Full excerpts, links up now at
http://www.zianet.com/insightanalyticalTomorrow at Buzzflash.com
WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR MARCH 31, 2004
1//Inter Press Service, Italy--WAR LAUNCHED TO PROTECT ISRAEL – BUSH ADVISER (IPS uncovered the remarks by Philip Zelikow, who is now the executive director of the body set up to investigate the terrorist attacks on the United States in September 2001 -- the 9/11 commission -- in which he suggests a prime motive for the invasion just over one year ago was to eliminate a threat to Israel, a staunch U.S. ally in the Middle East. Zelikow's casting of the attack on Iraq as one launched to protect Israel appears at odds with the public position of President George W. Bush and his administration, which has never overtly drawn the link between its war on the regime of former president Hussein and its concern for Israel's security.)
2//The Guardian, UK--BUSH, THE SAUDI BILLIONAIRE AND THE ISLAMISTS: THE STORY A BRITISH FIRM IS AFRAID TO PUBLISH (A book investigating links between rich Saudis and US politicians has been suppressed by the giant publishing firm Random House because, it says, of growing "libel tourism" by wealthy foreigners, and exorbitant legal "success fees"…The UK publication of House of Bush, House of Saud, by the American writer Craig Unger, has been cancelled because Secker and Warburg, a Random House subsidiary, says it can no longer afford such risks.)
3//Aljazeera, Qatar--US TO BROADEN HUNT FOR WMD IN IRAQ (The US is to expand its hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, despite its inability to find any such weapons so far. The US chief weapons inspector Charles Duelfer said on Tuesday his team would be looking instead at whether the ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein intended to develop WMDs… Duelfer, appointed by the CIA in January, guides the on-the-ground hunt by the Defence Department's Iraq Survey Group of about 1200 to 1400 personnel. Duelfer succeeded David Kay, who resigned after saying he did not believe Iraq had large stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons.)
4//Deutsche-Welle/dw-Worlde.de, Germany--OPIUM AND MONEY TO TOP AGENDA AT BERLIN AFGHANISTAN (On Wednesday, international leaders will meet in Berlin to take stock of rebuilding efforts in Afghanistan. Reconstruction financing and a booming opium trade remain major challenges…Germany has provided roughly €80 million ($97 million) in aid each year since 2002. On Wednesday, German officials are expected to announce that they will continue their aid program until 2008. The United States, the biggest donor ahead of Germany and Japan, will most likely offer $1 billion on top of the $1.2 billion it has already pledged this year. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said Tuesday that the leading donor countries hope other countries will pledge more aid. Afghan leaders estimate that $27.5 billion is needed over the next seven years for reconstruction. Donors worldwide have so far pledged $4.2 billion through 2004.)
5//The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia--TERRORISTS COULD TARGET SHIPPING LANES (Terrorists could be planning to attack South-East Asia's busiest shipping lanes with a "crude nuclear device," Australian authorities warned in a report obtained yesterday…Over a quarter of the world's trade and half of its oil passes through the Straits of Malacca and the Singapore Strait…"The overall picture ... is that South-East Asia remains a front line in the fight against terrorism. More attacks that threaten the safety and security of regional communities are inevitable," said an Australian government report.)
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