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2 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 19, 2004
NATION/WORLD
Poland may withdraw from Iraq NEWS IN BRIEF;
___ __ __ ___ __ __ ___ __ __ ___ __ __ ___ _E W S I B R E a5' .
HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE WORLD-
WARSAW, Poland - President Alek- "But naturally I also feel uncomfort-
sander Kwasniewski, a key U.S. ally, said able due to the fact that we were misled 4 ... I alsO feel uncomfortable due to the fact ISLAMABA, Pakistan
yesterday that Poland was "misled"
about whether Saddam Hussein's regime
had weapons of mass destruction and
was considering withdrawing troops
from Iraq several months early.
The remarks came as polls show
about half of Poles are opposed to
involvement in Iraq and after deadly
bombings in Madrid - possibly by al-
Qaida in retaliation for Spain's alliance
with the United States - triggered fears
of a terror attack on Polish soil.
Kwasniewski's comments were the
first by a Polish leader to raise doubts
about the intelligence behind the deci-
sion for going to war. He tempered them
by stressing that Poland is not about to
abandon its mission in Iraq, and said Iraq
was a better place without Saddam.
with the information on weapons of
mass destruction," Kwasniewski told
French.reporters, according to a tran-
script released by his press office.
"This is the problem of the United
States, of Britain and also of many other
nations," he later told a news conference.
Despite his comments, U.S. National
Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice
said she did not think Poland was with-
drawing its support for the U.S.-led
coalition in Iraq.
"I talked to the Poles, and they
think they were a bit misinterpreted
here, because there's been no
stronger ally in this than the Poles,"
Rice said in a CNN interview.
She said President Bush and Kwas-
niewski had discussed the issue of Sad-
that we were misled with the information on
weapons of mass destruction:'
- Aleksander Kwasneiwski
President of Poland
dam's alleged arsenal "and they went to
war for the right reasons."
Poland contributed 2,400 combat
troops to the Iraq invasion and now com-
mands a 9,500-strong multinational
force, making it one of Washington's
staunchest allies. But while many Poles
feel historically close to the United
States, public support for the mission in
Iraq has been tepid.
A poll last week found 42 percent of
adults in favor and 53 percent opposed.
The CBOS survey had a margin of error
of plus or minus three percentage points.
Kwasniewski's criticism of the
prewar intelligence also puts him in
line with widespread public senti-
ment in Western Europe, just
before Poland joins the European
Union on May 1.
"Poland so far lacked a necessary bal-
ance before the EU entry. It was too pro-
American," said Janina Paradowska, a
commentator for the Polityka weekly.
Troops may have found al-Qaida's No. 2
Pakistani forces believe they have cornered and perhaps wounded Osama bin
Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, in a major battle near the Afghan border, an
area where many believe the world's most wanted terrorist has been hiding, three
senior Pakistani officials said yesterday.
Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said a "high value" target was
believed trapped in South Waziristan, a semi-autonamous tribal belt that has resis-
ted outside intervention for centuries.
Hundreds of troops and paramilitary rangers pounded several fortress-like
mud-brick compounds with artillery and fired on them from helicopter gunships,
as entrenched suspects fought back hard. An intelligence official said "dozens"
were killed yesterday. At least 41 people - 15 soldiers and 26 suspected militants
- were killed earlier this week in fighting in the area.
The officials said intelligence indicated the forces had surrounded the Egypt-
ian-born al-Zawahri in an operation that began Tuesday, the first major break in
the world's most intense manhunt in more than a year.
6
Spain arrests five
bombing suspects
SEOUL, South Korea
S. Korea will not send troops to city in Iraq
South Korea yesterday scrubbed plans to send troops to the northern Iraqi city of
Kirkuk, citing U.S. pressure to participate in "offensive operations," but it said the
promised 3,600 forces will be sent to a different location to help rebuild the country.
The dispatch, making South Korea the biggest coalition partner after the United
States and Britain, had been scheduled to come as early as next month. But yester-
day's decision means the mission might be delayed.
The move comes as other Iraq coalition allies reconsider their contributions.
South Korea's Defense Ministry said the "United States cited inevitability for
offensive operations to keep security in order in the Kirkuk area, and proposed
that a certain number of U.S. troops would remain in Kirkuk to continue to con-
duct stabilization operations under the tactical control of South Korea."
The South Korean side said the U.S. proposal does not jibe with its intention to
"keep its own independent operational command system and conduct peaceful
reconstruction."
The Pentagon had no immediate comment on South Korea's decision.
MADRID, Spain - Police arrest-
ed five more people in the Madrid
train bombings as the death toll rose
yesterday to 202, making the blasts
- along with the 2002 Bali night-
club blasts - the worst terrorist
strike since the Sept. 11 attacks in
the United States.
The arrests brought to 11 the total
suspects in Spanish custody and came
as the country marked a week since the
bombings that shocked Europe, led to
a stunning election defeat for the gov-
ernment and roiled Madrid's relations
with the United States.
In Morocco, police also rounded
up associates of Jamal Zougam, a
key suspect in the train bombings
with alleged al-Qaida ties.
The death of a 22-year-old Peruvian
woman increased the toll in the attacks
to 202 - the same number killed by
bombings in Bali, Indonesia, in Octo-
ber 2002. Nearly 3,000 people died in
the Sept. 11 attacks carried out by
Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.
The latest arrests added to suspi-
cions Moroccan extremists linked
to Islamic terrorism were behind
the Madrid bombings. At least three
of the five suspects arrested
Wednesday and yesterday are
Moroccan nationals, according to a
Moroccan official.
Spanish authorities sought to
extend the detention of five other
suspects, including Zougam, who
ywere arrested Saturday. Zougam
and the others - two Moroccans
and two Indians - were being
questioned yesterday at a Madrid
.ourt by Judge Juan del Olmo.
Del Olmo's options are to jail them
pending further investigation -
which would suggest there is strong
evidence against them - free them
on bail or with other restrictions, or
release them altogether.
The suspects can be held for two
years without a formal indictment while
more evidence is gathered. This period
can be extended for two more years.
In Morocco, police were rounding
up Zougam's associates for question-
ing, said a Moroccan official who
spoke to The Associated Press on con-
dition of anonymity.
Three of the new arrests occurred
in or near Alcala de Henares, a town
18 miles east of Madrid where three
of the four bombed trains originat-
ed, according to court officials in
Madrid. It's also where police found
a van with detonators and a cassette
tape with verses from the Quran
hours after the attacks.
Another new suspect with Spanish
citizenship was arrested in Oviedo, in
northern Spain, court officials said.
Police believe that suspect may
have had a direct role in the bomb-
ings and in the May 2003 suicide
attacks that killed 33 people and 12
bombers in Casablanca, Morocco,
said radio station Cadena Ser.
There were few details about the
fifth suspect, although the news
agency Efe said he was of North
African origin.
Interior Minister Angcl Acebes
confirmed the "investigation is
advancing" but wouldn't comment
on the latest arrests. "This is a time
for caution," he said, announcing
the government would release intel-
ligence reports about the attacks.
APPHu T
A mosque burns Wednesday after a fire set by protesters in the southern Serbian
town of Nis, some 250 kilometers south of Belgrade.
NATO sends fortces to
74 7 T
stop clasie!
PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro -
Ethnic Albanians torched Serb homes
and churches yesterday as Kosovo
convulsed in a second day of violence,
its worst since the province's war
ended in 1999.
Serbian nationalists set mosques
elsewhere on fire and threatened to
retaliate with "slaughter and death,"
and NATO sent reinforcements to
quell tensions in the U.N.-run province
and ease the threat of renewed conflict
in the volatile Balkans.
The clashes, which began
Wednesday when ethnic Albanians
blamed Serbs for the drownings of
two children, have killed at least 31
people and wounded hundreds
more, including several dozen U.N.
police and NATO peacekeepers,
s in Kosovo
according to U.N. spokeswoman
Izabella Karlowicz.
"The international community's
drive to reduce (NATO) forces and
the U.N. police for cost reasons and
because of Iraq has turned out to be
an error," warned Winfried
Nachtwei, a German lawmaker who
visited Kosovo this week.
The White House called for an
end to violence in Kosovo and said
President Bush met with his nation-
al security team to monitor the situ-
ation. The U.S. Embassy in
Belgrade closed temporarily to the
public as a precaution.
"We continue to call on all groups
to end the violence and refrain from
violence," White House spokesman
Scott McClellan said.
BRUSSELS, Belgium
EU plans to sanction
Microsoft in ruling
The European Union announced its
intention yesterday to sanction
Microsoft Corp. after the software giant
balked at demands that could have pre-
vented it from adding new features to
future versions of Windows - a
restriction it avoided in the landmark
U.S. antitrust case.
Frenzied settlement talks that acceler-
ated this week with the arrival of
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer
in Brussels collapsed over the EU's insis-
tence on a broad deal in exchange for
allowing Microsoft to avoid being found
guilty of monopolistic behavior.
EU Competition Commissioner
Mario Monti said he would now pro-
ceed with a precedent-setting ruling
against the world's largest software
company on Wednesday. The EU also
plans to hit Microsoft with a fine
expected to reach hundreds of millions
of dollars.
JERUSALEM
Palestinians protest
construction of wall
Hundreds of Palestinians protested
yesterday at a site where Israel is
building its West Bank barrier, call-
ing for a complete stop to the project
after the Supreme Court halted con-
struction at a nearby location.
A 12-year-old boy was seriously
wounded by soldiers firing tear gas and
rubber-coated steel bullets to disperse
stone-throwers in the crowd.
Protesters have focused in recent weeks
on a particularly contentious section
northwest of Jerusalem that would cut off
eight Palestinian villages and disrupt the
lives of 30,000 people. The high court on
Wednesday froze construction of that 15,
6
mile stretch after retired Israeli army ofii-
cers argued that Israel could have drawn
a much less intrusive route.
WASHINGTON
Study: Possible mass
extinction underway
A detailed survey of birds and butter-
flies in Britain shows a population decline
of 54 to 71 percent, a finding that sug-
gests the world may be undergoing anoth-
er major extinction.
Researchers said the study helps sup-
port the theory that the sixth big extinc-
tion in Earth's history is under way, anl
this one is caused by humans.
In a series of population surveys that6
combed virtually every square yard of
England, Scotland and Wales over 40
years, more than 20,000 volunteers
counted each bird, butterfly and native
plant they could find. An analysis of the
findings appears this week in the jour-
nal Science.
- Compiled from Daily wire reports.
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