Posted on 05/23/2003 10:05:39 PM PDT by null and void
Good Morning.
This is the Daily Thread of Operation Infinite Freedom, formerly Operation Iraqi Freedom - Situation Room - LIVE THREAD.
It is designed for general conversation about the ongoing war on terror, and the related events of the day. In depth discussion of events should be left to individual threads - but links to the threads or other articles is highly encouraged. This allows us to stay abreast of the situation in general, while also providing a means of obtaining specific information.
Cheney: "The only way to deal with this threat is to destroy it...There's no treaty, no peace agreement....to deal with it." ...
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This link is a very interesting Fred Barnes article :
The Commander: How Tommy Franks won the Iraq war
French underhandedness here:
Washington Times to Break Story 5-24/US Has French Supplied Passports Found in Iraq
This is a link to a powerful article by Victor Davis Hanson on why Pressing ahead is our only choice in the Middle East!
Yet Franks, who will retire in July, remains a little-known figure and not quite an identifiable national celebrity. He has gone out of his way to differentiate himself from Schwarzkopf, the high profile Gulf War commander who delivered energetic press briefings almost daily. The press clamored for Franks to brief, but he did so only three times during his weeks in the war zone.
Patton -- the slave following the conquering roman. gen. -- victory is fleeting. Franks is wise to act in this manner.
Fri May 23, 5:55 PM ET
US President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush
Bush sees possible Middle East summit
CRAWFORD, Texas (AFP) - US President George W. Bush fueled speculation he may convey his first Middle East summit next month, saying he would meet with Israeli and the Palestinian leaders if it will promote peace.
Administration officials told AFP that Bush may tack on a get-together with prime ministers Ariel Sharon and Mahmud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority after the June 1-3 G8 summit in France, with Egypt the most likely venue.
Sharon Faces Challenge Selling 'Road Map'
JERUSALEM - After reluctantly embracing a U.S.-backed peace plan Friday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon faced stiff opposition from hardline ministers in his Cabinet, where the "road map" to Palestinian statehood could be voted on as early as Sunday.
Even if the plan wins Israeli approval — the Palestinians said "yes" a month ago — it could easily hit new snags before the two sides even take the first step toward implementation.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell says the United States may send intelligence and security experts to the Middle East to help coordinate peace efforts between Israelis and Palestinians.
Mr. Powell says the group would have a coordinating role in helping the two sides implement the "road map" to peace.
US and Israel look set to embrace assassination
Targeted killings, worldwide, may be developing as the policy option of choice
As the “war on terrorism” reaches a new crescendo, and with the United States going on high alert for new attacks, the prospect that the Americans and Israelis will intensify their strategy of pre-emptive strikes against Islamic militants and their allies grows more likely. Ed Blanche examines the murky world of counter-terrorism in the first of two articles
The Bush administration has imposed stiff economic sanctions on one of China's largest state-run manufacturers for selling missile-related goods to Iran.
The two-year sanctions will, for the first time, bar any exports to the United States from a Chinese firm, in this case North China Industries Corp., known as Norinco, which manufactures an array of military and civilian products.
Bush administration officials said conservative official estimates are that the sanctions will cost Beijing "hundreds of millions" of dollars annually in lost sales in the United States.
A U.S. military intelligence team in Iraq has uncovered a dozen French passports, and defense officials believe other French passports from the same batch were used by Iraqis to flee the country.
Defense officials are still investigating whether the passports were provided covertly by the French government, or were stolen or forged by Saddam Hussein's regime, said defense officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
NEW YORK (AP) -- China has emerged as an increasingly powerful competitor in global markets, but its military technology remains at least two decades behind that of the United States, a report has found.
The Council on Foreign Relations report said the United States is likely to continue to lead China in military capability for at least 20 years if the United States continues its rate of military spending.
President Bush said yesterday that he is considering a joint meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas now that both leaders have accepted his peace plan.
The announcement came after Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice publicly acknowledged that Israel has "significant concerns" with the peace plan and promised to address them.
European allies refuse to cut ties with Arafat
PARIS -- America's European allies yesterday rejected a call from Secretary of State Colin L. Powell to sever ties with Yasser Arafat, the beleaguered Palestinian leader, even as U.S. officials accused him of "undercutting" his new prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas.
French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, who met with Mr. Powell during the annual meeting of top diplomats from the Group of Eight — the seven most industrialized countries and Russia — said he would visit Mr. Arafat when he goes to the Middle East early next week
The commander of the Royal Irish Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Tim Collins, failed to counteract a vicious and pervasive bullying culture that drove an 18-year-old Belfast soldier to shoot himself, the young man's family claimed yesterday.
Paul Cochrane was in the army less than two years when he apparently committed suicide by firing his gun into his mouth at Drumadd barracks, Armagh, in July 2001 while talking to his father on his mobile phone.
President Bush yesterday threatened "tougher measures" against North Korea if it continues to develop nuclear weapons and condemned Pyongyang for kidnapping Japanese citizens.
"We will not tolerate nuclear weapons in North Korea," Mr. Bush said at a Texas news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. "We will not give in to blackmail.
"We will not settle for anything less than the complete, verifiable and irreversible elimination of North Korea's nuclear-weapons program," he said.
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