UK
war dossier a sham, say experts
The Guardian, February 7, 2003
British 'intelligence' lifted from academic articles -- Downing
Street was last night plunged into acute international embarrassment
after it emerged that large parts of the British government's
latest dossier on Iraq - allegedly based on "intelligence
material" - were taken from published academic articles, some
of them several years old.
Iraq
trying to cooperate, says Blix
The Guardian, February 7, 2003
Hans Blix, the UN's chief weapons inspector, today said that
Iraq appeared to be "making an effort" to cooperate with monitors
following the first private interview with a scientist associated
with its weapons programmes.
Iraqi
climbdown on interviews
The Guardian, February 7, 2003
Iraq's decision last night to let weapons inspectors interview
one of its scientists for the first time without government
"minders" signalled that Baghdad may be bending under international
pressure.
Study:
Postwar Iraq May Cost $50B a Year
Newsday, February 7, 2003
LONDON -- Peacekeeping operations after a war in Iraq could
cost the United States and its allies between $12 billion
and $50 billion a year, a leading military think tank said
Friday.
US
Plans for Use of Gas in Iraq
The Sunshine Project, February 7, 2003
(Austin and Hamburg, 7 February 2003) - Top US military planners
are preparing for the US to use incapacitating biochemical
weapons in an invasion of Iraq. Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld and Gen. Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, revealed the plans in February 5th testimony before
the US House Armed Services Committee. [see audio link at
end of this News Links section]
Powell
fails to convince Nato waverers
The Guardian, February 7, 2003
France last night signalled continuing European opposition
to a US-led war on Iraq, warning bluntly that Washington's
latest evidence against Saddam Hussein was not strong enough
to warrant military action.
Pope
and Germany Stand Together Over Iraq
Reuters, February 7, 2003
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope John Paul and German Foreign
Minister Joschka Fischer made a joint appeal for a peaceful
solution to the Iraq crisis on Friday after holding private
talks at the Vatican.
Vatican:
Powell evidence unconvincing
Jordan Times, February 7, 2003
VATICAN CITY (R) — Pope John Paul's point man for peace
said on Thursday an attack on Iraq would unleash terrorism
and kill civilians and called the latest evidence by US Secretary
of State Colin Powell unconvincing and vague.
Alleged
Al Qaeda Ties Questioned
Washington Post, February 7, 2003
Foreign government officials, experts in terrorism and a few
members of Congress raised questions yesterday about the Bush
administration's description of the connections between the
Iraqi leadership and the al Qaeda terrorist network.
Envoy
Who Represents U.S. To Leave Iraq
Washington Post, February 7, 2003
The United States plans to inform Iraq on Saturday that it
is withdrawing the Polish ambassador who represents U.S. matters
in Baghdad and closing its Polish-run interests section, moves
that traditionally signal the coming of hostilities, knowledgeable
sources said yesterday.
Iraq
Shows Off Missile Sites to Rebut U.S. Charges
Reuters, February 7, 2003
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq took international journalists to
two missile sites on Friday in an attempt to rebut U.S. charges
that it was developing long-range missiles in violation of
a U.N. ban.
40,000
British troops and 100-plus aircraft head to Gulf
The Guardian, February 7, 2003
Contingent much larger than expected -- The government yesterday
committed more than 100 aircraft - a third of the RAF's frontline
fleet - to the looming war against Iraq in which over 40,000
British armed forces personnel could be engaged.
Famed
Army Division Get Deploy Orders
The Guardian, February 7, 2003
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) - Pvt. Bryan Braddock drove from one
dry cleaner to another looking for someone who could sew emblems
on his desert fatigues.
Kuwait's
Landscape of Tents and Tanks
Washington Post, February 7, 2003
U.S. and British Forces Flood Northern Desert As Buildup Continues
-- CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait, Feb. 6 -- The main Kuwaiti port bustles
with ships disgorging containers. The international airport
and nearby air base roar with the engines of transport planes
unloading column after column of soldiers.
Iraq
War Could Be Second Vietnam, War veteran Warns Blair
Islam Online, February 7, 2003
LONDON, February 7 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A British
airman captured during the Gulf War warned Friday, February
7, that any attack on Baghdad without public support could
leave troops psychologically scarred, just as U.S. soldiers
were after Vietnam, a London newspaper reported.
The
new vassals
The Guardian, February 7, 2003
Iraq has exposed both the splits in western Europe and the
ease with which former eastern bloc states have been drawn
into the US orbit.
War
cry plays well in the polls and rattles top Democrats
The Guardian, February 7, 2003
The first response from Americans to Colin Powell's UN speech
suggested that, even if he failed to convince the security
council, he did better with his secondary target: the American
public.
Russia:
no need for second UN resolution
The Guardian, February 7, 2003
Russia today said there was no need for the UN security council
to pass a second resolution authorising war with Iraq while
opportunities still exist for a political solution to the
crisis.
Chirac's
dilemma
The Guardian, February 7, 2003
So how far will France actually go? When the chips are down,
will it - as the White House, Downing Street and most commentators
seem to think - pull back from the brink, cave in to US and
British pressure, and vote for (or at least not against) a
new UN resolution authorising the use of force against Saddam
Hussein?
We
will not be deflected by UN, Blair tells sceptics
The Guardian, February 7, 2003
An impassioned Tony Blair went on the offensive last night
in a fresh attempt to persuade a sceptical British public
that an American-led war against Iraq would be justifiable
if Saddam Hussein refuses to cooperate fully with the United
Nations weapons inspectors.
Dutch
to Send Missile System to Turkey
The Guardian, February 7, 2003
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - The Dutch government has agreed
to provide Turkey with a Patriot defense system in case of
war in Iraq, the Defense Minister said Friday.
U.S.
Scholar Uncredited in Iraq Report
The Guardian, February 7, 2003
LONDON (AP) - The British government said Friday it had erred
in not crediting an academic whose work it copied for a dossier
on Iraq.
EU
President Requests Summit on Iraq
The Guardian, February 7, 2003
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - European Union leaders should ``mount
a last-ditch effort'' to get Iraq to comply with U.N. disarmament
demands, the European Parliament's president said Friday.
Bush
tells Saddam: ''The game is over''
Al-Bawaba, February 7, 2003
US President George W. Bush demanded that the United Nations
punish Baghdad for flouting its disarmament demands and warned
Saddam Hussein: "The game is over."
Weapons
issued to tribesmen
The Iraq Press, February 6, 2003
Arbil, Iraq Press, Feb. 6, 2003 – The authorities have
began issuing automatic rifles and rocket propelled grenades
to numbers of the Arab and Kurdish tribes they believe will
defend the regime in the event of a war with the United States.
Russia'
s continued efforts to avoid attacking Iraq
Arabic News, February 7, 2003
Chief of the Russian Duma Council, Genadi Selezneuf, has stressed
the importance of exerting intensive efforts to prevent the
military action against Iraq.
Pressure
corrupts democratic values; Turkey's rejection of US ground
forces
Arabic News, February 7, 2003
Turkey's parliament approved allowing renovations by the US
of army bases and ports, the Washington Post reported yesterday.
However, the parliament did not approve US ground forces into
Turkey as the US has been requesting.
UN
presses Iraq on co-operation
BBC, February 7, 2003
United Nations weapons inspectors say Iraq appears to be making
new efforts to co-operate with UN teams searching for banned
weapons.
Rumsfeld
foresees swift Iraq war
BBC, February 7, 2003
Any war with Iraq would be swift and not require a full US
mobilisation, says US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Israel
warns of Iraq war 'earthquake'
BBC, February 7, 2003
The head of the Israeli army has warned of an "earthquake,
which will reshape" the Middle East if America goes to war
with Iraq.
Iraq
dossier 'solid' - Downing Street
BBC, February 7, 2003
A dossier of evidence against Iraq is "solid", Downing Street
has insisted after allegations that it included plagiarised
material that was 12 years out of date.
Iraqi
rebuttal: Key points
BBC, February 6, 2003
These are the key points of the response by Iraqi presidential
adviser Amer al-Saadi to allegations by US Secretary of State
Colin Powell that Baghdad is not complying with UN resolutions.
US
'winning over' allies over Iraq
BBC, February 6, 2003
The world's media have given US Secretary of State Colin Powell's
presentation at the United Nations a lukewarm reception.
Germany
Seethes Over Rumsfeld Jibe, Mass Protests Planned
Common Dreams, February 7, 2003
MUNICH, Germany - Rumsfeld was due to address an annual security
conference in the southern German city of Munich on Saturday
and was expected to argue that allowing more time for weapons
inspections in Iraq makes sense only if Iraq cooperates with
the United Nations.
Rumsfeld
remark outrages German press
BBC, February 7, 2003
Donald Rumsfeld's latest comments comparing Berlin's attitude
to a war on Iraq with that of Cuba and Libya have touched
a raw nerve in Germany's press.
Frosty
Welcome for Rumsfeld in Germany After Jibe
Reuters, February 7, 2003
MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
tried on Friday to dispel German anger over his remark that
the country's stance against any war with Iraq put it on a
par with Libya and Cuba.
European
press review
BBC, February 7, 2003
European papers say the Iraq crisis has split Europe on a
number of issues while a Russian daily predicts swing in support
of a military action. And US Defence Secretary Rumsfeld comes
under fire in Germany.
A
war's likely toll on Iraqis
The Christian Science Monitor, February 7, 2003
One UN report forecasts widespread hunger and disease among
civilians. -- As the US moves closer to war with Iraq, figuring
out the likely human impact there - and how to prepare for
it - is proving extremely difficult.
Turkey
opens a second front
Asia Times, February 7, 2003
PRAGUE - In comments published in the Istanbul-based Hurriyet
daily on January 6, Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said
that his country might pursue a legal claim over Kirkuk and
Mosul, the two oil-rich former Ottoman cities that were ceded
to Iraq in the 1920s.
Analysis:
Iraq wages war for world opinion
Ha'aretz, February 7, 2003
General Amar Hamoudi A-Sa'adi is one of the leading Iraqi
experts in the weapons industry, specifically the chemical
weapons industry.
Is
this war now unstoppable?
The Independent, February 7, 2003
113,000 US troops now in Gulf; UK sends 127 aircraft; Blix
calls for 'drastic change' from Iraq -- Militarily and diplomatically,
war on Iraq seems increasingly inevitable, perhaps within
a month, barring the most unexpected events in Baghdad.
Rumsfeld
Says War to Last 6 Days, Deploys More Carriers
Islam Online, February 7, 2003
WASHINGTON, February 7 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) –
As U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned Friday, February
7, that the U.S.-led war on Iraq would last "six days, maybe
six weeks", two more aircraft carriers were put on notice
to leave for the Gulf.
Russia
Resists Bush Calls for Tough Iraq Resolution
Islam Online, February 7, 2003
MOSCOW, February 7 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Russia
firmly declared Friday, February 7, that it would fight U.S.
President George W. Bush's call for a tough new United Nations
resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq should
Baghdad fail to disarm, as Russian President Vladimir Putin
heads for France and Germany.
Egypt
intensifies diplomatic efforts to avoid war in Iraq
Jerusalem Post, February 7, 2003
Egypt is intensifying its efforts to find a diplomatic solution
to the crisis in Iraq. President Mubarak travels on Saturday
to Aqaba and will meet with King Abdullah of Jordan.
Two
anti-war groups join forces
Business Day, 07 February 2003
Two South African anti-war groups have begun campaigning for
world peace, and will join forces next Saturday to add impetus
to global protest action against US President George W Bush's
plans to strike Iraq.
Peace
Activists Frustrated by Bush Over Iraq
Common Dreams, February 6, 2003
WASHINGTON - Activists in the growing movement in the United
States against attacking Iraq are expressing frustration at
their inability to deflect President Bush from his course.
audio
Rumsfeld
and Myers: US House Armed Services Committee Testimony
The Sunshine Project, February 7, 2003
The first speaker, who poses the question, is Rep. Meehan
of Massachusetts. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld replies, followed
by remarks from Gen. Richard Myers, Chariman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff.
