Posted on 06/08/2003 8:52:19 PM PDT by null and void
Good Morning.
Welcome to the daily thread of Operation Infinite Freedom - Situation Room.
It is designed for general conversation about the ongoing war on terror, and the related events of the day. Im addition to the ongoing conversations related to terrorism and our place in it's ultimate defeat, this thread is a clearinghouse of links to War On Terrorism threads. This allows us to stay abreast of the situation in general, while also providing a means of obtaining specific information and mutual support.
Mon June 9, 2003 10:45 AM ET
By Rami Amichai
NEVE EREZ, West Bank (Reuters) - Israel began on Monday an operation to remove settler outposts in the West Bank under a U.S.-backed "road map" to peace affirmed at a Middle East summit last week, an Israeli military source said.
"The evacuation of the illegal settler outposts has begun," the source said.
A Reuters television cameramen said army tractors dismantled the uninhabited settler outpost of Neve Erez near the West Bank city of Ramallah, destroying two caravans.
It was not immediately clear how many of the some 60 settler outposts established in the West Bank without Israeli government permission would be uprooted. Israeli media reports estimated about 15 would be scrapped.
Mon June 9, 2003 07:38 AM ET
By Parinoosh Arami
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran warned Monday that foreign pressure over its nuclear capabilities, branded a threat to peace by Washington, would backfire and harden Iran's position.
Since its rapid conquest of Iraq, Washington has tightened the screw on neighboring Iran, which it accuses of sheltering al Qaeda fugitives, backing terrorism and developing nuclear arms.
"Excessive pressure on Iran would untie the hands of those who do not believe in dialogue," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi. "Even those who favor constructive talks would not accept the language of force and threat."
The United States and European Union are divided over Iran. The EU favors a policy of encouraging embattled reformers around President Mohammad Khatami, while Washington argues this is a waste of time since he has no real power to affect change.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in a report obtained by Reuters Friday, accused Iran of failing to comply with safeguards to curb the spread of nuclear weapons and sent a team of inspectors to the country Saturday.
Asefi played down the visit, which comes a week before IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei formally presents his report on Iran's nuclear ambitions to agency governors in Vienna on June 16.
"The visit was planned months ago and has nothing to do with the agency's report," Asefi said. "The visit proves Iran's transparency and close cooperation."
Fresh from war in Iraq over banned weapons, the United States described the report as "deeply troubling."
Since the Iraq war, U.S. administration hawks have raised the specter of military action against Iran, but President Bush, who put Iran in an "axis of evil" with pre-war Iraq and North Korea, has denied he has plans to attack it.
Even so, many in Iran suspect the Islamic Republic may be next on a U.S. hit-list of regimes to be overthrown.
"We hope Iran's constructive cooperation with the agency and other countries makes the international community better aware of America's evil intentions," Asefi said.
"We are always alert about America's policies...but we have no doubt the Americans won't be deluded into mistaking Iran for Iraq. Such a mistake would be irreparable," he said.
Mon June 9, 2003 11:28 AM ET NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) - Mauritania's president, in his first radio broadcast since fighting erupted early on Sunday, said his forces had succeeded in putting down an attempted coup.
"The patriotic forces beat this plot that aimed to end the process of development and emancipation," said President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya. "It took time because it was necessary to destroy tank after tank. As I speak, the operation is complete."
Mon June 9, 2003 08:05 AM ET
TOKYO (Reuters) - Five-country talks on North Korea and its nuclear ambitions could well take place within a month or in two at the latest, Japanese media quoted U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage as saying Monday. Armitage was quoted by Kyodo news agency as saying that the chance of such talks, which would include Japan, South Korea, the United States, China and North Korea, had become more likely because Pyongyang's opposition to that format appeared to be weakening steadily.
He added that the United States, South Korea and Japan would strongly call for multilateral talks at a trilateral meeting in Hawaii later this week and that China would convey this stance to North Korea.
"North Korea won't able to ignore this," Armitage was quoted by Kyodo as saying.
He justified the time frame by saying past experience had shown that this was frequently the amount of time it would take for diplomatic pressure to have an effect on North Korea, adding that he felt the five-way talks were likely to take place by August.
"A month, at the longest, two," he was quoted as saying.
China, North Korea and the United States held three-way talks in Beijing in April to try to resolve the confrontation over North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Tokyo and Seoul, which had hoped to take part, were left out because of Pyongyang's opposition.
The talks in Beijing ended after U.S. officials said North Korea disclosed it had atomic bombs and Pyongyang said it presented a plan to resolve the dispute but was ignored.
Despite the apparent deadlock, though, the three countries agreed the discussions were a "good beginning" to ending the crisis that had been festering for months.
Mon June 9, 2003 08:40 AM ET
TOKYO (Reuters) - The United States welcomes Japan's move to push for a controversial law that will allow Tokyo to send troops to help in the reconstruction of Iraq, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said Monday. "I feel quite strongly about it," Armitage told NHK national television. "I'm thrilled that the government representing the people is debating these ideas."
His remarks came as talks began between coalition leaders and officials in Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's administration on the new law, which the government hopes that parliament would pass before the current session ends later this month.
Mon June 9, 2003 08:36 AM ET
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan issued a formal protest to Afghanistan Monday for dumping the bodies of 21 Taliban fighters on its territory along the border last week. Up to 40 Taliban guerrillas were killed in Afghanistan last Wednesday in what Afghan officials said was the hard-line group's most bloody defeat since it was driven from power in late 2001.
Afghan authorities later laid out 21 blood-soaked bodies in Pakistani territory along the border, to allow relatives to collect them.
Pakistan's new foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan told a news conference that Pakistan had sent a "demarche of protest" to Afghanistan for the incident.
"There was a clash in Afghanistan and there were several casualties, a number of bodies were thrown on our side and this was sort of desecration of those dead bodies," Khan said.
"This was received with concern and anger and our authorities conveyed their protest to the Afghan authorities."
Outgoing foreign ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan told the same news conference that the Afghan ambassador was called to the foreign ministry and given the demarche.
The foreign ministry said six to eight bodies were claimed by Afghan relatives living in Pakistan, while the rest were taken back to the Afghan border town of Spin Boldak.
Afghan officials are convinced an increase in attacks on troops and aid workers in Afghanistan this year has been masterminded in Pakistan, and have urged Islamabad to do more to catch Taliban and al Qaeda members hiding in its territory.
Mon June 9, 2003 11:05 AM ET
KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai Monday blamed a suicide car bomb attack that killed four German peacekeepers in Kabul on foreign terrorists, adding that the ousted Taliban regime was finished as an organization. Addressing a news conference, Karzai pointed to the Pakistan-Afghan border as the main threat to security in Afghanistan, where attacks on peacekeepers, aid agencies and civilians have increased noticeably in recent months.
"I am not worried about the resurgence of the Taliban," Karzai said at the presidential palace in Kabul. "The Taliban movement as a movement is finished, is gone."
"Are we concerned about terroristic activities of the kind that occur at the borders or inside Afghanistan, of the kind that happened the day before yesterday? Yes."
Four German peacekeepers were killed and 31 injured on Saturday when a car exploded beside a bus taking them to the airport at the end of their assignment.
The driver of the taxi carrying the explosives has not yet been identified, but Karzai told reporters: "I guarantee the person is not from Afghanistan."
Karzai has blamed the recent wave of violence across the south of the country and in Kabul on Pakistan-based terrorists and remnants of the hard-line Islamic Taliban regime which fell from power in late 2001 after U.S. military intervention.
In southern Afghanistan, a provincial official said the Taliban was calling on the army and police to join the Islamic movement in its campaign against Karzai and U.S.-led forces.
Pamphlets have been distributed in the restive province of Zabul, part of the former heartland of the Taliban, said Mohammad Omar, deputy governor of Zabul, which borders Pakistan.
"For the past several days we have been seeing these leaflets here," Omar told Reuters by telephone from Zabul on Monday.
Omar said the pamphlets had so far failed to lure anyone from the army or police.
The United States and allies attacked Afghanistan to oust the Taliban after the regime refused to hand over members of the al Qaeda network, blamed by Washington for the September 11, 2001, air attacks.
Remnants of the Taliban and of al Qaeda are believed to be still hiding in the rugged mountains on the Afghan-Pakistan border.
A drive to enforce Islamic law threatens to unravel Musharraf's coalition government - TIME Asia Magazine:
Once again, Pakistan's mullahs are on a collision course with President Pervez Musharraf. In the latest clash, on June 2, religious groups that control Pakistan's Northwest Frontier province declared that Shari'a law would be enforced in their territory—superceding the British-style legal system that is Pakistan's law of the land. Shari'a is the strict religious code that governs Islam. From now on, Arabic, the language of the Koran, will be obligatory in schools; girls 12 years and older will have to wear the head-to-toe veil known as the burqa, and women will not be allowed to leave home unaccompanied by a husband or male relative. A challenge to Pakistan's shaky, secular government is the last thing Musharraf needs, but the mullahs are pushing a showdown. The Muttahidda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), a political bloc of six religious groups, intends to set up a morality police to enforce Islamic virtue, raising cries among human-rights activists against the "Talibanization" of the province. But popular support for the change is evident: even before the law imposing Shari'a was passed, Islamic youths roamed the town of Peshawar tearing down billboards featuring images of unburqa'd women. The religious parties warned Musharraf not to interfere. "We will resist all threats," said the MMA's Secretary General, Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
In retaliation, Musharraf could dissolve the provincial assembly. But the MMA is making threats of its own, warning that 68 of its members serving in parliament may resign if Islamabad tries to overturn the local law. That poses no direct peril to Musharraf, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1999. But the flimsy coalition Musharraf stitched together after last October's elections could come unraveled if there are mass resignations. And if the elected government falls, Musharraf's popularity could plummet, as could his standing with his main international ally: the U.S.
Meanwhile, a nationwide alliance of mullahs has launched a direct attack on Musharraf, demanding that he no longer serve as both the country's President and army chief. They say they are willing to drop that demand—if Musharraf agrees to apply Shari'a law throughout the country, a step the President, a religious moderate, is loathe to make. If he wants to save his façade of civilian government and retain international support, he may have to swallow hard and make peace with two exiled former Prime Ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, whose parties together are strong enough to foil the clerics.
Great efforts have been invested recently by both U.S. President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to convince the world that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat is irrelevant. While leading an international campaign to undermine Arafat, both Bush and Sharon claim to do their best to strengthen the Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen). Despite these efforts and claims, it seems that Arafat is no less relevant now than at any time since he took over control of the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1968. We can argue over to what extent Arafat contributes to the Palestinian cause and to the improvement of the Israeli-Palestinian relationship, but no one can ignore the fact that Arafat has more popular support amongst the Palestinians than any Palestinian leader. A recent survey by the Palestinian Research Center in Nablus showed that showed that while Arafat's popularity has plunged — from more than 60% in the early 1990s to about 21.5% now — no other Palestinian figure enjoys more than 10 % of popular support. Prime Minister Abbas, according to the survey, has just 1.8%.
These findings underscore the fact that Arafat continues to be the national symbol of the Palestinians. Unlike Abbas, who is seen as a technocrat without a militant background, Arafat is considered by the vast majority of Palestinians to be their national revolutionary leader. The current siege on Arafat strengthens him, and not only because international opinion opposes the Bush-Sharon boycott on him. He continues to control the Palestinian security apparatus on one hand, even as he plays the a victim of American and Israeli policies in the Middle East. He has it both ways.
In any event, George Bush and Ariel Sharon know that removing Arafat from the Palestinian political arena could postpone by years any solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Since Arafat represents Palestinian political legitimacy, it is he who must approve any possible agreement reached by Abbas with the Israelis. Even Abu Mazen acknowledges this: he consults Arafat before and after meeting any non-Palestinian senior official.
Finally, many other senior Palestinian leaders continue to be dependent on Arafat, both politically and economically. These people will undermine Abu Mazen's leadership if they feel their political master is in any peril.
The bottom line, then, is that Arafat remains a central protagonist in the peace process. The Americans and the Israelis may increase their efforts to undermine him, but they know they can't progress without him. They would love to find a powerful, charismatic Palestinian leader who can be an alternative to Arafat — but they know that Abu Mazen is not that man.
WASHINGTON, June 8 Two of the highest-ranking leaders of Al Qaeda in American custody have told the C.I.A. in separate interrogations that the terrorist organization did not work jointly with the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein, according to several intelligence officials.
Abu Zubaydah, a Qaeda planner and recruiter until his capture in March 2002, told his questioners last year that the idea of working with Mr. Hussein's government had been discussed among Qaeda leaders, but that Osama bin Laden had rejected such proposals, according to an official who has read the Central Intelligence Agency's classified report on the interrogation.
In his debriefing, Mr. Zubaydah said Mr. bin Laden had vetoed the idea because he did not want to be beholden to Mr. Hussein, the official said.
Separately, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the Qaeda chief of operations until his capture on March 1 in Pakistan, has also told interrogators that the group did not work with Mr. Hussein, officials said.
The Bush administration has not made these statements public, though it frequently highlighted intelligence reports that supported its assertions of links between Iraq and Al Qaeda as it made its case for war against Iraq.
Since the war ended, and because the administration has yet to uncover evidence of prohibited weapons in Iraq, the quality of American intelligence has come under scrutiny amid contentions that the administration selectively disclosed only those intelligence reports that supported its case for war.
Bill Harlow, a spokesman for the Central Intelligence Agency, declined to comment on what the two Qaeda leaders had told their questioners. A senior intelligence official played down the significance of their debriefings, explaining that everything Qaeda detainees say must be regarded with great skepticism.
Other intelligence and military officials added that evidence of possible links between Mr. Hussein's government and Al Qaeda had been discovered both before the war and since and that American forces were searching Iraq for more in Iraq.
Still, no conclusive evidence of joint terrorist operations by Iraq and Al Qaeda has been found, several intelligence officials acknowledged, nor have ties been discovered between Baghdad and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on Washington and New York.
Between the time of the attacks and the start of the war in Iraq in March, senior Bush administration officials spoke frequently about intelligence on two fronts the possibility of links between Iraq and Al Qaeda, and Baghdad's drive to develop prohibited weapons. President Bush described the war against Iraq as part of the larger war on terrorism, and argued that the possibility that Mr. Hussein might hand over illicit weapons to terrorists posed a threat to the United States.
Several officials said Mr. Zubaydah's debriefing report was circulated by the C.I.A. within the American intelligence community last year, but his statements were not included in public discussions by administration officials about the evidence concerning Iraq-Qaeda ties.
Those officials said the statements by Mr. Zubaydah and Mr. Mohammed were examples of the type of intelligence reports that ran counter to the administration's public case.
"I remember reading the Abu Zubaydah debriefing last year, while the administration was talking about all of these other reports, and thinking that they were only putting out what they wanted," one official said.
Spokesmen at the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon declined to comment on why Mr. Zubaydah's debriefing report was not publicly disclosed by the administration last year.
In recent weeks, the director of central intelligence, George J. Tenet, and other officials have defended the information and analysis by the C.I.A. and other intelligence agencies in the months before the war. They said reports were not suppressed, and were properly handled and distributed among the intelligence agencies.
The issue of the public presentation of the evidence is different from whether the intelligence itself was valid, and some officials said they believed that the former might ultimately prove to be more significant, since the Bush administration relied heavily on the release of intelligence reports to build its case, both with the American people and abroad.
"This gets to the serious question of to what extent did they try to align the facts with the conclusions that they wanted," an intelligence official said. "Things pointing in one direction were given a lot of weight, and other things were discounted."
Muslim publisher honored
INLAND: A Jewish group hails the Fontana man for his courageous opposition to Islamic extremists.
Tashbih Sayyed, publisher of the weekly Pakistan Today newspaper, will receive an award from the American Jewish Committee's 500-member chapter in Orange County.
06/09/2003
By SHARYN OBSATZ THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
A Jewish organization will honor a Muslim publisher from Fontana tonight for his outspoken opposition to Islamic extremism and his work in promoting religious tolerance.
Tashbih Sayyed, publisher of the weekly Pakistan Today newspaper, will receive an award from the American Jewish Committee's 500-member chapter in Orange County.
"He's a devout Muslim who has tremendous respect for other religions," Suzanne Butnik, the chapter's executive director said by phone last week.
In his paper and in TV interviews, Sayyed has defended Israel and criticized Saudi Arabia for exporting Muslim fundamentalism. His views are controversial among Muslims.
"I think it takes a great deal of courage for him to stand up to make these statements so openly," Butnik said.
Sayyed, 62, was born in India and grew up in Pakistan, where he earned a master's degree in political science and headed Pakistan Television Corp.'s current affairs department. When Islamists took over the government in 1980, he immigrated to the United States.
Sayyed said in a phone interview that the majority of U.S. Muslims are moderate but their voices have been silenced by militant leaders in many U.S. mosques and Islamic activist organizations.
BRUSSELS, June 5
The Belgian police said today that they had detained an Iraqi man after 10 letters containing a nerve gas ingredient were sent to the prime minister's office, the American and British Embassies and a court trying suspected members of Al Qaeda.
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Inside the letters was a brownish-yellow powder that contained phenarsazine chloride, an arsenic derivative used in nerve gas. |
Twenty people, including postal workers and police officers, went to the hospital briefly after being exposed to the chemical in the letters, sent earlier in the week.
Among them were five officers at the Brussels police headquarters who were leafing through documents taken from the Iraqi man's home.
"They suffered the same symptoms as the three officers who went to the British Embassy to get the letter," Mr. Audenaert told a news conference.
Three ministries, the Saudi Arabian Embassy, an airport and a port authority also received the letters.
Inside the letters was a brownish-yellow powder that contained phenarsazine chloride, an arsenic derivative used in nerve gas.
By JAMES TARANTO
The Wages of Appeasement
"Belgian police said Thursday they detained an Iraqi man after letters containing a nerve-gas ingredient were sent to the prime minister's office," Reuters reports from Brussels. Let's review
It's a myth-busting trifecta!
President George W. Bush makes a point while answering questions after a meeting with his cabinet, at the White House in Washington, June 9, 2003. The White House denounced Hamas and other militant Islamic groups as 'terrorists' who were a threat to the stability of the Palestinian Authority and the creation of a Palestinian state.
A Jewish Ultra-Orthodox man walks by a wall plastered with posters displaying U.S President George W. Bush dressed in military fatigues over a slogan that reads in Hebrew 'excellent soldier' in a street in central Jerusalem Sunday June 8, 2003.
The Cabinet Room
10:45 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: I just met with my Cabinet, had the opportunity to brief them about my trip overseas. I talked about the visit to Poland and to Russia, where we've got good friends in both those countries -- at least in terms of their leaders.
And then I went to the G8 in Evian, France. The message there was is that America and Europe can do a lot together. We can make the world more peaceful, we can make the world more free, we can work together to help fight the pandemic of AIDS in Africa. There's a lot we can do together. We need to put our differences in the past and combine our efforts. We can do -- trade together so our people can find work. And I left feeling very good about our relations in Europe.
Then I went to the Middle East and started the -- started the march to peace. And I'm optimistic about our chances to bring a peaceful, free Palestinian state in existence, to live by side-by-side with a secure Israel. We've got a lot of work to do, but I was pleased with the response of Prime Minister Sharon. He's a courageous leader, dedicated to the security of the Israeli people, as are we -- but also recognizing that life can be better for the Palestinians.
And I appreciate the leadership of Prime Minister Abbas, the new Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, who spoke eloquently and clearly about the need for the free world to fight off terror in order for a Palestinian state to emerge.
And then I went over to Qatar. Had a very good visit with Ambassador Bremer and General Tommy Franks, and we talked about the need for our coalition to continue to make steadfast progress in Iraq so that the people of Iraq will be able to eventually run themselves. And we are making steadfast progress.
Finally, we talked about domestic matters. Secretary Snow briefed us on the economy. And we're optimistic about our economy, but we won't rest until we're certain that people who are looking for work and who want to work can find a job. The jobs and growth package passed by the Congress can be very beneficial to those who look for work.
We also talked about the possibilities of Congress getting a good Medicare bill out. I will spend time this week discussing Medicare with the American people. Secretary Thompson briefed us on the progress being made by the Congress, and I want to thank the congressional leadership for showing the determination that's going to be necessary to get a good Medicare package out for America's seniors.
I'm proud of my Cabinet. I want to thank them for their good work and really proud of the team we have put together here.
I'll answer a few questions. Tom, and then Patsy.
Q Mr. President, since you left the Middle East there's been a new outbreak of violence, three main Palestinian militant groups have claimed responsibility for it. Prime Minister Abbas says he will not use force to control these groups and Prime Minister Sharon has been criticized by right-wing members of his own party. Why are you so optimistic?
THE PRESIDENT: I'm optimistic because I was able to listen to the Prime Ministers of Israel and the Palestinian Authority talk about the need for peace and for a state.
Listen, I recognize there's going to be extremes, particularly in the Palestinian territories, that want to blow up peace. But I think people are sick of it. The average Palestinian must understand that their lives will improve with the vision of Prime Minister Abbas. And the Arab neighborhood understands that violence will lead to nothing except misery and the lack of hope. And so I'm optimistic that responsible leaders have now got the message that we must combine to work to fight off the terror attacks so that a peaceful Palestinian state can emerge.
And, listen, I understand there's going to be a lot of work to do, but I'm prepared to lead. And we're sending a team in place. Ambassador Wolf will be on the ground soon, holding people to account and working to strengthen Prime Minister Abbas so that he can deliver on his promise -- a promise he made not only to me personally, but a promise he made to the Israeli officials. And the promise was is that he will work as hard as he can to fight off those elements within the territories that want to use violence to destroy any hope for peace, and, therefore, use violence to destroy the hopes of the Palestinian people.
Q Sir, is U.S. credibility on the line over weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?
THE PRESIDENT: I'm not exactly sure what that means. I mean, Iraq had a weapons program. Intelligence throughout the decade showed they had a weapons program. I am absolutely convinced with time we'll find out that they did have a weapons program. The credibility of this country is based upon our strong desire to make the world more peaceful and the world is now more peaceful after our decision; the strong desire to make sure free nations are more secure -- our free nations are now more secure; and the strong desire to spread freedom. And the Iraqi people are now free and are learning the habits of freedom and the responsibilities that come with freedom.
I read a report that somehow, you know, that there is no al Qaeda presence in Baghdad. I guess the people who wrote that article forgot about Al Zarqawi's network inside of Baghdad that ordered the killing of a U.S. citizen named Foley. And history will show, history -- time will prove that the United States made the absolute right decision in freeing the people of Iraq from the clutches of Saddam Hussein.
Kyle, last question. Q Sir, do you have anything for us on the dollar? It continues to slide.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q The rhetoric continues to be that we favor a strong dollar policy, but there doesn't seem to be much of anything helping to prop it up.
THE PRESIDENT: The policy of this government is a strong dollar policy. I spent time talking about the -- our dollar policy at the G8. And I reminded our G8 partners that there is a difference in interest rates, particularly between Europe and the United States, and that interest rate differential has caused people to sell dollars to buy euros to get a higher return on investment. And that's why you're seeing pressure on the dollar.
And, of course, the European Union is, like the United States, has got an independent organization that sets monetary policy. But you'll see a -- you'll see different behavior as interest rate spreads begin to narrow between Europe and the United States.
But I'll repeat as clearly as I can, the policy of the United States government is a strong dollar policy.
Thank you, all.
END 10:53 A.M. EDT
DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has criticized the United States for not inviting Syria to a Middle East summit last week, saying Washington was delaying any peace talks between his country and Israel.
President Bush met some Arab leaders in Egypt last Tuesday to drum up support for an internationally backed Israeli-Palestinian peace plan or "road map." Damascus, an old U.S. foe, opposes the plan.
The European Union's incoming president, Italy, called on Monday for a similar road map between the Israel and the two Arab neighbors still to make peace with the Jewish state -- Syria and Lebanon.
Assad, who held talks with the Italian foreign minister in Damascus, said he did not know why Syria's concerns were not on the table when Bush met leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Bahrain before talks with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers.
"The summit was concerned with the Palestinian track and the 'road map'. I think the Syrian track for them (United States) now has been delayed. We don't know why, but for now it's not on the table," Assad said in comments aired by Dubai-based Arabic television channel al-Arabiya Monday.
Some Arab leaders at the summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh had raised the issue of the Golan Heights, Syrian land which Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East War, Assad said in the rare interview, to be aired in full later.
"I don't think they needed Syria to be there, whether because Syria is not connected to this (road map) issue or because of Syria's non-conformity and non-agreement with these ideas in the first place. We have a different view."
Damascus has criticized the road map as an attempt to end a 32-month-long Palestinian uprising for statehood, ignoring what it says are Israel's "terror" policies against Palestinians.
The plan calls for reciprocal steps leading to the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005 and was crafted by the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.
France says it wants another "road map" to be drawn up for Israel and it neighbors, a call echoed by Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini whose country takes over the rotating EU presidency next month.
"There should be a road map for Syria and Lebanon. The mechanism of forging the map would be the core of a study between European nations, Syria and Lebanon... Of course we will also talk to the United States," Frattini told a news conference in Damascus after meeting Assad.
The Italian news agency ANSA quoted Frattini as saying: "Importantly, I found that...Assad was open to negotiations and without an anti-American slant."
Washington has accused Syria of sponsoring "terrorism," in part through support for anti-Israeli militant groups and of giving refuge to officials from Iraq's ousted government. Damascus denies the charges.
Sandra Block USA TODAY
Thousands of citizen soldiers charged with rebuilding Iraq face an even more daunting prospect when they return home: repairing the damage to their careers and personal finances.
For some, the task could take years. More than a third of military reservists and National Guard members suffer a cut in pay when they're called to active duty. Long term, the cost of military service is even greater: Small businesses collapse. Raises and bonuses disappear. Clients defect to competitors.
Reservists and Guard members are being deployed more frequently, and for longer periods, than ever before. As of May 28, there were 219,692 on active duty vs. just 83,746 a year ago, according to the Department of Defense (news - web sites). Some have been called up two or three times since the Sept. 11 attacks.
And unlike Operation Desert Storm in 1991, when most returned after six months, many citizen soldiers who served in this war have been on duty for a year or longer. Those who have returned home worry that they'll be called up again to fight the war on terror or help with the reconstruction of Iraq.
''I don't think people understand the sacrifices,'' says Marilyn Harrell, 36, of Charleston, W.Va. Her husband, Todd Harrell, 36, owns a video and graphics production company that has been in limbo since his National Guard unit was deployed to Afghanistan (news - web sites) in December. Until last year, his longest deployment was three weeks, when he was called up for local flood duty.
The average active duty pay for midlevel officers in the Guard and Reserves is $50,000 to $55,000 a year. They also receive tax breaks, health care benefits, a housing allowance and retirement benefits after 20 years of service.
Inactive members are paid for monthly weekend drills and annual two-week training sessions. An inactive midlevel officer with 10 years of experience earns about $10,400 a year in drill pay.
But many professionals in their peak earning years are paying a steep price when they are called to active service. Nancy Koehler, 35, a Richmond, Va., real estate agent who is a gunnery sergeant in the Marine Forces Reserve, has been on active duty since September 2001. She's been in the USA the entire time and visits her husband and 5-year-old daughter on weekends. But she was had to put her residential real estate business on hold during one of the hottest real estate markets in history.
Koehler, whose husband is a police officer, says her income dropped about 20% during her deployment. Her real estate license expired, which means she'll have to attend continuing education courses and apply for recertification when she returns to civilian life later this year. She'll also have to find new clients.
''People won't wait for you,'' she says. ''I basically have to start that over.''
Lawmakers take action
Lawmakers, concerned that financial pressures will deplete the ranks of the part-time military, have introduced legislation to provide relief. Proposals pending in Congress would reduce the gap between civilian and military pay, improve health care and retirement benefits, and provide spouses with more protection from creditors.
Members of the active duty military and their families also suffer financial hardships, particularly when a spouse is deployed thousands of miles from home. But reservists and Guard members bear the added burden of juggling military and civilian careers. In some cases, they're given just 12 hours to report for active duty.
''You're sort of like Batman in the reserves,'' says Jesse Miller, 33, a San Francisco attorney and a company commander for the California Army National Guard. ''You never know when the bat light is going to go off.''
Miller was on his honeymoon in a remote part of Mexico when he learned of the Sept. 11 attacks. Anxious to learn if he was being called up, he scrambled to find a section of the beach with cellphone reception. His deployment came in January 2002, when he went to Kuwait for six months.
Miller says the deployment was harder on his wife, Katya, 32, than it was on him. ''One of the lingering issues for many reservists, especially ones who have been away for long term, is significant others having to go through that emotionally,'' he says.
Because of the possibility of another call-up, the Millers have postponed buying a house. Another extended deployment might make it difficult for them to afford the mortgage in the high-cost Northern California housing market, Miller says.
The potential for future call-ups also weighs on their decision to start a family. ''I don't want to be gone when my first child is born,'' Miller says. But if the country continues to rely heavily on the part-time military, ''We can't put our lives on hold,'' he adds.
A changing workforce
Citizen soldiers are protected by federal laws designed to preserve their civilian jobs and pension benefits. But advocates say the protections, originally drafted more than 60 years ago, have failed to keep up with changes in the economy and the workforce.
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act bars employers from discriminating against reservists and Guard members who are called to active duty. When they return, they're entitled to the same seniority status and pay they would have received if they had remained on the job. The protections were updated in 1994. Even with the changes, though, the law fails to address many realities of the modern workforce, reservists say. Among them:
* The service economy. More part-time soldiers than ever hold white-collar jobs. For lawyers, real estate agents and sales representatives, an extended deployment can unravel relationships with customers and clients that took years to cultivate.
When Jesse Miller was deployed to Kuwait, his employer, Seyfarth Shaw, made up the difference between his lower military pay and his salary as an associate at the law firm. His colleagues pitched in to help cover his caseload and make his return as seamless as possible, says Bill Dritsas, managing partner at the firm.
But Miller acknowledges that frequent deployments could slow his ability to build a client base, key to a successful law practice. Though clients ''appreciate your service, it's tough to build your own business when you're constantly deployed,'' he says. ''It's something I'm willing to do personally because I believe in the service, but it's tough.''
Carl Ostergaard, 28, a financial planner for American Express in Manhattan, has used his experience with the Army National Guard and, more recently, as a staff sergeant with the Air Force Reserve, to attract military clients. His deployments have been short -- he recently returned from a three-week stint at the Norfolk, Va., Naval Air Station -- enabling him to keep in touch with clients through the Internet. But a longer call-up could make it difficult for him to service his accounts, he says. Ostergaard is a contract worker for American Express, and his entire compensation comes from fees and commissions.
''It's a dicey thing, being a reservist and having a job somewhere,'' Ostergaard adds. ''It's like having two girlfriends.''
* Small businesses. Self-employed workers, who account for about 6% of reservists, may pay the highest price for serving their country. Some lose customers, fall behind on their bills or are forced into bankruptcy.
Marilyn Harrell says her family's biggest challenge will come this summer, when her husband returns home and the military paychecks stop. ''If he doesn't produce, he doesn't get paid,'' she says.
Small enterprises fall
Some small businesses have already become casualties. In March, Duane Croniser, 46, left his home near Watertown, N.Y., to join the Army reserves in Iraq. He left behind a wife, two children, 40 cows and five calves. Susan Croniser recently sold the cows at auction because she could no longer manage the farm alone. ''I work full time, and I just couldn't do it,'' she says. ''It's too much work. He might be over there two years.''
Croniser says her family can live comfortably on her husband's military pay, but keeping the farm would have created a financial burden. ''It's not cheap to find someone to work,'' she says.
Her husband, who worked on a farm as a child, was sorry to lose the business, which he bought in 1993. Fortunately, the auction, which had been previewed in the local Watertown Daily Times, attracted a crowd. The sale averaged about $920 a cow, Susan Croniser says. She videotaped the event for her husband, who postponed his military retirement to serve in Iraq.
Susan Croniser's biggest challenge now is finding a place for herself and her two children, Lauren, 10, and Zachary, 14, to live. They have to move off the farm by July, and she doesn't want to buy a home until her husband returns. That's proving much more difficult than selling the cows. ''There are places in town that are empty, but people don't want to rent, they want to sell,'' she says.
* Merit pay. For some professionals, an extended deployment can cost them a much-needed raise. Many companies award salaries based on merit, not seniority, says Capt. Samuel Wright, who helped write the 1994 job-protection law. And when a worker has been gone for months, companies may argue that they have no way to evaluate performance.
Wright, an ombudsman for the Reserve Officers Association, says he recently talked with an insurance executive in his 50s who was told that he was ineligible for a raise after a year of active duty in the Army Reserve. The decision could affect his pension, based on his top five earning years. ''There's a huge amount at stake,'' Wright says.
* Job turnover. The average U.S. worker changes jobs 10 times, according to the Department of Labor. That worries some members of the part-time military, who fear the prospect of deployments will make it harder to find a job.
Rep. John McHugh (news, bio, voting record), R-N.Y., who led a delegation earlier this year to meet with reservists and Guard members stationed in Europe, says several told him that they're omitting their military service from their résumés. One reservist who is a business owner told the group he wouldn't hire a reservist or Guard member, McHugh says.
In the days after Sept. 11 and during the war in Iraq, many employers were eager to support citizen soldiers. But some service members fear patriotism will wane as Iraq fades from headlines, even though many citizen soldiers will remain on duty for months.
Patrick Kirby, a Spokane attorney and former Navy lieutenant who specializes in employment law, recalls advising a human resources manager about the rights of a reservist who wanted to take 90 days off for active-duty training. The manager said she thought workplace protections were limited to war time. This was in February 2002, just five months after the Sept. 11 attacks, he says.
''It was kind of shocking that there were still people who didn't get it,'' Kirby says. ''We're in a very dangerous world. We really need to rally around these service members who are putting their lives and fortunes on the line for us.''
Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, left, shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Collin Powell, at the government palace La Moneda in Santiago, Chile, Monday, June, 9, 2003.
Powell Presses OAS on Democracy in Cuba
By GEORGE GEDDA, Associated Press Writer
SANTIAGO, Chile - Secretary of State Colin Powell challenged Organization of American State foreign ministers on Monday to join the United States in finding ways to "hasten the inevitable democratic transition in Cuba."
Powell told his 34 colleagues from Latin America and the Caribbean that any such steps would be consistent with the OAS Inter-American Democratic Charter, approved in 2001.
The charter, Powell said in a speech, "declares that the people of the Americas have a right to democracy. It does not say the peoples of the Americas except Cubans have a right to democracy."
The Cuban issue generally has been off-limits for the OAS, which is holding its annual meeting of foreign ministers here. The United States over the decades has not encouraged an active role for the OAS.
OAS reluctance to tackle the issue was reflected in the tepid response of member states to sign a U.S.-backed declaration earlier this spring criticizing the Cuban crackdown on pro-democracy activists.
Seventeen OAS members signed the declaration while 17 others chose not to. Most of the opposition came from Caribbean countries, which have contended that any OAS action on Cuba would be inappropriate because Fidel Castro's government is not in a position to defend itself.
The Cuban government was excluded from the OAS in the early 1960's on grounds that the country's Marxist-Leninist system was incompatible with hemispheric principles.
Powell criticized the March crackdown on Cuban dissidents, saying these activists were merely seeking to "act on their basic human rights."
He also protested what he called the "harsh sentences" meted against them.
The European Union and the United States have reacted sharply to the crackdown. The EU has said it is cutting back on high-level visits to Cuba and reducing ties in other areas.
The Cuban government insists that the activists were subversives who collaborated with the U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana. The government staged an anti-American rally Saturday in the Cuban capital.
The principal theme of the OAS meeting is the strengthening of democracy in the hemisphere.
En route here on Sunday, Powell said he does not believe the opposition of Chile and Mexico in the U.N. Security Council to the Iraq war will affect U.S. relations with the two over the long term.
"Wounds heal; sometimes they leave scars, sometimes they don't," he said Sunday. "I don't see any lasting scars here."
Besides his speech, Powell planned meetings Monday with Chilean President Ricardo Lagos and OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria. Also scheduled were bilateral meetings with the foreign ministers of Chile, Colombia, Brazil and Peru. He also is expected to meet with a delegation of Caribbean foreign ministers.
On Tuesday, Powell makes a brief visit to Argentina, where he will meet with the newly installed president, Nestor Kirchner.
"The United States stands ready to help," Powell said, alluding to Argentina's economic difficulties.
"I really want to listen to him (Kirchner) as he tells me about his plans, his aspirations, what he hopes for his administration." the secretary said.
US Marines watch pro-US protesters as they hold a rally in front of the Marines headquarters in Kut, 180 kilometers south of Baghdad, Iraq Monday June 9, 2003 to express support for the US forces. The protesters are demanding Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, whom the US administration in Iraq dissolved recently, be punished for their harsh rule in the country.
Angry protesters shout slogans during a rally outside the headquarters of the US Marines based in Kut, 111 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq Monday June 9, 2003 to express support to the U.S. forces. The protesters are demanding Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, whom the U.S. administration in Iraq dissolved recently, be punished for their harsh rule in the country.
Iraqis demonstrate in Baghdad, carrying portraits of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden
A U.S. soldier from the 3rd Infantry Division keeps alert during a routine patrol in Fallujah, 30 miles west of Baghdad, Monday, June 9, 2003. U.S. soldiers have been attacked several times in the past few weeks in Fallujah, the most openly volatile city in Iraq
A former Iraqi soldier shouts slogans during a protest outside the U.S. Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Services (ORHA) in Baghdad to demand the restoration of the dissolved Iraqi Army, Monday, June 9, 2003. The Iraqi Army was dissolved recently by the new U.S. administration in Iraq to pave the way for the formation of the new Iraqi Corps.
Former Iraqi Army soldiers argue with U.S. troops during a protest outside the the U.S. Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Services (ORHA) in Baghdad to demand the restoration of the dissolved Iraqi Army Monday, June 9, 2003. The Iraqi Army was dissolved recently by the new U.S. administration in Iraq (news - web sites) to pave the way for the formation of the new Iraqi Corps.
An Iraqi boy sips water being offered by a U.S. soldier during a protest by former Iraqi Army soldiers at the U.S. Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Services (ORHA) in Baghdad to demand the restoration of the dissolved Iraqi Army, Monday, June 9, 2003. The Iraqi Army was dissolved recently by the new U.S. administration in Iraq to pave the way for the formation of the new Iraqi Corps.
Pro-U.S. women protesters display placards during a rally outside the headquarters of the U.S. Marines based in Kut, 112 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq Monday June 9, 2003 to express their solidarity with the U.S. forces. The protesters are demanding Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, whom the U.S. administration in Iraq dissolved recently, be punished for their harsh rule in the country.
Two U.S. military policemen wrestle an Iraqi man to the ground in Al Falluja, 50 km west of Baghdad, June 9, 2003, after two Iraqi men were caught carrying an AK-47 gun in their vehicle. A U.S. Army patrol came under small arms fire from a mosque in the restive city earlier on Monday, but sustained no injuries according to the United States central command.
U.S. military police detain two Iraqi men in Al Fallujah, 50 km west of Baghdad, June 9, 2003 after the two were caught carrying an AK-47 gun in their vehicle. A U.S. Army patrol came under small arms fire from a mosque in the restive city earlier on Monday, but sustained no injuries according to the United States central command.
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