President George W. Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel meet the press in Meseberg, Germany (Saul Loeb/Getty Images). Bush Presses Diplomacy for Iran, But Keeps Open “All Options” The United States continues to seek a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis, but “all options are on the table,” President George W. Bush said yesterday after meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Meseberg (see GSN, June 10)...Full Story

North Korea to Receive More Energy Aid Officials from five countries agreed yesterday to speed energy supplies to North Korea as a way to encourage Pyongyang to ramp up its efforts to disable its nuclear facilities, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, June 10)...Full Story

Bush Regrets Tough Rhetoric Toward Iraq Using tough talk before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 may have been a mistake, U.S. President George W. Bush said in an interview published today...Full Story

	Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Bush Regrets Tough Rhetoric Toward Iraq Using tough talk before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 may have been a mistake, U.S. President George W. Bush said in an interview published today. “In retrospect I could have used a different tone, a different rhetoric,” he told the London Times.  Language such as “bring them on” and “dead or alive” created a misimpression that he was a “guy really anxious for war,” Bush said. His choice of words “indicated to people that I was, you know, not a man of peace,” Bush said (Baldwin/Baker, London Times, June 11). Bush later maintained, however, that while his language was lacking, the invasion was the proper course of action. “I don't regret it at all.  Removing Saddam Hussein made the world a safer place,” he said today in a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.  “I could have used better rhetoric to indicate that one, we tried to exhaust the diplomacy in Iraq,” he added.  “But, no, the decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right decision” (Associated Press/Google News, June 11). Back to top       House to Consider Bush Impeachment Today An effort launched yesterday by U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) to impeach President George W. Bush would almost certainly take the first step toward dying today, the Washington Post reported (see GSN, June 10). Kucinich introduced 35 articles of impeachment on the House floor yesterday, accusing Bush of acting unlawfully in prosecuting the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. The lawmaker used an unusual parliamentary tool, a “privileged resolution,” to introduce his measure, forcing the House to act on the measure within two days.  House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) suggested yesterday that impeachment proceedings would be a waste of lawmakers’ time with only seven months remaining in Bush’s term, the Post reported. A similar Kucinich effort to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney in November was sent to the Judiciary Committee, where no action has been taken.  A similar fate most likely awaits the Bush impeachment measure, according to the Post (Ben Pershing, Washington Post, June 11). Back to top       U.N. Inspectors in Iraq Issue Final Report The U.N. agency responsible for investigating and dismantling Iraq’s WMD capabilities after the 1991 Gulf War has issued a final report, nearly one year after it was formally disbanded, the United Nations announced yesterday (see GSN, July 2, 2007). The U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission conducted inspections in Iraq until March 2003, when the U.S.-led invasion began.  Created in 1991 as the U.N. Special Commission on Iraq, the group was responsible for locating and destroying large quantities of Iraq nuclear, chemical, biological and missile facilities. In the years before the U.S. invasion, however, no additional WMD materials or programs were uncovered. The final report expresses hope that the commission model could be used again. “The international community could benefit if practical ways were found to preserve for appropriate future use the experience and expertise accumulated over the years of the Special Commission and UNMOVIC operations,” the report says. Since shutting down last June, the commission has placed its archives into secure storage (U.N. release, June 10). Back to top

Bush Presses Diplomacy for Iran, But Keeps Open “All Options” The United States continues to seek a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis, but “all options are on the table,” President George W. Bush said yesterday after meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Meseberg (see GSN, June 10). Bush’s warning followed an agreement earlier in the day at a U.S.-EU summit to consider adopting economic sanctions against Iran outside those already enacted by the U.N. Security Council. Iran’s refusal to curb it uranium enrichment program has spurred continuing U.S. suspicions that Tehran is trying to develop a capacity to produce nuclear-weapon materials. As Bush swings through Europe this week, he has apparently cemented European support for maintaining pressure on Iran. “If Iran does not meet its commitments, then further sanctions will simply have to follow,” Merkel told reporters in a press conference yesterday.  “We want to give room for diplomatic solutions. We want to give diplomacy a chance, but we also have to stay on that particular issue.” “I told the chancellor my first choice, of course, is to solve this diplomatically,” Bush added.  “All options are on the table, but the first choice is to solve this problem by working closely together, by sending a dual message [to Iranian leaders], which has been the consistent policy of this administration, that if you verifiably suspend your enrichment programs you'll end your isolation, and there's a way forward for you.” “The Iranian regime has made a choice so far, and it's a bad choice for the Iranian people,” Bush continued.  “The Iranian people deserve better than being isolated from the world. They deserve better from having their government held up as unsafe and not trustworthy.” EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana is scheduled to deliver a revised set of incentives to Tehran on Saturday, but the offer reportedly remains contingent upon Iran freezing its key nuclear activities. “The message to the Iranian government is very clear: that there's a better way forward than isolation, and that is for you to verifiably suspend your enrichment program,” Bush said.  “The choice is theirs to make. Obviously we want to solve this issue peacefully and so we'll give diplomacy a chance to work.” Bush cautioned, however, that time might be short. If Iranian scientists “learn to enrich, it means they've learned a key part of developing a nuclear weapon,” he said at the U.S.-EU summit press briefing.  “And if they end up with a nuclear weapon, the free world is going to say, ‘Why didn't we do something about it at the time, before they developed it?’  And so now is the time for there to be strong diplomacy.” Bush said he understood the feelings of Israeli leaders who have expressed concern over Iran’s nuclear capability (see GSN, June 6). “If you were living in Israel you'd be a little nervous, too, if a leader in your neighborhood announced that he'd like to destroy you,” he said (Greg Webb, GSN, June 11). Meanwhile, Iranian financial officials have begun to transfer assets from European banks to Iranian and Asian institutions, the New York Times reported today. “We decided to exchange our foreign assets to increase our security,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Mohsen Talaie.  The transferred assets reportedly included accounts holding U.S. dollars which were used to purchase gold and equities (Myers/Fathi, New York Times, June 11). In Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today vowed to continue the nation’s nuclear pursuits, suggesting he would reject Solana’s impending offer. “They think they can trample on the Iranian nation's dignity with such things,” he said.  “We will not trade our dignity with anything. If they want to give us something, then they should sell it and we will buy it” (Agence France-Presse/Google News, June 11). “They've tried by military threats ... and political pressure to stop you from your luminous path, but today they have seen that all their planning has failed,” Ahmadinejad told a crowd in the western city of Shahr-e Kurd.  “Today the Iranian nation is standing on the nuclear height” (Hosseinian/Dahl, Reuters, June 11). Back to top       North Korea to Receive More Energy Aid Officials from five countries agreed yesterday to speed energy supplies to North Korea as a way to encourage Pyongyang to ramp up its efforts to disable its nuclear facilities, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, June 10). As part of a six-nation deal, North Korea has agreed to shutter its nuclear program in exchange for economic and political incentives.  The six include China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the United States. The group met without North Korea in Seoul yesterday and agreed “that economic assistance to D.P.R.K. should be accelerated," said South Korean Foreign Ministry official Hwang Joon-kook.  The five also concurred “that acceleration of economic assistance must be matched by the acceleration of disablement and other related measures,” he said (Agence France-Presse/Google News, June 11). The decision followed yesterday’s public North Korean promise to refrain from terrorist or nuclear proliferation activities, a move welcomed by the U.S. State Department.  Removal from a department list of state sponsors of terrorism was one of the incentives offered Pyongyang for its denuclearization. “We certainly welcome the statement,” department spokesman Sean McCormack said yesterday, but he said more than a statement would be needed to remove North Korea from the list. “North Korea still has several obligations under this phase of the six-party talks that it needs to complete before other members of the six-party talks can contemplate completing their obligations,” McCormack said.  “We have not made any final steps with respect to North Korea” being taken off the list (Ed Johnson, Bloomberg, June 11). Back to top       Gates Asks for Nuclear Accountability U.S. Air Force personnel must embrace accountability if the service is to regain its prestige following recent embarrassing lapses in the nuclear security, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday (see GSN, June 9). After dismissing the two top Air Force officials last week, Gates visited three air bases this week “to look airmen in the eye” while explaining his decision, he said.  The two resigned after the Air Force mistakenly shipped nuclear missile parts to Taiwan and temporarily lost track of six nuclear weapons in the United States. “Our policy is clear:  We will ensure the complete physical control of nuclear weapons, and we will properly handle their associated components at all times,” Gates said at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.  “It is a tremendous responsibility — one we must not and will never take lightly.” He encouraged military personnel to both offer and accept criticism. “When you see failures or growing problems in other areas — outside your lane — throw a flag,” Gates said. “Rededicate yourselves to the standards of excellence that have been the hallmark of the United States Air Force for more than 60 years” (Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service, (June 10). “I have noticed that none of the services easily accept honest criticism from outside their branch, or scrutiny that exposes institutional shortcomings," Gates added.  “This is something that must change across the military.” “There is simply no room for error in this mission," he continued.  “Nor is there, unfortunately, any room for second chances” (Robert Burns, Associated Press/Google News, June 10).   Back to top       Singh Persists in Hope for U.S.-Indian Nuclear Deal A tentative U.S.-Indian nuclear trade agreement would greatly benefit the South Asian power, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said today, while acknowledging that the deal faces strong domestic opposition (see GSN, June 10). The agreement, first announced three years ago, would enable India to purchase U.S. nuclear technology and materials if New Delhi agrees to place its civilian nuclear activities under international supervision.  The take effect, however, India must sign an inspections agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency and persuade global nuclear suppliers to exempt India from rules that currently ban key nuclear sales to nations that have not signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. These steps, and a pending review by the U.S. Congress, have triggered concern at both ends of India’s political spectrum, forcing Singh to put the deal off, lest he face early elections. Despite the delays, Singh said he continues to value the deal. “It is for the first time we got the U.S. to appreciate that India is a nuclear weapons state, that India has the right to develop nuclear power to protect it's strategic interests, and that it is a decision that must be made by the people of India not subject to any international supervision or any international interference,” he said in a speech to foreign service officials. “And despite the fact that we are not a signatory to the NPT … there is no pressure from the U.S. on India to sign the NPT or any other international arrangement of that sort to enter into nuclear cooperation for civil energy, Singh added.  “So as I see it this nuclear agreement that we signed with the U.S. it has run into some difficulties, but it protects our national interest, it protects our capacity to use the nuclear power to protect our strategic interests. At the same time it opens us new opportunities for civilian cooperation and without that, I think, the trade in dual technologies — sensitive advanced technologies — cannot become a reality. “But our domestic politics has prevented us from going ahead; I still continued to hope that we will make progress in the months that lie ahead. But it is very important for us to move forward to end this nuclear apartheid that the world has sought to impose on India,” he said. “This agreement, if it materializes, if it sees the light of day, it will open up new possibilities of cooperation, not only with the U.S. but all other nuclear powers like Russia, France, who are very keen that once we have this deal through, that India should become eligible for civil nuclear cooperation,” he continued (Singh release, June 11). Despite Singh’s backing, the deal is probably dead for the foreseeable future, said one of the pact’s key champions in the United States. “Even if the Indian government were suddenly to turn around and get the IAEA stage completed, there would be no time for the remaining two stages," said Ashley Tellis of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He warned that India could become a less responsible international actor if the deal is not adopted. “If you look at the regime between 1974 (when India conducted its first nuclear test) and 1998 (when it held its second) that would give you some idea of what India would be heading back towards," Tellis said. "This would be a historic blunder" (Luce/Dombey, Financial Times, June 11). Back to top       Space Command Hosts Competition The U.S. Air Force Space Command last month held an annual competition to test the best of the command’s personnel, the Massachusetts Republican reported today. “Guardian Challenge” brought 200 airmen to Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., “to show their job skills and find out which teams are the best of the best,” said Airman Andrew Vautrin, a security officer based at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo. The competition puts troops “end-of-the-world” situations to test their ability to keep weapons systems operating properly. “Many people know nothing about the Space Command. Our missiles are a deterrence that keeps the enemy countries from trying to do bad things to the American people," he said.   “I trained with my team for two months," Vautrin said, "and we did a lot of weapons training and miles and miles of running” (Massachusetts Republican, June 11). Back to top

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