"If you're asking, are there al-Qaeda in Iraq, the answer is yes, there are. It's a fact, yes." Donald Rumsfeld, US Secretary of Defence, August 2002
It was one of the key American justifications for the Iraq war. But the theory that al-Qaeda was present in Saddam-era Iraq, much cited by the Bush adminsitration in the run-up to the invasion, has been undermined by the content of secret US military documents.
Al-Qaeda arrived in Iraq after US military overthrew Saddam's government.
Obama sets first fuel standards for big trucks
Large trucks in the U.S. must cut emissions as much as 20 percent by 2018 under the first standards proposed for work vehicles, the Obama administration said today.
Tractor-trailer trucks have to meet the 20 percent target, while heavy-duty pickups and vans must reduce emissions 10 percent for gas vehicles and 15 percent for diesel-powered models, the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement. Buses, motor homes and garbage trucks must cut emissions 10 percent.
Claims of Abuse at San Diego Church
Lawyers for nearly 150 people who claim they were sexually abused by Roman Catholic priests in the San Diego Diocese released thousands of pages of previously sealed church documents on Sunday with details of complaints against the priests that include medical records and correspondence between priests and their superiors.
A judge ruled on Friday that roughly 10,000 pages of internal records could be made public after a years-long legal battle between those who claimed abuse and the diocese. The records are from the personnel files of 48 priests who were either credibly accused or convicted of sexual abuse or named in a civil suit.
Iraq war logs: US turned over captives to Iraqi torture squads
Fresh evidence that US soldiers handed over detainees to a notorious Iraqi torture squad has emerged in army logs published by WikiLeaks.
The 400,000 field reports published by the whistleblowing website at the weekend contain an official account of deliberate threats by a military interrogator to turn his captive over to the Iraqi "Wolf Brigade".
The interrogator told the prisoner in explicit terms that: "He would be subject to all the pain and agony that the Wolf battalion is known to exact upon its detainees."
Catholic Bishops Demand Israel End Occupation Of Palestinian Land
Bishops from the Middle East who were summoned to Rome by the pope demanded Saturday that Israel accept U.N. resolutions calling for an end to its "occupation" of Arab lands. In a final joint communique, the bishops also told Israel it shouldn't use the Bible to justify "injustices" against the Palestinians.
The bishops issued the statement at the close of their two-week meeting, called by Pope Benedict XVI to discuss the plight of Christians in the Middle East amid a major exodus of the faithful from the birthplace of Christianity.
NC Touch-Screen Machine Flips Straight-Party Vote Four Times in a Row from GOP to Dem
And the touch-screen voting machines continue to flip votes during the early voting period. Right on schedule. Just as always. But, for the second time this week we have the unusual occurrence of votes reportedly flipping away from the GOP.
Yesterday our report was of a touch-screen in Dallas, TX, caught on video flipping an attempted vote for Republican Gov. Rick Perry to straight-ticket Green Party selections in Dallas, TX.
'Even if the Israelis confess, I don't expect any justice from them'
Survivor of the air strike has little faith in outcome of the inquiry.
"The court wouldn't bring back my husband," she said. "Even if they [the Israelis] confessed that they shot at the warehouse crowded with the civilians, I didn't expect any justice from them."
Nor did Mrs Samouni, now 22, seem much impressed by the prospect of compensation, claims for which could be aided by any prosecutions flowing from the military police investigation. "The world stands on [Israel's] side. Money can't compensate what I had lost."
Skin cancer fears may lead to lack of vitamin D
People with a genetic predisposition to basal cell carcinoma— the most common form of skin cancer— may trade one health risk for another, a new study suggests.
Because people with basal cell nevus syndrome (BCNS) tend to develop multiple basal cell skin cancers in early adulthood and so take more precautions against sun exposure, they may also run a higher risk of being deficient in vitamin D, report researchers in the October issue of Archives of Dermatology.
Iran Is Said to Give Top Aide to Karzai Cash by the Bagful
One evening last August, as President Hamid Karzai wrapped up an official visit to Iran, his personal plane sat on the airport tarmac, waiting for a late-running passenger: Iran’s ambassador to Afghanistan.
The ambassador, Feda Hussein Maliki, finally appeared, taking a seat next to Umar Daudzai, Mr. Karzai’s chief of staff and his most trusted confidant. According to an Afghan official on the plane, Mr. Maliki handed Mr. Daudzai a large plastic bag bulging with packets of euro bills. A second Afghan official confirmed that Mr. Daudzai carried home a large bag of cash.
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