq do not yet add
up to an Iraqi equivalent of the Tet events in Vietnam in 1968. At
most, they are a dress rehearsal. Domestic opp'n to the war in the US
has yet to escalate to a critical mass. Without this domestic
challenge from below, the Bush Admin will most likely continue to send
in more troops to the Iraq meat-grinder in pursuit of an elusive
military solution that would turn the conflict into a long-drawn war
of attrition until the level of casualties finally ends public
tolerance in the US for a policy headed nowhere but more body bags.
* Iraq and the Global Equation
Paradoxically enough, while the rise of the Iraqi resistance has not
yet altered the correlation of forces within Iraq, it has contributed
mightily to transforming the global equation in the last 12 m. It has
discouraged a militarily overextended Washington from carrying out
efforts at regime change in other countries, like Syria, N Korea, and
Iran. It has deflected the attention and resources needed by the
Washington for a successful occupation of Afghanistan.
It has prevented the US from focusing on its backyard, thus allowing
the consolidation of anti-free-market and anti-US govts in Latin
America, such as those of Norberto Kirchner in Argentina, Luis Inacio
da Silva or Lula in Brazil, and Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. It has
deepened the rift in the political, military, and cultural alliance
known as the Atlantic Alliance, which served as a potent instrument of
Washington's global hegemony during and immediately after the Cold War.
Without the example of the defiant challenge posed by the Iraqi
resistance, the developing countries might not have gotten their act
together to sink the World Trade Organization ministerial in Cancun
last Sep and the US plan for a Free Trade Area of the Americas in
Miami in Nov.
Anti-hegemonic movements the world over, in short, owe the Iraqi
resistance a great deal for exacerbating the American empire's crisis
of overextension. Yet its face is not pretty, and many on the
progressive movement in the US and the W hesitate to embrace it as an
ally. This is probably one of the key obstacles to the emergence of a
sustained peace movement in the US and internat'ly-that the organising
efforts of progressives have been incapacitated by their own qualms
about the Iraqi resistance.
But there has never been any pretty movement for nat'l liberation or
independence. Many W progressives were also repelled by some of the
methods of the Mau Mau in Kenya, the FLN in Algeria, the NLF in
Vietnam, and the Irish Republican Movement. Nat'l liberation
movements, however, are not asking for ideological or political
support. All they seek is internat'l pressure for the withdrawal of an
illegitimate occupying power so that internal forces can have the
space to forge a truly nat'l govt.
Surely on this limited program progressives throughout the world and
the Iraqi resistance can unite.
* COMMENTS:
May 5th, 2004 -- 20h43
This is one of the more solid pieces of analysis I've seen come out
about recent events in Iraq. As such, I'm reposting it on Arkansas
IndyMedia at arkansas.indymedia.org and am going to suggest to the
editors there that they consider featuring it. Thanks for the
excellent work.
* America-haters wake up and smell your freedom
May 5th, 2004 -- 21h52
This article is crap. Our soldiers are not a colonial force.
We don't want to be there, but since the dissatisfied Arab world
churns out terrorists who threaten our way of life, we will change
their broken system. (If 9/11 had hit Paris instead of the US, then
Europe would be taking a more active role in addressing the failures
of the middle E and the threat of militant Islam.)
If the women and children used as human shields in Fallujah are
active, willing participants in the resistance of a free Iraq, as this
article states, then their deaths are justified. Saddam is captured,
the Baathists are no longer in power, and fed Iraq is emerging. If they
are not willing participants, then it shows how a few resistance
fighters have hijacked the city's population, and justifies our
confronting them.
The middle E does not work in its current form. If they don't upgrade
their system now, while we are willing to help them, then their
post-oil future holds nothing but sand, dirt and lice.
Luckily for them though, the US isn't leaving Iraq until it is a
working, modern country. For that reason, the Iraqi children will live
better lives, with more opportunities than their parents ever had.
Oh, and to all of you America-haters out there... if it wasn't for
America you'd be under the thumb of a Fascist or Communist regime
right now. That's a fact.

Fallujah gunmen celebrate US pullback
Fallujah (AP). Gunmen waved their weapons in Fallujah's streets and
outside car windows Sat, cheering what they called a victory as US
forces pulled back. But the Marines insisted they weren't going far
and a new Iraqi force taking the front line will root out die-hard insurgents.
The new "Fallujah Brigade," put together by Iraqi generals from Saddam
Hussein's ousted regime, likely will include some former army soldiers
who fought American forces over the past month, Marine Lt Gen James
Conway said.
He promised, however, that anyone who has "blood on their hands" would
not be allowed to stay in the force.
Another military official acknowledged that the US didn't know who the
individual members of the force were and that its fighters and cmdrs
still had to be vetted to ensure that they are not connected to crimes
of the Saddam regime. The force's leadership could be changed soon
because of the screening process, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Scores of Iraqis gathered in the streets Sat morning, some flashing
"V" for victory signs and raising the Iraqi flag. Motorists drove
through the streets, shouting "Islam, it's your day!" and "We redeem
Islam with our blood!"
Some were masked with kuffeyahs and raised automatic weapons, members
of the insurgency that put up stiff resistance against the
Marines. Some guerrillas drove through the city, honking horns and
waving their guns out the windows.
Meanwhile, violence continued Sat, exactly a y after Pres Bush stood
aboard an aircraft carrier a declared that major combat in Iraq had ended.
A US soldier was killed when a RPG hit his convoy near the town of
Qarraya, 72 km S of Mosul, the military said. A second soldier died
Sat of wounds suffered the day before in a roadside bombing in the
same area.
In another Sat bombing, 2 foreign contractors were killed and 5 other
foreigners wounded in an attack in the N city of Mosul, according to
the US military and witnesses. Nat'lities of the victims were unavailable.
A Brit foot patrol also came under attack in the S city of Amarah,
sparking a gun battle with insurgents that left 5 Iraqis dead and 6
Brit soldiers wounded, according to witnesses and a Brit forces rep.
Witnesses said the 5 Iraqis killed were members of radical Shiite
cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's al-Mahdi Army.
The clashes were ongoing Sat night, said Brit Royal Air Force Squadron
Leader Jonathan Arnold, a military rep. He confirmed the 6 Brit
wounded but had no info on Iraqi deaths.
The US also faced growing internat'l condemnation over shocking
pictures of Iraqi prisoners being humiliated by their US captors. Governing
Council member Sondul Chapouk demanded that Iraqi authorities
investigate allegations of abuse.
The scandal broadened Sat after Brit's Daily Mirror published new
photographs of a hooded Iraqi prisoner who reportedly was beaten by
Brit troops.
Pres Bush has condemned the mistreatment shown in the photographs,
saying he shared "a deep disgust that those prisoners were treated the
way they were treated." He said that is "not the way we do things in America."
The new "Fallujah Brigade," led by Maj Gen Jassim Mohammed Saleh,
fanned out and imposed a cordon around nearly the entire S half of
Fallujah, replacing Marines who were pulling back to set up a 2nd
cordon, some 8 km from the city.
The willingness to install a relatively unknown armed force with ties
to the ousted regime at the forefront of the Fallujah standoff was a
sign of US eagerness to find a way out of the siege, which raised an
internat'l outcry and angered many Iraqi leaders who supported the US.
A US officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Fallujah
model, though not a "hard and fast" policy, might be applied elsewhere.
The force came about suddenly -- a dramatic reversal less than a wk
after the US was threatening to launch a new offensive into Fallujah.
The former generals approached Marine cmdrs and offered to take over
security duties in the city using their own former soldiers, the
military official said.
Malik Khalif, who fled the city during the fighting, looked at the
remains of his destroyed house. "I don't mind losing and sacrificing
my life or my properties for the sake of the honourable resistance of
Fallujah," he said.
Conway, cmdr of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, insisted that the
US withdrawal did not mean a let-up in the pursuit of the guerrillas. He
said Saleh -- who served in Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard and as a
cmdr of the Iraqi army's 38th Infantry Division -- has presented a
plan to confront the city's hard-core militants.
"They understand our view that these people must be killed or
captured," Conway said. "They have not flinched. And their cmdr has
said as much to his assembly of officers."
Conway said the Iraqi force will be made up of 1,100 fighters, mostly
former army soldiers. Another snr US military official, speaking on
condition of anonymity, said about 700 fighters had been gathered
under the force so far.
The Fallujah Brigade, effectively, turns some of the insurgents --
those who joined for money or resentment at losing their jobs when
Saddam's army was disbanded last y -- against the more ideological
anti-US guerrillas.
Former Iraqi generals are putting together the force, and the ex-soldiers
have been their "recruiting pool," Conway said. He added that he could
not rule out that some of the recruits may have fired on his Marines.
"I'd like to think that has not been the case, but I can't say
categorically that it hasn't," he told reporters outside of the city.
The snr US military official said the brigade may be more or less a
reconstitution of Saddam-era military units from the Fallujah area.
Conway said he was not concerned that the Iraqi forces, which will be
under his overall command, might carry out atrocities or resort to
unlawful methods in its hunt for insurgents. But he said Marines would
be quick to stop them if they did.
"We don't see any extremism in any fashion in this group of Iraqi
general officers," he said. "We're not concerned about that at this
point. ... There will be no horrific acts."
By Sat, all 700 Marines of the 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment had pulled
out of the industrial zone in S Fallujah, their main forward base in
the city.
If all goes well on Fallujah's S side, the Iraqi force will next
replace Marines in the N within a few days, the official said.
"We are not leaving, we will be right there behind them and will move
in if things go wrong," the official said.
The Marine withdrawal proceeded despite the deaths of 4 US troops Fri
in the volatile region W of Baghdad. 2 Marines were killed in a car bombing
nr Fallujah and 2 sailors died in another incident in the same province.
=== end 1/4 ===