2RHPZ
05-10-2004, 03:31 PM
May 10, 2004
TOP STORIES
Senators Fault Pentagon As New Photos Emerge
Lawmakers Split On Rumsfeld Resignation
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 1)
Republican and Democratic senators criticized the Pentagon for what one Republican termed a "systemic failure" in overseeing the detention of prisoners in Iraq but expressed divided opinions on whether Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should resign in the wake of the scandal over prison abuses. As they spoke, a series of new photographs came to light of U.S. military personnel using German shepherd guard dogs to threaten and apparently attack a naked Iraqi prisoner last December at the Abu Ghraib prison, where other publicized cases of abuse were photographed and videotaped.
First Trial Set To Begin May 19 In Abuse In Iraq
(New York Times, May 10, 2004, Pg. 1)
A 24-year-old military policeman from Pennsylvania will be court-martialed in Baghdad May 19, the first American soldier to face trial in the abuse of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison. In an extraordinary gesture to address outrage over the abuse scandal, the military will permit broad public access to the trial, including the Arab news media.
U.S. Must Find A Way To Move Past The Images [Analysis]
(New York Times, May 10, 2004, Pg. 1)
When President Bush travels to the Pentagon today for a classified briefing on the Iraq war, the subtext of the conversation will have little to do with the commanders' latest assessments of whether insurgents can be routed from Fallujah and Najaf. The far larger question is whether the revelations of prisoner abuse have so undermined American political objectives for remaking Iraq that the military challenges have suddenly become a secondary problem.
Early Signs Were Given Secondary Priority
Gravity Of Scandal Eluded Pentagon
(USA Today, May 10, 2004, Pg. 1)
The Pentagon received repeated reports of prisoner abuse in Iraq but placed a higher priority on extracting information about terrorist or insurgent attacks, according to the now voluminous public record. Although the specific abuses at Abu Ghraib occurred far down the chain of command from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, it was a chain closely supervised from the top. Indeed, in cases of high-level detainees, rules imposed by Rumsfeld dictated that Pentagon officials up to and including the Defense secretary be involved in approving the use of coercive interrogation methods.
Shiite Cleric's Militia Seizes Control Of Baghdad Slum
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 1)
Gunmen and commanders loyal to radical Shiite Muslim cleric Moktada Sadr took over the giant Sadr City slum in Baghdad, seizing control of police forces, municipal administration and schools and blocking freedom of movement in an area just five miles east of U.S. administration headquarters.
Cleric's Forces Battle For Section Of Baghdad
(Los Angeles Times, May 10, 2004)
U.S. soldiers and Shiite militiamen exchanged heavy fire on the streets of Sadr City, a sprawling neighborhood in eastern Baghdad that is a stronghold of militant cleric Moktada Sadr. Sadr's forces appeared to make a concerted effort to seize control of parts of the district, witnesses and officials said. U.S. authorities said the attempt was repulsed, though continued fighting was reported.
U.S. Pushes Deep Into Shiite City
(Washington Times, May 10, 2004, Pg. 15)
U.S. forces stepped up pressure on Shiite gunmen loyal to radical cleric Sheik Moktada al-Sadr, pushing with tanks into the holy city of Kufa and assaulting militia positions in the narrow streets of a Shiite enclave in Baghdad. About 30 Iraqis were killed.
Fallujah District Begins To Relax As Iraqi Force Patrols The Streets
(New York Times, May 10, 2004)
As the American military continued to ease its cordon around Fallujah, handing the city over to a newly formed Iraqi force, the success of a cease-fire is being measured day by day. "Fallujah has gone for days without a violation of the cease-fire," said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt at a news briefing in Baghdad. The Marines believe that several hundred foreign fighters are still holed up in the city.
U.S. Asks Politicians And Sheiks To Help Rebuild Iraqi Corps In South
(New York Times, May 10, 2004)
The U.S. military has begun to recruit Iraqi fighters from prominent Shiite political parties and tribal sheiks to rebuild the national security forces in the south that have been decimated by the uprising led by the rebel cleric Moktada al-Sadr.
Red Cross Cited Detainee Abuse Over A Year Ago
Agency Filed Complaints About Abu Ghraib Prison Months Before U.S. Probe
(Wall Street Journal, May 10, 2004, Pg. 1)
Even before the war in Iraq ended a year ago, and well before U.S. officials generally acknowledged it, the Red Cross began periodically lodging complaints about the treatment of Iraqi prisoners in allied custody, according to a confidential report by the organization. In particular, the report says the Red Cross complained last October about the interrogations of prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
As Insurgency Grew, So Did Prison Abuse
Needing Intelligence, U.S. Pressed Detainees
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 1)
The worsening war outside the walls of the U.S. prison system in Iraq had a direct bearing on the abuses that occurred inside the facilities, according to Iraqi and American sources. U.S. officials, under mounting pressure to collect wartime intelligence but hobbled by a shortage of troops, turned to the prison system to extract intelligence.
Marines In Iraq See Prison Photos Creating Enemies
(Wall Street Journal, May 10, 2004, Pg. 11)
On the Iraq battlefield, the revelations of U.S. mistreatment of prisoners are stirring anger, dismay and deep concern that the scandal is creating more enemies for U.S. troops. "A lot of Marines may get killed because of these idiots [the Army prison guards]," said 1st Lt. Justin Engelhardt from a command post along the Euphrates River.
Brutal Images Buttress Anger Of Ex-Prisoners
(New York Times, May 10, 2004)
The Iraq prison scandal has given complaints by human rights organizations and relatives over treatment of prisoners a new platform. And Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's promise in a Senate hearing last week to pay compensation to victims has provided a new incentive for people to come forward?though it may be increasingly hard to separate victims from opportunists.
Analysts Say Iraqi Agencies Unlikely To Follow U.S. Rules
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 20)
With less than two months before the Coalition Provisional Authority is to transfer sovereignty to an Iraqi government, CPA administrator Paul Bremer has been establishing rules for key agencies in the fields of intelligence, defense and the law that analysts say may not survive long because they reflect American rather than Middle Eastern values.
7 Iraqis Killed By Bomb Hidden In Box
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 20)
A bomb hidden in a box exploded in front of a crowded market in western Baghdad, killing at least seven Iraqis and wounding more than a dozen others. Witnesses said two of the dead were children and three others were police officers who were trying to defuse the bomb when it went off during the morning rush hour.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Officials Grapple With How And When To Release Images
(New York Times, May 10, 2004)
The Defense Department is planning to provide Congress with many more pictures of the abusive treatment of Iraqi detainees, but has not decided whether to release them to the public, congressional leaders and Pentagon officials said. In the end, President Bush was seen likely to make the determination.
A Father's Nemesis Who Became A Son's Trusted Aide
(New York Times, May 10, 2004)
President Bush's relationship with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld seems complicated right now, but it is nothing compared to the relationship that Rumsfeld had with Bush's father. As veterans of the Ford White House remember, Rumsfeld was an intense rival of George Bush's, and by all accounts the men had a terrible relationship in the 1970s and 1980s.
Dissension Grows In Senior Ranks On War Strategy
U.S. May Be Winning Battles in Iraq But Losing The War, Some Officers Say
(Washington Post, May 9, 2004, Pg. 1)
Deep divisions are emerging at the top of the U.S. military over the course of the occupation of Iraq, with some senior officers beginning to say that the United States faces the prospect of casualties for years to come without achieving its goal of establishing a free and democratic Iraq. Their major worry is that the United States is prevailing militarily but failing to win the support of the Iraqi people. That view is far from universal, but it is spreading and being voiced publicly for the first time.
Most Want Rumsfeld To Stay, Poll Finds
(Washington Post, May 8, 2004, Pg. 12
A large majority of Americans believe that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should not resign over the Iraq prison scandal, but the public remains divided over whether the administration moved quickly enough to investigate reports of abuse, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Interrogators Lacked List Of Proper Tactics
Iraqis' U.S. Captors Were Expected To Follow Geneva Conventions
U.S. military units holding prisoners in Iraq did not get a specific list of techniques permitted during questioning and were expected to follow long-standing limitations in the Geneva Conventions, a senior Pentagon official said. Yet to be determined is whether U.S. soldiers, including those facing courts-martial for abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison, were encouraged by commanders to use more aggressive practices to elicit more information more quickly.
NAVY
Navy Launches Vast Maritime Security Plan
(Washington Times, May 10, 2004, Pg. 15)
The U.S. Pacific Command has undertaken one of the most ambitious and complicated ventures in the war on terrorism as it seeks to prevent seaborne terrorist and criminal assaults on nations bordering the Pacific and Indian oceans. The ambitious goal is to forge a partnership of nations willing to identify and intercept "transnational maritime threats under existing international and domestic laws," according to Adm. Thomas Fargo, chief of the command.
NATIONAL GUARD/RESERVE
Iraq Prison Abuse Stains Entire Brigade
(Washington Times, May 10, 2004, Pg. 4)
The prisoner-abuse scandal has so tarnished the Army's 800th Military Police Brigade that soldiers in the unit who had been slated to receive a Bronze Star medal were dropped from the list, the brigade's commander, Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, said. "The vast majority of fine, outstanding soldiers in the brigade are paying dearly," Karpinski said.
Prison Revolt
To Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, The Abu Ghraib Investigation Is About Scapegoating, But She's Having None Of It
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. C1)
Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski has her back up. She says she has been scapegoated for the abuses that some U.S. soldiers inflicted on Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib, abuses that occurred when she was in charge of 16 prisons in Iraq, and that were carried out by soldiers under her command. Karpinski believes that higher-ups are attempting to make her the public face of failed leadership.
WHITE HOUSE
Bush Aims To Avoid Father's Mistakes
President Vows Not To 'Cut And Run' In Iraq, To Stay On Top Of Kerry
(Washington Times, May 10, 2004, Pg. 1)
President Bush is resolved not to repeat what he thinks were the two fundamental blunders of his father's one-term presidency?abandoning Iraq and failing to vanquish the Democrats?according to a new book, "Misunderestimated: The President Battles Terrorism, John Kerry and the Bush Haters".
White House Defends Rumsfeld Following Testimony In Congress
(Wall Street Journal, May 10, 2004, Pg. 10)
The White House mounted a strong defense of embattled Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld in the wake of his congressional testimony on Friday on prisoner abuse in Iraq. "I think Donald Rumsfeld is the best secretary of defense the United States has ever had," said Vice President?and former Defense Secretary?Richard Cheney in a written statement issued Saturday.
Rice Says She And Bush 'Strongly' Support Rumsfeld
(New York Times, May 9, 2004, Pg. 4)
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld retains "the strongest possible support" from President Bush and the White House, the national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, said Saturday, a day after Rumsfeld testified for six hours in Congress about the abuse by Americans of Iraqi prisoners.
CONGRESS
Senators Want All Photos To Be Shown
(Washington Times, May 10, 2004, Pg. 1)
Key senators from both parties called on the Pentagon to quickly make public all photographs, videos and other evidence of prisoner abuse in Iraq, which the senators described as systemic. Meantime, the New Yorker magazine published a new photo of prisoner abuse reportedly taken in December. It shows a naked Iraqi prisoner with his hands behind his head, standing before two leashed dogs and their handlers.
Prisoner Abuse Scandal Puts McCain In Spotlight Once Again
(New York Times, May 10, 2004)
As the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal unfolds, Senator John McCain is, as he often is, in the center of the swirl on Capitol Hill. But now he has a bigger platform than ever, by dint of his unusual position as both a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a former prisoner of war.
Senate Considers Upgrading B-1 Bombers
(USA Today, May 10, 2004, Pg. 11)
The Senate Armed Services Committee wants to increase funding to modernize B-1B bombers such as those stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, one of the state's senators, Majority Leader Tom Daschle, said.
RUSSIA
U.S.-Russia Plutonium Disposal Project Languishing
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 17)
A U.S.-Russian plan to destroy 68 tons of plutonium stripped from bombs and warheads remains stalled, six years after it was announced, because of a disagreement over which country would pay if an accident?or sabotage?occurred in Russia. Despite intensive discussions within the Bush administration in recent weeks, a White House official conceded that the matter is "one of those things that have been on the one-yard line a long time."
AFGHANISTAN
News Brief
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 17)
U.S. forces swept through an Afghan province, detaining 35 Taliban suspects, including a rebel commander, an Afghan governor said. Hundreds of American soldiers began combing three districts of Zabul province, about 240 miles southeast of the capital, Kabul, on Friday,
As Heroin Flourishes, So Could Terror
(Philadelphia Inquirer, May 10, 2004, Pg. 1)
Heroin producers in Afghanistan, some of the principal financiers of Al Qaeda and other terrorists, have never been so brazen or so wealthy. With a bumper crop of opium poppies under cultivation, Afghan narco-barons have begun stamping their brand names on the 2.2-pound bags of heroin they smuggle out of Central Asia to buyers in Moscow, Amsterdam, London and New York.
NORTH KOREA
Talks On North Korean Nuclear Program To Resume In Beijing
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 22)
After a helpful push from China, which last month promised to double food assistance to North Korea, mid-level officials from the Pyongyang government will sit down Wednesday in Beijing with their counterparts from the United States, South Korea, Japan, China and Russia. The topic concerns ending North Korea's nuclear programs, though the North Koreans and Americans have not quite agreed on the precise agenda.
ASIA/PACIFIC
Pakistan Border Offensive Fails
Militants Refuse Surrender, Islamabad Amnesty Deal; U.S. Expresses Frustration
(Wall Street Journal, May 10, 2004, Pg. 15)
A much-touted Pakistani offensive against Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters operating along the country's northwest border with Afghanistan failed to reach its goals, analysts said, with President Pervez Musharraf's troops unable to apprehend any top Islamic militants. Tension between Pakistan and the U.S. was heightened with an incursion by American troops into Pakistani territory on May 2, which Washington said was inadvertent
EUROPE
Blair Offers An Apology For Abuses By Soldiers
(New York Times, May 10, 2004)
Prime Minister Tony Blair apologized for abuse of Iraqi prisoners by British soldiers as his government prepared to make a detailed statement in Parliament today about the investigations into mistreatment.
BUSINESS
CACI Defends Screening Of Interrogators
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 19)
Pentagon contractor CACI International said that its interrogators were carefully screened and worked under the supervision of the U.S. military in Iraqi detention centers. One of the company's employees, Steven Stefanowicz, is implicated in an Army report on prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib
OPINION
Rumsfeld Should Stay
William Safire
(New York Times, May 10, 2004)
"This secretary of defense, who has the strong support of the president, is both effective and symbolic. If he were to quit under political fire, pressure would mount for America to quit under insurgent fire. Hang in there, Rummy! You have a duty to serve in our 'long, hard slog.'"
Steady Hand In Rough Seas
Robert Andrews
(Washington Times, May 10, 2004, Pg. 19)
A former assistant secretary under Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld writes that those who committed the outrages at Abu Ghraib Prison not only betrayed their service and their country, "they also betrayed a good and honorable man."
Rumsfeld's Dysfunctional Pentagon
Robert D. Novak
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 25)
"Last week I talked to Republican members of Congress, GOP fundraisers and contributors, defense consultants, and even one senior official of a coalition partner. The clear consensus was that Rumsfeld had to go. 'There must be a neck cut,' said the foreign official, 'and there is only one neck of choice.'"
It's Time To Wonder What Iraq Is Doing To Change The U.S.
Gerald F. Seib
(Wall Street Journal, May 10, 2004, Pg. 11)
Whether Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stays or goes, America's war on terrorism has entered a new phase. The nation is grappling with the question: Is Iraq affecting America as much as America is affecting Iraq? There is little sign that President Bush's answer?that America has the power to change the world for the better, starting in Iraq?will be altered. But his challenge of convincing fellow Americans has become tougher.
For Bush, The Prison Abuse Scandal Brings His Political War Home
Ronald Brownstein
(Los Angeles Times, May 10, 2004)
"The greatest danger to the White House is that the scandal, after a month of grueling unrest and violence, will deepen concerns that Iraq is spiraling out of control. The public may be willing to accept a steady stream of casualties as the painful price of success; it will probably have much less tolerance for lives sacrificed to a mission in disarray."
For A 'New Imperialism'
Sebastian Mallaby
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 25)
The world needs a new style of imperialism to fight the war on terror. Wars of preemption should not be hostage to a United Nations veto. The Security Council should have a weighted system of voting, so that players like Russia or France get a reasonably big say but not the ability to block everything. And we need an international institution that pools nation-building expertise. When a financial crisis breaks out, we have the International Monetary Fund. When a security crisis demands nation-building, we need an International Reconstruction Fund."
Undercutting Mideast Democracy
Jackson Diehl
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 25)
The Bush administration's support of Libyan dictator Moammar Khdafi and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon show that, despite its New Year's resolution, the White House is not ready to change the old calculus of U.S. Middle East policy: Promotion of democracy remains the top priority?except when it conflicts with something else.
TOP STORIES
Senators Fault Pentagon As New Photos Emerge
Lawmakers Split On Rumsfeld Resignation
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 1)
Republican and Democratic senators criticized the Pentagon for what one Republican termed a "systemic failure" in overseeing the detention of prisoners in Iraq but expressed divided opinions on whether Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should resign in the wake of the scandal over prison abuses. As they spoke, a series of new photographs came to light of U.S. military personnel using German shepherd guard dogs to threaten and apparently attack a naked Iraqi prisoner last December at the Abu Ghraib prison, where other publicized cases of abuse were photographed and videotaped.
First Trial Set To Begin May 19 In Abuse In Iraq
(New York Times, May 10, 2004, Pg. 1)
A 24-year-old military policeman from Pennsylvania will be court-martialed in Baghdad May 19, the first American soldier to face trial in the abuse of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison. In an extraordinary gesture to address outrage over the abuse scandal, the military will permit broad public access to the trial, including the Arab news media.
U.S. Must Find A Way To Move Past The Images [Analysis]
(New York Times, May 10, 2004, Pg. 1)
When President Bush travels to the Pentagon today for a classified briefing on the Iraq war, the subtext of the conversation will have little to do with the commanders' latest assessments of whether insurgents can be routed from Fallujah and Najaf. The far larger question is whether the revelations of prisoner abuse have so undermined American political objectives for remaking Iraq that the military challenges have suddenly become a secondary problem.
Early Signs Were Given Secondary Priority
Gravity Of Scandal Eluded Pentagon
(USA Today, May 10, 2004, Pg. 1)
The Pentagon received repeated reports of prisoner abuse in Iraq but placed a higher priority on extracting information about terrorist or insurgent attacks, according to the now voluminous public record. Although the specific abuses at Abu Ghraib occurred far down the chain of command from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, it was a chain closely supervised from the top. Indeed, in cases of high-level detainees, rules imposed by Rumsfeld dictated that Pentagon officials up to and including the Defense secretary be involved in approving the use of coercive interrogation methods.
Shiite Cleric's Militia Seizes Control Of Baghdad Slum
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 1)
Gunmen and commanders loyal to radical Shiite Muslim cleric Moktada Sadr took over the giant Sadr City slum in Baghdad, seizing control of police forces, municipal administration and schools and blocking freedom of movement in an area just five miles east of U.S. administration headquarters.
Cleric's Forces Battle For Section Of Baghdad
(Los Angeles Times, May 10, 2004)
U.S. soldiers and Shiite militiamen exchanged heavy fire on the streets of Sadr City, a sprawling neighborhood in eastern Baghdad that is a stronghold of militant cleric Moktada Sadr. Sadr's forces appeared to make a concerted effort to seize control of parts of the district, witnesses and officials said. U.S. authorities said the attempt was repulsed, though continued fighting was reported.
U.S. Pushes Deep Into Shiite City
(Washington Times, May 10, 2004, Pg. 15)
U.S. forces stepped up pressure on Shiite gunmen loyal to radical cleric Sheik Moktada al-Sadr, pushing with tanks into the holy city of Kufa and assaulting militia positions in the narrow streets of a Shiite enclave in Baghdad. About 30 Iraqis were killed.
Fallujah District Begins To Relax As Iraqi Force Patrols The Streets
(New York Times, May 10, 2004)
As the American military continued to ease its cordon around Fallujah, handing the city over to a newly formed Iraqi force, the success of a cease-fire is being measured day by day. "Fallujah has gone for days without a violation of the cease-fire," said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt at a news briefing in Baghdad. The Marines believe that several hundred foreign fighters are still holed up in the city.
U.S. Asks Politicians And Sheiks To Help Rebuild Iraqi Corps In South
(New York Times, May 10, 2004)
The U.S. military has begun to recruit Iraqi fighters from prominent Shiite political parties and tribal sheiks to rebuild the national security forces in the south that have been decimated by the uprising led by the rebel cleric Moktada al-Sadr.
Red Cross Cited Detainee Abuse Over A Year Ago
Agency Filed Complaints About Abu Ghraib Prison Months Before U.S. Probe
(Wall Street Journal, May 10, 2004, Pg. 1)
Even before the war in Iraq ended a year ago, and well before U.S. officials generally acknowledged it, the Red Cross began periodically lodging complaints about the treatment of Iraqi prisoners in allied custody, according to a confidential report by the organization. In particular, the report says the Red Cross complained last October about the interrogations of prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
As Insurgency Grew, So Did Prison Abuse
Needing Intelligence, U.S. Pressed Detainees
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 1)
The worsening war outside the walls of the U.S. prison system in Iraq had a direct bearing on the abuses that occurred inside the facilities, according to Iraqi and American sources. U.S. officials, under mounting pressure to collect wartime intelligence but hobbled by a shortage of troops, turned to the prison system to extract intelligence.
Marines In Iraq See Prison Photos Creating Enemies
(Wall Street Journal, May 10, 2004, Pg. 11)
On the Iraq battlefield, the revelations of U.S. mistreatment of prisoners are stirring anger, dismay and deep concern that the scandal is creating more enemies for U.S. troops. "A lot of Marines may get killed because of these idiots [the Army prison guards]," said 1st Lt. Justin Engelhardt from a command post along the Euphrates River.
Brutal Images Buttress Anger Of Ex-Prisoners
(New York Times, May 10, 2004)
The Iraq prison scandal has given complaints by human rights organizations and relatives over treatment of prisoners a new platform. And Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's promise in a Senate hearing last week to pay compensation to victims has provided a new incentive for people to come forward?though it may be increasingly hard to separate victims from opportunists.
Analysts Say Iraqi Agencies Unlikely To Follow U.S. Rules
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 20)
With less than two months before the Coalition Provisional Authority is to transfer sovereignty to an Iraqi government, CPA administrator Paul Bremer has been establishing rules for key agencies in the fields of intelligence, defense and the law that analysts say may not survive long because they reflect American rather than Middle Eastern values.
7 Iraqis Killed By Bomb Hidden In Box
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 20)
A bomb hidden in a box exploded in front of a crowded market in western Baghdad, killing at least seven Iraqis and wounding more than a dozen others. Witnesses said two of the dead were children and three others were police officers who were trying to defuse the bomb when it went off during the morning rush hour.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Officials Grapple With How And When To Release Images
(New York Times, May 10, 2004)
The Defense Department is planning to provide Congress with many more pictures of the abusive treatment of Iraqi detainees, but has not decided whether to release them to the public, congressional leaders and Pentagon officials said. In the end, President Bush was seen likely to make the determination.
A Father's Nemesis Who Became A Son's Trusted Aide
(New York Times, May 10, 2004)
President Bush's relationship with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld seems complicated right now, but it is nothing compared to the relationship that Rumsfeld had with Bush's father. As veterans of the Ford White House remember, Rumsfeld was an intense rival of George Bush's, and by all accounts the men had a terrible relationship in the 1970s and 1980s.
Dissension Grows In Senior Ranks On War Strategy
U.S. May Be Winning Battles in Iraq But Losing The War, Some Officers Say
(Washington Post, May 9, 2004, Pg. 1)
Deep divisions are emerging at the top of the U.S. military over the course of the occupation of Iraq, with some senior officers beginning to say that the United States faces the prospect of casualties for years to come without achieving its goal of establishing a free and democratic Iraq. Their major worry is that the United States is prevailing militarily but failing to win the support of the Iraqi people. That view is far from universal, but it is spreading and being voiced publicly for the first time.
Most Want Rumsfeld To Stay, Poll Finds
(Washington Post, May 8, 2004, Pg. 12
A large majority of Americans believe that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should not resign over the Iraq prison scandal, but the public remains divided over whether the administration moved quickly enough to investigate reports of abuse, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Interrogators Lacked List Of Proper Tactics
Iraqis' U.S. Captors Were Expected To Follow Geneva Conventions
U.S. military units holding prisoners in Iraq did not get a specific list of techniques permitted during questioning and were expected to follow long-standing limitations in the Geneva Conventions, a senior Pentagon official said. Yet to be determined is whether U.S. soldiers, including those facing courts-martial for abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison, were encouraged by commanders to use more aggressive practices to elicit more information more quickly.
NAVY
Navy Launches Vast Maritime Security Plan
(Washington Times, May 10, 2004, Pg. 15)
The U.S. Pacific Command has undertaken one of the most ambitious and complicated ventures in the war on terrorism as it seeks to prevent seaborne terrorist and criminal assaults on nations bordering the Pacific and Indian oceans. The ambitious goal is to forge a partnership of nations willing to identify and intercept "transnational maritime threats under existing international and domestic laws," according to Adm. Thomas Fargo, chief of the command.
NATIONAL GUARD/RESERVE
Iraq Prison Abuse Stains Entire Brigade
(Washington Times, May 10, 2004, Pg. 4)
The prisoner-abuse scandal has so tarnished the Army's 800th Military Police Brigade that soldiers in the unit who had been slated to receive a Bronze Star medal were dropped from the list, the brigade's commander, Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, said. "The vast majority of fine, outstanding soldiers in the brigade are paying dearly," Karpinski said.
Prison Revolt
To Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, The Abu Ghraib Investigation Is About Scapegoating, But She's Having None Of It
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. C1)
Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski has her back up. She says she has been scapegoated for the abuses that some U.S. soldiers inflicted on Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib, abuses that occurred when she was in charge of 16 prisons in Iraq, and that were carried out by soldiers under her command. Karpinski believes that higher-ups are attempting to make her the public face of failed leadership.
WHITE HOUSE
Bush Aims To Avoid Father's Mistakes
President Vows Not To 'Cut And Run' In Iraq, To Stay On Top Of Kerry
(Washington Times, May 10, 2004, Pg. 1)
President Bush is resolved not to repeat what he thinks were the two fundamental blunders of his father's one-term presidency?abandoning Iraq and failing to vanquish the Democrats?according to a new book, "Misunderestimated: The President Battles Terrorism, John Kerry and the Bush Haters".
White House Defends Rumsfeld Following Testimony In Congress
(Wall Street Journal, May 10, 2004, Pg. 10)
The White House mounted a strong defense of embattled Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld in the wake of his congressional testimony on Friday on prisoner abuse in Iraq. "I think Donald Rumsfeld is the best secretary of defense the United States has ever had," said Vice President?and former Defense Secretary?Richard Cheney in a written statement issued Saturday.
Rice Says She And Bush 'Strongly' Support Rumsfeld
(New York Times, May 9, 2004, Pg. 4)
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld retains "the strongest possible support" from President Bush and the White House, the national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, said Saturday, a day after Rumsfeld testified for six hours in Congress about the abuse by Americans of Iraqi prisoners.
CONGRESS
Senators Want All Photos To Be Shown
(Washington Times, May 10, 2004, Pg. 1)
Key senators from both parties called on the Pentagon to quickly make public all photographs, videos and other evidence of prisoner abuse in Iraq, which the senators described as systemic. Meantime, the New Yorker magazine published a new photo of prisoner abuse reportedly taken in December. It shows a naked Iraqi prisoner with his hands behind his head, standing before two leashed dogs and their handlers.
Prisoner Abuse Scandal Puts McCain In Spotlight Once Again
(New York Times, May 10, 2004)
As the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal unfolds, Senator John McCain is, as he often is, in the center of the swirl on Capitol Hill. But now he has a bigger platform than ever, by dint of his unusual position as both a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a former prisoner of war.
Senate Considers Upgrading B-1 Bombers
(USA Today, May 10, 2004, Pg. 11)
The Senate Armed Services Committee wants to increase funding to modernize B-1B bombers such as those stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, one of the state's senators, Majority Leader Tom Daschle, said.
RUSSIA
U.S.-Russia Plutonium Disposal Project Languishing
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 17)
A U.S.-Russian plan to destroy 68 tons of plutonium stripped from bombs and warheads remains stalled, six years after it was announced, because of a disagreement over which country would pay if an accident?or sabotage?occurred in Russia. Despite intensive discussions within the Bush administration in recent weeks, a White House official conceded that the matter is "one of those things that have been on the one-yard line a long time."
AFGHANISTAN
News Brief
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 17)
U.S. forces swept through an Afghan province, detaining 35 Taliban suspects, including a rebel commander, an Afghan governor said. Hundreds of American soldiers began combing three districts of Zabul province, about 240 miles southeast of the capital, Kabul, on Friday,
As Heroin Flourishes, So Could Terror
(Philadelphia Inquirer, May 10, 2004, Pg. 1)
Heroin producers in Afghanistan, some of the principal financiers of Al Qaeda and other terrorists, have never been so brazen or so wealthy. With a bumper crop of opium poppies under cultivation, Afghan narco-barons have begun stamping their brand names on the 2.2-pound bags of heroin they smuggle out of Central Asia to buyers in Moscow, Amsterdam, London and New York.
NORTH KOREA
Talks On North Korean Nuclear Program To Resume In Beijing
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 22)
After a helpful push from China, which last month promised to double food assistance to North Korea, mid-level officials from the Pyongyang government will sit down Wednesday in Beijing with their counterparts from the United States, South Korea, Japan, China and Russia. The topic concerns ending North Korea's nuclear programs, though the North Koreans and Americans have not quite agreed on the precise agenda.
ASIA/PACIFIC
Pakistan Border Offensive Fails
Militants Refuse Surrender, Islamabad Amnesty Deal; U.S. Expresses Frustration
(Wall Street Journal, May 10, 2004, Pg. 15)
A much-touted Pakistani offensive against Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters operating along the country's northwest border with Afghanistan failed to reach its goals, analysts said, with President Pervez Musharraf's troops unable to apprehend any top Islamic militants. Tension between Pakistan and the U.S. was heightened with an incursion by American troops into Pakistani territory on May 2, which Washington said was inadvertent
EUROPE
Blair Offers An Apology For Abuses By Soldiers
(New York Times, May 10, 2004)
Prime Minister Tony Blair apologized for abuse of Iraqi prisoners by British soldiers as his government prepared to make a detailed statement in Parliament today about the investigations into mistreatment.
BUSINESS
CACI Defends Screening Of Interrogators
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 19)
Pentagon contractor CACI International said that its interrogators were carefully screened and worked under the supervision of the U.S. military in Iraqi detention centers. One of the company's employees, Steven Stefanowicz, is implicated in an Army report on prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib
OPINION
Rumsfeld Should Stay
William Safire
(New York Times, May 10, 2004)
"This secretary of defense, who has the strong support of the president, is both effective and symbolic. If he were to quit under political fire, pressure would mount for America to quit under insurgent fire. Hang in there, Rummy! You have a duty to serve in our 'long, hard slog.'"
Steady Hand In Rough Seas
Robert Andrews
(Washington Times, May 10, 2004, Pg. 19)
A former assistant secretary under Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld writes that those who committed the outrages at Abu Ghraib Prison not only betrayed their service and their country, "they also betrayed a good and honorable man."
Rumsfeld's Dysfunctional Pentagon
Robert D. Novak
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 25)
"Last week I talked to Republican members of Congress, GOP fundraisers and contributors, defense consultants, and even one senior official of a coalition partner. The clear consensus was that Rumsfeld had to go. 'There must be a neck cut,' said the foreign official, 'and there is only one neck of choice.'"
It's Time To Wonder What Iraq Is Doing To Change The U.S.
Gerald F. Seib
(Wall Street Journal, May 10, 2004, Pg. 11)
Whether Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stays or goes, America's war on terrorism has entered a new phase. The nation is grappling with the question: Is Iraq affecting America as much as America is affecting Iraq? There is little sign that President Bush's answer?that America has the power to change the world for the better, starting in Iraq?will be altered. But his challenge of convincing fellow Americans has become tougher.
For Bush, The Prison Abuse Scandal Brings His Political War Home
Ronald Brownstein
(Los Angeles Times, May 10, 2004)
"The greatest danger to the White House is that the scandal, after a month of grueling unrest and violence, will deepen concerns that Iraq is spiraling out of control. The public may be willing to accept a steady stream of casualties as the painful price of success; it will probably have much less tolerance for lives sacrificed to a mission in disarray."
For A 'New Imperialism'
Sebastian Mallaby
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 25)
The world needs a new style of imperialism to fight the war on terror. Wars of preemption should not be hostage to a United Nations veto. The Security Council should have a weighted system of voting, so that players like Russia or France get a reasonably big say but not the ability to block everything. And we need an international institution that pools nation-building expertise. When a financial crisis breaks out, we have the International Monetary Fund. When a security crisis demands nation-building, we need an International Reconstruction Fund."
Undercutting Mideast Democracy
Jackson Diehl
(Washington Post, May 10, 2004, Pg. 25)
The Bush administration's support of Libyan dictator Moammar Khdafi and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon show that, despite its New Year's resolution, the White House is not ready to change the old calculus of U.S. Middle East policy: Promotion of democracy remains the top priority?except when it conflicts with something else.