Docudharma Times Thursday Nov. 1

This is an Open Thread: Free Speech Lives

USA

From the Desk of Donald Rumsfeld . . .

In Sometimes-Brusque ‘Snowflakes,’ He Shared Worldview, Shaped Policy

By Robin Wright

Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, November 1, 2007; Page A01

In a series of internal musings and memos to his staff, then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld argued that Muslims avoid “physical labor” and wrote of the need to “keep elevating the threat,” “link Iraq to Iran” and develop “bumper sticker statements” to rally public support for an increasingly unpopular war.

The memos, often referred to as “snowflakes,” shed light on Rumsfeld’s brusque management style and on his efforts to address key challenges during his tenure as Pentagon chief. Spanning from 2002 to shortly after his resignation following the 2006 congressional elections, a sampling of his trademark missives obtained yesterday reveals a defense secretary disdainful of media criticism and driven to reshape public opinion of the Iraq war.

Blackwater Mounts a Defense With Top Talent From Capital

By JOHN M. BRODER and JAMES RISEN

Published: November 1, 2007

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 – Blackwater Worldwide, its reputation in tatters and its lucrative government contracts in jeopardy, is mounting an aggressive legal, political and public relations counterstrike.

It has hired a bipartisan stable of big-name Washington lawyers, lobbyists and press advisers, including the public relations powerhouse Burson-Marsteller, which was brought in briefly, but at a critical moment, to help Blackwater’s chairman, Erik D. Prince, prepare for his first Congressional hearing.

Blackwater for a time retained Kenneth D. Starr, the former Whitewater independent counsel, and Fred F. Fielding, who is now the White House counsel, to help handle suits filed by the families of slain Blackwater employees.

Democrats’ resistance to Mukasey grows

Two more Democratic senators say they will not support his nomination as attorney general when the committee votes on it Tuesday.

By Richard B. Schmitt, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

November 1, 2007

WASHINGTON — Opposition among Democrats to Michael B. Mukasey’s nomination as attorney general grew Wednesday, heightening the intrigue surrounding a confirmation that once seemed assured.

In sometimes passionate debate on the Senate floor, two more Democrats on the judiciary committee, Assistant Majority Leader Richard J. Durbin of Illinois and Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, said they would vote against Mukasey when the committee took up his nomination Tuesday.

Though praising Mukasey as a desirable alternative to predecessor Alberto R. Gonzales, both men said they could not support his nomination to lead the Justice Department because of his continuing refusal to pass what has become a litmus test for Democrats in the nomination debate: declaring that an interrogation method known as water-boarding is not only repugnant but illegal.

Middle East

Iraqi civilian deaths plunge

U.S. credits troop buildup, but residents and observers say homogenization has brought relative calm.

By Ned Parker, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

November 1, 2007

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s civilian body count in October was less than half that at its height in January, reflecting both the tactical successes of this year’s U.S. troop buildup and the lasting impact of waves of sectarian death squad killings, car bombings and neighborhood purges.

October also marked the lowest monthly death toll for American troops, 36 fatalities, since March 2006, when 31 were killed, according to icasualties.org.

American commanders credit the buildup, which reached full strength in June, with slowing sectarian bloodshed.

Pressure increased on PKK rebels

Turkey, Iraq and the US have all taken steps to combat the threat of Kurdish fighters based in northern Iraq and defuse the crisis in the region.

The Turkish government has announced economic sanctions against groups which support those responsible for a recent upsurge in attacks on Turkish soldiers.

Ahmadinejad Says Europe Risks Iran Ties Over Nuclear Dispute

By Ladane Nasseri

Nov. 1 (Bloomberg) — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said European nations risk damaging their ties with Iran by supporting the U.S. in the dispute over his country’s nuclear program. If you want to cooperate with our enemy, we won’t be able to react in a friendly manner any more,” Ahmadinejad said today. “Until when do you want to play the card for the selfishness of an aggressive government?” He didn’t name any countries.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has clearly stated that there is no proof Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons, the president said while visiting a petrochemical complex in Assaluyeh, southern Iran.

Europe

Papers show Churchill’s Cabinet battles

LONDON – Winston Churchill had bitter disputes with his Cabinet during the Cold War about building the hydrogen bomb and conducting private diplomacy with the Soviet Union – even threatening to resign at one point, declassified documents showed Thursday.

The aging British prime minister threatened to quit in 1954 in order to quell a revolt by Cabinet ministers, angered at his high-handed leadership style, according to Cabinet notebooks released by the National Archives

Mass murderers jailed for 40 years as judge delivers verdicts on Spain’s 9/11

A Spanish court convicted three men of mass murder yesterday for their part in the 2004 Madrid train bombings, but one of the alleged ringleaders was acquitted.

At the end of a four-month trial, 21 of the 28 defendants were convicted on at least one charge for their role in Europe’s worst Islamist attack, in which 191 people were killed and more than 1,800 injured when bombs hidden in duffle bags ripped through four crowded commuter trains.

Latin America

Tropical Storm Noel heads toward Bahamas

PIEDRA BLANCA, Dominican Republic – Tropical Storm Noel buffeted south Florida with high surf and winds as it swirled slowly toward the Bahamas Thursday after triggering mudslides and floods in the Caribbean that killed at least 81 people.

Forecasters warned of worsening storm conditions in the Bahamas later in the day, and the government issued a hurricane watch for the northwestern parts of the archipelago. On Andros Island, the chain’s largest, boat owners tied their vessels down ahead of the storm.

Fears grow for 150,000 people as flood chaos hits Mexico

Jo Tuckman in Mexico City

Thursday November 1, 2007

The Guardian

Tens of thousands of people have fled to shelters in south-eastern Mexico after the worst floods in living memory in the area destroyed their homes and harvests. The authorities say the floods are expected to get worse.

Rooftops peeked above the water yesterday in the city of Villahermosa, capital of the state of Tabasco, which has been the worst hit by the catastrophe. Vast swaths of agricultural land throughout the state were under water. Some of the giant nine-metre stone heads carved by America’s first great civilisation, the Olmecs, were only half visible at the La Venta archaeological site.

Africa

Where Sudan Is Booming

Sudan is infamously mired in civil conflict in its western region Darfur. But for nearly two years now, the country’s 10 southern provinces have begun to emerge from their own 20-year war with the central government in Khartoum that left the territory physically ravaged but in possession of oil, minerals, wildlife and forests. With its capital in the city of Juba, south Sudan, a semi-autonomous region with 6 million residents, now has an annual budget of $1.2 billion and is in possession of most of Sudan’s oil reserves. Foreign investors are clamoring to get in. But oil is both promise and danger; Khartoum may not be willing to release its grip on such a resource-rich region. A few weeks ago, Juba’s representatives walked out of the national coalition government over the issue of the control of shared oil revenues. While talks are continuing, there are fears of a renewal of war.

French families tell of motives for signing up with agency at centre of Chad abduction inquiry

Angelique Chrisafis in Paris

Thursday November 1, 2007

The Guardian

Bertrande Allemand, a clown who entertains sick children in hospitals in rural France, describes herself as someone who wants to ease the suffering in the world. So when a friend told her about a French aid association planning to evacuate hundreds of Darfur orphans and place them with families in France, she went online and signed up.

Unable to afford the standard requested donation of around €2,000 (£1,400), she petitioned friends and local businesses to donate to the charity direct. She scraped together the €90 joining fee, went to meetings in Paris and prepared to decorate a bedroom for the orphan who she imagined would be aged five.

Asia

Japan halts Indian Ocean mission

TOKYO – Japan’s defense minister ordered ships supporting U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan to return home Thursday after opposition lawmakers refused to support an extension of the mission, saying it violated the country’s pacifist constitution.

The move is not expected to have a major impact on the U.S. operations, though American officials have urged Tokyo to maintain its commitment. Despite the setback, Japan’s Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda vowed to pass legislation that would let Japan to take on at least a more limited role in fighting terrorism in the region.

Sri Lankan jets bomb Tiger territory, 14 rebels said killed

COLOMBO (AFP) – Sri Lankan war planes bombed a suspected Tamil Tiger training facility inside rebel-held territory as ground troops killed at least 14 rebels in two clashes, the defence ministry said.

Jets attacked a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) training centre in the northeastern coastal district of Mullaitivu, the ministry said, adding that “pilots confirm that the LTTE terrorist training camp was severely damaged.”