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Press Roundup 3/31

Afghanistan Flares

"Attacks against US troops in southern Afghanistan... have spiked in recent weeks," writes Gretchen Peters in the Christian Science Monitor, "culminating Saturday with the ambush of a US Special Forces unit in Helmand Province that left two US soldiers dead and a third injured. Meanwhile, fear of terrorist attacks was heightened in Pakistan, where officials announced fresh intelligence reports." [More]

The Iraq Invasion, Take 2

There's a good and mostly straightforward piece in Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer setting forth the little we can surmise about where the war goes from here. It contains this ominous note:

The tactics used by the U.S. forces are likely to be tougher, both on the ground and in the air. With siege warfare looming at Najaf and other cities, the U.S. military may soon find itself seeking to use tactics that carry political risks for the administration.

"We're not going to catapult diseased cattle into the city or anything like that," one planner said. "But there's a question of what you can do and what you should do." [More]

Powell Talks Tough About Iran, Syria at AIPAC Gathering

The dispatch in Ha'aretz opens with an affirmation that many in Israel will not want to hear: Continually expanding Israeli settlements are "inconsistent with President Bush's two-state vision," Colin Powell told an assembly of 3,000 pro-Israel lobbyists in Washington.

But we already knew that. The real news here is buried deeper in the story, when Powell gets to Iran and Syria. As far as I know, these are his most bellicose public words yet on the subject:

"Tehran must stop pursuing weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them," said Powell... "Iran must stop its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and the ability to produce them."

Since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq began, Washington has charged that Syria has been shipping war materiel into Iraq to support Saddam Hussein.

Powell urged Syria on Sunday to abandon its support for "terrorist groups" and the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "Syria... now faces a critical choice," Powell said in a speech to a powerful U.S. Jewish lobby in Washington.

There are many who still persist in believing that Powell is somehow the good guy in Bush's war cabinet. Why? 

Anti-Israel Demos Escalate in Arab Nations

Angry and growing anti-Israel rallies are breaking out in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and now Europe, writes the Middle East Times.

Fact, Fiction, and War Reporters

Here's one I missed: a good primer on the pitfalls of writing--and reading--war reportage from Saturday's Guardian.

Posted by Steve Perry at March 31, 2003 10:28 AM

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