SPB News for Saturday.

Ground Zero tower plans found in trash

Secret plans found in Manhattan trash can, called serious security lapse.

Top Bush aides pushed for Guantánamo torture --Senior officials bypassed army chief to introduce interrogation methods America's most senior general was "hoodwinked" by top Bush administration officials determined to push through aggressive interrogation techniques of terror suspects held at Guantánamo Bay, leading to the US military abandoning its age-old ban on the cruel and inhumane treatment of prisoners, the Guardian reveals today. General Richard Myers, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff from 2001 to 2005, wrongly believed that inmates at Guantánamo and other prisons were protected by the Geneva conventions and from abuse tantamount to torture. The way he was duped by senior officials in Washington, who believed the Geneva conventions and other traditional safeguards were out of date, is disclosed in a devastating account of their role, extracts of which appear in today's Guardian.

Pentagon institute calls Iraq war 'a major debacle' with outcome 'in doubt' The war in Iraq has become "a major debacle" and the outcome "is in doubt" despite improvements in security from the buildup in U.S. forces, according to a highly critical study published Thursday by the Pentagon's premier military educational institute. The report released by the National Defense University raises fresh doubts about President [sic] Bush's projections of a U.S. victory in Iraq just a week after Bush announced that he was suspending U.S. troop reductions.

Opening soon in Baghdad: Largest U.S. embassy in the world with restaurants, 619 apartments A Kuwait contractor [using slave labor] has concluded the construction of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. On April 14, the State Department issued a certificate of acceptance for the 104-acre, 27 building compound. The $474 million facility is the largest U.S. embassy in the world, with 619 apartments for staffers as well as restaurants, indoor and outdoor basketball courts, volleyball court, and indoor Olympic-size swimming pool.

GAO: Stolen U.S. military gear sold on eBay, Craigslist --Few safeguards found to prevent the sale of defense equipment, agency says Stolen and sensitive U.S. military equipment, including body armor, night vision goggles, and gear to protect against nuclear or biochemical warfare, are being sold on the Internet, a GAO report says. The Government Accountability Office found many defense-related items for sale on Craigslist and eBay, according to the report, released last week.

U.S. to televise Guantanamo trials to 9-11 families The U.S. military will televise the Guantanamo 'trial' of accused September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and five other suspects so relatives of those killed in the attacks can watch on the U.S. mainland. The U.S. military lawyer assigned to defend Mohammed, Navy Capt. Prescott Prince, said if the trials are truly fair, then broadcasting them widely would prove that to the world. But he worried about setting a precedent by televising what he suspects will be show trials.

Homeland Security employees not satisfied with their jobs Homeland Security Department employees mostly are an unhappy lot. An internal survey of about 141,000 of the department's 208,000 employees found that only 58 percent were satisfied with their jobs, the same as results from a 2006 survey that measured job satisfaction across the government. The department ranked at the bottom in the 2006 poll, which was conducted by the Office of Personnel Management.

Citigroup posts loss, plans to eliminate 9,000 jobs Citigroup Inc. said Friday it will eliminate about 9,000 more jobs, after poor bets on defaulting loans and the tumultuous credit markets lopped $14 billion in value from its investments during the first quarter. That write-down, plus more than $3 billion in costs, led Citigroup to a quarterly loss of $5.1 billion.