August 31, 2003

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See also August 30, 2003 - August 2003 - September 1, 2003


  • Tens of thousands of people turn out in Baghdad for the funeral procession of the murdered Shia Muslim leader Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim. [1] The Iraqi police handling the investigation say they have arrested 19 men in connection with the blast, many of them foreigners and all with admitted links to al-Qaeda. [2]
  • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency declassifies carbon dioxide as a pollutant, a move seen as leading to the elimination of restrictions on industrial emissions of the controversial gas. Climate scientists have debated carbon dioxide's role in global warming for over a decade, with most voices (though notably fewer within the US) calling it the biggest factor, while others call it negligible. [3]
  • Occupation of Iraq: American and Iraqi officials are discussing the possibility of forming a large Iraqi militia or paramilitary force to help improve security in the country. [4]
  • Terrorist: Terrorism group Jemaah Islamiyah has schemes, revealed in a 40-page manifesto (the Pupji book or General Guide to the Struggle of Jemaah Islamiyah), for a suicide bombing campaign designed to change Asia and the Pacific region into Islamic provinces. Jemaah Islamiyah is also shown to be a well-formed organization with a constitution, rules of operation, and leadership structure. [5]
  • Afghanistan: Soldiers are killed in a remote region (near the town of Shkin) near the Pakistani border. Taliban reinforcements moved into mountainous region in southern Afghanistan where U.S. and Afghan forces have been attacking hideouts in a battle over the past week. [6]