Annan Warns U.S. Will Face Doubts

posted by admin on Saturday February 07, @05:29AM

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 6 -- The U.S. failure to uncover weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has heightened international skepticism over the quality of American intelligence and may complicate efforts to use it in the future to build a case for action against outlaw regimes, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said Friday.

"The bar has been raised," Annan said during a break in a U.N. conference on financing the reconstruction of Liberia. "People are going to be very suspicious when one talks to them about intelligence. And they are going to be very suspicious when we try to use intelligence to justify certain actions."

The U.N. chief's statement underscored the potential damage the questionable intelligence the Bush administration used to justify the war in Iraq is having on U.S. credibility at the United Nations. It coincided with a visit by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, who traveled to the United Nations to rally support for the reconstruction of Liberia and to pledge $200 million in U.S. support for the effort.

…

"I don't think any apologies are necessary," he (Powell) added. "We said that this was a regime led by a dictator who had every intention of keeping his weapons-of-mass-destruction programs going, and anyone who thinks he didn't is just dead wrong. And there is no evidence to suggest that that was an incorrect judgment."

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U.S. Plan to Transfer Power In Iraq May Shift Drastically

posted by admin on Thursday February 05, @06:44PM

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 5 -- The U.S. plan to hand over power in Iraq is increasingly likely to undergo major changes rather than merely "refinements," because of increasing skepticism about the June 30 deadline for creating a provisional government and erosion of support for the proposal to use caucuses to select it, according to senior U.S. and U.N. officials.

The Bush administration still publicly clings to its transition plan, but a U.N. team scheduled to arrive in Iraq as early as Friday has been given a free hand to present its own blueprint for the country's political transition if it determines elections cannot be held by June in Iraq, U.S. and U.N. officials say.

...

One option is extending the June 30 deadline for installing an Iraqi government to allow enough time for the direct elections demanded by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraq's leading cleric. There is already talk about a hypothetical extension to Jan. 1, 2005.

This could mean that the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority would stay longer, which could carry political costs for President Bush in an election year and anger Iraqis who want an end to foreign occupation, U.S. officials concede.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com

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(UK) Intelligence chief's bombshell: 'We *were* overruled on dossier'

posted by admin on Tuesday February 03, @03:29PM

The Independent, 3 February 2004

The intelligence official whose revelations stunned the Hutton inquiry into the death of government scientist David Kelly has suggested that not a single defence intelligence expert backed Tony Blair's most contentious claims on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

As Mr Blair yesterday set up an inquiry into intelligence failures before the war, Brian Jones, the former leading expert on WMD in the Ministry of Defence, declared that Downing Street's dossier, a key plank in convincing the public of the case for war, was "misleading" about Saddam Hussein's chemical and biological capability.

Writing in today's Independent, Dr Jones, who was head of the nuclear, chemical and biological branch of the Defence Intelligence Staff until he retired last year, reveals that the experts failed in their efforts to have their views reflected.

Dr Jones says: "In my view, the expert intelligence analysts of the DIS were overruled in the preparation of the dossier back in September 2002, resulting in a presentation that was misleading about Iraq's capabilities."

He calls on the Prime Minister to publish the intelligence behind the Government's claims that Iraq was actively producing chemical weapons and could launch an attack within 45 minutes of an order to do so. He is "extremely doubtful" that anyone with chemical and biological weapons expertise had seen the raw intelligence reports and if they were made public, it would prove just how right he and his colleagues were to be concerned about the claims.

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BBC staff stop work in protest

posted by admin on Friday January 30, @01:56PM

http://www.news.com.au

BBC staff stop work in protest
By Peter Wilson
January 31, 2004

THE BBC plunged deeper into its worst crisis yesterday as thousands of staff around the country walked out in support of their deposed leaders and opinion polls showed many Britons thought the Hutton report into the death of weapons scientist David Kelly had been "a whitewash".

Some 56 per cent of voters told a Daily Telegraph poll that law lord Brian Hutton was wrong to lay all the blame on the BBC, while 49 per cent agreed in another poll that the findings were "a whitewash".

The BBC, the world's largest public broadcaster, was reeling yesterday from the report's scathing criticisms of its role in the lead-up to Kelly's suicide.

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Egyptian Plane Crashed in Red Sea

posted by ewing2001 on Friday January 02, @10:12PM

Egyptian Plane Crashes in Red Sea, 148 Dead

Reuters -January 3

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) - An Egyptian Boeing 737 airliner carrying 135 mostly French tourists crashed into the Red Sea off the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday and eyewitnesses said they saw no sign of survivors.

The plane, operated by the Egyptian company Flash Airlines, disappeared from radar screens minutes after take-off from Sharm el-Sheikh airport at 9:44 p.m. EST/0244 GMT and crashed in deep water to the southeast, official sources said.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the crash but Civil Aviation Ministry Secretary-General Abo Ghanima said the plane appeared to have had an accident. "Until now there is no sign of terrorism," he said.

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India Times: Musharraf Attacks may have been "stage-managed"

posted by ewing2001 on Monday December 29, @01:04PM

'Gen attacks may have been stage-managed'

IndiaTimes -December 27

NEW DELHI : Even as Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf survived a second attempt on his life in ten days, media reports have suggested that the assassination bids could be “stage-managed” while some others have suspected that these could be the handiwork of people in his inner circle or religious extremists and their sympathisers in the army.

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Straw fuels fear of rift between EU and US

posted by admin on Sunday November 30, @01:15AM

UPDATE: U.S. (PNAC) Claims Europe's Galileo (GPS) is a threat to global security

Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, fuelled fears of a transatlantic rift over the European Union's defence policy yesterday when he refused to reveal how Washington had reacted to news of a controversial deal struck by Britain, France and Germany.

It is believed that Colin Powell, the US secretary of state, telephoned two European foreign ministers on Friday seeking urgent clarification of the deal, which will allow the EU to conduct its own military operations independently of Nato.

The plan will also be discussed by Nato defence and foreign ministers at meetings in Brussels this week, where critics are expected to include Donald Rumsfeld, the hawkish US defence secretary.

Mr Straw spoke to Mr Powell on Thursday, the day after the deal was struck in Berlin, but said his response would have to remain one of the "secrets of the confessional".

more...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk

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Georgia: A Swan Song for the Gray Fox of the Caucasus?

posted by Mactyler on Sunday November 23, @02:19AM

UPDATE: CNN Breaking: Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze RESIGNS

Stratfor.biz

Summary Georgia is locked in an internal conflict over election scandals that, given time, could escalate into civil war. Although Washington and Moscow have come down on opposite sides of the issue, they both might stand by the incumbent president to avoid chaos in Georgia.

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Britain on red alert as terrorist threat rises

posted by admin on Saturday November 22, @05:01PM

UPDATE: Sweeping new emergency laws to counter UK terror

http://www.news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1292792003

Sun 23 Nov 2003

MINISTERS are preparing to place the UK on ‘red alert’ in an unprecedented peacetime move that would see the streets of Britain flooded with armed police.

The plan to step up to the highest possible security state follows last week’s devastating terrorist attacks on British targets in Turkey and growing fears that a direct assault on the UK is inevitable.

The nationwide alert would result in tougher security checks across the country and give intelligence agencies and police emergency powers to increase surveillance, phone-tapping and the detention of terror suspects on the basis of intelligence reports.

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Georgian's Seize Parliament - Eduard Shevardnadze Declares a State of Emergency

posted by admin on Saturday November 22, @09:20AM

UPDATE: CNN Breaking: Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze RESIGNS

(AP Photo)

Parliament Takeover Prompts Georgia Crisis

Facing a possible confrontation with the army and security forces, the opposition appealed to its supporters in the streets to defend the parliament building.

Opposition leader Nino Burdzhanadze, the speaker of the outgoing parliament, proclaimed herself acting president until early elections that the opposition called to take place in 45 days. She warned Shevardnadze's government to avoid bloodshed.

"The fate of our country is being decided now," said protest leader Mikhail Saakashvili. "We give guarantees to Shevardnadze that he will not be harmed, but let him know that if there is at least one shot fired at people, he will face justice."

The parliament takeover was an exuberant moment for protesters who for days have been demanding the president's removal over elections that the opposition says were rigged. Just as Shevardnadze began speaking in parliament, Saakashvili and hundreds of supporters swarmed through the chamber doors, pushing and shoving lawmakers.

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American excitement gives way to anxiety and foreboding

posted by admin on Monday November 17, @06:16PM

Gary Younge in New York
Tuesday November 18, 2003
The Guardian

Since David Blaine left his box overlooking the river Thames the American media's interest in Britain has rarely strayed beyond Tony Blair's support for the war in Iraq, and the monarchy. So it is little surprise that the visit of the United States president, George Bush, is the talk of the airwaves and a subject worthy of the front pages.

But where there once would have been excitement there is only anxiety.

"This is not a prediction but a terrible foreboding," writes David Frum, Mr Bush's former speechwriter who claimed credit for the phrase "axis of evil", in the rightwing weekly The National Review.

"I fear that President Bush's imminent state visit to the United Kingdom is shaping up as one of the worst media debacles of his presidency."

Mr Frum's analysis of the reasons for the dire predictions is not an uncommon view among Americans. "President Bush is not widely popular in Britain," he writes. "He will not receive a warm welcome from the larger British public."

Newsweek goes further: "What Blair needs to do is distance himself from Bush, not hug him close."

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Murdoch Papers switch to Tory party?

posted by ewing2001 on Saturday November 15, @09:23AM

Murdoch papers may switch to Tories

Guardian -Saturday November 15, 2003

Matt Wells, media correspondent

The media tycoon, Rupert Murdoch, last night signalled that his newspapers may switch their allegiance to a reinvigorated Tory party at the next election, in comments likely to cause further alarm among Labour's already jittery high command.

Mr Murdoch, who owns the Times and the top-selling Sun, said the "jury's out" on Tony Blair and warned that his publications would be "torn" if the new Conservative leader, Michael Howard, turns the Tories into a viable alternative.

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US Shuts Embassy in Saudi Arabia

posted by NYC on Friday November 07, @07:56AM

Reuters -Fri 7 November, 2003
Update: United States will close its missions on Saturday
Update: Threat of terror attacks reported, US Media pushing Reports about Cargo Plane attack (MSNBC 11/08)
New Terror Script for Sunday (11/09) or Tuesday (11/11)? :
"Al Qaeda" Threatens New York, Washington and Los Angeles
mensnewsdaily.com

RIYADH (Reuters) - The United States says terrorists are close to carrying out attacks in Saudi Arabia and that U.S. diplomatic missions in the Gulf Arab state will close on Saturday to review the security situation.

An advisory by the U.S. embassy in Riyadh said: The embassy continues to receive credible information that terrorists in Saudi Arabia have moved from the planning to operational phase of planned attacks in the kingdom."

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Venezuela's Chavez warns Costa Rica on 'coup plot'

posted by ewing2001 on Tuesday November 04, @02:03PM

Chinadaily -November 4

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez on Sunday accused Costa Rican government officials of backing his opponents in an alleged coup plot from San Jose to topple his leftist government.

Chavez, a fiery, outspoken former army paratrooper who often denounces conspiracies against him, did not provide details about how Costa Rican officials were involved.

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Sri Lanka Crisis: President sacked 3 Ministers

posted by ewing2001 on Tuesday November 04, @01:37PM

Sri Lanka thrown into political crisis

BBC -November 4

Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga has suspended parliament and sacked three powerful ministers. Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe, her rival, accused the president of seeking "chaos and anarchy".

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- MORE -