May 24, 2004
TOP STORIES
U.S. Force Move Into Stronghold Of Cleric
Insurgents Scatter as Hunt for Their Leader Intensifies
[Washington Post, May 24, 2004, Pg. 1]
U.S. forces broadened an offensive against rebel cleric Moqtada Sadr,
pushing into the stronghold of Kufa for the first time. His armed fighters
disappeared from the streets of this Shiite holy city.
Army Widens Abuse Probe
Two soldiers are ordered to stay in Iraq as officials try to learn whether
intelligence officers, not just rogue MPs, were behind mistreatment.
[Los Angeles Times, May 24, 2004, Pg. 1]
Two intelligence soldiers identified in the photos from the Abu Ghraib
detention center have been ordered to stay in Baghdad as part of the
expanding probe into prisoner abuse widens.
Afghan Deaths Linked To Unit At Iraq Prison
[New York Times, May 24, 2004, Pg. 1]
A military intelligence unit that conducted interrogations at Abu Ghraib
prison was also in charge of questioning at an Afghan detention center where
two prisoners died in December 2002 in incidents being investigated as
homicides.
Factions Jostle For Top Posts In A New Iraq
[New York Times, May 24, 2004, Pg. 1]
Senior U.S. envoys in Baghdad are trying to cope with competing demands by
Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds for the top positions of the new caretaker
government.
Iraqis Say They Want Louder Say In Nation's Government
[Washington Times, May 24, 2004, Pg. 1]
Frustrated Iraqi leaders complain that they have been left out of
negotiations over who will head the country after the June 30 transfer of
power. They warn that the process will lack legitimacy if it isn't led by
Iraqis.
U.S. Steps Up Hunt In Leaks To Iraqi Exile
[New York Times, May 24, 2004]
Information believed handed over to Iran by Ahmad Chalabi was so highly
classified that federal investigators have intensified their inquiry to
determine if anyone in the U.S. government gave the material to Chalabi.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Pentagon Approved Intense Interrogation Techniques For Sept. 11 Suspect At
Guantanamo
[New York Times, May 21, 2004]
Guantanamo Bay interrogators got Pentagon approval to use special, harsher
questioning procedures on a Saudi Arabian detainee believed to have been the
planned 20th Sept. 11 hijacker.
A New Strategy Document Calls Attention To The Transition Between War And
Peace
[New York Times, May 22, 2004]
JCS Chairman Gen. Richard Myers has approved a new national military
strategy that explains to the nation's war planners that they must pay
greater attention to preparing for the complicated and dangerous transition
between the end of major combat operations and the resumption of civilian
authority.
Pentagon Reviews Detainee Deaths
Cases of 33 Are Indication That Abu Ghraib Abuse Wasn't Isolated Situation
[Wall Street Journal, May 24, 2004, Pg. 3]
Bush administration claims that low-level troops were responsible for
prisoner abuse as Abu Ghraib took a shot when the Pentagon acknowledged that
it is reviewing the deaths of 33 detainees captured in Iraq and Afghanistan,
including nine homicides.
‘Time': Report To Congress Short Pages
[USA Today, May 24, 2004, Pg. 4]
The Pentagon is trying to explain why some 2,000 pages from a congressional
copy of classified report about the alleged abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib
are missing. The Pentagon said if the pages are missing, as alleged in a
"Time" magazine story, it was an oversight.
Senate Copy Of Report On Abuse May Be Short
2,000 Pages Missing, Committee Aides Say
[Washington Post, May 24, 2004, Pg. 18]
At least 2,000 pages may be missing from the copy of an Army report on
soldiers' abuse of Iraqi prisoners that was forwarded to the Senate Armed
Services Committee.
Do Special Forces Need Special Funding?
Elite U.S. military units push for broad authority to fund local militias
and other groups in carrying out the war on terror.
[Christian Science Monitor, May 24, 2004]
Conflicting priorities between the CIA and U.S. elite military units can
sometimes hamper efforts to forge alliances with indigenous forces and
tribes---relationships that are becoming more vital for uprooting terrorist
groups from lawless regions in Afghanistan and around the world. Congress is
now advancing legislation that would grant the Pentagon broad authority for
U.S. Special Forces to directly pay and equip a wide range of foreign groups
and individuals engaged in the war against terror.
Military Hustles So Troops Can Vote
[Washington Times, May 24, 2004, Pg. 4]
Military officials are scrambling to make sure that troops deployed to Iraq,
Afghanistan and places around the world know their state election laws
regarding absentee ballots---the result of the Pentagon's dropping plans to
have soldiers vote via the Internet.
U.S. Denies Offering Rumsfeld's Job To Berlin Envoy
[Boston Globe, May 23, 2004]
America's Embassy in Berlin denied a German magazine report that says
Ambassador Dan Coats was offered Secretary Rumsfeld's job if he resigns
because of the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal.
IRAQ
GIs Report Killing 36 Insurgents Around Kufa Mosque That Held Arms
[New York Times, May 24, 2004]
U.S. troops attacked fighters loyal to rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr near a
mosque in Kufa, killing at least 36 insurgents. Soldiers also seized a cache
of heavy weapons in the mosque after the fight.
Ambush Kills Two GIs Near Fallujah
The attack on their convoy ends a period of relative calm. Troops battle
Iraqi militants in Kufa and Najaf, killing more than 60 people.
[Los Angeles Times, May 24, 2004]
A car bomb and rocket grenade attack killed two U.S. soldiers and injured
five others as their convoy passed the city of Fallujah, the first such
deadly attack since U.S. Marines ended a 3½ week siege of the city late last
month.
U.S. Needs More Times, To Train And Equip Iraqis
[New York Times, May 24, 2004]
U.S. senior officers in Iraq have been forced to extend the time for
training and equipping Iraqi security and military forces, prolonging the
period that large numbers of U.S. troops will be needed to help with basic
duties like policing and border control.
Iraqi Say Tape Is Of Wedding Struck By U.S.
Military: All evidence at site suggests a guerrilla hideout
[USA Today, May 24, 2004, Pg. 5]
A videotape obtained by Associated Press Television News shows a party that
attendees say was attacked by U.S. aircraft last week. The U.S. military
disputes that claim, saying that the target of the attack was a safe house
used by militants. Military officials say that all evidence indicates there
was no wedding, although the bad guys may have been celebrating something.
America's Credibility In Iraq ‘Hanging By A Thread'
Only 7% view U.S. as liberator
[Chicago Tribune, May 23, 2004]
The ongoing violence in Iraq has diminished Iraqis' faith in America to
resolve the country's worsening crises.
For Seven Iraqis, A Vital Part Of Life Is Restored
Tale of Amputation Under Hussein Stirs Compassion
[Washington Post, May 24, 2004, Pg. 1]
Nazaar Joudi lost his right hand nine years ago to Saddam Hussein's butchers
at Abu Ghraib prison. He is now in Houston, with six other one-handed
Iraqis, where doctors have fitted them with $50,000 "bionic" hands.
IRAQ---ABU GHRAIB
Military Denies Story On General At Prison
[Washington Post, May 24, 2004, Pg. 18]
The U.S. military command denied a report that Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez was
present during some interrogations at the Abu Ghraib prison and witnessed
some abuse of Iraqi detainees.
General Questions How Abuse Case Handled
Karpinski asks what Sanchez knew and when
[USA Today, May 24, 2004, Pg. 4]
Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, who was in charge of U.S. detention centers in
Iraq said repeated visits to Abu Ghraib prison by Lt. Gen. Ricardo
Sanchez---and his initial response to the misconduct there---raise questions
about whether Sanchez knew more about he abuse than he has acknowledged.
General Says Sanchez Rejected Her Offer To Give Address To Iraqis About
Abuses
[New York Times, May 24, 2004]
Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski said Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez rejected her
recommendation in January that the military make a public Arabic-language
radio or television address to the Iraqi people to confront abuse
accusations at Abu Ghraib prison.
Soldiers Vented Frustration, Doctor Says
Psychiatrist Studied Interviews With Guards Accused of Abusing Iraqi
Detainees
[Washington Post, May 24, 2004, Pg. 18]
An Air Force psychiatrist who studied the situation at Abu Ghraib prison
said physical abuses by U.S. MPs against Iraqi prisoners stemmed from a
mixture of GIs' anger and frustration over poor working conditions, their
racism and the absence of any meaningful supervision.
Abuse Pictures Taken Amid Losses
[Washington Times, May 24, 2004, Pg. 7]
Many of the worst abuses at Abu Ghraib prison occurred on a single November
day amid insurgent violence in Iraq, many U.S. soldiers' deaths and a
breakdown of the guards' command structure.
MARINE CORPS
Retired General Assails Planning For Iraq War
[Washington Post, May 24, 2004, Pg. 19]
Retired Marine Corps Gen. Anthony Zinni, charges in his book that "everyone
in the military knew" that the Bush administration's plan for Iraq consisted
of only half the number of troops needed to do the job. He says that Iraq is
now "a powder keg" that could break into warring regions.
NATIONAL GUARD/RESERVE
Bringing Dignity To Casualties Of War
[Philadelphia Inquirer, May 24, 2004, Pg. 1]
Lt. Col. John W. Groth is the mortuary chaplain at Dover AFB. Like most
reservists, he would rather be doing his civilian job---New Jersey-Delaware
director for Priority One Foundation. What keeps him going is a sense of
obligation for the dead soldiers who come through Dover and their families.
WHITE HOUSE
Bush To Talk Up His Plans For Iraq
Will explain his view to public, foreign leaders
[USA Today, May 24, 2004, Pg. 8]
President Bush tonight launches a five-week campaign meant to reassure
Americans that he has an effective plan for Iraq and persuade foreign
leaders to do more to help that plan succeed.
Report Urges Tighter Nuclear Controls
White House Not Doing Enough to Secure Weapons Materials, Analysts Say
[Washington Post, May 24, 2004, Pg. 2]
The relative ease with which U.S. scientists have proved they can construct
a nuclear weapon demonstrates the need to secure plutonium and highly
enriched uranium scattered in armories and research sites around the world.
A pair of Harvard researchers says the Bush administration isn't doing
enough to secure those nuclear materials.
Panel On Iraqi Arms To Meet
[Washington Times, May 24, 2004, Pg. 4]
An independent commission created by President Bush to examine U.S.
intelligence capabilities, with particular attention on weapons of mass
destruction, convenes its first series of closed-door meetings this week.
CONGRESS
McCain Inserts Key Provision In Defense Bill
Cites conflicts of interest on policy board
[Boston Globe, May 23, 2004]
Sen. John McCain inserted into a defense bill a provision that would mean
greater scrutiny of the Defense Policy Board, a controversial incubator for
White House policy on security, arms procurement and war in Iraq.
NORTH KOREA
The North Korean Uranium Challenge
[New York Times, May 24, 2004]
The discovery that North Korea likely supplied uranium to Libya poses an
immediate challenge to the White House---while President Bush is preoccupied
on the other side of the world, an economically desperate country may be
engaging in exactly the kind of nuclear proliferation the president went to
war in Iraq to prevent.
Koizumi Visit Raises Hope On North Korea
Release of Abductees' Kin Shows Potential for Progress In Talks With
Pyongyang
[Wall Street Journal, May 24, 2004, Pg. 13]
Japan's new tougher approach with North Korea earned a positive result when
five children of Japanese citizens who had been abducted by the North
decades ago were released into Japanese custody. It is unclear if this win
by Japan will extend to talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
MIDEAST
U.S. Marines, Counterparts At Syrian Border Maintain Civility
[Wall Street Journal, May 24, 2004, Pg. 13]
Relations between Washington and Damascus have taken a turn for the worse,
with Syria getting hit with economic sanctions for not stopping fighters
from entering Iraq. One the Iraq/Syrian border, however, U.S. Marines and
Syrian border officials---literally just yards apart---find pragmatic ways
to keep things civil.
AFGHANISTAN
Projects Put Strain On Afghan Province
Militiamen, Farmers Feel Targeted By Disarmament, Poppy Eradication
[Washington Post, May 24, 2004, Pg. 1]
Residents of Wardack province in Afghanistan feel victimized by government
efforts to disarm local militias, eradicate poppy fields and proceed with
voter registration.
U.S. To Review Afghan Prisons
[New York Times, May 23, 2004]
Brig. Gen. Charles H. Jacoby will review the military's secretive prisons in
Afghanistan.
Afghanistan: Peacekeepers' Vehicle Is Attacked
[Miami Herald, May 24, 2004]
A rocket attack against an international peacekeepers' vehicle near Kabul
created two casualties---officials have not said if the victims are dead are
wounded.
EUROPE
Blair Studies Iraq Options As Rift With U.S. Is Exposed
[London Times, May 24, 2004]
Prime Minister Tony Blair gets final plans for deploying more troops to Iraq
amid growing alarm over U.S. military tactics.
BUSINESS
Titan Fires Translator Accused Of Mistreating Iraqi Prisoners
[Wall Street Journal, May 24, 2004, Pg. 7]
Titan Corp. fired a translator accused by Army investigators of sexually
humiliating detainees Abu Ghraib prison.
Workers Agree To 3-Year Pact With Boeing
[New York Times, May 24, 2004]
Machinists and aerospace workers for Boeing's defense unit approved a new
contract Sunday, hours before the existing contract was set to expire.
OPINION
Conventional Warfare
Douglas J. Feith
[Wall Street Journal, May 24, 2004, Pg. 14]
America's armed forces, the U.S. citizenry and the world have to know that
U.S. policy is "pro" Geneva Convention, and that DoD's leadership has been
and remains committed to applying those covenants throughout the war on
terrorism---in Afghanistan, with al Qaeda, in Iraq and around the world.
Tribal Warfare In Iraq
William Safire
[New York Times, May 24, 2004]
Tribal warfare in Iraq involves the Pentagon, the State Department and the
CIA. This bureaucratic conflict was set off by the recent development
surrounding former Iraqi exile Ahmad Chalabi. The CIA has always hated
Chalabi. The State Department treated him with disdain. The Pentagon
believes Chalabi was a major player for setting up a civilian government in
Iraq. All of this came to a head when the U.N.'s man in Iraq, Lakhdar
Brahimi, demanded that Chalabi be cut off. Paul Bremer complied and even
permitted Iraqi police to break into and trash Chalabi's political
headquarters and his home.
Chalabi's Fall
Robert D. Novak
[Washington Post, May 24, 2004, Pg. 23]
Ahmed Chalabi found himself with little or no support at the Pentagon when
police ransacked his office and home. The last straw for Chalabi, according
to intelligence sources, was the discovery of his ties to Iran. Republicans
on Capitol Hill feel there must be some accountability for the massive
blunder that had Chalabi tied so closely to the Pentagon. They want the
president to at least consider if top-level officials at DoD should be
fired.
Did Somebody Say War?
Bob Herbert
[New York Times, May 24, 2004]
American troops are fighting a war of absurdity in Iraq. The U.S. has no
good options in Iraq, and probably never did. President Bush's reservoir of
credibility on Iraq is dried up and his approval ratings are going down. We
may all be victims of a horrendous crash that is quickly veering toward us.
Sticking Up For Rumsfeld
Nicholas D. Kristof
[New York Times, May 22, 2004]
Fairness demands that we handle Secretary Rumsfeld as least as well as we
treat prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison---his job should not be taken from him.
The person who got us into Iraq and who bears ultimate responsibility is not
Rumsfeld---the November election gives us a chance to fire President Bush.
Rumsfeld's Long List Of Failures
The muddles he has caused extend far past the abuse of prisoners at Abu
Ghraib.
Anthony Lewis
[Los Angeles Times, May 24, 2004]
Normal business standards would have brought about the firing of Secretary
Rumsfeld long ago. Neither ideology nor his role in the Abu Ghraib prison
scandal has anything to do with why Rumsfeld needs to quit or be fired. He
is simply incompetent, as his last 13 months of activities show.
Pentagon's Postwar Fiasco Coming Full-Circle?
David L. Phillips
[Christian Science Monitor, May 24, 2004]
Pentagon mismanagement at Abu Ghraib prison, combined with the recent
distractions caused by Ahmed Chalabi, presents a disturbing pattern. We have
a Pentagon that listened to the wrong people on several important issues,
including how to deal with a post-war Iraq. The administration's plans have
come full circle---after a year of failed occupation, the administration is
finally focused on giving power to Iraqis and establishing self-rule. It's a
year late, but not too late to salvage democracy in Iraq.
U.S. Should Offer Deal To N. Korea
Daniel Poneman and Robert Gallucci
[Los Angeles Times, May 24, 2004]
It is a mistake for the White House to continue making demands on North
Korea. Pyongyang has no reason to back down on its nuclear ambitions, since
it faces no penalties for defiance or rewards for compliance. Continued
diplomatic wheel-spinning just lets North Korea continue making nuclear
weapons.
EDITORIAL
Chalabi's Saga Shows U.S. Is Slow To Learn From History
[USA Today, May 24, 2004, Pg. 11]
Ahmed Chalabi worked his scam about as well as did the Cuban exiles who
assured President Kennedy that their country would rise up to support the
Bay of Pigs invasion. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson also believed that the
Vietnamese people would accept a U.S.-backed regime over one led by Ho Chi
Minh. The futile war cost 58,000 American lives. We have to apply President
Reagan's axiom to virtually every foreign relation---"trust, but verify."
Who Turned Out The Lights In Abu Ghraib?
[Miami Herald, May 24, 2004]
The lessons of Abu Ghraib should be second nature to all who wear a U.S.
military uniform. There can be no ambiguity in orders, nor in the chain of
command. No departure from conventional standards should be undertaken
lightly. Most importantly, accountability follows responsibility. The public
is still waiting to see who is held to account for the darkness at Abu
Ghraib.
Upsize the Army
[New York Post, May 24, 2004]
America's military strength is stretched too thin. Out troops have much to
cover in the war on terrorism, which doesn't even figure into our routine
deployments to strategic bases, worldwide. We can't let a lack of soldiers
interfere with our war against terrorists---perhaps another two infantry
divisions would be enough to do the job right.
Source: Defense News
