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Politics : THE VAST RIGHT WING CONSPIRACY -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (4057)	11/15/2003 1:38:06 AM
From: calgal	Respond to of 6358

Rumsfeld:No early Iraq withdrawal GUAM, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, currently on a Pacific tour, told U.S. troops in Guam Friday that there are no plans for an early withdrawal from Iraq. The Secretary said U.S. forces will be in Iraq "as long as necessary" to see that the country is put on a path to democracy, reports the Voice of America. He spoke one day after Japan delayed sending troops to help U.S.-led peacekeeping operations in Iraq and South Korea decided to limit its troop commitment. Their decisions follow a bombing in Iraq that killed 18 Italians. Rumsfeld toured an Air Force base on the island, his first stop on a tour that will take him to Japan and South Korea to discuss plans for realigning U.S. forces in the region and the issue of Iraq. He said Guam remains "an important element of U.S. national security." Guam, a U.S. territory, is strategically located within four hours flying time of the Asian mainland. The Defense Department is considering stationing an aircraft carrier on Guam to increase its presence in the region. The Navy recently moved two nuclear attack submarines to Guam and is likely to add a third. The U.S. military accounts for about 15 percent of Guam's population of more than 150,000.

To: calgal who wrote (4057)	11/15/2003 1:42:05 AM
From: calgal	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 6358

Reports: Iraqi Independence Possible by June URL:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,103156,00.html Saturday, November 15, 2003 BAGHDAD, Iraq — As U.S. Apache helicopter (search) strikes taking part in Operation Iron Hammer (search) continued to target guerrillas thought to be preparing an attack on a U.S. base, reports surfaced saying that the United States was ready to grant Iraqi independence by June of 2004. Both the New York Times and ABC News reported that Chief U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer (search) will present the proposed policy changes to Iraq's Governing Council on Saturday. This action is aimed at defusing growing attacks against coalition forces. The helicopter strike killed seven Iraqis that were believed to be plotting against U.S. targets. Meanwhile, the military said Friday attacks against coalition forces continued to claim more victims: -- A 1st Armored Division (search) soldier was killed Friday and two others were wounded in a roadside bombing in central Baghdad, the military said. -- Two 4th Infantry Division (search) soldiers were killed Thursday and three others were wounded when their convoy was attacked with a roadside bomb near Samara, the military said. -- An American civilian contractor was killed and another wounded when gunmen attacked a convoy Thursday near Balad, 45 miles north of Baghdad, the military said. The victims were not identified. -- In the south on Friday, gunmen fired on jeeps carrying Portuguese journalists, wounding one reporter and kidnapping another, Portuguese media reported. It was the first abduction of a journalist since the occupation began in May. -- Three 82nd Airborne paratroopers were wounded Thursday night in a rocket attack near Fallujah, the division said. And three soldiers were wounded Friday when a bomb they were trying to defuse exploded in northwestern Baghdad, witnesses said. Bremer, who just returned from talks with President Bush and his top advisers, met in Baghdad Friday with Jalal Talabani, the head of the Iraqi Governing Council to discuss Washington's new policy proposals regarding a return of Iraqi sovereignty, Othman said. He did not specify what the proposals were. Bremer will hold talks with the full council on Saturday, Othman said. "The purpose of the meeting today is to listen to Bremer," he said, adding that the council would later meet separately to discuss the proposals. A senior administration officials told The Associated Press that those changes included holding elections in the first half of next year and the formation of a new government before a constitution is written. In addition, ABC News reported that the new proposals call for provincial leaders to meet in the spring to choose delegates for an assembly, which would elect a transitional government by next summer. And the United States would hand over power to this body. Previously, the U.S. officials had required Iraqis approve a constitution and hold elections before handing over power. The plan to speed up the transfer of power and give Iraqis control over their own wealth while maintaining the presence of coalition forces was proposed by the Iraqi leadership, a report in the New York Times said, adding it was approved by Washington this week. On Friday, one council member told the AP that the group will study the proposals but may not agree with the details. "For our part, we have our own ideas," said Mahmoud Othman. "We will listen to Bremer and he will listen to us." Winning speedy agreement on a new political course may take time because of conflicting interests among Iraq's diverse groups. Shiite leaders will likely oppose any changes that dilute their newly won political power. Sunni Muslims, Iraq's most powerful group under Saddam, worry the Shiites want to establish an Iranian-style Islamic state and resent the growing influence of Shiites. Kurds are also anxious to preserve self-rule in Kurdish areas of the north. Washington's policy shift is widely seen as a response to the steadily deteriorating security situation in Iraq, and the uprising that has claimed the lives of over 50 coalition soldiers this month. In Baghdad Friday, distant explosions could be heard after sundown in the central part of the city, and the 1st Armored Division said they were part of "pre-emptive mortar fire" against insurgent positions. A division spokesman said aircraft were launched to carry out some of the strikes. He would not specify the targets but said the operation was ongoing late Friday. The seven Iraqi insurgents died Thursday night when a U.S. Apache helicopter fired on suspected Saddam supporters preparing to rocket an American military base 20 miles north of Tikrit, the 4th Infantry Division said. U.S. soldiers later found hundreds of rockets and missiles there. Along the Syrian border, U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets dropped two satellite-guided bombs Thursday night on a three-story building in Husayba used by insurgents to store ammunition and launch attacks, the 82nd Airborne Division said. American officials have long accused Syria and Iran of allowing fighters to enter Iraq and attack the coalition. Faced with a mounting security crisis, the U.S. military announced a tough policy this week of going after the insurgents with massive firepower before they have a chance to strike. However, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Taqi al-Modaresi, a leading Shiite cleric, warned the Americans that attempting a military solution to Iraq's crisis "will only make things worse." He also criticized the U.S.-led coalition for failing to usher in democracy seven months after the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime. "Seven months have passed and there hasn't been one serious election," said al-Modaresi. "Coalition forces have chosen the Governing Council, distributed ministries the same wrong way and did not hold elections for the provincial councils. They chose them randomly and for this reason many Iraqi are suspicious about the intentions of these forces." Ayatollahs and other senior Muslim clerics wield considerable influence among Iraq's Shiite community, which forms about 60 percent of the country's population of 25 million. Shiite support is crucial to the success of Bush administration plans to speed the handover of power to the Iraqis. The Associated Press contributed to this report.