In the News: Sep-16

Top Pentagon Official in Surprise Visit to Pakistan - 16 Sep 2008 at 2:13pm - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff arrived for talks about recent incursions by American commandos.

Canadian soldiers cleared in Afghan children's deaths - 16 Sep 2008 at 1:45pm - Canadian military investigators have cleared soldiers involved in an incident near Kandahar in July when two children were shot and killed in a vehicle approaching a military convoy.

General: far more US troops needed in Afghanistan - 16 Sep 2008 at 2:20pm - KABUL, Afghanistan -- The senior U.S. general in Afghanistan said Tuesday he is fighting the war with too few ground troops, and that even the reinforcements President Bush announced last week are insufficient. He said the shortage compels him to use more air power, at the cost of higher civilian casualties.

Chemical in plastic linked to human heart disease, diabetes - 16 Sep 2008 at 11:18am - For the first time, a large, population-based study links a chemical in plastic baby bottles to heart disease and diabetes in humans. Some scientists say the study — released today to coincide with a Food and Drug Administration meeting— shows that bisphenol A, or BPA, is too dangerous to allow in consumer products, especially those used by babies and pregnant women.

House gives go-ahead to sue Iraq over torture - 16 Sep 2008 at 10:23am - WASHINGTON (AP) — Former POWs and civilians who were tortured or held hostage during the 1991 Gulf War could pursue lawsuits against Iraq under legislation the House has approved. The White House, saying the bill would threaten economic and political progress in Iraq, threatened to veto the measure if it reaches the president's desk. It still has to clear the Senate.

Pakistani troops told to fire on U.S. forces if they cross Afghan border - 16 Sep 2008 at 9:29am - Pakistan's army has ordered its troops to open fire on U.S. forces if they launch cross-border raids from Afghanistan.

Georgia: Tapped phones show self-defense in war - 16 Sep 2008 at 9:16am - Georgia released recordings Tuesday of conversations which it says show that Russian troops entered South Ossetia before Georgia unleashed its offensive against the separatist region last month. The release of the recordings aims to counter Russia's claim that Georgia was the aggressor, and to turn the tables against Moscow in the battle for the moral high ground after a five-day war that killed hundreds of people and deepened the rift between Russia and the West.

Pentagon to expand intel ops at U.S. prison in Afghanistan - 16 Sep 2008 at 9:03am - The Pentagon plans to expand intelligence operations at its main prison in Afghanistan, records and interviews with military officials show. Interrogators and analysts are being sought for a bigger Bagram prison scheduled to open next year. They will be hired to question prisoners and provide intelligence that can be used on the battlefield, according to contract solicitations reviewed by USA TODAY. The Army also is seeking a "trained Mullah" to conduct Islamic services for detainees and advise U.S. officials on religious issues.

Ukraine's pro-Western ruling coalition collapses - 16 Sep 2008 at 8:56am - KIEV (AFP) - The governing coalition in Ukraine collapsed on Tuesday in a crisis brought on by Russia's war with Georgia that raises the prospect of the country being knocked off its pro-Western course.

Thought for the day:
Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half the time. -E. B. White (1899 - 1985)