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Impeach
Bush--Index 8
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February 07,
2005 An Impeachable Offense Geneva Convention Violation Unqualified medics 'did amputations' Although the prison just outside Baghdad was jammed with as many as 7000 detainees - some of whom displayed serious mental illnesses - no US doctor was in residence for most of 2003 following the US-led invasion of Iraq. February 06, 2005 Charges dropped against Sabrina Harman The charge against Sabrina Harman, over viewing and failing to prevent other soldiers from forcing detainees to masturbate, was dropped without discussion. The charge carried a maximum sentence of five years. February 04, 2005 Lt. Gen. James Mattis: "It's fun to shoot some people" "It's fun to shoot some people,' said the Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James Mattis while speaking at a forum in San Diego. His comments though appeared funny to some at the forum, have led to annoyance of many including his higher officials. February 04, 2005 Super Bowl Ads Censors by Fox NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - A Super Bowl commercial costs more than ever, but here's one way advertisers can get the most bang for their buck: Produce a tasteless ad that television executives reject, make it publicly available, and let the free publicity flow. This year at least four advertisers -- Anheuser-Busch, GoDaddy.com, Ford Motor Company, and Airborne, a cold remedy maker -- have captured headlines for controversial ads that were pulled from Sunday's Eagles-Patriots matchup. February 04, 2005 Privatizers can't explain away their Catch-22 Schemes for Social Security privatization, like the one described in the 2004 Economic Report of the President, invariably assume that investing in stocks will yield a high annual rate of return, 6.5 percent or 7 percent after inflation, for at least the next 75 years. Without that assumption, these schemes can't deliver on their promises. Yet a rate of return that high is mathematically impossible unless the economy grows much faster than anyone is now expecting. February 03, 2005 Facing war crimes charges, Rumsfeld skips security summit The defense secretary later sent a message to the German government through the U.S. embassy in Berlin that he wouldn't attend the Feb. 11-13 meeting if there were a chance a case will be launched against him in Germany. When he informed the German government he would not take part in the conference, however, he didn't refer to the charges. February 02, 2005 Court Orders CIA to Comply With Request For Torture Records NEW YORK-A federal judge today rejected an attempt by the Central Intelligence Agency to indefinitely delay the processing and release of critical documents pertaining to the torture or abuse of detainees held by the United States government. The ruling relates to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed more than a year ago by the American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations. February 02, 2005 An Impeachable Offense White House plants fake reporter in press room WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has provided White House media credentials to a man who has virtually no journalistic background, asks softball questions to the president and his spokesman in the midst of contentious news conferences, and routinely reprints long passages verbatim from official press releases as original news articles on his website. February 2, 2005 An Impeachable Offense US military extends Guantanamo torture probe Gen Craddock ordered the investigation last month after the public release of FBI documents that described prisoners shackled in a foetal position on the floor for up to 24 hours and left in their own urine and faeces. One described an interrogation in which a prisoner was wrapped in an Israeli flag and bombarded with loud music and strobe light. Another reported seeing a barely conscious prisoner who had torn out his hair after being left overnight in a sweltering room. February 02, 2005 Sgt. Javal Davis pleads guilty Davis, a 27-year-old former guard at Abu Ghraib, pleaded guilty Tuesday to battery, dereliction of duty and lying to Army investigators as part of a deal with prosecutors on the eve of his scheduled trial. January 31, 2005 The case against Judith Miller And one of the most prolific chroniclers of Chalabi's views and those of his Iraqi National Congress camp was Times reporter Judith Miller, who wrote or co-wrote at least nine of the "problematic" stories the Times cited in its mini culpa. January 31, 2005 US Occupation Authority in Iraq Lost Track of Nearly $9B An audit by a U.S. inspector says the U.S.-led authority that governed Iraq after the 2003 invasion failed to keep track of nearly $9 billion it transferred to Iraqi ministries. January 31, 2005 Impeachable Offense 'Enemy combatant' process unconstitutional And then there were three. On the heels of the Armstrong Williams' debacle and Maggie Gallagher's failure to disclose her payments from the Bush administration comes yet another conservative columnist that has received money from the government. Michael McManus is a "marriage expert" who has a syndicated column titled "Ethics and Religion" and he reportedly took approximately $10,000 for his work as a subcontractor to the Lewin Group, which was then hired by Health and Human Services. January 28, 2005 Impeachable Offenses Paid Pundits: Michael McManus, Maggie Gallagher, Armstrong Williams And then there were three. On the heels of the Armstrong Williams' debacle and Maggie Gallagher's failure to disclose her payments from the Bush administration comes yet another conservative columnist that has received money from the government. Michael McManus is a "marriage expert" who has a syndicated column titled "Ethics and Religion" and he reportedly took approximately $10,000 for his work as a subcontractor to the Lewin Group, which was then hired by Health and Human Services. January 27, 2005 Sinking Dollar Dominates Davos Debate Economists, politicians and business executives voiced deep unease about the imbalances in the global financial system, which are reflected in the dollar's steep fall against the euro and other currencies. January 28, 2005 Rumsfeld's power grab from CIA is a threat Thanks to some acute reporting in the New Yorker magazine and the Washington Post, we learn that the Bush-Cheney crew has set up shops in the Pentagon that will take over some covert functions from the CIA as well as much of its intelligence-gathering operation. Something labeled innocently enough the "Strategic Support Branch" is supposed to provide Rumsfeld the intelligence he believes the CIA has to failed to produce. December 17, 2004 Homeland Conference Circuit Hits Hawaii Dec. 17, 2004 - At the same time agents of the budget-strapped Department of Homeland Security worried about being able to afford gas for government cars, top department officials, including outgoing DHS Secretary Tom Ridge, could be found basking in the warm Hawaiian sun for a meeting they said was essential government business. January 28, 2005 Rumsfeld's Own Personal CIA One day the Pentagon vehemently denies it is covertly operating inside Iran—or at least disputes particular details, as outlined recently by Seymour Hersh—and the next day Pentagon officials describe a new organization, the Strategic Support Branch (SSB), designed "to operate without detection and under the defense secretary's direct control,' deploy "small teams of case officers, linguists, interrogators and technical specialists alongside newly empowered special operations forces,' and essentially replace "the CIA's Directorate of Operations,' according to the Washington Post. January 27, 2005 They All Died in Vain In the final analysis, it is another comment from Senator Boxer that sheds a clarifying light on the nature of war itself: Referring to our "brave, incredible soldiers" in Iraq, she said, "…not one of them died in vain…because when your Commander in Chief sends you to fight in a war, it is the most noble of things to do that." This statement is as disturbing as any of the deceptions attributed to Dr. Rice or Mr. Bush. Nobility, according to Senator Boxer, is conferred through blind obedience to obvious lies and deception. Nobility can be conferred by killing, and being killed, in the course of an illegal war. "Not one of them died in vain?" They all died in vain. January 26, 2005 Whistleblowers Expose Security Risks and are fired WASHINGTON- An unprecedented group of national security whistleblowers and family members of 9/11 victims gathered today to demand that the government stop silencing employees who expose national security blunders and called on Congress to hold hearings into the government's actions against whistleblowers. January 26, 2005 Record $427 billion deficit projected for 2005 WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 - The White House announced on Tuesday that the federal budget deficit was expected to rise this year to $427 billion, a figure that includes a new request from President Bush to help pay for the war in Iraq. January 25, 2005 23 at Guantanamo Tried Mass Suicide in '03 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico Jan 25, 2005 — The U.S. military said 23 Guantanamo Bay terror suspects carried out a coordinated effort to hang or strangle themselves in 2003 during a week-long protest in the secretive camp in Cuba. The military, which had not previously reported the protest, called the actions "self-injurious behavior" aimed at getting attention rather than serious suicide attempts. January 23, 2005 2 G.I.'s Guilty in Iraqi Co-Worker's Death BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 22 - Two American soldiers were convicted Saturday on court-martial charges related to the shooting death of a 28-year-old Iraqi woman who was working with them as an interpreter. January 14, 2005 A global gulag to hide the war on terror's dirty secrets According to the Washington Post, which broke the story last week, one proposal is to have the US build new prisons in Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Officials of those countries would run the prisons, and would have to allow the state department to "monitor human rights compliance". January 14, 2005 'They beat me from all sides' A German car salesman says that a year ago he was kidnapped in Europe, beaten and flown to a US-controlled jail in Afghanistan. Now the German government is collecting evidence to back up his story. James Meek hears Khaled el-Masri's account of life in America's secret offshore prison network November 24, 2002 Full text: bin Laden's 'letter to America' As for the first question: Why are we fighting and opposing you? The answer is very simple: (1) Because you attacked us and continue to attack us. Nov/Dec 2002 Military given names of every high school student in America There, buried deep within the law's 670 pages, is a provision requiring public secondary schools to provide military recruiters not only with access to facilities, but also with contact information for every student -- or face a cutoff of all federal aid. January 18, 2005 U.S. Citizen Pleads Guilty in Oil-For-Food Scam WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Iraqi-American illegally acted as an agent for Iraq under Saddam Hussein and received millions of dollars worth of oil from the country's U.N. oil-for-food program, U.S. court documents showed on Tuesday. Duelfer estimated Iraq also sold $8 billion in oil outside of the program: $4.4 billion in trade with Jordan, $2.8 billion with Syria and $710 million with Turkey, which was known to U.N. Security Council members, including the United States. January 17, 2005 Next stop: Iran WASHINGTON - U.S. commandos are hunting for secret nuclear and chemical weapons sites and other targets in Iran, and have a plan to turn the hard-line Islamic country into the next front in the war on terrorism. "It's not if we're going to do anything against Iran. They're doing it," an ex-intelligence official tells this week's issue of The New Yorker. January 17, 2005 An Impeachable Offense U.S. practice of prisoner 'rendering' But Habib intends to pursue his legal action against the U.S. government. What he is challenging is a highly secret U.S. practice: the outsourcing of torture, a practice known as "rendering." It involves transferring detainees to countries where there are no de facto restrictions on prisoner abuse. This is used to obtain confessions and "intelligence" under duress, or because there is insufficient evidence to try them in American courts. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen are high on the list of destinations for rendered prisoners. January 17, 2005 Abuse Ringleader Gets 10 years in prison. Graner, 36, thought to be the ringleader of the abuse, was accused of stacking naked prisoners in a human pyramid and later ordering them to masturbate as other soldiers took photographs. He also allegedly punched a man in the head hard enough to knock him out and struck an injured prisoner with a metal stick. January 15, 2005 Bush vows to cut out the 'cowboy' talk WASHINGTON: George W. Bush has admitted he regrets blunt talk, such as his "dead or alive" reference to the still-at-large Osama bin Laden, that might have sent "wrong impressions" about the US to a global audience. He pointed to his use of expressions such as "bring them on", issued as a challenge to Iraqi insurgents. January 14, 2005 Berkeley's financial aid future grows stormier as Pell Grants dip t Berkeley, there are 3,400 students whose incomes are so low that they and their families can contribute nothing to their college costs. For the other needy students, the Dec. 23 change in the federal formula will increase the parent contribution levels. That means "many parents and students will have to take out additional, more expensive loans to cover the difference," explains Resh. January 14, 2005 US gives up search for Iraq WMD Intelligence officials have confirmed the US has stopped searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. They say the chief US investigator, Charles Duelfer, is not planning to return to the country. January 13, 2005 An Impeachable Offense HRW :Abuses were "policies conceived at very high levels" Roth said that a special prosecutor should investigate violations of two U.S. laws -- the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1994 which criminalizes torture committed anyplace in the world by U.S. forces, and the War Crimes Act of 1996, which criminalizes any serious violation of the Geneva Conventions. January 14, 2005 An Impeachable Offense FCC Orders Probe of Williams-Bush Deal WASHINGTON Jan 14, 2005 — The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission ordered an investigation Friday into whether conservative commentator Armstrong Williams broke the law by failing to disclose he was paid by the Bush administration to plug the president's education agenda.<</td> January 14, 2005 U.S. Soldier Jailed One Year for Murder of Iraqi Teenager BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An American soldier was sentenced on Friday to a year in jail for the murder of a severely wounded Iraqi teenager in a Baghdad slum district during a Shi'ite uprising last year, the U.S. military said. January 12, 2005 Students' Pell Grants shrink A new Pell Grant eligibility formula passed by Congress will save the federal government $300 million per year while shutting out thousands of students who depend on Pell Grants to help pay for college. January 12, 2005 Social Security: Crisis? What crisis? Some experts say the urgency to reform Social Security is manufactured -- and very troubling. Not only is Social Security not in crisis, it is as financially sound as ever, according to the liberal Center for Economic and Policy Research, run by Mark Weisbrot and Dean Baker, coauthors of "Social Security: The Phony Crisis. January 12, 2005 NBC Short on Social Security "Crisis" Critics But the report that followed included no such critics of the administration's "crisis" rhetoric. There was certainly room for such opinions, considering that NBC quoted Bush making a glaring exaggeration in describing the plan. January 12, 2005 CBS Memo: selective punishment shows media bias CBS The claims that this controversy proves that CBS, or the media as a whole, have a liberal or anti-Bush bias, are ludicrous. When CBS staffers got caught taking shortcuts on a story critical of Bush, it cost them their careers. By contrast, other reporters have received much less scrutiny and punishment for offenses of far greater magnitude-- and with much more significant consequences to society. The New York Times, for example, published numerous allegations about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that turned out to be false-- such as one source's claim that "all of Iraq is one large storage facility" for WMD (9/8/02). Those stories, many of which were splashed on the paper's front page, did a great deal to sell the White House's bogus case for war against Iraq. January 07, 2005 Bush's approval rating falls in AP poll Bush's approval rating is at 49 percent in the AP poll with 49 percent disapproving among all of those polled. His job approval is in the high 40s or low 50s in several other recent polls - as low as any job approval rating for a re-elected president at the start of the second term in more than 50 years December 03, 2004 CNN Reports Military Lie The Los Angeles Times revealed this week (12/1/04) that the U.S. military lied to CNN in the course of executing psychological warfare operations, or PSYOPS, in advance of the recent attack on Fallujah. This incident raises serious questions about government disinformation and journalistic credibility, but recent discussions of the government's propaganda plans have excluded some valuable context. January 12, 2005 Proposed Cuts in Social Security Benefits But a close analysis shows that the gap would be addressed mainly by steep cuts in benefits to future retirees, and the private accounts probably wouldn't make up the lost ground. Anyone under 55 likely would be affected, and some of today's youngest workers could see their Social Security checks cut by nearly a quarter. Not only is Social Security not in crisis, it is as financially sound as ever, according to the liberal Center for Economic and Policy Research, run by Mark Weisbrot and Dean Baker, coauthors of "Social Security: The Phony Crisis." January 11, 2005 Fact-checking Bush on Social Security WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) - President Bush made several factual errors Tuesday about Social Security's long-term financing problems at a photo op event designed to educate the public about the retirement system. Bush: "As a matter of fact, by the time today's workers who are in their mid-20s begin to retire, the system will be bankrupt. So if you're 20 years old, in your mid-20s, and you're beginning to work, I want you to think about a Social Security system that will be flat bust, bankrupt, unless the United States Congress has got the willingness to act now." The facts: The Social Security system cannot go "bankrupt," for it has no creditors. By law, the trustees will continue to pay reduced benefits even if the trust fund is exhausted. Payroll taxes will continue to come in and benefits will continue to be paid. January 09, 2005 Social Security Debate Off to a Misleading Start The Administration has portrayed the Social Security shortfall as so massive that it threatens to destroy the program and engulf the rest of the budget. Such rhetoric seems designed to further the impression that the program will eventually go completely bankrupt, leaving today's younger workers with no Social Security benefits at all in exchange for their years of contributions. * Social Security isn't about to disappear. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that even if no changes are made to Social Security, it will be able to pay full benefits until 2052 and about 80 percent of promised benefits after that. Using somewhat more pessimistic assumptions, the Social Security Trustees estimate that Social Security will be able to pay full benefits until 2042 and about 70 percent of promised benefits after that. December 24, 2004 The Bigger Problem--Bush's Medicare Rx Isn't Funded Medicare is a bigger problem than Social Security: its hospital care trust fund is on track to go bust two or even three decades before the Social Security surplus runs out; its unfunded liabilities dwarf those of Social Security -- $27.7 trillion over the next 75 years, compared with $3.7 trillion liability for Social Security. The Government Accountability Office estimated earlier this month that the drug benefit will cost $8.1 trillion over the next 75 years -- and that's if politicians resist the temptation to fill in the "doughnut hole" gap in coverage. Comptroller General David M. Walker called the drug plan "one of the largest unfunded liabilities ever undertaken by the U.S. government." January 07, 2005 Impeachable Offense Covert Propaganda--Two Laws Broken Bush's Drug Videos Broke Law WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 - The Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress, said on Thursday that the Bush administration violated federal law by producing and distributing television news segments about the effects of drug use among young people. The accountability office said the videos "constitute covert propaganda" because the government was not identified as the source of the materials, which were distributed by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. They were broadcast by nearly 300 television stations and reached 22 million households, the office said. In May the office found that the Bush administration had violated the same law by producing television news segments that portrayed the new Medicare law as a boon to the elderly. January 08, 2005 Soldier gets six months in Iraqi drowning FORT HOOD, Texas (January 8, 6:33 pm AST) - An Army platoon sergeant who ordered his soldiers to throw Iraqis into the Tigris River was sentenced Saturday to six months in military prison, but will not be discharged. Army Sgt. 1st Class Tracy Perkins was convicted Friday of two counts of aggravated assault, assault consummated by battery and obstruction of justice. He was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter and making a false statement. January 07, 2005 Impeachable Offense Covert Propaganda Armstrong Williams' Column Axed by TMS NEW YORK Tribune Media Services (TMS) tonight terminated its contract with columnist Armstrong Williams, effective immediately. But Williams told E&P that he plans to continue his feature via self-syndication. TMS' action came after USA Today reported this morning that Williams had accepted $240,000 from the Bush administration to promote the No Child Left Behind education-reform law on his TV and radio shows. E&P subsequently reported that Williams had also written about NCLB in his newspaper column at least four times last year. January 03, 2004 Former Military Leaders Challenge Gonzales Nomination Jan. 3 (Bloomberg) -- "The kinds of things that Mr. Gonzales espouses are the very sort of things that are the first step on a slippery slope that compromises the rule of law in this country," retired Marine General Joseph P. Hoar, former commander of the U.S. Central Command, said in an interview. In his Jan. 25, 2002, draft memo to Bush, Gonzales, 49, said the "new paradigm" of the war on terror "renders obsolete Geneva's strict limitations on questioning of enemy prisoners and renders quaint some of its provisions requiring that a captured enemy be afforded such things as commissary privileges" and other amenities of prisoner-of-war camps. January 05, 2004 An Impeachable Offense Backing Gonzales Is Backing Torture Is there bipartisan congressional support for torture? That is the central question the Senate Judiciary Committee faces Thursday as it begins hearings on the confirmation of White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales as the next attorney general of the United States. At stake is whether Congress wants to conveniently absolve Gonzales of his clear attempt to have the president subvert U.S. law in order to whitewash barbaric practices performed by U.S. interrogators in the name of national security. December 29, 2004 6 Members of Elite Navy Force Sue News Agency Over Photos Six members of the Navy Seals and two of their wives sued The Associated Press and one of its reporters yesterday for distributing photos of the Seals that apparently show them treating Iraqi prisoners harshly. December 27, 2004 Unethical Iraq rejects U.S. offer to fix election Iraq's election body rejected a suggestion in Washington that it adjust the results of next month's vote to benefit the Sunni minority if low turnout in Sunni areas means Shiites win an exaggerated majority in the new assembly. December 24, 2004 Bush to request 80-billion-dollar Iraq supplement BAGHDAD (AFP) - US President George W. Bush is expected to seek authorisation for spending of an additional 80 billion dollars in Iraq, the head of a visiting congressional delegation said. December 20, 2004 Rumsfeld Finally Admits He Didn't Sign Condolence Letters US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has pledged to personally sign letters of condolence to the families of American soldiers killed in action. He spoke shortly after his admission that he had used a machine to sign letters to relatives of more than 1,000 troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. December 23, 2004 An Impeachable Offense FBI email embroils Bush in jail abuse But the American Civil Liberties Union released copies of a two-page FBI email dated May 22 that refers repeatedly to an executive order signed by Mr Bush which, according to the ACLU statement, "states the President directly authorised interrogation techniques including sleep deprivation, stress positions, the use of military dogs, and sensory deprivation through the use of hoods". December 22, 2004 Poll finds most Iraqis don't know what they're voting for More than 41 percent of the Iraqis polled mistakenly believe they'll be voting for a president. Less than 29 percent responded correctly that the main election is for a transitional national assembly, or parliament. December 18, 2004 An Impeachable Offense AIDS Researcher Falsified Report AP reported Friday that NIH knew about the problems in early 2002 but did not tell the White House before President Bush launched a plan that summer to spread nevirapine throughout Africa. Now, officials have new concerns the drug may cause long-term resistance in the hundreds of thousands of African patients who received it, foreclosing future treatment options. December 18, 2004 An Impeachable Offense Iraqi Boy was Raped, then Murdered by Guardsman A North Carolina National Guard member thought to be the first U.S. soldier convicted of murdering an Iraqi said he "snapped" and shot the 17-year-old boy after they had consensual sex, [a 17-year boy can't give consent] according to court-martial records released this week. December 18, 2004 An Impeachable Offense Focus on real crisis: Tax cuts, not Social Security, are the culprit Recognizing the negative effect the ugly deficit numbers could have on his re-election campaign, Bush announced a goal last February of reducing the federal budget deficit to 1.6 percent of the gross domestic product in five years, by fiscal year 2009. That would involve cutting 2004's $413 billion deficit, which equals 3.6 percent of GDP, by more than half. But the president's actions fail to back up his words. A conservative analysis of Bush's current fiscal policies by the Brookings Institution indicates that the deficit will remain at about 3.5 percent of GDP every year for the next decade. December 18, 2004 Insurgency is working, 3 agencies warn Bush WASHINGTON - The CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the State Department have warned President Bush that the United States and its Iraqi allies are not winning the battle against Iraqi insurgents who are trying to derail the country's Jan. 30 elections, according to administration officials. December 15, 2004 General blames brass for recruiting shortfall WASHINGTON - Army Reserve recruiting is in a "precipitous decline" that could provoke new debate over a draft if not slowed, the Reserve's top general said Monday. If the trend continues, said Helmly, the Reserve could fall more than 5,000 soldiers short of its mandated end-strength of 205,000. I am projecting now that absent drastic action ... we will be below that 2 percent," he said. The Army Reserve is already about 2,500 soldiers beneath the 205,000 mark. December 13, 2004 Saddam's illicit oil trade was no secret to U.S. officials Trade with Syria, Jordan and Turkey was the biggest source of illicit funds for Saddam, more so than the much-maligned U.N. oil-for-food program, according to investigations of Saddam's finances. Though considered smuggling, most of the trade took place with the knowledge — and sometimes the tacit consent — of the United States and other nations. December 13, 2004 Pentagon Acknowledges Eight Afghan Detainee Deaths WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eight detainees have died in American military custody in Afghanistan, more than previously reported, the Pentagon said on Monday, while a human rights group assailed a U.S. "culture of impunity" on prisoner abuse. December 13, 2004 Poll: Majority of Canadians dislike Bush WASHINGTON (AP) - Nearly two-thirds of Canadians had an unfavorable view of U.S. President George W. Bush, even though most Canadians said they had a good opinion of Americans, suggests a poll done for The Associated Press. December 13, 2004 An Impeachable Offense Witnessing Dachau or Auschwitz in Iraq "It stank of near-death," he says, his gaze fixed on the desktop in his office at the Camp Parks Reserve Forces Training Area in Dublin. "What I'd compare this to would be witnessing Dachau or Auschwitz before the Final Solution -- 1941 or 1939 in a German concentration camp. Historically speaking, that's how I'd explain what I saw." The guardsmen called in a military police unit to disarm the more than 60 Iraqi police and interrogators, then waited while Lt. Col. Daniel Hendrickson, the highest-ranking American at the scene, radioed for instructions. In a move that shocked Southall and the rest of the squad, Hendrickson was ordered, over the lieutenant colonel's strong objections, to return the prisoners to their captors and withdraw his troops. In the days that followed, there were reports that many of the prisoners were released. Still, the memory stings for Southall. "I had to leave these guys that were hungry, that needed medical aid," he says. "They were certainly going to die if they were left in that condition." December 12, 2004 U.S. taps ElBaradei phone WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The Bush administration is scrutinizing intercepted telephone conversations that International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei had with Iranian diplomats in search of ammunition to oust him from his post, The Washington Post reported on Sunday. December 11, 2004 U.S. Soldier Sentenced for Killing Iraqi 16-Year Old BAGHDAD, Iraq Dec 11, 2004 — A U.S. soldier was sentenced to three years in prison for killing a severely wounded Iraqi teenager, the military said Saturday, while insurgents staged attacks in several cities, killing at least 10 Iraqis, including a police colonel, two Shiite clerics and a judge. The charges relate to the Aug. 18 killing of a 16-year-old Iraqi male found in a burning truck with severe abdominal wounds sustained during clashes in Baghdad's Sadr City, an impoverished neighborhood that was the scene of fierce fighting between U.S. forces and Shiite rebels loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. December 10, 2004 An Impeachable Offense Red Cross Returns After Fallujah Offensive BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Red Cross team entered Fallujah for the first time since a U.S.-led offensive devastated the city and met with Iraqi technicians and engineers to discuss the city's sewage and water treatment needs, a group spokesman said Friday. December 06, 2004 Gays challenge 'don't ask, don't tell' WASHINGTON - Twelve gays expelled from the military because of their sexual orientation filed a legal challenge Monday to the Pentagon's 11-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Boston, cited last year's landmark Supreme Court ruling that overturned state laws making gay sex a crime. May 31, 2004 Army finds Tillman probably killed by friendly fire CNN) -- U.S. Army Cpl. Pat Tillman, the former professional football player killed last month in Afghanistan, was probably killed by gunfire from his own unit during an intense firefight, the U.S. Army said Saturday." December 9, 2004 Armor Holdings Could Boost Humvee Armor Output 22% Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Armor Holdings Inc., the sole supplier of protective plates for the Humvee military vehicles used in Iraq, said it could increase output by as much as 22 percent per month with no investment and is awaiting an order from the Army. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday the Army was working as fast as it can and supply is dictated by "a matter of physics, not a matter of money." December 9, 2004 An Impeachable Offense Officer Alleges CIA Retaliation A senior CIA operative who handled sensitive informants in Iraq asserts that CIA managers asked him to falsify his reporting on weapons of mass destruction and retaliated against him after he refused. The operative, who remains under cover, asserts in a lawsuit made public yesterday that a co-worker warned him in 2001 "that CIA management planned to 'get him' for his role in reporting intelligence contrary to official CIA dogma." December 07, 2004 Homeless Iraq vets showing up at shelters Washington, DC, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. veterans from the war in Iraq are beginning to show up at homeless shelters around the country, and advocates fear they are the leading edge of a new generation of homeless vets not seen since the Vietnam era. When we already have people from Iraq on the streets, my God," said Linda Boone, executive director of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. "I have talked to enough (shelters) to know we are getting them. It is happening and this nation is not prepared for that." December 06, 2004 Soldiers fight Pentagon on service extensions Eight soldiers filed a lawsuit Monday challenging the army's policy requiring them to serve longer than the terms of their enlistment contracts. The soldiers, believed to be the first active-duty personnel to file such a lawsuit, want a judge to order the army to immediately release them from service. December 05, 2004 An Impeachable Offense Reuters Still Seeking Answers on Alleged Abuse of 3 Staffers NEW YORK Andrew Marshall, Reuters' chief correspondent in Iraq, is seeking justice for three of his Iraqi news staffers and an NBC cameraman who claim they were severely abused earlier this year at a United States Army base outside of Fallujah. December 05, 2004 US deserter seeks Canada asylum A US army deserter has begun making his case for political refugee status so he can stay in Canada. Jeremy Hinzman, 25, is the first of three US deserters to appear before a refugee and immigration board in the city of Toronto, seeking asylum. December 04, 2004 Defense Science Board: Muslims hate US Policy, not Freedom "Muslims do not ‘hate our freedom,' but rather, they hate our policies. The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favor of Israel and against Palestinian rights, and the longstanding, even increasing support for what Muslims collectively see as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan, and the Gulf States. Thus, when American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy.' December 01, 2004 Gay book ban goal of state lawmaker MONTGOMERY - An Alabama lawmaker who sought to ban gay marriages now wants to ban novels with gay characters from public libraries, including university libraries. |