The Four Reasons
“An evil exists that threatens every man, woman, and child of this great nation. We must take steps to insure our domestic security and protect our homeland."
- Adolph Hitler
World News
The Four Reasons
News Archives
2004
2003
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“From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce a new product in August,”
White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card told The New York Times about why the Bush administration was waiting on its PR offensive about the possibility of war until after Labor Day - 2002
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"Trying to eliminate Saddam, extending the ground war into an occupation of Iraq, would have violated our guideline about not changing objectives in midstream, engaging in "mission creep," and would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible. We had been unable to find Noriega in Panama, which we knew intimately. We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq. The coalition would instantly have collapsed, the Arabs deserting it in anger and other allies pulling out as well. Under the circumstances, there was no viable "exit strategy" we could see, violating another of our principles. Furthermore, we had been self-consciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-Cold War world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations' mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression that we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land. It would have been a dramatically different — and perhaps barren — outcome."
George H.W. Bush: A World Transformed (1998)
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"Even today I am willing to volunteer to do the dirty work for Israel, to kill as many Arabs as necessary, to deport them, to expel and burn them, to have everyone hate us, to pull the rug from underneath the feet of the Diaspora Jews, so that they will be forced to run to us crying. Even if it means blowing up one or two synagogues here and there, I don't care. And I don't mind if after the job is done you put me in front of a Nuremberg Trial and then jail me for life. Hang me if you want, as a war criminal..." From an Interview with Ariel Sharon published in the Israeli daily Davar Dec. 17, 1982
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"What kind of victory is it when someone is left defeated? What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy. What is a war criminal? Was not war itself a crime against God and humanity, and, therefore, were not all those who sanctioned, engineered and conducted wars, war criminals? The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. Non-cooperation with evil is a sacred duty." -Gandhi
January 2004 Headlines: Archive
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1/31
UN gives nations deadline on al-Qaeda, Taliban sanctions: The UN Security Council turned up the pressure Friday on nations to clamp down on al-Qaeda and the Taliban, saying they must report on the steps taken by April or risk being named in public.
Dissension In The Ranks: Had dinner with an old friend last night, a long-time Republican political operative who – in 1981 – talked me into taking a sabbatical from journalism and going to Washington as a press secretary to Congressman Paul Findley. So it surprised me when he opened the dinner table conversation with: “I’m not going to vote for George W. Bush in November. I may vote for John Kerry if he’s the Democratic nominee.”
Congress’s continuity reviewed: In the midst of an increasingly heated debate over government continuity in the event of a catastrophic attack, experts told the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday that a constitutional amendment is necessary to ensure that Congress could still function.
So Now We Know--Child Prisoners in Guantanamo: After holding them prisoner for almost two years, the United States has released three "enemy combatants," boys ages 13 to 15, captured in Afghanistan and held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Reluctantly, no doubt, Bush and Rumsfeld had to return the boys to Afghanistan, since they were no longer of any "intelligence" use to them. During their stay at the island camp, they were denied access to their families or attorneys.
Ginsburg: Don't Be Apathetic About Loss of Freedom: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Thursday that people concerned about losing freedom to government anti-terrorism efforts should speak out. The Supreme Court is taking up several terror-related cases this spring, including challenges to the government detention of terror suspects without legal rights.
The shadow of Iraq: The Hutton saga is a sideshow. The real issue is who will pay the price for war and occupation
Byrd Says State of the Union "Long on Rhetoric, Short on Reality": "It is time for the President to put his political interests aside and join with me and others to focus on the interests of the American people. Critical challenges face the country. More jobs and a stronger economy. Security at home. Better schools. Health care. Retirement security. But this President has shown little serious interest in any of these priorities. Instead, in his three years in office, he has squandered opportunities to move America forward. The President ought to stop thinking about the next election and instead work to benefit the next generation."
Monsanto's chapati patent raises Indian ire: Monsanto, the world's largest genetically modified seed company, has been awarded patents on the wheat used for making chapati - the flat bread staple of northern India. The patents give the US multinational exclusive ownership over Nap Hal, a strain of wheat whose gene sequence makes it particularly suited to producing crisp breads.
Meet between Sharon, Qureia aides likley cancelled: A meeting that was to take place between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's bureau chief Dov Weisglass and his Palestinian counterpart Hassan Abu Libda is likely to be cancelled in the wake of Thursday's suicide bombing in Jerusalem and the 'hesitant' Palestinian reaction to the attack in which 10 Israelis were killed, Israel Radio on Saturday quoted Israeli officials as saying.
Israeli anger at Frank exhibit: Israel has demanded the removal of a "horrifying" exhibit at the Anne Frank museum in Amsterdam that includes caricatures comparing Ariel Sharon to Adolf Hitler.
MyDoom will cost billions of dollars: MyDoom would plague e-mail users for some time as the fast-spreading virus counted down to Sunday's mammoth digital attack on Microsoft and SCO Group, powerless security experts warned yesterday.
New voter technology: Helping propel grassroots campaigns Staff can connect online to voters through databases
The business of stifling the Internet: Internet users are losing ground in the censorship war being fought in Asia's cyberwaves, partly because Western corporations are helping to undermine the spirit of enterprise that made the medium such a potent weapon for free speech.
1/30
Why is the west inflating fear of Arabs and Muslims?: Western fear of Arabs and Muslims has emerged as one of the most striking political and psychological phenomena of recent years. Fear is perhaps too mild a word for it. The emotion that has seized the western world ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 is more like paranoia.
Security Council fails to agree on condemning attack: Council diplomats said three hours of closed-door negotiations Thursday fell apart when Algeria, the only Arab nation on the council, insisted that any statement must also condemn the deaths of eight Palestinians in an IDF operation in Gaza City on Wednesday.
Power struggle over oil: European oil sources suspect that the slowdown imposed on Russian oil exports through the strait is part of an effort by the Turkish government to reduce such traffic over time because it will compete with the US-backed pipeline being laid from the oilfields outside Baku in Azerbaijan, through Tbilisi, Georgia, to Turkey's loading terminal at Ceyhan on the Mediterranean.
Iraq, Afghanistan invited to G7 meet: Finance Ministers and central bankers of Iraq and Afghanistan were invited to next month's meeting of Group of Seven finance ministers to discuss the economic situation in those countries, a top official said Wednesday.
What Just One Company Can Do To the World: The study by the leading global environment watchdog says Exxon Mobil has produced 20.3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in its 120 years of existence. This it says is about three times the annual global emissions now and 13 times the annual emissions from the United States.
Statement from the Maher Arar Support Committee: Public inquiry holds promise of justice for Maher Arar - Arar eager to see the details
'Justice Can Become Treason to Some': Korean-American Robert Kim (whose Korean name is Kim Jae-gon), currently in prison at Allenwood Federal Prison in Pennsylvania on charges of espionage, has sent a letter to Korea containing intimate thoughts on his seven years behind bars.
Annan awarded EU human rights prize: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan Thursday received the European parliament's prestigious Sakharov human rights prize in honour of UN staff killed trying to bring peace to the world.
Pakistani Nukes: Humiliation on Fast Track: Frequency and the number of times a subject appears in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times are good indicators for anyone to figure out the next victim on the imperial chopping block.
You haven't beaten us yet, Tony: The government may have won Tuesday's vote on top-up fees, but students and MPs will continue to fight against the bill, says NUS president Mandy Telford.
Nuclear 'black market' alarms UN: The UN's nuclear agency has voiced concern at recent revelations about a sophisticated international illegal trade in nuclear technology.
1/25 - 1/29
Losing battle to rescue child soldiers: India does it. So do Pakistan, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Nepal, Indonesia, the Philippines, East Timor and several Central Asian states. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has labeled the practice one of the most morally reprehensible acts of systematic abuse worldwide, and even took the extraordinary step of publicly naming the culprits last year.
After weekend violence in Iraq, U.S. makes 50 arrests: U.S. soldiers arrested nearly 50 people and confiscated weapons in several raids in Iraq's volatile Sunni Triangle after a series of bombings that killed six U.S. soldiers.
Human Rights Groups Denounce Civilian Claims Process as ''Kafkaesque'': Two human rights groups have issued a searing indictment of the U.S. military's system for compensating Iraqi civilians victimized by American troops.
Iraq weapons report should be taken seriously - Annan: Kofi Annan has said a statement by the outgoing chief US arms hunter Dr David Kay that Iraq had no stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction should be taken seriously. Dr Kay resigned on Friday, saying he had concluded that Iraq did not have stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons, a finding that could embarrass President George W Bush abroad and help his election-year Democratic rivals at home.
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: WMD IN IRAQ'Little point' in WMD search: Pentagon and CIA officials appear to have accepted that there is little point in searching for weapons stockpiles in Iraq, and will now concentrate on auditing Iraqi claims of their destruction.
David Albright on North Korea: David Albright, president of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, says the climate for U.S.-North Korean relations has improved, thanks to an early January tour of the North's nuclear facilities by an American group. Although he says that both sides have to work to end the severe mistrust between them, "I am more hopeful that a solution can be found than I was six months ago."
What the outposts teach: The attempt last Wednesday to dismantle the Kahane College outpost at Tapuah almost succeeded. Hundreds of soldiers and policemen who came to the illegal site detained 25 persons who tried to stop the dismantling of the large structure and ended up destroying it themselves.
David Kelly: the interrogator: Richard Spertzel, head of Unscom's biological weapons section from 1994-99, describes how a four-man team including David Kelly began cracking Iraq's BW programme.
Brazil case may break stalemate on trade: WTO panel to rule if subsidies give rich nations unfair edge
Bird flu toll rises to seven: Thailand's prime minister said Saturday the bird flu epidemic could hurt the country's giant chicken export sector, as the virus claimed another life in Vietnam, bringing Asia's death toll to seven.
'Holy grail' of water on Mars within reach: European scientists in raptures at prospect of primitive life.
Female GIs reporting rapes by U.S. soldiers: Women say response lacking within military, some even threatened
The Daily Body Count in Iraq: It has become a morning ritual, like putting on a kettle of hot water for tea. I wake up, turn on the radio and listen for the casualty report from Iraq. Sure enough, there it is: two soldiers and eight Iraqis killed in Samarra, or three soldiers and six Iraqis killed in Fallujah.
Nearly 100 Families Are Suing Over 9/11: Nearly 100 families of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have decided to sue airlines and government agencies, rejecting the federal government's offer of millions of dollars in compensation.
Detainee cases hit court: Almost 2-1/2 years after the terror attacks of Sept. 11 shook the nation, the US Supreme Court is about to enter the war on terrorism in a big way.
Iraqi informer's family is marked for death: Nawaf al-Zaidan earned $30m by leading the US to Saddam's sons. Now local tribes have sworn revenge
Moral decay and Benny Morris: When does the banishment of an entire people become morally justified? EI's Ali Abunimah comments on two recent, extraordinary documents — an article in The Guardian and an interview with Ha'aretz — in which Israeli historian Benny Morris approves of Israeli "ethnic cleansing" of the Palestinians in 1948, calls it "necessary" and prepares the ground for Israel to justify any future atrocity including renewed expulsion of all the Palestinians from their homeland.
Living War: Palestinians Refugees in Lebanon: This is a war waged against Palestinian refugees by the government of Lebanon. It is not waged through military campaigns and guerrilla battles as in the Lebanese civil war, but through policies and laws which are slowly choking the life from Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps.
Global unemployment at record high: More than 185 million people were jobless in 2003 as global unemployment levels hit record highs.
Grand Jury Hears Plame Case: Testimony begins in front of a grand jury in the investigation into whether the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame was improperly leaked to the press
Iraqi police walk perilous beat: At least 280 Iraqi police have been killed since the fall of Baghdad in April, 2003.
Demands for Piece of Biodiversity Pie: The developing South needs more transfers of resources and technology from the industrialised North and an equal distribution of the benefits derived from biological wealth, according to the Latin American and Caribbean environmental officials meeting Friday in the Argentine capital.
A Visit to the Yongbyon Nuclear Facility in North Korea: The status of North Korea's nuclear weapons development program was investigated by Siegfried Hecker of Los Alamos National Laboratory and described in this testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. (PDF)
Pressure Rises for WTO Negotiators: The goal of recovering this year the ground lost in the Doha Round of trade talks is winning support among the 147 member states of the World Trade Organisation, troubled by two years of sluggish negotiations.
1/23
UN food agency seeks urgent private sector aid in fighting growing global hunger: With a child dying every five seconds from hunger or diseases associated with it, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) launched an urgent appeal at the annual World Economic Forum today for private sector help in tackling the increasing global problem.
From Palestine
George S. Hishmeh: Again, the Syrian peace initiative: It is not a new peace initiative. We have been talking as loud as possible, repeatedly for the past five or six or 10 years.
Detainee cases hit court: The justices are preparing to take up cases this spring that will test the very foundation of American government - the balance of power between the courts, Congress, and the White House. At issue is whether President Bush is acting within his constitutional authority as commander in chief in ordering the indefinite detention of those he has designated "enemy combatants."
Hunt for Iraqi Weapons May Get New Chief Soon: Charles A. Duelfer, an experienced former U.N. weapons inspector, is likely to be named soon to succeed David Kay as head of the U.S. hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, a senior administration official said last night.
Mini-Nukes the New Defence - Or Threat?: The U.S. effort to design a new generation of low-power nuclear weapons, approved in the defence budget for 2004, is politically, technically and militarily unjustifiable, say critics. (more on New Nukes)
Putting Israel's weapons above the law: Talk of ridding the Middle East of "weapons of mass destruction" (WMD) has been heard for years, but no efforts have been made to bring this closer. Whenever Arab states raised the issue, for example at the United Nations, instantly doubt would be cast on their motives, and their efforts would be perceived as a veiled attempt to point fingers at Israel, which is known to have huge arsenals of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
Must Read/Flashback: Relative Humanity: The Fundamental Obstacle to a One-State Solution in Historic Palestine
Palestinian rights curtailed by high fence: What do names or descriptions like "illegal settlements", "security wall", "Israeli Defence Force" and "rubber bullets" have in common? These and others like them serve to legitimise Israeli conduct and to minimise the impact of Israeli killings.
British MP: I understand desperation of suicide bombers: Speaking eight days after a Palestinian woman killed four Israelis at a Gaza Strip border crossing, Jenny Tonge said "I do not condone suicide bombers,But I do understand why people out there become suicide bombers - it is out of desperation.
Halliburton Execs Said to Take Kickbacks: Two Halliburton Co. officials accepted up to $6 million in kickbacks from a Kuwaiti company that was awarded contracts to supply U.S. troops in Iraq, according to a newspaper report. Halliburton disclosed the alleged impropriety to the Pentagon inspector general's office this week, The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site Friday.
WTO's Supachai `Convinced' Global Trade Accord Possible by 2005: World Trade Organization Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi is confident governments can hammer out a global trade agreement by 2005 worth as much as $500 billion annually.
Arar launches lawsuit against U.S. government: A Canadian citizen who says he was tortured in a Syrian prison after being deported by the U.S. launched a lawsuit against the American government Thursday, seeking financial compensation and a declaration that the U.S. acted illegally.
El Baradei: Nuclear black market 'unsettling': The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohammad El Baradei, is alarmed at the discovery in Libya of a set of drawings on how to develop nuclear weapons.
Rethinking Regulation of Engineered Crops: The Department of Agriculture is considering sweeping changes in its regulation of genetically engineered crops intended to cover more types of plants and insects to keep up with rapidly changing technology.
Citigroup Succumbs to 'Green' Campaign: The world's largest private financial institution, Citigroup, has signed on to a comprehensive environmental policy that sets a new industry standard, says the grassroots group that ran a two-year campaign against the banking giant.
The Global Zapatista Movement: From the outset, the Zapatista rebellion has been characterized by its international dimension. During the first few days of the conflict, the Mexican government tried to por