Losing Interest in Iraq

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The -interim government- made Iraq less prominent in American media than it was during the days of the Coalition Provisional Authority. Yet, today, once again, Iraq is leading the news. The governor of Najaf has cleared the way for military operations around the Shrine of Imam Ali, the holiest place in Shiite Islam, where US officials say the Mehdi Army of Muqtada al-Sadr is holed up. Al-Sadr is being called -a major test" for the new Iraqi regime, despite those he-s vowed to -fight to the death- being mostly American and even though Prime Minister Iyad Allawi was installed by the US. Warren Olney considers the transfer of power and impact of continuing violence for the presidential campaign with journalists in Iraq, foreign policy analysts, an expert on media and international affairs, and a member of the Clinton National Security Council. Making News: Pakistan Upset that US Leaked Arrest of Naeem Noor Khan US officials justified raising last week's terror alert in New York and Washington by revealing Pakistan-s capture of Naeem Noor Khan, a computer expert with ties to Osama bin Laden. Now, authorities in Lahore complain that leaking that information has disrupted their efforts to track down al Qaeda operatives all over the world. Najam Sethi, contributor to Britain's Economist and editor of Pakistan's Friday Times, elaborates. Reporter's Notebook: 30th Anniversary of Nixon Resignation On August 9, 1974, Richard Nixon became the first president in American history to resign from office. It-s often said that Watergate destroyed the -imperial presidency,- strengthened the Congress and made the media a more powerful institution. But Stephen Hess, who served on the White House staffs of Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon and was an advisor to Presidents Ford and Carter, has a contrary view.
The -interim government- made Iraq less prominent in American media than it was during the days of the Coalition Provisional Authority. Yet, today, once again, Iraq is leading the news. The governor of Najaf has cleared the way for military operations around the Shrine of Imam Ali, the holiest place in Shiite Islam, where US officials say the Mehdi Army of Muqtada al-Sadr is holed up. Al-Sadr is being called -a major test" for the new Iraqi regime, despite those he-s vowed to -fight to the death- being mostly American and even though Prime Minister Iyad Allawi was installed by the US. Warren Olney considers the transfer of power and impact of continuing violence for the presidential campaign with journalists in Iraq, foreign policy analysts, an expert on media and international affairs, and a member of the Clinton National Security Council.
  • Making News: Pakistan Upset that US Leaked Arrest of Naeem Noor Khan
    US officials justified raising last week's terror alert in New York and Washington by revealing Pakistan-s capture of Naeem Noor Khan, a computer expert with ties to Osama bin Laden. Now, authorities in Lahore complain that leaking that information has disrupted their efforts to track down al Qaeda operatives all over the world. Najam Sethi, contributor to Britain's Economist and editor of Pakistan's Friday Times, elaborates.
  • Reporter's Notebook: 30th Anniversary of Nixon Resignation
    On August 9, 1974, Richard Nixon became the first president in American history to resign from office. It-s often said that Watergate destroyed the -imperial presidency,- strengthened the Congress and made the media a more powerful institution. But Stephen Hess, who served on the White House staffs of Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon and was an advisor to Presidents Ford and Carter, has a contrary view.

NPR feature on the Shrine of Ali

UN Security Council Resolution 1546 on Iraq

United Nations on Iraq

Poll by the Coalition Provisional Authority on public opinion in Iraq

Oxford International Research's Iraq surveys (includes Kurdish areas)

Zogby Poll of Iraqis on Iraq

National Archives on Nixon

Richard Nixon Presidential Library

Tom Wicker's One of Us: Richard Nixon and the American Dream

Bob Woodward's Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate

Credits

Host:

Warren Olney