Baghdad urban legends: how come so many people think weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq, or that Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the September 11 attacks? Are the news media to blame?
Armed with at least the opportunity to have learned much about the war in Iraq--what with the months-long build-up, the up-close-and-embedded coverage, the pages upon pages of newsprint and hours upon hours of airtime--and prodded with multiple-choice and yes-or-no answers, the American public still fared poorly on current events...

Libya springs a surprise: Libya's announcement that it would allow WMD inspections was greeted with enthusiasm by the international community. But will it be enough to restart trade at the necessary levels?
Middle Eastern policies and principles often seem to be set in stone and most politicians waver only in the regularity and vehemence with which they express their well versed opinions. It was therefore a surprise to learn of Libya's admission that it had attempted to develop weapons of mass...

Rumsfeld's Iraq overture.
ITEM: A headline in the December 19, 2003 Washington Post proclaimed: "Rumsfeld Visited Baghdad in 1984 To Reassure Iraqis, Documents Show." A very telling subtitle added: "Trip Followed Criticism of Chemical Arms' Use." The article began: Donald H. Rumsfeld went to Baghdad in March 1984 with instructions...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - May 11 - Sanctions On Syria.
Pres. Bush signs the executive order imposing sweeping economic sanctions on Syria, banning almost all exports to the country in response for Syria's alleged pursuit of chemical and biological weapons and its support for terrorism. Pres. Bush said Syria's WMD activities and its undermining of Washington's Iraq policy made...

Navy chief talks tough on nukes.
NEW DELHI: The only way to "robustly"deter any threat of use of nuclear weapons in the neighbourhood is to ensure India's second-strike capability is not only "well-protected", but also "overwhelming devastating". "Nuclear deterrence lies in the adversary's mind. To deter someone, you must be able to convince...

Calibrant Biosystems Discloses Appointments to Its New Business Advisory Board.
HEALTH AND BEAUTY CLOSE-UP-21 August 2008-Calibrant Biosystems Discloses Appointments to Its New Business Advisory Board(C)2008 - CloseUpMedia - newsdesk@closeupmedia.com Calibrant Biosystems, engaged in the field of proteomics-based drug and biomarker discovery and development, announced the appointments of James Hawkins, PhD, MBA, Bethany Mancilla, MBA, and Douglas Swirsky,...

Battelle Wins Contract To Operate National Biodefense Analysis & Countermeasures Center.
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced today that Battelle National Biodefense Institute (BNBI) has been selected to manage the new National Biodefense Analysis & Countermeasures Center (NBACC), a Federally Funded Research and Development Center. The $250 million contract award includes...

Saddam no more, Iraq faces uncertain future.
Byline: Priti Patnaik & Sunny Verma NEW DELHI:; The Tigris, stood mute at the atrocities on its people by one of their own, Saddam Hussein, who pushed Iraq - the seat of the Mesopotamian civilisation - into throes of violence and factionalism. "My name is...

David Ray. The Death of Sardanapolus & Other Poems of the Iraq Wars.
David Ray. The Death of Sardanapolus & Other Poems of the Iraq Wars. Berthoud, CO: Howling Dog Press, 2006. A poet of acute honesty and conviction regarding the eco-political planet we call home, David Ray in his new volume of poems exposes layers of deception in order...

The changing military balance in the gulf.
The military build-up in the Gulf is now well over a quarter of a century old. It was first stimulated by World War II, and then given momentum by the Cold War, Nasserism, the fall of the Hashemite dynasty in Iraq, the Arab-Israeli War, British withdrawal from the Gulf,...