Posted on 06/12/2003 9:11:52 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.
Britain is to contribute about 100 troops to a multinational peace-keeping force being sent to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Government announced yesterday.
Adam Ingram, the Armed Forces minister, said five staff officers, an engineer detachment and a Hercules transport aircraft would be sent to the north-east of the country, where fighting between the rival Lendu and Hema ethnic groups has killed thousands.
Sweden, Canada and South Africa will also contribute to the French-led force of up to 1,500 soldiers going to Bunia, the centre of the fighting.
Mr Ingram told MPs: "There can be no military solution to the problems in the region. The multinational force is an interim measure, deployed to help the UN. It has a limited short-term mandate and will begin to withdraw when UN reinforcements arrive later in the summer." He said the operation - the European Union's first military commitment outside Europe - was "a practical expression of the common foreign and security policy".
Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief, said: "No one underestimates the difficulty of the mission. But we are determined to succeed in helping the UN overcome the current humanitarian and security crisis in Bunia."
Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) young militians patrol the street of Bunia, east of Democratic Republic of Congo, close to the MONUC head quarter.
EU soldiers in Congo find their hands are tied
Ragged children sang and an elderly woman beamed toothlessly for the cameras as a convoy of French special forces rolled slowly through the Bunia suburb of Nyakasanza, the sun sparkling on their submachine guns.
The joy was not feigned. A massacre took place in Nyakasanza last month when the tribal war in Ituri province in north-east Congo spread into the town.
Militiamen of the Lendu tribe swept through the suburb looking for members of the smaller rival tribe, the Hema, to kill. Sixteen people, including two priests, were hiding in a Catholic church. They were led outside and hacked to pieces in the road.
In such scenes, painfully redolent of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, 500 people were butchered in Bunia last month, under the noses of 700 Uruguayan UN peacekeepers. With 55,000 dead in the three years of fighting in Ituri, the UN war crimes prosecutor, Carla del Ponte, said the slaughter could constitute genocide.
French ambassador to the United Nations, Jean-Marc de La Sabliere, wearing white suit at center, inspects the guard of honor made up of Uruguayan slodiers, Thursday, June 12, 2003, during the arrival of UN security council diplomats in Bunia, Congo. U.N. Security Council diplomats arrived in this northeastern Congolese town Thursday on a mission to relaunch a political process to end violence in the region.
Aung San Suu Kyi has not been seen in public since late May
Burma 'has no grudge' for Suu Kyi
Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win, quoted by the semi-official Myanmar Times, said the authorities would do everything in their power to achieve reconciliation with her.
The opposition leader has been held in what Burma's rulers describe as protective custody, since clashes between her followers and government supporters on 30 May.
Despite widespread calls for her release, both Malaysia and China warned on Friday against putting too much pressure on the Burmese authorities.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States said it had abandoned efforts to cajole Myanmar's military rulers into a dialogue with the opposition and would now act to punish Yangon for its crackdown on Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and her followers.
In addition, Secretary of State Colin Powell said he would push reluctant Southeast Asian nations to confront the junta with demands for democratic reforms when he attends a regional security meeting next week in Cambodia.
In the latest of a series of stinging, invective-filled US condemnations of the junta over the continued detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Powell also backed a congressional move to impose trade and other sanctions against Yangon.
Indonesian troops fire artillery at suspected Aceh rebel base
Indonesian troops fired artillery on a suspected separatist rebel base in Aceh after moving hundreds of villagers from their homes.
Residents said they heard 38 rounds fired throughout the morning towards a hilly area in Juli sub-district just south of Bireuen town.
Television footage also showed pictures of artillery being fired.
There were no reports of any casualty.
Earlier, about 1,000 residents of Juli were evacuated from their homes by military, police and private vehicles.
The armed forces on May 19 launched a major operation aimed at wiping out separatist rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
Friday, June 13, 2003 (Washington DC):
The US State Department warned American citizens against travelling to Indonesia because of the outbreak of hostilities in Aceh, where the Indonesian military is battling separatists belonging to the Free Aceh Movement.
The Indonesian government has warned all foreigners to leave Aceh and has said the conflict could result in terrorist attacks throughout the country, especially in cities.
"American citizens are strongly urged to avoid travelling to Aceh and those already present should leave immediately," the State Department said yesterday.
Soft targets are particularly vulnerable, including "hotels, clubs, restaurants, shopping centres, housing compounds, transportation systems, places of worship, schools or outdoor recreation events," the department said.
The statement supersedes the one issued April 25, which also warned Americans against nonessential travel to Indonesia. The department allowed the return of staff and family members to the US Embassy in Jakarta and the US Consulate General in Surabaya at that time. (AP)
Seoul, South Korea-AP -- The North Korean government says the Korean peninsula can solve its own problems -- and South Korea should start reunification talks without the help of the U-S.
Pyongyang is urging the South to agree to talks limited only to the two nations and is making the plea on the anniversary of a historic North-South summit two years ago.
The idea is a long-standing North Korean policy of opposing what it calls outside interference. South Korea, however, has firmly insisted that the U-S be part of talks between the two nations.
The Korean peninsula has been divided since 1945. About 37-thousand U-S troops are based in the South, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War.
North Korea food shortages seen getting worse
SEOUL, June 13 (Reuters) - North Korea's food situation, shaky for the past decade as the communist state battles famine and deepening international isolation, appears to be worsening this year, a veteran relief worker said on Friday.
Kathi Zellweger, who heads relief efforts for North Korea of the Catholic charity group Caritas, said that on the most recent of her 42 visits to the country, people displayed a "deep fear" of a U.S. attack over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programmes.
She said Pyongyang's political isolation because of an eight-month-old nuclear impasse compounded problems of donor fatigue and shocks from economic policy changes in the North.
U.N. agencies have been forced to reduce operations that have fed about a third of the 22 million North Koreans for the past five years, and warned of dire shortfalls in coming months.
"We at Caritas also have indications that the situation is slipping back into a much more difficult period," Zellweger told Reuters in an interview in Seoul. "We have horrendous difficulties in raising money to help North Korea."
Describing North Korea as "an industrialised country on a downward spiral", she said its chronic energy shortages and lack of access to foreign markets and capital had hobbled industries that might earn cash to buy food it can not produce.
A sweeping overhaul of prices and salaries introduced nearly a year ago had fostered an awareness of modern market economics in the strictly planned economy, but also brought great pain.
"We see more haves and have-nots developing," Zellweger said.
Many North Korean refugees who have settled in South Korea say they never saw or heard of foreign food aid when they lived in the North -- raising suspicions that communist officials were pocketing aid or diverting it to the powerful military.
But Zellweger said aid seldom reaches North Korean adults because relief agencies focus their limited resources on feeding the most vulnerable groups, such as children and pregnant women.
"An adult will not see food aid, because he is not on any beneficiary list," she said. "We tend to feed the most vulnerable, but even for the average adult, life is a struggle."
North Korea issues ominous threats in the showdown with the United States over Pyongyang's nuclear brinkmanship, but Zellweger said the country lived in "deep fear" of a U.S. attack.
An Iraqi bunker explodes during fierce fighting with US soldiers. US Central Command confirmed that 27 Iraqis were killed during fierce clashes in Balad, northeast of Baghdad.
Campaign Vs. Saddam Loyalists in Day 4
DULUIYAH, Iraq - A massive U.S. campaign to crush resistance by supporters of the ousted Saddam Hussein regime entered its fourth day Friday with U.S. officials saying a large number of Iraqi fighters had been killed.
Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said U.S. forces were sifting through intelligence that "foreign fighters" may have been at an alleged terrorist training camp northwest of Baghdad targeted by U.S. forces.
If true, it would be the first indication that volunteers from other Arab countries were still in Iraq since the war was declared effectively over on May 1. Before the war in March, Iraq claimed that thousands of Arab fighters poured into the country to resist the invasion. They provided some of the stiffest resistance once American forces entered Baghdad.
Six U.S. soldiers have been wounded in the past 24 hours in fighting in all of Iraq, said Capt. John Morgan, spokesman in Baghdad for the Army's V Corps.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. forces killed 27 Iraqi fighters in a ground and air pursuit Friday after the Iraqis attacked an American tank patrol north of Baghdad, the military said.
U.S. Central Command said an "organized group" ambushed the tanks in Balad, about 35 miles from the capital on the main highway north. The statement made no mention of U.S. casualties.
The patrol returned fire and killed four of the assailants in the initial gunbattle, the military said.
When the rest of the attackers fled, Apache helicopters joined the chase along with tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles, killing 23 more assailants. The statement did not say whether any escaped.
The attack was the latest in increasing resistance to the American-led occupation of Iraq since the war was declared over on May 1.
Since then, about 40 Americans have been killed in ambushes and by sniper fire, mainly in the central area of Iraq where ousted President Saddam Hussein drew most of his support.
US troops in Iraq. US troops have detained 74 suspected Al-Qaeda sympathisers in a raid in northern Iraq, Central Command said in its first explicit claim of involvement by Osama bin Laden's Islamist militant network in post-war unrest here.
US troops detain 74 suspected Al-Qaeda sympathisers in Iraq
BAGHDAD (AFP) - US troops have detained 74 suspected Al-Qaeda sympathisers in a raid in northern Iraq, Central Command said in its first explicit claim of involvement by Osama bin Laden's Islamist militant network in post-war unrest here.
"The 173rd Airborne Brigade conducted a raid Thursday near (the northern oil capital of) Kirkuk after receiving intelligence information about alleged anti-coalition elements. They apprehended 74 suspected Al-Qaeda sympathizers," Centcom said in a short statement.
US commanders have thus far put the main blame for deadly attacks against coalition troops here on loyalists of the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein although they have acknowledged that foreign "fanatics" might also have had a role.
Separately, US troops launched a massive operation in northwestern Iraq before dawn Thursday against what the coalition said was a "terrorist training camp."
Military spokesmen in Baghdad said they could give no further details on that operation as it was still ongoing Friday.
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said on Friday sabotage had caused a fire in the Iraqi section of a pipeline carrying oil to Turkey.
U.S. engineers said earlier there was a fire on the main oil export pipeline from the Kirkuk oilfields in northern Iraq to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, but said it was due to a gas leak.
Gul did not specify the source of his information.
"Unfortunately there was sabotage there. Right now there is an investigation and evaluation but we haven't yet had a report on the size and dimensions of the business. It will become clear this evening," Gul told reporters in Ankara.
It was not yet clear whether the fire had been put out.
The 600-mile pipeline had a capacity of 1.1 million barrels per day, but was only just beginning to resume operations after the U.S.-led war.
Despite pressure from the United States and local Kurds for it to pull out, Turkey keeps a military force in northern Iraq to crack down on Kurdish rebels based there and monitor the local Kurdish administration.
Having fought Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq since 1984, Turkey sees the region as crucial to its own security.
There are many misconceptions in the news. First the news people think the Bush administration is as naive as they are. Thus they think that at the summit a week ago our nation was unaware of what the terrorists were going to do in response. Anyone who had studied the middle east for more than 15 seconds could have and did predict that the terrorist groups would respond with terror.
It should also be obvious that if the Bush administration is serious about peace in the Middle East the terrorist groups must be destroyed. I would say our strategy when the terrorism started was to condemn both the Terrorists for the terrorist activities and condemn the Israelis for fighting back. That lets us remain the almost neutral broker. It is also clear that as Israel proceeds to destroy Hamas and other terrorist groups, the United States will just stand their going... tsk tsk tsk... this is so terrible.. golly geeee.
But if Israel does destroy them all, as it says it will, then a good and lasting peace can be established. That had to be in the plan to fix the middle east from day one of the Bush administration.
That is my take on the Bush Administration goal. If the terrorists in Afghanistan, Iraq and now the Palestinian terrorists are severely damaged, the rest of the Muslim world will start to really get the message. If we get the Palestine situation under control, and do an external overthrow of Iran, then the Saudi princes are going to get very nervous, but not nearly as nervous as the Syrians. They both are quite likely to do what ever we say.
Both the Muslim world and the Democrats are trying to see that this effort fails. But I really don't think it will. It will take a large pile of dead bad guys before we can make peace in the middle east. That looks to me like what is taking place.
But only a media person could be dumb enough to not understand that all that has happened was foreseen and planned for by this administration.
A US trooper accompanied by Iraqi police in their newly reacquired AK-47s and bullet-proof vests, guard confiscated chemicals and equipment which are being sold at a public market in Baghdad, Iraq on Thursday, June 12, 2003. Looters still abound around the capital as the US forces try to restore order following the fall of Saddam Hussein.
After the fall of Saddam Hussein, weapons are everywhere in Iraq, left over from the disbanded army or looted from government storehouses. People are not only hoarding them, they're buying — and the market is ready to meet the demand.
"An order for tens of rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and other similar weapons is usually delivered within 24 hours," says Hussein, 26, who packs a pistol hidden underneath his shirt "for personal protection. We have no security."
Workers at Iraq's largest refinery complex in the northern town of Baiji, where a fire is raging, sparked allegedly by loyalists of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein
Explosions on Gas Pipeline in N. Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two explosions tore through a gas pipeline in northern Iraq (news - web sites), a U.S. military spokesman said, adding that it did not appear to be sabotage.
The explosions Thursday night in the Makhoul region, about 150 miles north of Baghdad, appeared to be similar to earlier accidents on the pipeline, said Capt. John Morgan of the V Army Corps.
"It doesn't appear to be anything different than previous explosions in that area," Morgan said.
U.S. Army and Iraqi engineers were inspecting and repairing the ruptures Friday, he added.
The U.S. account contradicted a report from the Iranian-financed Al Aalam television station, which quoted witnesses as saying they saw fires erupting on an oil pipeline from two bombs.
Al Aalam said the explosions were a deliberate attack designed to thwart Iraq's first oil export deal since the end of the war to oust Saddam Hussein two months ago.
The explosions came a day after Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization announced a tender for 9.5 million barrels awarded to U.S. and European refineries for export during the second half of June.
WASHINGTON - Halliburton's contract to restart Iraq's oil production has doubled in cost over the past month, and the no-bid work may last longer than expected, the Army says.
The expanded role awarded to Vice President Dick Cheney's former company cost taxpayers $184.7 million as of last week, up from $76.7 million a month ago, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers confirmed this week.
The Corps, which issues noncompetitive work orders under the contract, initially had estimated that a replacement contract would be awarded through competitive bidding by August. It now is backing off that estimate.
Powell Defends Intelligence on Iraq Weapon
WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Colin Powell says the intelligence around which the United States built its arguments for war in Iraq "isn't a figment of somebody's imagination," and Iraqi nuclear scientists could hold the key to proving the information is accurate.
In an interview Thursday with The Associated Press, Powell said the Bush administration believes Saddam Hussein had both deadly weapons and programs to develop them. He suggested that the United States would help Iraqi scientists if they share what they know about Saddam's weapons.
"Saddam Hussein kept them together so that if the opportunity ever presented itself, he could create nuclear programs. We want to make sure those scientists are no longer kept together in a cell ... but that they go on to find other things to do," Powell said.
JERUSALEM - Two Israeli motorists were injured in a shooting attack Friday on a road near the West Bank town of Ramallah, Israel Radio reported.
Rescue workers said gunshots were fired at a car, wounding two Israelis, one of them seriously.
Over 32 months of fighting, Palestinian gunmen have repeatedly targeted Israeli settlers living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip
Poll: Israelis Oppose Military Strikes
JERUSALEM - Most Israelis oppose the latest round of airborne strikes against Palestinian militants, according to a poll published Friday in an Israeli newspaper.
The survey in the Yediot Ahronot newspaper found that 58 percent of Israelis believe that Israel should temporarily halt the killing of militants to give the new Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, time to establish himself in his position.
Under the requirements of a U.S.-backed peace plan, Abbas must rein in militant groups, but so far he's been unable to broker a cease-fire with the Islamic Hamas, which has been responsible for most of the suicide bombings that have killed 368 people over the last 32 months of fighting.
Last Friday, Hamas called off truce talks with Abbas. This week Israel launched four airborne raids against Hamas members.
The strikes have prompted calls for revenge from Hamas supporters. The group dispatched a bomber who blew up a bus in Jerusalem Wednesday, killing himself and 17 other people.
Nine percent of those questioned in the poll said they wanted the military strikes to stop altogether and 30 percent said they should continue.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said this week that he would fight militants "to the bitter end." Israel says it has no choice but to strike at militant leaders. The attacks often kill civilian bystanders and Palestinians criticize them as crude assassinations.
The poll also showed that 67 percent of Israelis agree with recent statements by Sharon that Israel must end its occupation of Palestinian areas. Sharon made the remarks ahead of the launch of a U.S.-backed Mideast peace plan that envisions the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.
The survey, conducted by the Mina Tzemah/Dahaf polling company, questioned a representative sample of 501 Israelis this week and has a margin of error of 4.5 percent.
Adel Al-Jubeir, Foreign Policy Affairs Advisor to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, speaks to reporters about his government's new efforts to counter terrorism following last month's Riyadh bombings Thursday, June 12, 2003, in Washington. Al-Jubeir also spoke about Saudi Arabia's support for President Bush's efforts for peace in the Middle East and condemned the recent surge in violence between Israelis and Palestinians over the past few days.
Saudi official condems terrorism, but not Hamas
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Saudi Arabia condemned terrorism "in all its forms," but refrained from openly criticizing Hamas, the group that claimed responsibility for Wednesday's bus blast in Jerusalem that killed 16.
Adel Al-Jubeir, advisor to Crown Prince Abdallah ben-Abdel Aziz, criticized the Israeli government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at a press conference at the Saudi embassy here and refused to condemn Hamas, despite repeated questions from reporters.
"We have condemned terrorism in all its forms," said al-Jubeir.
Washington considers Hamas, a fundamentalist Islamic group that operates in the occupied terrories and the Gaza strip, a terrorist organization.
"I think that the prime minister of Israel has to think very seriously about his policy," Al-Jubeir said.
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