The storms gather

Last week, which witnessed major tragedies in both Baghdad and southern coastal states of the US, might yet be the turning point in the Iraqi conflict, writes Hana Al-Bayaty
Just when the United States anti-war movement had found a focus for its energies in Cindy Sheehan, hurricane Katrina blew in from the Gulf of Mexico to expose the real nature of the Bush administration and the dangers of its plans for "full spectrum dominance".

The American people discovered, perhaps to their astonishment, that their successful economy had created an underclass of millions of disenfranchised citizens, the majority of them African-Americans.