Stories from 2002-01-16

"'What I particularly liked was the way the movie portrayed how young most soldiers are who fight our country's battles,' Moore said. 'Most of the soldiers I served with then, and those in my company today, are 18 or 19 years old. As shown in the movie, they are not out trying to be heroes, but end up doing some pretty heroic stuff.'" [more]

"Invoking security concerns, President Bush has issued an executive order barring union representation at United States attorneys' offices and at four other agencies in the Justice Department. Although federal law bans strikes by federal employees, White House officials said Mr. Bush had issued his order out of concern that union contracts could restrict the ability of workers in the Justice Department to protect Americans and national security." [more]

"While Afghanistan's interim administration and its U.S.-promoted leader, Hamid Karzai, build a central government in Kabul, most of Afghanistan has fallen under the sway of Pentagon-backed militia commanders, such as Dostum, who have acknowledged the Kabul administration but run their zones with wide autonomy." [more]

"Deploying more than 600 U.S. troops may help control the Muslim extremist group that has plagued the Philippines for a decade, but the escalating American involvement will test ties between Washington and one of its closest allies in Southeast Asia. The military mission could further inflame the country's Muslim minority and alienate some of the [Filipino] president's leftist supporters." [more]

"In the first major expansion of the war on terrorism, American and Philippine military officers in Manila began preparing joint operations today against a Muslim extremist group linked to Al Qaeda in the southern Philippines. An American advance team is on the ground, and officials today created a joint command for the mission. The bulk of the 650-member American force, including 160 Special Operations troops trained in counterterrorism, is expected to be sent this month to train and advise 1,200 Philippine Army soldiers in how to destroy Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group that is holding hostages, including two Americans." [more]