be just

Free Iraq: "The Pentagon does not release the number of troops killed by snipers"

The American Interest: Policy. Politics. Culture. Digital. : "With only 14 months left in the Bush presidency, it is not too soon to ask what will follow for U.S. foreign policy. While politics will determine the dramatis personae of the next administration, the challenges greeting the new President will transcend partisan plotlines. From now until election day 2008, the AI will examine questions of strategy, tone and tactics over a range of issues. We begin with Barry R. Posen’s case for strategic restraint (along with comments from members of the editorial board), an interview with Joseph Nye and Richard Armitage on “smart power”, and analyses of U.S. policy options in the Middle East and Afghanistan."

Mogadishu battles stoke humanitarian crisis | International News | Reuters.com : "MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Battles in the Somali capital killed at least seven people on Friday and stoked a humanitarian crisis after nearly 90,000 people fled fighting earlier this week. Ethiopian forces supporting Somalia's interim government are trying to crush Islamist-led rebels in Mogadishu. Clashes resumed before dawn and, although they later subsided, intermittent blasts of gunfire could be heard across the city."

allAfrica.com: Somalia: Five Ethiopian Soldiers And Two Civilian Die in Fierce Combat in Mogadishu (Page 1 of 1) : "Seven of which five are Ethiopian soldiers died in a very dreadful battle which was active for hours between the Ethiopian troops and the strongly opposing group in the Somali city of Mogadishu. The fights mainly erupted at the 30th street and around the industrial area. The skirmish came after Ethiopian troops stormed at some sections of Hodan Holwadag, Wardegley and Yaqsshi districts and in this places the Ethiopian troops faced a very harsh resistant from the other group."

Iraqi weapons 'expert' unmasked as a fraud - Independent Online Edition > Americas : "The Iraqi defector whose claims regarding Saddam Hussein's biological warfare capabilities were central to the US government's case for the 2003 invasion, despite repeated warnings that they were dubious, has been unmasked by a television documentary. The informer, codenamed Curveball was Rafid Ahmed Alwan who, in 1999, turned up at a refugee centre in Germany seeking political asylum. He went on to convince the Pentagon he was a brilliant chemist who had helped develop mobile biological warfare laboratories."

Rice, Others Told to Testify in AIPAC Case : "A federal judge yesterday issued a rare ruling that ordered Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and more than 10 other prominent current and former government officials to testify on behalf of two pro-Israel lobbyists accused of violating the Espionage Act at their upcoming criminal trial."

CBC News: Reports from abroad: Neil Macdonald : "The torture called waterboarding is a pretty violent business. The torturer straps down the victim, feet elevated above the head, then covers the subject's face — often with cloth or cellophane — and pours water onto it. This triggers the gag reflex, persuading the mind that the body is drowning, provoking an atavistic terror. The straining and flailing against the restraint straps can sometimes break bones. If the torture is protracted, lung and brain damage can occur."

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 11/02/2007 | Former envoy: U.S. driving Turkey, Iran together : "WASHINGTON — The retired general who served as President Bush's special envoy to deal with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) said the United States has failed to keep its promises to Turkey to confront the Kurdish terrorist group, and Turkey may feel that it has no choice but to attack the PKK's sanctuary in northern Iraq. Retired Air Force Gen. Joseph Ralston, in a brief interview, declined to say why he stepped down several weeks ago. But published reports have said that he was frustrated by the Bush administration's failure to act against the PKK."

'USAF struck Syrian nuclear site' | Jerusalem Post : "The September 6 raid over Syria was carried out by the US Air Force, the Al-Jazeera Web site reported Friday. The Web site quoted Israeli and Arab sources as saying that two US jets armed with tactical nuclear weapons carried out an attack on a suspected nuclear site under construction."