The Talk Show American

THE TALK SHOW AMERICAN: 04/02/2006 - 04/09/2006

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Three Years After Saddam: The Pros and Cons of Progress



Regardless of the many U.S. critics of the war in Iraq, the people of that country perceive real progress in the three years since their liberation.

Sunday, April 9 is the three-year anniversary of the day Saddam Hussein fled Baghdad and his statue was toppled � perhaps a critical day in the development of democracy in the Middle East.

Over the last six months, according to recent polling data, two-thirds of Iraqis surveyed have steadily expressed the belief that the Iraqi Security Forces are winning the battle against terrorism.

But with that positive note, comes a negative one in the critical battle for the minds and hearts of the Iraqi people.

When asked to describe those responsible for attacks against Iraqi civilians, only a small percentage chose terms such as "freedom fighter" or "patriot." Instead, the overwhelming majority in every region polled chose the terms "terrorist" and "criminal," terms that may have little distinction among the respondents.

However, when asked to describe those who attack Coalition forces, the response becomes more diverse, with a large number of people selecting "patriot" and "freedom fighter." The exception is the Kurdish areas where "terrorist" and "criminal" remain the overwhelming choice.

But with sectarian violence flaring across Iraq and charges that the media is focusing on the bloodshed and missing the progress, getting a real fix on Iraq may be as difficult a subject for Americans as enemy identification has proven for some Iraqis.

Those confused Americans apparently also include the lawmakers on Capitol Hill, who in an amendment to a block of funding for the war, tacked on a requirement for the administration to periodically report to them -- in detail -- on the sometimes shadowy and elusive progress being bought with the nation's blood and treasure.

Recently, the Pentagon issued its third, semi-regular report to Congress on the progress of the war.


The report, "Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq" is styled as "an attempt to lay down clear, measurable markers documenting a broader view of just how well the U.S. is doing across a range of sectors, from the development of the Iraqi security forces to the reconstruction of the country's infrastructure."

For sure, a copy of the report is hardly sitting worn and dog-eared on coffee tables around the country. Covering scores of pages and interlaced with graphs and charts, some conclusions as to the big picture jump forward:

The Security Environment

The report perhaps predictably highlights the President's decreasing the number of combat brigades in Iraq from 17 to 15 -- a reduction of about 7,000 troops.

This decision was based on several indicators of progress but primarily the growing capability of Iraqi Security Forces, notes the document.

In the security environment in general, the framers of the report note that the single most important indicator of success in meeting security objectives is the failure of anti-Iraqi forces in their campaign to derail the political process and alienate the Iraqi people from democratic governance.

However, there is a down side as well.

As expected during this period, the total number of attacks against Iraqi and Coalition targets has risen. Attacks remain concentrated in four of Iraq's eighteen provinces, and eleven provinces averaged one or fewer attacks per day over the reporting period.

The complexity and effectiveness of these attacks range from a single insurgent executing an ineffective small arms attack to a coordinated attack of several dozen enemy fighters using different weapon systems. However, there have been only four of these more complex coordinated attacks in the last six months.

Over three quarters of all attacks result in no casualties or serious damage and the percentage of car bombs intercepted and defused is steadily increasing.

Terrorist attacks have failed to create and spread sectarian conflict, and polls of Iraqi perceptions continue to show the isolation of terrorists and foreign fighters from the Iraqi people.

Iraqi Security Forces

According to the report, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior forces continue to progress in developing their capabilities and taking ownership of Iraqi security. Key measures of progress highlighted include:


As of January 23, 2006, 98 Iraqi Army and special operations battalions are now conducting counter-insurgency operations, 11 percent more than reported in October. Fifty-three of these battalions are assessed as being "in the lead or fully independent" � a 47 percent increase since October.
There are 27 National Police Force battalions (formerly the Special Police Forces) and one Emergency Response Unit capable of combat operations, with 10 units assessed as being in the lead.


Thirty-seven Iraqi Army battalions now control their own battle space. Iraqi Security Forces are responsible for security in roughly 460 square miles of Baghdad and more than 11,600 square miles in other provinces of Iraq, an increase of almost 4,000 square miles since the last report.

The program of training and equipping members of the Iraqi Security Forces continues on track. Almost 107,000 soldiers, sailors, and airmen have now been trained and equipped � an increase of 19,000 since the last report.
More than 82,000 police have been trained and equipped � an increase of over 13,000 since the last report. These police work alongside 38,000 other Ministry of Interior forces.

Overall, there are over 227,000 Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior forces trained and equipped for counterinsurgency operations � an increase of 18 percent since the October 2005 report.

Progress in Everyday Small Steps

In addition to the big picture, the full story of progress in Iraq cannot be fully captured without an understanding of the mundane military routine that every day relentlessly hammers away at the insurgents.

The Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq and Multinational Force Iraq Forces Press Service pumps out a steady grind of the slow history of small successes, day by day. For instance, for April 4, 2006, there were these releases (heavily edited here for the sake of brevity):


Iraqi soldiers from 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division, and coalition troops detained five suspects and discovered a weapons cache while patrolling near Khalidiyah...

Iraqi soldiers from 1st Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, discovered and cleared a cache found during a raid in southeastern Ramadi...

Two suspected insurgents were captured during a synchronized joint raid led by Iraqi army troops...

Iraqi soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, and coalition troops detained four suspects in Khalidiyah...

Iraqi soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division, and coalition troops detained three suspects and found a weapons cache near Karabilah...

Iraqi soldiers from the 7th Iraqi Army Division and coalition troops detained eight people near Ramadi...

Soldiers from the 4th and 6th Iraqi Army Divisions caught and detained a suspected triggerman after a roadside bomb attack in Fallujah...

In Saqlawiyah Iraqi troops detained a man listed on a suspect roster for questioning...

Iraqi soldiers from the 7th Iraqi Army Division and coalition troops found and seized a weapons cache near Hit...
No injuries or damages were reported in any of these missions.

For sure, none of the pedestrian nuggets above found their way to front pages of newspapers or filled the screens of TV news reports.

Isolating the Extremists

Returning to the larger picture �

The report to Congress highlights progress in the political-economic-military strategy of isolating hard-core "rejectionists" and terrorists from the mainstream Sunni Arabs.

Some recent indicators of progress on this track include:


Pre-referendum accord on possible amendments to the constitution, providing an additional incentive for Sunni participation in the government.


Significant increase in active participation of Sunni Arabs in the political process. In al-Anbar province voter turn-out grew from 2 percent in January 2005 to 86 percent in the December 2005 elections.

Arab League support and legitimization for Sunni participation in the political process, including hosting a Cairo conference that drove a wedge between Sunnis who desire political representation and Al-Qaida rejection of the political process.

Sunni tribes in al-Anbar province that formerly fought against the Coalition joined Iraqi Security Forces and support the Coalition in operations against Al-Qaida terrorists.

A continuing high level of intelligence tips received from the population � to include locations of improvised explosive devices.

Establishing Rule of Law Institutions


There are currently 800 judges in Iraq, including 300 investigative judges. These judges are now working and resolving cases under Iraqi law.


In 2003, approximately 4,000 felony cases were resolved in Iraqi courts. In 2004, they resolved more than twice that number. As of November 2005, the Iraqi courts were on track to resolve more than 10,000 felony cases in 2005.


The Central Criminal Court of Iraq (CCCI), a Coalition-created entity, is the only court in Iraq with national jurisdiction that tries defendants accused of terrorism and crimes against the Coalition, as well as other serious crimes.


In November 2004, the CCCI had capacity to conduct fewer than 10 trials and investigative hearings per month. In the first two weeks of September 2005 alone, the Court prosecuted more than 50 multi-defendant trials and conducted 100 investigative hearings.

The Court is now expanding its reach throughout Iraq with separate branches in local provinces. Twelve cities have sitting CCCI courts with a total of 57 CCCI judges nationwide.


U.S. Department of Justice advisors working through the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program have trained and mentored Iraqis at every level of the Ministry of Justice since the fall of the Ba'athist regime.


More Mileposts


Political Stability: The Iraqis have now met all of the political benchmarks established by the Transitional Administrative Law and endorsed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1546, awaiting only the seating of the new Iraqi government.


Negotiations are now underway among many parties and coalitions to ensure broad inclusion in the formation of the constitutionally elected new government.

Economic Activity: Economic indicators continue to be mixed, with some noteworthy achievements. Despite the difficult security environment, the Iraqi economy demonstrated overall macroeconomic stability during the past year.

The currency remains stable; foreign exchange reserves are well above targets; and substantial debt reduction is moving apace.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates real growth in Gross Domestic Product of 2.6 percent for 2005 and projects higher growth for the next two years. Annual inflation is expected to moderate from annual rates above 30 percent in 2004 and 2005.

In key sectors, however, attacks on infrastructure and maintenance problems continue to hamper progress in producing and exporting oil and in delivering reliable electricity, but the communications sector continues its rapid growth with a 40 percent increase in cell phone subscribers since the last report.

Expanding International Support for Iraq

In November 2005, the World Bank approved its first loan to Iraq in 30 years. In December 2005, the International Monetary Fund approved Iraq's request for an economic reform program in the form of a Stand-By Arrangement.

Paris Club creditors continue to sign bilateral debt agreements with Iraq. As of January 2006, 13 out of 18 creditors have signed such agreements. As the first government is formed under the new constitution, increased international engagement, particularly on a bilateral basis, is anticipated.

Iraq is gaining wider support from Arab states as well. In November 2005, the Arab League hosted a meeting in Cairo to promote Iraqi national accord and the political process.


Many Arab countries publicly supported Iraq's constitutional referendum and recent election and called for the broad participation of all Iraqis in Iraq's political process.

Rebuilding the Iraqi Economy

The U.S., in conjunction with the Government of Iraq and international donors, continues to complete projects that are improving Iraqi oil, electricity, water, sewerage, and communications infrastructure.

The U.S. has also been instrumental in building the capacity of the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Iraq.

The bad news -- pressures from wages, pensions, and the growth of the security sector are raising government expenditures dramatically. The U.S. and other international advisors are working with the Government of Iraq to keep these pressures under control in order to maintain a stable economic environment.

Part of the solution to promote a sound economy is for the Iraqi government to reduce subsidies on fuel and, to some degree, electricity, water, and food.


On December 18, 2005, the Iraqi government began the first stage of price increases for gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuel; the current plans call for the Iraqis to continue reducing these subsidies over the next few years until prices are in line with regional averages.

As part of a broad strategy to revitalize Iraq's private sector, the U.S. also continues to provide micro-credit to emerging Iraqi entrepreneurs and small- and medium-enterprise loans for Iraqi businesses.

Over 20,000 microfinance loans with a value of $44 million have been disbursed to small entrepreneurs creating an estimated 30,000 jobs. Over 2,400 businessmen and women have taken advantage of training programs for small and medium sized enterprises.

Increased budgets, personnel, and authority are being directed towards the organizations that investigate corruption: the Board of Supreme Audit, the Inspectors General of the ministries, and the Commission of Public Integrity.

International Support

Iraq continues to make progress reintegrating into the world economy. The Government of Iraq is receiving substantial reconstruction grants and loans from the U.S. and other foreign donors.


Of the $13.5 billion pledged by donors other than the U.S. at the 2003 Madrid conference, $3.2 billion has been disbursed as of December 2005.


Police Forces' Capabilities

As of the end of January, thirty-seven Iraqi Army battalions now control their own battle space. Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) are responsible for security in roughly 460 square miles of Baghdad and more than 11,600 square miles in other provinces of Iraq, an increase of over 4,000 square miles since the last report.

Over the last three months, the number of ISF independent operations exceeded the number of Coalition force independent operations. ISF independent operations increased by 24 percent since May 2005.

Ministry of Defense Forces

Ministry of Defense (MOD) forces consist of Army (including Special Forces), Air Force, and Navy (including Marines) personnel. Since the October report, the total number of MOD personnel trained and equipped surpassed 100,000.

The Iraqi Armed Forces are on track to achieve a projected end-strength of approximately 131,000 soldiers by mid-2006.

The MOD is making a focused effort to recruit personnel from across the spectrum of Iraqi society, in accordance with the new Iraqi Constitution that guarantees equal opportunities for all Iraqis. A lack of recruiting centers in largely Sunni areas has been mitigated by mobile recruiting missions throughout areas such as the Euphrates River Valley.

Equipping of the MOD forces has continued this quarter with the procurement and delivery of nearly 9,000 AK-47 rifles, almost 1,800 pistols, more than 4,700 light and medium machine guns, and over 750 light and medium vehicles. Individual soldiers were issued nearly 15,000 sets of body armor and over 9,000 Kevlar helmets.

The number of Iraqi Army units in the lead continued to grow since October, with 37 battalions now controlling their own battle space.

Iraqi Highway Patrol

The Iraqi Highway Patrol (IHP) is a nation-wide force responsible for securing Iraq's highway system, including the performance of armed escort and law enforcement duties. Almost 1,800 IHP personnel have been trained and equipped, an increase of 500 since the last report.

However, on the bad news front, distribution of supplies and equipment, as well as additional logistical and pay issues, continue to challenge the effectiveness of the IHP.

National Police Forces

The National Police Forces (formerly known as the Special Police Forces) are highly trained units comprised of three separate organizations: the Police Commandos (providing light infantry for counter-insurgency operations), the Public Order Police (specializing in re-establishing order in high-risk environments), and the Mechanized Police (providing light armor for counterinsurgency operations).

The 27 National Police battalions and one Emergency Response Unit have continued to improve their capabilities as a national, rapid-response force for countering armed insurgency, large-scale disobedience, and riots and conducting operations throughout Iraq's most contentious areas. They also provided critical security during the referendum and general election.

The Police Commandos consist of nearly 9,000 trained and equipped personnel. The Government of Iraq has authorized a total force of more than 11,800 Commandos, which Are slated to be trained and equipped by December 2006.

Almost 1,500 Mechanized Police have been trained and equipped. This is the target force structure authorized by the Government of Iraq.

Almost 8,100 Public Order Police have been trained and equipped, an increase of over 1,000 since the last report. The Government of Iraq has authorized a total force of approximately 10,600 Public Order Police.

Bush 'is planning nuclear strikes on Iran's secret sites'




The Bush administration is planning to use nuclear weapons against Iran, to prevent it acquiring its own atomic warheads, claims an investigative writer with high-level Pentagon and intelligence contacts.

President George W Bush is said to be so alarmed by the threat of Iran's hard-line leader, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, that privately he refers to him as "the new Hitler", says Seymour Hersh, who broke the story of the Abu Ghraib Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal.

Some US military chiefs have unsuccessfully urged the White House to drop the nuclear option from its war plans, Hersh writes in The New Yorker magazine. The conviction that Mr Ahmedinejad would attack Israel or US forces in the Middle East, if Iran obtains atomic weapons, is what drives American planning for the destruction of Teheran's nuclear programme.

Hersh claims that one of the plans, presented to the White House by the Pentagon, entails the use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon, such as the B61-11, against underground nuclear sites. One alleged target is Iran's main centrifuge plant, at Natanz, 200 miles south of Teheran.

This newspaper disclosed recently that senior Pentagon strategists are updating plans to strike Iran's nuclear sites with long-distance B2 bombers and submarine-launched missiles. And last week, the Sunday Telegraph reported a secret meeting at the Ministry of Defence where military chiefs and officials from Downing Street and the Foreign Office discussed the consequences of an American-led attack on Iran, and Britain's role in any such action.

The military option is opposed by London and other European capitals. But there are growing fears in No 10 and the Foreign Office that the British-led push for a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear stand-off, will be swept aside by hawks in Washington. Hersh says that within the Bush administration, there are concerns that even a pummelling by conventional strikes, may not sufficiently damage Iran's buried nuclear plants.

Iran has been developing a series of bunkers and facilities to provide hidden command centres for its leaders and to protect its nuclear infrastructure. The lack of reliable intelligence about these subterranean facilities, is fuelling pressure for tactical nuclear weapons to be included in the strike plans as the only guaranteed means to destroy all the sites simultaneously.

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Friday, April 07, 2006

Cincy 'Enquirer' Editor Defends 'Grandma In Iraq' Blog

Cincinnati Enquirer editor Tom Callinan defended the controversial "Grandma In Iraq" blog on his paper's Web site, which has drawn both support and criticism for its pro-military views. Callinan stressed that the blog, written by a U.S. Army public affairs officer, is not under control of the newspaper's editorial staff, and called its existence "a very complicated issue."

"We are trying to do the right thing," Callinan told E&P Thursday, noting that the Web site had recently changed the description of the blogger, Suzanne Fournier, to clearly state she is a military spokesperson. "She never hid the fact that she worked for them," he asserted. "But we did not put a disclaimer at the top, we had overlooked that. We have now corrected it."

Supporters, however, contend that such a Web page is what blogging is all about -- giving space to opine. "Readers are intelligent folks, if the person is clearly labeled, I would not have a problem with it," said Jeff Fruit, director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Kent State University.

Callinan said the blog was created after the Enquirer did a story about local troops going to Iraq and found Fournier working over there. "We thought it was interesting that a 61-year-old grandmother would be in Iraq," he said, stressing that the Web site invited her to blog. "She did not seek us out."

Callinan stressed, however, that the blog is a separate entity from the Enquirer. He pointed out that, while both are on Cincinnati.com, the blog and the Enquirer's Web site, are separate. "There are a lot of things on the Cincinnati.com portal that our newsroom is not generating," he added. "This one was just one more voice."

As for Fournier, she has not responded to requests from E&P for comment. But she addressed the issue with a sharp defense on the blog late Wednesday.

"Gosh, I had no idea my blog would stir up such strong voices. I truly do believe in freedom of speech and expression, but may I ask you to be tolerant, courteous and respectful of each other's opinions?" she wrote. "I want to take a few moments to clear up misinformation posted about my blog recently. There was never an attempt on my part or on the part of the Cincinnati Enquirer to hide the fact that I am a public affairs officer and that my profession is communication."

Fournier then posted several newspaper stories from 2005 that mention her and note her military title. "This isn't about me, the real heroes over here are the soldiers and the Iraqi people," she added. "I believe we need to support all Coalition forces and their families."

The real picture in Iraq

Patrolling with the Iraqi Army

By Mark Wojciechowski
Friday, April 7, 2006


BAQUBAH, Iraq (April 7, 2006) � Building the force to fight the insurgency is essential to a free and democratic Iraq. Many people know this.

The latest waves of sectarian violence, since the bombing of the Golden Mosque, are obvious attempts to disrupt and throw the fledgling Iraqi government into chaos. Many people know this as well.

Brave Soldiers of the Iraqi Army are stepping up daily despite being targeted by anti-Iraqi forces. Not as many people know this since they don�t see it in the media.

They see the attack on an Iraqi Army recruiting station, but they don�t see the day after, when more recruits line up to join the ranks of the Iraqi Army to protect their country.

When I walk with the Iraqi Army, I see a look of determination on their faces as they sweep through palm groves or patrol through the streets looking for insurgents, weapons and bomb-making materials. With the help of coalition Military Transition Teams, the Iraqi Army recruits will become better Soldiers. The MiTTs teach basic soldiering skills that are used to thwart attacks and quell the anti-Iraqi forces.

I have had many opportunities to follow the Iraqi Army on various operations they regularly conduct. The operations spawn from intelligence they gather on their own.

Iraqi citizens are scared and tired of the "bad guys" dwelling in their villages and neighborhoods. More and more of them are coming forward and offering tips that are leading to more finds.

A few months ago, Iraqi Army Soldiers were very doubtful about me carrying a camera along on their patrols. Some of them would utter "Ali-Baba" and motion with their fingers as if their throat was being cut. They would turn from the camera or cover up their faces with scarves. This would imply that if the wrong people saw their photo, they would be killed.

Now I can walk with them and they proudly pose with their weapons at the ready saying "Mister picture?"

The mainstream media states that the attacks on the security forces are hindering the growth and progress of a peaceful Iraqi. This is the complete opposite of what I see. I see Sunnis, Shias and Kurds walking in the same ranks of the Iraqi Army towards the same objective--a peaceful secure Iraq.

(Staff Sgt. Mark Wojciechowski is a military journalist serving with the Tennessee Army National Guards 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Department in Iraq. Sgt. Wojciechowski, who hails from Chicago, has a Bachelor of Science in journalism from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.)

Russian Defense Minister : Iran doesn't have Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles

Although Iran said Wednesday that it had successfully test-fired a �top secret� missile, the third in a week, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov does not believe Iran has such weapons.

�I would like to assure everybody: Iran does not have intercontinental ballistic missiles, it has medium-range missiles. There are an ever-increasing number of states in the world who possess medium-range missiles and only two countries in the world � Russia and the U.S. � do not and cannot possess them,� Ivanov said.

U.S. Has Missile Defense System In Place

Senior Defense Department officials confirm that the United States has a working missile defense system in place.

Peter C.W. Flory, assistant defense secretary for international security policy, tells the Senate's strategic forces subcommittee, "The United States today has all the pieces in place needed to intercept an incoming long-range ballistic missile."

Flory describes a "ground-based interceptors in Alaska and California; a network of ground-, sea- and space-based sensors; a command-and-control network; and, most importantly, trained servicemen and women ready to operate the system."

"The system is still aimed primarily at development and testing, but the capability does exist."

However, Flory adds, "Ballistic missile defenses are not as capable today as they will be in the future. The system in place is an initial capability."

"President Bush directed that the United States build a missile defense program to assure allies that no country can use the threat of attack on the United States as blackmail. The program dissuades potential adversaries from investing in ballistic missiles by reducing the effectiveness of such weapons."

Flory says, "The defenses deter attacks by reducing confidence in the success of any attack, and it is designed to defeat missile attacks in the event deterrence fails."

Ranking Ethics Democrat Under Investigation

The Wall Street Journal leads today with a piece on Rep. Alan Mollohan (W.Va.), the Democratic ranking member on the House Ethics Committee. Mollohan, also a member of the Appropriations Committee, has earmarked millions in funds for non-profits run by his business partner and some campaign contributors.

The Journal reports that Mollohan is now under investigation, and if this release by the National Legal and Policy Center has any validity, he may have been understating his assets in his congressional disclosure forms over a nine year period. NLPC claims to have conducted a nine-month investigation into Mollohan's finances, triggered by the unusual rise in his net worth since 2000.

"When Mollohan failed to disclose an asset we would document his ownership interest with a deed, Uniform Commercial Code filing or other public record," reads a statement by NLPC Chairman Ken Boehm. "In all, we documented over 250 misrepresentations and omissions. ... The real issue here is not whether Mollohan systematically was hiding financial and real estate assets and grossly misrepresenting their value. He was. The real issue is why he was hiding those assets."

The Libby NIE Leak: Much Ado about Nothing

All presidents do it, and it never seems to be a problem � unless the president�s name is Bush.

The more one hears about Scooter Libby�s being authorized to �leak� information from the 2002 National Intelligence Estimate, the more this is revealed as a bogus kerfuffle, manufactured by the press � which should be ashamed of itself, since this kind of �leaking� is the media�s stock in trade.

If the president decides to make information public, it is public � no matter how classified it was before, and no matter who in the government thinks the publicizing of it is a bone-headed move. The president gets to do that � and that�s part of why it matters who the president is.

Classified information belongs to the executive branch. Under the Constitution, the executive power is vested in a single official, the president. As Justice Scalia pointed out in his classic dissent in Morrison v. Olson, this does not mean some of the executive power; it means all of the executive power. The president can make a bad de-classification decision, but it is his decision to make. (In this case, it happens to have been a good decision, made to balance the misinformation put into the public domain by Joseph Wilson and others trying to mislead the public about Iraq�s nuclear intentions.)

What is being talked about in connection with Libby and the NIE was a �leak� not because it was classified. It was a �leak� (a) because the information was not previously public (which does not necessarily have anything to do with whether it was previously classified � the executive branch has lots of non-public information that is not classified); and (b) because it was not made generally available, but was disclosed to a particular reporter. This happens every day � if it did not, your morning newspaper would be very thin.

Administrations leak � or, better, disclose � sensitive information in response to political conditions. All presidents do it, and there is nothing wrong with this. In fact, it is hilarious to hear the media, which constantly carps about government secrecy, now complaining about government disclosures.

In many instances, it would be nice (for diplomatic, strategic, investigative, or other purposes) if information could be kept under wraps. But governance is freighted with politics � which means it is beset by misinformation, half-truths, and the inaccuracies you get in a bumptious partisan environment, fueled by 24-hour news channels and a press whose default state is frenzy. Consequently, when misinformation approaches a tipping point in the court of public opinion, it is often to the greater good for a president to disclose some sensitive, accurate information so the public is not led astray.

Classic example of this? After the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed in 1998, the Clinton Administration retaliated, in part, by bombing the al Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Sudan. Almost immediately, President Clinton was attacked politically: we had taken out a mere aspirin factory, Sudan was not a threat to us, it was a gratuitous act of American aggression, etc.

So what did the Clinton Administration do? Exactly what it should have done. It had intelligence officials leak to the media previously undisclosed, previously classified information which put President Clinton�s decision in sensible context. Besides anonymous leakers, the Administration later sent its top counterterrorism official, Richard Clarke, to provide � selectively � some of the available intelligence, so the public would understand why President Clinton�s actions had been justified. Here�s how the Washington Post reported it on January 23, 1999:

While U.S. intelligence officials disclosed shortly after the missile attack that they had obtained a soil sample from the El Shifa site that contained a precursor of VX nerve gas, Clarke said that the U.S. government is �sure� that Iraqi nerve gas experts actually produced a powdered VX-like substance at the plant that, when mixed with bleach and water, would have become fully active VX nerve gas.

Clarke said U.S. intelligence does not know how much of the substance was produced at El Shifa or what happened to it. But he said that intelligence exists linking bin Laden to El Shifa's current and past operators, the Iraqi nerve gas experts and the National Islamic Front in Sudan.

Given the evidence presented to the White House before the airstrike, Clarke said, the president �would have been derelict in his duties if he didn't blow up the facility.�

The press was not very supportive of the Sudan bombing � it was, after all, a use of American military power. But they liked Clinton, so the selective disclosure of previously classified information by Clinton officials was treated matter-of-factly � as it should have been. The story was about the information, not the leak.

To the contrary, they abhor Bush, so the Libby story is about the leak � not the NIE information. That information, of course, puts Iraq operations � which the media also oppose � in more accurate context. Obviously, if your champion is Joseph Wilson, you�d much rather be talking about leaks than substance.

That�s the way the game is played now � and it stinks.

� Andrew C. McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor, is a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

New York Post: DUBYA CAN'T LEAK

IT'S amazing how the common topics and subjects of discussion three years ago should vanish so quickly from memory.

Yesterday, breathless news reports suggested that President Bush had directed the "leak" of classified information in July 2003. Yet the "leak" in question was from a document called the National Intelligence Estimate, or NIE - and by the time this "leak" occurred, the contents of the NIE as they related to Iraq were almost entirely public.

On Oct. 7, 2002, nine months before Bush's supposed "leak," the administration released an unclassified version of the very same NIE at the urging of Senate Democrats. And in early 2003, reporters hostile to the administration (primarily John Judis and Spencer Ackerman of The New Republic) were being told all sorts of things about the still-classified portions of the NIE.

And this "leak" wasn't a leak in any case. A "leak" is the unauthorized release of government information. The leak of classified information is a crime. But according to Scooter Libby, the former chief of staff to the vice president who gave the information from the NIE to a reporter, he only released it because he was authorized to do so by the president himself.

Constitutionally, the authority to declare documents "classified" resides with the president. So, under the terms of an executive order first drafted in 1982, he can declassify a document merely by declaring it unclassified.

The language of the executive order reads as follows: "Information shall be declassified or downgraded by the official who authorized the original classification, if that official is still serving in the same position . . . [or] a supervisory official." In the executive branch, the president is the ultimate "supervisory official."

We have found out about the president's decision to declassify information from the 2002 NIE because the special prosecutor who has charged Libby with perjury and obstruction of justice revealed elements of Libby's grand-jury testimony in new court papers.

The prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, claims Libby was involved in revealing the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame as a means of discrediting Wilson's husband, Joseph C. Wilson.

Wilson had written an op-ed in which he said he knew first-hand that the Bush administration had deliberately lied when it claimed Saddam Hussein was trying to buy uranium in Africa. (The CIA had sent Wilson, a one-time ambassador, to the African country of Niger for little more than a week in 2002 to check out the uranium story.)

Wilson was certain he could demonstrate that Libby had told Judith Miller of The New York Times about Valerie Plame's CIA employment at a meeting between the two on July 8, 2003. But Libby told the grand jury, in effect, that he met with Miller that day to give her information to discredit Wilson's op-ed that was far more potent than simply pointing out Wilson probably got the gig because his CIA wife was throwing the diplomatic has-been a bone.

According to Fitzgerald's court filing, Libby "testified that he was specifically authorized in advance of the meeting to disclose the key judgments of the classified NIE to Miller on that occasion because it was thought that the NIE was 'pretty definitive' against what Ambassador Wilson had said and that the vice president thought that it was 'very important' for the key judgments of the NIE to come out. [Libby] further testified that he at first advised the vice president that he could not have this conversation with reporter Miller because of the classified nature of the NIE. [Libby] testified that the vice president later advised him that the president had authorized [Libby] to disclose the relevant portions of the NIE."

Also lost in the mists of recent memory is the reason we're talking about this in the first place. Fitzgerald is involved in this story because he was asked to investigate whether the public exposure of Mrs. Wilson's CIA employment was a crime. For it to be a crime, she had to be a covert CIA operative who had served in that capacity at some point in the five years prior to her exposure - and the person exposing her had to be doing it consciously and with knowledge that she was covert.

Fitzgerald did not indict Libby or anybody else on those grounds. Even so, there's been a lot of harrumphing about the idea that the White House might have sought to discredit Wilson at all - that somehow doing such a thing was manifestly horrible.

But Wilson had claimed that he had inside knowledge that the White House knew Saddam had never sought to purchase uranium and that it went ahead and told a cock-and-bull story anyway - that, in other words, Bush had deliberately lied us into war.

That charge was so explosive that the Bush administration had no choice but to answer it in some fashion. By authorizing the release of some classified material to a reporter, Bush was fighting back against a slander.

And slander it was, no more and no less. The Senate Intelligence Committee specifically said Wilson came back from Niger and offered up some information suggesting Saddam had been pursuing nuclear material in Niger in 1999.

Wilson's appalling lies were revealed in 2004. And yet, here we are, in 2006, fighting the same old battles. Guess this is what happens when you don't win a war quickly enough.

Three Years After Baghdad's Fall, Troops Note Progress

Three years later, as the anniversary of Baghdad's fall is commemorated
as "Iraqi Freedom Day," troops serving in Iraq say they're proud of
what it paved the way for throughout the country.

Army Staff Sgt. Benjamin McCoy remembers the hectic days of the
coalition advance into Baghdad, when he served as an intelligence
noncommissioned officer for the 3rd Infantry Division. "You hardly had time to
breathe," he said from Camp Victory, Iraq, where he now serves in
Multinational Corps Iraq's space operations cell.

McCoy recalled the celebrations as Baghdad fell from Saddam's grip and
said he's glad he and his fellow troops helped bring it about. "The
world is a better place without him," McCoy said. "It's something I was
proud of and I'll always keep in my mind, that I played a part in it --
not just then, but again, for a second time."

Army Lt. Col. Thomas Murphree, who was serving in Kuwait at the time as
theater distribution commander, said seeing images of Iraqis pulling
down Saddam's statue in Baghdad assured him, "They didn't like him or his
regime."
"We did the right thing then, and we're still doing the right thing,"
said Murphree, who returned to Camp Victory, Iraq, in January as deputy
transportation officer for Multinational Corps Iraq.

Army Sgt. Maj. Linda Allen, serving in Multinational Corps Iraq's
Coalition Analysis and Control Element, remembers how surprised she was by
the speed of the coalition advance into Baghdad in 2003. Working from
Camp Virginia in Kuwait, Allen was part of the intelligence group
supporting U.S. 5th Corps and said everyone was bracing for a major fight that
never came.

While seeing images of Saddam's statue being toppled in Baghdad "was
pretty exciting," Allen said she and other troops in the theater
recognized their work in Iraq was far from over. "It represented the end of the
conventional war, which meant we could now concentrate on the
longer-term part of what we still had to do," she said.

The soldiers agreed that life has improved for the Iraqi people and
continues to get better as they increasingly take the lead in their
country's security and rebuild it, working together with the U. S. and
coalition. Iraq is forming a unity government, its economy is recovering
after 30 years of dictatorship and lack of infrastructure maintenance, and
more than 241,700 Iraqi security forces are now trained and equipped.

"Life is a hell of a lot better today for us and for the Iraqis,"
Murphree said.

The soldiers noted the contrast between how most Iraqis live today and
what they witnessed when they entered Iraq in 2003. "When we were first
here, you could see that it's a very poor country and it was a hard
place to live," McCoy said. "Now it's a whole lot better."

Allen remembers the shock she experienced rolling into Iraq from Kuwait
in late April. "I remember how devastating it was coming up to Iraq and
running across the civilians," she said. "They were hungry. They had no
place to live and no water to drink. Every child we passed was
motioning to their mouth because they were hungry."

"That's why we're here," she said. "We're here to help these people
have a better way of life."

The soldiers say they're witnessing evidence of that better life
throughout the country. "You see a lot of new buildings going up and police
stations being built and improvements in the health-care system," said
McCoy.

"It's getting better day by day," agreed Murphree. "But it doesn't all
happen overnight."

Just as the rebuilding process after Hurricane Katrina is moving along
more slowly than hoped in Murphree's hometown along the U.S. Gulf
Coast, he said it's going to take longer than people would like in Iraq too.
Unlike southern Mississippi, Iraq has older technology that was
neglected throughout Saddam's regime, he said.

"We're working with 20 years of neglect, so it's going to take some
time, but it's definitely improving," he said.

Since liberating Iraq, the United States has helped the Iraqis build or
repair aging sewage treatment plans for 5.1 million Iraqis and funded
projects that have improved access to clean water for 3.1 million
people.

These infrastructure improvements are important to assuring that Iraqis
have the basics that Americans take for granted - "a job, the ability
to take care of their families and have a roof over their head and a
safe place to live," Murphree said. And he said it's also a critical
component to establishing a new, democratic government in Iraq.

McCoy said he was encouraged that nearly 11.9 million Iraqis,
three-quarters of the country's population, turned out for the parliamentary
elections in December. Since June 2004, when the coalition transferred
sovereignty, the Iraqi people elected an interim government, drafted and
ratified a constitution and elected a four-year, constitutionally based
government.

"It's good to see people getting involved in their government and their
future," McCoy said. "I think it's great," agreed Murphree. "We're
giving them the opportunity they want."

Just as during the fall of Baghdad, Allen said she still recognizes
that the U. S. has much left to accomplish before its mission in Iraq is
finished.

"There's still a ton of work to do, and we're not leaving anytime
soon," she said. "But there's a lot of progress and it's a whole lot better
than it was three years ago."

Official Cites Progress as 'Iraqi Freedom Day' Approaches

Insurgents may still be working to derail
the democratic process in Iraq. But it's important to look at the
bigger picture as a three-year milestone approaches, a Multinational Force
Iraq spokesperson said during a briefing from Baghdad yesterday.

"On the 9th of April (2003) ... the statue of Saddam Hussein in Firdos
Square was toppled," Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch told reporters.
"Sometimes we get so caught up in the event of the day ... we forget progress
has been made over the last three years."

Saddam's regime was toppled and now Saddam is being tried in an Iraqi
court, Lynch said. Iraqis people have drafted and ratified a
constitution and are working to form a national unity government, as well.

Iraq also has more than a quarter-million security forces members
trained and equipped, Lynch said. The coalition's goal is to grow that
number to 325,000 by December.

"That is amazing progress in a three-year period of time, and it'll be
celebrated by the Iraqis on the 9th of April," he said. "The Iraqi
government has declared 9 April as Iraqi Freedom Day."

Lynch also discussed the constant pressure on the insurgency in Iraq
that Iraqi security and coalition forces are maintaining.

"We continue to press the attack against the insurgents, specifically
to press the attack against (terrorist leader Abu Musab al-) Zarqawi and
al Qaeda," he said.

This pressure has resulted in the detention of two of leaders of
Zarqawi's network, Lynch said. Questioning of Abu Qatada, a trusted Zarqawi
adviser who was detained about six weeks ago, led Iraqi security forces
to Abu Aymen.

Captured on March 7, Aymen has known ties to Zarqawi and was Saddam
Hussein's aide and chief of staff of intelligence, Lynch said.

"What we're finding is there's a lack of a specific quality inside the
Zarqawi network, and that quality is loyalty," he said, adding the hope
is Ayman also will provide useful, actionable intelligence.

While the most attacks in Iraq still take place in Baghdad and Anbar
and Salah Ad Din provinces, there has been over time a reduction in
violence throughout the country, he said. Twelve of 18 provinces currently
average less than two attacks a day. Eight of those provinces average
almost no attacks on a daily basis.

Coalition and Iraqi forces continue to capture insurgents and seize
weapons caches, directly affecting the number of attacks seen across the
country, Lynch said. He noted that combined forces have netted at least
31 insurgents and multiple weapons caches across Iraq in the past week.

"We're taking away the bomb makers. We're taking away the munitions.
We're taking away the cells that are planning and conducting (attacks),"
he said.

Iraqi security forces are leading nearly 30 percent of operations
within Iraq, Lynch said. In Anbar province, though, there are shortfalls in
the numbers of Iraqi security forces needed to secure the province.

"We need 5,000 additional members of the army, and we need 8,000
additional members of the Iraqi police in al Anbar," he said. The desired
number of Iraqi police in Anbar province is 11,330 by the end of this
year. Currently, the force numbers about 3,000.

Provincial leaders have said they need their own residents to join
security forces, sparking a massive recruiting drive by the ministries of
Defense and Interior. A mobile recruiting team from the Defense
Ministry, with coalition recruiters, started in Qaim and worked its way down
the Euphrates River Valley, successfully recruiting more than 1,000 men
for the Iraqi army, he said.

Lynch said that 200 citizens of Ramadi, in Anbar province, who had
enlisted in the Iraqi police and graduated from the Baghdad Police Academy
March 23 "were welcomed as returning heroes back to Ramadi."

Many Gulf Arabs Uneasy About Iran

It's not often the United States, Israel and the Gulf Arab states worry about the same thing. But right now, they are all focused on Iran.

The country's spiraling militarism - trumpeted this week in missile tests and military maneuvers - plus its influence in Iraq and its controversial president, appear to be making some Arab states more nervous that there could be future menace in Tehran's ways.

Yet, many here have been reluctant to speak out because they feel stuck between favoring Iran or favoring its arch-enemy Israel, both states with which Arabs have fought bloody wars.

"There is the feeling that attacking Iran at the moment plays into the hands of Israel. Gulf countries don't want to play that game," said Dubai-based political analyst Abdul Khaleq Abdulla. "But Tehran deserves a lot of this. Unfortunately, it's going in a very worrying direction."

The Arab world has long had on-and-off tense relations with Persian Iran. Many Arab countries backed Saddam Hussein in Iraq's 1980s war against Iran. They also have worried for decades that Iran's Shiite-majority Islamic theocracy could spill over onto into their largely Sunni countries, all of which have Shiite minorities.

Relations have soured since the election last year of firebrand President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Since then, Abdulla said, Arab Gulf countries have offered quiet support for moves against Iran's nuclear program, which, despite Tehran's assurances to the contrary, many fear is aimed at creating weapons.

Gulf Arab countries also would be likely to back U.N. Security Council moves against Iran should Tehran refuse to halt uranium enrichment, said Mustafa Alani, a military analyst with Dubai-based Gulf Research Center.

"If the Security Council imposes restrictions on Iran, these countries will be happy to join those sanctions or boycott against Iran," he said.

Since Iran began publicizing military maneuvers and tests of missiles and torpedoes this week, Arab pundits also have warned that Ahmadinejad appears to be exhibiting the type of defiance that has brought down other leaders.

Kuwait's daily newspaper Al-Siyassah said Wednesday that Iran's military swagger resembled that of Gamal Abdul-Nasser's Egypt and Saddam's Iraq just before they provoked punishing attacks by the West.

In Monday's London-based Asharq al-Awsat, Abdel Rahman al-Rashed, director of Al-Arabiya TV channel in Dubai, went further, saying Ahmadinejad's war games were giving America "an excuse to start a showdown."

"Iran is wasting money and inviting the hostility of the world, especially the world's big players," al-Rashed wrote. "A future war will destroy everything Iran has achieved in a matter of days, if not hours, as happened in the case of Saddam."

Despite the general nonchalance over Iran's military tests, there is unease over Tehran's intentions.

"No expert in the region takes this backward technology seriously," Alani said of Iran's missiles and torpedoes. "What is frightening is the message the new Iranian administration is conveying: They are ready for a challenge and they are willing to take that challenge as far as possible."

172 al-Qaida suspects to be tried in Yemen

Judicial authorities are preparing the trial of 172 Yemenis on charges of belonging to al-Qaida and carrying out terrorist attacks in various parts of Yemen.

A source at the ministry of defense was quoted on the ministry's Web site as saying Thursday that the public prosecution was about to complete the interrogation of large numbers of suspects who are believed to be involved in terrorist activities or belonging to the al-Qaida network of Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden.

The unidentified source said the security agencies recently referred to the public prosecution the files of 172 terror suspects and al-Qaida members for further interrogation and trial.

He said the suspects have been rounded up in recent months on charges of forming armed gangs to carry out terrorist attacks in several parts of the country, jeopardizing Yemen's higher interests in addition to planning attacks against foreign interests. Many have also been arrested on suspicion of belonging to al-Qaida.

The suspects will be tried in the next few days by courts specializing in terrorism.

The announcement was made at a time when Yemeni courts are trying two suspected al-Qaida cells, one of 17 members and the other of 14, including the network's number two man in Yemen, Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal al-Makni.

After 9/11, Gadhafi Feared for His Existence

After the 9/11 attacks, Libyan strongman Muammar Gadhafi was terrified that the U.S. would blame Libya and retaliate by attacking his country, a newly declassified diplomatic cable reveals.

Gadhafi and Sudan's leader Omar Bashir made desperate pleas to Egypt's president and Jordan's king to urge the U.S. to spare them, according to the cable obtained by the New York Sun. The September 20, 2001, cable came from America�s embassy in Libya and described Gadhafi as calling "every Arab leader in his Rolodex" to intercede on his behalf with Washington.

It also stated that Sudan's ambassador to Egypt at the time spoke in a "quivering voice" to officials at the Foreign Ministry in Cairo.

The cable was released Wednesday after a freedom of information act request from a conservative legal group, Judicial Watch. It disclosed that Arab diplomats had relayed that Gadhafi was "hysterical in his telephone phone call to [Jordan�s] King Abdullah as if only his personal intervention would prevent U.S. action."

The cable also shows that six days after the 9/11 attacks, Egypt's ministry of foreign affairs said Gadhafi had voiced his concern "that he had no direct communications with the [U.S. government] other than through his speeches."
Shortly after that, the CIA and Britain's MI6 began talks with Libya over its nuclear weapons program, which resulted in an announcement at the end of 2003 that Gadhafi had agreed to dismantle his nuclear program in exchange for normalizing ties with America, the Sun reports.

Soon after the attacks of September 11, the Sudanese offered the U.S. a download of their intelligence files on al-Qaida, and said America could use its airspace for any attacks on terrorist targets.

According to the cable, Arab diplomats described President Bashir as "afraid."

Danielle Pletka, a Senate Foreign Relations Committee senior staff member, said the declassified cable was not surprising. "Everyone with a guilty conscience thought they were going to be attacked. The Iranians were worried. The Syrians were worried. Everyone was worried."

Reaction to Libby Papers on Iraq Intel Leaks

"Under any circumstances, the president has the right to declassify information. Secondly, as the press is reporting, there is no indication in the court filing that either the president or vice president authorized the disclosure of Valerie Plame's identity and to insinuate otherwise, is flat out wrong."
- Republican National Committee Communications Director Brian Jones.

Saddam Ordered Suicide Attacks on U.S. Targets

A newly translated document from Saddam Hussein's intelligence files indicates that the Iraqi dictator ordered suicide attacks against U.S. targets six months before the 9/11 attacks.

Dated March 11, 2001, the Iraqi memo reads:

To all the Units

Subject: Volunteer for Suicide Mission

The top secret letter 2205 of the Military Branch of Al Qadisya on 4/3/2001 announced by the top secret letter 246 from the Command of the military sector of Zi Kar on 8/3/2001 announced to us by the top secret letter 154 from the Command of Ali Military Division on 10/3/2001 we ask to provide that Division with the names of those who desire to volunteer for Suicide Mission to liberate Palestine and to strike American Interests and according what is shown below to please review and inform us.
The document is signed by Air Brigadier General Abdel Magid Hammot Ali.

While the big media has so far ignored the find, Captain's Quarters blogger Ed Morrissey notes:

"If this translation stands up to further scrutiny, it will provide a substantial answer to the question of Saddam's role in terrorism, both in general and specifically aimed at America.

"This memo will prove that Saddam had no intention of remaining neutralized in the region. He not only funded and encouraged terrorism, but he actively recruited terrorists from the ranks of his own military to carry out suicide attacks on American interests."

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Americans Don't See Global Warming as Urgent Issue

With warnings about global warming reaching a fever pitch in recent weeks--Vanity Fair is about to come out with a story featuring George Clooney and Julia Roberts on its cover--Americans are more convinced than ever that the Earth is being affected by global warming, but they have still not grown urgently concerned about it, according to a Gallup poll released today.

Only one in three predict global warming will pose a serious threat in their lifetimes.

Contrary to what one might expect, Gallup found that while public concern is higher than in 2004, they are "no higher than it has been at several points in the past." In fact, Americans are more worried about water pollution, air pollution, and toxic waste than global warming.

This comes despite the fact that a record number of Americans, 58%, believe climate change as a result of global warming has already begun, and is the result of man-made operations, not natural cycles.

Gallup found that only 36% of Americans say they worry a great deal about "the greenhouse effect" or global warming. The percentage saying global warming will "pose a serious threat to you or your way of life in your lifetime" is now 35%; 62% think it will not. The current percentage expecting to experience serious problems is similar to the 33% recorded in 2002.

"Since 1999, Republicans' level of worry about the issue has dipped noticeably," Gallup reports, "while worry among Democrats has shown less change."

And Gallup observes: "Despite the increased concern about global warming this year, the issue still has a low ranking relative to other environmental problems, many of which also rose as public concerns since 2004. Since Gallup started measuring public concern about global warming in 1989, the issue has always placed near the bottom of a list of 10 environmental issues rated. Water pollution and toxic waste contamination lead the list this year, with more than 50% of Americans highly concerned about these. Air pollution and loss of tropical rain forests also rank higher than global warming. Acid rain ranks lower."

These results are based on telephone interviews with a national sample of 1,000 adults, conducted March 13-16, 2006.

Consumer Confidence in Economy Improves

Consumer confidence in the economy's prospects improved in early April even as gasoline prices and borrowing costs marched higher.

The RBC CASH (Consumer Attitudes and Spending by Household) Index, based on results from the international polling firm Ipsos, showed confidence at 89.4 in early April, up from March's 86.2. The new reading also was better than a year ago, when consumer confidence clocked in at 84.5.

"It's a positive sign," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.

Overall, consumers are in a generally good frame of mind, economists said.

"I think we can take heart in the fact that even with all the worries _ about energy prices, higher interest rates and a slowing housing market _ confidence moved higher," said economist Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics.

Analysts track consumer confidence for clues about consumers' willingness to spend, an important force shaping the country's economic health.

The confidence index is benchmarked to a reading of 100 on January when Ipsos started the gauge.

One of the things consumers feel really good about is the jobs climate, the Ipsos results suggested.

A measure tracking consumers' sentiments on this front jumped in early April to 124.5, the highest on record. In March consumers' feelings about jobs came in at 118.5, a buoyant reading. A year ago, this gauge stood at 116.2.

Read More Here:>>>

Unemployment rate down to 4.7%...

Employers, in a springtime hiring burst, boosted payrolls by a sizable 211,000 in March and pushed the nation's unemployment rate down to 4.7 percent.

The latest snapshot, released by the Labor Department on Friday, suggested that an accelerating economic expansion is putting companies in the hiring mood, brightening prospects for job seekers.

Hiring gains were fairly widespread. Construction, financial activities, education and health care and government were among the sectors posting payroll gains. That help to blunt job losses in manufacturing and in the transportation industries.

The unemployment rate, which dropped from February's 4.8 percent, ended up matching January's jobless rate, which was the lowest in 4 1/2 years.

Employment was stronger in March than economists were expecting. Before the release of the report, they were forecasting a gain of 190,000 jobs and they said they believed the overall civilian jobless rate would hold steady.

On the jobs front, payroll gains in January and February turned out to be slightly less than previously reported but still suggest decent job growth. Employers added 154,000 jobs in January, versus the 170,000 estimated a month ago. In February, payrolls grew by 225,000, rather than the 243,000 previously reported.

Employees' average hourly earnings, meanwhile, were $16.49 in March, a modest 0.2 percent increase from February. Economists were forecasting a 0.3 percent increase.

The report also showed the average time that the 7 million unemployed spent searching for work in March was 16.9 weeks, down from 17.6 weeks in February.

The employment figures for March come against the backdrop of a rebounding economy. Analysts believe the economy emerged from an end- of-year funk and grew at an annual rate of 4.5 percent or higher in the just ended January-to-March quarter. The economy is expected to moderate in the current April-to-June quarter but still turn in a good performance.

Experts: U.S. considers Iran strikes

Plans Stepped Up as Tehran Tests Weapons

Key players in the Bush administration think a military confrontation with Iran is unavoidable, leading to stepped up military planning for such a prospect, according to several experts and recently departed senior government officials.

Some of these observers stressed that military strikes against Iran are not imminent and speculated that the escalated war chatter could be a deliberate ploy to ratchet up diplomatic pressure on Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions. Still, they made clear, the tone in Washington has changed drastically.

"In recent months I have grown increasingly concerned that the administration has been giving thought to a heavy dose of air strikes against Iran's nuclear sector without giving enough weight to the possible ramifications of such action," said Wayne White, a former deputy director at the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research. White, who worked in the bureau's Office of Analysis for the Near East and South Asia, left government in early 2005 and is now an adjunct scholar at the Middle East Institute.

Several experts and former officials interviewed by the Forward pointed to Vice President Dick Cheney as one of the key figures who has concluded that the ongoing diplomatic efforts to bring Iran before the United Nations Security Council and eventually slap the Islamic regime with sanctions will come to naught, forcing Washington to resort to force to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.

Cheney's office responded that he was "supporting the administration's position" of seeking a diplomatic solution while keeping all options on the table.

Iran, meanwhile, has also taken several public steps to suggest that it is preparing for a confrontation. Iranian officials recently announced with great fanfare that the military had tested several new weapons, including three new missiles and two new torpedoes, during maneuvers in the Persian Gulf. After Tehran successfully tested its second new torpedo, General Mohammad Ebrahim Dehghani told Iranian state television Monday that the weapon is powerful enough to "break a heavy warship" in two. The torpedo was tested in the Straits of Hormuz, a vital corridor for oil supplies.

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Iran has missiles to carry nuclear warheads

Iran has successfully developed ballistic missiles with the capability to carry nuclear warheads.

Detailed analysis of recent test firings of the Shahab-3 ballistic missile by military experts has concluded that Iran has been able to modify the nose cone to carry a basic nuclear bomb. The discovery will intensify international pressure on Teheran to provide a comprehensive breakdown of its nuclear research programme.

Iran denies it is trying to acquire a nuclear arsenal. But ballistic missile experts advising the United States say it has succeeded in reconfiguring the Shahab-3 to carry nuclear weapons.

The Shahab-3 is a modified version of North Korea's Nodong missile which itself is based on the old Soviet-made Scud.

The Nodong, which Iran secretly acquired from North Korea in the mid-1990s, is designed to carry a conventional warhead. But Iranian engineers have been working for several years to adapt the Shahab-3 to carry nuclear weapons.

"This is a major breakthrough for the Iranians," said a senior US official. "They have been trying to do this for years and now they have succeeded. It is a very disturbing development."

The Shahab 3 has a range of 800 miles, enabling it to hit a wide range of targets throughout the Middle East - including Israel.

Apart from modifying the nose cone, Iranian technicians are also trying to make a number of technical adjustments that will enable the missile to travel a greater distance.

Western intelligence officials believe that Iran is receiving assistance from teams of Russian and Chinese experts with experience of developing nuclear weapons. Experts who have studied the latest version of the Shahab have identified modifications to the nose cone.

Instead of the single cone normally attached to this type of missile, the new Shahab has three cones, or a triconic, warhead. A triconic warhead allows the missile to accommodate a nuclear device and this type of warhead is normally found only in nuclear weapons.

According to the new research, the Iranian warhead is designed to carry a spherical nuclear weapon that would be detonated 2,000 feet above the ground, similar to the Hiroshima bomb.

Although US defence officials believe that Iran is several

The development of the Shahab-3 is just one element of a wide-ranging missile development programme.

In 2003 the Iranians concluded another secret deal with North Korea to buy the Taepo Dong 2 missile, which has a range of 2,200 miles and would enable Iran to hit targets in mainland Europe.

Earlier this week the Iranians announced that they had successfully test-fired a new missile, the Fajr-3, which has the capability to evade radar systems and carry multiple warheads.

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Determined Manhunt Leads to Major Terrorist Catch

U.S. officials announced today that Iraqi
forces captured a terrorist leader in Iraq early last month.

Iraqi forces captured and arrested Iraqi terrorist leader Muhammed Hila
Hammad Ubaydi, also known as Abu Ayman, in the Mahmudiyah neighborhood
of southern Baghdad March 7. Investigators held notice of this capture
until now to wait for the results of DNA testing, which confirmed the
identity of the man in custody.

"Ayman's capture was the result of a determined manhunt conducted by
Iraqi intelligence professionals and several intelligence agencies within
the coalition," U.S. officials said in a release.

Until his capture, Abu Ayman, the aide to Saddam Hussein's chief of
staff of intelligence during the former regime, was the leader of the
Secret Islamic Army in northern Babil province. Abu Ayman has strong ties
to fugitive Jordanian terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, still
considered the head of al Qaeda in Iraq, U.S. officials said.

Abu Ayman is the prime suspect in the kidnapping of Italian journalist
Giuliana Sgrena and in assassination attempts on Iraqi government and
security force officials. He also is the prime suspect in the kidnapping
and killing of several hostages in Iraq and in committing some of the
most lethal improvised-explosive-device attacks on coalition and Iraqi
forces and on Iraqi citizens.

"Iraqi and coalition forces consider Abu Ayman's capture significant in
their pursuit to lay to rest the terror cells that have caused death
and destruction in Iraq," according to the release.

Officials believe Abu Ayman's capture will not only disrupt some of
these attacks, and that his capture will undoubtedly save lives, but that
he will also provide valuable information leading to the capture of
other terrorists he has worked with in the past.

The Iraqi WMDs That Slipped Through Our Fingers

Frontpage Interview�s guest is Paul (Dave) Gaubatz, a former U.S. Federal Agent (Arabic linguist/counter-terrorist specialist) who was deployed to Iraq at the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His mission was to search for WMDs. Four sites he identified were not searched by ISG (Iraq Survey Group) and he has waged a three year battle to get them searched. He is currently the Chief Investigator with the Dallas County Medical Examiner, Dallas, TX. He can be contacted at pdgaubatz@yahoo.com.

FP: Let�s start with your background. Tell us a bit about who you are and why you were sent to Iraq at the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Gaubatz: I served 20 years on active duty with the USAF and had spent 12 of those years as an OSI Special Agent (counter-terrorism/counter-intelligence. After retiring I obtained a position as a civilian Federal Agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI).

Directly after Sept 11th, I was sent to the U.S. State Department (Foreign Service Institute) for a one year intensive Arabic language course. Immediately afterwards I was deployed (as a civilian Agent) to Saudi Arabia from Jan 2003 until Mar 2003. I was the only civilian in the area.

Before Operation Iraqi Freedom, I was assigned to an area along the Saudi and Iraq border (Arar Air Base, Saudi Arabia). My mission directly before the war was to develop intelligence to eliminate espionage by Saudi Arabian military officials who we suspected of passing U.S. war fighting intelligence to Iraqi intelligence officers. I conducted an operation against one Saudi military officer and his activities were deterred and he is no longer a U.S. threat. I also conducted missions along the border of Iraq before the war to collect intelligence on Iraqi movement and their war fighting capabilities.



The 5 man team I was assigned to collected intelligence on the probability of chemical or biological weapons being used against our forces by the Iraqis. Initially Saudi officers advised Saddam Hussein would not use WMD during the war, but as the days got closer the Saudi officers were wearing chemical protective equipment as we were. You could see the look of defeat in the Saudis� eyes. All along they had been saying Saddam would not use WMD, but in their heart they knew he had the capability and would do so if he had the opportunity.



In April 2003, I was deployed into Nasiriyah, Iraq. Again I was the first and only civilian Federal Agent there. My primary mission in Iraq was to locate suspected WMD sites and conduct Force Protection Operations (find out the threats against U.S. forces in the area). I was to also locate Iraqis who were loyal to Saddam Hussein.



FP: Tell us about the sites you identified and why the ISG never searched them.



Gaubatz: There are four sites I identified in southern Iraq. Two are within the city limits, one about 20 miles south of Nasiriyah (in the vicinity of Suk Ash Shuyakh), and another near the port of Umm Qasr (near Basrah). Three agents and I identified these sites. We had multiple sources, from various backgrounds, and who had access to the information.



One must remember that at the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the average Iraqi was more open to providing Americans intelligence. They wanted Saddam removed and wanted chemical and biological weapons removed as well. The people of southern Iraq had fully expected WMDs to be used against them as well. Each of their homes had been prepared for a chemical attack. Many had gas masks and had sealed certain rooms in their homes. We were shown this.



Iraqis from backgrounds such as Iraqi Police officers, Doctors, Engineers, Iraqi Govt. officials, farmers, tribesmen, etc. identified sites that contained WMDs. They explained in detail why WMDs were in these areas and asked the U.S. to remove the WMDs. Much of the WMDs had been buried in rivers (within concrete bunkers), and in the sewage pipe system. There were signs of chemical activity in the area (missile imprints, gas masks, decontamination kits, atropine needles, etc..) The Iraqis and my team had no doubt WMDs were hidden in these areas.

The Agents and I knew we had found what we had been looking for. We immediately wrote our reports, which included all the source names, their credibility, their contact information, grid coordinates of the sites, and photographs. The reports were then sent to the U.S. Weapons Inspectors (in northern Iraq). This was mid April 2003. We were initially told by the Inspectors that their team was not organized at this point to conduct exploitations of sites. The sites we had identified would require an extensive amount of excavation. The actual ISG was not formed until a couple of months after the war. Not only did ISG not have the people and proper equipment, they advised Iraq was still a combat zone and very dangerous. ISG members further told us that WMD searches were being concentrated in northern Iraq, and not southern Iraq.

This was the first and largest mistake by ISG. During my intelligence gathering the Iraqis had told us that Saddam concentrated on hiding the WMDs in the southern region because the history of prior UN Weapons Inspections had always concentrated in searches of northern faculties. Searches in southern Iraq had primarily been helicopter flyovers. I have respect for every U.S. member of ISG who served in Iraq, but as an organization, the management was poor. They were not organized nor prepared for this type operation. I compare them to FEMA during Hurricane Katrina. Good people, but poor management. Poor management results in disaster and failure.



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Cheney Aide Says Bush OK'd Leak

Vice President Dick Cheney's former top aide told prosecutors President Bush authorized the leak of sensitive intelligence information about Iraq, according to court papers filed by prosecutors in the CIA leak case.

Before his indictment, I. Lewis Libby testified to the grand jury investigating the CIA leak that Cheney told him to pass on information and that it was Bush who authorized the disclosure, the court papers say. According to the documents, the authorization led to the July 8, 2003, conversation between Libby and New York Times reporter Judith Miller.

There was no indication in the filing that either Bush or Cheney authorized Libby to disclose Valerie Plame's CIA identity.

McKinney Apologizes for Incident With Capitol Officer

Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., expressed "sincere regret" Thursday for her altercation with a Capitol police officer, and offered an apology to the House.

"There should not have been any physical contact in this incident," McKinney said in brief remarks on the House floor. "I am sorry that this misunderstanding happened at all and I regret its escalation and I apologize."

McKinney's comments came after the case had been referred to a federal grand jury for possible prosecution.

She had previously insisted she had done nothing wrong, and accused police of "racial profiling." She is African-American and the police officer is white.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Police to Democrats: You Want to Censure Someone? Censure Rep. McKinney

Jim Kouri

Representative Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) assaulted a Capitol Hill police officer and instead of apologizing and putting the incident to rest, she and her supporters began a smear campaign against the officer and against law enforcement in general, according to Jim Kouri, Vice President of the National Association of Chiefs of Police.

�Rep. McKinney first issued a statement that she supports law enforcement and then she decided to go on the offensive backed by America-hating celebrities Harry Belefonte and Danny Glover. She decided to use the race-card and even accused the Capitol Hill Police Department of using �racial profiling,�� claims Kouri.

Rep. McKinney should have been arrested and handcuffed on the spot. She is not above the law. And her smearing and race-baiting is unconscionable.

�The Democrat Party seems hell-bent on censuring someone. Perhaps they should censure Rep. Cynthia McKinney or at least an investigation into her actions by the Ethics Committee is called for,� says Kouri.

GOP Unveils Revised Immigration Legislation

Senate Republicans unveiled revised immigration legislation Wednesday night clearing the way for legal status and eventual citizenship for many of the estimated 11 million men, women and children living in the United States unlawfully.

Majority Leader Bill Frist outlined the proposal after efforts at a bipartisan compromise faltered earlier in the day and the Senate teetered between accomplishment and gridlock on the most sweeping immigration bill in two decades.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid pledged to review the GOP proposal overnight to see whether "it could be something we could all support." The prospects appeared uncertain, however, since the provisions appeared similar to what he and other Democrats had earlier spurned.

Republican officials said the GOP plan would divide illegal immigrants into three categories:


Those who had been in the country the longest, more than five years, would not be required to return to their home country before gaining legal status. They would be subject to several tests, including the payment of fines and back taxes, and be required to submit to a background check, according to these officials.

Illegal immigrants in the United States less than five years but more than two would be required to go to a border point of entry, briefly leave and then be readmitted to the United States. As with the longer-term illegal, other steps would be required, these officials said.

Illegal immigrants in the United States less than two years would be required to leave the country and join any other foreign residents seeking legal entry.

Iran Test-Fires Third 'Top Secret' Missile

Iran said Wednesday it has successfully test-fired a "top secret" missile, the third in a week, state-run television reported.

The report called the missile an "ultra-horizon" weapon and said it could be fired from all military helicopters and jet fighters.

The tests came during war games being held by the elite Revolutionary Guards in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea since Friday at a time of increased tension with the United States over Tehran's nuclear program.

The television called it a "turning point" in Iran's missile tests but did not give any further details.

Iraq Car Bombings Plummet

There's good news out of Iraq that the big media doesn't seem to think is newsworthy. Suicide car bombings have plummeted in the last year by a stunning 84 percent.

According to a study by the Brookings Institution, as of last May, the monthly rate of suicide car attacks stood at 136.

By December, however, that number had fallen to just 30 per month. In February - the last month for which statistics are available - car bombings were down to just 22 per month.

In fact, the plunge in car bombings has been so dramatic that rumors are flying that Abu Musab al Zarqawi - al Qaeda's Iraq operations chief who specialized in suicide car attacks - may have been fired.

According to the Associated Press, Zarqawi has "sharply lowered his profile in recent months, halting his group's Internet claims as the number of big suicide bombings in Iraq � his infamous signature form of attack � has fallen."

The wire service says that the drop in car bombings is "a possible sign of Zarqawi's waning influence."

Universal stands by "United 93" movie trailer

Universal Pictures is standing by the promotional trailer for its upcoming 9/11 movie "United 93" despite audience complaints that caused one New York City theatre to pull the advertisement off its screens.

Universal marketing president Adam Fogelson told Reuters on Tuesday that his team and the film's makers, including director Paul Greengrass, worked closely with the families of victims of the doomed United Airlines flight to ensure the movie and its marketing was sensitive to their concerns.

"We have received numerous e-mails (from family members) saying they appreciated the tone and sensitivity and honesty of the piece that is being presented," Fogelson said.

He added that the movie studio has no plans to change the trailer or make a new one as a substitute.

"United 93" depicts events on the hijacked flight that crashed in the Pennsylvania countryside on September 11 after other airliners hit the Pentagon and the World Trade Centre towers in New York.

The trailer shows news footage of the burning towers while a passenger on board Flight 93 reveals a bomb strapped around his middle, and other passengers vow to fight back. The movie will begin playing at theatres around the U.S. on April 28.

The trailer caused complaints at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square in New York, so the theatre decided to pull it. The trailer also is being shown in thousands of U.S. venues, and no other cinema owner has yanked it, according to Universal.

Grand Jury to Hear McKinney Run-In Case

A federal grand jury will soon begin hearing evidence about Rep. Cynthia McKinney's run-in with a Capitol Police officer, a lawyer familiar with the case said late Wednesday.

The lawyer, who declined to be identified because of grand jury secrecy, confirmed that federal prosecutors had agreed to get involved in the case in which a black lawmaker is accused of striking a white officer after he tried to stop her from entering a House office building without going through a security checkpoint.

9/11 commissioner says U.S. less exposed to another terror attack

The United States is less vulnerable to terrorists because of immediate moves after Sept. 11 to hunt down al-Qaida leaders and from worldwide help to snuff out its networks, but billions more must be spent to train first responders and upgrade emergency communications systems in case of another terror attack, Sept. 11 commissioner Bob Kerrey said Tuesday.

Kerrey said the Bush administration effectively reduced the risk by invading Afghanistan, where bin Laden enjoyed a sanctuary from 1991 to 2001. During that time, the U.S. government mistakenly viewed al-Qaida's bomb attacks on U.S. embassies in 1998 and the USS Cole in 2000 as "one-off incidents," he said.

"One of the big mistakes was that we kept the secret of Osama bin Laden from the people of the United States. ... After Sept. 11 we realized we were in a war," Kerrey said.

'Cincy Enquirer' Blog By Army PR Officer Draws Flak for Failure To Disclose

The Cincinnati Enquirer's "Grandma in Iraq" blog, which has been posting items from a U.S. Army public affairs officer since September, has been criticized for failing to fully disclose her military ties -- and now carries a detailed description of her formal title.

Most of the items posted on the blog concern views that support the U.S. occupation in Iraq and highlight what the blogger, Public Affairs Officer Suzanne Fournier, considers to be positive events there. Recent postings have cited U.S. and Iraqi efforts at improving water, electricity, and other services, as well as building a firehouse and school facilities, and even holding a Super Bowl party.

But until Tuesday, the site was somewhat limited in its full disclosure of Fournier's military ties, prompting some critics to demand more transparency. Since its launch last fall and until recently, the site has described Fournier -- who is a grandmother of 15 -- only as being stationed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said Chris Graves, the Enquirer's assistant managing editor/online.

Graves said some readers began to complain this week about the lack of disclosure. Meanwhile, an item on the www.tpmmuckraker.com Web site posed the question, "Should a news organization have a military flack writing for it at all? If so, shouldn't she be explicitly identified as a public affairs officer?"

Graves agreed, and changed the description of Fournier that appears atop the opening page. It now reads, "Suzanne Fournier of Alexandria, grandmother of 15, posts from Iraq. Fournier is the Public Affairs Officer for the Gulf Region Southern District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Iraq."

"We felt we should fully describe what her job is, she never tried to hide it," Graves said. "She has blogged about what her role is."

Fournier, meanwhile, offered her own explanation in the blog on Monday and addressed the recent criticism.

"Let me take one minute to address a question that was raised today regarding my blog. I work for the US Army Corps of Engineers, they pay my salary and I volunteered to come over here as their employee to officially represent and communicate Iraq reconstruction work completed by the US Army Corps of Engineers.

"This blog is done on my own time, I've tried to give you a personal view of what I've observed here, the people, the land and reconstruction activities. Apparently some people are unhappy that I am communicating with you directly, because they are challenging that I haven't informed you that I am a public affairs officer and my job is to work with the news media and American public.

"I've explained my job with the Corps several times in my blogs. If I have misled anyone, I sincerely apologize, that was clearly not my intent. I believe the American taxpayers have a right to know how their tax dollars are being invested in Iraq and I believe my current job puts me in a unique position to provide personal observations since I have traveled the Southern provinces of Iraq for the past eight months."

Graves also opened up the blog to accept comments from any online reader. Previously, it had been limited only to those who had registered with the blog. Comments posted since then have ranged from supportive to those accusing the paper of propaganda.

"You have an EXCEPTIONALLY good blog, incredibly interesting and more in-depth reporting than anything you get on the network news," wrote one reader, while another opined, "The fact that you didn't disclose you worked for the U.S. military is sad, pathetic and unsurprising."

Then there's the reader who wrote, "The sad part is I'm not very surprised to learn that the Pentagon is planting propaganda in our newspapers."

DeLay to file ethics charge against Cynthia McKinney

One day after announcing he would resign this summer from Congress, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said he's prepared to file an ethics charge against Rep. Cynthia McKinney, who is under investigation for allegedly assaulting a Capitol Police officer who asked the Georgia Democrat for identification.

"If somebody else doesn't file an ethics charge, I will," DeLay said on Rush Limbaugh's radio show this afternoon. "I am going to defend these Capitol Police. ... They are incredibly professional and courageous, and I am not going to let this happen."

DeLay also blasted McKinney as a racist who uses her color as an excuse for perceived victimhood.

"She is a racist," DeLay said. "She bases everything on race. Everything bad that has ever happened to her is because she's black. She's anti-Semitic, that's who she is."

New Orleans Mayor Blocks FEMA Trailer Park

Mayor Ray Nagin suspended the construction of FEMA trailer parks in the city after a confrontation between federal workers and homeowners who were outraged that a government trailer park was being built inside their gated community.

With an election three weeks away, Nagin sided with the residents of Lakewood Estates, a community of spacious homes in the city's Algiers section, and suspended the nearly completed trailer project there and similar projects elsewhere in New Orleans.

The Lakewood Estates trailer park was meant to house 34 single women and their children who were left homeless by Hurricane Katrina, but area residents complained it was too close to their homes. The neighborhood association also sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency seeking a permanent injunction against the project.

FEMA officials said they were surprised by Nagin's decision, especially since he had approved the Algiers trailer site months earlier, FEMA spokesman Darryl Madden told The New York Times. All the necessary building permits had been obtained, Madden said.

The city may have to reimburse the federal government $1.6 million if FEMA is not allowed to finish building the trailer site, Madden said Tuesday.

Fights over where to put trailers for displaced residents have been a persistent problem. Disputes have erupted over whether trailers should be put on playgrounds, in parks and in historic areas, and Nagin decided that council members would be able to veto trailer locations in their districts. In December, Nagin backed away from a list of proposed sites because of protests.

Capitol Police Chief Denies Racism Charge

U. S. Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer said Wednesday that Rep. Cynthia McKinney turned an officer's failure to recognize her into a criminal matter when she failed to stop at his request, and then struck him.

"He reached out and grabbed her and she turned around and hit him," Gainer said on CNN. "Even the high and the haughty should be able to stop and say, 'I'm a congressman' and then everybody moves on."

For her part, McKinney wasn't backing down from the argument. She charged anew that racism is behind what she said is a pattern of difficulty in clearing Hill security checkpoints.

Gainer said that racism, however, was not a factor.

"I've seen our officers stop white members and black members, Latinos, male and females," he told CNN. "It's not an issue about what your race or gender is. It's an issue about making sure people who come into our building are recognized if they're not going through the magnetometer, and this officer at that moment didn't recognize her."

"It would have been real easy, as most members of Congress do, to say here's who I am or do you know who I am?" Gainer added.

Police also have said that McKinney was failing to wear a pin that lawmakers are asked to display when entering Capitol facilities.

But she said Wednesday: "Face recognition is the issue .... The pin doesn't have my name on it and it doesn't have my picture on it, and so security should not be based on a pin ... People are focused on my hairdo."

The Georgia Democrat, appearing on CBS's "The Early Show" Wednesday, recently dropped her trademark cornrows in favor of a curly brown afro.

"Something that perhaps the average American just doesn't understand is that there is a heightened sense of a lack of appropriateness being there for members who are elected who happen to be of color," McKinney said, "and until this issue is addressed by the American public in a very substantive way, it won't be the last time."

McKinney has garnered little support among fellow Democrats in her feud with the Capitol police. No one in her party chose to join her at a news conference last Friday to discuss the situation, and the event was canceled.

As a federal prosecutor considers whether to press assault or other charges against her, Republicans presented a resolution commending Capitol police for professionalism toward members of Congress and visitors _ even though they "endure physical and verbal assaults in some extreme cases."

"I don't think it's fair to attack the Capitol Police and I think it's time that we show our support for them," said Rep. Patrick McHenry, R- N.C., a sponsor of the measure. Ignoring a police officer's order to stop, or hitting one, "is never OK," McHenry said.

Some GOP members have said the McKinney incident serves to underscore Democratic insensitivity to security concerns.

Positive, Negative News From Iraq

There is both good news and bad news
coming out of Iraq, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said
yesterday.

The 2005 Iraqi elections were hopeful signs for the nation, Marine Gen.
Peter Pace said at a meeting of the World Affairs Council at the Four
Seasons Hotel here. Good news stories from the country include Iraq's
election of a Transitional National Assembly in January 2005, the
ratification in an October 2005 referendum of a constitution written by that
body, and December national elections for representatives to the
permanent parliament.

He said the training of the Iraqi military also is a plus. A year ago,
the Iraqi army had only a handful of battalions. "Now, there are almost
130," Pace said. Similarly, a year ago there were no Iraqi brigades or
divisions; now the Iraqi army boasts more than 30 brigades and "eight,
going to 10" divisions, he said.

In November 2005, more Iraqi units than coalition forces participated
in company-sized operations, and that trend is continuing, Pace said.
"Today, 83 percent of all operations are led solely by Iraqis or Iraqis
and coalition forces, with the other 17 percent being coalition-only
(operations)," he said.

And Iraqi forces are becoming more capable, Pace said. Before the first
election, on Jan. 30, 2005, some Iraqi police units dissolved under
pressure and ran from the battlefield. "Once the election of January 2005
took place, we have not had an Iraqi unit walk off the battlefield," he
said. "I believe that is because they now have a central entity they
can be loyal to."

But, Pace acknowledged, there are problems in Iraq. "Obviously, the
bombs are still going off," he said. "We have not yet turned the corner in
convincing the Iraqi people that their future is with their new
government. Once the Iraqi people believe that, then the relatively small
number of people who are swimming inside that society and making the bombs
will dry up or be cast out."

Setting up a government is a priority, the general said. "The elections
were in December. It is now April. Iraqi elected leaders were elected
to do a job -- that is to form a government. They need to get about
doing what the citizens elected them to do," he said.

Iraq needs a unity government that the armed forces, the police and the
people can support "and believe will provide for them the better life
ahead -- the sooner the better," Pace said.