Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)


13 May 2004 - Iraq Special Weapons News

Operations
Deployments
US Policy
United Nations
Reconstruction Issues
Foreign Reactions
News Reports

Current Operations

Deployments

US Policy

  • CHARGES AGAINST SOLDIER REFERRED TO GENERAL COURT-MARTIAL 13 May 2004 -- Lt. Gen. Thomas F. Metz, commanding general of III Corps, referred charges against Staff Sgt. Ivan Frederick II to a general court-martial on May 5.

  • U.S. Troops Will Stay Until Iraq Is Stable, Says Abizaid Washington File 13 May 2004 -- U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) head, General John Abizaid, says U.S. military forces will remain in Iraq long enough to make the country stable, despite his prediction of difficult and perhaps violent times ahead.
  • Congressional Report, May 13: Iraqi Prisoner Abuse Resolution Washington File 13 May 2004 -- The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution condemning Iraqi prisoner abuse and calling for a full investigation and accounting of abuses at the Abu Ghraib central correctional prison (BCCF) west of Baghdad.
  • Rumsfeld, Myers Meet with U.S. Military at Abu Ghraib Prison Washington File 13 May 2004 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says there are at least a half-dozen investigations under way to find out who was involved in the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners while they were in U.S. custody in Iraq and to bring them to justice.
  • IRAQ/ DIPLOMAT TRAINING VOA 13 May 2004 -- The U-S embassy due to open in Iraq will be the largest American mission in the world. It will draw staff from a variety of backgrounds and experience. For many it will be their first exposure to the Middle East and Arab and Islamic culture. An independent research firm in Washington has produced a special training video to help prepare them for the job.
  • CONGRESS / IRAQ FUNDS VOA 13 May 2004 -- President Bush has formally sent Congress his request for an initial 25 billion dollars for continued military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for the next budget year beginning October first. U-S lawmakers are confident the money will be approved, but many are opposed to his request for flexibility in the way it is to be used.
  • CONGRESS/IRAQ SOVEREIGNTY VOA 13 May 2004 -- There has been more heated debate between members of Congress and U-S officials over the question of the powers a transitional Iraqi government will have after the transfer of sovereignty on June 30th.
  • IRAQ WRAP VOA 13 May 2004 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has made a surprise visit to Iraq, meeting with American troops and touring the prison where Iraqis were abused by American soldiers.
  • Rumsfeld Arrives in Baghdad to Visit Troops, Meet with Leaders AFPS 13 May 2004 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld arrived in Baghdad today for a surprise visit to U.S. troops and to meet with military and Coalition Provisional Authority officials.
  • Rumsfeld, Myers Visit Abu Ghraib Prison AFPS 13 May 2004 -- The United States' top military and civilian defense officials saw firsthand today improvements being made at Iraq's Baghdad Central Correction Facility, more commonly known as Abu Ghraib prison.
  • PENTAGON/RUMSFELD VOA 13 May 2004 -- Buffeted by criticism and calls for his dismissal at home, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made a surprise visit to Iraq, meeting with cheering U-S troops and taking a firsthand tour of the notorious prison where soldiers mistreated Iraqi prisoners.
  • IRAQ / WRAP VOA 13 May 2004 -- Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld made a surprise visit to Baghdad Thursday, as fighting intensified in southern Iraq.
  • EDITORIAL: THE U-S COMMITMENT TO IRAQ VOA 13 May 2004 -- The United States is committed to the emergence of a democratic and secure Iraq. The U.S.-led coalition is on the offensive against remnants of the Saddam Hussein regime, foreign terrorists, and extremists who oppose Iraqi progress.

United Nations

  • In Iraq, Brahimi continues talks on political transition UN News Centre 13 May 2004 -- United Nations Special Adviser Lakhdar Brahimi continued his consultations in Iraq today, meeting with a former head of government as part of the effort to prepare for the transition to sovereignty set for 30 June.

Reconstruction Issues

Foreign Reactions

  • BRITAIN / IRAQ VOA 13 May 2004 -- A British defense minister said in Parliament Thursday that controversial photos published earlier this month by the Daily Mirror newspaper could not have been taken in Iraq. The photographs allegedly showed a British soldier urinating on a hooded Iraqi detainee.

News Reports

  • Iraq: U.S. Facing Its Greatest Challenges To Date In Iraq RFE/RL 13 May 2004 -- The challenges in Iraq for the U.S. administration have never been greater. Among the toughest are coping with a crisis of confidence generated by the photos of abuse of Iraqi prisoners and quelling the insurgency of radical Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
  • Western Press Review: Abuses, Atrocities In Iraq Dominate Commentary RFE/RL 13 May 2004 -- Rarely does a single topic dominate commentary in the press as the topic of the Iraq war -- its abuses and atrocities -- dominates today.
  • RFE/RL Iraq Report, Volume 7, Number 17 13 May 2004 -- COALITION BATTLES AL-MAHDI ARMY THROUGHOUT IRAQ... / ...AS NEGOTIATIONS REPORTEDLY STILL UNDERWAY / U.S. GENERAL SAYS COALITION WAITED TOO LONG TO ARREST AL-SADR. / AL-BASRAH GOVERNOR DENIES U.K. FORCES COMMITTED HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS / AL-QAEDA-AFFILIATED WEBSITE POSTS VIDEO OF AMERICAN BEHEADED IN IRAQ / BOMB DETONATES IN NORTHERN IRAQI MARKET / DIYALA GOVERNOR SURVIVES ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT / U.S. GENERAL SAYS COURT-MARTIAL WILL NOT BE SHOW TRIAL / SOURCE SAYS KURDS NOT SERIOUS ABOUT UNIFYING ADMINISTRATIONS / KURDS ARREST SUSPECTED TERRORISTS / KURDISH OFFICIAL DENIES KURDS FORMING SEPARATE ARMY / U.S. GENERAL PLEASED WITH SITUATION IN AL-FALLUJAH / NEW IRAQI POLITICAL GROUP FORMED / ARAB FOREIGN MINISTERS PREPARE DRAFT RESOLUTION ON IRAQ / SYRIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES NEW BORDER CROSSING / JORDAN HOSTS SUMMIT ON IRAQ / BRAHIMI CONTINUES DISCUSSIONS WITH IRAQIS ON TRANSFER OF SOVEREIGNTY... / ...AS IRAQI ELECTIONS APPEAR ON TRACK / UNICEF 'DISTURBED' BY ALLEGATIONS OF ABUSE OF DETAINED CHILDREN / ICRC SAYS PRISON ABUSE IN IRAQ TANTAMOUNT TO TORTURE / U.K. DEFENSE SECRETARY SUGGESTS PHOTOS OF BRITISH SOLDIERS ABUSING IRAQIS ARE FAKE / RUSSIAN HOSTAGES TO BE RELEASED / ITALY SAYS 'SURPRISED' BY IRAQ TORTURE ALLEGATIONS / DOMINICAN TROOPS DEPART IRAQ