POLITICS-U.S.: Polls Show Erosion in Support for Iraq Operation

Public support for the U.S. military operation in Iraq has eroded significantly over the past two months, as has confidence in President George W. Bush and his administration's credibility, according to two new polls released here Tuesday.

POLITICS-Europe: Italy’s Ambitious Plans for 6-Month EU Presidency

The new European Constitution, economic integration, immigration and external relations will dominate Italy's six-month presidency of the European Council that it took over from Greece Tuesday.

JAPAN: Gov’t Keen on Sending Troops to Back U.S. Forces in Iraq

Ebrahim Sawada, a Shiite Muslim and teacher of Islam, is anxious about the growing debate in Japan on beefing up U.S. occupying forces in Iraq.

IRAQ: U.S. Runs Into an Unexpected Enemy

U.S. troops in Iraq stay on the ready to face fire from snipers, but they were not ready for this one.

IRAQ: Everyone Now Needs Food Aid

The war in Iraq has made the entire population of 27 million dependent on food aid, leaders of aid programmes say.

POLITICS: U.S. Passivity on Liberia Carnage Labelled ‘Hypocrisy’

You lead the greatest military superpower in history. Your armed forces have conquered two fair-sized nations half a world away in just the last 18 months. You boast that you will not hesitate to use force against "evil-doers".

IRAQ: U.S. Plans to Rebuild Undermined by Attacks – Analysts

Sustained guerrilla attacks on U.S. and UK military forces in occupied Iraq are threatening to undermine Washington's plans for the reconstruction of the war-ravaged country, Middle East analysts say.

POLITICS: U.S.-Backed Iraqi Officials Seek Development Aid

A team of Iraqi officials who flew into New York early this week to plead their case for international development aid came under heavy grilling from a group of sceptical U.N. correspondents.

POLITICS-U.S.: Shadowy Neo-Con Adviser Moves on Iran

When 'The Washington Post' published a list of the people who Karl Rove, President George W. Bush's closest adviser, regularly consults for advice outside the administration, foreign-policy veterans were shocked when Michael Ledeen popped up as the only full-time international-affairs analyst.

IRAQ: U.N. Fears its Workers May Become Targets

A senior U.N. official says that security concerns inside Iraq include the possibility that the agencies' humanitarian workers could be singled out for guerrilla attacks - just like U.S. and UK soldiers.

EU-U.S.: Transatlantic Ties and Iraq High on Summit Agenda

Transatlantic relations in general and the post-war reconstruction of Iraq in particular will take centre stage when top European Union officials confer with U.S. President George Bush in Washington on Wednesday.

TRADE: U.S. Maps Out Ambitious Middle East Deal

The United States said Monday it will negotiate free trade agreements separately with Arab countries as a first step towards setting up a U.S.- Middle East Free Trade Agreement (MEFTA) by 2013 that would include up to 20 of the region's nations.

IRAQ: Arabs Challenge U.S. Plans to Open Nation to Multinationals

Arab business and political leaders on Sunday challenged U.S. plans to transform Iraq's economy into a free market, ''open for business'' to the world's multinational companies.

POLITICS-INDIA: Row Brewing over Proposal to Send Troops to Iraq

A major political face-off is brewing in India over the issue of dispatching troops to Iraq to partially relieve the U.S. and British soldiers now occupying that country.

IRAQ: U.S. Version of Protesters’ Deaths Questionable – Report

It is doubtful that the U.S. military's version of events that led to the April killings of at least 20 Iraqis protesting in the city of al-Falluja is correct, says a new report by U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW).

IRAQ: From Liberation to Counter-Insurgency in Less Than 80 Days

It was just 45 days ago that President George W Bush, in a campaign-perfect photo-op, landed on the USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast of California, swaggered across the deck in full flight gear, and declared that ''Operation Iraqi Freedom'' had liberated that nation from the evil clutches of former President Saddam Hussein.

POLITICS-U.S.-MIDEAST: Deja Vu as Bush Pushed Aside

As beloved New York Yankee catcher and phrase-maker Yogi Berra once said, it seems like ''deja vu all over again''.

POLITICS-U.S.: Iraq-Attack Think Tank Turns Wrath on NGOs

Having led the charge to war in Iraq, an influential think tank close to the Bush administration has added a new target: international non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

MEDIA-MIDEAST: Arabs Debate ‘Misinformation’ during War on Iraq

Two months after the ouster of Saddam Hussein, the Arab media is coming under scrutiny for 'misleading' people in the region into believing that Iraq would provide stiff resistance and even win the war against the U.S.-led forces.

INDIA: U.S. Call to Send Troops to Iraq Draws Protests

The arrival of U.S. military officials next week to discuss the deployment of Indian troops in occupied Iraq is angering peace groups and opposition parties, including some who say this would make India a ''mercenary'' force under Washington.

POLITICS-U.S.: Pentagon Moving Swiftly to Become ‘GloboCop’

Much like its successful military campaign in Iraq, the Pentagon is moving at seemingly breakneck speed to re-deploy U.S. forces and equipment around the world in ways that will permit Washington to play ''GloboCop'', according to a number of statements by top officials and defence planners.