The beheading of an American hostage in supposed reprisal for abuses by US soldiers has injected new venom into Washington's project in Iraq just as threats of widespread insurrection appeared to be fading.
Nick Berg, a 26-year-old civilian, may have been killed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to a Web site video purportedly showing Berg's last moments. It increased fears for other hostages, including a US soldier.
Meanwhile, the young Iraqi cleric leading a month-old Shiite uprising against US occupation said yesterday that he was prepared to disband his militia army.
PHOTO: AP
But, with a now familiar ambivalence, Moqtada al-Sadr also told a rare news conference at Islam's holiest Shiite shrine he would still oppose a US-led occupation he likened to the tyrannical rule of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.
Under mounting pressure from rivals in the Shiite establishment and from US forces on the ground, his aides on Tuesday had already pencilled in their agreement to a deal that could end the insurgency.
Fresh fighting with Sadr's Mehdi Army militia in the holy city of Kerbala yesterday left at least 20 guerrillas dead, the US military said. After a night and morning of fighting, young men loyal to Sadr were holed up in a mosque and surrounded by US tanks. There were also scattered skirmishes elsewhere.
But Sadr's chief lieutenant in Najaf reached an deal in principle with the main Shiite parties late on Tuesday that could see his fighters absorbed into a broader Iraqi force to take over security while US troops pulled out of cities.
In other developments, coalition spokesman Dan Senor said yesterday that Berg was never under US custody despite claims from his family.
Senor told reporters that Berg was detained by Iraqi police in Mosul. The Iraqis informed the Americans and the FBI met with Berg three times to determine what he was doing in Iraq.
Asked for details about Berg's last weeks in Iraq, Senor replied: "We are obviously trying to piece all this together, and there's a thorough investigation."
Also See Story:
Terrorist leader al-Zarqawi, gaining an increasingly influential position
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RSS