World-News

Carne Ross wrestled with his conscience for three more months after he secretly submitted evidence to the Butler Committee about the use of pre-war intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Mr. Ross was back in the spotlight last month, following his revelation to the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee that he had testified to Butler, and that he was prepared to share the information.

https://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121606F.shtml



https://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=weapons+of+mass+destruction

President George W Bush is poised to increase troop numbers in Iraq as part of a dramatic new strategy designed to regain control of Baghdad and suffocate the Sunni insurgency.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/16/wirq116.xml



U.S. preparing surge of forces into Iraq?

The 2nd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division is expected in Kuwait shortly after the new year, a senior Defense Department official told The Associated Press on Friday. The official requested anonymity because the plans had not yet been announced.

https://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16234949/


From Information Clearing House

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Up to 50,000 Troops May Soon Be Sent to Iraq

Military planners and White House budget analysts have been asked to provide President Bush with options for increasing American forces in Iraq. Officials said that the options being considered included the deployment of upwards of 50,000 additional troops, but that the political, training and recruiting obstacles to an increase larger than 20,000 to 30,000 troops would be prohibitive.

https://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121606Y.shtml

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Joint Chiefs Oppose Bush Plan to Add Troops

The Joint Chiefs think the White House, after a month of talks, still does not have a defined mission and is latching on to the surge idea in part because of limited alternatives, despite warnings about the potential disadvantages for the military, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the White House review is not public.

https://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121906B.shtml

An organized, robust movement of active-duty US military personnel has publicly surfaced to oppose a war in which they are serving. Those involved plan to petition Congress to withdraw American troops from Iraq. Not since 1969, when some 1,300 active-duty military personnel signed an open letter in the New York Times opposing the war in Vietnam, has there been such a dramatic barometer of rising military dissent.

https://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121606Z.shtml



https://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=redress

Five Iraqi trade union federations have condemned federal oil law negotiations for being too corporation-friendly. The leaders of the five federations meeting in Amman released a statement Thursday, urging a pause in negotiations over a law to govern Iraq's 115 billion barrels of oil reserves, the third-largest in the world.

https://www.truthout.org/issues_06/121506LA.shtml

https://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15914.htm



https://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Mike+Whitney
https://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=baker+plan

President Bush is weighing whether to make a deeper American commitment in Iraq despite growing public unhappiness with the war, according to senior U.S. officials and former officials familiar with Bush's high-level review.

https://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/nation/16241778.htm



Graham Says 20-Thousand More Troops Needed In Iraq

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham says about 20,000 more American troops are needed if Iraq is going to establish a working democracy.

https://www.abcnews4.com/news/stories/1206/380238.html



U.S. considers 35,000 more troops for Iraq

Senator John McCain said that U.S. military commanders were discussing the possibility of adding as many as 10 more U.S. combat brigades — a maximum of about 35,000 troops — to "bring the situation under control" while Iraq's divided political leaders seek solutions to the worsening bloodshed here.

https://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/15/news/military.php



Despite Its $168 Billion Budget

The Army Faces a Cash Crunch: At a time when the war in Iraq is deepening, and debate over pulling out the troops is intensifying, the rising cost of waging the fight is outpacing even the Army's huge budget. The financial squeeze is leaving the Army short of equipment and key personnel.

https://tinyurl.com/yyr2w5



Democrats Expected to Increase U.S. Military Spending

This year's Pentagon budget is $436 billion. That amount does not include more than $140 billion that's being spent this year alone on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

https://us.oneworld.net/article/view/143817/1/


From Information Clearing House



https://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=McCain

The Iraqi Red Crescent accused U.S. forces on Friday of carrying out a spate of attacks on its offices over the last three years during operations to flush out suspected militants.

https://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=IBO549337


From Information Clearing House

By Mike Wwhitney

Muqtada al-Sadr is the most powerful man in the country, the de-facto sovereign of Iraq. He oversees the 60,000 man Mahdi Army which currently poses no threat to US forces. If Bush turns on him, the occupation will become virtually untenable overnight.

https://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15915.htm



https://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Mike+Whitney

https://www.commondreams.org/views06/1215-30.htm



https://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Iraq+Study+Group