Show Lakers open playoff series with win — B1 Lowdown on high-tec- h garbage collection -- A3 kVo!I2dUllBMdndaApril Voalhor 21T2003 LoganJUtahf© 2003IS50 Saddam’s Mostly With doudy chance of rain and thun- derstorms — PageAlO Update IraqToccupation US struggles to learn laws of occupation BAGHDAD Ink) (AP) — Saddam and one of the Hussein’s toppled Iraqi leader’s bodyguards surrendered to an Iraqi opposition group after returning from Syria where they had gone into hiding the group said Sunday Separately the US military said troops captured a top science official from Saddam’s regime The opposition said the official would be helpful in the hunt for die remains of Iraq's nuclear weapons program son-in-la- w The Jamal Mustafa Abdallah Sultan and the bodyguard returned from neighbor-- : ing Syria to turn themselves in to the Iraqi National Congress in Baghdad a congress spokesman in London said The men could have information on the whereabouts of Saddam the spokesman said Though it was not known if had come under pressure from Syria to surrender the news came as President Bush said die son-in-la- w : custody Damascus government was beginning to heed American demands for against Saddam's inner should cross the border The comments by both sides marked an easing of tensions that had escalated between the United States and Syria over reports that members of Saddam’s deposed government had crossed the bonier The accusations by Washington led to speculation that Syria could become Bush's next military target is married to Saddam’s cooperation 'They’re getting die message that they should not harbor Baath Party officials high ranking Iraqi officials” Bush said Sunday Svrian President Bashtf Assad told two visiting US congressmen Sunday that Damascus will not give asylum to war crimes suspects from Iraq and will expel any Iraqi who to (Mil By Seth Stem The Christian Science Monitor in son-in-la- w iti See IRAQ on A10 ©©oMGfSf SmithfieJd man Exiled Iraqi lawyers say the US government failed to adopt — or even translate from Arabic — suggestions they provided in advance on how to prevent the kind of civil disorder including looting and revenge killings that has marred postwar volunteers time at heritage center By Arrin Brunson staff writer Iraq W Weeks before the unrest erupted die exiles proposed imposing martial' law for 24 hours The Pentagon also shelved a recommendation to recruit and vet Iraqi traffic police and security officers who American soldiers did eventually turn to — but without checking their backgrounds These are just two examples lawyers familiar with the process say of how inadequate preparation by US Officials hampered efforts to reestablish law and order in Iraq While the war itself may have been meticulous — planned over many months to achieve its objectives with speed and flexibility — US preparation for the next phase appears to have been less thorough As the process of occupation begins US officials are struggling to cope with new legal and administrative rules that take effect when hostilities turn to governance For instance coalition forces are supposed to begin applying local laws but they don’t understand what they all mean “Some Marines are arresting people suspected of loot- ing But what do they do with them?’ says one international lawyer who has been involved with the US in postwar planning “They don’t have a clue on what procedure to apply" To be sure US officials were caught off guard by the rapid fall of the Saddam regime But outside analysts say that infighting between the State and Defense departments hasn’t helped with transition issues ELLSVILLE — Greg DeSpain is living proof that you can take the boy out of the country but you can't take the country out of the boy Though he lives in a Smithfield residential neighborhood today DeSpain 41 has spent many hours Good Neighbors Laws' of occupation In general the duties of both civilians and soldiers change once the military phase of a war is over The 1949 Geneva Conventions specify that the laws of the occupied country take precedence over those of the conquering nation unless doing so imperils the security of the troops Only a new legitimate Iraqi government could change laws related to marriage or owning property for example but Saddam’s most egregious decrees such as legalizing tor-tune could be stripped away Yet even here the correct approach isn’t always clear cut What do you do for instance if one part of a country Is still at war and another isn’t? Further complicating matters the law of occupation has gone essentially unused since its adoption half a century ago says Claude Bruderiein director of See LAWS on A10 Index wwwhjnewscom ' Mitch 'MascaroHerald Journal during the past six years immersed in country living as a volunteer at the American West Heritage Center in ' Wellsville Luke Waldron the volunteer coordinator for the American West Heritage Center said DeSpain has supported the living historical farm numerous ways since he began showing up to help in 19 DeSpain is a certified arborist Waldron said so his help with landscaping pruning and planting has been invaluable “He fust started because he has a love of animals plants and trees When the oxen came dong he found his niche" Waldron said “He is always so willing to help in a pinch or anything whenever we call him I know he has a thousand other things to do You can tell he just loves it” DeSpain was dressed in his periodic farm clothes Saturday when hundreds of visitors to the center made their first stop at the oxen barn about 100 yards inside the farm's entrance The callers awed by the massive stature and calm demeanor of the yoked pair of oxen scarcely noticed DeSpain until he began to explain some of the fascinating facts about the pair of Red Durhams Ruff the lead ox weighs around 2700 pounds and Slick weighs around 2600 pounds DeSpain said They’re 6 years old and won’t quit Greg Despain volunteers his time at the American West Heritage Center in Wellsville Despain tends to the oxen as as helping out wilh landscaping well China fires officials over Was suspect in wife’s slaying oh the run? SARS spurt Scott Peterson BEUING (AP) —Jolted by a jump in SARS deaths and a tenfold increase in infections in Beijing talone China’s Communist Party stripped the health minister and the capital’s mayor of power Sunday It also canceled an animal weeklong holiday for tens of millionsof peo pie to keep them from traveling and curb the spread of the disease Just hours after announcing 12 netf deaths nationwide the official Xinhua News Agency said Health Minuter Zhang Wenkang and Beijing Mayor Mepg Xuenong were removed from their Communist V See COUNTRY on A10 had $10000 when nabbed near border Health ' Minister Zhang was stripped of his powerful WSnkang Communist Party post on Sunday Chinese Party posts but kept their government titles The reported number of infections in Beijing increased from 37 to 346 The party is the true power in China and Zhang’s and Meng'i r See SARS on A10 V - MODESTO Calif (AP) Scott Peterson was carrying $10000 when detectives arrested him about 30 miles from the Mexico bottler on suspicion of killing his pregnant wife a law enforcement official said Sunday Hours later authorities would announce that DNA tests showed two bodies found on the shore near San Francisco were his wife Laci missing since Dec 23 and their unborn son Peterson had repeatedly denied any role in his wife’s disappearance and police had avoided labeling him a suspect But authorities say he knew he was being tracked Modesto Police Chief Roy Wasden soughtthe arrest warrant for Peterson a day before the bodies were identified because he feared Peterson might flee to Mexico where law forbids extradition of anyone facing the death penalty Prosecutors in Stanislaus County plan to charge See LACI on AI0 t i |