Turkey's parliament puts U.S. troops on hold
U.N.: Iraq begins destroying banned missiles
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As U.S. Navy vessels wait offshore, Turkey's parliament votes against a plan to base U.S. troops in Turkey.
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| PERSPECTIVE |
TIME.com Contributor Jim Lacey writes in an article titled "How Commanders Think": "Last week, I sat down with an author who is collecting material for a book about the 101st Airborne Division's part in any future conflict with Iraq. His current working title is 'The Fun War.' It came to him after he spoke with a number of the senior commanders of the 101st and became enamored of the idea that they were all looking forward to a war in Iraq. He is convinced that they all believe any potential conflict will be little more then an outing in the sun, and great fun for all involved. "That author is wrong. "After spending several weeks meeting with many of these same leaders and watching them conduct their daily activities, I can testify that not a single one of them considers a possible invasion of Iraq fun. In fact, they would be insulted by the very idea that anyone would attribute such a motivation to them. The proposed title also betrays a complete lack of understanding of how our professional warriors think. "None of the officers with whom I have met expect the upcoming trial to be fun. What they do expect is to win. They state this conviction not out of arrogance, but out of quiet conviction. And that is exactly what America should expect from its professional warriors." TIME.com |
VIDEO
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CNN's Ryan Chilcote has a look at how the soldiers and their families prepare for separation as the 101st airborne division deploys.
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| ON THE AGENDA |
Saturday:
Iraq begins destroying Al Samoud 2 missiles
Arab League holds summit in Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh
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(CNN) -- With events moving closer to a possible war with Iraq, here is a look at some of the latest developments around the world:
ROAD TO WAR?
• TURKEY DOESN'T MUSTER SUPPORT: Turkey's parliament failed to pass a proposal Saturday to allow more than 60,000 U.S. troops to operate from Turkish bases and ports in the event of a war with Iraq. The parliament adjourned after an initial vote showed 264 lawmakers favoring the measure -- three fewer than needed for passage -- 250 opposing and 19 abstaining. After the proposal failed to gain a majority vote, Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul declared it had been "rejected." The 267 votes sought represents half of the 533 ministers who voted, plus one. The parliament is to reconvene Tuesday, but the fate of the contentious measure is uncertain. (Full story)
• FOUR MISSILES DOWN: Iraq has destroyed four of its al Samoud 2 missiles, U.N. inspectors said Saturday. The inspectors visited Taji, the primary location for Iraq's long-range missile program, to verify that Iraq had begun dismantling its missiles. Taji, a military installation north of Baghdad, houses a storage facility for the missiles, which the United Nations says have a range beyond the 93 miles [150 kilometers] allowed under U.N. resolutions. (Full story)
• ARAB LEAGUE SUMMIT: The leaders of the Arab League issued a declaration Saturday opposing war in Iraq and calling on Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to fully comply with U.N. resolutions. The declaration also asked the United Nations to guarantee Iraq's sovereignty. The league summit, designed to bring a show of unity from the Arab nations on the Iraqi crisis, nearly broke into chaos earlier Saturday when Libya's president blamed the Middle East's problems on the presence of U.S. troops in the region -- and then blamed their presence on Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and others for involving the Western power in the Gulf War 12 years ago. (Full story)
• BRITAIN CLOSES EMBASSY: The British Embassy in Yemen closed indefinitely Friday and advised its citizens to leave the country, an embassy diplomat said. The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the embassy has stopped providing services and shut down its consulate sections in both the capital, San'a, and the southern port of Aden. The closures came amid fears that terrorists might target Britons as tensions escalate in the Mideast, particularly as Britain and America deploy tens of thousands of troops to the region ahead of a possible war with Iraq. (Full story)
WAR OF WORDS
• Speaking amid news that Iraq had destroyed some of its prohibited missiles, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov said, "We, as before, do not see the need for a decision on the use of force against Baghdad." After U.N. weapons inspectors said they had resumed interviews with Iraqi scientists, Fedotov praised Baghdad for its work on the missiles and said Iraq "is giving the international inspectors new documents and materials," according to ITAR-Tass. (Full story)
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• "We will deliver medicine to the sick, and make sure that Iraq's 55,000 food-distribution sites, operating with supplies from the oil-for-food program, are stocked and open as soon as possible." President Bush said in his Saturday radio address regarding aid to a postwar Iraq. "After defeating enemies, we did not leave behind occupying armies; we left constitutions and parliaments. The nation of Iraq -- with its proud heritage, abundant resources, and skilled and educated people -- is fully capable of moving toward democracy and living in freedom." (Full story)
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• Comparing Saddam Hussein to Adolf Hitler, British Prime Minister Tony Blair says he would be pushing for Iraq's disarmament even if the United States weren't. "If the Americans were not doing this, I would be pressuring them to do so," Blair told The Guardian newspaper in Britain days after 121 of his own Labour Party members rebelled against his stance in a parliamentary vote. "It's worse than you think. I believe in it. I am truly committed to dealing with this, irrespective of the position of America." (Full story)
IMPACT
• As U.S. troops prepare for a potential war in Iraq, an international coalition of archaeologists, lawyers, researchers and art collectors say some of the world's most important archaeological sites are at risk. Iraq -- a cradle of ancient civilization -- is the home of such fabled cities as Ur, Babylon, Kabala and Nineveh. Many scholars believe that cuneiform writing, glass, accounting and bureaucracy were invented in what is now Iraq. Archaeologists are apprehensive that a U.S.-led bombing and land campaign might damage Iraq's tens of thousands of archaeological sites. (Full story)
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• Pope John Paul II will send a senior cardinal to Washington on a personal peace mission to try to avert a war in Iraq, the Vatican said Saturday. Cardinal Pio Laghi, for many years the Vatican's ambassador to the United States, will leave in the next few days and will deliver a letter from the pope to President Bush. "The cardinal ... will illustrate the position and the initiatives taken by the Holy See to contribute to disarmament and peace in the Middle East," the Vatican said in a statement. The Vatican does not believe an attack on Iraq could be considered a "just war," opposes U.N. economic sanctions against Iraq and argues that diplomacy is the only way to settle the dispute. (Full story)
