Daily Read Board - 17JUN05

United States

U.S. Launches Major Operation in West Iraq - BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The U.S. military launched a major combat operation Friday, sending 1,000 Marines and Iraqi soldiers to hunt for insurgents and foreign fighters in a volatile western province straddling Syria.

Bush Seeks to Calm Anxieties About Iraq - WASHINGTON (AP) - Facing growing pressure to bring troops home from Iraq, President Bush is launching a public relations campaign to try to calm anxieties about the war.

Durbin rebuked on floor of Senate - WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Senate Armed Services Committee chairman yesterday accused Sen. Richard J. Durbin of insulting American soldiers with a "grievous error in judgment" by comparing U.S. treatment of al Qaeda suspects to the crimes of Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin and Pol Pot, and demanded that the Senate's No. 2 Democrat apologize.

White House Questions Trends in Iran - WASHINGTON (AP) - As Iranians choose a new president, the Bush administration is deploring anti-democratic trends in the country.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Charged With Murder - BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- The U.S. military charged a staff sergeant from the New York National Guard with murdering his two commanders at a base outside Baghdad, in what is believed to be the first case of an American soldier in Iraq accused of killing his superiors.

First Woman Gets Silver Star Since WWII - WASHINGTON (AP) -- A 23-year-old sergeant with the Kentucky National Guard on Thursday became the first female soldier to receive the Silver Star - the nation's third-highest medal for valor - since World War II.

International

EU to delay charter ratification - BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The embattled European Union said yesterday it will postpone the ratification of its troubled constitution beyond the previously set November 2006 deadline, but leaders failed to agree on whether to freeze the process for now.

Main Issues at the EU Summit - (AP) -- Main issues at the European Union summit Thursday and Friday.

Pact spares Saudis from nuke review - VIENNA, Austria -- The U.N. atomic agency yesterday signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia that exempts the kingdom from inspections of its nuclear facilities, a move that the United States, the European Union and Australia had resisted, agency officials said.

Iran Votes in Presidential Election - TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iranians voted Friday in a high-stakes election shaping up as the closest presidential race since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with young people disillusioned with the system run by clerics calling for an election boycott.

Profiles of Iran's Election Candidates - (AP) -- A who's who of candidates in Iranian elections.

Rulebook on Iranian Elections - (AP) -- A look at election rules in Iran.

Vietnam Leader Talks About U.S. Trip - HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Vietnam's prime minister said Friday that his groundbreaking trip to the United States next week will show that resentment over the Vietnam War is "behind us."

Peace Corps Suspends Haiti Operations - PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- The Peace Corps has suspended operations in Haiti and evacuated its 16 volunteers because of increasing violence, officials said Thursday, even as gunmen wounded two U.N. peacekeepers during a shootout in a slum.

Mexico Investigating Pakistani Suspect - MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico is investigating why a Pakistani national wanted by the United States for allegedly selling anti-aircraft missiles was in a beach community outside Tijuana, President Vicente Fox's spokesman said Thursday.

Thanks to Mudville Gazette and Outside the Beltway for open posts.