The Letter That Launched a War

Incident 'source of pride,' says sculptor

(NEWSER) - A copper sculpture of a shoe with a bush growing from it has been unveiled in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit to honor the journalist who hurled his shoes at President Bush. TV reporter Muntadar al-Zeidi missed, but his action hit it off with some Iraqis. Artist Laith al-Amari insists his sofa-sized work is not political, but marks a "source of pride for all Iraqis." More»

Allawi had been appointed by US after Saddam's fall

(NEWSER) - The Iraqi prime minister installed by Washington after the fall of Saddam Hussein has blasted President Bush’s policies as an “utter failure,” Reuters reports. In an interview with an Arab newspaper, Iyad Allawi said Bush’s “insistence on names like ‘democracy’ and ‘open elections,’ without giving attention to political stability, was a big mistake” that prompted ruinous sectarian violence. More»

VP gave go ahead for 'remarkably successful' tactic

(NEWSER) - Vice President Dick Cheney personally approved using waterboarding to interrogate 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, he reveals in a wide-ranging interview on ABC News. "I was involved in helping get the process cleared. The agency came in and wanted to know what they could and couldn't do," said Cheney, referring to waterboarding and other controversial interrogation techniques. "They talked to me to explain what they wanted to do. And I supported it." More»

Iraqi docs cast doubt on al-Qaeda link and Bush, Sr. murder plot

(NEWSER) - The Pentagon has rifled through 600,000 pages of Iraqi intelligence docs and found no sign of:

• a plot to kill George Bush, Sr. in 1993.
• a Saddam Hussein-al-Qaeda link.
• a connection between Baghdad and Abdul Rahman Yasin, an alleged Sept. 11 plotter.

Bush says the war must be won

(NEWSER) - On the fifth anniversary of launching the shock-and-awe assault that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, President Bush will make a major speech at the Pentagon today, CNN reports. In excerpts from the speech he acknowledges that "the fight in Iraq was faltering," but praises the progress in the last year. "The surge has done more than turn the situation in Iraq around; it has opened the door to a major strategic victory in the broader war on terror." More»