Stories from 2002-08-06

"The question now appears to be not whether there will be a war, but when. The answer is that in war, as other matters, timing is all. For President George W. Bush that timing will be dictated by the demands of a domestic political agenda. With the economy in the middle of what now looks like a double-dip recession - and his room for manoeuvre on the economic front hobbled by his tax-cut commitments - Bush has been left with only two policies he can sell as a success: the war against terrorism and the war against Saddam." [more]

"Baghdad is pinning its hopes on persuading the British government to withhold support from any US military action. The calculation among senior figures in the Iraqi regime is that President George Bush is prepared to risk international criticism in a war to overthrow Saddam Hussein - but only if he has Tony Blair at his side." [more]

"A briefing given last month to a top Pentagon advisory board described Saudi Arabia as an enemy of the United States, and recommended that U.S. officials give it an ultimatum to stop backing terrorism or face seizure of its oil fields and its financial assets invested in the United States." [more]

"Israelís likely reaction would be nuclear ground bursts against every Iraqi city not already occupied by US-led coalition forces. Senators were told that, unlike the 1991 Gulf War, when Washington urged Israel not to retaliate against Iraqi missile strikes, Israeli leaders have decided that their credibility would be hurt if they failed to react this time." [more]

"'What this generation is passing through will bear more hatred, and they will become more and more hostile against the Jews in the future,' says Maryan Suleiman, 62, as she sadly watches her giggling 7-year-old twin grandchildren pretend to be terrorists in her living room. 'The suiciders now are nothing compared to what will be.'" [more]

"Mr Schr–der said Germany was a self-confident country. 'We didn't shy away from offering international solidarity in the fight against international terrorism. We did it because we were, and are, convinced that it is necessary; because we knew that the security of our partners is also our security. But we say this with equal self-confidence: we're not available for adventures, and the time of cheque book diplomacy is over once and for all.'" [more]

"The armed forces chief in the Philippines, General Roy Cimatu, says the focus of military activity is shifting from confronting Muslim militants of the Abu Sayyaf group in the south of the country to what he called the growing threat from communist guerrillas." [more]

With Nevada skin I burn to tell a Truth obstructed of desolate Earth and People united by a cataclysmic obsolescence. With Lop Nor legs I run to find a secret crevice where I lie hidden from a home on the brink of nuclear precipice. [more]

"Military leaders should be wary. Efforts to further weaken the Posse Comitatus Act are, at a minimum, unnecessary, and at a maximum, potentially damaging." [more]

"The paper, prepared by Laurent Murawiec, a former adviser to the French Defence Ministry and an analyst at the US military think-tank, the Rand Corporation, was uncompromising in its recommendations. ìSaudi Arabia supports our enemies and attacks our allies,î the report, obtained by The Washington Post, states." [more]

"The US is now a threat to the rest of the world. The sensible response is non-cooperation." [more]

"Last week the Pentagon, for the first time, secured funds from Congress to develop "mini-nukes", low-yield nuclear weapons designed in particular to destroy underground bunkers. The plan to build a new generation of nuclear weapons, military analysts say, is behind the growing pressure on the White House to withdraw from the comprehensive test-ban treaty. American nuclear scientists last week also secured an agreement whereby tests on new warheads could start within a year of any request, rather than the existing mandatory delay of three years. They have been instructed to drill new boreholes in the test grounds of the Nevada desert." [more]

"A former member of a Special Forces unit from one of America's coalition partners supplied his own explanation for the American behaviour when I met him a few days later. 'When we go into a village and see a farmer with a beard, we see an Afghan farmer with a beard,' he said. 'When the Americans go into a village and see a farmer with a beard, they see Osama bin Laden.'" [more]

"The State Department said the action alleging the oil company knew of human- rights abuses by the Indonesian military guarding its facilities in Aceh province "could impair cooperation with the U.S. across the full spectrum of diplomatic initiatives, including counterterrorism."" [more]

"Undeterred by memories of war, military training camps are filling up, with teenagers, women and elderly men volunteering for instruction. The authorities say around seven million Iraqis -- out of a population of around 22 million -- have already attended these camps. 'We have to defend our country and our beloved leader. Bush will regret any attack on great Iraq,' a volunteer said." [more]

"Volunteers for Operation TIPS, John Ashcroft's citizen spy army, are being steered to the Fox crime show 'America's Most Wanted.' Is the merger of tabloid TV with the federal snooping operation funny or scary or both?" [more]