POLITICS-US: Govt Secrecy Carries a Hefty Price

During 2004, the George W. Bush administration issued more secret court orders, spent 148 dollars creating new classified documents for every dollar spent releasing old ones, invoked the "state secrets" privilege in court cases more frequently than ever before, and received 25 percent more requests for documents under the Freedom of Information Act.

POLITICS-US: Anti-Terror Strategy in Doubt on 9/11 Anniversary

If U.S. President George W. Bush was counting on Sunday's "Freedom Walk" and country music festival at the Pentagon to revive the patriotic spirit (and rally his sagging approval ratings) that followed the Sep. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on their fourth anniversary, he is likely to be very disappointed.

POLITICS-US: Visa Policy Costing Economy Billions

As Congress returns to Washington facing what promises to be a rancorous debate on how to protect U.S. borders, a leading immigration think-tank is charging that U.S. visa policies - a key tool in promoting national security - are in danger of compromising U.S. economic competitiveness and foreign policy goals.

POLITICS: India Foxed as Pakistan Plays the Israel Card

Pakistan has stunned the world-and its subcontinental neighbour and rival India-by making an overture to Israel, which it long shunned and condemned as a 'Zionist' state.

SOUTH-ASIA: Indo-Pakistan Rivalry in Afghanistan Intensifies

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai's fervent wish for improved regional cooperation among India, Pakistan and his own country, expressed during the Indo-Afghan summit at the beginning of the week, may be doomed to remain just that, given the state of sub-continental rivalry.

ENVIRONMENT-US: Wetlands Loss Left Gulf Coast Naked to Storm

Massive destruction of wetlands and rampant coastal development are among the reasons Hurricane Katrina may have killed thousands of people on the U.S. Gulf Coast and wreaked upwards of 25 billion dollars in damages.

POLITICS-US: Pro-War Groups’ New Tune – ‘Paint It Red’

Late in the evening of Aug. 24, the Drudge Report, one of the Internet's most frequented websites, featured the headline "Anti-War Protesters Target Wounded at Army Hospital", trumpeting a story from the Cybercast News Service claiming that anti-war protesters were taunting wounded soldiers returning from Iraq.

POLITICS-US: Iraq War Splurge Hits Home at 230 kph

With state, local, and federal officials still grappling with the extent of the devastation and human suffering inflicted by Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans and points east, suggestions that the already plunging political standing of Pres. George W. Bush could also be a major casualty of the disaster have begun taking hold.

POLITICS-US: Iraq War Costs Now Exceed Vietnam’s

The U.S. Treasury is paying out more each month to sustain the war in Iraq than it did during the Vietnam War, according to a new report that calls the ongoing conflict "the most expensive military effort in the last 60 years".

IRAQ: Deadliest Day Needed No Bombs

The death toll from a stampede of Iraqi Shiite pilgrims continued to climb Wednesday, with security officials saying nearly 800 people perished and 323 were injured when rumours of a suicide bombing sparked chaos on a Baghdad bridge.

CORRUPTION-US: Halliburton Whistleblower Demoted

Whistleblowers - those who go public with allegations of waste, fraud and abuse - continue to have a tough time, despite a law protecting them and repeated assurances from the White House, many government agencies and Congress that they maintain a policy of zero tolerance for retaliation.

POLITICS-IRAQ: Democracy or Disintegration?

One day after the formal presentation by a majority of Iraq's elected leaders of their proposed constitution, opinions here and in Baghdad appeared divided over whether the draft would lead to greater democracy or the virtual, if not actual, disintegration of the country.

RIGHTS-US: Secrecy Shrouds Patriot Act Powers

As the U.S. Congress prepares to vote on the final version of a reauthorised USA Patriot Act, a major civil rights group claims to have proof that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has used the law to snoop into people's library records - a charge the FBI has vigorously denied since the Act was passed in 2001.

POLITICS: Iran’s Growing Sway in Iraq Defies Neocons’ Logic

Anyone who still believes that the U.S. neo-conservatives who led the drive to war in Iraq are diabolically clever geo-strategic masterminds should now consider Iran's vastly improved position vis-a-vis its U.S.-occupied neighbour.

POLITICS-US: 9/11 Tapes Underscore Com Breakdown

On Sep. 11, 2001, a New York City police helicopter hovered above the World Trade Centre.

POLITICS-US: Democrats Fumble Iraq Policy

While Republicans voice growing unease over U.S. President George W. Bush's vow to "stay the course" in Iraq, Democrats remain deeply divided about their position on a conflict that most of them privately describe as a major foreign policy disaster.

POLITICS-US: Congressional Break Just a Lull in the Storm

When the U.S. Congress returns to work in early September, it will face debate on a number of hot-button issues likely to inflame passions on the political left and right and deepen the country's ideological divide.

POLITICS-US: Realists Rule?

Is realism finally, definitively, back in the driver's seat of U.S. foreign policy?

POLITICS-US: Why Casey Sheehan Was Killed

For nearly two weeks, Cindy Sheehan has been camped outside George W. Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, demanding a meeting with the U.S. president.

POLITICS-US: Has the “Tipping Point” on Iraq Been Reached?

Has the U.S. public lost so much confidence in the George W. Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war that its current strategy - to the extent one actually exists - is unsustainable?

RIGHTS: The Ugly Truth About Prisoner “Rendition”

Countries that rely on "diplomatic assurances" that other countries will not torture transferred prisoners "are either engaging in wishful thinking or using the assurances as a figleaf to cover their complicity," charges a new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW).