Associated Press (AP)

"Former Rep. George Nethercutt, R-Wash., and former Deputy Interior Secretary Steven Griles are joining a lobbying firm headed by a former top White House energy adviser." [more]

"'I decided to swim ... but I changed my mind after seeing U.S. helicopters firing on and killing people who tried to cross the river.' He watched horrified as a family of five was shot dead as they tried to cross. Then, he 'helped bury a man by the river bank, with my own hands.'" [more]

"As the world's attention was turned to crises in the Middle East, a slaughter has raged for 17 months in Sudan's Darfur region. Arab gunmen on horses and camels, backed by bombers and helicopter gunships, have razed hundreds of black African villages, killed tens of thousands and driven more than one million from their homes." [more]

"They also demanded the United States stop undermining public confidence in generic anti-AIDS drugs, stop limiting access to condoms and reproductive choices through family planning, and give the promised $15 billion for AIDS prevention and treatment to the Global Fund." [more]

"Unlike early reports suggesting the abuses were failings by individual soldiers, Provance told the AP and other media outlets that interrogators at the prison viewed sleep deprivation, stripping inmates naked and threatening them with dogs as normal ways of dealing with 'the enemy.'" [more]

"Iraqis interviewed on the videotape said revelers had fired volleys of gunfire into the air in a traditional wedding celebration before the attack took place. American troops have sometimes mistaken celebratory gunfire for hostile fire." [more]

"'It seems prejudiced to me,' said Abdul Bucky, 40, who works within sight of a camera at Deal Beauty Supply and General Merchandise in East Garfield Park. 'Why didn't they put them in all the neighborhoods?'" [more]

Undercover city officers were sent to monitor anti-war meetings and rallies when opposition to the war in Iraq began to mount last year, the police chief confirms. [more]

"Israel has prohibited vehicles belonging to the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies from crossing the Erez checkpoint into Gaza for the last three weeks, the statement said, and staff must go through on foot. Food shipments through Karni, the only commercial crossing point in Gaza, have also been obstructed." [more]

"The Bush/Cheney campaign Wednesday unleashed its most famous Democratic booster — Georgia Sen. Zell Miller — to make the case presidential foe John Kerry's policies are inconsistent with some of history's most popular Democratic presidents." [more]

"The boys’ deaths on Wednesday triggered days of rioting, looting and arson by ethnic Albanians against Serbs that left 28 people dead, 600 injured." [more]

"The push would effectively expand the scope of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, a 1994 law that requires the telecommunications industry to build into its products tools that U.S. investigators can use to eavesdrop on conversations with a court order." [more]

"Along with the shaving ban, the mayor has proclaimed all men and women must dress in Western or historic clothing on Fridays beginning in May." [more]

"The Bush administration's education secretary, Rod Paige, referred to the nation's largest teachers union as a 'terrorist organization.'" [more]

"Advanced Research and Development Activity works for all the nation's intelligence services, including the CIA, FBI, Defense Intelligence Agency and parts of dozens of other departments. Its budget is part of the National Foreign Intelligence Program and is secret." [more]

"Guerrillas shouting 'God is great' launched a bold daylight assault on an Iraqi police station and security compound west of Baghdad on Saturday, freeing prisoners and sparking a gunbattle that killed 21 people and wounded 33, police and hospital officials said." [more]

"In what may be the first subpoena of its kind in decades, a federal judge has ordered a university to turn over records about a gathering of anti-war activists." [more]

"A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Pentagon has no constitutional obligation to provide the media access to U.S. troops during combat." [more]

"Seeing that operations in Afghanistan haven't succeeded in shutting down terror networks, the Pentagon is planning a 'spring offensive' and ordered troops to start working on logistics and getting equipment in place, a Washington official said, speaking on condition of anonymity." [more]

"Annan suggested forming a U.N. committee on preventing genocide and having a 'special rapporteur' who would report directly to the Security Council to monitor 'massive and systematic violations of human rights and threats to international peace and security.' " [more]

"A man who lived on a golf course for 40 years was told to leave because some golfers complained that he scared them." [more]

"Unlike North and East Africa, no country in West Africa has seen a terror attack against Western interests." [more]

"'Man, they can't pay me enough to stay here,' said a 23-year-old specialist from the Army's 4th Infantry Division as he manned the checkpoint with Iraqi police outside this city 35 miles northeast of Baghdad." [more]

Bush has extended economic sanctions against Libya — a tool commonly used against nations in the Middle East. [more]

"'This is an Israeli decision that the Golan Heights is an integral part of the state of Israel, and we don't have any intention of giving up our hold.''" [more]

"The FBI is warning police nationwide to be alert for people carrying almanacs, cautioning that the popular reference books covering everything from abbreviations to weather trends could be used for terrorist planning." [more]

"All the suspects were charged with 'association with the aim of international terrorism' — a charge introduced in Italy after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. They are believed to have provided false passports and money for recruits." [more]

"In twin setbacks for the Bush administration's war on terror, federal appeals courts on opposite coasts ruled Thursday that the U.S. military cannot indefinitely hold prisoners without access to lawyers or the American courts." [more]

"Unilateral moves would include the completion of a West Bank separation barrier that swallows up large chunks of the land the Palestinians seek for their state, as well as the dismantling of some Jewish settlements ... Sharon will stop short of annexing parts of the West Bank, to avoid further angering the United States." [more]

"Rumsfeld [said] that Saddam's classification may change and he may lose POW status if it appears he had a role in the postwar insurgency in Iraq that has killed more than 200 Americans." [more]

"Critics said the policy could discourage countries from helping to rebuild Iraq and complicate American efforts to restructure Iraq's estimated $125 billion debt, much of it owed to France, Germany, Russia and other nations whose companies are excluded under the Pentagon directive." [more]

"The 11,500 U.S.-led troops hunting Taliban and al Qaeda remnants in south and east Afghanistan often are supported by air power, and there have been a string of military mishaps. The worst occurred in July 2002, when Afghan officials said 48 civilians at a wedding party were killed and 117 wounded by a U.S. Air Force AC-130 gunship." [more]

"Four Army divisions now in Iraq are to return next year and will need about six months to rest, retrain and repair equipment. With three divisions set to rotate into Iraq and another into Afghanistan as replacements, about 80 percent of the Army's fighting strength will be either on the mend or on duty fighting terror and stabilizing the two countries." [more]

"Rumsfeld told Davis he could understand [Afghan warlord] Dostum's reluctance to surrender the foundation of his power. 'I don't think his position is unreasonable,' Rumsfeld said." [more]

The vast majority of Americans do not believe the war with Iraq has made them any safer, a new poll revealed. The same majority feel the UN should be allowed to take a more prominent role. [more]

" 'We signed up to fight our nation's enemies and we are fully prepared to do that,' [the soldier] said. 'But if they're going to usurp the laws of this country at the expense of our most precious asset, our soldiers, then I will not stand for that, not for a minute.' " [more]

"About 70 allied soldiers have died in November, already making it the deadliest month since April, when 73 troops died. President Bush declared major combat over May 1." [more]

" 'What we see in the Patriot Act is an attempt to legalize and make more easily available to intelligence agencies tools that were used illegally and unconstitutionally to fight attempts to bring about social and political change,' [a law professor] said." [more]

"Some council members, who were appointed by the coalition in July, are pressing for full sovereign powers as a provisional government, with the United States handing over responsibility for security to an Iraqi-led paramilitary force composed of private militias." [more]

"Many groups are refusing to remove from their Web sites internal Diebold documents that they claim raise serious security questions and threaten the U.S. elections process." [more]

"The giant Caterpillar bulldozer, used by the Israeli military to destroy Palestinian homes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, now comes with a controversial new feature: remote control." [more]

"The tightening net of Border Patrol and Immigration agents has slowed trade, snarled traffic and cost American taxpayers millions, perhaps billions, of dollars, while hundreds of migrants have died trying to evade the growing army of border authorities." [more]

" 'The computer science community has pretty much rallied against electronic voting,' said Stephen Ansolabahere, a voting expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 'A disproportionate number of computer scientists who have weighed in on this issue are opposed to it.' " [more]

"Diebold spokesman Mike Jacobsen said the fact that the company sent the cease-and-desist letters does not mean the documents are authentic — or give credence to advocates who claim lax Diebold security could allow hackers to rig machines. But the activists say the mere fact that Diebold was hacked shows that the company's technology cannot be trusted." [more]

"To chants of 'Impeach Bush,' thousands of anti-war protesters rallied in the nation's capital Saturday and delivered a scathing critique of President Bush and his Iraq policy." [more]

"Kay's inability to find such weapons in three months of searching will make it even harder for the administration to continue to insist that Saddam was an imminent threat — the core argument the White House had made last winter for going to war." [more]

"Aid groups are fleeing in terror. They blame much of their exodus from the southern third of the country on its drug crop, worth an estimated $1.6 billion Cdn, which purportedly finances Islamic extremist violence, ethnic blood feuds, warlord war chests, provincial property disputes and competing political movements." [more]

"[The US] team had found only limited evidence of any chemical weapons effort, [Kay] said, and there was almost no sign that a significant nuclear weapons project was under way." [more]

"The U.S. House of Representatives–Senate conference report on the bill and comments by Senate aides indicated the conferees moved some of the TIA software research and tools to other government agencies for use in gathering foreign intelligence — information about the intentions, plans and capabilities of foreign governments or groups." [more]

"Espionage and aiding the enemy are military charges that can carry the death penalty, said Eugene Fidell, a civilian lawyer in Washington and president of the National Institute of Military Justice. The commanding general in charge of al-Halabi's case would have to decide whether military prosecutors could seek the death penalty in his case." [more]

"The Ashcroft memo said prosecutors will have a 'general duty' to pursue the most serious crimes they feel confident of proving in court. Plea bargains involving lesser charges should be limited -- there are six specific exceptions -- and would frequently have to be approved in writing by a supervisor." [more]

"Yee is being held at a military brig in Charleston, S.C., Crosson said. That is the same place where officials are holding Yaser Esam Hamdi, an American-born Saudi who allegedly fought with the Taliban, and José Padilla, a former Chicago gang member charged with plotting to detonate a radioactive 'dirty bomb.' " [more]

"In the two years since law enforcement agencies gained fresh powers to help them track down and punish terrorists, police and prosecutors have increasingly turned the force of the new laws not on al-Qaida cells but on people charged with common crimes." [more]

"The pan-Arab station, operating since 1996, was funded by the Qatari government but has shown an editorial independence and aggressiveness that were remarkable in a region where governments usually dictate what goes on the air." [more]

"Zebari, an Iraqi Kurd, sat down at the league's circular table behind little Iraqi flag, becoming Iraq's first envoy to the league since Saddam Hussein was overthrown in April." [more]

"It's time to try to influence the very culture against which this year's record 30,500 Burning Man participants rebelled, the phenomenon's founder and resident visionary said in an interview." [more]

"The St. Petersburg Times reported Aug. 2 that documents filed by prosecutors in Chicago identified Asher as a pilot and former smuggler in the Bahamas. He served as an informant and witness in several trials and has been identified as someone who provided police protection for smuggling operations." [more]

"[The cameraman] was the 17th news organization employee to be killed since the war began. The videotape in [his] camera showed two U.S. tanks coming toward him. Shots were fired, apparently from the tanks, and [he] fell to the ground. His body was taken away by a U.S. helicopter. 'There were many journalists around. They knew we were journalists. This was not an accident,' [a witness] said." [more]

"The deal would call for current President Moses Blah to cede power by October, handing control over to the interim government. That government would see Liberia through elections. The two rebel movements and the government would be shut out of the top administration posts of chairman and vice chairmanship." [more]

"Video footage ... showed a Black Hawk helicopter hovering a few feet from the top of [a] tower and apparently trying to tear down [an Islamic] banner. Later, US Humvees drove by and the crowd threw stones at them. Heavy gunfire could be heard and demonstrators were seen diving to the ground." [more]

"Presidential contenders and congressional Democrats criticized the Pentagon on Thursday for opposing legislation that would extend an increase in combat pay for troops in Iraq and other war zones." [more]

" 'If there are any uninvited guests — swimmers and divers — trying to cause harm to U.S. and coalition naval assets, the dolphins can detect and locate them,' said Lt. Josh Frey, a spokesman of the 5th Fleet." [more]

"President Bush said Wednesday he sent the contingent to help clear the way for humanitarian relief, adding that he still expects Liberian President Charles Taylor to leave the country. Washington has said repeatedly it will play only a limited role." [more]

A federal judge sentenced a man to a year in prison Monday for creating an anarchist Web site with links to sites on how to build bombs. [more]

"According to the aide, by the mid-1990s 'it was common knowledge among the leadership' that Iraq had destroyed its chemical stocks and discontinued development of biological and nuclear weapons." [more]

"The top Republican senator on the 9-11 inquiry, Richard Shelby, said Sunday that 95 percent of the classified pages could be released without jeopardizing national security. Bush ignored a reporter's question on Shelby's assessment." [more]

"The Roman Catholic nuns cut a fence and walked onto a Minuteman III silo site last October, pounding the silo with hammers and painting a cross on it with their blood. Officials said they caused at least $1,000 in damage." [more]

"The Solomon Islands government is nearly broke and issued an appeal to its neighbors this month to help rein in armed militants and criminals who are killing at will, taking hostages and extorting money." [more]

" 'I'm not concerned about weapons of mass destruction,' Wolfowitz told a group of reporters traveling with him. 'I'm concerned about getting Iraq on its feet. I didn't come [to Iraq] on a search for weapons of mass destruction.' " [more]

"Tension on the Korean Peninsula is high over North Korea's suspected development of nuclear weapons, and such shooting incidents in the DMZ are rare. In recent years, however, negotiations and reconciliation efforts have moved forward despite such outbreaks of violence." [more]

"No funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of Defense ... or to any other department, agency or element of the federal government, may be obligated or expended on research and development on the Terrorism Information Awareness program." [more]

"There are nearly 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, some of them under fire from anti-U.S. forces. 'We need to not develop an expectation that all of these difficulties will go away in one month or two months or three months,' Franks testified." [more]

"US troops patrolling the capital and other areas have been attacked several times a day. Iraqi police and civilians perceived to be working with the occupying forces have also been targeted." [more]

"Bush said he would not be rushed into making a decision before he leaves Monday evening for a five-country African tour. He called anew on President Charles Taylor to resign and leave the country, steps that U.S. officials have hinted are a condition for dispatching American troops." [more]

"The reward for Saddam matches the $25 million that Washington is offering for its other top fugitive: Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader missing since U.S. forces helped dislodge the Taliban regime in Afghanistan." [more]

Government Information Awareness "hopes to create a self-sustaining community where, as occurs with popular Web sites eBay and Google, the users keep it running and credible." [more]

"Though insisting CTS isn't intended for homeland security, DARPA outlined a hypothetical scenario for contractors in March that showed the system could aid police as well as the military." [more]

"A leader of a prominent Shiite group accused the Bush administration on Wednesday of reneging on pledges to hand over power to local political groups in Iraq and blamed Americans for failing to secure Iraq after Saddam's fall and 'plunging the country into an unending cycle of violence.' " [more]

"Opium use among all age groups is on the rise in Afghanistan, which produces more of the drug than any other nation, according to the United Nations. But in a poor country where anti-narcotics efforts are focused on combating supply, not demand, there are few places to treat addicts who need help." [more]

" 'I don't think the American people fully appreciate just how long we are going to be committed here and what the overall cost will be,' said Senator Joseph Biden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee." [more]

"A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Bush administration is not obligated to publicly identify the 762 foreigners it detained in the weeks and months after the Sept. 11 terror attacks." [more]

"The AP excluded all counts done by hospitals whose written records did not distinguish between civilian and military dead, which means hundreds, possibly thousands, of victims in Iraq's largest cities and most intense battles aren't reflected in the total." [more]

"US military units assigned to track down Iraqi weapons of mass destruction have run out of places to look and are getting time off or being assigned to other duties even as pressure mounts on US President George W. Bush to explain why no banned arms have been found." [more]

"Since the United States broadened its anti-terrorism campaign to include Iraq, there has been a surge in violence against Westerners in the Islamic world. A May 12 attack on housing complexes in Saudi Arabia killed at least 23 people, bombings in Morocco killed 31 victims, and there have been continued guerrilla assaults on U.S. troops in Iraq." [more]

"The Pentagon's intelligence service reported last September that it had no reliable evidence that Iraq had chemical agents in weaponized form." [more]

"The government ignored long-standing immigration practices so it could hold dozens of foreigners for long periods following the Sept. 11 attacks, the Justice Department inspector general has concluded." [more]

"Many acknowledge feeling powerless and weary after standing up against a military campaign that rolled over both Iraqi defenses and the antiwar movement. However, many are already rechanneling their energy into other social causes or party politics, often with a mind to unseating President Bush in next year's election." [more]

"The case tied up the court longer than any other this year. When justices heard arguments in December, they worried over its implications in terrorism cases. The ruling could have implications for counterterrorism interrogations, when building a criminal case may be less important than gathering intelligence." [more]

"Rebels ignored [a] deadline, saying they were prepared to fight what could be a bloody new phase in a 26-year conflict that has killed nearly 12,000 people. But they also suggested there still was room for compromise." [more]

"In what officials have said was a strongly worded letter, [US Secretary of State] Powell cited complaints from allies in his argument that the indefinite holding of foreign citizens undermines efforts to win international cooperation in the war on terror." [more]

"U.S. soldiers opened fire on Iraqis at a nighttime demonstration against the American presence here after people shot at them with automatic rifles, soldiers said Tuesday. The director of the local hospital said 13 people were killed and 75 injured. The demonstrators insisted they were unarmed." [more]

"The lack of basic services such as power, water and police protection has hobbled the city's economy and fueled a mixture of rage and resentment against American forces. Iraqis are angry that U.S. troops rarely assume the role of police and resentful when they do." [more]

"Human and mechanical errors send 10 percent or more [missiles] astray, Pentagon and civilian experts say — a disastrous percentage for civilians living near the intended targets." [more]

"Fearing friendly fire incidents with U.S. forces and clashes with Iraqi Kurds, the United States opposes Turkish intervention." [more]

"Anti-war protesters took to the streets again Monday, with more than 100 arrests in the city's financial district and noisy student demonstrators crowding the hallways of an administration building at San Francisco State University." [more]

"Anti-war protesters blocked morning traffic in Washington, San Francisco and Philadelphia and chanted 'no blood for oil' outside the White House on Thursday in reaction to U.S. military strikes against Iraq." [more]

"Galvanized by the American attack on Iraq, thousands of anti-war activists around the country set off their own barrage of street protests, chaining themselves together, blocking workers and traffic, walking out of classes, and parading in mock chemical suits." [more]

"As the deadline for the war on Iraq drew closer Wednesday, some 300 people demonstrated in Manhattan against a U.S. invasion and called on others to leave work and school to increase the voice of protest." [more]

" 'This is a sad day for the United Nations,' Annan said. 'I know that millions of people around the world share this sense of disappointment and are deeply alarmed.' " [more]

"The U.S.-backed resolution on Iraq may be withdrawn because of France's threat to veto it, the Spanish foreign minister said Wednesday." [more]

With Pakistan's abstention, the United States must now win the votes of all five undecided nations — Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Guinea, and Mexico — in the UN Security Council in order for the resolution authorizing war on Iraq to pass without a veto. [more]

" 'It's a fact that the children of Iraq are extremely vulnerable,' said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy. 'Their health, their nutrition, their access to safe water — all of which are weak already — will be further jeopardized in a war.' " [more]

"A [Philadelphia] city official is urging his colleagues to join dozens of other municipalities that have adopted resolutions in defiance of an anti-terrorism law that permits unprecedented levels of domestic surveillance." [more]

"Anti-war activists, determined to continue the momentum from last month's massive global rallies, were preparing for another day of marches and demonstrations expected to draw students around the city and country." [more]

"From the Brooklyn Academy of Music to a coffeehouse in northern New Mexico to the National Theatre of Iceland, actors are planning a day of international theater protest against a possible war with Iraq." [more]

"The nation's largest labor federation declared its opposition Thursday to war against Iraq at this time, saying President Bush has not made a case for an attack without broad support from U.S. allies." [more]

The Supreme Court ruled that federal racketeering laws cannot be applied to aggressive protesters. The suit, brought by anti-abortion activists, applies to protests of all sorts. [more]

"In the event of war, American and allied forces could not assure the safety of civilians who deliberately position themselves as human shields against attack on Iraqi targets, the U.S. general who would run the war said in an Associated Press interview." [more]

"Mexico appeared to be the first among a handful of undecided U.N. Security Council members to shift toward the U.S. position on Iraq as Canada sought to find a middle ground among members split between disarming Saddam Hussein by force or giving weapons inspectors more time." [more]

"About 15,000 males age 16 or older from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will have until March 21 to be fingerprinted, photographed and show certain documents at local Immigration and Naturalization Service offices. The previous deadline was Feb. 21." [more]

"More than 250 people were arrested during a massive demonstration against possible war in Iraq as tens of thousands of protesters packed a 20-block area north of United Nations headquarters, New York police said Sunday." [more]

"Millions of protesters — many of them marching in America and the capitals of America’s traditional allies — demonstrated Saturday against possible U.S. plans to attack Iraq." [more]

"While other major cities around the world held peace rallies Saturday, a demonstration planned in San Francisco was held back a day to make way for the city's traditional Chinese New Year's parade." [more]

"More than 100,000 people hit the streets of San Francisco on Sunday to join the voices around the world this weekend protesting a possible U.S. invasion of Iraq." [more]

"Anti-war demonstrators packed the streets north of the United Nations headquarters Saturday, filling police-barricaded protest zones for more than 20 blocks as civil rights leaders and celebrities energized the banner-waving crowd." [more]

"A British-based Islamic news agency said Thursday it has a new audio recording of Osama bin Laden in which he predicts he will die as 'a martyr' this year in an attack against his enemies." [more]

"Six House members, members of the military and parents of servicemen went to federal court Thursday to try to prevent the president from launching an invasion of Iraq without an explicit declaration of war from Congress." [more]

"The judge's ruling said the law, as written, does not differentiate between impermissible advice on violence and encouraging the use of peaceful, nonviolent means to achieve goals." [more]

"Civil rights leaders and politicians around the nation observed Martin Luther King Day yesterday, many of them invoking King's name in arguing against war with Iraq." [more]

"Thousands of people — teenagers, spiritual leaders, parents with young children, veterans of past wars and others, representing several races and religions — took to the streets here on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to support social justice and oppose war in Iraq." [more]

"The Office of Global Communications has been up and running for at least six months, quietly working with foreign news media outlets to get the American message out. It was an outgrowth of an earlier administration effort to build public support overseas for the war on terrorism." [more]

"The slogans and banners were different at protests around the world Saturday, but the message to the United States and its allies was the same: Find a peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis." [more]

"A look at anti-war demonstrations Saturday in U.S. cities and around the world." [more]

"INS officials believe fear of arrest or deportation, lack of knowledge about the program and large crowds at local offices might have prevented many of the affected people from registering earlier." [more]

"Revisiting a jarring television commercial from the Cold War era, a grass-roots anti-war group has remade the 1964 'Daisy' ad, warning that a war against Iraq could spark nuclear Armageddon." [more]

"Civil liberties advocates say the program is an inefficient way to find terrorists and will alienate people who could help the government. Allegations that innocent people were arrested during the first phase of the program in December have led to demands for a Justice Department investigation." [more]

"A federal judge refused on Thursday to bar immigration officials from arresting and deporting illegal immigrants who register under a new program aimed at tracking men from countries considered a high risk for terrorists." [more]

"A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that the government can hold U.S. citizens as enemy combatants during wartime without the constitutional protections afforded Americans in criminal prosecutions." [more]

"Calling King a 'drum major for peace and justice,' Mahdi Bray, the executive director of the Muslim American Society, noted that King spoke out against the Vietnam War." [more]

"Unlike last year's exercise, the training starting in February will involve no military operations and will focus on group and leadership skills and night flying." [more]

"Apart from cease-fire violations, the group called the Mindanao People's Caucus wants to look into the plight of villagers affected by the fighting and reports of displacement of villagers." [more]

"Troops were sent to a village outside Maimbung town on Jolo island Friday to check on the reported presence of armed men believed to be Abu Sayyaf rebels when they encountered about 50 guerrillas, said Maj. Gen. Glicerio Sua." [more]

"Baghdad complied with a key United Nations demand Saturday by delivering a list to weapons inspectors naming over 500 scientists linked to Iraq's nuclear, chemical, biological and missile programs, a U.N. official said." [more]

"Yesterday's clash occurred less than a week after French soldiers fired on a rebel convoy that was speeding toward a French checkpoint northeast of Duekoue. Rebels accuse the French of backing Gbagbo's troops and have warned that any French attack on their positions would be deemed 'an act of war.' " [more]

"U.S. officials said Saturday they made progress on a possible aid package to help protect Turkey's struggling economy from any damage caused by a possible war in neighboring Iraq." [more]

"The Pentagon has ordered the Navy to prepare two aircraft carriers and two amphibious assault vessels for possible action in Iraq, defense officials said Friday." [more]

"At least six Middle Eastern students studying in Colorado have been jailed in the past 10 days for failing to take enough college classes as required by their student visas." [more]

"[Justice Department] spokesman Jorge Martinez defended the registration requirement. 'We're doing what the American people want us to do and we're doing what the law wants us to do,' he said. 'What are our critics going to say when the next building blows up? That we didn't check on the background of individuals?' " [more]

"Mohajeri and relatives of the hundreds of Middle Eastern men and teens who have been detained in California this week say they feel betrayed by the country that once offered them a safe haven. Some family members fear they even became unknowing accomplices." [more]

"Thousands of Iranian-Americans demonstrated against the arrest of Middle Eastern immigrants who had voluntarily registered with the federal government under a new anti-terrorism program." [more]

"Two suspected members of Al Qaeda have been arrested in the killing of an American diplomat in Jordan in October, the information minister said today." [more]

" 'We became aware of the departure of the ship from North Korea that was carrying what we believe to be weapons of concern,' Fleischer said. 'This was a non-flagged vessel, which gave us further concern. And the vessel was destined for Yemen.' " [more]

"Among the chief recommendations were strengthening domestic intelligence, including an examination of whether this should continue to be the responsibility of the FBI or whether a new agency is needed. The recommendations referred to the 'FBI's history of repeated shortcomings within its current responsibility for domestic intelligence.' " [more]

"From Goshen, Ind., grannies collecting relief kits to a 'die-in' on an Ivy League campus, Americans took to the streets Tuesday in mostly small, low-key events to protest a possible war on Iraq. More than 100 people were arrested." [more]

"Abu Sayyaf, an Arabic phrase meaning 'Bearer of the Sword,' is among the top U.S. targets in the war on terrorism. Justice Department officials say the group intends to establish an Islamic government in the southern Philippines or die trying." [more]

"Turks overwhelmingly oppose the use of a key U.S. air base in their country in any possible attack against Iraq, a new survey found, underscoring the difficulties faced by Turkey's leaders if they assist in the U.S. campaign against Baghdad." [more]

"Student aid applicants, check the fine print. That information you put on your application to the U.S. Department of Education is being shared with the Pentagon, the Justice Department and other agencies, even private companies like debt collectors." [more]

"On the issue of Arab views of other countries, only Israel, the United States and Britain received overall negative scores among 13 countries listed in the question, including Asian and Islamic nations." [more]

"Indonesian police on Wednesday released sketches of three suspects — including one possibly linked to al-Qaida — who allegedly planted bombs that destroyed two nightclubs in Bali and killed nearly 200 people." [more]

"Tens of thousands of anti-war protesters circled the White House on Saturday after Jesse Jackson and other speakers denounced the Bush administration's Iraq policies and demanded a revolt at the ballot box to promote peace." [more]

"Russia rejected the new U.S. draft resolution on Iraq Tuesday, dealing a sharp blow to American efforts to gain U.N. backing for the automatic use of force if weapons inspectors are thwarted by Baghdad." [more]

"The vote was widely advertised not only as backing for Saddam but as a rebuke to the United States, which has been pressing in the United Nations Security Council for a resolution that would allow a war to topple Saddam." [more]

" 'The question we pose to the White House today is: "Do you really want to allow this commission to be created? And if you don't, why not?" ' a frustrated Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Connecticut said Friday." [more]

"Religious leaders began another phase of an anti-war lobbying effort on Capitol Hill Wednesday, urging Congress to explore peaceful alternatives in its dealings with Iraq." [more]

"With Congress on the verge of approving the use of force against Iraq, anti-war activists around the country are struggling to generate fervor for peace." [more]

"Protest organizers said President Bush, motivated by a thirst for power and control of oil reserves, was lying to the country about the need for an attack on Iraq and the war against terrorism. Iraq's oil reserves are the second biggest in the world after Saudi Arabia's." [more]

"U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, recently back from Baghdad, told about 5,000-plus peace activists at a rally Sunday that President Bush is out for blood in Iraq and it will take their efforts to stop him." [more]

"India's missile arsenal includes Trishul, a surface-to-air missile which targets aircraft and can counter sea-skimming missiles; the intermediate-range Agni, which can reach 1,500 miles; the short-range ballistic missile Prithvi with a range of 95 miles; and the anti-tank Nag missile." [more]

"Ramadan, wearing a green uniform and a black beret, made his remarks without giving any outward sign that he was joking although reporters who were present detected a note of irony in his voice." [more]

"President Bush also expressed strong reservations a day earlier as he signed a spending bill that urges his administration to shift the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which both the Palestinian and Israelis consider their capital. Bush said he would treat the clauses as a recommendation rather than an order." [more]

"Lawmakers have yet to settle differences about the threat posed by Iraq and how to confront it, despite White House hopes Congress soon will pass a resolution authorizing military force to topple Saddam Hussein." [more]

The announcement ended days of speculation that the substance might have been destined for neighboring Iraq, which the United States accuses of trying to smuggle in nuclear material for a secret weapons program. [more]

"Would you favor or oppose taking military action in Iraq to end Saddam Hussein's rule? / Overall ?64 percent favor, but that drops to 33 percent if the United States must act without allies." [more]

"A Pentagon official said two strikes early Thursday were in response to Iraq's firing anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles at allied aircraft patrolling zones declared off-limits to Iraqi planes." [more]

"Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been criticized at home for mismanaging the government and warned that his reliance on U.S. bodyguards could have 'dangerous consequences.' " [more]

"An Indian-born doctor who was on a flight when a federal air marshal pointed a gun at passengers while another detained an unruly passenger said he was held for hours after the plane landed because of racial profiling." [more]

"Iraq unconditionally accepted the return of U.N. weapons inspectors late Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said." [more]

"Freezing the assets of Benevolence and another Islamic charity based in the Chicago area, Global Relief Foundation, were among the most visible actions of the federal government's drive to shut off the flow of U.S. dollars to terrorists overseas." [more]

" 'If I received a call at home on that day from somebody trying to sell me something, I would be personally offended,' Young said." [more]

"Mohammed said planning for the attacks began 2 1/2 years before Sept. 11 and that the first targets considered were nuclear facilities." [more]

"Government may search and seize Americans' papers and effects without probable cause to assist terror investigation." [more]

" 'We are really appalled by any country, whether a superpower or a small country, that goes outside the U.N. and attacks independent countries,' Mandela said ... 'No country should be allowed to take the law into their own hands.' " [more]

"The debate was set off by the killings of 12 Palestinians in three separate incidents between Thursday and Sunday. The Palestinians, who accuse Israel of having used excessive force throughout the past two years, said Monday they had little faith the new inquiry will result in soldiers being punished." [more]

"A federal air marshal pointed a gun towards passengers on a flight from Atlanta to Philadelphia for about 30 minutes Saturday while detaining an unruly passenger, travelers said." [more]

"Shannon Allen, offering peach slices to passers-by at the Farmers Market, says he is dreading the attacks anniversary." [more]

"The problem: Pakistan was in the way. While Pakistan is a U.S. ally in the war against the Taliban and al-Qaida, the Pakistanis did not want a huge U.S. military presence visible on - or over - Pakistani soil." [more]

"A panel of three judges at the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled the public and press cannot be barred from immigration hearings for people rounded up after Sept. 11." [more]

"Furthermore, that official said Bush was told he also could act against Iraq on the strength of the Sept. 14 congressional resolution approving military action against terrorism." [more]

"Earlier Thursday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov called the idea of an attack on Iraq 'unacceptable,' and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said his government's policy was to pressure Saddam into allowing the resumption of U.N. weapons inspections. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has said he would not send troops to what he called an 'adventure' in Iraq." [more]

"Inside, piles of 110-pound sacks of sugar and rice and boxes of milk covered the floor. Writing on the sacks indicated they were imported under the oil-for-food program that allows Iraq to sell unlimited quantities of oil provided the proceeds go for food, medicine and other supplies." [more]

"The Agni missile, with a range of 1,500 miles, is undergoing field trials and will be introduced into the arsenal of the nation's armed forces, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The most advanced version of the Agni could hit most targets in neighboring Pakistan and reach well into China." [more]

"The United States retained its position as the world's biggest arms dealer, but its arms transfer agreements declined to nearly $12.1 billion from $18.9 billion in 2000, the Congressional Research Service reported. American arms sales last year accounted for nearly 46% of all weapons sales. Russia was second with $5.8 billion and France third with $2.9 billion." [more]

"An American touted by Attorney General John Ashcroft as a significant terrorism figure with plans to detonate a radioactive bomb is probably a 'small fish' with no ties to al-Qaida cell members in the United States, law enforcement officials say." [more]

"Britain would not commit forces to a conflict with Iraq unless Prime Minister Tony Blair was convinced it was the best available option, one of his closest political allies was quoted as saying in press reports Monday." [more]

"The attack on the Kabul army garrison began about 7 a.m. when the guerrillas, armed with AK-47 semiautomatic rifles, rushed the post in the Bagram-i District, about six miles south of the center of the capital, said the local police commander, Col. Haji Rashid." [more]

"The consulate was closed after Pakistani authorities on Monday morning removed large concrete blocks and reopened the road in front of the heavily guarded building to normal traffic. The U.S. State Department suspended business operations at the consulate because it did not approve of the reopening." [more]

"ISLAMABAD, Pakistan ó A team of Pakistani intelligence officers and diplomats went to Cuba to help interrogate Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners held at the U.S. military base at Guantanamno Bay, Pakistani authorities said Friday." [more]

"The U.N. report said 52 Palestinian deaths had been confirmed by April 18, and that up to half may have been civilians. It called the Palestinian allegation that some 500 were killed 'a figure that has not been substantiated in the light of evidence that has emerged,' the diplomats said Wednesday. The U.N. findings mirrored those of Human Rights Watch, which said its experts had found nothing to back allegations of an Israeli army massacre. Human rights groups have said 22 civilians were killed in Jenin." [more]

"It was the fifth time U.S. forces have been attacked since hostility against them rose sharply after a U.S. air strike July 1 that Afghan officials say killed 25 people at a village wedding party. The wounded soldiers were flown to Bagram. Four of them, wounded early in the attack, had injuries that were not life-threatening. The condition of the fifth, wounded late in the gunfight, was not immediately known." [more]

"A subsidiary of a company once run by Vice President Dick Cheney has won a $9.7 million contract to build more cells for terrorist suspects at a naval base in Cuba, the Navy announced Friday." [more]

"Camp Delta has space for a little over 600, so the new construction would mean a capacity of over 800. Officials said previously that they could eventually expand the prison to hold 2,000." [more]

"Human rights advocates and diplomats argued that the protocol was essential to enforce the international convention on torture passed 13 years ago and since ratified by about 130 countries, including the United States. Countries are supposed to enforce the convention on their own, but rights groups argue that that isn't working everywhere." [more]

"'Iraq is ... so developed technologically and economically despite the embargo, that it cannot be compared to Afghanistan or Vietnam,' Ecevit said. 'It will not be possible for the [United States] to get out of there easily.'" [more]

"U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte introduced the new draft at the end of a daylong open council meeting, at which the United States faced intense criticism from nearly 40 countries for seeking permanent immunity for American peacekeepers. Only India, which also opposes the court, was somewhat sympathetic to the U.S. position." [more]

"Under terms of his deal with prosecutors, Lindh, 21, would serve two 10-year prison sentences and would cooperate fully with U.S. authorities in the investigation of the al Qaeda and terrorism. The 10 charges in the original indictment carried at least three maximum life sentences." [more]

"It was the deadliest assault in disputed Kashmir since a May 14 strike by Islamic militants against a military base near Jammu that killed 34 people. That attack had put India on a war footing with neighboring Pakistan. More than 1 million Indian and Pakistani soldiers are still massed along their frontier." [more]

"August Hanning, the head of the Federal Intelligence Service, also estimated that more than 5,000 supporters of al-Qaida and Afghanistan's ousted Taliban militia remain in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, while many others have returned to their homelands." [more]

"A team was scheduled to arrive Friday or Saturday in Uruzgan province to investigate one of the worst such accidents of the campaign ó a July 1 airstrike that Afghans say killed 48 civilians. In continued fallout from that accident, governors of six provinces in Afghanistan said Friday they would require Americans to get their permission before launching military operations in their regions." [more]

"The jailing of material witnesses in the Sept. 11 investigation was found constitutional by a federal judge, who criticized an earlier ruling freeing a Jordanian detainee." [more]

"Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne was widely derided after he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to ring the Capitol with concrete and steel barriers. The move closed two main streets through the city and caused traffic headaches. 'I'm embarrassed that our governor feels he needs to hole up in the state compound like a frightened king,' local real estate agent Robin Rowe wrote in a letter to the editor of The Idaho Statesman. 'The rest of the nation must look upon the good people of Idaho as irrational reactionaries headed up by a paranoid leader.' " [more]

"Federal investigators are conducting raids nationwide on jewelry stores owned mostly by Pakistanis, hoping to break up fronts for terrorist groups or their financial backers, U.S. officials said." [more]

"Some flight crews believed they were being watched by people of Middle Eastern descent. They said the individuals had gathered in hotels and other places in Amsterdam, Frankfurt and London where crews hang out between flights, and were trying to overhear their conversations." [more]

"Deputies seized computer hard drives from a community college's library to examine them for possible terrorist activity after three Middle Eastern-looking men were seen accessing Islamic websites, authorities said Thursday." [more]

"Col. Roger King said the Americans had been visiting the hospital where victims of a U.S. air attack Monday were undergoing treatment when their vehicles came under fire about 1.5 miles outside the city. One soldier was shot in the foot and is undergoing treatment at a clinic at the U.S. base at Kandahar airport, King said." [more]

"Israeli security forces began to remove two Jewish settler outposts in the West Bank on Sunday shortly after Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer vowed to dismantle 10 of the rogue settlements by Monday." [more]

"Clinton said Colombia's government should be allowed to use U.S. aid 'not only against drug trafficking, but in a direct confrontation against those terrorist groups.' " [more]

" 'We must take the battle to the enemy and where necessary pre-empt grave threats to our country before they materialize,' Cheney told several hundred people in Charlotte, N.C. 'The only path to safety is the path of action. The United States of America will act, and we will defeat the enemies of freedom,' he said." [more]

"Military officials had reported a clash Thursday between Philippine army scout rangers and about 150 Abu Sayyaf extremist guerrillas tracked by U.S. surveillance planes on the southern island of Jolo, in Sulu province. An army officer was killed and six others wounded in Thursday's 30-minute gunbattle with the rebels believed led by Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khaddafy Janjalani, who is on a list of Philippine terrorists wanted by the United States." [more]

"Under DeWine's proposal, authorities would still have to prove a link to a foreign power. But instead of showing 'probable cause' that a link exists, it would only have to show a 'reasonable suspicion' in the case of noncitizens." [more]

"Sima Samar's opponents, some of them allied with President Hamid Karzai, have even branded her the Afghan Salman Rushdie — raising chilling memories of the death threat that haunted the Indian-born writer for more than a decade." [more]

"They appear to be more capable of attacking Americans than they were a month or two ago, said Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee." [more]

"Moussa warned Washington and its allies against using their worldwide hunt for terrorists for 'settling accounts and imposing a different world order' — an apparent reference to Arab fears of a planned U.S. attack on Iraq." [more]

"German justice authorities have received a U.S. request for information in the Moussaoui case, but point out that it is against German law to extradite suspects to countries with the death penalty or supply evidence that could incriminate someone facing execution. At a news conference, Schroeder rejected the idea that this policy undermines his pledge of "unrestricted solidarity" with the United States in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks." [more]

"A senior Taliban official said he approached U.S. representatives three years ago for help in replacing the hard-line Islamic leadership but was told Washington was leery of becoming involved in internal Afghan politics, the former official said Sunday." [more]

"In light of the handling of the Moussaoui matter last summer, Sens. Charles Schumer and Jon Kyl also Wednesday proposed making it easier for the federal government to eavesdrop on potential terrorists, saying that if the FBI had been able to listen in on Moussaoui, it might have been able to prevent the attacks. Kyl is on both the Senate intelligence committee and the judiciary panel." [more]

"A second U.S. official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that Mohammed played a critical role in planning the attacks but said questions remain about the extent of his leadership. The official said other bin Laden lieutenants, including Abu Zubaydah, now in U.S. custody, are also believed to have played top organizational roles." [more]

" 'If they don't want to be found, I don't think we're going to find them. There's a lot of places to hide up there,' Watkins said. 'We [will] just have to get [in] line at double-arm interval and walk across the country if we want to find them.' " [more]

" 'What will come to the Americans, God willing, won't be less than what has come. America should be ready and on high alert and fasten the seat belts, as with the will of God, we will come to them from where they didn't expect.' " [more]

" 'It is certainly not stable, like Washington, D.C., or San Francisco or wherever. But for Afghanistan, it isn't bad,' Rumsfeld said. 'The big areas are reasonably secure. People get killed every once in a while, just like they do in the United States and Europe ... It is a vastly better place than it was.' " [more]

"Exactly two years before the Sept. 11 attacks, a federal report warned the executive branch that Osama bin Laden's terrorists might hijack an airliner and dive bomb it into the Pentagon or other government building." [more]

"Yemeni tribes in provinces on the Saudi Arabian border warned the United States on Friday not to launch military attacks on their territories as part of the war on terrorism, saying it would be 'a strategic mistake.' " [more]

"Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners may soon be answering questions from lawyers for fellow Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh, but the government doesn't want the detainees to know who posed the questions." [more]

"Democrats led angry calls on Thursday for President Bush to hand over a top-secret CIA briefing and an FBI memo that warned of potential hijackings by Osama bin Laden's terrorist network weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks." [more]

"President Bush had received general, nonspecific information during a vacation briefing at his ranch Aug. 6 that bin Laden's group was considering hijackings, and he never considered making the information public, said National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice." [more]

"Journalists on an Israeli military-escorted tour of the site saw a small entrance in the floor of a shower in a small four-room house about 100 yards from the Egyptian border fence. A short shaft lined with wood planks led into the tunnel." [more]

"FBI Director Robert Mueller is seeking to address some of the flaws exposed by the Sept. 11 attacks by creating a new terrorism-fighting team in Washington that will oversee all U.S. terrorism investigations worldwide, officials say." [more]

"The releases left 1,500 Afghans and 600 Pakistanis still at Shibergan, which is known for its atrocious conditions. Prisoners who have been released have told of beatings, starvation rations, and cells so tightly packed that the inmates couldn't all lie down at once. The International Red Cross recently started an emergency feeding program because some inmates were on the verge of starvation." [more]

" 'If there's any sensitivity to what's going on between Israelis and Palestinians now, moving on Iraq at this stage would be tremendous instability in the area and one that I don't think the Arab world could handle,' the king said on NBC's Meet the Press." [more]

"The presence of the U.S. troops is controversial in this former American colony, and an extension of their stay could arouse criticism." [more]

"Musharraf promised to fight back. 'We feel this act of international terrorism has to be met with full force. My government has the complete resolve of meeting this threat,' he said without elaborating. 'I would appeal to the international community to understand our domestic environment resulting from our cooperation against international terrorism,' Musharraf said." [more]

"We continue to look at ways to reform the Palestinian Authority. And we look at ways to bring hope to the Palestinian people through economic development and humanitarian efforts. And we look forward to security activity that Mr. Tenet will be pushing forward next week when he goes over." [more]

" 'Without new contributions, the World Food Program will have nothing to distribute in June,' said U.N. food agency spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume. 'We have averted one famine. We don't want to go back to that.' " [more]

"WASHINGTON (May 1, 2002 11:39 a.m. EDT) - U.S. investigators no longer believe suicide hijacker Mohammed Atta met with an Iraqi intelligence agent in Europe last year, eliminating the only known link between Saddam Hussein's government and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks." [more]

"Palestinian gunmen disguised as soldiers slipped into an Israeli settlement in the West Bank on Saturday and went from house to house, shooting residents in their bedrooms and killing four people, including a 5-year-old girl, the army said." [more]

"Authorities arrested close to 100 workers Tuesday at airports serving the nation's capital on charges they lied to obtain security badges that gave them broad access to sensitive areas. 'These individuals are charged with gaining access to secure areas of our airports by lying on security applications, using false or fictitious Social Security numbers or committing various immigration frauds,' said Attorney General John Ashcroft." [more]

"Three explosions ripped through a major city in the southern Philippines on Sunday, killing at least 14 people and injuring 45 others after a radio-station caller warned of a wave of bombings. "The caller claimed to be from the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf, which has been holding an American missionary couple for nearly 11 months and is the target of a U.S.-backed military campaign as part of Washington's war on terrorism." [more]

"The fragile nature of Afghanistan's peace was evident Saturday, as French peacekeepers were shot at, a plot to assassinate the returned king was uncovered and parents were threatened with death for educating their children." [more]

" 'This decision has been made taking into account the public concern of Congressman Javier Diez Canseco, with whom we share the view that we do not want a foreign military base in Peru,' [Foreign Minister Diego] Garcia Sayan said." [more]

"Bush's new rules allow military courts to sentence defendants to life in prison either with or without parole for serious crimes such as murder, rape and kidnapping. Previously, the courts could sentence those criminals to a life sentence with no determination of whether parole would be allowed." [more]

"A magnet for violence-scarred protests, international finance meetings are attracting thousands of demonstrators to Washington next weekend on issues ranging from the war against terrorism to the Mideast conflict." [more]

" 'Iraq does not pose a threat worthy of war,' Ritter told reporters in Paris. 'America is marching toward war with Iraq that will have horrific consequences, not only for the United States, but for the entire world.' U.S. President George Bush over the weekend reaffirmed his goal of overthrowing the Iraqi leader, saying: 'The policy of my government is the removal of Saddam.' " [more]

"Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Tuesday that Israel's military offensive in the West Bank would continue until Palestinian militias have been crushed." [more]

"No official count has been made, but some estimates of the number of civilians killed by American bombing range in the low thousands. A review by The Associated Press early this year suggested a toll in the mid-hundreds. Ruzicka said her organization believes the U.S. government should conduct a thorough study of the toll." [more]

"A Singaporean member of an Islamic militant group linked to al-Qaida is suspected of planning to hijack a plane and crash it into the city-state's international airport, Singapore's prime minister said Friday." [more]

"President Bush now admits that the one-size-fits-all 'Bush doctrine' on terrorism in fact doesn't fit Yasser Arafat." [more]

"Pakistani authorities have handed over to the United States a man considered the biggest catch yet in the war on terrorism." [more]

"The United States joined other U.N. Security Council members Saturday in adopting a resolution that calls on Israel to withdraw its troops from Palestinian cities, including Ramallah, where Yasser Arafat's headquarters is under siege." [more]

"More than 30 Afghans seized by American troops in a 3 a.m. raid on a village security post said they were kicked and abused at a U.S. Army detention center before being freed four days later." [more]

A "scanner that can see through clothes leaves nothing to the imagination, and [a] bomb sniffer also can test for drugs. Both of these systems concern civil liberties advocates." [more]

"Eight Yemeni opposition parties issued a statement saying Cheney's visit would 'lead to more bloodshed than is being spilled every day on Palestinian land and in besieged Iraq.' " [more]

"The Army is considering closing its Peacekeeping Institute, the only arm of the military devoted entirely to preparing for and analyzing U.S. peacekeeping missions around the globe." [more]

"An explosion at an ammunition depot near the Kandahar air base killed three U.S.-allied Afghan fighters Thursday, and the top Canadian officer here said one of the men may have inadvertently tripped a booby trap." [more]

"U.S. bombers blasted the cavernous mountains of eastern Afghanistan for a third day Sunday, pressing a new offensive against al-Qaida and Taliban fighters believed to be regrouping there. One American and three U.S.-allied Afghans were killed Saturday in the opening day of a ground offensive that accompanied the air campaign, the Pentagon said. An Afghan doctor at the Gardez hospital said at least six Americans were injured." [more]

The Justice Department admits that about 326 Middle Eastern men detained in the post-attack hysteria remain in custody, most of them in New Jersey jails. Little or no evidence links the detainees to any serious crimes. [more]

"The Bush administration has agreed to Yemen's request to provide U.S. troops to train its military in combating terrorists, officials said Friday." [more]

U.S. warplanes and Afghan fighters backed by U.S. Special Forces launched a major attack Saturday on Taliban and al-Qaida forces regrouping in eastern Afghanistan. Defenders fought back with heavy weapons, and the Pentagon said one American was killed and others were injured. [more]

The Yemeni official said U.S. forces will train 2,000 Yemeni military personnel at a coast guard training center to be built in Aden, site of the October 2000 attack that killed 17 American sailors on the USS Cole. [more]

"The seven, all prominent residents of the Pashat area of eastern Kunar province, traveled to Jalalabad last week and met with commission members to discuss strategy in convening the assembly, now scheduled for June. They were shot and killed by unknown gunmen late Friday in the Kunar provincial capital of Asadabad, near the Pakistani border, at the home of someone they were staying with, said Aziz Ullah Salik, the nephew of one of the victims. " [more]

"Al-Qaida and Taliban fighters are regrouping in the mountains of eastern Paktia province and just over the border in Pakistan, urging the faithful to wage holy war against U.S. forces, Afghan officials say." [more]

"The Israeli military attacked two West Bank refugee camps with helicopter gunships, tanks and paratroopers Thursday in a high-stakes attempt to break strongholds of Palestinian militants. An Israeli soldier and 12 Palestinians were killed — pushing the Palestinian toll past 1,000 in 17 months of fighting." [more]

"Hours before the appearance of British-born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who already has spent time in an Indian jail for a 1994 kidnapping, troops were already in place around the court in central Karachi where Pearl's kidnap occurred." [more]

"Nearly 1,000 anti-war protesters marched Saturday in San Francisco, chanting that the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan and campaign against terrorism are inhumane and an excuse to erode civil liberties." [more]

"Pre-emptive strikes by the United States could be on the horizon as the United States fights terrorism, the Pentagon's No. 2 official said Tuesday. " 'We've already lost enough Americans. We're not going to lose any more by hesitating,' Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told a group of defense contractors." [more]

"Foreign nationals captured in Afghanistan and held in Cuba sued members of the Bush administration and the military Tuesday, saying they are entitled to the same legal rights as American Taliban John Walker Lindh." [more]

"Four American soldiers, their Philippine military escorts and journalists surveyed the area from a hilly Philippine marine camp in Maluso town on the southern island of Basilan before more special forces arrived." [more]

"Taliban officials dramatically inflated the number of people living in Afghanistan's largest camp for displaced people, according to a new survey by [UN] relief officials." [more]

"Cheney said that the administration intended a multifaceted approach against terror with some of it 'visible and public' like the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan and some of it not. 'Other aspects of it may never see the light of day — probably shouldn't,' Cheney said. 'You're clearly going to have to deal in the shadows to some extent on some of these areas.' " [more]

"Woomera was recently the scene of a two-week hunger strike by more than 200 asylum seekers protesting conditions in the camp and the length of time ó up to three years ó taken to deal with their claims. Dozens of hunger strikers, including children, sewed their lips together and one man suffered severe lacerations when he jumped onto a coil of razor wire." [more]

"Instead of taking advice from the U.S. Treasury Department or the International Monetary Fund, many struggling countries would rebound from economic crisis more quickly if they focused efforts on the specific needs of society, said Joseph Stiglitz, who was one of former President Clinton's economic advisers and co-winner of the 2001 Nobel prize in economics." [more]

"U.S. commanders acknowledged last week that they mistakenly took 27 prisoners in the raid, believing they were al-Qaeda and Taliban warriors ... Several contended in reports in The New York Times and The Washington Post that they were beaten and kept in a cage with wooden bars during their detention in Kandahar." [more]

"The FBI issued an extraordinary terrorist alert Monday night, asking law enforcement and the American public to be on the lookout for a Yemeni man and several associates who might be plotting a terrorist attack as early as Tuesday." [more]

"German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in remarks published Sunday that he has received assurances from President Bush the United States has no intention of attacking Iraq." [more]

"An Afghan warlord who led the worst factional fighting since the fall of the Taliban vowed Sunday to fight rather than step down as governor of an eastern province." [more]

"The Karzai administration has called for the disarming of groups like Hotak's men, but he says he cannot lay down his weapons until he is confident the central government can provide security. 'We respect this new government,' he said. 'But I am the one who must protect my people against bandits and other threats.'Ý" [more]

"The draft gives the Philippine government command of the exercise, bars U.S. troops from combat operations, fixes the U.S. presence at a maximum of 660 soldiers, prohibits permanent U.S. military facilities, and limits training to Basilan island and nearby Zamboanga city, where most U.S. soldiers are staying." [more]

"Afghans have challenged U.S. accounts of a firefight, claiming U.S. Special Forces soldiers killed the wrong people ó sleeping in a school ó during a raid in which the Pentagon said a Taliban weapons cache was destroyed and about 15 people killed." [more]

"By December ... when the war in Afghanistan was well under way, the share of factual coverage overall had fallen to 63 percent — a level 'lower than those seen in the middle of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal,' according to [a] study. Analysis, speculation and outright opinion picked up the slack." [more]

"President Bush is pledging anew to exclude American troops from eventual peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan, but some lawmakers who used their monthlong recess to visit the war zone maintain that a long-term U.S. presence there is vital.
'There's ample support from around the world to provide troops' for peacekeeping, Bush told reporters Wednesday. 'I've made it clear that our troops will be used to fight and win war.'Ý" [more]

"Deploying more than 600 U.S. troops may help control the Muslim extremist group that has plagued the Philippines for a decade, but the escalating American involvement will test ties between Washington and one of its closest allies in Southeast Asia. The military mission could further inflame the country's Muslim minority and alienate some of the [Filipino] president's leftist supporters." [more]

"Nearly two months after the Taliban were routed from Mazar-e-Sharif, fighting still flares in villages around the northern city as warlords sort out the complex web of Afghan rivalries. Skirmishes are reported several times a week in the region around Mazar-e-Sharif as militias controlled by northern warlords battle one another and even among themselves." [more]

"U.S. warplanes on Friday attacked a convoy that the Pentagon said was carrying Taliban or al-Qaida leaders in Afghanistan. But an Afghan official said the trucks were bringing tribal leaders loyal to the new government to the capital. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said many were killed in the strike. The Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press news agency reported 65 dead." [more]

"A grenade explosion that injured 159 people in a crowded marketplace was an accident, not an act of terrorism, police said Friday in this northern Afghan city." [more]

"Osama bin Laden speaks fondly of several Sept. 11 hijackers on the videotape released by the U.S. military, asking Allah to 'accept their action,' according to a more thorough translation of the tape by a government-hired Arabic expert. The new analysis of the videotape released last week revealed 'a whole bunch of names,' translator George Michael said in an interview with The Associated Press." [more]

"An explosion ripped through the central market in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif on Thursday, injuring 100 people, six of them seriously, according to hospital officials and witnesses. One of the wounded said he had seen a 32-piece fragmentation grenade rolled into the moneychangers' section of the bazaar just before the late afternoon blast. There was no known suspect in the attack." [more]

"Uzbek leaders want to keep traffic down to make it easier to keep out militant Muslims, drug runners and refugees. However, Uzbek businesses and port officials on both sides are pushing to open things up to attract shippers and investment." [more]

"The demise of the Taliban freed Afghanistan from five years of severely restrictive social regulation. But a deeply conservative version of sharia, or Islamic law, still guides the legal system during a time when some women are testing the new boundaries of society.
"There appears to be no revision of the basic social restrictions for women despite appeals from Western rights groups for the rules to be relaxed."
[more]

"In a nationwide television address, Putin repeated Russia's often-stated position that the 1972 treaty is a cornerstone of world security. 'This step was not a surprise for us. However, we consider it a mistake,' Putin said.
President Bush gave Moscow formal notice on Thursday that Washington was withdrawing from the treaty, marking an end to attempts to negotiate a compromise with Russia. The decision goes into effect in six months." [more]

"Attorney General John Ashcroft called Tuesday's indictment a 'chronicle of evil.' The charges include conspiring to murder, commit acts of terrorism and aircraft piracy and use weapons of mass destruction. Ashcroft said [the suspect] was an active player in the Sept. 11 attacks. He underwent the same training as the terrorists on the hijacked planes, Ashcroft said, and pledged to kill Americans." [more]

"The Justice Department never discussed with the Defense Department whether Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person indicted so far in the Sept. 11 attacks, should be prosecuted by a military tribunal instead of a civilian court, officials said Wednesday." [more]

"Three American soldiers were killed and 20 wounded in Afghanistan Wednesday when a bomb launched from an Air Force B-52 bomber missed its target. The friendly-fire accident produced the worst U.S. casualty toll of the war." [more]

"In select cases, the Bush administration is considering making concessions on both the death penalty and the use of military tribunals to gain custody of suspected terrorists held in Europe, a senior U.S. official said. It is the first indication that the United States might be willing to negotiate with other countries on how suspected terrorists will be tried." [more]

Northern Alliance officials believed Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar and al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden were in the south of Afghanistan near Kandahar. [more]

At least half Kunduz, the Taliban's last major city in northern Afghanistan, is now under control of the Northern Alliance. Taliban prisoners who had surrendered Saturday in Mazar-e-Sharif rioted, and Alliance troops and U.S. airstrikes quelled the rebellion by killing at least 300 soldiers. [more]

"Nearly a week after Prime Minister Tony Blair put 6,000 troops on alert to move into Afghanistan, Britain has a force of just 100 at one airport, while speculation swirls about whether the United States and the victorious northern alliance want any more." [more]

"U.N. hopes for speedy action to install a broad-based government in Afghanistan have stalled because the victorious northern alliance doesn't appear to be in any hurry to share power." [more]