Stories from 2002-03-11

"Uzbekistan is drifting toward an anti-American stance, if one understands 'American' as implying democracy, human rights and the struggle against state-sponsored terror. After Sept. 11, [the Uzbek leader] reversed his amnesty for some political prisoners who had originally been scheduled for release." [more]

"Framed by the flags of scores of nations that have supported Bush's initial strikes against terror, Bush began a public campaign to persuade . . . nations ó many of them skeptical or hostile to the idea ó to stay with him as he moves forward with plans to replace the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein." [more]

"President Bush declared today that the United States was willing to train and provide military aid to 'governments everywhere' in the fight against terrorism and for what he made clear would be battles beyond Afghanistan." [more]

"Attacks on Asian-Americans, particularly Pakistani and Indian immigrants, increased greatly in the United States in the weeks after Sept. 11, a report by an advocacy group says." [more]

"Unlike much of the arms-control discussions in recent years, this dispute is not over the number of weapons the United States needs; it is over the more fundamental issue of the circumstances in which they might be used." [more]

" 'Their first instinct is not to tell people things,' Mr. Elmendorf said. 'They're not the first White House to be like that, but they're certainly more excessively secretive than I remember the Clinton White House being, or even Bush I.' " [more]

"The Army is considering closing its Peacekeeping Institute, the only arm of the military devoted entirely to preparing for and analyzing U.S. peacekeeping missions around the globe." [more]

"Incidents are prompting travelers to wonder whether aviation security is in danger of running amok and turning on ordinary citizens. Whether the problems stem from overzealousness or bureaucratic ineptitude, making the system more user-friendly has become a concern second only to stopping terrorists." [more]

"Since Sept. 11, the U.S. government has secretly transported dozens of people suspected of links to terrorists to countries other than the United States, bypassing extradition procedures and legal formalities, according to Western diplomats and intelligence sources. The suspects have been taken to countries, including Egypt and Jordan, whose intelligence services have close ties to the CIA and where they can be subjected to interrogation tactics — including torture and threats to families — that are illegal in the United States, the sources said." [more]

"The CIA and State Department have begun aggressively courting exiled Iraqi generals in Europe and the United States whom they see as key to overthrowing President Saddam Hussein of Iraq, US officials and Iraqi dissidents said." [more]

"Army Gen. Tommy Franks, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, disputed the notion that the fight in rugged terrain south of Gardez, which began March 2, was subsiding. He said that it was evolving and that troops were being repositioned within the battlefield or on its perimeter. In some cases, he said, fresh troops were rotating in." [more]

"Unless core issues of marginalisation and disempowerment are addressed, the end result of responding to terror with violence will be increased support for groups like al-Qaeda, and an expanded cycle of violence." [more]