Posted on 06/10/2003 9:35:16 PM PDT by null and void
Good Morning.
Welcome to the daily thread of Operation Infinite Freedom - Situation Room.
It is designed for general conversation about the ongoing war on terror, and the related events of the day. In addition to the ongoing conversations related to terrorism and our place in it's ultimate defeat, this thread is a clearinghouse of links to War On Terrorism threads. This allows us to stay abreast of the situation in general, while also providing a means of obtaining specific information and mutual support.
Key Hamas Leader Survives Israeli Attack
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israel sent helicopters to kill a senior Hamas political leader in the crowded streets of Gaza on Tuesday but failed, leaving two other Palestinians dead and 27 wounded. The missile attack threatened to rekindle a cycle of violence and wreck a new U.S.-backed peace effort.
The strike against Abdel Aziz Rantisi drew a reproach from President Bush, who said he was "deeply troubled" by the violence, and vows of vengeance from the Islamic militant group, which threatened new suicide bombings and attacks on Israeli political leaders.
Israel's Sharon Faces Questions on Ethics
JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon defended himself against allegations of conflict of interest in testimony before an Israeli parliamentary committee Tuesday, saying he had done nothing wrong.
Sharon could face criminal charges over the allegations by the state comptroller that he improperly promoted a farm bill that could benefit him and his sons. The Sharon family owns a large ranch in Israel's southern Negev desert and other land.
He and his two sons are already under a separate police investigation for their roles in receiving a questionable loan from a South African businessman to cover illegal campaign expenditures.
The farm bill at the center of the allegations against Sharon would allow people who own land designated for agricultural purposes to rent buildings on their land to outside businesses.
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld shakes hands with Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano during their meeting in Tirana.
Rumsfeld meets top government officials in Albania
TIRANA, Albania (AFP) - US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld met with President Alfred Moisiu and other top government leaders during a brief visit to Tirana to thank Albania for its support for the US-led war in Iraq.
Rumsfeld, who is on a four-day tour of Europe, did not speak to reporters after a 45-minute meeting with Prime Minister Fatos Nano, or following earlier talks with Moisiu and Defence Minister Pandeli Majko.
He was to fly later Tuesday to Munich, Germany, and planned to travel on to Brussels on Wednesday.
Blix hits out at "bastards" in Pentagon
LONDON (AFP) - Outgoing chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix has described certain members of the US administration as "bastards" who set out to undermine him during his three years at the helm.
In an uncharacteristic outburst to a British newspaper published Wednesday, Blix said: "I have my detractors in Washington. There are bastards who spread things around, of course, who planted nasty things in the media. Not that I cared very much."
In his interview to The Guardian, Blix also accused Washington of regarding the United Nations as an "alien power" which it hoped would sink without trace.
Asked if he believed he had been the target of a deliberate smear campaign, Blix told the daily: "Yes, I probably was at a lower level."
U.K. Panel Rips Blair on Iraqi Weapons
LONDON - An influential committee of lawmakers criticized Prime Minister Tony Blair's government Tuesday for publishing a dossier on Iraq's weapons program without first clearing its contents with British intelligence services.
The dossier, which set out evidence about Saddam Hussein's alleged chemical and biological weapons programs, was published early this year. It included material copied from an American student's thesis which was posted on the Internet, causing embarrassment for the government.
The Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, which oversees the work of Britain's intelligence agencies, said in its annual report that the document had not been endorsed by intelligence chiefs before it was published. It was titled "Iraq: Its Infrastructure of Concealment, Deception and Intimidation."
Powell Offers Friendship to Kirchner
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Secretary of State Colin Powell offered friendship Tuesday to newly installed President Nestor Kirchner and said he hoped to put U.S.-Argentine relations on a sounder footing.
"We are looking for strong relationships between two friends and we look forward to working with the new president and his administration," Powell said as he left a midmorning meeting with Kirchner. He flew back to Washington immediately afterward.
Powell stopped in Buenos Aires on Tuesday after attending an Organization of American States foreign ministers meeting in Santiago, Chile the day before. A senior OAS official said there was optimism that the U.S.-Argentine relations can prosper now that President Bush has a new team of economic advisers.
MANAMA, Bahrain - The U.S. Navy said Tuesday that it will increase its presence around the Horn of Africa to deter terrorists.
The U.S. Navy 5th Fleet sent a bulletin to merchant shippers informing them of the "increased military presence in response to ongoing counterterrorism operations" in the region, Lt. Garrett Kasper, a 5th Fleet spokesman, said.
"The increased military presence will serve as a deterrent for terrorists to rethink their potential actions," Kasper said.
Last month, President Bush listed the Horn of Africa as one region where the United States was pursuing members of the al-Qaida terrorist network.
WASHINGTON - Hae Nam Ji seemed lost in thought. Perhaps it was the long flight from South Korea the day before. Perhaps it was this city's unfamiliar surroundings. Or possibly it was the deeply etched memories of a past too awful to forget.
As she described it, her first 40 years, by the standards of her native North Korea, were relatively normal. A college graduate, she was engaged in exhorting workers in several factories to toe the party line. "What the party decides, we follow!" she would tell them.
Then came The Mistake. Accompanied by four friends one evening in December 1992, she taught them a song titled "Don't Cry Hongo," a 1970s-era tune, a forbidden import from archenemy South Korea.
Retaliation came slowly but with a vengeance. Four months later she was detained in her native Hamkyungnam-do and taken to the Security Protection agency.
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