Truthout roundup 6/9

Pentagon officials urged Guantanamo interrogators to trash notes; national average for gas prices hits four dollars a gallon; Obama maps out 50-state strategy; Afghans reflect on six years of war; US soldier and 20 others killed by suicide bomber in Iraq; and more ... Browse our continually updating front page at http://www.truthout.org

Guantanamo Interrogators Told to Trash Notes
http://www.truthout.org/article/gitmo-interrogators-told-trash-notes Michael Melia, of The Associated Press: "The Pentagon urged interrogators at Guantanamo Bay to destroy handwritten notes in case they were called to testify about potentially harsh treatment of detainees, a military defense lawyer said Sunday. The lawyer for Toronto-born Omar Khadr, Lt. Cmdr. William Kuebler, said the instructions were included in an operations manual shown to him by prosecutors and suggest the US deliberately thwarted evidence that could help terror suspects defend themselves at trial."

Rural US Takes Worst Hit as Gas Tops $4 Average
http://www.truthout.org/article/rural-us-takes-worst-hit-gas-tops-4-average Clifford Krauss, of The New York Times: "Gasoline prices reached a national average of $4 a gallon for the first time over the weekend, adding more strain to motorists across the country. But the pain is not being felt uniformly. Across broad swaths of the South, Southwest and the upper Great Plains, the combination of low incomes, high gas prices and heavy dependence on pickup trucks and vans is putting an even tighter squeeze on family budgets."

Obama Strategy: 50 States
http://www.truthout.org/article/obama-maps-a-nationwide-push-gop-strongholds Adam Nagourney and Jeff Zeleny, of The New York Times: "Senator Barack Obama's general election plan calls for broadening the electoral map by challenging Senator John McCain in typically Republican states - from North Carolina to Missouri to Montana - as Mr. Obama seeks to take advantage of voter turnout operations built in nearly 50 states in the long Democratic nomination battle, aides said."

A Tattered Afghanistan Reflects on Past Six Years
http://www.truthout.org/article/fear-disillusion-and-despair-notes-from-a-divided-land-peace-slips-away The Guardian UK: "Six years after the fall of the Taliban, Nato claims the war is being won. But as Peter Beaumont discovered in his journey across the country, the West is in danger of losing the peace as millions suffer the fallout from social and economic collapse. Afghanistan's problems spring from 'lies and promises that were not kept. There is no security. Everything is in disorder. And the poor are no better off than they were before. They have to take out loans that they cannot return.'"

Suicide Car Bomb Kills US Soldier, Wounds 20
http://www.truthout.org/article/suicide-car-bomb-kills-us-soldier-wounds-20 Sameer N. Yacoub, of The Associated Press: "A suicide truck bomber who concealed his explosives under tanned animal hides struck a US patrol base Sunday in northern Iraq, killing one US soldier and wounding 18 other Americans, US and Iraqi officials said. Two Iraqi contractors working at the base in Tamim province also were wounded, according to a brief statement from the military."