Laura Bush: George W Bush Was A 'Bore' When He Drank Too Much
THE TELEGRAPH: Laura Bush, the former First Lady, has spoken for the first time about her husband George W Bush's drinking, calling him a "bore" when he had too much.

In an interview about her life with Mr Bush, she said his love of alcohol left her "disappointed", although she denied ever giving him an ultimatum about his drinking.

Mr Bush has always denied he was an alcoholic, but he gave up alcohol when he turned 40 and did not drink during his presidency. He was arrested for drink driving in 1976.

"George drank the three B's, a bourbon before dinner, a beer with dinner and then B&B [a mixture of Brandy and Benedictine liquor], a sweet after dinner drink," she said.

"He didn't have three drink every night, many times all he had was a beer. But when he poured enough, he could be a bore.Maybe its funny when other people's husbands have too much too drink at a party, but I didn't think it was funny."

Mrs Bush told US magazine Ladies Home Journal that she did not threaten to end their marriage over her husband's drinking - but said she was "disappointed". >>> Paul Thompson | Sunday, May 16, 2010

Laura Bush Memoir Claims President Was Poisoned at G8 Summit
THE GUARDIAN: Former first lady's book floats idea of poison plot against George Bush and entourage at 2008 Heiligendamm summit

President George Bush and first lady Laura Bush arrive at the opening dinner of the G8 summit at Heiligendamm. The former first lady's new book blames the president's illness on a possible poison plot. Photo: The Guardian
The former first lady Laura Bush has opened a diplomatic can of worms by writing in her new book that she and her husband may have been poisoned during a state visit to a G8 summit in Germany in 2007.

The passage of Spoken From the Heart in which she discusses the incident amounts to the first time that the idea has been floated that George Bush's illness at the summit may have been the result of poisoning. The then US president succumbed to a stomach complaint, as did his wife and several members of their entourage, during a three-day meeting of world leaders in Heiligendamm.

The book is to be published early next month but a sneak preview of it was gained by the New York Times. >>> Ed Pilkington | Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Related article here.

Bush Knew Guantánamo Prisoners Were Innocent, Former Colin Powell Aide Tells Court
MAIL ONLINE: George W Bush knew that hundreds of detainees held at Guantánamo Bay were innocent - but covered the fact up for political reasons, a top former aide has told a U.S. court.

Retired Army Col. Lawrence B. Wilkerson, who served as chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, testified that officials 'knew that they had seized and were holding innocent men at Guantanamo Bay'.

'I discussed the issue of the Guantánamo detainees with Secretary Powell,' he said. 'I learnt that it was his view that it was not just Vice-President [Dick] Cheney and [Defense] Secretary [Donald] Rumsfeld, but also President Bush who was involved in all of the Guantánamo decision making.'

'They simply refused to release them out of fear of political repercussions,' he continued.

Colonel Wilkerson heaped most of his criticism on the heads of of Mr Rumsfeld and Mr Cheney, saying they knew that the majority of the 742 detainees sent to Guantánamo in 2002 were not guilty of any crimes. >>> Mail Foreign Service | Saturday, April 10, 2010

Iraqi Christians Under Fire
What bloody fools George W Bush and Tony Blair were to create this sad situation; and what even bigger fools we were to listen to them! Tony Blair might well have his riches; but does he have his integrity? – © Mark
THE TELEGRAPH: Half the refugees fleeing Iraq are Christian, dramatically reducing a presence that pre-dates Islam. Edward Stourton reports.

A guard outside the cathedral in Kirkuk. Photograph: The Telegraph
Fr Rayan Paulos Atto showed me an elaborately decorated bronze and glass case mounted on the wall near the altar of his airy modern church in Erbil. It was a reliquary, a showcase for displaying a relic of a saint or martyr – the sort of thing you might find gathering dust in the sacristy of some venerable Italian basilica.

Fr Rayan's reliquary contains a miniature icon of the Virgin which is spattered with tiny droplets of blood – the blood of his closest friend, a priest gunned down on the steps of his church in the name of Islam. For Christians in Iraq today the possibility of martyrdom is an ever present reality, not a historical curiosity.

The campaign of violence against Christians is one of the most under-reported stories of Iraq since the invasion of 2003. And it could change the country's character in a fundamental way; by the time the dust finally settles on the chaotic current chapter of Iraq's history, the Christian community may have disappeared altogether – after 2,000 years as a significant presence. About 200,000 Iraqi Christians have already fled the country; they once made up three per cent of its population, and they now account for half of its refugees.

Erbil, in northern Iraq, has become a magnet for Christian refugees who are too poor to leave Iraq or do not want to abandon their country. It is the seat of the Kurdish Regional Government, which treats the Christians well; it is safe; and there is an established Christian community to welcome them. Many of them gravitate towards the traditionally Christian suburb of Ainkawa.

Ainkawa is a 15-minute drive from the centre of Erbil, and on the way there, with Fr Rayan at the wheel, we passed the motorway exit to Mosul. Mosul – the biblical city of Nineveh – is only 50 miles from Erbil, but it remains a fearsomely violent place and it was there that Fr Rayan's friend lost his life. >>> Edward Stourton | Saturday, April 03, 2010

Miss Me yet? Is the Last Laugh on Dubya?
MAIL ONLINE: With a big smile, being applauded by friends and supporters George 'Dubya' Bush last night stepped up to receive an award honouring him as a Texan.

'I love Texas, and I love the history of Texas, and I love the stories of Texas,' the rejuvenated former president, 63, said after accepting the History-Making Texan Award.

On receiving hers, his wife, Laura, added: 'I accept this award on behalf of all Texas women, all the cowgirls and all the ones who make history.'

Bush's demeanour, as he enjoys his retirement after two terms of leading the U.S., strongly contrasts with that of 48-year-old Barack Obama who took over from him last year and has appeared tired and haggard in recent weeks.

His health care reforms are bogged down in partisan politics, his national security strategy has come under increasing criticism and there is growing anger over the bailout given to Wall Street as families continue to struggle in the fragile economic climate. Is George 'Dubya' having the last laugh? Bush basks in acclaim of supporters as pressure builds on Obama after Texas vote >>> | Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Sicherheitsgipfel im Weißen Haus: Obama wird zum Anti-Terror-Präsidenten
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Er wollte mit der Kriegspolitik seines Vorgängers George W. Bush brechen - doch seit dem vereitelten Detroit-Anschlag ist klar: Auch für Barack Obama wird der Terrorkampf zum Kerngeschäft. Die Rede nach dem Sicherheitsgipfel zeigt, wie sehr die neue Rolle seinen Regierungsstil verändern wird.

Der Präsident lässt sich Zeit - und das macht sein Problem nur noch offensichtlicher. Im Situation Room des Weißen Hauses sitzt Barack Obama mit gut zwei Dutzend seiner wichtigsten Sicherheitsberater zusammen. Der FBI-Chef hält einen Vortrag, ebenso die Heimatschutzministerin und der Justizminister, fast zwei Stunden dauert das Treffen schon. Seit 30 Minuten wird Obama im Foyer zu einer kurzen Ansprache an die Nation erwartet. Die Kameras sind aufgebaut. Doch er kommt nicht.

Also schalten die TV-Sender nach Minneapolis um. Am dortigen Flughafen riegeln Polizisten gerade Gebäude ab, weil ein verdächtiges Gepäckstück gefunden wurde. Die Aufnahmen zeigen Absperrungen, aufgeregte Sicherheitsbeamte, ängstliche Passagiere - wie schon ein paar Stunden zuvor nach einer ähnlichen Warnung an einem kleinen Flughafen in Kalifornien.

Die Bilder machen klar: Auch Obama ist nun ein Terror-Präsident - knapp ein Jahr nach seinem Amtsantritt. Sein Sprecher Robert Gibbs spricht schon vom "War on Terror", als regiere noch George W. Bush.

Als dann die Sitzung endlich vorbei ist, tritt Obama vor die Kameras. Ein Helfer hat rasch noch den Redetext hingelegt. Der Präsident spricht ohne Teleprompter. Diesmal geht es ihm nicht um rhetorische Höhenflüge, sondern um klare Ansagen - zum gescheiterten Terroranschlag an Weihnachten, als dem Nigerianer Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab um ein Haar ein Attentat auf den Northwest-Airlines-Flug nach Detroit gelungen wäre. "Wir müssen besser werden" >>> Von Gregor Peter Schmitz, Washington | Mittwoch, 06. Januar 2010

Obama’s Afghanistan Speech: Bush Could Have Done It Better
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOG: Barack Obama’s speech was a mild gamble from a mild-mannered man. His plan is that 30,000 extra troops will subdue the Taliban, while the Afghan army grows to the point where the Americans can scoot off before things turn nasty again. It could just work, and it might be good enough for American voters in 2012, but it was hardly Churchillian, or even Bushian. >>> Alex Spillius | Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Bob Ainsworth criticises Barack Obama over Afghanistan
THE TELEGRAPH: Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary, has blamed Barack Obama and the United States for the decline in British public support for the war in Afghanistan.

He took the unprecedented step of publicly criticising the US President and his delays in sending more troops to bolster the mission against the Taliban.

A “period of hiatus” in Washington - and a lack of clear direction - had made it harder for ministers to persuade the British public to go on backing the Afghan mission in the face of a rising death toll, he said.

Senior British Government sources have become increasingly frustrated with Mr Obama’s “dithering” on Afghanistan.

However, Mr Ainsworth is the first minister to express in public what amounts to personal criticism of the President’s leadership. >>> James Kirkup, Thomas Harding and Toby Harnden | Wednesday, November 25, 2009

THE TELEGRAPH: Iraq war files: British colonel's scathing attack on 'arrogant, bureaucratic' Americans >>> | Monday, November 23, 2009

DIE PRESSE: Auf Bush-Kurs: Obama lehnt Landminen-Verbot ab: US-Präsident Obama behält die Politik seines Vorgängers Bush bei: Die USA schließen sich als einziges Nato-Land nicht der Konvention zum Verbot von Landminen an. >>> Ag. | Mittwoch, 25. November 2009

Another Stitch-up That'll Let Off Blair Once Again
MAIL ONLINE: As the great and the good of the Chilcot inquiry began their earnest deliberations yesterday, one conclusion could be drawn before a single person had said a single word: Tony Blair will get away with it. Again.

The man who led Britain into five wars in his first six years in Downing Street, the man who manipulated and massaged the evidence to suit the needs of a simpleton friend in George W. Bush has emerged completely unscathed from the Iraq conflict.

Since the war in 2003, every new revelation, every new accusation, has met the same the slithery response - 'I did what I thought was right at the time.'

Rather than feeling chastened, he has strutted the world stage, pretending to bring peace to the Middle East (which remains as elusive as it has ever been) and portraying himself as the saviour of the European Union.

When he is not preening himself across the globe, he is spending the millions he has made from his consultancies and showbusiness lectures on grand country estates and fine furniture.

This latest inquiry, established with great reluctance by Gordon Brown, comes far too late in the day to make any political difference. And the sad truth is that Blair has all the impunity he needs.

We have, after all, been here before. >>> John Kampfner | Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Der Schuhwerfer in Genf
NZZ ONLINE: Stiftung für Kriegsopfer im Irak

Der irakische Journalist Muntadher az-Zaidi, welcher im vergangenen Dezember Präsident Bush in Bagdad mit seinen Schuhen beworfen hatte, hat am Montag in Genf eine Stiftung für die Opfer des Irakkriegs gegründet. Zaidi wurde nach seiner Missfallensbekundung in Bagdad sofort von den irakischen Sicherheitskräften festgenommen und nach seiner Beschreibung auf brutalste Art drei Tage lang misshandelt; eine Zahnlücke und eine geknickte Nase zeugen noch sichtbar davon. Er wurde zu drei Jahren Gefängnis verurteilt wegen Beleidigung eines fremden Staatsgastes, doch am 14. September kam er frei. Nachher weilte er in Beirut, und seit dem 10. Oktober ist er mit einem Touristenvisum in Genf. >>> vk, Genf | Dienstag, 20. Oktober 2009

New Book Claims George W Bush Said Barack Obama 'Has No Clue'
THE TELEGRAPH: George W Bush believed Barack Obama was "a cat" who "has no clue", dismissed Sarah Palin as a nonentity and insulted Hillary Clinton's posterior, according to a new account of life in the White House under the former president.

For all his politeness in public, Mr Bush is alleged to have privately mocked fellow big name politicians, claims his former speech writer Matt Latimer, whose book Speech Less: Tale of a White House Survivor has been awaited with some anxiety by members of the previous administration.

In extracts published by GQ magazine, Latimer writes: "He came in one day to rehearse a speech, fuming. 'This is a dangerous world,' he said for no apparent reason, 'and this cat [Obama] isn't remotely qualified to handle it. This guy has no clue, I promise you'." >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Freed Iraqi Shoe Thrower Tells of Torture in Jail
THE GUARDIAN: 'My flower to the occupier': Defiant journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi stands by protest against visiting George Bush

Watch Guardian video here
The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at George Bush has marked his release from jail by angrily defending his action and claiming he was tortured after his arrest.

Muntazer al-Zaidi's supporters and family gave him a rapturous welcome, sacrificing six sheep to mark his release and hanging laurels of flowers around his neck.

Wearing an Iraqi flag, Zaidi gave a detailed account of being tortured after his arrest, and vowed to reveal the names of senior officials in the Iraqi government and army who he said had been involved in his mistreatment.

Listen to Guardian audio: Iraqi shoe thrower released: 'The mood is one of celebration': An Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at former President George W Bush has been released to scenes of jubilation in Baghdad, reports Martin Chulov >>>
Appearing with a missing front tooth, he told of beatings, whippings and electric shocks after his arrest. He said he now feared for his life, and believed US intelligence agents would chase after him.

"These fearful services, the US intelligence services and its affiliated services, will spare no efforts to track me as an insurgent revolutionary ... in a bid to kill me," he told the news conference.

"And here I want to warn all my relatives and people close to me that these services will use all means to trap and try to kill and liquidate me either physically, socially or professionally."

The reporter said he was abused immediately after his arrest, and the next day. He said he was beaten with iron bars, whipped with cords and electrocuted in the backyard of the building in the Green Zone.

"In the morning, I was left in the cold weather after they splashed me with water," he said.

He went on to defend his assault on Bush. "Simply put, what incited me toward confrontation is the oppression that fell upon my people and how the occupation wanted to humiliate my homeland by placing it under its boots," he said.

Zaidi said "throwing shoes against the war criminal Bush" was his answer to the cries of those bereaved by the conflict.

"The criminal murderer is standing here expecting us to throw flowers at him; this was my flower to the occupier."

Zaidi also talked of seeing "many, many massacres in every inch of our homeland" and of "witnessing the screams of victims and the cries of bereaved women". >>> Martin Chulov in Baghdad | Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Des femmes et de l'or pour Mountazer Al-Zaidi
COURRIER INTERNATIONAL: L’homme qui a jeté ses chaussures à la tête de George Bush pourra vivre sur un grand pied à sa sortie de prison. Une avalanche de cadeaux devrait saluer la libération du journaliste irakien Mountazer Al-Zaidi. "On a eu des promesses d’argent, l’émir du Qatar a promis un cheval en or, le colonel Mouammar Kadhafi a dit qu’il lui remettrait la plus haute décoration libyenne, et d’autres ont dit qu’ils lui offriraient une voiture de sport", a déclaré son frère Dargham, cité par la BBC. D’ores et déjà, son employeur, la petite chaîne de télévision Al-Baghdadia, lui a acheté un appartement de quatre pièces, rapporte le Guardian. Sans parler des propositions de mariage. "Un Irakien qui vit au Maroc nous a appelés pour lui offrir sa fille", rapporte son rédacteur en chef Abdul Hamid Al-Saij. "[…] Après l’événement, beaucoup de femmes ont voulu l’épouser, mais nous n’avons pas pris leur nom." Le reporter, devenu un héros pour le monde arabe, devrait être libéré lundi 14 septembre, au terme de neuf mois de prison. "C’est ton baiser d’adieu, chien ! Au nom des veuves et des orphelins d’Irak", avait-il crié à l’ex-président américain lors de son lancer de chaussures. [Source: Courrier International] | Lundi 14 Septembre 2009

Le lanceur de chaussures contre Bush sort de prison
Mountazer al-Zaïdi affirme avoir été torturé en détention et exige des excuses du Premier ministre irakien. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Mountazer al-Zaïdi, le journaliste devenu célèbre après avoir lancé sur l'ex président américain ses souliers fin 2008, souhaite désormais créer un centre pour les orphelins et les veuves, auxquels il avait dédié son geste.

Libre après neuf mois de détention. Le journaliste irakien Mountazer al-Zaidi, propulsé au rang de héros du monde arabe après avoir lancé ses souliers à la tête de George W. Bush, a quitté mardi la prison de la base militaire de Mouthanna. La libération anticipée du reporter pour bonne conduite aurait dû avoir lieu dès lundi mais elle avait dû être repoussée suite à des problèmes administratifs.

Son avocat s'est félicité de la libération et a rendu hommage à l'indépendance de la justice irakienne. Lors d'une conférence de presse, Mountazer al-Zaidi a réclamé lui des excuses au premier ministre Nouri al-Maliki. Il affirme en effet avoir été torturé lors de son emprisonnement. «Au moment où Nouri al-Maliki expliquait à la télévision qu'il ne dormirait pas tant qu'il ne serait pas rassuré sur mon sort, j'étais frappé à coups de câbles électriques et de barres de fer. mes geôliers ont simulé des noyades [une technique employée par la CIA]».

Le reporter était entré dans l'histoire en décembre dernier en projetant ses souliers, taille 43, contre l'ancien locataire de la Maison-Blanche, qui les avaient évitées de justesse. Le journaliste s'était écrié «C'est le baiser d'adieu, espèce de chien». Condamné en première instance à trois ans de prison pour «agression contre un chef d'Etat en visite officielle», sa peine avait été réduite en appel à un an. Dans la culture arabe, jeter ses chaussures à la tête de quelqu'un et le traiter de «chien» est considéré comme une grave insulte. De nombreuses demandes en mariage >>> C.J. (lefigaro.fr) avec AFP | Mardi 15 Septembre 2009

Obama's Counter-terrorism Advisor Denounces Bush-era Policies
LOS ANGELES TIMES: John Brennan accuses the previous administration of promoting a 'global war' mind-set that served only to 'validate Al Qaeda's twisted worldview.'

Reporting from Washington -- President Obama's counter-terrorism chief on Thursday repeatedly rebuked the Bush administration in a speech designed to make the case for a broader approach to fighting Islamic extremism.

In his first public appearance as the White House counter-terrorism advisor, John O. Brennan said that President George W. Bush's policies had been an affront to American values, undermined the nation's security and fostered a "global war" mind-set that served only to "validate Al Qaeda's twisted worldview."

"Rather than looking at allies and other nations through the narrow prism of terrorism -- whether they are with us or against us -- the [Obama] administration is now engaging other countries and people across a broader range of areas," Brennan said.

The sharp language is likely to extend the war of words between the current administration and conservative critics such as former Vice President Dick Cheney, who has carried out an unusually high-profile campaign accusing Obama of abandoning methods that made the country safe.

Brennan's speech was the latest in a series of addresses by senior administration figures in recent weeks outlining the president's national security agenda.

Brennan emphasized the argument that the United States must move beyond using the CIA and the military to attack Al Qaeda and must work to expand economic and educational opportunities across the Muslim world.

"We cannot shoot ourselves out of this challenge," Brennan said. "If we fail to confront the broader political, economic and social conditions in which extremists thrive, then there will always be another recruit in the pipeline, another attack coming downstream."

Brennan presented what he described as a multi-tiered approach -- including using the U.S. military to train the security forces of allied countries, supporting democratic reforms and directing billions of dollars in aid to impoverished regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. >>> Greg Miller | Friday, August 07, 2009

Obama nach sechs Monaten unbeliebter als Bush
WELT ONLINE: Ein halbes Jahr nach seinem von großen Hoffnungen begleiteten Amtsantritt als US-Präsident wird Barack Obama vom Alltag eingeholt. Eine Mehrheit der Amerikaner empfindet seinen Kurs als falsch. Obamas persönliche Umfragewerte sind sogar schlechter als die von George W. Bush zur gleichen Zeit. Obama bleibt gelassen.

Ein halbes Jahr nach seinem Amtsantritt ist die Euphorie um den neuen US-Präsidenten Barack Obama verflogen. Eine Mehrheit der Amerikaner ist laut einer Umfrage der Nachrichtenagentur AP wieder der Ansicht, dass sich die USA auf einem falschen Kurs befinden. 54 Prozent der Befragten vertreten diese Meinung, gegenüber 46 Prozent vor einem Monat. Auch die allgemeine Zufriedenheit mit dem Präsidenten hat in den vergangenen Monaten abgenommen. >>> AP/fp | Mittwoch, 22. Juli 2009

Barack Obama Is Blind to His Blunders over Islam
TIMES ONLINE: The new President's approach discourages change in Middle Eastern countries that need it most

For the past week or so, the Middle East has been abuzz with speculation about Barack Obama's “historic address to the Muslim world” to be delivered in Cairo on Thursday. During his presidential campaign, Obama had promised to make such a move within his first 100 days at the White House.

In the event, the first 100 days came and went without Obama delivering on his promise. Nevertheless, he granted his first interview as President to Saudi television and, later, made a speech at the Turkish parliament in Ankara. On both occasions he highlighted the Islamic element of his background and solemnly declared that the “United States is not and will never be at war with Islam”.

Obama has aroused more curiosity in the Middle East than any previous US leader, partly because of his Arabic-Islamic first and middle names. The choice of the date for Obama's address indicates his attention to detail. It coincides with the anniversary of the start of the first battle between Islam, under Prophet Muhammad, and Christendom in the shape of a Byzantine expeditionary force in AD629. The “address to Islam” also marks the 30th anniversary of Ayatollah Ruhallah Khomeini's demise and the appointment of Ali Khamenei as the new “Supreme Guide of the Islamic ummah”. More importantly, it also coincides with the rebuilding of the Ka'abah, the stone at the heart of Mecca, which had been destroyed in a Muslim civil war.

Rich in symbolism, Obama's “address to Islam” is also full of political implications. Obama is the first major Western leader, after Bonaparte, to address Islam as a single bloc, thus adopting the traditional Islamic narrative of dividing the world according to religious beliefs. This ignores the rich and conflict-ridden diversity of the 57 Muslim-majority nations and fosters the illusion, peddled by people such as Osama bin Laden and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, that Islam is one and indivisible and should, one day, unite under a caliphate.

By adopting the key element of the Islamist narrative, that is to say the division of humanity into religious blocs, Mr Obama also intends to send a signal to the Middle East's nascent democratic forces that Washington is abandoning with a vengeance George W. Bush's “freedom agenda”.

Mr Bush's analysis had been simple, or as Mr Obama suggests, simplistic: the 9/11 attacks were the result of decades of US support for repressive regimes in the Middle East that had produced closed systems in which terror thrived. In an address to university students in Cairo in 2005, Condoleezza Rice explained the “Bush doctrine” in these terms: “For 60 years, the United States pursued stability at the expense of democracy in the Middle East - and we achieved neither. Now we are taking a different course.” >>> Amir Taheri | Tuesday, June 02, 2009

U.S Defence Secretary Used Quotes from Bible to Brief Bush on 'Mission from God' War
MAIL Online: Former U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld used 'biblical images' to deliver reports on the war in Iraq to President Bush.

With the former president known for his devout evangelical beliefs, bible passages were printed on the top secret briefs detailing the progress of the war in 2003, it has emerged.

The hand-delivered messages, which were leaked to GQ magazine by a source at the Pentagon, were said to portray the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein as being more like a ' crusade' than a modern day war.

One example had a U.S. Abrams tank in the desert and below it the biblical quote from Ephesians: 'Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.'

Another brief showed an image of Saddam under a quote from the First Epistle of Peter: 'It is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.'

The biblical remarks take on a greater significance as it is now known President Bush considered he was on a mission from God when he ordered the 2003 invasion. >>> By Mail Foreign Service | Sunday, May 17, 2009

100-Tage-Bilanz: Obama verurteilt die Foltermethoden der Bush-Ära
WELT ONLINE: In Washington hat US-Präsident Barack Obama seinen Bruch mit der Bush-Ära und Foltermethoden wie dem "Waterboarding" verteidigt. "Die juristischen Rechtfertigungen" unter seinem Vorgänger für diese Verhörmethoden seien falsch gewesen. Zudem versprach Obama einen unermüdlichen Kampf für Wohlstand und Sicherheit.

US-Präsident Barack Obama hat das berüchtigte "Waterboarding", mit dem mutmaßliche al-Qaida-Häftlinge zu Geständnissen gezwungen werden sollten, als "Folter" verurteilt.

In einer Zwischenbilanz seiner ersten hundert Tage verteidigte Obama seine Entscheidung, mit vielen Entscheidungen seines Vorgängers George W. Bush zu brechen. >>> AFP/fsl | Donnerstag, 30. April 2009

Barack Obama Reveals George Bush's 'Torture' Techniques
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has disclosed the controversial CIA interrogation techniques of the Bush administration, including the threat of stinging insects, simulated drowning and depriving prisoners of sleep for up to 180 hours.

Leg shackles on the floor at at the U.S. Naval Base, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Photo: The Telegraph
The US government released four memos written by the Justice Department in 2002 and 2005 to provide legal cover for methods that have been widely criticised as torture and which the new president has already disowned.

They exposed in graphic detail how 28 al-Qaeda suspects were questioned at CIA secret prisons, revealing the use of forced nudity, facial and abdominal slaps and the use of confined space and "stress positions".

They considered locking suspects in a box with an insect which they claimed was a stinging insect. >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | Thursday, April 16, 2009

Shia Crowds Decry US Role in Iraq
BBC: Tens of thousands of supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr have rallied against the US presence in Iraq, six years after Saddam Hussein's fall.

Protesters in Baghdad's Firdos Square carried pictures of the cleric and chanted slogans denouncing what they called the occupation of Iraq.

Six years ago, US troops reached the square and helped Iraqis pull down a statue of their former leader there.

US combat troops are due to pull out from Iraq's cities by the end of June.

Under a recent agreement, they are expected to remain elsewhere in the country until the end of August 2010.

Moqtada Sadr has repeatedly called for a complete and immediate US withdrawal from Iraq.

Protesters carrying Iraqi flags chanted slogans such as "No, no America - Yes, yes Iraq" as they thronged the streets and burned an effigy of former US President George W Bush.

"God, unite us, return our riches, free the prisoners from the prisons, return sovereignty to our country ... make our country free from the occupier, and prevent the occupier from stealing our oil," an aide to Mr Sadr read, as part of a message from the radical cleric.

Mr Sadr has not been seen in Iraq for several months and is believed to be in neighbouring Iran. >>> | Thursday, April 9, 2009

Watch BBC video: The BBC's Jim Muir joins Iraqi protesters on the streets of Baghdad >>>

Iraq Shoe Thrower's Jail Term Cut
BBC: The Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at former US President George W Bush has had his sentence cut from three years to one year on appeal.

Muntadar al-Zaidi's lawyer argued that the charge should be changed from assault to insulting a foreign leader.

The judge agreed and reduced the term in line with the less serious offence.

An official for the court said the presiding judge had also taken into account the fact that Zaidi had no prior criminal history. >>> | Tuesday, April 7, 2009