Democrats in the US Congress will introduce legislation this week to maintain the post of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstructon , according to the New York Times Sunday. The post is currently set to expire on October 1, 2007 under the terms of Republican-initiated HR 5122.

Originally intended to independently supervise and investigate operations of the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority, SIGIR has succesfully uncovered several instances of fraud, bribery, as well as other legal violations by US government officials and government contractors in Iraq.

In November of 2003 under the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act fo Defense and for the Reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, the Office of SIGIR was established as the Inspector General of the Coalition Provisional Authority. An October 2004 amendment caused it to be redesignated "Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction." The 2004 amendment included a termination clause for the office, to occur ten months after 80% of the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund had been contractually obligated. The termination date was reset as October 2007. Democrats criticized the SIGIR's inclusion in the National Defense Authorization Act as an attempt by Republicans to quietly dismantle the post.

It is expected that the legislation to be introduced by congressional Democrats will be the first of many inquiries into US dealings in Iraq.

Breaking Legal News.com
Robin Sheen
Staff Writer

Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada challenged the Bush administration's reasons for going to war in Iraq and then refused to deploy to the country. The Army said Thursday that Watada will face a military trial.

Fort Lewis commander Lt. Gen. James Dubik recommended that the Army proceed with a general court-martial against 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, 28. He was charged with missing troop movement, conduct unbecoming an officer and contempt toward officials for comments he made about President Bush.

Watada, an officer, from Honolulu, has said he believes the war is illegal. He was first charged after he refused to deploy to Iraq on June 22 with his Fort Lewis Stryker unit, the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

The Army added another specification of conduct unbecoming an officer based on his comments in Seattle during the national convention of Veterans for Peace in August.

Dubik referred only the charges of missing movement and conduct unbecoming an officer, the Army said.

Prosecutors showed video footage of Watada at the veterans' convention, calling on other soldiers to stop participating in U.S. involvement in Iraq, at an Article 32 hearing Aug. 17.

Watada could serve six years' confinement and be dismissed from the service if convicted of all charges. No trial date has been set.

Breaking Legal News.com
Neal Andrea
Staff Writer

Millions of bottles of the pain reliever acetaminophen are being recalled because they may contain metal fragments.

The recall affects 11 million bottles containing varying quantities of 500-milligram acetaminophen caplets made by the Perrigo Co. The pills were sold under store brands by Wal-Mart, CVS, Safeway and more than 120 other major retailers, the Food and Drug Administration said, some as long ago as three years. At least two chains - CVS Corp. and SuperValu Inc. started pulling the pills from store shelves Thursday.

According to the FDA, the pills included metal fragments (though the type of metal has yet to be determined),ranging in size from microdots to portions of wire one-third of an inch long.

The discovery was made during quality-control checks done after the company Perrigo, discovered its equipment was wearing down prematurely, the FDA said. Agency officials declined to say whether the metal found in the pills caused the damage or resulted from it.

According to the FDA, a company investigation turned up metal in about 200 of the 70 million pills it passed through a metal detector.

Consumers who take any of the contaminated pills could have minor stomach discomfort or possible cuts to the mouth and throat, the FDA said, adding that the risk of serious injury was remote, and as of yet there has been no immediate reports of ilness.

Acetaminophen is best known as the drug in products sold under the Tylenol brand, but it is available in typically less expensive generic versions. Acetaminophen along with aspirin and ibuprofen, is one of the most popular pain relievers available over the counter.

The recall does not affect Tylenol. Nor should the recall cause a shortage of acetaminophen, the FDA said.

Perrigo says it is the world's largest manufacturer of store-brand nonprescription drugs. The retail market for the pain relievers is worth more than $2 billion a year.

Kevin Vincent, 44, of Arlington, Va., said "If it's not something that has any chance of recurring, then I really wouldn't worry."

The 129 retailers that could potentially be affected by the recall include Wal-Mart Stores Inc. CVS, Safeway Stores and SuperValu as they sell the Perrigo-made pills under their own or other private labels.

CVS will stop selling its own brand of 500-milligram acetaminophen caplets and pull bottles from store shelves nationwide. SuperValu also began removing the pills from its Albertsons, Cub Foods and other stores, according to their spokespersons.

Molly Walsh, 21, a George Washington University student shopping at a CVS pharmacy in Washington, said she did not plan to toss any of the store-brand drugs at home, "It's still going to be cheaper and I'm still going to be broke after the recall."

The FDA did not know in which states the pills had been sold, but recommended that customers determine whether products they bought are being recalled by checking the store list on the FDA Web site, and the batch list. The batch numbers appear on the container's label.

It has not been determined where Perrigo made the pills. Its main factories are in the United States and Israel, with secondary plants in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Germany and China.

According to FDA records, Perrigo has carried out at least 32 other product recalls since 1993, as recently as May when it recalled nearly 59,000 bottles of a 500-milligram combination pain-reliever and sleep aid that contains acetaminophen because of contamination with acrylic mirror particles.

NEW YORK -- The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded Donald Rumsfeld's resignation from his post as Defense Secretary, and called on Congress to investigate the gross abuse of power committed under his watch.

"Donald Rumsfeld's resignation is a step in the right direction," said Anthony D. Romero, ACLU Executive Director. "Rumsfeld is responsible for the torture and abuse of detainees in U. S. military custody and must be held accountable for the failures that occurred on his watch. He has placed the blame on junior military members and has been nothing but derelict in his duty. Congress must initiate an immediate and exhaustive investigation into his six-year-long record of unlawful activity, violations of the rule of law and complicity in the executive branch abuse of power."

As a result of the ACLU's Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, more than 100,000 pages of government documents have been released detailing the torture and abuse of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay. In March 2005, the ACLU and Human Rights First filed the first federal lawsuit naming Rumsfeld and other top U.S. officials in the ongoing torture scandal in Iraq and Afghanistan that has tarnished America's reputation. A hearing in that case, Ali v. Rumsfeld, is scheduled for December 8. In June 2006, the Supreme Court in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld ruled that the Bush administration policy on detention, orchestrated by Rumsfeld, was illegal.

The ACLU has also filed a lawsuit to uncover details of Pentagon surveillance of peace groups and law-abiding Americans who have attended anti-war protests. The documents obtained by the ACLU reveal that the Pentagon shared information on activists with other government agencies through the Threat and Local Observation Notice (TALON) database, which was intended to track groups or individuals with links to terrorism.

WASHINGTON – (USDOJ) Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales announced on Monday that the United States signed an Executive Agreement with Eurojust, the judicial cooperation unit of the European Union (E.U.), which will improve transatlantic law enforcement coordination and enhance the ability of the U.S. and the E.U. to fight international crime. The Agreement will foster the exchange of information between law enforcement communities in the U.S. and the E.U. and will strengthen cooperative efforts to prevent and prosecute organized crime, human trafficking, cybercrime and terrorism.

Specifically, the agreement establishes the position of U.S. Liaison Prosecutor to Eurojust. The Liaison Prosecutor will be based at Eurojust headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands, and will facilitate law enforcement cooperation between the U.S. and the E.U. on a day-to-day basis. The Agreement particularly ensures the protection of personal information and individual privacy for both citizens of the U.S. and the E.U.

"This agreement is just one more example of the strong relationship that exists between the United States and the European Union on law enforcement issues," said Attorney General Gonzales. "It represents an important part of our ongoing efforts to combat transnational crime and international terrorism while protecting the civil liberties of our citizens."

The Executive Agreement was signed following troika meetings hosted by Attorney General Gonzales at the Department of Justice with Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, Minister of Justice of Finland Leena Luhtanen, Minister of Interior of Finland Kari Rajamaki and Vice President of the European Commission Franco Frattini.

(VOA) - The Democratic Party appears to have regained control of both houses of the U.S. Congress from President Bush's Republican Party.

American media reports say that challenger Jim Webb has defeated Republican incumbent George Allen in the Senate race in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is the last Senate race from Tuesday's mid-term elections to be decided.

Allen has not yet conceded defeat, but major newspapers and television networks report that Webb holds more than a 7,000 vote lead.

Opposition Democrats have already swept to victory in the U.S. House of Representatives. Projections show that the party holds a majority of 229 seats in the 435-seat chamber.

If Webb indeed wins in Virginia, Democrats and Republicans will each hold 49 of the Senate's 100 seats. Two independents, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, have pledged to vote with the Democrats, tipping the balance in the Senate to Democratic Party control.

The Democratic Party victory comes on the back of voter frustration with the war in Iraq and several political scandals. And it sets the stage for a number of policy battles with the White House. The Democrats have not controlled both chambers of Congress in 12 years.

President Bush has expressed disappointment with the election results, but he called on both political parties to work together. He is meeting separately Thursday, with Republican and Democratic congressional leaders.

Opinion polls showed that dissatisfaction with President Bush and his handling of the Iraq war drove many voters to vote for Democrats.

Meanwhile, California Democrat Nancy Pelosi is poised to become the first female Speaker of the House. She has pledged to work with congressional Republicans.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of the U.S. state of Nevada said the message from the electorate was clear, and that Americans voted for change.