False Accusation Sharpens Canadian Press Debate
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/02/business/media/02arar.html?ref=business
By IAN AUSTEN
Canada found that several of its news organizations were used by
anonymous sources to smear Maher Arar, the innocent Canadian deported
to Syria by the U.S.
'The More Subtle Kind of Torment'
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/01/AR2006100100873.html
By Joseph Margulies
Monday, October 2, 2006; Page A19
In these uncertain times, it's worth recalling that the threat posed by
weapons of mass destruction in the hands of madmen is not new. Nearly
50 years before Sept. 11, 2001, the American public learned that a
group of prisoners in military custody confessed to being part of an
elaborate conspiracy to bomb civilian targets with bacteriological
weapons.
The first prisoner to crack said the goal was "the mass annihilation of
the civilian population." As often happens, his confession led to
others, and before long, three dozen prisoners had coughed up page
after page of chilling, meticulously detailed admissions.
A Party Without Principles
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/01/AR2006100100872.html
By Sebastian Mallaby
Monday, October 2, 2006; Page A19
After years of single-party government, the prospect of a Democratic
majority in the House ought to feel refreshing. But even with
Republicans collapsing in a pile of sexual sleaze, I just can't get
excited. Most Democrats in Congress seem bereft of ideas or the courage
to stand up for them. They clearly want power, but they have no
principles to guide their use of it.
On Friday, Harry Reid, the Democratic leader in the Senate, correctly
denounced a border-fence bill as a concession "to the radical
anti-immigrant right wing" of the Republican Party. It's absurd to
fence off 700 miles of the border and leave the other 1,300 miles open;
besides, the government lacks the manpower to prevent migrants from
defeating the fence with tunnels or ladders. But if blowing billions on
this symbolism is a sop to right-wing nuts, why did 26 Senate Democrats
vote for the bill while only 17 opposed it?
Iraq War Naysayers May Have Hindsight Bias
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/01/AR2006100100784_pf.html
By Shankar Vedantam
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 2, 2006; A02
Antiwar liberals last week got to savor the four most satisfying words
in the English language: "I told you so."
This was after a declassified National Intelligence Estimate asserted
that the war in Iraq was creating more terrorists than it was
eliminating. For millions of people who opposed President Bush's
mission in Iraq from the start, this was proof positive that they had
been right all along. Yes, they told themselves, we saw this disaster
coming.
Is Kosovo the next West Bank?
Anna Di Lellio
October 2, 2006 09:44 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/anna_di_lellio/2006/10/post_454.html
When diplomatic solutions to a crisis are delayed, or come to an
impasse, the situation begins to fester. This has been the case of the
Middle East for a long time; it is the case of Kosovo today.
Despite reassurances that a decision on status will be reached by 2006,
with no agreement on sight and talks of further delays, the danger that
the situation will revert from post-conflict to a low intensity
conflict has never seemed as serious as now.
Big trouble in Burma
William Hague
October 2, 2006 09:20 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/william_hague/2006/10/william_hague_on_burma.html
Earlier this year, Burma's brutal military regime launched its worst
offensive in a decade against the Karen ethnic group in eastern Burma.
As a result over 18,000 civilians were killed, villages burned and
landmines scattered to stop the displaced from returning to their
homes.
Sadly this was not new for Burma. Since 1996, over 2,800 villages in
eastern Burma have been destroyed and over a million people made
refugees in their own country, while more than 150,000 have sought
refuge in Thailand, India and Bangladesh.
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