9/ 1/03 Monday
New audiotape of perported Saddam Hussein emerged, denied
involvement in the bombing in Najaf, Iraq, that killed 125 people.
Jerry Lewis telethon nets record $60.5M for Muscular Dystrophy
Association. Car bomb exploded near police station in Baghdad;
wounds many, but none are killed. Two U.S. military police
officers were killed when their Humvee hit a bomb in S Baghdad.
Bush spoke in Richfield, Ohio, to International Union of Operating
Engineers; said, "I believe there are better days ahead for people
who are working and looking for work."
9/ 2/03 Tuesday
U.S. Homeland Security Dept announced it will cross-train agents
and will combine air marshal's program with customs and immigration
security. Report says U.S. cancer deaths appear to be leveling off
after several years of decline. Bush people continue to press to
redefine role of UN in process of transferring power to Iraqi
people - to give more power to U.N. and to involve more nations.
Sen John Kerry officially declared his candidacy for Democratic
presidential nomination.
9/ 3/03 Wednesday
U.S. troops exchanged fire with Iraqi guerrillas in Tikrit, Iraq;
no injuries or damage was reported. U.S. military deployed an
unknown number of special forces into Pakistan's tribal regions,
but location is secret and low profile is kept, due to deeply
conservative nature of the region. Five top candidates, in
California's gubernatorial recall election, held debate; there will
135 candidates on the ballot.
9/ 4/03 Thursday
Hurricane Fabian missed Florida, but picked up speed heading toward
Bermuda. France, Germany and Syria criticize U.S. Iraq proposal;
and supporters of the Iraq war welcomed it as a positive step.
Tropical Storm Henri formed in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, sending
heavy rain into Florida, where there is one of the wettest summers
in recent years. Miguel Estrada withdrew his name from nomination
for Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit judge.
9/ 5/03 Friday
FBI issued a bulletin, announcing a worldwide search for four men
in connection with possible terrorist threats against U.S. U.S.
Secretary Rumsfeld was in Tikrit, Iraq, visited troops of the 4th
Infantry Division. An accident on Disneyland's Big Thunder
Mountain Railroad roller coaster Friday left a 22-year-old man dead
and 10 other riders injured. Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud
Abbas submitted his resignation to Yasser Arafat, following a power
struggle between the two men.
9/ 6/03 Saturday
In news conference, U.S. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said: "Instead
of pointing fingers at the security forces of the coalition, ...
it's important for the Iraqi people to step up and provide
information." In his radio address, Bush says the education law he
championed is raising the bar for student achievement. Many demos
criticize the bill. In Bermuda, four people were missing from
Hurricane Fabian, which had unleashed 120 mph winds onto this
British territory.
9/ 7/03 Sunday
Bush has asked Congress for $87 billion to fight terrorism; this
would come on top of the $79 billion that Congress approved in
April for the initial costs of the war and its aftermath and for
worldwide efforts against terrorism. Two U.S. troops were wounded
in Baghdad, Iraq, in explosives attack on vehicle. Bush gave
televised speech to nation, in PM. A 42-year-old attorney from New
Jersey, who voted for Bush last election, said was disappointed
Bush didn't give a time frame for turning governance of Iraq over
to Iraqis: "It sounded like a rah-rah speech rather than anything
of substance."
9/ 8/03 Monday
Recording industry filed hundreds of lawsuits against individual
music lovers who they accuse of illegally downloading and sharing
over the Internet. There have been no U.S. troops killed in action
in Iraq in seven days. ABC poll says number of Americans who think
Iraq war has reduced risk of terrorism, has dropped from 58%, to
currently 40%. British announced they will be sending about 12,000
extra troops to Iraq, in the coming weeks.
9/ 9/03 Tuesday
U.S. National Guard and reservists had tours of duty extended to 12
months. Suicide bomber exploded an SUV in Irbil, Iraq - six
Americans were wounded. NE ofBaghdad, one U.S. soldier was killed
and one was wounded, when bomb exploded near military vehicle on a
supply route. Two suicide bomber attacks in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem
killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens. U.S. Deputy Defense
Secretary Wolfowitz went before the Senate Armed Services Committee
to support the $87 billion funding request for the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
9/10/03 Wednesday
Ben Glisan, former Enron Corp. treasurer, pleaded guilty to a
federal conspiracy charge and was sentenced to five years in
prison. Bush is urging that law enforcement authorities get the
same powers to investigate and prosecute suspected terrorists as
they already have to combat other criminals. New video tape of
Osama bin Laden emerges, with two audio tapes; shows bin Laden
walking in rocky, hilly area; threatens more attacks on Americans
and calls on Iraqi guerrillas to "bury" U.S. troops.
9/11/03 Thursday
In U.S. bells tolled, firefighters stood at attention, and in many
places, moments of silence were given, for 2nd anniversary of
terrorist attacks on U.S. on 9/11/01. In friendly fire incident,
U.S. soldiers mistakenly opened fire on Iraqi police officers
chasing bandits, west of Fallujah. Three U.S. troops were injured
when guerillas fired RPG's and shot small arms at convoy in Mosul,
in N Iraq.
9/12/03 Friday
U.N. Security Council lifted 11-year-old sanctions against Libya,
ending ban on arms sales and flights to Libya. Israel came under
international criticism for its threat to "remove" Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat. Bush visited members of the U.S. Army 3rd
Infantry Division, in Ft. Stewart, Ga; spoke of Iraq before crowd:
"The old regime is gone and the regime is never coming back."
9/13/03 Saturday
In radio speech, Bush said: "We are following a clear strategy with
three objectives: destroy the terrorists, enlist international
support for a free Iraq and quickly transfer authority to the Iraqi
people." CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll found that 59% of Americana
said they did not think the administration has a clear plan for
handling the situation in Iraq. Powell takes off for Baghdad.
Hurricane Isabel, with 150 mph winds, ominously edges westward in
Atlantic - plywood prices go up on U.S. eastern seaboard.
9/14/03 Sunday
Roadside bomb hit a convoy, killing one U.S. troop and wounding
three others, in the Fallujah, Iraq, where government offices were
closed in a one-day strike to protest the accidental killing of
eight Iraqi police and a Jordanian guard by American troops. Poor
nations united & contributed to collapse of talks in World Trade
Organization meeting in Cancun, Mexico. EU Trade Commissioner
Pascal Lamy said: "I don't think we have to beat around the bush.
Cancun has failed."
9/15/03 Monday
Three-judge panel of 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that
California's planned use of punch-card ballots disenfranchise too
many Californians, and put new date of recall vote to be March 2nd.
One U.S. 1st Armored Division troop died of wounds in Baghdad in
Iraq, after pre-dawn RPG attack on a patrol. This was the 157th
U.S.troop to die in action in Iraq since May 1st. Hurricane Isabel
lessens some in strength, but still churns towards U.S. eastern
seaboard.
9/16/03 Tuesday
John Edwards, Southern moderate, North Carolina senator, formally
his candidacy for the presidency; as did retired four-star Gen.
Wesley Clark, of Balkan war fame, who says: "The most important
issue in America today is our security at home and abroad. And
that's what Americans seek." More than 75,000 people were urged to
evacuate the North Carolina coast, as Hurricane Isabel starts its
trek across the Gulf Stream, towards the U.S. seacoast.
9/17/03 Wednesday
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco annouces that it will cut about 2,600 jobs,
40 percent of its work force, "in order to deliver profit growth."
Hurricane Isabel winds drop down to 105 MPH. Former U.N. chief
weapons inspector Hans Blix said he believes that Iraq destroyed
most of its weapons of mass destruction 10 years ago, but kept up
the appearance that it had them to deter a military attack. When
asked by reporters, U.S. President Bush said, "We have no evidence
that Saddam Hussein was involved with the 11 September attacks."
9/18/03 Thursday
Iraq guerrillas ambushed two U.S. military convoys with remote
controlled bombs in separate attacks, killing three U.S. troops and
wounding two, in N Iraq. Hurricane Isabel knocked out power to
more than 2.5 million people before weakening into a tropical storm
as it moved up the Eastern Seaboard, swamping tidal communities
along Chesapeake Bay, uprooting trees, disrupting air traffic and
shutting down the nation's capital. After Wenesday's oust of CEO
and Chairman Dick Grasso, some 300 members of the New York Stock
Exchange met with six NYSE directors, to talk over the handling of
the matter.
9/19/03 Friday
Iraq's former defense minister surrendered to U.S. forces, after
lengthy negotiations. Hurricane Isabel knocked out power to more
than 4.5 million people before weakening into a tropical depression
and heading toward Canada, breezing inland with less rain than
expected. Aquila al-Hashimi, member of Iraq's Governing Council,
was shot and wounded, outside her home in W Baghdad.
9/20/03 Saturday
At hastily arranged summit, leaders of Germany, France and Britain
called for a significant U.N. role in Iraq and a quick transfer of
power to the Iraqis. It was reported that muslim chaplain U.S.
Army Capt. James Yee was taken into custody by U.S. military
authorities on Sept 10th, while in possession of classified
documents "that a chaplain shouldn't have." A mortar attack on a
Baghdad area prison killed two U.S. military police, wounded 13.
9/21/03 Sunday
Nearly 2 million homes and businesses were still without power in
U.S. mid-Atlantic states, in Isabel's aftermath. Car bomb exploded
outside the U.N. compound in Baghdad, killing the driver and a
policeman. NASA's $1.5 billion exploration Galileo spacecraft made
a planned plung into Jupiter's turbulent atmosphere, ending its 14
year mission.
9/22/03 Monday
ABC reported: a 23-year-old chemical officer with the 101st
Airborne Division found himself with no mission, after arriving in
in Iraq in late April and looking for hidden weapons of mass
destruction. But he was offered a job he had never imagined -
assistant to the division commander's accountant. This chemical
officer, Ben Shumaker, of Clarksville, Tenn, said of the weapons of
mass destruction, "At that time it was up in the air ... even if we
don't find anything, we got rid of a bad dude and freed these
people." Downgraded to a tropical storm, Marty crossed the Baja
California peninsula and proceeded into northern Mexico.
9/23/03 Tuesday
Senior Airman Ahmad I. al-Halabi of Detroit, translator at the
Guantanamo Bay prison camp for terror suspects, was charged with
espionage and aiding the enemy for allegedly trying to send info
about detainees to Syria. Nielsen scores showed that Sept. 22nd
one hour interview with President Bush on Fox came dead last in the
six major broadcast television networks in both total viewers and
audiences aged 18 to 49. U.S. President Bush made speech before
U.N. General Assembly, to help the Iraqi people fashion a peaceful
democratic country. "The nation of Iraq needs and desires our aid,
and all nations of good will should step forward and provide that
support," Bush said.
9/24/03 Wednesday
U.S. District Judge Lee R. West ruled that the F.T.C overstepped
its authority in creating a national do-not-call list against
telemarketers. A bomb exploded outside a Baghdad hotel housing NBC
staff, killing a guard and injuring a Canadian sound engineer.
According to a source, the Iraq Survey Group's interim report, due
out next month, will say its inspectors have not even unearthed
"minute amounts of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons
material".
9/25/03 Thursday
The F.T.C is moving ahead with its national do-not-call registry,
believing a judge's ruling sidetracking the anti-telemarketing list
will be thrown out by Congress or the courts. The bipartisan
Battleground 2004 poll found people were evenly divided on whether
they thought Bush should be re-elected or it's time to give someone
new a chance to be president. One U.S. troop was killed in an
ambush in the north of Iraq; the U.N. announced it was cutting its
staff in Baghdad.
9/26/03 Friday
Three rockets hit a hotel, in Baghdad, housing U.S. troops and
civilians, but caused no injuries. U.S. officials have promised to
give the United Nations a stronger say in Iraq's elections and its
transition to democracy. Second federal court ruling in Denver
said FTC's no-call registry infringes on telemarketers' free speech
rights. FTC responded, "You can still put your number on the
national registry, but for now, telemarketers are not required to
comply with it."
9/27/03 Saturday
U.S. President Bush said that "all nations of goodwill should do
their part" in the global war against terror. Electrical power
went out across Italy, affecting most of Italy's 58 million people;
the problem is suspected to have originated in France. According
to the latest Newsweek survey poll, 72 percent of Americans say
the United States should turn over some authority in Iraq to the
United Nations to get other countries to supply money and troops.
9/28/03 Sunday
It was released that the Justice Department is investigating
allegations that White House officials revealed the identity of a
CIA agent, shortly after the agent's husband had undermined
President Bush's claim that Iraq had tried to buy uranium from
Africa. Rallies to protest the occupation of Iraq were held in Los
Angeles, Boston and San Francisco, and followed international
protests on Saturday in London, Athens, Paris and other cities. In
Calif., new CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll shows 63 percent of probable
voters saying they would vote "yes" on the recall question, and 35
percent voting "no." Schwarzenegger lead the contenders for
govenor, with 40 percent.
9/29/03 Monday
The White House denied that President Bush's chief political
strategist was involved in revealing the identity of a CIA
operative, in possible violation of the law. Calif. Gov. Gray
Davis's campaign accused theSchwarzenegger's handlers of engaging
in "dirty tricks" by plotting to disrupt a Davis event. A U.S.
soldier was killed and two others wounded in a clash with suspected
Taliban rebels in SE Afghanistan. One American troop was killed
another wounded, in a fire-fight with Iraqi guerrillas, about 40
west of Baghdad, in Iraq.
9/30/03 Tuesday
Consumer confidence, which had rebounded in August, dropped more
than expected in September, dragged down by a sluggish job market.
Second translator at the U.S. prison for terror suspects at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was arrested, bringing total arrests there to
three. Democratic inclined, independent candidate Arianna
Huffington dropped out of the California recall election and
endorsed Gov. Gray Davis. Two U.S. troops were killed in Iraq,
when vehicle overturned in a canal, in non-hostile action incident.
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