“The US House of Representatives has blocked a bill to extend some surveillance powers granted by the 2001 Patriot Act after the 9/11 attacks. The bill was opposed by most Democrats and some Republicans, and failed to win the two-thirds vote needed for passage. It would have extended until December provisions on wiretaps, access to […]
2/7/2011
Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s interview with Barbara Walters of ABC News was aired on February 7, 2011. Rumsfeld “admitted his biggest error during his tenure under Bush was his failure to convince the president to accept his resignation in the wake of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal [in Iraq]. ‘That was such a […]
2/6/2011
“Former President George W. Bush’s trip to Switzerland was canceled after human rights activists threatened legal action over allegations the former president approved the torture of terrorism suspects. The New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights [CCR] said it is prepared to file a complaint against Bush with the support of 50 NGOs, according to a […]
2/5/2011
“British special forces in Afghanistan have intercepted an Iranian shipment of rockets to the Taliban that would have allowed them to double the range of their attacks, western diplomats have said. The rockets were discovered after an intelligence tip-off on 5 February [2011] when British special forces and Afghan troops stopped a convoy in Nimruz […]
1/21/2011
“A speaker claiming to be terrorism mastermind Osama bin Laden warned in an audiotape aired Friday [January 21, 2011] that the release of two French journalists abducted by militants hinges on France’s military role in Afghanistan. ‘We repeat the same message to you,’ said the speaker in an audiotape played on the Al-Jazeera satellite news […]
1/15/2011
“In January 2011, he [Blair] provided evidence at a major UK inquiry into the Iraq War, chaired by John Chilcot. (Blair had previously appeared there a year earlier.)” [The 15th of the month for date sorting purpose only] – Andrew Langley, Bush, Blair, and Iraq: Days of Decision, Page 49 […]
1/11/2011
“Al-Qaeda militants operating from Yemen are an ‘urgent concern’ for Washington, Hillary Clinton has said [on January 11, 2011] on the first visit to Sanaa by a US secretary of state in 20 years. But during the surprise visit, Mrs. Clinton said the US sought to broaden ties with Sanaa beyond a military role. She […]
1/7/2011
In Spain, “This past Friday [January 7, 2011], the Center for Constitutional Rights filed papers urging Judge Eloy Velasco to do what the United States will not: prosecute the ‘Bush Six,’ the group of senior Bush-era government lawyers led by then–Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, for violating international law by creating a legal framework that aided […]
1/6/2011
“The US is to send an additional 1,400 marines to southern Afghanistan in an effort to counter a Taliban offensive, a Pentagon official has said. …Defence secretary Robert Gates had ‘approved additional marine forces to southern Afghanistan to exploit and consolidate gains already achieved and apply pressure on the enemy during the winter campaign,’ Defence […]
1/5/2011
Radical Shi’ite “Moqtada al-Sadr, the leader of Iraq’s Sadrist movement, has returned to the country after three years in exile in Iran and less than a fortnight after his backing helped usher in a new Iraqi government. The vehemently anti-western cleric arrived in the Shia holy city of Najaf this afternoon. His surprise return came […]