Sidelined Neo-Cons Stoke Future Fires-ATimes/New World Media Watch

[Gloria]

WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR OCTOBER 11, 2004

1//The Independent, UK--ANGER OVER PM’S PLAN FOR ‘IRAQ HONOURS LIST’(Plans by Downing Street to draw up a "special Iraq honours list", which could include officials who prepared the flawed dossier making the case for war, provoked an angry response yesterday… The disclosure came as MPs returned to Westminster today with their disquiet over the war heightened by the conclusion of the Iraq Survey Group (ISG) that Saddam Hussein possessed no WMD. Mr Blair will face demands to defend government policy to the Commons in the light of the ISG report.)



2//The Moscow Times, Russia--THE BUZZ IS THAT PUTIN MAY STAY (The buzz in liberal circles these days is that President Vladimir Putin's far-reaching political reform plans could help him retain power after his second and final term ends in 2008. "It's a general feeling," said Vladimir Pribylovsky, head of the Panorama think tank. "This reform is a showdown. All masks are dropped." The proposal, which scraps the popular vote for governors and individual races for the State Duma, could be a step toward amending the Constitution to extend Putin's final term from the current four years or to allow him to seek a third term, analysts said. Putin has repeatedly indicated that he will not cling to the presidency after his second term.)



3//The Jordan Times, Jordan--RUSSIAN FM VISITS TEHRAN (Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Tehran Sunday for talks expected to focus on Iran's stand-off with the UN's nuclear watchdog and possible preparations for a visit here by the Russian president… Russia has said on several occasions that it will continue its nuclear cooperation with Iran as long as the nation complies with the IAEA. “Iran must comply with all IAEA demands,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month. Putin said Russia had sent a message to this effect to Tehran, and added that he believed Iran's assurances that it was not trying to develop nuclear weapons. But also last month Igor Ivanov, chief of Russia's Security Council, said Russia was against bringing up Iran's nuclear programme at the UN Security Council and believes the issue should stay with the IAEA.)



4//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--SIDELINED NEO-CONS STOKE FUTURE FIRES (Sidelined by their failed predictions for Iraq and US President George W Bush's efforts to reassure voters he is not a warmonger, prominent neo-conservatives and their Christian Right allies are nonetheless trying hard to prepare the ground for future US adventures in the Middle East… The neo-conservatives, who led the charge to war in Iraq, have steadily lost influence over US policy in Baghdad since a year ago, when US troops found themselves welcomed by a serious and growing insurgency rather than the flowers and sweets the neo-cons had predicted. At the same time, Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, was reported to have told unhappy war hawks in the Pentagon and Vice President Dick Cheney's office, the two neo-con strongholds, that Bush's re-election prospects would be greatly enhanced if there was "no war in '04".)



5//The Daily Star, Lebanon--WILL UNIFIL BE DRAWN INTO CRISIS? (The United States is reportedly threatening to push for the disbandment of the UN peacekeeping force in South Lebanon (Unifil) to pressure Beirut and Damascus into fulfilling UN Resolution 1559. But diplomats in Beirut say Unifil is necessary to help stabilize the fractious Lebanon-Israel border, adding that the fate of the 26-year-old peacekeeping force should not be linked to the month-old resolution… Still, there is no confirmation that the U.S. intends to seriously push for the termination of Unifil, and the anonymous quote in Al-Hayat may be nothing more than a trial balloon…Some diplomats suggested, however, that Unifil's potential closure or troop reduction could be used against Lebanon and Syria. "As a means of pressure, it is possible they will use Unifil," said one diplomat. "But any withdrawal at this stage could have serious consequences for stability along the Blue Line.")