ORIGINAL MATERIAL PRODUCED BY THE GLOBAL BEAT SYNDICATE Mark Burgess: on Madrid's new lessons about terrorism Nigel Chamberlain: on the missile defense debate in Britain Ehsan Ahrari: on the administration's credibility Jerry White: on the need for a global ban on landmines

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U.S. State Department's
Report on Patterns of Global Terrorism for 2002

The US State Department's Report on Patterns of Global Terrorism for 2001

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Iraqi Shiites protest the U.S. decision to close Al Hawza, for allegedly inaccurate reporting and inflaming anti-American feelings.

L. PAUL BREMER ORDERS A POPULAR IRAQI NEWSPAPER CLOSED AND SENDS U.S. TROOPS TO PADLOCK ITS DOORS

Moktada's followers protest what they see as U.S. censorship

Among other things, the widely read anti-American newspaper, which supports Iraqi shiite leader, Moktada al-Sadr, had reported rumors that a lethal explosion which ripped through a hotel had been caused by a U.S. missile fired from an Apache helicopter and that U.S. envoy Larry Bremer was resorting to tactics similar to those of Saddam. The newspaper's closing led to angry crowds demanding to know what had happened to America's promises for democracy and free speech. Bremer's action underscores the dilemma of the war in Iraq. While the Bush administration is determined to turn sovereignty over to Iraqi control in time to clear the decks for the U.S. presidential elections, the situation is so politically unstable that it is hard to see how a U.S.- appointed government, with no real domestic power base, will avoid sliding into civil war.
•Report in the New York Times
•The Committee to Protect Journalists points out that Al Hawza is not the first time that the U.S. administration in Iraq has felt obliged to exert control over Iraqi news media.

TV journalist Ali al-Khatib died from wounds when US troops opened fire on his car at a checkpoint

U.S. ADMITS TO ACCIDENTALLY SHOOTING TWO ARAB JOURNALISTS IN IRAQ
US troops opened fire on a car attempting to avoid a checkpoint and accidentally hit a different car being driven by Al-Khatib and Ali Abd al-Aziz, which was about 350 yards away. Both men were working for a satellite TV network based in Dubai. The U.S. command says that the G.I.'s were operating according to the U.S. rules of engagement. (Reuters in Al Jazeera, March 29, 2004).

POLICE SEIZE HALF A TON OF EXPLOSIVES IN ENGLAND
A roundup of suspects not connected to the IRA or the Spanish bombings, netted nearly a half ton of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer that becomes a powerful explosive when mixed with gasoline. The Independent reports from London (March 30, 2004)

THE PHILIPPINES CLAIMS TO HAVE INTERCEPTED ANOTHER BOMB PLOT
Authorities claim to ahve captured 80 lbs of TNT after arresting suspects believed to belong tothe radical Islamic movement, Abu Sayyaf. (BBC, March 30, 2004)

NATO WELCOMES FORMER EAST BLOC NATIONS INTO THE ALLIANCE
Monday's ceremonial welcoming of 7 former Communist countries into the Western alliance marks the beginning of a new era, although some question the relevance of NATO in a post-Cold War world, and others fear that the move may scare Russia which still has the nuclear weapons that count. The BBC provides a quick summary of the issues involved and links to background material. (BBC, March 29, 2004)
•Russia says it is ready to deal with any potential threat from NATO (Mosnews.com, March 29, 2004)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE FOLLOWS RICHARD CLARKE ON 60 MINUTES
Until the White House caved in and decided to let Condoleezza Rice testify under oath at some future date to the 9/11 commission, the embattled National Security Adviser had found herself in the bizarre position of speaking to just about everyone except the U.S. Congress. Rice's explanation was that she did not want to set a precedent that might lead to presidential aides being forced to reveal confidential information about the Executive Branch. The impression that was created, however, was of more confusion in an already murky administration. The political cost of not testifying eventually outweighed any benefit that might have been achieved by holding the line.There has been some speculation that Rice's reticence may be part of strategy intended to prepare a defense against demands that the President explain his own actions to Congress under oath. While Rice disagreed with Clarke's interpretation of events on television over the weekend, she confirmed that George Bush had asked about links between Iraq and 9/11 immediately after the attack.
•Rice on 60 Minutes
•Richard Clarke with Tim Russert on NBC's Meet The Press
•Transcript of the 9/11 Hearings on Tuesday
•Transcript of the 9/11 Hearings on Wednesday
•National Commission on Terrorist Attacks against the United States website.
•Paul Krugman: Most of what Clarke has said is what we have known all along
•David Corn in the Nation on what the Commission is missing

BLISTERING U.N. REPORT CRITICIZES OFFICIAL'S FAILURE TO GRASP DANGERS OF WORKING IN IRAQ
The report notes that U.N. staffers in Iraq mistakenly thought that the fact that their status with the United Nations had placed them outside the line of fire. (U.N. News Service, March 29, 2004)
•Full text of the report

CURVEBALL SOURCE FOR INTELLIGENCE ON WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION WAS A KNOWN FABRICATOR
According to the Los Angeles Times, much of the information about alleged Iraqi biological weapons laboratories came indirectly via German intelligence from a known-fabricator who was codenamed, "Curveball." The source turned out to be an aide to Ahmed Chalabi, a figure who was propelled to prominence by close aides to George Bush. Curveball's information seemed to support vice president Dick Cheney's now discredited contention that Iraq was somehow involved in 9/11--a thesis that nearly all bona fide intelligence services now reject. Curveball is now the subject of a series of investigations by the CIA, the Senate and the House, looking into why so much intelligence information leading up to the war with Iraq was seriously flawed. (By Bob Drogin and Greg Miller, Los Angeles Times, March 28, 2004)

ISRAELI PANEL SAYS THAT MOST OF THE ISRAELI INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION ON IRAQ'S ALLEGED WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION WAS BASED ON SPECULATION
The intelligence establishment's determinations regarding Saddam Hussein's nonconventional capabilities and the existence of ground-to-ground missiles in Iraq was based largely on speculation rather than reliable information, a Knesset panel said in a report yesterday...
"The lessons of the war in Iraq are a warning light that the intelligence estimates could be turned from a working instrument into a useless one," Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman MK Yuval Steinitz, who headed the panel, told a news conference. (Haaretz, March 29, 2004)

For a more comprehensive survey on Iraq and missed intelligence opportunities, read the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's report: Iraq & WMD

UZBEKISTAN EXPLOSION MARKS A CHANGE IN STYLE
A series of bombs that killed 19 people and wounded dozens more has Uzbekistan government leaders talking about international terrorism--especially since this style of terrorism hasn't existed in Uzbekistan before. Ourside observers are skeptical. (Eurasianet, March 29, 2004)
•BBC on bombing

SERBIA'S DRIFT TOWARDS NATIONALISM COULD REIGNITE THE BALKANS
The International Crisis Group warns that attitudes in Serbia are beginning to recall the mood under Milosevic, despite Milosevic's absence. ICG cautions that unless the U.S. and Europe move preemptively, the region could regress into more violence. (ICG, March 25, 2004)

NEED FOR A COORDINATED NATIONAL SECURITY BUDGET IN THE U.S.
While the Bush administration talks about fighting the war on terror, it has concentrated most of its resources on military force, ignoring other critical components of an effective strategy. As a result, the military will get seven times the resources alloted for homeland security and other forms of non-military security programs combined. (Marcus Corbin, FPIF, March 25, 2004)

LIBYA WAS A RARE SUCCESS IN NON-PROLIFERATION
U.S. and British inspection teams recovered 55,000 lbs of uranium hexaflouride--the largest quantity of nuclear material by weight ever recovered in the struggle against proliferation. The negotiations with Libya have been a rare success in the struggle against proliferation. (Spencer Abrams, U.S. Department of Energy briefing, March 29, 2004)

Pablo Torres Guerrero's photograph, strategically cropped U.S. MEDIA: HOW MUCH TRUTH IN A PHOTO? Writing in his column on photojournalism in Poynter Online, Kenneth F. Irby takes a fascinating look at just how much reality editors feel their readers can stand. Many of the world's news editors picked the same photograph to illustrate the recent terrorist bombings in Madrid. But while the publications were all shown the same initial image taken by El Pais photographer Pablo Torres Guerror, the image that went into print was digitally altered or cropped by most publications. The problem was part of a severed human leg lying on the ground in the forefront. TIME Magazine thought that was more than its sheltered family-oriented audience could stomach, so Photo editor Mary Ann Golon covered the offending part with strategically placed typography. USA Today also flinched at showing the entire scene. In contrast, the Washington Post ran the entire photograph on its front page in color, arguing that its readers should be allowed to know the full extent of what happened. In Britain, the Daily Telegraph digitally removed the body part. The Guardian changed the color from red to gray. Irby offers illustrations of how each publication handled the photograph. He is not necessarily against shielding readers from gruesome images, but he suggests that editors should tell readers when they alter what is actually there. •Ken Irby in Poynter Online • Tim Luckhurst on the ethical issues in London's Independent Sharon's future under a troubling cloud David Appel accused of buying influence FACING BRIBERY CHARGES, ARIEL SHARON'S FUTURE IS CLOUDED In the late 1990s, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was Israel's foreign minister, and businessman David Appel wanted his political clout in obtaining a Greek Island for a resort development project. Sharon allegedly told Appel that the "Island is in our hands." Appel allegedly replied, "Your son will be very rich." The indictment, which accuses Sharon of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars as a bribe, might have been quietly sidelined, except that someone in the office of Israel's State Prosecutor, Edna Arbel, leaked it to the press. Israel's Attorney General Menachem Mazuz will have a difficult time not following through on the investigation, and some members of the Knesset are now suggesting that it may be time for Sharon, 76, to step aside. •Background to the scandal in Haaretz •Text of the indictment (Haaretz) •The strategy behind leaking the indictment (Haaretz) •Time for Sharon to step aside? (JTA)

The Security Policy Working Group

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