Qaeda campf in northern Iraq bombed

ABOARD THE USS THEODORE: A gterroristh al-Qaeda camp in northern Iraq was bombed by US warplanes early Wednesday, a lieutenant commander aboard this US aircraft carrier, Mark Brazelton, told reporters.

gWe left without knowing the target and once we got there talking to the airborne commander they gave us coordinates,h Brazelton said, speaking after returning from the bombing mission. Asked what the target of the raid was, he answered: gIt was a terrorist al-Qaeda camp.h He added that the camp was hit by guided bombs and the raid was carried out by three formations each comprising eight fighter bombers. US forces have carried out since the start of the war several air strikes in northern Iraq targetting two Islamic groups, mainly the Ansar al-Islam, a shadowy Islamist militia that Washington claims has links to Osama bin Ladenfs al-Qaeda network as well as Baghdad.
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Gulf states may be next: British MP

JEDDAH: In an exclusive interview with Arab News on Tuesday, British Member of Parliament George Galloway said he had evidence that one motive for the war on Iraq is the eventual partition of the Mideast.

gHere in the Houses of Parliament there are people who have never set foot in an Arab country openly discussing the partition of Gulf States,h he said in a telephone interview from London.

gThey talk about whether it should be one country, two countries, three countries, even four countries. They openly discuss changing the boundaries of old countries, creating new countries removing this and that leader,h he added.

Speaking about George W Bush, Galloway said that he was unimpressive. However, gthe

gThese people have decided that Arab countries must metamorphose into countries acceptable to the US. That means they must change their way of life, their culture, even their religion. Itfs openly stated in the American media that the Qurfan itself has to be changed, because in it there are concepts of justice and resistance which are completely unacceptable to the new American century.h

Galloway argued that the British people and British soldiers were told that the Iraqis would be garlanding the GIfs who came to gliberateh them. gOf course, none of that has happened. The Iraqis, even in the south of the country, even the so-called disaffected Shiite population, have resisted.h

gIf the people in Arab countries could truly choose a representative government, then that government would be forced by public opinion to take a very different line on the assault on Iraq, betrayal of the Palestinians and so on. The US would not allow any such democracy to take root.h Prime Minister Tony Blair, Galloway said, gambled everything on the invasion being a short, sharp and relatively bloodless.

gNone of these conditions is currently being met. The spin-doctors in Downing Street boasted that it would be a six-day war, an allusion to the apparent triumph over the Arab armies in 1967. He is ignorant of the fact that when the six-day war ended, the 35-year war between the Arabs and Israel began.h gOn Al Jazeera and other Arab channels, we are seeing an entirely different war than that on BBC. Thatfs the war that is being seen by the audience where the consequences will be most felt.
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Belgium amends law to avoid prosecuting President Bush

BRUSSELS: The Belgian parliament on Tuesday amended a controversial law to prevent US President George Bush being prosecuted for war crimes over the conflict in Iraq.

The law allows Belgian courts to try suspects for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, regardless of where the alleged acts took place or the nationality of the accused.

Under the amendment, which the Belgian Senate must approve before it takes effect; a federal prosecutor will decide in certain cases whether to accept a suit filed under the so-called guniversal competenceh law. This was one of the gfiltersh that lawmakers inserted into the law to prevent plaintiffs bringing gharebrainedh lawsuits.

Critics of the law, including the United States, have warned Belgium that its role as host to international institutions like NATO and the European Union, would be threatened if a war crimes suit were filed against Bush. gItfs a serious problem,h said US Secretary of State Colin Powell, after he was named last week in a lawsuit for alleged crimes during the 1991 Gulf war along with former US president George Bush and current Vice President Dick Cheney.

gFor a place that is an international centre they should be a little bit concerned about this,h Powell said. Some 30 current or former political leaders are facing action under the Belgian law, including Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Cuban President Fidel Castro.gI expect there to be, any day, a suit against President George W Bush in Belgium,h Herman De Croo, speaker of Belgiumfs lower house of parliament, said earlier on Tuesday.
 http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_27-3-2003_pg4_7