Posted on 07/12/2003 8:56:42 PM PDT by null and void
Good Morning.
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It is designed for general conversation about the ongoing war on terror, and the related events of the day. In 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.
By The Associated Press
The 55 most wanted Iraqis and their status, according to U.S. Central Command. Of the total, 34 are reported in U.S. custody:
_No. 1: Saddam Hussein, president.
_No. 2: Qusai Hussein, Saddam's son.
_No. 3: Odai Hussein, Saddam's son.
_No. 4: Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti, presidential secretary, Saddam's cousin. Taken into custody June 17.
_No. 5: Ali Hassan al-Majid, presidential adviser, Revolutionary Command Council member. Also known as "Chemical Ali." Possibly killed.
_No. 6: Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, RCC vice chairman, longtime Saddam confidant.
_No. 7: Hani Abd al-Latif Tilfah al-Tikriti, director, Special Security Organization.
_No. 8: Aziz Saleh al-Numan, Baath Party Baghdad region command chairman. Taken into custody May 22.
_No. 9: Muhammad Hamza al-Zubaydi, retired RCC member, a leader of 1991 suppression of Shiite rebellion. Taken into custody April 20.
_No. 10: Kamal Mustafa Abdallah Sultan al-Tikriti, secretary of the Republican Guard, Saddam's son-in-law. Surrendered May 17.
_No. 11: Barzan Abd al-Ghafur Sulayman Majid al-Tikriti, Special Republican Guard commander, Saddam's cousin.
_No. 12: Muzahim Sa'b Hassan al-Tikriti, who headed Iraq's air defenses under Saddam. Taken into custody April 23.
_No. 13 Ibrahim Ahmad Abd al Sattar Muhammad, armed forces chief of staff. Taken into custody May 15.
_No. 14: Sayf al-Din Fulayyih Hasan Taha al-Rawi, Republican Guard chief of staff.
_No. 15: Rafi Abd al-Latif Tilfah al-Tikriti, director of general security.
_No. 16: Tahir Jalil Haboush, chief of Iraqi intelligence service.
_No. 17: Hamid Raja Shalah al-Tikriti, air force commander. Central Command announced Saturday he's now in coalition custody. No date was given for his apprehension.
_No. 18: Latif Nusayyif al-Jasim al-Dulaymi, Baath Party military bureau deputy chairman. Taken into custody June 9.
_No. 19: Abdel Tawab Mullah Huweish, deputy prime minister. Taken into custody May 2.
_No. 20: Taha Yassin Ramadan, vice president, RCC member.
_No. 21: Rukan Razuki Abd al-Ghafar Sulayman al-Majid al-Tikriti, head of tribal affairs office.
_No. 22: Jamal Mustafa Abdallah Sultan al-Tikriti, deputy head of tribal affairs, Saddam's son-in-law. Taken into custody April 20.
_No. 23: Mizban Khadr Hadi, RCC member. Taken into custody July 8.
_No. 24: Taha Muhie-eldin Marouf, vice president, RCC member, only Kurd in Saddam's hierarchy. Taken into custody May 2.
_No. 25: Tariq Aziz, deputy prime minister. Taken into custody April 25.
_No. 26: Walid Hamid Tawfiq, governor of Basra. Surrendered April 29.
_No. 27: Gen. Sultan Hashim Ahmad, defense minister.
_No. 28: Hikmat Mizban Ibrahim al-Azzawi, deputy prime minister, finance minister. Taken into custody April 18.
_No. 29: Mahmoud Diab al-Ahmed, interior minister. Taken into custody July 8.
_No. 30: Ayad Futayyih Khalifa, Quds forces chief of staff. Taken into custody June 4.
_No. 31: Gen. Zuhayr Talib Abd al-Sattar al-Naqib, director of military intelligence. Taken into custody April 23.
_No. 32: Lt. Gen. Amir Hamudi Hasan al-Saadi, presidential scientific adviser. Surrendered April 12.
_No. 33: Amir Rashid Muhammad al-Ubaydi, presidential adviser, oil minister. Taken into custody April 28.
_No. 34: Gen. Hussam Mohammed Amin, head of monitoring directorate, chief liaison with U.N. weapons inspectors. Taken into custody April 27.
_No. 35: Muhammad Mahdi al-Salih, trade minister. Taken into custody April 23.
_No. 36: Sabawi Ibrahim Hasan, presidential adviser, Saddam's half brother.
_No. 37: Watban Ibrahim Hasan, presidential adviser, Saddam's half brother. Taken into custody April 13.
_No. 38: Barzan Ibrahim Hasan, presidential adviser, Saddam's half brother. Taken into custody April 16.
_No. 39: Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, reputedly scientist in biological weapons program, first woman elected to Baath Party's national command council. Taken into custody May 9.
_No. 40: Abdel Baqi Abdel Karim Abdallah al-Sadun, Baath Party regional command chairman.
_No. 41: Mohammed Zimam Abdul Razaq, Baath Party regional command chairman.
_No. 42: Samir Abd al-Aziz al-Najim, Baath Party regional command chairman. Taken into custody April 17.
_No. 43: Humam Abdul-Khaliq Abdul-Ghafoor, minister of higher education and scientific research. Taken into custody April 19.
_No. 44: Yahya Abdellah al-Aboudi, Baath Party regional command chairman.
_No. 45: Nayef Shedakh, Baath Party regional chairman, Najaf governorate, reported by Iraqi television to have been killed in battle for Najaf.
_No. 46: Sayf al-Din al-Mashadani, Baath Party regional command chairman. Taken into custody May 24.
_No. 47: Fadil Mahmud Gharib, Baath Party regional command chairman. Taken into custody May 15.
_No. 48: Muhsin Khadr al-Khafaji, Baath Party regional command chairman.
_No. 49: Rashid Taan Kazim, Baath Party regional chairman.
_No. 50: Ugla Abid Saqr, Baath Party regional chairman. Taken into custody May 20.
_No. 51: Ghazi Hammud, Baath Party regional command chairman. Taken into custody May 7.
_No. 52: Adilabdillah Mahdi al-Duri al-Tikriti, Baath Party regional command chairman. Taken into custody May 15.
_No. 53: Brig. Gen. Husayn al-Awadi, Baath Party Regional command chairman, senior officer in Iraqi military's chemical weapons corps. Taken into custody June 9.
_No. 54: Khamis Sirhan al-Muhammad, Baath Party Regional command chairman, militia commander.
_No. 55: Sad Abd al-Majid al-Faysal, Baath Party Regional command chairman. Taken into custody May 24.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Here is a list of the members of the Iraq Governing Council that held its inaugural meeting Sunday. The council has 13 Shiites, 5 Kurds, 5 Sunnis, 1 Christian and 1 Turkoman, including three women, in an attempt to reflect the country's diverse demographics. Shiites make up about 60 percent of Iraq's 24 million people, but they have never ruled the country.
_Ahmad Chalabi, founder of Iraqi National Congress, Shiite
_Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim, a leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution, Shiite
_Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Dawa Islamic Party, Shiite
_Naseer al-Chaderchi, National Democratic Party, Sunni
_Jalal Talabani, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Sunni Kurd
_Massoud Barzani, Kurdistan Democratic Party, Sunni Kurd
_Iyad Allawi, leader of the Iraqi National Accord, Shiite
_Ahmed al-Barak, human rights activist, Shiite
_Adnan Pachachi, former foreign minister, Sunni
_Aquila al-Hashimi, female, foreign affairs expert, Shiite
_Raja Habib al-Khuzaai, female, maternity hospital director in south, Shiite
_Hamid Majid Moussa, Communist Party, Shiite
_Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum, cleric from Najaf, Shiite
_Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, northern tribal chief, Sunni
_Mohsen Abdel Hamid, Iraqi Islamic Party, Sunni
_Samir Shakir Mahmoud, Sunni
_Mahmoud Othman, Sunni Kurd
_Salaheddine Bahaaeddin, Kurdistan Islamic Union, Sunni Kurd
_Younadem Kana, Assyrian Christian
_Mouwafak al-Rabii, Shiite
_Dara Noor Alzin, judge
_Sondul Chapouk, female, Turkoman
_Wael Abdul Latif, Basra governor, Shiite
_Abdel-Karim Mahoud al-Mohammedawi, member of Iraqi political party Hezbollah, Shiite
_Abdel-Zahraa Othman Mohammed, Dawa Party, Shiite
By The Associated Press
A look at holidays abolished by the new Iraqi governing council in its first official act, and the new holiday declared to mark the ouster of Saddam Hussein:
ABOLISHED HOLIDAYS
_February 8: Baath Party first took power, 1963
_April 7: Foundation of Saddam's Baath Party, 1947.
_April 17: Commemoration of Iraqi military victory in important battle for Faw during Iran-Iraq war, 1987
_April 28: Saddam's birthday.
_July 17: Return of Baath party to power, 1968
_August 8: End of Iran-Iraq war, 1988.
NEW HOLIDAY
_April 9 — The fall of Baghdad and Saddam's regime.
By PAUL HAVEN, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - One by one, they've fallen. The old men of Saddam Hussein's old guard have been nabbed in dead-of-night raids, hiding in bedrooms, or scampering on rooftops. U.S. troops have whittled a list of 55 top fugitives down to just 21, but some big names — including the biggest — are still out there.
The most notable holdout is Saddam himself, the Ace of Spades in a deck of 55 cards the U.S. military put out on April 11, two days after the fall of Baghdad. Saddam's sons — the flamboyant Odai and the powerbroker Qusai — are also on the lam. The military has put a $25 million bounty on Saddam's head, and offered $15 million each for information leading to the arrest of the sons.
But many others have eluded capture, including 11 of the top 20 on the U.S. list.
A burgeoning insurgency has added urgency to U.S. efforts to capture them. The military says pro-Saddam loyalists are behind attacks on coalition forces, and continued uncertainty over the fate of top Baath leaders, including Saddam, has fueled the rebellion.
L. Paul Bremer, the top U.S. official in Iraq , vowed Saturday in a nationwide television address to find any holdouts from the old regime.
"We will find the rest in the weeks ahead, including — if they are still alive — Saddam Hussein and his sons," Bremer said.
The most recent captures came Tuesday, when coalition forces nabbed former interior minister Mahmoud Diab al-Ahmed and another top Saddam aide, Mizban Khadr Hadi in separate operations.
After Saddam and his sons, the biggest name on the list is Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam's first cousin and one of his bloodiest henchman.
Al-Majid is known as "Chemical Ali" for his use of mustard gas and other poisonous gases to kill thousands of northern Kurds during a 1988 rebellion. Television footage of the horror, including gassed Kurdish women clutching their infants in an embrace of death, was used by Washington in its push to justify war with Iraq.
Like many in Saddam's inner circle, al-Majid's rise in the regime was meteoric. Before Saddam's 1968 revolution he was a motorcycle messenger in the army.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld announced al-Majid's death on April 7 and showed reporters video of laser-guided bombs obliterating a house in Basra, Iraq's second city, where a tipster had told coalition forces he was staying. But last month, U.S. military officials said that interrogations of Iraqi prisoners indicated al-Majid might be alive.
Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, 60, the former head of the Revolutionary Command Council — the highest executive body under Saddam, is also still at large. He presided over special tribunals that tried Saddam's opponents and issued death sentences. He cemented his ties to the dictator by marrying his daughter to Odai.
The brothers Hani Abd al-Latif Tilfah al-Tikriti and Rafi Abd al-Latif Tilfah al-Tikriti are also still hiding somewhere. Many Saddam loyalists hail from his tribe, centered in the northern town of Tikrit.
U.S. officials think many of the holdouts may be hiding near the town, which lies in the so-called "Sunni Triangle," where Saddam enjoys his widest support.
Hani was director of the Special Security Organization, which supervised all of Iraq's intelligence and internal security services and the paramilitary units that protected Baghdad, Saddam's palaces and other sensitive sites. Rafi led the Directorate of General Security, assigned to monitor political activity with the aim of keeping Saddam in power.
Also still missing is Saddam's vice president, Taha Yassin Ramadan, 65, widely considered as ruthless as his mentor. He headed a 1970 court that executed 44 officers for plotting to overthrow the regime. He worked as a bank clerk before Saddam's revolution.
The former chief of the Republican Guard and a staunch loyalist to the dictator, Sayf al-Din Fulayyih Hasan Taha al-Rawi is also still missing, as is the commander of the Special Republican Guard, Barzan Abd al-Ghafur Sulayman Majid al-Tikriti. Others still at large are Saddam's half brother, Sabawi Ibrahim Hasan, and his former defense minister, Gen. Sultan Hashim Ahmad.
Regional Baath party leaders also remain on the list, most toward the lower end of the chart. One, Nayef Shedakh, a party leader in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, was reported by Iraqi television to have died when coalition troops captured the town, but he is still considered missing on the U.S. list, maintained by U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla.
Local Baath party leaders were often charged with spying on citizens within their regions — and arresting those deemed enemies of Saddam. Those accused could expect summary trials, torture and hanging. Their surviving family members would often be barred from government jobs or higher education.
The United Nations is investigating the deaths of at least 300,000 people believed murdered by the regime.
Fourth Infantry Division soldiers from the 1st Battalion 68th Armor Task Force detain and put sandbags over the heads of the men, 31 in total, of the village of Mashahdah, Iraq (news - web sites) 45 kilometers north of Baghdad Sunday, July 13, 2003. The search mission was part of Operation Ivy Serpent which began Sunday in an attempt to root out and eliminate pro-Saddam insurgents who have been firing rocket-propelled grenades on American vehicle convoys and launching mortar attacks on U.S. bases.(AP Photo/John Moore)
U.S. Mounts Bid to Quash Iraq Insurgency
By BORZOU DARAGAHI, Associated Press Writer
BALAD, Iraq - Facing an increasingly organized and violent resistance, the U.S. Army stepped up pressure on pro-Saddam Hussein holdouts Sunday with a fourth large offensive in central Iraq.
At least four suspected loyalists were killed and big weapons caches were captured in the operation, called Ivy Serpent, which aims to blunt potential anti-American attacks ahead of now-banned holidays of Saddam's Baath Party.
Meanwhile, the military announced that one soldier was killed and two others injured early Sunday when a tractor trailer crashed accidentally into their vehicle, parked at a checkpoint outside a base in Diwaniyah, 100 miles south of Baghdad. The names of the soldiers were withheld pending family notification.
Also Sunday, Iraqi police and coalition forces exchanged fire at a military checkpoint in the Iraqi capital, witnesses said. They said a police vehicle drove up to a coalition checkpoint and started shooting, and U.S. soldiers returned fire. It was not clear if there were casualties, and the U.S. military had no immediate comment.
U.S. forces also detained nine "high-value targets" in raids near Mosul, in northern Iraq, none of them on the list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis from Saddam's old regime.
Ivy Serpent, launched late Saturday in Sallahadin and Diala provinces, has so far yielded over 50 detainees in about a dozen raids before key holidays supported by Saddam loyalists. The four suspected anti-American militants were killed when they opened fire on Army scouts near Baqouba, military officials said.
The Army said insurgents planned a series of attacks against U.S. soldiers to commemorate the July 14, 1958, overthrow of Iraq's King Faisal and the July 17, 1968, Baath Party coup.
"We want to get within the enemy's temple, disrupt his timing," said Col. David Hogg, commander of 4th Infantry Division, 2nd Brigade.
The July 17 holiday was one of six banned Saturday in the first action of Iraq's new government council, which also named a national holiday marking Saddam's ouster.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld warned Sunday that attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq may worsen this summer. "There's even speculation that during the month of July, which is an anniversary for a lot of Baathists events, we could see an increase in the number of attacks," Rumsfeld said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
At least 31 U.S. soldiers have been killed in hit-and-run small-arms assaults in Baghdad and central Iraq since President Bush declared major fighting over May 1. In response, the army has launched a series of high-profile operations — Peninsula Strike, Desert Scorpion, Sidewinder and now Ivy Serpent — to crush the insurgency.
The operations have been complex, high-tech nighttime affairs and have produced mixed results.
In Saturday's night raids, AC-130 gunships flew over the sites, as Apache and Kiowa helicopters hovered. Tanks established security cordons, and Humvees and Bradley fighting vehicles carrying infantrymen stormed houses and walled compounds. Unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicles gave commanders and tacticians at headquarters a bird's-eye view of the action.
In some raids, U.S. forces acted on specific intelligence and detained many suspects.
In the village of Mutlaq Nayif, just north of Taji along Highway 1, loudspeakers ordered residents to get out of their homes. After searching the tall grass surrounding the homes, soldiers walked out with armfuls of assault rifles, machine guns, stocks of ammunition, camouflage military uniforms and the black robes used by Fedayeen warriors. Rudesheim said 35 people were detained.
In the Tigris River town of Hassan bin Mahmud, which Rudesheim described as "the village that time forgot," a monument to Saddam remained standing in the town square. Locals cursed arriving American soldiers, said Rudesheim, whose men blew up the statue of the ousted Iraqi leader.
In Muqtaria, north of Baquba, a group of armed men fled into fields as the Americans approached. Soldiers searched the area, ultimately detaining 10 men. "It was a cat and mouse game all night," Hogg said.
Near Balad, servicemen found two anti-aircraft guns which they destroyed. Near Baqouba, soldiers raided two houses producing anti-American propaganda. They captured a former general in Saddam's Fedayeen militia, a former air force general and the former number two in the Diala province Baathist party. All are suspected of organizing anti-U.S. violence.
CNN LATE EDITION WITH WOLF BLITZER
Interview With Condoleezza Rice; Interview With John Kerry; Interview With Abdullah Abdullah
Aired July 13, 2003 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It's noon in Washington, 9:00 a.m. in Los Angeles, 7:00 p.m. in Jerusalem, and 8:00 p.m. in Baghdad. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks for joining us for LATE EDITION.
We begin with a controversy here in the United States that's simply not going away. At issue, did President Bush deliberately mislead the American public and indeed the world about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction?
Just a short while ago, I spoke with his national security adviser, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, about the intelligence uproar, the president's just-completed trip to Africa and more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Dr. Rice, welcome back to LATE EDITION. Welcome back to the United States...
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Thank you.
BLITZER: ... from an important trip to Africa. We'll get to that in just a few moments.
Let's talk, though, about the uproar that has happened over these past several days as a result of these 16 words. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: All right, the key question: How did that get into the president's State of the Union address, arguably the most important speech he gives every year? How did it get in, if that wasn't necessarily meeting the standards that you think that should have been met?
RICE: Wolf, let me just start by saying, it is 16 words, and it has become an enormously overblown issue.
The president of the United States did not go to war because of the question of whether or not Saddam Hussein sought the uranium in Africa. He took the American people and American forces to war because this was a bloody tyrant, who for 12 years had defied the international community, who had weapons of mass destruction, who had used them in the past, who was threatening his neighbors, and who threatened our efforts to make the Middle East a place in which you would have stability and therefore not people with ideologies of hatred driving airplanes into the World Trade Center. That's why we went to war.
This 16 words came into the State of the Union from a whole host of sources. We used unclassified sources, like the British paper. There were references to this in the National Intelligence Estimate. And the State of the Union was constructed on the basis of several different documents, all of which talked about efforts to acquire uranium in Africa. Now...
BLITZER: Let me interrupt for a moment, because three months earlier, in October, the president was going to give a speech in Cincinnati, and supposedly the CIA director, George Tenet, personally intervened and said, don't get involved in the uranium Africa issue, and took that out of the speech.
RICE: What I understand is that at the time of the Cincinnati speech, there was a single report of a particular transaction, a particular arrangement, and that there were questions about that. And it was taken out of the Cincinnati speech like that. No questions asked, simply taken out.
When we got to the State of the Union, there were -- first of all, a lot of time had passed, several months. There were reports in the NIE about other African countries. There was the British report that talked about the efforts to get uranium in Africa.
The British, by the way, still stand by their report to this very day in its accuracy, because they tell us that they had sources that were not compromised in any way by later, in March or April, later reports that there were some forgeries.
Now, we have said very clearly that the information went in on the basis of a number of sources, but we have a different standard for presidential speeches, which is that we don't just put in things that are in intelligence sources. We put in things that we believe the intelligence agency has high confidence in, and that's why we have a clearance process.
BLITZER: They didn't have high confidence in this...
RICE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
BLITZER: That's why we had to pin it on British intelligence, as opposed to U.S. intelligence.
RICE: The British intelligence report, as far as we knew, was a report that was underpinned by reporting that was solid. We sent it out to the agency for clearance, said, can you stand by this? They said, apparently, that's inconsistent (ph). I'm understanding now that the sentence is accurate.
As George Tenet has said, accuracy is not the standard. Of course, the sentence was accurate. But we were asking about confidence. And George Tenet rightly says that the agency cleared the speech, it should not have been cleared with that sentence in.
And I can tell you that had there been a request to take that out in its entirety, it would have been followed immediately.
BLITZER: Should George Tenet resign?
RICE: Absolutely not. The president has confidence in George Tenet. This was a mistake.
The State of the Union process is a big process. We're checking lots and dozens and dozens of facts. It goes out for clearance. And in this case, the agency did not react to a statement that they now believe should not have been there.
But George Tenet is a fine director of central intelligence. He has fought the war on terrorism well.
And let's, again, put this in context. We're talking about a sentence, a data point, not the president's case about reconstitution of weapons of mass destruction, or of nuclear weapons in Iraq. That's based on key judgments in the National Intelligence Estimate that deal with his procurement network, with his training of scientists, with the fact that in 1991, he was pursuing multiple routes to a nuclear weapon.
So yes, it is unfortunate that this one sentence, this 16 words, remained in the State of the Union. But this in no way has any effect on the president's larger case about Iraqi efforts to reconstitute the nuclear program and, most importantly, and the bigger picture, of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program.
BLITZER: So you have no doubt that Saddam Hussein was trying to reconstitute his nuclear weapons program?
RICE: I think we had a lot of evidence going in that a procurement network, efforts to reestablish scientists, groups of scientists who had worked on the programs before, the fact that he still had the designs, the fact that he clearly had sought weapons of mass -- nuclear weapons in the past, that all of those things made a compelling case for nuclear reconstitution.
Now, I think now that we're in Iraq and we are interviewing scientists and we are looking at the documents and we are finding, for instance, that he had somebody bury centrifuge parts in their yard...
BLITZER: Before the first Gulf War.
RICE: Before the first Gulf War -- well, in 1991. We're going to learn how far along he might have been in his reconstitution efforts, what was missing from it, where was he. But you have to remember that, as a policymaker, you always have to look at what is the threat. And to allow this bloody dictator, who had used weapons of mass destruction in the past, who had an active effort to acquire the technologies and the means to make weapons of mass destruction, with $3 billion in illegal revenues, sitting in the most volatile region in the world, the president of the United States had to act.
Wolf, I think it has to be remembered that, back in his speech on September 20 of 2001, after the September 11th events, the president said, and said subsequently, we're going to have to fight this war on the offense, the war on terrorism.
My colleagues, Tom Ridge and John Gordon (ph) spend every day trying to harden this country against threats. But the fact is, we have to meet terrorism on its own ground, and Iraq is a part of that larger picture of the creation of a different Middle East.
BLITZER: George Tenet is getting hammered, he's getting criticized for allowing these words to be in the State of the Union address. But you're also now being criticized, because you're the national security adviser to the president, your job is to protect him.
Listen to what Maureen Dowd writes today in "The New York Times": "It was Ms. Rice's responsibility to vet the intelligence facts in the president's speech and take note of the red alert that tentative Tenet was raising. Ms. Rice did not throw out the line even though the CIA had warned her office that it was sketchy. Clearly, a higher power wanted it in."
RICE: First of all, no higher power wanted anything in. We wanted into the president's State of the Union what could be defended by the intelligence agencies at the highest levels.
I rely on the clearance process. I send the material out, the draft out to the agencies. I also send it directly to the principals.
Look, Wolf, of course, anybody involved in this process at this point would have to say there was a mistake here, something went wrong. And we will all go back and redouble our efforts to see that something like this doesn't happen again.
We're talking about a single sentence, the consequence of which was not to send America to war. The consequence of which was to state in the State of the Union something that, while accurate, did not meet the standard that we use for the president.
BLITZER: But 11 months earlier, you, the Bush administration, had sent Joe Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador to Niger, to find out whether it was true. He came back, reported to the CIA, reported to the State Department, it wasn't true, it was bogus. The whole issue was bogus. And supposedly, you never got word of his report.
RICE: Well, first of all, I didn't know Joe Wilson was going to Niger. And if you look at Director Tenet's statement, it says that counterproliferation experts on their own initiative sent Joe Wilson, so I don't know...
BLITZER: Who sent him?
RICE: Well, it was certainly not a level that had anything to do with the White House, and I do not believe at a level that had anything to do with the leadership of the CIA.
BLITZER: Supposedly, it came at the request of the vice president.
RICE: No, this is simply not true, and this is something that's been perpetuated that we simply have to straighten out.
The vice president did not ask that Joe Wilson go to Niger. The vice president did not know. I don't think he knew who Joe Wilson was, and he certainly didn't know that he was going.
The first that I heard of Joe Wilson mission was when I was doing a Sunday talk show and heard about it.
The other thing is that the reporting, at least, of what Ambassador Wilson told the CIA debriefers says that, yes, Niger denied that there had been such a deal made, that they had sold uranium to the Iraqis.
It also apparently says, according to this report, it also apparently says that one of the people who was meeting with the Iraqis thought that they might, in fact, be trying to use commercial activity to talk about yellow cake.
So what the director says in his statement is that they believed, when they looked at what was reported about the Wilson trip, that it was inconclusive. They therefore did not brief it to the president, the vice president or any senior officials.
So no, the Wilson trip was not sent by anyone at a high level. It wasn't briefed to anyone at high level. And it appears to have been inconclusive in what it found.
BLITZER: Did George Tenet know about the Joe Wilson trip to Africa?
RICE: I am not aware that George Tenet was aware that this happened before it happened.
BLITZER: Let me read to you what Joe Wilson wrote in "The New York Times" in that op-ed piece on July 6th.
"I have little choice but to conclude that some of the intelligence related to Iraq's nuclear weapons program was twisted to exaggerate the Iraqi threat."
RICE: Well, Joe Wilson, or anyone else, has to recognize that the president relied, in what he said about Iraq's ability and desire to reconstitute, on a host of intelligence sources. There has been a lot of focus this week on 16 words. The president at the State of the Union, before that in Cincinnati, before that at the United Nations, Colin Powell in his presentation to the United Nations, laid out an entire case about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction program, a case that goes back to 1991 when he learned about his weapons of mass destruction; when we learned that he was closer to the development of the nuclear weapon than anybody thought; that the IAEA had been wrong about his level of development; when we learned that he was pursuing five different routes to a nuclear weapon; when we learned that he had a clandestine biological program that didn't come to light until his brother-in-law defected; in 1998, when UNSCOM talked about all of the unaccounted-for weapons of mass destruction agent that he had. So we're talking about a very long history here, and the president relied on that history.
This 16 words has been taken out of context. It's been blown out of proportion. The director of the Central Intelligence Agency has said -- the director of central intelligence has said that it should not have gotten in because it didn't have the level of confidence that we require for presidential speeches. I could not agree more.
But this was a mistake on 16 words, not on the president's discussion and the president's case for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.
BLITZER: Let's talk about what's happening in Iraq right now, because there's a lot of concern, some concern that this could be a quagmire.
Since the war started on March 20th, 218 U.S. military personnel have been killed in both hostile and non-hostile action. More than 1,000 have been wounded. Since May 1st, when the president declared major combat operations were over, about 79 U.S. troops have either died in accidents or in hostile operations.
The question is this, is this situation -- were you prepared for what is happening now in Iraq?
RICE: Well, we certainly knew that after the major military operations were over, that it was going to be a complicated situation and that it would be a dangerous situation, and the president said that in his May 1st speech.
Jerry Bremer, the coalition provisional administrator, has been out there now for a period of time. He has adjusted our strategies, as he reported earlier today in a publication, he has adjusted our strategies to what we found on the ground.
It's not possible to plan for every contingency that you're going to find on the ground. But, yes, we knew that it was going to be complicated.
There is a security problem there. Some of it is these Baathists and remnants of the old regime that are now losing power because Saddam Hussein is out of power. They're doing to their Iraqi citizens what they did for almost 30 years, which is attacking their success. BLITZER: Is Saddam Hussein personally organizing some of these attacks?
RICE: I don't think we know, Wolf, whether Saddam Hussein is there in the background or not. The fact is, he ruled the old- fashioned way, with secret police and an army and territory and great wealth and torture chambers in prisons. He doesn't have control of those anymore.
What you have now is that the coalition and the Iraqi people are beginning to make some gains. Oil is beginning to flow again. Electricity is being repaired. Police are being trained. Universities are being opened. And not surprisingly, the old Baathists are trying to attack that success.
But just today, a governing council has been put in place. This governing council is going to have real political responsibility, and that's a very positive sign forward for the Iraqi people.
BLITZER: Those two audiotapes that were just released, Lebanese broadcasting, Al-Jazeera, supposedly of Saddam Hussein, are they authentic?
RICE: Well, there's a lot of authentication to be done, and as I understand it, one can never be 100-percent sure.
But I repeat, the people who are trying to attack the successes of the Iraqi people, as they did for the 30 years prior, are simply not going to succeed.
And this new governing council, which declared today that a new Iraqi holiday is going to be the day of liberation, the day that the statue came down, this is now an extremely important phase for the Iraqi people.
They're going to succeed. We're going to help them succeed, and these old-line remnants of the Saddam Hussein regime are going to be swept away.
BLITZER: Let's talk about Africa. You just came back. You, the administration, the president, appear to be on the verge of announcing a deployment of some significant numbers of U.S. troops to Liberia.
When will that decision be announced?
RICE: Well, the president has not made a determination of what we need to do to support the very active diplomacy and effort that we're engaged in with the U.N. and with the West African states, ECOWAS.
The president had very good conversations with President Obasanjo in Nigeria, with President Kufuor of Ghana, about what is needed, and we're obviously going to participate in trying to bring stability.
But what that means I think we will have to see. And the president has an assessment team that will be returning. We will look at what's necessary. ECOWAS has said that they will commit some forces. I think we will just have to wait and see what participation is needed by the United States.
BLITZER: You think we'll get a decision this week?
RICE: Well, we'll see. Obviously, the key here is the cease- fire needs to hold. Charles Taylor, of course, needs to leave, because he is the source of instability for Liberia, and there isn't going to be any stability with him still a part of the political process. But we're working this very hard with Kofi Annan, with the presidents of ECOWAS -- president of ECOWAS and with the regional leaders. And the president will do something when he thinks that he has an effective way to move forward.
BLITZER: One final question. You were also asked by the president to be his special envoy, if you will, to the Israeli- Palestinian peace process.
The Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, suggesting today the Europeans are not doing enough to isolate Yasser Arafat, that Arafat is part of the problem, not part of the solution, and that, if necessary, the Israelis should think about deporting him from Ramallah.
What do you say about those kinds of words?
RICE: Well, we have been as clear as anyone about the role of Yasser Arafat, and we have been very clear that we think the future is with the Palestinian leadership of Abu Mazen and his reform cabinet, reform government.
The president, in fact, believes that that is one of the reasons that we have a new opportunity for peace. And in fact, even though the steps are tentative, things have been going relatively well over the last several weeks.
When I was there, I spent a lot of time talking with the parties about how to keep the process moving forward, and that means that terrorism has to be confronted. It also means that Israel has to make room for this Palestinian leadership to be successful. I think both parties understand that.
Now, as to the Europeans and others, we've made no secret of the fact that we think it does not help to deal with Yasser Arafat. We hope that he is not somehow trying to stand in the way of a positive future for his people.
But the Palestinians have been very clear about what it is that they need. We are trying to help strengthen that leadership. I think the Israelis want that leadership to be strong. And if we can do that, we'll have a chance for some forward momentum in the peace process.
BLITZER: Dr. Rice, I'll end by saying what I said at the beginning. Welcome back to the United States.
RICE: Thank you. It's good to be back.
BLITZER: Thank you very much.
Continue if you wish to read transcripts of John Kerry and Abdullah Abdullah interviews
Donald Rumsfeld Holds Media Availability
Aired July 13, 2003 - 08:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: ...that would be way out of line. I think very highly of Director Tenet. QUESTION: Should the president of the United States (UNINTELLIGIBLE) evidence in the speech for the nation from a foreign intelligence source?
RUMSFELD: The president and George Tenet have said it all. This is not a big issue in my view.
QUESTION: But you called it fragmentary...
RUMSFELD: No, I quoted what I had seen in intelligence information over a sustained period of time, it refer -- referred to fragmentary reports, plural. Not a single.
QUESTION: So, the president put that in the State of the Union...
RUMSFELD: The president indicated it should not have been in there. I don't know what else one could ask. And the secretary -- Director Tenet said that. Why would you ask anyone else? They both agreed it should not have been in there.
QUESTION: Are you worried?
RUMSFELD: They did not agree it was inaccurate, they did not say it was inaccurate. The British still say it is accurate and the president's statement was accurate when he said the British intelligence says this, which is what he said. They still -- the British still think that's accurate, it may be. There's no one's demonstrated that it's inaccurate. The only thing we know is that it didn't rise to the level of a presidential speech and therefore should not have been in.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), highly unlikely there was any means of delivering biological and chemical weapons within 45 minutes, that Tony Blair made a fundamental mistake?
RUMSFELD: I don't know about that.
QUESTION: You don't have to...
RUMSFELD: Good. Thank you.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, that was defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, responding to the questions -- the ongoing questions that are now, plaguing the Bush administration about his State of the Union speech and whether President Bush should have, indeed, attributed his information to British intelligence.
By WILLIAM C. MANN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration said Sunday the president's statement in the State of the Union address about Iraq's seeking uranium was accurate and is supported by other British and U.S. information.
Nevertheless, said Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, the statement should not have been in the Jan. 20 speech, in which Bush laid out reasons for military action against Iraq. "We have a higher standard for presidential speeches" than raw intelligence, she told "Fox News Sunday."
Rice said Bush's claim was a small component of his case against Saddam Hussein.
"It is ludicrous to suggest that the president of the United States went to war on the question of whether Saddam Hussein sought uranium from Africa," Rice said. "This was a part of a very broad case that the president laid out in the State of the Union and other places.
"But the statement that he made was indeed accurate. The British government did say that. Not only was the statement accurate, there were statements of this kind in the National Intelligence Estimate," a classified document compiled by U.S. agencies, she said.
In the speech, Bush said: "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, echoing Rice in an appearance on ABC's "This Week," said the statement was "technically correct" because Bush noted the source of the claim was Britain.
U.S. intelligence agencies had raised questions previously about assertions of such activity by the Iraqi president. Rice said CIA Director George Tenet had removed from a Bush speech in Cincinnati three months earlier a more specific reference to Iraqi efforts to buy uranium for nuclear weapons. Underlying documents to support the British contention proved to have been forged.
"The British stand by their statement," Rice said. "They have told us that despite the fact that we had apparently some concerns about that report, that they had other sources, and that they stand by the statement."
Asked whether she or her colleagues in the administration had seen additional British evidence, Rice said: "The British have reasons, because of the arrangements that they made, apparently, in receiving those sources, that they cannot share them with us. We have every reason to believe that the British services are quite reliable."
But in Britain, a critic of Prime Minister Tony Blair questioned the claim. Former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook — who quit as leader of the House of Commons to protest the war — said Blair should detail the intelligence that makes him continue to believe the claim is true.
"There is one simple question the government must answer," Cook told The Sunday Times newspaper. "Why did their evidence of a uranium deal not convince the CIA?"
Peter Mandelson, a close Blair ally, tried to play down the importance of the debate.
"One particular aspect and one particular minor section of one report has been disowned by the CIA, but that doesn't mean to say that everything that was said about uranium or Niger is therefore wrong," he told Sky News.
After the controversy over the State of the Union comment followed Bush around Africa during his trip last week, Tenet assumed responsibility Friday for not insisting that the statement be removed. "These 16 words should never have been included in the text written for the president," Tenet said.
Rumsfeld said it's time to put the furor over Tenet to rest and called the CIA director "an enormously talented public servant."
But Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, a Democratic presidential contender, said on CNN's "Late Edition" that Tenet's statement doesn't "answer the question or questions about what really happened."
Another Democratic hopeful, Florida Sen. Bob Graham, said Vice President Dick Cheney first asked the CIA to determine whether Saddam Hussein's government was trying to obtain uranium from the African country of Niger.
He said Cheney must have been given a report on the investigation by Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who went to Niger last year and concluded that the government had not contracted to sell uranium to Iraq. Administration officials have said the White House had no knowledge of Wilson's report.
"That stretches belief," Graham, the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
CAIRO, Egypt - A group claiming to be an Iraqi branch of al-Qaida said it — and not Saddam Hussein — is behind recent attacks on U.S. forces, according to a videotape aired on an Arab TV station Sunday. The tape couldn't be immediately verified.
Al-Arabiya, a satellite station based in Dubai, aired the 4-minute video showing a black-and-white still photograph of an unidentified man dressed like an Islamic cleric in a robe and white turban. He has a long white beard, also typical of Islamic clerics.
A distorted male voice reads a message warning American forces to "leave Iraq's territories and to live up to their promises."
The voice describes himself as a member of the "Islamic Armed Group of al-Qaida, Fallujah branch." He says his group is behind the attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq.
"By God, not one of (Saddam's) followers carried out any of the Jihadi (holy war) operations like he claims," the voice said, saying "our Mujahedeen brothers" did instead.
The voice promised more attacks: "The coming days ... will show you the strike that will break America's back."
The claim is the first by a purported Iraqi group linking itself to Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.
The U.S. Central Command said it could not comment on the tape.
"I'm aware of tape via media reports, but I have no comment as to the authenticity of it or the group that claims responsibility," Centcom spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Nick Balice said in Tampa, Fla.
An executive from the station had no details on the man pictured in the video, which was delivered recently to the station's Baghdad office.
U.S. forces in Iraq have been targeted daily by ambushes, and dozens have died, including in Fallujah, an especially restive city west of Baghdad.
U.S. Army soldiers inspect a white Volkswagen that exploded near the al-Zayunah police station, Sunday, July 13, 2003, in Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites). The huge expolosion rattled southeast Baghdad Sunday in what authorities believed to have been a failed attack on a police station full of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi police, local police said. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
Bombing and Qaeda Claims as New Iraq Council Meets
By Christine Hauser
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A Baghdad bombing killed an Iraqi and claims were broadcast of al Qaeda involvement in attacks on U.S. forces, as an Iraqi Governing Council held an inaugural meeting hailed by Washington and the United Nations.
The council, roughly reflecting Iraq's religious and ethnic make-up and giving Iraqis more say in running the country, said one of its first decisions on Sunday was to abolish all holidays honoring Saddam Hussein. U.S. officials retain the final word on policy.
A group calling itself the "Armed Islamic Movement for Al Qaeda, the Falluja Branch" said in an audio tape broadcast by Dubai-based Al Arabiya television that it was behind attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and warned of more bloodshed in coming days.
The group, whose name had not been heard of before, said a planned new attack would "break the back of America completely," but did not say whether it would be in Iraq or elsewhere.
The unidentified voice on the tape, which Arabiya aired along with a photograph of a white-bearded man wearing a turban, dismissed suggestions that Saddam loyalists were responsible for attacks on U.S. forces.
"(The attacks) are a result of our brothers in jihad," said the group, identifying itself with the central Iraqi town of Falluja where U.S. forces have been attacked several times.
Arabiya gave no details of the tape's origins and there was no independent evidence on its credibility.
Sunday's bomb blast occurred near a police station in a Baghdad suburb, killing one Iraqi and wounding another, underlining that Iraq remains a dangerous place three months after U.S. and British forces toppled Saddam.
A headless body lay at the scene after the explosion in the western suburb of Maysaloun, next to the wreckage of a car on its side with its roof ripped off.
The police station is visited by U.S. soldiers, who have come under daily attacks in mainly Sunni Muslim central Iraq in recent weeks. Saddam, a Sunni, had strongholds in the region.
In an earlier incident in Baghdad on Sunday, an Iraqi policeman was killed and four were wounded when they tried to help U.S. forces who came under fire at a checkpoint.
Members of the new U.S.-backed police force have been attacked in apparent retaliation for cooperating with occupying powers.
NEW COUNCIL CARRIES U.S. HOPES
The 25-member Governing Council was unveiled amid U.S. hopes raids on American troops will subside if Iraqis feel the occupying powers are transferring authority to local leaders.
More than 30 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq since President Bush declared major combat over on May 1.
U.S. forces largely blame die-hard Saddam loyalists for the attacks, but many Iraqis have expressed frustration at what they say has been the slow pace of returning government to Iraqis and rebuilding the war-battered country.
The council can appoint ministers, approve the national budget and review laws, but ultimate authority remains with U.S. and British administrators who have controlled Iraq since U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam on April 9.
Its first decisions were to scrap all holidays honoring Saddam and his outlawed Baath Party and to create a new public holiday marking the day of his downfall.
"Saddam has been tossed into the rubbish bin of history and will not be coming back," said Mohammad Bahr al-Uloum, drawing applause at a news conference. Many of the Shi'ite Muslim cleric's relatives were killed by Saddam's government.
Sergio Vieira de Mello, U.N. Special Representative for Iraq, told the council: "There are defining moments in history and today, for Iraq, is definitely one of them."
The council, meeting in a building that was used by Saddam's government, faces a challenge to convince ordinary Iraqis it can represent them, but it does give Iraq's majority Shi'ites 13 of the 25 seats in contrast to their marginalisation under Saddam.
On the streets of Baghdad, some Iraqis felt the council had too many former exiles, while others feared the body was just a tool of the United States.
"We cannot back the council. It is backed by America and it won't change anything. America has just made empty promises," said Sabah Kathim, an ice-seller who earns three dollars a day.
The council comprises 13 Shi'ites, five Sunni Arabs, five Kurds, an Assyrian Christian and a Turkmen. Three members are women and 16 have either returned from exile or from an autonomous Kurdish area which was outside Saddam's control.
"The launch of the governing council will mean that Iraqis play a more central role in running their country," U.S. administrator Paul Bremer said in a statement.
Further ahead lie the drafting of a new constitution, to be approved by a referendum, and finally free elections.
By HENRY WASSWA, Associated Press Writer
KAMPALA, Uganda - A man who stowed away on a chartered plane for reporters covering President Bush's Africa trip claims he is a correspondent for a South African youth project, police say.
The man, who is believed to be South African, had no identification on him when he was arrested Friday in Uganda after a White House aide notified U.S. Secret Service that he had joined reporters traveling with the president.
During questioning by Ugandan police, he identified himself as Patrick Fello Litheko and said he covers AIDS issues for a South African organization called the Gauteng Youth Development Project, police spokesman Asuman Mugenyi said Saturday.
But Khulekani Ntshangase, a spokesman for the youth wing of South Africa's ruling African National Congress party, said Sunday he did not believe the organization was registered in South Africa.
The stowaway told police he lost his passport covering Bush's visit to Botswana on Thursday, Mugenyi said.
Still, he was able to board the United Airlines Boeing 747 that took journalists, White House staff and Secret Service agents from Pretoria, South Africa, to Bush's next stop in Entebbe, Uganda.
"He has not been very cooperative in releasing information and that is why we are still holding him to find his motive," Mugenyi said. "We are not convinced that he is telling the truth."
Mugenyi said the man could be charged with being an illegal alien or he could be deported.
Bush spent four hours in this East African nation Friday as part of his five-nation tour of Africa.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A text of the authorities and responsibilities of the Iraqi Governing Council that held its inaugural meeting Sunday, according to a document released by the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority:
The Governing Council is the principal body of the interim administration of Iraq called for in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1483. It will exercise specific powers in addition to representing the interests of the Iraqi people to the Coalition Provisional Authority and the international community.
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Ministerial authorities: The Governing Council shall name an interim minister for each ministry. Each minister will be responsible to the Governing Council, reporting back to it regularly. The Governing Council shall have the authority to dismiss ministers should they lose the Council's confidence.
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Policy authorities: The coalition will be required to consult with the Governing Council on all major decisions and questions of policy. The Governing Council shall have the right to set policies and take decisions in cooperation with the coalition in any area of national policy, including financial and economic reform, education, electoral law, health.
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The Governing Council shall decide how it wishes to organize itself for the purpose of preparing new policies. It may choose to form specialist commissions to generate proposals. It could also include experts from the United Nations, the coalition or other bodies on such commissions.
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Foreign Affairs: In addition to naming Iraq's interim minister of foreign affairs and overseeing his or her work, the Governing Council will arrange for international representation during the interim period. Together with the coalition the Council shall name Iraqi nationals to serve as representatives to international organizations and conferences. The Council will also have the authority to appoint heads of Iraq's bilateral missions abroad and to receive representatives from other countries.
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Finance: The Governing Council will name an interim finance minister and oversee his or her activities. The Council, with the coalition and with the involvement of the International Monetary Fund (news - web sites), World Bank (news - web sites) and the United Nations Development Program, will play a full part in drawing up the 2004 national budget. The 2004 budget will be subject to Council approval. The Council will have the right to consider substantial amendments to the 2003 emergency budget. It will also have the right to develop policies regarding monetary and fiscal matters.
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Security: The Governing Council shall have the right to prepare policies on matters concerning Iraq's national security, including the rebuilding and reform of Iraq's armed forces, police and justice sector. The Governing Council will be responsible for ensuring that Iraq's police and military are de-politicized and that the principle of civilian oversight and supervision of the military is established.
Operational security matters will remain the responsibility of the coalition during the period of transition.
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Consitutional Process: The Governing Council shall consider appointing a Preparatory Constitutional Commission to recommend a process by which a new constitution for Iraq will be prepared and approved. The Commission would report to the Council. The recommended procedure should lead to a new constitution based on the principles adopted at the Salahuddin and Nasariyah conferences.
Once adopted, the constitution would pave the way for national elections leading to a new, fully sovereign Iraqi government which will immediately take over the powers and responsibilities of the coalition.
OPERATION IVY SERPENT - July 13, 2003 - Release Number: 03-07-41
TIKRIT, Iraq– The 4th Infantry Division and Task Force Ironhorse has launched the fourth series of operations, yesterday, focused on neutralizing paramilitary, Ba’ath Party loyalists and other subversive elements within Iraq. Operation Ivy Serpent is a preemptive strike that aggressively focuses on non-compliant forces and former regime leaders who are planning attacks against coalition forces in an attempt to hinder coalition and Iraqi efforts in building a new Iraq. Much of the effort is concentrated in a region along Highway 1 between the cities of Bayji, Huwayiah and Samarra. Coalition forces will not deter from the objective until these hostiles are located and destroyed.
Intelligence reports gathered from a variety of sources indicate former regime leaders plan attacks against coalition targets during this time frame. Coalition members encourage the local Iraqi leadership to take the initiative and aid in the capture of subversive elements that attempt to hinder the rebuilding of Iraq.
Ivy Serpent, like previous operations Peninsula Strike, Desert Scorpion and Sidewinder, will sweep the task force’s area of operations to root out elements attempting to undermine coalition efforts to restore basic infrastructure and stability in the region.
ONE DEAD, TWO WOUNDED IN VEHICLE ACCIDENT - July 13, 2003 - Release Number: 03-07-42
BAGHDAD, Iraq – One soldier was killed and two others injured at approximately
6:30 a.m. July 13 when a tractor trailer crashed into their military vehicle, which was parked at a check point outside of a base camp near the city of Ad Diwaniyah.
The names of the soldiers are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
COALITION SECURITY EFFORTS CONTINUE - July 13, 2003 - Release Number: 03-07-43
BAGHDAD, Iraq – The 101st Airborne Division started border guard training for more than 100 border guards in the Chwarta and Halaba districts.
The 1st Armored Division conducted three raids resulting in 85 individuals being detained and 15 pistols, 15 assault rifles and one rocket-propelled grenade confiscated.
Elsewhere, Coalition forces continued aggressive patrols throughout the country over the last 24 hours conducting 22 raids, 1,166-day patrols and 894 night patrols. They also jointly patrolled with the Iraqi Police conducting 215 day patrols and 170 night patrols.
The total raids and patrols resulted in 330 arrests for various criminal activities including six for murder, one for kidnapping, two for car jacking, three for aggravated assault, 10 for burglary, and 42 looting.
COALITION CONTINUES EFFORTS TO REBUILD IRAQ - July 13, 2003 - Release Number: 03-07-44
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces tested water and provided money for refurbishment of a water treatment facility as part of recent reconstruction efforts in Iraq.
Some of the tasks accomplished in the last 48 hours:
Coalition forces tested water samples in a number of towns across Iraq. They tested water samples in Al Wajihya and Muqadidiyah, in the Ba’qubah area. They also tested water samples in An Nasiriyah. Results showed the water quality is satisfactory at all e locations.
In Samarra, Coalition forces disbursed $10,025 for the refurbishment of the local water treatment facility. The director of the facility said the repairs should take no longer than one month to complete.
In Fallujah, Coalition forces in coordination with an Iraqi trash removal service removed almost 55 truckloads of trash. To date, approximately 1,854 truckloads of trash have been removed from the area.
HUMANITARIAN PROJECTS HELP IRAQIS - July 13, 2003 - Release Number: 03-07-45
TIKRIT, Iraq – Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division and Task Force Ironhorse are helping rebuild Iraq with projects directed at improving facilities and providing jobs.
In the provinces of Salah Ad Din, Diyala and At Tamin, the 4th ID is managing reconstruction projects in a variety of areas that includes education, health and human services, public works, security and communications.
More than 150 projects are underway in Salah Ad Din province. The Tikrit Model School will receive a fresh coat of paint along with mechanical, electrical and plumbing improvements. The school improvement project will also provide jobs to local residents. Also, the Samarra Health Clinic and Hospital will receive new equipment to replace that which was damaged or looted during the war.
In At Tamim province, 76 new law enforcement officers will receive training at the Kirkuk Police Academy. The academy is a cooperative effort between U.S. and Iraqi police instructors. Also in Kirkuk, repairs and improvements at the Communications Office will help the ministry re-establish a vital communications hub in northern Iraq.
OPERATION IVY SERPENT CONTINUES - July 13, 2003 - Release Number: 03-07-46
TIKRIT, Iraq – The 4th Infantry Division and Task Force Ironhorse launched Operation Ivy Serpent, a preemptive strike July 12, resulting in the capture of several members of the former regime and the confiscation of numerous weapons and ammunition caches.
In an early morning raid near Ba’qubah soldiers captured three former regime loyalist leaders.
Operation Ivy Serpent has resulted in the detainment of more than 80 people who are members of the Ba’ath Party, Fedayeen, Regime Death Squad or other subversive elements. During the course of the raids confiscated weapons include AK-47s, pistols, mortars and items used to make improvised explosive devices.
The 4th ID and Task Force Ironhorse will continue to pursue and capture non-compliant forces and former regime leaders who have attacked Coalition forces.
A U.S. soldier from the 4th Infantry Division, 1st Battalion 68 Armor Task Force, searches an Iraqi during another military operation dubbed Operation Ivy Serpent at Mashahdah, 45 kilometers north of Baghdad, Iraq Sunday July 13, 2003. The Division-wide operation was launched Sunday in an attempt to root out and eliminate pro-Saddam insurgents who have been firing rocket-propelled grenades on U.S. vehicle convoys and launching mortar attacks on U.S. bases in central Iraq. (AP Photo/John Moore)
A U.S. soldier from the 4th Infantry Division, 1st Battalion 68 Armor Task Force, lines up against the wall, hooded Iraqis after rounding them up in another military operation dubbed Operation Ivy Serpent at Mashahdah, 45 kilometers north of Baghdad, Iraq Sunday July 13, 2003. The Division-wide operation was launched Sunday in an attempt to root out and eliminate pro-Saddam insurgents who have been firing rocket-propelled grenades on U.S. vehicle convoys and launching mortar attacks on U.S. bases in central Iraq. (AP Photo/John Moore)
A U.S. soldier from the 4th Infantry Division, 1st Battalion 68 Armor Task Force, handcuffs an anxious Iraqi after being rounded up in another military operation dubbed Operation Ivy Serpent at Mashahdah, 45 Kilometers north of Baghdad, Iraq Sunday July 13, 2003. The Division-wide operation was launched Sunday in an attempt to root out and eliminate pro-Saddam insurgents who have been firing rocket-propelled grenades on U.S. vehicle convoys and launching mortar attacks on U.S. bases in central Iraq. (AP Photo/John Moore)
U.S. soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division, 1st Battalion 68 Armor Task Force, carry a blindfolded Iraqi onto a military truck for further questioning during another military operation dubbed Operation Ivy Serpent at Mashahdah, 45 Kilometers north of Baghdad, Iraq Sunday July 13, 2003. The Division-wide operation was launched Sunday in an attempt to root out and eliminate pro-Saddam insurgents who have been firing rocket-propelled grenades on U.S. vehicle convoys and launching mortar attacks on U.S. bases in central Iraq. (AP Photo/John Moore) 
A dirtied Iraqi lies on the ground as he waits to be searched by U..S soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division, 1st Battalion 68 Armor Task Force during another military operation dubbed Operation Ivy Serpent at Mashahdah, 45 Kilometers north of Baghdad, Iraq Sunday July 13, 2003. The Division-wide operation was launched Sunday in an attempt to root out and eliminate pro-Saddam insurgents who have been firing rocket-propelled grenades on U.S. vehicle convoys and launching mortar attacks on U.S. bases incentral Iraq. (AP Photo/John Moore)
A U.S. soldier wears a local scarf called a 'shmagh' to protect himself from hot wind in Fallujah, 64 kilometers (40 miles) west of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, July 13, 2003. The scarf is traditionally worn as a headdress by chiefs of Arabic tribes. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)
U.S. soldiers wait outside a home in Fallujah, 64 kilometers (40 miles) west of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, July 13, 2003, to talk to its residents about an attack on U.S. troops in the region the previous night. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)
JAKARTA (Reuters) - A bomb exploded in the basement of Indonesia's parliament building complex on Monday, police said.
An official from the parliament who saw the explosion, which occurred around 8.30 a.m. (9:30 p.m. EDT), said there were no casualties and little damage caused. He said he was not sure what caused the blast.
Asked what caused the explosion, Central Jakarta deputy police chief, Ricki Wakano, told Reuters: "A bomb."
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea has "no scientific evidence" North Korea has reprocessed all its spent nuclear fuel rods, President Roh Moo-hyun's foreign policy adviser said on Monday.
"We're not at the stage of being able to confirm anything," adviser Ban Ki-moon told a meeting of presidential secretaries, according to minutes released by Roh's office.
Ban's statement followed a report on Sunday by South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoting a former Seoul intelligence official as saying U.N.-based North Korean diplomats had told U.S. officials the reprocessing had been completed in June, enabling Pyongyang to add to its suspected nuclear arsenal.
By Mohammed Assadi
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas called on Israel on Sunday to let President Yasser Arafat travel freely as Israeli leader Ariel Sharon lobbied for his further isolation.
Israel and Washington are concerned Arafat is trying to weaken the peace efforts of Abbas, who came under further pressure on Sunday when militants threatened to abandon a truce he negotiated if Palestinian forces went ahead with a campaign to disarm them.
In a joint statement faxed to Reuters in Beirut, the Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups said an attempt to "disarm the resistance...will make us think seriously of going back on our initiative of halting military attacks (against Israel)."
Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Amr said talks would be held with militants to ensure the truce, called on June 29, held.
"We will clarify our policy concerning weapons," said Amr, without elaborating. "I do not think there is any justification for abandoning the issue of truce."
Abbas has said he wants to avoid any confrontation with the militants that could lead to civil war, favoring dialogue to keep the peace instead.
Sharon flew to Britain for a three-day visit where he planned to discuss with British Prime Minister Tony Blair the need to isolate Arafat to foil attempts to undermine Abbas, a senior Israeli official said.
Arafat said he had withstood previous Israeli attempts to isolate him and would withstand this one too.
Abbas, a moderate and reformer, became prime minister earlier this year following pressure from the United States, which has sidelined Arafat, accusing him of fomenting violence in a 33-month-old Palestinian uprising. He denies it.
Palestinian officials say Arafat is trying to weaken Abbas, viewing him as too soft on Israel when it comes to implementing reciprocal measures required by a U.S.-backed peace "road map" en route to Palestinian statehood by 2005.
WIDENING RIFT
Abbas, despite the widening rift with Arafat, said he raised Arafat's freedom of movement with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov during talks on issues related to the peace plan.
"The most important of these issues are the prisoners, the Jewish settlements, the separation wall, closures...and the need for setting free Brother Abu Amr, to allow him to travel wherever he wants, whenever he wants," Abbas said, using Arafat's nomme de guerre.
Ivanov, whose country is a member of the Quartet that drafted the peace plan told reporters that "the restrictions on (Arafat's) movement should be lifted."
The pressure on Abbas was heightened by a decision by Sharon's cabinet to set tough criteria under which only several hundred of more than 6,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails would be freed as a gesture to further the peace plan. Palestinians want all the prisoners to go free.
As part of the peace plan, Israeli troops withdrew from the West Bank city of Bethlehem and parts of the Gaza. Israel has stressed that any further withdrawals depend on Palestinian forces preventing attacks from the areas transferred to them.
Palestinian security officials said they were helping Israel search in the West Bank for an Israeli taxi driver who went missing on Friday. Israel, concerned the man was kidnapped by Palestinian militants, has called on the Palestinians to guarantee his safe return.
Elsewhere in the West Bank, Israel arrested a suspected Irish bombmaker and questioned him on the extent of his contact with Palestinian militants, Israeli security sources said.
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