 At what point does a change in tactics constitute a de facto change of strategy? How does a "goal" differ from a "strategy" or mere "tactics"? If the stakes weren't so high these questions might all seem a bit pedantic, mere semantics for military training school lectures. But the questions relate to the future course of American military involvement in Iraq, and with the mid-term elections fast approaching there has been an acceleration in the rhetoric coming out of the president's camp.The White House spokesman, Tony Snow, has been trying to explain to the Washington press pack how you can change tactics without that having an impact on the US strategy in Iraq. But time and again the press corps has been left confused about what practical changes there will be on the ground.The rhetorical shift from the president is more stark. For the past year, in the face of bad news from Iraq, he has insisted that America must "stay the course" ...
http://www.bbc.co.uk
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Editor - 11:13:00 10-25-06
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 'Don't squeeze N Korea' - Putin |
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said North Korea should not be driven into a corner if the world wants to rein in its nuclear weapons programme. He said some negotiators "failed to find the right tone" with the country. He was speaking in a live TV phone-in with Russians nationwide, broadcast on TV and radio. He said he would not try to run for office again when his term ends in 2008, but said he would try to continue to influence political affairs. On North Korea, Mr Putin said a solution could be found "with goodwill". "You must never push one of the participants in talks into a corner," he said. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6082910.stm
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Editor - 10:57:00 10-25-06
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| US politicians call for CNN Iraq ban |
Senior American politicians have called for CNN to be banned from being embedded with US troops after it broadcast a video of insurgents in Iraq apparently killing an American soldier, footage one congressman likened to a "terrorist snuff film". The dispute has echoes of the situation facing ITN in the UK, after the news broadcaster was banned by the Ministry of Defence from being embedded with British troops following a dispute over a report on the treatment of injured soldiers. In the US, the chairman of the House of Representatives armed services committee, Duncan Hunter, called on the Pentagon to remove CNN reporters embedded with troops after he said the video of insurgent snipers was tantamount to airing an enemy propaganda film. They don’t mind CNN showing blatant propaganda and outright lies as long as they support or report what they want the public to see or hear. The press is supposed to be the watch dogs on Government, but look more like lapdogs of Government...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1931327,00.html
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Editor - 10:53:00 10-25-06
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| N. Korea Warns South Against Sanctions |
North Korea warned South Korea against joining international sanctions, saying Wednesday that its neighbor would "pay a high price" if it joins the U.S.-led drive to punish the reclusive communist nation for its nuclear test.The statement from the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland came as South Korea struggles to determine how it should enforce the U.N. sanctions, including whether to help interdict North Korean cargo ships suspected of transporting materials for unconventional weapons."If the South Korean authorities end up joining U.S.-led moves to sanction and stifle (the North) we will regard it as a declaration of confrontation against its own people ... and take corresponding measures," the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland in a statement....
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/25/ap/world/mainD8KVM9MO0.shtml
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Editor - 10:41:00 10-25-06
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| Bush admits Iraq concerns. |
The US president, George Bush, today admitted he was "not satisfied" with the situation in Iraq. In a 15-minute speech, delivered at the White House, Mr Bush listed a number of concerns with the course of events since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein more than three years ago. They included the failure to find weapons of mass destruction and the loss of life. However, the president also reiterated that US troops would not withdraw "until the job is done", saying he was prepared to send more forces to Iraq if military chiefs asked for them. He has already admitted that if his Iraq Puppets can’t stop the attacks he will remove them (He had said they were a Sovereign Nation) and he will remove the troops. So what happened to, we have to send more troops to die so those who died didn’t die for nothing? Looks like they will all have died for lies and now the only question is, how many more must die...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1931365,00.html
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Editor - 09:02:00 10-25-06
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| UK Defense Ministry Bars News Channel From Embedding Reporters. Were they reporting bad news? |
Britain's Defense Ministry has barred the country's largest commercial news broadcaster from reporting alongside the nation's troops in Iraq and Afghanistan in a dispute over the network's coverage of wounded soldiers, a ministry official said Tuesday. The ministry accused ITV News of inaccurate and intrusive reporting in a series of broadcasts last week that documented the treatment provided to injured troops returning from combat. Several of the reports were critical of the standards of hospital care offered to the injured and of the treatment of soldiers who said they were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Employees for the network will not be allowed to join British military units on embed programs — where journalists report alongside troops in battle zones — until the dispute is resolved, said a Defense Ministry spokesman speaking on condition of anonymity under civil service restrictions....
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,224717,00.html
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Editor - 08:47:00 10-25-06
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| post The Good, The Bad and The Ugly |
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