The Lie Factory (thanks Kathy).

My article in As-Safir on the Democratic Party.

The Deadly Lies of Reliable Sources (thanks Norman)

Madness in Texas

The intelligence official whose revelations stunned the Hutton inquiry has suggested that not a single defence intelligence expert backed Tony Blair's most contentious
claims on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

Cheney's Staff Focus of Probe

US wants this American TV to replace AlJazeera. In their dreams.

You have to admit: there is vibrant Iraqi politics in...Washington, DC.

Once forbidden, graffiti flowers in Baghdad. (Traces of my handwriting can still be seen in some of Beirut's streets. That was my extracurricular activity in Highschool)

The U.S. plan to hand over power in Iraq is increasingly likely to undergo major changes rather than merely "refinements," because of increasing skepticism about the June 30 deadline for creating a provisional government and erosion of support for the proposal to use caucuses to select it, according to senior U.S. and U.N. officials.

Iraq's insurgents are more nihilist than nationalist. Tariq Ali has been too uncritical of Iraqi resistance methods.

American and UK friendship with the Libyan dictator is proceeding at a fast rate.

Full text. Speech of George Tenet at Georgetown University. Read it. Incredible. First, he claims that you cannot be completely wrong or completely right. That is, well, completely wrong. Secondly, he cites this source: "a source who had direct access to Saddam and his inner circle said:.." Is this not like the documentation in the National Inquirer? (Oh, but that source was "reliable.") Oh, and now he denies claims that Iraq posed 'imminent' danger. Thanks for telling us, just in time.

Was Charlie Brown an existentialist?

Marines on Trial: Abuse of Iraqi prisoners common, Marine says. Although guards beat and choked Hatab and although he died in their custody, Col. William Gallo, the investigating officer, said he had not seen evidence to substantiate charges of negligent homicide against the two Marines in the case. (thanks Kyle).

Transcript: Senate Armed Services Committee:Testimony of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. Sen. Kennedy: "Mr. Secretary, as the U.S. Iraqi weapons inspector, David Kay, made it clear in the recent days, that his exhaustive postwar inspection leave little doubt that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction at the time the war began. And his conclusion is a devastating refutation of the Bush administration's case for war in Iraq and I think seriously undermines our credibility in the world. Until now, the administration has resisted the independent investigation of the issue, but now it's proposing investigation by committee hand-picked by the administration, with findings to be made only after 2004 election. So I think the White House agenda is clear, is to blame the failure of the administration's case for war on the intelligence community, rather than the administration's manipulations and misrepresentations on the available intelligence. So the debacle cannot all be blamed on the intelligence community. Key policy-makers made crystal clear the results they wanted from the intelligence community. Mr. Kay said, "We were all wrong"; he's wrong. Many in the intelligence community were right. And so there are clear warnings from the intelligence community. But to sense within the intelligence community that many of the positions taken by the administration were not noted or glossed over. As Senator Levin pointed out, your own Defense Intelligence Agency, in September of 2002, said, "There's no reliable information" -- no reliable information, Mr. Secretary -- "whether Iraq is producing, stockpiling chemical weapons or where Iraq has or will establish its chemical warfare agent production facilities." KENNEDY: The State Department Bureau of Intelligence concluded, "The activities we have detected do not add up to a compelling case that Iraq is pursuing what INR would consider to be an integrated, comprehensive approach to acquire nuclear weapons. INR considers the available evidence inadequate to support such a judgment." Department of Energy intelligence disagreed that the famous tubes were a nuclear weapons program. State Department Intelligence Bureau also concluded that the tubes were not intended for use in Iraq's nuclear weapons. Greg Thielmann, a retired career State Department official, had served as director of the Office of Strategic Proliferation and Military Affairs in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, said it all last July: "Some of the fault lies with the performance of the intelligence community. Most of it lies with the way senior officials misused the information they were provided." He said, "They surveyed the data, picked out what they liked. The whole thing was bizarre. The secretary of defense had this huge Defense Intelligence Agency and he went around it." Lieutenant Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski, recently retired Air Force intelligence officer, served in the Pentagon during the buildup to the war, said, "It wasn't intelligence, it was propaganda. They take a little bit of intelligence, cherry-pick it, make it sound much more exciting, usually by taking it out of context, usually by juxtaposition of two pieces of information that don't belong together." We've seen in the examples that were mentioned this morning, for example, just on the issues of stockpiling on chemical weapons, as mentioned by Senator Levin, 2002, DIA said no reliable information on whether producing and stockpile. You said in 2002, before this committee, "We do know that" -- "We do know that." I understand the intelligence community never says, "We know," but you said in September, "We do know that." In October, the NIE said, "We have 100 metric tons -- 500 metric tons of chemical weapons. We found that out in the last year." Secretary Powell says, in February, "That's a conservative estimate, the stockpile 100 to 500 tons. That's a conservative estimate." KENNEDY: And then you say in March '03, "We know where they are. We know where they are." That is an extraordinary leap, and that extraordinary leap was wrong. Don't you think that that independent commission ought to be really reflective of men and women that can look hard and fast at not just what the intelligence was, but how it was manipulated, and interrogate career individuals in the intelligence community that believe that to be the case?

From Bush's speech today: "Next week, we will launch a new Middle East television network called, Alhurra -- Arabic for "the free one." The network will broadcast news and movies and sports and entertainment and educational programming to millions of people across the region. Through all these efforts, we are telling the people in the Middle East the truth about the values and the policies of the United States, and the truth always serves the cause of freedom." (Applause.)

The US army has apologized for killing an Iraqi child. He looked like Saddam's Deputy--without the moustache, they said.

Sharon's Favorite US Senator (Well, he has many, but this one, he adores).

Iraqi Insurgency Is as Lethal as Ever Since Hussein's Capture

Rumsfeld: More Time Needed for WMD Search. He is certain that they will be found by the year 209981983491.

Mother of 3 loses fight to stay in U.S. Treatment of a Palestinian illegal immigrant represents what Muslims and Arab-Americans in U.S. say they hate about immigration policy

France: No Data to Back U.S. Terror Fears; US: Who needs Data?

This is the (il)Logic of Paul Wolfowitz. He says: "Iraq Attacks Show U.S. Efforts Succeeding". Does that mean that US failure means no attacks? I am very confused. Please help me. Someone.

Richard Perle speaks at charity said to have terror links.

In a former presidential palace, Iraqi workers are welding steel plates to the vulnerable vehicles in an effort to protect GIs on patrol in Baghdad

Iraqis are learning the deadly cost of working for the US

Shelve Israel trade deal, say British MPs

The Origins of Occidentalism By IAN BURUMA. He makes some sensible points--only one or two, maximum, but when he refers to Middle East rulers (those who are targeted by fundamentalists) as "the liberals, reformists, and secular rulers" I get mad. Who are the "secular" rulers of the Middle East? Where are they? I have not seen them? Unless he implies that those rulers who sign humiliating peace treaties with Israel become "secular, liberal, and refromist."

The nationalities of Guantanamo's prisoners.

One of the worst, and most ruthless, Saudi Princes is Prince Nayif, Minister of Interior. This is from the BBC: Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdul-Aziz has said that the 251 pilgrims trampled to death during the Hajj "met their fate". He also added that the Hajj this year was a "great success." And do you know that this brutal Prince refused for months after Sep. 11 to admit that 15 of the 19 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia?

So they have this Egyptian political scientist on AlJazeera. One of those who believe that Newsweek Magazine contains all what you need to know about world affairs. So he was talking about something, and then said: And the very famous and prominent American economist Goldman Sachs has himself said...(But in fairness to him, he did not make references to the business acumen of the famous American businessperson, Dr. King--Dr. Burger King).

TWIN brothers who lead a gang of luxury-car thieves in Malaysia have reportedly been making generous donations to orphanages and other charities.

The left is not dead in the Arab world: Moroccan leftist parties unite

The public must look to what is missing from the Lord WhiteWash report

All this jaw about jihad is just tosh

Remember how US government officials keep saying that the US military in Iraq is making progress; that Saddam's capture has reduced attacks on US forces; and that Saddam's briefcase contained the names of every anti-American Iraqi? Yes, you remember. Why do you ask? Well, an analysis of US casualties in January reveals that: In January, U.S. suffered 40 combat fatalities in Iraq. It is the 2nd-deadliest month for troops since major operations were declared to be over.

Critical analysis of the Bush Budget.

The Trouble with RFID

U.S. Cuts Aid Amid Dispute Over International Criminal Court. The U.S. has frozen millions in aid to 35 countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and Central and South America after they failed to meet a July 1 deadline to exempt American troops and other personnel from prosecution before the court. If you care about world peace, please support the US government in its campaign to allow US troops to engage in war crimes worldwide without fear or threat of prosecution. Please.

Doubt grows over preventive war: High Time

A defender for Japan's battered women.

Despite Scrutiny of Iraq Data, It's Business as Usual for George Tenet (CIA Director). Bush loves him. You know why: because he makes his presentations to Bush with little words, and plenty of pictures and slides. I swear it is true. Read about it in Bob Woodward's fawning book Bush at War.

Gaza's settlers dig in their heels

Muslims in Europe claim discrimination in legal battles over veil. I wish that (some) Muslims would get energized and mobilized over other political issues. Really.