Posted on 05/31/2003 8:51:53 PM PDT by null and void
A new sculpture -- featuring a figure under a crescent moon -- stands in Baghdad's Firdos Square, where a statue of Saddam Hussein was brought down.
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.
US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz (C) speaks with Senators Chuck Hagel and Jack Reed (L) at the Shangri-La hotel in Singapore
Thousands of thugs remain a threat in Iraq: Wolfowitz
SINGAPORE (AFP) - Tens of thousands of "thugs" from Saddam Hussein's former army and police forces remain a threat in Iraq, US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said, following a surge in violence against American troops there.
However Paul Wolfowitz also pointed to the successes achieved by the quick victory of US-led forces following the start of the war in March.
Afghanistan still a threat to the war on terror: Wolfowitz
SINGAPORE (AFP) - One of the Pentagon's top officials said here that Afghanistan was still posing a threat to the international fight against terrorism, with powerbrokers in the provinces a major problem.
"Afghanistan remains an ongoing threat to the war on terror. Although there has been progress, challenges still remain," US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told the Asian Security Conference.
No short-term solution to North Korean nuclear crisis: Wolfowitz
SINGAPORE (AFP) - There is no "short-term" solution to the North Korean nuclear crisis, US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said here as as Japan raised fears that Pyongyang's intransigence could destabilise North Asia.
Wolfowitz told the Asian Security Conference attended by regional defence ministers, armed forces chiefs and academics that there was no alternative to piling multilateral pressure on North Korea.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Three U.S. soldiers were killed and six more injured in a traffic accident in northern Iraq, the military said Saturday.
The statement said the soldiers were part of a unit attached to the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division, and that the accident occurred on the road between the cities of Mosul and Tikrit. It said they were traveling in a "light-medium tactical vehicle," the military said.
WASHINGTON - The government miscalculated the number of U.S. troops who may have been exposed to nerve gases when Iraqi weapons were destroyed during the first Gulf War, congressional investigators say.
The General Accounting Office is expected to testify in a House hearing Monday that the Pentagon and CIA used a flawed computer model to estimate the fallout from the weapons. The models were created with inaccurate data, and the height of the plume resulting from the 1991 weapons explosions was underestimated, according to a memo sent to members of a House Government Reform subcommittee.
In a heavy sandstorm, two U.S. soldiers walk to help untangle a traffic jam brought about by a 25-vehicle pile-up along a highway near the Iraqi border with Jordan, 530 kilometers west of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday May 30, 2003. US troops, following the fall of Saddam, are not only helping to secure the country but also get involved in civil-military efforts.
U.S. Troops Seek Women's, Baby Products
BAGHDAD, Iraq - What do U.S. soldiers use to cope with the grit and heat of Iraq? Why, cottony women's underthings, diaper ointments, pantyhose, and moist wipes with the aroma of baby powder.
Drugstore products usually reserved for women and babies are all the rage among U.S. troops in Iraq.
IRAQ: Powell Defends Information He Used to Justify Iraq War
and the latest item:
Blair Says Iraq Weapons Secrets Will Be Publicized - Insists Announcment Will Be Made Soon
U.S. Arrests 15 Baath Party Members
BAGHDAD, Iraq - American forces arrested 15 members of Saddam Hussein's banned Baath Party as they met Saturday, an American official advising Iraq's Interior Ministry said.
The members of the group were arrested at the country's main police college, where they had been holding weekly meetings, Bernard Kerik, former New York City police chief, told reporters.
KABUL, Afghanistan - Attackers detonated a homemade bomb near a U.S. special forces convoy south of Kabul, lightly wounding an Afghan soldier also traveling in the group, the U.S. military said Saturday.
The blast occurred Friday as the convoy was moving along a road 30 miles south of the capital, U.S. military spokesman Col. Rodney Davis said in a statement from Bagram Air Base.
Afghan President Seeks Warlords' Money
KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan President Hamid Karzai has made his boldest bid yet to assert authority beyond the capital, wresting governors and warlords into a deal to hand over millions of dollars in customs duties to Kabul's near-empty treasury.
But enforcing the new orders won't be easy in a fractious country where local rulers keep a tight hold on their money and militias to run their private fiefdoms.
but of, course, we keep reading the liberal sob stories about their "poor" infrastructure and 'sad state" of the nation....
No water. No phones. No electricity I though - at least that's what the NY Times and ABBCNNBCBS is saying, right?
Seems if they can put up large statues that quickly, it can't really be broken.
STRELNA, Russia - President Vladimir Putin appealed to European leaders Saturday to lower barriers to free movement between Russia and the West, and asked for help stemming the flood of drugs from Afghanistan.
He made his pitch at a summit intended to underline Russia's central role in Europe. The meeting came amid extravagant tricentennial celebrations for St. Petersburg, founded by Czar Peter the Great as Russia's window to the West.
US Ambassador to the Alliance Nicholas Burns says NATO is to take over the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan
NATO to take over Afghan peacekeeping force August 11
BRUSSELS (AFP) - NATO is to take over the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan on August 11, the US ambassador to the Alliance has said.
NATO announced in April that it had agreed to take over command of the force, its first "out of area" mission beyond its traditional European area since the Alliance was founded in 1949.
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