Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe LOSING IN AFGHANISTAN? The State Department advises U.S. citizens not to travel to Afghanistan, saying the ability of Afghan authorities to maintain order and ensure security remains limited, United Press International reports. Advertisement The travel warning also says remnants of the Afghanistan's former Taliban regime and al Qaida network still are active. The warning, which replaces one issued July 3, emphasized "the U.S. Embassy's limited capability" to provide consular services to American citizens visiting Afghanistan and warns "the security threat to all American citizens in Afghanistan remains high." "Travel in all areas of Afghanistan, including the capital Kabul, is unsafe due to military operations, land mines, banditry, armed rivalry among political and tribal groups, and the possibility of terrorist attacks, including attacks using vehicular or other bombs," the warning says. -- If Americans cannot travel in Afghanistan one year after the war, has the United States really won the war in Afghanistan? Advertisement -- Should the United States have sent more military personnel to Afghanistan? (Thanks to UPI's By Anwar Iqbal) BUSH OR THE AGENDA? President George W. Bush's high job approval rating may have been the single most significant factor in the Republican's November 2002 national landslide, according to a poll commissioned by a seniors group, UPI reports. The poll of 1,000 registered voters in the Nov. 5 election, commissioned by the United Seniors Association, a conservative group that supports market-based reforms in the nation's eldercare system, finds Bush enjoys a 65 percent approval rating among the voting electorate. USA's survey suggests Bush's decision to spend political capital on getting fellow Republicans elected paid off handsomely. In the weeks leading up to Nov. 5, the president traveled to a number of states and appeared on behalf of candidates for the Senate, House and governor. -- David Winston, the pollster who conducted the survey, says, "Bush pulled together the common themes -- jobs, the economy, terrorism, education -- across the districts to the benefit of his party." Do you agree? -- Former President Bill Clinton campaigned Democrats while president and after, as did former Vice President Al Gore, with little result. Do voters respond to the people or the issues? Advertisement (Thanks to UPI National Political Analyst Peter Roff) TEN COMMANDMENTS ORDERED OUT OF COURT A federal judge in Montgomery has ruled a 2 1/2-ton granite Ten Commandments monument must be removed from the lobby of Alabama's judicial building, UPI reports. The monument was installed by Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson ruled the monument violates the Establishment of Religion Clause of the First Amendment and the principle of the separation of church and state. "Based on the evidence presented during a weeklong trial and for the reasons that follow, this court holds that the evidence is overwhelming and the law is clear that the chief justice violated the Establishment Clause," Thompson ruled. He gave the state 30 days to remove the monument and said Moore would foot the bill. Moore, who wheeled in the washing machine-sized monument during the middle of the night without consulting fellow justices, says he will appeal the decision. Thompson says his decision does not cover all instances of public display of the Ten Commandments and should not be construed that way. -- Do you agree with the judge's decision to remove the monument? -- Who should decide what is included in public spaces? Advertisement
