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<p>UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- U.N. arms inspectors are ready to get back into Iraq to finish the job of looking for any chemical, biological or nuclear weapons but don't want to work under a new U.S.-led disarmament effort.</p> <p>"We're not dogs on a leash," said chief U.N. inspector Hans Blix, who said it was key his teams remain independent. He said U.N. teams would be willing to confirm any discoveries of banned weapons the Americans report, but repeatedly noted that U.S. troops haven't found any such weapons thus far.</p>

A depressing thought: the Iraq war proves that in the year 2003 AD, the world has not essentially changed since 2003 BC. A military power can attack a weak nation, conquer its territory and plunder its resources. There is no world law, no world moral order. Might is right. The weapons are of the 21st century, but they serve 19th century aims. This is a classical colonial war. Iraq is becoming an American colony, to remain so for a long time. The pretexts come from the old colonialist phrase-book. A country is conquered in order to "liberate" the natives from...

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) -- There is a stark contrast between the precision with which American soldiers ended Saddam Hussein's rule and the chaos afterward.</p> <p>The aftermath is proving messier than the Bush administration might have hoped. Factional fights, lack of electricity and water, money and ancient treasures stolen from banks and museums -- the postwar environment is tough for Iraqis and U.S. leaders seeking to build civilian trust.</p>

FRANKFURT, Germany, April 17 (AFP) - The authority of the United States is "in ruins" following its decision to launch a war on Iraq, German philospher Juergen Habermas wrote in an editorial on Thursday. The United States, which for "half a century served as the pioneer ... has abandoned its role as a force for guaranteeing international law", Habermas wrote in the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper. "With this war against international law, the United States has set a devastating example for future world powers. Make no mistake -- the normative authority of the United States lies in ruins." Habermas, who...

<p>On Monday, Mr. Clinton went on the offensive. "Our paradigm now seems to be: Something terrible happened to us on September 11, and that gives us the right to interpret all future events in a way that everyone else in the world must agree with us. And if they don't, they can go straight to hell," he told a symposium sponsored by Conference Board, a New York-based nonpartisan business research group.</p>

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Actor and anti-war activist Tim Robbins said Tuesday that "it is time to get angry" over the Bush administration's alleged reprisals against opponents of the war. Robbins told an audience at the National Press Club that the Bush administration has taken advantage of the American people and squandered the good will the world had recently developed toward the U.S. "In the 19 months since 9/11, we have seen our democracy compromised by fear and hatred," he claimed. "Basic inalienable rights, due process, the sanctity of the home have been quickly compromised in a climate of fear....

<p>A "serious" offer was made by a caller to the Tribune’s March 29 Trib Talk to purchase tickets enabling "professional protesters" to go to France, Korea or Nigeria. While I don’t consider myself a professional, I do protest President George W. Bush’s illegal aggression against Iraq every opportunity I get, and I also am for fair elections and a clean environment. Does that qualify me for a ticket?</p>

We have never been so alone. In taking the United States to war, President Bush chose to leave the United Nations and international legitimacy behind in his drive to rid the world of Saddam Hussein. The road to war against Iraq was long but by signaling at the outset there was only one acceptable outcome and by ramming his initiative through the United Nations, Bush made the international body irrelevant even as he sought to label it so for not acting in the manner he found acceptable. Using harsh rhetoric toward traditional European allies, fanning the fear created by the...

THE IMAGES are stunning. Iraqis in Baghdad climbing atop a 100-foot-tall statue of Saddam Hussein. Tying a rope around its neck. Trying to pull it to the ground. They succeeded with help from U.S. soldiers and a tank. After three decades of repressive rule, the people of Iraq are dancing in the streets. They are celebrating the beginning of reconstruction, and the hope that, with a new government, ordinary citizens will finally control their own destiny. Thousands of Iraqi civilians and soldiers might have died already, but the people of Baghdad so far have been spared the urban slaughter they...

O'REILLY: If you are wrong… and if the United States - and they will, this is going to happen - goes in, liberates Iraq [with] people in the street, American flags, hugging our soldiers… you gonna apologize to George W. Bush? GARAFALO: I would be so willing to say, "I'm sorry". I hope to God that I can be made a buffoon of, that people will say, "You were wrong. You were a fatalist". And I will go to the White House on my knees on cut glass and say, "Hey, you and Thomas Friedman were right… I shouldn't have...

Americans wouldn’t want to be ‘liberated’ by others Published Wednesday, April 9, 2003 Dear Editor, the Tribune: Imagine that someone becomes the president of the United States and we find out he or she is a terrible president. However, this person gains so much power that he or she cannot be removed from office. Now imagine that a country with a strong military, let’s say Russia, decides to rid the world of our president. Russia ignores the wishes of the United Nations, U.S. citizens and many other countries and invades the United States. It bombs major government and military installations...

http://www.msnbc.com/news/897509.asp?0dm=O13NL Protesters attack Garofalo show April 9 — Will another anti-war celeb take a career hit? Bush supporters have been deluging ABC with calls and e-mails, complaining about a sitcom the network has in development starring outspoken war protester Janeane Garofalo. ABC HAS reportedly been working on the comedy, in which Garofalo plays a producer at a TV newsmagazine. The pro-war protesters are threatening to organize a major campaign against ABC, including a boycott of advertisers, if the network airs the show. “We do not wish to see the faces of liberal Hollywood, particularly those that provided aid and comfort...

WASHINGTON, April 8 (AFP) - A US congressman and anti-war activist on Tuesday revived his proposal for the creation of a "US Department of Peace" to be headed by a cabinet-level official on a par with the secretary of state or secretary of defense. Democratic congressman Dennis Kucinich, a presidential candidate and an outspoken critic of President Bush's policy on Iraq, unsuccessfully introduced similar legislation in July 2001. But he said he is reintroducing the bill because, especially during this time of war, Washington needs a peace department. "Now, more than ever, this legislation is urgently needed," Kucinich said. "Our...

Ban me, but have the courage to accept the truth. This War is wrong. Many innocent Iraqis have died. Many Americans have died. Iraq is in chaos. No food. No water. No power. I don't care if staged events involving a few criminals and looters make the people appear to be happy. Ask the ones who had their lives destroyed by American bombs. There are no WMDs. America will remain in Iraq long enough to: A) plunder its resouces B) ensure a Bush election victory in spite of massive deficits and a terrible economy. THIS WAR IS WRONG.

It's a subject about which he has some expertise, and not surprisingly Al Gore yesterday blamed the latest problems in Florida's election system on President Bush and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. During campaign appearances in Jacksonville and Palm Beach County, areas that figured in the 2000 election debacle, the former Democratic presidential candidate called last week's botched primary election "déjà vu all over again." "I didn't expect there to be all the problems at the polling booths again," said Gore, who attended a rally and fundraiser for Rep. Corrine Brown. "The money the Congress tried to allocate was defeated by...

<p>NORFOLK, Va. — A man who posed as a Navy SEAL to persuade investors to lend him money for his business was sentenced to two years in prison for lying to the FBI.</p> <p>Robert Anthony Nolan, 38, also must pay restitution of $167,000 to investors and insurance companies that were victims of his scheme.</p>