Two U.S. Soldiers Wounded in Tanker Blast

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Two U.S. soldiers were wounded on Friday when a U.S. military tanker truck was hit with a homemade explosive on a road outside Baghdad (search) on Friday, the military said.

Earlier reports from witnesses claimed that two U.S. soldiers were killed in the explosion and one wounded.

Capt. Tammy Galloway of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division (search) said a homemade explosive device exploded on the roadside as a military truck was passing. Iraqi witnesses said earlier that it was an oil tanker and that two soldiers were killed in the blast.

In other violence on Friday, an Iraqi woman died as another blast hit the office of a major Shiite (search) party.

The predawn attack on the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution Party (search) office, which also wounded five others, came a day after Shiites buried a senior politician assassinated Wednesday as he left his home in Baghdad.

Officials of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution party blamed both attacks on loyalists of Saddam Hussein, who was captured by U.S. forces on Saturday.
posted by Frodgie at 6:22 AM

 

U.S. to put ex-weapons experts to work

The Bush administration yesterday announced a program to spend up to $22 million over the next two years to find nonmilitary jobs for Iraqi scientists, researchers and technicians who had worked on Saddam Hussein's chemical, nuclear and biological weapons programs.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the purpose of the program is twofold: to tap the talents of the scientists in the reconstruction of Iraq and to prevent them from selling their skills to hostile states or terrorist groups abroad.
"This is a program to put people to work, to give them more productive uses of their expertise and their energy than work on Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction programs," Mr. Boucher said.

posted by Frodgie at 6:21 AM

 

Captive Audience
Saddam Hussein should not die for his crimes.

His crimes were among the worse of the last century. Cast against the long dark shadow of such figures as Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Slobodon Milosevic, Adolph Hitler, and Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein's record of brutality certainly places him among the top tier of the world's contemporary tyrants and genocidal murderers.

During the 24 years he and his associates held power, Saddam is believed by human-rights experts to have been responsible for the deaths of well over 300,000 civilians and perhaps another one-to-two million soldiers, whose lives were wasted in two wars of aggression against neighboring states Iran and Kuwait.

Ever since the fall of Iraq to Coalition forces, a growing chorus of victims and their families has called for the apprehension, trial, and immediate execution of those responsible for the injury of their loved ones. First among them is Saddam himself.

posted by Frodgie at 6:19 AM

 

Dean, Kerry Want Clinton to Broker Mideast Peace...haha

WASHINGTON — Bill Clinton (search) could pose a striking — and promising — contrast to President Bush's efforts if he accepts the mission proposed by two would-be Democratic presidents to pursue Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, say some foreign policy analysts.

Those supporters add that considering the former president for the job helps Democrats John Kerry (search) and Howard Dean (search) send the right message about their visions for peace in the Middle East.

"Clinton would be a formidable negotiator. He has plausibility with both sides in the region, he knows the players and he knows the issues, probably better than any president — probably better than this president," said Will Marshall, president of the Progressive Policy Institute (search), a Democratic think tank built around Clinton's political philosophies. "It would be hard to pick a better representative of American interests."
posted by Frodgie at 6:17 AM

 

President pays tribute to wounded

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Combining official and personal business, President Bush visited injured troops Thursday at a Washington hospital after having MRIs of his knees.

While at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Bush had MRI scans, or magnetic resonance imaging, of his knees Thursday morning.

Bush met privately with about 30 inpatient and 20 outpatient soldiers after consulting with his physicians following the MRIs. The president won't need surgery but needs to cut down on his exercise, his doctors said.

Bush honored some of the wounded with Purple Hearts, according to The Associated Press. The Purple Heart is the U.S. military decoration given to members of the armed forces who are wounded or killed in action involving an enemy.

posted by Frodgie at 6:16 AM

 

When the holiday season's over, it's time to get away

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- As joyful and family-filled as the holidays can be, the months of November and December can also drain your pocketbook and your sanity. After planning, working, shopping, wrapping, and cooking your way through the festivity-crammed months, you might need a vacation from your vacation.

Have no fear: plenty of options for the post-holiday traveler offer convenience, affordability, fun and especially relaxation. Just like an after-Christmas sale, deals can be had when you're looking to travel after the holidays.

YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
Follow the news that matters to you. Create your own alert to be notified on topics you're interested in.

Or, visit Popular Alerts for suggestions.

Manage alerts | What is this?


The slow season helps. According to AAA spokesman Jerry Chesky, the season begins to slow down in the first two or three weeks of January.

"It's not a bad time to travel. You generally can get pretty good deals on trips, cruises, and other types of trips during that period," says Chesky.


posted by Frodgie at 6:14 AM

 

Bush Overruled on 'Dirty Bomb' Suspect.....Ridiculous?

NEW YORK (AP) - President Bush does not have power to detain American citizen Jose Padilla, the former gang member seized on U.S. soil, as an enemy combatant, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

The decision could force the government to try Padilla, held in a so-called "dirty bomb" plot, in civilian courts.

In a 2-1 ruling, a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Padilla's detention was not authorized by Congress and that Bush could not designate him as an enemy combatant without the authorization.

The former Chicago gang member who converted to Islam was arrested in May 2002 Chicago's O'Hare airport as he returned from Pakistan. Within days, he was moved to a naval brig in Charleston, S.C.


posted by Frodgie at 1:21 PM

 

U.S. Soldier Killed in Baghdad Ambush

SAMARRA, Iraq — As U.S. forces continued searches and raids aimed at quelling Iraqi resistance that has persisted despite the capture of Saddam Hussein (search), a U.S. soldier was killed Thursday when a patrol unit was ambushed with small arms fire in Baghdad (search).

The attack on the 1st Armored Division (search) also injured another soldier, the military said.

The soldier's death brings the number of U.S. soldiers killed in combat to 314.

North of the capital, U.S. forces encircled the town of Samarra (search), 60 miles north of Baghdad, as part of a major raid on the area. Troops smashed down the gates of homes and the doors of workshops and junkyards there Wednesday.

Several attacks on U.S. forces and Iraqi police in recent days have claimed more than a dozen lives in Baghdad and in predominantly Sunni areas west and north of the capital, once Saddam's power base.
posted by Frodgie at 6:54 AM

 

New photo shows imprisoned Saddam

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- An Iraqi newspaper has published a new photo of Saddam Hussein in captivity, and Baghdad residents are hurrying to buy copies.

In the photo, taken earlier this week, Saddam's beard is shaved and it appears that his hair has been trimmed. He wears traditional Arab clothing as he is seen meeting with Ahmad Chalabi, a member of the Iraqi Governing Council.

The newspaper is owned by Chalabi.

Copies of the newspaper were selling quickly in Baghdad, many of them apparently to be kept as souvenirs of the end of Saddam's rule.

Meanwhile, a U.S. soldier was killed and two other people were wounded when their patrol was ambushed in central Baghdad, according to the Coalition Press Information Center.

The deadly attack on the soldiers from the 1st Armored Division happened at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday (2:30 p.m. ET), CPIC said.
posted by Frodgie at 6:54 AM

 

Another Jayson Blair?
More of the same at the "Paper of Record."

Looks like the New York Times has another ugly Jayson Blair-like scandal on its hands. This time, the young minority reporter is Charlie LeDuff, a part Native-American, part-Cajun writer, known as a rising star and favorite pet of former executive editor Howell Raines.

The hotshot LeDuff is now in hot water over his cribbing of anecdotes from someone else's book about kayaking down the Los Angeles River for his own Page One fluff story about — you guessed it! — kayaking down the Los Angeles River. An embarrassing correction published in the New York Times on Dec. 8 explained:

An article last Monday about the Los Angeles River recounted its history and described the reporter's trip downriver in a kayak. In research for the article, the reporter consulted a 1999 book by Blake Gumprecht, "The Los Angeles River: Its Life, Death, and Possible Rebirth." Several passages relating facts and lore about the river distilled passages from the book. Although the facts in those passages were confirmed independently-through other sources or the reporter's first hand observation-the article should have acknowledged the significant contribution of Mr. Gumprecht's research.
posted by Frodgie at 6:51 AM

 

Iraqi foe urges life sentence for Saddam

PARIS — A senior Iraqi Governing Council member, Jalal Talabani, yesterday urged fellow Iraqis to reject President Bush's suggestion that Saddam Hussein should face the death penalty for his crimes.
"I want Saddam put in jail for life," Mr. Talabani said in an interview. "I want him to suffer daily as he realizes how his people hate him. Let him see how we build a new Iraq free from his evil grip."
The Iraqi Kurdish leader, who called Saddam's capture "the beginning of the end of terrorism inside Iraq," has been a leading opponent of Saddam and has jointly run a U.S.-protected ministate in northern Iraq since 1991.
His peshmerga guerrilla army also helped coalition special forces rout Saddam's army in the north during the war last spring.

posted by Frodgie at 6:49 AM

 

Report: New NYSE Chief Executive to Be Named

NEW YORK — The New York Stock Exchange (search) is poised to name John Thain (search), president of Goldman Sachs, as its new chief executive, a newspaper reported early Thursday.

The exchange could make the announcement as soon as Thursday, The New York Times reported on its Web site, citing a person who has been briefed on the situation.

Neither Goldman Sachs nor exchange officials would comment on the decision, the Times said. Thain would succeed interim chairman and chief executive John Reed, who has held the position since the ouster of Dick Grasso (search) in September.
posted by Frodgie at 6:46 AM

 

Hinckley wins unsupervised visits...what a waste.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The man who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981 will be allowed to have limited, unsupervised visits with his parents, a judge ruled Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman decided that John Hinckley Jr. can have six, one-day visits with his parents within a 50-mile radius of Washington, D.C., without an escort from St. Elizabeth's Hospital, where he has been confined since the assassination attempt.

The judge denied Hinckley's request for overnight visits, or visits to his parents' home in Williamsburg, Virginia, which is outside the 50-mile limit.

The visits could begin after the holidays, but not sooner because Hinckley's parents must file an itinerary with the court two weeks in advance.

Reagan, who now suffers from Alzheimer's disease, was wounded when Hinckley shot him, his press secretary, James Brady, and two others outside the Washington Hilton on March 30, 1981.

posted by Frodgie at 6:44 AM

 

Clark: Bush lacks will to find bin Laden

(CNN) -- Democratic presidential contender Wesley Clark said Wednesday that President Bush has shown a lack of will in pursuing al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

In a blistering critique of the commander in chief, Clark said that "capturing Saddam Hussein doesn't change the fact that Osama bin Laden is still on the loose."

"If I'd been president, I would have had Osama bin Laden by this time," Clark said at a news conference in Concord, New Hampshire, where he was campaigning for votes in the nation's first primary, January 27.


posted by Frodgie at 6:42 AM

 

POPE SEES MEL GIBSON'S CHRIST FILM, APPROVES

Wednesday, December 17, 2003 1:06 p.m. EST

Here's some happy news this Christmas season, an unexpected gift for those who have seen and admired Mel Gibson's controversial movie, "The Passion," and wish to support it. The film has a new admirer, and he is a person of some influence. He is in fact the head of the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Pope John Paul II saw the movie the weekend before last, in the Vatican, apparently in his private rooms, on a television, with a DVD, and accompanied by his closest friend, Msgr. Stanislaw Dziwisz. Afterwards and with an eloquent economy John Paul shared with Msgr. Dziwisz his verdict. Dziwisz, the following Monday, shared John Paul's five-word response with the co-producer of The Passion, Steve McEveety.

This is what the pope said: "It is as it was."


posted by Frodgie at 2:23 PM

 

Bin Laden will be caught, White House vows

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Four days after Saddam Hussein's capture, the White House vowed Tuesday to find another most-wanted fugitive -- terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.

"We're continuing to pursue other leaders within that al Qaeda terrorist network, including Osama bin Laden. I think he can fully expect that he will be brought to justice by this administration," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

Although the president once said bin Laden was "wanted dead or alive," recent White House practice has been to respond to questions about why he has not been apprehended by saying al Qaeda is about more than one person.

McClellan said "some two-thirds" of al Qaeda leaders have been killed or detained.


posted by Frodgie at 6:37 AM

 

Saddam capture staged, McDermott charges

Rep. Jim McDermott of Washington, the Democratic congressman who went to Baghdad last year to say that President Bush would lie to the American people in order to justify war, has now accused the president of timing Saddam Hussein's capture for political ends.
He told a Seattle radio interviewer Monday that American forces could have captured Saddam "a long time ago if they wanted."
Asked by interviewer Dave Ross on KIRO-FM whether the capture was timed to help the president, he replied: "Yeah. Oh, yeah. There's too much by happenstance for it to be just a coincidental thing."

posted by Frodgie at 6:36 AM

 

Fans Watch All-Day Showing of 'Rings' Trilogy

Die-hard "Lord of the Rings" (search) fans enjoyed "Trilogy Tuesday," a back-to-back-to-back marathon of all three films, including the first public screenings of the third and final movie, "The Return of the King." (search)

Most of the tickets had been purchased hours after they went on sale in October, but fans lined up for hours before the trilogy's noon start to stake a claim on the best seats.

The 99 theaters participating in the trilogy marathon arranged numerous treats for fans, with some setting up buffets for the breaks in between the movies. At the end of "Return of the King," everyone will receive a gift from New Line Cinema to commemorate the occasion.

Michael Brown, a 22-year-old student at Johns Hopkins University (search), was first in line at the 900-seat Senator Theatre in Baltimore, arriving at 10:45 a.m. Monday with a tent, a sleeping bag and a box of PowerBars.

"I spent 10 hours waiting for 'The Two Towers' to open, and about the same for one of the 'Harry Potter' movies. I try to be first in line for just about everything that premieres here," Brown said. "I do this to myself because I love movies, and I feel like if I'm going to go see the movies, I might as well do it right."


posted by Frodgie at 6:33 AM

 

Heidi Klum Pregnant With Her First Child

FRANKFURT, Germany — German supermodel Heidi Klum (search) is expecting her first child with the boss of Formula One's Renault team, Flavio Briatore, the model said Tuesday.

Klum, 30, and Briatore, 53, have been together for about a year.

"I will take a short maternity leave," Klum told reporters after the presentation of her new fashion collection in the northern port city of Hamburg.

The model declined to say when the baby was due or whether she already knew the sex of the child. "It doesn't matter as long as it's healthy," Klum said.

In an interview with the Weld am Sonntag weekly earlier this year, Klum had expressed her desire to become a mother and have "two or three children."

Klum, who has appeared in the Sports Illustrated (search) swimsuit issue and in the film "Zoolander," separated last November from her husband of five years, celebrity hairstylist Ric Pipino.
posted by Frodgie at 6:31 AM

 

Tikrit Journal: Into the Hole

TIKRIT, Iraq — My first impression when I crawled down into Saddam's "hole," where he was nabbed Saturday night, was, "Hey, this isn't all that bad."

It was a bit of a tight, dirty squeeze going down. But once I got to the base compartment, it was relatively well-built, with a smooth floor and ample headroom.

Then I thought a little more about it. I realized that Saddam is at least 30 to 40 pounds heavier than I am and a few inches taller. I also know his ego is about 50 miles wide.

That's when it really hit me. This must have been as close as the megalomaniac could have gotten to being in a living hell — of his own creation.

Basically, Saddam dug his own grave, even if it did have an air pipe and a circulation fan.

The former Iraqi dictator could have had it all, if he'd played his cards right. But Saddam played every hand stupidly. And now he's sitting in an even more uncomfortable place — probably a cubicle somewhere in Baghdad's airport — being worked over by coalition folks.
posted by Frodgie at 6:30 AM

 

Panel backs over-the-counter 'morning-after' pill

(CNN) -- Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted Tuesday to recommend emergency contraception -- or the "morning-after" pill -- be available over-the-counter.

The FDA generally follows the recommendations of its advisory committees but it is not known when the agency will act on the recommendation.

The makers of Plan B contraception say that when it is taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, it can reduce the risk of pregnancy by about 89 percent.

Plan B, made by Women's Capital Corp., has been available since 1998, but only with a doctor's prescription.

"Putting safe, effective back-up birth control on the drug store shelves next to condoms will give many more women a second chance to prevent pregnancy," said Kirsten Moore, head of the Reproductive Health Technologies Project, a group backing no-prescription emergency contraception.


posted by Frodgie at 6:27 AM

 

U.S. forces kill 11 insurgents; pro-Saddam rallies turn violent

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. forces killed 11 Iraqi insurgents who ambushed their patrol in the northern Iraqi town of Samarra, a military spokesman said.

Meanwhile, an American soldier was wounded and two Iraqis were killed as Saddam Hussein loyalists clashed with U.S. troops and Iraqi police in Ramadi.

The violence occurred Monday as U.S. officials said documents found with ex-Iraqi leader Saddam over the weekend show he was linked to the insurgency against coalition forces in Iraq.

In the Samarra ambush, Lt. Bill McDonald said members of Task Force Ironhorse -- part of the Army's 4th Infantry Division -- were on a routine patrol when they were hit in a coordinated attack, involving rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. A second patrol, operating nearby, assisted in repelling the ambush.

posted by Frodgie at 6:25 AM

 

Limbaugh Seeks to Keep Seized Medical Records Private

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Rush Limbaugh (search) asked a court Monday to hear his claim that investigators violated his privacy by seizing his medical records and asked that the records not be released.

The radio host cannot be treated for his medical conditions because the state seized his charts and files last month and intimidated his doctors, the court petition said.

Prosecutors have said they are investigating whether Limbaugh obtained and used prescription painkillers illegally. Typically, such records would not be released until a criminal investigation ends and charges are filed.

Limbaugh's rights have been scrupulously protected during the investigation, Palm Beach State Attorney spokesman Mike Edmondson (search) said Monday.

Limbaugh's petition asks for a court hearing within three days.

posted by Frodgie at 6:24 AM

 

Hospital: Ozzy Can Now Breathe on His Own

LONDON — Musician Ozzy Osbourne (search) is making good progress after his quad bike accident and is now able to breathe on his own, hospital officials said Monday.

The former Black Sabbath frontman was able to talk to his wife Sharon at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, west of London, where he was taken after the accident last Monday, the hospital said in a statement.

Osbourne, 55, has been in intensive care since the accident at his estate in Buckinghamshire, southern England. He fractured his left collarbone, eight ribs and a neck vertebra and had emergency surgery shortly after admission to restore the flow to a damaged blood vessel.





posted by Frodgie at 6:23 AM

 

'Mountains of Evidence' Will Delay Saddam Trial

Debate on how to force Saddam Hussein (search) to face justice began almost from the moment the world learned one of its most notorious figures was in captivity. But U.S. officials warned that Iraqis, many of whom are eager to see the former dictator punished, may have to exercise patience.

"You have an entire country that's a crime scene," a U.S. official told Fox News.

The official, who is working with a special war crimes tribunal (search) established in Iraq last week, said "mountains of evidence" culled from human rights organizations, U.S. intelligence and the Iraqi people would contribute to a lengthy information-gathering phase.

In addition to charges that Saddam committed genocide against the Kurds, brutally crushed an attempted Shiite uprising and ordered the systematic torture, rape and killings of political enemies, grievances from outside the country are expected to pile up.

posted by Frodgie at 6:22 AM

 

Thurmond's Family 'Acknowledges' Black Woman's Claim as Daughter

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The late Sen. Strom Thurmond's (search) family has accepted a California woman's claim that she is the illegitimate mixed-race daughter of the one-time segregationist.

"We have no reason to believe Ms. Williams was not telling the truth," Strom Thurmond Jr. told The (Columbia) State for a story in Tuesday's editions.

Essie Mae Washington-Williams (search), 78, broke a decades-long silence this weekend to claim she was the daughter of Strom Thurmond and a 16-year-old maid working in his father's home.

Thurmond Jr. said he would like to meet the retired Los Angeles schoolteacher sometime, preferably in private, to establish a relationship.

The Thurmond clan found out that Williams had broken her silence after they attended a family wedding Saturday night, Thurmond Jr. said. They know little about her, he added.

posted by Frodgie at 6:20 AM

 

Israel Planned 1992 Assassination of Saddam

TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli (search) military planned a daring assassination attempt against Saddam Hussein (search) in 1992 -- a plot that would have involved landing commandos in Iraq and firing sophisticated missiles at him during a funeral, an Israeli newspaper reported Tuesday.

The attempt was reportedly called off after an accident during a training exercise for the mission ended in the deaths of five soldiers.

The Maariv daily reported that with the capture of Saddam, Israeli military censors lifted a ban on publication of the full story. Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment.

The Israeli military put together the plan to kill Saddam in retaliation for Iraq's firing of 39 Scud missiles at Israel during the 1991 Persian Gulf War (search). However, the plan was never brought before the government for final approval, the newspaper said.

posted by Frodgie at 6:19 AM

 

Researchers find 'drunk gene' in worms...doesn't say much for me!

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Researchers found a gene responsible for drunkenness in worms after plying thousands of the tiny creatures with booze, a discovery that could boost the fight against alcoholism.

The experiment was conducted by University of California, San Francisco researchers and was to be published Friday in the science journal Cell.

Because it is believed that alcohol affects all animals similarly, humans, like worms, may also possess a single gene responsible for drunkenness.

"Our end goal is to find a way to cure alcoholism and drug abuse," Dr. Steven McIntire said. "We hope to develop effective therapeutics to improve the ability of people to stop drinking."


posted by Frodgie at 6:17 AM

 

Former dictator 'caught like rat, didn't fight back'

BAGHDAD — U.S. authorities yesterday announced the capture of a pinched and wretched-looking Saddam Hussein in a hole in the ground near his hometown of Tikrit, ending an intensive eight-month search for the world's most wanted man.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we got him," said L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator in Iraq, at the opening of a stunning Baghdad news conference. Iraqi journalists led the audience in a spontaneous burst of cheers and applause, which was soon followed by shouts, tears and celebratory gunfire in the streets outside.
The capture ended one of the biggest manhunts in history after dozens of false leads and heartened a U.S.-led coalition that hoped the arrest would be a turning point in the struggle to restore stability to Iraq.
Acting on a tip, a U.S. task force seized Saddam at a rural farmhouse in Adwar, 10 miles from his hometown of Tikrit, at 8:26 p.m. Saturday (Iraqi time), said Maj. Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of the 4th Infantry Division, which arrested him.

posted by Frodgie at 6:35 AM

 

Captured!
A turning point in the war.

Saddam Hussein, the Ace of Spades in the Doomsday Deck, was dug out of a spider hole by the spec-ops guys today. Hiding in a farm house near Tikrit, the would-be Saladin surrendered without firing a shot, and was last seen submitting to a mouth swab for DNA testing, pulling on his scraggy beard. It's a homerun for Task Force 21 — the joint spec-ops crew that has been hunting him for months. We should celebrate, but only very, very briefly. The fact that Saddam has been caught changes the situation in Iraq in so many ways, but what happens to him and when it happens will keep many of the changes in limbo.

This is a big win for Mr. Bush and his team. Until Saddam was caught, the war wasn't over. Now the win is almost in Dubya's hands. But not quite. Saddam's capture changes but does not end the insurgency. The ability of the remaining Baathists to terrorize the Iraqi people into cooperation will reduced enormously. As will their ability to be funded out of Saddam's coffers. There must be others who have access to the funds that Saddam has been passing to insurgents, but those with access are now as likely to take the money and run as pass it to the insurgents.


posted by Frodgie at 6:33 AM

 

Saddam's Capture May Aid Bin Laden Search

KABUL, Afghanistan — The capture of Saddam Hussein (search) could make it easier to catch the world's other top fugitive -- Al Qaeda mastermind Usama bin Laden (search) -- and dampen support for the growing insurgency in Afghanistan, allied officials here said Sunday.

Bin Laden is believed to be hiding in the mountainous no man's land between Pakistan and Afghanistan, possibly feeding off the support of deeply conservative tribal villagers who share his hardline vision of Islam.

That support, and the mountainous conditions, have helped him elude one of the largest dragnets in history. The one-eyed Taliban leader Mullah Omar (search) is also on the lam, as is Hekmatyar, a former prime minister who has joined the battle against U.S. troops and the Afghan government.

Saddam's capture "is obviously good news for the people of Iraq who suffered for so long under Saddam's tyrannical regime and it is a warning to all the other outlaws who are at large like bin Laden, Mullah Omar and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who hopefully sooner or later will be brought to justice," Omar Samad, a spokesman for the Afghan Foreign Ministry, told The Associated Press.


posted by Frodgie at 6:31 AM

 

Military Releases Details of Saddam's Capture

ADWAR, Iraq — When darkness fell, the Americans moved into position, 600 of them, from infantrymen to elite special forces. Their target: two houses in this rural village of orange, lemon and palm groves. Someone big was inside, they were told.

But when they struck, they found nothing.

Then they spotted two men running away from a small walled compound in the trees. Inside, in front of a mud-brick hut, the troops pulled back a carpet on the ground, cleared away the dirt and revealed a Styrofoam panel. Underneath, a hole led to a tiny chamber, just big enough for a single person to squeeze into.

At first they didn't recognize the man hiding inside, with his ratty hair, wild beard and a pistol cradled in his lap. But when they asked who he was, the bewildered-looking man gave a shocking answer.
posted by Frodgie at 6:30 AM

 

Saddam Capture Likely to Boost Markets

LONDON — The dollar, U.S. Treasuries (search) and global stock markets are likely to get a boost when trading resumes Monday following the capture of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (search), analysts said Sunday.

Crude oil prices could fall, however, as investors mull the prospect of potentially increased supplies from key oil producer Iraq, and gold prices were not seen straying significantly from their recent trading range.

"I would have thought Saddam's capture would be dollar-helpful and helpful for U.S. assets, but also for equity markets generally," said Michael Derks, chief global strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Some experts warned that support for the dollar would be short-lived, largely because the U.S. government is perceived within markets to be happy with a weaker U.S. currency.

But shares were seen extending their recent hard-fought gains after America's Dow Jones industrial average and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index both posted their highest closes of the year Friday.

With the FTSE Eurotop 300 index of leading European shares also hovering near its 2003 highs, European stock markets could follow suit next week, analysts said.


posted by Frodgie at 6:29 AM

 

New test may better predict breast cancer return

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AP) -- A first-of-its-kind genetic test will soon be available to help women with breast cancer make one of their most crucial decisions: whether to undergo the rigors of chemotherapy.

Genomic Health Inc., a Silicon Valley biotech company, said it has identified nearly two dozen genes that, taken together, can predict with a high degree of accuracy the likelihood that tumors will return in women whose breast cancer was caught at an early stage.

Currently, doctors predict the chances of a relapse in pretty much the same way they have been doing it for almost a century: by looking at the patient's age, the size of the tumor, and the tumor's aggressiveness.

If the chances of recurrence are seen as very low based on the gene test, a woman may opt to not endure the vomiting, hair loss and high cost of chemo. But if the odds of the cancer coming back are high, she may view chemo as the difference between life and death.


posted by Frodgie at 6:28 AM

 

Bush: Saddam 'will face justice he denied to millions'

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush on Sunday said the capture of toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was good news for the Iraqi people.

"Now he will face the justice he denied to millions," Bush said during a five-minute formal television address.

"For the vast majority of Iraqi citizens who wish to live as free men and women, this event brings further assurance that the torture chambers and the secret police are gone forever," Bush said.

"This afternoon I have a message for the Iraqi people: You will not have to fear the rule of Saddam Hussein ever again," Bush said, adding a warning. "The capture of Saddam Hussein does not mean the end of violence in Iraq." (Full transcript)

The president also congratulated the U.S. military for its successful mission.

posted by Frodgie at 6:27 AM

 

Saddam answering questions with rhetoric

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein -- now in the hands of U.S. forces at an undisclosed location after his capture Saturday -- is replying to interrogators' questions with rhetoric, officials said.

Two senior Bush administration officials told CNN's John King that Saddam also has told his captors he did not have weapons of mass destruction before the war.

Time magazine correspondent Brian Bennett in Baghdad told CNN's Aaron Brown the former Iraqi leader asserted that the United States invented the presence of WMD to justify an invasion of his country.

"He also said he didn't play nice with U.N. [weapons] inspectors so that he could protect the privacy of his presidential areas," Bennett said on CNN's "Newsnight," quoting a U.S. official in Iraq who had seen an initial interrogation report.

Both Bennett and CNN's David Ensor said their sources report that Saddam was giving rote answers to the questions, or answering with nationalist and patriotic rhetoric.


posted by Frodgie at 6:25 AM

 

Saddam Captured in Raid Near Tikrit

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Without firing a single shot, U.S. forces captured Saddam Hussein (search) as he hid in the bottom of a hole in a home near Tikrit, officials announced Sunday at a Baghdad press conference.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we got him," L. Paul Bremer (search), the U.S. administrator in Iraq, announced.

"The tyrant is a prisoner," Bremer said.

The former Iraqi dictator was captured Saturday at 8:30 p.m. in the cellar of a farmhouse in the town of Adwar (search), 10 miles from Tikrit, ending one of the most intense manhunts in history. Saddam has been on the run since the fall of Baghdad to U.S. forces on April 9.

Officials showed a videotape of Saddam, the most-wanted figure by the U.S.-led coalition, as he was being inspected following his capture. The 66-year-old had a long black-and-gray beard and unkempt black hair. Journalists were then shown a video of Saddam after he was shaved.

Iraqi journalists in the audience stood, pointed and shouted "Death to Saddam!" and "Down with Saddam!"


posted by Frodgie at 9:26 AM

 

Dancing in streets of Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- When videotape of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was shown at a coalition news conference Sunday, several Iraqi journalists jumped to their feet, waved their arms and shouted "Death to Saddam!" in Arabic.

Iraqi officials hailed the news and promised to bring Saddam before a special war crimes court.

Shortly after word leaked out about the capture, hundreds of Iraqis flooded the streets of Baghdad, firing guns into the air, singing, dancing and throwing candy into the air -- celebrating the apparent capture of the man who had ruled their lives with terror and repression for more than three decades. (Saddam profile)


posted by Frodgie at 9:24 AM