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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (44575)	5/3/2004 1:14:25 AM
From: Skywatcher	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 89467

Saddam General in Falluja Questions U.S. Demands By Fadel Badran Reuters Sunday 02 May 2004 Only two days after U.S. forces entrusted General Jasim Mohamed Saleh with restoring order in Falluja, the former member of Saddam's feared Republican Guard dismissed U.S. insistence over the presence of foreign fighters in the city. FALLUJA, Iraq - The general from Saddam Hussein's army put in charge of the volatile city of Falluja challenged his U.S. backers Sunday, saying they were wrong to say foreign Islamic guerrillas were behind an insurgency there. The American public, dismayed by a rising body count in Iraq in the midst of a presidential election campaign, had better news when the U.S. military reported the escape of civilian truck driver Thomas Hamill, held hostage by men who threatened to kill him unless the siege of Falluja was lifted. Only two days after U.S. forces entrusted General Jasim Mohamed Saleh with restoring order in Falluja, the former member of Saddam's feared Republican Guard dismissed U.S. insistence over the presence of foreign fighters in the city. "There are no foreign fighters in Falluja," Saleh told Reuters in his home town, which was loyal to Saddam. After the bloodiest month for U.S. forces since they invaded Iraq in March last year, the respite from the siege of Falluja is also welcome in Washington but U.S. officials are still unsure of the general's past and his present motives. U.S. officers say some of his men may have fought against them last month. They also say foreign Islamist gunmen, some with possible links to al Qaeda, are fighting in Falluja. For a second day, former Iraqi soldiers on patrol in the town turned a blind eye to gunmen celebrating "victory" over U.S. Marines. The U.S. forces pulled back from siege positions after a month-long stalemate and gave the general a few days to put down an insurgency they say involves hundreds of foreigners. CC

To: American Spirit who wrote (44575)	5/3/2004 8:02:13 AM
From: longnshort	Respond to of 89467

Palestinian fiends mercilessly gunned down a pregnant Jewish settler and her four terrified little girls in their station wagon yesterday as the family headed to protest Israel's planned Gaza Strip pullout. After riddling the car with gunfire on a road leading to Israel, the two terrorists then ran up to the vehicle and coldbloodedly pumped bullets into each of their victims' heads to make sure they had finished the job, Israeli police said. One of the gunmen also shot the swollen belly of the eight-months-pregnant mom at point-blank range. "At first, we thought we could do something to save the mother, but it was too late," one distraught Israeli settler said. "The children were already dead, with bullets in the head. Little children. I don't know, I really don't know," the man said. Killed were Tali Hatuel, 34, and her four daughters: Meirav, 2, Roni, 7, Hadar, 9, and Hila, 11. Rescuers found the dead baby still strapped in her car seat, just above a blood-soaked children's book that had fallen on the floor. The brutal attack occurred at around 1 p.m., as Hatuel, a social worker who counseled the relatives of terror victims, was driving her daughters from their settlement of Gush Katif to hand out fliers at a nearby protest over the planned dismantlement of their settlement and about 20 others. A bumper sticker on their car defiantly read, "From here, we will not move." Hours later, Likud Party voters overwhelmingly rejected a nonbinding referendum on the plan, largely because of emotional backlash stemming from the five murders. Israeli TV reported that a CNN crew traveling in a van on the same road as the woman and her daughters had spotted the ambush being set up moments earlier and tried to alert the family. But the mom didn't understand what the crew was trying to say before it was too late. The two gunmen were shot dead by Israeli soldiers as they fled the scene. Several Palestinian militant groups, including the Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility. David Hatuel, a teacher, wept uncontrollably over the bodies of his wife and children at their funerals as he begged them to forgive him for spending so much time away from home to lobby against the pullout. "On Friday, [the girls] drew me a picture and wrote, 'Daddy, we are proud of what you are doing for the home where we were born,' " he told the crowd of thousands of mourners. "You were my flowers, and I will not forget you," he sobbed. Several hours after the attack, Israel launched missiles at a Gaza City building that housed Palestinian-run radio stations and two main newspapers. At least two people were wounded. Israel also launched a missile strike on a car in Nablus, killing four militants. With Post Wire Services