Rice: Missile shield not for Russia
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. officials in Washington are trying to convince Russian officials that a proposed missile defense system in Eastern Europe is aimed at Iran, not Russia.
The New York Times reported that U.S. officials were taken aback by Moscow's response to proposed plans to place parts of a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in the Times "that there is no way" that the interceptors and radar "are a threat to Russia or that they are somehow going to diminish Russia's deterrent of thousands of warheads."
Russian missile commander Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov has threatened to target missiles toward countries that cooperate with the U.S. defense plan.
"If the government of Poland, the Czech Republic and other countries make this decision -- and I think mutual consultations that have been held and will be held will allow avoiding this -- the strategic missile troops will be able to have those facilities as targets," he said in the Times article. "Consequences in case of hostilities will be very grave for both sides."
Japanese: Keep N. Korea on terror list
TOKYO, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney wrapped up his visit to Japan by meeting with the parents of a girl abducted 30 years ago by North Koreans.
Shigeru and Sakie Yokota told reporters that Cheney told them that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged the United States to keep North Korea on its list of nations that sponsor terrorism until issues surrounding the abduction are resolved, Kyodo reported.
Sakie Yokota has also met with U.S. President George Bush in the White House after the Japanese abduction issue.
North Korea has admitted kidnapping 13-year-old Megumi Yokata and 12 other Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, reportedly to teach language and culture and to use their identities, Kyodo reported. Five of the abductees have been returned but North Korea said the other eight, including the Yokotas' daughter, are dead.
The Yokotas gave Cheney a letter to Bush in which they ask for "help in continuing to make sure the United States will not remove North Korea from the list of terrorist states until all abduction victims are returned."
Syria denies moving troops toward Israel
DAMASCUS, Syria, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Syria denied a published report that it is building up its troops along the Israeli border.
Israeli Radio reported that Syrian Parliament member Mohammed Habash told Al Arabiya television that the country has not changed its troops along the border, denying a report from the Haaretz news service.
"Syria is fully prepared for any situation (that may develop)," Habash also said on Al Arabiya. He said that should "Israel decide to do something stupid, it would pay a heavy price."
Asked about reports that Iran is funding Syria's military, Habash said on Al Arabiya, "Cooperation between Damascus and Tehran is no secret, as both are being faced with a direct threat," Haaratz reported.
Haartez said that Syria has been beefing up its military in Syria and that appears to have moved troops closer to the Israeli border on the Golan Heights.
U.S., Europe may split on Palestinian aid
BERLIN, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- The United States and other Middle East peace negotiators agreed in Berlin that a new Palestinian government should recognize Israel.
But Washington and Europe may not be in agreement on whether to economically support the new Palestinian unity government if it doesn't recognize Israel, the International Herald Tribune reported.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said the United States will continue its economic boycott against any Palestinian Authority that doesn't recognize Israel. But the International Herald Tribune says European officials seemed less firm.
"There are ways that we can be flexible," one European official told the newspaper.
The quartet of Middle East peace negotiators -- the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union -- released a statement reaffirming its support for a Palestinian government that would renounce violence and recognize Israel.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov nations should not be threatening the new government.
"Clearly in this statement we support the formation of a new Palestinian government," Lavrov said. "It was also underscored that further steps must be taken to support the Palestinians. One certainly shouldn't speak of a boycott in this regard."
Second U.S. soldier guilty of Iraq rape
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky., Feb. 22 (UPI) -- A Fort Campbell, Ky., military judge accepted a second soldier's guilty plea in the gang rape and killing of a teenage Iraqi girl and the death of her family.
U.S. Army Sgt. Paul Cortez broke down repeatedly in court as he confessed to four killings, rape and conspiracy to rape, the BBC reported Thursday. His guilty plea rules out the death penalty in the case.
Cortez admitted to planning and carrying out the crimes alongside Pfc. Jesse Spielman, Spc. James Barker and Steven Green, a now-discharged soldier, in March 2006.
The sergeant said the men raped Abeer Qassim al-Janabi while her family was being killed and then killed the girl once they were finished raping her.
"During the time me and Barker were raping Abeer, I heard five or six gunshots that came from the bedroom," Cortez said. "After Barker was done, Green came out of the bedroom and said that he had killed them all, that all of them were dead."
"Green then placed himself between Abeer's legs to rape her. When Green was finished, he stood up and shot Abeer in the head two or three times," Cortez said.
