The United States does not plan to leave military bases behind in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries in the Middle East, but rather will turn over the 'long war' against al- Qaeda to governments in the region, a key US military strategist said Tuesday. Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of plans and strategy for US Central Command, told reporters it 'would be a fundamental error' to keep a large number of ground troops 'garrisoned' in the region. 'After Iraq & Afghanistan are stabilized, we need a fraction' of the 200,000 US troops now stationed in the region, Kimmitt said in Washington. A continuing US military presence in the region would only continue to serve as a provocation for al-Qaeda terrorist propaganda, he said. Kimmitt's remarks were the latest signal that Washington is laying the groundwork for a withdrawal from Iraq, with more emphasis on training Iraqi police & soldiers & a shifting focus to non- military strategy against the al-Qaeda terrorist network...
http://news.monstersandcritics.com
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Editor - 22:59:00 02-22-06
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 Federal Appeals Court to Reconsider Kamehameha Schools Case |
A federal appeals court said Wednesday that it would reconsider a decision to strike down the Hawaiians-only admissions policy of a prestigious private school. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to have the entire court rehear arguments on Kamehameha Schools' 118-year-old policy. A three-judge appeals panel had ruled in August that the practice violated federal anti-discrimination laws. Robert Kihune, the school's head trustee, said without the review, Kamehameha would have had to take the case to the Supreme Court. "Last year's panel decision would have required Kamehameha to offer its programs to children who do not need them," he said. The San Francisco court ruled in a lawsuit brought on behalf of an unidentified non-Hawaiian teenager who was denied admission in 2003. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1652172
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Editor - 22:48:00 02-22-06
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| US Downplays Civil War Threat in Iraq Despite Horrific Mosque Attack |
State Department officials are downplaying the prospect of civil warfare in Iraq despite Wednesday's bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra which they say was aimed at promoting sectarian conflict. They say the current social tensions are partly a legacy of Saddam Hussein. The bombing of one the holiest sites in Shi'a Islam led to crisis meetings among senior administration officials and vigorous condemnations of what the White House termed a senseless crime.But officials here are insisting that considerable progress has been made over the last two years toward a multi-confessional and multi-ethnic Iraqi society, and that the Samarra bombing should not tip the country toward civil war.The first official U.S. reaction to the attack was an unusual joint statement by the American ambassador in Baghdad Zalmay Khalilzad and the U.S. military commander in Iraq, General George Casey. ...
http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-02-22-voa84.cfm
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Editor - 22:40:00 02-22-06
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| Port debate pits Bush against his own party |
Bush is having another Harriet Miers moment.You may remember Miers, whose Supreme Court nomination infuriated conservatives and fractured Bush's political base. The same pattern is happening again, thanks to a Bush administration decision that would put six ports under the management of a company owned by an Arab nation with terrorism issues.This decision, which Bush said Tuesday he had no intention of reversing, could have political repercussions for Bush — and for nervous congressional Republicans up for re-election in November. Democrats also would relish the chance to paint the Bush administration as weak on national security, with the help of an actual example.And that is just what conservatives are saying....
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002820788_portsanal22.html
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Editor - 22:36:00 02-22-06
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| Police search for £25m raid gang |
A massive police search is continuing for the armed gang who stole at least £25m from a security depot in Kent. In what is thought to be Britain's biggest robbery, the manager, his family and 15 staff at Securitas were threatened and forced to co-opearate. Securitas staff at the depot in Tonbridge spent the night conducting an audit to assess how much was taken. The Governor of the Bank of England has called for a review of security arrangements for banknote storage. The gang first struck on Tuesday on the A249 near Stockbury, Maidstone, when two members posing as police officers persuaded the manager to pull over in his car. The manager got into their unmarked vehicle believing them to be police officers but was handcuffed. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4742064.stm
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Editor - 22:27:00 02-22-06
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| Papua mine stopped by protests |
Production at a lucrative gold mine in the Indonesian province of Papua has been suspended because of a demonstration by local illegal miners. Protesters, some armed with bows and arrows, have blocked a road leading to the mine complex, being protected by some 400 police and soldiers. Clashes between the two sides on Tuesday left two security guards injured. The US-owned facility is one of the world's largest gold and copper mines. But in recent years it has been mired in controversy. Local police contacted by the BBC say around 300 men, women and children have set up barricades across the road leading to the mine complex. Armed with bows, arrows and home-made spears, the protesters are demanding the right to continue their illegal mining in the area and say they will not leave until they have met the mine's boss. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4738480.stm
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Editor - 16:13:00 02-22-06
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