NO, NOT THE OIL! #151 (2/4)
R Kym Horsell
Washington. Just one day after 10 flights from Europe to the US were
cancelled because of security concerns, a domestic flight in the US
has been scrapped. Continental Airlines cancelled the flight from
Washington DC to Houston in Texas because there had been specific
intel about the flight number and route. Brit Airways and Air France
have also cancelled flights destined for the US over the past 48
hr. This is the 1st domestic American flight to be affected. The
Super Bowl, America's football grand final, is being held in Houston
in the next few hrs, but officials deny it is the target.
Nuclear scientist admitted leaking secrets: official
Islamabad (AFP). Pakistan nuclear pioneer Abdul Qadeer Khan and 4
others have confessed to leaking nuclear secrets to groups working for
Iran, Libya and N Korea, an official close to the Govt's probe told AFP.
"Dr Qadeer and 4 others have accepted that they were involved in
leaking nuclear know-how outside Pakistan to groups working for Iran,
Libya and N Korea," the official, who could not be named, said.
It was the 1st time N Korea had been named as a recipient of nuclear
info from those under investigation.
The official said info was leaked between 1986 and 1993.
He said an 11-page report carrying the confessions has been submitted
to Pres Gen Pervez Musharraf.
Asked if there will be criminal proceedings against those who have
confessed he said it is up to the Nat'l Command Authority to take a
decision, of which Pres Musharraf is the chairman.
It was not yet clear whether Khan had admitted to giving centrifuge
designs for uranium enrichment to Iran and Libya, he said.
Another Govt official said Pres Musharraf may address the nation soon
after the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha begins later on Mon.
Govt officials have told AFP that Khan is a primary suspect in the
alleged transfer of Pakistan's nuclear data to other nations in the
late 1980s and early 1990s through the internat'l black market mafia
trading in nuclear technology.
The investigation follows info handed over by the UN's Internat'l
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from Iran, which referred to the possible
involvement of Pakistani scientists and officials in selling nuclear
secrets for personal profit.
Powell says US not seeking to encircle Russia
Moscow (Reuters, 27 Jan 2004). Secretary of State Colin Powell
assured Russia Tue that the US was not trying to surround it despite
seeking temporary military bases in former Warsaw Pact countries.
Addressing a Russian fear of encirclement, Powell said the number of
US troops in Europe had fallen since the end of the Cold War and that
military facilities under consideration in former members of the old
Soviet-led alliance would be small.
"We may want to put some temporary facilities in some of the countries
that used to be part of the Warsaw Pact," Powell told Ekho Moskvy
radio in an interview.
"These would not be big bases of the kind that we had in Germany
during the days of the Cold War. These might be small places where we
could go and train for a brief period of time or use airbases...to get
to dangerous places, crisis places in Central Asia, the Persian Gulf,
the Middle East," he said.
Powell spoke at the end of a 2-day visit in which he made unusually
blunt warnings about Russian democracy that reflected US concerns the
Kremlin was becoming increasingly autocratic.
Powell did not specify which former Warsaw Pact countries he was
referring to. But former Pact member Poland -- now a member of the
US-led NATO alliance -- has launched talks with Washington to host US
military bases on its territory.
The US began a diplomatic offensive in European capitals in Dec to
push a redeployment strategy expected to involve closing bases in W
Europe and reflect a greater NATO focus on the E and S.
"It is not essentially moving our army closer to the Russian
Federation and people should not see it in that light," Powell said.
The presence of US bases in the former Soviet republics of Uzbekistan
and Kyrgyzstan, and military trainers in Georgia, troubles some in the
Russian security community who regard the area as part of Moscow's
natural sphere of influence.
* "POINTING A DAGGER"
"Are we there to threaten Russia?" Powell asked a group of Russian
rights activists. Are we pointing a dagger (at) the soft underbelly of
Russia -- of course not."
Powell said US troop levels in Europe were falling from 315,000 before
the Soviet Union broke up to fewer than 100,000 and said its forces in
Central Asia were fighting "terrorism."
Both sides said Powell's 7 hr of talks with Russian Pres Vladimir
Putin and other officials Mon were friendly.
But in a front-page article in the Russian daily Izvestia on Mon,
Powell raised questions about the rule of law, state influence over
the media and what some analysts regard as Moscow's bullying of neighbours.
Tue, Powell said Washington was carefully watching the treatment of former
Yukos oil company chief Mikhail Khodorkovsky, whose Oct arrest on charges
of fraud and tax evasion is widely regarded as politically motivated.
He said Putin had told him the Yukos case would be dealt with "in
accordance with the rule of law -- that nobody was above the law or
beneath the law."
Powell urged Moscow to find a political solution in Chechnya and to
respect human rights in the region, where Russia is battling separatists.
He called Chechnya an "internal matter" for Russia, but added without
elaborating that Washington was ready to play a more extensive role if
asked by the parties.
Aussie cigarette packets to feature disease pix
Melbourne. The fed govt says graphic images of diseases caused by
smoking could be on cigarette packages as early as next y.
Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Trish Worth, says under changes
to the Trade Practices Act announced today, existing warnings on
tobacco products will be replaced by high-impact graphic images. The
images incl a diseased lung, a cancerous lip, and green teeth, and
will be displayed on the front and back of cigarette packages.
Impossible to stop invading bird flu -- virologist
Melbourne. A MEL virologist says it will be almost impossible to keep a
human version of the Asian bird flu out of AUS. Human bird fly
cases have so far been caused by exposure to infected birds or their
droppings, not by transmission from person-to-person. However, the
WHO says 2 Vietnamese sister who died from the virus may have caught
it from their brother, because they didn't have direct contact with
birds. All 3 died from the disease after the 2 sisters tried to look
after their brother when he came down with a high fever.
Bird flu pandemic would drain drug supply
Washington (AP). Prescription flu drugs could provide lifesaving
early protection against bird flu if the virus disastrously mutates
into a worldwide pandemic, but experts warn that supplies will quickly
run out unless govts stockpile the medicines.
Early talks are going on between the US govt and one maker about
providing a large quantity for use in a pandemic, but at best the
medicine is still m away. If enough was available, the drugs could
help buy time until a vaccine is developed to stop the flu's spread.
Experts say the flu drugs could shorten illness and prevent lethal
complications for flu victims -- as well as keep healthy people from
catching it, especially health care workers.
Doctors say only one brand, Tamiflu, is practical for large-scale
stockpiling, but so far no govt has bought the big amounts needed for a
pandemic. For now, worldwide supplies are skimpy, because the drugs
are not widely used to treat ordinary flu.
"This needs to be in the nat'l stockpile, just as much as Cipro and
smallpox vaccine," says Dr Arnold Monto, a flu expert at the Uni of
Michigan. A bird flu pandemic "could have as much of an impact as a
man-made terrorist attack."
The US govt has already ordered an extra supply of Tamiflu to help
deal with the current flu season, although the exact amount is
classified. Much more would be needed for a pandemic.
Roche's Tamiflu, a pill introduced in 1999, is one of 2 drugs called
neuraminidase inhibitors that appear to be effective against all kinds
of flu, including the bird flu circulating in Asia. The other,
GlaxoSmithKline's Relenza, requires an inhaler and is rarely used. It
is not considered suitable for stockpiling.
Roche makes only as much as is needed for a typical flu season and
does not stockpile the drug for an emergency. "If there was a large
outbreak like a pandemic, it would take at least several m to produce
additional product on top of what's already available," says Terence
Hurley, a Roche rep.
So far, he said, the company has received no orders for stockpiling
large amounts. However, the company is in "preliminary discussions"
with the US Dept of Health and Human Services . The World Health
Organisation is also working on stockpiling plans with several
European countries.
Tamiflu and Relenza are much more expensive than an older and more
widely available category of flu drugs called M2 inhibitors. These
include the generic medicines rimantadine and amantadine.
When the current variety of bird flu 1st spread from chickens to
people in HK in 1997, it could be treated with the M2 drugs.
But it has since mutated and become resistant to those medicines, a
discovery that Dr. Frederick Hayden of the University of Virginia
called "very disquieting."
"That means that a whole class of drugs really would not be useful for
treatment or protection," Hayden said.
Just how the flu drugs might be used has been widely discussed and
debated among flu experts, who agree they could be especially critical
in the early m of an outbreak, assuming enough was available.
"I think it would definitely have a major role in the 1st wave of any
new pandemic strain and would perhaps provide time for the development
of a vaccine," says Dr. Paul Glezen of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
A flu vaccine takes at least 6 m to develop and manufacture in the
best of circumstances. A bird flu shot is likely to be even more
difficult, because it requires genetic engineering techniques that
have never been used in human vaccines.
Meanwhile, a bird flu virus could spread around the world in wk and
would be very difficult to contain by isolating victims -- as was done
with SARS -- since flu is more contagious.
For now, bird flu is widespread among poultry in many Asian
countries. A handful of cases have been documented in people, but
there is no sign of person-to-person spread. The fear is that someone
already infected with the human flu will also catch bird flu. The 2
viruses could swap genes inside the victim's body, producing a very
contagious new virus for which people have little or no immunity.
Experts say supply is the single biggest concern about flu drugs. "If
there really was an explosive worldwide epidemic, we would have shortages
of the drugs," says Dr John Treanor of the University of Rochester.
If taken by healthy people, Tamiflu could probably significantly
reduce the chance of catching the flu. People would need to take it
daily for at least 6 wk, until the wave of disease passed, and not
even a huge stockpile would allow for that.
However, some experts say it might make sense to give the drug to
protect essential personnel, such as hospital workers, ambulance
crews, firefighters and police.
The drug's main benefit, though, would be in treating the sick. Some
propose giving it to everyone who gets sick in the 1st days of an
outbreak. That would make them less likely to infect others, and might
slow the epidemic.
Others recommend limiting the drugs to those most likely to die from
the flu, such as the elderly. "That assumes that we are not all at the
same risk," says Monto.
If taken soon after symptoms start, Tamiflu can shorten a bout of
ordinary flu by several days, and people often start feeling better
within hrs. How well it would work against a mutant bird flu is
unknown.
No one knows how many would get sick in a bird flu pandemic, or even
whether a new virus would truly spread as easily in humans as it does
in birds. However, experts generally estimate that 30% to 40% of the
population gets sick in a flu pandemic.
In the worst pandemic on record, the 1918-19 Spanish flu, an estimated
40 mn to 50 mn died. The world population is almost 4 times larger now.
WHO criticises China's handling of SARS
Geneva (Still The BBC). The World Health Organisation (WHO) has
criticised China over the way it handled its most recent case of the
SARS respiratory disease. It said it was concerned about the manner
in which the infection was detected, treated and reported in a 40-yo
doctor from the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. This was the
4th case of SARS in China in recent wks. The WHO says the
authorities were too slow to isolate the man in hospital and to inform
it of a suspected case. It also urged more work to trace the source
of the infection.
Bird flu infection spreads further in China
Beijing (ABC, John Taylor). China's bird flu outbreak is rapidly
getting worse, with officials announcing more suspected outbreaks of
the deadly H5N1 virus. China's Ministry of Agriculture last night
reported 5 new suspected outbreaks of the H5N1 virus, all confined
to poultry. They were announced in provinces and areas in the
country's NW, SW and centre. This brings to 11 the number of
suspected and confirmed outbreaks in China. China's official news
agency has quoted agriculture officials, saying the epidemic has been
brought under control. The World Health Organisation is worried and
says China's small window of opportunity in containing its bird flu
outbreaks is growing smaller with each day.
WHO suspects human-to-human bird flu spread
Hanoi (Still The BBC). The World Health Organisation (WHO) is
examining a possible human-to-human transmission of the bird flu virus
which has killed 10 people in Vietnam and Thailand. The WHO say 2
sisters in Vietnam have died after contracting bird flu and they may
have caught the virus from their brother. However, no samples were
available from the brother for testing. The man's wife was also
admitted for treatment on Jan 13 but has recovered. The WHO's rep in
Vietnam, Robert Deitz, says the timing of the cases appears to rule
out infected food. "The man became ill on Jan 3 and the 3 women all
became ill at the same time on Jan 10," he said. "There is a wk delay
there and we don't understand what happened but we do know that all 3
women cared for the man who died."
"Saddam has provided useful information"
Baghdad (Scotsman). American officials have received useful info from
direct interrogation of Saddam Hussein, a snr military official in
Iraq said today.
The official would not say what the info was, but he said it allowed
interrogators to confirm some suspicions and reject other info.
The official said both documents and the results of questioning of
Saddam have allowed the military to hunt for some people involved in
attacks on US troops.
He said military officials believe there are 14 cells of Saddam
sympathisers in the Baghdad area and that many of them had already
lost their leaders in US raids.
The official commented shortly after Deputy Def Sec Paul Wolfowitz
flew to Iraq to visit troops that he says were justified in ousting
Saddam because the former leader violated US resolutions ordering him
to disarm.
The Pentagon's second-in-command arrived in Baghdad from a troop visit
in Germany where he said flawed intel about Iraq's weapons of mass
destruction should be investigated, but that the inability of
inspectors to find such weapons did not mean the war was unnecessary.
"It's exciting to be back," he said after landing nr Baghdad, referring
to a visit 3 m ago in which a hotel where he was staying was attacked.
The Wolfowitz visit to Iraq was not disclosed in advance of his
arrival for security reasons.
He complimented both military and civilian men and women working to
stabilise the country. "They're making the world safer for our
children," Wolfowitz said.
He said he looks forward to meeting with cmdrs and troops in the field
and is particularly interested in assessing how a massive rotation of
military forces is going.
David Kay, the former chief inspector in Iraq, said last wk he
believes deposed Iraqi Pres Saddam probably did not have the
stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons that Pres Bush claimed
as justification for the invasion in Mar.
"You have to make decisions based on the intel you have, not on the
intel you can discover later," Wolfowitz said, while visiting the HQ
of the Army's 1ID in Germany.
The division is preparing to ship out beginning next wk for Iraq,
where it will replace the 4ID in the dangerous north-central part of
the country.
Wolfowitz said he retains confidence in American intel agencies,
despite their apparent mistakes about Iraq's weapons programs. "You
need to look into when you got it right, and when you got it wrong,"
Wolfowitz said. "It's important to understand we could not possibly do
what we need to do in the world without intel."
Wolfowitz said deposing Saddam was important to bring freedom to the
Middle E.
"We have an absolutely important job to do to help the Iraqi people
build a free and democratic Iraq," Wolfowitz said.
"It's going to be a very important turning point in the war on terrorism.
The Middle E has been heading down the wrong road for some y now."
83 killed in Iraq violence
Irbil (The News, Pak). At least 83 people were killed and scores
wounded on Sun in different incidents in Iraq.
2 suicide bombers blew themselves up at the offices of 2 rival Kurdish
parties in the N city of Irbil, killing at least 57 people and
injuring more than 235, officials said. One Kurdish minister said the
death toll could rise above 200.
The dead include the governor of the region, ministers in the local
Admin and several snr officials, Mohammed Ihsan, the minister for
human rights for the Kurdish regional govt, told The Associated Press.
Elsewhere, 20 people were killed in Karbala while 5 more died and
14 others wounded, most of them Palestinian, when a mortar exploded in a
crowded Baghdad street. Also a Brit soldier died in an engineering
accident in S Iraq.
Irbil city morgue director Tawana Kareem told the AP that 57 bodies
were brought to the morgue and "figures are increasing." He said many
bodies were taken away by relatives from the site of the blasts. At
least 235 people were admitted to the city's 3 hospitals with
injuries, medical sources said. The near-simultaneous attacks at the
offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan took place as party leaders were receiving 100s of visitors
to mark the Eid-ul-Azha.
"These figures are estimates but I believe about 60 people were killed
at the PUK and about 80 at the KDP. There are a tremendous number of
injured," Ihsan said. "On the 1st day of Eid we receive people and
well wishers and that's why security wasn't as tight as during the
rest of the days," he said. "The attackers took advantage of this," he
said. He said the targeted sites were the parties' branch offices,
about 13 km apart.
Ihsan said those among the dead are Irbil Governor Akram Mintik,
Deputy PM Sami Abdul Rahman, Min of Council of Mins Affairs Shawkat
Sheikh Yazdin, Agriculture Min Saad Abdullah. A KDP official, speaking
on condition of anonymity, said "dozens have been killed and dozens
were injured." He said the casualties are being evacuated to 2
hospitals in the region.
PUK rep Qubad Talabani told CNN that the death toll "could well be in
the dozens and the numbers are rising ... by the minute." "The scene
is pretty chaotic at the moment. We are hearing reports of many casualties.
There are many many injured as well," he said, adding he could not
confirm that snr officials were killed. Officials said the top Kurdish
leaders were greeting people when the attacker approached them and
detonated the explosives strapped around his body.
The 2nd attack took place at about the same time in the office of the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan across town, PUK rep Kadhim Ali said.
He said several people were killed and injured in the PUK attack.
Meanwhile, around 20 people trying to loot an ammunitions dump in
Karbala were killed when the arms exploded, a Polish military official said.
"Attackers entered the bunker and the bunker exploded, we estimate
about 20 people were killed," Lt Col Robert Strzelecki, a rep
for the multi-nat'l force, said. Strzelecki said the powerful blast
destroyed the bunker in a desert area of Karbala. "Some troops were
sent to this area to protect it and secure it and retrieve the
bodies," Strzelecki told AFP from the multinat'l force HQ in Hilla,
south of Baghdad. He said the raiders were spotted on a radar screen,
but it was impossible to gauge exactly how many were in the group.
The depot, previously used by the army of deposed president Saddam
Hussein, comprised about 100 buildings under the guard of 80 Polish soldiers.
Also, 5 people were killed and 14 others wounded, most of them
Palestinian, on Sat when a mortar exploded in a crowded Baghdad
street, said a neighbourhood Palestinian representative. The shell
exploded in a pedestrian street in the N Baladiyyat district, killing
4 Palestinians and one Iraqi, deputy chairman of the local Palestinian
council Anwar al-Sheikh told AFP. "14 others were wounded, most of them
Palestinians," Sheikh said. A 1st explosion was heard at 7.30 pm, but
the mortar shell exploded in the street at around 9.20 pm, said al-Sheikh.
In other developments: US troops concluded 3 days of raids in the northern
town of Bayji which netted 35 people suspected of anti-coalition
activities and large quantities of weapons, a military rep said.
The raids-dubbed "Operation Final Cut"-were launched on Jan 28 and
left 3 Iraqis dead on Thu, said Maj Josslyn Aberle, from the
Tikrit-based 4ID. "3 Iraqis were killed in the raids when they
levelled AK-47s at soldiers and attempted to fire," she said.
A Brit soldier died in an engineering accident in S Iraq, the Ministry
of Defence said. Sapper Robert Thomson, 22, of the 35 Engineer
Regiment, died on Sat, the ministry said. It gave no details on the
accident other than that it was related to his engineering work.
Elsewhere, a US soldier was killed and 12 others wounded when an
American base was pounded by rockets nr Balad, N of Baghdad.
When will we stop dying senselessly? -- Soldiers
2 US Soldiers Ask: "When Will We Stop Dying So Senselessly?"
[Jay Shaft is the Editor of "Coalition For Free Thought In Media"].
Op/Ed (Coalition For Free Thought In Media). Over the Christmas
holidays I managed to find 2 US soldiers who were back from Iraq. They
were both somewhat willing to be interviewed and describe their time
in Iraq in their own words.
One was imminently returning to Iraq within a few days and the other
was home for an unknown length of time. Both knew at some point they
would be returning to a bloody guerilla conflict, and they did not
know if they would be coming back.
The holidays for them were overshadowed by the somber nature of seeing
the news reports of troop deaths on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
During their festive times they always had the spectre of Iraq looming
at the back of their minds like a ghost of Christmas past. I was
really amazed that they were able to forget about the war and just
enjoy being with their families, even if only for a short time.
You could see the strain in their faces, and an almost haunted look in
their eyes. They were doing their best to put aside all the bloodshed
and horror they had recently seen, and get into the holiday spirit
that the whole country was enjoying.
Thoughts of all the troops they had left behind were weighing heavy on
their minds. Neither one knew the other before coming back on leave.
They had met in the airport and realized they were both returning to
the same hometown for leave. On the trip home they got to talking, and
shared their experiences as officers leading combat troops on patrols
and into battles.
I talked to one of the men 1st and conducted an initial interview with
him. He mentioned that he knew of another officer in the area who had
come home for leave who might also speak out about Iraq. I knew I had
to get them both to describe their experiences as officers in charge
of combat units. I have interviewed many enlisted men and gotten their
eyewitness accounts of Iraq, but had not been able to get any officers
to talk to me.
I will present the interviews as they occurred, in the men's own
voices as they requested. I wanted to give them the opportunity to
speak directly to the American people and the world. I have changed as
little of the actual interviews as possible. I have left out some
personal details, and any unit details, which might be used to
identify these soldiers. I am dedicated to protecting them from
military reprisals and harassment, and I have taken every precaution
to keep their identity hidden.
I will refer to them as O1 and O2.
JS- When did you deploy to Iraq?
O1- I went with a unit from Afghanistan to Iraq. We got there a good
little bit before the official war started. Believe me when I tell you
that there were some units already across the border doing scouting
and intel gathering and other missions like bomb targeting and
artillery plotting.
O2- About a m before the war started. I don't want to get to specific
on that date. They are going to be looking for any small way to track
me down.
JS- Okay, before we go any farther, I want to get into the details
behind breaching the Iraq border before the war officially started. If
the US did break the border that is a violation of the Geneva
Convention and a whole list of internat'l treaty declarations and
charters. It violates the UN charter and goes contrary to NATO
treaties and declarations also.
There had been a group of internat'l peacekeepers and many
humanitarian organisations that maintained that the US illegally
invaded Iraq wk or even m before the actual war was started. The US
has denied any of these accusations, but I have heard from several US
soldiers who say that the border was breached for wk before the
invasion. Was it? And if it was, how extensively?
O1- I really didn't want to get into this one. I know that there were
at least 100 or more special ops and CIA types in Iraq in the m
leading up to the war. This is pretty open knowledge among many
officers and higher level NCOs. In the wk right before the ground
invasion there were various Spec Ops and Intel guys in Iraq doing
target location and plotting, working with the Kurds in N Iraq, trying
to find Iraqis to fight on our side, and gathering intel on where the
WMDs might be located.
O2- I don't know anyone who went in early, but I know guys who talked
to some spooks who said they had been right in downtown Baghdad about a m
before the ground assault. I can't verify that with any hard
facts, but it was pretty openly known. We completely ignored some of
the same internat'l conventions that we said Iraq violated in 1990
when they invaded Kuwait. I find it very disturbing that we went to
war over that in 1991, but then broke a whole bunch of the UN charters
when we invaded Iraq.
O1- Let's get off this one, I wanted to talk about other things that
have been bothering me. The border thing is done long ago; my guys are
still dying today.
JS- Okay, let's move on to the recent casualties. While you were
talking to me yesterday you mentioned opening up Christmas presents
and seeing the news reports about the deaths on Christmas Eve. How
hard is it to be home and know your fellow troops are still dying and
getting maimed?
O1- I can't stop feeling like I shouldn't be back home. I left a whole
lot of my men over there, and a few have been killed while I was home.
That really makes you feel like sh.t, and you want to be there to get
some payback or something. I wasn't even able to eat Christmas dinner
because I lost my appetite after seeing the news. I came back home but
many of my men will not be coming back, and some will be coming back
horribly scarred and injured. Makes you really think about what
Christmas means and to value being with your family.
O2- I started crying in front of my whole family and all my friends
when I saw that come on the news. I won't let my wife turn on the news
right now. I am going back in a few days and I want to just relax and
forget the war for a few days. I don't think I can put it out of my
head, but I am trying. I knew one of the guys killed on Christmas Eve,
and some of the guys that got wounded in the last wk were my
friends. I hate being here and feeling helpless to do anything. I want
to be there trying to lead my men safely on patrol, and make sure they
can come home to see their families again.
JS- I'm sorry if talking to me is making you think about all that
stuff while you are trying to rest and be with your family.
O2- I want to talk about this and tell people how bad it really is in
Iraq. It is a complete fu..ing slaughter and it is only going to get
worse. The attacks in the last m or so have been meticulously well
planned and executed. We are seeing a level of sophistication that the
chain of command did not ever expect. Many of the officers knew that
they were going to be dealing with well trained Iraqi army and militia
units. There might or might not be outside support and insurgents, but
I know the Iraqis are more than capable of messing up your day. These
guys have been trained to fight guerilla style and they don't give
up. We are in deep sh.t now that they have started to get more organised.
O1- I don't think that some of the higher level planners expected this
kind of resistance and guerilla activity. We tried to tell them m ago
that it wasn't just Ba'ath party members and Saddam supporters. Some
of the most highly trained guerrillas are Shiite and Kurdish. We are
going to be in some real trouble if the Kurds ever decide to join
together with the Shiites and fight against us. Throw the Sunni
radicals into the mix and it's total chaos with our guys stuck smack
in the middle. It's one giant cluster f..k and the US soldiers are
going to be the one that gets hurt and killed. That country is on the
brink of civil war right now. Years of subdued hatreds are now boiling
over. That is why you see all the different targets that are being hit
by the car bombs.
O2- Yeah, we are in a real meat grinder right now. The real danger is
that the whole country will erupt in civil unrest and the US troops
will be caught between many different rival factions. I don't look
forward to going back there, but I don't have a choice.
O1- You know, right after the invasion, the average Iraqi was happy to
see us get rid of the Saddam regime. You ask the same Iraqi how they
feel about us now, and they will openly admit that they hate us as bad
as Saddam, or even worse than Saddam.
JS- Why is that in your opinion? What made them change their feelings
toward US forces?
O1- You want to know the biggest reason? We still haven't accomplished
the mission we started out to do. Iraqis will tell you they don't fell
any freer, there is hunger all over the place, over half the country
is out of work, there is a huge lack of clean drinking water, and
their children are dying everyday from contaminated water, and from
our cluster bombs. The people do not see us living up to our promises
of liberation and democracy. Until we do what we promised them and get
out of there, they will keep killing us and hating us. Put yourself in
their shoes for a minute. Every American needs to ask themselves what
they would do in the same situation. I guarantee you that they would
not sit back and do nothing. They would want to fight back in whatever
way possible.
O2- Good point! I get really mad when they kill or injure one of my
men, but I have to examine why the attacks are happening. I am there
to lead and protect my men, and that means I have to be aware of what
is causing the attacks and what would stop them. I have asked many
Iraqis what it will take to get the attacks to stop. They all tell me
that the US needs to do what they said they would do, and leave them
to run their own country. The majority of Iraqis believed that the US
would come in, get rid of Saddam, and then go right back home. You and
I both know that is not going to happen anytime soon. We are going to
be there for at least another y or more in a very large force. There
is no way that Bush and his cronies are going to give up all that oil
and contracting dollars.
O1- Every day that we stay in Iraq, the resistance builds, and the
attacks are bigger and more prevalent. We are going to see many more
US soldiers die because of the failure of the US to live up to their
basic promises. In the end it is the basic line grunt that is the
victim of the Bush regimes drive for oil and profits. You won't see
one of the senator's kids over there. You will not see one of the
board members of Halliburton, Bechtel, KBR, or the other big
contractors losing a son or daughter. All they are going to do is make
money and send more troops to guard their convoys and assets.
We can't even go out in convoy with anyone from Halliburton or Bechtel
without drawing a crowd of angry Iraqis. They hate the Halliburton and
Bechtel guys worse than they hate the soldiers. It's like painting a
target on your back just to travel with those contractors and try to
protect them.
O2- Let me jump in here. I want to say that I am extremely mad that
Halliburton and Bechtel have better equipment than our own troops do.
The contractors have fully armoured Hummers and the best body armour.
The have us escort them in our lightly armoured Humvees and they ride
in heavily armoured vehicles. That is bullsh.t and every American needs
to know about it. It's been in the paper recently about how bad the
casualties have been from the older Hummers. Our vehicles don't provide
adequate protection, and that is a fu..ing outrage that needs to be fixed.
O1- I was getting to that, and it is a big problem. I think about 80%
of my unit casualties were coming from the Humvee crews. Do
you know that bullets go through an older hummer like it's made of paper?
Most of the hummers have canvas tops and plastic windows. If an IED
[improvised explosive device] hits you from the side, you are going to
get hurt or killed if you are in an older, lightly armoured hummer. The
recent increase in the amount of roadside bombs has been decimating my
men. Almost all my recent KIAs [killed in action] and WIAs [wounded in
action] were riding in a hummer. I was there when the CNN guys riding
in the hummer were injured. The attacker just chucked the grenade
right through the top of the vehicle. Most of the hummers are not
designed for heavy combat ops.
O2- I would say that at least half of my WIAs and KIAs were in a
hummer when it got hit. I think that in the last few wk before I left,
the average was more like 70-80%. It was something I have begged my
higher ups to take care of. I have not seen a significant response to
the problem yet. Man, they sent us to war in what is basically an
aluminium can with a canvas topper. How messed up is that? But of
course Halliburton and the other private contractors have the best and
newest vehicles and body armour.
O1- I saw some Saudi police or militia, I don't know which, that were
brought in by Kellog Brown and Root to provide security for the oil
fields. Those fu..ers had the body armour our own forces were supposed
to get. Bechtel got a whole bunch of body armour given to them for the
police force they are training. Our own Reservists and Nat'l Guard are
using Gulf War era equipment and some supplies are even older than
that. They are getting wiped out and needlessly wounded because they
don't have the proper body armour and vehicles.
The contractors seem to be able to keep their security forces supplied
with the newest and best gear. Some of the oil field security had
brand new Humvees and other equipment the reserve units would kill
for. There were a lot of the reservists lost because they didn't get
sent over with the right flak jacket. Let America think about that one
for a while.
Every American should demand a congressional injury about why our
troops were not equipped with the proper equipment to save their
lives. I know of at least 50 men that were killed because they did not
have the newer body armour, and some didn't have any body armour at
all. How the hell can the Pentagon justify sending a man into battle
without body armour? That is like driving down the freeway at 100
without a windshield or doors.
JS- So beyond a shadow of a doubt, there were some of our troops that
died because they just didn't have the right body armour or a properly
armoured Humvee? They actually sent units over with inadequate
equipment or no equipment at all?
O1- Yes, absolutely without a doubt! In my mind there can be no
mistake about it. Some of our soldiers, a large%age even, died
needlessly or were permanently disabled because there was improper or
missing equipment.
O2- Are you kidding me? You are actually asking me if there is any
doubt about it? I saw it with my own eyes and lost men because of
it. I didn't have to know it was happening to another unit. That fact
that it was happening to my men told me that. Some of the chemical
protection suits were completely useless, and our vehicles were
absolute pieces of shit.
We were driving one hummer as a command unit and it had 3 bullet holes
in one side. We reinforced the doors with whatever heavy scrap metal
we could find. We were scavenging for sheet metal ourselves and
competing with the Iraqis to see who could find the heavy gauge steel
and aluminium first.
Yeah, they knew some of our units didn't have any of the proper
equipment. How the hell could they not know, we told them enough and
some of us wrote to Col David Hackworth about it. I know one guy in my
unit who wrote one of the letters Hack put up back in Oct.
O1- So I guess you got the answer you were looking for right? At least
make sure everyone finds out about this. I would hate to say all this
stuff and then you don't do anything with it. I read the articles you
wrote back in Oct. I thought they were bullsh.t at first, but I met a
guy you talked to. I didn't think I would ever give an interview like
this. A lot can change in a few m time.
Now I am just about done with the Army's bullsh.t and the Pentagon is
about worthless as sh.t. It is going against everything the Army has
ever told me. I am just sick of seeing good men and women die. In the
end is it going to really mean anything that all these Americans shed
their blood in the sand? I don't think most of America really knows
how bad it is. We getting our asses kicked and no one is winning this thing.
O2- If you look at it really hard, the only ones that come out ahead
are Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the rest of those corrupt old
bastards. I mean come on, if all the soldiers who are actually
fighting this war can see that, what the hell is wrong with the
American citizens? We knew it was about oil from the beginning. Oil
and building huge bases that the US will have to staff for y to
come. There is no end in sight for the people serving in this war. How
about us, don't we have a say in this?
JS- Let me ask you how you feel about serving in Iraq and being
involved in the war.
O2- I'm proud that I served my country, I am proud to be an American
soldier. That is why it is so hard for me to say stuff like this about
our leaders and the govt. I hate doing this, but what the Pentagon and
Bush are doing to our soldiers makes me sick. I also get sick when I
think about how many Iraqi civilians I saw killed and terribly
maimed. I have seen 100s of kids missing body parts or dying from
dysentery and diarrhoea from contaminated water. I saw orphans who had
lost every family member and were starving in the street.
There are whole packs of orphans roaming around Baghdad and some of
the other cities. They scavenge for scraps and beg for food. It got
really bad after the Red Cross and the UN pulled out. Seeing 100s and
100s of maimed and starving children is one sight you will never
forget. I can't sleep sometimes, and I hear the kids crying in my
nightmares. I saw little kids with injuries like I never dreamed possible.
I was nr a hospital for a few wk after the ground war ended. I saw
100s of dead kids, and kids dying from gangrene and infection. If you
ever smell someone who has severe gangrene and flesh rotting you would
know what I was talking about. That is one smell you will never
forget. To see a little child with their arm or leg rotting off is one
of the most gruesome sights I could have imagined.
I never was prepared for anything like I experienced in Iraq. There is
no way in hell that the Army can train you to be able to handle
something like that. No amount of practice can even come close to the
reality I found in Iraq. There just wasn't anything to prepare any of
us who had never been in that kind of combat environment. I thought I
had seen some really nasty sh.t in Bosnia and then in Kosovo. Boy was I
ever wrong about that being as bad as it could get. I feel sorry for the
newer guys who hadn't ever seen any combat, or ever shot at a real person.
Coming under fire was another thing that fu..ed up some of my guys who
had never seen any action before. Some of them just froze and got shot
because they just didn't have the proper training to react the right way.
I must have seen at least 5 hundred dead bodies, and those were
just the ones you could see in plain sight. We could smell the ones
that hadn't been found in the rubble, and there were bodies in some of
the canals rotting for days or wks. Some of those canals were
downright ugly looking, and the smell was incredibly foul.
O1- I will never be ashamed of being in the Army or going to Iraq. I
do hate some of the things that we had to do to stay alive, and
sometimes it wasn't in any training manual or class you could take. I
thought I knew what it would be like, and had some ideas about what I
would do in certain circumstances. I had so many situations that we
just are not trained to handle.
I was not prepared to have to be a police officer or a peacekeeper. I
heard that over and over again from my men. They simply didn't know
how to be in a police force capacity or know much about doing the
urban peacekeeping patrols and standing checkpoint duty. I thought it
was a joke when they kept referring to us as a peacekeeping force.
There is no way we were able to act effectively to keep the peace. It
was all we could do to keep the patrol areas contained long enough to
bring in enough reinforcements to get us out of trouble. We got shot
at from rooftops, windows, and fields as we went by. Basically they
attacked us from anyplace they could get off a shot or 2.
I know that seeing the kids dead and injured was one of the worst
things for me too. There just wasn't a damn thing you could really
do. We didn't have a lot of food to spread around, and it was
extremely hard for us to get clean water.
The madness and chaos that hit the whole country was completely
overwhelming. I know a lot of my guys will come home with PTSD or worse.
We had a lot of guys flown out for going off the deep end. You could
just see it in their yes. They were right at the breaking point or
already over the edge. I heard about mn mile stares, and now I really
know what they are talking about.
I am about done with this if you got what you need. You won't get me
to say much else. I just wanted to get some of this stuff on record. I
think that enough people will believe it that it might make some kind
of difference. I just hope the people stop letting us die so senselessly.
Let us get the job done and get the hell out.
I don't want to have to write another letter to parents or a wife ever
again. I know that I will have to do way too much over the next couple
ms, or however long we are really over there. I just don't want to
have to tell another mother that her son or daughter is dead or
crippled for life.
Well so far we got rid of Saddam and the rest of his henchmen, and the
attacks on our troops still keep happening. I don't see the insurgents
or resistance backing down anytime soon. They are only going to fight
harder the longer we stay.
What I want to say as my final statement to America is "Stop letting
your proud men and women die so senselessly. If we are going to die
for our country let it be for something we can really be proud of. I
just don't see us making the US any safer from terrorists because of
what we are doing in Iraq. Bring us back home so we can defend the US
from real threats to our shores."
O2- Yeah, I pretty much agree with that. I am proud to serve my
country and even die for it. I know the risks of putting on the
uniform and accepting command. But damn it, if we are going to die,
make it for something that really is helping to defend the US. I agree
that we are dying senselessly for an idea of democracy in Iraq that
the US govt will never really let happen. I just want to be able to
look back on my service with total pride and that is not really what I
feel right now. I hate the ones in power that have made me question my
sense of duty and honour. I get so confused about it and there is no
one you can really talk to about that.
Don't let me have to ship anyone else's body back home. I don't want
to get shipped back in a box either. I have a family and I don' plan
on being in the Army forever. I want to have my mind intact, and not
wake up with nightmares about dead kids.
JS- One final question if you will permit it. The Pentagon has said
that one in 5 soldiers will come back with PTSD, or some form of
battle trauma. Is that about right or do you think there are going to
be many more than that who are permanently affected by this war?
O1- I think it is probably affecting at least half the men over there.
It's probably way more than that out of the ones in combat situations
everyday. They have had to evacuate at least 5000 soldiers for mental
reasons already. Who knows how many are having problems and are afraid
to tell anyone. I know that I will never be the same again. I have
nightmares and can't sleep very well. I know I won't ever forget some
of the things I saw, there is no way you can ever wipe out the sight
of dead kids and women, or seeing your men get slaughtered.
O2- Of course there are more soldiers with PTSD and mental problems
than the military will ever admit too. Look how long it took for some
of the Vietnam vets to get counselling and help for their mental
problems. I do think it is affecting about half the troops in Iraq. It
has to be affecting at least that many soldiers with as much combat as
we have seen. I don't think I got that many problems with it, but I
haven't had time to really stop and try to see how bad it has affected
me. It had to affect me at least a little bit. I wouldn't be human if
it hadn't scarred me a little. I feel sorry for the guys who don't
feel anything at all. I hope this war never makes me stop feeling
emotions like I did when I saw all those terrible things.
JS- I don't think you could have said it any plainer. Anything else
you want to say?
O1- No, I think I said way too much if I know what's good for me. That
is one thing that I am really upset about. I go off to fight for
democracy and freedom in Iraq, and I am scared to have my name on this
interview when I get back home to this supposed democracy. That just
pisses me off that I am afraid to speak out in my own country. How the
hell are we supposed to bring democracy to Iraq when the govt is going
after all the soldiers that have been speaking out?
O2- You have to have been out of the country for a few m to notice
it. I almost felt like I was coming home to a police state or something.
They were screening everyone at the airport and pulled aside some
elderly guy who was a prominent anti-war activist. I didn't catch his
name but a few people at the airport said he was a Christian peace
missionary who had been over in Iraq during the bombing campaign.
What are we coming to when we harass old men who have the courage to
challenge our notions of war? That was like a slap in the face to me
when I saw how rude and nasty they were to this kind looking old
man. He had the courage to stand up for what he believed in and that
is why I am in the military. I took an oath to defend our liberties
and to see them trampled on was insulting.
O1- I saw them screening several people when I came through, and it
just pissed me off. These were very peaceful looking people and I
heard one of them asking the security screeners what crime they had
committed. He said all he had done was question the war and the facts
behind it. One of the security goons said something like "You should
have thought about that before you had the nerve to question the
US. We don't like unpatriotic people in this country."
We are supposed to be fighting the war on terror against the
terrorists, not the people who should have the right to stand against
war if they want to. I hope that the country can see how dangerous it
is getting to speak out against this current Admin. I don't really
think the war protesters are right on most of their issues, but I
would fight to the death for their right and freedom to say it. I know a
lot of guys who have had their family protest the war. What's gonna
happen when they start arresting the soldiers families, or stop them
from flying on a plane?
O2- I know that some of my family has spoken out against the war. If
they were to try and arrest my mom or dad they would have a real fight
on their hands. I don't think the govt realizes how volatile something
like that would be. How ironic it would be if I go back to Iraq to
help them get a freely elected democracy, and they put my family in
jail for trying to protect our own democracy? We are in real critical
times right now. I don't think many of the military or their families
actually support this war. I don't know of any other time of war when
so many people with military family have spoken out in opp'n of a war.
Some of the men in my unit have family members that go to all the
protests, and are very active with anti war groups. Imagine if the FBI
were to just start arresting all those people. That is a very real
possibility if you look at the lengths the FBI and Homeland Security
has gone to keep track of protesters and activists.
O1- I want to say one more thing to all the American people. I guess I
just can't figure out when to shut my mouth.
WAKE UP! This war has become bogus if it ever had any legitimacy at
all, and it is only when you speak out that you will hold our leaders
accountable. Don't forget what this country was founded on. God Bless
America! I hope that everyone listens to what I had to say. Don't just
push my words off and go on about your daily routine. Ask yourself
what could have been so bad that I would speak out like this. Ask
yourself how bad it must be when I am willing to put my career on the
line to speak out.
O2- Yeah, that about says it for me too. Just think about what could
have possibly made me go out on a limb and do this interview. I am not
ready to go back to Iraq and die, but I don't have much choice. I just
want everyone who supports this war to think about this, and realize
that it must be one hell of a mess to get us to say all this. I never
would have thought I would be doing this type of interview. I would
have laughed in your face a y ago if you told me it would happen.
JS- Thanks for your time and for having the courage to speak out. This
will make a difference to the soldiers in Iraq and to all the families
who are supporting them. You really are true heroes. I wish you and
all the rest of our troops continued safety and that you come home as
soon as possible.
Twin bombs claim at least 50 lives in Iraq
Baghdad (ABC, Jane Hutcheon). At least 50 people have been killed in
twin suicide bombings in the north Iraq city of Arbil and snr Kurdish
officials are believed to be among the dead. The attacks come hrs
after the arrival in Baghdad of US Deputy Def Sec Paul Wolfowitz.
Within 5 minutes of each other, suicide bombers separately entered
the offices of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). Hospital sources say most of the
deaths occurred at the KDP offices, though it is understood snr
members of both parties are among the dead. The bombs struck as
residents began celebrating the 1st day of the Eid holiday, marking
the climax of the Haj. Earlier, US deputy defence secretary Paul
Wolfowitz arrived in the capital. It is his 3rd visit to the country
and follows a violent 24 hr in which almost 30 people have been killed.
US promises justice over Iraq suicide bombings
Baghdad (ABC, Jane Hutcheon). The US-led coalition in Iraq has vowed
to punish those responsible for coordinated suicide bombings which
have killed at least 56 people in the N city of Arbil.
The twin blasts injured more than 100 other people.
In a statement, Iraq's US administrator, Paul Bremer, described the
attack as cowardly and said those responsible for the acts would be
brought to justice.
The twin bombings took place within minutes of each other at the HQ of
rival Kurdish political parties -- the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
(PUK) and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
The offices were crowded with people visiting the Kurdish leadership
during the Muslim festival of Eid, which marks the climax of the Hajj
pilgrimage.
The deputy minister of the autonomous Kurdish Govt, Sami Abdul Rahman,
was killed in the attacks, together with other top officials.
Hospital sources say most of the deaths occurred at the KDP offices,
though it is understood snr members of both parties are among the dead.
Meanwhile, an American base N of Baghdad has been pounded by rockets,
killing a US soldier and wounding 12 others.
Around 20 killed in Iraq ammunition dump blast
Karbalah (Reuters). Around 20 people trying to loot an ammunitions
dump in SW Iraq were killed on Sun when the arms exploded, a Polish
military official said. "Attackers entered the bunker and the bunker
exploded, we estimate about 20 people were killed," Lt Col
Robert Strzelecki, a rep for the multi-nat'l force in S Iraq, said.
"They wanted to loot and steal ammunition from the bunker." He said
no coalition soldiers were injured. The identity of the looters was
not known. The explosion occurred about 6.30 am [local time], 180 km
SW of the town of Kerbala.
Iraq allows in foreign banks
Baghdad (AAP). Iraq announced it has awarded Brit's HSBC and Standard
Chartered and the Nat'l Bank of Kuwait (NBK) the 1st licences given to
foreign banks for 40 y.
The announcement came in a press release from the Central Bank of Iraq
(CBI) which also said it had decided to liberalise interests rates
from Mar 1.
HSBC, NBK and Standard Chartered Bank were selected "to proceed to the
final stage of the foreign bank licensing process" and should begin
operations before the end of the y, it said.
They were selected from 15 applicants representing "strong internat'l
banks and prestigious regional banks from the Arab world and Gulf
region" that responded to a CBI request for proposals which closed last Dec.
The CBI said it might select other banks at a later stage.
The CBI also said it will soon meet the 3 selected banks "to explain
the remaining technical elements of the licensing process" and
anticipated that "all 3 will be granted a license by mid-Mar 2004."
"The banks will be required to begin actual banking operations
on-ground in Iraq no later than Dec 31, 2004. These banks will bring
modern banking practices, capital and know-how to the Iraqi economy."
The invitation to foreign banks is the 1st since the banking sector was
nat'lised in 1964, 4 y before the former ruling Baath party swept to power.
Iraqi private banks were allowed to open in the early 1990s to
compensate for the devastating impact of UN sanctions imposed after
Iraq's 1990 invasion of neighbouring Kuwait.
The CBI also announced "the complete liberalisation of domestic
interest rates."
"Effective Mar 1, interest rates on deposits, loans, credits,
securities, and all other domestic financial instruments will be fully
determined by market conditions," said a statement from the bank.
The CBI touted the decision as one more step to modernise and overhaul
Iraq's rusty state-controlled financial system for a free-market economy.
"Supervision of all commercial banks, state-owned and private, is
being strengthened to ensure that banks function according to
internat'l standards," it added.
The bank also disclosed plans to "establish deposit insurance to
provide additional protection to small and medium sized depositors."
In Sep, Iraq announced liberal investment laws, allowing 100%
foreign ownership of companies.
Koizumi addresses SDF units
Tokyo (Yomiuri Shimbun). PM Junichiro Koizumi on Sun reiterated the
significance of the dispatch of Self-Defence Forces units for the
reconstruction of Iraq at the SDF camp in Asahikawa, Hokkaido.
In a speech during a ceremony to hand guidon to the main Ground
Self-Defence Force units going to Iraq, Koizumi said:
"The SDF units aren't going there to fight or join anti-terrorism
operations and they won't use force. I firmly believe the SDF will
bravely complete its tasks, which will be appreciated by Iraqis."
The ceremony was attended by about 600 troops who will engage in
humanitarian aid work in Samawah, S Iraq, under a law allowing the SDF
to carry out non-combat reconstruction.
Defence Agency Director Gen Shigeru Ishiba handed the flag to Col
Koichiro Bansho, cmdr of the units being dispatched.
At a pre-ceremony meeting to offer encouragement to the troops, GSDF
Chief of Staff Hajime Massaki said: "I hope all of you will complete
your mission and return to Japan safely. Do your best."
About 90 of the troops, mainly from the engineering corps that will
build a camp in Samawah, will leave on a govt plane Tue. The remaining
troops will follow by late Mar.
Over 100 Iranian MPs resign
Tehran (Still The BBC). Iran's political crisis has escalated, with
more than a 3rd of Iran's parliament resigning in protest against the
mass banning by hard-liners of candidates from this m's general
elections. The Council of Guardians has banned nearly 2,000 would-be
candidates from standing and most of them are allies of Pres Mohammed
Khatami. Mohsen Mirdamadi, a reformist member of parliament and one
of the 117 who has resigned, says that the lawmakers will not
compromise their democratic beliefs. "Today the main issue for us is
the plundering of the main achievement of the revolution and the
system's main symbol of anti-despotism -- an independent and free
parliament," he said. "Our main problem is that the nature of the
Islamic republican system is being transformed and the principles of
the constitution which guarantees the sovereignty of the people are
being made redundant."
8 killed in Taliban attack
Kabul. An Afghan official and 7 family members have been killed in a
bomb attack by suspected Taliban guerrillas and their allies in C
Afghanistan. Regional officials say Khalifa Sadaat, mayor of Deh Raud
district in Uruzgan district, and his family were returning from
shopping yesterday when their vehicle hit an explosive device planted
nr their house. Prov'l governor Jan Mohammad Khan says 3 of Sadaat's
children are among the dead.
Attacks in Afghanistan draw attention to Atlantic Canada's role in military
St John's, Newfoundland (CP). When friends and family gather in a
snow-covered graveyard this wk to bid a final farewell to Cpl Jamie
Brendan Murphy, Atlantic Canada will have buried 4 of its own since
the war on terrorism began in Afghanistan 2 y ago.
Though the region makes up less than 8% of the Canadian population, it
accounts for 22% of the Armed Forces. Yet it is still shocking to the
loved ones left behind that 4 of the 7 Canadian soldiers killed on
duty in Afghanistan hailed from the E Coast, most recently Murphy,
killed by a suicide bomber last Tue in Kabul.
"It is difficult to know that any of the young men are overseas and
giving their lives like that. It's such a senseless thing," said Joyce
Clooney, whose grandson, Pte Richard Green, died when his unit was
mistakenly bombed by a US fighter jet in Apr 2002.
"I don't know why the Canadian boys are there except that they've
always helped in countries that have needed them."
Green, from Mill Cove, NS, knew from a young age that he wanted to
join the military, and began training in high school to meet the
physical standards.
Within a few m of graduating, he signed up. He was 18.
"He just wanted to go to the services and make something of himself,"
said Clooney, who has a niece and nephew in the Forces as well as a
grand daughter's husband.
With a naval base in Halifax and an army base in Gagetown, NB, the
military has a very visible presence on the E Coast. There are also
smaller military stations in Moncton, NB, Goose Bay, Nfld, Gander,
Nfld, Greenwood, NS, and Shearwater, NS.
"There's a lot of visibility there," said Capt Vance White, rep for
Canadian Forces recruitment.
The area also has a higher unemployment rate than other regions of
Canada. As a result, the military is often the best career choice for
young Atlantic Canadians.
For Green, the choice was clear.
"Coming from a small area there wasn't much in the line of work," said
his grandmother. "He wanted something more and he thought he could do
something good by going in the military."
When Murphy, of Conception Harbour, Nfld, enlisted he was accompanied by 2
friends who signed up as well. He was the only one of the trio to enter
the military but he certainly wasn't the only one who thought about it.
Newfoundlanders make up less than 2% of the population but about 8% of
the Forces.
"With the work situation around here there's not a lot to do," said
Catherine Mansfield, one of the many residents of Conception Harbour
mourning Murphy's death last wk. "He did something."
It has been 2 y since Canadian ground troops 1st landed in Afghanistan.
Within a couple of ms, Canada saw its 1st casualties when Green,
Sgt Marc Leger, of Lancaster, Ont, Cpl Ainsworth Dyer, of Toronto, and
Pte Nathan Smith, of Porter's Lake, NS, died in the friendly fire incident.
They were the 1st Canadians to die in combat since the Korean War.
Last Oct, Sgt Robert Alan Short, of New Maryland, NB, and Cpl Robbie
Christopher Beerenfenger, of Ottawa, were killed when their vehicle
hit a mine while on a routine patrol outside Kabul.
Murphy was killed last Tue when a suicide bomber threw himself onto
the front of his jeep.
Clooney thinks these deaths may discourage young Atlantic Canadians
from joining the military in the future.
Canada's Armed Forces are under-funded and soldiers are facing an
increasing amount of danger, she suggested.
But White said that won't stop young men and women from signing up
because joining the military is a long-standing "family tradition" on
the E Coast.
* * *
Breakdown of 61,828 Canadian Armed Forces personnel by province or
territory of birth compared to provinces percentage of total Canadian
population:
Alberta: 4.4% of Forces; 9.85% of Canadian population.
Brit Columbia: 5.4 13.2%
Manitoba: 3.0 3.7
New Brunswick: 6.1 2.44
Newfoundland &
Labrador: 7.9 1.7
Nova Scotia: 10.0 3.03
NW Territories: 0.1 0.13
Ontario: 24.7 38.2
Prince Edward Is: 1.1 0.45
Quebec: 27.5 23.8
Saskatchewan: 2.7 3.3
Yukon: 0.1 0.1
Outside Canada: 6.2
Unknown: 0.8
Israeli Min threatens Islamic leaders
Jerusalem (AP). The leaders of violent Islamic groups are targets for
assassination, Israel's defence minister said Sun, raising the possibility
of a further escalation in the 3 y of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed.
Shaul Mofaz issued the threat in response to a declaration by the
spiritual leader of Hamas, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, that the group plans an
all-out effort to kidnap Israeli soldiers.
"The statements of Yassin just emphasise the need to strike the heads
of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad," Mofaz told the weekly meeting of the
Israeli Cabinet, according to an Israeli official who attended the meeting.
The statements by Mofaz and Yassin threaten to inflame an already
violent confrontation that has led to the deaths of more than 3,500
people on both sides during 3 y of fighting.
Last wk, Israel killed 8 Palestinians in a shootout in Gaza City,
while a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 11 people in Jerusalem.
Hamas took responsibility for the bombing, a day after a claim from
the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, loosely linked to Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.
Sun was a Muslim holiday, and Hamas officials were not available to
react to Mofaz's comments.
During more than 3 y of violence, Israel has carried out many pinpoint
attacks aimed at leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad -- often prompting a
violent response. In Sep, Yassin narrowly escaped an Israeli
airstrike in the Gaza Strip.
But Israel has greatly reduced the number of targeted killings in
recent ms. Last m, Mofaz's deputy, Zeev Boim, retracted
comments calling for Yassin's assassination, saying later that no
decision had been made.
Hamas, responsible for dozens of suicide bombings over the last 3 y,
also appeared to have scaled back its activities until a Hamas
female suicide bomber killed 4 Israelis at a Gaza-Israel checkpoint Jan 14.
Yassin encouraged kidnapping Israeli soldiers a day after Israel
released 400 Palestinian prisoners as part of an exchange with the
Lebanese militant group Hezbollah for a businessman and the bodies of
3 soldiers.
Yassin said it has become extremely difficult to capture soldiers,
apparently trying to explain why Hamas has failed to free the 7,000
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Also Sun, Israeli troops riding jeeps and a tank raided the town of
Jericho for the 1st time in ms, killing a Palestinian militant.
The fighting forced many residents to stay inside at the start of the
four-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
The military said troops entered the town to arrest fugitives planning
an attack. In the ensuing shootout, one fugitive was killed and
another wounded.
There were no Israeli casualties, and the army withdrew in the
afternoon. 3 houses were destroyed, Palestinians said.
Jericho, isolated in the Jordan River valley, has been relatively
untouched by the fighting.
The dead militant was Shadi Jaradat, an Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades member
from Jenin who apparently sought refuge in Jericho. Israeli security
officials said Jaradat, 23, was planning a bomb attack inside Israel.
Meanwhile, Israel said about 30 countries are supporting its position
in the upcoming case on the W Bank barrier before the Internat'l Court
of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. Israel maintains the world court
is not the proper forum for the issue.
Israel says the barrier is needed to protect against suicide bombers,
while the Palestinians say the structure, which dips deep into the W
Bank in some parts, amounts to a seizure of their land.
The UN General Assembly, with Palestinian backing, has sent the case
to the court for an advisory opinion. Israel has said the matter
should be addressed through negotiations.
The US and individual European Union states were among those
supporting Israel's argument.
However, the EU itself has not taken a position, according to
officials in its HQ city of Brussels, Belgium.
"If the court takes this on ... then there is no end to what political
disputes could reach the court, and this could politicise the court,"
said Alan Baker, the Israeli Foreign Ministry's legal adviser.
The expansive complex of trenches, fences, walls and razor wire, has
become one of the most contentious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, and both sides see the upcoming court hearing as an
important battleground for determining the project's fate.
The court will begin hearings on the barrier project Feb 23.
Brit opposes internat'l court review of security fence
London (Guardian). The Brit govt will today infuriate Arab opinion by
supporting Israel in a legal challenge to the construction of its
controversial wall along the W Bank.
The Foreign Office is to lodge an objection at the internat'l court of
justice in The Hague, which is scheduled to review the barrier's legality.
Israel has repeatedly argued that it needs the wall to protect it from
suicide bombers, such as the one responsible for yesterday's carnage
in Jerusalem.
But the Foreign Office minister Lady Symons, in an interview with the
Jewish Chronicle published today, says a hearing at the internat'l
court on the issue of the wall would "serve to politicise the court in a
way for which it was not designed." The objection comes in spite of
repeated declarations by the Foreign Office that the wall's
encroachment onto Palestinian land is illegal.
The 191-member UN general assembly last m voted for the court -- which
was established in 1946 and which is the UN's main judicial organ --
to provide an advisory opinion on the wall.
The resolution, which was initiated by Arab delegations, was passed
with 90 in favour, 8 against -- including Israel and the US -- and 74
abstentions, including Brit's.
The hearing is scheduled to begin on Feb 23, and a ruling could be
issued within wks. The court's opinion would not be binding, but it
could be a diplomatic embarrassment for Israel.
Part of the Foreign Office's fear -- one only expressed in private --
is that a precedent could be created of the general assembly referring
controversial issues to the court.
Brit could be vulnerable if a majority of countries were to choose to
refer the legality of the Iraq war to the court.
The Foreign Office argues in the submission that normally the court
only intervenes in boundary disputes if both parties agree -- and in
this case, Israel does not.
The Foreign Office said yesterday: "Our concerns relate to the role of
the court, not the legality of the route of the fence. It remains our
view that the building of the fence on Palestinian land is unlawful."
The deadline for submissions is today. AUS is to oppose the hearing,
and Germany is also likely to do so. The US has not yet said whether
it will make a submission. The French govt is expected to take a more
ambiguous position, combining in its submission opp'n to the hearing
with condemnation of the wall.
An attempt to find a common European position on the hearing had to be
abandoned.
Lady Symons, who visited Israel and saw the wall last wk, said in the
Jewish Chronicle that, while recognising Israel's security concerns,
"We do not believe that the security fence is in the right place. The
1967 line is where it should be, or indeed on the Israeli side of that line."
But Chris Doyle, the director of the Council for Arab-Brit
Understanding, yesterday dismissed as "bunkum" the Foreign Office
argument that the issue could politicise the court.
"The internat'l court is there to resolve political disputes," he said.
"It is there to mediate." He accused the Brit govt of abdicating its
responsibility in helping to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Israel challenges World Court right to rule on its wall
Occupied Jerusalem (Reuters, 31 Jan 2004). Israel yesterday formally
challenged the World Court's right to rule on the legality of a huge
barrier it is building in the W Bank, a Foreign Ministry official said.
"We believe the court should not and cannot deal with this political
issue, which has to be dealt with by direct negotiations between Israel
and the Palestinians," the official said after Israel filed its affidavit.
But the Palestinian Authority insisted The Hague-based Internat'l
Court of Justice had full jurisdiction and accused Israel of trying to
politicise the case and perpetuate the "occupation of 3.5 mn
Palestinians against their will."
With its legal challenge, Israel met a deadline for all interested
parties to submit arguments by yesterday. Israel says the barrier is a
security fence against suicide bombers.
Palestinians call it a land grab that pre-judges borders.
The tribunal, also known as the World Court, begins deliberations on
the project on Feb 23 in response to a UN General Assembly request to
rule whether Israel is legally obliged to tear down the barrier.
The internat'ly criticised barrier cuts deep into land that
Palestinians want for a state. The court has authorised the Arab
League to take part in the proceedings in support of the Palestinians.
Israel says completed sections of razor wire and concrete are already
keeping out suicide bombers. Palestinians call it an "Apartheid Wall"
designed to loop around Jewish settlement blocs and seal a permanent
hold on land Israel has occupied since the 1967 Middle E war.
Palestinian leaders have said construction of the barrier threatens an
already-tattered US-backed "roadmap" to peace.
But the Foreign Ministry official countered that it was the court's
involvement that would "directly damage" the peace plan.
Even the US, Israel's chief ally, has criticised the barrier's route
and pressed Israel to rethink it. Israeli PM Ariel Sharon told
ministers last wk there would be no change "as a result of demands by
the Palestinians or the UN... including the World Court."
Obscure jurist holds Sharon's fate
Jerusalem (Jerusalem Post). PM Ariel Sharon's political fate rests in
the hands of a relatively unknown jurist who has just been elevated to
the influential A-G post. As such, he must decide whether the Israeli
leader should be tried for corruption.
The cabinet vote to approve Menahem Mazuz, 48, as Israel's ultimate
authority on whether the evidence against Sharon, which has been
compiled by the police, will stand up in court and lead to a
conviction was so sensitive that Sharon did not participate in it
along with his deputy and stand-in, Trade and Industry Min Ehud Ohlmert.
Sharon is suspected of having been offered a hefty bribe by
controversial real estate developer David Appel and of having accepted
under-the-table donations from him for his election campaign.
His younger son, Gilead, has been interrogated for allegedly receiving a
$3 mn payoff for his services as a "consultant" in Appel's grandiose
scheme to buy a Greek island in the Aegean Sea and turn it into an
internat'l playground with casinos and other Las Vegas-style attractions.
The rub in Gilead's case is that he reportedly received $500,000 from
Appel while the balance -- $2.5 mn -- went to the Sharon family farm, a
destination widely believed to be a euphemism for the incumbent PM.
There are more legal questions being asked about Sharon. Among them
are his request for a $1 mn loan from a S African friend -- a sum he
reportedly wanted for electoral purposes -- and his desperate rush to
pay it back by moving funds through an Austrian bank with Gilead's help.
Eyebrows also are being raised about his alleged services as housing
minister in re-zoning agricultural land for commercial purposes.
Appel already is on trial for bribery. This has prompted many
rank-and-file Israelis to ask who the bribe's beneficiary was supposed
to be and, if it was Sharon, whether he should not be brought to justice too.
Political precedent in Israel dictates that a minister must resign if
indicted. And the consensus is that Sharon cannot be the
exception. But insiders here contend that the police will never be
able to cobble together an airtight case against Sharon.
It will be up to Mazuz to decide.
His record as a deputy A-G under his immediate predecessor, Elyakim
Rubinstein, suggests that he has the intellectual integrity and
professional competence to make an independent judgement.
Mazuz will be heard from on this score within the next 2 m, as
soon as he has had enough time to review the state prosecution's case
against Sharon and the police evidence upon which it is based.
Initial indications that there is serious doubt about Sharon's
political longevity emerged in the Tel Aviv stock market. It fell
precipitously immediately after the state prosecutor's case against
Appel was spelled out in court. There was a concurrent drop in the
Israeli shekel's value on the foreign currency market.
But the most impressive sign that Sharon may carry out his intention
to remain in office until the next nat'l election in 2007 "and beyond"
is that all of his potential successors are keeping mum. Every single
one of them, including the front-runner, Finance Min Benjamin
Netanyahu, adheres to the same litany: Sharon is the nation's elected
leader, his coalition govt is stable and those of his foes, local and
foreign, who expect him to fall are engaging in wishful thinking.
Annan rebuked by Israel for "biased" words on terrorism
NY (Reuters/Taipei Times). Israel's UN ambassador on Fri launched a
rare criticism of UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan for issuing a "vague"
statement on a Palestinian policeman who killed 10 Israelis in a
suicide bombing.
Ambassador Dan Gillerman told a news conference that while he
respected Annan's efforts toward a Middle E peace, the Sec-Gen's
statement on Thu signalled bias by failing to mention Israeli victims
in the Jerusalem explosion that also wounded 50 people.
"Vague references to those who resort to violence and terror that have
claimed innocent lives in the region are not sufficient," Gillerman said.
The ambassador's criticism was unusual as Israel has usually distinguished
between Annan, who has spoken frankly against anti-Semitism, and the
UN General Assembly, where Arab supporters have a majority.
Diplomats and UN officials could not remember Israel making such a
direct attack against the UN or Annan himself or calling a special
news conference to do so.
Saying Annan's statement made no specific reference to the Jerusalem
attack, Gillerman said, "This is in distinct contrast to the tendency
of the office of the Sec-Gen to issue statements of reprimand, with
clear and specific detail, when Israel engages in defence measures
against terrorist operatives."
Annan's statement said in part: "Once again violence and terror have
claimed innocent lives in the Middle East. Once again I condemn those
who resort to such methods."
Apparently anticipating Gillerman's news conference, Annan told
reporters in Brussels, "As you know, I have always condemned without
reservation suicide bombings that take innocent lives."
UN rep Marie Okabe said Annan's Middle E policy should be seen in
light of all the statements he had issued on the subject and one
statement did not "make a policy."
Gillerman acknowledged that Israel now was taking the offensive in
delivering criticism and proposing resolutions and statements in the UN.
He said Israel had a hand in asking the US to prepare a Security
Council statement condemning the Jerusalem attack by a Palestinian
Authority policeman.
The council hit an impasse Thu when Algeria and others argued that any
statement should 1st denounce an Israeli raid that killed eight
Palestinians in Gaza on Wed and then condemn the suicide bombing,
diplomats said.
Gillerman said he had noticed a trend in Annan's secretariat over
recent ms. He singled out a requested General Assembly report on
Israel's security barrier and said the Sec-Gen's dossier showed a
"bias ... that borders on the absurd."
Israel's "execution" troops face death quiz
The army says the Nablus incursion was an anti-terrorist operation,
but witnesses describe as cold-blooded killing.
Jerusalem (Observer). The Israeli army is under growing pressure to
explain a series of deaths of Palestinians in a 3-wk operation in
the W Bank city of Nablus.
According to witnesses and medical evidence, at least 2 of the 19
deaths during the operation have the hallmarks of executions.
The operation was launched on 16 Dec to track down Naif Sharekh, who
the army say was behind the movement of suicide bombers from Nablus to
Israel. The UN representative in the city described it as "one of the
largest military operations in Nablus since Operation Defensive Shield
started in Apr 2002".
By the time the army reduced its presence on 6 Jan, it had killed 4
gunmen and 15 unarmed civilians including 6 children.
One Israeli and one Palestinian human rights group are investigating
the killings and want the army to launch its own inquiry, but it is reluctant.
Following the shooting of Brit student Tom Hurndall, 21, last y, it
insisted that its soldiers had shot an armed terrorist. 6 m later,
following immense pressure from the Hurndall family, the army charged
one of its soldiers with unlawful killing.
Ala Dawaya, 21, was on his way to work as a baker when he was shot by
Israeli soldiers in the old town of Nablus on 18 Dec. An ambulance was
called and driver Adnan Soso arrived to see the wounded man sitting
upright and still alive a few metres from an army Jeep.
"I was called at around 3am to an area known as the onion market," he
said. "I got there within about 3 minutes and saw an injured man lying
against a wall within metres of an Israeli Jeep."
He reversed to the end of the street, from where he could still see
the injured man and the Jeep. "Then they started shooting at the man
from the Jeep. Every time they shot, the body moved and they waited
then shot again, sometimes twice. They shot him about ten times over
several minutes," he said.
Eventually, the shooting stopped and the Jeep allowed the ambulance to
approach. "The man was dead and both his eyeballs were hanging out. I
looked at what he had in the black plastic bag next to him. Trousers,
shoes and an overall, covered in flour. We put him on a stretcher and
got him into the ambulance.
"As we were about to pull away, the Jeep approached. The soldier said:
"Is he dead?" He then asked what was in the bag and I showed him. He
asked for the dead man's identification card and spoke on the radio
for a few minutes. He then told us to take the body away."
The ambulance took the body to Rafidia Hospital where it was examined
by Dr Samir Abu Zarour. Although not trained in post-mortems, he is
the closest thing to an expert in Nablus, having examined 250 shooting
victims in the past 3 y.
"He had been shot between 8 and 10 times, including twice in the face
and once in the testicles, and had a series of fragmentation wounds in
his legs," he said.
The army rep said that Nablus was under curfew at the time of the
shooting in order to separate civilians from terrorists.
"Soldiers identified a terrorist planting an explosive device in the road.
They shot him and when they examined the bag, it contained explosive
material, as suspected. They later discovered he was a member of
Islamic Jihad." The rep denied soldiers had shot him several times.
On 7 Jan, as part of the same operation, a large number of troops
entered the al Makhsia neighbourhood around 3am, surrounded the house
of the Qassas family and ordered them to leave, according to Mofida Qassas.
"My father, my uncle and aunt and I had to leave, but they kept my 4
brothers inside. The last time I saw Abdul he was tying his shoelaces
surrounded by Israeli soldiers," she said.
Addul Qassas, 25, had returned to Nablus from Saudi Arabia 2 y ago
after learning to make curtains at a relative's business. His 3
brothers were taken away by the Israelis. One remains in jail, but the
others were released. The soldiers searched the house, spraying some
rooms with bullets and a prolonged gun battle began outside. Witnesses
were unable to say what was happening because they were keeping their heads
down. Qassas was taken to the next door garden, where he was questioned.
Nobody saw what happened to him.
Amra Sadija, a secretary at the Palestinian Ministry of Education, said:
"The shooting was continuous for hrs. Between 5am and 6am, I heard a
man screaming. He kept repeating: 'I swear to God, I don't know who he is.'
His voice was so high I could not recognise who it was. I could not
tell what happened to him because there was still shooting everywhere.
Eventually, everything went silent. At about 6 am, I heard movement and
at 6.30 am the soldiers moved out."
Neighbours found the body of Qassas metres from his home. Again the
body was taken to Rafidia Hospital and Dr Zarour. "I was called at
6.45am and arrived at the hospital 7am. Abdul Qassas had been shot
twice, once through the upper lip with the bullet leaving the body in
the middle of the back," he said.
The bullet's trajectory suggested the victim was kneeling when he was
shot, said Zarour and the size of the wounds suggest it was fired from a
range of between 3 and 5 m.
The army rep said soldiers spotted Qassas hiding and feared he was a
sniper: "They began an arrest procedure, shouting at him in Arabic and
Hebrew. They fired warning shots. Then, fearing he was about to shoot,
they shot him. He was found to be unarmed, but the soldiers later
found out he was a wanted man."
His family do not know why Abdul was shot, but it is possible the
troops suspected him of sheltering a man whose body was found in the
same garden that morning. Ibrahim Atawi, 32, was a snr figure in the
al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade in Nablus.
It is not clear whether he was involved in the gun-battle or how he died.
Zarour said: "His body was like a collander. I counted 15 bullet
wounds of different calibres and there could have been more. 3 bullets
were fired directly at his nose. His right knee had been smashed to
pieces. I think it was with a rock because the injuries looked as if
there had been a grinding effect. Also his trousers were shredded
around the knee and there were bits of grass on his skin and in his flesh."
His left arm had been cut twice with a knife and there were what
looked like dog bites on his arm and around his testicles. "I do not
have the expertise to say if the wounds were administered before or
after he was shot," he said.
The army rep said Atawi approached soldiers with a handgun. "They
fired before he could shoot them. The gun was later found to be loaded."
He denied Atawi had the injuries the doctor alleges.
The high number of deaths in Nablus over Christmas and their brutal
nature have largely been ignored by human rights groups and the media
because Nablus is isolated, but slowly people are beginning to pay attention.
Noam Hossfatter, a rep for B'tselem, an Israeli human rights group,
said they were examining Qassas' death with a view to pressing the
army to investigate: "At the moment there is no eyewitness, so we
cannot yet say there was an execution but if someone was in custody
and was then found dead it would suggest something very unusual took place."
Bassem Eid, director of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group,
said his organisation's lawyer was expected to write to the Israeli
military A-G asking him to investigate.
=== end 2/4 ===
R Kym Horsell
Perth (AAP). PM John Howard denied he was embarrassed by new doubts
over the accuracy of intel used to justify the Iraq war.
Mr Howard said he made the decision to join military action against
Iraq based on intel from AUS agencies and from his own direct talks
with Brit and US intel agencies.
"I did have a number of direct discussions with the head of Brit intel
and also with snr people in the CIA, all of which confirmed the advice
we had been receiving from our own agencies," Mr Howard told ABC radio
in Perth.
"We went to war primarily because of the WMD issue and because of the
continued non-compliance by Iraq with resolutions of the Sec Council."
Asked if he was embarrassed in the light of former chief US weapons
hunter David Kay's finding that there were no stockpiles of chemical
or biological weapons in Iraq, Mr Howard said he was not.
"I'm not embarrassed because intel is an imprecise science," he said.
"You have to make judgements on the material that you have at the time
and the material that we had available at the time very strongly
suggested the possession of WMD.
"There are differences of view and there are different conclusions
about the immediacy and the quantity but the jury is still out.
"If we had our time over again, I would not have taken a different
decision."
Mr Howard ruled out following Brit and the US in calling an inquiry
into the intel, saying Aussies should wait for the report of a
parliamentary committee inquiry into the issue.
"We actually have had a parliamentary inquiry and the 1st term of
reference ... is the nature, the accuracy, the independence of the
intel that was relied on," Mr Howard said.
"So on the merits of it, it could be said that we've already had the
inquiry and maybe the sensible thing to do is to let the public see
what is in that report.
"I have actually seen the report but I am not allowed to talk about it
because it's not my report, it's a parliamentary committee report."
Howard stands by Iraq decision
Perth. The PM says he is not embarrassed about his decision to send
troops to Iraq, even though he concedes the intel used to justify the
attack may have been wrong.
John Howard is yet to be convinced another inquiry into that intel is
warranted.
Mr Howard says before the war there was strong intel suggesting Iraq
had banned weapons.
While there are now growing doubts about that intel, he says he does
not resile from his decision to go to war.
"I am not embarrassed ... because intel is an imprecise science," he said.
Mr Howard says a parliamentary committee will soon report on the
accuracy of that pre-war intel.
He has guaranteed that report, which he says he has seen, will not be
vetted in any way.
Labor leader Mark Latham thinks a 2nd investigation may well be needed.
"If there's any doubt about the matter, if the truth hasn't been established,
if we need further inquiries then in the nat'l interest we should."
He says lessons need to be learnt from this experience, so mistakes
are not repeated.
Wilkie demands independent Iraq probe
Canberra. A former AUS intel officer has called for an independent
inquiry into the accuracy of pre-war info about Iraq's banned weapons
programs.
Andrew Wilkie quit the Office of Nat'l Assessments in Mar last y,
saying the AUS Govt had exaggerated the case for war against Iraq.
Mr Wilkie says a fed parliamentary inquiry which has examined the
issue in AUS is a whitewash.
He says there needs to be an independent investigation.
"It needs to be a genuinely independent inquiry," Mr Wilkie said.
"It needs to be an inquiry that not only looks at the intel but looks
very carefully at what the Govt did with that intel.
"I don't think the current parliamentary inquiry headed by David Jull
is the answer."
The US and the UK have announced they will hold separate independent
inquiries into intel-gathering about Iraq's supposed WMD.
PM John Howard says AUS will make its own decision on whether to hold a
similar probe.
"In the fullness of time it might be demonstrated that the [intel]
advice [on Iraq] was inaccurate but to say it was bogus is an unfair
observation," Mr Howard said.
Opp'n leader Mark Latham says AUS should have an independent inquiry
into the pre-war intel on Iraq's banned weapons, if that is needed to
get to the truth.
Mr Latham says he will know whether another investigation is needed,
after he sees the report of a parliamentary inquiry on the matter,
which is due to be released next m.
But he has accused the Govt of closing its mind to the prospect of a
2nd investigation.
"Sen Hill, the Defence Min, has said he doesn't see the need for
further inquiries," he said.
"We've got to be open-minded in ensuring that we always get it right
for AUS and mistakes that have been made in the past aren't repeated
in the future, particularly when it comes to the primary
responsibility of govt -- keeping the nation safe and secure."
Political infighting delays Italy media bill
Milan (Reuters). Italy's controversial media bill has suffered a
setback when the Govt, hit by coalition infighting, decided to delay
final voting rather than risk a parliamentary defeat.
The legislation, which critics say is tailor-made for PM Silvio
Berlusconi's business interests, is going through Parliament for a
second time after Pres Carlo Azeglio Ciampi vetoed the original
version and demanded amendments.
When the revised text went before the Lower House of Parliament on
Tue, coalition leaders swiftly decided to send it back into a
cross-party commission for further review after they struggled to win
votes on various amendments.
"The problem doesn't regard the merit of the law, but the political
picture," Communications Min Maurizio Gasparri, who has lent his name
to the law, said.
The bill, which raises limits on media ownership, was approved by
Parliament last y, but Mr Ciampi refused to approve it, saying it did
not guarantee the plurality of Italian media.
Tue's parliamentary retreat comes as Mr Berlusconi tries to resolve
rows within his four-party coalition that have raised tensions over
all areas of policy making.
In a sign of the growing friction, amendments to the media bill passed
by just a handful of votes on Tue, despite the fact that Mr Berlusconi
commands a huge parliamentary majority.
Shares in Berlusconi-controlled TV network Mediaset, which stands to
benefit from the media law, closed down 1.4% at 9.44 euros on the
Milan bourse.
The Govt says the law is necessary to allow Italian media firms to
cope with foreign competition.
Mr Berlusconi's critics say it is designed to allow Mediaset to expand
out of TV and into publishing and radio.
Gasparri made 7 amendments to the law originally rejected by Mr Ciampi
and the revised package had been expected to pass into law fairly
smoothly, with the Pres unable to veto the same bill twice.
It was not immediately clear when Parliament might approve the
new-look bill.
Ex-Bosnian Serb policy maker faces war crimes trial
The Hague (BBC/Reuters/AFP). One of the highest ranking members of
the Bosnian Serb leadership during the Bosnian civil war in the 1990s
has gone on trial in The Netherlands on war crimes charges. He was
the right-hand man of Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, who is
still at large. Momcilo Krajisnik is accused of genocide for
allegedly masterminding an ethnic cleansing campaign against Bosnian
Muslims and Croats in the early 1990s. He took notes during the
opening remarks by the prosecutor, who described him as "a shrewd and
calculating man, an unrelenting nat'list" and the chief policy maker
of the Bosnian Serbs. The prosecutor said Krajisnik held the levers
of power with Radovan Karadzic, and as part of a joint criminal
enterprise, they planned to create a unified Serbian state.
DC ricin scare leaves Senate unscathed
Washington (AP). A jittery Senate faced its 2nd attack with a deadly
toxin in 28 m on Tue, this time in the form of ricin powder sent to
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. Another letter containing ricin and
bound for the Whitehouse had been intercepted in Nov, a law
enforcement official disclosed.
No illnesses were reported in either case, but dozens of Senate
workers were being monitored and work in the Senate slowed to a crawl.
Health experts expressed optimism that casualties would be averted in
the new attack. None of the dozens of congressional employees who were
nr the Tennessee Republican's office on Mon when the white powder was
discovered was believed to be sick.
"As each minute ticks by, we are less and less concerned about the
health effects," said Dr Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
The ricin-laced letter addressed to the Whitehouse had been detected
at an off-site mail processing facility, the law enforcement official
said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The investigation into that letter continues, and there have been no
arrests, the official said. Authorities determined the letter posed no
threat to health because of the ricin's low potency and granular form.
In Oct, officials intercepted a package containing ricin at a
Greenville, SC, postal facility.
The S Carolina package, which included a letter signed by "Fallen
Angel," and the one addressed to the Whitehouse were similar, a snr
law enforcement official said on condition of anonymity Tue. Both
contained ricin, and both complained about new regulations requiring
certain amounts of rest for truck drivers, the official said.
But it was unclear if those were connected to the substance found in
Frist's mail room, the official said.
On Capitol Hill, all 3 Senate office buildings were shut Tue and were
to be closed Wed, too. They could be closed the rest of the wk.
That included the Dirksen Senate Office Building, where the substance
was found Mon afternoon by a young worker in Frist's fourth-floor
mailroom. A sign stating "Closed" hung from one of Dirksen's main
doors. Yellow sheets cordoned off areas inside.
The Capitol building -- where heavy security and a persistent case of
nerves have reigned since the terrorist attacks of Sep 11, 2001 --
was closed to tourists.
Frist and others said tests overnight showed the substance was ricin, a
natural and potent poison made by refining castor beans.
Frist said the ricin was active, or capable of causing illness, but
tests measuring its potency were incomplete.
Health officials urged Senate staff to watch for swiftly developing
fever, coughs or fluid in the lungs over the next 2 or 3 days.
When inhaled in sufficient quantities or injected, ricin can be fatal
-- and there is no known vaccine or cure.
Frist's offices in Tennessee were also closed as investigators checked
mail there, said Frist rep Nick Smith.
In Washington, senators gave many aides the day off and brought others
to work in small Capitol offices the lawmakers normally use as private
hideaways.
The FBI and other agencies were conducting other tests. At Fort
Detrick, Md, Army scientists were using electron microscopes to
determine the size of the ricin's particles -- crucial to determining
whether any of it may have been inhaled.
Senate leaders made a show of calm and control. They said they had
refined their ability to respond to emergencies since the anthrax
attacks of late 2001 with better communications and coordination.
"Things are going very well, not perfectly, but very, well," said
Frist, a medical doctor who has advised Capitol colleagues about
potential terror attacks through the mail ever since the anthrax
letters of late 2001.
Frist said 16 potentially exposed staff workers had been quarantined
Mon night and decontaminated with showers. Rep Bob Stevenson later
raised that figure to 24, plus an uncertain number of Capitol police
officers who took precautionary showers after their shifts.
But other Senate aides, including at least one who was quarantined,
said the figure was 40 to 50, including about 10 Capitol police
officers and aides to Frist, Sen James Jeffords, I-Vt, and the Senate
Environment and Public Works Committee.
At a briefing for reporters, Frist said there was not yet info on how
dangerous this sample of ricin powder was.
Democratic leader Tom Daschle of S Dakota said tests of air filters
showed the chemical had not been circulated through the buildings'
ventilation systems.
But Sen Lindsey Graham, R-S.C, emerging from a lunch where Frist,
Capitol police chief Terrance Gainer and Capitol physician John Eisold
briefed Republican senators, said the 3 had expressed concern.
"There was something specific about this that made them worry," Graham
said. "Somebody knew what they were doing. ... Frist said the type,
the way it was presented indicated that people understood it goes into
the air and gets into lungs."
There were also questions raised about how effectively senators and
aides were told about the attack and the potential jeopardy they faced.
"We weren't notified promptly enough yesterday," said Sen Tom Harkin,
D-Iowa, who said one of his aides worked well into the evening in the
Dirksen building. "But that's OK, people make mistakes."
One aide who was quarantined -- which did not occur until 6.30 Mon
evening -- said many co-workers had already gone home. This aide said
those quarantined were asked to telephone colleagues who had left and
tell them to shower and put their clothes in a bag.
Frist and police chief Gainer said investigators were still uncertain
which, if any, piece of mail the ricin had come from.
Gainer said officials had not yet found any "visible threat," such as a
menacing letter. The ricin was found on a device that opens mail,
authorities said.
Workers began retrieving mail from all Senate and House offices as
authorities worried that contaminated mail may have been sent to other
lawmakers. In Oct 2001, anthrax-tainted letters were mailed to
then-Senate Majority Leader Daschle and to Sen Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
Officials said there was no evidence of ricin elsewhere in the Capitol
complex, though as a precaution the postal facility that processes
Congress' mail was shut. In 2001, 2 postal workers in Washington were
among 5 people who died from anthrax exposure.
Across the Capitol, the House conducted business as usual. Senate
leaders decided to hold no votes and cancelled all committee hearings,
though senators trooped to the chamber floor to debate a highway bill.
"Terrorist attacks and criminal acts of this kind won't stop the work
of the Senate or the Congress as we have important work to be done,"
said Daschle.
Ricin letter sent to Whitehouse
Washington (AFP). US authorities intercepted a letter to the White
House 3 ma containing the toxic ricin poison, a law enforcement source said.
"In Nov, a letter addressed to the Whitehouse containing a fine,
powdery substance was intercepted at an off-site mail handling
facility," the source said on condition of anonymity.
"The substance tested positive for ricin. However, it was also
determined that there was no public health risk because of the low
potency and the granular form of the substance."
News of the letter was released in the hrs after ricin poison was also
sent to the US Senate in Washington, sparking a new bio-terrorism scare.
US Secret Service rep Tom Mazur said the Whitehouse letter "is part
of an ongoing investigation, we can't comment on the details."
The mail office where the letter was found has handled all mail for
the Whitehouse since a wave of letters containing anthrax were sent
to govt offices and media in late 2001.
Since then all correspondence addressed to the Whitehouse has been
taken to a military centre nr Washington to be checked before delivery.
Authorities closed 3 US Senate office buildings Tue after toxic ricin
powder was found in what a congressional leader called a terrorist attack.
The powder was found in the mailroom of the head of the Republican
majority in the Senate, Bill Frist, and a series of tests had confirmed
it was ricin, said Terry Gainer, the police chief for the district
which takes in the US Congress buildings.
16 people who were nr the room went through decontamination procedures
but none were believed to be harmed by the powder, officials said.
There is no known antidote to ricin poison, which normally kills
within 72 hr.
Tom Daschle, the Democratic leader in the Senate, said: "I believe
that it is an act of terrorism."
Wife of terror suspect Brigitte makes jail visit
[Contrary to prev reports...].
Paris. The AUS wife of deported terrorism suspect Willie Brigitte has
visited him in a French prison. Soon after arriving in Paris, Melanie
Brown was detained and questioned for several days by France's
domestic intel agency, before being granted permission to see Mr
Brigitte. The couple's AUS lawyer, Stephen Hopper, says Ms Brown is
in good spirits and has vowed to stand by her husband. "She's now of
the opinion that he's innocent, she's had a talk to him about what's
happened and that's what she believes at the moment," he said.
"Certainly it's been an emotional experience for her and ... she
really just wants to be left alone to sort her private life out. "She
feels it's nobody's business but hers."
China battles more bird flu cases
Beijing. (ABC, John Taylor). China's battle with bird flu is
intensifying, with several new outbreaks of the deadly virus reported
across the country. There are now 17 cases of suspected bird flu
across 12 provinces, or one-third of China's regions. 4 other
outbreaks have been confirmed as the deadly H5N1 virus. Tests are
being conducted to confirm the other areas. China reported its 1st
case of bird flu just a wk ago and has moved swiftly to slaughter
affected animals and quarantine surrounding areas. The World Health
Organisation says it has requested info on the surveillance and
vaccination efforts but nothing has been forthcoming. No human cases
of the virus have been reported in China.
Experts meet over bird flu crisis
Rome (BBC/AFP). Internat'l food, health and animal experts are
holding emergency talks in Rome on strategies to contain and deal with
the bird flu outbreak in South-East Asia. Tens of mn of chickens have
been killed and a deadly strain of the virus has transferred to humans
in Thailand and Vietnam. 13 people have died from the disease in
Asia. At least 25 internat'l experts from 14 countries are attending
the 2-day closed meeting, including officials from affected nations.
They hope to achieve a consensus on options for tackling the outbreak
and develop action plans for individual countries. Health officials
say that culls of poultry, if carried out safely, are the best way to
contain the disease. But animal vaccination, used alongside culling,
is another option being discussed. Experts are divided over the
benefits of giving birds flu jabs -- they are not proven to provide
protection against the virulent H5N1 strain.
[Something for Izzy and other cancer-phobes in denial].
Cancer survival improves despite more cases
London (Guardian). The cancer death rate has fallen by 18% for men
and 6% for women in a generation, the charity Cancer Research revealed
yesterday.
The overall 12% reduction in mortality between 1972 and 2002 contrasts
with recent figures showing a steady rise in new cancer cases, many of
them related to lifestyle factors, including smoking, drinking and obesity.
But better screening, treatments and quality of life care have helped
to improve the 5-y survival rate [sometimes called "cure" rates by
right-wing sociologists] for many cancers.
The lung cancer death rate in men has fallen by nearly 1/2 in 30 y,
but remains higher than for women, in whom the rate has risen by more
than 1/2 in the same period.
The number of deaths from breast cancer in every 100,000 of the
population has fallen by a fifth, and there have been significant
falls in bowel and stomach cancer mortality.
But there have been huge increases in death from liver cancers, cancer
of the oesophagus, malignant melanomas from increased exposure to the
sun, and multiple myeloma [cancer of the plasma cells in bone marrow].
There has also been a big increases in prostate cancer deaths.
Cancer Research UK is looking on the bright side as it begins a new
fundraising campaign to increase its spending on research, which
amounted to #191 mn last y. Its TV press, radio and billboard
advertising is aimed at persuading people to give #2 a m towards
further research, providing up to #16 mn for new projects.
The adverts stress that more patients are hearing the words "all
clear", both after initial treatment and later check-ups.
Prof Peter Selby, head of Cancer Research UK's unit at St James's
hospital, Leeds, said 40% of cancer patients overall now survived at
least 5 y and a 50% rate was "within reach". Between 350 and 400
new drug treatments were in the pipeline.
Iraqi Kurds vow unity as blast toll reaches 67
5 arrested in connection with attacks on US soldiers.
Arbil (AFP). Leaders of Iraqs 2 main Kurdish parties said yesterday
that recent suicide attacks would only help forge closer ties between
their once-rival groups, as the death toll from the blasts reached 67.
US military officials said the number killed in Suns coordinated
attacks had risen to 67 from an earlier estimate of 56 and those
wounded numbered 247.
Doctors in Arbil said many of the wounded were in critical condition
and feared the toll could climb further.
The attacks, the worst since a suicide car bomb killed more than 80
outside a mosque in the holy city of Najaf last Aug, killed several
snr members of the main Kurdish parties the Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party.
The PUK and the KDP, whose militias fought a civil war in the 1990s,
have become more tightly aligned in recent y and are both closely allied
to the US, having staunchly backed the war to overthrow Saddam Hussein.
Kurdish leaders said the attacks, rather than dividing the parties,
were likely to bring them closer as they push for greater autonomy for
an enlarged fed Kurdish region.
This has had a devastating effect on the Kurdish leadership because we
have lost so many valuable people, Hoshiyar Zebari, Iraqs foreign
minister and a Kurd, said in Arbil. But I also definitely believe that
this incident has brought Kurds together and strengthened their unity.
Yet that greater bond could influence US plans for the transfer of
sovereignty to an Iraqi govt ahead of a Jul 1 deadline, as tensions
between various ethnic and religious groups become increasingly visible.
Gareth Stansfield, an Iraq expert at Brits Exeter University, noted
the bombings came at a time when Kurdish demands for autonomy within a
fed system had become a sensitive issue with other Iraqis and the US.
This could be the trigger that galvanises the KDP and PUK into making a
vociferous demand for heightened autonomy, Stansfield said in London.
There could be an immediate reaction by Barzani and Talabani to
toughen their position.
The leaders of the KDP and PUK, Masoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani
respectively, issued statements after the blasts saying the attack
only made them more determined to remain united.
Stansfield said Kurds would see this as a defence against endemic
instability threatening to spill into the N from the rest of Iraq,
adding the KDP and PUK would take the opportunity to clamp down on
Ansar Al Islam and even moderate Islamist groups.
In Arbil, in the far N of Iraq, mourners wearing black armbands and
dressed in their smartest clothes in recognition of the Eid Al Adha
Muslim feast paid their respects to the dead at the site of the
bombings and outside the city's main mosque.
Snr figures from both the PUK and the KDP attended prayers, where
peshmerga fighters the militia for the Kurdish parties frisked
visitors as they entered.
Residents of Arbil, which many considered one of the safest cities in
Iraq, said they were worried about the city becoming a target for
insurgents and anti-American fighters.
Once it was safe here, at least safe compared to Iraq, said Saadi
Adnan, a man waiting outside the mosque.
Now its al-Qaeda, Palestinians, Arabs they have their cells here and
you can tell it was them who carried out the attack by the way they
tracked the officials.
No one had claimed responsibility for the bombings, but Kurdish
officials have said they believe it could have been the work of Ansar
Al Islam, a militant organisation with links to the al-Qaeda network
and which used to operate in N Iraq.
Zebari said that as much as being an attack on Kurds, the bombings
were also a scar on Iraqs nascent democracy.
This is an attack on democratic principles. The parties that were
targeted are the nucleus of any democratic life in Iraq. They have
legitimacy, they have won elections.
The US army yesterday arrested 5 men, including 3 suspected of
killing American servicemen in a weekend bombing in N Iraq, Iraqi
police said.
The Iraqi police chief in the N oil city of Kirkuk, Col Turhan Yusef,
said that troops from the US 4ID (ID) arrested 3 Iraqis in connection
with a bombing on Sat that killed 3 soldiers.
The 3 men Abdullah Zoba, Khodr Ali and Abdul Jabbar Riyashi were
arrested in a dawn raid on a village nr the town of Rashad, 40 km S
of Kirkuk, he said. They are suspected of planting a roadside homemade
bomb that killed 3 US soldiers, 45 km SW of Kirkuk.
A US rep could not immediately confirm the arrests of the three, but
said 2 other Iraqis had been detained yesterday for trying to detonate a
roadside bomb.
The explosive device was planted on a road as a US convoy returned
from a memorial service to its base in Kirkuk.
According to Iraqi police major Abdul Kareem Ali Al Juburi, the device
weighed 50 kgs and was hidden in a rice bag at 1.5 km from the US base.
Death toll from Iraq suicide bombs hits 101
Arbil (Reuters). US officials say the death toll from twin suicide
attacks on the offices of the main political parties in the N Iraqi
town of Arbil at the weekend has risen to 101.
Both the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan (PUK), the main parties in Iraqi Kurdistan, lost several snr
politicians when bombers attacked on Sun.
The attacks were timed to coincide with celebrations for the Muslim
Eid Al-Adha, or Feast of the Sacrifice, holiday.
A rep for the US-led authority in Iraq says the number killed had
risen to 101 from a previous estimate of 67.
He says 133 people were wounded, fewer than previous accounts of more
than 200, attributing the drop to confusion at the time of the attacks.
Kurdish television showed pictures of a man it said was responsible
for the bombing at the KDP offices and offered a reward for anyone
able to ID him.
Military officials in Iraq have said the bombings in Arbil have a
different hallmark to the hit-and-run tactics used by Saddam Hussein
loyalists fighting the US occupation across the country.
US officers said it was too early to exclude any insurgent groups from
the investigation, but said early indications suggested foreign groups
were probably involved.
"As I said 2 nights ago, no group has claimed responsibility. We
suspect that it could be any of a number of terrorist cells. It could
be Ansar Al-Islam, al-Qaeda -- we are conducting an investigation
right now," US Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt said.
"Our 1st assumptions are based on the tactics used. When you start
seeing people strap on suicide bombs and carrying out suicide bombings
your 1st inclination is to sort of look foreign rather than look here,
within Iraq."
Ansar Al-Islam, whose leadership is believed to be Kurdish, is an
Islamist group the PUK accuses of links to al-Qaeda and attacked with
US Special Forces during the US-led war on Iraq.
The bombings in the N region of Kurdistan, which split from Iraq
following an uprising after the 1991 Gulf War, were a big shock to a
community which had been relatively calm since the fall of Saddam.
US casualty numbers continue to climb in Iraq
Baghdad (KRT). Jan was the 2nd deadliest m for US soldiers in Iraq
since Pres Bush declared the end of major combat operations in May,
according to a review of military and news reports.
A roadside bomb nr the city of Kirkuk on Sat killed 3 US soldiers,
bringing the total combat deaths for Jan to 40.
The high death toll came in spite of a decline in the frequency of
attacks on US troops, suggesting that insurgents have improved their
targeting abilities.
The continuing high casualty count brings into question Bush Admin
assertions that conditions in Iraq are improving, and could provide
ammunition to Democratic presidential candidates who are critical of
the war effort.
In addition to the US death toll, 100s of Iraqis were killed or
wounded in a spate of bombings in Jan, including one on Sat in the N
city of Mosul that killed at least 9 and wounded more than 40.
US Army and civilian officials in Iraq recently have begun citing a
reduction in the number of attacks against soldiers as a sign of
progress in the war. During Nov, the high watermark for soldier deaths
when 69 were killed, there were 40 to 50 attacks a day, a figure that
has plummeted to about 20, according to military officials.
The attacks, however, are growing more deadly. Roadside bombs in Oct,
Nov and Dec, for instance, tended to kill one soldier at a time. In
Jan, there were 4 instances in which one explosive device killed 3
soldiers, the highest such totals for any m since May, according to
military reports.
The top Army rep in Iraq, Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt, acknowledged that
trend in a briefing on Tue, saying, "The overall number of attacks is
going down. That is not, sadly, stopping the number of casualties."
But when asked about the subject again on Fri, Kimmitt seemed to
reverse course. "As we've had a corresponding reduction in attacks,
there has been a corresponding reduction in killed in action as well,"
he said.
Told that the numbers in Jan suggest otherwise, Kimmitt disputed that
finding, saying: "I'm not going to get into a debate about the numbers."
In fact, an analysis of combat-related deaths showed that 40 US
soldiers were killed in Jan, second only to Nov's total of 69. The Nov
numbers were inflated by the downing of three helicopters with heavy
casualties, which added 39 deaths. If not for the catastrophic nature
of those crashes, Jan would be the deadliest m since May.
The Knight Ridder analysis of the soldier deaths began with casualty
reports from the US Central Command, and was compared to a database
that records releases from both Central Command and the US Dept of
Defence. When there were discrepancies between the 2, the names of
the soldiers in question were cross-referenced with Press reports of
deaths and funeral services.
There were also some instances where a soldier was seriously wounded
in action, and later died of those injuries. When it was not possible
to determine the date of the actual incident, the date of death was recorded.
Because the military has not made a definitive report of the deaths
public, there is some uncertainty about the numbers, which vary among
media agencies and other organisations.
For example, the total number of deaths recorded in Knight Ridder's
report was 255, 6 more than that of the Associated Press. The
discrepancies, however, are not large enough to alter the trend toward
increasing combat deaths.
Another US military rep in Baghdad, Col Bill Darley, said earlier this
wk that the smaller number of attacks has not correlated to fewer body bags.
"Here's the bottom line. There's a decrease in attacks, but I think
it's fair to say that the effective potency of the attacks that are
going on has been maintained," he said. "We have observed the same
number of coalition casualties as before."
Military cmdrs have given no explanation for the rising death toll,
but have said in the past few wk that they think the terrorist
organisation al-Qaeda and other foreign fighters are trying to make
serious inroads.
"They bring a different degree of expertise. And like anything else,
it's a different enemy tactic," Kimmitt said. "We just have to learn
what those tactics, techniques and procedures are, so that we can
fight them and beat them."
While US officials have continued to say publicly that the country is
headed for success, the concrete walls and concertina wire have been
rising higher and higher, especially in the capital. The entrance of
the HQ of the US-led coalition, which was recently bombed, now has 2
new guard towers and an even more complex set of barriers.
UN seeks to break impasse in Iraq
NY (Still The BBC). Pres Bush said the the UN had a "vital role" UN
Sec-Gen Kofi Annan has confirmed he will send a team of experts to
Baghdad to advise on the hand-over of political power in Iraq.
After meeting US Pres George W Bush, Mr Annan said he was sending a
team to Iraq to "break the impasse" over the American handover plan.
The Bush Admin wants to hand over to a transitional Iraqi govt
selected by regional meetings.
But Iraq's Shia majority wants direct elections to take place this y.
Mr Annan said the US-led coalition and the interim Iraqi Admin had
agreed to accept the UN team's findings.
After the meeting Pres Bush said that "the UN does have a vital role"
in Iraq.
Mr Annan acknowledged "some disagreement" over how to establish a
provisional govt in Baghdad.
He said his team would aim to overcome that problem.
"Everyone agrees that sovereignty should be handed over to Iraq as
soon as possible," Mr Annan told reporters.
"The date of 30 Jun has been suggested, but there is some disagreement
as to the mechanism for establishing the provisional govt.
"We've discussed ways to make sure that, by working together, the
Iraqi people can be free and the country stable and prosperous and an
example of democracy in the Middle East. And the UN does have a vital
role there."
* Sidelined
The US is hoping the UN can persuade the Shias that there is simply
not enough time to organise elections by Jun.
But Mr Annan has already made it clear that the UN wants assurances
that any team it sends to Iraq will be fully protected.
It pulled out its internat'l staff last y after a huge bomb attack on
the UN HQ in Baghdad killed more than 20 people.
It was also sidelined over the reconstruction of Iraq by the Bush Admin.
Water and life slowly return to the vast wetlands of Iraq
Hawr-al-Hawizah Marsh, Iraq (KRT/Seattle Times). Hanum Ghayyad spends
his days hacking down papyrus reeds. It takes nearly a day of hard
labour to fill his narrow boat with the fresh green stalks favoured as
feed for water buffalo. The load will fetch about $2, scant income for
this father of 8.
Ghayyad is not complaining. After 2 decades of relocation in distant
camps, he savours his time on the water. "This is the best my life has
been in years. Before, I was suffocating."
Ghayyad is a Marsh Arab, tribal people who for 5,000 y lived in the
inland waterways of SE Iraq that lap along the border with Iran.
The area ranks as the Middle East's greatest wetland and in past
centuries stretched across 11,000 km, an area far larger than the
original Florida Everglades. It is a refuge of internat'l significance
for migratory birds, and once was home to as many as 500,000 people,
some of whom built their homes on small floating islands formed of
woven reeds.
Over the past half-century, most of the Marsh Arabs were uprooted as
the Iraqi govt drained and dyked nearly 90% of the marshland in what
internat'l observers rank as a human tragedy and environmental
disaster of global importance.
Saddam Hussein's regime did much of the damage, forcibly relocating
10s of 1000s, killing others and prompting 1000s more to flee to Iran.
Today, the Marsh Arabs are a people scattered. Some live in exile in
Iran, others in camps or in the cities of S Iraq.
As many as 70,000 stayed in or nr the marshes. And others are
beginning to return as recently breached dikes and dams begin to
expand the remnant waterways.
The Iraqi Army helped a little. As soldiers retreated last y from
Basra, they blew up a road that had held back marsh water, according
to a UN memorandum. More recently, Iraqi engineers have rerouted river
flows into the marshes. The Marsh Arabs themselves have taken picks
and shovels to open additional waterways into the marsh.
In the channel that runs along Ghayyad's village, the water is rising.
The village is in a stark setting on drained land, devoid of trees,
grass or a functioning school. It's a mudhole in winter, and as the
weather warms, mosquitoes savage anything that moves. The land is
littered with un-exploded ordnance.
Yet several thousand people of the Ma'dan tribe live there. A single
hut, built of mud and woven reeds, will support a dozen people or
more. Outside, chickens, sheep, donkeys and goats freely forage.
Saddam's regime dumped the villagers at this site in 2002 after ys
of shuffling the tribe through relocation camps. Their camp life was
part of a broader assault against the Marsh Arabs. In 1980, when Iraq
began a brutal eight-y war with Iran, it viewed the waterways as a
haven for the enemy.
Saddam flushed the marsh of people and water, opening the cleared land
up to agriculture and drilling, which tapped into rich underground oil
pools. The assault intensified post-1991, when the tribe joined in an
uprising against Saddam, resulting in mass executions, as well as
forced relocations.
Even when Saddam allowed the return of the Ma'dan tribe to the marsh,
the people were not free to resume their old ways. The govt restricted
their movements and demanded they stay out of prime fishing grounds
reserved for a high-ranking member of the govt's Baath Party who lived
in an inland villa. Those who violated the ban risked death.
"They shot my son, and he was just trying to get food for his family,"
said one villager. "He was 16 y old."
* * *
Today, the villagers are eager to see more and more water flushed into
the marshes.
But the question of how far to take the marsh restoration is a matter
of internat'l debate. Much of the drained land is now encrusted with
salt, concentrated through evaporation under the fierce summer
heat. So, some of the land would need to be flushed with huge volumes
of water to support freshwater life.
UN officials last y estimated that as much as 25 to 30% of the
original marshes could eventually be restored.
Last y, the US Congress cut a proposed $100 mn aid package for
marsh restoration. Aid groups -- largely funded by the United States
Agency for Internat'l Development, which has budgeted $4 mn for
marsh restoration and management -- also have stepped in to assist the
people. They include Pacific Northwest-based Mercy Corps, which has opened
an office in Al Amarah, a city of 300,000 that's 50 km to the W.
The office is led by Gordon Kindlon, a NYer who helped to organise war
protests in Manhattan. After the US invasion in Mar, he decided to
join in the reconstruction effort.
Kindlon is teamed up with Mike Nahhal, a Lebanese Christian who was
one of the few internat'l aid workers to work in Iraq under Saddam.
Between 1991 and 2001, Nahhal shuttled back to Beirut once a m to
visit his wife and 4 daughters. While working in Baghdad, he tried to
monitor the plight of Marsh Arabs but was never allowed to visit their
waterways.
Earlier this m, he got a 1st glimpse as he joined Ghayyad for a brief
marsh cruise. They travelled in a traditional boat known as a belem.
These craft used to be made of wood, but Ghayyad had found a cheaper
alternative -- thin but tough panels of fraying asbestos.
Ghayyad sat in the stern, paddling. They passed through a thicket of
slender reeds dotted with egrets, emerging into a surprisingly vast
lake stretching E toward the border zone with Iran. In biblical times,
this area was thought to be somewhere nr the original Garden of Eden,
and naturalists today would delight in its array of birds, fish and
mammals, including wild boar.
Nahhal, tucked into the bow, was content just to glimpse the watery
horizon. "Wow! Wow! Look at this," he exclaimed. "It is an ocean of
water. You don't see the end."
* * *
That same day, at a community meeting, the Marsh Arabs made it clear
that the marsh alone can no longer sustain them. Their children, for
ys, had been denied an education. They demanded books, a blackboard
and a teacher for a primary school built by Saddam but never opened.
They wanted electricity for fans to push away the bugs. And they
figured they'd better raise the dike along the channel so that the
rising waters wouldn't eventually flood their village.
The meeting was convened in a kind of tribal lodge. It was a spacious
hut, with a high ceiling supported by thick arching pillars made of
woven reeds. More than 40 men and boys crowded onto carpets spread
across the floor. Soon, they were all talking so loudly it was
difficult for anyone to be heard.
Few women dared to attend, let alone speak up. So the women were
invited to a 2nd meeting, which was organised by Cassandra Nelson, a
former Merrill Lynch VP who now works for Mercy Corps.
Nelson shooed away the men who wanted to monitor the meeting, and she
found that the women had plenty to say. They talked about the
difficulties of childbirth, pointing out that village midwives use
reeds to cut umbilical cords. They spoke of husbands who sometimes
beat them when they complain too much. But they did agree with the men
that education and electricity ranked as the village's top priorities.
* * *
Mercy Corps already has launched aid projects for Marsh Arabs who live
in a complex of run-down three-story apartments in nearby Al Amarah.
Even amid the urban landscape, you can see the influence of the old
ways. Woven reed walls create courtyards around bottom-floor
apartments. Ducks, donkeys and sheep roam outside. And these Marsh
Arabs have a tribal chief -- Sheik Adan Amer -- who leads his people
from within the cramped confines of a 3-room unit.
But the Al Amarah complex is a mess. Last fall, when Mercy Corps
workers 1st visited, the buildings were surrounded by moats of sewage
that reached up to the knees of barefoot children. "Never, even in
Pakistan and Afghanistan, did I see anything like that," Nelson said.
Mercy Corps is committing about $600,000 to help improve the situation.
Local contractors already have cleared away a lot of the sewage ponds
and are going to re-plumb the complex to connect to a central city system.
Inside the building, they tackled another big complaint: The stairs
were built without railings, and proved treacherous in frequent
blackouts. Over the ys, dozens of children had fallen off the
stairs and been seriously injured or killed. So within a few ms,
Mercy Corps had thick concrete sidewalls added to the 58 stairwells.
Now contractors will shore up the stairs, which might otherwise collapse.
If the marshes keep expanding, some of the older men in the apartment
complex may opt to leave the city and return home. Others no longer
dream of the vast water.
"The young men, they now have jobs, and are settled. They cannot
leave," said the Sheik Amer. "They cannot."
EU opposes case against Israel barrier
Brussels (AP). The European Union has written to the world court to
express its opp'n to the opening of legal action against the W Bank
security barrier that Israel is building, diplomats said Mon.
Although the EU repeated its criticism of the barrier, the 15-nation
bloc believes the problem needs a political, rather than legal,
solution and fears the court case could further harm peace efforts.
The EU message was delivered Fri to the Internat'l Court of Justice in
The Hague, Netherlands, by the Irish govt, which holds the EU's
rotating presidency, ahead of a court deadline for such submissions,
officials said on condition of anonymity.
The court is to begin hearings on the barrier project Feb 23. In
accordance with court rules, the EU's letter was not made public,
diplomats said.
Despite the move, EU officials repeated their criticism of the barrier
itself.
"You very well know our position on the wall -- it does not contribute
to peace," Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy representative, told
reporters.
EU External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten said, "There is, I
think, no doubt between the (EU) member states about the damage which
the security fence is doing to the prospects for a solution."
Israel says the 700 km of fences, walls and trenches are needed to
protect against suicide bombers. The Palestinians say the structure
amounts to seizure of their land because parts of it cut into the W Bank.
With Palestinian backing, the UN General Assembly has sent the case to
the court for an advisory opinion. Israel argues that the world court
is not the proper forum for the issue. The US also opposes the court action.
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat criticised nations supporting
Israel's position.
"They don't respect internat'l law ... but rather follow in this
mentality, the mentality of racist actions," Arafat said after a
meeting of Christian leaders from Jerusalem.
Although the court's decision would be non-binding, Israel and the
Palestinians see the case as an important battleground for determining
the project's fate.
Solana met Mon with the Israeli and Palestinian authors of an informal
Middle E peace plan. He voiced EU support for the so-called "Geneva
Accord" drawn up in Dec by former Israeli Justice Min Yossi Beilin and
Yasser Abed Rabbo, his Palestinian negotiating partner.
"The initiative ... is timely, is important, and we would like to help
them as much as possible," Solana said.
Sharon's motives for Gaza pullout
Jerusalem (BBC). Settlers describe the pullout as a "betrayal" by
Ariel Sharon When Israel's PM Ariel Sharon announced a plan to
evacuate virtually all of some 7,500 Jewish settlers from Gaza, a
casual observer may have found grounds for optimism.
But it is not that simple.
The loudest voices of protest have come, naturally, from the settlers
themselves.
For many y Ariel Sharon has been known as the champion of the settlers.
He encouraged them, memorably, to populate every hilltop.
The settler representatives took to the airwaves in the wake of his
announcement to denounce the plan as madness, a betrayal, a
capitulation in the face of terrorism.
Others said the evacuation would never happen, that Mr Sharon was
simply doing a bit of political manoeuvring for the benefit of the
internat'l community.
And they have a point. Ariel Sharon agreed to freeze settlements and
remove smaller outposts as part of the US-backed peace road map.
He has only dismantled a handful of outposts.
* Cool reception
But the Palestinians should be delighted, shouldn't they?
For them the settlements are hated symbols of Israeli occupation and
those in Gaza in particular have come under frequent attack.
Some say Sharon is trying to divert attention from corruption claims.
Ariel Sharon has said he is working on the assumption that there will
be no Jews in Gaza in the future.
Palestinian officials say they will believe it when they see it. And
they distrust his motives.
An opinion poll published in an Israeli newspaper suggested that 59%
of Israelis support Ariel Sharon's plan.
But members of his own right-wing coalition govt do not.
He would have to get the approval of his own cabinet and the Israeli
parliament, the Knesset, before it could go ahead.
On Mon he survived a no-confidence motion by just a single vote.
The Israeli left, meanwhile, says the plan has been announced to
distract attention from a number of corruption investigations into
Ariel Sharon.
And the Whitehouse has not given the plan a warm reception.
Officials were quoted as saying they will see how compatible it is
with the peace road map backed by the internat'l community.
* Unilateral moves
So what is his motive?
In Dec Ariel Sharon announced that unless the Palestinians clamped
down on violence, he would abandon the road map and instead begin the
unilateral disengagement of Israel from Palestinian territory.
In other words, Israel would impose its own borders with the
Palestinians, without negotiation.
And that would involve withdrawing from Gaza and the W Bank those
settlements which Israel can least afford to protect.
Later this m he is widely expected to brief Pres Bush in Washington on
his plans. And Israel's deputy PM has said the evacuation of some
settlements could begin this summer.
The Palestinians say they will not allow Israel to dictate which land
they can keep.
They see the construction of Israel's new barrier as an attempt to
impose a border that in many places goes far into Palestinian
territory, diminishing the size of any future Palestinian state.
What Ariel Sharon sees as a possible solution, they see as a reason to
continue the intifada.
Arafat gets a thrashing
[Danny Rubinstein, Haaretz snr correspondent on Palestinian affairs,
is the author of "The Mystery of Arafat].
"Yasir Arafat: A Political Biography" by Barry Rubin and Judith Colp
Rubin, Continuum, 354 pages, $11.
Book Review (Haaretz). In this well-documented but factually sloppy
biography of the Palestinian leader, everything he does is linked in
some way to Israel. Hence it is impossible to write about him while
ignoring Israeli policy -- but the authors often do.
In the last paragraph of their biography of Palestinian Authority
Chairman Arafat, Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin sum up their
protagonist as follows: "This was the ultimate irony of his life:
Arafat, the man who did more than anyone else to champion and advance
the Palestinian cause, also inflicted y of unnecessary suffering on
his people, delaying any beneficial redress of their grievances or
solutions to their problems."
While they begin by praising Arafat, as it were, for devoting his life
to his people's struggle, they end by damning him for his actions,
which have done nothing but harm. Indeed, harsh criticism of Arafat's
political path and a negative portrait of his personality are the crux
of this book.
Arafat has been the subject of over 10 biographies and the leading man
in dozens, if not 100s, of books on the Middle E and the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Nearly everyone who has written about
Arafat has taken a stand. Some have portrayed him sympathetically and
others have been fiercely critical.
Perhaps the best and most objective of these to date is Andrew Gower
and Tony Walker's "Behind the Myth: Arafat and the Palestinian
Revolution," published in 1990. Of the books that condemn Arafat, the
Rubin study is the most detailed indictment (if one discounts the 1st
Arafat biography, written in 1976 by Thomas Kiernan with the help of
the Israeli Foreign Ministry, where the obvious objective was to
blacken his name and there are more errors than truth).
Despite an abundance of footnotes and an impressive bibliography, this
book is also marred by mistakes. The authors write, for example, that
Arafat's mother was a member of the Husseini family, which is not
true. She was from another Jerusalem family: the Abu Sauds. They write
that Abd al-Qader al-Husseini, the admired cmdr of the Palestinians in
the War of Independence, was a nephew of the mufti, Haj Amin, which is
also untrue. They are from different branches of this large clan.
* Unforgivable mistakes
The book is laden with sloppy factual errors: The Sinai Campaign began
on Oct 26, 1956 -- not in Sep. The terrorist attack in Kiryat Shmona
did not take place in Dec 1974, but in Apr of that y, and the
number of dead was not 52, but 18 -- and the list goes on.
On top of that, there are certain mistakes that are unforgivable in
the work of such respected researchers. They claim, for example, that
Arafat's "frequent insistence that a Palestinian state already existed
and that he was its president showed either a failure to understand
the peace process's terms of refusal to abide by them."
By way of explanation, they offer this footnote: "The Oslo agreement
defined Arafat's title as 'chairman,' not president."
The reason for making an issue over this particular matter, which is
perhaps not that important, is that anyone who has studied the Oslo
agreement, however briefly, knows that the ongoing point of contention
between the parties was over Arafat's title as head of the Palestinian
Authority. The official document is in English, and the Palestinians
insisted that Arafat be called "president." The Israeli delegates,
however, were adamant that "chairman" was enough.
A clever compromise was to leave Arafat's title in Arabic --
transliterated in the document as "ra'ees." Appendix 2 reads:
"Elections will be held for the Council, and simultaneously for the
ra'ees of the Executive Authority."
Why did they choose to leave the title in Arabic? For the simple
reason that "ra'ees" means both president and chairman. Many people
may recall how Bill Clinton, then US president, was careful to address
Arafat as "Mr Ra'ees" when he visited Gaza in Dec 1998. To all those
present at the convention hall in Gaza, it was clear that he was
sticking to the wording which had been agreed upon at Oslo. Therefore,
when the authors of this biography state that according to the Oslo
agreement, Arafat was the chairman and not the president, and then
proceed to accuse him of duplicity, they are simply wrong.
I think pointing this out is important because finding subjects in
which Arafat deserves to be castigated is no problem at all,
especially the political acrobatics, conniving tricks and wise-guy
tactics that are deliberately meant to deceive. So why invent falsehoods?
Arafat does get a thrashing in this book. The authors portray his
lengthy political career as a series of blunders, poor judgement and
lack of understanding. Arafat emerges from their analysis as a
treacherous and moody man, a terrorist who has never repudiated
violence and is responsible for the appalling bloodshed of the past
ys. They see him as a tyrant who encourages vice and corruption,
and insinuate that his brand of terrorism served as a model for bin Laden.
The question that arises from such a description of Arafat is how he
has managed to survive and win the hearts of the Palestinians. If he
is such a despicable creature and has made every mistake in the book,
why do his people continue to trust him? Are the Palestinians so
helpless and blind that they can't see what a terrible leader he is?
The Rubins are endlessly critical of Arafat, but their criticism is
often misguided. They harp on what a grievous mistake it was to
support Saddam Hussein during the Gulf War and the m leading up to it
(1990-1991), but they do not mention that King Hussein of Jordan
adopted that same policy. This ought to have been mentioned because
both the PLO and Jordan paid a heavy price for their backing of the
Iraqi leader when the war was over. But the truth is, they probably
didn't have much choice. The Palestinians on both sides of the Jordan
enthusiastically supported Saddam and the annexation of Kuwait, and if
Arafat or King Hussein had taken a different line, who knows if they
would still be in power.
* Temper tantrum
The authors continue to lash out at Arafat elsewhere in the book,
again letting King Hussein off the hook. This time, the issue is the
release of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin from an Israeli jail.
The Rubins write that Arafat demanded Yassin's release, which is
correct, and that Yassin was welcomed in Gaza with hugs and kisses,
which is also correct. Then they go on to say that liberating Yassin
led to an increase in Hamas terror, which is hard to disagree with.
The problem with this account lies in what it doesn't say, which is
that the release of Yassin was orchestrated not by Arafat but by King
Hussein, who insisted that Israel let Yassin go in return for the
Mossad agents captured in Amman during the botched attempt to
assassinate Khaled Meshal.
At the time, the papers were full of reports about Arafat having a
temper tantrum and screaming at the cabinet meeting in Ramallah upon
being told that Yassin was being freed as a gesture to the king of
Jordan. So if Arafat was so upset about the circumstances of Yassin's
release, how can he be accused of ingratitude to Israel and of
ordering a new wave of terrorism in response?
The authors' negative attitude toward Arafat is more or less
explained, but there is never a bad word about Israeli policy. Their
account of the Sabra and Chatila affair (during the Lebanon War) is as
follows: "On Sep 16, 1982, receiving word of the presence of armed
Palestine Liberation Organisation units in Sabra and Chatila, the
Israel army permitted 300 Christian militiamen to enter the camps."
Later on they write that the consequences were horrifying, but that
"Arafat's response was to inflate the number of victims." The Rubins'
account of the incident would seem to imply that the Israel Defence
Forces made a mistake based on mis-info, but Arafat is blamed for
exaggerating the casualty reports.
Likewise, the book makes no mention of settlement activities in Gaza
and the W Bank. Not a word is said about the Baruch Goldstein massacre
in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, which many believe was a
turning point in the fate of the Oslo Accords. True, this is a
biography of Arafat, but everything he does is linked in some way to
Israel. Hence it is impossible to write about him while ignoring
Israeli policy.
According to this biography, Arafat's men may have helped carry out
the Shi'ite suicide bombing of the Marine HQ in Beirut that killed 241
American soldiers, and one of the most wanted Al-Qaeda terrorists,
Lebanese-born Imad Mughniyah, sprang from Arafat's midst, after
serving in his personal security unit, Force 17. Thus the Rubins drop
some heavy-handed hints that Arafat is responsible, not only for
Israel's troubles, but much more.
No one knows how long Arafat will continue to lead the Palestinian
people. In view of the political path he has chosen, he is obviously a
bitter enemy of Israel, and he has made his share of mistakes, but
those who go overboard and blame him for all our troubles today would
do well to watch what they say. Arafat's heirs could be a lot worse.
EU foreign policy chief lauds Geneva sponsors
Brussels (Haaretz). The European Union's foreign and security policy
chief Javier Solana yesterday commended the initiators of the Geneva
Accord, saying the document is in keeping with the road map and could
help to push it forward.
Solana spoke after meeting former Israeli justice minister Yossi
Beilin and former Palestinian Authority minister Yasser Abed Rabbo in
Brussels. Also present at the meeting were European Commission Pres
Romano Prodi and EU Commissioner for External Affairs Chris Patten.
"I think the Geneva initiative is perfectly compatible with the road
map and in fact I think it may help not only to implement it but to
resolve its last phases. I do not think it is fair to say there is a
contradiction," Solana said.
Beilin and Abed Rabbo then proceeded to London, where they met Prime
Min Tony Blair, For Sec Jack Straw and snr officials in Blair's
bureau. Blair later issued a statement praising the Geneva
initiative. 3 m ago, Blair said it could serve as a basis for a final
settlement between the sides.
Beilin and Abed Rabbo also appeared at a special session of the
Internat'l Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
Diplomatic sources said they believed Blair's envoy to the Middle
East, Lord Michael Levy, whose son Daniel is Beilin's assistant, was
involved in setting up the meetings in 10 Downing Street.
Outbreak of violence in the W Bank
Bethlehem (Sapa-AFP). 5 Palestinians, 2 of them militant leaders,
were shot dead in clashes with the Israeli army nr the W Bank town of
Bethlehem. 5 soldiers were wounded in the incident, sources on both
sides said.
A local leader of the Islamist Hamas movement was shot dead and 4
Israeli soldiers injured during a military operation in Aida refugee
camp near the W Bank town of Bethlehem, Palestinian and Israeli
security sources said.
Palestinian security sources said 28-yo Mohamed Mahmud Abu Awda, a
local leader of Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades,
had been killed in a shootout with Israeli troops in the camp.
The army charged in a statement that he had planned the suicide bombing
on a Jerusalem bus last Thu that killed 11 passengers, apart from the
bomber, and had in the past recruited several candidates for such attacks.
Israeli medical and security sources said 4 soldiers had also been
wounded in the arrest operation, 2 of them seriously. A 3rd was in
stable condition, while the 4th was only lightly injured.
Palestinian sources said a 20-yo man was also lightly injured by
Israeli gunfire during the operation, which ended after Israeli troops
demolished Awda's house.
Earlier, more than 2 000 Palestinians, among them armed militants,
took to the streets of Rafah in the S Gaza Strip to attend the
funerals of 4 Palestinians killed during a dawn raid by Israeli troops.
Yasser Abuleish, 26, a local leader of the radical Islamic Jihad
movement, and his 38-yo brother Hussein were killed when troops raided
their house in Rafah's Hay al-Sultan neighbourhood, Palestinian
security and hospital sources said.
Dr Ali Mussa, head of Rafah hospital, said 2 other men were also
killed by heavy machine gun fire from a tank.
One was named as Majdi al-Khatib, a 32-yo civilian, while the other
casualty was Baha Judah, 36, a gunman whose affiliation was not
immediately clear.
The latest deaths bring to 3 737 the number of people killed since the
outbreak of the Palestinian intifada, or uprising, in Sep 2000,
including 2 794 Palestinians and 875 Israelis.
An army spokesperson confirmed an operation had been launched to
arrest wanted members of Islamic Jihad.
"When the soldiers approached the house where one of the wanted men
was located, Palestinians threw a grenade and opened fire," he said.
One soldier was lightly wounded during the operation, he added.
At the funeral, an angry crowd gathered at the Abu Yussef hospital
mortuary where they picked up the 4 bodies and carried them on
stretchers to the Al-Awda mosque and finally to Al-Shuhada cemetery.
Chanting: "Vengeance, resistance," the marchers vowed to avenge their deaths.
Addressing the crowd via loudspeaker, one of the militants claimed
al-Khatib was a cmdr of the Al-Aqsa Martrys' Brigades, a radical
offshoot of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's mainstream Fatah movement.
But there was no official confirmation from the group, which is
largely based in the W Bank.
=== end 2/4 ===