He rejected the accusations of a massacre that prompted the Shi'ite-led government to demand U.S. forces cede control of security but declined to spell out which group he believed moved the bodies.

Government-run television has shown footage of bodies lying without weapons in what Shi'ite ministers say is a mosque compound run by radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The security minister accused Iraqi and U.S. troops of killing 37 unarmed men.

Giving the first U.S. military briefing on Sunday's events in Baghdad, Chiarelli said the raid by about 50 Iraqi special forces troops backed by some 25 U.S. "advisers" had been the fruit of long intelligence work. But he said he did not know the religious affiliation of 16 "insurgents" who were killed.

An Iraqi was freed who had been taken hostage that day and threatened with death if he did not pay a $20,000 ransom, he said. Three fighters were wounded and 18 other people detained.

Chiarelli insisted the compound was not a mosque but an office complex. Neighbors and aides to Sadr call it a mosque and say it was once offices for Saddam Hussein's Baath party.

"There was gunfire from every room," he said.

Major General J.D. Thurman, whose division controls Baghdad, said: "If it was a mosque, why are they using it as a place to hold hostages?" He added that weapons, including 34 assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades were also found.

ADVISERS

Chiarelli stood by the U.S. account, disputed by Sadr aides and other Shi'ite leaders but which is broadly in line with police reports and some local witnesses who spoke of a fierce gun battle around the site.

He said an Iraqi special forces unit with about 25 U.S. advisers, trainers, medical and bomb disposal crew in support arrived to raid the site at nightfall and were immediately fired on from a number of buildings around the compound.

The troops "cleared the compound," he said, killing or capturing those inside. "It was Iraqi forces who did the fighting," he stressed. Thurman said U.S. helicopters were in the air at the time but only in support of another mission.

All the dead were killed by Iraqi fire, Chiarelli said.

Chiarelli identified the hostage as a dental technician and said: "He was shown a picture of his daughter and told if he didn't pay $20,000 he was going to be dead the next day."

Asked about the apparent surprise, not to say disapproval, of the operation in the ruling Shi'ite Alliance bloc, Chiarelli said: "It was coordinated through military channels. Not every operation we run is coordinated with every politician in Iraq."

Though he declined to be drawn on the possible involvement of Sadr's Mehdi Army militia, whose political leaders have led condemnation of the raid, Chiarelli said: "I think the backlash has been caused by the folks who set the scene up."

Both generals praised the unidentified Iraqi unit involved for its record of discipline and minimizing the use of force. Chiarelli said: "They don't go in guns blazing."

Ryan Johnson, 22, from near Fresno in California, was due to be deployed with his unit to Iraq in January last year but crossed the Canadian border in June and is seeking asylum. "I had spoken to many soldiers who had been in Iraq and who told me about innocent civilians being killed and about bombing civilian neighbourhoods," he told the Guardian.
"It's been really great since I've been here. Generally, people have been really hospitable and understanding, although there have been a few who have been for the war." He is now unable to return to the US. "I don't have a problem with that. I'm in Canada and that's that."

Mr Johnson said it was unclear exactly how many US soldiers were in Canada but he thought 400 was a "realistic figure". He had been on speaking tours across the country as part of a war resisters' movement and had come across other servicemen living underground.

Jeffry House, a Toronto lawyer who represents many of the men, said that an increasing number were seeking asylum. "There are a fair number without status and a fair number on student visas," he said, and under UN guidelines on refugee status they were entitled to seek asylum.

The first test cases involve Jeremy Hinzman, 26, who deserted from the 82 Airborne Division and Brandon Hughey from the 1st Cavalry Division. A decision on their applications is due within the next few weeks. If they are turned down the case will be taken to the federal appeal court and the Canadian supreme court, according to Mr House, a process that would last into next year at least.

All deserters, past and present, are placed on an FBI wanted list. Earlier this month, Allen Abney, 56, who deserted from the US marines 38 years ago during the Vietnam war, was arrested as he crossed into the US, a journey he had taken many times before without problem. He was held in a military jail in California for a few days, then discharged.

"They have resuscitated long-dormant warrants," said Mr House. "I know 15 people personally who have crossed 10 or more times without problems and then all of a sudden they are arresting people. It seems like it would be connected to Iraq."

Lee Zaslofsky, 61, the coordinator of the War Resisters' Support Campaign in Toronto, said that he was impressed by the young men who were seeking asylum. "Some have been to Iraq and others have heard what goes on there," he said. "Mainly, what they discuss is being asked to do things they consider repugnant. Most are quite patriotic ... Many say they feel tricked by the military."

During the Vietnam war between 50,000 and 60,000 Americans crossed the border to avoid serving.

"President Bush didn't lie. He was wrong, I was wrong about Saddam having weapons of mass destruction," he said, while noting that a long list of other countries thought Iraq had WMD. And he was critical of some of Bush's decisions: "We made a huge mistake when we disbanded their army, their police force, their border control." But on the plus side: "In Iraq, you've had three elections that would have put to shame any election we have had in the U.S." in terms of participation, Shays added.

Shays didn't just support the war; he's been to Iraq 11 times since the U.S. invasion and frequently raves about the burgeoning democracy there. But those trips could come back to haunt Shays this fall. His Democratic challenger, Dianne Farrell, who surprised political observers by losing by only 4 points to Shays in 2004, has made Shays' support of President Bush's war the centerpiece of her campaign. Her campaign may well prove to be a referendum on her party's prospects for taking back control of the House. If they want to have any shot at it, Dems will have to win back moderate Republican seats in Democratic-leaning areas like the Northeast - where the war may be their most effective weapon.

Farrell, who was the chief executive of Westport, one of the largest towns in the district, will be a tough opponent for Shays. She's well known in the area from her previous run, is an effective fundraiser and has a warm, engaging campaign style. She also has the natural advantage that the district leans Democratic these days; John Kerry defeated President Bush there by six points in 2004, and polls have shown 66% of people in Connecticut disapprove of President Bush's performance. "The issues are more mature" than two years ago, Farrell says. And Shays "has been carrying President Bush's water on [the war] for three years."

Last week, although the election is still seven months away, both sides were fiercely trying to define the real Chris Shays. At a Farrell fundraiser, veteran Democratic political strategist Paul Begala called Shays "President Bush's rubber stamp," and Farrell's staff put out a memo detailing how often Shays supports Bush initiatives in Congress. Shays staff quickly responded with data showing that the Congressman's voting record is one of the most moderate in Congress.

And that is the irony about Shays' current struggle. In Washington, the 60-year-old is actually known for being the rare Republican who has no problem differing with GOP leadership or the President. He helped push John McCain's campaign finance proposal through the House in 2002, annoying GOP leaders. Last year, he was one of the first Republicans to call for Tom DeLay's resignation and one of the few who opposed intervening in the Terri Schiavo case. Back home, though, Shays has taken flak for backing the GOP leadership on some key votes, particularly a provision signed last December that cut funding for Medicaid.

An ally and friend of McCain's, Shays prides himself on that same kind of straight talk that the Arizona Senator employs, which can be both helpful and dangerous. So in his meeting with the senior citizens last week, Shays demanded they ask him tough questions, and they obliged with a barrage on Iraq. Asked if he had confidence in Donald Rumsfeld, Shays said he had "little to no confidence "in the Defense Secretary. He was asked why Bush stood in front of a huge banner that read "Plan for Victory" for a speech last week. "I would never speak at a podium with the word 'victory' because we don't know if it will be a success," Shays said. "To say 'Mission Accomplished' or 'Victory' - it remains to be seen."

But it is a delicate balancing act for Shays. Even as he did his best to distance himself from the Bush Administration, the Connecticut congressman made some comments that also tied him closely to the Iraq effort. He repeatedly compared the Iraqis' struggles to create a democracy to America's more than two centuries ago, particularly annoying the seniors when he said the U.S. might not exist today if the French hadn't helped in the American Revolution. Practically quoting Bush, he said that "people have an inherent desire to be free" and it was "arrogant" to believe Islamic nations couldn't create stable democracies. And asked about troop withdrawals, he said Bush shouldn't bring home troops early to help "me or somebody like me win an election."

Strangely enough, the campaign may come down to which pro-war politician Shays can align himself with in the eyes of the voters. While Farrell likens Shays to Bush, Shays says his Iraq views are more similar to those of Joseph Lieberman, Connecticut's pro-war but beloved Democratic Senator. The fact that Bush and Lieberman's views are on the Iraq War are almost indistinguishable may be beside the point. Like any moderate politician, Shays' best campaign strategy may be to act more like his opponents than his allies.

"Preaching democracy around the world is ineffectual," he said.

What would address the problem of terrorism at its roots, according to Sageman, is advocating justice.

"What you have to do is stick to core American values , justice and fairness, and distance ourselves from local regimes -- that's much of the grievances of young people. As long as we support those regimes, we are seen as a 'far enemy' supporting the 'near enemy,'" Sageman said.

Among those regimes are those the United States government considers allies or at least partners: Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia, and Jordan.

"We always think it is all about us. It's never been about us," Sageman said. "And we actually make mistakes and support local corrupt regimes so that people kind of think, 'oh well the reason we are exploited and in this condition is because the United States is propping up'" the hated regime.

"You've got no job, the legal system is stacked against you," Sageman continued. "It's a little like the Jim Crow laws of the South. A white man could never be convicted in the (American) south even when they killed black people. It's kind of the same thing in the Middle East.

"That's where our policy comes in. If our policy is blind support of local regimes no matter how corrupt, how despotic, the local people would blame us," he said.

The perception that the United States is helping to prop up those regimes allows groups like al Qaida and other fundamentalist Islam agitators to turn the would-be terrorists' attention from the near enemy -- the society in which they live, where they have grievances -- to focus on the "far enemy," the United States.

Understanding who joins terrorist organizations and why they end up sacrificing their own lives or killing for their cause is the first step in stemming the tide of new terrorists.

"You have to try to deflect new people from wanting to join the movement," Sageman told UPI.

By and large the 400 terrorists he collected data on are middle class people, the majority married with children. The majority had schooling beyond high school, and most of them were trained in a technical or natural science field. The average age of joining is 25.


They were not raised to be religious and the vast majority - more than 300 of the 400 biographies analyzed -- never attended madrassa, the religious schools that Rumsfeld himself fingered in a leaked memo to his top lieutenants n October 2003.

"Are we capturing, killing or deterring and dissuading more terrorists every day than the madrassas and the radical clerics are recruiting, training and deploying against us?" he wrote.

Neither were they recruited to terrorism by al-Qaida masters. Al-Qaida does not recruit in the way most people understand the word. Most terrorist cell members mutually recruit each other. They are friends first, begin talking about their plight, and together decide to become terrorists supporting a fundamentalist view of Islam. Al-Qaida historically only accepts 15 to 25 percent of those who volunteer.

Their plight is the problem. Despite their educational qualifications and socieo-economic backgrounds, the societies in which they live -- Western Europe and the Middle East -- are largely closed to them. Their upward mobility is limited by discrimination or class distinction, and they sour on the societies in which they live.

Most importantly, Sageman says, the solution is not necessarily a matter of democracy. Many of the societies in which these terrorists come from are nominally democratic. Instead, it is a matter of justice: of having economic opportunity, of being accepted as a full member of society rather than being regarded as an outsider, of being respected.

Those very conditions were what led to the violent protests last year in Paris. They were fueled by a generation of young French people who's parents or grandparents were immigrants. While they were born and grew up in France, they were still deemed outsiders -- not employable, not French, said Sagemen.

Ironically, the fresh riots in Paris are being carried out by French young people, angry that employment rules are being changed in ways that could help address the grievances of the first rioters by increasing employment generally but that alter the traditional French job security.

When the United States preaches democracy, it does so blind to the fact that democracy does not automatically translate to justice, Sageman said.



Sageman believes U.S. attempts to win the war of ideas are fatally undermined by both the war in Iraq and the prison in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.

"Guantanamo Bay adds fuel to the grievances of young Muslims worldwide. That's one of the things that convinces them that it's not local conditions but a global fight. That tends to put the focus on us," he said.

"It doesn't matter what you say when you have 160,000 troops killing Muslims in Iraq," he said. "Especially when all the media outlets present that every night. People are not that stupid."

Sageman believes with a change in American policies and a focus on justice -- on freedom, on economic development, on fairness -- could shift the tide. The American mission should be to shift the focus of people away from the far enemy -- the United States -- and back where the grievances are, and where they can be addressed: to the local level.

"The damage is done, but thank God people have poor memories," he said.

Friction between the Americans and the Shia, who make up 60 per cent of Iraq's 27 million population, escalated sharply after at least 16 Shi'ites were killed in the al-Mustafa mosque by Iraqi and American Special Forces on Sunday night. Many Shia believe that the US was shocked by, and is not ready to accept, the success of the Shia Alliance in the election on 15 December.

The prolonged negotiations on forming a new national unity government has served to underline the fissures dividing Shia, Sunni and Kurds. The Alliance has called for security to be handed over to the Iraqi government in the wake of the al-Mustafa incident.

The government led by Mr Jaafari for over a year is a Shi'ite-Kurdish coalition, but the Kurds accuse Mr Jaafari of failing to honour agreements on the return of Kurds to Kirkuk and other places from which they were expelled by Saddam Hussein.

Dr Mahmoud Othman, one of the Kurdish negotiators engaged in trying to form the new government, told The Independent yesterday: "Jaafari has been in power one year and he has failed. He's not fit for the job and we should try somebody else." He criticised Mr Jaafari for acting as if he only represented one party and not the whole country. Since he became prime minister last year the Ministry of the Interior has been accused of running anti-Sunni death squads.

Unless he chooses to step down Mr Jaafari may not be finished since he is still the chosen Shia candidate and other Shia leaders may not want to break ranks. The unity of the Shia Alliance is also supported by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and the Hawza (the religious hierarchy) as well as by the Iranians.

The prolonged and rancorous negotiations on the make up of the new Iraqi government gives a false impression that it will be a powerful body. In reality central government authority is now very limited in much of Baghdad, Basra and Mosul, the three largest cities in the country.

There is almost a complete breakdown in law and order. Often criminals wear police uniforms. Three groups of gunmen disguised as police yesterday kidnapped 24 Iraqis working in a currency exchange and two electronic stores. Kidnapping has been rife since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003 but the kidnap gangs are operating ever more brazenly kidnapping many people at the same time. Earlier this month gunmen dressed as police commandos seized 50 men from a security company.

The objective of the kidnappers is money. Many business and professional people have fled the country. One senior political figure said this week: " A kidnap gang seized my nephew. There was nothing he could do to resist because they boxed in his car with seven cars filled with gunmen. They asked for $200,000 but settled for $20,000."

It is often not clear if criminals are disguised as police or are real policemen engaged in criminal activities. Even a large number of bodyguards may not be sufficient protection. A wealthy banker from Basra and his son were kidnapped in Baghdad by men dressed as police who cordoned off the street where they lived and killed seven of their bodyguards.

Iraqi society is dissolving because of the breakdown of law and order. Sami Mudhafar, Higher Education and Scientific Research Minister, said recently that he wanted to lay to rest exaggerated accounts of the number of university professors murdered in the last three years. He said the true figure was only 89 professors killed over three years, Mr Mudhafar's other piece of comforting news was that there was no murder campaign directed against the Iraqi intelligentsia and they were simply being killed because they lived in Iraq. In addition to the professors 311 teachers have been killed in the last four months. He added that the government was too weak to defend anybody: "I myself was target of an assassination attempt recently and the government has failed to obtain any lead on the party behind it."

Many students no longer go to universities that are riven by struggles between parties. "The students and their professors are in a very bad psychological situation," Abdulamir Hayder of Baghdad University was quoted as saying. "The only aim is how to flee to a foreign country to escape assassination or threats."