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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Elsewhere who wrote (67057)	1/19/2003 4:53:59 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 281500

Report: bin Laden Urges Islamic Unity By MAGGIE MICHAEL Associated Press Writer January 19, 2003, 4:01 PM EST newsday.com CAIRO, Egypt -- A statement purportedly written by Osama bin Laden urges Muslims to stop fighting each other and unite against the "crusader coalition" that is attacking the Islamic world, according to excerpts published Sunday in a London-based Arab newspaper. Asharq Al-Awsat printed portions of a 26-page statement it claims was written and signed by bin Laden, leader of the al-Qaida terror group. The letter did not mention any nation, but earlier statements attributed to bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders have accused the United States and Israel of launching a religious crusade against the Muslim world. The journalist who wrote the article, Mohamed el-Shaf'aie, told The Associated Press on Sunday that the statement was mailed to the paper from an Islamic source in London with close links to a Pakistan-based Islamic research center known for its ties to al-Qaida. The letter attributed to bin Laden says, "the current situation Muslims are living in requires a deployment of all efforts to fight the Islamic battle against the crusader coalition, which has revealed its real, evil intentions." "Their target now is Islam and Muslims and not only the (Middle East) region," the letter added. America has come under attack throughout the Islamic world for a perceived bias toward Israel in the Jewish state's conflict with the Palestinians, and for the U.S. threat to attack Iraq if it retains weapons banned by the United Nations. The U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, launched after the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States, and U.S. detention of hundreds of men with suspected links to al-Qaida and Afghanistan's previous Taliban rulers have compounded the view in the Islamic world that Washington is attacking Muslims. The United States denies such claims. Despite numerous written, audio and videotaped statements attributed to bin Laden after the launch of the Afghanistan war, it is unclear where the Saudi-born Islamic extremist is or if he is still alive. No al-Qaida affiliated web sites immediately published the latest statement, which normally happens whenever one appears. The statement excerpts published by Asharq Al-Awsat urge Muslims to "wake from their deep sleep ... and stop (acting as) rivals and fire their arrows toward their enemies instead of themselves." It was not clear who the letter referred to, but feuds and disputes are common within the volatile Middle East. The statement's author said he was "surprised by the many different controversies and feuds among Muslims in general and those working for Islam in particular. Such a dangerous phenomenon has become the only thing Islamic-oriented factions agree upon." The letter also defends al-Qaida leaders for unspecified mistakes. "The honor of righteous men should be protected despite whatever faults they may commit," the letter said without elaborating. * __ On the Net: Asharq Al-Awsat, asharqalawsat.com Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press

To: Elsewhere who wrote (67057)	1/19/2003 5:46:43 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 281500

International Law: "International law" is the "law of the jungle," JJ. The US does not recognize any law above the Constitution of the US unless ratified by the Senate after being signed as a treaty. And even then we don't have to go by it. So anybody can put out any position as "International Law" and it is just BS.

To: Elsewhere who wrote (67057)	1/25/2003 12:12:06 PM
From: Elsewhere	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

U.S. lawyers warn Bush, Rumsfeld, on war crimes By Grant McCool 24 Jan 2003 20:48 alertnet.org NEW YORK, Jan 24 (Reuters) - A group of U.S. law professors opposed to a possible war on Iraq warned U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday that he and senior government officials could be prosecuted for war crimes if military tactics violated international humanitarian law. "Our primary concern ... is the large number of civilian casualties that may result should U.S. and coalition forces fail to comply with international humanitarian law in using force against Iraq," the group, led by the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, said in a letter to Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The group cited the particular need for U.S. and coalition forces to abide by humanitarian law requiring warring parties to distinguish between military and civilian areas, use only the level of force that is militarily necessary and to use weaponry that is proportionate to what is being targeted. The letter, which had more than 100 signatories, said the rules had been broken in other recent wars. It said air strikes on populated cities, carpet bombing and the use of fuel-air explosives were examples of inappropriate military action taken during the 1991 Gulf War, the 1999 Kosovo campaign and the 2001 Afghan conflict that led to civilian casualties and might be used again in Iraq. The letter to Bush and Rumsfeld coincided with similar notes sent this week to British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien by lawyers in those countries. ...