Mal ein Pressespiegel der USA
Hallo Stephan,
eigentlich das (moralische?) Recht, jedem vorzuschreiben, über
welche Waffen er zu verfügen hat und über welche nicht?
Wohl das Recht des Staerkeren. Shit happens. Oder anders: Krieg ist die Fortsetzung der Politik mit anderen Mitteln. So ist es, nun einmal. Ob man es gut findet oder nicht.
Beim Irak mag es ja durchaus Argumente für eine Kontrolle
geben, aber wie steht es denn mit Nordkorea? Mal abgesehen
Nordkorea anzugreifen ist a) gefaehrlicher wegen deren Potentiale und Suedkorea und Japan in der Naehe und b) keinerlei originaere Interessen Amerikas ausser bzgl. MVW. und c) keinerlei Handhabe aufgrund bestehender UNO-Beschluesse, das Nordkorea dieses oder jenes tun muesste.
hier ein pressespiegel viel spass vielleicht etwas lang geworden 
gruss peter
Airstrikes In Southern Iraq ‚No-Fly‘ Zone Grow
Attacks’ Growing Precision And Scope May Aid Invasion
(Washington Post, January 15, 2003, Pg. 1)
U.S. and British warplanes have bombed more than 80 targets in Iraq’s southern „no-fly“ zone during the past five months, conducting an escalating air war even as U.N. weapons inspections proceed and diplomats look for ways to head off a full-scale war. On Monday, the heaviest day of bombing in at least a year, U.S. and British jets for the first time struck five targets, hitting an air defense command site at Tallil, 170 miles southeast of Baghdad, and four repeater stations in southeastern Iraq.
Troops Pour In, Scenarios Narrow
(Christian Science Monitor, January 15, 2003, Pg. 1)
America’s rapidly expanding military presence in the Persian Gulf is raising a fundamental question: Is the buildup itself pushing the United States toward war? On one level, the troop presence is reinforcing U.S. diplomatic efforts to try to resolve the crisis peacefully. At the same time, however, the huge commitment of troops, tanks, and other gear—demanding complex logistics and timing—cannot be sustained indefinitely.
Court-Martial Hearing Begins For U.S. Pilots
(New York Times, January 15, 2003, Pg. 1)
As two Air Force pilots looked on silently, their careers and their freedom on the line, the Canadian soldiers who survived their errant bombing run in Afghanistan last April began testifying about how a friendly fire mistake from 20,000 feet up translated into carnage on the ground. The military court hearing at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., will determine whether the pilots will be court-martialed for involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and dereliction of duty.
Bush Says Shift By North Korea Could Bring Aid
(New York Times, January 15, 2003, Pg. 1)
President Bush signaled a major shift in the U.S. approach to North Korea, saying for the first time that if Pyongyang abandoned its nuclear weapons program he would consider offering a „bold initiative“ that could bring aid, energy and eventually even diplomatic and security agreements to the politically and economically isolated country.
Kim Jong Il Keeps Everyone Guessing
North Korean leader can be charming and brutal
(USA Today, January 15, 2003, Pg. 1)
In the standoff over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, the United States is facing one of the strangest strongmen the modern world has seen: a diminutive dictator with weird hair and a taste for Mao jackets, hard liquor, young women and slasher flicks. But those who know him say the bizarre behavior of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il masks a sharp mind, a restless energy and a ruthless determination to hold onto the power he inherited from his father, dictator Kim Il Sung.
U.S. Acts To Thwart Missile Threat Against Airliners
(Washington Post, January 15, 2003, Pg. 1)
Top federal officials, increasingly concerned that terrorists will attack U.S. commercial aircraft with shoulder-fired missiles, are developing plans to thwart such strikes with measures that range from sophisticated anti-missile technology to simple changes in takeoff schedules.
IRAQ
Bush Warns Hussein Again But Sidesteps Any ‚Deadline‘
(New York Times, January 15, 2003)
President Bush said that „time is running out for Saddam Hussein“ to avert an American-led attack by disarming voluntarily. But the president issued no specific deadline, while Washington’s allies reinforced demands that any military action must be approved by the United Nations.
U.S. Seeks U.N. Interviews With Iraqi Scientists
White House Officials Say Confidential Talks May Be Best Way To Gain Information On Secret Weapons
(Washington Post, January 15, 2003, Pg. 12)
U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice flew to New York to press chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix to take Iraqi scientists out of the country for confidential interviews on Baghdad’s secret efforts to develop chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.
Iraqi Kurds Fight A War That Has Two Faces
(New York Times, January 15, 2003)
The Kurds are fighting two wars in northern Iraq, the mostly dormant one with Saddam Hussein’s troops to the south and west, and a small, active one along the border with Iran with an Islamic group linked to Al Qaeda.
Annan Says Talk Of War With Iraq Is Premature, But Warns Baghdad It Must Disarm
(New York Times, January 15, 2003)
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said that it was too early for the Security Council to consider military action against Iraq and said he remained „both optimistic and hopeful“ that war could be avoided.
Anxiety Bubbles Beneath Support For War With Iraq
(Washington Post, January 15, 2003, Pg. 1)
A solid majority of Americans consistently tell pollsters that they favor attacking Iraq to topple President Saddam Hussein. But beneath that bedrock of support lies a deep sense of anxiety. Americans are concerned that the Middle Eastern world will label the United States a bully if it attacks Iraq, and they fear retaliation. And there are new fears about North Korea.
2 Germans Go On Trial In Arms Sales To Baghdad
(New York Times, January 15, 2003)
In a case likely to revive uncomfortable questions about Germany’s past role in supplying Saddam Hussein’s war machine, two German businessmen went on trial in Mannheim on charges of illegally selling Iraq components to build a long-range cannon. If found guilty, the men face up to 15 years in prison.
Protest Groups Using Updated Tactics To Spread Antiwar Message
(New York Times, January 15, 2003)
As the threat of war with Iraq heightens, leaders of the American antiwar movement are feeling an urgency to mobilize the masses. But in contrast to the tactics of the 1960’s, many organizers are trying to sound a note of patriotism and distance themselves from the stereotypical images of angry flag burners or scruffy anarchists. Marches are still a crucial tool, and protest leaders are hoping that tens of thousands will turn out for an antiwar rally in Washington on Saturday. But organizers are also trying to spread their message through the Internet and enlist a diverse range of allies.
NORTH KOREA
China Offers To Host U.S. Talks With N. Korea
Beijing Increases Involvement In Attempts To Resolve Stalemate Over Pyongyang’s Nuclear Plans
(Washington Post, January 15, 2003, Pg. 15)
China said that the Bush administration should engage in dialogue with the North Korean government and offered to host any talks on the dispute over Pyongyang’s nuclear program.
Solving The North Korean Puzzle [Analysis]
(New York Times, January 15, 2003)
President Bush’s new approach to North Korea, involving an offer to consider food and fuel aid upon an agreement to dismantle the North’s nuclear program, reflects a determination on the part of the administration to see the Korean crisis resolved peacefully and the focus kept on Iraq. But some diplomats expressed skepticism that talk of conciliation would accomplish anything soon, both because of North Korea’s intransigence on the nuclear issue and because it is looking for guarantees for its security rather than for economic benefits.
U.S. Accused Of Blocking ‚Sunshine Policy‘
(Los Angeles Times, January 15, 2003)
In yet another sign of strained relations between allies, South Korean officials and businesspeople are complaining that the United States is thwarting historic reconciliation projects with North Korea to connect railroads and roads through the Demilitarized Zone. U.S. military officials insist, for example, that they receive the names of all people crossing the DMZ. The North Koreans have refused, insisting that the transportation corridors should not be subject to the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, and that details should be worked out between the North and South alone.
IRAQ
U.S. Expects Iraqi Experts Will Be Questioned Abroad
(New York Times, January 14, 2003)
The Bush administration expects that international inspectors will try to bring Iraqi scientists and engineers out of the country starting next week to interview them about weapons programs, according to American and European officials familiar with the plans. The interviews will be conducted on Cyprus or at U.N. facilities in Europe.
Doubts Rising On Striking Iraq Soon
(Philadelphia Inquirer, January 14, 2003, Pg. 1)
As Washington signaled it might not be ready for war until March, U.N. arms experts said that they could take up to a year to finish inspections in Iraq, warning that everything depended on Baghdad’s cooperation. U.S. officials and defense experts said political and logistical pressure could delay any invasion of Iraq for months, despite the Pentagon’s buildup of troops and equipment in the region. „Those soldiers can’t just hit the sand shooting on arrival,“ one U.S. official said. „I wouldn’t expect anything in February, or even early March. And who knows what the political landscape will be then?“
U.S. To Train Iraqi Exiles As Liaisons For Military
Thousands Would Serve As Guides Or Translators
(Baltimore Sun, January 14, 2003)
The United States is gearing up to train several thousand Iraqi exiles at an air base in Hungary to serve as translators, guides and intermediaries for U.S. forces if President Bush decides to go to war against Saddam Hussein, defense officials said.
NATO Allies Willing To Attack Iraq Without UN, Wolfowitz Says
(Bloomberg.com, January 10, 2003)
„Quite a number of NATO allies“ have told the United States that they remain ready to wage war in Iraq even without further authorization from the United Nations, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said. „Another number have said they will be with us with a second Security Council resolution,“ he said.
Turkey Mulls Letting U.S. Use Its Bases
(Los Angeles Times, January 14, 2003)
Turkey’s new prime minister, Abdullah Gul, said that his government and the armed forces „very much wish to avoid a war“ in Iraq but are weighing a request by the Bush administration to deploy thousands of U.S. troops in Turkey to create a northern front against Saddam Hussein.
Iraq Says Six Hurt In Bombing
(Washington Post, January 14, 2003, Pg. 16)
The Iraqi military said U.S. and British planes patrolling a „no-fly“ zone over southern Iraq bombed civilian targets, injuring six persons, but the United States said the aircraft attacked an Iraqi anti-ship missile launcher.
Activists Bring War Protests To Baghdad
(Washington Post, January 14, 2003, Pg. 15)
With tens of thousands of U.S. troops mobilizing for a possible invasion of Iraq, waves of anti-war activists have descended on Baghdad in recent days to plead for a peaceful solution to the showdown between the Bush administration and President Saddam Hussein’s government. They include Italian legislators, South African Muslims, German musicians and a flurry of Americans, from church leaders and professors to four women who lost relatives in the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
As British Antiwar Sentiment Rises, Blair Defends Iraq Stand
(New York Times, January 14, 2003)
British Prime Minister Tony Blair took on domestic opponents of his hard-line stance on Iraq, saying that he is convinced that Saddam Hussein’s regime is a direct and imminent threat to Britain. „I know and understand the concerns that people have,“ the prime minister, who is President Bush’s staunchest ally on the issue, told a Downing Street news conference. „The threat seems to some people to be remote, but I passionately believe that we must disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction.“
France Urged Not To Side With U.S. On Iraq War
Official Cites EU Foreign Policy Goals
(Washington Times, January 14, 2003, Pg. 11)
Germany called on France to side with Berlin in opposing a U.S. war with Iraq if Europe’s goal of a common foreign policy is to be a reality.
Iraq’s Shiites Describe Reign Of Fear
Visitors, Exiles In Syria Tell Of Tight Grip In Restive South
(Washington Post, January 14, 2003, Pg. 1)
President Saddam Hussein’s multi-layered Baath Party operatives are keeping a close eye on the restive Shiite Muslim population in Iraq’s southland, according to reports trickling out of the region. The Shiites, many of them poor and dissatisfied, make up the majority of Iraq’s 24 million inhabitants. Beyond the thousands of U.S. troops poised for a possible invasion, the Shiites constitute the greatest potential threat to Hussein’s grip on power.
Shiites Pose Threat To Hussein
(New York Times, January 14, 2003)
Ever since he put down a Shiite Muslim uprising after the Persian Gulf War, Saddam Hussein has tried to buttress his popularity across southern Iraq, the heartland of the country’s 55 percent majority Shiites. On one hand, Hussein has bestowed favors, donating, for example, hundreds of pounds of gold and silver to slather across the domes of the Shiites’ holiest tombs. Meanwhile, senior clergyman deemed insufficiently subservient have either died under mysterious circumstances or disappeared.
NORTH KOREA
N. Korea Policy Pulled In 2 Directions [Analysis]
Debate Rages: Engagement vs. Isolation
(USA Today, January 14, 2003, Pg. 4)
Despite signs that his administration is backing off its refusal to offer North Korea incentives to end its nuclear weapons program, President Bush has yet to settle on a policy, U.S. officials and outside experts say. A split remains between the State Department and hard-liners elsewhere in the administration over whether to engage North Korea or try to isolate the communist regime. And some senior officials simply want to stall any major new initiative until after a decision is made in coming weeks about going to war with Iraq.
Analysts: N. Korea Developing New Missile
(USAToday.com, January 14, 2003)
North Korea, which says it might resume missile tests, could be ready to test a two-stage rocket, the Taepodong-2, capable of reaching Alaska or Hawaii with a nuclear weapon-sized payload, according to U.S. defense analysts. Pyongyang shocked the region in 1998 by test-firing a medium-range Taepodong-1 missile over Japan and into the Pacific.
MIDEAST
Pentagon Builds Firepower In Persian Gulf
(New York Times on the Web, January 14, 2003)
The Pentagon, preparing for possible war in Iraq, is dispatching an enormous array of naval combat power to the Persian Gulf region, including two seven-ship armadas carrying thousands of Marines. The Navy also is prepared to put as many as six aircraft carriers within striking distance of Iraq. Two already are in position, two are prepared to sprint to the region and two are gearing up for possible deployment.
F-117 Stealth Fighters Deployed As U.S. Continues Gulf Buildup
(Bloomberg.com, January 13, 2003)
The United States is sending F-117 stealth fighters to the Persian Gulf region, the only aircraft used to attack downtown Baghdad during the 1991 war against Iraq, according to an Air Force spokesman.
To Kuwaitis, War In Iraq Sounds Fine—As Long As Hussein Goes
(Los Angeles Times, January 14, 2003)
Although the government of Kuwait publicly says it would prefer that Saddam Hussein’s departure be caused by means other than war, in private the message is clear: Attack him hard, and the sooner the better. To help that happen, the Kuwaiti government has opened up new facilities for U.S. forces, closing off a quarter of the country to its own people in order to let the Americans train.
Syrians Walk A Diplomatic Tightrope
Government Attempts To Defend Iraq While Promoting Good Relations With U.S.
(Washington Post, January 14, 2003, Pg. 16)
Faced with the likelihood of war next door in Iraq, Syria has positioned itself as both defender of its Arab neighbor and promoter of good relations with the United States. A war, officials in Damascus say, would be bad not only for Syria, but also for the United States. „We don’t see how this serves American interests,“ says a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman. „At the least, there will be more anger directed at the United States throughout the Arab world.“
MIDEAST
Nearly 10,000 Local Marines, Sailors Will Deploy Friday
(San Diego Union-Tribune, January 15, 2003, Pg. B1)
In the largest local troop departure since Desert Storm 12 years ago, an amphibious task force of seven Navy ships—loaded with tanks, artillery, helicopters and nearly 7,000 Marines—will sail from San Diego, Calif., Friday for the Persian Gulf and a possible confrontation with Iraq, Navy officials said.
US Soldiers Arrive For Air - Defense Exercises
(Jerusalem Post, January 15, 2003)
Hundreds of U.S. soldiers arrived in Israel to participate in a joint exercise to check U.S. Patriot and Israeli Arrow air defense systems.
