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More News from Democracy Now

Bush: Iraq War Will Be Seen As "America's Golden Moment"President Bush said Tuesday that he was "pleased with the progress" in Iraq and later agreed that the Iraq invasion will someday be seen by historians as "America's golden moment." Bush's comments came during a morning news conference at the White House. But the fighting continues on the ground in Iraq. The governor of Anbar province was found dead on Tuesday -- three weeks after he was kidnapped. And the month of May ended with the U.S. losing 77 soldiers -- making it the deadliest month for the United States since January. To date just over sixteen hundred fifty U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq.
Military Admits Too Few Troops In Northwest IraqOn Tuesday the U.S. military admitted that the Iraqi resistance has doubled its number of daily attacks since April. Meanwhile U.S. officials are publicly admitting they do not have enough troops in Iraq to handle the resistance. Maj. John Wilwerding -- of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment -- said the U.S. has far too few troops in northwestern Iraq -- a region spanning about 10,000 square miles. He said "Resources are everything in combat ... there's no way 400 people can cover that much ground."
Iraq: Saddam Hussein Trial to Open Within Two MonthsAnd in Baghdad, Iraq's president Jalal Talabani announced Tuesday that he expects the trial of Saddam Hussein to open within two months.
Suicide Bomber Kills Over 20 At Mosque in AfghanistanAt Tuesday's presidential news conference, Afghanistan was never mentioned -- but the war there ravages on. Earlier this morning in Qandahar, a suicide bomber blew himself up killing at least 20 and wounding dozens. The attack came at a mosque that was holding a memorial service for a leading cleric who was assassinated last week. The cleric was an ally of President Hamid Karzai and a vocal critic of the Taliban. On Monday a roadside bomb in Kabul killed seven Afghans -- the target of the bomb was a passing NATO convoy. And on Sunday, clashes between the Taliban and Afghan forces killed as many as 18.
Juan Cole: The Iraqization of Afghanistan Has BegunAnalyst Juan Cole describes this recent upswing in deadly violence as the Iraqization of Afghanistan. He said "It seems clear that the Taliban have learned from observing events in Iraq, and are developing a similar strategy of targetted bombings to destabilize the country and force US troops out. "

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/06/01/1440248

posted by Annamarie at 9:11 PM