WHAT REALLY HAPPENED THAT SUNDAY IN SAMARRA? On one point, all sources appear to agree: what happened in Samarra last Sunday could tell us a great deal about whether U.S. forces are likely to succeed or fail in pacifying and stabilizing Iraq

Bush's Colonialism Will Only Deepen Iraq Resistance
Large-scale repression only helps to unite the population against the occupiers

Israel Training U.S. Assassins In Iraq
"Preemptive manhunting" sounds uncomfortably like Vietnam War "Operation Phoenix"

U.S. Arrests Iraqi Union Leaders
Efforts intended to paralyze Iraq's new labor unions

"This Could Go Either Way" Say Experts Back From Iraq
U.S. administrators and troops isolated from increasingly hostile population

The AFL-CIO is among groups for state and federal investigations into police violence during the FTAA protests in Miami. Note that no badge or other ID is found on the officer shown here

FTAA MELTDOWN IN MIAMI The U.S. was determined to score a diplomatic victory for its trade agenda as well as avoiding another debacle like the WTO meeting in September. But the 350-page draft remained unopened in Miami. If anyone had insisted on debate or consensus, the FTAA would have collapsed. As one observer said of the bizarre scene "it was so fragile it could come apart on any detail. Everyone was scared shitless." When a delegate asked if the FTAA would reach its January 2005 deadline, the U.S. and Brazilian co-chairs became visibly upset and the meeting ended abruptly, some 30 hours ahead of schedule

Miami Police Violence Called "A Model For Homeland Defense"
Militarized policing with generous "War on Terror" funding

Second Pakistan Assassination Attempt Means Trouble For Key Bush Ally How could killers come so close twice in same month?

Iraq Contracts Reveal Bush True Intentions, Critics Say
$18.6 billion in reconstruction deals earmarked for Bush collaborators

Long-Term Health Effects Of Iraq War Unknown
Death and injury toll far higher than many people imagined, medical report says

Optimistic Milosevic Plots Comeback From Prison Cell
Running for parliament even during trial before International Criminal Tribunal

Unofficial Mideast Peace Plan Met With Israeli Criticism, Threats
Palestinian hard-liners also denounce plan based on Oslo accords

Israel Hardliners Rush To Discredit New Peace Plan
Bush Admin abruptly cancels meetings with peacemakers signing Geneva Accord

Will Washington Allow Geneva Peace Plan To Work?
Uncritical support for Ariel Sharon undermines hope of accord

Without Israel Or Palestine Involved, Mideast Peace Plan Approved "We cannot wait while the future of our two nations slides deeper into catastrophe"

Bush Seeks UN Approval For Rushed Iraq Transition
Skeptics scoff as White House turns once more to UN for legitimacy

Is Iraq To Be New Home For Overseas Military Bases?
Shift from Germany, W Europe to be closer to geat oil fields

CAFTA Trade Deal Threatens Affordable AIDS Drugs In Central America
Could force poorest countries to pay top dollar to U.S. drug companies

U.S. Using 9/11 To Attack Human Rights, Nobel Winner Says
"Democracy should not be used to attack other countries," Shirin Ebadi says in accepting award

U.S. Releases "Guantanamo Spy," But Charges Him With Internet Porn
Called trumped-up issue to allow Bush Admin to save face

Schwarzenegger Knows "Art Of The Deal," First Weeks Show
Turns explosive issue of driver's licenses for immigrants into poker chip
Baghdad Parks Off-Limits To Iraqis
Recreational areas taken over by Americans as safety "green zones"

A 3rd Infantry Division soldier looks at Uday Hussein's cheetahs at the Baghdad Zoo, which is the only park in Baghdad that has not been declared a military zone by occupying forces and marked as off-limits to Iraqis. In September, Iraqis were outraged when an American soldier attending a a private after-hours party at the zoo shot and killed a rare Bengal tiger in its cage

Iraq Factories Fight Against Flood Of Cheap Goods
Manufacturing difficult without reliable electricity and supplies

Hamas, Islamic Jihad Now Joint Operation Not members of PLO, so not tied to any truce negotiations

Colombia Cocaine Industry Turns Poor Into Drug Traffickers
A few hours travel can feed a poor family for months

U.S. Warned Over Collective Punishment In Iraq
Military following Israel's lead in destroying homes of suspected loyalists or terrorists

Don't Send Home The Chinese Muslims At Guantanamo, Rights Group Says
Over a dozen captives held by U.S. are likely to be tortured by China

Oil Companies Aid Sudan In Repression, Report Says Using company roads, airfields to launch attacks on civilians

Iraq adminstrator Paul Bremer views the humiliation of Saddam Hussein Saddam's capture came as a result of a policy change by U.S. occupation forces, following the White House "absolute panic" in November. But having the former dictator in custody creates a new set of problems, most serious being open civil war between the Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims. The now-famous pictures of Saddam's humiliating exam could also cause problems in the Mideast because it shows that even the most repressive leaders - usually U.S. allies - are human after all. And the trial of Saddam Hussein in open court could show that the U.S. was complicit in 1980s biowarfare against Iran and the Kurds Saddam Capture Moves Iraq Closer To Civil War Kurds Say They Captured Saddam, Not U.S. Shifting Resources Away From WMD Search Led To Saddam Capture The Problem Of What To Do With Saddam Will U.S. Demand Secret Trial For Saddam? Saddam's Humiliation Could Backfire On U.S. Allies Count Saddam Down, But Not Out

Iran's nuclear reactor is scheduled to be finished sometime next year The last major hurdles for Iran's nuclear reactor cleared in late November, when the State Department backed away from a confrontation with Russia over the project and the UN backed away from slapping sanctions on Iran for its nuclear activities. The plant is now expected to be operational next year -- unless Israel launches a pre-emptive missle attack on Iran first. Analysts worry that the situation is similtor to 1981, when Israel bombed Iraq's nuclear reactor that was under construction in a pre-emptive attack, although most experts believed it would take at least five years to make a nuclear weapon once the plant was completed. Israel justified the attack be saying that it had to act before the plant was loaded with nuclear fuel Iran's Nuclear Reactor To Be Completed In 2004 IAEA Condemns Iran, Rules Out Sanctions Iran Suspends Uranium Enrichment Program - For Now