Ford Disagreed With Bush About Invading Iraq  —  Former president Gerald R. Ford said in an embargoed interview in July 2004 that the Iraq war was not justified.  "I don't think I would have gone to war," he said a little more than a year after President Bush had launched the invasion advocated …

Ethiopians Blitz Their Way Across the Country  —  Ethiopian troops have stood aside so that Somali gunmen representing the Transitional Government can enter Mogadishu.  The surviving Islamic Courts fighters have fled south, from whence they came.  This does not solve the basic problem …

Edwards's Theme: U.S. Poverty  —  Amid Iraq Talk, White House Hopeful Sticks to '04 Issue in '08 Run  —  For the roughly two dozen candidates considering a run for the White House, it is perhaps the jackpot question: What might be the winning message in a contest whose first nominating vote is still more than a year away?

Close Adviser to Sadr Dies in U.S.-Iraqi Raid  —  A top deputy of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was killed Wednesday during a raid by U.S. and Iraqi troops in the southern holy city of Najaf, sparking protests from Sadr's followers and complicating an already tense relationship with the powerful anti-American leader.

Declassified State Department Document: Arafat Responsible for Storming of Embassy and Murder of Americans in 1973  —  The State Department has finally admitted (document has just been declassified) that Arafat was behind the 1973 murder of two Americans in Sudan by the Black September terrorist group.

Blair on Islam: Standard-Bearer of Tolerance  —  A quote from Tony Blair in Foreign Affairs, January/February 2007  —  To me, the most remarkable thing about the Koran is how progressive it is.  I write with great humility as a member of another faith.  As an outsider, the Koran strikes …

G.O.P. Senator in Spotlight After a Critical Iraq Speech  —  At the close of the Senate's lame-duck session, in between formulaic tributes to senators departing voluntarily or otherwise, a Republican backbencher suddenly rose to give one of the most passionate and surprising speeches about the war in Iraq yet delivered in Congress.

Moonies and the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy  —  Robert Parry of Consortium News writes, … The 21-year veteran is former WT reporter George Archibald, who wrote an internet essay about internal turmoil at the newspaper.  Parry continues, … Parry goes on to describe Sun Myung Moon …

Zombie responds to Human Rights Watch report on ambulance hoax  —  Good reading, especially on a slow news day.  The crux of HRW's argument is that certain types of low-yield missiles could have caused the damage seen in photos of the ambulances; the crux of the rebuttal is that no, in fact, they couldn't.

Universal 401(k) Accounts Would Bring the Poor Into the Ownership Society  —  Of the current proposals to address income inequality, the universal 401(k) is the most likely to bring general prosperity.  —  The core idea is simple.  The federal government creates tax-free retirement accounts …