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Summary: U.S. Politics Democrats and some Republicans appear to agree on one thing as the election approaches: attacking Defense Secretary Rumsfeld is a way to lift them to victory. (The Senate may vote today or tomorrow on a resolution calling for Rumsfeld to resign; the Congressional switchboard is 202-225-3121.) Key Republican senators have drafted a legislative plan for special military trials of suspected terrorists granting defendants rights that the White House has sought to proscribe. Under the plan, military trials would be governed by a law that explicitly ensures that defendants have the right to know the evidence against them. The Administration also wants to allow military prosecutors to introduce evidence collected during coercive interrogations that fall short of torture and evidence obtained through hearsay. Iran Ever since the IAEA report Thursday, US officials have insisted that it sealed their case. Iran, they argue, has refused the Security Council's demand that it cease enriching uranium. But the same report also noted that Tehran had made little progress in setting up new equipment at its main nuclear site, at Natanz, to enrich uranium. In the last few days diplomats from the European Union and Russia have cited that finding to bolster the case that there is no urgency and no crisis, the New York Times reports. Russia has now said it will consider supporting economic sanctions against Tehran for defying UN resolutions, the BBC reports. Iraq American support for the Iraqi news media has waned, writes Ali Fadhil in an NYT op-ed. The Times reports that Iraq's Sunni-Shiite bloodletting is driving many Iraqis to change their names to mask their background. Lebanon U.N. Secretary-General Annan said Wednesday a national consensus in Lebanon was needed to disarm Hezbollah militants, rather than using force. Annan reiterated that U.N. peacekeepers monitoring the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah would help Lebanon. But ''the mandate is clear: The troops are not there to disarm Hezbollah.'' Israel said it will lift its sea and air blockade of Lebanon on Thursday as it faced widespread international pressure more than three weeks after a cease-fire took effect. Lifting of the blockade will allow Lebanon to begin rebuilding and resuming normal trade and life much more quickly. Palestine Thousands of Palestinian security force members joined an expanding strike over wages the Hamas-led government has not paid. Some health care workers also stopped work briefly on Tuesday, and most teachers have stayed away from their classrooms since schools reopened Saturday after the summer break. Jordan When Nabeel Jaoura, a blacksmith and father of five, opened fire on Monday at a group of tourists, killing a Briton, he became the latest in a new breed of terrorist, stirred by boiling anger and frustration, and taking matters into his own hands, the Times reports. Pakistan Pakistan's top army spokesman has insisted government forces will arrest al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden if they find him in the country, the BBC reports. Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan's comments came after a US network broadcast remarks by him saying Bin Laden would remain free if he was "a peaceful citizen".
In this issue: U.S. Politics 1) Candidates of Both Parties Turn Criticism of Rumsfeld Into Political Chorus 2) GOP Senators Differ With President on Military Trials Iran 3) Nuclear Déjà Vu: Now It's Iran That Does or Doesn't Intend to Make Nuclear Weapons 4) Ahmadinejad Proposes Debate With Bush 5) Iran-EU nuclear talks postponed Iraq 6) Iraq's Endangered Journalists 7) To Stay Alive, Iraqis Change Their Names Lebanon 8) Annan Says Consensus Needed in Lebanon 9) Israel to Lift Sea, Air Blockade on Lebanon Palestine 10) Many in Palestinian Security Forces Join Strike Over Pay Jordan 11) Typical of a New Terror Threat: Anger of a Gunman in Jordan Pakistan 12) Pakistan denies Bin Laden 'gaffe'
-------- Robert Naiman Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org