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Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basm Özeti
tor John Kerry of Massachusetts. have
been saying for some time that the president
did not have enough justification
for the war in Iraq. Kerry said Wednes~
day that the commission's reports were
evidence that the "administration
misled America. the. administration
reached too far."
But Bush said Thursday: "I always
said that Saddam Hussein was a threat.
He was a threat because he had used
weapons of mass destruction against
his own people; He was a threat because
he was a sworn enemy to the United
States of America, just like Al Qaeda. "
The New York TImes
Car bombings in Iraq kil141 and
'wound scores
By Edward Wong
BAGHDAD: A powerful suicide car
bomb ripped into a throng of men waiting
to sign up for the new Iraqi Army
outside its main recruiting station in
the heart of the capital Thursday morning.
killing at least 35 people and
wounding more than 135.officials said.
Another car bomb exploded in front
of a city council building in the early afternoon
in a village north of Baghdad.
killing six members of the Iraqi security
forces and :wounding four.
The bomb in Baghdad went off
around 9 a.m. in the upscale Mansour
neighborhood. sending a thick plume of
smoke over the city skyline. The explosion
threw bodies into the air and
scattered them across a four-lane road.
Cars burst into flames, and bits of
charred shrapnel rained from the sky.
The car bomb was the single deadlij:!stone
in Iraq since the same station
was bombed in February.
The assault Thursday came after several
days ofbombings in Baghdad and at
a critical timefor the Iraqi Army.
Many soldiers refused to fight during
the uprising in April. and the United
States is now desperately trying to recruit
and train a reliable force that
could begin taking over security after
June 30. when the interim Iraqi government
is to assume limited sovereignty.
.But the explosion - caused by artillery
shells packed into a car - raised
questions about whether the Americans
and the Iraqi security forces could protect
those men willing to sign up.
"I just heard a loud explosion. a
strong explosion." said Abdullah
Shadhan. 31,who had been waiting outside
the recruiting center in sweltering
heat with five cousins and 10 friends. "I
was thrown into the air. Then I blacked
out for a couple of minutes. I didn't
know what was happening.
"When I woke up. I didn't think I was
injured. But I couldn't stand up. Something
was wrong with my legs." . ,
Shadhan was speaking as he coughed
up blood in a bed in Yarmouk Hospital
An intravenous drip ran into his left
arm. Dried blood covered his sheets.
A man in a bed next to him held a
white cloth over his head and moaned
Tears welled up in Shadhan's eyes as he
said that one of his cousins had been
killed. He began sobbing. "I have seven
children, and now what am I supposed
to do?" he said. He grabbed a bloody
sheet and wiped away his tears.
When the same recruiting station
was bombed in February. at least 47
men waiting in line were killed.
Though the front of the station was
protected Thursday by a perimeter of
double-tiered sandbags. people at the
scene said hundreds of recruits were
forced to stand outside for hours. Many
had come to listen for their names tobe
called over a loudspeaker. which meant
they could return for interviews.
"I was outside talking with an old
friend from the army. and we were talking
about how we wanted to join the
army again." said Hassan Jasim, 35. lying
in a hospital bed with white gauze .
bandages around his forehead.
"Then we heard the explosion. Some
of the people with me are dead, some
are injured, some escaped"
Many of the victims complained that
there was neither security nor stability
in Iraq and that the Americans were to
blame.
Hatred of the occupation is running
higher than ever and there appears to
be no sign of a change of mood during
this volatile period A recent poll com-
.missioned by the Coalition Provisional
Authority showed that a majority of
Iraqis want American soldiers to leave
their country immediately.
The New York TImes
Victims of a car bombing Thursday at an army recruitment center lie in Yamouk Hospital
in Baghdad. Thé e19'losion killed at least 35peOple and wounded almost 140.
)k.ra1b .Iribunt
June 18, 2004
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