Opinion Editorials, December 2003, www.aljazeerah.info
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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A red herring or a misunderstanding: Where are the weapons of mass destruction?
Gulf News, 29-12-2003
Where are those Iraq weapons of mass destruction the world has heard so much about? Despite all the millions of dollars spent and specialist man-hours invested in trying to uncover the unobtainable, we are no nearer the truth. America does not care very much - neither the American public nor the American administration: "Who cares?" they claim, Saddam Hussain has been removed, that is enough. But Britain (and much of the rest of the world) view the situation very differently. The British public and parliamentarians are asking difficult questions, sufficient to rattle the doors of No.10 Downing Street, if not the incumbent himself.
Yet Blair stubbornly refuses to admit to any error in judgement or statement. He insists his intelligence (that is, the security services, not his mental capacity) is right and in the fullness of time he will be proven correct. For his sake, let us hope so. But as time passes and no "smoking gun" can be found - or even a gun - the claims of a 45-minute (some now say 30-minute) ability to send nuclear missiles skyward looks increasingly doubtful.
Of course it does not help Blair's case that the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, Paul Bremer, has thrown doubt upon Blair's gung-ho seasonal statement to the troops. Blair claimed that the Iraq Survey Group had found "massive evidence" of clandestine laboratories (for producing all the various vile substances yet to be found). Bremer, not knowing the source of the quote, replied that it sounded like a bit of a red herring … someone who doesn't agree with the policy sets up a red herring then knocks it down.
Bremer did a double-take when he learned of the source of the information, but too late. Blair's statements have again come in for suspicion. He will not enjoy the parliamentary recall in the New Year.
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| Earth, a planet hungry for peace |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank, like a Python. (Alquds,10/25/03). |
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