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Politics : WAR on Terror. Will it engulf the Entire Middle East? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Scoobah who wrote (389)	11/17/2001 5:52:26 PM
From: Scoobah	Respond to of 32591

Russians Returning to Kabul 17 November: A high-level Russian delegation is being rushed to the Afghan capital of Kabul to “look into the military requirements of the legitimate government of Rabbani”. A special Russian commando team landed in Bagram airbase Saturday November 17 to secure the high-level Russian team. The Russian commandos landed shortly after British troops took up positions at Bagram airbase. Without waiting for the Russian delegation to land in Kabul, they took up duty as personal security unit for Rabbani, who declared himself the legitimate ruler of Afghanistan. The delegation, announced over Russian State TV ‘RTR’ Saturday November 17, means that the Russians will enter Kabul ahead of the Islamic Peace Force planned by the UN for supervising the formation of Afghanistan’s first post-Taliban ruling body. DEBKAfile’s sources in Washington and Moscow report that this fresh development was revealed hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin returned home from his ranch summit with US President George W. Bush, at Crawford, Texas. It may well represent one of the two presidents’ key areas of agreements. Bush may have made the gesture of allowing Russia to re-enter Kabul in a manner that would wipe out the ignominy the Red Army’s rout in Afghanistan 12 years ago. The 17-member official team will be led by Russia’s special envoy Alexander Oblov and comprise diplomats, high army officers and relief officials. It is scheduled to meet General Fahim, the Northern Alliance defense minister, who is reported by DEBKAfile’s sources to have set up a military council to rule Kabul in the interim, until the returning former president Burhanuddin Rabbani is installed. Rabbani, ousted by the Taliban five years ago, also returned to Kabul Saturday. ”The situation on the fronts has radically changed and we need a team on the spot in Kabul,” said Russian defense minister, Sergei Ivanov, in the broadcast. No other government, including the United States has recognized Rabbani as post-war ruler of Afghanistan. The US position vis a vis Moscow’s stance on this question is not yet clear. In the meantime, maneuvers advance for influence in shaping the future regime amid rivalries among Northern Alliance coalition factions, each bidding for a stake in the future government and control of the areas of the country abandoned by Taliban forces. ________________________________________

To: Scoobah who wrote (389)	11/17/2001 6:30:30 PM
From: Scoobah	Respond to of 32591

Israel Says Pulled Out of Another West Bank City November 17, 2001 04:05 PM ET Email this article Printer friendly version Reuters Photo By Wafa Amr RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - The Israeli army said on Saturday it had withdrawn from the West Bank city of Tulkarm in the latest pullout from Palestinian areas seized last month after the assassination of an Israeli cabinet minister. But Palestinian security officials said Israeli soldiers just north of Tulkarm still remained inside reoccupied land. "We're out completely. We're outside the city. We're not in Area A," an army spokeswoman said, using the designation that interim peace accords set for land under Palestinian rule. She said the pullback operation began on Thursday. The announcement coincided with a Middle East visit by a high-level European Union delegation seeking to help stem nearly 14 months of bloodshed in which at least 705 Palestinians and 188 Israelis have died. Palestinian witnesses in Tulkarm confirmed the army had left a Palestinian house, which they said was the only static position Israeli forces had established inside the city. Israel had moved troops into or around six Palestinian cities after the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine assassinated far-right Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi on October 17 in retaliation for Israel killing its leader. Under heavy U.S. and international pressure, the army pulled back from four of the cities, including biblical Bethlehem, prior to the Tulkarm move. Israeli forces still remain in Palestinian areas around Jenin in the northern West Bank. BELGIAN PM CALLS FOR RELAUNCH OF PEACE PROCESS Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, heading the EU delegation, called for a resumption of peace talks leading to a Palestinian state. "The Europeans want to underline that after the 12 days of relative quiet recently there is a need to relaunch the peace process," Verhofstadt told a news conference after meeting Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. "And there's a good chance to relaunch the peace process, not only because of the quiet but because now in the international community there is agreement...that if you want to find a solution to the conflict, you have to establish an independent Palestinian state." Sporadic violence was reported on Saturday in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. President Bush recently endorsed a Palestinian state, and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres expressed his support for the same goal on Thursday while stressing he was not voicing formal Israeli government policy. Verhofstadt, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, met earlier on Saturday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Verhofstadt said in Cairo that Egypt and the EU saw a "need to pressure both parties to sit around the same table" and begin "in the very near future" to put into motion proposals by a panel led by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell. DEMANDING EFFORTS FROM BOTH SIDES The Mitchell blueprint calls for a cease-fire, confidence-building measures that include an Israeli settlement freeze in occupied territories, and the eventual resumption of peace talks. "When we're encouraging President Arafat to continue in the way he has in the past 12 days, we are demanding the same efforts from Israel," Verhofstadt said in the West Bank city of Ramallah. He also said the EU believed that there was a need for a Palestinian state as part of any final agreement. "We also say there's a need to guarantee the security of Israel," Verhofstadt said, calling for future talks to move directly to achieving a permanent settlement. Arafat said at the news conference the Palestinians would "exert maximum effort to continue the cease-fire we have started." He appealed for EU help to lift Israeli restrictions on Palestinian movement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and stop Israeli incursions into Palestinian areas, killings of militants and settlement expansion. The EU delegation, which includes European Commission President Romano Prodi and EU security chief Javier Solana, was scheduled to meet Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Peres on Sunday in Jerusalem. European officials have said it is too early to expect tangible results from the delegation's visit to Egypt, Israel, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority. Meanwhile, Israel and the Palestinians were waiting to hear a Middle East policy speech by Secretary of State Colin Powell on Monday that could signal more active U.S. involvement as the war in Afghanistan turns in Washington's favor.