US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice denied on Wednesday that the US-led coalition in Iraq is crumbling after Britain announced it would reduce its troop mumbers by 1,600 in the coming months. "The coalition remains intact and in fact the British still have thousands of soldiers deployed in Iraq, in the south," Rice said after talks with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier ahead of a meeting of the Quartet for Middle East peace. Rice said the British pullout was occurring according to the coalition plan to gradually hand over responsibility for security to the Iraqis. "It is the plan that as it is possible to transfer responsibilities to the Iraqis, coalition forces would no longer be needed in those circumstances." Prime Minister Tony Blair announced that British troop numbers in southern Iraq would be reduced from 7,100 to 5,500 in the months ahead and said forces could be cut to below 5,000 later this year....
http://news.yahoo.com
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Editor - 21:55:00 02-21-07
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 Evangelicals rally around — and disagree on — 'Grace' |
In the 1780s, a Briton named William Wilberforce had a religious conversion that led to his life's crowning achievement: persuading Parliament over 20 hard-fought years to abolish the slave trade.Today, Wilberforce's fellow evangelicals in America are recasting their hero's faith for a 21st-century audience — and stirring debate in the process. Friday marks the 200th anniversary of Parliament's historic vote in 1807 to abolish the slave trade throughout the British Empire. In more than 800 U.S. theaters, Bristol Bay Productions releases Amazing Grace, a film about Wilberforce's sense of calling and career as a lawmaker. But in the film, Wilberforce (played by Ioan Gruffudd) seeks God in a garden, not a church. He never refers to Jesus. He displays none of the historical figure's passion for winning converts to Christianity. "The spiritual side (of Wilberforce) has been extremely toned down," says associate producer Bob Beltz, one of several evangelicals involved in the project. ...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2007-02-21-amazing-grace-movie_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 21:05:00 02-21-07
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| Tax evading wife disobeys court order, reunites with husband |
Convicted tax evader Elaine Brown violated a court order to stay away from her husband and rejoined him Tuesday evening at their fortress-like home. Brown, who said her husband would rather die than give in and go to prison, had been staying at her son's home in Worcester, Mass., pending sentencing in April. She was wearing an electronic monitoring anklet and previously had said she had no plans to return to the couple's heavily fortified home in Plainfield, where Ed Brown has been holed up since abandoning the trial in January. U.S. Marshal Stephen Monier confirmed Wednesday that Elaine Brown reunited with her husband the previous evening, but said he was sticking to his plan of not confronting the Browns. "It's our position that this is the wrong course of action. We're going to strongly encourage both Dr. Brown and her husband ... to come in and deal with the legal process in the appropriate way," he said. He added: "It does not change my strategy. We're not going to there and ...
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/special/022107special3.htm
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Editor - 20:39:00 02-21-07
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| U.S. weighs in on Iraq rape case |
The U.S. military on Wednesday weighed into the politically explosive case of a Sunni woman allegedly raped last weekend by three Iraqi policemen, announcing its own investigation after the Shiite-run government dismissed her allegations as false. The announcement, made to reporters by the chief military spokesman, appeared aimed at containing the growing political storm. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's exoneration of the three officers after an investigation lasting less than a day has enflamed Sunni-Shiite tensions over a case that strikes at the heart of Iraqi attitudes toward protection of women. Al-Maliki, a Shiite, stoked the political flames further Wednesday by firing a top Sunni official who called for an international investigation into the woman's allegations, which were broadcast Monday by satellite television stations across the Middle East. Rape is considered not only an assault on the victim but a grave offense against her entire family and community. ...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070221/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_rape
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Editor - 20:20:00 02-21-07
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| Iraqi Insurgents Use 2nd 'Dirty' Attack Black Hawk downing points to hostile fire; 'dirty' chlorine bomb strikes again |
Insurgents exploded a truck carrying chlorine gas canisters Wednesday the second such "dirty" chemical attack in two days while a U.S. official said ground fire apparently forced the downing of a Black Hawk helicopter. All nine aboard the aircraft were rescued. The attacks offer a sweeping narrative on evolving tactics by Sunni insurgents who have proved remarkably adaptable. Military officials worry extremists may have recently gained more access to firepower such as shoulder-fired anti-aircraft rockets and heavy machine guns and more expertise to use them. The Black Hawk would be at least the eighth U.S. helicopter to crash or be taken down by hostile fire in the past month. The gas cloud in Baghdad, meanwhile, suggests possible new and coordinated strategies by bombers trying to unleash toxic and potentially deadly materials. "Terrorists are using dirty means," said Brig. Gen. ...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/22/ap/world/mainD8NEFKGG0.shtml
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Editor - 20:09:00 02-21-07
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| Prince Harry Receives Iraq Deployment Orders |
Prince Harry and his squadron from The Blues and Royals have received their marching orders to deploy to Iraq in May despite yesterday’s announcement that 1,600 British troops will be withdrawn at that time. Second Lieutenant (or Cornet) Wales will be leaving with A Squadron The Blues and Royals, Household Cavalry, as part of the next rotation of troops for Operation Telic. As Tony Blair made his long-awaited statement that British forces can start thinking of returning home, the Prime Minister refused to apologize for the Iraq war. Facing calls from MPs to take responsibility for the chaos that came after the invasion, Blair declared that terrorism would be defeated "when we do not apologize for our values but stand up for them." No details have been given about the Prince’s responsibilities, but he is likely to serve with his squadron wherever it is deployed. This could mean being posted to Maysan province for reconnaissance along the border with Iran. ...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,253619,00.html
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Editor - 20:05:00 02-21-07
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