Can the US legally hold Abu Abbas? Is he really the much vaunted link between Saddam Hussein and terrorism? He was convicted by an Italian court in absentia for the Achille Lauro hijacking, but the US cannot legally arrest him according to the 1995 interim agreement between Israel and the Palestinians that was also signed by President Clinton. He has also visited Palestinian areas repeatedly since 1996 with Israeli and U.S. acquiescence. In recent years his group has been a conduit for some of the $35 million Saddam's regime paid to families of Palestinian suicide bombers. On the other hand, many Arab governments have paid money to the families of suicide bombers who have had their homes destroyed.

What is the war on terrorism about? Is it about al Qaeda? Is it about protecting the American people against crazed bombers? Or is about any terrorism, anywhere in the world, even if there is no link between the terrorist groups that are targeted? Simply being a terrorist does not automatically make someone a member of al Qaeda or a danger to the United States. Many of the terrorist groups on the US’s list of terrorist organizations have never taken any action against the United States or its citizens. Among these are Islamic Jihad and Hamas, which target Israel exclusively. Is it the responsibility of the United States to root out all terrorist groups everywhere in the world?

Some terrorist groups do not target the United States but are linked, however tentatively, to Al Qaeda. Ansar al-Islam is one of them. This is the group that was operating in Kurdish-controlled regions of Iraq. The American public knows little about them other than what we have been told by the Bush Administration. That is, that they are a radical Islamic organization that has links to al Qaeda. I have seen no evidence to support these accusations. I have no doubt that they are a radical Islamic organization. It may well have links to al Qaeda, but links prove nothing. After all, if we use the evidence that is given to prove most of the links that are asserted in this global terrorist conspiracy, then George W. Bush has links to Osama bin Laden. The Bush family has had been closely tied to the bin Laden family through business arrangements for decades.


News and Opinon:
Bush called for the lifting of sanctions against Iraq, now that the US has destroyed the Baathist regime. [I figure this is a no-brainer. The only question is how quickly the UN will pass the resolution and whether they will try to attach anything else to it. - Ed.]

General Tommy Franks entered Baghdad and held a meeting in Saddam Hussein's palace. [There is a great picture on the cover of the New York Times today in which General Franks strikes a victorious pose walking through the ruins of the palace. - Ed.]

Denmark, Netherlands and Spain suggested Wednesday they may quickly send peacekeeping troops to help stabilize Iraq without waiting for a U.N. resolution. All three backed the US in the war.

Mideast countries, including some friends of the United States, expressed alarm Tuesday over possible U.S. action against Syria. The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council rejected U.S. threats against Syria. Syria states the U.S. statements are not as negative as the media presents them and that diplomatic channels are much quieter and much more constructive.

Leaders of old and new EU member states sign a treaty on EU expansion. Jacques Chirac called the new Europe the European family. Ten new members, eight of them from the former communist bloc, will formally join the EU in May 2004. The new members:
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
Hungary
Latvia
Lithuania
Malta
Poland
Slovakia
Slovenia