UNITED NATIONS (AP) - U.N. satellite imagery experts have determined that material that could be used to make biological or chemical weapons and banned long-range missiles has been removed from 109 sites in Iraq, U.N. weapons inspectors said in a report obtained Thursday.
U.N. inspectors have been blocked from returning to Iraq since the U.S.-led war in 2003 so they have been using satellite photos to see what happened to the sites that were subject to U.N. monitoring because their equipment had both civilian and military uses.
In the report to the U.N. Security Council, acting chief weapons inspector Demetrius Perricos said he's reached no conclusions about who removed the items or where they went. He said it could have been moved elsewhere in Iraq, sold as scrap, melted down or purchased.
He said the missing material can be used for legitimate purposes. ``However, they can also be utilized for prohibited purposes if in a good state of repair.''
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Leaving The Party of WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Bucks County Courier Times
Calling Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick a "DeLay Disciple" and decrying the Republican Party's move to the right, former Republican Bucks County commissioner Andy Warren on Wednesday announced he has become a Democrat and is not ruling out a run for office.
Warren, the longest-serving commissioner in county history and now head of the regional state transportation office, said he switched his party registration over the weekend.
The change comes, Warren said, after years of watching the national Republican Party move further and further to the right.
"When one finds that his philosophy is so out of step with the organization, you either sit silently by, hypocritically, or you do something about it," he said. "It was time to move on. So I did."
Calling Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick a "DeLay Disciple" and decrying the Republican Party's move to the right, former Republican Bucks County commissioner Andy Warren on Wednesday announced he has become a Democrat and is not ruling out a run for office.
Warren, the longest-serving commissioner in county history and now head of the regional state transportation office, said he switched his party registration over the weekend.
The change comes, Warren said, after years of watching the national Republican Party move further and further to the right.
"When one finds that his philosophy is so out of step with the organization, you either sit silently by, hypocritically, or you do something about it," he said. "It was time to move on. So I did."
FALLUJAH SHEIKH SAYS AL-ZARQAWI DIED ON FRIDAY
Baghdad, 2 June (AKI) - The Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq - died on Friday and his body is in Fallujah's cemetary, an Iraqi Sunni sheikh, Ammar Abdel Rahim Nasir, has told the Saudi on-line newspaper Al-Medina. He claims that gunfights which broke out in Fallujah in the last few days involved militants trying to protect the insurgency leader's tomb from a group of American soldiers patrolling the area.
During a telephone conversation from the city of Fallujah with the Saudi newspaper, Nasir said al-Zarqawi was taken there after being injured in the city of Ramadi around three weeks ago, and may have been treated by two doctors who had worked with his aides in Baghdad. He said the two doctors had stopped a serious haemorrhage in al-Zarqawi's intestines, but that after his condition worsened last week, the militant died on Friday.
Nasir adds that in his will the insurgent leader left the order that no funeral should be held for him and the right to announce his death should be left to the al-Qaeda leadership in Afghanistan and Osama
During a telephone conversation from the city of Fallujah with the Saudi newspaper, Nasir said al-Zarqawi was taken there after being injured in the city of Ramadi around three weeks ago, and may have been treated by two doctors who had worked with his aides in Baghdad. He said the two doctors had stopped a serious haemorrhage in al-Zarqawi's intestines, but that after his condition worsened last week, the militant died on Friday.
Nasir adds that in his will the insurgent leader left the order that no funeral should be held for him and the right to announce his death should be left to the al-Qaeda leadership in Afghanistan and Osama
While We Go Broke and Ruin Our Military in Iraq
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (AP) - The Russian, Chinese and Indian foreign ministers agreed Thursday to intensify joint work against terrorism and underscored their common approach to international affairs - often seen as a bid to counterbalance what all three countries see as U.S. domination of world affairs.
The trio met in Russia's Pacific port of Vladivostok, near the Chinese border, a venue that emphasizes Russia's place in Asia.
The trio met in Russia's Pacific port of Vladivostok, near the Chinese border, a venue that emphasizes Russia's place in Asia.
Officials See Terror Threat From Iraq Vets
(UPI)
Two former senior Bush administration counter-terrorism officials say the danger posed to the U.S. homeland by graduates of the Islamic insurgency in Iraq is so severe that the measures needed to counter it will affect Americans' quality of life.
"I predict that the quality of all our lives will change to a certain extent, as measures previously considered needed (only) in forward areas will increasingly be ... adopted in our home countries," Cofer Black told a conference of U.S. and European counter-terrorism officials and experts.
Black, who until earlier this year was the U.S. State Department's counter-terrorism coordinator, declined to elaborate.
He said Iraq had become "a university on how to conduct highly effective assassinations and bombings." He said the skills learned by terrorists there meant that "we are likely to see increasingly innovative" means of attack.
Two former senior Bush administration counter-terrorism officials say the danger posed to the U.S. homeland by graduates of the Islamic insurgency in Iraq is so severe that the measures needed to counter it will affect Americans' quality of life.
"I predict that the quality of all our lives will change to a certain extent, as measures previously considered needed (only) in forward areas will increasingly be ... adopted in our home countries," Cofer Black told a conference of U.S. and European counter-terrorism officials and experts.
Black, who until earlier this year was the U.S. State Department's counter-terrorism coordinator, declined to elaborate.
He said Iraq had become "a university on how to conduct highly effective assassinations and bombings." He said the skills learned by terrorists there meant that "we are likely to see increasingly innovative" means of attack.
Members Push Tougher Line On Iran
The Hill
Key members of Congress are girding to take a tougher line on Iran by tightening sanctions and taking a high-profile stance against the Iranian government.
But despite President Bush's calls for democratic reform in the Middle East, the administration is urging Congress to hold off on legislation out of concern that it might disrupt sensitive negotiations about Iran's nuclear program.
The momentum for legislative action in Congress has reached such an extent that the administration has begun voicing its concerns to powerful committee chairmen.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) - who does not favor taking up Iran legislation right now - said he has been consulting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other members of the administration on the issue.
"They're not indicating that would be helpful right now," he said. "For the moment, we're trying to work through negotiations, not legislation."
But with passion on the issue running strong, it is uncertain if members will hold off for more than a few months. A bill by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) on Iran had attracted 263 co-sponsors before the recess - well beyond a majority of 218 needed to pass the House. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), a possible presidential candidate in 2008, has introduced a companion bill that is identical to the version by Ros-Lehtinen.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) recently signed on to the bill, which also has substantial Republican support - including Chief Deputy Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.).
"I'm hopeful this is something the majority leader and others will see as consistent with what we're trying to do in spreading freedom and democracy," he said.
Key members of Congress are girding to take a tougher line on Iran by tightening sanctions and taking a high-profile stance against the Iranian government.
But despite President Bush's calls for democratic reform in the Middle East, the administration is urging Congress to hold off on legislation out of concern that it might disrupt sensitive negotiations about Iran's nuclear program.
The momentum for legislative action in Congress has reached such an extent that the administration has begun voicing its concerns to powerful committee chairmen.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) - who does not favor taking up Iran legislation right now - said he has been consulting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other members of the administration on the issue.
"They're not indicating that would be helpful right now," he said. "For the moment, we're trying to work through negotiations, not legislation."
But with passion on the issue running strong, it is uncertain if members will hold off for more than a few months. A bill by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) on Iran had attracted 263 co-sponsors before the recess - well beyond a majority of 218 needed to pass the House. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), a possible presidential candidate in 2008, has introduced a companion bill that is identical to the version by Ros-Lehtinen.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) recently signed on to the bill, which also has substantial Republican support - including Chief Deputy Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.).
"I'm hopeful this is something the majority leader and others will see as consistent with what we're trying to do in spreading freedom and democracy," he said.
Soros Joins Ledecky's Bid For Nationals
WP
Billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros has joined Washington entrepreneur Jonathan Ledecky's bid to purchase the Washington Nationals, Ledecky said in an interview yesterday.
"The Soros family shares my belief that the Washington Nationals are a community trust that can serve as a positive platform for the economic development of the inner city," Ledecky said.
The Soros announcement is the latest in a flurry of activity in recent days as at least seven groups have filed initial bids for the Nationals with Major League Baseball, according to baseball sources. Several groups have added major partners in recent days: former secretary of state Colin L. Powell joined the Fred Malek-Jeffrey Zients group; Sallie Mae Chairman Albert L. Lord took over the William Collins-led group on Tuesday, and former Illinois senator Peter Fitzgerald became part of the Lord group.
Billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros has joined Washington entrepreneur Jonathan Ledecky's bid to purchase the Washington Nationals, Ledecky said in an interview yesterday.
"The Soros family shares my belief that the Washington Nationals are a community trust that can serve as a positive platform for the economic development of the inner city," Ledecky said.
The Soros announcement is the latest in a flurry of activity in recent days as at least seven groups have filed initial bids for the Nationals with Major League Baseball, according to baseball sources. Several groups have added major partners in recent days: former secretary of state Colin L. Powell joined the Fred Malek-Jeffrey Zients group; Sallie Mae Chairman Albert L. Lord took over the William Collins-led group on Tuesday, and former Illinois senator Peter Fitzgerald became part of the Lord group.
Amnesty International Defends Report Wants Access to Gitmo
TOKYO (Reuters) - Human rights group Amnesty defended its description of Guantanamo prison as a "gulag" Thursday and urged the United States to allow independent investigations of allegations of torture at its detention centers for terrorism suspects.
A verbal feud between Amnesty International and Washington has escalated since Amnesty last week compared the prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the brutal Soviet system of forced labor camps where millions of prisoners died.
President Bush dismissed as "absurd" the Amnesty report, which also said the United States was responsible for an upsurge in global human rights violations, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called the description "reprehensible."
"The administration's response has been that our report is absurd, that our allegations have no basis, and our answer is very simple: if that is so, open up these detention centers, allow us and others to visit them," Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Zubaida Khan told a news conference.
A verbal feud between Amnesty International and Washington has escalated since Amnesty last week compared the prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the brutal Soviet system of forced labor camps where millions of prisoners died.
President Bush dismissed as "absurd" the Amnesty report, which also said the United States was responsible for an upsurge in global human rights violations, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called the description "reprehensible."
"The administration's response has been that our report is absurd, that our allegations have no basis, and our answer is very simple: if that is so, open up these detention centers, allow us and others to visit them," Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Zubaida Khan told a news conference.
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