Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Wednesday, 8 Dec 2004

IRAQI NEWS FOR 7 DEC 2004
·         US forces arrest Palestinian refugees at Baghdad offices- Al-Sharqiyah
·         US forces, gunmen engage in "violent" clashes in Samarra-Al-Sharqiyah
·         National Assembly discusses corruption in state bodies- Voice of the Mujahidin
·         Diyala police chief dismissed- Al-Diyar TV
·         Iraq election body rejects UN envoy's stand- Al-Sharqiyah TV
·         Iraqi ministry suspends Mobile Phone Company- Iraq for All News
·         Ministry shuts down Baghdad ``Al-Nafidhah newspaper''- Al-Jazeera
·         Baghdad Al-Diyar TV to begin transmission over European satellite on 8 Dec
IRAQI MEDIA PROGRAMME SUMMARIES 7 DEC 04:
·         Dar al-Salam Radio Arabic 7 Dec 04:
·         Al-Diyar TV Arabic 7 Dec 04:
·         Al-Sharqiyah TV news 7 Dec 04:
·         Al-Iraqiyah TV news 7 December 04:
IRAQI PRESS HEADLINES ON 7 DECEMBER
·         Al-Nahdhah [Baghdad, political daily newspaper]:
·         Al-Mu'tamar [Baghdad, daily newspaper published by the Iraqi National Congress Party]:
IRAQI PRESS QUOTES ON 7 DECEMBER
·         Pro-Saddam Ba'th party leaders conference in Syria; involvement in violence- Al-Dustur
·         ``Israel and its image as the sole democracy in the region'' - Baghdad
·         ``Attemptings to sell the call for postponing elections''- Al-Mada
·         Iraqi elections: preparations may be alien to any other country in similar situation- Al-Zaman
UPDATES FROM IRAQI KURDISH PRESS, 7 DECEMBER 2004
·         Khabat daily, issued in Erbil by the KDP, 6-7 December 2004
·         Kurdistani Nwe daily, issued in Sulaymanya by the PUK, 5-6 December 2004
·         www.peyamner.com 7 December 2004
·         Chawder weekly, issued in Sulaymanya by Mala Bakhtyar [PUK politburo member], 6 December 2004
·         Jamawar weekly, issued in Erbil by a number of independent Journalists, 6 December 2004

IRAQI NEWS FOR 7 Dec 2004
US forces arrest Palestinian refugees at Baghdad offices- Al-Sharqiyah

Al-Sharqiyah Satellite Channel, Baghdad, in Arabic, 7 Dec 04: Dalil al-Qassus, the Palestinian charge d'affaires in Baghdad, has said that US forces arrested 10 Palestinian refugees in Baghdad on 6 November after raiding the offices of the Palestinian Red Crescent and Haifa Sports Club, Al-Sharqiyah TV reported on 7th. He added that a number of Palestinian houses had also been targeted. The TV said US forces confiscated computers, records and iron safes from the Palestinian Red Crescent and the Haifa Sports Club. Al-Qassus called for the release of the detainees and the return of the items that were confiscated. [According to AFP, the US military issued a statements saying "several suspected senior level transnational terrorists, including key leaders, operatives and financiers" were captured in the operation late on 6th. "This operation put a serious dent in the transnational terrorism in Baghdad," it said.

US forces, gunmen engage in "violent" clashes in Samarra-Al-Sharqiyah
Al-Sharqiyah Satellite Channel, Baghdad, in Arabic, 7 Dec 04: Reported "violent" clashes in Al-Qadisiyah neighbourhood north of Samarra City on 7 December.
National Assembly discusses corruption in state bodies- Voice of the Mujahidin

SCIRI's Voice of the Mujahidin in Arabic, 7 Dec 04: The National Assembly met to discuss the administrative corruption in state departments and establishments, Voice of the Mujahidin radio reported on 7 December. "During the session, the head of the commission presented a detailed report shedding light on many transgressions on various state levels," the radio said.

Diyala police chief dismissed- Al-Diyar TV

Al-Diyar Satellite Channel In Arabic, Baghdad, 7 Dec 04: The Ministry of Interior has dismissed Maj-Gen Walid Khalid Abd-al-Salam, police commander of the Diyala governorate, Al-Diyar TV reported on 7 December. The governorate's Governing Council chose Col Iyad Husayn al-Karkhi as his "interim" replacement, the TV added. In addition, four candidates were named for the post of the governorate's Education Department director.

Iraq election body rejects UN envoy's stand- Al-Sharqiyah TV

Al-Sharqiyah Satellite Channel, Baghdad, in Arabic, 7 Dec 04:: The Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq, which is supervising the elections, has rejected statements by UN envoy Lakhdar Ibrahimi that it will be impossible to hold elections as scheduled in January, Baghdad's Al-Sharqiyah Television reported on 7 December. Commission spokesman Farid Ayar described Ibrahimi's statement as "a personal opinion that is not binding on anyone". Ayar said the commission would not extend the period for receiving the candidacy lists beyond Friday 10 December for all parts of Iraq, except the governorates of Mosul, Salah-al-Din, and Al-Anbar, where the deadline was mid-December. The commission would begin printing approximately 60 m ballot papers one week from now. The name of the political movement's leader and a unique number for each movement could also be added to the ballot paper.

Iraqi ministry suspends Mobile Phone Company- Iraq for All News

Iraq For All News Network, 7 Dec 04: The Iraqi Ministry of Telecommunications has suspended the work of the ORASCOM mobile phone company"due to its mismanagement, poor performance, and failure to implement the ministry's plan pertinent to offering advanced mobile phone services", the Denmark-based Iraq For All News Network said on 7 December. "It is worth noting that the ministry took into account the complaints filed by citizens regarding this company's bad services despite the fact that it collects millions of dollars from them. We learned that a supervising committee from the ministry will run the company until the work of Iraqna, the alternate name of ORASCOM Telecom Company owned by Jewish Najib Sawiris, is liquidated."

Ministry shuts down Baghdad ``Al-Nafidhah newspaper''- Al-Jazeera

 Al-Jazeera reported on 7 December that the Interior Ministry "stormed" the premises of Al-Nafidhah, a Baghdad-based local newspaper, and ordered its closure. The TV said the Editor-in-Chief and one of its journalists were arrested. Al-Jazeera said this raid occurred following the newspaper's publication of a statement attributed to Al-Qa'idah of Jihad Organization in the Land of the Two Rivers [Tanzim Qa'idat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn]. Abdallah al-Lami, vice president of the Iraqi Journalists Association, in Baghdad told the TV that it is not the first time since the end of Saddam's regime that an Iraqi newspaper has been forced to closed. He added: "The occupation troops have carried out several repressive measures with a view to primarily muzzling the freedom of opinion and dissenting views".

Baghdad Al-Diyar TV to begin transmission over European satellite on 8 Dec

Al-Diyar TV 1704 gmt 6 Dec 04: Baghdad's Al-Diyar TV announced on 6 December that "in order to accommodate the wishes of several Iraqi and Arab citizens in Europe, the Al-Diyar Satellite Channel is to begin its transmission over the European satellite Hotbird 4 from 8 December 2004".

Iraqi media Programme summaries 7 Dec 04:
Dar al-Salam Radio Arabic 7 Dec 04:
·         During his talks with the Iraqi president and the Jordanian monarch separately, President Bush stressed the need to hold the Iraqi election on time
·         Iyad Allawi arrives in Moscow for talks on economic cooperation and anti-terror war
·         The Iraqi Independent Electoral Commission says the elections scheduled for 30 January may face difficulties in the Mosul, Al-Anbar, and Salah-al-Din governorates, and the commission's spokesman says the election should be held on time
·         A conference organized by the Iraqi Islamic Party two days ago called for postponing the election for six months
Al-Diyar TV Arabic 7 Dec 04:
·         President al-Yawir holds talks with US President Bush on the future of Iraq. He stresses the importance of holding the elections on schedule and the participation of all Iraqis ...
·         Iraqi Vice President Al-Ja'fari arrived in Damascus on 6th for talks with Syrian officials on Iraqi developments ...
·         Russia says it will make political efforts to settle the situation in Iraq and help the Iraqis reconstruct the country ...
·         Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi arrived in Moscow yesterday ...
·         The Saudi crown prince received a telephone call from Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi last night ...
·         Iraqi diplomatic source in Sanaa says the Iraqi electoral commission excluded Iraqis living in Yemen from participation in the election ...
·         Bayan Jabr, the prime minister's adviser for reconstruction affairs, says the date of the election cannot be ignored for reasons related to the Iraqi State Administration Law ...
·         An alliance of 20 Shi'i, Sunni, and Kurdish political parties draws up a unified list of candidates for the election. The list wins the approval of Shi'i religious leader Al-Sistani ...
·         Three Iraqi National Guardsmen were killed and 11 others were wounded in a blast in Jablah south of Baghdad ...
·         The American Army says it arrested 14 Iraqis in raids in various parts of Iraq on 6th ... Donald Rumsfeld says he hopes the American forces will be withdrawn from Iraq during President Bush's second term ...
·         Interview with the director of the immunization programme in the Health Ministry on vaccination campaigns ...
·         Iraq suspends the imports of old cars from Jordan ...
·         Jordan says the Iraqi-Jordanian border has been reopened for passengers and goods ...
·         Al-Muthanna governor discusses the reconstruction programme in the governorate
Al-Sharqiyah TV news 7 Dec 04:
·         Armed men laid ambush for Iraqi police patrol in Al-Anbar and burnt their vehicles and freed the policemen ...
·         Al-Anbar university welcomed students ...
·         Report on clashes in Samarra ...
·         Higher commission for supervising elections extended deadline for withdrawing lists for candidacies ...
·         Ottawa to host conference on Iraqi elections ...
·         Iraqi premier reiterated determination to hold elections by end of next January ...
·         Iraqi democratic current holds conference on elections ...
·         Rumsfeld refuses to fix deadline for US forces withdrawal from Iraq ...
·         Eight US soldiers sue US Army over its policy on soldiers' contracts ...
·         German authorities said they aborted plot to assassinate Iraqi prime minister ...
·         Staff of dissolved Iraqi defence minister receive Id al-Fitr allowance ...
·         Fuel crisis hits |Iraqi citizens ...
·         Assassination of brain specialist in Iraq ...
·         Infiltrators arrested in Karbala, most of them Iranians ...
·         Japanese government to decide whether to extend Japanese Army's mission in Iraq ...
·         Dutch police arrests man suspected of supplying dangerous materials to Saddam's regime ...
·         US forces carried out raids near Tikrit. US Army spokesman quoted
Al-Iraqiyah TV news 7 December 04:
·         Mosul churches come under attack ...
·         Terror suspects detained in Baghdad and Tikrit ...
·         US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld hopes US troops Iraq pullout during second term of President George Bush ...
·         President Ghazi al-Yawar says government firm on fighting terrorism. Video report covers his meeting with American President George Bush ...
·         Prime Minister Iyad Allawi says election to be held on schedule ...
·         Allawi holds talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow ...
·         Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih announces reconstruction funds for Al-Fallujah ...
·         Iraqi Islamic Party to take part in election ...
·         Studio interview with Iraqi politician, Hamid al-Kafa'iy ...
·         Independent electoral commission reviews errors in voters registration applications ...
·         Ministry of Health forum discusses prevention of infectious diseases ...
·         Tuberculosis institute receives equipment to diagnose disease ...
·         Pharmacology forum held in Basra ...
·         New job opportunities available for graduates of teachers colleges...
·         Urgent report: no casualties reported in attacks on two churches in Mosul
IRAQI PRESS Headlines on 7 December
Al-Nahdhah [Baghdad, political daily newspaper]:
·         Al-Sadr movement denies being part of shared electoral list, other political trends call for general participation when security conditions improve ...
·         Baghdad City Council accuses Oil Ministry of corruption ...
·         Canada offers to help Iraq with electoral expertise ...
·         Baghdad Red Crescent headquarters cordoned off by US troops...
·         Hit police station stormed by gunmen ...
·         Syrian caught driving explosives-laden car in Baghdad ...
·         Moscow willing to participate in peaceful Iraq reconstruction...
·         Female member of Turkomen Front abducted in Kirkuk
Al-Mu'tamar [Baghdad, daily newspaper published by the Iraqi National Congress Party]:
·         UN criticizes Brahimi's call for postponing elections ...
·         Iraqi politicians share Dr Muthar Shawkat's demand for conference on national reconciliation, not mere dialogue ...
·         Zebari: Elections can be held despite violence ...
·         Electricity minister urges Russian firms to return to finish their projects in Iraq ...
·         New US forces arrive to boost security in Iraq ...
·         Terrorist ringleader captured in Al-Aujah ...
·         Explosives-packed car seized in Ba'qubah, its passengers arrested ...
·         Musharraf, at variance with US viewpoint, asserts: The invasion of Iraq was a mistake, has made the world a more dangerous place.
IRAQI PRESS Quotes on 7 December
Pro-Saddam Ba'th party leaders conference in Syria; involvement in violence- Al-Dustur

Al-Dustur [From editorial by Bassi al-Shaykh]: "There can be no stronger evidence of the direct involvement of pro-Saddam Ba'th party leaders in the ongoing killings and acts of sabotage in Iraq than the news leaked about the offer they made in their latest regional conference, recently held in Syria and attended by leading party bosses operating both inside and outside Iraq, to end all kinds of violence in the country in return for the government's consent to accept them as partners in the political process."

``Israel and its image as the sole democracy in the region'' - Baghdad

Baghdad [From commentary by Munir al-Ubaydi]: "To maintain its stereotypical image as the sole democracy in the region, Israel has played a role, whether directly or indirectly, in impeding the development of democracy in Arab countries, often lending tacit support to Arab dictatorships and even encouraging Arab extremist rhetoric calling for the Jewish state to be destroyed and its people to be thrown into the sea. Furthermore, it has even incited anti-Israeli violence by Arab extremists so as to justify its own practice of violence against Palestinians and cover up its original sin of usurping their land."

``Attemptings to sell the call for postponing elections''- Al-Mada

Al-Mada [From commentary by Maytham al-Janabi]: "Given the peculiarly dire situation in Iraq, attempting to sell the call for postponing elections as an absolutely necessary measure to safeguard people's 'rights' can only be construed as the ideal formula for promoting political depravity. Regardless of the reservation that some of these attempts may indeed be prompted by a different reading of events, world history has always shown that it is the state and the public that ultimately have to pay for the ventures of ill-intentioned politicians."

Iraqi elections: preparations may be alien to any other country in similar situation- Al-Zaman

Al-Zaman [From commentary by Fatih Abd-al-Salam]: "A lot of what has gone into the current preparations for the Iraqi elections may be alien to any other country in a similar situation. It is not uncommon, for instance, to find certain Iraqi parties or political movements resorting to downright obfuscation to keep the electorate in the dark as to their furtive tactics and secret alliances, or to see others tackling the issue of electoral competition as if it were some sort of covert operation, not totally free from intrigue and assassination, to be executed under the cover of darkness and hurriedly wrapped up before everyone is wide awake."

Updates from Iraqi Kurdish Press, 7 December 2004

Khabat daily, issued in Erbil by the KDP, 6-7 December 2004
¾        

The KDP leader Massoud Barzani says unifying the ranks of Kurdistan people at this sensitive stage is a historical need. Barzani's statement came during his broad meeting Monday with executive and members of his party's central bureau for social affairs. The same day Barzani received Najib Al-Salihi, Secretary-General of the Movement for Liberal Officers and Civilians. The discussions focused on the security situations and the elections in Iraq. Both sides stressed the need to secure all requirements for the elections to guarantee participation of all Iraqi political parties and groups.

¾        

Kirkuk Governorate Municipal Council vote for postponing the election for a new council until after implementation of Article 58 of the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL). After a lengthy and thorough debate, representatives of the Turcoman Front and chauvinist Arabs at the council left the meeting. The remaining 21 members of the council voted for the postponement by majority and decided to submit an official memo to the higher Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to demand the postponement in name of Kirkuk people.
¾         KRG-Erbil Deputy PM met with the UK Consular in Kirkuk and discussed with him the prevailing security situation in Iraq and the preparations for the forthcoming elections.
¾         The US is willing to find a peaceful solution to the Kirkuk issue, US diplomat Chat Blackeman said in a press conference in Erbil Sunday. Blackeman has just concluded his 9-month term as Coordinator Kirkuk for at the US Embassy in Iraq.

Kurdistani Nwe daily, issued in Sulaymanya by the PUK, 5-6 December 2004
¾        

Kurdistan regional Government (KRG-Sulaymanya) facilitations and the prevailing security attract foreign investment in the region, the PUK leader Jalal Talabani said during his Sunday reception to representatives of a number of Russian leading companies visiting Sulaymanya for business.

¾        

In contradiction to the efforts exerted for normalizing Kirkuk situations through implementation of Article 58 of the TAL, US and UK consulates in Kirkuk supported Arab settlers from 18 villages around Kirkuk and considered them as IDPs. According to a document available to Kurdistani Nwe, the Arab settlers were considered as IDPs and detailed information of their past and present residences, as well as their contact persons is collected. Ahmed Askary, Kurdish member of Kirkuk Governorate Municipal Council commented on eth Document saying that the Arab settlers were residing in villages constructed in locations of destructed Kurdish villages and they had escaped in the wake of Operation Iraqi Liberation. Askary complained that the US and UK consulates have never supported Kurdish IDPS from Kirkuk and 600 devastated villages while they label remnants of the Baath Party as IDPs and provide them with support. Askari added that the US Consulate regretted labeling them as IDPs and said the support was a compensation package to encourage them return to their places of origin [in Iraqi south and center] but the UK consulate insisted on its position.

www.peyamner.com <http://www.peyamner.com> 7 December 2004
¾        

Kurdistan Islamic Union (Yakgirtu) leader told www.peyamner.com <http://www.peyamner.com> his party is satisfied with the 9 seats offered to it in the joint candidacy list announced by KDP and PUK leaders early last week.

Chawder weekly, issued in Sulaymanya by Mala Bakhtyar [PUK politburo member], 6 December 2004
¾        

The [Iraqi] Sunni political parties and politicians are doing their best for postponement of the elections, but to no avails. Fearing the success of the Shiites in the elections, the Jordan King and the Egyptian president are trying to convince the UN, the US and the UK for the postponement, the newspaper says. An ``informed source'' stressed that both the Iraqi President and his PM are for the postponement but unwilling to publicize their views public. The Shiites on their side have launched their counter campaign for timely elections because they seem confident of their political strength.

¾        

(summary of article by Mala Bakhtyar) Arabization, massacre of Kurds in Mosul, Kirkuk, Dyala, Baghdad and on the highways trigger civil war. Despite dispersing the danger of extremist Islamists outside of Kurdistan at the military level, the risks of civil war, murder of innocent civilians and deforming democracy endanger our future. The Kurdish political leadership needs to work with the leaderships of all Iraqi democrats on a multi-aspect agenda for uprooting terrorism and pan-Islamic hegemony. Uprooting terrorism anywhere in Kurdistan and Iraq will bring further success elsewhere and better secure Kurdistan people future.
¾         (summary of article by Sarkaut Abdullah) The Shiites threaten to declare their autonomous region if the elections were postponed. The Shiites want to take advantage of their current strength and full fill a dream that was never realized in the history; there was no Shiite ruling entity in the history of Iraq. t is strange, however, that the Shiites do not recognize the right of the Kurds to a federal entity although the Kurds had their emirates before and after Islam and those Kurdish entities were all destroyed by the Islamic authorities. The Shiites are pushed by their political [strength] to consider a Shiite entity. Should they win [the elections] and establish a government, they will declare their opposition to the Kurds and federalism gradually.

Jamawar weekly, issued in Erbil by a number of independent Journalists, 6 December 2004
¾        

PUK and KDP delegates told us we would a separate Yakgirtu candidacy list would have won between 12 to 15 seats in the Kurdistan National Assembly (KNA) elections, Yakgirtu leadership committee member Salahaddin Babakir said in an interview with Jamawar weekly. Our expectation was between15 and 20 seats but we accept the KDP-PUK offer because we favored Kurdistani higher interests to ours, Babakir added.

¾        

In a special interview, Kurdistan Communist Party (KCP) leadership Committee member Zirak Kamal expressed happiness for the announcement of a joint candidacy list for KNA election. Kamal did not hide his party's dissatisfaction with KDP and PUK, who masterminded the joint list, for ``miscalculating the KCP popularity.'' We believe we deserve more than 3 seats (out of 111), therefore we demand an increase,'' Kamal added.