The Guardian:
The long-awaited inquiry into one of the most contentious decisions taken by a British government in modern times opens tomorrow, with the task of uncovering how and why the country went to war against Iraq.The former Whitehall mandarin Sir John Chilcot faces a formidable test as chairman of a five-member team appointed by (Read More)
New York Times:
The documents have revealed animosity among senior British officers toward U.S. military commanders in the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq.
. (Read More)
The Guardian:
• FSA chairman: 'Markets are not always wise'• Lord Turner tells CBI conference UK economy is stabilisingLord Turner, a former director general of the CBI, attacked the current head of the employers' body for refusing to concede that parts of the City were "socially useless".Now chairman of the Financial Services Authority, (Read More)
The Guardian:
Panel members criticised for lacking legal expertise to tackle key issueThe Chilcot inquiry is incapable of addressing the key issue of whether the invasion of Iraq was legal, senior judicial figures have said, adding to the controversy surrounding the inquiry's legitimacy.The inquiry into one of the most contentious politi (Read More)
The Guardian:
1 What assurances did Tony Blair give George Bush about Britain's involvement in the war with Iraq?The overriding factor that took Britain into war is a crucial secret the Chilcot inquiry could unlock. Key could be what assurances Tony Blair gave George Bush in a series of bilateral meetings, notably at the president's ranc (Read More)
The Guardian:
A Pakistani neuroscientist and mother of three is to stand trial in New York for attempted murder. But shadowy questions about her life remain – including her links to al-Qaida and her five 'lost' yearsOn a hot summer morning 18 months ago a team of four Americans – two FBI agents and two army officers – rolled into Ghazni, (Read More)
The Guardian:
• Barack Obama to announce target in next three weeks• Figure to be provisional in nature, officials sayThe White House said today it would go to the Copenhagen climate change summit with a proposed target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions after facing international pressure to commit to stronger action on climate chang (Read More)
The Guardian:
The White House called the vote in the Senate historic. And yet within hours of the move to begin a full debate on healthcare legislation, the delicate patchwork of political deals that led to the vote began to unravel. Senators, whose votes were crucial to avoid a Republican filibuster, peeled off into the television studi (Read More)
observer.guardian.co.uk:
• Dominique Strauss-Kahn says it is too early to abandon stimulus measures• IMF managing director softens his opposition to the Tobin tax at the CBI annual conferenceThe head of the International Monetary Fund has warned that the global economy is still in a "highly fragile" state following the financial crisis, and could f (Read More)
The Guardian:
By attacking the Houthi rebels of Yemen, Riyadh is ill-advisedly turning up the heat on the region's cold warA crucially important conflict, woefully under-reported in the west, has now come to a head in the Middle East. In response to an ongoing fight that could spill out beyond the Arabian peninsula, Saudi Arabia has ente (Read More)
The Guardian:
The classic colonial practice of doling out cash to insurgents is even less likely to be effective in Afghanistan than it was in IraqSo now we know the secret weapon of the the new western plan to pacify Afghanistan: cash. As President Obama prepares to announce the expected dispatch of tens of thousands more troops to Amer (Read More)
MSNBC.com: Europe:
A panel investigating Britain's role in the Iraq war begins questioning witnesses this week in an inquiry that critics hope will expose alleged deception in the buildup to conflict.
Iraq - Iraq War - Warfare and Conflict - Britain - Tony Blair. (Read More)
washingtonpost.com - Letters to the Editor:
The core flaw in Michael Gerson's criticism of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.'s decision to try Guantanamo detainees in the United States is captured in the columnist's statement that "the guilt of these terrorists is not in question" ["Holder's trials and errors," op-ed, Nov. 18]. Mr. Gerson's comment echoes the Quee (Read More)
observer.guardian.co.uk:
Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg debate the economy and business at the CBI conference in London11.27am: Finally, an announcement: an international investment conference in London next year. Some polite applause and then time for questions.11.23am: Big section on Europe from Brown. Another challenge to Cameron, wh (Read More)
The Guardian:
There's a lot of dispute about whether "medmal" reform really produces significant cost control. I'm told that in Michigan, where these reforms are law, it hasn't really changed much. Last month, at the request of Orrin Hatch, the CBO issued a report on estimated savings of a medmal reform package that would cap real damage (Read More)