Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, Chairman and Vice Chairmen of the 9/11 Commission, respectively, charge the CIA and Bush administration obstructed its lawful requests for information on the 9/11 attacks, including the destroyed torture tapes:
- Stonewalled by the C.I.A. (New York Times)
Pakistan’s electoral commission delays the country’s vote for a month, citing violence and instability, however opposition leaders allege it is a government tactic to buy time for voters’ anger over Bhutto’s death to recede:
- Pakistan to Delay Election Until Feb. 18 (Washington Post)
International human rights watchdog Privacy International releases a report showing a general trend of creeping government intrusion into individual privacy and cites the US and UK as “endemic surveillance societiesâ€:
- Privacy Rights Eroded in US, EU (Associated Press/Military.com)
After 138 Muslim scholars send an open letter to Christian leaders, the Vatican’s “official†response is an invitation to three of those signatories to come to Rome in the spring for an interfaith meeting:
- Vatican, Muslims Plan ‘Historic’ Meeting (Associated Press/Washington Post)
Fed up with being stranded for a week in Egypt after finishing the hajj, over 1,000 Palestinians cross over into Gaza in defiance of Israeli demands:
- Hundreds of Palestinian Pilgrims Return to Gaza (Reuters/Washington Post)
With financial punching power that accounts for about one-fourth of all foreign policy lobbying, according to one prominent special interest watchdog, and manipulation of issues of anti-Jewishness, AIPAC and other pro-Israel lobby groups maintain enormous leverage over members of Congress:
- Election Power of the Israel Lobby (Al-Jazeera International)
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