The war over the invasion of Kuwait ended on February 26, 1991, with the oil-rich emirate liberated and Iraq devastated.

Since then Iraq has come under sporadic attack from US and British warplanes deployed in the Gulf to the south and Turkey in the north.

Since December, 1998, Iraq stepped up its defiance of the no-fly zones (which are NOT supported by any UN resolutions) after the United States and Britain launched a four-day bombing campaign to punish it for expelling United Nations arms inspectors charged with eliminating Baghdad's weapons of mass destruction.

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has ruled out any negotiation with Afghanistan's ruling Taleban as he prepares to fly to meet US President George Bush in Washington.

Ahead of his Concorde flight to America on Wednesday, Mr Blair used a US television interview to say the campaign against terror needed efforts to "win people's hearts and minds" as well as military action.

Speaking on CNN's Larry King Live on Tuesday, the prime minister said the Taleban had "virtually merged" with the al-Qaeda terror group.

Mr Blair, who faced Arab hostility to the bombing in Afghanistan first hand last week, argued the international coalition assembled since the US terror attacks remained "remarkably strong".

Praise for Bush

Tens of thousands of people worldwide have taken to the streets to stage the latest series of demonstrations against the conflict in Iraq.

There have been rallies in Australia and New Zealand, the Middle East and Asia, while in the US marches are planned in Washington and other major cities.

Demonstrations are also being held in Paris, Brussels and London, where protesters gathered in the city's Hyde Park for an afternoon of speeches.

Some protests turned violent. In Brussels riot police tried to prevent protesters who hurled rocks and sticks at the US embassy from getting too close to the building, later using water cannon on a small number who split from the main protest.

07/16/04 "Sydney Morning Herald'

Iyad Allawi, the new Prime Minister of Iraq, pulled a pistol and executed as many as six suspected insurgents at a Baghdad police station, just days before Washington handed control of the country to his interim government, according to two people who allege they witnessed the killings. 

They say the prisoners - handcuffed and blindfolded - were lined up against a wall in a courtyard adjacent to the maximum-security cell block in which they were held at the Al-Amariyah security centre, in the city's south-western suburbs. 

They say Dr Allawi told onlookers the victims had each killed as many as 50 Iraqis and they "deserved worse than death".

Horrific images have been shown today(Saturday 22nd March) on the Arabic satellite channel Aljazeera of the victims of U.S. bombardment of Al-Basra and the positions of two Islamic groups in Iraq's Kurdistan.

The Al-Basra victims, 50 of whom have met their death while more than a hundred have been wounded, were all civilians. It is extremely worrying that these reports and images, which have been carried out or shown on Aljazeera TV and are posted on the Aljazeera website: (http://www.aljazeera.net/news/arabic/2003/3/3-22-26.htm) have not been reported or shown on any of the British or American TV stations.

The Pitiful Restoration of "Sovereignty"

Robert Fisk, The Independent

So in the end, America's enemies set the date. The handover of "full sovereignty" was secretly brought forward so that the ex-CIA intelligence officer who is now "Prime Minister" of Iraq could avoid another bloody offensive by America's enemies. What is supposed to be the most important date in Iraq's modern history was changed--like a birthday party--because it might rain on Wednesday.

Abu Ghraib prison lurks behind high walls and brooding watchtowers on the main highway west of Baghdad.

A square kilometre of hell during Saddam Hussein's horrific rule, it has retained some of its malevolence since US forces took over the facility, two weeks after toppling the Iraqi regime.

The huge prison complex was built by Western contractors in the 1960s.

The size of a small town, the area was divided into five separate walled compounds for different types of prisoners.

By the fall of the regime in 2003 these compounds were designated for foreign prisoners, long sentences, short sentences, capital crimes and "special" crimes.

There were three men competing to see who was the worst one in the world.

The first one attacked a woman, beat her until her teeth fell out and she bled from her nose and ears. He beat her so savagely that she fainted.

He turned to the others and said, "I am the worst one of all."

The second man stepped up to rape her and beat her further until she was almost dead.

He turned to the others and said, "No one can be worse than me."

The third one stepped up and said, "No, I am the worst one even though I just stood by and watched, for this woman is my sister."

The woman is Iraq.

By Ari Berman

NEW YORK -- Updated at 3:50 p.m. Eastern Standard Time

1. You say Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction and is evil enough to use them. If not during an American invasion of his country, then when? Have you calculated how many U.S. troops might die in such an attack?

2. Why, if North Korea has the capability to produce six nuclear warheads by mid-summer, are you letting their very reluctant neighbors take the lead in deterring them (as you announced tonight) while demanding that the U.S. take charge in confronting Saddam?

Posted on: 2/28/2003 1:00:00 AM - Columnist, Lewisnews.com

President Bush has given several nationally televised speeches on Iraq, held roundtables with dozens of influential reporters, and even addressed the U.N. General Assembly before a world audience.

So why do Americans still have so many questions about this war?

Perhaps because the most obvious questions are also the most easily overlooked.

Yet since invading and occupying Iraq could claim thousands of American lives and even spark a wider war in the Middle East, Bush has a solemn obligation to fully explain his reasons for war.

In that spirit, here is a list of 10 simple questions about his Iraq policy.