San Diego, TX–(HISPANIC PR WIRE)–May 10, 2005

The following statement was issued today by Navy Petty Officer Third Class Pablo Paredes prior to his court martial trial in San Diego on Wednesday:

Yesterday I formally entered a plea of “not guilty” to charges of unauthorized absence and missing movement stemming from my refusal to board the Iraq-bound ship USS Bonhomme Richard on December 6, 2004. I will be tried in a special court martial on 05/11/2005.

$50 billion more asked for Iraq, Afghan wars
By Jim Wolf
Fri May 13, 2:53 PM ET

The Senate Armed Services Committee has recommended a further $50 billion be set aside to fund U.S. military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and the U.S.-declared global war on terrorism.

The proposed new war spending for fiscal 2006, which starts Oct. 1, would push the cost of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and its aftermath toward $250 billion, far ahead of initial expectations voiced by the Bush administration.

Smoke from a car bomb (Photo: Joe Carr)

By Sheila Provencher
Christian Peacemaker Teams

The air was heavy today. Cloudy, oppressive, humid in a way that Baghdad almost never is. I feel the heaviness added to the weight of the recent explosions across the country. Yesterday, Wednesday, 71 people dead in car bombs in at least three cities.

by Mike Ferner

FT. Stewart, Georgia - The court martial of Army Sgt. Kevin Benderman for refusing to deploy to Iraq with the Third Infantry Division has taken two dramatic turns before it has begun.

On Wednesday, in the no-frills courtroom here at this sprawling Army post near Savannah, Col. Stephen Henley granted a motion filed by defense attorneys for a new Article 32 hearing, setting the proceedings against Benderman back to square one. Then, as the process began anew the next day, the Army filed two new allegations against the 40 year-old sergeant that could add up to 10 more years to his sentence if he is found guilty.

by Dahr Jamail

It feels uncomfortable writing about Iraq from Amman… but my close friends, Abu Talat (my close friend and interpreter) and intuition have all provided the same message-do not go inside Iraq at this time.

So I’ve been in Amman now for about a week, and will resume posting stories from here soon. We’ve been working on a couple of stories about Iraqis in Amman… those should be out soon.

For now, I am using my Iraqi contacts in Baghdad (and other cities) as well as those who have joined me here, along with watching Al-Jazeera television, to pass on some news and photos about the situation.