SQUADRONS CUT AHEAD OF DEFENCE REVIEW /UK--New World Media Watch

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WORLD MEDIA WATCH For August 6, 2003

1//The Scotsman, Scotland--SQUADRONS CUT AHEAD OF DEFENCE REVIEW (With thousands of British troops still on the ground in Iraq, cuts have already begun which will remove a quarter of the army’s main battle tank squadrons. Among those regiments affected are the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, whose tank crews led the charge into Basra in April. The cuts come amid growing concern at the scale of cost-saving measures in a government white paper due for release in the next couple of months…An MoD spokeswoman said she was not aware that cuts had begun in armoured regiments, but said speculation about changes which would be recommended in the white paper was "hugely upsetting" for soldiers and their families.)



2//The Jordan Times, Jordan--OVERCOME SECURITY FEARS, CONFERENCE TELLS BUSINESSMEN LOOKING FOR DEALS IN IRAQ (A two-day conference on reconstruction of Iraq urged participants and businessmen on Monday to overcome security fears that obstruct the flow of Arab and foreign investments into the war-stricken country…Although no deals were signed, many participants agreed that the objectives of the event were fulfilled as the organisers, the Washington DC-based American Iraqi Chamber of Commerce (AICC), managed to present the business prospects in Iraq. AICC President Sam Kubba stressed that economic development would pave the way for political stability and security, and called for giving local firms a bigger share of reconstruction tenders. He expected Iraq to go into a free trade agreement with the US in few yeas, adding that his organisation has already indulged itself in talks over the issue with US officials…However, Global Strategy Consultants President Larry Mills warned against high expectations, pointing out that postwar people in general tend to formulate their expectations on unsolid grounds. He stressed that the achievement of sustainable development needs time and hard work.)



3//DW-World.de/Deutsche Welle, Germany--GERMANY DISCUSSES EXTENDING AFGHANISTAN MANDATE (A top German politician has called for sending military troops beyond the Afghan capital of Kabul, when the country hands over leadership of international peacekeeping troops in mid-August…Germany has the largest number of troops in ISAF, with 2,600 soldiers stationed in Kabul. Germany has been called upon by the United States, United Nations, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai to extend its mission beyond the capital. Currently, the only troops operating outside Kabul are those in a U.S.-led coalition force hunting down Taliban and al-Qaeda remnants in the south and east of Afghanistan.)



4//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--NORTH KOREA TALKS: A DARK TUNNEL (At the same time the presence of the other powers around the table besides the US and North Korea - namely South Korea, Japan, China and Russia - introduces some real wild cards into the game. While it is unlikely anyone wants North Korea to have nuclear weapons and everyone is scared of this possibility, with Russia going so far as to take emergency precautionary measures in neighboring zones, what will they pay to get rid of those weapons, and will that payment affect their overall policies toward the issues connected with Korean unification? In some cases, again including Russia's, it is difficult to see what these governments' objectives are once they have achieved their goal of being recognized as states who must be consulted in any part of the Korean "peace process".)


5//Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippines--SIMPLE TEST MAY DETERMINE IF HONASAN SHOULD GO TO JAIL (An "Armpit Test" may help determine whether Senator Gregorio Honasan will go to jail…The presence of a scar near his left armpit would partially confirm the government's claim that Honasan led the junior officers, who staged the July 27 mutiny, in a "blood compact" to seal their plot to oust President Macapagal-Arroyo, a police official said…Police are now looking for a flag and a copy of a prayer for Honasan's National Recovery Program (NRP) stained by the blood of those who took part in the blood compact. If any of the stains matched with Honasan's blood type, the result would help convict the senator of coup d'etat charges, Eduardo Matillano, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, said. The test would be done by either the PNP Crime Laboratory or the National Bureau of Investigation or even by the NBI's counterpart in the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation.)