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February 18, 2003 News http://www.aljazeerah.info |
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Human Price of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine Israeli daily aggression on the Palestinian people Mission and meaning of Al-Jazeerah Cities, localities, and tourist attractions
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Israel Assassinates Hamas
Leader After Launching Night Raids
Arab News
- GAZA CITY, 18 February 2003 — Israel turned its military might on
Hamas in its Gaza bastion yesterday, killing two Palestinians in a major
night raid and fatally wounding a Hamas leader in an ambush, after a day
of bloodshed which left nine other Palestinians dead. Despite the spate of killings, separate Israeli and Palestinian
delegations headed to London for talks on Palestinian reforms. The Gaza raid, which also left four Palestinians injured as 40 Israeli
tanks and two bulldozers pushed into the north, came as the Israeli press
warned of a major army thrust into Gaza in retaliation for a weekend blast
that killed four soldiers and destroyed a tank. The multipronged night raid left two Palestinians dead, one of them a
policeman killed at a security outpost, while four others were wounded by
helicopter gunfire and an apartment block belonging to a Hamas leader was
blown up. Two tanks also moved into the nearby Jabalya refugee camp and fired
several tank shells at an unidentified target, but no casualties were
reported. The major incursion, started late Sunday, came just a day after four
Israeli soldiers were killed in a massive bomb attack on a tank in the
Beit Lahiya area. The tank ran over an explosive device on Saturday morning and was
completely destroyed, killing all four soldiers in it as troops moved into
the area to raze agricultural land and several greenhouses in the area. Hamas claimed the blast, prompting Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz
to promise to land a serious blow against Hamas which has been in the
vanguard of the 28-month Palestinian uprising. Israel kept up the pressure this morning when an undercover unit
ambushed and fatally wounded Riyad Abu Zaid, a local Hamas military
commander, on a road south of Gaza City. Israeli public radio quoted military sources as saying Abu Zaid was a
top Hamas leader, and that the operation was an arrest bid that had ended
in a shooting. But Hamas leader Abdelaziz Al-Rantissi insisted it was a deliberate
assassination. Two other Hamas fighters traveling with Abu Zaid were wounded and
arrested in the operation. The raids followed a bloody day which saw six Hamas men killed in an
explosion in a Gaza house, which Rantissi also slammed as an
assassination. “This is a terrorist operation, 100 percent a Zionist
assassination,” he told AFP. “The Zionist occupier will pay a heavy
price for this.” Meanwhile, Hamas yesterday vowed to hit back at Israel for the deaths
of of its members, putting all its cells on alert. The Ezzedin Al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement that “all members
should be on alert and ready for revenge against the Israeli crime.” Around 70,000 people turned out to the Gaza City funeral of the six
Hamas men killed by an explosion on Sunday as they were handling a light
aircraft. Hamas leaders said the explosion was an Israeli strike. It was not clear how the explosion occurred. The Israeli Army was still
refusing to comment on the blast 24 hours after it happened. Analysts said they expected more such incursions by the army against
Hamas and others, but said it was unlikely Israel would fully reoccupy the
Gaza Strip as it has the West Bank, which it took over in June. Such a huge operation would lack domestic support at a time when
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is trying to build a national unity
government, and would also hinder US plans to launch an anticipated strike
on Iraq. Also Sunday, another three Palestinians were killed in clashes in
Nablus as the Israeli Army moved in to arrest Taysir Khaled, a member of
the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
Twenty eight Palestinians were wounded during the operation. The Israeli
Army also stormed the northern West Bank town of Jenin Sunday night,
sparking clashes in which two Palestinians were wounded. In spite of the violence, Israeli and Palestinian delegations headed to
London for a series of meetings aimed at furthering reforms in the
Palestinian Authority. Unlike in January, when Israel blocked Palestinian officials from
attending a British-sponsored conference which Israeli officials had not
been invited to, the Palestinians said they been allowed to travel this
time. (AFP)
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Massive Snowstorm Buries US
mid-Atlantic region
NEW YORK, 18 February 2003 — A blizzard shut down much of the mid-Atlantic region on Presidents Day with windblown snow up to 4 feet deep, halting air and some rail travel and causing at least a dozen deaths. The snow was part of a huge system that had charged in from the Plains and up the Ohio valley during the weekend. It also produced rain, mudslides and floods in the South and Appalachians, and ice that snapped trees and power lines, leaving more than 230,000 customers without electricity. The heaviest snow was in the high country of the central Appalachians: 49 inches in western Maryland’s Garrett County and 27 in West Virginia’s Berkeley County, the National Weather Service and local officials said. The Seven Springs ski resort area near Champion in western Pennsylvania recorded 40 inches. Flakes piled up at a rate of up to 4 inches an hour in parts of Maryland. Gov. Robert Ehrlich declared a state of emergency, one of several governors who did so. "This is looking like the largest storm this year, and it may be one of the top five in our recorded history," said Lora Rakowski of Maryland’s Highway Administration. "You name a place, they’ve got snow -- and a lot of it." New York City reported blizzard condi-tions yesterday, and many Delaware beach communities had flooding caused by a storm surge and a full-moon high tide. The major airports at Philadelphia and Washington were closed yesterday except for one runway at Washington Dulles International Airport. New York’s Newark, LaGuardia and Kennedy all stayed open but had widespread flight cancellations. Amtrak suspended service between Washington and Richmond, Virginia, and canceled about 25 percent of its Northeast trains. Among the many travelers stranded by the storm, few were as far from home as Lynn Anderson of Belfast, Ireland. "It’s turned into a complete nightmare. I’ve never been stranded by myself before," said Anderson, who arrived in Philadelphia on Sunday hoping to go to Williamsburg, Va., but had to stay overnight in a downtown Philadelphia hotel. Philadelphia had 17 inches by morning with a forecast of 18 to 25. Eighteen to 22 inches was expected in New York City, where the 11 inches of dense, fine snow already on the sidewalks made walking feel like exer-cising on a Stairmaster. New York City alone had some 1,500 plows and 350 salt spreaders at work, sanitation department spokesman Keith Mellis said. "It’s getting bad, and it’s going to stay bad," said Gary Szatkowski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, N.J. The storm was following a northeasterly track, with the snow heading into northern New England. Snow also continued fall-ing across the Ohio Valley as far west as Indiana. Wrecked cars lined interstate highways around Louisville, Ky., after heavy rain turned to sleet and ice. More than 60,000 homes and businesses in Kentucky were without electricity as the ice broke power lines and tree limbs. "You’ll go down a street and you’re lucky if you can get from one end to the other without having to drive around trees," said Pat Dugger, director of environmental and emergency management in Lexington. In West Virginia, some of the approxi-mately 95,000 residents without electricity were told crews might not be able to restore power until at least Wednesday. More power outages were reported in Ohio, the Carolinas and Virginia.
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U.S. official to Israel:
We'll deal with Syria, Iran after Iraq war
The Guardian, 2/17/03
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U.S. official to Israel: We'll deal with Syria, Iran after Iraq war "I want to tell you something very clear, don't worry about American pressure on Israel, we, the Jewish people control America, and the Americans know it."-- Ariel Sharon to Shimon Peres, October 3rd, 2001, as reported on Kol Yisrael radio. U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton said in meetings with Israeli officials on Monday that he has no doubt America will attack Iraq, and that it will be necessary to deal with threats from Syria, Iran and North Korea afterwards. Bolton, who is undersecretary for arms control and international security, is in Israel for meetings about preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction. In a meeting with Bolton on Monday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that Israel is concerned about the security threat posed by Iran. It's important to deal with Iran even while American attention is turned toward Iraq, Sharon said. Bolton also met with Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Housing and Construction Minister Natan Sharansky.
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Kalam Calls for Talks to
Defuse Ayodhya Issue
NEW DELHI, 18 February 2003 — Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
yesterday urged Hindus and Muslims to resolve an explosive plan to build a
temple on the site of a razed mosque through dialogue. "While the judiciary should expedite its work and give an early
verdict, it is also nec-essary for political parties, religious leaders
and eminent social personalities to promote an atmosphere of mutual
understanding, goodwill and accommodation," Kalam told Parliament. Hindus and Muslims both claim the destroyed mosque site in the northern
city of Ayodhya as their own. The Babri Mosque was destroyed in 1992 by
Hindu fanatics. The incident sparked violence across India that claimed 2,000 lives and
was considered a factor in sectarian clashes in Gujarat state a year ago
that killed another 2,000 people, mostly Muslims. The dispute is likely to dominate the budget session of Parliament as
it comes weeks after the federal government urged the Supreme Court to
lift a ban on worship at the site, imposed last March. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s Hindu fundamentalist BJP party
has close links with the hard-line Vishwa Hindu Parishad or VHP which is
spearheading the campaign to build the temple. The VHP is also planning a "dharam sansad", or religious
parliament, of top Hindu leaders later this month in New Delhi. President Kalam also said that India would take "all necessary
steps" to stop illegal migration from Bangladesh as the neighboring
country was used by Pakistani intelligence agents. "The problem of illegal migration from Bangladesh has assumed
serious propor-tions and affects many states. The ISI is also active in
Bangladesh," he said, referring to the Inter-Services Intelligence
agency of Pakistan. "This makes the issue of infiltration (from Bangladesh) even more
ominous. The government is determined to take all necessary steps to check
this problem," said the Indian head of state, whose role is largely
ceremonial. Historically friendly relations between India and Bangladesh have
plummeted since last year when New Delhi warned of a danger of religious
extremists in its smaller neighbor. The Indian home ministry -- headed by the hawkish deputy prime
minister, Lal Krishna Advani -- last month announced a drive to deport
millions of Bangladeshis it said were illegally in India. Bangladesh has strongly denied hosting any extremists and contends that
none of its nationals is in India illegally. Bangladesh’s Foreign
Minister Morshed Khan visited India last week in a bid to soothe over
relations after troops from the two countries height-ened the alert over
the deportation drive. In his speech in Parliament, Kalam stressed the need for cuts in
government expenditure and revamping the tax system for higher economic
growth. "The imperative of fiscal consolidation requires that public
finances are managed better," he said. "This can take place only
through greater collection of revenue and controlling unproductive
expenditure. Increase in revenue will need a restructur-ing of the tax
system with a focus toward stable, transparent and efficient tax admin-istration." Kalam said such tough economic mea-sures were needed for the government
to achieve the target of eight percent GDP growth over the next five years
set by the country’s top economic think tank, the Planning Commission. He added the target was achievable with the right choice of economic
reforms. India’s economy grew by 6.0 percent and 5.8 percent successively in
the first and second quarters of the current fiscal year, which ends March
31.
The US is abandoning plans to introduce democracy in Iraq after a war to overthrow Saddam Hussein, according to Kurdish leaders who recently met American officials. The Kurds say the decision resulted from pressure from US allies in the Middle East who fear a war will lead to radical political change in the region. The Kurdish leaders are enraged by an American plan to occupy Iraq but largely retain the government in Baghdad. The only changes would be the replacement of President Saddam and his lieutenants with senior US military officers. It undercuts the argument by George Bush and Tony Blair that war is justified by the evil nature of the regime in Baghdad. "Conquerors always call themselves liberators," said Sami Abdul-Rahman, deputy prime minister of the Kurdish administration, in a reference to Mr Bush's speech last week in which he said US troops were going to liberate Iraq. Mr Abdul-Rahman said the US had reneged on earlier promises to promote democratic change in Iraq. "It is very disappointing," he said. "In every Iraqi ministry they are just going to remove one or two officials and replace them with American military officers." Kurdish officials strongly believe the new US policy is the result of pressure from regional powers, notably Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The US appears to be quietly abandoning earlier declarations that it would make Iraq a model democracy in the Middle East. In Iraq, free elections would lead to revolutionary change because although the Shia Muslims and Kurds constitute three-quarters of the population, they are excluded from power in Baghdad by the Sunni Muslim establishment. Kurdish leaders are deeply alarmed by US intentions, which only became clear at a meeting in Ankara earlier in the month and from recent public declarations by US officials. Hoshyar Zebari, a veteran Kurdish leader, said: "If the US wants to impose its own government, regardless of the ethnic and religious composition of Iraq, there is going to be a backlash." Mr Abdul-Rahman accuses the US of planning cosmetic changes in Iraq. "This is to give the government on a platter to the second line of Ba'athists [the ruling party]," he said. The US appears to be returning to the policy it pursued at the end of the Gulf War in 1991. It did seek to get rid of President Saddambut wanted to avoid a radical change in Iraq. The US did not support the uprisings of Shia Muslims and Kurdsbecause it feared a transformation in Iraqi politics that might have destabilised its allies in the Middle East or benefited Iran. The two Kurdish parties the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which rules western Kurdistan, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan are at the heart of the Iraqi opposition. Together they rule four million people in an area the size of Switzerland that has been outside President Saddam's control since 1991. The change in American policy means marginalising the Iraqi opposition which has been seeking to unite. In response to the US decision, the Kurds and their allies have accelerated moves to hold a conference of opposition parties in Salahudin, the headquarters of the KDP, now scheduled for tomorrow. "We want to know if we are partners in regime change or not," Mr Zebari said. He spoke scathingly of any attempt by America "to bring in an Iraqi from the United States who has not seen his country for years and impose him by armed force". The destabilising impact of the impending war is already being felt in the mountains of northern Iraq. Turkey has demanded that its troops be allowed to take over a swath of territory along the border inside Iraq. The ostensible reason is to prevent a flood of Kurdish refugees trying to flee into Turkey, but the Kurdish parties say they are quite capable of doing this themselves. They say the Turkish demand, to which they suspect the US has agreed in return for the use of Turkish military facilities, is the first step in a Turkish plan to advance into Iraqi Kurdistan. The Kurds fear that a US-led war against President Saddam might be the occasion for a Turkish effort to end the de facto independence enjoyed by Iraqi Kurds for more than a decade. One Kurdish leader said: "Turkey has made up its mind that it will intervene in northern Iraq in order to destroy us. • Peace activists who want to be "human shields" arrived in Baghdad yesterday. The activists, who had 18 Britons among them, left London on 25 January in three double decker buses. They will deploy at likely bombing targets. Patrick Cockburn is a visiting fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington and the co-author of 'Saddam Hussein: An American Obsession'.
Anti-war coalition leaders, emboldened by the massive turnout at peace rallies in London and around the world, are planning to try to shut Britain down should Tony Blair defy public opinion and go to war without a UN resolution. "We want people to walk out of their offices, strike, sit down, occupy buildings, demonstrate, take direct action and do whatever they think fit the moment war starts," said Lindsey German of the Stop the War Coalition yesterday. "We want to completely close down Whitehall and prevent the Ministry of Defence going to work. At 6pm on the first evening after the bombing starts, there will be demonstrations and vigils all over the country, to be followed by another march with CND on the first weekend after war starts." The coalition will decide over the next few days whether or not to call for a local "day of action" which would be an invitation for younger, militant groups around Britain to take direct action. Last year, with considerably smaller support, a similar call led to more than 300 demonstrations, including university occupations and wildcat strikes. International campaigners from the US, Asia and elsewhere are expected to meet in London in the next week to consider further coordinated opposition to war. But whatever the outcome, local groups will continue their diverse protest activities, which range from weekly vigils in Milton Keynes to next week's Cycle for Peace in London. American airforce bases such as those at Fylingdales in Yorkshire and Fairford in Gloucestershire, where activists have staged weekly "weapons inspections", are likely to become a focus for much activity. One of the key dates will be March 8, International Women's Day, which will see an anti-war march setting out from Parliament Square, organised by women who have been holding a weekly antiwar picket opposite Downing Street. That day's annual global women's strike, held in more than 70 countries each year to push for investment in caring work rather than military budgets, has been dedicated to the anti-war movement this year. The size of the London and Glasgow marches, together with the great diversity of people on them, has given people a shared confidence and a new moral authority, said Ms German. "People who oppose the war now feel that they speak for the majority. To get at least one million, probably two million, people on to the streets on Saturday is unprecedented. This was a national occasion," she said. Her sentiments were echoed by many people on Saturday's march, many of whom said they had never marched before. "Mr Blair has truly united Britain for the first time in my lifetime. I never dreamed so many people felt the same way as I did," said Joanna Fitcham, company director from Norfolk. "I shall be taking part in every demonstration I can from now." "Next time I'll bring all my friends," said John Tucker, 15, from south London, who had come with his mother. Barrie Botley, 58, from Folkestone, said he had been amazed by the numbers present. "The campaign is growing in momentum now and this won't be the last protest, I'm sure. It may well be small compared to what's come," he said. Several politicians yesterday predicted that the march would have repercussions throughout the Labour party and beyond. Tony Benn said: "It will go down in British history. In 50 years' time people will say 'were you really there?' It has given us great hope. This is crunch time. Tony Blair can now either be the leader of the Labour party or leader of the war party. " Prominent Labour anti-war MP Alan Simpson said that the march had united the anti-war movement with the anti-globalisation movement and could redefine British politics. "The party is split over this. There are only 180,000 members but more than one million people were in the park. The government no longer speaks for its constituency. If Blair takes us into the war we will launch a movement in the Labour party to indict him." Grassroots campaigners were equally quick to make the link with recent protests, which they believed had encouraged groups with diverse aims to join together and focus on specific issues. "I was involved in the protests against the Gulf war, but this is very different," said Mirjam Junker, from Germany, who joined the protests on Saturday. "There are more people and also a wider range of people. I think it's to do with the anti-globalisation movement. It was the beginning of many things; groups joining up and linking together. After Seattle people have learned to protest and take to the streets again."
****************************************************** STOP IF THEY DROP If the UK goes to war, demonstrate at 6pm in your town centre (London: Trafalgar Square). We will call a national demo immediately. More... ******************************************************* IF WAR BREAKS OUT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WE WANT TO STOP THIS WAR But if Bush and Blair push ahead with an attack on Iraq, there will be a wave of mass protest and civil disobedience across the land. On the day war breaks out, the Stop the War Coalition is calling on everyone to make your protest felt immediately - occupy your city or town centre, organise mass meetings or walkouts at work, sit in at your college or university. * If you are at school organise a walkout or an occupation if you can, or call for a debate in your class or assembly to spread the word. * In the evening of an attack we are calling for mass occupations of city and town centres at 6pm. In London this means assembling at Trafalgar Square at 6pm to bring the whole centre of government to a halt. The following Saturday there will be a national demonstration in London. START PREPARING THIS NOW ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * At trade union meetings pass resolutions calling for walkouts and supporting the call for a recall TUC conference to discuss national strike action. * In your college call meetings to organise occupations on the day the war starts In your neighbourhood or workplace set up a local Stop the War Coalition group. People are setting up groups in schools, offices, colleges, and on their streets and estates. Contact us for more information, support and material.
Contact us 07951 235 915 or 020 7053 2153/4/5/6
NEW DELHI - Indian Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Tuesday reiterated his opposition to a
US-led war against Iraq, warning that the United Nations could “die a
moral death” if it succumbs to pressure from Washington. “The prime
minister said that the international situation is worsening (and) there
is a possibility of war in Iraq,” Vajpayee’s BJP party spokesman
Vijay Kumar Malhotra quoted the premier as telling MPs at a
parliamentary party meet in the Indian capital.
“We
don’t want war, a majority of nations also don’t want war, but they
are unable to say so,” Malhotra quoted Vajpayee as saying. “Also
there is fear that the United Nations organisation becomes ineffective
and dies a moral death if it takes any step under US pressure,”
Vajpayee added. His
comments came days after Defence Minister George Fernandes said it would
be “inconceivable” for the United States to attack Iraq. “India
cannot support (the US’s present position on Iraq). How can India
support?” Fernandes said after UN Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix
told the Security Council on Friday there had been improved
cooperation by Iraq, although it had still not accounted for its weapons
of mass destruction. India
has already spoken out against any unilateral US attack on Iraq but
urged Baghdad to come clean on weapons of mass destruction. The country
is heavily dependent on oil and workers’ remittances from the Gulf. More
than 10,000 people protested on Saturday around India against a US
war on Iraq, a meagre number compared with many demonstrations around
the world.
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Iraq vows to turn desert into a cemetery for US
and British soldiers -
DUBAI - Iraq will turn its
deserts and borders into a cemetery for US and British troops if they
invade, Foreign Minister Naji Sabri warned in an interview published on
Tuesday.
“We
will fight with all our means and we will transform the desert and the
borders of Iraq into a cemetery for the invaders,”
Sabri told Asharq al-Awsat. He
said that in the 1920s Iraqis had “beaten the British army using basic
weapons, sticks, knives and swords. “They
killed more than 50,000 and their cemeteries spread around Baghdad and
other Iraqi towns bear witness to this. “This
time the cemeteries will be in the desert because they will not be able
to reach the cities of Iraq thanks to our courageous people,” said
Sabri. Iraq
was “preparing to fight an attack as if it could happen within the
hour,” he added. Britain
finally took all of Iraq from the Turks in 1918 and held it under
international mandate from 1920 until full independence in 1932. Sabri,
who spoke to the paper in Cairo where he attended a weekend meeting of
Arab foreign ministers on the Iraq crisis, said Arab countries could
avert war. “If
Arab countries decide to prevent war, they can do it,” he said.
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Arab
leaders likely to hold Iraq summit on February 28 -
CAIRO - Arab leaders are
likely to hold an an emergency summit on February 28 in Egypt’s Red
Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss the Iraq crisis, the Arab
League said on Tuesday.
“There
is growing consensus to hold an emergency Arab summit on February 28
followed by ordinary Arab summit sessions on March 1. We expect final
confirmation of the date tomorrow or the day after tomorrow,” an Arab
League spokesman told Reuters. The
summit would probably be held in Sharm el-Sheikh, the spokesman added. The
22-member Arab League had decided to bring forward the date of their
annual summit from late March and move the meeting to Egypt from Bahrain
amid concerns a -led war against Iraq might be imminent. It
failed to reached agreement on a new date during foreign ministerial
talks in Cairo on Sunday.
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Seven soldiers
killed, 11 wounded in Philippines rebel ambush -
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines -
Muslim separatist rebels ambushed a military convoy in the southern
Philippines on Tuesday, killing seven soldiers, officials said.
A
truckload of soldiers from the 64th Infantry Brigade were attacked by
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas near Matanog town on
Mindanao island, southern Philippines military chief Lieutenant General
Narciso Abaya said. The
ambush left seven soldiers dead and 11 other people -- 10 soldiers and a
civilian -- wounded, he added. “I
condemn this treacherous attack and I have ordered the military to
pursue the ambushers,” Abaya said.
MILF forces have been dislodged from their stronghold near Pikit
town and have been on the run following days of military bombardment
that left nearly 200 soldiers and rebels dead last week. President
Gloria Arroyo had ordered the assault amid accusations the MILF was
massing forces in the area and sheltering terrorists and criminal gangs. The
fighting had threatened to scuttle the peace talks launched by Arroyo in
2001, but government and MILF peace negotiators on Tuesday expressed
hope of resuming negotiations. MILF
spokesman Eid Kabalu on Tuesday said while there were continuing
skirmishes, the rebels remained open to the prospect of resuming peace
negotiations with Manila. However,
he said government troops should be pulled out of rebel areas, a demand
rejected by both Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes and chief negotiator
Eduardo Ermita. “The
MILF is open to (suggestions) of resuming peace peace talks, but we are
observing developments,” Kabalu said. “There should be sincerity and
commitment from the government with respect to the peace process.”
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EU
unites in putting onus on Baghdad to disarm
EU leaders sought to smooth over divisions on Iraq at an emergency summit
yesterday, putting the onus on Baghdad to disarm and accepting force could
be used as a last resort, diplomats said.
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Anti-war
roar fills streets of San Francisco, Sunday
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U.S.
soldiers to be deployed in Sulu
Kuwait lodged an official complaint Monday
over Lebanon’s chairing of the Arab foreign ministers’ meeting in
Cairo, which saw member states divided over the Iraqi crisis, while
Kuwaiti politicians called for punitive measures against Beirut.
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Politicians lament Arab disunity in Cairo Elie
Hourani -
Politicians greeted the results in
Sunday’s Cairo Arab foreign ministers’ meeting with criticism for
letting disputes get in the way of a united stance.
LONDON (AP) — War against Iraq would be “very difficult” with much of the public opposed to military action, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Monday after a huge anti-war demonstration during the weekend. Prime Minister Tony Blair strongly supports the United States' tough stance on Iraq, and has sent 40,000 troops to the Gulf region to back US forces. But hundreds of thousands of people marched through London on Saturday to protest possible military action against President Saddam Hussein. Organisers said some 2 million people attended the anti-war rally while police put the figure at 750,000. Straw told the British Broadcasting Corp. that the march was a “very, very large demonstration, probably the largest one we've seen in our recent democratic history in London. We have to take account of public opinion.” Asked whether Britain could go to war with Iraq if a large part of the population opposes military action, Straw said it would be “very difficult indeed in those circumstances.” “It's patently more straightforward for governments to take a country to war, to military action, if they've palpably got the whole of the population behind them than if not,” he said. “I would have thought that was a rather obvious point.” Blair is staking his political future on backing the United States against Iraq, which both countries accuse of hiding banned chemical and biological weapons. His unflinching support of US President George W. Bush has angered many in his left-of-centre party. Blair said Saturday that removing Saddam from power would be an “act of humanity” while leaving him in office would be “inhumane.” Blair's official spokesman on Monday said Saddam could remain in power if he disarmed, but added: “It's our firmly held view that he depends on his weapons for power and we don't believe he is serious about disarming.” The spokesman, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, restated the moral case for taking military action despite fears of heavy casualties. “If (war) leads to the removal of a dictator who runs his country like a butcher's shop, then lives will be saved as well.” Weapons inspectors gave a relatively favourable account of Iraq's recent cooperation with their search for banned arms in a meeting at the Security Council last Friday. British and American diplomats at the United Nations say they have begun reworking a draft resolution to authorize force against Saddam. Straw said he wouldn't set a deadline for bringing a new resolution before the Security Council.
TEL AVIV (AFP) — Israel appeared set to launch a massive military campaign in the Gaza Strip after Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz vowed to avenge the killing of four occupation soldiers by the Hamas resistance group, and as troop stepped up raids early Monday. But analysts said they doubted Israel would reoccupy the Gaza Strip as it has the West Bank, as such a move could interfere with plans by Israel's chief ally, the United States, to wage war on Iraq. A senior Hamas official said he “expected the worst from Mofaz and Israel's occupation forces,” but pledged to “continue the resistance against the occupation.” “Mofaz's statement indicates he wants to crush Hamas, but that just won't happen, we're not afraid of his threats,” said Ismail Haniya. Hamas claimed Saturday's explosion which destroyed an Israeli tank and killed its four-member crew in northern Gaza, prompting Mofaz to warn a day later that “Israel will land a serious blow against the Hamas infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.” On Sunday, Hamas accused Israeli of killing six of its Gaza activists in a blast as they were assembling a small aircraft to “carry out operations against Israeli targets,” Haniya said. Israel kept up the pressure, launching a major incursion on Sunday night to smash the Gaza home of a Hamas leader thought to be involved in the tank blast, an operation which left two more Palestinians dead. And on Monday, an undercover Israeli unit attacked the car of a Hamas leader in the central Gaza Strip, fatally wounding the man they were trying to arrest. “If Mofaz has committed himself to retaliate against Hamas and its infrastructure, I expect him to carry out his threat,” said Gaza lawmaker Ziad Abu Amer. But Abu Amer said he did not expect a full reoccupation of the Gaza Strip. “There will be strikes, partial invasions but no full re-occupation yet,” he said. “Sharon will not want to complicate things for (US President George W.) Bush before his war against Iraq,” he said. Israeli strategic analyst Yossi Alpher also said the timing was not conducive to a major military campaign in the Gaza Strip that would lead to its re-occupation, as was the case in the West Bank last spring. “We've witnessed pinpoint operations over the past 24 hours, which shows there is no intention right now to re-occupy the whole of the Gaza Strip,” he said. But he said Sharon was committed to invade the Strip “at a more convenient time.” “Sharon needs a broad consensus domestically, preferably in the form of a unity government, and US backing,” he said, pointing out that neither of the two requirements was available to the Israeli premier at this juncture. “He has not formed his government yet and has no green light from the US as the clampdown on Iraq nears,” he said. Sharon was reelected as Israel's prime minister last month but has failed so far to convince dovish Labour Party leader Amram Mitzna to join a national coalition with his hawkish Likud. Alpher warned against Sharon's twin goals of subduing the Palestinian Intifada and imposing a new leadership with whom to negotiate his vision for a Palestinian state on small chunks of the West Bank and Gaza Strip with no dismantlement of Jewish settlements. “Palestinians cannot enter or stay in such negotiations. Sharon's policy is bound to bring about more violence,” he said. “It took Sharon 18 months to reoccupy the West Bank, in Gaza he's getting deeper everytime with the same objective in mind,” he said.
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Turkey delays vote on US deployment, seeks
aid first Jordan Times, 2/18/03
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ANKARA (AFP) — Turkey on Monday delayed a vote on allowing US soldiers to deploy on its soil, hinting it first wanted Washington to put up billions more dollars in aid to offset economic damages in case of war in neighbouring Iraq. The news came just hours after Anakara secured a victory within NATO which after a week-long standoff approved US plans to boost Turkey's defences in case of an Iraq war. The Turkish parliament had been expected to vote on Tuesday on a government motion to allow US soldiers to deploy in the country in preparation for a possible US military move into northern Iraq. Without agreement with Washington on “political, economic and military questions” parliament would not adopt such a motion, said Prime Minister Abdullah Gul. He did not elaborate, but Turkish and US officials have been engaged in extensive negotiations on US financial assistance to help Turkey deal with the impact of a war. Newspaper reports here suggested Washington had offered some $6 in grants and up to $20 billion in loan guarantees. Turkey might be seeking up to $50 billion, according to press reports. “If circumstances do not change, the prime minister's office will not send to parliament such a motion, at least for tomorrow (Tuesday) as was expected,” Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc told Anatolia news agency. Speaking after talks in Washington, Economy Minister Ali Babacan said Sunday he and US officials had failed to agree on the amount of a financial aid to be provided. The Turkish press was awash Monday with reports of tensions between the two NATO allies. “Parliament vote on hold over deal for US dollars,” was the blunt headline in the Radikal newspaper. Ankara worries a war in Iraq would deal a new blow to its economy, which has just started to recover from a severe recession, hitting the country's vital tourism sector and upsetting fragile macro-economic balances watched by the International Monetary Fund. Turkey and the US are also at odds over who will command the troops that Ankara is planning to send to northern Iraq in the event of a war to prevent an influx of refugees and thwart any independence move by the breakaway Iraqi Kurds in the region. Ankara has said Washington's suggestion to place the Turkish troops under US command was “insulting.” The Turkish legislature is dominated by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), a movement with Islamist roots whose members are overwhelmingly against military action against Baghdad. “We have our worries. It will be difficult to convince parliament members without coming to an agreement” with the US, Gul said at the airport, before heading to Brussels for an emergency EU summit on Iraq. “Turkey places a lot of importance on political, military, and economic questions,” he said. “To get a result (in parliament), deputies will want to see the adoption of certain measures to address their concerns.” Earlier this month, the Turkish parliament allowed the US to renovate and upgrade sea ports and air bases that could be used in any operation against Iraq. US technical personnel have already arrived in several cities. Ankara's anxiety over economic and military guarantees from the US stem from the 1991 Gulf War, which Turks believe, taught them a lesson. Turkey, which opened its bases to the use of US warplanes at the time, says it has suffered up to $40 billion in trade losses due to the embargoes imposed on Iraq and accuses the US of failing to keep promises for financial compensations. Turkey also says the “no-fly zone” enforced over northern Iraq after the war, which effectively ended Baghdad's control in the region, has boosted independence aspirations among the local Kurds and provided Turkish Kurdish rebels with a safe haven and a springboard for attacks on Turkish territory.
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