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Politics : DON'T START THE WAR -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GUSTAVE JAEGER who wrote (23931)	3/27/2003 8:16:02 AM
From: Ed Huang	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 25898

Powell: Problems Emerge In Relations With Russia If Moscow does not stop supplying military equipment to Iraq, this will become the main problem in Russian-American relations, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said at a Congress meeting on Wednesday. He threatened that the United States might not invite Russia to a post-war settlement in Iraq. According to Mr. Powell, Washington provided Moscow with evidence that Russian companies had supplied weapons to Iraq. In particular, the US accuses Russian companies of supplying Baghdad with anti-tank missiles, night vision equipment and radar jamming systems. In addition, Washington officials believe that it is Russian engineers who taught Iraqis how to handle complicated radio equipment. However, Russian authorities and defense companies deny the accusations. Moreover, Moscow is ready to retaliate. So, Russia can freeze the ratification of bilateral arms reduction treaties. “Now, in purely psychological terms, it is not the best moment for ratifying such treaties,” Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said. He added that Russia had sent a formal request to the United States asking Washington to give legal grounds for its demand that other countries close Iraqi embassies and sever diplomatic relations with Baghdad. feeds.bignewsnetwork.com

To: GUSTAVE JAEGER who wrote (23931)	3/27/2003 11:28:08 PM
From: Emile Vidrine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25898

Richard Perle, chief architect of the Iraqi war, resigns under exposure and pressure. For years we have worked to expose Richard Perle, Wolfowitz, Feith, etc. as double agents working to harness America's military might for the advancement of the Israeli agenda. Iraq war advisor Perle resigns Pentagon panel Reuters, 03.27.03, 7:07 PM ET (Updates throughout with Rumsfeld accepting resignation) By Deborah Zabarenko WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Richard Perle, a U.S. architect of the war on Iraq who faced questions about conflicts of interest, offered to resign as chairman of a Pentagon advisory panel, according to a letter obtained by Reuters Thursday. "As I cannot quickly or easily quell criticism of me based on errors of fact concerning my activities, the least I can do under these circumstances is to ask you to accept my resignation as chairman of the Defense Policy Board," Perle wrote to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Wednesday. Rumsfeld accepted Perle's resignation as chairman but asked that he remain a member of the board. "He has been an excellent chairman and has led the Defense Policy Board during an important time in our history," Rumsfeld said in a statement released by the Pentagon. "I should add that I have known Richard Perle for many years and know him to be a man of integrity and honor." On Monday, Rep. John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat, asked the Pentagon's inspector general to probe Perle's work as a paid adviser to bankrupt telecommunications company Global Crossing Ltd. <GBLXQ.PK> and his guidance on investment opportunities resulting from the Iraq conflict. In his resignation offer, Perle said, "I am advising Global Crossing that I will not accept any compensation that might result from their pending acquisition and that any fee for past service would be donated to the families of American forces killed or injured in Iraq." GLOBAL CROSSING PLAN He agreed to help Global Crossing, a bankrupt operator of an international fiber-optic network, win U.S. approval to sell a 61.5 percent stake to Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. <0013.HK> and Singapore Technologies Telemedia Pte. Perle said earlier he would be paid $125,000 for his advice and another $600,000 if the government approved the deal. The deal ran into problems with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which counts Rumsfeld and other top national security advisers as members. The committee can block mergers and acquisitions it feels could harm U.S. interests, and it raised concerns that Global Crossing's network would be controlled by a company with strong ties to China. Hutchison is majority owned by Hong Kong's richest man, Li Ka-shing. A Global Crossing spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment. As chairman of the Defense Policy Board, created in 2001 to advise the Pentagon, Perle had no official policymaking role and was not paid. He has been influential in developing the Bush administration's plan to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Last Friday, Perle expressed confidence about the U.S.-led war on Iraq. "My impression is the same as I imagine most of you have: that this war is going well, that the resistance has been minimal," he told a gathering at the American Enterprise Institute think tank, where he is a "resident fellow". "That doesn't surprise me. I think it doesn't surprise our planners. We've been saying now for a very long time that there are very few people who were prepared to fight for Saddam and even fewer who were prepared to die for Saddam," Perle said. The U.S.-led war was launched last week to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and rid the country of its alleged weapons of mass destruction. It is the first war the United States has fought since a national security strategy was announced last year that asserts Washington has the right to launch pre-emptive strikes on countries deemed a threat even before the United States itself is attacked. Copyright 2003, Reuters News Service

To: GUSTAVE JAEGER who wrote (23931)	4/6/2003 3:20:28 PM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 25898

US Attempts Assassination Of Russian Ambassador To Iraq Technically, That A Casus Belli 4/6/03 1:08:25 PM UPI Baghdad, Iraq -- upi.com Russia furious over shooting incident From the International Desk Published 4/6/2003 11:21 AM MOSCOW, April 6 (UPI) -- Russia's Foreign Ministry summoned U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow and his Iraqi counterpart, Abbas Khalaf, Sunday demanding explanations for the shooting incident near Baghdad that left at least five people wounded as a group of Russian diplomats, including the envoy, and journalists headed for Syria. Twenty-three people, including Ambassador Vladimir Titarenko, were traveling in the convoy that came under fire twice, 8 and 15 miles from Baghdad respectively, en route to the Iraqi-Syrian border. The motorcade left Baghdad at 10:30 a.m. Sunday and traveled along the previously agreed route, the state-controlled RTR television network reported. According to the network, Russian diplomats had duly informed U.S. military officials Saturday about their travel plans. Russia's mission in Baghdad communicated to the U.S. command the license plate information of all vehicles in the convoy. The U.S. military in turn was expected to provide the so- called "green corridor," ensuring safety of the convoy on its way toward Syria. However, the convoy was attacked by a group of soldiers suspected to be members of a U.S. intelligence platoon that apparently knew nothing about the travel, RTR reported. At least five people -- all diplomats -- were wounded. None of the eight journalists was injured as they traveled at the back of the convoy. U.S. Central Command in Qatar said, however, no coalition forces were operating in the area. "Initial field reports reveal that no coalition forces were operating in the area of the incident," it said in a statement. "Based on the reported location, the incident is believed to have taken place in territory controlled by the Iraqi regime. The inquiry into this incident continues and more details will be made available as soon as possible." Witnesses told Russian media of the events. "In Baghdad, everything went calmly. When we left the city, we saw that there was fighting up ahead, so we decided to turn around and 8 kilometers from Baghdad, we came under fire. Several people were injured," a witness told Interfax. "We bandaged the wounded, left a car behind and kept going. But then around 15 kilometers from Baghdad we came upon a jeep convoy," he said. "We stopped so as not to provoke them and we sent a car ahead with a flag to show who we were, but then we came under fire again," he told Interfax. One of the rounds apparently hit the Russian ambassador's armored limousine -- the wrecked car was left behind on the road as the convoy proceeded further on. A news report said Titarenko was among the wounded, but Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko dismissed it as untrue. "I cannot rule out that the ambassador may have been scratched in the incident, but he certainly hasn't been wounded," Yakovenko told RTR. One of the wounded has been reported in difficult condition. The convoy will continue the ride toward the border with Syria where a group of Russian Embassy officials from Damascus are waiting to meet and accompany the passengers to the Syrian capital. An ambulance is also on hand to help transfer the wounded, RTR said. A 250-mile ride from the border to Damascus will take several hours, the convoy is expected in the capital Sunday evening. The incident may further worsen U.S.-Russian ties that have been strained by different positions on the Iraqi conflict. It may also ruin the unannounced trip of U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice who arrived in Moscow Sunday for a round of apparently secret talks on Iraq with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, Security Council Secretary Vladimir Rushailo and other Russian security officials, NTV reported. Later Sunday, a U.S. Embassy spokesman said that Rice would hold talks with her hosts Monday. Copyright ?2001-2003 United Press International