Iraq has 'shaped terrorist leaders'
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article1761698.ece
By Rupert Cornwell in Washington
Published: 27 September 2006
The Iraq insurgency is "shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders
and operatives," US intelligence chiefs have warned, as the
three-and-a-half-year-old war has turned into a "cause c=E9l=E8bre" for
jihadists around the world.
In a largely bleak assessment of the terrorist threat to the US, they
conclude that, in the near term at least, the danger is likely to grow
rather than diminish. Four factors are fuelling the spread of the
movement: "entrenched grievances such as injustice and fear of the
West, the Iraq 'jihad', the slow pace of real ... reform in many Muslim
nations, and pervasive anti-American sentiment among most Moslems - all
of which the jihadists exploit."
The kurinji blooms just once every 12 years. But are its days numbered?
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1761659.ece
By Jerome Taylor
Published: 27 September 2006
Far up in the Nilgiri hills, a vast expanse of grassland at the
southern edge of India's Western Ghat mountain range, the verdant
landscape is usually only interrupted by a flash of colour from tea
plantation workers and their brilliant saris.
But once a decade the hills above the tea fields erupt in an explosion
of blue and purple, thanks to the kurinji plant, a tiny flower that
blossoms just once every 12 years and is found solely in the southern
Western Ghats.
The British fascination with fungi: The magic of the curry mushroom
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article1761668.ece
There's a hot new ingredient being sought out by foodies this autumn.
It's spicy, it's exotic, and it grows on the cool, damp forest floors
of... Scotland. By Terry Kirby
Published: 27 September 2006
It ranks up there with the odder-sounding combinations of the culinary
world, alongside bacon and egg ice-cream or strawberries with balsamic
vinegar. But now, the curry mushroom from Scotland could be about to
storm the nation's taste buds.
Unlike entirely artificial creations, such as chicken tikka masala,
which panders to the British addiction to Indian dishes, the curry
mushroom is an entirely natural food, growing wild in many places
around the UK.
Waging the War on Terror: Report Belies Optimistic View
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/27/washington/27assess.html?ref=3Dworld
By DAVID E. SANGER
The newly declassified report describes a jihadist movement that, for
now, is simply outpacing President Bush's counterattacks.
Islamic Envoys Add to Call for Full Apology From Pope
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/27/world/europe/27pope.html?ref=3Deurope
By REUTERS
An organization of 56 Islamic nations pressed Pope Benedict XVI on
Tuesday to apologize for his comments linking Muslims and violence.
New Campaign Ads Have a Theme: Don't Be Nice
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/27/us/politics/27ads.html?ref=3Dus&pagewante=
d=3Dall
By ADAM NAGOURNEY
Both sides have described the midterm campaign environment as the most
toxic in memory.
Bill Would Reimburse States for Printing Alternate Ballots
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/27/washington/27ballots.html?ref=3Dpolitics
By IAN URBINA
The proposal is a response to grass-roots pressures and growing concern
by local and state officials about touch-screen machines.
Baghdad Isn't Birmingham
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/25/AR200609250=
0880.html
By Eugene Robinson
Tuesday, September 26, 2006; Page A21
"Nobody can go back and reinvent the past," Condoleezza Rice told Katie
Couric on "60 Minutes" Sunday night. But this nugget of truth came amid
a flood of retrospective reinvention in which Rice equated the war in
Iraq with the civil rights struggle of the 1960s -- and left me
wondering whether I was hearing polished sophistry or a case of total
denial.
That quote from the secretary of state came in response to a question
about whether the administration would handle Iraq the same way if it
had known then what it knows now -- that there were no weapons of mass
destruction, among other inconvenient facts. Rice has acknowledged that
mistakes were made in the conduct of the war, but she made clear Sunday
that even now she would support the decision to invade.
The 'Moderate Republican' Scam
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/26/AR200609260=
1138.html
By Harold Meyerson
Wednesday, September 27, 2006; Page A27
Sen. Lincoln Chafee, Republican of Rhode Island, is seeking reelection
in his heavily Democratic state by insisting he's not really a
Republican, or at least not part of the gang responsible for the
decade's debacles. He didn't even vote for George W. Bush in 2004, he
protests. He cast his vote for George H.W. Bush -- a kinder, gentler,
more prudent, less strident Republican.
The Big Question Democrats Are Ducking
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/26/AR200609260=
1137.html
By David Ignatius
Wednesday, September 27, 2006; Page A27
No matter how you slice it, the National Intelligence Estimate warning
that the Iraq war has spawned more terrorism is big trouble for
President Bush and his party in this election year. It goes to the
heart of Bush's argument for invading Iraq, which was that it would
make America safer.
Many Democrats act as if that's the end of the discussion: A mismanaged
occupation has created a breeding ground for terrorists, so we should
withdraw and let the Iraqis sort out the mess. Some extreme war critics
are so angry at Bush they seem almost eager for America to lose, to
prove a political point. Even among mainstream Democrats, the focus is
"gotcha!" rather than "what next?" That is understandable, given the
partisanship of Republican attacks, but it isn't right.
Sobering Conclusions On Why Jihad Has Spread
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/26/AR200609260=
0530.html
By Karen DeYoung and Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, September 27, 2006; Page A21
In announcing yesterday that he would release the key judgments of a
controversial National Intelligence Estimate, President Bush said he
agreed with the document's conclusion "that because of our successes
against the leadership of al-Qaeda, the enemy is becoming more diffuse
and independent."
But the estimate itself posits no such cause and effect. Instead, while
it notes that counterterrorism efforts have seriously damaged and
disrupted al-Qaeda's leadership, it describes the spreading "global
jihadist movement" as fueled largely by forces that al-Qaeda exploits
but is not actively directing. They include Iraq, corrupt and unjust
governments in Muslim-majority countries, and "pervasive anti-U.S.
sentiment among most Muslims."
A dark anniversary
Houzan Mahmoud
September 27, 2006 11:20 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/houzan_mahmoud/2006/09/on_the_occasion_=
of_24th_september.html
In the modern history of Iraq, September 24 is a dark day. It was on
September 24 2002 that the US administration decided it would launch
its barbaric war against the Iraqi people.
The period of 2002-2006 is only the most recent phase in this. Since
the first Gulf war in 1991, thousands of people have been killed: 13
years of destructive sanctions and the 2003 invasion and ongoing
occupation have been claiming lives of Iraqi civilians at a sickening
rate.
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