Saddam’s Files
Perhaps most revealing of all was a tape of Saddam’s conversations with his ministers after the World Trade Center bombing in February 1993–a plot linked to a group of Islamic radicals, including Abdul Rahman Yasin, an Iraqi-American who fled to Baghdad after the attack. For years Bush administration officials like Cheney and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz charged that Iraq had given “sanctuary” to Yasin, suggesting that the regime may have been complicit in the 1993 bombing. But the tape shows that Saddam and his ministers were puzzled by the bombing and wondered whether the “Zionists” or U.S. intelligence were secretly behind it.

US confident on increased NATO support in Afghanistan
The United States is confident NATO members will offer extra help for Afghanistan at their summit in Romania this week. Washington has been pushing its NATO allies to send more troops to Afghanistan and to lift restrictions on those already there to help combat a resurgent Taliban.

Bush backs Ukraine NATO bid
KIEV, Ukraine – President Bush on Tuesday vowed full support for Ukraine and Georgia’s NATO aspirations, saying Russia would have no veto over the ex-Soviet states’ membership bids.

Hayden Dismisses Waterboarding As ‘Uninteresting For The CIA,’ Calls Torture ‘A Legal Term’ (Think Progress)
According to a November 2007 CNN poll, 69 percent of the public believes waterboarding is a form of torture. But [Sunday] on Meet the Press, CIA director Michael Hayden was dismissive about whether the CIA’s waterboarding constitutes torture. “We have not waterboarded anyone in now over five years,” Hayden said, concluding that it is “an uninteresting question for the Central Intelligence Agency.” When asked about the broader issue of torture, Hayden referred to it as just a “legal term,” saying that the ongoing public discussion on “torture” per se tends to “cloud the debate”.
Click through to watch the video.

Hayden: Pakistan border poses danger
WASHINGTON – The situation in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan where al-Qaida has established a safe haven presents a “clear and present danger” to the West, the CIA director said Sunday.
Be afraid, Americans, be very afraid, so that you will be sure to vote Republican.

Al-Qaeda grooming ‘western-looking’ militants: CIA
CIA director Michael Hayden said al-Qaeda was training operatives who “look western” and could enter the United States undetected to conduct terrorist attacks.
Be afraid, Americans, be very afraid, so that you will be sure to vote Republican.

Weaponizing the Pentagon’s Cyborg Insects (by Nick Turse, posted at Tomgram, The Nation)
Biological weapons delivered by cyborg insects. It sounds like a nightmare scenario straight out of the wilder realms of science fiction, but it could be a reality, if a current Pentagon project comes to fruition. Right now, researchers are already growing insects with electronics inside them… These cyborg insects could conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions on distant battlefields, in far-off caves, or maybe even in cities closer to home, and transmit detailed data back to their handlers at U.S. military bases. Today, many people fear U.S. government surveillance of email and cell phone communications. With this program, the Pentagon aims to exponentially increase the paranoia.

Laser plane could destroy tanks from 10 miles
The United States Defence Department has developed a prototype of an aircraft armed with a laser gun that could destroy tanks 10 miles away.
I hope that laser is smarter than our smart bombs.  They seem to kill indiscriminately.

GAO Blasts Weapons Budget
Government auditors issued a scathing review yesterday of dozens of the Pentagon’s biggest weapons systems, saying ships, aircraft and satellites are billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule. The Government Accountability Office found that 95 major systems have exceeded their original budgets by a total of $295 billion, bringing their total cost to $1.6 trillion, and are delivered almost two years late on average.

Pentagon to seek death penalty for Africa embassy bomber
A Pentagon prosecutor filed death penalty charges Monday against a Tanzanian man currently held at Guantánamo, alleging he helped amass dynamite and other supplies for the 1998 al Qaida suicide bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Audit raps NASA for handling of survey
NASA shut down a massive air-safety survey project without ever properly evaluating, explaining or publicizing its purpose and results, and thus lost a chance for valuable insight into safety issues, the space agency’s inspector general said Monday.

CIA leak inquiry cost $2.58 million
WASHINGTON – The CIA leak probe cost $2.58 million, the Government Accountability Office disclosed Monday, wrapping up an investigation that ensnared Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff for perjury, obstruction and lying to the FBI.
Whitewater, if you’ll recall, cost more than $70 million.  And no wrongdoing by the Clintons in the Whitewater deal was ever found.

Treasury pushes sweeping change; Dems say more needed
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Monday unveiled the most sweeping proposal to revamp the nation’s financial regulatory system since the Great Depression. How much of it is enacted, however, will depend greatly on the political will of the next administration and the next Congress.

Congress has big questions for Big Oil
WASHINGTON – Big Oil is once again being called on the carpet. Senior executives of the five largest U.S. oil companies were to appear before a congressional committee Tuesday where they were likely to find frustrated lawmakers in no mood for small talk.

Democrats seek foreclosure relief
WASHINGTON – While senators realize they need to address the nation’s housing-related economic crisis, Democrats and Republicans are divided over how to tackle the issue.

Supreme Court Won’t Intervene In Jefferson Raid Case
In a big win for Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), the Supreme Court today refused to take up a Justice Department request to overturn an appeals court ruling that the FBI’s May 20, 2006, raid of Jefferson’s office was unconstitutional.
Jefferson is bad news, and he’s probably guilty, but this office raid worried me a lot.

DOJ: Jefferson prosecution will proceed
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to step into a high-stakes legal fight between the Justice Department and indicted Rep. William Jefferson over the unprecedented raid on the lawmaker’s Capitol Hill office.
If they didn’t screw up the prosecution by raiding his office.

Court agrees to take 2 free speech cases
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to step into two free speech cases, one involving a church that wants to place a religious monument in a park and the other on payroll deductions for labor union political activity.

Clinton says Obama wants to stop votes
HARRISBURG, Pa. – Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton accused rival Sen. Barack Obama and his allies of trying to stop people from voting as some of his backers have called on her to drop out of the presidential race.

Pelosi says Democratic race should go on
WASHINGTON – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the superdelegates who may ultimately decide the Democratic party’s presidential nominee have a right to vote as they wish, and that the drawn-out contest between candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama should be allowed to reach its conclusion.
Hey, thanks, Queen Nancy, we appreciate your flip flop on this.

Clinton criticizes proposed Fed overhaul
HARRISBURG, Pa. – Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday criticized the Bush administration’s plan to overhaul regulation of U.S. financial institutions, saying the proposal “comes late and falls short.”

Texans Seek to Strip Scientology of Religious Designation (by Jonathan Turley)
There is a growing clamor on the Internet over an effort by some Texans to strip Scientology of its status as a religion — a move that would expose the Church of Scientology to both taxes and greater regulation. This move occurs as various countries continue to move against the Church and the Church is threatening lawsuits over the disclosure of confidential tapes and materials. Most recently, Wikileaks has made available the entire secret Operating Thetan (OT) documents — a move that could trigger another round of litigation by the Church. The move in Texas would obviously trigger a serious constitutional fight.

Cash-strapped police using civilians to respond to 911 calls, other tasks
Facing tighter budgets, law enforcement agencies across the country are increasingly turning to civilians to respond to some calls that sworn officers and deputies are usually responsible for. That means people calling 911 to report a traffic accident, a burglarized home or a stolen car may be greeted by a civilian in a polo shirt instead of a gun-toting officer.

Texas Prosecutes Little Old Ladies for Voter Fraud
State’s Attorney General has prosecuted Democrats who help seniors vote by mail while ignoring documented Republican ballot box stuffing.