U.S. Electronic Eyes on Somalia to Track Al Qaeda The U.S. military stepped up aerial surveillance along the coast of Somalia to keep an electronic eye on suspected extremist training camps and sites where Osama bin Laden and his top aides could take refuge, U.S. officials said on Friday.

Taliban Hunted, U.S. Suffers First Casualty of War Afghan and U.S. forces were believed closing in on fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar on Friday, while a U.S. special forces soldier was killed in eastern Afghanistan -- the first American military casualty killed by enemy fire in the three-month war.

Israel Raids Palestinian Village Ahead of U.S. Talks (1/03/2002) Israeli forces raided a Palestinian village in the West Bank Friday hours before Washington's top Middle East troubleshooter was to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders in a push to end 15 months of bloodshed.

Afghan Minister Believes Mullah Omar Arrested Afghan Minister for Reconstruction Amin Farhang said late on Thursday he believed deposed Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar may have been arrested, but the United States said it had nothing to support the report.

Ironically, not finding bin Laden could help the war on terror (1/03/2002) Turning the next phase of this conflict into the most expensive manhunt in history might well divert attention and needed resources from what should be the war's central aim: to defeat Al-Qaida before it mounts an attack with a weapon of mass destruction.

Televise terror trial In one of the most wrenching ordeals in our history, millions of Americans watched on live television as the World Trade Center Towers collapsed, one after the other, claiming thousands of innocent lives. Why, then, should Americans be denied television coverage of the trial of the alleged terrorist charged with conspiring with Osama bin Laden to carry out the suicide attacks?

U.S. Steps Up Effort to Finish Off Taliban Era The United States said on Thursday the Taliban era in Afghanistan was finished and stepped up efforts to capture the elusive leaders of the austere Islamic movement.

Raid Finds Untouched Al Qaeda Compound (washingtonpost.com) One of the largest U.S. Marine operations of the war in southern Afghanistan concluded with the discovery of a primitive compound that had been used by al Qaeda fighters as recently as a few weeks ago but provided little fresh intelligence about the terrorist network, Marine officers said today.

Genuine Justice | csmonitor.com Inherent in the war against terrorism is the pursuit of justice. The perpetrators behind the suicide hijackings must be brought to account. No one argues otherwise.

Not Guilty Plea for Moussaoui in First Sept 11 Case Lawyers for Zacarias Moussaoui on Wednesday entered a plea of not guilty to charges he conspired with Osama bin Laden to murder thousands of people -- the first charges filed in the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

BBC News | WORLD | Q & A: Kashmir dispute Who's involved in the dispute over Kashmir?

U.S. must prevent Armageddon India and Pakistan are engaged in a game of chicken, triggered by a terrorist attack in New Delhi on Dec. 13. India charges that Pakistan is behind the attack and Pakistan alleges that India arranged the attack to place the blame on Pakistan.

India Says It Would Use All Military Might in Defense Nuclear-armed India said Wednesday it was prepared to use its full military might to defend itself amid threats by Pakistan-based Islamic guerrilla groups to mount further attacks on the country.

Pentagon: U.S. Wants Mullah Omar if He's Captured The United States said on Wednesday it expected the Afghan government to turn over the leader of the toppled Taliban if he is captured or detained as a result of negotiations in southern Afghanistan.

Argentina's Congress Names Duhalde as President Argentina's Congress on Tuesday appointed Eduardo Duhalde, a populist powerbroker in the Peronist Party, as the new president until 2003, with the task of ending recession and social chaos in Latin America's third-largest economy.

U.S. Forces Reportedly Sent To Capture Taliban Leader (washingtonpost.com) Scores of U.S. troops in battle gear lifted off in helicopters from the U.S. military base here just before sunset Monday, according to witnesses, in what Afghanistan's new leader said was an operation aimed at capturing Taliban leader Mohammad Omar.

ABCNEWS.com : Source: Calls About Bin Laden Intercepted An intercepted phone call from Iran suggests that Osama bin Laden is still alive — if not in the best of health.

ABCNEWS.com : Times Square New Year's Celebration Patriotic and Somber Under tight security, huge crowds converged on Times Square today to usher in 2002, pay a red, white and blue tribute to the Sept. 11 victims and say goodbye to one of the most terrible years in New York history.

India Offers Talks if Pakistan Adopts New Approach Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said in a New Year message India was ready to open talks with Pakistan -- including on the disputed Kashmir region -- if its neighbor and rival abandoned an ``anti-India mentality.''

The Times - We will win nuclear war, says India India boasted yesterday that it would survive a first strike by a Pakistani atomic weapon, but that its neighbour would be wiped out in a swift nuclear counter-attack.

CNN.com - 101st Airborne to replace Marines at Kandahar - December 30, 2001 The U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division will replace the Marine contingent at the Kandahar airport, the Pentagon confirmed Sunday.

Fireworks cache explodes in crowded area of downtown Lima, killing at least 235 (12/30/2001) Firefighters on Sunday dug through the rubble of a massive blaze sparked by a fireworks explosion in historic downtown Lima, retrieving 235 bodies by the afternoon. Officials were trying to learn what sparked the disaster.

Jupiter to be brightest at midnight on New Year's Eve (12/30/2001) Revelers celebrating the New Year will be treated to a rare sight in the clear midnight sky: Jupiter at its closest and brightest.

Boston Globe Online / Editorials | Opinions / Remembrance and resilience January, we are told, is named for Janus, the Roman god with two faces looking in opposite directions. One toward the past, the other toward the future. That feels about right for January of 2002. We stand here with two minds, struggling with remembrance and resilience.

New York Daily News Online | News and Views | City Beat | A Wooden Ramp Leads to Glimpse of American Nightmare One hundred and sixteen hollow-sounding footsteps take you up the wooden ramp to the viewing platform.

Afghans OK Peacekeepers; Bin Laden Believed Alive Afghanistan's new rulers wrapped up a deal for foreign peacekeepers on Sunday as a senior U.S. official said fresh intelligence showed ``high probabilities'' that fugitive militant Osama bin Laden was still alive despite the U.S. drive to destroy him.

FBI Probes Imply Wide Al Qaeda Presence (washingtonpost.com) The FBI is conducting more than 150 separate investigations into groups and individuals in the United States with possible ties to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda organization, according to senior U.S. officials.

The Times of India - Pro-Musharraf tilt irks India The Vajpayee government is aware that the "nuanced difference" which exists between Washington and itself about the sincerity of Gen Musharraf's "conversion to the anti-terrorism cause" could influence the diplomatic and military steps India takes in the weeks ahead.

Pentagon: Taliban Building Bombed Two B1-b bombers struck a complex occupied by members of the fallen Taliban leadership that had harbored bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorists, Maj. Brad Lowell of the U.S. Central Command said Saturday.

Cuba Opposes U.S. Plan for Prisoners at Guantanamo (12/29/2001) Senior Cuban officials voiced their opposition Saturday to Washington's plans for housing Taliban and al Qaeda prisoners at a U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay on the communist-run Caribbean island.

Pakistan Denies Moving Troops From Afghan Border Pakistan Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar on Saturday denied Islamabad had pulled troops from its border with Afghanistan to shore up defenses against India but did not rule out the possibility.

ABCNEWS.com : New Security for New Year's Eve In New York's Times Square the incoming police commissioner, Ray Kelly, has a promise for the hundreds of thousands of revelers expected New Year's Eve: "It's gonna be probably the safest place in the world."

The Times - Scientists confirm bin Laden weapons tests Osama Bin Laden and his terrorist organisation were not only investigating the use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons against the West, they had conducted preliminary experiments on animals.

Pakistan tells U.S. it may move troops from Afghan to Indian border (12/28/2001) Pakistan told Washington on Friday that it may need to pull away troops patrolling its border with Afghanistan to deal with a possible conflict with India, Pakistani military and diplomatic officials said.

After Sept. 11, United States looks to Mexico for border safety (12/28/2001) Now, as the United States beefs up security after the Sept. 11 attacks, Mexico's endemic lawlessness has raised concerns that terrorists could use the country's organized crime networks to stage future attacks against America.

Prosecutors detail shoe-bomb threat ...if the sneakers had been placed against an outside wall and blown up, they “would have blown a hole in the fuselage.” Reid was sitting in a window seat on board the plane.

BBC News | AMERICAS | Shoe bomb 'came from Netherlands' Dutch authorities are investigating reports that Richard Reid, the British man accused of trying to detonate a bomb hidden in his shoe on a flight from Paris to Miami, bought the alleged explosives in Amsterdam.

An unshakable faith in Old Glory - smh.com.au - News Review In the wake of September 11, Americans have wrapped themselves in the flag, writes Gay Alcorn.

Bush Pours Scorn on Bin Laden, Vows No End to Hunt President Bush on Friday poured scorn on Osama bin Laden and made clear that despite Afghan calls for a quick end to U.S. bombing, the United States would hunt the world's most wanted man for as long as it takes to find him dead or alive.

Shoe-bomb substance identified The main explosive in the shoes of a man who suspected of trying to detonate explosives aboard an airliner has been identified.

From violation to enlightenment | csmonitor.com The commentary in 2011 may confirm or deny whether America's millennial Age of Enlightenment lasted beyond the next Super Bowl. And whether that spangled holiday ball came to symbolize America bestriding the globe, or America picking itself up, dusting itself off, and becoming more a part of it.

Bush administration suggests India and Pakistan take up their differences at a summit of South Asian leaders (12/27/2001) The Bush administration, seeking to calm rising tensions, suggested India and Pakistan try to resolve their differences over Kashmir at a South Asia conference next week in Nepal.

New videotape shows bin Laden may be seriously ill (12/27/2001) The latest videotape of Osama bin Laden, denounced Thursday as ``terrorist propaganda'' by the White House and snubbed by television networks, contains hints that the Saudi-born fugitive may be gravely ill and expects to die soon, according to experts in terrorism, medicine and politics.

BBC News | SOUTH ASIA | Cuba base to house Afghan prisoners The US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says Washington is preparing to transfer Taleban and al-Qaeda prisoners to the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba.

BBC News | UK | 'No favours' for Muslim radicals Home Secretary David Blunkett has challenged claims that government complacency has allowed radical Muslim clerics to recruit converts to Islamic extremism in Britain.

BBC News | SOUTH ASIA | India and Pakistan crisis deepens India and Pakistan have announced tit-for-tat sanctions against one another as fears intensify that the two nuclear powers may be moving towards serious conflict.

Bin Laden Warns U.S. Its End Is Imminent Osama bin Laden warns the United States in his latest video message that it will soon collapse, regardless of whether he lives or dies, as Muslims around the world ``awaken to its tyranny.''

LA Weekly: Dissonnance: Who’s Bin Smokin’ What? ...All of which brings us to the question posed by the “know-nothing” faction of the anti-war movement. Did our foreign policy — past or present — play a role in provoking the attacks on New York and Washington, D.C.?

NOTE: I am now back to blogging after a brief hiatus.

U.S. Reopens Its Embassy in Kabul After 12 Years The Stars and Stripes flew over the U.S. Embassy in Kabul for the first time in almost 12 years on Monday as the United States reopened its mission in time for the installation of a new Afghan government.

BBC News | MIDDLE EAST | Arabs divided over Bin Laden tape Arabs are divided over the authenticity of the videotape released by the Pentagon that allegedly proves that Osama Bin Laden is guilty of the terror attacks on the United States.

ABCNEWS.com : Bush Withdraws From ABM Treaty In a historic break with Russia, the Bush administration today withdrew from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, a move effective in six months, The Associated Press has learned.

ABCNEWS.com : Moving In The contingent of U.S. Marines who have been operating out of Camp Rhino southwest of Kandahar announced tonight that they have taken the city's airport and may move the entire facility there as soon as Friday.

U.S. Releases Video; Bin Laden Said Surrounded The United States on Thursday released a video it said was the ``smoking gun'' that nailed Osama bin Laden as mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks as one report said the Saudi-born militant was surrounded in a cave complex in eastern Afghanistan.

Blasts, shots near Indian parliament Police and paramilitary forces were fighting a fierce gunbattle with unknown attackers around the Indian Parliament building Thursday afternoon.

Americans expect another attack More than eight out of 10 Americans say they think it is likely that the United States will be the target of another major terrorist attack in the next few months, according to an NBC-Wall Street Journal poll.

CNN.com - Geraldo's gun-toting sparks debate - December 12, 2001 From his perch near Tora Bora, Afghanistan, Fox News Channel correspondent Geraldo Rivera seemed more agitated by a question about carrying a gun than by the mortar rounds that just exploded nearby.

Al-Jazeera Acknowledges Bin Laden Tapes The Arabic-language Al-Jazeera news station acknowledged Wednesday that it refrained from broadcasting several videos of Osama bin Laden, taken before and after Sept. 11, for editorial or technical reasons.

csmonitor.com - Bin Laden in Pakistan, source claims As US airstrikes pound Tora Bora, a top Al Qaeda aide says the leader has fled.

U.S. Skeptical of Report Bin Laden's in Pakistan A U.S. newspaper reported on Wednesday that Osama bin Laden had left Afghanistan for Pakistan but the report was viewed with skepticism by U.S. officials.

Israel Hits Back, U.S. Peace Mission in Trouble Israel sent its warplanes against Palestinian targets early on Thursday and severed ties with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in a move that seemed likely to scupper the latest U.S. Middle East peace efforts.

Smallpox Would Spread Rapidly in Modern World If introduced into America or Europe, smallpox would spread rapidly at first, infecting 6 to 12 people for each individual already infected.

ABCNEWS.com : First Key Indictment in Sept. 11 Probe A man who raised suspicions of instructors at a flight school in Minnesota almost a month before the Sept. 11 terror attacks on America has become the first person indicted in connection with the probe, Attorney General John Ashcroft said today.

US worries bin Laden will escape | csmonitor.com At deadline for surrender, Pentagon frets that goals of US and Afghan allies will diverge - and terrorists will flee.

US, world press hard on Arafat | csmonitor.com EU seconds US in intensifying pressure on Palestinian leader - while Arabs stay silent.

Bin Laden on Video 'Marvels' at Attack - Senator ``He laughs. He smiles. He marvels at the destruction and death,'' a U.S. senator who has seen a videotape of Osama bin Laden discussing the Sept. 11 attack said on Tuesday.

Boston Globe Online / Health | Science / Taliban leave behind ruined health system in Afghanistan The clinic is clean, the staff cheerful. The female patients lining an entire wall are happy to have any medical attention at all.

Afghan Leader Vows to Build New Nation Sitting in the sprawling compound of the defeated Taliban leader, Afghanistan's interim ruler pledged Monday to build a new nation - but said the country must first destroy the terrorists who have held it hostage.

Extremism on the run The speed of the Taliban's collapse is an encouraging sign, not just for Afghanistan but for the rest of the world. It suggests that the most extreme form of Islamic fundamentalism may have less staying power as a political movement than many around the world feared.

American Planes Resume Bombing Amid Surrender Talks U.S. planes bombed suspected mountain hideouts of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda fighters on Wednesday as surrender talks were under way, anti-Taliban commander Mohammad Amin said.

U.S., Afghan Allies Harry Bin Laden Loyalists The United States and its Afghan tribal allies hounded fighters loyal to Osama bin Laden in the mountains of Afghanistan where he is believed to be hiding as Washington insisted he be handed over if taken alive.

Al Qaeda Planned New Attack on Washington -Newsweek A U.S.-based cell of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network nearly launched a post-Sept. 11 attack on a major target in Washington before going underground or fleeing the country, Newsweek reported on Sunday.

Video Ties Bin Laden to Sept. 11 Planning, US Says Top U.S. officials said on Sunday they had viewed a videotape purporting to show that Osama bin Laden had advance knowledge of the Sept. 11 suicide hijacking blitz in what could be the strongest evidence yet of his alleged link to the attacks -- a link he has denied.

The Manila Times Internet Edition | TOP STORIES > US troops camp in Zambo to aid AFP American troops are setting up logistics facilities in Zamboanga City and expanding a training program for elite Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) units, military officials said yesterday

BBC News | MIDDLE EAST | Four dead in Israeli raid Israeli troops have killed four Palestinian policemen during a raid on a Palestinian-controlled village in the West Bank.

The Afghans Need America, and They Know It For peace and a just government to take hold, Afghanistan needs a triumph of unflinching American reason.

Bin Laden 'Leading 1,000 Men' in Tora Bora Battle Osama bin Laden is personally leading about 1,000 fighters defending his mountain strongholds in eastern Afghanistan, a Northern Alliance spokesman said on Sunday.

Pentagon: Marines Holding American in Afghanistan A 20-year-old American captured while fighting for the Taliban in Afghanistan is being held by U.S. Marines at a remote desert base south of Kandahar, the Pentagon said on Saturday.

BBC News | SOUTH ASIA | Pressure builds on Tora Bora caves Taleban and al-Qaeda positions in eastern and southern Afghanistan are coming under increasing pressure from the US and its allies.

Former President Carter criticizes military tribunals plan (12/06/2001) President Bush's order authorizing military tribunals for suspected terrorists threatens to undermine the United State's reputation for justice and its ability to promote peace, former President Jimmy Carter said Thursday.

House bill would earmark $2.9 billion for bioterrorism, including vaccine buy (12/06/2001) House Republicans and Democrats on Thursday introduced their answer to the nation's growing concerns over bioterrorism -- a $2.9 billion proposal to increase vaccine stockpiles, train health officials and protect food and water supplies.

Israel Bombs Palestinian Police HQ, Wounds 18 Israeli warplanes bombed the Palestinian Authority's main police headquarters on Friday, wounding at least 18 people in fresh retaliation for suicide attacks in the Jewish state.

Taliban Say They'll Surrender Kandahar The Taliban said on Thursday it wanted to negotiate surrender of its last stronghold, bomb-blasted Kandahar, but only if leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, the protector of alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Osama bin Laden, is granted an amnesty.

Guardian Unlimited | World dispatch | No news is good news Censorship and partisan coverage of events in Afghanistan are not causing concern to a US public unused to complicated stories about the world beyond America's shores, writes Duncan Campbell

Al-Qaida base under assault Afghan fighters and U.S. warplanes struck Osama bin Laden’s forces here today near their extensive mountain stronghold, and local commanders claimed this afternoon to have captured half of the complex from al Qaeda defenders.

America's new charity of choice: Afghanistan | csmonitor.com Whether motivated by guilt over US bombs or a greater sense of global connectedness, many Americans are reaching out to a country halfway around the world that, just three months ago, they likely couldn't have found on a map.

More in US carry guns; restrictions lose support | csmonitor.com It's a busy shopping day at the Pecos Gun Shop. Customers wander the store, staring at gun grips and revolvers and hunting rifles. They consider the options, ask about prices, and - most important to David Dodson - they buy.

BBC News | MIDDLE EAST | Hamas beats off Arafat's forces Gunmen from the Palestinian militant group Hamas freed their leader soon after he was placed under house arrest by Palestinian security forces.

BBC News | SOUTH ASIA | New Afghan leader sets out aims The man appointed to lead Afghanistan for the next six months has said that the country needs economic opportunities and democratic elections in order to move forward.

ABCNEWS.com : Three U.S. Troops Killed by Stray Bomb Three U.S. special forces soldiers were killed and 19 others injured in southern Afghanistan today in an errant B-52 bombing raid, Pentagon officials said.

ABCNEWS.com : Top-10 Fugitive Arrested in Anthrax Hoaxes A fugitive on the FBI's Most Wanted list who is suspected of sending hundreds of anthrax hoax letters to abortion clinics was caught today, authorities said.

FBI Starts Opening Anthrax-Tainted Leahy Letter FBI and Army scientists on Wednesday began the process of opening an anthrax-laden letter sent to Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, hoping to find clues to help identify the source of germ attacks that have killed five people since October, FBI officials said.

Afghans Agree on Government, Leader Escapes Bomb Afghanistan's new leaders began beating their swords into ploughshares on Thursday as U.S. forces pursued the ``messy, dirty job'' of finishing off the leadership of the Taliban and Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda.

CBS News | Eye On Politics | Terror War II, The Mideast Front?| Tue, 04 Dec 2001 20:50:06 EST Peace in the Middle East may require putting aside the rhetoric and working with Arab leaders, according to this Against the Grain commentary by CBSNews.com's Dick Meyer.

BBC News | SOUTH ASIA | Afghan opposition clash with al-Qaeda Anti-Taleban fighters in Afghanistan say they have clashed with members of Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network near their cave hideout south of Jalalabad.

ABCNEWS.com : Barbara Walters Interview with President and Mrs. Bush (Part 1) In his first television interview since Sept. 11, President Bush spoke to ABCNEWS' Barbara Walters about the responsibility of leading the nation's response to the terrorist attacks.

Afghans Agree on Government Plan, Fighting Rages Afghanistan inched closer to forging an interim government on Tuesday as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld pledged to drive Taliban troops out of their last stronghold, Kandahar.

Israel Threatens Tougher Strikes on Palestinians Israel warned it will step up military strikes against targets in Palestinian-ruled areas until Yasser Arafat cracks down on militants behind deadly suicide attacks in the Jewish state.

U.S. Troops May Strike Outside Afghanistan - Bush President Bush said on Tuesday U.S. troops might be used to carry out strikes outside Afghanistan as part of the administration's expanding war against terrorism.

Newsday.com - Anti-Taliban Forces lay siege to bin Laden hideouts Moving to encircle and cut off Osama bin Laden, anti-Taliban forces controlling most of this eastern region yesterday dispatched about 1,000 fighters to lay siege to the remote White Mountains, where the terror mastermind and some 1,200 members of his heavily armed followers are believed to have dug in in a honeycombed complex of caves for one last bloody confrontation with the United States and its local allies.

Report: Bin Laden May Be Close to Nuclear Weapon Osama bin Laden, chief suspect in the Sept. 11 suicide plane attacks on the United States, may be closer than first thought to developing a crude nuclear weapon, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.