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Democratic Party front group Media Matters for America has been loyally defending First Lady Michelle Obama's luxurious Spanish vacation this week even as other liberals concede the Obama administration made a politically insensitive call in signing off on the trip.Today, Media Matters attacked Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit/Pajamas Media for his critique of Michelle Obama's trip. The headline of the attack piece: Michelle Obama derangement syndrome: Instapundit posts pic of First Lady as Marie AntoinetteNot only does the headline reinforce the growing meme that Michelle Obama is acting like a rich pig, but upon opening the article one is confronted with...

Arab states should make a gesture toward Israel after its pullout from Gaza Strip, Qatar's foreign minister said. Hailing the Israeli withdrawal, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani stated Arab nations should respond. "I salute this step by Israel," he said in a speech Wednesday at the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations. "But it is very important that there be a clear vision after this step." "Arab countries must take a step toward Israel through an international meeting or a meeting between Arab states and Israel and the co-sponsors of peace, particularly the United States, in an...

Intercepted call linked Saddam to al-Qa'ida terror cellBy Andrew Buncombe in Washington 07 February 2003 He was supposed to have been a professional. He should have known better, but in the end he could not resist. Using a satellite phone, the senior al-Qa'ida operative excitedly called two associates and congratulated them on their cold-blooded assassination of an American diplomat. The call cost the man his liberty. It may yet cost him his life but, more importantly, it could have provided America with the "smoking gun" evidence it has long sought and which apparently links the Iraqi regime to an active...

WASHINGTON, May 8 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush met with key Gulf ally Emir Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani of Qatar Thursday and expressed the nation's appreciation for Qatar allowing its territory to be used as the headquarters for U.S. military operations during the Iraq war.Bush said the emir had been a "steadfast" ally and an example of political reform in the region."The emir has shown great leadership. He has led his country to join in a vast coalition to make the world more peaceful, to make the world more free," Bush said after an Oval Office meeting."You made...

Far from moving freely forward on the road to freedom and democracy, post-Saddam Iraq is seemingly heading towards conflicts and political uncertainty. Added to the emerging elements of ethnic and political strife in Iraq's northern part, its southern region, with its large number of Shi'ites is becoming a scene for a high-stakes rivalry among the major Shi'ite contenders. The outcome of this struggle will have a determining impact on the nature of the Iraqi political system, given that Shi'ites account for 60 percent of Iraq's population. The main "battle ground" has been the holy city of Najaf where the powerful...

<p>Mr Chalabi is a US Defense Department favourite. Leader of the Iraqi National Congress (INC), opposition group in exile that the US and UK have backed since after the 1991 Gulf War.</p> <p>He has the support of Washington hawks and the Department of Defense, and was moved into Iraq last week by the US military.</p> <p>Analysts say that as a Shia, even a secular Shia, he arouses the mistrust of the former Sunni ruling class of Iraq.</p> <p>The Iraqi National Accord was set up in 1990 by the Iraqi-born Shia Iyad Alawi.</p>

March 5— DOHA (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein's right-hand man brought uproar to an emergency Islamic summit on Wednesday, calling a Kuwaiti representative a "monkey" and a "traitor." "Shut up you minion, you (U.S.) agent, you monkey. You are addressing Iraq," the second-in-command of Iraq's Revolutionary Command Council Izzat Ibrahim spat out before he was interrupted by the leader of summit host Qatar.The unidentified official from Kuwait, liberated from Iraqi occupation in 1991 by a U.S.-led force, tried to fight back, but his comments could not be heard over the fray."You are insolent. You are a traitor to the Islamic nation,"...