Tag: War

No-Fly Definace Bothers ‘Dickens’ Out Of Rumsfeld

Just about everyone covered Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's remarks on the "defiance" of Iraq in the no-fly zones, which seems to be the Iraqi-evil-of-the-day at the White House. The no-fly zones were established by the US, Britain and France to protect minority ethnic groups in Iraq after the Gulf War. "It bothers the dickens out of me that US and British pilots are getting fired at day after day after day, with impunity," says Rumsfeld. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer announced that attacks on US and British patrols have increased in frequency since the September 16th consent from Iraq to unconditional weapons inspections.

Two Republicans Hold Bush Down

The Washington Post has Sens. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) asking the President to work harder on building coalitions and support, both at home and abroad.

"I don't understand why the president would not want all the congressional and international support he can get if, in fact, the last option is taking a nation to war," Hagel said in an interview yesterday, a few hours after questioning Bush's broader policy of preemption in a major foreign policy speech. "The allies want to have a say, and should have a say, in how we initiate this effort."
The Administration rejected an alternative resolution put forward by the two Senators. WaPo says that a compromise resolution will be ready as early as today. The major sticking point seems to be the role of the UN: the Bush Administration does not want Congressional approval contingent on UN approval, moderates from both parties would rather see the President craft a coalition before military action. Bush, though, would like to have Congressional backing in his negotiations with China, France and Russia -- any one of which could veto a UN resolution.

Anti-War Protests in London and Rome

In London, between 150,000 (the official estimate) and 400,000 (the organizer's estimate) people marched through London to protest military action in Iraq. The march was organized by the Stop the War Coalition and the Muslim Association of Britain, and included London Mayor Ken Livingstone, a number of Anglican Bishops, and former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter. It was also meant to protest Israel's policy against Palestinians in the West Bank. There were three arrests.

In Rome, 100,000 people attended a demonstration organized by the Communist Refoundation party.

Bush Meets With Congress

Bush met with Democratic leaders Wednestday, in an attempt to soften the damage from the very public accusations flying in the last few days. Immediately after the meeting, House Minority Leader [redacted] Gephardt used his press conference to highlight the Democratic domestic agenda, and Bush reiterated his agenda for Iraq. Bush said that the debate between parties is "deliberate, civil and thorough," and also says that he's close to an agreement on the draft resolution against Iraq.

Iraq Trained Al Qaeda

After some inspecific hints from Secretary Rumsfeld and President Bush, National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice has announced on PBS's "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" that there is specific and documented evidence that Iraq helped train al Qaeda. "This is a story that is unfolding, and it is getting clear, and we're learning more. ... When the picture is clear, we'll make full disclosure about it," Rice said. She was also careful to not draw any connection between Hussein and September 11th: "we don't want to push this too far." This information apparently came from Al Qaeda detainees, and was released about two months ago. It's getting another hearing this week, for obvious reasons.