Iran, N. Korea same for Bush.
President George W. Bush said that in his opinion N. Korea
and Iran posed equal threats to nuclear security. This was
because the regimes in those countries were not answerable
to the people through a free press. He was speaking in a
conference of the National Newspaper Association just after
he signed extension of the provisions of the Patriot Act
that came into being after the catastrophe of 9/11.
This particular act empowered FBI and others to detect
terrorist cells and liquidate them in the same manner as
they dealt with other crimes. The Act came into being to
save lives of innocent people from the wrath and fury of
terrorists. According to the President the provisions of
the act have proved their worthiness for the purpose for
which they were promulgated and hence most of them have
been made permanent and validity of others extended.
In a related development, a senior British foreign office
official declared that Iran was only months away from
acquiring suitable technology and making its own bomb. Iran
could possibly make the new bomb by the end of this year.
Finally it has been decided to close down the infamous Iraq
prison of Abu Gharib where some 4500 prisoners are
currently held. The prison on the outskirts of western
Baghdad was the place where political opponents and other
inmates were tortured and even executed in the days of
Saddam regime. But it gained worldwide notoriety after
Saddam was ousted. USA earned a bad reputation when
thousands of photographs depicting the torture and even
killings of Iraqi prisoners were published in the
International Press.