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The green zone of Baghdad, a highly fortified slice of American suburbia on the banks of the Tigris river, may soon be handed over to Iraqi control if the increasingly assertive government of Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, gets its way. A senior Iraqi government official said this weekend the enclave should revert to Iraqi control by the end of the year. “We think that by the end of 2008 all the zones in Baghdad should be integrated into the city,” said Ali Dabbagh, the government’s spokesman.

Pasco detention deputies give union the boot By Times Staff Writer Published Wednesday, March 19, 2008 8:44 PM LAND O'LAKES Detention deputies give union the boot Pasco County detention deputies voted 132-62 to decertify the bargaining unit that has been representing them in contract negotiations with Sheriff Bob White. In balloting Tuesday and Wednesday, the jail's sworn deputies overwhelmingly voted out the Fraternal Order of Police, less than two years after voting to unionize. The union had yet to finalize a labor contract. Although not at an official impasse with White, it had been stalled in contract talks over the...

Al-Qa'eda divided over drive to oust Musharraf By Philip Sherwell and Massoud Ansari, Sunday Telegraph Last Updated: 12:43am BST 29/07/2007 A deep split has emerged within al-Qa'eda over the wisdom of the terror network's drive to overthrow and kill Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf, according to radical Pakistani Islamists allied to the terror network. 13 people were killed and 50 injured in a suicide attack near the Red Mosque on Friday Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has ordered the series of retaliatory attacks on Pakistani targets that have followed the storming of the Red Mosque, an extremist stronghold in Islamabad,...

Iran media accused of trying to oust president · Fears for press as aides talk of 'creeping coup' · Leader deploys new team to counter rising criticism Robert Tait in Tehran Monday July 9, 2007 The Guardian (UK) Allies of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have accused the media of trying to depose him in a "creeping coup", raising fears of a fresh clampdown on opposition newspapers and websites. The accusation, from the president's allies, coincides with disclosures that Mr Ahmadinejad has authorised aides to establish a special team to counter "black propaganda against the government". There has been criticism from...

Karzai calls in the tribes in bid to oust Taliban (Filed: 09/10/2006) The first thing you notice when you enter the Presidential palace in Kabul is that the Americans are missing. For the past five years President Hamid Karzai has been guarded by rude, scruffy, heavily built American male and female Rambo-style bodyguards. They treated everyone with contempt. President Hamid Karzai is protected by one of his new Afghan bodyguards Now much to the relief of tribal elders, there are different guards for the president: young Afghans in sharp suits and ties, but with machine guns slung across their shoulders....

US accused of bid to oust Chávez with secret funds * Millions of dollars given to opposition, claim critics* Venezuelan groups' details hidden from list Duncan Campbell Wednesday August 30, 2006 The Guardian (UK) The Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez. Photograph: Tengku Bahar/AFP/Getty The US government has been accused of trying to undermine the Chávez government in Venezuela by funding anonymous groups via its main international aid agency. Millions of dollars have been provided in a "pro-democracy programme" that Chávez supporters claim is a covert attempt to bankroll an opposition to defeat the government. The money is being provided by the...

Some CBC Members Secretly Trying to Oust Jefferson from Committee Postby Hazel Trice Edney NNPA Washington Correspondent Originally posted 6/13/2006 WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Although the Congressional Black Caucus has publicly presented a united front in its support of embattled U. S. Rep. Bill Jefferson’s right to maintain his committee memberships, some CBC members – including civil rights icon John Lewis (D-Ga.) – have assumed behind-the-scene roles in getting Jefferson ousted from his coveted position on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. “Mr. [Mel] Watt certainly ably and with great distinction, speaks for the Congressional Black Caucus,” says House Democratic...

In Attempt to Oust Clinton, a Strategist's Comeback Bid By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ Published: April 10, 2005 WASHINGTON, April 9 - Arthur J. Finkelstein, the political guru who helped engineer the defeat of one Democratic luminary, Mario M. Cuomo, has his sights set on another: Hillary Rodham Clinton. Mr. Finkelstein, a longtime adviser to Gov. George E. Pataki of New York, is setting up a political action committee to mount a campaign offensive against Mrs. Clinton in 2006, when she is up for re-election, according to Republicans familiar with his plans. Mr. Finkelstein, who is known to be reclusive, would not...

Before the article, here is a short historical reference that the author forgot to reference: On November 8, 1999, Justice J. Breyer wrote the dissenting opionion in a supreme court case dealing with the death penalty. The case specifics are NOT important. What IS important is what Justice Breyer cited for legal precedence! THis was the forerunner of the latest in SCOTUS use of international opinion to enact their own laws, unconstitutionally, on our country. http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/98-9741.ZD.html Breyer, J., dissenting SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA ON PETITION FOR...

Five year battle to oust Hamza revealed By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor (Filed: 02/07/2003) Abu Hamza, the radical Muslim cleric, was able to use a mosque as a base for extremist activities for almost five years after the first complaints against him, it was revealed yesterday. Abu Hamza A report by the Charity Commission on its decision to ban the claw-handed imam from the Finsbury Park mosque in London disclosed how he had thwarted attempts to eject him since May 1998. Hamza turned the building into a headquarters for Islamic fundamentalists hostile to western values. Yet it was not...

US plots to oust Mugabe with African nations' help By Basildon Peta in Johannesburg and Andrew Grice 02 May 2003 The United States – backed by Britain – is pushing for "regime change" in Zimbabwe that would see President Robert Mugabe replaced by a member of the ruling Zanu-PF party. The new president would then call a constitutional conference and organise elections to be monitored by the international community. President George Bush is sending Walter Kansteiner, his special adviser on Africa, to the region next week. The US is persuading African leaders to back its strategy to use regional pressure...

Labour MPs opposed to war on Iraq are believed to be planning a bid to topple Tony Blair because of his support for the looming conflict. The Prime Minister, still reeling from a recent backbench revolt on Iraq in the Commons by 121 of his colleagues, could face a leadership challenge at the next party conference in October. Veteran MP and anti-war campaigner Tam Dalyell told the Sunday Sun that backbench MPs are already talking about having Mr Blair replaced. Mr Dalyell, MP for Linlithgow in Scotland, revealed the plot to oust Mr Blair during a visit to Sunderland to...

Saudis deny plan to oust Saddam By Adel Darwish in Kuwait City 19 January 2003 Saudi Arabia has denied the existence of a plan to oust Saddam Hussein, as Kuwait, from which Iraqi forces were driven during the last Gulf War in 1991, anticipates another conflict pitting the West against its dangerous neighbour. The Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Nawaf bin Abdul-Aziz, said reports that the Saudis were proposing an amnesty for Iraqi generals close to Saddam to encourage a coup against him were "totally baseless". The prince said the kingdom "would not interfere in the internal affairs of Iraq and...

U.S. Determined to Oust Saddam Despite Iraqi Offer Sat Aug 3, 4:19 PM ET By Randall Mikkelsen KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine (Reuters) - The United States said on Saturday Iraq's invitation for talks with U.N. arms inspectors would not sway its determination to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein , despite Baghdad's insistence that the offer was genuine. "That's our policy, it has not changed," said U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack, reiterating Washington's often-stated goal of ousting Saddam. President Bush accuses Saddam of being a menace to the region and said this week he was "looking at all options, the use...

Bush Gives CIA More Powers to Oust Saddam -- Report Sun Jun 16,11:50 AM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush early this year signed an intelligence order directing the CIA to conduct covert operations to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein , The Washington Post reported on Sunday. The covert program included authorization to use lethal force to capture Saddam, the Post said, citing informed sources. Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle said Congress had been consulted about the move by the administration but expressed some reservations about the timing of any such effort. "There is broad support for a regime change...