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Politics : The Iraq War And Beyond -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ed Huang who wrote (288)	7/31/2003 9:29:44 AM
From: Ed Huang	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9018

Iraq war did not reduce threat to Britain and Britain must not return empty handed after joining Bush to fight the war: MPs ---------------------------------------- Iraq war may help al-Qaida, MPs report Press Association Thursday July 31, 2003 The overthrow of Saddam Hussein has not lessened the security threat to Britain from weapons of mass destruction and international terrorism, MPs warned today. The Commons foreign affairs committee said that the war in Iraq may actually have "impeded" efforts to combat Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida terror network. In a report on the foreign policy aspects of the war against terrorism, the committee said it was essential to rebuild relations with allies such as France, following the disagreements over Iraq, in order to tackle terrorism effectively. At the same time, the committee urged the government to ensure that its support for America during the war with Iraq was rewarded with real benefits to Britain and its citizens. The report warned that although some senior al-Qaida leaders had been captured, those still at large - including Bin Laden himself - still had the capacity to "lead and guide the organisation towards further atrocities". Al-Qaida still had "dangerously large numbers of 'foot soldiers'", while the war against Iraq may have enhanced the organisation's appeal to Muslims - particularly in the Gulf region. "The war in Iraq might in fact have impeded the war against al-Qaida," the report said. "In spite of some notable progress, al-Qaida continues to pose a substantial threat to British citizens in the United Kingdom and abroad." At the same time, the report said the government still had to confront the dangers to international peace and stability from the spread of weapons of mass destruction elsewhere in the world. "We cannot conclude that these threats have diminished significantly, in spite of 'regime change' in Iraq and progress in capturing some of the leaders of al-Qaida," it said. "In the wake of the Iraq war, we recommend that the government make it a priority to work towards restoring the cohesion of the United Kingdom's international partnerships, better to face the daunting challenges of the continuing 'war against terrorism'." The report emphasised the need to restore stability in both Afghanistan and Iraq and urged the government to review its capacity for post-conflict reconstruction and peace-building. "The success of both operations is of central importance to the success of the 'war against terrorism'," it said. The report acknowledged that a breakdown of law and order in Iraq following the fall of Saddam had always been "highly probable", but said it was "deeply regrettable" that it had taken so long to restore order. It said lessons needed to be learned from the killings last month of six Royal Military Police in the town of Majar al-Kabir. "The level of resentment of the new US and the United Kingdom presence in Iraq may well depend on the success or otherwise of efforts to improve the lives of the Iraqi people and progress in the Middle East peace process," it said. The committee also called on the government to ensure that British terrorism suspects held by the US at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba were tried according to internationally recognised judicial standards - if possible in the UK. "In a number of areas - including ensuring the fair trial of prisoners detained at Guantanamo Bay - the government must ensure that its close relationship with the US administration brings substantive benefits to the United Kingdom and its citizens," it said. politics.guardian.co.uk

To: Ed Huang who wrote (288)	7/31/2003 6:08:04 PM
From: Elmer Flugum	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9018

How can America be an honest broker in the Palestinian issue when we have pumped billions of dollars into that colony just to let it get its justice? Just yesterday ... Palestinians Must Bear Burden of Peace, DeLay Tells Israelis nytimes.com July 31, 2003 Palestinians Must Bear Burden of Peace, DeLay Tells Israelis By JAMES BENNET JERUSALEM, July 30 — Calling himself "an Israeli at heart," Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, told Israeli legislators today that the burden for achieving peace here rested with the Palestinians, who he said must eradicate terrorism. Speaking a day after President Bush met at the White House with the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, Mr. DeLay said Mr. Bush had "made clear that the prospects of peace are the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority," which must "fight terror and dismantle terrorist capabilities." Mr. Bush also urged Mr. Sharon to ease restrictions on Palestinians and to restrain Israel's own actions. Yet Mr. DeLay, while declaring that Palestinians "have been oppressed and abused," said the culprit — and "their enemy" — was Yasir Arafat, not Israel. "Israel is not the problem," he said. "Israel is the solution." An evangelical Christian, Mr. DeLay is a leader in Washington of the Christian Zionist movement, a bloc of conservative Republicans whose strong support for the Jewish state is based on their interpretation of the Bible. Before leaving Washington, Mr. DeLay was sharply critical of the international peace plan known as the road map, which envisions a Palestinian state in three years. Mr. Bush says he is committed to the plan, but Mr. DeLay said last week in an interview with The New York Times, "I can't imagine this president supporting a state of terrorists." He added, "You'd have to change almost an entire generation's culture." Today, Mr. DeLay did not address the peace plan in detail. He said he did not know if the Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, would prove "the man to finally rid his people of the terrorist elements among them." But, in an apparent reference to the plan, he said, "peace is worth giving him the chance." He dismissed a three-month suspension in attacks announced by the main Palestinian factions, saying that "murderers who take 90-day vacations are still murderers." If Palestinians continued letting violent men "speak for them," he said, then "they will remain terrorized under the bootheel of evil." Some right-wing Israeli politicians, including members of Mr. Sharon's government, have been strengthening ties to Mr. DeLay, a Texas Republican, and other conservative Christians. His message dovetailed with their contention that only a Palestinian crackdown on violent groups, not Israeli concessions, could advance the cause of peace. Mr. DeLay was invited today not to address the full Parliament in its hall — an extremely rare honor for a foreign leader — but to give a lecture in the Parliament building for those legislators who wished to attend. Uzi Landau, a minister who attended today's speech, said he heard a "different emphasis" from Mr. DeLay compared with Mr. Bush's statements. Mr. DeLay, he said, emphasized the need "for a Palestinian government to uproot terror." But Saeb Erekat, a Palestinian legislator, said Mr. DeLay was not helping the cause of peace by "being more Israeli than the Israelis themselves." He added, "I don't think he has sons in the West Bank or Tel Aviv, and has to worry about whether they will come home or not." Mr. DeLay spoke hours before Israeli and Palestinian security leaders met for further talks on the peace plan. The Palestinian security minister, Muhammad Dahlan, is pressing Israel to withdraw forces from more Palestinian towns in the West Bank, permitting Palestinian security to resume policing those areas.