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Summary: U.S./Top News Writing on Huffington Post, Just Foreign Policy faults the New York Times and the Washington Post for failing to report that the OAS election mission in Nicaragua criticized the U.S. for interfering in the Nicaraguan presidential election.
Former UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix on Wednesday described the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq as a "pure failure" that had left the country worse off than under the rule of Saddam Hussein.
More than 100 U.S. service members have signed a rare appeal urging Congress to support the "prompt withdrawal" of all American troops and bases from Iraq, the Washington Post reports.
The top American commander in Iraq said Tuesday that he may call for more troops to be sent to Baghdad, possibly by increasing the overall U.S. presence in Iraq, the Washington Post reports.
The British military wants to withdraw troops from Iraq within a year, and London wants to focus on the war in Afghanistan, a US Defense Department official said Tuesday. British officials told their American counterparts that the British military was "near the breaking point," Reuters reports.
President Bush said today he shares the American public's dissatisfaction with the situation in Iraq, but he warned against succumbing to "disillusionment" about the U.S. purpose there, the Washington Post reports.
Iraqi's Prime Minister criticized the top U.S. military and diplomatic representatives in Iraq for saying his government needed to set a timetable to curb violence in the country, AP reports. At a press conference Tuesday, Ambassador Khalilzad had said al-Maliki had agreed. "I affirm that this government represents the will of the people and no one has the right to impose a timetable on it," al-Maliki said.
Overhead costs have consumed more than half the budget of some reconstruction projects in Iraq, according to a government estimate released yesterday, the New York Times reports.
Iran Iran has expanded its controversial nuclear work by starting a second cascade of centrifuges to enrich uranium, AP reports. The U.S. and its European allies are circulating a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that would ban the sale of missile and nuclear technology to Iran and deny the country certain assistance from the IAEA. China and Russia are reportedly pushing for continued dialogue with Iran instead of punishment.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday called for an end to the bloody sectarian conflict tearing apart Iraq, AP reports. Hours after Khamenei's speech Gen. Casey lambasted Iran and Syria for trying to undermine the American effort to stabilize Iraq.
Iraq In trying to build support for the American strategy in Iraq, Gen. Casey said the Iraqi military could be expected to take over the primary responsibility for securing the country within 12 to 18 months, Michael Gordon writes for the New York Times. But given the rise in sectarian killings, an insurgency that appears as potent as ever and an Iraqi security establishment that continues to have difficulties deploying motivated and proficient forces in Baghdad, Casey's target seems an increasingly heroic assumption.
Israel Avigdor Lieberman may be Israel's only lawmaker who has called for the execution of fellow legislators, Greg Myre writes for the New York Times. Lieberman said he would support the death penalty for Arab lawmakers who met with Hezbollah or Hamas. Prime Minister Olmert has invited Lieberman to join the government as a deputy prime minister. "This is a man who calls for the transfer of Arab citizens out of Israel, and he is being upgraded," said Ahmad Tibi, an Arab member of Parliament. "This sends a message to the Arab minority in Israel that it is legitimate to talk about expelling us from the country."
Afghanistan An Afghan girl was killed and two other children were wounded when a NATO mortar hit a house, a NATO spokesman said.
Korea South Korea has slowly parted ways with the US, its largest ally and wartime protector, on how to deal with the North, the New York Times reports. Most South Koreans now appear to believe that their nation has no choice but to keep building ties with the North, despite the widespread shock and anger here over its nuclear test.
Contents: http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/newsroom/blog/
-------- Robert Naiman Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org
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