/CORRECTED REPEAT/POLITICS-US: A Hyperpower With Feet of Mud

The United States may not quite yet be perceived as the "pitiful, helpless giant" that haunted the dreams of Richard Nixon 35 years ago, but it's getting close.

IRAQ: Vicious Circle Rings Constitution

Iraq is starting to find itself in a sectarian bind. Disagreement over the new constitution, mainly between the Shias and the Sunnis, has been blamed for increasing tensions. But there is ample evidence that militants are targeting the very idea of a new constitution, rather than its content.

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: Despite Strictures, U.N. Chief Refuses to Yield

A beleaguered U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan Thursday stood his ground despite charges of corruption, inefficiency and mismanagement of the 34-billion-dollar now-defunct Iraqi oil-for-food-programme run by the U.N. Secretariat which he administers.

IRAQ: U.S. Influence ‘Too Much’

U.S. influence in the process of drafting a constitution for Iraq is excessive and "highly inappropriate", a United Nations official says.

IRAQ: Sunnis Hard to Include, Harder to Leave Out

Despite the signing of a draft constitution by the Iraqi constitutional panel comprising mainly Shia and Kurdish leaders, Sunnis are still seeking amendments to the text.

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.

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: 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.

IRAQ: Talks Do Not Constitute Agreement

Iraqi political factions have not been able to work out an agreement on a new constitution despite extended deadlines and growing U.S. pressure.

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?

IRAQ: Constitution May Not Bring Peace

The three main groups negotiating Iraq's new constitution have indicated that they have made little headway on the issues that led parliament to extend the deadline for submitting the draft by a week until Aug. 22. The unresolved issues are mainly federalism and the role of Islam.

RIGHTS: New Abuse Photos Could Spark Riots, US General Warns

Civil libertarians and the Pentagon appear headed for yet another trainwreck in the ongoing dispute over the so-called second batch of photos from Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.