In this issue:

The New Iraqi Security Force in Fallujah Is Working

General Latif Wants Americans To Go Home

U.S. Seizes Najaf Governor's Office

Quartet Meeting Calls for Israeli Pullouts

Bush Gives Jordanian King Letter on Middle East Policy

Bush Tentatively Returning to 'Road Map' Strategy

Iran's Kharrazi Continues Quiet Diplomacy

Syria Said To Arrest Five Mossad Agents

Turkey Wants To Build First Nuclear Power Plant

From Volume 3, Issue Number 19 of Electronic Intelligence Weekly, Published May 11, 2004
Southwest Asia News Digest

The New Iraqi Security Force in Fallujah Is Working

The new Iraqi security force in Fallujah, under the direction of former Republican Guard generals, is functioning precisely the way Lyndon LaRouche indicated such an arrangement could—and points to the insanity of the Beast-Men's alternative. As indicated in some detail in the May 7 Washington Post, this force was put together by Marine Lt. Gen. James Conway, in an April 22 meeting with a group of former Iraqi Army generals, who said they could create a force that would restore order in this city. Some of the recruits to this 1,000-man force were fighting the Marines only a month ago. Anxious to avoid an all-out Marine assault on the insurgency in Fallujah, Conway met with Generals Saleh and Latif, and was impressed with what he heard, according to the Post. "These were military professionals who understood a dynamic on the ground ... [and] spoke in a language ... that was very, very similar to how we perceived the problem," said Col. John Coleman, Conway's Chief of Staff.

Although Conway's superiors, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez and Gen. John Abizaid, had authorized him to reach a deal with the Iraqi officers, proconsul Paul Bremer and the civilian administrators in Baghdad apparently knew nothing of the arrangement until it was announced. "It caught everyone by surprise," said one American official in Baghdad. "Here was this Marine general making security policy, and we knew nothing about it."

The Post does a certain amount of teeth-gnashing about the same "stout Iraqi generals" parading around with "an imperious air." But Gen. Conway and his aide Col. Coleman say otherwise. On May 5, Coleman said "we have a potential Iraqi solution to the problem that we didn't have 96 hours ago.... As long as we can continue to show positive progress toward the mission ... we feel that we're closer to the end-state objective. The over-arching aim of this [Marine] force is to basically work itself out of a job."

General Latif Wants Americans To Go Home

The Head of the new Iraqi security force in Fallujah, Gen. Mohammad Latif, said "I want the American solider to return to his camp. What I want more is that he returns to the United States." Speaking to Reuters May 7, he added, "They should leave very quickly, very quickly, or there will be problems. If they stay, it will hurt the confidence and we have built confidence. They should leave so that there will be more calm." Another Iraqi officer, Maj. Majid Hamid, who oversees several checkpoints in the city, told the Washington Post, "I don't want the American soldiers to enter our city again. That's why I'm here."

U.S. Seizes Najaf Governor's Office

United States soldiers seized the Governor's office in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf May 6, wresting control from the Shi'ite militia-men loyal to insurgent Moqtadar al-Sadr, in battles that left an estimated 40 insurgents dead.

The fighting came as U.S. overseer of Iraq Paul Bremer announced the appointment of Adnan al-Zurufi as Governor of Najaf province, a step that is seen as marginalizing Sadr. In a press conference, Bremer stated that al-Zurufi had been a leader of the 1991 Shi'ite uprising and was exiled under Saddam Hussein. Bremer compared al-Zurufi and al-Sadr, saying that al-Zurufi was there to serve the people of Najaf.

Meanwhile, a story that EIR reported several weeks ago is now confirmed by other sources. The report of a peace overture to end the standoff in Najaf was offered by a spokesperson for the tribal and religious leaders, who stated that they have not yet formally approached the Coalition. The overture includes the following provisions:

* The group will not allow Sadr to be "hurt or humiliated";

* Coalition forces present in Najaf must withdraw; Iraqis will take their place;

* The group will enter into negotiations with the Coalition Provisional Authority to find out what is really happening to political prisoners;

* The group says that Sadr will be put on trial sometime after the granting of Iraqi sovereignty;

* The Mahdi army of Sadr will become an unarmed political and social organization.

Quartet Meeting Calls for Israeli Pullouts

Representatives for the so-called Quartet (the U.S., the UN, Russia, and the European Union) met in New York May 4, and called for an Israeli pullout from Gaza and no "predetermined issues." "We took positive note of Prime Minister Sharon's announced intention to withdraw from all Gaza settlements and parts of the West Bank," the final statement read, calling the proposed pullout a "rare moment of opportunity in the search for peace in the Middle East." In an implied reference to the Bush agreements with Sharon on the settlements and the right of return, the statement says: "We also note that no party should take unilateral actions that seek to predetermine issues that can only be resolved through negotiation and agreement between the two parties."

Colin Powell, Sergei Lavrov, Javier Solana, and Kofi Annan represented the U.S., Russia, the EU, and the UN, respectively, at the meeting.

Bush Gives Jordanian King Letter on Middle East Policy

President George Bush gave a letter to Jordanian King Abdullah II aimed at allaying the King's fears, generated by Bush's notorious letter to Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The letter to Abdullah read:

"I understand that your country and your people have important interests at stake in any settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. And I know that your country has important interests in the emergence of a new Iraq.... I assure you that my government views Jordan's security, prosperity, and territorial integrity as vital, and we will oppose any developments in the region that might endanger your interests."

Bush then wrote of the Israeli disengagement plan, "This bold plan can make a real contribution toward peace." But he then added, "The United States will not prejudice the outcome of final status negotiations, and all final status issues must still emerge from negotiations between the parties in accordance with UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338." He then spoke of his "vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, and to the establishment of a Palestinian state that is viable, contiguous, sovereign, and independent." Reiterating his commitment to the Road Map for a Middle East peace, Bush said it represented the "best pathway toward realizing that vision, and I am committed to making it a reality."

There was apparently no mention of the question of a right of return for refugees. Nonetheless, Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher appeared satisfied, telling the Jordanian Petra press agency, "It has achieved all the results which Jordan had expected. The most significant among them was the assertion of the American President that issues related to a final Palestinian-Israeli settlement must be tackled only by two sides concerned, they must be agreed upon by the two sides, and the United States will not prejudice the outcome of the negotiations."

For a week prior to the meeting the Israeli press were reporting that unnamed official Bush Administration sources, no doubt the neo-cons, were saying such a letter would not be given to the King.

Bush Tentatively Returning to 'Road Map' Strategy

After his promise to Jordan's King Abdullah on May 6, President George W. Bush has sent National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice to Berlin, where, on May 17, NSC staff spokesman Sean McCormick says, she will meet with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia.

Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat said: "We welcome this meeting. It is important, since it would restore the relationship between the Palestinian Authority and the United States to the way it was before. We hope the American side will introduce mechanisms of implementation of the road map and send observers on the ground to begin implementing it. We are committed to implementing our obligations to the road map."

On behalf of the NSC, Sean McCormick said of the meeting that Rice will "convey to him [Qureia] directly what the President has said in public: Prime Minister Sharon's proposals, if implemented, provide an historic opportunity that the Palestinians should seize upon. And she will also underline that the Palestinians have obligations under the road map—including fighting terror—that they must live up to."

On Nay 15-16, the two days prior to Rice's meeting with Quriea, Secretary of State Colin Powell will travel to Amman, Jordan, where he will discuss the "Road Map," regional security issues, and Islamic reform on the heels of an Arab League meeting.

Iran's Kharrazi Continues Quiet Diplomacy

Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi continued his quiet, but effective diplomacy in Europe during the first week of May. Following talks in Rome, Paris, London, and Dublin, he visited Brussels, where he met EU Commission President Romano Prodi, EU policy chief Javier Solana, and EU foreign affairs commissioner Chris Patten.

The agenda in all meetings includes: the situation in Iraq, the Iraq war and Palestinian-Israeli conflict, EU-Iranian relations, and Iran's nuclear energy program. It is assumed that Iran is offering its help in Iraq, in return for progress in EU-Iranian relations, and a green light for the country's nuclear program.

One sign of Iranian intervention came with the news from Iranian sources last week, confirmed by media reports May 3, that Ayatollah Kazem Hossein Haeri, the mentor of Moqtadar al-Sadr, was in Iraq. The Tehran Times reports that representatives of his want to mediate a solution to the standoff between al-Sadr and U.S. forces. "Armed confrontation will give occupation forces the excuse to hit civilians under the cover that they are ridding Iraq of followers of ousted President Saddam Hussein or members of the al-Qaeda network," the source said, on condition of anonymity. Saying al-Sadr was "completely independent," he added that Haeri had authorized his office in Najaf to exert pressure on both sides for a solution. His office was working through Shi'ite members of the Iraqi Governing Council, as well as tribal leaders.

The talks, which started May 1, are based on the proposals that al-Sadr should be tried only after a real Iraqi government has come into being; and that his militia should be transformed into a political party (see above).

Ayatollah Haeri, 65, had been living in exile since 1976, in Iran (Qom). He had been a member of the Dawa Party in Iraq, then a leader in the SCIRI. He reportedly had good relations with al-Sadr's father, who was killed on orders of Saddam Hussein.

Other ayatollahs from Iran have stressed the fact that any attacks on the holy cities of Najaf or Karbala, would unleash a catastrophe; they include Ayatollahs Lanqarani and Behejah.

Syria Said To Arrest Five Mossad Agents

Syrian authorities reportedly arrested five Mossad agents who had entered Syria in order to kill Hamas leader Khaled Meshal, according to a report in the Tehran Times May 3. The five were said to have been Yemeni Jews claiming to be Arabs, entering Syria via Jordan to participate in a ceremony marking the death of Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin. The plan was to kill Meshal at the ceremony. Neither the Syrians nor the Israelis have confirmed the report.

In an interview with al-Jazeera TV May 1, Syrian President Bashar Assad warned that Israel's attempt to target leaders of Palestinian groups staying in Syria would be seen as "an aggression that will be handled as an aggression." He went on to say, "Even if Israel did not make a threat, the threat is always there. No one trusts Israel.... the threat has been there since Israel was created. Israel expresses itself freely, not through the freedom of speech but rather through the freedom of killings."

If the story of the arrests of these Mossad agents is true, it would be the second attempt on the life of Meshal to have ended in failure. Given that Mossad chief and Sharon crony Meir Dagan can't succeed in preventing his own cell phone from being stolen, it would not be surprising if it failed again.

Turkey Wants To Build First Nuclear Power Plant

Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler said in Ankara May 7 that the project of a nuclear power complex, originally put on the government's agenda in July 2000, will now be realized.

The government of Bulent Ecevit, which wanted to grant state guarantees for the project, froze all plans then, under heavy blackmail from the International Monetary Fund. Now Canada, Russia, and France have offered to help in the project's construction.

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