The US, an Inside View

Monday May 14, 2007

Last week Congress and the White House once again lined against each other on the Iraq War. Representatives at the House passed the budget for the fight on terror, but said the money will go to the Bush administration in two parts, something President Bush and his people would not be waiting for. The bill received 217 yes votes while 205 representatives voted no. The first installment is 42.8 billion dollars which will be in Bush’s coffers as of August first. The second batch is 52.8 billion and will be handed to the administration if the Iraq security plan proves successful. Earlier President Bush vetoed a Congress bill that would make payment of 124 billion dollars for the war on terror conditional on a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said from now on Congress will not hand over a blank check to Bush. Now the Senate should discuss the measure and pass it. But there are two problems, democrats who are the main supporters of the measure hold a fragile majority there, and the other, Bush has said he is going to veto it in case it passes the Senate.

Despite strong Republican opposition to the divided budget for the Iraq War, a number of top republicans spelled out harsh words against the war. Minority leader at the House of Representatives John Boehner threatened that representatives’ patience is limited. Trent lott called on the administration to brief Congress on whether the Iraq Security Plan has been successful. John McCain who is trying to win the Republican Party’s candidacy for Presidential elections has admitted that Bush’s failure in the Iraq War will leave its mark on the outcome of elections. Political experts believe Republicans gradual joining to Democrats is just aggravating the problems for the White House. Republicans still support Bush’s macro policies but are calling for a change in his Iraq policy.

A U.S. federal court issued an order last week to let a terrorist go free. The order drew massive reaction from inside and outside the Untied States. The court released a verdict to reject allegations made by the Immigration and Naturalization Service that Lueis Posada Cariles had violated immigration law. Cariles gained notoriety for bombing a Cuban airliner and killing all its passengers back in 1976. Cariles was a CIA agent and held Venezuelan nationality before getting U.S. citizenship. Cuba and Venezuela have repeatedly called on the U.S. to hand over the terrorist for trial. Washington has not only violated international regulations by refusing to hand him over to Cuba or Venezuela but allowed the hijacker who killed 73 passengers, to live freely in the country. U.S. behavior once again underlines the double standards the United States has adopted in dealing with terrorism. Washington lets go of a terrorist and at the same time blames other countries for supporting terrorism, slapping heavy economic and political pressures on them.

Two major parties, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, are holding campaigns to name a candidate to run for president in 2008. Polling centers are busy taking new polls to know which party is more popular and who has a better chance to be a candidate. At present, ten Republicans and eight Democrats are vying for candidacy of their respective parties. Democrats and Repyblicans will hold their national conventions in the Summer of 2008 to formally name final runners. In the Democratic Party Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama are the main contenders. The USA Today and the Gallup Polls said last week Clinton has widened her lead to seven percent, followed by Obama. And in the Republican Party, this is former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani who is ahead of John McCain. The Time magazine has taken its own poll and says all the three leading democratic contenders, Clinton, Obama and John Edwards, could defeat Republican front-runners, Guiliani, McCain and Mitt Romney. These outcomes in a week when Bush’s approval rating is at the lowest level in six years, is not so surprising. Bush’s popularity has dropped to 28 percent which is unprecedented since 1979 when Jimmy Carter was the President.

Several big names from both parties are back in the news. All of them are trying to get the place Bush currently is occupying at the White House. How long before we know who will replace Bush? Less than two years.

Monday April 30, 2007

The budget for the war in Iraq received 51 yes votes in the Senate last week. The vote for the 124-billion-dollar budget came following its passage at the House of Representatives. The Senate passed the bill amid veto threats coming from the White House. The bill is conditional on setting a date for the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq. The new bill has heightened disagreement between the White House and Congress over Bush’s war-mongering policy in Iraq. President Bush has threatened he would veto the bill, if so, it will be the first time in U.S. history that a president vetoes a bill passed by Congress on war. The differences between the democrat-controlled Congress and the White House, which is in the Republican hands, have amounted to a national crisis. Congress and the White House hold opposing views on security and national interests. Senate majority leader Harry Reid believes the Untied States has failed in Iraq. Bush and his political and military advisors keep saying that the Iraq War is necessary in the fight on terror. Reid has drawn a comparison between Bush’s words and what President Lyndon Johnson said during the Vietnam War. Reid says the U.S. was defeated in Vietnam and the same fate is waiting for it in Iraq.

The Bush administration was fighting off Congress last week when former CIA director George Tenet put out his book which holds strong criticism against the president and his people at the White House. Vice President Dick Cheney gets the bulk of the criticism for his role in attacking Iraq. Tenet says the Bush administration waged a war on Iraq without studying first whether the threats of weapons of mass destruction were real. Tenet’s book has put more pressure on the White House. President Bush is trying to show the war in Iraq is legitimate but more and more pressure is being applied on him and now talks of impeachment could be heard in Congress. A democrat representative has launched a measure in the House to call for Dick Cheney’s impeachment.

Eighteen months to the next presidential elections, democrats held the first round of presidential debates last week. It means election campaigns have already begun. At this stage, those who like to run for president are trying their best to get more money to pave their way to the next stage when parties elect their candidate for the 2008 elections. It has been a political tradition in the U.S. that contenders who garner more money have a greater chance of being elected as their party’s final candidate.

The upcoming elections are somewhat different from earlier polls. Bush and Cheney, two major neo-conservative figures, are not in the race while among democrats a woman is in a tight race against a black man. Hillary Clinton is running against Barak Obama. No matter who gets the final go-ahead to run as the Democratic Party’s candidate, it will be a historic event in U.S. history. Clinton is a woman and Obama a black man; a female president or a black president have no precedent in America’s history.

Bush’s militaristic policy has put the World on the line and brought about a new era of cold war. The new cold war is different from the classic one, which went between two blocs. Now World countries are resisting the U.S. policy of dominating the whole planet. Last week U.S. secretary of defense Robert Gates went to Moscow to remove concerns about a U.S. plan to set up anti-missile systems in Europe. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sought the same goal in Oslo where NATO defense ministers had a gathering. In Russia political and military officials strongly reacted to the anti-missile defense system in Europe. The Chairman of the Russian joint chiefs of staff said if Russia feels it is under threat it will attack anti-missile systems in the Czech Republic and Poland. President Vladimir Putin in a report to the Parliament said he could no longer take encroachment of NATO forces toward the Russia borders. Putin said the Conventional Arms Control Treaty is now suspended and Russia will not carry it out unless all NATO members sign the treaty. Although Rice derided Russia’s threats, there is no doubt about the fact that the threats will impact the Russian-U.S. ties.

President Bush has come under heavy pressure to change his military policy. The pressure is coming from Congress and foreign officials. Bush needs to change his approach or bear pressures for another 18 months before his second term is over.

Monday April 23, 2007

Last week was a sad one for Americans. The killing of 32 people at Virginia Tech University plunged the country into grief and disbelief. The shootout began when 23-year-old Cho Seung Hui opened fire on two students at University’s dorm, then killed another 30 in two hours. After that, Cho who was a South Korean committed suicide. The shootout is the worst of its kind in a U.S. education center. The murderer sent footage to the NBC news between the dorm attack and the killing at the campus, to say he is killing people to object to racial profiling in the United States. In the footage, he says he could flee the discriminatory society of America but decided to stay. The shooting spree has brought huge criticism for the FBI and university officials. In fact, had police forces and university officials closed the university after the dorm shootout the other 30 would have not been killed.

The bloody incident had social and psychological consequences in the country. It has once again brought the issue of guns back to the news. The United States is the only country in the World that allows its citizens to carry weapons. Now at least 200 million guns are at the hands of people in a country of 300 million. Each year, on average, 17 thousand people are killed in shootings. Over the past 57 years, more than one million Americans lost their lives to guns and bullets. Yet there are no strict regulations over buying and selling weapons in America. Neo-conservatives, Republicans and members of the National Rifle Association are strongly supporting the right to carry guns. Major arms producers are selling millions of guns every year, funneling huge amounts of money to their pockets. On the other side, more American families are losing their loved ones as killers open fire on them on the streets, schools and campuses. The Virginia University killing has caused a new wave of opposition to the law that lets Americans carry weapons.

The killing of people at Virginia University took the attention of Americans away from the bloodbath in Iraq, but Congress and the White House continued their fight over the War. President George W. Bush invited Congressional leaders from both parties for talks in the hope of working out a compromise between those supporting a pullout and those backing a longer stay. Democrats at Congress say they are preparing a final plan for the withdrawal of U.S. forces. The plan is part of a motion that will give Bush more money to continue his wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Bush has threatened to veto any plan that may include a timetable for pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq. The meeting at the White House last Thursday, failed to get the two sides any closer. Now it is expected that Democrats will send their plan along with the new budget bill to the president. Bush is also expected to veto the bill, which will be the first time he has done so on the Iraq War.

After the failure of the meeting between Congress leaders and Bush, Senate majority leader Harry Reid officially said his country has lost the war in Iraq. He said a victory would be possible only through diplomatic, political and economic ways. Reid is the highest-ranking U.S. official so far to say the United States has failed in Iraq. His words have angered Republican leaders at Congress. They put out a statement in which they say what Reid said is a blow to the Army. Critics say after some 1500 days of war in Iraq, and more than 3300 fallen soldiers there is no hope that the United States could win in Iraq. They have called on Bush to accept defeat and pull out American troops as soon as possible. The critics say Bush should shift the mission in Iraq from combative to training mode in which U.S. forces would drill Iraqi police and military forces. Last week, a number of bomb blasts in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad killed and injured more than 200 people in one day alone. The higher death toll in Iraq has supported the view of war critics who say the U.S. needs to withdraw from Iraq.

The top stories in the U.S. last week were bloody, one on the Virginia University killing, and the other on Iraq and the bloodbath there.

Monday April 16, 2007

Iraq and the war there are still top news in the U.S. and elsewhere. President George W. Bush has called on democrat leaders to come to the White House for a meeting he hopes would change their decision of taking U.S. soldiers out of Iraq. The invitation was somehow accompanied by a threat that Bush would veto any Congress measure with a date for withdrawal. Congress has passed a bill in which it says 124 billion dollars of extra budget for the Iraq War is conditioned on pulling soldiers out of the country by August 2008. Congress and the White House are fighting over the budget, with each side accusing the other of hindering the money needed for the war. Senate majority leader Harry Reid has said the Democrat Party is ready to talk the issue out and compromise with the White House. To override President’s veto two thirds of representatives at both the Senate and House should vote against it. Democrats don’t have that majority and it seems they have no other way ahead but compromising with the White House.

The White House faced a new problem, this time in the World Bank. Words are out Bank Director Paul Wolfowitz is having an affair with a female staffer. Wolfowitz is accused of abusing his status at the bank to promote the female staffer and increase her salary. The issue has drawn opposition to Wolfowitz who was picked as the director of the bank in 2005 with the support of Bush and neo-conservatives. Wolfowitz is a warmonger and many key members of the World Bank are against him. Since his appointment in 2005 Wolfowitz has cut aid to a number of countries under the excuse of fighting corruption. Bank officials including board members are angry about many of his decisions. Now that words of the affair with a female employee have leaked out Wolfowitz is under pressure to resign his post. The White House is strongly supporting Wolfowitz, the man who once was country’s undersecretary of defense. The White House is now grappling with many problems, top among them, the Iraq War, and the headache Wolfoweetz has brought about.

Last week 62 senators voted for tougher measures against illegal immigrants. The senate passed a bill, sent by the White House, to apply more strict measures on immigrants. The bill meanwhile allows a number of illegal immigrants to be legal after going through tough bureaucracy and payment of hefty fines. A big rally in Los Angeles condemned the decision. Ralliers objected to the heavy fines illegal immigrants should pay for getting a work permit. The Presidential elections are scheduled for November 2008 with the issue of immigration getting more prominance. At present, there is disagreement between political groups over the immigration issue. Neo-conservatives and Republicans at Congress believe the arrival of immigrants in huge numbers endangers the identity and job security of Americans. On the other hand, democrats and liberals say immigrants are part of America’s history. They also believe U.S. economy needs cheap workforce. The White House hopes to get these views closer together and eventually get through a bill that would allow immigrants to stay in the United States as guest workers. The point is, heavy fines will practically keep millions of poor immigrants away from a permit to stay in America.

In another confrontation with the White House, the Senate passed a motion to pay federal money for research on stem cells. Last year President Bush vetoed a similar measure to get the support of Orthodox Christians  who believe using stem cells amount to killing embryos which is an unethical act. Scientists say research on stem cells helps find cure for conditions like Parkinson and Alzheimer’s disease. The procedure uses a limited number of stem cells before the embryo has taken shape. Bush has warned he will once again veto the measure to funnel federal funds to stem cell research. Only 63 senators voted for the measure last week, meaning they would not be able to make a stand against a possible Bush’s veto. It is bad news for researchers in this field because they should wait until 2009 when a new president is at the White House.

President Bush has been fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for some years. But since last year he has been fighting another war at home, a war with Congress, as many Senators and Representatives are resisting his decisions, or at least don’t give up without a fight.

Monday April 9, 2007

Iraq is far away from the United States, but the policies President George W. Bush adopted over the past six years have made it a big issue for Americans. Congress passed a bill, which says U.S. soldiers should move out of Iraq by September 2008. Soon after President Bush threatened he will use his veto power to kill the motion. Senate majority leader Harry Reid came up with a harsh response to Bush, saying he would support the idea of cutting extra money for the Iraq War. Democrats have attached some strings to the extra 124-billion-dollar budget for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They say they will sign the budget bill once the White House accepts a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. The issue has turned into a political confrontation between Congress and the White House. The army needs money to continue its war in Iraq while the White House believes a pullout of Iraq will be taken as a defeat for the war on terror. Democrats are trying to get better chances in the 2008 presidential elections. They are doing their best to present new plans on the War in Iraq as Bush keeps accusing them of not caring about national interests.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi went to Syria and met with President Bashar Al-Asad. The visit deepened the gap between the White House and Congress. The White House has been trying to push Syria and its president to the sidelines. President Bush rejected the advice Baker and Hamilton gave him in a report, that says he should open talks with Syria and Iran to figure out something for the security crisis in Iraq. Unlike Republicans, Democrats in Congress believe to get out of the quagmire in Iraq the U.S. needs to talk with all sides, including Iraq’s eastern and western neighbors. Democrats hope their playing a key role in the Middle East crisis would get them the votes of Jews in the upcoming presidential elections. Pelosi’s trip to Syria angered White House officials. President Bush and his vice president, Dick Cheney said the trip was a blow to country’s policy in the Middle East. Now, political experts say Pelosi’s visit to Syria will increase the tension between the White House and Congress. Still they know that as long as Bush is president there won’t be a drastic change in the U.S. policy on the Middle East. The experts know that neo-conservatives are at the helm in the White House, State Department, and Pentagon.

The Pentagon put out an official report last week to say there was no link between Al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi dictator. The report flies in the face of talks by Bush officials during 2001 to 2003 when they kept saying Iraq should be invaded because of its ties to Al-Qaeda. Documents dating back to those years show Pentagon’s office for special projects headed by Douglas Faith played the key role in giving wrong intelligence on Iraq and Al-Qaeda ties. Back then, the CIA rejected such ties. But neo-conservatives led by Dick Cheney and former secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld deceived Americans to justify a war on Iraq. Now the administration admits there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and ties between Iraq and Al-Qaeda were just imaginary. Four years ago, President Bush and his friends at the White House opened a war on Iraq, a war that has so far killed more than 3200 American soldiers and cost the country some 500 billion dollars.

President Bush was on his toes to name a new ambassador to Belgium, and what time better than when Senate is in recession. Bush made the decision after the Senate foreign relations committee rejected Sam Fox, the man named by Bush to take up the job in Belgium. In 2004 elections, Fox played a destructive role against Democrat John Kerry. That role was behind the Senate decision to reject Fox. Once again, Bush get around Congress and assigned Fox to be the country’s ambassador to Belgium. Bush made a similar decision in 2005 when he assigned John Bolton to the post of US representative in the United Nations. The decision drew major reactions from Republicans and democrats. When Bush came under huge pressure from both parties, he named Zalmy Khalilzad to take up the job from Bolton at the World Body.

Bush has got two more years, or even less, as president. No doubt he is going to make more decisions for Americans. Is he going to pull U.S. soldiers out of Iraq? It is a big question that most probably will stay open for another two years. But one thing is for sure, Bush will go away when Congress is in session, and will get back to the White House when Congress is in recess, why should he lose a perfect chance to get around country’s laws when lawmakers are not around.

Monday March 5, 2007

Senators had a busy week as they opened talks on whether or not giving more money to the Iraq War. President George W. Bush has called for another one hundred billion dollars, or to be exact, 99  billion and six hundred million dollars. He says he needs more money to continue the wars against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan. The budget to fight terror will at least be 124 billion dollars next year. It will bring the money to fight terror since September eleven to 750 billion. Democrats in Congress are not happy with the growing war budget. They have said they will end the easy process of passing budget bills for wars. The past six months were easy ones for the administration as Republicans who had a majority back then, confirmed the money Bush called for his wars. But now that democrats are at the helm Congress is a tough place for Bush to get the budget he needs and his wishes. Experts say the White House will keep repeating its requests, in such a way that Congress would eventually budge and pass the new bills for more war money.

Tension goes on between Democrats and Republicans over the Iraq War. Democrats are doing their best to curb Bush’s powers as the commander in chief. Vice President Dick Cheney hit back and said Democrats are weakening the administration at wartime. Democrats have prepared a plan, which calls on the Bush administration to inform Congress about the problems the U.S. is facing in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush says he is the commander in chief, and the commander in chief needs no consultation with Congress. Last week Cheney said the Iraq War is a bitter reality and Democrats need to move the country toward victory. Those who are involved in politics say the 2008 Presidential elections are getting near as situation in Iraq gets worse, meaning a heated political war between the two parties is ahead.

As the two parties keep fighting over Iraq, army commanders say their power to fight is falling apart. Chairman of the joint chiefs of staff general Peter Pace has told Congress it will take years before bringing the country up to the mark for more fighting. Before him, General Peter Schoomaker said military stockpile is low, soldiers are tired and the power of army is declining. In recent decades military experts in the U.S. would talk about the readiness of the country to engage two wars at once, but now they see their doctrine is just down the drain because two wars of Iraq and Afghanistan have proved to be major problems for America. Still some U.S. officials are putting pressure on Iran because of its peaceful nuclear activities. Now Americans are concerned that warmongers at the White House may ignite a new war.

The Washington Post said last week that the army is keeping wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital where mice and cockroaches are the companions of soldiers in a number of rooms. Surprisingly the hospital is in Washington, the capital. Following the report Army Secretary Francis Harvey resigned. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has tasked a group to investigate the scandal. War critics believe the scandal is just tip of the iceberg and major problems are being kept under cover.

The 2008 elections are not that far. Last week two new developments happened on the campaign trail. First, Republican Senator John McCain announced he will run for president in 2008. McCain from Arizona could be a heavy weight among those running for the White House. Before McCain’s arrival in the race, former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani was taken as the main candidate for Republicans. McCain leans on the moderate wing of the Republican Party and his views are totally different from what neo-conservatives hold.

In the democratic camp, Barak Obama, a black senator from Illinois, has edged closer to Hillary Clinton from New York. Now more African Americans are supporting Obama. McCain’s decision to run, and a closer run between Obama and Clinton will make the upcoming presidential elections an exciting event for people and politicians.

McCain, Obama or Clinton are the names President Bush would not like to hear about. He knows that one of these people will most probably sit in his place and decide what he didn’t in his two terms as president. Bush knows that the next president, either democrat or republican, will not follow the decisions he made.

Monday February 19, 2007

Last week representatives at the House adopted a measure to say NO to the new strategy the Bush administration has drawn for the crisis in Iraq. House speaker Nancy Pelosi said the measure carries a clear message for the White House. The measure is non-binding but it shows the dissatisfaction of representatives with the way the White House is dealing with the Iraq issue as well as the disagreement that is going deeper between Congress and the administration. At present, a number of Republican representatives have joined democrats in opposing the White House plan to send more troops to Iraq. They say sending more soldiers to Iraq will only kill more of them and cost more money. President George W. Bush has ordered another 21 thousand and 500 soldiers go to Iraq. He says it will bring security to the country. But there is no sign of security in Iraq and more Americans are dying there. The measure by the House will pave the way for the Senate to adopt a similar thing to curb Bush’s powers in directing the war. Democrats have threatened that they will be more careful in giving the budget the administration has asked for its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The head inspector of Congress David Walker says at least ten billion dollars of the budget which was supposed to rebuild Iraq has been wasted. Special inspector of the Iraq rebuilding project Stuart Bowen and William Reed, the man who inspects Pentagon deals have confirmed that the money has been embezzled. Over the past three years, the Pentagon has given 57 billion dollars to the White House to rebuild Iraq. Words were circulating about the embezzlement for a while but now top inspecting bodies are confirming it. Congress is getting ready to discuss the 100-billion-dollar budget the White House has asked for Iraq and the embezzlement issue will no doubt leave its mark on the budget.

President Bush took part in his first press conference in 2007. He did his best to say his administration has been successful in foreign policy. His words came against a backdrop of developments over the past few months during which Bush’s policies came to a standstill in several areas across the globe. In Iraq, more U.S. soldiers die as violence continues. More tension is going on between U.S.- Russia ties after Russian President Vladimir Putin attacked Bush’s unilateralist policies in a conference in Munich. North Korea was successful in sticking to a large part of its nuclear program and getting huge economic concessions during the six-way talks. To hide his failures Bush pointed its attacks on Iran . Without any solid proof, Bush accused Iran of handing weapons to those who fight U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Just one day before Bush’s accusation the highest-ranking American general, Peter Pace admitted there is no sign that Iran is providing Iraqi fighters with weapons.

Ralph Nader says if Hilary Clinton is nominated to run for president in 2008, he will enter the race. It will cut down on the votes Clinton may get in the elections. In 2000, Nader ran as the Green Party candidate. Back then, he got many votes, which would usually go to democrat candidate Al Gore who eventually lost the White House to George Bush. Some democrats believe Al Gore and Clinton have departed from the Democratic Party’s ideals and now are at the service of capitalists. Nader’s running in the race will change the course of competition, although his presence in earlier elections only led to the victory of one of the two major parties.

And now a big number for you, it is not one number you would like to hear about, but it is something Bush has brought about for you. Trade deficit topped 763.6 billion dollars in 2006. Economic experts say high imports and higher oil prices have pushed trade deficit to a record. Official at the White House say better economy has led to higher imports which in turn curbed inflation. But experts say the ongoing trend will harm U.S. economy. The dollar has dropped against other currencies, as millions of job opportunities are lost because of the imports of cheap products, particularly from China. The widespread dissatisfaction among Americans led to the victory of democrats in the November elections for Congress. The victory for democrats could repeat in 2008 if republicans hang on to their current policies.

Monday February 5, 2007

The war in Iraq and the legal fight between the White House and Congress over the bloody conflict were at the center of last week’s political issues in the United States. After the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said it is against the new strategy US President Bush has adopted for Iraq, the president came out to say he is the only man who makes decisions on sending more troops to Iraq. The president is the commander in chief in the U.S. and has the power to send troops to wars. Congress is now under the control of democrats who say Bush is a self-centered president, accusing him of ignoring national interests. Bush critics say the White House should respect what representatives of the nation say. Bush has announced that, he is sending another 21 thousand and five hundred soldiers to Iraq to bring security to Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. Some 45 thousand U.S. soldiers and non-military forces are expected to go to Iraq in coming months. It will add 21 to 27 billion dollars to the ongoing military costs. Congress says more soldiers and higher war budget should be ratified by House representatives and senators, the same people who went to Congress with a slogan to end the war.

The National Intelligence Agency issued a report on Iraq last week. It says the situation in Iraq is very critical. Part of the report tacitly refers to civil war. The national Intelligence Agency leads other intelligence bodies like the CIA, and its reports are very important. Political experts say the report is a big blow to the Bush administration that is trying to justify its efforts to send more troops to Iraq and paint a rosy picture of that country. It is expected that those who are against sending more troops would use this report to put more pressure on the White House. The report also says ethnic clashes are at the root of violence in Iraq. But there is strong evidence that shows occupiers are behind such clashes which will continue as long as they are there. American forces in Iraq has been enticing Sunnis into acting against Shias. They have also been in secret talks with Baathist elements to undermine the legal government of Prime Minister Nuri Maleki. These moves have been designed to underline what U.S. officials call “Shia Threat” as well as ethnic clashes.

Major rallies were held in cities and towns across the U.S. What all ralliers shouted were slogans against the war in Iraq. The largest rally was in Washington in an area between the White House and Congress. Another big demonstration was held in Los Angeles where a number of Holly Wood stars took part. Deteriorating situation in Iraq and a larger war there have caused anti-war people to increase their activities. The decision by Bush to send more troops to Iraq is also causing greater demonstrations. Talks here and there by top White House officials, speak of taking the Iraq War to its neighboring countries. The issue has worried anti-war activists, although Bush has proved in the past five years that he pays no attention to what Americans say.

More people are jobless in America. Last week the Labor Department said the jobless rate stood at 4.6 in January, the highest in four months. Economic pundits have predicted that U.S. economy would slow down in January, February and March. The new figures along with dissatisfaction over the war will bring more problems for the White House. In recent months, economic figures were getting better in the United States and officials were hoping the good numbers would stand until the end of 2007. But new reports show that economy once again is in decline.

Jack Ellis, the mayor of the city of Macon in Georgia converted to Islam after his trip to Senegal. Ellis is black and his ancestors who were taken to the United States as slaves were Muslim. The mayor’s conversion to Islam is remarkable because of the fact that it proves the war against Islam in the U.S. has failed. In another development in the November elections, a Muslim got a seat at the House of Representatives for the first time in U.S. history. Social researches believe more people will adopt Islam in coming decades. Islamic teachings and laws meet the spiritual needs of people and bring justice to all. That is why deeper spiritual crises will show a picture that Islam is a comprehensive faith, sent to people from the Almighty.

Monday January 22, 2007

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates visited a number of countries in the Middle East to mainly talk about Bush’s new plan for Iraq, which is, sending more troops to the country. Bush has found some ways to hide his failures in Iraq, one way is to send more and more soldiers over there; the other to take the crisis in Iraq to other regional countries. Bush is now trying to point finger at Iran and Syria, and eventually divide regional countries. Rice and Gates focused on getting regional countries against Iran to keep it on the sidelines. President Richard Nixon adopted a similar policy 30 years ago when his men got a heavy defeat in Vietnam. Nixon’s policy ended in pulling out of Vietnam. Now the condition in Iraq is worse than what was in Vietnam. Bush needs to that Iran is not Cambodia or Laos to be defeated simply. It is a country with a population of seventy million, and any military move will receive unexpected consequences. In their trips to the Middle East, Rice and Gates failed to form an alliance against Iran.

Bush’s new Iraq strategy drew outcries and strong opposition inside the United States. The new strategy has put democrats and republicans against each other in Congress. A number of representatives and senators from both parties have written a draft, which asks the White House to get permission from Congress before sending more troops to Iraq. Joseph Biden who heads the foreign affairs committee is one of those who have written the draft. He said no one is supporting Bush’s policy and that the president should realize this fact. Hillary Clinton who is a democrat senator said the new policy could not end violence in Iraq. A poll taken by the Gallop and the USA TODAY shows that more than sixty percent of Americans are against sending more soldiers to Iraq.   

Now that so many Americans are against war, and democrats along with several Republicans in Congress are also rejecting war in Iraq , people should wait for more tension between the White House and Congress. The war budget is the strongest tool at the hands of democrats to change the warmongering policy president Bush has taken for Iraq.

The New York Times said last week that the Pentagon and CIA have been eyeing the bank accounts of tens of thousands of Americans and foreigners. Pentagon spokesman Brian Whitman said the spying on accounts is part of national security measures. He said the Pentagon and CIA have sent letters to banks and credit institutes to ask for the identity of their customers. The measure is one of a series compiled by the Bush administration to limit social freedom under the cover of fighting terror. One measure was the Patriot Act, which allowed intelligence and security services to have access to private information, like e-mails. Listening to phone calls was another part of the Act. More than 300 million phone calls have been bogged. Even libraries were not exempt from the Patriot Act. Americans are more and more losing their privacy and one may say there is not a single area out of the touch of security agents. Lower social freedom has forced many non-governmental organizations to oppose administration’s policies. The wrong policies taken by the Bush administration were behind the defeat of republicans in the November elections.

Last week a Catholic charity released a report to say one third of children in New York are poor. Lary Acid who heads the charity said 37 million Americans live in poverty. Another report, put out earlier, said one of five residents of New York, a city of nine million, have not enough food to eat. The reports come out in a country that boasts to have the strongest economic power of the world and its military budget equals half of world’s military budgets combined.  The U.S. administration has so far spent 450 billion dollars in its war in Iraq. But inside the U.S. millions of people suffer from malnutrition without a suitable place to live.

Over the past six years, President Bush has done many things to put more poor on the streets and more money to wars overseas. He has another two years to stay at the White House, two years is enough for him to make more such wrong decisions.

Monday January 15, 2007

President Bush came out with a new strategy on the war in Iraq. Bush admitted mistakes happened in Iraq and said he was the man who made those mistakes. Bush meanwhile said he is going to send another 21 thousand and five hundred soldiers to Iraq. The president said fresh forces will mostly go to Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, and Al-Anbar province in western Iraq. U.S. officials claim more soldiers will reduce violence. Bush also ignored the report Baker and Hamilton compiled on Iraq, as he adopted a threatening language against Iran and Syria. The report calls on Bush to talk to Iran and Syria over the crisis in Iraq. To hide his failure in Iraq Bush accused other countries of interfering in Iraq’s affairs. Everybody knows Bush and his 140 thousand troops in Iraq are the largest interfering force in Iraq.

Bush’s new strategy on Iraq got strong opposition from many democrats and a number of republicans in Congress. Edward Kennedy who is a top democrat leader asked congressmen to pass a law that would ask for a Congress go-ahead for any new troop dispatch to Iraq. Several representatives believe, now the president has huge authority to engage the armed forces in bloody wars, and that, his power should be limited. The U.S. Constitution bars Congress from making decision on the number of soldiers that would go to a war but Congress could reject war budgets and indirectly curb the number of troops. It is show time for Bush and Congress, he says fresh forces will go to Iraq and that he needs some one hundred billion dollars for the war on terror, while Congress which is under the control of Democrats is not likely to vote for that.  

Last week rallies in the Untied States and out, marked an anniversary. It was not a pleasant anniversary, it was all about the day Guantanamo Prison was set up to hold terror suspects. In Washington hundreds of people gathered outside the Supreme Court to call on officials to close the prison. UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon said like his predecessor Kofi Annan he is calling for the closure of Guantanamo. The notorious prison is a major problem for U.S. foreign policy. The White House says the prison is part of the war on terror. Words leaked out of the prison speak of torture and human rights violation which have made even the closest U.S. allies angry about the issue. Close to 500 Al-Qaeda or Taliban members are in Guantanamo, many of them yet to be formally charged. Still, the Bush administration says it won’t let them go to their families or their countries. The White House would not even give a date for the closure of the notorious prison.

The new Congress passed its first law last week. House representatives voted for an anti-terror measure, which is now at the Senate for approval. The anti-terror measure shows that democrats are resolved to fight terrorism. Over the past five years, the White House kept accusing democrats of paying no attention to security and the fight on terror. Now democrats are bent on moving toward security programs, which will pave the way for them to win the next election. This time around the White House has rejected the new measure, saying it calls for a higher security budget. White House officials have forgotten the years during which they spent billions of taxpayer dollars on the same cause.

New figures were released last week on the number of homeless people in America. A report put out by the National Alliance to End Homelessness says there are 774 thousand homeless people in the U.S. 59 percent of them are single and the rest live in the open with their families. The Alliance says homeless people move around the country and it is impossible to count them all, meaning the exact number will be higher. Poverty, unemployment and addiction are the main causes behind homelessness. The issue is directly linked to crimes and prostitution. Social experts are worried about the higher number of homeless people in the country.

The Bush government has brought higher numbers in many fields for Americans. Unemployment, crime and military toll are among the figures that have increased in the past six years and keep increasing.

Monday January 8, 2007

Congress sat last week in special circumstances. The Democratic Party is once again at the helm after 12 years. Nancy Pelosi is heading the House of Representatives as the first woman in U.S. history. President George W. Bush met Congress leaders before the session to ask them help the two parties work together in the new Congress. The 110^th Congress is expected to bring several changes to local and foreign policies. Now we need to wait and see if the Democratic Party would use the existing potential at Congress to change the policies, Republicans have so far drawn and executed at the White House. The foreign policy, particularly the part of it that deals with Iraq, is the main challenge between the Bush administration and Congress. The leaders of the House of Representatives and Senate have written a letter to President Bush to call on him stop sending more troops to Iraq. They say sending more soldiers to Iraq will be another failure.

In parallel with the opening of Congress President Bush is firing some of his staffers and taking new faces. John Negroponte the Director of National Intelligence has gone to the State Department to be an undersecretary there. After the nine eleven attacks in 2001 the National Intelligence was set up as an umbrella organization to cover 16 intelligence and security agencies that showed signs of weakness in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Negroponte’s moving to the State Department is part of the shake-up Bush is doing at the White House. It came in the wake of the failure Republicans suffered in the November elections. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and John Bolton who was country’s representative at the United Nations resigned after the failure. Zalmay Khalilzad was also moved from the U.S. embassy in Iraq to the UN to replace Bolton. John Abi Zeid and George Casey were two others who lost their jobs at the army. Experts say the overhaul at the White House seeks to cut the pressure the Democratic Party has put on the Bush administration. But recent changes do not necessarily mean that the U.S. is adopting a new foreign policy. The White House has said it is sending anther 20 thousand fresh forces to Iraq. It is time for Democrats to live up to their election slogans and reject Bush’s new Iraq policy.

Retired General Michael McConnel has been named to take the post of John Negroponte at the National Intelligence. The Wall Street Journal reported the designation has increased worries that generals are back to control the country’s intelligence. Before McConnel, general Michael Haden was named to head the CIA. In western liberal democracies, it is a norm to keep generals away from key political and intelligence posts. Military people strictly follow the orders of their bosses and do whatever they could to satisfy them. Now analysts say many military officers at key jobs may increase the threat of more wars because army generals only report to their commanders and no one else.

Keith Ellison is a Muslim who has worked his way to Congress. He took his oath by putting his hand on the holy Koran. Prior to the opening of Congress Ellison’s decision to take the Koran and not the Bible in the ceremony turned into a major issue. Ellison borrowed the Koran that is being kept at the library of Congress, to show that Islam has been in the United States for centuries. The Koran Ellison took from the library used to belong to third U.S. president Thomas Jefferson. Ten million Muslims live in the United States. They form the second largest religious minority after Christians. After nine eleven attacks the Bush administration restricted Islamic activities in America. But the arrival of Ellison at Congress could open a new chapter for Muslims.

The FBI has put out a report on torture of prisoners at Guantanamo. The Report includes interviews with 26 FBI agents who talk about manhandling of prisoners at Guantanamo. So far, a number of organizations like the United Nations and some human rights groups have published reports on Guantanamo. The prison is a clear example of human rights violation. European governments,  under pressure from their peoples, asked Bush to close Guantanamo. President Bush has promised to close the prison but has not mentioned a date. 500 prisoners are still in Guantanamo stripped of their basic rights. Guantanamo prisoners are being tortured while many of them are just a terror suspect and nothing has been proved against them.  

Monday December 25, 2006

It won’t be too difficult to pick the most important political event that happened in the United States in 2006. The mid-term elections for Congress. The elections took place on November 7 when Democrats took back the control of both the House of Representatives and Senate after 12 years. Why republicans lost Congress? Many believe they lost Congress because people are angry over the Iraq War. Unlike other mid-term elections whose results were linked to local matters, the November elections were directly tied to the war in Iraq. In the months to November, the popularity of Bush and his Republican Party began to fall. Several financial and moral scandals along with the failure of Bush to live up to his economic promises were behind the defeat of Republicans. When Democrats won Congress, they put a woman, Nancy Pelosi, to lead the House of Representatives, something unprecedented in U.S. history. Republicans also lost a number of key states to democrat governors. Now the Republican Party is set more than ever to win the White House in 2008.

The November elections were followed by some changes at the White House. Two days after the elections, Donald Rumsfeld resigned his post as secretary of defense. Political experts say Rumsfeld was the main cause in bringing the major defeat for Republicans. They believe he failed to take the Iraq War to a conclusion. President Bush named former CIA director Robert Gates who is a close friend of Bush’s father, to be the secretary of defense. Gates has promised to bring in changes to the war policy in Iraq. US representative at the United Nations John Bolton was the second Bush official to resign. Senators from both parties said they were not going to extend Bolton’s mission at the UN. With Rumsfeld and Bolton gone, neo-conservatives have lost a large part of their influence at the White House. Now only Vice President Dick Cheney is representing neo conservatives at the White House, but there is a problem, Cheney himself is involved in a case of intelligence leak.

Last year illegal immigration turned into a new challenge for the United States. In recent years, greater immigration, particularly via the Mexican border, has been a headache for the country. More than eleven million illegal immigrants live in the United States. President Bush has proposed a plan, which gives illegal immigrants the right to work. Bush also proposed erecting a wall along 700 kilometers of joint border with Mexico. Congressional representatives say Bush’s plans are too lax in dealing with the issue of immigrants. They have instead offered their own plan that says illegal immigrants should be tried, jailed and deported. At the end, the White House and Congress agreed on a compromised version that had its own consequences, among them, a gap in the republican ranks and loss of millions of Hispanic votes, which were expected to go for the Republican Party.

2006 was a year of ups and downs for the U.S. economy. The ongoing budget deficit issue began in 2001 when President Bush arrived at the White House. The issue has continued to this day. The trade deficit is also at its peak in U.S. history. More than a quarter of trade deficit comes from transaction with China, a country that has targeted the large market of America. Unemployment rate stood around five percent in 2006 but gas price increased three folds. Higher gas prices drew widespread outcries and led to a change of heart among many people who would normally vote for the Republican Party. In the final weeks of 2006, the dollar dropped against major currencies like Euro and Yen. These issues joined together to bring President Bush a failed economic policy in 2006.

The vacations give President Bush a nice opportunity to re-think its political and economic policies for 2007. Bush has another two years to stay at the White House as president, but he already knows he is just going to go through his lame-duck period. Still, he could remove part of the negative consequences his presidency has brought for the U.S. and Americans.

Monday December 11, 2006

Many reports are out in the United States every week, but last week reporters singled out one with significant content. Ten democrats and republicans who are in the Iraq Study Group handed the results of months of work in a report to President George W. Bush. They have made 79 recommendations, which would help the U.S. pull out of the crisis in Iraq. These ways are divided in three groups. The report calls on the administration to change the mission of U.S. soldiers in Iraq to a supportive role to back Iraqi forces until way is open for American forces to move out. The next move would be holding talks with Iraq’s neighbors, particularly Iran and Syria. The group has also asked for more Middle East peace talks to help remove the existing crises in the region once and for all. The group received consultation from Bush the father. After the November elections for Congress a new policy including the withdrawal of U.S. forces has been a major issue for the United States. The report by the Iraq Study Group will play a main role in drawing a new foreign policy for the country.

The Bush administration has shown different reactions to the report. Bush and his people first welcomed the report and said they would deeply study it. But after a few days top officials said they are against some parts of the report, including a pullout of Iraq and talks with Iran and Syria. Later Bush made a speech and said he accepts only part of the report. Political analysts say the White House showed a positive reaction to the report only to decrease the pressure coming from Americans. They say after a while the administration will try to undermine it. Invasion of Iraq, control of huge Iraqi oil reserves and all-out support for the Zionist regime of Israel are part of the U.S. national security and a single report could not change it. The recommendations by the Iraq Study Group will only add up to the tension between democrats and republicans.

Last week the Senate voted for Robert Gates to be the secretary of defense. It ended Donald Rumsfeld’s six years in the post. Gates told senators the U.S. made mistakes in the war in Iraq saying the country is not going to win there. He also supported talks with Iran and Syria to find a solution to the crisis in Iraq. Several senators said his words were up-front and it explains why they backed him for the post. Two republican senators voted NO for Gates because of the stand he took on Iran and Syria. The strong support for Gates is a clear signal for the White House that Congress seeks changes in Iraq. Gates is one of the ten people who wrote the report on Iraq and proposed a pullout and talks with Iran and Syria. Gates is a moderate republican who unlike neo-conservatives rejected the war without international backing.

John Bolton, the man who represented the United States at the UN over the past few months resigned his post after he could not get a go-ahead from the Senate for staying at the job. President Bush reluctantly accepted his resignation as he attacked Senators for not voting for Bolton. When Democrats won the November elections Bolton realized he had no chance to get confirmation from the new Congress. Even in 2005 he failed to get enough votes from the Republican-controlled Senate. His stand against the United Nations and his rejection of U.S. international commitments were main points that forced the Senate to reject him. Bolton’s one year in the job caused many objections from the missions of other countries and fueled the tension between the White House and the UN secretary general. Now Bolton and Rumsfeld who are two neo- conservative figures, have left the White House which could weaken the administration in its final two years.

The new political make-up in the United States is causing many developments in the country. Today our time is over to cover more items for you but next week this time we will be around with a new package and fresh reports.

Monday December 4, 2006

The Iraq Study Group says on December 6^th it will release its report on the ways that may help the country pull out of the crisis in Iraq. Only two days to December 6, words are circulating about the content of the report. Now the ten members of the Iraq Study Group are being followed by news people who are trying to get some details. The report has gained more importance after the defeat of Republicans in the mid-term elections for Congress. Bush’s war mongering polices were a main cause of Republican’s failure in the elections. Following the victory of Democrats, many are expecting a new policy in Iraq. The report is expected to include two major points, one , to pull U.S. forces out of Iraq, next, to hold talks with Iraq’s neighbors including Iran and Syria. Right now, President Bush says his forces should remain in Iraq but Democrats support a pullout. The Iraq Study Group is seeking to offer something that would get the approval of Democrats and Republicans. Last week Bush met Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maleki. The meeting could mean Bush is going to change his strategy in Iraq.

When Republicans lost Congress last month, Doland Rumsfeld kissed goodbye to his post as secretary of defense. Now that he is out more people are stepping forward to talk about his wrong decisions. General Janes Karpinsky who was the commander of Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq said prisoners were tortured by a direct order of Rumsfeld. Karpinsky was fired after words leaked out that numerous human rights violations had taken place in Abu Ghraib. Karpinsky said Rumsfeld wrote on the margin of a letter in Abu Ghraib that U.S. forces need to use aggressive measures to take out words from prisoners.

The New Yorker has published a report to say that Stephan Kambon, the man who put forward the idea of torturing prisoners, will resign by the end of the year. Kambon was a top CIA official who came to the White House with Rumsfeld. A number of human rights activists and lawyers of Abu Ghraib prisoners have sued Rumsfeld and Kambon as well as a number of U.S. commanders. Human Rights Watch says at least 600 American forces were involved in the torture case in Abu Ghraib. So far, only eleven soldiers have been tried and sentenced. Ranking U.S. officials have admitted that they will do whatever it takes, even violation of international law, to reach their goals. It means more hatred will be on its way for the U.S.

Fox News reported 64 thousand of U.S. soldiers who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from mental disorders. But the figure only includes those who have visited a doctor, there are many more who have not gone to see a doctor. Another 32 thousand are suffering from respiratory diseases and 56 thousand from digestive conditions. Close to three thousand soldiers have been killed in Iraq and more will die as the war continues there. Reports speak of 48 thousand wounded soldiers. Still, the main victim of the Iraq War are Iraqis. 170 thousand of them have been killed since the invasion of their country in 2003. Hundreds of thousands have been injured or displaced.

There are more news other than those about Iraq and Afghanistan, but they don’t get a full coverage in media. Police gunned down a young black man in New York. The shooting once again raised anger among black communities. Sean Bell was shot fifty times by policemen as he was leaving a restaurant. Local papers reported, first a police officer opened fire and then urged his colleagues to follow suit. Police claim they thought the victim was armed. But no gun was found. In 1999, Policemen in New York killed nineteen-year-old Ahmad Dialo. They fired 41 shots at the black man. Back then, police said the victim was trying to pull out a gun but investigation proved he was just pulling his wallet and ID. It is now an open secret that police violate human rights in dealing with blacks and other minorities. The civil movement led by Martin Luther King is now some 40 years old but racial profiling continues in the country. Hurricane Katrina and the lax behavior of the administration in taking aid to victims is another example of discrimination in the United States.

Monday November 27, 2006

Thanksgiving is a day to thank God. It falls on the last Thursday of November. The festival has been around in the country since 1621 when British immigrants harvested their first crop with the help of Native Americans. The first harvest saved their lives and kept them away from death. People marked Thanksgiving officially in 1863 when Abraham Lincoln was president. It was 1942 when Franklin Roosevelt announced the day a national holiday. The day is a remarkable event in the U.S. In addition to all festivities, it also brings back the bitter memory of British immigrants’ treason to Native Americans. There is no doubt that if Native Americans had not helped the hungry British immigrants they would have had no chance to later kill Indian Americans in droves. Soon after their tough days were over, the immigrants began to kill Indians and take their lands. Now only thousands of Native Americans live in the United States, out of the millions who were living at the arrival of British immigrants.

Thanksgiving in the U.S. came in parallel with one of the bloodiest days in Iraq since the beginning of occupation more than three years ago. On Thursday, bombing attacks killed more than 200 Iraqis. The government was quick to declare curfew to keep the violence in check. The United States with more than 140 thousand forces in Iraq is behind the balk of violence in Iraq. The U.S. toll has also increased and is now around 2900. The latest deaths have forced more Americans to criticize the Bush Administration. Former secretary of state Henry Kissinger who is a top strategist at the Republican Party said last week that it is impossible to win the war in Iraq. Senator Joseph Bidden had his own words against Bush. He said the U.S. policy in Iraq has failed.

US President George W. Bush said in Indonesia last week that he is yet to decide whether to keep U.S. forces in Iraq or take them out. Words are out the Pentagon is putting together a plan that will offer three options for Iraq. The Three options are, more forces in Iraq, a smaller military presence for a longer period, or a complete pullout. Analysts say U.S. officials are in a big dilemma what to do with the war in Iraq. Bush needs to answer the call of many Americans who are asking him to write a new policy for Iraq. On the other side, he thinks taking forces out will be a big blow to the war on terror. The ongoing indecision will most likely take the Iraq war to the status in which the Vietnam War ended. It is a high possibility, because democrats, who talked about a change in the Iraq policy before elections, are now coming out with no policy at all on the issue.

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney went to the Middle East to talk to King Abdullah in Saudi Arabia to find out a solution for the ongoing situation in Iraq. President Bush is also scheduled to have a meeting with Iraq Prime minister Nuri Maleki and King Abdullah, the Jordanian King. Some experts believe Cheney went to the Middle East to revive the role the neo-conservatives play in America.

After the victory of democrats in the mid-term elections for Congress, Donald Rumsfeld resigned his post as secretary of defense. He was one of the three main warmongers at the White House. John Bolton the U.S. representative at the Untied Nations and Dick Cheney are the other two. Bolton is unstable and may lose his job soon, leaving Cheney to head the neo-conservative wing at the White House.

Officials at the Minneapolis airport insulted six Muslim clerics who were returning from the annual gathering of prayers leaders. The event once again highlighted the issue of fighting Islam in the United States. After nine eleven bombing attacks, the fight against Islam has intensified in the U.S. Some media and many U.S. officials have opened a war on Islam to get their political goals. Islam has always boosted justice, peace and equality and rejected violence, although some radical groups like Al-Qaeda justify their crimes by resorting to Islam. But their acts have never been supported by Islamic communities. Muslim leaders say most Americans do not know the real Islam and that negative propaganda by Zionists has been increasing the fight on Islam.

Monday November 20, 2006

Two top politicians, former Secretary of State James Baker and Lee Hamilton, a former congressman are leading the Iraq Study Group. Last week the group met with White House officials to talk about a new strategy in Iraq. One major point that led to the failure of Republicans in the mid-term elections for Congress two weeks ago was the lies the Republican Party told people. Many were expecting new policies to come out of the White House in the wake of the elections. Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation was the first change. The next move is to listen to what war opponents say. The meeting between President George W. Bush and his cabinet members with the Iraq Study Group came in line with the policy change. They discussed how to pull U.S. forces out of Iraq, hand over more responsibility to Iraqi security forces and how to hold talks with Iraq’s neighbors, including Iran and Syria. Now there is a rift between democrats on taking U.S. forces out of Iraq. It means in coming months there won’t be a big change in U.S. policies about Iraq.

Following the mid-term elections for Congress the conservative wing of the Democratic Party and its right-wingers got the upper hand over liberals. Nancy Pelosi who is a liberal was named the speaker of the House of Representatives. She supported John Morta to be the leader of democrats at the House but despite her support, conservative warmonger Steny Howier was chosen to lead the democrats. There is no major difference between the policies of the two parties when it comes to the Middle East. Both parties seek to bring security to Israel. They are against any move that would undermine the Zionist regime of Israel. In addition to that, the Middle East sits on large oil and gas reserves. The U.S. policy for the Middle East is largely based on preserving Israeli security and controlling the oil and gas reserves. The Zionist lobby has a huge influence on both parties. When there is a need to make an important decision on the Middle East both Republicans and Democrats choose a similar strategy, which will defend Israel.

U.S. officials could manipulate developments inside the country but they have no say over the developments that happen overseas. Bush went to a number of Asian countries on his latest tour of the region. He met hatred and anger, coming from people of Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia. The main part of Bush’s trip took him to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam where an APEC meeting was underway. Bush did his best to get the support of Asian leaders for U.S. policies against North Korea and the fight on terror. But he received a cool reaction. Some Asian leaders believe U.S. policies have forced North Korea to carry out nuclear tests. They say the region will have more tension if they follow Bush’s words. Bush had another headache in Vietnam. Reporters asked him many questions on his Iraq policy and the pullout of Vietnam thirty years ago. The President tried to say Vietnam is moving toward greater progress, and that the same will come for Iraq. But figures, like higher cost of war and growing U.S. toll in Iraq have made it impossible for people to believe Bush and what he says.

We end today’s program with a report on human rights violation in the U.S. Last week Los Angeles police attacked a 23-year-old Iranian student because he had a Middle Eastern complexion. The Beating of Mostafa Tabatabaee Nejad received vast coverage in U.S. universities. Police said the Iranian student did not show his ID when they asked for it. But his classmates said police beat Tabatbaee only because of his skin color. U.S. police have several racial profiling cases on their record. After nine eleven attacks in 2001 pressure on Muslims, particularly those with a middle eastern origin has increased dramatically. The fight on terror is now an excuse for security bodies in the Untied States to go the extra mile in violating human rights. The ongoing situation could be dangerous for the country because millions of immigrants live in America.

Many Americans were expecting drastic changes in U.S. polices after the elections. Now they believe that policies will be the same at the White House, Congress and security bodies.

Monday November 6, 2006

Tuesday’s elections are called midterm elections because they are being held in the middle of the four-year presidential term. Tomorrow 435 seats for the House of Representatives and 33 seats for the Senate will be decided. The elections for the House of Representatives are held every other year. The term for the Senate is six years. According to an arrangement, the elections for the Senate are held along with those for the House, but there is some difference, that is, only one third of the Senate seats are decided in each election. On Tuesday elections for governors will also be held in 36 states. Since 1994 the Republican Party has been controlling Congress, except for a short time. Latest polls taken just before the elections, show that democrats will be the winner this time. A few days before the elections, President George W. Bush took a huge political campaign to every parts of the country to prevent at least a heavy defeat for the Republican Party. The elections have turned into a referendum on Bush’s warmongering and unilateralist policy. The problem republican candidates faced in the run-up to elections was President Bush. The president is so infamous now that any republican candidate who would get his support could be a loser in the event. Among the scandals Bush has on his record are torture in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib in Iraq, illegal tapping of phones across the U.S. and secret CIA jails. A number of republican candidates tried to distance themselves from Bush to boost their chances in tomorrow’s elections. Some of them even took a stand against the White House and the policies it has been practicing in recent years.

Foreign policy plays a major role in the mid-term elections for Congress. In earlier elections, candidates would usually focus on local issues and economic matters to get more votes. But this year Iraq is the top issue on the campaign trails. Some people say, Tuesday Americans will of course vote for or against Bush’s militarist policies. The elections have given a perfect chance to critics of President Bush to come out and talk against the policy he and his team have adopted. One critic is Thomas Freedman who is a columnist at the New York Times. In his latest article he called on Americans not to vote for the Bush team. He said democracy is exhausted in the United States and that political strikes have divided the country in such a way that we could not take the ruling party responsible, and could not even investigate the matters. The Newsweek also referred to fact that the U.S. status in the World has dropped. It said Bush has destroyed the image of the country.

The midterm elections for Congress have drawn the attention of political and media circles across the globe. The results of the elections will play a role in the policies the United States has taken to all parts of the World. A number of British, Canadian and Mexican dailies have conducted a poll with interesting results. The poll, carried out in the three countries that are close to the U.S., shows that many British citizens believe Bush is a serious threat to global security and peace. 69 percent of British respondents said U.S. policies since 2001 has put international security on the line. In Canada 62 percent and in Mexico 57 percent said the same thing. According to the poll, Bush and Osama Bin Laden are the two men who threaten World security the most. There was a time Bush would call himself the leader of the war on terror but now his warmongering policies have brought the U.S. international hatred. The hatred has force the Pentagon to put on its agenda the opening of a 24-hour news station. The Pentagon says the station will fight what it calls wrong news on the war in Iraq. Now the U.S. military might, has got a licking from world media. In the Vietnam War, media revealed the U.S. fiasco and eventually made America take its forces out. At present, the same story is repeating itself in Iraq.

All possibilities speak of a victory for Democrats at least in one of the chambers of Congress. Democrats have jumped on the bandwagon of public dissatisfaction to get more votes. Some experts believe democrats could not bring major changes to U.S. polices because this is the White House that controls those policies. ABC news director Mark Halperin says Bush and democrat leaders should reach an agreement or there will come a two year impasse in country’s politics. Norman Ornstein, a researcher with the American Enterprise, believes a democrat victory will not largely change the country’s foreign policy. But he says two things are certain; a major investigation will be launched into the Iraq War and the wrong intelligence offered by the Bush team on Iraq. Second, Congress will try to limit the power of the White House which in turn will cause more tension between the two sides.

Monday October 9, 2006

Mark Foley has got himself and his Republican Party in a big scandal. Words are out he had sexual contacts with a minor. Less than one month to the mid-term elections for Congress the contacts have a big impact on Republicans. Many Congressmen and other U.S. politicians have had inappropriate behavior in their lives. Former US President Richard Nixon once said immoral acts would not kill the carrier of politicians; the cover-up kills them. Mark Foley has resigned but the scandal he brought about is still bothering Republicans. The radical wing of the Republican Party has called on Denis Hastert, the man who leads the House of Representatives, to step down.  Hastert is charged with knowing about the immoral relations Foley had with a 16-year-old boy. The Bush administration has faced several political, intelligence and financial scandals over the past five years. Illegal tapping of phones, lies about Iraq, torture in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib prisons are enough to remove any integrity from the Bush administration. President Bush and his advisors have been trying to justify their illegal activities by saying that they are fighting terror and that they are doing their best to bring security to Americans. Now Mark Foley’s scandal is so big that the tricks Bush and his men have so far used to cover up other scandals are not enough to get them out of the ongoing scandal. Foley’s scandal could turn into a political tornado with huge damage for Republicans in the November elections.

Foreign policy has got a major role in the November elections. Bush opposites took to the streets last week in 120 cities across the United States to condemn his foreign policy. Tens of thousands of Americans, many of them with a placard in hand, took part in major rallies. They called for the return of American soldiers from Iraq. Bush has failed to control unrest in Iraq. Higher military costs and more deaths in Iraq have increased opposition to war. The Bush administration says Iraq is the front line in the fight on terror and the money or U. S. lives, so far lost there have been necessary. But many Americans believe the occupation of Iraq has nothing to do with the fight on terrorism. Several reports have been put out on the Iraq War and now Americans are aware of the lies Bush told them before and after the attack on Iraq.

Bob Woodward has published his book, the State of Denial, to shed some light on the inability of the Bush administration, particularly the failure of secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The White House has reacted to the book, only to show how worried it is about the book, days before the elections in November. Woodward has explained in full the lies Rumsfeld told during the attack on Iraq. He says although the White House says in its bulletins that a civil war is highly likely in Iraq, Bush goes to Congress and tells representatives and the public that the situation in Iraq is on a sound footing and is getting better.

Since August, people in the United States have got some news that looks good on the surface. Each gallon of gas has shed close to 70 cents. The Washington Post says the cheaper gas prices come, in the build-up to elections in November. It says many Americans believe the elections are behind lower prices and that when elections are over prices will go up again. The Post says one factor behind recent prices is the support the Saudi government puts behind George W. Bush. It says Saudi Arabia that has old ties with the Bush family is pumping more oil to bring the prices down. Another cause is the opening of strategic oil reserves to the market. One more factor is the decision major oil companies have made in the U.S. to help the Republican Party in the days before the Mid-term elections for Congress. Since 2001 oil companies have granted 63 million dollars to political parties, of which 81 percent has gone to the Republican Party. There is no doubt about the close ties between major oil companies and the Republican Party. From all the factors mentioned for lower prices one could get this idea that the decline in prices seeks a political end and is designed to help Republicans in the elections.

To get his party more votes in the November elections Bush has some tools, one is terrorism the other gas prices, and of course security, which Bush says is on the line. Using these tools Bush hopes his Republican Party will get more votes from Americans.  

Monday September 25, 2006

The United Nations held its latest general assembly, to be exact, its 61^st, since its formation in 1945. The United States was at the center of, not spotlights, but criticism; strong and heavy criticism. President George W. Bush told the gathering there is a need to take peace and democracy to the World, to all corners of the World. But outside of the UN building thousands of people chanted slogans against his war-seeking policies that are, as ralliers said, sheer lies. Americans are not the only people who hate Bush. When Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said in his speech that Bush is evil, representatives at the assembly gave him a big clap. Bush’s warmongering and unilateralist policies over the past five years have left no respect for America across the globe.

UN Chief Kofi Annan was also among those who made a speech at the gathering. He said the issues of the past ten years are still sticking, far away from any solution, and closer to a crisis. Annan named three of the biggest challenges the World faces right now, a lop-sided World economy, chaos, and larger human rights violations with no respect for law. Annan did not name the United States and Bush but who else could be behind such issues? Kofi Annan is going through his last months as the UN Secretary General. It has been a trend for UN Secretary Generals to talk clearly and to the point when their term is ending.

The Bush administration has not been following international and human rules since the September eleven attacks in 2001. The U.S. attacked Iraq without a UN permission. Bush invaded Iraq, saying his forces would fight terror threats and would find weapons of mass destruction. Once there, U.S. soldiers tortured thousands of Iraqis or killed them. The Abu Ghraib scandal is just one of the crimes the United States has committed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The United States has a network of prisons across the planet. 14 thousand inmates are in those prisons. Bush spoke of freedom, peace and democracy while thousands of prisoners do not have the rights any prisoner should enjoy, let alone a human being. The CIA has abducted and taken them to those prisons, saying  they may be terrorists. Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo prisons are two examples of U.S. prisons overseas. Despite heavy security measures, photos and videos leaked out of the two prisons, only to bring a major scandal for the Bush administration. The scandal proved to World people that the United States is seeking its own kind of freedom and human rights.

The Senate passed a new anti-terror measure. It came at the end of several weeks of standoff between the White House and the Senate. The new measure allows the administration to set up military tribunals for terror suspects. But earlier the Supreme Court had said it was against international law and local rules to try terror suspects. But Republicans offered the measure to bypass the Supreme Court and tell Americans their security is on the line and the measure is badly needed. Doing so, republicans have been trying to get more votes in the mid-term elections for Congress in November. First, the measure did not get enough votes to get through. But later it was approved only after some language that prisoners should not be tortured was added to its draft.

The Herald Tribune in a report has quoted the Pentagon as saying that more than one third of American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from psychological disorders. The report says that over the past 18 months the number has increased ten folds. Many of the soldiers need to wait on a long list to see a doctor. American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan come under attacks or hit road bombs almost everyday. It puts heavy stress on them. The Pentagon report says 64 thousand of the 184 thousand U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan have psychological problems or are addicts. So far close to three thousands American soldiers have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some U.S. officials are also suffering from psychological conditions. They are now in a quagmire and seek to get out and save their faces. The Washington Post has published an analysis on the chaotic situation in Iraq where political and security conditions have left American officials hopeless. It says now they are trying to get out of Iraq that has turned into a quagmire for the United States. The daily says now that the situation in Iraq gets more and more critical and more unrest hits the country the United States will be taken to a more difficult test for its lame strategy in Iraq.

President Bush and his policies could not bring good news for you to open a new week. We hope that next week Bush is less involved in the items we like to pick for your new week.

Monday September 18, 2006

The fifth anniversary of the September eleven attacks once again gave Americans an opportunity to talk about terrorism. Like earlier years, ceremonies in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania marked the anniversary. President George W. Bush went to where the twin towers once stood, and made a short speech. He said he is determined to fight terrorism and once again vowed he will pin down terror leader Osama Bin Laden, dead or alive. But Bush’s words did not decrease the criticism being piled on his administration for the lax way it has taken in fighting terrorism. As years pass on stronger criticism hits the White House. Bush’s speech on September eleven deepened the gap between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats say the war in Iraq is not a war against terrorism, and in fact, the attack on Iraq has taken the fight on terror away from its course. However, Bush and his people are trying to say the Iraq War is part of the fight on terrorism. The fight between democrats and republicans will go on until the mid-term elections for Congress in November; there is no doubt about it.

As America marked the September eleven, CNN said a recent poll shows that 45 percent of Americans believe the Bush administration is responsible for the attacks. In 2002, only 32 percent would say so. It means over the past four years 13 percent of Americans had a change of heart and now are among those who took Bush to task for the attacks. They say Bush’s government did not pay attention to warnings coming from country’s spy centers and paved the way for terrorists to carry out their plans. They also say Bush adopted a policy to intervene in the Middle East and make wars there, which eventually led to the September eleven attacks. Former Senator Paul Fiendly has said if the U.S. had not helped Israel to debase and destroy the Palestinian community, the nine eleven would not have taken place.

Pope’s remarks against Islam drew reactions from Muslims including those in the United States. Ingrid Thattson who leads the Islamic Community in North America said Pope’s remarks are wrong. He said now it is not a time to get involved in such talks and that religious leaders should do their best to guide people towards religious values. Pope in his trip to Germany said Islam is not a religion of logic and that the holy war is a violent measure. Pope’s words have opened a new round of fight on Islam in the West. Over the past five years western officials talked against Islam many times. Bush once referred to new Crusades and more recently talked about Islamic fascism. In Denmark some insulting cartoons of Prophet Mohammad were published which drew the wrath of Muslims across the globe. Now the leader of World Catholics has taken the lead in the fight on Islam. The issue has brought new worries for Muslims in the United States who have had several problems since the nine eleven bombing attacks.

In recent years, more people have been objecting to Bush for his insulting talks against Islam. Now non-Muslim personalities have joined Muslim leaders to say they are worried against the fight on Islam. Sociologists say insulting words against Muslims will isolate millions of Muslim Americans and will endanger the social stability in the long term. Despite such warnings Zionists and warmongers are painting a dreadful picture of Islam. A while ago, when Bush spoke of new Crusades criticism began to fall on him. Then, he promised to think about his words on Muslims and Islam before spelling them out. But it looks like that he is not the man to drop insults against Muslims and their sanctities.

Colin Powell, the man who led affairs in the State department in Bush’s first term says he is against the stand the White House has taken in dealing with Guantanamo prisoners. He said the decision to try civilians on charges of being involved in acts of terrorism is against the four Geneva Conventions. The White House is trying to get the approval of Congress to pass a measure that would allow the administration to try Guantanamo prisoners. Democrats and a number of Republicans at Congress are against such measure. The Supreme Court also said such trials would be illegal. But warmongers at the Pentagon and White House say the trial of prisoners is necessary in the fight on terror. Human rights activists hope, now that a number of top Republicans including Powell are on their side they would be able to force Bush and his advisors into respecting local and international laws.

Monday September 11, 2006

In the run up to the anniversary of the September eleven the bombing attacks US President George W. Bush made a number of speeches to talk about his way of fighting terrorism and keep people on pins and needles that terrorists are still set to hit the country. Bush and his administration have come under strong criticism from the Democratic Party and even from a number of Republicans. Criticism builds up, as the mid-term elections for Congress get closer. They are taking Bush to task for violating human rights and international law. Now opposition to war is one of the main slogans of election campaigns. Bush has reacted to criticisms and is trying to cover up his violation of law and human rights by telling people that insecurity has gripped the United States. Bush believes this is the best way to free his party from pressures and boost the Republican Party’s chances in the upcoming elections. The White House put out a 23-page report to say the U.S. is yet to be secure, five years after the 9/11 attacks. Following the attacks, Bush’s popularity soared to somewhere above 70 percent. Bush made use of the high popularity to carry out his military plans. He attacked Afghanistan and Iraq, saying it is part of the fight on terror. Now more than fifty percent of Americans say the attack on Iraq had nothing to do with the fight on terror. No country, even the closest allies of the U.S. believes in the U.S. anti-terror slogans. On the contrary, they believe U.S. policies are behind higher acts of terrorism.

Five years after the 9/11 attacks there are many questions about the real causes of the attacks and those who were behind them. Soon after the attacks, President Bush and his people said Al-Qaeda designed the operations and carried them out. Then the Bush team decided to attack Afghanistan to capture Bin Laden and destroy his organization. The United States arrested a large number of people across the globe and took them to Guantanamo and a number of secret prisons. However, so far only one man has been tried, Zakaria Moussaoui. At the time of the 9/11 attacks Moussaoui was in prison. The United States has accused him of not giving the officials the information that might have led to some measures to prevent the 9/11 bombings. Bush’s behavior after 9/11 to push through his military goals has made some people think that the attacks were designed and carried out by the U.S. A poll taken for Ohio University shows that more than one third of Americans believe U.S. officials played a role in the attacks or at least did nothing to prevent them. The Daily Mail has published a report based on the studies done by 75 top scholars who say a number of neo conservatives designed the 9/11 operations with an aim to dominate the globe. Professor Steven Jones believes the smoke above the Twin Towers showed the two hi-rises came down by a controlled explosion.

Last week President Bush admitted that the CIA has secret prisons outside the country. The secret jails and abduction of people by the CIA are two issues that have been problematic for the U.S. government and its allies. European countries first rejected the existence of such jails in Europe but a study by the European Parliament and European Council proved that some European states worked with the U.S. to take prisoners to secret jails or at least they knew about such transfers. Bush does not regret that he knew about the secret prisons. He says it is impossible to fight terrorists by legal measures. He believes to fight terror he can violate human rights and international law. Since September eleven in 2001 acts of terrorism have increased four times. One can say there is no difference between Bush and Bin Laden, both men are stirring up violence.

Across the globe, Labor Day falls on May first but in the United States the event is marked on the first Monday of September. In a speech, Bush told laborers they would be better off. He told them he is going to keep taxes low, something workers pay close attention to. Nevertheless, lower taxes do not always bring a better life for people. The Bush administration has cut down on taxes but on the other hand has cancelled many health and social programs to make up for parts of more than seven hundred billion dollars of budget deficit. Many workers have been deprived of social and educational programs. And when it comes to people of color the deprivation skyrockets. That is why they are angry with Bush for his economic policy.

Monday September 4, 2006

One year ago last week was too stormy for people in New Orleans and areas near it to venture out because Katrina was out to hit. A ceremony in New Orleans marked the deadly event. US President George W. Bush was there with some promises to rebuild the city very soon. He also admitted aid and relief work were slow during the lax operations of last year and said he was responsible. Katrina killed more than 1500 people and inflicted 110 billion dollars in damage in a number of southern states. Last year, several reports were issued on U.S. officials and their lax attitude in preventing greater damage and a higher toll and in taking aid to the victims. Some 44 billion dollars has been spent to rebuild Katrina-hit areas but still a large part of New Orleans is not reconstructed. Many black people were living in New Orleans. They and other poor people received the main blow in the hurricane. The chaotic situation after the Katrina was a clear example of racial-profiling in America. The first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina has brought President Bush and his Republican friends lower numbers among black people, as they get ready for midterm elections for Congress. It could lead to a major problem for Republicans who control the White House and Congress.

In addition to Katrina, more issues were on the minds and in the speeches of U.S. officials last week. One issue was Iraq and the presence of U.S. troops there. The midterm elections for Congress are in November. Bush has decided to make some speeches on the Iraq War and hopes they would help him cushion the pressure the war has put on the United States. Once again, Bush said if U.S. pulls its forces out of Iraq terrorists will get into the Untied States. Bush hopes the way he is bringing fears to Americans that another 9/11 could be on its way would get him more support. The trend over the past five years has shown that whenever Bush and his political, economic and even social programs were in trouble he would go to the issue of security and would underline a fight on terror. Republicans created a hysterical situation before the 2002 and 2004 elections and eventually won them. The same strategy is on the agenda of Republicans two months before the November elections. But this time it appears to be that Bush and his men have lost their influence among people. Now even Conservatives who have been supporting the Iraq War are not interested in Bush’s words on security and terror.

Forty three years ago civil rights activist Martin Luther king made his famous speech. It was 1963 when King told black people he is thinking about a system where whites and blacks have the same rights. His speech later got a title,” I Have a Dream”. Now each year Americans mark the anniversary of the speech in hopes of being free from racial profiling. Although people of color are in a better condition compared to the 1950s and 1960s, they are suffering from discrimination, which has been instilled in the U.S. system for years. Many figures on political, economic and social issues show that people of color are yet to get what white people are enjoying. Unemployment among blacks is twice the rate among white people. Blacks are poor and usually could not make it to higher education. Crimes and drug abuse are also higher among blacks. Accidents like Hurricane Katrina showed that Americans are still being divided according to their colors. Four decades after King’s I Have a Dream speech, the dream of civil rights leaders including King has not come true.  

At least 37 million Americans live in poverty. They are in absolute poverty while more people are deprived of health insurance. The poverty rate among people of color stands near 22 percent. Among white people, it is only 3.8 percent. In recent years, a slow economy and cancellation of some social programs have led to a worse situation for the poor. Part of the problem has its root in a tax-cut policy and a plan to put more money into security and military projects. The lower income for the administration has forced it to cancel social programs like free education for the poor and health aid for jobless Americans. It in turn has boosted the number of poor people.

One year ago last week was too stormy for people in New Orleans and areas near it to venture out because Katrina was out to hit. A ceremony in New Orleans marked the deadly event. President George W. Bush was there with some promises to rebuild the city very soon. He also admitted aid and relief work were slow during the lax operations of last year and said he was responsible. Katrina killed more than 1500 people and inflicted 110 billion dollars in damage in a number of southern states. Last year, several reports were issued on U.S. officials and their lax attitude in preventing greater damage and a higher toll and in taking aid to the victims. Some 44 billion dollars has been spent to rebuild Katrina-hit areas but still a large part of New Orleans is not reconstructed. Many black people were living in New Orleans. They and other poor people received the main blow in the hurricane. The chaotic situation after the Katrina was a clear example of racial-profiling in America. The first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina has brought President Bush and his Republican friends lower numbers among black people, as they get ready for midterm elections for Congress. It could lead to a major problem for Republicans who control the White House and Congress.

In addition to Katrina, more issues were on the minds and in the speeches of U.S. officials last week. One issue was Iraq and the presence of U.S. troops there. The midterm elections for Congress are in November. Bush has decided to make some speeches on the Iraq War and hopes they would help him cushion the pressure the war has put on the United States. Once again, Bush said if U.S. pulls its forces out of Iraq terrorists will get into the Untied States. Bush hopes the way he is bringing fears to Americans that another 9/11 could be on its way would get him more support. The trend over the past five years has shown that whenever Bush and his political, economic and even social programs were in trouble he would go to the issue of security and would underline a fight on terror. Republicans created a hysterical situation before the 2002 and 2004 elections and eventually won them. The same strategy is on the agenda of Republicans two months before the November elections. But this time it appears to be that Bush and his men have lost their influence among people. Now even Conservatives who have been supporting the Iraq War are not interested in Bush’s words on security and terror.

Forty three years ago civil rights Activist Martin Luther king made his famous speech. It was 1963 when King told black people he is thinking about a system where whites and blacks have the same rights. His speech later got a title,” I Have a Dream”. Now each year Americans mark the anniversary of the speech in hopes of being free from racial profiling. Although people of color are in a better condition compared to the 1950s and 1960s, they are suffering from discrimination, which has been instilled in the U.S. system for years. Many figures on political, economic and social issues show that people of color are yet to get what white people are enjoying. Unemployment among blacks is twice the rate among white people. Blacks are poor and usually could not make it to higher education. Crimes and drug abuse are also higher among blacks. Accidents like Hurricane Katrina showed that Americans are still being divided according to their colors. Four decades after King’s I Have a Dream speech, the dream of civil rights leaders including King has not come true.  

At least 37 million Americans live in poverty. They are in absolute poverty while more people are deprived of health insurance. The poverty rate among people of color stands near 22 percent. Among white people, it is only 3.8 percent. In recent years, a slow economy and cancellation of some social programs have led to a worse situation for the poor. Part of the problem has its root in a tax-cut policy and a plan to put more money into security and military projects. The lower income for the administration has forced it to cancel social programs like free education for the poor and health aid for jobless Americans. It in turn has boosted the number of poor people.

Monday August 21, 2006

Last week political talks were about security in the United States. The fifth anniversary of the September eleven attacks is getting closer. Along with the security plot in London's Heathrow airport brought U.S. officials and the critics of the U.S. administration out with more words on the fight on terror. President George W. Bush said the Heathrow plot to attack aircraft indicates the fight on terror will go on for years. Bush went to the national center for the fight on terror to tell a group of people like John Negroponte that the U.S. is more secure right now but full security is not around. Political analysts say Bush' words mean an endless war will continue. After the 9/11 attacks in 2001 the U.S. administration put out a long-term plan to fight terrorism. Some top U.S. officials like Vice President Dick Cheney have named the ongoing war on terror the fourth world war which may keep raging for more than one century. Now five years into this War the World is shakier than ever. Although no accident like the 9/11 attacks took place in the past five years, hundreds of people died in attacks in Bali, Sharm-ol-sheik, Madrid and London while Al-Qaeda leaders, top among them, Bin Ladan, are still on the run.

Bush and his advisors keep talking about security and Democrat leaders are now criticizing them for that. Former US President Bill Clinton warned against using the Heathrow plot for political purposes. Harry Reid who leads Democrats at the Senate objected to Dick Cheney and his talk and said his speech proved that Republican leaders are once again seeking to use the danger of terror in their campaign to win the mid-term elections for congress in November. Cheney has said the defeat of Joseph Lieberman against Ned Lamont in the Democrat Party's elections showed the party is unable to fight security threats. Lieberman is an influential Democrat senator. He was defeated because of his outright support for the Iraq War and Bush's fight on terror. His defeat was a cause for alarm for those who strongly support the Iraq War, particularly Republican officials. Experts have predicted that the Republican Party will be defeated in the November elections. Neo-conservatives hope their move to stir up fear among people would get them higher chances in the election.

The developments in Lebanon and the ceasefire there were top news in the United States last week. U.S. officials did their best to name Hezbullah the cause behind the 33-day war. They were trying to make up for part of the heavy defeat the Zionist regime of Israel suffered in Lebanon. Bush said Hezbullah is a terrorist group. His talk drew strong objection from Muslim groups in the United States. Before his latest words Bush talked about Islamic fascism only to stir a wave of criticism against his anti-Islam policies. Bush has named Hezbullah a terrorist group but Hizbullah is fighting the occupiers of Lebanon and is defending the Lebanese people against the crimes Zionists are committing there. State terrorists carried out the shocking crime in Qana, not Hezbullah that is getting higher popularity for its dealing a heavy blow to the Zionist army. The fight on Islam began after the September eleven in 2001 and now it is getting larger because U.S. officials are angry in the wake of the defeat of Zionists in Lebanon. This trend will further threaten the shaky stand of America among Muslim countries. It could also put on the line the social integrity of the U.S.

Last week Saymour Hersh wrote in an article in the New Yorker that the United States was supporting the Israeli attack on Lebanon. The U.S. support for the Zionist regime of Israel is so evident that needs no new revelation. But Hersh's article proves that the Zionist regime of Israel only used the arrest of two of its forces as an excuse to attack Lebanon. Hersh who is a well-known journalist says a few days before the arrest of two Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, Zionist officials received a green-light from Dick Cheney and Eliot Abrahams who is Bush's advisor. It indicates the extent of influence Zionists and their backers have in U.S. authority. Words are out that the attack on Lebanon was so extreme that even Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld did not agree with that. It was unprecedented for him to make such a decision. But Bush who was under heavy pressure from the Zionist lobby eventually gave Israelis the green light to attack Lebanon and cause a bloodshed there.

A federal judge in Detroit issued a verdict against phone bugging in the U.S. It opened a new wave of legal wrangling between the White House and the judicial department. Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in her verdict said phone bugging is illegal. Bush was quick to order the attorney general to object to it and appeal the verdict. After 9/11 Bush allowed the national security agency to bypass a 1978 law and bug phone calls without a court order. In recent years some 300 million calls have been bugged. Bush says because of the ongoing war on terror the commander in chief could use his authority and let his people bug phones without a court order. But civil rights group say it violates the U.S. constitution.

And, a documentary directed by Spike Lee was warmly welcomed in the United States. Lee says he made "When the Levee Broke" to say New Orleans was not destroyed by the nature, rather officials who did not do their job properly destroyed it. The documentary comes in the run-up to the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on August 29^th. Hurricane Katrina is one of the largest natural disasters which hit the United States in the past one hundred years. At least one thousand people were killed and the damage topped one hundred billion dollars. Congress investigated the case and said federal and state officials did not do their job to prevent the disaster and to take timely aid to victims. The U.S. administration was lax and slow in repairing levees in New Orleans because the money to do that had gone to the Iraq War. Hurricane Katrina is now linked to issues like the Iraq War and the huge money it needs. Katrina has turned into a major scandal for Bush and his government.

Monday August 14, 2006

US President George W Bush in reaction to the terror plot that was discovered in London’s Heathrow airport said the United States is fighting Islamic fascism. Bush said Islamic fascism would do whatever it takes to kill freedom lovers. After the September eleven attacks in 2001 President Bush talked about the Crusade but strong reaction from Muslims forced him to backpedal. Warmongers at the White House are painting a radical picture of Islam. They are trying to justify their warmongering policies in Islamic countries. In recent years, fight on terror has been an excuse for the United States and its follower, Britain, to justify their expansionist policies. The Middle East is an important geopolitical region for the United States, which needs an enemy there. That is why every accident across the globe, particularly in the United States and Britain will be linked to Islam and Muslims. In fact, the violent and expansionist policies of the Untied States and Britain in the Middle East have set the stage for radical groups like Al-Qaeda to emerge. There is no difference between the Bin Laden-Zarqawi team and the Bush-Blair team. None of them respects human values.

The terror plot in London was announced in parallel with the heavy and humiliating defeat, Zionist forces suffered in Lebanon. It was also out at a time when the Zionist regime of Israel committed more war crimes in Lebanon. Despite a blanket censorship, People in the West are aware of what goes on in Lebanon. Experts believe the terror plot was revealed mainly to hide the victory of Hezbollah in Lebanon and cover up Israel’s defeat and scandals.

In the run-up to the fifth anniversary of the September eleven attacks more words are out and more gatherings are being held on the causes behind the attacks. Five hundred top scholars in a gathering in Chicago discussed the issue. Many of them said the impact of the aircraft that rammed into the twin towers in New York could not be the only cause behind the collapse. Professor Judy Wood said the steel structure could not melt down so fast. Steven Jones, another professor with Brigham Young University said some material, found in the debris of the twin tower, shows it was used to melt steel. He said the U.S. administration knew about the operation and even set up the stage for the phased destruction of the buildings. Soon after 9/11 many experts began to seriously doubt the operation and said a complicated operation like the September eleven attacks would not be possible without some cooperation from administration insiders. The United States made the most of the attack to justify its expansionist policies. It shows that the Bush administration was waiting for such an accident to happen. Several analysts say even if we accept the U.S. administration had played no role in the attacks, they were the result of expansionist and interventionist policies of the U.S.

Last week a major Democrat was removed from party campaigns for the mid-term elections for Congress. Joseph Liebermann who was a running mate in the 2000 presidential elections lost the race to Ned Lamont, a relatively new face in Connecticut. Liebermann was one of the adamant supporters of war in Iraq. And the support led to his defeat against Ned Lamont. With his perfect understanding of public opinion, Lamont adopted an anti-war stand to defeat a top democrat figure in the race for Mid-term Congressional elections. The defeat revealed to both parties in America that the Iraq War plays a major role in the upcoming elections. Now the Democratic Party needs to adopt a clear policy toward the Iraq War. Warmonger republicans at the White House are there for a heavy defeat in the November elections. Republicans are on their way to repeat the fake story that the security is in danger in the United States. They used the same measure in 2002 and 2004 to justify their warmongering policies. 

A military court opened a case in which American soldiers are charged with the savage killing of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl. Five American soldiers raped the girl, then killed her and burned her body to destroy all evidence. The court is to decide whether existing documents are enough to try the soldiers. So far, some military courts have been set up for those U.S. soldiers who have committed crimes in Iraq. But the courts are a front to cover up the crimes U.S. soldiers have committed there. Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 several crimes by U.S. soldiers have come to the surface in Iraq. The U.S. administration says some soldiers have arbitrarily committed the crimes. But none of the soldiers have so far been convicted. The courts have failed to check the crimes in Iraq. It means soldiers are committing the crimes on orders from their top commanders, something a number of soldiers have admitted in hearings.

Let’s end this program with an economic development. Higher oil prices have increased trade deficit for June to 64 billion dollars. It is a record in recent months. Higher trade deficit has cut down on the dollar value against other currencies. Economic expert Alex Buzlin believes more trade deficit is putting a great pressure on the dollar. If the trend keeps going the trade deficit is expected to top 767 billion dollars by the end of the year.

Monday July 31, 2006

The Zionist regime of Israel has been attacking Lebanon for two weeks. The United States has rejected a ceasefire and barred the UN Security Council from condemning the attack. So all international ways to stop the killing of innocent Lebanese are closed. U.S. ambassador to the UN, John Bolton even blocked a move to issue a statement to condemn the killing of four UN agents by Zionists. U.S. media and top politicians have been criticizing Bush’s policy. Former secretary of state Warren Christopher has written in Washington Post that the foreign policy of the United States is a green light for Israel to continue violence in Lebanon.

Ralph Nader, the man who once ran for presidency sent a letter to the President to condemn the way Bush is dealing with the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Nader says Bush is responsible for the crisis. Carlos Pascal who is an official with the state department has said the steps the Bush government has taken harm U.S. interests across the World. He says America has no real and active policy to work out solutions for crises. Zbigniew Brzezinskia, a national security advisor under President Jimmy Carter, has said U.S. policies have destabilized the Middle East.

In New York, major rallies were held to reject the White House support for Israeli attacks. Ralliers carried pictures of Hezbullah Secretary General Sheik Hasan nasrollah and late Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmad Yasin. They called for a quick end to missile attacks on Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank. Bush’s support for the Zionist regime of Israel has drawn hatred for the United States, particularly from Muslims. A look at anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli rallies across the globe proves there is huge hatred.

Secretary of state Condoleezza Rice went to the Middle East twice in one week. She was in the Middle East to encourage Zionists to continue their attacks on Lebanon. Her talks with Israeli, Arab and European officials show that she believes it is Lebanon that has attacked Israel. Rice says Israel is defending itself. She says a ceasefire will not be around unless Israeli prisoners of war are released and Hezbullah is disarmed.

Dozens of Lebanese women and children are being killed each day because they are supporting Hezbullah. Latest polls show Hezbullah is more and more popular in Lebanon and other Islamic countries. The strong defense Hezbullah has kept against Israeli attacks is in fact a defeat for U.S. policy in the Middle East. Israeli attacks have changed the Middle East. However, it is not the one the U.S. was seeking to get; it is a Middle East of resistance. The age of the U.S. and Israeli roaming in the area without paying attention to the interests of regional countries is over. Despite their wishes, Washington and Tel Aviv need to take the Islamic resistance in Lebanon and Palestine as a key factor in their policies. Otherwise, the Zionist regime of Israel and the United States should wait for more defeats and a weaker political stand in the area. Inside the U.S., the defeat will badly harm Republicans at the White House. Republicans were out to use the Israeli attack on Lebanon in their campaign for mid-term elections for Congress. But now that criticism is mounting on Bush’s Middle East policy the attack has turned into a weak point for Republicans.

The UN human rights committee has put out a report in 12 pages on violations of human rights in America. It says the U.S. kept people in secret prisons for months and even years. The report says the U.S. can only keep prisoners in locations where they can get all legal rights. The committee also says it is concerned about inhuman interrogation methods used in the U.S. It calls on Washington to let prisoners at Guantanamo go before a court and talk about the way Americans deal with them and the conditions they live in. The report highlights violations of minority rights, particularly the rights of black people. Hurricane Katrina and Washington’s behavior in dealing with people of color in the Katrina-hit areas is in the report. The committee has also called for an end to capital punishment. It says many of people executed in the U.S. were black or poor people. The report is just a small part of human rights violations in America, a country that claims it is taking freedom to the World and is defending human rights in the World. But it is one of the countries with the worst records when it comes to human rights.

Words are out that President Bush may go on trial in a U.S. court. Arlen Specter, an influential Republican senator has talked about a plan to try Bush in a federal court for his violations of law. Bush is accused of blocking Congress measures several times in the past five years. Bush has so far blocked or weakened Congress measures by his issuing of 750 statements. One measure was the ban on torture. Bush and his team said to fight terrorism we could use whatever measure available. They said so and did not carry out the Congress measure. The illegal measures by Bush are so huge that the Supreme Court has said trying Guantanamo prisoners in military courts flies in the face of law. Bush holds many records among U.S. Presidents, in launching wars, in violating human rights and even in violating U.S. laws. U.S. Presidents issued 600 statements against Congress in 220 years but Bush alone has so far issued 750 statements.

Monday July 10, 2006

Last week Americans marked the 230^th anniversary of the day the United States was formed and gained its independence from Britain. On July 4 of 1776, thirteen British colonies declared their independence from Britain and helped the United States get off the ground. The early ideals of the country were freedom and independence. But they faded little by little as political and social developments happened in the country. Even at the time of independence from Britain, millions of black slaves did not get the right of freedom. And in western areas hundreds of thousands of Native Americans were killed when the newly-born United states moved towards their lands. 230 years on, the United States, is now a country willing to grab more lands, and is not at all the country the Founding Fathers set up back then. Now U.S. foreign policy includes intervention in other countries and violation of human rights in places like Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and Guantanamo. Inside the country U.S. officials have dropped parts of the Constitution, particularly the Bill of Rights, saying we are fighting terror to bring security. Now many political analysts believe the country and its administration need to get back to its early ideals, set 230 years ago.

Dozens of anti-war activists gathered outside the White House on Fourth of July. Like many gatherings in recent months Cindy Sheehan, the woman who lost his son to the Iraq War, led the rally. They called on the U.S. administration to give them a time when soldiers will be out of Iraq. The administration has so far failed to set a firm date. The White House and Pentagon believe a firm date could undermine the army’s stand in Iraq and encourage terrorists. But more than three years since the beginning of war in Iraq Americans are waiting for their loved ones to get back home. Anti-war activists are bent on increasing opposition to war in the build up to midterm elections for Congress. At present hunger strike is their weapon, which comes after rallies, gatherings outside Bush’s ranch in Texas and demonstrations in front of the White House. By hunger strike, they want to take the attention of World people to the issue. A number of Hollywood artists have joined them.

People who follow politics still talk about the Supreme Court ruling that says it is illegal to try Guantanamo prisoners at military courts. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said after the ruling that federal courts are part of the fight on terror. Political experts say the Bush administration is bent on trying Guantanamo prisoners and is now looking for a way to bypass the ruling. A number of republicans at the Senate have put their weight behind the White House. Senator Mitch McConnell and senator John McCain have tacitly called for a new look at the four Geneva conventions on prisoners of war. Right-wingers say international law, including Geneva conventions should not hamper the military’s operations overseas. It is expected that more global outcries against Guantanmo and trial of prisoners at military tribunals would eventually lead to a fresh stand on the Geneva conventions in the Bush administration. Over the past six years that happened to the Kyoto protocol, ABM treaty and the International Court of Justice.    

President Bush went to Chicago last week and told folks there he is going to continue efforts to arrest Osama Bin Laden. At the same time, New York Times reported the CIA department to arrest Al-Qaeda leader was closed. The daily said one year ago the so-called ALEC station’s agents were moved to other anti-terror departments. The news, out less than two months to the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 eleven attacks, has brought a question to the minds of Americans why widespread spy networks of the country have failed to arrest Bin Laden. Anti-terror officials say Bin Laden is not that important or say his arrest will turn him into a national hero. But many political analysts, particularly those outside the U.S., believe the U.S. administration needs Al Qaeda to push through its policies. Bin Laden could justify a military presence in Iraq. Even in Somalia, people who are fed up with war are trying to get peace through Islamic groups but Bin Laden has put out videos to call on Americans to take action against those groups. It means Bin Laden will not be arrested or killed in near future.

Senator Joseph Lieberman and his election campaign last week in Connecticut sharply divided the Democrat Party. To keep his place at the Senate Lieberman needs to fight another democrat Ned Lamont. Lamont is now leading the anti-war wing at the Democrat Party in Connecticut. People take Lieberman a warmonger for the support he has put behind the Iraq War and Bush’s militaristic policies. Polls show that Lamont will defeat Lieberman in Party elections. In that case, Lieberman will have no other way but taking part in the elections as an independent candidate. The Democratic Party is now facing a deep divide on the Iraq War and the fight on terror. Most Democrats led by Hillary Clinton and Joseph Lieberman support the war in Iraq. They hope it would get them the votes of conservatives. But there are other Democrats who are calling for a timetable to take soldiers out of Iraq. Without doubt, warmongers will lose one of their key figures if Lamont defeats Lieberman in party votes.

Monday July 3, 2006

U.S. President George W. Bush is not allowed to set up special military courts to try prisoners who are in Guantanamo. The Supreme Court said any such court would violate the Geneva Convention on prisoners of war. After 9/11 attacks in 2001 the U.S. administration opened a special military tribunal to try Salim Hamdan, the former driver of terror suspect Osama Bin Laden. The Supreme Court threw out the verdict by the court, which was styled on the special courts after the World War II. The new order by the Supreme Court is another blow to Bush and his people. Guantanamo is now a sign of human rights violation and rejection of local and international law by the Bush administration. The U.S. administration set up Guantanamo as a place to interrogate terror suspects outside the jurisdiction of local and international regulations. More than one thousand people were first put in Guantanamo behind bars, five hundred of them were later released after U.S. torturers failed to get some charges on them. Now another 500 are there in inhumane circumstances. So far, 47 prisoners, fed up with tough conditions there, have committed suicide, three of them dead. No single trip overseas goes on without some words from world officials on closing Guantanamo. The latest call came from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It has called for Guantanamo’s closure by the end of 2007.

Illegal U.S. activities are not limited to invasion of other countries, bombing of civilians and torture. Reports from Argentina, New Zealand and Switzerland say the CIA has stolen banking data of millions of people across the globe. Argentine TV reported the country’s main industrial university has looked into the data of two major banks and now confirms that the United States has stolen customer data through satellite systems and phone networks. A human rights group in London has filed a complaint against the U.S. for its illegal use of the SWIFT network in 31 countries. The SWIFT network conducts eleven million banking transactions each day. Swiss daily Enzeliger Fox in a report has accused Swiss politicians of having a part in CIA activities to steal banking data. The daily says the Swiss finance ministry got words on CIA activities in 2003. It adds CIA agents would get whatever they want on bank customers with a permit from Swiss officials. European countries are still under pressure for working with the CIA in the recent abduction and torture case. The new scandal shows the U.S. administration does not respect the local law of other countries. The U.S. government goes as far as it can to get other countries to work with it in violating human rights and civil liberties. But when it fails to get their cooperation the administration goes under cover to carry out its illegal operations. The illegal U.S. activities are a warning sign for world countries. The warmongering Bush government knows no limit for taking its hegemony to other parts of the World.

For the second time in one month, the Senate rejected adding a new part to the Constitution. The Bush administration had called for a section that would ban disrespect for the country’s flag. Last month anther measure to ban same-sex marriage was also rejected in the Senate. The bush administration is offering such measures in a bid to get the votes of religious and nationalist groups in the buildup to congressional midterm elections. The White House is trying to use religious and nationalist sentiments to prop up its shaky position. Latest polls show that the Democratic Party is ahead of the Republican Party. Bush’s policy in Iraq and back-to-back scandals at the White house in violating human rights and civil liberties have badly damaged the Republican stand among Americans. Now many Republican senators are keeping their distance from the White House and are criticizing Bush. The unilateralist policies of Bush have left no popularity for America across the globe. Now hatred for the U.S. is a universal issue and that setting fire to the U.S. flag displays that hatred. There is no anti-U.S. rally without burning some U.S. flags and Bush’s effigies.

Criticism on Bush is mounting, this time it is about the environment. Twelve states along with several groups of conservationists have asked the federal court to force the administration to respect environmental regulations. The Bush administration does not respect environmental norms in the U.S. and the World. Washington has failed to join the Kyoto agreements, which seeks to reduce green house gasses and eventually keep the earth from getting warmer. The U.S. produces one quarter of World’s green house gasses. The White House says it is against the Kyoto agreement because joining it will weaken the country’s industry and bring more jobless people for the country. It will cost the U.S. industrial section dearly if it follows environmental rules. Industrialists who seek to get more money do not like to pay such a big price. Industrialists have a big say in the Bush administration, and that is why Bush and his men are not going to put pressure on their main supporters a few months before the midterm elections for Congress.

Monday June 26, 2006

Norman Mineta, the man leading work at the US Transportation Department resigned. He is the third secretary after Gale Norton and John Snow to kiss goodbye his job. Mineta is the only Democrat in Bush’s administration. The transportation department is not taken as a political body but Mineta’s resignation will bring political consequences for Bush, and that is for sure. Some political experts say Democrats has taken out their only man in the administration to minimize the negative impact, a less popular Bush government would have on their party. Bush is now at the bottom of his popularity over the past six years. Many people who are following mid-term congressional elections in November believe the Republican Party will get a heavy blow. But the White House is trying to get more votes by moving some of its officials to other posts. In recent weeks, the head of White House staffers, CIA head, Treasury Secretary, transportation secretary and the under-secretary of state along with a number of top Bush advisors have resigned. A large part of criticism on the Bush administration comes because of the Iraq war, meaning, the move to replace officials at the White House would not keep Bush from falling further in polls. The free-fall for Bush will continue as none of the main people behind the Iraq War, like vice president Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, have not been included in the White House shake-up.
Democrats at the Senate are not in a sit-back-and-relax mood. They are trying to offer plans to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq, and therefore, change America’s security and foreign policy. Senator John Kerry, the man who played against Bush to get the White House in 2004, has called on the administration to set January 2007 for U.S. troops to pull out of Iraq. The offer along with another one that has no firm pullout date was rejected at the Senate. Even some Democrats joined pro-administration republicans to reject the plans, drawn by liberals to overhaul the military policy of the Bush administration. Now, there is a deep gap among Democrats over the way they should tackle the Iraq War crisis. Liberal democrats led by Kerry support a timetable for a quick pullout of U.S. forces while right-wingers at the Democratic Party follow the way the administration is moving through. Hillary Clinton, a senator from New York, is leading right-wingers. By supporting White House stands, she is trying to get more votes from conservative democrats as well as right-wingers in the 2008 presidential elections. The issue has deepened the gap among Democrats in the run-up to November elections for congress. The White House and Republicans are trying to stoke the differences to cut down on chances of Democrats in November elections.
President Bush went to Vienna last week and met with top European Union officials. His trip there once again brought to the surface the widespread violation of human rights by the United States. Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, the current head of the European Union, said after his meeting with Bush that the Union is concerned about the ongoing situation at Guantanamo Prison. Not to be outdone, Bush said he is trying to close the prison. Political pundits say such words come only to ease the hatred being put on the U.S. for its torture of prisoners. They believe the Bush administration is going to keep the notorious prison open. Guantanamo is now at the center of foreign policy problems for the White House. In Vienna and Budapest, folks welcomed Bush by anti-U.S. rallies. Such rallies are now associated with every foreign trip of the U.S. president. Once anti-U.S. demonstrations were only held in developing countries, the Middle Eastern countries in particular, but now major rallies are held in big European cities when Bush goes there to talk to officials. A PEW poll released two weeks ago shows how deep hatred runs in Europe against U.S. policies.

Last week a number of people were rounded up in Miami on charges of trying to carry out terrorist attacks. It once again raised security alarm in the United States. FBI officials said they have arrested eight people near Miami. The FBI said they were going to blow up the Sears tower in Chicago. Police say they are all young Americans, and that at least two of them are Al-Qaeda followers. The report increased concerns that another 9/11 is on its way. It shows that severe security measures the Bush administration has had in place since 2001 are yet to bring full security to the country. Some experts say the FBI has put out the story to take minds away from falling Bush popularity and to influence November elections. Warmongers at the White House and Congress have been successful in winning Presidential and congressional elections in recent years by raising security concerns among people. That is why the latest arrest thing could only be another trick to keep people at the grip of security threats and eventually get their votes for republicans in the upcoming elections.

And Finally, the Senate ratified the Pentagon budget, a budget that is close to 518 billion dollars. Fifty billion of the budget will go to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Earlier the House of Representatives confirmed a 428 billion dollar budget for the Pentagon. Now the two bodies need to agree on a single figure. If they adopt the Senate figure, it will be the biggest budget the Pentagon gets since the end of the Cold War. In his early years at the White House Bush promised to increase Pentagon’s budget to 500 billion dollars a year. Now it seems that Bush has kept his words and the military budget of the country is going higher, bringing about a huge budget deficit for the nation.

Higher military budget, higher budget deficit, and no doubt, lower popularity for President Bush. These issues are now hot news across the United States.
 

Monday June 19, 2006

25 hundred U.S. soldiers are dead, and more are on their way to die in Iraq. Talks in political and news centers are now focusing on taking the soldiers out of Iraq. The death of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the man known as Iraq’s Bin Laden, did not ease criticism of President George W. Bush’s policy in Iraq. Bush did his best to push up his numbers in polls by saying the presence of U.S. soldiers in Iraq led to an Iraqi government and the death of Al-Zarqawi. However, latest polls show most Americans want to see U.S. soldiers out of Iraq. The countdown to the mid-term congressional elections in November has brought more words on a pullout of Iraq. Democrats are bent on making the best use of the ongoing situation, and eventually getting more votes. Senator John Kerry who fought Bush in the 2004 presidential elections has offered a pullout plan, which would take all U.S. soldiers out by the end of the year. Hillary Clinton, another democrat, but a liberal one, is against setting a date for any pullback. Her opposition killed Kerry’s plan. Still, those democrats who are against a U.S. military presence in Iraq are there to put more efforts to end the U.S. presence in Iraq. Jim Moran who represents Virginia in the House of Representatives has said a new plan is ready to take U.S. soldiers out of Iraq in a number of phases.  He said Americans are getting this reality more and more that Iraq and Saddam had nothing to do with terrorism; rather, terrorism began after U.S. soldiers invaded Iraq. He added we have lost our credibility across the globe and need to get it back. Moran said 320 billion dollars has gone to the war in Iraq, more that 2000 of our forces have been killed and another 18 thousand injured, but we still have no clear strategy there.

Inside and outside the United States, the Bush administration, led by neo-conservatives, has painted an ugly picture of America. A PEW poll, out recently, says most Europeans and Asians believe the war in Iraq has made the World insecure. The poll says the popularity of the United States has dropped among its closest political allies over the past few years. In Germany, only 37 percent of Germans speak nice about the U.S. Only six years ago, in 2000, 78 percent of Germans would speak in positive terms about the United States. People in Spain, 41 percent of them, would talk positive about America. It was just this past year, but now 23 percent would do so. When it comes to Muslim states, the hatred runs even deeper. Now it is a common thing among world people to hate the U.S. Parties and politicians adopt anti-U.S. stands to get more votes in elections. On the other hand, those politicians and parties that back the U.S. get fewer votes. One of those who got a defeat was former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berloskoni who lost in the parliamentary elections because of his pro-U.S. policies. Warmongers at the White House believe they could take U.S. hegemony to other parts of the world by military and economic means. However, it is just wishful thinking, because the more the U.S. goes unilateral and abandons international agreements the more hatred it gets from world people.

The hatred will cut down on U.S. influence in the world. Take Latin America, the backyard of the Untied States. Left wing parties are now getting more power in that area and the U.S. is losing its allies there.

Three prisoners committed suicide in Guantanamo last week. It along with a report put out by the Pentagon made headlines in world media. The suicide of three Guantanamo prisoners once again drew attention to the deplorable condition of prisoners there. The report has drawn more pressure on the Bush administration even from Washington’s closest allies. Guantanamo is not the only place where the United States is violating human rights. The Pentagon has issued a new report in which it says U.S. soldiers manhandled Iraqi prisoners. It says special U.S. forces would keep some prisoners in handcuffs and shackles in small cage-like rooms for 17 days and would only feed them bread and water. The report was put together in 2004 but the Pentagon kept it secret. Under the Press Freedom Law the Pentagon was forced to hand the 1000-page report to the civil libraries union. The report is in fact on torture and humiliation of Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison in 2004. Back then, Pentagon and White House officials said a number of U.S. soldiers tortured prisoners arbitrarily. Then fake hearings were held for soldiers. But the Pentagon report says the highest ranking military officials did order torture and humiliation of Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib.

The national security agency says the country is not ready for a major terrorist attack or a strong hurricane. The agency says this, in a report ordered by President Bush after hurricane Katrina. The report lists the measures the country needs to take to boost readiness in case of major attacks or accidents. Hurricane Katrina brought to the open the inability of the US government in dealing with natural disasters. Katrina hit three southern states last year and inundated the city of New Orleans, killing 1300 people. Administration’s inability was not the only thing to come out; racial profiling in the administration was also proved to Americans. Most of Katrina-hit people were black which meant no hurry in taking aid to them.

Crime rate is higher in the United States. The FBI says more and more people have been killed year on year since 2001. The rate is now the highest for the past four years. The FBI has said murder rate jumped 4.8 percent last year. Social experts say one thing behind higher crime rates is administration’s negligence. They say Bush and his people have forgotten local issues and instead are paying attention to their militaristic policies and paying hundreds of billions of dollars to the wars they are waging to take their domineering policies to all parts of the World.

Monday June 12, 2006

A big NO to no-same-sex marriage. It came at the Senate where a White House measure to ban same-sex marriage got only 49 votes from one hundred senators. President George W. Bush had called for an amendment to the constitution to ban same-sex marriage. It needed at least 60 yes votes to open a constitutional reform process. After the vote, Bush said he is dismayed but believes it is the beginning of an important national issue. Same-sex marriage is one issue that divides Republicans and Democrats. In state and federal elections, it is a hot issue in the campaigns of the both parties. Republicans support no-same-sex marriage while Democrats call for equal rights for gay people. In the lead-up to every federal or state election, the issue pops up as a main political and media topic. Mid-term congressional elections are so close, in November, and George Bush is trying to bring up the issue only to shore up the faltering Republican Party. In 2004, before the presidential election Bush focused on the issue to get the votes of conservatives. The move was rejected in Congress but at least it got Bush another term at the White House. Same sex marriage is now a political and propaganda issue in the United States. The ban on it has in no way kept the immoral issue in check. Now, same-sex marriage is banned in 45 out of 50 states in America. However, its supporters have a strong lobby and stage major rallies each year. The United States is going down in an immoral quagmire. Republicans are trying to say they support moral and family values as well as country’s traditions. Doing so, they just want to get more votes from those who believe in family values. In fact, it is a political move with promotional goals.

Secret CIA prisons made top stories last week. Dick Marty, the man who is investigating the issue on behalf of the European Council has put out a 68-page report in which he reveals more aspects of the issue and that how 14 European countries helped the U.S. abduct and torture suspects. It was late last year when the New York Times in a report said the CIA has set up secret prisons in a number of European countries. The report was another political scandal for the U.S. and European countries that claim they defend human rights. Following the report, a number of European countries called on the U.S. to explain out the issue. Bodies like the European Council, European Parliament and Amnesty International followed the issue. The European Parliament set up an investigative committee to shed light on the secret CIA operations in Europe. The European Council named its own point man, Dick Marty, who is a Swiss senator, to look into the issue. The European Parliament’s committee said at the end of its investigation that the CIA has conducted one thousand secret flights from airports in Europe to abduct and transfer terror suspects. Marty in his 68-page report says the CIA with the aid of 14 European countries carried out the illegal operations that flew in the face of human rights and international law. It is not a new issue for the U.S. administration that believes every move against human rights and international law is possible in the name of fighting terror. Following the revelation the CIA took 150 prisoners from secret jails in Eastern Europe to other prisons in southeastern Asia and the Middle East. How could countries like France, Germany and Britain justify their measures? These three countries claim to be the defenders of human rights. They usually say human rights are on the top of their foreign policy and that they are concerned about single individuals who are against the sitting governments. The European Council’s report once again shows that European Countries use human values as a tool to push their policies. There is no doubt that this report, like many others before, would be forgotten and western countries would use their media power to divert attention from realities and the double standards they practice in dealing with human rights and international law.

Higher oil prices and budget deficit in the United States have caused major discussions in America. Former federal reserves Chairman, Allen Greenspan has said higher energy prices in the world has increased the rate of inflation in the U.S. He said huge dependence on oil imports is seriously threatening country’s economy. Greenspan who was speaking at the U.S. foreign relations committee, said to cut down on the pressure on the US economy the administration needs to curb oil imports as soon as possible. The Financial Times and Washington Post reported trade deficit in the four months to May has climbed to more than 254 billion dollars. Economic experts predict the figure would top 760 billion dollars at the end of 2006 if the ongoing trend keeps going. In 2005 trade deficit was 716 billion dollars. Higher oil prices and trade deficit after back-to-back scandals in the wake of Iraqi invasion are the main issues Bush and the Republican Party face six months to congressional elections. A new poll by RBC says 84 percent of Americans say energy will be one of their top priorities in the upcoming presidential elections.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said he is concerned about the U.S. making new weapons, particularly those based on depleted uranium. Speaking at the Russian parliament, he said the U.S. programs to make new arms could devastate the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. He added new U.S. plan to produce weapons that use depleted uranium, and another one to retool under-sea ballistic missiles with warheads will shake the balance of world stability. The U.S. administration has many plans to make a new generation of nuclear weapons or add new features to its existing nuclear weapons. Military experts believe such plans will bring dangerous conditions to the world and a nuclear war would be imminent.

Monday May 29, 2006

U.S. President George W. Bush and his closest ally British Prime Minister Tony Blair came clean about the Iraq War and said, we made big mistakes over there in Iraq. It took the two men three and a half years to say that. Bush and Blair went to a press conference in Washington, with Bush saying our biggest mistake in Iraq was the scandal in Abu Ghraib prison where U.S. forces tortured and humiliated Iraqis, and with Blair saying it was wrong to disband the Iraqi military after Saddam. These words came on the back of some others by Bush’s secretary of state Condoleezza Rice who said that last month we made thousands of tactical mistakes in Iraq. Admission of guilt, admission of failure, admission of defeat come as a toll of 2400 US soldiers and a cost of more than 350 billion dollars are getting heavier on the shoulders of Americans. Bush’s numbers in polls are the lowest now and he hopes to get more votes from Americans by admitting that mistakes were made in Iraq. Bush and Blair had some more words to reporters in their press conference; they said their soldiers will stay in Iraq for the time being. It means there won’t be a pause in their free falls.

A General at the top of the CIA. Michael Hayden got enough votes in the Senate to take over from Porter Gass as the U.S. spy agency’s head. The resignation of Gass showed the rift in the security apparatus is just getting deeper and deeper. The relatively new body, the National Intelligence Agency has pushed the CIA to the sideline. This came to the surface when Gass and John Negroponte had a face off. With Gass no longer at the CIA, Negroponte’s right hand Hayden is leading the largest spy agency in the U.S. The new CIA head is a close friend of Vice President Dick Cheney and the leader of neo-conservatives. Pundits are concerned that neo conservatives are gaining a stronger role in the US security apparatus and that a general is at the top of the CIA. It is expected that under Hayden the CIA will be under the control of the Pentagon more than ever.

Long discussions at the Senate eventually brought about a new version of the immigration law. Now millions of undocumented immigrants will get a work permit. Senators, like their colleagues at the House of Representatives also gave their OK to a security wall to go up on the Mexican border. There are some differences between the House and Senate versions and a Senate-House conference is to work out a final language. The House of Representatives is calling for harsher measures like making undocumented immigrants felons. However, the White House and Senate are concerned about economic and social consequences of harsher measures. The issue is important because Republicans need millions of Hispanic votes to win the mid-term congressional elections in November.

Scandal, scandal, and again scandal for Republicans. The FBI says it is going to carry out some police work on Dennis Hasrert, the head of the House of Representatives, for his part in the Jack Abramoff case. Patrick Fitzgerald, the special attorney in the white house intelligence leak says it is possible that vice president Dick Cheney would be also summoned to come before the court for testimony. Words are out; Cheney was the man who revealed the identity of Valerie Plame, the secret CIA agent. A few months ago Lewis Libby, Cheney’s deputy, resigned when charges targeted him that he had a role in the issue. Fitzgerald is going to take Cheney to the court to get fresh leads on the intelligence leak scandal. Cheney has got his information from President Bush and, who knows, Bush may also get a summon soon. These developments happen only one month to the mid-term elections for congress. Such charges on the House speaker and the Vice President are heavy blows to Republicans.

Ten Months after hurricane New Orleanians once again elected their black mayor Ray Nagin to lead the city. He defeated republican Mitch Landriev. The victory of a democrat six months before mid-term congressional elections in November shows how low the Republican Party has dropped among Americans. After Katrina hit Neo Orleans and killed more than one thousand people there and in nearby areas, Nagin took President Bush to task badly. Rescue workers were sent to the area a few days after the disaster. The delay only increased the death toll. A report by a congress commission confirms that federal and state officials were slow and careless in taking aid to people. Folks in New Orleans who experienced the deadliest natural disaster over the past few decades in the U.S., voted for Nagin to show how angry they are with Bush and his administration.

More Katrina-like hurricanes could blow, in days to come while more blows are waiting for Bush and his men in other corners of the U.S. Next week this time, we will have some time to give you more words on new blows that are in the offing.    

Monday May 22, 2006

The U.S. Justice Department said last week the pictures showing a passenger plane rams into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 could be put out. The order came almost six years after the bombing accident. Security cameras captured the pictures. The judicial watch, which is a non-governmental organization, had asked for the release of those pictures, saying under the press freedom law the pictures should be issued to the public. The Justice Department would say the pictures were part of the documents used in the trial of Zacarias Moussaouwi, the only man who was charged with being a part of 9/11 attacks. Moussaouwi eventually got a life sentence. Unlike the twin towers of New York that received full coverage, the attack on the Pentagon did not get press coverage. A number of journalists and politicians in Europe and the United States believe the complicated security systems in America would not allow a major operation like the September 11 attacks take place, unless some insider help was available to terrorists. They say if it is not the case, why the US administration is trying to keep the issue secret. Now there are some open questions, one is, why there is no trace of the huge aircraft that hit the Pentagon in those pictures. Moreover, the FBI has made the case more mysterious by saying that it found some documents on the crash site while the pentagon has said the plane was reduced to ashes on impact.

The United Nations eventually came out with some line that the U.S. has violated the anti-torture convention. The UN called on America to close all secret jails and Guantanamo prison. The ten members of the anti-torture commission put out an eleven-page report to say all secret jails that keep terror suspects as well as Guantanamo are illegal and should be closed down. The report calls on President George W. Bush to ban measures like using dogs to intimidate prisoners or striping inmates naked to debase them. The UN had already put the US on a list of countries that use torture, but this is the first time the world body issues an official report on the US violating the anti-torture convention. The report in fact comes on the back of huge criticism of the US government’s manhandling of foreign prisoners and setting up secret jails across the globe. Under the pretext of fighting terror, the United States has made its domineering measures legal in the wake of the nine eleven attacks. Torture, abduction and secret jails are some of the illegal activities the Bush administration has done after the September attacks. Savage torture by US soldiers in Abu Ghraib in Iraq and in Guantanamo has stirred up hatred against the U.S. The measures taken by US soldiers and interrogators are so disgusting that even US allies in Europe and human rights groups are now reacting to them. Now Britain, the closest US ally is calling for the closure of Guantanamo. In addition, the latest body to come up with something against US measures is the United Nations that is calling for all secret US jails to be closed.

General Michael Hayden talked about his plans for the CIA when he went to the Senate intelligence committee on Thursday. He was forced to take many questions about illegal tapping of millions of phone calls when he was the head of the National security agency. The new CIA head said phone tapping is legal and it was done under a direct order from President Bush. Faced with many questions Hayden said any issue that has something to do with the CIA should be taken off the table. Hayden takes over from Porter Gass who was in the post for 19 months. Gass was the fall guy in the internal fighting in the U.S. intelligence system. Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld forced Gass to resign and picked Hayden to replace him. The CIA retaliated by revealing that the phone calls of 300 million people have been tapped. The issue further undermined Bush and his republican party. Now Bush’s popularity is under 30 percent.

Former US President Jimmy Carter in an article in the Washington Post said the US is spending more than 40 billion dollars a year on nuclear research to upgrade its nuclear arsenal. He said America has put pressure on other countries to implement the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty while it has violated the treaty several times and American leaders are testing and making new atomic weapons. So far, many figures who are now out of power and off the White House have criticized Bush for his policies. Former Secretary of Defense Mc Namara in a piece of writing in the Foreign Policy magazine said I call the US nuclear policy illegal and unethical which is leaning towards militarism. The US is now trying to say it is leading the fight on nuclear weapons although it is the only country to use nuclear arms. Its nuclear arsenal holds ten thousand nuclear warheads, of which two thousand are always ready for launch. Now the question is, don’t these figures clearly show that the US has adopted double standards in its policy of fighting nuclear weapons?

To end this article we like to bring up the issue of sending 6 thousand National Guard troops to the Mexican border. They will be there to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the US. Bush paid a first ever visit to the Mexican border last week. Now the immigration issue has turned into a hot political and social issue across the US. The Senate is discussing a bill that would identify illegal immigrants as criminals. It has got on the nerves of 12 million immigrants who play a major role in US economy. Republicans in congress believe illegal immigrants are a threat to the Anglo-Saxon identity of the country. That is why they are supporting greater and stronger security and legal measures against illegal immigrants.

Monday May 15, 2006

Fresh scandal at the White House. Words are out; at least 200 million phone calls were bugged by the National Security Agency. Earlier they would say only calls by Al-Qaeda supporters overseas are bugged but now it is out in the open that American citizens are also being bugged. The matter has got on the nerves of many people and Congressmen. Critics believe President George W. Bush and his advisors have violated citizens' rights and got into their private lives to spy on them. But those behind the administration say the bugging move is necessary in the fight against Al-Qaeda to bring security to Americans. Political pundits say the report put out by USA TODAY that millions of Americans have been bugged was a heavy blow to Bush and particularly to general Micheal Hayden, the man named by Bush to take over from Porter Gass as CIA Director. Hayden was the head of the national security agency for six years since 1999. Under him the agency listened to many private calls without a court order. Now communications companies are going to be investigated at Congress for the role they played in the issue. So, coming days will be tough for Hayden who hopes to receive backing from the Senate.

Hayden and his new job as CIA director has brought concerns to many who believe the military is gaining greater hand in country's political structure. Some congressmen, Republicans and Democrats, say a general at the top of the CIA will only bring the spy agency under the control of the Pentagon more than ever. Those who are against Hayden were not happy with his work when he was the head of the National Security Agency. Hayden's intelligence record is not the only concern, now the greater concern is a more powerful military in political affairs. After the 9/11 attacks the army has increasingly been getting a powerful role on the pretext of fighting terrorism. Now the role is so big that the military has been given the responsibility of bringing national security, a first such a role since the end of civil war in 1864.

Less than 30! This is the latest number for Bush who is losing his popularity so fast. Illegal bugging and outcries against the new immigration law are behind sagging numbers for Bush who for the first time in six years got 29 percent last week. It is down 6 percent month on month and 14 percent compared to January. According to political records 30 percent is the red line for the U.S. presidents. Even Bill Clinton had better numbers at the top of his moral scandal. Now six months to mid-term elections these figures are expected to bring headache for Republicans in the House of Representatives and senate. If Democrats win , Bush will have two years of opposition coming from Congress. It is not the whole story, experts say lower than 29 percent numbers are on their way for Bush as he insists to keep soldiers in Iraq and as more words keep coming on intelligence gaffes.

512 billion dollars to go to the Pentagon. This is the money representatives at the House gave the Defense Department. The Senate is going to say its final word on pentagon's budget which is unprecedented over the past ten years. In recent years the Pentagon has been asking for 70 to 80 billion dollars in addition to its annual budget. If the ongoing trend stands, the military budget could top 600 billion dollars. Right now the United States has the highest military budget in the world. It is more than the combined budgets of sixty countries that follow America on the list of highest military budgets. The U.S. is spending such a high budget on its military while there is no cold war around and the country has no serious rival. Higher military budgets mean lower money for social and welfare projects, meaning in some years the U.S. economy will lose its capability to compete major economic powers.

President Bush gave up to months of pressures coming from international organizations and said OK I will shut down Guantanamo. Bush said now that many foreign leaders call for it to be closed we will close it. Some five hundred Al-Qaeda and Taliban members are there. Over the past four years dozens of reports have been out on American interrogators torturing prisoners. Amnesty international said Guantanamo is another Gulag, the concentration camp at the time of Stalin in the former Soviet Union. British attorney Peter Godsmith said last week Guantanamo is the symbol of injustice. He said it is unacceptable that such a prison is there. Britain is the closest ally of the US in the fight on terror and occupation of Iraq but Guantanamo has grown so notorious that even officials from London are going against it. Critics of the Bush administrating say human rights violations and the Guantanamo issue have pushed the US to the sideline among world people. That is why bush now says he is ready to close the prison. But don't wait for an early closure and return of prisoners to their countries.

Monday May 8, 2006

CIA director, or to be exact, former CIA Director Porter Goss, said he is out, and President George W. Bush said OK you can go. It was big news for papers and news channels. BBC said the friends of Goss say they were taken aback when they heard Goss has resigned. President Bush has been shuffling his staff at the White House since last month. The shake-up comes after political scandals over Bush's lies on Iraq hit the white house. Bush is trying to cut down on the criticism which has been on his administration for its bad conduct. There were some words out, on the possible changes at the White House but the CIA director was not a candidate. Some analysts say his resignation is a political jolt in the U.S. security and spy apparatus. Goss came to the CIA 19 months ago to rebuild the agency which was unable to discover and prevent 9/11 attacks, when it was under George Tenet. Along with the top CIA post many changes were made in Agency's body. 15 intelligence and security organization were united under an umbrella known as the US intelligence Community. John Negroponte was named the head the new body, practically leaving the CIA director in his shadow. The changes brought a strong rivalry between the CIA and the neo-conservative White House which is now led by the Cheney-Rumsfeld team. Words out, speak of Porter Goss and the fact that he has been the fall guy in this play.

Administration point men are out to answer the questions the anti-torture committee of the United Nations is asking them about the way the US deals with suspects. It is the first time since the opening of Bush's expansionist policies that the Administration answers such questions. A delegation of 30 top officials from Defense and State Departments as well as the judicial Department and National Security Agency have gone to Geneva to answer the questions in an open session of the anti-torture committee. Human rights groups in America have accused the White House of violating the anti-torture convention several times. They particularly single out the American agents who have used inhumane methods in their torture of prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo and other parts of the world. The first scandal in the case came when pictures taken at Iraq's Abu-Ghraib prison were out in 2004. In those pictures American soldiers are posing beside Iraqi prisoners who are being tortured. After the scandal human rights activists called for a quick UN reaction to the torture issue in Guantanamo and to the CIA prisons outside the U.S., in Eastern Europe in particular.

It was May first, the labor day, when hundreds of thousands of immigrants named the event a day without immigrants, and filled the streets in Los Angeles, Chicago, Huston and Miami. The reason behind calling it a day without immigrants was the efforts by organizers to show how important immigrants are in U.S. economy. That is why they called on them to stay out of work and turn out in rallies. The million-strong rallies by Hispanics were also to object to a bill at Congress that is to amend the immigration law and allow for severe measures on immigrants. The new law will make illegal immigrants criminals. If adopted millions of illegal immigrants will face legal action and prison terms. Unofficial figures say more than 12 million immigrants are in the United States without proper papers. Many of them are working in low jobs which few Americans may take for a living. Also, some employers seek to evade tax and decrease overheads, so they like to take in illegal workforce. Those who are against making illegal immigrants legal believe the national identity of the United States is on the line. They are calling for harsher measures to keep immigrants outside of the US and make them illegal. But America is a country of immigrants, only their time of arrival is different. Now in the areas near the Mexican border Spanish is the first language and English stands second to it. If Congress adopts the new measure strong reactions will be followed. It will leave its mark in the mid-term congressional elections. Some congressmen have strong support in those areas and stronger security measures on immigrants will translate into a loss of support.

Last week a ceremony marked the one hundredth anniversary of the Jewish U.S. committee. President Bush and other top officials took part in the event. Senior political and state officials were also there from both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Bush told the ceremony our commitment to Israel is strong and will be there forever. Bush said he is a supporter of democracy but at the same time said the victory of Hamas in recent elections in Palestine will be accepted if only it recognizes the Zionist regime of Israel. Hamas won, in a free and fair election monitored by international observers, among them former US President Jimmy Carter. Hamas won the election on a slogan to defend Palestinians against Israeli attacks and help them get their rights which have been trampled by Tel Aviv.

Bush's remarks that the U.S. is always committed to Israel mean the United States sets its policies according to the Zionist interventionist policies and interests. Now democracy is a tool at the hands of the U.S. administration to push its goals. When America takes a free and fair election as something that flies in the face of its policies, slogans like democracy and freedom will be killed easily.

The court that was trying Zacarias Moussaoui, the only 9/11 suspect, sentenced him to life in prison for his role in the September eleven attacks. After two months of hearings the court did not sentence him to death. Prosecutors had called for execution for Moussaoui who was arrested three weeks before the attacks. His only charge was that he knew about the attacks but did not come forward to tell US officials about them. Almost five years after the 9/11 attacks there are still many gray areas in the case. The US government is trying to pass the buck by saying that Moussaoui is responsible for the whole issue. The bush administration has been trying to remove the pressure, its spy agencies have been under, since the bombing attacks five years ago.

Monday May 1, 2006

Gas prices are going through the roof in America. President George W. Bush has promised to launch some investigation into the issue. Gas prices have jumped to three dollars a gallon. Gas consumption is high in the country and higher prices mean heavier economic pressure on people. Past week democrat and republican leaders tried to give different reasons for higher prices. Political pundits say higher prices would be a hot issue in the mid-term congressional election campaigns later this year. Republicans are worried that high prices may bring public dissatisfaction for bush and his conduct and eventually lead to vote loss in the elections. Republican leaders at the Senate and House have called on Bush to take a serious measure for the issue. Oil experts believe higher gas prices at the pumps have no political reasons and that they won't come down by statements or investigations.

Media across the United States revealed some more words on the fight on terror and the occupation of Iraq. A former CIA official said President George W. Bush knew before the invasion of Iraq that the country had no weapons of mass destruction. Tyler Dryngekker said the CIA told Bush that Iraq had no such weapons before the opening of the Iraq war. But bush told CIA agents he had made the decision to attack Iraq and there was no need for such information. Political experts say Dryngekker's words could be looked at from two angles. One, his words prove that the issue of weapons of mass destruction was just an excuse to mount a war on Iraq and occupy it, the other; it shows that the fight between intelligence officials and warmongers still continues. A look at the words, top US officials like President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney put out before the war in Iraq proves how they used weapons of mass destruction to justify the war they were going to take to Iraq. But now after some four years, it is an open secret that bush and his advisors knew Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. The lie has so far cost the US the lives of 2300 soldiers and 300 billion dollars.

Mounting criticism on intelligence bodies in the US forced the house of representatives to pass a bill that increases  the money the manager of us intelligence has in his disposal. The bill received 327 yes votes and 96 no votes. The bill also allows the government to cross out from its payroll those who reveal state secrets. The extra money Negroponte is going to get has not been revealed but it could be huge. Pundits say Negroponte will gain huge power if the bill clears the senate and gets the signature of president bush. The national intelligence head is a powerful figure in the US system and that is why media call Negroponte the intelligence tsar. Neo-conservatives are bent on shaping up intelligence and spy agencies through the new manager of the national intelligence center. Right now a covert war is going on between the CIA and warmongers led by vice president Cheney. Warmongers were hopeful to get from the CIA whatever they need to justify the war in Iraq. But CIA officials could not meet their demand because there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Democrat Senator Joseph Liberman says George W. Bush is responsible for the deaths of 1500 Americans who died last summer when hurricane Katrina hit. He said bush who did not take precautionary measures is responsible for higher numbers of deaths and greater damage. It is now seven months that a senate committee has been investigating the lax behavior of relief organizations in taking timely aid to victims. It is also looking into the role federal and state governments played in the disaster. Liberman is close to the white house and his remarks will be a big blow to the white house and president bush. A while ago the administration was accused of being slow in taking aid to Katrina victims but it is the first time a top member of the senate committee says bush is directly responsible for 1500 deaths. Now it is a known fact that bush and his advisors did not pay attention to security warnings and sent aid workers to the area a few days after the hurricane hit thousands of poor black people.

President Bush named Tony Snow, a fox news host as the spokesman of the White House. Snow is to take over from Scott McClellan who has recently resigned. In a speech to introduce snow, President Bush said I am here to make decisions and snow should explain the decisions to people and media. Top White House officials hope a new spokesman would improve the status of bush among Americans. Now concerns over the war in Iraq and a number of back-to-back scandals have decreased bush's popularity to 30 percent. it could translate into a major defeat for republicans, six months to elections in November. Many political experts say bush's problems have their roots in his wrong political and economic policies and that new faces at the white house would not change the way bush is losing his numbers.

Monday April 24, 2006

Criticism on President George W. Bush and his administration led to some changes at the White House, six months to mid-term elections in America. White House Spokesman Scott McClellan and Carl Rove, Bush's CIA advisor are two of the figures who are now out of the White House. Words are out Treasury Secretary John Snow is also on his way to go out. But President Bush is still resisting calls to sack his Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Six retired generals have called on Bush to remove Rumsfeld from his post. Over the past five and half years no White House official has been under greater pressure than Rumsfeld to step down. Scandal after scandal hit the administration after the opening of war on Iraq, pushing Rumsfeld to the brink of resignation. Now Bush is trying to make some changes at the White House to cut down on the pressure that seeks to force Rumsfeld out of the White House.

The recent intelligence leak has forced the CIA to fire one of its top officers. Mary McCarthy is the CIA spy who is said to be behind the leak of intelligence about secret CIA prisons in Europe and the flights that took suspects to those facilities. The issue turned into a splitting headache for the Bush administration. The CIA quickly removed its jails across Europe and took suspects to other jails outside Europe in a bid to get itself free from the pressure, the European human rights groups were mounting on it. Despite the fast removal of detention centers, fact finding missions were set up by the European Council and some human rights groups to follow the case. They confirmed such jails were in Europe and that secret CIA flights took suspects to those facilities. The issue was a major scandal for European countries, particularly countries like Germany that were against launching a war on Iraq. It proved that European countries have close intelligence ties with the United States. A passive reaction to the scandal and the mum European officials have kept over it show that CIA operations in Europe took place with the full knowledge of European countries. The CIA also came under attacks from European countries for its inability to keep secrets. Following huge criticism CIA Director Porter Goss said the agent behind the leak has been located.

The intelligence leak was not limited to the CIA. Tailor Drum Healer, a retired CIA agent, told 60 Minutes on CBS that the CIA had reported to Bush before the beginning of the Iraq War that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He said White House officials simply rejected the intelligence and said they were no longer interested in it. They said the policy for Iraq had been written and would not be changed. It means that neo-conservatives at the White House had a plan to attack Iraq and the issue of weapons of mass destruction was just a front to justify their unilateralist policy. Bush and his men did their best to keep their lies secret in 2003 when they launched a propaganda campaign to pave the way for the Iraq War. The whole issue is now a big problem for Bush. Former US Ambassador to Niger Joseph Wilson is one of the officials to say Bush's claims that Iraq was seeking weapons of mass destruction were baseless. In 2003 the White House kept telling people that Saddam Hussein had bought some uranium from Niger. To put pressure on Wilson the CIA via one of New York Times reporters revealed Wilson's wife Valerie Plame was a CIA agent. It is a major political crime to reveal the names of CIA agents. Lewis libby, the former Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, resigned as the man who was behind the leak. Libby told a court Bush knew about the issue.

Ben Bernak, the federal reserves president, has said higher oil prices will bring about higher inflation and lower economic growth in the United States. He said since late 2003 higher oil prices have been cutting the purchasing power of Americans. High oil prices have also led to higher investment costs in the country. Many Americans are now angry about higher prices. They pay close to three dollars for a gallon of gas, something unprecedented. For Americans who use their cars a lot, higher gas prices have direct impacts on their lives. One of the reasons which are pushing prices higher is Bush's war-mongering policies in the Persian Gulf. Such policies could push prices, up to one hundred dollars a barrel.

Political critic Noam Chomsky has put out his latest book, "Hegemony or Survival". It is about the failures of the United States. He says the U.S. speaks about its right to interfere in the internal affairs of the so called failed countries, but America is a failed country itself and is the enemy of its people. Chomsky in his latest book refers to the increasing nuclear threats of the United States and the dangerous consequences of the war in Iraq. He also talks about the U.S. dodging of international law. Chomsky writes about the election system in America and says it violates the rights of citizens and flies in the face of democracy. Chomsky says the United States keeps talking about renovation in other countries while its own internal bodies are in a critical situation and that the U.S. policies have pushed the world to the brink of destruction.

Gloomy days are coming to Bush and his policies. The Untied States and Americans are going to pay a heavy price for the wrong policies their president has adopted for them.

Monday April 3, 2006  

Last week marked the third anniversary of the Iraq invasion by U.S.-led forces. Anti-war rallies were held in all major U.S. cities to condemn the war in Iraq. Meanwhile President George W. Bush made several speeches to justify the war he has taken to Iraq. He called on Americans to be patient with the war and the increasing number of dead soldiers. Recent polls show that public support for Bush and the Iraq War has dropped sharply. 61 percent of Americans say Bush's conduct in Iraq was bad. New York Times billed the Iraq War a trillion-dollar war. It said no one would think it would be so costly because Bush estimated before the war that the United States needs only 50 to 60 billion dollars to wage a war in Iraq. The Iraq War is the most costly war the U.S. has launched over the past 50 years. It has also killed the largest number of U.S. troops after the Vietnam War.

Paul Eaton, a retired army General has called on Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to step down. In an article published in New York Times, Eaton has said Rumsfeld is responsible for the problems that have gripped the U.S. in Iraq. In parallel with Eaton's words a new book was out to accuse Rumsfeld of incompetence in directing the Iraq War. But President Bush was out to defend his secretary of defense. Bush said Rumsfeld's conduct in Iraq has been positive. Political pundits say in coming months there will be stronger campaign for mid-term elections for Congress and greater criticism will be waiting for Bush and Rumsfeld. Many military experts believe Rumsfeld, Cheney and Wolfowitz designed the Iraq War in a way that would last only a few weeks and that Iraqis will welcome U.S. soldiers. Three years after the opening of war in Iraq it is now a fact that Rumsfeld's estimation was wrong.

Tammy Duckworth won the Democrat Party elections in Illinois. Duckworth is a military officer who lost her legs to the Iraq War. She is now bent on getting into Congress. She is a big critic of the War in Iraq and her campaign slogans revolved around the war issue. Nine other soldiers who are back from the war in Iraq are going to take part in November elections for Congress. All but one are Democrat. The Democratic Party hopes to gain more seats at Congress by fielding soldiers who have been in the Iraq War. At present, opposition to war is getting momentum and even top republican figures are not hiding their opposition. The developments that happened over the past few weeks in the country show republicans are moving away from Bush and the White House in a bid to keep their seats at Congress. They are worried that their support for Bush and his policies may lead them toward a defeat in elections. Now the White House comes under criticism not only from Democrats but from fellow Republicans.

The judicial committee of the Senate said it is ready to open the impeachment process for President Bush. Democrat Senator Russ Feingold has asked an impeachment for Bush because of his role in the illegal wiretapping of Americans. Feingold told BBC Bush has violated the country's constitution and should be impeached. The illegal tapping of citizens is now a major issue in the Unite States. Bush's critics say he has breached the Constitution, undermined the Judicial department and has made an issue out of security. Over the past several months many organizations and civil rights groups have filed complaints against the Bush administration. They are calling for an end to the illegal spying on people.

Opposition to the national security document is increasing. Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright in a piece of writing published in the London-based Times has termed the Iran part of the document a tragedy. She says White House officials have no understanding of the developments that happen in the Middle East. The document says Iran, the Saddam regime and Al-Qaeda were all linked together. Albright says the White House is divided, one group is capable of getting the complicated situation of the Middle East and the other, including Vice President Dick Cheney would not get the situation and see everything in black and white; good or evil. Her words come as the U.S. administration has increased its propaganda blitz against Iran. Washington has failed to get International support to deal with Iran. It means U.S. officials have no clear understanding of international developments, particularly what goes on in the Middle East.

And finally, the Supreme Court rejected a request by people from Portorico to take part in the U.S. presidential elections. Portorico is a small island off the Mexico's gulf coast. It is under the U.S. control but its people have no right to take part in the U.S. political matters. Only a number of representatives from portorico are present at the U.S. Congress. They could not vote. The Supreme Court says it is against constitution to let portoricans take part in elections. Last December the U.S. administration called on Congress to agree to a referendum in Portorico. If a referendum is held and people vote Yes in it, portorico will become the 51^st state of America.

Monday March 13, 2006 

Gale Norton, US Secretary of Interior, sent a letter to President George W. Bush to say I'm out. It was her letter of resignation. The White House said the report is right; she is out, to tend to her personal life. Norton was in the post for five years as the country's first woman interior minister. Political pundits say her resignation has something to do with the financial scandal, lobbyist Jack Abramoff has caused. Abramoff has admitted that he paid millions of dollars to congressmen and some former White House officials. So far two top congressmen, including former majority leader at the House of Representatives Tom Delay have resigned. Norton's resignation will be a heavy blow to the White House and its current head, President Bush. Bush advisers have been trying to reject words of ties between Bush and Abramoff. But now it is an open secret that Abramoff paid thousands of dollars to Bush's election campaign and that one of Bush's secretaries is involved in the corruption. There is more criticism of Abramoff. He is one of the backers of opening the virgin lands of Alaska to major oil companies to drill and pump out oil.

The thorny issue of handing over the control of six major U.S. ports to a company from the United Arab Emirates was talk of the town last week. Bush had threatened he would veto any possible Congress measure against the deal with DP WORLD but the ways and means committee unanimously rejected it before even coming to the floor. A large number of republicans took part in the show of force against the White House.  Following the decision DP WORLD officials said they are going to pull out of the deal that would get it the control of 6 major ports in America. In the showdown Republicans and Democrats both defeated the Bush administration. Bush said he is sorry the deal was killed. He added the issue would harm U.S. ties with Arab countries in the Persian Gulf. But it looks like that Bush and those who supported the deal will be the big losers in this issue. The deal showed that republicans are distancing themselves more and more from Bush and his White House in a bid to boost their chances in the mid-term congressional elections in November.

The latest poll on Bush shows his popularity has hit the lowest ebb in the past five years. Now most Americans believe Bush is not a powerful leader. Almost four out of five Americans say the situation in Iraq has deteriorated. 70 percent of participants in the poll said Bush is going through a wrong path, six percent more than last month's figures. The wiretapping issue and slow aid to hurricane Katrina's victims are two of the causes behind lower Bush popularity. Lower figures for Bush are also forcing those republicans who would run in the November elections, into staying away from Bush and the White House. The ongoing trend would deepen the gap which has divided the White House and Congress.

Last week was not all failure for Bush. He was successful in getting through his Patriot Act for some more time. He tried to renew the Act for a long period but Congress gave it a shorter time to stay in force. Bush keeps saying that the Patriot Act provides the ground for the United States to fight terrorism. But civil liberties groups along with some congressmen say the Act just curbs the rights and freedom of citizens. They say some articles of the Act fly in the face of the U.S. constitution and the country's legal code. Late last year Congress extended the Act for five weeks, while Bush had called for a five-year extension. Then Congress renewed it for another five weeks and now it is the third five-week period that has just opened with Bush's go ahead.

Zakaria Mousawi, the only man charged with having a hand in the September eleven attacks, took the stand last week in Virginia. Mousawi has admitted he is an Al-Qaeda but he says he was not part of the 9/11 operation. The court in Virginia has called for his execution but Mousawi's lawyers say there is no evidence that he was involved in the September eleven attacks which killed more than 3 thousand people, and he should not be executed. Anyway, Maousawi will get a verdict of life in prison for sure, even if he escapes death. The Bush administration hopes Mosuawi's execution would give it a chance to kill at least one of those who were involved in the bombing accident. But the trial could not answer many questions which are on the minds of people about the causes behind the attacks and whether Bush and his people knew about them.

And finally, trade deficit in the United States hit a new high to set a record, unseen in the county's history. Figures put out by the department of commerce show that trade deficit went beyond 68 billion dollars in February. The figure is higher than the projected figure for the month. If the ongoing trend keeps going the trade deficit at the end of the year will be more than 800 billion dollars. Higher oil prices and more import of Chinese goods are two main factors that helped the deficit increase. Many experts say higher trade deficit will damage the economic status of the country across the globe, including the stand of the dollar at world markets. Now there are words of selling American properties to foreigners, something that has badly concerned economic experts who say it will have short-term and long-term consequences for the U.S.  

Monday March 6, 2006  

George W. Bush paid a surprise visit to Kabul, the afghan capital before going to India and Pakistan where massive anti-Bush rallies welcomed the U.S. President. Now anti-Bush rallies are common wherever Bush pays a visit. Hatred toward the U.S. and its warmongering policies is in the air across the globe. The Bush administration is trying to justify its expansionist policies under a front of fighting terrorism but few people buy its lies. Even inside the United States Bush has failed to justify his warmongering policies. Latest polls show more Americans are against Bush and his war in Iraq. While in India, Bush signed a nuclear agreement only to bring out into the open his double standards. The agreement showed that the extent to which countries could enjoy nuclear energy depends on how close they are to Washington. India is not a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has a huge military nuclear program. The U.S. believes India is not a threat to World security. But when it comes to Iran, Washington believes it is a threat to the World despite the fact that Iran is a member of the Treaty. Washington names Iran a threat to the World only because it is against the U.S. unilateral policies. And, European countries are raising ballyhoo about Iran's peaceful nuclear program to deprive Iranians of nuclear energy while at the same time they welcome the nuclear deal between India and the U.S. 

The United States and European nuclear powers have already violated the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Head of the U.S. national nuclear security Linton Brooks has said the U.S. has put aside nuclear disarmament and is now doing research on nuclear warheads that are safer. Brooks is the first top U.S. official who has openly admitted that the U.S. has scrapped a main goal of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT. Part of the Treaty calls on member-states to hold talks and adopt measures to stop nuclear rivalry and end proliferation. So far, members of the Nuclear Club have not respected their commitments and instead are expanding their nuclear arsenals. The U.S. is now making small nuclear bombs. France has threatened to use nuclear arms against the countries that support terrorism. In fact, western countries do not take their NPT commitments compulsory. Rather, they use the treaty as a tool to apply pressures on other countries. Western countries are now trying to use NPT in their drive to keep peaceful nuclear technology out of the reach of other states. Fossil fuel is not renewable and nuclear energy could a replacement to it in the years to come.

After four years of keeping everything secret about Guantanamo the U.S. administration put out the names of 490 prisoners. The administration would not release the names on the pretext that their families would be in danger once the names were out. Following requests from human rights groups and a Supreme Court ruling that keeping names is illegal the Bush government was forced into publishing the names. Guantanamo is now a symbol of torture, mistreatment and intimidation. Gulag in the former Soviet Union and Nazi death camps are the symbols of Stalin and Hitler. Guantanamo brings the hardship and torture of those facilities back to mind. The manhandling and mistreatment in Guantanamo are so big that even America's close ally, Britain, is calling for the closure of Guantanamo. But the Bush administration is not caving into pressures and criticism and says it will not close the camp. The release of 490 names is just s strategy to cut down on such pressures. There is likelihood that White House officials would adopt more symbolic moves about Guantanamo. In parallel, Bush and his people will continue with their policy of calling Guantanamo prisoners a threat to the U.S. security and peace. It is a policy only to justify their inhuman measures in Guantanamo.

Francis Fukuyama, the influential conservative intellectual, seems to have a change of heart. He has spelled out some new words on the Iraq war that are different from his earlier remarks. Fukuyama was one of the more than sixty authors who backed the attack on Iraq. In his new stand Fukuyama has taken neo-conservatives to task for their policies. He now says it is just an illusion to use force and unilateralist measures to write policies for the World. Fukuyama says terrorism is a challenge that calls for political fighting and that military methods would not work out a solution to it. He believes the war on Iraq only complicated the issue of terrorism. Fukuyama is not the first and will not be the last U.S. figure that admits the Bush administration has failed in its fight on terror. After the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., President Bush tried to strike a national unity to push through his expansionist policies. But now, even people from inside the neo-conservative circle are coming out with criticism on Bush and his failed policies.

President Bush went to Asia last week to take back more hatred toward his measures and his administration. Now Americans know that their president stirs up problems for them when he is inside or outside the country.

Monday February 27, 2006

Economy is on its way to overpower politics in the United States. Last week words came out that a company owned by the United Arab Emirates is going to take control of six major ports in the United States. Dubai Ports World is taking over the British P&Q to take control of six ports in New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Miami, Baltimore and New Orleans. It is a 7-billion-dollar deal. Many at Congress, democrats and Republicans, are strongly against the deal. They say handing over six major ports to a UAE company will put national security on the line. To back their stand they say at least two of the 19 hijackers in the 9/11 attacks in 2001 were UAE nationals. Another reason they raise is the close ties of the UAE with the then Taliban regime. But the Pentagon and White House, two major backers of the deal, say there is nothing in the deal to threaten the country's national security. President George W. Bush has threatened he would use its authority to veto a possible decision by Congress to reject the deal. Bush's threats mean the gap between the White House and Republicans who lead Congress, is just getting deeper.

The ports issue has turned out to be a big war of words in the world of media. Those who support the White House are trying to justify the deal by accusing others of stirring up hatred against foreigners and Arabs. They ask why Congress did not raise any possible threat when a British company was in charge of the six ports. Some political experts say the issue over ports has something to do with political fighting in the build up to the mid-term congressional elections. In the past three elections the candidates who focused on insecurity and the fight on terror defeated their rivals. This time Democrats are trying to outdo republicans to tell Americans they are the supporters of national security. A number of Republicans, who know the popularity of Bush and his warmongering officials at the White House and Pentagon is now at the low ebb, are trying to stay away from the administration to paint an independent picture of themselves, and get a better chance in elections.

The White House came clean last week, five months after Hurricane Katrina, saying it was slow and negligent in taking aid to Katrina victims. The White House issued a statement to say after Katrina a number of federal, state and regional organizations took a lax approach toward victims. Congress has put out a strongly-worded statement in which the issue is referred to as a national scandal. At least one thousand people died when Katrina hit three states in southeastern areas. The hardest hit state was New Orleans where it was dog-eat-dog days filled with rape, hunger and chaos after the hurricane.  Rescue teams were sent to the area a few days after Katrina hit, although the hurricane was a big and destructive one. First Michael Brown, the former federal emergency management chief got the blame and was fired form his post. But the statements by Congress and White House proved the fact that people at the highest levels of decision making were behind such a slow rescue operation, and that the President had a huge role in the issue.

President Bush went to a gathering of war veterans to make more promises, that the U.S. will defeat terrorism. He also claimed that troops will leave Iraq with a victory in their hands. His words came as security hit new low ebbs in Iraq where this past Wednesday a bombing attack destroyed part of the holy shrine of two Shiite Imams in the city of Samara. Although Bush condemned the attack, there are still some dark areas about occupiers and their hands in the developments that happened over the past few days in Iraq. One thing is for sure, the insecurity in Iraq and the insult to holy places there, are the consequences of the country's occupation. The United States, as the occupier of Iraq is asked by international conventions to bring security to the country. But Iraqi cities and towns are going through violence and chaos despite the presence of some 160 thousand U.S. soldiers in Iraq. It means the U.S. administration has failed to keep the security in Iraq.

Guantanamo was once again in the news last week. A federal judge ordered the Pentagon to release the names of one hundred prisoners who are being held in Guantanamo. Some five hundred Al-Qaeda and Taliban members are now behind bars in Guantanamo. Over the past four years, U.S. officials have stopped short of releasing the names of Guantanamo prisoners. The new court order has been taken by many political analysts as another sign that opposition to Guantanamo is getting stronger. In recent weeks opposition to the prison reached its peak on the international stage. First UN chief Kofi Annan called on US officials to close the prison, and then Britain, France and Germany urged same thing. The three countries are among the strongest political allies for America. The scandals at Guantanamo are so big that even a country like Britain that has been supporting the US openly, is now calling for the closure of Guantanamo. But top US officials including secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld insists that Guantanamo will stay open.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice failed in her Middle East swing to get regional leaders to cut aid to Hamas in Palestine and to take part in the U.S. propaganda blitz against Iran's peaceful nuclear program. Rice went to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates. In Egypt and Saudi Arabia she called on officials to end sending money to the Hamas Islamic movement. Washington has said it will give no money to the Palestinian authority until after Hamas recognizes the Zionist regime of Israel. Reacting to Washington's threats, Muslim countries say they will make up for the western money. On Iran's nuclear program, officials in Saudi Arabia stressed that it is a peaceful program. Most dailies and news channels reported Rice has failed in her Middle East tour to boost U.S. policies in the region.

Monday February 20, 2006

Shocking pictures of Iraqi prisoners being tortured at Abu Ghraib prison were out last week to bring a new scandal for American officials at the White House. SBS in Australia was the first television that showed the photos last Wednesday. A man with his throat cut, another one with deep injuries to the head, and one man covered with excrement. A picture shows a prisoner with some burns and another man bitten by a dog. The U.S. administration has asked media not to publish the photos. In reaction to the torture issue in Abu Ghraib White House Spokesman Scott McClellan said only a number of U.S. servicemen have been involved in such wrongdoings. It was some two years ago when horrific pictures were out of Abu Ghraib, showing Iraqi prisoners were under torture. Back then, the White House said only a few American soldiers tortured Iraqis arbitrarily. Later fake hearings were held for those soldiers to try them and slap some prison time on them. But new pictures prove the fact that mistreatment and torture in Abu Ghraib are intentional, ordered by top military and political officials.

In parallel with the Abu Ghraib pictures, the UN human rights envoys released a 54-page report on the condition of prisoners in Gunatanamo. The report accuses the U.S. of massive violation of human rights. In the report, five special UN envoys call on Washington to close Guantanamo prison without delay. The report will be handed to the human rights commission on March 13. Once again it was Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, who was out, angry and with tough words, to reject the report as baseless. The report by the five UN envoys is the first official report on Guantanamo. Gulag was a deplorable place for disgruntled people in the former Soviet Union, and now Guantanamo is bringing back the bitter memories of the Soviet Gulag. After the September eleven attacks on the United States, the Bush administration staged an attack on Afghanistan and transferred suspects to Guantanamo to torture them out of the reach of the U.S. and international laws. There are reports that some 60 prisoners have been killed so far under torture in Guantanamo. Following huge pressure from local and international human rights bodies the White House let UN envoys visit Guantanamo. But the envoys were not given a chance to hold private talks with prisoners. The UN report only includes what the envoys saw there. Had they got a chance to interview prisoners there would have been more details on the mistreatment and torture of prisoners. Secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld has rejected the UN call to close Guantanamo prison. It once again shows that the U.S. deals with international bodies in a selective way to serve its own interests. When it serves the interests of the Bush government the White House stirs up a fresh tension against other countries out of a simple international report, but it rejects as baseless the reports that criticize the United States.

Last week brought more criticism on the U.S. administration.

Congress ended months of investigation into the issue of Hurricane Katrina only to criticize the administration for misconduct. The 600-page report has accused the federal government of lax behavior in dealing with Katrina and what came in its wake. The main reason behind the mismanagement in the Katrina crisis is the wrong assessment by the Bush administration, particularly by Michael Chertoff, the Homeland Security Secretary. The Congress report says the President was the only person who could cut the red tape and issue orders to get aid to Katrina victims quickly. Last September, Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi and flooded the city of New Orleans. A deadly hurricane like Katrina was unprecedented in the U.S. over the past few decades. 1200 people died and tens of thousands more, mainly black and poor people lost everything they had. Belated and slow aid operation only highlighted the weakness of a superpower that each year spends billions of dollars on military projects and new wars. After Katrina the Bush administration came under vast criticism for not paying attention to local issues. Bush and his people had no excuse to justify their lax approach towards Katrina. This time there was no terrorist or Al-Qaeda to get the blame. Katrina showed the U.S. is vulnerable in the face of terrorist attacks and natural disasters.

A report, published by many major economic dailies last week, shows trade deficit in the U.S. climbed to 725 billion dollars in 2005. Compared to 2001, the year republicans arrived in the White House, the figure has doubled. Most of the deficit comes from deals with China. Chinese goods with their low price have taken all markets across the United States. Trade deficit in long term could make America vulnerable in its deals with other countries. The U.S. is still a good destination for exporters and investors but at time of crises this could be a weak point. After 9/11 there were concerns, particularly in oil circles, that extra pressure on Saudi citizens would lead to the flight of Arab capitals.

Monday February 13, 2006

The Pentagon has put out a new document in which experts of an strategy known as "the long-term war on terror" have taken another step towards their ambitions; absolute domination over the World. The new document says special U.S. forces could carry out a secret operation wherever they wish across the globe without prior notice. New military units will also be set up to follow nuclear weapons and destroy them. Warmongers say they have written the new strategy to fight terror networks around the World. The new document carries a reality, that is, there will be more wars in the 21^st century, compared to the number of wars that took place in the 20^th century. Attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq proved the fact that the fight on terror is just an excuse to justify the attacks and keep people in dark about the real goals of such attacks. The doctrine of deterrence has been feeding the domineering policies of the United States since the end of the Cold War. The U.S. authority needs to dominate the strategic spots of the World in its move to force its rivals to accept the American hegemony. Because of the increasing energy needs, the Middle East is the most important strategic location in the World for the U.S. The September eleven attacks on the U.S. in 2001 gave the country an opportunity to shift from its old policy to a policy of pre-emptive attacks. Since there is no common understanding about terrorism, and the issue is not limited to a certain time or location, the fight on terror has turned out to be the goal of the new strategy. But on the ground, in the Iraq War, the new U.S. doctrine has brought major challenges for America in the region and the World as well. Failure to tame the unrests in Iraq and higher-than-expected military and human price have drawn strong criticism from across the World and even inside America for the Bush administration. Iraq and its dictatorship under Saddam was an exception. Iraqis preferred occupation to a country under Saddam. Iraq easily fell to the hands of Americans. But it is a sure thing that if the U.S. launches any new attack on other parts of the Middle East, based on its military might and its pre-emptive doctrine, new crises and unpredictable consequences will be in the offing for it.

President George W. Bush offered a budget of 2770 billion dollars to Congress last week. Bush has increased the military budget by 6.9 percent to boost the money for his wars to 439 billion dollars. He meanwhile has cut down on educational and welfare budgets to make up for the budget deficit which hovers above 400 billion dollars. Bush has promised to cut some 40 billion dollars of health budget in five years to find a partial solution to the budget deficit. More war money comes on top of year-on-year hike in the military budget over the past few years. Bush's war-based policies have funneled billions of dollars into the pockets of military industries in America. It means a deeper gap between the rich and those who are on low-incomes. Republicans who hold a majority at Congress are going to have a tough time in discussing the 2007 budget. Lower welfare and educational budgets have caused widespread dissatisfaction among Americans. In an election year dissatisfaction could lead to better votes for Democrats and eventually an upper hand for them in Congress.

President Bush has got more challenges on his plate in Congress, other than the 2007 budget. He has asked for an extension of four years to the Patriot Act. But Congress has so far extended the Act for two one-month spans to provide congressmen with a chance to further discuss it. The Patriot Act was adopted after the 9/11 attacks with an aim of bringing security back to the country and fighting terrorism. Under the terms of the Act civil liberties get a limit and intelligence services receive a permit to arrest suspects or spy on Americans without a court order. The Patriot Act expired at the end of this past December. When the issue of wiretapping tens of thousands of Americans on an order from Bush was disclosed, Republican and Democrat representatives began criticizing Bush strongly. In an election year most Republicans are not out there to fully support all the requests coming from the White House. The resistance against Bush to extend the Patriot Act is a clear example. Bush has underlined security as a much-needed thing for the country, to justify his words that the Act should be extended. Following days of raising the security issue, Bush talked in details about a terrorist plot to attack a hi-rise in Los Angeles in 2002. On Thursday, almost every single daily and website published the news as a front-page report. Over the past five years Bush and his staff at the White House have always tried to talk about lack of security and a frightening situation to get popular support for their security measures inside the United States and their military moves overseas.

The Bush administration step forth last week to support the printing of insulting cartoons of Prophet Mohammad in European dailies and to reject the rallies Muslims have been staging against the cartoons. White House Spokesperson Scott Mcclellan supported the Danish daily that first published the insulting drawings, saying people are free to tell whatever they wish; even it is wrong and insulting to others. Almost in parallel, State Department Spokesman Sean Mc Cormack said a move by an Iranian daily to run a cartoon contest on the Holocaust is racial-profiling and anti-Semitic. The double-standard and conflicting vision of the United States allows insult to the holiest personality for some one and a half billion Muslims, saying it is the freedom of speech. But it won't allow people to even raise a question on a historical issue like the Holocaust, an issue that is made by Zionists to falsely show they are innocent people and to justify the occupation of Palestine and killing of Palestinians. The U.S. support for the insult to Prophet Mohammad is part of the fight Bush has mounted on Islam. After the September eleven attacks Bush spoke of a new Crusade. Since then he has been following a line of pitting Islam against Christianity.

Monday February 6, 2006

U.S. President George W. Bush made his fifth State of the Union Speech last week at Congress. He included many things in his speech, local matters and foreign issues. Like his earlier speeches Bush put a large part of his time on democracy, freedom, the war on terror, and how to take peace and security to the World, something Bush says is his responsibility. Inside Congress Bush was talking about the responsibility of the U.S. in spreading democracy and freedom, and of fighting terrorism, while outside, thousands of people, banners in hands, were calling on Bush to step down. At the same time Cindy Sheehan, who has lost her son to the Iraq War, and herself is an anti-war activist, was arrested. Sheehan was in Congress on an invitation from a Democrat representative but security forces arrested her. The Bush administration faces big political and financial scandals in 2005. His inability to control unrest in Iraq, being lax in sending aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina, and bugging phones across the United States are some of the scandals Bush faced last year. The scandals and problems have made Republicans vulnerable in the build up to mid-term elections for congress. Now the illegal wiretapping and Jack Abramoff's scandal and the acceptance of thousands of dollars by republicans, are going through legal procedure. The State of the Union gave Bush the best opportunity to get himself out of political pressures by underlining global issues and the U.S. efforts in spreading democracy across the globe as well as a better life for Americans in 2006 with less dependence on the Middle East oil. But the Bush administration has not only failed to be successful in the Middle East and other parts of the globe, but drawn more challenges. Bush's double-standard policy in defending democracy was disclosed to people when HAMAS won parliamentary elections in Palestine. Bush says he will not accept the results of the Palestinian elections.

Bush's State of the Union Speech had no answers for the questions asked by people and Democrats. The end of his speech was the begging of a new wave of criticism on him. Senate minority leader, democrat Harry Raid said Bush' words on stronger security, greater respect for servicemen, less dependence on outside energy and better social insurance, are not reliable. Democrat John Kerry, Bush's rival in the 2004 Presidential elections, said Bush's promise that dependence on the Middle East oil will be cut down by 75 percent is just an illusion. The war-oriented policies taken by the President and higher fuel prices are behind dissatisfaction among Americans. Bush is trying to give people unattainable promises like less dependence on the Middle East oil to decrease part of the criticism being put on him for his failed economic programs. Bush says he is going to turn to other forms of energy like nuclear power. The United States has more than one hundred nuclear power plants. A large part of the electricity need in the US comes from nuclear power plants. But when it comes to other countries the US administration and its domineering policies try to keep atomic energy out of other countries. The Bush administration is trying to boost nuclear energy to cut its dependence on oil, and at the same time is bent on keeping it in its hands and the hands of a number of countries that are members of the nuclear club.

The House of Representatives voted to extend the Patriot Act for another month. The Act expired at the end of this past December but representatives gave it another life until February 3^rd. They are now going to hold more discussion on the Act which came to existence after the September eleven attacks in 2001. It gives special powers to security forces to arrest and interrogate terror suspects without checking with the judicial department. The White House has asked for the Act to be extended indefinitely. But Democrats and some of Bush's fellow Republicans are against it. The security justifications Bush has put forth to help the Act get an extension are not even acceptable to his Republican friends. Now there is some concern in political circles that Bush may use the Patriot Act to the benefits of his party. The Democrat Party and some republicans in the Senate and House are trying to keep their distance from Bush to increase their chances in the election year.  

Words are out that the military budget of America will top 439 billion dollars in 2007. It shows a five percent hike year on year. A large part of the military budget goes into developing more weapons. The budget will not include the money the country is going to spend in Iraq and Afghanistan where Washington is waging two major wars. With war budget added to the 2007 budget the total figure will stand somewhere close to five hundred billion dollars. It means half of the World's one-trillion-dollar military budget goes to the United States. Over the past five years, Republicans have added to the military budget year after year. In the 1990s the military budget of the U.S. kept dropping as the old century neared its closing years. But the arrival of George Bush in the White House led to higher budgets. The hike has something to do with the ties between Republicans and the owners of major military and industrial plants that receive most of the U.S. military budget. Bush is relying on his military might to push through his unilateralist and warmongering policies. The half a trillion dollar budget is written at a time when millions of Americans are living in poverty, or in a condition where there is an acute lack of health facilities. Katrina victims are just one example. After some months their condition is similar to the situation of poor Africans.

Monday January 30, 2006

Open the door of every political meeting in the United States to see words of bugging citizens' phones streaming out. Now White House staffers are out to justify the administration's violation of the law in the case of phone-bugging. President George W. Bush went to the National Security Agency, the body responsible to listen in on citizens. While at the NSA, Bush told his people there, they are doing a heck of job. In parallel, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales defended the bugging project. He said it is legal and within Bush's authority as the commander in chief of the nation in war time. But the visit to the NSA and remarks by Gonzales failed to stop a strong wave of criticism, being slammed on the intelligence bodies in America. It is expected that Congress would hold more meetings to discuss violations of the law by the White House and the NSA. Bush and his White House staff will have splitting headaches in coming days because many of their top fellows at the Republican Party are against the phone bugging issue.

U.S. military might in Iraq was, and still is, a hot political topic in the United States. A report, out recently, shows that the U.S. army has lost its combat capability in Iraq. The author of the report is William Perry, a secretary of defense under President Bill Clinton. The report has drawn harsh criticism for the Pentagon. Democrat leaders say the administration's mistakes have not only cut down on the U.S. combat capability in Iraq, but ran down the whole military. So far, 2300 body bags have taken dead U.S. soldiers back home from Iraq. Hundreds of billions of dollars has also been spent in two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some military experts say if the ongoing trend keeps going, the U.S. military might will soon be on the line. But take a listen to it, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, a man seeking to take wars across the globe, has rejected the report, and other similar reports, saying the army is strong. He and his boss have some tough and rough days ahead as more U.S. servicemen are being killed and more money is being wasted over there in Iraq.

Samuel Alito, the man at the center of a political stand-off between Democrats and Republicans, got the vote he needed to sit on the Supreme Court. In the voting, that took place in the judicial committee of the Senate, none of the Democrats voted for him. Democrats say Alito is an ultra-conservative judge and his being on the bench would make the top judicial court a lop-sided one. Alito brings with him a majority for Republicans in the Supreme Court. Alito is one of the people who believe the President should have greater authority in war time, something like bugging Americans. Right-wingers in the U.S. hope a final vote for Alito would get him on the bench and give them an upper hand in the judicial department. They are already in control of Congress and the White House. The Supreme Court has the final say on many important issues like abortion, gay marriage, presidential powers, and the exact meaning of the language used in the Constitution. Picking a new judge for the Court has always been accompanied by heavy political infighting in Congress. Alito has the backing of Republicans at the Senate and it is unlikely democrats would be able to kill the measure to take him to the Supreme Court.

Representatives at the Senate and the House held huge discussion last week over corruption in the country. A while ago, Lobbyist Jack Abramof admitted he has paid piles of money to Congressmen; triggering a series of discussions on lobbyists and the role they play in Congress. After the Water-Gate scandal, it is the largest financial corruption in the United States. Now congressmen from the both parties are accused of taking money from Abarmof, although the finger is pointed mainly at Republicans. A new measure is being put together to increase monitoring on gift-giving and gift-getting in Congress. The designers behind the measure say it will include ethical matters, but first it needs an approval. The point here is, power and money go hand in hand in the United States and any move to separate them will end up lame, or will not even get off the ground.

The Washington Times reported last week that the Pentagon is to form a special anti-nuclear attack force. The daily said the Pentagon is forming the special force to prevent weapons of mass destruction from spreading into the hands of terrorists. Political scientists believe the new force could be part of the pre-emptive doctrine. It is now five years, since the coming to power of Republicans in 2001, that the U.S. has gone more aggressive and offensive on other countries. They say an anti-nuclear attack force would not help the World get rid of its nuclear weapons; rather, it would get the World into a new chaotic time. To back up their words, the expert say from now on the U.S. will launch attacks on other countries only on some assumption and under the pretext of fighting nuclear proliferation. The U.S. would no longer need to prove his claims that other countries are seeking such weapons.

And finally, a Congress commission investigating Hurricane Katrina accused the White House of trying to disrupt its work. The commission said it has called on the White House to give it the existing information on Katrina but the administration rejected the request. There are signs that speak of dereliction of duty on the side of U.S. officials particularly those with the country's aid agencies. More than one thousand people died when Katrina hit Louisiana, the city of New Orleans in particular. The number could be smaller if officials had made more accurate forecasts or moved faster to help the victims. Critics of the Bush administration say Bush is focusing on the war on terror and the Iraqi occupation, leaving on the back burner local issues like vulnerability of some states in deadly hurricanes.

Monday January 23, 2006

The human rights watch in its latest yearly report says it has registered many violations for the U.S. administration in 2005. The language in the report comes despite the fact that the human rights watch usually reports in a way that follows the line of the United States and European countries. But it could not turn a blind eye to human rights violations, the U.S. did in 2005, because they were so huge and widespread. Last year Bush was not shy of telling Americans his people tortured and mishandled prisoners and committed human rights violations. He even tried to veto a Congress measure on banning torture. There are more to this story; in addition to torture in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo prisons, the U.S. has been running secret jails in Europe, abducting terror suspects and taking them over to the heart of Europe for torture. The issue of secret jails stirred up major outcries in America and Europe. The point here is, some anti-war countries like Germany have been hand in glove with the CIA and other U.S. spy bodies. 2005 proved to the World that terms like human rights and terrorism are just tools in the hands of U.S. officials to push through their domineering policies. The Bush administration clearly says, in the fight on terror it would respect no limits and that torture is the right thing to do in this fight.

An impeachment may be on its way for President George W.  Bush. Why is that? The illegal tapping of phones in the United States is behind it. Republican senator Arlen Specter told ABC television impeachment is a possibility. As the chairman of the Senate judicial committee, Specter believes the committee is to hold some meetings next month to study the case, including words by the officials who executed the tapping and warrant-less monitoring. The New York Times referred to Bush's defense of the vast tapping across the country and reading private e-mails, saying Bush is either a liar or a man who speaks in a way that is above us. AL Gore, the Former Vice President under Clinton, who ran against Bush in 2000, said in a speech that President Bush has violated the law several times in the tapping issue. After 9/11 attacks in 2001 Bush adopted several security measures, mainly based on curbing civil liberties. Some of those measures were put into the Patriot Act. But the Act was not enough for Bush. He later ordered the National Security Agency to bug Americans and read the e-mails they send overseas, without even getting a court order. Bush has come under attacks from many fronts, including his own party. It means the fight between civil liberties and security has got to its peak. Up to now, Bush would justify his measures by saying that as long as there is no security there won't be freedom. The U.S. boasts about its civil liberties, and if they are curbed it would mean the political liberation of the west has been challenged. The challenge is now showing itself in the form of a rift that is deepening between Americans and their officials. The supporters of civil liberties believe Bush's justification to violate civil liberties is just something to help him push his policies inside the U.S. and out.

Lawrence Franklin, the Pentagon staffer who spied on the U.S. for the Zionist regime of Israel received 12 years in jail. He would report directly to an Israeli diplomat and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC. In addition to his strong ties with AIPAC, Franklin would encourage the Pentagon officials to take some action against Iran. The issue of Israeli spies has a long history in the United States. Jews have a great clout in the U.S. administration and easily get its support for the Zionist entity. But still, their spies fan out to get intelligence for Tel Aviv. The Judicial department has been dealing with Israeli spies in a lax manner. Spy cases usually end in execution or long-term prison terms. Franklin's sentence of a 12-year jail time shows how passively the U.S. judicial department deals with Israeli spies. Jews are the smallest minority in America but they control powerful economic and political bodies. The largest one is AIPAC. It is said that the AIPAC has 65 thousand members. It gets through more than one hundred measures in Congress each year because of its economic and political influence. It is so strong that no politician is man enough to oppose its measures. The stronger the ties one has with AIPAC the better stand they get in the United States.

The winter is around, bringing back homeless people into the attention of some U.S. media, state bodies as well as NGOs. The number of the homeless in America is increasing day in day out. They are scattered on almost all cities across the country. In Los Angeles the homeless issue has turned into a crisis. The city mayor has billed Los Angeles the capital of the homeless. Official figures show that 88 thousand and 345 homeless people live in Los Angeles. But unofficial figures speak of far more homeless people in the city. Hundreds of people lose their lives to cold snaps that hit the country each year. Now you could hear in many cities and towns that homeless people say: " I am hungry" " I need food, help me please." This comes as the military budget of the nation tops 500 billion dollars.

Monday January 16, 2006

Tom Delay said last week he is not the man to stay there as the leader of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives. He said he is moving out to help the party stay united and to defuse the attacks coming from rival democrats. Delay has been involved in a bribing scandal over the past few months. Lobbyist Jack Abramov came clean about the scandal, opening more aspects of it to the public, and getting President George W. Bush and some of his officials involved in the case. The bribing scandal comes on top of some political and intelligence scandals that altogether has put the Republican Party on the line. Congress is going to hold its midterm elections in November. The event is of great importance for the Republican Party because its outcome would somewhat come out as the early results of the 2008 presidential elections. Now republicans at Congress and the White House are trying to distance themselves from people involved in political and bribing scandals to go through the ongoing situation with the lowest political costs possible. There is a high probability that a group of Republican officials at Congress and the Bush administration would resign their posts before the November elections. President Bush and his people at the White House faced one or some crises in every month of 2005. 2006 is also on its way to bring more scandals. Bush is already battling old scandals like his lies before the attack on Iraq and illegal tapping of tens of thousands of phones across the United States. Republicans have a low chance of winning the hearts and confidence of Americans before the midterm Congress elections.

The CIA secret jails in Europe and its secret flights to and from those jails, once again made headlines last week. Dick Marty, the Investigator of the Council of Europe, who is looking into the CIA issue, has said in the past two or three years European countries knew about the fact that the CIA was abducting foreign citizens and taking them to secret jails for torture and interrogation. Marty said some European countries have been working closely with the CIA. Marty is scheduled to offer his report on the CIA secret jails to the Council of Europe later this month. Amnesty International has sent a letter to Austria, the rotating head of the European Union, to call on it to cooperate with the Council of Europe in its investigation into the issue. The Amnesty calls on the EU to take necessary measures to deal with the countries that got involved in the issue and violated human rights. Legal commissioner of the European Commission Franco Frattini said the European states that helped the United States in the issue of secret jails will be punished. Intelligence gathered on the CIA secret jails and the number of flights to those facilities shows that the number of European countries involved in the issue is more that one or two states. In Germany alone, the CIA ran 437 secret flights. Existing data shows that the German intelligence service was well aware of the secret flights and worked fully with the CIA. Frattini has said the countries involved in the scandal will lose their votes in the Commission. In that case, Germany will be one of the countries to lose its vote.

Congress increased the money the U.S. gives annually to the Zionist regime of Israel, to more than three billion dollars. Some two million dollars worth of the money will be in the form of advanced military equipment. The U.S. gives its allies across the globe more than 12 billion dollars each year to push forward its political and military goals. Tel Aviv is the largest aid receiver. The Tel Aviv University said in a report that America has given more that 43 billion dollars to the Zionist entity since 1948, the year the regime was formed. It is a norm among the Republican and Democrat administrations to give money to Israel. Every new President at the White House has been trying to increase the aid to get the support of the Zionist lobby in Washington. The Zionist lobby has a great influence in U.S. authority and it is very important for Democrats and Republicans to get the backing of the lobby. That is why every bill at Congress to help the Zionist regime of Israel gets through with the least amont of discussion among Congressmen.  

Among piles of news reports last week, there was an item that received almost no coverage by the US media. It looks like that the media in the United States have joined hands to keep mum over the crimes and scandals the US administration is committing. The heart-wrenching news happened in Iraq, near the city of Baladeh where American occupiers bombed a number of villages before going into a village to commit a new crime. U.S. soldiers gathered all men, young and old, and broke their feet with rifle butt. Then soldiers put out their cigarettes in the eyes of villagers as they kept crying and wailing. The act is somewhat unprecedented in history. U.S. occupiers are in Iraq in the name of democracy and freedom but they commit all kinds of atrocities. Where are human rights groups and defenders of freedom to come and see what Americans are doing in Iraq? Of course, for Iraqis such news is no longer surprising. The crimes Americans committed in Abu Ghraib prison is still fresh in their minds. Western and international organizations make hay out of a mole hill when a journalist is jailed in a country, but when it comes to the crimes committed by the US that claims to be the main defender of freedom across the planet, they remain tight lip.

Monday January 9, 2006

One scandal in the first week of 2006 particularly showed how deep corruption and abuse of power go in the U.S. authority. Lobbyist Jack Abramoff said he has paid millions of dollars to politicians and a number of congressmen. The news exploded into a major crisis for the White House. Abramoff is a known go-between who shuttled between capitalists and politicians. Abramoff has tried to come clean in hopes of getting a light sentence. His confession is behind big worries among a number of congressmen and officials at the White House. One of the bodies that got some of the bribe money is the presidential campaign of George Bush. Following the scandal CNN, the USA TODAY and Gallop Polls put out a poll to say more than half of Americans believe congressmen are involved in financial and administrative corruption. After the Water Gate a number of measures were adopted to regulate payments to presidential and congressional campaigns but such moves only sought to justify giving money to campaigns. The tie between capitalists and the US authority is strong. But confessions like the one by Abramoff help Americans know about the true colors of the men and women who govern them and how deep they go in corruption. As usual the White House and representatives were quick to put out new plans to stem further scandals. It is a distant possibility that such plans could prevent scandals from repeating themselves. In the United States no one could climb to top of the power pyramid without financial support from capitalist. A stay on top also calls for officials to meet the interests of capitalists.

The year turned but the tide of criticism on Bush over illegal tapping of phones didn't. The wiretapping took place under a direct order from President Bush. The issue is still on top of the run-down in media and on top of the White House agenda as officials keep trying to justify the order as an anti-terror move. Vice President Dick Cheney mounted a defense of the tapping program which is in force since 9/11 attacks in 2001, saying the program does not violate citizen rights in America; rather it has been a major tool in fighting possible terror attacks. Most Americans, asked in a poll about the issue, reject Cheney's words. Now many people are serious in knowing about the limits of the power the president holds. Democrat Senator Richard Durbin from Illinois has said 2006 will be a year to focus on the powers of the federal government. Campaigns of the Congressional elections in November would revolve around illegal tapping of US citizens and the limits of presidential powers. These issues have just added to the weak points of President Bush against his democrat rivals. After September eleven attacks on the United States in 2001 Bush has used a front of fighting terrorism to justify his acts. Now his justification does not appeal to Americans as they know about the lies he told them in the build up to the Iraq war, and after the occupation.

To get out of the current political bottleneck and to shore up his figures in polls, Bush has taken measures that no American has seen or heard of. In a surprising move President Bush sent dear-colleague notes to a number of former state and defense secretaries to invite them to the White House and ask them what he should do with the Iraq War. All former secretaries were against the war except Colin Powell who still sticks to his idea of taking the war on Iraq. The gathering could be translated into some words with the meaning that the U.S. is greatly under local and international pressures to pull out of Iraq. President Bush turned deaf ears to war opponents because he was determined to save a full victory on his own record. But his prediction on the war has proved wrong and his soldiers in Iraq are now one of the factors behind insecurity there. This time Bush likes to share the defeat with others and that is why he invited war opponents to ask for their words and advice.

Social officials issued a report last week, saying the number of divorce cases is down. The report was taken as a positive sign  of stronger family in the country. The report was still fresh when Rodgers University published the results of a study on its web site to highlight some realities behind lower divorce figures. The study shows that lower marriage cases are the real factor behind lower numbers of divorce. The study by Rodgers University says among western countries the U.S. has the lowest number of ethical families. This means morality is now in a tailspin in the United States. Most social experts believe America is faced with internal crises and is on the verge of collapse. If the falling trend of the past two decades keeps going in the years to come, the next generation will drop valuable terms like family, mother and father. Every society is based on strong families. Shaky families will eventually lead to society's collapse.

Monday December 26, 2005

It was the worst possible time for U.S. President George W. Bush to see the New York Times publish a report on his order to the National Security Association to tap phone talks of tens of thousands of Americans. The report came as President Bush was getting people ready to tell them the intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction was wrong. The new scandal drew more criticism for Bush, this time from his fellow Republicans at Congress. It was impossible for Bush to paper over the scandal as the order was not issued by the Pentagon or CIA, it was ordered by the President himself. Vice President Dick Cheney and other White House officials were quick to justify the illegal wiretapping of thousands of phones in the country. Many American figures and media have compared the order by Bush to the order President Richard Nixon issued in the early 1970s. Nixon ordered the bugging of the Democratic Party's election campaign which eventually led to the Watergate scandal and the resignation of the President. Bush issued the bugging order under the pretext of security issues.

The new scandal of wiretapping tens of thousands of phones in the United States led to a defeat at Congress for a measure to extend the Patriot Act. The Act was adopted soon after the September eleven attacks in 2001 to give a free hand to spy and security services in the U.S. to chase, arrest and interrogate suspects without a court order. The Patriot Act expires at the end of December. The White House had asked for an unlimited extension of the Act but the House of Representatives and Senate only agreed to extent it for another five weeks. While Republicans are in control of Congress, President Bush has failed to push through a number of his measures. Bush's scandals and his moves outside the law have forced his men at the Republican Party to make a stand against the White House. The elections for Congress are scheduled for next year and the Republican Party is trying to take a more critical stand against the policies of the White House. It is expected that a heated war would open between the White House and Congress. Civil rights groups are also expected to organize greater moves against the White House and its policy of curbing citizen liberties.

Dailies across the United States are in a race to reveal more and more unlawful acts, done by the White House in recent years. The U.S. News and World Report said U.S. officials, worried terrorists may get their hand on nuclear weapons, have carried out secret tests to measure the amount of radioactive at U.S. mosques. A spokesperson for the judicial department said the tests were necessary in the fight on Al-Qaeda. Since the 9/11 attacks the Bush administration has left no stone unturned in its bid to curb social and religious activities by Muslim Americans. To get its goals, the U.S. administration has even resorted to excuses like radioactive tests in mosques. There is no need to be a nuclear expert to know that nuclear materials need many advanced equipment to be stored or transferred. Nuclear materials are not ordinary weapons that could be found in any gun shop. The Bush government's move to mark Islam and Muslims as terrorists along with its other measures to limit Muslims have failed to get Bush anywhere near to his goals and that is why U.S. officials have adopted outlandish measures like searching mosques for nuclear materials. In ceremonies like the Muslim feast of Eid-ul-Fitr Bush has tried to show he defends Muslim rights but in reality his measures have only meant to curb Muslims. Now Muslim Americans are badly worried about being labeled a terrorist or extremist if they get involved in social and charity activities. The U.S. administration tells the World it is defending social and human rights, but inside the country its Muslim community could not perform religious duties because of the heavy security surveillance.

A transit strike by subway and bus systems brought New York to a stand still for three days. 34 thousand transit workers went on a strike to get higher pays and better job conditions. The strike forced millions of New Yorkers to go to work on foot. Big huge fines and punishment by city officials made strikers end the three-day walk-out without getting any result. According to city regulations strike is forbidden for those who work at the public service and mayor could call for punishment and prison terms for strikers. Three days of strike inflicted close to one billion dollars in losses on the city.

And finally, two social reports bring our weekly program to and end. Fox News quoted a Pentagon study that says sexual assault in military academies is now a major problem. The study says six percent of women in army academies have been sexually assaulted. Meanwhile BBC reported one third of American youngsters have mental problems. The world's largest economy and military power is now facing major social problems that would bring huge crises for the country in near future. Many experts say it is not terrorism that threatens the United States; rather, it is social crises that are chipping away at the country from inside.

The last program of 2005 focused mainly on the problems President Bush has brought for the United States. The roots of the problems go back to the past five years during which Bush has been at the White House.

Monday December 19, 2005

The secret CIA prisons overseas were still a hot topic last week when words leaked out that the National Security Agency has been on your phones, eavesdropping what you would say to the family and friends. Now President Bush is causing one scandal a month. Since September eleven attacks in 2001 Bush has been giving his men free hand to do whatever they wish, saying it is doable under the fight on terrorism. The Bush administration is violating both international and local regulations only to get its goal of fighting terror. The New York Times reported Bush signed a classified document in 2002 to let the National Security Agency spy on U.S. citizens. The top secret National Security Agency is normally banned from spying on US citizens. It could only spy on foreigners and read e-mails or listen to phone calls in some special cases. After 9/11 the Bush administration pushed through the Patriot Act to limit civil liberties under the pretext of fighting terror and bringing security to people. But the Act was not enough for the President and he let the most top secret body in the country get full access to e-mails, phones and other communications devices.

Scandals and lies by President Bush have got on the nerves of his fellow Republican officials who are now taking him to task for his military policy. They have taken a stand against the White House to defend the Republican Party and its credibility. The latest stand, Republicans took against Bush was rejecting a call from the White House for extension of the Patriot Act which expires at the turn of the year. Bush had asked for an unlimited extension. The Patriot Act killed outcries coming from human rights groups, as Bush turned the country into a huge security issue. But now Bush's lies during the Iraq War and his policy of deceiving Americans have stirred up criticism even inside the Republican Party. Anti-war activists and human rights groups are fighting measures adopted by Bush inside and outside the U.S. in violation of civil liberties and human rights. The huge criticism has made it difficult for President Bush to justify an extension to the Patriot Act. Americans are aware of the fact that limited civil liberties under a front of fighting terror is just a policy to justify the U.S. interventionist measures.

To cut down on the criticism that keeps hitting on his government, Bush backpedaled on some of his decisions. Local and foreign pressure eventually forced President Bush to take back his earlier words and reject torture. A measure by Senator John McCain was adopted by the Senate and the House of Representatives. Before its adoption at the House of Representatives Bush had said he would veto it. But secret CIA jails in Asia and Europe and the crisis over flights that had been taking prisoners to such jails put pressure on the Bush government. The crisis has marred the US image in Europe and drawn piles of criticism from human rights groups in Europe and the U.S. In fact Bush had no other way but accepting the ban on torture. The crisis has turned into a challenge for the US foreign policy and its expansionist moves that take place under the slogans of freedom and democracy. The Pentagon has recently spent some 300 million dollars on publishing promotional materials in foreign media to refresh the US image. The measure includes articles, ads and statements in foreign televisions, radios and websites. This is not the first time the US is using media as a tool to justify its activities and violation of international regulations and human rights. Many media in America are just a tool at the hands of US authority.

It took Bush three months to admit he did not do the job he was supposed to, during Hurricane Katrina and that he was slow in taking aid to victims. President Bush said I was terrified to see our rich country could not react to Hurricane Katrina constructively and I accept the responsibility. Katrina killed a large group of people and left more than one million stranded on its wake when it hit southern areas on August 29. It also inflicted some 200 billion dollars in damage. Katrina showed how week the world's largest economy is in dealing with a natural disaster. Some believe racial profiling had something to do with the late aid to Katrina victims. Most of victims were African-American, and pictures showing their deplorable condition after Hurricane Katrina would bring to mind poor people of Africa who are struggling with poverty and war. After three months New Orleans is yet to get back to normal life and thousands of people have no place to live.

Monday December 12, 2005

The U.S. military presence in Iraq is still a political headache in America. Howard Dean, the Democratic National Committee Chairman, said some words last week, only to draw different reactions. The Democrat leader said he is sure the U.S. would not win the war in Iraq. He referred to the bitter memories of the Vietnam War, and said back then the White House officials kept telling people the country would emerge victorious, but eventually the war ended in a defeat with a toll of 25 thousand. Following Dean's speech President George W. Bush once again put on a confident face, saying the war in Iraq will be a total victory. But he admitted several mistakes took place during the war. Political experts believe the political division between Democrats and Republicans is getting deeper. Democrats hope shedding light on the failure of the White House would pave the way for them to defeat republicans in the Congress mid-elections in 2006.

The torture of prisoners at Secret U.S. prisons was talk of the town last week. U.S. Secretary of State Condolleezza Rice in her Europe tour tried to stem international wrath against the United States for its secret prisons and flights there, through some European countries. Still, Rice did not rule out more torture in future. She said democracy does not mean everything should be in its place. Experts say Rice's remarks could be taken as a sign of more violation of human rights by the U.S. administration. Over the past five years the U.S. government has shown that it will continue torture and mistreatment of prisoners under the pretext of fighting terror. None of the scandals in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo changed the behavior of security forces. There were some cases when top security officials issued orders on torture and manhandling of detainees, but the orders were in place only for a short period. So, it is expected that when dust settles in the secret prisons issue the U.S. administration will continue a stronger iron fist policy against terror suspects.

The House of Representatives and Senate agreed to extend the Patriot Act. If the administration ratifies the measure the Act will be in place for another four years. The Patriot Act was adopted a few months after the September eleven attacks in 2001. The Act gives security officials a free hand to arrest terror suspects and keep them in prison for long terms. The prisoners could only be tried in a court marshal. The Act also allows security forces to go to homes and inspect properties like e-mails and the books people have borrowed from library. Civil rights groups say the Act is against social freedom and the constitution. But conservatives have called for an extension to the Act, saying it brings security to citizens and would bring an end to acts of terror. The Patriot Act expires in the closing days of the year and Congress should give its final decision on it before the turn of the year. Political pundits say the call by the White House for an extension to the Act will get a yes vote in Congress because security threats are in the air and opponents of the Act are worried about being named as a traitor if they vote against it.

The U.S. administration faced its first legal case about its anti-terror policy. The lawyers of terror suspect Al-Mesri has filed a complaint in Virginia against the CIA, its former Chief George Tenet, and some other CIA officials. Al-Mesri was abducted last year by CIA agents in Germany. Then he was secretly taken to Afghanistan. A German of Lebanese origin, Al-Mesri has since been under torture in Afghanistan. Now his lawyers are trying to prove that the CIA has violated international law on prisoners and kept them in prison for long terms unjustifiably. The lawsuit has the support of civil rights groups in America. If the case goes through successfully the U.S. administration will come under more pressure for its mistreatment and abduction of prisoners in other countries. There is a possibility that the case would end in issuing a verdict against Tenet and not the current CIA officials.  

Last week the issue of terrorism on airliners was once again talk of the town across the United States after a man was killed in Miami on an American Airlines flight. The airliner had an emergency landing in Miami because of a bombing threat. After the touch-down security forces opened fire on a 44-year-old man and killed him. The accident is the most important security issue at U.S. airports since 9/11 in 2001. The death of the middle-aged man is taken seriously in America because no bomb was found on the airliner. Security forces have come under criticism for killing a person only on assumption that he was a terrorist. the issue shows that flight security is still a problem and could have consequences for Americans.  

Monday December 5, 2005

Secret CIA flights to secret jails in a number of European countries and the torture of prisoners there, have turned into a big problem for countries on both sides of the Atlantic. Disclosed intelligence on the issue shows that the CIA flew suspects to its secret prisons in Eastern Europe and East Asia via airports in the European capitals. At CIA secret jails, suspects are pumped out through inhumane methods. The disclosure is not very surprising because the United States has a record, full of violation of human rights and international conventions. But it is not that easy for European governments to accept the fact that their sovereignty and laws have been violated by CIA agents. The media and Non Governmental Organizations were first to reveal the secret prisons, prodding governments to take action. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, acting on behalf of the European Union, called on Washington to explain about the CIA conduct in European countries. EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini has threatened that the European countries that have allowed the CIA to set up jails for torture, would see their seats suspended in the European Council . The crisis could greatly damage US ties with its allies in Europe. Poland and Romania are accused of allowing the CIA to set up jails in their territories. The two countries have been trying to get closer to the United States by bringing a balance to their political economic and military ties with America. Now Poland and Romania are in a tough situation because closer ties with America without respecting the EU rules could undermine their stands in the Union, and even for countries like Romania, could postpone their membership.

The White House put out a document last week to talk about its plans, political and military goals in attacking Iraq and in occupying the country that came afterwards, and still continues. The Bush administration has been under pressure, even from the Republican Party. Higher military costs and human toll in Iraq have forced the White House to admit it made wrong decisions in staging an attack on Iraq. To cut down on the criticism, coming on it from all corners, the White House has put on its table the issue of pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq. Until recently the Pull-back was a taboo for the White House. But intelligence crisis and greater opposition to Bush's war-making policies have made the administration adopt a more cautious approach in dealing with political and military issues related to Iraq. The document, released last week, is part of the new strategy. The document gives the United States a vital role in bringing economic development and stability to Iraq and in boosting life conditions for Iraqis. The document underlines the fight on terror, but the tone of its language is soft. The contradictory behavior by US officials in recent years is not expected to decrease opposition to U.S. military policy.

John Bolton, the US representative at the UN, is still a news maker, as he was in his earlier post in the State Department. Bolton is a conservative politician who is against UN policies. Now he has stopped the UN budget bill from getting through. He told reporters the reforms at the World Body should be dealt with as a greater issue compared to the budget issue. The United States is bent on reforming the UN according to its expansionist policies. In a recent meeting of the UN General Assembly most countries rejected a US proposal to change the structure of the World Body. Now the Bush government is trying to use budget to put pressure on the UN to get its objectives. One fourth of the UN budget comes from the United States. UN Chief Kofi Annan has warned against the US use of the budget issue as leverage to force the UN into accepting Washington's reforms. Annan said a new budget crisis is emerging at the UN. Back in the 90s the US used budget as a tool to apply pressure on the UN. Neo-Conservatives at the White House believe the UN and other world bodies are useful and instrumental only if they follow the American expansionist policies. But these bodies are a snag on the way of U.S. policies, and American officials are not worried at all in breaching the US commitments in international organizations. The attack on Iraq without getting a go-ahead from the UN is something that proves this fact. Meanwhile whenever Bush and his men need an international justification to carry out their unilateralist policies, they turn to international bodies for an approval.

The last item in today's wrap-up is a sad story. The United States executed the 1000^th person since 1976, the year the law banning execution was removed. The 57-year-old Kenneth lee Boyd, who killed his wife and father-in-law, was executed in North Carolina, eleven years after his death sentence was issued. There are big differences in the United States over execution. In many European countries execution is banned but in the U.S. it is still used to punish criminals. Anti-execution activists say killing a person would not help decrease social insecurity and crimes. On the other hand, those who support execution believe it could be a lesson for criminals. In reaction to Boyd's execution President George W. Bush said the law helps save innocent citizens. 

Monday November 28, 2005

Iraq and the war the U.S. has launched on it, still tower over other developments in the United States. Now that a number of Senate measures are out, top administration officials are trying to pass the buck of who opened the war in Iraq. Vice President Dick Cheney admitted in a speech at the American Enterprise last week that information on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, released before the Iraq war, was faulty. U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld took a similar stand and said the intelligence on Iraqi weapons was fake. These words come from two major neo-conservative figures who called over and over for a war on Iraq for its violation of UN resolutions and its weapons of mass destruction. There are strong documents in which Cheney tells the administration to invade Iraq in the days after the September eleven attacks. But now with more than 2000 U.S. soldiers back home in body bags war designers are trying to dodge the responsibility of launching the war on Iraq.

Words are circulating in political bodies in the Untied States that the U.S. needs to take its forces out of Iraq. House representative John Murtha called for a swift pull-out of Iraq only to meet strong reaction from the White House. Meanwhile, Vice President Dick Cheney said war critics are a bunch of deceivers who are bent on forcing the U.S. administration to quit the fight against terrorists. He said early pullout is a dangerous delusion in the fight on terror. Top U.S. officials are now trying to tie the U.S. military presence in Iraq to the fight on terrorism to pave the way for a longer stay in Iraq. But many political experts and a number of U.S. politicians believe longer occupation of Iraq is helping terrorism grow in the Middle East. It means violence by U.S. forces in Iraq has brought on itself a new wave of violence and terror by extremist groups. To fight terrorism in Iraq, the main step would be a quick U.S. pull-out and hand-over of security to the Iraqi government.

Last week President George W. Bush went to his ranch in Crawford, Texas only to find greater rallies are staged against him and his war policy. The White House banned rallies outside of Bush's ranch in a bid to keep anti-war rallies from growing larger. In this past summer anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan staged 25 days of protest in front of Bush's ranch where the move grew into a national movement against war. Sheehan who has lost a son to the Iraq War has turned into an anti-war movement leader since last year. A few weeks ago Sheehan was arrested on charges of civil disobedience and holding protests outside the White House.

Ralliers are calling for a quick withdrawal of U.S. forces. They are staging more rallies this week.

The European Union officially asked the U.S. to come up with explanation on its secrets jails in Eastern Europe. Britain, the current head of the EU has urged the U.S. administration to explain out the issue of secret CIA detention centers in some countries in Eastern Europe. The administration has kept mum over the issue and is neither confirming nor rejecting it. It was the Washington Post that first disclosed the CIA is taking terror suspects to jails in Eastern European countries including Poland and Romania. European governments say such moves violate the EU authority and say the issue should be investigated. Political pundits say once proved, the secret jails would badly damage transatlantic ties. At the moment, transatlantic ties are going  thorough a bumpy road full of snags like the Iraq War, Kyoto Convention, the International War Crimes Tribunal and the fight on terrorism. If the issue of secret prisons and torture of prisoners is proved, a new wave of criticism would be launched against the United States. The criticism is already in the offing as Spanish and Italian officials have put together some allegations on the U.S. using their airports illegally and abducting aliens in their countries.

A case of blackmailing in which a lobbyist gave money to a number of Republican congressmen brings to an end today's wrap-up. Michael Scanlon is accused of paying several millions of dollars to some Congressmen to pass regulations to the benefit of his customers. It is now certain that Tom Daley, the former majority Leader at the House of Representatives, had a role in the scandal. Scanlon is scheduled to testify against Daley in a court hearing. Following charges of corruption Daley resigned his post as majority leader at the House of Representatives. Experts believe a case against Daley and some other administration officials could be a heavy blow to the Republican Party. Mid-term elections take place next November and talks of corruption by some top Republican officials have already cut down on Party votes. In recent polls in New Jersey and Virginia Democrats got the better of Republicans. Political pundits say the Iraq intelligence scandal and the inability of the Bush administration in getting timely aid to Katrina victims are behind lower votes for the Republican Party. Now, another corruption case will further dent the chances of the Party in emerging victorious in November elections, next year. And if this trend keeps going, there is a great possibility that Republicans would leave the White House after eight years when Presidential elections are held in 2008.

President Bush's rule has so far been full of ups and downs; with figures usually opening high and getting down to even single digits in a few months. President Bush is now going down with his Republican Party; to go down in history as one of the worst Presidents America and the World have ever seen. 

Monday November 21, 2005

U.S. crimes are popping up in Iraq. The latest one to be out in the open is the use of phosphorous bullets in Iraq. The U.S. administration had already admitted it used phosphorous bullets on Iraqi forces. But more reports on the issue made the Pentagon spokesperson admit U.S. forces used phosphorous bullets on civilians in Iraq. Phosphorous attaches to skin and causes severe burns. One of the slogans bush chanted before invading Iraq was that he and his soldiers were going to Iraq to liberate their country and release them from Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. Back then, the White House said U.S. attacks would be selective to harm the lowest number of civilians possible. After two and a half years of occupation and revelation of U.S. crimes in Iraq there is no doubt that U.S. claims of liberation were just big lies. The United States painted an overblown picture of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and its support of terrorists to deceive Americans and world people. If an anti-US country would torture Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib and use phosphorous bullets on civilians it would be known as the greatest threat to humanity. The White House officials have gone out of their way to push their expansionist policies, in a way that even political circles could not keep such extremism secret. Former CIA Director Stanford Turner has said the torture of prisoners by U.S. forces has made it a disgrace to be an American.

The Bush administration has come under heavy attacks from both Democrats and Republicans for its lies about Iraq and for the torture scandals in Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and Afghanistan. Democrats in the House of Representatives and Senate have been trying to pass a timetable for U.S. forces to pull out of Iraq. But Republicans in a counter measure tabled another proposal and pushed it through. Republicans have called on Bush's government to come up with a report on U.S. forces in Iraq and their activities there. The Senate measure has also asked the administration to hand over Iraqi security to Iraqis by 2006. The measure by Republicans meant to tame the unilateralist policies of neo-conservatives at the White House. Bush and his men lied to Americans and the World during the invasion of Iraq. Over the past two and a half years they have been bent on justifying their lies. But political scandals and U.S. crimes in Iraq are so big that Americans are loosing their trust in the government day by day. Latest polls say less than 35 percent of Americans are confident about the US plans in Iraq.

President Bush's administration rejected a call by the United Nations to visit Guantanamo. The issue along with reports about secret CIA jails in East Asia and in eastern European countries turned out to be top sorties last week. The United Nations has formally rejected a U.S. invitation to visit Guantanamo, saying it could not accept the restriction Washington has put on its visit to Guantanamo. The Pentagon came under criticism from local and international organizations for its torture of prisoners in Guantanamo. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stepped forward to cut down on the pressures and said UN human rights inspectors could go visit Guantanamo. But he attached some conditions and said they would not be allowed to interview prisoners. The conditions were attached because the administration is concerned about more revelation of mistreatment of prisoners by American forces. A visit to Guantanamo without the right to interview prisoners would only confirm US claims that it is not manhandling prisoners. That is why the United Nations preferred to save its credibility and reject the US invitation, despite many documents that prove the US has been torturing prisoners in Gunatanamo. Over the past five years whenever US crimes were out in the open American officials tried to find another secret method to push forward their policies.

The United States is the number one country when it comes to human rights violation and breaking of international deals. But inside its borders America is also a major violator of human rights. Recent figures show crimes and discrimination are on the rise in the United States. A report by the Muslim civil rights group says violent measures against Muslims have increased by some 70 percent. Meanwhile, Amnesty International says one in nine Americans has a racial case at a US court. It adds state bodies discriminate against religious minorities and ethnic groups on the pretext of fighting terrorism. The worse part is the violation of the rights of children and women. The Washington Post in a report last October said 20 million children are living in poor families that could not get their kids food and other basics. Poverty has always been behind social vice. More than 400 thousand American children are subjected to sexual assault every year. The United States says it is the main supporter of human rights across the globe, but it is yet to sign the convention on children's rights. 

Monday November 14, 2005

One top story last week was the issue of torturing foreign prisoners who are accused of having a hand in acts of terror. U.S. President George W. Bush tried in his Panama trip to reject torture of prisoners at the hands of security forces. In parallel, the White House rejected words that the administration is bent on pushing a bill through Congress to make torture a legal thing. But it is now an open secret that the White House had already asked Congress to adopt a measure to allow the CIA to use tough measures and torture on terror suspects and foreigners to pump out information. Vice President Dick Cheney had called on congressmen to vote for the White House bill on torture. His call met with angry reactions from a number of senators including some Republicans. When pressure from the World public opinion skyrocketed and senators made a strong stand to the White House, Bush's men pulled back and said they had never called on senators to adopt a bill to make torture legal.

Republican senators have come to the aid of Bush and his people as they say they won't let an independent committee study the torture issue in US prisons. A number of Democrat senators had called for a committee like the one that looked into the September eleven attacks. The Democrats were seeking to study suspicious treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and Guantanamo. Such a committee would lead to disclosure of more torture cases and mistreatment, and that is why the White House and its supporters are strongly against formation of it. The administration says an investigation into the case would harm the operation on terrorism. Over the past five years Neo-Conservatives in America have violated moral values and social freedom under the pretext of bringing security to Americans. Political observers say the scandal in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib is just tip of the iceberg. As long as international observers are kept out of US prisons and could not talk to prisoners, the torture issue at American jails would be a possibility.

Democrats won some local polls last week across the United States. In New Jersey and Virginia democrats got the better of their Republican rivals in polls, held to elect a new governor. The defeats for Republican came although  President Bush put his weight behind the Republican candidate just hours before the poll. But his eleventh-hour support could not win Virginia for Republicans. Lower popularity for Bush and a recent scandal in which intelligence leaked out of the White House are behind low support for the Republican Party. Over the past five years Republicans have been the winner of a number of polls but   they are now savoring the taste of defeat. New Jersey has always been taken as the bench mark of elections in the United States. Political pundits say last week's victories for Democrats could lead to a major victory for them in the 2006 mid-term elections. It would also mean a better chance for Democrats in the 2008 presidential elections.

Another failure was registered for Republicans in California. Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger failed to get a yes vote for his proposals which were put to vote in a referendum. One of his proposals was to cut down on the media budget which like his other proposals failed to get enough votes. Recent polls show that Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Hollywood star and a former body-building champion, is losing his popularity among Americans. So far he has failed to meet his campaign promises. California is still suffering from budget deficit and is yet to get back to its boom years. Schwarzenegger says he will run for a second term in the upcoming elections but some pundits predict a tough contest for him, given the negative view Americans now hold on Republicans and their behaviors.

Latest figures on trade deficit in the United States made economic pundits scratch their heads as they saw their estimates fail to come by. The Commerce Department put out its latest figures last week to say trade deficit has topped 66 billion dollars, something unseen in the US economy. Estimates would speak of 61 billion dollars but higher oil prices in the wake of hurricane Katrina pushed oil imports in September to 171 billion dollars and eventually increased the trade deficit. Experts believe if the ongoing situation continues the US economy will be badly damaged and the dollar would lose more of its value against other major currencies. 

Monday November 7, 2005

Lewis Libby and his resignation, and more words on the intelligence scandal at the White House, about the Iraq war, all got together to get US President George W. Bush in a deep political quagmire. Many dailies and TVs are now comparing the new scandal to Richard Nixon's Water Gate, and Iran Contra that happened under President Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky. That's not all, the scandal caused by Bush in the first year of his second term, is somewhat different because the scandal has pushed Bush's popularity to the lowest level in the past five years. Polls taken by Gallop, CNN and the USA TODAY after the resignation of Libby who was Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff, show that more than 60 percent of Americans believe President Bush took them out for a ride about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Former President Jimmy Carter said Bush's claims before the war in Iraq that weapons of mass destruction did exist in Iraq, was just to deceive Americans. It has been a tradition throughout the political history of America that the opposition party comes forward after every scandal to make a good use of it against the incumbent president. Now the Democratic Party is doing the same in the case of Iraq war and the justification Bush and his gang of people offered to Americans before invading Iraq. In a measure, rarely seen in the United States, Senate sat down after a call from Democrats, to discuss the scandal, behind closed doors. No doubt the scandal will leave its marks on Neo-Conservatives' military polices. The more words on the lies Bush told Americans to justify the war in Iraq, the more outcries against longer US presence in Iraq.

Guantanamo and the prisoners it holds, moved up to top of the news across the United States. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld once again said UN inspectors could not meet Guantanamo prisoners. Three UN inspectors said if interview with prisoners is not possible, they would reject a Pentagon call to visit the detention center. Words keep coming out, about torture and mistreatment in Guantnamo. Several human rights and international groups have taken the US to task for the issue, as hatred against the Bush government runs high across the planet, in the Muslim world in particular. US interrogators use the worst methods possible on prisoners to pump out information. Guantanamo prison was set up after the US attack on Afghanistan in 2001 to let US interrogators do their job in a place located far from international watch and US judicial and legal rule. Guantanamo helps interrogators apply torture on prisoners easily. But now that some of the prisoners are out, the story they tell people and the media, have just turned out to be a headache for the Bush administration. The Pentagon invitation, offered to the UN, to send its inspectors to tour Guantanamo, is a measure to cushion the impact of the pressure applied on the US. But Rumsfeld who well knows that interview with prisoners would disclose inhuman measures in Guantanamo, says he won't let UN inspectors talk to detainees.

At least Guantanamo has a name and an address. The United States has set up more detention centers in some countries in Southeastern Asia and in Eastern Europe. Now that Guantanmo is under the focus of media and people, such secret centers in far-flung areas have come so handy for US interrogators. But a report published by the Washington Post on secret US jails, has restricted an easy access to such centers. The restriction mainly comes from the countries that host the secret facilities. These countries are facing a difficult time and most of them deny the existence of such centers in their territories. The Washington Post has given many details about the secret US jails in other countries and it is impossible to keep them really secret for a long time. The Council of Europe Human Rights commissioner has called for an investigation into the issue. Countries in Eastern Europe are close to the US and they are now at a dilemma to either follow US policies or respect international conventions. The issue could be a big one for those countries that host the secret jails.

More than one thousand physicists in an open letter to Bush condemned his policy of resorting to nuclear weapons against the countries that are not nuclear. Bush has said if his country is threatened, he will use the bomb against those countries that do not have it. The physicists say the change of policy in the US administration is dangerous because it does not take the reality that nuclear weapons are totally different from other forms of weapons of mass destruction. They say taking nuclear weapons on countries that have not gone nuclear violates the line between nuclear and non-nuclear weapons. The US has turned to nuclear weapons and to producing a new generation of them at a time when it is trying to block the way of other countries that are seeking peaceful nuclear technology. To that end the US is coming up with allegations and is creating a situation fraught with ballyhoo.

Last week the department of agriculture said in a report that the number of hungry people has increased by 43 percent. The report says 38 million Americans suffer from hunger, 14 million of them are children. It adds since 1999 seven million people have been added to the number of the hungry. The United States is the largest cereal producer and enjoys huge resources, but still, there is a huge social and economic gap across the country. The gap is getting deeper and deeper as the number of millioners increase, pulling up with it the number of the hungry and poor. Hurricane Katrina pulled the cover off some parts of such a deep economic and social gap. Thousands of black people were stranded in floods as the US government deserted them as second-class citizens.

Secret prisons scandal, Libby's scandal, Katrina scandal, atom bomb scandal, what is this George W. Bush doing? Making the country a United States of scandals?

Monday October 31, 2005

2000 and climbing, the latest figures say the US toll in Iraq has arrived in its third thousand. The news stirred up more criticism of President George W. Bush for his war policy. Democrat leaders like Howard Dean and John Kerry who ran against Bush in 2004 elections, took Bush to task for taking the country into a futile international crisis. People also stepped up opposition to the war in Iraq. Cindy Sheehan, who has lost a son to the Iraq war, called for civil disobedience. Sheehan, who is now the symbol of the anti-war movement in the United States, called on Americans to join the civil disobedience movement to save their loved-ones and take 140, 000 U.S. servicemen back home. Her call has got a huge welcome from anti-war people who have staged several major rallies in Washington over the past few weeks to reject war in Iraq. Political pundits say larger anti-war rallies would force the US administration into changing its war policies.

Now President Bush is getting major blows form the home front. Brent Scowcroft, a leading Republican figure, in some criticism, unseen in many years, said Vice President Dick Cheney is responsible for the problems hitting the U.S. across the globe, namely the war in Iraq. Scowcroft who was the national security adviser to Bush's father, said the odd man out at the White House is Dick Cheney. Scowcroft's words show the gap between hardliners and moderates at the Republican Party has deepened over Iraq. Hardliners like Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld seek longer military stay in Iraq, turning a blind eye to the human toll and huge costs. While moderates like Scowcroft say longer stay in Iraq would further push the US on the sidelines, and fan the flames of war and violence in the Middle East.

Being a hardliner and getting some heavy attack from fellow hardliners was something Bush would never bear in his mind. But last week the religious wing of the Republican Party rejected Harriet Miers, Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court, and virtually forced her into giving up the post. Extremists at the Republican Party say Miers' viewpoints on issues like abortion do not go with the party's stands. Bush would say Miers is a conservative to get him through, but it looks like that she was not that much conservative. Miers' quitting the post would give greater influence to conservatives in country's affairs. At the moment, four right-wingers and four left-wingers are in the Supreme Court and the person who is to occupy the only vacant seat would decide the political and social future of the United States. That is why a heavy fighting is underway between conservatives and liberals.

The intelligence leak at the White House turned into a major headline news last week. Investigation, done so far, indicates Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff, has revealed the name of CIA agent, Wallery Palma. Following the news Libby resigned his post. Words are out that Libby heard Vallery's name from Cheney. In 2003, the White House revealed Vallery Palma as a CIA agent, after her husband Joseph Willson disclosed some material against Bush and his Iraq war. Under U.S. law disclosure of a CIA agent deserves some time in prison. Libby and Carl Rove, the top political adviser to Bush, are the main suspects in the scandal. Dick Cheney has been also involved in the case. If convicted, Libby and Rove will get their walking papers.

Last week human rights activists strongly reacted to a White House call on Congress to drop a ban on torturing prisoners. In an unprecedented measure the White House has called on Congress to let CIA agents torture terror suspects and non-American prisoners. There are already papers out on the torture issue in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. But it is the first time the White House is asking for a law that allows CIA agents to torture prisoners. Human Rights Watch says, once the law is adopted the United States will be the only country with a legal measure to violate human rights. After the September eleven attacks in 2001, Washington has violated many international regulations, one is, the ban on torture. Neo-conservatives say to fight terrorism every measure is legal even torture and other inhuman measures. Such a policy would deteriorate the human rights condition in US prisons and would prove the fact that Washington is using force on other countries to put pressure on them.

Rosa Parks, the woman who refused to give her seat to a white man on a bus fifty years ago, passed away last week to once again hit the headlines across the United States. Parks began a movement in 1955 which led to the adoption of the historic civil rights law. She is known in America as the icon of the civil rights movement. She died at 92. Her death once again brought back to minds the memories of racial profiling, back in the black years of the US. 40 years ago the civil rights law was adopted and racial-profiling was abolished, but still the US is suffering from its bitter marks. Hurricane Katrina last month hit New Orleans and brought to the open the fact that black people are not taken as equal to whites. 

Monday October 24, 2005

An Australian television aired footage, showing U.S. forces burning the bodies of two Afghans. The footage stirred up anti-U.S. sentiments among Muslims in Afghanistan as President Hamed Karzai condemned in a press conference the burning of two Afghan citizens. President Karzai said he has named a committee to investigate into the issue. Not to be outdone, Jason Kamiya, the senior American Commander for daily operations in Afghanistan, said a committee has been formed to look into the issue. He was mainly papering over the horrible measure by American soldiers in Afghanistan. Burning of dead bodies is an insult to Islamic teachings and a violation of the Geneva Convention. Under the Geneva Convention occupiers should respect bodies in the fighting, and if possible bury them according to their faith. This is not the first time US forces act against human values and international regulations. Last year humiliation and torture of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison turned out to be a major scandal for the U.S. administration. The scandal was so huge that the administration was forced into holding some show trials for a number of soldiers and officers and sentence them to some years in prison. When the scandal was out in the open, some security and political officials accepted that torture and humiliation took place under the orders of top political and military officials to belittle Iraqi people and prisoners. The U.S. is bent on saying such measures are arbitrary, in a bid to stem hatred against the United States and attacks on American forces.

Ten years ago one million Americans held a rally against injustice and racial profiling. Hundreds of thousands of black people filled the streets outside the White House last week to mark the event. Four decades after the beginning of the civil rights movement in America, most of the 33 million African Americans are still living in poverty and injustice. On surface, the U.S. government supports all U.S. citizens but the way it and the police deal with people of color, particularly the blacks, shows that discrimination is deeply rooted in the U.S. leadership. A look at the number of black prisoners; the average income of black people; and their access to social services and welfare would highlight the discrimination in the U.S. A few days before last week's rally a footage was aired by some television stations showing police forces beating and breaking the bones of a middle-aged black man in New Orleans. The footage was just tip of the iceberg of violent and discriminatory behavior against black people. To get a better understanding of racial profiling in the United States we need to take a look at the way the Administration dealt with people in New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina hurricane. Most victims were stranded in floods only because of the fact that they were black. The leader of the Nation of Islam Luise Farrakhan believes the dykes in New Orleans were broken intentionally to let water inundate black neighborhoods.

President George W. Bush is to hand over social security to the private sector. Experts say it would badly affect those who are on low-incomes. The US authority seeks to meet the interests of rich people. And when it comes to the people of color it is just poverty and injustice. Handing over social security to the private sector would further deepen the gap between the haves and the have-nots. The billionaires club has got 76 new members since 2000 while the average American family has lost part of its income, and the number of the poor has increased by five million during the same period. The policies of the US administration give priority to business companies that in turn exercise trade values instead of human and moral values. That is why moral values are declining. Now researchers and writers are focusing on the implosion of the United States.

An arrest warrant was issued last week for Tom DeLay, the Leader of Republicans in the House of Representative. He is accused of getting illegal money from a company during the 2002 by-elections. The promotional company gave 190 thousand dollars to DeLay to help Republicans win more seats in the Texas House of Representatives. Following the disclosure of the scandal Tom DeLay resigned his post as the majority leader in the US House of Representatives. The scandal gets bigger when it is taken into consideration that DeLay is a close friend of President Bush. The scandal could leave its marks on Bush and his war-mongering men at the White House. The close link between power and money is not a new issue in America. The parties or people who could get the support of business companies would find a place in the center of power. Although on the surface elections and other Democratic regulations rule the affairs in the U.S., two major parties play according to their own rules. In recent years the Republican Party has taken the lead in receiving secret money for its campaign. The Democrat Party is now trying to use the new scandal to its own benefits and apply more pressure on Republicans in the Congress elections next year. Doing so, Democrats may make up for their defeats during the presidential elections and Congress elections.     

Monday October 17, 2005  

Some conservatives took U.S. President George W. Bush to task last week for his choice, Harriet Miers who is named to be a member of the Supreme Court. She is to replace Sandra D. O’conner. A number of conservatives take Miers as a liberal figure and are calling on Bush to name another person for the post. Pat Buchanan and William Kristol, representing traditional and Neo-Conservatives strongly criticized Bush and Miers last week. Bush is trying to paint a conservative face for Miers. At the Senate, many democrat representatives back Miers' nomination because she does not follow ultra conservatives in issues like abortion. If Bush fails to get extremist republicans to support Miers he will face a huge challenge from his own party, particularly from Christian fundamentalists.

President Bush received a direct hit last week when a poll done by PEW said Bush's popularity rate has dropped to its lowest in the past five years, and now only 26 percent of Americans believe Bush is a successful president. 69 percent of those who took part in the poll hoped the next president would adopt a different policy. Of the eleven questions put to respondents, only one get a positive response for Bush and that was the filed of national security. Many Americans say Bush's policies have brought more problems for education, economy, social welfare and ties with U.S. allies. 57 percent of people said the policy adopted by Bush deepened the gap between the haves and the have-nots. 66 percent say Bush is responsible for the huge budget deficit. Political experts say if Bush continues to lose its popularity his party will have difficult days in the Congress by-elections in November 2006, leaving democrats with a better chance to sit on more seats in Congress.

Consumer goods get more and more expensive as the department of commerce says prices increased in September by 4.5 percent compared to the same month last year. The hike is higher than the average inflation. Higher fuel prices and economic impacts left in the wake of destructive hurricanes down south are behind higher goods prices. The United States paid 16 billion dollars more than usual to import oil in September. Katrina and Rita inflicted heavy damage on oil installations in the Gulf of Mexico, which led to high gas prices. Now a gallon of gas is sold close to three dollars. Americans pay big bucks for gas each month and higher prices at pumps badly hit families and the U.S. economy.

America set up a new spy agency last week. The new body is responsible for gathering intelligence overseas and will report to the CIA. It is also to coordinate spy activities among the Pentagon, the FBI and CIA. After the September eleven attacks in 2001 it was disclosed that the U.S. spy agencies are disconnected. The CIA is the main intelligence body in the United States but other departments like the FBI and Pentagon are also involved in spy activities. Bureaucratic rivalry before the 9/11 attacks held intelligence on terrorists away from officials. In recent years some efforts aimed to bring coordination among these bodies. A national intelligence management center was set up and more power was given to the director of the CIA. But civil rights activists are concerned that the developments in the U.S. intelligence apparatus including new spy services would violate the rights of citizens and would increase spy activities inside the country.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued a report last week to say the condition in U.S. jails is deplorable. They also condemned life sentence for youngsters under 18. The report urges the U.S. administration to ban life sentence for the under-18 youths. At least 2225 youngsters are now in U.S. jails with life sentences in their hands. Human rights activists are also strongly worried about assault and rape in U.S. prisons. Such reports are published against a backdrop of years of efforts by the U.S. government to put pressure on other countries for not respecting the human rights. The double standard policy the U.S. has adopted in dealing with the human rights will be visibly out in the open if the torture issue in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo prisons is added to the reports on human rights violation in U.S. jails.

The Jeans Intelligence Digest in its latest issue has revealed that the United States is carrying out a plan to renovate its nuclear weapons. The new plan seeks to upgrade warheads in the country. Most Senate representatives are against a plan to make new nuclear weapons. That is why the White House is upgrading old weaponry under a front of boosting security in warheads. Unlike the World community that is moving towards nuclear disarmament, the U.S. administration is developing its nuclear capability. Last year a ban on making small bombs was dropped as the Bush administration kissed goodbye the Anti Ballistic Missile Treaty on the pretext of building a missile defense shield. Now warmongers in America are bent on producing larger and more powerful warheads.

Monday October 10, 2005  

The documentary interviews a number of foreign leaders and officials about the Middle East crisis. Nabil Shaath who is a top official of the Palestinian authority is among the figures in the documentary. Shaath, a former Palestinian Foreign Minister, said in a 2003 meeting with the then Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, Bush said God has told him: George go fight terrorists in Afghanistan, and fight the suppression in Iraq. The BBC documentary has received wide coverage in World dailies. The Independent in Britain has published a funny picture of Bush who is making a speech against a black backdrop with a light coming through it. When the inspiration issue turned into the talk of the town, a White House spokesperson rejected it and said bush has got no word from God to attack Iraq and Afghanistan. There is a possibility that Bush has not claimed he had some inspiration from God but still his behavior over the past four years confirm the words by Shaath. Neo-conservatives in America believe the U.S. has a divine mission to do across the planet. They have been following this understanding since their arrival at the White House in 2001.

A U.S. administration that claims it has a divine mission to fight bad guys, has been involved in every kind of crime and violence to achieve its expansionist objectives. Last week the U.S. Senate adopted a motion to ban torture and tough measures in dealing with foreign prisoners. The measure comes to cover up the scandals in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and in Guantanamo where American forces have been torturing foreign prisoners. The measure received 90 YES, and nine, NO votes. It includes regulations, which should be respected by U.S. forces when they try to pump out information from foreign prisoners. The motion says it is illegal to use force and violence against prisoners. A wave of hatred flooded the United States when pictures came out of Abu Ghraib, where inhuman torture and humiliation were applied on prisoners. The Pentagon tried to show that the issue is not important, by saying that only a number of soldiers and officers were behind the scandal in Abu Ghraib. It arrested and tried some soldiers, only to prove that its claims hold water. Lindy England who has just got three years in jail, told CNN the Abu Ghraib pictures only show a small part of tortures happened in the prison. The Sunday Herald in Scotland has quoted a number of U.S. soldiers as saying that they tortured Iraqi prisoners to let out the stress which had been piling up inside them, and to kill morale in other prisoners. The White House has rejected the Senate measure, and President Bush said he would veto it.

Several reports have been published on declining moral standards in the U.S. A new research, done by a group of top physicians at the World Health Organization points finger at Holly Wood as a key factor in spreading sexual disorders and AIDS. The research says Holly Wood is the largest source for boosting sexual disorders and drugs. The research on 200 films, show that the Holly Wood stars are promoting immoral sexual behavior and drug abasement which play a key role in increasing sexual disorders and diseases, as well as AIDS and addiction. Sex is now a major business in many parts of the World and Holly Wood is employing it to boost box-office without paying any attention to its destructive impacts. Figures on crimes, rape and violence have been increasing in the United States, with families as their main target. Even children are not safe in a country that claims it is the supporter of freedom and human dignity. The American Pediatrics Association has said one percent of American children is raped each year. It says up to 25 percent of girls and ten percent of boys who are under 18 fall victim to sexual violence in the U.S. Social experts say crumpled moral values; not terrorism; are now threatening the United States.

Poverty and social divide are also threatening America. Four decades after the beginning of a fight against poverty, still more than 37 million Americans live in poverty. In 15 years, the number of poor people is expected to jump to more than 50 million in America. The United Nations has reported that although the U.S. is the world's largest economy, its poor earn the same money, the poor people get in the so-called third world countries. The high number of the poor comes as the country enjoys a military budget of 500 billion dollars, which is half of the whole money; other countries combined spend on military activities. The U.S. has spent close to 300 billion dollars to take its forces to Iraq and invade it. The poverty showed its ugly face fully, during the Katrina hurricane. Bush's inability to help people in New Orleans, turned into another scandal for Bush and his group of officials at the White House.

Monday October 3, 2005  

Finally last week after long discussions, the US Senate confirmed the qualification of John Roberts as Head of the US Supreme Federal Court. 78 senators in the face of 22 others, chose 50-year-old Roberts as the 17^th head of the US Supreme Court. He will now occupy  the seat of former Supreme Court Head, John Rehnquist who died last month of cancer. Roberts has conservative tendencies and he will certainly adopt conservative legal and political views and stances in administering the Supreme Court. For this reason the US liberal faction especially Democrat leaders in congress have tried to prevent Roberts’ appointment. But since the new round of the Supreme Courts’ activity is ahead and since the conservatives widely supported Roberts, the Democrats preferred not to oppose the White House’s candidate and instead focus their attention on another member of the court. With the appointment of the head of the Supreme Court, US President George W Bush must present to the senate  another individual to occupy  the seat of Sandra Day O Connor. The Democrats hope that in this phase they will be able to prevent the total harmony of the highest US judicial and legal authority by the conservatives.

Last week though the conservatives gained a victory with Roberts’ appointment, they lost one of their outstanding figures in the House of Representatives. Tom Daily the head of the majority Republicans in the house resigned his post on charges of financial corruption. He is accused of having made wide scale financial infractions during the congress mid term elections in Texas. 2 members of Bush’s electoral headquarters have also been accused of these charges along with Daily. Analysts believe that the case against Daily will inflict blows on the Republicans on 2 sides. On one hand the stepping down of the 2^nd most senior Republican figure in the House of Representatives, adds to this party’s record of electoral infractions and on the other hand it deprives Bush of a strong supporter in Congress. Electoral infractions were proven in at least 2 presidential elections in 1972 and 2000. For this reason if it is proven that the Republican’ victory in the House of Representatives of Texas took place for the first time after 150 years through financial corruption, the Republicans will be faced with a serious blow on their credibility.

On the other hand, last week the anti war movement put on display a show of power in the US capital city Washington. After the opponents of the Iraq war held protest gatherings in front of Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, they came to Washington last week. Last week’s demonstrations in Washington were the largest anti war demonstrations since the beginning of the US military invasion of Iraq , and the publication of the news that the number of US army casualties in Iraq has surpassed 1900 gave more intensity to the demonstrations. During these demonstrations Ms. Cindy Sheehan who has these days turned into the anti war lady, was arrested by police. Sheehan lost her 21-year-old son in street battles in Iraq last year and for this reason she calls for the immediate withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. Of course, not only was her demand not taken into account but it also led Ms Sheehan to go to prison. Analysts believe that the violent behavior of US police forces with the members of the anti war movement and Ms Sheehan’s arrest will practically blow new life into the social movement of US peace seekers.

Last week the agreement by Ms. Judith Miller a reporter of the New York Times to give testimony at a private CIA meeting , brought the White House closer to a new  political scandal .Miller after spending 85 days in prison finally agreed to give testimony before a jury. She had previously refrained from giving testimony about the way of the revelation of the name of Valerie Plame an undercover CIA agent with the aim of pressuring her husband Joseph Wilson. Testimonies indicate that Karl Rove, Bush’s Senior Political Advisor and Louis Libby Head of the Vice Presidential Office were behind this revelation. Analysts believe that the claim of Ms miller’s testimony before the jury can ultimately lead to a political scandal for the white house. In the past 3 years the US government has been faced with many cases regarding the fight against terrorism or the Iraq war. The majority of these cases show that the US government has changed the information at hand and deceived the American people in order to justify the need for the endless war on terrorism and the Iraq war. One of the most important cases in this regard is the revelation of Plame’s name that is a personal revenge by the white house on a critic of the Iraq war.

Last week US soldier Lyndie England was sentenced to 3 years in prison on charges of torturing Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison. She is one of 9 US soldiers who physically and psychologically tortured Iraqi prisoners and created a huge political scandal for the US government. The publication of England’s photo while she has attached a chain to the neck of a naked Iraqi prisoner led to a serious scandal throughout the world. The attorneys of the torturers announced in court that their clients had carried out such crimes with the awareness of superior US army officers. But these claims were not confirmed by the judges of the court and this  ultimately led to the sentencing of the US soldiers to prison. There are documented evidence about the systematic torture and sexual abuse of prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison and Guantanamo. These testimonies indicate that senior US commanders knew about these infractions but had given the green light to US interrogators to gain information. US government critics believe that the trial of a number of low ranking soldiers cannot rule out the responsibility of white house officials and high ranking pentagon generals in the issue of the Abu Ghraib scandal.

Finally last week the  testimony by Michael Brown, Former Head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the presence ob US congressmen, put on display the lack of coordination of US government institutions in confronting hurricane Katrina. After the heightening of the media’s criticism due to negligence and incapability in sending timely relief to the hurricane stricken, Brown stepped down from his post. In his address to at Congress he said the large amount of material and human losses as a result of the hurricane should be attributed to local officials of Louisiana and the lack of facilities. US government critics believe that a lack of experience by FEMA officials in confronting natural disasters led hundreds of people of New Orleans to lose their lives. IT is said that at least 8 high-ranking FEMA officials nominated by Bush area not qualified for the job. This issue has also led criticism toward Bush and the US ruling system to continue despite the passage of several weeks since hurricane Katrina struck .

Monday September 26, 2005  

Less than one month after Katrina hit the southern states the devastating Rita arrived, only to leave millions of folks in Louisiana, Texas and Florida stranded. People, fearing another catastrophe, which was caused by Bush's inability when Katrina landed, got on whatever at hand to leave the three states. Rita left people in a big panic in the cities and towns along the way it was supposed to hit, creating long lines of cars in highways. To make up for its inability during Katrina, the Bush administration was on its toes and declared the state of emergency in the three states. Max Mayfield, the Head of the National Hurricane Center, has said powerful hurricanes would hit the United States in the next 20 years. He said three to six hurricanes as big as Katrina would hit the U.S. before the winter. The hurricanes have turned out to be a test for President Bush who has spent huge money in Iraq and is now facing a large budget deficit. Now President Bush needs billions of dollars to rebuild the hurricane-hit areas. Worse yet, Katrina and Rita hit U.S. refineries, only to push up gas prices and build more criticism on Bush and his government.

CNN and the USA TODAY, in a joint poll, asked Americans if President Bush is a strong leader, most of them said no, he is not, and 58 percent said his war in Iraq is wrong. These are the lowest figures Americans have given on Bush's performance since 2001 when Bush went to the White House. They also say Bush was so lame in dealing with Katrina. Meanwhile Al Gore, a Former Vice President under Bill Clinton said the future is gloomy for Americans, and added Bush is responsible. At present, hurricanes down south have joined hands with issues like the Iraq war to bring to Bush a splitting headache. The Bush administration is coming under more and more pressure to adopt a new policy on Iraq. So far Bush has turned a blind eye to his critics. He digs his heels to keep U.S. troops in Iraq for an unlimited time, saying they are there to fight terror. But now Americans and the World have got Bush' numbers and know about his real intentions in Iraq. Bush's headstrong stand on Iraq is killing innocent Iraqis, and no single day goes by without dozens more civilian deaths. There are some signs that show the United States is supporting acts of terrorism in Iraq. The Bush policy in Iraq is one of divide and rule. Bush is trying to divide Iraqi religious groups to tell Iraqis: you see we should stay in your country to keep peace and security.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted for John Roberts to be the next chief justice at the Supreme Court. Former Chief Justice William Rehnquist died last month and President Bush named Roberts to replace him. Democrats at the Senate were against Roberts and kept calling for a full access to his records. That is why Democrats delayed a vote on Roberts for some time. The Supreme Court plays a vital role in the U.S. As an instance, in the 2000 presidential crisis, the Supreme Court voted for Bush to take the White House. The president names the Supreme Court judges and the senate approves them. Naming new faces to the court is a golden opportunity for the party that controls the White House. The incumbent president could name judges who are close to his party. There has always been a close race between Democrats and Republicans in shaping up the fabric of the Supreme Court that is now in control of two factions. One is conservatives who are close to Republicans and the second, Liberals who are close to Democrats. With Roberts in the court, four judges will be leaning to the Democrat Party and four others to the Republican Party, and the ninth judge is Anthony Kennedy who treads a middle-of-the-road path.

Four years on, the September eleven attacks on the United States are still making headlines. The House of Representative called on the CIA director to publish a report the spy agency has done on the attacks. The CIA report went to Congress at the end of two years of investigation into the case. Several questions are still open on the way the four airliners were hijacked and rammed into economic and military centers in the U.S. None of the official reports the U.S. administration has so far put out on the 9/11 attacks includes answers to these questions. They just say security bodies are to blame. 28 pages of a 900-page report done by an independent committee at Congress have got a classified mark. It shows that the Bush administration is doing some covert measures to stem clarification of the case. Bush and his people at the White House are hijacking the 9/11 attacks to push their unilateral policies under a front of fighting terror. Now many believe that, if the Bush administration was not directly involved in the attacks it was aware that terrorists were going to mount such raids. Neo-Conservatives had been looking for a perfect time to keep the U.S. hegemony across the globe and the September eleven attacks in 2001 gave them a nice opportunity. 

Monday September 19, 2005  

The UN General Assembly in New York was a get-together of world leaders, or, the largest gathering of world leaders so far. 191 heads of states or their point men talked about the issues, the world is now going through, and the problems it is grappling with. The fight on poverty, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction and UN reforms were the most important topics on the table of the UN Assembly. The final resolution of the event includes same topics, with poor countries calling for measures to get the goals of a millennium plan to cut down on poverty. On the fight on terror, weapons of mass destruction and UN reforms there were some differences among member states. The differences were not removed and were eventually reflected in the final resolution. Although members of the UN Security Council adopted a draft resolution on fighting terrorism offered by British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, the speeches made by world leaders included sharp criticism of western countries, particularly Britain and the U.S. for their activities in the fight on terror and weapons of mass destruction. World countries believe the U.S. is using the fight on terrorism as a front to interfere in the affairs of other countries.

President George W. Bush came clean three weeks after Katrina hit three southern states, admitting his administration failed in getting timely aid to Katrina victims. The U.S. administration came under strong criticism for its inability to get quick help to people in three southeastern states. Across the globe, Katrina also inflicted huge damage on the credibility of a boastful superpower that now looks to the World as a weak and falling power. This time Bush had no excuse to put the responsibility of the damage hurricane Katrina inflicted, on the head of terrorists and foreign elements. It left Bush with no other way but admitting that his administration was so slow in dealing with Katrina. The deadly hurricane sharply dropped Bush's popularity and increased pressure on him to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq. A Gallop poll shows Bush's popularity has dropped to 38 percent, the lowest since he went to the White House in 2001 as president.

What people saw on television was just tip of the Katrina iceberg. And now economic and social impacts of Katrina are coming to the open. At first U.S. officials tried to say Katrina was not an important issue. They would not come up with the real toll of the disaster and would say the hurricane just inflicted a loss of 25 billion dollars. Officials who deal with economic issues at the White House kept saying that Katrina was not a big blow to the U.S. economy. But now words are out that Katrina may have inflicted 200 to 300 billion dollars in losses. It would be higher than the money Bush has so far spent on his wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In a measure, not seen in the past five years, Bush called for higher taxes to garner the money he needs to reconstruct Katrina-hit areas. Economic pundits say high costs of war and the damage caused by Katrina would boost budget deficit to new records. In fact, the Bush administration has no way but increasing taxes, only to fly in the face of his campaign's slogan of a tax cut that helped him get into the White House.

Fresh papers on a Pentagon plan to use nuclear weapons as a pre-emptive measure met with different reactions across the planet. According to the Pentagon plan a presidential order would make it possible to use nuclear weapons on an enemy that intends to attack the United States with weapons of mass destruction. During the Cold War atomic weapons were used to deter an atomic attack by one of the two super powers of the world. But now the United States is bent on to use nuclear weapons in the framework of its pre-emptive doctrine. In other words, America would use nuclear weaponry when it only thinks a country is readying to attack the U.S. territory. The new doctrine will speed up the race to stockpile more and more weapons. It is also against the U.S. claims of fighting weapons of mass destruction.

The Guardian ran a report last week on a CIA measure that is taking terror suspects to other countries for interrogation and torture. The British daily singles out Egypt as a country being used by the CIA. Jordan, Maghreb, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan are also named in the report. The Guardian says since the September eleven attacks on the U.S. in 2001 the CIA has used civil and military airports in Britain 210 times to transfer terror suspects to other countries. The issue has drawn the attention of several human rights organizations. The CIA has been taking suspects to other countries to easily torture them, off the camera of human rights bodies and international organizations. The U.S. set up Guantanamo prison for the same purpose but revelations that U.S. interrogators are torturing prisoners there, led to the CIA decision to take suspects to other locations. 

Monday September 12, 2005  

Two weeks after the deadly Katrina hit the United States more than half of New Orleans is still under water. A city of 450 thousand is now almost a ghost town with soldiers on patrol as water goes down. There is no exact figure on the dead but it should be high because officials have sent 25 thousand body bags to the area. Half a million people are displaced and the estimated loss stands at some one hundred billion dollars. Health officials are warning against water-borne and communicable diseases because of hundreds of bodies that are trapped in homes or are still under water. There are words that dogs and crocodiles have eaten some of the bodies. Such reports only add up to the worries of the stricken people in southeastern states.

The U.S. administration came under a hurricane of criticism last week for its incompetence and lax behavior in getting aid to Katrina victims. Some local officials say the high cost of the Iraq war held back the renovation and reinforcement money for New Orleans' levees that gave in to floods, which eventually swallowed the city. This in turn, heightened public criticism of the war in Iraq. Days before Katrina hit, the United States faced an anti-war movement led by Cindy Sheehan, a mother who has lost her son to the war in Iraq. But now hundreds of thousands of Americans are hit by Katrina, only to once again make the Iraq War a hot issue. Many Americans believe the Bush administration has paid huge attention to the war in Iraq and the war on terror, leaving the United States vulnerable to social crises and natural disasters. Now it is expected that the Bush and his men at the White House would pay more attention to local problems and talk less about war, of course only on the surface.

Congress called for a commission to study the administration's incompetence in taking timely help and aid to Katrina-hit people. Even republican senators accuse bush of lax behavior. The talk of the commission has meanwhile deepened the gap between Democrat and Republican senators. Democrats say they won't take part in a commission with Republicans and are calling for an independent Democrat commission. The 9/11 experience shows that the White House puts pressure on Republican senators to direct any investigation to the way it likes. Now a similar experience could happen in a commission to look into Katrina matters. Bush was forced to remove Michel Brown, the man who led rescue operations in Katrina-struck areas. Democrats say it's not enough and the president should fire Brown from his post as the head of the federal emergency management agency. Political experts believe the Bush administration is trying to make a stand to a torrent of criticism. Still, they say Brown's removal could lead to yet another reshuffle in the Bush government.

Last week Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist lost his life to cancer. Rehnquist, a conservative judge, was at the Supreme Court for the past 25 years. President Bush was quick to name John Roberts to replace Rehnquist. Roberts had also been named to replace Sandra Day O' Conner. At present two of the nine chairs at the Supreme Court are vacant and the Senate is scheduled to sit on September to say if Roberts is fit to join the Supreme Court. Liberals are strongly worried that a conservative is going to be the chief justice. But right-wingers hope they could use the golden opportunity to change the make-up of the court to their own benefit. It has been rare in U.S. history that a President could name two new faces to the Supreme Court in a short time. Democrats have threatened that they would not ratify Roberts for the job if the White House does not give them Robert's records.

Yesterday marked the four-year anniversary of the September eleven attacks on the United Nations. It was a Tuesday on September eleven in 2001 when 19 Al-Qaeda men hijacked four airliners and rammed them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington. Some three thousand people were killed in the attacks. The 9/11 attacks dramatically changed the U.S. social and political life. Soon after the attacks the U.S. administration adopted tough measures against its own citizens and immigrants. Afghanistan and Iraq were also invaded and occupied by the U.S. Iraq was invaded while there was no sign of any link between the former Iraqi regime and the September eleven attacks. A number of political pundits say the 9/11 was a military-security plot hatched inside the U.S. Most political experts believe the American government deliberately kept mum over acts of terrorism to bring about a situation to push its global objectives. War-makers and Neo-Conservatives at the White House term the war on terror an open-ended operation that may stretch for one hundred years.

Colin Powell, the man who has almost been out of news for the past few months is now back to come clean. He says the war on Iraq is a blot on my record. Powell said I made the speech at the United Nations on behalf of America and it will remain on my record as a blot forever. The former U.S. secretary of state went to the UN on February 5th in 2003 to offer documents on alleged Iraqi programs to make weapons of mass destruction. His speech included pictures showing mobile labs in Iraq. The speech was the strongest effort by the Bush administration to give a legal face to its attack on Iraq. But no such lab was found after the U.S. invasion of Iraq and none of Powell's claims were proved. Powell, as a lame duck secretary of state in his final days, agreed that his speech was false, saying the Pentagon's faulty reports led to such a scandal. Powell's latest words are another blow to the legitimacy of the Iraq War. He is expected to come under fresh criticism from neo-conservatives and warmongers.  

Monday September 5, 2005  

Katrina hit three states down south inflicting huge damage on them, particularly in Louisiana. 80 percent of New Orleans, the state capital, is under water because the city is located in areas under sea level. In some parts of the city eight meters of water has piled up. Despite warnings days before Katrina hit, thousands of the poor stayed in the city because they had no other place to go. They stayed in the city only to be killed in their thousands while tens of thousands more are still trapped across New Orleans. Latest figures speak of some 50 thousand people who are trapped on top of the buildings. They have been waiting for rescue forces but no one is around to help them out. The city is in chaos as gunmen and thieves rule the city. A coast guard commander said he is very concerned about the ongoing situation in the region, adding military and rescue helicopters get shots as they try to get close to hospitals or the areas where most of the victims are huddled together on top of homes. The coast guard commander said no official or organization is in control of the city.

Inability to take aid to Katrina-hit areas has caused huge criticism of the Bush government and made news agencies write critical articles on the U.S. administration. The Daily Telegraph in an editorial on Katrina said it is humiliating to see a superpower humiliated. The Daily Mail compared the U.S. inability to help tens of thousands of Katrina-hit people to Washington's inability in Iraq. It said the United States is the superpower that toppled a dictator but it is now badly bogged down in the Iraq war, to such an extent that it is now unable to help thousands of its own residents who are hit by Katrina. The Katrina victims in talks with reporters are pouring anger on U.S. officials, telling them leave Iraqis and help us. In addition to revealing the U.S. government's inability in dealing with a natural disaster, Katrina has disclosed some more realities in the U.S. One is the social divide. Most Katrina victims are poor people. Some experts believe the looting of homes and shops in the wake of Katrina hurricane is not at all surprising. It brings to the open the reality that there is a deep social and racial gap in the richest country in the World.

Katrina had a huge impact on the U.S. economy and oil markets. Close to 50 percent of the U.S. refineries is located in the Gulf of Mexico, which was hit by Katrina. Refineries have shut down, leading to a price hike in oil and eventually higher gas prices in the United States. The U.S. administration opened the country's strategic oil reserves to stem a stronger shock in oil markets. But oil prices kept going through the roof and set a record of above 70 dollars a barrel. Many Americans have their own cars and gas prices are a vital item in their expenditure. Higher gas prices would lead to less spending on other goods. The U.S. economy is based on more and more consumption and now an economic stagnation and higher unemployment rates are just around the corner. Katrina proved the fact that although the United States has a strong military and economy it is so week when a natural disaster hits. No human factor was behind Katrina but the U.S. administration has so far failed to keep security for its citizens who are being hit by hoodlums.

And now lets focus on the money the U.S. is spending in Iraq where it has been waging a 2.5-year-old war. The Scientific Center for Political Studies and the Foreign Policy Center issued a joint statement last week to say America is spending 5.4 billion dollars each month in Iraq; that is much higher than the average monthly spending in the Vietnam War in the 60s and 70s. In today's dollar value the U.S spent some 6 billion dollars on its war in Vietnam. Military experts say the costs of war in Iraq would be much higher. Greater military expenditure and higher U.S. toll in Iraq will bring several economic and political headaches for the U.S. government in the long term. More U.S. deaths have led to greater criticism of President Bush and his policies. High military spending has brought about a huge deficit and forced Bush to cut down on the money he was to spend in other areas like social and health sectors. It means more problems for Americans and a deeper divide between the haves and have-nots.

A report by the Census Bureau says the number of the poor has boosted in America, for the fourth back to back year. The report says in 2003, 35.9 million people were poor in the United States but in 2004 the figure increased to 37 million. These figures are registered in one of the richest countries in the World. If the country spends just a small part of its 500-billion-dollar military budget on social issues there won't be any poor people in America. Most of the poor are black, Asian-American or Hispanic. The number of the poor among whites is the lowest. The report by the Census Bureau shows that the lowest income in 2004 went to black families while every white family earned 47477 dollars. Racial divide could be seen in every sector. A look at the crime rate and the number of prisoners reveals more realities about the racial divide in the United States. 

Monday August 29, 2005  

The U.S. military presence in Iraq once again climbed to top of the news in the United States. Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a dead soldier in Iraq, made headlines as she led anti-war activists in their protest rallies outside President George W. Bush's ranch in Texas. The news got great coverage in the media. It was followed by a report that a number of Republican representatives at Congress have said the war in Iraq is another Vietnam War. Senator Chuck Hagel said the deeper the U.S. gets in the Iraq quagmire the more similar the Iraq war would be to the Vietnam War. Earlier Republican strategist Henry Kissinger had said I could smell another Vietnam coming from Iraq. Political analysts say a prolonged war in Iraq has created deep gaps among Americans who now feel that the Vietnam nightmare is going to be repeated. Since the end of the Vietnam War in 1974 no military operation other than the Iraq war has cost so many soldiers in the U.S. military. Now the cost of war in Iraq has surpassed 300 billion dollars but the U.S. administration still says it will not come up with a timetable to pull forces out of Iraq.

President Bush went to Salt Lake City to mark the Veteran’s Day. He said the war in Iraq is similar to the World War I and World War II. Bush said Americans saved the world from fascism in the 20th century and they will fight global terrorism in the 21st century. Bush was trying to say the Iraq war is a step towards bringing security to the World. But most Americans believe the attack on Iraq has put the U.S. national security on the line. In other words, the invasion of Iraq has turned the country into a hotbed for violence and terrorism. The U.S. administration needs to take its forces out of Iraq as a top priority if it seeks to fight terror.

Last week once again the easy-going method, taken by the security and intelligence bodies that led to the September eleven attacks in 2001, was among the top news in the media. A former army intelligence official said the military identified Mohammed Atta and two of his friends before the 9/11 but the FBI failed to do anything to arrest them. The Pentagon rejected the former official's words but the independent commission that is investigating into the September eleven attacks said the new development would be closely studied. Experts say new documents on the 9/11 bombing attacks in the build up to their anniversary will stir up new problems for the U.S. security and intelligence apparatus. The security system is accused of paying no attention to warnings about the attacks and has been under heavy pressure from people. If the words the former security official has put out are proved the responsibility for the 9/11 attacks and the death of three thousand people will land on the head of the U.S. security and intelligence organizations.

In parallel with the pullback of Zionist forces from the Gaza Strip a number of anti-Zionist Jews staged a protest rally outside the United Nations in New York. They issued a statement to support the innocent Palestinians and reject Zionism as a racial thinking that is against Judaism. Although a great number of Jews in the United States support the Zionist regime of Israel, there are some rabbis who believe Zionism is a deviation from the faith Prophet Moses brought. They say Zionism has mired the face of Judaism. In recent years the Zionist regime of Israel has used the influence of powerful Zionist lobbies to silence the independent rabbis in the United States. But so far such efforts have failed and the massacre of Palestinians by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who has adopted an Iron-fist policy has drawn harsh criticism from anti-Zionist Jews.

Pat Robertson who leads the Christian Alliance in America made a speech to call for the assassination of Hogo Chavez, the Venezuelan President. His speech met with reactions in the U.S. and across the World. Robertson is a major traditional conservative face in the Republican Party and White House and enjoys an influential status there. Words by an evangelist that the U.S. should kill a foreign president have led to strong concerns in the Latin America. The U.S. State Department has been trying to say that Robertson is an ordinary citizen and the U.S. administration has nothing to do with his words. The Christian Alliance has deeply influenced the administration under President Bush and such words could lead to practical measures by the government. Over the past one hundred years the U.S. has toppled many governments in the Latin American region or has even killed some presidents like Salvador Allende, the Chilean president.

The pentagon said more women in the armed forces are being raped. In the past 15 years top Pentagon officials have tabled several plans to end the issue of raping in the military but it seems that none of them has been successful. Reports coming out of Iraq speak of greater number of rapes among U.S. soldiers. Political experts say less discipline in the army units and a decline in moral standards in the United States are two of the causes behind the issue. Some military experts in America warn that if the number of rapes stay high and homosexuality continues in the United States the armed forces will face serious damage with lower operational capability.  

Monday August 22, 2005  

Dozens of anti-war activists gathered outside President Bush' ranch in Texas last week. They went there after Cindy Sheehan who has lost her son to the war in Iraq, camped out there. Sheehan has been there for the past two weeks, calling for a meeting with President Bush. Her move was followed by a number of other parents whose loved-ones have been killed in Iraq. They are calling for a speedy return of 138 thousand U.S. servicemen who are now in Iraq. The gathering outside Bush's ranch made the headlines as several media focused on the developing story happening very close to Bush who was there to have a rest. More unrest in Iraq and higher numbers of U.S. deaths there has put great pressure on Bush to pull out American soldiers from Iraq. Fresh polls show that most Americans are against Bush's policies. More outcries and criticism of Bush have led to more talks and proposals at political circles for a pullout of Iraq. Some fifty representatives at the House have offered a plan, calling on President Bush to bring back soldiers from Iraq by the end of 2005. On the international scale, pressure is also piling up on the administration to pull forces back. Now almost all political and news center believe the occupation of Iraq is one of the key factors behind greater terrorism and unrest in Iraq.

Kaila Williams, a U.S. female soldier in Iraq has revealed more words on mistreatment and manhandling of Iraqi prisoners at the hand of American soldiers. The 28-year-old Williams has said torture and mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners happened on a larger scale than revealed to people and that it was not restricted to the Abu Ghraib prison. She said similar torture and humiliation happened in the Mosul prison. When pictures of torture and mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib were out, U.S. military and government officials said the arbitrary measures took place only by a number of soldiers. But when more aspects of the issue were made public and the extent to which Iraqi prisoners were tortured was known to the World, it came to light that senior military and political officials were behind the issue. And when similar tortures were reported in Guantanamo and Afghanistan it became clear that U.S. soldiers had been trained to torture prisoners. The violent and dreadful behavior by US soldiers in dealing with prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo showed the true colors of the U.S. administration and its evil goals. In no period of time in the past was the United States more fearful than now and a messenger of threat, war and hatred.

A report was published last week to say racial profiling in the health sector has been increasing in recent years. The report includes the results of a research that says some 40 years after the black civil movement, black women are still being discriminated and receive the least health care. Nicole Lori who is an editor with the medical publication, the New England, said the research shows discrimination in the health sector has been high and has increased in the past ten years. According to the study only one out of ten health treatments goes to black people. Now 32 million black people are living in a situation where racial profiling is evident in social, economic, political and health sectors.

In a country where its leaders claim is the trailblazer in defending the human rights, millions of black people are living without their basic rights. The racial profiling has its roots in the U.S. government where U.S. officials seek to dominate the whole world. When a government sets its eyes on dominating the World, you won't expect its leaders respect the right of some 12 percent of American population whose color is not white.

The long U.S.-Mexico borders and the issue of illegal immigration and drug trafficking have turned into one of the most difficult issues between the two countries. Mexican President Vicente Fox has recently criticized U.S. officials for not working with his country in removing border problems. Referring to the drug-related violence on the US border Fox said all narcotics available in Mexico come from the United States. He asked what American officials are doing beyond the U.S-Mexico border. The U.S. administration is making similar accusation on the Mexican government and says Mexicans are not controlling their borders to stem illegal immigration. Tens of thousands of Mexicans arrive in the United States each year through illegal and dangerous means. Human smugglers are very active in the area and make huge money. Mexico, along with the U.S. and Canada, is a member of the NAFTA free trade agreement. The U.S. and Canada with their advanced economy are making high profits out of the treaty. But Mexico is far behind these major industrial countries and has suffered huge losses. Small industries and companies have gone bankrupt because their products could not compete with Canadian and American goods. It has in turn led to unemployment and poverty in Mexico and eventually immigration to the United States and joining drug rings.

Monday August 15, 2005  

Last week US President George W. Bush went to his ranch in Texas to get some rest but he found there a group of protesting women whose sons have been killed in Iraq. They chanted slogans against Bush, saying he has killed his loved ones. More than 1800 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq, the highest toll the U.S. military has suffered since the end of Vietnam War in 1974. The rally outside Bush's ranch came as the President once again said he won't put out an exact time for the pull-out of U.S. forces from Iraq. Bush's stance means the prospects for a pullout will be black for the American families who have a son or daughter in Iraq. More than two years after the invasion of Iraq security is far from perfect. Political experts say the protest rally by a group of mothers outside Bush's ranch and his rejection of their call for a pullout will bring more criticism on warmongers at the White House.

The Washington Post revealed in a report that the Pentagon has drawn up a new plan that allows it to stage operations inside the United States at times of trouble. Under the new plan the U.S. military will be able after 140 years to send his soldiers onto the streets to establish security and fight terrorism. The daily said the new plan shows a historic change has taken place in the military because it has never been involved in civil operations. After the end of civil war between the South and North in 1864 the military was barred from taking part in operations inside the country. But now neo-conservatives are trying to boost the role the military plays in the country's political and security developments, under a front of fighting terror. Civil rights groups have warned against the negative impacts of a heightened security condition and the violation of civil liberties in the United States. They say the interference of armed forces in local affairs will further hand over power bases to generals across the country.

Some fresh words on the September eleven attacks in 2001once again brought back the memories of the deadly attacks. New documents show that the U.S. military located Mohammd Atta and three others in the summer of 2001 before the 9/11 bombings. It seems that the FBI agents did not follow the case because Al-Qaeda men had Green cards. If proved the security bodies in America will face a new scandal. So far many documents have been issued on the laxed way security organizations dealt with security threats prior to the 9/11 attacks. Some political experts say neo-conservatives intentionally kept mum over the Al-Qaeda activities to prepare the ground for their militaristic policies and further domination of the world.

The State Department said last week talks are underway to transfer some of the prisoners at Guantanamo to Arab countries. The U.S. administration is bent on sending prisoners to their native countries. 510 prisoners from 36 countries are behind bars in Gunatanamo. Most of them are there for three years without any formal charge. The Bush administration plunged into a new scandal a few months ago when words came out that torture and mistreatment are common in Guantanamo where military interrogators are pumping out information from prisoners. Criticism kept coming from inside and outside the United States as some top democrat and republican figures called for the closure of the detention center. That is why Bush and his men are trying to transfer prisoners to their countries in a bid to cut down on the torrent of criticism, that still keeps coming on the White House.

President Bush signed into law the energy bill, which was adopted by Congress. Signing the document Bush said the U.S. will resume making atomic power plants. Since 1970s no nuclear power plant has been built in America. Analysts believe this is some good news for major energy companies. Bush hopes the new measure would be a positive response to major oil and energy companies that put their weight behind republicans in the 2000 and 2004 elections. The Bush administration says the new bill will reduce dependency on energy imports and will increase national security. But critics say the bill is to secure the benefits of huge energy companies. The critics believe the new law funnels taxpayer money into the accounts of oil companies and despite White House claims it does not pay enough attention to non-fossil fuels.

And finally, higher oil prices in world markets have caused concerns in the United States that the economic growth in the country would drop or come to a grinding halt altogether. Now oil prices hover around 67 dollars a barrel. In parallel, the commerce department said trade deficit once again soared in June. Economic pundits say higher oil prices and cheap Chinese products in US markets are two main factors behind more trade deficit. The United States imports some nine million barrels of oil each day. Higher prices will more than ever tilt the balance of the U.S. foreign trade. There is no doubt that if higher prices lead to an increase in gas prices more criticism will be put on the Bush government. Next year by-elections will be held for Congress and republicans need better economic conditions if they like to hang onto their majority there.

Monday August 8, 2005  

It was August 6th, 1945 when an American bomber, under orders from the then American President Harry Truman, dropped a nuclear bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later another atomic bomb hit the city of Nagasaki. The bombings led to Japan's unconditional surrender in the wake of 237 thousand civilian deaths, caused by American officials' warmongering policies. Since then especial ceremonies mark the bitter bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August sixth. Over the past 60 years it has been a wish of world people to remove nuclear weapons and check its production and proliferation. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was signed in 1970 to get the world closer to that wish. But the treaty and some other agreements did not save the world from the threats nuclear weapons impose on people, rather they put the world further on the line and brought greater atomic threats to world countries. The United States with the largest nuclear arsenal and as the only country that has used such weapons is now trying to make small nuclear bombs. The U.S. has hijacked the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to its own benefits and used it to keep other countries from peaceful nuclear technology. The U.S. arsenal along with President George W. Bush's warmongering policy is the largest threat to world's security and peace.

A major political development in the United States last week, came in the United Nations as John Bolton arrived there as the country's envoy in the World Body. After five months of arguments between the White House and the Senate President Bush sent Bolton to the United Nations without getting an approval from senators. Under the US law the president could name federal officials for a limited period without a senate approval during Senate's five-week recess. Bush who failed to get a vote of confidence for Bolton waited for the summer recess to appoint Bolton as his man in the UN. According to Bush's order Bolton could stay in the World Body up to January 2007 but needs a Senate approval for a longer stay. This is for the first time in the UN history that a US envoy is there without Senate approval. Bolton is one of neo-conservatives who support unilateral policies and the pre-emptive doctrine. the stands Bolton took during Bush's first term, when he was an undersecretary of state, were the main reasons Democrats mounted against Bolton's UN post. Democrats say Bolton will disfigure the US in the World Body. New York Times in its editorial last week said the positive point with the appointment of Bolton is that he will be confined to New York and could not destroy the US diplomacy in other areas.

A new book on terrorism has hit bookstores across America. its author says in-depth studies show that suicide bombings have jumped six times since the September eleven attacks on the U.S. in 2001. Robert Pape in his book" The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism" has discussed historical events that are at the root of suicide bombings. He says suicide bombing has skyrocketed since 9/11and there is no sign of decrease in the offing. So far several reports have been filed on more acts of terrorism after the September eleven attacks. These reports draw many consequences, among them, a message that says the strategy of the U.S. and its European allies in fighting terrorism over the past four years has failed. The 9/11 has turned into a front for Bush to justify his expansionist and interventionist policies. Now Bush justifies his measures as anti-terror activities. Higher numbers of acts of terrorism have awaken the world to the fact that the United States is misusing the war on terror to justify its warmongering measures. Greater hatred towards America proves this reality.

After the July bombings in London the U.S. president, like British Prime Minister Tony Blair, reacted differently, compared to their reactions in the wake of the September attacks in 2001. Back then, the U.S. said Al-Qaeda is behind the 9/11 bombing attacks, adding the war on terror aims to destroy the group. Washington used that excuse to attack Afghanistan and Iraq. But now U.S. officials say they are fighting the kind of thinking that breeds terrorism. America and European countries claim Islam is a breeding ground for terrorism. The Financial Times has quoted U.S. officials as saying that the war on terrorism has given way to war on violent extremism. In fact the U.S. shifted its policy after the failure in its war on terror in a bid to expand its interventionist policy. From now on, any policy that flies in the face of Washington's unilateral policies will be marked as extremist and violent.

A poll was out last week to say that 75 percent of Americans are worried about the fact that their reputation is being marred across the globe, particularly in Muslim countries. The poll published by the Foreign Affairs shows that the United States has never been hated so much in the World. Anti-U.S. protests are being held almost in every country and the U.S. is known as the symbol of Satan. The U.S. interventionist policies and inhumane measures by American soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo have added to the global hatred against the U.S. The hatred is also felt in Europe and in the countries that are U.S. allies. Now people in Europe are calling for a departure from U.S. policies on terror. The United States is known as the force behind stronger terrorism in the world. A US presence in a country, or support for US policies would bring threats and acts of terror to the host countries.

Monday August 1, 2005  

Muslim leaders in the United States condemned all kinds of terrorism last week. The Islamic Jurisprudence Council in North America issued a religious edict to say acts of terrorism on innocent people and cooperation with terrorists are religiously forbidden. Representatives of More than 100 mosques and Islamic organizations as well as 18 Muslim leaders signed off on the edict. Following bombing operations in London a new wave of attacks has been launched on Islam in the United States and Europe. Many officials and media are now trying to link the terrorist operations to Islamic groups. But most Muslim leaders from different Islamic groups have been in unison in condemning terrorism and killing of civilians. In the United States, the leaders of Muslim communities are trying to remove the allegations that have been made against Muslims. Across America millions of Muslims are now concerned that life will be much more difficult for them while stronger anti-Islam activities are underway. After the September eleven attacks on the United States in 2001 hundreds of abuse and mistreatment cases as well as physical attacks have taken place against Muslims. At present it seems that racial, extremist and Zionist groups are mounting more attacks on Muslims in the wake of London bombings.

The House of Representatives and Senate finally voted yes to the U.S. energy bill, to bring an end to years of clashes over writing a comprehensive measure for the country's energy. The White House did its best to push through the bill before Congress begins its summer recess. The bill will overhaul the macro policies in U.S. energy. Part of the bill gives tens of billions of dollars to oil companies as tax cut. Oil companies used their strong lobby and people like US Vice President Dick Cheney to get wads of cash in their pockets. Opponents of the bill say it is a big jab in the ribs of energy consumers. The bill pays little attention to renewable energy, getting environmentalists on the opposite side from the very beginning. But huge pressure from the Bush administration and the agreement from some Democrats to join Republicans on the bill led to its passage in Congress.

The White House threatened the Senate last week that it would use its legal authority to put John Bolton in the United Nations as the country's representative if senators keep rejecting him. Several months after the coming to power of second Bush administration in January, Democrats in the Senate are still opposing Bolton as the U.S. envoy in the Untied Nations. Democrats call for more words on Bolton's record but the White House rejects it. So far Bolton's case has gone to the Senate floor twice but each time a NO vote by Democrats killed the measure to take Bush's candidate to the World Body. Bush could install Bolton by January 2007 when a new Congress takes office. This will undermine Bolton who would represent a weak Washington in the United Nations where major issues are in the offing, including discussions on UN reforms.

Democrats in Congress reacted to the issue of John Roberts and the vote of confidence he needs to be a member of the Supreme Court. Patrick Leahy who is a Democrat senator said Democrats could not vote for Roberts before the White House puts out all documents on him. Bush has named Roberts to fill the seat of Sandra O' Conner who resigned recently. Democrats are worried about the fact that a conservative is finding his way into the Supreme Court. Roberts does not support abortion and democrats are bent on getting his record public to prevent him from joining the Supreme Court. Some political analysts believe if Bush continues to dig in his toes on not issuing Robert's record, his candidate for the Supreme Court may have the same fate his UN candidate has so far suffered from.

The White House used the terrorist bombings in London and made parts of the Patriot Act permanent. The Act was to expire at the end of 2005, some four years after its adoption in 2001, in the wake of 9/11 attacks. The Patriot Act allows the FBI to keep terror suspects behind bars as long as it wishes, or to try them in military tribunals without the presence of lawyers or family members. Over the past four years human rights activists have opposed the Act and criticized it as a measure at the hand of President Bush to violate the Constitution under the front of fighting terrorism. Before London blasts there was a possibility that the Patriot Act would not get a vote in Congress to be permanent. But the attacks in London helped warmongers in the White House make parts of the Act permanent.

A number of Republican representatives in Congress criticized Bush for the possibility of using his power to veto a motion on stem cell research. Bill Frist who leads Senate Republicans called on Bush to ratify the measure adopted by Congress on stem cells. Stem cells are useful in treating cancer, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s. Conservative Christians believe research on stem cells amounts to murder. Bush has said he would veto the measure to satisfy conservative Christians. Bush's stand on stem cells has drawn criticism from Democrats and some scientific centers. Even some Republicans in Congress are angry with conservatives and their extremist views. Political scientists expect a deeper gap between liberals and conservatives over issues like stem cells, abortion and homosexual marriage.    

Monday July 25, 2005  

The U.S. House of Representatives voted for the extension of the Patriot Act last week as tension gripped London in the wake of bombing attacks that killed dozens of people and injured hundreds more. 257 representatives voted for and 171 voted against the Act which was first adopted after the September eleven terrorist attacks on the U.S. in 2001. The Patriot Act allows the administration to peek its head in the private life of people and those who are suspected of being involved in acts of terrorism. Under the terms of the Act security and police forces could have access to personal e-mails, medical documents and library records. It also allows security and intelligence forces to keep suspects behind bars for an unlimited time without any court order. The law was to expire at the end of this year but the White House called on Congress to extend it and give the administration a chance to continue the fight on terror. The Patriot Act had many strong critics from the very beginning. They say the Act flies in the face of civil rights and civil freedom under a front of fighting terrorism. The Civil Liberties Union and the Green Peace have filed complaints against the FBI, CIA and the Pentagon. The complaints say security and intelligence bodies in the United States have opened cases against citizens who are against President George W. Bush's policies and have staged rallies against his war in Iraq. In fact the fight on terror has been an excuse for warmongers at the White House to push their expansionist and unilateral policies across the world, and to monitor and bring under control U.S. citizens and civilian organizations that are critical of domineering policies adopted by the White House.

An appellate court issued a verdict on prisoners in Guantanamo. According to the verdict the U.S. military could try prisoners, based on its special regulations. Last year a federal judge issued a verdict to say that trying Guantanamo prisoners in military committees runs counter to the 1948 Geneva Convention, the U.S. Constitution and military regulations. But the new verdict gives the White House and Pentagon an opportunity to set up military courts and try prisoners in Guantanamo. Political experts and international law pundits say the verdict is a permit to torture prisoners. Over the past three years there have been several reports on physical and psychological tortures in Guantanamo. Some Democrat and Republican politicians have called for the closure of the detention center in a bid to save America’s already-marred face. But the Bush administration pays no attention to such calls. The appellate court verdict has given the White House the legal paper it needed to torture and try prisoners in Guntanamo in a way that would justify the expansionist policies of Bush and his men who are acting under a front of combating terror.

Bush named John Roberts as the new judge for the Supreme Court. He is to replace Sander O'conner who has resigned her post after 30 years at the age of 75. The new nine-person line-up at the Supreme Court is now to the benefit of neo-conservatives. The president names judges for the Supreme Court but at least 60 of the 100 senators at the Senate should ratify his choices. The judges are elected permanently and the president could name a new figure only when one judge dies or resigns. The White House made good use of this opportunity to name a man who is close to the Republican Party. Bush picked a neo-conservative to replace Sander O’Conner who was a moderate face at the Supreme Court. The Court plays vital role in major political crises and that is why both the Republican Party and Democratic Party try to form a line-up that would be close to their ideas. Now Roberts faces a difficult vote at the Senate. At least five democrat senators should vote for Roberts to let him go to the Supreme Court. It seems that democrats are not going to bow easily to republicans and vote for their choice.

The Washington Post reported last week that the Bush government is bent on spreading the national missile defense system. It quotes National Missile Defense Agency’s head as saying that the Pentagon is boosting its radar system in Britain and is finding more locations for its missile bases in four European countries. He said similar projects are underway in East Asia to build up defenses against China’s short-range and long-range ballistic missiles. The U.S. administration has already set up the multi-billion-dollar National Missile Defense Shield. Experts believe that such projects by the warmongering Bush government is a measure that increases military rivalry across the globe. By this policy Bush and his men force their allies to buy shiploads of arms, and at the same time draw other arms-producers that are technically behind the U.S., into the new rivalry. The fact of the matter is, neo-conservatives at the White House justify their militaristic policy under the excuse of fighting terrorism. But all acts of terrorism have been carried out thorough simple methods in recent years and the U.S. polices have only put the world on the line and under a threat of more terrorist attacks.

And, a veteran American pilot has come up with some words on the 9/11 attacks. Ross Whitenburg says the U.S. administration could not take me for a ride and I am sure the 9/11 attacks were done by the administration itself. Whitenburg, a pilot during the Vietnam War, has said the administration may has been successful in deceiving people but I am a veteran pilot and know that the attacks were carried out by the administration. Four years after the attacks, many questions are still open on the realities involved in the event. The government said Al-Qaeda was behind the attacks but military experts say such a complicated operation could not be done without insider intelligence. More and more pilots are talking about the nine eleven attacks, bringing more doubts about the way the attacks took place. 

Monday July 18, 2005  

The talk of the town last week was the support President George W. Bush has put behind his political Adviser Carl Rove. A major rally was held outside the White House to force Bush to release Rove who is accused of revealing the name of a CIA agent to silence her husband who is a war critic. Under the US law revealing the identity of CIA agents is an offense, and those who do this, would stay some time in prison. Democrat representatives in Congress tried several times to put pressure on Bush to fire Rove. The Judicial Department is trying to locate the person who revealed the identity of the CIA agent, Vallery Plame, and Rove is the main suspect. Rove is an old friend of the Bush's family and political experts say his charges would deal a huge blow to Republicans, particularly the neo-conservatives at the White House. The issue has turned into a main political row between the White House and Bush's critics.

The Wall Street Journal and NBC issued the results of a poll last week to say fewer Americans support President Bush and his policies. The poll says only 46 percent of people go for Bush's policies while 49 percent reject them. The support for Bush's foreign policy is 46 percent and for his economic program is 45 percent. The Wall Street Journal says the president is faced with a serious challenge of lower public support in his second term. The most important issue for those who responded to the poll was Iraq and the US war there. 57 percent of Americans still support the war in Iraq but the figure is sharply down, compared to march 2003 when Bush ordered his forces to invade Iraq. Meanwhile, some Republican analysts have warned that the Republican Party would lose the mid-term Congress elections to democrats in 2006. 55 percent of Americans feel discontent with the conduct of the House of Representatives and Senate, which are under Republican control. Only 28 percent of Americans say Congress is doing its job.

Last week the anti-Muslim activities continued in the United States. Following the bombing attacks in London a new wave of propaganda has opened against Muslims in America. Conservative and Zionist circles in the U.S. name Muslims in their TV programs as the culprits behind terrorist attacks across the planet. A similar propaganda was unleashed against Muslims soon after the September eleven attacks in 2001. In recent months the impact of such propaganda was partly undone, particularly after the cultural programs that Muslim organizations held in America. But now once again Muslims are faced with extremist attacks. The Council for American-Muslim Relations issued a statement to condemn all acts of terrorism and the killing of civilians. The council asked news agencies to publish its statement to prevent a new wave of anti-Islam attacks. Ultra right-wingers and Zionists, who are in control of most news outlets in the United States, try to introduce Muslims as extremists and violent people. If the ongoing anti-Muslim trend keeps going in the U.S. a new religious and racial crisis will be created and Muslims will not be its only victims.

The Guantanamo prison's chief warden was removed from his post last week for torture and other illegal activities that took place under his watch. Leslie Mccoy is accused of holding prisoners in tough and inhuman conditions. Pentagon officials hope Mccoy's removal would decrease the pressure being put on the U.S. form its own people and those living in other countries. The bleak condition in which prisoners are being held in Guantanamo has been a major news story in the past few months. A number of democrat figures including two former presidents have called for the closure of Guantanamo. Many international bodies like the human rights commission and amnesty international have issued statements to strongly condemn torture in the U.S. prison in Guntanamo. The Guantanamo issue got the United States a spot on a UN list of torturers. Despite international opposition the Bush administration says it would not close the detention center. Pundits believe the Guantanamo case will come to an end by removing the prison's chief warden and a number of low-ranking soldiers, something that happened in the Abu Ghraib issue in Iraq.  

And, a working committee at the energy department called for making new nuclear weapons in America. A final report by the six-member committee says renovation of the nuclear weapons that date back to the cold war era will be costly and that new atomic weapons should be made to replace them. The United States has the largest and most destructive atomic arsenal in the world but still seeks to produce new weapons. The new generation of atomic bombs, known as small bombs, is less destruct