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COMMENTARY -- WAR -- The completed article.
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The United States is ordering extra military forces - thought to be long-range bombers - to boost defences near North Korea. The move comes amid heightened tensions with Pyongyang, following Monday's interception of a US surveillance plane by four North Korean fighter jets in international airspace. Washington military officials also said that the US is considering sending it own fighter jets to escort future surveillance flights. "As part of our efforts to meet our global requirements, we are deploying additional forces to the western Pacific as US forces are preparing for possible military action elsewhere," Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Commander Jeff Davis said. He did not specify what forces were involved, but BBC Pentagon correspondent Nick Childs says they are understood to be long-range bombers. Last month the United States put two dozen B-1 and B-52 bombers on alert for possible deployment to the US-held Pacific island of Guam. The force would also be accompanied by about 2,000 personnel, the French news agency AFP reported. Deterrent Pentagon officials insist the decision was made on Friday and is not a response to Monday's air incident over the Sea of Japan. Washington on Tuesday confirmed it would lodge a formal protest over the encounter, which follows weeks of escalating tensions with North Korea, notably over the isolated ultra-communist state's nuclear programme. "This kind of reckless behaviour by North Korea will only lead to further international isolation of North Korea," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.
US officials said that at one point one of the four North Korean MiG fighters involved edged within 15 metres (50 feet) of the US plane. The escalating tensions come as the US and South Korea begin large-scale military exercises, which the North has labelled a prelude to invasion. The US says its joint military exercises with the South are a planned annual event and not connected to friction with the North. Codenamed Foal Eagle, they involve 5,000 American soldiers. Fighter escorts The Pentagon said the interception happened on Sunday as its RC-135 - a model based on the Boeing 707 airliner - was on a routine intelligence mission about 150 miles (240 kilometres) off North Korea's coast. The US said initially that one of the North Korean jets involved had locked its radar weapons system onto the US plane, the final step before firing a missile. However, it later said that the aircraft had merely been "acquired" by the MiG's radar. The US plane broke off its mission and returned to its base in Kadena, Japan. US military officials said on Tuesday that one possible response to the incident would be to have fighters escort future flights. However they say that doing so runs the risk of undercutting the US assertion that the surveillance flights are not military threats. Stand-off
The US stopped fuel aid to North Korea, which reacted by kicking weapons inspectors out of the country and restarting its Yongbyon nuclear reactor. It also pulled out the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which seeks to control the spread of nuclear arms. North Korea wants direct talks with Washington to resolve the issue, but the US has said it will not give in to what it sees as North Korean blackmail. In recent weeks, Pyongyang has ratcheted
even further its normally belligerent rhetoric. On Sunday, Pyongyang accused
the US of planning a secret strike on the Yongbyon reactor and warned such an
operation could trigger "horrifying nuclear disasters".
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 . End of article 1.
The World Bank says the Palestinian economy has been devastated by more than two years of conflict with Israel. In a report issued Tuesday, the World Bank said more than half of the 3.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are living in poverty. The report says the majority of Palestinians are now earning less than two dollars a day and that only massive foreign aid is preventing full economic collapse. The
World Bank estimates that the Palestinian intifada, or uprising, that began in
September 2000 has now cost the Palestinian economy more than $5 billion. This
is equal to the entire wealth generated by Palestinians, in the year before the
violence began.
The report says that such measures have been imposed in a discriminatory fashion. The World Bank says the restrictions are applied in such a way that they hurt Palestinian exporters, but have less impact on Palestinian imports from Israel. The World Bank acknowledges that Israel has publicly expressed regret for the need to impose such measures in the name of security, including stopping Palestinian suicide bombers and gunmen from attacking its citizens. The World Bank says the challenge for Israel is to "find ways" to protect its citizens "without destroying the Palestinian economy and livelihoods of ordinary Palestinians." The challenge for Palestinians, the report says, is to diversify its economic base and reduce its dependence on Israel. But the World Bank stresses that for such a strategy to succeed it would itself require the active cooperation of Israel.
. End of article 2.
Islamic leaders have ended their one-day summit rejecting any war on Iraq and any threat to the security of any Islamic state. The
final communique also calls on Islamic states to refrain from taking part in
any military moves against the security and territorial integrity of Iraq or
any other Muslim nation. However, the document also calls on Iraq to observe
U.N. resolutions demanding it destroy all its weapons of mass
destruction.
Rising tensions over the threat of a U.S.-led war against Iraq were underscored by an incident at the opening session of the summit. During a finger-pointing speech against Kuwait by the head of the Iraqi delegation, Izzat Ibrahim, Kuwait's deputy foreign minister, Sheik Mohammed Sabah Al Salem Al Sabah, stood up to protest. Mr. Izzat angrily told the Kuwaiti official to shut up, calling him a monkey and a traitor. Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Hamad al-Khalifa al-Thani, eventually calmed the two parties and moved on to the next speaker. The outburst occurred minutes after the Qatari leader opened the summit, warning of grave consequences of any war aimed at disarming Iraq. Sheikh Hamad said all peaceful efforts must be exhausted, because any other means will create more conflicts and expose the whole region to unpredictable dangers. It was the second emergency summit on Iraq in less than a week. A meeting of the Arab League Saturday was temporarily suspended when Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi lashed out at Saudi Arabia for allowing Western troops on its territory. The remarks led to a walkout by the Saudi delegation. The United Arab Emirates proposed at that summit that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein step down in order to preserve peace in the region. That proposal received support from Kuwait and Bahrain. But it was rejected by Iraq, and criticized by many Arab leaders as a dangerous precedent. The Islamic summit was hastily convened following the summit of the nonaligned movement last week to draft a common position on Iraq by leaders of the world's one billion Muslims. The nonaligned summit urged Iraq to fully comply with U.N. weapons inspectors, but also said Iraqi disarmament should be enforced by the United Nations and not by individual states.
. End of article 3.
This fashionable cafe in Amman's Shmeisani neighborhood is a favorite meeting place for young Jordanians. Sitting over hot coffee with his friends, 28-year-old Feraj talks about the number one topic in the country, the looming war in Iraq. "We're all looking for peace in the region," he said. "The inspectors should tell us if they [Iraq] have weapons of mass destruction." Those sentiments are echoed by his friend Lara. "I'm not pro-war. I feel bad for the Iraqi people. I prefer peace. I don't like Saddam Hussein… I'm not with [in favor of] biological weapons," she said. These views are held by an overwhelming majority of Jordanians. Most people here, as elsewhere throughout the region, say they do not want war. They don't like Saddam Hussein either, but they are also suspicious of American motives. George Hawatmeh, chief editor of Jordan's al-Rai newspaper, says it's an extremely emotional issue. "It is very difficult. Our people cannot look at it very objectively, we're emotionally involved, as you might imagine, everybody cares about the Iraqi people," he said. "We feel very close to them, we share common borders, families live on either side of the border. We don't necessarily agree with the way the United States is handling the international situation." And that causes a problem for Jordan's government, which is caught between public opinion on the one hand and the need not to alienate its friend and ally, the United States. Mr. Hawatmeh says it's a real dilemma. "We've been friends and strategic allies for so many years,"he added. "About 20 percent of our exports go to the United States. We receive aid of about $450 million. We share common values, we do share strategic interests with the United States." Jordan's government seems determined to avoid the mistakes of the past. During the Gulf War of 1991 then-King Hussein opted not to join the U.S.- led coalition against Baghdad and Jordan found itself estranged from Washington and lost valuable U.S. aid. Now, Jordan's King Abdullah is adamant about continuing to pursue diplomatic initiatives to try to resolve the crisis peacefully. Government officials in Amman privately acknowledge, however, that the government is already thinking about the war's aftermath, what a post-Saddam Hussein government in Iraq will look like and what impact it might have on Jordan. Oraib Rantawi is the head of the al-Quds Center for Political Studies in Amman. He says few here believe the American position that Saddam Hussein and his government are a threat to the region and the world. He says there's much more involved. "I think nobody is convinced about this story of weapons of mass destruction," Mr. Rantawisaid. "I think the main challenge for weapons of mass destruction comes from North Korea or from Israel itself. The story is about [American] reshaping the Middle East." And, says Mr. Rantawi, it is the prospect of reshaping the Middle East that has governments worried because no one knows what Washington might have in mind. And he says spreading democracy, as President Bush has said, may not be that easy. "Look, you can't export democracy like Pontiac cars. Saudi Arabia imports plenty of Pontiac cars, but they didn't import any democracy or civil rights or women's rights… Democracy needs democrats, you cannot import democrats from the U.S., they should be here in our society," he explained. Mr. Rantawi says many in the region will be watching how America deals with Iraq after the war, will it abandon the country after the military operations are over, will it just install a pro-U.S. government and seek to maintain its own interests or will it be serious about nation-building and democracy. And, says Mr. Rantawi, America will not get far if it does not address what people in the region see as the central issue, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "I think in the long run the Americans will have success in the area [Iraq]. But this track should be parallel with another track to solve the Palestinian problem because nobody will agree with the United States or accept its claims about Iraq and other Arab regimes, if the Americans remain on this double standard policy supporting Israel, ignoring the Palestinian national rights," he said. "If this policy is not changed, if the Americans do not show seriousness in dealing with the Palestinian cause, I think they will have trouble in the area." Mr. Rantawi has a dire prediction and a warning to the United States. He says if America deals with Iraq as a colonial power and puts an American general in charge of the country a new wave of terrorism could rise that will threaten the United States and all those countries that sided with it.
. End of article 4.
Pacific allies - the United States, South Korea and Japan - say they remain committed to diplomacy to end a dispute over North Korea's banned nuclear programs. But Seoul and Tokyo are increasingly worried as the United States beefs up its regional military presence and has begun publicly acknowledging it will consider all options to resolve the matter. South Korea and Japan are once again urging restraint amid rising tensions between the United States and North Korea over nuclear issues. The calls come after the United States said Tuesday it will deploy 24 long-range bombers to the Pacific Island of Guam. The move is seen as a warning to Pyongyang not to underestimate American military capabilities despite a possible war with Iraq. But Air Force Lieutenant Tom Wenz, a spokesman at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam, says the move is not a preparation for military action. "The moves are not aggressive in nature and deploying these additional forces is simply a prudent measure to bolster our defensive posture and as a deterrent in the region." Pentagon officials say the decision was made last week and has nothing to do with Sunday's incident in which North Korean fighters intercepted an unarmed U.S. reconnaissance plane in international airspace over the Sea of Japan. The White House has called the incident provocative and reckless. Diplomacy is still the first choice for dealing with months of North Korean moves to reactivate its nuclear facilities in violation of international agreements. But President Bush has begun to say that force may be a last resort option, as diplomacy has yet to produce results. Japan government spokesman Yasuo Fukuda Wednesday played down the idea that tensions were on the rise. He says Mr. Bush's remarks mean that military intervention is just one option, and Tokyo is strongly optimistic the United States will first try many other avenues to resolve the issue diplomatically. South Korea's new administration however is starting to differ with Washington. President Roh Moo-hyun dismissed Sunday's plane incident as predictable since there was increased U.S. surveillance of North Korea's nuclear activities. In an interview with Britain's Times newspaper he called on the United States "not to go too far." The United States has assured it allies it would not take any action without consultation. Meanwhile, the United States and South Korea continue their annual joint military exercises - which North Korea says is more evidence it may be attacked. Pyongyang is again demanding a non-aggression treaty with the United States before it will discuss it abandoning its nuclear ambitions. The United States has ruled out this option as well as direct talks with Pyongyang. Instead Washington says there should be a multilateral approach to the North Korean nuclear threat and to get Pyongyang to keep its commitments to the global community.
. End of article 5.
Unidentified gunmen have assassinated a senior leader of the main Nigerian opposition party, raising fears of more violence ahead of April's presidential election. Police and party officials say the gunmen shot and killed a senior official of the All Nigeria People's Party, Harry Marshall, at his home in Abuja Wednesday.
Police say the identity of the gunmen was not immediately known, and an investigation has been ordered. Spokesmen for the All Nigeria People's Party are blaming President Obasanjo's People's Democratic Party for the attack. Mr. Marshall had been a founding member of the ruling party, but he quit last year in a dispute with Governor Peter Odili of his native Rivers state, a key southern oil producing region. Mr. Marshall had been coordinating Mr. Buhari's plans to launch his campaign with a rally in Port Harcourt in Rivers state on Saturday. The opposition candidate, Mr. Buhari, is a former military ruler of Nigeria. He comes from the Muslim-dominated north and supports Sharia law, the Islamic criminal code. He is considered the strongest contender to incumbent President Obasanjo, an evangelical Christian from the southwest who is seeking a second term in the April 19 election. The Marshall assassination raises fears of more violence as Nigeria tries to hold its first election under civilian administration in more than 20 years. More than 10,000 people have been killed for religious, ethnic or political motives since President Obasanjo took office in 1999.
. End of article 6.
Turkey's top general on Wednesday has thrown his support behind a bill authorizing the deployment of thousands of U.S. combat troops in Turkey. General Hilmi Ozkok said approval of the bill, which was rejected by parliament Saturday, would be in Turkey's interest. Speaking at a news conference, General Ozkok, chief of Turkey's general staff, argued that allowing American troops in Turkey would enable the United States to open a second front in a war against Iraq. He said this is in Turkey's interest because it would accelerate a U.S. victory and minimize casualties. In the event of war against Iraq, American troops based in Kuwait are expected to invade Iraq from the south. General Ozkok added that Turkey's economy would be more likely to weather the effects of war with its Arab neighbor if it were to receive a multi-billion dollar aid package that the United States has promised Turkey in exchange for Turkish support. Bush administration officials say that package will not be released unless Turkey cooperates militarily with the United States. Members of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party have indicated that the bill is likely to be resubmitted to the parliament in the coming days. The first motion failed by a mere three votes amid rising public opposition to a war against Iraq. Analysts say endorsement from the powerful Turkish military makes it more likely that the bill will be approved this time. The Turkish military is believed to support the bill because it also calls for the deployment of thousands of Turkish troops in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq. Turkey is seeking a strong military presence in the Kurdish enclave mainly because it wants to stall any moves by the Iraqi Kurds to break away from the central government in Baghdad. Turkey fears that this would encourage its own restive Kurdish population to seek autonomy. Both the Iraqi Kurds and the United States say they are opposed to unilateral Turkish intervention.
. End of article 7.
. .
Chief weapons
inspectors Hans Blix and Mohammad ElBaradei told the U.N. Security Council
Friday that Iraq has stepped up cooperation with U.N. disarmament
efforts.
One
draft resolution circulating here would allow Iraq a short time to fully comply
with disarmament demands, or face military action.
France can, as a permanent member, use its veto to scuttle passage of a new resolution. . .
. End of article 8.
An Islamic advocacy group has launched an advertising campaign in the United States to counter what it says is a rising tide of anti-Muslim rhetoric. Organizers say the effort is designed to present an accurate picture of Islam. When many Americans see Islam portrayed in news reports it is often linked to extremism and terrorism, such as the latest tape from Osama bin Laden or suicide bombings in Israel. This negative news coverage has prompted the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations - or CAIR - to begin a year-long media campaign called "Islam in America." The
communications director for the council, Ibrahim Hooper, says he hopes the ad
campaign will help reverse the negative image some Americans have of the Muslim
faith. "Well that is one of the main factors that led us to do the campaign,
was defining Islam," he said. "So often Islam is defined by extremists on both
sides. Both on the right-wing and evangelical circles and from Muslim
extremists. So we need to define that Muslim center to take it out of the hands
of both of these sets of extremists and that is what we are trying to do
here."
Mr. Awad says the campaign began after the organization received tens of thousands of requests from Americans seeking information about Muslims. "Islam is becoming, more and more, an issue of interest to average Americans," said Nihad Awad. "All what they see from Muslims and Islam is the headline news and most of this news is negative news. So we would like just to share with them the real news, that we live everyday, that millions of American Muslims and millions of Muslims around the world live the teachings of this religion and never came close to violence or terrorism." The
"Islam in America" ads are running each Sunday in the New York Times
newspaper and are being distributed to Muslim communities throughout America
for placement in local media.
The second ad features a group of Muslim Girl Scouts from California while a third shows a woman wearing a traditional scarf (hijab) who earned a Masters degree from a prestigious university and works as a researcher for an international corporation. Ibrahim Hooper says the campaign is designed to show that Muslims are everyday Americans. "Well we are trying to show that American Muslims are ordinary people," he said. "They are doctors, students, mothers, bus drivers, the checkout person at a grocery store might be a Muslim nowadays and that the vast majority of Muslims will live and die throughout history and never come close to an act of political violence or instability. That is the reality of the Muslim experience that we portray. That people are just going about their ordinary, their normal lives doing ordinary things like anybody else." The council's executive director, Nihad Awad, sees the "Islam in America" ads as showing the strengths brought on by the mosaic of backgrounds and religions of people in the United States. "I have seen even during the Gulf War great solidarity with Arab Americans and Muslims," he said. "That is when America delivers. That is when the diversity and the plurality of our society proves itself, genuine, open minded and receptive to others. Even after September 11th, although there were some attacks and backlash against Muslims and Arabs in the country, we have seen a great many examples of solidarity, comfort and respect among the major sectors of society." Mr. Awad says a possible U.S.-led war against Iraq could significantly raise tensions in America and that could have an impact on the country's estimated seven million Muslims. Mr. Awad says, however, he hopes the ad campaign will help Americans better understand one of the fastest growing religions in the United States.
. End of article 9.
Israeli tanks have taken up positions in the northern Gaza Strip, some of them near a refugee camp where an Israeli military operation Thursday left 11 Palestinians dead. The latest series of raids follows a Palestinian suicide bombing Wednesday in Haifa that killed 15 Israelis. Israeli forces established positions around the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun and the Jabalya refugee camp. The army issued a statement saying the operation was aimed at preventing the launching of rockets towards Israeli communities near the northern Gaza Strip. he commander of Israeli troops in the area told Army Radio that the troops will stay in those positions, "as long as necessary." Dozens of Israeli tanks and armored vehicles began moving toward Jabalya and Beit Hanoun late Thursday. The soldiers took up sniper positions around the fields on the outskirts of Beit Hanoun and around Jabalya. They said they cleared vegetation from the area in order to deny Palestinian militants places to hide while launching rockets into Israel. There have been no reports of injuries, although shots were fired at the troops. Three rockets landed Thursday in the southern Israeli town of Sderot, causing no casualties or damage. The Palestinian militant group Hamas took responsibility for the attack on Sderot, which has been a frequent target since Israeli forces began a series of raids into the Gaza Strip three-weeks ago. Friday's operations began less than a day after a raid in the Jabalya camp in which 11 Palestinians were killed. Israel's security cabinet decided earlier this week to impose a general closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and to increase military operations against Palestinian militants.
. End of article 10.
Tiny Malta goes to the polls on Saturday in the first of a wave of referendums in countries that have been invited to join the European Union next year. The Maltese referendum is expected to be close because it is bound up with the political polarization that characterizes the tiny three-island archipelago. But it is unlikely to influence similar referendums on the EU that will be held later in the year in former communist countries. When the European Union expands to 25 countries from the current 15, Malta could become its smallest member, in terms of both area and population. That is, if it votes to join the union. Opinion
polls show that just over 50 percent of Maltese favor joining the union. Those
opposed oscillate between 20 and 25 percent. And those who say they are
undecided are about 25 percent.
The left-wing Labor Party, led by Alfred Sant, says Malta will be swallowed up by Europe and lose its identity. Dock workers and fishermen say they fear the loss of jobs. Diplomats in Valletta, the capital, say the yes vote will probably win, but not by much. The first former communist state to hold a referendum on EU accession will be the former Yugoslav republic of Slovenia, on March 23. At the same time, Slovenia is holding a referendum on whether it should join NATO. And although support for EU membership is running at around 68 percent, support for NATO membership is below 40 percent. Across central and eastern Europe, support for EU membership has generally risen since the candidate countries were invited into the union last December. But there are questions about Poland, the biggest of the potential members, where economic stagnation, high unemployment and political instability have caused general disenchantment among voters. Although three out of five Poles say they favor EU membership, what worries EU officials is that the referendum turnout might be under the required minimum of 50 percent. In that case, the decision would be left to the Polish parliament. Support for EU membership is also weak in the Baltic states of Estonia and Latvia. But EU officials hope voters there will be swayed by the results of a May referendum in neighboring Lithuania, where pro-EU forces are expected to win.
. End of article 11.
Ghanaian Foreign Minister Hackman Owusu-Agyeman told reporters that in the interest of peace, the rebels have agreed to give up their claim on the ministries of defense and interior. But he says they are only willing to do so if, in his words, they are given something reasonable in exchange. Further details of the compromise are not available, and the deal still has to be approved by Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, who is not taking part in the talks. The rebels say they were promised the two key cabinet posts at January's peace talks in France, where all sides signed a deal agreeing to stop fighting and form a government of national unity. But the deal sparked anti-French violence in Abidjan, when pro-government supporters rampaged through the city, accusing their former colonial power of forcing Mr. Gbagbo to accept it. Since then, the Ivorian government and military have said it is not possible to give the rebels control of the defense and interior ministries. Neither side was willing to back down before they met Thursday in the Ghanaian capital, Accra. The preliminary breakthrough came during all-night talks chaired by Ghana's president, John Kufuor, who chairs the 15-nation regional group ECOWAS. Delegates hope to reach a final agreement during a second day of talks Friday. Ivory Coast's new prime minister, Seydou Diarra, is representing the government at the Accra meeting, which also includes the country's opposition political parties. The leader of the main rebel group in the north, Guillaume Soro, is participating, along with high-level representatives of the two Western rebel factions. The Ivory Coast conflict has threatened to destabilize the West African region. Thousands of people have been killed in five-and-one-half months of fighting. The United Nations says roughly a million people have been forced out of their homes, some into neighboring countries.
. End of article 12.
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