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War related news highlights Jordan Times, 3/27/03
Bush scraps 'ahead of schedule' message MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE (AFP) — US President George W. Bush on Wednesday scrapped at the last minute plans to declare the campaign in Iraq "ahead of schedule" in a keynote speech here. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer had told reporters Bush would give an optimistic assessment in a speech to troops at the Florida headquarters of the US Central Command, which runs the Iraq war from a forward base in Qatar. "The president will say that our progress is ahead of schedule, yet the war is far from over," Fleischer told the journalists aboard the Air Force One presidential airplane as it headed for MacDill Air Base. But Bush "made the change" to his speech during the flight because "he was airing on the side of being conservative," a senior administration official explained later on condition of anonymity. Egypt complains to Syria over anti-Mubarak protests CAIRO (AFP) — Egypt lodged a formal complaint with Syria Wednesday over antiwar demonstrations in Damascus in which Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was denounced for being a US ally, the foreign ministry said. Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher summoned the Syrian Ambassador Youssef Ahmad and asked him to "inform the Syrian authorities of our protest and our disapproval." Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of the Syrian capital on Tuesday, shouting hostile slogans against Mubarak, as well as Jordanian, Kuwaiti and Qatari leaders. Egypt has voiced opposition to the war but has also been critical of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's regime, and Mubarak has also been criticised in demonstrations in its own country. "The protests in Damascus against the Egyptian embassy are likely to harm our common objectives, and fly in the face of Syria's responsibility, as the only Arab member of the Security Council, to express the common position of the Arab world," Maher said. He also stressed to Ahmad "the necessity of avoiding all activities which can damage relations between the two countries" at a time when the Arab world needs to be united. Prodi warns of worsening humanitarian crisis in Iraq BRUSSELS (AFP) — The European Commission is rapidly coming to the aid of ordinary Iraqis amid a "deteriorating" humanitarian crisis, the EU executive's president Romano Prodi said Wednesday. "The commission, together with its partners, is doing its best to provide assistance to those who are in greatest need, and to do this as quickly as possible," Prodi told reporters. "The humanitarian situation is deteriorating in many parts of the country," he said. "The war has now forced people to leave their houses — a lot of them have no food, clothing or a roof over their heads. What is even more serious is that many now do not have clean drinking water." Of 21 million euros ($22.4 million) set aside by the European Commission for Iraq, three million euros has already been spent by the International Committee of the Red Cross on food aid in northern Iraq, Prodi said. The commission, which has asked EU member states for an additional 79 million euros, is also helping to supply hospitals in Baghdad "which have received a large number of wounded from the bombing", he said. "As soon as security conditions permit, the Red Cross will open an air bridge financed by" money from Brussels, Prodi added. Three US, three Spanish ships pass through Suez Canal PORT SAID, Egypt (AFP) — Three Spanish and three US naval vessels sailed through the Suez Canal on Wednesday to join the anti-Iraq coalition fleet massed in the Gulf, Egyptian harbour authorities said. The three American boats — USS Cape Island, Cape Isabel and Cape Knox — were carrying military equipment for the US-British war aimed at toppling the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and controlling Iraq's oil wealth, they said. The Spanish ships consisted of the frigate Reina Sofia, amphibious assault ship Galicia and fleet oiler Marques de la Ensenada. Between Sunday and Tuesday, 24 US vessels passed through the Suez Canal en route to the Gulf, according to harbour authorities. On Saturday the United States abandoned plans to launch a ground offensive into northern Iraq from Turkey after the Turkish parliament refused to allow US troops to transit its territory. As a result, the US Army's 4th Infantry Division has been ordered to deploy to the Gulf. Saudi minister cuts his peace proposal to just `general ideas' RIYADH (AFP) — Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal issued a clarification Wednesday that a proposal for Baghdad and Washington to stop the war contained "general ideas" rather than a peace initiative. "What the kingdom had proposed are general ideas and not an initiative. The kingdom had stressed on these ideas on many occasions," said the Saudi chief diplomat in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency. The proposal stresses "the need for an immediate halt of the war, resolving the unfortunate international divisions about how to deal with Iraqi affairs, and the need to return to peaceful efforts," the statement said. Prince Saud reiterated that the crisis must be resolved within the "legitimate framework of the United Nations to safeguard Iraq's national security and its civil institutions," from destruction. "These ideas are offered for both sides," Prince Saud said. He told a press conference Tuesday that the kingdom had presented a peace plan to the United States and Iraq, and appealed to both sides to stop military action immediately. "We have made the proposal and we are waiting for a positive response. We have not been rebuffed," he said. Both Baghdad and Washington denied they had received a Saudi proposal. Rio lawmakers declare `aggressor' Bush unwelcome RIO DE JANEIRO (R) — Brazil's tourist centre Rio de Janeiro has reacted to what lawmakers called "US aggression" against Iraq by declaring President George W. Bush "persona non grata." Fernando Gusmao, author of the mainly symbolic measure unanimously approved by the municipal legislature, said it would not stop Bush from visiting Rio but if he came the legislature would not give him honours due to a head of state. "The motion is an institutional position of rejection towards the president of the United States in the view of the absurd US aggression in Iraq," said Gusmao of the Communist Party of Brazil. Gusmao said he would hand the document to the US consulate in Rio de Janeiro and the embassy in Brasilia and called on other Brazilian cities to follow suit. Opposition to war is widespread in Brazil, where the new centre-left government has called the conflict illegitimate and some federal lawmakers urged a boycott of US products.
Opinions expressed in various sections are the sole responsibility of their authors and they may not represent Al-Jazeerah's.
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