contributions

By Stephen Farrell
IRAQI police have threatened to kill every journalist working in the holy city of Najaf, where US forces are locked in a tense stand-off with Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mehdi Army.
After a series of veiled warnings to leave on Sunday, two marked police cars pulled up at dusk outside the Sea of Najaf hotel on the outskirts of town, where Arab and Western journalists are staying.
Ten uniformed policemen walked into the hotel and demanded that the al-Arabiya, Reuters and AP (…)

An Iraqi photographer working for Reuters new agency was shot in the leg during fighting in the holy city of Najaf, the agency said.
The photographer, who was not identified, was shot by fighters loyal to radical Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr as he was taking pictures with a US forces in the city, journalists in the Reuters bureau in Baghdad said on condition of anonymity.
The wounds were not life-threatening and the photographer was being treated at a US Army combat hospital, the (…)

By WILLIAM D. McTAVISH
Spend 15 minutes watching John O’Neill and you see him for what he is: A sad, bitter old partisan still fighting the demons of Vietnam.
O’Neill, author of the anti-Kerry screed, Unfit for Duty, is founder and leader of the so-called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a collection of Vietnam vets who serve as little more than a front act for George W. Bush’s campaign to destroy Democratic Presidential candidate John F. Kerry at all costs.
Funded by two of Bush’s (…)

by Daniel Patrick Welch
The author tells of his infatuation with the Olympic games from early childhood—a spell unfortunately broken by ruminating on current events, US policy, and the mind-numbing chatter of American talking head celebrity commentators.
I have a confession to make. Ever since I was a kid I have always loved the Olympics. I was in love with them ever since I was old enough to cry when they were over. Four years seemed like an eternity to me then, and the pomp-encrusted (…)

by ELIZABETH WOLFE
WASHINGTON - About a dozen journalist organizations complained Monday that a proposed Homeland Security Department policy would impede the public release of information on environmental hazards.
In comments filed with the department, the groups said the agency is ditching some routine environmental oversight in the name of security.
"It must not be assumed that a choice needs to be made between the environment and security," the Coalition of Journalists for Open (…)

DENVER - A plan to scrap the winner-take-all system of allocating electoral votes in Colorado is heading to the ballot in November.
If passed, Amendment 36 would make Colorado the first state to allocate electoral votes proportionately according to the popular vote, rather than giving a winner all of the state’s electoral votes.
Secretary of State Donetta Davidson said Friday that supporters have gathered enough signatures to put the measure on the November ballot.
If the proposal had (…)

American leaders have good reason to worry about the price of oil. Oil price shocks can play a decisive role in ending a presidency, as in the cases of Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H. W. Bush. The Nov. 2 election may well hinge on the cooling of the economic recovery caused by sustained high levels of oil prices. But that’s not really what the next president should be so concerned about. The real oil shocks - much more damaging and sustained than ever before - will come a bit later, (…)

RICHMOND, Va. — Two U.S. Marines from Virginia were killed when their helicopter crashed in Iraq, the Department of Defense said Monday.
The victims were Staff Sgt. John R. Howard, 26, of Covington and Lance Cpl. Tavon L. Hubbard, 24, of Reston. The crash occurred last Wednesday in Al Anbar Province and is under investigation.
Howard was assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 465 at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif. He entered the service on June 11, 1996, according to a (…)

Resistance in the holy city has proven that the US won’t allow democracy in Iraq
By Kamil Mahdi
The US military offensive against Najaf is a dangerous and ill-judged escalation, revealing the violent reality of an occupation that has undergone only cosmetic change since the supposed handover of power to an "interim Iraqi administration" in June. For more than a week, an aggressive foreign power has addressed an essentially domestic political question by means of tanks, helicopter (…)

In ancient times, looting was as much of an invading army’s prerogative as soldiers’ pay. But this is the 21st century, and such a practice must have no part in the operation of a modern army - in particular the armed forces of the United States. Yet, in Iraq, thievery has besmirched the reputation of U.S. forces in the world’s eyes.
As detailed in the reporting of Newsday’s Ray Sanchez, Iraqi civilians allege - and human rights advocates have confirmed their charges - that U.S. forces (…)