Marines plan Fallujah pullback

FALLUJAH, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. Marines said Friday they plan to pull back from Fallujah following a tentative agreement to transfer power in the city from U.S. to Iraqi forces, according to Marine commanders in the city.

It is not clear when the redeployment will happen.

A group of former Iraqi generals on Thursday offered to build an Iraqi security force that would move into Fallujah, allowing the Marines to pull back from the front lines, military officials said.

Such a move could help end a deadly siege in the city, the officials said. There were no direct negotiations between the U.S. military and Iraqi insurgents, but military officials believe Iraqi forces may have better luck persuading the insurgents to lay down their arms.

posted by Frodgie at 7:10 AM

 

Kerry Calls for Tougher Chemical Plant Security

PHILADELPHIA — Amid warnings that another devastating terrorist attack on the United States could be imminent, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (search) on Thursday accused President Bush of leaving the nation's chemical plants vulnerable because of his political ties to the industry.

"I wish their policies were in touch with the tough rhetoric that you keep hearing," Kerry told the National Conference of Black Mayors (search). "What are we waiting for? Instead of misleading us about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, they ought to lead this nation to take every step to prevent one of our own chemical plants from being turned into a weapon of mass destruction against our own people."

Kerry painted a bleak picture of the danger facing Americans and suggested there could be an attack before the November election. He said every report out of Washington shows that it's not a matter of whether there will be another terrorist attack, but when.


posted by Frodgie at 7:09 AM

 

'Al-Zarqawi' Denies Chemical Bomb Plot

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The purported voice of Al Qaeda (search) operative Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi (search) said Friday his group did plan to blow up a Jordanian (search) intelligence building, but not with chemical weapons as the authorities have alleged.

Jordanian state television has broadcast confessions of a group of plotters allegedly linked to al-Zarqawi who said they were plotting Al Qaeda's first chemical bomb attack, which would have been directed against Jordan's secret service building in Amman and could have killed 80,000 people.

"The (allegation) that there was a chemical bomb to kill thousands of people is a mere lie," the reported voice of al-Zarqawi says on a tape broadcast via an Islamic site on the Internet.

"God knows, if we did possess (a chemical bomb), we wouldn't hesitate one second to use it to hit Israeli cities such as Eilat and Tel Aviv," the voice said.

The voice confirmed that the group did plan to attack the Jordanian intelligence building, calling it "the source of all evils in our home."

The speaker indicated that while the Jordanians have succeeded in foiling this particular plot, his group has more in store. The tape ends with the threat: "The battle between us and the Jordanian government has its ups and downs. Terrifying events are awaiting you."


posted by Frodgie at 7:07 AM

 

Bush tells panel memo lacked data

President Bush told the September 11 commission yesterday in a closed-door meeting that a memo saying Osama bin Laden wanted to conduct terrorist attacks in the United States did not provide enough intelligence for his administration to stop the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Mr. Bush explained that the intelligence did not specify a time or place for an attack, but if his administration had known more, it would have taken every action to thwart the al Qaeda terrorists.

posted by Frodgie at 7:06 AM

 

Patterns of Global Terrorism

There were 190 acts of international terrorism in 2003, a slight decrease from the 198 attacks that occurred in 2002, and a drop of 45 percent from the level in 2001 of 346 attacks. The figure in 2003 represents the lowest annual total of international terrorist attacks since 1969.

A total of 307 persons were killed in the attacks of 2003, far fewer than the 725 killed during 2002. A total of 1,593 persons were wounded in the attacks that occurred in 2003, down from 2,013 persons wounded the year before.

In 2003, the highest number of attacks (70) and the highest casualty count (159 persons dead and 951 wounded) occurred in Asia.

There were 82 anti-US attacks in 2003, which is up slightly from the 77 attacks the previous year, and represents a 62-percent decrease from the 219 attacks recorded in 2001.

Thirty-five American citizens died in 15 international terrorist attacks in 2003:

Michael Rene Pouliot was killed on 21 January in Kuwait when a gunman fired at his vehicle that had halted at a stoplight..........
posted by Frodgie at 7:01 AM

 

U.S. Forces Mount Strikes in Fallujah

FALLUJAH, Iraq — The skies above Fallujah lit up for a second night in a row Wednesday as U.S. forces mounted a strategic strike in the Iraqi city that has a strong anti-American insurgent presence.

American forces decided to delay potentially dangerous patrols into the besieged city.

The violence, carried on live television with images of fiery destruction, came as the United States was under increasing international pressure to prevent a revival of the bloodshed seen in the city west of Baghdad during the first two weeks of April.

"Violent military action by an occupying power against inhabitants of an occupied country will only make matters worse," Secretary-General Kofi Annan (search) said. "It's definitely time, time now for those who prefer restraint and dialogue to make their voices heard."

Commanders in Iraq said the Marines were responding to guerrilla attacks and that the military was sticking to a more than two-week-old halt in offensive operations to allow negotiations.

"Even though it may not look like it, there is still a determined aspiration on the part of the coalition to maintain a cease-fire and solve the situation in Fallujah by peaceful means," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt (search) said in Baghdad.


posted by Frodgie at 7:07 AM

 

Fugitive indicted on 9/11 charges

MADRID — A Moroccan fugitive sought in connection with the March 11 train bombings in Madrid was indicted yesterday on charges of helping to plan the September 11 attacks in the United States — the first suspect linked to both attacks.
Amer Azizi, 36, helped organize a meeting in northeast Spain in July 2001 that key plotters in the U.S. attacks, including suicide pilot Mohamed Atta, used to finalize details, Judge Baltasar Garzon said in the indictment.

Azizi was also included in an indictment Judge Garzon handed down in September against al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and 34 other terror suspects. Azizi was charged then with belonging to a terrorist organization. Bin Laden and nine others were charged with planning the September 11 attacks.
In the new indictment, Azizi is charged with multiple counts of murder — "as many deaths and injuries as were committed" on September 11, 2001 — for helping to plan the attacks.

posted by Frodgie at 7:06 AM

 

Bush, Cheney to Meet With 9/11 Panel

WASHINGTON — President Bush (search) and Vice President Dick Cheney (search) are meeting Thursday behind closed doors with the panel investigating what went wrong with U.S. intelligence before the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

The two leaders will not be under oath and no transcript or recording of the proceedings will take place. The White House said that it has no plans to report the remarks by the president and vice president. Part of the reason, aides say, is that much of the discussion will be classified.

The White House is also sensitive about the separation of powers (search) issue, and officials don't want to create images of the president being grilled by the commission created by Congress.

Bush said Wednesday he is enthusiastic about talking with the commissioners.

"I look forward to giving the commissioners a chance to question both of us. It will be a good opportunity for people to help write a report that hopefully will help future presidents deal with terrorist threats to the country," Bush said during a photo op with Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson (search).

The president declined to answer questions about why Cheney will be with him when he faces the commission and why the White House has refused to allow a tape recording or transcript of the session. He also declined to say whether he felt he owed it to family members of the victims to address the panel.

"If they thought it would help him, they'd televise it," James Thurber, director of American University's Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies (search), said of White House advisers. "And obviously they don't think it will help him, and so they are not."

Press Secretary Scott McClellan said the interview should not be seen as testimony or an attempt by the panel to find out whether Bush is to blame for not preventing the attacks. Instead, Bush will contribute to the process of learning from Sept. 11, McClellan said, by putting into perspective the substantial information the White House has already provided. The president's central theme is expected to be that he had no hint about when or where terrorists would strike.

"This isn't something where it's a game of 'gotcha,' this is very important work that the commission is doing. And the president and the vice president want to do everything they can to help the commission piece together all the information we've provided them access to. This is not an adversarial process. We're all working together to learn the lessons of September 11th."


posted by Frodgie at 7:03 AM

 

Report: Tentative handover deal in Fallujah

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi and U.S. Marine generals have reached a tentative agreement that would hand over control of Fallujah to the new Iraqi army, a journalist embedded with the 1st Marine Division told CNN.

The deal is based on several caveats, including whether the Iraqi army can stop insurgents from launching attacks, Los Angeles Times reporter Tony Perry said.

Perry said it would be "a slow transition of a week or two" before the Marines would move out and let the new Iraqi army take over.

According to Perry, the Iraqi army would be led by the four Iraqi generals who met with their U.S. Marine counterparts Thursday.

The Marines and civilian officials offered the generals money and equipment to rebuild the army, but they turned it down, most likely because of pride.

It is not clear how the deal was brokered and whether it involved talks between Sunni sheikhs and coalition commanders and other officials.


posted by Frodgie at 7:02 AM

 

Hussein's Agents Are Behind Attacks in Iraq, Pentagon Finds

WASHINGTON, April 28 — A Pentagon intelligence report has concluded that many bombings against Americans and their allies in Iraq, and the more sophisticated of the guerrilla attacks in Falluja, are organized and often carried out by members of Saddam Hussein's secret service, who planned for the insurgency even before the fall of Baghdad.

The report states that Iraqi officers of the "Special Operations and Antiterrorism Branch," known within Mr. Hussein's government as M-14, are responsible for planning roadway improvised explosive devices and some of the larger car bombs that have killed Iraqis, Americans and other foreigners. The attacks have sown chaos and fear across Iraq.

In addition, suicide bombers have worn explosives-laden vests made before the war under the direction of of M-14 officers, according to the report, prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency. The report also cites evidence that one such suicide attack last April, which killed three Americans, was carried out by a pregnant woman who was an M-14 colonel.


posted by Frodgie at 7:00 AM

 

U.S. Forces Pound Insurgents in Fallujah

FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) -- Iraqi police moved into the streets of the besieged city of Fallujah Wednesday following hours of pounding by U.S. warplanes and artillery on Sunni insurgents in a show of force that comes amid U.S. demands for insurgents to surrender or face death.

The strikes late Tuesday smashed homes and sent huge plumes of smoke and orange flames into the night sky over Fallujah, where a fragile cease-fire with insurgent was extended.

U.S. and Iraqi forces are expected to begin joint patrols on Thursday, a step aimed at calming tensions in the city. Some U.S. officers have expressed concerns that the patrols could be targeted by militants who refused to surrender their weapons.

"We received orders to spread in the streets because U.S. soldiers are going to enter the city soon" said Iraqi security officer Lt. Mohammed Khalaf. Wednesday's Iraqi police patrols in Fallujah were separate from the planned joint patrols.


posted by Frodgie at 6:15 AM

 

Kerry Says Bush Jobs Mission 'Not Accomplished'

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (search) told voters from Ohio's rust belt on Tuesday that President Bush's record on job creation should be described as "mission not accomplished."

The charge came four days before the May 1 anniversary of Bush's declaration of an end to major combat operations in Iraq. The president made the announcement aboard an aircraft carrier bearing a banner that read "Mission Accomplished." Critics derided the banner and the declaration after U.S. casualties mounted.

Kerry, in the middle of a three-day bus tour of industrial states, said manufacturing jobs have not been created during a single month of Bush's presidency. Instead, he said, the economic focus of the administration has been on extending tax cuts for the wealthy.

"George Bush has been busy clearing brush, and I think we need a president who creates jobs," Kerry said, a shot at the amount of time the president spends at his Texas ranch.

Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said the 759,000 jobs created during the last seven months demonstrates that Bush's economic policy is working. He repeated the Bush campaign argument that Kerry has proposed $2 trillion in spending that would result in higher taxes for all Americans. Kerry has disputed the figure and said he would raise taxes only on Americans who make more than $200,000 a year.


posted by Frodgie at 6:14 AM

 

Soldier sisters won't return to combat

(CNN) -- Two female soldiers have decided not to return to combat in Iraq after their sister was killed in Baghdad this month, a spokeswoman for the family said Tuesday.

The two soldiers, Rachel and Charity Witmer, were given the choice of returning to combat but delayed making their decision until after the funeral of Michelle, their 20-year-old sister and Charity's twin.

National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Tim Donovan told The Associated Press that the sisters have decided to ask for noncombat jobs.

The two arrived home April 12 to attend their sister's funeral. Michelle Witmer was killed April 9 in an ambush.

Under Defense Department policy, when a soldier is killed while serving in a hostile area, other family members in the military may request a noncombat assignment.

Rachel Witmer, 24, serves with the 32nd Military Police Company, as did Michelle. The Wisconsin Army National Guard unit has served a year in the Middle East and recently had its term of service extended another four months.

Charity Witmer is a sergeant and medic with the 118th Medical Battalion, which arrived in Baghdad in February.

The sisters' unit commanders in Iraq had recommended that the two be given noncombat assignments, the AP reported.




posted by Frodgie at 6:07 AM

 

Sheikhs traveling to Fallujah

FALLUJAH, Iraq (CNN) -- Sheikhs from across Iraq will head to Fallujah on Wednesday to discuss a two-week standoff between U.S. Marines and Iraqi insurgents, a senior military official told CNN.

On Tuesday night, U.S. warplanes bombarded positions in the Sunni stronghold, lighting up the night sky after a day of relative calm there. Columns of smoke rose from the area being bombarded, and the airstrikes appeared to have set off at least two large secondary explosions.

The senior military official said the explosions were the result of an ammunitions site being hit -- a site the military has been trying to target for a while. The official also said Tuesday night's action was not a major military offensive.

The city has been a hotbed of Sunni Muslim resistance to the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. Pentagon officials said the strikes were in response to a threat to Marines there and were not the beginning of a new push against the insurgents.


posted by Frodgie at 6:05 AM

 

'He weareth the Christian down'

At Versailles in 1919, delegates of four of the five victorious powers arrived with cold, clear ideas of what they must bring home.

Japan demanded and got Germany's islands north of the equator and Shantung in China. Italy demanded and got the Austrian South Tyrol, but was denied Fiume on the Adriatic, and left embittered.

France got Alsace-Lorraine, African colonies, Lebanon and Syria. But, above all, Clemenceau wanted Germany driven off the west bank of the Rhine, forced to rebuild war-ravaged France, stripped of lands and people and so weakened she would never threaten Paris again.

Lloyd George got Tanganyika, Transjordan, Palestine, Iraq, the Kaiser's fleet and a treaty guarantee Germany would never again be allowed to build a navy that could imperil the nation or empire.

What did America get? In his war message, Wilson had said, "[W]e shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest to our hearts – for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own government, for the rights and liberties of small nations, for a universal dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world at last free."


posted by Frodgie at 6:04 AM

 

Burning with anger: Iraqis infuriated by new flag that was designed in London

For many Iraqis it was the final insult. Again and again they expressed outrage yesterday that Iraq's United States-appointed and unelected leaders had, overnight, abolished the old Iraqi flag, seen by most Iraqis as the symbol of their nation, and chosen a new one.

"What gives these people the right to throw away our flag, to change the symbol of Iraq?" asked Salah, a building contractor of normally moderate political opinions. "It makes me very angry because these people were appointed by the Americans. I will not regard the new flag as representing me but only traitors and collaborators."

The outburst of fury over the flag highlights the extraordinary ability of US leaders and the Iraqi Governing Council to alienate ordinary Iraqis, already angered by the bloody sieges of Fallujah and Karbala. And yesterday, in the hotbed of Iraqi rebellion, the flag was burnt in public in a demonstration of public anger.

When, as expected, the controversial new flag is hoisted inside the security of the Green Zone in Baghdad today, there is little prospect that the flag will be fluttering over other Iraqi cities. When security officers at the United Nations undertake the daily ritual this morning of raising the standards of the 191 member countries up the white poles arrayed outside UN headquarters in New York's First Avenue, for Iraq it will be the familiar flag of Saddam Hussein's rule that is unfurled.

"So far, we haven't received anything about this from Baghdad," said Igor Novichenko, who is in charge of such matters in the UN's protocol unit. For now, he added, the old Iraqi flag of green and black, with "God is Great" in Arabic script across it, will retain its place outside UN headquarters.

That is not to say that the new version may not be fluttering on First Avenue one day. There are no great formalities involved in changing a country's flag. All that is required is for the mission of that country in New York - and the Iraqi mission is still open - to inform the UN of the new design.


posted by Frodgie at 6:02 AM

 

Baghdad blast kills two soldiers

BAGHDAD — A suspected chemical weapons warehouse exploded in flames moments after U.S. troops broke in to search it yesterday, killing two soldiers and wounding five.
In Fallujah, U.S. troops came under heavy attack a day after U.S. officials decided to extend a cease-fire rather than launch a full-scale offensive on the city. One Marine and eight insurgents were killed.

The Iraqi Governing Council, meanwhile, approved a new flag for the country, dumping Saddam Hussein's red-and-black standard. The design is white with two blue stripes representing the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and although it has a crescent representing Islam, the flag no longer bears the words "God is great."
The blast in Baghdad leveled the front half of the one-story building and set ablaze four Humvees parked outside. A U.S.soldier was taken away on a stretcher, her chest and face severely burned. Several Iraqis were pulled from the wreckage, including a woman who wept as she was carried over a man's shoulder to safety.

posted by Frodgie at 6:55 AM

 

Jordan Airs Confessions of Suspected Terrorists

AMMAN, Jordan — State television aired a videotape of four men admitting they were part of an Al Qaeda (search) plot to attack the U.S. Embassy and other targets in Jordan using a combination of conventional and chemical weapons.

A commentator on the tape aired Monday said the suspects had prepared enough explosives to kill 80,000 people.

One of the alleged conspirators, Azmi Al-Jayousi, said that he was acting on the orders of Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi (search), a Jordanian wanted by the United States for allegedly organizing terrorists to fight U.S. troops in Iraq on behalf of Al Qaeda. U.S. officials have offered a $10 million reward for his capture.


posted by Frodgie at 6:51 AM

 

Hamas-Linked U.S. Ventures Under Scrutiny

WASHINGTON — Financial links exist between those who support attacks by Hamas (search) in the Middle East and business ventures inside the United States, experts and legal sources say.

According to court documents, a Hamas leader invested money in an Oxon Hill, Md., neighborhood called Barnaby Knolls in the early 1990s. Documents show that investor Mousa Abu Marzook (search) put down the money for the investment five years before he was named by the Treasury Department as a "specially designated terrorist" in August 1995.

Prior to his extradition from the United States, Marzook said he didn't consider himself a terrorist.

A recent trial in Alexandria, Va., showed the extent of Marzook's investments in the neighborhood through a now-bankrupt firm, Bait Ul-Mal, or BMI Inc. It was overseen by Egyptian businessman Soliman Biheiri (search), who was recently convicted of immigration violations.

Biheiri's lawyer denies terrorists benefited from his business transactions.

"It's nonsense. He wasn't funding terrorists," said Biheiri's lawyer, Nina Ginsburg. "There's no proof whatsoever that he ever contributed 10 cents to any terrorist activity."

The judge ruled that just because Marzook was a Hamas leader didn't mean that his investment funds were that of the terrorist organization.


posted by Frodgie at 6:49 AM

 

Cheney criticizes Kerry for antimilitary votes

FULTON, Mo. — Vice President Dick Cheney yesterday accused Sen. John Kerry of "deeply irresponsible" votes against intelligence funding and a condescending "contempt" for U.S. allies in Iraq.
"From the beginning of his career in the U.S. Senate 20 years ago, Senator Kerry has repeatedly called for major reductions, or outright cancellations, of many of our most important weapons systems," Mr. Cheney said at Westminster College, site of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's famous 1946 "Iron Curtain" speech.

"It is irresponsible to vote against vital support for the United States military," he added, drawing applause from 600 students and faculty members.
The vice president also challenged Mr. Kerry to name the New York restaurants in which, he suggested, he was endorsed by foreign leaders.

posted by Frodgie at 6:45 AM

 

Report finds heart disease a global threat

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Cheap food, cigarettes and city life are causing millions of early deaths in the developing world, according to a report to be released Monday.

Heart disease, once an illness of the rich, is killing more and more people in poor countries, according to the report.

"The risk of cardiovascular disease is growing as populations increase in cities," reads the report, issued by Columbia University's Earth Institute in New York.

"There, food is steadily becoming cheaper and exercise is scarce. The prevalence of obesity and of diabetes and of its precursor conditions, are rising faster in urban than in rural areas," the report adds.

"The tobacco scourge, now at epidemic levels in less-developed countries, exacts its toll in many ways, but cardiovascular deaths are its principal mode of mortality."


posted by Frodgie at 6:43 AM

 

U.S. forces kill 43 insurgents near Najaf

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. forces have killed 43 Iraqi insurgents in fighting near the Shiite Muslim holy city of Najaf, a U.S. military spokesman said Tuesday. An anti-aircraft position was also knocked out.

According to the spokesman, an AC-130 "Spectre" gunship was used in the battle at 9:45 p.m. (1:45 p.m. EDT) Monday.

The four-engine, turbo-prop gunship is a modified, heavily armed version of the C-130 "Hercules" transport aircraft, fitted with a formidable array of side-firing cannon positioned along the length of the fuselage.

Its primary role is to provide close air support and armed reconnaissance from a low-flying and relatively slow-moving airborne platform capable of concentrating heavy firepower on ground targets such as enemy troop concentrations.


posted by Frodgie at 6:42 AM

 

Battle in Fallujah; Blast Levels Baghdad Building

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Just a day after U.S. officials announced that a fragile cease-fire in the Fallujah (search) was being extended, Marines were engaged Monday in an intense firefight with insurgents in a northern district of the besieged city.

Meanwhile, at least one U.S. soldier and several Iraqis were injured Monday when a blast leveled part of a building in northern Baghdad as U.S. troops were raiding it.

In Fallujah, coalition mortars hit a mosque in the northwest edge of the city and marines on the ground called in air support and were joined by two tanks and two Cobra (search) attack helicopters that shelled insurgents. Four marines suffered shrapnel wounds.

Thick black smoke rose from Fallujah's Jolan district, a poor neighborhood thought to have a heavy concentration of Sunni (search) insurgent fighters.

The firefight began Monday morning after a Marine platoon left their small base and moved 200 yards away to occupy two small houses. Enemy forces opened up with barrage of rockets, mortar and automatic weapons.

"I am very proud of my men. They fought like lions," said Capt. Douglas Zembiec.

The intensity of the battle forced the marine platoon back to their base. At least 10 Marines were injured, four seriously.


posted by Frodgie at 8:50 AM

 

White House to pull support for conference

The Bush administration is scrapping plans to sponsor a major global health and reproductive rights conference that features liberal advocacy groups, including several pro-choice organizations and MoveOn.org, which is spending millions of dollars on negative ads to defeat President Bush.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will withdraw its support today, according to a senior government official.
"We expect they will be notified officially" today, a senior government official said of USAID's decision to withdraw from the June gathering in Washington.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which said it never formally agreed to help fund "Youth and Health: Generation on the Edge," denounced the conference organizers late Friday for including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) — both divisions of HHS — in a recent promotional brochure.
The Global Health Council, which is organizing the four-day conference, included USAID, the CDC and HRSA as "platinum" or top-level financial sponsors in the brochure that the council distributed last week.
News of the funding angered many on Capitol Hill, especially conservatives who don't think the government should help promote pro-choice groups such as the International Planned Parenthood Organization and the U.N. International Family Planning Fund.

posted by Frodgie at 8:49 AM

 

Abortion rights protest packs National Mall

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Abortion-rights supporters marched in the hundreds of thousands Sunday, galvanized by what they see as an erosion of reproductive freedoms under President Bush and policies that hurt women worldwide.

Amid the clamor of an election year, the throng of demonstrators flooded the National Mall. Their target: Bush, like-minded officials in federal and state government and religious conservatives.

Speaking beyond the masses to policy-makers, Francis Kissling of Catholics for a Free Choice declared, "You will hear our pro-choice voices ringing in your ears until such time that you permit all women to make our own reproductive choices."

Women joined the protest from across the nation and from nearly 60 countries, asserting that damage from Bush's policies is spreading far beyond U.S. shores through measures such as the ban on federal money for family-planning groups that promote or perform abortions abroad.

The rally on the National Mall stretched from the base of the U.S. Capitol about a mile back to the Washington Monument. Authorities no longer give formal crowd estimates, but various police sources informally estimated the throng at between 500,000 and 800,000 strong.

That would exceed the estimated 500,000 who protested for abortion rights in 1992.


posted by Frodgie at 8:46 AM

 

Going back to where they came from

"If we have to make common cause with the more hawkish liberals and fight the conservatives, that is fine with me," William Kristol has told the New York Times.

The Weekly Standard editor added that the neoconservatives may just abandon the Right altogether and convert to neoliberalism.

Alluding to his father Irving's definition of a neoconservative as a liberal who has been mugged by reality, Kristol describes a neoliberal as a "neoconservative who has been mugged by reality in Iraq."

Ranking his political preferences, Kristol added, "I will take Bush over Kerry, but Kerry over Buchanan ... If you read the last few issues of the Weekly Standard, it has as much or more in common with the liberal hawks than with traditional conservatives."

Yes, it does. But as John Kerry backs partial-birth abortion, quotas, raising taxes, homosexual unions, liberals on the Supreme Court and has a voting record to the left of Teddy Kennedy, how can Kristol prefer him to other conservatives? Answer: War and Israel.


posted by Frodgie at 8:45 AM

 

Former U.N. weapons inspector Blix compares WMD search to witch-hunts

In some ways, the events leading up to the invasion of Iraq were similar to “the witch-hunts of past centuries,” former United Nations chief weapons inspector Hans Blix told a crowd at Texas A&M University on Friday night.

For those who believe in witches or weapons of mass destruction, he said, “the evidence does not have to be all that strong. You will take it.”

“ It seems to me that the U.S. and U.K. leadership were so convinced that there were weapons of mass destruction [in Iraq] that they couldn’t imagine they weren’t there,” Blix surmised.

But of course, he added, the world now knows they were wrong.

The hour-long speech, which was part of the university’s Wiley Lecture Series, came less than a month after the Swedish diplomat’s book “Disarming Iraq” was released.

In addition to his own book, Blix repeatedly referred Friday to passages from Bob Woodward’s new book, which he described as “probably selling better than I do.” That book, “Plan of Attack,” states that the Bush administration decided to go to war long before the inspections were concluded.

Bush insisted that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein harbored WMDs and should be removed as part of the broader war on terror. But since last year’s invasion, no such stockpiles have been found.

posted by Frodgie at 8:41 AM