The National Rifle Association is urging the Bush administration to withdraw its support of a bill that would prohibit suspected terrorists from buying firearms. Backed by the Justice Department, the measure would give the attorney general the discretion to block gun sales, licenses or permits to terror suspects.
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| U.S. soldiers on duty in Iraq (AP) |
In a survey of U.S. troops in combat in Iraq, less than half of Marines and a little more than half of Army soldiers said they would report a member of their unit for killing or wounding an innocent civilian.
More than 40 percent support the idea of torture in some cases, and 10 percent reported personally abusing Iraqi civilians, the Pentagon said Friday in what it called its first ethics study of troops at the war front. Units exposed to the most combat were chosen for the study, officials said.
"It is disappointing," said analyst John Pike of the Globalsecurity.org think tank. "But anybody who is surprised by it doesn’t understand war. … This is about combat stress."
The military has seen a number of high-profile incidents of alleged abuse in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, including the killings of 24 civilians by Marines in Haditha, the rape and killing of a 14-year-old girl and the slaying of her family in Iraq and the sexual humiliation of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison.
Congressional Democrats have signaled they’re not ready to back down in their confrontation with President Bush on Iraq, spurring Republicans to accuse them of causing political gridlock.
A prominent military consultant and as well as a Bush administration official have already been linked to a Washington, D.C.-area escort service that prosecutors contend was a prostitution ring.
Republican White House contenders offered strong support for the military effort in Iraq but voiced qualms about the Bush administration’s management of the war during a quiet first debate on Thursda
Now that we’ve all had a chance to see the parade of wannabes from both sides of the political aisle stake out their so-called positions on the issues in two tightly-controlled, and endlessly boring, “debates” the only conclusion that any sane person can reach is “oh my God, we’re in a lot of trouble.”
By LEE BOWMAN
Although thousands of giant windmills are generating power at wind farms in 36 states, a new government-sponsored environmental study says more attention needs to be paid to potential impacts on wildlife and humans as new complexes are built.
Defiant Democratic leaders in the House are considering a proposal that would pay for the Iraq war at least through July but could cut off funding after that if the Iraqi government does not meet certain political and security goals, congressional officials said Thursday.