Portal:Current events/2006 June 20
June 20, 2006 (Tuesday)
- The Washington Post, under the Freedom of Information Act, obtains the transcript of an investigative interview with Donald Rumsfeld. The U.S. Secretary of Defense cited poor memory, loose office procedures, and preoccupation with "the wars" as the reasons he did not know how his department nearly squandered $30 billion leasing several hundred tanker aircraft from Boeing. (The RawStory) (Washington Post)
- Iraqi officials have unconfirmed reports that they have found the bodies of the two U.S. soldiers the American military began looking for at the beginning of this week. The bodies of PFC Kristian Menchaca of Houston, Texas, and PFC Thomas Lowell Tucker of Madras, Oregon showed several signs of torture. (MSNBC) (CNN)
- Jack Abramoff scandals: David Safavian, former George W. Bush White House official, is convicted of four felony counts of lying and obstruction of justice related to his dealings with lobbyist Jack Abramoff. (CNN)
- Charles Taylor, former President of Liberia, leaves Sierra Leone for his human rights trial at The Hague. (Reuters)[permanent dead link]
- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announces plans to withdraw his country's troops from Iraq. The 600 soldiers had been deployed to Iraq in 2004 to aid in reconstruction and sparked controversy in Japan, as it was the most ambitious overseas deployment by Japan since World War II. (Reuters)[permanent dead link]
- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinean President Mahmoud Abbas will attend a common meeting later this week. (MSNBC)