Veto Threat Becomes Reality

CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush on Friday used a "pocket veto" to reject a sweeping defense bill because he dislikes a provision that would expose the Iraqi government to expensive lawsuits seeking damages from the Saddam Hussein era.

In a statement, Bush said the legislation "would imperil billions of dollars of Iraqi assets at a crucial juncture in that nation's reconstruction efforts."

The president's objections were focused on a provision deep within legislation that sets defense policy for the coming year and approves $696 billion in spending, including $189 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also in the legislation were improved veterans benefits and tighter oversight of contractors and weapons programs.

The pocket veto means that troops will get a 3 percent raise Jan. 1 instead of the 3.5 percent authorized by the bill.

Bush's decision to use a pocket veto, announced while vacationing at his Texas ranch, means the legislation will die at midnight Dec. 31. This tactic for killing a bill can be used only when Congress is not in session.

The House last week adjourned until Jan. 15; the Senate returns a week later but has been holding brief, often seconds-long pro forma sessions every two or three days to prevent Bush from making appointments that otherwise would need Senate approval.

Brendan Daly, spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said, "The House rejects any assertion that the White House has the authority to do a pocket veto."

When adjourning before Christmas, the House instructed the House clerk to accept any communications - such as veto messages- from the White House during the monthlong break.

A Democratic congressional aide pointed out that a pocket veto cannot be overridden by Congress and allows Bush to distance himself from the rejection of a major Pentagon bill in a time of war.

In a message to Congress, the president said he was sending the bill and his outline of objections to the House clerk "to avoid unnecessary litigation about the non-enactment of the bill that results from my withholding approval, and to leave no doubt that the bill is being vetoed."

Democratic aides said they have not ruled out any legislative options, including dropping the language on lawsuits against Iraq and sending the rest of the bill back to Bush.

The sponsor of the contested provision, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said the provision would allow "American victims of terror to hold perpetrators accountable - plain and simple."

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky called on lawmakers to "move rapidly to fix this section" when Congress returns in January so that the underlying bill can be signed.

Democratic congressional leaders complained that Bush's move was a last-minute stunt because he had never indicated his intention to veto the bill.

Bush aides said they had signaled concern about the controversial provision for weeks, although there had been no formal veto threat. They said their concern grew urgent recently after a legal review and feedback from U.S. diplomats in Iraq and Iraqi leaders.

The disputed section of the bill would reshape Iraq's immunity to lawsuits, exposing the new government to litigation in U.S. courts stemming from treatment of Americans in Iraq during Saddam's reign. Even cases that had once been rejected could be refiled.

Bush's aides warned of a dire scenario - a rush of litigation that could freeze tens of billions of dollars in Iraqi assets being held in U.S. banks. Money at the heart of the Iraqi rebuilding effort would be tied up in court, potentially halting the very stabilization efforts that could get U.S. troops home faster, the aides said.

Yet Democrats fumed that Bush could have worked out the technical fix sooner if he had wanted, without rejecting an entire bill that contains extra help and money for troops.

U.S.-led Wars Costing $15B Per Month

WASHINGTON -- Official estimates of the cost of the U.S.-led efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq place the total military spending at nearly $15 billion a month.

U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, the ranking Republican with the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee said in a Dec. 18 floor speech that the "cost of this war is approaching $15 billion a month, with the U.S. Army spending $4.2 billion of that every month," The Washington Post reported Thursday.

Stevens spoke in support of a $70 billion supplement to the fiscal 2008 omnibus spending bill to fund counter-terrorist activities and the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq from Oct. 1, 2007, to March 31, 2008.

The Pentagon estimated $11.7 billion for monthly spending for the conflicts but a Congressional Research Service report said the Pentagon doesn't count covert and other intelligence activities it its cost estimates, the Post said.

The CRS report noted the cost estimates for the U.S.-led conflicts are 60 percent higher than for fiscal 2006, citing maintenance and upgrades to military equipment and units as contributing to the increase.

The current omnibus package expires after U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, testify before Congress on the situation in Iraq.

Triple Threat Pressures al Qaeda

Having been ejected from Baghdad and its environs during the surge of forces, al Qaeda in Iraq is attempting to re-establish itself in regions north of the capital city, a senior U.S. military officer posted in Iraq said today.

Yet, while al Qaeda scrambles to reorganize itself, the terrorist group is being pressured by a triple threat consisting of coalition and Iraqi security forces and local concerned citizens' groups, Army Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, told reporters at a Baghdad news conference.

Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, commander of Multinational Division North, believes that some al Qaeda operatives who fled Baghdad are moving into his area of responsibility, Bergner said.

"We have to continue to pursue this enemy to prevent them from re-establishing themselves or creating new bases of operation," Bergner said.

Meanwhile, the 70,000 members of Iraqi concerned citizens' groups that have sworn to fight al Qaeda have proven to be powerful allies, Bergner said, as the capabilities and numbers of Iraqi soldiers and police continue to grow.

"The emergence of concerned local citizens has been driven by and focused on providing security at the local level in places where other forces were not capable of doing it," Bergner explained. "At the same time that that's happening, the capability of other forces to provide security, particularly Iraqi security forces, is growing."

Iraqi security capabilities will be further augmented when some members of the concerned citizens groups join Iraqi army or police units, Bergner said.

Through this process, Iraqi soldiers and police will be able to assume more and more responsibility for security in their country, Bergner said.

Much progress also has been achieved on the Iraqi governmental front, said Phillip T. Reeker, Baghdad counselor for public affairs, who accompanied Bergner at the news conference.

Yet, "a lot more needs to be done" in the political realm, Reeker said, noting Iraq's leaders "need to take advantage of the space created through the surge" to achieve more national political progress.

Meanwhile, Multinational Division North and its Iraqi partners continue efforts "to pursue al Qaeda, to prevent them from establishing safe havens and operating bases," Bergner reported.

More tough fighting lies ahead against terrorists in Iraq, Bergner predicted, noting yesterday's bombing north of Baghdad demonstrates the terrorists' desire to stage spectacular, brutal attacks in efforts to derail the Iraqi government. The Beiji bombing killed more than 20 people, including some guards at a housing area for oil industry workers and a number of women and children, according to news reports.

"This attack is further evidence of the nature of al Qaeda, their use of indiscriminate violence and their corrupt ideology that targets those who are protecting Iraq," Bergner said. "We will work closely with Iraqi authorities to help them enforce the rule of law and bring the perpetrators to justice."

Rebels group use villagers as shields in Philippines, say officials

ZAMBOANGA: The insurgents in Philippines used villagers as shields to evade pursuing soldiers on Saturday, leaving one dead and five wounded, military officials said.

The gunmen, consisting of members of Abu Sayyaf and rogue elements of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) also suffered a number of casualties as they were seen dragging away their dead and wounded from the site, the officials added.

The fighting in the southern island of Jolo broke out after residents of Kalingalang Caluang town reported the presence of the rebels to the military, regional commander Major General Nelson Allaga said.

When the troops arrived "the rogue rebels and the Abu Sayyaf used the civilians as shields in their retreat", Allaga added.

One soldier was killed and one soldier and four civilians were wounded in the fighting. The wounded civilians were immediately airlifted to a hospital, said Major General Reuben Rafael, head of a special anti-terror task force.

The gunmen later released their hostages, allowing the military to pursue them with helicopter gunships, said Allaga.

The Abu Sayyaf have been linked by security agencies to al-Qaeda and have been blamed for the worst terror attacks in Philippine history.

Al-Qaeda saboteurs with Hajj disruptive plan arrested

RIYADH: The Saudi Arab security forces arrested suspected Al-Qaeda operatives, who forged terrorist plan on the occasion of Hajj, the interior ministry said on Friday.

"The authorities have arrested a group which planned to carry out a terrorist act aimed at harming security and damaging the (hajj) pilgrimage," General Mansur al-Turqi, a ministry spokesman was quoted as saying.

The spokesman said the attack planned by a "deviant group", the Saudi term for militants linked to Al-Qaeda, did not however target Islam's holiest sites in Makkah or the pilgrims.

Earlier, a Dubai-based television said Saudi authorities arrested an Al-Qaeda linked group planning to carry out attacks during the hajj, quoting Saudi security officials.

The Saudi sources said the arrests were made in several different cities of the oil-rich kingdom.

"The group aimed to trouble the security of the pilgrimage" which has this week attracted almost 2.5 million Muslim pilgrims from around the world to Islam's holiest sites in western Saudi Arabia, the television report said.

Members of the group, whose number was unknown, were arrested "three days before the start of the hajj season", or at the end of last week, the sources said while talking to the Dubai based news TV.

The reports emerged as the hajj was winding down on Friday.

The authorities were on high alert this year because of the participation of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the first president from the Islamic republic to take part in the hajj.

Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz said in early December that his forces had foiled "more than 180 terrorist operations" since a wave of bombings and shootings by the Saudi branch of Al-Qaeda broke out four years ago.

There were no major incidents reported during this year's hajj.

According to official Saudi figures, a total of 2,454,325 pilgrims from 181 nations, 1,707,814 of them from outside the Gulf state, performed this year's pilgrimage.

17 Qaeda fighters killed in Iraq: police

At least 17 suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen were killed in clashes overnight with Iraqi and US troops west of the restive city of Baquba, a police officer said on Thursday.
Captain Ahmed Mahmud from Baquba said the battle, which also involved local anti-Qaeda front members supporting the security forces, took place in the town of Al-Hashmiyat in the restive province of Diyala.
"The operation was conducted from Wednesday evening up to Thursday morning and resulted in the killing of 17 Al-Qaeda gunmen. Four Iraqi soldiers and two members of the local Awakening group were also wounded," Mahmud said.

Sheikh Osama Bin Laden in Tora Bora Mountains

Osama

France detains 8 linked to Qaida

PARIS—French authorities detained eight men linked to the al-Qaida branch behind a deadly bombing at Algeria's U.N. offices, a news report said Thursday.
Le Figaro newspaper reported that the men, who are suspected of providing logistical support to al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa, were rounded up for questioning Tuesday in the Paris area and near the Normandy city of Rouen.
At the suspects' homes, police seized computers and telecommunications equipment that investigators believe was to be sent to the terror group's hideouts in Algeria.
The Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment on the report.
Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa claimed responsibility for Dec. 11 twin truck bombings—of the U.N. offices and an Algerian government building—that killed at least 37 people, including 17 U.N. staff members.
Le Figaro reported there was nothing to suggest the men had any direct involvement in the attack in Algeria.
The suspects, seven Algerians and a French citizen between the ages of 30 and 35, already had police records and had been under surveillance for months, Le Figaro said. The men were being held for questioning at an intelligence headquarters outside Paris, it said.
An August 2003 bombing at U.N. headquarters in Baghdad—for which al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility—killed the organization's top envoy in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and 21 others.

Bush lawyers discussed fate of CIA tapes:

The White House on Wednesday made a rare public demand for a formal correction from the New York Times for implying that it had misled the US public over the destruction of CIA interrogation videos. The US Justice Department, the White House, and US lawmakers have all launched probes after CIA chief Michael Hayden revealed earlier this month that the agency in 2005 destroyed tapes of interrogations of two Al-Qaeda suspects. Late Tuesday, the Times reported that four top White House lawyers were more involved than previously acknowledged in the decision. Citing current and former administration and intelligence officials, which it did not name, the Times said that the four took part in discussions with the Central Intelligence Agency in 2003 and 2005 on the question of whether to keep recordings of the sessions with two Al-Qaeda operatives. Those who took part, the officials said, included Alberto R Gonzales, who served as White House counsel until early 2005; David S Addington, who was the counsel to Vice-President Dick Cheney and is now his chief of staff; John B Bellinger III, who until January 2005 was the senior lawyer at the National Security Council; and Harriet E Miers, who succeeded Gonzales as White House counsel.“The accounts indicate that the involvement of White House officials in the discussions before the destruction of the tapes in November 2005 was more extensive than Bush administration officials have acknowledged,” it said. Other officials told the Times that no-one at the White House called for destroying the tapes - but that no White House lawyer ordered that they be preserved or warned that destroying them might be illegal. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino angrily denounced the Times’ sub-headline - “White House Role Was Wider Than It Said” - in a highly unusual written statement that demanded a formal correction. “The New York Times’ inference that there is an effort to mislead in this matter is pernicious and troubling, and we are formally requesting that NYT correct the sub-headline of this story,” she said. Perino said that the White House has simply refused to comment on the matter beyond saying that US President George W Bush did not recall being aware of the videos or the decision to destroy them prior to being briefed recently.

Nine Eleven

Tuesday September 11th, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center changed the very face of New York City. A pleasant September morning turns horrific when in a coorinated terrorist attack on the United States,a hijacked Unted Airlines plane approaches to strike the south tower of the World Trade Center,18 minutes after a hijacked American Airlines jet smashed into the north building,leaving a gaping hole billowing smoke.
While the city's skyline is constantly evolving,theTwin Towers of the World Trade Center towered above the rest. Easily one of the world's most recognized landmarks,the New York City landmark standing at the center was the world's largest commercial complex ,a major tourist attraction and an internationally-recognized symbol of the United States' financial strength.
With a wide-open plaza between them,the Twin Towers had been an impressive tourist attraction since 1975 as well as a daily workplace for 50,000 people.An additioinal 200,000 people enter the World Trade Center every day, which included those who come to ride the two express elevators up to the observatory on the 107th floor .The views, particularly of the nearby harbor, the New York City skyline,and Statue of Lliberty were spectacular.Also of note is the World Financial Center next door,which has a stunning glass-enclosed atrium as well as boat launch outside the Hudson River.Special events and dozens of stores and restaurants can be found in the entire complex.
The towering skyscapers were immortalized in innumerable New York City posters and postcard-all of which have been rendered obsolete by Tuesday's attack

ALQUIDA

Established by Osama Bin Ladin in the late 1980s to bring together Arabs who fought in Afghanistan against the Soviet invasion. Helped finance, recruit, transport, and train Sunni Islamic extremists for the Afghan resistance. Current goal is to establish a pan-Islamic Caliphate throughout the world by working with allied Islamic extremist groups to overthrow regimes it deems "non-Islamic" and expelling Westerners and non-Muslims from Muslim countries. Issued statement under banner of "the World Islamic Front for Jihad Against the Jews and Crusaders" in February 1998, saying it was the duty of all Muslims to kill US citizens--civilian or military--and their allies everywhere.
May have several hundred to several thousand members. Also serves as a focal point or umbrella organization for a worldwide network that includes many Sunni Islamic extremist groups such as Egyptian Islamic Jihad, some members of al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and the Harakat ul-Mujahidin.
Al-Qaida has a worldwide reach, has cells in a number of countries, and is reinforced by its ties to Sunni extremist networks. Bin Ladin and his key lieutenants reside in Afghanistan, and the group maintains terrorist training camps there.
Bin Ladin, son of a billionaire Saudi family, is said to have inherited approximately $300 million that he uses to finance the group. Al-Qaida also maintains moneymaking front organizations, solicits donations from like-minded supporters, and illicitly siphons funds from donations to Muslim charitable organizations.