If the occupation will end but American troops will remain, just what does it mean to say that Iraq will have -full sovereignty?- That-s just one of the questions left unanswered by President Bush in the first of a series of speeches leading up to the transfer of power at the end of next month. The President did not break new ground last night, but he did lay out a 5-point plan with his overriding objective to achieve his goals in Iraq. Neither did he clarify the meaning of -full sovereignty," the devilish details of which are being discussed at the UN Security Council, where the US and Britain have introduced a new resolution designed to get international support for the President-s plan. Warren Olney finds out how it looks at the UN and to Iraqis, and hears senior officers debate the prospects for military success. - Making News: Prestigious Think-Tank says al Qaeda Still Strong
Despite international efforts in the war on terror, al Qaeda still has more than 18,000 potential terrorists, and its ranks are growing, partly because of the conflict in Iraq. That-s according to the International Institute of Strategic Studies, a highly respected British think-tank. Terry Taylor, president and executive director of the US office, assesses al Qaeda's current strength and strategies. - Reporter's Notebook: The Feds' Flawed Fingerprint Forensics
In a rare gesture, the FBI has apologized to an attorney and Muslim convert, arrested in Portland, Oregon, who was accused of involvement in terrorist bombings in Spain. Brandon Mayfield says he-s the victim of discrimination against Muslims, but he's also the victim of faulty fingerprint technology. Allan Bayle, former senior forensic official at New Scotland Yard, expounds on ridgeology and the FBI's faulty forensics.
AFP article on latest IISS study, al Qaeda
President Bush's Iraq sovereignty plan
US-UK resolution on Iraqi sovereignty
UN Resolution 1511 on the situation between Iraq and Kuwait (2003)