BlueHummingbird News - Archive

Archived News Articles: NMD and Foreign Policy

11/26/2001  from AP:
                        http://news.excite.com/news/ap/011126/16/news-attacks-bush
                        Bush Warns Iraq, North Korea
                        By RON FOURNIER, AP White House Correspondent
                        Updated: Mon, Nov 26 4:43 PM EST
                         
                        WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush said Monday the
                        U.S.-led war in Afghanistan is "just the beginning" of
                        the fight against terrorism, and he warned Iraq and
                        North Korea there would be consequences for producing
                        weapons of mass destruction.
...
                         
                        Some advisers are pushing Bush to make Iraq his next
                        target. Many of those aides worked for Bush's father who
                        led the country through the Persian Gulf War that ended
                        with Saddam's promise to stop producing weapons of mass
                        destruction and to open his nation to inspectors. ...


11/26/2001  from Reuters:
                        dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011125/sc/science_clone_dc_4.html
                        U.S. Firm Clones Human Embryo for Cells
                        By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
                        Sunday November 25 6:16 PM ET
                         
                        WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. company said on Sunday it
                        had cloned a human embryo for the first time ever in a
                        breakthrough aimed not at creating a human being but at
                        mining the embryo for stem cells used to treat diseases.

                        Biotechnology company Advanced Cell Technology Inc.
                        (ACT), based in Worcester, Massachusetts, said it hopes
                        the experiment will lead to tailored treatments for
                        diseases ranging from Parkinson's to juvenile diabetes.
                        It also coaxed a woman's egg cell into becoming an early
                        embryo on its own, without any kind of fertilization. …


11/26/2001  at the New York Times:
                        http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/26/opinion/26SAFI.html
                        Kangaroo Courts
                        By WILLIAM SAFIRE


11/26/2001  from the New York Times:
                        http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/26/technology/ebusiness/26GPS.html
                        Europe Plans to Compete With U.S. Satellite Network
                        By JENNIFER B. LEE


11/28/2001  from Reuters:                         dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011128/wl/attack_afghan_schroeder_dc_3.html
                        Germany Warns U.S. on Wider Anti-Terror War
                        Wednesday November 28 11:55 AM ET
                        BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany warned the United States
                        Wednesday against expanding its war on terrorism in
                        Afghanistan to countries such as Iraq and Somalia.
                        ``All European nations would view a broadening (of the
                        conflict) to include Iraq highly skeptically -- and that
                        is putting it diplomatically,'' Foreign Minister Joschka
                        Fischer told parliament.
                        Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder reiterated his support for
                        the U.S.-led coalition but said Germany was not ``simply
                        waiting to intervene militarily elsewhere in the world,
                        such as Iraq or Somalia.''
                        Both men suggested that bombing Iraq could trigger a
                        wider, uncontrollable conflict in the Middle East. ...


11/29/2001  from Reuters:
                        dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011129/pl/arms_usa_missiles_dc_4.html
                        Pentagon Plans Missile Defense Test Saturday
                        By Charles Aldinger
                        Thursday November 29 3:50 PM ET
                        WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military plans to
                        conduct its fifth ``hit-to-kill'' missile defense test
                        in space over the Pacific Ocean on Saturday as Moscow
                        and Washington remain at odds over the American
                        anti-missile program, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
                        ``It is scheduled for Saturday night. It is just part of
                        an ongoing and robust missile defense program,'' Defense
                        Department spokeswoman Victoria Clarke told reporters. ...


12/4/2001  from Reuters and AP:
                        dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011204/ts/arms_usa_missiles_dc_14.html
                        U.S. Missile Defense Test Succeeds After Two Delays
                        Tuesday December 4 12:13 AM ET
                        WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States military on
                        Monday successfully carried out a twice-delayed test
                        shoot-down of a missile warhead over the Pacific Ocean,
                        advancing missile defense plans opposed by Moscow and
                        Beijing. ...


                        dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011204/pl/missile_defense.html
                        Pentagon: Missile Test a Success
                        Tuesday December 4 4:01 AM ET
                        By MATT KELLEY, Associated Press Writer
                         
                        WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. military says it completed
                        its third successful missile defense test, knocking a
                        dummy warhead out of space more than 100 miles over the
                        South Pacific. ...
                         
                        An interceptor missile launched from Kwajalein Atoll in
                        the Marshall Islands collided with the dummy warhead at
                        about 10:30 p.m. EST, the military said. The test was
                        nearly identical to a successful one in July. ...


                        dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011204/wl/arms_china_usa_dc_1.html
                        China Fumes Over U.S. Missile Test
                        Tuesday December 4 5:19 AM ET
                         
                        BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Tuesday it remained
                        staunchly opposed to plans by Washington to develop a
                        national missile defense system after the United States
                        tested its controversial missile defense shield.
                         
                        Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue told a news
                        conference ... " ... we believe that relevant sides
                        should, through sincere and serious dialogues, seek a
                        solution that does not compromise any side's security
                        interests, nor harm international efforts at
                        arms-control and disarmament,'' ...


12/6/2001  from Reuters:                         http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011206/wl/arms_russia_usa_dc_1.html
                        Russia Says Move to Dump ABM May Destabilize World
                        Thursday December 6 10:34 AM ET
                        MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia warned the United States on
                        Thursday against unilateral moves to dump a landmark
                        pact banning missile defense, saying it could
                        destabilize the international situation already tense
                        due to Afghanistan.
                        Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Mamedov told visiting
                        U.S. Under-Secretary of State John Bolton that a move by
                        the United States to leave the 1972 Anti-Ballistic
                        Missile Treaty would be a mistake, the Foreign Ministry
                        said in a statement.
                        ``During the talks the Russian side once again noted the
                        negative consequences for international stability of any
                        U.S. decision to unilaterally leave the 1972 ABM treaty,
                        which is supported by the vast majority of countries,''
                        it said.
                        ``It would be particularly dangerous given the current
                        difficult international situation,'' the communique
                        said, a clear reference to the U.S.-led military
                        campaign in Afghanistan. ...


12/7/2001  from Reuters:
                        dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011206/pl/attack_iraq_usa_dc_1.html
                        Lawmakers Urge Bush to Make Iraq Next Target
                        Thursday December 6 6:53 PM ET
                        WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ten leading members of Congress
                        have urged President Bush to make Iraq the next target
                        in the U.S. war on terrorism, saying it has
                        reinvigorated its weapons programs in the three years
                        since U.N. inspectors left. ...
                        Among those signing the letter were Senate Minority
                        Leader Trent Lott, House International Relations
                        Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, the ranking Republican on
                        the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jesse Helms,
                        former presidential candidate Sen. John McCain and
                        former Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen.
                        Joseph Lieberman.
                        The letter is the latest in a string of calls for a
                        renewed offensive against Iraq and President Saddam
                        Hussein once the Afghanistan campaign ends. ...


12/11/2001  from Reuters, CNN and AP:
                        dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011211/ts/arms_missile_usa_dc_2.html
                        U.S. Nearing ABM Treaty Withdrawal
                        By Carol Giacomo, Diplomatic Correspondent
                        Tuesday December 11 4:24 PM ET
                         
                        WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Tuesday
                        the ''time is near'' to move beyond the 1972
                        Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty and there were signs
                        President Bush would soon formally announce U.S.
                        withdrawal plans.
                         
                        ``We will need to move beyond the ABM treaty. That time
                        is near and the president will let you know when that
                        time has arrived,'' National Security Council spokesman
                        Sean McCormack told Reuters in Charleston, South
                        Carolina, where he accompanied Bush to a speaking
                        engagement at The Citadel military school.
                         
                        During the speech, Bush reiterated the United States
                        ``must move beyond the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty,''
                        which bars the United States and Russia from developing
                        and deploying national missile defense systems, so that
                        it can vigorously develop a missile defense system.
                         
                        He stopped short of announcing a formal intent to
                        withdraw.
                         
                        But administration officials have told Republican Senate
                        staff members that Bush expects to give formal notice in
                        January of a required six-month withdrawal period from
                        the treaty, Senate sources told Reuters. ...


                        www.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/12/11/rec.bush.citadel/index.html
                        Sources: U.S. intends to withdraw from ABM treaty
                        December 11, 2001 Posted: 4:18 PM EST (2118 GMT)
                         
                        WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush is expected to give
                        notice soon to the Russian government that the United
                        States intends to withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic
                        Missile Treaty, sources said Tuesday.
                         
                        Two top advisers to former Russian President Boris
                        Yeltsin told CNN that Secretary of State Colin Powell
                        told President Vladimir Putin of the administration's
                        intentions after meetings this week in Moscow.
                         
                        The advisers said they expect Bush within days to give a
                        formal six-month notice that the United States is
                        pulling out of the treaty so the administration can do
                        further tests on its missile defense program. ...


                        http://www.ap.org/
                        Bush to Withdraw From ABM Treaty
                        By RON FOURNIER, AP White House Correspondent
                        DECEMBER 11, 16:45 ET
                         
                        WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush will soon give Russia
                        notice that the United States is withdrawing from the
                        1972 nuclear treaty that bans testing of missile defense
                        systems, U.S. government officials said Tuesday.

                        He will announce the decision in the next several days,
                        effectively invoking a clause in the Anti-Ballistic
                        Missile Treaty that requires the United States and
                        Russia to give six months' notice before abandoning the
                        pact.

                        Initial White House plans called for announcing the
                        decision Thursday, but officials cautioned that date
                        could change. The four government officials spoke on
                        condition of anonymity. ...


12/11/2001  at ABCNews:
                        http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/abc/20011210/pl/enron011210_1.html
                        Enron's Close Ties to Bush
                        By Josh Gerstein ABCNEWS.com
                        Monday December 10 02:52 PM EST
                         
                        When the energy-trading firm Enron collapsed recently
                        after disclosing financial irregularities, thousands of
                        employees lost their jobs and investors lost billions.
                        Enron's fall also crippled one of President Bush's most
                        loyal corporate supporters. ...


12/12/2001  at The Christian Science Monitor:
                        http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/1213/p1s1-wosc.html
                        Bin Laden in Pakistan, source claims
                        As US airstrikes pound Tora Bora, a top Al Qaeda aide
                        says the leader has fled.
                        By Philip Smucker | Special to The Christian Science


12/13/2001  from Reuters:
                        dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011213/ts/arms_missile_usa_dc_17.html
                        Bush: U.S. Abandoning Key 1972 Missile Treaty
                        By Steve Holland
                        Thursday December 13 1:43 PM ET
                         
                        WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rejecting Russian and Chinese
                        opposition, President Bush gave formal notice on
                        Thursday that the United States is abandoning the 1972
                        Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty to press ahead with a
                        missile defense system. ...


12/13/2001  from AP:
                        dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011213/pl/bush_privilege_10.html
                        Bush Invokes Executive Privilege
                        By JOHN SOLOMON, Associated Press Writer
                        Thursday December 13 2:21 PM ET
                         
                        WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush invoked executive
                        privilege for the first time Thursday to keep Congress
                        from seeing documents of prosecutors' decision-making in
                        cases ranging from a decades-old Boston murder to the
                        Clinton-era fund-raising probe.
                        ``I believe congressional access to these documents
                        would be contrary to the national interest,''
Bush
wrote
                        in a memo ordering Attorney General John Ashcroft to
                        withhold the documents from a House investigative
                        committee that subpoenaed them.
                        The decision institutes a dramatic change in the way the
                        administration intends to deal with Congress after years
                        in which the Justice Department, sometimes reluctantly,
                        shared sensitive investigative documents with lawmakers.

                        Republicans and Democrats alike excoriated the decision,
                        suggesting Bush was creating a ``monarchy'' or
                        ``imperial'' presidency to keep Congress for (sic: from) overseeing
                        the executive branch and guarding against corruption. ...


12/15/2001  fom Reuters and AP:
dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011215/wl/pakistan_india_warning_dc_1.html
                        Pakistan Threatens 'Force' if India Acts
                        By Sheree Sardar
                        Saturday December 15 8:22 PM ET
                         
                        ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan President Pervez
                        Musharraf Saturday threatened to retaliate with force if
                        arch-rival India took any ``precipitous action'' after
                        accusing a Pakistan-based guerrilla group of being
                        behind this week's attack on parliament in New Delhi. ...
                         
                        dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011215/wl/india_parliament_attack_6.html
                        India, Pakistan Tensions Grow
                        By NEELESH MISRA, Associated Press Writer
                        Saturday December 15 4:58 PM ET
                         
                        NEW DELHI, India (AP) - The Indian leadership on
                        Saturday issued its harshest rhetoric yet after the
                        suicide terrorist attack on Parliament, accusing
                        Pakistan of sponsoring the carnage and threatening to
                        blast terrorist camps.
                         
                        In Pakistan, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the president, put
                        the army on high alert, said India had no proof the
                        attackers operated from or were supported by his country
                        and warned New Delhi against reprisals. ...


12/18/2001  from The New York Times:                         http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/18/international/middleeast/18IRAQ.html
                        U.S. Again Placing Focus on Ousting Hussein
                        By PATRICK E. TYLER
                        December 18, 2001
                         
                        WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 - The option of taking the war
                        against terrorism to Iraq and Saddam Hussein has gained
                        significant ground in recent weeks both inside the
                        administration and among some important allies in the
                        Muslim world, according to administration officials and
                        diplomats from the region. ...
                         
                        Asked today whether Iraq is next in the antiterrorist
                        campaign, President Bush said: "Oh, no, I'm not going to
                        tell the enemy what's next. They just need to know that
                        so long as they plan, and have got plans, to murder
                        innocent people, America will be breathing down their neck."
...


12/18/2001  from AP:
                        http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011218/pl/mini_nukes_1.html
                        Officials Back Low-Yield Nuke Strike
                        By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer
                        Tuesday December 18 7:26 PM ET
                        WASHINGTON (AP)- A low-yield nuclear strike may be the
                        best way to destroy underground stockpiles of chemical
                        and biological agents, Defense officials said in a
                        report to Congress.
                        The report concludes that it would be impossible for
                        conventional weapons to destroy the most deeply buried
                        facilities of a terrorist group or hostile state that
                        contain chemical or biological weapons, and that a
                        low-yield nuclear device could do the job.
                        But the United States has no ``bunker-busting'' nuclear
                        warhead that can penetrate deep enough and with enough
                        accuracy to destroy such an enemy stockpile. And since
                        1994, the government has been barred by Congress from
                        development any new nuclear warhead.
                        Despite the ban, the report shows that the
                        administration views a nuclear strike as ``an intrinsic
                        part'' of dealing with deeply entombed enemy targets and
                        ``is essentially doing all the preparation'' for a
                        future full-scale research and development program for a
                        new mini-nuclear warhead, said Martin Butcher, director
                        of security programs at the Physicians for Social
                        Responsibility.
                        This kind of warhead, even at low yields, is ``the
                        dirtiest kind of all. It's highly radioactive,'' said
                        Butcher, whose group as been a leading voice in the
                        nuclear nonproliferation debate. It sends ``the wrong
                        signals'' and will add to the risk of nuclear
                        proliferation.
                        The report sent to key committees in Congress by Defense
                        Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in October provides a general
                        outline of U.S. capabilities for dealing with what
                        defense officials believe is a growing gap in U.S.
                        military response: The ability to attack deeply buried,
                        hardened enemy targets that are suspected of housing
                        weapons of mass destruction. ...
                        A copy of the report was distributed by Nuclear Watch of
                        New Mexico, based in Santa Fe, on its web site. ...
                        www.nukewatch.org


12/21/2001  from The Washinton Post at msnbc:
                        http://www.msnbc.com/news/675622.asp
                        Pakistan develops as war's next front
                        By Thomas E. Ricks and Alan Sipress
                        THE WASHINGTON POST
                         
                        Dec. 20 -   With the collapse of the Taliban and the
                        flight of hundreds of al Qaeda fighters from
                        Afghanistan, neighboring Pakistan is rapidly becoming
                        the new front in the U.S. military campaign, perhaps
                        even the key to how successfully the war ends.
                         
                              IF INDICATIONS mount that Osama bin Laden is in
                        Pakistan, pressure may grow for the 1,500 U.S. military
                        personnel now based in that country to become more
                        directly involved in the hunt for him.
                               The problems facing Pakistan as the Afghan war
                        spills into its territory were underscored yesterday
                        when 13 people were killed after dozens of suspected al
                        Qaeda fighters who had been taken prisoner after
                        crossing the border overwhelmed their guards and started
                        a gun battle.
                               Pakistan has been on both sides of the situation
                        in Afghanistan. It was there for the Taliban, providing
                        crucial assistance when the Islamic militia took power
                        in 1996. And it was there for the United States, quickly
                        rallying to President Bush's call for a war on terrorism
                        after Sept. 11. Now it is being forced by the hunt for
                        al Qaeda members to come to terms with its internal
                        divisions. ...


12/27/2001  from Reuters:
                        www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=search&StoryID=478503
                        Bush Returns to Texas Ranch to See in 'War Year'
                        By Patricia Wilson
                        December 26, 2001 06:15 PM ET
                         
                        CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - For just the second time
                        since the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush savored the
                        wide open spaces of his beloved Texas ranch on
                        Wednesday, recharging his batteries for "a war year" in
                        2002. ...
                         
                        In the CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll, 39 percent of those
                        surveyed chose Bush as the living man they admired most.
                        The previous record for men was set by Kennedy, who
                        received 32 percent in 1961, the end of his first year
                        as president. ...
                         
                        "Next year will be a war year as well because we're going
                        to continue to hunt down these al Qaeda people in this
                        particular theater, as well as other places,"
Bush said last week. ...


12/28/2001  from Reuters:
                        dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011228/wl/india_pakistan_dc_28.html
                        Friday December 28 9:48 AM ET
                         
                        India Seeks Help for Its Own War on Terrorism
                        By Y.P. Rajesh and Raja Asghar
                        NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - India appealed on Friday
                        for international support for its own war on terrorism
                        but vowed to tackle Pakistani-based Muslim militants
                        with or without outside help.
                        As India and Pakistan massed troops along their border
                        and trade tit-for-tat sanctions and the United States
                        urged peace talks, Indian Home (interior) Minister Lal
                        Krishna Advani said the fight against terrorism did not
                        end with Osama bin Laden.
                        ``I would like to say to nations that the problems that
                        they are trying to solve are not connected with one man
                        or one country,'' he said, referring to bin Laden and
                        Afghanistan.
                        ``This problem is born from fundamentalism...and thus we
                        must fight against fundamentalism. And that is why I
                        want to say that the fight this time will be such that
                        it will not be against any country but for decisive
                        victory over terrorism.''
                        Advani said India would welcome international support:
                        ``But if not, even then we will not worry.''...
                        India's foreign ministry said Pakistan's retaliation
                        showed it was still not recognizing the gravity of the
                        situation.
                        ``Pakistan still refuses to recognize the need to take
                        precise, focused steps to address the central issue of
                        terrorism operating out of Pakistan,'' Nirupama Rao told
                        reporters.
                        ``It is Pakistan which is the epicenter of terrorism in
                        the region and refuses to recognize the ramifications of
                        that situation and the gravity with which India views
                        this entire matter.'' ...
                        Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh on Thursday said
                        talks with Pakistan were neither practical nor possible
                        in the current climate.
                        India has also ruled out a one-on-one meeting between
                        Vajpayee and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf at a
                        summit of South Asian leaders due to start in Nepal next
                        week.
                        There are now doubts if that summit can even go ahead.


1/8/2002  At The New York Times:
                        http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/08/international/08PENT.html
                        U.S. Sees Battles After Afghan War in Lawless Areas
                        By JAMES DAO and ERIC SCHMITT
                        January 8, 2002
                         
                        WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 - The war on terrorism after
                        Afghanistan could focus on denying terrorist groups
                        sanctuary in places like Somalia, Yemen, Indonesia and
                        the Philippines, countries where they have sometimes
                        operated freely, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul D.
                        Wolfowitz said today. ...
                         
                        Mr. Wolfowitz stressed that he was not providing an
                        explicit forecast for the next step in the war on
                        terrorism and that the Pentagon had not ruled out
                        imminent military action against any country. ...
                         
                        He also asserted that the Pentagon's main focus remained
                        Afghanistan, which he described as being "at least as
                        treacherous and dangerous now as it was a month or two
                        ago." ...
                         
                        "One of the most difficult things in the next few months
                        is going to be establishing which of our allies of
                        convenience in the early stages of this war can become
                        real allies over the longer term, and which ones are
                        going to be major troublemakers, and which ones are
                        going to just switch sides," Mr. Wolfowitz said in the
                        interview. ...


1/11/2002  at the LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-000002769jan11.story
                        Camps Thrive in Pakistan, India Charges
                        Asia: Spy agency says Islamabad won't dismantle 17
                        terrorist training complexes
            By PAUL WATSON and SIDHARTHA BARUA, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
                         
                        NEW DELHI -- While pressure mounts on Pakistan to take
                        tougher action against terrorism, India's top spy agency
                        charges that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has
                        done nothing to dismantle what it says are at least 17
                        terrorist training camps in territory under his control.
                         
                        India's equivalent of the CIA, the Research and Analysis
                        Wing, has identified the training camps in
                        Pakistani-controlled areas of the disputed Kashmir
                        region and Pakistan proper. The camps are used to train
                        fighters for three Pakistan-based groups battling to end
                        Indian rule in Kashmir, a senior Indian intelligence
                        source said, speaking on condition he not be identified
                        because of the clandestine nature of his work.
                         
                        At least two of the three groups have links to Osama bin
                        Laden's Al Qaeda terrorist network, according to the
                        RAW, which answers directly to Indian Prime Minister
                        Atal Behari Vajpayee. Although Musharraf insists
                        publicly that he is determined to end all forms of
                        terrorism, there is no evidence that his government has
                        tried to shut down the camps, the Indian intelligence
                        official said. ...


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