The beheading of an American hostage in supposed reprisal for abuses by US soldiers has injected new venom into Washington's project in Iraq just as threats of widespread insurrection appeared to be fading.
Nick Berg, a 26-year-old civilian, may have been killed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to a Web site video purportedly showing Berg's last moments. It increased fears for other hostages, including a US soldier.
Meanwhile, the young Iraqi cleric leading a month-old Shiite uprising against US occupation said yesterday that he was prepared to disband his militia army.
PHOTO: AP
But, with a now familiar ambivalence, Moqtada al-Sadr also told a rare news conference at Islam's holiest Shiite shrine he would still oppose a US-led occupation he likened to the tyrannical rule of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.
Under mounting pressure from rivals in the Shiite establishment and from US forces on the ground, his aides on Tuesday had already pencilled in their agreement to a deal that could end the insurgency.
Fresh fighting with Sadr's Mehdi Army militia in the holy city of Kerbala yesterday left at least 20 guerrillas dead, the US military said. After a night and morning of fighting, young men loyal to Sadr were holed up in a mosque and surrounded by US tanks. There were also scattered skirmishes elsewhere.
But Sadr's chief lieutenant in Najaf reached an deal in principle with the main Shiite parties late on Tuesday that could see his fighters absorbed into a broader Iraqi force to take over security while US troops pulled out of cities.
In other developments, coalition spokesman Dan Senor said yesterday that Berg was never under US custody despite claims from his family.
Senor told reporters that Berg was detained by Iraqi police in Mosul. The Iraqis informed the Americans and the FBI met with Berg three times to determine what he was doing in Iraq.
Asked for details about Berg's last weeks in Iraq, Senor replied: "We are obviously trying to piece all this together, and there's a thorough investigation."
Also See Story:
Terrorist leader al-Zarqawi, gaining an increasingly influential position
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
‘ONE BRIDGE’: The US president-elect met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 in Florida and the two discussed a potential Taiwan-China conflict’s implications for world peace US president-elect Donald Trump has described Taiwan as “a major issue for world peace” during a meeting with Akie Abe, the widow of late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun quoted sources as saying in a report yesterday. Trump met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where the two discussed the Russo-Ukrainian war and the situation in the Taiwan Strait. During the meeting, Trump spoke on the implications for world peace of a potential Taiwan-China conflict, which “indicated his administration’s stance of placing importance on dealing with the situation in
QUICK LOOK: The amendments include stricter recall requirements and Constitutional Court procedures, as well as a big increase in local governments’ budgets Portions of controversial amendments to tighten requirements for recalling officials and Constitutional Court procedures were passed by opposition lawmakers yesterday following clashes between lawmakers in the morning, as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members tried to block Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators from entering the chamber. Parts of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) and Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed the third reading yesterday. The legislature was still voting on various amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) as of press time last night, after the session was extended to midnight. Amendments to Article 4
ALLIANCE: Washington continues to implement its policy of normalizing arms sales to Taiwan and helps enhance its defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US President Joe Biden on Friday agreed to provide US$571.3 million in defense support for Taiwan, the White House said, while the US State Department approved the potential sale of US$265 million in military equipment. Biden had delegated to the secretary of state the authority “to direct the drawdown of up to US$571.3 million in defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, to provide assistance to Taiwan,” the White House said in a statement. However, it did not provide specific details about this latest package, which was the third of its kind to
RSS