Kabul wants to govern a single nation of Afghanistan, with control of the nation's taxes and revenues and a proper standing army replacing local militias. However, the city and province of Herat, under governor Ismael Khan, want to remain autonomous. Julien Bousac reports.

Disgusted commentary on the popular American reaction to the capture of Saddam Hussein, from the West Coast. By Mark Morford

What is the full story of Saddam Hussein and his long time relationship with the US government? Robert Parry reports on its beginnings in 1959, when the CIA put Hussein on its covert operations payroll in a plot to assassinate then Iraqi Prime Minister Abd al-Karim Qasim, and the documented fact that during the 1980s, Hussein was a key US ally in the Middle East.

US/UK bombing targeted Iraq's state facilities. These now have to be reconstructed, but put in the hands of private firms, preferably American, though Britain and Italy seek part of the spoils. Tariq Ali comments.

From the public lecture delivered at the Society for the Defense of Civil Rights and Human Dignity by Michel Chossudovsky December 10-11, 2003 in Berlin. Chossudovsky begins "We are the juncture of the most serious crisis in modern history. The Bush Administration has embarked upon a military adventure which threatens the future of humanity. The wars on Afghanistan and Iraq are part of a broader military agenda, which was launched at the end of the Cold War. The ongoing war agenda is a continuation of the 1991 Gulf War and the NATO led wars on Yugoslavia (1991-2001)."

"The argument is favor of free trade has always been that it results in maximum competition, therefore maximum efficiency of production, therefore reduction of prices, and ultimately benefits to the consumer. The argument in favor of protectionism has always been that free trade has very negative consequences for various national economic situations, both in the short run and the long run," writes Immanuel Wallerstein. But ambiguities develop when powerful countries proclaim the virtues of free trade whether the Dutch vs England and France in the 17th century or the US vs Europe today.

Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman gave the most full-throated roar of approval for Bush...
Lieberman declared himself “energized” by the capture of Hussein, and called for his execution after a speedy trial. He took the opportunity to bash the front-running Democratic presidential hopeful, former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, saying, “If Howard Dean had his way, Saddam Hussein would be in power today, not in prison, and the world would be a much more dangerous place. The American people would have a lot more to fear.”

This is an OPPOSITION PARTY???

A review of the attempts of Ashcroft and Bush to control dissent. The articles has many case illustrations.