IRAQI RESISTANCE
Reuters:
Ambush Kills One US Soldier, Wounds Two In Iraq
BAGHDAD (Reuters) -- One U.S. soldier was killed and two wounded in a gun attack on their tactical operations center northeast of Baghdad, the U.S. army said on Thursday.
A military spokesman said the soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division were attacked around 11:45 p.m. on Wednesday. The death brings to 51 the number of U.S. soldiers killed by attacks since Washington declared major combat over on May 1. In the last two weeks alone, 18 have been killed.
Thursday, July 31, 2003
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES-GOODBYE ROADMAP
Haaretz: Despite U.S. pressure, tender issued for 22 new Gaza homes
A senior aide to Palestinian Authority Chairman
Yasser Arafat on Thursday called Israel's decision
to issue a tender for 22 housing units in a Gaza
Strip settlement "a very dangerous step."
Peace Now representatives said the increased
settlement activity is more evidence that
Israel is not fulfilling its commitments on the
road map and is causing the peace process to
fail, the report said.
Haaretz: Despite U.S. pressure, tender issued for 22 new Gaza homes
A senior aide to Palestinian Authority Chairman
Yasser Arafat on Thursday called Israel's decision
to issue a tender for 22 housing units in a Gaza
Strip settlement "a very dangerous step."
Peace Now representatives said the increased
settlement activity is more evidence that
Israel is not fulfilling its commitments on the
road map and is causing the peace process to
fail, the report said.
BUSH
Independent: Bush, the rainforest and a gas pipeline to enrich his friends
Plan would enrich Bush corporate campaign contributors
President George Bush is seeking funds for a controversial project to drive gas pipelines from pristine rainforests in the Peruvian Amazon to the coast.
The plan will enrich some of Mr Bush's closest corporate campaign contributors while risking the destruction of rainforest, threatening its indigenous peoples and endangering rare species on the coast.
Among the beneficiaries would be two Texas energy companies with close ties to the White House, Hunt Oil and Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), a subsidiary of Vice-President Dick Cheney's old company, Haliburton, which is rebuilding Iraq's oil infrastructure.
Independent: Bush, the rainforest and a gas pipeline to enrich his friends
Plan would enrich Bush corporate campaign contributors
President George Bush is seeking funds for a controversial project to drive gas pipelines from pristine rainforests in the Peruvian Amazon to the coast.
The plan will enrich some of Mr Bush's closest corporate campaign contributors while risking the destruction of rainforest, threatening its indigenous peoples and endangering rare species on the coast.
Among the beneficiaries would be two Texas energy companies with close ties to the White House, Hunt Oil and Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), a subsidiary of Vice-President Dick Cheney's old company, Haliburton, which is rebuilding Iraq's oil infrastructure.
IRAQ
Islam Online:
Saddam Pays Tribute To Killed Sons
BAGHDAD, July 29 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - In a new audiotape aired by Al-Arabiya TV channel Tuesday, July 29, ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein paid tribute to his two sons Uday and Qusay who were recently killed by U.S. forces.
"We thank Allah for honoring us with their martyrdom…Beloved Iraqis, your sons and brothers -- Uday, Qusay and Qusay's son Mustafa -- practiced an act of faith in the arena of jihad in Mosul, after a valiant battle with the enemy lasting a full six hours," said the voice said to be of the ousted Iraqi president.
Islam Online:
Saddam Pays Tribute To Killed Sons
BAGHDAD, July 29 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - In a new audiotape aired by Al-Arabiya TV channel Tuesday, July 29, ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein paid tribute to his two sons Uday and Qusay who were recently killed by U.S. forces.
"We thank Allah for honoring us with their martyrdom…Beloved Iraqis, your sons and brothers -- Uday, Qusay and Qusay's son Mustafa -- practiced an act of faith in the arena of jihad in Mosul, after a valiant battle with the enemy lasting a full six hours," said the voice said to be of the ousted Iraqi president.
FINANCE..DIE ERSTEN KRIEGSGEWINNER
Yahoo:
War-driven energy prices push BP profits up 42 percent
British oil giant BP reported a 42-percent rise in second-quarter profits, boosted by unexpectedly strong oil prices in the aftermath of the Iraq (news - web sites) war.
Yahoo:
War-driven energy prices push BP profits up 42 percent
British oil giant BP reported a 42-percent rise in second-quarter profits, boosted by unexpectedly strong oil prices in the aftermath of the Iraq (news - web sites) war.
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Taipe Times: Israel quells protest along fence
SOLID WALL: The security fence served its purpose when an international group of protesters was sent away at the barricade by an Israeli-rubber-bullet counterattack
Taipe Times: Israel quells protest along fence
SOLID WALL: The security fence served its purpose when an international group of protesters was sent away at the barricade by an Israeli-rubber-bullet counterattack
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Guardian: 'I can't imagine anyone who considers himself a human being can do this'
On Friday a four-year-old Palestinian boy was shot dead by a soldier - the most recent child victim of the Israeli army. Chris McGreal investigates a shocking series of deaths
Haneen, who was eight years old, had been shot twice in the head by an Israeli soldier as she walked down the street in Khan Yunis refugee camp with her mother, Lila Abu Selmi.
"Almost every day here the Israelis shoot at random, so when you hear it you get inside as quickly as possible," says Mrs Selmi. "Haneen went to the grocery store to buy some crisps. When the shooting started, I came out to find her. She was coming down the street and ran to me and hugged me, crying, 'Mother, mother'. Two bullets hit her in the head, one straight after the other. She was still in my arms and she died."
The numbers are staggering; one in five Palestinian dead is a child. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) says at least 408 Palestinian children have been killed since the beginning of the intifada in September 2000
Guardian: 'I can't imagine anyone who considers himself a human being can do this'
On Friday a four-year-old Palestinian boy was shot dead by a soldier - the most recent child victim of the Israeli army. Chris McGreal investigates a shocking series of deaths
Haneen, who was eight years old, had been shot twice in the head by an Israeli soldier as she walked down the street in Khan Yunis refugee camp with her mother, Lila Abu Selmi.
"Almost every day here the Israelis shoot at random, so when you hear it you get inside as quickly as possible," says Mrs Selmi. "Haneen went to the grocery store to buy some crisps. When the shooting started, I came out to find her. She was coming down the street and ran to me and hugged me, crying, 'Mother, mother'. Two bullets hit her in the head, one straight after the other. She was still in my arms and she died."
The numbers are staggering; one in five Palestinian dead is a child. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) says at least 408 Palestinian children have been killed since the beginning of the intifada in September 2000
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Institute for Public Accuracy:
THE WALL
MARK LANCE, a professor at Georgetown University, was in the West Bank
in June and July with a delegation of university faculty and has written
about the wall that Israel is constructing in the West Bank. He said today:
"Sharon claims that Israel is building a 'security fence' so that it
can protect itself. That is not borne out by the facts. Physically, the
wall has two distinct forms. In much of the northern section, it is a
20-foot-high concrete wall, complete with guard towers -- very much
like the Berlin Wall. Most of the rest is a complex consisting of a row of
razor wire, a trench, a military security road, an electrified fence, another
road, another trench, and another razor wire barrier.... The wall does
not separate the West Bank from Israel; rather, it curves into the West
Bank in such a way as to divide villages from their farmland. In the (not so)
long run, this will result in the further impoverishment and likely
displacement of the population of these villages, as well as the likely
appropriation of this land to Israel
Maps and images of the separation wall are available via:
Gush-Shalom
Btselem.org
Palestine Monitor
Guardian: Death zone puts family life in limbo
Israeli security fence cuts Palestinians off from their village, school and relatives "linked by Pedro"
Institute for Public Accuracy:
THE WALL
MARK LANCE, a professor at Georgetown University, was in the West Bank
in June and July with a delegation of university faculty and has written
about the wall that Israel is constructing in the West Bank. He said today:
"Sharon claims that Israel is building a 'security fence' so that it
can protect itself. That is not borne out by the facts. Physically, the
wall has two distinct forms. In much of the northern section, it is a
20-foot-high concrete wall, complete with guard towers -- very much
like the Berlin Wall. Most of the rest is a complex consisting of a row of
razor wire, a trench, a military security road, an electrified fence, another
road, another trench, and another razor wire barrier.... The wall does
not separate the West Bank from Israel; rather, it curves into the West
Bank in such a way as to divide villages from their farmland. In the (not so)
long run, this will result in the further impoverishment and likely
displacement of the population of these villages, as well as the likely
appropriation of this land to Israel
Maps and images of the separation wall are available via:
Gush-Shalom
Btselem.org
Palestine Monitor
Guardian: Death zone puts family life in limbo
Israeli security fence cuts Palestinians off from their village, school and relatives "linked by Pedro"
AFGHANISTAN
Asia Times: Why the US needs the Taliban
Since Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf made his much-acclaimed visit to Camp David and met US President George W Bush on June 24, new elements have begun to emerge in the Afghan theater. US troops in Afghanistan are now encountering more enemy attacks than ever before, and clashes between Pakistani and Afghan troops along the tribal borders have been reported regularly.
On July 16, speaking to Electronic Telegraph of the United Kingdom, US troop commander General Frank "Buster" Hagenbeck, based at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, reported increased attacks over recent weeks on US and Afghan forces by the Taliban, al-Qaeda and other anti-US groups that have joined hands. He also revealed some other very interesting information: the Taliban and its allies have regrouped in Pakistan and are recruiting fighters from religious schools in Quetta in a campaign funded by drug trafficking. Hagenbeck also said that these enemies of US and Afghan forces have been joined by Al-Qaeda commanders who are establishing new cells and sponsoring the attempted capture of American troops. One other piece of news of import from Hagenbeck is that the Taliban have seized whole swathes of the country.
CHECK IT
Asia Times: Why the US needs the Taliban
Since Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf made his much-acclaimed visit to Camp David and met US President George W Bush on June 24, new elements have begun to emerge in the Afghan theater. US troops in Afghanistan are now encountering more enemy attacks than ever before, and clashes between Pakistani and Afghan troops along the tribal borders have been reported regularly.
On July 16, speaking to Electronic Telegraph of the United Kingdom, US troop commander General Frank "Buster" Hagenbeck, based at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, reported increased attacks over recent weeks on US and Afghan forces by the Taliban, al-Qaeda and other anti-US groups that have joined hands. He also revealed some other very interesting information: the Taliban and its allies have regrouped in Pakistan and are recruiting fighters from religious schools in Quetta in a campaign funded by drug trafficking. Hagenbeck also said that these enemies of US and Afghan forces have been joined by Al-Qaeda commanders who are establishing new cells and sponsoring the attempted capture of American troops. One other piece of news of import from Hagenbeck is that the Taliban have seized whole swathes of the country.
CHECK IT
ISRAELI WMD
The News: Arabs aim at Israeli nukes through IAEA
BRUSSELS: In an unprecedented move, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has decided to include 'Israeli Nuclear Capabilities and Threats' as an agenda item for discussion in its next General Conference and Regular Session to be held in Vienna, soon.
Ever escalating Israeli nuclear programme will be debated thread bare in the upcoming 47th Regular Session of the UN atomic body, IAEA.
Israel is the sole nuclear power in the Middle East. Therefore it is free to threaten, overtly or by implication, any or all other Middle East countries with total destruction without possibility of their retaliation", Arab states emphasised in their much-needed request for inclusion of Israeli nuclear programme in the IAEA discussions.
The News: Arabs aim at Israeli nukes through IAEA
BRUSSELS: In an unprecedented move, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has decided to include 'Israeli Nuclear Capabilities and Threats' as an agenda item for discussion in its next General Conference and Regular Session to be held in Vienna, soon.
Ever escalating Israeli nuclear programme will be debated thread bare in the upcoming 47th Regular Session of the UN atomic body, IAEA.
Israel is the sole nuclear power in the Middle East. Therefore it is free to threaten, overtly or by implication, any or all other Middle East countries with total destruction without possibility of their retaliation", Arab states emphasised in their much-needed request for inclusion of Israeli nuclear programme in the IAEA discussions.
IRAQ: OPEN FOR BUSINESS...
Independent: Cut off for un-American activities: the mobile phone firm that connected Iraqis
America's desire to rebuild Iraq in its own image even extends to setting up a mobile phone network that only works for US phones.
A Bahraini company that established a network accessible to those without American phones has been forced to scrap its plans after a week.
Batelco had started placing more than $5m (£3m) of aerials and other equipment for GSM mobiles across Baghdad. Foreign businessmen and journalists were able to abandon expensive satellite phones for the first time. But mindful of its desire to set up a tender for the country's mobile network, the US authorities apparently started to put pressure on Batelco, threatening to confiscate its equipment.
"They applied enough pressure for us to push the button," said Rashid al-Snan, the company's regional operations manager. "I feel really sorry - sorry for the Iraqis and sorry for the foreigners who were using the network. It's a pity we had to stop. We really put in an effort and felt a cheer coming towards us from all over the world."
Independent: Cut off for un-American activities: the mobile phone firm that connected Iraqis
America's desire to rebuild Iraq in its own image even extends to setting up a mobile phone network that only works for US phones.
A Bahraini company that established a network accessible to those without American phones has been forced to scrap its plans after a week.
Batelco had started placing more than $5m (£3m) of aerials and other equipment for GSM mobiles across Baghdad. Foreign businessmen and journalists were able to abandon expensive satellite phones for the first time. But mindful of its desire to set up a tender for the country's mobile network, the US authorities apparently started to put pressure on Batelco, threatening to confiscate its equipment.
"They applied enough pressure for us to push the button," said Rashid al-Snan, the company's regional operations manager. "I feel really sorry - sorry for the Iraqis and sorry for the foreigners who were using the network. It's a pity we had to stop. We really put in an effort and felt a cheer coming towards us from all over the world."
MEDIA
Independent: America Increasing Pressure on Al-Jazeera TV by Robert Fisk in Baghdat
"The unprecedented dispute between an Anglo-American occupation authority and an Arab station once praised for its services to free speech in the Arab world comes at a time when the US administration appears to be laying the ground work to close down Al-Jazeera’s operations in Iraq .."
BAGHDAD - Only a day after US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz claimed that the Arabic Al-Jazeera television channel was “inciting violence” and “endangering the lives of American troops” in Iraq, the station’s Baghdad bureau chief has written a scathing reply to the American administration, complaining that in the past month the station’s offices and staff in Iraq “have been subject to strafing by gunfire, death threats, confiscation of news material, and multiple detentions and arrests, all carried out by US soldiers...”
The unprecedented dispute between an Anglo-American occupation authority supposedly dedicated to “democracy” in Iraq and an Arab station once praised by Washington for its services to free speech in the Arab world comes at a time when the US administration appears to be laying the ground work to close down Al-Jazeera’s operations in Iraq — along with those of the Arabia channel — for alleged “incitement to violence”.
America’s senior occupation proconsul in Iraq, Paul Bremer, has officially stated that he would close down newspapers or television stations guilty of “incitement to violence” — without, of course, explaining exactly what this phrase means.
CHECK IT CHECK IT CHECK IT
"Ironie Ironie. Die Befreier der Welt wollen den einzigen freien Nachrichtenkanal in der neuen Kolonie Irak unter fadenscheinigen Begründung resp. Lügen verbieten. Die Besatzungsmacht mag nicht wenn jemand die Wahrheit berichtet. Democracy the american way"
Independent: America Increasing Pressure on Al-Jazeera TV by Robert Fisk in Baghdat
"The unprecedented dispute between an Anglo-American occupation authority and an Arab station once praised for its services to free speech in the Arab world comes at a time when the US administration appears to be laying the ground work to close down Al-Jazeera’s operations in Iraq .."
BAGHDAD - Only a day after US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz claimed that the Arabic Al-Jazeera television channel was “inciting violence” and “endangering the lives of American troops” in Iraq, the station’s Baghdad bureau chief has written a scathing reply to the American administration, complaining that in the past month the station’s offices and staff in Iraq “have been subject to strafing by gunfire, death threats, confiscation of news material, and multiple detentions and arrests, all carried out by US soldiers...”
The unprecedented dispute between an Anglo-American occupation authority supposedly dedicated to “democracy” in Iraq and an Arab station once praised by Washington for its services to free speech in the Arab world comes at a time when the US administration appears to be laying the ground work to close down Al-Jazeera’s operations in Iraq — along with those of the Arabia channel — for alleged “incitement to violence”.
America’s senior occupation proconsul in Iraq, Paul Bremer, has officially stated that he would close down newspapers or television stations guilty of “incitement to violence” — without, of course, explaining exactly what this phrase means.
CHECK IT CHECK IT CHECK IT
"Ironie Ironie. Die Befreier der Welt wollen den einzigen freien Nachrichtenkanal in der neuen Kolonie Irak unter fadenscheinigen Begründung resp. Lügen verbieten. Die Besatzungsmacht mag nicht wenn jemand die Wahrheit berichtet. Democracy the american way"
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Asia Times: Anti-US resistance spreads through Iraq
SULAIMANIYA, northern Iraq - As attacks against US targets in central Iraq increase, many factors in the north and south are combining to add to the woes of the US occupiers, the US-appointed administration, and their supporters.
Intelligence sources in the northern city of Sulaimaniya say that those resisting the US presence are on a steep learning curve and that their attacks will become more organized and ruthless.
According to the local sources, a terror network in northern cities, including Kirkuk and Mosul, is set to begin operations against US troops and those Iraqis who support them. News of the northern network emerged during meetings earlier this week between local intelligence officials of Iraqi Kurdistan and US intelligence.
Asia Times: Anti-US resistance spreads through Iraq
SULAIMANIYA, northern Iraq - As attacks against US targets in central Iraq increase, many factors in the north and south are combining to add to the woes of the US occupiers, the US-appointed administration, and their supporters.
Intelligence sources in the northern city of Sulaimaniya say that those resisting the US presence are on a steep learning curve and that their attacks will become more organized and ruthless.
According to the local sources, a terror network in northern cities, including Kirkuk and Mosul, is set to begin operations against US troops and those Iraqis who support them. News of the northern network emerged during meetings earlier this week between local intelligence officials of Iraqi Kurdistan and US intelligence.
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
IRAQ
Zmag:
Guardian: Victims of trigger-happy Task Force 20
Rage triggered by US raid that claimed five lives
The first hint that something might be up came at 1.30pm on Sunday afternoon. A car full of westerners in civilian clothes with cropped military-style haircuts pulled up outside the Al Sa'ah restaurant, two blocks from Prince Rabiah Muhamed al-Habib's house in the wealthy Mansur district of Baghdad.
Japantoday:
Japanese reporters in Iraq say U.S. troops roughed them up
A Japanese reporter was manhandled and temporarily detained
by U.S. soldiers Sunday for filming without their permission in an area of Baghdad where they were conducting raids, another reporter who accompanied him said. Japan Press reporter Kazutaka Sato, 47, was put in a hold, thrown
to the ground and kicked, sustaining injuries to his face and hands,
according to Mika Yamamoto, 36, a Japan Press reporter who was with Sato at the time of the incident. She said the two had been in the Mansur district of Baghdad filming the damage caused to civilians by the U.S. military when they had their cameras confiscated.
Zmag:
Guardian: Victims of trigger-happy Task Force 20
Rage triggered by US raid that claimed five lives
The first hint that something might be up came at 1.30pm on Sunday afternoon. A car full of westerners in civilian clothes with cropped military-style haircuts pulled up outside the Al Sa'ah restaurant, two blocks from Prince Rabiah Muhamed al-Habib's house in the wealthy Mansur district of Baghdad.
Japantoday:
Japanese reporters in Iraq say U.S. troops roughed them up
A Japanese reporter was manhandled and temporarily detained
by U.S. soldiers Sunday for filming without their permission in an area of Baghdad where they were conducting raids, another reporter who accompanied him said. Japan Press reporter Kazutaka Sato, 47, was put in a hold, thrown
to the ground and kicked, sustaining injuries to his face and hands,
according to Mika Yamamoto, 36, a Japan Press reporter who was with Sato at the time of the incident. She said the two had been in the Mansur district of Baghdad filming the damage caused to civilians by the U.S. military when they had their cameras confiscated.
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Yellowtimes: News from the Front: Worsening Situation in Iraq
In the wake of the killings of Uday and Qusay
Saddam Hussein, U.S. soldiers appear to be more on edge, according to the BBC and Arab media reports. Ten U.S. military servicemen have been killed, with 14 wounded since the killing of the Hussein brothers last Tuesday. U.S. soldiers have complained that the attacks are now no longer restricted to the cover of night, often occurring suddenly and almost everywhere.
Yellowtimes: News from the Front: Worsening Situation in Iraq
In the wake of the killings of Uday and Qusay
Saddam Hussein, U.S. soldiers appear to be more on edge, according to the BBC and Arab media reports. Ten U.S. military servicemen have been killed, with 14 wounded since the killing of the Hussein brothers last Tuesday. U.S. soldiers have complained that the attacks are now no longer restricted to the cover of night, often occurring suddenly and almost everywhere.
QUOTE THE DAY
"The point of public relations slogans like "Support our troops" is
that they don't mean anything... That's the whole point of good propaganda.
You want to create a slogan that nobody's going to be against, and
everybody's going to be for. Nobody knows what it means, because it doesn't mean
anything. Its crucial value is that it diverts your attention from a
question that does mean something: Do you support our policy? That's
the one you're not allowed to talk about." -- Noam Chomsky
"The point of public relations slogans like "Support our troops" is
that they don't mean anything... That's the whole point of good propaganda.
You want to create a slogan that nobody's going to be against, and
everybody's going to be for. Nobody knows what it means, because it doesn't mean
anything. Its crucial value is that it diverts your attention from a
question that does mean something: Do you support our policy? That's
the one you're not allowed to talk about." -- Noam Chomsky
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Tagesanzeiger: Mauerbau: Sharon trotzt Bush
Beim Besuch im Weissen Haus hat Israels Premier erklärt, dass er am Bau der befestigten Grenze festhalten will - trotz US-Kritik an Mauer und Sicherheitszaun.
Obwohl der palästinensische Ministerpräsident Abbas bei seinem Besuch im Weissen Haus letzten Freitag Präsident Bush gedrängt hatte, Israel zu einem Baustopp des Zauns zu bewegen, übte Bush in dieser Beziehung öffentlich keinerlei Druck auf Sharon aus.
sagte Sharon, beim Bau des Zauns werde man sich bemühen, «Eingriffe in das tägliche Leben der palästinensischen Bevölkerung möglichst gering zu halten» "witz?"
Bush hatte seine Erklärung vor der Presse mit der Versicherung eröffnet, die USA hätten «sich fest der Sicherheit Israels als eines jüdischen Staats und der Sicherheit des israelischen Volkes verschrieben». Ausserdem betonte er mehrmals, die Errichtung eines palästinensischen Staats hänge von einem Ende der Terroranschläge auf israelische Ziele ab
"Die Roadmap ist wohl eher ein PR-Move von Bush um die arabische Welt ruhig zu stellen als ein ernst gemeinter Versuch Frieden zu stiften"
Tagesanzeiger: Mauerbau: Sharon trotzt Bush
Beim Besuch im Weissen Haus hat Israels Premier erklärt, dass er am Bau der befestigten Grenze festhalten will - trotz US-Kritik an Mauer und Sicherheitszaun.
Obwohl der palästinensische Ministerpräsident Abbas bei seinem Besuch im Weissen Haus letzten Freitag Präsident Bush gedrängt hatte, Israel zu einem Baustopp des Zauns zu bewegen, übte Bush in dieser Beziehung öffentlich keinerlei Druck auf Sharon aus.
sagte Sharon, beim Bau des Zauns werde man sich bemühen, «Eingriffe in das tägliche Leben der palästinensischen Bevölkerung möglichst gering zu halten» "witz?"
Bush hatte seine Erklärung vor der Presse mit der Versicherung eröffnet, die USA hätten «sich fest der Sicherheit Israels als eines jüdischen Staats und der Sicherheit des israelischen Volkes verschrieben». Ausserdem betonte er mehrmals, die Errichtung eines palästinensischen Staats hänge von einem Ende der Terroranschläge auf israelische Ziele ab
"Die Roadmap ist wohl eher ein PR-Move von Bush um die arabische Welt ruhig zu stellen als ein ernst gemeinter Versuch Frieden zu stiften"
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
IRAQ
Spiegel: Saddam beklagt Tod seiner Söhne
Der gestürzte irakische Machthaber Saddam Hussein hat sich erstmals zum Tod seiner Söhne geäußert. In einer Tonbandaufnahme trauert er um Udai, Kussei und seinen Neffen Mustafa, die in der vergangenen Woche von US-Soldaten in Mossul getötet wurden. Sie seien den "Heldentod" gestorben.
Spiegel: Saddam beklagt Tod seiner Söhne
Der gestürzte irakische Machthaber Saddam Hussein hat sich erstmals zum Tod seiner Söhne geäußert. In einer Tonbandaufnahme trauert er um Udai, Kussei und seinen Neffen Mustafa, die in der vergangenen Woche von US-Soldaten in Mossul getötet wurden. Sie seien den "Heldentod" gestorben.
IRAQ
Guardian: America Is Now A Religion by George Monibot
US leaders now see themselves as priests of a divine mission to rid the world of its demons...
The death of Uday and Qusay," the commander of the ground forces in Iraq told reporters on Wednesday, "is definitely going to be a turning point for the resistance." Well, it was a turning point, but unfortunately not of the kind he envisaged. On the day he made his announcement, Iraqi insurgents killed one US soldier and wounded six others. On the following day, they killed another three; over the weekend they assassinated five and injured seven. Yesterday they slaughtered one more and wounded three. This has been the worst week for US soldiers in Iraq since George Bush declared that the war there was over.
Few people believe that the resistance in that country is being coordinated by Saddam Hussein and his noxious family, or that it will come to an end when those people are killed. But the few appear to include the military and civilian command of the United States armed forces. For the hundredth time since the US invaded Iraq, the predictions made by those with access to intelligence have proved less reliable than the predictions made by those without. And, for the hundredth time, the inaccuracy of the official forecasts has been blamed on "intelligence failures".
Guardian: America Is Now A Religion by George Monibot
US leaders now see themselves as priests of a divine mission to rid the world of its demons...
The death of Uday and Qusay," the commander of the ground forces in Iraq told reporters on Wednesday, "is definitely going to be a turning point for the resistance." Well, it was a turning point, but unfortunately not of the kind he envisaged. On the day he made his announcement, Iraqi insurgents killed one US soldier and wounded six others. On the following day, they killed another three; over the weekend they assassinated five and injured seven. Yesterday they slaughtered one more and wounded three. This has been the worst week for US soldiers in Iraq since George Bush declared that the war there was over.
Few people believe that the resistance in that country is being coordinated by Saddam Hussein and his noxious family, or that it will come to an end when those people are killed. But the few appear to include the military and civilian command of the United States armed forces. For the hundredth time since the US invaded Iraq, the predictions made by those with access to intelligence have proved less reliable than the predictions made by those without. And, for the hundredth time, the inaccuracy of the official forecasts has been blamed on "intelligence failures".
FINANCE
Yahoo News:
Pentagon's Futures Market Plan Condemned
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon (news - web sites) is setting up a stock-market style system in which investors would bet on terror attacks, assassinations and other events in the Middle East. Defense officials hope to gain intelligence and useful predictions while investors who guessed right would win profits.
Two Democratic senators demanded Monday the project be stopped before investors begin registering this week. "The idea of a federal betting parlor on atrocities and terrorism is ridiculous and it's grotesque," Sen. Ron Wyden (news, bio, voting record), D-Ore., said.
Yahoo News:
Pentagon's Futures Market Plan Condemned
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon (news - web sites) is setting up a stock-market style system in which investors would bet on terror attacks, assassinations and other events in the Middle East. Defense officials hope to gain intelligence and useful predictions while investors who guessed right would win profits.
Two Democratic senators demanded Monday the project be stopped before investors begin registering this week. "The idea of a federal betting parlor on atrocities and terrorism is ridiculous and it's grotesque," Sen. Ron Wyden (news, bio, voting record), D-Ore., said.
IRAQI WMD
Sunday Herald: Britain's Dirty Tricks Campaign
To Push War In Iraq
Revealed: The Secret Cabal Which Spun For Blair
Britain ran a covert 'dirty tricks' operation designed specifically to produce misleading intelligence that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction to give the UK a justifiable excuse to wage war on Iraq.
Operation Rockingham, established by the Defence Intelligence Staff within the Ministry of Defence in 1991, was set up to 'cherry-pick' intelligence proving an active Iraqi WMD programme and to ignore and quash intelligence which indicated that Saddam's stockpiles had been destroyed or wound down.
'Rockingham was spinning reports and emphasising reports that showed non-compliance (by Iraq with UN inspections) and quashing those which showed compliance. It was cherry-picking intelligence.
Johnson said that to describe Saddam as an 'imminent threat' to the West was 'laughable and idiotic'. He said many CIA officers were in 'great distress' over the way intelligence had been treated. 'We've entered the world of George Orwell,' Johnson added. 'I'm disgusted. The truth has to be told. We can't allow our leaders to use bogus information to justify war.'
Sunday Herald: Britain's Dirty Tricks Campaign
To Push War In Iraq
Revealed: The Secret Cabal Which Spun For Blair
Britain ran a covert 'dirty tricks' operation designed specifically to produce misleading intelligence that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction to give the UK a justifiable excuse to wage war on Iraq.
Operation Rockingham, established by the Defence Intelligence Staff within the Ministry of Defence in 1991, was set up to 'cherry-pick' intelligence proving an active Iraqi WMD programme and to ignore and quash intelligence which indicated that Saddam's stockpiles had been destroyed or wound down.
'Rockingham was spinning reports and emphasising reports that showed non-compliance (by Iraq with UN inspections) and quashing those which showed compliance. It was cherry-picking intelligence.
Johnson said that to describe Saddam as an 'imminent threat' to the West was 'laughable and idiotic'. He said many CIA officers were in 'great distress' over the way intelligence had been treated. 'We've entered the world of George Orwell,' Johnson added. 'I'm disgusted. The truth has to be told. We can't allow our leaders to use bogus information to justify war.'
MEDIA
Reuters: Arab Stations Reject U.S. Criticism They Are Biased
Arab satellite televisions dismissed Monday U.S. accusations that their coverage from Iraq was biased and incited violence against U.S. troops, saying they just filled a vacuum left by the U.S. media.
Officials from Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera networks, which have reported anti-U.S. attacks in Iraq and aired tapes by ousted leader Saddam Hussein, were responding to remarks made on Sunday by U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowtiz.
Wolfowitz said in an interview on Fox News Sunday the two channels were guilty of "very biased reporting that has the effect of inciting violence against our troops."
"Wolfowitz wirft den Arabischen Sendern parteiische Berichterstattung vor - und das auf FOX NEWS. Wenn das mal keine Ironie ist"
Reuters: Arab Stations Reject U.S. Criticism They Are Biased
Arab satellite televisions dismissed Monday U.S. accusations that their coverage from Iraq was biased and incited violence against U.S. troops, saying they just filled a vacuum left by the U.S. media.
Officials from Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera networks, which have reported anti-U.S. attacks in Iraq and aired tapes by ousted leader Saddam Hussein, were responding to remarks made on Sunday by U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowtiz.
Wolfowitz said in an interview on Fox News Sunday the two channels were guilty of "very biased reporting that has the effect of inciting violence against our troops."
"Wolfowitz wirft den Arabischen Sendern parteiische Berichterstattung vor - und das auf FOX NEWS. Wenn das mal keine Ironie ist"
DOUBLETALK /LANGUAGE
Zmag:
Colleteral Language an interview with Noam Chomsky
Rense:
Language
by Charey Reese
"Politicians and the media are perpetually corrupting the language. I was reminded of that yet again when the New York City mayor, understandably excited, described the shooting of a city councilman as an "attack on democracy."
No it wasn't. The councilman, God rest his soul, was killed by some guy who apparently had a grudge against him. It was private murder that just happened to occur in a public place. It was not an attack against the institution or even the City Council itself, much less against democracy.
Zmag:
Colleteral Language an interview with Noam Chomsky
Rense:
Language
by Charey Reese
"Politicians and the media are perpetually corrupting the language. I was reminded of that yet again when the New York City mayor, understandably excited, described the shooting of a city councilman as an "attack on democracy."
No it wasn't. The councilman, God rest his soul, was killed by some guy who apparently had a grudge against him. It was private murder that just happened to occur in a public place. It was not an attack against the institution or even the City Council itself, much less against democracy.
Monday, July 28, 2003
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Independent/Rense: US Troops Keep Asking
Themselves 'Who's Next?' By Robert Fisk
BAGHDAD -- The convoys were humming down the highway from Amman to Baghdad all last week, trucks groaning under the weight of hundreds of tons of pre-stressed concrete, giant blocks and heaps of cement on the trailers, each one higher than the average lorry. I understood what they meant: protection from car bombs.
I had seen them so often in Beirut when the US Marines first came under fire in 1983. The 'liberators' of Beirut were becoming the occupiers. Now the same is happening in Iraq. The 'liberators' are turning into aggressive raiders, kicking down doors and screaming at disobedient Iraqis, shooting dead drivers who don't stop at their checkpoints.
When they kill the former Iraqi leadership, the sons of Saddam, they parade their cadavers before Arab television audiences, just like any other Middle East regime.
Welcome to the 'New Iraq'
The vast miles of concrete are to be placed around US bases in Iraq, protection from the car bombs which have yet to be used against them.
"CHECK IT"
Independent/Rense: US Troops Keep Asking
Themselves 'Who's Next?' By Robert Fisk
BAGHDAD -- The convoys were humming down the highway from Amman to Baghdad all last week, trucks groaning under the weight of hundreds of tons of pre-stressed concrete, giant blocks and heaps of cement on the trailers, each one higher than the average lorry. I understood what they meant: protection from car bombs.
I had seen them so often in Beirut when the US Marines first came under fire in 1983. The 'liberators' of Beirut were becoming the occupiers. Now the same is happening in Iraq. The 'liberators' are turning into aggressive raiders, kicking down doors and screaming at disobedient Iraqis, shooting dead drivers who don't stop at their checkpoints.
When they kill the former Iraqi leadership, the sons of Saddam, they parade their cadavers before Arab television audiences, just like any other Middle East regime.
Welcome to the 'New Iraq'
The vast miles of concrete are to be placed around US bases in Iraq, protection from the car bombs which have yet to be used against them.
"CHECK IT"
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Reuters: New Baghdad Attack as U.S. Troops Hunt Saddam
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A grenade attack in downtown Baghdad Monday wounded and may have killed two U.S. soldiers in broad daylight, the latest in an increasingly bold and deadly guerrilla campaign.
Fueling a nervous cycle of fear and resentment between the American occupiers and ordinary Iraqis, people in Baghdad accused jumpy U.S. troops of killing five passers-by Sunday in what looked like a botched raid in the hunt for Saddam Hussein. U.S. spokesmen refused all comment on the incident.
The U.S. commander in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, warned it was becoming a "terrorist magnet" for foreigners and said attacks were getting more sophisticated.
Reuters: New Baghdad Attack as U.S. Troops Hunt Saddam
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A grenade attack in downtown Baghdad Monday wounded and may have killed two U.S. soldiers in broad daylight, the latest in an increasingly bold and deadly guerrilla campaign.
Fueling a nervous cycle of fear and resentment between the American occupiers and ordinary Iraqis, people in Baghdad accused jumpy U.S. troops of killing five passers-by Sunday in what looked like a botched raid in the hunt for Saddam Hussein. U.S. spokesmen refused all comment on the incident.
The U.S. commander in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, warned it was becoming a "terrorist magnet" for foreigners and said attacks were getting more sophisticated.
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Reuters: Israeli Troops Shoot to Stop 'Fence' Protest
ANIN, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets Monday to break up a protest against Israel's construction of a security fence in the West Bank, wounding five pro-Palestinian activists, witnesses said.
An American protester was struck in the leg at close range during the clash near the West bank village of Anin and was taken to hospital, Israeli demonstrator Yonatan Pollak said.
The other four protesters were treated at the scene after being struck in the back and stomach, he said. He did not give their nationalities.
The troops opened fire after about 300 protesters gathered on both sides of the barrier and tried to tear down a gate in the fence.
Israel says it needs the fence to keep out suicide bombers.
Palestinians fear the barrier, due to cut deep into West Bank territory, is intended to unilaterally set the borders of their envisaged state.
The fence is expected to be on the agenda when Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon meets President Bush in Washington Tuesday. Bush has described the fence as a "problem."
Reuters: Israeli Troops Shoot to Stop 'Fence' Protest
ANIN, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets Monday to break up a protest against Israel's construction of a security fence in the West Bank, wounding five pro-Palestinian activists, witnesses said.
An American protester was struck in the leg at close range during the clash near the West bank village of Anin and was taken to hospital, Israeli demonstrator Yonatan Pollak said.
The other four protesters were treated at the scene after being struck in the back and stomach, he said. He did not give their nationalities.
The troops opened fire after about 300 protesters gathered on both sides of the barrier and tried to tear down a gate in the fence.
Israel says it needs the fence to keep out suicide bombers.
Palestinians fear the barrier, due to cut deep into West Bank territory, is intended to unilaterally set the borders of their envisaged state.
The fence is expected to be on the agenda when Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon meets President Bush in Washington Tuesday. Bush has described the fence as a "problem."
1984
Heise: Big Brother is tracking you
Mit Hilfe einer neuen Software wollen die Betreiber der Londoner U-Bahn aufgezeichneten Bilder der Überwachungskameras in Echtzeit nach auffälligen Passagieren oder Gepäckstücken durchsuchen
In den U-Bahnstollen und Treppenhäusern unter der britischen Hauptstadt sind gegenwärtig etwa 6.000 Kameras rund um die Uhr am Filmen. Insgesamt brachte es das Mutterland der Kameraüberwachung im Herbst 2002 nach Schätzungen der in London ansässigen Organisation Privacy International auf 1,5 Millionen Geräte. Andere Quellen sprechen sogar von 2,5 Millionen. In dieser Zahl sind die Kameras, die private Haushalte, Grundstücke, Fabriken oder Unternehmen überwachen, noch gar nicht enthalten. An einem durchschnittlichen Tag, so lautet eine populäre Schätzung, werde ein Fußgänger in den größeren englischen Städte mindestens dreihundert Mal gefilmt
Heise: Big Brother is tracking you
Mit Hilfe einer neuen Software wollen die Betreiber der Londoner U-Bahn aufgezeichneten Bilder der Überwachungskameras in Echtzeit nach auffälligen Passagieren oder Gepäckstücken durchsuchen
In den U-Bahnstollen und Treppenhäusern unter der britischen Hauptstadt sind gegenwärtig etwa 6.000 Kameras rund um die Uhr am Filmen. Insgesamt brachte es das Mutterland der Kameraüberwachung im Herbst 2002 nach Schätzungen der in London ansässigen Organisation Privacy International auf 1,5 Millionen Geräte. Andere Quellen sprechen sogar von 2,5 Millionen. In dieser Zahl sind die Kameras, die private Haushalte, Grundstücke, Fabriken oder Unternehmen überwachen, noch gar nicht enthalten. An einem durchschnittlichen Tag, so lautet eine populäre Schätzung, werde ein Fußgänger in den größeren englischen Städte mindestens dreihundert Mal gefilmt
GUANTANAMO
Gulfnews: Playing favourites with prisoners
What is going on in Guantanamo? Two British detainees were granted exemption from the death penalty and now an Australian has also been spared from possible execution. It seems that justice – or what passes for it in America – is not blind to the nationalities of the suspects.
It was President George W. Bush who stated that "these are bad people", without any suspect there being found guilty of any crime. Remembering that it is proposed to have these alleged criminals tried in a military court, for the Commander-in-Chief of the American armed forces to make such a comment, prior to the trial, does not augur well for the prisoners.
Gulfnews: Playing favourites with prisoners
What is going on in Guantanamo? Two British detainees were granted exemption from the death penalty and now an Australian has also been spared from possible execution. It seems that justice – or what passes for it in America – is not blind to the nationalities of the suspects.
It was President George W. Bush who stated that "these are bad people", without any suspect there being found guilty of any crime. Remembering that it is proposed to have these alleged criminals tried in a military court, for the Commander-in-Chief of the American armed forces to make such a comment, prior to the trial, does not augur well for the prisoners.
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Newsweek: We Want Our Own State’
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas came to Washington last week. Shortly before he met with President George W. Bush, Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, spoke to NEWSWEEK Senior Editor and Washington Post columnist Lally Weymouth about the prospects for peace in the Middle East. Excerpts:....
Newsweek: We Want Our Own State’
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas came to Washington last week. Shortly before he met with President George W. Bush, Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, spoke to NEWSWEEK Senior Editor and Washington Post columnist Lally Weymouth about the prospects for peace in the Middle East. Excerpts:....
FUTURE
Independent: Future tense
Is mankind doomed? Against the background of the war against terror, the march of technology and environmental calamity, this has become the defining question of our age. As politicians warn of the threat from weapons of mass destruction, Prince Charles frets about the world being turned into 'grey goo' by miniature robots. Meanwhile, food campaigners warn by turns that we're going to starve if we don't plant GM crops, and if we do, there's barely time to heed warnings that Sars was just a dress rehearsal for a pandemic that will make Ebola look like the common cold. Charles Arthur weighs fact against hysteria, science against supposition - and assesses our chances of making it to the year 3000
Independent: Future tense
Is mankind doomed? Against the background of the war against terror, the march of technology and environmental calamity, this has become the defining question of our age. As politicians warn of the threat from weapons of mass destruction, Prince Charles frets about the world being turned into 'grey goo' by miniature robots. Meanwhile, food campaigners warn by turns that we're going to starve if we don't plant GM crops, and if we do, there's barely time to heed warnings that Sars was just a dress rehearsal for a pandemic that will make Ebola look like the common cold. Charles Arthur weighs fact against hysteria, science against supposition - and assesses our chances of making it to the year 3000
IRAQ
Hindustantimes: Conspiracy theories abound as US releases Uday-Qusay photos
Saddam Hussein is tanning in Tel Aviv; his wife Sajida and three daughters are sipping tea in their mansion in Leeds, England; and his sons Uday and Qusay are gambling in Monte Carlo.
Such wild conspiracy theories, widely believed by ordinary Iraqis, are why Washington released what it said were photographs of Saddam's slain sons amid great fanfare on Thursday.
"It's a show," laughs sculptor Mohammed Ghani Hikmat about Uday and Qusay's deaths, announced by the US military on Tuesday.
"Everyone is talking. Some people say the family is in England. Some people say Morocco. Some people say they're in America."
The deaths of Uday and Qusay, whose names became bywords for the cruelty of the ousted regime, was, to many, the ultimate proof of a secret pact between the United States and Saddam.
Hindustantimes: Conspiracy theories abound as US releases Uday-Qusay photos
Saddam Hussein is tanning in Tel Aviv; his wife Sajida and three daughters are sipping tea in their mansion in Leeds, England; and his sons Uday and Qusay are gambling in Monte Carlo.
Such wild conspiracy theories, widely believed by ordinary Iraqis, are why Washington released what it said were photographs of Saddam's slain sons amid great fanfare on Thursday.
"It's a show," laughs sculptor Mohammed Ghani Hikmat about Uday and Qusay's deaths, announced by the US military on Tuesday.
"Everyone is talking. Some people say the family is in England. Some people say Morocco. Some people say they're in America."
The deaths of Uday and Qusay, whose names became bywords for the cruelty of the ousted regime, was, to many, the ultimate proof of a secret pact between the United States and Saddam.
IRAQ
Globeandmail: French reject U.S. appeal for support in Iraq
Paris — French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin rejected a renewed U.S. appeal for more international military support for Iraq on Thursday, saying sending in French troops would only prolong a tense situation.
Mr. de Villepin also said the deaths Tuesday of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay, signalled "the end of an era" but warned they could spark more resistance from some Iraqis who might try to avenge the deaths.
"To build on a system that now exists (and) to add foreign forces to the coalition forces doesn't appear to us the best way to guarantee security in Iraq," Mr. de Villepin told France-Inter radio.
Globeandmail: French reject U.S. appeal for support in Iraq
Paris — French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin rejected a renewed U.S. appeal for more international military support for Iraq on Thursday, saying sending in French troops would only prolong a tense situation.
Mr. de Villepin also said the deaths Tuesday of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay, signalled "the end of an era" but warned they could spark more resistance from some Iraqis who might try to avenge the deaths.
"To build on a system that now exists (and) to add foreign forces to the coalition forces doesn't appear to us the best way to guarantee security in Iraq," Mr. de Villepin told France-Inter radio.
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Stuff.nz: Israeli troops kill boy, 5
JENIN: An Israeli soldier has killed a five-year-old Palestinian boy and wounded his two sisters in the West Bank, in an incident the army said was an accident.
Friday's shooting, hours before Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas was due to meet US President George W Bush in Washington, marred a lull in violence since Palestinian militants declared a three-month ceasefire on June 29.
A witness, Ghassan Qabha, said a soldier in an armoured vehicle opened fire with a machinegun at a car passing through a checkpoint in the West Bank, killing five-year-old Mohammed Qabha and wounding his two sisters.
The army said the boy was killed in a mishap when a soldier accidentally pressed the trigger of a machinegun and fired a volley of bullets, hitting the three children.
THIS is a cease-fire?
Stuff.nz: Israeli troops kill boy, 5
JENIN: An Israeli soldier has killed a five-year-old Palestinian boy and wounded his two sisters in the West Bank, in an incident the army said was an accident.
Friday's shooting, hours before Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas was due to meet US President George W Bush in Washington, marred a lull in violence since Palestinian militants declared a three-month ceasefire on June 29.
A witness, Ghassan Qabha, said a soldier in an armoured vehicle opened fire with a machinegun at a car passing through a checkpoint in the West Bank, killing five-year-old Mohammed Qabha and wounding his two sisters.
The army said the boy was killed in a mishap when a soldier accidentally pressed the trigger of a machinegun and fired a volley of bullets, hitting the three children.
THIS is a cease-fire?
IRAQ
Pakistan Dawn: Uday was negotiating surrender: newsman
PARIS, July 23: A journalist preparing a story on Saddam Hussein and
his two sons Uday and Qusay for the French national news weekly magazine Le
Point says that Uday was in the process of negotiating his surrender to
the US occupation authority when he was killed on Tuesday. According to
Jean Guisnel, who is considered an authority on the Saddam family and Iraq
and who was speaking to a reporter for French public TV channel France 3 on
Wednesday, "Uday was in the process of negotiating his surrender
because he had let it be known that he would prefer being handed over alive to US
forces than being discovered by Iraqi nationals whom he feared might
lynch him instead of turning him over to US authorities." Although Mr Guisnel
would not divulge the source of his information, he has often based his
stories on Iraq on French intelligence sources.
Pakistan Dawn: Uday was negotiating surrender: newsman
PARIS, July 23: A journalist preparing a story on Saddam Hussein and
his two sons Uday and Qusay for the French national news weekly magazine Le
Point says that Uday was in the process of negotiating his surrender to
the US occupation authority when he was killed on Tuesday. According to
Jean Guisnel, who is considered an authority on the Saddam family and Iraq
and who was speaking to a reporter for French public TV channel France 3 on
Wednesday, "Uday was in the process of negotiating his surrender
because he had let it be known that he would prefer being handed over alive to US
forces than being discovered by Iraqi nationals whom he feared might
lynch him instead of turning him over to US authorities." Although Mr Guisnel
would not divulge the source of his information, he has often based his
stories on Iraq on French intelligence sources.
IRAQ
Scotsman: Bullish Rumsfeld denies US is guilty of double standards
WASHINGTON stoutly defended the release of the graphic photographs of Uday and Qusay Hussein’s corpses - although the decision followed a sharp internal debate at the Pentagon.
"I feel it was the right decision and I’m glad I made it," said the US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, with his characteristic bluntness.
"It is not a practice that the United States engages in on a normal basis," he said, adding: "I honestly believe that these two are particularly bad characters, and that it’s important for the Iraqi people to see them, to know they’re gone, to know they’re dead, and to know they’re not coming back."
Some Pentagon officials feared the US military would be accused of double standards. The US reacted with angry condemnation when the Arab satellite network, al-Jazeera, showed television images of dead American soldiers during the Iraq war, and the station later lost its office space at the New York Stock Exchange.
Scotsman: Bullish Rumsfeld denies US is guilty of double standards
WASHINGTON stoutly defended the release of the graphic photographs of Uday and Qusay Hussein’s corpses - although the decision followed a sharp internal debate at the Pentagon.
"I feel it was the right decision and I’m glad I made it," said the US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, with his characteristic bluntness.
"It is not a practice that the United States engages in on a normal basis," he said, adding: "I honestly believe that these two are particularly bad characters, and that it’s important for the Iraqi people to see them, to know they’re gone, to know they’re dead, and to know they’re not coming back."
Some Pentagon officials feared the US military would be accused of double standards. The US reacted with angry condemnation when the Arab satellite network, al-Jazeera, showed television images of dead American soldiers during the Iraq war, and the station later lost its office space at the New York Stock Exchange.
USA
Spiegel: URNENGANG IN DEN USA
Clever mogeln mit der Smartcard
Das Zählen von Wählerstimmen macht US-Behörden nach wie vor Ärger. Computerexperten entdeckten jetzt in der Software elektronischer Wahlsysteme Sicherheitslücken, die offenbar selbst Laien massive Manipulationen erlaubten.
Möglich sei auch die Herstellung einer Karte, die dem einfachen Wähler die Rechte eines Systemadministrators schenke. Der Schummler könne dann nicht nur mehrfach Abstimmen, sondern auch die bisherigen Ergebnisse einsehen, die Reihenfolge der Schaltflächen für die Kandidaten verändern, den Urnengang vorzeitig beenden und falsche Endergebnisse auf den zentralen Server hochladen. Denn die, heißt es in der Untersuchung, werden unverschlüsselt über das Internet geschickt.
Pressemitteilung der Johns Hopkins University
Rubin-Studie als PDF-Datei
Spiegel: URNENGANG IN DEN USA
Clever mogeln mit der Smartcard
Das Zählen von Wählerstimmen macht US-Behörden nach wie vor Ärger. Computerexperten entdeckten jetzt in der Software elektronischer Wahlsysteme Sicherheitslücken, die offenbar selbst Laien massive Manipulationen erlaubten.
Möglich sei auch die Herstellung einer Karte, die dem einfachen Wähler die Rechte eines Systemadministrators schenke. Der Schummler könne dann nicht nur mehrfach Abstimmen, sondern auch die bisherigen Ergebnisse einsehen, die Reihenfolge der Schaltflächen für die Kandidaten verändern, den Urnengang vorzeitig beenden und falsche Endergebnisse auf den zentralen Server hochladen. Denn die, heißt es in der Untersuchung, werden unverschlüsselt über das Internet geschickt.
Pressemitteilung der Johns Hopkins University
Rubin-Studie als PDF-Datei
Sunday, July 27, 2003
IRAQ
Guardian: Troops bear 'Moor Killer' badges
A row broke out in Spain yesterday after the country sent its first troops to patrol Iraq wearing on their shoulders the Cross of St James of Compostela - popularly known in Spain as "the Moor Killer".
Patches bearing the cross, the symbol of a saint who allegedly guided the medieval Christian re conquista of Spain from the Muslims, are to be worn by a 2,000-strong Spanish brigade in central Iraq, who will patrol the sacred Shia city of Najaf.
While newspapers and radio stations reacted with astonishment at the choice of symbol, politicians avoided the argument.
"If we start debating this subject the risks surrounding the mission will only be increased," said a spokesman from the opposition Socialist party, Jesus Caldera.
"Gratulation an Spanien, wie dumm muss man eigentlich sein?"
Guardian: Troops bear 'Moor Killer' badges
A row broke out in Spain yesterday after the country sent its first troops to patrol Iraq wearing on their shoulders the Cross of St James of Compostela - popularly known in Spain as "the Moor Killer".
Patches bearing the cross, the symbol of a saint who allegedly guided the medieval Christian re conquista of Spain from the Muslims, are to be worn by a 2,000-strong Spanish brigade in central Iraq, who will patrol the sacred Shia city of Najaf.
While newspapers and radio stations reacted with astonishment at the choice of symbol, politicians avoided the argument.
"If we start debating this subject the risks surrounding the mission will only be increased," said a spokesman from the opposition Socialist party, Jesus Caldera.
"Gratulation an Spanien, wie dumm muss man eigentlich sein?"
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