Indian Independence
(Carnegie Analysis, Miriam Rajkumar)
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/npp/publi...a=view&id=17486
Tuesday, September 20
Many U.S. officials and experts are surprised by India’s reluctance to support Iran’s referral to the Security Council. They should not be. Politically, no Indian government can afford to appear subservient to U.S. interests. New Delhi values an independent foreign policy shaped, as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said, by its own geography, economics and domestic considerations. At a press conference in New York on September 16, Prime Minister Singh pointed out that India is located in the region neighboring Iran, that there are three-and-a-half million Indian workers in the Middle East and that India has the second largest Shiite population in the world, trailing only Iran itself. “Any flare up would present immense difficulties,” he said.
Full Version: International News and Commentary
Common Ground Common Sense > National & International News > Daily National and International News > International News Archive
North Korea Agrees to Give Up Nuclear Arms
(Gordon Fairclough and Carla Anne Robbins, Wall Street Journal)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1127104...N=wsjie/archive
Tuesday, September 20
After three years of threats and stalemate, North Korea pledged to give up its atomic weapons and abandon its existing nuclear programs in exchange for economic aid and security guarantees from the U.S. and its Asian neighbors.
A final deal ending Pyongyang's atomic ambitions is a long way off. Progress will require sweeping concessions from Pyongyang, including intrusive inspections to ensure the dismantling of its facilities. It will also require important concessions from the Bush administration. As part of yesterday's preliminary agreement, the U.S. said it would forswear hostile actions against the North, eventually move toward normalizing relations and "discuss at an appropriate time" Pyongyang's demand for a light-water nuclear reactor.The U.S. commitment to talk about light-water reactors, brokered by the Chinese, salvaged the negotiations. Until now, Washington had argued that the North might try to divert even limited technology to weapons use.
All sides' sincerity will be severely tested. A round of talks scheduled for early November will grapple with contentious questions, including getting Pyongyang to declare the extent of its atomic activities and striking a verification deal.
(Gordon Fairclough and Carla Anne Robbins, Wall Street Journal)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1127104...N=wsjie/archive
Tuesday, September 20
After three years of threats and stalemate, North Korea pledged to give up its atomic weapons and abandon its existing nuclear programs in exchange for economic aid and security guarantees from the U.S. and its Asian neighbors.
A final deal ending Pyongyang's atomic ambitions is a long way off. Progress will require sweeping concessions from Pyongyang, including intrusive inspections to ensure the dismantling of its facilities. It will also require important concessions from the Bush administration. As part of yesterday's preliminary agreement, the U.S. said it would forswear hostile actions against the North, eventually move toward normalizing relations and "discuss at an appropriate time" Pyongyang's demand for a light-water nuclear reactor.The U.S. commitment to talk about light-water reactors, brokered by the Chinese, salvaged the negotiations. Until now, Washington had argued that the North might try to divert even limited technology to weapons use.
All sides' sincerity will be severely tested. A round of talks scheduled for early November will grapple with contentious questions, including getting Pyongyang to declare the extent of its atomic activities and striking a verification deal.
North Korea Pledges to Abandon Nuclear Arms Work
(NPR's Talk of the Nation, Interview with Joseph Cirincione, Richard Reagan, and Robert Gallucci)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4854535
Monday, September 19
North Korean officials have promised to abandon the country's nuclear weapons program in exchange for oil, energy aid and security guarantees. We discuss the agreement, which was announced in Beijing during six-nation talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program.
(NPR's Talk of the Nation, Interview with Joseph Cirincione, Richard Reagan, and Robert Gallucci)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4854535
Monday, September 19
North Korean officials have promised to abandon the country's nuclear weapons program in exchange for oil, energy aid and security guarantees. We discuss the agreement, which was announced in Beijing during six-nation talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program.
Bush Dusts Off Bill's Pyongyang Playbook
(Stan Crock, BusinessWeek)
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflas..._2248_db016.htm
Tuesday, September 20
When President Bush discussed what looked like a major breakthrough in negotiations over North Korea's nuclear programs on Sept. 19, he didn't display any "mission accomplished" ebullience. Rather, he sounded decidedly cautious in saying that, while the accord announced earlier that day in Beijing was "a step forward," it remained unclear whether all parties would stick to the deal.
His caution is understandable. After all, much of the pact echoed the 1994 "Agreed Framework" that the Clinton Administration negotiated, the Bush team trashed, and the U.S. and North Korea each violated. Both accords discuss a light-water nuclear reactor for Pyongyang, a progression toward normalized relations between the U.S. and North Korea, and reciprocal moves as the North dismantles its nuclear capability.
(Stan Crock, BusinessWeek)
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflas..._2248_db016.htm
Tuesday, September 20
When President Bush discussed what looked like a major breakthrough in negotiations over North Korea's nuclear programs on Sept. 19, he didn't display any "mission accomplished" ebullience. Rather, he sounded decidedly cautious in saying that, while the accord announced earlier that day in Beijing was "a step forward," it remained unclear whether all parties would stick to the deal.
His caution is understandable. After all, much of the pact echoed the 1994 "Agreed Framework" that the Clinton Administration negotiated, the Bush team trashed, and the U.S. and North Korea each violated. Both accords discuss a light-water nuclear reactor for Pyongyang, a progression toward normalized relations between the U.S. and North Korea, and reciprocal moves as the North dismantles its nuclear capability.
Japan Calls North Korean Demand for Reactors 'Unacceptable'
(Associated Press)
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/new...0na005000c.html
Tuesday, September 20
North Korea's demand for nuclear reactors before giving up its atomic weapons programs is unacceptable, Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said Tuesday. North Korea said earlier in the day that it would not dismantle its weapons program until the United States first gives it a nuclear reactor for generating power.
"The Japanese side has continuously said that North Korea's demand is unacceptable," Machimura told reporters after the North's announcement. Japan cautiously welcomed a joint statement on Monday by the six nations negotiating the North's nuclear disarmament in Beijing.
(Associated Press)
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/new...0na005000c.html
Tuesday, September 20
North Korea's demand for nuclear reactors before giving up its atomic weapons programs is unacceptable, Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said Tuesday. North Korea said earlier in the day that it would not dismantle its weapons program until the United States first gives it a nuclear reactor for generating power.
"The Japanese side has continuously said that North Korea's demand is unacceptable," Machimura told reporters after the North's announcement. Japan cautiously welcomed a joint statement on Monday by the six nations negotiating the North's nuclear disarmament in Beijing.
IAEA Chief Calls for Talks on Iran
(Associated Press)
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wo...dnews-headlines
Tuesday, September 20
The United Nations' chief atomic inspector called Monday for talks to replace international confrontation over Iran's nuclear activities, while the United States and European Union pressed efforts to bring Tehran before the U.N. Security Council.
A resolution drafted by U.S. and European diplomats asks International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei to report to the council "Iran's many failures and breaches of its obligations to comply" with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The authors want the 35 nations on the IAEA board to vote on the document this week.
ElBaradei criticized Tehran's intransigence as well as U.S.-EU calls for council involvement as examples of "confrontations and political brinkmanship," adding, "I very much hope that this week all the parties … create the necessary conditions to go back to the negotiating table."
(Associated Press)
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wo...dnews-headlines
Tuesday, September 20
The United Nations' chief atomic inspector called Monday for talks to replace international confrontation over Iran's nuclear activities, while the United States and European Union pressed efforts to bring Tehran before the U.N. Security Council.
A resolution drafted by U.S. and European diplomats asks International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei to report to the council "Iran's many failures and breaches of its obligations to comply" with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The authors want the 35 nations on the IAEA board to vote on the document this week.
ElBaradei criticized Tehran's intransigence as well as U.S.-EU calls for council involvement as examples of "confrontations and political brinkmanship," adding, "I very much hope that this week all the parties … create the necessary conditions to go back to the negotiating table."
Iran Warns Against U.N. Council Referral
(Ali AKbar Dareini, Associated Press)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/stor...5290662,00.html
Tuesday, September 20
Iran on Tuesday threatened to reconsider its promise of allowing unfettered inspections of its nuclear facilities if it is referred to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions over its atomic program. However, its top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, offered Europe a new round of talks, saying the world should give Iran's new government a chance to reach a political understanding.
``If they want to speak with Iran with the language of force, Iran will have no choice, in order to preserve its technological achievements, to get out of the framework of the NPT (Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty) and the additional protocol and resume (uranium) enrichment,'' Larijani told a news conference.
(Ali AKbar Dareini, Associated Press)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/stor...5290662,00.html
Tuesday, September 20
Iran on Tuesday threatened to reconsider its promise of allowing unfettered inspections of its nuclear facilities if it is referred to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions over its atomic program. However, its top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, offered Europe a new round of talks, saying the world should give Iran's new government a chance to reach a political understanding.
``If they want to speak with Iran with the language of force, Iran will have no choice, in order to preserve its technological achievements, to get out of the framework of the NPT (Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty) and the additional protocol and resume (uranium) enrichment,'' Larijani told a news conference.
Pentagon May Have Doubts on Preemptive Nuclear Moves
(Walter Pincus, Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...1801156_pf.html
Monday, September 19
The Pentagon may be having second thoughts about proposed revisions to its nuclear weapons doctrine that would allow commanders to seek presidential approval for using atomic arms against nations or terrorists who intend to use chemical, biological or nuclear weapons against the United States, its troops or allies.
The draft document, disclosure of which has caused a stir among some members of Congress and arms control advocates, would update rules and procedures for using nuclear weapons to reflect a preemption strategy announced by the Bush administration in 2002. Previous versions of the unclassified doctrine have not included scenarios for using nuclear weapons preemptively or specifically against WMD threats. But last week, after an article about the draft appeared in The Washington Post, a senior Pentagon official said the doctrine "is a long way from being done. It has a lot of reviews to go through and several changes have already taken place."
(Walter Pincus, Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...1801156_pf.html
Monday, September 19
The Pentagon may be having second thoughts about proposed revisions to its nuclear weapons doctrine that would allow commanders to seek presidential approval for using atomic arms against nations or terrorists who intend to use chemical, biological or nuclear weapons against the United States, its troops or allies.
The draft document, disclosure of which has caused a stir among some members of Congress and arms control advocates, would update rules and procedures for using nuclear weapons to reflect a preemption strategy announced by the Bush administration in 2002. Previous versions of the unclassified doctrine have not included scenarios for using nuclear weapons preemptively or specifically against WMD threats. But last week, after an article about the draft appeared in The Washington Post, a senior Pentagon official said the doctrine "is a long way from being done. It has a lot of reviews to go through and several changes have already taken place."
Europe ships war refugees back home
Germany gets tougher on Afghans, Iraqis, and Kosovars. By Isabelle de
Pommereau
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0921/p04s01-woeu.html?s=hns
Germany gets tougher on Afghans, Iraqis, and Kosovars. By Isabelle de
Pommereau
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0921/p04s01-woeu.html?s=hns
Tokyo affordable? In some ways, now it is.
Compared with years past, Tokyo feels less pricey to foreign residents,
thanks to more cheap goods. By Robert Marquand
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0921/p06s01-woap.html?s=hns
Compared with years past, Tokyo feels less pricey to foreign residents,
thanks to more cheap goods. By Robert Marquand
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0921/p06s01-woap.html?s=hns
US uses 'Libya model' to boost pressure on Syria
The UN report on the killing of a former Lebanese leader may further
isolate Damascus. By Nicholas Blanford
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0921/p06s02-wome.html?s=hns
The UN report on the killing of a former Lebanese leader may further
isolate Damascus. By Nicholas Blanford
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0921/p06s02-wome.html?s=hns
Karzai Wants End to U.S.-Led Operations :
President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday challenged the need for major foreign military operations in Afghanistan, saying air strikes are no longer effective and that U.S.-led coalition forces should focus on rooting out terror bases and support networks.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10348.htm
President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday challenged the need for major foreign military operations in Afghanistan, saying air strikes are no longer effective and that U.S.-led coalition forces should focus on rooting out terror bases and support networks.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10348.htm
London bombers staged 'dummy run' :
Newly released CCTV footage shows the 7 July London bombers staged a practice run nine days before the attack.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4263176.stm
Newly released CCTV footage shows the 7 July London bombers staged a practice run nine days before the attack.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4263176.stm
Why was the IRA less of a threat than Islamist bombers? :
From Iraq to anti-terror legislation and Turkey's exclusion from Europe, we are turning the clash of civilisations into a reality
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10347.htm
From Iraq to anti-terror legislation and Turkey's exclusion from Europe, we are turning the clash of civilisations into a reality
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10347.htm
Video: Mosaic: World News Reports from Middle East TV For 09/19/05:
The nation's only uncensored compilation of daily television news reports from more than 15 countries in the Middle East. QuickTime Video.
http://tinyurl.com/cj7pn
The nation's only uncensored compilation of daily television news reports from more than 15 countries in the Middle East. QuickTime Video.
http://tinyurl.com/cj7pn
A Daily Survey of What the International Online Media Are Saying from the Washington Post:
Iraqi Corruption on the U.S. Watch
Stories about massive corruption on the U.S. watch in Iraq are not new. Nor are they going away. Iraqi officials told The Washington Post and other news organizations yesterday that they will soon bring charges against the country's former minister of defense Hazem Shaalan.
This story has been building for months. The Independent of London reported yesterday that U.S.-appointed officials in the country’s Ministry of Defense squandered hundreds of millions of dollars in Iraqi money on overpriced and outdated military equipment after the Bush administration transferred sovereignty to an Iraqi government in June 2004.
Patrick Cockburn’s dispatch adds some detail to the arms corruption scandal first reported in August by the Arab cable news site Aljazeera.net and the American newspaper chain Knight Ridder. Estimates of how much money has been wasted vary widely, but named sources in all three stories agree the amount was huge.
The reports underscore the continuing costs of the Bush administration’s failure to anticipate security problems after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. In the rush to build up the Iraqi armed forces in the face of the burgeoning insurgency, Iraqi officials, working closely with U.S. advisers, squandered more than $1 billion, Finance Minister Ali Allawi told the Independent. (Ali Allawi should not be confused with the pro-American Ayad Allawi who served as prime minister in 2004 but is no longer in the government.)
"The failure to notice that so much money was being siphoned off at the very least argues a high degree of negligence on the part of US officials and officers in Baghdad," Cockburn wrote.
"Hundreds of millions of dollars have been wasted on unnecessary and overpriced equipment for Iraq's new army at a time when the US and its allies are struggling to get the force in shape to battle fighters," Aljazeera.net reported Aug. 3.
On Aug. 11, Knight Ridder correspondent Hannah Allam reported that the Iraqi auditors had documented 89 weapons deals concluded in 2004 under U.S.-appointed interim Defense Minister Shaalan. At least, $500 million was wasted, Shaalan’s successor said.
According to the audit cited by Cockburn, the equipment purchased during Shaalan’s tenure included:
Twenty-eight-year-old Soviet-made helicopters purchased in Poland. The manufacturers said the antique choppers should have been scrapped after 25 years of service.
Armored cars "so poorly made that even a bullet from an elderly AK-47 machine-gun could penetrate their armour."
A shipment of what was supposed to be MP5 American machine-guns, costing $3,500 each, which "consisted in reality of Egyptian copies worth only $200 a gun."
Knight Ridder’s Allam reported that Iraqi procurement officials worked closely with up to 20 U.S. advisers at the time of these deals.
Col. John Martin, a deputy to U.S. Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, told Allam that senior American and British advisers warned the interim Iraqi government of "their concerns about the lack of transparency in MoD [Ministry of Defense] procurement, the uncoordinated manner in which MoD procurement was proceeding and the possibility for -- and rumors of -- corruption."
"At the end of the day, however, this was Iraqi money being spent by Iraqi officials of a sovereign country's ministry," Martin added.
Aljazeera.net, the Independent and Knight Ridder all reported that the auditors had found the dubious arms deals were arranged by the ministry's procurement chief, Ziyad Cattan. The three reports said he was fired in May.
Iraqi Defense Ministry procurement chief Ziyad Cattan, on Polish TV in 2004, is under suspicion.The Polish Embassy in Washington announced last November that Cattan headed an Iraqi team that was negotiating with Polish arms firms for transport and medical helicopters. In December the Polish media reported that an agreement had been reached.
But "when Iraqi experts travelled to Europe to check on the purchase of the transport helicopters, they discovered the aircraft, which cost tens of millions of dollars, were 28-years-old and outdated," Aljazeera.net reported. "They refused to take them and returned home empty-handed. "
The corruption reports, ironically, serve as a measure of vindication of Ahmed Chalabi, a onetime ally of the Bush administration who has faced corruption accusations himself. Last January, Chalabi invoked Shaalan’s ire by charging that the interim government had sent a plane laden with $300 million in U.S. currency to Lebanon to buy arms.
"Where did the money go? What was it used for? Who was it given to?" We don't know," Chalabi said in an interview with the New York Times.
Shalaan responded by announcing Chalabi would be arrested on corruption charges. But the arrest never happened.
As is often the case in Iraqi politics, the Iranian subtext is important. Chalabi, a Shiite, had rehabilitated himself in Iraq by distancing himself from his neoconservative allies in Washington and forging alliance with one of the ascendant Iranian-backed Shiite parties.
At the time Shalaan was denouncing Iran for "meddling in Iraq."
The Iranian press responded that Shaalan had once collaborated with Saddam Hussein. The Mehr News Agency (MNA) in Tehran, citing sources in the holy city of Najaf, said Iraqi Shiite leaders had opposed the U.S. appointment of Shalaan as defense minister because he served as an informant for Hussein’s secret police in the late 1980s and early '90s.
MNA said Iraqi government documents showed Shaalan had delivered reports to Hussein’s security forces on Shiites in Najaf and Karbala that resulted in the interrogation, torture and death of 200 young Iraqi activists.
Shaalan left office early this year and now reportedly lives in Jordan. He denies any wrongdoing. Cattan’s whereabouts are unknown, according to the news reports.
Iraq’s armed forces continues to lack the basic equipment necessary to take over security duties from U.S. troops, and Shiite civilians bear the brunt of insurgent attacks. On Monday, the deputy chief of the the Iraqi National Assembly's Integrity Commission said the country had paid $226 million for the defunct helicopters. Corruption, he said, is "more dangerous than terrorism."
By Jefferson Morley | September 20, 2005; 08:30 AM ET | Category: Mideast
Previous: Iran Finds Friends | Main Index | Next: 'Fragile' Basra
Iraqi Corruption on the U.S. Watch
Stories about massive corruption on the U.S. watch in Iraq are not new. Nor are they going away. Iraqi officials told The Washington Post and other news organizations yesterday that they will soon bring charges against the country's former minister of defense Hazem Shaalan.
This story has been building for months. The Independent of London reported yesterday that U.S.-appointed officials in the country’s Ministry of Defense squandered hundreds of millions of dollars in Iraqi money on overpriced and outdated military equipment after the Bush administration transferred sovereignty to an Iraqi government in June 2004.
Patrick Cockburn’s dispatch adds some detail to the arms corruption scandal first reported in August by the Arab cable news site Aljazeera.net and the American newspaper chain Knight Ridder. Estimates of how much money has been wasted vary widely, but named sources in all three stories agree the amount was huge.
The reports underscore the continuing costs of the Bush administration’s failure to anticipate security problems after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. In the rush to build up the Iraqi armed forces in the face of the burgeoning insurgency, Iraqi officials, working closely with U.S. advisers, squandered more than $1 billion, Finance Minister Ali Allawi told the Independent. (Ali Allawi should not be confused with the pro-American Ayad Allawi who served as prime minister in 2004 but is no longer in the government.)
"The failure to notice that so much money was being siphoned off at the very least argues a high degree of negligence on the part of US officials and officers in Baghdad," Cockburn wrote.
"Hundreds of millions of dollars have been wasted on unnecessary and overpriced equipment for Iraq's new army at a time when the US and its allies are struggling to get the force in shape to battle fighters," Aljazeera.net reported Aug. 3.
On Aug. 11, Knight Ridder correspondent Hannah Allam reported that the Iraqi auditors had documented 89 weapons deals concluded in 2004 under U.S.-appointed interim Defense Minister Shaalan. At least, $500 million was wasted, Shaalan’s successor said.
According to the audit cited by Cockburn, the equipment purchased during Shaalan’s tenure included:
Twenty-eight-year-old Soviet-made helicopters purchased in Poland. The manufacturers said the antique choppers should have been scrapped after 25 years of service.
Armored cars "so poorly made that even a bullet from an elderly AK-47 machine-gun could penetrate their armour."
A shipment of what was supposed to be MP5 American machine-guns, costing $3,500 each, which "consisted in reality of Egyptian copies worth only $200 a gun."
Knight Ridder’s Allam reported that Iraqi procurement officials worked closely with up to 20 U.S. advisers at the time of these deals.
Col. John Martin, a deputy to U.S. Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, told Allam that senior American and British advisers warned the interim Iraqi government of "their concerns about the lack of transparency in MoD [Ministry of Defense] procurement, the uncoordinated manner in which MoD procurement was proceeding and the possibility for -- and rumors of -- corruption."
"At the end of the day, however, this was Iraqi money being spent by Iraqi officials of a sovereign country's ministry," Martin added.
Aljazeera.net, the Independent and Knight Ridder all reported that the auditors had found the dubious arms deals were arranged by the ministry's procurement chief, Ziyad Cattan. The three reports said he was fired in May.
Iraqi Defense Ministry procurement chief Ziyad Cattan, on Polish TV in 2004, is under suspicion.The Polish Embassy in Washington announced last November that Cattan headed an Iraqi team that was negotiating with Polish arms firms for transport and medical helicopters. In December the Polish media reported that an agreement had been reached.
But "when Iraqi experts travelled to Europe to check on the purchase of the transport helicopters, they discovered the aircraft, which cost tens of millions of dollars, were 28-years-old and outdated," Aljazeera.net reported. "They refused to take them and returned home empty-handed. "
The corruption reports, ironically, serve as a measure of vindication of Ahmed Chalabi, a onetime ally of the Bush administration who has faced corruption accusations himself. Last January, Chalabi invoked Shaalan’s ire by charging that the interim government had sent a plane laden with $300 million in U.S. currency to Lebanon to buy arms.
"Where did the money go? What was it used for? Who was it given to?" We don't know," Chalabi said in an interview with the New York Times.
Shalaan responded by announcing Chalabi would be arrested on corruption charges. But the arrest never happened.
As is often the case in Iraqi politics, the Iranian subtext is important. Chalabi, a Shiite, had rehabilitated himself in Iraq by distancing himself from his neoconservative allies in Washington and forging alliance with one of the ascendant Iranian-backed Shiite parties.
At the time Shalaan was denouncing Iran for "meddling in Iraq."
The Iranian press responded that Shaalan had once collaborated with Saddam Hussein. The Mehr News Agency (MNA) in Tehran, citing sources in the holy city of Najaf, said Iraqi Shiite leaders had opposed the U.S. appointment of Shalaan as defense minister because he served as an informant for Hussein’s secret police in the late 1980s and early '90s.
MNA said Iraqi government documents showed Shaalan had delivered reports to Hussein’s security forces on Shiites in Najaf and Karbala that resulted in the interrogation, torture and death of 200 young Iraqi activists.
Shaalan left office early this year and now reportedly lives in Jordan. He denies any wrongdoing. Cattan’s whereabouts are unknown, according to the news reports.
Iraq’s armed forces continues to lack the basic equipment necessary to take over security duties from U.S. troops, and Shiite civilians bear the brunt of insurgent attacks. On Monday, the deputy chief of the the Iraqi National Assembly's Integrity Commission said the country had paid $226 million for the defunct helicopters. Corruption, he said, is "more dangerous than terrorism."
By Jefferson Morley | September 20, 2005; 08:30 AM ET | Category: Mideast
Previous: Iran Finds Friends | Main Index | Next: 'Fragile' Basra
In his own words: Simon Wiesenthal BBC News
Simon Wiesenthal, the celebrated Nazi hunter, has died at the age of 96. His life and work were punctuated by many memorable statements. I am someone who seeks justice, not revenge. The most important thing I have done is to fight against forgetting, and to keep remembrance alive. It is very important to let people know that our enemies are not forgotten.
On his motivation:
When history looks back, I want people to know the Nazis weren't able to kill millions of people and get away with it. This is a warning for the murderers of tomorrow... that they will never rest. When we cannot through some action warn the murderers of tomorrow, then millions of people die for nothing. When we come to the other world and meet the millions of Jews who died in the camps and they ask us: "What have you done?" there will be many answers... I will say: "I didn't forget you."
On forgiveness:
You can forgive crimes committed against you personally, but in my opinion you are not authorised to forgive for others.
On the use of the word 'Holocaust' in the 1990s:
We are living in a time of the trivialisation of the word "Holocaust". What happened to the Jews cannot be compared with all the other crimes. Every Jew had a death sentence without a date.
On being a victim of the Holocaust:
I know this war deformed me. I am not the same as I was before the war.
On his personal safety:
My whole day, there are so many dirty letters and telephone calls and so on... when I look on my grandchildren, immediately I remember how many such children were killed, and then I think how I can prevent them from going through such times... and then I say to my wife: "You see, look on these children, it's not our obligation to do everything, but history must repeat...", and then my wife says: "Why only you, why not others?"
On the arrest of an Austrian policeman who arrested Anne Frank:
My most hard work, and I am very proud of this case, was to find the man who arrested Anne Frank... the family Frank was like 10,000 other families, but Anne Frank became a symbol of the million murdered children, and I tell it to the father of Anne Frank, the diary of his daughter had a bigger impact than the Nuremberg trial. Why? Because people identified with this child. This was the impact of the Holocaust, this was a family like my family, like your family and so you could understand this.
On the Simon Wiesenthal Center:
I have received many honours in my lifetime. When I die, these honours will die with me. But the Simon Wiesenthal Center will live on as my legacy.
Wikipedia attacked by Nazis Inquirer
Tributes pour in for Wiesenthal News24
Pueblo Chieftain - San Jose Mercury News - Hindustan Times - Ireland Online - all 1,059 related »
Simon Wiesenthal, the celebrated Nazi hunter, has died at the age of 96. His life and work were punctuated by many memorable statements. I am someone who seeks justice, not revenge. The most important thing I have done is to fight against forgetting, and to keep remembrance alive. It is very important to let people know that our enemies are not forgotten.
On his motivation:
When history looks back, I want people to know the Nazis weren't able to kill millions of people and get away with it. This is a warning for the murderers of tomorrow... that they will never rest. When we cannot through some action warn the murderers of tomorrow, then millions of people die for nothing. When we come to the other world and meet the millions of Jews who died in the camps and they ask us: "What have you done?" there will be many answers... I will say: "I didn't forget you."
On forgiveness:
You can forgive crimes committed against you personally, but in my opinion you are not authorised to forgive for others.
On the use of the word 'Holocaust' in the 1990s:
We are living in a time of the trivialisation of the word "Holocaust". What happened to the Jews cannot be compared with all the other crimes. Every Jew had a death sentence without a date.
On being a victim of the Holocaust:
I know this war deformed me. I am not the same as I was before the war.
On his personal safety:
My whole day, there are so many dirty letters and telephone calls and so on... when I look on my grandchildren, immediately I remember how many such children were killed, and then I think how I can prevent them from going through such times... and then I say to my wife: "You see, look on these children, it's not our obligation to do everything, but history must repeat...", and then my wife says: "Why only you, why not others?"
On the arrest of an Austrian policeman who arrested Anne Frank:
My most hard work, and I am very proud of this case, was to find the man who arrested Anne Frank... the family Frank was like 10,000 other families, but Anne Frank became a symbol of the million murdered children, and I tell it to the father of Anne Frank, the diary of his daughter had a bigger impact than the Nuremberg trial. Why? Because people identified with this child. This was the impact of the Holocaust, this was a family like my family, like your family and so you could understand this.
On the Simon Wiesenthal Center:
I have received many honours in my lifetime. When I die, these honours will die with me. But the Simon Wiesenthal Center will live on as my legacy.
Wikipedia attacked by Nazis Inquirer
Tributes pour in for Wiesenthal News24
Pueblo Chieftain - San Jose Mercury News - Hindustan Times - Ireland Online - all 1,059 related »
______________________________________________________________
Warnings of decline in growth within EU
José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, warned European countries that they risked economic decline in the face of globalization unless they modernized their economies, and pledged that Brussels would take steps to cut and streamline regulations that crimp business and economic growth in Europe.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/business/union.php
Studies question effectiveness of flu treatments
All human cases of the bird flu A(H5N1) strain have been resistant.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/news/flu.php
EU sets new plan on data retention
The European Commission proposed a compromise to overcome lingering privacy and cost concerns.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/business/data.php
Thousands flee storm aiming at Texas coast
Thousands of Texans and Louisianans evacuated Gulf Coast areas Wednesday as Hurricane Rita continued its westward approach, now classified as a Category 4 storm, wielding vast destructive power similar to that of the devastating Hurricane Katrina.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/news/storm.php
Schröder party hints at Free Democrat alliance
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's coalition of his Social Democrats and the Greens held out the carrot of power to the pro-business Free Democrats in a calculated move to further weaken Angela Merkel's chances to become chancellor.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/news/germany.php
Paris getting new plans to deal with bomb attack
The city of Paris has revamped its emergency plans following the July 7 bombings of London's transportation system.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/news/terror.php
Basra officials threaten to cut ties
The governor of Basra and hundreds of protesters said that they would end all cooperation with the British forces in the southern Iraqi city until Britain apologizes for deadly clashes.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/news/iraq.php
Barbie pushed aside in Mideast cultural shift
In the past year or so, Barbie dolls have all but disappeared from the shelves of many toy stores in the Middle East. In their place is Fulla, a dark-eyed doll with, as her creator puts it, "Muslim values."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/news/journal.php
EU agrees on key point for Turkey
The European Union agreed Wednesday on a key declaration that opens the way for membership negotiations to begin with Turkey as scheduled on Oct. 3.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/news/turkey.php
Still no breakdown
This week's agreement on North Korea's nuclear program is hardly a breakthrough — but it does make a future breakthrough possible.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/opinion/edcossa.php
U.S. goes missing
Bush's failure to endorse the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, while continuing to promote new nuclear weapons development, ill serves the nuclear peace that Washington has long sought to promote.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/opinion/edramberg.php
To the end, voters were left cool and resigned
German voters decided that no candidate deserved a clear nod.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/18/news/scene.php
Defying Taliban threats, half of Afghans vote
The question now is whether any of the former warlords who once ruled this country were voted into office.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/19/news/afghan.php
Obituary: Simon Wiesenthal, hunter of Nazi fugitives
Simon Wiesenthal, the death camp survivor who dedicated the rest of his life to tracking down fugitive Nazi war criminals, died Tuesday at his home in Vienna.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/20/news/obits.php
Merkel gets personal, and offers 8-point plan to revive Germany
Fending off criticism over disarray in her election campaign, Angela Merkel went on the offensive.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/14/news/germany.php
Warnings of decline in growth within EU
José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, warned European countries that they risked economic decline in the face of globalization unless they modernized their economies, and pledged that Brussels would take steps to cut and streamline regulations that crimp business and economic growth in Europe.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/business/union.php
Studies question effectiveness of flu treatments
All human cases of the bird flu A(H5N1) strain have been resistant.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/news/flu.php
EU sets new plan on data retention
The European Commission proposed a compromise to overcome lingering privacy and cost concerns.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/business/data.php
Thousands flee storm aiming at Texas coast
Thousands of Texans and Louisianans evacuated Gulf Coast areas Wednesday as Hurricane Rita continued its westward approach, now classified as a Category 4 storm, wielding vast destructive power similar to that of the devastating Hurricane Katrina.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/news/storm.php
Schröder party hints at Free Democrat alliance
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's coalition of his Social Democrats and the Greens held out the carrot of power to the pro-business Free Democrats in a calculated move to further weaken Angela Merkel's chances to become chancellor.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/news/germany.php
Paris getting new plans to deal with bomb attack
The city of Paris has revamped its emergency plans following the July 7 bombings of London's transportation system.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/news/terror.php
Basra officials threaten to cut ties
The governor of Basra and hundreds of protesters said that they would end all cooperation with the British forces in the southern Iraqi city until Britain apologizes for deadly clashes.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/news/iraq.php
Barbie pushed aside in Mideast cultural shift
In the past year or so, Barbie dolls have all but disappeared from the shelves of many toy stores in the Middle East. In their place is Fulla, a dark-eyed doll with, as her creator puts it, "Muslim values."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/news/journal.php
EU agrees on key point for Turkey
The European Union agreed Wednesday on a key declaration that opens the way for membership negotiations to begin with Turkey as scheduled on Oct. 3.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/news/turkey.php
Still no breakdown
This week's agreement on North Korea's nuclear program is hardly a breakthrough — but it does make a future breakthrough possible.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/opinion/edcossa.php
U.S. goes missing
Bush's failure to endorse the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, while continuing to promote new nuclear weapons development, ill serves the nuclear peace that Washington has long sought to promote.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/21/opinion/edramberg.php
To the end, voters were left cool and resigned
German voters decided that no candidate deserved a clear nod.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/18/news/scene.php
Defying Taliban threats, half of Afghans vote
The question now is whether any of the former warlords who once ruled this country were voted into office.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/19/news/afghan.php
Obituary: Simon Wiesenthal, hunter of Nazi fugitives
Simon Wiesenthal, the death camp survivor who dedicated the rest of his life to tracking down fugitive Nazi war criminals, died Tuesday at his home in Vienna.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/20/news/obits.php
Merkel gets personal, and offers 8-point plan to revive Germany
Fending off criticism over disarray in her election campaign, Angela Merkel went on the offensive.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/14/news/germany.php
Basra Protesters Condemn British
By Bassam Sebti
BAGHDAD, Sept. 21 -- Hundreds of residents and police officers filled the streets in the southern city of Basra on Wednesday, shouting and pumping their fists to condemn British forces for raiding a jail and freeing two of their commandos two days earlier.
Iraqi police had arrested the Britons on Monday for allegedly shooting at police and planting explosive devices. British troops then broke the men out of jail by ramming an armored vehicle through a wall. In response, Basra residents and police revolted, attacking British forces in the area.
Five civilians were killed in the clash, including two who died Wednesday of their injuries, according to hospital authorities.
The angry demonstrators carried banners, shouted "No to occupation!" and demanded that the freed British soldiers be tried in an Iraqi court as terrorists, the Associated Press reported.
Some of the protesters met with the police chief demanding "a British apology," the Associated Press reported, quoting a police spokesman, Col. Karim Zaidi.
Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Jabr did not return three telephone calls requesting comment. He told an Iraqi TV channel that his ministry was investigating.
"We have decided to form a supreme investigative committee in which some members of the Basra provincial council will join," Jabr said. "The results will be presented to the government, council of ministers, the parliament and the people."
Meanwhile, Iraqi security forces stormed a house in central Baghdad on Wednesday, freeing a hostage and killing five suspected insurgents. Iraqi security officers said the men had used the house as a haven and a hideout to stock weapons.
"There is a group of terrorists hiding inside the house with explosives, RPGs and hand grenades," an Iraqi army officer told al-Iraqiya, a state-owned TV channel. As he spoke, three Iraqi soldiers fired on the house while five others rushed through the main gate, pushing tree branches away from their faces.
U.S. troops stayed on the sideline of the assault, supporting the Iraqi forces but not participating directly. American military officials have said they are trying to rely more on Iraqi troops to maintain security.
It was not immediately clear with whom the suspected insurgents were connected, but they had a significant amount of weapons, Iraqi officials said. The officials and witnesses in the neighborhood had no information about the hostage or how he had been abducted.
In Yusufiyah, 15 miles southwest of Baghdad, three bodies were found riddled with bullets, a police spokesman said.
And in the northern city of Mosul, gunmen killed Ahlam Youssef, an engineer for al-Iraqiya, and her husband, a manager at the station's Baghdad headquarters told the Associated Press. On Tuesday, Firas Maadidi, an Iraqi journalist working for a Baghdad newspaper, al-Safeer, was shot dead while leaving an Internet cafe. Another correspondent for the paper was killed in Mosul over the weekend. About 70 journalists have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion 2 1/2 years ago.
Staff writer Jackie Spinner in Baghdad and special correspondent Dlovan Brwari in Mosul contributed to this report.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/e...er=emailarticle
By Bassam Sebti
BAGHDAD, Sept. 21 -- Hundreds of residents and police officers filled the streets in the southern city of Basra on Wednesday, shouting and pumping their fists to condemn British forces for raiding a jail and freeing two of their commandos two days earlier.
Iraqi police had arrested the Britons on Monday for allegedly shooting at police and planting explosive devices. British troops then broke the men out of jail by ramming an armored vehicle through a wall. In response, Basra residents and police revolted, attacking British forces in the area.
Five civilians were killed in the clash, including two who died Wednesday of their injuries, according to hospital authorities.
The angry demonstrators carried banners, shouted "No to occupation!" and demanded that the freed British soldiers be tried in an Iraqi court as terrorists, the Associated Press reported.
Some of the protesters met with the police chief demanding "a British apology," the Associated Press reported, quoting a police spokesman, Col. Karim Zaidi.
Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Jabr did not return three telephone calls requesting comment. He told an Iraqi TV channel that his ministry was investigating.
"We have decided to form a supreme investigative committee in which some members of the Basra provincial council will join," Jabr said. "The results will be presented to the government, council of ministers, the parliament and the people."
Meanwhile, Iraqi security forces stormed a house in central Baghdad on Wednesday, freeing a hostage and killing five suspected insurgents. Iraqi security officers said the men had used the house as a haven and a hideout to stock weapons.
"There is a group of terrorists hiding inside the house with explosives, RPGs and hand grenades," an Iraqi army officer told al-Iraqiya, a state-owned TV channel. As he spoke, three Iraqi soldiers fired on the house while five others rushed through the main gate, pushing tree branches away from their faces.
U.S. troops stayed on the sideline of the assault, supporting the Iraqi forces but not participating directly. American military officials have said they are trying to rely more on Iraqi troops to maintain security.
It was not immediately clear with whom the suspected insurgents were connected, but they had a significant amount of weapons, Iraqi officials said. The officials and witnesses in the neighborhood had no information about the hostage or how he had been abducted.
In Yusufiyah, 15 miles southwest of Baghdad, three bodies were found riddled with bullets, a police spokesman said.
And in the northern city of Mosul, gunmen killed Ahlam Youssef, an engineer for al-Iraqiya, and her husband, a manager at the station's Baghdad headquarters told the Associated Press. On Tuesday, Firas Maadidi, an Iraqi journalist working for a Baghdad newspaper, al-Safeer, was shot dead while leaving an Internet cafe. Another correspondent for the paper was killed in Mosul over the weekend. About 70 journalists have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion 2 1/2 years ago.
Staff writer Jackie Spinner in Baghdad and special correspondent Dlovan Brwari in Mosul contributed to this report.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/e...er=emailarticle
Annan Urges Nations To Ratify Nuke Treaty
(Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press)
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1148265
Thursday, September 22
Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the United States and 10 other key countries to ratify the nuclear test-ban treaty so it can finally take effect, but like Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea, the U.S. administration refuses to do so.
Opening a conference Wednesday to spur the treaty's entry into force, Annan said all countries should be gravely concerned that nine years after the treaty was opened for signatures, it still hasn't entered into force.
(Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press)
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1148265
Thursday, September 22
Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the United States and 10 other key countries to ratify the nuclear test-ban treaty so it can finally take effect, but like Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea, the U.S. administration refuses to do so.
Opening a conference Wednesday to spur the treaty's entry into force, Annan said all countries should be gravely concerned that nine years after the treaty was opened for signatures, it still hasn't entered into force.
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewSpecialReports....E20050908a.html
Report Warns of Terrorists' 'Great Ramadan Offensive'
By Sherrie Gossett
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
September 08, 2005
(CNSNews.com) - Al Qaeda's plans for a series of spectacular terrorist strikes in October, targeting American interests as well as U.S. allies in Europe and the Middle East and said to be coordinated by Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenant in Iraq - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- are the subject of a non-public report issued by terrorism experts this week.
The attacks, planned to coincide with the Muslim observance of Ramadan and dubbed the "Great Ramadan Offensive," are designed to create a "fateful confrontation" with the U.S. and Israeli forces in the Middle East, according to a May 30 letter from Zarqawi to bin Laden. The contents of the letter are referenced in the report written by Yossef Bodansky, the former director of the U.S. Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare.
The Sept. 2 report is accessible only to government officials on the Global Information System (GIS) database. Cybercast News Service obtained the report on the same day as its release. It warns of planned attacks in Western Europe, Russia and perhaps the continental U.S. The specific targets are believed to include airports at Schiphol in the Netherlands and Fiumicino in Italy.
Italy remains on high alert and barricades have been placed around Rome's Colosseum. "Terrorism is coming home," the GIS report quotes one unnamed German senior official. "And it's coming home to those countries whose governments may have believed they were immune from terror because for years they have provided safe haven to notorious Islamic extremists."
An associate of Zarqawi named Abu Abdul Rahman al-Jazaeri, was said to be in Italy, but could not be located by authorities, according to Bodansky, who added that Jazeiri was believed to have recently received from a Zarqawi messenger "the definitive mandate to plan and carry out a major terrorist operation in Italy."
In late August Italy announced that it was at an elevated risk for a terrorist attack. The country expelled 700 suspected militants and arrested 141 others. News organizations reported that locks to the entrances of 49 subway stations had been changed and metal barricades erected around the 2,000-year old Colosseum in Rome.
Piecing it all together
Details of the planned attacks were pieced together from intercepted communications between top al Qaeda leaders in the latter part of August, analysis of what counter- terrorism experts described as a dramatic increase in the volume of communication among jihad forces and the observation of an unprecedented movement of jihadists and messengers around the world apparently delivering instructions.
Zarqawi, linked to numerous bombings and the beheadings of several Western hostages in Iraq, reportedly titled his letter to bin Laden, "A Message from a Soldier to His Commander." According to the GIS report, Zarqawi's letter to bin Laden alluded to "the forthcoming grand offensive comprised of escalation in the Middle East and a series of spectacular terrorist strikes" meant to overshadow the impact of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist strikes in New York City and Washington, D.C.
The letter also indicated Zarqawi was expecting bin Laden to approve and authorize the escalation: "I think that the plan for the next stage that was drawn up has reached you or is on its way to you. O God. Make the expedition of Osama proceed toward its goal ... We await your orders as to the next stage of the plan," Zarqawi wrote.
An Aug. 8 televised message from bin Laden's overall second-in-command -- Ayman al-Zawahiri - is now viewed as the approval Zarqawi was anticipating. "What you have seen, O Americans, in New York and Washington and the losses you are having in Afghanistan and Iraq, in spite of all the media blackout, are only the losses of the initial clashes ... You will see the horror that will make you forget what you had seen in Vietnam," Zawahiri said.
The al Qaeda official's threat, according to the report, wasn't delivered until the jihad forces were organized and ready to strike.
The GIS report also cites an Aug. 21 message recorded by Zarqawi, which references the next phase of the terrorist jihad. "The [mujahedeen] in Iraq, have, praise be to God, moved the battle from the ground (in Iraq) to the land of the cross."
Zarqawi's message claimed that "[J]ihadist units have been founded in all of Western Europe, to defend the powerless within the nation. For the crimes the Crusaders have committed against the Muslims, they will reap in their own homes, God willing."
A few days later, according to GIS, a doctrinal statement from Zarqawi emerged, which stressed the priority of al Qaeda in Iraq establishing "another base that will export jihad to all parts of the world the same way the mother al Qaeda in Afghanistan was."
'The heart and lair of the Great Satan'
Bodansky's report states that "concrete preparations for the consolidation of Islamist-jihadist springboards against the heart and lair of the Great Satan are being completed -- for Western Europe in the Balkans, for Russian and Eastern Europe in Chechnya, and for the United States in the tri-border area in Latin America."
Widespread anticipation throughout the Muslim world of the Great Ramadan Offensive was being picked up by intelligence analysts in August and then was reinforced by a slew of theological statements -- all buttressing what the GIS report calls "a forthcoming, well-coordinated global onslaught."
The marked increase in the volume of communication, both encrypted and open, exceeded that of the months prior to September 2001, the report states.
Bodansky said there is a growing awareness among Western European intelligence services of the "chatter" and activation of jihadist units, led by veterans of Iraq and Chechnya. In early August 2005 Pakistanis arrested a senior operative called Osama bin Yussaf who had detailed maps of Italian, German and British cities stored in his computer.
Germany faces the challenge of second and third generation immigrants inspired by the idea of a global jihad, the GIS report notes. Such young jihadists often hold down a regular job, have European passports and are valued assets due to their low profile, and easy mobility.
Bodansky also points to the Aug. 23 decree by Islamist rebels in Chechnya establishing an "emergency government." Details of the decree, not previously reported, inidcate that a "war leadership council" was established and would likely "implement the next cycle of terrorist strikes against Russia" as part of the coordinated global attacks.
Hurricane Katrina's message
Terrorist leaders may also have taken the devastation wrought by hurricane Katrina as a symbol that God is pleased with their plans to launch the "Great Ramadan Offensive," according to the GIS report.
"Allah has punished America with winds and water," said one imam quoted in the report. America is under "the curse of the Jews," said another.
"It's clear the jihadists regarded Katrina as a sign from God they're doing the right thing," said Gregory R. Copley, president of The International Strategic Studies Association in Washington, D.C.
In a separate analysis, Christopher Brown, research associate with the Hudson Institute's Transitions to Democracy project, warned of the strategic opening that the hurricane aftermath offers jihadists.
"If this attack is launched soon, the devastation to the American economy alone could easily far exceed that of the September 11th attacks and could be equivalent in terms of economic impact to the detonation of a small nuclear device on American soil," Brown said.
He also suggested that the timing of Zawahiri's past video messages indicates a terrorist attack may be imminent.
His first messages, on Sept. 9 and Nov. 9 of 2004, preceded the Dec. 6, 2004 attack on the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Feb. 20 and June 17, 2005 video messages by Zawahiri preceded the July 7 series of bombings in London. A third set of messages - on Aug. 4 and Sept. 1 - also creates cause for concern, Brown contends.
"If the pattern that has been outlined holds true," says Brown, "then al Qaeda is very likely about to launch a new major or series of major attacks within the next month."
Copley agreed, telling Cybercast News Service that, "I think Europe is going to be a prime target, but I think there's no question the U.S. is very much on the schedule.
"There will be big things happening over the next few months," he added.
Ramadan, a religious observance which includes a period of fasting, is scheduled according to the Islamic calendar. This year it is scheduled from Oct. 4 to Nov. 2. Muslim soldiers on the battlefield are exempt from Ramadan.
Report Warns of Terrorists' 'Great Ramadan Offensive'
By Sherrie Gossett
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
September 08, 2005
(CNSNews.com) - Al Qaeda's plans for a series of spectacular terrorist strikes in October, targeting American interests as well as U.S. allies in Europe and the Middle East and said to be coordinated by Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenant in Iraq - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- are the subject of a non-public report issued by terrorism experts this week.
The attacks, planned to coincide with the Muslim observance of Ramadan and dubbed the "Great Ramadan Offensive," are designed to create a "fateful confrontation" with the U.S. and Israeli forces in the Middle East, according to a May 30 letter from Zarqawi to bin Laden. The contents of the letter are referenced in the report written by Yossef Bodansky, the former director of the U.S. Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare.
The Sept. 2 report is accessible only to government officials on the Global Information System (GIS) database. Cybercast News Service obtained the report on the same day as its release. It warns of planned attacks in Western Europe, Russia and perhaps the continental U.S. The specific targets are believed to include airports at Schiphol in the Netherlands and Fiumicino in Italy.
Italy remains on high alert and barricades have been placed around Rome's Colosseum. "Terrorism is coming home," the GIS report quotes one unnamed German senior official. "And it's coming home to those countries whose governments may have believed they were immune from terror because for years they have provided safe haven to notorious Islamic extremists."
An associate of Zarqawi named Abu Abdul Rahman al-Jazaeri, was said to be in Italy, but could not be located by authorities, according to Bodansky, who added that Jazeiri was believed to have recently received from a Zarqawi messenger "the definitive mandate to plan and carry out a major terrorist operation in Italy."
In late August Italy announced that it was at an elevated risk for a terrorist attack. The country expelled 700 suspected militants and arrested 141 others. News organizations reported that locks to the entrances of 49 subway stations had been changed and metal barricades erected around the 2,000-year old Colosseum in Rome.
Piecing it all together
Details of the planned attacks were pieced together from intercepted communications between top al Qaeda leaders in the latter part of August, analysis of what counter- terrorism experts described as a dramatic increase in the volume of communication among jihad forces and the observation of an unprecedented movement of jihadists and messengers around the world apparently delivering instructions.
Zarqawi, linked to numerous bombings and the beheadings of several Western hostages in Iraq, reportedly titled his letter to bin Laden, "A Message from a Soldier to His Commander." According to the GIS report, Zarqawi's letter to bin Laden alluded to "the forthcoming grand offensive comprised of escalation in the Middle East and a series of spectacular terrorist strikes" meant to overshadow the impact of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist strikes in New York City and Washington, D.C.
The letter also indicated Zarqawi was expecting bin Laden to approve and authorize the escalation: "I think that the plan for the next stage that was drawn up has reached you or is on its way to you. O God. Make the expedition of Osama proceed toward its goal ... We await your orders as to the next stage of the plan," Zarqawi wrote.
An Aug. 8 televised message from bin Laden's overall second-in-command -- Ayman al-Zawahiri - is now viewed as the approval Zarqawi was anticipating. "What you have seen, O Americans, in New York and Washington and the losses you are having in Afghanistan and Iraq, in spite of all the media blackout, are only the losses of the initial clashes ... You will see the horror that will make you forget what you had seen in Vietnam," Zawahiri said.
The al Qaeda official's threat, according to the report, wasn't delivered until the jihad forces were organized and ready to strike.
The GIS report also cites an Aug. 21 message recorded by Zarqawi, which references the next phase of the terrorist jihad. "The [mujahedeen] in Iraq, have, praise be to God, moved the battle from the ground (in Iraq) to the land of the cross."
Zarqawi's message claimed that "[J]ihadist units have been founded in all of Western Europe, to defend the powerless within the nation. For the crimes the Crusaders have committed against the Muslims, they will reap in their own homes, God willing."
A few days later, according to GIS, a doctrinal statement from Zarqawi emerged, which stressed the priority of al Qaeda in Iraq establishing "another base that will export jihad to all parts of the world the same way the mother al Qaeda in Afghanistan was."
'The heart and lair of the Great Satan'
Bodansky's report states that "concrete preparations for the consolidation of Islamist-jihadist springboards against the heart and lair of the Great Satan are being completed -- for Western Europe in the Balkans, for Russian and Eastern Europe in Chechnya, and for the United States in the tri-border area in Latin America."
Widespread anticipation throughout the Muslim world of the Great Ramadan Offensive was being picked up by intelligence analysts in August and then was reinforced by a slew of theological statements -- all buttressing what the GIS report calls "a forthcoming, well-coordinated global onslaught."
The marked increase in the volume of communication, both encrypted and open, exceeded that of the months prior to September 2001, the report states.
Bodansky said there is a growing awareness among Western European intelligence services of the "chatter" and activation of jihadist units, led by veterans of Iraq and Chechnya. In early August 2005 Pakistanis arrested a senior operative called Osama bin Yussaf who had detailed maps of Italian, German and British cities stored in his computer.
Germany faces the challenge of second and third generation immigrants inspired by the idea of a global jihad, the GIS report notes. Such young jihadists often hold down a regular job, have European passports and are valued assets due to their low profile, and easy mobility.
Bodansky also points to the Aug. 23 decree by Islamist rebels in Chechnya establishing an "emergency government." Details of the decree, not previously reported, inidcate that a "war leadership council" was established and would likely "implement the next cycle of terrorist strikes against Russia" as part of the coordinated global attacks.
Hurricane Katrina's message
Terrorist leaders may also have taken the devastation wrought by hurricane Katrina as a symbol that God is pleased with their plans to launch the "Great Ramadan Offensive," according to the GIS report.
"Allah has punished America with winds and water," said one imam quoted in the report. America is under "the curse of the Jews," said another.
"It's clear the jihadists regarded Katrina as a sign from God they're doing the right thing," said Gregory R. Copley, president of The International Strategic Studies Association in Washington, D.C.
In a separate analysis, Christopher Brown, research associate with the Hudson Institute's Transitions to Democracy project, warned of the strategic opening that the hurricane aftermath offers jihadists.
"If this attack is launched soon, the devastation to the American economy alone could easily far exceed that of the September 11th attacks and could be equivalent in terms of economic impact to the detonation of a small nuclear device on American soil," Brown said.
He also suggested that the timing of Zawahiri's past video messages indicates a terrorist attack may be imminent.
His first messages, on Sept. 9 and Nov. 9 of 2004, preceded the Dec. 6, 2004 attack on the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Feb. 20 and June 17, 2005 video messages by Zawahiri preceded the July 7 series of bombings in London. A third set of messages - on Aug. 4 and Sept. 1 - also creates cause for concern, Brown contends.
"If the pattern that has been outlined holds true," says Brown, "then al Qaeda is very likely about to launch a new major or series of major attacks within the next month."
Copley agreed, telling Cybercast News Service that, "I think Europe is going to be a prime target, but I think there's no question the U.S. is very much on the schedule.
"There will be big things happening over the next few months," he added.
Ramadan, a religious observance which includes a period of fasting, is scheduled according to the Islamic calendar. This year it is scheduled from Oct. 4 to Nov. 2. Muslim soldiers on the battlefield are exempt from Ramadan.
Paris, Friday, September 23, 2005
______________________________________________________________
Texans flee powerful storm
Traffic was bumper to bumper for as much as 100 miles on roads inland from Houston, as close to two million people sought to escape the enormously powerful Hurricane Rita.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/news/storm.php
Berlusconi shaken as his finance chief quits
Domenico Siniscalco stepped down after failing to force Italy's discredited central bank chief to resign over a scandal involving a recent bank takeover.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/business/lira.php
Where deals are made
Gerhard Schröder and Angela Merkel met for the first time since the election in Berlin's Parliamentary Club.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/news/germany.php
EU is still seeking a way to take Iran issue to UN
Diplomats said Thursday that they still were meeting resistance from other countries over referring complaints about Iran's nuclear program to the UN Security Council.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/news/iran.php
Stringer tries to rein in Sony
The chief executive introduced a plan on Thursday for turning around the struggling Japanese electronics giant that will cut 10,000 jobs.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/business/sony.php
For Poles, climax of a mudslinging campaign
This weekend, Poles will choose their legislators for the fifth time since the fall of the Iron Curtain, and the number of political factions has dropped to a more manageable number.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/news/warsaw.php
Prospects growing worse for Iraqis, Saudi warns
Prince Saud al Feisal, the Saudi foreign minister, said Thursday that he has been warning the Bush administration in recent days that Iraq is hurtling toward disintegration.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/news/saudi.php
Referendum will test Swiss-EU relationship
Swiss voters will be asked to decide whether to open their job market to people from the 10 mainly East European nations that joined the Union in May 2004.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/news/swiss.php
Shortfalls in European education cited
An unwillingness by European countries to encourage and pay for the educational needs of students is causing a decline in the quality of engineers and scientists, according to a senior Microsoft executive.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/yourmoney/msft.php
The dark side of the moon
The return to the moon is not a noble quest. It is a poison pill.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/opinion/edpark.php
The IMF has lost its influence
Some great institutions lose power with a whimper rather than a bang: Such is the case of the International Monetary Fund.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/opi.../edwiesbrot.php
William Pfaff: Europeans thumb their noses at the experts
In mid-July, Angela Merkel visited Paris. As head of the German political opposition, she made a courtesy call on President Jacques Chirac.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/news/edpfaff.php
To the end, voters were left cool and resigned
German voters decided that no candidate deserved a clear nod.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/18/news/scene.php
Defying Taliban threats, half of Afghans vote
The question now is whether any of the former warlords who once ruled this country were voted into office.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/19/news/afghan.php
______________________________________________________________
Texans flee powerful storm
Traffic was bumper to bumper for as much as 100 miles on roads inland from Houston, as close to two million people sought to escape the enormously powerful Hurricane Rita.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/news/storm.php
Berlusconi shaken as his finance chief quits
Domenico Siniscalco stepped down after failing to force Italy's discredited central bank chief to resign over a scandal involving a recent bank takeover.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/business/lira.php
Where deals are made
Gerhard Schröder and Angela Merkel met for the first time since the election in Berlin's Parliamentary Club.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/news/germany.php
EU is still seeking a way to take Iran issue to UN
Diplomats said Thursday that they still were meeting resistance from other countries over referring complaints about Iran's nuclear program to the UN Security Council.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/news/iran.php
Stringer tries to rein in Sony
The chief executive introduced a plan on Thursday for turning around the struggling Japanese electronics giant that will cut 10,000 jobs.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/business/sony.php
For Poles, climax of a mudslinging campaign
This weekend, Poles will choose their legislators for the fifth time since the fall of the Iron Curtain, and the number of political factions has dropped to a more manageable number.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/news/warsaw.php
Prospects growing worse for Iraqis, Saudi warns
Prince Saud al Feisal, the Saudi foreign minister, said Thursday that he has been warning the Bush administration in recent days that Iraq is hurtling toward disintegration.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/news/saudi.php
Referendum will test Swiss-EU relationship
Swiss voters will be asked to decide whether to open their job market to people from the 10 mainly East European nations that joined the Union in May 2004.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/news/swiss.php
Shortfalls in European education cited
An unwillingness by European countries to encourage and pay for the educational needs of students is causing a decline in the quality of engineers and scientists, according to a senior Microsoft executive.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/yourmoney/msft.php
The dark side of the moon
The return to the moon is not a noble quest. It is a poison pill.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/opinion/edpark.php
The IMF has lost its influence
Some great institutions lose power with a whimper rather than a bang: Such is the case of the International Monetary Fund.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/opi.../edwiesbrot.php
William Pfaff: Europeans thumb their noses at the experts
In mid-July, Angela Merkel visited Paris. As head of the German political opposition, she made a courtesy call on President Jacques Chirac.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/22/news/edpfaff.php
To the end, voters were left cool and resigned
German voters decided that no candidate deserved a clear nod.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/18/news/scene.php
Defying Taliban threats, half of Afghans vote
The question now is whether any of the former warlords who once ruled this country were voted into office.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/19/news/afghan.php
At least 10 die in Gaza blast: medics ABC News
The death toll from an explosion on Friday at a militant rally in the Gaza Strip has risen to 10, medics said, including two children. It was the first deadly incident in Gaza since Israel's pullout.
Palestinian rocket hits Israel Melbourne Herald Sun
At least six killed in huge explosion at Hamas rally in Gaza Xinhua
Reuters AlertNet - BBC News - Reuters - Aljazeera.net - all 841 related »
The death toll from an explosion on Friday at a militant rally in the Gaza Strip has risen to 10, medics said, including two children. It was the first deadly incident in Gaza since Israel's pullout.
Palestinian rocket hits Israel Melbourne Herald Sun
At least six killed in huge explosion at Hamas rally in Gaza Xinhua
Reuters AlertNet - BBC News - Reuters - Aljazeera.net - all 841 related »
Compromise Said Likely in EU-Iran Conflict ABC News
The European Union wavered Friday in its drive to haul Iran before the UN Security Council over its nuclear activities, with diplomats and officials saying compromise was possible on how to deal with Tehran in exchange for Russian support. Any decision to water down insistence that Iran be referred to the Security Council would be a major reversal both for Europe and for the United States, which supports EU efforts for a vote on such action at a current meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Hooman Majd: Iran's Latest Score Yahoo! News
EU backs down on Iran under pressure China Daily
RIA Novosti - OpEdNews - Reuters AlertNet - Inter Press Service (subscription) - all 1,082 related »
The European Union wavered Friday in its drive to haul Iran before the UN Security Council over its nuclear activities, with diplomats and officials saying compromise was possible on how to deal with Tehran in exchange for Russian support. Any decision to water down insistence that Iran be referred to the Security Council would be a major reversal both for Europe and for the United States, which supports EU efforts for a vote on such action at a current meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Hooman Majd: Iran's Latest Score Yahoo! News
EU backs down on Iran under pressure China Daily
RIA Novosti - OpEdNews - Reuters AlertNet - Inter Press Service (subscription) - all 1,082 related »
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dl...369/1013/NEWS03
Saudi: Iraq situation unraveling
Regional war may ensue, official says
By ROBIN WRIGHT
The Washington Post
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 23. 2005 8:00AM
WASHINGTON - Saudi Arabia warned yesterday that the situation in Iraq is moving "toward disintegration," with a growing danger that the country will dissolve into a civil war that will draw its neighbors into a broader regional conflict.
During a visit to Washington, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Faisal told reporters that his government has also warned the Bush administration of the dangers of Iraq's unraveling because of tensions between rival ethnic and religious groups, which he said were never as bad during former President Saddam Hussein's rule as they are today.
"The impression is gradually going toward disintegration. There seems to be no dynamic now that is pulling the country together. All the dynamics there are pushing the (Iraqi) people away from each other," Faisal said.
As a result, Iraq is now a "very threatening" challenge undermining stability throughout the Middle East. "It will draw the countries of the region into conflict. That is the main worry of all the neighbors of Iraq," he said.
Faisal warned that Iraq's further disintegration would also bring Shiite-dominated Iran more directly into support for Iraq's Shiite majority, while Turkey would "not allow"a Kurdish country to emerge on its border. It would also divide Iraq into three parts, all of which would vie for control of the oil resources.
By ROBIN WRIGHT
Saudi: Iraq situation unraveling
Regional war may ensue, official says
By ROBIN WRIGHT
The Washington Post
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 23. 2005 8:00AM
WASHINGTON - Saudi Arabia warned yesterday that the situation in Iraq is moving "toward disintegration," with a growing danger that the country will dissolve into a civil war that will draw its neighbors into a broader regional conflict.
During a visit to Washington, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Faisal told reporters that his government has also warned the Bush administration of the dangers of Iraq's unraveling because of tensions between rival ethnic and religious groups, which he said were never as bad during former President Saddam Hussein's rule as they are today.
"The impression is gradually going toward disintegration. There seems to be no dynamic now that is pulling the country together. All the dynamics there are pushing the (Iraqi) people away from each other," Faisal said.
As a result, Iraq is now a "very threatening" challenge undermining stability throughout the Middle East. "It will draw the countries of the region into conflict. That is the main worry of all the neighbors of Iraq," he said.
Faisal warned that Iraq's further disintegration would also bring Shiite-dominated Iran more directly into support for Iraq's Shiite majority, while Turkey would "not allow"a Kurdish country to emerge on its border. It would also divide Iraq into three parts, all of which would vie for control of the oil resources.
By ROBIN WRIGHT
Merkel reaches out to Green Party International Herald Tribune
BERLIN Signaling that she is prepared to explore every chance to become chancellor, Angela Merkel and her Christian Democrats held talks Friday with the Greens to see if it was at all possible to overcome fairly formidable ideological barriers and to form what would be a historic coalition of conservatives, free marketers and environmentalists. That the Greens were even invited by Merkel to these talks demonstrated her refusal to give up trying to form a coalition without the next biggest party, the Social Democrats of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Claudia Roth, a Green leader, said it showed that the Greens were no longer being "demonized" by Germany's conservative parties. Merkel, whose coalition of Christian Democrats, Christian Social Union and pro-business Free Democrats failed to win a parliamentary majority in elections last Sunday, met Thursday with Schröder but has so far refused to open formal coalition talks with his party. Schröder is sticking to his claim that his party won the election, even though Merkel's Christian Democrats and Christian Social Union won more than 420,000 votes more than the Social Democrats. Schröder also shows no signs of giving up his hope of being chancellor. Schröder and Merkel will meet again Wednesday, when both leaders should have a clearer idea whether they can form stable governments without joining together in a "grand coalition" of Social Democrats and Christian Democrats. After meeting with Green leaders in the Parliamentary Club in Berlin, Merkel said the talks "had taken place in a very friendly atmosphere." But she acknowledged there were differences. The Greens leader, Reinhard Bütikofer, said he saw "no basis for further discussions" with Merkel's Christian Democrats. He added that the Greens were moving in the direction of becoming an opposition party, the first time since 1998, when they were catapulted into power on the federal level as a junior partner in Schröder's coalition. The idea of the Greens' joining what is called a "Schwampel" coalition, a reference to the black, yellow and green colors of the Christian Democrats, Free Democrats and Greens respectively, is already generating a major debate inside the Greens. Under their charismatic leader, Joschka Fischer, who resigned from all Green parliamentary posts this week but will remain foreign minister until a new government is chosen, the Greens made their way up the political ladder from winning village and town councils to joining a federal government with the Social Democrats. There are now voices inside the party, especially on the state level, saying that it is time for the Greens to redefine their political strategy and not remain focused on being in coalition with the Social Democrats. If the Green leadership seriously considered there was enough common ground with Merkel's conservatives, it would still face its single, biggest hurdle in joining such a coalition. The Greens' roots are strongly against moving from the center left to the center right of German politics. As Bütikofer said Friday, the Greens will not be used as "a back-up engine" for the conservatives. Ralf Fücks, director of the Heinrich-Böll Foundation that identifies with the Greens, said the party was not yet politically or psychologically prepared for such a shift. "The only person that could have legitimated such a shift in policy would have been Fischer." Werner Hoyer, foreign affairs expert for the Free Democrats, said "it would be extremely difficult to find common ground between the Christian Democrats, our party and the Greens. I think such a coalition is improbable." If Merkel's attempts to woo the Greens fail, it will have repercussions for the Free Democrats. Their leader, Guido Westerwelle, has insisted he would join a center-right coalition only if it is led by Merkel. If a grand coalition of the two big parties becomes the outcome of the election, the Free Democrats may well end up in the opposition, like the Greens.
Merkel-Greens Meeting Bares No Fruit for Coalition Zaman Online
Germany Party Rejects Talks With Merkel ABC News
BBC News - Guardian Unlimited - Aljazeera.net - FOX News - all 599 related »
BERLIN Signaling that she is prepared to explore every chance to become chancellor, Angela Merkel and her Christian Democrats held talks Friday with the Greens to see if it was at all possible to overcome fairly formidable ideological barriers and to form what would be a historic coalition of conservatives, free marketers and environmentalists. That the Greens were even invited by Merkel to these talks demonstrated her refusal to give up trying to form a coalition without the next biggest party, the Social Democrats of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Claudia Roth, a Green leader, said it showed that the Greens were no longer being "demonized" by Germany's conservative parties. Merkel, whose coalition of Christian Democrats, Christian Social Union and pro-business Free Democrats failed to win a parliamentary majority in elections last Sunday, met Thursday with Schröder but has so far refused to open formal coalition talks with his party. Schröder is sticking to his claim that his party won the election, even though Merkel's Christian Democrats and Christian Social Union won more than 420,000 votes more than the Social Democrats. Schröder also shows no signs of giving up his hope of being chancellor. Schröder and Merkel will meet again Wednesday, when both leaders should have a clearer idea whether they can form stable governments without joining together in a "grand coalition" of Social Democrats and Christian Democrats. After meeting with Green leaders in the Parliamentary Club in Berlin, Merkel said the talks "had taken place in a very friendly atmosphere." But she acknowledged there were differences. The Greens leader, Reinhard Bütikofer, said he saw "no basis for further discussions" with Merkel's Christian Democrats. He added that the Greens were moving in the direction of becoming an opposition party, the first time since 1998, when they were catapulted into power on the federal level as a junior partner in Schröder's coalition. The idea of the Greens' joining what is called a "Schwampel" coalition, a reference to the black, yellow and green colors of the Christian Democrats, Free Democrats and Greens respectively, is already generating a major debate inside the Greens. Under their charismatic leader, Joschka Fischer, who resigned from all Green parliamentary posts this week but will remain foreign minister until a new government is chosen, the Greens made their way up the political ladder from winning village and town councils to joining a federal government with the Social Democrats. There are now voices inside the party, especially on the state level, saying that it is time for the Greens to redefine their political strategy and not remain focused on being in coalition with the Social Democrats. If the Green leadership seriously considered there was enough common ground with Merkel's conservatives, it would still face its single, biggest hurdle in joining such a coalition. The Greens' roots are strongly against moving from the center left to the center right of German politics. As Bütikofer said Friday, the Greens will not be used as "a back-up engine" for the conservatives. Ralf Fücks, director of the Heinrich-Böll Foundation that identifies with the Greens, said the party was not yet politically or psychologically prepared for such a shift. "The only person that could have legitimated such a shift in policy would have been Fischer." Werner Hoyer, foreign affairs expert for the Free Democrats, said "it would be extremely difficult to find common ground between the Christian Democrats, our party and the Greens. I think such a coalition is improbable." If Merkel's attempts to woo the Greens fail, it will have repercussions for the Free Democrats. Their leader, Guido Westerwelle, has insisted he would join a center-right coalition only if it is led by Merkel. If a grand coalition of the two big parties becomes the outcome of the election, the Free Democrats may well end up in the opposition, like the Greens.
Merkel-Greens Meeting Bares No Fruit for Coalition Zaman Online
Germany Party Rejects Talks With Merkel ABC News
BBC News - Guardian Unlimited - Aljazeera.net - FOX News - all 599 related »
Palestinian rally ends in death Detroit Free Press
A truck filled with masked Palestinian militants and homemade weapons exploded at a Hamas rally Friday, killing at least 15 Palestinians and bringing a grisly end to one of the last gatherings by armed groups celebrating Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip. Health officials said dozens of children were among the more than 80 people wounded in the blast at Jebaliya, a Palestinian refugee camp that was the scene of fighting between militants and Israeli soldiers during the past five years.
West Bank: still ticking International Herald Tribune
This Week in Palestine, September Week 3 International Middle East Media Center
Minneapolis Star Tribune (subscription) - Los Angeles Times - Washington Post - BBC News - all 1,182 related »
A truck filled with masked Palestinian militants and homemade weapons exploded at a Hamas rally Friday, killing at least 15 Palestinians and bringing a grisly end to one of the last gatherings by armed groups celebrating Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip. Health officials said dozens of children were among the more than 80 people wounded in the blast at Jebaliya, a Palestinian refugee camp that was the scene of fighting between militants and Israeli soldiers during the past five years.
West Bank: still ticking International Herald Tribune
This Week in Palestine, September Week 3 International Middle East Media Center
Minneapolis Star Tribune (subscription) - Los Angeles Times - Washington Post - BBC News - all 1,182 related »
PM advises Iran to avoid 'confrontation' Hindustan Times
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has advised Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to adopt a "flexible approach" in order to avoid a confrontation with the US and European Union negotiators on Tehran's controversial nuclear programme.
Roundup: EU tables resolution on Iran People's Daily Online
EU Submits Iran Nukes Proposal CBS News
Japan Today - Reuters.uk - Guardian Unlimited - ABC News - all 1,196 related »
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has advised Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to adopt a "flexible approach" in order to avoid a confrontation with the US and European Union negotiators on Tehran's controversial nuclear programme.
Roundup: EU tables resolution on Iran People's Daily Online
EU Submits Iran Nukes Proposal CBS News
Japan Today - Reuters.uk - Guardian Unlimited - ABC News - all 1,196 related »
Wiesenthal funeral held in Israel BBC News
Hundreds of mourners and dignitaries have attended the funeral of renowned Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal, in the Israeli town of Herzliya. Mr Wiesenthal, a Holocaust survivor who devoted his life to tracking down Nazi war criminals, died on Tuesday.
Vienna-Born Jews Return Decades After WWII Guardian Unlimited
WIESENTHAL BURIED IN ISRAEL Special Broadcasting Service
The Age (subscription) - Independent - Scotsman - ABC News - all 440 related »
Hundreds of mourners and dignitaries have attended the funeral of renowned Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal, in the Israeli town of Herzliya. Mr Wiesenthal, a Holocaust survivor who devoted his life to tracking down Nazi war criminals, died on Tuesday.
Vienna-Born Jews Return Decades After WWII Guardian Unlimited
WIESENTHAL BURIED IN ISRAEL Special Broadcasting Service
The Age (subscription) - Independent - Scotsman - ABC News - all 440 related »
Bloodied and Wobbly, but Still Standing in German Fight New York Times
People who know Angela Merkel, who after Sunday's inconclusive election is engaged in a tense duel to the finish to become the chancellor of Germany, seem to agree on at least one thing about her: she is cool and tough and not the type to walk away from a fight. "She will not give up," Georg Gafron, a German journalist who has known Mrs. Merkel for years, said in a telephone interview on Friday. "She doesn't give up. And nobody in her party has the power to force her to give up." According to people around her, Mrs. Merkel is playing what one of them called a "quiet and patient game."
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder belongs to SPD! Together with the Greens (Grüne) and the Left (Die Linke), he has 51.1% of the votes and clearly won the game!
She believes that Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who has insisted on remaining in office even though his party narrowly lost the election, will increasingly be rejected by the German public. Eventually, she hopes, Mr. Schröder will be forced by members of his own party to acknowledge that he has been voted out of office and step aside. But Mrs. Merkel clearly knows, as she shapes her strategy for the days and weeks ahead, that most analysts and commentators in Germany these days are tending toward the view that she is fighting a losing battle, or as one columnist in Bild Zeitung put it, "Merkel's career is over." For her to be so embattled at all is in itself a remarkable reversal of fortunes. Only a few weeks ago, she seemed so far ahead in the race that the news media were treating her almost as if she were already chancellor. But then her Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, received only one percentage point more in Sunday's voting than Mr. Schröder's Social Democrats. At first there was talk of a "grand coalition" with the Social Democrats, in which Mrs. Merkel, as the head of the largest party in Parliament, would be chancellor. But last Sunday night, after the ballots were tallied, Mr. Schröder said he would reject any grand coalition unless he were chancellor, thus setting the stage for the current impasse. Several other factors are making matters still more difficult for Mrs. Merkel. One is that the support of powerful figures within her party is shaky, because they feel she is publicly viewed as having lost the election and would not make a strong chancellor. Out of this a sort of new conventional wisdom has emerged for the most likely way that the deadlock will be broken. It is called the Glienicke Bridge solution, named for the bridge near Berlin where spies used to be exchanged during the cold war. In this situation, both Mr. Schröder and Mrs. Merkel step aside, or are pushed aside, and a grand coalition is formed with neither of them in the picture. But according to people close to her, Mrs. Merkel is not prepared to step aside or to be pushed aside, in large part because she believes that, legally, she won the election and therefore should be the chancellor. "She sees it as if two people cross an intersection, one with the light and one against it, and when they have a collision both of them go to prison," Mr. Gafron said. "It's not fair." In the first few days after the election, Mrs. Merkel's main effort was to try to create a three-party coalition, with a traditional ally, the pro-business Free Democratic Party, and the Greens, who were formerly allied with Mr. Schröder's Social Democrats. But on Friday, after a meeting with the Greens, Mrs. Merkel announced that the negotiations had failed. That opened a second possibility for Mrs. Merkel, a coalition with the Social Democrats. But as long as Mr. Schröder insists that he be the leader, it will not be easy for the two sides to come to terms. And even the Glienicke Bridge solution will be impossible as long as the two leaders stand in its way. "The first one who blinks will be the loser," said Michael Naumann, the publisher of Die Zeit, the national weekly. Mrs. Merkel's fortunes revived a bit on Friday when Mr. Schröder was portrayed in several newspapers as imperiously ignoring the actual election results in declaring himself to be the only person who can be chancellor. Most conspicuously, Bild Zeitung, which has a daily circulation of eight million, portrayed Mr. Schröder on its front page, dressed in a Roman toga, looking determined and declaring, "I, Gerhard Julius Caesar." Another paper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, likened Mr. Schröder to Vladimir V. Putin, the Russian president, with whom Mr. Schröder is very close, saying Mr. Schröder was showing "little overwhelming respect for democratic rules and institutions." Still a third paper, Der Tagesspiegel, editorialized, "The more Schröder talks himself up, the smaller he makes the S.P.D.," or Social Democratic Party. In a reference to the slow crescendo of anti-Schröder commentary in the press, one person close to Mrs. Merkel said, "Mrs. Merkel's attitude is to let her enemies destroy themselves." But people who know Mr. Schröder say he is no more likely to step aside or be pushed aside than Mrs. Merkel is. "What I think will happen, but it's only a guess," Mr. Naumann said, "is this: The Social Democrats will negotiate as long as they can, but if Mrs. Merkel insists on becoming chancellor, they will withdraw from the negotiations, because they know that without Schröder, the party would be in a shambles." What would happen then, Mr. Naumann said, is what he called "the constitutional process." Eventually, if Parliament is unable to elect a chancellor by majority vote, the candidate who enjoys a plurality becomes chancellor. This is more likely to be Mr. Schröder than Mrs. Merkel, because Mr. Schröder would probably have the passive support of the Left Party, a new splinter group that won nearly 8 percent of the vote on Sunday. But in such a case, the president can decide either to recognize a minority chancellor or to dissolve Parliament and call for new elections. Nothing like that has ever happened before in Germany, but if there is no compromise between the two big parties of right and left, it could happen this time around.
Germany's new Left MPs accused of collaborating with Stasi Guardian Unlimited
Merkel reaches out to Green Party International Herald Tribune
Australian - FOX News - Bloomberg - The Japan Times - all 575 related »
People who know Angela Merkel, who after Sunday's inconclusive election is engaged in a tense duel to the finish to become the chancellor of Germany, seem to agree on at least one thing about her: she is cool and tough and not the type to walk away from a fight. "She will not give up," Georg Gafron, a German journalist who has known Mrs. Merkel for years, said in a telephone interview on Friday. "She doesn't give up. And nobody in her party has the power to force her to give up." According to people around her, Mrs. Merkel is playing what one of them called a "quiet and patient game."
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder belongs to SPD! Together with the Greens (Grüne) and the Left (Die Linke), he has 51.1% of the votes and clearly won the game!
She believes that Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who has insisted on remaining in office even though his party narrowly lost the election, will increasingly be rejected by the German public. Eventually, she hopes, Mr. Schröder will be forced by members of his own party to acknowledge that he has been voted out of office and step aside. But Mrs. Merkel clearly knows, as she shapes her strategy for the days and weeks ahead, that most analysts and commentators in Germany these days are tending toward the view that she is fighting a losing battle, or as one columnist in Bild Zeitung put it, "Merkel's career is over." For her to be so embattled at all is in itself a remarkable reversal of fortunes. Only a few weeks ago, she seemed so far ahead in the race that the news media were treating her almost as if she were already chancellor. But then her Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, received only one percentage point more in Sunday's voting than Mr. Schröder's Social Democrats. At first there was talk of a "grand coalition" with the Social Democrats, in which Mrs. Merkel, as the head of the largest party in Parliament, would be chancellor. But last Sunday night, after the ballots were tallied, Mr. Schröder said he would reject any grand coalition unless he were chancellor, thus setting the stage for the current impasse. Several other factors are making matters still more difficult for Mrs. Merkel. One is that the support of powerful figures within her party is shaky, because they feel she is publicly viewed as having lost the election and would not make a strong chancellor. Out of this a sort of new conventional wisdom has emerged for the most likely way that the deadlock will be broken. It is called the Glienicke Bridge solution, named for the bridge near Berlin where spies used to be exchanged during the cold war. In this situation, both Mr. Schröder and Mrs. Merkel step aside, or are pushed aside, and a grand coalition is formed with neither of them in the picture. But according to people close to her, Mrs. Merkel is not prepared to step aside or to be pushed aside, in large part because she believes that, legally, she won the election and therefore should be the chancellor. "She sees it as if two people cross an intersection, one with the light and one against it, and when they have a collision both of them go to prison," Mr. Gafron said. "It's not fair." In the first few days after the election, Mrs. Merkel's main effort was to try to create a three-party coalition, with a traditional ally, the pro-business Free Democratic Party, and the Greens, who were formerly allied with Mr. Schröder's Social Democrats. But on Friday, after a meeting with the Greens, Mrs. Merkel announced that the negotiations had failed. That opened a second possibility for Mrs. Merkel, a coalition with the Social Democrats. But as long as Mr. Schröder insists that he be the leader, it will not be easy for the two sides to come to terms. And even the Glienicke Bridge solution will be impossible as long as the two leaders stand in its way. "The first one who blinks will be the loser," said Michael Naumann, the publisher of Die Zeit, the national weekly. Mrs. Merkel's fortunes revived a bit on Friday when Mr. Schröder was portrayed in several newspapers as imperiously ignoring the actual election results in declaring himself to be the only person who can be chancellor. Most conspicuously, Bild Zeitung, which has a daily circulation of eight million, portrayed Mr. Schröder on its front page, dressed in a Roman toga, looking determined and declaring, "I, Gerhard Julius Caesar." Another paper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, likened Mr. Schröder to Vladimir V. Putin, the Russian president, with whom Mr. Schröder is very close, saying Mr. Schröder was showing "little overwhelming respect for democratic rules and institutions." Still a third paper, Der Tagesspiegel, editorialized, "The more Schröder talks himself up, the smaller he makes the S.P.D.," or Social Democratic Party. In a reference to the slow crescendo of anti-Schröder commentary in the press, one person close to Mrs. Merkel said, "Mrs. Merkel's attitude is to let her enemies destroy themselves." But people who know Mr. Schröder say he is no more likely to step aside or be pushed aside than Mrs. Merkel is. "What I think will happen, but it's only a guess," Mr. Naumann said, "is this: The Social Democrats will negotiate as long as they can, but if Mrs. Merkel insists on becoming chancellor, they will withdraw from the negotiations, because they know that without Schröder, the party would be in a shambles." What would happen then, Mr. Naumann said, is what he called "the constitutional process." Eventually, if Parliament is unable to elect a chancellor by majority vote, the candidate who enjoys a plurality becomes chancellor. This is more likely to be Mr. Schröder than Mrs. Merkel, because Mr. Schröder would probably have the passive support of the Left Party, a new splinter group that won nearly 8 percent of the vote on Sunday. But in such a case, the president can decide either to recognize a minority chancellor or to dissolve Parliament and call for new elections. Nothing like that has ever happened before in Germany, but if there is no compromise between the two big parties of right and left, it could happen this time around.
Germany's new Left MPs accused of collaborating with Stasi Guardian Unlimited
Merkel reaches out to Green Party International Herald Tribune
Australian - FOX News - Bloomberg - The Japan Times - all 575 related »
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/GI24Ae01.html
Muslim women, children shield marine killers
By Richard S Ehrlich
BANGKOK - Suspected Islamist insurgents avoided capture after torturing to death two Thai marines by beating and stabbing the bound-and-gagged victims behind a human shield of defiant Muslim women and children, horrifying the government and plunging southern Thailand into a fresh security crisis.
Amid the world's most violent Islamist insurgency outside Iraq, angry and confused security forces hunted the elusive killers, described as three or four young men who ran away, leaving the marines' bloodied bodies in Tanyong Limo village.
"They were brutally beaten to death with machetes and sticks, while their hands and legs were tied up, and they were gagged
and blindfolded," Lieutenant General Kwanchart Klaharn, commander of the Fourth Army and director of the Southern Border Provinces Peace-building Command, told reporters.
The bodies were locked inside a building near a mosque, prompting security forces to break down a door to gain access before transporting them to a hospital morgue, he said.
The brutality of the killings - coupled with the security forces' failed attempt to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the hostage crisis and the inability of the armed marines to defend themselves - was urgently being examined by politicians, peace activists, army generals and the Thai media.
"We will absolutely not let those two die for nothing. The law is the law," an agitated Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told journalists after the killings Wednesday during a 19-hour stalemate between troops and villagers in violence-torn Narathiwat province.
"If I could, I would drop napalm bombs all over that village," a distraught Captain Traikwan Krairiksh was quoted in the Bangkok Post as saying after he viewed the bodies of his former subordinates in a pool of blood. "But the fact is, I can never do that. We are soldiers. We must follow the law. We can only take revenge by using the law."
Throughout the stand-off, scores of shouting Muslim women dressed in traditional headscarves stood with children, blocking troops from gaining access to the hostages, and erecting banners that blamed the authorities, including one in Thai that read: "You are in fact the terrorists."
Apparently hoping for a peaceful solution, troops did not attempt a forced rescue. The two experienced marines, armed with a US-supplied M-16 assault rifle and two pistols, were initially captured on Tuesday night when they stopped their vehicle near the village.
Locals blamed them for the drive-by shooting death of two men dining at a nearby tea shop earlier in the night, but authorities later explained that the marines were pursuing the unidentified killers and were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
More than 1,000 people on all sides have died in southern Thailand since January 4, 2004 when the smoldering rebellion flared in a so-called "night of the fires" attack on security forces, including synchronized arson assaults on 21 schools and a massive raid on a military base that netted the rebels hu
Muslim women, children shield marine killers
By Richard S Ehrlich
BANGKOK - Suspected Islamist insurgents avoided capture after torturing to death two Thai marines by beating and stabbing the bound-and-gagged victims behind a human shield of defiant Muslim women and children, horrifying the government and plunging southern Thailand into a fresh security crisis.
Amid the world's most violent Islamist insurgency outside Iraq, angry and confused security forces hunted the elusive killers, described as three or four young men who ran away, leaving the marines' bloodied bodies in Tanyong Limo village.
"They were brutally beaten to death with machetes and sticks, while their hands and legs were tied up, and they were gagged
and blindfolded," Lieutenant General Kwanchart Klaharn, commander of the Fourth Army and director of the Southern Border Provinces Peace-building Command, told reporters.
The bodies were locked inside a building near a mosque, prompting security forces to break down a door to gain access before transporting them to a hospital morgue, he said.
The brutality of the killings - coupled with the security forces' failed attempt to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the hostage crisis and the inability of the armed marines to defend themselves - was urgently being examined by politicians, peace activists, army generals and the Thai media.
"We will absolutely not let those two die for nothing. The law is the law," an agitated Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told journalists after the killings Wednesday during a 19-hour stalemate between troops and villagers in violence-torn Narathiwat province.
"If I could, I would drop napalm bombs all over that village," a distraught Captain Traikwan Krairiksh was quoted in the Bangkok Post as saying after he viewed the bodies of his former subordinates in a pool of blood. "But the fact is, I can never do that. We are soldiers. We must follow the law. We can only take revenge by using the law."
Throughout the stand-off, scores of shouting Muslim women dressed in traditional headscarves stood with children, blocking troops from gaining access to the hostages, and erecting banners that blamed the authorities, including one in Thai that read: "You are in fact the terrorists."
Apparently hoping for a peaceful solution, troops did not attempt a forced rescue. The two experienced marines, armed with a US-supplied M-16 assault rifle and two pistols, were initially captured on Tuesday night when they stopped their vehicle near the village.
Locals blamed them for the drive-by shooting death of two men dining at a nearby tea shop earlier in the night, but authorities later explained that the marines were pursuing the unidentified killers and were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
More than 1,000 people on all sides have died in southern Thailand since January 4, 2004 when the smoldering rebellion flared in a so-called "night of the fires" attack on security forces, including synchronized arson assaults on 21 schools and a massive raid on a military base that netted the rebels hu