Newsweek

"With protestors coming to New York and Boston for the conventions, might we see the first domestic use this summer? Gruenler hints: 'All I can say is there are cities you would recognize.' " [more]

"What Bush seemed to have in mind was applying his broad doctrine of pre-emption to interrogations: to get information that could help stop terrorist acts before they could be carried out. This was justified by what is known in counterterror circles as the 'ticking time bomb' theory—the idea that when faced with an imminent threat by a terrorist, almost any method is justified, even torture." [more]

"The best minds in the computer-security world contend that [electronic] voting terminals can't be trusted." [more]

"Washington’s Plan A clearly isn’t working. The fighting is far from over in Iraq. But there’s no walking away. The administration needs to have a clear, long-term commitment, the backing of the United Nations and more than a little help from its friends." [more]

"Americans say they’re spending too much in Iraq with too little to show for it. And with the 2004 approaching, Bush is losing ground." [more]

"The United States figures it can get plenty out of the newly captured Chemical Ali. But how? And are these 'interrogation' techniques being readied for American citizens?" [more]

"There is one group of nations with large numbers of well-trained troops, experienced in peacekeeping and in working with the United States Army. It's called NATO. The problem for the Bush administration is that calling on NATO means bringing France and Germany back into the fold. My suggestion: get over it." [more]

"The potential fallout is murky. What happens to oil prices? Might war trigger a new recession? Would a swift victory help revive confidence?" [more]

"On Capitol Hill, Democrats and some Republicans—including retiring House Majority Leader Dick Armey—are concerned that the project is part of a wider White House strategy to erode civil liberties in pursuit of security." [more]

"If events do not come to a head soon after Dec. 8, the pressure for action will dissipate and the weather will make conflict impossible until next fall. And you cannot replay this movie. America’s Arab allies like Qatar and Kuwait will not find credible Washington’s renewed bellicosity and will not stick their necks out yet again, the inspections process will have become more political and France and Russia will have gained support in the Security Council." [more]

"The United States is somewhat unusual in that it doesn’t have a federal-level privacy agency to protect citizens’ interests and privacy. Virtually all of the European countries do, and many of the countries in East Asia do so, as well. As a consequence, when these proposals come forward or these new legal authorities are created—as will be in the Homeland Security Act—there’s no counterbalance to determine whether the authorities are being used appropriately." [more]

"It is far from clear that America will be able to control the next leader of Iraq, even if he is not as diabolical as Saddam. Any leader of Iraq will look around him and see that Israel and Pakistan have nuclear weapons and that Iran may soon. Just as England and France opted to build their own bombs in the cold war, and not depend on the U.S. nuclear umbrella, the next president of Iraq may want to have his own bomb." [more]

"The United States has made serious mistakes in the conduct of its foreign affairs, which have had unfortunate repercussions long after the decisions were taken. Unqualified support of the Shah of Iran led directly to the Islamic revolution of 1979. Then the United States chose to arm and finance the [Islamic] mujahedin in Afghanistan instead of supporting and encouraging the moderate wing of the government of Afghanistan. That is what led to the Taliban in Afghanistan. But the most catastrophic action of the United States was to sabotage the decision that was painstakingly stitched together by the United Nations regarding the withdrawal of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan. If you look at those matters, you will come to the conclusion that the attitude of the United States of America is a threat to world peace." [more]

" 'All were bound hand and foot either with their own turbans or with strips ripped from their clothing, he says. Then they were packed in container trucks 'like cattle,' he says. He reckons that about 100 people died in his container. The drivers remain tormented by what they took part in. 'Why weren't there any United Nations people there to see the dead bodies?' asks one. 'Why wasn't anything being done?' " [more]

"While still wrangling over how to overthrow Iraqís Saddam Hussein, the Bush administration is already looking for other targets. President Bush has called for the ouster of Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat. Now some in the administrationóand allies at D.C. think tanksóare eyeing Iran and even Saudi Arabia. As one senior British official put it: 'Everyone wants to go to Baghdad. Real men want to go to Tehran.' ...'Syria and even Egypt are now under discussion in neoconservative circles, along with North Korea and Burma.' " [more]

"When Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the indictment of John Walker Lindh, he said the rights of the 20-year-old 'American Taliban' had been 'carefully, scrupulously honored.' But inside the Justice Department, not everybody was convinced. Even as prosecutors began preparing criminal charges against Lindh last December, the departmentís own ethics advisers were raising red flags." [more]

"Last December, two Justice Dept. lawyers e-mailed each other about John Walker Lindh's legal rights." These are some exerpts. [more]

These internal e-mails show that Justice Dept. lawyers concluded FBI plans to interrogate John Walker Lindh without the presence of a lawyer would violate the department's ethical guidelines and was "not authorized by law." [more]

"The long-hidden warnings, given to George W. Bush, of possible Al Qaeda hijackings last summer suggests less a 'finest hour' than a return of LBJís 'credibility gap.' " [more]

"White House chief of staff Andrew Card has assigned a small team to study possible alternativesóranging from eliminating the post altogether to transforming it into a separate cabinet-level department with Ridge in charge. 'Everything is on the table,' said one Bush staffer." [more]

"FBI agentís notes pointed to possible World Trade Center attack." [more]

"President Bush is arming troops to protect Occidental Petroleum in Colombia. What next?" [more]