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News -09-14-04 New Claims of Torture (Guardian Unlimited) "Allegations that American soldiers routinely tortured and maltreated detainees have emerged from a third Iraqi city, renewing fears that abuse similar to that inflicted in Abu Ghraib jail in Baghdad has been systematic and widespread. " 9-04 -09-15-04 Annan: U.S. Invasion of Iraq Illegal (Guardian Unlimited) "The United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, declared explicitly for the first time last night that the US-led war on Iraq was illegal.Mr Annan said that the invasion was not sanctioned by the UN security council or in accordance with the UN's founding charter." "No immediate comment was available from the White House late last night, but American officials have defended the war as an act of self-defence, allowed under the UN charter, in view of Saddam Hussein's supposed plans to build weapons of mass destruction." "However, last September, Mr Annan issued a stern critique of the notion of pre-emptive self-defence, saying it would lead to a breakdown in international order. Mr Annan last night said that there should have been a second UN resolution specifically authorising war against Iraq. Mr Blair and Mr Straw tried to secure this second resolution early in 2003 in the run-up to the war but were unable to convince a sceptical security council." "Mr Annan said the security council had warned Iraq in resolution 1441 there would be "consequences" if it did not comply with its demands. But he said it should have been up to the council to determine what those consequences were." 9-04 -09-25-04 British Muslims Fear Retaliations (Guardian Unlimited) "The moderate Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said it had received 2,000 threatening emails, and the Association of Chief Police Officers yesterday gathered information from forces about tension levels and threats in their areas." "British Muslims were last night scheduled to fly to Baghdad to plead for Mr Bigley's life, in a mission organised by the MCB. It said the mission was partly designed to show that British Muslims were as appalled by Mr Bigley's plight as anyone, and to reiterate the belief among British Muslims that Islam forbids the taking of civilians as hostages, let alone their killing." 9-04 -09-28-04 British Prime Minister Apologizes About Iraq (TimetoVote.net) "U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, apologizing for 'wrong' intelligence used to justify the invasion of Iraq, urged his Labour Party to set aside differences over the war as it prepares to campaign for an unprecedented third term." 9-04 -10-02-04 Mr. Allawi Determined to Have Elections (BBC News) "To anyone who listened as Iyad Allawi addressed the US Congress and the United Nations last week, his speech at London's International Institute of Strategic Studies covered some familiar ground." "But he identified the forthcoming election in January as the key test on which the government should be judged." "We will have those elections in Iraq on time, next year, because that is what millions of Iraqis want," he declared." 10-04 -10-10-04 Soldiers in Iraq Express Frustration (MSNBC News) "Several members of the platoon said they were struck by the difference between the way the war was being portrayed in the United States and the reality of their daily lives." " 'Every day you read the articles in the States where it's like,' "Oh, it's getting better and better," said Lance Cpl. Jonathan Snyder, 22, of Gettysburg, Pa. 'But when you're here, you know it's worse every day.' " " 'The reality right now is that the most dangerous opinion in the world is the opinion of a U.S. serviceman,' said Lance Cpl. Devin Kelly, 20, of Fairbanks, Alaska." "Lance Cpl. Alexander Jones, 20, of Ball Ground, Ga., agreed: 'We're basically proving out that the government is wrong,' he said. 'We're catching them in a lie.' " "Asked if he was concerned that the Marines would be punished for speaking out, Autin responded: 'What are they going to do, send us to Iraq?' " 10-04 -10-10-04 Weapons Handover Begins in Sadr City (CNN News) "Iraqis aligned with the Medhi Army began trickling into Iraqi police stations in Sadr City Monday morning, exchanging their weapons for coupons they can later use to get cash from the Iraqi government." 10-04 -10-19-04 Former President Carter Talks About the Candidates and War (MSNBC News) "Former President Jimmy Carter talks about the presidential candidates and the war on terrorism." 10-04 -10-25-04 Explosives Missing (Fox News) "The Iraqi interim government believes that more than 380 tons of dangerous explosives are missing from a military installation south of Baghdad, FOX News confirmed Monday." "HMX and RDX are key ingredients in plastic explosives such as C-4 (search) and Semtex (search) — substances so powerful that Libyan terrorists needed just 1 pound to blow up Pan Am Flight 103 (search) over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, killing 170 people." "The Iraqis told the nuclear agency the materials had been stolen and looted because of a lack of security at governmental installations, IAEA spokesman Melissa Fleming said." 10-04 -10-26-04 Iraq's Prime Minister Blames Ambush on U.S. Negligence (MSNBC News) "Iraq’s interim prime minister blamed the U.S.-led coalition Tuesday for 'great negligence' in the ambush that killed about 50 soldiers heading home after graduation from a U.S.-run training course, and warned of an escalation of terrorist attacks." "Allawi did not explain how the coalition had failed in its responsibilities to the Iraqi troops, who were traveling to southern Iraq in three buses after graduating from a training course in Kirkush. The buses had no armed escort and the soldiers were not carrying weapons." "However, in an interview with Al-Arabiya television, Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan blamed the recruits, who in their eagerness to get home decided to leave immediately after their graduation and take an unauthorized route." 10-04 -10-28-04 Study: Invasion of Iraq May Have Cost 100,000 Iraqi Lives (ABC News) "A survey of deaths in Iraqi households estimates that as many as 100,000 more people may have died throughout the country in the 18 months since the U.S.-led invasion than would be expected based on the death rate before the war." "The survey indicated violence accounted for most of the extra deaths seen since the invasion, and airstrikes from coalition forces caused most of the violent deaths, the researchers wrote in the British-based journal." " 'Most individuals reportedly killed by coalition forces were women and children,' they said." 10-04 -10-29-04 Halliburton Under Criminal Investigation (MSNBC News) "An Army contracting officer who led the FBI to widen its investigation of Pentagon contracts to Halliburton told NBC News that she had never seen a worse case of contracting abuse."" 'The initiation of an FBI investigation into criminal misconduct will help restore public confidence,' Kohn said. 'The Army must aggressively protect Ms. Greenhouse from the retaliation she will encounter as a result of blowing the whistle on this misconduct.' ” " 'Among the evidence cited in the complaint was an internal 2003 Pentagon e-mail that says the Iraq contract 'has been coordinated' with Cheney’s White House office."The vice president, who continues to receive deferred compensation from when he was Halliburton’s chief executive in the late 1990s, has steadfastly maintained he has played no role in the selection of his former company for federal business.' " 10-04 -10-29-04 Missing Explosives - Video Shows U.S. Soldiers Checking Them (Bloomberg.com) "Explosives that went missing from Iraq's al-Qaqaa facility were still present after the U.S.-led invasion, according to ABC News, which aired a videotape shot at the site last year by a network affiliate." 10-04 -11-04-04 Times: Looters Took Explosives with Troops Watching (CBS News) "Explosives were looted from the Al-Qaqaa ammunitions site in Iraq while outnumbered U.S. soldiers assigned to guard the materials watched helplessly, soldiers told the Los Angeles Times." "Iraqi officials told the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency last month that about 380 tons of high-grade explosives, a type powerful enough to detonate a nuclear weapon, had been taken from the Al-Qaqaa facility." "Soldiers who belong to two different units described how Iraqis snatched explosives from unsecured bunkers and drove off with them in pickup trucks." "The eyewitness accounts reported by the Times are the first provided by U.S. soldiers and bolster claims that the U.S. military had failed to safeguard the powerful explosives, the newspaper said" "The soldiers who spoke to the Times asked to remain unidentified, saying they feared retaliation from the Pentagon." 11-04 -11-08-04 U.S. Troops Attack Fallujah (ABC News) "Thousands of U.S. troops, backed by armor and a stunning air barrage, attacked Sunni insurgents' toughest strongholds in Fallujah on Monday, launching a long-awaited offensive aimed at putting an end to guerrilla control of the Sunni Muslim city." 11-04 -11-19-04 Red Cross Blasts Both Sides in Iraq (BBC News) "The International Committee of the Red Cross has condemned what it calls the "utter contempt for humanity" shown by all sides in the fighting in Iraq." 11-04 -11-29-04 Annan Surprised by Son's Payments (BBC News) "Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was 'very disappointed and surprised' that his son had continued to receive payments until this February from a firm that had a contract with Iraq's oil-for-food program, the subject of numerous corruption investigations." "Annan told reporters Monday that he had been working on the understanding that payments to his son, Kojo Annan, from the Swiss-based firm Cotecna Inspection S.A. stopped in 1998 'and I had not expected that the relationship continued.' " 11-04 -12-07-04 CIA Chief: Iraq Faces Chaos (Guardian Unlimited) "The Bush administration's robust assertions that the situation in Iraq would improve with next month's elections were badly shaken yesterday with the leak of a gloomy end-of-tour cable from the departing CIA station chief in Baghdad." 12-04 -12-07-04 Darby Commended for Reporting Abuse (CBS News) "[Spc. Joe] Darby, who is still on duty overseas, was commended in a military report for promptly alerting superiors in January after discovering photographs of fellow 372nd Military Police Company personnel taking part in abuse of prisoners at the prison." 12-04 -12-08-04 "Stop Loss" Rejected by Court (CBS News) "A soldier who challenged an Army policy requiring him to serve past the date of his enlistment contract must return for duty in Iraq while his lawsuit is under review, a federal judge ruled Wednesday." 12-04 -12-10-04 Contractors Contradict Rumseld's Excuse for No Armor (USA Today) "President Bush said he understood the troops' concerns and has told military families that 'we're doing everything we possibly can to protect your loved ones.' " "A day earlier, he [Rumsfeld] had called it 'a matter of physics, not a matter of money ... It's a matter of production and the capability of doing it.' But spokesmen for two companies making armor for vehicles said Thursday they had offered to step up the pace of production:" • "Former Republican congressman Matt Salmon of Arizona, a spokesman for ArmorWorks in Tempe, Ariz., said his company will finish a $30 million contract with the Pentagon this month to make 1,500 armor kits for Humvees. 'We are at 50% capacity, and we could do a lot more,' he said. 'They are aware of it.' " • "Armor Holdings of Jacksonville told the Army last month it could add armor to as many as 550 trucks a month, up from 450, said Robert Mecredy of its aerospace and defense group. 'We're prepared to build 50 to 100 vehicles more per month,' he said." "[Army Lt. Gen. Steven] Whitcomb said the military is about 2,000 short of having 8,100 heavily protected Humvees sought by commanders in Iraq but is adding about 400 a month." "In contrast to the upbeat Pentagon assessment, the House Armed Services Committee reported that only about 1,100 medium and heavy U.S. military trucks out of some 9,000 in the Iraq and Afghanistan regions have proper protection for their cabs." 12-04 -12-10-04 Response to Estimate of 100,000 Iraqi Casualties (IBC) "Some people have asked us why we have not increased our count to 100,000 in the light of the multiple media reports of the recent Lancet study [link] which claims this as a probable and conservative estimate of Iraqi casualties." "Iraq Body Count does not include casualty estimates or projections in its database. It only includes individual or cumulative deaths as directly reported by the media or tallied by official bodies (for instance, by hospitals, morgues and, in a few cases so far, NGOs), and subsequently reported in the media. In other words, each entry in the Iraq Body Count data base represents deaths which have actually been recorded by appropriate witnesses - not 'possible' or even 'probable' deaths." 10-04 01-08-04 Carnegie: Pre-emptive War on Iraq not Valid (BBC News - Reynolds) "The latest assessment of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction is scornful of the way intelligence was presented and goes beyond concluding that Iraq was not an imminent threat - it calls for an end to the US doctrine of pre-emptive war." "As far as the WMD were concerned, it [the Carnegie report] concluded: "Iraq's nuclear programme had been suspended for many years. Iraq focussed on preserving a dual-use chemical and problem biological weapons capability but not on weapons production. Iraqi nerve agents had lost most of their lethality by 1991." "The intelligence community overestimated the chemical and biological weapons in Iraq." "Intelligence agencies appear to have been unduly influenced by policymakers' views. Officials misrepresented the threat over and above intelligence findings." "There was no solid evidence linking Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda, nor evidence that Iraq would transfer WMD to terrorists."  "Among the examples quoted of how officials went beyond the known facts to exaggerate the threat was a comment from President Bush who said:" " 'The regime was forced to admit that it had produced more than 30,000 litres of anthrax and other deadly biological agents.' " "In fact, the report notes, UN inspectors had commented only that Iraq might have imported enough growth media to produce these amounts, not quite the same thing." 1-04 01-08-04 Carnegie: White House Misled Public (Christian Science Monitor - Regan) "The Guardian reports that the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) Thursday accused the Bush administration of "systematically misrepresenting" the threat posed by "Iraq's weapons of mass destruction" in a comprehensive report on post-war findings. The report, by four experts on weapons proliferation at the respected institute (which has consistently opposed the war in Iraq), is likely to reignite calls for a commission to look into the government's pre-war intelligence claims." 1-04 01-08-04 Halliburton to be Replaced (CNN News) "The Defense Department is removing the Army Corps of Engineers from overseeing oil imports into Iraq, acting just weeks after Pentagon auditors said Halliburton -- Vice President Dick Cheney's former firm -- may have overcharged taxpayers under the Corps' supervision." 01-08-04 Powell Defends Statements on Iraq (CNN News) "Secretary of State Colin Powell Thursday defended the Bush administration's position that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction programs and defended his speech on the matter to the United Nations last February." "He was responding to a study that found Iraq had ended its programs by the mid-1990s and did not pose an immediate threat to the United States before the 2003 war. Powell said he had not read the report but read news reports about it." 1-04 01-08-04 Powell: No Proof of Links Between Saddam and al-Qaida (MSNBC) "Secretary of State Colin Powell reversed a year of administration policy, acknowledging Thursday that he had seen no 'smoking gun [or] concrete evidence' of ties between former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida." 1-04 01-16-04 Iraqi Women Decry Move to Cut Rights (MSNBC News) "For the past four decades, Iraqi women have enjoyed some of the most modern legal protections in the Muslim world, under a civil code that prohibits marriage below the age of 18, arbitrary divorce and male favoritism in child custody and property inheritance disputes." "Saddam Hussein's dictatorship did not touch those rights. But the U.S.-backed Iraqi Governing Council has voted to wipe them out, ordering in late December that family laws shall be "canceled" and such issues placed under the jurisdiction of strict Islamic legal doctrine known as sharia." "This week, outraged Iraqi women -- from judges to cabinet ministers -- denounced the decision in street protests and at conferences, saying it would set back their legal status by centuries and could unleash emotional clashes among various Islamic strains that have differing rules for marriage, divorce and other family issues." 1-04 01-16-04 Leading Iraqi Cleric Wants Direct Elections (MSNBC News) "Administration officials insist they will hold to the July 1 deadline but they are exploring ways to strike a compromise with a leading Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, and his supporters." "Al-Sistani is pressing for direct, popular elections, rather than the caucuses envisioned in the U.S. plan, as the way to create Iraq’s new government." 1-04 01-23-04 Halliburton Agrees: Corruption Charges Valid (CBS News) "Halliburton has fired employees who allegedly took kickbacks from a Kuwaiti subcontractor helping to supply U.S. troops in Iraq, the company said." 1-04 01-30-04 Bush Wants "Facts," No Inquiry on False Intelligence on Iraq (CBS News) "President Bush said Friday "I want to know the facts" about any intelligence failures concerning Saddam Hussein's alleged cache of forbidden weapons but he declined to endorse calls for an independent investigation." 1-04 02-02-04 President to Form Commission on Intelligence Related to Weapons of Mass Destruction (CNN News) "President Bush said Monday he would appoint a presidential commission to review U.S. intelligence on the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq." "Responding to political pressure, Bush told reporters at a Cabinet meeting he wanted to look at prewar intelligence and the findings of the Iraq Survey Group -- the U.S. team hunting for weapons programs in the country." "A senior administration official said Monday that Bush will name the members of the commission. The official said the president had consulted some 'appropriate' members of Congress about the appointments." "Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-South Dakota, questioned the president's description of the commission." " 'I think that it is important for us to have an independent commission, as I've said now on several occasions, but it truly should be independent,' Daschle said." " 'It sounds as if the president is going to call for one where he gets to appoint each of the members and dictate the design and ultimately the circumstances under which they do their work.' " " 1-04 02-05-04 Halliburton Grilled About Excess Charges in Iraq (Bloomberg.com) "There are new allegations about how well U.S. tax dollars have been used in Iraq. It's just the latest controversy surrounding Halliburton, the Texas company once run by Vice President Cheney - and the U.S. military's biggest contractor in Iraq." "According to sources and published reports, Kellogg, Brown & Root - the Halliburton subsidiary that runs these military dining halls - has billed the government for millions of meals soldiers never ate, because, as CBS News Correspondent Wyatt Andrews, it is billing on the number of meals projected in advance, not the actual number of meals served.""Congressional critics say the meal projections were sometimes three times the number of meals delivered." 2-04 02-06-04 Bush Attempts to Defuse Iraq Controversy (BBC News) "By appointing an independent commission to exam the intelligence on Iraq, President Bush hopes to neutralise the issue in this year's election." "Mr Bush named the commission in the face of mounting political pressure. In recent days it has been damaging him politically. For the first time since the war, there's no longer a clear majority of Americans who believe it was the right thing to do." "The commission has been given till the end of March next year to report. It sounds suspiciously like an election-avoidance timetable." "Then there is the thorny question of political interference. Is it their job to examine just the intelligence, or can they look at what the politicians did with it?" President Bush appeared to suggest that only the intelligence gathering process would be examined." "But when the Democratic candidate in the Presidential debate launches his attack this autumn, Mr Bush now has a pre-scripted reply: Wait for the commission, wait for their answers, only then will we know the truth." 2-04 02-08-04 Bush: Iraq Was Not an 'Imminent Threat' (Bloomberg.com) "President George W. Bush said chemical and biological weapons Iraq may have possessed were a danger even if the threat wasn't imminent and that former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein might have disposed of them before the war." 2-04 02-08-04 U.S. May Have Found Saddam's Money (Guardian Unlimited) "The United States believes it has found at least $300 million Saddam Hussein hid in banks, yet doesn't have enough evidence to get countries such as Syria and Switzerland to hand over the money, U.S. and European officials told The Associated Press." "Much to the frustration of the Bush administration, countries that acted quickly on relatively weak evidence involving al-Qaida funds have been unwilling to do the same on Iraq, partly because of growing doubts about the quality of U.S. intelligence." "Were the account held in a U.S. bank, federal authorities wouldn't need any more evidence than they already have because the Patriot Act, passed after Sept. 11, 2001, gives them expanded powers of search and seizure." 2-04 02-12-04 U.N.'s Annan: Elections in Iraq Soon (BBC News) "United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has said a consensus seemed to be emerging for direct elections in Iraq." "The US says there is not time to organise free and fair elections before the 30 June handover. It wants regional meetings to select a new government, which in turn would draft a constitution - with elections postponed until at least the end of 2005" 2-04 02-14-04 Insurgents Overwhelm Police and Free Prisoners (CNN News) "At least 20 people died and dozens of prisoners were set free when insurgents stormed a police station and a civil defense compound at dawn in Fallujah, Saturday, Iraqi sources said." "Doctors and other Iraqi sources said most of the dead were police officers and some were civilians." "More than 600 Iraqi security and police forces have been killed since April." 2-04 02-21-04 Poll: Educated Iraqis Not Confident in U.S.-Appointed Leadership (Nzoom.com) "A poll of university-educated Iraqi men in Baghdad shows almost three in four of them did not believe the country's current leaders were fit to take over from the US-led coalition." "Only 11% said some of the Iraqi leaders on the US-appointed interim Governing Council were fit to take the reins of the strife-torn country from the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority." "Sixty per cent also said they did not want to see any members of the governing council at the helm of Iraq, against 17% who did." 2-04 02-21-04 U.S. Deadline for Iraqi Sovereignty Unchanged (CNN News) "[U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq Paul] Bremer said the United Nations estimates 'somewhere between a year and 15 months' would be needed to get Iraq ready for elections, though that could be sped up." "He was speaking after the White House Friday acknowledged a point U.S. officials have conceded privately -- the administration's plan to use a caucus-style procedure to choose an interim Iraqi government has been shelved. However, it remains firm on the June 30 date for a transition to full Iraqi sovereignty." " 'Iraq has no election law, it has no national commission to even establish a national law governing political parties, it has no voters' lists, it has not had a credible, reliable census for almost 20 years, there are no constituent boundaries to decide where elections would take place,' Bremer told Dubai-based Al Arabiya satellite network." 2-04 02-26-04 Top Siite Cleric Accepts U.N. Timetable (MSNBC News) "Iraq’s most prominent Shiite Muslim cleric on Thursday called for elections by the end of the year, signaling that he would accept an interim government but offering a strict time-frame after the United States hands over power." 2-04  03-02-04 Al-Qaeda Starting Civil War in Iraq? (BBC News) "In the aftermath of the attacks on the Iraqi Shias, attention is turning to whether this is the result of a deliberate attempt by elements linked to al-Qaeda to foment inter-community strife and civil war.""If there is a mastermind behind the attacks, then the main candidate would appear to be a man with links to Osama Bin Laden named Abu Musab al-Zarqawi." 3-04 03-02-04 Severest Assault in Iraq and Pakistan (Bloomberg.com) "Bombers attacked Shiite Muslims in Iraq and Pakistan on a holy day, killing at least 184 people and wounding about 590 in a challenge to security in both countries. U.S. officials said a man they have described as an al-Qaeda associate, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, may be behind the Iraqi attacks." 3-04 03-02-04 U.N.: No Weapons of Mass Destruction Since 1994 (CBS News) "Iraq apparently had no significant weapons of mass destruction after 1994, according to a newspaper account of a United Nations report due to be released Tuesday." 3-04 03-05-04 Blix: Iraq War Was Illegal (Guardian Unlimited - Jeffery) "The former UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix today rubbished the government's argument that war in Iraq was legalised by existing security council resolutions." 3-04 03-08-04 Iraq Has Interim Constitution (CNN News) "Calling it a new beginning for their country, Iraqi Governing Council members Monday signed an interim constitution, laying the groundwork for future elections, a permanent constitution and eventually a return to self-rule." 3-04 03-18-04 Polish President: Poland "Misled" on Iraq (Guardian Unlimited) "President Aleksander Kwasniewski, a key Washington ally, said Thursday he may withdraw troops early from Iraq and that Poland was 'misled' about the threat of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction." 3-04 04-10-04 Bush Was Warned (USA Today) "President Bush's August 2001 briefing on terrorism threats, described largely as a historical document, included information from three months earlier that al-Qaeda was trying to send operatives into the United States for an explosives attack, according to several people who have seen the memo." 4-04 04-16-04 Brokaw Interviews Blair (MSNBC News) News anchor Tom Brokaw interviews British Prime Minister Tony Blair. 4-04 04-16-04 Bush Supports UN Solution in Iraq (Bloomberg.com) "U.S. President George W. Bush said he supports the idea of a United Nations-selected interim government taking power in Iraq June 30. U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair said the UN has a 'central role' in the power transfer." 4-04 05-02-04 Evidence of U.S. Soldiers Torturing Iraqi Prisoners (CBS News) "The New Yorker magazine said it obtained a U.S. Army report that Iraqi detainees were subjected to 'sadistic, blatant and wanton criminal abuses' at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad." "And New York-based Human Rights Watch said any investigation should also include the superiors of soldiers involved." " 'The brazenness with which these soldiers conducted themselves ... suggests they felt they had nothing to hide from their superiors,' said Kenneth Roth, the group's executive director." 4-04 05-02-04 Red Cross Warned U.S. About Prison Conditions (CNN News) "With new images surfacing in the media of possible U.S. abuse against Iraqi prisoners, the International Committee for the Red Cross said Thursday it had repeatedly asked American authorities to take "corrective action" at the Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad." 5-04 05-11-04 Abuse in Iraqi Systematic, Not Isolated (BBC News) "Citing coalition intelligence officers, the 24-page report passed to the coalition by the International Committee of the Red Cross in February also found evidence of widespread and routine abuse of prisoners." 5-04 05-12-04 General Taguba: Abuse in Iraqi Caused by a Failure in Leadership (MSNBC News) "The general who first investigated allegations that U.S. soldiers abused prisoners in Iraq told Congress on Tuesday that the mistreatment resulted from a 'failure of leadership from the brigade commander on down, a lack of discipline, no training whatsoever and no supervision.' ” 5-04 05-12-04 U.S. Missed Chances to Stop Abuses (USA Today) "Pentagon and White House officials missed numerous opportunities to head off abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, according to interviews, testimony and public documents that have emerged since the scandal erupted last month.” 5-04 05-15-04 Report: Rumsfeld Approved Iraqi Abuses (USAToday.com) "Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld authorized the expansion of a secret program that encouraged physical coercion and sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners to obtain intelligence about the growing insurgency in Iraq, The New Yorker reported Saturday." 5-04 05-21-04 Bush to Propose 5-Step Plan in Iraq (MSNBC News) "With support for his Iraq policies at an all-time low, President Bush will deliver a prime-time speech Monday seeking to assure the public he has a strategy for handing over power to Iraqis on June 30 and keeping the violence from spiraling out of control." "Emergence of an interim government will follow recent polling data that showed 82 percent of Iraqis disapprove of the U.S. occupation force. Despite that resentment, the White House maintains that a great majority of Iraqis want coalition forces in place to secure the country." 5-04 05-21-04 U.S. and Britain Introduce New Resolution to U.N. (USA Today) "The draft resolution was an attempt by the Bush administration to win international backing for its post-occupation plans in Iraq, which have been severely shaken by violence in the country." "With his approval ratings sinking after repeated setbacks in Iraq, President Bush is also seeking to rebuild support at home. He is to deliver a nationally televised speech Monday night aimed at convincing U.S. voters he has a political and security blueprint that can stabilize Iraq." "The resolution would also:" "Endorse the formation of a sovereign Interim Government, to take office by June 30 and timetable to hold elections for a transitional national assembly by Jan. 31." "Give the interim government control of a fund into which oil revenues are deposited, currently controlled by the U.S.-led coalition. An international body will continue monitoring use of the fund." "Reaffirm the authority of the U.S.-led multinational force 'to take all necessary measures to contribute to the maintenance of security and stability in Iraq including by preventing and deterring terrorism.' " 5-04 05-23-04 Videos Reveal Americans Bombed Iraqi Wedding (CBC News) "The videotape obtained Sunday by Associated Press Television News captures a wedding party that survivors say was later attacked by U.S. planes early Wednesday, killing up to 45 people." " 'There was no evidence of a wedding: no decorations, no musical instruments found, no large quantities of food or leftover servings one would expect from a wedding celebration,' Brig.-Gen. Mark Kimmitt said Saturday. 'There may have been some kind of celebration. Bad people have celebrations, too.' " "An AP reporter and photographer, who interviewed more than a dozen survivors a day after the bombing, were able to identify many of them on the wedding party video - which runs for several hours."  "Prominently displayed on the videotape was a stocky man with close-cropped hair playing an electric organ. Another tape, filmed a day later in Ramadi and obtained by APTN, showed the musician lying dead in a burial shroud - his face clearly visible and wearing the same tan shirt as he wore when he performed." "[Brig.-Gen.] Kimmitt has denied finding evidence that any children died in the raid although a 'handful of women' - perhaps four to six - were 'caught up in the engagement.' " "However, an AP reporter obtained names of at least 10 children who relatives said had died. Bodies of five of them were filmed by APTN when the survivors took them to Ramadi for burial Wednesday. Iraqi officials said at least 13 children were killed." "Haleema Shihab, 32, one of the three wives of Rikad Nayef, said that as the first bombs fell, she grabbed her seven-month old son, Yousef, and clutching the hands of her five-year-old son, Hamza, started running. Her 15-year-old son, Ali, sprinted alongside her. They managed to run for several metres when she fell - her leg fractured." " 'Hamza was yelling, 'mommy,' " Shihab recalled. 'Ali said he was hurt and that he was bleeding. That's the last time I heard him.' Then another shell fell and injured Shihab's left arm." " 'Hamza fell from my hand and was gone. Only Yousef stayed in my arms. Ali had been hit and was killed. I couldn't go back,' she said from her hospital bed in Ramadi. Her arm was in a cast." "She and her stepdaughter, Iqbal - who had caught up with her - hid in a bomb crater. 'We were bleeding from 3 a.m. until sunrise,' Shihab said." "Soon American soldiers came. One of them kicked her to see if she was alive, she said." " 'I pretended I was dead so he wouldn't kill me,' said Shihab. She said the soldier was laughing. When Yousef cried, the soldier said: 'No, stop,' said Shihab." 5-04 06-01-04 Bush to Propose 5-Step Plan in Iraq (CBC News) "A powerful Sunni Muslim tribal leader and critic of the U.S.-led occupation was named president of Iraq's incoming government Tuesday, after Iraqi leaders rejected Washington's preferred candidate for the post." "After the selection of Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer to the largely ceremonial position, officials announced the makeup of the entire interim government due to take power on June 30 - and the body moved quickly to begin its work." "The U.S.-appointed Governing Council decided to dissolve immediately to make way rather than wait until June 30. The incoming prime minister, Iyad Allawi, said his government would soon negotiate a crucial agreement on the status of the U.S.-led occupation forces that will remain in Iraq." 6-04 06-05-04 Chirac Sees Progress (Bloomberg.com) "French President Jacques Chirac said progress is being made on a United Nations resolution on Iraq and 'finishing touches' on the document can be expected soon." 6-04 06-07-04 Nine Militias to Disband in Iraq (MSNBC News) "Nine major political parties have agreed to disband their militias, the interim prime minister said Monday, though the agreement does not include the militia of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr." 6-04 06-09-04 U.N. Approves New Resolution on Iraq (Washington Times) "A unanimous U.N. Security Council yesterday agreed to a U.S.-British resolution outlining the political future of Iraq and giving a clear international mandate to the U.S.-led security mission in the country." 6-04 06-16-04 Commission: No Al Qaeda Link to Iraq (ABC News) "The panel investigating the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks found 'no credible evidence that Iraq and al Qaeda cooperated on attacks against the United States,' according to a staff report issued on Wednesday." The report contradicts statements from the Bush administration that Saddam Hussein had ties to al Qaeda." 6-04 06-16-04 Poll: Americans See Iraq Invasion as a Mistake (CNN News) "For the first time since the start of the war in Iraq, a majority of Americans say the United States made a mistake in sending troops to that country, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released Thursday." 6-04 06-26-04 Farenheit 9/11 Goes After Bush (MSNBC.com) "Michael Moore’s scathing indictment of the Bush administration, 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' winner of the top prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, doesn’t break a lot of new ground." "The freshest ammunition in Moore’s arsenal is a camcorder tape of Bush’s ultra-delayed reaction to the news that the World Trade Center had been hit by terrorists. On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Bush was reading to kids at a Florida elementary school. After being informed of the attacks, Bush froze and continued with the classroom lesson — for nearly seven minutes." "But there’s a somber quality to the film’s second half, as the cost of the Iraq war becomes harder to hide. Interviews with fed-up American soldiers and furious Iraqi citizens are particularly chilling. So is Moore’s talk with a woman who lost her disillusioned son in Iraq and tearily confesses that she should have been paying more attention to the reasons he went." " 'Fahrenheit 9/11' isn’t entirely designed to skewer the current administration. Democrats are chastised for voting for the war and for not challenging the Supreme Court’s decision to anoint Bush, while senators of both parties are condemned for not backing African-American Congressmen who questioned the Florida election. Moore’s final hope, delivered in a non-partisan spirit, is that 'we won’t get fooled again.' ” 6-04 06-28-04 Handover of Iraq Completed (CNN News) "The handover of sovereignty to the interim Iraqi government took place at 10:26 a.m. Baghdad time Monday, two days before the June 30 deadline previously announced by the U.S.-led coalition." "Coalition Administrator Paul Bremer -- now the former administrator -- read his letter contained in the transfer document:"'As recognized in U.N. Security Council resolution 1546, the Coalition Provisional Authority will cease to exist on June 28th, at which point the occupation will end and the Iraqi interim government will assume and exercise full sovereign authority on behalf of the Iraqi people. I welcome Iraq's steps to take its rightful place of equality and honor among the free nations of the world. Sincerely, L. Paul Bremer, ex-administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority.' 6-04 06-30-04 Iraq Takes Custody of Saddam (Bloomberg.com) "Ousted dictator Saddam Hussein and 11 of his officials were put under Iraqi legal jurisdiction today and will be arraigned in Baghdad tomorrow, said the director of Iraq's Special Tribunal for war crimes, Salem Chalabi." 6-04 07-01-04 Saddam in Court (BBC News) "Our correspondent says without a system in place to gather statements and protect those who come forward there are fears that many valuable witnesses will be lost." "But the interim Iraqi government has dismissed such concerns, insisting that the evidence is already overwhelming, as Saddam Hussein's regime was meticulous in recording the most minute details of abuses carried out." 7-04 07-01-04 San Francisco to Vote on War (CBS News) "San Francisco voters will have a chance to express their views on the U.S.-led war in Iraq in November with a ballot initiative calling on the federal government to end the conflict." The toughly worded statement, which will appear on the California city's November ballot, says the war has cost more than 850 American lives and bled the nation of billions of dollars." 7-04 07-14-04 Red Cross: U.S. May Be Hiding Prisoners (WashingtonTimes.com) "Terror suspects reported by the FBI as captured have never turned up in detention centers, and the United States has failed to reply to agency demands for a list of everyone it's holding, Antonella Notari, spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in an interview with the Associated Press." "At the Pentagon, spokesman Bryan Whitman said, 'The International Committee of the Red Cross has access to all Defense Department detention operations.' "  "However, in his report into claims of abuse at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison, U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba found that military police there had 'routinely held persons brought to them by other government agencies without accounting for them, knowing their identities, or even the reason for their detention.' " 7-04 08-07-04 Iraq Gives Amnesty to Insurgents (USA Today) "Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi signed a long-awaited amnesty law Saturday that would pardon Iraqis who have played minor roles in the country's 15-month-long insurgency, but not those guilty of killing." 8-04 08-14-04 Peace Talks Break Down (USA Today) "Truce talks aimed at ending more than a week of violence between Shiite militants and U.S. and Iraqi forces in the holy city of Najaf broke down Saturday, Iraqi National Security Adviser Mouwaffaq al-Rubaie said." 8-04 08-17-04 New Government Challenged by Najaf Standoff (USA Today) "An Iraqi delegation brought a peace proposal aimed at ending the standoff in the holy city, which has marred a Baghdad conference meant to be a landmark step toward democracy." 8-04 08-26-04 Al-Sistani Helps Defuse Situation (CNN News) "The surprise return to Iraq of Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the country's most powerful religious leader, may help him win back support eroded by a radical Shi'ite uprising." 8-04 09-07-04 Improper Fees Found in Halliburton Work in Iraq (CBS News) "Halliburton Co.'s multibillion dollar contract for work to support U.S. troops in Iraq will be put back up for bids, according to a published report." "The value of the contract, to feed and house U.S. troops in Iraq, is valued at up to $13 billion." "A published report on the findings of Pentagon auditors said last month that Halliburton did not adequately account for more than $1.8 billion it billed the government for work in Iraq and Kuwait." "The $1.8 billion amounts to 40 percent of the $4.18 billion KBR has already billed the Pentagon for its work feeding and housing military troops." "Documents obtained by CBS News show an auditor repeatedly flagged improper fees for soldiers' laundry. At one site, taxpayers reportedly paid $100 for each 15-pound load of wash - $1 million a month in overcharges." 9-04 11-12-04 New Insurgency in Mosul (Guardian Unlimited) "US troops were drawn into a new offensive in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul yesterday to tackle a tide of insurgency unchecked by the military assault on Falluja." 11-04 11-14-04 Investigation: Oil-for-Food Nets Saddam $21 Billion (MSNBC News) "Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s regime made more than $21.3 billion in illegal revenue by subverting the U.N. oil-for-food program and other sanctions, more than double previous estimates, according to congressional investigators." 11-04 Papers Bad Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Distruction (MSNBC News - Newsweek - Barry and Hosenball) Reviews the circumstances leading up to the U.S. failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Identifies a key problem to be that the CIA and the Bush administration did not have real evidence of an Iraqi program of weapons of mass destruction, but yet they stated that they did have the evidence. U.S. chief weapons inspector Kay noted that "...Iraq was a monumental intelligence failure." "How did it happen? The United States spends more to run spy satellites and supersecret listening devices than the gross domestic products of many countries, yet it didn't have a clue as to what was really going on inside a sanctions-racked dictatorship it was about to attack?" "But if for no other reason than to restore American credibility, an unbiased review of the Iraq intelligence process may be vital. Who will believe the next American official who goes to the United Nations wagging a vial of fake anthrax, arguing that North Korea or Iran or some other 'rogue state' needs to be taken out before it attacks first? More worrisome still, the next dire warning may well be right." 1-04 Editorial - Why We Are in Iraq (GeorgeSoros.com - Soros) Argues that President Bush was not honest in his presentation of reasons for a pre-emptive attack against Iraq. 10-04 Examination of Bush and Kerry (PBS Frontline) "On November 2nd, Americans will vote in the first wartime election since Vietnam. Like that earlier war, the war in Iraq has exposed deep divisions in how Americans see this country and its place in the world. It has also exposed major differences between the two candidates, George W. Bush and John F. Kerry." "Culled from more than fifty interviews with the candidates' families, friends, colleagues, and political adversaries, "The Choice 2004" takes a hard look at the character, experience, and worldviews of Bush and Kerry and illuminates defining moments of their lives with rare archival footage. The program also examines both candidates' decision-making on going to war in Iraq." 10-04 Fueling War - Oil and Iraq (CBS News) "It was not solely about oil, said the first President Bush, when America led the fight to drive Iraq from Kuwait more than a decade ago." "And today, as Iraqis wonder when Baghdad may be bombed again, the current Bush administration says it’s not about oil at all – this time." “It’s about oil a lot more than people in the government are saying. I think if you had tulips in Iraq, we wouldn’t have several hundred thousand troops getting ready to invade,” says veteran journalist Sandy Tolan." "Tolan teaches about the politics of oil at the University of California at Berkeley. " 2-03 Interim Iraqi Constitution Signed (ABC News) "For an hour anyway, Iraqi leaders put aside their disagreements Monday during the signing of a landmark interim constitution, which as CBS News Anchor Dan Rather reports, guarantees all Iraqis equal rights regardless of race, color or religious belief." 3-04 Kay: Intelligence Services Owe Bush (CNN News) "Two days after resigning as the Bush administration's top weapons inspector in Iraq, David Kay said Sunday that his group found no evidence Iraq had stockpiled unconventional weapons before the U.S.-led invasion in March." "He said U.S. intelligence services owe President Bush an explanation for having concluded that Iraq had." 1-04 Poll: Iraq War Has Not Helped in Fight Against Terror (Guardian Unlimited) "George Bush has squandered a wealth of sympathy around the world towards America since September 11 with public opinion in 10 leading countries - including some of its closest allies - growing more hostile to the United States while he has been in office. ""The poll, conducted by 10 of the world's leading newspapers, including France's Le Monde, Japan's Asahi Shimbun, Canada's La Presse, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Guardian, also shows that on balance world opinion does not believe that the war in Iraq has made a positive contribution to the fight against terror." 10-04 Poll: War Has Made the World More Dangerous, Not Less (CNN News) "About three-fourths or more of the people in Britain, France, Italy and Spain think the war in Iraq has increased the threat of terrorism. Even in the United States, the number who feel that way increased from more than a third in February to more than half now." 10-04 Refugee Camps - The Human Toll (CBC) Describes how refugee camps are set up, or need to be set up, to serve displaced people. People are often displaced as a result of warfare. "The goal is to keep the mortality rate at less than one person per 10,000 per day. More than one person per 10,000 per day is considered a very serious situation, more than two is an emergency and more than five is a major catastrophe." "The main causes of death and disease in emergency situations are measles, diarrhoeas (including cholera), acute respiratory infections, malnutrition and malaria." 4-03 Russert Interviews Bush - On Iraq and the Economy (Forbes.com - Bush and Russert) "Here is a transcript of an interview aired on Sunday by NBC's Meet the Press with President Bush. The interviewer was Tim Russert." 2-04 U.S. and British Leaders Accused of Misleading Public About Danger (Independent - Rangwala) "One key tactic of the British and United States governments in their campaign on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction was to talk up suspicions and to portray possibility as fact. The clearest example was the quotation and misquotation of the reports of United Nations weapons inspectors." 6-03 WMD in Iraq, Evidence and Implications (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) Reports evidence of the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the "systematic misrepresentation" of that evidence by the Bush administration in order to conduct a pre-emptive war. 1-04