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Byrd flaps about Bush Original VOA news item title: US Lawmakers Divided Over
Iraq
A key U.S. lawmaker is denouncing President Bush's decision to lead a war to disarm Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
Senator
Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat, criticized President Bush's decision to
end diplomacy and pursue military action to resolve the standoff over Iraq's
weapons of mass destruction. "Instead of isolating Saddam Hussein, we seem to have isolated ourselves," he said. "We proclaim a new doctrine of preemption which is understood by few and feared by many. We say the United States has the right to turn its firepower on any corner of the globe which might be suspect in the war on terrorism. We assert that right without the sanction of the international body. As a result, the world has become a much more dangerous place." Senator Byrd, 85, first elected to the Senate in 1958 after serving six years in the House, has been a vocal opponent of war against Iraq. Mr. Byrd questioned the Bush administration's linkage of Saddam Hussein to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. "Villain he is. But he is the wrong villain. And this is the wrong war," he said. Senator John
McCain, an Arizona Republican, took issue with Mr. Byrd's comments. "When the
people of Iraq are liberated, we will again have written another chapter in the
glorious history of the United States of America that we will fight for the
freedom of other citizens of the world," he said. Mr. McCain and Mr. Byrd made their comments on the Senate floor during a break in debate over the federal budget.
. End of article 1.
The crash of the special operations helicopter inside Iraq happened several hours before the first U.S. attack. Pentagon officials say there were no casualties and troops on board were all taken out safely. Officials say the military is taking steps to destroy the
helicopter so it will not fall into Iraqi hands.
The helicopter flight is apparently part of a wide thrust to get elite U.S. forces inside Iraq ahead of a major ground invasion. Officials declined to say exactly where the crash occurred, but special forces are expected to enter the country to secure oil wells, suspected chemical weapons sites and search for Iraqi leaders. The Pentagon is currently assessing damage from its first strike by Tomahawk missiles and stealth fighter jets that was a small prelude to a larger military assault expected to be launched soon. U.S. officials say the attacks were aimed at "decapitating" the Iraqi government. The International Committee of the Red Cross says one person was killed and 14 were injured. The initial attack is being described as a "target of opportunity" apparently designed to strike Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and senior officials in his government. Although the Iraqi president appeared on television after the attack, it was not clear if the remarks were taped earlier or whether the speaker was the Iraqi leader himself or a double. Iraq responded to the initial strikes by firing several missiles at coalition forces massed in northern Kuwait and waiting for orders to launch a full-scale ground invasion. At least one of the missiles was destroyed by a U.S. Patriot missile. There were no injuries reported from the Iraqi strikes and officials say the missiles were not carrying chemical or biological weapons.
. End of article 2.
In Europe there has been widespread criticism of the war to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, but supporters of military action say the threat from weapons of mass destruction is real and leaves no room for neutrality.
Turkish
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer criticized the U.S. attack, saying the U.N.
Security Council's weapons inspection process should have been allowed to run
its course. And he argued it was not right for the United States to act
unilaterally.
In Brussels, the president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, described this as a sad day for all nations. He also urged that Iraq not be broken up after the conflict. The Vatican said it was deeply pained by the U.S.-led attack, as well as by Baghdad's failure to respect U.N. resolutions. But Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a strong supporter of Washington's stance on Iraq, said he hoped for a short war. Another backer of military action, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, said his government firmly supports the attack. He argued that the threat that terrorists could get their hands on chemical, biological or nuclear weapons is real and leaves no room for neutrality. The
Dutch government also reaffirmed its support for military action in Iraq but
said it could not contribute troops without a consensus at home. Prime Minister
Jan Peter Balkenende said freedom and safety for all -including the people of
Iraq, should be the highest goal.
Meanwhile, extra security forces were mobilized across Europe to guard embassies, military installations and borders amid fears of terror attacks. All this comes as leaders of the EU nations prepared for a previously scheduled summit in Brussels Thursday night.
. End of article 3.
 US President George W Bush remained serenely calm as he made the decision to go to war, driven by an inner faith.
It was Harry S Truman, the only world leader ever to have ordered the use of nuclear weapons, who famously said that being the president of the United States was like riding a tiger, for it was impossible to control the violent tumble of events. Such was the intense strain on America's 33rd president that he decided against seeking a second term. After almost eight years of "the buck stops here" - the famous slogan the plain-speaking mid-westerner placed on his Oval Office desk in the White House - it was time to go. Contrast the experience of Harry S Truman, who buckled under the pressures of America's Cold War struggle, and George W Bush, who seems to relish the sharp focus and intensity of the war on terrorism. These past few days he has been a portrait of calm, whether addressing the nation from the Oval Office or playing with his dogs, Barnie and Spot, on the South Lawn outside. God's will And ever since it became clear that diplomacy was failing, his mood seems to have become even more relaxed. After all, his relationship with the United Nations was always a marriage of convenience rather than a marriage of real commitment. He seems pleased to have been freed from the constraints it imposed. And the speechwriting for the coming war has been going on for weeks. So, as the war begins, this is a president at peace with himself, a man of rigid conviction with an abiding belief in the righteousness of his cause. The truth is, America's 43rd president believes he is doing God's will. Daily routine Throughout the crisis, his daily routine has stayed pretty much the same.
Bed before 2200, an 0530 rise, then Bible study and prayer and a security briefing. At least half an hour each day of exercise - a three-mile run or a session with the weights. Lunch in his private dining room, pouring over the sports pages and watching ESPN, the American sports channel. And dinner with his wife Laura, even on the night war was declared. And, after announcing that the military action had begun in a four-minute address, the White House press office announced a lock-down at 2300, and everyone went home to bed. Public appearances While his diary has been trimmed, he still takes part in the customs and rituals that punctuate a president's day. Even as he was deciding when to launch the war on Wednesday, the president found time to meet New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and discuss the terrorist threat to that city. And last Friday afternoon, as the diplomatic effort was coming to a head, he found time for a brief awards ceremony in the White House. One of the recipients was one of our BBC cameramen, Mark Rabbage, who was struck by the president's remarkable good humour and levity. As he cracked gags about the Oval Office furniture, he seemed like a man without so much as a care in the world. Great uncertainty For all the president's calmness and resolve, right now the US faces a moment of great uncertainty, largely because it is embarking on an historic new path. This is the first war fought under the Bush doctrine's strategy of pre-emption - military strikes against unrealised threats. Its long-term implications are impossible to fathom, both to the US, its allies and the international order. But its author still seems to be the most
confident and self-assured man in town.   . End of article 4.
US authorities have detained six suspected hijackers in what an FBI spokeswoman said was "a peaceful surrender". The Cuban plane, which had 35 people on board, landed safely at Key West International airport shortly after 2000 local time on Wednesday (0100 GMT Thursday). The motive for the hijacking was unclear. However, Cuban airplanes have been hijacked and flown to America in the past by people wanting to seek asylum in the United States. The plane, a DC-3 run by Cuban state airline Aerotaxi, was spotted by Miami air traffic controllers as it headed from the communist state across the 145 kilometres (90 miles) to Key West. US fighter jets were mobilised from an air base south of Miami. The plane was on a domestic flight from Nueva Gerona on the Isle of Youth, to Havana when it was "diverted", an official at the Cuban Civil Aviation Institute told Reuters news agency. "It was hijacked," he said. No injuries have been reported among the 29 passengers and six crew, who were being held for questioning. . End of article 5.
. End of article 6.
An infected medical professor from southern China is thought to have carried the flu-like disease to Hong Kong's Metropole Hotel where six other guests contracted the illness. The findings of Hong Kong officials increase suspicions that the illness is related to an earlier epidemic in China's southern Guangdong province which infected more than 300 people and killed five. The World Health Organisation has confirmed nine deaths from the disease dubbed Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) and puts the number of worldwide cases at 264. Most of the cases are in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore. More cases The United States has identified 11 cases of the virus involving people who had travelled to Asia. Tests are also being carried out on two British men who have returned from Asia. Scientists in Hong Kong say a virus from the paramyxoviridae family, which are responsible for conditions such as mumps and measles, is responsible for the respiratory illness. They say the virus spread to medical staff and relatives who had close contact with the victims and that it also infected guests staying at the Metropole Hotel in the Kowloon district at the same time as the professor.
Others who contracted the disease had either visited or stayed on the hotel's ninth floor between 12 February and 2 March, according to the Hong Kong Health Department director Dr Margaret Chan. "Perhaps they all stood outside the elevator at the same time and someone sneezed or coughed," she said, reports AP news agency. Air-conditioning concerns But some have questioned whether the virus could have been spread through the hotel's air-conditioning system. "It would suggest that it spread through the air-conditioning system, but you can't rule out person-to-person contact, since you don't know if they were even in the same room together," president of the American Society of Microbiology Ronald Atlas says. "Everything suggests that it is airborne." The hotel is still open but the ninth floor has been closed for sterilisation. Guests wearing masks could be seen checking out of the hotel.
But a university spokeswoman told BBC News Online that the discovery indicated that the treatment being given to patients suffering from the pneumonia in Hong Kong - the hardest-hit area - was the right kind. 'World health threat' The WHO has described the illness as a "worldwide health threat" and issued a rare emergency warning after cases were reported on three continents, with more suspected in other parts of the world. However, the WHO believes prompt action by local health authorities appears to have limited the spread in Europe and North America. Dr David Heymann, WHO executive director of communicable diseases, said: "The outbreak, we feel, is on its way to containment at least outside of Vietnam and Hong Kong, and China if it is linked." . End of article 7.
The bill will allow military overflights from Europe and airlifts of US-led troops into Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Iraq, enabling them to open a second front. It also authorises the entry of Turkish troops into the same area to stem a potential tide of refugees and prevent the Kurds forming a separate state. The new motion, which was passed by 332 votes to 202, leaves most of the US's military requests unfulfilled.
Neither will US ground troops be allowed to cross into Iraq from Turkey. But the BBC's Nick Thorpe in Ankara says permission to use Turkish airspace will make military flights from Europe to Iraq much easier. Turkish incursion He says the decision to allow Turkish troops into northern Iraq will alarm both the Kurds and the US, which fears possible clashes between Kurds and Turkish forces. Ankara has said the US agrees in principle to a Turkish troop presence in the region - but US officials say they oppose a unilateral incursion. Mr Erdogan seemed happy with the outcome.
However, US officials have said that there will be no financial compensation for granting airspace rights. A multi-billion-dollar aid package was painstakingly negotiated between Ankara and Washington earlier this month, when the US was seeking permission for 62,000 soldiers to be allowed into Turkey, to open a northern front. Justice Minister Cemil Cicek said on Wednesday that a motion on US troop deployments could be put to parliament at a later date. Turkish officials have made clear that US and UK aircraft patrolling the UN's no-fly zone from bases in Turkey are not to become involved in the US-led attacks. There is strong Turkish opposition to a war in Iraq, but correspondents say the country's leaders are worried about alienating the US. . End of article 8.
The onslaught began at about 1700 GMT after a heavy bombardment of the area by US planes and missiles. Correspondents say the sky lit up and huge
explosions could be heard as howitzers and mulitiple rocket launchers sent
missiles into Iraq every few seconds. .
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has threatened military action of "a force and scope and scale beyond what has been seen before". He said a damage assessment of targets struck earlier in the capital, Baghdad, was still "pending", and repeated US advice to Iraqi troops to defect. Unconfirmed reports say several oil wells are on fire in southern Iraq.
According to US and British officials, Patriot missiles intercepted two Scud-type missiles over Kuwait. Air strikes The US launched its war on Iraq with air strikes early on Thursday on Baghdad. Shortly afterwards, President George W Bush delivered a live television address announcing the start of war. US officials described the attacks as an attempt to "decapitate" Saddam Hussein's government by killing senior figures.
Saddam Hussein said the "invaders" would be defeated, and he called on the Iraqi people to defend their country. Iraq said some non-military targets had been hit, including a customs office and a site belonging to Iraqi radio and television. One civilian was killed and 14 others injured in the US strikes, the International Red Cross later confirmed. Kuwait alert BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Marcus says the attack on Baghdad was on a much smaller scale than had been expected for the opening of the conflict. But UK Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said the first attacks were only "preliminary operations".
Soldiers immediately donned full protective gear, including gas masks. There are no reports of casualties. Officials say they are examining debris from the missiles. BBC News Online's world affairs correspondent Paul Reynolds says that, if any were confirmed to be Scuds, this would be proof that Iraq had broken the terms of the UN resolution which bans Iraq from having missiles with a range beyond 150km. In other developments:
President Bush gave his order for the first strikes on Baghdad after being told by the CIA that it believed it knew the whereabouts of Saddam Hussein, the Washington Post reports.
Six US Navy vessels - including two submarines - fired more than 40 Tomahawk cruise missiles on the capital from their positions in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Reports said anti-aircraft guns were in action for about 15 minutes, after which the city became quiet again. 'Poised for battle' Mr Bush addressed the American nation about two hours after the passing of the 0100 deadline he had set Saddam Hussein to go into exile or face war.
But, he warned, the campaign could be "longer and more difficult than some predict". . End of article 9.
Israel's Finance Ministry said the package consisted of $1bn (£640,000m) in direct military aid and $9bn in loan guarantees. The 30-month-long Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation and the global economic slowdown have plunged the country into its third year of recession. Israel - the biggest recipient of US aid worldwide - initially asked for $4bn (£2.5bn) in military aid and $8bn in loan guarantees. The US will deduct from the loan guarantees any Israeli expenditure on settlement activities in Palestinian areas. The package, which is part of President George W Bush's war budget, still needs approval by the US Congress. Economic troubles US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice pledged the aid to Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday. "Rice told Netanyahu that the (Bush) administration decided to raise the amount of the guarantees by $1bn over what had been planned because the Americans were impressed by the economic plan that has been presented to the government," Israel's finance ministry said in a statement. Israel's economy contracted by 1% in 2002 after a 0.9% fall in 2001 and the budget deficit is running at 6%, twice the forecast for 2003. Mr Netanyahu on Monday announced government spending cuts and reductions in the public sector wage to rein in the budget deficit. Israel already receives $3bn a year from the US, mostly as military aid. . End of article 10.
End of article 11 .
Baghdad echoes with the sounds of heavy explosions from cruise missile strikes, the night sky lit up by retaliatory anti-aircraft fire coming from Iraqi sites. Reports from the Iraqi capital say some of the explosions were heard near two of Saddam Hussein's palaces, as well ministries and other government buildings. All this followed by long periods of quiet, ahead of what U.S. defense officials are promising will be a massive "shock and awe" barrage of air strikes.
"The third infantry division has started its ground attack using artillery. We've been hearing heavy detonations where I am," he said. "The night sky sort of lighting up with the explosions." One American
reporter embedded with coalition troops says more Iraqi soldiers have been
surrendering rather than fight against invading forces.
"I have seen indication and reports from people that the Iraqi regime may have set fire to as many as three or four of the oil wells in the south," he said. In neighboring Kuwait, air raid warnings sounded repeatedly Thursday and the country was hit by several missiles fired from Iraq, sending people scurrying indoors and forcing those outside to don gas masks. None of the missiles appeared to be armed with chemical or biological warheads and no injuries were reported. One of the first U.S. airstrikes on Iraq was described as a senior leadership compound where Defense Secretary Rumsfeld believes President Saddam Hussein may have been meeting with his top leadership. "We had
what I would characterize very good intelligence that it was a senior Iraqi
leadership compound. We do not know what the battle damage assessment will be,"
he said.
At the same time, the Pentagon, which for weeks now has been using various means including e-mail to contact elements of the Iraqi military, suggests its message to Iraqi commanders that Saddam Hussein is about to be ousted and that they should surrender, may be paying off. "We see evidence of military personnel, some have already surrendered in Kuwait," he said. "We are in communication with still more people who are officials of the military at various levels, the regular army, the Republican Guard, the Special Republican Guard, who are increasingly aware that it's going to happen, he's going to be gone," he said. Even though President Bush's deadline for Saddam Hussein to go into exile expired on Wednesday, the White House says it is not too late for him to leave Iraq.
. End of article 12.
x x
The European Union Thursday was unable to smooth over deep divisions about the war with Iraq, at the first day of a previously scheduled summit in Brussels. Analysts say the issue has caused the worst diplomatic crisis in the 15-nation bloc in decades. The summit was originally scheduled to focus on the economic future of Europe, but the conflict in Iraq took over the agenda. France, Germany and Belgium strongly criticized the war to remove Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. However, Britain, which is backing the United States, received support from five other EU nations - Spain, Italy, Portugal, Denmark and the Netherlands. Diplomats say private talks between the leaders were strained, with French President Jacque Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder saying war is not justified, while British Prime Minister Tony Blair argued that war was unavoidable. Greece | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Let the decision be beneficial to our
people 
