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"We pledge allegiance to the flag, and to the republic for which it stands, not to the empire for which it stands." – Gary Hart
In this issue: 1) Ex-Soldier Charged in Killing of Iraqi Family 2) Senator's Plan B Creates Quandary for Democrats 3) EU to Tell Iran Time Running Short 4) China Urges Iran to Respond to Nuclear Package 5) Putin Urges Iran to Accept Incentive Plan 6) Oil Rivalry Rocks Basra 7) Leftist Mexican Presidential Candidate Will Challenge Rival's Apparent Victory 8) A fair share for Iranians
Summary: The European Union will tell Iran Wednesday that time is running short for it to agree to enter negotiations on incentives to curb its nuclear activities or face possible penalties, Reuters reports. Diplomats doubt Iran's top nuclear negotiator will give a firm answer in talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, but say Iran will be subject to U.N. Security Council action if no answer arrives before major power meetings next week. However, they also say Russia and China would block any steps toward sanctions as long as Iran appears to be seriously studying the offer, leaving Western powers little choice but to wait possibly until Iran's own August deadline for a reply. An Iranian official said negotiator Ali Larijani would bring questions about what Tehran sees as ambiguities in the package offered by Western powers, while others expected at least one more meeting between the two. Washington wants G8 leaders to chart future action, insisting Tehran has had ample time to respond to a package presented a month ago of incentives for Iran to halt uranium enrichment. But others avoided talk of a deadline. A senior diplomat with the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said Iran's delay could not be branded simply as bad faith. "The Iranian need for time is genuine. They are not all of one mind on how to respond. Whatever the West's view of Iran's regime, it is not as monolithic in debate as many like to pretend,'' the diplomat said."After all, look how long it took the U.S. to decide it was okay to make an offer to join the negotiating table."
China urged Iran on Tuesday to respond to a package of incentives to stop enriching uranium and called on G8 powers to show patience, saying the standoff over Iran's nuclear plans had entered a crucial phase. "The Iran nuclear issue is at a crucial phase,'' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said. "We hope that Iran will pay attention to the concerns of the international community and respond as soon as possible to the basket of proposals. We also hope that the other sides will exercise patience and restraint and seriously consider Iran's reasonable concerns.''
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday urged Iran to accept an international package of incentives aimed at defusing the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program. ''We would really like our Iranian partners to accept the proposals,'' said Putin. He added he would like this to happen before next week's Group of Eight industrialized nations summit in Russia but thought this was unlikely.
A former U.S. soldier was charged yesterday with the rape and murder of a young Iraqi woman and the slayings of three of her family members in their home south of Baghdad in March. Several soldiers allegedly planned the attack over drinks after noticing the woman near the traffic checkpoint they manned. The soldiers allegedly worked out an elaborate plan to carry out the crime and then cover it up, wearing dark clothes to the home, using an AK-47 assault rifle from the house to kill the family, and allowing authorities to believe that the attack was carried out by insurgents, investigators said.
Senator Joseph Lieberman faces the prospect of rejection by the Democrats who know him best, the party faithful in Connecticut, the New York Times reports. The problem is Iraq. But it is not only Lieberman who is being challenged; it is the national party leadership, as it faces a grassroots push to toughen its stand against the Iraq war and distance itself from a senator who supports the war. Leaders of the national Democratic Party may have to choose between Lieberman and an antiwar Democrat Ned Lamont in the fall. Lieberman is planning to run as an independent in November if he loses the Democratic primary. Karen Finney, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, said the party would support its nominee this fall, whether it is Mr. Lieberman or Mr. Lamont.
Basra has turned into a deadly arena for clashes over the smuggling of millions of dollars in petroleum products, the Los Angeles Times reports. One official estimated the value of the smuggling trade at $4 billion a year, or about 10% of the country's gross domestic product. Officials say the Fadila party, which controls the provincial government, has been the most eager participant in the smuggling business. One former lawmaker estimated its daily oil take was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Fadila controlled the Oil Ministry in the previous government and appointed loyalists to many posts, from high-level jobs down to oversight of terminals in Basra. Shiite political parties and militias have proceeded with their oil pilfering despite the presence of British forces, who are increasingly viewed as ineffective interlopers. The blatant smuggling has served to symbolize the corruption and incompetence of the Shiite parties that have filled the power vacuum since the U.S.-led invasion. Government services such as trash collection and the upkeep of water and electricity lines have deteriorated, residents say.
In Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, candidate of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, is charging election officials with "manipulation" of the vote count in Sunday's presidential election that shows ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon with a lead of about one percent. Lopez Obrador says he will file legal challenges if the final official count favors Calderon. The Mexican Federal Electoral Institute refrained from declaring any winner, having already announced a recount of the vote to commence on Wednesday. Lobrador says there was an evident manipulation of the preliminary vote count that would have to be explained. He points to inconsistencies in the count that appeared in the early morning hours as the preliminary results were released. He says he will challenge the result polling place by polling place, if necessary.
The president of Iran is to distribute shares in state industries among the poor, in line with his election pledges, AFP reports. State television reported on Tuesday that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, announced on Monday a privatization scheme for basic industries, amending an article of the constitution that had banned private ownership of state institutions. 50% of the shares are to be allocated for sale to provincial co-operative companies, with the focus on low-income sectors of society, under Ahmadinejad's plan for the "distribution of justice shares". The government plans to sell off 80% of its stake in a range of state-run companies in the banking, media, transportation and mineral sectors under the order issued by Khamenei. So-called "justice shares" have been allocated to a third of the population who are selected from the lowest-income group, or about 21 million people.
Articles: 1) Ex-Soldier Charged in Killing of Iraqi Family Coverup Is Alleged; Four Others Implicated Josh White Washington Post Tuesday, July 4, 2006; A01 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/03/AR2006070301206.html
A former U.S. Army soldier was charged yesterday with the rape and murder of a young Iraqi woman and the slayings of three of her family members in their home south of Baghdad in March, federal prosecutors said.
Several soldiers allegedly planned the attack over drinks after noticing the woman near the traffic checkpoint they manned in Mahmudiyah, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. The soldiers allegedly worked out an elaborate plan to carry out the crime and then cover it up, wearing dark clothes to the home, using an AK-47 assault rifle from the house to kill the family, and allowing authorities to believe that the attack was carried out by insurgents, investigators said.
2) Senator's Plan B Creates Quandary for Democrats Patrick Healy and Jennifer Medina New York Times July 4, 2006 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/04/nyregion/04antiwar.html
Six years ago Joseph I. Lieberman came within a hairbreadth of the vice presidency after the Democratic Party chose him as a moderate face whose support for family values and a stronger military might attract Reagan Democrats and independents.
Yet when Mr. Lieberman sought the party's presidential nomination in 2004, rank-and-file Democrats relegated him to the B list, behind Howard Dean and John Kerry, in large part because of his strong support for military action in Iraq.
Now Mr. Lieberman faces the prospect of rejection by the Democrats who know him best, the party faithful in Connecticut. Once more the problem is Iraq. But this time it is not only Mr. Lieberman who is being challenged; it is the national party leadership, as it faces a grassroots push to toughen its stand against the Iraq war and distance itself from a senator who supports the war.
3) EU to Tell Iran Time Running Short Reuters July 4, 2006 Filed at 11:00 a.m. ET http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-nuclear-iran-talks.html
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union will tell Iran on Wednesday that time is running short for it to agree to enter negotiations on incentives to curb its nuclear activities or face possible penalties.
Diplomats doubt Iran's top nuclear negotiator will give a firm answer in talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, but say Iran will be subject to U.N. Security Council action if no answer arrives before major power meetings next week.
However, they also say Russia and China would block any steps toward sanctions as long as Iran appears to be seriously studying the offer, leaving Western powers little choice but to wait possibly until Iran's own August deadline for a reply.
4) China Urges Iran to Respond to Nuclear Package Reuters July 4, 2006 Filed at 4:58 a.m. ET http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-nuclear-iran-china.html
BEIJING (Reuters) - China urged Iran on Tuesday to respond to a package of incentives to stop enriching uranium and called on G8 powers to show patience, saying the standoff over Iran's nuclear plans had entered a crucial phase. Iran's nuclear ambitions are expected to dominate the Group of Eight summit in Moscow this week as members wait for Tehran to formally respond to a proposal backed by the five permanent members of the U.N Security Council and Germany.
5) Putin Urges Iran to Accept Incentive Plan Associated Press July 4, 2006 Filed at 10:52 a.m. ET http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Iran-Nuclear.html
MOSCOW (AP) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday urged Iran to accept an international package of incentives aimed at defusing the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program.
6) Oil Rivalry Rocks Basra The Iraqi city has turned into a deadly arena for clashes over the smuggling of millions of dollars in petroleum products, officials say. Raheem Salman and Borzou Daragahi Los Angeles Times July 4, 2006 http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-basra4jul04,1,5281184.story
BASRA, Iraq — This once-placid port city is beginning to look a lot like the mob-ruled Chicago of the 1920s, an arena for settling scores between rival gangs, many with ties to the highest echelons of local and national political power.
Basra's sudden political troubles and violence are rooted in a bloody competition for control of millions of dollars in smuggled oil, residents and officials say. Out on the Shatt al Arab waterway and off the coast of the Persian Gulf, boats wait to receive Iraq's smuggled oil, the most visible sign of what many suspect are vast multinational criminal gangs selling subsidized and stolen petroleum products for a premium in Iran, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
7) Leftist Mexican Presidential Candidate Will Challenge Rival's Apparent Victory Greg Flakus Voice of America July 4 2006 http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-07-04-voa2.cfm
Mexico City - In Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, candidate of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, is charging election officials with "manipulation" of the vote count in Sunday's presidential election that shows ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon with a lead of about one percent. Lopez Obrador says he will file legal challenges if the final official count favors Calderon.
After more than 98 percent of the vote from Sunday's election had been counted, Felipe Calderon maintained a slight lead, which he said was supported by several independent exit polls that showed him as the victor. The Mexican Federal Electoral Institute, however, refrained from declaring any winner, having already announced a recount of the vote to commence on Wednesday.
Coming before reporters after the release of the initial vote count results, Lopez Obrador promised a legal challenge.
He says there was an evident manipulation of the preliminary vote count that would have to be explained. He points to inconsistencies in the count that appeared in the early morning hours as the preliminary results were released. He says he will challenge the result polling place by polling place, if necessary.
8) A fair share for Iranians AFP Tuesday 04 July 2006 10:46 AM GMT http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C357A0B0-C06E-4205-84E3-6DFE8A8EF2BC.htm
The president of Iran is to distribute shares in state industries among the poor, in line with his election pledges.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who took office last August, said in May that he planned to reverse privatisations carried out by the former reformist government.
State television reported on Tuesday that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Islamic republic's supreme leader, announced on Monday a privatisation scheme for basic industries, amending an article of the constitution that had banned private ownership of state institutions.
With his approval, 50% of the shares are to be allocated for sale to provincial co-operative companies, with the focus on low-income sectors of society, under Ahmadinejad's plan for the "distribution of justice shares".
-- Robert Naiman Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org