November 15, 2004

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 NOVEMBER 15, 2004


1//The Independent, UK--BLAIR PLACES ‘WAR ON TERROR’ AT HEART OF ELECTION CAMPAIGN (Tony Blair has decided to confront opponents of the Iraq war head-on by placing the "war on terror" at the heart of Labour's campaign in the coming general election…The Labour Party's senior strategists plan to make a virtue of Mr Blair's track record as a war leader at a time of increased terrorist threat. They were put on alert yesterday for the prospect of a visit to Britain in February by President George Bush. The White House confirmed a tour of European countries to build support for the war on terror…Plans to fight the next election on a domestic agenda of public service reform have been shelved. Instead the party will present security as a necessary condition for opportunity at every level. Critics will claim that Labour has decided to fight a negative campaign based on exploiting voters' fears.)

2//The Jordan Times, Jordan--DUTCH TO WITHDRAW TROOPS IN MARCH (The 1,350 Dutch troops in Iraq will be brought home as planned in March, the defence ministry said on Friday, but the Netherlands will contribute to a NATO training mission there…"We think that by March 2005 the security situation in al Muthanna will be stable enough to hand over the task to Iraqi security," defence ministry spokesman, Otte Beeksma, said…The Netherlands has been under US and British pressure to keep its troops in Iraq beyond the March deadline as the interim administration tries to contain mounting violence and hold elections.)

3//TurkishPress.com, USA--ROMANIA COULD PULL ITS TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ NEXT JUNE: PM (Romania could pull its 800 troops out of the US-led coalition in Iraq next June if the situation in the war-torn country stabilises, Prime Minister Adrian Nastase said Sunday. "We hope that the elections in January will lead to a gradual normalisation of the situation in Iraq, and if this is the case Romanian troops could be withdrawn in June 2005," he said.)

4//The Australian, Australia--TOKYO BOWS TO BUSH ON DEFENCE (Under pressure from the Bush administration, the Koizumi Government is moving quickly, if warily, to craft a new defence posture. On Friday in Washington, within a fortnight of President George W. Bush's re-election, the two sides had completed a new round of preparatory talks on the realignment of US forces in Japan. "Forces realignment" is the critical factor in the future shape of the Japan-US Security Treaty, the cornerstone of Japanese defence policy and strategy. And it is an important part of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's "global transformation" of the US military.)

5//The Scotsman, UK--MILITARY GIANT’S THREAT TO FREE PRESS (An American military giant is trying to force Scotland on Sunday to reveal the source of embarrassing revelations about a botched Ministry of Defence contract that wasted millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money. Environmental Tectonics Corporation (ETC) has complained about a "breach of confidentiality" in two stories laying bare details of a lengthy wrangle over its failure to deliver a space-age pilot training device that cost the Royal Air Force more than £14m, but was never delivered. Scotland on Sunday revealed earlier this year that the MoD had secretly paid the firm more than £7m in compensation, despite judging that ETC had not met its obligation to provide a human centrifuge, designed to train fighter pilots to withstand "high G" forces during jet flights…But, in an extraordinary attack on the freedom of the press, the MoD has now joined forces with the company in a bid to force disclosure of the sources behind the uncomfortable revelations. The Treasury Solicitor, in a letter to this newspaper, said: "I am instructed by the Ministry of Defence to write and confirm that the Ministry joins with [ETC] in their application to request the identity of the sources.")

* * *

1//The Independent, UK 14 November 2004
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=582748

BLAIR PLACES ‘WAR ON TERROR’ AT HEART OF ELECTION CAMPAIGN
By Francis Elliott, Deputy Political Editor

Tony Blair has decided to confront opponents of the Iraq war head on by placing the "war on terror" at the heart of Labour's campaign in the coming general election.

The Prime Minister has privately admitted that attempts to "move on" from Iraq are doomed to failure. He has ordered a new "twin-track" strategy for the election, expected this spring, based on the themes of "opportunity and security."

The Labour Party's senior strategists plan to make a virtue of Mr Blair's track record as a war leader at a time of increased terrorist threat. They were put on alert yesterday for the prospect of a visit to Britain in February by President George Bush. The White House confirmed a tour of European countries to build support for the war on terror.

Mr Blair received an endorsement from President Bush as a "steady, rock-solid leader" in "troubled times" on his recent visit to the United States. The Prime Minister's closest allies say there is no point "bewailing" the focus on events in Iraq, and that Labour must do all it can to turn it to electoral advantage.

Plans to fight the next election on a domestic agenda of public service reform have been shelved. Instead the party will present security as a necessary condition for opportunity at every level.

Critics will claim that Labour has decided to fight a negative campaign based on exploiting voters' fears.

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, sought to head off the assault yesterday. "We have to provide ... stability and security if people are going to hear the messages about opening their hearts and minds to others," he said in a speech. "We want to win an election based on hope, not fear, but knowing that you don't give people hope by dismissing their fears."

Meanwhile, Mr Blair has quietly invoked anti-sleaze rules to explain his failure to pick up a US congressional medal awarded to him 15 months ago. The Prime Minister again failed to pick up the award, given for his "steadfast stand against evil," on his trip to Washington last week.

(MORE)


2//The Jordan Times, Jordan Sunday, November 14, 2004
http://www.jordantimes.com/sun/news/news5.htm

DUTCH TO WITHDRAW TROOPS IN MARCH

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) — The 1,350 Dutch troops in Iraq will be brought home as planned in March, the defence ministry said on Friday, but the Netherlands will contribute to a NATO training mission there.

The Dutch contingent has been based in the Muthanna province, in southern Iraq, since August 2003 and parliament in June extended their stay until March 2005.

"We think that by March 2005 the security situation in al Muthanna will be stable enough to hand over the task to Iraqi security," defence ministry spokesman, Otte Beeksma, said.

"This does not mean we won't have a presence in Iraq at all. We will send about 100 men to provide support and training in the NATO training mission," he said.

The Netherlands has been under US and British pressure to keep its troops in Iraq beyond the March deadline as the interim administration tries to contain mounting violence and hold elections.

Foreign Minister Bernard Bot recently suggested an extension might be possible, but Defence Minister Henk Kamp said the Cabinet had now ruled that out.

(MORE)


3//TurkishPress.com, USA 11/14/2004 20:20 GMT
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?ID=33698

ROMANIA COULD PULL ITS TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ NEXT JUNE: PM

BUCHAREST, Nov 14 (AFP) - Romania could pull its 800 troops out of the US-led coalition in Iraq next June if the situation in the war-torn country stabilises, Prime Minister Adrian Nastase said Sunday.

"We hope that the elections in January will lead to a gradual normalisation of the situation in Iraq, and if this is the case Romanian troops could be withdrawn in June 2005," he said.

(SNIP)

The Romanian soldiers are serving in the Polish-led multinational force in Iraq that operates in a region south of Baghdad.

The Romanian defence ministry said Sunday one of its soldiers had suffered light wounds in a rocket attack the day before on a US base in Baghdad.


4//The Australian, Australia November 15, 2004
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page...

TOKYO BOWS TO BUSH ON DEFENCE
Peter Alford, Tokyo correspondent

Under pressure from the Bush administration, the Koizumi Government is moving quickly, if warily, to craft a new defence posture.

On Friday in Washington, within a fortnight of President George W. Bush's re-election, the two sides had completed a new round of preparatory talks on the realignment of US forces in Japan.

"Forces realignment" is the critical factor in the future shape of the Japan-US Security Treaty, the cornerstone of Japanese defence policy and strategy. And it is an important part of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's "global transformation" of the US military.

The Americans are ready to withdraw some troops and facilities from Okinawa, where their overbearing presence is the main cause of domestic friction over the alliance.

But they want Japan's co-operation in several force consolidations. The most significant – and troublesome for the Japanese – is the proposed transfer of US Army 1 Corps headquarters from Washington State to Camp Zama, southwest of Tokyo.

Though the US has yet to publicly define the role of a Japan-based 1 Corps command, which controls 40,000 active duty and reserve troops, it would inevitably involve "force projection" beyond East Asia – to the Middle East, for a start.

This challenges the so-called "Far East clause" of the security treaty, which limits US use of Japanese facilities to "the security of Japan and the maintenance of peace and security in the Far East."

At a domestic level, the Japanese worry deeply about Okinawa-type hostility to a heavy military build-up at Camp Zama.

But Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is readying his own fundamental changes to Japan's defence status by engaging with the Americans in regional maritime and missile defence.

These changes amount to "collective self defence" which is forbidden by Article 9 of Japan's "war renouncing" constitution. The constitution is arguably already breached by Mr Koizumi sending non-combatant troops to Iraq.

(MORE)


5//The Scotsman, UK Sun 14 Nov 2004
http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1314462004

MILITARY GIANT’S THREAT TO FREE PRESS
Brian Brady, Westminster Editor

An American military giant is trying to force Scotland on Sunday to reveal the source of embarrassing revelations about a botched Ministry of Defence contract that wasted millions of pounds of taxpayers' money.

Environmental Tectonics Corporation (ETC) has complained about a "breach of confidentiality" in two stories laying bare details of a lengthy wrangle over its failure to deliver a space-age pilot training device that cost the Royal Air Force more than £14m, but was never delivered.

Scotland on Sunday revealed earlier this year that the MoD had secretly paid the firm more than £7m in compensation, despite judging that ETC had not met its obligation to provide a human centrifuge, designed to train fighter pilots to withstand "high G" forces during jet flights.

It subsequently emerged that the government also handed over almost £6m to the company in staged payments during the life of the contract, signed in 1997, before it was finally cancelled in 2001, sparking a protracted legal battle.

But, in an extraordinary attack on the freedom of the press, the MoD has now joined forces with the company in a bid to force disclosure of the sources behind the uncomfortable revelations.

The Treasury Solicitor, in a letter to this newspaper, said: "I am instructed by the Ministry of Defence to write and confirm that the Ministry joins with [ETC] in their application to request the identity of the sources."

The ETC group, based in Pennsylvania, is involved in a range of areas, including flight simulation, disaster management and entertainment. It has installed seven centrifuges for international customers in the last 15 years.

William Mitchell, founder and boss of ETC said he could not comment on the issue, because "we are restricted by a confidentiality agreement with MoD". But he added: "Please be assured that ETC is not ashamed of our performance on the contract."

Furious opposition politicians last night condemned the attempt to force disclosure, and claimed the government should instead concentrate on patching up a system of ordering vital weapons and equipment that is costing the taxpayer millions of pounds every year.

(SNIP)

Scotland on Sunday has also established that the MoD decided to cancel the project, claiming "safety concerns", and that ETC insisted the centrifuge was "approximately 90% complete" when the contract was terminated.

ETC’s annual report for 2003 refuted the unspecified concerns, claiming that in 15 years no accidents or injuries had resulted in the use of the device.

Former trade secretary Lord Tebbit, who has forced reluctant ministers to reveal full details of the blunders through a string of questions over the last three years, said: "What is it that the public should not have known about in relation to this scandal? That’s the question the Treasury Solicitor should be asking before firing off these ill-advised threats."

(MORE)