Archive 29

HEADLINES

In case you missed it: Robert Fisk: Occupiers Spend Millions on Private Army of Security Men: An army of thousands of mercenaries has appeared in Iraq's major cities, many of them former British and American soldiers hired by the occupying Anglo-American authorities and by dozens of companies who fear for the lives of their employees.

In case you missed it: Private Contractor Tests New Illegal Ammo By, Killing An Iraqi

Three U.S. Troops Injured in Iraq Attack: A roadside bomb injured three American troops in a U.S. military convoy on Thursday near Fallujah

Robert Fisk: Things Are Getting Much Worse. It's Not Just A "Spike" Or An "Uptick" In Violence

Medical evacuations in Iraq war hit 18,000 : In the first year of war in Iraq, the military has made 18,004 medical evacuations during Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Pentagon's top health official told Congress Tuesday.

8% of Iraqi academics have Fled, 1000 Professionals Assassinated in past Year

U.S. allowed Japan-Iran oil for SDF dispatch: congressman: A U.S. House of Representatives member said Tuesday the U.S. administration allowed Japan to invest in a major oil field project in Iran in exchange for its dispatch of Self-Defense Forces troops to Iraq.

John Pilger: We can win a peaceful world!: This is the scale of the crime committed “in our name”. By every meaning of the word terrorism, the invasion of Iraq was a massive act of terrorism.

Bush Counsel Called 9/11 Panelist Before Clarke Testified: President Bush's top lawyer placed a telephone call to at least one of the Republican members of the Sept. 11 commission when the panel was gathered in Washington on March 24 to hear the testimony of former White House counterterrorism chief Richard A. Clarke

Clarke says al-Qaeda threat on rise: The risk of a terrorist attack by radical Islamic extremists has grown in Canada and elsewhere because the United States and its Western allies failed to crush al-Qaeda completely during the war in Afghanistan, says Richard Clarke

The Dogs That Didn't Bark: Why Colin Powell And George Tenet Aren't Bashing Richard Clarke

US to impose Iran 'WMD' sanctions : The US yesterday stepped up pressure over Iran's suspected development of weapons of mass destruction, saying it would soon announce sanctions on 13 companies suspected of supplying weapons technology to the Islamic republic.

Aliens in their own country : Buying milk at his local supermarket he and his American flatmate of Pakistani origin were approached by a loud, white English shopper, who yelled in the middle of the dairy aisle: "Are you terrorists?"

Analysis: Europeans reject data deal : The European Parliament has voted by a narrow margin to declare illegal a deal reached between Europe and the United States on the controversial question of access to airline passengers' personal data.

Court: U.S. Violated Mexicans' Rights : The International Court of Justice ruled Wednesday that the United States violated the rights of 51 Mexicans on death row and ordered their cases be reviewed.

Israel: Bush to assure PM: Israel won't have to retreat to Green Line : The United States will assure Israel that it will not have to withdraw to the Green Line in a future permanent settlement with the Palestinians.

Palestinians riot as Israeli settlers gain new foothold: Armed Israeli settlers moved into this populous and largely rundown Palestinian neighbourhood of East Jerusalem yesterday as they opened a new front in their co-ordinated - and bitterly contested - effort to establish Jewish footholds in Arab districts of the city.

How Israel promotes terror in the occupied territories: According to international law, the execution of any person in an occupied territory is not allowed. During its 37 years of occupation, Israel has already violated every article of the Geneva convention. But what it did now is unprecedented.

Brazil Marks 40th Anniversary Of Military Coup: Declassified documents shed light on U.S. ROLE

Dumped and stateless on Manus Island: Julian Burnside explained how Australia was committing crimes against humanity, "when judged by our own laws."

Why OPEC Is Cutting Its Production: American politicians have instituted a campaign to tell Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, Indonesia and Venezuela how to “reform” their governments, and in the case of Venezuela, America has been supporting the anti-government, anti-democratic group that wants to kick out the democratically elected president, Chavez.

03/31/04: Three dead in Parliament suicide bombing: An angry miner blew himself up in Bolivia's Congress, killing two police officers and wounding 10 others. La Paz police chief Guido Arandia said the bomber stormed into Congress around midday on Tuesday.

Papers prove US knew of genocide in Rwanda: US president Bill Clinton's administration knew Rwanda was being engulfed by genocide in April 1994 but buried the information to justify its inaction, classified documents made available for the first time reveal.

U.S. weapons hunt shifts Iraq goalposts: The White House now says the war, in which more than 500 U.S. troops and thousands of Iraqis have died, was justified by Saddam's alleged intent to build and use such weaponry.

Attacks kill 9 in Falluja area : Five troops died when a bomb exploded under their military vehicle west of Baghdad on Wednesday. At least four foreign nationals, including an American, were killed in a separate attack and some of the bodies were burned, beaten and hung from a bridge.

Another Roadside bombs kill 2 U.S. soldiers

Iraqis drag U.S. corpses through streets: Jubilant residents dragged the charred corpses of four American contractors through the streets Wednesday and hanged them from the bridge spanning the Euphrates River

Robert Fisk: "Most Of The People Dying In Iraq Are Iraqis": Veteran Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk reports live from Baghdad. Fisk describes the "grotesque, gruesome, terrible" attacks in Fallujah. Real Audio

Falluga Video: - WARNING - This video should only be viewed by a mature audience

Iraq war fed terror threat, says UN official: The Iraq war increased the danger of global terrorism by alienating moderate Muslims and diverting resources from the hunt for terrorists.

Solving Mideast, Iraq strife key to tackling terrorism: Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission: "The success of our strategy to combat international terrorism depends on peace in the Middle East," Prodi said. Prodi warned that force alone would not defeat terrorism. Governments must forge a political strategy to understand and resolve the underlying causes of terrorism, he stressed.

Where's The Freedom, Mr. President?: George Bush promised democracy and liberty, one year later Iraq has repression and violence.

Iraq: Newspaper ban plays into radical's hands: By slapping a 60-day ban on al-Hawza newspaper, the mouthpiece of radical Iraqi Shi'ite leader Muqtada Sadr, United States officials, far from silencing the outspoken cleric, are likely only to increase the number of his supporters and the potency of his message.

Who counts the civilian casualties?: How many civilian casualties - "collateral damage," to use the antiseptic phrase - have resulted from the war, and the subsequent occupation in which people are killed and wounded nearly every day?

Vast majority of Portuguese want troops in Iraq withdrawn: poll: Nearly three in four residents of Portugal, or 71 percent, want the country's 128-strong contingent of national guards in Iraq to be withdrawn from the war-ravaged country, a poll published Monday found.

The First Bush War: Since so many of the people involved in preparations for the war against Iraq (Cheney, Powell, and Wolfowitz being the most prominent) worked in the first Bush administration and had a hand in crafting Desert Storm in 1991, there is renewed speculation as to whether that war was a put-up job by Bush senior.

Bin Laden Hunt Hurt by U.S. Disrespect of Afghans, Experts Say: By disrespecting Pashtun tribal culture in Afghanistan, the United States may have failed to gain a vital ally in its search for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Afghanistan: Return of the jihadis: Many Central Asian Islamic militants - with Pakistani and US assistance - have been trained in Afghanistan, before being sent back to their homelands to lie low pending a call to arms. That call has now come. And the destination is Afghanistan.

Maybe none of them are terrorists : Consider this theoretical possibility: if no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq, is it also possible that there are no al-Qaida terrorists in Guantánamo?

Who Vetted Clarke's Book?: Richard Clarke claims that he could have published Against All Enemies back in December, but that the book's release was delayed by the White House's security review process. Why was Clarke compelled to have his book vetted by administration officials, and how does the review process work?

Kerry Author: Stolen FBI Files Were 'Very Explosive': FBI files documenting Sen. John Kerry's anti-war activities that were reported stolen over the weekend could have damaged the likely Democratic nominee's presidential bid, the San Francisco author who obtained the records said Monday.

Twenty-first Century Gunboat Diplomacy: What the Pentagon refers to as its "lily pads" strategy is meant to encircle and nail down control of this vast set of interlocking regions -- the thought being that, if the occasion arises, the American frogs can leap agilely from one prepositioned pad to another, knocking off the "flies" as they go.

Weapons in space may be the next frontier for the U.S. military: Now there appears to be a new emphasis. Officials in the Bush administration and the Department of Defense are actively pursuing an agenda calling for the unprecedented weaponization of space.

US accused of training Haitian rebels in Dominican Republic : The United States armed and trained in the Dominican Republic the groups that rose against former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a preliminary report issued in the Dominican Republic indicated Monday.

With friends like Uzbekistan ... : a series of terror attacks over the past days that have left scores of people dead, and a damning report of widespread imprisonment, torture and repression of dissenters. Food for thought for the country's Western allies, of which the United States is the most important, over their expedient support of the regime.

In case you missed it: Uzbekistan: Our Presidents New Best Friend Boils People Alive

This web site represents the effort of one person. I need your help to offset the costs associated with site hosting and bandwidth usage. If you find this site informative please help by clicking here

Never mind the torture and political prisoners, he's Bush's man: In the rogues' gallery of Soviet dinosaurs, the rulers of the central Asian states have pride of place.

McKinney, seen as a foe of Israel, to run for her old seat in Congress : Jewish fund-raisers are looking for ways to prevent former Rep. Cynthia McKinney from returning to Congress.

Jewish defections irk Dems: Senate Democrats are seeking to counter defections by some major Jewish donors to the Republicans by stressing their party’s pro-Israel stance. The lawmakers met privately last Thursday with nearly 80 Jewish interest groups to make their case.

Hate Mail Over an Assassination: "Justice Cannot Be For One Side Alone, But Must Be for Both": My email box is full of hate messages again. It usually happens to anyone who writes an article that opposes the Israeli occupation of the Territories and the consequent oppression of the Palestinians.

Jewish Settlers Spark Clash in Arab Area : Jewish settlers with assault rifles slung over their shoulders moved into two buildings in a crowded Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem on Wednesday, setting off clashes between Israeli troops and Arab residents.

Jewish settlement removal a 'big lie': Palestinians have dismissed Israeli claims that it dismantled a Jewish settlement near the occupied West Bank city of Hebron as a "big lie". Under international law, all Jewish settlements are illegal, a stance not recognised by Israel.

North Korea: Defector 'faked' gas chamber documents: North Korea has put on show four people who said they helped a defector forge documents purporting to show political prison camp inmates being consigned to fatal gas chamber experiments.

U.S. a nation divided: the wimps and the warriors, senator says: The Senate's lone Democrat to endorse Bush for re-election, denounced former Bush counterterrorism adviser Richard Clarke, who has criticized the president as being slow to act against the al-Qaida terrorist network.

Poll: Privacy a Concern Among Americans : Americans seem willing to surrender some personal information to the government for improved security against terrorism, but nearly three-fourths of adults expressed strong concerns that government can't be trusted with such information, according to a survey.

Tax cuts boost joblessness, encourage outsourcing : Why, economists ask, is this recovery jobless? No one seems to know. But the answer is right there in the Bush tax acts, which many economists have apparently never read.

Opec heavyweights back production cut : Leading oil producer Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, another heavyweight in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, lined up on Tuesday to support the implementation of 1m barrels per day of production cuts in April.

03/30/04: Bomb explodes at Australian embassy: A bomb attack on the Australian high commission in Kuala Lumpur has raised concerns that anti-Western terrorism may have arrived in Malaysia

UN says Israeli restrictions prevent food distribution in Gaza: The UN Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) says it provides supplementary food aid for 600,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip

Russia says its new weapon will make U.S. missile defence useless: Russia has designed a "revolutionary" weapon that would make the prospective American missile defence useless, Russian news agencies reported Monday, quoting a senior Defence Ministry official

Senators Say Bush Weakened Fight on Terror Funds: Two influential senators accused the administration on Monday of weakening the government's ability to clamp down on terrorism financing and urged President Bush to create a central agency to focus on it.

Arms hunter to tell congress no Iraqi WMD found: Duelfer will brief the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee behind closed doors on Tuesday about his initial impressions of the hunt for unconventional weapons after six weeks in Iraq.

Attack in Iraq Kills Coalition Soldier: A bomb attack west of Baghdad killed a soldier in the U.S.-led coalition and wounded another Tuesday, a U.S. military spokesman said.

One Dead, Seven Hurt in Iraq Car Bombing: A suicide bomber blew up explosives in his car outside the house of a police chief south of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing himself and wounding seven others, officials said.

Two California soldiers die from wounds inflicted in Iraq: On Sunday, in separate interviews, those who knew them well remembered both Vega and Taylor as wonderful men serving their country.

Five hurt as jobless Iraqis clash with Spanish troops : Five people were injured in clashes pitting hundreds of jobless people against Spanish soldiers serving in the US-led coalition and Iraqi policemen in the central city of Najaf, police said.

U.S. delivers 1st grim outlook on Iraq security : Paul Bremer told local officials Monday that it will take at least a year for the country to hire, equip and train enough police and border guards to meet its needs.

Understanding the real costs of Iraq war: The invasion, had real costs and consequences because of its nature and timing. Instead of assaulting the messenger, the Bush White House would help the stumbling president's political fortunes much more if it faced these consequences squarely and stopped denying the obvious.

Rice to testify in public, under oath: Bush, Cheney also will go before full 9/11 panel

Paul Krugman: This Isn't America: Even in Israel, George Bush's America has become a byword for deception and abuse of power. And the administration's reaction to Richard Clarke's "Against All Enemies" provides more evidence of something rotten in the state of our government.

Chalabi's road to victory: Chalabi, barely a year since he returned to his homeland after 45 years of exile, has emerged as the power behind a vacant throne. He also appears to have impressive amounts of cash at his disposal and a say in which companies get the nod for some of the $18.4 billion earmarked for reconstruction.

After legal missteps, apologize to Capt. Yee : His treatment is a sober reminder about granting authorities the benefit of the doubt in dangerous times. One can never be casual or lazy about freedom and liberty.

Gun tragedy soldier 'had no training': The parents of a soldier who died in Iraq have been told he was killed while trying to release a jammed bullet in a weapon on which he had not received any training.

UK plays roulette with Iraqi refugees: The British government may have gone to war to defend human rights in Iraq, but it is playing fast and loose with the lives of thousands of Iraqis living on its own doorstep.

Explosive Ingredients Found in UK Terror Raids: Police seized a large amount of explosive material and arrested eight men across London and southeast England on Tuesday in Britain's largest anti-terror operation for years.

US admits killing Arab journalists in Iraq: The US military has acknowledged it was responsible for killing two journalists working for Dubai-based satellite channel al-Arabiya who were shot close to a checkpoint in the Iraqi capital earlier this month.

Uzbekistan says 20 Militant Suspects Killed: Authorities in Uzbekistan say at least 20 terror suspects have been killed during a raid by the security forces near the residence of President Islam Karimov in Tashkent. More on Uzbekistan

Two Pakistanis executed by al Qaeda fighters: The two district officials were among 14 government men captured by al Qaeda fighters and other militants in a Pakistani offensive launched on March 16.

Pakistan: No al-Qaida leader killed: Pakistan's military says that an "al-Qaida fighter" killed in an operation near the Afghan border was just a local intelligence operative and not the organisation’s spy chief.

Irish link to Madrid bombings: One of those charged with the Madrid train bombings had lived and been educated in Ireland.

Philippines says foils major attack: The Philippines says it has foiled a "Madrid-level" terror attack on shops and trains in the capital Manila by arresting four suspected Islamic militants and seizing a large amount of explosives.

Alleged Philippine Bomber Says He Hid TNT: A suspected Muslim extremist told police interrogators he planted TNT in a television set on a ferry that caught fire last month, killing more than 100 people, a security official said Tuesday.

Rebel Leader Threatens to Kill Aristide : Monday's events in Cap-Haitien were the latest example of the instability that prevails in Haiti one month after the hasty departure of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the arrival of U.S.-led peacekeepers.

Bush Flip-Flop on Patients’ Bill of Rights May Have Been Driven by Campaign Donors: The prominence of health insurance industry executives among Bush campaign bundlers suggests that special interests played a part in President Bush’s flip-flop on patients’ rights to sue HMOs, Public Citizen charged today.

Contributors & Paybacks: Bush's Big Donors Lick Their Chops over Medicare Law and Malpractice Bill

Drug Cards Dissected: The prescription cards purport to provide seniors with discounts on their medications. However, no such discount is guaranteed, and the legislation may help pharmaceutical and insurance companies a lot more than the elderly.

Drivers License: A Matter of Religious Freedom: A number of states around the country have already passed laws stating that a young man between the age of eighteen and twenty-six cannot obtain a driver's license without having registered for the draft.

Guerrillas Kills U.S. Soldier in Iraq; Riots in Basra: Guerrillas killed a U.S. soldier in a bomb attack west of Baghdad Monday, and British troops used batons and rubber bullets to beat back a crowd of furious protesters in the southern city of Basra.

Iraq War Launched to Protect Israel - Bush Adviser: The statements are the first to surface from a source closely linked to the Bush administration acknowledging that the war, which has so far cost the lives of nearly 600 U.S. troops and thousands of Iraqis, was motivated by Washington's desire to defend the Jewish state.

Israel enjoys broad-based, bipartisan support on Capitol Hill: The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations said Thursday after meetings with more than 40 senators in Washington.

Amber light from Washington: US officials insisted they had no prior knowledge of Israel's plan to assassinate Yassin, even though it was approved by the Israeli cabinet at least a week earlier. But neither did the US stop it. Israel's defence minister publicly announced their intention to kill Yassin in January.

America's Voices in Israel: Strengthening American support for Israel by inviting US-based radio talk-show hosts to broadcast their programs live from Israel. "The most efficient and effective way for Israel to tell its story," according to Min. Ehud Olmert.

In case you missed it: Pro-Israel PAC Contributions to 2000 Congressional Candidates 1999-2000 Cycle

A Conservative Total for U.S. Aid to Israel: $91 Billion—and Counting

Jews Against Zionism: The idea that Zionism and the State of “Israel” is the protector of Jews is probably the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the Jewish People. Indeed, where else since 1945 have Jews been in such physical danger as in the Zionist state?!

"Hope is the Fuel of Progress": Former British MP and Leading Antiwar Voice Tony Benn On Imperialism and Resistance Real Audio

03/29/04: 19 Killed in Uzbekistan Terror Attacks : A series of bombings and attacks linked to Islamic militants, including the first known suicide missions in Uzbekistan, killed 19 people and injured 26, officials said Monday in this key American ally in the war on terrorism.

U.S. soldiers kill four insurgents in Mosul: Iraqi minister escapes attack : U.S. soldiers in the northern city of Mosul shot and killed four rebels suspected of involvement in attacks in the region, the military said Monday. Two American soldiers were wounded in the firefight.

Two Afghans killed in Taliban raid: Taliban fighters have raided an Afghan army post in a volatile central province, killing at least two soldiers, an official in the area has said. Ten soldiers were missing, he said.

Two Iraqis killed over expat deaths: US occupation forces have killed two armed Iraqis believed responsible for the death of two British nationals in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

U.S. troops thwart Afghan suicide bomber: U.S. troops in Afghanistan have shot dead a suspected suicide bomber after the man drove a taxi loaded with explosives into a U.S. military convoy.

British Troops in Basra Street Battle: British troops in riot gear fought with dozens of anti-coalition Iraqis who resisted eviction from a government-owned building in the southern city of Basra today. At least four Iraqis were injured.

Iraqi defector behind America's WMD claims exposed as 'out-and-out fabricator': A detailed investigation in the Los Angeles Times revealed that the source claiming to have seen mobile bioweapons labs was the brother of one of the senior aides to Ahmed Chalabi, the leader of the Iraqi National Congress

Investigators to inquire into Chalabi’s use of US money: The investigative branch of the US Congress is looking into whether Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmad Chalabi broke the law in using US money to attempt to sway US opinion in favour of ousting Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein

Iraqi detentions fuel anti-US sentiment: The American military is holding some 8,000 Iraqi security detainees without trial or formal charges, most of them in a prison where at least six US guards have been criminally charged with abusing inmates.

Ban on a newspaper angers Iraqis: American soldiers shut down a popular Baghdad newspaper and padlocked the doors after the occupation authorities accused it of printing lies that incited violence.

Shifts from bin Laden hunt evoke questions: In 2002, troops from the 5th Special Forces Group who specialize in the Middle East were pulled out of the hunt for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan to prepare for their next assignment: Iraq. Their replacements were troops with expertise in Spanish cultures.

Patrick J. Buchanan: Israel's Isolation – and America's: President Bush must begin to realize that his blind solidarity with Sharon, who has shown himself contemptuous of America's interests in the larger region, is among the greatest crosses we have to bear in the war on terror.

Prelude to an Attack on Syria?: The Yassin Assassination: I truly hope my imagination has gotten the better of me, that I am a false prophet, and that what I describe will not come to pass.

The Yassin Assassination: A Monstrous Insanity Blessed by the US: Where is the United States Congress and Senate condemnation on behalf of its people of such a heinous act by a government that we support to the tune of 10 billion a year?

Sharon's son must yield probe papers: The Israeli Supreme Court has ordered Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's son to hand over documents crucial to investigating corruption scandals that could topple the Israeli leader and sideline his Gaza withdrawal plan.

Bush under Fire over Sharon Invitation : A senior Jewish MP today launched an attack on US President George Bush’s decision to invite Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to the White House. The invitation amounted to a “presidential seal of approval” for Sharon’s Likud Government, which was responsible for “indiscriminate” killings of Palestinians, said Mr Kaufman.

The loss of moral authority : Ariel Sharon has lost the moral authority and public standing required to continue leading the country.

50,000 Yemeni students call for trying Sharon: Egypt's students deplore postponement of Arab summit: The Egyptian universities witnessed yesterday more acts of protests over the assassination of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, sparked in particular by the postponement of the Arab summit which was due in Tunisia today.

British MP wants economic sanctions against Israel: A British Member of Parliament from the ruling Labour party, Gerald Kaufman, has called for economic sanctions against Israel, including cutting off arms supplies, to force it back to the negotiating table with the Palestinians.

White House Whitewash: A conflict of interest at the heart of the US 9/11 Commission hearings has been exposed by the families of the Twin Towers victims.

Dom Stasi: The Entertainers: "My son was killed in Iraq. Last night I saw George Bush laughing about that." --Jorge Medina, father of US Army Spc. Irving Medina, 22, KIA 14 NOV 03, Baghdad, Iraq

Nader, Kerry Will Meet to Discuss Ways to Beat Bush: While stressing that he is still a competitor in the race, the independent presidential hopeful said he views his candidacy as a "second front against Bush, however small."

Poll: Kerry 48%, Bush 46%; With Nader It's a Tie: Bush Preferred If Terror Hits US

Dem complaints pay off with nine probes: They range from an inquiry on the cost of the new Medicare law to multiple probes on the alleged failure of intelligence in monitoring Iraq’s weapons programs.

In case you missed it: Medicare analyst confirms he was ordered to withhold unfavorable cost estimate : The nation's top Medicare cost analyst confirmed yesterday that his former boss, Thomas Scully, ordered him to withhold from lawmakers unfavorable cost estimates about the Medicare prescription-drug bill. He said the estimates exceeded what Congress seemed willing to accept by more than $100 billion.

In case you missed it: Department memo told park heads to spin cuts : A retired superintendent of Utah's Dinosaur National Monument released internal National Park Service memos Wednesday that coached park bosses on ways to hide the true nature of Bush administration cutbacks in park services from the public.

Deception through silence: Shhh. That's the mantra of George W. Bush. He can pronounce it correctly, it keeps the citizenry from knowing things he thinks it has no need to know and what the citizenry doesn't know, therefore, won't play a part in what it thinks.

Gangsters in the White House: Whenever the Bush Administration gets criticized, it responds like Tony Soprano, and Bush's capos put a hit out on whoever dares to question the don.

Surge in US military spending: In 2003, the five largest defence contractors all generated significant boosts in revenue from prime government contracts, according to figures from the Department of Defence.

Federal Auditors Track Wasteful Spending In Iraq: Uncle Sam's "cost detectives" are following the billions of taxpayers' dollars the Bush administration is spending to rebuild Iraq, and that makes some people nervous.

Musharraf left counting the cost: The army, and Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf, are left with far bigger problems than when they first embarked on the mission into the tribal region nearly two weeks ago.

Africa: Oil, al-Qaeda and the US military: The US has a keen interest in Africa's oil resources - perhaps its only interest in the Dark Continent. And as US military involvement and/or cooperation with countries across the Maghreb and Sahel regions is being ratcheted up, so too is alleged al-Qaeda activity.

In case you missed it: Colin Campbell on Oil: Perhaps the World's Foremost Expert on Oil and the Oil Business Confirms the Ever More Apparent Reality of the Post-9-11 World

In case you missed it: The Imminent Peak Of World Oil Production: Presentation to a House of Commons All-Party Committee

$30 oil props up OPEC economies as reforms stagnate: Oil revenues in the largest OPEC producer Saudi Arabia rose last year to an estimated $85 billion, versus the average $58 billion earned annually between $1998-2002. It recorded budget surpluses in 2002 and 2003 for the first time since 1982

UK: Half of all recruits to Army read at level of 11-year-olds: A confidential study into the educational standards of soldiers has revealed that half of all new infantry recruits only have the reading and writing skills of 11-year-olds.

Police monitored anti-war protests, chief says: When opposition to the war in Iraq began to mount last year, city police sent undercover officers to anti-war meetings and rallies, collecting intelligence about the aims of activists, the department's chief confirmed.

Aristide supporters in Haiti report continuing threats, killings : Nearly a month since ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide fled Haiti, many of his followers said they're still being harassed, threatened and killed.

03/28/04: Briton, Canadian killed in Iraq city attack : One British civilian and one Canadian were killed in an attack in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Sunday, officials in Canada and Britain said.

Colin Powell Failed To Check WMD Trailer Intelligence Reports: President Bush and his aides repeatedly warned of the shadowy germ trucks, dubbed "Winnebagos of Death" or "Hell on Wheels" in news accounts, and they became a crucial part of the White House case for war — including Secretary of State Colin L. Powell's dramatic presentation to the U.N. Security Council just weeks before the war.

Israeli Report Cites Faulty Info on Iraq : Erroneous Israeli warnings about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction ahead of last year's U.S.-led invasion were based on speculation, not fact, parliamentary investigators said Sunday

40 U.S. senators supported Israel’s assassination of Hamas’ leader: The senators met Thursday with officials from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

In case you missed it: If This Is Freedom, What Exactly Is Dictatorship?: The president now has the unrestricted power to kill American citizens abroad solely on the basis of his certification that the killed Americans are “terrorists,” as he did to Ahmed Hijazi, the American who was killed with a U.S.-fired missile in Yemen.

Court Opens Door To Searches Without Warrants : It's a groundbreaking court decision that legal experts say will affect everyone: Police officers in Louisiana no longer need a search or arrest warrant to conduct a brief search of your home or business.

Robert Fisk: Britain's secret army in Iraq: Thousands of armed security men who answer to nobody

Militants in Pakistan free 11 captives : Militants in western Pakistan released 11 soldiers Sunday, as troops began withdrawing from the region after a massive operation to capture or kill suspected terrorists.

In case you missed it: "The victor is not asked if he tells the truth" Video

Congo Coup Attempt Fails: Well-armed assailants in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa have attacked key government installations and tried to take over a local television station, in an apparent coup attempt.

FBI had information that terrorists were likely to attack the U.S. with airplanes: A former FBI wiretap translator with top-secret security clearance, has recently testified to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States that the FBI had detailed information prior to Sept. 11, 2001, that a terrorist attack involving airplanes was being plotted.

U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller regrets his vote to authorize a war against Iraq : "If I had known then what I know now, I would have voted against it," Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said Friday. "I have admitted that my vote was wrong."

Israeli State Prosecutor to recommend indicting Sharon for Greek island affair: State Prosecutor Edna Arbel is to submit recommendations to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon be indicted on suspicion that he took bribes from businessman David Appel.

Israel: A state without a conception: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's greatest cruelty to his subjects is that he isn't prepared to reveal the method behind the madness into which he has dragged them.

Playing Ethnic Politics At Ground Zero: Sharon not only blasphemously mocks the lessons supposedly learned from the Holocaust, his policies represent a huge departure from the humanistic and progressive politics that long characterized American Judaism.

03/27/04: Rockets kill four Iraqis: Four Iraqis, including a 13-year-old girl, were killed and 19 wounded on Saturday in a Katyusha rocket attack on the provincial governor's office in the main northern city of Mosul, according to hospital sources.

Violence across Iraq leaves 20 dead: Bombings and shootings across Iraq have left 20 people dead, including a U.S. Marine and a cameraman killed in fierce fighting between American forces and guerrillas armed with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.

US troops 'shoot three-year-old boy': US forces fired on a civilian car in Tikrit, killing a three-year old boy and wounding six women and children as well as their male driver, Iraqi police and relatives have said.

US will tell Iraqi council to pick a PM: As transfer of power looms, Bush sets hopes on Shia technocrat, in third strategy shift in six months

Sistani May Issue Edict Against Iraq Power Transfer: Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric may issue a religious edict declaring the June U.S. transfer of power to Iraqis illegal if an interim constitution article is not amended, a close aide said in remarks published on Saturday.

White House Trying to Explain Rice Policy: Condoleezza Rice says the Bush administration has a good story to tell about fighting terrorism and she's pouring it out in television appearances, interviews and newspaper articles. The one place she won't talk is in public, under oath, before the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Condoleezza Rice's Credibility Gap: A point-by-point analysis of how one of America's top national security officials has a severe problem with the truth

In case you missed it: " Pentagon Mass Casualty Exercise" took place on Oct. 24, 2000.

'Why Are Our Children Dying?' : The photo in the March 24 Post of a little girl named Jami-Cierra McRae weeping on the flag-draped coffin of her uncle, Army Spec. Jason Ford, is a face of the Iraq war that the rest of the country seldom sees.

Oil, Currency and the War on Iraq : It will not come as news to anyone that the US dominates the world economically and militarily. But the exact mechanisms by which American hegemony has been established and maintained are perhaps less well understood than they might be.

The Quick and the Dead: With each day’s report of one or two or ten new deaths, my heart breaks for the families that will never absorb the loss – the void that nothing can fill, no medals or plaques or pieces of paper – magnified by the children not born to carry on the bravest of our country’s families’ tradition of service.

Personnel Crisis Looming, U.S. Army Spouses Say: About 76 percent of those polled said they believe the Army is heading for personnel problems as soldiers and their families tire of the post-9/11 pace and leave the service.

Libya: The path to friendship goes via the oil and gas fields : Colonel Gadafy is just the latest beneficiary of a cynical strategy.

Seven Year Old Boy Killed By Israeli Soldiers An Israeli soldier firing from inside a military jeep killed seven year old Khaled Maher Walweel. When shot, Khaled was in his home near a 2nd story window.

Palestinian boy killed in West Bank clashes : A six-year-old Palestinian boy was killed during clashes in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, with the Palestinians blaming the Israeli army despite strong denials from a local commander.

US Complicity in Israel's Misdeeds: Anybody who doesn't understand that the attack on 9/11 was directly related to the Palestinian and Israeli conflict hasn't been paying attention.

Sharon sees Hamas as too weak now to threaten plan: Militants' failure to attack rapidly after death of sheikh is sign of reduced capacity, PM told

`Unholy alliance' reigns in Haiti: Haiti's new prime minister has riled human-rights groups by tolerating the influence of gangsters and prison escapees within his government

Prodi: Italian Left Would End Iraq Mission: European Commission President Romano Prodi said he had no doubt that the Italian left, if elected, would end the nation's military involvement in the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.

Stone glad Canada will air Castro doc: Apart from screenings at the Sundance and Berlin film festivals, it has not been seen, especially by American audiences, and no U.S. telecast is planned. .Stone says he's glad Canada had the guts and he's hoping some Americans along the Canada-U.S. border at least might catch it.

U.S. Troop Deaths in Iraq Again Rising : So far this month 37 U.S. troops and two Department of the Army civilians have died, according to the Pentagon's count.

Republicans Want 2002 Clarke Testimony Declassified: Republicans broadened their drive to discredit White House critic Richard Clarke on Friday by questioning whether the former counterterrorism official had lied in testifying two years ago about the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Afghan government investigating claims children died in US operation : Afghan President Hamid Karzai said his government has launched an inquiry into allegations that US troops killed 11 civilians, including women and children, during a recent operation.

A Step Backwards for Democracy: Legitimizing Afghan Warlords: The warlords are able to participate, not because a majority of Afghans want them there, but because Washington decided to use them first as suppliers of ground troops to help oust the Taliban and then as governors to help control the population once the Taliban rulers were gone.

More goodies for Pervez: The US had earlier granted a five-year $5 billion loan and waived off $1.5 billion in debts.

Ten Reasons Why Sharon Killed Sheikh Yassin: The killing of Sheikh Yassin is simply the latest episode in Sharon's life-long ambition to break the back of Palestinian nationalism and absorb the West Bank into Greater Israel.

Kerry aides plot Moran's defeat: Three top advisers to Sen. John Kerry are helping to unseat Rep. James P. Moran in an unusual effort to topple the seven-term fellow Democrat from Northern Virginia, who is routinely re-elected by wide margins.

Bush Raises $170 Million; Kerry's Donations Surge: Bush, the 10 Democrats who have campaigned to take his job, the national party committees and outside groups working to influence the presidential election have raised at least $623.4 million for the presidential election so far, with Republicans raising 50.3 percent of the total and Democrats 49.7 percent

Poverty In America: How Did the Working Get So Poor?: Twelve years old, Danny died in 1984, in the midst of a presidential campaign. He lived on an army base in California with his mother and siblings, while his father served overseas. The Holley family often didn’t have enough to eat, and the children would go to bed hungry despite the mother’s job and their best efforts. PDF file.

In case you missed it: Poverty 2002: According to the official poverty measure, about 1.7 million more people were in poverty in 2002 than in 2001 34.6 million versus 32.9 million.

Most U.S. Companies Plan More Outsourcing-Survey: Most U.S. companies plan to outsource more of its back-office functions overseas where labor is cheaper, despite a public relations backlash and weaker prospects for cost savings, according to a survey of 182 companies released on Friday.

Caribbean Won't Accept Haiti's New Gov't : The 15-nation Caribbean Community has decided against recognizing Haiti's new U.S.-backed government, senior Caribbean officials said Friday.

Pentagon Says to Proceed with Antimissile Shield: A new hitch in an Air Force space program will have no impact on U.S. plans to field a limited antimissile shield this year, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency said Friday.

Delay shield, say former top brass: A group of 49 retired US generals and admirals is urging President George Bush to postpone the deployment this year of a multibillion-dollar missile shield and spend the money instead on securing potential terror targets.

Pakistan Finds Bodies of 8 Missing Soldiers: Pakistan's army has recovered the bodies of eight soldiers missing since an ambush late Monday in a remote tribal area along the Afghan border.

03/26/24: Three children among eight civilians killed in Iraq: U.S. forces fought running battles with insurgents in the Iraqi town of Falluja on Friday and a television cameraman and eight civilians, including three children, were killed, a hospital official said.

Another TV cameraman killed by US fire in Iraq: doctors : An Iraqi cameraman was killed by a bullet to the forehead when US troops fired in the direction of journalists during clashes in the flashpoint town of Fallujah, doctors and witnesses told AFP.

Blair 'delayed US strike on Iraq': According to a former British ambassador to Washington, the US president had come under intense pressure from some in his own military to attack Saddam Hussein in the days after the 2001 terrorist outrages in the US.

Trust Clarke: He's right about Bush: More than two years after the worst terrorist attack in history, the President still does not understand the threat we confront, say security experts

Rice to testify - but not under oath: The White House said on Thursday that Dr Rice would go before the panel again, but only in private and not under oath.

Striking Where Bush Is Weakest: If the Bush administration had gone after Osama bin Laden with anything akin to the energy it is expending to discredit Richard Clarke, the story of America's response to terrorism might have been dramatically different.

Running scared : The swiftness and ferocity of the Bush White House's attack on Richard Clarke tells you two things: his story may be largely true, and the Bush administration is terrified that the American people will believe it.

MIA WMDs--For Bush, It's a Joke: Over 500 Americans and literally countless Iraqis are dead because of a war that was supposedly fought to find weapons of mass destruction, and Bush is joking about it.

Bush jokes about search for WMD, but it's no laughing matter for critics: "If George Bush thinks his deceptive rationale for going to war is a laughing matter, then he's even more out of touch than we thought. Unfortunately for the president, this is not a joke." John Kerry

Paying for dictators : Presidents Mohamed Suharto of Indonesia, Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines and Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire are the top three members of a particularly unpalatable premier league. All three were, for much of their careers, supported politically and militarily by the west, particularly by the United States and its allies including Britain and France

In case you missed it: Archive exposes Rumsfeld's Iraq mission: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was told to assure Iraqi leaders that Washington wanted close relations when he went there in 1984, despite public condemnation of Iraq's use of chemical weapons, a declassified document shows.

In case you missed it: When Donald Met Saddam:Video Clip: "Shaking Hands with the enemy," Iraqi President Saddam Hussein greets Donald Rumsfeld, then special envoy of President Ronald Reagan, in Baghdad on December 20, 1983.

El Salvador vote recalls cold-war power play: On the stump the right-wing presidential candidate touts his tight relations with the United States government and warns of a communist threat. The left-wing party is running a former guerrilla commander and avowed communist. The US is taking sides.

U.S. Officials Fashion Legal Basis to Keep Force in Iraq: With fewer than 100 days to go before Iraq resumes its sovereignty, American officials say they believe they have found a legal basis for American troops to continue their military control over the security situation in Iraq.

Iraq oil line on fire after sabotage: Saboteurs have set a secondary crude oil pipeline feeding southern Iraqi export terminals on fire, witnesses say.

US soldiers face charges of prisoner abuse: The US military has charged six more American soldiers with assault, indecent acts, cruelty, and maltreatment in connection with the alleged abuse of as many as 19 detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison west of Baghdad.

Ukraine Says Hundreds of Missiles Missing : Several hundred decommissioned Soviet-built surface-to-air missiles are unaccounted for in Ukraine's military arsenal, the defense minister told a newspaper.

U.N. Urged to Probe U.S. Role in Haiti : Caribbean leaders said the U.N. General Assembly should investigate Jean-Bertrand Aristide's claims that the United States staged a coup in Haiti and forced the ouster of the country's first democratically elected president.

Israel gets licence to kill: Palestinians have accused the United States of granting Israel a licence to kill by vetoing UN condemnation of its assassination of Hamas leader Shaikh Ahmad Yasin.

Pepe Escobar: Sharon's 'final solution: Road map to hell: By creating a shaheed (martyr) through the assassination of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Yassin, Israel may have signaled a war not only against all Palestinians, but against all Islam. This is the essence of the "clash of civilizations" as dreamed by American neo-conservatives and endorsed by the Likud Party in Israel.

The Bush Road Map will be paved with Palestinians. Sharon will see to that. At his present clip of 2800 Palestinians (killed) every three years, though, he'd better pick up the tempo. There's 3 million more "obstacles to peace" in the West Bank and Gaza that will make his job uphill the rest of the way.

Palestinians Killed Attacking From Sea : Two armed Palestinians in wetsuits and flippers emerged from the Mediterranean and fired toward a beachfront Israeli settlement before being killed by Israeli troops in a gun battle, the army said Friday.

At Rwanda Memorial, Annan Takes Blame for U.N.: Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) on Friday opened a memorial conference on the 1994 Rwanda genocide by accepting institutional and personal blame for the slaughter of 800,000 civilians that was initially ignored by world leaders.

In case you missed it: US warned about Rwanda genocide: Newly declassified documents show that the United States knew in advance that the 1994 Rwandan genocide was likely to happen but nevertheless insisted that United Nations peacekeepers should be withdrawn.

In case you missed it: Africa: U.S. Covert Action Exposed: During the hearing, Ms. McKinney said the legacy of former Pres. Clinton and his foreign policy toward Africa is one of grave deceit. She charged that not only did his administration turn a deaf ear to the genocide that occurred in Rwanda under his watch, but that everyone who aided in the silencing were rewarded with promotions.

Uranium mined illegally in Congo: Thousands of self-employed miners are pounding away at rocks and descending into makeshift shafts at a mine that provided uranium for the first atomic bombs. They are quarrying illegally and the dangerous raw material is being exported without control, industry experts say.

It's a Lobbyists' Paradise in Washington: Several lobbyists told The Associated Press they need to raise at least $10,000 to lure a freshman lawmaker to one of their events, at least $15,000 for veterans and $50,000 for a congressional committee chairman or leader. And the longer a lawmaker stays, the more money they're expected to raise.

At Least 25 Killed in Ivory Coast Clashes: It was the worst violence in the main city of Abidjan since September 2002, when a coup attempt triggered civil war. The conflict was declared over in July but Thursday's clashes showed peace has not taken root in the world's biggest cocoa producer.

Al-Qaida urges Pakistan revolution: A senior al-Qaida leader has urged Pakistanis to overthrow their government in an exclusive audio message broadcast on Aljazeera.

Al-Qaeda double agent duped MI5: One of al-Qaeda's most dangerous figures has been revealed as a double agent who fooled MI5, raising intense criticism from European governments who had repeatedly called for his arrest.

Afghan withdrawal 'astonishing': The Australian National University's director for the centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, Amin Saikal, questioned why Australia had hundreds of troops in and around Iraq and only one in Afghanistan.

Marines in Persian Gulf plan to join US-led offensive in Afghanistan : Defense officials say the contingent is from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit now aboard ships in the Persian Gulf. They'll go ashore to join in the new U-S-led offensive in Afghanistan.

Karzai wants to postpone Afghan polls until September: diplomats: President Hamid Karzai has told foreign diplomats he wants to delay elections until September, just days ahead of a major international donors conference for Afghanistan in Berlin.

Resolution condemning killing of Hamas leader defeated by US veto : The resolution, sponsored by Algeria and Libya, garnered 11 tallies in favour, with the United States casting the sole vote against it. Germany, Romania and the United Kingdom abstained.

In Rare Video, Hamas Military Issues Warning To Israel: Referring to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the statement said: "We say to the pig Sharon that we will pound your fortresses and make you curse yourself 1,000 times for merely thinking of the assassination of our leaders."

"Why, Oh Why?": Why, if the Bush Administration has nothing to hide and claim to have so much integrity, are they so reluctant to share with the American people the truth about their actions, their inactions and their failures before and after the 9/11 attacks, to simply answer a few questions honestly without passing the blame onto someone else?

SA denies granting Aristide asylum: Jean Bertrand Aristide, the former Haitian president, had not requested asylum from South Africa, Ronnie Mamoepa, the spokesperson for the department of foreign affairs, said today.

03/25/04: Three U.S. soldiers die in ambushes: On Thursday morning, a roadside bomb exploded near the town of Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of the capital, killing one U.S. soldier and wounding two.

Richard Clarke: "Your government failed you" : Richard Clarke, the former counterterrorism director under Presidents Clinton and Bush, faulted the Bush administration for failing to take the al Qaeda threat as seriously as the Clinton administration.

Silent Genocide: "After the Americans destroyed our village and killed many of us, we also lost our houses and have nothing to eat. However, we would have endured these miseries and even accepted them, if the Americans had not sentenced us all to death."

Fog of war still hasn't lifted: The truth is, in a manner of speaking, U.S. President George W. Bush gassed his own people. He, and his administration, did it with hot air about how Iraq posed "a threat of unique urgency'' and how Saddam Hussein had "reconstituted nuclear weapons."

Was It All Planned? Iraq and Empire-Builders: Leaving Iraq festering in misery for 10 years, leaving 10,000 troops based in Saudi Arabia to aggravate fundamentalist Muslims, and undermining the Palestine Israel Oslo peace accords it couldn't have been planned better to engender the monstrous enemy we now have.

Pin The Tale On The Donkey: One year, 570 fallen American soldiers and tens of thousands of dead Iraqis later, the widespread realization that the war against Iraq is a failure is reducing George W. Bush's popularity to that of raw liver.

Report: Israel Wrong on Iraq Weapons: Prior to the American-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the Israeli services reported Iraq had large amounts of weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and biological agents.

Palestine is now part of an arc of Muslim resistance: Across the Middle East, western-backed occupations are fuelling terror

Turkey accuses ally Israel of 'terrorism': Turkey, which has close ties with Israel, has accused the Jewish state of "terrorism" after the assasination of Hamas spiritual leader Shaikh Ahmad Yasin.

Robert Fisk: The Chilling Implications Of This State Killing

Twilight Zone / A dead man walking: If it depends on the Israeli security forces, his days are numbered. On the other hand, if it depends on his talent for survival and on his luck, the cat with nine lives will continue to have meetings and hold interviews.

'God curse those who sent baby-faced bomber': Palestinian militants faced a public backlash on Thursday for using youths as suicide bombers after Israeli troops caught and persuaded a 16-year-old to take off an explosives vest at a checkpoint.

Israel 'fabricated' child-bomber story: Palestinian leaders have accused Israel of fabricating a story about a 14-year-old Palestinian boy who planned to blow himself up.

Condoleezza Rice Threatens Jamaica Over Aristide: National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice is telling the Jamaican government if Aristide is not immediately expelled from the country and anything happens to American forces in Haiti, consequences would be exacted against Jamaica in full force by the U.S.

US major attacks Guantánamo justice: Lawyer chosen by Pentagon says detainees face unfair trial

FBI Warns Texas Oil Industry of Possible Attack: An FBI official said the advisory, based on intelligence the FBI has received, went to the industry and law enforcement officials in Texas "out of an abundance of caution."

Zapatero holds firm over Iraqi pullout : Tony Blair's hopes of wooing the incoming Spanish prime minister suffered a setback yesterday when he was told in blunt terms that Madrid will press ahead with plans to withdraw its troops from Iraq.

US appeal to Latham: back off on troops: The United States has urged Opposition Leader Mark Latham to reverse his plan to pull Australian troops out of Iraq, calling it short-sighted and an invitation to more terrorist attacks.

DOJ Asked FBI Translator To Change Pre 9-11 Intercepts: In a 50 reporter scrum in front of some 12 news cameras, Edmonds said "Attorney General John Ashcroft told me 'he was invoking State Secret Privilage and National Security' when I told the FBI I wanted to go public with what I had translated from the pre 9-11 intercepts". See Also

Terror Experts "Almost Quit" In Frustration With Bush: Two veteran CIA counter-terrorism experts were so frustrated in summer 2001 that they considered resigning and making public their fears about an imminent terrorist strike against US targets.

Bush's brand new enemy is the truth: Clarke's claims have shaken the White House to its foundations

France: Bomb found on rail line : TERROR fears on the continent were raised last night after the discovery of an explosive device half buried in the bed of a railway line in France.

Please, no second term for the Iraq-obsessed Bush: With a little help from the United States, the people of El Salvador have decided on a president.

Afghanistan Not Secure Enough for Credible Elections, UN Says: Credible national elections in Afghanistan can't be held at mid-year unless the security situation improves, United Nations officials said two weeks after a U.S. general said three-quarters of the country is safe.

Shirley Williams : Sharon throws more oil on the flames: What Sharon is seeking from the United States is the legitimization of this conquest-by-stealth.

Increase in Palestinians 'a time-bomb': One of Israel's leading demographers, Professor Arnon Sofer, recently predicted that by 2020, Jews will account for only 42 per cent of the population in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.

Tenet admits CIA might have prevented 9/11: During questioning by the national commission investigating the attacks, Tenet said the CIA might conceivably have been able to prevent the attacks, but they failed to "integrate all the data" and intelligence information was not fully shared..

03/24/04: Insurgents Attack U.S. Convoy; Three Dead : Insurgents attacked a U.S. military patrol west of Baghdad early Wednesday and an ensuing fight left three civilians dead and two U.S. soldiers injured, the U.S. military and Iraqi hospital officials said.

Naomi Klein: Terror as a weapon of occupation: On June 30, the occupation won't end, it will simply be outsourced to a group of hand-picked Iraqi politicians with no democratic mandate or sovereign power. With its new Iraqi face, the government will be free from the ugly perception that Iraq's national assets are being auctioned off by foreigners

Robert Fisk: "Who's in Room 106?": The day the 1st Armoured Division, with guns at the ready, came to check on our man in Baghdad

The forgotten victims of the war in Iraq: LAST WEEK at the White House, President Bush marked the first anniversary of the Iraq invasion by saying: "The murders in Madrid are a reminder that the civilized world is at war. And in this new kind of war, civilians find themselves suddenly on the front lines." There was no mention of Iraqi civilians killed by American bombs and bullets in the invasion and occupation.

9/11: The shocking evidence of secret deals, missed chances and fatal misjudgements: the report's greatest impact will be to undermine the credibility of President George Bush and his platform for fighting terrorism.

Hamas: US threat claim is cynical diversion: Hamas has flatly denied American accusations that the resistance group has threatened US interests after the assassination by Israel of Shaikh Ahmad Yasin.

Arafat opposes attacks on Israeli civilians: Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said yesterday that he opposed attacks on Israeli civilians, amid calls by militants to avenge the killing of Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin

Israeli Official: Yassin Offered Israel a 30 Year Truce : Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin, assassinated in an Israeli air strike, offered Israel a 30-year truce in 1997, the mediator who arranged Yassin's release from prison said Tuesday.

U.S. Prevents U.N. Rebuke of Israel for Assassination: As a result, the Arab Group called for a two-day open meeting of the Security Council beginning Tuesday to discuss the Israeli murder. The group plans to introduce a resolution condemning Israel at the conclusion of the session.

UN Hamas Resolution: Russia supports a call for the UN Security Council to condemn Israel's killing of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Deputy Foreign Minister Yury Fedotov said Tuesday.

UN rights watchdog votes overwhelmingly to condemn Israel for Yassin killing: By a 31-2 vote, the UN Human Rights Commission backed a resolution put forward by the Organization of the Islamic Conference - which groups Muslim countries - and by Cuba and Zimbabwe. The United States and Australia were the two countries that voted against.

'An act of bestiality': A leader of Morocco's Jewish community on Wednesday condemned the "arrogant" killing by Israel of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader of Hamas, calling it "an act of bestiality" driven by state terrorism.

Hamas says it may target Sharon: Palestinian militant group Hamas says it has the right to target Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to avenge Israel's killing of a Hamas leader but has reassured the United States it is not in the firing line.

The International Laws of Belligerent Occupation: As matters of fact and of law, the gross and repeated violations of Palestinian rights by the Israeli army and Israeli settlers living illegally in occupied Palestine constitute war crimes. Conversely, the Palestinian People are defending themselves and their Land and their Homes against Israeli war crimes and Israeli war criminals, both military and civilian.

In case you missed it: "Palestine, Palestinians, and International Law": "The Palestinian people actually living under this criminal occupation have the perfect right under international law to resist the Israeli army by the use of force, just as the French Resistance did against Nazi forces occupying France during the Second World War,"

Robert Fisk: The man who knew too much: He was drugged, kidnapped and locked up for 18 years after revealing Israel's nuclear secrets to the world.

Venezuela will not take Kerry's criticism seriously: official: A Venezuelan government official said his country would not take seriously the criticism by US Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry against the Venezuelan government and its president, saying it is just Kerry's strategy to get more votes.

He served in Iraq, loses job back home : Today, Beaudine finds himself in the company of thousands of other citizen soldiers who — despite federal law — are struggling to get back or keep the jobs they left behind.

Gulf troops' babies 'are 50pc more vulnerable': Babies whose fathers served in the first Gulf war are 50 per cent more likely to have physical abnormalities than those born to soldiers not sent to the region, according to a study published today.

Report: Black, White Disparities Abound : Black Americans are less likely than white Americans to own homes, don't earn as much as whites, don't live as long, and don't do as well in school, according to a report by the National Urban League.

Don't Get Duped Out Of Your Social Security : Even with Social Security, many seniors find themselves choosing between eating and heating, paying the mortgage or paying for medicine.

Israeli helicopters attack in south Lebanon, two people killed: Palestinian fighter shot dead in Gaza Strip

Bush Defends Israel, Takes Hamas Threat Seriously: "I'm worried about terrorist groups targeting America," Bush said when asked about possible threats by Hamas against the United States."

In case you missed it: Israel to kill in U.S., allied nations : Israel is embarking upon a more aggressive approach to the war on terror that will include staging targeted killings in the United States and other friendly countries, former Israeli intelligence officials told United Press International.

Enough is enough: How long will the world sit idly by while Israel claims in the name of "self defense" an unlimited capacity to inflict unmentionable human suffering?

Fighting resumes between Pakistan army, militants: Heavy artillery boomed in Pakistan's remote tribal region of South Waziristan on Tuesday in an apparent resumption of fighting between the army and suspected al Qaeda militants, residents said

A Hamas blow for Pakistan : News of Yassin's death spread like wildfire across Pakistan, including the tribal areas on the border with Afghanistan where thousands of Pakistan troops have encountered fierce resistance from tribal fighters as they attempt to track down al-Qaeda fugitives and Afghan resistance members.

49 Pakistani troops dead or missing so far in Al-Qaeda offensive: Sixteen troops were killed, 22 injured and 12 went missing when a paramilitary unit was surprised on March 16, the first day of the ongoing battle, by a fierce onslaught from scores of well-armed fighters, military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan has said.

Australia: I'll bring troops home: Mark Latham has pledged to bring home Australian troops from Iraq by Christmas if Labor wins the election, describing the war as an "act of folly" that increased the risk of terrorism.

Engineering consent: The New York Times' role in promoting war on Iraq: Regarded as a neo-conservative with a deep sympathy for the Bush administration’s agenda and a vocal supporter of Saddam’s overthrow, Miller has close links with the pro-Israeli camp, some of whom have channelled Israeli intelligence through her work.

14 `enduring bases' set in Iraq : From the ashes of abandoned Iraqi army bases, U.S. military engineers are overseeing the building of an enhanced system of American bases designed to last for years.

Venezuela Court Overturns Recall Ruling: A chamber of