Al Jazeera, the Arab television network, is defending their coverage of the war, including showing "images of bombed Baghdad buildings, bloodied and screaming Iraqi children and slain or captured U.S. and British troops."

While U.S. and Britain want the war portrayed as one to liberate Iraqis, Al Jazeera insists that its coverage, intended to "show the war in all its horrors," is not ideologically based but fact based.

Al Jazeera also complains that the U.S. and Britain are not allowing their journalists enough access. Only one of its reporters is "embedded."

Al Jazeera's English website is here, but AOL seems to be blocking our access to it. We get an error message saying we are not authorized to view the site, followed by "HTTP 401.3 - Access denied by ACL on resource Internet Information Services." Is anyone else getting through?

Update: Thanks to a commenter, we learn that Al Jazeera in English is now available here. It works for us as of now.

Correction: The aljazeerah info site is not related to Al Jazeera tv. The website itself states, "This website (aljazeerah.info) is not related by any means to the Arabic TV network, "Aljazeera."

The site's being hacked is old news, but from emails we received, we thought it was back up. Guess not.

NBC fired journalist Peter Arnett on Monday, "saying it was wrong for him to give an interview with state-run Iraqi TV in which he said the American-led coalition's initial plan for the war had failed because of Iraq's resistance."

On Sunday, NBC defended Arnett. Arnett has apologized for his comments, referring to his Iraqi TV interview as a "misjudgment." He is making plans to leave Iraq.

We appreciated Arnett's reporting and will miss it.

What's the real reason we are invading Iraq? According to the Administration, it is to disarm and remove Saddam, establish "regime change," eliminate his weapons of mass destruction and prevent him from blackmailing his neighbors and aiding terrorist groups. According to others, invading Iraq is just the beginning, and the real plan is to reshape the entire region, and then the world.

Robert Dreyfuss has an excellent article, Just the Beginning, in the new issue of American Prospect in which he says the war on Iraq may be just the opening salvo. Dreyfuss quotes several military, national security and other experts who say the war cannot be confined to Iraq. It will spread all over the Middle East. Already, Dreyfuss says, Bush and the neoconservatives in his Administration have formed plans to reshape the entire region, and possibly the world.

But the Bush administration's hawks, especially the neoconservatives who provide the driving force for war, see the conflict with Iraq as much more than that. It is a signal event, designed to create cataclysmic shock waves throughout the region and around the world, ushering in a new era of American imperial power. It is also likely to bring the United States into conflict with several states in the Middle East. Those who think that U.S. armed forces can complete a tidy war in Iraq, without the battle spreading beyond Iraq's borders, are likely to be mistaken. ....In the Middle East, impending "regime change" in Iraq is just the first step in a wholesale reordering of the entire region, according to neoconservatives -- who've begun almost gleefully referring to themselves as a "cabal." Like dominoes, the regimes in the region -- first Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia, then Lebanon and the PLO, and finally Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia -- are slated to capitulate, collapse or face U.S. military action. To those states, says cabal ringleader Richard Perle, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and chairman of the Defense Policy Board, an influential Pentagon advisory committee, "We could deliver a short message, a two-word message: 'You're next.'" In the aftermath, several of those states, including Iraq, Syria and Saudi Arabia, may end up as dismantled, unstable shards in the form of mini-states that resemble Yugoslavia's piecemeal wreckage. And despite the Wilsonian rhetoric from the president and his advisers about bringing democracy to the Middle East, at bottom it's clear that their version of democracy might have to be imposed by force of arms.

After the Middle East, the U.S. plans to move on to the Philippines, Korea and even Latin America.

Three thousand U.S. soldiers are slated to arrive in the Philippines, opening yet another new front in the war on terrorism, and North Korea is finally in the administration's sights. On the horizon could be Latin America, where the Bush administration endorsed a failed regime change in Venezuela last year, and where new left-leaning challenges are emerging in Brazil, Ecuador and elsewhere.

The experts see the plan as folly and madness. The U.S. is the "bully in the playpen." We have to agree.

The New York Times reports that the anti-war effort is now emphasizing civility over confrontation. At Win Without War, they are encouraging those with anti-war views to send an email of support to the troops.

Operation Dear Abby offers a way to send messages of support to men and women deployed in the Gulf region. Servicemembers may reply to your message, offering an opportunity for genuine dialogue. It is recommended that you remain positive in your correspondences with the troops. While no one should feel discouraged from expressing their views, it is important to have in mind the welfare of the soldiers you correspond with. Let them know how much you support their safe return."

Veterans for Common Sense has additional ways those who oppose the war can support the troops, from sending or funding care packages to adopting a platoon or a penpal.

A new poll shows that only 34% of Americans think the war is going well.

Popular belief that the United States is coasting to victory in Iraq has fallen sharply, a new U.S. opinion poll showed on Friday, as Washington struggled in the image battle at home and abroad.

The Gallup survey for CNN and USA Today said public support for the war remained steady at around 70 percent...However, the number of Americans who thought the conflict was going "very well" shot down after news reports from the front lines of U.S. military setbacks and cautions from President Bush against any talk of a quick victory.

Gallup said just 34 percent of Americans surveyed on Monday and Tuesday thought the war was going very well.

That was down from 44 percent on Sunday, the day Iraqi television broadcast graphic images of killed and captured American soldiers, and from 62 percent on Saturday."

In a new CBS poll, 55 percent of those responding believed the United States had underestimated the Iraqi army. In an ABC News/Washington Post survey, 57 percent of now expected fighting to last months rather than weeks.

It's clear to us that the Bush Administration was not forthright about the details of the war before it started. Realistic estimates of the war's cost, its length, expected strength of Iraqi resistance and the number of expected casualties all should have been shared with the American people.

Last night we viewed a network report that the Administration had told the American people what to expect--as proof, they played a two sentence clip from a Bush speech last October!

We expect support for this war to erode further as more U.S. and British troops are killed or taken prisoner, particlularly thosed killed by trickery--as were the four marines killed last night by a suicide bomber posing as a taxi driver. What a needless waste of life.

The best way to support our troops is to bring them home now.

Update: Iraq's Vice President says suicide bombings will now be "routine military policy."

U.S. Marines have found signs of U.S. POWs at a hospital that they have taken over in An Nasiriyah. They also found bloodied female U.S. uniforms and what they suspect was a torture room.

An Nasiriyah is the town where five soldiers were taken prisoner in a battle in which two soldiers died and eight were reported missing.

MSNBC's Kerry Sanders is traveling with the unit that took over the hospital. He reported

Sanders was shown where the uniforms were found — inside the bathroom of a larger room that had been padlocked. It was the same room where 3,000 nuclear, biological and chemical suits were found when the Marines moved in.

The uniforms, which had had their American flag patches and names ripped off, were found inside a bag. In another room, Marines found a large battery next to a bed — leading them to suspect it was used as a torture device, Sanders reported.

One female U.S. soldier is listed as a prisoner of war and two as missing in action. They were part of an Army maintenance convoy attacked by Iraqis after making a wrong turn in An Nasiriyah on Sunday. The known female POW is Spc. Shoshawna Johnson, 30, of Fort Bliss, Texas. The female soldiers listed as missing are: Pfc. Jessica Lynch, 19, of Palestine, W.Va.; and Pfc. Lori Piestewa, 22, of Tuba City, Ariz.

Update: More on the hospital and Jessica's rescue.

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Reuters News is reporting that the U.S. has ordered a 4 to 6 day pause in the push to Northern Iraq due both to supply shortages and strong Iraqi resistance.

Use of gas-guzzling armored vehicles has been restricted to save fuel and food is also in short supply. In one frontline infantry unit, for instance, soldiers have had their rations cut to one meal packet a day from three.

The airstrikes reportedly will continue during this period.

Update (Sat.3/29 8:00 am): BBC reports central command denies there will be a pause in "operations in Iraq." Reuters update says "Senior commanders at their Gulf headquarters in Qatar said, however, that there would be no pause in the overall air and ground campaign to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein."

Four U.S. Marines have been killed in a suicide bombing by an Iraqi taxi driver near Nageef.

Sean-Paul is back with the up to the minute chronology of events at the The Agonist.

An explosion rocked Kuwait City a few hours ago--it may have been a missle shot from Iraq gone awry. It is not known if there are injuries or fatalities yet.

Here's the latest:

• A missile struck a shopping mall in Kuwait City early Saturday, Kuwaiti authorities said
• Explosions rocked Baghdad early Saturday, Information Ministry may have been hit
• U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warns Syria that the U.S. considers military shipments to Iraq a "hostile act"
• Rumsfeld also warned that armed Iranian "proxies" operating in Iraq will be treated as combatants

Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz admitted Friday that military officials may have underestimated "the number of execution squads" and the scope of deceptive tactics such as fake surrenders that Iraqi fighters have employed against coalition forces and Iraqi civilians.

A Turkish plane flying from Istanbul to Ankara has been hijacked to Greece. BBC reports that three Turkish parliament members may be on board.

Two Iraqi attacks on U.S. interests overseas have been thwarted.

Earlier today, an explosion hit a Baghdad market killing 50 civilians. Arab tv reports it may have been a U.S. missile.

Visit the Agonist for more.

Gary Hart spoke out against the war in New Hampshire yesterday.

Former U.S. Sen. Gary Hart returned to New Hampshire yesterday and said the United States is not ready for terrorist attacks that may result from the war on Iraq.

Speaking to about 100 students and faculty at the University of New Hampshire, Hart said Islamic fundamentalists may use the war as an excuse to wage Sept. 11-type terrorist attacks on the United States.

"This country is not prepared for a terrorist attack," Hart said. "We do not have enough security at the state and local levels."

...He said the Council of Foreign Relations Task Force on National Security, which he co-chairs, warned the Clinton administration of a terrorist attack on U.S. soil as early as Sept. 15, 1999. The Bush administration was told the same thing, he said.

"We were warning the Bush administration of an attack well before it happened," Hart said.

While he encouraged people to treat returning U.S. soldiers with respect, Hart spoke out strongly against the war.

"The Constitution of the United States does not constitute us to overthrow another government unless provoked," he said. "And the Iraq situation is not one of those cases."

....He also spoke against sanctions.

"Sanctions are not a viable means of preventing the creation of weapons of mass destruction," Hart said. "There will be at least 20 countries in coming years that will have the capabilities to make these weapons. Some of them will most likely be ruled by dictators."

For more on Hart and his positions go to GaryHartNews.com

TAPPED is right on with its commentary today on Turkey:

Whose fault is this? The wingnuts are already blaming the Turkish government, which, according to them, should have just disregarded overwhelming public opinion against the war to back a U.S. invasion.

But don't blame the Turks. And in particular, don't blame the Islamist parties in Turkey -- they weren't the problem. The Bush administration screwed this one up by cajoling and threatening Turkey. And instead of doing the smart thing -- taking up the French offer of a 30-day wait, which would have given us time to at least get another heavy division on the ground in the south, and possibly gotten Turkey to go along with us -- they decided to plunge ahead anyway.

How did we lose Turkey? The Bush administration lost Turkey. Kessler and Pan's article provides the grim, dispiriting details of this tale of incompetence, blundering and foolishness.

The World Socialist Web Site has published several articles about these legal issues. We think its important to read the viewpoint of those who are not Americans, Republicans or Democrats--regardless of whether we agree with them. Reasoned debate is healthy. For the record, our view is that the war violates international law. We support our troops--bring them home now.

International legal experts regard Iraq war as illegal
By Peter Schwarz, 26 March 2003

Canadian law professors declare US-led war illegal
By Henry Michaels, 22 March 2003

The Bush administration repudiates international law
By the Editorial Board, 18 March 2003

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CNN has a running table up of U.S. and Coaliton Casualties in the Iraq War.

"There have been at least 47 confirmed coalition deaths in the war. The casualty list below reflects the names of the U.S. and British troops whose families have been notified. This list is updated daily." [link via Atrios]