Roadside Bomb Kills Three GIs

BAGHDAD — A roadside bomb leveled a 4th Infantry Division (search) vehicle north of Baghdad Saturday, killing three U.S. soldiers and two Iraqi civil defense personnel.

Two Americans also were wounded in the attack, which occurred when a Bradley Fighting Vehicle struck an explosive device on a road near Taji, about 20 miles north of Baghdad, said Lt. Col. Bill McDonald, a spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division.

The vehicle caught fire, killing the three Americans and two Iraqis who were on joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol, McDonald said.

A U.S. quick reaction force rushed to the area and detained three men fleeing in a white truck, he added. Soldiers found bomb-making material in the vehicle, he added.

The deaths bring to 500 the number of U.S. service members who have died since the Iraq conflict began on March 20.

Also Saturday, the military said a U.S. soldier died from a non-hostile gunshot wound south of Baghdad. The incident occurred Friday evening near Diwaniyah south of Baghdad, the command said in a statement. No further details were released.

The commander of U.S. forces in Iraq has ordered a criminal investigation into reports of abuse of prisoners at a coalition detention center.

A military statement on Friday gave no indication about the scope of the alleged abuse, saying simply that Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez ordered a probe "into reported incidents of detainee abuse at a coalition forces detention facility." The statement did not specify the facility.

"The release of specific information concerning the incidents could hinder the investigation, which is in its early stages," the statement said.


posted by Frodgie at 7:07 AM

 

Democrats Slam Bush Before State of the Union

WASHINGTON — Democratic congressional leaders criticized President Bush's policies on the economy and the war on terrorism on Friday in a "pre-buttal" to Tuesday's State of the Union (search) address, the president's annual opportunity to assess the nation's progress and propose new ideas.

"Sadly, if the past is prologue, the president's speech will be another missed opportunity to offer the leadership worthy of a great nation and an agenda that addresses the urgent priorities of the American people," said California Rep. Nancy Pelosi (search), the House Democratic leader.

"The strength of our union depends on decent, affordable health care for all Americans and a secure retirement, policies that protect us from terrorism without forcing us to give up basic freedoms and a commitment to act as a world leader without alienating old friends and essential allies. Those are Americans' priorities. And they are what we will be listening for on Tuesday," Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (search), D-S.D., told reporters.

Bush is expected to discuss the war on terror and the economic recovery as he outlines the broad themes of his re-election bid on Tuesday. While Democrats call for change, Bush is likely to deliver a stay-the-course message.

"Our nation has faced a number of great challenges in the last few years. And we are continuing to confront those challenges. We are acting decisively to address them," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said on Friday.

posted by Frodgie at 7:05 AM

 

CIA: Saudi Arabia will go nuclear

The U.S. intelligence community has concluded Saudi Arabia intends to acquire nuclear weapons, the intelligence newsletter Geostrategy-Direct reports.

The assessment is contained in a report by the National Intelligence Council, a group under CIA director George Tenet. The council has released a report, called "NIC 2020," that envisions trends in the Middle East and other global regions over the next two decades.

The intelligence community regards Saudi Arabia as being next in line to acquire nuclear weapons, the report said. The council asserted the United States would have more difficulty in handling Saudi Arabia, a leading exporter of crude oil, than it would have with Libya and Syria.

As Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin reported in June, Saudi Arabia is among a growing list of nations that could pose a nuclear threat to the United States. Like Egypt, it has missiles and a large army and is a candidate for an Islamic revolution similar to Iran's 1979 conflict that overnight turned the country from being a stable U.S. ally to a vicious enemy.


posted by Frodgie at 6:58 AM

 

Paltrow won't raise child in U.S.
Oscar-winning actress fears 'weird, over-patriotic atmosphere'....Bye Bye!

American actress Gwyneth Paltrow said she will not raise her child in the United States because her homeland is too dangerous.

The Oscar-winning leading lady, who lives with her husband Chris Martin in London, is pregnant.

"I worry about brining up a child in America," she said, according to the World Entertainment News Network.

"At the moment there's a weird, over-patriotic atmosphere over there, like, 'We're number one and the rest of the world doesn't matter,'" Paltrow said.

She added: "And the guns in school – it's not great."

As the Iraq war got underway last spring, a BBC Radio 1 entertainment column noted Paltrow had been speaking out about the conflict, but was careful not to take her comments too far.

She noted how much she loved her country despite her concerns, the BBC radio column said.

"It's pretty amazing how high the anti-American sentiment is in a lot of ways," Paltrow said of her adopted British home. "They call Tony Blair the vice-president!"

posted by Frodgie at 6:56 AM

 

Bush names judge despite filibuster

President Bush sidestepped the Senate yesterday and made a recess appointment of Judge Charles W. Pickering of Mississippi to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The recess appointment, which needs no Senate approval, will be effective through the life of the present Congress, which expires in January 2005. President Bush made it after nearly a year of filibustering from a group of Democrats who have been opposed to Judge Pickering, whom they have depicted as insensitive to civil rights, and five other nominees offered by Mr. Bush.
"A bipartisan majority of senators supports his confirmation, and if he were given a vote, he would be confirmed," Mr. Bush said. "But a minority of Democratic senators has been using unprecedented obstructionist tactics to prevent him and other qualified individuals from receiving up-or-down votes.
"Their tactics are inconsistent with the Senate's constitutional responsibility and are hurting our judicial system."
Sen. Trent Lott, Mississippi Republican and longtime friend of Judge Pickering, hailed the appointment of the "outstanding jurist" and said his nomination had been "stifled by special interests who have unfairly smeared the reputation of a good man just to pursue their very narrow political agenda."
Senate Democrats scolded Mr. Bush for "circumventing" the process by appointing Judge Pickering without the "advice and consent" of the Senate as required by the Constitution.

posted by Frodgie at 6:54 AM

 

Popeye the Sailor turns 75

CHESTER, Illinois (AP) -- Before Popeye the Sailor, Olive Oyl and Wimpy were the stars of a beloved comic strip, they walked the streets of this little town where their creator grew up.

Popeye's real-life alter ego, according to locals, was Frank Fiegel, a one-eyed, pipe-smoking man with a penchant for fistfights. Dora Paskel was unusually tall and thin and wore a bun at the nape of her neck. And theater owner J. William Schuchert so loved hamburgers that he would send his employees out between performances to buy them.

Popeye made his debut in the funny pages 75 years ago, walking onto Elzie Segar's "Thimble Theatre" comic strip on January 17, 1929. The colorful locals from Segar's hometown had evolved into a pipe-tooting, spinach-chomping hero, the "goil" he was always rushing to save from danger, and a man with a paunch to prove his passion for burgers.

In honor of the 75th anniversary, New York's Empire State Building will shine its lights spinach-green this weekend. A 3-D animated movie will air before Christmas on Fox. And Chester, population 5,200, will hold its annual picnic for Popeye fans after Labor Day.

All for a character who humbly declares, "I yam what I yam," and who got his start when Segar cast his eyes around his hometown about 60 miles from St. Louis.

Locals say they don't know if Segar every acknowledged his inspiration, but they attribute that to his death nine years after Popeye's debut. Around town, it just seems obvious that Popeye, Wimpy and Olive Oyl got their start in Chester -- especially when you look at pictures of Fiegel's jutting chin, wiry frame and ever-present pipe.


posted by Frodgie at 6:52 AM

 

U.S. Joins Iraqis to Seek U.N. Role in Interim Rule

ASHINGTON, Jan. 15 — The Bush administration, trying to rescue its troubled plan to restore sovereignty to Iraq, is joining Iraqi leaders to press the United Nations to play a role in choosing an interim government in Baghdad, administration officials said Thursday.

L. Paul Bremer III, the American administrator in Baghdad, and an Iraqi delegation led by Adnan Pachachi, the current chairman of the Iraqi Governing Council, will make an urgent appeal on Monday for greater United Nations involvement, the officials said.

In Iraq on Thursday, tens of thousands of demonstrators put pressure on the United States to change its plans, marching in Basra to support calls by Iraq's leading Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, for direct elections.

The new move involved yet another change in strategy for an administration under pressure from shifting events in Iraq. From the start of planning the war to oust Saddam Hussein, the administration has had an ambivalent attitude toward the United Nations.

As it begins to reach out for help, and as European nations indicate that they may provide some, the administration is also considering reversing itself and allowing businesses in countries that opposed the war, including France, Germany and Russia, to bid on contracts to rebuild Iraq, officials said.

In recent months, the administration has said it wanted the United Nations to take part in building Iraqi democracy after the transition to self-rule. But the administration's intention was disrupted when Ayatollah Sistani criticized as undemocratic the American plan for caucuses to select an interim government.


posted by Frodgie at 3:47 AM

 

Mexamerica, here we come

Have Americans, one wonders, fully reflected on what the Bush amnesty portends for the country their children will grow up in?

Consider what Bush is saying with this amnesty for 8 million to 12 million illegal aliens and his "guest workers" program to allow employers to go overseas and hire people anywhere in the world for jobs Americans will not, or cannot take at the wages offered.

He is saying: I cannot defend our border. I will not enforce the laws. I will not send illegal aliens back. And as I cannot stop this invasion of the United States, I intend to legalize it.

Bush is not only rewarding millions of law-breakers and gate-crashers, he is erasing the border with Mexico. Mexamerica is our future. The United States is going to become a giant Brazil. Bush is saying there is no way to stop it – therefore, we must embrace it.

Ethnically and racially, this means an America that is no longer a First World country. Third World people of color will be the majority in two decades. Americans whose forefathers came from Europe, 90 percent of the population in 1960, will be a shrinking minority by 2040. For not only are the birth rates of white Americans lower than those of immigrants, the new immigrants will be from the Third World.

Economically, Bush is throwing American workers – white, black, Asian, Hispanic – into a Darwinian survival-of-the-fittest struggle for jobs with foreigners willing to do sweat-shop labor for wages that cannot sustain an American family.


posted by Frodgie at 3:47 AM

 

Bush Honors King, Draws Protests / Ridiculous?

WASHINGTON — President Bush praised the power of religion at a black church in New Orleans Thursday morning and later laid a wreath at the crypt of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta, where he was greeted by angry protesters.

"When I heard Bush was coming here I couldn't believe it. I was outraged and disgusted, and I just think it's a photo op. It's so transparent," said Kathy Nicholas, a flight attendant from Atlanta, who was among hundreds of local supporters protesting Bush before his appearance at the tomb of the civil rights leader.

King would have been 75 on Thursday. Before Bush's arrival at the afternoon ceremony, protesters pushed past Secret Service barricades and chanted, "In 2004, Bush no more."

Up to 800 people, many of them anti-war protesters and environmental advocates, marched in circles near the tomb. Some protesters beat drums while others held signs that displayed King's image and read "War is not the answer." No arrests were immediately reported.

Bush's visit to honor King and meet with his widow, Coretta Scott King, was not meant as an opportunity for the president to discuss the merits of war. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the president's visit was a way to pay tribute to "Dr. King's legacy, his vision and his lifetime of service."
posted by Frodgie at 3:43 AM

 

Israel to Resume Targeted Killings

JERUSALEM — Israel (search) is expected to resume targeted killings of senior Hamas (search) militants, a security official said, after a Palestinian homicide (search) attacker blew herself up at a Gaza (search) crossing, killing four Israelis.

Top army commanders met at the Defense Ministry on Thursday to consider a response, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Thousands marched through Gaza City during Thursday's funeral of the first female Hamas homicide bomber, Reem Raiyshi, 22, a mother of two small children, who was responsible for Wednesday's attack. Israel, meanwhile, sealed the Gaza Strip to review security at border crossings.

posted by Frodgie at 3:41 AM

 

Braun backs Dean in tight Iowa race

CARROLL, Iowa (CNN) -- Four days before the Iowa caucuses, the first Democratic presidential contest appeared to tighten Thursday and the field of candidates shrank to eight.

Former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun dropped out of the Democratic presidential race, throwing her support behind former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.

"I am here today to thank those Iowans who were prepared to stand for me in Monday's caucuses and ask that you stand instead for Howard Dean," Braun said Thursday.

She told supporters that she hopes they "will stand for him with the conviction and courage with which you would have stood for me."

Dean, leading in national surveys, and U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, who also recently endorsed the front-runner, joined Braun in her announcement.

Dean thanked Braun for her backing and encouraged supporters to turn out for Monday's caucuses, which he said were the first step toward wresting the White House from President Bush.


posted by Frodgie at 3:38 AM

 

'Extremely dangerous' cold grips Northeast...I have no heat!

BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) -- The northeastern United States faced more bitter cold and high winds Thursday, with forecasters warning of "extremely dangerous" wind chills as low as 45 degrees below zero in eastern Massachusetts.

In Vermont, Gov. James Douglas appeared live on the state's largest television network to urge New England residents to conserve energy and help prevent rolling blackouts, which may be needed in an extreme circumstance.

Douglas said ISO New England, the company responsible for maintaining the region's power grid, is preparing to shut off power to some customers on Friday, if necessary, in order to keep the grid working.

The weather has created high demand for electricity and as a result some power generating plants ran out of natural gas Thursday and increased the burden on other plants, according to ISO New England.

Steve Costello, a spokesman for the Central Vermont Public Service Corp., said if the rolling blackouts are needed it would be a first for the region.


posted by Frodgie at 3:37 AM

 

Conservative groups break with Republican leadership

National leaders of six conservative organizations yesterday broke with the Republican majorities in the House and Senate, accusing them of spending like "drunken sailors," and had some strong words for President Bush as well.
"The Republican Congress is spending at twice the rate as under Bill Clinton, and President Bush has yet to issue a single veto," Paul M. Weyrich, national chairman of Coalitions for America, said at a news briefing with the other five leaders. "I complained about profligate spending during the Clinton years but never thought I'd have to do so with a Republican in the White House and Republicans controlling the Congress."
Warning of adverse consequences in the November elections, the leaders said the Senate must reject the latest House-passed omnibus spending bill or Mr. Bush should veto the measure.
"The whole purpose of having a Republican president is to lead the Republican Congress," said Paul Beckner, president of Citizens for a Sound Economy, whose co-chairman is former House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas. "The Constitution gives the president the power to veto legislation, and if Congress won't act in a fiscally responsible way, the president has to step in — but he hasn't done that."

posted by Frodgie at 3:35 AM

 

Arabs and the fence

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia's threat to push for a unitary state with Israel drew a severe and well-deserved rebuke last week from Secretary of State Colin Powell. Mr. Qureia warned that he would abandon the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict envisioned in President Bush's road map for Middle East peace if Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon refuses to halt construction of a security barrier in the West Bank.
Mr. Qureia denounced the barrier, calling it an "apartheid" measure that would "put the Palestinians in cantons." Unless Mr. Sharon stops building the barrier (which Israel says is necessary to prevent suicide bombers and other terrorists from targeting its population), Palestinians "will go for a one-state solution," Mr. Qureia declared. He suggested that Palestinians have no alternative given Israel's insistence on destroying their rights.
Within the Bush administration, few senior officials have proven to be as sympathetic to the Palestinians as Mr. Powell. In recent months, for example, the State Department has been very forceful in leaning on Israel to change the route of the barrier to minimize the amount of disruption it would cause to Palestinian civilians. That's why his blunt response to Mr. Qureia's remarks was so striking.

posted by Frodgie at 3:34 AM

 

U.N. sides with U.S. on voting in Iraq

NEW YORK — U.N. officials said yesterday that direct elections could not be organized in Iraq before the July deadline, placing the international body on the side of the United States in a looming confrontation with Iraq's Shi'ite community led by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani.
An estimated 20,000 Shi'ites marched through Basra yesterday, chanting "No, no to America" and demanding direct elections instead of the caucus system for choosing a transitional government determined by the Iraqi Governing Council and approved by the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority.
That agreement made no mention of a U.N. role in the transitional process, although several Security Council resolutions have requested U.N. participation where possible.
Ayatollah al-Sistani, a highly influential cleric, has demanded direct elections before sovereignty is turned over to Iraqis at the end of June, which would likely favor Iraq's Shi'ite majority. He has also suggested that U.N. oversight could encourage transparency and accountability.
He is not alone.
Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish Governing Council member, told Reuters in Iraq yesterday that if the handover of power is carried out solely under the Americans, "it will be deficient because it will have been carried out under occupation."

posted by Frodgie at 3:33 AM

 

For all the people against the war...Click on the picture. This is what you are standing up for!!

posted by Frodgie at 9:19 AM

 

U.S. eyes U.N.'s return to Iraq...It's nice of them to help now.

NEW YORK — U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte welcomed signs that the United Nations may return to Iraq, but cautioned yesterday that a meeting of key players next week might not produce a decision on a new U.N. role in the country.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan invited officials from the Iraqi Governing Council and the U.S.-led coalition to a meeting Monday to try to pin down what they want the United Nations to do as Iraq moves beyond U.S. occupation.
The United States has been pressing for the return of U.N. international staff to support the coalition's plan to transfer power to a provisional Iraqi government by July 1. Mr. Annan ordered all international staff to leave Iraq in late October after two bombings at U.N. headquarters and a spate of attacks on humanitarian targets.
Mr. Negroponte wouldn't predict the outcome of Monday's meeting or comment on U.S. expectations.
"I look at this meeting on Monday as a step forward toward the re-engagement of the United Nations in Iraq, and by having the dialogue at such a high level — that augurs well for the prospects of moving this issue forward," he said.
Mr. Negroponte cautioned that "Monday is not necessarily in any way a decision-making meeting. But it will be, I think, an opportunity for a thorough review of the bidding by some of the principal actors involved."

posted by Frodgie at 6:14 AM

 

Bush's Gorbachevism

Some years ago Owen Harries, the founding editor of The National Interest magazine, coined a term, "Gorbachevism," to describe a new sort of politics. Gorbachevism was a politics that "substituted daring for thought" and that accordingly consisted of "a series of leaps into the unknown." Mikhail Gorbachev was, of course, the first Gorbachevite. His bold attempts to reform the Soviet Union brought about its total collapse — a standard of achievement that is hard to match. But George W. Bush is bidding to match it with his proposed reforms of immigration law.

These reforms — an open-ended "guest-worker" program, an amnesty for illegal aliens, and an increase in the number of "green card" slots for alien permanent residents — are far more bold, radical, and ambitious than even his critics like me had forecast. Not to put too fine a point on it, Mr. Bush is proposing to abolish the U.S. labor market by integrating it with the world labor market — including the third-world labor market.

That is the plain meaning of a guest-worker program that, in the president's own words, will "match willing worker with willing employer." Under this prescription hundreds of millions of workers from Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East would have the legal right to emigrate to the U.S. as "temporary" workers if American employers wished to hire them

posted by Frodgie at 6:05 AM

 

Sources: Terrorists Planning Iraq Attack

BRIT HUME, HOST: The administration is not saying anything about this, and it is not even clear officials know anything about it. But some sources in Iraq are talking about a development that could prove an important turn in the search for weapons of mass destruction. For more on this we turn to the man who so often seems to know things before everybody else.

Fox News foreign affairs analyst Mansoor Ijaz, who joins us now from Berlin.

Mansoor, what's up?

MANSOOR IJAZ, FOX NEWS FOREIGN POLICY ANALYST: Well, Brit, what I have learned in the last 24 hours is that about three days ago in the northern part of Iraq, a convoy of trucks and jeeps and cars was brought across from Iran where some of the Kurdish Peshmergah -- these are these Kurdish rebels that are sort of like Mujahideen, if I may put it that way, from the old Afghan War.

They intercepted one of those trucks that were carrying a large warhead that had extremely sophisticated plastic -- C- 4 plastic explosives in it. And when the driver of that truck was put under interrogation, he then admitted that as many -- there were a total of 30 warheads that apparently were scheduled to come across.

One of them got caught, and 29 made it across somehow or the other. Of those 29, we are told now that somewhere between six and 12 of them may have, in fact, been laden with chemical explosives that would be then attached to a rocket of some sort inside Iraq that's already there in a separate convoy. And that those warheads would then be exploded over, for example, an encampment near the Coalition Provisional Authority (search) or something like that.

Now, what alarmed me about this and the reason that I felt it was necessary to get this out as soon as possible, is because I have now heard three times in the last week, from separate sources that I have been talking to that something big is being planned for Baghdad. In which the idea that is being put forward is to kill as many as 3,000 to 5,000 people at one shot; something that would be similar to a World Trade Center (search) type of attack. In that part of the world, the only way you could get that done is if you launched a massive chemical or biological attack.

posted by Frodgie at 6:04 AM

 

Groups, States Target Distracted Drivers...this should be enforced in high population areas

WASHINGTON — Hand-held cell phone use while driving will be illegal in the nation's capital starting on July 1 and a ban is soon to be signed into law in New Jersey.

The Washington, D.C., city council last week followed New York state's 2001 lead and passed a ban on the increasingly common practice. On Monday, New Jersey's legislature gave final approval to a bill prohibiting drivers from using hand-held cell phones. Gov. James E. McGreevey is expected to sign it.

The new prohibition is part of the increasing attention being paid to the dangers of cell phone use while driving as well as other distractions such as putting on makeup, eating and changing CDs.

"Our research indicates pretty strongly that there is a whole array of distracted driving things. We believe that cell phones are just the proverbial tip of the distracted-driving iceberg," said Lon Anderson, director of public relations and governmental research for the American Automobile Association (search).

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (search) estimates that driver distraction is a contributing cause of 20 to 30 percent of all motor vehicle crashes, amounting to 1.2 million accidents a year.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (search), 140 million Americans use mobile phones. Among them, 50 to 73 percent admit to using their phones while driving.

In 2003, 42 states considered 116 bills related to cell phone use while driving or other distracted driving behaviors. Seventeen states have laws limiting cell phone use on the road.

Despite the rising awareness about this issue, some experts warn that the few studies completed on cell phone use and distracted driving have not conclusively exposed potential dangers.


posted by Frodgie at 6:03 AM

 

Why are we doing this?

PASADENA, Calif. — The Spirit rover (search) drove onto the surface of Mars (search) for the first time early Thursday, rolling off of its lander that touched down on the Red Planet (search) nearly two weeks ago.

Engineers and scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory cheered loudly after receiving confirmation at 5 a.m. EST that the maneuver was a success.

Black-and-white pictures beamed from Spirit showed its two rear wheels on the martian soil, with its lander behind it. Two parallel tracks led away from the lander.

"This is a big relief. We are on Mars. Spirit has landed," said Rob Manning, manager of the entry, descent and landing portion of the mission. "Our wheels are finally dirty."

NASA said Spirit would take less than two minutes to travel the 10 feet from the unfolded petals of its lander onto Mars. Engineers said the move likely would be the riskiest of Spirit's entire three-month mission.

Engineers delayed the move for three days to give Spirit time to reposition itself atop its lander, where it had sat since arriving. Spirit had to turn in place 115 degrees to line up with one of the exit ramps that ring the lander.

Originally, Spirit was to roll straight off the lander on its ninth day on Mars. But the now-deflated air bags that cushioned the rover's Jan. 3 landing blocked that way, forcing Spirit to perform a slow pirouette, turning clockwise in three separate moves.

Mission plans called for Spirit to spend several days parked beside its lander after rolling off, giving it time to find its bearings and perform some preliminary analysis of the soil and rocks around it.


posted by Frodgie at 6:00 AM

 

New study shatters Internet 'geek' image

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- The typical Internet user -- far from being a geek -- shuns television and actively socializes with friends, a study on surfing habits said on Wednesday.

The findings of the first World Internet Project report present an image of the average Netizen that contrasts with the stereotype of the loner "geek" who spends hours of his free time on the Internet and rarely engages with the real world.

Instead, the typical Internet user is an avid reader of books and spends more time engaged in social activities than the non-user, it says. And, television viewing is down among some Internet users by as much as five hours per week compared with Net abstainers, the study added.

"Use of the Internet is reducing television viewing around the world while having little impact on positive aspects of social life," said Jeffrey Cole, director of the UCLA Center for Communication Policy, the California university that organized the project.

"Most Internet users generally trust the information they find online," he wrote via e-mail.


posted by Frodgie at 5:58 AM

 

Backers say Bush plan goes beyond immigration

President Bush's political strategists, taking note of the unpopularity of his immigration initiative as reflected in public-opinion polls, expressed confidence yesterday that the proposal will gain support as it is recast as an economic and homeland security issue.
"Once people have had a chance to educate themselves about the proposal and what it does, support for it will grow," said Christine Iverson, spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee.
But for now, most Americans oppose the plan, which would allow millions of illegal aliens to remain in the United States as guest workers if they have jobs. The immigrants eventually could apply for permanent legal residence.
According to a Gallup poll, 55 percent of Americans disapprove of the proposal. A poll by ABC News found that 52 percent of the country opposes allowing illegal immigrants from Mexico "to live and work legally in the United States."
A Bush campaign official said the administration's own internal polling shows that "a majority of Republicans do support the president's immigration policy. Does that mean everybody does? No. And ultimately this was a difficult decision."

posted by Frodgie at 5:55 AM

 

Bad Warnings
We need a better system.

Caution: While you're reading these words, a terrorist strike could occur in the United States.

But whether, when or where al Qaeda strikes again won't depend on whether our government has issued the proper color-coded warning. And it won't change the fact that the advisory system created after 9/11 to warn us of future attacks badly needs revision.

The system relies on a series of color codes to designate various levels of national preparedness. America just spent its first "orange" Christmas — the second-highest danger level. It was the fifth such alert in two years.

Recent warnings of possible impending terrorist attacks are credible, and additional security measures are justified. But the current advisory system ratchets up concern throughout the nation regardless of whether the nature of the risk warrants it, while doing little or nothing to make us safer. As Dan Goure, a national-security specialist with the Arlington, Va.-based Lexington Institute, has concluded, "We have a better system for rating movies."

Worse, this imperfect process is prohibitively expensive. Every time the country goes on orange alert, America spends an estimated $1 billion a week for increased security. Unfortunately, we don't even know if these precautions prevent or deter attacks. Because we do know we're in a war that may go on for decades, we must save scarce security dollars for measures that truly make us safer.


posted by Frodgie at 5:53 AM

 

Troops Close In on Al-Douri

SAMARRA, Iraq — Four relatives of the most-wanted member of Saddam Hussein's (search) former regime were arrested during a raid by U.S. soldiers on Wednesday.

The military said two of those detained were nephews of former Iraqi Vice President Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri (search), and were suspected in keeping the former official in hiding. The former right-hand man of Hussein has a $10 million bounty on his head.

Hours later, a car bomb exploded in front of a police station in the central Iraqi city of Baqouba (search), killing at least three people, including the driver, and injuring nearly 30 others, officials said. The U.S. military said five people were killed.

Al-Douri has a $10 million bounty on his head and is suspected to have been orchestrating insurgent attacks on U.S.-led coalition forces. The former Revolutionary Command Council vice chairman is No. 6 on the U.S. list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis.

The five ahead of him have either been captured or killed.

"One of these days his head will rise up above the water, and we will be able to capture him as well," Lt. Col. David J. Poirier of Chicago told an Associated Press reporter who observed the raid.

Samarra and Baqouba are part of the so-called "Sunni triangle," home to die-hard Saddam loyalists. The triangle includes Habbaniyah, where an Army Apache attack helicopter was brought down Tuesday, apparently by enemy fire. Both crew members were unhurt. It was the third aircraft lost this month.


posted by Frodgie at 6:25 AM

 

Conservatives Split Over Marriage Amendment

WASHINGTON — With a tough campaign season ahead and division among Republican lawmakers over strategy, many are questioning whether a constitutional amendment (search) defining marriage has a chance of passing the U.S. Congress this legislative session.

Despite polls showing a majority of Americans oppose granting legal rights to same-sex unions and gay marriages (search), skepticism — even among some social conservatives — remains whether an amendment could get the necessary two-thirds support in both the House and Senate to pass this year.

"It seems really evident to me that in an election year, there is no conceivable way that [a constitutional amendment] could get a two-thirds vote in either chamber," said Michael Schwartz, vice president of government relations for Concerned Women of America (search), which has launched a staunch campaign against gay marriage and civil union laws.

"On the one hand, the far right has issued a threat saying that they want this to be the big issue in the upcoming election,” said Cheryl Jacques, executive director of the pro-gay Human Rights Coalition (search). “But if the Republicans were really united and ready for this to be the major '04 issue, it would be clear by now."

Schwartz said that moderate members on either side of the aisle who could be convinced to support an amendment might be disinclined to cast such a controversial vote before the November election.

But conservative groups in favor of the amendment warn against underestimating the intensity of their lobby on Capitol Hill, and suggest voters will be taking their beliefs with them to the voting booth in the 2004 elections.

"I don't believe that we will not be able to pass a constitutional amendment this year," said Louisiana state Rep. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council (search).

"I am really positive,” he said, adding, “a lot of this depends on the administration and the president, and how willing he is to get behind and support an amendment."

posted by Frodgie at 6:23 AM

 

O'Neill Denies Taking Classified Papers

WASHINGTON — Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill (search) denied on Tuesday that classified documents were used in a new tell-all book about his two years in the administration while Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld challenged his assertion that Bush was planning from the outset to oust Saddam Hussein.

Reacting to an announcement by the Treasury Department that it was launching an inspector general's investigation into how an agency document stamped "secret" wound up being used in his interview Sunday night on the CBS program "60" minutes, O'Neill said, "The truth is, I didn't take any documents at all."

Interviewed on NBC's "Today" show Tuesday, O'Neill said he had asked the Treasury Department's chief legal counsel "to have the documents that are OK for me to have" for use in the book entitled, "The Price of Loyalty."

Meanwhile, Rumsfeld told reporters at the Pentagon that the depiction in the book of a President Bush who was detached from policymaking and governed in a White House driven by politics was "night and day" different from his experience.

"I certainly don't see any validity to his criticism of the president at all," Rumsfeld said. "I really feel fortunate to be working with a man of his character and ability."

Rumsfeld confirmed that he had called O'Neill when he heard he was participating in a book that might be critical of the administration and had tried to convince his longtime friend not to go through with the project. Rumsfeld said he was told by O'Neill that the book would be about "policy and substance."
posted by Frodgie at 6:22 AM

 

Dean, Gephardt spar on Iraq

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) -- With less than a week until the Iowa caucuses, the two Democratic candidates running neck-and-neck for first place in the state -- Howard Dean and Dick Gephardt -- continued to spar Tuesday over the issue of the Iraq war.

In the District of Columbia, meanwhile, voters went to the polls in a primary most of the major candidates bypassed.

Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said he believes candidates who don't win in Iowa, New Hampshire or any of the seven primary contests on February 3 should consider dropping out of the race.

"I think on the morning of February 4, if you're a Democratic candidate for president and you haven't won one of those nine contests, I would assume at that point you really need to assess your candidacy," McAuliffe told CNN.

McAuliffe said that after the first nine contests "the whole country has been in play, all the different groups of the Democratic Party have been involved in this process, and we need to narrow this down."

Nine Democrats are in the race for the Democratic nomination. As Monday's contest in Iowa has gotten closer, Dean has come under increasing fire from other candidates in the Democratic field. Monday he blasted back, saying he would no longer be a "pin cushion" for his rivals.

In an interview Tuesday with CNN's "American Morning," Sen. Tom Harkin, Iowa's senior Democratic officeholder, urged candidates to ramp back their criticism of the former Vermont governor.

posted by Frodgie at 6:20 AM

 

Americans like Bush's qualities, poll says

(CNN) -- Two-thirds of Americans think President Bush has the right personal qualities for the presidency, yet nearly half or more think the Democratic Party would do a better job on major domestic issues, according to a new poll.

A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released Tuesday interviewed 1,003 adult Americans last weekend on Bush and national issues ranging from the environment to security.

The poll indicated that Bush's favorable standing with most Americans on his personal qualities is a main reason for his job approval rating of 59 percent in the most recent CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll and similar high marks in other polls.

The poll also showed that 55 percent of those interviewed agree with Bush on the issues that matter to them.

"With previous polls showing that voters are paying more attention to personal qualities than issues right now, it looks as if Bush's strength is who he is, more than what he stands for," CNN pollster Keating Holland said.


posted by Frodgie at 6:19 AM

 

The Muzzling of Howard Dean
Advisers rein in the Democratic frontrunner.

Howard Dean walks swiftly down a hallway in New Hampshire looking like he is late for an unpleasant dental appointment. Without breaking his stride, he performs gaffe surgery. Reporters ask him if he regrets past comments about the absurdity of the Iowa caucuses. He deftly creates the impression that the Iowa panderfest is now a noble cause.

Howard Dean's campaign had, up until now, that freewheeling, everybody-get-together, try-to-love-one-another-right-now spirit. The blogosphere loved the candidate who seemed like a real person, speaking his own mind. He happened to be right about the Iowa caucuses during his interview with the Canadian public television show The Editors in 2000. But, of course, even an outside-the-Beltway politician can't admit this fact when he's trying to lure caucus-goers into his corner on a frigid January night.

Veto power is the ultimate presidential tool. Joe Trippi and Dean's "senior advisers" now seem to have achieved veto power over Howard Dean, as the candidate admitted when he stopped himself from answering a press question about taxes last week. This means that Dean's campaign has entered a new phase. His campaign manager can limit Dean's commentary at will. The cone of silence, or at least scripted talking points, is descending.

Dean is no longer faring well in the media primary, where journalists can make or break a candidate. Now, real primary voters are finally paying attention and his daily message matters more than ever.


posted by Frodgie at 6:17 AM

 

Dean victorious in D.C. primary

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean won the District's nonbinding Democratic presidential primary last night in an election that was supposed to draw attention to the city but was marked by average turnout for a presidential primary.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, seen as Mr. Dean's biggest challenge, conceded the contest just before 11 p.m. He told supporters at his postelection party at Republic Gardens restaurant on U Street that Mr. Dean had too much institutional strength.
"We knew he had the [D.C.] Council, and we knew he had the unions," Mr. Sharpton said, even as he proclaimed that his campaign had made good strides. "We were able to go up 30 points in the polls in two months."
With 124 of 142 precincts reporting, Mr. Dean had 42 percent of the vote and Mr. Sharpton had 35 percent. Among the other major candidates on the ballot, former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois had 12 percent and Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio garnered 8 percent.
"For someone who never held political office to get a third of the vote in the nation's capital is a huge story," Mr. Sharpton said.
Donald S. Beyer Jr., national treasurer of the Dean campaign, said his candidate was "very pleased to win the D.C. primary."

posted by Frodgie at 6:16 AM

 

Real message of the Bush amnesty

If George Bush's amnesty for between 8 million and 14 million illegal aliens is enacted, you can kiss the old America goodbye.

Consider what the president is saying with his amnesty. He is telling us that he cannot or will not do his constitutional duty to defend the states from invasion. He is saying he simply cannot or will not protect our borders or enforce our immigration laws. He is saying he will no longer send illegal aliens back.

Not long ago, this would have produced calls for impeachment and cries that, "If Bush won't enforce our laws, let's elect a president who will."

By offering amnesty and residency to millions who broke in line, broke our laws and broke into our country, Bush is not only rewarding wholesale criminality, he proposes to legalize it.

His amnesty will send this message to the world: The candy store is open, and the Americans cannot protect it. Now is the time to bust in.


posted by Frodgie at 6:05 AM

 

U.S. Apache Helicopter Crashes in Iraq

BAGHDAD — A U.S. Apache helicopter (search) crashed near Habbaniyah (search) on Tuesday, Fox News has confirmed, and the U.S. military says it was likely downed by hostile fire.

The crew aboard the aircraft survived the crash, Fox News learned, but there was no immediate word on any injuries.

The area, about 50 miles west of Baghdad (search), has a history of guerrilla attacks on coalition forces.

Also on Tuesday, hundreds of people demonstrated to protest the arrest of a young woman in Fallujah (search), the third Iraqi city to explode in public anger against the U.S.-led occupation in as many days.

In the capital Baghdad, mortar shells exploded late Monday, shattering windows and causing minor damage to homes in the east of the city. At least two projectiles exploded near center city hotels favored by Westerners but caused no casualties.

Relatives said a 17-year-old newlywed, who was married six days ago, was alone at home Monday when she was taken away by U.S. troops and kept in custody for five hours before being freed unharmed.

The arrest inflamed passions in Fallujah, a stridently anti-American city in a deeply religious country where women's dignity is equated with family honor.

Hundreds of people poured into the streets of Fallujah on Monday night after hearing the news and continued demonstrating Tuesday, shouting "Bush, you coward!" and "Release our woman!" They dispersed without incident by noon.

The U.S. Army did not immediately confirm the arrest or her release.


posted by Frodgie at 5:58 AM

 

Eh....One or the other

(CNN) -- Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean still leads retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to a recent national poll, and two-thirds of Democrats say either man would be good for the party as the nominee.

A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll interviewed 1,003 adult Americans last weekend, including 410 registered voters who described themselves as Democrats, to gather opinions on the presidential candidates and the issues they face.

Dean was the favorite of 26 percent of Democrats polled, and Clark was 6 percentage points behind.

Dean's figure represents a pickup of 2 percentage points since the previous poll January 2-5; Clark's numbers stayed the same.

Their nearest rivals were Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, each with 9 percent, and Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, with 7 percent.

The poll had an overall margin of error of plus-or-minus 5 percentage points.


posted by Frodgie at 5:55 AM

 

Educating Dr. Dean
When Al Sharpton attacks, Dean is afraid to fight back.

Throughout the campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, former Vermont governor Howard Dean has displayed a tendency to wax self-righteous on the issue of race. He has claimed, falsely, that he is the only candidate to bring up the subject before white audiences. He has upbraided southerners for — in Dean's estimation — deciding elections on "race, guns, God, and gays." And he has famously proclaimed that "dealing with race is about educating white folks."

But on Sunday night, at the minority-oriented debate sponsored by the Iowa Brown and Black Presidential Forum, Dean himself came in for a little educating.

His teacher was the Rev. Al Sharpton, who came to Iowa ready to scold Dean for not showing up last Friday at a candidates' debate for the Washington, D.C. primary. Unlike the Iowa gathering, that event was, in fact, a non-debate, with just three of the Democratic candidates — Sharpton, Carol Moseley Braun, and Dennis Kucinich — bothering to show up. Nevertheless, Dean's absence gave Sharpton an opening.

"I have to ask you this, Governor Dean, because I was disappointed you weren't in Washington the other day," Sharpton began. "You keep talking about talking about race. In the state of Vermont — where you were governor '97, '99, 2001 — not one black or brown held a senior policy position, not one. You yourself said we must do something about it. Nothing was done. Can you explain — since now you want to convene everyone and talk about race, it seems as though you have discovered blacks and browns during this campaign."
posted by Frodgie at 5:53 AM

 

The Other Doctor in Dean's House Shuns Politics

BURLINGTON, Vt., Jan. 12 — Eddie Kasperowicz, 74 and retired from the Seabrook, N.H., auto plant that Howard Dean was touring the other day, had a question unrelated to his union's hot-button issues of trade and health care. "When," he wondered, "will America have a chance to meet your bride?"

No time soon, Dr. Dean told him, "unless you get sick in Shelburne, Vt., in which case she'll probably see you."

In 23 years of marriage, 18 of which Dr. Dean has spent running for, or serving in, office, his wife, Judith Steinberg Dean, has developed an unusual role for the political spouse: invisible.

During Dr. Dean's two years of relentless campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination, Dr. Steinberg has stood by her husband's side at a political event exactly once, at his official announcement speech here in June. A country doctor who still makes the occasional house call and attends PTA meetings, Dr. Steinberg has given about a dozen interviews — none televised — two fund-raising letters and a cameo on a half-hour advertisement.
posted by Frodgie at 5:51 AM

 

Fox backs Bush's alien proposal

MONTERREY, Mexico — Mexican President Vicente Fox yesterday urged the U.S. Congress to pass legislation to ensure jobs to Mexicans in America, saying he supports President Bush's proposal to give millions of illegal immigrants in the United States legal status.
"We totally agree and are aware that the proposal should be broadly discussed [and] analyzed, particularly in the Congress of the United States," Mr. Fox said during a joint press conference on the first day of the Special Summit of the Americas.
Mr. Fox said he hoped that the idea would "mature, and it should definitely be approved," but did not expound on his recent call for the dissolution of borders from the Arctic Circle to the Rio Grande, so people in North America can work and live in the country of their choosing.
On "Fox News Sunday," Mr. Fox said: "On the long term, this North American bloc can be the leading bloc on the world and be the most competitive bloc on the world by working together and, through that, be able to keep increasing the quality and the level of life of our citizens."

posted by Frodgie at 5:50 AM

 

Voter Triggers Dean's Much-Talked About Temper

OELWEIN, Iowa (Reuters) - Dale Ungerer, a 66-year-old retiree from Hawkeye, Iowa, succeeded on Sunday where eight Democratic presidential hopefuls have failed -- he made front-runner Howard Dean show a flash of his much-discussed temper.

The former Vermont governor had just finished his standard stump speech blasting President Bush for, among other things, his Iraq policy and his stewardship of the economy. He asked, as is his custom, for "questions, comments or rude remarks in the New England tradition."

Ungerer, wearing a T-shirt bearing the words "Mr Fix It," rose to his feet and condemned what he called the incivility of the campaign and the political press. He suggested Dean and the other Democratic candidates stop "tearing down your neighbor" and cut their "slam, bam and bash Bush" rhetoric.

"Please tone down the garbage, the mean-mouthing of tearing down your neighbor and being so pompous," Ungerer, a registered Republican who voted for Bush in 2000, said to scattered hisses and boos from the overwhelmingly pro-Dean audience at the Oelwein Community Center.

Dean, whose rivals have suggested his impulsiveness, outspokenness and temperament make him less than ready for the White House but have been unable to provoke him in a dozen or more debates and forums, began by calmly replying: "George Bush is not my neighbor."

But when Ungerer stood and tried to interrupt, Dean shouted: "You sit down. You had your say. Now I'm going to have my say."

The crowd cheered and Ungerer sat.


posted by Frodgie at 6:34 AM

 

Bushwhacking Immigration
The president's plan is complicated and political.

Something had to give, and when that is so, democracy is at its most useful. The mess in our immigration laws, never mind recent efforts to untangle it, festers. And if it is so that President Bush was moved to try to do something about it in anticipation of the national election at the end of the year, why should that surprise, let alone dismay us?

We shouldn't, however, allow our general relapse on illegal immigration to blind us to our own acquiescence to the impasse brought on. For those who believe in absolutely free movement of labor (the Wall Street Journal under Robert Bartley conspicuous among them), such a position would never survive a deliberated national plebiscite. Beginning in 1965, we simply surrendered on the subject of Western Hemisphere immigration. The 1965 law effectively eliminated restrictions on immigration from this hemisphere through its family reunification provisions. It can be argued that much the same thing would have happened without that law. In the United States, the average wage is $32,000, ten times the average Mexican wage. Laws attempting to seal the border were in the tradition of King Canute ordering the tide to stop.

posted by Frodgie at 6:30 AM

 

Gas Prices Climb 7 Cents in Three Weeks

CAMARILLO, Calif. — After four weeks of stability or decline, retail gasoline prices (search) surged more than seven cents per gallon in the past three weeks, an industry analyst said Sunday.

The price for all three grades combined was $1.58 on Friday, up 7.1 cents since Dec. 19, according to the Lundberg Survey (search) of 8,000 stations nationwide.

Several factors were responsible, including rising crude oil prices, a weaker U.S. dollar, colder weather that drove up demand for home heating oil and two U.S. gasoline reformulations, said analyst Trilby Lundberg (search).

In the same period, retail diesel prices increased 3.3 cents per gallon, to $1.63. It was the first significant increase since early October and reflected recent demand for heating oil, Lundberg said.

Further price increases were likely, but it was impossible to predict how much they would rise, Lundberg said.

The all-grades retail average price of gasoline was 8 cents higher than it was this time last year, and 2.5 cents below the average price for 2003.


posted by Frodgie at 6:30 AM

 

Dean hammered on race issue

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) -- In their last debate before the January 19 caucuses here -- the first voting of the 2004 campaign -- the eight Democratic presidential contenders who participated offered little new in the way of policy positions, but a few showed a new testiness and crankiness.

The sharpest exchange in the debate, the Iowa Brown & Black Presidential Forum, occurred between the Rev. Al Sharpton and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, when Sharpton accused Dean of not having hired any minorities to fill senior policy positions in his state.

"It seems as though you discovered blacks and browns during this campaign," Sharpton said.

Dean, the front-runner, responded, "I beg to differ with your statistics," and said African-Americans and Latinos did work in state government.

When Sharpton asked whether any of them served in Dean's Cabinet, a defensive Dean said, "We had a senior member of my staff."


posted by Frodgie at 6:27 AM

 

Fox seeks to open U.S. borders

Mexican President Vicente Fox yesterday said he favors open borders across North America, not amnesty for his countrymen illegally residing in the United States.
The alien work program announced last week by President Bush would not encourage aliens to remain in the United States, because they love their home country, the Mexican president told the "Fox News Sunday" program.
"We are not looking for an amnesty [for] Mexico. It's not that we're looking for these Mexicans working productively in the United States to become U.S. citizens. They like tacos, they like their families, they like their community, they like Mexico. Unfortunately, they don't have the opportunities that they would like to have as persons, so that's why they move," Mr. Fox said.

posted by Frodgie at 6:25 AM

 

Chemical Weapons Found in Iraq Mortar Shells

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Danish and Icelandic troops have uncovered a cache of 36 shells buried in the Iraqi desert, and preliminary tests showed they contained a liquid blister agent, the Danish military said.

The 120mm mortar shells are thought to be left over from the eight-year war between Iraq and neighboring Iran, which ended in 1988, U.S. Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt (search) said Saturday.

The shells were found by Danish engineering troops and Icelandic de-miners near Al Quarnah (search), north of the city of Basra where Denmark's 410 troops are based, the Danish Army Operational Command said in a written statement.

The shells were wrapped in plastic but had been damaged, and they appeared to have been buried for at least 10 years, the statement said.

It said British experts did a preliminary test and said the shells contained "blister gas," but did not elaborate.

Before the war, the United States alleged Iraq still had stockpiles of mustard gas, a World War I-era blister agent that is stored in liquid form. The chemical burns skin, eyes and the lungs.

U.S. intelligence officials also claimed Iraq had sarin, cyclosarin (search) and VX, which are extremely deadly nerve agents.

"We're doing some preliminary tests to ensure that if they do contain any kind of blister agent that we can dispose of them properly," Kimmitt said.
posted by Frodgie at 11:34 AM

 

Candidates take aim at Bush, special interests

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (CNN) -- Just days before the January 19 Iowa Caucuses, the first referendum of the 2004 presidential campaign, Democratic candidates were criticizing President Bush, special interests and health-care coverage.

During a dinner speech Saturday in Linn County, Iowa, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina painted himself as a populist who would unify a country that he said was divided in two -- "One for those who have privilege and power -- get absolutely anything they need, anytime they want it -- and then there's one for everybody else."

He called for a single health-care system -- not "one for those who can afford the best health care" and a separate one that provides care "rationed out by insurance companies, drug companies, HMOs, by the government," Edwards said.

And he called for a single tax system, not "one for those who can afford accountants and lawyers" and another for the rest of America.

Edwards decried the fact that 35 million Americans live in poverty, and said their plight "is one of the great moral issues" that he would address as president, by raising the minimum wage.
posted by Frodgie at 11:32 AM

 

O'Neill: Bush planned Iraq invasion before 9/11

This makes perfect sense. The WMD and the Iraqi threat was the same before 9/11 as it was after 9/11. What is the point of this article?
(CNN) -- The Bush administration began planning to use U.S. troops to invade Iraq within days after the former Texas governor entered the White House three years ago, former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill told CBS News' 60 Minutes.

"From the very beginning, there was a conviction that Saddam Hussein was a bad person and that he needed to go," O'Neill told CBS, according to excerpts released Saturday by the network. "For me, the notion of pre-emption, that the U.S. has the unilateral right to do whatever we decide to do, is a really huge leap."

O'Neill, who served nearly two years in Bush's Cabinet, was asked to resign by the White House in December 2002 over differences he had with the president's tax cuts. O'Neill was the main source for "The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O'Neill," by former Wall Street Journal reporter Ron Suskind.

The CBS report is scheduled to be broadcast Sunday night; the book is to be released Tuesday by publisher Simon & Schuster.


posted by Frodgie at 11:23 AM

 

The Same Old Thing
Our Augean stables are 30 years old.

One of the strangest developments of the ongoing presidential campaign has been the creation of a new national mythology: The United States is alienating the world, losing the friendship of the Europeans, needlessly offending the Arabs, and generally embarking on a radically new foreign policy of preemption and hegemony. Would that "unilateralism," Bush's drawl and Christianity, or Halliburton contracts were the cause of our problems — then we could fawn over the U.N., send Jimmy Carter once more around the world, have our president learn to drop his accent, and publicly chastise oil companies, and, presto, be liked! But unfortunately the current tension is far deeper than media strategies and insufficient "consultation" — and in fact goes back at last three decades.

Thirty years ago, during the Yom Kippur War of October 1973, most of the Europeans of the NATO alliance refused over-flight rights to the United States. We had only hours in which to aid Israel from a multifaceted surprise attack and were desperately ferrying tons of supplies to save it from literal extinction. In contrast, many of these same allies allowed the Soviet Union — the supposed common enemy from which thousands of Americans were based in Europe to protect Europeans — to fly over NATO airspace to ensure the Syrians sufficient material to launch and sustain their surprise attack on the Golan.


posted by Frodgie at 11:19 AM

 

North Korea bares nukes

SEOUL — North Korea said yesterday that it showed its "nuclear deterrent" to an unofficial U.S. delegation that visited the disputed Yongbyon nuclear complex, which had been closed to outsiders since the North expelled U.N. inspectors more than a year ago.
A member of the delegation, which included nuclear experts and former government officials, said the five Americans were allowed to see everything they requested, but it was not clear if the "nuclear deterrent" was a bomb. Delegates said they could give no further details until they reported to Washington.
The delegation visited Yongbyon during negotiations to arrange a new round of six-nation talks on ending the standoff over the North's suspected nuclear-weapons program, which Pyongyang says is necessary to defend the country against a U.S. invasion. The first round of talks in August ended without much progress.
"As everybody knows, the United States compelled [North Korea] to build a nuclear deterrent," the official KCNA news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying.

posted by Frodgie at 11:16 AM