RANCOR IN THE US RANKS
US Military Personnel Growing Critical of the War in Iraq
By Georg Mascolo and Siegesmund von Ilsemann


US military officials are becoming increasingly vocal in their criticism of the war in Iraq, telling Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that more troops are needed to prevail over the insurgents. Moreover, recruitment is down and more reservists and members of the National Guard are being sent to Baghdad.

The war is over, at least as far as Darrell Anderson is concerned. Anderson, a 22-year-old GI from Lexington, Kentucky, deserted a week ago, heading across the US' loosely controlled border with Canada. When his fellow soldiers in the First US Tank Division, stationed in Hessen, Germany, ship out to Iraq for their second tour of duty, he'll be in Canada.

Anderson spent seven months in Iraq last year as a part of a unit assigned the dangerous mission of guarding police stations in Baghdad. He was wounded by grenade shrapnel during an insurgent attack, was awarded the Purple Heart and allowed to spend Christmas at home in the United States. But instead of returning to duty, Anderson fled to Toronto.

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TSUNAMI AFTERMATH IN ACEH
Beyond the Death Zone
By Ullrich Fichtner

First a tsunami and now maybe a return to war. Three weeks after the disaster, signs are mounting that the tense cease fire in Aceh may be eroding. But as relief work progresses and the remaining victims are buried, the region needs peace like never before.