The Insider: Daily Terrorism Report

August 24, 2004 -- Leadership failures of top Pentagon officials are at least partially responsible for abuses by U.S. soldiers at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, and detainees as young as 15 were specifically targeted for abuse, according to two newspaper reports Tuesday.

Meanwhile in Iraq, American forces sharply intensified fighting early Tuesday, as troops attacked rebels loyal to Moktada al-Sadr from three sides and pressed into the inner ring of Najaf's Old City for the first time, news wires report.

And, Osama bin Laden's chauffeur was arraigned Tuesday at the first U.S. military tribunal since World War II, appearing at a pretrial session as defense lawyers sought to challenge the process.

IRAQ NEWS

Top Pentagon Officials Criticized In Abu Ghraib ProbeLeadership failures of top Pentagon officials are at least partially responsible for abuses by U.S. soldiers at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, and detainees as young as 15 were specifically targeted for abuse, according to two newspaper reports Tuesday. (USA Today)

U.S. Soldier Accused in Abu Ghraib Abuse Makes Deal With Prosecutors, Lawyer SaysThe lawyer of one of the U.S. Army reservists accused of abusing Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison said Tuesday that military prosecutors have agreed to drop some of their charges after the soldier agreed to plead guilty to the rest. (AP)

Iraqi Teens Abused at Abu Ghraib, Report FindsAn Army investigation into the Abu Ghraib prison scandal has found that military police dogs were used to frighten detained Iraqi teenagers as part of a sadistic game, one of many details in the forthcoming report that were provoking expressions of concern and disgust among Army officers briefed on the findings. (Washington Post)

American Forces Press Into the Inner Ring of Najaf's Old CityAmerican forces sharply intensified fighting here early today, as troops attacked rebels loyal to Moktada al-Sadr from three sides and pressed into the inner ring of Najaf's Old City for the first time. (NY Times)

U.S. Planes Bomb NajafU.S. warplanes bombed Najaf's cemetery and the historic center yesterday while US soldiers fought fierce battles on the ground with a Shiite militia in the town. (Arab News)

Iraqi Ministers Escape AttacksTwo Iraqi interim government ministers have survived apparent assassination attempts in the capital Baghdad. (BBC)

U.S. Forces Blamed For Shrine DamageAgainst a backdrop of fierce fighting, sources close to Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr have blamed U.S. occupation forces for hitting a part of the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf and causing damage to its outer wall. (Al Jazeera)

Iraqi Airways Makes Test Flight From Amman To BaghdadAn Iraqi Airways Boeing 737 made a test flight from Amman to Baghdad on Monday for the first time since the airline's planes were grounded in Jordan by UN sanctions in 1990, a company official said. (AFP)

THE WAR ON TERROR

LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS

GuantanamoOsama Bin Laden's Driver to Be ArraignedSalim Ahmed Hamdan says he earned a pittance for his family as Osama bin Laden's driver prior to the Sept. 11 attack. But U.S. officials allege he did more, serving as the al-Qaida leader's bodyguard and delivering weapons to his operatives. (AP)

INVESTIGATIONS

YemenYemen to Hand Over Wanted Suspects to Egypt Yemeni authorities will hand over a number of wanted fundamentalists to Egypt within the coming few days, informed sources told Asharq Al Awsat newsppaer. Most of the suspects were members of the Egyptian Al Gamaa Al Islamiya. The move comes after a visit to Yemen by the U.S. anti-terror official for the African horn, who supported Egypt's request for these suspects. (Asharq Al Awsat)

PakistanPakistan Raids 'Al Qaeda Hideout'Pakistani security forces have killed four suspected al Qaeda members and captured two others in a raid on a hideout in the tribal regions of the northern Waziristan province, the Pakistani army said. (CNN)

Pakistan Vows to Stop Taliban; Westerners ScoffGen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president, promised Monday that his country would not allow Islamic militants to disrupt the Afghan election from Pakistani soil, but Western diplomats in Afghanistan charged that Pakistan was, in fact, a sanctuary for Afghan militants. (NY Times)

U.S. Investigation Finds Al Qaeda Travel AgencyAl Qaeda runs a clandestine travel service, possibly partnered with human smugglers south of the U.S. border, which helps move its terrorists around the world, according to results of a probe published here. (Daily Times —Pakistan)

United StatesU.S. Still Not Sure Where Al Qaeda Gets Its FundsThe U.S. government still has not determined where al Qaeda gets its funds or how much money it is raising, the vice chairman of the federal panel that probed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, said on Monday. (Reuters)

Criticism From Many Quarters Greets Plan to Split C.I.A.A radical proposal by Republican senators to break up the C.I.A. and transfer other intelligence agencies out of the Pentagon met with an expected rush of strong criticism on Monday from influential lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats alike, and drew a noncommittal response from President Bush. (NY Times)

South AfricaSA Men 'Had al Qaeda Training'Two South African men being held in Pakistan have apparently told investigators that they received "basic al Qaeda training", the Johannesburg-based ThisDay newspaper reported yesterday. (Daily Dispatch Online —South Africa)

SwitzerlandSwiss Supreme Court Denies Release For Terror Suspect

Swiss investigators have found evidence that suspected members of an al Qaida support group were supplying fake documents to enable collaborators to enter Switzerland and other European countries illegally, the supreme court revealed Tuesday. (AP)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

The Minority, Majority and Participation Crisis! The battles in Najaf and other cities are small wars between two "legitimacies." (Al Hayat)

Abu Ghraib: Ordinary Folk or Human Aberrations? "Everything, everything in war is barbaric … but the worst barbarity of war is that it forces men collectively to commit acts against which individually they would revolt with their whole being," wrote the late Swedish author Ellen Kay. (Arab News)

The Intelligence DebateSenator Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has done the country a real service by producing a Republican-sponsored proposal to reform the intelligence community that goes well beyond the other ideas offered so far. (NY Times)

Does Iraq Violence Threaten Democracy?American tanks and Iraqi soldiers are reported to be moving closer to the Imam Ali shrine, which is occupied by supporters of the Shi'ite cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr. (BBC)

There's More To Sadr Than Meets the EyeSecular as well as Islamic anti-occupation forces in Iraq are now beginning to drop their caution about Moqtada al-Sadr and are openly siding with his resistance forces in Najaf. (Guardian)

Iranian Hand In Najaf GameSince the battle of Najaf suddenly erupted about two weeks ago, with fierce fighting raging between followers of Shi'ite maverick cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and the U.S. military, the question often arose as to why this battle was taking place. (Washington Times)

An Easy Path For TerroristsIf you fly out of Logan Airport and don't want to take off your shoes for the security screeners and get your bags opened up, pay attention. The US government is testing its "Trusted Traveler" program, and Logan is the fourth test airport. (Boston Globe)

`Sovereignty' In Occupied IraqThe situation in Iraq borders on the surreal. Over a 1000 delegates congregated in Baghdad to elect a legislative body that will oversee the functioning of the interim government until elections are held early next year. (The Hindu)

The Insider Daily Terrorism Report (DTR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to international terrorism and developments in Iraq. The DTR is edited daily from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman, and Brinda Adhikari of the ABCNEWS Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.