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

To: kumar who wrote (91744)	4/10/2003 6:51:22 AM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 281500

New York Times Bush's Aides Envision New Influence in Region >>>> Senior Pentagon officials and senior counterterrorism officials have suggested that the United States government will now turn its attention to Hamas, the Palestinian group that has used terrorism to fight for a Palestinean state, and Hezbollah, which has strong ties to Syria and Iran. Indeed, in recent weeks, Mr. Rumsfeld has spoken more openly about Syria's support of Iraq and the threats it has posed to coalition forces. At a press briefing last October, Douglas J. Feith, under secretary of defense for policy, said that Hezbollah was clearly on the administration's radar screen. "It is an organization that is functioning in many continents," said Mr. Feith, adding that Hezbollah's operations are based mainly in Lebanon, which is controlled by Syria. "It's supported by the Syrians and the Iranians. It has operations and cells in Africa, in South America, in Asia. We are certainly watching it, conscious of it, and it is one of the key international terrorist networks; there's no question about that. I think that's all I can comment on at the moment." After Sept. 11, the Bush administration became convinced that previous American responses to terrorist attacks against American targets around the world had been too tepid. In recent weeks, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who is accused of being the mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against the United States, has told interrogators that Al Qaeda perceived a profound weakness by America's military response to terrorist attacks against its interests abroad during the last decade, law enforcement officials said. In particular, Mr. Mohammed is said to have cited the limited missile strikes aimed at Osama bin Laden in that followed the bombing of two American Embassies in East Africa in August 1998.<<<<< nytimes.com

To: kumar who wrote (91744)	4/10/2003 7:59:38 AM
From: thames_sider	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 281500

Turkey isn't happy... they've "ruled out" permanent Kurdish control of Kirkuk. One wonders how that might be enforced, and who's going to tell the Kurds they're not allowed to stay in their historic capitals... biz.yahoo.com ANKARA, April 10 (Reuters) - - Turkey said it would be unacceptable for Kurdish "peshmerga" fighters who swept into the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk on Thursday to set up a permanent presence there. "It wouldn't be important if the Kurdish peshmergas were acting spontaneously and withdrew. But it would be unacceptable if they were there permanently," a senior foreign ministry official told reporters as Kurdish and U.S. forces poured into the city after Iraqi forces gave up defending it. Turkey fears that Iraqi Kurds could use control of Kirkuk to provide the financial basis for an independent state. The Kurds and their U.S. allies say a bid for independence is out of the question. Turkey has a large armoured force near the Iraqi border and says it could enter Iraq if its interests were threatened. It fears an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq could lead to similar demands by separatist Kurds in southeast Turkey. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said earlier that Turkey was watching events in northern Iraq closely. The United States has offered Turkey $1 billion in aid and stressed that Turkish armed forces should not enter northern Iraq as this would antagonise Iraqi Kurds and destabilise the situation. "Everything is being followed very closely," Gul told reporters at the foreign ministry. "Whatever is necessary will be done. Talks are being carried out. Turkey's stance on this issue is clear and open." Kurdish commanders in northern Iraq told Reuters that Kirkuk, at the heart of Iraq's oil industry in the north, was "under control". Reuters reporters on the city's outskirts saw hundreds of Kurdish guerrillas enter the city. Both Iraqi Kurdish leaders and the United States say the formation of a breakaway Kurdish state is out of the question but Turkey, still smarting from more than a decade of conflict with its own separatist Kurdish rebels, has its doubts. ts@watchthatspace.com