"Bush, Annan Spar Over Iraq War at U.N."

[GreenPartyVoter]

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - After two years, the United States and the United Nations had hoped to take the spotlight off the bitterly divisive war in Iraq. It didn't happen. At the opening of the U.N. General Assembly, President Bush and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan sparred over the war that can't escape the headlines.

Annan made news last week when, for the first time, he said the U.S.-led war that toppled Saddam Hussein was "illegal." Bush defended his Iraq policy Tuesday before world leaders and ministers from 191 countries, saying a ruthless dictator had been toppled and Iraq is now "on the path to democracy and freedom."

The secretary-general also took aim at the United States in his General Assembly speech, warning world leaders that basic laws to protect civilians are being "shamelessly disregarded" around the world from Iraq and Sudan to Russia and Uganda.

In his list of violations of the rule of law, he cited "Iraqi prisoners flagrantly abused," clearly a criticism of the U.S. treatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. He also noted, without naming names, that at times "the necessary fight against terrorism is allowed to encroach unnecessarily on civil liberties."

http://apnews1.iwon.com//article/20040922/D858KEP80.html?PG=home&SEC=news