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U.S. Focuses on Iraqi Links to Group Allied to Al Qaeda
January 30, 2003 | adminAfter months of scouring for hard evidence of a connection between Iraq and Al Qaeda, the Bush administration is focusing on possible links between Saddam Hussein and Islamic extremists who may have produced poisons in northern Iraq and a Qaeda terrorist leader who spent time in Baghdad last year. Those suspected ties are at the heart of the administration’s latest attempt to demonstrate an Iraqi-Qaeda connection as it tries to persuade the American public and the world that Mr. Hussein’s government must be ousted. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell is expected to present the evidence of the connection to the United Nations Security Council next Wednesday. Administration officials, relying on largely dated and previously disclosed information, have said they believe there may be a link between Ansar al-Islam, an Islamic extremist group operating in a remote section of northern Iraq, and the Baghdad government. The organization has been fighting Kurdish groups that oppose the Iraqi regime. Full Story
Terrorism analysis center would merge information
January 30, 2003 | adminPresident Bush’s plan for a new government center that would analyze potential terrorist threats could take months to develop, U.S. officials said Wednesday. But civil libertarians already are questioning the appointment of the CIA director to oversee the center’s work with foreign and domestic intelligence. As outlined in Bush’s State of the Union address Tuesday, the Terrorist Threat Integration Center would become a repository for all terrorist-related intelligence. The information would be analyzed by officers from the CIA, the FBI and the departments of Homeland Security and Defense. Administration officials say consolidating such information collected by various U.S. agents will ensure that material is shared across the government, and will provide a more accurate picture of threats against the government. Such information generally has been investigated separately, with the FBI handling domestic issues and the CIA focused on foreign intelligence. Full Story
Deported American woman lands at LAX
January 30, 2003 | adminAn American woman deported by Russia after allegations that she contacted al Qaida, offering help in attacking Hollywood targets, arrived Wednesday night at Los Angeles International Airport, where FBI agents were waiting to question her. Local television reports showed her Aeroflot plane, Flight 321 from Moscow, landing at around 9:30 p.m. PST at LAX. The Aeroflot office in Los Angeles confirmed that the flight had landed and declined to release any information about its passengers. Megan McRee “will be interviewed by agents once she gets off the plane,” Laura Bosley, a spokeswoman for the FBI office in Los Angeles, told United Press International. McRee, 35, has not been charged. Russia deported her after accusing her of establishing contact with al Qaida and other Islamic extremist groups and offering to prepare for and take part in terrorist attacks on the United States. Full Story
Iraq rejects al-Qaeda links
January 30, 2003 | adminIraq has categorically rejected United States allegations that it has links to Osama Bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network. In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, US President George W Bush said Iraq had links to terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda, and might supply weapons of mass destruction to militants. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair echoed Mr Bush’s comments in parliament on Wednesday, but said the connection between Iraq and al-Qaeda was unclear. As the war of words continued, the UN Security Council met behind closed door in New York to discuss Monday’s report from chief weapons inspectors. As the Council was meeting, Iraq’s Ambassador to the UN, Mohammad al-Douri, said Baghdad would co-operate “pro-actively” with weapons inspectors. Full Story
Iraq sheltering al-Qaeda says UK
January 30, 2003 | adminThere is evidence al-Qaeda “operatives” are being sheltered in Iraq, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spokesman has said. It is the first time that the British Government has explicitly linked al-Qaeda and the Iraqi regime, which flatly denied the claim. Last week the prime minister said that there were some links between al-Qaeda and people in Iraq, but stressed that there was no evidence of a link between al-Qaeda and the Iraqi regime. But on Wednesday his spokesman said there was evidence al-Qaeda operatives were sheltering in Iraq, adding that the nature of the regime meant they could not do so unless Saddam Hussein was willing to have them. Later, when pressed in the House of Commons Mr Blair did not go as far as his spokesman, but said: “We do know of links between al-Qaeda and Iraq – we cannot be sure of the exact extent of those links.” Full Story
Sharon to meet Mubarak, but Arafat's offer of talks rejected
January 30, 2003 | adminIn a surprise move, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and congratulated him on his election victory. A year ago, Mubarak declared he could not work with Sharon; the two have not met since Sharon took office. Sharon told U.S. President George W. Bush that he would continue to work towards implementing their joint diplomatic plan, but rebuffed an offer for talks with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Mubarak called Sharon Wednesday morning and invited him for talks as soon as he established a new government. The two “discussed the need to continue the peace process in the Middle East,” an official statement said. Full Story
Arafat ready to meet Sharon, for negotiations; Hamas, al-Jihad for escalation of resistance
January 30, 2003 | adminThe Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has announced he wishes to meet with the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon immediately and to return back to the negotiations in order to end the conflict. Meantime, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movements and the People’s Front for the Liberation of Palestine called for escalating resistance operations against the Israeli occupation. In an interview with the Israeli TV on whether he will sit with Sharon after his winning the elections in Israel, Arafat said that the Palestinians are persistent to return back to the table of negotiations as soon as possible. Arafat added that he is ready for “general truce.” Full Story
Kurds brace for gas attacks
January 30, 2003 | adminAuthorities in northern Iraq’s Kurdish-run enclave say they’re certain Saddam Hussein will target them with chemical weapons if the United States attacks Iraq. But they are delaying a public education campaign because they are afraid it will create panic. The Iraqi dictator is believed to have used chemical agents against the Kurds at least 11 times during the late 1980s as he sought to put down a rebellion by guerrillas fighting for a separate state. In the most notorious attack, Iraqi aircraft pounded this town with conventional bombs, then unleashed VX nerve gas and mustard gas on its 45,000 residents. Today, statues and museum exhibits throughout the Switzerland-size Kurdish region, known as Kurdistan, honor the 6,800 people killed in the 1988 incident. The March 16 anniversary date, a holiday here, is known as Martyrs Day. Full Story
Kurdish Demonstrators Back War Against Hussein but Want Gas Masks
January 30, 2003 | adminA small group of Kurds gathered outside a United Nations compound here today, voicing support for a war to remove President Saddam Hussein from power but demanding international help to protect Kurdish civilians from chemical or biological attacks. The demonstration, which included several survivors of previous chemical attacks by the Iraqi military, was modest in size and subdued in tone. The protesters simply stood quietly outside the compound, in a cold rain, holding photographs of their injured and their dead. But the undercurrent of support for war stood in relief to larger and more strident demonstrations occurring in nations around the world. “We want to change the Iraqi regime,” said Dr. Fayaq Muhammad Golpi, a surgeon and head of the Anti-Chemical Weapons Society of Kurdistan, the nonprofit group that organized the event. “If this change is peaceful, it would be better than if there was war. But the change is necessary, even if this means fighting.” Full Story
Europeans Warn of Terror Attacks in Event of War in Iraq
January 30, 2003 | adminEuropean investigators have evidence that over the past six months, Islamic militants have been recruiting hundreds of fellow Muslims to carry out attacks in the event of a war against Iraq, according to French and other European antiterrorism experts. A French expert, who requested anonymity, said one threat to Europe came from radical groups who have links with Chechnya and have learned how to make chemical weapons, either at training camps in Afghanistan or while serving in the Soviet Army. He said Chechnya was now a kind of “neo-Afghanistan,” a new training ground and staging area for anti-Western terrorists. What was just a working thesis a few months ago, he said, has been validated by new information about intense recruiting, training and a focus on chemical weapons. In both Spain and Britain, the police reported finding chemical protection suits during raids last week in Barcelona and London. Full Story