IRAQ: U.S. Will Lose More by ‘Victory’

A military victory for U.S. forces in Fallujah seems set to lead to a huge political loss for the U.S.-backed interim Iraqi government.

POLITICS-U.S.: Springtime for Spooks?

The biggest source of speculation about President George W Bush's foreign policy in a second term is if it will continue on the same aggressive trajectory that marked the first or whether, chastened by Iraq, it will be more restrained over the next four years.

POLITICS-U.S.: Secrecy Cloaked During Election Campaign

"It's always a fight to find out what the government doesn't want us to know. It's a fight we're once again losing ... (President Bush) has clamped a lid on public access ... It's not just historians and journalists he wants locked out; it's Congress ... and it's you, the public, and your representatives."

MEDIA-MIDEAST: Reporting Arafat Becomes Another Crisis

Reporting the state of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, or worse, on developments looking at life after Arafat is emerging as another crisis.

IRAQ: Economy Hurting More Than Violence

Violence is taking a heavy toll in Iraq, but everyday economic difficulties could be hurting people more.

U.S.-IRAQ: ‘Phantom Fury’ Poised to Become Phantom Victory

With Monday's launch of 'Operation Phantom Fury' to regain control of the key insurgent-dominated Sunni city of Fallujah, the administration of U.S. President George W Bush appears to be moving toward another ''phantom victory'' in its broader quest to achieve a stable, pro-western Iraq.

POLITICS-US: Legal Know-How Absent at Guantanamo Bay?

Four months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prisoners held at a special jail at Guantanamo Bay in the U.S. "war on terrorism" have the right to challenge their detention to an independent forum, the legal process appears far from fair, according to human rights groups.

MIDEAST: Palestinians Struggle to Find Leadership

The Palestinian leadership in Ramallah is struggling to organise itself in the absence of veteran leader Yasser Arafat. His duties have been divided between Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and former prime minister Mahmoud Abbas. But the old leader may throw a wrench into a smooth succession by having named a chosen successor at the last moment.

IRAQ: Resistance over Fallujah Builds Up in Baghdad

The anger building up in Baghdad over the imminent attack on Fallujah is a warning that U.S. forces could start off more than they can handle.

MIDEAST: There Is Life After Arafat

Ramallah moves to the slow and heavy rhythm of any Muslim town in the Middle East during the fasting month of Ramadan.

IRAQ: Aid Agency Exit Leaves Nation Further Isolated

The withdrawal from Iraq of aid agency Doctors Without Borders will further isolate the nation at a time when it should be re-establishing links with the international community, says a doctor with vast experience in the war-torn country.

U.S. ELECTION: New Bush Foreign Policy Posture Unlikely

Earnest hopes that U.S. President George W Bush will be prepared to seriously ''reach out'' to U.S. friends and allies overseas to make his foreign policy less aggressive and unilateral in his second term are likely to be earnestly disappointed.

U.S. ELECTION: More of the Same Is Bad News in Middle East

Most reactions in the Middle East to the re-election of U.S. President George W. Bush have ranged from the caustic to the cautious. Rejoicing has been rare.

IRAQ: U.S. Failed to Guard Evidence of Abuses – Report

Crucial evidence of alleged human rights abuses that could be used in upcoming trials of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his top aides has apparently been lost or damaged due to U.S. neglect, says a report released Thursday.

JAPAN: Hostage Beheading Puts Troops’ Mandate Under Question

Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi might have won public approval for the country's troops to stay in Iraq despite the beheading, there, of a Japanese civilian by Islamic militants. But the big question, however, remains on whether he will get the same level of support needed to extend the troops' mandate when it expires next month.

POLITICS-U.S.: Halloween Tidings from the ‘War on Terror’

U.S. President George W Bush is fortunate indeed that so much of the electorate has already made up its mind on its vote next Tuesday, because this week's news from the ''war on terrorism'' has been unrelentingly bad.

RIGHTS: No Change in U.S. Torture Policy – Amnesty

The United States has failed to meaningfully change its policies on the treatment of prisoners, opening the door to repeats of abuses like those at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and making an independent probe into torture by the U.S. military essential, says a leading human rights group.

POLITICS: U.N. Terrorism Treaty Deadlocked

The United Nations, which was on the verge of adopting a new international convention against nuclear terrorism, has been forced to shelve the proposed treaty because of opposition from Islamic states.

IRAQ-U.S.: Veterans’ Voices Rise in Protest

With the news that members of a U.S. Army reserve platoon have been arrested in Iraq for refusing a "suicide mission," dissent among veterans of the U.S.-led campaign in that country continues to grow.

MEDIA: Kidnappers Showtime

Kidnappers' tape tactics in broadcasting footage of victims has won them international attention. But are the media right to broadcast the tapes? Or are they serving criminal propaganda?

POLITICS: U.N., Iraq Clash Over Elections

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is at loggerheads with the U.S.-installed interim government in Iraq over national elections scheduled to take place in that strife-torn country in January 2005.