Stories from 2002-08-21

"'The other thing most Americans haven't understood fully is the reason that India joined the anti-terror war. Much of it from the (ruling) BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is because of anti-Muslim feelings,' Embree, professor emeritus at Columbia University, New York, maintained. 'I am sure the BJP welcomed Americans because they saw it (the US war against terrorism) not as a war against terrorists, but as a war against Muslim terrorists seen in the light of Kashmir.'" [more]

"Given the way the five men handily disabled embassy security systems and rewired a gate to enter the grounds, Shamil Mohammed said they could not have been ordinary Iraqi dissidents as they claimed." [more]

"Finally, the assault on ìal-Georgeî made clear that attacking cities without having a big numerical advantage is a risky endeavor. More-hawkish members of the Bush administration have suggested that a U.S. force of 80,000 would be enough to defeat Mr. Husseinís 400,000-member army and 100,000-strong Republican Guard. Theyíre counting on the army being dispirited and the rest of the force turning on Mr. Hussein at some point in the fighting. In the assault on 'al-George,' however, it took 980 Marines to roust just 160 rebels from urban terrain. And despite wielding a 6-to-1 advantage, the Marine force still took about 100 casualties." [more]

"As the nation now moves to upgrade its various surveillance and detection systems, one author writes in the September Atlantic that we should be wary of placing too much faith in the capacity of technology to protect us." [more]