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. . . Day by Day with VOA .. . Arab World Relieved Following Iraq's Acceptance of UN Resolution . Greg LaMotte Cairo 14 Nov 2002, 12:10 UTC   .
Kuwait says Iraq's acceptance of the U.N. Security Council resolution will spare the blood of Iraqis and puts on hold the possibility of war. In Qatar the government released a statement urging the Security Council and Iraq to cooperate in a peaceful way that will lead to a lifting of sanctions imposed on Iraq and an end to the suffering of the Iraqi people. Iran called Iraq's acceptance a positive step toward reducing tension in the region and the world. In Lebanon newspapers hailed the Iraqi decision as a step towards regional peace. Egyptian newspapers suggested the region will now take a wait-and-see attitude regarding how Iraq responds to the arrival of the weapons inspectors and whether the United States will eventually attack Iraq. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said Iraq's acceptance is a step in the right direction. He said there should be no discussion of a military option at this point. Instead, he said Iraq and the Security Council should concentrate on how to best facilitate the work of the inspectors. Mr. Moussa called on the inspectors to carry out their mission without bias so the Security Council can move on to its next task, which he said should be lifting the sanctions it imposed on Iraq in 1990 after it invaded Kuwait. In Baghdad, the official Babel newspaper warned that what it called the "crisis with the United States" may have just begun, and it called on France, China and Russia to support Iraq in the coming months. The French news agency quotes Iraqi citizens as saying they have mixed feelings about Saddam Hussein's acceptance of the resolution. They said the terms of the resolution are unfair but expressed relief that the threat of war has diminished, at least for the moment. One Iraqi citizen was quoted as saying that while he was happy the "drums of war" have fallen silent, he asked, "for how long?" Cairo columnist and public opinion expert Said Sadek Amin says the entire Arab world is "breathing a little easier today." But he says many people still think there will eventually be a war. "There is a sense of relief. There is also a feeling that Saddam is not as strong as he used to be. He is no longer defiant. He is complying in the end. He is submitting to the U.N., Mr. Amin said. " But there is a general sense of relief that the military confrontation between Iraq and the United States has been put off for some time. When the inspections take place some problems may come up and this will be the excuse for the war, which people believe it would be inevitable, but it has been postponed now, for the time being." Mr. Amin says most Arabs have no personal sympathy for Saddam Hussein whom they view, he says, as an oppressive dictator. But, Mr. Amin says Arabs do care about the Iraqi people and would not accept a U.S. led military strike against Iraq. An advance team of U.N. technicians is scheduled to arrive in Iraq on Monday to begin the process of setting up offices and communications equipment. Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix will accompany the team. The actual inspection process is scheduled to begin in the next several weeks. Inspectors have not been allowed in Iraq since December of 1998 when they left on the eve of U.S. and British airstrikes that were intended to punish Iraq for failing to fully cooperate with the inspectors.
. Iranian Professor Calls On Student Protesters to Stay Within Law . .
Hashem Aghajari relayed the message through his wife, Zahra Behnoudi, who visited him in prison. She says Mr. Aghajari, a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war, believes it is best for students to voice their demands with a peaceful, civil movement. He urged demonstrators to not allow trouble-makers to inflame them into instigating riots. Mr. Aghajari was sentenced last week to die for questioning clerical rule in Iran. President Mohammad Khatami said Wednesday the sentence is not appropriate and should have never been issued. Some information for this report provided by AFP.
. Israeli Forces Capture Palestinian Mastermind of Kibbutz Attack . . The Israeli army captured the suspected mastermind of Sunday's attack on an Israeli communal farm during an operation in the West Bank Thursday. The army said troops surrounded a house in Shweike village north of Tulkarm, where the wanted man, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades activist Mohammed Naife, was holed up. The activist was arrested when he came out, along with an unidentified fellow militant. Israeli troops destroyed the activist's own house in the same village two days ago. Sunday's shooting attack on the Israeli kibbutz left five Israelis dead. Meanwhile, the Israeli military pressed on with operations in Tulkarm, where troops killed an activist belonging to Hamas. In another West Bank town, Nablus, a 17-year-old Palestinian was killed when troops fired on a crowd of youths throwing stones at their armored vehicle. In another raid, Israeli forces arrested 17 wanted Hamas members in Ramallah. Also Thursday, Israeli tanks backed by helicopter gunships briefly pushed into central Gaza City in a pre-dawn raid and arrested four Palestinians, who the army says, were making mortar shells. Three Palestinians were wounded during the raid. The developments come as U.S. envoy David Satterfield visits the region to discuss a "roadmap" for Middle East peace. He met Tuesday with Israeli officials, and Wednesday with Palestinian officials before traveling to Jordan, where he is expected to brief King Abdullah on the progress of the proposal.
. KEDO Stops Shipments of Fuel Oil to N. Korea . . .
KEDO will allow an oil shipment that is already on its way to North Korea to proceed, but will suspend further shipments until North Korea eliminates its nuclear weapons program in a "verifiable and visible manner." The decision was made by KEDO's Executive Board, representatives of the United States, the European Union, Japan and South Korea. Last month, North Korea admitted that it had continued to develop its nuclear program in violation of a 1994 agreement. In that agreement North Korea agreed to suspend operation of nuclear reactors capable of producing weapons-grade material in return for 500 metric tons of fuel oil every year and other aid. The United States has pushed for an end to the fuel oil assistance program in the wake of the North Korean disclosure. KEDO's Executive Board made the decision during a closed-door meeting at its New York headquarters. In a statement released at the end of the meeting, the Board condemned North Korea's pursuit of a nuclear weapons program and said further shipments of oil "will depend on North Korea's concrete and credible actions to dismantle completely its highly-enriched uranium program." The Board also indicated that future KEDO activities will hinge on North Korea's response to demands that it stop its nuclear program.
. Pentagon: W. Africa Vulnerable to Terror Attacks . . Hundreds of American troops have been sent to the Horn of Africa for possible anti-terrorist operations. But the Pentagon views West Africa, where there have been no U.S. deployments, as more vulnerable to terrorist penetration. A senior defense official says the Joint Task Force deployed in the Horn of Africa to coordinate anti-terrorist operations is aimed primarily at Yemen, not at conducting offensive activities in African countries. The senior official, speaking to VOA on condition of anonymity, says the Djibouti-based Task Force will cooperate with countries like Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Kenya to address concerns about their vulnerability to terrorist penetration in remote border areas. But the official says the Horn countries are not as vulnerable as those in the Sahel region, which the Pentagon intends to work with closely on security issues. Officials say security assistance planning is under way involving four Sahel countries: Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. The official says that while the problems of remote, ungoverned areas are similar between the Horn and Sahel, Horn countries have, what the official terms, more capable military forces. The senior official tells VOA the Sahel problem is viewed as much more serious because there is, in the official's view, an almost total lack of capability to deal with frontier security threats. The official says "you cannot look at the Sahel region and not be concerned." The official's comments to VOA follow a warning by another top Pentagon official that U.S. troops could conceivably move into remote areas without the permission of governments. "There may be circumstances where we go into an ungoverned area in pursuit of al-Qaida," said Victoria Clarke, the Pentagon's top spokeswoman. But defense officials are all but ruling out military deployments in West Africa like those in the Horn, soon to number more than 1,000 U.S. personnel with nearly 2,000 more offshore. Instead they say the Pentagon will work with countries in West Africa, offering training and possibly equipment. Pentagon spokeswoman Clarke makes no specific mention of West Africa, but acknowledges U.S. defense officials are engaged with a variety of countries with a single goal. "We are working with a lot of different countries around the world, different ways, but we are working with a lot of different countries in trying to figure out the appropriate ways to root out al-Qaida in their backyards," she said. Officials have expressed concern that al-Qaida operatives might slip into countries like Somalia or Sudan. They have also expressed concern about possible terrorist arms shipments moving through the region. In West Africa, intelligence sources have recently identified an arms-smuggling group operating between Algeria, Mali, and Mauritania, with suspected links to al-Qaida. U.S. Officials are also concerned the presence of terrorist groups in Algeria, Libya, and Sudan could pose a threat to countries like Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.
. Powell Condemns Anti-Muslim Comments by Christian Leaders . . .
The Bush administration has been under pressure from American Muslim groups, among others, to respond to anti-Islam rhetoric by some prominent television evangelists. President Bush and Secretary of State Powell have delivered strong, though implicit, criticism of the comments by Christian conservatives who have been key political allies of the administration. Speaking to reporters Wednesday as he met U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, President Bush said comments that have been uttered about Islam do not reflect the sentiments of his administration or the majority of the American people. He said Islam as practiced by the vast majority of its adherents is a peaceful religion that respects others. He said the United States welcomes people of all faiths, and that Americans will not allow the war on terrorism to change their values. The President's remarks were echoed by Secretary Powell at a State Department meeting of business executives. Like the President, Mr. Powell did not mention the television evangelists by name, but said their remarks deserve condemnation. "We are going to welcome people from every part of the world. We are going to continue to welcome people of every faith of every religion," he said. "We will reject the kind of comments you have seen recently, where people in this country say that Muslims are responsible for the killing of all Jews, and who put out hatred. This kind of hatred must be rejected. This kind of language must be spoken out against. We cannot allow this image to go forth of America, because it is an inaccurate image of America. We are a welcoming nation."
Another conservative Christian figure, the Reverend Jerry Falwell, said in a recent television interview that he had concluded from reading Muslim and non-Muslim writers that the Prophet Muhammad was a man of war and a terrorist. Reverend Falwell later apologized for those comments, which had drawn a death threat from an Iranian cleric and sparked religious rioting in Bombay, India. Comments considered defamatory of Islam have been attributed to other well-known Christian ministers including the Reverends Jimmy Swaggart and Franklin Graham, son of the noted evangelist Billy Graham. The anti-Muslim rhetoric has drawn broad criticism from various U.S. Christian groups, American Muslim organizations, and others including the Jewish civil rights group the Anti-Defamation League. Earlier this week, the Council on American-Islamic Relations appealed to the Bush administration to step forward and condemn what it termed "Islamo-phobia" in the United States. The group said past White House assertions that Islam was a "religion of peace" had done little to stem what it said was a "rising tide" of anti-Muslim hatred.
. Rebels Reject Ivory Coast Peace Deal but Continue Talks . . Ivory Coast rebels say they will remain in negotiations with the government, even after rejecting parts of a partial peace deal aimed at ending the country's eight-week-old rebellion. Rebels with the Patriotic Movement of Ivory Coast said they are willing to keep negotiating with the Ivory Coast government, and have presented a list of counter-proposals to the chief mediator, Togolese President Gnassingbe Eyadema. The partial peace deal was presented to the rebels by West African mediators. Togolese observers say the main stumbling block appears to be the government's insistence that the rebels disarm immediately. Rebels say they will not do so until a final peace accord has been signed The rebels, who launched their attacks on September 19, have demanded President Gbagbo's resignation. Following the rebels' rejection of the draft, the rebel and government delegations met for several hours with President Eyadema. The Togolese leader has been working to keep the talks on track, amid growing frustration on both sides over the slow pace of the negotiations. Thus far, the West African mediators have succeeded only in getting both sides to agree on settling the military demands of the insurgents. In a partial accord reached earlier, the government agreed to grant amnesty to the rebels and the rebels agreed to grant passage to humanitarian workers and supplies in the areas they control. The conflict in what was once one of West Africa's most stable countries has killed hundreds of people. A cease-fire has held for nearly a month, but both sides have warned they have been preparing to re-launch attacks if the negotiations fail. Tensions remain high in Abidjan as people awaited word on the outcome of negotiations in Togo. Fearing a new outbreak of violence, authorities expanded a nighttime curfew that has been in place in the government-controlled areas of the country for nearly two months. Thousands of people hurried to get home Wednesday after government officials made a sudden announcement that the curfew would take effect two-hours earlier than usual.
. Rumsfeld Questions Authenticity of Purported bin Laden Tape . . .
Mr. Rumsfeld says he does not know if the terrorist leader is alive or dead or whether the new audio-tape really contains his voice. But speaking in a nationwide radio call-in show Thursday on Infinity Broadcasting, Mr. Rumsfeld voices his doubts. "I suspect if he were alive and healthy, he would be doing video-tapes, which seems to be his preference," he said. "I'm told in this instance, he very likely called in, somebody called in, and gave those words over a telephone of some sort so a tape does not exist that was an original tape." Osama bin Laden has not been seen since late last year at the height of the U.S. bombing campaign against terrorist targets in Afghanistan. Mr. Rumsfeld says it would be interesting to know if the tape, which hails recent terrorist attacks, really does contain bin Laden's voice because then people would know if he really is still alive. But he says it does not really make a difference. He says U.S. officials remain alert and are continuing to try and put pressure on al-Qaida worldwide. In the wide-ranging radio call-in show, Mr. Rumsfeld handled an array of questions dealing with a possible new conflict with Iraq, including the likely length of a war. He says he cannot predict how long it might last but he says it will definitely not spin out of control into a global war. "I can't tell you if the use of force in Iraq today would last five days, five weeks or five months. But it certainly is not going to last any longer than that and it won't be a World War III," he said. Mr. Rumsfeld also says U.S. forces today are vastly more powerful than those who fought in the 1991 Gulf war. And he says Iraq's military capabilities have declined substantially in the intervening years. Earlier in the day, Mr. Rumsfeld said there is no doubt that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, no matter what its officials might be saying. Mr. Rumsfeld also said the purpose of the latest U.N. Security Council resolution is to get international inspectors into Iraq to make their own conclusions about Baghdad's weapons programs. Mr. Rumsfeld made those comment during a brief appearance before reporters with Kazakhstan's visiting Defense Minister.
. US, Allies Agree to Halt Oil Shipments to North Korea . . East Asian and European allies have backed the United States in its decision to halt shipments of fuel oil to North Korea in response to what the White House says is Pyongyang's broken pledge not to develop nuclear weapons. The decision was announced late Thursday after a day-long meeting of the four parties of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization, KEDO. The group has been supplying fuel oil to North Korea for the past eight years. KEDO members are Japan, South Korea, the European Union, and the United States. The group said in a statement following the meeting that "future shipments of oil will depend on North Korea's concrete and credible actions to dismantle completely its highly enriched uranium program". Earlier Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States will no longer supply free fuel to North Korea unless Pyongyang agrees to dismantle its nuclear weapons programs. Mr. Powell said a shipload of oil already on its way to North Korea will be delivered as scheduled. The United States has accused North Korea of violating the 1994 agreement under which Pyongyang pledged to scrap its nuclear program in return for energy help from the United States, South Korea, and Japan. The United States promised to provide more than 500-thousand tons of heavy oil to North Korea every year, and South Korea and Japan agreed to pay most of the cost for two light-water nuclear reactors, which are not capable of producing weapons. Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
. Chief UN Inspector Plans to be 'Honest Middleman' Between Iraq, UN . . .
The chief U.N. arms inspector has been assigned the task of searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The Security Council gave Iraq this last opportunity to disarm or face serious consequences, a euphemism for possible war. The United States says it will make sure Iraq disarms, one way or another. But Mr. Blix emphasizes that his inspectors will not determine the course of events in the region. He says they will visit suspected sites, conduct interviews with Iraqi scientists, ferret out information and report back to the Security Council for its members to decide. "War and peace is not really in our hand. We can contribute to it. But it is not in our hand," Mr. Blix said. "I think, it lies in the hands of, on the one hand, the Iraqis - What do they do? What do they declare? How open are they? How much transparency will there be? and, on the other hand, the Security Council. We are in between, and we will try to carry out very effective, but correct, inspections, and report very factually to the Security Council." As for U.S. and British intelligence reports, which the Bush administration says proves that Iraq has banned weapons, Mr. Blix says he is not going into Iraq with preconceived ideas of what is there. "We on our side are not contending that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. We have a great many questions. We cannot exclude it, and we are not saying all the intelligence is wrong. It may be right. But we are not confirming it," he said. The next test for Iraq will be December 8, the deadline for Iraq to present a full accounting of its weapons programs. If Iraq presents, in effect, a blank sheet, Mr. Blix says, he would expect the United States to put its evidence on the table, so it can be verified. Iraq has persistently maintained it does not have the banned weapons. The latest such assertion came in a letter to the U.N. this week, in which Baghdad accepted the latest Security Council resolution setting out the parameters for what experts say will be the most intrusive inspections in Iraq, so far. After the preliminary technical work starting Monday, Mr. Blix says, he expects the first wave of inspections to start November 27. Two months later, he is required to report to the Security Council on Iraq's performance.
. European Security Officials Express Concern Over Latest Terror Threats . . . The latest purported taped message from Osama bin Laden has raised concern among European intelligence and law enforcement officials that their countries are now on his hit list. Security officials are especially worried that the voice on the tape specifically mentions four European countries, Britain, France, Germany and Italy, as potential targets for al-Qaida operatives or associates. Although some European politicians are wary about sowing panic and have played down fears of an imminent terrorist attack, intelligence and counter-terrorism officials appear to be willing to override their political masters and have openly warned that the threat against Europe from al-Qaida is greater today than it has ever been. France's leading anti-terrorism magistrate, Jean-Louis Bruguiere, said Thursday that people in Europe, and especially in France, need to know that the risk of an attack is real and high. And even before the purported bin Laden tape was issued Tuesday, Germany's intelligence chief, August Hanning, said that Germans have to be ready for what he described as a new attack of a much larger dimension. Independent counter-terrorism experts say these officials are conscious of the need to balance the risks of raising public fears with the risks of under-preparedness. Jonathan Stevenson, an expert at London's International Institute of Strategic Studies, says the Europeans have followed the lead of their colleagues in the United States, whose warnings have not produced undue panic, and may even have created more awareness and sensitivity to terrorist threats among Americans. "Basically, the warning that was issued by bin Laden, and the European response to it, suggests that the Europeans are taking on board the observations of a number of experts and a number of U.S. government officials that al-Qaida has, in fact, reconstituted in the wake of the Afghanistan campaign, and is now really a more dispersed, decentralized, a more virtual organization, if you will, and, in a certain way, one that is much more difficult to defeat," he said. Although several European countries have cracked down hard on alleged terrorist cells in the 14 months since the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States, the warnings in recent days have made clear that such cells and the networks that often link them together are still alive and well in Europe. Intelligence and counter-terrorism officials generally agree that, even with stepped-up measures against terrorists, it is impossible for open, democratic governments, like those in Europe, to create absolute security. Mr. Stevenson says it is very difficult to ascertain what the time interval is going to be between a warning such as the one issued on the purported bin Laden tape and the terrorist attack itself. "When bin Laden issues a warning like this, it certainly could be construed as an inspiration to a terrorist attack by a local al-Qaida affiliate," he said. "And, you know, that connects with the observation that, increasingly, al-Qaida will rely on local talent, so to speak, since it no longer really has a central base in some place like Afghanistan. That's not to say that they won't use sort of mid-level coordinators, who come from outside the locale of the given terrorist attack. But it seems probable that they will tend to relinquish the initiative to a degree, at least to operational specifics, to local groups such as Jemaah Islamiyah in Indonesia." Jemaah Islamiyah has been linked to the bombing on the Indonesian island of Bali last month that killed more than 180 people. Mr. Stevenson says there were vague warnings and dubious intelligence that something was going to happen in Southeast Asia before that attack. But he says, the information was so general that it was very difficult to act on. European intelligence officials are scrambling to make sure that does not happen on their turf. One German official says he and his colleagues are at a stage where they have some facts, but are still lacking concrete details about the next attack.
. Future of NATO to Top Bush Agenda in Prague . . A top advisor to President Bush says the future of an expanded NATO will be high on Mr. Bush's agenda at next week's alliance summit in Prague. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice told reporters in Washington Friday, that Iraq is a prime example of the kind of threat NATO now faces. While noting that Iraq will only be a side issue at the two-day meeting, she said the president hopes to hear from NATO partners what support they will give U.S. demands that Iraq disarm. But Ms. Rice said the most important matters NATO will take up at the summit are the issue of expansion of the organization and forging a new relationship with Russia in the post-Cold War climate. In order to allay any Russian concerns about NATO expansion, Mr. Bush plans a brief visit to Moscow next Friday after the summit concludes. While in Prague, President Bush is to have separate talks Wednesday with NATO Secretary General George Robertson and the leaders of the Czech Republic, Turkey and France. Ms. Rice also mentioned the common threat all NATO members face from terrorists and the states that sponsor them. This concern has prompted the United States to recommend that NATO create a new strike force capable of responding to such threats. Several countries are expecting an invitation to join the security organization at next week's meeting. Among the NATO aspirants are Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
. Hard-Line Iranian Protesters Call for Professor's Execution . . . About 1,000 people demonstrated in Tehran Friday, calling for the execution of a professor convicted of blasphemy. The march after Friday prayers followed several days of student demonstrations calling on the government to spare the professor's life.
This was the largest show of opposition to reformers since the mostly peaceful student protests in support of Mr. Aghajari began early this week. He is a history professor and prominent member of the reformist Iranian political party, the Islamic Revolution Mujahedin Organization. Professor Aghajari was sentenced to death by a judge in Western Iran last week for a speech that questioned the clergy's right to rule Iran. He also said other people should also have the right to interpret Islam. The Associated Press reports that Mr. Aghajari called on students not to break the law while voicing opposition to his death sentence. In a meeting with family members at the prison where he is being held, Mr. Aghajari reportedly said any protests on his behalf should be within the framework of the law. He also reportedly warned that some people may be trying to promote political tension by inciting the students to action. Iran's legal system is under the control of hard-liners, and the death sentence has triggered a backlash from the reform-minded parliament. Two-thirds of its members signed a letter calling for the verdict's dismissal. The country's reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, said the verdict should never have been issued. Iran's supreme leader said he would use force to intervene, if reformers and conservatives cannot settle their differences. Mr. Aghajari's sentence will be considered final on December 2, unless he appeals, which he previously refused to do.
. Iraqi Press: Inspections Will Test UN Credibility . . . Iraqi newspapers said Friday that Iraq's decision to readmit weapons inspectors will put U.N. credibility, honesty and objectivity to the test. Two state-run newspapers said Friday that Iraq accepted the U.N. Security Council's disarmament resolution to protect its people, and because the country hopes inspectors will do their job honestly, impartially and only to report to the United Nations. Iraq's ruling Baath party newspaper, Al Thawra, says U.N. monitoring agencies involved in the inspections will be tested by what the paper calls anticipated U.S. interference in their work. Another state-controlled newspaper, Al Iraqi, says the inspections will reveal that the United States has been lying about Iraq's weapons program. Before the unanimous Security Council vote, Russia and France persuaded the United States to make some changes in the resolution, including insertion of a plan for the Security Council to meet before any military action is taken. Al Thawra called the Russian and French attempt to prevent unilateral U.S. military action superficial.
. Over 100 Killed in Nepal Fighting . .
Maoist rebels overran a police post in Gorkha district, about 150 kilometers northwest of Kathmandu, and attacked Jumla town about 600 kilometers west of the capital. Authorities say the assaults began late Thursday and fighting continued on Friday. Hundreds, and perhaps thousands of rebels were involved in the assaults, in some of the heaviest fighting seen in recent weeks. Heavy casualties are reported on both sides. The fighting took place just hours after Maoist leader Prachanda made a surprise offer to negotiate with the government. The offer came at the conclusion of a three-day nationwide strike called by the Maoists that largely shut down the country. Government officials say they have been working on a plan to establish contact with the Maoists who want to abolish Nepal's constitutional monarchy and establish a communist state. Political violence and uncertainty in Nepal has grown worse since Nepal's King Gyanendra dismissed the government of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, and appointed Lok Bahadur Chand, a staunch monarchist as the country's new prime minister. King Gyanendra defended his action, saying Prime Minister Deuba was incompetent, but there were widespread protests from political parties in parliament who called the king's move unconstitutional. Prime Minister Chand has vowed to resume peace talks with the Maoists, and bring an end to Nepal's six year-old civil war. But since he took office last month, there have been several major bombings in Kathmandu and scattered Maoist attacks across the country. More than seven-thousand people, mostly Maoists, have been killed in the fighting. More than half of those killed have died since King Gyanendra declared a state of emergency last year.
. Pakistani Killer of CIA Employees Executed in US State Prison . . .
The U.S. State Department fears there could be retaliatory violence against U.S. targets worldwide. Pakistani Mir Aimal Kasi was put to death by lethal injection Thursday night at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Virginia. Witnesses say Kasi whispered "There is no God but Allah," shortly before losing consciousness. His execution comes nearly five years to the day after he was convicted for killing two CIA employees while they were driving outside the agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia. In his last interviews just hours before his execution, Kasi said it was wrong to kill civilians, but that he had no remorse for killing two agents of the U.S. government. He said he carried out his attack to protest U.S. policies toward Muslim countries. After he killed the two CIA employees with an AK-47 machine gun, Kasi was able to fly out of the United States, despite traveling with an expired passport. He was arrested by U.S. agents four and half years later in his home country of Pakistan. The FBI and the CIA never found evidence that he was linked to an organized terrorist organization, but extremist Islamic militants have hailed him as a hero. The U.S. State Department has warned that Kasi's execution could result in retaliatory violence against Americans around the world. A day after his conviction in 1997, four American oil executives were killed in Karachi, Pakistan, in apparent retaliation.
. Palestinian Gunmen Kill at Least 10 Israelis in Hebron . . An ambush by Palestinian gunmen has killed at least 10 Israelis in the West Bank city of Hebron. The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for the attack, which also left at least 15 Israelis wounded. Israeli officials say the ambush Friday occurred as a group of Jewish settlers accompanied by Israeli soldiers were heading for Jewish Sabbath services at the Tomb of the Patriarchs holy site. The site is believed to be the burial cave of the biblical figure Abraham. Witnesses say a long gunbattle between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers erupted after the incident, making it difficult for the Israeli rescue service to evacuate the wounded. About 450 Jewish settlers live among 130,000 Palestinians in Hebron under heavy Israeli guard. In other developments, a teenage Palestinian stonethrower was killed today by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank city of Nablus. Palestinian sources said at least two other students were wounded. The army said Israeli troops opened fire after the demonstrators threw an explosive device. Meanwhile, new public opinion polls in Israel show Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with a commanding lead over Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in their battle to lead the ruling right-wing Likud party. A survey in the Yedioth Ahronoth daily shows Mr. Sharon beating his rival 54 to 38 percent in primary elections set for November 28. Both men are known for their hardline positions and policies against the Palestinians. On Tuesday, Mr. Netanyahu said that if he is elected prime minister, he will expel Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from the occupied territories. In the race for the Labor Party leadership, a poll conducted for the Ha'aretz newspaper shows the mayor of Haifa, Amran Mitzna, holding a big lead over former defense minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer. The new elections were called after Labor left Mr. Sharon's ruling coalition during a budget dispute. Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.
. Political Conflict, Economic Crisis Still Trouble Argentina . . .
The dispute involves two leaders of the Peronist party, Argentina's current President Eduardo Duhalde, and former President Carlos Menem, who wants to return to power. Mr. Menem governed Argentina for 10 years, during which he tamed hyperinflation and promoted economic reforms that brought prosperity to this South American nation. |
