POLITICS-US: Bush’s War Hawks Edged Out of the Nest

Although still united in pushing for confrontation with Iran, the coalition of hawks that propelled U.S. troops toward Baghdad three years ago appears to have finally run out of steam.

POLITICS: Is U.S. Planning More Attacks on Shiite Militias?

Last week's attack by U.S.-led Iraqi paramilitary forces on a building that Shiite leaders claim was a mosque may have marked the beginning of a new stage of U.S. policy in which Iraqi forces are used to carry out military operations against Shiite militia forces - especially those loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr.

POLITICS-US: Bush’s War Hawks Edged Out of the Nest

Although still united in pushing for confrontation with Iran, the coalition of hawks that propelled U.S. troops toward Baghdad three years ago appears to have finally run out of steam.

LATAM-US: Bush Policies Stoke Anti-Yanqui Sentiment

While anti-U.S. sentiment has deep roots in Latin America, particularly among populist and left-wing parties that are winning elections there, specific policies pursued by the administration of Pres. George W. Bush and the Republican-led Congress are fueling the growing alienation from Washington, according to a new report.

INDONESIA: U.S. Lifts Ban on Sale of Lethal Arms

Moving with unusual speed, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush officially normalised military relations with Indonesia Wednesday when the State Department posted a formal notice permitting the sale of lethal military equipment to Jakarta for the first time in seven years.

RIGHTS-US: Courts Scrutinise Post-9/11 Powers

More than six months ago, a federal district judge ordered former U.S. attorney-general John Ashcroft and other senior officials to testify in a lawsuit brought by an Egyptian who claims he was beaten and starved after being arrested following the Sep. 11, 2001 attacks.

POLITICS-US: “Cabal” Blocked 2003 Nuclear Talks with Iran

The George W. Bush administration failed to enter into negotiations with Iran on its nuclear programme in May 2003 because neoconservative zealots who advocated destabilisation and regime change were able to block any serious diplomatic engagement with Tehran, according to former administration officials.

RIGHTS-US: High Court Hears Historic Case on Detainees

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear what will almost certainly be one of the landmark cases of the past 50 years.

DEVELOPMENT: Iraq Left to Rebuild Itself

Last week's announcement that Iraq will now have to pay for its own reconstruction has left some observers wondering whether the yet-to-be-formed government there will be up to the task.

POLITICS: “Troops Home” Call Echoes Across U.S.

Wrapping up a week of over 600 protest actions to mark three years since the United States invaded Iraq, activists here say that anti-war sentiment has become the dominant perspective in the U.S. and leaves the war "without legitimacy".

IRAQ: Are U.S. Intentions More “Base” Than Honourable?

Pres. George W. Bush has long assured the world that his intentions in Iraq are strictly honourable - to set the country on a clear and stable path toward democracy and withdraw U.S. troops as soon as Iraqi forces can take control, "and not one day more".

RELIGION-US: Evangelical Christians Most Distrustful of Muslims

Evangelical Protestants tend to view Islam much more unfavourably than do mainline U.S. Protestants and Catholics, according to a new analysis of recent public opinion surveys published here Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

POLITICS: Israel Lobby Dictates U.S. Policy, Study Charges

The pro-Israel lobby in the United States has manipulated Washington's policies in the Middle East to the point where it is the U.S. that does most of the fighting, dying and rebuilding while Israel reaps most of the security benefits, argues a new study by two U.S. scholars.

POLITICS-US: Is War the Real National Pastime?

In his provocative documentary "Why We Fight", director Eugene Jarecki asks whether Washington's foreign policy is overly preoccupied with the idea of military supremacy, and if the military has become too important in U.S. life.

AFGHANISTAN: Canadian Forces Stray Further From Peace Mission

In a bid to boost support for Canada's military mission in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently made a surprise two-day visit to his country's troops in the volatile southern province of Kandahar.

POLITICS: Iran, Iraq Crises Converge Despite U.S. Hardliners

The agreement last week between Washington and Iran to hold direct talks on Iraq has forged a new linkage between the Iraq and Iran crises.

POLITICS-US: White House Reaffirms “First Strike” Doctrine

U.S. Pres. George W. Bush issued his second-term National Security Strategy Thursday, a document outlining the administration's strategy for using diplomatic, economic, and military tools to deal with global challenges.

RIGHTS: U.N. Creates New Watchdog Over U.S. Opposition

A running gag at the United Nations is that whenever the United States takes a defiant stand against an overwhelming majority of the 191 member states, there are only three countries that predictably vote with Washington most of the time - whether it is right or dead wrong.

POLITICS-US: Most Now Say Iraq Invasion Was a “War of Choice”

Three years after Pres. George W. Bush ordered U.S. troops into Iraq, public confidence in the operation is dwindling ever smaller, as is the belief that Bush's stated reasons for going to war were sincere, according to a new poll released here Wednesday by the University of Maryland's Programme on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA).

POLITICS-US: Forum Over Substance

If the medium is the message, then U.S. Pres. George W. Bush's choice of forum to launch a new public campaign to defend his beleaguered Iraq policy should be troubling to those, particularly in Europe, who had hoped that his administration was moving toward a more even-handed stance in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

POLITICS: US Abuses, Sense of Irony Missing in Rights Report

Foreign policy, legal and human rights authorities are raising serious questions about the credibility of the U.S. State Department's annual report on human rights, released last week.