Portal:Current events/2003 November 7

November 7, 2003 (2003-11-07) (Friday)

• Occupation of Iraq:
  • Turkey announces it will not send troops to Iraq.
  • With the Turkish announcement, there are 24,000 non-American troops in Iraq, but almost half of them are British.
  • Jessica Lynch accuses the US military of manipulating news about her capture, treatment and release for propaganda purposes. She also states that she has no memory of the supposed anal rape which a former New York Times reporter claims in a book that she was subjected to.
  • United States Army Black Hawk helicopter crashes near Tikrit. Six soldiers are killed. All of the dead are from the 101st Airborne. It is unknown if the craft went down because of mechanical failure or hostile fire. Reportedly, a military source says it may have been hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.
  • 57% of Poles oppose the mission in Iraq as the first Polish soldier dies.
  • Vietnam War vets comment on the worrisome parallels between Vietnam and Iraq.
• A monitoring panel states to the United Nations Security Council tells of violations of the arms embargo against Somalia have taken place over a six-month period and the weapons are arriving now continuously in many small quantities (while large quantities arrive less often).
• In Pakistan, President Pervez Musharraf pledges that Pakistan will match India's military spending spree.
• Medical marijuana: The largest study to date on the effectiveness of cannabis treating symptoms of multiple sclerosis produces mixed results; doctors state that there is enough evidence to warrant licensing the treatment for the illness.
• War on Terrorism: US military commander for the Middle East reportedly creates a covert commando force (named Task Force 121) to hunt Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden (and other key terrorists throughout the region). Military officers state a broader, regional mission is given to the force, which has become one of the Pentagon's most highly classified and closely watched operations. The Special Operations organization to act with greater speed on intelligence tips about "high-value targets" and not be contained within the borders where American conventional forces are operating in Iraq and Afghanistan. General John Abizaid, who commands all American forces in the strategic crescent from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, had previously decided to disband two Special Operations missions (Task Force 5 in Afghanistan and Task Force 20 in Iraq).
• Foreign relations of the Republic of China: The South Pacific island nation of Kiribati recognizes the Republic of China, bringing the number of countries recognizing Taiwan to 27. Although it has not yet severed ties with the People's Republic of China and has expressed the intention to continue relations, Beijing is expected to break relations in response to this move.
• Some Arab scholars state Bush's speech over how "Western governments should not back undemocratic regimes" is an important message to the Arab political elite and important message when it comes to the idea of democracy.
• The United States Senate's permanent ban on Internet access taxes fails, with senators vowing to negotiate over the weekend and return to the topic. State and local governments warn that a permanent extension of an existing moratorium, which expired on November 1, would cost billions in lost tax revenue. The moratorium had applied to special taxes that singled out dial-up and some other Internet access methods and is not related to sales taxes.

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