A British parliamentary report concluded that the Blair government did not intentionally lie in its controversial dossier on Iraq’s military threat; the report did criticize the government, however, and said that its false claim that Iraq was capable of launching weapons of mass destruction in 45 minutes was “unhelpful,” and that the dossier should have made clear that Iraq was not, in the opinion of the intelligence services, an imminent threat to Great Britain.BBCA new poll found that 70 percent of Americans believe, contrary to all evidence, that Saddam Hussein was involved in the September 11 attacks.New York TimesPresident Bush took advantage of the September 11 anniversary to call for more surveillance and detention powers.New York TimesAttorney General John Ashcroft gave a speech at Federal Hall in lower Manhattan and said that critics of the USA Patriot Act “have forgotten how we felt” on 9/11.New York TimesIt was reported that the federal government is planning to introduce a new airline security system in which all passengers will be assigned a color-coded rating based on their terror-risk quotient,Associated Pressand the Justice Department’s inspector general complained that the agency has yet to define its criteria for treating someone as a terrorism suspect.New York TimesPentagon officials testified before a congressional hearing that the military was having a hard time in Iraq.New York TimesDefense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld disagreed and said that a new Security Council resolution would be helpful, because it would allow other countries to pretend that the Iraqi occupation was a multinational operation, which would justify sending more money.Rumsfeld said that tourism will soon be a major industry in Iraq.New York TimesColin Powell claimed that Americans “are not occupiers” of Iraq.”We came as liberators,” he said.”We have liberated a number of countries.”New York TimesThe White House reopened for tourism.New York Times
A Palestiniansuicide bomber blew up a bus stop near Tel Aviv; another bomber exploded in front of a café in Jerusalem.At least 13 people died in the attacks.Israeli forces killed three men, two of whom were said to be Hamas leaders, and a twelve-year-old boy, who was hit by shrapnel.New York TimesIsraeli warplanes destroyed the family home of a Hamas leader, killing his son and wounding 26 others.Ahmed Aurei accepted the position of Palestinian prime minister.New York TimesPresident Bush appealed for restraint.New York TimesTen Iraqipolicemen and one Jordanian hospital worker were killed in a firefight with American soldiers; the policemen were chasing a stolen BMW when they ran into two American tanks on patrol, with unhappy results.Guards at a nearby hospital fired shots, prompting the tanks to attack the hospital.New York TimesTaliban fighters killed four Afghan aid workers.New York TimesA suicide bomber struck in Kurdish Iraq, killing one child and wounding about 50 people.New York TimesA new Osama bin Laden videotape was released.Bin Laden called on his “mujahedeen brothers in Iraq” to “devour the Americans just like the lions devour their prey.”New York TimesChinesepolice were told that they can no longer torturecrime suspects.TelegraphSix bombs went off in one day in Katmandu, Nepal; one 12-year-old boy was killed.ReutersIsrael’s security cabinet officially decided to “remove” Yasir Arafat;New York Timesa few days later, Ehud Olmert, the vice prime minister, said that assassinatingArafat was under consideration.”In my eyes, from a moral point of view, this is no different than the eliminations of others who were involved in activating acts of terror.”New York TimesEight Israelis who were being investigated for terrorist attacks on Palestinians were released from custody,New York Timesand six neo-Nazis were arrested in Germany for plotting to blow up a Jewish cultural center.New York TimesLeni Riefenstahl died, as did Edward Teller.New York TimesSilvio Berlusconi, the prime minister of Italy, claimed that Benito Mussolini’s dictatorship was “much more benign” than Saddam Hussein’s.”Mussolini did not murder anyone,” he said.”Mussolini sent people on holiday to confine them.”Times of London
The Recording Industry Association of America filed lawsuits against 261 people for sharing music files over the Internet and threatened to sue thousands more.New York TimesA 12-year-old girl named Brianna Lahara who lives in a New York housing project was the first to settle; she agreed to pay $2,000.News.comThe World Trade Organization met in Cancun, Mexico, and much of the discussion concerned a demand by several poor countries that wealthy countries eliminate agricultural subsidies for their farmers.The talks collapsed after the United States and Europe declined to do so and delegates from several African, Caribbean, and Asian countries walked out.New York TimesSweden voted overwhelmingly against joining Europe’s common currency.New York TimesA leading British fertility expert called for more research on some in vitro techniques and accused doctors of experimenting on children.BBCA fertility scientist named Panayiotis Zavos announced that he had created human-cow embryos that were theoretically viable but denied that he planned to allow such a hybrid to be implanted in a woman’s womb.”We are not trying to create monsters,” he said.News.com.auThe Department of Agriculture proposed adapting its dietary advice to the fact that most American adults are overweight.New York TimesThe National Academy of Science, after studying thousands of papers on the subject, declared that too many pets are overweight.New York TimesItalian babies, it was found, are the fattest in Europe.ReutersComedian Tommy Chong was sentenced to nine months in prison for selling bongs over the Internet.MSNBCJohnny Cash died.New York TimesMissouri granted its citizens the right to carry concealed guns.Associated PressA horse bomb killed at least eight people in Chita, Colombia.BBCSweden’s foreign minister was murdered.BBCWildfires were out of control in Portugal,New York Timesand two hundred chickens were beaten to death with a golf club near Brisbane, Australia.Courier-MailThe government of Cambodia was urging people to eat stray dogs.CNN.com
