Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : America Under Siege: The End of Innocence -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (21475)	2/14/2003 10:12:20 PM
From: calgal	Respond to of 27758

Powell: 'More Inspections Not the Answer' Friday, February 14, 2003 URL:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,78639,00.html UNITED NATIONS — The world should not be taken in by "tricks that are being played on us" by Saddam Hussein, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Friday, pressing reluctant U.S. allies to threaten force if Iraq does not disarm. "The threat of force must remain," Powell said after chief U.N. inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei delivered their report to the Security Council. The presentation indicated that Iraq had complied with the probe to some degree, but had not provided a complete account of their weapons programs. "We cannot wait for one of these terrible weapons to turn up in our cities," Powell told the Security Council, adding that Iraq was strengthening its links with terror groups. "More inspections -- I am sorry -- are not the answer," Powell said. After the session at the U.N., Powell said he would return to Washington and consult with President Bush and others and make a decision "in the not too distant future" about a new resolution. Later, in a television interview, he said the Iraq issue would be decided within "weeks." The U.S. secretary of state listened impassively as a parade of speakers rejected the United States' position that Iraq has run out of time to comply with a string of U.N. disarmament resolutions. Loud applause greeted French and Russian pleas to allow weapons inspectors more time. There was no audible clapping for Powell. France called for extended inspections and another report on March 14. French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said force should be only be used as a last resort. "The option of inspections has not been taken to an end," he said. After the session, Powell characterized the discussion as "a good spirited debate." "People are free to express their emotions," Powell said. "We are friends," he said of de Villepin, citing 225 years of U.S.-French history. But, Powell said, "sometimes there are fireworks." Only British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Foreign Minister Ana Palacio of Spain pledged clear support for the Bush administration. Other countries who are not members of the Security Council have also registered their support. Powell left the chamber escorted by Straw, who in a vehement speech had said the 15 nations should "hold our nerve in the face of this tyrant." Considering the council's response, it appeared highly unlikely that the United States could muster the nine votes needed to authorize war now. The United States and Britain say they are willing to go to war without U.N. backing but would prefer to have it. U.N.-backing is particularly important for the British government, which faces strong public opposition to a war. Earlier, Bush talked by telephone with the leaders of Estonia and Pakistan as part of his effort to build his case against Iraq and tried to shore up support from Turkey, which is looking for financial aid in exchange for allowing U.S. troops to use its facilities if there is war. Bush's chief spokesman, Ari Fleischer, told reporters at the White House, "The world still has great cause for concern about Saddam Hussein possessing weapons of mass destruction. That's what came out of New York today." He would not shed any more light on Powell's statement that the U.S. has new evidence against Saddam. "The world is watching the United Nations," Fleischer said. Through the day, Powell planned to meet with all 14 foreign ministers of the Security Council nations, but France and Russia, with their power to veto a new U.N. resolution to authorize force, held the key to the Bush administration's effort to rid Iraq of any weapons of mass destruction. No immediate move to ask the council to approve a fresh resolution authorizing force was anticipated. France, however, was believed to be weighing introducing a resolution to extend the inspections, and that might compel the United States and Britain to counter with one of their own providing for the use of force to disarm Iraq, a U.S. official said. Powell met first with German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and then saw Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov before the council went into session. They made no statements. In a report to the council crediting Iraq with expanding its cooperation, chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix said he appreciated the report Powell provided to the council last week on evidence of Iraqi deception. But Blix said the activity at a chemical installation that Powell described as deceptive "could have been routine activity," Powell, sitting at the U.S. table, quietly took notes on Blix's presentation. The United States says Iraq has weapons of mass destruction in violation of several U.N. resolutions, an assertion denied by Baghdad. Bush has said war is his last resort to disarm Saddam while making it clear that time is running out on any other options. There are 130,000 U.S. land, sea and air forces massed in the Persian Gulf region awaiting Bush's decision. Powell said this week he had no estimate of the cost of war with Iraq. But he did say he thought Iraq should be able to adjust quickly afterward -- in contrast to the slow pace of recovery in Afghanistan. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

To: calgal who wrote (21475)	2/15/2003 12:04:25 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27758

Bush Aims to Blend Counterterrorism Efforts By Dan Eggen Washington Post Staff Writer URL:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10238-2003Feb14.html Saturday, February 15, 2003; Page A16 President Bush unveiled broad new plans yesterday to place FBI and CIA counterterrorism operations under one roof, prompting immediate objections from lawmakers and civil liberties groups who fear the CIA will gain too much influence over domestic intelligence issues. Under the plan, the FBI's entire counterterrorism division would be moved into a secure building along with the CIA's Counterterrorism Center and a new Terrorist Threat Integration Center, bringing operational FBI agents and CIA analysts into a closer working arrangement. Bush, during an appearance at FBI headquarters, said the "goal is to develop a comprehensive picture of terrorist activity." "All our successes in the war on terror depend on the ability of our intelligence and law enforcement agencies to work in common purpose," Bush said. "In order to better protect our homeland, our intelligence agencies must coexist like they never had before." The reorganization, first mentioned in Bush's State of the Union address, comes after sharp criticism from lawmakers over intelligence and communication missteps by the FBI and CIA before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Some lawmakers, including Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), want to strip the FBI of its domestic intelligence responsibilities and create a domestic intelligence agency akin to Britain's MI5. Under the administration's plan, the FBI would retain control over its counterterrorism division. George J. Tenet, the CIA director who also oversees all government intelligence as director of central intelligence, would run both the counterterrorism and threat centers. Civil liberties advocates say the arrangement would give the foreign intelligence agency too much access to domestic affairs. Some FBI agents also view it as an unfair encroachment on the bureau's turf. "These latest developments confirm our concerns that putting the CIA in charge of an analysis center would inevitably lead to CIA direction of intelligence gathering in the United States," said Tim Edgar of the American Civil Liberties Union. Edwards said in a statement that the Bush plan is "only a half-measure at best" that does not acknowledge the FBI's fundamental failures in combating terrorism, while Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) said the plan raises questions about Tenet's role in domestic intelligence. A senior FBI official said such fears were misplaced because FBI spying would still be conducted under Justice Department guidelines and court supervision. Although CIA analysts within the threat center could suggest U.S. spying targets, decisions to seek such authority would still be made by the FBI and Justice, the official said. "There are functions that the agency has that the bureau won't participate in, and there are functions the bureau has that the agency won't be involved in," the senior FBI official said. But, the official added, "there's going to need to be oversight on this to make sure that we're operating appropriately." The threat center, which will start out with a staff of about 60 at CIA headquarters in Langley, will eventually swell to about 300 employees. FBI staff in the same building could total 1,200 or more, officials said. © 2003 The Washington Post Company