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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CYBERKEN who wrote (571128)	5/2/2004 11:36:16 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

Troops Stand-by Claims of Iraqi Prisoner Abuse By Andrew Woodcock, Political Correspondent, PA News The troops who sparked furore over the weekend by releasing photos apparently showing UK servicemen abusing an Iraqi prisoner have stood by their account. They also claim hundreds of photographs have been taken of British soldiers mistreating Iraqi civilians. Troops serving in southern Iraq have been swapping the pictures among themselves, the unnamed soldiers from the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment told the Daily Mirror. Doubts were cast yesterday on the authenticity of the photos, published in the newspaper, which appeared to show the hooded man being struck with a rifle butt, urinated on and having a gun held to his head. Sources close to the regiment claimed the rifle, hats and truck seen in the pictures did not match those issued to men in Iraq, and queried why there was no sign of sweat, dirt or injuries on the body of the victim of the alleged assault. The BBC reported claims that key discrepancies in the pictures indicated that they could be fakes. And Conservative defence spokesman Nicholas Soames queried the Mirror’s decision to print the photographs yesterday, warning that there was a “question mark” over whether or not they were genuine. But the soldiers who made the pictures public told the Mirror: “We stand by every single word of our story. “This happened, it is not a hoax and the Army knows a lot more has happened.” They also gave in-depth explanations about some of the concerns raised about the details in the photographs. Responding to suspicions that the man’s T-shirt was too clean and not of a type worn in Iraq, the pair said they witnessed dozens of Iraqis wearing such T-shirts and that an Arab dress he was wearing over the T-shirt was ripped off during his arrest. And claims that QLR troops rarely wore floppy jungle hats were also denied by the soldiers who said they used them “all the time” as berets were “too hot” and helmets “cumbersome”. The Royal Military Police is carrying out an urgent inquiry into claims that the man was subjected to an eight-hour ordeal after being picked up in Iraq for suspected theft last year. It was claimed that he had his jaw broken and teeth smashed before being dumped from a moving vehicle. The soldiers detail other alleged incidents of brutality towards local people, including a baton attack which left a prisoner with a compound fracture to his arm. Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the soldiers said: “Maybe the officers don’t know what is going on – but everybody else does. I have seen literally hundreds of pictures.” Many of the pictures were destroyed last September when the soldiers’ luggage was searched as they left Iraq, they said. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said the authorities were not aware of other photos of prisoners being mistreated or of a culture of trading pictures. “If people have got evidence of such activity, then they should bring it to the attention of the Army authorities. We won’t stand for activity like that,” he said. Mirror editor Piers Morgan defending the decision to publish the photos. He said: “There was clearly a small rogue element of soldiers who committed totally unacceptable acts against Iraqi civilians. Acts which have made our battle to win the hearts and minds of this country’s people so much more difficult. “The Daily Mirror makes no apology for exposing this outrageous and unlawful behaviour, which has been common knowledge among disgusted British servicemen in Basra for many months. “Nor do we believe there is any reason to think that these photographs have been faked in any way at all given the powerful testimony we have received. “These two soldiers felt compelled to expose what went on because they believed it was fundamentally wrong and that it would inevitably be reported at some stage.” Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the accusations were being taken very seriously, not only by the authorities, but by officers and men in the Army. He told BBC1’s Breakfast with Frost: “I can’t comment on the detail of the investigation, except to say that that the allegations are terrible and they will be investigated.” Asked whether the allegations could eventually lead to compensation claims, he said: “We will accept whatever obligations there are upon us.” news.scotsman.com

To: CYBERKEN who wrote (571128)	5/2/2004 11:41:17 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

Kerry to Begin Wave of New Ads to Counter Steady Bush Attack By DAVID M. HALBFINGER and JIM RUTENBERG Published: May 3, 2004 BOSTON, May 2 — Senator John Kerry is set to introduce a major television advertising push on Monday that will highlight his biography and service in Vietnam, which his advisers have always viewed as his strong suits, campaign aides said on Sunday. The new effort comes as many Democrats have expressed concern that Mr. Kerry is not moving quickly enough to answer President Bush's sustained advertising attack and has not done enough to convey an overarching message. Republicans and Democrats who monitor advertising purchases said the Kerry campaign had committed to spend up to $27 million for more than three weeks. Mr. Kerry's aides would not comment on the exact size of the buy, except to say it would most likely set records. The new campaign will not only run in the 17 or 18 battleground states where both candidates' ads have primarily been focused this year, but also in two states where Mr. Bush won comfortably in 2000: Louisiana and Colorado, people who monitor advertising purchases said. Campaign aides and other Democrats have argued for weeks that while Mr. Bush's heavy advertising barrage may have defined Mr. Kerry in a negative light for some voters, there is still plenty of time to change perceptions. The new campaign is to include two spots, aides said. They will tell his life story and lay out the major themes of his candidacy. Mr. Kerry's aides note that most polls show the race to be neck and neck despite the tens of millions of dollars that Mr. Bush has spent on advertising. "The only thing it's done is prevented Bush from having a freefall," said a senior Kerry aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "That, for an incumbent, is not a good place to be." On the eve of the rollout of the new commercials, Mr. Kerry flew home to Massachusetts on Sunday for a few hours of down time in his Beacon Hill townhouse, but wound up taking a tumble during a 20-mile bike ride and suffered a minor scrape on his arm. Mr. Kerry left his home in Boston wearing a helmet, a yellow T-shirt and bike shorts. Just before noon he passed a cluster of photographers who had been positioned by his campaign on Longfellow Bridge, over the Charles River. He was trailed by three Secret Service bodyguards on bicycles and others in a chase car. At about 1:30 p.m. in Concord — 20 miles northwest of Boston — Mr. Kerry "hit a patch of sand going very slowly, took a slight spill, got up and brushed it off," said Jim Loftus, a press aide. "He has a small scrape." Mr. Loftus said Mr. Kerry had been "chuckling" as he described the accident to him in a brief telephone conversation. An aide said a brake on the bicycle was bent in the spill. The senator caught a lift in the Secret Service chase vehicle to a nearby bike shop where he left the bike to be repaired. nytimes.com