Operation Phantom Fury--Day 379 - Now Operations River Blitz; Matador--Day 274

Oman, US sign accord on inspection of sea-transported cargo

MUSCAT, Nov 19 (KUNA) -- Oman and the United States signed on Saturday the US initiated Container Security Initiative (CSI) that ensures security for sea-transported exports destined for the US, rendering Oman the first Arab state to have signed the CSI.

It was signed by the general inspector of the police and the customs, General Malek Bin Sulaiman AL-Moammari, and an official from the US custom authority.

The declaration stipulates thorough examination of products and commodities, exported by sea to the US to ensure that "they contain no dangerous materials," it was officially declared.

This declaration had been worked out to counter possible schemes by terrorists to carry out criminal acts by using sea cargo transports. Up to 41 ports in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Mideast and North America abide by the so-called initiative.

Several states had previously signed the CSI, a key U.S. customs initiative designed to prevent global sea cargo from being exploited by terrorists to inflict harm on America and other nations of the world.

Launched by U.S. Customs in January 2002, the CSI is designed to enhance the security of global maritime shipping, a vital link in world commerce. Some 200 million sea cargo containers move annually among the world's top seaports, and nearly 50 percent of the value of all U.S. imports arrive via sea cargo containers every year.

Task Force Baghdad Soldiers get results with foot patrol

Sgt. Clydell White a medic with 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, checks an elderly Iraqi citizen’s blood pressure while an interpreter looks on during a patrol the battalion conducted on Veteran’s Day. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Jason Jordan, 1/10th Mountain Division PAO)

November 20, 2005

ABU GHRAIB, Iraq -- It was Veteran’s Day in America as Task Force Baghdad warriors walked the streets of Baghdad searching for terrorists.

The neighborhood of Abu Ghraib was still and quiet on the night of Nov. 11, but the streets were far from empty. While many unsuspecting citizens sat in their homes, two companies from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division’s 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, walked up and down the streets in search of terrorists.

While the sight of convoys leaving Camp Liberty is a common occurrence for local Iraqi citizens, Soldiers are rarely seen leaving the "wire" on foot. However, the 2-22 Inf. Soldiers did just that during Operation Roundup.

"We will conduct a series of raids...to gather information about the whereabouts of some big players in al-Qaeda and other insurgencies," said Capt. James Kleager, A Company commander, as he briefed the Soldiers for the upcoming mission using a small model of the neighborhood.

Soon after the mission began, it was clear that citizens were not expecting to see such a large number of Soldiers on foot in the area, and the surprise worked toward the Soldiers’ benefit.

"The sight of such a large number of Soldiers dismounted in their neighborhood really brought the heat down on these people," said 2nd Lt. Kip Remsburg, A Co. "The sight of us prompted them to speak out more than usual as they were questioned - and we received more information than usual."

The Soldiers capitalized on the fact that the dismounted rifle platoons would be a complete surprise.

"It was a shock for these people to see us on their streets like this," Kleager said. "We are keeping (the terrorists) on their heels this way. They are used to seeing and hearing vehicles coming for miles, but not Soldiers on foot."

The unit is beginning to root out the terrorist satellites, said Kleager.

Although the Soldiers were resolved in their mission to capture key terrorists, they didn’t ignore the needs of the citizens in the area.

Several medics went along with the patrol and treated an older man who complained of chest pains.

"We make sure the citizens know we are here to help, even as we patrol their streets in search of terrorists," said A Co.’s 1st Sgt. Joseph Sanford. "Our medics listen to the needs of the people, and then help out the best way we can under the circumstances."

By the end of the day’s mission, the Soldiers had detained six suspected terrorists - all associated with the key cells which the U.S. Soldiers set out to find.

"We have seen success over the last three months on the streets of Iraq, and tonight was just a continuance of that same success," Kleager said. "We accomplished what we set out to do."

By Pfc. Jason Jordan - 1/10th Mountain Division PAO

ADDITIONAL PHOTO:

Sgt. Jason Millay, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, inspects the shell of an explosive round found in a home during a raid Nov. 11. The search was conducted during a food patrol the battalion conducted on Veteran’s Day night. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Jason Jordan, 1/10th Mountain Division PAO)

Iraqi Security Forces paint the town clean

A Soldier assigned to 1st Battalion, 4th Public Order Brigade, paints over graffiti in Horajeb Nov. 15. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Dan Balda, 4th Brigade Combat Team PAO)

November 20, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Armed with paint rollers and paint cans, Iraqi troops assigned to the 1st Battalion, 4th Public Order Brigade set out Nov. 15 to perform a two-fold mission: cover up graffiti on the walls of a school, and bring school supplies and other surprises to the students there.

U.S. Army officials who oversaw the POB mission said even the simple act of scrubbing away graffiti has an impact on the democratic process in Iraq.

"This will be one of the future polling sites for the upcoming elections (on Dec. 15)," said 1st Sgt. Emanuel Valdez, team chief for Task Force Baghdad’s Civil Affairs Team Four, A Company, 425th Civil Affairs Battalion. "We want to make them an ‘intimidation-free’ area. When (Iraqis) come out to vote, they don’t want to see signs that say, ‘The only road to paradise is through death.’ No pro-American, no pro-(Anti-Iraqi Forces graffiti)-everything is wiped clean so the people can go in there and make their own decisions."

After the Constitutional Referendum vote in October, Valdez attended an after-action review to discuss ways to improve the voting process the next time around. One of the issues that came up was a need to improve the polling sites. Valdez got in touch with the POB commanders and proposed working together to improve a number of sites in Dora.

A Soldier assigned to 1st Battalion, 4th Public Order Brigade carries a can of paint to cover graffiti in Horajeb Nov. 15. The Soldiers partnered with American troops to paint over graffiti and hand out goodies. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Dan Balda, 4th Brigade Combat Team PAO)

"We are trying to get the POB integrated into civil-military operations which means getting them involved in the community," Valdez said. "Right now, they are doing a great job going out on raids, securing the area and running checkpoints, but what we want to do is move them to the next step, which is giving the public confidence in the POB so they can talk to them and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got some bad guys down the street. Can you take care of it?’"

Iraqis and Americans painted side-by-side as children chased each other around the humvees.

After the painting was finished, the POB Soldiers grabbed the goodies from the back of the vehicles as children and elderly men alike clamored for soccer balls. The students were also given backpacks filled with pencils and paper as well as Beanie Babies, which Valdez said are quite the rage with the children of Iraq. To show their appreciation, the children serenaded the Soldiers, much to the delight of both the Americans and the Iraqis.

Staff Sgt. Ron Eberhardt, 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, was at the event to help coordinate the Iraqi media’s coverage of the occasion.

"We wanted to show the people of Iraq through newspapers and television how the Iraqi Security Forces cooperate with the U.S. troops," Eberhardt said.

For Valdez, the key to the mission was to show the community the partnership between Iraqi and American forces.

"It shows the local nationals that Coalition Forces aren’t out there by themselves and the ISF aren’t by themselves-they are working in concert," he said. "For the locals, they can see this is one team-we are working together toward one common goal."

Some people might say that painting over graffiti and handing out stuffed animals is not going to make much of an impact with the Iraqi people. Valdez believes the improvements might be small, but "the gesture is grand."

"Right now we have millions and millions of dollars slated for big projects but the problem is the time from start to finish is so long that people get upset and frustrated," Valdez said. "What we are trying to do is give them a little something to keep them going. We do little improvements here and there and all of a sudden the local nationals are saying, ‘Wow, these guys are actually trying to improve the area.’ I know the improvements aren’t the biggest, but we help a couple of schools, put in some new windows, clean up the area-that goes a long way for the people."

By Spc. Dan Balda - 4th Brigade Combat Team PAO

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:

A Soldier assigned to 1st Battalion, 4th Public Order Brigade gives a young boy a soccer ball in Horajeb Nov. 15. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Dan Balda, 4th Brigade Combat Team PAO)

A Soldier assigned to 1st Battalion, 4th Public Order Brigade, paints over graffiti in Horajeb Nov. 15. U.S. Army officials who oversaw the POB mission said even the simple act of scrubbing away graffiti has an impact on the democratic process in Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Dan Balda, 4th Brigade Combat Team PAO)

Bush Vows America to Fight in Iraq Until Victory Secured

PRESIDENTIAL VISIT - Troops stand ready to welcome President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush during a visit at the Black Cat Hangar at Osan Air Base in Osan, Korea, Nov. 19, 2005. (White House photo by Shealah Craighead)

November 20, 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- President Bush today dismissed political and media speculation about withdrawing U. S. forces from Iraq and instead gave an impassioned and historically rich defense of the American war effort there during a rousing visit to U. S. troops at Osan Air Base, South Korea.

The president said Iraq is "the central front in our war against the terrorists" and vowed that America will "confront this mortal danger. We will stay on the offensive. We will not wait to be attacked again. We will not rest or tire until the war on terror is won. "

Today, Bush said, some 30,000 U. S. personnel are in Korea to defend against North Korean communist aggression; consequently, South Korea has grown free and prosperous.

He thanked U. S. troops there for their service and sacrifice. "You know what it takes to win a war," he said. "You know how to protect the peace; and you know what it takes to defend our nation. "

Bush spoke about the Korean War as part of the larger struggle against communism. The Korean War was a fiercely fought and sometimes unpopular war that killed more than 33,000 U. S. servicemembers. However, historians credit the military intervention in Korea as integral to the West's successful prosecution of the Cold War.

Defense of the United States today, Bush said, requires a similar military engagement against the worldwide "Islamo fascist" network.

"These militants," Bush said, "believe that controlling one country will rally the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow moderate governments in the region and establish a radical Islamic empire that reaches from Spain to Indonesia. "

But if these radical Islamists are not stopped, Bush said, "the terrorists will be able to advance their agenda to develop weapons of mass destruction, to destroy Israel, to intimidate Europe, and to break our will and blackmail our government into isolation. "

Bush said this "is not going to happen on my watch. "

The president said the United States did not ask for this war, "but we're answering history's call with a comprehensive strategy to win this war on terror. "

The strategy the president outlined involves four steps:

First, Bush said, America will continue to hunt, capture and kill terrorists worldwide. The United States, he said, has "disrupted a number of serious al Qaeda terrorist plots since September the 11th, including several al Qaeda plots to attack inside the United States. " This unceasing and largely covert effort will continue unabated, Bush said.

Second, America will continue to work closely with allied nations worldwide to deny outlaw regimes and terrorists access to weapons of mass destruction. One such successful effort, Bush said, involved a cooperative venture with Great Britain and Pakistan to expose and disrupt a "major black market operation in nuclear technology led by A. Q. Khan. "

Moreover, Bush added, the United States and its partners in the Proliferation Security Initiative stopped more than a dozen shipments of suspect weapons technology - including equipment for Iran's ballistic missile program.

And diplomatic pressure, backed up by the implicit threat of military force, has caused Libya "to abandon its chemical and nuclear weapons programs. So long as I'm your president," Bush said, "we'll continue to deny the world's most dangerous men the world's most dangerous weapons. "

Third, America will continue to act to deny terrorists the support of any nation state. "The United States makes no distinction between those who commit acts of terror and those who support and harbor the terrorists, because they're equally guilty of murder," Bush said. "Any government that chooses to be an ally of terror has also chosen to be an enemy of civilization, and the civilized world will hold those regimes to account. "

The United States will not permit any nation state to be used as a home base or launching pad for terrorist activities. That's why, Bush said, U. S. troops are fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Finally, America will pursue political reform, democracy and freedom throughout the Middle East. "History has proven," Bush said, "that free nations are peaceful nations, and that democracies do not fight their neighbors. By advancing the hope of freedom and democracy for others," he argued, "we'll make our own freedom more secure. "

In Iraq, democracy is on the march, Bush said. Since Saddam fell in April 2003, Iraq has moved from tyranny to a transitional government, ratified a constitution and now heads to the election of a permanent government under that constitution.

"The Iraqi people," Bush continued, "are proving their determination to build a future founded on democracy and hope, and the United States of America will help them succeed. "

The president said that there is historical precedent for what is now happening in Iraq and Afghanistan. That is, the United States has previously brought peace and freedom to countries where it once waged war. Japan, an enemy in World War II, is now a democracy, a highly prosperous nation, and "one of America's most trusted allies," Bush said.

Similarly, South Korea, ravaged by war from 1950-1953, is now prosperous and free. "Freedom is the destiny of every man, woman, and child on this Earth," Bush said.

For that reason, he argued, the United States must continue to help the Iraqi people build a working democracy. Setting a deadline for the withdrawal of U. S. troops there, as some in Washington urge, would be a disastrous mistake, Bush said.

The president cited Army Maj. Gen. William Webster, the commander of the 3rd Infantry Division and Task Force Baghdad. Webster said such a withdrawal would be "'a recipe for disaster,'" Bush said. "So long as I'm the commander-in-chief, our strategy in Iraq will be driven by the sober judgment of our military commanders on the ground.

"We will fight the terrorists in Iraq," Bush vowed. "We will stay in the fight until we have achieved the victory that our brave troops have fought for. "

By Petty Officer 3rd Class John R. Guardiano - USN American Forces Press Service

US investigating whether Zarqawi among Iraq dead

20 Nov 2005 - 23:44:58 GMT

Source: Reuters

By Caroline Drees

WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - U.S. authorities are looking into whether al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a gunfight in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, a U.S. official said on Sunday, but a White House spokesman said that was "highly unlikely."

If Zarqawi were found to be among the dead, the United States would view it as a major advance in its efforts to quell a bloody insurgency in Iraq, at a time of acrimonious debate over both the origins and progress of the war.

Eight insurgents, including a woman, were killed on Saturday in clashes between joint U.S.-Iraqi forces and gunmen occupying a house in Mosul, police said. Four more insurgents were arrested.

"Efforts are under way to determine whether Zarqawi was among those killed," the U.S. official said in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity.

He provided no additional information.

White House spokesman Trent Duffy, traveling with President George W. Bush in Asia, said it was "highly unlikely and not credible" that Zarqawi was among the dead in Mosul.

Jordanian-born Zarqawi is the head of al Qaeda's Iraq wing. He is Washington's most wanted man in Iraq, with a $25 million U.S. reward on his head.

SERIES OF ATTACKS

He is blamed for a relentless series of attacks, suicide bombings and beheadings in Iraq, and his organization claimed responsibility for the triple suicide bombings at Amman hotels earlier this month in which more than 50 people were killed.

U.S. forces have reported the capture or killing of several Zarqawi associates in recent months, but the guerrilla chief has so far evaded his pursuers, directing suicide bombings that have killed hundreds if not thousands of Iraqi civilians, police and troops.

In May, reports that he had been seriously wounded sparked talk of a successor, but his followers said the injuries should only serve to inspire his men to step up attacks.

Osama bin Laden named Zarqawi as his deputy in Iraq after he pledged allegiance to the al Qaeda leader in October 2004. Bin Laden called him the prince of al Qaeda in Iraq.

Believed to be in his late 30s, Zarqawi remains a mysterious figure. Some posters show him in glasses, looking like an accountant, others as a tough-looking man in a black skullcap.

When an Islamist Web site showed a video last year of a man severing the head of American hostage Nicholas Berg, the CIA said Zarqawi was probably the one wielding the knife.

Zarqawi, whose real name is Ahmed Fadhil al-Khalayleh, went to Afghanistan, probably after the Soviet pullout in 1989, and again after his 1999 release from prison in Jordan.

A court in Jordan sentenced him to death in absentia in 2002 for plotting attacks against U.S. and Israeli targets in the kingdom. Jordan also accuses him of masterminding the 2002 assassination of U.S. diplomat Laurence Foley in Amman.

Sharon unleashes political earthquake in Israel

20 Nov 2005 - 23:29:44 GMT

Source: Reuters

By Allyn Fisher-Ilan

JERUSALEM, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will quit his ruling Likud ahead of snap elections and form a new centrist party, to completely reshape Israeli politics and peacemaking, a source in his office said on Sunday.

Sharon will tear apart the movement he helped found to break from the far-right Likud "rebels" who opposed his withdrawal from the occupied Gaza Strip and potentially free him to give up more land that Palestinians seek for a state.

But the 77-year-old's gamble is possibly the biggest of a military and political career built on risk-taking and polls indicate it is uncertain he can turn the popularity of the Gaza pullout into electoral victory.

"Ariel Sharon has dropped a bomb," said Israel's Army Radio.

Sharon would go to President Moshe Katsav on Monday and ask him to dissolve parliament and call an early national election, officials said. Sharon had already agreed to bring forward the balllot from November 2006 to February or March.

In theory, Katsav could ask someone else to try to form a government -- an unlikely prospect -- otherwise he would dissolve parliament for an election to be held within 90 days.

Sharon has already begun contacting political allies to join a new party he would head, and Israeli media said 14 of Likud's 40 lawmakers, including five cabinet ministers, have agreed to join him.

He has also been wooing veteran peacemaker and old coalition ally Shimon Peres, whose Nov. 10 defeat as leader of the centre-left Labour party by union leader Amir Peretz triggered the political upheaval.

Sharon had been expected to announce his decision by a planned meeting on Monday with members of the parliamentary faction of Likud, which has long since failed to live up to its Hebrew name meaning "cohesion".

PEACEMAKING PLANS

Confidants have said Sharon wants to seize the chance to defeat Labour, then pursue plans to end conflict with the Palestinians without having to battle Likud hardliners.

Earlier, Labour's central committee, encouraged by fiery new leader Peretz, voted overwhelmingly to leave the government it had joined to help Sharon push through the Gaza withdrawal.

"Let the revolution begin," said party official Eitan Cabel as he announced the result of the vote in a show of hands.

Anticipating that Sharon would bolt and cause a leadership challenge, some Likud ministers suggested they would be ready to stand against Sharon's old rival Benjamin Netanyahu, who resigned as finance minister to oppose the Gaza pullout.

Likud hardliners oppose giving up Jewish settlements on any of the land that Israel captured in the 1967 war. For many years Likud -- with Sharon at the forefront -- championed the building of the enclaves.

While ready to go further than many in Likud, Sharon still aims to keep major West Bank settlements and has ruled out talks on statehood unless Palestinians disarm militants waging an uprising.

Palestinians fear Sharon aims to unilaterally set a border along the lines of a barrier being built deep inside the West Bank. Israel says the barrier stops suicide bombers. Palestinians call it a land grab.

BREAKAWAY PARTIES

Labour wants quick peace talks with the Palestinians. Peretz also stands on a platform of rolling back spending cuts and free-market reforms that are credited with helping lift Israel from recession.

Recent polls suggest that a new party, bringing in some Labour members, would leave Sharon neck-and-neck with Peretz with Likud pushed into third place.

The precedent for starting breakaway parties in Israel is not encouraging for Sharon. Founding prime minister David Ben-Gurion failed miserably when he tried, before slipping from the political scene.

"I think in three or four months when elections are held, matters will look much less dramatic," said Yuli Edelstein, one of the Likud lawmakers who opposed the Gaza withdrawal. "There will be the two big parties and Sharon's party, the third in size."

AlertNet news

Osama is alive and active in Pak villages bordering Afghanistan

Date : 21/11/2005 , Mon

From M Rama Rao - Reporting for Asian Tribune from New Delhi

New Delhi, 21 November, (Asiantribune.com): The most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden is very much alive and is living in remote tribal villages of Pakistan on the borders with Afghanistan. This has been conclusively established giving a lie to the claims of Islamabad.

President Pervez Musharraf, while regularly denying Osama's existence in his country, and maintaining that he might have even died, has been saying that it is possible that he could be living in the remote tribal lands of Waziristan 'where the writ of Islamabad has no effect'.

Osama has not been seen in videos, issued by his Al Qaeda network, for over a year and western intelligence agencies believe he may be dead.

But the latest assertion on the whereabouts of Osama is based on the fact that he had evaded capture by Pakistani troops this spring by just 30 minutes as they zeroed in on him in a remote village close to the Afghan border.

A report in the News of the World, a London tabloid, said that Pak troops had pinpointed the hideout by tracking the mobile phone used by one of one of bin Laden's closest aides but by the time they could mount a raid, the al-Qaeda chief had slipped away.

The Pakistani diplomatic mission in London confirmed the report saying, "We think we missed him (bin Laden) by 30 minutes. It was the closest we have been since 2001".

"We acted on intelligence reports and were close. Such fleeting opportunities come and either you succeed in a moment or you fail and miss the opportunity for a long time," an American TV channel quoted Musharraf as saying in an interview.

-Asian Tribune-

Former cellmate says al-Zarqawi was tortured in Jordanian prison

Tanalee Smith - Canadian Press

Sunday, November 20, 2005

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - A man once imprisoned with Iraq's most feared terror leader said Sunday that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was tortured regularly by Jordanian prison officials in the late 1990s and was held six months in solitary confinement.

Offering possible partial clues as to why the Jordanian-born al-Qaida leader chose Amman for triple hotel bombings earlier this month, the former cellmate, Yousef Rababaa, said: "He hated the intelligence services intensely, and the authorities didn't know how to deal with his new ideology."

Al-Zarqawi, whose real name is Ahmed Fadheel Nazzal al-Khalayleh, has claimed responsibility for the Nov. 9 suicide attacks in the Jordanian capital that killed 60 people, mostly Muslims.

Reacting with outrage to al-Zarqawi's latest threat - to kill Jordan's king - members of his own family, including a brother and cousin, disavowed him publicly on Sunday.

A U.S. official, meanwhile, said Sunday that efforts were under way to determine if al-Zarqawi was among eight suspected al-Qaida members killed the day before in a gunfight in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Three of the insurgents detonated explosives and killed themselves to avoid capture, Iraqi officials said.

Rababaa, who spent three years in jail with al-Zarqawi until both were freed under a royal amnesty in 1999, recalled his cellmate's inflexible, radical Islamic ideology.

"He divided the world between Muslim and infidels," Rababaa said, adding that al-Zarqawi was quiet at the time and did not show a violent nature.

"I didn't see that side of him, although he had very strong opinions. I am very surprised at where he is today," said Rababaa, suggesting that maybe someone helps al-Zarqawi plan his terror operations.

"He had very little education, only medium intelligence. But he was very brave," Rababaa said.

He did not specify how he knew al-Zarqawi had been tortured or offer any specific evidence to back the claim.

Jordanian officials were not immediately available for comment but have strongly refuted several other recent claims of torture by other Islamic militants on trial in Jordan's military courts.

In its latest worldwide human rights report, the U.S. government also cited what it called "allegations of torture" in Jordan's prisons.

Jordanians, including some who had supported the insurgency against American "occupiers" in Iraq, turned fiercely against the 39-year-old terror leader after the Amman suicide attacks.

Even al-Zarqawi's tribe rejected him, announcing in a statement published in major newspapers on Sunday that they would "sever links with him until doomsday."

"A Jordanian doesn't stab himself with his own spear," the 57 family members wrote.

The statement was a blow to al-Zarqawi, who will no longer enjoy the protection of his tribe and whose family members may seek to kill him.

Al-Khalayleh is a branch of the Bani Hassan, one of the area's largest and most prominent Bedouin tribes, which along with several other tribes form the bedrock of support for the royal family's Hashemite dynasty. Relatives hold senior posts in the army and other government departments.

Al-Zarqawi, who took his name from the city of Zarqa, 27 kilometres northeast of Amman, often boasted of his family's influence when was he was jailed in his native Jordan, Rababaa said.

Rababaa said he debated regularly with al-Zarqawi in prison. Rababaa led a group that advocated purging Muslim lands of foreign occupiers and setting up Islamic states. Al-Zarqawi's group was more fanatical, believing that Islam was worth killing for.

"His way of thinking, in general, is restricted, and he understands Islam with restrictions," Rababaa said. "We had vastly different ideologies."

Rababaa, 36, was serving a life sentence for plotting terrorism against Israeli targets in Jordan when he met al-Zarqawi, who was doing jail time for militant activities aimed at toppling the monarchy.

Rababaa, who has renounced violence, but still advocates an Islamic state, is now a professor of Arabic language at the University of Jordan.

Rababaa said he believes al-Zarqawi will follow through on his threats, made in an audiotape released Friday, to continue attacks on Jordan.

"The problem with this group is that it wants to target any location. It's very hard to control him when he's declared all of Jordan a battlefield."

But he dismissed al-Zarqawi's threat to kill Jordan's King Abdullah II.

"It's words without deeds," he said. "He doesn't seek to topple regimes altogether, but to basically create trouble for the existing regime."

Jordan sentenced al-Zarqawi to death in absentia for planning a terror plot that led to the 2002 killing of U.S. aid worker Laurence Foley. He has claimed responsibility for several other plots in Jordan, including a foiled April 2004 chemical attack.

He also leads a campaign of bombings and kidnappings in Iraq, and the United States has offered $25 million US for information leading to his capture.

Combat Center brings intense glimpse of urban warfare to Marines

Story by Lance Cpl. Regina N. Ortiz

Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif. (Nov. 15, 2005) -- As Marines are steadily deploying to fight the war on terrorism, the Marine Corps is progressively preparing for the real deal with an imitation of Iraq’s urban infrastructure in training exercises. There are numerous military operations on urban terrain facilities that attempt to capture the reality of urban warfare.

The MOUT facility at the Combat Center’s Range 215 has replicated the average Middle Eastern village with more than 100 buildings and 260 role players, 50 of them contracted linguists originally from Iraq. Some of the buildings represent an Iraqi police station, an Iraqi Army compound and a “souk,” an Iraqi marketplace, said Lt. Col. Patrick Kline, director of urban warfare training.

“I do feel a lot more confident going out there than I did last time,” said Cpl. Ash Day, team leader, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, who deployed to Iraq last year. “Everything is so realistic, I get flashbacks. The realism is amazing. The way they set up the buildings in proximity, the same as they are in Iraq, is something I haven’t seen at other MOUT facilities.”

There are four training lanes that Marines rotate in and out of throughout the day. One is a vehicle checkpoint, which can appear at any area on a road in Iraq. Another lane is the urban assault, where Marines use paintball rounds to simulate live-fire during encounters with insurgents.

The third lane is the tank and mechanized vehicle integration point, where Marines practice utilizing tanks and other large motor transportation in operations. The fourth lane is the cordon and search, where Marines practice securing an area and searching it.

Throughout the lanes, Marines interact with role players, who are given a profile they are required to follow throughout the training. A third are friendly, another third are neutral and the rest are unfriendly. Marines are put to the test, as they must identify each type of person, whether friendly or life threatening, they come upon during the exercise.

One challenge is picking out non-combatants that are intermixed with insurgents, said Kline.

“This way, we learn how to read people and guess what their motives are with live role-players,” said Day. “You catch on to the way people act, and after a while it’s easy to tell right away what approach to take.”

One main objective of this training aims to create realism to give Marines the cultural awareness needed before they deploy. The training also seeks to give Marines the confidence to interact in an unknown environment, the respect for foreign customs and how to appropriately approach any situation, said Kline.

A new element embedded into training at Range 215, is actual Iraqi natives serving as role players to bring the MOUT facility to life. At the souk, the air is filled with bartering and arguing over the sounds of music and singing in their native language. The scene replicates that of high-density areas Marines will have to patrol through to complete missions. This teaches Marines how to connect with the locals and move through crowded areas, said Kline.

The isolation of the range is another factor to the success of the training. It’s easier for Marines to stay focused and really get into it, said Day.

“I think they should extend the days of the lanes,” said Day. “The training is pretty long as is, but I’d want to spend more time in the MOUT facilities, especially with the young Marines who haven’t deployed yet.”

The Marine Corps is continually improving training by keeping up to date with current tactics insurgents are using in theater. When new incidents occur, the training changes to implement new situations, said Kline.

Bush Hails Mongolia For Backing Iraq War

U.S. President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush wave as they board Air Force One en route to Mongolia in Beijing, China, Monday, Nov. 21, 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

UPDATED: 10:31 pm EST - November 20, 2005

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia -- In the wake of congressional unrest over his war policies, President Bush thanked Mongolia on Monday for standing with him in Iraq and compared the struggle against Islamic radicalism to this country's battle against communism.

"Free people did not falter in the Cold War, and free people will not falter in the war on terror," the president said in a speech prepared for delivery to members of Parliament and others at the Government House.

Bush said Mongolia has stood with the United States as "brothers in the cause of freedom." He called Mongolians' success in driving communist leaders from power 15 years ago an example for the world.

"Like the ideology of communism, the ideology of Islamic radicalism is destined to fail _ because the will to power is no match for the universal desire to live in freedom," Bush said.

Bush's four-hour stop in Mongolia was the first ever by an American president. The brief visit was a reward for Mongolia's pursuit of democracy and support for the U.S. fight against terrorism.

Bush has been fiercely defending his Iraq policy across Asia as war critics back in Washington found a new voice in hawkish Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania.

The White House initially attacked Murtha, but Bush on Sunday toned down his backlash by saying there was nothing unpatriotic about opposing the war. He told reporters that Murtha is "a fine man" and a strong supporter of the military despite the congressman's call for troop withdrawal as soon as possible.

"People should feel comfortable about expressing their opinions about Iraq," Bush said, three days after agreeing with Vice President Dick Cheney that the critics were "reprehensible."

Bush brought up the growing Iraq debate when he met reporters after inconclusive talks with President Hu Jintao about friction in U.S.-China relations. He expected a warmer welcome in Mongolia, which has been eager for closer military relations with the United States and has provided about 160 Mongolian soldiers in Iraq.

The number is small, but White House officials are quick to point out that, per capita, only two other countries _ the United Kingdom and Denmark _ have sent more of their soldiers to Iraq.

The Mongolians have been rewarded with $11 million in U.S. aid to improve military forces. Bush also noted that the country shared in $1 billion in U.S. aid as part of his Millennium Challenge Account that rewards poor countries that show a commitment to economic and government reform. Bush urged the parliament to pass anti-corruption legislation as part of the transition to a successful democracy.

Bush said U.S. forces are proud to serve with the "fearless warriors" of Mongolia, home of legendary, ferocious horseman-warrior Genghis Khan.

Bush specifically thanked two Mongolian soldiers who gunned down a suicide bomber who was trying to drive a truck full of explosives into a Coalition mess tent in southern Iraq.

With two more U.S. military deaths over the weekend, Bush reminded Mongolians that their transition to liberty was not always easy. But he said Mongolians have built a better life with their struggle against communism.

"Like the ideology of communism, Islamic radicalism teaches that the innocent can be murdered to serve their brutal aims," Bush said. "Like the ideology of communism, Islamic radicalism is dismissive of free peoples, claiming that men and women who live in liberty are weak and decadent.

"And like the ideology of communism, the ideology of Islamic radicalism is destined to fail _ because the will to power is no match for the universal desire to live in freedom."

Besides his speech, Bush's schedule for Mongolia included a closed-door meeting with President Nambaryn Enkhbayar and a visit to a traditional felt tent to see Mongolia throat singing and other cultural events.

Mongolia was the last scheduled stop during Bush's weeklong visit to Asia, which included visits to Japan, South Korea and China.

Bush ran into stiff resistance from the Chinese to his call for expanding religious freedom and human rights. He also reported no breakthroughs toward reducing China's massive trade surplus, overhauling its currency system or protecting intellectual property rights.

The president took satisfaction simply in the fact that Hu mentioned human rights when the two leaders made joint statements to the press.

"Those who watch China closely would say that maybe a decade ago, a leader wouldn't have uttered those comments," Bush said. "He talked about democracy."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice complained that "we've certainly not seen the progress that we would expect" on a months-old U.S. request for action by China on specific human rights cases. Bush said the United States had presented a list of "dissidents that we believe are unfairly imprisoned."

When a reporter suggested Bush had seemed unenthusiastic in his joint appearance with Hu, the president responded, "Have you ever heard of jet lag?"

The Associated Press

Bush arrives in Mongolia

11/21/2005

ULAN BATOR (AFP) - US President George W. Bush became the first sitting US president to visit Mongolia, touching down for a lightning visit to show appreciation for the remote Asian country's help in Iraq.

Bush's presidential Air Force One airplane arrived around 12:15 pm (0415 GMT).

His visit capped a week-long trip to Asia that took him to Japan, South Korea and China before coming to Ulan Bator for a three-hour stay including talks with Mongolian President Nambaryn Enkhbayar.

Earlier on day two of his Beijing visit, Bush took his human rights pitch from a church service near Tiananmen Square to a public appearance with Chinese President Hu Jintao, a meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao, and finally to an impromptu exchange with reporters.

"I talked about both political and religious freedom," the US president told reporters, adding that he had raised the issue with Hu of political dissidents who "we believe are improperly imprisoned."

Bush also said he had urged Chinese leaders to discuss Tibet's fate with its exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and tried to convince them they should invite Vatican leaders to discuss religious freedom.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that Washington was complaining "quite vociferously" to Beijing after Chinese authorities took forceful steps to keep dissidents and activists out of sight during Bush's visit.

She also said that "one has to be concerned" over China's military buildup because "there's a question of intent" but that Washington was confident of keeping the region in balance.

Still, both Hu and Bush took pains to emphasize the importance of US-China relations, pledging after a 90-minute meeting at the Great Hall of the People to work through what Hu described as "inevitable" tensions.

As their talks got under way, Boeing signed a four-billion-dollar deal in Beijing to supply seventy 737 aircraft to China between 2006 and 2008 as part of a broader arrangement to eventually supply 150 of the 737s.

"Win-win cooperation is the mainstream of China-US relations," said Hu, who promised to work to reduce economic tensions on issues such as currency reform and China's massive trade surplus with the United States.

Hu said China was "continuously raising the level of human rights" enjoyed by its people but that progress must reflect "China's national conditions" and that the country would have "democratic politics with Chinese characteristics."

The two leaders said they would next meet in the United States in early 2006 -- a visit that will replace Hu's planned trip in September, which was indefinitely postponed because of Hurricane Katrina.

On the economic front, Hu said Beijing would "unswervingly press ahead" with currency reform and "gradually" cut its trade surplus with the United States, which was expected to run to about 200 billion dollars this year.

US officials, who have expressed frustration that similar pledges on economic reform in July and September have not borne fruit, said much more work remained to be done on all those issues.

The two leaders also agreed to pursue joint efforts to defuse the North Korean nuclear crisis through six-country talks, and to ramp up cooperation to battle the spread of deadly bird flu amid fears of a global pandemic.

The US side reported no breakthroughs on Sunday but pointed to less tangible signs of success, with one senior Bush aide insisting that Hu had been more specific in promising to crack down on rampant counterfeiting of US goods.

Tackling another perennial irritant in Sino-US relations, Taiwan, Hu said that Beijing was "committed to peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits" but warned that "we will by no means tolerate so-called Taiwan independence."

Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade province that will eventually be reunited with the mainland.

Earlier, Bush attended services at the government-approved Gangwashi church and suggested that China had made progress toward religious freedom, saying "it wasn't all that long ago that people were not allowed to worship openly."

"A healthy society is a society that welcomes all faiths and gives people a chance to express themselves through worship," said Bush, who accepted a Chinese Bible and wrote "May God Bless the Christians of China" in the guestbook.

On a light note, Bush, a fitness enthusiast, went mountain bike riding with Chinese athletes who are training for the 2008 Beijing Olympics -- and jokingly reported back later that he would not qualify to represent China at the Games.

http://www.afp.com/russian/news/stories/051121043536.9yp1mpzy.html

Saddam defense says ready to attend hearing

Nov 20, 2005

By Suleiman al-Khalidi

AMMAN (Reuters) - Lawyers defending Saddam Hussein and his aides are willing to attend next week's trial hearing, despite threats to their lives, if the government provides them with proper protection, the team's leader said on Sunday.

Khalil Dulaimi announced earlier this month that the defense team was suspending all contacts with the court trying Saddam for crimes against humanity after the killing of two of its lawyers — one shot in Baghdad on November 8, one killed on October 20

On Sunday, he telephoned Reuters from an undisclosed location and said "We are prepared to attend the trial if our demands to secure proper protection are met … We are ready to attend any moment they tell us and despite our reservations."

Dulaimi accused his opponents in the judiciary of spreading rumors that the defense was boycotting the trial so that they could appoint their own defense lawyers.

"We announced not a boycott of the trial but a suspension of our work with the court in order to preserve the lives of our colleagues," Dulaimi said. "But they want to portray us as having boycotted so they would prepare new lawyers," he added.

Saddam's trial began on October 19 and is due to resume on November 28. The ousted leader and seven aides are accused of killing 148 men after an attempt to assassinate Saddam in 1982.

The defense lawyers are under great pressure, Dulaimi said. "The threats against us have increased and in a systematic way and the Americans have been briefed fully and in detail about this," he added.

Dulaimi said he wanted talks with the government on an elaborate security plan which he said would protect the lawyers, their families and witnesses.

The Iraqi government says the defense lawyers have repeatedly refused offers of police protection made since before the trial began and spurned an offer of safe houses inside the secure Green Zone in central Baghdad after the first killing.

The worsening death threats have made it difficult for the defense team to visit their clients or prepare their case for the coming session, Dulaimi said, and concern for their safety now took precedence over preparing the defense case itself.

Witness intimidation was also a problem, Dulaimi said. "We contacted some witnesses and they totally refused to attend for fear for their lives — but if proper protection is provided, they said they would be ready to attend."

Echoing the view of Saddam's mainly Sunni Muslim supporters, Dulaimi said the recent discovery of a secret detention center run by the Shi'ite-led Interior Ministry in Baghdad raised serious questions about the role of militias linked to the police in recent assassinations.

"There is an escalation in attacks by the militias. We saw it in their torture chambers. They are the ones responsible for the killing of our colleagues," he said.

Reuters News

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