Saddam might have hand in attacks: US

Saddam Hussein may be playing a significant role in coordinating and directing attacks by loyalists against US forces in Iraq, senior offici...

Saddam Hussein may be playing a significant role in coordinating and directing attacks by loyalists against US forces in Iraq, senior officials said on Thursday.

The officials cited recent reports that Saddam is acting as a catalyst or even a leader in the armed opposition, probably from Tikrit, his hometown and stronghold. A leadership role by Saddam would go far beyond anything previously acknowledged by the Bush administration, which has sought to portray the former Iraqi leader as being on the run and irrelevant.

Political contributors land Iraq contracts

WASHINGTON: Executives, employees and political action committees from the 70 companies that received government contracts for work in either Iraq or Afghanistan contributed slightly more than $500,000 to President Bush’s 2000 election campaign, according to a study of the contracts released on Tuesday. The majority of contracts for billions of dollars of reconstruction work in Iraq and Afghanistan went to companies run by executives who gave more money to Bush than any other politician in the past 12 years. Among the biggest contributions to Bush’s election and re-election efforts were executives and employees from Dell Computer at $113,000; from Bearing Point, a business consulting firm, at $119,000; from General Electric at $72,000; and from Halliburton at $28,000, says the report.

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Prepared by the Center for Public Integrity, a non-profit research group, the report said the contractors’ executives and employees have contributed $49 million to political candidates and parties since 1990.

The report is the result of a six-month investigation, which obtained information on 70 contracts through Freedom of Information Act. (NYT)

Officials acknowledged that the reports of a significant role by Saddam could not be corroborated, and one senior official cautioned that recent intelligence reports contained conflicting assessments. Nonetheless, three senior officials described reports of a larger role by Saddam as credible, and a Defence Department official said the information had given a fresh sense of urgency to the US-led manhunt for the former Iraqi leader.

‘‘There are some accounts that say he is somehow instigating or fomenting some of the resistance,’’ another US official said of the reports.

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Saddam is believed to have met Izzat Ibrahim, who was officially the second-highest ranking member of the Iraqi government at the time of the invasion and who is described as playing a significant role in the insurgency.

Ibrahim, who is No. 6 on the US most-wanted list, has been described by some Defence Department officials as having recently been in contact with members of Ansar Al-Islam, a militant group that had been based in northern Iraq before the US-led invasion and which is linked to Al Qaeda.

For more than six months, officials have been saying they believe Saddam is spending nearly all of his time trying to evade detection by US-led forces. In the meanwhile, Saddam has issued at least five audio recordings that have served as calls to arms.

But over the last month or two, US officials said, there have been signs that his role may be more significant. They said there were indications that Saddam may be playing a role in bringing together factions of loyalists involved in the attacks. Some of the meetings may have been conducted in moving cars to avoid detection by US forces, one US official said.

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‘‘Everyone has always recognised that it’s important to get Saddam,’’ the Pentagon official said. ‘‘But with these continued reports that Saddam may be behind some of the attacks, or coordinating them or leading them, there’s now a military reason as well.’’ (NYT)

House passes Bill on Iraq; Senate next

Washington: The US House of Representatives gave final approval on Friday to $87.5 billion legislation to occupy and rebuild Iraq, handing President George W. Bush a victory despite concerns he has charted a perilous, costly course. The House voted 298-121 for the Bill that offers Bush money to support troops and undertake the country’s massive rebuilding for up to a year amid mounting skepticism. The Senate is expected to follow on Monday, sending Bush the measure that backs his plan for a grant for Iraq’s reconstruction instead of loans to be repaid from its oil wealth. The Bill gave Bush what he wanted, providing $65billion for US troops abroad. (Reuters)

EXCLUSIVE: EC brings in feature to check misuse of identity to seek voter list deletions

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The Election Commission has launched a new 'e-sign' feature on its portal and app to prevent fraud. This comes after allegations of misuse of online voter deletion forms in Karnataka. The feature requires voters to verify their identity using their Aadhaar-linked phone numbers, reducing the possibility of fraud.

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