June
1-15
Russian
Firms’ Iraq Interests
ST. PETERSBURG, June 1. /RIA Novosti/. The United States
is not trying to jeopardize the interests of Russian firms in
Iraq, a senior US diplomat told a news conference in St. Petersburg.
He said most of the contracts with
Russian companies within the UN Oil for Food program’s framework
would be implemented in the end. Furthermore, "Russian companies
can bid for long-term reconstruction work contracts in Iraq on
the fair competition basis," the official said, according
to the Russian translation of his remarks.
The existing contracts, including
the one with Russian oil major Lukoil, are currently frozen, which
is to say not implemented at the moment, but not terminated either,
the diplomat said.
"All
the issues relating to long-term prospects of development of Iraq’s
oil sector will not be settled until a new government of the country
is formed," he said, emphatically.
US
Interested inRussian Oil
ST.
PETERSBURG, June 1. /RIA Novosti/. The United States is interested
in Russian oil.
A senior US diplomat told a briefing
in St. Petersburg, "The US is interested in building new
pipelines to increase Russian oil exports to North America and
other regions." He urged "new investments into Russia’s
energy sector by American companies." He also noted the importance
of the fact that the issue of US poultry exports to Russia had
been resolved. "That was an important issue to our relationship,"
emphasized the diplomat.
But he pointed out, "While
we do note substantial progress in the settlement of veterinary
issues, the issue of poultry meat import https://nyjtimes.com/files/archive/2003/june/quotas remains outstanding."
It "also requires discussion," the diplomat said.
North
Korea’s Nuclear Program Threatens Regional, Global Stability
SINGAPORE –
There’s no greater threat to peace and stability facing Asian
– and other — nations today than North Korea’s nuclear
program, said U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz
while at the Asia
Security Conference in Singapore.
Wolfowitz remarked on the spirit of multilateral cooperation embodied
by such conferences holds "important promise for enabling
countries in the region to resolve problems peacefully."
The conference is sponsored by the International Institute for
Strategic Studies.
And, he asserted, "nowhere is that challenge greater than
in confronting the problem posed by North Korea’s nuclear program."
(Full
Story)
World
Leaders Applaud 300 Years of St. Petersburg
Russian
President Vladimir Putin and nation leaders from around the globe
have come to St. Petersburg to take part in grand celebrations
of its 300th anniversary. Widely celebrated with visits is the
historic spectacular Amber Room within the Catherine Palace.
Russian President Vladimir Putin:
"I would like to thank President Bush for coming to Russia
and to St. Petersburg, especially in these festive days in St.
Petersburg. For me, personally, this is a special sign and I am
very appreciative of that. Thank you." (Full
Remarks)
In
Iraq Team in Hunt for the Weapons of Mass Destruction
Washington,
– A significant expansion of effort in the hunt for weapons
of mass destruction will begin to take hold in Iraq in coming
days.
The group from the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States
military, other U.S. government
agencies will ultimately have between 1,300 and 1,400 people conducting
the tasks of detection and search for WMD. The main headquarters
will be in Baghdad. The group’s analytical center will be located
with U.S. Central Command’s forward headquarters in Qatar as will
the Combined Media Processing Center. (Full
Story)
Coalition
Forces and Iraqi Police Work to
Make Iraq Secure
CAMP
DOHA, Kuwait — Coalition Forces continue to aggressively patrol
Iraq to eliminate crimes against people and property, rid populated
areas of weapons, ammunition and explosives, and stop the black
market trade in fuel and other commodities. Coalition Forces also
continue to conduct joint security patrols with Iraqi police in
their efforts to increase the professionalism of the police force
and prepare them for their role in a self-governed Iraq.
Coalition Activity:
Marines from 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment raided a suspected
arms market in Abu Sukayr (An Najaf Governate) yesterday. They
detained two people and seized five AK-47 rifles. (Full
Story)
Bush
Goes to Auschwitz
Before
meetings in Russia, France, Egypt and in Aqaba, Jordan to meet
with Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian PM Mahmoud
Abbas, the President and First Lady Laura Bush visited Poland.
"Within an hour’s journey of this castle lies a monument
to the darkest impulses of man," said U.S. President Bush
during his visit to Poland–a nation that has been a strong partner
in the fight against terror and that has had a history of incredible
struggles. Clearly moved by the shear gravity of the history Bush
said, "Today, I saw Auschwitz, the sites of the Holocaust
and Polish martyrdom; a place where evil found its willing servants
and its innocent victims. One boy imprisoned there was branded
with the number A70713. Returning to Auschwitz a lifetime later,
Elie Wiesel recalled his first night in the camp: ‘I asked myself,
God, is this the end of your people, the end of mankind, the end
of the world?’
"With every murder, a world was ended. And the death camps
still bear witness. They remind us that evil is real and must
be called by name and must be opposed." (Full
Story)
U.S-Japan
United Against North Korean Threats
TOKYO –
The United States and Japan are united to prevent destabilization
in East Asia caused by North Korea’s purported efforts to develop
nuclear weapons and more powerful ballistic missiles, two senior
U.S. officials told reporters here June 3.
U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul
D. Wolfowitz met with U.S. Ambassador to Japan
Howard H. Baker Jr. at the ambassador’s residence near the U.S.
Embassy in Tokyo.
Wolfowitz had arrived in Tokyo June 2 after meeting with South
Korean officials in the capital city of Seoul. (Full
Story)
Export
of Iraqi Oil Starts in Late June
BAGHDAD,
June 8, 2003. /From RIA Novosti correspondent Pavel Davydov/–Export
of Iraqi oil begins in late June, the Sunday issue of the Iraqi
newspaper Al-Taaha quoted Director of the Iraqi Oil Sales Corporation
Muhammed al-Jebouri as saying.
By that moment, according to his
words, the corporation would have finished signing contracts for
oil sales. The auction, the results of which will be used to sign
the contracts, begins next Thursday. Further on, Iraqi oil will
be sold on the basis of long-term contracts.
At this moment, there are 8.3 million
barrels of Iraqi export oil in the Turkish port of Ceyhan. A quantity
is also stored in Umm Qasr, an Iraqi port on the shore of the
Persian Gulf.
As of today, oil production in
Iraq amounts to 700,000 barrels a day, Iraq’s domestic requirement
being 600,000 barrels a day. Baghdad is planning to reach a pre-war
level of 1.5 million barrels a day by mid-June.
"Punishment
Committee" for Hussein’s Supporters
BAGHDAD,
June 8, 2003. /From RIA Novosti correspondent Pavel Davydov/–There
is a secret "punishment committee" in Baghdad for Saddam
Hussein’s supporters. According to the Iraqi newspaper Al-Taahi,
it possesses the documents that used to belong to the headquarters
of the Iraqi security forces before the fall of Hussein’s regime.
In the past few days, the "punishment
committee" murdered a number of members of Iraq’s ruling
party, Baath, as well as a few former security officers and supporters
of the previous regime. The committee mostly functions on the
territory of one of Baghdad’s poverty-ridden quarters, Sadr City,
which is populated by about 2 millions of Shiites.
The revenge effort has been launched
despite the fact that several influential spiritual leaders of
Al-Najaf, a sacred Shiite town 160 kilometres south of Baghdad,
have been heard urging Iraqis to forgive the ones who implemented
the will of the former regime. Some of them including the ayatollah
Al-Sistani, even forbade murders among Baath members. As for the
ones who guided repression, their fate /according to the Shiite
leadership/ must be decided by the democratic court of the new
Iraq.
OPEC
Rejects Former Plans to Reduce Oil Production and Export Quotas
VIENNA,
June 8, 2003. /From RIA Novosti correspondent Borislav Pechnikov/–The
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, has rejected
former plans to reduce oil production and export quotas, a high-ranking
official from the OPEC General Secretariat told RIA Novosti on
Sunday.
According to his words, oil and
energy ministers from members of the world oil cartel, who are
to gather in Doha on June 11 for the 125th extraordinary session,
will not be making any decisions dealing with oil quotas, since
it would be economically and practically inexpedient to cut oil
deliveries to the world’s energy markets in view of the fact that
the USA and other large oil consumers "report a deficit of
raw oil in their traditional reserves." At the same time,
raw oil prices on international markets "have reached an
optimal level," which is a stimulus for the world community
to "keep the status quo of the whole OPEC oil business,"
said RIA Novosti’s source. Due to an unprecedentedly high demand
for oil and oil products in the USA the prices of raw oil, including
those from the OPEC "basket" and from Russia, grew 13%
during the past month.
Participants in the Doha conference,
where Russia, Mexico, Oman and other large oil exporters will
be present as observers, will focus on coordination of actions
on the world oil markets and ways to build up co-operation in
the field of oil policy.
Kabul
Terrorist Act Kills At Least Six Peacekeepers
ISLAMABAD,
JUNE 7. /FROM RIA NOVOSTI’S CORRESPONDENT VLADIMIR SHRETER/ —
According to preliminary information, six peacekeepers have been
killed and 16 wounded as a result of blasting a bus with peacekeepers
in Kabul.
An unidentified explosive device
came into action outside, not inside the bus.
The tragedy happened 5 kilometers
east of the center of the Afghan capital on a highway leading
southwards near a base with German and Dutch servicemen. The bus
was running from the airport to Kabul. Representatives of the
peacekeepers forces’ command have confirmed the fact of explosion
and death of German soldiers. A precise number of victims has
not yet been cited.
The law enforcement forces have
fully blocked the region where the blast has sounded. Only ambulances
and peacekeepers’ vehicles are being allowed in.
Spanish
Political Scientist: Chechen Militants Definitely Linked to International
Terrorism
MADRID,
JUNE 7. /FROM RIA NOVOSTI’S CORRESPONDENT JUAN KOBO/ — Actions
of militants in Chechnya are inseparably linked to international
terrorist organizations, the largest of which is Al-Qaeda of Osama
bin-Laden.
In the opinion of Spanish political
science Professor Fernandez Reinarez of the United Nations anti-terror
department, Chechnya sets an example of how international terrorist
organizations promote the conversion of movements born under nationalist
slogans into those with Islamic fundamentalist goals, providing
them with finance and experienced militants.
The professor has made a press
publication in connection with the recent act of a suicide terrorist
in Mozdok /North Ossetia, a constituent republic of the Russian
Federation/. He says it is the job of the selfsame "global"
terrorist forces, who have recently staged similar bloody acts
with the involvement of kamikaze in Casablanca in Morocco and
Al Riyadh.
Activity
of Coalition Efforts Aid Iraq’s Recovery
Kuwait
– Coalition Forces continue to assist in developing a safer
and more secure environment in Iraq through the following activities.
Coalition Forces are working to
eliminate crimes against people and property, rid populated areas
of weapons, ammunition and explosives, and stopping the black
market trade in fuel and other commodities. These efforts include
security patrols with the Iraqi police as the increase their professionalism
in their police force their role in a self-governed Iraq. (Full
Story)
U.S.,
Italian Forces Launch Strike in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON
– U.S. and Italian forces launched an offensive last week
against anti-coalition forces in the Shahi Kowt section of the
Paktia province in Afghanistan, Combined Joint Task Force 180
said an official.
A brigade-sized unit launched Operation Dragon Fury to prevent
the re-emergence of terrorism, to deny sanctuary to terrorists
and to protect nongovernmental organizations and coalition forces
from enemy attack. (Full
Story)
Coalition
to Aid U.N. Inspectors at Iraqi Nuke Storage Site
WASHINGTON
– Coalition forces will assist International Atomic Energy
Agency officials as they inspect the Iraqi nuclear storage facility
near Baghdad, DoD officials said.
The IAEA inspectors will help coalition
officials determine if uranium or nuclear by-products are missing
from the site.
IAEA inspectors last visited Location
C at the Tuwaitha facility in December 2002. The inspectors were
there as part of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty annual inspection.
(Full
Story)
Diplomacy
Towards North Korea’s Looming Threats
"’We
will not tolerate North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons.
At the same time, we believe this issue should be settled peacefully
through dialogue,” said South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun on
Monday during meetings in Japan about North Korea’s nuclear buildup.
Japan and South Korea are still healing wounds made in history
to team up with the U.S. and other nations to find a calm solution
to North Korea’s threats. The challenge is tough for many obvious
reasons and North Korea has made enemies of some Japanese citizens
since their family members were kidnapped in past years by North
Korea’s regime. During the meetings protestors held up signs saying,
"Give us back our abducted relatives!" Roh expressed
compassion regarding the abducted people to the Japanese Diet
members, ”I understand well the shock and pain Japanese people
suffered.” The meetings between South Korea and Japan work to
boost ties between the nations that lend strength to finding a
solution to the problems arising from North Korea. (Full
Story)
Underworld
to Be The Death of Georgia, Warns President
TBILISI,
JUNE 14 (RIA Novosti’s Marina Kvaratskhelia) – "The underworld
will be the death of Georgia," warns President Eduard Shevardnadze.
"We shall quite soon see criminals
ordering politicians about if organised flights from prisons become
an established routine. An emergency situation has developed in
Georgian prisons, and directly threatens the political system,"
he said to an enlarged-attendance session of the National Security
Council this afternoon.
The Georgian political and criminal
circles are getting close, pointed out the President, who was
republican Interior Minister in the Soviet years. He strongly
called on the police to sever whatever contacts they may have
with the criminal world.
St.
Petersburg Photographs Exhibition Opens in London
LONDON,
JUNE 14 (RIA NOVOSTI CORRESPONDENT ALEXANDER SMOTROV) – An exhibition
called "People and Palaces of St. Petersburg in Photographs
at the Turn of the 20th Century" opens in London today. The
display in the famous Somerset House is devoted to the 300th anniversary
of the former Russian capital. It includes about 200 photographs
from the collection of the Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg,
the largest museum of fine arts in Russia.
The exhibition consists of five
sections in which photographs of the interiors of the palaces
of Russian tsars and mansions of the nobility built in the city
at the turn of the past century. They show what Russia looked
like before the 1917 communist revolution and how ordinary residents
of imperial St. Petersburg lived at that time.
Of special interest are the photographs
of Russian Emperors Alexander II, Alexander III and Nicolas II
made not on official occasions but at home. The exhibition organizers
believe that the visitors will be attracted also by the pictures
showing the grandiose ball, the last one held before the revolution
in the imperial palace. It was a fancy dress ball in February,
1903, when the 200th anniversary of St. Petersburg was celebrated.
The costumes had been made for a few months by the best Russian
tailors and embroideresses. Some of the costumes are displayed
in a separate showcase.
The London exhibition is but a
small portion of about 40,000 photographs made in tsarist Russia
and kept in Hermitage. They were taken from the archives of the
emperors’ families and the St. Petersburg nobility.
Local
Residents Helped Prevent Terrorist Act in Chechnya
GROZNY,
JUNE 14 (RIA NOVOSTI) – Information provided by local residents
helped prevent a terrorist act in a region of Chechnya, the Russian
military reported Saturday.
According to the press service of the Joint Group of Forces in
Chechnya, people in the village of Komsomolskoye in the Urus Martan
region in the central part of the republic informed the Russian
military that a suspicious person had been seen on the road two
kilometers from the village. An operational group was immediately
sent to that place. The man, about whom the villagers told the
servicemen, had already planted an explosive device at the roadside.
When the servicemen tried to detain him, he blew up the mine and
made an effort to escape but was seized. No one suffered in the
explosion.
According to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), a powerful
explosive device was defused on that day in the suburbs of the
Chechen capital Grozny. FSB officers found in the outskirts of
the Staraya Sunzha village in that region 200 TNT blasting cartridges,
their total weight being 40 kg, and a detonator connected to them.
The find was destroyed on the spot.
June
16-30 Stories
North
& South Korea Linked by Railway
TOKYO
/ MOSCOW — The ceremony of linking South and North Koreas by
a railway was held last week. An understanding on this was reached
last week at the talks in North Korea. This event was timed to
coincide with the third anniversary of the inter-Korean summit
held in the summer of 2000 in Pyongyang. (Full
Story)
NATO
Ministers Okay Sweeping Command Changes
BRUSSELS, Belgium
– NATO defense ministers approved the most extensive command
structure revision in the history of the alliance.
Under the plan, the number of NATO headquarters will drop from
20 to 11 and will place the alliance firmly on the road to counter
the threats of the 21st century, NATO officials said.
U.S. officials are pleased with the changes. A senior defense
official speaking on background said this will leave NATO forces
better organized to conduct joint combined operations. There will
be two new strategic commands: Allied Command-Europe will become
Allied Command- Operations; Allied Command-Atlantic changes to
Allied Command-Transformation. (Full
Story)
Belgian
Law May Force U.S. to Stop Attending NATO Meetings
BRUSSELS,
Belgium – Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said that
American officials may stop attending NATO meetings in Belgium
because of a law that allows "spurious" suits accusing
American leaders of war crimes.
Rumsfeld said the United States will withhold any further funding
for a new NATO headquarters building here until the matter is
resolved. He spoke during a press conference following the NATO
defense ministerial. (Full
Story)
Coalition
and Iraqi Police Work to Make Iraq Secure
CAMP
DOHA, Kuwait — Coalition Forces continue to aggressively patrol
Iraq to eliminate crimes against people and property, rid populated
areas of weapons, ammunition and explosives, and stop the black
market trade in fuel and other commodities. Coalition Forces also
continue to conduct joint security patrols with Iraqi police to
increase the professionalism of the police force and prepare them
for their role in a self-governed Iraq. (Full
Story)
Spain
Pledges Troops to Polish Division
BRUSSELS, Belgium
– Spain today pledged 1,100 troops to the Polish-led division
that will become part of the coalition force in Iraq.
At the NATO defense ministerial,
Spanish Defense Minister Federico Trillo-Figueroa y Martínez-Conde
confirmed his country would provide the military aid.
NATO has already agreed to help Poland with the force. The alliance
will not have any permanent presence in Iraq, but will aid Poland
in supporting roles. These include help with force generation,
communications, logistics and movements, said NATO officials.
(Full
Story)
U.S.
Troops Defeat Enemy Attack from Fedayheen and Foreign Fighters
in Iraq
WASHINGTON
– American troops in Iraq blunted a night attack by pro-Saddam
regime fighters, counter- attacked, and routed the enemy, killing
more than 20 in a June 13 battle fought north of Baghdad, according
to the top U.S. general in Iraq.
"Last night we had some actions against part of our forces
in that area," Army Lt. Gen. David D. McKiernan, the commander
of U.S. and coalition land forces for Operation Iraqi Freedom,
remarked to Pentagon reporters from his Baghdad headquarters during
a June 13 video teleconference.
"The (U.S.) battalion that was engaged pursued those (enemy)
forces, made contact with them, and killed over 20 of them,"
he noted.
The fighting, McKiernan explained, involved U.S. forces participating
in Operation Peninsula Strike, a series of raids and searches
undertaken to eliminate Saddam-regime loyalists remaining in Iraq.
The 4th Infantry is leading the strike force.
(Full
Story)
Dangers
of ‘Eroding’ Sovereignty
GARMISCH, Germany
— Harsh words were targeted toward the International Criminal
Court and a Belgium law that is geared to allow anyone
to prosecute anyone for war crimes by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald
H. Rumsfeld.
The
secretary spoke at a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of
the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies here.
He said the Belgian law is one example where nations are "eroding
sovereignty." (Full
Story)
U.S.
Department of Homeland Security Seizes
Cesium-137 in Thailand
In
October 2002, Homeland Security agents based in Bangkok, Thailand,
received information about the potential sale of enriched, or
weapons-grade, uranium in Asia. Department of Homeland Security
agents immediately began working with the Royal Thai Police and
the U.S. Embassy on an investigation into this matter. (Full
Story)
Terror
Takes Lives of More Innocents in Israel
A
Palestinian bomber dressed as a religious Jew blew up a Jerusalem
city bus last Wednesday. The impact from the explosives he was
carrying was so powerful that the bus lunged several feet. The
Hamas terrorist bomber killed several passengers, including an
Ambassador’s daughter, and wounded hundreds of other innocents.
One of the wounded is Sarri Singer, the daughter of New Jersey
State Senator Robert Singer.
Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a Hamas leader, said Saturday, "The word
cease-fire is not in our dictionary."
Israeli Ambassador Daniel Ayalon talked to MSNBC’s Tim Russert
about Israel’s recent military efforts against terror group Hamas.
"We must maintain our rights to stop terrorists," he
said, ‘and protect ourselves.’
If peace is to happen, terror attacks
must stop against Israeli citizens, Ayalon said Israel will continue
to fight terror and "we would like to see the Palestinians
do the same." (Full
Story)
Terrorist
Attack Averted in Chechnya
GROZNY, 23
June, 2003. /RIA Novosti correspondent/-RIA Novosti has learnt
in the Chechen Interior Ministry that a terrorist attack was averted
yesterday in the republic’s Achkhoi-Martan region.
According to the ministry’s information,
sappers discovered a land mine (with an 82 mm charge) by a road
near the village of Shalashi at 10.30, Moscow time yesterday during
a sweep. The primed explosive device was destroyed at the scene.
An investigation has been opened
into the incident and the police are looking for possible witnesses
as to who planted the mine.
Lithuanian
State Security Department Closes Chechen Terrorist’s Web-Site
VILNIUS, 23
June, 2003. /RIA Novosti Vitautas Mikulicus/-The Lithuanian Department
of State Security has closed a Chechen militants’ web site.
Independent experts confirmed that
the "Caucasus-Centre" site was broadcasting information
linked with terrorist propaganda and inciting national and religious
hatred, State Security Department spokesman Vitautas Makauskas
said.
Last week the department shut down
the site’s server.
The Lithuanian Constitution forbids the incitement of the inter-ethnic
and religious hatred.
Russian
and British MPs to Play Friendly Match in London
LONDON, June
23. /FROM RIA NOVOSTI CORRESPONDENT ALEXANDER SMOTROV/ – The football
team of the State Duma of the Russian Federation will play a friendly
match with the British Parliamentarians in London on Monday.
The match is organised by RIA Novosti within the preparation for
the state visit of president of the Russian Federation Vladimir
Putin to Great Britain from June 24-27.
The
game will be staged at the West-Ham stadium in Apton Park in London.
Listed among the members of the squad of the deputies of the Russian
parliament’s lower chamber is Russian woman cosmonaut Yelena Kondakova
who holds the record of a woman’s stay in outer space.
The team of the State Duma of Russia has been in existence for
nine years, and from 1994 has been playing football matches with
Parliamentarians of other countries, specifically Finland, Germany,
Japan, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Moldova.
Two
Terrorists Killed in Special Operation in Chechnya
Grozny
–The regional department of the Federal Security Service has
carried out a special operation in Argun (a city 20 km east of
the Chechen capital Grozny) during which two militants who put
up resistance to the officers were killed. (Full
Story)
4th
Infantry Division Seizes Cash in Raids
WASHINGTON
— The 4th Infantry Division confiscated $8.5 million U.S. dollars
and between 300 and 400 million Iraqi dinar from two separate
farmhouses during a raid last week, said Army Maj. Gen. Raymond
T. Odierno, 4th Infantry Division commander.
The general announced this in a
videoconference from Baghdad with Pentagon reporters. The raid
nabbed thousands of English pounds and Euro, still being counted.
Inside the farmhouses were photos and paraphernalia of the ousted
leader Saddam Hussein.
"In addition, we received
a large cache of jewels and gems estimated at over $1 million;
Russian-made night-vision goggles, sniper rifles, uniforms and
equipment of Saddam’s personal guards," Odierno said. (Full
Story)
An
American Admits Aiding Al Qaeda;
Plea Bargains With FBI
WASHINGTON
– A truck driver, a naturalized American citizen from Columbus,
Ohio, reached a plea-bargain agreement with the U.S. Department
of Justice, Attorney General John Ashcroft said June 19th in Washington
D.C.
Speaking at a press conference, Ashcroft reported that Kashmir-born
Iyman Faris, a 34-year-old independent truck driver who came to
the United States in 1994, had pleaded guilty for consorting with
al Qaeda. (Full
Story)
Operation
Desert Scorpion Continues to
Breakdown Resistance
BAGHDAD,
Iraq – Coalition forces continue to defeat remaining pockets
of resistance throughout Iraq, in efforts to provide a secure
and stable environment for the Iraqi citizens.
Operation Desert Scorpion is designed
to identify and destabilize terrorist organizations, criminal
elements, and non-compliant forces throughout the country while
improving the quality of life for the Iraqi people.
Some actions taken by Coalition
Forces include: (Full
Story)
Regime
Sabotage Attempts Continue Near Fallujah
WASHINGTON
– Operation Desert Scorpion continues, with U.S. troops
conducting nine raids throughout Iraq. U.S. 1st Armored Division
soldiers conducted five raids in the greater Baghdad area June
20 and detained five Iraqis, according to a U.S. Central Command
release.
The troops also seized a number
of small arms and confiscated ammunition. An Iraqi man turned
in a box of hand grenades to the unit. (Full
Story)
Tempo
Down as Desert Scorpion Continues
BAGHDAD,
Iraq – The high level of activity of recent days reduced
as Coalition forces continue Operation Desert Scorpion.
The 1st Armored Division executed offensive actions in Baghdad
conducting six raids and detaining 22 individuals. The unit seized
nine rifles, eight pistols, three knives, two boxes of grenades,
one bomb and three 127mm rounds. (Full
Story)
Rumsfeld
Says World Needs to Work Harder to Control Nuclear Weapons
WASHINGTON
– The world’s efforts to counter the proliferation of nuclear
weapons have not been successful, Defense Secretary Donald H.
Rumsfeld said June 19. If they had, he said, the United States
would not have had to go to war in Iraq.
The world is facing a serious problem,
Rumsfeld stressed to about 750 business leaders during a question
and answer session following an award dinner sponsored by Business
Executives for National Security. Iran, and as many as five other
countries, the secretary said, could end up with nuclear weapons
during the coming decade. The same is true of biological weapons.
(Full
Story)
Terror
Groups Don’t Want Peace
‘Terror
groups don’t want peace; they want Israel, all of it,’ said former
assistant Defense Secretary Frank Gaffney during a broadcast on
Sunday. He also restated remarks made by U.S. President Bush on
June 24, 2002, when he spoke against terror being used as a device
to bring down a nation–a nation like Israel, which is the only
Jewish state on the outskirts of several Islamic nations. "Today,
Palestinian authorities are encouraging, not opposing, terrorism,"
said Bush at the time. "This is unacceptable. And the United
States will not support the establishment of a Palestinian state
until its leaders engage in a sustained fight against the terrorists
and dismantle their infrastructure." (Full
Story)
Abizaid:
U.S. Displaying ‘Offensive Spirit’ in Iraq
WASHINGTON
– "The best protection that we can give our soldiers
is an offensive spirit in a tough place," said Army Lt. Gen.
John Abizaid today during his Senate confirmation hearing to be
the next commander of U.S. Central Command.
Abizaid, who is currently CENTCOM’s deputy commander, said that
coalition forces need to seek out the enemy and bring the fight
to them.
"They will be able to do that as long as we don’t hunker
down in base camps and try to avoid contact," he said before
the Senate Armed Services Committee. "We need to seek out
contact. We need to be aggressive, and that’s what we’re doing
in Iraq." He said that, contrary to press reports, American
soldiers and Marines are being aggressive. He said in more than
half the instances, the U.S. forces are the ones who initiate
the actions. (Full
Story)
Coalition
Not in Guerrilla War
WASHINGTON
– Former regime sympathizers and criminals are behind the
attacks on coalition forces in Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald
H. Rumsfeld said on Capitol Hill today.
The secretary also said he does
not believe the activity in Iraq rises to the level of a guerrilla
war.
Rumsfeld and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, spoke to reporters following a closed-door meeting
with Senate members.
The
senators are concerned about the coalition casualties in Iraq.
Two Americans were killed and 13 wounded in separate incidents
in Iraq June 26, for example. (Full
Story)
Coalition
Continues Efforts to Rebuild Iraq
BAGHDAD,
Iraq – Coalition forces continue to help rebuild Iraq through
reconstruction and humanitarian aid. Some of the tasks accomplished
in the last 24 hours:
In As Sulaymaniyah, the Coalition completed a project to purchase
$1,500 worth of medical supplies for the municipality of Bayinjan.
The supplies will last for four months in the Bayinjan Clinic.
In Al Fallujah, the Coalition delivered basic school supplies
to area schools and distributed 3,000 gallons of potable water
to the city. (Full
Story)
Update:
Missing Soldiers’ Remains Recovered
BAGHDAD, Iraq
– Two soldiers, assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 18th Field
Artillery Regiment, deployed here from Fort Sill, Okla., who were
discovered missing on June 25, have been found dead west of Al
Taji on June 28. The soldiers were part of a force providing perimeter
security for the Balad rocket demolition site near Taji. The facility
is about 40 kilometers north of Baghdad, firmly in the midst of
the "Sunni Triangle" of Tikrit, Baghdad and Ar Ramadi
that is a hotbed of support for the former regime. (Full
Story)
U.S.
and British Forces Killed — Operation Underway to Root Out Fedayeen
and Terrorist Foreign Fighters
BAGHDAD,
Iraq – There are rumors that Saddam Hussein is alive and
organizing attacks against Coalition forces. The rumors seem to
hold more truth after many seemingly organized attacks against
Coalition troops. One attack included an ambush of a police station
where 6 Royal Military Police–who were merely training the Iraqi
Police–were murdered and set on fire. At the same time tragically,
2 U.S. soldiers–who were also in a supposedly peaceful situation–were
kidnapped and killed. In another ambush against coalition forces,
a U.S. soldier was killed near an Najaf June 26. A news release
said the soldier was investigating a car theft. In the past week
many more Coalition troops have been wounded. (Full
Story)
Silent
No Longer: Iraqi People Reveal the Past
– Regime of Terror
WASHINGTON
– For the first time in decades, the Iraqi people can talk openly
about what happened during Saddam Hussein’s regime.
They’re talking, and the world is listening.
Each
day, U.S. and coalition officials in Iraq hear more and more about
the atrocities that occurred over the last two decades, according
to Sandra Hodgkinson, the Coalition Provisional Authority’s director
of human rights. Whether they’re Kurdish, Sunni, Shiia or Christian,
she said, "it seems like every Iraqi has a story."
"In some way, the regime affected their day-to-day life,
either someone they knew, or loved or cared about," Hodgkinson
said this week during a telephone interview from her office in
Baghdad. While many Iraqis seek out the Human Rights Office, she
said, others talk to coalition military forces, nongovernmental
organizations staff or provisional authority personnel. (Full
Story)
Israel,
A Country Alone?
With Palestinian
terrorist organizations’ announced cease-fire, U.S. President
George Bush said that a full dismantling of terrorist groups is
required to move the peace process forward and that a temporary
halt of attacks would not be acceptable. "The true test for
Hamas and terrorist organizations is the complete dismantlement
of their terrorist networks, their capacity to blow up the peace
process," Bush said. "It’s one thing to make a verbal
agreement. But in order for there to be peace in the Middle East,
we must see organizations such as Hamas dismantled and then we’ll
have peace. Then we’ll have a chance for peace."
Although Hamas and other Palestinian
terror organizations had given their word Sunday night on a temporary
truce, news came only hours after that a foreign worker employed
in Israel was killed in a Palestinian shooting attack near the
West Bank village of Yabed. The "Shahid" faction of
the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade of Yasser Arafat’s Fatah terror organization
claimed responsibility. (Full
Story)