Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)





From the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI)

Sunday, 01 August 2004
                                                                                

Headlines
(Al-Shira, independent, political and general weekly, 31 July, 2004)-

·         Union of Iraqi Journalists: Raid on Al-Shira offices amounts to assassination of free press

·         New Iraqi Intelligence Agency responds to disclosures with fabricated accusations, threatens more

·         Interior Minister asserts Saddam-Al-Qa'idah links

·         Dr Al-Chalabi: It isn't proper for Allawi's government to allow one of its ministers to threaten Iraq's neighbours

·         Al-Zarqawi capture in Hadithah suburb confirmed by Iraqi sources

·         Baghdad Airport ready to receive in-coming flights, Ministry of Transport calls on liners to resume flights to Baghdad

·         Iraq working to resume oil exports through Tripoli sea terminal

·         Saddam refuses prostate surgery
(Al-Dustur, Baghdad, by Movement for the Hashimite Constitutional Royal Union, 31 July 2004) -
·         Powell in Baghdad, Allawi continuing tour, Saudi Arabia donating 1bn dollars to Iraq
·         Saddam's clinical death officially denied
·         Powell meets with Al-Yawar as end of hostage ultimatum draws close
·         Al-Sadr confirms his house was under siege, boycotts National Conference elections
·         Ma'sum: Iraqi National Conference to open two weeks behind schedule at UN's request
·         Dispatch of Arab troops to Iraq discussed at Troika meeting in Tunis
·         US military forbids troops to talk to Iraqi women

(Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London-based, Baghdad edition independent daily, Saudi-owned, 31 July, 2004)-
·         Powell warns Iran, NATO agrees on training Iraqi police
·         Saddam physically fit, to attend trial, says human rights minister
·         Bush lifts sanctions against Iraq
·         Basra police chief: Iran is sending plague-infected sheep into Iraq
·         US forces attack Al-Fallujah with artillery, warplanes
·         Al-Sadr advises Islamic countries not to send troops into Iraq, describes his own followers as ignorant
·         Mediator [negotiating release of hostages] hopeful as captors extend ultimatum for 24 hours

(Al-Iraqiya TV, Baghdad, in Arabic, 31 Jul 04)

·         Colin Powell on unannounced visit to Baghdad; meets President Ghazi al-Yawar. Video report covers visit, Powell talks with Al-Yawar
·         Iyad Allawi praises help given by United Arab Emirates
·         Powell reaffirms commitment to Iraq reconstruction
·         Thirteen killed in Fallujah clashes between gunmen and multinational force
·         Rocket hits home in central Baghdad
·         Iraq Friday preachers condemn bombings killing civilians on Wednesday 28 July
·         Iraq National Guard seizes weapons in Basra village
·         US President George Bush lifts sanctions imposed on former Iraq regime
·         Abu-Mus'ab al-Zarqawi group claims responsibility for abduction of Somali driver, threatens to behead him
·         Jordanian border authorities said to mistreat Iraqis travelling into Jordan
·         Iraqis returning from Iran happy with home-coming
·         Iraq southern border force marks graduation of new members
·         Saudi Arabia approves soft loans to Iraq; over $56 billion estimated cost of Iraq reconstruction; German firms interested in Iraq market.

Iraqi Defence Minister's Remarks on Iraq Cause a Stir- Baghdad Daily
(Baghdad, Baghdad, by the Iraqi National Accord Movement, 31 July, 2004)- [from commentary by Aziz al-Hajj]: "The statements made by the Iraqi defence minister on the flagrant Iranian intervention in Iraq's domestic affairs and those made by the Iraqi foreign minister on the subversive role being played by such Arab satellite TV channels as Al-Jazeera, Al-Arabiya, Al-Manar and Sahar have made quite a stir, provoking some official Arab quarters, as in the case of the foreign minister of occupied Lebanon, who volunteered to retort to [Iraqi Defence Minister] Al-Sha'lan's strong comments on Iranian involvement, in addition to some Arab media quarters to respond with hardly controlled rage. What I would like to say here is that these statements, which, incidentally, have been negatively received even by some Iraqi politicians, express an exemplary attitude that ought to be adopted by all senior Iraqi officials. The dauntless candour and truthfulness expressed in these statements is what they need, not the futile courtesies that have cost us so much since the interim Governing Council was installed."
Allawi's Tour Yields Short Term Arrangements
(Al-Dustur, Baghdad, by Movement for the Hashimite Constitutional Royal Union, 31 July 2004) - [From editorial]: "Some of the countries Allawi has visited on his current tour of Arab states in the region have shown a certain measure of caution in dealing with him as they see his government lacking in legitimacy because it has not been elected by the Iraqi people. Others have contented themselves with the idea that this government enjoys global legitimacy endorsed by the Security Council. The result of this ambivalence is that Allawi's tour has yielded only short-term agreements, but no strategic deal with any of these countries."
Bush Seeks Securing US Interests through Reconstruction Plan in Iraq
(Al-Mada is issued daily by Al-Mada institution for Media, Culture, and Arts, 31 July, 2004)- [From commentary by Dr Tawfiq al-Marayati]: "From the economic point of view, the Bush plan for the reconstruction of Iraq is in essence a scheme to secure US economic interests in this country through direct control of major oil resources to meet future US demands for energy. This is a fact borne out by statistics."

  
Updates from Iraqi Kurdish Press
From UNAMI - Erbil
M. Barzani: Kirkuk Is Kurdistan, Referendum After Normalization
(Khabat daily, Erbil 1 August 2004) - In an interview with a Turkish periodical magazine, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Massoud Barzani said the Kirkuk issue would be settled in a two-stage roadmap: First, the Arab settlers will be evicted from Kirkuk and the detached districts will be re-linked to the city. Specialized committees set up for this purpose are working on this right now. In the second stage a referendum will be carried out in the city after restoring the normal demographic situation. Historic evidences prove that 65% of the Kirkuk populations are Kurds and they will have decisive word on Kirkuk future, the KDP leader asserted.
21st Anniversary of The Barzanis' Genocide
(Khabat daily, Erbil 31 July 2004) - (editorial) July 31st is the 21st anniversary of Saddam's mass detention of the Barzanis. On that specific day, Saddam's defunct republican guards and elite forces seined the collective towns where the Barzanis forcibly settled. About 8,000 male Barzanis were taken and never heard of since then. That was not Saddam's fist crime against the Kurds, but it was definitely a dangerous prelude to the vast crimes that reached the peak with gassing Halabja, and the killing hundreds of thousands Kurds in the infamous Anfal operations in Garmyan and Badinan areas. Once in power, Saddam had arrogantly admitted the killing of the Barzanis. There are also documents proving that the massacre of the Barzanis was carried out under Saddam's personal directives. Today, Saddam and his top criminal aides are facing the justice and the Barzanis' genocide is one of the charges they are face.
KRG Peshmarga Minister, MNF Delegation Discuss N. Korean Troops Dispatch
(Khabat daily, Erbil 1 August 2004) - The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Peshmarga Affairs received yesterday a senior delegation of the multi-national forcers in Iraq (MNF) comprising high-ranking officers from Australia, the USA, Italy and North Korea. The major discussion point was the dispatch of the dispatch North Korean troops in Erbil Governorate as part of Kurdistan and Iraq reconstruction and the cooperation between the Korea Army and KRG departments.
Kirkuk Governor: No Census Without Normalization
(Hawal weekly, Kirkuk 31 July 2004) - In a televised interview aired this week in Kirkuk, the Governor shed light on the preparations underway for the conduction of a census in Iraq and Kirkuk saying that many displaced Kirkukees could not return to their places of origin yet. The census will not be in the favor of the Kirkukees without normalizing the situation through bringing back the displaced Kurds and Turkmans and sending back the Arab settlers to their places [in southern and central Iraq], the Governor explained.
Kirkuk Is Kurdistan, 9 Turkman Political Groups Say
(Kurdistani Nwe daily, Sulaymanya 30 July 2004) - 9 Turkman political parties and groups visited Sulaymanya and met jointly with the PUK politburo Thursday for discussion of the status quoi in Kirkuk and development of Kurdish-Turkmani relations. The two sides signed a 7-point agreement, the fourth of which describes Kirkuk as part of Kurdistan and calls for making it a city of peace and fraternity and eliminating the traces of the ethnic cleansing that was practiced against the Kurds, Turkmans and the Chaldo-Assyrians.
32 Refugee Families Return Home, IDPs supported
(Khabat daily, Erbil 30 July 2004) - IRC, an NGO affiliated to the UNHCR helped a convoy of 32 refugee families totaling 134 persons return home after living in Iran since 1980. The returnees are from the Feili Kurds whom Saddam regime evicted from the country in 1980. On the domestic level, the KRG provided tents and household relief items to 85 IDPs families who returned to their villages of origin in Dibis district (40 Km NE Kirkuk) in cooperation with the local authorities there. Another 250 returned families were also supported few days ago.
8 Schools Renovated, More Waiting
(Khabat daily, Erbil 1 August 2004) - The Education Department in Erbil started the renovation of 8 primary schools in 8 village of Soran district 110 Km north of Erbil. An engineer said that more schools will be constructed or renovated in other districts of Erbil in a near future, said Nahro Saeed, Chief of Engineering Section at the education department.

(Iraqi Kurdistan satellite TV , on 31 July)
·         Colin Powell meets Ghazi al-Yawar in Baghdad
·         Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih visits victims of Ba'qubah car-bomb attack on 28 July
·         Patriotic Union of Kurdistan delegation visits Scottish parliament for consultation on Scotland's federalism as model for Iraqi Kurdistan
·         Chairman of Iraqi National Conference Fu'ad Ma'sum says two weeks delay in conference related to technical issues, not political reasons
·         PUK officials meet Turkoman delegation representing nine parties and organizations; political development discussed
·         Thirteen killed and 25 injured in clashes between insurgents and coalition forces in Al-Fallujah
·         Ghazi al-Yawar renews support for federalism in interview with Iraq Republic Radio.

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NB: This is not an official document. The information contained therein was compiled by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, Information Office . If you have any questions/suggestions, please contact us at (+ 962 550 -4629/4631 or Cell. + 962 77619731 jarrar@un.org <mailto:jarrar@un.org>