Dawn Patrol

The Dawn Patrol, a daily feature of the Mudville Gazette, is a roundup of news stories that we think might be of interest to readers and of use to fellow bloggers. Appearances of stories or editorials in this collection are not to be considered as endorsement of their content by the Greyhawks.

• Sharon dismisses Bush warning on settlement expansion

  Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon brushed off a warning from President Bush not to allow further West Bank settlement growth, indicating Israel would continue to solidify its hold on areas it considers of strategic importance.

• Police Arrest Man After U.S. Capitol Alert
  
  A man demanding to talk to President Bush who had suitcases authorities feared might contain explosives was tackled outside the U.S. Capitol on Monday and arrested.

• U.S. aims to spend money in Iran

  For the first time in a quarter-century of estrangement from Iran, the Bush administration is openly preparing to spend government funds in that country to promote democracy.

• Rumsfeld Warns Iraq Against Purges, Corruption

  Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned Iraq's new leaders Tuesday against political purges or favoritism that could lead to charges of corruption and sap confidence in the yet-to-be formed government.

• Poland confirms Iraq withdrawal

  Poland has said it will pull its troops out of Iraq when the UN mandate for the stabilisation mission expires at the end of this year. Poland has 1,700 soldiers in Iraq, and leads a multinational security force south of Baghdad.

• Australia Opens Door to Peace Pact for Asia Invite

  Australia opened the door on Tuesday to signing a Southeast Asian peace pact so it can join a summit of East Asian nations, a move that would mark a breakthrough in its long bid for acceptance in the region.

• Turkey Aims For Better U.S. Ties

  Turkey is attempting to mend ties with the United States that were strained badly over the war in Iraq, and is willing to let U.S. planes operate from its Incirlik Air Base for some missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, diplomats say.

• Myers: War Vs. Colombia Rebels Being Won

  Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff, said Monday the war against Colombian rebels is being won and that pressure must be maintained until final victory.

• Spain Defends Sale Of Military Planes

  Miguel Angel Moratinos, Spain's foreign minister, on Monday defended his country's decision to sell military planes and boats to Venezuela, insisting the equipment was essential for fighting the drug trade and won't upset the region's military balance.

  • EU Parliament Asked to Investigate Spain?s Sale of Weapons to Venezuela

    Karl von Wogau, Chairman of the European Parliament Subcommittee on Security and Defence, today urged the EU's plenary session gathered in Strasbourg to ascertain whether or not the sale of weapons by Spain to Venezuela violates the Code of Conduct on Arms Exports of the European Union. During the opening of the plenary session of the European Parliament at its seat in the French city, the German member of the EU parliament warned that the exportation of arms to Venezuela may very well go against the Code of Conduct on Arms Exports, agreed to by countries of the EU and in force since 1998.

• Military Raid In Baghdad Captures 65, Officials Say

  Hundreds of Iraqi troops and commandos backed by American soldiers swept through central and southern Baghdad early Monday morning, capturing at least 65 suspected insurgents in one of the largest raids in the capital since the fall of Saddam Hussein, military officials said.

• Militants Kill One, Injure 3 in Baghdad
  
  Militants ambushed a convoy carrying a senior interior ministry official in the Iraqi capital, killing a bodyguard and injuring three other people, including his son, an official in the ministry said.

• U.S. Contractor Kidnapped In Iraq; His Identity, That Of Firm Withheld

  An American contractor was kidnapped Monday in the vicinity of the Iraqi capital, according to U.S. officials, who said the identities of the man and his employer were being withheld at the request of the victim's family.

• Insurgents Attack U.S. Base In Iraq

  Insurgents claiming links to al Qaeda tried to overrun a U.S. Marine base near the Syrian border Monday using gunmen, suicide car bombs and a firetruck loaded with explosives, U.S. and Iraqi officials said.

• U.S., Afghan Forces Kill 12 In Fight With Taliban

  U.S. and Afghan forces killed 12 Taliban insurgents in southeastern Afghanistan, Paktia province Police Chief Hai Gul Sulaimankhel said. The insurgents had tried to assassinate Kheyal Baaz Khan Sherzai, the former military commander of neighboring Khost province, as he traveled on a main road near Gardez, said Khost's governor, Mirajuddin Patan.

• Witnesses Describe Kuwait Grenade Attack

  Sgt. Hasan Akbar, center, is led from the Staff Judge Advocate Building at Fort Bragg, NC Monday, April 11, 2005, after the first day of his military trial. Akbar, a soldier with the 101st Airborne Division

• Trial Opens For Sergeant Accused Of Killing 2 Officers

  An Army sergeant charged with killing two American officers in a grenade attack on his own camp in Kuwait was mentally ill and acted not out of premeditation but desperation, his lawyer said Monday.

• Kolbe Out To End Ban On Openly Gay GIs

  U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe is among three Republicans supporting legislation to repeal the military's ban on openly gay soldiers.