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Stunning testimony has emerged from one of the guys at the heart of the Abu Ghraib
prison abuse scandal...Spec. Jeremy C. Sivits, one of the seven members of the 372nd
Military Police Company facing charges in the case, has issued a detailed statement on
what he says took place there...He severally implicated Military Police Cpl. Charles
A. Graner who was just charged by the Army today in connection to the scandal
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040514/D82IDPU80.html We'll talk to his lawyer, Guy
Womack, and get his reaction to the charges...
The other big story is the unfolding tale of Nick Berg, his horrible death, the men
who did it to him and what he was doing in Iraq prior to his kidnapping...Why was he
detained by Iraqi authorities in March? Why was his e-mail account password stolen by
Zacharias Moussaoui (the so called "20th hijacker" of 9/11)? Was he or wasn't he in
U.S. custody? Shuster's working up a package and we'll also get Saudi Arabian
reaction from Adel Al-Jubeir (a foreign policy advisor to Crown Prince Abdullah)
We'll do the political angle with Howard & Dana Priest from the Post...Lots of fat to
chew on there...
Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited from Washington, DC
MP in scandal offers to plead guilty...One of the military police officers charged in
the abuse scandal at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison has offered to plead guilty and has
provided military investigators with a detailed account of how guards humiliated and
beat detainees, in one case hitting a prisoner so hard he became unconscious. (The
Washington Post) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4973710/
Gertz: The CIA concluded yesterday that the hooded terrorist shown beheading an
American civilian in a videotape is al Qaeda-linked terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi.
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040513-113319-4327r.htm
Balz Analysis: Bad Signs For Bush In History, Numbers...Approval Rating Is Lowest of
His Term "...Republican pollster Bill McInturff said presidents can win reelection
even if a majority of voters say the country is heading in the wrong direction, as
they do now. He said he believes the public's mood will brighten if Iraq ceases to
dominate the news as it has for the past month." (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A25367-2004May13?language=printer
A growing majority of voters are unhappy with the way things are going in Iraq, but
that is not helping Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, who trails or
is statistically tied with President Bush in most surveys. (The Washington Times)
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040513-113307-9110r.htm
Beheading victim loved 'adventure'...His driver says, 'He never listened to anyone'
(The Washington Post) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4973713/
Nick Berg, the young American beheaded by terrorists in Iraq, had an earlier encounter
with a Muslim fanatic - and inadvertently provided accused 9/11 al Qaeda operative
Zacarias Moussaoui with his e-mail password. (NY Post)
http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/20901.htm
The father of Nick Berg, the Pennsylvania contractor beheaded in Iraq, on Thursday
directly blamed President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for his son's
death. (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=5136519
Iraq's bin Laden? Zarqawi's rise...CIA says the Jordanian-born terrorist leader is the
person shown beheading a US civilian on video. (CS Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0514/p03s01-usfp.html
Hezbollah, Hamas denounce beheading...Saudi Arabia, UAE also weigh in with
condemnations (AP) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4971314/
Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States condemned as "criminal and inhuman" the
decapitation in Iraq (news - web sites) of American Nicholas Berg. (AP)
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040513/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saudi_berg_1
U.S. tanks charge into Najaf center...The golden dome of the Shrine of Imam Ali, one
of the most sacred sites for Shiite Muslims, was hit by what appeared to be four
gunshots amid fierce fighting Friday between U.S. soldiers and militiamen loyal to
radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4899904/
Gunmen believed loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr attacked the headquarters of
the U.S.-led coalition in Nasiriyah on Friday, trapping some international staffers
inside, coalition officials said (AP)
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040514/D82IF2B01.html
The United States is quietly pressing its allies to send more troops to Iraq, but it's
getting a lukewarm response amid escalating violence and public outcry over the abuse
of Iraqi prisoners. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040514/D82IF9BO0.html
Presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry viewed photographs depicting abuse of Iraqi
prisoners in U.S. custody after making an unexpected visit to the Capitol to gain a
full understanding of the allegations, an aide said Friday. (AP)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4979070/
Republicans believe that Democrats, who have used reports of Iraqi prisoner abuse as
an avenue to attack President Bush on the war, might be overplaying their hand -
especially in light of the videotaped slaughter of an American businessman by al Qaeda
terrorists. (The Washington Times)
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040513-113302-4465r.htm
U.S. says will leave Iraq if asked...L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator, told
regional officials Friday that the United States would leave Iraq if requested to do
so by the new government - although he thinks such a move is unlikely.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4978361/
Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will cost more than $50 billion next year, a top Defense
Department official told Congress Thursday in the Bush administration's clearest
description yet of the conflicts' price tags. (AP)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-05-13-war-costs_x.htm
President Bush on Thursday told a receptive audience of conservatives that he is
committed to bringing democracy and stability to Iraq despite increased violence
against Americans and concerns over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers.
(AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040514/D82I19881.html
Trying to showcase the softer side of his political agenda while banking more money
for the Republican Party, President Bush is highlighting religion-oriented initiatives
aimed at helping the poor. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040514/D82IDO401.html
More than 300 inmates leave Abu Ghraib prison...Scheduled release follows visit by
Rumsfeld (AP) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4975021/
If U.S. Sen. John Kerry has his way, the certain Democratic presidential nominee will
get campaign help from former President Clinton. (Arkansas News Bureau)
http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2004/05/14/News/204450.html
If the Democratic primary was also a tryout for potential vice presidential picks,
some candidates probably would be better off if they had never started their quixotic
bids. (AP) http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/politics/8664016.htm
Al-Qaida allegedly aiding Iraq insurgents...Statement posted on militant Web sites
(Reuters) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4976579/
Kerry Sanders: Inside U.S. military interrogator training...Top-secret, 16-week course
teaches what can, cannot be done http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4972114/
Report: 9/11 workers brave amid chaos...Heroic efforts hampered by communication
mix-ups (AP) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4978372/
Some news organizations have relegated the beheading of American contractor Nicholas
Berg to a second-tier story behind repetitive accounts of Iraqi prisoner abuse. (The
Washington Times) http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040513-113306-6795r.htm
Vanity Fair Editor-in-Chief Graydon Carter has a new headache. Dominick Dunne, one of
his most famed writers in the Vanity Fair stable, is being accused by a woman of
paying her to lie for some of his stories. (NY Post)
http://www.nypost.com/business/20834.htm
Opinion/Editorial
Craig Crawford swoons for Kerry-McCain ticket
http://www.cq.com/corp/show.do?page=crawford/crawford_current
Senator Joe Lieberman: 'Let Us Have Faith'...Why Rumsfeld must stay.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110005079
Failing To Recognize Failure...Why does the president still trust Rumsfeld's judgment?
http://slate.msn.com/default.aspx?id=2100410
The Washington Times: If they do that with a knife . . .If you have not yet seen the
video of Nicholas Berg's beheading, you have not fully experienced the passions of the
nation's enemies nor, perhaps, your own patriotic passion for victory. It is a
horrific event, but one from which Americans should not avert their eyes.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20040513-085447-2232r.htm
Saletan: Are the American soldiers who abused Iraqi inmates at Abu Ghraib prison "a
few who have betrayed our values," as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says? Or are
they victims of a prison system guaranteed to produce atrocities?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4964978/
Doonesbury http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/
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