The Quadrangle

Issue date: 2/16/05 Section: News

Suicide Bombings kill Civilians in Iraq; Security Efforts Increase

In front of the entrance to a Baghdadi hospital, a suicide car bomber killed at least 17 Iraqis. Earlier in the week, a judge involved in trials against Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party was shot near his home in Basra by masked men. As post-election attacks increase, the United States seeks to increase security in the country.

104 people have died in attacks ocurring between Monday and Saturday. Shiite mosques, hospitals, bakeries, and police headquarters have all been subject to attack in the past week.

With the Shiite holy day of Ashura on Feb. 19, security forces are concerned with their ability to secure Shiite neighborhoods. More than 180 people were killed in attacks during Ashura celebrations last year, and according to an independent American research group, insurgents will blend in with pilgrims to the country, dressing in traditional black robes to cover their weapons.

The recent willingness of Sunni figures to join discussions regarding the forming Iraqi government startled many leaders of the fragmentary insurgency. Annoyed at the change of policy by leaders, many suspect that recent attacks are due to to this reversal.


Chinese Media Increasingly Critical of North Korea

After declaring that their nuclear weapons program wrought nuclear missiles, North Korea was criticized by Chinese media outlets. In a rare step for the Chinese government-sanctioned media, these attacks mark a change in policy towards the nation.

"Usually the CCTV reports will be more balanced, or even take a more preferential stand" in favor of North Korea, said Jin Canrong, an associate Dean from the People's University's School of International Studies. The Beijing News and Southern Metropolitan Daily in China's Gangzhou Province ran dual articles by a "Beijing scholar" railing the North Korean government for pursuing it's nuclear program. Written by Dongfang Shuo, many speculate the article to be one in a series of others criticizing North Korea actually written by Chinese scholars afraid to pen the stories under their own names.

North Korea's nuclear capabiliy "can only make the North Korean nuclear issue more complicated and can't have a good result, because North Korea always engages in these kinds of marginal tactics, no country in the world would trust that North Korea is now playing a true game," the article said.

Media outlets across China mentioned the feelings of average Chinese as being hostile towards North Korean motives, claiming that the nation is only working on their program in order to scare other nations into giving the impoverished country more financial aid.


Afraid of Losing National Identity, European Anti-Immigration Parties Gain Prominence

As many European nations experience rapid increases in their Muslim population, political parties aimed at stemming the number of immigrants allowed into their countries are becoming widely accepted.

Parties in nations such as Germany, Belgium and France seeking to trim Muslim influence on their nation's cultures have received more notice and patronage as of late. Many Europeans claim their anti-Muslim sentiment as a reaction to the apparent poverty and theft in Muslim neighborhoods, and also as a response to rising antisemitism in the region. Fears of terrorism has also promted such parties to act, having rallies and discussions on the issue of limiting immigration into their nations. Parties such as the Freedom Party in Austria, the National Front in France, and the Republicans in Germany are all calling for stricter immigration, especially for people from the middle east.

"Their values are not the right values," said Henri Rosenberg, an Orthodox Jewish scholar in Belguim about the Muslim community. Many Europeans dislike the growing Muslim movement, citing it as incredibly hostile towards the west, and as full supporters of Al-Qaida and other terrorist groups. Still feeling the scars of the Nazi occupation of Europe, many countries are afraid of having another group sweep through varied nations.


Australian Citizen Claims Torture While in US Custody

Mamdouh Habib, an Australian citizen claims he suffered from physical and mental abuse while in the custody of the United States. Stating that interrogators put out cigarettes on his chest, and hit his head against walls during his time in custody.

Arrested in Pakistan weeks after Sept. 11, 2001, Habib spent 40 months in the custody of the United States. One of many people arrested after the attack without being formally charged for committing crimes, Habib's case is one of thousands citing abuse inside of American interrogation facilities.

He was physically abused, apparently with an electro-shock helmet. A 49-year-old Egyptian-born Australian citizen, Habib suffered psychological abuse in attempts to destroy his well-being. At the US prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, he claims sexual humilion by a female interrogator that threw what appeared to be blood in his face. Habib was also forced to look at doctored images of his wife nude with Osama bin Laden, in attempts to make him admit to terrorist actions.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools