10.25.2004
Top News Article | Reuters.com
Top News Article | Reuters.com: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Army Corps of Engineers' top contracting official has demanded an investigation into contracts given to Halliburton, citing improper action that favored Vice President Dick Cheney's old company.
According to documents made available to Reuters on Monday by congressional sources, Army Corps whistle-blower Bunny Greenhouse complained of repeated interference in billions of dollars of contracts given to Halliburton unit Kellogg Brown and Root for work in Iraq and the Balkans.
'This interference was largely focused on multibillion-dollar contract issues pertaining to a Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root,' said a letter faxed on Thursday to Acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee by lawyers for Greenhouse."
According to documents made available to Reuters on Monday by congressional sources, Army Corps whistle-blower Bunny Greenhouse complained of repeated interference in billions of dollars of contracts given to Halliburton unit Kellogg Brown and Root for work in Iraq and the Balkans.
'This interference was largely focused on multibillion-dollar contract issues pertaining to a Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root,' said a letter faxed on Thursday to Acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee by lawyers for Greenhouse."
Yahoo! News - U.N. Warns of Explosives Missing in Iraq
Yahoo! News - U.N. Warns of Explosives Missing in Iraq: "VIENNA, Austria - The U.N. nuclear agency warned Monday that insurgents in Iraq (news - web sites) may have obtained nearly 400 tons of missing explosives that can be used in the kind of car bomb attacks that have targeted U.S.-led coalition forces for months.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei reported the disappearance to the U.N. Security Council on Monday, two weeks after he said Iraq told the nuclear agency that the explosives had vanished from the former Iraqi military installation as a result of 'theft and looting ... due to lack of security.'
The disappearance raised questions about why the United States didn't do more to secure the Al-Qaqaa facility 30 miles south of Baghdad and failed to allow full international inspections to resume after the March 2003 invasion.
The White House played down the significance of the missing weapons, but Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry (news - web sites) accused President Bush (news - web sites) of 'incredible incompetence' and his campaign said the administration 'must answer for what may be the most grave and catastrophic mistake in a tragic series of blunders in Iraq.'
Al-Qaqaa is near Youssifiyah, an area rife with ambush attacks. An Associated Press Television News crew that drove past the compound Monday saw no visible security at the gates of the site, a jumble of low-slung, yellow-colored storage buildings that appeared deserted."
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei reported the disappearance to the U.N. Security Council on Monday, two weeks after he said Iraq told the nuclear agency that the explosives had vanished from the former Iraqi military installation as a result of 'theft and looting ... due to lack of security.'
The disappearance raised questions about why the United States didn't do more to secure the Al-Qaqaa facility 30 miles south of Baghdad and failed to allow full international inspections to resume after the March 2003 invasion.
The White House played down the significance of the missing weapons, but Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry (news - web sites) accused President Bush (news - web sites) of 'incredible incompetence' and his campaign said the administration 'must answer for what may be the most grave and catastrophic mistake in a tragic series of blunders in Iraq.'
Al-Qaqaa is near Youssifiyah, an area rife with ambush attacks. An Associated Press Television News crew that drove past the compound Monday saw no visible security at the gates of the site, a jumble of low-slung, yellow-colored storage buildings that appeared deserted."
Salon.com News | Iraq massacre may have been inside job
Salon.com News | Iraq massacre may have been inside job: "Oct. 25, 2004 | BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- The massacre of 50 unarmed Iraqi cadets headed home on leave suggests Iraqi insurgents have infiltrated Iraq's security forces deeply enough to gain intelligence and make precision strikes of their own.
Although U.S. officials say it's too early to tell whether the cadets were set up, some American officers have long regarded Iraq's security forces as susceptible to infiltration. Last week, defense officials in Washington described Iraq's security forces as 'heavily infiltrated' by insurgents.
'The police and military forces all have insurgents in them,' according to Lt. Col. Jeffrey Sinclair of the 1st Infantry Division. 'You don't have a pure force.'
The massacre Saturday night near the Iranian border was the most dramatic of a growing number of precision attacks by guerrillas who appear to be operating with inside information on movements, identities and future plans of Iraqi security forces.
'Subversion of the government and armed forces is the bread and butter of an insurgency,' said Bruce Hoffman, a RAND Corp. counterinsurgency expert who advised the U.S.-led occupation authority. 'These people know what they're doing. They're pushing all the levers.'"
Although U.S. officials say it's too early to tell whether the cadets were set up, some American officers have long regarded Iraq's security forces as susceptible to infiltration. Last week, defense officials in Washington described Iraq's security forces as 'heavily infiltrated' by insurgents.
'The police and military forces all have insurgents in them,' according to Lt. Col. Jeffrey Sinclair of the 1st Infantry Division. 'You don't have a pure force.'
The massacre Saturday night near the Iranian border was the most dramatic of a growing number of precision attacks by guerrillas who appear to be operating with inside information on movements, identities and future plans of Iraqi security forces.
'Subversion of the government and armed forces is the bread and butter of an insurgency,' said Bruce Hoffman, a RAND Corp. counterinsurgency expert who advised the U.S.-led occupation authority. 'These people know what they're doing. They're pushing all the levers.'"
Yahoo! News - U.N. Warns of Explosives Missing in Iraq
Yahoo! News - U.N. Warns of Explosives Missing in Iraq: "VIENNA, Austria - The U.N. nuclear agency warned Monday that insurgents in Iraq (news - web sites) may have obtained nearly 400 tons of missing explosives that can be used in the kind of car bomb attacks that have targeted U.S.-led coalition forces for months.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei reported the disappearance to the U.N. Security Council on Monday, two weeks after he said Iraq told the nuclear agency that the explosives had vanished from the former Iraqi military installation as a result of 'theft and looting ... due to lack of security.'
The disappearance raised questions about why the United States didn't do more to secure the Al-Qaqaa facility 30 miles south of Baghdad and failed to allow full international inspections to resume after the March 2003 invasion."
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei reported the disappearance to the U.N. Security Council on Monday, two weeks after he said Iraq told the nuclear agency that the explosives had vanished from the former Iraqi military installation as a result of 'theft and looting ... due to lack of security.'
The disappearance raised questions about why the United States didn't do more to secure the Al-Qaqaa facility 30 miles south of Baghdad and failed to allow full international inspections to resume after the March 2003 invasion."
10.22.2004
AlterNet: The World According to a Bush Voter
AlterNet: The World According to a Bush Voter: "Do the supporters of President Bush really know their man or the policies of his administration?
Three out of 4 self-described supporters of President George W. Bush still believe that pre-war Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) or active programs to produce them. According to a new survey published Thursday, the same number also believes that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein provided 'substantial support' to al Qaeda.
But here is the truly astonishing part: as many or more Bush supporters hold those beliefs today than they did several months ago. In other words, more people believe the claims today �- after the publication of a series of well-publicized official government reports that debunked both notions.
These are among the most striking findings of a survey conducted in mid-October by the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) and Knowledge Networks, a California-based polling firm.
The survey polled the views of nearly 900 randomly chosen respondents equally divided between Bush supporters and those intending to vote for Democratic Sen. John Kerry. It found a yawning gap in the perceptions of the facts between the two groups, particularly with regards to President Bush's claims about pre-war Iraq. "
Three out of 4 self-described supporters of President George W. Bush still believe that pre-war Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) or active programs to produce them. According to a new survey published Thursday, the same number also believes that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein provided 'substantial support' to al Qaeda.
But here is the truly astonishing part: as many or more Bush supporters hold those beliefs today than they did several months ago. In other words, more people believe the claims today �- after the publication of a series of well-publicized official government reports that debunked both notions.
These are among the most striking findings of a survey conducted in mid-October by the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) and Knowledge Networks, a California-based polling firm.
The survey polled the views of nearly 900 randomly chosen respondents equally divided between Bush supporters and those intending to vote for Democratic Sen. John Kerry. It found a yawning gap in the perceptions of the facts between the two groups, particularly with regards to President Bush's claims about pre-war Iraq. "
