October 29, 2004

ALLAWI ACCUSES THE MULTI NATIONAL FORCES OF NEGLECT AND EXPECTS MORE VIOLENCE IN IRAQ. THE KNESSET APPROVES THE WITHDRAWAL PLAN FROM GAZA AND MINISTERS OF THE LIKUD PARTY THREATEN TO RESIGN IF A REFERENDUM DOES NOT TAKE PLACE. INTERNATIONAL APPRAISAL FOR THE SERVICES OF FORMER PRIME MINISTER AL-HARIRI TO LEBANON. Iraq's interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, accused foreign troops in the country of "gross negligence" in the massacre of 49 Iraqi National Guard recruits over the weekend, an unusually critical remark by the U.S.-backed leader. Allawi, in a weekly address to the Iraqi National Assembly, said his government had launched an investigation into the deaths of the U.S.-trained recruits, most of whom were lined up and executed shortly after sunset Saturday near the National Guard's main training base in Kirkush, about 60 miles northeast of the capital. "A terrible crime was committed in which a large number of the ING were martyred," Allawi said. "We think this shows, in addition to gross negligence on the side of some of the multinational forces, it shows the kind of insistence to hurt Iraq and its people." The unarmed recruits killed Saturday had just left the Kirkush training base aboard three buses when they were stopped at a checkpoint manned by insurgents dressed as Iraqi police officers, according to Iraqi officials. The recruits appeared to have been forced off the buses, lined up, ordered to lie facedown and then shot. The buses, which were taking the recruits from the base for the start of a 20-day leave, were not accompanied by security vehicles. In a statement last Tuesday, the U.S. military called the killings "a cold-blooded and systematic move by terrorists" and said U.S.-led forces were not responsible. The terrorists "and no one else must be held fully accountable for these attacks," the statement said. The Iraqi interim government "is investigating this tragic incident. Multinational forces will fully support and cooperate to establish the facts and avoid repetition of similar events." In Washington, a former top occupation security official said more Iraqis were being trained for the country's security forces than the United States and its allies are capable of protecting. "There are so many being trained now, U.S. forces can't watch them all now," said Peter Khalil, an Australian defense expert who was in Iraq from last summer until this spring as the director of national security policy for the Coalition Provisional Authority. "There are 40 battalions of the Iraqi National Guard, six or seven battalions of the Iraqi army. Recruits are coming in all the time. You don't have force levels to protect indigenous forces." Insurgents in recent months have carried out frequent attacks on Iraqi security forces and recruits, who are being trained to eventually assume responsibility for security in the country. There are about 100,000 members of the Iraqi security forces, and that number is expected to increase to 145,000 by January and 250,000 by the end of next year, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials. Allawi predicted on Tuesday that insurgent attacks would increase and become even more violent. "The enemies know if Iraqi stabilizes, it will be a serious defeat to them," he said. "Thus, they'll escalate the situation. You should expect wider operations than ones done now against Iraq." But Allawi vowed the insurgents would ultimately lose. "I am confident that the majority of Iraqis are willing to cooperate to stabilize the country," he said. The Army of Ansar al-Sunna militant group said it had killed 11 Iraqi National Guards abducted last week and posted pictures of the killings on its Web site on Thursday. It said it had cut the head off one soldier and shot the rest. It showed a picture of the beheaded man and another of a group of men on the ground, apparently shot in the head. A spokesperson for the Iraqi Defence Ministry said it had no reports that the 11 National Guards were missing. Insurgents and militants have increased violence in Iraq since the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan began in mid-October, with some attacks, such as the weekend killing of 49 unarmed army recruits, showing access to excellent intelligence. Iraqi Defence Minister Hazim al-Shaalan has said rebels might have infiltrated nascent security forces. The Forty-nine unarmed new Iraqi soldiers were found dead beside a remote road on Sunday after being executed by attackers while returning home from their final training course. Many of the recruits were found strewn out along the road with a single bullet wound to their heads in one of the deadliest attacks against the country's fledgling security forces. "The bodies of 37 recruits, some with their hands tied, were found, shot dead, on the side of the road, while the corpses of 12 others were found in a minibus a few metres away that had been burnt out," said a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Colonel Adnan Abdul Rahman. "The recruits, who came from all over the southern provinces of Iraq, were mainly Shia and were returning home onboard three buses when they were ambushed in Diyala province," he told AFP. The attack happened last Saturday afternoon after the recruits completed a training course on a base outside the town of Mandali in eastern Iraq, Mandali's Iraqi national guard commander Ali al-Kaaki said. "This was an execution. We found the dead lying face down by the roadside with a single bullet wound to the head," Kaaki said, adding that the recruits were wearing civilian clothing and were unarmed at the time of the attack. Two of the minibuses were torched by the assailants and they made away with the remaining vehicles, according to Kaaki, who said five buses had been used. Al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility on Sunday for the killing of nearly 50 unarmed Iraqi army recruits in one of the bloodiest attacks on the country's fledgling security forces. Guerrillas also killed a US diplomat in a mortar attack on a US military headquarters on the edge of Baghdad airport in the first known killing of an American diplomat in Iraq since last year's US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein. Zarqawi's newly renamed group, the Al Qaeda Organisation for Holy War in Iraq, said in a statement posted on a website often used by militants that it killed 48 "apostates" in the attack. Iraqi authorities said 49 men were killed. "The mujahideen killed them all, stole two vehicles and the salaries they had just received from their masters," said the statement. Its authenticity could not be verified. The attack was another blow to the US-backed interim government's efforts to build up Iraqi security forces to tackle a raging insurgency along with US-led forces before national assembly elections scheduled for January. Iraqi Defence Minister Hazim al-Shaalan said those who killed the army recruits would face the maximum punishment. "Of course, once we identify and arrest the perpetrators, we will take tough measures against them. God willing, when we arrest them, they will receive capital punishment," he said. Zarqawi's group has claimed responsibility for scores of suicide bombings that have killed hundreds and it has also beheaded foreign hostages. Authorities said guerrillas disguised as police had set up a checkpoint on a road northeast of Baghdad and stopped three minibuses carrying the recruits, forcing them to leave the vehicles and lie face down on the tarmac before shooting them. A dozen recruits tried to flee but were also shot. The bodies of the Iraqi army recruits, in torn and bloodstained civilian clothes, were taken to a National Guard base in Mandali, where they were laid out in rows. "We found them arranged in groups of 12 with bullets in the head," Iraqi National Guard officer Jassim Saadi told Reuters Television in Mandali. The recruits, based at Kirkush, some 90 km (55 miles) northeast of Baghdad, had been heading for home leave when they were ambushed late on Saturday. Villagers heard the gunfire, found the bodies and called police. The minibuses were burned. Meanwhile the Bush administration intends to seek about $70 billion in emergency funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan early next year, pushing total war costs close to $225 billion since the invasion of Iraq early last year, Pentagon and congressional officials said. White House budget office spokesman Chad Kolton emphasized that final decisions on the supplemental spending request will not be made until shortly before the request is sent to Congress. That may not happen until early February, when President Bush submits his budget for fiscal 2006, assuming he wins reelection. Democrat challenger John Kerry's campaign demanded answers from President George W. Bush about the disappearance of nearly 400 tonnes of conventional explosives in Iraq, as the deadlocked White House race entered its final week. In a campaign underpinned by the basic question of who will make Americans safer, the Kerry camp pounced on revelations of the missing explosives, on a day when it also expects a boost from the return of former president Bill Clinton to the campaign trail. "Today, the Bush administration must answer for what may be the most grave and catastrophic mistake in a tragic series of blunders in Iraq," senior Kerry advisor Joe Lockhart said in a statement dispatched before sunrise. "How did they fail to secure nearly 380 tons of known, deadly explosives despite clear warnings from the International Atomic Energy Agency to do so? Why was this information unearthed by reporters -- and was it covered up by our national security officials?" "These explosives can be used to blow up airplanes, level buildings, attack our troops and detonate nuclear weapons. "The Bush administration knew where this stockpile was, but took no action to secure the site." The International Atomic Energy Agency last Monday confirmed a report in The New York Times that the interim government of Iraq had voiced concern over the disappearance. An IAEA spokeswoman added that the agency feared the powerful explosives may have "fallen into the wrong hands, terrorists'." On another scale US Democratic presidential challenger John Kerry promised Poland multi-billion-dollar contracts in Iraq if he is elected president. In the interview with Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, Kerry also thanked Poland, a new member of the European Union, for its contribution in "building bridges" between Europe and the United States. "America should give its allies a big role in the stabilisation of Iraq," he said. "In the economic field this will mean that faithful allies are handed reconstruction contracts worth billions of dollars," including in the oil sector, Kerry added. Meanwhile President Bush said in an interview with ABC network "The terrorists who killed thousands are still dangerous and they are determined to strike again," "And the outcome of this election will set the direction of the war against the terrorists. If America shows uncertainty or weakness in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy." With only five days left before the presidential election, the proverbial presidential gloves came off long ago and both candidates have taken quite a battering in negative campaign advertising. Mud throwing during an election is, historically, nothing new. The ends justify the means and any advantage gained is positive, no matter how personal the attack may be or how vile the assault may be. Or so goes the thinking. But on the verge of an election that many political pundits have called one of the most important contested ever, attacks on President Bush and Sen. John Kerry make up most of what many voters know about the candidates. Many voters simply don't like it that both presidential campaigns have chosen fear and smear tactics in an attempt to gain an edge in their tight race. This war of words comes despite a new campaign finance law that requires candidates for federal office to appear in their own ads. Despite this, only about one in four ads authorized by the presidential campaigns since Labor Day was "purely positive" in its tone, according to a recent study. Ads authorized by the Bush campaign were split almost equally between attacks on Kerry (30 %), ads that contrasted the two candidates (34 %) and ads that promoted the president (36 %). The Kerry campaign, meanwhile, aired no spots exclusively critical of President Bush, and only 16 percent of its ads were purely positive messages; as for the remainder of the Kerry ads, 84 percent were contrast spots. But since Labor Day, the Democratic National Committee operating independently of the Kerry campaign has put out more than half of all TV campaign ads running on Kerry's behalf, and 96 percent of those spots "attacked President Bush and his record," according to a study by the Washington Post using data from the Campaign Media Analysis Group of the top 100 US markets. Both campaigns said the figures are accurate. Conversely, scholars and political strategists say the Bush assault on Kerry has been particularly vicious, both for the volume of attacks and for the liberties the president and his campaign have taken with the facts. Though stretching the truth is hardly new in a political campaign, they say the volume of negative charges is unprecedented both in speeches and in advertising. The assault on Kerry is multi-tiered: It involves television ads, news releases, websites and e-mail, and statements by Bush spokesmen and advisers all coordinated to drive home the message that Kerry has equivocated and "flip-flopped" on Iraq, support for the military, taxes, education and other matters. Yet campaigns must be careful when they go negative, as they can grate against voters who still favor public courtesy. In early September, more Americans thought Kerry had been unfairly attacked than Bush 52 percent to 41 percent, according to a Gallup Poll with a 3-point margin of error. Yet, some survey results suggest that Bush did succeed in portraying Kerry as "flip-flopping and not being a strong leader". If so, it came with a price again and again Americans say they are simply fed up by campaign hardball. In a Gallup Poll in 2000, 54 percent of American adults said campaigns have turned more negative in recent years, while only 8 percent said more positive. Forty-four percent strongly felt negative ads should have no place in campaigns, while just 11 percent strongly felt they should. But as long as psychological experiments show it's easier to remember negative traits than positive ones, the potency of this year's vicious attack ads will undoubtedly continue for years to come. In London the Prime Minister Official Spokesman asked if other British troops would replace Black Watch at the end of their current tour of duty, the PMOS said that as the Prime Minister had pointed out, it would depend on the circumstances at the time. It would also depend on the progress that was made in terms of normalising the situation on the ground in places like Fallujah. It was important for people to recognise that an agreement had been reached as to how Black Watch would be used, where they were used and the timespan in which they were used. As the Prime Minister had made clear, we wanted to see stability in Iraq so that elections could be held next year. As part of that process, voter registration was due to begin next week. Asked if the Prime Minister's pledge to ensure that Black Watch would return home by Christmas was also an assurance that there would be no British troops in the Hillah region at that time, the PMOS said that he really did not want to have another debate with the Lobby about the meaning of Christmas (or even the Meaning of Christmas). It was entirely reasonable for Black Watch troops and their families to know when they could expect to return home. That was precisely what the Prime Minister's pledge had been designed to do. No other decisions had been taken about any other commitment after that. Asked if the Prime Minister would accept that he had misled the House of Commons last week in saying that the size of the British army would not be cut, the PMOS said that as he understood it, the Leader of the Opposition had written to the Prime Minister about this matter. The Prime Minister would reply to the letter within the next few days, which was why it would not be helpful to pre-empt his response. That said, as we had made clear at the time of the Spending Review, this was all about increasing the flexibility of the army and the number of deployable, usable infantry battalions - in other words, investing in, and using, new technology in order to increase the productivity and capability of our armed forces, whether frontline personnel or support staff. That was more important than troop numbers. Spending on defence had been rising over the past seven years - the largest increase over such a period, hence the comments made in the summer by the Chief-of-the-Defence Staff, General Sir Michael Walker, that the last two Spending Reviews had resulted in increases in spending on the armed forces the likes of which he had never seen during his army career. Asked to clarify the Prime Minister's reply to a question during PMQs regarding medical treatment in Iraq, particularly for patients with burns, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister had been expressing his support for the MP in question who had been asking that other countries, as well as the UK, should help where possible. While we were helping to rebuild Iraq's general infrastructure, including hospitals and schools, it was important to recognise that the problems we were encountering predated the war by quite some time. Nevertheless, we remained committed to doing what we could to help, including assisting in individual cases where necessary. On another scale the Israeli Knesset approved Ariel Sharon's proposal to evacuate Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip and northern areas of the West Bank, but only after tough political infighting that indicated the Prime Minister's political survival is at risk if he continues his current approach to the pullback. The vote, 67-45 with seven abstentions, was substantially stronger than had been predicted. However, attempts by Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr. Sharon's arch-rival in the governing Likud Party, to force the Prime Minister into a national referendum on the withdrawal kept the outcome in doubt until the last minute, and continue to threaten the stability of the government. It was the first time parliament voted to dismantle settlements unilaterally in territories Israel conquered in the Six-Day War of 1967. Minutes after the vote, Mr. Netanyahu and Education Minister Limor Livnat said they would quit in two weeks unless Mr. Sharon agreed to the plebiscite by then. Both are major figures in the ruling party, which is deeply split over the withdrawal issue. Last night, 17 of Likud's 40 members in the Knesset voted against the proposal. Tensions were running high in the streets as well, as large-scale graffiti appeared in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv threatening Mr. Sharon's life. "We wiped out Rabin," the slogans said, referring to former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated in 1995 by an opponent of the Oslo peace process, "and we'll also wipe out Sharon." As he had vowed to do, Mr. Sharon struck back hard against other disloyal members of his cabinet, firing minister-without-portfolio Uzi Landau and deputy minister of commerce and trade Michael Ratzon immediately after they voted against the pullback plan. Mr. Netanyahu and Ms. Livnat voted for the plan, but only after withholding their support in the first round of voting in an attempt to force a referendum. The Prime Minister's spokesman said he would not yield to the demands for a plebiscite, widely understood here to be an attempt by opponents of the withdrawal to bury the plan with legislative delays. Israel has never held a national referendum, and in order to hold one on the withdrawal issue, referendum legislation would first have to be written and approved. Politicians on both sides of the withdrawal issue agree that a referendum would make Mr. Sharon's timetable for completing the evacuations before the end of next year impossible, and would create a situation in which any attempted withdrawal would happen during the next national election campaign, in spring of 2006, unless early elections are called. Mr. Sharon has the support of a popular majority of the public for the withdrawal. The question is how to translate that into a working majority in the Knesset. A poll published in Yediot Ahronot, Israel's largest newspaper, showed 65 per cent of the public favoured the Prime Minister's plan. Politicians on both the left and right of the political spectrum agreed that Mr. Sharon has three options for improving the stability of his government: agreeing to the referendum demands, which would pacify dissidents in the current coalition, at least for a while; forming a new coalition, including Labour, that would reduce the clout of Mr. Netanyahu and other dissidents in his party; or calling early elections. In Cairo the Secretary General of the Arab League Amre Moussa reviewed the latest development in Iraq and Palestine with the French Ambassador to Egypt. The Ambassador informed the Secretary General about the results of the French Foreign Minister's visit to Israel and the French talks regarding the international conference on Iraq due to be held in Sharm Al Sheikh on November 22 and 23. Moussa praised the French stances and warned the international community of the Israeli attempts to dissolve the Palestinian cause. On Iraq the Secretary General stressed the importance of achieving positive results through the international conference. In Berlin the leaders of France and Germany said they expected an EU summit in December to approve starting entry talks next year for Turkey's bid to join the European Union, despite wide opposition in their countries. "You know my position. My wish is that Turkey should join as soon as the conditions allow," French President Jacques Chirac told a news conference after a meeting with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Chirac said negotiations with Turkey would be a long process but added: "It is in our interests that after 10 to 15 years the opportunity exists for Turkey to gain admission." But he made clear France would press ahead with its plans for a referendum on the issue, a course which has upset Turkey. Schroeder said negotiations with Turkey should be conducted with the "express aim" of Turkish entry and he brushed aside concerns from Germany's conservative opposition, which has proposed a form of "privileged partnership" for Turkey which falls short of full EU membership. "Germany will, as I've always stated, vote on December 16-17 in favour of entry negotiations. We are in agreement with France," he said. On the other hand the United States has warned its citizens of potential terror attacks in Israel aimed at US citizens during the holy month of Ramadan, the State Department reportedly said Monday. Washington has imposed harsher travel limits on its diplomats in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem last week, fearing terrorists are planning attacks on US interests on both sides of the Green Line, AFP news agency reported. In Beirut Prime minister-designate Omar Karameh formed a new 30-member cabinet on Tuesday, with keys posts going to pro-Syrian figures and with women entering government for the first time in Lebanon's history. A presidential spokesman announced that the new government included two women. Also in Beirut and before leaving to France the former Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri received Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Lebanon Abdel Aziz Mohieddine Khoja who described former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri as a dear friend of the Kingdom and a well-known statesman, following talks with Mr. Hariri in Koreitem. The Saudi diplomat praised the former Premier's "outstanding" services to Lebanon and his contributions to Saudi-Lebanese relations. The Kuwaiti Ambassador Suleiman Al-Saeed conveyed the best wishes of his country's leadership and the Kuwaiti people to former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri at a meeting in Koreitem. He hailed Mr. Hariri's support for Kuwait during the "difficult circumstances" that the region was going through, and his role in strengthening bilateral relations. Ambassador Al-Saeed told reporters that he conveyed to the former Premier the best wishes of the Kuwaiti leadership and people for a prosperous future "wherever he may be." Yemen's Ambassador to Lebanon and Cyprus Dr. Mohammed Abdel Majeed Qabbati hailed former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri as a first class political leader who served Lebanon and the entire Arab world. Dr. Qabbati was speaking in Koreitem after meeting Mr. Hariri. The Yemeni Ambassador told reporters that the former Premier took a leading role in strengthening Yemeni-Lebanese relations, pointing out that Mr. Hariri was the first Lebanese Prime Minister to visit Yemen. He said the former Prime Minister worked to bolster ties based on the "real interests" of both countries, as all inter-Arab ties should be. Dr. Qabbati described Mr. Hariri as a man with a vision and major respect on the international level. German Ambassador Günter Kneiss said the reconstruction of downtown Beirut is "invariably linked to the name of Rafic Hariri" in Germany. The German diplomat was speaking after a meeting that he requested with Mr. Hariri in Koreitem. Ambassador Kneiss praised the former Prime Minister's efforts and the services that he rendered to Lebanon following the 1975-1990 war. "In Germany, the reconstruction of the historic center of Beirut is invariably linked to the name of Rafic Hariri," he said. The Ambassador also credited the former Premier with advancing bilateral German-Lebanese relations and pointed out that Mr. Hariri maintained "very close relations with the political leadership of Germany." He said the former Prime Minister asked him to convey his best regards to the German Chancellor and Foreign Minister. In response to a question, Ambassador Kneiss said Germany is closely watching developments in Lebanon, and told reporters that Berlin is interested in a "democratic and prosperous future of the Lebanese people," as well as the "principles of independence and sovereignty." Egyptian Ambassador Hussein Darrar praised Prime Minister Rafic Hariri's "tangible achievements" in Lebanon and the entire Arab world, after a meeting with the Premier in Koreitem. The Ambassador said he requested the meeting. Ambassador Darrar told reporters Prime Minister Hariri is a friend of Egypt and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. He thanked Mr. Hariri for his support of Egypt, and said he will congratulate the new Lebanese government when it is formed, highlighting strong Egyptian-Lebanese ties. Meanwhile, Lebanese leader Emile Lahoud said that the pressures against Syria and Lebanon will not influence their commitment to the national firm stances and motives to accomplish a fair and comprehensive peace. Lahoud underlined, during his meeting with Iranian Presidential Advisor, Mohammad al-Sadr, that Lebanon and Syria demand the establishment of a just and comprehensive peace which is built on the implementation of the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy. þ The Lebanese President underlined the need for Arab solidarity in this critical stage, and reiterated Lebanon's stance against terrorism and extremism, stressing the necessity to draw a distinction between terrorist acts and the legitimate struggle for the independence of the people, and for the liberation of their occupied land. þ He also stressed his country's care to boost bilateral relations with Iran in all fields. þ In Damascus the Syrian Minister of Information Mahdi Dakhlalah said in an interview with Voice of Lebanon that in principle his country is not against the content of the UNSC resolution 1559, stressing the importance of achieving just and comprehensive peace. He stressed that Syria and Lebanon are still facing great dangers and reiterated the independence of both countries decisions. He dismissed allegations that the US and Israel had put pressure on Lebanon to renew the presidency for Emile Lahoud. The Minister said the latest speech delivered by the Syrian Prime Minister is far from containing any threats to the Lebanese opposition adding that 80% of the Lebanese opposition want good relations with Syria.