September
1-15 Stories
Paintings
Capture First Moments of 9-11 Combat Air Patrols
Sept.
11 was a day when Americans rushed to the aid of each other.
New
York firefighters and policemen rushed into the World Trade
Center, military and civilian personnel rushed into stricken
offices of the Pentagon, medical personnel in New York and Washington
rushed to their duty stations. (Full
Story)
Peri
Gilpin of NBC’s Frasier will lead 9/11 Moment of Silence in
Los Angeles
LOS
ANGELES – Mayor Jim Hahn announced that actress Peri Gilpin,
who plays radio producer "Roz Doyle" on the NBC comedy
series "Frasier", will lead L.A.’s Moment of Silence
for September 11th victims and heroes. David Angell, who was
Frasier’s executive producer, and his wife Lynn, who was a librarian,
were aboard American Airlines flight 11–the aircraft terrorists
used to strike the north tower of the World Trade Center in
Manhattan at about 8:45 a.m.
Among the Californians remembered
are 3 of the "Let’s Roll" team: Tom Burnett,
Jeremy Glick and Mark Bingham. Through phone calls made from
UA Flight 93, it was revealed that in the flight’s final moments
the men, together with Todd Beamer, who was overheard by a GTE
airfone operator saying the now famous phrase, "Let’s Roll",
stopped the terrorists from crashing the aircraft into their
intended target. (Full
Story)
Doing
Nothing About Iraq Is Not An Option, Bush Says
Doing
nothing about the serious threat Saddam Hussein poses to the
world is not an option for the United States, President Bush
said today.
Speaking
during a meeting with Democratic and Republican leaders of Congress,
Bush said he looks forward to an open dialogue with Congress
about the threat Iraq poses.
He
said the United States would work with the United Nations to
counter the Iraqi threat. (Full
Story)
US
Defense Secretary Prefers Inspectors Have All Access to Iraq
The
United States would like to see inspectors back in Iraq, but
the inspections for weapons of mass destruction would be so
intrusive that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld doubts Saddam
Hussein would agree.
During
a Pentagon briefing today, Rumsfeld said it would be preferable
for inspectors to have "anytime-anyplace" access to
sites in Iraq. This would give at least some additional knowledge
about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction programs. (Full
Story)
Space
Camp Honors 11 Year Old Boy Killed in 9-11 Attacks
His
voice cracked and lips quivered as he fought back tears and
tried to control his heartbroken emotions about the loss of
his 11-year-old son in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the
Pentagon.
Struggling
to speak recently to more than 350 attendees at the Military
Child Education Coalition conference in San Antonio, Texas,
Navy Chief Petty Officer Bernard Curtis Brown thanked the coalition
for endowing the 2002 Bernard Curtis Brown II Memorial Space
Camp Scholarship. (Full
Story)
Karzai
Escapes Assassination Attempt, Downtown Kabul Bombed
Afghan President
Hamid Karzai survived an apparent assassination attempt in the
city of Kandahar.
Karzai was in a motorcade with
Kandahar Province Gov. Shirzai at about 10:30 a.m. EDT on Thursday
when an Afghan in uniform standing nearby fired shots into the
president’s car. The would-be assassin missed Karzai, but hit
Shirzai in the neck, according to Afghanistan’s foreign minister.
(Full
Story)
US
to Invest $970 Million in Water for the Poor Initiative
This
week US Secretary Colin Powell faced hecklers in South Africa
who blame US for not doing enough for the environment. However,
interestingly State Department spokesman Richard Broucher reveals
details of programs that Powell actually has announced in Johannesburg
that will cost the US millions and does more than help the environment.
The programs involve what are called signature partnerships
in four areas: water, energy, agriculture and forests. Broucher
said that most prevalent of these is the Water for the Poor
Initiative. "[It] expands access to clean water and sanitation
services, improves watershed management, increases the efficiency
of water in industrial and agricultural activities. Under this
initiative, we will invest $970 million over three years, which
can leverage private resources to generate more than 1.6 billion
for these activities worldwide." (Full
Story)
Threat-Level
High – Clear Skies II Op is Deployed
Clear Skies
II, an ongoing air defense exercise here, is now a deployment
— and troops are being issued live weapons, Marine Gen. Peter
Pace told reporters on Tuesday.
Pace, vice chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, spoke at the Foreign Press Center here about
the heightened threat levels as the anniversary of the Sept.
11, 2001, attack approaches.
"The decision to change the
threat level is a result of the fusion … of all intelligence
available through our own means and that other nations have
provided," he said. (Full
Story)
Mexican
Railroad Bandits Ambush FBI at Border
(AP) About
a dozen railroad bandits ambushed two FBI agents during a sting,
kicking them and beating them with rocks, authorities said.
The
agents were hospitalized in critical condition with head injuries
and were in induced comas Friday, said agent-in-charge Hardrick
Crawford Jr. (Full
Story)
Blair
Turns Up the Heat
The
Iraqi "threat is real… [and] deal with it we must,"
said British Prime Minister Tony Blair to reporters that had
been awaiting his arrival for talks with US President Bush.
As
to the impending danger to the world posed by Saddam Hussein’s
activities with weapons of mass destruction, Blair said, "We
only need to look at the report from the International Atomic
Agency… showing what has been going on at the former nuclear
weapons sites to realize that."
In
the case against Iraq, Bush pointed out that Saddam Hussein
has spent over 11 years making the case himself through his
own actions: "…This man has defied every U.N. resolution
— 16 U.S. resolutions he’s ignored. A lot of people understand
he holds weapons of mass destruction. A lot of people understand
he has invaded two countries. A lot of people understand he’s
gassed his own people. A lot of people understand he is unstable.
So we’ve got a lot of support. A lot of people understand the
danger." (Full
Story)
September
16-30 Stories
France
Orders Release of Nazi Aid
(AP)
A French appeals court ordered the release Wednesday of Maurice
Papon, a former police chief imprisoned for his role in deporting
Jews to Nazi death camps during World War II, his lawyer said.
Lawyer
Jean-Marc Varaut said his client "would be freed by the
end of the day." (Full
Story)
Powell
Working to Put Teeth in U.N. Iraq Resolution
President
Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld have said time
and again that the war on terrorism will be fought on many
fronts. Now, it is diplomacy’s chance to lead the charge.
Secretary
of State Colin Powell is in New York negotiating with U.N.
Security Council partners for a U.N. resolution condemning
Iraq for failing to live up to agreements and setting a timetable
for compliance. (Full
Story)
The
Physics of a Nuclear Showdown
In
a letter to the UN this week, Iraq has stated that UN weapons
inspectors may come back to Iraq "without condition".
For a man, who, according to his former mistress, idolizes
Adolf Hitler and has reportedly created a double of himself
for security reasons, it will be an incredible feat if weapons
inspectors don’t succumb to a smoke and mirror show, especially
after Iraqi defectors told reporters in December of 2001 and
March of 2002 of the existence of mobile germ laboratories
disguised as milk delivery trucks and a network of underground
bunkers for biological and chemical weapons production.
The
White House believes that sending out another inspection expedition
is a waste of time for a government that has continued to
be deceptive and duplicitous on the issue. Press Secretary
Ari Fleicher said on Tuesday, "If Saddam Hussein’s word
had meaning, he would have disarmed a long time ago. And this
is where — the Western world likes to accept people’s word
at face value. History has shown that Saddam Hussein’s word
cannot be taken at face value. He has a history of playing
rope-a-dope with the world, all the while he develops a more
powerful punch." The White House later on Tuesday backed
up their statement with a timeline of broken promises of unconditional
inspections that plays out like a broken record. (Full
Story)
New
York, New Jersey, D.C. Health Care Facilities to Receive Help
for 9-11 costs
U.S.
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson announced Tuesday that the Bush
Administration is awarding $140 million in grants to reimburse
hospitals, clinics and other health care organizations for
costs they incurred while responding to the September 11,
2001 terrorist attacks.
"The dedicated health care
professionals who responded on September 11, 2001, and the
days following showed not just great expertise but great compassion,"
said Secretary Thompson. "We all know they deserve our
thanks. And the organizations where they serve need our help.
America can do no less for those who, with courage and ability,
treated those injured in the attacks." (Full
Story)
Mass
Weapons Danger Real, Iraq not Only Country of Concern
While
Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction program poses the most
immediate danger, other countries are also of concern, said
a senior defense official Sept. 13.
Iran,
North Korea, Syria, Libya, Sudan and Cuba have active WMD
programs, said the official.
But
what is of more concern is the nexus between such states and
terrorist organizations. (Full
Story)
Myers:
Terrorists Not Interested in the Diversity That Makes U.S.
Great
Air
Force Gen. Richard Myers said international terrorists killed
more than 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001, and if they had
their way, they’d gladly kill more innocents — "10,000
or tens of thousands."
"Their
goal is to destroy our way of life and the things we hold
dear, such as freedom," the general said. "Freedom
means a lot of other things too. It means that we’re a tolerant
people, contrasted to the terrorists who aren’t very tolerant.
We think diversity helps make us great. Terrorists are not
interested in much diversity. (Full
Story)
Coalition
No-Fly Zone Tactics Changed
Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace said Iraqi provocations are
being met by bomb strikes on higher-value targets more worth
the risk to coalition pilots.
"I
directed it, because it seemed right," Rumsfeld said
during a Pentagon press conference Sept. 16. "I don’t
like the idea of our planes being shot at. We’re there implementing
U.N. resolutions, and the idea that our planes go out and
get shot at with impunity bothers me." (Full
Story)
Outlook
Improving for Afghan Women
The
plight of women in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime ranked
among the worst endured by any group of humans in modern history.
But international aid organizations and the U.S. government
are working hard to help these women learn to help themselves.
"Women,
who just one year ago were prisoners in their own homes, are
now free," Secretary of State Colin Powell said this
morning. "They are judges and educators, broadcasters,
economists, business women, (and) government ministers."
The
secretary was speaking to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Steering
Group meeting at the World Bank headquarters here. "Afghanistan
under the Taliban gave the world a sobering example of a country
where women were denied their rights and their place in society,"
first lady Laura Bush said in March. (Full
Story)
Powell
Urges Donors to ‘Continue Commitment’ to Afghanistan
With nearly two million refugees returning to Afghanistan,
the country’s fledgling government needs continuing help from
the international community, Secretary of State Colin Powell
said.
"The
gains made in just one year have indeed been dramatic, but
we all know they are still fragile," Powell told representatives
from 60 countries attending meetings at the World Bank headquarters.
(Full
Story)
‘Connecting
the Dots’ Before the Next Tragedy
Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that while people are concerned
about "connecting the dots" on what happened Sept.
11, 2001, he is more interested in connecting the dots before
the next attack.
At
a Pentagon press conference Sept. 16, Rumsfeld said he is
"attempting to connect the dots before a tragedy happens,
not after." He said that’s not simple.
"There
isn’t a single smoking gun that everyone nods and says ‘Aha!
That’s it!’" he said. "If we wait for a smoking
gun in this instance, it obviously would be after the fact.
You’d find it after lethal weapons were used against the United
States, our friends and allies." (Full
Story)
Iraq
the Silent Force Behind al Qaeda Terror Network
Washington:
– Evidence continues to emerge that Iraq, a self -declared
enemy to the safety of the civilized world, is a core generator
behind global terrorist plots and sudden attacks of terror.
Members of the US Senate and Congress have released findings
and say they don’t want to wait for another attack like September
11th. Monday, President Bush outlined information uncovered
to the American people, and recently British Prime Minister
Blair disclosed to the public a startling, yet comprehensive
dossier on the Iraqi threat under Saddam Hussein which had
been compiled from evidence gathered by British Intelligence.
A
mountain of evidence revealed more about Saddam’s reign of
terror among his own people, including photographs of murdered
Iraqi children, the leader’s non-stop obsession with amassing
biological, gas and nuclear type weapons and perfecting ways
to destroy multitudes of human life at one time.
A
former uranium enrichment facility which was made non-operational
during the Gulf War was found to be as a chemical production
complex and the British Intelligence reveals that Iraq has
attempted to modify the L- 29 jet trainer to allow it to be
used as an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), which "is potentially
capable of delivering chemical and biological agents over
a large area". The British dossier says: "Many of
these [Saddam’s] so-called ‘palaces’ are in fact large compounds
which are an integral part of Iraqi counter-measures designed
to hide weapons material." (Full
Story)