Two biological weapons experts who have read the letters said in interviews Friday that the letters suggested that the laboratory construction was at an early stage and that it would have most likely been at least two to three years, if not more, before the Qaeda team would have been able to produce enough anthrax to use as a weapon.
"Objects placed in orbit, if large enough, could be seen by people around the world for long periods of time," the FAA said in a regulatory filing, Reuters reports. "Large advertisements could destroy the darkness of the night sky."
On May 16, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan expressed outrage over Newsweek’s story that a U.S. military report was going to acknowledge that guards at the Guantanamo Bay detention center had tried to put a copy of the Quran down a toilet. "The report had real consequences. People have lost their lives," McClellan said. "Our image abroad has been damaged." The next day, after Newsweek had fully retracted the story, McClellan added that the magazine had a responsibility to "help repair the damage" to our reputation in the Muslim world.
Here are some articles that point out the irony in his statement:
While the British government hasn’t contradicted any of the points in the memo, a “former senior U.S. official” told Newsday that the memo is "an absolutely accurate description of what transpired." Meanwhile, the White House has remained predictably mum.
"The government has blocked the press from soldiers' funerals at Arlington National Cemetery. The government has prevented the press from taking pictures of the caskets that arrive day after day at the Dover Air Force Base military mortuary in Delaware, the world's largest funeral home. And the government, by inferring that citizens who question its justifications for this war are disloyal Americans, has intimidated a compliant press from making full use of pictures of the dead and wounded. Also worth noting: President Bush's latest rationale for the war is that he is trying to "spread democracy" through the world. He says these new democracies must have a "free press." Yet he says all this while continuing to restrict and limit the American press. There's a huge disconnect here."
Bobbie Faye Ferguson, a former NASA spokeswoman who appeared in the TV shows "Designing Women" and "The Dukes of Hazzard," was hired by the department in October to review script proposals and help Hollywood moviemakers portray homeland security operations on the silver screen.
"I am delighted to be back in Uzbekistan. I've just had a long and very interesting and helpful discussion with the president ... Uzbekistan is a key member of the coalition's global war on terror. And I brought the president the good wishes of President Bush and our appreciation for their stalwart support in the war on terror ... Our relationship is strong and has been growing stronger." - US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in Tashkent, February 2004
"We have had concerns about human rights in Uzbekistan," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan, "but we are concerned about the outbreak of violence, particularly by some members of a terrorist organization that were freed from prison." - White House spokesman Scott McClellan, May 2005
“The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world,” former First Lady Barbara Bush said, “I am advising the former president, the governor of Florida, and the president of the United States. I guess you could say I rule the world.” -Barbara Bush
“The first time I met George W. Bush, I knew he was different. Two things became very clear. One, he didn't know very much. The other was, he had the confidence to ask questions that revealed he didn't know very much.” -Richard Perle
“I think that gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman.” -Arnold Schwarzenegger
This week: A Yemeni national, considered Al-Qaeda’s No. 3, Haitham Al-Yemeni was killed by a missile fired from an unmanned CIA Predator aircraft in a mountain region near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
Last week: The Pakistani military, working with the U.S. military and U.S. intelligence, has captured Abu Farraj al-Libbi, considered Al-Qaeda's No. 3.
Maybe we can catch a new No. 3 guy every week! Let's Stay THAT Course!!!
The confidential source of the Koran toilet story now says he's "not sure" about it which was enough to cause Newsweek to apologize. The original story sparked riots which ended in death. But Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman had this to say:
A government commission studying overseas military bases sent Congress a report critical of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, then removed the document from the commission Web site after the Pentagon complained that it divulged classified information.
