In the News - Mar. 16

Bush Sticks With Strike-First Policy - 16 Mar 2006 at 7:54am - In report to Congress, President Bush says diplomacy is the first choice, but the U.S. reserves the right to launch an attack on a nation that hasn't attacked the U.S. - if necessary to curb nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction.


White House alters security rules for gays - 16 Mar 2006 at 7:15am - WASHINGTON -- The White House said Wednesday a revised policy on granting security clearances to gays and lesbians does not reflect a change in how the government will treat sexual orientation.


Libby's lawyers subpoena New York Times - 16 Mar 2006 at 8:42am - NEW YORK -- Lawyers for I. Lewis Libby Jr., the indicted former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, have subpoenaed The New York Times Co. and former Times reporter Judith Miller for documents concerning the disclosure of an undercover CIA agent's identity.


First declassified Iraq documents released - 16 Mar 2006 at 9:54am - WASHINGTON -- Iraqi documents collected by U.S. intelligence during the Iraq war and released by the Bush administration show Saddam Hussein's regime was investigating "rumors" that 3,000 Iraqis and Saudis had traveled unofficially to Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks to fight U.S. troops.


U.S.: Largest air strike targets insurgents - 16 Mar 2006 at 10:45am - The U.S. military said on Thursday it had launched its biggest air offensive in Iraq since the 2003 invasion of the country.

I thought Rummy said the U.S. wouldn't join an Iraq civil war. Oh, that's right, it isn't a civil war yet. Funny, though: the Bush administration's insistence on the use of the term "insurgency" in preference to "resistance" implies it has been a civil war pretty much since the fall of Baghdad, no?

Bolton compares Iran situation to 9/11 attacks - March 16, 2006 at 11:27 a.m. - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -- United Nations negotiations about Iran's nuclear program shift to the full Security Council on Thursday, after the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. said Iran posed a threat comparable to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.