Posted on 05/30/2003 8:55:50 PM PDT by null and void
Good Morning.
This is the Daily Thread of Operation Infinite Freedom - Situation Room - LIVE THREAD.
It is designed for general conversation about the ongoing war on terror, and the related events of the day. In depth discussion of events should be left to individual threads - but links to the threads or other articles is highly encouraged. This allows us to stay abreast of the situation in general, while also providing a means of obtaining specific information.
PARIS, May 30 -- On Sunday, President Jacques Chirac will sit down with President Bush in a resort in the Alps for their first one-on-one meeting since they sparred before the world over the war in Iraq. Chirac will be cordial, officials and analysts here say, but he will not back off from his determination that U.S. dominance of the world must be challenged and that France is the country to lead that effort.
The two will meet at a summit of the leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized powers, which the French hosts are in many ways scripting to allow Chirac to showcase side issues on which Paris and Washington can work together: more funding to secure nuclear weapons in former Soviet states, new initiatives to combat AIDS and hunger in developing countries, and a joint resolve to try to revive the sluggish global economy.
The quotes in the article were shortened and thus out of context, one said.
The article by Sam Tanenhaus quoted Wolfowitz as saying, "For bureaucratic reasons we settled on one issue, weapons of mass destruction, because it was the one reason everyone could agree on."
The Pentagon says a full reading of the transcript of the telephone interview Wolfowitz gave the reporter May 9 does not support that interpretation of the deputy secretary's comments.
DoD News: Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz Interview with Sam Tannenhaus, Vanity Fair
Q: Was that one of the arguments that was raised early on by you and others that Iraq actually does connect, not to connect the dots too much, but the relationship between Saudi Arabia, our troops being there, and bin Laden's rage about that, which he's built on so many years, also connects the World Trade Center attacks, that there's a logic of motive or something like that? Or does that read too much into --
Wolfowitz: No, I think it happens to be correct. The truth is that for reasons that have a lot to do with the U.S. government bureaucracy we settled on the one issue that everyone could agree on which was weapons of mass destruction as the core reason, but -- hold on one second --
(Pause)
Kellems: Sam there may be some value in clarity on the point that it may take years to get post-Saddam Iraq right. It can be easily misconstrued, especially when it comes to --
Wolfowitz: -- there have always been three fundamental concerns. One is weapons of mass destruction, the second is support for terrorism, the third is the criminal treatment of the Iraqi people. Actually I guess you could say there's a fourth overriding one which is the connection between the first two. Sorry, hold on again.
Kellems: By the way, it's probably the longest uninterrupted phone conversation I've witnessed, so --
Q: This is extraordinary.
Kellems: You had good timing.
Q: I'm really grateful.
Wolfowitz: To wrap it up.
The third one by itself, as I think I said earlier, is a reason to help the Iraqis but it's not a reason to put American kids' lives at risk, certainly not on the scale we did it. That second issue about links to terrorism is the one about which there's the most disagreement within the bureaucracy, even though I think everyone agrees that we killed 100 or so of an al Qaeda group in northern Iraq in this recent go-around, that we've arrested that al Qaeda guy in Baghdad who was connected to this guy Zarqawi whom Powell spoke about in his UN presentation.
SOLDIERS KILLED IN VEHICLE ACCIDENT
CAMP DOHA, Kuwait -- Two soldiers were killed and seven injured when a light-medium tactical vehicle (LMTV) was involved in a traffic accident between Mosul and Tikrit today. The soldiers were part of a unit attached to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
The injured soldiers were medically evacuated to the 21st Combat Support Hospital for treatment.
The units and names of the soldiers are being withheld pending notification of their next-of-kin.
IRAQI CHILD STRUCK BY MILITARY TRAILER
CAMP DOHA, Kuwait -- Two soldiers driving in a U.S. Army Palatized Load System (PLS)supply vehicle accidentally struck and killed an Iraqi child while traveling south on the Main Supply Route Tampa (Highway 1), 20 miles north of Tallil, at about 11:30 a.m., today.
Initial reports indicate the child was crossing the road and was hit by a cargo trailer.
The soldiers called for an emergency medical evacuation helicopter immediately; however,the child died before the aircraft arrived at the scene.
Coalition Forces continue to stress safety to its service members and keeping the Iraqi population informed about the dangers of crossing the main supply routes where military convoys travel.
Faced with growing resistance US prepares military repression in Iraq
Backing off from earlier promises to quickly scale back the US military force presently occupying Iraq, the Pentagon has announced that it will instead increase the number of troops deployed in the country and indefinitely postpone the scheduled departure of key combat units.
The decision was taken in the face of mounting Iraqi guerrilla attacks on US forces that have claimed the lives of as many as a dozen American soldiers over the past week and left dozens more wounded. In response, the Pentagon is preparing a military campaign aimed at suppressing resistance to the US occupation.
23 killed in fresh clashes in southern Philippines
Fresh clashes in the southern Philippines left 23 people dead early Saturday as the military continued its anti-terrorist campaign against separatist rebels.
A top army official said 7 military personnel died in ambushes conducted by guerrillas from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) near the town of Upi in Maguindanao province.
Iran said Friday it was ready to sign the additional protocol to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) allowing tougher inspections, but only if “sanctions and pressure” directed at the Islamic Republic are lifted. It also denied US accusations that Al-Qaeda members in Iran played a role in this month’s attacks in Saudi Arabia. “We are ready to sign it if the sanctions and pressure on Iran are lifted,” Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said, underling the obligations of NPT signatories to aid fellow members to acquire peaceful nuclear technology.
Iran has been urged to allow the the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect suspect sites in the country as a confidence-building measure.
Obeid: Israel obstacle to the ‘road map’
Foreign Minister Jean Obeid said that Israel was the only “obstacle” to the “road map” to peace in the region and asserted that US threats to Syria, Lebanon and Iran could not turn “injustice to justice.” Speaking after a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Kamal Kharrazi, at the conference center in Tehran, Obeid said that the “obstacles to the road map are now in the behavior of Israel and in Israeli conditions for that plan; our position isn’t an obstacle, Israel is.” Obeid said threats could not “turn injustice to justice and vice-versa … we hold on to international rights … regardless of intimidation or threat.”
Islam, extremists and terror attacks
The terrorist attacks in Casablanca and Riyadh have horrified world opinion and have served as a reminder that terrorism will strike with savagery wherever and whenever it can. Its aims are increasingly clear: to destabilize “corrupt, impious and apostate” regimes and replace them with radical Islamic dictatorships, with the final objective of establishing an expansionist and aggressively proselytizing radical fundamentalist caliphate. Much has been written about the connection between conservative Islam and Islamic fundamentalism and it is important to dispassionately reflect on their connections and their differences.
From Assad to Khatami, Hizbullah’s ‘big game’ finds few takers
In recent weeks Hizbullah has created and marketed a popular computer game named Special Force in which players carry out anti-Israeli attacks based on those the party organized during Israel’s occupation of south Lebanon. Reportedly, real topographical data were integrated into the software to make it more realistic. Aficionados from Beirut to Sydney are said to be merrily blazing away. There is something both amusing and pathetic in a political party’s trying to recapture its past glory through a game. It is normal for Hizbullah to still dine out on its victory over Israel in the south. More problematic, however, is when the party uses its success to engage in narcissism. And that is mainly what drove Hizbullah’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, to advise at a Sunday commemoration on the third anniversary of the south’s liberation that Lebanon should delay presidential, municipal, and parliamentary elections to better confront the difficult regional situation in other words to back Hizbullah’s resistance priorities.
Understanding America is key to improving its foreign policy
During my daily routine in Washington of reading the Arab press, I never cease to be astonished by the pervasive anti-American feelings that blame the US for the miserable conditions gripping the Arab world.
Although the charges are manifold, their common denominator is a belief that the US does not understand or care about the Arab world. Monopolizing the Arabs’ oil industry and making the region safe for Israel are held to be the driving forces behind American foreign policy in the Middle East. It follows from this policy that the US seeks to colonize Iraq and allow Israel to impose its will on the Arab world.
“Qatar has honored its promise to support the Lebanese government’s efforts in implementing financial reforms,” said Youssef Hussein Kamal, Qatari Finance Minister. “This agreement is a further translation of the strong relations binding our two countries.”
“Most Arab countries, Malaysia and France have already honored their share of the Paris II accords,” said Finance Minister Fouad Siniora, adding that “some $700 million is still outstanding from Bahrain, Italy, Belgium and Canada.”
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