Bryan Strawser

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Archives for July 2003

Saudis meeting with President on Report

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The real question is.. if it is indeed the Saudi government that is fingered in the Congressional Report for supplying foreign support to Al-Qaeda, will Bush give it to them straight.

I suspect he will. But who knows.

Republicans and Democrats alike called on President Bush to declassify the entire congressional report on the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks Monday, joining Saudi officials incensed that the censoring of a section of the report was fueling speculation that the kingdom supported al-Qaida. U.S. officials told NBC News that the Saudi foreign minister was flying to Washington to press Bush personally Tuesday. [MSNBC]

Bob Hope Dies at 100

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Bob Hope, whose quick wit, daring personality and ski-sloped nose identified him as an icon of 20th century entertainment, has died at age 100.

Hope appeared in more than 75 films, starred in more than 475 TV programs and 1,000-plus radio programs. He also toured tirelessly for the U.S. armed forces. [CNN]

State Trooper Clings to Life

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Thinking of you.

A venerated state trooper lay near death last night, the victim of an alleged teenage drunk who told police he was asleep at the wheel when he rear-ended her parked cruiser at more than 90 mph.

“It’s bad. It’s real bad. There was a lot of head trauma,” state police Maj. John J. Kelley said last night of trooper Ellen Engelhardt, 50, of Marion who had not regained consciousness since yesterday’s early morning crash, 50 minutes before her shift was to end.

“She’s been in and out of surgery,” Kelley said. “Colonel (Thomas) Foley of the state police has asked that everyone remember trooper Engelhardt in their thoughts and their prayers.” [Boston Herald]

MSNBC: Saddam Nearly Nabbed

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TROOPS STORMED three farms in Tikrit, Saddam%u2019s hometown, in simultaneous pre-dawn raids after receiving a tip that Saddam%u2019s new security chief was staying at one of the farm houses, said Lt. Col. Steve Russell, who led the operation by the of the 4th Infantry.
       %u201CWe missed him by 24 hours,%u201D Russell said, adding that residents told soldiers that the man they sought had been at one of the farm houses.
       Later on Sunday, U.S. troops attacked a house in an upscale Baghdad neighborhood on Sunday and local residents said there were rumours they were hunting for Saddam or members of his family, Reuters reported.
 [MSNBC]

CNN: Military Closing in on Saddam

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TIKRIT, Iraq (CNN) — U.S. forces early Sunday raided three farm houses in Saddam Hussein’s ancestral hometown of Tikrit where officials said intelligence indicated Saddam’s security chief — or possibly the deposed dictator himself — had recently been.

An official in Baghdad told CNN the security chief was not found at any of the locations and that no one was taken into custody.

Another U.S. military source, this one in Tikrit itself, told CNN the raids were based on reliable intelligence that Saddam likely had been at the farms before the raids. [CNN]