U.S. Soldiers Seal Saddam's Home Village Analysts made accurate Iraq war estimatesLt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon told newspaper columnists this week that "we are operating contrary to our strategic interests" concerning the Palestinians.
Persona non grataMonths before the U.S.-led war in Iraq, independent and congressional analysts made remarkably accurate predictions of the costs of a post-war occupation, even as the Pentagon refused to do so, or gave very low estimates.
Baghdad Blast Ignites Fires in Historic Area: Cause Unclear; Top Cleric Attacked in Karbala Rumsfeld accuses press of "ignoring" progress in Iraq US Students drill Wolfowitz on IraqIt quickly turned out that the congregants were furious at their fellow worshiper for having dared translate for France's Le Monde an article written by his son-in-law, MK (Labor) Avraham Burg, about the difficulties of Zionism and the problems of the Jewish state. The article, "Zionism is dead," which was originally published in the mass- circulation Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, created quite a stir and was translated into many languages.
BANGKOK, Oct. 17 -- More than 50 years of American dominance in Asia is subtly but unmistakably eroding as Asian countries look toward China as the increasingly vital regional power, political and business leaders in Asia say.
France warns against Iran action: Military intervention would be ridiculous, says foreign minister, denouncing policy of forcible regime change The fragile allianceLast week at the Frankfurt book fair, Susan Sontag was awarded the prestigious Friedenspreis peace prize. In her acceptance speech, in which she explored the conflicts and connections between Europe and America, she regretted the 'deliberate absence' from the ceremony of the American ambassador to Germany, Daniel Coats.
Ambassador accused after criticising USUzbekistan, a post-Soviet police state on the strategically important border with Afghanistan, was another potential political minefield. Uzbek security services use "torture as a routine investigation technique", according to the US State Department. But Washington's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have led them to finance much of the regime's security apparatus. In exchange the US gets a military base in Khanabad as a centre for operations in Afghanistan. Last year Washington gave the government $500m (£298m) in aid, $79m of which was specifically for the same "law enforcement and security services" they accused of routine torture.
Mr Murray upset the regime of President Islam Karimov with his blunt remarks on torture. His comments also began to accentuate the differences in the Foreign Office's supposed ethical foreign policy and its support for US actions. In October last year at Freedom House, Mr Murray read a speech that had been cleared by the Foreign Office to the assembled dignitaries, including top Uzbek officials and the US ambassador.
He said: "We believe there to be between 7,000 and 10,000 people in detention whom we would consider as political and/or religious prisoners. No government has the right to use the war against terrorism as an excuse for the persecution of those with a deep personal commitment to the Islamic religion, and who pursue their views by peaceful means."
The UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, brought Mr Murray's hard-hitting speech up in a meeting with Mr Karimov. This was said to have incensed Mr Karimov. Mr Murray sent numerous reports to London about human rights abuses, and his dispatches became increasingly heated during the build-up to the Iraqi invasion. He argued Uzbekistan's human rights abuses were as bad as those being used as ammunition against Baghdad. Yet Washington was financing Uzbekistan, rather than invading it, he said.
He received many internal emails of support, and some of criticism. He became personally involved in exposing torture, commissioning a forensic report on the bodies of two political prisoners, Muzafar Avazov and Husnidin Alimov, which concluded they had probably been boiled to death.
Newly Unclassified US Documents: Bush Ancestor's Bank Seized by Gov't"What we have here is a form of looting." So says George Akerlof, a Nobel laureate in economics, of the Bush administration's budget policies -- and he's right.
George W. Bush is like a man who tells you that he's bought you a fancy new TV set for Christmas, but neglects to tell you that he charged it to your credit card, and that while he was at it he also used the card to buy some stuff for himself. Eventually, the bill will come due — and it will be your problem, not his.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Acting through a prominent conservative with friends at the Pentagon, a central figure in the Iran-Contra scandal has passed allegations to the Bush administration that enriched uranium was smuggled from Iraq into Iran five years ago and some may remain hidden in Iraq.
The intermediary, Michael Ledeen, said the CIA failed to aggressively check out the allegations because of its long-held distrust of Manucher Ghorbanifar, the middleman in the Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages deals of the Reagan years.
The CIA agrees it is skeptical of information from Ghorbanifar, saying he has "proven to be a fabricator."
Ben Affleck engages in attack on Dubya Space set to become war zone, warns US general Hans Blix Isn't Needed in Space - Yet EPA Scuttles Comparison Of Ways To Control Mercury Bush Orders Administration Officials to 'Stop the Leaks' Kofi Annan Warns Against Rising Hostility Between Islam and the West The Pentagon Unleashes a Holy Warrior"Ladies and gentleman, this is your enemy," Boykin said to the congregation as he flashed his pictures on a screen. "It is the principalities of darkness It is a demonic presence in that city that God revealed to me as the enemy."
That's an unusual message for a high-ranking U.S. military official to deliver. But Boykin does it frequently.
To Bomb or Not to Bomb? A Question Powell dismisses accusations Gaza bomb attack: strategy shift?"The repeated practice by the Israeli army of deliberate and wanton destruction of homes and civilian property is a grave violation of international human rights and humanitarian law, notably of Articles 33 and 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and constitutes a war crime," said Amnesty International.
N.Y. Activists Prep for GOP Convention Paul Krugman: Don't Look Down US Soldiers Bulldoze Farmers' Crops: Americans accused of brutal 'punishment' tactics against villagers Refusing, and Relevant Angry Islamic States Tell US to Get Out of IraqPrimatologist Jane Goodall criticized President Bush's environmental policies Sunday, charging the White House with leading an "onslaught" against the Endangered Species Act that could lead to more African animals being killed or captured for profit.
'Eviction' of U.S. From Iraq Urged at Summit Israel plans to strike Iran nuke sites Israeli plans for Iran attack Israel Adds Fuel to Nuclear Dispute Israel deploys nuclear arms in submarinesDespite the anonymity of the source, the sentiment is almost identical to that of the US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control, John Bolton, who told British journalists last week that America was not interested in taking Israel to task for its continuing development of nuclear weapons because it was not a 'threat' to the United States.
Even if Bolton was not one of the sources for the story, his comments, coming on top of that of the two other sources, suggest the degree to which senior members of the Bush administration can now not even be bothered to hide America's assistance and encouragement for Israel's nuclear programme.
"I do think a number of the television networks jettisoned any adherence to principles of objectivity before and during the war in Iraq, and this was done in the name of patriotism," said Jacqueline Sharkey, head of the journalism department at the University of Arizona.
Sharkey said that when she researched the topic for an American Journalism Review story published in June, she was told by the president of NBC and MSNBC News that "patriotic coverage is called for in this time of war."
Media Tips for the Next RecallA blue-ribbon panel on United States public diplomacy is calling on President George W Bush not only to sharply increase funding to more effectively explain US policy to an increasingly hostile Islamic world, but also to narrow the gap between US values and what Washington actually does in the region.
US draft fails to win over UN Israeli barrier is obstacle to two-state solution, EU envoy tells Arafat U.N.'s Annan Criticizes U.S. Draft Resolution on IraqBut it can't make the oil flow. The cost of doing that could produce an economic crisis in the United States. And it is this -- rather than the daily killing of young U.S. soldiers -- that lies behind the administration's growing sense of panic.
Washington has got its hands on the biggest treasure chest in the world but it can't open the lid. No wonder they are cooking the books in Baghdad.
U.S. Panel Admits Foreign Policy Root Of Arab AntagonismWith the invasion of Iraq and the bias towards Israel in the long-standing conflict with the Palestinians, a White House-commissioned panel said that increasing anger, hostility towards the United States has reached "shocking levels" among Arabs and Muslims around the world probably for its foreign policy.
France riled by US Iraq draft Study: Zoos hurt roaming animals -- duh DCF was told girl's mother 'unsafe' New poll on CIA leakA new poll done by ABC and the Washington Post said 70 percent of Americans think a special council should investigate instead of the Justice Department.
The Ashcroft-Rove Connection: The Ties That Blind"Hostility toward America has reached shocking levels," the 13-member advisory group stated in its report.
"The United States today lacks the capabilities in public diplomacy to meet the national security threat emanating from political instability, economic deprivation and extremism, especially in the Arab and Muslim world," the report said.
"What is required is not merely tactical adaptation but strategic, and radical, transformation," the panel, called the Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the Arab and Muslim World, said.
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Last modified: Fri Jan 9 08:55:47 CST 2004