Jim Lobe

Congress is poised to approve new legislation that amounts to the first substantive expansion of the controversial USA Patriot Act since it was approved just after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the Pentagon. Acting at the Bush administration’s behest, a joint House-Senate conference committee has approved a provision in the 2004 … Continue reading “Patriot Act Expansion
Moves Through Congress”

The naming of an officer accused of longstanding ties to right-wing paramilitary forces as Colombia’s new armed forces commander is a "slap in the face" of the US administration, which has pressed Bogotá to improve its human rights record, says Amnesty International USA (AIUSA). The group’s condemnation of the appointment of Gen. Carlos Ospina Ovalle … Continue reading “New Colombian Military Chief’s ‘Slap’ in US’ Face”

p align=”left”>This week’s blockbuster leak of a secret memorandum from a senior Pentagon official to the Senate Intelligence Committee has spurred speculation that neo-conservative hawks in the Bush administration are on the defensive and growing more desperate. Both the committee and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have asked the Justice Department to launch an investigation … Continue reading “New Leak Smells of Neocon Desperation”

The killing of a French UN relief worker Sunday in the Afghan provincial city of Ghazni underscores both the deteriorating security situation in much of the country two years after the ouster of the Taliban regime, and the degree to which the United Nations and aid workers in general have become targets in the ongoing … Continue reading “Murder of UN Worker Spotlights Resurgence of Taliban”

Middle East peace activists are seeing rays of hope for the first time since pro-Likud neo-conservatives grabbed control of US policy toward the region after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and the Pentagon. The specific focus of those hopes lies with two "unofficial" peace plans put together by leading Israelis and Palestinians … Continue reading “American, Israeli Hawks Worried Over Peace Moves”

While the US’ new military aggressiveness against alleged enemy targets in Iraq provided good video to lead TV news broadcasts this week, its effectiveness, as well as the latest political strategy to win Iraqi "hearts and minds," remain very much in question. While the military put on a display of firepower in Baghdad and in … Continue reading “Washington’s New Sound and Fury Hide Fear and Worry”

Popular doubts about President George W. Bush’s credibility and his justification for going to war in Iraq are on the rise, according to a new survey conducted by the University of Maryland’s Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA). The survey of a random sample of more than 1,000 voters, which echoes the results of other … Continue reading “Doubts Rise Over War Rationale, Bush Credibility”

Between 21,000 and 55,000 people have died as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and its aftermath, according to a new report that also warned of rapidly deteriorating health conditions for those who survived. London-based Medact, the British affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), concluded that the war’s … Continue reading “Charity: Iraq War Killed 21,000 to 55,000 Iraqis”

Most Palestinians living in the Israeli-occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank are eating only one meal a day, leading to malnutrition at levels found in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new United Nations report. The area is "on the verge of humanitarian catastrophe," adds the document released Wednesday by the UN Human Rights … Continue reading “One Meal a Day for Most Palestinians”

While maintaining a brave face on the accelerating stream of bad news coming out of Baghdad, the administration of President George W. Bush appears increasingly at a loss, not to say panicked, about what to do. This week’s abrupt and unscheduled return here by L. Paul Bremer, Washington’s proconsul in Baghdad, for top-level White House … Continue reading “Brave Face Belies Administration’s Panic”