SEPTEMBER 1, 1998 : (SUDAN FACTORY HAD EARLIER BEEN SINGLED OUT DURING COVERT OP MONTHS BEFORE) "The Sudanese pharmaceutical factory destroyed in last month's U.S. cruise missile attack was singled out as a possible target months earlier, during a covert operation in which U.S. intelligence agencies inserted an agent to obtain one of several soil samples used later to justify the strike, senior intelligence officials said Monday.." - Washington Post 9/1/98 Vernon Loeb Bradley Graham via Alamo-Girl*
*".Saddam, who has become America's favorite nemesis, tells all kinds of fanciful tales that we've always assumed to be lies. The Taleban guys, accomplished liars as well, are offended that anyone thinks there's anything wrong with coddling Osama bin Laden, and the Sudanese insist that the chemical factory Mr. Clinton's Tomahawks leveled was not a poison gas factory at all, but a place where the Sudanese made the laxatives, aspirin, pills, elixirs, liniment and other stuff to make life in the Islamic state tolerable. Not so long ago this never would would have been an argument. If an American president said it, who but evil-doers would have doubted him? ." - Wesley Pruden , Washington Times 9/1/98, via Alamo-Girl*
SEPTEMBER 1, 1998 : (COHEN & TENET COMMENT ON SUDAN STRIKE & SALEH IDRIS) ... what was the role of bin Ladin and what was the role of Iraq? Today [Sept 2, 1998?], the NYT reported that Sec Def Cohen and CIA Director Tenet briefed congress yesterday and "provided what they said was new and not fully evaluated evidence of financial ties between the plant's owner, Saleh Idris, and Osama Bin Ladin. . . They are convinced that the decision to destroy the plant was sound, though they have backed away from assertions that bin Laden was a direct investor in the plant, which they initially described as making no commercial products, when in fact it produced medicine."
If the administration only presented evidence that was "not fully evaluated" of Bin Ladin's alleged ties to the plant, that would suggest that it does not have "fully evaluated" evidence for that. And "Iraq News" does not believe it will ever come up with significant, credible evidence linking bin Ladin to that plant. VX production is not a private sector enterprise. It is produced by Gov't's. And the plant's ties to Iraq, rather than Bin Ladin, is what made it suspicious. It is the bet of "Iraq News" that after the Kenya/Tanzania bombings, the administration wanted to hit an Iraqi target, but not an Iraq target in Iraq. - "More Criticism; Sudan and Iraq," By Laurie Mylroie , Iraq News, SEPTEMBER 2, 1998
SEPTEMBER 2, 1998 : (28th DAY OF NO INSPECTIONS IN IRAQ) This is the 28th day without weapons inspections in Iraq.- "More Criticism; Sudan and Iraq," Iraq News, SEPTEMBER 2, 1998, By Laurie Mylroie (inc sources : I. BOSTON GLOBE, US HAS GONE SOFT ON IRAQ INSPECTIONS, AUG 28 [1998]; II. JOHN BOLTON, CLINTON/ALBRIGHT'S DECEIT, WEEKLY STANDARD, SEPT 7; III. IRAQI VICE PRESIDENT TOURS SUDAN'S SHIFA FACTORY, SUDAN TV, AUG 31)
SEPTEMBER 3, 1998 : (IRAQ, SCOTT RITTER COMMITTEE TESTIMONY) Ritter was invited to testify at a joint hearing of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees on September 3, 1998. Strom Thurmond, the South Carolina Republican, introduced Ritter as "a tough and demanding inspector" and a "dedicated American." Ritter wasted no time in offering his assessment of the continuing threat: "Iraq has not been disarmed." The United States, he claimed, had deliberately thwarted the U.N. inspections for fear of a confrontation with Iraq. He ripped the administration for its refusal to back up the inspections process with a legitimate use of force, including, but not limited to, removing Saddam Hussein's regime. http://www.theweeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/000/524dplvk.asp *
SEPTEMBER 3, 1998 : (IRAQ : UNSCOM : RITTER TESTIMONY AFFIRMS IRAQ HAD ASSEMBLED COMPONENTS FOR 3 NUCLEAR WEAPONS) In testimony before the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees on Sept. 3, 1998 – just eight days after resigning as chief weapons inspector – Ritter affirmed that UNSCOM had intelligence suggesting Iraq had assembled the components for three nuclear weapons. All Baghdad lacked, Ritter confirmed, was the fissile material. Ritter said in that 1998 testimony that if Iraq were to reconstruct its old program for producing fissile material, it could have a bomb in several years. He said he resigned because he felt "Iraq remained insufficiently disarmed and ready to restart its nuclear and biological weapons programs." - "Baghdad pressuring Ritter? Wolfowitz says Baghdad has history of blackmailing weapons inspectors ," By Art Moore, WorldNetDaily.com, Friday, January 24, 2003
SEPTEMBER 3, 1998 : (RITTER QUOTE ON IRAQ'S ABILITY TO RECONSTITUTE ITS WMD PROGRAMS) "Once effective inspection regimes have been terminated, Iraq will be able to reconstitute the entirety of its former nuclear, chemical, and ballistic missile delivery system capabilities within a period of six months."- Scott Ritter, September 3, 1998
SEPTEMBER 8, 1998 : (GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN LOOMS) ".I am writing to urge you to pass -- as quickly as possible -- a Continuing Resolution to ensure that the government does not shut down this fall. It has become obvious that Bill Clinton plans to shut the government down to diver the nation's attention from his legal problems. This domestic version of the "Wag the Dog" strategy is the largest abuse of power ever considered by an elected official in the history of our country.." - Peter Cleary of Americans for Tax Reform, US Newswire press Release 9/8/98 , via Alamo-Girl's Downside Legacy at Two Degrees of President Clinton
SEPTEMBER 9, 1998 : (RITTER TESTIMONY BEFORE SENATE) IRAQ is hiding three technologically complete nuclear bombs and is lacking only fissionable materials to make them operational. This is the view of Scott Ritter, the United Nations arms inspector who resigned on August 26, 1998. Mr Ritter made his claim at a recent meeting of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. It was published for the first time yesterday (9/09/98) by Zeev Schiff, military editor of Haaretz, the Tel Avivhe disclosure, and others about biological and chemical weapons held by Baghdad, came as another showdown between Iraq and the UN loomed. According to Mr Schiff's report on the claims by Mr Ritter, the longest-serving American weapons inspector, Unscom knows where the three nearly complete nuclear bombs are hidden. The UN team is also said by Mr Ritter to have information on the method used to conceal the bombs, the units and officers responsible for guarding them, and the types of vehicle employed to transport them in the game of cat and mouse between Saddam and the UN experts. Mr Ritter claimed that, despite the information available, no order was given to the team to conduct a surprise inspection of the site. He claimed that the Security Council and the Clinton Administration had blocked the work of the inspectors just as they were "on the doorstep" of uncovering Iraq's hidden non-conventional weapons of mass destruction. His revelation about the existence of the three bombs has again heightened tensions in the Middle East and raised the stakes in any new confrontation between Iraq and the West. Israel has long believed that it would be the first target of any Iraqi nuclear strike.
As the news about the nuclear devices broke, Security Council members were in the middle of discussing a US-British draft resolution to suspend regular 60-day reviews of UN sanctions until Iraq co-operates with the inspectors.
Mr Schiff, reporting Mr Ritter's disclosures, said: "Unscom inspectors also came up with evidence suggesting that Iraq carried out biological weapons tests on human beings in 1995." No details are available about this claim. It is not known, for instance, if prisoners of war were involved in the alleged test. "Ritter also discovered that Iraq had deliberately reported an exaggerated number of chemical bombs that it had used in the [1991 Gulf] War. The reason: so that Baghdad could hide thousands of such bombs and seven tons of chemical components." Iraq claimed on Tuesday that a new report by Richard Butler, the chief UN weapons inspector, that his arms experts had been barred from three sites was politically motivated and a lie aimed at discrediting Baghdad. The inspectors have to be satisfied that they have accounted for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction before sanctions imposed in August 1990, when Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait, can be lifted.Haaretz quoted Mr Ritter as revealing that proof also existed that Iraq had been manufacturing chemical weapons outside its borders since the Gulf War. He said that Unscom wanted to pursue this lead in Sudan, but its mandate limited its activities to Iraq- "Ritter: Baghdad 'possesses three nuclear bombs' ," by Christopher Walker, Times of London, 9/10/98
SEPTEMBER 9, 1998 : (IRAQ, UN RESOLUTION TO WITHDRAW INSPECTORS) Babel, the Baghdad paper owned by Uday, Saddam's eldest son, issued a warning that, if the resolution were to be adopted, Iraq would boycott the UN Security Council. - "Ritter: Baghdad 'possesses three nuclear bombs,'" by Christopher Walker, Times of London, 9/10/98
SEPTEMBER 9, 1998 : (UN SEC COUNCIL RESOLUTION) [UN Security Council resolution] 1194 (Sept. 9, 1998) ... [was] issued condemning Iraq—ineffectual words that had no effect.
SEPTEMBER 9, 1998 : (UNSC SUSPENDS SANCTIONS REVIEWS) UN Security Council unanimously passes Resolution 1194, suspending sanctions reviews.- Iraq - Scotsman says Saddam has weapons to wipe out world's population, nuclear bomb within 3 years "The Scotsman dossier - SPECIAL REPORT ON IRAQ" by Fraser Nelson, Westminster Editor
SEPTEMBER 9, 1998 : (IRAQ THREATENS TO BOYCOTT SECURITY COUNCIL) As Scott Ritter's news about the nuclear devices broke, Security Council members were in the middle of discussing a US-British draft resolution to suspend regular 60-day reviews of UN sanctions until Iraq co-operates with the inspectors.Yesterday (9/09/98) Babel, the Baghdad paper owned by Uday, Saddam's eldest son, issued a warning that, if the resolution were to be adopted, Iraq would boycott the Security Council. - "Ritter: Baghdad 'possesses three nuclear bombs' ," by Christopher Walker, Times of London, 9/10/98
SEPTEMBER 10, 1998 : (UN ENVOY SHAH RETURNS TO IRAQ AFTER INFORMING THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL OF HIS FAILURE TO GET IRAQI COOPERATION) Prakash Shah, the UN special envoy to Iraq, returns there today (9/10/98) after telling the Security Council of his failure to persuade President Saddam Hussein to resume co-operation with arms inspectors.- "Ritter: Baghdad 'possesses three nuclear bombs' ," by Christopher Walker, Times of London, 9/10/98
SEPTEMBER 10, 1998 : (UNSCOM INSPECTOR RITTER, IRAQ, NUKES) Iraq is hiding three technologically complete nuclear bombs and is lacking only fissionable materials to make them operational. This is the view of Scott Ritter, the United Nations arms inspector who resigned on August 26. Mr Ritter made his claim at a recent meeting of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. It was published for the first time yesterday by Zeev Schiff, military editor of Haaretz, the Tel Aviv daily. Haaretz quoted Mr Ritter as revealing that proof also existed that Iraq had been manufacturing chemical weapons outside its borders since the Gulf War. He said that Unscom wanted to pursue this lead in Sudan, but its mandate limited its activities to Iraq. - "Ritter: Baghdad 'possesses three nuclear bombs,'" by Christopher Walker, Times of London, 9/10/98
SEPTEMBER 11, 1998 : (AFGHANISTAN, TALIBAN, MASSACRES) The UN announces that it has confirmed an accusation by Amnesty International that the Taliban government of Afghanistan had massacred thousands of people near Mazar-i-Sharif in 8/98. The killings were committed because the victims were of the Hazara ethnic group and of the Shiite denomination of Islam. The UN determined that the number of victims, between 4,000 and 6,000 people, was about three times more than AI had alleged.
SEPTEMBER 12, 1998 : (CUBAN SPY RING ARRESTS IN FLORIDA) Ten people allegedly operating as a Cuban spy ring "have been arrested and accused of collecting information on U.S. military installations and anti-Castro groups in Florida, federal officials announced today. The arrests, carried out Saturday [12 Sep. 1998], ended the most extensive espionage effort involving Cuban agents ever uncovered here, U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Scott said."
SEPTEMBER 15, 1998 : (NORTH KOREAN MISSILE MAY BE A THREE STAGE TYPE) The Daily Yomiuri reported on 9/15/98 that "The missile fired by North Korea on Aug. 31 was likely a three-stage rocket carrying a very small satellite, not a two-stage ballistic missile as originally suspected, the government learned from an unofficial U.S. source on Monday..However, both Japan and the United States are concerned that if the rocket was the three-stage type, they have seriously underestimated North Korea's missile technology. .A Foreign Ministry official said the United States would demand Pyongyang limit its missile development program because "the technology used to produce three-stage rockets can also apply to the technology for intercontinental ballistic missiles."."
(NORTH KOREA ACCUSES JAPAN OF USING N KOREAN MISSILE TEST AS AN EXCUSE TO BUILD UP ITS MILITARY) "North Korea has accused Japan of trying to use the North's recent rocket launch as an excuse to build up its military and said Tokyo harbors a plan to ultimately invade the North. In a statement issued by its Foreign Ministry, North Korea said Japan was using the launch to deflect attention from its domestic economic crisis." - AP 9/16/98 Tokyo
SEPT. 18, 1998 (CHANG, DNC, MCAULIFFE, TORICELLI) Mr. Chang gives $50,000 to the Democratic National Committee.
SEPT. 20, 1998 (CHANG, DNC, MCAULIFFE, TORICELLI : CHANGMEETS WITH COL. PRITCHARD) Mr. Chang meets in New York with Col. Jack Pritchard, a National Security Council senior ofcial for Asian affairs, to discuss policy ideas related to North Korea.
SEPTEMBER 21, 1998 : (LEFTIES : RAMSEY CLARK ON SUDAN) [former] "U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark said Tuesday the U.S. government had wanted an excuse to strike at Sudan last month and the decision to bomb a pharmaceutical plant there was strictly political. Clark made the accusations to reporters after returning from Sudan, where he led a delegation from the International Action Center on a fact-finding mission to the El Shifa pharmaceutical factory, which was destroyed by U.S. cruise missiles on Aug. 20.."It is absolutely absurd to believe that they scooped up some dirt and found nerve gas on the outside of the plant,'' Clark said, adding there were some four million people living in the Khartoum area and that any nerve gas would have affected local residents.." - Reuters 9/21/98 via Alamo-Girl
SEPTEMBER 1998 late : (UN : ARAB STATES' DRAFT RESOLUTION) "Arab states on Monday submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling for a fact-finding mission to verify US claims about a Sudanese factory hit by US missiles. Bahrain ambassador Jassim Buallay submitted the draft resolution on behalf of the UN Arab Group. But the US delegation said that further bilateral discussions were needed, and that the United Nations was not the appropriate forum for the issue, according to western diplomats at the closed-door session. Sudanese diplomats say they want to challenge the United States to issue a veto to prevent the fact- finding mission from going ahead.. - Agence France-Presse 9/29/98 , via Alamo-Girl's Downside Legacy at Two Degrees of President Clinton
SEPTEMBER 24, 1998 : () Newsday 9/24/98 Sheryl McCarthy "WHILE OUR lawmakers split hairs over whether the president's lies about an extramarital affair are impeachable offenses, they don't seem to know the difference between high crimes and trivial misdemeanors. In the month since the United States bombed a factory in Sudan that was suspected of making chemicals for deadly nerve gas, information has surfaced that this decision was made on the flimsiest evidence. It's now clear that at the time of the bombing U.S. officials didn't know the target was a pharmaceutical plant, which makes medicine to treat diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria. There is no evidence that the plant was financed by the terrorist leader, Osama bin Laden, as U.S. officials had claimed. And the claim that Empta, a chemical used to make nerve gas, was found in soil samples near the plant has been called into question. The chemical may have been a common insecticide. The New York Times has reported that all that the policymakers involved in the decision to bomb the Al Shifa plant knew was: Terrorists were living in Sudan, the now questionable soil sample existed, and Osama bin Laden once asked Sudanese leaders to help him make poison gas. On the basis of this, they advised Clinton to launch his missiles.. , via Alamo-Girl's Downside Legacy at Two Degrees of President Clinton
SEPTEMBER 24, 1998 : (REP BARNEY FRANK) "Rep. Barney Frank, one of President Clinton's most outspoken supporters on Capitol Hill, said Thursday he believes Clinton made a mistake last month in ordering the bombing of a Sudanese factory suspected of manufacturing chemical weapons agents. Frank, D-Mass., said in a letter to Clinton he initially supported the bombing of sites in both Sudan and Afghanistan but now believes the administration went too far in the Sudan attack.." - AP, 9/24/98, via Alamo-Girl's Downside Legacy at Two Degrees of President Clinton
SEPTEMBER 25, 1998 : (NORTH KOREA ACCUSES THE US OF SLANDER) "Accusing the United States of slander, North Korea threatened today to use its new rocket system for military use. The reclusive communist country fired a rocket over Japan on Aug. 31, claiming to have put its first scientific satellite into orbit. The United States considered the launch a bold demonstration of North Korea's growing missile technology, which posed threats to two key Asian allies, Japan and South Korea, and U.S. military bases there. Today, a commentary in Rodong Sinmun, an organ of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, accused the United States of slandering the North. ``For the U.S. to talk about `threats' by the Democratic People's Republic of (North) Korea is the height of impudence,'' said the commentary, carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. ``Whether the DPRK's launch of artificial satellite is used for military purposes or not entirely depends on the attitude of the U.S. and other hostile forces,'' it added.." - AP 9/25/98
SEPTEMBER 1998 : (CURT TOMLIN PREDICTS CLINTON WILL LAUNCH AN ATTACK SOON WHICH WILL PROVOKE RETALIATION AT THE US DOMESTICALLY) "President Bill Clinton is playing war games on a top secret computer to come up with a way to be an international hero, according to the man who designed the system. According to Rev. Curt Tomlin, a former member of the battle staff of both presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, Clinton is a desperate man who is like an animal trapped in a corner. He will do anything to regain his credibility and deflect criticism from his impending impeachment hearings, he says. He also is driven by his desire to create a positive legacy of his time in the White House, according to various reports. Clinton's motivations are dangerous to the security of our nation, according to Tomlin. It was Tomlin who designed and perfected the Pentagon's first war games computer system, the top secret "Single Integrated Operating Procedure.".Clinton had tried to become an international hero by destroying hundreds of terrorists being trained by Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and a chemical weapons plant in Sudan. Those two missile attacks were chosen through use of the SIOP computer to which Clinton has access, according to Tomlin...Tomlin expects Clinton to launch an attack very soon that will bring devastating domestic retaliation to the U.S. "If I were still on active duty, either as an enlisted man or as a commissioned officer, knowing what I know now, looking at all of the information I have available to me, I would have no choice but to resign my commission or terminate my enlistment simply because there is no way that I could now trust my commander in chief," said Tomlin.." , Source: by David Bresnahan,, WorldNetDaily 9/29/98 via Alamo-Girl's Downside Legacy at Two Degrees of President Clinton
SEPTEMBER 28, 1998 Monday : (CONGOLESE REFUGEES ARE ARRIVING IN TANZANIA) UNHCR reported that 328 Congolese refugees arrived in western Tanzania's Kigoma area on Monday. The arrivals included 117 people who said they had fled fighting between DRC rebels and government forces in the Kalemie and Kabimba areas of Katanga. The other 211 refugees arrived from the Fizi and Uvira areas of South Kivu, bringing the total number of Congolese refugee arrivals in Kigoma to 8,530 since early August. - "Congolese crossing to Tanzania," "IRIN Update 513 for 30 Sep 1998," U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org IRIN Update No. 513 Central and Eastern Africa (Wednesday 30 September 1998) via UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin513.html
SEPTEMBER 29, 1998 Tuesday : (UGANDA : PLANE 'PROBABLY' CRASHED) Uganda's defense minister, Stephen Kazuma, said Tuesday that the Bunia-bound Ugandan aircraft that disappeared on Friday was not a military plane, news agencies reported. Kazuma said that the aircraft was carrying two foreigners and three Ugandans. Among the Ugandans was the brother of the country's military chief-of-staff, who was travelling on private business, Kazuma said. The Associated Press quoted Ugandan army spokesman Shaban Bantarize as saying the twin-engine Islander aircraft was last seen hovering at low altitude just over the DRC border and that it "probably crashed." A spokesman for the Ugandan Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels told the BBC Tuesday that the ADF had shot down the plane. - "Ugandan plane "probably crashed" ," "IRIN Update 513 for 30 Sep 1998," U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org IRIN Update No. 513 Central and Eastern Africa (Wednesday 30 September 1998) via UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin513.html
SEPTEMBER 29, 1998 Tuesday (TANZANIA : POLICE SAY THEY WILL TRY TWO SUSPECTS, HEMED & SAIDI, IN THE BOMBING OF THE US EMBASSY IIN DAR ES SALAAM AND HAS NO PLANS TO EXTRADITE THEM TO THE US) Tanzanian police said on Tuesday they would try in Tanzania two suspects in the 7 August bombing of the US embassy in Dar es Salaam and had no plans to extradite them to the United States. Reuters reported Aden Mwamunyange, assistant commissioner of police, as saying the two suspects, Tanzanian Rashid Salehe Hemed and Egyptian Mustapha Mohamed Saidi, would be tried where the offence was committed. - "TANZANIA: Bombing suspects to be tried at home - police," "IRIN Update 513 for 30 Sep 1998," U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org IRIN Update No. 513 Central and Eastern Africa (Wednesday 30 September 1998) via UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin513.html
SEPTEMBER 29, 1998 : (UN INSPECTOR RITTER : ) UN arms inspector Scott Ritter tells the BBC why he left the international team investigating Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Inspector condemns UN- TIMELINE OF THE IRAQI CRISIS 1997-1998
SEPTEMBER 29, 1998 Tuesday : (RWANDAN NEWS AGENCY REPORTS THAT KABILA HAD RECRUITED MORE THAN 10 EX-FAR OFFICERS FROM AMONG HUTU REFUGEES IN CONGO) The Rwandan News Agency reported Tuesday that Kabila had recruited more than 10 ex-FAR senior officers from among the Hutu refugees in Congo-Brazzaville. The commanders, who were reported to have already crossed to Kinshasa, will be used by Kabila to "coordinate the activities of ex-FAR soldiers, the Hutu Interahamwe militia and a rag-tag of guerilla forces of the region," the radio quoted a RDC commander as saying. Last week, UNHCR expressed concern about reports that Rwandan asylum seekers were leaving camps in countries of central Africa to join the fighting in the DRC. Kabila's government has denied recruiting refugees from Congo-Brazzaville to help combat the DRC rebels. - "Ex-FAR "coordinating" for Kabila - rebels," "IRIN Update 513 for 30 Sep 1998," U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org IRIN Update No. 513 Central and Eastern Africa (Wednesday 30 September 1998) via UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin513.html
SEPTEMBER 29 & 30, 1998 Tuesday & Wednesday : (ANGOLA : SADC DISCUSSES INTERVENTION IN A MEETING ON THE CONFLICT IN CONGO; ALSO DISCUSS SITUATIONS IN ANGOLA & LESOTHO) Army officials from the countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) gathered yesterday and today in Angola to discuss the conflict in the DRC, as well as the situation in Angola and Lesotho, news organisations reported. Three SADC members - Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola - have confirmed providing military support to Kabila. General Mojo Motau, head of South African military intelligence, told reporters in the Angolan capital, Luanda, that South Africa recognised the responsibility of the SADC armed forces to secure the region. ''We are ready to make our contribution,'' he was quoted as saying by AFP. Richard Cornwell of the Institute for Security Studies told IRIN that South Africa may move in to halt the advance of Ugandan and Rwandan troops from the east and to prevent the war spilling into a sub-regional conflict. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's state radio yesterday reported that 20 rebels were killed by Zimbabwean forces in "mop-up operations" in the DRC near the border with Angola. - "SADC discusses intervention," "IRIN Update 513 for 30 Sep 1998," U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org IRIN Update No. 513 Central and Eastern Africa (Wednesday 30 September 1998) via UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin513.html
SEPTEMBER 30, 1998 Wednesday : (ETHIOPIA & KENYA) Ethiopia has urged Kenya to improve the road linking the two countries, a Kenyan government newsletter reports. Ethiopian President Negasso Gidada told Kenya's outgoing ambassador that his government was "exploring possibilities of utilizing the services of the Port of Mombasa." The road from Isiolo in central Kenya to the border crossing of Moyale is currently unpaved and prone to insecurity. Ethiopia's dispute with Eritrea has blocked access to the Red Sea ports of Massawa and Assab. Ethiopia has provided investment for the Djibouti port, and has also provided signals of support for the Hargeisa authorities, who control the port of Berbera. The report, in the latest Kenyan 'Foreign Affairs Bulletin' also said that the two countries would also work to enhance cross-border security. - "KENYA-ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia eyes Mombasa," "IRIN Update 513 for 30 Sep 1998," U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org IRIN Update No. 513 Central and Eastern Africa (Wednesday 30 September 1998) via UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin513.html
SEPTEMBER 30, 1998 Wednesday : (UGANDAN PAPER SAYS SON OF IDI AMIN, TABAN AMIN, IS COMMANDING UNIT OF UGANDAN REBELS IN SUPPORT OF KABILA) Meanwhile, Uganda's 'New Vision' newspaper reported today that the son of former Ugandan President Idi Amin, Taban Amin, is commanding a unit of Ugandan rebels supporting Kabila at his forward military base in Kindu, Maniema province. - "Ex-FAR "coordinating" for Kabila - rebels," "IRIN Update 513 for 30 Sep 1998," U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org IRIN Update No. 513 Central and Eastern Africa (Wednesday 30 September 1998) via UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin513.html
Rebels told AFP today they had captured the town of Punia about 200 km north of Kindu. Quoting a military aide to rebel commander Jean-Pierre Ondekane, AFP said that an entire company of government soldiers in Punia had joined rebel ranks. There was no independent confirmation of the rebel claim. - "Rebels claim capture of Punia," "IRIN Update 513 for 30 Sep 1998," U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org IRIN Update No. 513 Central and Eastern Africa (Wednesday 30 September 1998) via UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin513.html
SEPTEMBER 30, 1998 Wednesday : (UGANDAN PAPER REPORTS THAT CONGO'S STATE MINISTER FOR INTERNAL AFFAIRS KAKUDJI - KABILA'S COUSIN- HAS FLED AND WENT TO BRUSSELS, BELGIUM BECAUSE HE FEARED THAT CONGO'S PRESIDENT WAS PLOTTING TO KILL HIM) Uganda's 'New Vision' newspaper also reported today that DRC State Minister for Internal Affairs Gaetan Kakudji had fled Kinshasa through Uganda and proceeded over the weekend to Brussels. Quoting senior Ugandan security officials, the newspaper said Kakudji, who is Kabila's cousin, fled Kinshasa because he feared that the DRC president was plotting to kill him. - "Kakudji flees Kinshasa - report," "IRIN Update 513 for 30 Sep 1998," U N I T E D N A T I O N S Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa Tel: +254 2 622147 Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org IRIN Update No. 513 Central and Eastern Africa (Wednesday 30 September 1998) via UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Hornet/irin513.html
1998 fall : (CLINTON LETS SLIP ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO NAB BIN LADEN) In the fall of 1998, they (the NSC and the intelligence community) had Bin Laden tagged. National Security Advisor Sandy Berger tried to get Clinton on the phone. They only had a two hour window to bag Bin Laden.
Clinton was "Unavailable" (golf). He tried again and again to reach the President, to no avail. Despite being accompanied by Military Aides (Col Patterson, who carried "the football") and Secret Service, he was "unavailable". When Berger finally managed to get through, Clinton couldn't make a decision. He waffled away that two hour window. Bin Laden got away. - Source : Paraphrasing from 'Dereliction of Duty' by Col. Patterson, who carried "the football" (the code needed for a nuclear launch): 4 posted on 02/21/2004 5:37:58 PM PST by Maria S