US firm Bechtel planned to evade 1988 sanctions

US construction giant Bechtel, a firm with a major contract to help rebuild Iraq, planned to hire “non-US suppliers of technology” so it could evade economic sanctions imposed by Washington after Saddam Hussein used poison gas against Iraq’s Kurdish minority, according to a newly declassified document. In April 2003 Bechtel was awarded one of the largest contracts to date by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for infrastructure repair work in US-occupied Iraq.

The deal is worth an initial payment of $34.6 million and up to $680 million in total. According to a 1988 confidential State Department cable, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the non-profit National Security Archive (NSA), US Ambassador to Iraq April Glaspie wrote that Bechtel officials threatened to bypass the sanctions, passed by the Senate in 1988.

The document also shows further behind-the-scenes particulars of how the US corporation, now part of President George W. Bush’s project of occupying post-Hussein Iraq, courted the dictatorial regime with full knowledge of Hussein’s use of chemical weapons against Iranian troops and the Kurds — with the approval of US diplomats. (IPS)

Libya gives up nuclear and chemical weapons

Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has made a “historic” decision to scrap his country’s programs to develop weapons of mass destruction and to allow international inspectors to verify and oversee the process. In a surprise revelation that was quickly followed by a similar announcement by President George Bush in Washington, Tony Blair said that nine months of intensive negotiations between Britain, the United States and Libya had resulted in Colonel Gaddafi’s decision to abandon all efforts to develop any chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

But US intelligence reports suggest that while Libya has been trying to develop WMD, it may have not have actually produced effective, deliverable weapons. Downing Street said Colonel Gaddafi had not “acquired a nuclear weapons capability, though it was close to developing one.” There was also a suspicion that Dec. 19’s announcements were stage-managed to divert attention from the failure of the US and Britain to discover any WMD in Iraq - the purported reason for the invasion. The US revealed this week that it was in effect giving up the search for such weapons in Iraq. (Independent (UK))

Australia ‘as bad as Taliban,’ say hunger strikers

Amin Janamin vowed to let no food or water pass his lips as he sewed them together nearly two weeks ago. Friends say he has resolved to die unless something is done for his 283 fellow detainees in an Australian refugee camp on the Pacific island of Nauru.

“The hunger strikers are determined,” said Hassan Ghulam of Australia’s Hazara ethnic society, who is in regular contact with the Nauru detainees. “They have signs on their hospital beds, saying, ‘After I am dead, don’t undo my lips.’” The number of strikers has grown to 35 since the protest began on Dec. 9, and 15 of them are now hospitalized. Most of the detainees are Afghans whose refugee applications have been rejected because their country is now regarded as safe by the UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR). A smaller number of Iraqi and Palestinian refugees have had their visas rejected on the same grounds. Roughly a third of the detainees are children.

The UNHCR on Dec. 20 took the unusual step of issuing a statement calling for leniency in defining Afghanistan and Iraq as safe countries. Declaring that the situation in Nauru was “becoming a human tragedy,” the statement stressed “the need to make exceptions, given the prevailing security conditions’ in the refugees’ home countries.” The opposition Labor party and minority Democrat and Green parties renewed calls for the camp to be closed down last week. (Observer (UK))

EU gives America access to airline passenger details

Under a deal agreed yesterday, the European Union gave way to American demands for access to almost all data known by airlines about European passengers who fly to the US, including their home addresses, birth dates, credit card numbers and even special dietary requirements faced with the prospect of a ban on flights, many European airlines have been providing the data since March in what the European Commission admitted was a contravention of EU law.

Concessions from the US mean that data will be kept for a maximum of three and a half years and used for anti-terrorism investigations but not general police work. The agreement says that the most sensitive items of information, including data that could indicate religious or political beliefs or medical conditions, will not be stored after examination. Once EU governments have legislation in place they will be entitled to reciprocal arrangements, the European Commission said yesterday. (Independent (UK))

US peace activists denounce Sharon’s speech

US peace activists have denounced the Dec. 18 speech by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on his plans to “disengage’’ from the Palestinian population in the Occupied Territories, even as the White House offered a more nuanced reaction. Americans for Peace Now (APN), a largely Jewish group that strongly supported the 1993 Oslo Accords, said the implementation of any unilateral “disengagement’’ plan as outlined in Sharon’s 19-minute speech, would amount to the unilateral annexation of Palestinian territory. The group said Washington strongly supported any unilateral measures taken by Sharon, such as easing curbs on the freedom of movement of Palestinians in the Territories and dismantling settlements, which were compatible with the road map, which is co-sponsored by the European Union (EU), Russia, and the United Nations.

James Zogby, the head of the Arab American Institute (AAI) and another prominent peace activist, charged that Sharon’s threats were entirely consistent with his long-time goal of annexing major parts of the West Bank. (IPS)

US moving high-tech weapons to Korean DMZ

Even as the Bush administration seeks a negotiated settlement to the North Korean nuclear standoff, an intimidating array of high-tech weaponry, much of it battle-tested in Iraq and Afghanistan, is being deployed south of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that divides the Korean Peninsula.

The weaponry has quietly been moved into South Korea since the summer as part of a significant restructuring of the 37,000 US troops in the country. In return for moving American soldiers away from the DMZ, the Pentagon has promised Seoul, the South Korean capital, that it will spend $11 billion to bring in the latest armaments. The US military is also expected to bring in Joint Direct Attack Munitions, or “smart bombs,” which can home in on their targets even when dropped at high altitude or in bad weather, according to US officials. Another weapon expected is the GBU-28, a bomb popularly known as the “bunker buster” for its ability to penetrate underground military facilities.

US officials refer to the new additions as “security enhancements” and say they are in no way incompatible with President Bush’s often-repeated declaration that he would like the North Korean nuclear crisis to be resolved diplomatically. “It is accurate to say we are enhancing our defense capabilities. That is different from building up attack capabilities,” said a senior US official in Seoul who asked not to be quoted by name. (LA Times)

Assassinations of clergy continue in Guatemala

Gunmen have murdered a Roman Catholic priest who was twice a candidate for mayor of the capitol.

Jose Maria Ruiz Furlan, 72, was shot several times as he left a church in a poor neighborhood of Guatemala City.

Father Ruiz, regarded as a staunch defender of the poor, had often been criticized by his superiors in the Church for his involvement in politics.

Guatemala has yet to recover from the murder in 1998 of renowned human rights campaigner, Bishop Juan Gerardi.

Father Ruiz ran for mayor of Guatemala City in 1978 and 1982 -- prompting Church officials to remove him from the order in 1995 -- but admitting him back in 1999.

He was killed in his parish, La Limonada, as he was emerging from the Santa Cura de Arce church on Sunday evening. Witnesses reported hearing several shots, said Guillermo Mendoza, spokesman for the public investigator’s office.

Mendoza said one of the gunshots, fired from close range, had hit the priest in the head.

Thousands of Father Ruiz’s supporters gathered near his house after the killing, demanding justice.

“They have killed the people’s hope,” said one of his followers. (BBC)

Israeli weapons designer launches gun that fires around corners

A gun which does not shoot straight is due to make its designer millions of dollars in international sales. The weapon is being tested by armies from 15 countries, and is to go into service with British, American and Israeli forces in the near future, with the Americans keen to introduce it in the Iraq conflict.

Using a swivel mechanism and a tiny television screen, the “Corner Shot” can be extended and aimed 63 degrees on either side to fire at a target round the corner. It can also be adapted for rubber bullets and tear-gas canisters.

Amos Golan, a former lieutenant in the Israeli army, embarked on the project after studying a number of failed operations in the West Bank in the late Eighties.

Said Golan: “the Americans are very interested in this. I believe from what I have seen and heard that it can be a big success in Iraq because the US is dealing mainly with an urban situation there. It is quite a simple system to use and does not require much training.” (Independent (UK))

Bush declares intent to eliminate Arafat

US President George W. Bush has told an Israeli journalist that “we must get rid of” Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the mass-circulation Yediot Aharonot daily has reported.

Bush’s comments came in a brief exchange with the paper’s correspondent during a Christmas drinks party in Washington, several hours after a keynote speech by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Dec. 18 in which he outlined plans for unilateral disengagement from peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

Bush was non-committal about Sharon’s speech, saying that he would wait to see what happened on the ground.

“Speeches are good things, but they are words. I am waiting for action,” he was quoted as saying. (Agence France-Presse)