UK: Six days that shook Britain (SAS Iranian Embassy Seige 1980) - Guardian [W
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Six days that shook Britain == It was one of the events that defined the 80s - establishing the SAS's lethal reputation and Margaret Thatcher as a prime minister who refused to give in to terrorists. But as the nation watched mesmerised on television, what was going on inside the Iranian embassy where six gunmen held 26 people captive for almost a week? Now for the first time, key players, including the policeman held hostage and three of the soldiers, talk to Peter Taylor Peter Taylor Wednesday July 24, 2002 The Guardian Wednesday April 30, 1980 was going to be a special day for PC Trevor Lock of the Metropolitan police. He had planned a surprise that evening for his wife, Doreen. It wasn't her birthday or their anniversary; he just thought that she deserved a treat. He was scheduled for diplomatic protection duty that day outside the Iranian embassy in Princes Gate, Kensington, and had planned to meet Doreen after work, buy her some perfume at Harrods and then take her to dinner and on to a West End show. The weather was lousy but at least he had something to look forward to. It didn't work out like that. Just before 11.30am, Lock was drinking a thick Iranian coffee with Abbas, the embassy concierge, when he saw a face through the glass panel of the door. He thought it was a student and moved to let him in. The man pulled out a machine pistol and let off a burst. Lock was hit by flying glass. I remember a curtain of red coming down and immense pain in my eyes and face, he says. I thought I'd been shot. Within minutes six gunmen, armed with automatic weapons and grenades, had seized the embassy and taken 26 people hostage, including PC Lock. A hundred and thirty five miles away at SAS headquarters in Hereford, the regiment's elite counter terrorist team were getting ready for a weekend exercise. Mac, one of its assault specialists, wasn't happy because he had been hoping for the weekend off. He was delighted when one of his colleagues rushed over and told him the exercise was off. Mac thought it meant he could take a break after all. No, said the soldier. It's for real. In Whitehall there was a flurry of activity as the government's emergency plans swung into action. Like the SAS, civil servants had practised the drills so often that they were second nature. By early afternoon, ministers, officials and military had gathered in the government's crisis management centre, the cabinet office briefing room, (Cobra). According to one official present, Margaret Thatcher, who was then prime minister, bustled about trying to organise everybody until she was gently and politely escorted to the door. Meanwhile, the Met's anti-terrorist squad had set up its operational base in a building next door to the embassy with trained negotiators in place. At this stage, no one knew who the gunmen were, where they were from or what they wanted. When it transpired that they were Arabs who wanted autonomy for an oil-rich region in southern Iran known as Khuzestan, officials were one the wiser. We had no idea what it was all about, says Richard Hastie-Smith, the cabinet office official in charge of Cobra. At that stage, no one knew that Iraq had trained and armed the gunmen to embarrass its enemy Iran, and that the drama about to be played out in Princes Gate was a dramatic prelude to the Iran-Iraq war that was to explode four months later and send millions of young men to their graves. Soon it transpired that the gunmen wanted the release of 91 of their comrades held in Ayatollah Khomeini's gaols. Iran said it was out of the question. The saga that would unfold over the next six days and its bloody dénouement was one of the defining events of the 80s. For millions watching television, snooker players were suddenly replaced by black-clad armed figures leaping through the windows of the embassy. The SAS raid that ended the siege was one of the most dramatic things ever seen on live television, a set of images that would take their place alongside Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon and John F Kennedy's assassination. By the time the smoke had cleared, the audacious raid had established the SAS's reputation as the world's most effective military unit and Thatcher as a leader who would not give in to terrorism. Now, for the first time, the full story of the siege and the devastating operation that ended it has been pieced together from interviews with several of those involved for a BBC documentary. Once the kidnappers were in control, the hostages were made to sit in a circle on the floor, staring down the barrels of guns. Lock sat in the middle, enthroned on a big Queen Anne chair. That chair became a symbol of authority in that room, he says. I was 'Mr British policeman' in full uniform while everyone else sat on the floor. Lock was consumed with guilt over having been inside drinking coffee instead of outside guarding the embassy. But he had
Stratfor: Syria, Israel and U.S. Iraq Strategy [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- STRATFOR Syria, Israel and U.S. Iraq Strategy Summary The Israeli government has threatened strikes on military targets in Syria in response to further cross-border attacks by the Hezbollah militant group. Israel is trying to make clear the internal risks Syrian President Bashar Assad will face if his country's military capabilities are destroyed. This also would serve U.S. interests by helping to neutralize the Syrian threat before a possible campaign against Iraq. Analysis Syria is coming under increased pressure over its policy toward Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah. A recent U.N. report on Syrian policy in Lebanon criticized the Lebanese government's unwillingness to assert its authority over the southern part of the country, and by default permitting Hezbollah to continue cross-border attacks against Israel. Syria's deputy ambassador to the United Nations criticized the report as one-sided, daily newspaper Al Hayat reported. Syria exercises substantial control over the Lebanese government and apparently has decided to support Hezbollah operations in southern Lebanon. For example, the Sunday Times of London reported the weekend of July 20 that Syrian President Bashar Assad recently ordered his officers to use the military's arsenal to supply Hezbollah directly. This announcement has put the Syrians on a collision course with the Israelis. The Times also reported that Israel has now delivered three warnings to the Syrian government concerning Hezbollah's operations. Two were transmitted through the United States, the other through Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The last warning was the most ominous. The Israeli government reportedly told the Syrians that if Hezbollah again attacks a target inside Israel, retaliation will be taken against military targets in Syria. Specifically, Israel would attack an armored brigade in southern Syria from the air, followed by artillery fire and perhaps an air-mobile assault. The goal would be the complete destruction of a Syrian brigade containing up to 100 tanks. This threat is not trivial. Syria used to be able to rely on the Soviet Union for quick military re-supplies, but that is no longer possible. Therefore, the loss of a Syrian armored brigade would constitute a serious blow to the country's military capability. And if Israel can destroy one armored brigade, it can destroy more. Such a loss would not only pose a strategic challenge to Syria, it also could threaten young Assad's government. His credibility as a leader still has not been fully tested, and there are those in the government who do not take him seriously. Since the military is the foundation of Syria's state, if Assad puts the country into a situation where its military capability is seriously degraded, the consequences could be severe. The Israelis clearly feel that Assad does not understand the risks he is running. That is why they have signaled to him so explicitly, virtually revealing the broad outlines of their operational plan. This serves a psychological purpose as well, emphasizing the imbalance between the military powers of the two countries. Israel is saying that it does not need the element of surprise to have its way with Syria's army. Israel wants Syria to stop Hezbollah's attacks in order to avoid being drawn back into the endless and costly game it tried to give up when it withdrew from Lebanon in 2000. The implicit understanding between Israel and Syria regarding the Jewish state's withdrawal was that Damascus, via the Lebanese government, would take responsibility for controlling Hezbollah. In return Israel would recognize Lebanon as being in Syria's sphere of influence. Israel does not want to open another military front in the north and it is genuinely hoping that Assad, after looking into the abyss, will assert himself. However, possible future U.S. military operations against Iraq also must be factored into the situation. As it currently plays out, the United States has two geographical platforms from which to stage an operation against Baghdad. Turkey is the most important but also the most reluctant. Jordan is seemingly more willing, but this option poses logistical problems. Both also have beef with Syria. At various points in history, the Syrians have moved against the Hashemite kingdom in Jordan. The Turks, charging Syrian meddling in the affairs of the Kurdish ethnic group, threatened war against Syria several years ago. Neither country is prepared to play Washington's game unless the threat from Syria is neutralized. For its part, the United States is engaged in an extensive post- Sept. 11 courtship of Syria. There are indications that Washington is still trying to lock down an assurance from Damascus in the event of a war on Iraq. The U.S. government also recently has sent several
BBC: 'Historic' deal on missile system [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Wednesday, 24 July, 2002, 13:42 GMT 14:42 UK WATCH/LISTEN ON THIS STORY The BBC's Tim Fawcett http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/audio/38153000/rm/_38153507_wbr30144fawcett.ram"For EADS, this deal with Boeing is very good indeed." 'Historic' deal on missile system Political opposition to the project is weaker http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2148961.stm By William Horsley BBC European Affairs correspondent Top aerospace company executives from the US and Europe have hailed as historic a deal to co-operate on a global missile defence system. The deal, involving US giant Boeing and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space company (EADS), is designed to pave the way for joint US and European development of a global system of missile defence. That could, in turn, profoundly change the nature of warfare and even the foundations of international relations. Many allies of America would like to get involved in the projectThere are as yet no details about the commercial deal, and no funds from Europe, but the deal looks forward to European firms perhaps winning big research contracts and making a key contribution to the giant project. Other American allies, including Israel and Japan, also have collaborations with Boeing which could be developed. Russia also wants to be involved. These important business deals are happening now because limits on exchanging technology on missile defence have been removed with the scrapping of the US-Russia Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty. The US is proposing that its planned missile shield would be extended to give protection to its allies around the world. Boeing, which is receiving massive funds from the US Government to develop the missile shield technology, has worked out framework accords with EADS, as well as with Britain's BAe Systems and Italy's Finmeccanica. American and Danish officials are meeting on Wednesday in Copenhagen to discuss possible European participation in the international system. Weakened opposition When US President George W Bush declared his intention to press ahead with the missile defence plan, US allies in Europe were lukewarm or openly hostile. Lately, that criticism has been muted. Some US allies are still worried about the likely effectiveness of the missile shield idea and none has given formal backing. But the prospect of big high-technology contracts, as well as worries about being left out of such a hugely ambitious project, are likely to weaken political opposition to it. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^ real_media.gif Description: GIF image o.gif Description: GIF image blue_audio.gif Description: GIF image _1312666_missile300.jpg nothing.gif Description: GIF image _38154723_william_horsley_byl58.jpg grey_pixel.gif Description: GIF image _1312666_slide150.jpg
Estonia split over Nazi monument - Guardian [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Estonia split over Nazi monument === Vahur Lauri in Tallinn Wednesday July 24, 2002 The Guardian An organisation representing Estonian soldiers who supported Hitler during the second world war said yesterday that it would unveil a monument next week to honour them, reviving painful memories of Estonia's past. The prime minister, Siim Kallas, condemned the move, which reflects Estonia's struggle to come to terms with its tragic experience during the 1940s, when the tiny Baltic state was invaded by Germany and the Soviet Union. Supporters of the monument - featuring a man in an Estonian Waffen SS uniform - say that it is meant to pay tribute to the soldiers' fight to stop Stalin's tyranny by taking up arms with the Nazis on the Russian front. An inscription says it is dedicated to all Estonian servicemen who died in the second war for the liberation of the fatherland and a free Europe in 1940-1945. The prime minister said that it could tarnish the country's image as it seeks EU and Nato membership this year. It is regrettable that a monument with such text and strong expression emerged, Mr Kallas told a press conference yesterday. It will certainly cause a lot of trouble in Estonia and abroad. I don't think government members should attend the opening of this monument. Estonia hopes that Nato's November summit in Prague will bring an invitation for the country to become a member. It is also working to complete EU entry talks by December so that it can join around 2004. The municipal government of Parnu, the site of the monument, is expected to meet this week to consider whether to ban it. An SS insignia had originally been etched into the soldier's helmet, but was subsequently removed. The Nazis occupied Estonia in 1941 after driving out the Soviets, who had invaded the Baltic states the year before in a brutal occupation during which tens of thousands were executed or shipped to Siberian camps. Many in Estonia and neighbouring Latvia and Lithuania welcomed Germans as liberators and were shocked when the Nazis began their own repression and slaughter of Jews. But Nazi hunters say some local people also helped carry out atrocities. Earlier this month the Simon Wiesenthal Centre sent a list of alleged war criminals to Estonian authorities, asking for assistance in tracking them down. The Estonian security police announced yesterday they had found no evidence that the 16 men, former members of a Nazi police battalion, attacked Jews. The security police have also found that none of the 16 people listed is in Estonia at present, the police said in a statement. When the Soviets began pushing back the Germans, many Estonians volunteered to fight with the Nazis to prevent a second communist occupation. Others were conscripted. Jewish groups and several western governments, including the United States, have urged Estonian officials to investigate Nazi crimes more aggressively and to try any living suspects. Of course Europeans will not understand us, said Leo Tammiksaar, a history enthusiast and private initiator of the monument. We made this monument for our soldiers and not for Brussels. Reuters Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Guardian: New archbishop issues warning on Iraq [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- New archbishop issues warning on Iraq === Stephen Bates, religious affairs correspondent Wednesday July 24, 2002 The Guardian Rowan Williams, the man chosen by Tony Blair to head the Church of England, threw down a challenge to the government within minutes of his appointment yesterday by making clear that he would not necessarily support any British-backed military attack on Iraq. The words of the man who is is to become Archbishop of Canterbury later this year, in succession to George Carey, are likely to have wide resonance since, as head of the 70 million-strong worldwide Anglican communion, he will have oversight of the US Episcopalian church, whose members include many members of the US political establishment. Answering questions at his inaugural press conference at Church House in London, Dr Williams, who has a record as a peace campaigner and was arrested in 1986 during a peaceful protest at a US airforce base, said: I would only support military action that the UN had cleared. As far as Iraq is concerned, I want to contribute to the discussions before decisions are made. His measured tone, though officially received in relaxed fashion by Downing Street, was an early reminder that the man who could head the Church of England for the next two decades will not be a pushover for the government. The remarks came as the prime minister ended months of speculation by confirming yesterday that he had accepted the will of the Church of England in appointing Dr Williams. The 52 year-old Welsh theologian, currently archbishop of the disestablished church in Wales, will succeed Dr Carey as the 104th incumbent of Canterbury, primate of all England and head of the Anglican communion later this year. He is expected to be formally enthroned at Canterbury next spring. Dr Williams represents a radical break from the church's traditions in more than merely political terms. He is the youngest archbishop for 200 years, the first since the 19th century to bring young children to Lambeth Palace and the first since the reign of Bloody Mary in 1556 to be appointed from outside the bench of bishops of the Church of England. Many in the church hope he will restore its sense of confidence, inspire the replenishment of emptying pews and provide the spiritual and moral leadership and intellectual clarity that Anglicanism has lacked for generations. Yesterday Dr Williams admitted to shock and being overwhelmed by his appointment and promised to do more listening than talking as he acknowledged he had much to learn. I hope with all my heart that I can serve to nurture confidence and conviction in our church and to help Christian faith to recapture the imagination of our people and our culture, he said. I have to go on being a priest and bishop, that is, to celebrate God and what God has done in Jesus and to offer in God's name whatever I can discern of God's perspective on the world around - something which involves both challenge and comfort. Downing Street said the prime minister believed the new archbishop's wisdom, intellectual stature and deep spirituality would be invaluable as he sought to lead the church through complex and challenging times. Any hopes though that Mr Blair might consider rescinding his patronage over appointments within the established church, after a series of rows, leaks and delays, were quashed. A spokesman said Mr Blair remained an anti-disestablishmentarianist. Dr Williams has in the past admitted to feeling slightly disappointed with New Labour, urging the government to show a little bit more courage and initiative. His predecessor Dr Carey, currently in the US, who has not always been one of Dr Williams' most enthusiastic champions, said: I greet the news... with joy. Rowan will bring to this demanding office great abilities as a theologian. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Guardian: Forces chief who upset US to quit [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Forces chief who upset US to quit Richard Norton-TaylorWednesday July 24, 2002The Guardian Admiral Sir Michael Boyce, Britain's senior military officer who upset Washington with his comments on America's war on terrorism, is to retire next spring, the Ministry of Defence announced yesterday, in a shake-up at the top of the armed forces. He will be replaced by General Sir Michael Walker, now head of the army, who will be succeeded by General Sir Mike Jackson, who negotiated the withdrawal of Yugoslav forces at the end of the Kosovo war. An army source described Sir Mike, head of the land forces, as "the people's choice". Sir Mike is known for straight talking. He was also adjutant of the battalion of the Parachute Regiment at the time when its soldiers killed 14 unarmed marchers on Bloody Sunday in Derry in January 1972. Sir Michael made it clear in an interview with the Guardian last year that he was deeply sceptical about the White House's missile defence plan. He also irked Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, by saying the war in Afghanistan could last for years. He later warned that a US decision to widen its military campaign against al-Qaida terrorists could further radicalise Arab opinion. The US was pursuing a "single-minded aim" of destroying Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida network, but the object should not be simply to get bin Laden in a "hi-tech, wild west" operation, Sir Michael said. It was important to rebuild Afghanistan and attack the causes of al-Qaida terrorism by mounting a "hearts and minds" campaign across the Arab world. Sir Michael will have served as chief of the defence staff for a little over two years. His predecessors held the job for three years. "Admiral Boyce has done a superb job and will be replaced by another superb man," Geoff Hoon, the defence secretary, said yesterday. General Walker, who will take over in April, made his name when he was responsible for sensitive operations in Sierra Leone, Bosnia and Macedonia. Commentators have suggested he would be the best choice as the army prepares for continuing operations abroad, including an expected invasion of Iraq. Sir Mike Jackson, whose appointment was enthusiastically welcomed by the army, will be replaced by Lieut General Sir Timothy Granville-Chapman, adjutant general responsible for personnel. He in turn will be replaced by Lieutenant General Alistair Irwin, the army's commander in Northern Ireland, who will be succeeded by Major General Phillip Trousdell. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Guardian: Drop plans to attack Saddam, Tehran tells US [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Drop plans to attack Saddam, Tehran tells US Simon Tisdall Wednesday July 24, 2002 The Guardian Iran's president, Mohammad Khatami, warned the US yesterday to abandon its plans to attack Iraq and denounced what Tehran believes is a calculated Bush administration campaign to provoke mass insurrection in Iran. We wish to caution the great powers against further interference in the region and against the exacerbation of the flames of war, Mr Khatami said during a visit to Malaysia. We live in a very frightening situation today. We have never witnessed war being so much promoted in the US. Iran's leadership would not bow to US threats and insults, he said. In a pointed reference to US hopes to depose Saddam Hussein and impose regime change in Iraq, Mr Khatami said that any such action could destabilise the entire region, with unpredictable results. No one has the right to decide for the people of Iraq. The people of Iraq should decide for themselves, he said. Tehran's own disputes with Baghdad notwithstanding, we condemn any foreign interference in Iraq. In a measure of how sharply US-Iranian relations have deteriorated in recent months, he also accused Washington of colluding with Israel in a policy of genocide against the Palestinians. Mr Khatami's remarks raised the possibility that a US military attack on Iraq could trigger a regional conflagration, drawing in Iran and possibly even Israel, Iran's sworn enemy. The reformist Iranian leader, who is engaged in a long-running battle at home with conservative opponents, spoke as officials in Washington suggested a significant hardening of US policy on Iran. The officials indicated that the Bush administration has decided to drop the policy of engagement supported by Britain, the EU and former US president Bill Clinton, and instead adopt a more confrontational approach, including open encouragement of anti-government forces in Iran. Mr Khatami and his pro-reform supporters in government are too weak, ineffective and not serious about delivering on their promises, one official told the Washington Post. We have made a conscious decision to associate with the aspirations of the Iranian people. Earlier this month, George Bush appealed to ordinary Iranians, suggesting that they were, in effect, being held hostage by the country's Shi'ite clerical establishment. He also accused Iranian leaders of corruption. In the last two Iranian presidential elections... the vast majority of the Iranian people voted for political and economic reform, Mr Bush stated. Yet their voices are not being listened to by the unelected people who are the real rulers of Iran. Uncompromising, destructive policies have persisted... Meanwhile, members of the ruling regime and their families continue to obstruct reform while reaping unfair benefits. Iran's people... have no better friend than the United States of America, Mr Bush said. His statement was conveyed directly to Iran via the government-funded Voice of America radio station. Iran's supreme spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a fierce response: America has spread the shadow of war and death in the region, threatening officially to overthrow the people and government of Iran, he said last week. The great Iranian nation will not retreat. The US policy shift concludes a process begun last January when Mr Bush labelled Iran a rogue state linked to terrorism and a part of the axis of evil that includes Iraq and North Korea. Mr Bush also accuses Tehran of seeking to acquire weapons of mass destruction. The tougher US position puts it at odds with Britain and the EU, which favour critical engagement with Iran, in the hope of encouraging reform, and have been negotiating a trade pact with Tehran. The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, has visited Tehran and a German government delegation is due there next month. We believe engaging with the reformers is the best way forward and we still do, a Foreign Office source said last night. Mr Bush's statement, issued on July 12, caused anger and astonishment inside Iran, dismaying reformists who have been struggling against a growing conservative backlash and provoking anti-American demonstrations. US analysts interpreted Washington's harder line as another setback for the secretary of state, Colin Powell, and an advance for hawks within the national security council and the Pentagon. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Stratfor: The Mystery of the Suspected Israeli Traitors [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- ___ S T R A T F O R THE GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE COMPANY http://www.stratfor.com ___ The Mystery of the Suspected Israeli Traitors === Summary Five Israelis were arrested by the Israeli government on July 18, charged with selling ammunition to a Palestinian paramilitary organization. Four of the five were serving in the Israel Defense Forces, in which one was a major. Given the relatively small amounts of money that appear to be involved, their alleged actions are difficult to understand. This inevitably raises speculation as to whether other motives may have been involved. Analysis On July 18, the Israeli government announced the arrest of five Israelis charged with selling about 60,000 rounds of ammunition to a representative of Tanzim, a Palestinian paramilitary organization linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah group. According to leaks by Israeli police, the sales went substantially beyond just ammunition and included weapons and other military equipment. Sources quoted by the Israeli press predict these arrests represent just the tip of the iceberg and that additional, even more shocking evidence will be revealed shortly. The Israelis also reported arresting a Palestinian from the nearby Palestinian town of Tarqumiya who acted as an intermediary between the Israelis and Tanzim. Two of the arrested, brothers Moshe and Nadav Cohen, come from the settlement of Telem, on the West Bank, near Hebron. Another two, Roi Amar and Oded Mulai, come from the nearby settlement of Adora. All but Mulai are active-duty personnel in the Israel Defense Forces, and Amar was reported to be a member of an elite unit of the border patrol. A fifth detainee, Kobi Uliel, was a reserve major in the IDF and lived in southern Israel. A sixth person, Sela Amar, Roi Amar's brother, was arrested but released. There have been thefts of weapons and munitions in the past, and the trend has been intensifying. Thirty-six cases of theft had been uncovered in the past six months. However, most of the thefts were carried out by Israeli criminals who on occasion sold weapons to Palestinian criminals. This was the first case revealed in which active-duty soldiers, including officers, stole munitions and sold them directly to a Palestinian group. To compound the shock, Adora, a settlement of fewer than 200 Israelis and the home of the Amars and Mulai, was the target of an attack by Palestinian gunmen on May 27. Four Israelis were killed, including a 5-year-old girl. There is a double shock to Israel here. First, the idea that residents of a settlement might have sold weapons and ammunition that killed their neighbors is stunning. Second, the idea that active-duty Israeli soldiers had, in effect, collaborated with Fatah's paramilitaries in order to make money strikes at the very heart of Israel's self- understanding. There have been espionage and smuggling cases in the past. About five years ago, an Israeli had been arrested for selling chemicals to Iran that could be used for chemical warfare. In the 1950s, there was a famous case in which an Israeli was found to be spying for the Soviets. However, such cases are few and far between. Israel sees itself as an embattled nation in which the fate of each individual depends on the loyalty and sacrifice of other individuals. Almost all Israelis serve in the military and are indoctrinated there, and in school, with the idea of shared fate. In very large and powerful countries, such betrayals are seen as ultimately abstract and impersonal. In Israel, they are seen as concrete and personal. A theme repeated by Israelis in the wake of this arrest was that the bullets stolen and sold by Amar and Mulai might have been the ones that killed their neighbors. The intimate connection between betrayal and the fate of loved ones was always thought to have made such betrayal impossible. If the Israeli police are correct and the charges are proven in court, then this sort of betrayal is not only possible, but has been going on for several years. Indeed, it may explain some of the operations carried out by the Palestinians of late, which involved the use of Israeli uniforms and weapons. Tanzim in particular appears to have been tasked with these sorts of missions. Unlike Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Tanzim has not been involved in suicide bombings. Rather, it has focused on more conventional attacks on Israeli settlements and military targets, striking and attempting to withdraw. Tanzim may also have been involved in multiple attacks on Israeli armored vehicles using anti-tank mines and missiles. The question at the time was where the
Guardian: Western officials 'colluding with people traffickers' [WWW.STOPNATO.O
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Western officials 'colluding with people traffickers' Rory Carroll, RomeTuesday July 23, 2002The Guardian Some western officials are undermining the fight against human trafficking by becoming cronies of Balkan pimps and having sex with the prostitutes they are supposed to rescue, according to a damning report published yesterday. Criminal gangs who earn billions of pounds by trading women and children have corrupted elements of the local and international police forces and border guards at the forefront of Europe's crackdown. The report, commissioned by the United Nations and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, says trafficking in south-eastern Europe is growing worse despite - and in some cases because of - the international campaign to end the trade. "Stories about local and international police frequenting bars, using the services of women and being on good terms with the owners and traffickers are legion," the report adds. The presence of foreign soldiers in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, and western officials in other eastern European countries, is said to have fuelled the industry. "The international market for sex services as well as local demand has expanded, particularly in countries where there is a large international presence," the report says. Such an environment deters prostitutes - in many cases teenage girls forced into the sex industry - from trying to escape, says the report, citing an alleged case in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, where police handed women over to traffickers after arresting them in a brothel. "There is also information about Bulgarian border police who first took money from women to take them safely back to Bulgaria, only to deliver them back to the traffickers for additional money," the report adds. Since illegal immigration became an electoral issue EU governments have promised improved coordination and resources to combat human trafficking but the reality, according to the 270-page report, is a shambles which has left women and children more vulnerable to exploitation. "The attempts to come to grips with the problem of human trafficking have so far been toothless and without much success. Despite increased attention at the political level, few states have taken adequate measures to protect individuals from trafficking and its related human rights abuses," the report says. Not all of the women are abused. Ethnic conflict and economic meltdown have shredded incomes and opportunity, especially for women, and many choose to enter the west illegally to work as waitresses, nannies and prostitutes, the report points out. It adds: "They are able to achieve their goals [and] are often able to improve the economic condition of their family and their own position within it." But, according to the report, there is a separate category of women and children who end up the property of traffickers. It says they should be treated as victims of crime, not illegal immigrants and points out that they seldom get medical care for possible sexual diseases, or the chance to testify in court against the traffickers. The criminal gangs are increasingly bolstered by ex-prostitutes who return home to recruit girls. Such women have been known to manipulate aid agencies, pretending they are fleeing their pimps, to gain a free flight. Authorities pressured for results have allegedly distorted statistics. "For example, prevention of trafficking is used as an argument for refusing young women entry to a country or for refusing to issue them a visa, and then, in the police statistics, these cases are relabelled as successful cases of rescuing 'victims of trafficking'." · Two people drowned and dozens were injured after an Italian coastal patrol boat hit a motor dinghy packed with suspected illegal immigrants and refugees near the Albanian coast, Italian customs officials said yesterday. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua: China condemns Israeli air attack on Gaza neighborhood [WWW.STOPNATO.OR
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- China condemns Israeli air attack on Gaza neighborhood Xinhuanet 2002-07-23 21:24:36 BEIJING, July 23 (Xinhuanet) -- China is shocked and strongly condemns the Israeli air attack on a Palestinian neighborhood in Gaza City that caused large numbers of civilian deaths and injuries, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan in Beijing on Tuesday. In response to a question from the press, Kong said China againcalled on the Israeli and Palestinian sides to stop all forms of violence immediately, and avoid further deterioration of the Middle East situation. Early on Tuesday, Israel's most advanced F-16 warplanes imported from the United States reportedly attacked a neighborhoodin Gaza City, killing 12 Palestinians and wounding 135. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua: Iraq says 1 killed, 22 injured in US-British raids [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Iraq says 1 killed, 22 injured in US-British raids Xinhuanet 2002-07-24 02:35:31 BAGHDAD, July 23 (Xinhuanet) -- One Iraqi civilian was killed and 22 others injured when US and British warplanes bombed southern Iraq late Monday and early Tuesday, an Iraqi military spokesman said. The spokesman was quoted by the official Iraqi News Agency (INA)as saying US and British planes bombed the southern provinces of Wassit and Qadisiya, killing one Iraqi and wounding 22 more. Wassit and Qadisiya are within the so-called southern no-fly zone, a similar one to that in northern Iraq. US and British planes have been patrolling the two no-fly zones since the 1991 Gulf War with the claimed aim of protecting the Kurds in the north and Shiite Muslims in the south from the persecution of the Iraqi government. On Thursday, five Iraqi citizens were killed and 17 others were injured in similar airstrikes in Qadisiya launched by US and Britain planes coming from their bases in Kuwait. Iraq does not recognize the air exclusion zones and has regularly opened fire at the Western planes enforcing the two no-fly zones. US President George W. Bush has branded Iraq as part of an axisof evil and vowed to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein with all the tools at his disposal. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
AP/RN: Amid Gaza's ruins [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- An Phoblacht/Republican News · Thursday 31 January 2002 Amid Gaza's ruins Gaza City 8 July BY SILVIO CERULLI "We were born to suffer. This is our life. Exploited, subjected, slaughtered." Rahid is speaking from his Gaza City slum-area flat. The missile-riddled spire of a mosque protrudes from a line of white roofs broken here and there by gutted gaps of grey rubble. The disfiguration is a result of the F-16 bombers that hammered the city all winter. But as there is nowhere else to go and this is the largest open prison on earth, the people simply go on living here amid the ruins. Since last winter, no attempt to occupy the Gaza Strip has been made by the Israeli Army, the IDF. While Jenin, Nablus and Ramallah were invaded during the April Defensive Shield operation, Gaza remained the only area in Palestine not directly in the hands of Israeli military forces. Although extensive invasion, in the long term, seems inevitable, for the moment there are strong reasons for postponing it. The IDF faced (and killed) 500 partisans in Jenin and lost over 40 dead. In the Gaza Strip (a Hamas bastion where the first Intifada began in 1987 and where the majority of the 300 Palestinian children killed during the present insurrection lived) Israel might have to come to terms with an estimated 4,000-5,000 strong resistance. Yet this is not the only reason why the Israelis prefer helicopter, artillery and battleship shelling to infantry incursions. As the Gazans themselves claim, "conditions have never been so atrocious". The closure of the checkpoint and the strangling apartheid imposed by Tel Aviv have a very high cost in human terms: in many cases the IDF are killing innocent civilians, children and the elderly in particular, without firing even a single bullet. The hospitals have run out of medical supplies, the local farmers are meeting staple demands only in part. The people are often obliged to use contaminated water from the open sewage running through the Strip's alleyways. Women and children search for leftovers in skips and bins. Misery and poverty are transforming Gaza (1.2 million Palestinians, of whom 700,000 are refugees - living in a 365 square km area, while 6,000 Jewish settlers occupy almost 40% of the Strip) into a time bomb ready to blow up at any moment. Exasperated, the population has started taking to the streets. The people march with dry bread and empty plates, women, children, the elderly, their faces emaciated with hunger, full of the hatred of those who have been denied everything. They are deprived of the right to food and water, work and education, with large families to feed. "Victims of Israeli occupation and of Palestinian indifference" recites the banner heading the march of the hopeless. "Israel's ethnic cleansing created this situation, did its utmost to bring us to our knees, starving us through siege and the closure of the Strip. And the Palestinian authorities have done nothing to back us. We have shared the bloodshed, we deserve to share the bread," declare the organisers. The Gaza protest is also against Yasser Arafat's PNA, accused of not having provided sufficiently for those who survive thanks only to humanitarian aid provided by the UNO and the Red Cross. The Israeli generals, watching the march on television, must have fumed. Sharon's fundamentalist and religious majority is pressing for a "permanent reoccupation" of the Palestinian territories. A solution which, at first glance, may appear a mere military matter, really implies far more. The destruction of Palestinian autonomy will be followed, inevitably, by a rebirth of the former "civil administrative units" controlled by the Israeli military commands which ruled over the Palestinians from 1967 to the Oslo treaty of 1993. The IDF will thus have to take on over 3.5 million Palestinians. A population which has lost everything, and of which 60%, children and adolescents between ages one and 18 and adults who have been unemployed for at least two years, live below the level of poverty. Meanwhile, military repression continues to reap innocent victims. There may have been no military invasion, but killings are a feature of everyday life in Gaza. Children throwing stones are killed because they
FT: Action urged to combat traffic in humans [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY: Action urged to combat traffic in humans === By Frances Williams in Geneva FT.com site; Jul 23, 2002 International agencies on Monday called for Europe-wide action to combat trafficking in humans in south-eastern Europe, the main source of the estimated 120,000 women and children smuggled into prostitution in the European Union each year. Presenting a joint report by the United Nations and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said urgent, effective and coherent action was needed by governments to tackle this subterranean, criminal-dominated. . . form of modern slavery. The report calls on European governments to pursue traffickers and to support victims rather than punishing them while letting traffickers go free. In general, trafficking is still viewed as an issue of migration or national security and not as a human rights violation, the report's sponsors - the UN human rights office, the UN Children's Fund (Unicef) and the OSCE - point out. Gerard Stoudman, director of the OSCE human rights office, said on Monday there were probably more slaves today in many European capitals than. . . since the end of the 18th century when slavery was still customary. Meanwhile, western European governments were salving their consciences with small-scale projects in south-eastern Europe but doing little to combat the root causes. Trafficking is fuelled by the failure to tackle the poverty that impels young women to take a chance with doubtful contracts. Mr Stoudman also blamed the international presence in Kosovo and Bosnia. If you have 50 brothels in Pristina, Kosovo, it is not because Albanian Kosovars are particularly vicious, it is because you have a number of Nato battalions stationed there, he said. Corruption, for instance of customs officials, was another problem. The UN and OSCE are hoping the Council of Europe in Strasbourg will launch negotiations this September on a Europe-wide convention intended to provide a framework for combatting trafficking in humans throughout the continent. The report cites estimates that half a million women are smuggled into western Europe each year, a large proportion of them from eastern Europe. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
US/Congo: Opening the Secret Files on Lumumba's Murder - Washington Post [WWW.ST
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Opening the Secret Files on Lumumba's Murder = washingtonpost.com By Stephen R. Weissman Sunday, July 21, 2002 In his latest film, Minority Report, director Steven Spielberg portrays a policy of preemptive action gone wild in the year 2054. But we don't have to peer into the future to see what harm faulty intelligence and the loss of our moral compass can do. U.S. policies during the Cold War furnish many tragic examples. One was U.S. complicity in the overthrow and murder of Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba. Forty-one years ago, Lumumba, the only leader ever democratically elected in Congo, was delivered to his enemies, tortured and summarily executed. Since then, his country has been looted by the U.S.-supported regime of Mobutu Sese Seko and wracked by regional and civil war. The conventional explanation of Lumumba's death has been that he was murdered by Congolese rivals after earlier U.S. attempts to kill him, including a plot to inject toxins into his food or toothpaste, failed. In 1975, the U.S. Senate's Church Committee probed CIA assassination plots and concluded there was no evidence of CIA involvement in bringing about the death of Lumumba. Not so. I have obtained classified U.S. government documents, including a chronology of covert actions approved by a National Security Council (NSC) subgroup, that reveal U.S. involvement in -- and significant responsibility for -- the death of Lumumba, who was mistakenly seen by the Eisenhower administration as an African Fidel Castro. The documents show that the key Congolese leaders who brought about Lumumba's downfall were players in Project Wizard, a CIA covert action program. Hundreds of thousands of dollars and military equipment were channeled to these officials, who informed their CIA paymasters three days in advance of their plan to send Lumumba into the clutches of his worst enemies. Other new details: The U.S. authorized payments to then-President Joseph Kasavubu four days before he ousted Lumumba, furnished Army strongman Mobutu with money and arms to fight pro-Lumumba forces, helped select and finance an anti-Lumumba government, and barely three weeks after his death authorized new funds for the people who arranged Lumumba's murder. Moreover, these documents show that the plans and payments were approved by the highest levels of the Eisenhower administration, either the NSC or its Special Group, consisting of the national security adviser, CIA director, undersecretary of state for political affairs, and deputy defense secretary. These facts are four decades old, but are worth unearthing for two reasons. First, Congo (known for years as Zaire) is still struggling to establish democracy and stability. By facing up to its past role in undermining Congo's fledgling democracy, the United States might yet contribute to Congo's future. Second, the U.S. performance in Congo is relevant to our struggle against terrorism. It shows what can happen when, inthe quest for national security, we abandon the democratic principles and rule of law we are fighting to defend. In February, Belgium, the former colonial power in Congo, issued a thousand-page report that acknowledged an irrefutable portion of responsibility in the events that led to the death of Lumumba. Unlike Belgium, the United States has admitted no such moral responsibility. Over the years, scholars (including myself) and journalists have written that American policy played a major role in the ouster and assassination of Lumumba. But the full story remained hidden in U.S. documents, which, like those I have examined, are still classified despite the end of the Cold War, the end of the Mobutu regime and Belgium's confession. Here's what they tell us that, until now, we didn't know, or didn't know for certain: In August 1960, the CIA established Project Wizard. Congo had been independent only a month, and Lumumba, a passionate nationalist, had become prime minister, with a plurality of seats in the parliament. But U.S. presidential candidate John F. Kennedy was vowing to meet the communist challenge and Eisenhower's NSC was worried that Lumumba would tilt toward the Soviets. The U.S. documents show that over the next few months, the CIA worked with and made payments to eight top Congolese -- including President Kasavubu, Mobutu (then army chief of staff), Foreign Minister Justin Bomboko, top finance aide Albert Ndele, Senate President Joseph Ileo and labor leader Cyrille Adoula -- who all played roles in Lumumba's downfall. The CIA joined Belgium in a plan, detailed in the Belgian report, for Ileo and Adoula to engineer a no-confidence vote in Lumumba's government, which would be followed by union-led demonstrations, the resignations of cabinet ministers (organized by Ndele) and Kasavubu's dismissal of Lumumba. On Sept. 1, the NSC's Special Groupauthorized CIA payments to Kasavubu, the
Palestine: Arafat condemns Israel's killing of civilians in Gaza by F-16 - Xinhu
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Arafat condemns Israel's killing of civilians in Gaza by F-16 Xinhuanet 2002-07-23 21:45:01 GAZA, July 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat condemned on Tuesday the Israeli F-16 airstrike that targeted on Monday midnight a civilian building in Gaza City, killing at least 15 people and wounding 150 others. It is a condemned massacre and an awful crime carried out against our innocent children, Arafat, who has been confined to his Ramallah headquarters since December, told reporters in reaction to the Israeli airstrike. An Israeli airforce F-16 warplane hit shortly before Monday midnight a building which consists of three floors, killing at least 15 people, including Sheikh Salah Shehada, the commander of Islamic Hamas movement's armed wing Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigade. Shehada was one of the Palestinians most wanted by Israel and accused of being behind hundreds of anti-Israel attacks. This massacre is unbelievable. No human being with a piece of mind, consciousness or emotions could imagine what had happened, Arafat said sadly and angrily. He blasted the world community for the silence on the Israeli crimes against our people, adding I wonder why the world is silent. Why it does not move to stop the Israeli awful crimes against our people. Arafat revealed that the latest Israeli-Palestinian meetings andtalks held on Saturday had brought positive hope towards ending the occupation and aggression on our people. Ahmed Tibi, an Israeli-Arab Knesset (parliament) member, said ina statement sent to Xinhua that US President George Bush is morally responsible for the airstrike carried out by US-made F-16 warplane targeting a civilian building. He said he does not believe that Bush would condemn the airstrike on Palestinian civilians, adding that there must be an Arab and world serious movement to condemn and stop attacks on the Palestinians. When (Ariel) Sharon saw that Israelis and Palestinian have determined to achieve progress in their recent talks, Sharon felt so worried and angry, and therefore he carried out this awful crime, said Tibi. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua: China to set up world's biggest military theme park [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.U
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- China to set up world's biggest military theme park Xinhuanet 2002-07-22 09:59:42 TIANJIN, July 22 (Xinhuanet) -- China will spend 5 billion yuan (some 610 million US dollars) to set up the world's biggest military theme park in Tianjin, a municipality close to Beijing. The 7-square-kilometer park will have such facilities as a man-made sand beach and a 3.3 million-square-meter expanse of water. A former Soviet Union aircraft carrier, the Kiev, will become its main attraction. Measuring 274 meters long, 52 meters wide, 51meters tall and weighing 24,000 tons, the Kiev was once regarded by western countries as "a lion on the sea". Over one million tourists have visited the vessel since it cameto China last year, with a record 10,000 visitors on a single day. A range of weapons used by air, land and marine forces will also be on display, sources said. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
US economy fails to recover from terrorist attacks - Xinhua [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- US economy fails to recover from terrorist attacks == Xinhuanet 2002-07-22 14:12:29 ¡¡ HONG KONG, July 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Contrary to the US Federal Reserve's claim earlier in the year that the US economy would start to pick up in the middle of the year, the economy is proven to be going downhill, said a Hong Kong financial news magazine Monday. Money Times, the weekly magazine that goes with the Hong Kong Economic Times newspaper, said that the Dow Jones index even fell below the September 11's day low of 8,062 points on Friday. The cover story of the magazine commented that in spite of the recent spate of American accounting debacles, the current economicrecession in the United States is, in fact, a fallout from the September 11 attack in New York last year. The September 11 attack denotes that the United States is no longer an investment haven, as investing in US assets also carriespolitical and financial risks, it said. At the time when the Enron debacle was exposed in the beginningof this year, the Nasdaq index started to soften its climb, while the US dollar also started to weaken. Capital flights from the US stock investment funds and stocks amounted to 19.3 billion US dollars and 18.4 billion dollars respectively during the week of July 11 to July 17. During the same week, investors also pulled out as much as 3.9 billion US dollars from bond investment funds, the article continued. It insinuated that the capital has been reinvested in other regions. In spite of Japan's and Europe's stagnant economies, their currencies have turned stronger recently, it said. Also, consumer confidence in the United States has also declined, as the positive signs seen early in the year have failedto hold, the report continued. The leading economic indicators announced Thursday have remained stagnant, with US enterprises' level of investment failing to achieve any remarkable rebound, it said. The scenario indicated that the enterprises there are taking a bearish view of the US economy, as signs of a double recession are emerging, the article said. Enditem. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua News analysis: Why US mulls new military strikes against Iraq? [WWW.STO
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- News analysis: Why US mulls new military strikes against Iraq? == Xinhuanet 2002-07-22 17:17:27 WASHINGTON, July 21 (Xinhuanet) -- The Bush administration has recently intensified its saber-rattling against Iraq, vowing to seek a regime change in the country and threatening to use forceif necessary. Backing up its rhetoric, the administration also stepped up efforts on the political, diplomatic and military fronts to prepare for an all-out war designed to topple the Iraqi governmentled by President Saddam Hussein, triggering widespread concerns and criticism among the international community. More than a decade after the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq regained the attention of the United States in November last year when the Afghan war came to a turning point last November with the seizure of the capital city of Kabul by the US-backed Northern Alliance. Heated debate began within the US over the next target in the phase two of the US-led global war against terrorism. Iraq, accused by Washington of developing weapons of mass destruction, has emerged top on the hit-list of the US. To make a solid case against Saddam, the Bush administration has not only doubled its efforts to demonize Iraq by listing the country in the axis of evil but also formulated a brand-new security doctrine that supports preemptive attacks against hostilestates or terrorists, in an apparent attempt to legitimize any future military strikes against the old rival. The administration also sent Vice President Dick Cheney and topPentagon officials to the region to seek support from the Arab world for U.S. military actions and persuade countries like Turkeyto allow Washington to use its military bases in the event of an all-out war with Iraq. While U.S. State Department officials are making frequent contacts with Iraq's opposition to discuss how to join hands in overthrowing President Saddam, the Pentagon is also working hard at plans aimed at a military invasion of Iraq. So, why the U.S. is working so hard to seek a regime change in Iraq? Analysts believe the foremost reason is that the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington have triggered widespread concerns or even fears among Americans that if terrorists had access to weapons of mass destruction, they would not hesitate to use them against the US. In fact, perceiving the nexus between terrorists and weapons ofmass destruction as the most dangerous threat to the US, the Bush administration has made non-proliferation the top priority of the U.S. national security strategy. US intelligence agencies have repeatedly warned that Iraq, which may still hide some chemical and biological weapons from UN inspections, will have nuclear weapons capability in three to fiveyears. Although Baghdad has flatly rejected the U.S. allegations, those in the US who advocate a military invasion of Iraq deliberately stir the nerves of the American public by presenting the worst-case scenario when a hostile Iraq transfers such weaponsinto the hands of terrorists. Secondly, uneasy with Iraq's sympathy to the Palestinians, hard-liners inside and outside the Bush administration have accused Baghdad of supporting Islamic militants. The removal of President Saddam from the Iraqi leadership, someconservative US analysts say, will not only eliminate a long-running threat to Israel and US strategic interests in the region but also make the settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict all the more easier. So it was by no means coincidental that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon trumpeted a similar argument when he visited Washington in the middle of last month. Thirdly, with many of its cabinet members having military backgrounds, the Bush administration enjoys a cozy relationship with such special interests groups as the war industry, which onlymake its foreign policy more belligerent. It may sound ironical but is true that by dumping its inventories in the Afghan war, the US war industry is almost the only economic beneficiary in the aftermath of the September 11 tragedy. According to US media reports, the employees of the US war industry are working round-the-clock to keep up inventories of smart weapons, such as laser-guided bombs, in preparations for a possible U.S. war with Iraq. Lastly, the Bush administration is facing increasing political pressure resulting from mishandling crucial intelligence related with the September 11 attacks and financial scandals involving Vice President Cheney. A hard-line policy towards or even military actions against Iraq will not only help the besieged administration to divert domestic political pressure but also increase the chance of Bush'sre-election in the future, some analysts said. Although the US is moving towards a military option in the caseof Iraq, the Bush
US: Virginia man opens fires on helicopter, thinking occupants are terrorists, p
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Virginia man opens fires on helicopter, thinking occupants are terrorists, police say Sat Jul 20, 2:53 PM ET WILLIAMSBURG, Virginia - A man armed with an assault-style rifle opened fire on a helicopter landing in a residential neighborhood, thinking the chopper was carrying terrorists, police said. Helicopter pilot John S. Sutton landed his helicopter July 13 at the home of businessman John Peters to pick him up, police said. John Chwaszczewski, a construction worker, became alarmed when he saw the chopper swoop down over his garage, about a block from Peters' home. Maybe I overreacted, but I did feel this was terrorism at its utmost, Chwaszczewski said. Chwaszczewski told police the shooting was a natural reaction, after having watched the events of Sept. 11. A woman who identified herself as Sutton's wife said he would have no comment. Sutton was charged with recklessly operating an aircraft, a misdemeanor, Deputy Police Chief Ken Middlebrook said Friday. If convicted, he could face a month in jail. Chwaszczewski was charged with interfering with an aircraft, discharging a firearm, an AR-15 rifle, in a public place, reckless handling of a firearm and assaulting Sutton. He faces up to eight years in prison and dlrs 10,000 in fines if convicted. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=storyu=/ap/20020720/ap_wo_en_po/us_he licopter_shooting_1 --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua: Iraq suggests special Arab League meeting on US threats [WWW.STOPNATO.OR
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Iraq suggests special Arab League meeting on US threats == Xinhuanet 2002-07-23 01:39:16 BAGHDAD, July 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Iraq's head of parliament suggestedon Monday the Arab League hold an extraordinary meeting to discuss the threats of the US administration against Iraq, the official Iraqi News Agency reported. In a letter to Amr Moussa, secretary general of the Arab League,Iraq's National Assembly Speaker Saadoun Hamadi said the US threatsagainst Iraq constituted a threat to international security and peace and a flagrant violation of the United Nations charter and the International law. US President George W. Bush, who branded Iraq as part of an axis of evil, has vowed to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein by using all the possible tools he has. Iraq has remained adamant in the face of US threats. The National Assembly had sent letters to its Arab counterparts and called on the Arab parliaments to hold an emergency session forthe Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union to discuss the US threats against Iraq as soon as possible, the INA reported on Friday. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
INA: Jordanian tribe denounces US policy, vows support for Iraq. [WWW.STOPNATO.
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Jordanian tribe denounces US policy, vows support for Iraq. = Text of report by Iraqi news agency INA web site Amman, 16 July: The Jordanian tribe of Bani Hasan has denounced the hostile policy of the US administration of evil against Iraq. It emphasized that it stands with the Iraqi people in the trench of honour and dignity in defence of the Arab nation and its future generations. During a meeting with Iraqi ambassador to Jordan Dr Sabah Yasin yesterday, the tribe pledged to be brandished swords for the protection of Iraq and the Arab rights everywhere. They also vowed to continue sacrifices until the US-Zionist schemes are defeated and splendid victory is achieved by the nation, led by Iraq under President Saddam Husayn's leadership. During the meeting, the ambassador expressed Iraq's appreciation of the Arab brothers' support for Iraq's struggle to end the unjust embargo and continue its scientific and cultural development. The US administration of evil, he said, is trying to stop the development process in every possible way and deprive the Arabs of the right to pursue development and regain their historical role. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Guardian: Spanish troops recapture Parsley island [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Spanish troops recapture Parsley island Giles Tremlett in MadridThursday July 18, 2002The Guardian The confrontation between Spain and Morocco over the islet of Perejil entered a new and dangerous phase yesterday after elite Spanish assault troops retook the barren rock, capturing six Moroccan soldiers who were immediately returned to their country. The dawn assault was carried out by special forces, who stormed the tiny island without firing a shot. The Spanish defence minister, Federico Trillo, said his government had accepted, before ordering the operation, that both sides might suffer casualties. Last night Morocco said the Spanish assault amounted to "a declaration of war". A spokesman for King Mohammed VI accused Spain of wanting to "turn a political problem into a military conflict". Morocco demanded an immediate withdrawal of Spanish troops. Three Cougar helicopters had swept across the Straits of Gibraltar as dawn broke and deposited 28 soldiers from Spain's special operations command on the highest point of the islet where Moroccan frontier police had raised their country's flag last Thursday. From there, they moved down the rocky slopes of the islet and, using megaphones, persuaded the six Moroccan soldiers who had replaced the frontier police to give up their arms. Two helicopter gunships circled overhead. The disarmed Moroccans were taken in launches to the nearby Spanish enclave of Ceuta where, looking dejected, they were sent across the land border into Morocco yesterday morning. The assault troops left Perejil - Spanish for parsley - a few hours later and were replaced by members of a special operations unit of the Spanish Legion. Mr Trillo said they would remain there, within 200 yards of the coastline of Morocco, until "the situation of the island of Perejil is returned to that previous to July 11". From the hills beside Bel Younech, a Moroccan coastal hamlet close to Perejil, two red and gold Spanish flags could be seen flying where, until yesterday, the red and green of Morocco had been on display. It was the first time a Spanish flag had been seen on the island since it was last used as a military observation post in the early 1960s. Mr Trillo, visibly pleased at Spain's first military victory for several decades, described the surprise assault on the islet as "clean" and said the Spanish soldiers had orders to shoot only in self-defence. He said the operation had been an act of legitimate defence. "Spain had been attacked by the force in a sensitive point of its geography," he said. The foreign minister, Ana Palacio, told an emergency session of the Spanish parliament the assault was not an attempt "to impose any solution by force" but to restore the uninhabited islet to the previous status quo. "Spain has no interest in maintaining a permanent military presence," she said. But Morocco, which last week feigned surprise at Spanish anger over its decision to occupy the islet, demanded the Spaniards abandon it immediately. "The kingdom of Morocco protests with force against this unjustified aggression at the moment when Morocco and Spain were trying to resolve this crisis by diplomatic means," an official statement said. "The Moroccan government urges the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Spanish forces. The island is an integral part of Moroccan territory." In the northern provincial capital of Tetouan, about 25 miles from the islet that Moroccans call Leila, about 200 people demonstrated in front of the Spanish consulate. "Out of Leila, out of Ceuta, out of Melilla," they shouted, referring to Spain's other north African enclave further east, near the Algerian border. Nato officials said yesterday the alliance was "pleased the status quo ante has been restored". Morocco said it would take its protest to the UN. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Son urges Saddam to brace for war. [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Son urges Saddam to brace for war. = BAGHDAD: President Saddam Hussein's powerful elder son Uday has urged his father's regime to prepare the Iraqi population for war. This comes as US weapons makers have doubled the production rate of laser-guided bombs and boosted production at an ammunition factory to its highest level in 15 years. As the Iraqi Parliament pledged its full support for Saddam and his steps to defend the country, Uday recalled the Gulf War. The Iraqi population must be ... prepared on the psychological, military and national levels to oppose any enemy attack and support the burden of the war that risks being more ferocious than that of 1991. In a document presented to Parliament at a special session to discuss the threat of US attack, Uday, himself an MP, called for strict security measures and the satisfaction of the basic needs of citizens to avoid a repeat of the treacherous acts which Iraq witnessed during the Gulf War. Foreign Minister Naji Sabri also later went on Iraqi television to warn Baghdad would defend itself against any US attack, and appealed to other Arab countries to show their solidarity. We will cut off the head of whomever lays their hands on the borders of Iraq, Mr Sabri said. US President George W. Bush has renewed a pledge to use all tools to oust Saddam, whom Washington accuses of developing weapons of mass destruction. The prospect of US military action heightened after talks between Baghdad and the UN on the return of UN weapons inspectors to Iraq broke down. (C) 2002 Advertiser Newspapers Limited. ___ --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Telegraph: Gulf veteran stabbed ex-girlfriend 40 times [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Daily Telegraph Gulf veteran stabbed ex-girlfriend 40 timesBy Peter Foster(Filed: 18/07/2002) A Gulf war veteran who claimed to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder was jailed for life yesterday for murdering his former girlfriend. Paul Delaney used three knives, including his old double-edged Army combat knife, to stab Colleen Chudley, 27, up to 40 times in the chest in January last year. Paul Delaney Delaney, 30, a gunner in the Royal Artillery, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after the war and dishonourably discharged in 1992. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility but was convicted of murder at Exeter Crown Court. Passing sentence, Mrs Justice Hallett was openly sceptical about his attempts to blame his violence on war experiences. "I have no doubt your symptoms were added to until you had the full house of what you had read about on the Gulf war," she said. Miss Chudley split up with Delaney seven months before her death and moved to Silverton, Devon, with their children Terri-Lee, eight, and Harrison, five. Delaney, of Plymouth, travelled by bus to her home, broke down the door and attacked her, leaving the knives embedded to the hilt in her chest as the children cowered upstairs. As Delaney was taken down, yelling an obscenity about his victim, her family applauded the verdict. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^ ndelan18.jpeg
Ukraine: Fury over plan to recognise UPA 'bandits' - Telegraph [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Russian fury over plan to recognise Ukraine 'bandits' === By Askold Krushelnycky in Prague (Filed: 18/07/2002) DAILY TELEGRAPH A row has erupted between Russia and Ukraine over a move to recognise officially as freedom fighters an MI6-backed Ukrainian partisan group which fought against the communists during the Cold War. Legislation is to be proposed by the Ukrainian government to enable the veterans of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) to obtain the pensions and other benefits former Red Army veterans receive. Russian newspapers have launched fierce attacks, calling UPA members bandits and have said that officially acknowledging the UPA as national heroes would damage relations with Ukraine's Russian population, about 10 per cent of the total. The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement which made clear the negative position of Russia in relation to the plans. The Kremlin admonished the Ukrainian government for apparently taking the side of the nationalists instead of reining them in. Anatoly Zlenko, the Ukrainian foreign minister, responded that the question about rehabilitating UPA fighters is an internal matter for Ukraine. The partisan army fought against the Nazis occupying Ukraine during the Second World War and later turned its guns against the communist forces which it saw as Russian occupiers. It numbered about 100,000 men and women and mostly operated in the hills and forests of the western Ukraine, an area dominated by the Carpathian Mountains. During the Cold War Britain secretly helped the UPA and a sister group, the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists. British intelligence helped the guerrillas to maintain contact with Ukrainian nationalist emigres in the West and with western governments. MI6 also helped to train some of the guerrillas in parachuting and unmarked RAF planes, taking off from bases in Cyprus and Malta, dropped them into Ukraine. Unfortunately for the Ukrainians, one MI6 agent with detailed knowledge of the operation was the traitor Kim Philby. Working with Anthony Blunt, another of Russia's spies recruited in the 1930s in Cambridge, Philby alerted Soviet security forces about the planned drops. Dozens of Ukrainian guerrillas were intercepted and most were executed. For years, under Roman Shukhevych, the UPA fought against Soviet forces augmented by communist troops from Poland and the then Czechoslovakia. The communists admitted the guerrillas inflicted huge losses on them. Che Guevara, Cuba's revolutionary hero, voiced admiration for the UPA's organisation and tactics and borrowed their techniques. Communist forces fought back with vicious reprisals against the civilian population. Thousands were murdered or sent to the Soviet gulags. This week, a mass grave was discovered in a monastery in western Ukraine containing the bodies of around 130 men, women and children who are believed to have been murdered in 1946 by Stalin's security forces for suspected connections with the Ukrainian independence movement. Shukhevych was killed in an attack by Soviet forces on his command bunker in 1950. Starved of weapons and political support and facing overwhelming odds, the UPA guerrillas were broken as a fighting force by 1953. Thousands of UPA members were captured and were either executed or spent years in Siberian prison camps. Others concealed their past and tried to blend into Ukrainian society while some managed to escape to the West, including Britain. Their deeds passed into folklore and helped to keep alive Ukrainians' desire for independence. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Terrorism.com - Guardian [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Terrorism.com == How does al-Qaida stay organised when its members are in hiding and scattered across the world? Easy - it runs a website, says Paul Eedle Paul Eedle Wednesday July 17, 2002 The Guardian For a secret organisation hunted by the intelligence services of the most powerful nations on earth, al-Qaida has a remarkably public face. It is a website run by the Centre for Islamic Studies and Research. Since the start of the war on terrorism, the site has been producing hundreds of pages of material to rally support among radical Muslims, scare the west and enable al-Qaida cells to operate independently of Osama bin Laden and other leaders now in hiding. The site is entirely in Arabic, which means that tens of millions of people who hate American policies on the Middle East can read it, but almost nobody in either the governments or the media of the west can understand a word. The website is central to al-Qaida's strategy to ensure that its war with the US will continue even if many of its cells across the world are broken up and its current leaders are killed or captured. The site's function is to deepen and broaden worldwide Muslim support, allowing al-Qaida or successor organisations to fish for recruits, money and political backing. The whole thrust of the site, from videos glorifying September 11 to Islamic legal arguments justifying the killing of civilians, and even poetry, is to convince radical Muslims that, for decades, the US has been waging a war to destroy Islam, and that they must fight back. America is the cause of every injustice, every wrong, every tyranny that afflicts Muslims... It is steeped in the blood of Muslims, wrote Sulaiman Bu Ghaith, an al-Qaida spokesman, in a series of articles published on the site last month entitled Under the Shadow of Spears. America does not understand dialogue. Nor peaceful coexistence. Nor appeals, nor condemnation, nor criticism. America will only be stopped by blood. The site works to maintain the morale of al-Qaida supporters in the face of obvious reverses since September 11. In a letter to brother mojahedin everywhere in late May, Bu Ghaith warned: My dear brothers: the path of principles and prayers is surrounded by calamities and obstacles, full of dangers and misfortunes, prison, death, banishment and exile. One day the believers are victorious over the infidels, the next day the infidels are victorious over the believers. Victory will never be the ally of either side, although definitely in the end the believers will triumph. He repeated the message in an audio recording on the site late last month. He also warned of new attacks on the US and promised a television appearance soon by Bin Laden. The story topped world headlines when the satellite TV channel al-Jazeera broadcast the recording, although it did not mention the website as the original source. Al-Qaida has also been using the site to launch diatribes against Muslims who question its strategy of total war with America. Although there is deep, broad anger in the Muslim world against US policies, there has been a surprising amount of criticism of al-Qaida from radicals who were once its allies and even its religious mentors. Shaykh Salman al-Oadah, for instance, who was admired by Bin Laden as one of the two religious leaders of Saudi Arabia's opposition movement in the mid-1990s, condemned the September 11 attacks for killing civilians. In April, he coordinated an open letter by 150 Saudi intellectuals entitled How We Can Coexist, calling for a dialogue with the west. Muntasser al-Zayyat, a lawyer for Egypt's radical Islamic Group, part of which merged with al-Qaida in the 90s, criticised al-Qaida for releasing a video featuring one of the September 11 hijackers explaining his motives for martyrdom at a time when Israeli-Palestinian violence was at its peak in April. He said the video, broadcast by al-Jazeera, diverted attention from the Palestinian issue and risked alienating potential supporters of the Palestinian cause in the west. Al-Qaida reacted furiously with a deluge of polemic on its website defending the entire conduct of its war against the west and dismissing any approach to the west other than violence. One statement on the subject of the legality of the operations in Washington and New York laid out seven grounds in Islamic law on which it is permissible to kill sacrosanct infidels - essentially civilians - and six grounds on which it is permissible to kill Muslims. These polemics explain why the site is so important to al-Qaida and why the real action in radical Muslim politics is now in a jungle of websites, bulletin boards, email lists and chatrooms on the internet. Al-Qaida knows it has to engage people there if it is to dominate debate. The Centre for Islamic Studies and Research website is a substantial undertaking. It has 11 sections, including the centre's own reports of fighting in
Stratfor: Syria's Double Game [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Stratfor Syria's Double Game17 July 2002 SummarySyrian President Bashar Assad met July 17 with a senior North Korean official in Damascus. One would expect such a meeting to irritate Washington, but rather than a sign that Syria will not support a U.S. campaign against Iraq, Syria's gesture may be meant to save face by showing a continued alliance with so-called "axis of evil" states. AnalysisSyrian President Bashar Assad met July 17 with North Korean presidential envoy Kim Jong Nam, the No. 2 official in the Pyongyang regime, to discuss developing closer ties. The meeting followed Syria's announcement earlier this week that Damascus also seeks closer links with Baghdad. Against the backdrop of the war on terrorism and a potential U.S. campaign against Iraq, cozying up to North Korea and Iraq -- both included in the Bush administration's "axis of evil" -- may seem a disastrous move. But back-channel talks between Damascus and Washington have been going on for some time, and an agreement to continue working against al Qaeda likely is locked down. It even is possible that, despite claims to the contrary, Syria has agreed to back Washington's moves against Iraq. By meeting with Kim and publicly asserting friendship with Iraq, Damascus may be trying to veil an agreement with the United States.Syria would be a frontline state in a U.S. military campaign against Iraq, and Washington easily could mistake its talks with North Korea and Iraq as siding with the enemy. Syria could not survive a U.S. military campaign, if Washington deemed such a move necessary -- but Damascus also needs to maintain working ties with countries like Iran, Iraq and North Korea. Therefore, its leaders are playing a delicate game.The meeting with Kim is not unusual. Syria and North Korea are longtime allies, and Pyongyang has been selling Scud-C missiles to Damascus since 1993, according to the Washington-based Federation of American Scientists. The meeting with Assad -- scheduled well in advance -- was part of a regional tour by Kim, who also recently visited Indonesia and Libya. Even so, any events in Damascus just now will be noted by planners and policymakers in Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as by the United States and Europe.Syria has been cooperating with the United States in the battle against al Qaeda. Citing an unnamed U.S. diplomatic source, London-based Arabic daily Al Hayat reported July 15 that the Bush administration appreciated the support Damascus has lent. Nevertheless, demonstrating too much cooperation with Washington could be politically dangerous for the young Syrian president. In a time of war, both domestic and regional rivals will rise to exploit the opportunities that uncertainty creates. Several factions in Damascus might pose a threat to Assad once a U.S. attack on Iraq got under way. Although the government recently launched a crackdown -- in the guise of an anti-corruption campaign -- to neutralize potential rivals, cooperation with Washington, for instance, could be used as a pretext to challenge Assad's competence and loyalty to the state. During a May interview with Jordanian Arabic daily Al Majd, Assad said Syrian-Iraqi cooperation was at its best and that officials were concentrating on their political ties. Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz also has visited Syria several times in recent months to gauge the government's support and remind Damascus of its allegiance. Earlier this month, Assad also met with Iranian judicial chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi to discuss cooperation between their countries, Arabicnews.com reported July 15. By meeting with Kim, touting close ties to Iraq and receiving Iranian dignitaries, Damascus keeps everyone guessing: Has it cut a deal with Washington over Iraq or not? So far, Syria has denied rumors that it has, and the visits by officials from all of the "axis of evil" states could suggest Damascus is solidly in their camp.More likely, however, Syria is keeping up appearances while continuing back-channel talks with the United States. If officials in Washington were worried about Syria buying arms from North Korea or funneling weapons to Iraq, Kim's visit would be a point of criticism for U.S. officials, but so far Washington has said little about it. The United States might be waiting calmly to see what comes of the meeting -- but it also may be sure nothing will. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Iraq is ready for the fight, says defiant Saddam - Daily Telegraph [WWW.STOPNATO
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Iraq is ready for the fight, says defiant Saddam By Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Editor (Filed: 18/07/2002) DAILY TELEGRAPH Saddam Hussein dismissed American plans to topple him yesterday, declaring that his regime could never be defeated and denouncing his Iraqi opponents as the greedy stooges of foreign tyrants. Delivering a defiant, rhetoric-filled speech on the anniversary of the coup that brought the ruling Ba'ath party to power in Iraq in 1968, he said: The wind will blow away foreign rattling as the noise of an evil covetous tyrant, the enemy of Allah. Saddam's 40-minute televised tirade, laden with references to Islamic history, came in response to increased moves by America and Britain to overthrow him. Paul Wolfowitz, the US deputy defence secretary, spent a second day in Ankara yesterday discussing what Turkey's role would be in any campaign to unseat Saddam. On Tuesday, Tony Blair said the world would have to deal with the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. But in comments to chairmen of Commons select committees, the Prime Minister insisted that there was still an open question over how to proceed. In his speech, Saddam said his regime was ready to defend itself, armed with its sword, bow, and spear, carrying its shield or gun and cannon, mounting its tank, or poised in its battle-trench which may, through caution and alertness, save life from schemes, conspiracies, and perfidy, and protect all our dear, dear, dear men. He added: Temmuz [the July revolution] returns to say to all evil tyrants and oppressors of the world, 'You will never defeat me this time. Never! Even if you come together from all over the world, and invite all the devils as well, to stand by you, support or incite you'. The prospect of a US military offensive has been raised further after talks between Iraq and the United Nations over the resumption of weapons inspections broke down this month. At the weekend, a group of about 70 exiled Iraqi military officers met in London to plan ways to foment revolt within the Iraqi armed forces. More than a decade after Iraqi troops were forced out of Kuwait, Saddam's forces are today even less able to resist a US-led military campaign. He is relying on divisions in the West and the strong anti-US mood in the Arab and Muslim world to frustrate the plans. He has tried to reconcile with Arab neighbours, particularly Saudi Arabia, in the hope that they will resist US attempts to mount operations from their territory. Saddam has tried to fuel the Palestinian uprising with generous payments to the families of martyrs, in the belief that the crisis in Israel and the occupied territories makes it more difficult for America to find Arab allies. In his speech yesterday, Saddam described foreign-based opposition groups as lackeys unfit to lead Iraq, while comparing his own regime as halal, permitted by God. He declared: Anything gained freely, as charity, or from a foreign source, will yield nothing but vice, and weakness before the arrogance charity and greed of the foreign source. He who builds his country with his own hands will be able to defend himself and his country with his own means. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Iraq is ready for the fight, says defiant Saddam - 2 Reports [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.U
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- 1) Iraq is ready for the fight, says defiant Saddam - Daily Telegraph 2) Saddam taunts 'evil tyrants' in 4,000-word tirade - Guardian 1) Iraq is ready for the fight, says defiant Saddam = By Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Editor DAILY TELEGRAPH (Filed: 18/07/2002) Saddam Hussein dismissed American plans to topple him yesterday, declaring that his regime could never be defeated and denouncing his Iraqi opponents as the greedy stooges of foreign tyrants. Delivering a defiant, rhetoric-filled speech on the anniversary of the coup that brought the ruling Ba'ath party to power in Iraq in 1968, he said: The wind will blow away foreign rattling as the noise of an evil covetous tyrant, the enemy of Allah. Saddam's 40-minute televised tirade, laden with references to Islamic history, came in response to increased moves by America and Britain to overthrow him. Paul Wolfowitz, the US deputy defence secretary, spent a second day in Ankara yesterday discussing what Turkey's role would be in any campaign to unseat Saddam. On Tuesday, Tony Blair said the world would have to deal with the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. But in comments to chairmen of Commons select committees, the Prime Minister insisted that there was still an open question over how to proceed. In his speech, Saddam said his regime was ready to defend itself, armed with its sword, bow, and spear, carrying its shield or gun and cannon, mounting its tank, or poised in its battle-trench which may, through caution and alertness, save life from schemes, conspiracies, and perfidy, and protect all our dear, dear, dear men. He added: Temmuz [the July revolution] returns to say to all evil tyrants and oppressors of the world, 'You will never defeat me this time. Never! Even if you come together from all over the world, and invite all the devils as well, to stand by you, support or incite you'. The prospect of a US military offensive has been raised further after talks between Iraq and the United Nations over the resumption of weapons inspections broke down this month. At the weekend, a group of about 70 exiled Iraqi military officers met in London to plan ways to foment revolt within the Iraqi armed forces. More than a decade after Iraqi troops were forced out of Kuwait, Saddam's forces are today even less able to resist a US-led military campaign. He is relying on divisions in the West and the strong anti-US mood in the Arab and Muslim world to frustrate the plans. He has tried to reconcile with Arab neighbours, particularly Saudi Arabia, in the hope that they will resist US attempts to mount operations from their territory. Saddam has tried to fuel the Palestinian uprising with generous payments to the families of martyrs, in the belief that the crisis in Israel and the occupied territories makes it more difficult for America to find Arab allies. In his speech yesterday, Saddam described foreign-based opposition groups as lackeys unfit to lead Iraq, while comparing his own regime as halal, permitted by God. He declared: Anything gained freely, as charity, or from a foreign source, will yield nothing but vice, and weakness before the arrogance charity and greed of the foreign source. He who builds his country with his own hands will be able to defend himself and his country with his own means. 2) Saddam taunts 'evil tyrants' in 4,000-word tirade === Brian Whitaker Thursday July 18, 2002 The Guardian Even by the extravagant standards of Saddam Hussein, it was the mother of speeches - a 4,000-word tirade against devils and oppressors, wrapped in a cloak of religious piety. Marking the 34th anniversary of the Temmuz (July) revolution - for the last time if President Bush has his way - the Iraqi leader yesterday predicted victory in whatever battles lie ahead. Temmuz returns to say to all evil tyrants and oppressors of the world: you will never defeat me this time. Never! he said. It could have been a Freudian slip, but the word me caused ripples of surprise at the London offices of the opposition Iraqi National Congress. He's clearly stating that it's a personal conflict, not one between countries, a spokesman said. This is what we've been trying to tell people all along. Saddam went on to predict that the wind will blow away foreign rattling as the noise of an evil covetous tyrant, the en emy of Allah Iraq will emerge eventually triumphant. For once, the Iraqi leader's speech made no direct mention of the United States but there was a clear warning to the US-backed opposition groups who are seeking to overthrow him. He who relies on others to think for him, or provide him with protection and appoint him as ruler of his people, will always remain [vulnerable] to the whims of his patrons who can, whenever they so desire, bring his house down over his head, he said. Much of the speech - including an appeal
Telegraph: Recruits 'still ruled by fear at Army base' [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Daily Telegraph Recruits 'still ruled by fear at Army base'By Sandra Laville and Linus Gregoriadis(Filed: 18/07/2002) A regime of fear, bullying and predatory sexual behaviour still pervades the Surrey barracks where four soldiers have died in mysterious circumstances, The Telegraph has learnt. Yvonne and Jim Collinson whose son died in suspicious circumstances at the base In the past few weeks one private has taken an overdose, a corporal was caught having sex with a young female soldier and the base was put on alert after a stranger with a "handgun" was seen near the perimeter. The incidents were revealed yesterday as the families of two of the soldiers who died at the Royal Logistics Corps headquarters at Deepcut - Pte Geoff Gray and Pte James Collinson - met detectives for a briefing on the police investigation into their deaths. Pte Collinson's father Jim, 39, from Perth, Scotland, said later: "The Army have tried to sweep this whole affair under the carpet and seem to believe they have no one to answer to. "It is disgraceful. We just want to know the truth and uncover what has been happening at Deepcut." Surrey Police announced two weeks ago that officers had reopened investigations into two earlier deaths, that of Pte Cheryl James, 18, who was found dead on guard duty in November 1995, and Pte Sean Benton, 20, found with five gunshot wounds to the chest in June of the same year. The Army found that all four had committed suicide, but two coroners have recorded open verdicts and a regime of bullying and intimidation has been uncovered at the base, where there have been 28 courts martial for violent conduct since 1995. Far from anything changing, bullying and predatory sexual behaviour are still going on at Deepcut, The Telegraph has been told. In the past few weeks a young soldier who "could not take it any more" has attempted suicide, according to the source who added: "The pressures became too much for him. He took an overdose because he couldn't handle the training and the way they treated him. "They don't give a f about you. Everyone wants to appear bigger than they actually are but when it comes down to it some of them can't handle the pressure. "You can go to the training staff if you have a problem but they have no time for you because they are too busy." Discipline at the camp was described as "excessive" with privates being fined £200 for leaving their lockers unlocked. In another incident a corporal, who had openly boasted about his predatory sexual behaviour, was caught having sex with a young girl soldier on the drill square. The Ministry of Defence confirmed that there had been an "inappropriate" relationship between a corporal and a private. The man was being disciplined and an internal investigation was taking place, a spokesman said. According to The Telegraph's source, the corporal boasted about his sexual behaviour. "He was always bragging about having sex with different women. He was always walking into the female block without knocking. "When you are his level you can get away with it. When he was caught having sex on the drill square he tried to bribe them with £30 to keep their mouths shut. I'm sure they [the Army] were aware of him before he got caught." Tensions soared last Monday after a member of the public saw someone acting suspiciously around the perimeter of the base, carrying what looked like a handgun. Police eventually tracked down two boys who had been playing with a capgun outside the base and a memo was circulated telling soldiers to be extra vigilant. "Morale is at rock bottom," said the source. "All anyone talks about is the soldiers who died. Everyone is scared. People believe the most recent deaths were murder. "Lots of people just want to get out. The atmosphere is so bad you could cut it with a knife. Soldiers are afraid to go out on patrol and this latest incident on the perimeter has just made everyone more worried. "It's scary doing patrol because you don't know who is behind you. There aren't enough people on guard. There are lots of places where you can easily get into the camp." A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said in the case of the corporal, disciplinary action was taking place but the man had not been dismissed. Referring to the overdose of the private, he said: "There may have been an incident which is being dealt with by the appropriate people on the ground. Most of these things will be investigated by Special Investigations Bureau to make sure that bullying is not a factor." The spokesman defended the Army's record on stamping out bullying and added: "We take it extremely seriously and we do everything to ensure that any indication of bullying is dealt with. "The point these incidents show is that we are being vigilant; these things are being detected; we have the necessary
Guardian: Manchester Muslim killed in Chechen war [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Manchester Muslim killed in Chechen war = 'Teacher' who joined jihad and rose through rebel ranks dies in ambush by Russian special forces Nick Paton Walsh in Moscow Thursday July 18, 2002 The Guardian A man who claimed to be a former PE teacher from Manchester has been killed fighting in southern Chechnya, in an ambush by Russian special forces, according to a Chechen separatist website. Kavkaz.org reported that Amir Assadullah died when Russian forces attacked the group of rebels he was leading in Vedeno region at the weekend. Assadullah, a young man of African descent with a thick Mancunian accent, was the focus of a video apparently aimed at recruiting new fighters from sympathetic countries. It was released by the Russian government last year as evidence that foreign mercenaries were acting as international terrorists in Chechnya. British officials said last night that they have had no success in proving Assadullah's nationality, despite lengthy efforts. Nor have community leaders in Manchester been able to confirm Assadullah's British past. The officials added that at the time of the video's release they were sceptical of Russian claims that several dozen Britons had been recruited by to fight in Chechnya by an organisation in London called al-Muhajiroun. The video showed Assadullah holding a Kalashnikov and sitting cross-legged in the Chechen undergrowth, pleading with fellow British Muslims to join the jihad against Russian forces in Chechnya. You tell your family that you might not come back, he said during the 15-minute rant in which he spoke of leaving his family in Manchester to join the war. You come here and you burn your bridges. On Tuesday the Chechen website said: Amir Assadullah has become a shakhid [a martyr]. He was an ethnic African and a British citizen who came to Chechnya in 1996 as a volunteer. He was the only ethnic African in the Chechen army. It added that several other fighters in his group were killed in the confrontation with Russians. The rest fled to the mountains. The news came as the Russian defence minister, SergeiIvanov, told reporters in Oslo that Russia would cut back the excess of its troop presence in Chechnya by the end of the year. The workload on the armed forces in Chechnya continues to decrease and is being increasingly shifted on to special and police units, he said. But Russian forces in the region continue to suffer heavy casualties: three died in an attack on Tuesday. Russian officials refused to confirm that Assadullah was killed. We have no reliable facts proving this rebel leader's death, a military source said. The Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that Assadullah had been fighting for several years under the Jordanian born guerrilla leader Khattab, whom the Russian security service, the FSB, claimed to have assassinated earlier this year with a poisoned letter. According to the Chechen website, Assadullah became a Muslim in the mid-90s and went to Chechnya in 1996, rising quickly through the rebel ranks to become a field commander. The video showed him enjoying the violent, rugged life of a rebel in the Chechen mountains. In recent months Assadullah's group has stationed in the south, near the regions of Vedeno and Nozhai-Yurt, where much of the recent heavy fighting has been. Assadullah's involvement in Chechnya was revealed by Russian officials in February after a number of videotapes were seized in Chechnya which detailed the rebels' activities. FSB officers believe the tapes were made to assure European fundraisers for the jihad that their money was well spent. Copies of the tape featuring Assadullah were given to the British authorities, and the Observer, by Sergei Yastrzhembsky, President Putin's spokesman on Chechnya. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua Roundup: Kuwait unwilling to be a launching pad against Iraq, while urgin
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Roundup: Kuwait unwilling to be a launching pad against Iraq, while urging Iraq to implement UN reso Xinhuanet 2002-07-18 22:09:22 KUWAIT CITY, July 18 (Xinhuanet,by Hong Man) -- The Gulf oil-rich kingdom Kuwait, a close ally of the United States and an arch-foe of Iraq, has repeatedly voiced its opposition to serve as a launching pad against Baghdad, while urging its neighbor to implement relevant UN resolutions. Last week, Kuwaiti Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Sabah al-Salem Al-Sabah stressed that the state will not accept to serve as a launching pad for a US attack on Iraq. The mission of US troops deployed in Kuwait is well known...It is to defend our land and national sovereignty ... Kuwait does not agree to an attack on Iraq being launched from its territory, the minister said. He also denied reports that Washington has concluded intensive negotiations with Kuwait about using its territory and airspace to carry out an attack on Iraq and topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Nothing of the sort happened, he said, referring to a news report that the United States has been in contact with four regional states, including Kuwait, to use their territories and airspace for an attack on Iraq. US President George W. Bush has recently renewed a pledge to use all tools at his disposal to oust Saddam Hussein, whom Washington accuses of developing weapons of mass destruction, sparking suspicions that a US-led military action will be launched against Iraq. The prospect of US military action was even further heightened after talks between Baghdad and the United Nations on the return ofweapons inspectors to Iraq broke down earlier this month. A US-led international coalition of ground forces liberated Kuwait from Iraqi occupation in February 1991. Kuwait and the United States signed a defense contract after theGulf War. Around 8,000 troops are still based in Kuwait, most of them are stationed in Camp Doha, west to Kuwait City. The military base is home to about 2,000 US troops with M-1A1 Abrams tanks, M2-A2 Bradley infantry vehicles, surface-to-surface missiles, self-propelled cannons, Patriot anti-missile batteries and Apache attack helicopters. US F-15E Strike Eagles and F-16 Fighting Falcons use a Kuwaiti air base to launch patrol missions over the no-fly zone in southernIraq. The US State Department listed Iraq as a state sponsor of terrorism, along with Cuba, Libya, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria. Since the beginning of this year, several top US officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, visited the Gulf region and Kuwait was one leg of each tour. Analysts say that the main goal of the US officials' visit is torally support for a military strike against Iraq. But all the countries the US officials have visited voiced theirstrong opposition to any military actions against Iraq. Meanwhile, Kuwait, although expressing opposition to US militarystrike against Iraq, repeatedly urged Iraq to implement relevant UNresolutions. On Monday, Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Khaled Suleyman Al-Jarallah warned that Iraq would pose a threat to Kuwaitand the region as long as it fails to implement outstanding UN resolutions. He reiterated Kuwait's insistence on UN resolutions, particularly the release of Kuwaitis prisoner and those missing since the 1991 Gulf War, an issue on which he said Iraq has shown no flexibility. Also on Wednesday, Al-Jarallh stressed that the state will not contemplate turning a new page in relations with Iraq until Baghdad releases Kuwaiti prisoners. If Iraq releases the Kuwaiti prisoners, then we can talk about a new page. Otherwise I don't think there is a new page, he said. Al-Jarallah was reacting to a statement by Saddam Hussein on Tuesday that Baghdad wanted to turn a new page in the history of our inter-Arab relations. Relations between Iraq and Kuwait have remained severe and tenseafter Iraq invaded the small oil-rich neighbor in August, 1990. Kuwait maintains that Iraq is still holding more than 600 peopleof its own and other countries' nationals who disappeared during the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait and 90 percent of them are Kuwaitis. Iraqi officials have admitted that their country took prisoners,but they have lost track of them during a Shiite uprising in southern Iraq following the retreat of Iraqi troops from Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War. Baghdad, meanwhile, alleged that Kuwait has withheld informationon the fate of 1,142 Iraqis missing in the Gulf War. However, in a final declaration of the Arab Beirut summit held in late March, Iraq affirmed its respect for Kuwait's independence, sovereignty and security and pledged to avoid all that could repeat
Xinhua: Iraq lodges protest against US for refusing to grant visas [WWW.STOPNATO
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Iraq lodges protest against US for refusing to grant visas == Xinhuanet 2002-07-19 00:59:42 BAGHDAD, July 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Iraq on Thursday protested to the United Nations against the United States for refusing to grant visas to an Iraqi delegation that was supposed to take part in the preparatory meeting of the International Criminal Court in New Yorkon July 1, the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported. The US refusal to issue visas to Iraqi delegation members has prevented them from playing their role in the meetings sponsored bythe United Nations, Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri Ahmed said in a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday. Ahmed urged Annan to intervene and demand the United States to respect its obligations and commitments to the United Nations and stop from placing obstacles and preventing Iraqi delegations to attend UN meetings in the future, the INA said. Iraq has no foreign relations with the United States and the twocountries have been sworn enemies since the 1991 Gulf War, during which the US-led multinational coalition army defeated Iraq and evicted Iraqi troops out of Kuwait after a seven-month occupation. The Iraqi foreign minister has complained that the United Statesdelayed to grant visas for his delegation members to engage in talks with the United Nations in New York. Consequently, Iraq requested to have talks with the UN chief in Vienna instead of New York, where the first two rounds of talks between Iraq and the United Nations in March and May were held. Thethird round of talks between the two sides were held in the Austrian capital of Vienna early this month. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua: S.Korean, USFK to cooperate in salvaging navy boat [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- S.Korean, USFK to cooperate in salvaging navy boat Xinhuanet 2002-07-18 22:00:53 SEOUL, July 18 (Xinhuanet) -- The South Korean government and the US Forces Korea (USFK) Thursday agreed to continue their cooperation on some matters' disposal, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Hwang Ui-don said. Under the agreement, South Korea and USFK will cooperate in salvaging the South Korean navy fast boat slated in later July, which sunk in a naval clash between South Korea and Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on June 29 in the Yellow Sea. The two parties also will coordinate on the issue of the death of two South Korean girls, who were rolled by a US armored vehicleon June 13. The agreement was reached at a meeting between South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jun and USFK Commander Gen. Leon J. LaPorte at Lee's office, the spokesman was quoted as saying by the national news agency Yonhap News. Both sides have been under fire from local media and civic activists for the above incidents. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhau: Iraq urges UN to lift sanctions [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Iraq urges UN to lift sanctions = Xinhuanet 2002-07-19 02:57:45 LAGOS, July 18 (Xinhuanet) -- The Iraqi government has called on the United Nations to lift the sanctions imposed on the Arab country, the News Agency of Nigeria reported Thursday. The agency quoted Iraqi ambassador to Nigeria Sabah Omran as saying that it is unjust to retain the sanctions after Iraq has met the conditions the UN demands. The UN imposed sanctions on Iraq in 1990 after the Iraqi troopsinvaded its tiny neighbor Kuwait. Omran said the sanctions have led to the death of millions of Iraqis, especially children, and the destruction of Iraq's infrastructure. The overall economic sanctions have created enormous damage in all social spheres of life in Iraq, resulting in a blatant violation of the most basic human rights of the people, the right of life, to health and good living condition, he said. The Iraqi ambassador also criticized the imposition of no-fly-zone by the United States and Britain, saying that action is not backed any UN resolution. The aim of the continuation of the economic sanctions and the imposition of the no-fly-zone and the continuous military bombardment of Iraq is to disintegrate Iraq's social infrastructure and partition it, he said. Iraq is therefore looking forward to seeing or hearing from its friends and hoping that they would intervene with a view to convincing the governments of the US and Britain to see the need for the UN to lift its sanctions, he added. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Turkey: DHKC Statement 259 denounces UN decision [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- - Original Message - From: TAYAD Scotland [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] === DEVRIMCI HALK KURTULUS CEPHESI Revolutionary Peoples Liberation Front === Date: July 14, 2002 Statement: 259 The UN Security Council has decided: torture, massacre and rape are crimes: unless America commits them! The United Nations Security Council has unanimously decided that, on the subject of the International Criminal Court which has been under discussion for a while, it will bow down before the American empire and grant America legal immunity for the space of one year. This decision is among the most shameful in the history of the United Nations. An institution purporting to guarantee law, justice and peace is hereby declaring to the whole world that the American empire is outside any rules of law and justice. Hear, o world: The decision of the United Nations is: all countries, organisations, leaders, armies and police who practice torture, murder and exploitation are proscribed and guilty. EXCEPT AMERICA! Hear, o world: The decision of the United Nations is: we, as the UN Security Council, recognise America's freedom to commit torture, massacres, plunder, assassinations, rape and to organise coups! Legal immunity for one year, and then what? Will America conform to the law later on? No, one year later the American empire will discover another pretext, another formula, and its freedom to torture, murder and plunder will continue. The states that approved this decision prostrate themselves on the floor before the American dollar. On the subject of the International Criminal Court, America, if it does not get its way, is in a position to threaten the UN and the states in the UN Security Council that it will cut the supply of dollars to UN peacekeeping forces. With this decision of theirs, the United Nations have announced and approved there being no law in the world or among states that holds any validity other than the LAW OF THE DOLLAR, and hitherto known classical legal precepts are invalid. The result: whoever has many dollars also has a right to commit torture and slaughter. The modern and civilised world is returning to the laws that held sway under slavery. Six hundred years before the Christian era, there were the laws of Solon (in ancient Greece); according to Solon's laws, the rights and duties of citizens are determined according to how much property they possess in terms of land... Whoever had more land or wealth also had correspondingly more rights and legal protection. The world in which the American empire exercises sovereignty is a barbarous world. The United Nations have SOLD justice, rights and the law for dollars! Justice has been sold to America for money. How will these United Nations then have the nerve to stand up and talk of terrorism and violence? Do such as these have a right to accuse or criticise any country or organisation? Everyone can be judged, but America is exempt! It is clear that those who took this decision, like those who took decisions against Iraq, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan, will take decisions in future of a similar character, and these too will possess no legitimacy whatsoever. This institution has announced that it is not the United Nations, it is the Organisation of American States. Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Cephesi (Revolutionary People's Liberation Front) PEOPLES WAR ~~~ Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Peoples_War A people who want to win independence cannot confine themselves to ordinary methods of warfare. Mass insurrections, revolutionary warfare, guerilla detachments everywhere - such is the only way. F Engels A revolution is not a bed of roses. A revolution is a struggle to the death between the future and the past. Fidel Castro There is no revolution without violence. Those who don't accept violence can cross out the word revolution from their dictionary. Malcolm X Violence is the universal objective law of all thorough national liberation revolutions. General Vo Nguyen Giap Without a Peoples Army the people have nothing Mao Tse-Tung --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Guardian: Talk of war puts Arabs on same wavelength [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Talk of war puts Arabs on same wavelength As their king plans to meet Bush, Jordanians recoil at the prospect of hosting US strikes on Iraq Suzanne Goldenberg in AmmanSaturday July 13, 2002The Guardian The men from Iraq began lining up at 6am yesterday, labourers and pedlars waiting their turn for the 12-hour bone-shaking ride across the desert to Baghdad. Hundreds of Jordanian cars and lorries and orange and white taxis from Iraq do the run every day. Four fully booked flights a week from Amman to Baghdad serve a merchant class grown prosperous by swapping cheap oil for Jordanian goods during the long years of the embargo on Iraq. None of the travellers or the businessmen sees Saddam Hussein's Iraq as part of the "axis of evil" as President George Bush puts it, but as a Jordan's valued neighbour. Reports this week that Jordan could serve as a staging post for the war America wants to wage on Iraq caused consternation in government circles - where they were strenuously denied - and led to popular rumblings of anger. "This is completely unacceptable. We are a part of the Arab world and the Iraqis are our brothers," says Munir Nabulsi, the Jordanian proprietor of a fleet of cars which take documents and small parcels to Iraq. For the moment most Jordanians find it unimaginable that King Abdullah would approve an American request to use Jordanian air bases for a strike on Iraq, because public opposition runs so deep. "It is inconceivable even to speak of such a thing," says Hashem Gharaybeh, who heads the Council of Professional Associations, representing doctors, dentists, engineers and others. "It will never happen." Two weeks ago, Mr Gharaybe met Jordan's prime minister, Ali Abu Ragheb, and other senior officials. He says he received their assurance that the country would not allow itself to be used as a staging post for a war on Iraq. But that puts the king in a quandary when he visits Washington later this month. It will be his sixth meeting with President Bush, and the frequency underlines a relationship forged through Jordan's support for America's war on Afghanistan. In return, America doubled its military and economic aid to Jordan to $500m, and there is a request before Congress for a further $100m. But the US largesse could require some return, especially these days when American military planners are scouting out potential bases for use in commando and search-and-rescue operations in a potential war on Iraq: in Qatar, Turkey, and reportedly Jordan. The Muafa Salti air base in Azraq, which is familiar to the US military from the joint exercises they have held with Jordan since the mid-80s, reportedly fits the bill. But not to ordinary Jordanians: and that underlines the king's predicament when he meets President Bush and is briefed on the latest battle plans. "Simply put, the Jordanian government does not want to be identified as 'an accomplice'," says Adnan Abu-Odeh, who was the political adviser to the late King Hussein when America first went to war to topple Saddam Hussein after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Jordan sat out that war, and King Abdullah faces immense popular pressure to do the same this time around. On Thursday Mr Ragheb called a press conference to quash reports that Jordan would allow US ground troops on its soil or US military flights through its airspace. The forcefulness of the denial seems to have brought a measure of calm. Yesterday Mr Gharaybeh argued that the US would not ask Jordan to undertake a role that could prove so destabilising to the country. "American aid to Jordan is to promote economic stability and to strengthen its role in the region, so if they ask Jordan to do such a thing it will wipe out all the value of that aid," he said. Even without a direct Jordanian role, there is increasing anger here about the prospect of a military strike on Iraq, particularly when America has been seen as reluctant to exert its power to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "The whole atmosphere is different now from in 1990," Mr Abu-Odeh said yesterday. "In 1990 blood was on the ground. The Iraqi army was in Kuwait, and the whole world wanted to do something. Now only one country wants to try to do something about Iraq." "Iraq has been under siege for 12 years, and Arabs are also much more disaffected with America than they were in 1990 because of the Palestinian issue." More than 60% of Jordan's five million citizens are of Palestinian origin. The government has moved carefully in the past two years to subdue protests, banning demonstrations and keeping watch on Palestinian refugee camps with secret police. But tempers have been flaring against since April, when Israeli forces invaded and re-occupied the West Bank. The country's powerful Islamist movement declared a boycott of US businesses in Jordan. In Amman, local branches of
Guardian: Belgium exhumes its colonial demons [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Belgium exhumes its colonial demons Historians vow to unearth truth about allegations of genocide in Congo Andrew Osborn in BrusselsSaturday July 13, 2002The Guardian More than a century after King Leopold II of Belgium claimed Congo as his personal colony, an unprecedented investigation into Belgium's murky colonial past and long-ignored allegations of genocide is to be held. To the fury, no doubt, of Belgium's dwindling band of "old colonials" the state-funded Royal Museum for Central Africa - formerly known as the Museum of the Belgian Congo - has commissioned some of the country's most eminent historians to give the public the one thing they have been deprived of for so long: the truth. Shocking claims - often well documented - that 10 million Congolese were either murdered or worked to death by Leopold's private army, that women were systematically raped, that locals' hands were cut off and that the local populace endured kidnapping, looting and village burnings, have never been the subject of serious debate in Belgium, let alone an apology. Many of these allegations are set out in a book called King Leopold's Ghost by the American author Adam Hochschild. When it was published in Belgium in 1999 it outraged the country's historians but failed to bring about a genuine period of reflection. Controversially, Hochschild compared the death toll in the Belgian-administered Congo to the Holocaust and Stalin's purges. "We will look at these claims, we will investigate them and by 2004 we will attempt to provide an answer to Hochschild's book," Guido Gryseels, the director of the museum, said. "We cannot avoid answering these questions. It has become too much of an issue. Everyone raises it all the time and we don't know what to say." The investigation will force the country to confront its colonial demons and tackle a subject which has been taboo ever since the Welsh-born explorer Henry Morton Stanley secured the rubber- and ivory-rich colony for Leopold in 1885. The investigatory panel, likely to be headed by Professor Jean-Luc Vellut, will start work in the next two months and present its findings in 2004 (the centenary of Stanley's death) as part of an exhibition at the museum. If Congo is Belgium's forgotten skeleton then the museum is its neglected cupboard. An imposing palace near Brussels built by Leopold with money he made in Congo to showcase a place he never visited, it is crammed with millions of objects brought back in dubious circumstances. Tatty stuffed animals vie for attention with display cases crammed with butterflies, fish and African tribal art, but the museum, like much of Belgium itself, is frozen in a colonial time warp. It commemorates the Force Publique officers, who are now accused of barbarism. And of the cruelty and suffering endured by the Congolese people there is no mention. It is a desire to modernise the museum and drag it out of its one-sided politically incorrect past that has prompted the investigation. "The museum hasn't changed for the last 44 years," Mr Gryseels conceded. "It has a colonial spirit to it. As you walk in there is a statue [of a black boy looking up at a white missionary] with the legend 'Belgium brings civilisation to the Congo'. "The message of the museum needs to change so that it doesn't only reflect the view of Belgium before 1960 [when Congo won its independence]. We need African views too so that the visitor can make up their own mind." More than a century may have passed since Leopold acquired Congo, embracing territory the size of western Europe, but sensitivity about Belgian culpability remain acute. "It is a reality which touches the deepest part of the Belgian soul," Mr Gryseels said. "We really haven't coped with it, and the revelations came as a real shock. We were brought up knowing that we brought civilisation and good to Africa. [Allegations of brutality] weren't taught in schools." The investigation will be only the first step towards coming to terms with the past. Disbelief about the seriousness of the allegations and a feeling that foreign historians are over influenced by works such as Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, in which the terrible Kurtz has African heads on spikes in his front garden, runs deep - even among the historians invited to investigate the matter. "To compare it with the Holocaust or Auschwitz is an insult to the truth," Prof Vellut said. "We need to put our history in perspective and be cautious." Many of the specific allegations cannot, he conceded, be disputed but he argued that discovering the precise scale of the atrocities would be difficult. "Statistics for that period are very unreliable. One hardly knew what the population was. You can see figures which make the Jewish slaughter pale in comparison. Who knows whether 10m or 15m Congolese were killed?" King's plunder
Guardian: Moroccans seize Parsley Island and leave a bitter taste in Spanish mou
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Moroccans seize Parsley Island and leave a bitter taste in Spanish mouths Giles Tremlett in MadridSaturday July 13, 2002The Guardian It will go down in history as the first military invasion of western European soil since the second world war. In a secret operation carried out by sea, Moroccan soldiers took the Spanish-owned Isla del Perejil late on Thursday, hoisted their country's red and green flag from its highest point, set up camp and waited for the Spaniards to try to take the land back. Yesterday the Moroccan troops waited, arms at the ready, scanning the Atlantic horizon and the nearby Strait of Gibraltar for Spanish warships. They had successfully invaded a patch of land that, formally, belongs to an area protected by Nato. What would happen next? The invasion of Perejil, literally "the parsley island", yesterday created an international incident that reverberated through Europe and North Africa, but its farcical nature meant it was unlikely to spark anything more than a war of words. The invasion force consisted of a dozen poorly armed Moroccan frontier guards, equipped with a radio, two flags and a couple of tents. The island they invaded, which lies 200 metres off the coast of northern Morocco, is populated solely by lizards, bugs and sprigs of wild parsley. No one has used it for anything other than sunbathing and snorkelling since the 1960s. Even the Spanish government, which maintains that its last occupants 40 years ago were Spanish legionnaires, concedes that the islet has no strategic value. Nobody knows for sure how the invasion force got there, but a couple of rowing boats would have sufficed to get on to this barren rock, whose circumference measures less than half a mile and which covers an area barely bigger than a football pitch. The Moroccans, however, claim they mean business. The farce over an island they have renamed Leila is not without real threats and danger. When officers from Spain's civil guard police force arrived on a small patrol boat from the nearby Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta three miles away and to which the islet nominally belongs, they were reportedly persuaded to get back on their boat at gunpoint. The invasion was greeted with amazement by Moroccans, who were yesterday readying themselves for three days of celebrations to mark King Mohammed VI's recent marriage. Most had not even realised that the island, so close to the popular beaches north of Tangiers, was meant to be Spanish. Opposition politicians in the Moroccan capital Rabat backed the official government explanation that this has been Moroccan territory since Spain lost its North African protectorate in 1956. Spanish radio stations, however, were overwhelmed with calls from people demanding that the Moroccan invaders be driven back into the sea. An internet poll by El Mundo newspaper showed that one in five voters wanted the Isla del Perejil stormed by crack Spanish troops. El Mundo also called Mohammed VI a "dictator" and raged: "The King of Morocco has chosen the path of confrontation with one of the great European democracies and this should have a serious cost for him." The invasion, which appeared deliberately timed to coincide with the wedding celebrations, provoked jitters in the Spanish government and the EU. Spain's defence ministry sent three patrol boats armed with small cannon to the area. These were yesterday stationed about a mile from the islet, which was being "protected" by two small, brightly painted Moroccan fishing boats. The government of prime minister Jose Maria Aznar warned of other Moroccan naval movements around a number of Spanish-owned rocky outcrops and islands off the North African coast and said it had sent reinforcements to some isolated military outposts there. "A Moroccan patrol boat was seen carrying out manoeuvres close to one of the Chafarinas islands and as a result the government has decided to strengthen the military which is permanently based in the territories," the deputy prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, said after a cabinet meeting in Madrid. Foreign ministry officials, undoubtedly aware of an earlier precedent set by the appearance of Argentinian flags on South Georgia before the Falklands war, described the incident as "grave" but pledged "serenity" in their response. "It is a serious situation that we will go to work on rather than just talking about it," the foreign minister, Ana Palacio, said on only her second day in the job. "Spain must ask for a return to the status quo and that is what we are doing." The Moroccan government, with its mind on the royal wedding, did not comment but senior foreign ministry officials said it had no intention of removing its men from the Isla del Perejil. "The island is within Moroccan territorial waters," one official said. Officials claimed Morocco had simply set up an
Telegraph: Spain sends in the gunboats [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Daily Telegraph Spain sends in the gunboatsBy Isambard Wilkinson and Andrew Sparrow(Filed: 13/07/2002) Spanish warships headed for north Africa last night after a humiliating day for Madrid, with Moroccan troops invading a disputed island and Britain effectively shelving talks on Gibraltar. The drama in the western Mediterranean began after the troops landed on the uninhabited island of Perejil, which has been regarded as Spanish for more than 400 years. Madrid has long struggled to justify its determination to hold on to its colonies while insisting that Britain withdraw from Gibraltar. As darkness fell, the rocky outcrop was just visible from the coast less than half a mile away, where Moroccan gendarmes had sealed off access to the roads leading to the shore. There was no sign of the troops or the flags they had erected at each end of the island. The Moroccan action seemed timed to coincide with yesterday's formal celebration in the capital Rabat of the wedding of the country's absolute ruler, King Mohammed, and Princess Salma. Rabat echoed to the sound of fireworks and parades through the flower-strewn Mechouar Square, where enormous pictures of the monarch were hung. Spain responded furiously to the invasion, implicitly threatening military action. Newspapers in Madrid demanded a robust response. If fighting does break out, Spain's navy is far larger, comprising an aircraft carrier equipped with Harriers, eight submarines and 15 major surface vessels. Morocco's navy is led by a 20-year-old frigate backed by 27 patrol craft and gunboats. Ana Palacio, Spain's new foreign minister, described the situation as "very serious" and demanded a Moroccan withdrawal. The EU also expressed concern, saying that the invasion was "clearly a violation of Spanish territory". But Morocco insisted that it had "every right" to occupy Perejil. An official in Rabat said the island was Moroccan and that the decision to set up an observation post there was "neither a provocation nor a threat towards Spain". The dispute blew up as Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, tried to put a positive gloss on the faltering talks over Gibraltar. He told MPs that the negotiations, which were intended to lead to a deal this month, would not now resume until the autumn. There were protests in the Commons when he announced that Britain and Spain accepted the principle of shared sovereignty for Gibraltar. This was one of the "many principles" on which they were in broad agreement, he said. The Tories claimed that discussing joint sovereignty, which is fiercely opposed by almost all Gibraltarians, was "shabby and dishonourable". But Mr Straw's statement implied that the chances of the Government striking a deal with Spain were now limited and that the status quo could be preserved. Madrid was more immediately concerned with the possibility of further Moroccan action and reinforced its garrison on the Chafarinas, another small island group. Mariano Rajoy, a government spokesman, said in Madrid: "A Moroccan patrol boat was seen carrying out manoeuvres close to one of the islands and as a result the government has decided to strengthen the military which is permanently based in the territories." Madrid increased the pressure on Morocco, pointedly noting that it was the biggest recipient of Spanish foreign aid and was also a major trading partner. A government spokesman said that 200,000 Moroccans lived in Spain and that this summer some 1.5 million Moroccans would pass through the country or take holidays there. El Mundo, a pro-government newspaper, urged the prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, not to ignore the "hostile act", even if Perejil was not worth the fuel needed to send boats to patrol it. "The King of Morocco has chosen the path of confrontation with one of the great European democracies and this should have a serious price for him," it said. Spain has long faced a dilemma over what were known in classical times as the Pillars of Hercules. It owns the southern pillar, Mount Hacho, which dominates its Ceuta enclave, which Morocco claims. The northern pillar, Gibraltar, was granted to Britain in perpetuity by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, but it is claimed by Spain. Morocco says that Ceuta and other Spanish possessions along the north African coast belong to it. They include another enclave, Mellila, and several groups of small islands. 'This is a disgrace. The British would not stand for it'(Filed: 13/07/2002) Residents of a Spanish enclave are seething, reports Isambard Wilkinson in Ceuta The Spanish border guard could not conceal his anger. "They should let the Legionnaires at them," he spat, pointing at hundreds of Moroccans. "They would know what to do. I drink with some of them and I know they are hungry for a scrap." Surrounded by an arc of huge, dry, barren mountains the border he was manning at the Spanish
Telegraph: Archbishop attacks Iraq invasion plan [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Daily Telegraph Archbishop attacks Iraq invasion planBy Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent(Filed: 13/07/2002) Dr Rowan Williams, who is expected to be named as the next Archbishop of Canterbury within weeks, yesterday stepped up his criticism of the West's war on terrorism by denouncing plans to attack Iraq as "immoral and illegal". Dr Rowan Williams In a declaration signed by other peace campaigners, Dr Williams, the Archbishop of Wales, deplored any action which took innocent lives as fighting "terror with terror". He added that an assault on Iraq could never be justified unless it had invaded another country first, and criticised the world's "most powerful nations" for threatening war. The intervention, which follows his description in January of the Afghanistan conflict as "morally tainted" and "embarrassing", will alarm Downing Street, which is already concerned about Cabinet splits over the issue. The comments contrast with the cautious tone adopted by the present Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, and they are a reminder that Dr Williams could prove a highly outspoken successor. But they are unlikely to prompt a rethink by Tony Blair, who has made clear that he intends to appoint Dr Williams to Canterbury. The latest views of Dr Williams, 52, the leading liberal contender for the job, are contained in a declaration drawn up by the Christian pressure group Pax Christi, published today in The Tablet, the Roman Catholic weekly. Other signatories include the Church of England Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Rev John Perry, and the Catholic Bishop of Brentwood, the Rt Rev Thomas McMahon. The declaration, which will be presented to Downing Street next month, comes as military plans to overthrow Saddam are finalised by US central command. A full-scale invasion, possibly involving British forces, could take place by the end of the year. It said: "We deplore any military action that regards the deaths of innocent men, women and children as a price worth paying in fighting terrorists, since this is to fight terror with terror." The declaration called on Iraq to allow UN inspectors to check whether it had weapons of mass destruction, but said that America and Britain should also do the same. "It is our considered view that an attack on Iraq would be both immoral and illegal, and that eradicating the dangers posed by malevolent dictators and terrorists can be achieved only by tackling the root causes of the disputes. "It is deplorable that the world's most powerful nations continue to regard war and the threat of war as an acceptable instrument of foreign policy, in violation of both the United Nations and Christian moral teaching." Dr Williams was unavailable for comment yesterday. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^ nbish13.jpeg
Telegraph: Iraq's town hall coup plotters meet [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Daily Telegraph Iraq's town hall coup plotters meet By Neil Tweedie(Filed: 13/07/2002) Senior Iraqi officers in exile promised yesterday to install a democratic regime in Baghdad if the West helps them overthrow the rule of Saddam Hussein. Some 80 generals and other senior officers, few if any of whom could claim a first-hand acquaintance with constitutional government, made the promise on the first day of a three-day conference in London dedicated to planning the demise of their former master. The event, which opened at Kensington town hall last night, must be one of the more public, and publicised, rounds of military plotting ever conducted. Today the officers were due to meet in closed session to get down to the real business of toppling Saddam, with British and American diplomats in attendance. Those taking part are members of the Iraqi Military Alliance, the military wing of the Iraqi National Coalition, which claims broad support inside and outside Iraq, an assertion greeted with scepticism among western observers. Some are said to have defected only within the past year. They claim to be in regular contact with elements of the Iraqi military, including the Republican Guard, and say they have been assured by their contacts that Saddam's regime is ripe for the plucking. Albert Yelda, leader of the Assyrian faction within the opposition and a co-founder of the coalition, was acting as the group's public relations man yesterday. He denied that the event was merely an attempt to encourage more finance from the Americans, an issue which has often assumed a greater importance in opposition circles than the rather trickier business of disposing of the Iraqi president. Mr Yelda said: "Many of these officers have served almost 30 years in the army and are in contact with people in Iraq, even in the Republican Guard. It is always believed that the regime is very strong, but our sources in Iraq say it is at its lowest point of weakness. The security apparatus is concentrating on Saddam's personal safety. It is disconnected from the people, and they are awaiting a serious signal from the international community." He added: "The Iraqi National Coalition has not received a single penny from the Americans, British or regional powers. This is an Iraqi meeting, financed by Iraqi contributions. This is not to say that we do not want American support. We need them to support us." Major Gen Tawfiq Yassiri, who fled Iraq in 1991 following an abortive uprising in the south, is the chief organiser of the gathering. Mr Yelda said Gen Yassiri was committed to democratic government. But he added: "In the post-change phase, military action will be important in maintaining general discipline and overcoming tension, as well as establishing a constitutional and democratic environment in Iraq. "You cannot ignore the army role, but we will not accept a military council at all. We can't replace a dictator with another dictator." The reality may be that the next leader of Iraq is sitting not in a smoke-filled room in London, but in a corps headquarters outside Baghdad, biding his time. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua: US Islamist Organization leader arrives in Zimbabwe for visit [WWW.STOPN
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- US Islamist Organization leader arrives in Zimbabwe for visit Xinhuanet 2002-07-13 15:30:54 HARARE, July 13 (Xinhuanet) -- The leader of the Nation of Islam of the United States arrived here Friday for a three-day visit to Zimbabwe, local newspaper Herald reported Saturday. Speaking soon after his arrival from South Africa where he had gone to witness the launch of the African Union, Louis Farrakhan said he was in full support of President Robert Mugabe's policies especially on the land issue as it was aimed at correcting a historical injustice. Farrakhan, who is on a peace mission of the Middle East and Africa, said he respected Mugabe for his stance against the Western maneuvers to undermine the sovereignty of Zimbabwe. Farakhan has been a vocal opponent of the US domestic and foreign policies. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua: Senior US official to visit Turkey on Iraq [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Senior US official to visit Turkey on Iraq Xinhuanet 2002-07-13 07:25:50 WASHINGTON, July 12 (Xinhuanet) -- US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz will visit Turkey next week to discuss how to deal with Iraq, agencies reports said Friday. Wolfowitz, a strong advocate for military actions against Iraq,is expected to meet with Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and other Turkish political and military leaders. A US State Department official and the top US military commander in the region will also join the No. 2 man in the Pentagon to have talks with Turkish political and military officials, reports said. Turkey, a NATO ally of the United States, has been providing major bases for US and British fighter jets to patrol the no-fly zones imposed on Iraq by Washington and its allies. The Turkish trip by Wolfowitz and other US officials was significant in the context of increasing anti-Iraq rhetorics from Washington over the past week. The Bush administration, accusing Baghdad of developing weaponsof mass destruction. has repeatedly said that it is seeking a regime change in Iraq. US media recently disclosed that the US military had worked outa preliminary plan to launch a massive military strike designed totopple the Iraqi government led by President Saddam Hussein. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua: Iraqi FM meets outgoing U.N. humanitarian coordinator [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Iraqi FM meets outgoing U.N. humanitarian coordinator Xinhuanet 2002-07-12 01:38:43 BAGHDAD, July 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri Ahmed on Thursday met Tun Myat, the outgoing United Nations humanitarian coordinator of the oil-for-food program, and expressedappreciation for his work, the official Iraqi News Agency(INA) reported. The Iraqi foreign minister "praised the vocational way" through which Tun Myat has done his job in Iraq, despite the obstacles imposed on the implementation of the U.N. oil-for-food program, theINA said. For his part, Tun Myat thanked the Iraqi government for the cooperation during his tenure, the INA said. Tun Myat, who has been on his Iraqi mission since March 2000, isexpected to be replaced by Ramiro Armando de Oliveira Lopes da Silva later this month. Iraq has often complained that the U.N. oil-for-food program failed to meet the humanitarian needs of its 22-million population. The program, in effect since 1996, allows Iraq to sell oil and use part of the revenues to buy food, medicine and other essentialsto offset the impact of the sanctions, imposed on Iraq for its 1990invasion of Kuwait. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Guardian: US warship 'ordered civil plane to change course' [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.U
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- US warship 'ordered civil plane to change course' Gerard SeenanFriday July 12, 2002The Guardian The commander of a US warship has been reported to aviation authorities after a British airline claimed he ordered one of its planes from its scheduled route. Highland Airways says the commander of the warship, which was taking part in a Nato exercise off the west coast of Scotland, told one of its pilots he was entering a military area and must change course. The incident happened on Tuesday when a Highland Airways Jetstream was flying between the Hebridean islands of Lewis and Benbecula. The 18 seat aircraft was around 10 minutes from Benbecula when it received the warning. He heeded it and turned off course, before air traffic controllers intervened and brought the aircraft back on its scheduled route. A civil aviation authority spokesman said an investigation was under way. A spokesman for Highland Airways said: "The aircraft complied with the [warship's] request but after consultation with air traffic control discovered it was not in any danger and carried on to Benbecula." This is the second incident involving the Nato exercise. Also on Tuesday, a British frigate taking part in the exercise off the coast of Cape Wrath fired a shell into a loch only a mile from the village of Durness. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua: France insists on consensus before attack on Iraq [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- France insists on consensus before attack on Iraq Xinhuanet 2002-07-12 05:09:06 WASHINGTON, July 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Visiting French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin on Thursday urged the United Statesto forge a consensus with its allies before taking military actions to overthrow the Iraqi government led by President Saddam Hussein. "We had a good discussion on Iraq, and the minister made the point that as we examine the situation in Iraq, we should do so ina way of full consultation with our friends and to make sure that the international community is educated with respect to the dangers associated with Iraq, so that a consensus can be developedas to what might be necessary," US Secretary of State Colin Powelltold reporters at a joint appearance with de Villepin. "The minister also made the point that legitimacy with respect to any actions that might be taken was an important factor that should be considered," Powell added. De Villepin, for his part, said that Iraq should respect related UN resolutions and accept the return of UN weapons inspectors. As to the Middle East conflict, the French minister stressed the need for a peace initiative to create a momentum for peace in the region. "The vacuum in the region can be very dangerous. We should not let the terrorists and the people who don't want peace take the initiative," he said, without mentioning a peace proposal put forward by US President George W. Bush last month. Bush has insisted on new Palestinian leadership and institutions before supporting the creation of a provisional Palestinian state and an eventual solution to the Middle East conflict. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua: Beijing reception marks 41st anniversary of Sino-DPRK treaty [WWW.STOPNA
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Beijing reception marks 41st anniversary of Sino-DPRK treaty Xinhuanet 2002-07-11 21:42:16 BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhuanet) -- A reception was held in Beijing Thursday to mark the 41st anniversary of the signing of the Treatyof Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Li Shuzheng, president of the China-DPRK Friendship Association,said in a speech that the treaty has withstood the stark test of vicissitudes in the international situation, and cementing bilateral ties under current circumstances is not only in the basic interests of both peoples, but benefits peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula, northeast Asia and the world at large. DPRK Ambassador to China Choe Jin Su said the treaty has boosted friendly relations between the two nations and DPRK-China ties would make even greater progress in the new century. The event was co-hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the China-DPRK Friendship Association. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Stratfor: Saudis Scramble To Secure Consensus Among Arab States [WWW.STOPNATO.OR
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- ___ S T R A T F O R THE GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE COMPANY http://www.stratfor.com ___ Saudis Scramble To Secure Consensus Among Arab States Summary A recent Middle East tour by Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al Faisal is part of Riyadh's frantic effort to build an Arab consensus to counter U.S. pressure. Although the effort likely will not succeed, Saudi Arabia still wants to figure out to what degree other Arab states would support a U.S. campaign against Iraq. Analysis Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal traveled to Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Yemen July 10 and 11, ostensibly to build support for a unified Arab stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The diplomatic push comes ahead of a July 16 meeting in New York between the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations to discuss the Middle East crisis. Earlier in the week, Saud also traveled to Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. After earlier trying keep Washington distracted by the Israeli- Palestinian issue -- including by hyping its own peace plan -- Saudi Arabia is now scrambling to develop an alternate strategy for dealing with United States. However, the recent round of diplomacy isn't likely to give Riyadh much more support from Arab countries like Jordan, Egypt and Yemen, nor will it give it much- needed leverage against the United States. There is a high level of uncertainty in the Middle East right now. Washington's belligerence toward Iraq and its recent attempts to isolate and disengage itself from the Israeli- Palestinian conflict have put the Saudis in a difficult position. The ruling House of Saud is afraid it might not be able to withstand the domestic pressures that would be created by a U.S. offensive against Iraq or, worse, by an effort to root out al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia. Washington's decision to place prerequisites for future dealings with the Palestinians -- such as the reform of Palestinian institutions and the election of new leaders -- has given it justification for focusing its attention on more important issues. This puts increased pressure on Riyadh, which had hoped to keep the U.S. government bogged down in the conflict and distracted from issues such as Iraq and Saudi Arabia's al Qaeda connections. Saud's whirlwind Arab tour is part of Riyadh's effort to reformulate its relations with other Middle Eastern governments. Besides the diplomatic tour, Saudi Arabia also recently revived discussions about building an oil pipeline to Yemen and inked an agreement with Jordan to boost bilateral trade. Such dollar diplomacy suggests that Riyadh thinks it can still unite its neighbors against heightened U.S. military action in the region. But the scheme is unlikely to change the position of Unites States' moderate Arab allies and all of Gulf Arab states -- which are essentially in Washington's pocket. Egypt and Jordan are both dependent on U.S. aid and investment. For instance, Jordan received extremely favorable debt restructuring terms from the Paris Club of creditors July 11, in part because of its close economic ties with the United States. Immediately before touring the Levant states, Saud also traveled to all of the Gulf countries. But here too the United States has the upper hand. Washington has military ties with Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman. Washington doesn't even seem to be concerned enough with the Saudi diplomatic effort to launch a counteroffensive. But American military leaders are still closely watching frontline states like Jordan and Kuwait; Gen. Tommy Franks, chief of U.S. Central Command, traveled to Yemen in late June and Kuwait in April. Yemen in particular is an important ally in the war against terrorism and would be doubly vital should relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia worsen. So given how unlikely it is that Riyadh could woo many of the Arab states away from Washington, what did Prince Saud hope to achieve? The visits were probably intended to find out how far countries like Jordan will support a U.S. military campaign against Iraq, as well as where key player Syria will stand. Syria could be the spoiler to any U.S. military offensive against Iraq. Because of its geographic location -- bordering Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon -- it will be a key factor in any action against Baghdad. It is not likely to threaten U.S. forces directly, but its unwillingness to say whether or not it would oppose Washington poses a challenge to military planners and leaves the security of Iraq's western flank in doubt. Washington has been
Xinhua: Iraqi foreign minister to visit Brussels [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Iraqi foreign minister to visit Brussels Xinhuanet 2002-07-12 00:21:12 BRUSSELS, July 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabriwill visit Brussels within two weeks to discuss the possible return of United Nations (UN) weapons inspectors to Iraq, the Belgian Foreign Ministry said Thursday. In a rare trip to Europe, Sabri will meet Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel, who told the Senate on Wednesday he had agreed to the visit "despite dissuasive advice from across the horizon" -- a clear reference to the United States. Michel told senators in testimony published on Thursday he was opposed to mixing up the fight against international terrorism with the situation in Iraq. US President George W. Bush said Monday he would use all available means to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, after branding Iraq a member of an "axis of evil" for allegedly sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction. Michel said any US strike on Iraq would cause "extremely serious difficulties" to European governments and public opinion, especially in Belgium. He said he would tell Sabri that Iraq must abide by the UN resolutions and allow inspectors in to search for weapons of mass destruction. Iraq has always said it has no weapons of mass destruction. Sabri said Wednesday Baghdad was ready to resume talks with theUN to resolve the impasse on arms monitors. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Sabri had spent two days on intensive talks in Vienna last week, but failed to reach an agreement on the issue. Michel said he would urge European Union states to launch an initiative on Iraq "to try and create a different formal context."He did not elaborate, but said Baghdad might be more receptive to calls to comply with the UN resolutions if they came from Europe. "There exists a political opportunity which the European Union is incapable of seizing today," he said. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua: China urges US to stop arms sales to Taiwan [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- China urges US to stop arms sales to Taiwan Xinhuanet 2002-07-11 18:31:37 BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao Thursday reiterated China's stance on opposing the United States' arms sales to Taiwan and military cooperation between the two sides. Liu expressed China's grave concern over a series of reports and rumors about US weapon sales to Taiwan and military cooperation. There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory, Liu said. The Taiwan issue is China's internal affair which other countries have no right to meddle in. Taiwan is not a dependency of the United States, and the latter's arms sales will severely interfere in China's internal affairs,undermine the Chinese government's efforts to peacefully resolve the Taiwan problem, damage Sino-US relations and wreck peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, he said. He said China has always opposed to US arms sales to Taiwan, and repeatedly negotiated with the US side on this issue. The US side is very clear about China's position. China urged the United States to be aware of the seriousness ofthe problem, keep its commitments in the three Sino-US joint communiques, especially the one signed on August 17, 1982, to stopselling weapons to Taiwan, and halt military and other official contacts with Taiwan, so as to keep Sino-US relations and the mutual interests of the two countries from being harmed. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Telegraph: 4 Reports On Iraq [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- DAILY TELEGRAPH British spies in Iraq to incite revolt By Toby Harnden in Washington(Filed: 12/07/2002) British and American agents are on the ground in Iraq fomenting revolt among opposition groups and potential traitors in Saddam Hussein's inner circle as part of a covert campaign to topple him, senior officials disclosed last night. The admission, on the eve of a conference of Iraqi opposition figures in London, is powerful evidence of a renewed determination in Washington and London to overthrow the Iraqi dictator. Click to enlarge Although the officials conceded that the CIA and MI6 operations were unlikely to succeed without direct military action, a senior source in the Bush administration said that the world should not be misled by the lack of overt military activity. "American personnel are supporting the Iraqi opposition and working with dissatisfied elements within Saddam's regime, even though he has killed quite a few of these people. Britain is involved too," the official told The Telegraph. "We could wake up one morning and find regime change in Baghdad has happened completely unexpectedly. It would be hard to do but it's not impossible." British officials sought to play down the significance of the operations, saying they were no different in character from what had been happening in Iraq since 1991. One diplomat said: "We could get lucky and Saddam could be killed or overthrown. But do I think it will happen? No." Military plans to overthrow Saddam are being drawn up by US central command in Florida and should be on President George W Bush's desk this summer. A full-scale invasion could take place as early as the end of the year. Senior aides have said that the outside time limit for removing Saddam is 2004, the end of Mr Bush's first term of office, but action is likely to be taken much earlier. One said that next January or February was the optimum time to strike. The plan gaining most support within the Bush administration involves the use of 250,000 troops invading Iraq from Turkey in the north and Kuwait and Qatar in the south. Such an operation could comprise two US Marine Corps divisions and 15 wings of US fighters and bombers in addition to as many as 25,000 British troops. But the Bush administration official said: "The thing people need to remember is in addition to the possibility of another Desert Storm there are less visible things we can do." He said that there were grave fears about how Saddam would react to a major attack. "Saddam could well respond with a Hitler's bunker type of mentality and hit Israel and Turkey with chemical or biological weapons. "That is one reason why planning for this has to take fundamental account of the prospect of Saddam doing something completely irrational. It's also another reason to see if we can do it in a way other than conventional military operation." Saddam did not use weapons of mass destruction during the 1991 Gulf war because he was explicitly told that if he did so he would be removed from power. "This time it's different as regime change is the only aim. He already has strategic warning so he's not going to just sit there." The danger of large numbers of casualties was a primary factor in the military planning, which was going on "24 hours a day", he said. "If the choice is between doing it too quickly and losing troops and allies and taking the time to do it right then the question answers itself." The official said there was "no disagreement" between the US and Britain over the war on terrorism despite festering disputes over other areas of policy such as steel tariffs, the Middle East and the International Criminal Court. "On weapons of mass destruction, we share the same data therefore we share common assessment of threat. "The debate is only over tactics. A lot of other European countries don't see the same threat because we don't share intelligence with them." He rejected the idea that the Palestinian issue should be dealt with before Saddam was tackled, stating that the Iraqis and some Arab states were trying to aggravate the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel as a deliberate tactic. "That's always their alternative - getting people diverted and saying you can't do anything about Iraq until you've sorted out the Palestinian question. But we could be waiting 30 years. The answer is you have to do both at the same time." Tony Blair has urged Mr Bush to wait for calm in the Middle East before acting against Iraq. Britain has also stressed that European and Arab allies will be needed, although a coalition on the scale of 1991 is not envisaged. The Bush administration has agreed that all diplomatic avenues should be seen to have been explored and is awaiting the outcome of talks with Iraq about the return of United Nations weapons inspectors. But one senior
Xinhua: Sino-Russian military exercise not targeting third country [WWW.STOPNATO
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Sino-Russian military exercise not targeting third country Xinhuanet 2002-07-10 19:16:18 BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhuanet) -- A Sino-Russian joint military exercise scheduled for August aims to test the reliability of bilateral military communications and will not target any third country, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said Thursday. The exercise will be held according to a Sino-Russian treaty signed in July 1994 on preventing possible dangerous military actions. Such exercises on the squad scale were staged in the past. Currently, Liu said, China and Russia are consulting on the August joint military exercise, which will be held in the same wayand on the same scale as the previous events. Liu said the reports of some foreign media claiming China and Russia will stage a large-scale army-navy-air force joint military exercise aimed at a third country are inconsistent with the facts. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Guardian: 6,000 children smuggled to the west each year for sex [WWW.STOPNATO.O
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- 6,000 children smuggled to the west each year for sex Philip Willan in RomeFriday July 12, 2002The Guardian A growing number of adolescent girls from eastern Europe are being sold into sex slavery in the west, charitable organisations told an international conference on child trafficking in Rome yesterday. Every year more than 6,000 children aged between 12 and 16 are smuggled into western Europe to work as prostitutes and drug traffickers or to beg, the children's charity Terre des Hommes said. Around 2 million juveniles worldwide fall victim to people-smugglers every year, it said. Researchers have identified north-eastern Italy as a key sorting centre for girls from eastern Europe who are either sold by their parents, kidnapped by organised crime gangs, or lured abroad by the mirage of a better life. There is a particularly high concentration of juvenile sex slaves in the area between Padua and Venice, with 20% of prostitutes under the age of 18, compared to 5% in other Italian cities, the charity said. Last year 250 girls managed to escape from their exploiters and seek assistance from the Italian state. Those falling victim to people-traffickers are becoming younger, and the crime gangs are adopting increasingly sophisticated techniques to prevent them from coming to the attention of the police, said Barbara Limanowska, the author of a Unicef report on the trafficking of women and children in south-eastern Europe. Some 10-30% of all eastern European sex workers areminors, Ms Limanowska said. Save the Children estimates that up to 80% of people trafficked from Albania are teenage girls under 18. Italy is the people-smugglers' gateway to western Europe, Ms Limanowska said, while Turkey is now the staging post for women on their way to the Middle East. "The women are kept in apartments and places where police access is not easy, and then work in bars, clubs and brothels rather than on the streets," she said. "The gangs use mobile phones to organise their activity and move the girls from place to place to avoid discovery." Ms Limanowska said Albanian gangs, notorious for their ferocity, were taking control of the prostitution business throughout Europe. Ms Limanowska said there was strong demand for the services of teenage prostitutes, and no evidence that western clients were affected by either moral scruples or fear of breaking the law. "It's not only the traffickers and the clients that don't care that the women are under age, but the assisting agencies as well," she said. "That has got to change." For the pimps, "ownership" of an under-18 prostitute can be a source of pride, according to another report. The risks and rewards involved confer a form of prestige on the underworld bosses. Ms Limanowska said it was time that greater emphasis was put on the human rights of the victims, rather than focusing attention on the phenomenon as a security or migration issue. "The Italian model is exceptional in Europe. It's more humane, but also more productive. There is better assistance to the victims, but also a lot of work done on the prosecution of traffickers. That is important for the safety of the women," said Ms Limanowska. "It's vital that they stay and testify against their exploiters rather than simply being sent back to their country of origin." She said that Britain had been slow to recognise the sexual exploitation of minors. "There are cases in Britain of women from Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Romania - but there is not much information about what is really going on. They have only woken up to the problem recently." Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua: Iraqi FM blames US pressure for failure of talks with UN [WWW.STOPNATO.O
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Iraqi FM blames US pressure for failure of talks with UN Xinhuanet 2002-07-10 01:33:19 BAGHDAD, July 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri, Tuesday held the United States responsible for the failure of the latest round of talks with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Vienna. "The US pressure on the UN Security Council prevents it from honoring its obligations toward Iraq and this is considered an obvious violations of the UN Charter and international laws," Sabritold the state-run Iraq TV upon his arrival at the Saddam International Airport after talks with Annan. He said during the talks with the UN chief, he stressed the "comprehensive" settlement between Iraq and the United Nations, including the lifting of the decade-old UN embargo and the preserving of Iraq's security, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Sabri and Annan held talks on July 4-5 and the two sides failed to reach an agreement on the return of the UN arms inspectors to Iraq, who withdrew out of the country on the eve of US-British air raid on Baghdad in December 1998. The Iraqi foreign minister has accused the United States of insisting on the return of the arms inspectors "to update the information they provide to their planes and those of Britain to strike the Iraqi people." However, both Iraq and the United Nations agreed to maintain contact, though the time and venue of the next round of talks are still to be fixed. The two sides held two previous rounds of talks in March and May, and Annan has pressed Iraq to accept the return of the arms inspectors. The embargo on Iraq imposed for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait willnot be lifted until the arms inspectors certify that Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua: Jordan opposes U.S. attack on Iraq [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Jordan opposes U.S. attack on Iraq Xinhuanet 2002-07-10 15:20:12 AMMAN, July 10 (Xinhuanet) -- The Jordanian government has expressed that it would not allow U.S. troops to be stationed on its territory to mount any military attack on Iraq, the English daily Jordan Times reported on Wednesday. "We refused to be a launching pad for any act against our brotherly state Iraq or to use our soil as part of secret military to attack Baghdad," Jordanian Minister of State for political affairs Mohammad Adwan was quoted as saying. Adwan, who is also a cabinet spokesman and minister of information, stressed that "Jordan rejects the principle of interfering in the internal affairs of its brothers under any justification." The official was apparently commenting on foreign press reports that the U.S. has already stationed forward forces in Jordan's military bases for possible attacks against Iraq. U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday renewed his threat to strike Iraq, saying his country would use all means available to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua: Russia reiterates opposition to military operation against Iraq [WWW.STO
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Russia reiterates opposition to military operation against Iraq Xinhuanet 2002-07-10 03:36:48 MOSCOW, July 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko on Tuesday reiterated Russia's opposition to any military operation against Iraq. "It is our firm belief that the groundless use of force againstIraq would have disastrous consequences for the entire Middle Eastregion," Yakovenko said in a statement. He made the comments a day after U.S. President George W. Bush vowed to "use all the tools at our disposal" to bring down Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, renewing speculation that the US is preparing for an armed attack. But the spokesman said on the same time that Russia had no specific information on reported U.S. plans to oust Hussein. "We do not get any concrete information on any secret plans of the U.S. leadership to remove Iraqi President Hussein from power, and we are not holding any negotiations on that subject," he said. In response to an U.S. State Department gathering scheduled Tuesday of groups seeking to overthrow Saddam, Yakovenko said Moscow did not maintain contacts with Iraqi opposition groups and believed that negotiations with the current leadership are the only way to solve the crisis there. "We believe that there must be a dialogue with Iraq's lawful leadership, which officially represents that country," he said. Russia has urged a return of international weapons inspectors to Iraq, but also supported Baghdad's push for lifting U.N. economic sanctions, which were imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua: DPRK accuses S.Korea of violating territorial waters [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- DPRK accuses S.Korea of violating territorial waters Xinhuanet 2002-07-10 18:23:55 PYONGYANG, July 10 (Xinhuanet) -- The Democratic People's Republicof Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday accused South Korea of violating its territorial waters in the disputed west sea of Korea. "The navy of the South Korean army committed a military provocation by infiltrating two combat warships into territorial waters of our side off Dungsan-got and south of Kuwol hill in the Kangryong peninsula at around 10:05 and 10:25 a.m. today," the navy command of the Korean People's Army (KPA) was quoted by the Korea Central News Agency as saying. "This provocation ... is a premeditated provocation to ignite anew armed clash by further aggravating the situation in these waters that has become extremely tense since the armed clash on June 29," the KPA said. The DPRK and South Korea have long been in dispute about the demarcation of the west sea of Korea. The patrol boats of the navies of both sides exchanged fire in the disputed area on June 29, resulting in the sinking of a warship from the south side. On Sunday, the navy of the DPRK accused two warships of South Korea of infiltrating its territorial waters. Enditem ¡¡ --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
SCMP: US soldiers questioned over S.Korea fatal accident [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- US soldiers questioned over S.Korea fatal accident REUTERS in Seoul(SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST) Updated at 5.29pm:Two US soldiers appeared before South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday for questioning over an accident in which two schoolgirls were crushed to death by an armoured vehicle, a South Korean official said. The US army has charged Sergeant Mark Walker and Sergeant Fernando Nino of the 2nd Infantry division with negligent homicide in the deaths of the 13-year-old students. ''(South Korean) prosecutors investigated them over the accident for about 40 minutes in the afternoon,'' said an official at Seoul District Prosecutors Office in Uijongbu. The prosecutors summoned the pair two days ago, but the Americans at first refused to appear, fearing for their safety following local protests over the accident. After completing their investigation, South Korean authorities were expected to decide whether to ask the United States to give jurisdiction over the two soldiers to a local court. Under a bilateral treaty, South Korea can exercise or waive the right to prosecute cases involving US military personnel on its territory. The prosecution official declined to give details of the investigation, and said no date for a trial had been set. The June 13 accident in a village near Uijongbu, north of the capital, prompted apologies from United States Forces Korea (USFK) commanders and anti-US protests by South Koreans who demanded the soldiers be handed over to local police. The United States keeps 37,000 troops in South Korea, a force intended to deter a repeat of the 1950 invasion by North Korea which sparked the three-year Korean War. But pollution, noise and traffic from the American bases and occasional crimes by US troops have been a source of friction with nearby communities. South Korean political groups, and North Korea, have seized upon the disputes to press for a US troop withdrawal --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^ empty.gif Description: GIF image
SCMP: Bush warns US will use 'all tools' to oust Saddam [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- IRAQBush warns US will use 'all tools' to oust Saddam AGENCIES in Washington(SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST) In a clear reference to military action, US President George W. Bush has declared America will use "all tools" available to remove President Saddam Hussein in the wake of reports that Iraq was moving to rebuild its arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. Mr Bush reiterated official US policy aimed at ending Saddam's rule in Iraq. "It's a stated policy of this government to have the regime change. And it hasn't changed," he said. The US would "use all tools at our disposal" to effect the change, he added. Mr Bush said he was involved in all aspects of planning Iraq policy. "I'm involved in the military planning, diplomatic planning, financial planning, all aspects of reviewing all the tools at my disposal," he said. Britain's Financial Times newspaper reported yesterday that Iraq was cultivating ties with the former Soviet state of Ukraine in a bid to rebuild an arsenal of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. "For some years there was an intensive defence-technology relationship between Ukraine and Iraq," the paper quoted former UN weapons inspector Timothy McCarthy as saying. Mr McCarthy now works with the Monterey Institute for International Studies. "This appears to be re-emerging and we don't want to repeat the mistakes of the past." The newspaper's report concluded that Iraq, Iran and North Korea were actively trying to procure nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Expectations that Mr Bush would order an attack on Iraq to oust Saddam have risen this year since the US president described Iraq, along with Iran and North Korea, as belonging to an "axis of evil". Several European governments have been concerned about any US military action to oust Saddam, a concern made more acute by a breakdown in talks last week to put United Nations weapons inspectors back in Iraq. Mr Bush declined on Monday to comment on a New York Times report last week that a draft military plan for an invasion of Iraq envisioned a multi-pronged attack with tens of thousands of US marines and soldiers probably invading from Kuwait. "Listen, I recognise there's speculation out there, but people shouldn't speculate about the desire of the government to have a regime change," Mr Bush said. "And there's different ways to do it." Mr Bush also dismissed as "hypothetical" a question on whether he wanted Saddam removed before the end of his four-year term as president, which expires in January 2005. The US has frequently clashed militarily with the Iraqi leader since leading a coalition force in 1991 to expel him from Kuwait. The US said on Monday that the failure of talks between Iraq and the UN last week showed that Washington was right to suspect Iraq was working on weapons of mass destruction. "The fact that Iraq once again failed to take advantage of this opportunity . . . to come clean for the world, I think would have to indicate suspicions about what they're up to," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told a daily briefing. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Guardian: Bush jibe angers black leaders [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Bush jibe angers black leaders Matthew Engel in WashingtonWednesday July 10, 2002The Guardian Relations between the White House and black American leaders slumped to a new low yesterday after President Bush gave a dismissive answer when asked why he was not addressing the convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured Peoples, the most respected black pressure group in the US. At his press conference on Monday night, Mr Bush answered: "Let's see. There I was sitting around the table with foreign leaders looking at Colin Powell and Condi Rice _ " His voice then trailed away, he shook his head and moved on to the next question; the implication being that two black people in his inner circle was a substitute for outreach to the rest of the community. His words were certain to cause outrage, and seemed an uncharacteristic piece of political ineptitude. "You can't be president of all the people when you only want to be president for some of the people," said the NAACP chief executive, Kweisi Mfume. Julian Bond, the NAACP chairman, said of Mr Bush: "We knew he was in the oil business - we just didn't know it was snake oil." Mr Bond said that groups opposed to civil rights now held "unprecedented power" in the Bush administration. A justice department spokeswoman, Barbara Comstock, said the speeches ignored the administration's actual record. The Houston Chronicle suggested that the snub had been deliberate: "In search of a more receptive audience, Bush is taking his message of home ownership, welfare reform and faith-based initiatives directly to the African-American churches, service providers and others who may be more likely to embrace it." The Chronicle reported that in a recent internal White House memo on political strategy African-Americans were the only group listed under "areas for improvement". At the 2000 election, Mr Bush won just 9% of black votes, and there is bitterness that without the effective disenfranchisement of many black voters in Florida, Al Gore would be president. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Guardian: Jordan refuses to allow launchpad for invasion [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Jordan refuses to allow launchpad for invasion Ewen MacAskill, diplomatic editorWednesday July 10, 2002The Guardian Jordan vowed yesterday that it will not allow US troops to be stationed on its territory to mount an attack on Iraq. Responding to press reports that Washington has secret plans to use Jordan as one of its launch-pads, the Jordanian information minister, Mohammad al-Adwan, said: "Jordan rejects the principle of interfering in the internal affairs of its brothers under any justification. We refuse to be a launching pad or arena for any act against our brotherly state Iraq or to use our soil and airspace to attain this objective." Speculation about a US invasion of Iraq next year has increased since the breakdown of talks between the UN and Iraq in Vienna on Friday and the leaking to the New York Times of Pentagon plans for an attack. The US has been building up its forces in Qatar and has a strong presence in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Turkey would also be a vital staging post for an attack. A report in the Observer adding Jordan to the list prompted the Jordanian foreign minister, Marwan al-Muasher, to call in the Iraqi ambassador, Sabah Yassin, on Sunday to assure him the kingdom respected Iraq's sovereignty. Iraq's deputy prime minister, Tariq Aziz, said yesterday the US could not remove the Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, and his country was ready to defend itself against American aggression. The US state department says no decision has been made on military action against Iraq. Mr Bush said on Monday night the US will use all the tools at its disposal to remove Saddam. Iraq yesterday blamed the US for scuppering the Vienna talks. The UN has been trying to get Iraq to accept the return of UN weapons inspectors to check whether Saddam has been rebuilding his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
WDIE: US-China-EU: An exercise in asymmetry [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- WORKERS DAILY INTERNET EDITION Revolutionary Communist Party Of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) Wednesday, July 10, 2002 10:34 AM US-China-EU: An exercise in asymmetry The following article was written by Wang Jian, who is secretary general of the Economic Planning Commission, Beijing, and has been translated into English. We are reproducing it for the information of our readers as a view from China on the balance of the worlds forces and the place of the Peoples Republic of China within that. It appeared in the on-line edition of "Asia Times" of July 5, 2002. In February 1972, US president Richard Nixon's plane landed in Beijing, unveiling a new era in Sino-US relations and signalling the demarcation line in the changes of the world strategic structure after World War II. After that trip there was a relatively stable situation in international relations that lasted for 20 years until the end of the Cold War. Thereafter, a series of changes took place in relations among China, the United States and the Soviet Union as well as within the Western world. Now, 30 years have elapsed since Nixon's visit to China, 10 years have passed since the end of the Cold War, and there have been momentous transformations which ought to be the new starting points for China's long-term strategies and policies, as they influence not only China but also the world. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 was the first event that marked a qualitative change in world structure. The breakdown of the Soviet Union on August 19, 1991, marked the collapse of the Cold War structure that had lasted for some 50 years after World War II. Next came the establishment of the European Union. Thereafter in 1993, the United States, Canada and Mexico agreed to set up the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), which was officially launched in 1994. These two events, establishment of the EU and the NAFTA, took place immediately after the end of the Cold War because of the sudden end of the main conflict in the world: that between the USSR-headed Eastern camp and the US-headed Western camp. Both the United States and the Soviet Union possessed vast expanses of land and large populations, and both could achieve long-term economic development relying mainly on their domestic resources and markets, which completely differed from the capitalist countries that had formed military alliances during the two world wars to strive for overseas resources and markets. This separation between two economic spheres is the essential reason why the world structure before 1991 was called the "Cold War", together with the fact that there was no conflict for the same markets or resources that could lead to a world war. During the years of the Cold War, however, there were still imbalances in the level of economic and political development in the main capitalist countries, and in the Western camp new problems had been building up. In particular, the rapid rise of Japan and Germany after the war brought them much closer to the United States in economic strength in a few decades. Nonetheless, during the Cold War, these countries had been threatened by the military might of the former Soviet Union, and they needed the military protection of the United States, which consequently became the leading country on the Western front. With the end of the Cold War and the disappearance of the West's common enemy, the relationship between friends began to change at once. The contradictions in economic interests that had long been concealed by the political and ideological conflict with the Soviet sphere cropped up immediately and escalated to a critical level. Some say that the post-Cold War world structure is "one super and many great powers", which means that there is only one superpower the United States. But the United States is super only in military affairs. As far as economic strength is concerned, the 12 countries in the European Union had overcome the United States as early as the mid-1980s, and the strength of Japan alone then was 40 percent of the United States'. Therefore the EU countries and Japan together have a larger economy than the US, but their military muscle is far weaker than their protector's. Thus the strengths in economic and military affairs of the United States are not in balance, which made it possible for the European countries to stand up after the end of the Cold War to challenge the United States, so that the establishment of the European Union can be seen as the expression of the Europeans' will to shake off the long-term control of the United States and seek economic, political and perhaps even military independence. The Europeans constructed an exclusive common economic area because the boundaries between a dozen countries constrained free circulation of production and industrial integration. However, in the common zone,
Robert Fisk: A strange kind of freedom - The Independent [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- A strange kind of freedom We all know about the perils of Islamic fanaticism. But, says Robert Fisk, the biggest threat to liberty in the US may come from other kinds of fundamentalism: Jewish and Christian 09 July 2002 Inside the First Congregational Church of Berkeley, the Californian audience had been struck silent. Dennis Bernstein, the Jewish host of KPFA Radio's Flashpoint current affairs programme, was reading some recent e-mails that he had received from Israel's supporters in America. Each one left the people in the church Muslims, Jews, Christians in a state of shock. "You mother-fucking-asshole-self-hating Jewish piece of shit. Hitler killed the wrong Jews. He should have killed your parents, so a piece of Jewish shit like you would not have been born. God willing, Arab terrorists will cut you to pieces Daniel Pearl-style, AMEN!!!" Bernstein's sin was to have covered the story of Israel's invasion of Jenin in April and to have interviewed journalists who investigated the killings that took place there including Phil Reeves and Justin Huggler of The Independent for his Flashpoint programme. Bernstein's grandfather was a revered Orthodox Rabbi of international prominence but neither his family history nor his origins spared him. "Read this and weep, you mother-fucker self-hating Jew boy!!!" another e-mail told Bernstein. "God willing a Palestinian will murder you, rape your wife and slash your kids' throats." Yet another: "I hope that you, Barbara Lubin and all other Jewish Marxist Communist traitors anti-American cop haters will die a violent and cruel death just like the victims of suicide bombers in Israel." Lubin is also Jewish, the executive director of the Middle East Children's Alliance, a one-time committed Zionist but now one of Israel's fiercest critics. Her e-mails are even worse. Indeed, you have to come to America to realise just how brave this small but vocal Jewish community is. Bernstein is the first to acknowledge that a combination of Israeli lobbyists and conservative Christian fundamentalists have in effect censored all free discussion of Israel and the Middle East out of the public domain in the US. "Everyone else is terrified," Bernstein says. "The only ones who begin to open their mouths are the Jews in this country. You know, as a kid, I sent money to plant trees in Israel. But now we are horrified by a government representing a country that we grew up loving and cherishing. Israel's defenders have a special vengeance for Jews who don't fall in line behind Sharon's scorched-earth policy because they give the lie to the charge that Israel's critics are simply anti-Semite." Adam Shapiro is among those who have paid a price for their beliefs. He is a Jew engaged to an American-born Palestinian, a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement who was trapped in Yasser Arafat's headquarters in the spring while administering medical aid. After telling CNN that the Sharon government was acting like "terrorists" while receiving $3bn a year in US military aid, Shapiro and his family were savaged in the New York Post. The paper slandered Shapiro as the "Jewish Taliban" and demeaned his family as "traitors". Israeli supporters publicised his family's address and his parents were forced to flee their Brooklyn home and seek police protection. Shapiro's father, a New York public high-school teacher and a part-time Yeshiva (Jewish day school) teacher, was fired from his job. His brother receives regular death threats. Israel's supporters have no qualms about their alliance with the Christian right. Indeed, the fundamentalists can campaign on their own in Israel's favour, as I discovered for myself at Stanford recently when I was about to give a lecture on the media and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, part of a series of talks arranged largely by Jewish Americans. A right-wing Christian "Free Republic" outfit posted my name on its website, and described me as a "PLO butt-kisser" and asked its supporters to "freep" my lecture. A few demonstrators turned up outside the First United Methodist Church in Sacramento where I was to speak, waving American and Israeli flags. "Jew haters!" they screamed at the organisers, a dark irony since these were non-Jews shrieking their abuse at Jews. They were also handing out crudely printed flyers. "Nothing to worry about, Bob," one of my Jewish hosts remarked. "They can't even spell your name right." True. But also false. "Stop the Lies!" the leaflet read. "There was no massacre in Jenin. Fiske [sic] is paid big bucks to spin [lie] for the Arabs..." But the real lie was in that last sentence. I never take any payment for lectures so that no one can ever claim that I'm paid to give the views of others. But the truth didn't matter to these people. Nor did the content of my talk which began, by chance, with the words
Afghanistan: The Hunt For Bin Laden (Online Video - Panorama/BBC) [WWW.STOPNATO.
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/cta/progs/panorama/latest.ram (Online Video - 50 mins approx - 56k Modem/Real Player Rqd.) http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/cta/progs/02/forum/panorama/bin_laden08jul.ram (Online Interview with Jane Corbin - 30 mins approx - 56k Modem/Real Player Rqd.) The Hunt for Bin Laden Watch The Hunt for Bin Laden http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/cta/progs/panorama/latest.ram It's a conflict that pits the might of America and its allies against Osama Bin Laden's terror network. Who is now winning the "war on terror"? Since September 11th, Panorama has followed the hunt to destroy Bin Laden and his network. Billions of dollars have been spent and thousands of soldiers mobilised across the globe. Jane visited the old Soviet airbase at Bagram, now the US base for the "war against terror"But with Bin Laden and most of his lieutenants still at large, what has the war actually achieved? The terror network still stalks the west and al-Qaeda threatens new attacks, even more deadly than what happened in New York and Washington. And US Senator Bob Graham, head of the Senate's Intelligence Committee, has told Panorama he is convinced Osama Bin Laden is still alive. Trailing the enemy We follow the war across its battlefields in Afghanistan: to Tora Bora where Bin Laden was allowed to escape, to the valleys of south eastern Afghanistan where the US launched a full scale military offensive against the network, and to the Pakistan border where the British try in vain to find remnants of the network. As this happens we show how the terror network has responded and learnt from its mistakes. With attacks on civilians in Tunisia and Pakistan, al-Qaeda has continued to bring terror in spite of the war waged on it. From the front line The programme follows the "band of brothers" C Company Engineers, 101st airborneThe film has extensive documentary access to US and British soldiers in Afghanistan. We follow a group of American infantrymen as they locate and destroy al-Qaeda caves and develop a new understanding of their foe. We show what life is like for them on the new front line. And we follow the frustrating efforts of a British helicopter pilot and of marines to find traces of their enemy. Since 1998 Jane Corbin has made a number of investigative films about Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda for Panorama. In Towards the Zero Hour, a one-hour special on BBC One last December, Jane investigated the terror cell, led by Mohammed Atta, which planned and executed the World Trade Centre attacks. Production Team:Reporter: Jane CorbinProducer: Aidan LavertyAssistant Producer: John ThynneEditor: Mike Robinson Reporter Jane Corbin, who has been following al-Qaeda's trail for five years, answered your questions on the hunt for Bin Laden in a live forum. To watch a recording of the forum select the link below: 56k http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/cta/progs/02/forum/panorama/bin_laden08jul.ram A war has been declared on terror - but is the west any closer to tracking down Bin Laden? Jane Corbin has spoken to British and American troops in Afghanistan about their experiences and their understanding of their enemy. She has also met Afghan civilians who have seen their homes destroyed by stray US bombs. And warlords tell her that the west's action is merely driving the terror network deeper underground. Is the world any safer, and who's winning the war on terror? Jane answered your questions. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^ banner_170901.gif Description: GIF image _38108182_jane_7_315.jpg nothing.gif Description: GIF image video.gif Description: GIF image transcript.gif Description: GIF image _38114296_jane5_150.jpg_38114295_platoon_150.jpg_38117568_bin_laden_forum_315.jpg
Stratfor: Many Hurdles Will Delay U.S. Attack on Iraq [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- STRATFOR Many Hurdles Will Delay U.S. Attack on Iraq Summary Although the Bush administration appears committed to attacking Iraq, its ability to do so is limited by several logistical problems, such as the availability of precision weaponry and aircraft carriers. These issues are temporary, but a great number of political problems that could block a campaign will prove much more difficult to solve. Analysis U.S. President George W. Bush vowed July 8 to use all tools at his disposal to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Speaking at a surprise news conference, Bush said the world would be a safer place once Saddam was overthrown and that he personally is engaged in all aspects of planning to achieve that goal. The speech was not the first time Bush had made it clear that his administration is committed to regime change in Iraq. Of the many options available to the White House, only large-scale military action will guarantee the United States an active hand in Iraq once Saddam is gone. However, technical limitations will push back the date of an attack until winter at the absolute earliest, and a host of political hurdles could delay a campaign indefinitely. U.S. strategic planners see two specific reasons to depose Saddam. First, Iraq's chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs threaten the balance of power in the Middle East. Officials in Washington also fear that those weapons someday could find their way into the hands of al Qaeda. This argument is based on logic and potentiality rather than evidence, but the consequences of such a development would be so terrible that the argument must be given credence. The second reason involves oil. Iraq has huge reserves of crude, and gaining control over those resources would greatly enhance U.S. energy security -- and give Washington considerable leverage over other oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia and Iran. The governments of both countries absolutely depend on oil revenues to maintain domestic stability, and both use their reserves as leverage when negotiating with the United States and the rest of the world. For example, Saudi Arabia's oil reserves are a big reason that U.S. military forces are chasing al Qaeda in western Pakistan and not in western Saudi Arabia. U.S. influence over Iraqi oil reserves would dramatically decrease Riyadh's leverage with Washington. And, in a pinch, the United States could threaten to increase Iraqi outputs and bankrupt the Saudi and Iranian economies. But how to get rid of the current regime in Baghdad? The most hands-off option would be some sort of covert action to remove Saddam -- possibly by assassinating him, capturing him or forcing him to flee the country. However, this also is the most difficult option and the one least likely to succeed. There also is no guarantee that whatever group that replaced Saddam would be any better or easier for Washington to control. Sparking an internal coup is equally unlikely. For one thing, it is an extremely difficult thing to do: Stratfor counts at least four unsuccessful coup plots since the end of the Gulf War. Iraq is a police state in many respects, and Saddam has an extensive internal security apparatus at his disposal, comprising multiple agencies that watch each other as well as monitor potential unrest. He also manipulates the tribal rivalries that permeate Iraq, playing factions against each other until it is unclear who is on which side. Coups and covert action carry with them the same problem: The United States would have relatively little control over the successor government. In this particular case, any Iraqi military officer with the fortitude to take on Saddam would not likely jump eagerly into a role as a U.S. proxy. A new military regime may even find it useful to continue Iraq's chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs. The only way to ensure the collapse of the current regime and the establishment of a suitable replacement is to put U.S. boots on the ground in Iraq. The question is, how many boots? The Afghan model of warfare certainly offers an appealing answer. Using Special Operations forces to link up with local militants under U.S. air cover would require relatively few U.S. troops, without a months-long buildup. But this option has several problems. First, the Iraqi opposition is not in the same military class as was the Northern Alliance, which had 20,000 hardened fighters under its command. Iraq's Kurdish and Shiite groups maintain armed militias -- but fewer, and with less experience. Second, the Iraqi army is more formidable than were the Taliban, at least in conventional conflict. Iraq can field more than 200,000 troops as well as tanks, artillery, helicopters and anti- aircraft systems -- far more effective than the 50,000 lightly armed troops commanded by the Taliban. And the
WSWS: Noose tightens around North Korea following Yellow Sea naval battle [WWW.S
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- World Socialist Web Site www.wsws.org WSWS : News Analysis : Asia : Korea Noose tightens around North Korea following Yellow Sea naval battle By James Conachy11 July 2002 Back to screen version | Send this link by email | Email the author The short but bloody naval battle on June 29 between North and South Korean warships in the Yellow Sea has been utilised by the Bush administration and the South Korean government to intensify the diplomatic and economic isolation of North Korea. Washington has cancelled a diplomatic visit to Pyongyang this monththe first official talks scheduled since Bushs installationon the grounds that the incident was an armed provocation by North Korea, which had created an unacceptable atmosphere in which to conduct the talks. The response in South Korea has been just as belligerent. Politicians and the media have launched scathing denunciations of North Korea and also South Korean president, Kim Dae-jung, who has pursued a Sunshine Policy of opening up relations with Pyongyang. Veterans of the Korean War, including retired generals, have held anti-North demonstrations and called for military retaliation. Under intense pressure, Kim Dae-jung has demanded a full apology and authorised a change in the militarys rules of engagement to permit a fire-first policy if South Korean ships are threatened. A 300,000 tonne shipment of food aid to North Korea is likely to be cancelled, and South Korean and US military forces have stepped up surveillance activity. While Washington and Seoul blame North Korea for the naval clash, the evidence points in the opposite direction. The incident has the hallmarks of a provocation organised by the South Korean military as a means of galvanising public opinion behind a more confrontational stance towards the North. While there are contradictions between the South and Norths versions of what occurred, both sides agree it was preceded by the incursion of South Korean fishing boats and naval vessels into waters claimed by North Korea. North Korea alleges that two of its patrol boats were conducting routine coastal guard duty, seeking to chase southern fishing boats out of the area, when they were confronted by four South Korean naval speedboats, backed by several larger warships. A 21-minute exchange of gunfire ensued, during which one South Korean boat was sunk and one of the North Korean ships was set ablaze. Four South Korean sailors were killed, 19 wounded and one is missing, presumed dead. An unknown number of North Koreans were killed or wounded before their ships retreated. Both sides have accused the other of firing first. Regardless of who initiated the firing, it is indisputable that the actions of the South Korean navy on June 29 were out-of-the-ordinary and aggressive. The battle occurred in an area that has been the subject of a territorial dispute since the UN unilaterally imposed a sea-border, known as the Northern Limit Line (NLL), at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. North Korea has never accepted the UN line, and declared its own boundary several kilometres further south. To prevent conflicts, South Korea established a no mans land buffer in the form of 9.6 kilometre no-fishing zone south of the NLL. Under normal circumstances, both navies prevent fishermen entering the buffer zone. Over the past month, the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) alleges that incursions by southern fishermen, shadowed by the South Korean navy, have been frequent. On June 29, it was reported in the South Korean media that as many as 10 South Korean boats were fishing for blue craba prized export catchnorth of the no fishing zone. A July 3 report published by the Korea Times quoted a South Korean fisherman who stated that boats had crossed several kilometres into the zone. One of the wounded South Korean sailors told the newspaper his ship had taken part in escorting fishing boats out of the zone some 40 to 50 minutes after they entered it. The fact the incursions were not prevented and that a sizeable South Korean naval contingent was lying in wait for the North to send warships into the no fishing zone provides ample grounds for suspecting that the South was seeking some sort of confrontation. In June 1999, a naval battle took place in the same area when the South Korean navy launched a massive operation to stop North Korean boats fishing for crab in the disputed waters. In that exchange, a North Korean torpedo boat was sunk and dozens of its sailors killed. This time, however, it appears that the South Korean military were looking to provoke an incident. US fuels tensions The responsibility for creating these tensions rests with Washington. Since its installation in January 2001, the Bush administration has diplomatically isolated North Korea, accusing it of constructing weapons of mass destruction,
Guardian: Mirror's Bush attack angers US shareholder [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Mirror's Bush attack angers US shareholder Roy GreensladeMonday July 8, 2002The Guardian The Daily Mirror editor, Piers Morgan, has vowed to go on publishing articles critical of US president George Bush despite concern from an American shareholder. Last Thursday's paper carried a trenchant article by John Pilger which called the United States a "rogue state" guilty of undermining international law. It referred to Bush's administration as a criminal gang which had killed twice as many people as died at the World Trade Centre. Next day one of the major US shareholders in Trinity-Mirror, the group which owns the Daily Mirror, phoned chief executive Philip Graf to express disappointment at the tone and content of Pilger's polemic. Tom Shrager of the New York-based fund manager Tweedy Browne, which owns 4% of Trinity, began by stating that he respected the concept of freedom of the press. He did not threaten to sell Trinity stock, but he went on to say, in the most forthright terms, that his company was very unhappy with the Mirror for publishing Pilger's piece. He was not available for comment yesterday, although he was reported in the Mail on Sunday as saying: "We made our views known as shareholders. We felt that management should know how we view such editorial material." Morgan said yesterday: "We will continue to run articles by John Pilger in the current climate, but these shouldn't be misconstrued as anti-American." Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Telegraph: Saddam's stepson holds UK certificate [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- DAILY TELEGRAPH Saddam's stepson holds UK certificate == By Paul Chapman in Wellington (Filed: 08/07/2002) Saddam Hussein's stepson, who was arrested by the FBI on the eve of the Fourth of July after arriving in Florida for a flight training course, holds a British flight engineer's certificate and was taking the course to keep it current. Mohammad Nour al-Din Saffi, 35, a naturalised New Zealand citizen, flew from Auckland to Los Angeles last week and then on to Miami for a four-day flight simulator course at the Aeroservice Aviation Centre. The centre was attended by Ziad Jarrah, one of the September 11 hijackers. Jimmy Brooks, chief executive of the fledgling American-owned Tiger Lines Cargo air service based in Auckland, said his company was paying the bill for Mr Saffi's flight simulator training as he had been offered part-time work with Tiger. He wanted to keep his British licence current, Mr Brooks said. Mr Saffi, who works as an aircraft engineer for Air New Zealand, was attending the course with two American pilots who will fly the company's US-registered Boeing 727 airliner on freight-carrying flights linking New Zealand airports with Tonga and other South Pacific islands The only American soil it will reach is American Samoa, Mr Brooks, an American citizen, said. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Independent: Resue operation underway after Royal Navy destroyer is holed on roc
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- The Independent Resue operation underway after Royal Navy destroyer is holed on rocks http://news.independent.co.uk/world/australasia/story.jsp?story=312969 AP 08 July 2002 Australian Navy divers arrived on a Pacific island today to assess damage to a Royal Navy warship and begin pumping out flooded compartments after it smashed into rocks off Australia's south-eastern coast. There were no injuries to the 253 crew of the HMS Nottingham, which was holed below the waterline near Lord Howe Island, 200 miles north-east of Sydney. Officials said the vessel had moved away from the rocks and was not in danger of sinking. The island's port operations manager, Clive Wilson, said the Australian dive team would help secure the damaged ship, which was anchored in a sheltered harbour. Island authorities were investigating reports of oil escaping from the Nottingham. Two New Zealand navy ships, the tanker Endeavour and frigate Te Mana, were also steaming toward the stricken ship. The accident happened as the ship moved close to the island to transfer a sick crew member to shore. Having conducted that, the ship then turned back to sea and in doing so grounded on Wolf Rock, said Commander David Heley, a Royal Navy spokesman. He said some watertight compartments at the front of the ship were flooded after the collision. The ship, however, is a destroyer. She is a warship designed to take a fair degree of action damage, said Cmdr. Heley. He said the vessel was on a routine trip from Cairns, in Australia's northeastern state of Queensland, to Wellington in New Zealand. The vessel left Britain in March and was due back in November or December, he said. The Ministry of Defense denied claims by anti-nuclear protesters that the ship was escorting a consignment of nuclear fuel being transported from Japan to Britain. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
SCMP: S.Korea summons US soldiers over fatal accident [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST KOREAS.Korea summons US soldiers over fatal accident REUTERS in Seoul Prev. Story | Next Story Updated at 12.49pm:South Korean prosecutors will interrogate two American soldiers charged with negligent homicide by the US army over an accident in which two local schoolgirls were killed by an armoured vehicle, an official said on Monday. The accident in a village near Uijongbu, north of the capital Seoul on June 13 prompted apologies by United States Forces Korea (USFK) commanders and anti-US protests by South Koreans who demanded the soldiers be handed over to local police. ''Prosecutors summoned the two soldiers to appear in the prosecutors' office by 1pm (HK time) today,'' the official at the Seoul Prosecutors' office told Reuters. The USFK said in a statement last week Sergeant Mark Walker and Sergeant Fernando Nino of the 8th US Army 2nd Infantry division were charged with ''negligent homicide'' in the deaths of 13-year-old students Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun. Walker was the driver and Nino the track commander of the tank-like minesweeping vehicle, which ran over the girls on a village road during training some 30km south of South Korea's heavily fortified border with communist North Korea. After Monday's interrogation, South Korea will decide whether to ask the US to hand over jurisdiction over the two soldiers to the local court, the official said. The US maintains 37,000 troops in South Korea in a military presence designed to deter a repeat of the 1950 invasion by North Korea which sparked the three-year Korean War. But pollution, noise and traffic from the US bases and occasional crimes by American troops have been a source of friction with nearby communities. Anti-base activists held the latest of more than hald a dozen protests on Monday outside Camp Red Cloud in Uijongbu. The disputes have been seized upon by South Korean political groups and by North Korea to press demands for a withdrawal of US troops. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^ left.gif Description: GIF image right.gif Description: GIF image empty.gif Description: GIF image
SCMP: South denies it sent warships into N.Korea waters [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST KOREASouth denies it sent warships into N.Korea waters REUTERS in Seoul Updated at 9.59am:South Korea denied on Monday a North Korean report saying Seoul had tried to stoke tensions between the bitterly divided neighbours by infiltrating two warships into the North's territorial waters. Overnight, the North Korean navy said the South had sent the two combat vessels across the disputed maritime border off the North Korean coast not far from where the two navies clashed on June 29 with loss of life on both sides. ''We warn that the infiltration of the combat warships is a dangerous act which may spark a new armed clash,'' the North Korean navy said in statement said published late on Sunday by the North's official KCNA news agency. ''The provocation in the wake of the armed clash on June 29 is a deliberate move to render the situation in the waters more strained,'' Pyongyang's navy command said. But the South Korean navy denied the accusation. ''What the North said is totally fabricated and groundless,'' it said in a statement. It said there was a routine South Korean naval exercise on Sunday but the warships stayed well inside South Korean waters, below a disputed maritime border line. The South Korean navy warned the North not to enter its waters and said the North would be taught a lesson and bear responsibility for any consequences. On Sunday, the South Korean Defence Ministry outlined its investigation into the June 29 clash, in which four South Korean sailors were killed and 19 wounded. One sailor is missing. An unknown number of North Korean sailors died. The ministry said the North had repeatedly probed the South's defences in the weeks leading up to the clash. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^ empty.gif Description: GIF image
SCMP: US troops 'denied treatment for bombing victims' [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST AFGHANISTANUS troops 'denied treatment for bombing victims' AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE in Dehrawad, Afghanistan As a formal US investigation into a botched bombing that claimed civilian lives started, outraged villagers claimed American soldiers stormed their homes and barred them from treating wounded relatives. "First they bombed the women folk, killing them like animals. Then they stormed into the houses and tied the hands of men and women," said Mohammad Anwar at Kakrakai village in central Uruzgan province. "It was cruelty. After bombing the area, the US forces rushed to that house, cordoned it off and refused to let the people help the victims." Mr Anwar pointed to the home of his brother Sharif, who was hosting a huge pre-wedding party for his son on the night of June 30 when United States aircraft strafed Kakrakai and surrounding villages. Sharif, who accompanied Afghan President Hamid Karzai on his daring mission into then Taleban-ruled central Afghanistan last October, was killed. So were Mr Anwar's wife and Sharif's wife and four children. The groom-to-be survived because he was confined in a separate house as local wedding tradition decrees. The US-led coalition commander in Afghanistan, General Dan McNeill, confirmed on Saturday that there were civilian casualties. Afghan officials claim 48 people were killed. Mr Anwar, a senior Karzai-appointed military commander in neighbouring Kandahar province, said the toll would have been less if the troops storming his brother's home had allowed relatives to tend to the victims. "Until seven or eight o'clock in the morning the Americans did not allow anyone to help the injured and to cover the bodies. Most of their clothes had been burnt off. They kept filming and photographing the naked women. "The people are asking: is this the result of the support we have extended to the Americans? This is humiliation. Our women were disgraced." The US, in Afghanistan seeking remnants of the former hardline Taleban regime and its al-Qaeda allies, has insisted coalition aircraft attacked only after they were fired on. Anti-American rage gripped the nearby villages of Shatoghai, Siasung and Mazar, also hit in the US bombardment. "One day God will give us the strength and we will fight them," said Haji Wali, whose home in Shatoghai was attacked. "Even during the Russian occupation [1979-1989] there was never such a sustained bombing of the area. We are weak and they are oppressing us." --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^ empty.gif Description: GIF image
Iraq supports Palestinians and keeps American attack at bay - The Times [WWW.STO
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Source: THE TIMES 08/07/2002 P15 Iraq supports Palestinians and keeps American attack at bay. Abed al-Najjar looks surprisingly upbeat for someone who was shot three times, has lost the use of his left hand, carries a nasty gash in his right thigh and still has an Israeli bullet in his back. It could have been worse, said the 21-year-old man from Gaza, who was propped up on his bed and glued to the television, with only a portrait of President Saddam Hussein on the wall to keep him company in his private room. I am lucky to be alive and lucky to be in Baghdad. Although Iraq has made much of the impact of United Nations sanctions on its medical services and its economy, Baghdad is probably the most generous supporter of the Palestinian cause, lavishing hundreds of millions of pounds of its overstretched resources to help Palestinians in their conflict with Israel. During a visit to the Saddam Medical Centre, the city's best hospital, the latest group of hundreds of Palestinian wounded were enjoying specialist medical care unimaginable on the West Bank or in Gaza and certainly beyond the reach of most ordinary Iraqis. President Saddam himself ordered that we give the Palestinians the best care we can, Abdel Aziz Abdel Hamid, the hospital's director, said. It is our way of helping them in their struggle. But the Iraqi support goes far beyond medical care. Iraq has offered to pay all families of the 1,500 martyred Palestinians, from suicide bombers to innocent victims of the violence, a cash sum of up to £16,500 and also pledged the same amount to Palestinian refugees in Jenin whose homes were destroyed in the recent Israeli incursion. In protest at the operation, the Iraqi leader also suspended oil sales for one month and called for other Arab states to follow suit. None did, but the Iraqi boycott cost the country's economy about £1 billion in lost revenues. Diplomats in Baghdad insist that the policy helps Iraq in its decade-long struggle with the United States. Saddam knows that as long as the conflict continues unresolved, the Americans will find it very difficult to take action against Iraq, a diplomat in Baghdad said. Washington has been told by all the Arab states that it must first restore calm to the Middle East before it tries to topple the Iraqi regime. The Iraqis have an interest in seeing the struggle continue. Iraqi and Palestinian officials denied this cynical interpretation, insisting that the tough line from Baghdad is motivated purely by its longstanding opposition to Israel and its support for the creation of a Palestinian state. Naji al-Sabri, the Foreign Minister, accused Israel of trying to deprive the Palestinians of statehood and said that Iraq would support the Palestinian intifada as long as necessary. Naja Abdel Rahman, the Palestinian envoy to Baghdad, was more direct. He likened Saddam to Saladin, the Iraqi-born commander who defeated the Crusaders in the 12th century and restored Palestine to Muslim rule. We hope he will do the same for us now, he said. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua: US president vows to use all tools to remove Saddam Hussein [WWW.STOPNAT
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- US president vows to use all tools to remove Saddam Hussein Xinhuanet 2002-07-09 06:13:44 WASHINGTON, July 8 (Xinhuanet) -- US President George W. Bush on Monday vowed to use "all tools" at his disposal to remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from power. "It is the stated policy of this government to have regime change," Bush said at a press conference in the White House, noting that people should not speculate on the administration's resolve to pursue such a goal. "We will use all tools at our disposal to do so," Bush said. "There are different ways to do it," he added. The US president refused to comment on a report by The New YorkTimes last week that the US military has worked out a preliminary plan on a massive invasion of Iraq. He also dodged a question whether he sought the removal of Saddam before the end of his four-year term as US president. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua: Ghaddafi calls on African leaders to build prosperous continent [WWW.STO
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Ghaddafi calls on African leaders to build prosperous continent Xinhuanet 2002-07-08 20:26:28 ¡¡DURBAN, July 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi Monday called upon the African leaders to unite so as to build a prosperous continent in the world. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 38th summit of Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Durban, Ghaddafi said the African continent is in a "historical movement," and all leaders of African countries gathered here to bring the dream of the African Union (AU) into reality. He also noted that Africa, particularly after the launching of the AU, is on the way of developing an important continent, which is believed to be capable to join the world economic development. A united Africa is the only option for the African countries toface various challenges, he said, adding that African countries should refuse to accept assistance with imposed conditions. Ghaddafi said in his speech that "We are not pupils who need someone to teach us, and if you insult the beggar, he will drive you away." He also said the rest of the world was welcome to help the continent through the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). "You cannot drive away those who want to assist... but they should not try to impose their will on us, and we accept assistance and we refuse conditions." On the advent of the AU, Ghaddafi said Africa had been waiting with impatience for a union to unite the continent. Also at the ceremony, Amara Essy, OAU secretary general, lauded Ghaddafi for his role in getting the AU off the ground. "He, together with his colleagues, has broken the barriers of restraint," Essy said. Ghaddafi arrived here Saturday evening to attend the final OAU summit and the first assembly of the AU. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua: More night flying seen in future Philippine-US military exercises [WWW.
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- More night flying seen in future Philippine-US military exercises Xinhuanet 2002-07-08 17:13:11 MANILA, July 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said on Monday that the future Philippine-US joint military exercises will have a heavy dose of night flying and other capabilities that will enhance the expertise of the military. In her speech during the celebration of the 55th anniversary ofthe Philippine Air Force (PAF) in a Manila suburb, Arroyo also stressed that the coming exercises, coded Balikatan, will come back to Luzon island in the north. She, however, admitted that there will be still a small component of the exercises in the island province of Sulu in the south, known as a major lair of the Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom group allegedly linked to the al-Qaeda international terror network. A large part of this year's Balikatan exercises, she said, willbe concentrated on maintenance training and other measures that will ensure the safety of Filipino pilots. Several aircraft accidents during the previous exercises have claimed the lives of the pilots. Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Roy Cimatu said earlier that the next formal joint exercise will startin October. Arroyo also stressed the need for reliable air surveillance equipment as highlighted during the previous Balikatan exercises. Arroyo instructed Cimatu to make sure that the allocation of the 10-million-US-dollar military assistance released by the US government will include electronic eyesight equipment. About 1,000 U.S. soldiers are currently deployed in the southern Philippines training local forces in jungle warfare and counter-terrorism skills in the southern Philippines. Small-scale joint counter-terrorist exercises will be conducted in the south after the ongoing exercise officially ends on July 31. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Observer: US 'to attack Iraq via Jordan' [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- US 'to attack Iraq via Jordan' Military planners prepare to use British forces in an allied assault within monthsTerrorism crisis - Observer special Jason Burke, Martin Bright and Nicolas Pelham in AmmanSunday July 7, 2002The Observer American military planners are preparing to use Jordan as a base for an assault on Iraq later this year or early in 2003, The Observer can reveal. Although leaked Pentagon documents appear to show that Turkey, Kuwait and the small Gulf state of Qatar would play key roles, it is believed that Jordan will be the 'jumping-off' point for an attack that could involve up to 250,000 American troops and forces from Britain and other key US allies. Jordan, with good roads and communications, would be perfect for the launch of an American armoured force, military analysts say. Its capital, Amman, is linked to Baghdad by a 600-mile motorway that cuts through a virtually featureless desert - perfect terrain for US tanks and high-precision air-launched munitions. Iraqi dissidents in Amman have told The Observer that hundreds of American advisers have arrived in Jordan in the past few months. The Amman-based Iraqi National Accord (INA), which contains many of the key military dissidents, has held talks in Washington about plans for a strike on Iraq. They expect the US to begin with intensive bombing and missile raids launched from the Gulf and Turkey, leading to a military rebellion within Saddam Hussein's elite Republican Guard. The INA, they say, could play a military role from Jordan. They envisage a military coup, leading to transitional military rule. Eye-witnesses claim preparations are under way at the Muafaq Salti air base in Azraq, 50 miles east of Amman on the road to Baghdad. Ten days ago the Jordanian news agency, Petra, reported that the head of the US Central Command, General Tommy Franks, met Jordan's chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Lieutenant-General Khalid Jamil Surayrih. The agency said 'the two sides reviewed the general situation in the region and areas of co-operation between Jordanian and US armed forces...' Officially, Jordan is opposed to a war on Iraq, but informed sources said that there is a tacit agreement on the issue between the Jordanian government and Washington. The US has apparently given Jordan and other Arab states the freedom to pay lip-service to support for Iraq. News of a military build-up coincides with a US attempt to wean Jordan from its deep economic ties with Iraq, and some observers see a growing military role for Jordan in the country once ruled by its Hashemite royal family. 'Jordan's role will be that of Pakistan in the US-Taliban war,' said a prominent Jordanian analyst. Jordan's economy is inter-woven into Iraq's, and the kingdom shares a close military and economic alliance with the US. Others say Jordan will pay a heavy price for co-operating with an attack. 'A US strike against Iraq will increase the influence of radicals [in Jordan],' said former Prime Minister Taher al-Masri. 'The feeling that the US is an enemy will be enhanced.' Although Marwan Moasher, the Jordanian Foreign Minister, denied the presence of any American troops in his country, government sources confirmed that major manoeuvres involving the American and Jordanian forces took place in March. Moasher issued denials after the Lebanese daily Al Safir reported that 2,000 American forces in Jordan are preparing to carry out military operations against Iraq. Observers point out that President George Bush has met King Abdullah of Jordan at least five times since taking office. The US is expected to double its aid to Jordan to $500m next year, and Congress is now considering a request by the administration to increase it by another $100m. The American planners now believe only military force can remove Saddam from power. Earlier this year American intelligence operatives were sent to northern Iraq to gather information on Iraqi defences and gauge the fighting capability of the Kurdish militias. The Americans reconnoitred Iraqi frontline positions and requested maps of minefields from demining agencies working in the area. They decided the Kurds would be no match for the Republican Guard. Some elements in the US administration still hope that disaffected military officers in Iraq can stage a coup. Next week about 70 former Iraqi officers will gather in London for the biggest dissidents' meeting yet to discuss the overthrow of the Iraqi President. The US hopes some of them retain links with brother officers still in Iraq. The conference is being organised by a former brigadier, Tawfiq al-Yassiri, who took part in an uprising in the Babylon region south of Baghdad at the end of the Gulf war. The co-organiser of the conference is a former general, Saad Ubeidi, who was the Iraqi army's head of psychological operations. The three-day
UK: Scrap British rifle and buy Heckler, say the generals - Sunday Telegraph [WW
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Scrap British rifle and buy Heckler, say the generals === By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent (Filed: 07/07/2002) Senior army officers want the Government to scrap the service's fault-prone main assault rifle because of fears that it will cost the lives of British soldiers in battle. The demands arose after it emerged that several SA80-A2 rifles, the latest version of the weapon that recently completed a £92 million upgrade, failed to fire during operations in Afghanistan. One senior officer told The Telegraph: You can't improve a weapon which is basically flawed no matter how much you spend on it, and the SA80 is a flawed weapon. It's not balanced, the optical sight easily gets steamed up so it can't be used, and it can't be fired in the left-handed position. Even with all the modifications these basic flaws still exist. The lesson here is that no amount of testing can replicate conditions in war. The modifications have made it more reliable and it doesn't jam as much as before, but it still jams. And a stoppage in combat will cost the life of a British soldier. Another senior officer said he believed that troops had lost confidence in the weapon following the latest failures. War with Iraq next spring is looming and our troops are equipped with a weapon which fails to fire in hot, dusty conditions. No one should underestimate the seriousness of this situation. The Ministry of Defence is under intense pressure to cut its losses and scrap the SA80-A2 in favour of a rifle designed by the arms manufacturer, Heckler and Koch. The woeful record of the SA80 is just one of a long list of MoD bungles that have cost the British taxpayer billions of pounds in recent years. The disclosure is a great embarrassment for Adam Ingram, the Armed Forces minister, who last October proclaimed that the rifle was the best of its kind in the world, adding that: The Army has every confidence in this weapon. The gun that the senior officers want, the HK G36, is regarded by many within the military as possibly the best assault rifle ever built. Britain's Armed Forces would require about 300,000 new weapons in addition to magazines, spare parts and training manuals. Although individual weapons sell for about £300, the cost for a large order would bring down the total price significantly, possibly to below than the £92 million spent on refitting the SA80. Versions of the HK G36 are already being tested by the Special Air Service, which is believed to have used it with great success in Afghanistan. The German and the Spanish military are also understood to have signed contracts to equip their armed forces with the G36. The MoD launched the upgrade of the SA80 in 2000 after years of complaints by soldiers that it was prone to jam in adverse weather. Heckler and Koch, once German-owned and now owned by BAe Systems, won the contract and rebuilt the main firing components of the weapon. Live firing trials in extreme terrains suggested that the faults had been corrected. The new version of the rifle had its operational debut in Afghanistan, when the Second Battalion of the Parachute Regiment became the first unit in the British Army to fire the weapon in anger after a section of Paras was attacked while on patrol in Kabul earlier this year. Although 2 Para encountered few problems with the weapon, The Telegraph understands that many troops still believe it to be second-rate. The Royal Marines, however, have claimed that the weapon jammed at least three times in Afghanistan. The MoD immediately sent a team from the manufacturer to try to discover what had gone wrong. Terry Gander, the editor of Jane's Infantry Weapons, said: The SA80 has been a problem weapon from start to finish and is the product of a weapon designed by committee. It would have made far more sense to buy American in the 1980s. Their M16 has its faults but it is a very reliable weapon - far more so than the SA80. For a long while the M16 was the weapon of choice of the SAS and that is always a clue. Last week, Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, said reports of misfiring and jamming would need to be investigated before any decision was made. He added, though: We have spent a considerable amount of money upgrading this rifle and I don't want to accept second-best. The SA80 is just one of a number of British defence projects that have failed to live up to expectations. One of the most embarrassing was the decision in the late 1980s to scrap the Nimrod early-warning aircraft after £1 billion had already been spent because the GEC radar system failed to meet the RAF's standards. Other notable failures include the inability of the Tornado GR-4 to deliver smart bombs after a £1 billion upgrade. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY
World's ticking timebomb: Earth 'will expire by 2050' - Observer [WWW.STOPNATO.O
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- The world's ticking timebomb Earth 'will expire by 2050' Our planet is running out of room and resources. Modern man has plundered so much, a damning report claims this week, that outer space will have to be colonised Observer Worldview Mark Townsend and Jason Burke Sunday July 7, 2002 The Observer Earth's population will be forced to colonise two planets within 50 years if natural resources continue to be exploited at the current rate, according to a report out this week. A study by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), to be released on Tuesday, warns that the human race is plundering the planet at a pace that outstrips its capacity to support life. In a damning condemnation of Western society's high consumption levels, it adds that the extra planets (the equivalent size of Earth) will be required by the year 2050 as existing resources are exhausted. The report, based on scientific data from across the world, reveals that more than a third of the natural world has been destroyed by humans over the past three decades. Using the image of the need for mankind to colonise space as a stark illustration of the problems facing Earth, the report warns that either consumption rates are dramatically and rapidly lowered or the planet will no longer be able to sustain its growing population. Experts say that seas will become emptied of fish while forests - which absorb carbon dioxide emissions - are completely destroyed and freshwater supplies become scarce and polluted. The report offers a vivid warning that either people curb their extravagant lifestyles or risk leaving the onus on scientists to locate another planet that can sustain human life. Since this is unlikely to happen, the only option is to cut consumption now. Systematic overexploitation of the planet's oceans has meant the North Atlantic's cod stocks have collapsed from an estimated spawning stock of 264,000 tonnes in 1970 to under 60,000 in 1995. The study will also reveal a sharp fall in the planet's ecosystems between 1970 and 2002 with the Earth's forest cover shrinking by about 12 per cent, the ocean's biodiversity by a third and freshwater ecosystems in the region of 55 per cent. The Living Planet report uses an index to illustrate the shocking level of deterioration in the world's forests as well as marine and freshwater ecosystems. Using 1970 as a baseline year and giving it a value of 100, the index has dropped to a new low of around 65 in the space of a single generation. It is not just humans who are at risk. Scientists, who examined data for 350 kinds of mammals, birds, reptiles and fish, also found the numbers of many species have more than halved. Martin Jenkins, senior adviser for the World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge, which helped compile the report, said: 'It seems things are getting worse faster than possibly ever before. Never has one single species had such an overwhelming influence. We are entering uncharted territory.' Figures from the centre reveal that black rhino numbers have fallen from 65,000 in 1970 to around 3,100 now. Numbers of African elephants have fallen from around 1.2 million in 1980 to just over half a million while the population of tigers has fallen by 95 per cent during the past century. The UK's birdsong population has also seen a drastic fall with the corn bunting population declining by 92 per cent between 1970 and 2000, the tree sparrow by 90 per cent and the spotted flycatcher by 70 per cent. Experts, however, say it is difficult to ascertain how many species have vanished for ever because a species has to disappear for 50 years before it can be declared extinct. Attention is now focused on next month's Earth Summit in Johannesburg, the most important environmental negotiations for a decade. However, the talks remain bedevilled with claims that no agreements will be reached and that US President George W. Bush will fail to attend. Matthew Spencer, a spokesman for Greenpeace, said: 'There will have to be concessions from the richer nations to the poorer ones or there will be fireworks.' The preparatory conference for the summit, held in Bali last month, was marred by disputes between developed nations and poorer states and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), despite efforts by British politicians to broker compromises on key issues. America, which sent 300 delegates to the conference, is accused of blocking many of the key initiatives on energy use, biodiversity and corporate responsibility. The WWF report shames the US for placing the greatest pressure on the environment. It found the average US resident consumes almost double the resources as that of a UK citizen and more than 24 times that of some Africans. Based on factors such as a nation's consumption of grain, fish, wood and fresh water along with its emissions of carbon dioxide from industry and cars, the report provides an ecological
Xinhua: US planning massive attack on Iraq: US newspaper [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- US planning massive attack on Iraq: US newspaper Xinhuanet 2002-07-05 23:49:02 WASHINGTON, July 5 (Xinhuanet) -- The United States is planning a comprehensive attack on Iraq to topple President Saddam Hussein, The New York Times reported Friday. According to the paper, the US military is working on a preliminary planning document which calls for air, land and sea-based forces to attack Iraq from three directions -- the north, south and west. The document projects that tens of thousands of US marines and soldiers would probably be needed to stage an invasion from Kuwait. Meanwhile, hundreds of warplanes based in as many as eight countries, possibly including Turkey and Qatar, would unleash a huge air assault against thousands of targets, including airfields,roadways and fiber-optics communications sites in Iraq. Special operations forces or covert CIA operatives would strikeat depots or laboratories storing or manufacturing Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to launch them. The New York Times said that the existence of the document, though preliminary one, indicates an advanced stage of planning inthe US military even though the Bush administration states publicly it has no plan on the table for an immediate invasion of Iraq. It said that the document, entitled "CentCom Courses of Action," was prepared by planners at the Central Command in Tampa, Florida, and has already undergone revisions. "Right now, we're at the stage of conceptual thinking and brainstorming," the newspaper quoted a senior US defense official as saying. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
TML Daily: Oppose US In Korea! [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- July 5, 2002 - No. 129 Korea Vigorously Oppose Crimes of U.S. Troops! On June 13, U.S. troops stationed at the U.S. Second Division base in Uijongbu, south Korea drove at armoured vehicle over two 14-year-old schoolgirls, Sin Hyo Sun and Sim Mi Son, killing them both on a roadside. Then on June 26 more than 10 GIs savagely clubbed and detained two south Korean reporters who were covering a demonstration protesting the GIs' killing of the schoolgirls. TML Daily vigorously denounces the atrocities committed by U.S. aggressor troops stationed in south Korea and demands that they be brought to justice. On June 29, a mass rally was held in front of the U.S. base in Uijongbu to demand an investigation into the killing of the schoolgirls. In a resolution, the "All-People Measure Committee of the Murder of Sin Hyo Sun and Sim Mi Son" demanded the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from south Korea, the dismantling of all U.S. bases on the Korean peninsula, an official apology from U.S. President George W. Bush and punishment for those responsible for the killing of the schoolgirls. Also on June 29, the central committee of the Korean Journalists Union issued a statement on behalf of all journalists and other mediapersons in north Korea, condemning the U.S. imperialists' ceaseless killings and violence in the south and their attempts to block the independent reunification of the Korean nation. "The assault made by GIs against the South Korean reporters is a clear reminder of their extremely arrogant and high-handed practices. This once again clearly proves that the U.S. is, indeed, the real axis of evil and the root cause of evils," the union said. "The recent incident clearly shows the master-servant relationship between the U.S. and south Korea. It is the height of shame that south Korea is still under the yoke of U.S. domination and subjugation, its sovereignty wantonly violated. The U.S. should apologize not only to the south Korean people but to the whole Korean nation for the aggression, plunder and mass killing it has committed for over half a century," the union stated. [Return] Spring 2002 Sees Growing Anti-U.S. Action in South Korea The April issue of the south Korean monthly magazine Min carried an article entitled "Anti-U.S. struggle in the spring of 2002," featuring the massive and daily-growing anti-U.S. struggle of the south Korean people. It analyzed the mounting anti-U.S. campaign from three perspectives. First, an increasing number of people are joining the anti-U.S. campaign. Anti-U.S. songs and animated images are now omnipresent on the Internet and users hold cyber rallies and protests. The intense anti-U.S. sentiment during the Winter Olympics was one of the results of this trend. A group of anti-U.S. websites launched a "society for a boycott of U.S. goods," and are working closely with each other to carry out their action program. Anti-U.S. books are increasingly popular and voices shouting anti-U.S. slogans can be heard everywhere in south Korea. The most notable feature of the current surge of anti-U.S. feelings is that it was started by teenagers. In the past, anti-U.S. slogans were not a rallying cry for all political movements, but they have come to the fore with the growing public realization, gained through firsthand experience, that the United States is responsible not only for the massive lay-offs and structural reform imposed by the IMF but for the break-up of their families. The perception of the anti-U.S. struggle, which was previously confined to a handful of political groups, has now changed. Second, anti-U.S. and anti-Bush sentiments have now penetrated into the everyday life of the people. Satirical songs such as "Laudable Pretzel," "Ttorai Bush," "Nasty U.S." and "Paper Plane" are re-edited with the addition of various animated images on the Internet, and used as a call signal by mobile phone users. This shows that anti-U.S. behaviour has now become part of their lives. The very mention of the U.S., to say nothing of Bush, on TV or in other places naturally invites expletives. Some bars offer refreshment services for anti-U.S. protesters. Third, the anti-U.S. struggle will develop to a higher stage in the future. According to a public opinion poll conducted by the south Korean media, 87 per cent of respondents supported the anti-U.S. struggle, 56.1 per cent said "No" to the U.S., 71.4 per cent opposed the expansion of the U.S. war on terrorism, and 62.9 per cent were against Bush's north Korea policy. Even the sponsors themselves expressed their shock at the dramatic change in public attitude towards the U.S. Meanwhile, the anti-U.S. sentiment of the south Korean people is growing daily with no sign of abating. The anti-U.S. campaign launched in spring will turn this year into a year of a brighter future for Korea.
Filipino Organizations in Canada: U.S. Troops Out of the Philippines Now! - TML
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- TML Daily CPC-ML U.S. Troops Out of the Philippines Now! http://www.cpcml.ca/tmld/D32129.htm#7 - Statement of Filipino Organizations in Canada, June 12, 2002 - As overseas Filipino workers, women, and youth in Canada, we meet June 12 with a greater resolve to continue the Filipino people's struggle for genuine independence and democracy. With the Philippines currently under fire by growing U.S. military aggression on sovereign Philippine soil, there is an ever urgent need to carry on the people's fight for true independence. Officially, June 12 is the day designated by the Philippine government to celebrate the so-called independence that the Philippines is now supposedly enjoying. For the people, this date marks the Filipino people's victory over their Spanish colonizers of three centuries. The Philippine Revolution of 1896 was the first-ever successful anti-colonial revolution in Asia. But soon after the people's victory in 1896, U.S. troops invaded the Philippines and the U.S. has since imposed its imperialist will on the people -- first holding the Philippines as its colony and now as its semi-colony. Today, the nation's cries for genuine independence reverberate more clearly and loudly among the people. Under the flimsy pretence of helping the Philippine military quell a handful of rebels of the Abu Sayaff, ironically a group created by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, over 4,000 U.S. combat troops have stormed into the Philippines since earlier this year to open up the second front in its international war against terrorism. In direct violation of Philippine sovereignty and territorial integrity, the U.S. military is pushing its way throughout the archipelago. Now U.S. military aggression is spreading with greater intensity outside of the original combat zone into other areas of the Philippines, as far north as Central Luzon. President Bush has even proclaimed that the Philippines will pay for the death of the American held hostage by the Abu Sayaff who was recently killed in cross-fire from the Philippine military. Even though the Filipino people are already experiencing a high degree of militarization and terror, U.S. imperialism is prepared to launch an even more massive military campaign against the Filipino people. President Macapagal-Arroyo has been completely subservient to the interests of U.S. imperialism by constantly and consistently siding with the U.S. in its bid to maintain control in the Asia Pacific region by using the Philippines. Macapagal-Arroyo continues the anti-people economic and political policies of former regimes, and persists in the practice of flagrant corruption. For overseas Filipinos, Macapagal-Arroyo's economic policy to pursue the continued export of highly-skilled Filipino workers to industrialized countries has caused greater hardship. In Canada, the Filipino community experiences greater exploitation and oppression. With the worsening economic crisis in the Philippines pushing thousands more Filipinos to migrate to Canada, we face greater desperation. Clearly, with such a puppet president and the re-occupation of the Philippines by the U.S. military, genuine independence for the Filipino people remains unanswered. Therefore, on this June 12, we, as overseas Filipino workers, women, and youth are resolved in our commitment to continue the Filipino people's unfinished fight for genuine national freedom and democracy begun over 100 years ago. We will not stand idly by as Macapagal-Arroyo shamelessly stages a hollow celebration of Philippine independence while U.S. troops re-occupy our homeland. We will continue to educate, organize, and mobilize our community to struggle for our genuine equality and development in Canada and to forward the struggle for a Philippines free from puppets like Macapagal-Arroyo, free from feudal exploitation, and free from foreign rule -- we struggle for a nation with true independence. U.S. troops out of the Philippines now! Out with Macapagal-Arroyo! Down with U.S. imperialism! Long live the Filipino people's struggle for genuine independence, freedom, and a just and lasting peace! Statement of: B.C. Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines Filipino-Canadians Against Racism Filipino Nurses Support Group Philippine Women Centre of B.C. SIKLAB (Overseas Filipino workers' organization) Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada/Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance-Vancouver --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Yellow Sea Clash: Anti-DPRK Bogy to Dampen Growing Anti-Americanism [WWW.STOPNA
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Yellow Sea Clash: An All-Familiar Multi-Purpose Anti-N. Korean Bogy to Torpedo James Kelly Pyongyang Visit and Dampen Growing Anti-Americanism By Kim Myong Chol The June 29 Yellow Sea clash, which sank one South Korean navy boat, killed four South Korean sailors and wounded twenty others, can be safely characterized as an all-familiar Cold-War warrior-type general-purpose anti-North Korean bogy invoked to torpedo the intended James Kelly visit to Pyongyang, to dampen the growing anti-American sentiments in South Korea, and to divert public attention from the arrests of South Korean President Kim Dae Jungs sons. This picture emerges from a critical look at available facts culled from South Korean, Japanese and American mass media: (1) a South Korean fishermans eyewitness account of the naval shootout, (2) specific details of the shooting incident, (3) its timing and (4) its political fallout who stands to benefit most from the incident. Things, however, are a far cry from the Cold War period. Such an anachronistic anti-North Korean genie has a short-lived life. Pandoras box has now very few genies left, which are capable of doing much mischief. (1) An Anonymous Young fishermans Eyewitness Account Yesterday the Korea WebWeekly posted an English version of an eyewitness account of the June 29 Yellow Sea battle by an anonymous young crab fisherman based on Yonpyong-do Island near the scene of the clash. The Korean original was initially posted on a South Korean website and then picked up by the South Korean Yonhap News Agency and Digital Mal (http://www.digitalmal.com/news read.php?no=458) The point of the eyewitness account is that South Korean crab fishing boats violated the North Korean waters and that South Korean navy boats rammed two approaching North Korean patrol boats at a high speed. Nothing is more provocative and dangerous than the act of ramming North Korean patrol boats by South Korean navy boats in North Korean waters. This means that two North Korean navy vessels did not take any action against the four hostile South Korean navy boats while allowing them to approach to the point where they were rammed by the South Korean ships. (2) Specific Details of the Shootout The available specific details of the shootout strongly indicate that not so much the North Koreans as the South Koreans provoked the battle as the South Korean speedboats began firing their automatic 20-mm Vulcan Gatling guns at random at the reluctant North Korean boats. The South Korean Defense Department said that one North Korean patrol boat began firing at South Korean ships at a distance of about 450 m. This indicates that the North Korean boats did not begin firing for nearly one minute after the South Korean navy vessels rammed them. It was not until they moved nearly half a kilometer from the South Korean ships that the North Korean ship opened fire on the South Korean ships. In other words, the North Korean patrol boats did not anticipate the South Koreans to take such action and kept their restraint. According to South Korean news accounts, the two North Korean patrol boats are of the SO-1 type, make 25 knots per hour, displace 215 tons, each carrying one 85 mm gun which strikes a target 15.5 km away, one 37 mm gun with a range of 8 km and two 14.5 mm machine-guns with a range of 7 km. The 85 mm gun in question is manually operated and has a firing rate of 24 spm. In short, the North Korean boats are ill prepared for a close battle. On the other hand, the four South Korean boats are better equipped for close combat. They are 156-ton Chamsuri-class speedboats which cruise at 38 knots per hour and are armed with one 76 mm naval gun and two 20 mm Vulcan Gatling guns which have a firing rate of 2,000 spm with a range of 3 km. The automatically primed 20 mm Vulcan guns are capable of wreaking havoc on enemy ships in a close quarter battle. The key lesson that the North Koreans ought to have learned is that the North Koreans must fire a torpedo or long-range guns or an anti-ship missile at a South Korean navy vessel when the enemy ship violates territorial waters and comes within an effective range. However, again the North Koreans restrained their behavior partly because the South Koreas are fellow Koreans, not Americans and partly because the South Koreans were hosting the World Cup soccer games. Apparently the South Korean navy vessels were escorting South Korean fishing boats operating in North Korean waters. The North Koreans had good reason to show tolerance. It is quite obvious that the South Koreans again took advantage of the compatriotic tolerance and self-restraint shown by the North Koreans. The South Koreans expected an easy replay of the June1999 battle that began with South Korean boats ramming North Korean ships and ended with
Yonhap: Chief of British Defense Staff to Visit S.Korea July 7-9 [WWW.STOPNATO.
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Chief of British Defense Staff to Visit Korea July 7-9 Seoul, July 5 (Yonhap) -- Admiral Michael Boyce, chief of Britain's Defense Staff, will visit South Korea July 7-9 at the invitation of his Korean counterpart, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Lee Nam-shin, officials said Friday. Boyce will hold talks with Defense Minister Kim Dong-shin and the JCS chairman on military exchanges between the two countries, including holding a bilateral military cooperation conference on a regular basis, officials said. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua: Roundup: DPRK-S.Korea Clash Challenges Sunshine Policy [WWW.STOPNATO.
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Roundup: DPRK-S.Korea Clash Challenges "Sunshine Policy" Xinhuanet 2002-07-05 12:49:56 SEOUL, July 5 (Xinhuanet) -- The "Sunshine Policy" initiated by South Korean President Kim Dae-jung was once again in trouble owing to the armed clash last week between warships of South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the Yellow Sea, analysts here said. The inter-Korean relations were relaxed after the historic summit in Pyongyang between South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and DPRK leader Kim Jong Il, on June 13-15, 2000. The South Korean leader proposed the "Sunshine Policy" to promote dialogue with Pyongyang for settlement of Korean Peninsula issues. But the peace process on the Korean Peninsula has been stalemated since U.S. President George W. Bush took office in January and labeled the DPRK as part of the "axis of evil" in his State of the Union speech. The armed clashes, which occurred on June 29 to the southwest of Yonpyong Island in the Yellow Sea, dealt another blow to the sound development of North-South relations. The DPRK blames South Korea for causing the armed clash, claiming that the South Korean fleet and more than 10 fishing boats intruded into the territorial waters of the DPRK, to the southwest of Yonpyong Island in the Yellow Sea, and fired at the DPRK People's Navy, which was on a regular guard mission. In the wake of the armed clash, the South Korean conservative Grand National Party (GNP) on Wednesday said it would propose a non-confidence motion on Defense Minister Kim Dong-shin and other top military leaders unless President Kim sacks them, claiming the defense minister and his colleagues responded "passively" to last week's naval clash, which left four South Korean servicemen dead, one missing and 19 others injured when the two sides exchanged fire. However, the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae refused the GNP's call for Kim Dong-shin's dismissal. Moreover, Lee Hoi-chang, GNP's candidate for the coming general elections at the end of this year, urged the government to "re-examine" its "Sunshine Policy" toward the DPRK and halt inter-Korean cooperation programs. The government should cancel financial aid to the DPRK and suspend a set of inter-Korean exchange programs such as the Mountain Geumgang tourism business project, Lee said. The GNP holds 130 seats in South Korea's 260-member parliament,while President Kim's Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) holds 111 seats. Some MDP members also challenged Kim's DPRK policy, claiming that the "Sunshine Policy" which favors inter-Korean rapprochement projects should be changed. The government talked back by arguing it was not time to discuss such issues. "If something happens, it is important to resolve the matter with a sense of responsibility," presidential spokeswoman Park Sun-sook said. Amid complaints of some political groups, President Kim's "Sunshine Policy" seemed to face another drawback when the United States, in response to last week's North-South clash, announced on Wednesday that it would cancel the planned trip of an envoy to the DPRK in the second week of July. The South Korean government, which is worried that the clash could hinder the dialogue process between Pyongyang and Washington, planned to send an envoy to the United States after July 4 Independence Day to persuade Washington to continue its talks with Pyongyang, a senior government official said. In contrast with a chorus of opposition, some South Korean experts on inter-Korean relations voiced their support for the sunshine policy, the country's English-language paper Korea Times reported. "The Inter-Korean project continued in 1999 when a similar naval clash occurred and there is no reason to stop the project," said Lee Jong-seok, a research fellow of the Sejong Institute, a private think tank. "The principle of the sunshine policy within a big framework should be kept intact," said Koh Yu-hwan, a professor from the Dongguk University. "If the policy is suspended now, it would be difficult for South Korea to move forward." "The sunshine policy should, in principle, continue because there is no alternative," said Michael Breen, an expert on Korean affairs. Enditem --by Wang Mian ---
SCMP: US mulls missile transfer to Taiwan [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST US mulls missile transfer to Taiwan REUTERS in Washington Prev. Story | Next Story Updated at 10.19am:The Bush administration may let Taiwan take delivery of advanced air-to-air missiles originally sold on condition they not be delivered straight away for fear of triggering a regional arms race, the Pentagon said on Friday (HK time). At issue is the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM, which could be deployed on Taiwan's US-built F-16 fighter fleet. Taiwan contracted for 120 of the combat-proven missiles in 2000. They are now in production by Raytheon. ''Our policy requires that these missiles not be released to Taiwan unless there is evidence that China has similar missiles as part of its operational inventory,'' said Defence Department spokesman Air Force Maj. Jay Steuck. ''Our policy is under review,'' he added. ''No decision has been made'' on whether the missiles will be sent. Word of the policy review follows China's reported testing last week of a similar ''fire-and-forget'' missile, the AA-12 ''Adder'' built by Russia. Once fired, such missiles use an active radar on board to guide them independently. The Washington Times, the first to report the test-firing, cited US defence officials as saying two Russian-built Su-30 fighters had used the weapons to destroy target drones. Any deployment of the AA-12, known as the R-77 in Russia, would significantly enhance Chinese combat capabilities against Taiwan's air force, defence experts said. China considers Taiwan a wayward province that must be united with the mainland, by force if necessary. In Taipei, Major General Peng Chin-ming, head of Taiwan's air force's operations bureau, told reporters on Tuesday that Taiwan was ready to take delivery of AMRAAMs and confirmed the Chinese test of its Russian equivalent. Mr Steuck, the Pentagon spokesman, declined comment on the reported Chinese test-firing, citing a policy of not discussing intelligence matters. Asked about the release of the AMRAAM to Taiwan, he referred a caller to the State Department, which oversees government-to-government US military sales. The State Department had no immediate comment, said a spokesman, Frederick Jones. Richard Fisher, an expert on the Taiwan and Chinese militaries at the Washington-based Jamestown Federation, a research group, said Taiwan needed the AMRAAM to counter Chinese military advances. In patrols over the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan fighters already were reluctant to approach within the ''envelop range'' of short-range air-to-air missiles that can be fired from helmet-sited gear used by Su-27 and Su-30 fighters, he said. The AMRAAM has scored combat victories over the skies in Iraq, Bosnia and Kosovo, according to Raytheon. It can be launched at an enemy aircraft day or night regardless of weather conditions. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^ left.gif Description: GIF image right.gif Description: GIF image empty.gif Description: GIF image
US: Calm urged amid chaos of LA airport shooting - Guardian [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Calm urged amid chaos of LA airport shooting === Oliver Burkeman in New York Friday July 5, 2002 The Guardian Intense security was stepped up still further across the United States yesterday as Americans nervously celebrating Independence Day tried to absorb what initially seemed to be exactly the kind of news they had been fearing. Three people were killed at Los Angeles airport when a gunman opened fire near the El Al counter, killing a man and a woman and wounding seven others before being shot dead by a security guard for the Israeli airline. In New York, where about 4,000 police officers were joined by fighter jet patrols with hours to go before a massive firework display along Manhattan's eastern shore, the shooting in Los Angeles prompted increased police protection for Israeli locations including the El Al area at JFK international airport in Queens. We are going to err on the side of caution here, New York's police commissioner, Ray Kelly, told CNN. We're going to the El Al facilities... providing extra coverage at the airport and other high-profile locations we have covered in the past, we're now putting additional police coverage in those locations. Flight restrictions were already in place at altitudes lower than 10,000 feet over Manhattan - an echo of the days immediately after September 11 - with similar precautions in Washington DC, where people celebrating the 226th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence at the National Mall were subject to rigorous screening and bag searching. But with news that the FBI did not have reason to believe the incident was terrorist-related came a concerted push by law enforcement agencies and civic leaders for Americans to enjoy themselves as planned. We want everyone to go on and enjoy the holiday - we'd like people to be vigilant, though, to be a little bit on guard, on alert, Mr Kelly said. If anybody sees anything out of the ordinary we would appreciate a call [but] go out and enjoy - law enforcement is very much on the job. Speaking at a press conference called after the shooting, James Hahn, the mayor of Los Angeles, advised a similar watchful calm. I don't know that there's any reason for the travelling public to shy away this moment from air travel, he told reporters. And as news spread of the crash of a small private plane into a crowd enjoying Fourth of July celebrations in a Los Angeles suburb, killing at least one person, a spokeswoman for the federal aviation administration, Laura Brown, urged calm. The crash sounds completely like an accident, she said. A certain jitteriness had characterised preparations for events across the country yesterday - from the famous Boston Pops concert alongside the city's Charles river, to the notorious hot-dog eating contest on Coney Island. The day was the first major test for the homeland security coordination centre, which was reported to be monitoring about 2,100 events nationwide. The tension on what was a swelteringly hot day - with a high of 38C forecast in Washington - had been heightened early on when the nation woke to FBI warnings that people with terrorist ties had downloaded pictures of stadiums in Indiana and Missouri from the internet. But they had no information about planned attacks, they said, and both venues were shut for the holiday. There was no immediate response from the White House to the Los Angeles incident. Speaking at a war veterans' memorial in Ripley, Virginia, George Bush made gratitude the message of the first presidential Independence Day speech since September 11. The anniversary of America's independence is a day for gratitude and a day for celebration, he said. On the Fourth of July we count our blessings. And there are so many to count: we're thankful for the families we love, we're thankful for the opportunities in America, we're thankful for our freedom, the freedom declared by our founding fathers, defended by many generations, and granted to each one of us by Almighty God. California's governor, Gray Davis, said: I can assure the people of California that there are more law enforcement officials on duty in California tonight than has ever been the case, and that was before the incident at LA airport... I would encourage them to continue with the celebrations. Mr Davis said the shooting did not indicate a failure of the state's security plans. The law enforcement profession are going to withhold judgment about what, if any, changes should be made to airport security until they determine exactly what was going on, he said. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now
Guardian: Saddam's stepson sparks anti-terrorist false alarm [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Saddam's stepson sparks anti-terrorist false alarm Ewen MacAskill, diplomatic editorFriday July 5, 2002The Guardian Given the current heightened state of alert of US security services, suspicion was aroused when a man of Middle Eastern appearance turned up at passport control this week and was discovered to be planning to sign up for a Florida flight school. Concern grew when investigators found that the school, the Aeroservice Aviation Centre, was the same as that attended by one of the September 11 hijackers. Suspicion turned to alarm when the man, Mohammed Nour al-Din Saffi, was found to be the stepson of one of America's foremost public enemies, Saddam Hussein. But the fears appear to be groundless. Although Mr Saffi, 36, is apparently related to Saddam, he is now a New Zealand citizen. He has lived there since 1997 and works as an engineer for a New Zealand airline. Intensive investigations by the New Zealand security services after September 11 found no terrorist links. US security agents have reached the same conclusion. But he is being held at the Krome detention centre in Miami and is to be deported to New Zealand because his papers were not in order. There has been no history of Iraq sponsoring terrorism overseas for 10 years. A suspected Iraqi agent was convicted of the attack on the World Trade Centre in 1993 and there was an assassination attempt on the then president, George Bush, in Kuwait about the same time. Ms Orihuela said intelligence agents tracked Mr Saffi after he flew into Los Angeles from New Zealand late on Tuesday or early Wednesday. He flew on to Miami international airport and was arrested soon after checking into the Comfort Inn. James Goldman, assistant director of investigations at the US immigration and naturalisation service, said Mr Saffi turned up on a tourist visa and failed to tell customs agents of his intention to take the air training course. He had not applied for the required student visa. Mr Goldman said Mr Saffi, who has a pilot's licence, was seeking recertification training at the flight school. US papers reported that Mr Saffi is the eldest son of Samira al-Shahbandar, Saddam's second wife. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Guardian - Bush's war is the new Great Game [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Comment Bush's war is the new Great Game But it looks a lot less fun when bombs fall from a clear night sky Simon TisdallThursday July 4, 2002The Guardian How goes the war on terror? President George Bush, America's commander-in-chief, is in no doubt it is going swimmingly - and will say so today. "Our fine servicemen and women are fighting and winning the war on terror," Mr Bush will proclaim in his Independence Day address. "They deserve the gratitude of all people who cherish freedom." Gratitude will come hard to relatives of the 40 Afghan civilians "liberated" from the Taliban yoke only to be killed by the US air force this week north of Kandahar. A Pentagon spokesman admitted a bomb had gone astray. But "it's unclear whether those [Afghan] casualties were the result of our errant bomb or from falling anti-aircraft artillery rounds," he said. In other words, the Afghans may have bombed themselves. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has meanwhile flatly declined to offer an apology. Such cold-hearted prevarication will be familiar to the relatives of four Canadian soldiers killed by US forces in April in another "friendly fire" incident. The Pentagon finally admitted in late June that this "sad event" was caused by "the failure of two pilots to exercise appropriate flight discipline which resulted in ... an inappropriate use of lethal force". These two incidents, like several similar tragedies in Afghanistan, are routinely attributed to the fortunes of war. In time of strife, it is said, accidents happen. But if the US were to stop throwing its weight around in an increasingly (and literally) aimless way, such horrors might be avoided. Many wonder what the US military thinks its objective is. After last winter's Tora Bora and Operation Anaconda failures it must be clear even to them that all the al-Qaida and Taliban fugitives who matter have long since absconded, to Pakistan and beyond. With the Afghan front stalemated, Pentagon attempts to extend its "global" war into new theatres have proved problematic. US troops on Basilan island in the Philippines appear only to have precipitated a shootout that ended in a long-held American hostage being killed. On the other hand, there have been telling civilian intelligence coups in Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Italy against al-Qaida. So should the US military in Afghanistan pack up and go home, leaving the anti-terror campaign to the spooks and Afghanistan to the peacekeepers? That is a difficult proposition for Mr Bush. The Afghan campaign has become a showcase for his administration's post-September 11 international coalition. As the US is attacked on all sides for arrogant unilateralism, the coalition represents the White House's one attempt at multilateralism. US-dominated, deeply unequal, arm-twisting multilateralism perhaps, yet multilateralism all the same. But as Britain withdraws its combat troops from Afghanistan for want of anything meaningful to do, Washington's need to demonstrate global support is verging on the desperate. A recent Pentagon "fact sheet" noted with pride that Bulgaria had made available "two heavy mechanised bridges, two bulldozers and six Zil trucks". Plucky Estonia has unleashed "two explosive-detection dog teams" and France has come up with a"deployable weather bureau". The German contingent is paying special attention to "Afghan war widows" while Norway's contributions include "personal items" for a 700-man battalion. "Malaysia has provided access to Malaysian intelligence," the Pentagon reports mysteriously. While Italy's war effort includes a forklift and some road-menders, Russia has chipped in with some second-hand vehicles - one careful Red Army lady owner, low mileage, taxed and tested, it's all yours in the cause of international solidarity, comrade. Canada's navy, meanwhile, has distinguished itself by seizing 4,500lbs of hashish in the north Arabian sea valued at $60m. Little has since been heard of the jolly matelots of HMCS Toronto. Looking through the Pentagon "fact sheet", it becomes ever clearer that the war on terror in Afghanistan is turning into something quite different from the tough, bloody struggle initially envisaged. It is becoming a quasi-permanent, multinational military jamboree. Afghanistan is the Pentagon's new playing field and parade ground, and everybody who calls himself a friend is joining in. Quite what President Hamid Karzai makes of all this, sitting impotently in Kabul, is anybody's guess. But who's asking him anyway? In effect, the "Great Game" of old empire days has entered a new round, more akin to bingo than diplomacy. Everybody has a hand to play; all want a stake. Post-Taliban Afghanistan is a fun outing for military top brass. Fun, that is, until "errant bombs" fall unannounced from a clear night sky and Mr Bush's heroes get bored or frightened and
Guardian - 'Anti-American' has become a thought-killing smear [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Comment 'Anti-American' has become a thought-killing smear Independence Day is a good time to defend the necessity of real debate Hugo YoungThursday July 4, 2002The Guardian Between September 11 and July 4, this Independence Day in America, I find I've written 22 Guardian columns devoted one way or another to what grew out of that infamous September moment. Perhaps it was too many. For sure, these pieces contained their share of mis-spoken words and fragile judgments. But here was the big subject. It raised so many issues of global concern, from Euro-American relations, through all the Blair-Bush encounters, into the Middle East process, on to civil liberties. How to forestall and suppress global terrorism is the greatest of all contemporary challenges, subsuming many others about economic and territorial justice on a grand scale. I've tried to address them as a reporter and analyst, as much as an opinionated columnist. Independence Day, however, is the moment to note an unhappy trend. Discourse and relationships have narrowed not broadened in 10 months. There's a hardening of tone between Europe and America. I sense trenches being dug. In particular, it becomes ever more difficult to discuss these colossal problems, rife with potential for prudent scepticism, in words that don't call forth instant labelling as to their categoric loyalty or treason. At the beginning, President Bush stared at the world and said you are either with us or against us. Time hasn't worked any refinement of his message, rather the reverse. We are all anti-Americans now, unless we happen to be pro. Each side has made its contribution to this starkness. The Europeans began it, with the voices that refused to address what had happened. A seam of vindictiveness exposed itself. Anti-American paranoia enjoyed its finest hour, in some quarters, at the hands of Mohammed Atta, the leader of the plane-bombers. This lack of empathy, though no longer so pitiless, is still apparent in Europe. Despite the best efforts of some reporters, the European mind - which includes the British mind - recoils from what America has embraced. It does not understand the enormity of what happened not only to New York and Washington but to the psyche of a once invulnerable nation. Most of Europe still tends to take its own experience of terrorism as a reason to disdain Americans' over-reaction to their own taste of it, and I'm speaking of the citizens at least as much as the political leaders. Ultimately, there's a difference of caring and a want of rage. This has led Europeans into some amnesiac generalisations. They speak about Americans without remembering history, or distinguishing between the people and the Bush regime. They overlook American generosity both as a world power - which nation was it that saved the world from German and Soviet tyranny? - and as a nation of open doors and open hearts. Though the government, even one with a mandate as doubtful as George Bush's, can be said to be acting for the people, it seems important to be as careful in vaporising about Americans as about, say, Jewish or black people. Ethnic monoliths are a curse at every level of humanity. But some Americans are moving down the same slope. Europeans too are generalised into infamy by the east-coast zeitgeist. Europe has been smeared as generally anti-semitic, on the basis of a microscopic number of voters in two or three countries. Europe is stigmatised as wimpish if not cowardly, because it does not place the same faith as America in the military response to terrorism. To some extent, each continent is reacting according to the facts of geo-politics. Lesser powers have always sparred with great ones, as jealousies collide. No formerly lesser power knows this better than America. In 1795, John Adams, on the brink of the presidency of a new country still suffering under the transatlantic yoke, wrote to his wife Abigail: "I wish that misfortune and adversity could soften the temper and humiliate the insolence of John Bull. But he is not yet sufficiently humble. If I mistake not, it is the destiny of America one day to beat down his pride." Now that the beating is long done, Europeans have a problem that's acutely visible at this time. They may never be sufficiently humble, but they should at least be clear. Neither the most pro- nor the most anti-American European governments, including this one, are unambiguous about what they want America to do or be. Sometimes, as in the Middle East and Afghanistan, they want intervention of a certain kind. Other times, they rail against American interventionism as if it were an ideological disease. There is justice in the Pentagon's scorn for a continent that wants America to do the heavy lifting against terror, while it dithers on the side. Americans also need to consider some unlearned lessons. In power
Guardian - MPs to investigate four army deaths [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- MPs to investigate four army deaths Nick Hopkins, crime correspondentThursday July 4, 2002The Guardian MPs yesterday took the unusual step of launching their own investigation into the deaths of four soldiers at the army's Royal Logistics Corps headquarters at Deepcut, Surrey. The chairman of the Commons defence committee, Bruce George, will tell Surrey police, which is reinvestigating the shooting of one of the soldiers, Private Geoff Gray, that it intends to begin its independent inquiry as soon as detectives have concluded their work. The committee, which normally confines itself to matters of policy and Ministry of Defence expenditure, could recommend a public inquiry. Concern over the circumstances surrounding the death of Pte Gray, 17, and three other soldiers, has been mounting in recent months with the families of the victims maintaining that the army has been involved in a cover-up. Private Gray died from two gunshot wounds to the head - either would have killed him - during guard duty at the barracks last September. His body was found near the perimeter fence at least 50 minutes after shots were fired at a spot that had already been searched four times by a team of soldiers. A witness saw a man running away from the scene, but the MoD told Private Gray's family that their son had committed suicide. At an inquest in March, the coroner, Michael Burgess, recorded an open verdict and said: "I do not find that he took his own life." Since then Surrey police has started reinvestigating Gray's death, and three other families have come forward with claim of mysterious "suicides" at the base in the last seven years. In June 1995, Private Sean Benton, 20, died from five gunshot wounds to the chest. Five months later, the body of Private Cheryl James, 18, was discovered in woodland 90ft outside the garrison perimeter. Private James Collinson, 17, died on March 23 this year from a single gunshot wound to the head just hours after seeing his parents. Three of the four bodies were found in the officers' com pound to which access is tightly controlled. The defence committee agreed yesterday to investigate the circumstances of the deaths, and issues relating to training for new recruits. It will also consider allegations of drug abuse and bullying at the barracks. Mike Hancock, a Liberal Democrat committee member, said the inquiry would be robust: "We will visit the camp and encourage soldiers and witnesses to come forward to give evidence to us. We want to get to the bottom of what has been going on at Deepcut." Mr Hancock said that if army claims that some of the soldiers may have had psychological problems were true, then it raised important questions relating to why the soldiers were being allowed on duty with live ammunition. Private Gray's father, who is also called Geoff, welcomed the committee's decision: "It's important that MPs have a chance to talk to people and draw their own conclusions. We want a public inquiry and this investigation adds pressure to our campaign." Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
scmp- Taiwan and Beijing rush to build up submarine fleets [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Taiwan and Beijing rush to build up submarine fleets ASSOCIATED PRESS in Beijing Updated at 2.45pm:China and Taiwan are taking their military rivalry to new depths _ underwater. The two sides have spent billions of dollars on the latest weapons. Taiwan has maintained an edge in the air with hundreds of fighter planes made by the United States and France. But China is eroding that edge, buying new fighter planes and destroyers and, last month, reportedly test-firing an air-to-air Russian missile. Now China is building up its ability to menace trade-dependent Taiwan at sea, acquiring eight new missile-armed Russian submarines in a deal that military analysts say strengthens the Chinese as a serious maritime force. ''The enhanced sub operation will definitely provide China the advantage to conduct a blockade in the Taiwan Strait. It will shift the balance of power,'' said Andrew Yang, secretary general at the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies, a Taipei think tank with close ties with Taiwan's Defence Ministry. The latest Chinese deal - eight Kilo-class submarines for US$1.5 billion, due to be delivered over the next five years - was reported last month by the Interfax-Military News Agency. The Russian and Chinese governments have refused to comment. Taiwan has been trying to strengthen its own underwater ability, lobbying Washington since 1982 for help in acquiring submarines that could help the island fight any potential naval blockade by China. Last week, Taiwan made a rare comment about the issue, saying a potential US$6 billion deal for eight subs was ''going very smoothly''. The new focus on submarine rivalry highlights the lopsided strategic balance between the two sides. For decades, the mainland has had a vastly larger military than Taiwan, which has countered by spending heavily on keeping ahead technologically. Taiwan lies just 150 kilometres off the mainland's coast. But until recently, the mainland had only a tiny navy unable either to invade or to threaten the ocean-borne economic lifeline of the island, one of the world's biggest trading powers. Since the early 1990s, however, China's growing wealth has let it modernise militarily, building or buying new weapons - often with Russian help. Russia's arms exports to China are believed to total about US$1 billion a year. According to Interfax, Russia is building two new destroyers for China armed with the latest radar, missiles and anti-submarine weapons. The Chinese military already has acquired Russian supersonic Su-27 fighters and the technology to build its own. Washington, Taiwan's biggest arms supplier, is struggling to fill its submarine order because US shipyards make only nuclear subs. The blueprints and expertise for making diesel-electric boats would have to come from another country, most likely European. Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian said in June that while Taiwan is not in an arms race with China, ''we should do all we can to gain a substantial advantage.'' Washington broke relations with Taiwan in 1979 to form ties with Beijing. But the US government has also implicitly promised to help the island by providing weapons necessary for its defence. Chen Kuo-ming, editor of the magazine Defence International, which covers the Taiwanese military, said Russia, eager for sales, is likely to fill China's order sooner than promised. ''By 2005, China will be able to pose a serious air and naval threat,'' Mr Chen said. According to military analysts, Taiwan probably won't get its boats until 2010, leaving it more open to an attack or blockade. Mr Chen said he doubted that with China's growing economic might, Taiwan will be able to keep pace as its arms spending grows. ''Only big countries can afford an arms race,'' he said. ''In the long run, we definitely won't be able to keep up with China.'' --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua- Chief of PLA General Staff Meets Russian Guests [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Chief of PLA General Staff Meets Russian Guests Xinhuanet 2002-07-03 20:29:15 BEIJING, July 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Fu Quanyou, chief of General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, met here Wednesday with Victor. S. Chechevatov, president of the Military Institute of theGeneral Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. Fu, also a member of the Central Military Commission, said thatthe PLA valued its relations with the Russian armed forces, and Sino-Russian military relations had been promoted as relations between the two countries have developed. The Russian military institute was renowned around the world, said Fu, who hoped that the Chinese and Russian military institutes would cooperate closely in research and teaching. Chechevaov said that the Russian military valued relations withthe PLA, and their cooperation had expanded in recent years. He voiced the hope to continue cooperation between the Russian Military Institute and the Chinese University of National Defense to help push forward friendly relations between the two armed forces. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
Xinhua- China Backs DPRK to Keep Dialog with ROK, U.S. [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- ¡¡China Backs DPRK to Keep Dialog with ROK, U.S. Xinhuanet 2002-07-04 19:43:52 BEIJING, July 4 (Xinhuanet) -- China backs the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to increase mutual trust and enhance exchanges and relations with the Republic of Korea (POK) and the United States through dialog, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Thursday. At a regular press conference in Beijing, Liu Jianchao said China has been dedicated to peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and holds that the north and south should improve their relations so as to eventually achieve peaceful unification. China will continue to keep to this position in the future and play a constructive role in on the Korean Peninsula issue, he added. The present situation on the Korean Peninsula was, on the whole,tending to relax with some steps taken by both sides to improve their relations, Liu said, noting that the recent fire-exchange incident was merely an episode in the course of the on-going relaxation of tension on the Korean Peninsular, he said. The Chinese side hopes that the situation on the peninsula will be able to go on developing toward the direction of relaxation. Enditem --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^
BBC- US army colonel charged with bribery [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Thursday, 4 July, 2002, 13:01 GMT 14:01 UK US army colonel charged with bribery http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_2093000/2093286.stm A US Army colonel and his wife have been charged in an alleged bribery scheme involving South Korean businesses which were seeking US Government contracts. Colonel Richard James Moran is alleged to have received thousands of dollars in bribe money from two South Korean companies. The two firms were eventually awarded millions of dollars in contracts, which included the construction of military barracks at US bases. Army investigators found more than $700,000 in $100 notes hidden in the Moran home at Yongsan Army Base, according to the indictment, which was filed in California. "They did it the old fashioned way. They hid it, most of it, under their mattress," said Assistant US Attorney Tom McConville. Mr Moran and his wife Gina were arrested in South Korea. They are due in court on Friday on multiple charges of bribery, money laundering and conspiracy, Mr McConville said. Three civilians have also been charged. Mr Moran was responsible for approving more than $300 million annually in government contracts. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^ _38115465_dollars300.jpg
BBC- Trans-China pipeline deal signed [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Thursday, 4 July, 2002, 05:18 GMT 06:18 UK Trans-China pipeline deal signed http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_2092000/2092313.stm Two oil giants are leading a project to build a pipeline across China, in one of the country's largest engineering projects since the Great Wall. Petrochina, China's top oil company, has signed a deal with a consortium led by Anglo-Dutch energy group Shell to build an west-to-east pipeline across the country. The pipeline, which stretches from north western deserts to Shanghai on the east coast, represents one of the biggest engineering feats in China's history. Only the Three Gorges Dam, which is costing China's government about $25bn, constitutes a larger task. The companies want to finish building the 4,000km pipeline by 2004, at which time 12 billion cubic metres of gas a year should flow from Xinjiang through eight intervening provinces and across both the Yangtse and Yellow Rivers all the way to Shanghai. Huge reserves Petrochina, which is part-owned by BP, will take a 50% stake in the project, with consortium members Shell, US-based ExxonMobil and Russia's Gazprom taking 15% each. The remaining 5% will go to Sinopec, China's main indigenous oil firm. Petrochina has huge gas reserves in the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang, a mountainous and on occasion lawless region, and is desperate to make them accessible to the rest of the country. A collateral advantage would be to help wean Chinese consumers off coal, part-responsible for the smog which envelops many Chinese cities. The project is likely to cost around $20bn, with pipeline construction, at a price tag of $5.5bn, largely paid for by the three foreign firms. Upstream spending, the industry term for the cost of exploration and development rather than refining and shipping, will cost the companies a further $3.3bn. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^ _1830893_petrochina300.jpg
BBC- North Korea moves to ease tensions [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Thursday, 4 July, 2002, 08:56 GMT 09:56 UK North Korea moves to ease tensions http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_2092000/2092519.stm The naval clash has made the South's public furiousNorth Korea has indicated that it wants to reduce the escalating tension with South Korea following their deadly naval clash at the weekend. Pyongyang said in a statement released on Thursday - the 30th anniversary of a landmark agreement with the South - that it would push for dialogue with its rival. "The North and South of Korea should develop North-South relations into those of dialogue and co-operation, not confrontation and war," the statement said, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The two sides of the divided Korean peninsula have traded blame for starting the battle on Saturday, which left four South Koreans and 30 North Koreans dead. Peace overtures But for the first time on Thursday, North Korea adopted a more conciliatory tone towards the South. "We will make all our efforts to smoothly promote dialogue and co-operation as both sides agreed under the banner of the 4 July joint statement and the 15 June joint declaration," said North Korea's Committee for Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland - a government agency in charge of relations with the South. More than 30 sailors were killed in the battle The 4 July joint statement was signed in 1972. In it, the two Koreas agreed to work toward peaceful reunification of their peninsula. A similar agreement was signed on 15 June 2000 after their leaders held a historic summit. Thursday's statement did not mention the weekend naval battle, which was the worst maritime clash between the two sides for three years. The 20-minute battle took place on the border unilaterally imposed by the United Nations after the Korean War ended in 1953 and which the North does not recognise. Fall-out The clash has created enormous public anger in the South. Several thousand South Korean army veterans and their supporters launched a public protest on Thursday, burning a picture of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il before marching through Seoul. But President Kim Dae-jung has said his "sunshine policy" of improving ties with the North may be stalled but will not be scrapped. Halting shipments of South Korea's rice surplus to the North is being considered, as is a delay to a deal to install a mobile phone network in the isolationist state. The US, for its part, has said that the State Department will no longer be sending a special envoy to North Korea in July to resume bilateral talks. However a diplomatic source told Reuters news agency on Thursday that North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun is expected to attend the Asean regional forum in July, in which case he may meet his counterparts from the US, South Korea and Japan. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^ _38115057_koreaprotest2afp150.jpg_38112189_smoke_ap150.jpg
BBC - Mass drugs bust at US base [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Wednesday, 3 July, 2002, 18:24 GMT 19:24 UK Mass drugs bust at US base The US Marines introduced drugs testing last year http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_209/2090152.stm More than 80 US Marines and sailors have been convicted in one of the largest drug busts in US military history. Investigators seized $1.5m of narcotics including Ecstasy, cocaine, LSD and methamphetamine at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Respect for the US military has never been higher in the USOf the 84 charged, 61 were accused of distributing drugs and 23 were accused of using them. Another 99 civilians have also been charged in connection with similar offences following the operation, codenamed Xterminator. No details on the type of convictions have been revealed, but the US military imposes a maximum sentence of 15 years for dealing drugs and five years for drug use. It's not an epidemic by any means Major Steve Cox Investigators were alerted two years ago by a large number of Marines using nightclubs in Wilmington, 40 miles south of the camp. Base spokesman Major Steve Cox said those involved were only a tiny fraction of the 60,000 personnel at the coastal base. "That's 0.001% of the forces at Camp Lejeune. It's not an epidemic by any means," he said. "From a Marine Corps perspective, we view drug use as a societal issue. We would be naive to think our Marines are not using drugs." Although drugs in the military are not rare, they usually involve a smaller number of people. The US Air Force Academy in Colorado was rocked by a rash of incidents last year with one cadet sentenced to three and a half years in a military prison for using and dealing drugs such as Ecstasy and LSD. Sniffer dogs Five cadets at the US Naval Academy in Maryland were court-martialled and jailed on drugs charges in 1986 and 15 others were expelled. The Marines joined other branches of the US military last December in introducing random drugs testing. Tests are becoming more sensitive and more are being done at weekends and on Mondays because by Tuesday, Ecstasy taken on a Saturday may be undetectable. Dogs are also being trained to detect Ecstasy in lockers. The case at Camp Lejeune comes at a time when respect for the military has never been higher, with Americans ranking it the country's most trustworthy institution. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^ _38113955_marines.jpg_38113872_marines150apnew.jpg startquote.gif Description: GIF image endquote.gif Description: GIF image
BBC- UN hails 'positive' Iraq talks [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --- Thursday, 4 July, 2002, 15:11 GMT 16:11 UK UN hails 'positive' Iraq talks Iraq has refused to allow UN inspectors back in http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_2093000/2093991.stm Talks on whether arms inspectors can return to Iraq have been positive, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said on Thursday - but there is no sign of a major breakthrough. Asked if anything concrete would come of the meeting with Iraqi officials, Mr Annan smiled and said: "Inshallah", the Arabic word for "God willing". Annan: 'God willing', progress will be made The UN wants to see its arms inspectors return to Baghdad after a ban of more than three years. But Iraq wants to discuss when the sanctions imposed on it after the 1991 Gulf War will be lifted - as well as what the UN can do about US threats to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "I am satisfied by the talks we had this morning and I hope we can resume them in the same spirit," Mr Annan told reporters after a morning one-on-one meeting with Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri. "We had serious talks in an honest manner," Mr Sabri said, echoing Mr Annan's positive mood. "I am satisfied with the way it went." UN officials have warned not to expect too much from the two-day meeting in Vienna. The UN Security Council sees the return of the arms inspectors as an essential step before any talk of lifting the 12-year-old economic sanctions on Iraq. Diplomatic waltz This is the third meeting between the Iraqis and the UN since the beginning of the year. Earlier talks have been something of a diplomatic waltz around the issues that have so far prevented Baghdad from agreeing to the return of the weapons inspectors. UN weapons inspectors were pulled out of Iraq just before the United States and Britain launched a round of air strikes in December, 1998 to punish Baghdad for blocking their work. Iraq has not allowed them back in since to search for the chemical, biological or nuclear weapons that it has been accused of continuing to develop. However, UN diplomats did hail one agreement on Thursday as a "significant" sign. Iraq agreed to return 90% of the archives it took when it occupied Kuwait. Mr Sabri and Mr Annan held one-on-one talks on Thursday morning, while other officials joined them in the afternoon. The talks will continue on Friday. --- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^ _1054358_iraq_megapuf.gif Description: GIF image _38116098_bombs_pa300.jpg_38116109_annan_ap150.jpg
