Many Iraq War Vets are coming home with cancer; AP data show increased violence
in Iraq since the beginning of the surge; undersecretary of defense under investigation;
James Carroll on the outsourcing of intelligence; Paul Krugman on health care
for children; terror database leads to few arrests; Obama's plan for rebuilding
New Orleans; and more ... Browse our continually updating front page at http://www.truthout.org
t r u t h o u t | 08.27
Cancer in Iraq Vets Points to Toxic Exposure
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082707J.shtml
The Arizona Daily Star is reporting there are many soldiers returning from
Iraq with cancer. Carla McClain writes: "The prime suspect in all this,
in the minds of many victims - and some scientists - is what's known as depleted
uranium - the radioactive chemical prized by the military for its ability to
penetrate armored vehicles. When munitions explode, the substance hits the
air as fine dust, easily inhaled."
Data Show No Surge in Safety in Iraq So Far in 2007
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082707K.shtml
The Associated Press reports the "US troop buildup has brought violence
in Baghdad down from peak levels, but the death toll from sectarian attacks
nationwide is running nearly double the year-ago pace. Some of the recent bloodshed
appears to be the result of militants drifting into northern Iraq, where they
have fled after US-led offensives. Baghdad, however, still accounts for slightly
more than half of all war-related killings - the same percentage as a year
ago, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press."
Pentagon Official Is Under Investigation
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082707L.shtml
Molly Hennessy-Fiske, of the Los Angeles Times, reports "a Bush political
appointee and former Silicon Valley executive who has faced opposition in his
bid to bail out Iraq's struggling factories is under investigation by the Defense
Department on mismanagement allegations. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Paul
A. Brinkley, who heads an economic task force in Baghdad, is accused of mismanaging
government money and engaging in public drunkenness and sexual harassment,
a Defense Department spokesman said last week."
James Carroll | Outsourcing Intelligence
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082707M.shtml
James Carroll, of the Boston Globe, writes: "The Ways in which the Bush
war has degraded the structures and culture of Iraq are obvious. Less so are
its insidious effects on the United States, but President Bush is similarly
destroying something essential to our own democracy. A signal of that was sounded
last week when The Washington Post reported that the Defense Intelligence Agency
is transferring 'core intelligence tasks of analysis and collection' to private
contractors."
Paul Krugman | A Socialist Plot
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082707N.shtml
The New York Times's Paul Krugman writes: "The truth is that there's no
difference in principle between saying that every American child is entitled
to an education and saying that every American child is entitled to adequate
health care. It's just a matter of historical accident that we think of access
to free K-12 education as a basic right, but consider having the government
pay children's medical bills 'welfare,' with all the negative connotations
that go with that term. And conservative opposition to giving every child in
this country access to health care is, in a fundamental sense, un-American."
US Terror Database Leads to Few Arrests
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082707O.shtml
Agence France-Presse reports the "US government's terrorist screening
database flagged Americans and foreigners as suspected terrorists almost 20,000
times last year, but only a small fraction of those questioned were arrested
or denied entry into the United States, it was reported Saturday. The Washington
Post said these numbers were raising concerns among critics about privacy and
the list's effectiveness."
Obama Outlines Plan to Help New Orleans
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082707P.shtml
The Associated Press reports: "Democrat Barack Obama said Sunday the country
cannot fail New Orleans again and that as president, he would keep the city
in mind every day. 'The words never again cannot be another empty phrase,'
he said in front of one of the few rebuilt houses he saw on a brief tour of
the city's Gentilly Woods section. 'It cannot become another broken promise.'"
