They binged on turkey, stuffing and ham. They crowded in the darkness to get a moment on a telephone to call home to their families. They gathered outside their hooches, smoking cigars in the cold and laughing about home. Christmas at war is unlike any holiday I've seen, not because of what the soldiers have or don't have, who they miss or even where they are. It's their ability to make even far off lands seem a bit like home. For days leading up to Christmas morning, they had strung tinsel from doorways and hung vibrant red, white and green holiday cards on the tan metal walls of their hooches. Artificial Christmas trees stood tall in dining halls and command posts. But on Christmas morning, when the mail truck arrived packed with boxes - goodies from mom, letters from girlfriends, wives and husbands, toothpaste and underwear - the soldiers weren't awake to see it come. I'm not sure they even expected anything from home. ...
http://www.guardian.co.uk
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Editor - 13:34:00 12-26-05
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 No Date Is Set for Troop Withdrawal From Iraq General Says Insurgency Affects Timing; Powell Calls Current Levels Unsustainable |
As American troops marked their third Christmas in Iraq since the war began in March 2003, the highest-ranking U.S. military officer said their number could decline in 2006 but that there is no specific target for withdrawals. He cautioned that more troops could be needed to cope with insurgent activity. Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said: "We do not have a plan that specifically says we'll be down below 100,000 by the end of the year. What we have is a plan that allows us to keep what we have today for the foreseeable future and then off-ramps and on-ramps based on conditions on the ground." The Bush administration hopes that more and more territory can be handed over to Iraqi units as those forces become capable of defending the country themselves, Pace said. But, in a tacit acknowledgment that the U.S. military presence is still crucial to staving off insurgents, Pace said: "The enemy has a vote in this, ...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/25/AR2005122500502_pf.html
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Editor - 12:00:00 12-26-05
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| Israel, Arab World Engage in Hidden Trade Experts Say Camouflaged Trade Between Israel, Arab Countries Has Been Going on for Years |
Staff members at a Riyadh hospital got a surprise when they looked at the fine print on the paper cups they were using. Workers in a storeroom at a Dubai hospital were similarly shocked when they took a close look at the tags on a large shipment of uniforms, towels and sheets. The labels said "Made in Israel," according to recent newspaper reports from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both of which have laws that ban imports from the Jewish state. Experts say the camouflaged trade, with just a small portion receiving publicity, has been going on for years between Israel and its officially hostile Arab neighbors. The hidden trade is worth about $400 million a year about two and a half times what Israel sold to its official Arab trading partners, Egypt and Jordan, in 2004 said Gil Feiler, the director of Info-Prod Research, a Tel Aviv consultancy specializing in Arab markets, and an economic professor at Bar Ilan University. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1443351
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Editor - 11:51:00 12-26-05
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| Israel to expand West Bank settlements Plan to build 200 new homes considered a blow to peace efforts |
Israel said Mon it will build more than 200 new homes in Jewish West Bank settlements a blow to peace efforts despite word that Ariel Sharon’s new party plans a major push for Palestinian statehood if it wins upcoming elections. In a separate sign of accommodation, Israeli officials said they will likely permit east Jerusalem’s Palestinians to vote in next month’s Palestinian election. Israel had recently threatened to bar east Jerusalem residents from voting. The latest settlement construction, revealed in newspaper ads published Mon seeking bids from contractors, would violate Israel’s commitments under the US backed “road map” peace plan. The plans include a total of 228 homes in the settlements of Beitar Illit and Efrat both just outside Jerusalem. The road map calls for a freeze on all settlement construction in the West Bank, which the Palestinians claim as part of a future independent state. Since accepting the plan in June 2003, Israel has continued to expand settlements...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10607392/from/RSS/
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Editor - 11:30:00 12-26-05
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| Exotic pet debate likely to face lawmakers again next year |
This alligator is almost cute, just about a foot long with wide baby eyes and a teeny jaw that looks like it could hardly manage a carrot. It's what the alligator will become in a few years as long as a small car with a fearsome bite that landed it with Jim Rapp. Rapp is director of the Salisbury Zoo, where this juvenile gator was sent along with other exotic animals seized by state officials from their owners. Rapp and other animal advocates are pushing for lawmakers to tighten Maryland's rules on what animals can be kept as pets, saying the Internet and animal programs on TV have caused an explosion of people acquiring exotic animals. "Go on the Internet and search for 'tiger cub.' You can find one to buy," Rapp said. "Some people don't want to go get a dog or a cat at the pound. They want an exotic, wild animal." Maryland already calls some pets off-limits except to licensed handlers, including large cats, venomous snakes and the alligator, which was found in a Salisbury pet shop...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-12-26-exotic-pets_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 11:20:00 12-26-05
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| Bush hopes for a better 2006 This year proved bruising on multiple fronts |
Bush, bruised by months of setbacks, enters the new year hoping to win congressional battles over tax cuts and immigration, get rebellious Republicans back in step and nurture a new democracy in Iraq — the make-or-break issue of his legacy.Expect the president to bring in 2006 the same way he ended the old: Trumpeting good economic news and talking, reassuringly, about Iraq where excitement over a historic ballot has been tempered by growing disenchantment with the war and a death toll of U.S. troops that tops 2,160.The war in Iraq and sluggish diplomatic efforts to deter the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea will continue to dominate foreign policy for the president, who plans a trip early in the new year to India. ...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10608550/from/RSS/
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Editor - 11:15:00 12-26-05
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