Global Warming. Powell speaks at Davos Sunday. Check local listings of who appears on
Sunday talk shows before the State of the Union Monday.
KWC
'World
War Has Begun', Malaysia's Mahathir Assails U.S. at Davos Opening
by
Paul Taylor, Published on Friday, January 24, 2003
by Reuters
DAVOS,
Switzerland - Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told the United States
on Thursday that "out-terrorising
the terrorists will not work"
and forecast a long period of war driven by hatred, revenge and greed.
His
warning jolted the opening session of the annual World Economic Forum of
business and political leaders in Davos, at which Switzerland's president
urged Washington not to launch a war against Iraq without United Nations
authorization. (end of excerpt)
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0124-05.htm
Role
Reversal: Bush Wants War, Pentagon Urges
Caution
by
Doug Thompson, Published on Wednesday, January 22, 2003 by
the Capitol Hill
Blue
(whose
online byline reads “Because nobody’s life, liberty or property is safe while
Congress is in session”)
Senior
Pentagon officials are quietly urging President George W. Bush to slow down
his headlong rush to war with Iraq, complaining the administration’s course of
action represents too much of a shift of America’s longstanding “no first
strike” policy and that the move could well result in conflicts with other
Arab nations. “We
have a dangerous role reversal here,”
one Pentagon source tells Capitol Hill Blue. “The civilians are urging war and
the uniformed officers are urging caution.”
Capitol
Hill Blue has learned the Joint Chiefs of Staff are split over plans to invade
Iraq in the coming weeks. They have asked Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
to urge Bush to back down from his hard line stance until United Nations
weapons inspectors can finish their jobs and the U.S. can build a stronger
coalition in the Middle East.
“This
is not Desert Storm,” one of the Joint Chiefs is reported to have told
Rumsfeld. “We don’t have the backing of other Middle Eastern nations. We don’t have the backing of any of
our allies except Britain and we’re advocating a policy that says we will
invade another nation that is not currently attacking us or invading any of
our allies.”
Intelligenced
sources say some Arab nations have told US diplomats they may side with Iraq
if the U.S. attacks without the backing of the United Nations. Secretary of
State Colin Powell agrees with his former colleagues at the Pentagon and has
told the President he may be pursuing a "dangerous course."
An
angry Rumsfeld, who backs Bush without question, is said
to have told the Joint Chiefs to get in line or find other
jobs. Bush is also said to be “extremely
angry” at what he perceives as growing Pentagon opposition to his role as
Commander in Chief. “The President considers this nation
to be at war,” a White House source says,” and, as such, considers any
opposition to his policies to be no less than an act of treason.”
But
conversations with sources within the Bush administration, the Pentagon, the
FBI and the intelligence community indicate a deepening rift between the
professionals who wage war for a living and the administration civilians to
want to send them into battle.
Sources say the White House has ordered the FBI and CIA to “find and
document” links between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of
the 9-11 terrorist attacks. “The
implication is clear,” grumbles one longtime FBI agent. “Find
a link, any link, no matter how vague or unproven, and then use that link to
justify action against Iraq.”
While
Hussein and Iraq have been linked to various terrorist groups in the past,
U.S. intelligence agencies have not been able to establish a provable link
with bin Laden’s al Qaeda forces.
“There may be one,” says another FBI source. “There should be one. All logic says there has to be one,
but we haven’t established it as a fact. Not yet.”
Pentagon
planners privately refer to the pending Iraq conflict as a “Bush league war,”
something that may be fought more for political gain than anything else.
“During
Desert Storm, the line officers wanted to finish the job, wanted to march into
Iraq and take out Hussein and his government, but President Bush and JOC
Chairman (Colin) Powell pulled the plug on the operation,” says one Pentagon
officer. “We had our chance. We had the justification. We had the support. We
don’t have it now.”
Some
Pentagon staffers point to last weekend’s antiwar rally in Washington, where
they say the crowd included many veterans of Desert Storm. “This wasn’t just a bunch of tree
huggers and longhairs marching,” says Arnold Giftos of Huntington, West
Virginia, who served in Desert Storm and who came to march. “Go to any meeting
of veterans groups in this country and you will see serious discussion on
whether or not we should be getting into this war.”
Reporters
covering the marches on Saturday and Sunday say they counted about 500
marchers among the 30,000 who carried signs or other items identifying
themselves as veterans. “I served
in Vietnam,” said Robert Brighton of Detroit, who marched in Washington. “I
supported Desert Storm. I don’t support this. It’s madness.”
In
addition, Capitol Hill Blue has learned that both House Speaker Dennis J.
Hastert
and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist
have
told the White House that they have “increasing” numbers of Republicans in
both Houses raising doubts about the war. “Nobody in the party wants to come out
publicly and tell the President he’s wrong,” says one Hill source close to the
GOP leadership, “but we don’t have the kind of unity we need on this thing. It
could blow apart on us at any time.”
Public
support for a war with Iraq is also slipping. In November of 2001, just two months
after the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, 78 percent of
Americans favored military action against Iraq. That support has slipped to
as
low as 52 percent in January polls.
A Washington Post-ABC news poll taken last week shows Americans
evenly
split
over Bush's handling of the crisis with Iraq.
Spokesmen
for the White House, Pentagon and Congressional leadership offices would not
comment on the record for this report.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0122-09.htm
Also go this link to RealAudio or read
transcript of a surprisingly contentious twosome between Sen. Warner and Dodd,
indicating that some are raising the heat and others are feeling it:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/congress/jan-june03/sens_1-24.html
Outgoing mail scanned by NAV
2002
