From the World-Wide Resourses of the Western Australia
Reserch Senter(*)
OIL THE NEWS THAT FITS MY VIEWS #188
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In the Run-Up to World War III, Reliably Reporting the News Relevant
to Extreme Right-Wing Democratic Socialists Everywhere
(validated for RiteThink(tm) by the Office of Our Man in Can-berra).
Our Home Page:
The Undeniable Evidence:
Even More Uneniable Evidence:
US Centcom News Releases:
Iraqi Body Count: [8,902+ as at 22 Apr 2004].
UN Mailing List:
Some Of The News, Some Of The Time:
This Stuff Blogged:
Also Kindly Archived:
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Selecting latest news stories and other data for you...
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They want to kill innocent life to get us to quit... and we're not
going to.
-- Pres Bush Jr, 28 Apr 2004.
Stabilisation, security, and an imminent full-scale assault on
Fallujah. "Mission Accomplished".
This barbaric deed was engineered by America and Australia.
-- Abu Bakar Bashir rep, 30 Apr 2004.
Bashir re-arrested. Indonesian police say they have a document that
places the Islamic cleric at a terrorist training camp and
directing the appointment of militia cmdrs.
It was wide-ranging... it was {er} important... [...] I'm glad I did it.
I'm glad I took the time.
-- Pres Bush, 29 Apr 2004.
After ms trying to weasel out of testifying, the Pres says he and
Cheney managed to answer all the questions convincingly.
If we had something to hide, we would never have met with them in the
first place.
-- Pres Bush Jr, 29 Apr 2004.
Mr Bush said it was important for the Commission to see the body
language between him and VP Cheney. The secret questions were not
recorded or televised. The Pres will also get to redact anything
in the report he doesn't like.
Either Allan Jones... or the PM... is a liar.
-- John Laws, 29 Apr 2004.
I understood this to be an inclusive or.
I think it's very sad... Some of these things are inspired by anger
or jealousy... I don't know what it is.
-- Telstra rep Allan Jones, 29 Apr 2004.
Jones says he can't recall telling party guests he threatened the
PM he'd stop his pro-govt comments on radio unless the govt
re-appointed a friendly broadcasting chief.
It's a serious attempt to tackle some of the structural problems.
-- PM John Howard, 29 Apr 2004.
The Howard govt has put up another $1/2 bn for the sugar industry
in marginal Queensland seats. The govt says distortions in world
markets (a technical term for "too many bilateral trade agreements")
are to blame.
I don't accept that Allan Jones has pulled strings with me.
-- PM John Howard, 30 Apr 2004.
Prof David Flint has stepped down amid a row over whose idea it was
to appoint him.
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Thu, 29 Apr 2004.
INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES:
"System wide" mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners: report
6 charged over Iraqi prisoner abuse
Annan warns US raids making Iraq stand-off worse
Washington Unleashes Bloodbath in Iraq
US rushes more tanks to Iraq
US expects mandate for more troops for Iraq
Syria's Assad sees "legitimate resistance" in Iraq
Spain discusses Iraq resolution in Berlin
Powell defends force used in Iraq
Marines fight Iraq rebels at Fallujah train station
Iraqis grumble at prospect of sovereignty without authority
Iraq modifies new flag after protests
Iraq contracts give major boost to Halliburton revenues
Death toll rises as Iraq violence continues
CBS broadcasts images of US troops mistreating Iraqis
Bremer considering coup in Iraq
Blair faces tough questions on support for US tactics in Iraq
Blair defends US tactics on Iraq
Apple notches 70 mn music downloads
Bush diverting enviro funds into fossil fuels
Canada dollar drops
Colombia backhoe crush kills 23, hurts 36
Comcast withdraws Disney bid
DNA computer detects, treats test tube disease
Fallujah strikes continue despite ongoing talks
Flying saucer fever grips Iran, theories abound
Indonesian attack claims rejected
Israel confirms IAEA visit
Lawyers challenge Bush's authority in detainee case
Mars rovers complete missions, head for hills
Mbeki includes more women in new cabinet
Neanderthals not as slow as once thought: study
New charges laid against 9/11 suspect
Risk rises with Hollywood budgets
Supreme Court hears enemy combatant case
Thai troops sent S to quell unrest
UN council adopts terrorist arms ban
US concerned over Thailand
US forces renew strikes in Fallujah
US issues travel warning to Israel
AUSSIE HEADLINES:
ALP commits to mentor young Aussies
AUS may send vehicles to Iraq
Alan Jones denies the political interference claims
Amex ads to promote Aussie tourism
Aussies advise Nauru in asylum case
Aust considers sending military equipment to Iraqi army
Clark challenges suspension despite ATSIC scrapping
DPP wants further inquiries into model's death
High Court overturns children in detention decision
Howard defends joint strike fighter
Jones hits back at claims
Kyoto benefits outweigh negative impacts, Latham says
Laws claims there are more Flint letters
Markets unsettled as Aussie dollar tumbles
Military barrister wants defence concerns aired at inquiry
New rum rebellion over US bourbon
PM poised to announce sugar rescue deal
PM unaware of fighter jets cost blowout
Santos sales hit by Moomba explosion
Sugar industry receives $444 mn sweetener
Toohey continues attack on DIO
Union boss to meet Mitsubishi AUS's managing director
Union concerned Labor plan undermines female teachers
Witnesses will back me up: Laws
Woman dies after bag snatching incident
Markets unsettled as Aussie dollar tumbles
NY/Sydney.
Renewed fears about rising US interest rates have unsettled financial
markets overnight.
Wall St has also been unsettled by the escalating Iraq conflict.
There is a new focus on the possible overheating of China's economy
and the measures being taken to head it off.
Shares in US metal and mining companies have been sold off amid
concerns that borrowing restrictions in China could dampen demand for
raw materials.
On the NYSE, the Dow has slumped 136 points to close at 10,343 -- a
slide of 1.3%.
Prices on the high-tech Nasdaq exchange have suffered a 2.1% decline,
with the Nasdaq composite index losing 43 points to 1,990.
The Brit market has registered its biggest fall in 5 wk as UK
investors also weigh up the implications of possibly lower demand for
metals out of China.
Consumer goods giant Unilever has been in the firing line after
uninspiring sales figures.
London's FT100 index has ended 51 points lower at 4,525.
Yesterday, the Aussie market edged lower again, in a holding pattern
ahead of US economic growth figures due out tonight.
The All Ords slipped 2 points to 3,450.
On foreign exchange markets the USD has strengthened against most
major currencies ahead of tonight's Gross Domestic Product measure, as
a strong reading will prompt further speculation that American
interest rates will soon rise.
The AUD has tumbled overnight. At 7.15 am it was quoted at 72.22 US c.
The gold price has slumped to $US385.40/oz and West Texas crude was at
$US37.26.
Canada dollar drops
Stocks plunge on Nortel firings, earnings.
Toronto (Bloomberg). Canada's dollar fell to a 7-m low against the
USD as Canadian stocks took their biggest plunge in 13 m after Nortel
Networks Corp reported the firing of top executives and accounting
"mistakes" [!?].
Shares of Nortel, the eighth-biggest company in the Standard and
Poor's/TSX Composite Index, which trades in $C, dropped 26%. The
telephone equipment maker said it may have to reduce by half the
profit it reported for 2003. Currency declines were extended on
concern about slowing Chinese demand for commodities, as well as a
possible narrowing of Canada's interest-rate advantage over the US
"Nortel is by far the most traded stock in Canada and the TSX is down
much more than other stock markets today," said Carsten Fritsch, a
currency strategist at Commerzbank Securities, a unit of Germany's
third-biggest bank by assets, in Frankfurt. "Isolated, that has a
short-term negative effect on the Canadian dollar."
At 2.25 pm in Toronto, the Canadian dollar fell 1.3% to 72.99 US
cents, the lowest since Sep 17, from 73.97 US cents late Tue. One
USD buys $C1.3701. The currency fell the most since Apr 8, when Canada
announced the 2nd straight m of job losses.
Canada's dollar also declined after China's State Council yesterday
reduced the%age of debt companies may use in funding steel, cement,
aluminium and real estate projects, state- run China Central Television
reported. Materials and energy companies comprise about 1/3 of the
S&P/TSX index, which plunged as much as 2.6% today.
* Cooling in China
Today the vice governor of the Chinese central bank said efforts to
cool economic expansion are working, and she asked banks to help by
curbing loans to businesses.
Other so-called commodity currencies, including the Aussie and NZD and
S Africa's rand, declined between 1.4% and 3.9% against the USD today.
"Sentiment toward the traditional sectors, namely the
commodity-related sectors that have been some of the best performers
since the equity market rebound began in Mar of last y, has
deteriorated sharply over the past 2 wk," Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc
currency team noted in its weekly "Global Relative Value" report to
clients.
Canada's dollar will weaken and stay above $C1.3440, where sell orders
are clustered, as traders await labour reports in Canada and the US
next Fri, said Richard Franulovich, a NY-based currency strategist at
Westpac Banking Corp, AUS's 4th-largest lender. It will rise if the
Canadian indicators surpass the US, he said.
* Stronger US Growth
Reports this m on US retail sales, inflation and durable goods have
exceeded economists' expectations and have led all 16 major currencies
to fall against the USD. Canada's dollar declined 4.6%, as the
anticipated shrinking Canadian yield advantage over the US curbed
demand for C-dollar assets.
"As long as the USD is supported across the board by rising rate
expectations the Canadian currency will decline," Franulovich said.
Yesterday, Canada reported that overall retail sales advanced in Feb
by 2.3%, for the fastest pace since Dec 1997, driven by a 7.7% rise in
new motor vehicle sales that month. The govt has also reported gains
in its trade surplus, manufacturing shipments and leading indicators.
"It's really going to be a USD story rather than a Canadian dollar
story," said Ian Gunner, head of foreign- exchange research in London
at Mellon Financial Corp, which manages about $612 bn. "The inability
of the Canadian dollar to strengthen after yesterday's [retail] number
was testament to that."
* Rate Comparison
Commerzbank's Fritsch described the effect of US rates as "the
underlying factor" contributing to the Canadian dollar's drop, while
the news from Nortel "must be the special factor today."
The US benchmark rate is at 1%, compared with 2 percent for Canada.
The Canadian dollar has risen 5.6% in the past 12 m against the USD as
some investors flocked to higher-yielding Canadian debt securities.
Canada's rate premium, which reached as high as 2.25 percentage points
in the past year, would diminish with a US rate increase.
"There was a lack of yield support" after the Bank of Canada cut rates
5 times since last Jul, including 3 times this y, Westpac's
Franulovich said.
The 3% bond maturing in Jun 2006 fell 7 cents to $C100.33, according
to HSBC Securities Canada Inc Its yield rose almost 4 basis points, or
0.04 points, to 2.83%. Canada's 2-y bonds yield 62 basis more than their
US counterparts, down from 223 basis points reached in the past 12 m.
The yield on the Sep Eurodollars futures contract, a gauge of expected
US interest rates, is 1.730%.
Eurodollar futures settle at the 3-m London interbank offered rate, or
Libor, which has averaged about 22 basis points more than the Fed's
benchmark rate since 1994.
Investors pushed the yield on the Canadian bankers' acceptance
contract due Dec. 13, also an interest-rate future, to 2.50%,
suggesting Canada's target rate may rise by Dec.
Bankers' acceptance futures settle at Canada's 3-m lending rate,
which has averaged 20 basis points above the target rate since
Bloomberg started tracking the spread in Dec 1992.
New rum rebellion over US bourbon
Bundy (AAP). Forget the rum rebellion -- the proposed free trade deal
between AUS and the US threatens to become a bourbon war.
AUS's iconic rum producer, the Bundaberg Distilling Company, has
raised fears the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will give its American
bourbon producing rivals a huge leg up.
And it believes a special Aussie ruling is giving US producers a
significant price advantage.
Under the FTA agreed upon by AUS and the US, the 5% tariff on American
bourbon will disappear as soon as the deal comes into force.
On a $A40 bottle of Jack Daniels the tariff reduction is worth about $A2.00.
But the chairman of the Bundaberg distilling company, Tony Scanlan,
said that under the deal his rum company will have to wait 18 y before
tariffs on its products sent to the US will be finally lifted.
Mr Scanlan said the biggest problem was the very definition of bourbon
used by AUS.
While bourbon is recognised globally as being at least 40% proof, a
1975 Aussie decision means the dark alcohol needs only to be 37% proof
to be called bourbon.
Mr Scanlan said bulk bourbon brought in from the US was effectively
being watered down to 37%, and in the process saving importers
$mns in excise fees.
In a letter to a parliamentary committee investigating the FTA, Mr
Scanlan said this difference had to be examined and rectified.
"Bundaberg requests the committee to take account of the inconsistencies
in the treatment of US bourbon and Aussie rum which will result from
the proposed FTA, and the manner in which competition in the distilled
spirits market will be affected as a result," he said in the letter.
"At the very least, in order to mitigate some of the adverse effects,
Bundaberg requests the committee to insist that as part of
implementing the FTA, all bulk bourbon imported into AUS be bottled
and sold in accordance with the geographic indication for bourbon
including a minimum alcohol content of 40%."
At stake is a key regional employer.
Bundaberg has been making rum since 1889, and today sells about 600,000
bottles of full strength rum and 4 mn cases of ready to drink product.
Mr Scanlan said the issue was vital to Bundaberg, and the FTA was
doing little to help.
Comcast withdraws Disney bid
LA (Reuters). The largest US cable TV company has withdrawn its
unsolicited $US48.4 bn offer to buy the Walt Disney Company after the
entertainment conglomerate steadfastly refused to open negotiations.
Comcast's stock price rose slightly after the decision, which came
amid pressure from wary shareholders and drew praise from analysts and
investors.
Comcast did not answer where the fast-growing company might look to
expand next, or whether the failed bid might hamper its growth plans.
"Unfortunately it has become abundantly clear that Disney does not
share our interests," Comcast chief executive Brian Roberts said on a
conference call.
"I am very comfortable with our decision to withdraw even though it is
not the outcome I had hoped for."
The decision handed a major victory to embattled Disney chief
executive Michael Eisner, who still faces a revolt from share holders
contending he does not have a strategy to ensure long-term growth.
A Disney rep did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
The entertainment and media conglomerate's board contended Comcast's
offer severely undervalued the company.
Philadelphia-based Comcast may one day re-emerge with a new bid for
Disney, analysts said. But for now, Mr Roberts said he will look for
other ways to expand in content, distribution and technology.
"We're moving on," Mr Roberts said. "Our desire is to find attractive
ways to grow. We have an enviable footprint that opens up
opportunities."
Mr Roberts opted to make the Disney bid public in Feb after Mr Eisner
rejected his initial overture.
Disney shares immediately jumped well above the offer price, but Mr
Roberts said he would wait for the stock to move to a more rational level.
The combination of Disney's refusal to negotiate and concerns by
Comcast share holders about the size of the bid led Mr Roberts to
decide to withdraw the bid on Tue night after consulting with a
tight-knit group of advisers for 2 days, sources close to the company said.
"This was Brian's decision," one source said. "Our shareholders have
been speaking pretty clearly. The board was entirely supportive."
The Disney bid had led some analysts and investors to question whether
Comcast believed it could sustain a cable-only strategy going forward.
Mr Roberts acknowledged those concerns, but said he did not share them.
"Some of our shareholders felt that we were signalling that we had
lost confidence in the cable business," he said.
"I'd like to make one critical point. We love the cable business. We
have never been more bullish about cable and its potential for growth
from the future."
The withdrawal of the bid comes a day after Disney's board reiterated
support for its embattled chief, Mr Eisner, who has faced sharp
criticism from high profile shareholders.
Mr Eisner lost his chairman title after a contentious annual meeting last m.
Colombia backhoe crush kills 23, hurts 36
Bogota (AP). A construction backhoe tumbled down a steep hillside and
landed on a school bus Wed, killing at least 21 elementary students
and 2 adults, officials said.
A crew was towing the large earth mover along a section of road higher
up the hill when it rolled off a ledge and plunged 70 feet before
crushing the bus on the highway below, said Claudia Cubillos, a rep
for the Bogota Health Min'y, which oversees rescue efforts.
The bus was taking the 7-to-12-yo students from the Agustiniano school
to their homes in the capital's middle-class Suba district when the
accident occurred during the afternoon rush hour.
Traffic behind the wreck was backed up for several km.
Around a hundred emergency workers and police used heavy machinery to
try to clear the mangled wreckage. Ambulances with sirens wailing rushed
the injured to hospital. There were reports of some children still trapped.
Police, meanwhile, struggled to keep back panicked families desperate
to find out if their children were among the victims.
Mayor Luis Eduardo Garzon sped to the scene of the accident by
motorbike to show solidarity with the victims and their families.
"This is a dramatic, terrible tragedy," Garzon told reporters at the
scene of the crash.
Sgt Alberto Cantillo, a rep for the Bogota Police Dept, said it was
not immediately clear whether the 2 adults were travelling inside the
bus. The bus driver survived unharmed, while the backhoe's driver was
in a critical condition.
It was not immediately clear why the excavator tumbled off the road,
though witnesses said the driver lost control of the vehicle.
Police said an investigation was under way.
UN to keep terrorists from WMD
UN (AFP). The UN Sec Council has unanimously passed a resolution
intended to keep nuclear, biological and chemical weapons out of the
hands of terrorists.
The resolution calls on the 191 UN member nations to stop terrorists,
black market traders and all so-called "non-state actors" from
acquiring such weapons or the materials and technology to make or
deliver them.
It also calls on them to adopt laws to prevent sensitive materials and
technology from getting into their hands.
The 15-0 vote approved the measure, crafted in months of negotiations
by the council's 5 permanent members -- Brit, China, France, Russia
and the US -- all of which are nuclear powers.
The text was revised 3 times to answer objections from some of the
council's 10 non-permanent members and finally won the support of the
last holdout, Pakistan, which is also a nuclear-armed state.
US Pres George W Bush 1st called for the resolution in Sep in a speech
before the UN.
"Today's vote was an important step," White House rep Scott McClellan said.
"This will help make the world safer and better."
Pakistani UN ambassador Munir Akram said his country strongly
supported efforts to stop the spread of nuclear, biological and
chemical weapons but said the Sec Council took on "exceptional
responsibilities" in adopting the measure.
Diplomats said there was broad agreement on the need to close the
loophole in existing internat'l treaties on non-proliferation, which
touch on states but not on individuals.
But many nations argued treaties were the better way to address the
issue. Pakistan in particular had raised concern about what actions
might be taken to enforce the resolution's provisions.
After wk of diplomatic haggling, the final draft said that the Sec
Council would monitor implementation and "take further decisions which
may be required".
The mastermind of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, AQ Khan,
confessed in Feb to passing nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and N Korea.
The US said on Wed that it was seeking several other nations which may
have been his "customers".
Akram again stressed Pakistan, which is not a party to
non-proliferation treaties, would not allow inspections of its nuclear
facilities, and cited without naming its nuclear-armed rival and
neighbour India.
"Pakistan will not accept any demand for access, much less
inspections, of our nuclear and strategic assets, materials and
facilities.
UN council adopts terrorist arms ban
NY. The United Nations Security Council has voted unanimously for a
US-drafted resolution that would punish black marketeers who traffic
in nuclear, chemical and biological weapons components.
The measure would obligate all 191 UN member nations to punish
"non-state actors" dealing in parts and technology for WMD.
Even Pakistan, which had misgivings until the last minute, voted for
the resolution in the 15-nation council, giving the Bush Admin and its
allies a clean sweep.
Pakistan admitted this y that Abdul Qadeer Khan, a scientist revered
as the father of the country's nuclear bomb, had smuggled nuclear
secrets to N Korea, Iran and Libya, and was under house arrest.
In an effort to get Pakistan's vote, the resolution was not made
retroactive, a point noted by its UN ambassador, Munir Akram, in his
address to the council.
The measure was sponsored by Brit, France, Philippines, Romania,
Russia, Spain as well as the US.
At Sep's UN Gen Assembly, Pres George W Bush called for a
resolution to "criminalise the proliferation of weapons".
The resolution compels nations to adopt and enforce laws to prevent
terrorists and black marketeers from being able to "manufacture,
acquire, possess, develop, transport or use nuclear, chemical or
biological weapons and their means of delivery".
It was adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which makes it
obligatory for all nations and could allow for eventual sanctions and
the use of force.
In this case, it does not provide any sanctions if the states do not
comply. Instead, US officials said they relied mainly on "name and
shame" pressures on errant nations and Brit envoys said any
enforcement action would need another resolution.
Pakistan's ambassador Mr Akram earlier objected to the use of Chapter
VII enforcement provisions.
But Mr Akram said on Wed that revisions in the text made it clear the
council would not legislate for the world because it was not a
representative body.
The text now says it is up to individual nations to proscribe specific
legislation.
The US deputy ambassador, James Cunningham, told the council that "no
one nation can meet this challenge alone." He hoped states would
cooperate in efforts to "stop the flow of these deadly weapons."
The resolution was negotiated over 6 m by the 5 permanent members of
the council, the US, Brit, France, Russia and China.
It aims to fill a gap in the system of treaties negotiated since World
War 2 to halt the spread of nuclear and other unconventional weapons
to "non-state actors" rather than states alone.
In London, Brit For Sec Jack Straw said: "the importance of this
resolution cannot be underestimated" as a demo "of the internat'l
community's determination to tackle the threat posed by the
proliferation of WMD."
Among the concessions in the resolution was to lengthen from 6 m to 2
y the life of a Security Council monitoring committee. The shorter
period had raised questions of quick compliance in devising and
adopting new legislation.Reuters
Israel confirms IAEA visit
Jerusalem (BBC). Israel says the head of the Internat'l Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA), Mohammed El Baradei, is to visit the country in Jul.
Israel is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and
has never opened its nuclear facilities to internat'l inspection. It
refuses to confirm or deny that it has nuclear weapons. Israel's
permanent representative to the IAEA, Gabriella Guffney, told the BBC
Doctor El Baradei would be visiting Israel in Jul for what she
described as a routine visit. She said the trip was still in the
planning phase and that further details would be released at a later
date. A rep for the IAEA, Melissa Fleming, said this would be Doctor
El Baradei's 1st trip to Israel in 6 y. She said he intends to use
the trip to promote non-proliferation and a nuclear weapons free zone
in the Middle East.
CBS broadcasts images of US troops mistreating Iraqis
NY (AFP). CBS on Wed broadcast images of US troops mistreating Iraqi
prisoners, saying an army investigation had found "systemwide"
problems in the handling of captured Iraqis.
6 US soldiers are being court-martialed on charges stemming from the
investigation into abuse of prisoners at Abu Gharaib, said Gen
Mark Kimmitt, deputy chief of military operations in Iraq.
Abu Gharaib is infamous as a prison where former Iraqi dictator Saddam
Hussein's regime tortured and executed opponents.
Photographs aired by the network on "60 Minutes II" included one
showing a prisoner standing on a box with a hood over his head and
wires coming from his hands. The network said he was told he would be
electrocuted if he fell off.
Other pictures showed nude prisoners lying on each other and
simulating oral sex as US troops pointed and laughed.
"We're appalled. ... These are our fellow soldiers, these are the
people we work with every day, they represent us, they wear the same
uniform as us, and they let their fellow soldiers down," Kimmitt told
CBS in an interview from Baghdad.
"We expect our soldiers to be treated well by the adversary, by the
enemy, ... and if we can't hold ourselves up as an example of how to
treat people with dignity and respect, we can't ask that other nations
do that to our soldiers."
Army Reserve Staff Sgt Chip Frederick has been charged with
maltreatment, assault and indecent acts for posing for a photograph
while sitting on top of a detainee, striking detainees and ordering
detainees to strike each other, among other things, CBS said.
Frederick, a prison guard from Virginia in civilian life, and his
lawyer, Gary Myers, blamed the problems at the prison on the
atmosphere created by cmdrs.
"We had no support, no training whatsoever," he told CBS.
Indeed, the army investigation found a lack of leadership at the
prison and concluded soldiers at the prison, most of whom were
reservists, were not trained on rules for handling prisoners of war
under the Geneva Convention.
"System wide" mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners: report
CBS has aired graphic footage of soldiers abusing prisoners.
Washington (AFP). CBS has broadcast images of US troops mistreating
Iraqi prisoners, saying an army investigation has found "system wide"
problems in the handling of captured Iraqis.
Deputy chief of military operations in Iraq, Gen Mark Kimmitt,
says 6 US soldiers are being court martialled on charges stemming from
the investigation into abuse of prisoners at Abu Gharaib.
Abu Gharaib is infamous as a prison where former Iraqi dictator Saddam
Hussein's regime tortured and executed opponents.
Photographs aired by the network on 60 Minutes II include one showing
a prisoner standing on a box with a hood over his head and wires
coming from his hands.
The network says he was told he would be electrocuted if he fell off.
Other pictures show nude prisoners lying on each other and simulating
oral sex as US troops point and laugh.
"We're appalled. ... These are our fellow soldiers, these are the
people we work with every day, they represent us, they wear the same
uniform as us, and they let their fellow soldiers down," Gen Kimmitt said.
"We expect our soldiers to be treated well by the adversary, by the
enemy... and if we can't hold ourselves up as an example of how to
treat people with dignity and respect, we can't ask that other nations
do that to our soldiers."
Army Reserve Staff Sgt Chip Frederick has been charged with maltreatment,
assault and indecent acts for posing for a photograph while sitting on
top of a detainee, striking detainees and ordering detainees to strike
each other, among other things, CBS reports.
Frederick, a prison guard from Virginia in civilian life, and his
lawyer Gary Myers blames the problems at the prison on the atmosphere
created by cmdrs.
"We had no support, no training whatsoever," Mr Myers told CBS.
Indeed, the army investigation found a lack of leadership at the
prison and concluded soldiers at the prison, most of whom are
reservists, are not trained on rules for handling prisoners of war
under the Geneva Convention.
US troops humiliate Iraqi prisoners
Washington (AFP). US TV network CBS broadcast images of
American troops mistreating Iraqi prisoners, saying an army
investigation had found "systemwide" problems in the handling of
captured Iraqis.
6 US soldiers are being court-martialed on charges stemming from the
investigation into abuse of prisoners at Abu Gharaib, said Gen
Mark Kimmitt, deputy chief of military operations in Iraq.
Abu Gharaib is infamous as a prison where former Iraqi dictator Saddam
Hussein's regime tortured and executed opponents.
Photographs aired by the network on 60 Minutes II included one showing
a prisoner standing on a box with a hood over his head and wires
coming from his hands. The network said he was told he would be
electrocuted if he fell off.
Other pictures showed nude prisoners lying on each other and
simulating oral sex as US troops pointed and laughed.
"We're appalled... these are our fellow soldiers, these are the people
we work with every day, they represent us, they wear the same uniform
as us, and they let their fellow soldiers down," Kimmitt told CBS in
an interview from Baghdad.
"We expect our soldiers to be treated well by the adversary, by the
enemy... and if we can't hold ourselves up as an example of how to
treat people with dignity and respect, we can't ask that other nations
do that to our soldiers."
Army Reserve Staff Sgt Chip Frederick has been charged with
maltreatment, assault and indecent acts for posing for a photograph
while sitting on top of a detainee, striking detainees and ordering
detainees to strike each other, among other things, CBS said.
Frederick, a prison guard from Virginia in civilian life, and his
lawyer, Gary Myers, blamed the problems at the prison on the
atmosphere created by cmdrs.
"We had no support, no training whatsoever," he told CBS.
Indeed, the army investigation found a lack of leadership at the
prison and concluded soldiers at the prison, most of whom were
reservists, were not trained on rules for handling prisoners of war
under the Geneva Convention.
6 charged over Iraqi prisoner abuse
Baghdad (CNN). 6 coalition military personnel have been charged with
criminal offences after an investigation into the alleged abuse of
prisoners in Iraq. US Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt says the
investigation was launched in Jan, following complaints from another
coalition soldier. "I'm not going to stand up here and apologise for
those soldiers," he said. "If what they did is proven in a court of
law, that is incompatible with the values we stand for as a
professional military force, they will be tried before a court and
then those decisions will be made."
Powell defends force used in Iraq
Berlin (The Australian). US Secretary of State Colin Powell today
defended the scale of force being used against rebel fighters in Iraq
and slammed them for using mosques to launch attacks on US troops.
"We are being very careful on what we are doing in Fallujah and Najaff
and Karbala and elsewhere in the country," Powell told reporters on
the sidelines of an internat'l anti-Semitism conference in Berlin.
"We are being as careful as we can not to injure civilians and not to
damage holy places," he said.
"There would be no problem if these murderers and thugs were not using
holy places to store weapons, to use them as observation points and to
shoot at our troops and to shoot at innocent civilians from these places."
US marines have besieged the Sunni Muslim bastion city of Fallujah
west of Baghdad for about a m and troops have also clashed with
militias loyal to a radical Shi'ite Muslim based in the holy site of
Najaff, S of the capital.
Today, aircraft pounded for a 2nd day suspected rebel positions in Fallujah,
the scene of the fiercest fighting of the US-led occupation and where
scores of US soldiers and 100s of Iraqis have been killed this m.
The assault, much of it broadcast live by Qatar-based satellite TV
station Al-Jazeera, has been widely criticised in the Arab world.
On the political front, Powell said he was encouraged by the plans of UN
envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who has been consulting on what interim govt should
take back sovereignty from the US-led occupation coalition on Jun 30.
"He is giving a course to move down. I think it is a good way to get
to the interim govt. We will wait to see what the (UN) Sec-Gen says
about Mr Brahimi's presentation" to the UN security council, Powell
said.
Later, after talks with For Min Joschka Fischer, he said that Germany
and S Korea stood as historical precedents showing the US could hand
over sovereignty and maintain military control.
"We want to return as much sovereignty to this interim govt as it is
prepared to handle," he told reporters. "I think it is a shared
responsibility to help the Iraqi people live in peace."
In other remarks, Powell said that he had received assurances from
Poland that it would remain by the US' side in Iraq, despite the
withdrawal of some other coalition countries.
Blair defends US tactics on Iraq
London (AP). PM Tony Blair on Wed defended US tactics in the assault
on the Iraqi city of Fallujah , rejecting a legislator's assertion
that the attack amounted to the "murder or mutilation of 100s of women
and children." Disagreeing with the description, Blair said: "There
is a situation in Fallujah where we have a large number of very
well-armed former regime elements, and probably some outside
terrorists as well .. and it is right that the American forces try to
make sure that order is restored to that city. "The people that have
been killing civilians in Iraq are not actually the American
soldiers," Blair added. "They are people who through car bombs,
suicide bombs, through attacks on innocent Iraqis as well as coalition
forces who are causing that death and destruction totally
unnecessarily."
Blair faces tough questions on support for US tactics in Iraq
London (Xinhua). Brit PM Tony Blair was put on the spot Wed in
parliament by opp'n parties questioning his support for US tactics in Iraq.
Brit PM Tony Blair was put on the spot Wed in parliament by opp'n
parties questioning his support for US tactics in Iraq.
Hours before, the US military launched new air strikes on some
positions in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, a stronghold of Iraqi insurgents.
The US attack amounted to the "murder or mutilation of 100s of women
and children," the opp'n Conservative Party member of parliament Peter
Tapsell asserted during a PM question and answer session at the House
of Commons.
"Does the PM support the murder or mutilation of 100s of women and
children in Fallujah as an appropriate response to the savage murder
of 4 American contractors?" Tapsell questioned.
Blair, the staunchest US ally on Iraq, defended the US tactics saying
US troops had every right to take action against former regime
loyalists and terrorists in the city.
"There is a situation in Fallujah where we have a large number of very
well-armed former regime elements, and probably some outside
terrorists as well...and it is right that the American forces try to
make sure that order is restored to that city," Blair told the lawmakers.
Charles Kennedy, leader of the opp'n Liberal Democrats, also pressed
Blair on the issue, asking why the PM failed to use his influence on
the US to find alternatives to the policy of "overwhelming" use of
force to deal with violence in Iraq.
Earlier, Blair received criticism from 52 former diplomats over his
support for US Mideast policy.
In a letter jointly signed by the diplomats, including ambassadors,
high commissioners and governors, Blair was urged on Mon to start
influencing America's "doomed" policy in the Middle E or stop backing it.
The diplomats said there was "no effective plan for the post-Saddam
settlement" and expressed their concern over the loss of lives during
the US-led war against Iraq.
They also attacked US Pres George W Bush for endorsing Israel's plan
to retain some settlements in the W Bank and criticised Blair's public
support for the policy which they believe is "one-sided and illegal"
and will "cost yet more Israeli and Palestinian blood."
Responding to the criticism, Blair answered that "we have a very clear
political and military strategy. The political strategy is to make
sure that there is a transition to a democratic Iraqi govt."
"The military strategy is equally clear. It is to make sure that we
can achieve sufficient security in Iraq for that political process to
work," Blair said.
Brit currently has 7,500 troops deployed in S Iraq.
US rushes more tanks to Iraq
Washington (Reuters). The United States military has rushed more
tanks and other armoured vehicles to Iraq after requests from cmdrs in
the bloodiest month for American troops since Saddam Hussein was
toppled. "That armour is either [in Iraq] now or is arriving as we
speak. So those requests were quickly filled," US Marine Maj Gen
John Sattler told reporters on Wed. Maj Gen Sattler said the requests
were made by cmdrs battling to stamp out guerrilla attacks in the
so-called Sunni Triangle N and west of Baghdad, including Fallujah
where US Marines launched new air and ground attacks. As US
helicopter gunships and jet aircraft pounded several districts across
Fallujah, Pres George W Bush said: "Our military cmdrs will take
whatever actions necessary to secure [the city]." The previous 24 hr
saw the most devastating display of US warplane firepower since
American forces encircled Fallujah 3 wk ago after the killing of 4
American contractors and the mutilation of their bodies in the city.
US expects mandate for more troops for Iraq
Washington (AFP). US Sec of State Colin Powell has said he hopes a
new UN resolution on Iraq will lead to new countries sending troops to
help maintain security.
Mr Powell said he expects a new UN resolution as power is handed over
to an interim govt on Jun 30.
"I expect that as we create the interim govt we'll get a UN resolution
supporting that govt and encouraging all nations to support that
govt," he said on the sidelines of an anti-Semitism conference in Berlin.
"Hopefully as a result of such a resolution, there may be more nations
that are willing to contribute to the force that's there under a
broader UN mandate," said Mr Powell.
The US-led coalition in Iraq has recently suffered 3 defections with
Spain, Honduras and the Dominican Republic pulling out their troops.
Mr Powell said he received assurances that Poland would stay in the
coalition during a meeting on Wed with Polish FM Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz.
Mr Powell heads to Denmark on Thu, where the govt has come under
strong criticism for supporting the US-led war and contributing 500 troops.
AUS may send vehicles to Iraq
Baghdad (AAP). AUS was considering sending military vehicles and
equipment to Iraq to help train the Iraqi army, Defence Min Robert
Hill said. After meeting with Iraqi Defence Min Ali Alawi and US
administrator Paul Bremer in Baghdad, Sen Hill told reporters in
Baghdad there had been a request for vehicles.
"There's been some discussion between the new ministry, the Iraqi
defence ministry, and our officials in relation to some of the Aussie
land equipment, particularly vehicles, but that hasn't got further
than exploratory discussion," he said.
"Our emphasis to date has been to help the new ministry become
established and to help with the training of the new Iraqi forces."
Sen Hill reaffirmed Aussie troops would remain in Iraq and said it was
time for more countries to send troops there.
"We think now is not the time to withdraw forces, partly because we
still think there's a lot of important work to be done but partly
because we also don't want to give those who wish to defeat the new
Iraq victory," he said.
"I've been pleased that many countries have come out recently, or come
out in the last few days, and said that despite the difficulties in
Fallujah and elsewhere they remain committed to continue to contribute
to the new Iraq.
"I think that that's very important.
"I would like to actually see the number of countries contributing be
expanded, that would really send a positive message."
Sen Hill denied an Aussie presence was in Iraq to take advantage of
the nation.
However, he said once the country was better restored, AUS hoped to
have a healthy trade relationship with it.
"I don't think we're specifically seeking a share of the Iraqi cake,
although when Iraq is again a flourishing, trading nation, we hope to
do business with Iraq in a way from which we can both prosper," Sen
Hill said.
"But our emphasis has really been in trying to assist and support Iraq
through a very difficult stage of its history and we think we do bring
experiences and skills that can be useful.
"Provided the Iraqi people believe that they are useful then we would
wish to make that investment in the new Iraq."
Aust considers sending military equipment to Iraqi army
Def Min Robert Hill says more countries should contribute forces to Iraq.
Baghdad. AUS Def Min Sen Robert Hill says AUS is considering sending
military vehicles and equipment to the new Iraqi army.
Sen Hill has made the comment at a news conference in Baghdad,
following a meeting with Iraqi Defence Min Ali Alawi and the US
civilian administrator, Paul Bremer.
He says AUS is also preparing to help with the rebuilding of the Iraqi
defence forces, provided it is the wish of the Iraqi community.
"There's been some discussion between the new ministry, the Iraqi
defence ministry and our officials in relation to some of the Aussie
land equipment, particularly vehicles, but that hasn't got further
than exploratory discussion," he said.
"Our emphasis to date has been to help the new ministry become
established and to help with the training of the new Iraqi forces."
Earlier, Sen Hill said Spain's withdrawal from Iraq has sent a
positive message to those seeking to destroy the emerging Iraqi democracy.
He reaffirmed AUS's military commitment to Iraq for at least one more
y and also said it is time for more countries to send in troops.
"I would like to think that in the future and maybe it will require
another [UN] Sec Council resolution first," he said.
"I would like to actually see the number of countries contributing be
expanded. That would really send a positive message."
Iraq contracts give major boost to Halliburton revenues
Halliburton welcomes US probe, insists it is saving taxpayers money.
Washington (AFP). Controversial US oil and services group Halliburton
said that its contracts in Iraq had helped boost the turnover by about
80% in the 1st 3 m of the y.
Support work to US military operations and US-funded reconstruction
projects made up $2.1 bn out of the company's $5.5 bn of revenue in
the 1st quarter, the Houston-based group said in a statement.
The contracts also contributed $32 mn of operating profit to
Halliburton, which was run from 1995 to 2000 by VP Dick Cheney.
The Defence Dept is investigating some of the work of Halliburton and
its Kellogg, Brown and Root subsidiary following allegations of
over-charging. The group has also seen 34 workers killed in Iraq since
the US invasion last y.
But Halliburton said it was determined to stay in Iraq.
Chief executive Dave Lesar said "we are committed to honour our
contracts and I am extremely proud of the tenacity, the courage and
sacrifice of our employees in Iraq. In the face of a hostile
environment, KBR performs well."
"I am disappointed that the allegations, by politicians and in the
media, have increased security risks for our employees."
"We are uniquely qualified to provide military logistical support. We
have been doing that for 60 years," Lesar told a conference call.
Halliburton, mainly through KBR, has about $6 bn worth of contracts in
Iraq, mainly for logistics -- food supplies for troops, base construction
and fuel deliveries. It is also helping to rebuild the Iraq oil industry.
It employs about 20,000 people in Iraq, directly or through sub-contractors.
On top of the 34 dead, truck driver Thomas Hammill is held hostage in
Iraq and 2 others are missing.
Lesar said the value of the contracts hit a peak in the 1st quarter
and would fall from now on, especially after the Jun 30 hand-over of
power by the US-led coalition in Iraq.
Halliburton said its overall revenues were about 80 higher than the
1st quarter of 2003 thanks to KBR's engineering and construction work
in the Middle East. It said energy services revenues were up 13%.
Consolidated operating profit was $175 mn in the first quarter against
$142 mn in the same period last y.
Halliburton recorded a 65 mn dollar loss because of funds put in to
pay for compensation for asbestos workers.
Bush diverting enviro funds into fossil fuels
Op/Ed (Daily Mis-lead). Pres Bush yesterday tried to deflect
questions about his environmental record by claiming that he supports
efforts to reduce America's fossil fuel usage. He said he had
"introduced ideas like a hydrogen-powered automobile, put money behind
it and research behind it" so that so that we will be "less dependent
on foreign sources of energy" and we will "improve the environment."
But Bush's hydrogen-automobile proposal is purposely engineered to be
fossil fuel dependent, and it is paid for by taking money out of
programs that are actually reducing fossil fuel use.
As Mother Jones reported, "the Bush Admin has been working quietly to
ensure that the system used to produce hydrogen will be as fossil
fuel-dependent -- and potentially as dirty -- as the one that fuels
today's SUVs. According to the Admin's Nat'l Hydrogen Energy Roadmap,
drafted last y in concert with the energy industry, up to 90% of all
hydrogen will be refined from oil, natural gas, and other fossil fuels".
Such a system, experts say, would effectively eliminate most of the
benefits offered by hydrogen because the Bush plan's use of
oil/coal/gas to create fuel cells would generate large amounts of
pollution. Not surprisingly, such a system would insure the massive
profits of the energy industry, which bankrolls Bush's campaign.
Bush is, in part, paying for this fossil-fuel-based program by
stripping funding from programs that are actually reducing fossil fuel
use in America.
As AP reported, Bush moved money into his hydrogen program at the same
time he "ended an 8-y program to help automakers develop
high-mileage, family size cars" such as the successful hybrids now
beginning to permeate the US market. Additionally, Bush proposed
reducing "fed funding for renewable energy and efficiency research
program by more than $200 mn in 2002".
Lawyers challenge Bush's authority in detainee case
Washington. The US Supreme Court is hearing another 2 cases
questioning Pres George W Bush's authority to describe people as enemy
combatants and indefinitely detain them. The hearing is similar to
the case involving Aussies David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib. The 2 new
cases involve Americans who have been jailed and denied access to the
US court system. Jose Padilla was arrested at Chicago airport on
suspicion of plotting to detonate a dirty bomb. Yasser Hamdi was
seized while fighting in Afghanistan. Lawyer Frank Dunham says the
White House has overstepped its authority. "We have never authorised
the detention of a citizen in this country without giving him an
opportunity to be heard," he said. But a lawyer for the Bush Admin
argued Congress had given the Pres, as cmdr in chief, wide ranging
powers to fight terrorism.
Supreme Court Hears Enemy Combatant Case
[Hamdi v Rumsfeld, 03-6696, and Rumsfeld v Padilla, 03-1027].
Washington (AP). The war on terrorism gives the govt power to seize
Americans and hold them without charges for as long as it takes to
ensure they are not a danger to the nation, the Bush Admin told the
Supreme Court on Wed.
Lawyers for 2 men detained by the govt argued in reply that fighting
terrorists cannot mean a president has unchecked authority to snatch
US citizens and hold them without a chance to plead their case.
"We could have people locked up all over the country tomorrow," said
Frank Dunham, lawyer for a Louisiana-born man captured while fighting
with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
2-and-1/2 y after the Sep 11 jetliner attacks that killed
1000s, the nation's highest court considered far-reaching questions
about civil liberties, law and America's security in a changed
world. By their words in court, a majority of justices seemed to give
at least qualified support to the Bush Admin.
The justices heard 2 cases about US citizens being held as "enemy
combatants." Yaser Esam Hamdi was born in Baton Rouge while his Saudi
father worked there, but grew up in the Middle East. Jose Padilla was
born in Brooklyn and raised in Chicago.
The American-born men, like foreign fighters also labelled enemy
combatants and held abroad, have been in nr solitary confinement,
without access to courts, lawyers or the outside world.
Only in the past month, with the Supreme Court about to hear their
cases, have they been allowed to meet with lawyers.
"We've had war on our soil before, and never before in our nation's
history has this court granted the president a blank check to do
whatever he wants to American citizens," lawyer Jennifer Martinez
argued on behalf of Padilla, a former gang member and alleged al-Qaeda
associate arrested at O'Hare Airport on suspicion of plotting to
detonate a radioactive bomb.
Govt lawyer Paul Clement countered that Congress gave the president
broad power to go after terrorists and head off future threats at home
or abroad. He likened Padilla to a "latter-day, citizen version of
Mohammed Atta," ringleader of the Sep 11 hijackings.
The open-ended detentions prevent the men from rejoining the fight
against the US and help the govt gather intel, Clement told the
justices. Prisoners of war in other conflicts haven't been able to
challenge their detentions in court, he said.
"But have we ever had a situation like this where presumably this
warlike status could last for 25 y, 50 y, whatever it is?" asked
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
Any wartime detention can seem indefinite, at least at the start,
Clement replied. "If you talk about a detainee in 1942, they're not
going to know how long World War II is going to last."
Several justices suggested it is impractical, perhaps impossible, to
expect the govt to hold extensive hearings before holding someone --
even a citizen -- who it suspects is fighting for the enemy.
"You want them to run down the members of the Afghan allies who
captured this man and get them to testify in a proceeding?" Justice
Antonin Scalia asked Hamdi's lawyer. "It's just putting unreasonable
demands upon a war situation."
Wed's back-to-back arguments were the last of the current Supreme
Court term. The justices are expected to rule in the Hamdi and Padilla
cases by Jul. Last wk the court heard a similar case about legal
rights of foreign enemy combatants held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and
that ruling is also expected by summer.
Taken together, the 3 cases give the court the opportunity to broadly
define how the govt may treat citizen and non-citizen terrorism
suspects picked up at home and abroad.
Hamdi was captured on an Afghan battlefield wk after the Sep 11 attacks.
The govt has presented no public evidence that Hamdi was a terrorist,
and his lawyer told the justices that if the govt had its way Hamdi
would never get the chance to defend himself.
"We have never authorised detention of a citizen in this country
without giving him an opportunity to be heard, to say, 'Hey, I am an
innocent person,'" Dunham argued.
Speaking to reporters later, Dunham said he was not optimistic.
The Bush Admin won its argument in a lower court in the Hamdi case,
but lost a fed appeals court fight in the Padilla matter.
Representing the govt in both cases Wed, Clement referred often to the
congressional statute passed a wk after the 2001 attacks that gave the
president authority to use "necessary and appropriate" means to fight
terrorism.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg worried that a broad reading of the
language could give a president unlimited power.
"What is it that would be a check against torture?" she asked.
Clement said that a US president wouldn't do that.
But "what's constraining? That's the point," Ginsburg replied. "Is it
just up to the good will of the executive? Is there any judicial check?"
Clement responded a president should have the authority to use his
military powers to fight terrorism, without "judicial micro-managing."
Clement also argued that a fed court in NY improperly ruled in
Padilla's favour because Padilla was being held in S
Carolina. Padilla's lawyer was appointed in NY.
New charges laid against 9/11 suspect
Madrid (BBC). A Spanish judge has filed new charges against a
Moroccan man wanted in connection with the Sep 11 attacks in the US in
2001. The man was initially accused of belonging to the Al Qaeda
terrorist network but is also alleged to have played a role in
planning the attacks and acting as a courier. This is the 1st time a
judge has directly linked a suspect connected with the Mar 11 train
bombings in Spain to the Sep 11 attacks on the US. Judge Baltasar
Garzon has charged Moroccan man Amer Azizi with multiple counts of
murder and for planning the attacks on mainland America. In this new
indictment, Judge Garzon says he is charging Azizi with as many deaths
and injuries as were committed on the Sep the 11 attacks. Azizi is
also accused of providing lodgings in Spain for the planners of the
Sep the 11 attacks, among them, suicide pilot Mohammed Atta, and
acting as a courier between the plotters.
Indonesian attack claims rejected
Jakarta (AP). Indonesia's military denied allegations that soldiers
had taken part in an attack on a church in the eastern city of Ambon,
which has been wracked by 5 days of Muslim-Christian violence.
Several witnesses told The Associated Press that uniformed infantrymen
fired into the air before ordering 7 families living close to the
city's Protestant church to leave their houses on Wed. Minutes later,
unidentified men torched their homes and the church.
The local newspaper, Ambon Ekspress, repeated the accusations on its
front page.
The claims -- the latest in a string involving Indonesia's poorly
trained military -- have angered Christians in this city, where
sectarian fighting since Sun has killed at least 34 people.
The bloodshed raised fears of a return to the scale of violence that
the eastern region saw 3 y ago when 9,000 people were killed and 100s
of 1000s displaced.
Sporadic gunfire rang out across the seaside city, the capital of the
Maluku islands, but there were no reports of large-scale clashes.
The allegations surrounding Wed's attack echo those made in relation
to the 2001 conflict, where elements in the army backed Muslim
radicals in their attacks on the Christian community.
Ambon military cmdr Col Tony Husodo told the AP the new allegations
were baseless.
"Soldiers were in no way involved in that attack," he said. Asked why
the villagers would lie, he said it was because their "education
levels" were poor.
Hours after the church was burned, about 100 Christians demonstrated
outside police HQ, demanding that Indonesian troops be withdrawn from
the province.
A police officer joined in the protest, at one point shouting "expel
the army".
Indonesia's police and military have a history of bad relations, both
in Ambon and elsewhere in the sprawling archipelago. Disagreements --
often sparked by control over illegal businesses -- regularly develop
into gunfights.
The security forces have long been accused of human rights
violations. Resumption of military ties between Washington and Jakarta
are on hold while alleged army involvement in the murder of two
American teachers last y in the country's independence-minded province
of Papua are investigated.
Fighting this wk in the religiously divided city has largely been
confined to a district that straddles the Christian and Muslim sectors.
Police and soldiers have not prevented fighters armed with homemade
guns and machetes from both sides from drawing up battle lines through
the district. Witnesses said that security forces appear to be joining
in the battles, rather than trying to prevent them.
Death toll rises as Iraq violence continues
Najaff (AFP). One woman has been killed and 6 other civilians wounded
in an exchange of gunfire between US soldiers and Shiite militiamen nr
the central Iraqi city of Najaff, a hospital official said.
"A woman was killed and 4 other people wounded when American soldiers
returned fire after shots from militiamen of the Mehdi Army of Moqtada
al-Sadr," said a member of staff at Hakim Hospital in Najaff.
"A rocket-propelled-grenade fired by the militia hit a house, wounding
two people, including a child," added Abbas Fadel Waddae, without
specifying exactly where the clash took place.
The situation is tense in Najaff where supporters of the radical Shiite
cleric have threatened to react violently if US soldiers enter the
holy city some 160 km S of Baghdad.
Cmdrs of the US occupation forces have sworn to capture or kill the
young cleric whom they accuse of involvement in the murder of a
political rival and of refusing to disarm his militia, which they
blame for bloody clashes early in Apr in the Shiite S and in Baghdad.
Meanwhile, a US soldier has died from wounds suffered in an ambush on
a vehicle W of the N Iraqi city of Mosul, the US-led coalition said in
a statement.
4 soldiers were wounded when a hand grenade was thrown at their
vehicle on Tue, according to a statement and a military rep.
3 of the soldiers were taken to hospital where one died. The 4th
suffered only minor wounds and returned to duty.
Washington Unleashes Bloodbath in Iraq
Fallujah (Tehran Times). With 1000s of troops massed outside the
besieged cities of Fallujah in central Iraq and Najaff in the south,
the Bush Admin has unleashed a bloodbath against the Iraqi people.
In Fallujah, US forces on Tue escalated their attack, with AC-130
gunships firing cannon rounds into crowded residential areas.
The city was also pounded by fire from helicopter gunships, jet
fighters, tanks and machine guns.
In one instance, tank fire was used to topple the minaret of a local
mosque. Marines reportedly closed the last entrance to Fallujah,
barring any more of the residents who had fled earlier fighting from
returning to their homes. The action was seen by observers as the
prelude to the renewal of a full-scale assault on the city of 300,000,
which has been a centre of resistance to the US occupation.
One Marine cmdr referred to the city -- comparable in size to
Birmingham, Alabama or Newark, NJ -- as a "huge rats' nest."
In Najaff, Pentagon officials claimed Tue that US occupation forces
killed scores of members of the Mahdi Army, a militia loyal to Shiite
leader Moqtada al-Sadr. Missile-firing helicopter gunships were called
in to mow down some 60 militiamen, according to US officials. Local
hospital staff, however, reported that the casualties included unarmed
civilians. It was also reported that US troops had seized a major
hospital and were denying access or supplies to those seeking to treat
wounded Iraqis.
In the aftermath of the clash, throngs of Najaff residents carried the
coffins of 7 of the slain fighters through the streets, vowing to
resist any attempt by US forces to take control of the city.
"We're going to drive this guy into the dirt," a commanding officer of
the US 1AD said of Sadr.
What is being prepared is a wave of mass killing aimed at terrorising
the Iraqi people into accepting the continued occupation of their
country by the US military. Lacking anywhere nr the forces necessary
to police a country of 25 mn people, Washington is determined to make
an example out of Fallujah and Sadr's movement, much in the same
fashion that the Nazi occupiers of World War II Europe levelled the
Czech town of Lidice and razed the Warsaw ghetto.
Given the sadism and backwardness of the occupant of the White House,
who is said to be making the ultimate decisions on the 2 sieges, the
looming assaults are no doubt also driven by a thirst for revenge. Since
the beginning of Apr, 122 US troops have lost their lives in
combat. During the same period, ten times as many Iraqis have been
killed, many of them women and children.
Laying siege to cities, attacking hospitals and mosques, denying
medical care, food and other essential services to entire civilian
populations and imprisoning close to 20,000 Iraqis without charges or
hearings are all war crimes, and they are being carried out in the
name of the American people.
The original pretexts advanced for invading and occupying Iraq -- from
WMD to supposed ties between Baghdad and Al Qaeda -- have long since been
proven lies. Now, the claim that Washington is seeking to bring "freedom"
and "democracy" in Iraq is being exposed as a fraud as the full horror
of Washington's dirty colonialist war becomes increasingly evident.
While mn of Americans oppose this war and watch with revulsion as the
killing escalates, the onslaught against the Iraqi people enjoys the
full support of the US establishment and both of its political parties.
That the bloodletting in Iraq is the consensus policy of the entire
ruling elite was made clear by editorials appearing in 2 influential
dailies this wk.
In an editorial entitled "The Fallujah Stakes," the Wall Street
Journal on Mon gave vent to the thirst for blood that predominates
among the right-wing Republican layers that are politically closest to
the Bush Admin. These elements are increasingly agitated over what
they see as a retreat from the Admin's unilateralist policy in
Iraq. This has intensified since Bush's announcement that he will
allow UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to effectively select the personnel for
the so-called interim govt that is to be installed on Jul 1. The
Journal, which in response to the 1st Persian Gulf war coined the
infamous slogan, "Force works," wants to see blood soon and in great
quantities. The newspaper warned Mon that the Bush Admin must not
"shrink from the military campaign that is inevitable." It continued:
"Sooner or later the Baath remnants, jihadists and criminals who have
used Fallujah as a sanctuary have to be killed. They can't be
bargained with, they can't be reasoned with, because for them a
peaceful transition to Iraqi control after Jun 30 means defeat...
[S]ooner or later the insurgents have to be defeated, and at the point
of a gun, not by diplomacy. If we're not prepared to do that, Mr Bush
might as well order the troops home now." The day before, the NY Times
published an editorial entitled "A Stronger Force in Iraq" that
corresponded in large measure to the positions taken by Democratic
presidential candidate John Kerry. It called upon the Bush Admin to
confront "unpleasant realities," including the prospect that an
additional 50,000 troops or more will have to be sent to occupy Iraq,
and that the occupation will continue well past 2006. It complained
that the Bush White House was denying "our forces and the Iraqi people
the protection that adequate troop strength would provide."
The editorial concluded: "We may, in the end, find that the task Mr
Bush has laid out for the brave men and women in the military and the
brave Iraqi citizens who are struggling to create a better future is
simply impossible to achieve. But we have not reached that point. This
is not the moment for retreat and it certainly is not the moment for
half measures."
The meaning of this last sentence -- written in the context of the
sieges mounted by the US military against Fallujah and Najaff -- is
unmistakable. No "half measures" means unleashing the full force of
the US military against a popular uprising that cannot be crushed
without massive civilian casualties. Both the Bush Admin's most
fervent right-wing backers and its supposed political opponents in
what passes for the liberal establishment have come together to employ
the same lies to justify the slaughter in Iraq. They both claim that
the US occupation forces are in Iraq as armed missionaries of
"freedom" and "democracy."
For the Wall Street Journal, the transition to "Iraqi control" is
possible only through the slaying of those Iraqis who are resisting
foreign occupation. For the Times, "security" for the Iraqis is to be
achieved through a massive escalation of a US occupation that has
already claimed the lives of well over 10,000 civilians.
This killing of Iraqis and the pointless sacrifice of 100s of young
American soldiers' lives is being carried out not for any of the
preposterous reasons -- freedom, democracy, security -- put forward by
the war's defenders. Rather, US imperialism has decided to conquer and
occupy an entire country and suppress its people in order to seize
control of its vast oil resources and assert its hegemony over one of
the world's most strategically vital regions.
In the run-up to what US officials and the American media describe as
"handing over sovereignty" to the Iraqi people scheduled for Jun 30,
the cynicism of the US colonial project is undeniable. In an interview
with Reuters news agency Mon, US Secretary of State Colin Powell made
clear that the so-called "sovereignty" of a new group of hand-picked
Iraqi officials will not extend beyond their desks. "It's sovereignty,
but [some] of that sovereignty they are going to allow us to exercise
on their behalf and with their permission," said Powell. "It is not as
if we are seizing anything away from them."
There will be nothing to seize. The US military will continue to
occupy the country, exercising powers amounting to martial law. And
Washington will resist any attempts by the new body to pass laws or
amend those decreed by the occupation authority. All political and
economic decisions will be made by the incoming US ambassador, John
Negroponte, who will be backed by an embassy staff approaching 4,000
-- the largest anywhere in the world -- and will exercise the
authority of a colonial viceroy.
That the US occupation is an expedition devoted to looting rather than
liberation was spelled out last m in a revealing interview by the
American official 1st placed in charge in Iraq. Retired Gen Jay
Garner told BBC reporter Greg Palast that the US Admin had drawn up
detailed plans for the privatisation of the Iraqi economy and its oil
wealth as early as 2001. Garner was removed from his post, he said,
because his call for early elections cut across US plans to implement
by decree this economic program of plunder and seizure. Nothing could
more clearly testify to the fact that the invasion and occupation of
Iraq have nothing to do with "democracy," and everything to do with
transferring the country's wealth into the hands of the US oil
monopolies, banks and corporations.
Part of the plan, Garner added, was to establish Iraq as a US military
base for operations throughout the Middle East. He said Iraq would
serve much the same function as the Philippines did in projecting US
naval power in the Pacific after the crushing of nat'list guerrillas
in that country at the end of the 1898 Spanish-American War.
"I think it is a bad analogy, but we should look right now at Iraq as
our coaling station in the Middle East, where we have some presence
there and it gives us a ... strategic advantage there," said Garner.
These words, from the horse's mouth, provide indisputable confirmation
that this war marks the resurgence of brutal and unabashed colonialism.
The cynicism and hypocrisy of the US ruling elite and its political
servants have no limit. One need only recall that Ronald Reagan in the
1980s hailed the CIA-funded Afghan mujaheddin who fought against
Soviet military occupation as "freedom fighters" and the modern
equivalent of America's founding fathers. Yet those who fight today
against the American military occupation of Iraq are branded criminals.
Tens of 1000s of Iraqis are resisting -- with undeniable popular
support -- the overwhelming military superiority of the occupation
forces. While they are routinely described by US officials and the
media as "terrorists," "thugs," and "extremists," they have every
right to fight for an end to the illegal occupation and colonial
conquest of their country.
The demand must be raised with redoubled strength in the US itself for
the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all US troops from Iraq
and the payment of war reparations to the Iraqi people. Those responsible
for dragging the American people into this war based on lies are
guilty of war crimes and should be subjected to criminal prosecution.
The "liberal" argument that the US occupation must continue because
without American troops Iraq would descend into civil war is as old as
colonialism itself, and merits only contempt. The worst alternative in
Iraq would be the "success" of this imperialist project. It would
entail the permanent occupation of Iraq and endless bloodletting,
while paving the way for new and even more catastrophic wars.
The Democratic and Republican parties are united in their determination
to exclude from the elections any debate over the continuation of the
US occupation. For both Kerry and Bush, the anti-war sentiments of tens
of mn of Americans are illegitimate and must be suppressed.
The struggle against war cannot be waged on the basis of the facile
politics of "anybody but Bush." It requires the building of a new and
independent mass political movement of American working people fighting
to unite their struggles with those of working people internat'ly.
Spain and Germany Discuss Cooperation on Iraq, EU
Berlin (DW-Radio). Spain and Germany Discuss Cooperation on Iraq, EU
Zapatero and Schroeder both opposed the US-led war in Iraq.
Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder said on Wed they supported a new UN resolution for
Iraq. But they played down reports about a new European initiative.
Amid high expectations Zapatero had come to Berlin seeking support for
a new initiative to scale back the US role in Iraq within the
framework of the UN, the 2 leaders made clear they had only begun to
discuss the matter.
"We are having consultations with the German govt, the French govt and
the American govt about the perspectives for new suggestions in the UN
Security Council," Zapatero said at a joint press conference with
Schroeder. "The Spanish govt feels obligated to continue to work
in Iraq. We don't have a one-sided initiative."
The trip is Zapatero's 1st trip to Germany since being elected PM and
comes after his decision to withdraw all of Spain's 1,300 troops in
Iraq. Unlike the unflagging support of his conservative predecessor
Jose Aznar, Zapatero -- like Schroeder -- has been opposed to
the US-led war in Iraq.
Both leaders said they discussed working together in the European
Union and specifically on the European constitution, the passage of
which had stalled on the opp'n of the previous Spanish govt. But the
press conference was dominated by questions about the Iraq.
* Berlin then Paris
After meeting Schroeder in Berlin, the Spanish leader headed to
Paris to talk with French Pres Jacques Chirac on Thu. Germany and France
were the most outspoken opponents of last y's invasion to oust Iraqi
dictator Saddam Hussein and led the campaign against the war at the UN.
Spain is also currently a member of the Sec Council.
"At some point there will be a new resolution," said Schroeder.
"Naturally we will work closely with the Spanish and French govts. But
that doesn't mean we won't continue to discuss things with other
members of the Sec Council."
Zapatero had initially said that the UN should play the defining role
as a condition of its keeping Spanish troops in Iraq beyond Jun
30. But shortly after taking office earlier this m, he ordered their
withdrawal saying that a UN resolution seemed unlikely.
German FM Joschka Fischer spoke with his Spanish counterpart Miguel
Angel Moratinos earlier on Wed, who said the plan was still at "a very
early stage." He said the initiative was open to other nations,
especially the US.
Fischer said the plan outlined by UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to the Sec
Council on Tue should be the basis for any discussion of a new
resolution. The plan provides for a caretaker govt to oversee Iraq
from the time it takes power on Jun 30 until nat'l elections in the
end of Jan 2005.
"The question of a real transfer of sovereignty in this process and
keeping to the timetable should be the basis of this process," Fischer
said, according to the Associated Press.
Spain discusses Iraq resolution in Berlin
Berlin (AFP). Spain, Germany, France and the United States are in
"intense negotiations" on a new UN resolution on Iraq, Spanish PM Jose
Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has said. The new Spanish leader was speaking
at a press conference in Berlin following talks with German Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder. "We are in intense negotiations with Germany,
France and the United States" on a new UN resolution on Iraq, he said.
Mr Schroeder said Germany, Spain and France have shown "great
cooperation" during the talks. Spanish For Min Miguel Angel Moratinos
said in Berlin earlier on Wed that the negotiations were "in early
stages". Mr Zapatero is to travel to Paris on Thu for talks with
French Pres Jacques Chirac that will include discussion on Iraq.
Spain had been at loggerheads over Iraq with the 2 European Union
heavyweights during the Admin of Mr Zapatero's conservative predecessor
Jose Maria Aznar. Since coming to power in an election last m, Mr
Zapatero has ordered Spanish troops to be pulled out of the country.
Bremer considering coup in Iraq
Op/Ed (Tehran Times). The rumours of the possible return to power of
former members of Iraq's disbanded Baath Party and US administrator
Paul Bremer's private meetings with a number of them are ominous
developments which have given rise to speculation that Bremer is
plotting a coup against the majority of the Iraqi people.
Over the past few days, Bremer has visited more than 1500 former
members of the Baath Party, including former Defense Min Gen
Hashim Ahmad, Gen Maher Abdel Rashid, who was the cmdr of the E
Tigris Regiment during the Iran-Iraq war, and some formerly
high-ranking officials of the party, namely Mohammad Zamam Abdel
Razaq, Aziz Saleh al Noman, Fazil Mahmud Gharib, Abdel Baqi Abdel
Karim Assa'dun, Yahya Abdellah al Abudi, Eqleh Abde Seqar al Kobeisi,
Rashid Ta'an al Azzawi, Hoda Saleh Ammash, Ghazi Hamud al Obeidi, and
Sa'd Abdel Majid al Faisal.
There are unconfirmed reports that Bremer asked the officials of the
former regime to return to their former posts and to help the US
forces establish peace and security in Iraq.
Bremer's strenuous efforts to establish security in Iraq are obviously
meant to give a boost to Bush's reelection campaign.
However, it seems that he is trying to achieve that goal by staging a
traditional Iraqi-style coup d'etat.
It is unfortunate that Bremer has learned nothing about Iraqi culture
during his stay in the country but is taking pointers from former
Iraqi dictators, even though he surely must know that most Iraqi
citizens regard this to be abhorrent.
The preliminary details for the coup against the Iraqi people have
been taken care of. It appears that the US, some regional countries,
and the UN representative in Iraq are the main players in the coup plot.
It is believed that the plan calls for the dismissal of prominent
members of the interim Iraqi Governing Council and preventing Shias
from becoming high-ranking officers in the future Iraqi armed forces.
The UN Sec-Gen's representative in Iraq, who has extreme nat'list
inclinations, is trying to legitimise the occupation and seeks to
establish an ethnically based neo-Baathist govt which would exclude
Shias. Analysts say the plan being prepared by US officials through
consultations with military and political experts from a number of
Arab states in the region will only be implemented as a last resort to
prevent a complete failure of the occupation.
This is the real reason why Bremer has been delaying handing over the
approximately 5000 former members of the Baath Party currently
detained by coalition forces to the Iraqi Governing Council for
prosecution.
Moreover, US Pres George W Bush is no longer blabbering about
establishing democracy in Iraq and recently delegated decision-making
power and responsibility for the establishment of the new govt in Iraq
to Bremer, Pentagon military experts, and the UN representative in Iraq.
Unfortunately, by failing to properly assess the internal situation in
Iraq, Bremer is playing with fire, a fire that not only threatens to
destroy Iraq but which could also spread to other countries in the region.
The possibility of the return to power of the wicked criminals of the
Baath Party has incensed the religious leaders of Iraq. If the plot is
implemented, the Iraqi people will definitely not remain silent. And
if nothing is done to remedy the situation, all this will certainly
lead to a civil war in Iraq.
Iraqis grumble at prospect of sovereignty without authority
Baghdad (AP). A govt that can't pass laws, a nation that doesn't
control its own armed forces. Many of Iraq's US-picked leaders wonder
just how sovereign a state Washington will give them on Jun 30.
The US says that Iraq will indeed receive its sovereignty on that
date, in the sense that the official US-led occupation will end.
But no one disputes that the new govt's authority will be limited.
"Let's separate sovereignty and let's separate out authority and let's
keep this in context that this is an interim representative body that
we are talking about," White House rep Scott McClellan said Tue of the
incoming govt.
Iraqi leaders may have been willing to accept a sovereignty in name
only several wk ago. Earlier this y, many Shiites were saying the Jun
30 Admin should only have limited powers until an elected govt is created.
But violence that has bloodied and battered Iraq for the past 3 weeks,
particularly in and around the cities of Fallujah and Najaff, has opened
a divide. The US appears ready to cede less power -- while Iraqi
leaders have become more insistent on seeing more authority in their hands.
Mohsen Abdel-Hamid, a Sunni Arab on the US-appointed Governing
Council, said the prospect of the US retaining some sovereignty is
"not acceptable, this is totally rejected."
If the Americans do not respect agreements on giving complete
sovereignty, "then the Iraqi people know what route to take," he said.
Asked if the Governing Council might call for resistance, Abdel-Hamid
told The Associated Press: "I hope that we will not be forced to do
that, and I hope that the Iraqi people won't be forced to do that
too. We hope to gain our sovereignty by peaceful means."
What does sovereignty mean for a nation? There are the tangible
elements: control over its armed forces and the work of govt; the
power to legislate and to manage the economy; the power to decide who
enters its territory.
Then there are symbolic elements such as embassies and recognition in
world bodies.
Iraq after Jun 30 looks like it will have much more of the latter
than the former.
US officials suggest that sovereignty will be full, but that Iraqis
should accept limits on power that simply reflect the reality in Iraq.
With the insurgency still running strong, well over 100,000 US troops
will remain on Iraqi soil, and the US ambassador-to-be, John Negroponte,
said Tue that the military will have authority over Iraqi security
forces. The US Embassy will manage $bns of reconstruction money in
consultation with the Iraqis, a huge influence on the economy.
Iraqi ministries will keep the work of govt running. But Negroponte
also said the new Admin may not be able to pass laws.
UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi -- whom the US has looked to for help forming
the post-Jun 30 Admin -- told the UN Security Council on Tue that a
caretaker govt made up of "honest, qualified" people should be
selected by the end of May.
Brahimi spoke only of a complete transfer of sovereignty, not a
limited transfer. And he said the relationship with the US military
should be spelled out in "crystal clear understandings" before the
hand-over takes place.
US occupation officials spoke in the past of drawing up a "Status of
Forces" agreement that would define relations between the US military
and the Iraqi security forces. It's not clear if that is now off the
table, but there is little talk of it.
Negroponte instead said "lines of communication" and diplomacy would
resolve disputes when the US military wants to go one way and Iraqi
leaders want to go the other.
The bloodshed since the beginning of Apr has taught both sides sharply
differing lessons.
For the Americans, it demonstrated that US-trained Iraqi security
forces are in no shape to face Sunni insurgents. About half the Iraqi
police and Civil Defense Forces either deserted or joined the insurgents.
An Iraqi Army battalion refused to fight in Fallujah.
But for some Iraqi leaders, the violence showed the danger of the US
military having too free a hand. The current council president, Kurdish
leader and close US ally Massoud Barzani, suggested he wouldn't have
launched the crackdowns in Fallujah and Najaff in the 1st place.
No one on the council is suggesting US forces leave. But they want
their voice to be guaranteed.
"Iraqis should have a bigger role in security ... in taking financial
decisions ... in running the Iraqi reconstruction fund," Ahmad Chalabi,
a council member and close Pentagon ally, told the Arab TV station
Al-Arabiya.
But the result may disappoint Iraqis who concluded from past US
promises that they would have sovereignty in the full sense of the word.
"I think the sovereignty will be weak and not complete," said council
member Mahmoud Othman. "The less sovereignty there is, the less the
possibility that the govt will be able to work and achieve its tasks."
Marines fight Iraq rebels at Fallujah train station
Fallujah (Bloomberg). US Marines are fighting insurgents in Fallujah
nr its train station with the support of combat helicopters. Pool
TV pictures showed a plume of black smoke rising from
buildings in the NW part of the Iraqi city, which has come to
symbolise entrenched resistance.
"This battle continues," US Army Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt said at a
briefing televised from Baghdad today. There have been "numerous
violations" in the past day of a cease-fire agreement with rebels,
Kimmitt said. "When we get shot at, we will respond."
The fighting followed a battle last night in the predominantly Sunni
Muslim city, in which air strikes and artillery were used to try to
quell insurgents who oppose the occupation by a US-led coalition. Fallujah
residents benefited from Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime, and
the area also has attracted foreign militants eager to fight US forces.
Kimmitt said political negotiations might yet resolve the conflict in
the encircled city. "The Marines still believe that the talks have
promise," the general said.
The US sent Marines into Fallujah after 4 civilian contractors were
killed and mutilated there Mar 31, in a challenge to coalition
control of the country. The US is also fighting against supporters of
Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in S Iraq, where Kimmitt said today
there were indications that another Shiite group is trying to drive
al-Sadr's militia out of Najaff, a city holy to Shiites.
Kimmitt said some Najaff residents were angered by intimidation from
al-Sadr's gun-toting loyalists.
* Republican Guard
The US says foreign terrorists, possibly including alleged al-Qaeda
associate Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, are fighting and hiding in and around
Fallujah, a city of about 250,000 people that is 56 km W of
Baghdad. Other fighters include members of the elite Special
Republican Guard forces that operated under Hussein.
Coalition forces in the air over Fallujah saw insurgents in a flatbed
truck and a sedan driving from intersection to intersection in the
city with their lights off, dropping off and picking up people,
Kimmitt said. That tactic had been used before previous attacks, and
coalition aircraft destroyed the vehicles and the ammunition they were
carrying, Kimmitt said.
The insurgents then took shelter in a building that coalition aircraft
fired on, producing secondary explosions that indicated "large amounts
of ordnance inside," Kimmitt said.
At least 280 people have been killed in Fallujah since Apr 5, Agence
France-Presse reported, citing the Iraqi health ministry. The agency
earlier this m cited an unidentified Fallujah hospital director as
saying more than 600 people had died in the city, most of them civilians.
"It was a fairly one-sided fight last night. And I think everybody saw
the video," Kimmitt said today in an interview with the "CBS Early
Show." "The Marines did quite well."
According to US Dept of Defense figures, 126 US soldiers and Marines
have died in combat this m in Iraq, more than the 109 killed during
the invasion phase that ended when US Pres George W Bush declared an
end to major combat operations on May 1.
* Shiites Fight Al-Sadr
In the holy city of Najaff, S of Baghdad, there are indications, based
on "anecdotal evidence," that other members of Iraq's Shiite Muslim
majority have been fighting al-Sadr's militia, which may be holed up
in mosques and shrines, in an effort to drive them out, Kimmitt said.
Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali Sistani, 73, earlier this m
called for calm and the restoration of order, Agence France-Presse
reported, citing aide Sheikh Abdel Mahdi al-Karbalai. Members of
Iraq's interim Governing Council have tried to negotiate a settlement
with al-Sadr, who wants US forces to leave the country.
The US military says al-Sadr, 31, is subject to an arrest warrant in
connection with the killing of a cleric. Iraq's Shiites make up 60% of
the country's 25 mn people.
US forces renew strikes in Fallujah
Fallujah (Reuters). US Marines have launched a fresh air and ground
assault in the besieged Iraqi city of Fallujah.
Thick black smoke rose above the palm-dotted Golan district, the
target of an overnight aerial bombardment. Marines told one reporter
they had stormed an area around a railway station. One witness said
aircraft also struck at least 2 other districts.
US cmdrs had earlier said they were holding off from an all-out assault
on the city of 300,000 in the hope of cutting a deal with the Sunni
Muslim insurgents they have had encircled in Fallujah for more than 3 wk.
Cobra attack helicopters strafed Golan after shelling and fierce
exchanges of gunfire broke out in mid-afternoon.
A US TV reporter with the Marines said the air strikes were in support
of troops on the ground after snipers fired on them.
Amid warnings from the UN's Iraq envoy of bloody consequences should
talks fail in Fallujah, an AC-130 gunship, 1st used in Vietnam, had
blasted Golan overnight.
The main US military rep in Baghdad, Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt, told
US ABC TV shortly before the new outbreak of fighting that he still
hoped for a deal.
"We are going to continue to push the political track as far as it is
going to take us and if it does not take us far enough, we are
prepared to use military means," he said.
"If they have to take this to a fight, that's going to be a one-way fight."
* Twin threats
A y after the fall of Saddam Hussein, who spent his 67th birthday in
the custody of US forces on Wed, American troops are trying to quell
twin threats to the new order in Iraq from Sunni Muslim guerrillas in
Fallujah and Shiite fighters in the S before "sovereignty" passes [;-)] to
Iraqis on Jun 30.
Cmdrs nr Najaff said an AC-130 attack late on Mon that they believed
had killed some 60 Shiite fighters, appeared to have demoralised the
guerrillas and was part of a strategy to persuade their wanted
religious leader to give himself up. Local forces, however, vowed to
resist any American incursions.
In Fallujah a y ago -- previously a public holiday in honour of
Saddam's birthday -- US soldiers killed and wounded dozens of
demonstrators in an early public relations setback.
The town, 50 km W of Baghdad, is now a byword for resistance by Iraq's
long dominant Sunni Muslim minority.
Some people in Fallujah, where civic leaders struck a truce with the
Marines 2 wk ago, are furious.
"This attack shows the frustration in the ranks of American soldiers
in Iraq and the American political defeat," Ali Abdullah said.
"We have uncovered the treachery and barbarity of the US army."
Local doctors say 600 people have been killed and many more have fled
the city since US retaliation began after the killing and mutilation
of 4 American security guards.
"Unless this stand-off is brought to a resolution through peaceful
means, there is great risk of a very bloody confrontation," envoy
Lakhdar Brahimi told the UN.
A fierce firefight also took place overnight in Khaldiya, W of Fallujah,
and US patrols appeared to have been stepped up in other towns in the
"Sunni triangle" N and W of Baghdad, Saddam's home region and a
bastion of his support.
Some 115 US soldiers have been killed this m, compared with fewer than
100 in the 3 wk it took to oust Saddam. At least 520 have died in
combat since last y's invasion.
A Ukrainian soldier was killed on Wed, in a reminder of the dangers
that have prompted some US allies to pull out.
* Najaff Dangers
US forces could face an even more delicate dilemma in Najaff, where a
radical cleric from Iraq's Shiite majority, Moqtada al-Sadr, has taken
refuge among the shrines with his Mehdi Army militia, several thousand strong.
An aide to Sadr was quick to echo local accusations that many civilians
died in Mon night's US attack nr Kufa, outside the city, the heaviest
in a 3-wk stand-off.
Qais al-Khazali said a move into Najaff itself would "transform the
situation into a Shiite Islamic confrontation with the Americans".
Sadr has vowed suicide attacks if they do.
Cleric Hussam al-Husseini warned against what he saw as a US attempt
to cut off Kufa, base for many fighters, from Najaff.
"All the land of Najaff region is holy and we have the right to defend
our holy sites," Mr Husseini told Reuters.
US cmdrs say they will only attack mosques if they are used in combat
-- in Fallujah, troops destroyed a minaret on Mon after saying snipers
were using it to fire on them.
"Our goal is to continue to pressure Sadr to understand that we are
not going away," said Col Brad May, cmdr of the 2AC Regiment outside Najaff.
"It is in his best interest to go ahead and lay down arms."
Fallujah strikes continue despite ongoing talks
US cmdrs say they are still committed to ongoing peace talks.
Fallujah (AFP). United States aircraft have pounded suspected
insurgent positions in the Sunni Muslim bastion of Fallujah for a 2nd
day but US cmdrs said they were still committed to ongoing peace talks.
US helicopters and planes rained missile and machine-gun fire onto
several buildings after heavy battles broke out in the N of the
besieged city, according to an AFP correspondent and a US military rep.
Plumes of black smoke could be seen rising from the buildings in the
afternoon as the helicopters made repeated raids and as US marine
snipers fired at unknown targets in the apparently deserted streets.
US Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt, speaking to reporters in Baghdad,
insisted the Marines were "rigidly adhering" to a fragile ceasefire
and remained committed to resolving the standoff peacefully.
"If this can be solved by not putting our soldiers' or Marines' lives
at risk so much the better," he said, referring to talks between
US-led coalition representatives and local community leaders.
"There is still a determined aspiration on the part of the coalition
to maintain the ceasefire and resolve this situation by peaceful means."
He warned that Marines, who he said killed 2 insurgents in battles
overnight, were prepared to resume offensive operations, unilaterally
suspended earlier this m.
"There is certainly no military problem that cannot be solved in
Fallujah," he said.
Fallujah has been the scene of the fiercest fighting of the US-led
occupation of Iraq, with scores of US soldiers and 100s of Iraqis
killed there this m despite the so-called truce.
Marines have besieged Fallujah since Apr 5 following the murders of 4
US civilian contractors, which triggered a bloody offensive.
The Iraqi health ministry said 280 people, including 24 women and 30
children, had been killed in Fallujah since Apr 5 but the figures did
not seem to include those who had not made it to hospital.
The injured were numbered at 820, the ministry said.
The UN refugee agency said some 50,000 residents were estimated to
have fled Fallujah, 50 km W of Baghdad, to temporary camps, mosques or
homes of families elsewhere in the country.
Capt Christopher Logan, a Marine rep, said insurgents had engaged
"multiple" coalition units on Wed and air strikes were called in to
support the troops on the ground.
"There were multiple close air support missions requested and
conducted," he said as fighter jets screamed overhead.
The Fallujah railway station was among the targets, said Col John
Coleman, chief of staff of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.
Insurgent positions were also pounded in a US air strike on Tue night
after Iraqi fighters opened fire on US troops with small arms and
RPGs, US officers said.
"Marines took RPG and direct fire and called air support to engage a
vehicle transporting weapons and personnel," said marine Maj T V Johnson.
He said a heavily armed AC-130 Spectre plane "hit the target ... the
anti-Iraqi forces fled to a nearby building. The aircraft shot at the
building."
Marine officers said that in both cases, in addition to the blasts
from the air strikes, there were also "massive secondary explosions"
which suggested ammunition stockpiles were also struck.
"We hit a sweet spot," said Col Coleman.
On Wed night, a US network pool reporter said live on CNN that an AC-130
had attacked a position on the NE edge of Fallujah, causing what appeared
to be a secondary explosion that shot flames and smoke into the sky.
He said it looked as if the strike might have hit an ammunition dump
but that there was no official confirmation.
He said that around nightfall a fighter jet had hit the same position.
Spectre gunships have previously bombarded guerrilla positions in Fallujah
but the footage shown live on US TV overnight renewed debate
about the proportionality of the US forces' military tactics in the town.
Brit Prime Min Tony Blair defended the air strikes on Wed, saying US
forces retained the right to fight back if attacked.
"I deeply regret any civilian deaths in Fallujah but it is necessary
that order is restored and the Americans are trying to do that," he
told Parliament during weekly question time.
"If it is the case that American soldiers have been fired on, American
soldiers are going to have to fire back and take action to ensure that
those insurgents, these former regime elements and terrorists, can't
disrupt the political process," he told the House of Commons.
Both sides accuse the other of breaking the ceasefire and US forces
insist they only fire in self-defence.
Coalition officials said they planned to stage joint US-Iraqi patrols
in the city on Tue but US overseer Paul Bremer said on Iraqi TV they
had been delayed until Thu due to training problems.
Marine officers on the ground said the decision was based on
sensitivity for the birthday of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein, which
falls on Wed.
Syria's Assad sees "legitimate resistance" in Iraq
Dubai (Reuters). Syrian Pres Bashar al-Assad, under pressure from
Washington to help stop attacks against US forces in Iraq, has said in
an interview that the Iraqi insurgency is legitimate resistance.
US forces in Iraq are trying to quell twin threats from Sunni Muslim
guerrillas in Fallujah and Shi'ite fighters in the south before they
hand over sovereignty to Iraqis on Jun 30.
"Certainly, what has happened on the popular level gives legitimacy to
the resistance and shows that the major part of what is happening is
resistance," Assad said in comments aired on Arabic satellite channel
Al Jazeera on Wed.
"You are talking now about resistance which is against the occupation
forces," Assad said. Asked if the resistance was legitimate, he said:
"Well, of course, it's understood that way".
The US has accused Syria of sheltering "terrorists" and not doing
enough to stop foreign fighters infiltrating from its territory into
neighbouring Iraq.
Syria says it has done its utmost to control the border and has helped
the US in its "war against terror".
Parts of the interview were shown by the Qatar-based channel which
Washington has accused of inflaming an anti-US revolt.
Iraq modifies new flag after protests
Baghdad (Reuters). Iraq's US-appointed Governing Council has unveiled
a modified version of the new nat'l flag after protests that the
original was similar to Israel's.
A pale blue crescent and 2 lines on the bottom were given a darker
shade of blue and some dimensions were changed, but it was not clear
if the new version would satisfy protesters. A yellow strip divides
the blue lines.
Many Iraqis, from Kurdish and Arab areas in the north to Sunni Muslim
towns in the centre and Shi'ite south, had decried the flag as
resembling Israel's, which has 2 pale blue lines on top and bottom and
a pale blue Star of David in the middle on a white background.
A Council rep said on Wed the white stood for peace and a new start
for Iraq, the crescent represented Islam, the blue strips represented
Iraq's main rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, and the yellow
represented its Kurdish population.
Annan warns US raids making Iraq stand-off worse
UN (AFP). United Nations Sec-Gen Kofi Annan has said US raids on
insurgents are worsening the situation in Iraq and called for
negotiations to help calm the situation.
"It's definitely time now for those who prefer restraint and dialogue
to make their voices heard," he said, a day after his Iraq envoy,
Lakhdar Brahimi, warned the security situation was hampering plans for
Iraq's political future.
"Violent military action by an occupying power against the inhabitants
of an occupied country will only make matters worse," he told a press
conference at UN HQ in NY.
"There is nothing cowardly or faint-hearted about this approach," Mr
Annan said.
"It takes courage and dogged determination to work for peace in a
violent world."
US forces on Wed again hammered the flash-point Iraqi city of Fallujah
as Pres George W Bush vowed to take "whatever action is necessary" to
secure the city, a bastion of Sunni Muslim resistance to the US occupation.
Fallujah has been the scene of the fiercest fighting since US-led
forces invaded Iraq in Mar last y at the start of the war that
brought down Saddam Hussein.
Scores of US soldiers have been killed since they laid siege to the
city on Apr 5 after 4 US civilian contractors were killed in an ambush.
The Iraqi health ministry says 280 Iraqis have died, including 24
women and 30 children, with 820 wounded, but the toll may be far higher.
Mr Annan said Mr Brahimi's briefing to the UN Sec Council on Tue was a
"very sober assessment" of the "deteriorating" security situation in
the country.
Mr Brahimi warned of the Fallujah stand-off: "Unless this stand-off is
brought to a resolution through peaceful means, there is great risk of
a very bloody confrontation."
He said the continuing bloodshed had raised the question of "whether a
credible political process is even viable under such circumstances" but
said the internat'l community had "no alternative" but to make Iraq work.
Mr Brahimi has been tasked with helping to craft an interim Iraqi govt
to take power on Jun 30 when the US-led occupation will formally come
to an end.
He said Iraqis should name the members of that govt by the end of May,
in order to give them at least a m to reach "crystal clear understandings"
on the role of US and other forces in Iraq after Jun 30.
Flying saucer fever grips Iran, theories abound
Tehran (Reuters). Is Iran about to be invaded by little green men or
are the Americans racing through the night sky in spaceships to spy on
the Islamic Republic?
Flying saucer fever has gripped Iran after dozens of sightings in the
last few days. Fanciful cartoons of alien spacecraft have adorned the
front pages.
State TV on Wed showed a sparkling white disc it said was
filmed over Tehran on Tue night.
More colourful Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) have been spotted
beaming out green, red, blue and purple rays over the N cities of
Tabriz and Ardebil and in the Caspian Sea province of Golestan, the
official IRNA news agency reported.
Newspapers and agencies reported people rushing out into the streets
in 8 towns on Tue night to watch a bright extraterrestrial light
dipping in and out of the clouds.
An airforce officer in the Revolutionary Guards was quoted in the
reformist Vagha-ye Etefaghiyeh daily saying Iran's Supreme Nat'l Sec
Council should investigate whether these visitors from afar had
hostile intent.
But Sa'dollah Nasiri-Qeydari, head of the Astronomical Society of
Iran, told Reuters the stories were unfounded.
"In my opinion, flying saucers do not exist," he said, insisting his
telescopes would have picked up invaders from outer space.
"The people who have seen these things are not experts -- farmers,
villagers and pilots," he added.
He said what people reported was consistent with the planet Venus,
whose intense light in its current position would be given different
hues by being filtered through the atmosphere.
Thai troops sent S to quell unrest
Dozens have been killed in Thailand clashes.
Bangkok (Reuters). Hundreds of troops have fanned out across S Thailand
to shut down the restive region after a day of carnage in which
security forces shot dead more than 100 gun and machete-wielding
Muslim militants.
Army chiefs ordered 2 extra battalions of soldiers into the country's
3 S most provinces, a predominantly Muslim region already crawling
with police and security officials after nearly 4 m of low-level unrest.
PM Thaksin Shinawatra said 107 "bandits" and 5 soldiers and police
died in the fighting, which started when gangs of black-robed young
men, some wearing Islamic slogans, launched dawn attacks on around 15
army and police posts.
In one of the worst incidents, troops fired teargas and stormed a
mosque nr the provincial town of Pattani, killing over 30 gunmen holed
up inside. An angry crowd gathered to watch as soldiers dragged their
bodies from the bullet-riddled building.
The impoverished region has a history of sometimes violent Islamic
separatism, but Thai officials have insisted local gangsters
manipulating drug-crazed youths are behind the unrest.
However, one of Mr Thaksin's security advisers, said the attacks could
have been coordinated by separatists.
"The incidents were pulled together by separatist movements and gangs
of drug dealers and contraband smugglers," Lt Gen Kitti Ratanachaya
told a Bangkok TV channel.
The region is a hotbed of crime, feeding off a lucrative cross-border
smuggling trade with neighbouring Malaysia, but analysts say that does
not explain why so many of Wed's attackers were young, Muslim and
appeared ready to die.
"Those who died must have believed they were dying for their
religion," said Ahmad Somboon Bualang of Pattani's University of
Prince Songkhla.
"They must have had an ideology beyond separatism, otherwise why would
they attack with their bare hands and swords?"
Analysts fear internat'l militant networks, such as Osama bin Laden's
Al Qaeda, might find the region's disaffected Muslim youth a fertile
recruiting ground.
Authorities appealed for calm as a debate over whether the Admin's
'get tough' policy adopted after a spate of violence erupted in Jan is
the right way to win over a local population with few ties to the
mainly Buddhist country.
Thai Defence Min Chetta Thanajaro did not point any fingers of blame
but said if authorities managed to build bridges with the families of
those killed they might dry up a local pool of disquiet.
"What we need to do next is reach an understanding with the families
of each of those killed, and to win over their cooperation with the
govt, so that those behind the unrest stop what they have been doing,'
Mr Chetta told reporters.
US concerned over Thailand
Washington (AFP). The US expressed concern over unprecedented
violence in S Thailand where more than 100 Muslim militants were
killed in clashes with security forces and a bloody raid on a mosque.
Washington said it was discussing the situation with the Thai
authorities and was prepared to provide any assistance they might need.
"We are concerned about the violence in S Thailand, and we are in
close contact with the Thai govt on the situation there through our
embassy," US State Dept deputy rep Adam Ereli told reporters.
In the worst violence ever seen in Thailand's troubled south, police
and soldiers battled armed groups who launched coordinated attacks at
10 police stations and security checkpoints in 3 provinces nr the
Malaysian border.
Thai Army cmdr Gen Chaisit Shinawatra said 107 attackers were
killed, 6 were injured and 17 were arrested. 2 soldiers and 3 police
were killed and another 15 security forces injured.
The attacks were the latest in a series of bombings, raids and murders
in Thailand's S provinces, which in the past 4 m have claimed the
lives of 65 security forces personnel, govt officials and Buddhist monks.
Asked whether the Thai military sparked the violence, Ereli said those
who attacked the Thai police stations were responsible for it.
"We, at this point, don't have info that any individual or group has
claimed responsibility for attacks against Thai police stations which
started this round of violence," he said.
"There's an investigation that's going on. And at this point, we're
not going to speculate about who might have been behind the attacks
against the 15 Thai police stations on S Thailand.
"There hasn't been anybody who's claimed responsibility so far."
Thai officials said the attackers were mostly teenagers, poorly armed
with only machetes and a few guns.
The last battle zone was at a mosque outside the southern Pattani
provincial town, where 32 rebels who had holed up there were killed
when troops stormed the mosque to end a 6-hr standoff.
"We are concerned about threats to public order and stability in S
Thailand represented by these attacks," Ereli said.
He said the US wanted to work with the Thai govt to bring the
situation under control "in a way that is responsive to the needs of
the citizens of that part of the country".
Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist nation but about 5% of the population
is Muslim, and most live in the 5 S provinces bordering Malaysia.
US issues travel warning to Israel
Washington (AFP). The United States has warned its citizens to avoid
all travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories and renewed
appeals for Americans to leave the Gaza Strip immediately, citing
terrorist threats stemming from Israel's killing of 2 militant
Palestinian leaders.
The State Dept updated an existing Mar 23 travel warning for Israel,
the W Bank and Gaza issued the day Israel assassinated Hamas founder
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin to include threats to avenge the Apr 17 killing of
his successor, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi.
"In the aftermath of the killings of 2 Hamas leaders by Israel in less
than a month, statements have been made by some Hamas elements and
other terrorist groups threatening revenge against US interests, which
could include kidnappings," it said in a statement.
"The Dept of State warns US citizens to depart Gaza immediately and to
defer travel to Israel, the W Bank and Gaza due to current safety and
security concerns," it said.
Although the dept said it had no indication that the threats would
actually "be carried out at this time", it stressed the security
situation throughout Israel and the Palestinian territories remained
highly unstable.
"Ongoing violence over the last 3 y has caused numerous civilian
deaths and injuries, including to some American tourists, students and
residents, as well as to US mission personnel," it said.
"The potential for further terrorist acts remains high," it said.
"The situation in Israel, Jerusalem, Gaza and the W Bank remains
extremely volatile with continuing terrorist attacks, confrontations
and clashes."
The dept repeated longstanding advice for US citizens who choose to
stay to avoid public places such as restaurants, cafes, shopping and
market areas and malls, pedestrian zones, public buses and bus stops,
or other crowded venues.
Americans should also avoid large crowds and demos, it added.
The State Dept and the US embassy in Tel Aviv 1st urged Americans to
leave the Gaza Strip in Oct, after 3 Americans working as part of the
embassy's security force were killed in the roadside bombing of a
diplomatic convoy there.
The warning was issued following a suicide car bombing by a Hamas
militant that wounded 4 Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip.
Aussies advise Nauru in asylum case
Nauru (AAP). The 2nd day of a court hearing on the legality of
detaining asylum seekers on Nauru was under way, with 2 Aussie
solicitors advising a senior Nauruan lawyer.
The news comes a day after Nauru justice minister Russell Kun ordered
Aussie snr counsel appointed to represent the Nauru and Aussie govts
in the case to return home to ensure the hearing was fair.
A para-legal pleader, Reuben Kun, a former finance minister and the
uncle of Mr Kun, was appointed to represent the detainees after
Nauruan authorities barred the Aussie legal team that mounted the case
from entering the island nation.
The hearing will test the validity of the visas, which require asylum
seekers to remain locked up for all their time in Nauru.
Nauru govt rep Helen Bogdan said the two Aussie lawyers were advising
solicitors for the snr counsel were sent home on Wed.
She said they would advise the Nauru govt's lawyer, acting secretary
for justice Lionel Aingemere but would not address the court.
The Aussie legal team, headed by prominent MEL lawyer Julian Burnside,
QC, was barred from boarding a flight to Nauru on Sun to take part in
the hearing after their visas were cancelled by Mr Harris and Russell Kun.
On Mon, Russell Kun said he did not see the need for the team to
attend the hearing.
This left Reuben Kun pitted against Aussie QCs and snr counsel without
the ability to argue the case -- he could only read from papers
prepared by Mr Burnside.
But on Wed Ms Bogdan said Russell Kun had told her he had ordered
Aussie lawyers representing the Aussie and Nauru govts to leave to
ensure the hearing was fair.
In response, Mr Burnside on Wed said he was pleased the other legal
teams had been sent home.
"It makes it a fair fight again," he said.
Under the Pacific solution deal, signed in 2001, the Aussie govt
agreed to pay tens of $mns to the cash-strapped Pacific nation in
return for the right to keep asylum seekers there.
The Aussie govt last wk also signed a treaty with Nauru to help it out
of a financial crisis, after America's General Electric Capital
Corporation moved to recover debts of more than $230 mn.
Under the treaty, AUS will provide a snr treasury officer and
officials from the finance dept to help Nauru reorganise its finances.
Mbeki includes more women in new cabinet
Jo'burg (AFP). South African Pres Thabo Mbeki has unveiled a new
cabinet for his second and final term.
The cabinet includes more women and members of other parties but
retains the finance, defence and foreign ministers and his
controversial health minister.
"This is a very strong team. I'm glad that when I spoke to them all
last night and early this morning they responded well to the critical
challenge which is the implementation of policy," he said of the
50-member team.
22 of the team, which includes Deputy Pres Jacob Zuma, Cabinet
ministers and deputy ministers, are women.
"We've sought to address the matter of the gender issue to further
increase the number of women ministers and the number of women deputy
ministers compared to the 1999 cabinet," he said, adding that there
were 5 more women ministers.
"We haven't quite reached 50% yet but we're getting there."
Pres Mbeki retained Mosiuoa Lekota in the defence portfolio, Trevor
Manuel at finance and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma at foreign affairs, as
well as Health Min Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, who has sparked criticism
for advocating a quirky diet to fight HIV-AIDS, South Africa's biggest killer.
He dropped former home minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the leader of
the Zulu-dominated Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), who has clashed with
the president over new immigration rules and the outcome in the Zulu
heartland of Kwa-Zulu Natal of the Apr 14 vote.
Mr Mbeki's African Nat'l Congress (ANC) garnered 70% of votes cast in
the election, the 3rd since the end of apartheid.
Mr Buthelezi was replaced by his former woman deputy, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqaqula.
But there were 2 deputy ministers from the IFP in the new team and Mr
Mbeki said the ministerial team was broader-based with people from
more political parties such as the Azanian People's Organisation, the
IFP and the New Nat'l Party in the govt in keeping with his poll
pledge for a "people's contract" to face new challenges.
Pres Mbeki appointed Marthinus van Schalkwyk, the leader of the New
Nat'l Party -- the reincarnation of a party that formed the bulwark of
the apartheid regime -- as minister of environmental affairs and tourism.
Mr Van Schalkwyk's party, which jointly ruled with Mbeki's African
Nat'l Congress (ANC) party in the W Cape province, was routed in the
last elections, getting less than 2% of the total vote.
In the other cabinet position given to a member outside of that of the
ANC, the chair of Science and Technology went to Mosibudi Mangena of
the left-wing Azanian People's Organisation.
Mr Mbeki faces stiff challenges in his last term and has promised to
deliver on ambitious election pledges to fight poverty, unemployment,
the HIV-AIDS scourge and crime.
Unemployment hovers between 40 and 50%, according to various
estimates, while many say poverty has deepened in the last decade.
The governing ANC had made steep promises in its manifesto: creating 1
mn new jobs in 5 y; spending 100 bn rand [$A20 bn] to improve
infrastructure and halving poverty and unemployment by 2014.
Risk rises with Hollywood budgets
LA (Reuters). Rising movie production costs, which are nearing $US200
mn for some of the biggest blockbuster films, could lead to disaster
for the studios that make them, as a major flop would result in huge
charges, a top media executive has said.
News Corporation president and chief operating officer Peter Chernin
said few people were willing to talk about just how expensive movies
have become.
"The cost of these movies is the dirty secret of Hollywood," Mr
Chernin said at a Milken Institute conference in LA.
Were a movie to cost $US200 mn for production and then bring in only
about $US25 mn at the box office, Mr Chernin said, the fallout from
write-downs and charges would be shocking.
"It will rock the industry to its foundation and appropriately so," Mr
Chernin said.
Speaking on the same panel, Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone said his
company's movie studio, Paramount, would have a freer rein to make
big-budget pictures costing more than $US100 mn, though it would not
spend for the sake of spending.
"They will not be profligate," Mr Redstone said of Paramount's
executives.
The panel's group of executives also addressed entertainment
technology like broadband delivery, video on demand, digital video
recording and piracy.
The general consensus was that the movie industry was not suffering
from digital piracy in the same way as the music industry both because
of the larger file sizes for movies, as opposed to songs, and because
the movie business had embraced legal digital downloads of its products.
"It's ironic that you can buy a movie cheaper than you can buy the
soundtrack to that movie," Mr Chernin said.
He said digital video recorders, which allow viewers to watch programs
without the commercials, would change traditional TV advertising
models but not kill them.
"I don't think advertising is threatened, but I think the long block
of interruptions may need adjusting," he said.
Amex ads to promote Aussie tourism
Canberra. The Fed Govt has announced a $30 mn partnership with an
internat'l financial institution to attract more tourists to AUS.
Tourism Min Joe Hockey says American Express will use its client
database to promote Aussie tourism destinations. The campaign is
expected to attract 10,000 "high yielding" Americans to AUS over the
next 12 m. Mr Hockey says the campaign is likely to be extended into
other markets in the future.
Toohey continues attack on DIO
Canberra (AAP). Naval lawyer Martin Toohey continued his criticism of
AUS's spy agency the Defence Intel Organisation (DIO), saying it was
politicised and misled the public.
Capt Toohey has attacked the govt over its treatment of him and
whistle-blower Lt Col Lance Collins amid allegations of failures by the DIO.
He said he believed the govt was involved in a cover-up over the
Collins affair and said he wanted to appear at a parliamentary inquiry
into the military justice system.
Lt Col Collins, chosen by defence chief Gen Peter Cosgrove to
oversee intel in E Timor, was at the centre of allegations he leaked
sensitive material.
But a report by Capt Toohey cleared him of the claims and found
evidence of a pro-Jakarta lobby within the DIO.
The govt later released another report by Col Richard Tracey which
discredited the Toohey report.
Capt Toohey said he disagreed with the govt and said the Tracey report
was a cover-up.
He said the DIO was "misleading the govt and the people of Australia".
Capt Toohey said the politicisation of the DIO was life threatening
and the head of the organisation should be sacked.
"I believe that the head of DIO is politicised, I believe that he
really should be replaced," he told ABC Radio.
"DIO has been politicised and that is a very sad situation and indeed
a dangerous situation if we have another E Timor where the intel is of
such a poor standard again lives will be at risk."
Capt Toohey said he wanted to testify before a parliamentary inquiry
because the cover-up was a constant thorn in his side.
He also claimed to be the victim of a witch-hunt for the leaking of
the Collins report to the media.
"I've had 2 investigators from the defence security interview me,"
Capt Toohey said.
"I have no idea how it was leaked, I told them so.
Military barrister wants defence concerns aired at inquiry
Capt Martin Toohey says he wants to appear before a parliamentary inquiry.
Canberra. The military barrister who accused the Fed Govt of being involved
in a "shabby, tawdry cover-up" in relation to defence intel says he
wants to appear before a parliamentary inquiry to express his concerns.
Capt Martin Toohey claims he has been part of a witch hunt.
Capt Toohey's investigation which found the Defence Intel Organisation
(DIO) tailored its reports to suit govt policy was leaked to the media
earlier this m.
The Govt later released a document by a MEL QC contradicting the report.
Speaking to the ABC's AM program, Capt Toohey was standing by his findings.
"[The] DIO has been politicised and that is a very sad situation and
indeed, a dangerous situation," he said.
He told the program he is being investigated but was not responsible
for the leaking of the report.
"I've had 2 investigators from defence security interview me. I have
no idea how it was leaked, I told them so," he said.
"That's simply not good enough, it's a witch hunt and don't shoot the
messenger."
He wants to appear before a parliamentary inquiry into military
justice and says his concerns about bias in AUS's intel agencies are
supported by other snr military officers.
Witnesses will back me up: Laws
Broadcasters embroiled in ABA scandal.
Sydney (AAP). Radio broadcaster John Laws insisted he had witnesses
to back his claims that rival Alan Jones boasted of pressuring PM John
Howard to re-appoint the broadcasting watchdog.
Mr Laws on Wed claimed Mr Jones had boasted at a dinner party in 2000
about "instructing" Mr Howard to re-appoint Aussie Broadcasting
Authority (ABA) chairman David Flint in exchange for his support
before the 2001 fed election.
Both Mr Howard and Mr Jones, the prominent 2GB breakfast broadcaster,
have strongly denied any pressure was exerted to re-appoint Prof Flint.
Mr Jones challenged Mr Laws's recollection of events and denied ever
having spoken to Mr Howard about Prof Flint.
Mr Laws said people should believe him because of the number of
witnesses he had to Mr Jones's comments.
"The statement, I'm telling you, was made," Mr Laws said on his radio
2UE show.
Mr Laws on Wed said Mr Jones made the claim in front of several other guests
at a Nov 2000 dinner party, hosted by his (Laws') manager John Fordham.
On Wed night Mr Fordham backed Mr Laws' version of events at the
dinner party.
Mr Laws said Mr Jones had made his comments in front of him and 4
other people.
"All of us without exception were bemused to say the least by the
remark," Mr Laws said.
"And that's why it was printed indelibly on our respective memories.
"Now Alan predictably claims that he can't remember the occasion...
"Well, I'm quite sure that if any of you had been at a dinner party
and had gone through the dramas I had gone through with Prof Flint and
the ABA you would certainly remember a comment like that, wouldn't you."
Mr Laws said his rival was a highly intelligent man and had pretty
good recall.
"So it's really a simple matter of deciding who you believe," Mr Laws said.
Alan Jones denies the political interference claims
Sydney. Radio broadcaster John Laws is standing by comments he made
accusing fellow broadcaster Alan Jones of political interference.
Mr Laws claimed on Radio 2UE that Mr Jones told him at a dinner party
in Nov 2000 he had instructed John Howard to re-appoint Prof Flint.
Mr Laws said Mr Jones warned him not to criticise Prof Flint.
"Alan Jones then went on to say in fact, 'I was so determined to have
David Flint re-elected that I personally went to Kirribilli House and
instructed John Howard to re-appoint David Flint or he would not have
the support of Alan Jones in the forthcoming election'," Mr Laws said.
Mr Jones and Mr Howard both deny any such conversation took place.
Speaking on the ABC's 7.30 Report Mr Laws said he was quoting Mr Jones
pretty much verbatim when he made the comments.
He also said 5 people at the dinner party were witness to Mr Jones's
comments and can verify what he said.
Mr Laws also denied any professional jealousy of Mr Jones and said he
and his rival broadcaster disagree on only one thing.
"Well somebody has asked the question before and I answered it this
way, we only really disagree on religion, religious grounds, I refuse
to treat him like God," he said.
* Jones hits back
Mr Jones has accused Mr Laws of airing the allegations to boost
flagging ratings.
He told Radio 2GB the comments attributed to him were "ludicrous and
fanciful".
Mr Jones admitted attending the party but said he did not think he had
ever spoken to the PM about Prof David Flint.
"I don't think I've ever had a discussion with John Howard about David
Flint, ever," he said.
"For me to say that I actually went personally to Kirribilli House.
Now presumably you just walk through the gate do you, knock on the
door and say 'PM get out here, I've got a few lessons to teach you'.
"I instructed John Howard to re-appoint David Flint? I don't think that
I've ever had a discussion with John Howard about David Flint ever.
"That's as memory tells me."
Speaking in Bris, the Prime Min rejected claims Mr Jones tried to
influence him over the re-appointment of Prof Flint.
"As to the suggestion that he tried to heavy me under threats that if
I didn't re-appoint David Flint he wouldn't support me in the election
campaign is absurd and wrong," he said.
"No such conversation at Kirribilli House or anywhere else took place
between Mr Jones and myself.
"Indeed I can't recollect Mr Jones ever raising Mr Flint's position
with me."
"I totally reject any suggestion that I was heavied under threat if I
didn't do this somebody would not support me in an election campaign.
"No such threat has ever been made to me by Jones or anybody else and
if it were I would tell them to get lost."
However, Fed Labor leader Mark Latham said the allegations were
disturbing and required a full explanation from Mr Howard.
"This matter is very serious. It would, for example, be a serious
breach of the ministerial code of conduct at a minimum and more
serious matters could flow," he said.
"I think it's incumbent for the PM to give a thorough explanation to
the Aussie people."
* Letter of praise
ABC TV's Media Watch this wk revealed Prof Flint sent Mr Jones a
letter praising his extraordinary ability to express the opinions of
the majority.
Prof Flint told the ABC's 7.30 Report he wrote the letter after he was
inspired by comments made by a conference keynote speaker praising Mr Jones.
"This was to an assembly of people learned in this area. I thought
that was so interesting, I thought I would let Alan Jones know that
that view was being put about by another person," he said.
Prof Flint said when he wrote the letter he was not aware there would
be a cash for comment inquiry and certainly not one involving Mr Jones.
"[It] came in later into the radar of the investigation and I wasn't
aware at that time that I was writing, that there was any possibility
of an investigation by the ABA," he said.
Prof Flint said contact with Mr Jones was legitimate and it did not
compromise the inquiry.
"We don't exclude ourselves because we know the person involved," he said.
"We've had contact with them, we may have praised them. The question
is, 'had I previously taken a view in relation to personal sponsorships?'.
"I had not."
Prof Flint said he would not have written the letter, had he known the
cash for comment inquiry would be conducted.
Jones hits back at claims
Sydney. Radio broadcaster Alan Jones has used his breakfast program
this morning to hit back at claims that he boasted about instructing
Prime Min John Howard to re-appoint Prof David Flint to head the
Aussie Broadcasting Authority (ABA).
John Laws made the claims on a rival radio network yesterday after
Jones's program had ended.
It was not until 4 hours after Mr Laws made his claims that Mr Jones
took to the airwaves to deny them, but this morning, on his own program
on the Macquarie Network, he wasted no time in suggesting a motive.
"In many ways it's very sad I think that some of these things are
inspired by envy or jealously -- I don't know what they are," he said.
One talkback caller saw a grander conspiracy.
"I would suggest that it's been cobbled together by the ALP and its
electronic wing the ABC and a very sympathetic 2UE," the caller said.
On air this morning John Laws told S Cross listeners he has given an
honest account and he has 5 witnesses.
"Either Alan Jones or the PM is a liar," he said.
The Prime Min says Alan Jones is a friend but rejects Mr Laws's allegation.
"I specifically deny any conversation remotely resembling what has
been alleged," he said.
Mr Howard told S Cross Radio he does not know what took place at the
dinner party but there was no such conversation between himself and Mr Jones.
"If somebody approached me, somebody from the media with a threat that
they would withdraw support from me if I didn't do such and such I
would to use the Aussie vernacular tell them to get lost," he said.
Fed Opp'n leader Mark Latham has called for an independent public
inquiry into the allegations.
"We need an independent public inquiry, we've got 5 independent
witnesses on one side alleging improper influence and even
corruption," Mr Latham said.
"It's a very serious allegation, a very, very serious allegation and
when you've got 5 people alleging one side of the story and denials on
he other and Mr Howard's in the middle you can't have a cloud hanging
over the office of PM.
"You need an inquiry to establish the facts."
The Democrats support calls for an independent inquiry into the issue.
Laws claims there are more Flint letters
Laws claims he has seen other correspondence between Mr Jones and Prof Flint.
Sydney. The board of the Aussie Broadcasting Authority is due to meet
this afternoon amid continuing controversy over chairman David Flint
and the nature of his