Posted on 06/03/2003 9:14:06 PM PDT by null and void
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SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt - President Bush is hoping that support from top Arab leaders for his Middle East peace plan will give it new impetus as he meets directly with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
"If all sides fulfill their obligations, we can make steady progress on the road toward Palestinian statehood, a secure Israel and a just and comprehensive peace," Bush said before heading Tuesday to Aqaba, Jordan, for a second round of diplomacy.
SHAHI KOT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - U.S. forces mounted a major operation in Afghanistan this week to hunt for suspected al Qaeda and Taliban militants crossing from Pakistan, but arrested just four men on a farm.
The two-day operation "Dragon Fury," involving some 500 troops, was the latest in a series of actions concentrating on the east and southeast of the country.
"The reason why we came here was because we have some reports of al Qaeda and some other anti-coalition members and militants that have been operating through this area," Lieutenant Michael Swift told reporters in the Shahi Kot district 16 miles south of the town of Gardez.
Jennings Interviews New Palestinian Leader
S H A R M E L - S H E I K, Egypt, June 3— On the eve of his historic summit Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas spoke to ABCNEWS's Peter Jennings. Following are excerpts from the interview, which was the first Abbas has given to a Western journalist since becoming prime minister.
PETER JENNINGS, ABCNEWS: Mr. Prime Minister, why are you the man to do this job?
MAHMOUD ABBAS, PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER: It is not necessarily true that I am the only man who can do this job, but my colleagues chose me and put me forward for this position believing that I can fulfill the responsibilities of a prime minister and put back the peace process on the right track.
JENNINGS: What is the definition of an appropriate prime minister?
ABBAS: The appropriate prime minister is the one who will lead the government within the rule of law, he has a specific jurisdiction accepted by me and the others to implement the rule of law.
JENNINGS: The Bush administration certainly favors you. Is that good or bad for you in the Palestinian territories?
ABBAS: It is important for me that the American administration accepts me as a partner in the peace process. That is very useful for me. But most important is that the Palestinian people accepted me also so there is no conflict between the preference of the U.S. administration and the acceptance of the Palestinian people.
JENNINGS: What is the relationship, Mr. Prime Minister, between you and the chairman, Yasser Arafat, and is he in charge of the territories or are you in charge in the territories?
ABBAS: The relationship between us is normal and good, and each one of us knows the limits of his job. We cooperate with each other, there are no problems. He is the elected president of the Palestinian authority, he is the official president, accepted by the Palestinian people and I have a role complementary to his within the executive authority and the law stipulates each of our laws.
JENNINGS: Do you think it is a mistake for the Bush administration not to deal with Arafat and to refuse to do so?
ABBAS: I think so, Arafat should not be isolated, he should not be treated in this way, Yasser Arafat remains a symbol for the Palestinian people and, as I said, he is the elected president, so this way of treating him is not acceptable, and I said this to several American officials and to the Israeli officials as well. This is not acceptable.
JENNINGS: Talk a little bit of the roadmap, must the Israelis remove all of their settlements from the Palestinian territories as part of the deal.
ABBAS: The roadmap has several points dealing with settlements. The first one is the removal of what they call, the illegal outposts. Then there is the Mitchell report which calls to stop all settlement construction including natural growth. On the other hand, this leads to the final phase negotiations which will deal with the fate of these settlements. We do not recognize any legal settlements within the 67 borders, so Israel will have to either remove them or the settlers should leave.
JENNINGS: Do you think this is a realistic issue?
ABBAS: I think that a large percentage of Israelis say the same, the labor party, some of the left as well. If we want a fair, permanent, acceptable solution to the Palestinians which will give Israelis security and peace then there is no other way. Israel has dismantled settlements in Sinai in the past and as, I understand it, with previous governments, Israel was ready to dismantle those in the Golan, so there is no excuse to keep settlements if the Israelis want a fair solution. A large percentage of settlers, according to the polls, are ready to leave if there is peace.
JENNINGS: Mr. Prime Minister you have negotiated in the past with many Israelis, do you trust this Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon?
ABBAS: The issue is not about trust or lack of trust. It is about experience. I had limited experience with him when he was minister of infrastructure, and then minister of foreign affairs under Netanyahu. We did not negotiate a lot. But I deal with him as legitimate elected leader by the Israeli people and I have to enter this experience with him regardless of my point of view. For the moment I do not have an opinion but maybe later I will.
JENNINGS: An Israeli writer said recently that the extremists of greater Israel and greater Palestine mutually veto all progress. Why should that not be the case this time?
ABBAS: Both on the Israeli and Palestinian side there are certainly people who do not accept peace as a principle. And there are those who still refer to Israel as Greater Israel and there also those, on the Palestinian side, who are asking for the return of all their land. But the vast majority on both sides is realistic and believes in a compromise build on U.N. resolution 242. I believe that the majority of the Palestinians and Israelis accept this but we cannot gamble the future of our people on extremists.
JENNINGS: Do you have the power to force the extremists including those of Hamas and Islamic Jihad and other organizations, do you have the power to stop them sending terrorists bombers against the Israelis?
ABBAS: There is no need to use force or violence against them. We had extensive negotiations with these groups, first in Cairo and then in Gaza twice. I believe that we can reach a deal with them to stop all military operations both in Israel and the West Bank, so there is no need to the use of force and there is no need for internal strife.
JENNINGS: Why do you think you can reach agreement with these organizations which have been using terrorist bombers to what they must think is an effective end?
ABBAS: I am speaking objectively, I spoke to them and I managed to convince that this is the only way, they are convinced, they were convinced because of international and regional developments. They also feel they have a responsibility. I am convinced we can reach a deal through our negotiations ... politics don't come with 100 percent guarantees, we have to try all avenues.
JENNINGS: Other American administrations have tried to make peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, have tried to reach an agreed settlement to both sides and failed. What makes you think George Bush has what it takes?
ABBAS: There were mistakes made in the past negotiations, the most important one being limited time given to us, 16 days in Camp David and six days in Taba. I do not think that a century old conflict can be resolved in a few days. There is no doubt that the last two Israeli governments lost a lot of time before entering final phase negotiations. If we are given a real chance to reach a solution between us and the Israelis we can succeed &especially if the American administration (for its own reasons and regardless of these reasons) — is really determined to reach a solution. Today, I felt that President Bush is insisting on reaching a solution.
We are determined, we hope that Sharon has this same determination, there is nothing that can prevent us from reaching a solution if we are given the opportunity to the permanent status phase. But if we have the will, we will reach an agreement.
JENNINGS: You knew Begin, you knew Sadat ... yes I knew Sadat. Do you feel vulnerable?
ABBAS: Each person that works in public life, his life may be exposed to danger. It may happen to me, it's not impossible. And it can happen to any human being but I have faith and I believe in destiny and I believe that a person will not die one minute before he is meant to.
JENNINGS:Why are you confident?
ABBAS:Why am I confident I don't know but I should be confident because without confidence I cannot be a politician ... [he laughs]
AMMAN- Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas met with King Abdullah II here ahead of a Middle East peace summit the Jordanian monarch is calling a "serious step" in solving the bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In their meeting, PM. Abbas repeated to king Abdullah the Palestinians' "commitment" to the roadmap, which calls for an end to Palestinian attacks against Israelis among other steps leading to the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005, according to Petra.
He also called on Israel to stick to its end of the deal, which includes withdrawing troops from the occupied territories to positions they held before the outbreak of the uprising and a freeze on Jewish settlements.
AMMAN- Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas met with King Abdullah II here ahead of a Middle East peace summit the Jordanian monarch is calling a "serious step" in solving the bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In their meeting, PM. Abbas repeated to king Abdullah the Palestinians' "commitment" to the roadmap, which calls for an end to Palestinian attacks against Israelis among other steps leading to the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005, according to Petra.
He also called on Israel to stick to its end of the deal, which includes withdrawing troops from the occupied territories to positions they held before the outbreak of the uprising and a freeze on Jewish settlements.
An Iraqi walks past an abandoned and looted missile transporter in a neighborhood of Baghdad. The Times newspaper has reported that US and British experts have discovered that Iraq was developing a banned missile capable of reaching Israel and other parts of the Middle East
Banned missile programme found in Iraq
LONDON (AFP) - US and British experts have discovered that Iraq was developing a banned missile, capable of reaching Israel and other parts of the Middle East, the Times reported, quoting "senior government sources".
The right-of-centre newspaper said it understood British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has called for patience in the search for Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction, has been told that rocket motors for the missiles have been found.
olice officers in their new uniforms patrol the streets of Baghdad, Iraq,Monday, June 2, 2003. The streets of postwar Baghdad, it turns out, really are not that different from anywhere else. But when it comes to police work, a lot of what happens here could turn up in the police blotter in any small midwestern American city: traffic stops, stolen cars, domestic disputes and safety lectures to schoolchildren.
Baghdad Police Blotter Surreal, Mundane
BAGHDAD, Iraq - They fought the battles, overthrew the dictator, occupied the cities. Now, American forces are finding out that police work on the streets of postwar Baghdad isn't all that different from anywhere else.
To read the local police log — issued daily, courtesy of the U.S. military's media machine — is to peer into the combination of neighborhood normalcy and gun-saturated surrealism that is postwar Iraq.
AQABA, Jordan - President Bush hopes new support from top Arab leaders will give a Middle East peace plan fresh impetus, and he consulted with Jordan's King Abdullah II on Wednesday ahead of meetings with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers.
"This is an important moment, a moment that holds promise," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Wednesday on Air Force One as Bush flew here. Still, he added, "this is the Middle East." Things could become derailed quickly, given the volatile history of the region, he said.
"The world needs to have a Palestinian state that is free and at peace," President Bush said in Egypt.
Bush heads for three-way peace summit
Bush arrived Wednesday morning in Jordan's Red Sea resort town of Aqaba, where he will sit down with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. He will meet with the leaders separately, before holding a trilateral summit later in the day.
Both sides have accepted the U.S.-led "road map" to peace, which was designed to lead to an independent Palestinian state by 2005 that exists in peace and security with Israel.
Kucinich: Release unedited Lynch rescue tape
"Nothing the administration has said about Private Lynch has been verified by private news reports," the Ohio congressman said Tuesday. "It's time to find out the truth." Attention has been drawn to the April 1 rescue since a British Broadcasting Corp. report and Associated Press interviews with Iraqis who were present suggested the dramatics surrounding Lynch's rescue were unnecessary.
Reports of the rescue say the U.S. commandos broke down doors and went in with guns drawn, carrying Lynch out with helicopter and armored vehicle backup, even though there was no Iraqi military presence and the hospital staff didn't resist.
Kucinich
Lynch family 'not supposed to talk about' daughter's ordeal
BBC correspondent defends Lynch documentary
Mideast Summit
U.S. President George W. Bush arrives at the Jordanian port of Aqaba, Wednesday June 4, 2003. The president hopes new support from top Arab leaders will give a Middle East peace plan fresh impetus, and he consulted with Jordan's King abdullah II on Wednesday ahead of meetings with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers.
Continuing his Middle East peace pursuits, U.S. President George W. Bush (news - web sites) arrives at King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba, Jordan, Wednesday June 4, 2003. Bush will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites), Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, and Jordan's King Abdullah II to finalize a plan for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
U.S. President George W. Bush welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, left, to the Royal Palace in Aqaba, Jordan, Wednesday June 4, 2003. Jordan is hosting the three way summit between President Bush, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Sharon to discuss the U.S. backed 'road map' plan for peace in the region.
U.S. President George W. Bush reaches out to shake Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon 's hand at the royal palace in the ordanian town of Aqaba, June 4, 2003. Bush flew into Jordan for a landmark summit with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers after getting welcome backing from Arab leaders for a 'road map' to peace.
Jordanian King Abdullah II, right, welcomes United States President George Bush to his palace Wednesday, June 4, 2003 in the Jordanian Red Sea resort of Aqaba. King Abdullah is hosting a peace summit between Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. Jordan's flag is sen at right others are the Jordanian Royal Standard.
KUWAIT CITY - A Kuwaiti court condemned to death Wednesday a man convicted of murdering a U.S. contractor working in the country, the defendant's lawyer said.
Sami al-Mutairi, 25, had pleaded innocent to charges of murder and attempted murder for the Jan. 21 shooting of two Americans working under contract for the U.S. military in Kuwait.
HABBANIYAH, Iraq - More than 1,500 U.S. combat troops from the 3rd Infantry Division moved Wednesday into two central Iraqi towns known for their anti-American sentiment, more than tripling the number of soldiers in the area to quell recent attacks on U.S. forces.
No immediate problems were reported as the troops deployed.
Two battalion-sized task forces took up positions around the town of Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, and another task force took over two military airfields in Habbaniyah, five miles farther west. Saddam Hussein's Baath Party still has strong support in Fallujah and Habbaniyah, where ultraconservative Sunni Muslims also have significant influence.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - A prisoner attempted suicide for the third time at the U.S. military's detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, bringing the total number of attempts to 28, an official said Tuesday.
Guards prevented serious injury when the man made the attempt in a recently opened mental health wing Monday, said Maj. Paul Caruso, a spokesman for the detention mission.
It was the first attempt reported in the mental ward, which opened in March and now holds about two dozen detainees under monitoring by a psychiatrist, psychologist, four psychiatric nurses and others.
U.S. President George W. Bush reacts as he talks with the Prime Minister of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas at the Summer Palace in the southern Jordanian port town of Aqaba June 4, 2003. One of the most important aspects of Bush's week-long trip to Europe and the Middle East will be a trilateral meeting between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Wednesday, intended to win their commitment to implementing a 'road map' to Middle East peace.
U.S. President George W. Bush welcomes Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas to the Royal Palace in Aqaba, Jordan, Wednesday June 4, 2003. Jordan is hosting the three way summit between President Bush, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to discuss the U.S. backed 'road map' plan for peace in the region.
Printer Friendly Version Seoul, South Korea-AP -- North Korea is heating up the rhetoric, even as a congressman says the communist nation may be willing to bargain.
A state-run newspaper today is slamming a U-S plan to strengthen troops along the Korean border. It implies the build-up is a precursor for nuclear war and says the U-S is using North Korea's nuclear program as an excuse to invade the country.
American officials say they are concerned about Pyongyang's stockpile of nuclear weapons -- and are trying to talk the nation into disarming.
EVIAN, France -- French President Jacques Chirac rejected an interpretation yesterday of a G-8 declaration on the spread of nuclear weapons as meaning the group backs the possible use of military force against Iran and North Korea.
But Prime Minister Jean Chretien said the answer is not cut and dried.
"It's created a lot of preoccupation for a lot of people, so we've discussed quite candidly how to attack that with nobody having a very clear answer," Chretien told a news conference at the windup of the group's annual summit.
The G-8 resolution described weapons of mass destruction as the pre-eminent threat to international security and put Iran and North Korea on notice that the world will not stand by and allow them to acquire nuclear weapons. The document says a range of issues are available to tackle the threat: treaties, inspections by atomic energy agencies "and, if necessary, other measures in accordance with international law."
DUBAI (Reuters) - A suspected Saudi militant who was shot dead by police this week was very close to Osama bin Laden and was a key member of his al Qaeda network in the Gulf region, an Arabic newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat daily quoted Islamists based in London and Cairo as saying Youssef Saleh al-Eiery was the Web master of "al-Neda" site, believed to be operated by al Qaeda, and was an aide to bin Laden when the two were in Afghanistan.
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