El Salvador Sends Troops to Iraq Despite Threats--New World Media Watch

[Gloria]

Up now at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical
Tomorrow at Buzzflash.com


WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR AUGUST 20, 2004

1//The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia--EL SALVADOR SENDS TROOPS TO IRAQ DESPITE THREATS (El Salvador sent a new contingent of troops to join the US-led coalition in Iraq despite repeated threats from Islamic militants that they would strike against the country in retaliation. General Carlos Soto said 150 soldiers flew from a military airbase south of the capital San Salvador early in the morning for a six month stint in Iraq, and another 230 would be deployed between by Sunday…El Salvador's soldiers have been posted in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf, a scene of fierce fighting in recent days. Although they do not have a front-line role, they have come under repeated attack. One soldier was killed and 12 were wounded in April.)



2//The Independent, UK--US UNLEASHES NEW ANTI-TALIBAN WEAPON: CHARM (The days of "smoke 'em out" must seem like long ago for the 17,000 US combat troops still scouring Afghanistan for Al-Queda and the Taliban, whose insurgency refuses to die and is probably growing. The military, overstretched in southern Afghanistan's endless barren mountain ranges and facing often hostile populations, accepts that it will never by itself beat the Taliban, a stubborn if disorganised enemy…The hope is that development projects funded by the US government - the Vietnam-era phrase Hearts and Minds is meticulously avoided - will win friends while security sweeps force the Taliban into the high mountains.)



3//Inter Press Service News Agency, Italy--EGYPT: IRON FIST BEATS TERRORISM, OR DOES IT? (Egypt’s last terrorist attack in 1997, when militants massacred 58 tourists, was a turning point; it seems that the most populous Arab country has won the battle against terrorism. Is Egypt a good example? Some say that the Mubarak regime has used the "threat of terror" to crush both terrorists and political enemies…Dr. Denis Sullivan, director of the international studies department at Bentley College in Cairo questions whether Mubarak's brute tactics ever really worked at all. "If people buy the argument that (Mubarak's) tactics 'won', then it gives more cover to anyone, including the U.S., who will say the only way to win is through a massive crackdown on human rights, massive force against militants, and if civil liberties and the rule of law get trampled, it's the price that must be paid." Sullivan accused the Mubarak regime of using the "threat of terror" to crush both terrorists and political enemies. He said Egypt's anti-terrorism campaign thinly veiled an attempt to silence opposition groups.)



4//The Daily Star, Lebanon--NEW PARTY HOPES TO BE LIBERAL VOICE OF EGYPT (Mona Makram-Ebeid is following a legacy. A professor of political science at the American University of Cairo and a veteran political activist, Makram-Ebeid is expected to be the first woman to serve as secretary general of a new political party in Egypt - Hizb al-Ghad, The Party of Tomorrow. Started a few months ago by parliamentarians Ayman Nour and Farid Khamis, the party's application has twice been rejected by the Egypt's Political Parties Committee. But this new generation of liberals hope it will be able to attract disenchanted youth with a call for immediate democratic reform and an emphasis on secularism…"Moderates like those involved with Al-Ghad are in a fix with regard to the US," said Makram-Ebeid. "They cannot defend the present US administration's heavy handed policies and at the same time they do not want to cut themselves off from all that is positive in the West, including technological advancements. Ultimately the pre-conditions for the US to recover credibility as a promoter of democracy with Egyptian public opinion has less to do with its actions regarding democracy than with its regional policies." For now, members of the new party are awaiting a Sept. 25 court decision on whether the new party will finally be accepted. This time around, Makram-Ebeid, who said she has faith in Egypt's judiciary, believes the party will be legalized.)


5//The Times of India, India--TERROR TRAFFIC MAY SOUR TALKS (The big spurt in cross-border infiltration over the last couple of months is casting a shadow on the much-awaited meeting between India and Pakistan's external affairs ministers due next month…The Army, for one, is convinced Pakistan is back to its "old tactic" of "actively supporting" infiltration bids across the Line of Control. Army chief General N C Vij on Thursday himself said the number of recent infiltration attempts were "more than double the figures of last year"…"The infrastructure and (terrorist training) camps are also very much there," said Gen Vij, adding that Pakistan often resorted to closing down or shifting some camps for "visual deniability".)