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NEWS FROM THE
UNITED STATES
ALL THE NEWS
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Colin Powell: "Civil war
still a risk in Iraq."
Former US secretary of
state Colin Powell has warned it will be six to eight months before
the success of the recent Iraqi election will be known and has
backed US troop reductions in the war-torn country. In a
wide-ranging Christmas Day television interview with former Bill
Clinton press secretary George Stephanopoulos, Mr Powell also
conceded that legitimate questions on presidential authority had
arisen from the controversial domestic spying program authorised by
US President George W.Bush without the approval of the courts.
On the Iraqi election, Mr Powell echoed the concerns of a growing
number of analysts when he suggested the success of fundamentalist
candidates, particularly in the Shia majority, could harden ethnic
divisions and increase the chances of civil war. "There's a lot of
voting strictly along political, ethnic and tribal lines and
religious lines and there appears to be, from early results, great
support for a Shi'ite majority that is somewhat more fundamentalist
than, I think, we all would be entirely comfortable with," Mr Powell
said. "But we've got a long process ahead of us. The way this has
been designed, it's going to take a while first to document the
results, secondly for a national assembly to be formed. "Then it
will take more time for a president and two deputies to be selected,
and more time yet for a prime minister to be selected. So, it's
going to be six to eight months of uncertainty before we really know
what this government looks like." Mr Powell said the critical issues
now were the disarming of the militias and the willingness of the
majority Shi'ites to protect the interests and the rights of the
Sunnis, who had oppressed them under Saddam Hussein. "If the Shias
just see it as an opportunity to oppress the Sunnis, then we're
going to have a very tough time and it could lead to a civil war,"
he said. "We have to make sure that, as we move through this
(post-election) period, we have the interest of the minorities, the
fears of the minorities - and here, I mean the Sunnis - taken into
account by the Shias and by the Kurds." Mr Powell said he was
certain there would be fewer US soldiers in Iraq next Christmas.
(But) something has to be done about the militias," he said. "The
Iraqis are going to have to put in place a political system that
says the only ones who hold the power of the state, the military and
police power of the state, is the state and not individual militias
that are loyal to a particular secular or religious figure. The real
challenge is really the institutions of government, the political
institutions, the cabinet ministries and the other institutions that
you need in order to control a country ... to make this a
functioning society." On the domestic spying issue, Mr Powell said
there was "absolutely nothing wrong" with Mr Bush authorising
surveillance on US citizens but that it was a different question as
to whether he could authorise such surveillance without going to the
courts. "My own judgment is that it didn't seem to me, anyway, that
it would have been that hard to go get the (court) warrants," he
said. "And even in the case of an emergency, you go and do it - the
law provides for that - and then, three days later, you let the
court know what you have done and deal with it that way. The
question is, was it done in the way that is consistent with the law
... Some members of Congress do not see a problem; other members of
Congress do see a problem, on both sides of the aisle. (But) the
nation is not going to collapse over this issue. What the President
is determined to do and what the Congress and the American people
want him to do is protect us from terrorism. And if eavesdropping
does that, then more power to it. Nobody is suggesting that the
President shouldn't do this." -By David Mason.
Bush Authorized Spying for good reasons
 WASHINGTON-
U.S. President George W. Bush said Saturday he personally has authorized a
secret eavesdropping program in the U.S. more than 30 times since the Sept. 11
attacks and he lashed out at those involved in publicly revealing the program.
"This is a highly classified program that is crucial to our national security,"
he said in a radio address delivered live from the White House's Roosevelt Room.
This authorization is a vital tool in our war against the terrorists. It is
critical to saving American lives. The American people expect me to do
everything in my power, under our laws and Constitution, to protect them and
their civil liberties and that is exactly what I will continue to do as long as
I am president of the United States," Bush said. Angry members of Congress have
demanded an explanation of the program, first revealed in Friday's New York
Times and whether the monitoring by the National Security Agency without
obtaining warrants from a court violates civil liberties. One Democrat said in
response to Bush's remarks on the radio that Bush was acting more like a king
than the elected president of a democracy. Bush said the program was narrowly
designed and used "consistent with U.S. law and the Constitution." He said it is
used only to intercept the international communications of people inside the
United States who have been determined to have "a clear link" to al-Qaida or
related terrorist organizations.
The program is reviewed every 45 days, using
fresh threat assessments, legal reviews by the Justice Department, White House
counsel and others, and information from previous activities under the program,
the president said. Without identifying specific legislators, Bush said
congressional leaders have been briefed more than a dozen times on the program's
activities. The president also said the intelligence officials involved in the
monitoring receive extensive training to make sure civil liberties are not
violated. Appearing angry at points during his eight-minute address, Bush said
he had reauthorized the program more than 30 times since the terrorist attacks
of Sept. 11, 2001, and plans to continue doing so. "I intend to do so for as
long as our nation faces a continuing threat from al-Qaida and related groups,"
he said. The president contended the program has helped "detect and prevent
possible terrorist attacks in the U.S. and abroad," but did not provide specific
examples. He said it is designed in part to fix problems raised by the Sept. 11
commission, which found that two of the suicide hijackers were communicating
from San Diego with al-Qaida operatives overseas. "The activities I have
authorized make it more likely that killers like these 9-11 hijackers will be
identified and located in time," he said. In an effort by the administration
that appeared co-ordinated to stem criticism, Bush's remarks echoed -- in many
cases word-for-word -- those issued Friday night by a senior intelligence
official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The president's highly unusual
discussion of classified activities showed the sensitive nature of the program,
whose existence was revealed as Congress was trying to renew the
terrorism-fighting Patriot Act and complicated that effort, a top priority of
Bush's. Senate Democrats joined with a handful of Republicans on Friday to stall
the bill. Those opposing the renewal of key provisions of the act that are
expiring say they threaten constitutional liberties. Reacting to Bush's defence
of the NSA program, Senator Russell Feingold, D-Wis., said the president's
remarks were "breathtaking in how extreme they were." Feingold said it was
"absurd" that Bush said he relied on his inherent power as president to
authorize the wiretaps. "If that's true, he doesn't need the Patriot Act because
he can just make it up as he goes along. I tell you, he's President George Bush,
not King George Bush. This is not the system of government we have and that we
fought for," Feingold told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. The
president had harsh words for those who talked about the program to the media,
saying their actions were illegal and improper. "As a result, our enemies have
learned information they should not have," he said. "The unauthorized disclosure
of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk."
 U.S.
on sidelines over Kyoto
Photo: Canada
Federal Environment
Minister Stephane Dion responds to media questions on Sept. 14, 2005
in a Quebec City hardware store.
MONTREAL, Canada- Delegates from
157 countries wound up a tense, all-night negotiating session by
agreeing Saturday to draft a new, long-range plan to combat climate
change. The agreement, which Environment Minister Stephane Dion
dubbed the Montreal Action Plan, calls for binding commitments to
cut greenhouse emissions beyond 2012 when the current Kyoto Protocol
expires. Details must be worked out in new talks, but the agreement
will give new credibility to the much-criticized Kyoto process and
provide some certainty for investors in an emerging global
carbon-trading market. Delegates cheered and hugged when Dion,
president of the conference, brought down the final gavel shortly
after 6 a.m. "You have upheld the trust the people of the world have
placed in us," he said. "Facing the worst ecological threat to
humanity, you have said: the world is united and together, step by
step, we will win this fight." The United States remained almost
alone outside the new Kyoto deal, but agreed to informal talks under
the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). Americans
would only agree to informal talks that will not "open to any
discussion leading to new commitments." Critics said the commitment
was so empty as to be meaningless. Countries have effectively
decided to forge ahead without Washington, said John Bennett of the
Sierra Club of Canada.
"This is a clear message to the United States
that the rest of the world wants action on climate change," he said.
But Dion insisted that U.S. participation in the informal "second
track" is significant. He announced that the dialogue will begin
next year, with initial submissions due in April. British Prime
Minister Tony Blair, who has made tackling climate change a key
priority for his presidency of the G8 this year, welcomed the
agreement. "This agreement is the result of years of hard work and
is a vital next step in tackling climate change, the biggest
long-term challenge facing the world," Blair said in a statement.
"Of course it is only a beginning but it is important and
demonstrates why it is always worth engaging with America and the
rest of the world." The deal does not set emissions-reductions
targets for developing countries like China and India, but provides
mechanisms through which they can get access to clean technology and
financing for climate-friendly projects. "At this meeting, we've
seen the main developing country emitters express the view that they
want to take advantage of the carbon market," said Bill Hare of
Greenpeace International. "They want the technology and the finance
that will flow from that. I think this could be the beginning of a
long-term breakthrough." The talks were stalled Saturday night by
unexpected objections from the Russian delegation, but these were
overcome after hours of pleading from other countries. "It's a
success," said Raphael Gauthier of Climate Action Nework, France.
"We have lots to do now." Delegates praised Canada for hosting the
conference and Dion for guiding the negotiations, but activists
noted that Canadian record in controlling greenhouse emissions is
dismal - worse than that of the United States. Dion still insists
that Canada will meet its commitment under the existing Kyoto
Protocol to cut emissions six per cent from 1990 levels by 2012.
Emissions are currently 24 per cent above 1990 levels. Experts say
Canada's target will be impossible to achieve without substantial
purchases of credits on the international carbon market, and such
moves are likely to be a hard sell. -By D. Bueckert
Air Marshal shoots passenger dead
 Photo:
Image from the
tarmac at Miami International Airport.
MIAMI, Florida- A passenger who
claimed to have a bomb in a carry-on bag was shot and killed by a
federal air marshal Wednesday on a jetway to an American Airlines
plane that had arrived from Colombia, officials said. Homeland
Security Department spokesman Brian Doyle said the dead passenger was
a 44-year-old U.S. citizen. It was the first time since the Sept. 11
attacks that an air marshal had shot at a passenger or suspect, he
said. A witness said that the man frantically ran down the aisle of
the Boeing 757 and that a woman with him said he was mentally ill. The
passenger, who indicated there was a bomb in the bag, was confronted
by air marshals but ran off the aircraft, Doyle said. The marshals
pursued and ordered the passenger to get on the ground, but the man
did not comply and was shot when he apparently reached into the bag,
Doyle said. Authorities did not immediately say whether any bomb was
found.
Passenger Mary Gardner told WTVJ in Miami that the man ran down
the aisle from the rear of the plane. "He was frantic, his arms
flailing in the air," she said. She said a woman followed, shouting,
"My husband! My husband!" Gardner said she heard the woman say her
husband was bipolar and had not had his medication. The plane, Flight
924, had arrived from Medellin, Colombia, at 12:16 p.m. and was
scheduled to depart two hours later for Orlando, American Airlines
spokesman Tim Wagner said. "I don't know yet if the passenger had been
on the plane and was getting off, or was starting to board the
aircraft," he said. The shooting happened shortly after 2 p.m.,
suggesting passengers may have already been preparing to depart, he
said. About 105 passengers were scheduled to fly to Orlando, he said.
Martin Gonzalez, spokesman for Colombia's civil aviation agency, said
the flight "left normally with no problems." There were only 32 air
marshals at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks. The U.S. administration
hired thousands more afterward, though the exact number is classified.
 Rumsfeld
touts progress in Iraq
Some Democrats renewed calls
for Rumsfeld to be removed from his post.
Rumsfeld: "Media focuses too much on negative."
Photo: Secretary
of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
 WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld conceded Monday that the insurgency in Iraq has been
stronger than anticipated but also said the news media have focused on
the war's growing body count rather than the progress that has been
achieved.
"To be responsible, one needs to stop
defining success in Iraq as the absence of terrorist attacks,"
Rumsfeld said in remarks at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced
International Studies. He added, "It's appropriate to note not only
how many Americans have been killed - and may God bless them and their
families - but what they died for or, more accurately, what they lived
for." Continuing recent U.S. administration efforts to defend war
policies, Rumsfeld said Americans should be optimistic about progress
that has been made politically and militarily in Iraq, as that country
prepares for next week's parliamentary election.
In a change of focus, Rumsfeld also aimed some of his remarks at the media for presenting a
"jarring contrast between what the American people are reading and
hearing about Iraq and the views of the Iraqi people." The Iraqis, he
said, are more upbeat about their country, their security forces are
growing, and they are on the road to democracy. Rumsfeld's speech came
five days after President George W. Bush released a strategy for
victory in Iraq that was meant to better explain the U.S. mission
there. It also came amid increasing discontent with the war among some
members of Congress. In addition, more than half of Americans now say
it was a mistake to send troops to Iraq, according to recent polls.
Bush's approval on handling Iraq is at 37 per cent, the lowest yet.
Pressure on the administration has grown as the number of U.S.
military deaths has surpassed 2,100. Rumsfeld said focusing on that
number would be as misleading as concentrating on the large numbers of
casualties at battles like Iwo Jima during the Second World War,
without acknowledging the victories eventually achieved.
He denounced
as unsubstantiated recent reports out of Iraq, including allegations
from two former Iraqi detainees who said they were thrust into a cage
of lions in Baghdad and then pulled out as an interrogation technique. Rumsfeld also questioned stories about a military propaganda program
that secretly paid Iraqi newspapers and journalists to publish
favourable articles about the war and rebuilding in Iraq. He said he
didn't know if the allegations were true, and questioned whether a
contractor properly implemented military policy, which was supposed to
require the articles to be labelled as ads or opinion pieces. U.S.
military leaders in Iraq confirmed the existence of the propaganda
program last week. "It's a classic case of blaming the messenger,"
said Steve Rendall, a senior analyst at Fairness and Accuracy in
Reporting, a media watchdog group in New York. "When the news is bad,
blame the journalists for ignoring the good news. Rumsfeld is
confusing bias with bad news. Reporting bad news is not bias."
Rumsfeld acknowledged that the war has not gone according to plan, but
said many things that were feared, including destruction of oil
fields, have not happened. He said the insurgency was larger than some
had expected, and early efforts to counter it were hampered when
infantry units were not allowed to go into northern Iraq through
Turkey. From Bush's declaration of an end of major combat in May 2003
to Vice-President Dick Cheney's assertion in May 2005 that the
insurgency was "in the last throes," the administration has taken a
positive stance. But the deadly groups, including Sunni extremists and
foreign terrorists coming across the borders, have continued to kill
U.S. and Iraqi forces.
Some Democrats renewed calls for
Rumsfeld to be removed from his post. Senator John Kerry of
Massachusetts said U.S. troops "have been put in greater danger by the
mistakes of this secretary of defence who refuses to tell the truth
about what is happening in Iraq and pushes aside anyone who dares
speak truth to power."-By L. Bador.
 44
Acres of Coastline Collapse in Hawaii
HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK,
Hawaii- About 44 acres of coastline collapsed into the ocean this
week, setting loose a glowing stream of lava that shot out from the
newly exposed cliffside 45 feet above the water. The plume, 6 feet in
diameter, sent up a tower of steam as it hit the water and began
forming a ramp of new land. The collapse of solidified lava shelf and
sea cliff Monday was the largest since Kilauea Volcano began its
current eruption in 1983. Jim Kauahikaua, scientist-in-charge of the
U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said a collapse
warning was issued in June because the shelf had become large and had
formed cracks. Large collapses had happened in the area before.
Rumblings tipped scientists to Monday's collapse, which took about 4
1/2 hours. Even at that relatively slow pace, the effect was
spectacular. "The cliff just caved away like a glacier," said park
spokesman Jim Gale. "It just sheared off that old wall. There's this
gigantic steam plume and you see the red just falling down — an
incredible fire hose display." The collapse sent out globs of lava and
head-size boulders. Sheets of volcanic glass called limu o Pele, after
the Hawaiian goddess of fire, and thin strands of volcanic glass known
as Pele's hair were found 1,800 feet inland.
US does not torture, Bush insists
The CIA has declined to comment on claims of a covert prison network
President George W Bush has defended his
government's treatment of detainees after a media allegation that the
CIA ran secret jails in eastern Europe. "We do not torture," Mr
Bush told reporters during a visit to Panama. He said enemies were
plotting to hurt the US and his government would pursue them, but
would do so "under the law". Meanwhile, the US Supreme Court has
allowed a legal challenge to the Bush administration's use of military
tribunals for foreign detainees.
The court will decide whether a former driver for Osama
Bin Laden, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, can be tried for war crimes before
military officers in Guantanamo Bay. Correspondents say the case will
be a major test of the US government's wartime powers. 'Country at
war': The White House has not confirmed Washington Post claims
that the CIA set up a covert prison network in eastern Europe and Asia
to hold high-profile terror suspects following the 11 September 2001
attacks. About 30 detainees, considered major terrorism suspects, were
held at these "black sites", although the centres have now been
closed, the paper reported. On Sunday, the United Nations' special
rapporteur on torture urged European officials to conduct high-level
investigations into the allegations. "We are finding terrorists and
bringing them to justice," Mr Bush said at a joint news conference
with Panamanian President Martin Torrijos. "Our country is at war and
our government has the obligation to protect the American people," Mr
Bush said. "Any activity we conduct is within the law." The Senate has
passed legislation banning torture, but the Bush administration is
seeking an exemption for the CIA spy agency. "We do not torture and
therefore we're working with Congress to make sure that as we go
forward, we make it more possible to do our job," Mr Bush said.
Bin Laden driver: The Supreme Court has
agreed to review an appeals court ruling that Mr Hamdan could be tried
by a military tribunal. The court will hear arguments in the case in
March or April, with a decision expected by June. Mr Hamdan, from
Yemen, is accused of conspiracy to commit war crimes, including
terrorism. A judge halted his trial last year, saying it could not
proceed until a decision had been made on whether he was a prisoner of
war under the Geneva Conventions. Mr Hamdan contested his status as
"enemy combatant", and his lawyers were seeking to force US
authorities to try him in a civilian court, arguing that the military
tribunals were illegal under US law. Mr Hamdan worked for Bin Laden in
Afghanistan from 1997 until the US attack in Afghanistan in 2001. He
denies being a member of al-Qaeda.
Rescuers drain pond in
Indiana to see if more victims left there by tornado
 Photo:
An Evansville Police Department officer drives through the Eastbrook
Mobile Home Park in Evansville, Ind., Monday.
EVANSVILLE, Indiana- Crews looking
for victims of a weekend tornado finished searching the wreckage of a
mobile home park and turned their attention Monday to draining a large
pond where it was feared more bodies would be found. The death toll
stood at 21 from the tornado, which struck at 2 a.m. Sunday as people
slept, making it the deadliest in Indiana in more than three decades.
Seventeen people died at Eastbrook Mobile Home Park, including some
victims found in the pond, authorities said. The search for victims
and survivors broke off several hours after dark Sunday night.
Vanderburgh County Sheriff Brad Ellsworth said the two-metre-deep pond
nearby, where some victims were found, would be drained to determine
whether it held any other bodies. Chief Dale Naylor of the Knight
Township fire department said he believed that all survivors or bodies
left in the wreckage had otherwise been found. Four others, including
a woman who was eight months pregnant, died from the tornado in
neighbouring Warrick County, east of Evansville.
More than 100 people
were taken to hospitals. Ellsworth said authorities did not have a
count of any people missing because so many had left the area on their
own. Authorities were not yet allowing residents to return to check on
their homes as crews continued to clean up and check that utilities
had been shut off. National Guard troops were called in to help with
search-recovery efforts. "Mother Nature picked the worst place to drop
in a tornado," Ellsworth said. "There's not a safe place to escape to.
You're just up to fate at this point." The tornado struck a horse
racing track near Henderson, Ky., then crossed into Indiana. All the
dead were in Indiana. The youngest victim at the trailer park was a
two-year-old boy who was killed along with his 61-year-old
grandmother, the Vanderburgh County coroner's office said. The deaths
in Warrick County included Cheryl Warren, a dental assistant who was
eight months pregnant, her four-year-old son, Isaac, and her husband,
Jeremy, a truck driver. Authorities there also were counting as a
fifth death the woman's fetus. Mobile home park resident Tim Martin,
42, said he and his parents were awakened by the wind, which lifted
their home and moved it halfway into the neighbour's yard. They
escaped unharmed, but he said they heard several neighbours calling
for help. A neighbouring mobile home was overturned, he said, and
another appeared to have been destroyed. "All I could see was debris,"
he said. "I thought it was a bad dream." Indiana homeland security
spokeswoman Pam Bright said the tornado was the deadliest in Indiana
since April 3, 1974, when 47 people were killed. Those storms were
part of one of the worst tornado outbreaks in U.S. history, which
killed more than 300 in the South and Midwest and devastated Xenia,
Ohio. Ryan Presley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service,
said the tornado appears to have been an F3 on the Fujita scale, with
winds ranging from 254 km/h to 331 km/h. The scale ranges from F0, the
weakest, to F5, the strongest. -By Ryan Lenzs
 CIA
officer at centre of the leak case fills her life with twins and a
desk job (At the
second website)
Photo: Valerie Plame, left, is
seated with her husband, former diplomat Joseph C. Wilson, in
Washington in this Nov. 18, 2003, photograph for the opening spread of
Vanity Fair.
WASHINGTON, DC- Joe Wilson says it
was mutual love at first sight when he and Valerie Plame spotted each
other at a crowded diplomatic reception eight years ago. Well, yes and
no. For Plame, the stars in her eyes that night were quickly followed
by a LexisNexis computer search the next day to make sure the guy with
all the fantastic stories about his life as a globe-trotting diplomat
was really legit. It is classic Valerie Plame..
 Black
Muslim leader says delayed help for New Orleans was 'criminal neglect?
(At the second website)
Photo: Nation of Islam leader Louis
Farrakhan addresses the crowd attending the Millions More Movement
rally gathered on the National Mall in Washington Saturday.
WASHINGTON, DC- Railing against the
delayed relief for victims of hurricane Katrina, Nation of Islam
leader Louis Farrakhan said Saturday the U.S. government should be
charged with "criminal neglect of the people of New Orleans." "For
five days, the government did not act. Lives were lost," Farrakhan
said at the 10th anniversary of the Million Man March. "We charge
America with criminal neglect." ...
U.S. forces report killing 20 insurgents sheltering foreign militants
near Syrian border
(At the second website)
BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. soldiers and
warplanes killed 20 insurgents and destroyed five "safe houses"
Saturday during an operation against militants who shelter foreign
fighters for Al-Qaida in Iraq near the Syrian border, the military
said. Meanwhile, defence lawyers in Saddam Hussein's trial rejected
protection offered by the Iraqi Interior Ministry after the
kidnap-slaying of a colleague..
Waiting for weakening Wilma: Floridians wary of ferocious storm
(At the second website)
KEY WEST, Florida- A hurricane watch
was posted Saturday for the low-lying Florida Keys and a mandatory
evacuation order was issued for the islands' residents as southern
Florida made preparations for Hurricane Wilma. Hurricane-force wind of
at least 120 km/h could begin affecting the Keys within 36 hours, the
National Hurricane Center said. The storm's outermost rain already had
reached parts of the state. At the same time, an area of rain showers
south of Puerto Rico developed into a tropical depression, the centre
said. If that strengthens into a tropical storm, it would be called
Alpha because Wilma was the last name on this year's official storm
list. ..
Bush says the United States is sending cash and helicopters to
Pakistan (At the
second website)
 Photo:
President Bush waves as he arrives for services at St. John's
church, Sunday, in Washington.
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. President
George W. Bush said Sunday the United States is sending cash and
eight helicopters in response to Pakistan's plea for international
assistance with earthquake recovery. "Thousands of people have died,
thousands are wounded, and the United States of America wants to
help," Bush said from the Oval Office. Saturday's magnitude-7.7
earthquake killed at least 20,000. Officials said the death toll
could climb much higher and Bush declared the quake the worst
natural disaster in Pakistan's history. With Pakistan's ambassador
away from Washington, Bush invited the embassy's deputy chief of
mission...
New York subway terror threat remains uncorroborated, concerns ease
(At the second
website)
NEW YORK- A reported plot to bomb
New York City's subways with remote-controlled explosives has not
been corroborated after days of investigation, law-enforcement
officials said Sunday amid an easing sense of concern.
Interrogations of suspects captured in Iraq last week after an
informant's tip about bomb-laden suitcases and baby carriages have
yet to yield evidence the plot was real, officials said. "The
intelligence community has been able to determine that there are
very serious doubts about the credibility of this specific threat,"
U.S. Homeland Security ...
Israel denies 'spying against US' (At
the second website)
Photo: Franklin is co-operating with the prosecution
A senior Israeli official has denied operating a
former Pentagon analyst who admitted passing classified information to
pro-Israel lobbyists in the US. "Israel is not spying in or
against the United States," said Yuval Steinitz, chairman of the
Israeli parliament's Defense...
President Discusses War on Terror at National Endowment for Democracy
(At the second website)
U.S. warning allies of Hamas takeover of Palestinian Authority
(At the second
website). Bush
officials and congressional sources said the administration has been
quietly bracing for a Hamas takeover of the PA. State Department
officials have been briefing Arab and Western allies about the
prospect that Hamas would dominate either the Palestinian government
or PA areas by mid-2006. "There is a very serious risk that unless we
make much more progress on the peace process than I now think is
likely, that regardless of Hamas we may see the Islamists take over
there," Anthony Cordesman, a senior researcher at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies, told the House Armed Services
Committee.
|
|
SUMMARY OF HEADLINES
AT THE AGENCY OTHER WEBSITE
http://www.internationalnewsagency.org
*CIA
officer at centre of the leak case fills her life with twins and a
desk job
*White
House denies Bush said God told him to invade Iraq and create
Palestinian state.
*President
Discusses War on Terror at National Endowment for Democracy.
*U.S.
warning allies of Hamas takeover of Palestinian Authority.
*Bush
says the United States is sending cash and helicopters to Pakistan.
*New
York subway terror threat remains uncorroborated, concerns ease.
*Israel
denies 'spying against US' .
____________________________
Bush and South Korean leader take united stand
on NKorean nuclear program
GYEONGJU, South Korea- President George W. Bush
took a hardline stance against North Korea on Thursday, saying the
U.S. won't help the communist country build a civilian nuclear reactor
to produce electricity until it dismantles its nuclear weapons
programs. With the nuclear dispute with North Korea at an apparent
impasse, Bush and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun put the
communist regime on notice that it would not be allowed to keep its
nuclear weapons programs. "A nuclear-armed North Korea will not be
tolerated," Roh said through a translator.
The North has demanded that it be given a
light-water reactor - a type less easily diverted for weapons use - in
exchange for disarming. U.S. officials once rejected the idea outright
and argued North Korea could not be trusted with any nuclear program,
but now have left the door open as long as Pyongyang, the capital,
isn't given a reactor as an incentive but only as a reward after it
has eliminated nuclear weapons programs. "We'll consider the
light-water reactor at the appropriate time," Bush said. "The
appropriate time is after they have verifiably given up their nuclear
weapons and/or programs." So far, Bush is getting one thing he wanted
from his four-country swing through Asia: no public displays of
dissension from the United States' partners in the talks.
Negotiations between North Korea and the United
States, Japan, South Korea, Russia and China in September concluded
with Pyongyang's promising to end its nuclear program in exchange for
aid, diplomatic recognition and security guarantees. But a
disappointing new round of talks ended last week without progress on
the difficult next step - how to dismantle existing weapons and verify
that the country really has ended all suspicious programs.
10 U.S. marines killed in
Iraq and casualties are mounting
WASHINGTON, DC- Ten Marines on foot
patrol were killed and 11 wounded by a roadside bomb near Fallujah in
one of the deadliest attack on American troops in Iraq in recent
months, the U.S. Marine Corps disclosed Friday. A brief statement said
the marines were from Regimental Combat Team 8, of the 2nd Marine
Division. They were hit Thursday by a roadside bomb, which the
military calls an improvised explosive device, or IED, made from
several large artillery shells, the marines said. IEDs are the most
common cause of U.S. casualties in Iraq.
The marines were attacked
outside of Fallujah, about 50 kilometres west of Baghdad. Of the 11
who were wounded, seven have returned to duty, the marine statement
said. It added that marines from the same unit continue to conduct
counterinsurgency operations throughout Fallujah and surrounding
areas. Fallujah had been a stronghold of the insurgents until U.S.
forces, led by marines, captured the city in November 2004.
Since then
the U.S. military and the Iraqi government have been working to
rebuild the city and limit the return of insurgents. Deadly insurgent
attacks in the Fallujah area had become less common in recent months,
although one marine died of wounds from small-arms fire while
conducting combat operations in the city on Wednesday. The 10 deaths
on Thursday marked the deadliest incident for marines in Iraq since 14
were killed by a roadside bomb on Aug. 3 near Haditha, about 225
kilometres northwest of Baghdad. Those marines were travelling in a
lightly armoured amphibious assault vehicle when it a bomb, flipped
into the air and exploded in a fireball.
U.S.
House rejects immediate troop-withdrawal from Iraq after fiery debate
WASHINGTON,
DC- The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly rejected calls
Friday for an immediate troop-withdrawal from Iraq, a vote engineered
by the Republicans that was intended to fail. Democrats derided the
vote as a political stunt. "Our troops have become the enemy. We need
to change direction in Iraq," said U.S. Representative John Murtha of
Pennsylvania, a Democratic hawk whose call a day earlier for pulling
out troops sparked a nasty, personal debate over the war.
The House
voted 403-3 to reject a non-binding resolution calling for an
immediate troop-withdrawal. "We want to make sure that we support our
troops that are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. We will not
retreat," House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican, said
as the Republican leadership pushed the issue to a vote over the
protest of Democrats. It was the second time in less than a week that
President George W. Bush's Iraq policy stirred heated debate in
Congress. On Tuesday, the Senate defeated a Democratic push for Bush
to lay out a timetable for withdrawal. Murtha, a 73-year-old marine
veteran, decorated for combat service in Vietnam, issued his call for
a troop-withdrawal at a news conference Thursday. In little more than
24 hours, Hastert and Republicans decided to put the question to the
House. Democrats said it was a political stunt and quickly decided to
vote against it in an attempt to drain it of significance. "A
disgrace," declared House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California
Democrat. "The rankest of politics and the absence of any sense of
shame," added Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 House
Democrat.
U.S. briefs multiple nations
on Iran's nuclear warhead program
LONDON - Diplomatic sources said Iran installed an empty nuclear
warhead on the Shihab-3 intermediate-range ballistic missile for two
tests in mid-2004. The warhead appeared similar to a Soviet-based
ICBM that Moscow deployed in the 1960s. The United States has briefed
several nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency on an
Iranian program to develop a nuclear warhead for the Shihab-3. The
sources said the U.S. briefers asserted that from 2001 to 2003 Iran
designed and developed a circular warhead that could detonate at an
altitude designed to ensure optimal damage. The sources said that in
August the U.S. delegation briefed such countries as China, India,
Russia, and South Africa ahead of last month's IAEA board of
governors meeting in Vienna.
The briefing helped persuade some members
to either support or abstain in the vote on a British resolution to
refer the Iranian nuclear file to the United Nations Security
Council. India supported the British resolution, which did not set a
date for the submission of the Iranian file. The Iranian program,
termed Project 111, was commissioned by the Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps, the sources said. They said the Iranian Defense
Ministry's Aerospace Industries Organization conducted work on the
Shihab-3 warhead. Iran has designed a Shihab-3 circular warhead that
would explode at a height of 600 meters, the sources said. They said
the IAEA and several member nations were shown Iranian blueprints as
well as data on tests of the Shihab-3 warhead's so-called black box.
In July the U.S. gave IAEA Director-general Mohammed El Baradei the
first briefing concerning Iran's purported nuclear warhead. The U.S.
delegation urged El Baradei to demand information from Iran on the
warhead and interview the purported chief of Project 111, Mohsen
Fakrizadeh.
US Internet Hosting
Company Stops Hosting PLO Office's Website
GAZA, (WAFA - PLO News Agency)- The National Office to Defend the Land
and Resist the Colonization, a PLO body, said its website stopped
working on the internet because of intervention from the hosting
American Company. Taysser Khaled, PLO Executive Committee Member and
Head of the National Office, said the website will remain closed
unless the Office reaches a settlement with the hosting company.
Khaled revealed that the American company subjected to Israeli
pressures to stop hosting the Website after those Israeli
organizations failed to hack it. White House denies
Bush said God told him to invade Iraq and create Palestinian state.
Office of the White House Press
Secretary. Press Briefing by Scott McClellan, James S. Brady Press
Briefing Room
Q: Have you ever heard the President say that God told him to invade
Afghanistan and Iraq and --
MR. McCLELLAN: No, and I've been in many meetings with him and never
heard such a thing.
Q: Are you aware of the -- there's a BBC broadcast tonight that's
quoting the Palestinian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister as saying
that they were in a meeting with the President in June of '03, and
there are some very detailed quotes here, saying that the President
said to them, "God told me, 'George, go and fight those terrorists in
Afghanistan,' and I did," and then "God told me, 'George go and end
the tyranny in the Iraq'" and so forth and so on?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, that's absurd. He's never made such comments.
Q: Were you in the meeting when that took place?
MR. McCLELLAN: I've been in meetings with him with President Abbas; I
didn't travel on that trip, if you're talking about to Jordan. But
I've been in many meetings with the President with world leaders where
he's talked about this.
Q: So you don't know about the June '03 meeting?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, I checked into that report and I stand by what I
just
said.
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