One in three Iraqis 'in poverty

February 18, 2007
One in three Iraqis 'in poverty'

One-third of Iraqis are now living in poverty, according to a new UN study, with 5% in extreme poverty, a sharp deterioration since the 2003 invasion.

Oil riches are not benefiting many of Iraq's people, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) study says.

Other indicators show a sharper fall, with half the population having unsatisfactory water supplies and more than 40% deprived of good sanitation.

US soldier pleads guilty in rape, murder of Iraqi girl

February 20, 2007
US soldier pleads guilty in rape, murder of Iraqi girl

FORT CAMPBELL, United States (AFP) - A US soldier pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the killing of her family.

Sergeant Paul Cortez, 24, was the second soldier to plead guilty in a deal that is expected to allow him to avoid the death penalty. He was expected to be sentenced late Tuesday or Wednesday.

Cortez was among five soldiers accused of plotting the March 2006 rape and murder of Abeer Kassem Hamza al-Janabi, as well as the murder of her parents and younger sister.

Audit: Anti-terror case data flawed

February 20, 2007
Audit: Anti-terror case data flawed

WASHINGTON - Federal prosecutors counted immigration violations, marriage fraud and drug trafficking among anti-terror cases in the four years after 9/11 even though no evidence linked them to terror activity, a Justice Department audit said Tuesday.

Overall, nearly all of the terrorism-related statistics on investigations, referrals and cases examined by department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine were either diminished or inflated. Only two of 26 sets of department data reported between 2001 and 2005 were accurate, the audit found.

EU Environmental Ministers Agree on Deep Cuts in Greenhouse Gases

February 21, 2007
EU Environmental Ministers Agree on Deep Cuts in Greenhouse Gases

European Union environmental ministers agreed in principle Tuesday to cut carbon emissions from cars and factories by as much as 30 percent by 2020.

German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel told reporters that the 30-percent reduction is conditional on other industrialized nations matching that number.

If not, the EU will strive for a 20-percent cut.

Iran 'swiftly seeks nuclear goal

February 21, 2007
Iran 'swiftly seeks nuclear goal

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said Iran will try to achieve nuclear capability as soon as possible.

His comments, reported by Iran's Isna news agency, come as a UN deadline for Tehran to freeze its uranium enrichment programme expires.

For the first time, a political party in Iran has called on Mr Ahmadinejad to accept the UN's demands.

Iran denies Western claims that it is seeking nuclear weapons, saying its programme is for purely peaceful ends.

Blair announces Iraq withdrawal plan

February 21, 2007
Blair announces Iraq withdrawal plan

Under proposals laid out by Prime Minister Tony Blair on Wednesday, Britain will withdraw about 1,600 troops from Iraq over the coming months and hopes to make other cuts to its 7,100-strong contingent by late summer.

The announcement, on the same day Denmark said it would withdraw its 460 troops, comes as the U.S. is implementing an increase of 21,000 more troops for Iraq — putting Washington on an opposite track as its main coalition allies.

Walter Reed probes former aid director

February 20, 2007
Walter Reed probes former aid director

WASHINGTON — Walter Reed Army Medical Center is investigating the former head of a program that aids injured soldiers.

The probe involves the activities of Michael J. Wagner, who until last month ran the Army's Medical Family Assistance Center, Army spokesman Paul Boyce said Tuesday. The center links businesses, charities and other donors with wounded troops who need financial help or with families strained by living costs, air fares and other expenses when they come to Washington to visit or help care for injured soldiers.

Appeals Court: habeas corpus is dead

February 20, 2007
Appeals Court: habeas corpus is dead

WASHINGTON - In a victory for President Bush, a divided federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Guantanamo Bay detainees cannot use the U.S. court system to challenge their indefinite imprisonment. A Supreme Court appeal was promised.

The 2-1 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit dismisses hundreds of cases filed by foreign-born detainees in federal court and also threatens to strip away court access to millions of lawful permanent residents currently in the United States.

The coming constitutional crisis in Congress

February 20, 2007
The coming constitutional crisis in Congress

Murtha wants to attach conditions on the impending supplemental appropriations bill to fund the war. He would require that troops have a year at home before redeploying, that they train with their own equipment before deploying and so on. Because the too-small U.S. military is under enormous strain, these conditions would be impossible to meet while still doubling the number of U.S. combat troops in Baghdad.

Only if one ignores our constitutional scheme. The president, not Congress, is the commander in chief. Congress was never meant to, nor is it suited to, direct tactical military decisions, as Murtha seeks to do with his restrictions.

Study sees harmful hunt for extra oil

February 18, 2007
Study sees harmful hunt for extra oil

All the world's extra oil supply is likely to come from expensive and environmentally damaging unconventional sources within 15 years, according to a detailed study.

This will mean increasing reliance on hard-to-develop sources of energy such as the Canadian oil sands and Venezuela's Orinoco tar belt.

A report from Wood Mackenzie, the Edinburgh-based consultancy, calculates that the world holds 3,600bn barrels of unconventional oil and gas that need a lot of energy to extract.

The study makes clear the shift could come sooner than many people in the industry had expected, even though some major conventional oil fields will still be increasing their production in 2020. Those increases will not be enough to offset the decline at other fields.

"It becomes unclear beyond 2020 that conventional oil will be able to meet any of the demand growth," Wood Mackenzie said. The report added that natural gas products such as liquids and condensate would also become important sources of growth.

The increasing reliance on unconventional oil will require a substantial reshaping of the energy industry.

VA: 400,000 case backlog

February 19, 2007
VA: 400,000 case backlog

Soldiers go to VA to try for more benefits, but the department had a staggering 400,000-case backup on new claims in fiscal 2006, according to VA.

Pfc. Martin Jackson, 30, spent 16 months in Iraq as a supply sergeant with 4th Brigade, 27th Infantry Battalion. Two years ago, while running from a mortar round in Balad, Iraq, he tripped and twisted his leg.

"I thought it was just an ankle sprain," he said. "One day I woke up and just couldn't move."

He had twisted his spine. Now the soft-spoken soldier cannot sit or stand for too long, or lift anything over 10 pounds, which limits his work as a supply clerk.

He has spent two years at Walter Reed going through rehabilitation and waiting for his discharge, which means he hasn't lived with his wife of 10 years for more than three years.

"She's been talking about a divorce," he said. "I just signed [my rating] so I could go home and be with my family."

The Fierce Urgency of Impeachment

February 20, 2007
The Fierce Urgency of Impeachment

Impeachment is not a means of empowering a party. It's a way to empower the American people and the first branch of our government, the Congress. But the fact is that if the Democratic Party takes a stand for impeachment, it will gain the respect and support of Americans and of people all over the world, and it will be rewarded. When the Democrats failed to impeach Reagan for Iran-Contra, thinking they could thereby win elections, they lost elections and put George Bush I in power – and we are suffering from that still. Americans do not vote for cowardice. They voted for Democrats post-Nixon, but not post-Reagan.

"If Iraq don't kill you, Walter Reed will."

February 19, 2007
"If Iraq don't kill you, Walter Reed will."

Perks and stardom do not come to every amputee. Sgt. David Thomas, a gunner with the Tennessee National Guard, spent his first three months at Walter Reed with no decent clothes; medics in Samarra had cut off his uniform. Heavily drugged, missing one leg and suffering from traumatic brain injury, David, 42, was finally told by a physical therapist to go to the Red Cross office, where he was given a T-shirt and sweat pants. He was awarded a Purple Heart but had no underwear.

David tangled with Walter Reed's image machine when he wanted to attend a ceremony for a fellow amputee, a Mexican national who was being granted U.S. citizenship by President Bush. A case worker quizzed him about what he would wear. It was summer, so David said shorts. The case manager said the media would be there and shorts were not advisable because the amputees would be seated in the front row.

" 'Are you telling me that I can't go to the ceremony 'cause I'm an amputee?' " David recalled asking. "She said, 'No, I'm saying you need to wear pants.' "

David told the case worker, "I'm not ashamed of what I did, and y'all shouldn't be neither." When the guest list came out for the ceremony, his name was not on it.

McCain: Rumsfeld was one of the worst

February 19, 2007
McCain: Rumsfeld was one of the worst

BLUFFTON, S.C. - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Monday the war in
Iraq has been mismanaged for years and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will be remembered as one of the worst in history.

"We are paying a very heavy price for the mismanagement — that's the kindest word I can give you — of Donald Rumsfeld, of this war," the Arizona senator told an overflow crowd of more than 800 at a retirement community near Hilton Head Island, S.C. "The price is very, very heavy and I regret it enormously."

Defense spending overshadowing health care

February 15, 2007
Defense spending overshadowing health care

On the same day the president was proposing another $245 billion to prosecute the war this year and next, which would bring the five-year total since the war began to a staggering sum of $589 billion, he also called for slashing $78.6 billion from Medicare and Medicaid over the next five years.

In addition, the president wants Medicare recipients to pay higher premiums for prescription drugs and doctors' services, and to eliminate annual indexing of income thresholds, effectively another $10 billion in cuts.

Iran flap exposes public skepticism of US intelligence, intentions

February 18, 2007
Iran flap exposes public skepticism of US intelligence, intentions

And "for the umpteenth time," as US Defense Secretary Robert Gates put it, they denied that the United States was trying to prepare the ground for military action in Iraq.

But the flap exposed how deep public suspicion of US intelligence claims runs nearly four years after the United States went to war with Iraq on the strength of erroneous intelligence that it had weapons of mass destruction.

"I think this controversy is traceable to one big problem," said Loren Thompson, director of the Lexington Institute, a private Washington research group.

"The US intelligence community does not have an adequate network of agents in Iraq or Iran. Because of that, everything is guesswork," he said.

Be cautious about impeaching Bush

February 16, 2007
Be cautious about impeaching Bush

Impeach the president? Impeach President Bush?

A high crime and misdemeanor can be anything that a majority of the House of Representatives says is a high crime or a misdemeanor, and proof of guilt is anything that two-thirds of the Senate says is proof. Thus, a man can be indicted (impeached) for an alleged perjury in a civil trial over private sexual behavior (usually meriting only a civil punishment), and he could be deposed if two-thirds of the Senate accepted the evidence. There is no appeal, no higher court that can declare that such perjury, while lamentable, is not a high crime. To get rid of a president, all you need to do is to have enough votes.

Jailed 2 Years, Iraqi Tells of Abuse by Americans

February 18, 2007
Jailed 2 Years, Iraqi Tells of Abuse by Americans

After his release from the American-run jail, Camp Bucca, Mr. Ani and other former detainees described the sprawling complex of barracks in the southern desert near Kuwait as a bleak place where guards casually used their stun guns and exposed prisoners to long periods of extreme heat and cold; where prisoners fought among themselves and extremist elements tried to radicalize others; and where detainees often responded to the harsh conditions with hunger strikes and, at times, violent protests.

Through it all, Mr. Ani was never actually charged with a crime; he said he was questioned only once during his more than two years at the camp.

Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army's Top Medical Facility

February 18, 2007
Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army's Top Medical Facility

They suffer from brain injuries, severed arms and legs, organ and back damage, and various degrees of post-traumatic stress. Their legions have grown so exponentially -- they outnumber hospital patients at Walter Reed 17 to 1 -- that they take up every available bed on post and spill into dozens of nearby hotels and apartments leased by the Army. The average stay is 10 months, but some have been stuck there for as long as two years.

Yet at a deeper level, the soldiers say they feel alone and frustrated. Seventy-five percent of the troops polled by Walter Reed last March said their experience was "stressful." Suicide attempts and unintentional overdoses from prescription drugs and alcohol, which is sold on post, are part of the narrative here.

Staff Sgt. John Daniel Shannon, 43, came in on one of those buses in November 2004 and spent several weeks on the fifth floor of Walter Reed's hospital. His eye and skull were shattered by an AK-47 round. His odyssey in the Other Walter Reed has lasted more than two years, but it began when someone handed him a map of the grounds and told him to find his room across post.

A reconnaissance and land-navigation expert, Shannon was so disoriented that he couldn't even find north. Holding the map, he stumbled around outside the hospital, sliding against walls and trying to keep himself upright, he said. He asked anyone he found for directions.

Marine gets 8 years for kidnapping and murder

February 17, 2007
Marine gets 8 years for kidnapping and murder

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - A Marine who said he never fired a shot in the kidnapping and murder of an Iraqi man was sentenced Saturday to 8 years in military prison — the longest sentence yet in the case.

Lance Cpl. Robert B. Pennington, 22, also was reduced in rank and given a dishonorable discharge during the sentencing hearing at the Camp Pendleton Marine base.

Senate Republicans block Iraq measure

February 17, 2007
Senate Republicans block Iraq measure

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans blocked the U.S. Senate on Saturday from considering a rebuke to President George W. Bush's Iraq troop buildup, but lawmakers vowed to continue waging a bitter struggle over war policy.

For the second time in two weeks, Republicans senators halted progress on a nonbinding resolution opposing Bush's recent decision to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the resolution the day before.

Ex-envoy says Iraq rebuilding plan won't work

February 17, 2007
Ex-envoy says Iraq rebuilding plan won't work

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Kiki Munshi was showcased by the media in September as a seasoned U.S. diplomat who came out of retirement to lead a rebuilding group in
Iraq.

Now she is back home, angry, and convinced that
President George W. Bush's new strategy of doubling the number of such groups to 20 along with a troop surge of 21,500 will not help stabilize Iraq.

A diplomat for 22 years, she quit her job last month as leader of a Provincial Reconstruction Team -- groups made up of about 50 civilian and military experts that try to help Iraqi communities build their own government while strengthening moderates.

Rudy's inner diva is outed

February 17, 2007
Rudy's inner diva is outed

In addition to his $100,000 speaking fee, the former mayor insists that he be shuttled to and from any event by a private plane - and not just any plane, mind you!

"Please note that the private aircraft MUST BE a Gulfstream IV or bigger," notes the contract, referring to a $30 million jet that can clock 600 mph.

Once there, Hizzoner demands that he be met by "one sedan and one large SUV," and booked into a hotel room "with a king-size bed, on an upper floor, with a balcony and view," plus four more rooms on the same floor for his entourage.

Halliburton cited: #10 billion were either excessive or undocumented

February 18, 2007
Halliburton cited: #10 billion were either excessive or undocumented

WASHINGTON -- A top Pentagon auditor told Congress on Thursday that $10 billion in defense contracts for Iraq reconstruction and troop support were either excessive or undocumented, including $2.7 billion for contracts held by Halliburton or one of its subsidiaries.

William Reed, director of the Defense Department's Defense Contract Audit Agency, told the House Oversight and Government Reform committee that his agency discovered the problems --$4.9 billion in "questioned" or overly expensive charges, and $5.1 billion in "unsupported" or undocumented expenses-- after auditing $57 billion in Pentagon contracts.

USA Today founder: Bush Is Worst President of All-Time

February 18, 2007
USA Today founder: Bush Is Worst President of All-Time

NEW YORK Al Neuharth, the former Gannett chief, USA Today founder and currently weekly columnist for that newspaper, has had a change of heart.

A year ago, in honor of President's Day, he stated that while he was often critical of George W. Bush, he did not, and probably would not ever, crack his list of the five worst presidents we've ever had.

A year later he admits he was wrong. In his USA Today column today he announces that Bush has not only cracked the bottom five, he's now at the very bottom.

The Bush Debt

February 15, 2007

The Bush Debt

$3,000,504,566,250.46
(over $3 trillion)

Oh What a Malleable War

February 18, 2007
Oh What a Malleable War

No sooner did unnamed military officials unveil their melodramatically
secretive briefing in Baghdad last Sunday than Gen. Peter Pace,
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, blew the whole charade.

General Pace said he didn't know about the briefing and couldn't
endorse its contention that the Iranian government's highest echelons
were complicit in anti-American hostilities in Iraq.

Public-relations pandemonium ensued as Tony Snow, the State Department
and finally the president tried to revise the story line on the fly.

Back when Karl Rove ruled, everyone read verbatim from the same
script.