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Welcome to the musings and notes of a Cadillac, Michigan based writer named Micah Holmquist, who is bothered by his own sarcasm. Please send him email at micahth@chartermi.net. Holmquist's full archives are listed here.
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Sites Holmquist trys, and often fails, to go no more than a couple of days without visiting (some of which Holmquist regularly swipes links from without attribution) Aljazeera.Net English Blogs that for one reason or another Holmquist would like to read on at least something of a regular basis (always in development) Thivai Abhor |
Thursday, July 10, 2003
In a story from today's Guardian, Julian Borger writes: A former US intelligence official who served under the Bush administration in the build-up to the Iraq war accused the White House yesterday of lying about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein.*** "Senior UK Whitehall sources no longer believe weapons of mass destruction will be found in Iraq, the BBC has learned," the BBC writes in a story from today. "BBC political editor Andrew Marr said 'very senior sources' in Whitehall had virtually ruled out the possibility of finding the weapons." Prime Minister Tony Blair apparently has a different view. *** "The State Department told a Congressional committee today that seven days after President Bush gave his State of the Union address, in which he charged that Saddam Hussein was trying to purchase uranium in Africa, American diplomats warned the International Atomic Energy Agency that the United States could not confirm the reports," David E. Sanger and Carl Hulse write in a July 8 New York Times story. "The State Department letter, provided to Representative Henry A. Waxman, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Government Reform, confirms that there were deep misgivings in the government about some intelligence Mr. Bush cited in his January speech." *** "The United States will help Egypt in support of its air force weaponry," writes Middle East Newsline. "The Bush administration has approved a project to help several of its allies in the Middle East and other areas of the world with support for U.S. air weaponry and equipment. The allies include Egypt, Israel and Saudi Arabia. The Defense Department has awarded a $13.8 million contract to Madison Research Corp. to head a support program for Egypt and other U.S. allies. The program is meant to provide a wide range of diverse non-engineering, technical and acquisition management support required in the acquisition, development, production and support of various equipment and weapon systems. Madison Research provides support for the the acquisition of products for U.S. fighter jets." *** The poppy trade is doing well in Afghanistan, April Witt reports in today's Washington Post. *** "Britain is secretly stepping up military assistance to Colombia as the war on drug trafficking becomes increasingly entangled in the effort to defeat leftwing guerrillas and drive them back to the negotiating table," David Pallister, Sibylla Brodzinksy and Owen Bowcott write in yesterday's Guardian. *** The U.N.'s "Human Development Report 2003" and this response to it are worth reading. *** This and this on Iran are interesting. *** |