The scuttlebutt in Washington is that George Tenet is resigning as director of the CIA because several harsh reports were about to descend on his head. Such an explanation — or those that say he is a fall guy or that President Bush finally got fed up with his old buddy or that Tenet was trying to protect his boss — may say as much about the cynical nature of Washington as it does about the situation it purports to elucidate.
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'Civic, Democratic Islam'
OPINION
‘Civic, Democratic Islam’
By YOGINDER SIKAND
In order to counter the radical fringe of Islamism that it had so fervently courted till recently, America is desperately scouting around for ‘liberal’ Muslim allies who can sell an alternate vision and version of Islam that fits into the American scheme of things.
UN rights chief warns of war crimes in Iraq
UN rights chief warns of war crimes in Iraq
By Warren Hoge
UNITED NATIONS, New York The top human rights official for the United Nations said Friday that the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers could constitute a war crime, and he called for the immediate naming of an international figure to oversee the situation.”
The death of feminism?
This is an email from a friend. It is so good, I thought I’d share it. It’s already finding its way through cyberspace so I don’t think the author would mind.
Barnard Commencement 2004: Speech by Barbara Ehrenreich
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Saudi police, militants exchange fire in Jeddah
Saudi police, militants exchange fire in Jeddah
Saturday, June 5, 2004 12:37 PM EST
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi police and suspected Muslim militants exchanged fire on Saturday in the Red Sea city of Jeddah and the gunmen were still on the run after an hours-long pursuit, security sources said.
Two Koreas agree to open cross-border roads
(09:25 PST)
SEOUL: South and North Korean officials announced Saturday that they had reached an agreement to open cross-border roads and make test runs on two railways across their heavily fortified frontier in coming months.
Under the accord, which followed a four-day meeting of economic officials in the North Korean capital, the two sides will open two roads, one across the western part of the inter-Korean border and the other in the east. They will also test-run two railways running alongside the roads, a media pool report from Pyongyang said.
“The South and North … shall test run on the linked sections of the railways in October 2004,” said a joint statement.
http://www.hipakistan.com/en/detail.php?newsId=en67045&F_catID=sd&f_type=source
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For pastor, life's work is of God and generals
For pastor, life’s work is of God and generals
By MARK I. PINSKY
Bobby Welch remembers clearly the instant a Viet Cong guerrilla burst from the jungle that September day in 1966: ”He saw me before I saw him, and he shot me at point-blank range.”
Benazir decides to end her exile
World News > Benazir decides to end her exile
Islamabad, June 5 (ANI):
Former Pakistani premier and the Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Benazir Bhutto, finally decided to end her self-imposed exile and directed her party to prepare for her return home.
Quoting senior PPP leader Senator Farhatullah Babar, The News said this decision was taken at a meeting of the PPP executive in London on Thursday.
Babar said that instructions had already been sent to party unit heads in Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Karachi to prepare a report on how the situation at the respective airports would be handled should the federal authorities arrest Benazir on her arrival.
It may be recalled that during the last party meeting in London some months ago Benazir Bhutto had told the Party cadres that she would soon take decision to return the country.
The Central Executive Committee of the PPP had already termed the year 2004 for the return of Benazir Bhutto in the country.
http://news.newkerala.com/world-news/index.php?action=fullnews&showcomments=1&id=21314
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Haiti, Dominican Republic flood toll hits 3300
Haiti, Dominican Republic flood toll hits 3300
June 6, 2004
The toll of dead and missing has risen to more than 3300 two weeks after floods that raged through Haiti and the Dominican Republic wiped out entire communities.
In Haiti, the official death toll rose to 1191 and 1484 “disappeared” as aid workers reached more isolated villages.
With 669 dead and missing on the Dominican side, the toll rose to at least 3344 after the floods and mudslides in central Hispaniola island.
Brother of Iraqi informant shot dead
Brother of Iraqi “informant” shot dead
Sat 5 June, 2004 11:08
MOSUL, Iraq – Gunmen have killed the brother of a man widely regarded as having revealed the location of Saddam Hussein’s sons to U.S. troops in an attack on his car, police have said.
7 Convicted in Kuwait Attack on Marines
KUWAIT CITY (AP) — A criminal court on Saturday convicted seven Kuwaiti Islamic extremists of involvement in the 2002 shooting attack on U.S. Marines that killed one and injured a second during training in the oil-rich country. Three of the militants were sentenced to jail.
Three of the key suspects received four and five years in prison for joining an illegal organization and weapons possession. They and three of the others convicted were fined from $680 to $17,000. One was given two years probation and five were acquitted.
They received four- and five-year prison terms for joining an illegal organization and weapons possession. Three others were fined from $680 to $17,000. One was given two years probation and five were acquitted.
The Oct. 8, 2002, attack by two Muslim extremists was the first on U.S. forces in this small Gulf state, which has been a major ally of Washington since the 1991 U.S.-led Gulf War liberated it from a seven-month Iraqi occupation.
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http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/K/KUWAIT_MARINE_SHOOTING?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME&TE
MPLATE=DEFAULT
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Liberal activists lukewarm on Kerry
Liberal activists lukewarm on Kerry
Need to beat Bush is meeting’s theme
By Mary Leonard, Globe Staff | June 4, 2004
WASHINGTON — Liberal Democrats say they are organized, united, and determined as never before to oust President Bush from the White House. But when more than 2,000 of these progressive activists from across the country gathered under a "Take Back America" banner yesterday, it was Howard Dean, not John F. Kerry, who stole their hearts.
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/kerry/articles/2004/06/04/liberal_activists_lukewarm_on_kerry?mode=PF
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Kissinger Accused of Blocking Scholar
June 5, 2004
Kissinger Accused of Blocking Scholar
By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO
The chief Latin American expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, the nation’s pre-eminent foreign policy club, has quit as a protest, accusing the council of stifling debate on American intervention in Chile during the 1970’s as a result of pressure from former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/05/arts/05CHIL.html?th
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Al-Haeri's Conditions
Al-Haeri’s Conditions
ash-Sharq al-Awsat: Old-time al-Da`wa leader in exile, Ayatollah Kadhim al-Haeri, issued a statement Friday from Qom, Iran, on the caretaker government in Iraq. He said there were 6 things it needed to do to demonstrate its patriotic credentials and gain acceptance.
Juan Cole (www.juancole.com) is a professor of modern Middle East history at the University of Michigan and author of "Sacred Space and Holy War" (I.B. Tauris, 2002).
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Did Taliban, U.S. talk about deal for Osama?
Jun. 5, 2004. 01:00 AM
Did Taliban, U.S. talk about deal for Osama?
Report claims discussions in 2000 Could have sent him
to third country, trial
BERLIN–U.S. and Taliban officials met secretly in Frankfurt almost a year before the Sept. 11 attacks to discuss terms for Afghanistan to hand over Osama bin Laden, according to a German television documentary.