Australia Joins US Missile Defence Plan/SMH--New World Media Watch

Excerpts, links up now at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical/
Tomorrow at Buzzflash.com

WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR DECEMBER 5, 2003

1//The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia--AUSTRALIA JOINS US MISSILE DEFENCE PLAN(Australia will join the United States in developing its missile defence program, in a move the Government describes as a significant step in the evolution of the alliance…The decision to join the US in developing the system - which would allow missiles to be launched from land or sea against a ballistic missile attack - would bring Australia "into the tent", with opportunities for local defence industries. It was also seen by some as designed to provoke a reaction from the new Opposition Leader, Mark Latham, whose previous anti-US rhetoric has been seized on by the Government.)



2//The Turkish Daily News, Turkey--US GENERAL DISCUSSES PLAN AGAINST PKK (A top U.S. military official arrived in Ankara on Wednesday to discuss plans on eliminating terrorists of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) based in northern Iraq…Media reports indicated Gen. Pace's agenda in Turkey includes a possible Turkish troop contribution to NATO's peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan and added that he was pressing Ankara to agree to send up to 10,000 soldiers after the alliance decided to extend its mission beyond the capital of Kabul. Reports said that Turkey has agreed in principle on sending troops, a claim denied by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. "There is an impression that a parliamentary authorization to send troops to Iraq will be used to sanction a similar mission in Afghanistan. This is not true. Any plan to send troops to Afghanistan is out of the question," Gul told reporters on Wednesday.)



3//The Japan Times, Japan--SWIFT DISPATCH OF SDF WINS BACKING OF 7.5% OF POLLEES (Only 7.5 percent of respondents to a recent Kyodo News survey believe the Self-Defense Forces should be swiftly dispatched to Iraq. The results of the telephone survey, conducted Wednesday and Thursday, show that another 56.3 percent of respondents feel that while the troops should be sent, the timing of the dispatch should be cautiously considered. The 63.8 percent overall rate of support for the dispatch outweighed the 33.7 percent of respondents who clearly said were opposed to sending troops to help rebuild Iraq.)

4//Frankfurter Allgemaine Zeitung, Germany--‘NETWORK OF TERROR’ WARNING (Germany's top-ranking police officer warned on Thursday that the arrest of a suspected Islamist radical in Munich pointed to the existence of a far-reaching “network of Islamist terror“ operating in Germany…The alleged Islamist came under scrutiny as part of the expanded investigations launched in Germany since Sept. 11, 2001, when a Hamburg-based cell of young foreign-born Islamists believed to be under the direction of Al Qaeda carried out the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Apart from immigration violations, criminal charges have materialized in only a few of the cases.)



5//The Moscow Times, Russia--TELEVISION NEWSCASTS GIVE KREMLIN A BOOST (Newscasts on Russia's main television channels generally reflect the Kremlin's position in Sunday's State Duma elections, monitoring conducted over the past week by The Moscow Times shows. Alongside widespread, complimentary coverage of the main pro-Kremlin party, United Russia, news programs carried predominantly unflattering reports about its main rival, the Communist Party…Throughout the week, both Channel One and state-owned Rossia were flooded with reports about United Russia leaders on occasions as varied as dropping in at a rock concert, touring a dairy factory and cutting the ribbon at a new bridge.)