Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, the top US military commander, said Feb. 25 that the country must be prepared for a decade of war in Iraq, judging by the examples of history. "This is not the kind of business that… Read moreIraq: generals see long war
On Feb. 24, Baghdad’s al-Iraqiya TV—the US-funded government station—broadcast a "confession" by a supposed Syrian intelligence officer that his country’s secret service had been assisting the Iraqi rebels. ”My name is Anas Ahmed al-Essa. I live in Halab. I am… Read moreSyria behind Iraq rebels?
Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin announced yesterday that his country will not participate in the missile defense system that the US hopes to build for North America. "This is our airspace, we’re a sovereign nation and you don’t intrude on… Read moreCanada withdraws from “Star Wars,” forfeits “sovereignty”
The Republican Jewish Coalition greeted Howard Dean’s election to chair the Democratic National Committee this week with an ad campaign seeking to depict him as a supporter of terrorism. The group placed full-page ads in the Washington newspaper Roll Call… Read moreJewish Republicans: Dean supports terrorism
Ahmed Abu Ali, 23, of Virginia, held for 20 months in Saudi Arabia, was flown to the US yesterday to face charges of plotting to assassinate President Bush. At his court hearing in Alexandria he requested permission to show scars… Read moreBush: al-Qaeda trying to kill me
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez charged Feb. 21 that President Bush is behind a plot to assassinate him—and warned that if it succeeded, Venezuela would halt oil exports to the US. "If I am assassinated, there is only one person responsible:… Read moreChavez: Bush trying to kill me
Three international reports have fled Zimbabwe ahead of President Robert Mugabe’s 81st birthday celebrations, and a fourth is in hiding after police searches their offices and threatened to have them arrested for slandering the state. Those who fled, Angus Shaw… Read moreZimbabwe: journalists flee
Attorneys for former post-9-11 detainees at New York’s federal Metropolitan Detention Center call it "Brooklyn’s Abu Ghraib." The detainees—none of whom were ever charged with anything related to terrorism—say in sworn affidavits and interviews with Justice Department officials that correction… Read moreBrooklyn’s Abu Ghraib
Up to 400 are reported dead in an earthquake which struck near the city of Zarand in Kerman province of southeastern Iran. (RFE/RL, Reuters, Feb. 22) A December 2003 earthquake at the city of Bam, also in Zarand, killed some… Read moreIran: 400 dead in earthquake
Bad news for freedom of speech on opposite sides of the planet. The presidents of both Kygyzstan and Venezuela seem to have gone litigation-happy against opposition figures. Most recently, Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev announced he will sue the opposition newspaper… Read moreKyrgyz, Venezuelan presidents silence opposition
“Peak oil” theorists will be vindicated by a Feb. 20 report on al-Jazeera that Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil producer, has past its peak of production and may have in fact damaged its own extractable reserves through over-production. Writes al-Jazeera: As… Read moreSaudi Arabia at “peak oil”?
Speaking at an anti-war event in Olympia, WA, former Iraq weapons inspector Scott Ritter claimed that President Bush has already signed off on plans to start bombing Iran in June, ostensibly to eliminate weapons of mass destruction. If we live… Read moreScott Ritter: Iran attack planned for June
