News That Barely Made the News

• Alain Gresh | Countdown Iran:

  Le Monde Diplomatique's Alain Gresh and the former head of the French DGSE intelligence service both see Iran's fundamental demand from the West as a guarantee of its own security from Western interference - a commitment that the West has been unwilling to make....

• Ashcroft's Complex Tenure At Justice

  Peter Baker and Susan Schmidt report for the Washington Post: On Some Issues, Ashcroft Battled White House

• U.S. Pays Pakistan to Fight Terror, but Patrols Ebb


• GAO says Homeland Security is breaking privacy laws:

  "The Homeland Security Department is breaking the law by not telling the public exactly how personal information is used to screen international travelers, including Americans, congressional investigators said Wednesday."

• Jason Leopold and Matt Renner | Former Deputy AG on Wiretapping: "White House Tried to Coerce Ashcroft"

  "Responding to questions by Senator Chuck Schumer, former Deputy Attorney General Comey said Justice Department officials had concerns about the legality of the warrantless wiretapping and that the DOJ had refused to certify the practice even when White House officials attempted to coerce John Ashcroft in his hospital room. Members of the committee have stated that comments in Comey's testimony were shocking...."

• It's Our Cage, Too:

  Charles C. Krulak was commandant of the Marine Corps from 1995 to 1999. Joseph P. Hoar was commander in chief of US Central Command from 1991 to 1994. They write, "The torture methods that Tenet defends have nurtured the recuperative power of the enemy."

• Starving the Poor By Noam Chomsky:

  "...The connection between instability in the Middle East and the cost of feeding a family in the Americas isn't direct, of course. But as with all international trade, power tilts the balance. A leading goal of US foreign policy has long been to create a global order in which US corporations have free access to markets, resources and investment opportunities. The objective is commonly called 'free trade,' a posture that collapses quickly on examination...."

• Abuses in Enrollment Tactics Found for Private Medicare:

  The Washington Post reports "Insurance agents in at least 39 states used illegal or unethical tactics to sell private Medicare plans, in some cases enrolling the dead and mentally incompetent, impersonating Medicare representatives, and using personal information stolen from federal records, according to interviews and documents released to Congress."

• Iran Disinformation:

  Rick Perlstein, TomPaine.com writes, "I've become increasingly interested in the astonishing casualness with which fantasies about Iranian society have been introduced into our national bloodstream...."

• Dems Sell Out on Trade:

  "When Democratic and Republican leaders announce they have fashioned a 'historic' bipartisan compromise on trade, put your hand over your wallet. It probably means somebody has been sold out. In this case, we think it's the broad coalition of citizens--labor and environmental advocates and others--who want to reform corporate-led globalization. That includes all those voters who, last fall, elected new Democrats who promised to confront the multinational establishment. These insurgent forces have been pushed into a corner by the Democratic leadership's 'free trade' gambit. We urge them to push back--hard--and defeat the agreement if they can."

• AlterNet: American Legion attacks on Edwards sicken this Veteran

  "Bob Geiger: It's not unpatriotic to want to save troops' lives."

• The True Intent of the Unborn Victims of Violence Acts:

  "Amie Newman: Legislation being passed around the country to protect pregnant women is an attack on reproductive rights in disguise."

• Stark realities in Iraq exposed in a new report:

  Barry Lando: A leading UK think tank reports that Iraq can never form a unified government in its current condition.

• Bush's former point man on family planning is a fraud:

  Lindsay Beyerstein: The anti-abortion, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs is accused of lying about his background. What did Bush know and when did he know it?

• Chalmers Johnson: Can We End the American Empire Before It Ends Us?

  "Brilliant historian and essayist Chalmers Johnson argues that unless we face up to the tremendous strain our empire is having on America, we will lose our democracy, and then it will not matter much what else we lose...."