contributions

By Ravi Nessman in Baghdad
A MILITANT group said today it had taken six more hostages — three Indians, two Kenyans and an Egyptian — and would behead them if their countries did not immediately announce the withdrawal of their citizens from Iraq.
The US death toll since the start of the war rose to 900 when a roadside bomb killed a soldier.
The seizure of the hostages came a day after a Filipino truck driver was released in exchange for Manila’s withdrawal of its 51-member troop (…)

Mass March: Sunday, July 25
Gather at 12 noon at Boston Common
to kick off a week of protests against the DNC
email: dnc@internationalanswer.org
Phone: 617-522-6626
The opening rally will start at 12 noon at the Parade Grounds on the Boston Common at the intersection of Charles St. & Beacon St. The closest T stops are Park St., Boylston St. and Arlington St., all on the Green Line. Following the opening rally, at approximately 2 pm, there will be a march through the streets of (…)

By Paul Martin and Maria Cedrell
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat accused Israel of polluting the West Bank and Gaza Strip with depleted-uranium bullets, causing a sharp increase in cancer rates.
"They have caused cancer that is like Hiroshima and Nagasaki," Mr. Arafat said in an interview.
"America could not find uranium in Iraq, but we have found it here in Palestine — and the Israelis are using it to kill our people."
Mr. Arafat, his eyes (…)

SINGER Linda Ronstadt will continue to praise Michael Moore and his film Fahrenheit 9/11 on stage, despite an angry reaction at a Las Vegas concert.
"This is an election year," she told the Los Angeles Times.
"I want people to get their head up out of their mashed potatoes and learn something about the issues and go and vote.
"I’m not telling them how to vote. I’m saying, get information about the issues."
When Ronstadt praised Moore and his documentary on Saturday at the Aladdin (…)

by Ward Reilly
Greetings from a common American citiizen, and a fellow veteran. I am writing this letter to you because our nation is in dire distress, due to the wreckless lack of leadership from the White House concerning our nation’s foreign policy, and because of the depression here at home. Our country is "out-sourcing" itself, to borrow a modern phrase.
I have been pondering for weeks now on what words of mine might have a chance of making an impact upon you. I wrote a similar (…)

The Democrats and the Greens say Australia has undermined its international standing by voting against a UN resolution demanding Israel dismantle its West Bank barrier, but the Government has defended its stance.
Labor says Australia should have joined the 10 countries that abstained from the vote, because of the complex issues involved.
United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan says Israel should take note of the General Assembly resolution for it to pull down part of the barrier. (…)

by Scott Ritter TMSI
Misunderstanding Iraq WASHINGTON The battle for Iraq’s sovereign future is a battle for the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. As things stand, it appears that victory will go to the side most in tune with the reality of the Iraqi society of today: the leaders of the anti-U.S. resistance.
Iyad Allawi’s government was recently installed by the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) to counter a Baathist nationalism that ceased to exist nearly a decade (…)

Halliburton has become a byword for the cosy links between the White House and Texan big business. But how did the company run in the 90s by Dick Cheney secure a deal that guaranteed it millions in profit every time the US military saw action? In this exclusive extract from his new book, Dan Briody reveals how the firm made a killing on the battleground
On January 12 1991, Congress authorised President George HW Bush to engage Iraq in war. Just five days later, Operation Desert Storm (…)

by Marie Woolf and Ben Russell
The longest-serving MP in the House of Commons called for Tony Blair to resign yesterday following the findings of the Butler report.
Tam Dalyell, the father of the House of Commons, yesterday urged the Prime Minster to "consider making way" for a new Labour party leader. He called for Tony Blair to step down and allow the Labour party to begin the "due processes" to choose a new leader.
In a stinging intervention, Mr Dalyell, Labour MP for Linlithgow, (…)

by Jonathan Weisman, The Washington Post
WASHINGTON. The U.S. military has spent most of the $65 billion that Congress approved for fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and is scrambling to find $12.3 billion more from within the Defense Department to finance the wars through the end of the fiscal year, federal investigators said yesterday.
The report from the Government Accountability Office, Congress’s independent investigative arm, warned that the budget crunch is having an (…)