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| Iraq + war on terrorism + Middle East conflict + critical perspectives |
 China's quiet rise casts wide shadowBy Edward Cody, Washington Post, February 26, 2005 With stronger economic ties between East Asian countries and China has come a rise in Beijing's political and diplomatic influence, according to a variety of sources in China and the region. Treading softly but casting a big shadow, they say, China has emerged as an active and decisive leader in East Asia, transforming economic and diplomatic relationships across an area long dominated by the United States. The shift in status, increasingly clear over the past year, has changed the way Chinese officials view their country's international role as well as the way other Asians look to Beijing for cues. In many ways, China has started to act like a traditional big power, tending to its regional interests and pulling smaller neighbors along in its wake. [...] China's foreign relations establishment has long adhered to an adage offered by the late Deng Xiaoping: "Never be a leader." In deference to that concern, Foreign Ministry officials recoil when the word leadership is used to describe what they are doing. Nonetheless, as the country's economic strength has grown, so has the confidence of its foreign policy and a recognition that the United States is no longer the only country on which others in Asia rely for leadership. "China has sensed that there is an emerging transition of power in East Asia between China and the United States," said Shi Yinghong, who heads the People's University Center for American Studies in Beijing. Outside Asia, China's most immediate foreign relations concern has become an appetite for oil and other raw materials needed to sustain the economic boom. Tao Wenzhao, a senior researcher at the American Studies Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said China had been carrying out "commercial diplomacy" far and wide. [complete article] Tel Aviv bomb rocks peace processBy Conal Urquhart, The Guardian, February 26, 2005 Tentative hopes of reviving the Middle East peace process were jolted last night when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a seafront karaoke nightclub in Tel Aviv, killing at least four people and wounding dozens. An air of palpable shock hung heavy over Israel's second city after the first suicide bombing in Israel for almost four months - and the first since the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, succeeded Yasser Arafat earlier this year. Mr Abbas swiftly vowed to round up and punish the perpetrators, damning the attack as an effort to sabotage the ceasefire deal he concluded barely two weeks ago with the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon. But the attack met with dismay, resignation and impatience on the Israeli side, while the US insisted that the Palestinians take action. [complete article] Lebanon guided by the Nasrullah factorBy Sami Moubayed, Asia Times, February 26, 2005 Any person who was in Beirut on May 24, 2000, the day Hezbollah liberated South Lebanon, understands how immensely popular the enigmatic Hasan Nasrullah is in the country's Muslim, and particularly Shi'ite, community. Any person watching his speech five years later, this month, after the US started to press for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon, and the disarming of Hezbollah, of which Nasrullah is the head, knows how easy it might be for the United States to get Syria to leave Lebanon, but how difficult, if not impossible, it would be to disarm or weaken the Shi'ites. Syria said on Thursday that it was ready to work with the United Nations to implement a Security Council resolution requiring its approximately 17,000 troops to quit Lebanon, but that speeding up the pullout would require stronger Lebanese security forces. International pressure on Syria to pull out its troops and relinquish its political grip on its tiny neighbor intensified after the February 14 assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri. Many Lebanese blame Syria for his killing in a huge blast in Beirut. Napoleon Bonaparte once said: "I have tasted power. I won't give it up." Disarming Hezbollah, and writing them off the political scene in Lebanon, would be like asking the Iraqi Shi'ites, who have now tasted power after decades of oppression under Saddam Hussein, to leave office willingly, abandon their new-found rights, and return to the wretched state they were in during the previous 100 years. [complete article] Egypt's Mubarak calls for democratic election reformsAssociated Press (via NYT), February 26, 2005 Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday ordered a revision of the country's election laws and said multiple candidates could run in the nation's presidential elections, a scenario Mubarak hasn't faced since taking power in 1981. The surprise announcement, a response to critics' calls for political reform, comes shortly after historic elections in Iraq and the Palestinian territories, balloting that brought a taste of democracy to the region. It also comes amid a sharp dispute with the United States over Egypt's arrest of one of the strongest proponents of multi-candidate elections. "The election of a president will be through direct, secret balloting, giving the chance for political parties to run for the presidential elections and providing guarantees that allow more than one candidate for the people to choose among them with their own will," Mubarak said in an address broadcast live on Egyptian television. Mubarak -- who has never faced an opponent since becoming president after the 1981 assassination of Anwar Sadat -- said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." [complete article] Rice calls off Mideast visit after arrest of EgyptianBy Joel Brinkley, New York Times, February 26, 2005 Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday abruptly called off a planned trip to several Middle Eastern countries that had been scheduled for next week, a decision that came apparently because of the arrest of a leading Egyptian opposition politician last month. The decision highlighted a rift with an important ally over President Bush's push for democratic change. It came a day after Mr. Bush's tense meeting with Vladimir V. Putin, the Russian president, who was clearly uncomfortable with Mr. Bush's criticism of Russia's democracy. The linchpin for Ms. Rice's trip had been a planned meeting in Cairo of foreign ministers for the Group of 8 industrial nations and the Arab League to discuss economic aid and democratic change in the Middle East. But that meeting was postponed by Egypt on Sunday in an early sign of the tensions that have been building even as the Bush administration has praised Egypt for its help in the Israeli-Palestinian mediation after Yasir Arafat's death. [complete article] Chechnya conflict seeps over borderBy Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times, February 26, 2005 It was a little after 6 a.m. when the "bandits," as they are officially known, burst into the house with police hot on their heels. Amid shouts, screams and the occasional burst of small-arms fire, 16 sleepy families in three adjoining houses tumbled into their bathrobes and slippers and out into the snow. The bandits holed up in the cluttered apartments. Police laid siege outside. By the time it was over 16 hours later, the row of houses was little more than a pile of rubble, still licked by fire from flamethrowers and rocket-propelled grenades. The mangled and charred bodies of five bandits and one police officer lay among the ruins. Shortly after 10 p.m., a 44-ton T-72 battle tank rumbled over the wreckage and delivered the coup de grace, crushing any trace of life and the families' remaining possessions. Here in Dagestan, a southern Russian region wedged between the troubled republic of Chechnya and the Caspian Sea, they call what happened Jan. 15 near the end of quiet Magistralnaya Street the One-Day War. The name is misleading in one respect, many agree: It was but one day of many. The Chechen conflict has seeped beyond its borders into the northern Caucasus region, and Dagestan is one of the new fronts. The bandits, as the Russian authorities call them, are Muslim insurgents who have crossed over from Chechnya or launched battles on their home turf. The police, like those in many areas of Russia now, wear full camouflage and arrive at their house calls in armored vehicles equipped with battle gear. [complete article] The remaking of al-QaedaBy Syed Saleem Shahzad, Asia Times, February 25, 2005 More than four years since the launch of the campaign to catch Osama bin Laden "dead of alive", the US has initiated a new phase in the "war on terror" to counter perceived threats from al-Qaeda generated by a new breed of operatives spawned in the post-September 11 era. Unlike the pre-September 11 al-Qaeda, the structure, central command, depth and whereabouts of the latest incarnation remain largely a mystery. An Asia Times Online investigation based on interviews with well-placed sources in Pakistan who have been in coordination with the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) at a very senior level attempts to shed some light on today's threat from al-Qaeda. What is known is that the al-Qaeda network has been battered over the past few years, with curbs on its ability to access money and coordinate. Out of this, though, new groups have sprung up worldwide, strongly politically motivated, patient and with the broader perspective of toppling pro-US governments. This development has not gone unnoticed in Langley, Virginia - CIA headquarters - which has advised Washington to develop a counter-strategy to be on a "war footing" all over the world in the shape of alliances with Europe and a powerful North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) presence in South and Central Asia and the Middle East. [complete article] "Anti-Islamist" crusader plants new seedsBy Jim Lobe, IPS, February 24, 2005 Despite the apparent decision by President George W. Bush against re-nominating him to the board of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), "anti-Islamist" activist Daniel Pipes is working as diligently as ever to protect the United States and the Western world from the influence of radical Islamists. He has proposed the creation of a new "Anti-Islamist Institute" (AII) designed to expose legal "political activities" of "Islamists", such as "prohibiting families from sending pork or pork by-products to U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq", which nonetheless, in his view, serve the interests of radical Islam. "In the long term...the legal activities of Islamists pose as much or even a greater set of challenges than the illegal ones," according to the draft of a grant proposal by Pipes' Middle East Forum (MEF) obtained by IPS. Pipes is also working with Stephen Schwartz on a new "Centre for Islamic Pluralism" (CIP) whose aims are to "promote moderate Islam in the U.S. and globally" and "to oppose the influence of militant Islam, and, in particular, the Saudi-funded Wahhabi sect of Islam, among American Muslims, in the America media, in American education ...and with U.S. governmental bodies..." [complete article] Official admits Iran may hide nuclear program in tunnelsAssociated Press (via IHT), February 26, 2005 Iran may be hiding its nuclear technology inside special tunnels because of threats of attack by the United States, Tehran's chief nuclear negotiator said in an interview published Friday. Hassan Rowhani, who has been negotiating with Germany, Britain and France over Iran's uranium enrichment program, was asked by an interviewer for the daily Le Monde: "Is it accurate that Iran has built tunnels meant to serve Iran's nuclear activities?" Rowhani responded that reports Iran was building tunnels to hide its nuclear technology "could be true," he said. "From the moment the Americans threaten to attack our nuclear sites, what are we to do? We have to put them somewhere," Rowhani said. [complete article] R rating dropped for "Gunner Palace"By William Booth, Washington Post, February 25, 2005 In a rare reversal, members of the board that rates motion pictures decided Thursday to give the new Iraq war documentary "Gunner Palace" a PG-13 instead of an R, agreeing with the filmmakers that the raw language of real American soldiers in Baghdad was appropriate for younger audiences -- who themselves might be considering joining the armed forces. Last month, the Classification and Ratings Administration gave "Gunner Palace" an R rating, not because of the violence it contains but because of the repeated use of harsh language by members of the 2/3 Field Artillery (who call themselves "gunners"), stationed in a particularly lethal neighborhood in Baghdad after the fall of the city. The palace in the title refers to the soldiers' occupation of one of Uday Hussein's former mansions. [complete article] Revenge killings of members of Saddam's former regime riseBy Hannah Allam, Knight Ridder, February 25, 2005 Shiite Muslim assassins are killing former members of Saddam Hussein's mostly Sunni Muslim regime with impunity in a wave of violence that, combined with the ongoing Sunni insurgency, threatens to escalate into civil war. The war between Shiite vigilantes and former Baath Party members is seldom investigated and largely overshadowed by the insurgency. The U.S. military is preoccupied with hunting down suicide bombers and foreign terrorists, and Iraq's new Shiite leaders have little interest in prosecuting those who kill their former oppressors or their enemies in the insurgency. The killings have intensified since January's Shiite electoral victory, and U.S. and Iraqi officials worry that they could imperil progress toward a unified, democratic Iraq. [complete article] Iraqis claim capture of key members of Zarqawi insurgencyBy David Enders, The Independent, February 26, 2005 Iraqi authorities claim to have made a series of breakthroughs in the battle against the insurgent group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, which has carried out a bloody catalogue of car bombings, kidnappings and beheadings across Iraq. Government officials said yesterday that a key lieutenant to the Jordanian-born terroristhad been captured, claiming that the aide played a crucial middle-man role in the operations of his organisation which has been linked to al-Qa'ida. Talib Mikhlif Arsan Walman al-Dulaymi, also known as Abu Qutaybah, was captured during a raid on 20 February in Anah, 160 miles north-west of Baghdad. He was allegedly responsible for arranging all personal meetings between members of the terrorist network and Zarqawi. Iraqi authorities added that Dulaymi "filled the role of key lieutenant for the Zarqawi network, arranging safehouses and transportation as well as passing packages and funds to Zarqawi. His extensive contacts and operational ability throughout western Iraq made him a critical figure." [complete article] Negotiations on Iraq government look protractedBy Michael Georgy, Reuters, February 25, 2005 The frontrunner to be Iraq's next prime minister held talks with the country's top Shi'ite cleric on Friday on ways to include all parties in politics as negotiations on forming a new government looked set to drag on. "There is an important issue we discussed: the participation of our brothers who could not take part in the election," Ibrahim al-Jaafari told reporters after meeting Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in the southern city of Najaf. "The next government requires consultation and consensus." [complete article] Ayatollah Sistani endorses Al-JaafariAssociated Press (via Yahoo), February 25, 2005 United Iraqi Alliance candidate Ibrahim al-Jaafari said Friday that Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric has endorsed his nomination for prime minister. The endorsement by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani came after members of the clergy-backed alliance openly questioned its decision Tuesday to nominate the 58-year-old leader of the conservative Islamic Dawa Party as its candidate for prime minister following Iraq's historic Jan. 30 elections. "Ayatollah al-Sistani blessed the decision taken by the alliance about the prime minister post. He respects and supports what the alliance have decided," al-Jaafari said after meeting with al-Sistani for more than two hours in the southern holy city of Najaf. [complete article] Comment -- Perhaps as an indication that he has run out of patience with the ongoing wrangling over who will become Iraq's new prime minister, Ayatollah Sistani seems to have effectively ended the debate. Allawi's last minute bid to keep his job was perhaps, as Juan Cole suggested, nothing more than an attempt to secure a cabinet position. POPULATION EXPLOSION  World population to hit 9B in 2050By Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press (via Seatle PI), February 25, 2005 The world's population will increase by 40 percent to 9.1 billion in 2050, but virtually all the growth will be in the developing world, especially in the 50 poorest countries, the U.N. Population Division said. In a report Thursday, the division said the population in less developed countries is expected to swell from 5.3 billion today to 7.8 billion in 2050. By contrast, the population of richer developed countries will remain mostly unchanged, at 1.2 billion. "It is going to be a strain on the world," said Hania Zlotnik, the division's new director. She said the expected growth will be concentrated in countries that already struggle to provide adequate shelter, health care and education. The report reconfirmed many trends, including an increasingly aging population in developed countries. But it said immigration would prevent the overall population in richer countries from declining. The United States is projected to be the major net recipient of international migrants, 1.1 million annually, with its population increasing from 298 million in 2005 to 394 million in 2050, the report said. [complete article] Comment -- Like most reports released by the UN, the latest warnings (PDF) on global population growth are unlikely to generate more than fleeting interest on the pages of most of America's leading newspapers. Yet the figures released yesterday are stunning! During the period of President Bush's first term in office, the world's population grew by 380 million people - 90 million people more than currently live in the United States. At the forefront of a global response to population growth, the United Nations Population Fund has among its primary objectives "to help women, men and young people plan their families and avoid unwanted pregnancies" yet under pressure from a small group of Christian extremists (backed by powerful interests inside and outside Congress), the Bush administration is still blocking the release of Congressionally-approved funding for the program. Moreover, the Bush administration recently refused to join an appeal from more than 250 world leaders who "have urged the United Nations to promote a population agenda that seeks women's education, health care and family planning." (For more information on the United Nations Population Fund, go to "United States Committee for United Nations Population Fund".  Respecting ChinaBy H.D.S. Greenway, Boston Globe, February 25, 2005 One thousand years before Pericles and the golden age of Athens, the Chinese were weaving silk, casting in bronze, and carving objects of beauty out of jade. Some of the world's greatest poetry was written in China when Alexander the Great was a toddler. In 240 BC, Chinese astronomers noted the passage of Halley's Comet, something that would not be done in the West for another millennium. Thus I was bemused by Donald Rumsfeld's recent comments that China was a country "we hope and pray enters the civilized world in an orderly way." A Pentagon spokesman, in a role similar to the fellow who follows the circus elephant with a shovel, jumped in quickly to explain that the secretary of defense did not mean to suggest that China was not a civilized country, only that it had been an inward-looking country that was now emerging as a global actor. True enough, but increasingly, it seems, "civilized" actors are those who play roles written for them by the Bush administration. [complete article] The downside of democracyBy Juan Cole, Los Angeles Times, February 24, 2005 With the emergence of Shiite physician Ibrahim Jafari as the leading candidate for Iraqi prime minister earlier this week, the contradictions of Bush administration policy in the Middle East have become even clearer than they were before. President Bush says he is committed to democratizing the region, yet he also wants governments to emerge that are friendly to the U.S., benevolent to their own people, secular, capitalist and willing to stand up and fight against anti-American radicals. But what if democratic elections do not produce such governments? What if the newly elected regimes are friendly to states and groups that Washington considers enemies? What if the spread of democracy through the region empowers elements that don't share American values and goals? The recent election in Iraq is a case in point. The two major parties in the victorious Shiite alliance are Jafari's party, the Dawa, founded in the late 1950s to work for an Islamic republic, and the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, or SCIRI, the goal of which can be guessed from its name. To be fair, both have backed away from their more radical stances of earlier decades. But both parties -- and Jafari himself -- were sheltered in Tehran in the 1980s by Washington's archenemy, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and both acknowledge that they want to move Iraq toward Islamic law and values. [complete article] Democratic terrorists?By Christopher Dickey, Newsweek, February 24 2005 Beirut is not the heart of the world, although it's often hard to convince the Lebanese of that. Long gone are the days when whole generations of spies, journalists and other shady characters hung out at the waterfront bar of the St. George Hotel and called it "the center of the center of the Middle East." After the shadow of full-scale Syrian occupation fell over the country in 1990, effectively ending Lebanon's 15-year civil war -- and also its independence -- the old libertine and libertarian mystique faded. Lebanon still had a certain freedom and energy, its fractious people remained more independent-minded and its battered institutions more democratic than those of many other Arab nations, but as it sank to the status of a vassal state, Lebanon's spirit no longer seemed to have much relevance for the rest of the region. Now, very suddenly, it does. In the days since former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri was blown up on Feb. 14 (while driving in front of the St. George, as it happens), Beirut has become the new epicenter for democratic hopes in the Middle East. [complete article] Syria to pull back troops in LebanonBy Sam F. Ghattas, Associated Press (via The Guardian), February 24, 2005 Syria said Thursday it will begin withdrawing its troops in Lebanon closer to its own border, a move designed to blunt international demands for a complete pullout and to ease a groundswell of anti-Syrian sentiment. But a dissatisfied United States said the move was not enough and demanded a full withdrawal from the Mideast nation. "This needs to happen immediately," State Department spokesman Tom Casey said. A resolution by the U.N. Security Council "calls in clear, unequivocal terms for all foreign forces to withdraw from Lebanon." [complete article] 'Enough' is etched on Lebanon's facesBy David Ignatius, Daily Star, February 25, 2005 "Enough!" That's one of the simple slogans you see scrawled on the walls around former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's grave site in Beirut. And it sums up the movement for political change that has suddenly coalesced in Lebanon and is slowly gathering force elsewhere in the Arab world. "We want the truth." That's another of the Lebanese slogans, painted on a banner hanging from the Martyrs' Monument near the mosque where Hariri is buried. It's a revolutionary idea for people who have had to live with lies spun by regimes that were brutally clinging to power. People want the truth about who killed Hariri last week, but on a deeper level they want the truth about why Arab regimes have failed to deliver on their promises of progress and prosperity. [complete article] Syria may be closing its Arab doorBy Michael Young, Daily Star, February 24, 2005 No sooner had Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa announced on Monday afternoon that Syrian President Bashar Assad agreed to withdraw his army from Lebanon, than the Syrians issued a clarifying statement. Moussa had misunderstood; Syria had only meant a redeployment inside Lebanon, not a withdrawal. On a day when U.S. President George W. Bush demanded that Syria "end its occupation of Lebanon"; that Bush and French President Jacques Chirac issued the same instructions, and set a May deadline for the pullout; that Moussa traveled to Damascus to effectively save the Syrian regime from itself by offering a negotiated way out of its Lebanese impasse; and that tens of thousands of people marched in the streets of Beirut demanding that Syrian forces leave their country; on that day, Assad chose to again embrace the politics of the ostrich by sticking his head in a hole and discounting the world around him. [complete article] Gaza strongman Dahlan returns to center stageAgence France Presse (via Daily Star), February 25, 2005 Mohammed Dahlan, the strongman of the Gaza Strip, will play a key a role in negotiations with Israel after his appointment Thursday as civil affairs minister in a new Palestinian Cabinet. The appointment formalizes the return to front-line politics of a man who has been playing a key behind-the-scenes role in recent weeks during negotiations with his old sparring partner, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz. Dahlan quit as security minister in September 2003 after then Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas resigned from the post which he had held for little more than 100 days. He was one of the few people who was prepared to stand up to late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. [complete article] Israel 'plans West Bank homes boom'BBC News, February 25, 2005 Israel plans to build more than 6,000 new homes in settlements in the West Bank, an Israeli newspaper quoting the state land authority has reported. Yediot Ahronot says the government will also legitimise 120 unauthorised settlement outposts. The report says the expansion would coincide with Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. The US-backed roadmap peace plan calls on Israel to freeze all settlement activity and scrap dozens of outposts. [complete article] Sharon's List: The doomed settlements, a guideBy Bradley Burston, Haaretz, February 25, 2005 When Ariel Sharon began singling out settlements for future eviction, he knew just where to look. Arguing that Israel could best cement its grip on major West Bank settlement blocs - which polls show are supported by the majority of Israelis - by relinquishing control over the areas Israelis care about least, Sharon began with the unwanted stepchild enclaves of Gaza and the northern West Bank. Years of opinion surveys have shown that these were settlements a majority of Israelis wished never had existed. Settlements for which even the settlement movement itself had shown little support. [complete article] Israeli officials smile, and build more outposts on the groundBy Issa Samandar, Daily Star, February 25, 2005 Saeed Talib is an American citizen and a West Bank farmer. Neither is standing him in good stead at the moment. He has not been able to tend to his land in the village of Turmus Ayya on the road north to Nablus for four years, and he is afforded no legal recourse from any quarter. Some six years ago, a settlement outpost was established near the village. The settler who first drove up his caravan on an empty hilltop has since become notorious. All the villagers know him as Boaz. He is no longer alone. Now, some 50 caravans stand beside his. According to Israeli law, these settlement outposts are illegal. But the Israeli government has nevertheless provided them with paved roads, electricity and running water. Saeed and his fellow villagers have been allowed onto their land for only a few days a year since the second intifada began in 2000. These are during the October-November olive harvest season. The farmers are desperate. Two days a year, only to harvest, is neither here nor there. For the rest of the year they are prevented from tending their land, from planting seedlings or from weeding and trimming. [complete article] Insurgents step up attacks on Iraqi journalistsBy Susannah A. Nesmith, Knight Ridder, February 24, 2005 Raeda Wazzan was headed home from work after picking up her 10-year-old daughter. That's the last her colleagues at Iraqiya, the state-run television station, know about her. Suspected insurgents released Wazzan's little girl three days after Sunday's kidnapping, but no one has heard from Wazzan, the latest journalist to find herself in the insurgents' crosshairs. Her friends suspect she may have been killed and say her daughter was lucky. While the insurgents have grabbed headlines by taking foreign correspondents hostage, Iraqi journalists and their families, have been in just as much danger. And in recent weeks, the insurgents seemed to have stepped up attacks against the country's public television station and against an Arabic-language station funded by the United States. [complete article] Iraqi women eye Islamic lawBy Jill Carroll, Christian Science Monitor, February 25, 2005 Covered in layers of flowing black fabric that extend to the tips of her gloved hands, Jenan al-Ubaedy knows her first priority as one of some 90 women who will sit in the national assembly: implementing Islamic law. She is quick to tick off what sharia will mean for married women. "[The husband] can beat his wife but not in a forceful way, leaving no mark. If he should leave a mark, he will pay," she says of a system she supports. "He can beat her when she is not obeying him in his rights. We want her to be educated enough that she will not force him to beat her, and if he beats her with no right, we want her to be strong enough to go to the police." Broadening support for sharia may not have been the anticipated outcome of the US mandate that women make up one third of the national assembly. But Dr. Ubaedy's vision is shared by many members of the United Iraqi Alliance, a list of religious Shiite candidates that won a majority of seats. She says the women on the UIA list are meeting now to coordinate their agendas and reach out to women from other parties. [complete article] Iraq's neighborhood councils are vanishingBy Dan Murphy, Christian Science Monitor, February 25, 2005 As leader of both his district and neighborhood councils, retired Iraqi Army Col. Abdel Rahim saw himself as a warrior on the front lines of democracy. He braved intimidation and corruption to share in the American dream of transforming Iraq. But on one August morning his dream came to an end. As he pulled away from his home, a white sedan screeched to a halt on his front bumper. A van blocked his rear. Four gunmen pumped his car full of bullets. Six rounds hit Colonel Rahim. Rahim, a bald sparkplug of a man, was one of four members of Baghdad's Hay Somer neighborhood council killed in a two-week period last year. The council was one of the last holdouts of the dozens of local councils in Baghdad the US set up in 2003 as Iraq's first experiment in representative government for generations. [complete article] Journalist is jailed for 14 years after 'insulting' authorityBy Daniel Howden, The Independent, February 25, 2005 A prominent Iranian journalist and blogger has been sentenced to 14 years in prison on charges ranging from spying to aiding counter-revolutionaries. His sentence comes as part of the latest clerical crackdown on freedom of speech. Arash Sigarchi, a regional newspaper editor, was accused of inciting a riot through his writings and insulting the authorities. His lawyer, Mohammad Saifzadeh, questioned the authority of the court and said he would appeal. The trial was held behind closed doors in the absence of his lawyer; it is not known whether Mr Sigarchi was even present. A Nobel laureate, Shirin Ebadi, who has also faced questioning from the "revolutionary court" - is expected to represent him at the appeal. [complete article] Bush listened to Europe - now watch him ignore all the advice he gotBy Fred Kaplan, Slate, February 24, 2005 So did President Bush's five-day trip to Europe amount to anything? Were fences mended, rifts repaired, bridges unburned? The president's entourage wants us to think so. Consider their elated spin on the president's remark that he would "think about" one of his allies' propositions. It came during his photo op with the Slovakian prime minister, when a reporter asked Bush whether he might join Britain, France, and Germany -- the EU-3 -- in their negotiations to persuade Iran to halt its nuclear-weapons program. The widely quoted part of Bush's reply: "I was listening very carefully to the different ideas on negotiating strategies. ... I'm going to go back and think about the suggestions I've heard and the ways forward." Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, highlighted the passage while talking to reporters afterward, adding, "I think he wants to go back and think about it and talk to his national-security team." One White House reporter sidled up to a "senior administration official" to ask if this signaled a "shift." Yes, the SAO reportedly replied. "Last fall," he elaborated, "we were yelling at each other." [complete article] Dangerous doctrineBy Roger Speed and Michael May, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, March/April, 2005 The United States has more than 6,000 deployed strategic nuclear weapons consisting of warheads delivered by long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) or submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), bombs, and cruise missiles. About 3,000 additional intact warheads are retained in reserve or inactive stockpiles. There are also a few hundred "tactical" (non-strategic) nuclear bombs carried by relatively short-range, dual-capable (conventional and nuclear) aircraft stationed in Europe and a few hundred submarine-launched cruise missiles kept in storage in the United States. U.S. weapons reportedly have a wide range of yields. U.S. ballistic missiles carry only high-yield warheads (more than 100 kilotons), but some nuclear bombs and cruise missiles reportedly have flexible low-yield options, down to less than a kiloton. [1] The accuracies of U.S. strategic delivery systems are reportedly around 100 meters. The NPR [Nuclear Posture Review] argues that the several thousand nuclear weapons in the U.S. arsenal will not be adequate to implement the Bush doctrine: "New capabilities must be developed to defeat emerging threats such as hard and deeply buried targets, to find and attack mobile and relocatable targets, to defeat chemical or biological agents, and to improve accuracy and limit collateral damage. Development of these capabilities, to include extensive research and timely fielding of new systems to address these challenges, are imperative to make the New Triad a reality." The administration apparently believes that if it can limit "collateral damage"--unintended death and injury to civilians and unintended property damage--nuclear use would be more politically acceptable and credible. Most weapons in the current arsenal would produce unacceptably large collateral damage, so the administration argues that new low-yield, high-accuracy nuclear weapons must be sought. To that end, the Bush administration has sought to authorize the weapons labs to renew previous programs to examine a broad range of new nuclear weapons concepts, including low-yield weapons. [complete article] Three little words matter to N. KoreaBy Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, February 22, 2005 What's in a phrase? Everything, in the craft of diplomacy. This is the story of three little words -- "no hostile intent" -- and the fierce tussle within the Bush administration over them as officials tried to develop a policy to confront North Korea's nuclear ambitions. To a non-diplomat, the phrase might seem typical of the awkward and diffuse verbiage frequently uttered by men in pinstriped suits. But to the North Korean government, hearing those words from the United States looms large as the diplomatic equivalent of the Holy Grail. Yet President Bush has never uttered them. Neither has Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Former secretary of state Colin L. Powell did, especially in the final months of his tenure -- and he frequently suggested Bush had said them, too. [complete article] See also, Pyongyang waiting for the spring (Gavan McCormack, TomDispatch). Pentagon seeking leeway overseasBy Ann Scott Tyson and Dana Priest, Washington Post, February 24, 2005 The Pentagon is promoting a global counterterrorism plan that would allow Special Operations forces to enter a foreign country to conduct military operations without explicit concurrence from the U.S. ambassador there, administration officials familiar with the plan said. The plan would weaken the long-standing "chief of mission" authority under which the U.S. ambassador, as the president's top representative in a foreign country, decides whether to grant entry to U.S. government personnel based on political and diplomatic considerations. The Special Operations missions envisioned in the plan would largely be secret, known to only a handful of officials from the foreign country, if any. The change is included in a highly classified "execute order" -- part of a broad strategy developed since Sept. 11, 2001, to give the U.S. Special Operations Command new flexibility to track down and destroy terrorist networks worldwide, the officials said. "This is a military order on a global scale, something that hasn't existed since World War II," said a counterterrorism official with lengthy experience in special operations. He and other officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because the proposal is classified. [complete article] Kurds name their price for putting Shia party in powerBy Patrick Cockburn and David Enders, The Independent, February 24, 2005 The Kurds are to stick to their demand for the oil city of Kirkuk and a degree of autonomy which is close to independence as negotiations begin to form the next Iraqi government. The coalition of Shia parties, the United Iraqi Alliance, has 140 seats in the 275-member National Assembly but despite its electoral triumph other parties are waiting to see if it will hold together. The coalition was cobbled together out of disparate groups under the influence of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. "The coalition is not as strong as we thought - with all of the weight of Sistani, it didn't get an absolute majority," said a Kurdish politician who asked not to be named. Nevertheless Iraqi Shias, 60 per cent of the population but never previously in power, feel that their moment has come. The Kurds are in a strong position to press their demands because they have 75 seats. In the past they were always the core of the opposition to Saddam Hussein and their leaders have far more political and administrative experience than returning Shia exiles. The Kurds are the only people to support the US occupation. Kurdish leaders say they will refuse to compromise over Kirkuk or the autonomy of the three northern Kurdish provinces from which Saddam Hussein retreated in 1991. They will also reject applying Islamic law in Kurdish regions. [complete article] For more on Kirkuk, read Nir Rosen's feature article from last weekend's New York Times magazine, In the balance. Kurd who will seal Saddam's fateBy Anthony Loyd, The Times, February 24, 2005 With the Kurds securing a strong second place in elections last month, and the victorious Shia having chosen Ibrahim al-Jaafari for the Prime Minister's job on Tuesday, Mr Talabani, 71, is the favourite for the presidency. Yet there would be many ironies in him becoming titular head of a country whose rule he has spent most of his life fighting to escape. "In my life I didn't think at all to be minister, or prime minister or president," he said. "I was thinking that the Kurdish struggle is a prolonged one and it will continue for many, many decades." Since the 1991 Gulf War, the Kurds have enjoyed considerable autonomy and relative prosperity in the former no-fly zone of northern Iraq. As leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of the two main Kurdish parties, Mr Talabani refuses to acknowledge that most of Iraq's five million Kurds now yearn for outright independence and appears to favour more realistic goals that would not lead to the break-up of Iraq. [complete article] The man to heal IraqBy Rory Carroll, The Guardian, February 24, 2005 American helicopters drone overhead as guards open the gates to the compound. They grip Kalashnikovs while a colleague uses a mirror to check the underside of the car for bombs. Credentials are scrutinised once, twice, three times. At an inner gate a sentry does a serious frisk, not the usual pat-and-go. Mobile phones are handed over. "And your watches." They, too, disappear into a drawer. Two Americans with crew cuts and flak jackets with grenades, flares and ammunition clips are the escorts through the mansion's grounds. There is a moat with brown water, apparently bereft of life, until a fish leaps out and plops back in. Of his many Baghdad palaces this was said to be one of Saddam Hussein's favourites. Now it is occupied by the man poised to replace him as ruler of Iraq. Ibrahim al-Jaafari is a very different man from the deposed dictator but he shares an occupational hazard: lots of people want to kill him. To those who knew him as a mild-mannered family doctor in Wembley, north London, the transformation must be astounding. He is the epitome of a GP. A neatly trimmed beard, a bowl of sweets for visitors, chit-chat about the weather, reminiscence about a trip to Dublin, the voice so soft you sometimes have to lean forward to catch the words. This week the main Shia alliance which won last month's election chose Jaafari to be its candidate as the next prime minister of Iraq, making his elevation a virtual certainty. It will sandwich him between the aspirations of a divided people, and the competing interests of America, Iran, Israel and insurgents, to name but some of those jostling for influence. [complete article] Rebels confess to beheadings on Iraqi TVBy Rory Carroll, The Guardian, February 24, 2005 Captured Iraqi insurgents who claim to have beheaded dozens of hostages were shown on television yesterday saying that they practised on chickens and sheep before moving on to people. The state-run Iraqiya television station aired lengthy interviews with at least six men who said they were involved in gangs which kidnapped and killed dozens of people in the northern city of Mosul. Speaking with little sign of remorse, the men said they were told they would be made princes after 10 beheadings. The broadcasts, which began earlier this week, appeared to be a government-backed initiative to cast the insurgents in the worst possible light and to accuse Syria, which the men claimed had trained and paid them, of masterminding the atrocities. [...] The broadcast echoed the televised confessions and humiliations of Saddam Hussein's opponents before his regime was toppled . Iraqiya TV went on air in 2003 with funding from the Pentagon. Viewers have responded with a mix of horror at the grisly details, fascination that the men look so normal, and suspicion that the public is being manipulated with broadcasts that air at least twice a day. [complete article] Iraq expert, Juan Cole, says that it is "embarrassing that Allawi thought he could peddle this horse manure to the Iraqi and American publics." British soldiers found guilty of abuseBy Audrey Gillan, The Guardian, February 24, 2005 Two soldiers were yesterday convicted of the abuse of Iraqi prisoners in a case that has seriously undermined the standing of the British army and been dubbed the country's Abu Ghraib. Another pleaded guilty and a fourth was sentenced last month. Judge Advocate Michael Hunter said that the scandal had "undoubtedly tarnished the international reputation of the British army and to some extent the British nation too". He described the behaviour uncovered by the court martial as brutal, cruel and revolting, and said it had jeopardised the safety of soldiers in Iraq. The men were found guilty at a court martial in Germany of the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at the British Camp Breadbasket outside Basra two weeks after the conflict was declared over in May 2003. The abuse was captured in photographs which were published around the world. [complete article] An 'a la carte' coalition between U.S. and EuropeBy Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, February 24, 2005 Two years ago, as the United States prepared to invade Iraq, much of the opposition in Europe focused on the need to restrain the American "hyperpower" from running roughshod over international norms. But as President Bush nears the end of his goodwill tour of Europe this week, it is increasingly clear the attitude has shifted. With the United States pinned down in Iraq, where the continued deployment of nearly 150,000 troops has severely strained the U.S. military, European leaders no longer expect further military expeditions in Bush's second term. And so they have been gracious -- but assertive, thus reflecting how far the United States has fallen from "hyperpower" status -- a term coined about America by French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine. Indeed, analysts said, European leaders are increasingly united against U.S. positions and feel emboldened to go their own way on such issues as Iran and China. [complete article] Bush may weigh the use of incentives to dissuade IranBy Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times, February 24, 2005 President Bush said Wednesday that he and German, British and French leaders had discussed negotiating tactics to try to get Iran to give up its suspected nuclear weapons program, and his national security adviser later left open the possibility that Mr. Bush would consider offering incentives to dissuade Iran from its nuclear ambitions. The tactic of incentives, favored by the Europeans, had been roundly rejected by the Bush administration as recently as two weeks ago. Despite the glimmer of what the national security adviser, Stephen J. Hadley, described as a "convergence" of the Americans and Europeans on the tactics to be used in negotiations with Iran, the president gave no indication that the United States would directly join in the talks, as the Europeans want. [complete article] Canada says it won't join missile shield with the U.S.By Clifford Krauss, New York Times, February 24, 2005 The Canadian government has refused to take part in a planned North America missile defense system despite personal lobbying by President Bush here last November, United States diplomatic officials said Wednesday. The long-awaited decision from Prime Minister Paul Martin was a symbolic setback for the Bush administration when it is trying to heal rifts with allies that emerged from the invasion of Iraq. It was conveyed privately to senior United States officials this week in Ottawa and at the NATO summit meeting in Brussels, United States diplomats said. Asked about the issue on Wednesday in Parliament, Mr. Martin would not confirm that a decision had been made, but according to newspaper reports here quoting anonymous sources, an official announcement will be made this week. [complete article] U.S. takes to the airwaves in hunt for Bin LadenBy Declan Walsh, The Guardian, February 24, 2005 Spying hasn't worked, and neither has shooting. So America has turned to its great cultural weapon to flush out Osama bin Laden - television. After a fruitless three-year hunt, the US is funding advertisements on Pakistani television which it hopes will touch the hearts of those close to the elusive al-Qaida leader. As photos of Bin Laden and 13 other wanted men flicker across the screen a voice implores: "Who are the people who are suffering from terrorism? Our mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons and daughters! Who can stop these terrorists? Only you!" [complete article] Church council seeks pressure on IsraelBy Rachel Zoll, Associated Press (via Yahoo), February 23, 2005 The governing body of the World Council of Churches has asked its members to consider bringing economic pressure on companies that benefit from Israeli policy in the Palestinian territories. American Jewish leaders have condemned the recommendation as biased. The Central Committee of the Geneva-based ecumenical group said Monday that its members should look to the Presbyterian Church, (U.S.A.), as a model for pursuing divestment. The Presbyterians voted last year to research divesting from companies that profit from the Israeli presence in the West Bank and Gaza -- a strategy the World Council committee said was "commendable in both method and manner" and "uses criteria rooted in faith." However, the Presbyterian vote sparked a crisis in U.S. Jewish-Christian relations that remains unresolved despite several meetings between leaders of both faiths. [complete article] Allawi forms secular coalition to rival Shiite alliance in IraqBy John F. Burns, New York Times, February 23, 2005 The interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, stepped up his bid to remain in the office today by announcing the formation of a new secular coalition that he and his supporters have said will seek to outmaneuver Shiite religious parties in the contest to form a new transitional government. Mr. Allawi's move came a day after the Shiite alliance that won a bare majority in last month's elections named one of its leaders, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, as its candidate for prime minister. Mr. Jaafari heads an Islamist party, Dawa, whose official policies call for the "Islamization" of Iraqi society, but he has recently asserted that any government he headed would reach out across ethnic and religious lines and take a moderate position on divisive issues like the role of Islam. By establishing what he called a "national democratic coalition which believes in Iraq and its principles," Dr. Allawi signaled his readiness to mount a potentially polarizing battle for power with the Shiite alliance. At his news conference today, he hinted that this would include attempts to lure defections among secularists elected on the Shiite alliance's list, stripping the alliance of the two-seat majority it won when it took 140 of the 275 seats in the new assembly. [complete article] Palestinian leader gains Fatah faction's backing for cabinetBy Alan Cowell, New York Times, February 23, 2005 After three days of political impasse, the Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qurei, secured support within his Fatah party late today for a new cabinet composed largely of professionals and technocrats supposed to institute changes in Palestinian political life, Palestinian legislators said. The agreement was depicted by legislators as a breakthrough strengthening the hand of President Mahmoud Abbas as he presses for changes sought by Palestinians, the United States and Israel after the death of the Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat in November. The new cabinet list is now set to be put before the full Palestinian Parliament on Thursday, according to Hatem Abdul Kader, a Fatah legislator. The Fatah movement accounts for around three-quarters of Parliament's 84 members, and Mr. Qurei needs 43 votes to win approval of his 24-member cabinet. [complete article] Palestinians freed, but barrier path still draws ireBy Ben Lynfield, Christian Science Monitor, February 22, 2005 The hope and skepticism among Palestinians over whether the current cease-fire can expand into peace is coloring reactions to Israel's release of 500 Palestinian prisoners Monday. The step freed 118 administrative detainees who were never charged with any crime - as well as men convicted by military courts of crimes including shootings, possession of weapons, or ties to terrorist organizations. It came a day after Israel's cabinet finalized the path of the controversial separation barrier and gave the final go-ahead to withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. These steps are all unilateral ones by Israel. Despite conciliatory pronouncements since a summit meeting in Egypt between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas two weeks ago, the two sides have yet to develop a solid cooperative relationship. [complete article] Israel to disarm militant settlersBy Amy Teibel, Associated Press (via Boston Globe), February 23, 2005 Israel's police said yesterday they would disarm Jewish militants who threaten violence ahead of a Gaza Strip pullout and assign nearly all field officers to remove settlers and control protests -- signs of mounting concern the withdrawal could turn bloody. Jewish settlers said they would set up a military-style operation to try to block the evacuation, set for this summer -- partly through civil disobedience and partly by lobbying lawmakers to bring down the government. [complete article] Terrorist plot to kill Bush allegedBy Jerry Markon and Dana Priest, Washington Post, February 23, 2005 Federal prosecutors unveiled broad terrorism charges yesterday against a Northern Virginia man who had been detained in Saudi Arabia for nearly two years, accusing him of plotting to assassinate President Bush and trying to establish an al Qaeda cell in the United States. Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 23, conspired with confederates in Saudi Arabia to shoot Bush on the street or kill him with a car bomb, according to a six-count indictment unsealed yesterday. The indictment said Abu Ali sought to become "a planner of terrorist operations" and compared him to leading al Qaeda figures associated with the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Abu Ali's family and supporters denied the charges and said he had been tortured while he was being held by authorities in Saudi Arabia. Abu Ali's attorney said he intends to plead not guilty. Law enforcement sources said the plot against Bush, which the indictment says was hatched while Abu Ali was studying in Saudi Arabia, never advanced beyond the talking stage. One source involved in the case said the U.S. government had hoped Saudi Arabia would bring charges against Ali, in part because of the lack of evidence linking him to any al Qaeda activities. [complete article] THE ARC OF AMERICAN POWER Why Europe ignores BushBy Tony Karon, Time.com, February 21, 2005 Machiavelli's advice to political leaders was that it's more important to be feared than to be loved. That's no help for President Bush on his European tour; in spite of the warm words he's exchanging with European leaders, the reality is that the Bush administration is neither loved nor feared in growing sectors of the international community -- increasingly, it is simply being ignored. New evidence of this trend, which has developed in the wake of the war in Iraq, emerges every week: Last Friday, Russia's President Vladimir Putin pooh-poohed the U.S. claim that Iran seeks nuclear weapons, and Moscow agreed to move ahead with delivering the nuclear fuel for Tehran's reactors despite Washington's opposition. And in case you missed the message, Russia has also agreed to supply advanced surface-to-air missiles to Syria, the latest focus of U.S. ire in the Middle East -- again in defiance of Washington's stated wishes. It's hard to avoid the irony in Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice's suggestion, in the wake of the fall of Baghdad, that the U.S. should "forgive Russia, ignore Germany and punish France" for opposing the war. On this trip, and Rice's preparatory one, it's more than clear that in fact they're trying hard to forgive France and Germany. And it's equally clear that Russia has no interest in U.S. "forgiveness" -- President Putin is ignoring the Bush administration. [complete article] Comment -- The past four years -- which were supposed to be the beginning of a new American century -- have seen the neoconservative vision become a victim of its own success. Those who took pride in trumpeting America's imperial destiny ironically made that claim seem plausible to a world that felt more threatened than protected by the strength of the superpower. And while demonstrations of the limits of American power find new expressions almost every day, those outside the United States who might draw some measure of comfort at the sight of George Bush reaching out to Europe, recognize that though American power is now clearly constrained there is no indication that the American appetite for power has in any way diminished. Neoconservative supporters of the Bush administration ever-mindful of impending danger warn that the latest threat to the world comes from Europe's apparent willingness to lift its embargo on arms trade to China. Writing in the Washington Post last Sunday, American Enterprise Institute resident fellow, Thomas Donnelly, argues that: The immediate objective of the PLA's [People's Liberation Army] modernization effort [which would be boosted by the sale of European weapons technology] is the subjugation, either by intimidation or direct military action, of Taiwan. But the larger target is the United States and its position as the guarantor of freedom and stability in the region -- what the Chinese government calls American "hegemony." Beijing wants to develop the military capacity to deter the United States and its regional allies from acting in Asia. Lifting the embargo will go a long way toward helping the Chinese reach that goal.The problem, in the eyes of many Europeans, is that under George Bush's leadership the United States cannot credibly claim to be the guarantor of freedom and stability in East Asia -- or anywhere else for that matter. To those who still fear the expansion of American power, the rise of Chinese power may seem far less forbidding. Bush tries to allay EU worry over IranBy Michael A. Fletcher and Keith B. Richburg, Washington Post, February 23, 2005 President Bush said Tuesday that concern about possible U.S. military action against Iran "is simply ridiculous," but he added at a news conference that "all options are on the table" in dealing with suspected Iranian attempts to acquire nuclear weapons. After meeting with NATO and European Union officials, Bush welcomed modest pledges from opponents of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq to help train and equip security forces there. While U.S. and European officials said there was an improved tone in their discussions, serious divisions remained over U.S. policy toward Iran and the Bush administration's objection to European plans to lift an arms embargo against China. U.S. charges that Iran wants to build nuclear weapons have raised concern in Europe about U.S. military planning. Bush has repeatedly said he wants diplomacy with Tehran's theocratic government to work. "This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous," Bush said. "And having said that, all options are on the table." [complete article] Bush leans on Putin. Will he budge?By Scott Peterson, Christian Science Monitor, February 23, 2005 Nearly four years after Presidents George Bush and Vladimir Putin formed warm personal ties, relations between Moscow and Washington are again chilly, and testing the partnership. Thursday's much-awaited summit in Slovakia could redefine US-Russian ties, as two different worldviews contribute to rising tensions over the spread of democracy, a potentially nuclear Iran, and missile sales to Syria. The rekindled US focus on democracy - after three years of seeing nearly every foreign policy issue through the prism of the war on terror - has deepened anxiety for Russia leading up to the summit. Bush's comments Monday in Brussels that the US and Europe "should place democratic reform at the heart of their dialogue with Russia" underscores how at odds the two leaders are over the importance of democratic reforms. Although both nations remain committed to strategic issues of nuclear nonproliferation and the war on terror, the Kremlin has deepened its authoritarian rule, opposed the US invasion of Iraq, and accused Washington of trying to lure former Soviet states into the Western camp, by helping orchestrate revolutions in Ukraine and Georgia. [complete article] U.S.' prewar visions get further out of focusBy Patrick J. McDonnell and Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times, February 23, 2005 Two years ago, as the U.S. planned to march into Baghdad, many in the Bush administration had a vision for Iraq's first freely elected government in decades. It would be a pro-U.S. regime that would support American military bases, embrace U.S. businesses and serve as a model for democracy in the region. Now as Ibrahim Jafari seems certain to become Iraq's new prime minister, the U.S. faces the prospect of dealing with a government whose views may be closer to Tehran's than to Washington's. And U.S. officials are left wondering how many of their assumptions will prove true. [complete article] BUSH FAMILY WAR PROFITEER Company's work in Iraq profited Bush's uncleBy Walter F. Roche Jr., Los Angeles Times, February 23, 2005 The Iraq war helped bring record earnings to St. Louis-based defense contractor Engineered Support Systems Inc., and new financial data show that the firm's war-related profits have trickled down to a familiar family name — Bush. William H.T. "Bucky" Bush, uncle of the president and youngest brother of former President George H.W. Bush, cashed in ESSI stock options last month with a net value of nearly half a million dollars. "Uncle Bucky," as he is known to the president, is on the board of the company, which supplies armor and other materials to U.S. troops. The company's stock prices have soared to record heights since before the invasion, benefiting in part from contracts to rapidly refit fleets of military vehicles with extra armor. William Bush exercised options on 8,438 shares of company stock Jan. 18, according to reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He acknowledged in an interview that the transaction was worth about $450,000. [complete article] Revealed: the rush to warBy Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian, February 23, 2005 The [British] attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, warned less than two weeks before the invasion of Iraq that military action could be ruled illegal. The government was so concerned that it might be prosecuted it set up a team of lawyers to prepare for legal action in an international court. And a parliamentary answer issued days before the war in the name of Lord Goldsmith - but presented by ministers as his official opinion before the crucial Commons vote - was drawn up in Downing Street, not in the attorney general's chambers. The full picture of how the government manipulated the legal justification for war, and political pressure placed on its most senior law officer, is revealed in the Guardian today. [complete article] Read an extract from Lawless World: America and the Making and Breaking of Global Rules, by Philippe Sands, describing the process through which Britain's attorney general constructed a legal case for war. In opposition, Lebanese find unityBy Nicholas Blanford, Christian Science Monitor, February 23, 2005 For a country associated with sectarian strife, Lebanon is showing unprecedented displays of interfaith solidarity, spurred by outrage at the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri and resentment at Syria's continuing hegemony. With Syria blamed for Mr. Hariri's death in a massive bomb blast on Feb. 14, Lebanese Muslims and Christians have taken to the streets of Beirut in unparalleled numbers to call for an end to Damascus's long domination of its tiny Mediterranean neighbor. "This is the beginning of something important," says Gebran Tueni, editor of Lebanon's An-Nahar newspaper, speaking during a demonstration on Monday that brought tens of thousands of Lebanese to central Beirut. "It's the first time you have Christians, Muslims, and Druze asking for the same thing: a Syrian withdrawal and a democratic society in Lebanon." [complete article] Shiite party taps al-Jaafari as choice for prime ministerBy Tom Lasseter, Knight Ridder, February 22, 2005 The dominant Shiite Muslim political ticket on Tuesday picked its candidate for prime minister: Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a man who some fear could lead the nation toward theocracy. The 58-year-old doctor got the nod after several days of intense negotiations behind closed doors when onetime Pentagon favorite Ahmad Chalabi withdrew under heavy pressure by the United Iraqi Alliance, the cleric-led Shiite coalition that won a majority of seats in the new National Assembly. Al-Jaafari is likely to get the two-thirds majority of assembly votes he needs to win appointment by means of a deal with the main Kurdish ticket, which has been promised the less-powerful presidency. That post is to be filled by veteran Kurdish politician Jalal Talabani. Although al-Jaafari's term would last only until the end of the year, when Iraq is scheduled to hold new elections, he'll oversee the crucial process of drafting Iraq's permanent constitution. The drafting of the constitution has the potential to split the nation along ethnic lines or to draw it toward stability and democracy. [complete article] In Iraq, to be a hairstylist is to risk deathBy Monte Morin, Los Angeles Times, February 22, 2005 A bomb rips through a women's hair salon, shattering wall-length mirrors and shredding posters of coiffures. In another neighborhood, gunmen fire wildly into a busy barbershop, killing the owner and three teenage boys waiting for haircuts. At yet another shop, a masked visitor presses a note into the palm of a horrified haircutter. The message: "Our swords are thriving for the neck of barbers." Iraq's insurgency has long targeted local police, government leaders and national guardsmen as a means of destabilizing the nascent democracy, but now guerrillas have taken aim at a far more unlikely line of work. In what some describe as a Taliban-like effort to impose a militant Islamic aesthetic, extremists have been warning Iraqi barbers not to violate strict Islamic teachings by trimming or removing men's beards. Giving Western-style haircuts or removing hair in an "effeminate" manner, they say, are crimes punishable by death. [complete article] Chalabi withdraws bid to be next Iraqi PMAssociated Press, February 22, 2005 Interim Iraqi Vice President Ibrahim al-Jaafari was chosen Tuesday to be his Shiite ticket's candidate for prime minister after Ahmad Chalabi dropped his bid, senior alliance officials said. Pressure from within the ranks of the winning United Iraqi Alliance forced the withdrawal of Chalabi, a one-time Pentagon favorite, said Hussein al-Moussawi from the Shiite Political Council, an umbrella group for 38 Shiite parties. "They wanted him to withdraw. They didn't want to push the vote to a secret ballot," al-Moussawi said. The 140 members were to put the decision between Chalabi and al-Jaafari to a secret ballot by Tuesday's end. The decision came after three days of round-the-clock negotiations by senior members of the clergy-backed United Iraqi Alliance, which emerged from the Jan. 30 elections with a 140-seat majority in the 275-member parliament, or National Assembly. [complete article] Comment -- For a while, it was looking like Chalabi was adopting the Bush-2000 Rovian strategy: act like the winner and the skeptics will get sidelined. But though Chalabi can remain confident in his ability to string along American journalists, success in Iraqi politics perhaps calls for a broader range of skills than are required for effective campaigning in the US. For some, a loss in Iraq turns into antiwar activismBy Evelyn Nieves, Washington Post, February 22, 2005 Five minutes after President Bush began his State of the Union address, Cindy Sheehan clicked off her television set. She would read the transcript, watch the salute to the parents of a Marine killed in Fallujah, chew over such words as "ultimate sacrifice" and "fight against tyranny" -- the next morning. But that n |