U.S. Releases Iraqi Papers on Bin Laden, WMDs

March 17, 2006 -- IRAQI DOCUMENTS RELEASED

Newly Released Documents from Saddam Hussein's Archives Discuss Bin Laden, WMDs

Following are the ABC News Investigative Unit's summaries of four of the nine Iraqi documents from Saddam Hussein's government, which were released by the U.S. government Wednesday. (ABC News)

IRAQ NEWS: U.S. AIR ASSAULT

U.S., Iraqi Troops Continue Their Sweep

U.S., Iraqi Troops Continue Their Sweep Through 100-Square-Mile Area, Looking for Insurgents. (AP)

Military to Probe 2005 Iraq Firefight

Military Opens Criminal Investigation Into Firefight That Killed 15 Iraqi Civilians. (AP)

Prisoner Dies at Abu Ghraib

A 24-year-old male detainee died at Abu Ghraib prison, said the United States military on Thursday, citing apparent natural causes. (News 24)

Army Releases Abu Ghraib Documents

They support assertions by a punished officer that she was innocent of two main allegations. (LA Times)

Timeline: Seven Days in Iraq

An American hostage is murdered. Car bombs kill 58 at a street market. Police discover 29 bodies in a mass grave. And the US launches its biggest assault since the invasion. On the eve of its third anniversary, Audrey Gillan pieces together just another week in a war zone. (The Guardian)

Comment: Iraq Three Years Later: A Mixed Balance Sheet

As the world marks the third anniversary of the Iraq war, the debate about whether or not it was justified is far from over. (Asharq al Awsat)

U.S. AIRPORT SECURITY INVESTIGATION

Bomb Parts Pass Checkpoints at 21 U.S. Airports

Government investigators conducting undercover tests at 21 U.S. airports were able to get bomb materials through screening machines at all of them, ABC News has learned. (ABC News)

U.S.-IRAN TALKS

US and Iran Ready for Iraq Talks

Iran and the US say they are prepared to hold talks on Iraq - in what would be their first public dialogue since 1979. (BBC)

Editorial: Talks With Iran

If Iran is ready to seek a diplomatic resolution, it needs to show its seriousness by suspending all uranium enrichment activities. (NY Times)

MOUSSAOUI TRIAL

Witness Tampering Cited in Moussaoui Case

Lawyers Claim Witness Tampering in Moussaoui Case Was Designed to Aid Airlines in N.Y. Suit. (AP)

TERRORIST USE OF THE WEB

Hacking for Terror?

A British arrest may have netted a jihadist who showed Al Qaeda members how to promote violence by exploiting the Web. (Newsweek)

AUSTRALIA

Spies Knew of Iraq Wheat 'Bribes'

Australian spy agencies have known for eight years a trucking company that funnelled money to Iraq for AWB was part-owned by Saddam Hussein's regime and breached UN sanctions. (The Australian)

GERMANY

German on Trial Over Libya Arms

A German engineer is going on trial charged with aiding Libya's defunct efforts to develop nuclear weapons. (BBC)

U.S. GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE

Bill Would Allow Warrantless Spying

GOP legislation would permit warrantless surveillance with approval of select lawmakers. (Washington Post)

NUCLEAR REACTORS LEAKING

Nuclear Reactors Found to Be Leaking Radioactive Water

Seven reactors have leaked tritium in the past 10 years, a scientists' group said, and the attorney general of Illinois is filing a lawsuit against a plant operator. (NY Times)

AL HARIRI PROBE

Hariri Suspect 'Slashes Wrists'

A Lebanese banker being held in Brazil in connection with the murder of ex-Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri has tried to slash her wrists, police say. (BBC)

AFGHANISTAN

Afghan Police Arrest Men with Al Qaeda Memo

Afghan police says that it arrested Thursday two suspected Taliban insurgents carrying letters from the movement's fugitive leader and Al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri. (Pakistan Times)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

A Rapid Withdrawal

Notwithstanding Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's hopeful rhetoric yesterday, the conventional wisdom is that Iraq is on the verge of a civil war. A war between separating Sunni, Shia and Kurdish states, the argument goes, would be bad for US interests in the region. (The Australian)

Iran on Collision Course

The US-Iranian tug of war is not about anything but nuclear weapons. (Al Ahram Weekly)

White House Open Again for Adams

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has had a far warmer reception in Washington than he did on his last St Patrick's Day visit, when the doors of the White House were slammed in his face amid mounting criticism of the IRA. (BBC)

The Insider Daily Investigative Report (DIR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to investigative news, including international terrorism and developments in Iraq. The DIR is edited daily from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman and Ellen Gustafson of the ABC News Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.