UNITED24 - Make a charitable donation in support of Ukraine!

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)


04 May 2004 - Iraq Special Weapons News

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

Current Operations

Deployments

  • Secretary of Defense Approves Iraq Troop Deployment 04 May 2004 -- The Secretary of Defense approved the deployment of approximately 10,000 servicemembers to replace elements of 1st Armored Division and 2nd Light Cavalry Regiment that were extended in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

US Policy

  • Coalition Provisional Authority Report, May 4: Iraq Update Washington File 04 May 2004 -- Physical contact, hooding, stress positioning, and questioning unclothed detainees are not authorized U.S. interrogation techniques in Iraq, the deputy commanding general of detention operations told reporters in Baghdad May 4.
  • IRAQ WRAP VOA 04 May 2004 -- Key lawmakers here in the United States are demanding to know why the U-S military failed to prevent the abuse of Iraqis detained by U-S soldiers at a prison near Baghdad, treatment that commanders now say amounted to criminal conduct. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says he hopes the images that have shocked the world are an isolated case. The U-S Army now says as many as 20 investigations are underway into other reports of assaults and deaths at additional facilities run by the military.
  • PENTAGON/IRAQ VOA 04 May 2004 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has denounced as deeply disturbing and un-American the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U-S military personnel. Mr. Rumsfeld is promising those responsible will be held accountable.
  • Army Ensuring Improvements to Detention Operations AFPS 04 May 2004 -- While investigations continue into charges of prisoner abuse at U.S. military detention facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, steps are already being taken to ensure that those in custody are treated "with dignity, respect and humanity," the Army vice chief of staff told Pentagon reporters today.
  • Rumsfeld Pledges to Take All Actions Needed at Abu Ghraib AFPS 04 May 2004 -- The Defense Department will take all actions necessary to find out what happened at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and see that the appropriate actions are taken, the department's top civilian leader said today.
  • MP Training Stresses Ethics, Values, Officials Say AFPS 04 May 2004 -- All American military police receive training in the ethical treatment of prisoners, detainees and refugees, officials here and at the Military Police School at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., said today.
  • Armitage Deplores Abuses of Iraqi Prisoners by U.S. Military Washington File 04 May 2004 -- Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said he is angered and saddened by recently released photos of U.S. servicemen and women abusing Iraqi prisoners.
  • Defense Department Report, May 4: Rumsfeld Vows Full Investigation Washington File 04 May 2004 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said May 4 that alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. Army Reservist military police guards at the Abu Ghraib Confinement Facility (BCCF) outside Baghdad was "totally unacceptable and un-American" and that the Department of Defense will take steps to bring those responsible to justice.
  • Powell Reassures Diplomats on Treatment of Iraqi Prisoners Washington File 04 May 2004 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell said he is deeply concerned about how photographs of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners will affect U.S. prestige around the world, adding that they "stunned every American" and distressed the military.
  • CONGRESS/IRAQ/PRISONERS VOA 04 May 2004 -- U-S lawmakers are demanding an explanation from the Bush administration regarding allegations that U-S military police abused Iraqi prisoners.
  • CONGRESS / IRAQ PRISONERS VOA 04 May 2004 -- U-S lawmakers are demanding an explanation from the Bush administration about allegations that U-S military police abused Iraqi prisoners.

  • CONGRESS/IRAQ OIL-FOR-FOOD VOA 04 May 2004 -- Two Republican members of the House of Representatives are urging the Bush administration to ensure full U-S government support for an independent investigation into the United Nations-managed "Oil-for-Food Program."
  • 9/11 Caused Reassessment of Saddam Threat, Policy Official Says AFPS 04 May 2004 -- After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America it became apparent to senior U.S. policy makers that Saddam Hussein and his regime had to go, the Defense Department's top policy official said here today.
  • Iraq: U.S. Changes Choice Of Al-Fallujah Security-Force Leader RFE/RL 04 May 2004 -- The U.S. military has dropped its plans to appoint a former Republican Guard general to head an Iraqi security force for Al-Fallujah, opting instead for a formerly exiled intelligence officer. But the circumstances surrounding the last-minute change are unclear -- as are the odds the new candidate will be able to end the Al-Fallujah crisis.

United Nations

Reconstruction Issues

  • Iraq: Ambitious Election Process Moves Ahead RFE/RL 04 May 2004 -- United Nations officials have launched the crucial process of selecting Iraq's election commission. The seven-member body will be responsible for preparing the country for three separate elections to be held by the end of January 2005. The UN expert directing the process says if security conditions in Iraq do not improve, the UN will advise against elections. But she noted eagerness on the part of Iraqis to move ahead toward elections and seize the chance to decide their own destiny.
  • IRAQ: Insecurity hinders election recruitment IRIN 04 May 2004 -- It’s too dangerous to even distribute applications in one region of the country to people who want to be on a new independent electoral commission being created by the United Nations, an election worker said in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad on Tuesday.

Foreign Reactions

News Reports

  • U-S / INTERROGATION VOA 04 May 2004 -- The revelations of abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U-S military guards has not only sent shock waves around the world, but fueled a debate about what is and is not permissible in the treatment of prisoners or detainees during wartime. For the professional interrogator, the lines in some forms of conduct are not always clear cut.
  • Iraq: Treatment Of Prisoners At Baghdad's Abu Ghurayb -- Abuse Or Torture? RFE/RL 04 May 2004 -- The reported abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. and British guards has been met with universal anger, from the West to the Middle East. Critics have used strong language to express their revulsion at the behavior depicted in photographs of the mistreatment. But do these pictures show what can be called abuse, or is it something more -- torture?
  • IRAQ: NGOs still active in north IRIN 04 May 2004 -- While the security situation has severely deteriorated in parts of central and southern Iraq over the past two or three months, NGOs still seem to be divided on whether the Kurdish-controlled north has taken a similar turn for the worse.




NEWSLETTER
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list