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UK military expects the go-ahead for Iraq war within a month

Military strategists believe Saddam Hussein could be toppled by his own army shortly before or in early stages of an attack

By Kim Sengupta
The Independent

Britain's military forces are expected to be given Downing Street's go-ahead by the end of this month to prepare for a war with Iraq. It will take two months from then, and £90m, to get the army's chief battle tank, Challenger 2, "desertised" for combat, and move other equipment and manpower into place, senior Whitehall sources said.

Bush says action against Saddam cannot wait

By Rupert Cornwell in Washington and John Lichfield in Paris
The Independent

President George Bush last night took his case against Saddam Hussein directly to the American people, insisting that the Iraqi leader was a "unique" threat to US security and world peace who must be dealt with now. In his first primetime address devoted exclusively to Iraq, Mr Bush warned that "the time for delaying, denying and deceiving had come to an end". Either President Saddam gives up his weapons of mass destruction, or the United States "will lead a coalition to disarm him", he said.

Fourteen die after Israelis launch missile into crowd

By Justin Huggler in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip
The Independent

Fourteen Palestinians were killed yesterday on a day when an Israeli helicopter fired a rocket into a crowd in Khan Younis that included women and children. As the wounded were arriving in hospital, Israeli guns opened up on the hospital, killing one man and wounding three others. And within hours, four more Palestinians were dead after fighting between Hamas militants and Palestinian security forces loyal to Yasser Arafat flared. Palestinian police last night held 60 Hamas gunmen under siege in Nusseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. Onlookers were attacking the police with stones.


Defaming Islam

Editorial
Washington Post

ONE OF THE high-water marks after Sept. 11 last year was President Bush's leadership in urging Americans not to condemn Islam because of the actions of extremists in the name of their faith.... And despite several highly publicized incidents of threats and lashing out at people thought to be Muslim, most Americans have heeded the president's message, resisting the ugly lure of religious intolerance and hate. The same, however, cannot be said of some key leaders of the religious right in America who are counted among President Bush's closest political allies. And on their noxious mix of religious bigotry and anti-Muslim demagoguery, Mr. Bush's silence is deafening.

A revolution crumbles

Alongside the boys of the Islamic militia, eager for martyrdom, there is another Iran - of rock bands and weblogs, teenage runaways and prostitution. Tim Judah investigates Tehran's underground.

The Guardian

In Iran something has to give. I went looking for what it was. I took a taxi to the north of Tehran. I had heard that this was where I could find the secret basement. In an ordinary street at an ordinary block I rang the buzzer. I opened the door, went inside and suddenly it hit me. From somewhere, deep in the depths, I could hear music. It was coming from underground - literally - a rich mix of western rock and eastern melody.

Twelve Palestinians Killed as Israeli Missile Hits Crowd

By Ibrahim Barzak
Associated Press

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip -- Israeli troops raiding this town with tanks and helicopters killed 12 Palestinians early Monday, including 10 who died when a missile slammed into a large crowd. Palestinian officials said all the dead were civilians, while the Israeli army said most were armed men killed in battle. About 110 Palestinians were wounded in the four-hour raid, including 25 who were in critical condition, doctors said. Most suffered shrapnel wounds in the head, chest and abdomen. The dead ranged in age from 14 to 52.

A terrorist filmmaker?

Editorial
The New York Times
 
It's a mystery what the Bush administration thought it was protecting Americans from when it denied a timely visa to Iran's leading film director, Abbas Kiarostami. Surely not international embarrassment.
The idea that the U.S. government is incapable of distinguishing between a potential terrorist and a renowned 62-year-old filmmaker is not flattering to America's intelligence capacities or its reputation for cultural literacy.

Nato used the same old trick when it made Milosevic an offer he could only refuse

By Robert Fisk
The Independent

It's the same old trap. Nato used exactly the same trick to ensure that it could have a war with Slobodan Milosevic. Now the Americans are demanding the same of Saddam Hussein ñ buried well down in their list of demands, of course. Tell your enemy that you're going to need his roads and airspace ñ with your troops on the highways ñ and you destroy his sovereignty. That's what Nato demanded of Serbia in 1999. That's what the new UN resolution touted by Messrs Bush and Blair demands of Saddam Hussein. It's a declaration of war.

Iraqi Groups Push for Interim Government

Washington Post

Iraqi opposition figures criticized the Bush administration yesterday for not moving more quickly to set plans for post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, as the leader of the Iraqi National Congress called for a provisional government to be established as soon as U.S. forces challenge Hussein's regime, if not before. Ahmed Chalabi, whose ambitions to lead such a government are no secret, said an interim authority backed by the United States would be in a position to entice Iraqi defectors, fill a power vacuum and set a course for democratic elections. It would give army units unwilling to fight for Hussein "a home to go to," said the London-based Chalabi.

Hill Leaders Back Iraq Pact

By Karen DeYoung
Washington Post

President Bush gained strong congressional support yesterday for a bipartisan resolution authorizing the use of military force against Iraq, and warned Baghdad that it is running out of time to bend to American will. Flanked by dozens of lawmakers in the Rose Garden, Bush announced an agreement with House leaders on a new resolution text that addressed some of the concerns raised about an earlier version. Although the Senate remained divided on the measure, opponents of granting Bush the broad authority he seeks conceded they were likely fighting a losing battle.

Canada poised to ease pot laws

By Eric Beaudan
Christian Science Monitor


TORONTO - On the heels of a Canadian Senate report recommending the full legalization of marijuana, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien signaled Monday that he may ease Canada's cannabis laws. In the annual Speech from the Throne, Canada's federal policy document (akin to the US State of the Union address), the Chrétien government said it may move toward decriminalization. Legalization would not be possible because of Canada's existing international agreements that prohibit it, the government said.

Iran's leading filmmaker denied U.S. visa

Director Abbas Kiarostami, one of international cinema's biggest names, is blocked from attending the New York Film Festival and speaking at Harvard.


By Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com

Sept. 27, 2002 -- Abbas Kiarostami, the Iranian filmmaker who is widely considered one of the world's greatest living directors, has been denied a visa to enter the United States. Kiarostami had been invited to attend the New York Film Festival, where his new movie "Ten" will premiere on Sunday, and then to lecture at Harvard and at Ohio State University. Kiarostami, 62, has written and directed some 30 movies since the early 1970s, and has been compared by critics to such titans of international cinema as Ingmar Bergman and Akira Kurosawa. He won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival -- perhaps the movie world's most cherished prize -- for his 1997 film "A Taste of Cherry."

Storm blows up after Kiarostami hits US visa snag

PARIS, Oct 2 (AFP) - The United States' stringent new rules for visa applicants -- especially those from Muslim countries -- has blown up into political/cultural storm after a talented Iranian director was unable to get permission in time to attend New York's film festival. Abbas Kiarostami, winner of Cannes' Palme d'Or in 1997 for "A Taste of Cherry" who has previously visited the United States seven times, was told by the US embassy in Paris last month he could not get a visa before December -- well after the September 27-October 13 event in New York.

An Open Letter to the Members of Congress

Editorial
The Nation

Soon, you will be asked to vote on a resolution authorizing the United States to overthrow the government of Iraq by military force. Its passage, we read on all sides, is a foregone conclusion, as if what the country now faces is not a decision but the disclosure of a fate. The nation marches as if in a trance to war.

WIRE REPORTS

* Britain's Straw in Iran to Press for Iraq

* CNN's Amanpour Barred from Visiting Iran

* Iran, Turkey extend gas deal

* US attack poses "greater threat to region than Iraq"

* State Department criticizes Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Sudan

* Iran To Cut Foreign Nationals From Airline, Shipping Jobs

* Iran Reformists Threaten to Resign

* Straw set for dressing down in Iran

* Iran Won't Treat Stray U.S Warplanes as Enemy

* Top conservative hits out at Khatami reform bid

* U.S. Arrests 4 on Terror Charges

* Shoe Bomb Suspect Pleads Guilty

* Iran's Majlis reveals it was behind US-Iran opinion poll

* Iran Pollster Issues New Poll on U.S. Amid Uproar

* Iran culture official jailed after famous actress kisses young actor

* 'New US immigration checks will inspire Muslim hatred'

* Polling institute closed for surveying opinion on the US

* Student group demands classmates be freed

* "Iran will not militarily oppose US attack on Iraq"

* IRNA under heavy fire for publishing US opinion pol

* Iran moves to top of its group in Asian Games soccer

* U.S. Threat to Islamic World, Iraq Tells Iran

* Two political figures sentenced to 6, 30 months jail, flogs

* Iran Hangs Five Rapists in Public

* "Saddam's overthrow will be 'happiest day' for Iran"

* Newspaper blasts Khatami's bid to increase powers

* Iran Says Al Qaeda Camp Claim Is Baseless

* Report: U.S. Detects Al Qaeda Camp in Iran

* UK Foreign Minister to visit Iran

* Iran Starts Mass Production of Missiles

* Khatami Challenges Hard-liners with Bill

* "Khatami may quit if hard-liners block changes"

* Iranian film-maker awarded German prize for runaways

* Iran Accepts New British Ambassador, Ending Rift

* Defense minister says Russia sells Iran only defensive weapons

* Russia says it will finish Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran by the end of 2003

* Iran Cleric Accuses Qatar of Treason

* Russia: Iran dragging feet on nuclear waste agreement

* Iran wins friendly soccer tournament, Morocco finishes third

* Iran's FM urges the US to share Al-Qaeda intelligence

* Iran airforce plans bombing exercises near Iraqi border

* Fire destroys U.N. refugee agency warehouse in northeastern Iran

* Iran welcomes Iraqi decision on inspectors, opposes unilateral U.S. action

* Iran lashes out at United States over accusations on al-Qaida

* Iran defeats Morocco 5-4, Paraguay beats South Africa 2-0 in soccer friendlies

* Iran warns US to respect "red line" of border with Iraq

* Iran will rehearse civil defense in case of threat

* Iran sent back suspected extremist leader to Norway

* Iran's Judiciary Bans Two Reformist Publications

* Iran, South Korea in $1.6B Gas Deal

* Iran's Rafsanjani Says U.S. After Iraqi Oil

* Khatami to hold talks on Iraq crisis in Saudi Arabia

* Rafsanjani: Bush speech a "step back" from the brink

* Police arrest 16 in rioting in northwestern Iran

* Khatami heads to Saudi Arabia for talks

* Iran Assures Iraq Border Is 'Secure'

* Constitution, yardstick for national progress: Khatami

* Reformists voice "solidarity" with US, urge policy change

* Solidarity with victims of Sept 11 by Khatami Cabinet

* Iran to Award Two Phases of South Pars Gas Project to LG Construction

* Iran's top leadership in key security talks

* Iran prepares to shelter Iraqi refugees on border regions in case of U.S. attack

* US to deliver new hygiene kits to Iran's quake victims

* Iran Calls for New U.S. Ideas to Improve Ties

* Iran Says U.S. Is Exploiting 9/11

* Iran Says Tests New Surface-To-Surface Missile

* Khatami's allies may resort to referendum for change

* US cannot take act in M.E. without Iran: Rafasanjani

* 10 cafes shut down, hosting "unaccompanied women"

* Call for action on Iran constitution

* Supreme Court upholds 7-month jail term for MP

* Iranian, French FMs discuss ties over phone

* Anti-money laundering campaign bill at Majlis

* Presidential powers bill offers Iran a "fateful test" for democratic reforms

* Sudan, Iran Deny Links to Al Qaeda Gold Shipments

* Iran defeats Lebanon 2-0

* Iran says it won't stand idle if Iraq is attacked

* Khatami challenges vetting body

* Farhad, the political singer, songwriter passed away

* Secret Israeli-Iranian ties resurface over ship seizure

* "US politicizing sports by wrestling boycott": Iran

* Police arrest 17 youths for listening to music on beach

* Germany holds up Israeli military shipment said headed for Iran

* Iran dismisses claim that Israeli military shipment was heading its way

* White House warns Iran to expel Al-Qaeda

* Khatami says he will seek greater powers from parliament

* Iran opens bureau in Dubai to pursue contacts with US

* Two leaders of al-Qaida operating in Iran, according to unconfirmed intelligence reports

* Banned opposition group "no threat to security"

* Khamenei appreciates the Governments' efforts

* Cancellation of Iran trip frustrates U.S. wrestlers

* Iran's parliament approves bill allowing women equal divorce right

* US Pulls Wrestlers from Iran Championships After Threat

* Jewish lawmaker urges Iran's leader to pardon Jews convicted of spying

* Reformist accuses US of wanting to impose change

* Iranian troops deployed on Iraqi border: Kurds

* N. Korean company targeted by U.S. sanctions

* Khatami opposes Iranian "warmongers"

* Five Majlis deputies summoned to court

* MPs to prevent dissolution of Tehran City Council

* Iran denies rumored plans for state of emergency

* Iran army chief says plans drawn up to repel US threats

* U.S. congressional delegation expresses concern over Russian cooperation with Iraq, Iran

* Reformers Fear Hard-Line Crackdown

* Iran, state of emergency to meet US "threats"

* Pilot killed, six senior police officers injured in helicopter crash

* Khameneni says resuming ties with America would be humiliating

* Germany's economy minister visits Iran to sign investment treaty

* Bahrain's king begins historic first visit to Iran

* Iran slams Rice's accusation of supporting terrrorism

* Bahrain's King to visit Iran on Saturday: minister

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