US, Iraqi Views of Occupation Converging

One year after President George W Bush declared an end to "major hostilities" in Iraq, public opinion there and in the United States is beginning to converge, as people in both countries increasingly agree that the US invasion and occupation might not have been such a...

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‘Enemy Combatants’ Finally Before Supreme Court

After two years of litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court is finally set to decide whether the executive branch of the US government may detain alleged "enemy combatants" indefinitely without any judicial review of their status. Three cases – one of them argued...

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US Starting From Square One in Iraq, One Year Later

One year after invading U.S. and British forces consolidated their control over Iraq, the administration of President George W. Bush appears to be back at Square One, if not in negative territory, over how to ensure that control in the short to medium term. The...

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Majority Still Believe in Iraq’s WMD, al-Qaeda Ties

U.S. public perceptions about former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's alleged ties to al-Qaeda and stocks of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) continues to lag far behind the testimony of experts, boosting chances that President George W Bush will be reelected,...

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One, Two, Many Messes

While the United States does not look quite yet like the "pitiful, helpless giant" that tortured Richard Nixon's imagination during the Vietnam War, the past week's events seem to have moved it very much in that direction. The week, which was supposed to...

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Neocons See Iran Behind Shi’ite Uprising

Neo-conservatives close to the administration of President George W Bush are pushing for retribution against Iran for, they say, sponsoring this week's Shiite uprising in Iraq led by radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Despite the growing number of reports that depict the...

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Neocons Seek Islamic ‘Reformation’

One thing that can be said about U.S. neo-conservatives is they do not lack for ambition. "We need an Islamic reformation," Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz confided on the eve of the US invasion of Iraq last year, "and I think there is real hope for one."...

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US Ties Bolster Kazakhstan’s Soviet-Style Leader

Six months before scheduled parliamentary elections, the U.S.-backed government in Kazakhstan is harassing the political opposition, and undermining prospects for a free and fair choice, according to a new report released Tuesday by Human Rights Watch (HRW). The...

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Shi’ite Uprising Signals Double Trouble for US

With U.S. Marines effectively locking down the defiant city of Fallujah in the rebellious "Sunni Triangle," other US military forces in Iraq opened a new front Monday to quash an apparent uprising by a Shiite militia in Baghdad and the south, in what some...

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Fallujah Deflates Washington’s Optimism

April Fools' Day is traditionally one of good-natured mischief, but not this year. Indeed, U.S. President George W. Bush's trademark smirk, which normally fits the day's spirit almost to a T, was nowhere to be seen Thursday. The reason was clear enough: Iraq suddenly,...

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