Sunday 4/13/03

Anti-war protesters march across Europe  4/13/03 ABC, Australia

Indian navy to hold exercises with Oman, US, Russia: report  4/13/03 AFP

Missing Iraqi Minister Now Cult Figure  4/13/03 Black Voices: "He bemused the West with his litany of claimed victories over coalition troops, and amused Arabs with his bottomless dictionary of insults. Iraq's information minister hasn't been seen for days, but he's hardly disappeared. Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf is the star of a Web site whose creators poke admiring fun at his dogged defense of Saddam Hussin's regime and his skewerings of opponents from the standard "infidels" to the pop-culture-savvy "superpower of Al Capone." "

Syria could be next, warns Washington  4/13/03 Guardian, UK

Israel to U.S.: Now deal with Syria and Iran  4/13/03 Haaretz

Admiral says banned arms claims were exaggerated  4/13/03 Independent: "There are some people who have talked in terms of thousands of tonnes of chemicals and hundreds and hundreds of missiles, and I would say that is way beyond the top end," Sir Alan said, though he added: "I am absolutely convinced they have got elements of weapons of mass destruction." - so just one or two "finds" can justify the invasion?

British mother asks Israelis: Was my son shot deliberately?  4/13/03 Telegraph, UK: "The family of a British peace protester, shot by an Israeli sniper as he shielded three young children, claimed yesterday that he appeared to have been deliberately targeted for assassination."

Russia spied on Blair for Saddam  4/13/03 Telegraph, UK: "Top secret documents obtained by The Telegraph in Baghdad show that Russia provided Saddam Hussein's regime with wide-ranging assistance in the months leading up to the war, including intelligence on private conversations between Tony Blair and other Western leaders. Moscow also provided Saddam with lists of assassins available for "hits" in the West and details of arms deals to neighbouring countries. The two countries also signed agreements to share intelligence, help each other to "obtain" visas for agents to go to other countries and to exchange information on the activities of Osama bin Laden, the al-Qa'eda leader."

Saturday 4/12/03

Kim Jong-Il Visited China, Won Nuclear Crisis Backing  4/12/03 AFP

Russia, Germany, France wind up Iraq talks amid sharp differences with US  4/12/03 AFP

Venezuela reaches election agreement one year after coup  4/12/03 AFP

Baghdad Seeths With Anger Toward U.S.  4/12/03 AP: "Baghdad was bursting with anti-American feeling Saturday as residents saw their city being stripped by its own citizens while U.S. forces stood by, rarely intervening and in some cases even motioning treasure-laden men through checkpoints."

The dangers in Saddam's 'black files'  4/12/03 Asia Times

Inspections required to end sanctions, UN says  4/12/03 Boston Globe

Wag the Kennel? The Kenneth Joseph Story  4/12/03 Counterpunch: "The Washington Times, which published the first stories on Joseph, is owned by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, who acquired UPI in 2000. Reverend Moon is head of a notorious religious right-wing Christian cult, the Unification Church, whose fanatical followers, called "moonies", are subjected to mind-control techniques, as written about by former cult members.[3] Rev. Moon, whose organization has been the subject of hundreds of newspaper artiles, stories, and books, was convicted for tax evasion on July 20, 1984, and was in federal prison, has developed close ties with the Reagan and both Bush administrations. [4] The founding editor of the Washington Times, James Whelan, has spoken out against the Moon organization since resigning his position due to manipulation from Moon officials. Rev. Moon's political and business operations were the subject of a 1992 Frontline special on PBS. PBS questioned the financial backing of The Washington Times, which consistently loses approximately two million dolars a month in operating costs. The Moon organization has spent an estimtated one billion dollars since it began the Times, without accounting for its revenue sources.[5]"

Peace protesters rally in cities across Canada  4/12/03 CTV

The Escape Of The Cole Bombing Suspects Raises Questions  4/12/03 Dow Jones

BBC under fire over chaos reports  4/12/03 Guardian: "Defending himself on BBC's the World at One, Gilligan said: "The reality is half the shopping district is now being looted. Downing Street may be saying it's only regime targets that are being attacked. I'm afraid it isn't." He denied the suggestion, backed by No 10 briefers, that only hospitals used by the Ba'ath party elite were being looted: "We're also told that looters have started opening fire on each other. "Right in front of my eyes a 16-year-old boy was beaten to death simply because he didn't come from that area. They thought he might be a looter and they said they'd do the same to us if we didn't get out." "

Plea for Saddam police to help keep the peace  4/12/03 Guardian

Has anyone in U.S. read history of Iraq?  4/12/03 Gulf News: "Pre-Baathist, so called free Iraq, saw some half a dozen governments come and go in the space of 40 years, marked by the particularly horrific regicide of the youthful King Faisal II, who was dismembered and dragged through the streets of Baghdad. He was seen, as was his father, as a British puppet, and therefore unacceptable… There are reports too, that as the Kurdish forces swept into Kirkuk on Thursday, they headed for a registry office, in a bid, the nervous Turks say, to remove all Turkoman names from the list… U.S. experts who are fashioning Iraq's future government therefore, must not foregt the factor in the enormous ill-will that is certain to mark the imposition of anyone the Iraqis see as having U.S. blessing. It may also have to live with a virulent hatred whipped up by the killing of civilians over this 21-day war, and the 12 years of deprivation under U.S.-led UN sanctions that have gone before… Sending out the wrong signals too is the U.S. blatantly ignoring wiser counsel to set up a conference under the UN aegis that pulls in all Iraqi leaders, both inside and outside Iraq as a first step towards free elections and a parliament. The U.S. attempts in trying to limit the role of the UN in rebuilding post war Iraq as the country descends into anarchy and lawlessness is also an issue. While the UN has shown itself as particularly inept at peace-keeping, it's healing touch is necessary to bring some semblance of a civilian structure to a bewildered and battered people." - Good luck, Yanqui!

Geoff Hoon: After Iraq, rogue nations won't be spared  4/12/03 Hindustan Times: "Hoon said that new regimes would acquire such weapons over the, next three decades. No such weapons have been found in Iraq, but Hoon said "we will find them". "

Global Domination Carries Grave Risks  4/12/03 IHT

Frenzy over Ali, but there are thousands of children like him  4/12/03 Independent, UK: " "Why do you all want to talk to Ali? There are hundreds of children suffering like him, and we are getting more every day," said Moufak Gabriel, the hospital director, as we arrived to see Ali Ismail Abbas, the injured 12-year-old boy who has become the centre of a British media frenzy… The pitiful pictures of Ali, his arms reduced to bandaged stumps and his body covered in burns, biting his lip in pain and grief, have been carried by newspapers around the world. He will become one of the enduring images of war."

Israeli army sniper leaves British peace activist brain-dead  4/12/03 Independent, UK

Killing of Shi'ite cleric is blow to plans for pro-West government  4/12/03 IraqWar.ru: "U.S. officials and Western intelligence sources said the assassination of a leading pro-U.S. Iraqi Shi'ite cleric in the southern city of Najaf robbed the coalition of a spiritual leader who could have won support for a Western-style regime in wake of the fall of Saddam Hussein." - Welcome to Iraq

Al-Qaida On The Fall of Baghdad  4/12/03 Jihad Unspun: al Qaeda now has forces in Iraq, a direct result of the US invasion.

Russian anger growing  4/12/03 Russia Journal

Putin warns US on more attacks  4/12/03 The News, Australia: " "We are not going to export capitalist, democratic revolutions," the Russian leader told reporters as rumours in Washington allege that some elements of the US administration are mulling launching military operations against other Middle Eastern states. If we do, we're going to end up on a slippery slope to non-ending military conflicts. We can't let that happen," Putin said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac after holding talks with them." - Russia has an important fleet positioned in the Arabian sea for joint exercises with the Indian Navy.

Friday 4/11/03

Bush says Syria must expel Saddam backers  4/11/03 AFP: "We expect them to do everything they can to prevent people who should be held to account from escaping in their country," he said after meeting for the first time at two area military hospitals with US soldiers wounded in Iraq. "And it they are in their country, we expect the Syrian authorities to turn them over to the proper folks," said Bush, who met privately with some 75 hurt soldiers and their families accompanied by First Lady Laura Bush. "We strongly urge them (Syrian leaders) not to allow for Baath party members, or Saddam's families, or generals on the run, to seek safe haven and find safe haven there," said Bush. "

French aid agencies refuse to take US orders in Iraq  4/11/03 AFP: "French aid agencies have teams in Baghdad and convoys waiting at the borders for the go-ahead to move into Iraq, but are refusing to take orders from US and British troops. All the major French aid agencies have refused to be placed under the direct responsibility of the centre for humanitarian operations set up by Washington to coordinate the distribution of vital relief aid to Iraqi civilians."

Anti-War Groups Fear Loss of Momentum  4/11/03 AP

No new signs of Iraqi nuclear program, UN says  4/11/03 AP

Chávez advierte que hay un plan militar-popular en caso de golpe  4/11/03 Aporrea: "El presidente de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez Frías, advirtió este viernes en el Palacio de Miraflores, que si alguien se le ocurriera intentar algo contra su gobierno responderá con un plan de acción militar-popular para contrarrestarla. Según explicó el jefe de Estado a un grupo de periodistas extranjeros en rueda de prensa, este mecanismo de defensa estaría integrado por miles de personas de los barrios y soldados de cuarteles, quienes sabrían qué hacer y a donde ir rápidamente. Recordó que antes del golpe del 11 de abril de 2002 "no teníamos un plan, sólo contábamos con los planes oficiales, ahora tenemos planes de respuesta rápida si es que hubiese algún intento". "

Arab News Becomes First Saudi Newspaper to Enter Baghdad  4/11/03 Arab News: "Yesterday, he broke as a world exclusive on www.arabnews.com the news that Shiite scholar Abdul Majid Al-Khoei had been killed in Najaf’s Ali Mosque, after taking eye witness accounts from Iraqis who had just witnessed the scene. In contrast to American briefings, which put the incident down to “Shiite sectarianism,” Essam told the truth: That Al-Khoei had been butchered — literally cut to pieces with knives and swords — by Iraqis who accused him of being “an American stooge.” "

Turkish press rages at Kurds and US  4/11/03 BBC

The Realignment of the World  4/11/03 Cato Institute: "On March 11, the German ambassador in Islamabad hosted a meeting at which representatives of the Chinese, French, and Russian legations addressed the Pakistani press on the pending vote about Iraq in the United Nations Security Council. According to the Daily Times of Pakistan, the diplomats wanted to hear the Pakistani point of view. But this was more than a fact-finding mission. The representatives of those four countries had temporarily put aside their differences to urge Pakistan to oppose the United States because, as one unnamed official said, "a unipolar world would be a nightmare." "

The war's implications for Israel  4/11/03 Haaretz: "Donald Rumsfeld has no inclination to give prizes to Arafat and his successors. He even likes Ariel Sharon. But the whole thing is starting to cost too much money. American support will be reduced. The economic crisis will deepen. Israeli democracy will continue to be eroded. It won't take much for Israel to become just another Third World country that solicits help from those willing to be generous. What conclusion should Israel draw from the war? That it should hurry on its own to achieve a good settlement that will make it possible to rehabilitate the economy and start rehabilitating the society and the state of democracy in the country. In the new world, Israel's major asset is not military might but genuine membership in the club of the advanced countries."

Marines die in suicide bombing as capital hit by new clashes  4/11/03 Independent, UK: "Several American Marines died in a suicide bombing in the centre of Baghdad yesterday after a day of intense battles between US forces and Saddam loyalists, mostly from other Arab countries. A man approached a US checkpoint near the Palestine Hotel and exploded a bomb, killing and injuring a number of marines. The attack occurred near the hotel where most foreign journalists are staying and close to the square where a statue of President Saddam was toppled on Wednesday."

'We're here to fight the regime, not civilians, but I had to save my men'  4/11/03 Independent, UK: "Many of their corpses still lie rotting in their incinerated cars, a young woman, burnt naked, slumped face down over the rear seat on the Hillah flyover bridge next to half of a male corpse that is hanging out of the driver's door. Blankets cover a pile of civilian dead, including a cremated child, a few metres away. A red car, shot in half by an American tank shell, lies on its side with the lower half of a human leg, still in a black shoe, beside the left front wheel."

Mass joy for mass media  4/11/03 IraqWar.ru: "It was difficult not to wonder why the US soldier driving the tracked vehicle that took down the statue appeared to be so relaxed surrounded by a mob of Iraqis. Elsewhere in Iraq US soldiers frequently open fire on civilians approaching checkpoints. But here in Baghdad, where thousands of Iraqi troops are still battling the US forces, a US armored vehicle with a single unarmed soldier in it was surrounded by a crowd of cheering Iraqis and the soldier did not appear to be particularly concerned. In the end the big picture (literally) revealed the true events that took place on the Fardus Square: the square was surrounded by the US tanks and the “jubilant crowd” turned out to be two dozen of Iraqis, some of which were recognized as Iraqi opposition members delivered to Iraq by Pentagon just days earlier. Several strategically placed cameras created an impression of a large crowd. Iraqis cheering US troops in Baghdad - just another “Potemkin village” staged by the Pentagon PR teams. Meanwhile the “official” US casualties in Iraq have reached 105 killed, 399 wounded and 18 missing. The war is over. Maybe not… "

Afghanistan’s Uproar: More Battles, More Bodies  4/11/03 Jihad Unspun

Vast Jihad Arena May Open In The Coming Few Days  4/11/03 Jihad Unspun: "It has been revealed to Dharb-i-Momin from specials sources in Baghdad that a secret meeting was held at a safe and secret place in the city between Islamic world’s – especially Middle East’s popular and world renowned Al-Qaida, Hamas, Islami Jihad and Hizbullah’s elite strategic planners and top commanders related to Fadayee operations. The Sadam’s Fadayeen’s commander was also present in the meeting. New plans for thousands of Fadayeen and strategies for Mujahideen after the fall of Baghdad was the topic of discussion. After a long debate, giving due importance to Al-Qaida and Hamas’ specialists, a strategy was finalized for a guerilla war. International defense analysts are of the view that even though the basic points of this meeting are kept secret the presence of Al-Qaida and Hamas’ mujahideen clearly shows that the invaders will have to face the bloody ambushed of hit and run strategy."

Thousands of Voices, United in Venezuela  4/11/03 NarcoNews: "On the Anniversary of the defeated coup, the Bolivarian Revolution gathers strength"

Sniper Fire Greets G.I.'s in Big City in North  4/11/03 NYT: "American Special Forces troops entered northern Iraq's largest city today, finding it engulfed by anarchy. Gunfire from Iraqi irregulars greeted the force of several dozen Americans, and the shots prompted them to pull back after spending only 30 minutes in the streets here."

Disney: SARS May Worsen Theme Parks Slump  4/11/03 Reuters

Thursday 4/10/03

Colombia: Partial victory for Coca-Cola workers  4/10/03 ANNCOL: "On March 31, US District Court Judge Jose E. Martinez ruled that a group of Colombian plaintiffs can move forward with cases brought under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) for human rights violations committed by paramilitaries in Colombia on behalf of two Colombian Coca-Cola bottling companies: Panamco and Bebidas y Alimentos. The court found that Colombian government complicity with the paramilitaries constituted "state action" in the crimes against the plaintiffs, a required element for a suit to go forward under the ATCA. The court also ruled that the plaintiffs could proceed with claims under the Torture Victims Protection Act (TVPA), dismissing the defendants' arguments that only individuals--not corporations--can be sued under this act."

Crowd Kills Two Islamic Clerics in Iraq  4/10/03 AP: The US side of the story.

Experts say U.S. `discovery' of nuclear materials in Iraq was breach of U.N.-monitored site  4/10/03 AP: "American troops who suggested they uncovered evidence of an active nuclear weapons program in Iraq unwittingly may have stumbled across known stocks of low-grade uranium, officials said Thursday. They said the U.S. troops may have broken U.N. seals meant to keep control of the radioactive material… ''What happened apparently was that they broke IAEA seals, which is very unfortunate because those seals are integral to ensuring that nuclear material doesn't get diverted,'' the expert said, speaking on condition of anonymity."

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: BREAKING NEWS  4/10/03 Arab News, Saudi Arabia: "from Arab News War Correspondent in Najaf, Iraq; filed 2 pm GMT; April 10: Former Iraqi general Nizar Al-Khazaraji and Islamic scholar Majid Al-Khoi’i have both been executed by Iraqi residents of Najaf, according to five independent Iraqi witnesses to the incident who spoke to Arab News. The two potential Iraqi leaders of the city, who were supported by the US, “were chopped into pieces with swords and knives inside the Ali Mosque this morning by Iraqis who accused them of being American stooges,” one of the witnesses said. Another said that a US Special Forces Soldier, who had been acting as their body guard, was also killed in the incident. Al-Khoi'i's death has since been confirmed by his family in London. However, there has been no independent confirmation of Al-Khazarji's death. Arab News War Correspondent Essam Al-Ghalib says from Najaf that he can confirm only that local Iraqis were talking about the death of Al-Khazarji, not that the man had actually been killed."

The Iraqi killing fields  4/10/03 Asia Times: "It was inevitable. When it finally happened, it was like clockwork. Al-Jazeera's office in Kabul was incinerated by four missiles in the 2001 ousting of the Taliban in Afghanistan. True to CentCom form, al-Jazeera's office in Baghdad was hit by a Tomahawk this week in the invasion of Iraq - even though the Qatari network had offered its global positioning system (GPS) position to the Pentagon in late February."

Are You As Shocked As I Am?  4/10/03 IraqWar.ru: "Russian naval force sails for the Arabic Sea. Purportedly, it includes nuclear submarines and tactical nuclear weapons on board (denied by the Russian Military.) The makeup of the force suggests a strong anti-aircraft carrier battlegroup orientation, with, again purportedly, the infallible Yakhont supersonic anti-ship missile (no known defense against this wonder weapon.) "

Indian navy to exercise with Russian vessels soon  4/10/03 IRNA: "A powerful Russian naval flotilla, consisting of missile cruisers, amphibious warships and patrol ships will hold their first ever joint exercises with Indian warships in Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal early next month. Ten frontline warships of the Russian Pacific and Black Sea fleet and an equally strong Indian naval flotilla of warships, submarines and helicopters will carry out anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare and air defense exercises, Indian naval spokesman said here. This is for the first time in over a decade that such a powerful Russian naval flotilla would be conducting war games in the Arabian Sea, adjacent to the Persian Gulf where US forces are engaged in operations over Iraq."

Iraqi Shiite cleric Abdul Majid Khoei murdered in Najaf  4/10/03 IRNA: " Only few hours before his death, Abdul Majid told IRNA Thursday by telephone that he had met with several senior Shiite clerics in Najaf to discuss plans to get the city back to normal. He also denied speculation about having been shunned by tribal leaders in southern Iraq. Asked about US plans to instill a transitional government in Iraq, Abdul Majid said he was unaware of such plans. "I don't interfere in political issues and I will continue to serve only for religious and civilian affairs," he said."

State Of Emergency Declared In Kabul  4/10/03 Jihad Unspun: "A state of emergency has been declared in Afghan capital of Kabul by the German chief of the peace forces in the city. Undisclosed sources have revealed that the security was tightened when explosives were recovered from five oil tankers during a search in Kabul. Four men were arrested immediately. All the roads joining Kabul International airport and Kabul city have been blocked and check posts have been set up on important places. It is thought that the explosives were being brought to blow the important points in Kabul."

Chicago and Police Face Suit Over Jailing of War Protesters  4/10/03 NYT

Sayed Abdul Majid Al-Khoei  4/10/03 State Department\: Al-Khoei is said to have been pro-US, this is why he was hacked to pieces.

Republican Guard a No-Show in Baghdad  4/10/03 Washington Post

Fear Not the Shias - Their tradition recognizes the rights of minorities, because they have always been a minority.  4/10/03 Weekly Standard: "Sheikh Fadhel Al-Sahlani, an Iraqi American and president of the largest Shia Muslim congregation in North America, speaks perfect English. He sits with quiet dignity in his mosque, the Imam Al-Khoei Islamic Center in Queens, New York. Middle aged and slender, with a neat salt-and-pepper beard, he is draped in robes and wears a turban. Yet his words are anything but alien--rather, they are startlingly direct, articulate, and even familiar, at least to supporters of President George W. Bush and his vision for the future of the Middle East. "The problem in Arab countries is simple," Sheikh Al-Sahlani says. "We are ruled by dictators. We want this to end. I cannot trust any Arab regime," he continues. "None of them has ever helped us. They did not accept Iraqi refugees after the [Gulf] war, except for some who were admitted to Syria. Only America helped us by taking in many refugees, and now there are thousands of us here. Only America really helped us," he repeats. "If the United States removes Saddam's fascist regime, I will support them. But also, we live here and we are loyal." " Al-Khoei appears to have been pro-American, the Saudis say that is why he was killed.

Why They Fight - From the March 31, 2003 issue: Meet the Free Iraqi Forces.  4/10/03 Weekly Standard: "ON SUNDAY, March 9, two men who desperately wanted to join the U.S. troops in the Gulf summoned me to the Microtel Inn near Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia. I had gotten to know them on a recent trip to Dearborn, Michigan. Both had been flown to Dulles by the Majid al-Khoei Foundation, a nonprofit Muslim cultural and philanthropic center. Its namesake and current general secretary, Sayed Abdul Majid al-Khoei, a Shia Muslim cleric, is by reputation a moderate. He has written recently for National Review and is featured in a State Department public diplomacy campaign called "Iraq's Voices of Freedom." The foundation's plan, as one of the participants told me, was to dispatch teams of 15 Iraqi exiles to cities and towns throughout Iraq to "settle the people" once the fighting began." Appears the Al-Khoei was a Company man.

Wednesday 4/9/03

After years of rumors about Saddam's tunnels, U.S. forces begin to venture underground  4/9/03 AP

Massacre in Gaza: seven Palestinians killed, 50 wounded, Abu Mazin face internal pressures  4/9/03 Arabic News: "Israel yesterday committed a new massacre, which was almost forgotten amid news on the American invasion of Iraq, during which seven Palestinians were killed including an official at the Hamas movement and his escort and other 50 Palestinians were wounded including women and children, when Israeli F-16 jets and Apache helicopters bombarded a civilian car while running in a residential quarters in Gaza."

Contain and Isolate - The New York Times and the Peace Movement  4/9/03 Counterpunch

Israeli Spies in Texas  4/9/03 Cryptome

Hotel hit 'deliberate': French TV  4/9/03 Daily Telegraph

GEORGE CURRY REPORTS ON THE WAR FROM BAGHDAD  4/9/03 Dogon Village: "George Curry is the editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA) and BlackPressUSA.com. His weekly national affairs column is syndicated by NNPA to more than 200 African-American newspapers with a combined readership of 15 million. Prior to joining the NNPA, Curry was editor-in-chief of Emerge: Black America’s Newsmagazine from 1993-2000."

Saddam survived attack on building say British intelligence sources  4/9/03 Guardian, UK: "Saddam Hussein survived an attack on a building in Baghdad in which he was reported to have been meeting his sons Uday and Qusay on Monday afternoon, British intelligence sources said last night. "He was probably not in the building when it was bombed," a well-placed source said. The source added it was believed that President Saddam had been in the building earlier."

AILING DOLLAR STRIKES AT EURO IN IRAQ WAR  4/9/03 GuluFuture: "An Economic Perspective On The War It's Not About Oil Or Iraq. It's About The US And Europe Going Head-To-Head On World Economic Dominance… In 1999, Iraq, with the world's second largest oil reserves, switched to trading its oil in euros. American analysts fell about laughing; Iraq had just made a mistake that was going to beggar the nation. But two years on, alarm bells were sounding; the euro was rising against the dollar, Iraq had given itself a huge economic free kick by switching. Iran started thinking about switching too; Venezuela, the 4th largest oil producer, began looking at it and has been cutting out the dollar by bartering oil with several nations including America's bete noir, Cuba. Russia is seeking to ramp up oil production with Europe (trading in euros) an obvious market."

Robert Fisk: The dogs were yelping. They knew bombs were on the way  4/9/03 Independent: "At one point, Red Cross workers hoped to take a severely wounded Spanish television reporter with them – his leg had been amputated after the tank shell exploded below his office in the hotel – but he died during the afternoon. The American infantry divisional commander issued a statement that suggested the Reuters cameramen were sniping at the US tank, a remark so extraordinary – and so untrue – that it brought worldwide protests from journalists."

Anti-Iraq coalition casualty reports inaccurate - Russian general  4/9/03 IraqWar.ru: "Col. Gen. Vladislav Achalov told Interfax on Tuesday that "the Pentagon's estimates that as of the 19th day of the war U.S. and British forces had lost more than 100 soldiers are three time lower [than in actual fact] . At the same time, according to Russian security services that are keeping a close eye on the military operation in Iraq, the U.S.-British coalition has actually lost more than 340 and about 500 have been wounded," he said… Commenting on recent sporadic fights on Baghdad's outskirts, the general stressed that "from a military standpoint, these battles are clear reconnaissance efforts, not an attack as the Pentagon has described it." "That is why commanders in charge of Baghdad's defense have allowed an advance group from the U.S. Third Motorized Division to enter the city and leave with almost no casualties. This was done in order not to expose their main firing positions in Baghdad's southeast," he noted. The general said that during this sortie, U.S. troops lost four pieces of military hardware, including Abrams tanks. "It seems that losses could not be avoided. But the coalition's command has chosen not to make them public," he stressed."

Chirac to visit St. Petersburg on April 11-12  4/9/03 IraqWar.ru: "German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is due to visit St. Petersburg on the same days."

Brazil: Lula's Anti-Crime Secretary Calls for Decriminalization  4/9/03 NarcoNews: " In the interests of the global public's right and desire to know the authentic news in our América, we have translated Wednesday's report by the daily O Estado of São Paulo in which a top anti-crime official in the government of Brazilian President Lula da Silva has publicly called for the decriminalization of drugs."

US 'mistake bombing' claims 11 Afghans  4/9/03 News 24, South Africa: "Eleven Afghan civilians were killed early on Wednesday in a US bombing raid, the US military said, in the worst incident of its kind in Afghanistan since nearly 50 wedding guests were killed by US aircraft last June. The seven women and four men were killed when their house was hit by a stray 450kg bomb in a raid against a group of unknown attackers in the mountains of southeast Afghanistan, a US military spokesperson said." More to be expected as the Taliban launches its offensive.

4 Miami Police Officers Convicted of Conspiracy in Shootings  4/9/03 NYT: "A jury convicted four former Miami police officers of conspiracy charges today but returned mixed verdicts for seven other defendants in a federal trial that exposed corruption in some of the most prominent police shootings in Miami's recent history."

Saddam's Rule Collapses; Looters Rampage  4/9/03 Reuters: "Saddam Hussein's rule collapsed in chaos in Baghdad on Wednesday as elated Iraqis welcomed U.S. forces while looters and gunmen ran wild. As U.S. Marines rolled in from the east to a joyous reception on day 21 of the war, hundreds of people gutted official buildings, dragging off all they could carry, from air conditioners to flowers. "People, if you only knew what this man did to Iraq," yelled an old man standing in the road, thrashing at a torn portrait of Saddam with his shoe. "He killed our youth, he killed millions." "

Storm over future of Iraq  4/9/03 Telegraph, UK: "But hours after the summit at Hillsborough Castle outside Belfast, President Jacques Chirac insisted that rebuilding the country "is a matter for the United Nations and for it alone". His comments appeared to dash the Prime Minister's declared hope that Europe and America could overcome their bitter "diplomatic wrangling" of recent months. In another worrying development for Mr Blair, Moscow announced an impromptu summit of Russia, France and Germany - the main countries opposed to the war - in St Petersburg at the weekend."

Tide of anti-US sentiment rises in Russia  4/9/03 The Age, Australia: "But Putin has to deal with anti-American sentiment among the public and parts of the elite. Polls show strong anti-war, or anti-US, feelings. About 90 per cent were opposed to the military operation in Iraq a month before it began, and 71 per cent said the US was itself a security threat, while only 45 per cent thought Iraq was. The media has assumed an anti-US tone, and a popular Sunday news show yielded an astounding result: 80 per cent of the relatively liberal audience said they hoped Iraq would win the war."

Oil industry suppressed plans for 200-mpg car  4/9/03 Times, UK: "THE original blueprints for a device that could have revolutionised the motor car have been discovered in the secret compartment of a tool box. A carburettor that would allow a car to travel 200 miles on a gallon of fuel caused oil stocks to crash when it was announced by its Canadian inventor Charles Nelson Pogue in the 1930s. But the carburettor was never produced and, mysteriously, Pogue went overnight from impoverished inventor to the manager of a successful factory making oil filters for the motor industry. Ever since, suspicion has lingered that oil companies and car manufacturers colluded to bury Pogue’s invention. Now a retired Cornish mechanic has enlisted the help of the University of Plymouth to rebuild Pogue’s revolutionary carburettor, known as the Winnipeg, from blueprints he found hidden beneath a sheet of plywood in the box."

Gulf War Syndrome, The Sequel - 'People Are Sick Over There Already'  4/9/03 Tom Paine: "Rokke said today's troops have been fighting on land polluted with chemical, biological and radioactive weapon residue from the first Gulf War and its aftermath. In this setting, troops have been exposed not only to sandstorms, which degrade the lungs, but to oil fires and waste created by the use of uranium projectiles in tanks, aircraft, machine guns and missiles. "That's why people started getting sick right away, when they started going in months ago with respiratory, diarrhea and rashes -- horrible skin conditions," Rokke said. "That's coming back on and they have been treating them at various medical facilities. And one of the doctors at one of the major Army medical facilities -- he and I talk almost every day -- and he is madder than hell." "

Anti-War Rally Eyes Troubles at Home - Harlemites March  4/9/03 Village Voice: "Last Saturday, demonstrators in Harlem braved hand-numbing cold and rain to raise their voices against the war. Organized by the Black Solidarity Against the War Coalition, the crowd was comprised largely of people of color, and their placards and chants stopped local residents in their tracks. It was the most successful demonstration in the city to date to organize blacks and Latinos against the war."

My Oscar 'backlash' 'Stupid White Men' back at #1, 'Bowling' breaks new records  4/9/03 Working For Change: "Take the Dixie Chicks. I'm sure you've all heard by now that, because their lead singer mentioned how she was ashamed that Bush was from her home state of Texas, their record sales have "plummeted" and country stations are boycotting their music. The truth is that their sales are NOT down. This week, after all the attacks, their album is still at #1 on the Billboard country charts and, according to Entertainment Weekly, on the pop charts during all the brouhaha, they ROSE from #6 to #4. In the New York Times, Frank Rich reports that he tried to find a ticket to ANY of the Dixie Chicks' upcoming concerts but he couldn't because they were all sold out."

Horror, Cruelty And Misery - The Real Meaning Of "Liberation"  4/9/03 Znet

Tuesday 4/8/03

Suspected WMD site in Iraq turns out to contain pesticide  4/8/03 ABC, Australia: "A facility near Baghdad that a US officer had said might finally be "smoking gun" evidence of Iraqi chemical weapons production turned out to contain pesticide, not sarin gas as feared." Again.

Islamist group wiped out in northern Iraq -- with a little help from Iran  4/8/03 AFP

New 'bin Laden' tape surfaces  4/8/03 AP: "In the audio tape, bin Laden's supposed voice urges the faithful to attack the governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Unlike previous such tapes, this one had a single theme - suicide attacks. "All of them have been imposed upon you and jihad (holy war) against them is your duty," the Arabic language tape received Monday in remote northwestern Pakistan said… "The United States has attacked Iraq and soon he will also attack Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Sudan. The attacks in Saudi Arabia and Egypt will be against Islamic movements there," said the tape… "Do not be afraid of their tanks and armoured personnel carriers. These are artificial things," he said. "If you started suicide attacks you will see the fear of Americans all over the world. Those people who cannot join forces in jihad should give financial help to those mujahedeen who are fighting against U.S. aggression." " - Osama is the big winner in the US war on Iraq, as events will show.

Watch Woolsey  4/8/03 Asia Times, HK: "If you want to figure out whether the administration of President George W Bush intends a crusade to remake the Middle East in the wake of Washington's presumed military victory in Iraq, watch what happens with R James Woolsey. A former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Woolsey is being pushed hard by his fellow neoconservatives in the Pentagon to play a key role in the post-Saddam Hussein US occupation. Less well-known than his long-time associates and close friends, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and the former head of the Defense Policy Board (DPB) Richard Perle, Woolsey has long believed that Washington has a mission to use its overwhelming military power and its democratic ideals to transform the Arab world."

Columbia Libre - Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia  4/8/03 AUC: site of the largest, most criminal, and most violent Colombian paramilitary group, the AUC.

Kerry finds fodder in GOP criticism - Takes offense after 'regime change' call  4/8/03 Boston Globe: "In statements to journalists, and an e-mail sent yesterday to supporters of his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Kerry and his staff have used the occasion to highlight the senator's military record, attack his conservative Republican critics, and raise money."

Oprah Agonistes  4/8/03 City Pages: "The most amazing segment came midway through, when Oprah lent her seal of approval to a lengthy and fairly devastating bit of Michael Moore's Bowling For Columbine--the scene in which shot after shot and caption after caption recount bloody U.S.-sponsored coups and dictators while Louis Armstrong croons "What a Wonderful World." Now first, you rarely see this sort of thing on American television, and when you do it is always followed by a litany of credentialed hacks telling you what hogwash it is. But after the clip, and Moore's own pointed comments about our bloody empire, no one tried to deny the veracity of the claims."

MI VIAJE A ISRAEL Y LA LUCHA ANTISUBVERSIVA URBANA  4/8/03 Colombia Libre

Gary Baurer and Likud - An Unholy Allliance with the Christian Right  4/8/03 Counterpunch

Three US A-10 Warthogs Hit By Iraqi Missiles -CNN  4/8/03 Dow Jones: "Three U.S. Air Force A-10 Warthogs were hit Tuesday by Iraqi surface-to-air missiles - two of the pilots landed safely, the third pilot ejected and was rescued, the Cable News Network reported. The ejection and rescue of the pilot who landed in the desert south of Baghdad had been reported earlier. CNN said the pilot of a second Warthog managed to land safely at a base in southern Iraq and the third U.S. plane landed at a base, which under military restrictions, can only be identified as "near the Iraqi border." " The Warhogs are famous for the quantity of depleted uranium they spew.

Al-Jazeera cameraman killed in US raid  4/8/03 Guardian, UK: US bombs Al-Jazeera, just as it did in Afghanistan - "An al-Jazeera cameraman has died and another of the Arabic-language news channel's journalists is missing after a coalition bombing raid hit its Baghdad office this morning."

Daily Russian Military Intel Briefing, 4/7 B  4/8/03 IraqWar.ru: "The American command criticized the raid. General Tommy Franks who came to the airport region called the level of the casualties during this local operation “unacceptable” and the results “paltry”. Yet it was noted that the Iraqi command reacted on bringing the forces into Baghdad “with an inexplicable delay” and the actions of the counter-attacking Iraqi units “uncoordinated”. American commanders believe that it happened due to “severe malfunction of the whole communication and control system”. It is still unclear what damaged Iraqi communications. According to some data most of the high command left the city after it had been blocked and moved to a reserve command center located in the northern regions of Iraq while the local command remaining in the city has not taken control over the situation yet. Some officers in the coalition HQ presume that if this is the case then even storming Baghdad will not finish this war and a “campaign to the north”, where quite an effective and large group of Iraqi troops remains, might be necessary… All the information the Russian side has about the fire opened at the Russian embassy column indicate that shooting at the diplomats and journalists was not an accidental event but rather a planned action of frightening and retribution. This version is also supposed by several today’s attempts of Americans to stop the column on its route and carefully examine the diplomats’ cars and accompanied baggage. The Russian Foreign Ministry and the high-ranking officials keep silent. On the meeting of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin and the National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice they agreed “to forget about this regrettable indicent” and “prevent any impact on the Russian-American partnership"… "

Daily Russian Military Intel Briefing, 4/8  4/8/03 IraqWar.ru: "Moreover, the Americans note very limited use of Iraqi tanks and artillery. There are almost no serious artificial obstacles and strong points prepared for a long defense. This does not give grounds to consider Baghdad prepared for a long siege. And, under such level of resistance the battles for Baghdad may end in 5-7 days. But in spite of certain success, the US forces are still unable to break the Iraqi opposition. Even units fortified at the outskirts are being attacked and are constantly receiving fire."

RAMZAJ DISCONTINUES OPERATION  4/8/03 IraqWar.ru: "Events of the last 2 days have made further work of Ramzaj group in its current format impossible. With the embassy personnel and journalists having left Iraq and most of Iraqi information services evacuated from Baghdad, analysis of the situation in Baghdad and Iraq as a whole becomes ineffective." This group was the source of we have labeled 'Daily Russian Military Intelligence Briefings' for lack of a real title. While some say this shutdown is a result of Condi's trip to Moscow, it seems evident that the group was getting its material from the Russian Embassy. Their product was generally quite high and has helped many understand the war better, including London stock traders who made a killing using their reports.

Al-Jazeera says its car came under fire of US troops  4/8/03 IRNA: "American troops stopped the car for inspections and shot at it shortly after they let the driver head on, Al-Jazeera said." The Americans doing their best to insure future World Trade Centers. The next time the world will not be so sympathetic.

Airstrike may have killed Saddam  4/8/03 MSNBC

The Colombian Paramilitaries and Israel  4/8/03 NarcoNews: "According to his recently published autobiography, Carlos Castaño was only 18 years old when he arrived in Israel in 1983 to take a year-long course called "562." Castaño, a Colombian, had come to the Holy Land as a pilgrim of sorts, but not to find peace. Course 562 was about war, and how to wage it, and it was something Carlos Castaño would eventually excel at, becoming the most adept and ruthless paramilitary leader in Latin America’s history."

Oakland cops defend use of force But protesters, criminologist contend officers overreacted  4/8/03 San Francisco Chronicle: "Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown said police acted appropriately in dealing with protesters who wanted to "occupy and take over the port and shut it down. The city is not going to let that happen."

CIA report slams Pentagon's favorite Iraqi  4/8/03 UPI: "The CIA has long considered Chalabi an unsuitable leader for the government that replaces Saddam. In 1992, while the agency supported Chalabi and an open strategy to spark a rebellion against Baghdad from the north, they also pursued a palace coup strategy without telling him. The agency has also held Chalabi accountable for compromising a coup attempt in 1995, when Saddam's men rounded up disloyal military officers the agency had hoped would kill the Iraqi leader."

Monday 4/7/03

Colombia Plane Crash Kills One American  4/7/03 AP: "A U.S. State Department plane used to fumigate drug crops crashed Monday and its American pilot was killed, the U.S. Embassy said. It was not immediately clear if the crash was caused by an accident or if it had been shot down, the embassy said. The American, whose name was not released pending notification of relatives, was the fourth to die in three crashes of U.S. government planes in Colombia this year." On a recent visit to Bogota, an African American delegation was exposed to the woman running the fumigation reparations program. She boasted how only 3 of 400 cases where Colombians claimed fumigation damages had proved legitimate in her yes. She travels with her personal goon squad to "verify" claims.

Taliban Reviving Structure in Afghanistan  4/7/03 AP: "The manner of his death suggests the Taliban is not only determined to remain a force in this country, but is reorganizing and reviving its command structure. There is little to stop them. The soldiers and police who were supposed to be the bedrock of a stable postwar Afghanistan have gone unpaid for months and are drifting away. At a time when the United States is promising a reconstructed democratic postwar Iraq, many Afghans are remembering hearing similar promises not long ago. Instead, what they see is thieving warlords, murder on the roads, and a resurgence of Taliban vigilantism."

Honduras rioters back in prison  4/7/03 BBC

U.S. tanks attack central Baghdad  4/7/03 CNN: ticket to the US's very own Intifada.

Wooden Bullets & Grenades - Oakland Cops Attack Longshoremen and Peace Protesters  4/7/03 Counterpunch

Battle for Saddam’s Underground Regime Centers  4/7/03 Debka, Israel

John Sutherland - There is really on one source of reliable information on this war - and it's coming from Russian spies  4/7/03 Guardian: "But, as one mathematician trader put it to me: "How can I model madness?" He went on to give the answer. You don't factor news into your model, but intelligence. There is a surfeit of war news, but reliable intelligence is hard to come by. The canny trader in these parlous days has a first port of call - GRU (Glavnoye Razvedyvatelnoye Upravleniye), the espionage arm of the Russian military."

Streets littered with Iraqi corpses as troops close in on the centre of Kerbala  4/7/03 Guardian

Honduran Riot Displays Gangs' Brutality  4/7/03 Guardian, UK: "LA CIEBA, Honduras (AP) - They have a fanatical devotion to their cause and they dream of bringing their violence to America's streets. They're not terrorists, but ``maras,'' Central America's U.S.-style street gangs whose brutality was on display Saturday during a prison riot that killed 69 people and injured 31 others on Honduras' Caribbean coast." Typical of US media, there is no explanation for this behavior.

William Pfaff: The dangers of bypassing cities  4/7/03 IHT

Daily Russian Military Intel Briefing, 4/7 A  4/7/03 IrakWar.ru: "Last night on the right bank of the Tigris in the Al-Mansur region American commandos numbering up to 200 men landed in a block of government buildings. Apart from that, fighting squadrons landed on two government residences in this region. The goal of the operation was to capture top officials of Saddam Hussein’s administration. Almost immediately the airdrop was detected and engaged. In order to unblock the commandos at 7am an enforced tank battalion from the 1st brigade of the 3rd Mechanized Division entered the city and after a two-hour fight was able to break to the Haifa street along the Kadissiya roadway and partly reached the bank of the Tigris. This movement turned out unexpected by the Iraqis and met no resistance at first. But in the region of the government quay the American forces confronted with organized Iraqi defenses. After 3 hours of battle the commandos got to the American positions and the whole column fell back from the city. The American losses total up to 10 men killed, 20 wounded and 10 missing. Up to 3 tanks and 3 APC were destroyed. The commandos only examined a few government buildings in a hurry. All of them were found empty and no captives were taken. The tolls of the Iraqi side during the day were up to 150 men killed and about 200 wounded. They lost up to 5 tanks and 8 guns."

Russian Defence Ministry Intelligence Information Pops Up on the Internet  4/7/03 Izvestia: "A strange new character, who publishes his materials on the war in Iraq under the name 'Ramzaj', the pseudonym of the legendary Soviet intelligence officer Richard Sorge, has appeared on the net. What is quite amazing, is how accurately he describes events occurring in the Persian Gulf. He is leaving world news agencies in the dust! It's not just a question of accurate predictions and prognostications, the conviction is growing that Ramzaj is passing along real intelligence information."

Pull-out of Norwegian and Netherlands air assets strain coalition airpower  4/7/03 Jane's International Defense Review: "The round-the-clock presence of on-call US-led coalition combat air power over Afghanistan will likely be reduced now that six Norwegian F-16AM multirole fighter aircraft and a Netherlands KDC-10 tanker transport aircraft have ended their deployment in Kyrgyzstan. Combined with an increased demand for US Air Force (USAF) tankers over Iraq, the pull-out is expected to lead to a reduced availability of immediate close air support (CAS) for US ground troops and their allies engaged in the continuing Operation 'Enduring Freedom'. " - could be a problem when coupled with upcoming bad weather.

Three UK soldiers die in Basra attack  4/7/03 Mirror, UK: first casualties of the Iraqi Intifada? "According to one report, Fusilier Turrington was killed by an improvised explosive device."

Oil politics, post-war  4/7/03 News, Aaustralia: ""If the Iraqi oil industry is privatised, forget about OPEC, it is dead," said Leo Drollas of London's Centre for Global Energy Studies. He said a post-war Iraq was likely to demand to be allowed to export the same amount of oil as neighbouring Iran, as it did before it was kicked out of the cartel in 1990 for invading Kuwait. Iran produces 3.59 million barrels per day. "Iraq will want to produce as much as it can as quickly as it can to finance its reconstruction costs. Iraq will say: 'We want at least parity with Iran'," Mr Drollas said."

Rubber Bullets Used on War Protesters in Oakland  4/7/03 Reuters

U.S. Marines in Iraq discard chemical suits  4/7/03 Reuters: "U.S. Marines in Iraq were told to take off their chemical protection suits on Monday in a sign that the perceived threat of chemical or biological attack by forces loyal to President Saddam Hussein was diminishing."

Where are the WMD?  4/7/03 Robert Novak: "If we end this war with Iraq WMD-free, we're in trouble internationally," a State Department official told me Friday. "But I cannot believe that is going to happen. This isn't over yet, and you cannot make such a judgment over just two weeks." - hurry up and create that evidence!

US plans to loot Iraqi antiques  4/7/03 Sunday Herald, UK

Iraq war shows up divide between white and black in US  4/7/03 Sydney Morning Herald: "For some blacks, there's an additional complication in all this - what National Public Radio's Tavis Smiley calls the "tricky conversation" regarding Secretary of State Colin Powell and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, blacks who are among the Bush administration's most visible players in the war. The polls demonstrate that, among black Americans, much anti-war sentiment is directed toward the President - and that the enmity is widely held. "Bush is more of an immediate threat to me," says Quintel Harcum, a 21-year-old philosophy student at Lincoln University, one of America's oldest black universities, tucked into southern Chester County, Pennsylvania. "He's against affirmative action." "

U.S. Airlifts Iraqi Exile Force For Duties Near Nasiriyah  4/7/03 Washington Post: "In a surprise move, the United States has begun airlifting hundreds of members of an Iraqi exile group into southern Iraq, vanguard elements of what a high-ranking Pentagon officer said would form the basis of a new Iraqi army. Taking up camp on the outskirts of Nasiriyah, the soldiers belong to the Iraqi National Congress and are being led by Ahmed Chalabi, a London-based former banker and principal founder of the INC. Chalabi was among those flown to the southern Iraqi city from Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq."

Diplomats injured in attack on convoy evacuating Russia's Baghdad envoy  4/7/03 Yahoo

It Seemed As If Baghdad Would Fall Within Hours  4/7/03 Znet: by Robert Fisk

Sunday 4/6/03

The Ministry of Mendacity Strikes Again  4/6/03 Arab News: by Robert Fisk - "The Iraqi intelligence service is a brutal, crude organization, but subtlety and sophistication are not its strong points. To suggest that President Saddam’s goons could have turned up in the slums — amid a population known for its hatred of the Iraqi Baath Party and possibly responsible for killing a number of its apparatchiks — and persuaded these largely illiterate people to tell a complicated lie to foreign journalists is beyond credibility. There were many bits of the same wretched missile all over Shu’ala. I collected five pieces myself, made of the same alloy, two of them dug out of the muck with my own hands. Does the British defense secretary really think the Iraqi torturers have the ability to go about these hostile slums, burying obscure pieces of shrapnel for the likes of The Independent to dig up there? Does he think that the uncle of one of the dead men could make up his description of seeing the aircraft bank away after the attack? So, too, the two missiles that struck the Sha’ab district of Baghdad earlier in the week. Again, they exploded amid Shiite slums, homes of the very people who most oppose President Saddam’s regime."

'Friendly fire' hits Kurdish convoy  4/6/03 BBC: "An American warplane has bombed a Kurdish convoy in northern Iraq which included members of US special forces. The BBC's world affairs editor John Simpson, who was travelling with the convoy, says he counted at least 10 bodies and others wounded."

Iraq war divides South Africa  4/6/03 BBC: "The US consulate in Johannesburg is in the smart traditionally Jewish neighbourhood of Killarney; hardly fertile ground for anti-American sentiment. Yet ever since the start of the war, there has been a 24-hour vigil by protesters at the consulate gate: and when they call on passing motorists to beep their horns in solidarity, many drivers oblige."

Honduras: al menos 60 muertos en motín  4/6/03 BBC Mundo

Official Story Vs. Eyewitness Account  4/6/03 FAIR

La guerrilla causa 254 muertos y heridos a la fuerza pública en 2 meses de duros combates en el norte de Colombia  4/6/03 FARC

The Israelization of America  4/6/03 Haaretz

Taliban Take Control Of Government Offices In Zabul  4/6/03 Hi Pakistan: "The Taliban have taken control of the headquarters in Naubahar and Shinkai districts in the southwestern Zabul province in Afghanistan. A Taliban spokesman, Mohammad Mukhtar Mujahid, told The News that their fighters evicted the Afghan government officials manning the Naubahar and Shinkai district headquarters on Sunday morning. "Armed Taliban fired in the air to force the government militiamen to vacate the Uloswali (district offices). They spared the lives of the government functionaries because the Taliban objective was to make their presence felt rather than harming fellow Afghans," he explained."

Allies guard crucial supply lines from traps and ambushes  4/6/03 Independent, UK: "The guerrillas' methods are simple. At night they can snipe at soldiers or conduct drive-by shootings. They fire rocket-propelled grenades and mortars randomly into British camps. But they need just one lucky strike to send body bags back to Britain. They are also almost impossible to defend against. More horrific is the "cheesewire" trap. Here a thin strand of wire is stretched across the road. It is almost invisible and aimed at decapitating the British soldiers who stand out from the top of the lorries and Land Rovers to keep guard." Let us remember Malcolm X "Bullet in 1964 - "The same thing happened to the French up in French Indochina. People who just a few years previously were rice farmers got together and ran the heavily-mechanized French army out of Indochina. You don't need it -- modern warfare today won't work. This is the day of the guerrilla. They did the same thing in Algeria. Algerians, who were nothing but Bedouins, took a knife and sneaked off to the hills, and de Gaulle and all of his highfalutin' war machinery couldn't defeat those guerrillas. Nowhere on this earth does the white man win in a guerrilla warfare. It's not his speed. Just as guerrilla warfare is prevailing in Asia and in parts of Africa and in parts of Latin America, you've got to be mighty naive, or you've got to play the black man cheap, if you don't think some day he's going to wake up and find that it's got to be the ballot or the bullet."

EL PERVERSO ROSTRO DEL FASCISMO  4/6/03 Jiribilla: "Decenas de millones de estadounidenses le temen de forma paranoica al "terrorismo" en sus lugares de trabajo, de compras o en actividades de recreo. La gente reprime cualquier mínima crítica a la guerra o incluso, al gobierno por miedo a ser tachada de simpatizante terrorista, reportada a las autoridades, investigada, y a perder su trabajo."

LA CIA AL SUR  4/6/03 Jiribilla: "Estas revistas nuclearon a intelectuales, a veces destacados, que no hay por qué pensar que siempre sabían que en el fondo estaba la CIA; a veces —démosles el beneficio de la duda— fueron utilizados gracias a su condición incauta."

VENEZUELA: LA GUERRA CULTURAL EN CALIENTE  4/6/03 Jiribilla: "Un esfuerzo que se da hoy en el pensamiento intelectual progresista tendrá lugar también en abril en Venezuela, cuando se reúnan intelectuales, artistas de nuestro continente, en defensa del proceso bolivariano, y creo que será una oportunidad también de enfrentar todo este tipo de maniobra, de guerra cultural contra nuestros pueblos, a partir de los cánones de la CIA, de los servicios especiales norteamericanos. Conversamos con Luis Britto, destacado intelectual venezolano, dos veces premio Casa de las Américas, profundo conocedor de la situación de su país, y veedor de la realidad hoy de Venezuela." Using US tax dollars to promote race war.

Out of Ammunition, the Economy Faces a New Foe  4/6/03 NYT

Baghdad on brink  4/6/03 Observer, UK: "But by last night the Iraqi military knew the Americans were coming, which was why they were setting up artillery pieces, manning bridges with rocket-propelled grenades and checking their machine guns. Despite breathless claims by US spokesmen that their forces were able to freely move around in 'downtown' Baghdad, the only army in sight was Saddam Hussein's. And it was getting ready for a fight. ...Yesterday evening, a man wearing traditional Arab robes arrived at the Palestine Hotel carrying a Kalashnikov and a pink plastic bag holding a beige uniform of desert camouflage and an army issue sun hat. The name on the uniform was Diaz. The man carefully arranged the uniform on the ground, as if he were making a window display at a department store, and a group of young men wiped their feet on the US flag."

From Drugs, Oil, and War, Chapter Two  4/6/03 Peter Dale Scott: "The US handled the quadrupling of oil prices in the 1970s by arranging, by means of secret agreements with the Saudis, for the recycling of petrodollars back into the US economy. The first of these deals assured a special and on-going Saudi stake in the health of the US dollar; the second secured continuing Saudi support for the pricing of all OPEC oil in dollars. <20> These two deals assured that the US economy would not be impoverished by OPEC oil price hikes. The heaviest burdens would be borne instead by the economies of less developed countries. <21> …Some had expected that the successful OPEC revolt in the 1970s against Washington's and London's economic policies would presage a "new economic order" that would strengthen the South vis-à-vis the North. The secret Saudi-US deals led to a different outcome: a "new world order" that saw increasing US military dominance combined with increasing economic instability and occasional crises elsewhere. Statistics reveal the change in direction. Between 1960 and 1980 per capita income grew 73 percent in Latin America and 34 percent in Africa. Between 1980 and 2000 income grew less than 6 percent in Latin America, and declined by 23 percent in Africa. <26>"

Varios heridos en ataques a caravana de diplomaticos rusos en Iraq  4/6/03 Prensa Latina: "Varias personas resultaron heridas en dos ataques a una caravana de diplomáticos y periodistas rusos en Iraq cuando se dirigía a la frontera con Siria, informó hoy un miembro de la delegacion a la agencia rusa Interfax."

Why we may never regain the liberties that we've lost  4/6/03 San Jose Mercury News

US tanks roar into downtown Baghdad  4/6/03 Sun Herald, Australia

Daily Russian Military Intel Briefing, 4/6 A  4/6/03 Venik's Aviation: "According to weather forecasts, in the coming day the weather may abruptly change to the worse. The wind is expected to intensify, visibility may reduce to 200-300 m. All the claims made by aviation commander of the coalition, general Michael Mosley, about “…Iraqi army, as an organized structure consisting of large units, exists no longer…” are contrary to fact and, according to analytics, are probably connected with severe pressure put on the military command by American financial groups that desperately needed good news from the US-Iraqi front by the end of the financial week. In fact, the Republican Guards defending Baghdad have not lost even 5% of their numerical strength and military equipment. Most of those losses were due to bombardments and not land combats. The total losses of Iraqi army since the beginning of the war have not exceeded 5-8% of their defensive potential. This means the main battles are still to be seen."

Daily Russian Military Intel Briefing, 4/6 B  4/6/03 Venik's Aviation: "The American command was utterly irritated by the presence of the Russian embassy in Baghdad and believed that some technical intelligence equipment was deployed there that provided the Iraqis with information. Moreover, some officers in the coalition HQ in Qatar openly claimed that it was on the territory of the Russian embassy that the “jammers” hampering the high-precision weapons around Baghdad were operated. Yesterday morning the Secretary of State Colin Powell demanded of immediate evacuation of the embassy from the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov. Yesterday evening the Russian minister informed the Americans that on the 6th of April the embassy column would be leaving Baghdad heading for the Syrian border. This gave rise to dissatisfaction among the State Department officials who suggested that the column should move to Jordan. The coalition special operations HQ were sure that the embassy column would contain secret devices taken from military equipment captured by Iraqis. In this connection one cannot shut out the possibility of “revenge” from the coalition command. Moreover, experts claim that the purpose of this armed assault could be to damage a few cars where the Russians would have to leave some of the salvage. This is also indicated by the fact that neither the ambassador himself nor journalists in the column were among the injured. In this case we can expect that this action was committed by coalition special forces and the column was shot using Russian-made weapons to conceal the origin of the attackers to blame the Iraqis afterwards. According to the most recent data the column got ambushed almost 30 km to the west from the city on the territory occupied by the coalition, but moving fast it escaped from fire and made a few more kilometers where it was blocked by military jeeps. On attempting to establish contact with their crews it received fire again, then the jeeps vanished."

"There is one safeguard known generally to the wise, which is an advantage and security to all, but especially to Democracies as against despots: suspicion." -- Demosthenes

Maps & Weather

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/

A number of maps here
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/afghanistan.html

http://www.weatherhub.com/

Estimates of the total number of Muslims range from 0.7 to 1.2 billion worldwide and 3 to 6 million in the U.S. About 20% of all people on earth follow Islam. The religion is in a period of rapid growth.

Christianity is currently the largest religion in the world. It is followed by about 33% of all people -- a percentage that has remaind stable for decades. It is expected that, if current trends continue, Islam will become the most popular religion sometime in the mid-21^st century.

-- http://www.religioustolerance.org/islam.htm

Death from America

Iraq news: Soaring death rates among Iraqi children, 1999 BBC, UNICEF 500,000 child deaths

Ramsey Clark: Report to UN Security Council re: Iraq, 1/26/2000
1.5 million deaths

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4/6/03 - 4/13/03