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Attacks in Afghanistan / America's Iraq Failure

Attacks in Afghanistan Grow More Frequent and Lethal

Afghanistan suffered two deadly bombings on Tuesday that killed 20 people, providing another sign of the increasing size and power of suicide attacks and roadside bombs by insurgents. Civilians increasingly have been paying the price of the more frequent and devastating attacks. More than 150 civilians have been killed by suicide bombings this year.
Read full Truthout article here.


Andrew Bacevich | Chickens Are Home to Roost in Iraq

Andrew Bacevich writes: "As if by stealth, almost without our noticing, the Iraq war's long-awaited turning point has arrived. After the innumerable events touted as decisive that turned out to be anything but that - the capture of Saddam Hussein, the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the various milestones related to the creation of a new Iraqi political order - the end game now becomes clear. And the outcome points ineluctably towards an American failure of immense proportions."
Read full Truthout article here.


The New York Times | The Fine Art of Declassification

The New York Times's editors write: "It's hard to think of a president and an administration more devoted to secrecy than President Bush and his team. Except, that is, when it suits Mr. Bush politically to give the public a glimpse of the secrets. And so, yesterday, he ordered the declassification of a fraction of a report by United States intelligence agencies on the global terrorist threat." They continue: "But the three declassified pages from what is certainly a voluminous report told us what any American with a newspaper, television or Internet connection should already know. The invasion of Iraq was a cataclysmic disaster."
Read full Truthout article here.

The Diminished Dividends of War

The US intelligence community agrees that the invasion and occupation of Iraq have made the United States less safe from terrorist threats. Meanwhile, President George W Bush appears to be facing a growing revolt among top military commanders who say their ground forces are stretched close to breaking point.
Read full Truthout article here.

posted by Annamarie at 8:36 PM