Military

WAR ON TERRORISM

¨         CIA Director George Tenet said the United States must draw closer to the Muslim world if it wants to win the war against terror. Tenet said it was a "strategic imperative" to support democracy and reform among Muslim nations. Otherwise, he said, Arab and Muslim nations will be vulnerable to al-Qaida and other terrorist groups. "We are not at war with Islam," Tenet said Wednesday at a dinner given by the Nixon Center in Washington. "Let there be no doubt that day by day we are winning the war," he said. But, Tenet said, the United States must deal with the circumstances that nurture terror by supporting education and social services, enlarging opportunities for people in the Muslim world. "The safety of our country is in the balance," he added. (AP 120508 Dec 02)

IRAQ

¨         Germany's opposition to an attack on Iraq won't change when it joins the UN Security Council next month, a senior member of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's party said in remarks published on Wednesday that suggested Berlin might abstain or vote against a UN resolution authorizing force. "We have our own opinion on the question of a military intervention in Iraq, and we'll make it clear," Franz Muentefering, the leader in parliament of Schroeder's Social Democrats, was quoted as saying by the Rheinische Post daily. (AP 111936 Dec 02)

¨         Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said on Wednesday that Germany would not pull its crews off NATO early warning aircraft over Turkey in any war with Iraq, potentially exposing him to accusations of softening his anti-war position. "Germany will fullfil its obligations towards the Alliance...and that naturally also means protecting Alliance territory, and Turkey is a NATO partner," Schroeder told ARD television on Wednesday. (Reuters 112229 GMT Dec 02)

¨         Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey might consider calling a referendum on its role in any possible U.S.-led attack on neighbouring Iraq, the Anatolian news agency reported. "We are a democratic country and in democracies the onus is on parliament to make such a decision," said Erdogan, answering reporters' questions on a plane to Copenhagen from the United States, where he met President Bush. "But if necessary the people should be consulted, their opinion sought. These are means that can be used in such situations. I said this to Mr Bush. If there is time, then a referendum can be carried out," Anatolian quoted him as saying. (Reuters 111452 GMT Dec 02)

NATO

¨         Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze said Wednesday that his country could be ready to join NATO in two to three years. "If we work intensively and find the necessary budget funds, then the process of adaptation to NATO standards will not take 10 or 15 years for Georgia, but two or three," Shevardnadze said at a meeting with his Cabinet. (AP111753 Dec 02)

RUSSIA

¨         Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard Myers visited a Russian missile-attack warning site on Wednesday, a day after he flew in a Russian fighter jet during a visit to Moscow and some of the military installations on its outskirts. Gen. Myers visited a missile and space defense command post in Solnechnogorsk outside the capital, the U.S. Embassy said. The U.S. military leader was accompanied by the commander of Russia's Space Forces, Col.-Gen. Anatoly Perminov, the Interfax-Military news agency reported. The ITAR-Tass news agency said that Gen. Myers and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov discussed cooperation on early warnings of missile attacks, responses to unauthorized ballistic missile launches and measures to complete the construction of a joint center to exchange information on these issues. Gen. Myers made no public comments, and the visit was closed to the media. (AP 111949 Dec 02)

OTHER NEWS

¨         The U.S. Navy released the shipment of North Korean-made Scud missiles it had seized, sending the vessel and its cargo on their way to the original destination of Yemen. The decision followed high-level contact Wednesday between Yemeni and U.S. officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell. A White House spokesman said the United States had authority to stop and search the vessel, but not to seize it. A senior Bush administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Yemen pledged not to purchase missiles in the future from communist North Korea. Even before the shipment was stopped, Yemen had agreed in principle to stop dealing with North Korea, but the agreement had not yet taken effect. The official Saba news agency said the United States had assured Yemen that the shipment would be released as long as the Yemen-North Korea deal was concluded on legal basis. (AP 120213 Dec 02)

¨         A former Washington Post reporter won an appeal on Wednesday exempting him from testifying at the UN war crimes tribunal, in a ruling that gives war correspondents a special status under international law. The five judges said in most cases it was in the public interest to give war correspondents freedom to report without worrying that they may later be asked to betray their sources in court. The appeal was brought by retired reporter Jonathan Randal, who was summoned in the case of Radovan Brdjanin, a Bosnian Serb leader he interviewed in 1993 and accused of ethnic cleansing. Florence Hartmann, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office, said it would have to review the ruling before deciding whether it will subpoena Randal again. (AP 111930 Dec 02)

¨         A senior U.S. envoy said Thursday that China shares American concern about North Korea's nuclear program and is expected to urge "different behavior" on its isolated, secretive ally. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who was in Beijing for wide-ranging talks on Iraq, North Korea and other issues, didn't give any details. But his comments added to indications by U.S. officials that China has expressed willingness to act on appeals to try to influence North Korea. China's Foreign Ministry said it had no immediate comment on the talks with Armitage, who was to meet later Thursday with Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and Vice Premier Qian Qichen, the government's top foreign policy official. (AP 120358 Dec 02)

¨         Spain and Morocco's foreign ministers met in Madrid on Wednesday, taking a step toward restoring diplomatic ties which were seriously affected by a military crisis this summer. Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio said they agreed to set up working groups to iron out their differences on a variety of issues. She gave no concrete details of the talks but said no issue was treated in great depth. The ambassador issue was discussed, a ministry spokesman said, but no agreement was reached on the diplomats resuming their posts. (AP 111947 Dec 02)