Defiant Hussein Rebukes Iraqi Court For Trying Him
(New York Times, July 2, 2004, Pg. 1)
A defiant but visibly shrunken Saddam Hussein dominated the opening of court
proceedings against 12 of the highest-ranking officials of Iraq's ousted
dictatorship, declaring himself Iraq's lawful president and questioning the
legitimacy of the Iraqi court. The 67-year-old former ruler seemed 15 to 20
pounds lighter than when he last appeared, after his capture by American
troops in an underground bunker near Tikrit last Dec. 13.
Hussein, In Jail, Reportedly Said Little Of Value
(New York Times, July 2, 2004, Pg. 1)
In the nearly seven months that he was held captive by American forces,
Saddam Hussein revealed little of what his interrogators most wanted to know
about his weapons programs and the insurgency in postwar Iraq, senior
officials involved in his custody said in a series of recent interviews. But
on one occasion Hussein told his interrogator that a principal reason for
invading Kuwait in 1990 was his belief that he needed to keep his army
occupied.
New Guard Force Finds Welcome On Streets Of Baghdad
(Washington Post, July 2, 2004, Pg. 1)
Iraqi national guardsmen, venturing out for the last several days in their
own vehicles and flying the Iraqi flag conspicuously, have found a warm
welcome from most Baghdad residents, some of whom have showered them with
chocolates. Baghdadis seem relieved to see their own soldiers taking over
from U.S. occupation troops after nearly 15 months of foreign domination and
violent disorder.
Zarqawi Took Familiar Route Into Terrorism
(Los Angeles Times, July 2, 2004, Pg. 1)
The Jordanian town where terrorist leader Abu Musab Zarqawi was raised is a
hard place. They say you have to be a thug to make it in the streets there,
and the young Zarqawi had all the credentials: He ran with a fast crowd,
fought easily and covered his skin with tattoos.
Army Report Criticizes Training And Practices At Prisons
(New York Times, July 2, 2004, Pg. 1)
A broad new Army report concludes that serious problems in training,
organization and policy regarding military detention operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan contributed to the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison, senior defense
officials said.
Fort Carson Soldiers Charged
(Denver Post, July 2, 2004, Pg. 1)
Criminal charges have been filed against four Fort Carson, Colo., soldiers
in connection with the drowning early this year of an Iraqi man who
allegedly was forced with other detainees off a bridge into the Tigris
River. Three members of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team face manslaughter
charges and another faces an assault charge.
IRAQ
Undeterred, Insurgents Keep Up Deadly Attacks Across Iraq
(New York Times, July 2, 2004)
A new swell of insurgent violence in Iraq rolled into Baghdad as a car bomb
explosion and a rocket attack on a hotel used by foreigners paralyzed the
city center.
Sanchez Takes His Leave As Commander Of Coalition Troops
(Los Angeles Times, July 2, 2004)
Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez stepped down as the top U.S. commander in Iraq, his
14-month tenure clouded by the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and the military's
failure to crush the continuing insurgency. Sanchez's departure was part of
a long-scheduled command shift, officials said. Gen. George W. Casey, the
Army vice chief of staff and a four-star general, succeeded him as head of
the U.S.-led coalition's 160,000 troops in Iraq.
Deadly Chemical Warheads Found Under Iraqi Bunker
(New York Daily News, July 2, 2004)
Polish troops have uncovered at least two deadly chemical warheads in Iraq,
and they may have found a dozen more. The two shells, armed with cyclosarin,
a killer nerve agent much stronger than sarin, were dug out of a bunker in
early June in territory patrolled by the Poles. But until their origin is
determined, officials are not calling them evidence of the weapons of mass
destruction that the United States went to war over.
Iraqi-Led Security Missions Begin
(Christian Science Monitor, July 2, 2004)
Hundreds of Iraqi troops and police armed with AK-47s swarmed through a
troubled district of Mosul at dawn, launching the first major military
operation conceived and led by Iraq's new security forces. Backed by an
outer cordon of 150 U.S. troops, the Iraqis swept the Al Antezar
neighborhood in a house-to-house dragnet, confiscating weapons and detaining
several terrorist suspects.
Ex-Occupation Aide Sees No Dent In 'Saddamists'
(New York Times, July 2, 2004)
More than a year of intensive efforts by the American military and the CIA
to destroy the insurgency in Iraq has failed to reduce the number of
"hard-core Saddamists" seeking to destroy the interim Iraqi government, a
former senior official of the just-dissolved American-led occupation
authority said in an interview.
Bremer Labels Zarqawi Cells Hard To Crack
(Washington Times, July 2, 2004, Pg. 1)
Terrorist leader Abu Musab Zarqawi has set up a network so well organized in
Iraq that it deployed a Yemeni suicide bomber in a car to blow up a police
station just 48 hours after he entered the country, according to Paul
Bremer, the former top U.S. administrator in Baghdad. Bremer said Zarqawi's
terrorists were mostly trained in Al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. They
arrived in Iraq not as undisciplined jihadists, but as professionally
trained killers.
For Iraq, Trial Is Balancing Act
(Los Angeles Times, July 2, 2004)
Saddam Hussein's trial, expected to last for months, will be held in a
nation where trials have rarely lasted more than a few days, where the rule
of law is a work in progress and where security is so dicey that the
identities of judges are being kept secret. Against such a backdrop, Iraq's
interim government must balance competing demands of Iraqis who want to see
Hussein dealt with quickly and an international community determined to see
that he gets a fair hearing.
Face-To-Face And Toe-To-Toe With Iraq's Former Leader
(New York Times, July 2, 2004)
A young Iraqi investigative judge presided with remarkable firmness and
control over Saddam Hussein's arraignment, given that he faced a defiant man
that all Iraq had once feared.
Bremer Hails Saddam's Court Appearance
(Washington Times, July 2, 2004, Pg. 14)
Former Iraq administrator Paul Bremer said that televised images of Saddam
Hussein arraigned before an Iraqi judge in a Baghdad courtroom marked a
milestone for the fledgling government.
IRAQ-ABU GHRAIB
Pentagon 'Stalling Prison Probe'
(London Financial Times, July 2, 2004)
The Pentagon's failure to co-operate fully with the congressional probe into
the Abu Ghraib scandal is frustrating the investigation's progress,
according to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner. The
Pentagon has provided many of the documents requested by the committee, but
others, such as Red Cross reports on the prison, have not yet been handed
over despite assurances from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
GUANTANAMO
Lawyers Seek Access To 53 At Guantanamo
Letter To Rumsfeld Faxed Yesterday
(Washington Post, July 2, 2004, Pg. 4)
A group of lawyers who represent 53 detainees at the U.S. military prison in
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, demanded that the Pentagon grant them unfettered
access to their clients, saying that a Supreme Court decision this week
leaves no doubt that the detainees have that right.
No Day In Court For Some Detainees?
(Los Angeles Times, July 2, 2004)
The Pentagon might release some Guantanamo Bay detainees deemed not to pose
a security threat without any court proceedings, a Pentagon spokesman said.
But he added that no final decisions have been made about how the government
would respond to Supreme Court decisions this week requiring that detainees
be given a way to challenge their incarceration.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Using Defense Know-How For Health Care
Technology To Hunt Warheads May One Day Find Tumors
(Washington Post, July 2, 2004, Pg. 13)
Can technology developed by the Pentagon to search for enemy warheads in
space also be used to hunt for potentially cancerous tumors in a woman's
breast? A group of military doctors and engineers have joined forces in an
experimental effort to find out. Early results after two months of testing
have shown promise.
Numerous Flaws Found In Military Maps
(Chicago Tribune, July 1, 2004)
The secretive National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency acknowledged that it
had made numerous mistakes in topographical maps issued to U.S. troops in
Afghanistan since 2002. Agency officials said they have received no reports
from the military that the errors, mostly misplaced or omitted place names,
have jeopardized operations.
How Iraq Will Change US Military Doctrine
(Christian Science Monitor, July 2, 2004)
Of all the services, the Army is likely to see the greatest longterm effects
of the Iraq war, many experts predict, beginning with the need to prepare
for messy political conflicts, insurgencies and peacekeeping operations
rather than focusing so much on conventional combat.
Acting Comptroller Lanzillotta To Leave Mid-Month For Northrop Grumman
(Defense Daily, July 2, 2004, Pg. 1)
Acting Pentagon Comptroller Lawrence Lanzillotta will resign later this
month to work for defense giant Northrop Grumman, according to defense and
industry sources. Former Comptroller Dov Zakheim left this spring to become
a vice president at consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton.
ARMY
U.S. Desertion Suspect Headed For Indonesia
(International Herald Tribune, July 2, 2004)
A suspected Army deserter living in North Korea has agreed to travel to
Indonesia to be reunited with his Japanese wife, who was among the abductees
released by Pyongyang two years ago, Japan's foreign minister said. Charles
Robert Jenkins, 64, defected in 1965. Indonesia has no extradition treaty
with the United States.
Fallen Friend Medals Are OK'd
(Washington Times, July 2, 2004, Pg. 9)
The Army has reversed itself and will continue to help a nonprofit group,
Fallen Friend, distribute honorary medallions that cite a Bible verse. The
Army determined that the citation, "John 15:13," would not offend most next
of kin of soldiers killed in action. The actual verse, which itself does not
appear on the medal, reads, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man
lay down his life for his friends."
WHITE HOUSE
Cheney, Bush Tout Gains In Terror War
(Washington Post, July 2, 2004, Pg. 12)
With scenes of violence and mayhem in Iraq replaced by more favorable images
of the new Iraqi leaders taking charge and former president Saddam Hussein
in the dock, top Bush administration officials launched an effort to ease
the public's concern that the war has increased the threat of terrorism
against the United States.
Cheney Unrelenting On War Policy
(Los Angeles Times, July 2, 2004)
Returning to the controversy about Saddam Hussein's links with Al Qaeda
terrorists, Vice President Richard Cheney repeated his assertion that
"long-established ties" existed between the former Iraqi dictator and the
terrorist network.
CONGRESS
U.S. Assumed Too Much About Iraq, Report Says
(USA Today, July 2, 2004, Pg. 11)
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts said that the panel
believes a "worldwide intelligence failure" led to the belief that Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction before the war in
Iraq.
DOD Asks Congress To Reallocate $3 Billion For War On Terror
(Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, July 2, 2004)
The Defense Department has asked Congress to reallocate more than $3 billion
in previously enacted funds, mainly to pay for urgent needs that have arisen
in ongoing military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Defense Civilian Personnel Planning Efforts Found Lacking
(GovExec.com, July 1, 2004)
The General Accounting Office criticized the Defense Department for poor
planning for its future civilian personnel needs. "With more than 50 percent
of its civilian personnel becoming eligible to retire in the next 5 years,
DoD may find it difficult to fill certain mission-critical jobs with
qualified personnel," the GAO said.
NORTH KOREA
Powell, N. Korean Diplomat Meet
'Useful' Discussion Held On Nuclear Dismantlement Proposals
(Washington Post, July 2, 2004, Pg. 8)
Secretary of State Colin Powell met with North Korean Foreign Minister Paek
Nam Sun, the highest-level discussions between the U.S. and North Korea
since the crisis over North Korea's nuclear ambitions erupted 20 months ago.
The 20-minute conversation, which occurred on the sidelines of a regional
security conference in Jakarta, "was useful to help clarify each side's
proposals," a State Department spokesman said.
N. Korea Missile Program 'Significantly' Improved, Kadish Says
(Bloomberg.com, July 1, 2004)
North Korea has significantly improved the capability of its offensive
ballistic missiles, including those that can reach the United States, Air
Force Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish, the Pentagon's top missile defense official,
said. While the North has adhered to a 1999 moratorium on flight testing of
its long-range missiles, "they haven't stopped development," said Kadish,
who retires this week as head of the Missile Defense Agency.
AFGHANISTAN
Strife Reported To Delay Afghan Vote Again
(New York Times, July 2, 2004)
Afghanistan's national elections, which had already been postponed for three
months until September, have now been put off until mid-October because of
continuing violence and political disagreements, Afghan and U.N. officials
said.
ASIA/PACIFIC
Huge Naval Exercise Under Way
(San Diego Union-Tribune, July 1, 2004)
A big exercise starting this week in the waters off Hawaii is the latest
illustration of the Navy's shifting focus from the Persian Gulf to the
Pacific in the aftermath of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nearly 18,000
sailors, Marines, soldiers and airmen from seven nations-the United States,
Japan, Canada, Australia, South Korea, Chile and Great Britain-are
participating in the biennial maneuvers, called Rim of the Pacific 2004
MIDEAST
Slain Militant Not Key Cleric, Top Official Says
(Los Angeles Times, July 2, 2004)
A senior Saudi official denied an earlier report that a militant killed in a
shootout with police was cleric Abdullah Mohammed Rashid Roshoud, believed
to be the chief ideologist for Al Qaeda in the region.
If Iraq Asks, Jordan May Send Troops
(Los Angeles Times, July 2, 2004)
Jordan's King Abdullah II said that his country would be willing to send
troops to Iraq, which would make it the first Arab state to do so.
UNITED NATIONS
Danforth Is Sworn In As Ambassador To U.N.
(Washington Post, July 2, 2004, Pg. 7)
Former senator John C. Danforth was sworn in as U.S. ambassador to the
United Nations in a ceremony at the White House.
Iraq Far Behind On U.N. Dues
(Washington Post, July 2, 2004, Pg. 10)
Although it formally regained sovereignty this week, Iraq cannot yet resume
voting at the United Nations because it has fallen far behind in its U.N.
dues payments, the General Assembly said in a report. Baghdad will have to
pay at least $14.6 million to regain its vote.
EUROPE
Spain Weighs Deployment
(New York Times, July 2, 2004)
Less than a week after withdrawing the last Spanish troops from the U.S.-led
occupation force in Iraq, the government proposed sending Spanish troops to
Haiti and increasing the country's contingent in Afghanistan.
BUSINESS
7 Held On Arms-Export Charges
Suspects Accused Of Helping Chinese Obtain Technology
(Washington Post, July 2, 2004, Pg. 4)
Federal agents arrested seven persons in two suburban New Jersey towns and
charged them with exporting millions of dollars' worth of sensitive military
technology and components to China. The arrests were the latest in a
crackdown on what authorities believe is a clandestine network purchasing
weapons technology across the United States for the communist power.
No Evidence Halliburton 'Gouged' U.S., Schmitz Says
(Bloomberg.com, July 1, 2004)
No evidence has emerged to date that Halliburton has been "gouging" the U.S.
government for work to reconstruct Iraq's oil industry and provide food
services for U.S. troops, Pentagon Inspector General Joseph Schmitz said,
"but we are looking."
OPINION
The Balance Of Justice Amid A War
David Ignatius
(Washington Post, July 2, 2004, Pg. 15)
"The world had some powerful reminders this week of what the phrase 'rule of
law' really means. Judicial actions in the United States, Israel and Iraq
should reassure those who feared that the anything-goes logic of the war
against terrorism was devouring civil liberties."
Waking Up To The War
Bob Herbert
(New York Times, July 2, 2004)
"The U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq has been a gift-wrapped,
gilt-edged recruiting tool for Al Qaeda and its offshoots. If Osama bin
Laden had personally designed a campaign to expand the ranks and spread the
influence of anti-American terrorists, it's hard to imagine him coming up
with a better scenario than the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq."
Humvee Battles
U.S. Soldiers Must Win Media War, Too
Diana West
(Washington Times, July 2, 2004, Pg. 19)
With Iraqi insurgents striving for propaganda as well as military victories,
U.S. soldiers are engaged in a war on two fronts-a military front and a
media front. Our soldiers face two enemies: the adversary who fights fire
with terror, and the adversary who also fights fire with perception.
How Media Get Iraq Wrong
Eric M. Johnson
(New York Post, July 2, 2004)
A Marine reservist who served in Iraq criticizes the Washington Post's
coverage of the war as being uninformed and needlessly negative.
Let Us Hope That Iraq Has A Fourth Of July
Daniel Henninger
(Wall Street Journal, July 2, 2004, Pg. 10)
"We need to cut Iraq some slack and encourage its people's best instincts.
In the past year, beset by Islamic maniacs, they've elected municipal
councils in many small towns. In March, they completed an interim
constitution worthy of respect. A free press is flourishing. Despite
assassinations, its leaders didn't cut and run . . ."
EDITORIAL
A Vote For Control
(New York Times, July 2, 2004)
The Senate recently passed a measure that would require the president to
abide by the Geneva Conventions, with the support of five Republicans who
resisted frantic arm-twisting from the administration. "Now we will see if
the House can muster the political courage to follow suit."
Saddam Hussein's Trial
(Washington Post, July 2, 2004, Pg. 14)
The trial of Saddam Hussein could be a difficult case to control for Iraqi
judges and prosecutors who have with little experience of international law,
or even of proper trials. It is critical for the success of the new Iraqi
government that the trial receive the funding and attention it deserves from
the U.S. government and others in the international legal community.
The U.S. Cavalry
(Wall Street Journal, July 2, 2004, Pg. 10)
It is fashionable these days to express distaste for American
"unilateralism" and "hegemony." But the unfolding catastrophe in Sudan's
Darfur region offers a chilling view of what the alternative looks like, as
once again the world calls on the United States to stop a horror that the
United Nations and everybody else have failed to act against.
Proud To Be An American
(Wall Street Journal, July 2, 2004, Pg. 10)
At a time when the punditry continues to obsess over Abu Ghraib, polls
reveal that Americans respect our military more than any other institution.
Though we had more flag-waving and overt displays in the months immediately
after 9/11, the belief in American exceptionalism, the commitment to die for
one's country and the regard for the military that defends us remain deep,
heartfelt and unwavering.
Source: Defense News
