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| March 31, 2004 |
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World Media Watch by Gloria R. Lalumia BUZZFLASH NOTE: WMW provides BuzzFlash readers foreign views and perspectives that are not usually available from the media here in the U.S. The presentation of these articles from these international publications is not an endorsement of their viewpoints. * * * WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR MARCH 31, 2004 1//Inter Press Service, Italy--WAR LAUNCHED TO PROTECT ISRAEL - BUSH ADVISER (IPS uncovered the remarks by Philip Zelikow, who is now the executive director of the body set up to investigate the terrorist attacks on the United States in September 2001 -- the 9/11 commission -- in which he suggests a prime motive for the invasion just over one year ago was to eliminate a threat to Israel, a staunch U.S. ally in the Middle East. Zelikow's casting of the attack on Iraq as one launched to protect Israel appears at odds with the public position of President George W. Bush and his administration, which has never overtly drawn the link between its war on the regime of former president Hussein and its concern for Israel's security.) 2//The Guardian, UK--BUSH, THE SAUDI BILLIONAIRE AND THE ISLAMISTS: THE STORY A BRITISH FIRM IS AFRAID TO PUBLISH (A book investigating links between rich Saudis and US politicians has been suppressed by the giant publishing firm Random House because, it says, of growing "libel tourism" by wealthy foreigners, and exorbitant legal "success fees"...The UK publication of House of Bush, House of Saud, by the American writer Craig Unger, has been cancelled because Secker and Warburg, a Random House subsidiary, says it can no longer afford such risks.) 3//Aljazeera, Qatar--US TO BROADEN HUNT FOR WMD
IN IRAQ (The US is to expand its hunt for weapons
of mass destruction in Iraq, despite its inability
to find any such weapons so far. The US chief weapons
inspector Charles Duelfer said on Tuesday his team
would be looking instead at whether the ousted
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein intended to develop
WMDs... Duelfer, appointed by the CIA in January,
guides the on-the-ground hunt by the Defence Department's
Iraq Survey Group of about 1200 to 1400 personnel.
Duelfer succeeded David Kay, who resigned after
saying he did not believe Iraq had large stockpiles
of biological and chemical weapons.) 5//The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia--TERRORISTS COULD TARGET SHIPPING LANES (Terrorists could be planning to attack South-East Asia's busiest shipping lanes with a "crude nuclear device," Australian authorities warned in a report obtained yesterday...Over a quarter of the world's trade and half of its oil passes through the Straits of Malacca and the Singapore Strait..."The overall picture ... is that South-East Asia remains a front line in the fight against terrorism. More attacks that threaten the safety and security of regional communities are inevitable," said an Australian government report.) * * * 1//Inter
Press Service March 29, 2004 WAR LAUNCHED TO PROTECT ISRAEL - BUSH ADVISER WASHINGTON, Mar 29 (IPS) - IPS uncovered the remarks by Philip Zelikow, who is now the executive director of the body set up to investigate the terrorist attacks on the United States in September 2001 -- the 9/11 commission -- in which he suggests a prime motive for the invasion just over one year ago was to eliminate a threat to Israel, a staunch U.S. ally in the Middle East. Zelikow's casting of the attack on Iraq as one launched to protect Israel appears at odds with the public position of President George W. Bush and his administration, which has never overtly drawn the link between its war on the regime of former president Hussein and its concern for Israel's security. The administration has instead insisted it launched the war to liberate the Iraqi people, destroy Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and to protect the United States. Zelikow made his statements about "the unstated threat" during his tenure on a highly knowledgeable and well-connected body known as the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB), which reports directly to the president. He served on the board between 2001 and 2003. "Why would Iraq attack America or use nuclear weapons against us? I'll tell you what I think the real threat (is) and actually has been since 1990 -- it's the threat against Israel," Zelikow told a crowd at the University of Virginia on Sep. 10, 2002, speaking on a panel of foreign policy experts assessing the impact of 9/11 and the future of the war on the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation. "And this is the threat that dare not speak its name, because the Europeans don't care deeply about that threat, I will tell you frankly. And the American government doesn't want to lean too hard on it rhetorically, because it is not a popular sell," said Zelikow. The statements are the first to surface from a source closely linked to the Bush administration acknowledging that the war, which has so far cost the lives of nearly 600 U.S. troops and thousands of Iraqis, was motivated by Washington's desire to defend the Jewish state. The administration, which is surrounded by staunch pro-Israel, neo-conservative hawks, is currently fighting an extensive campaign to ward off accusations that it derailed the "war on terrorism" it launched after 9/11 by taking a detour to Iraq, which appears to have posed no direct threat to the United States. (MORE)
BUSH, THE SAUDI BILLIONAIRE AND THE ISLAMISTS:
THE STORY A BRITISH FIRM IS AFRAID TO PUBLISH Publication of book cancelled as libel laws blamed
for stifling free speech Libel lawyers are stifling free speech, the deputy chairman of Random House, Simon Master, said yesterday. The UK publication of House of Bush, House of Saud, by the American writer Craig Unger, has been cancelled because Secker and Warburg, a Random House subsidiary, says it can no longer afford such risks. The book focuses in part on the activities of a Jeddah-based Saudi billionaire, Khalid bin Mahfouz, who has been engaged in a war of words in the US, where there have been public accusations by officials linking him and others to funding received by Osama bin Laden. Unger collates links between Mr Bin Mahfouz and Islamist fundamentalists. But the new dimension of his research is that he also analyses the Texas business links between the Bush circle and the families of Mr Bin Mahfouz and other rich Saudis. Unger's thesis is that the eagerness of US politicians to tap into Saudi money over the years may have compromised Mr Bush's determination to fight terrorism: "Never before has an American president been so closely tied to a foreign power that harbours and supports our country's mortal enemies." (MORE)
US TO BROADEN HUNT FOR WMD IN IRAQ The US is to expand its hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, despite its inability to find any such weapons so far. The US chief weapons inspector Charles Duelfer said on Tuesday his team would be looking instead at whether the ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein intended to develop WMDs. "Ultimately what we want is a comprehensive picture, not just simply answering questions - were there weapons, were there not weapons?" Duelfer told reporters after briefing the Senate Armed Services Committee behind closed doors. Clearer picture "The hunt will go on until we are able to draw a firm and confident picture of what the programmes were and where the regime was headed with respect to them. But we are looking at it from soup to nuts - from the weapons end to the planning end and to the intentions end," he said. The new quest to determine whether Saddam intended
to develop weapons of mass destruction reflects
the Bush administration's desperation for a rationale
to justify the war. Duelfer, appointed by the CIA in January, guides the on-the-ground hunt by the Defence Department's Iraq Survey Group of about 1200 to 1400 personnel. Duelfer succeeded David Kay, who resigned after saying he did not believe Iraq had large stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons.
OPIUM AND MONEY TO TOP AGENDA AT BERLIN AFGHANISTAN On Wednesday, international leaders will meet in Berlin to take stock of rebuilding efforts in Afghanistan. Reconstruction financing and a booming opium trade remain major challenges. Afghan leader Hamid Karzai and his trademark head covering will take center stage in Berlin on Wednesday, when 54 nations meet to analyze the progress and problems in Afghanistan three years after the fall of the Taliban. Karzai, in the German capital on Tuesday, highlighted his country's battle with drug lords and dwindling financial resources as the major talking points at the two-day conference, which will be attended by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. (SNIP) Germany ready for the long haul Germany has provided roughly €80 million ($97
million) in aid each year since 2002. On Wednesday,
German officials are expected to announce that
they will continue their aid program until 2008. "We obviously hope we will gather as large
a sum as possible," Fischer told reporters. (MORE)
TERRORISTS COULD TARGET SHIPPING LANES Terrorists could be planning to attack South-East Asia's busiest shipping lanes with a "crude nuclear device," Australian authorities warned in a report obtained yesterday. Over a quarter of the world's trade and half of its oil passes through the Straits of Malacca and the Singapore Strait. It also said al-Qaeda-linked regional terror network Jemaah Islamiah continued to thrive despite the arrest of 200 suspected members and appeared to be pursuing terror training and links with groups from the Philippines to Pakistan. "The overall picture ... is that South-East Asia remains a front line in the fight against terrorism. More attacks that threaten the safety and security of regional communities are inevitable," said an Australian government report. Australian officials distributed the report at an anti-terrorism conference in Manila focusing on transport security and organised by the ASEAN Regional Forum, Asia's largest security forum that also includes the United States, Britain and other Western nations. The report warned waterways could be targeted in an attack using "a crude nuclear explosive device or radiological bomb". "There is clear evidence of al-Qaeda's interest in attacking economic assets as a means of undermining the global economy, including attacks against shipping," the report said. It did not detail the evidence. (MORE) * * * Happy Birthday, Toro the Chihuahua, 5 years old
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