RIGHTS: U.S. Invokes Secrets Privilege in Torture Lawsuit

The Justice Department has again asserted "state secrets privilege" in seeking to dismiss a lawsuit by Maher Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen who was detained in the United States in 2002 and sent against his will to Syria, where he says he was tortured until his release a year later.

POLITICS-U.S.: More Cannon Fodder, Please

Amid rising concern about the over-extension of U.S. military forces and the growing budget deficit, the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), a neo-conservative group whose past foreign policy recommendations have often been followed by President George W. Bush, is urging Congress to add 25,000 new soldiers to U.S. ground forces each year over the next several years.

RIGHTS-U.S.: The World Wide Watchers

Is the U.S. government spying on its citizens' email and web surfing habits?

RIGHTS-US: Pentagon’s Guantanamo Courts Ruled Illegal

A U.S. federal court judge has ruled that military tribunals initiated by the Pentagon to determine the status of terrorist suspects held at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are unconstitutional because they do not satisfy minimal due-process requirements.

POLITICS-IRAQ: Audit Finds More Fuzzy Math

The U.S.-run administration in Baghdad failed to keep track of nearly nine billion dollars of money it transferred to various Iraqi ministries, according to an official audit released Sunday as Iraqis went to the polls.

POLITICS-U.S.: Losing Feith

The departure by mid-2005 of the number-three man at the Defence Department, announced by the Pentagon Wednesday, marks the latest hint that Pres. George W. Bush is moving foreign policy in a more centrist direction.

POLITICS-U.S.: From Holocaust to Hyperpower

The importance of this week's recognition by the United Nations of the Nazi Holocaust lies as much in its relevance to today's international realities as it does to the historical significance of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp by Soviet forces 60 years ago Thursday.

/UPDATE*/POLITICS-US: Controversial Nominee Squeaks Past First Vote

Riding over opposition from its Democratic members, the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday voted 10-8 to send the nomination of Attorney General-designate Alberto Gonzales to the full Senate for confirmation, possibly as early as next week.

RIGHTS-US: Leading Groups Take Rare Step of Repudiating Nominee

On the eve of a key confirmation vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee, two major U.S. human rights groups called for the rejection of Attorney General-designate Alberto Gonzales on the basis of his advice regarding the treatment of detainees in the Bush administration's "war on terror".

RIGHTS-IRAQ: Abuse, Torture by Iraqi Police Called Routine

Despite the millions of dollars spent by the U.S. and other nations to improve their performance, Iraqi police still routinely abuse and often torture detainees, according to a report released Tuesday by Human Rights Watch (HRW)..

POLITICS-US: Retiree Doggedly Pursues Legal Challenge of Iraq War

His name is Clare Callan. He is a feisty 85-year-old former congressman from rural Nebraska. And he is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to declare that Pres. George W. Bush had no legal authority to go to war in Iraq.

POLITICS: Bush Plugs the Window-Dressing, Cheney the Nitty-Gritty

Two very different messages about the future of U.S. foreign policy were broadcast to the world on Inaugural Day Thursday, and listeners everywhere could be forgiven for feeling confused about their import.

POLITICS-US: War-Weary Public Leery of New Overseas Adventures

President George W. Bush faces a difficult challenge in rallying U.S. public opinion behind his clarion call for spreading freedom and democracy abroad, according to a number of surveys published over the last two years.

POLITICS: Unclouded by Doubt, Bush Vows Freedom-Spreading Mission

Kicking off his second four-year term, President George W. Bush Thursday delivered an inaugural address filled with the righteous resolve and soaring rhetoric that are music to his core constituency, but will almost certainly grate on the nerves of almost everybody else, both here and abroad.

POLITICS-US: Champagne and Pepper Spray Herald Bush’s Return

There is the Freedom Ball, the Patriot Ball and the Democracy Ball. Not tired yet? How about the Independence Ball, Liberty Ball, Stars and Stripes Ball, Texas Wyoming Ball, and Commander-In-Chief Ball.

POLITICS: Bush Bad for Global Peace, US Image, World Believes

As George W. Bush prepares to be sworn in for his second term as U.S. president, a strong majority of the world's people are concerned his tenure is likely to produce more setbacks to the cause of world peace and security, according to a major international poll released Wednesday.

RIGHTS: Son Fell Down Rabbit Hole of U.S. Terror War, Family Says

Human rights groups are rallying behind a Virginia student who has been held without charges in a Saudi Arabian jail since June 2003, allegedly at the behest of the U.S. government.

POLITICS-U.S.: Neo-Conservatives At Sea

Jubilant over President George W. Bush's re-election victory just two months ago, neo-conservatives who played a leading role in shaping the radical trajectory of U.S. foreign policy after the Sep. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks appear increasingly divided on key issues and uncertain of their position in Bush's second term.

TSUNAMI IMPACT: US Charities Feel Heat From "Terror War"

The tsunamis that pounded Indian Ocean coastlines the day after Christmas killed an estimated 30,000 Sri Lankans - nearly half in areas controlled by the Tamil Tigers, a rebel group that has been placed on a special list of "terrorist" groups by the U.S. government.

RIGHTS: Report Singles Out U.S., Sudan For Strong Censure

The impunity surrounding the ethnic cleansing in Darfur, Sudan and the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in U.S.-occupied Iraq has dealt a serious blow to global efforts to strengthen respect for human rights, according to a major U.S. human rights group.

POLITICS-US: Cabinet Nominee Wrote Blueprint for Sep 12 Crackdown

Like Pres. George W. Bush's nominee for attorney-general, his choice for homeland security tsar is likely to face stiff opposition from some Democratic senators and human rights advocates because of what they say were abuses of civil liberties during his service in the Justice Department.