electromagnet

EDITORIAL: Iraqi Tribunal Must Accord with International Law

Why Saddam Won't Testify

The New Zealand Herald reports:

United States Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday that the Central Intelligence Agency will be responsible for the interrogation of Saddam Hussein.
CIA director George Tenet had been asked to be responsible for the handling of the interrogation.
Rumsfeld said he had requested that the CIA control the questions and "the management of the information that flows from those interrogations".

"Black List One" as the US troops have been calling him, may, or at least should, be contemplating the subpoena he can issue to summon Donald Rumsfeld to testify about the defense secretary's trip to Baghdad in 1983.
Cross questioning would elicit details of how Rumsfeld arrived as a special Presidential envoy, offering full support to Saddam in his war with Iran while simultaneously touting for the Bechtel Corporation in connection with a proposed pipeline deal. Rumsfeld also callied a letter from Israeli Prime Minister Itzak Shamir offering to sell arms in any quantity to Saddam.
The deposed Iraqi leader may also have visions of summoning the American executives who sold him the wherewithal for biological weapons manufacture, or the U.S admirals who commanded the fleet to fight by his side against Iranian gunboats and airliners in the Arabian Gulf in 1988,

Occupation Becomes Unpopular

A month ago US forces ringed the village with barbed wire. Visitors need permission to enter, and everybody is checked on arrival and departure. This has meant that the Sheik's large reception hall is mostly empty these days. "I have farms, and people would come to me with their problems or just to report. Now that is impossible." Sheik Mahmoud believes the U.S. forces did this to search for Saddam. But just days after the arrest, the ring is tighter than ever. "If Saddam Hussein had ever put barbed wire around this village, we would have fought him," the Sheik says angrily.

The Sheik says he is a monarchist, rather than a Baath member like Saddam Hussein. He emphasises his political differences with the arrested leader. In the early nineties he was forced out of his position, and Saddam appointed someone else head of the tribe, he says. "He is now dead. He was killed two months ago." The Sheik does not elaborate.
Despite such differences, he says no one from his own tribe would have betrayed Saddam. "In Iraq family ties are more important than political differences," he says. The Sheik points out that Saddam was caught in Durra village just south of Ouja. "We did not even know where he was."

President Opposes International Tribunal

Bush, whose administration has long opposed the International Criminal Court, said: "We will work with the Iraqis to develop a way to try him that will stand international scrutiny." Regarding Hussein's punishment, he said, "It's going to be up to the Iraqis to make those decisions." He stipulated, however, that "there needs to be a public trial, and all the atrocities need to come out, and justice needs to be delivered."

The president appeared increasingly optimistic that seizing the ousted leader will weaken the anti-American insurgency. Though he cautioned that foreign terrorists remain in Iraq and "there will be more violence because I believe there's holdovers of Saddam that are frustrated," Bush said in his prepared remarks.

Iraq Reconstruction Contracts:

The Headline is the Story

"The European Union said Wednesday it would examine whether the United States violates world trade rules with its decision to bar countries that opposed its war in Iraq from bidding for $18.6 billion worth reconstruction contracts."

COMMENTARY

On the national version of the AP wire, the headline reads:

"White House defends Pentagon ruling barring
Iraq war opponents from bidding on contracts"

Of course, if you read the story off the national wire, the headline makes it look like a no-brainer. Why let someone who's opposed to the Iraq war bid on a military contract? But the contracts are for the RECONSTRUCTION of Iraq, and this is not a military matter. A closer look might lead one to think that yes indeed, someone who opposes war in Iraq might be the ideal candidate for rebuilding it. Furthermore, consider the number of people who are likely to read only the headline. At the least, it's misleading. The Associated press knows the statistics on matters like this. No doubt that they are aware of the fact that it's misleading.
If not, they ought to.

Unocal Faces Liability for Human Rights Violations

The next phase of trial in Burmese villagers’ suits against the California oil giant for human rights violations committed in connection with the construction of Unocal’s Yadana natural gas pipeline will opened at 8:30 am this morning in California Superior Court, 600 Commonwealth Avenue in Los Angeles.
Plaintiffs have already won the first round, when the Court rejected Unocal’s attempt to apply Burma and Bermuda law.
The trial consolidates two separate cases brought on behalf of 14 unidentified refugees who filed lawsuits in federal and state court in California against El Segundo, Calif.-based Unocal.
The plaintiffs say Unocal shares responsibility for slavery, murder and rape committed by members of Myanmar's (Burmese) military during the 1990s construction of the $1.2 billion Yadana natural gas pipeline. The pipeline was built by a consortium that included two subsidiaries of Unocal. According to Earthrights International,“the methods of the Burmese military were well known, and Unocal knew when it joined the Project that these abuses were certain to be committed for its benefit.”

Russians Oppose US Intervention in Azerbaijan

Regarding the promised US support of Azerbaijan, Nikolay Ryabov, Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan told journalists on Friday: "We will not allow it."

US Military Seeks Bases in Azerbaijan

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec. 3 -- Visiting this small, oil-producing country, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld expressed thanks Wednesday for its assistance in the war on terrorism and discussed deeper U.S. involvement, including help in intensifying Azeri patrols of the Caspian Sea and the possible use of Azeri bases for U.S. military operations.
Abiyev said at the news conference that his country would be willing to consider any future U.S. proposal to base American troops in the country or allow access to bases for periodic use. He also said that he and Rumsfeld had discussed ensuring the security of a new oil pipeline across Azerbaijan to Turkey and the Black Sea that is due to start operating next year.

Pangloss Doesn't Live in Azerbaijan Anymore

published by opposition leaders who found refuge in the Norwegian embassy

Rauf Arifoglu, editor of the opposition party paper Yeni Musavat, and dozens of others jailed with him have refused food since Dec. 1, demanding to be released.
They were arrested on Oct. 27 on charges of encouraging disorder after thousands of people rioted to protest disputed elections in Azerbaijan, an oil-rich country that has pursued close ties with the United States.

more daring than Indymedia

Bush Abandons Protectionist Folly

"...the tariffs were not universally loved by American manufacturers. A boon to steelmakers, they were the bane of steel users further up the manufacturing “value chain”, who saw cheap imports as a blessing not a curse. As many as 26,000 jobs (or the equivalent number of work hours) in steel-using industries may have been lost because of the tariffs, according to the IIE. As a result, the American rustbelt does not speak with one voice on this issue. On Tuesday, Mr Bush was in Pittsburgh, a big steel town and home of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team. There, he heard calls to stand firm on the steel tariffs, and collected a campaign contribution of $850,000 to help keep his mind open on the issue. But on the previous day he was in Michigan, near a Ford plant, hearing calls to cave in. The president, said the New York Times, was caught in a “political vice”.

The European Union’s threat of retaliation added to the pressure. It was poised to impose tariffs on trade worth up to $2.2 billion, targeting exports from states that will be vital to Mr Bush’s re-election campaign, such as Florida and Wisconsin...
If America had not backed down, its standing at the World Trade Organisation would have been sorely damaged—indeed, the viability of the WTO itself would have been in question. What use are trade rules if the world’s big economies refuse to abide by them?"

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Rumsfeld Wins "Foot in Mouth" Award

'Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don't know we don't know.'

Plain English Campaign Awards

WTO Postpones Sanctions Against US

The United States won approval from trade partners, including the European Union and Japan, to postpone a ruling that exposes $2.3 billion of American exports to extra customs duties, the WTO said, signaling the U.S. may end illegal steel tariffs.
World Trade Organization governments were due Monday to ratify a Nov. 10 WTO ruling rejecting a U.S. appeal to an earlier finding that the steel duties are illegal. Once adopted, the ruling will automatically trigger EU retaliation five days later.

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