IRAQ: Baghdad Morgue Overflowing Daily

As sectarian killings continue to rise in Iraq, the central morgue in Baghdad is unable to keep up with the daily influx of bodies.

POLITICS-US: To Battle Stations! To Battle Stations!

Led by a familiar clutch of neo-conservative hawks, major right-wing publications are calling on the administration of Pres. George W. Bush to urgently plan for military strikes - and possibly a wider war - against Iran in the wake of its announcement this week that it has successfully enriched uranium to a purity necessary to fuel nuclear reactors.

DEATH PENALTY: Capital Punishment in Iraq Seen Simply As Death Not Justice

The execution of 13 suspected insurgents in March marked a revival of the death penalty in Iraq - and sparked a debate among Iraqis about whether capital punishment should be written into the laws of a modern society.

POLITICS-US: New Military Offensive Against Rumsfeld

Three years after the fall of Baghdad and the city's disastrous plunge into chaos, U.S. military brass appears engaged in a new campaign: getting rid of Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld.

IRAQ: Violence Driving People Out

Tens of thousands have fled their homes or the country since the bombing of the Shia shrine in Samarra Feb. 23.

POLITICS-US: Psy-War or Serious? Washington Mulls Iran Attack

Three years after the fall of Baghdad to U.S. forces, Washington is abuzz about new reports that the administration of Pres. George W. Bush is preparing to attack Iran, possibly with nuclear weapons.

FINANCE: U.S. Public Backs More Humanitarian Aid

Despite a U.S. decision to halt assistance to the Palestinian Authority and likely congressional cuts in the White House's foreign aid requests, a majority of U.S. citizens still believe that foreign assistance can be successful in improving their country's image abroad and enhancing national security.

US/IRAQ: Iran, Arab Roles in Peace Talks Urged

Foreign policy circles in Washington, including some figures considered close to the George W. Bush administration, have begun talking privately and in off-the-record meetings about the need to give both Iran and Iraq's Arab neighbours key roles in peace negotiations, according to Middle East experts.

RIGHTS: U.S. Quits Council Race, Possibly Fearing Defeat

The United States, which has been lambasted for human rights abuses both by members of its armed forces in Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad and by U.S. law enforcement officials in the Guantanamo detention facility in Cuba, has backed out of a hotly contested race for membership in the newly-created U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC).

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.

POLITICS-US: Public Ever More Sceptical About Bush’s Crusade

The vast majority of the U.S. public appears to have grown thoroughly disillusioned with Pres. George W. Bush's crusade to spread democracy abroad, according to a new survey by one of the country's premier public opinion analysts.

IRAQ: Saddam Better for Women

Women were far better off under former Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein, a women's group has found after an extensive survey in Iraq.

IRAQ: World Demonstrations Strengthen Iraqis

Three years after the occupation, calls for unity in fighting it are gaining ground across Iraq.

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.

UAE: After Iraq, Arabs Wary of ‘Western’ Democracy

In the evolving debate on reforms, Arab intellectuals and common people continue to emphasise the need for culture and region-specific democratic reforms in the Middle East, and strongly oppose the imposition of Western models.

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".

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.