Israel targets Arafat HQ after suicide bombing
The Guardian, September 19, 2002
Israeli tanks tonight opened fire on the headquarters of the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, according to Palestinian security officials. The move came just hours after a suicide bomber killed five people in an attack on a Tel Aviv bus.

Suicide Bomber Kills Israeli Soldier, Ending 6 Weeks of Quiet
New York Times, September 19, 2002
UMM AL FAHM, Israel, Sept. 18 — In the first suicide bombing in more than six weeks, a Palestinian blew himself up as police officers approached him while he was apparently waiting to board a bus, killing one officer and wounding at least three other people in this town about 12 miles northwest of Jenin.

Israel raids Arafat HQ hours after Tel Aviv bus bombing attack; At least five killed; Hamas vows more attacks
Al-Bawaba, September 19, 2002
Israeli tanks stormed into the compound of Yasser's headquarters on Thursday night and opened fire with heavy machineguns hours after a Palestinian suicide bombing, Arafat aides said.

Man killed as IDF tanks enter Ramallah, Palestinians say
Jerusalem Post, September 19, 2002
Palestinian witnesses said a Palestinian man was shot dead by the IDF in the Ramallah headquarters of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat Thursday night, as IDF tanks and armored carriers entered the Mukatah compound, Israel Radio reported.

Palestinians: 12-year-old boy killed by IDF fire in Ramallah
Ha'aretz, September 19, 2002
A Palestinian boy was shot dead by IDF troops in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday, according to Palestinian sources, Israel Radio reported.

IDF bulldozers tear down buildings in Arafat's Ramallah HQ
Jerusalem Post, September 19, 2002
The IDF was employing bulldozers to tear down several small prefabricated houses standing in the main square of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's headquarter compound (the 'Mukata') in Ramallah Thursday night, Israel Radio reported.

Final draft of PA constitution nearly complete
Jerusalem Post, September 19, 2002
The final draft of the new Palestinian Authority constitution is near completion and will be presented to PA Chairman Yasser Arafat soon, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Bush Condemns Suicide Bombings
The Guardian, September 19, 2002
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush condemned a pair of suicide bombings in Israel that killed six people, renewing his demand that all parties in the Mideast conflict halt violence.

Palestinian boy shot dead, Islamic Jihad claims Wednesday bombing attack; Israel razes houses near Jerusalem, Ramallah
Al-Bawaba, September 19, 2002
A 10-year-old Palestinian child was shot dead by an Israeli armoured vehicle which opened fire on him with a heavy machine-gun in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the head of the hospital told AFP.

Ladies and Gentlemen ... the Band
Newsweek, September 23, 2002    
How a young group of White House up-and-comers are selling the war in Iraq: Sept. 18 —  “We’re getting the band together,” White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett told the group on their first conference call last week. The “Band” is made up of the people who brought you the war in Afghanistan—or at least the accompanying public-relations campaign. Their greatest hit: exposing the Taliban’s treatment of women. Now, they’re back for a reunion tour on Iraq.

Rep. Bernie Sanders' House Web site, published on 8/19/2002 by the Cato Institute
Top 10 Reasons Not to 'Do' Iraq
Although President Bush has not formally decided to invade Iraq, the emotional chest pounding in the press by anonymous high-level civilian hawks in his administration has reached a crescendo. And while the hawks have made it seem unpatriotic to raise questions about such an invasion since Sept. 11, a careful analysis suggests that such a high-testosterone response should be avoided for 10 reasons.

How Saddam Happened
Newsweek, September 23, 2002
America helped make a monster. What to do with him—and what happens after he’s gone—has haunted us for a quarter century
The last time Donald Rumsfeld saw Saddam Hussein, he gave him a cordial handshake. The date was almost 20 years ago, Dec. 20, 1983; an official Iraqi television crew recorded the historic moment.

Iraq abandons illegal oil fees
MSNBC, September 18, 2002
Move seen as another attempt to thwart U.S. strike:
Sept. 18 — The government of Saddam Hussein has abandoned the illegal surcharges it imposes on every barrel of oil it sells through the United Nations oil-for-food program, oil-industry officials and U.N. diplomats say.

Comments Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The President’s Address To The United Nations About Iraq
Sen Patrick Leahy's Senate Web site, September 12, 2002
"The President’s visit to the United Nations is important and I commend him for it.   He did a good job of describing the long history of Saddam Hussein's deception and defiance of the United Nations.   That history is well known, and the international community cannot ignore it.  In his speech Thursday, the President helped advance the case for UN action.

Cat Executives "Arrested" For War Crimes!
Sustain Web site, September 18, 2002
Offices Condemned: At 9am Tuesday morning, September 17th, a media advisory went out stating that executives from the Caterpillar corporation would be arrested at their office in DC and at other locations around the country.

audio
Future, Present, Past of the Conflict in Palestine
Professors Hisham Ahmed and Tanya Reinhart in Discussion with MER's Mark Bruzonsky Mid-East Realities, August 16, 2002

Tel Aviv Bus Bomb Kills 6, Hurts 49
The Guardian, September 19, 2002
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - A Palestinian blew himself up on a crowded bus Thursday, killing at least five other people and wounding 49, the second suicide bombing in two days. Israel sent tanks into Yasser Arafat's West Bank headquarters, firing on his offices and wounding two guards.

French Daily: Saddam to escape Iraq in event of US strike
Al-Bawaba, September 19, 2002
Saddam Hussein is planning to escape Iraq in the event of a United States attack on Baghdad, the French paper Liberation reported.

Sources: U.S., Britain draft tough U.N. resolution on Iraq; Annan meets Iraqi FM
Al-Bawaba, September 19, 2002
The United States and Britain started crafting a toughly worded resolution Wednesday that would limit the timetable for Iraqi compliance with weapons inspections and authorize use of military force if Iraq fails to cooperate, diplomats said.

UN could foil Bush plan
Arab News, September 19, 2002
NEW YORK, 19 Septebmer — The United Nations is set to throw America’s war plans for Iraq into disarray by introducing a timetable for weapons inspections that could give Saddam Hussein a breathing space of almost one year.

Saudi Arabia boycotts companies selling Israeli goods
Arabic News, September 19, 2002
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday warned local companies against dealing with five American and European companies because they imported Israeli- made products to the Kingdom.

US forces 'not headed to Yemen'
BBC, September 19, 2002
Yemeni forces are receiving anti-terrorist training: US diplomatic officials have denied that American forces are massing near the coast of Yemen in preparation for operations against al-Qaeda elements thought to be inside the country.

US elite force gets ready for Yemen raid
Alleged seventh member of Buffalo cell believed to have fled as US and Pakistan arrests turn attention to Islamist safe haven: The United States is deploying special forces and CIA agents in the Horn of Africa area in an operation that appears to be aimed against al-Qaida members in Yemen.

'Even if Iraq managed to hide these weapons, what they are now hiding is harmless goo'
The Guardian, September 19, 2002
UN weapons inspectors are poised to return to Iraq, but does Saddam Hussein have any weapons of mass destruction for them to find?

Violence resumes after Israel rejects Palestinian proposal for phased truce
Cape Cod Times, September 19, 2002
UMM EL-FAHM, Israel - Palestinians ended a six-week lull in attacks on Israelis yesterday when a policeman died after challenging a suicide bomber and Palestinian militants killed a motorist and a settler in the West Bank.

Israeli tanks enter Yasser Arafat's compound
Ananova, September 19, 2002
Israeli tanks have entered Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's headquarters compound.

Cabinet decides to isolate Arafat, IDF closes in on his HQ
Ha'aretz, September 19, 2002
An emergency session of the cabinet decided Thursday evening to isolate Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat rather than expel him, and called for the immediate handing over of Palestinians wanted by Israel for suspected links to terror.

Five killed in suicide bombing on bus in downtown Tel Aviv
Ha'aretz, September 19, 2002
Five people, three men and two women, were killed and close to 60 were injured, some of them seriously, when a suicide bomber set off his explosives on a No. 4 bus travelling along Allenby Street in Tel Aviv at around 1 P.M. on Thursday.

Palestinian Child Shot Dead By Israeli Armored Vehicle
Islam Online, September 19, 2002
An Israeli tank shot dead a child for breaking the curfew: RAMALLAH, West Bank, September 19 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A 10-year-old Palestinian child was shot dead Thursday, September 19, by an Israeli armored vehicle which opened fire on him with a heavy machine-gun in the West Bank town of Ramallah, the head of the hospital here said.

Only 40,000 new members at end of Labor party registration drive
Ha'aretz, September 19, 2002
Some 110,000 people had joined the Labor Party as of the closing of its membership drive Thursday night, and 40,000 of them are new members, the party said.

Atomic energy chief: Israel poses no nuclear threat to its neighbors
Ha'aretz, September 19, 2002
Gideon Frank, director-general of the Atomic Energy Commission in the Prime Minister's Office, told the International Atomic Energy Agency's 46th General Conference in Vienna yesterday that Israel opposes Iraq's proposal to the conference agenda that it discuss "Israeli Nuclear Capabilities and Threat."

Bush team opposes sanctions on Syria
Ha'aretz, September 19, 2002
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration informed Congress yesterday that it opposes legislation which would require the imposition of sanctions against Syria because it supports terror groups.

Arafat's brain drain
Ha'aretz, September 19, 2002
Lately, even Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon, who had previously absolutely discounted any talk of a "strategic turn" by the Fatah and Tanzim, is ready to confirm that there is something significant happening in the territories.

Focus / As war with Iraq looms, U.S. faces dilemma on Syria's support for terror
Ha'aretz, September 19, 2002
WASHINGTON - The House Subcommittee on Foreign Affairs was slated to begin discussions on the Syria Accountability Act last Thursday, but at the last moment the U.S. administration requested a delay and the debate was postponed until yesterday.

Inspectors Back Or Not, Bush Is Going To War: Analysts
Islam Online, September 19, 2002
The only thing the U.S. lacks in its plans for an Iraq attack is an excuse: WASHINGTON, September 19 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – U.S. President George W. Bush is expected Thursday, September 19 to send to Congress a draft resolution of support for his Iraq policy, as experts say that Baghdad’s cooperation with weapons inspectors will not stop the attack.

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