Breaking
News: Palestinian shot dead by IOF in Khan Younis
International Press Center, June 20, 2003
22: 30-- IPC correspondent reported a Palestinian youth Bilal Raghib Shurab, 23,
was shot and killed by Israeli occupation forces today night in the western area
of Khan Younis City.
Israeli
Settler Killed, Qassam Brigades Claims Responsibility
Palestine Chronicle, June 20, 2003
GAZA CITY - Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian resistance
group Hamas, claimed responsibility Friday, June 20, of a shooting attack that
killed an Israeli settler and left three other people wounded near the occupied
West Bank town of Ramallah....Shortly after, 1000 Palestinians demonstrated outside
the Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza City demanding Israel free all Palestinians
held in its jails.
IOF
Storms Khan Younis and Shells North Gaza
International Press Center, June 20, 2003
GAZA STRIP, Palestine, June 20, 2003, IPC— Israeli occupation forces today
noon backed by tanks and armors advanced deep into the western area of Khan Younis
City, Palestinian official sources said. Eyewitnesses said the forces opened heavy
fire at the Palestinian residents and their homes in the area, in addition to
raising vast areas of land, planted with palm and olive trees belonging to Palestinian
citizen Musa Abu O’waili.
Hudna
talks stall on eve of Powell visit
Haaretz, June 20, 2003
A Palestinian-Israeli security meeting, attended by American representatives and
aimed at reaching a cease-fire accord, stalled yesterday on the eve of U.S. Secretary
of State Colin Powell's arrival to press both sides to advance the road map.
Powell
with Sharon: Israel 'quite faithful' to Aqaba commitments
Jerusalem Post, June 20, 2003
"We have to punch through," US Secretary of State Colin Powell said at a joint
press conference with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon regarding the current round
of terror.....Powell also noted that Sharon has been quite faithful to his undertakings
at Aqaba.
US
brands Hamas 'the enemy of peace'
Financial Times, June 20, 2003
Colin Powell, US secretary of state, on Friday appeared to be losing patience
with Palestinian efforts to push militants towards a ceasefire as he condemned
Hamas as "the enemy of the peace".
Powell
calls on Abbas to take over security in Gaza
Middle East Online, June 20, 2003
Hamas rejects threats from Sharon, Powell as latter urges stepped-up efforts to
disarm Islamic militants. -- JERICHO, West Bank & GAZA CITY - US Secretary
of State Colin Powell called Friday for Palestinian officials to take charge of
security in certain occupied lands regardless of whether Islamic militants sign
on to a ceasefire deal.
Powell:
U.S. Made Point On Israeli Assassinations
Washington Post, June 19, 2003
DEAD SEA, Jordan, June 19 -- Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, in advance of
meetings Friday with senior Israeli and Palestinian leaders, suggested the Bush
administration had reached an understanding with Israel to refrain from the assassinations
of militant group leaders that nearly derailed the peace process last week.
PM
Abbas Meets Powell, Affirms Commitment to Roadmap
International Press Center, June 20, 2003
JERICHO, Palestine, June 20, 2003, (IPC + Agencies)-- Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas
(Abu Mazen) reaffirmed today his commitment to the peace roadmap and demanded
that Israel end its incursions in the Palestinian territories and loosen restrictions
on citizens, halt its campaign of "targeted killings" of militant leaders and
release Palestinian prisoners.
'The
real obstacle to peace is not terror, but sabotage by Sharon-backed army'
The Guardian, June 20, 2003
The Israeli fighter jets began their dance above Gaza City just as President George
Bush's special envoy and his CIA team drew up at Mohammed Dahlan's office this
week. The Palestinian security minister smiled as he reflected on the incident
in a rare interview the next day, after a week of spearheading attempts to get
Hamas to end its attacks on Israel and the Israelis to stop assassinations in
Gaza.
Jewish
Settlements: One Down, Five More Up
MIFTAH, June 20, 2003
Israeli forces dismantled the first inhabited, illegal Jewish outpost in the West
Bank on Thursday. For the past year, several families have been living in tents
on a small hillside, which settlers call Mitzpeh Yitzhar, located just south Nablus—the
largest Palestinian city in the West Bank. Although this is one step taken by
the Israeli government to say it is complying with the ‘roadmap’,
there is a hidden truth. Five more illegal outposts were set up at the same time
troops demolished Mitzpeh Yitzhar, and the Israeli government only plans to tear
down four more populated outposts.
Police
doubt Islamic group suspects can be detained
Haaretz, June 20, 2003
Police and detectives are not convinced there is enough justification to ask the
courts to detain five senior members of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement
until the end of court proceedings against them.
Mitzpeh
Yitzhar outpost dismantled despite resistance
Haaretz, June 20, 2003
The Israel Defense Forces yesterday completed the evacuation of Mitzpeh Yitzhar,
the first populated settlement outpost to be dismantled. Soldiers were posted
at the site last night to make sure settlers did not attempt to rebuild what was
destroyed yesterday - an attempt both the IDF and the settlers consider a virtual
certainty.
Israeli
government threatens to take legal action again Norwegian government
Palestinian Information Center, June 20, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - the Israeli agriculture minister Yisrael Katz warned the
Norwegian Ambassador in Tel Aviv that the Israeli government might take legal
action against the Norwegian government if they don’t stop the publishing
of advertisements in Norwegian newspapers calling for the boycott of Israeli products
because of its policies against the Palestinian people.
Old
habitats die hard
Haaretz, June 20, 2003
"The separation fence severs the continuity of open areas and is harmful to the
landscape, the flora and fauna, the ecological corridors and the drainage of the
creeks. The protective system will irreversibly affect the land resource and create
enclaves of communities that are cut off from their surroundings."
Palestinians
would not rush back to Israel
Sydney Morning Herald, June 21, 2003
Relatively few Palestinian refugees would seek to return to what is now Israel
if they received the right to do so as part of an overall Middle East peace agreement,
the initial results of a big opinion poll being carried out in the region indicate.
Calls
Mount for Int'l Troops in Territories
Forward, June 20, 2003
WASHINGTON — As the Bush administration stepped up its pressure on Israel
and the Palestinians to accept a cease-fire this week, pressure was mounting on
Capitol Hill for an international military force to patrol the troubled territories
and separate the sides. The proposal, which Israel rejects and President Bush
has not embraced, was endorsed this week by the two top Republican foreign-affairs
voices in the Senate, John Warner of Virginia, chairman of the Armed Services
Committee, and Richard Lugar of Indiana, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.
Settlers
defy army in symbolic battle
The Telegraph, June 20, 2003
More than 1,500 Israeli soldiers and police yesterday set about destroying an
illegal Jewish settler outpost with bulldozers, jeeps and armoured vehicles, but
the settlers held the might of the armed forces at bay.
The
West Bank tug-of-war
Haaretz, June 20, 2003
On either side of the dirt path leading to the settlement outpost of Mitzpeh Yitzhar,
fields of thorns set alight by settlers burned for hours yesterday. Along the
road, the distance between successive stone roadblocks grew shorter and shorter.
Near the outpost, they were so large that army vehicles were unable to get around
them.
Police
ask court to remand five arrested settlers
Haaretz, June 20, 2003
Two of the Jewish settlers arrested Thursday during the forced evacuation of the
outpost at Mitzpeh Yitzhar were remanded in police custody by the Kfar Sava Magistrates
Court on Friday, while three others, including two minors, were released into
house arrest.
IDF
expands humanitarian officers program
Jerusalem Post, June 20, 2003
In September 2000, the IDF created a concept and a new, softer reality for life
on Israel's borders. They called the program "IDF Volunteers of Hope." The program
consists purely of volunteers. The motivation to serve in this unit must come
from the soul and not a written order from a recruiting base.
Withdrawal
from Beit Hanoun is a political stunt
Palestinian Information Center, June 20, 2003
Occupied Jerusalem - Israeli army sources said that the Zionist forces in Beit
Hanoun and Bethlehem are ready to withdraw, but there are signs showing that these
steps are just public stunts to say to the world we are fulfilling our part of
the road map plan.
Desmond
Tutu lends his name to Sabeel
Come and See, June 20, 2003
Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu has accepted the role of patron of Sabeel International,
the Palestinian Christian liberation organization, in its outreach and development
work around the world. Sabeel is a Jerusalem-based ecumenical effort of Palestinian
churches of the Holy Land that seeks to interpret the Bible from the perspective
of the poor and oppressed.
Powell
urges deal on Gaza
BBC, June 20, 2003
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has called for an early deal to hand over the
northern Gaza Strip and Bethlehem to the Palestinians, regardless of whether militants
call a truce. Israel's transfer of policing would be a "very, very powerful and
important first step" towards implementing the "roadmap for peace", he said.
Powell
urges deal for PA to take security control in Gaza, Bethlehem
Haaretz, June 20, 2003
The enemy of peace has been Hamas," Powell said at a joint press conference in
Jerusalem with Sharon, adding that as long as the group remains committed to terror
and violence, "this is a problem we have to deal with in its entirety." -- U.S.
Secretary of State Colin Powell on Friday urged Israel and the Palestinians to
bolster the road map by working out a deal for an Israeli pullback in Gaza and
the West Bank city of Bethlehem and a transfer of security control to the Palestinians.
Powell
steps up push for Middle East peace
The Guardian, June 20, 2003
The US secretary of state, Colin Powell, today began talks with Israeli and Palestinian
leaders, pledging to "blast through" the obstacles to peace.
Lebanon
calls for roadmap to include Lebanon, Syria
Jordan Times, June 20, 2003
SOFIA (AFP) — Lebanese President Emile Lahoud said Thursday the US-backed
peace roadmap for the Middle East should involve all of the region's countries,
notably Lebanon and Syria.
Quartet
to discuss including Syria, Lebanon in Roadmap
Arabic News, June 20, 2003
The special Russian envoy to the Middle East Andre Vidovin said that the Quartet
committee which will be meeting at the ministerial level in Jordan on June 22
will discuss the issue of including Syria and Lebanon in the Roadmap to peace.
Annan
calls for extension of the UNDOF in the Golan
Arabic News, June 20, 2003
The secretary general of the UN, Kofi Annan, yesterday asked the UN security council
to renew the mission of the UN force in charge of disengagement of forces between
Syria and Israel for 6 months, describing the deployment of this force as "basic."
Six-month
extension recommended for UN's Israel-Syria disengagement force
United Nations News, June 19, 2003
19 June – With the situation in the Middle East still "very tense and likely
to remain so" pending a comprehensive settlement, Secretary-General Kofi Annan
has recommended extending for six months the United Nations operation supervising
the ceasefire between Syrian and Israeli forces.
Netanyahu:
Blair agrees a cease-fire is not sufficient
Haaretz, June 20, 2003
LONDON - Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after meeting Prime Minister
Tony Blair yesterday that Britain sees eye-to-eye with Israel on the cease-fire
with Palestinian organizations. "Blair agreed that a hudna (temporary cease-fire)
was not acceptable as sufficient for advancing the peace process with the Palestinians.
He expects Abu Mazen to fight the terror organizations firmly and ruthlessly,"
Netanyahu said.
UN
Observer for Palestine: Middle East situation remains unlcear
UN Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, June 19, 2003
The situation in the Middle East remained unclear, full of sometimes contradictory,
and sometimes mixed, signals and developments, the Observer for Palestine, Nasser
Al-Kidwa, told the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the
Palestinian People this morning.
Orlev:
Many Palestinians seeking Jerusalem IDs are impostors
Haaretz, June 20, 2003
About one-third of the 3,500 Palestinians who apply to the National Insurance
Institute every year for resident status in Jerusalem are impostors, said Social
Affairs Minister Zevulun Orlev, who is in charge of the NII.
U.S.
to condition loan guarantees on meeting deficit target
Haaretz, June 20, 2003
The U.S. team is likely to approve the loan guarantees to Israel today and recommend
that U.S. President George W. Bush give final approval, following discussions
between officials of the U.S. departments of State and the Treasury and the Israeli
Finance Ministry....As part of the terms for the guarantees, the Israeli government
promised to meet budget deficit targets for 2004 and 2005 - 2.5-3 percent and
2-2.5 percent of gross domestic product respectively.
Thousands
attend Gay Pride para[d]es in J'lem, Haifa
Haaretz, June 20, 2003
Thousands of people attended Gay Pride parades in Jerusalem and Haifa on Friday.
Jerusalem hosted its second annual gay community parade, while this was the first
such parade held in Haifa. In Jerusalem the parade started at the municipality
near Safra Square, and proceeded through Jaffa Street, Shlomo Hamelech and Agron
before concluding at Independence Park.
Netanyahu
says Iraq-Israel oil line not pipe-dream
Haaretz, June 20, 2003
Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expects an oil pipeline from Iraq
to Israel to be reopened in the near future after being closed when Israel became
a state in 1948. "It won't be long when you will see Iraqi oil flowing to Haifa,"
the port city in Northern Israel, Netanyahu told a group of British investors,
declining to give a timetable.
Peres
says has no intention of leading Labor to unity gov't
Haaretz, June 20, 2003
Newly-elected interim chairman of the Labor Party, Shimon Peres, said that he
has no intention of leading the party into a unity government with Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon, and that he thought that Sharon had no such interest at the present
time, Israel Radio reported Friday morning.
You’re
on right path, Greenspan tells Netanyahu
Globes, June 19, 2003
US Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan told Minister of Finance Benjamin
Netanyahu today, that Israel’s economy was headed in the right direction....Netanyahu:
The Governor of the Bank of Israel said that if we implemented the economic plan,
he would lower the interest rate; I assume he'll do so.
21
Israeli companies gain contracts worth 11 billion Dollars in Iraq
Palestinian Information Center, June 20, 2003
Afaq Arabia - the Arabic newspaper (Afaaq arabia) received some information on
what happened in the Jordan summit on the rebuilding of Iraq which was attended
by company representatives from the United States, Europe, Israel and some Arab
countries.
PM
saves immigrant radio from closure
Haaretz, June 20, 2003
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has personally intervened to try to stop the closure
of Reka Radio - Israel Radio's Immigrant Absorption Channel. A statement from
his office yesterday said, "the prime minister believes that Reka is a vital,
most accessible, and sometimes the only tool for giving up-to-date and dependable
information to the million Russian speakers living in Israel."
Grenade
Injures Two U.S. Soldiers in Iraq
The Guardian, June 20, 2003
FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) - A rocket-propelled grenade slammed into an electrical transformer
near U.S. troops in Fallujah, injuring two soldiers and sending a tower of flame
into the night sky, witnesses and the U.S. military said Friday.
US
troops admit shooting Iraqi civilians
Daily Mirror, June 19 2003
American troops today admitted they routinely gun down Iraqi civilians - some
of whom are entirely innocent. As distrust of the invading forces increases amongst
the local population US soldiers said they have killed civilians without hesitation,
shot injured opponents and abandoned them to die in agony.
US
soldiers shot civilians, killed wounded in Iraq
Middle East Online, June 20, 2003
LONDON - American combattants in Iraq shot people in civilian clothes, killed
the wounded and left Iraqis to die on the battlefield, US soldiers told the British
Evening Standard newspaper Thursday.
Fallujah
Strikes Again As U.S. Troops Come Under Fire
Palestine Chronicle, June 20, 2003
"Three U.S. soldiers were killed in Dura, on the southern fringes of Baghdad,
when their vehicle came under heavy fire from Iraqi fighters, Al-Jazeera satellite
television reported.." -- BAGHDAD - U.S. troops patrolling in Iraq have
again come under attack, this time in the flashpoint town of Fallujah overnight,
in the latest challenge to their efforts to crush remaining resistance in the
country.
Revenge
attacks target former regime
BBC, June 20, 2003
US aid workers say members of Iraq's former ruling Baath party have become the
target of a wave of revenge attacks in the town of Kut. Up to 30 houses belonging
to party officials have been systematically demolished over the past few weeks,
aid official Cassandra Nelson from US aid organisation Mercy Corps told the BBC.
The
Ali Babas of Baghdad
BBC, June 20, 2003
As US attempts to gain control in Iraq visibly fail, BBC Two's Correspondent witnesses
the looting, chaos and devastation that have become the new order in Baghdad.
UN
waiting for clearance to repatriate Iraqi refugees
Jordan Times, June 20, 2003
RIYADH (AFP) — The United Nations refugee agency is waiting for clearance
from the US-led interim administration in Baghdad to repatriate thousands of Iraqi
refugees, a UNHCR official said Thursday.
20,000
Allied Troops to Aid U.S. Effort to Stabilize Iraq
Washington Post, June 19, 2003
The Pentagon has received commitments from allies to send two multinational divisions
totaling 20,000 troops by late summer to help stabilize Iraq, the vice chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said yesterday on Capitol Hill.
Imams
in Iraq Preach Anti-U.S. Sermons
The Guardian, June 20, 2003
FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) - Attacks against U.S. forces showed no sign of letting up
Friday after a rocket-propelled grenade slammed into a power station in Fallujah,
injuring two American soldiers and blacking out much of the city - a center of
anti-American hostility. At Friday prayers, imams preached anti-American sermons,
claiming Jews are buying up real estate in Iraq.
Occupied
Iraq comes to world stage in WEF forum
Middle East Online, June 20, 2003
The World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting that opens Saturday in Jordan will mark
the first encounter of the world community with the US overseer in Iraq, Paul
Bremer. The encounter will come as the US-led coalition meets with mounting resistance
to its occupation and finds its efforts to rebuild the country and fill the security
vacuum progressing slowly.
Thefts
Plague U.S. Contractors' Efforts in Iraq
Washington Post, June 20, 2003
Security Issues Delay Rebuilding -- To get the lights back on and the air conditioning
humming again in Iraq, U.S. construction firm Bechtel National Inc. needed a giant
tool called a crimper to repair and reconnect high-voltage power lines. But three
days after the San Francisco-based company shipped in an 80-pound crimper last
month, the $15,000 tool disappeared, stolen in a ripple of looting that has become
a major challenge for aid workers and private contractors operating in Iraq.
World's
Power Elite Tackle Postwar Iraq
The Guardian, June 20, 2003
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - When global movers and shakers gathered at their usual Swiss
ski resort for the annual World Economic Forum last winter, all anyone wanted
to talk about was the storm clouds gathering over Iraq.
Kurds
Issue al-Qaida Warning for N. Iraq
The Guardian, June 20, 2003
TUWELLA, Iraq (AP) - ``We are intercepting reports that elements of Ansar al-Islam
are becoming active again,'' said Barham Salih, prime minister of the eastern
sector of the Kurds' autonomous region in northern Iraq.
Saddam
Hussein's Fate Affects U.S. Troops
The Guardian, June 20, 2003
WASHINGTON (AP) - Doubts about the fate of Saddam Hussein have contributed to
the rising violence against U.S. forces in Iraq, the chairman of the Senate Armed
Services Committee said Friday.
Bush
Picks Arab-American to Succeed Gen. Franks
Arab News, June 20, 2003
WASHINGTON, 20 June 2003 — Army Lt. Gen. John Abizaid speaks fluent Arabic,
is a Middle East scholar and proud of his roots in the Arab world. He was the
second-in-command in the war against Iraq, and may soon see himself become a household
name throughout the United States.
War
Crimes Suits Filed Against Bush, Blair
Arab News, June 20, 2003
BRUSSELS, 20 June 2003 — US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister
Tony Blair have been accused of war crimes in Iraq under a fiercely contested
Belgian law, the government here said yesterday. But the Justice Ministry said
the Belgian cabinet had referred the cases against Bush, Blair and six other high-ranking
officials to the US and British governments, making any trials highly unlikely.
Nearly
5m Iraqis Suffer From Chronic Poverty
Arab News, June 20, 2003
ROME/ BAGHDAD, 20 June 2003 — One in five Iraqis, or around 4.6 million
people, suffer from chronic poverty, according to details of a recent survey published
yesterday by the United Nations’ World Food Program. The survey was conducted
in February and early March in the country’s southern and central regions,
just weeks before United States-led coalition forces attacked it.
Destruction
to Iraqi heritage leaves official in tears; counterparts launch fund
Jordan Times, June 20, 2003
AMMAN — A distraught member of Iraq's National Museum and Antiquities board
broke down while speaking to a gathering of antiquities and heritage academia
Thursday. Jaber Ibrahim was in tears as he recounted the destructive rampage that
befell his nation's millennia-old treasures after the removal of Saddam's regime.
Found:
Saddam's $12.5m cash crop
Sydney Morning Herald, June 21, 2003
On his current pay grade, Captain Brad Boyd would need to work for 209 years and
seven months to earn the stack of $US100 bills piled on the table in front of
him.
Kingdom
Donates 10 Water Plants to Iraq
Arab News, June 20, 2003
JEDDAH, 20 June 2003 — The Kingdom is donating 10 water purification plants
to Iraq, each of them with a capacity to purify 520,000 gallons of water a day.
Once installed, the relief project will supply the Iraqi people with over five
million gallons of uncontaminated water a day.
Meacher
attacks US motives in Iraq
The Guardian, June 20, 2003
Sacked environment minister Michael Meacher has joined the growing chorus of scepticism
over Saddam Hussein's weapons programme, saying that the US president, George
Bush, invaded Iraq because the US wanted a "political and military platform in
the Middle East".
Galloway
wins apology from US newspaper
The Guardian, June 20, 2003
An American newspaper has apologised to suspended Labour MP George Galloway over
allegations that he was paid millions of pounds by former Iraqi dictator Saddam
Hussein. The Christian Science Monitor, which accused Mr Galloway of accepting
payments totalling $10m in return for promoting Saddam's interests in the west,
has admitted that the documents which were the basis for its story appear to be
forgeries.
Danish
government under fire over Iraq war
Middle East Online, June 20, 2003
Centre-left opposition calls..for independent inquiry into government's intelligence
on Iraqi weapons. -- COPENHAGEN - Denmark's centre-left opposition called on Friday
for an independent inquiry into the intelligence used by the conservative government
to justify joining the US-led war on Iraq.
Iranian
group 'planned attacks'
BBC, June 18, 2003
The head of France's domestic intelligence service (DST) has said an Iranian opposition
group was planning to attack Iranian embassies across Europe. The allegation came
as scores of supporters of the People's Mujahideen protested outside the DST headquarters
in Paris against the arrest of 159 members of the French-based group on Tuesday.
Iran
assures Putin over nuclear weapons
Financial Times, June 20, 2003
Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, said on Friday he had received assurances
from Tehran that it was not producing or trying to procure nuclear weapons. Following
a telephone call with Mohammad Khatami, Iran's president, Mr Putin said there
was a clear indication that Iran was willing to sign any protocols required by
the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Russia
Backs Iran on Nuclear Intentions
The Guardian, June 20, 2003
In his annual Kremlin news conference, Putin also said that Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat must not be shut out of the Mideast peace process. -- MOSCOW (AP)
- Iran is not trying to make nuclear weapons and will agree to international scrutiny
of it nuclear program, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday, adding that
no one should try to pressure Moscow to end its nuclear cooperation with Tehran.
US
finds a communist ally against Iran
Asia Times, June 21, 2003
Of the many anti-cleric and secular Iranian exile groups opposed to the Islamic
regime in Tehran, the most effective - note the ongoing student unrest in Iran
- is the communists and other left-leaning groups, which is why the US is very
interested in courting them. And also why Pakistan takes on added importance.
Iran
won't allow IAEA to take nuclear samples
Jerusalem Post, June 20, 2003
Iran said Friday it would continue to limit the operations of the U.N. nuclear
watchdog agency, setting the stage for confrontation with the world body. The
refusal announced by Iran's nuclear chief on state television indicated a hardening
of attitude toward the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Top
Iranian cleric lashes out at rioters
Middle East Online, June 20, 2003
TEHRAN - A top cleric Friday called on Iran's hardline judiciary to treat "rioters"
arrested during 10 nights of anti-regime protests as "enemies of Allah" - a charge
that carries the death penalty.
U.S.
may consider force against Syria
Haaretz, June 20, 2003
NEWYORK - Senior Pentagon officials say it is possible the United States could
use force against Syria. The military option was raised after intelligence reports
that recent attacks against U.S. soldiers in Iraq were carried out by militants
based in Syria. The reports indicated that hundreds of militants trained in Syria
had been deployed inside Iraq to attack U.S. troops.
Powell
might stop in Damascus
Arabic News, June 20, 2003
Israeli news said yesterday that the US Secretary Of State Colin Powell might
pay a quick and urgent visit to Syria on the background of pressure by the US
defense department to put an end to diplomacy and to direct a military attack
against Syria.
Turkey,
Wooing EU, Passes Reforms
Washington Post, June 20, 2003
ISTANBUL, June 19 -- The Turkish parliament unanimously approved a package of
reforms today meant to demonstrate that this nation of 67 million people will
take the steps necessary to gain admittance to the European Union.
Kuwaiti
Journalist Charged With Criticizing Royal Family
Washington Post, June 19, 2003
MOSCOW, June 18 -- Kuwaiti authorities have filed criminal charges against a leading
Kuwaiti journalist, alleging that he illegally criticized the royal family....If
convicted, Jassem could be sentenced to five years in prison.
Feds
Get OK to Hold Muslim Charity Assets
The Guardian, June 20, 2003
WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal appeals court Friday upheld the government's decision
to freeze the assets of a Texas-based Muslim charity accused of funding the militant
Islamic group Hamas. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
said the Treasury Department had enough evidence to link the Holy Land Foundation
for Relief and Development to terrorism when it shut down the organization in
December 2001, after the terrorist attacks.
Mahathir
Slams West Again
Arab News, June 20, 2003
After similar criticism by Mahathir in the past, Malaysian officials said Washington
warned it might discourage US investment in the Southeast Asian nation if the
rhetoric wasn’t toned down. -- KUALA LUMPUR, 20 June 2003 — Veteran
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad accused the West yesterday of using
the Sept. 11, 2001 strikes on the United States as an excuse to return to “violent
old ways” and attack Muslim countries.
U.S.
Senators moot bill for broad mideast trade preferences
Arabic News, June 20, 2003
Two U.S. senators Wednesday tabled a bill urging the US administration to explore
the idea of a trade preference program for Middle East countries while they are
in the region in coming days. The Bush administration has already set a goal of
negotiating a regional free trade pact with Middle East countries by 2013 to help
promote peace and prosperity. But Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, and
Sen. Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, said one-way U.S. trade preferences would
provide faster help.
Antiwar
Groups Turn Their Focus to Bush
CommonDreams/Boston Globe, June 20, 2003
More than two months since the Pentagon declared major combat operations in Iraq
complete, the activist groups that preemptively mobilized to oppose the war continue
to fight a rear-guard action to win the peace. Their latest focus: Whether President
Bush, in the run-up to the war, misled the country by asserting that Iraq possessed
weapons of mass destruction. The Win Without War coalition and MoveOn.org, two
of the biggest antiwar groups, kicked off their new campaign yesterday with a
full-page ad in the New York Times that labeled Bush a ''misleader'' and demanded
an independent commission to determine the truth about US intelligence on Iraq.
British
Plan for Distant Asylum Centers
The Guardian, June 20, 2003
LONDON (AP) - The government plans to set up holding centers for would-be immigrants
in the troubled regions they're fleeing, an idea officials hope will reduce the
number of refugees coming to Britain. Refugee advocates are infuriated with the
idea, and the plan sparked a heated exchange Friday at a European Union summit
in Greece. Several of Britain's EU partners - including Germany - likened the
planned centers to concentration camps.
One
rogue state down, six still to go
Financial Times, June 19, 2003
Iraq has been promoted out of the league, but six other countries are still listed.
How the US deals with these "rogue" states has become a battlefield of its own
within the Bush administration, although there are signs diplomacy may prevail
over military might in one or two cases.
