October
1 – 15
Russia
Taking Part in International Exhibition of Security Technologies
in Abu Dhabi
ABU
DHABI – The International Security & Safety: Middle East –
2003 exhibition has opened in the capital of the United Arab Emirates,
Abu Dhabi.
179
companies from 24 countries are taking part in the event that
will last until October 8th. Russia participates in the exposition
for the first time and is represented by 9 companies. (Full
Story)
Attempts
to Frustrate Middle East Peace Process
MOSCOW
– At least 19 people, including 5 children, were killed and about
60 wounded in a terrorist attack on October 4th in the Israeli
city of Haifa. Russia expresses its deep condolences to the families
of the victims and sympathy to the injured, reads the statement
of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s official spokesman Alexander
Yakovenko. (Full
Story)
Kamchatka
Giantic Volcano Livening Up
PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKI
— Activity of the Klyuchevskoi volcano, situated in Kamchatka
(a peninsula in the northeast of Russia’s Asian part, washed by
the Bering Sea on the east and the Okhotsk Sea on the west) is
increasing, Yury Demyanchuk, a representative of the Kamchatka
Research & Development Methodological Seismology Survey Party,
has been quoted as saying. (Full
Story)
Chechen
Election Safe from Uncompromising Terrorists’ Allies?
REYKJAVIK
— The military promise to avert any incidents during the elections
in Chechnya.
"All polling stations are under
strict control, and we shall prevent any incidents," Colonel
General Valentin Korabelnikov, chief of the Main Intelligence
Department of the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff, said in
Reykjavik, where a delegation from the Defence Ministry made a
brief stay on their way to Canada. (Full
Story)
Public
Safety Academy Launches in Mosul
MOSUL,
Iraq – A new academy designed to combine training facilities
for all public safety agencies throughout Mosul opened last Saturday.
The Mosul Public Safety Academy
will house the training for all public safety occupations in Mosul,
including law enforcement, fire fighting, emergency medical assistance,
traffic violations, investigations and traffic investigations.
Before this academy, public safety training sites were scattered
around the city. A unified school ensures all students receive
similar, equal training.
One year and more than $100,000
was spent building the academy.
A host of leaders of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
and from the Mosul government came to applaud those involved in
the academy construction and offer their godsends to the students.
(Full
Story)
4th
Infantry Division Soldiers Capture Abduction Suspects
BAGHDAD,
Iraq – Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division captured three
individuals Monday who are suspected to be involed in the kidnap
and murder of two US servicemen in June.
A fourth suspect was killed in a
gun battle that ensued when the red Capri sedan the four were
riding in attempted to run a Coalition traffic control point near
Ad Dujayl.
The vehicle is believed to be the same car that had fled the scene
of a detonated improvised explosive device aimed at coalition
forces two hours earlier.
During the subsequent search of
the vehicle, two M16 assault rifles were found which were subsequently
identified as the weapons assigned to Sgt. 1st Class Gladimir
Philippe, 37, of Linden, N.J., and Pfc. Kevin Ott, 27, of Columbus,
Ohio, members of the 3/18th FA, Fort Sill, Okla.
The two soldiers are believed to
have been abducted while guarding a cache of captured explosives
near Halabsa, a village located in an area where Saddam Hussein’s
Fedayeen loyalists once were headquartered. The soldiers’
remains were located on June 28 in Taji, Iraq.
An AK-47 automatic assault weapon,
an Iraqi military uniform, and other equipment were also found
in the vehicle. The murder suspects are currently in custody of
the 4th ID.
Russia
Speaks Out
Before
meeting with U.S. President Bush at Camp David, Russian President
Vladimir Putin visited New York where he spent time with 2 baseball
teams (one from Russia and the other from Harlem), spoke at Columbia
University, had meetings at the New York Stock Exchange, celebrated
the opening of a new gas station owned by Russian oil giant LUKoil
and addressed the U.N. “Terrorism is a challenge to the
planet’s security and economic future,“ said Putin at the
58th session of the General Assembly. “Three years ago,
I addressed the Millennium Summit here and said that the United
Nations’ common enemy was terrorism.
“Was Russia’s voice then heard
in 2000? Did everyone then understand the seriousness of this
threat? And were our joint actions sufficient? (Full
Story)
Iceland
and Russia to Boost Trade Cooperation
REYKJAVIK,
October 5, 2003. RIA Novosti by Olga Semyonova – Russian Defence
Minister Sergei Ivanov will discuss with the Icelandic Foreign
Minister issues of bilateral cooperation, the Russian minister
announced in Reykjavik, where he made a short stop on his way
to Canada.
"Iceland is an important country
in Europe," it actively participates in the work of regional
organizations, including the Northern Council, Ivanov said.
Together with the Icelandic Foreign
Minister, who simultaneously heads the Defence Ministry, Ivanov
recently took part in the session of northern countries’ defence
ministersheld in Sweden, he recalled. The next such meeting may
be held in Russia, he added.
Cooperation between Iceland and
the Russian Federation develops on the basis of the Declaration
on the grounds of relations between Iceland and Russia signed
in 1994, the Russian Defence Ministry reported. It focuses on
development of trade and economic contacts. Military cooperation
is practically absent, though in 2001-2002 two Russian ships visited
Reykjavik.
The
Security Wall
MOSCOW
(RIA Novosti) – In connection with the Saturday terrorist act
in Haifa, Israel has confirmed its intention to continue construction
of the so-called security wall on the border with Palestinian
territories.
"Until the Palestinian administration
starts real fight against terrorism, until its leader Yasser Arafat
cuts down channels supporting terrorists, including financial
ones, Israel will have to take all possible measures to protect
its citizens," reads the press release of theIsraeli Embassy
to Moscow. (Full
Story)
Russian,
Dutch Scientists Optimistic About Outlook for Cooperation
HAGUE
— The two-day symposium devoted to the 10th anniversary of Russian-Dutch
cooperation in scientific research and technologies closed in
Hague. It was attended by about 100 scientists from both countries.
Russian-Dutch cooperation has achieved
the greatest success in chemistry, said member of the Russian
delegation, First Deputy Minister of Industry, Science and Technology
Andrei Fursenko. It includes creation of special membranes to
divide chemical omponents, creation of nanocomposites, theoretical
research of new materials with pre-determined magnetic and mechanical
properties. The Russian Academy of Sciences and the Dutch Institute
of Applied Research cooperate successfully in these areas. (Full
Story)
Military
Investigates Malaria Liberia Outbreak Link
WASHINGTON
– Military health officials want to know why almost a third of
the members of a U.S. quick- reaction force that recently served
in Liberia came down with malaria.
An amphibious U.S. task force —
composed primarily of Marines — was dispatched to the West African
nation in early August to help establish peace so humanitarian
aid couldbe distributed to a fearful populace wracked by the effects
of civil war. Mission accomplished, the American task force left
for home Oct. 1. (Full
Story)
Bulk
of Iraq Reconstruction Monies ‘Will Come From Iraqis,’ Rumsfeld
Says
WASHINGTON
— The American taxpayer will not have to foot the entire bill
for rebuilding post-Saddam Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld
said here today.
The $20 billion for Iraqi security
and reconstruction contained within President Bush’s $87 billion
supplemental budget proposal for fiscal 2004 now before Congress
"is not ntended to cover all of Iraq’s needs," Rumsfeld
noted to reporters at a Pentagon press conference.
"The bulk of the funds for
Iraq’s reconstruction will come from Iraqis," explained Rumsfeld,
who was accompanied at the briefing by Air Force Gen. Richard
B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (Full
Story)
Commission
to Investigate Power Seizure in Chechen-Ingush Republic
TSENTOROI
village (Chechnya), October 6, 2003 (RIA Novosti) – "I am
sure that there will be no second round in the republic’s elections,
the winner will be known today," said Akhmad Kadyrov in his
home village of Tsentoroi in the Kurchaloi district of Chechnya
on Sunday.
According to the preliminary data,
he is the certain leader in the Sunday elections for the Chechen
president.
Akhmad Kadyrov, who held the post
of the head of the Chechen administration, stated that his first
decree would be "the decree on setting up a commission for
investigating the crimes connected with the power seizure in the
Chechen-Ingush republic (1991). A commission will also be set
up to investigate kidnappings," underscored Kadyrov.
In his opinion, in order to restore
Chechnya in the shortest period of time "it is necessary
to grant the republic the broadest autonomy." Akhmad Kadyrov
expressed the regret that some international organisations, including
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council ofEurope, had not sent
their observers to the elections. "It is necessary to show
them that the people of Chechnya want peace and take an active
part in the elections," said Kadyrov.
He also refuted the possibility
of any talks with terrorists, in particular with separatist leader
Aslan Maskhadov.
Media’s
Focus After Interim Report Surprises Top Arms Inspector
WASHINGTON
– The man leading the search for weapons of mass destruction
in Iraq expressed surprise here today that media reports focused
mainly on what his team has yetto find and not on what it has
turned up so far after his Oct. 2 interim report to Congress.
David Kay, chief U.S. arms inspector,
told host Tony Snow on the "Fox News Sunday" that while
his team indeed has yet to find illicit weapons, "I’m sort
of amazed that what was powerful information about both (the former
Iraqi regime’s) intent and their actual activities that were not
known and were hidden from (United Nations) inspectors seems not
to have made it to the press. (Full
Story)
Iraqi
Soldiers Assume Responsibilities in Guarding Country
MOSUL, Iraq — Coalition soldiers relinquished security
and guarding responsibilities of Objective Jaguar, an ammunition
supply point, to the soldiers from Delta Company, part of the
Iraq Civil Defense Corps in a ceremony here Oct. 1.
The 12-square-kilometer supply point
had been guarded by 2nd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment,
101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) for the last five months.
"The mission to secure the
ammo supply point is important. It’s larger then the city of Mosul,"
said Lt. Col. Kevin Felix, commander of 2nd Battalion, 320th Field
Artillery Regiment. (Full
Story)
Israel’s
Counter-Terror Operations Foil Attack
The Tel Aviv District Court handed a 14-year prison sentence to
a would-be suicide bomber who was intercepted before he could
blow himself up in a crowded seaside café. Rifat Mukdi,
a Hamas operative, was wearing a 15-pound bomb belt when he was
stopped by a security guard at the entrance of the café.
After fleeing, he was pursued by guards from the U.S. Embassy
and then hit by a passing car. (Full
Story)
NORTHCOM
Chief Says U.S. Better Prepared Against Terror
WASHINGTON,
Oct. 2, 2003 — The United States is better prepared to face terrorist
threats today and the U.S. Northern Command will continue to improve
U.S. capabilities, the head of that unified command said today.
During an interview in the Pentagon,
Air Force G en. Ralph Eberhart said Northern Command brings a
focus on planning and training to the homeland defense mission
that was missing before. (Full
Story)
A
Third Suspect Eyed in Espionage Investigation
WASHINGTON
– A third person possibly tied to espionage at the military detention
center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — this one a civilian contractor
who worked as a translator — was charged Tuesday with making
false, fictitious or fraudulent statements regarding computer
disks he carried during a flight from Egypt.
Ahmed Fathy Mehalba, a naturalized
citizen of Egyptian decent, was arrested on Monday Sept. 29 after
arriving at Boston’s Logan Airport Monday afternoon aboard a flight
from Cairo that stopped at Milan, Italy, on the way to Boston
from Egypt. (Full
Story)
Kay:
Saddam Hid Weapons Programs from U.N. Inspectors
WASHINGTON
– While weapons of mass destruction have yet to be found
in Iraq, Saddam Hussein clearly intended to produce them and hid
the program from United Nations inspectors, the chief U.S. weapons
inspector said here Oct. 2.
Dr. David Kay met with reporters
after reporting to Congress on his inspection team’s efforts.
Kay cited "substantial evidence
of an intent" by Saddam and other senior Iraqi officials
to produce such weapons, and emphasized it’s premature to conclude
none will be found as his team continues its mission. (Full
Story)
Israel
Strikes at Terrorist Training Camp in Syria After Another Bloody
Massacre Inside Israel
A
29-year-old Arab-Palestinian woman from Jenin (and a member of
Islamic Jihad) managed to get past the Arab security guard at
Maxim’s, a popular seaside family restaurant in Haifa, Israel
wearing high explosives around her chest area. After gaining entrance
to the restaurant, she detonated the explosives, murdering 19
innocent people, of which many were young children and their parents,
and wounded over 60 other patrons who had gathered for lunch.
The bomb did extensive damage, mostly due to the shrapnel (screws
and nails) fired from it. So bloody was the attack that Israeli
officials had to scrape body parts off the ceiling of the restaurant.
Two small children, their parents and their grandmother were among
the victims, effectively destroying 3 generations, which was their
entire family. This attack also hit during a time where families
spend time together in quiet eating and prayer together, during
a special day known as the Holy Sabbath. (Full
Story)
Rumsfeld
Defends National Security Council’s
Role in Iraq
WASHINGTON
– Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld downplayed the hoopla
surrounding a memo from National Security Advisor Condoleezza
Rice that explains the National Security Council will assume a
broader role in coordinating operations in Iraq.
Rumsfeld said Oct. 7 that he hadn’t
seen the memo, leading to media speculation that the Defense Department
was being sidelined. The secretary quashed those rumors during
an Oct. 8 press conference with NATO Secretary-General George
Robertson in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Full
Story)
NATO
Commander Says Troops May Be Out of Bosnia Next Year
WASHINGTON
– The NATO military mission in Bosnia and the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia could end and the mission in Kosovo may
be scaled back, said Marine Gen. James Jones, the alliance’s supreme
allied commander.
That’s
conceivable, he said, based on the changes that have taken place
in the Balkans in the last year. Jones, also the head of U.S.
European Command, spoke at the Pentagon today following a NATO
ministerial meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo., Oct. 8 and 9.
(Full
Story)
OPEC
Does Not Intend to Increase Oil Price Ranges
VIENNA,
October 11 (RIA Novosti) – OPEC does not intend to increase the
limits of oil pricing structure, announced OPEC President, Vice-Premier
of Qatar Abdullah bin Hamad al Attiyah. His statement was disseminated
through OPEC Secretary General’s office in Vienna.
Earlier,
President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez and Venezuelan Energy Minister
Rafael Ramirez publicly demanded that the OPEC leadership should
raise oil prices to US $25-32 per barrel, the measure currently
not supported by other OPEC members.
"During
the discussions of the decision to reduce quotas on production
and exports of crude oil by 0.9 million barrels a day, adopted
by the 127th Vienna conference in September this year, OPEC received
full support of the majority of large non-OPEC oil producers,
primarily Russia, which confirmed its interest in preserving the
existing oil pricing structure at the level of US $22-28 per barrel,"
said the OPEC president.
"In
the future, OPEC intends to continue consulting with large non-OPEC
oil producers before making any serious decisions on pricing policies
because world oil prices are determined not only by OPEC, but
also by previously mentioned countries," he added.
U.S.-Hungarian
Partnership for Freedom
WASHINGTON,
– Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz praised the
U.S.-Hungarian military partnership during a statue dedication
ceremony Saturday honoring a Revolutionary War-era Hungarian patriot
who had fought – and died – for America.
Wolfowitz
saluted Col. Michael Kovats de Fabricy as "a true hero"
and "a man who gave his life for American freedom."
Hungarian Ambassador to the U.S. Andras Simonyi, Hungarian Minister
of Defense Ferenc Juhasz and other senior officials also attended
the ceremony.
The
Hungarian cavalryman and his horse were both killed at the Battle
of Charleston, S.C., in 1779. (Full
Story)
Russia
and Brazil Have Common Position on Fight Against Terrorism
BRASILIA, October
11 RIA Novosti by Olga Semyonova – During a joint press conference,
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and Brazilian Defense Minister
Jose Viegas announced that Brazil and Russia have a clear and
precise understanding that terrorism is a global threat.
"Brazil
maintains a constructive position on this issue and understands
the problems we have been facing in Chechnya, realizing that we
are dealing with international terrorism there," stated the
Russian defense minister.
At
the same time, Sergei Ivanov underlined that recently the situation
in Chechnya had been gradually improving, thanks, in part, to
the recently held presidential elections in the republic. "This
subject of the Russian Federation has gained a legitimate constitutional
authority," he stressed.
"As
to bilateral cooperation in the sphere of the fight against terrorism,
we have outlined new methods of countering this global threat,"
said Mr. Ivanov. However, he refused to reveal the details of
the discussions.
"The
fact that there is no terrorism on Brazilian soil at present does
not mean that we have been neglecting this problem," stated
Jose Viegas in his turn. "I would like to emphasize that
we are willing to fight against all forms of terrorism, regardless
of where and how they reveal themselves," he said.
U.S.
Troop Strength in Korea Can Be Cut, Pace Says
WASHINGTON
– U.S. troop strength in South Korea can be reduced because
of technological advances in military art and lessons learned
from combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, the nation’s No. 2 military
officer said last week.
"I
personally believe that the numbers of U.S. troops in Korea can,
in fact, be reduced, at the same time that the U.S. capabilities
to defend Korea are increased," Marine Gen. Peter Pace, vice
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told attendees at the Council
on U.S.-Korean Security Studies here.
DoD
is assessing its global force posture, or "footprint,"
Pace explained, as part of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld’s
mandate to transform the U.S. military into a leaner, meaner,
and more agile fighting force for the 21st century. (Full
Story)
Russia
Will Not Violate International Laws in its Cooperation With Iran
BRASILIA —
During a joint press conference with his Brazilian counterpart
Jose Viegas, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov announced
that Russia would continue trade and economic cooperation with
Iran in all its legitimate forms.
Sergei Ivanov repudiated all attempts
to present Russian-Iranian cooperation in the sphere of peaceful
uses of atomic energy as assistance with Tehran’s nuclear weapons
development program (Russian experts are constructing a nuclear
power plant in Bushehr in the south of Iran). (Full
Story)
Seized
Iraqi Assets Benefit Ninevah Schools
MOSUL,
Iraq – Coalition soldiers and non-governmental organizations
partnered to rebuild more than 800 schools in the Ninevah Province,
current home of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
The
division’s Commander’s Emergency Relief Program, which
draws from Iraqi government funds seized after the first Gulf
War, has to date spent $2,040,513 on 330 completed school projects
including the recently opened Ninevah Province Education Headquarters
in Mosul. (Full
Story)
Taliban
Strike Police Facility in Southeastern Afghanistan
At least 100
heavily armed suspected Taliban fighters have attacked a police
station in southeastern Afghanistan. There are conflicting casualty
reports. The Associated Press quotes a district official in Zabul
province who said three policemen were killed and eight captured.
Reuters news agency quotes a deputy provincial governor as saying
eight policemen were killed and two others wounded.
Witnesses
said the attackers took their dead with them when they retreated
into the mountainous region. But those accounts could not be confirmed,
and the number of Taliban casualties was not clear. (Full
Story)
Israel
Launches Operation to Stop Palestinian Weapons-Smuggling into
Gaza from Egypt
In another
effort to prevent terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens,
Israel’s defense forces launched an operation to stop the
large amount of rocket launchers, high-powered automatic weapons,
bomb making materials and other types of weapons flow into the
Palestinian areas of Israel. The IDF located various smuggling
tunnels, and while working on the demolition of one of the Palestinian
weapons-smuggling tunnels, they were confronted by Palestinian
gunmen. The well armed gunmen stayed in a gun battle for hours
in the largest army raid in half a year in the Rafah refugee camp.
The
raid, which began around midnight Thursday, was part of stepped-up
military activity in response to last weekend’s homicide bombing
that killed 20 Israelis in a restaurant in the port city of Haifa.
It was aimed at uncovering weapons-smuggling tunnels along Gaza’s
border with Egypt. (Full
Story)
Investigators
Lead Effort to Prevent Terror Attacks in Iraq
Security
was in full force Sunday when two men drove cars filled with explosives
toward the Baghdad hotel. Iraqi officers and U.S. soldiers opened
fire as the terrorists headed through a protected area preventing
them from reaching the hotel. The bombers’ cars exploded, killing
7 (2 policemen and 5 civilians) who were near the vehicles and
wounded 40.
The
car bombing attacks against the Baghdad hotel were prevented because
of the new security that has been put in place. U.S. Army Col.
Peter Mansoor said that when the Iraqi police and U.S. soldiers
noticed the behavior of the two cars, they fired upon them, which
caused them to detonate about 100 meters from the Hotel. The explosion,
though deadly and vicious, could have been much worse, but said
Mansoor, the “security system worked exactly as it was suppose
to work.” The terrorist attack near the hotel, however is
only one of four in Iraq in the last few days. (Full
Story)