The following news stories reflect the current public rumblings dealing with the possible invasion of Iraq.  Those preceded with "Item Number" are from the Periscope email news summaries -- a clipping service dealing with items of interest in geopolitical and military events.

July through August 2002

September 2002

Item Number:2
Date: 10/01/2002
AUSTRIA - WEAPONS INSPECTORS BEGIN DISCUSSIONS (OCT 01/AP)

ASSOCIATED PRESS -- United Nations weapons inspectors began meetings
with Iraqi experts at the International Atomic Energy Agency's
headquarters in Vienna, reports the Associated Press.
 

Hans Blix, head of thr United Nations Monitoring, Verification and
Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), said that he expected the
discussions to operate under the assumption that no sites will be
off-limits in Iraq, including Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces.
 

The Iraq delegation was supposed to bring a list of items that could
have military purposes, including the current locations and uses of
those items.
 

During the two days of talks, each side will go over "practical
arrangements" with the Iraqis, including accommodation, security and
logistics for Blix's teams, the UNMOVIC chief said.
 
 

Item Number:7
Date: 10/01/2002
IRAN - GULF DEFENSE MINISTERS MEET (OCT 01/TEHT)

TEHRAN TIMES -- Kuwait Defense Minister Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah
met with his Iranian counterpart, Rear Adm. Ali Shamkhani, in
Tehran, reports the Tehran Times.
 

The two ministers discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations,
as well as cooperatation on regional defense and security issues.
 

"Expansion of political, cultural and economic ties between the two
countries in recent years has prepared suitable grounds for
accelerating joint cooperation in defense and security areas," said
Al-Sabah.
 

"Regular visits will pave the way for promotion of cooperation to
guarantee security in the region," said Shamkhani.
 
 
 
 

Item Number:8
Date: 10/01/2002
IRAQ - COALITION FIGHTERS HIT BASRA AIRPORT AGAIN (OCT 01/KY)

KYODO -- Allied planes patrolling the southern no-fly zone attacked
a Basra airport for the second time on Sunday, reports Kyodo News.
 

An Iraqi Transport and Communications Ministry spokesman said that
the coalition fighters destroyed the airport's civilian radar system
and damaged other airport buildings.
 

U.S. Central Command said that U.S. and British warplanes hit "Iraqi
air defense facilities ... in response to Iraqi hostile acts against
coalition aircraft monitoring the Southern No-Fly Zone."
 

Basra is a dual-use airport, handling both military and civilian
traffic.
 
 
 
 

Item Number:9
Date: 10/01/2002
ISRAEL - DEFENSE MINISTRY TO TALK WITH U.S. ABOUT IRAQ CAMPAIGN (OCT 01/AFP)

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE -- Top Israeli defense officials left for
Washington for talks with the United States about a planned U.S.-led
attack on Iraq, Agence France-Presse reports.
 

Gen. Amos Yaron's trip to the Pentagon is being made two weeks early
because U.S. preparations for an attack have accelerated, Israeli
officials told the daily Yediot Aharonot newspaper.
 

Stepping up plans to attack Iraq was part of the pressure Washington
put on Israeli Prime Minister to lift the siege on the West Bank
headquarters of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, they added.
 
 

Item Number:20
Date: 10/01/2002
TURKEY - SEIZED MATERIAL IS NOT URANIUM, SAY OFFICIALS (OCT 01/ANATOLIA)

ANATOLIA NEWS AGENCY -- Officials at the Turkish Atomic Energy
Institute said a substance seized by police acting on a tip near the
border with Syria is not weapons-grade uranium as first reported,
the Anatolia News Agency reports.
 

Scientists determined that the material taken in a taxi last week in
Sanliurfa province consisted of iron, manganese, zinc and zirconium.
 

Two men were arrested after security forces received information
they were trying to sell the material as refined uranium. They have
since been released.

Item Number:21
Date: 10/01/2002
TURKEY - WASHINGTON SOUNDS OUT ANKARA ON IRAQ (OCT 01/DN)

DEFENSE NEWS -- U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones
met with Turkish Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel and military
officials in Ankara to find out Turkey's position on a possible U.S.
attack on Iraq, Defense News reports.
 

Jones, whose visit is one of several U.S. attempts to pin down the
positions of possible allies in the region, said she told Gurel that
Washington's goal remains the same: Iraqi disarmament.
 

Turkish diplomats said Ankara is demanding assurances from
Washington that the U.S. will not allow Iraqi Kurds to set up an
independent state in northern Iraq.
 

Washington sees Iraqi Kurds as crucial allies in any attack on
Baghdad.
 
 
 
 

Item Number:22
Date: 10/01/2002
UNITED KINGDOM - BLAIR BACKED BY HIS PARTY ON IRAQ (OCT 01/AP)

ASSOCIATED PRESS -- A meeting between British Prime Minister Tony
Blair and his Labor Party resulted in a nonbonding resolution to
support the use of force against Iraq if all else fails and if the
U.N. supports action, the Associated Press reports.
 

The motion called on the British government to try every peaceful
means possible to disarm Saddam Hussein through U.N. resolutions,
but admitted that a "last resort...could involve military action."
 

A motion rejecting the use of force and saying there was little
evidence to substantiate claims that Baghdad has weapons of mass
destructions was handily defeated.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 3 —  U.N. arms inspectors indicated Thursday that they were ready to delay a visit to Iraq — as the United States and Britain wanted — while the U.N. Security Council deliberated a tough new resolution. Russia has openly criticized the proposed resolution, but the United States and Britain want it approved before inspectors are dispatched.

      THE INSPECTORS had been planning to go to Baghdad with advance teams on Oct. 19, but chief inspector Hans Blix and Mohamed Elbaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the full support of the council was needed.
       “We need the unanimous support by the Security Council in order to do inspections,” Elbaradei told reporters, a reference to divisions within the 15-member body. “We need to align our dates with the deliberation of the Security Council.”
       Blix said the inspectors had the legal right to begin their work under existing council resolutions. But he said it would be “awkward” if the Security Council approved a new mandate after the inspections were already under way.
       The council members reached no conclusion on a date for inspections to start but U.N. sources said the inspectors would delay their departure until the issue is resolved. Blix said he was going to Washington on Friday to “hear something about what their planning is and we will tell them about our planning.”

‘LOOSE ENDS’
       Blix briefed the Security Council on Thursday on his agreement with Iraq for resuming inspections. The closed-door meeting was the first opportunity for all 15 council members to discuss the deal and the next steps for returning inspectors to Iraq after nearly four years.
      U.S. officials told NBC News that Blix informed the Security Council that there were “loose ends” regarding inspections that were important to talk about.
       While the United States and Britain have demanded that no advance party leave for Iraq until the new resolution governing inspections is agreed upon, other council members believe the inspectors can start work now under existing resolutions.
       The United States and Britain, however, are demanding much more. On Thursday, British leader Blair poured scorn on this week’s agreement between Iraq and U.N. weapons inspectors to resume inspections that do not include access to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s palatial residences.
       “The access must include the presidential palaces,” Blair told a news conference. “It’s no good allowing inspectors access to 99 percent of Iraq if the weapons of mass destruction are being stored and worked on in the remaining 1 percent of Iraq.”
       Blair said that only a “tough new weapons inspection regime” that guarantees the total disarmament of Saddam’s nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs would suffice. He said the program must be backed up by force. “If it doesn’t happen peacefully, it will have to happen through military action,” Blair said.
       “The world demands total, unfettered, unobstructed access to Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction programs.”

BUSH’S WARNING
       For his part, President Bush said the United Nations needed to show resolve and Saddam was obliged to fulfill his word, an apparent reference to past U.N. resolutions.
       “And if neither of them acts, the United States in deliberate fashion will lead a coalition to take away the world’s worst weapons from one of the world’s worst leaders,” Bush said, addressing Hispanic congressional and administration leaders.
      Iraq continues to deny Washington and London’s claim that Baghdad is producing and stockpiling biological, chemical and nuclear weapons. On Wednesday, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz rejected the push for a new resolution on weapons inspections. “This proposal of the United States is unacceptable, not only by Iraq, it’s unacceptable by the Security Council because there is no need for a new resolution,” Aziz said.

SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSIONS
      Blair said discussions with wary U.N. Security Council members were “at an important stage.”
       The toughly worded U.S. draft resolution — obtained Wednesday by NBC News — would give U.N. inspectors broad new powers to hunt for weapons of mass destruction and provide them with military backing to carry out the search.
       Under the proposal, the Security Council would give Iraq 30 days to compile a “complete declaration of all aspects of its program to develop chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.”
       If any “false statements or omissions” are in that declaration, member states would be authorized to “use all necessary means to restore international peace and security in the area” — diplomatic language permitting military force.
      The United States does not want Blix’s team to head for Iraq until inspectors have “new instructions,” White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Wednesday.
       “The fear here is that Iraq’s goal is to engage in a ploy so that they can drag this out before the world as they continue to build up their arms,” he said.
       Russia, China and France say they are not ready to authorize force before inspectors have time to test Iraq’s willingness to comply.

RUSSIA WARY
       On Thursday, Russia’s foreign ministry said Moscow could not accept mention of automatic use of force.
       “Attempts to make the U.N. Security Council subscribe to automatic use of force against Iraq are unacceptable for us,” Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov told Interfax news agency.
       France has offered a counterproposal giving Iraq a chance to cooperate but warns that “any serious failure by Iraq to comply with its obligations” would lead to an immediate Security Council meeting to “consider any measure to ensure full compliance.”
       Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji supports the French proposal.
       Nonetheless, U.S. diplomats welcomed signs that Russia, France and China were ready for some compromise empowering the inspectors and hastening a timetable for Iraqi compliance.

SADDAM’S PALACES EXEMPT
    In Vienna on Tuesday, Saddam Hussein’s special adviser, Gen. Amir al-Sadi, agreed to “immediate, unconditional and unrestricted access” to all sites, Blix said, including the Ministry of Defense and Republican Guard facilities. But Saddam’s palaces remain exempt from surprise inspections under a 1998 agreement.
      The U.S. resolution would end the exemption for those eight sites, encompassing 12 square miles, and establish a U.N. security force to protect the inspectors. The same U.N. security force or the forces of a member state, such as the United States, also would enforce “no-fly” and “no-drive” zones around inspection sites.
       David Albright, an American physicist and former weapons inspector, said he was “not comfortable at all” with the idea of an armed force accompanying inspectors.
       “If they’re not going to cooperate you can’t make them cooperate with an armed force,” he said. “You can’t put a gun to the head of an Iraqi and say tell me the truth.”

    NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski and Tammy Kupperman at the Pentagon, Betsy Steuart at the State Department and Linda Fasulo at the United Nations, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Pentagon says it is not preparing a surprise attack on Iraq - THE WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 — The Pentagon is taking steps to prepare for a rapid massing of U.S. forces around Iraq in the weeks ahead, bolstering stocks of military equipment and ammunition in the Persian Gulf, expanding command facilities and readying Navy aircraft carriers in U.S. ports to steam to the region.

       DEFENSE OFFICIALS have sought to keep the buildup as low-key as possible, to avoid upstaging the delicate political and diplomatic maneuvering underway to win authorization from Congress and the United Nations for possible U.S. military action against the government of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Many of the military moves have come under the cover of training exercises or routine operations.
       But they reflect a growing seriousness on the part of the Bush administration about the possibility of war. Pentagon officials said the actions are meant to enable a faster deployment if President Bush decides to attack.
       “We can do a certain amount of things now that will help shorten the time needed to get everything else in place later,” a senior defense official said. “It doesn’t mean that we’re definitely going to do anything, but it hedges our bets.”
       The stealthy nature of the buildup has fed suspicions that the Pentagon is preparing for a surprise attack on Iraq. But in interviews, defense officials dismissed such speculation as unrealistic. Before any military action, they said, there will need to be a mobilization of several Army divisions, scores of Air Force aircraft and armadas of ships, plus a call-up of tens of thousands of reservists — moves that would not go unnoticed.

JANUARY AT EARLIEST, OFFICIALS SAY
       Given the time required to get these forces to the Gulf region, the earliest an attack is likely to come is January, the officials said. But the measures being put in place will allow U.S. forces, after arriving in the region, to swing quickly into action against Iraq and avoid a prolonged and costly lingering of forces in Kuwait and other planned staging areas.
       “I think you’ll probably see a rolling start,” a senior military officer said. “It won’t be getting everything there and spending two or three months getting comfortable.”
       The Air Force, whose warplanes likely would lead off any assault, has stepped up production of the satellite-guidance kits used to turn “dumb” bombs into precision munitions and has been replenishing the stocks of bombs it keeps in the region after dropping many over Afghanistan.
       U.S. authorities also have approached Britain for permission to move B-2 bombers from Missouri to the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, a British base about 3,400 miles from Baghdad. It was used by the United States as a staging point for B-52 bombers in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
       For months, the Air Force has been upgrading airfields in Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman to handle expanded U.S. air operations and be prepared for the possibility that U.S. access to airfields in Saudi Arabia might be limited by Saudi reluctance to support an all-out attack on Iraq. A backup command post for running an air campaign has been established in Qatar to substitute for an elaborate U.S. command center completed last year at Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base.
       The Army kept about 2,000 soldiers in Kuwait for much of the 1990s as a tripwire against possible Iraqi aggression, but it has tripled the size of that force since November. A brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division is there now. The Army has acknowledged transferring equipment from its Qatar stockpile to Kuwait last summer to allow for larger Army exercises there, and more Army gear is being shipped to the Gulf from stocks in Germany, officials said.
       About 2,000 Marines, members of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, also are in Kuwait in an exercise, dubbed “Eagle Mace,” that affords training close to the Iraq border. The Belleau Wood, flagship of the Marines’ three-ship “amphibious-ready group,” has been off the coast of the Horn of Africa as a launching pad for possible Special Forces operations in Somalia or Yemen. But defense officials said the ship could easily shift into position nearer Iraq.
       Two Navy carriers, along with their customary accompaniment of destroyers, cruisers and submarines, are within striking distance of Iraq. The George Washington, which deployed in June, is in the Mediterranean; and the Lincoln, which got underway in July, is in the northern Arabian Sea. Another carrier, the Harry S. Truman, is due to leave Virginia in December.
       Maintenance work and air crew training on three other carriers on the West Coast — the Constellation, the Nimitz and the Carl Vinson — have been accelerated to prepare them for possible deployment to the Gulf region as well, Navy officials said. Still another carrier, the Kitty Hawk, based in Japan, would be available for Gulf action.

HUNDREDS OF STAFF HEADING TO QATAR
       Next month, the U.S. Central Command, which has responsibility for military operations in the region, plans to move a staff of 600 people to Qatar from its headquarters in Florida. Although billed as a training exercise, the move will allow the establishment of a main command post that could be used in the event of war. A senior defense official said more troop movements to the Gulf could be announced within the next week or two, including the arrival of an Army headquarters contingent that would command land forces in a war.
       Two weeks ago, Gen. Richard G. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, disclosed that the Pentagon had resumed inoculating certain troops for anthrax. Although other defense officials said the resumption had been planned for months, the move meant important protection for U.S. forces facing the threat of biological attack.
       The military buildup has been accompanied by an increase in U.S. airstrikes on Iraqi air defense targets, reflecting what Pentagon officials say has been an increase in Iraqi provocations. But the types of targets also have expanded. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld disclosed last month that he had directed commanders to focus retaliatory strikes on air defense communications centers in an attempt to degrade Iraq’s air defense network.
       On Thursday, U.S. warplanes dropped thousands of leaflets over the southern zone, warning Iraqi air defense crews they will be attacked and destroyed if they track or fire at American and British aircraft. Defense officials said the leafleting was not the opening of a psychological war campaign. But it indicated a Pentagon effort to increase pressure on Iraqi military units, many of which the U.S. military hopes to persuade not to fight in event of an invasion.
       “This is part of an overall program to make sure that the folks on the ground understand what their risk is, and how the coalition views their attacks on our aircraft,” Rear Adm. David Gove, deputy director for operations on the Pentagon’s Joint Staff, told reporters yesterday.

    © 2002 The Washington Post Company

Item Number:12
Date: 10/04/2002
IRAN - TEHRAN TO START DEFENSE COOPERATION WITH KUWAIT (OCT 04/REU)

REUTERS -- Iran and Kuwait signed a military cooperation agreement
following talks between their defense ministers, reports Reuters.
 

Iranian Defense Minister Adm. Ali Shamkhani said the accord includes
exchanges of military experts and equipment.
 

"God willing, there will be an exchange of hardware," said
Shamkhani. "This is the first step ... and a suitable model to be
followed in cooperation between Iran and regional countries."
 
 

Item Number:13
Date: 10/04/2002
IRAN - TEHRAN'S ROCKETS ARE MEANT TO DETER ISRAEL, SAYS MISSILE CHIEF (OCT 04/AL-BAWABA)

AL-BAWABA -- The head of an Iranian missile development project and
the leader of the country's space development program said Tehran's
long-range rockets are meant to deter an Israeli strike on Iran,
Al-Bawaba reports.
 

Ahmed Wahid said that, though Iran does not have nuclear weapons,
the development of the Shahab medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM)
is a response to the development of Israel's Jericho II
intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM).
 

The test in May of the Shahab 3 "proved Iran's ability to develop
more accurate ballistic missiles, with a range of over 1,300
kilometers," Wahid said.
 

Wahid added that Iran has plans to develop even longer range
missiles, but denied that Tehran wanted to develop missiles with the
capability to target the United States.
 
 
 

Item Number:14
Date: 10/04/2002
IRAQ - 'YOU COULD BE NEXT,' WARNS PSYWAR DOCUMENT (OCT 04/CNN)

CABLE NEWS NETWORK -- The U.S. has dropped leaflets on southern Iraq
as part of a psychological warfare campaign to reduce support for
Saddam Hussein, reports CNN.
 

A Pentagon translation of one document reads: "The destruction
experienced by your colleagues in other air defense locations is a
response to your continuing aggression toward planes of the
coalition forces. No tracking or firing on these aircraft will be
tolerated. You could be next."
 

One airdrop of leaflets came under fire from Iraq anti-air gunners
as it flew in the southern no-fly zone.
 

In response, U.S. and British warplanes attacked a military air
defense center southeast of Baghdad, according to the U.S. Central
Command headquarters in Florida.
 
 

Item Number:17
Date: 10/04/2002
NATO - U.S. PUTS ALLIANCE ON THE SPOT OVER IRAQ (OCT 04/TIMES)

THE TIMES -- U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley
challenged NATO to give its full backing to Washington in military
action against Saddam Hussein, the Times of London reports.
 

Hadley told a NATO conference in Brussels that he expected to see
solidarity from the alliance for the U.S. approach towards Iraq at
next month's conference in Prague.
 

"Prague will be a place where NATO must speak about Iraq. The Iraq
regime poses a unique threat to the national security of each of our
countries. This means that it is a challenge for NATO implicitly, if
not explicitly.... The summit will be a valuable opportunity to show
allied solidarity in the face of this common threat," Hadley said.
 

NATO diplomatic sources said the alliance would not have a role in
any action against Iraq, but that weapons of mass destruction would
be an agenda topic in Prague.
 
 
 

Item Number:23
Date: 10/04/2002
UNITED NATIONS - CHIEF INSPECTOR WANTS CLEAR MANDATE (OCT 04/UPI)

UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL -- Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix
said there are "loose ends" he would like to see resolved before
inspectors return to Iraq, UPI reports.
 

Blix, speaking to the Security Council, said "it would be awkward if
we were doing inspections and then a new mandate with new changed
directives were to arrive...it would be better to have those early."
 

"We can go back there, no one denies that we have a legal basis for
doing that. The question was whether one should solve every
practical arrangement -- we solved a good deal in Vienna -- but
there are matters and some loose ends that need to be resolved
before we go to Baghdad," Blix said.
 

U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the U.N. James Cunningham denied asking
Blix to delay the resumption of inspections until after a new
resolution was in place.

Item Number:3
Date: 10/07/2002
IRAQ - COMMANDERS AUTHORIZED TO USE CHEMICAL WEAPONS (OCT 07/NW)

NEWSWEEK -- Saddam Hussein has authorized local Iraqi military
commanders to use chemical weapons the moment a ground invasion
begins if there is no communication with Baghdad, Newsweek reports.
 

The conversation between Saddam and his commanders, said to have
taken place in August, was detected by intelligence services in the
Persian Gulf.
 

"This campaign will be one of life or death for this regime, and we
must use everything we have," Saddam reportedly told the commanders.
 
 
 
 

Item Number:4
Date: 10/07/2002
IRAQ - EXILES SAY SADDAM'S INNER CIRCLE IS DEFECTING (OCT 07/DT)

DAILY TELEGRAPH -- Iraqi exiles said that members of Saddam
Hussein's inner circle are making discreet peace offers or defecting
to the opposition in the hopes of being spared if the Iraqi leader
is brought down, the Daily Telegraph reports.
 

The head of the Iraqi National Accord opposition said his group has
received senior defectors from the Iraqi security services, which
are a vital part of Saddam's power.
 

Kurdish opposition groups also said they have received secret offers
from military commanders to turn their units against Saddam when a
war begins.
 

Members of the central pillar of Saddam's tribal power base, the
al-Majid clan, have also sought assurance of their fate in a
post-Saddam world, the Kurds said.
 
 
 
 

Item Number:5
Date: 10/07/2002
IRAQ - SADDAM WILL FACE COUP IF ATTACKED, PREDICT EXPERTS (OCT 07/WP)

WASHINGTON POST -- Senior U.S. government intelligence sources and
outside analysts believe that Saddam Hussein will probably be
overthrown at the last moment before Washington launches a ground
invasion of Iraq, the Washington Post reports.
 

Saddam's own inner circle would take a chance and kill him in the
hopes of being his successors rather than being killed during or
imprisoned after the fighting, said intelligence experts and senior
administration officials in interviews.
 

Those taking action against Saddam "will have to be certain the
Americans are coming with overwhelming force before they move," said
a top government analyst.
 

"It always has been the view of the intelligence community that
there was a low chance of success in the absence of the sound of
military footsteps in Baghdad," added a former senior official in
the Clinton administration, citing a failed 1996 attempt by the CIA
to use Iraqi military officers to get rid of Saddam.
 
 
 

Item Number:12
Date: 10/07/2002
PERSIAN GULF - CARRIER DEPLOYMENTS MAY INDICATE IRAQ ATTACK (OCT 07/REU)

REUTERS -- By the end of the year, up to four U.S. aircraft carriers
are expected to be within striking distance of Iraq, and their
deployment could signal the earliest opportunity for a strike on
Iraq.
 

Navy officials said two Nimitz-class carrier battle groups, the
George Washington and the Abraham Lincoln, are already in the
region, reports Reuters.
 

The Nimitz-class Harry Truman and the Kitty Hawk-class Constellation
carrier groups are to relieve them in November and December,
respectively.
 

Assuming the Washington and Lincoln stay in the Persian Gulf beyond
their six-month deployments, the four carrier groups will combine
nearly 250 combat planes, 2,000 Tomahawk cruise missiles and several
warships.
 
 

Item Number:20
Date: 10/07/2002
USA - CDC ANNOUNCES BIOTERROR WARNING SYSTEM (OCT 07/BG)

BOSTON GLOBE -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) will establish a national bioterror attack warning system,
reports the Boston Globe.
 

The computerized surveillance network will use a system developed at
Harvard University to detect the early signs of an anthrax, smallpox
or other disease outbreak.
 

The system will review thousands of patient diagnoses daily and
search for outbreak patterns, such as sudden increase in flu-like
symptoms.
 

The CDC is investing $1.2 million in a trial version of the
detection network, which is expected to be in operation within a
year.
 
 

Item Number:22
Date: 10/07/2002
USA - PENTAGON CONTINUES ESSM PROGRAM SUPPORT (OCT 07/MENL)

MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE -- Greece, Turkey and other allies will receive
continued support from the United States for the Evolved Sea Sparrow
Missile (ESSM) program, the Middle East Newsline reports.
 

The Pentagon awarded a contract worth $18.2 million to Raytheon for
continued support of the ESSM program, ensuring production of the
missile during the 2003 fiscal year.
 

Other countries participating in the ESSM program are Australia,
Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain.
 
 
 

Item Number:23
Date: 10/07/2002
USA - TWO NATO APPLICANTS PLEDGE HELP AGAINST IRAQ (OCT 07/DN)

DEFENSE NEWS -- Bulgaria and Romania have said they would allow the
U.S. and allied forces to use their countries for logistical and
other support if the U.N. authorizes an attack on Iraq, Defense News
reports.
 

Both countries are applicants to NATO and are among the seven the
alliance is expected to invite to join in November.
 

Bulgaria said the allies could use the country's airspace and the
airport at Sarafovo, about 250 miles east of the capital of Sofia.
 

Romania has offered its air bases and ports on the Black Sea, which
could be used to enhance and support existing U.S. bases in Turkey
and Saudi Arabia.
 
 
 
 

Item Number:24
Date: 10/07/2002
USA - WHITE HOUSE LAYS FOUNDATION FOR WAR CRIMES TRIALS (OCT 07/LAT)

LOS ANGELES TIMES -- Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and a "dirty dozen"
of other officials are the focus of preparatory work to prosecute
Iraqi leaders for genocide, mass executions, ethnic cleansing, rape
and other crimes against humanity, the Los Angeles Times reports.
 

The Dept. of Defense, the State Dept. and the intelligence community
are all involved in an effort to prepare dossiers for war crimes
prosecution.
 

"We need to do our part to document the abuses, to collect the
evidence that points to who is responsible. We feel there has to be
accountability for what has occurred. You can't brush aside the
deaths of more than 100,000 people," said Pierre-Richard Prosper,
the State Department's ambassador at large for war crimes.
 

After Saddam on the list comes Ali Hassan Majid, also known as
"Chemical Ali," who was reportedly involved in using chemical
weapons to kill tens of thousands of Kurds in northern Iraq in 1988.
Others on the list include Saddam's two sons and three
half-brothers.

Item Number:6
Date: 10/08/2002
IRAN - TEHRAN RESTRICTS ITS AIRSPACE FOR IRAQ ATTACK (OCT 08/AP)

ASSOCIATED PRESS -- Iran has refused to allow the U.S. to use its
airspace to attack Iraq and vowed to defend its territory, reports
the Associated Press.
 

"We hope such an error will not be committed by anybody," said a
Foreign Ministry spokesman. "It's clear our armed forces are
prepared to defend the country's territorial integrity and its
airspace and land."
 

The spokesman said that while Iran was not a friend of Iraq it would
not take part in an attack on its neighbor.
 

"Iran will not participate in any attack on a Muslim and neighboring
country," said the spokesman.
 
 
 

Item Number:7
Date: 10/08/2002
ISRAEL - ARROWS SET TO SHOOT DOWN SCUDS (OCT 08/NYT)

NEW YORK TIMES -- Israel is deploying the first operational national
missile defense system and is prepared to use it to shield Tel Aviv
and other major cities from a possible Iraqi Scud attack, reports
the New York Times.
 

The $2 billion system, known as the Arrow, was designed to avoid
deficiencies found in the U.S. Patriot missile defense system.
Israel says Patriot batteries were largely unsuccessful in
protecting against Iraqi Scud attacks in 1991.
 

The U.S. helped to fund the Arrow, which has been deployed for two
years at Palmachim Air Force Base, near Tel Aviv, with two further
batteries to see service within two years.
 

The Arrow is a theater defense system, designed to shoot down
medium- and short-range ballistic missiles. Because of Israel's
small size, the three batteries, each with six missiles, will
provide a nationwide shield.
 

Unlike the Patriot system, which has initially built with the
primary mission of shooting down aircraft, the Arrow was
specifically designed to intercept ballistic missiles.
 
 
 

Item Number:11
Date: 10/08/2002
KAZAKHSTAN - RADIOACTIVE WASTE HEADING FOR CHINA SEIZED (OCT 08/UPI)

UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL -- Customs inspectors in Kazakhstan
halted an attempt to smuggle radioactive waste from Russia into
China, UPI reports.
 

The waste, weighing 1,974 pounds, was in a truck when it was found
by guards in eastern Kazakhstan on the Chinese border.
 

The 18 bags of waste contained what looked like brown sand and
tested as solid radioactive waste, according to the Kazakh
sanitation and epidemical station.
 
 

Item Number:18
Date: 10/08/2002
UNITED KINGDOM - TROOPS LIKELY TO RECEIVE BATTLE ORDERS BY NOVEMBER (OCT 08/DT)

DAILY TELEGRAPH -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to
issue an order by the end of October for the armed forces to begin
preparations for war with Iraq, the Daily Telegraph reports.
 

A senior Whitehall source said armored forces will be needed to
attack Saddam Hussein's military, not a light infantry force.
 

Britain is expected to send three brigades made up of armor and
mechanized infantry to Kuwait as part of the 1st (U.K.) Armored
Division, along with support troops and other forces for a total of
20,000 troops.
 

The source said British troops could be deployed in two months and
ready for action a few weeks later, after preparing the vehicles for
the environment.
 
 

Item Number:21
Date: 10/08/2002
USA - BUSH EXPLAINS HIS IRAQ POLICY (OCT 08/WP)

WASHINGTON POST -- In a televised speech from Cincinnati, President
George Bush, seeking to gain support for a congressional resolution
giving him the authority to use force against Iraq, warned the
American public that Saddam Hussein poses an immediate threat to the
United States, the Washington Post reports.
 

"While there are many dangers in the world, the threat from Iraq
stands alone -- because it gathers the most serious dangers of our
age in one place. Iraq's weapons of mass destruction are controlled
by a murderous tyrant who has already used chemical weapons to kill
thousands of people," Bush said.
 

However, Bush said the pending congressional resolution did not make
war with Baghdad "imminent or unavoidable."
 

The president also said that getting Iraq to disarm "is crucial to
winning the war against terror," again raising allegations of ties
between Baghdad and the Al-Qaida terrorist group and the possibility
that Saddam would share weapons of mass destruction with those who
want to attack the United States.
 
 
 

Item Number:23
Date: 10/08/2002
USA - NAVY DEPLOYS AIRBORNE MINEHUNTING SONAR SYSTEM (OCT 08/USN)

U.S. NAVY -- Naval Sea Systems Command introduced a new minehunting
sonar system to the fleet to improve mine clearance operations,
reports a U.S. Navy release.
 

Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 14, Naval Air Station
Norfolk, has been equipped with the new AN/AQS-14A helicopter towed
array.
 

The system uses high-resolution imagery to locate mine-like objects.
Operators view the underwater sonar imagery on a video monitor to
detect and classify objects in real-time.
 

The AN/AQS-14A is the only airborne high-speed minehunting sonar
system currently deployed by the Navy.

Item Number:6
Date: 10/09/2002
IRAQ - NEW CONSTRUCTION AT OLD NUCLEAR SITES (OCT 09/AP)

ASSOCIATED PRESS -- U.S. officials said Baghdad's efforts to conceal
activity at several former nuclear weapons research and development
sites have made it difficult to ascertain the purpose of several new
structures at the facilities, the Associated Press reports.
 

Iraqi officials have denied they are working on nuclear weapons, but
the previous use of the sites and several other indications suggest
otherwise, the officials said.
 

Baghdad's "denial and deception" efforts have stymied intelligence
agencies "from producing the kinds of smoking guns and smoking-gun
photographs...demanded by those who are skeptical of Iraqi
violations of U.N. resolutions," said Defense Intelligence Agency
(DIA) analyst John Yurechko.
 

The White House released satellite photos of two former nuclear
weapons research sites in Iraq following President Bush's speech on
Monday and a DIA analyst identified another two during a Tuesday
briefing on Iraq's attempts to conceal its activities. There is new
construction at each site.
 
 

Item Number:24
Date: 10/09/2002
UNITED KINGDOM - FORCING HUSSEIN OUT CALLED ILLEGAL (OCT 09/FT)

FINANCIAL TIMES -- U.K. Attorney General Lord Goldsmith warned Prime
Minister Tony Blair that attacking Iraq to force a regime change
would be a violation of international law, reports the Financial
Times.
 

The attorney general's advice to Blair describes limited
circumstances when international law allows for military action to
support U.N. Security Council resolutions and offers support to a
new U.N. resolution, but it rules out war as a tool for ousting
Saddam Hussein.
 

Last month, Blair told the House of Commons that the U.K. "will
always act in accordance with international law."
 

Item Number:26
Date: 10/09/2002
UNITED NATIONS - FRANCE, RUSSIA SIGNAL COMPROMISE MAY BE IN THE WORKS (OCT 09/TIMES)

THE TIMES -- France and Russia are edging closer to a deal with the
United States and Britain on a new United Nations resolution on
Iraq, the Times of London reports.
 

Paris and Moscow have taken passages from U.S. President George
Bush's speech on Monday that war is neither imminent nor inevitable
to mean that their efforts to steer the U.S. away from a policy of
"regime change" as the sole solution are working.
 

Bush said Saddam Hussein could avoid a military conflict if Iraq
disarms and complies with all U.N. resolutions. This prompted the
leader of French President Chirac's center-right party, Alain Juppe,
to claim, "French diplomacy has made itself heard."
 

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov indicated Moscow's change in
position by saying Russia would support proposals that increase the
effectiveness of weapons inspectors, a reversal of the previous
position.
 

Item Number:27
Date: 10/09/2002
USA - CIA REPORT WARNS ATTACK MAY PUSH SADDAM TO VENGEANCE (OCT 09/NYT)

NEW YORK TIMES -- A new CIA assessment states that an attack by the
U.S. on Iraq could remove any constraints that Saddam Hussein might
have from using terrorism, weapons of mass destruction or both in
order to strike back, the New York Times reports.
 

The assessment, in a letter signed by the deputy director of the CIA
on behalf of Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet, said,
"Baghdad for now appears to be drawing a line short of conducting
terrorist attacks" with conventional weapons or weapons of mass
destruction against the U.S.
 

"Should Saddam conclude that a U.S.-led attack could no longer be
deterred, he probably would become much less constrained in adopting
terrorist action. [Terrorism or WMDs could be] his last chance to
exact vengeance by taking a large number of victims with him," the
letter says.
 

However, the CIA also called credible reports that Al-Qaida has
tried to gain contacts in Iraq in order to acquire WMDs and that
Iraq had given Al-Qaida members training in making bombs, poisons
and gases.

Item Number:4
Date: 10/10/2002
GERMANY - SADDAM ALLEGEDLY WORKING ON ANOTHER SUPERGUN (OCT 10/INDEP)

THE INDEPENDENT (UK) -- German prosecutors in Mannheim allege Saddam
Hussein has once again been acquiring technology to build a
long-range "supergun" that could fire biological, chemical and even
nuclear shells, the Independent reports.
 

Two German men have been charged with purchasing cannon drilling
equipment and shipping it to Jordan and then Iraq four years ago.
 

The charges are the result of an investigation into the activities
of Alriwo, a Mannheim-based company.
 

A Mannheim prosecutor's office spokesman said more arrests are
expected.
 
 

Item Number:5
Date: 10/10/2002
IRAQ - COALITION FIGHTERS STRIKE SAM SITE (OCT 10/AP)

ASSOCIATED PRESS -- U.K. and U.S. fighters attacked Iraqi missile
launchers in the northern no-fly zone, northwest of Mosul, reports
the Associated Press.
 

U.S. European Command officials said the "imminently hostile
surface-to-air missiles system" included two missile launchers.
 

The southern Turkey-based warplanes used precision-guided munitions
to hit the Iraqi air defense system.
 
 
 
 

Item Number:6
Date: 10/10/2002
IRAQ - DRONES USED TO STRIKE AIR DEFENSES (OCT 10/NBC)

NBC NEWS -- The U.S. Air Force used unmanned combat aerial vehicles
last month in operations over southern Iraq, reports NBC News.
 

An RQ-IB Predator, armed with two air-to-ground Hellfire missiles,
reportedly struck at least one Iraqi target. One air defense target
was hit, while another missile missed, said U.S. officials.
 

An unarmed version of the Predator had been previously used in Iraq
for reconnaissance missions.
 

Item Number:7
Date: 10/10/2002
IRAQ - U.S. TRYING DIVIDE MIDDLE EAST, SAYS AZIZ (OCT 10/AUSBC)

AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING COMPANY -- Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq
Aziz accused the U.S. of planning to destroy Iraq and then move
against the rest of the Arab world, reports the Australian
Broadcasting Company.
 

"We are all threatened -- no Arab countries will be spared even if
they participate in the assault against Iraq," said Aziz.
 

"After having finished their crime in Iraq, they will turn their
attention to the others because for the United States, the Arabs are
forbidden to own their own wealth and have a voice," he said.
 

Aziz also warned that the U.S. was creating "a new map of the
region."
 

Item Number:24
Date: 10/10/2002
USA - WHITE HOUSE TRYING TO KEEP ISRAEL OUT OF WAR WITH IRAQ (OCT 10/DN)

DEFENSE NEWS -- In order to keep Israel out of any possible war with
Iraq, the U.S. has offered to give Israel at least 24 hours' notice
before any attack and has promised to designate Iraqi mobile missile
launchers, aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles as top priority
targets, Defense News reports.
 

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will visit Washington to meet
with U.S. President George Bush on Oct. 16, where the bilateral
coordination is expected to find formal approval.
 

In exchange for the warning, Sharon is expected to hold off from any
provocative military actions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that
would take the focus away from the U.S. effort against Iraq.
 

Israel has let the U.S. know that, for it to stay out of the war,
the U.S. must neutralize Iraqi weapons systems that can threaten
Israeli citizens.
 

In addition to the early warning, military officials from the two
countries will maintain communications and probably exchange data
through U.S. satellites and Israel's Green Pine missile tracking
radar.
 

Item Number:2
Date: 10/11/2002
DJIBOUTI - U.S. QUIETLY AUGMENTS BASE (OCT 11/EA)

EAST AFRICAN -- The United States continues to build up its base in
the east African nation of Djibouti in preparation for the expanding
war on terrorism, the East African reports.
 

About 800 American troops, including special operations forces, are
in Djibouti, where they could be used to attack targets in Yemen or
Somalia.
 

U.S. government officials, however, point out that U.S. forces have
been in Djibouti for five months and that troops from other
countries have been there for some time.
 

France, the former colonial ruler of Djibouti, stations 2,500 troops
there, while Germany has 1,000 troops there to patrol the Gulf of
Aden, Red Sea and Indian Ocean in support of anti-terrorist maritime
interception operations.
 
 

Item Number:5
Date: 10/11/2002
IRAQ - BAGHDAD'S MISSILES NOT WMD-CAPABLE, SAYS THINK TANK (OCT 11/MENL)

MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE -- Iraq's short- and medium-range ballistic
missiles are virtually incapable of delivering weapons of mass
destruction (WMDs), according to a report by the London-based
International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
 

The IISS report asserts the missiles are insufficiently developed to
carry chemical or biological weapons and that such WMDs would be
destroyed by impact at the target, the Middle East Newsline reports.
 

Though Iraq can produce chemical and biological weapons, the report
says it lacks the technology to successful design impact fuzes and
create warheads that would effectively spread the substances over a
large area.

Item Number:6
Date: 10/11/2002
IRAQ - TWO MORE TARGETS HIT IN NO-FLY ZONE (OCT 11/UPI)

UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL -- The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)
said U.S. and British aircraft bombed two more military targets in
the no-fly zone in southern Iraq, UPI reports.
 

Precision-guided weapons were used to hit a radar site near Basra,
245 miles southeast of Baghdad, and a missile site near Tallil,
about 160 miles southeast of Baghdad.
 

This is the third time CENTCOM has bombed sites in Iraq in October
in response to what it calls Iraqi "hostile acts" against the
aircraft patrolling the no-fly zone.
 
 

Item Number:19
Date: 10/11/2002
USA - CONGRESS AUTHORIZES USE OF FORCE AGAINST IRAQ (OCT 11/NYT)

NEW YORK TIMES -- The Senate and the House of Representatives both
passed resolutions giving President George Bush authorization to use
force against Iraq, the New York Times reports.
 

The House voted 296 to 133 for the resolution on Thursday afternoon,
followed by a 77 to 23 vote by the Senate in the early hours of
Friday morning.
 

Following the House vote, President Bush said the show of support
demonstrated "the gathering threat of Iraq must be confronted fully
and finally.... The days of Iraq acting as an outlaw state are
coming to an end."
 

President Bush is now authorized to use the military "as he
determines to be necessary and appropriate" to defend the United
States against "the continuing threat posed by Iraq," and to enforce
"all relevant" U.N. Security Council resolutions on Iraq. He must
also report to Congress within 48 hours of any military action.
 

Item Number:21
Date: 10/11/2002
USA - PENTAGON COULD BE READY FOR WAR BY DECEMBER (OCT 11/REU)

REUTERS -- U.S. officials and analysts said five aircraft carriers
with 350 aircraft could be positioned near Iraq by the end of the
year, if so ordered, and tens of thousands of troops could reach the
region much quicker than the six months it took in the 1991 Persian
Gulf War, Reuters reports.
 

"We are not now on a war footing. But this isn't 1991. We have
tanks, lots of stuff in the region waiting for drivers and
shooters," said one U.S. official.
 

Five carrier battle groups, containing several dozen cruisers and
destroyers armed with cruise missiles, would be joined by 300 U.S.
aircraft already in the area at a variety of bases.
 

Britain is ready to offer 20,000 troops and dozens of warplanes and
their movement, along with the carriers, would be hard to hide,
thereby sending a signal of a final build-up, analysts said.
 

Item Number:11
Date: 10/14/2002
MIDDLE EAST - IRAQ'S NEIGHBORS MAKING PLANS FOR 'INEVITABLE' WAR (OCT 14/TIMES)

THE TIMES -- British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, returning from a
four-country tour through the Middle East, said he was amazed by how
focused the talks were on "post-Saddam scenarios," the Times of
London reports.
 

Many countries in the Middle East are convinced that a U.S.-led war
against Saddam Hussein is inevitable and are making plans to protect
their interests.
 

Iran, Jordan and Kuwait are convinced war is likely and that regime
change in Iraq could be beneficial, said one senior British
diplomat, and even President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt discussed a
post-Saddam future.
 

The biggest concern, the source said, was the need to protect Iraq's
territorial integrity and sovereignty.
 

Iran told Straw that Tehran favors a stable Iraq within its current
borders, but wants Iraq's majority Shia Muslims to be properly
represented in a new government.
 

Item Number:16
Date: 10/14/2002
RUSSIA - PUTIN LEAVES DOOR HALF OPEN ON IRAQ RESOLUTION (OCT 14/CNN)

CABLE NEWS NETWORK -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said further
measures regarding Iraq would be considered, but he told British
Prime Minister Tony Blair that he would not endorse a tough new
Security Council resolution threatening force, CNN reports.
 

"We don't exclude the possibility of reaching a common position in
the Security Council," Putin said following talks with Blair.
 

However, Putin disagreed with Blair's assertion that Iraq had
chemical, biological and possibly nuclear weapons.
 

"Russia has no real data about Iraq holding nuclear weapons or any
other weapons of mass destruction," Putin said.
 

Item Number:20
Date: 10/14/2002
USA - NAVY ORDERS MORE SHIPS TO CARRY GEAR TO GULF (OCT 14/REU)

REUTERS -- The U.S. Navy wants to hire two more large merchant ships
to transport tanks, armored vehicles and other equipment from the
U.S. and Europe to the Middle East, building up for a possible
attack on Iraq, Reuters reports.
 

Commercial shipping tenders show the Navy's Military Sealift Command
(MSC) ordered a commercial roll-on roll-off (Ro-Ro) ship to move 867
separate pieces designated as "hazardous rolling stock" and taking
up 99,000 square feet. The Ro-Ro ship would load on the U.S. West
Coast in mid-October and discharge its cargo no later than
mid-November, according to the solicitation.
 

A separate order for another Ro-Ro ship calls for the transport of
253 pieces of "wheeled, track vehicles and containers," taking up
52,869 square feet, loading in Belgium and Italy from October 14 to
21 and dropping off at two undisclosed ports in the Middle East.
 

The new tenders now bring the total to six large Ro-Ro ships the MSC
is known to have chartered since August.
 

Item Number:21
Date: 10/14/2002
USA - RUMSFELD ORDERS WAR PLANS REWRITTEN (OCT 14/NYT)

NEW YORK TIMES -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld ordered military
commanders to rewrite war plans to take advantage of better
intelligence, quicker deployment and the use of precision weapons,
the New York Times reports.
 

Rumsfeld's goal, he said, is to let the plans capitalize on these
advantages so U.S. troops can be sent into combat on less notice and
with less force than previously thought possible.
 

In the case of Iraq, quicker mobilization and the use of more agile
forces could give the president more time to decide if he will call
for an offensive during the winter, which is the best season for
combat in the desert.
 

"Looking at what was overwhelming force a decade or two decades ago,
today you can have overwhelming force, conceivably, with lesser
numbers because the lethality is equal to or greater than before,"
Rumsfeld said.
 
 

Item Number:6
Date: 10/15/2002
IRAQ - SADDAM PLEDGES A FIGHT (OCT 15/PTI)

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA -- Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said that
Iraq was prepared to fight if invaded, reports the Press Trust of
India.
 

"No Iraqi and no one in the leadership wishes the aggression to take
place, but if fighting is imposed on us we will fight," he said.
 

Separately, Hussein is expected to win a referendum extending his
rule for another seven-year term.

Item Number:17
Date: 10/15/2002
UNITED NATIONS - SECURITY COUNCIL STILL DEADLOCKED ON IRAQ RESOLUTION (OCT 15/REU)

REUTERS -- The United States and France have not been able to
compromise on a new U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing the
use of force against Iraq if Baghdad fails to fully comply with a
strict inspection regime, with the two sides remaining far apart,
Reuters reports.
 

France, which holds a Security Council veto and leads what is
probably a majority of the 15 council members, wants one resolution
authorizing new inspections and a second resolution authorizing
force.
 

The U.S., however, wants both parts in a single resolution, but
might be willing to approve two resolutions so long as the first one
gives Washington the legal justification it needs to use force
against Baghdad for non-compliance.
 

Britain, which helped write the U.S. proposed draft resolution,
would also be willing to support the two-resolution concept, but
only if the inspection and disarmament requirements are tougher than
those Paris has proposed so far, diplomats said.
 

Item Number:24
Date: 10/15/2002
USA - WASHINGTON QUIETLY BUILDS FORCES IN PERSIAN GULF (OCT 15/AP)

ASSOCIATED PRESS -- Pentagon preparations for a likely showdown with
Iraq have been quietly but steadily continuing, suggesting the U.S.
could move quickly against Baghdad soon, though President George
Bush maintains war is neither imminent nor inevitable, the
Associated Press reports.
 

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington has been
relieved in the Persian Gulf by the USS Abraham Lincoln, but the
Washington has moved to the Mediterranean Sea, still within striking
distance.
 

The Norfolk-based USS Harry S. Truman is due to begin a six-month
deployment in early December, while the San Diego-based Kitty
Hawk-class carrier USS Constellation is scheduled to be deployed at
roughly the same time.
 

Several analysts have noted the presence of four carriers in the
region would be a signal that an attack was imminent.
 

In addition, the U.S. Central Command battle staff will move to a
new command post in Qatar in November, while the battle staffs of
the U.S. Army V Corps and the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force are
being moved to Kuwait.

Item Number:4
Date: 10/16/2002
IRAQ - COALITION FIGHTERS HIT ANOTHER COMMAND AND CONTROL SITE (OCT 16/AP)

ASSOCIATED PRESS -- Allied fighters bombed an Iraqi command site in
the southern no-fly zone, reports the Associated Press.
 

After being targeted by Iraqi air defenses, the warplanes attacked
the command and control facility near the Al Kut.
 

"Coalition strikes in the no-fly zones are executed as a
self-defense measure in response to Iraqi hostile threats and acts
against coalition forces and their aircraft,'' said a U.S. Central
Command statement.
 
 

Item Number:5
Date: 10/16/2002
IRAQ - OPPOSITION LEADER OPPOSES MILITARY RULE (OCT 16/TDN)

TURKISH DAILY NEWS -- The leader of the Supreme Council for Islamic
Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) said he opposes military rule in Baghdad
if Saddam Hussein is ousted, reports the Turkish Daily News.
 

"It is not possible for any Iraqi opposition force to accept
military rule over Iraq or the imposition of a non-elected
government on the Iraqi people," said Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir
al-Hakim, head of the Iran-based opposition group.
 

SCIRI claims to have 8,000 fighters inside Iraq and has been in
contact with the U.S. about the nature of a post Saddam government.
 

Item Number:16
Date: 10/16/2002
TURKEY - ANKARA LOOKING FOR QUICK HELICOPTER DEAL (OCT 16/MENL)

MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE -- Turkey may try to obtain attack helicopters
from U.S. military stocks or surplus for use in a Washington-led
attack on Iraq, the Middle East Newsline reports.
 

A variety of platforms are being discussed, with Turkey reportedly
interested in obtaining up to 30 attack helicopters for
approximately US$600 million.
 

Ankara is also seeking assistance from Washington for the purchase.
 

Turkey wants the helicopters to participate in search-and-destroy
missions against Iraqi forces and potential Al-Qaida elements hiding
in northern Iraq.
 

Item Number:19
Date: 10/16/2002
USA - EXPANDED AIR FORCE ANTHRAX VACCINE PROGRAM AUTHORIZED (OCT 16/AFPN)

AIR FORCE PRINT NEWS -- Senior Air Force officers approved the
expansion of the Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program for the
service last week, reports the Air Force Print News.
 

"Installations are to implement the Air Force plan immediately and
expand anthrax vaccination to include Priority II personnel," said
an Air Force medical officer.
 

Priority II personnel are military members, emergency-essential
Dept. of Defense civilians and specified contractors assigned to
certain higher-threat areas for more than 15 consecutive days.
 

Those higher threat areas are mostly in the Middle East.
 

Priority I personnel, who recently received the vaccine, include
those in designated special mission units, as well as vaccine
manufacturing and research personnel
 
 

Item Number:22
Date: 10/16/2002
USA - THREE NATIONS TO RECEIVE SIDEWINDERS (OCT 16/RAY)

RAYTHEON PRESS RELEASE -- The air forces from Oman, the United Arab
Emirates and the Czech Republic signed individual letters of offer
and acceptance authorizing purchases of Raytheon's AIM-9M Sidewinder
missile, reports a press release from the company.
 

The Sidewinders will be used on Czech L-159 Albatrosses as well as
Omani and Emirati F-16 Fighting Falcons.
 

Oman and the UAE already use the missile system, while the Czech
Republic is a first-time buyer

Item Number:21
Date: 10/17/2002
UNITED KINGDOM - CHALLENGERS MAY UNDERGO DESERT MODIFICATIONS (OCT 17/TIMES)

THE TIMES -- The British army is preparing plans to optimize 234
Challenger 2 main battle tanks for desert operations, reports the
Times of London.
 

A senior officer said that that two armored brigades are being
considered for limited desertification.
 

The plans are part of the Ministry of Defense's equipment program
for next year, said the officer.
 

Item Number:22
Date: 10/17/2002
UNITED NATIONS - INTERNATIONAL RESISTANCE GROWS OVER IRAQ ATTACK (OCT 17/TIMES)

THE TIMES -- A growing number of European leaders and a majority of
members of the United Nations disagree with the United States,
refusing to give President George Bush a mandate to use force
against Saddam Hussein, the Times of London reports.
 

President Bush has focused on resistance by France and Russia,
warning, "Chaos in [the Middle East] would be felt in Europe and
beyond," but Paris and Moscow have been joined by Rome in dismissing
Bush's saber-rattling.
 

Iraq "does not any longer have any weapons of mass destruction
because they have all been eliminated," said Italian Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi following talks with Russian President Vladimir
Putin in Moscow, adding that the two leaders stood together in
opposition to a new resolution that mentions the use of force.
 

French President Jacques Chirac, visiting Egypt, said, "War is the
worst response a man could imagine. Everything must be done to avoid
it."
 

Other countries have continued to lash out against what they see as
U.S. unilateralism in marathon speeches at the U.N., including South
Africa, leader of the 114-nation Non-Aligned Movement, which called
for the U.N. to accept Saddam's offer to allow weapons inspectors to
return.
 
 

Item Number:23
Date: 10/17/2002
USA - BUSH SIGNS WAR RESOLUTION (OCT 17/CNN)

CABLE NEWS NETWORK -- President George Bush signed a congressional
resolution on Wednesday authorizing him to use military force to
disarm Iraq, CNN reports.
 

During the White House ceremony, Bush said Americans "will not live
at the mercy of any foreign power or plot."
 

"Either the Iraqi regime will give up its weapons of mass
destruction, or for the sake of peace, the United States will lead a
global coalition to disarm that regime. If any doubt our nation's
resolve, our determination, they would be unwise to test it," Bush
said.
 

Bush also called on the United Nations to make Iraq meet its
obligations: "The time has arrived once again for the United Nations
to live up to the purposes of its founding -- to protect our common
security. The time has arrived once again for free nations to face
up to our global responsibilities and confront a gathering danger."
 

MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE -- Officials in Jordan fear the large number of
Iraqi emigrants in the country may react violently if the U.S.
attacks Baghdad, the Middle East Newsline reports.
 

"We're worried that the Iraqis would help finance and foment violent
protests across the kingdom that would undermine the stability of
Jordan and even the region," one Jordanian official said.
 

Jordan has increased security and refused entry of hundreds of Iraqi
nationals along the border with Iraq in the last few week.
 

Amman has expressed its concerns to Washington that Saddam Hussein
might order the 400,000 Iraqis living in Jordan, who are believed to
have considerable financial means, to rise up against the Hashemite
government.
 
 

Item Number:19
Date: 10/18/2002
UNITED NATIONS - U.S. SOFTENS DEMAND FOR ATTACK RESOLUTION (OCT 18/KR)

KNIGHT RIDDER -- The United States is backing away from demands that
a new United Nations resolution must authorize both new weapons
inspections rules and the use of force if Baghdad does not comply,
Knight Ridder reports.
 

This could lead to a significant delay in Pentagon war planning,
depending on how long it takes inspectors to carry out their work
and any diplomacy should inspection efforts fail or be blocked.
 

The compromise language put forth by the United States now indicates
no specific serious consequences for Baghdad if it does not comply
with the new requirements of a stiff U.N. inspection regime.
 

The change indicates the White House wants to preserve a
multilateral approach to Iraq, an approach championed by Secretary
of State Colin Powell, rather than risking a "go it alone" approach,
as advocated by Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld.
 

Item Number:1
Date: 10/21/2002
BAHRAIN - DEFENSE CONTINGENCY PLANS DRAFTED (OCT 21/MENL)

MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE -- Amid threats of a U.S.-led war against Iraq,
Bahrain has begun a review of its military readiness, reports the
Middle East Newsline.
 

Bahraini officials have drafted defense and security plans to
respond to a possible invasion of Iraq.
 

The official Bahraini news agency said the kingdom's defense forces
have maintained "combat readiness through continued training and the
holding of practical and theoretical programs in various military
sciences."
 

Item Number:10
Date: 10/21/2002
IRAQ - BUSH AUTHORIZES TRAINING OF EXILES (OCT 21/WP)

WASHINGTON POST -- President Bush has authorized the Pentagon to
train up to 5,000 Iraqi dissidents and approved $92 million for the
program, reports the Washington Post.
 

Beginning next month in an undisclosed location outside the U.S.,
the opponents of Saddam Hussein will be trained in basic and
specialized combat skills to prepare them as battlefield advisors,
scouts and interpreters for U.S. troops in a possible ground
invasion of Iraq.
 

Others will be trained as forward spotters for laser-guided bombs
and military police to guard Iraqi prisoners of war.
 

The force is eventually expected to number 10,000, with the first
5,000 recruits coming from a list compiled by the Iraqi National
Congress opposition group.
 

Item Number:11
Date: 10/21/2002
IRAQ - DURATION OF A WAR WOULD DEPEND ON MORALE, LOYALTY (OCT 21/TIMES)

THE TIMES -- The length of a possible war with Iraq depends on the
moral and loyalty of Saddam Hussein's troops, reports the Times of
London, citing a report by the London-based International Institute
for Strategic Studies (IISS).
 

The land war could last "10 minutes to 10 months" depending on what
happens when U.S. forces get to Baghdad, the IISS said.
 

The Special Republican Guard, Saddam Hussein's loyal troops who
guard the capital, could prolong the fighting if they decide to
engage U.S. forces, said the report.
 
 

Item Number:12
Date: 10/21/2002
IRAQ - SPECIAL FORCES EYE SCUD LAUNCHERS (OCT 21/WP)

WASHINGTON POST -- The Bush administration told Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon the U.S. would send special forces into
western Iraq at the beginning of any invasion to destroy missile
launchers aimed at Israel, reports the Washington Post.
 

This pledge, reportedly given to Sharon during his recent visit to
Washington, came after an alleged Israeli reconnaissance mission
into Iraq this past summer to determine Iraq's missile and drone
launch capabilities.
 

Iraq is believed to have a mobile Scud ballistic missile launchers
in the western desert.
 

The special targeting of what is thought to be only a few launchers
stems from the White House's desire to keep Israel out of any war
with Iraq.
 

Item Number:22
Date: 10/21/2002
TURKEY - DESPITE RESERVATIONS, SUPPORT LIKELY FOR IRAQ WAR (OCT 21/FT)

FINANCIAL TIMES -- Despite a heated internal debate over possible
military action against Iraq, Turkey is likely to provide support
for a U.S.-led war against Baghdad, reports the Financial Times.
 

Many Turkish officials view the war as dangerous and unnecessary,
but Ankara is likely to allow the U.S. to use Turkish airbases in
the southeast.
 

Ankara is bargaining for economic compensation for its support and
assurances that the U.S. will not allow the establishment of an
independent Kurdish state.

Item Number:23
Date: 10/21/2002
USA - A LOOK AT RUMSFELD'S GUIDELINES FOR USE OF FORCE (OCT 21/UPI)

UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL -- When he assumed office, U.S. Secretary
of Defense Donald Rumsfeld wrote up guidelines for committing U.S.
to combat, reports United Press International.
 

For example, wrote Rumsfeld: "Is a proposed action truly necessary?
If people could be killed, ours or others, the U.S. must have a darn
good reason."
 

"Is the proposed action achievable?" Rumsfeld also stated. The
emphasis should be on a clear command structure for combat
operations. "Avoid trying so hard to persuade others to join a
coalition that it compromises our goals or jeopardizes the command
structure."
 

"Is it worth it?" the secretary asked. "If an engagement is worth
doing, the U.S. and coalition partners should recognize that lives
will be put at risk."
 

When the use of force has been decided upon, the nation should act
early. "If it is worth doing, U.S. leadership should make a judgment
as to when diplomacy has failed and act forcefully, early, during
the pre-crisis period, to try to alter the behavior of others and to
prevent the conflict," wrote Rumsfeld.
 

Nevertheless, said the secretary, "While these guidelines are worth
considering, they should not be considered rules to inhibit the U.S.
from acting in our national interest."
 

Item Number:14
Date: 10/22/2002
UNITED NATIONS - U.S. PRESENTS NEW IRAQ DRAFT (OCT 22/UPI)

UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL -- The United States has offered to the
other four permanent members of the U.N. Security Council a new
draft resolution concerning tougher weapons inspections for Iraq,
UPI reports.
 

The U.S. Mission to the United Nations was uncharacteristically
quiet on the matter, refusing to comment. Britain, China, France and
Russia also declined to comment.
 

Sources said the resolution is a compromise that removes the phrase
"all means necessary," diplomatic parlance meaning the use of force,
with a requirement for inspectors "to consider the situation and the
need for full compliance with all the relevant Security Council
resolutions in order to restore peace and security" should they
encounter resistance from Baghdad.
 
 

Item Number:17
Date: 10/22/2002
USA - PENTAGON REFINES WAR PLAN FOR URBAN FIGHTING (OCT 22/NYT)

NEW YORK TIMES -- In a change from U.S. doctrine, the Pentagon is
training its troops to attack Baghdad but avoid house-to-house
combat, the New York Times reports.
 

Although U.S. troops will attempt to avoid fighting by simply
isolating Baghdad and attacking Saddam's power base, if they have to
engage in close-quarters battles in the streets of the city, they
will take their time, pick targets carefully and overwhelm them with
decisive force, U.S. generals said.
 

U.S. intelligence agencies are updating military maps and gathering
blueprints of Saddam's palaces and ministry buildings to provide
troops with the best available information on assaulting individual
locations.
 

More than 3,000 Army troops from the 10th Mountain Division are
training at a fake city in Louisiana, as are Marines in Guam and
southern California.
 

Item Number:20
Date: 10/22/2002
USA - WAR IMMINENT WITHIN NEXT 6 MONTHS, SAYS IISS (OCT 22/MENL)

MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE -- The London-based International Institute for
Strategic Studies (IISS) said in its annual publication on the
strategic balance that the United States will probably attack Iraq
within the next six months, the Middle East Newsline reports.
 

"Military operations could start in December," said IISS deputy
director Steven Simon.
 

The U.S. is prepared to fight Iraq alone in a war if necessary as
part of its policy of preemptive attack, the IISS publication said.
 

Item Number:4
Date: 10/23/2002
BOSNIA - NATO HAS PROOF OF SERB EXPORTS TO IRAQ (OCT 23/REU)

REUTERS -- NATO peacekeepers inspecting the Orao company, in the
Serbian part of Bosnia, have compiled proof that the firm exported
military equipment to Iraq through Yugoslavia, Reuters reports.
 

The U.S. Embassy accused Orao last month of selling spare parts for
MiG-21 aircraft to Baghdad in violation of U.N. resolutions.
 

However, a report by the Sarajevo daily newspaper Oslobodjenje said
that Orao kept exporting the equipment even after the U.S. protest,
citing a document that showed the company told five staff members to
stay in Iraq and destroy traces of Orao's business there.
 
 

Item Number:9
Date: 10/23/2002
IRAQ - NEW REPORT SAYS U.S. ATTACK COULD 'TRIGGER CIVIL WAR' (OCT 23/NYT)

NEW YORK TIMES -- A report by the Brookings Institution and the
Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies
says ethnic groups could try to wrest autonomy or independence if
Saddam Hussein is ousted by the United States, triggering an Iraqi
civil war, the New York Times reports.
 

The report cites deep regional and ethnic disputes caused by the
displacement of one million people over the last three decades,
particularly between Iraqis and Kurds in the northern part of the
country.
 

The Kurds, who were ousted from the fertile, oil-rich area around
the northern city of Kirkuk, could try to regain their former
territories from other Iraqis.
 

The report suggests that the best way to address the needs of Iraq's
displaced peoples is a new government in Baghdad, but stresses the
need for immediate stabilization efforts and relief aid from the
international community should Saddam's regime fall.
 
 

Item Number:15
Date: 10/23/2002
UNITED KINGDOM - U.S. WANTS RETURN OF SAS HELICOPTERS (OCT 23/GUAR)

THE GUARDIAN -- The Pentagon has asked London to return eight MH-47
Chinook helicopters slated for use by the British SAS, the Guardian
reports.
 

The U.S. needs to the aircraft to replace those lost in Afghanistan
or down for major overhauls due to service against Al-Qaida and
Taliban fighters there.
 

The eight helicopters have not yet been made available to the SAS,
having been recently delivered by manufacturer Boeing after several
delays.
 

Washington has proposed to buy back the Chinooks and later provide
the U.K. with a newer model, the MH-47G.
 
 

Item Number:16
Date: 10/23/2002
UNITED NATIONS - PARIS, MOSCOW UNHAPPY WITH WORDING OF PROPOSED RESOLUTION (OCT 23/WP)

WASHINGTON POST -- France and Russia are not satisfied with the
language of the latest U.S. draft of a resolution for the possible
use of force against Iraq, the Washington Post reports.
 

Both Security Council members were concerned that, though the
wording is different from previous proposals, it still implicitly
authorized the Bush administration to use force if Saddam Hussein
refuses to dismantle his chemical, biological and nuclear weapons
programs or gets in the way of inspectors.
 

"Our goal is the return of the U.N. weapons inspectors and the
elimination of weapons of mass destruction, and not regime change in
Iraq. It is in this context that we are negotiating this
resolution," said French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin.
 

"The American draft resolution submitted yesterday for preliminary
discussion so far fails to meet the criteria that we previously set
out and that we confirm," said Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.

Item Number:17
Date: 10/23/2002
USA - ARMY ORDERS ANTI-TANK MISSILES (OCT 23/RAY)

RAYTHEON PRESS RELEASE -- The U.S. Army has placed a $52 million
order for the fiscal year 2002 production of the TOW 2 anti-tank and
assault missile, manufacturer Raytheon reports.
 

The contract orders 1,689 TOW 2A, TOW 2B and practice missiles for
sale through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, to go to
Israel, Japan, Jordan, Luxembourg and Spain.
 

The Army is working with Raytheon to develop a "bunker buster"
modification for the TOW 2A designed to destroy fortifications and
breach walls, including triple-thick brick and reinforced concrete.
 

Item Number:18
Date: 10/23/2002
USA - NEW SUBMUNITION SUCCESSFUL IN UAV TEST (OCT 23/NG)

NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP. -- A RQ-5A Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle
(UAV) successfully hit four targets in four attempts using the U.S.
Army's new Bat submunition, manufacturer Northrop Grumman reports.
 

The tests, conducted on Oct. 9 and 11 at White Sands Missile Range,
N.M., demonstrated the successful integration of the two systems.
 

The first test used two Bats with flight data recorders against
eight moving targets to destroy a BMP and a T-72 tank, while the
second test used two fully tactical Bats to score hits on two other
vehicles while also providing real-time bomb damage assessment.
 

The Bat is an autonomous submunition with a combination of passive
acoustic and IR sensors to seek, identify and destroy moving targets
deep in enemy territory.
 
 
 

Item Number:19
Date: 10/23/2002
USA - PENTAGON WILL STEP UP TRAINING FOR IRAQI OPPOSITION GROUPS (OCT 23/BBC)

BRITISH BROADCASTING CORP. -- A senior U.S. defense official said
the Pentagon will increase and expand training for opposition groups
in preparation for an attack on Iraq, the BBC reports.
 

The program, authorized by President Bush and being briefed to
Congress, would enhance the combat training of recruits to work with
U.S. forces.
 

The training could take place in about six different countries, the
source said, indicating the potential scale of the effort.
 
 

Item Number:1
Date: 10/24/2002
AFGHANISTAN - APACHES FIRE HELLFIRES IN LIVE-FIRE EXERCISE (OCT 24/REU)

REUTERS -- The U.S. Army held live-fire exercise with Apache attack
helicopters in Afghanistan and said the aircraft could play an
important role in a possible war with Iraq, reports Reuters.
 

The Apaches test-fired their wire-guided Hellfire missiles near
Bagram Airbase, north of Kabul.
 

Apaches were widely used in the 1991 Persian Gulf war to take out
Iraqi armor.

Item Number:3
Date: 10/24/2002
AUSTRALIA - NAVY TO USE PERTH AS SUPPLY BASE (OCT 24/AFP)

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE -- The U.S. Navy has decided to use the western
Australian city of Perth for crew changeovers and resupply, reports
Agence France-Presse.
 

Navy destroyers and supply ships could spend up to two weeks at a
time in Perth, said Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill.
 

Navy operations in the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf usually
return to the West Coast of the U.S. for resupply and crew swaps.
 

The ships will not replenish their weapons stores while in
Australia.

Item Number:7
Date: 10/24/2002
IRAN - DEFENSE MINISTER RULES OUT COOPERATION WITH U.S. AGAINST IRAQ (OCT 24/XIN)

XINHUA -- Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani said reports that
Tehran would let U.S. troops use its facilities for an attack on
Iraq were ridiculous, the Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency
repots.
 

"We will not accompany Americans in any military operation,"
Shamkhani said.
 

Dubbing Western press reports speculating that Iran may give some
bases to U.S. forces to attack Iraq as the "joke of the year,"
Shamkhani reiterated Tehran's opposition to a military move against
Baghdad.
 

Item Number:8
Date: 10/24/2002
IRAQ - ALLIED JETS STRIKE TARGETS IN SOUTHERN NO-FLY ZONE (OCT 24/OI)

ONLINE IRELAND -- The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said allied
aircraft bombed two air defense sites in southern Iraq, the third
strike in the last week, Online Ireland reports.
 

The attacks were made on an air defense operations center at Tallil,
160 miles southeast of Baghdad, and on an air defense communications
facility at Al Jarrah, 90 miles southeast of Baghdad, CENTCOM said.
 

CENTCOM officials said Iraqi forces fired anti-aircraft artillery
and surface-to-air missiles at patrolling allied aircraft.
 
 

Item Number:16
Date: 10/24/2002
UNITED NATIONS - U.S. REVISES IRAQ SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION (OCT 24/BG)

BOSTON GLOBE -- The U.S. presented a revised draft resolution on
Iraq to the United Nations Security Council, reports the Boston
Globe.
 

The draft drops some demands, but would give U.N. weapons inspectors
full and unfettered access to suspected sites.
 

It leaves open the threat of military action should Iraq refuse to
cooperate, but it gives the Security Council a larger role in
deciding what measures to take should there be non-compliance.
 

The proposed resolution also threatens Iraq with its "material
breach" of previous Security Council resolutions.
 

Permanent Security Council members France and Russia have made it
clear that this revision was still unacceptable to them.
 

Item Number:19
Date: 10/24/2002
USA - INTEL UNIT SEARCHING FOR OVERLOOKED IRAQ INFORMATION (OCT 24/NYT)

NEW YORK TIMES -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other senior
Pentagon officials have assigned a small team to search for
information on Iraq that the intelligence services may have
overlooked, reports the New York Times
 

The four- to five-member team was set up by Under Secretary of
Defense for Policy Douglas Feith soon after the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks.
 

Using powerful computers and new software, the team sifts through
reports and documents from the CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency and
other intelligence services for possible Iraqi links to terrorist
organizations and other hostile intentions.

Item Number:7
Date: 10/25/2002
IRAQ - PREDATORS FLYING OVER SOUTHERN NO-FLY ZONE (OCT 25/AP)

ASSOCIATED PRESS -- Joint Chief of Staff Chairman Gen. Richard Myers
admitted that Predator drones have been patrolling the southern
no-fly zone in Iraq for over a decade, reports the Associated Press.
 

The unmanned aerial vehicles fly with Air Force warplanes and
provide low-altitude reconnaissance.
 

A month ago Predators armed with Hellfire missiles began flying
missions over Iraq, said Myers.

Item Number:11
Date: 10/28/2002
JORDAN - U.S. DIPLOMAT KILLED BY MASKED GUNMAN (OCT 28/UPI)

UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL -- Lawrence Foley, a senior diplomat for
the U.S. Agency for International Development in Jordan, was gunned
down outside his home by a masked man, UPI reports.
 

"An unidentified gunman fired at him, killing him on the spot as he
prepared to leave his home early this morning to go to work," said
Jordanian Minister of Information Mohammad Adwan.
 

There was apparently no security at Foley's home in Amman, Adwan
said. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
 
 

Item Number:12
Date: 10/28/2002
JORDAN - U.S. TO COMPENSATE FOR IRAQ WAR (OCT 28/REU)

REUTERS -- Washington promised to aid Jordan's economy if an attack
on Iraq disrupts the kingdom's oil supplies, reports Reuters.
 

Jordanian sources said that the U.S. promised to pay $450 million a
year to compensate for economic losses incurred by an invasion of
Iraq.
 

Jordan estimates that the war could cost the country $1 billion a
year from the loss of cheap Iraqi oil.
 

"Senior U.S. officials have told Jordan don't worry. You won't be
left alone. Your friends in Washington will not idly stand by and
watch economic adversity hit our traditional ally," said a Jordanian
official.
 

Item Number:18
Date: 10/28/2002
UNITED NATIONS - WASHINGTON INTRODUCES IRAQ RESOLUTION TO SECURITY COUNCIL (OCT 28/CSM)

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR -- The U.S. presented its proposed Iraq
resolution to the United Nations Security Council and urged its 15
members to approve it quickly, reports the Christian Science Monitor
 

Russia rejected this latest U.S. draft and has not ruled out using
its veto power, saying the document would automatically sanction a
military attack.
 

U.S. officials said the bigger threat is inaction. "The real hidden
trigger is the absence of a resolution," said a U.S. spokesman.
 

In a related story, France said it opposes the wording of the
resolution but has not threatened to use its veto, reports National
Public Radio.

Item Number:19
Date: 10/28/2002
USA - BUSH MAY BYPASS UNITED NATIONS ON IRAQ (OCT 28/AP)

ASSOCIATED PRESS -- Giving a clear signal to the United Nations that
time for a new resolution on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and
arms inspectors is running out, President George Bush hinted he may
bypass the U.N. entirely, the Associated Press reports.
 

"If the U.N. does not pass a resolution which holds him to account
and that has consequences, then, as I have said in speech after
speech after speech, if the U.N. won't act, if Saddam Hussein won't
disarm, we will lead a coalition to disarm him," Bush said, speaking
at the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Cabo San Lucas,
Mexico.
 

"I don't think there's any doubt that the threat of force and the
threat of consequences...must be there or we know that Iraq will not
respond," said Secretary of State Colin Powell, who noted that there
are still some key issues delaying passage.
 
 

Item Number:20
Date: 10/28/2002
USA - DRONE LAUNCHES ANTI-ARMOR MUNITIONS (OCT 28/TRW)

TRW PRESS RELEASE -- Last week, a Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle
successfully dropped two live Brilliant anti-armor munitions,
damaging armored targets, at White Sands, N.M., reports a TRW press
release.
 

TRW and Israel Aircraft Industries jointly produce the Hunter.
 
 
 

Item Number:21
Date: 10/28/2002
USA - RAPTOR TO BEGIN INITIAL OPERATIONAL TESTING (OCT 28/LHM)

LOCKHEED MARTIN -- Lockheed Martin delivered the first production
F/A-22 Raptor to the U.S. Air Force for initial operational testing,
reports a company press release.
 

The Raptor will be flown at the Air Force's test center at Edwards
AFB, Calif.
 

A detachment of the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center
will examine this Raptor along with several other F/A-22
demonstration models.
 
 

Item Number:22
Date: 10/28/2002
USA - RUMSFELD DENIES INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY, PENTAGON SPLIT (OCT 28/NYT)

NEW YORK TIMES -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that
despite differing views on Iraq's links to Al-Qaida, the
intelligence community and the Pentagon have a cooperative and
friendly relationship, reports the New York Times.
 

Some reports have indicated that Rumsfeld and his advisors have
molded intelligence findings to fit their hawkish views on Iraq.
 

"It is an excellent relationship between the Dept. of Defense and
the intelligence community," Rumsfeld contended.
 

"There are always going to be people who have different intelligence
views within the agency, and there's no question but that on some of
these important terrorism issues, you're seeing differences of
opinions out of the intelligence community and the Central
Intelligence Agency," he said.
 
 
 
 

Item Number:23
Date: 10/28/2002
USA - STEALTH FIGHTER GETS UPGRADE (OCT 28/DN)

DEFENSE NEWS -- The U.S. Air Force has plans to upgrade the
targeting system of the F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighter to keep the
aircraft flying an extra decade, Defense News reports.
 

The $333 million infrared acquisition and designation system (IRADS)
targeting upgrade will increase reliability, processing speed and
eliminate some parts, said program officials.
 

Research and development will begin in 2005 with production
scheduled for 2008 to 2012.
 

Item Number:3
Date: 10/29/2002
BOSNIA - SERB DEFENSE OFFICIALS RESIGN OVER IRAQ SALES (OCT 29/BBC)

BRITISH BROADCASTING CORP. -- Defense Minister Slobodan Bilic and
army Chief of Staff Novica Simic resigned from their posts in the
Republika Srpska (the Bosnian Serb Republic) after their government
admitted a state-owned aviation company sold military equipment to
Iraq in violation of a U.N. embargo, the BBC reports.
 

The state-owned Orao aviation firm sold the equipment, including
spare parts for MiG fighters, through the Yugoslav state-owned
Jugoimport company.
 

The Bosnian Serb Supreme Defense Council said the two men were not
directly involved in the sales but resigned to "improve the
international position of the Republika Srpska and of Bosnia."
 
 

Item Number:9
Date: 10/29/2002
IRAQ - FOREIGN MINISTER DENOUNCES U.S. DRAFT RESOLUTION (OCT 29/TIMES)

THE TIMES -- Iraq claimed that a new U.S. resolution covering the
return of United Nations weapons inspectors to Iraq would make the
nation an occupied territory, reports the Times of London.
 

The draft "calls for dealing with Iraq as an occupied territory, as
a country with no government, with no sovereignty," said Foreign
Minister Naji Sabri.
 

Sabri further described the draft resolution as a "a declaration to
colonize Iraq in the name of the United Nations."
 
 

Item Number:14
Date: 10/29/2002
JORDAN - U.S. SETTING UP NEW EXERCISE (OCT 29/MENL)

MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE -- The United States wants its Arab allies to
take part in a new military exercise in Jordan next month, the
Middle East Newsline reports.
 

The exercise would take place in the southern part of the country,
said Jordanian officials, and would include forces from Egypt,
Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
 

Information Minister Mohammed Adwan said, "These are routine
exercises set by previous agreements and are not connected to any
U.S. plan to attack Iraq."
 

Item Number:19
Date: 10/29/2002
RUSSIA - PUTIN VOWS WAR ON TERRORISM (OCT 29/NYT)

NEW YORK TIMES -- President Vladimir Putin struck an uncompromising
tone in the wake of an attack by Chechen rebels on a Moscow theater
that left some 117 dead, vowing a war on terrorists "wherever they
may be located," the New York Times reports.
 

"Russia will respond with measures that are adequate to the threat
to the Russian Federation, striking on all the places where the
terrorists themselves, the organizers of these crimes and their
ideological and financial inspirers are," Putin said.
 

Putin did not elaborate on who might be giving international support
to the Chechen rebels, though Moscow has long accused Islamic
extremists of aiding them.

Item Number:25
Date: 10/29/2002
USA - BUSH PUSHES VOTE ON U.N. RESOLUTION (OCT 29/WP)

WASHINGTON POST -- Senior White House officials said President
George Bush will force a vote in the U.N. Security Council over
future inspections in Iraq if there is not substantial progress
towards an inspection plan by next week, the Washington Post
reports.
 

The setting of a deadline, the officials said, is a tactic to put
pressure on the council members, including France and Russia, to
make a deal.
 

Secretary of State Colin Powell wants to force the vote by next week
at the latest, even if there are not enough votes to pass the
resolution, the White House sources said.
 
 

Item Number:26
Date: 10/29/2002
USA - PENTAGON READY TO MOBILIZE 265,000 RESERVISTS (OCT 29/NYT)

NEW YORK TIMES -- If a U.S. attack on Iraq is authorized, the
Pentagon has drafted plans to mobilize about 265,000 reservists,
roughly the number activated during the 1991 Gulf War, reports the
New York Times.
 

Large numbers of activated reservists and National Guardsmen would
likely be used to guard U.S. military bases at home and abroad.
 

Some troops, mostly from the National Guard, would play a key role
in protecting potential terrorist targets in the U.S., including
power plants, medical centers and other infrastructure.
 

Navy and Coast Guard reserves would be activated to patrol maritime
borders.
 

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 1 —  Following a suggestion from a top weapons inspector, the United States was likely to change its proposed U.N. resolution to give Iraq more time to declare oil industry-related chemicals that may have military applications, diplomats said. News of the concession emerged as negotiators for the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council edged close to agreement on how to inspect and disarm Iraq.

       BUT WASHINGTON will stick to its 30-day deadline for Iraq to divulge to the U.N. Security Council its weapons of mass destruction programs, a key part of the draft resolution that toughens arms inspections and warns of “serious consequences” if Baghdad fails to comply.
       The U.S. revision Friday was a response to suggestions by chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix, who said Iraq would have trouble declaring chemicals and other materials that could have “dual use” — military and civilian applications — in its extensive oil-related industries within the 30-day deadline.
       The diplomats told Reuters that the United States had agreed to extend the 30-day deadline to 50 days for Iraq’s civilian chemical and biological materials, such as those used in medicines.
       The proposed U.S.-British resolution says failure by Iraq to make a full declaration on time and interference in the inspections could amount to “material breach” of the 1991 Persian Gulf War cease-fire pact, a legal basis for war.
       The United States wants a vote next week in the Security Council within 48 hours after it presents a revised resolution, but delays are normal in the 15-nation body.

       To be adopted, a resolution needs nine votes in favor and no veto from the five permanent council members, which Washington believes it has now achieved. But abstentions from permanent members France, Russia and China would send a signal to Iraq that the council is bitterly divided.

COMPROMISE CLOSE
       Consequently, Washington is still engaged in complex talks with France, whose position has widespread support in the United Nations. But the latest wording appears to bring the two nations closer to agreement.
       France, as well as Russia, fears “hidden triggers” that would allow Washington to go to war, overthrow Saddam Hussein and then claim the United Nations had authorized it.
       The United States has suggested several so-called “firewall” formulas that would commit Washington to wait until chief U.N. inspector Hans Blix reports any serious violations to the council. France has argued that the council should decide which violation was serious enough to be called a “material breach.”
 

1. Periscope, News Clipping Services (email), all items preceded with "Item Number" have been excerpted from email news summaries received from Periscope starting on 7/22/02. The original news source of the information is listed with these items.  In some cases, a follow is made, in which case, the original source link is included.
2. MSBNC online, various articles, with specific links directly to each article
3. Fox News Online, various articles with specific links directly to each article
4. Middle East Newsline, various articles as cited
5. The Washington Post, various artices as cited