Bush Won't Commit to Drawdown of Troops (America more secure)

[ProSense]

Bush Won't Commit to Drawdown of Troops

By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 38 minutes ago

Snip..

"There's going to be more tough fighting ahead in Iraq and there'll be more days of sacrifice and struggle," Bush said. "Yet, the enemies of freedom have suffered a real blow today, and we've taken a great stride on the march to victory.

"This historic achievement by determined Iraqis will make America more secure," he said.

Snip...

Squabbling among Iraq's political factions more than four months after national elections in December had weakened public approval in the U.S. for the war and fed the rising sectarian violence.

Bush's approval rating is at the lowest point of his presidency, and the daily tide of bad news from Iraq — beheadings and suicide bombings, attacks on U.S. soldiers — is a chief reason.

Five U.S. soldiers were killed Saturday, including four whose vehicle hit a roadside bomb during a patrol in south Baghdad, the military said. Nearly 2,400 members of the U.S. military have died since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.

more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060422/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_iraq

USA > Society & Culture
from the April 11, 2006 edition

Smugglers exploit hole in port security

The discovery of 22 Chinese nationals illegally 'shipped' to Seattle reveals continuing gaps in container screening.

By Brad Knickerbocker | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

When 22 Chinese nationals let themselves out of a cramped and smelly cargo container at the Port of Seattle last week, it ended their dangerous and costly two-week trip from Shanghai. But after a few minutes of freedom and fresh air, they were apprehended and are likely to be deported.

There was no indication that the 18 men and four women had terrorist ties, officials say. But they had made it to a major downtown area at a time of rising concern about port vulnerability. Some wonder just how easy it would have been to load that 40-foot metal box aboard the MV Rotterdam, a vessel of China Shipping Line, with a weapon of mass destruction.

The episode highlights two things: growing and in some ways uncontrolled emigration to the United States from China; and the post-9/11 effort by officials and lawmakers to tighten security at American ports.

"If this was a chemical weapon exploding in Seattle, the plume could contaminate the rail system, Interstate 5, and SeaTac Airport, not to mention the entire downtown business and residential district," Sen. Patty Murray (D) of Washington, who represents America's most trade- dependent state, said in a statement.

more...

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0411/p02s01-ussc.html

Report questions Homeland Security plans
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Homeland Security Department still spends money on U.S. port projects that aren't considered national security priorities even though it has made some corrections, a new report says.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-03-06-port-report_x.htm?csp=34


03/16/2006
John Kerry: Investigation Shows Bureaucratic Bungling Still Hurting Our Port Security Today’s Report Required by Kerry Amendment
http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/record.cfm?id=252968








http://www.johnkerry.com/action/deadline/?sc=e.20060418