February 2007 archive
02-28-07 - Iran positive on Iraq conference some Iranians will remember how Tehran co-operated in a summit on Afghanistan in 2001 only to be denounced shortly afterwards by President George W Bush as being part of "the axis of evil".
02-28-07 - Iran threatens to pursue Kurdish rebels inside Iraq "The United States and the Zionists seek to incite insecurity in Iran by allocating millions of dollars, equipping and financing satellite televisions and buying arms for these groups," Safavi added.
02-28-07 - Put brakes on nuclear rhetoric, Ahmadinejad told Two newspapers usually seen as stoutly conservative, Jomhouri Eslami and Hamshahri, in January published editorials that were unprecedented in their criticism of Ahmadinejad's handling of the issue.
02-28-07 - Former U.N. weapons chief says U.S., Europe and Security Council are "humiliating" Iran
02-28-07 - Pentagon Meeting Discussed Escalating Pressure on Iran ** A meeting at the Pentagon in mid-February was said by the participant to have revolved around a plan to ratchet up U.S. rhetoric about an Iranian threat and make further military preparations for war in a way that would be reminiscent of what happened prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.....According to the account provided by the participant, the administration's decision last month to increase U.S. military strength in Iraq by at least 22,000 troops is related more to a strategy of increased pressure on Iran than to stabilizing the situation in Baghdad. As to that last sentence : that's exactly why the neocons were pushing so hard for the 'surge', IMO.
02-28-07 - Pace: U.S. Military Capability Eroding
02-28-07 - U.S.building ties with Assad opponents in Syria The Bush administration has also met with a rival Syrian opposition group led by Farid Ghadry, a secular figure who met Cheney in July and his daughter, Elizabeth Cheney, then a senior State Department official, in March 2005, according to Ghadry, who lives in Washington. He said he argued at the meetings for massive U.S. funding for the Syrian opposition, as well as covert CIA actions, to topple Assad's government.
Now where did I just see that name? Hmm....
02-28-07 - Gunmen attack police in east Iran
02-28-07 - Hide and Seek with Scooter This is about much more than a cover up-the issue is nothing less than the integrity of the U.S. intelligence-gathering process. Cheney and Scooter reportedly made many trips to Langley, pressuring senior analysts into drawing the "right" conclusions about Iraq's WMD and especially Saddam's alleged nuclear program
02-28-07 - US Official Warns Against Europe?s C.I.A. Flight Probe
02-28-07 - Iran's Very Bad N-Word ** Asked by Siegel to explain why the Israelis have suggested a much shorter timeline for Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, Negroponte stated the obvious with bluntness uncommon for a diplomat. "I think that sometimes what the Israelis will do (is) give you the worst-case assessment."....Seldom have I heard an American senator so openly press the U.S. to mount an attack on a major country simply because it could be perceived as a threat to Israel
02-28-07 - New Iraqi Oil Law Seen as Cover for Privatization Independent analysts and labor groups have also criticized the process of drafting the law and warned that that the bill is so skewed in favor of foreign firms that it could end up heightening political tensions in the Arab nation and spreading instability.
02-28-07 - Kids' prayers aimed against Ahmadinejad the Iranian president has repeatedly called for Israel to be "wiped off the map." Iran's push for nuclear capability has raised fears in Israel that Ahmadinejad may soon be capable of carrying out his threat.
Did Ahmadinejad really call for Israel to be wiped off the map? Would Israel's claim hold up in court, if it came down to it?
02-28-07 - Brzezinski: On The Path To War With Iran **
02-28-07 - UN relays Israel concerns over Syria-Lebanon arms smuggling
02-28-07 - Eurovision 'Armageddon' in Israel Push the Button is widely thought to be a response to Iran's nuclear ambitions and the Islamic republic's fiery president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
02-28-07 - US Israel Lobby Targets Lebanon's Jihad al-Bina It is not enough for AIPAC that the recent Congressional elections, which increased the number of Zionist Jews in Congress from 26 to 31, is the largest pro-Israel contingent elected to Congress in American history
02-28-07 - Public Misconduct - A Call to Investigate All of the President's Men
02-28-07 - Brownback: Engage Iran on Iraq In remarks Wednesday in New York to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Kansas Republican conceded that such engagement was unlikely to work with a country that says it is committed to the destruction of Israel.
02-27-07 - Cheney Safe After Homicide Bombing at U.S. Base in Afghanistan, 23 Killed A homicide bomber attacked the entrance to the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan on Tuesday during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney, killing up to 23 people and wounding 20
02-27-07 - US military chief "categorically" denies plans for Iran air strikes **
02-27-07 - Iran won't halt atomic work, snubs big powers "Suspending uranium enrichment is an illegal and illegitimate demand ... and it will never happen,"
02-27-07 - U.S., Iran and Syria may talk face to face about Iraq The United States and its adversaries in Iran and Syria may for the first time since the Iraq war began meet face to face at a conference next month to discuss the situation in Iraq.
02-27-07 - Iran training Iraqis in Iran, Lebanon: top U.S. spy McConnell's comments were the latest in a series of assertions by U.S. military and intelligence officials that Iran is behind the appearance of EFPS in Iraq, where the weapons have been able to pierce some of the heaviest U.S. armor.
02-27-07 - U.S. Says Raid in Iraq Supports Claim on Iran But critics assert that nearly all the bomb components could have been produced in Iraq or somewhere else in the region. Even if the evidence were to establish that Iran is the source, they add, that does not necessarily mean that the Iranian leadership is responsible
02-27-07 - Iraq official says Iran has stopped meddling
02-27-07 - Rice says Bush will not abide by legislation to limit Iraq war
02-27-07 - How the war on terror made the world a more terrifying place New figures show dramatic rise in terror attacks worldwide since the invasion of Iraq
02-27-07 - Al-Qaeda the 'worst threat' to US Michael McConnell told a congressional panel the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah also posed a grave threat. He also said Iran and North Korea were of most concern to the US because there was a risk they could spread weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
02-27-07 - Iraqi police report children killed in blast Amid conflicting reports over what happened in the volatile western city, the US military said its soldiers had carried out a controlled explosion in Ramadi, also near a football field, that slightly wounded 30 people, including nine children.
02-27-07 - Baker: U.S. must change as events change Baker said, "we cannot be, even if we wanted to be, the policeman for the world.'
02-27-07 - China military modernization aimed at parity with US: intel chief
02-27-07 - Libby trial reveals fabricate- and-smear cycle Whatever the jury decides, Fitzgerald has amply demonstrated that Cheney directed Libby to destroy Wilson's credibility, partly by leaking that his wife, Valerie Plame Wilson, was a CIA operative who had suggested Wilson was well qualified to investigate the claims in Niger
02-27-07 - New York: Targeted By Tehran? Increasing tensions between Washington and Tehran have revived New York Police Department concerns that Iranian agents may already have targeted the city for terror attacks
02-27-07 - Republican senator urges US to deal with Iran, avoid war Hagel, whose criticisms of American foreign policy in the Middle East have ruffled the Bush administration, also backed greater US involvement on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
02-27-07 - Judge dismisses juror from Libby case
02-27-07 - Political problems mount for Ahmadinejad
02-27-07 - Talking Points for the Next War
02-27-07 - Russia offers Hamas leader help to lift embargo Russia told Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal on Tuesday it would try to influence Western powers into lifting an aid embargo on the Palestinian administration but urged the Islamist movement to recognize Israel.... Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman, also in Moscow on a visit, rejected any possibility of lifting the embargo or recognizing the planned new Palestinian government at this stage.
02-27-07 - Hezbollah warns U.S. against Iran attack Sheik Naim Kassem suggested his pro-Iranian group would not get involved if the U.S. attacks Iran, but he raised the possibility that Israel might attack Lebanon as part of such an assault ? in which case, he said, Hezbollah would "definitely" respond.
02-27-07 - Arab League chief blasts Iran policy The 22-member nation group's Secretary-General Amr Mousa Tuesday blasted what he called "double standards" in the West's dealing with Iran's nuclear program, even if it was not military, while "there is definitely an Israeli nuclear military program."
02-27-07 - UN envoy takes Israel to task over Lebanon overflights "The question of Israeli overflights has been raised forcefully in our meetings in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem,"
02-27-07 - Senators Eye Curbs on Cluster Bombs, Widening Matter beyond Israel?s Use "For Jewish-American activists who are active because of their concerns about Israel, they are, generally speaking, not going to want to see additional restrictions placed on Israel's use of U.S. weaponry,".... The director of Human Rights Watch?s arms division, Steve Goose, said the first Feinstein-Leahy push failed "primarily because it was depicted as an anti-Israel amendment." Advocates of the new bill have begun outreach to Jewish-American groups to tamp down any misperceptions that the measure targets Israel, he added.
02-27-07 - America's Alliance With bin Laden We can thank Scooter Libby and the vice president of the United States for having blinded American intelligence to Iranian WMD programs ? Valerie Plame was reportedly the CIA's resident expert on Iranian WMD, and her outfit, Brewster-Jennings "consulting," was the U.S. government's regional eyes and ears on nuclear proliferation issues. I guess that's why we have to depend on the Israelis.
02-27-07 - From May 2006: George Washington Had It Right He warned against foreign influence, calling it a poison to republican government. While he was no doubt thinking of the French, his advice applies to Israel. No foreign country should be allowed to influence American policy because that country will always seek to influence policy to favor its interests, not ours. If we followed Washington's advice, the only thing we would be sending to the Middle East would be oil tankers and tourists.
02-27-07 - Peretz warns Hamas over Gaza weapons Defense minister says IDF may have to act against terror groups in Gaza; also sends warning to Hizbullah
02-27-07 - Palestinian terror suspect offers insight into years spent in CIA custody
02-27-07 - Widespread Demands for Pollard's Release American Jewish organizations have organized a massive nationwide campaign to call the White House every afternoon for the next two months and request/demand freedom for Pollard.....The Zionist Organization of America "welcomes" the recent statements by former CIA director James Woolsey and former top US. Middle East negotiator Dennis Ross in favor of clemency for Pollard, and reiterated its own call for his release.
02-27-07 - HAMILTON: Why are we afraid to talk? One of the most troubling developments in American foreign policy is an increasing reluctance to pursue diplomacy. Nowhere is this more apparent than in our current approach toward Iran and Syria.
02-27-07 - As Jewish groups huddle, quagmire in Iraq undermines resolve on Iran The Boston JCRC proposal called for Jewish and non-Jewish groups to form a "Stop Iran" coalition that would launch political, economic and educational initiatives against the Iranian nuclear threat, including a mass demonstration in Washington and a divestment campaign.....Hagel said Bush's policy of not engaging Iran until it comes clean on its nuclear program was not adequate. "By refusing to engage with Iran, we are perpetuating dangerous geopolitical unpredictabilities," he said. "Our refusal to recognize Iran's influence does not decrease its influence but increases it." He added, "We must be clear that the United States does not seek regime change in Iran." Such talk is in clear contradiction to policies promoted by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the lobbying powerhouse, which backs Bush's tough posture and advocates only the narrowest engagement with Iran.
02-27-07 - Germantown Man Accused of Terror Ties A Palestinian man living with his family in a quiet Germantown cove is in government custody after he's accused of having ties to terrorists
02-27-07 - Palestine Native Sentenced To Seven Years The leader of a small mosque in Rome, Ga., has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison after confessing to aiding the Islamic militant group Hamas
02-27-07 - Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon Authorities have confiscated 31 sets of highly sophisticated explosive devices near a Palestinian refugee camp in south Lebanon, police said Tuesday.
02-26-07 - Russia 'worried' about talk of possible attack on Iran ** the New Yorker magazine reported Sunday that the United States is stepping up covert operations in Iran in a new strategy that risks sparking an "open confrontation" and benefits Sunni radicals.
02-26-07 - World powers to work on resolution on Iran
02-26-07 - US finds 'Iran-made' arms in Iraq But Maj Siegrist said: "I don't think there's any way this can be tied to a government."
02-26-07 - Collision Course With Iran Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich ** The White House is now selectively leaking intelligence to set the stage for a military attack on Iran.
02-26-07 - Cheney Defends Iraq War, Attacks Critics Answering growing criticism in the U.S. and Australia, he defended the Iraq war as a "remarkable achievement" in one speech, and dismissed suggestions his influence in Washington is waning.
02-26-07 - Bachmann seeks to clarify remarks on Iran and partition of Iraq Rep. Michele Bachmann, who claimed in a recent interview to know of an Iranian plan to partition Iraq and turn half of it into a "terrorist haven" to launch attacks in the Middle East, said Friday that she was "sorry if my words have been misconstrued."
02-26-07 - Perle: Bush Failed by his Own People Surprising words from the man critics of the White House have dubbed "the Prince of Darkness" - a leading neo-conservative who was one of the key proponents of the 2002 invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein......Perle: We just don't have the best and the brightest. I think Colin Powell was a disaster. He never liked the president's policies. He did almost nothing to get them implemented Sounds like Powell fought these neocon policies tooth and nail. Powell is still one of the good guys. Read on for the rest of Perle's backpedal and spin.
02-26-07 - Iran says 'space rocket' was for study
02-26-07 - Hamas leader hails Russian efforts over aid embargo
02-26-07 - Fear Stupid Acts I hope President George Bush will not be so stupid as to allow the Israelis to push him into an attack on Iran. Based on his past performance, however, I'm not sure what he will do.
02-26-07 - Saudis' cutbacks raise oil concerns Oil prices are up and the world's biggest producer has been cutting back ? a recipe for those prices to keep on climbing.
02-26-07 - Dems' Me-Too Iran Talk ** Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., told the AIPAC annual convention at the end of January, "In dealing with this threat ... no option can be taken off the table." Former senator John Edwards was even more vehement in a speech on Iran last month at the Herzliya Conference in Israel. "To ensure that Iran never gets nuclear weapons, we need to keep all options on the table," he said, and then repeated the point for emphasis. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., appearing on "60 Minutes" recently, declared, "I think we should keep all options on the table."
02-26-07 - Why Have So Many U.S. Attorneys Been Fired? It Looks a Lot Like Politics The Bush administration cleared the way for these personnel changes by slipping a little-noticed provision into the Patriot Act last year that allows the president to appoint interim U.S. attorneys for an indefinite period without Senate confirmation.
02-26-07 - Poverty gap in US has widened under Bush
02-26-07 - U.S. War with Iran would be Navy, Air Force show: Analysts **
02-26-07 - Secret report: Terror threat worst since 9/11 The terrorist threat facing Britain from home-grown al-Qaeda agents is higher than at any time since the September 11 attacks in 2001, secret intelligence documents reveal.
02-26-07 - In Iran, religious delegation urges building bridges, deeper dialogue with US
02-26-07 - AIPAC Demands "Action" on Iran **
02-26-07 - Israel to hold nationwide nuclear attack drill Israel suspects is Iran is aiming to develop an atomic bomb, but Tehran insists its programme is for civilian energy purposes
02-26-07 - Pax Christi official: U.S. needs diplomats who know religion, Iran
02-26-07 - Preemption option: a must for Israel Why the CSM has saw fit to publish and feature prominently on its front page not one but two pieces of propaganda that fall in line with the 'attack Iran' camp is a mystery to me.
02-26-07 - U.S. Vows To Force-feed Inmate On Strike Former Professor Sami al-Arian, 49, began his strike Jan. 21 and has had only water since to protest demands he testify about Virginia Muslim charities allegedly financing terrorist organizations.
02-26-07 - GOP drops candidate over Jewish remarks "I personally see Israel going into Iran and Syria in the next couple of months... It's mainly because of the Jewish faction inside the Democratic Party. Most Jewish people are Democrats, and they bring that wealth. My opinion is, if Israel would go into Iran, Democrats will follow that cause."
02-26-07 - In e-mail age, some still swear by pigeons The most common users of the 3,000-year-old method of communication are Palestinian refugees
02-26-07 - From July 2005: The American hand in Iran On February 11, a promoter of the IFF, Worldnetdaily.com, announced that Corsi had helped Republican Senator Paul Santorum write the Iran Freedom and Support Act of 2005 Corsi is a neocon.
02-26-07 - Hizbullah builds new line of defense
02-25-07 - US Generals ?Will Quit? If Bush Orders Iran Attack ** Tension in the Gulf region has raised fears that an attack on Iran is becoming increasingly likely before President George Bush leaves office. The Sunday Times has learnt that up to five generals and admirals are willing to resign rather than approve what they consider would be a reckless attack. Thank you for speaking up! Iran has not threatened us (in the absence of any threats we've made), Iran has not attacked us, nor does Iran have nuclear weapons with which to attack us. Mefears there will be a terror attack on US interests that will be blamed on Iran which was described in Giraldi's now famous Deep Background column that you can read here.
02-25-07 - Vets on the Street Already, nearly 200,000 veterans?many from the Vietnam War?sleep on the streets every night, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs
02-25-07 - U.N. calls U.S. data on Iran's nuclear aims unreliable ** Tips about supposed secret weapons sites and documents with missile designs haven't panned out, diplomats say.
02-25-07 - Iran says fires first rocket into space
02-25-07 - New US covert operations helping Sunni Muslim radicals ** Hersh also reports, citing unnamed sources, that the US Defense Department recently formed a special planning group to plan possible attacks on Iran "that can be implemented, upon orders from the president, within 24 hours."
02-25-07 - U.S. developing contingency plan to bomb Iran: report **
02-25-07 - Delegates will seek consensus on how to put more pressure on Tehran.
02-25-07 - UK doubles naval presence in Persian Gulf ** Cdre Winstanley said there was a message for Iran in the expansion of the coalition fleet in the waters of the Persian Gulf, Sea of Oman and Arabian Sea.
02-25-07 - US aircraft carrier has no plans to 'intimidate Iran' ** However, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said in January that reinforcing the US naval presence in the oil-rich region was a message to Iran, which has defied the international community over its nuclear drive.
02-25-07 - Ahmadinejad says 'no brakes' on Iran nuclear drive President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday defied Western threats to impose more sanctions over Iran's contested nuclear programme, comparing its atomic drive to a "train with no brakes."
02-25-07 - THE REDIRECTION by SEYMOUR M. HERSH ** The Administration is now examining a wave of new intelligence on Iran?s weapons programs. Current and former American officials told me that the intelligence, which came from Israeli agents operating in Iran, includes a claim that Iran has developed a three-stage solid-fuelled intercontinental missile capable of delivering several small warheads?each with limited accuracy?inside Europe. The validity of this human intelligence is still being debated......Patrick Clawson, of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, depicted the Saudis? coöperation with the White House as a significant breakthrough. ?The Saudis understand that if they want the Administration to make a more generous political offer to the Palestinians they have to persuade the Arab states to make a more generous offer to the Israelis,? Well well well. IF you read on you will discover the influence of the Saudis in all of this. The same ones that are effectively gouging the price of oil which has at times caused Americans to assume the position. Mama no like.
02-25-07 - White House Rehearses for a Domestic Attack The White House is staging a high-level exercise Saturday to test responses to the prospect of a massive domestic terrorist attack involving IEDs (improvised explosive devices)?the same deadly roadside bombs that have been used by insurgents against the U.S. military in Iraq. Really now.
02-25-07 - Gates Names Panel To Review Walter Reed Problems
02-25-07 - Iran's Ahmadinejad talks to US Christians The trip by the US Christians comes after US religious leaders met Ahmadinejad during his visit to New York in September to address the UN General Assembly.
02-25-07 - US renews offer of talks with Iran
02-25-07 - British troops face Iraq abuse allegations The allegations reportedly involve claims that soldiers kicked and stoned a 14-year-old boy at gunpoint, and laughed as they loaded bodies of dead insurgents into a Land Rover, before realising they were just boys.
02-25-07 - Report: 3 Gulf states agree to IAF overflights en route to Iran ** According to the report, a diplomat from one of the gulf states visiting Washington on Saturday said the three states, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, have told the United States that they would not object to Israel using their airspace, despite their fear of an Iranian response. Coincidentally, Cheney is in Oman today.
02-25-07 - Americans unaware of Iraqi death toll
02-25-07 - Saudi king invites Syrian president to next month's Arab summit Saudi Arabia's king has invited Syrian President Bashar Assad to next month's Arab summit ? a move that could help improve strained relations between the two countries, Syria's official news agency, SANA, reported Sunday.
02-25-07 - Arab League refutes Israeli reports on using Arab airspace against Iran **
02-25-07 - JCPA, Hillel plenum draws 800 Delegates will close the session on Tuesday with lobbying on Capitol Hill. Among the policies they will advocate are sanctions against Iran and Sudan
02-25-07 - Edwards: Israel not a threat to world peace Columnist Peter Bart reports that Edwards told a Hollywood fundraiser last month that the possibility that Israel would bomb Iran's nuclear facilities is perhaps the greatest short-term threat to world peace.
02-25-07 - Post 9/11, Islam flourishes among blacks
02-25-07 - Jordan queen urges Muslims to reject extremism Jordan's Queen Rania on Sunday said Muslims must recognise that much of the terror in recent years has been committed in the name of Islam if they want to be taken seriously by the West.
02-25-07 - Hezbollah construction firm -- charity or terror group? "Is it terrorism to help people rebuild their homes, destroyed by American-made Israeli bombs in the course of a war sponsored by the United States?"
02-25-07 - Transcripts lack key quotes in terrorism case In recent court filings, defense lawyers disclosed striking discrepancies between an official summary and the verbatim transcripts of an FBI wiretapped conversation in 1996 involving Holy Land officials.
02-25-07 - PBS and students to discuss Islamic and American relations The meeting will coincide with a six-part PBS film series produced by WETA ?TV, the PBS affiliate in Washington, D.C. The series is titled, ?America at a Crossroads,? and explores the American experience in the War on Terror in Iraq. One of the film clips which will be shown at the meeting is called, ?The Case for War: In Defense of Freedom? and will discuss the reasons and objectives of an aggressive foreign policy in Iraq. Perle is featured extensively in this segment.
02-24-07 - Iran ready for anything in nuclear dispute ** "We do not see America in a position to impose another crisis on its tax-payers ... by starting another war in the Middle East," Mottaki said.
02-24-07 - Iranian envoy blasts U.S., U.K., Israel Iran's deputy U.N. ambassador Mehdi Danesh Yazdi told the U.N. Security Council Friday that his country has an "inalienable right" to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and would not "give in to the pressures emanating from groundless and unsubstantiated allegations and ulterior political motives."
02-24-07 - Iran kills 17 rebels close to Turkey border
02-24-07 - Israel denies seeking US go-ahead for Iran strike **
02-24-07 - Dick Cheney: Iran Not Making Nukes
02-24-07 - Dark Clouds Over the White House Patrick J. Fitzgerald lets the cat out of the bag
02-24-07 - Sen. Sununu speaks on Iraq; Bush policy on war; upcoming election Sununu did not dispute corruption exists in both Israeli and Palestinian governments, but made clear: "Corruption is horrible, but that doesn't mean that two parties can't come to an agreement on things like borders and security and have that agreement hold."
02-24-07 - US rejects ban on cluster bombs
02-23-07 - Told to wait, a Marine dies
02-23-07 - American armada prepares to take on Iran ** The addition of a second aircraft carrier to its strike groups has fuelled the belief that America is gearing up for a fight with Iran. Not since the Iraq war in 2003 has America amassed so much fire power around the Gulf.
02-23-07 - Israel seeks all clear for Iran air strike ** Israel is negotiating with the United States for permission to fly over Iraq as part of a plan to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.....A senior Israeli defence official said negotiations were now underway between the two countries for the US-led coalition in Iraq to provide an "air corridor" in the event of the Israeli government deciding on unilateral military action to prevent Teheran developing nuclear weapons.
02-23-07 - Iran faces new sanctions over nuclear expansion ** some UN diplomats are not hopeful that Iran can be persuaded to give up its nuclear programme. One said that there was "a 60 per cent chance" of military strikes on Iran.
02-23-07 - Straying From the Script the briefing wound up raising new questions about whether the Bush administration is hyping intelligence about Iran in much the same way it did about Saddam Hussein?s regime in Iraq four years ago
02-23-07 - Cheney criticizes China's arms buildup
02-23-07 - Rice says Europe, Russia want Iran talks
02-23-07 - US keeps 'all options' open concerning Iran: Cheney **
02-23-07 - Cheney hints at Iran strike ** He has endorsed Republican senator John McCain's proposition that the only thing worse than a military confrontation with Iran would be a nuclear-armed Iran.....The visiting Vice-President said that he had no doubt Iran was striving to enrich uranium to the point where they could make nuclear weapons. And I have no doubts that Cheney is planning for an Iran attack (and has been doing so since at least Aug. 2005).
02-23-07 - Blair in talks with Bush to site US defence shield in Britain The siting of the weapons in Europe has led to a hostile reaction from Russia, causing fears of a new Cold War.
02-23-07 - Iran leader vows nuclear defiance Permanent UN Security Council members and Germany will meet on Monday to discuss further sanctions against Iran.
02-23-07 - Any U.S. strike might not destroy Iran nuclear sites **
02-23-07 - Rice Faces Formidable White House Foe Abrams' personal influence over Bush could not possibly match Rice's, but his bureaucratic skills and political connections -- notably to the so-called "Israel Lobby" of pro-Likud Jewish organisations and the Christian Right -- give him considerable clout. According to various sources, Abrams has been working systematically to undermine any prospect for serious negotiations designed to give substance to Rice's hopes -- and increasingly impatient demands by Saudi King Abdullah -- of offering the Palestinians a "political horizon" for a final settlement.....Abrams was an early protégé of Richard Perle, whom he first met, along with other prominent pro-Likud hard-liners, such as Feith, former U.N. Amb. Jeane Kirpatrick, and Weekly Standard editor William Kristol, while working in the offices of Washington State Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson....Badly damaged by his felony conviction for lying to Congress about his role in the Iran-Contra affair, Abrams, like many neo-cons, left government service under the decidedly "realist" administration of President George H.W. Bush
'felony conviction for lying to Congress'? Why is this man back in the US government? Because he's a darling of the neocons/AIPACers. Read the entire article.
02-23-07 - Speculation Rages: Is Iran Bush's Next Target? ** "I still believe, at the end of the day, that he will bomb the Iranian (nuclear) facilities," said Joshua Muravchik, a neoconservative scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank with close ties to the Bush administration. Muravchik, who favors military action, sees Bush's current focus on diplomacy as a prelude to attack
02-23-07 - Democrats Seek to Repeal 2002 War Authorization
02-23-07 - Tougher sanctions against Iran are on the table
02-23-07 - No False Choices: Chuck Hagel's Foreign Policy Roadmap Bush should take advantage of Powell's loyalty and the respect that Powell still commands globally and make him the Middle East arm-twister. Elliot Abrams, who is not a productive player when it comes to moving a new stable equilibrium forward in the Middle East, would be trumped by Powell's status and engagement. Here here. Bring back Powell! Read on for Hagel's opinion about military action against Iran.
02-23-07 - India bans atomic exports to Iran
02-23-07 - Iran-Bashing Fails to Get Far "This involves turning the confrontation between Muslim countries and Israel and the U.S. into one in which Arabs and Muslims fight against each other," Abu al-Hadid told IPS. "Unfortunately, some are helping the U.S. create animosity between the regional actors, and the primary struggle -- for the liberation of occupied Arab land -- is being forgotten."
02-23-07 - Kurds deny deal to allow Palestinians safe haven
02-23-07 - Analysis: U.S. nixes Israel-Syria talks It is laughable the notion that the US directs Israeli policy and not the other way around.
02-23-07 - 46 nations push for cluster bomb treaty Some key arms makers - including the U.S., Russia, Israel and China - snubbed the conference
02-23-07 - The British government must take this new opportunity to end its shameful opposition to a ban on cluster bombs According to the police report, Kamaleddine Mohammad was gathering wood near the Rashidiyeh Palestinian refugee camp outside Tyre in Lebanon last month when he stepped on an unexploded submunition from a cluster bomb. Mohammad was yet another victim of Israel's cluster bombing campaign at the end of last summer's war between Israel and Hizbollah. He is one of the tens of thousands of civilians killed or injured by cluster munitions in war zones throughout the world in recent decades.
02-23-07 - What else can Israel ask of President Bush? On Friday, when Rice was en route to the region, Olmert and Bush spoke on the phone. It is not clear who called whom, and what exactly was said, but Olmert announced after the conversation that Bush is in line with him about insisting on "the Quartet's conditions" for the Palestinian government: recognize Israel, renounce terror and honor previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements........Some believe that since Bush is the best thing to ever happen to Israel, it is important to exploit the remainder of his term to upgrade relations. GFY. The first thing that comes to mind after having read this article. America has done quite enough, thanks.
02-23-07 - British U-turn brings global ban on deadly cluster bombs a step closer
02-23-07 - Victory of Iraq war isn't for U.S., but Iran The neocons are apparently gone from Washington, but there are still some of them around, writing memos and influencing policy. The memos for the deployment of another 21,500 troops to Iraq came from William Kristol and Robert Kagan, lesser lights than I. Lewis Libby and Douglas Feith and Paul Wolfowitz, but still neocons. Despite all the mistakes the neocons have made in understanding the importance of religion in that part of the world, the President is still apparently willing to listen to them. Now he is doing all he can to prepare the public for a war with Iran.
02-23-07 - Shell, Repsol, Total, Defy U.S. to Seek Iran Deals
02-23-07 - Savage on Sawyer: a "lying whore" who "in essence, is agreeing that the Holocaust didn't occur" Despite his best efforts to portray himself as a Conservative - Savage is a part of the Israeli lobby. He is the epitome of a neocon (former granola-munching liberal-cum-conservative).
02-23-07 - Old Europe and the Mullahs by Philip Giraldi ** AIPAC's formulation that the option of force "must remain on the table" when dealing with Iran has been repeated like a mantra by numerous politicians and government officials, not too surprisingly as AIPAC writes the briefings and position papers that many Congressmen unfortunately rely on
02-23-07 - UN envoy to visit Lebanon to assess August truce A UN envoy is to visit Lebanon next week to assess compliance with an August truce resolution that ended last summer's war between Israel and Shiite militant group Hezbollah.
02-23-07 - Dems call on GOP to drop Indianapolis pol ..."My opinion is, if Israel would go into Iran, Democrats will follow that cause. I really do believe that."
02-23-07 - Romney issues pension challenge, again Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney challenged New York?s governor and U.S. senators to divest state pension funds from Iran ? though it?s not clear they?re in fact invested there.
02-23-07 - Wolfowitz May Bring Bank Back to Iraq In a previous statement, Edwards argued that "Wolfowitz's apparent determination to use the World Bank to further questionable American military goals in the Middle East is a fundamental distortion of the Bank's mission, a violation of its founding Articles of Agreement, and a reckless waste of donor resources." Now we know why Wolfowitz was given that position.
02-23-07 - Hizbullah rep says no talks on hostage swap There are currently no negotiations for prisoner exchange between Israel and Hizbullah, Lebanese Hizbullah parliamentarian Hasan Haballah says. Haballah warns group may launch civil revolt in Lebanon if ?doors closed in our face?
02-23-07 - Three out of four Israelis would like to be part of EU Seventy-six per cent of Israelis cited foreign policy as a priority, which suggests that the widespread perception of Tony Blair as a friend of Israel may have influenced Britain's 80 per cent approval as the Israelis' favourite European country And that would be because under Blair, Britain has gone along with the Bush administration's neocon-driven foreign policies.
02-23-07 - ACLU asks NY federal court to strike down US terrorism policy It said an entry in the State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual says that the provision is directed at those who have voiced "irresponsible expressions of opinion."
02-23-07 - War drills occupy French sailors amid Lebanon lull Amid the drills, Israeli warplanes continue to overfly UN peacekeeping ships, a practice French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie criticised last October as "dangerous".
02-22-07 - The Revolution America has lost a lot of respect and admiration in the world, particularly during the current administration. On this day, George Washington's birthday, let us remember what it is all about; liberty and justice for all. This series was broadcast by the History Channel the week of July 4, 2006. It is a powerful piece that I highly recommend every American watch. Being patriotic is more than just displaying a flag on your car or house. It means paying attention to what is going on in this country and having the gumption to speak up when you see something going on that is not just.
What did all of our soldiers die for both then and now, NAFTA, RIAA, AIPAC, oil? No. They died so that you and I could have the basic freedoms and rights put forth by our founding fathers. Don't let their extraordinary efforts and sacrifice be all for naught. Make sure that the liberties they fought for remain in place and be prepared to stand up for justice.
02-22-07 - Russia warns U.S. on Iran moves ** Russia's foreign minister Wednesday warned the United States not to take military action against Iran.
02-22-07 - UN to press Iran on nuclear talks
02-22-07 - British officials fear US will attack Iran ** Senior British government officials fear that US President George W. Bush will attack Iran before his final term in office ends in a little less than two years time, a newspaper reported in an early Friday edition.
02-22-07 - UN talks to review Iran defiance Permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany will meet in London on Monday to discuss further sanctions against Iran, a US official has said.
02-22-07 - US Iran intelligence 'is incorrect' ** most of the tip-offs about supposed secret weapons sites provided by the CIA and other US intelligence agencies have led to dead ends when investigated by IAEA inspectors, according to informed sources in Vienna. Read the bit about the laptop and the data that's in, of all languages, ENGLISH. Comical.
02-22-07 - Second US carrier arrives off Iran **
02-22-07 - Our Very Own War Criminals the leading warmonger, William Kristol, has been provided with a column in Time Magazine in order to spread his poison to a larger audience. There is only one thing to do. Boycott Time, the Fox news programs in which he appears, and, of course, the Weekly Standard which he edits. Please inform your friends. Boycotts, alas, bring results. The neocons have been doing it for years. Let?s give them some of their own medicine back.
Ooo Taki. Now you're talking!
02-22-07 - Secretive force at center of tensions between U.S., Iran "It's like taking the CIA, special forces and the State Department and rolling them all into one," said the U.S. official. Ahmm, yes, it is quite like that now isn't it? Not quite the meaning that the official intended, but it works.
02-22-07 - US soldier jailed for Iraq murder Sgt Paul Cortez admitted four murders, rape and conspiracy to rape.
02-22-07 - Is This America?
02-22-07 - Cheney's Obsession? Libby Trial Offered Rare Glimpse of Power, Raised Questions About Vice President's Role
02-22-07 - Libby jury told to consider 'life experiences' on memory The judge instructed jurors in the perjury trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby to consider their "life experiences" and "the capacity of human beings to remember things they said and were told" at a later time. The JUDGE said this?
02-22-07 - Perjury Libby hearing casts cloud over Cheney an acquittal would also carry risks for Mr Fitzgerald. It could lead to criticism that he prosecuted what turned out to be a trivial case. It could also underline that he failed to prosecute anyone for the initial crime he was appointed to investigate: who it was who leaked the name of Ms Plame Even if Fitzgerald fails to get a conviction in the Libby case, America still wins. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you haven't been paying attention.
02-22-07 - FM: Hamas political leader to visit Russia
02-22-07 - Washington planning UN arms embargo against Iran In recent weeks, Israel has carried out a diplomatic campaign against the transfer of weapons to terrorist organizations, in an effort to establish this concept as part of a new international norm. Imagine.
02-22-07 - Quartet has no plans to boycott to Palestinian government - Lavrov
02-22-07 - Cheney hails Australia over Iraq
02-22-07 - Israel gripped by Syria war fears A reported Syrian troop build-up near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights has fuelled speculation in Israel about a future conflict, more than three decades after the two enemies last went to war.
02-22-07 - Capitol rally for captives Families of three captive Israeli soldiers will join Congress members and Jewish community leaders in a Washington rally.
02-22-07 - Israelis favor U.S. The United States tops the list of Israelis? favorite foreign countries, a poll found. Small wonder.
02-22-07 - Iraq is 'worst disaster' for US policy The current administration mistakenly believes it can bring peace by unilateral action, she said.
It has also failed to engage sufficiently in a search for peace between Palestinians and Israel and failed to adequately support Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, she said.
02-22-07 - Albright says next president must 'restore goodness of American power' Carter and Albright appeared on The Carter Center stage together for what the former president had indicated would be a debate on his controversial book "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid."
02-22-07 - In Utah, former Israeli leader warns of spread of nuclear weapons More students in America get Hasbara-ized.
02-22-07 - Russia becomes USA's closest partner in non-proliferation of nuclear weapons
02-22-07 - Evangelist tells students: Shun Muslims
02-22-07 - Public awareness important in terrorism fight, official says Nadav Morag, formerly Israel's senior director for domestic policy, had a nontraditional tip on Wednesday for representatives of public and corporate security agencies concerned about possible terrorism. "Tell the public what you're doing," said Morag, now a faculty member at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Monterey, Calif.
Read that again.
02-22-07 - 'There will be another war in the summer' Many in the south suspect Israel is trying to create a buffer zone along the border on Lebanese land allegedly captured during the summer war and the UN is assisting them. That suspicion has furthered the popular perception that the UN forces are in south Lebanon to protect Israel from Hizbullah.
02-22-07 - Is Washington Being Sidelined on the Middle East? In a way, the change demonstrates an erosion of U.S. influence in the Middle East, which is a direct result of the implementation of the neoconservative agenda that has led to the disastrous political and military situation in Iraq.
02-22-07 - Washington notes: Iran embargo, Quartet statement, AIPAC trial Last week, a Foreign Ministry delegation headed by the deputy director for strategic affairs, Miriam Ziv, presented data on the arms transfers to Hezbollah to senior officials in the German Foreign Ministry. The Germans expressed some reservations about the validity of the data.
02-22-07 - Escalating Threats of U.S. Attacks Against Iran ** Israeli rhetoric against Iran is largely paralleling U.S. claims; unlike the run-up to the Iraq War, Israel and the pro-Israeli lobbies in the U.S. are pressing hard for an attack on Iran, and any Israeli involvement would significantly undercut Congressional opposition.....The U.S. is more isolated now than at any time since the beginning of the 2003 Iraq War; no U.S. allies except Israel are supporting calls for a U.S. attack on Iran.
That's because US allies know this time around who is behind this second cry of 'wolf!'. They are not amused.
02-22-07 - The myth of Muslim support for terror
02-22-07 - Mediaeval Muslims made stunning math breakthrough
02-22-07 - Defense in ex-AIPAC staffers' case can cite U.S.-Israel ties, judge rules Ellis adds: "U.S. State Department and other U.S. government officials likely are able to testify as to whether the governments of the United States and Israel routinely used AIPAC as a diplomatic 'back channel.' " .....Of the two other U.S. government officials cited in the indictment as sharing information with Rosen and Weissman, David Satterfield has since been promoted to the post of top State Department adviser on Iraq issues, and Ken Pollack, formerly a national security councillor, is now research director at the Saban Center think tank. Apparently there are no plans to charge Satterfield or Pollack.....Ellis also ruled that defense lawyers may present exculpatory evidence of the close Israel-U.S. relationship, and of AIPAC's role in nurturing that relationship. He said he would allow, even encourage, testimony showing that the AIPAC-U.S.-Israel triangle benefits all three parties. ....Ellis' latest ruling means that defense lawyers can "put on evidence that AIPAC serves as a back channel" between the United States and Israel, a source close to the defense said. "Evidence of the policy cooperation between the United States and Israel is relevant." Thank you judge, you have just proved my case for me :) AIPAC, you see, drives American foreign policy in the region (to our detriment).
02-22-07 - Polls show anti-American feelings at all time high in Muslim countries "Muslims cannot accept the US policy of supporting Israel and its occupation of Arab and Muslim territories," he said, adding that Arabs could also not understand Washington's opposition to Iran's nuclear program while Israel's was ignored.
02-22-07 - The final punch Evidently, Israel is a prime cheerleader for war, and most likely Israeli agents are working overtime to provide the needed case for war; at least we know, through news reports that Israeli agents are actively involved in Iraq and there is a possibility that they have penetrated the Iranian domain as well, through the northern Kurdish areas
02-22-07 - Iranian students torch flags at nuclear rally The students also condemned construction work by Israel near Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound which sparked violent Palestinian protests and angered Muslims across the world.
02-22-07 - 'Solve it or quit' Lebanese campaigners tell politicians
02-21-07 - US probes troops' neglect claims Washington has ordered a review of the way wounded US soldiers are cared for at military hospitals, following highly critical reports in the US media.
02-21-07 - Iran Sends Mixed Signals Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on Western nations Tuesday to stop their own enrichment programs if they wanted his country to stop its own and return to negotiations.
02-21-07 - Officials: Iranian patrol boats probe Iraqi waters **
02-21-07 - US soldier admits murdering girl
02-21-07 - A top aide to Bush heads to Moscow after Putin criticism The trip by the adviser, Stephen Hadley, was planned weeks ago. But it now comes in the context of the harsh Russian words about the antimissile plan, the earlier stinging denunciation of U.S. policy by President Vladimir Putin, and the underlying Russian suggestion that a hidden American agenda is designed to expand its influence in Eastern Europe.
02-21-07 - Scooter Libby and World War III **
02-21-07 - Russia, U.S. at odds on Palestinians before meeting Russia called on Wednesday for an easing of pressure on the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority but the United States said an aid embargo must remain in place until the Palestinians meet conditions set out by western powers.
02-21-07 - Two 'Gators' deploy from Norfolk in two different directions ** The 1,000 sailors of the Saipan had just six weeks to get ready. The Captain said they're needed in the Arabian Gulf, where they could remain for four to six months.
02-21-07 - Rice slams Russian general over comments "I think everyone understands that with a growing Iranian missile threat, which is quite pronounced, that there need to be ways to deal with that problem,"
02-21-07 - US Navy denies reports of offensive military build-up in Gulf **
02-21-07 - Death toll from Iran bomb blast rises to 13 Zahedan, a dusty and restive border city, is the capital of Sistan-Baluchestan province which borders both Afghanistan and Pakistan and has been the centre of low-level unrest over the past months.
02-21-07 - Olmert calls for tougher Iran sanctions
02-21-07 - US wants tougher Iran sanctions Hey, where did I just hear that?...
02-21-07 - Viewpoint: Iranians speak out Four Iranians inside Iran respond to questions about their country's nuclear programme - and their president's handling of international concern surrounding it.
02-21-07 - States begin criticizing Iraq policy, too
02-21-07 - Why US is now turning to diplomacy After success with Libya and North Korea, the US is bringing its multilateral approach to Iran.
02-21-07 - Cheney: Thanks for Cutting and Running Vice President Dick Cheney, keeping as far from federal prosecutors as possible these days, arrived in Japan Wednesday to officially thank that country for supporting the Bush-Cheney administration's invasion and occupation of Iraq.
02-21-07 - The Libby-Cheney Connection If Libby is found guilty, investigators are likely to probe further to determine if Libby devised what they consider a cover story in an effort to shield Cheney
02-21-07 - Trial Spotlights Cheney?s Power as an Infighter
02-21-07 - Anti-American Feelings Soar as Muslim Society is Radicalised by War on Terror This poll skirted the Israel factor which is absolutely a key part of the animosity towards America.
02-21-07 - Your assistance is greatly appreciated. To those of you who were able to respond to my appeal for support,
Thank you. This has been a slow month for donations. I need to post this
notice again in the hope that others may respond. A great newsletter. Please support the cause.
02-21-07 - Great rebuttal by CNN anchor against a Israel Spokeswomen Israel cares not for the lives of Arabs - be they civilian or otherwise. Never has. Recall that AFTER the incident in question of the video clip, that Israel fired 1 million cluster bomblets into Lebanese civilian areas knowing that a ceasefire was to be implemented in 3 days. The same Israeli spokeswoman can be seen during the last few minutes in this clip on this British news website trying to spin Israel's attack on Beit Hanoun which killed many civilians including children. It's pitiful.
02-21-07 - Lebanese army fire at Israeli planes The Israeli planes had "violated Lebanese sovereignty, posing a challenge to U.N. Resolution 1701," the spokesman said, referring to the Security Council resolution that ended Israel's 34-day war with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon last August. What do you suppose Israel would do if the Lebanese (or any other nation in the region), routinely and in defiance of international law, flew over the country?
02-21-07 - Lantos calls for end to Jackson-Vanik It was imposed because of the Soviet Union?s emigration and human rights policies toward Jews.
02-21-07 - Hezbollah slams assets freeze A Hezbollah statement faxed to The Associated Press said the measure against Jihad al-Bina came because the company is "rebuilding areas destroyed by the brutal Zionist aggression last summer which occurred with a clear political, military and financial American support."
02-21-07 - As Democrats flex their muscles, groups array against Bush agenda Another area promising tension with the Bush administration is its drive to revive the Israel-Palestinian peace process. Pro-Israel and Jewish Democrats, backed by the pro-Israel lobby, often drive congressional Middle East policy, and they already have made clear their skepticism about Rice?s efforts. Note the source.
02-20-07 - Pentagon dismisses report of Iran attack plan as "ludicrous" ** The Pentagon has dismissed as "ludicrous" a BBC report that the US military has drawn up detailed contingency plans for air strikes against Iran.
02-20-07 - Tehran dismisses threat of force **
02-20-07 - Iran summons Pakistan envoy over bomb blasts
02-20-07 - Tehran defies UN nuclear deadline Iran has rejected the United Nations' demands for the country to suspend its uranium enrichment before a deadline set for today, ensuring a further escalation of diplomatic tension with the West over its contested nuclear programme.
02-20-07 - Libby Prosecutors, Defense Wrap Up Closing Arguments ''He made a gamble. He lied,'' prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said during a full day of arguments by both sides in Washington. ''Don't you think the FBI and the grand jury and the American people are entitled to straight answers?''
02-20-07 - New tensions over Iran's nuclear plans ** A new element emerging over the last couple of weeks is the linkage the US is making between Iran and events inside Iraq. It has publicised its contention that Iran is behind sophisticated technology that is being used by some Shia groups against US and British forces in Iraq. The timing of this claim, rejected by Iran, is significant, because it ties in with expiry of the Security Council demand on 21 February. It adds a new component into the equation
02-20-07 - Shame on the Washington Post, Again Just days before the perjury/obstruction trial of former White House aide I. Lewis ?Scooter? Libby goes to the jury, the Washington Post?s Outlook section published a bizarre front-page article by right-wing legal expert Victoria Toensing suggesting that the prosecutor and one of the chief victims in the case should be put on trial.
Then it's official: it's time to BOYCOTT the Washington Post. From this day forward, there won't be any more links to articles by the Washington Post.
02-20-07 - WaPo Gives Platform For a Partisan to Mischaracterize the Libby Trial ... Again Why is she being given this platform yet again? In a word - neocons. They have many friends in the MSM. One of their own may soon be convicted of a crime. This is their last-ditch effort to exonerate by way of the typical smear campaign that they seem to enjoy.
02-20-07 - 'Rogue' Shi'ite militias using Iranian bombs The evidence presented at a briefing in Baghdad last week further confuses an enemy landscape in which death is as likely to come at the hands of government-allied Shi'ite militias as from disgruntled former Ba'athist extremists and their al Qaeda allies.
02-20-07 - Iran nears industrial N-fuel production Mr ElBaradei added that US and British intelligence estimates said that Iran was still five to 10 years away from developing a nuclear bomb and warned against "hype" over Tehran's nuclear progress.
02-20-07 - Not Good News ** Although the devices were not IED?s like those found in Iraq, the explosions were in the area a group sponsored by the United States may be operating. The area in Iran is Sistan-Baluchestan near the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Sy Hersh and a number of other reporters have said this is the area in which the MEK (or the mouthful name Mujahedin-e Khalq) have been operating.
02-20-07 - Chris Wallace smashes Feith's Iraq Qaeda claim During this morning's edition of Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace follows up on an interview with Douglas Feith which aired the previous week and points to a Weekly Standard article from November 2003 in order to debunk Feith's claim that he never connected Iraq with al Qaeda.
02-20-07 - The Defendant Isn?t the Only Player With a Personal Stake in the Libby Verdict As lawyers for I. Lewis Libby Jr. make their final argument to the jury on Tuesday, they face the daunting task of raising sufficient doubts about the government?s assertion that Mr. Libby lied to a grand jury and federal investigators.
02-20-07 - Bush Continues to Serve Osama
02-20-07 - Law Restricting Guantanamo Appeals Upheld An appeals court on Tuesday upheld the part of a tough anti-terrorism law signed by President George W. Bush that took away the rights of Guantanamo prisoners to challenge their detention before U.S. federal judges.
02-20-07 - George Will and the Conservatism We Lost The neocons would prefer to ignore Ron. Here is a Republican congressman from George W. Bush's state who routinely denounces the big-spending, big-government -creating policies of his President, and is a staunch opponent of the Iraq war. Ron's devotion to principle - the priniciples conservatives used to uphold, albeit only in theory - shows up the "official" conservative leadership as fraudulent. So why is Will writing about Ron?
02-20-07 - Visiting Kyl says he saw Iran arms in Iraq He spoke to the Associated Press from Israel.
02-20-07 - From April 2006: Tehran insider tells of US black ops
02-20-07 - Australia sanctions Iran over uranium enrichment
02-20-07 - US soldier pleads guilty to Iraq gang rape, murders
02-20-07 - Syria Rejects Limited Talks With U.S. Syria on Tuesday rejected a U.S. proposal to have Washington's top diplomat here discuss the Iraqi refugee crisis with Damascus, saying it would only talk with the U.S. if the two countries spoke about all regional issues.
02-20-07 - Soldier gives girl a fighting chance
02-20-07 - Barak visits; speaks on geopolitics "Forming strategic partnerships with Syria and Iran would be a serious mistake, because I believe that would mean partnering with the enemy."
02-20-07 - Spanish peacekeepers have another scuffle in South Lebanese youths threw stones at Spanish troops from the UN peacekeeping forces during an evening patrol in the village of Debbine over the weekend, while Hizbullah unveiled a monument along the Southern border of an armored personnel carrier with two fake rockets pointed toward Israel.
02-20-07 - Inaugural meeting of Congressional, Knesset allied caucuses The meeting was co-hosted by Congressmen Dave Weldon of Florida and Eliot Engel of New York; the two are also the founders of the CIAC, a bipartisan group of legislators dedicated to defending Israel's right to exist in peace and promoting Judeo-Christian values.
02-20-07 - Dems' Disdain For Palestine For years these witnesses have obstructed Palestinian national aspirations, and they were at it again on February 14. In well over two hours of testimony the threesome said not one word about Israel?s expanding settlements, the devastating economic circumstances gripping Palestinians in Gaza or the illegal barrier steadily being erected inside the West Bank. When challenged after the hearing on the lack of diverse voices, staffers erupted in a fury rooted in hubris. They have the power. Those concerned with Palestinian rights do not, so back off.
02-20-07 - A Man of Mystery After Novak first told Hohlt that he was working on a hot story about ex-ambassador Joe Wilson, Hohlt says he e-mailed Rove to expect a phone call from Novak. Then Hohlt began pressing Novak to learn the juicy details
02-20-07 - Lebanon asks UN to extend mandate of probe into Hariri death
02-20-07 - Robert Fisk: Lebanon will be first victim of Iran crisis **
02-20-07 - Treasury puts freeze on Lebanese firm The Treasury Department acted Tuesday to freeze all U.S. assets owned by Jihad al-Bina, a Lebanese construction company it said is owned and operated by Hezbollah.
02-19-07 - US 'Iran attack plans' revealed ** BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says the trigger for such an attack reportedly includes any confirmation that Iran was developing a nuclear weapon - which it denies.
02-19-07 - Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army's Top Medical Facility "We've done our duty. We fought the war. We came home wounded. Fine. But whoever the people are back here who are supposed to give us the easy transition should be doing it,"
02-19-07 - Wounded and waiting
02-19-07 - Iraq says borders with Iran and Syria to re-open
02-19-07 - Iran launches war games with missile tests
02-19-07 - Russia delays Iran atom plant work as tensions rise Russia will delay the building of Iran's first nuclear power plant as Tehran is behind with payments, a Russian atomic industry source said, as pressure grew on Tehran to curb its disputed nuclear activity.....Atomstroiexport, the Russian state company in charge of the Bushehr work, said U.N. sanctions against Iran were also contributing to the delays because of a trading ban on certain atomic equipment.
02-19-07 - Bush links terror war to independence war President George W. Bush linked the U.S.-led war on terrorism on Monday to the country's struggle for independence led by George Washington more than 200 hundred years ago. That's an insult to Washington et al. This is a great series on the revolution that was broadcast last July 4th on the History Channel. Watch it sometime, and note how far afield we have come from the vision that the founding fathers had for this country. How sad it is too. George Washington is rolling in his grave over the behavior of our legislators (who majorically answer to corporate and foreign interests more than they do to us), and the fact that the (neoconservative) policies of this presidential administration, which has been much more pro-Israel than any other in the history of this nation (to the detriment of the citizens herein), endanger American interests. Washington addressed the perils of foreign influence in his farewell address. A wise and insightful man he was. Unfortunately, there aren't too many politicians these days with his honesty, integrity and courage.
02-19-07 - Iran, Russia in nuclear plant row Iran has rejected claims by Russian officials that it has failed to meet payments for work on the Bushehr nuclear plant in southern Iran.
02-19-07 - Missiles could reach Europe if Kremlin wanted: general Russia's military is capable of firing missiles at Poland and the Czech Republic if they agreed to host a U.S. missile shield, Russia's Strategic Forces commander said, but added it was for the Kremlin to decide.
02-19-07 - Snow: Politicians Warning Of Iran War ?May Be Trying To Protect Iran?
02-19-07 - Making Martial Law Easier A disturbing recent phenomenon in Washington is that laws that strike to the heart of American democracy have been passed in the dead of night. So it was with a provision quietly tucked into the enormous defense budget bill at the Bush administration?s behest that makes it easier for a president to override local control of law enforcement and declare martial law. The provision, signed into law in October, weakens two obscure but important bulwarks of liberty....these new presidential powers were slipped into the law without hearings or public debate
02-19-07 - Iran hangs man for attack on bus
02-19-07 - Romney: Iran Is 'Suicidal' Nation
02-19-07 - Italian-US relations hit new low after protests Italian pacifists and Left-wingers staged a 50,000-strong protest yesterday against the presence of a new large-scale US air force base.
02-19-07 - Once George Bush has got hold of a bad idea he just can't let it go "It is absolutely parallel," Philip Giraldi, a former CIA counter-terrorism specialist, told Vanity Fair magazine. "They're using the same dance steps - demonise the bad guys, the pretext of diplomacy, keep out of negotiations, use proxies. It is Iraq redux."
02-19-07 - The big question: Is the new round of diplomacy likely to bring Middle East Peace any closer? What's Condi up to? Good question. Whatever you think about the underlying strategic goals of a battered US administration - from fomenting a multi-national Sunni coalition against a perceived Shia threat, to extricating itself from Iraq without national humiliation - it is obviously trying to shore up support from the friendlier Arab regimes. And to do that Dr Rice needs to show some sign of trying for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
She's trying to appease Europe to get them on board for future action against Iran, my guess.
02-19-07 - Sam Brownback Along with right-wingers like Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), SEC Chair and former Rep. Christopher Cox (R-CA), and former Sen. Rick Santorum, Brownback has aggressively pushed anti-Iran resolutions.
02-19-07 - American Foreign Policy Council In late January 2007, the AFPC launched a media blitz regarding Iran. According to the council's website, the week-long advertising campaign "was aimed at educating the U.S. public about the Iranian nuclear threat. The campaign consisted of two 30-second spots that began running Tuesday on CNN, MSNBC, Headline News, and the Fox News Channel in Washington, DC, Maryland, and northern Virginia."
02-19-07 - 'Iran center of US-Israeli talks' In the past, the joint Knesset-Congress-Senate committee helped make hundreds of millions of dollars available for Israel's missile defense shield, Arrow, which is produced in cooperation Boeing in the US.
In addition, according to Steinitz, the committee has in the past prevented arms sales to Arab states that would have threatened Israel's unique edge in the region; it also initiated the Iran nuclear sanctions law, which makes it illegal for governments to provide arms or aid Iran's nuclear program, the Knesset member said. Where is Washington when you need him? More from Steinitz here. And here.
02-19-07 - Syria relaxes restrictions on Iraq refugees
02-19-07 - Burns: US, Israel agree on Iran policy he told the Post the US administration was having "very good discussions" with Israel right now over a confluence of interests regarding Iran. Whose war?
02-19-07 - Congress' Liability in a Nuclear Strike on Iran
02-19-07 - Palestinians hail security plan despite arrests
02-19-07 - Oil prices fall on warmer weather Oil prices have fallen below $59 a barrel amid expectations of warmer weather in the United States.
02-19-07 - A CNN host who loves Israel Pro-Israel critics of the media, and particularly of CNN, should check out "The Glenn Beck Program" to give their high blood pressure a respite..... Beck, an admitted former alcoholic and drug addict, is now a devout Christian who believes in an Armageddon in which millions will die Strange, because I was just thinking the other day - we really don't have enough pro-Israeli commentators in the media. Ahhm.
02-19-07 - Spreading democracy is no quick fix, but it's our noble duty Blessed with freedom, Americans ought to give voice to the voiceless, stand in solidarity with freedom fighters everywhere, and help provide the tools for others to build open societies with accountable governments. As Ronald Reagan said, "Freedom is not just for the lucky few, but the right of all mankind." BS. It is not 'our duty' to spread democracy. If people of the nations of this world want it, then they have every right to fight for it like we did. To impose it at the barrel of a gun defeats the purpose. Ask the Palestinians about our notion of 'freedom' (that Israel imposes on them on our watch).
02-19-07 - Time to take Iran seriously The Washington Times editors propagandize?
02-19-07 - Norway conference aims for 2008 cluster bomb ban The advocacy group for those maimed by weapons calculates 184 civilian casualties, a third of them children, were caused by cluster bombs after Israel's attacks on Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon last year
02-19-07 - Hezbollah seen expanding arsenal Hezbollah aims to stockpile more weapons than it had before last year?s war with Israel, a top Israeli intelligence analyst said.
02-18-07 - Iran denies lodging radical Iraqi cleric Iran has for the first time formally denied claims by Iraqi and US officials that radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is in the Islamic republic, the ISNA news agency reports.
02-18-07 - Iran's elite guards to hold war games ** Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards will launch their second war games in a month on Monday, just days ahead of a U.N. deadline regarding Iran's nuclear program.
02-18-07 - The Forgotten Families Grandparents Raising Slain Soldiers' Children Are Denied A Government Benefit Intended to Sustain the Bereaved
02-18-07 - Lawmaker pleads with Rice to engage Syria A veteran Republican congressman pleaded on Friday for the United States to talk to Syria about easing the violence in Iraq and proposed former Secretary of State George Shultz as an envoy
02-18-07 - Iran flap exposes public skepticism of US intelligence, intentions President George W. Bush and his top aides had to admit by week's end that they did not know whether Iran's leaders knew that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was supplying Shiite militias with sophisticated bombs and training.
02-18-07 - Credibility, a Precious Trait ** The American people must be careful not to let this administration lead them into yet another war, this time with Iran, with the same kinds of deception it used to justify the Iraq War.
02-18-07 - Marine jailed over Iraqi murder Investigators said the soldiers dragged disabled Mr Awad from his home and killed him in Hamdaniya in April 2006.
02-18-07 - Iran bars Greenpeace ship from entering waters "Plans had been made to hold a press conference on board the group's ship the Rainbow Warrior in Bushehr, Iran, to present the results of research into different energy options for Iran which would allow it to meet its energy needs without recourse to nuclear power,"
02-18-07 - Iran's Khamenei says U.S. to lose in Mideast: TV
02-18-07 - Germany chides U.S. move on anti-missile shield "What the United States is doing can only be seen in Russia as a provocation," Kuhn said in an interview with the Saarbruecker Zeitung newspaper.
02-18-07 - Rice: World response to Iran not the same as Nazi appeasement Rice detailed the steps that Washington has taken to contain Iran
02-18-07 - Why Iran 'meddles' in Iraq Is Tehran's supposed involvement malign, or are its interests in the war legitimate?
02-18-07 - As Iraq divides into camps, a wave of resentment toward foreign Arabs Hit by violence from all sides, it is perhaps not surprising that many Shiite Muslim Arabs here have begun showing widespread suspicion of foreign Arabs, who are often from Sunni Muslim countries. Iraq's Shiite-led government is close to Iran, a non-Arab Shiite Muslim country.
02-18-07 - Documents show new secretive US prison program isolating Muslim, Middle Eastern prisoners the program appears to have been ordered and implemented by a senior official at the Department of Justice.
02-18-07 - US military planes criss-cross Europe using bogus call sign
02-18-07 - The Unwanted Refugees Of The Iraq War "I think the scale of the violence and the attacks on the Palestinian community make it absolutely unacceptable for them to return," sayd UNHCR's representative in Jordan, Robert Breen. No other Arab country has offered to take them in.
02-18-07 - Israeli Rightist Warns That Bush's Iraq Policy Could Hurt Effort To Combat Iran ** Despite tepid public support in America for another military venture in the Middle East, Eitam asserted that he sensed strong bipartisan support in Washington for using all available means to stop Iran?s nuclear program. Eitam noted that while American intelligence disagreed a year ago with Israel?s assessment that Iran was three to four years away from reaching a critical point, Washington now endorses Jerusalem?s estimates.....Eitam said that even if Israel were to carry out strikes on its own, it would need American support for refueling, as well as authorization to fly over Iraq and intelligence cooperation. "This is why I tell the Americans that they will be seen as being part of it anyway, which is why they should prepare accordingly,"
02-18-07 - From April 2006: America must take action against Iran: Israeli official
02-18-07 - American senators to visit Israel "We think that it is important that the members of the delegation feel the connection and understand Israel better. They are mostly non-Jewish and we want them to feel some obligation to the country," Obligation to the country? Which country were they elected to serve? is the question that should be asked here.
02-18-07 - Poll sees hope in West-Islam ties "Most people feel this is about political power and interests, not religion and culture," Neocons better dust off and trot out them there Mohammed cartoons again. Their propaganda efforts are not making the grade.
02-18-07 - Middle Eastern Reality Show Explores America
02-17-07 - Photo exhibit bares wounds of U.S. troops in Iraq "It's important for the people of our country to understand the nature of the sacrifice being made. "These are mainly young people, mainly in their 20s, athletic, active people who have sustained a great loss and want to move on with their lives."
02-17-07 - Iran chases militants behind new bomb blast ** Local officials said the unrest bore suspicious hallmarks of involvement by the United States and Britain, reiterating previous allegations of Western trouble-making in the southeastern Sistuan-Baluchestan province.
02-17-07 - Top official: Iran needs nuclear fuel
02-17-07 - Report: Weapons used in attack in Zahedan, Iran come from U.S. ** Explosive devices and arsenals used in a terrorist attack in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan on Wednesday came from the United States, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Saturday.
02-17-07 - US Senate blocks vote on Iraq war The rare Saturday session followed a non-binding vote backing the resolution in the House of Representatives
02-17-07 - Field Day for Iranian Militarists as Standoff with US Continues
02-17-07 - New deadly chopper crash in Iran State radio reported that the helicopter involved in Saturday's crash was on its way to recover the wreckage of the chopper from the previous incident.
02-17-07 - Iranian Force, Focus of U.S., Still a Mystery
02-17-07 - US piles pressure on Iran as Rice flies into Baghdad
02-17-07 - US not seeking Iran showdown: Pentagon official ** "They seem to think that the removal of Saddam from power in Iraq and the absence of a regional counterweight provides them with the licence to expand their influence and presence throughout the Gulf."
02-17-07 - Auditors: Billions squandered in Iraq
02-17-07 - Rove Said to Have Received 2003 Iranian Proposal The revelation that Rove received a copy of the Iranian negotiating proposal within days of the receipt of the State Department makes it appear very unlikely that Rice was not immediately made aware of the document.
02-17-07 - Troop reduction in Iraq delayed after pressure from US Yielding to American pressure, Tony Blair will announce this week that a reduction of British troop levels in Iraq is to be delayed.
02-17-07 - Scrambling to Frame Iran
02-17-07 - Making Enemies - How Israel helped to create Hamas Indeed, according to former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Charles Freeman, Shin Bet?the Israeli counter-intelligence and internal security service?knowingly created Hamas: "Israel started Hamas. It was a project of Shin Bet, which had a feeling that they could use it to hem in the PLO."
02-17-07 - 14 nations accused of allowing CIA flights
02-17-07 - Iran: US Has Many Options
02-17-07 - Target Iran: The Truth About the White House's Plans for Regime Change by Scott Ritter
02-17-07 - Syria's Assad holds talks in Iran over Iraq Syrian President Bashar al-Assad discussed instability in Iraq and the crisis in Lebanon with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the start of a two-day visit to Iran on Saturday, the official IRNA news agency said.
02-17-07 - Israel's Bomb, Iran's Pursuit of the Bomb and U.S. War Preparations (Part Three) Israel's role in attempting to prod the U.S. to attack Iran has been considerable and is a major theme of Ritter's book.
02-17-07 - 'Made in Iran' isn't proof of complicity just as Bush is demanding that Iran stop providing weapons to Iraq, human rights groups are demanding that the United States cut off sales of cluster bombs to Israel. The reason: Since Israel's war with Hezbollah last summer, more than 30 Lebanese have been killed by previously unexploded "bomblets" that were dropped by Israel but manufactured in the United States.
02-17-07 - Saudis are not the solution, experts say Saudi leaders fear losing public legitimacy more than they fear Iran, said Schueftan. Therefore, even though solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would help them in their fight against Islamic extremism and Iran, they were unlikely to take the lead in bringing the Israelis and the Palestinians together, he said
02-17-07 - Explosion on Lebanese side of northern border No injuries reported, IDF estimates blast caused by old explosive device triggered by an animal
02-16-07 - US House rejects Bush Iraq plan
02-16-07 - Iran arrests bomb suspects, police say U.S. link ** "Our investigations clearly shows their connection to American and British intelligence organisations and also to groups opposed to the Islamic republic,"
02-16-07 - Iran Limits Uranium Work to Avoid Provocation, Diplomats Say Iran is limiting uranium enrichment in a signal to the U.S. and its European allies that the Islamic Republic wants to avoid escalating the dispute over its nuclear program, two Western diplomats said.
02-16-07 - Bomb explodes in southeastern Iran near site of previous blast ** IRNA quoted an unnamed "responsible official" late Friday as saying that one of those arrested in Wednesday's bombing has "confessed" that the attacks were part of alleged U.S. plans to provoke ethnic and religious violence in Iran.
02-16-07 - U.S. patrol ship on alert in gulf ** Despite their differences in size and weaponry, the Firebolt and the Stennis share a stated mission: deter the Iranian navy from hostile acts in an area vital to oil shipments by showing Tehran that the strength of the U.S. military remains formidable despite its entanglements in Iraq and Afghanistan.
02-16-07 - US blacklists three Iranian firms over weapons program The US government blacklisted three Iranian companies accused of aiding the Islamic republic's "proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."
02-16-07 - Italy orders CIA kidnapping trial An Italian judge has ordered 26 US citizens - most of them CIA agents - to stand trial over the kidnap of an Egyptian cleric in Milan in 2003.
02-16-07 - OIC supports Iran's quest to go nuclear Lawmakers from member states of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference backed Iran's nuclear programme, at a meeting in the Malaysian capital.
02-16-07 - Gulf states plan weapons buying binge ** If Iran were threatened or attacked by the United States or Israel, its ballistic missiles could hit land targets or ships, and its mines could block the narrow shipping lanes that carry oil from the Gulf. That scenario is pushing Gulf defense ministers to consider missile defense systems like the Patriot, sold by U.S. manufacturer Raytheon Co. They also are eyeing warships, including mine sweepers, and early-warning radar, Hughes said.
02-16-07 - Next Stop: Tehran by Philip Giraldi ** In some sense, the war has already begun. For the past two years, the U.S. has been conducting secret operations inside Iran, employing Special Forces units operating out of Afghanistan, while Pentagon-supported dissidents have been carrying out armed raids into Iran?s predominantly Arab provinces.
02-16-07 - US to help Iraq capture Sadr if he chooses violence: White House Amid conflicting reports over whether Sadr went to Iran ahead of a security crackdown, White House spokesman Tony Snow said he did not know where the cleric was.
02-16-07 - 12 Republicans Break Ranks on Iraq Resolution A dozen Republicans arrived in the House chamber on Wednesday to set aside their party allegiances and lend their names to a resolution intended to rebuke President Bush for his Iraq policy.
02-16-07 - British troops seal Basra-Iran border
02-16-07 - Iraq's Iranian links, old and diverse, fall under scrutiny in 'dangerous game' Experts aren't surprised by the American claims. Iran's Shiite Muslim government supported Iraq's underground Shiite opposition in the 1980s and 1990s, when Saddam Hussein's Baathists, mostly from the rival Sunni sect, ruled in Baghdad.
02-16-07 - Senator Clinton Cautions Bush on Iran She'll change her tune with the right amount of 'Ziagra', if necessary. When the pretext has been put in place, watch how fast the AIPAC stooges fall in line.
02-16-07 - StratCom and the Plan To Attack Iran **
02-16-07 - Frm. Bush NSC Dir. says US provoking pretext for Iran war **
02-16-07 - Iran - Ready to attack ** British military sources told the New Statesman, on condition of anonymity, that "the US military switched its whole focus to Iran" as soon as Saddam Hussein was kicked out of Baghdad. It continued this strategy, even though it had American infantry bogged down in fighting the insurgency in Iraq.
02-16-07 - The Neo-Con Dog That Isn't Barking ** Carefully orchestrated and coordinated with their comrades in the offices of Vice President Dick Cheney and former Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld, neo-cons were able to create a powerful media "echo chambre" that, by late 2002, centred entirely on Iraq, and the necessity of going to war, to the exclusion of almost everything else. Sorry Jim, I disagree with your analysis. They ARE doing it again and the media is in fact going along with it (again). They are letting Israeli officials do the talking this time (Netanyahu, par.8-9, Steinitz, Olmert, etc). And one more thing, from the article : "Despite the sharply rising tensions between Iran and the U.S. over the past month, for example, the lead editorials of the last four issues of the Standard -- always a reliable indication of neo-con priorities -- were all devoted to rallying lawmakers behind the surge." Could it be because the 'surge' is part of the attack on Iran? Some have already suggested as much.
02-16-07 - Saying He Was Misled by Defense, Judge in Libby Case Puts Some Evidence Off-Limits
02-16-07 - U.S. Religious Leaders to Visit Iran
02-16-07 - EU nations censured over CIA 'torture' flights
02-16-07 - Oil prices up on Nigerian attacks Oil prices rose above $59 a barrel after the US warned of further attacks in Nigeria on oil facilities.
02-16-07 - Weapons charges against Iran are almost certainly fabricated
02-16-07 - Bush talks with Saudi, Israeli heads on Mideast He spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about "recent developments in Palestinian political affairs" and Iran, White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
02-16-07 - Spain furious as US blocks access to Madrid bombing 'chief' "This is Spain's most wanted man in the terrorist world - it is galling to know that he is in the hands of an ally and they will not help us,"
02-16-07 - The High-Fivers - More proof the Israelis were shadowing the 9/11 hijackers IMO, they knew what was going to happen, and they let it happen. Bibi offers up the reason why:
"Asked tonight what the attack meant for relations between the United States and Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, the former prime minister, replied, "It's very good." Then he edited himself: "Well, not very good, but it will generate immediate sympathy."." - "Spilled Blood Is Seen as Bond That Draws 2 Nations Closer", James Bennet, Sept.11, 2001 NYT.
02-16-07 - Sen. Obama: U.S. must support Israel's right to self defense
02-16-07 - Defendants Are Dealt a Blow In Aipac Case Defense lawyers said Israeli officials, who refused to appear as witnesses at the trial, could confirm that Messrs. Rosen and Weissman were not paid or unpaid Israeli agents, explain Israel's relationship with Aipac, and aver that the pair actually advanced American interests through any disclosures of classified information.
02-16-07 - Limit Muslim migration, Australia warned Professor Israeli told the Herald that was a misunderstanding. But he said: "When the Muslim population gets to a critical mass you have problems. That is a general rule, so if it applies everywhere it applies in Australia." Professor Israeli, an expert on Islamic history from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, has been brought to Australia by the Shalom Institute of the University of NSW. The Australia-Israel Jewish Affairs Council is co-hosting many of his activities.
02-16-07 - Feinstein reintroduces cluster bomb bill Sen. Dianne Feinstein cited Israeli cluster bombs left behind in Lebanon in introducing legislation to restrict the sale of the devices.
02-16-07 - Prisoner collapses during hunger strike Sami Al-Arian, who is being held beyond his sentence for aiding associates of a terrorist group in non-violent ways because he refused to testify before a grand jury, collapsed on his 23rd day of consuming only water, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported Friday.
02-16-07 - Obama will soon make the case that he'll be as strong on Israel as anyone I asked about the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) convention in March and was told that he will speak there too, but wants to have another speech sooner. Any candidate that grovels to the Israeli lobby will not get my vote. Israel is NOT America. In fact, the effects of the influence of the Israeli lobby on American foreign policy run counter to the American national interest.
02-16-07 - Do you want Iran to be defenseless? How about the anti-aircraft missiles sold to Iran? Those are air defense missiles. The Israelis ask why we supply those missiles, and I ask you my question, do you want Iran to be defenseless? Well, yes, actually.
What for, are you going to attack them?
02-16-07 - Hezbollah will not forgive Lebanon arms seizure "We are ready to provide the army with all the weapons that it requires ... but we will not forgive anyone who confiscates a bullet,"
02-16-07 - Israel Is Spying In And On The U.S.? Part 1 Fox News has learned some U.S. investigators believe that there are Israelis again very much engaged in spying in and on the U.S., who may have known things they didn't tell us before September 11. Fox News correspondent Carl Cameron has details in the first of a four-part series.
02-15-07 - Giants meet to counter US power India, China and Russia account for 40 per cent of the world?s population, a fifth of its economy and more than half of its nuclear warheads. Now they appear to be forming a partnership to challenge the US-dominated world order that has prevailed since the end of the Cold War.
02-15-07 - U.N. Security Council condemns bus bombing in Iran The statement provoked a closed-door debate between the United States and Russia. As a result the statement was edited, extending condolences to the families of the victims and the Iranian people but not to the Tehran government, diplomats said.
02-15-07 - Pelosi: Bush lacks power to invade Iran ** "I do believe that Congress should assert itself, though, and make it very clear that there is no previous authority for the president, any president, to go into Iran."
02-15-07 - War with Iran? ** Today I'm running responses from independent analysts?experienced policy experts who study the Middle East. Tomorrow's responses will come from former members of the CIA, and on Thursday we'll wrap up with opinions from people working at major think tanks.
02-15-07 - Sadr aides deny cleric's Iraq departure There is disagreement over the whereabouts of the radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, with the United States saying he has left Iraq for Iran.
02-15-07 - Gates says U.S. not looking for excuse for Iran war ** "For the umpteenth time, we are not looking for an excuse to go to war with Iran," Gates said. "We are not planning a war with Iran." Right.
02-15-07 - Is the Bush Administration Lying About Iran? Leverett says Rice is lying. She's acknowledged the existence of the Iranian offer in previous interviews and discussed it with him personally. "She owes Congress an apology for saying she has never seen that document," he says.
02-15-07 - Murtha seeks to restrain action in Iran **
02-15-07 - Hell-Bent on War ** Yahoo is complicit in this campaign. If the AP - notoriously pro-Israel -has a story that fuels the propaganda effort for war on Iran, then Yahoo will give it front-page honors without fail.
02-15-07 - Olmert Urges Economic Sanctions for Iran "I believe that Turkey and many other countries will need to change their ties with Iran," he said in an interview with Turkey's Milliyet newspaper. Turkey buys natural gas from Iran.
02-15-07 - Backlash grows against free trade Not neocon-related, but important all the same. How does this free-trade policy affect us? But one example.
02-15-07 - Al Qaeda calls for attacks on oil facilities A Saudi Arabian terrorist group with ties to Al Qaeda has called for Muslims around the world to attack oil installations ? including those in Canada, Venezuela, and Mexico ? in order to stop the flow of oil to the United States.
02-15-07 - Is the Military Our Last Hope? There is absolutely no doubt that Bush-Cheney and the neoconservative nazis are planning revenge against General Pace. We can only hope the general does not have a wife who works for the CIA.
02-15-07 - US using Russia 'as threat' RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin accused the US of using Russia as a "threat" to secure funds from Congress for its military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan and for its anti-missile program in Europe.
02-15-07 - The Road Map to Despotism Over the six-month trial a parade of 80 witnesses, including 21 from Israel, attempted to brand the Florida professor as a terrorist.....The 94 charges against Al-Arian and his co-defendants resulted in no convictions. Hmm. Another failed trial that featured testimony by Israel agents.
02-15-07 - Senators introduce bill to restrict use of cluster munitions
02-15-07 - In pictures: Views from Beirut's southern suburbs Residents from the southern suburbs of Beirut give their views on the Lebanese government a day after the mass rally that marked the second anniversary of the killing of ex-PM Rafik Hariri
02-15-07 - Syria lashes out at Lebanese leaders Syrian state media has accused leaders of Lebanon's anti-Damascus parliament majority of being involved in a deadly bus bombing in a Christian village in which three people were killed.
02-15-07 - US anti-Iran documents on Iraq forged - Zarif Rose: I mean what is your own judgment? Does Tehran think the US is preparing for an attack against Iran? Unfortunately, I was only able to catch the last two minutes of that program.
02-15-07 - Hagel's insights inform government class Speaking to a false perception that there exists a religious basis for terrorism, Hagel said, "There is very little difference between a Palestinian Muslim family, an Israeli Jewish family and an American Christian family. We have more in common than we have in difference."...."A world that is peaceful, secure, stable and tolerant-If I had that kind of world, I'd take it," Hagel said. He cautioned, however, that he would "fight like hell" against attempts to take away civil liberties in the name of security. "History suggests that once you take them away, you don't get them back," he said.
Chuck Hagel for President.
02-15-07 - Olmert: Israel wants peace with Syria Visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told reporters here Thursday that he is "happy" to make peace with Syria, but Damascus must stop supporting what he called "terrorism".
02-15-07 - From 2002: The Bushes and the Jews - Explaining the president's philo-Semitism. The source of the alleged Baker comment was Ed Koch - a staunch Israel-supporter.
02-15-07 - Neo-Nazi rally was organized by FBI informant An interesting story coming from a credible news outfit. What else do they do, mm? (Pay particular attention to what outfit applauded this action).
02-15-07 - Govt unlikely to recover Lebanese evacuation expenses The Federal Government spent more than $30 million evacuating Australians from Lebanon during the conflict with Israel last year, but says it is unlikely to get much of the money back
02-14-07 - Al-Qa'ida group blamed for bus bomb attack on Iranian guards
02-14-07 - Bush backs off key charge against Iran ** US President George W. Bush said he was unsure whether top Iranian leaders were behind arms shipments to anti-US fighters in Iraq, undercutting a volatile US charge levelled just days ago.
02-14-07 - Iraq plays down Sadr's 'short visit' to Iran Sadr will be back in Iraq soon, said Sami al-Askari Thursday, an aide to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, confirming a disputed claim by the US military but criticizing the Americans for stirring up controversy.
02-14-07 - Iran official hints at halting atomic work: paper
02-14-07 - Bush: Iran is source of deadly weapons **
02-14-07 - Russia expects U.S. flexibility on Iran as on N.Korea "I would like to note the efforts by the American side (which) made compromise steps toward Pyongyang and unblocked the six-party process," Lavrov told journalists. "(I) would like to see the same flexibility, a sensible flexibility ... with regards to Iran's nuclear program."
02-14-07 - For Neocons, an Attack on Iran Has Been a Six-Year Project ** While the Iraq war was publicly founded upon questionable sources, much of the buildup to Iran has been entirely covert, using non-government assets and foreign instruments of influence to conduct disinformation campaigns, plant intelligence and commit acts of violence via proxy groups
02-14-07 - Unilateral force has nothing to do with global democracy by Vladimir Putin
02-14-07 - Does Putin not have a point? By Patrick J. Buchanan
02-14-07 - Top Cheney Aide: 2007 Is ?The Year Of Iran,? U.S. Attack ?A Real Possibility? ** John Hannah?s comments about Iran should be taken seriously. He knows how to mislead a nation into war.
02-14-07 - US Briefing on Iran Discredits the Official Line ** Although it was clearly not the intention, moreover, the briefing revealed for the first time that the Iranians and Iraqis detained by U.S. forces in recent months did not provide any evidence implicating either the Iranian government or the Islamic Revolutionary Guards in the acquisition of armour-piercing explosive devices and other weapons by Iraqi Shiite groups.
02-14-07 - Iraq Shi'ites fear getting snared in Iran-U.S. spat
02-14-07 - Five UK soldiers cleared over Iraqi civilian's death It was the latest in a series of trials over allegations of abuse in Iraq, including killing of detainees, to have led to acquittals
02-14-07 - Don't seek revenge, Iran cleric tells Iraq Shi'ites Iraq's Shi'ites say they were oppressed for decades under the Baathist rule of Sunni former president Saddam Hussein, whose regime was replaced by a Shi'ite-led government after the 2003 U.S.-led war.
02-14-07 - Sunni rebels claim deadly terror attack in Iran Though accused by the United States of sponsoring terrorism, Iran has not been immune to terrorist attacks.
02-14-07 - Outside View: Risks of war with Iran **
02-14-07 - Iran envoy Larijani visits Saudi for nuclear talks Iran's official IRNA news agency quoted sources in Saudi Arabia as saying the aim of the visit was "to exchange views over Iran's nuclear issue and the recent changes in the region."
02-14-07 - PM visit to Turkey to focus on reining in Iran nukes program
02-14-07 - Before the Invasion, There Was Feith why did the president raise Feith?s analysis over that of the government?s lavishly funded intelligence agencies? That is the basic question, and one that truth-diggers such as Levin eventually may be able to answer.
02-14-07 - Statement on the Iraq War Resolution by RON PAUL
02-14-07 - Radio Station Cries 'Enough' -- Won't Quote From Certain News Stories Relying on Unnamed Officials After the latest widely-publicized stories in national newspapers about weapons from Iran allegedly killing Americans in Iraq -- based completely on unnamed sources -- at least one smaller news outlet has had enough of it.
02-14-07 - Poll: Americans want complete withdrawal from Iraq within 2 years
02-14-07 - Libby's Fate in Jury's Hands Next Week
02-14-07 - 'Reality' of Holocaust can't justify oppression of Palestinians: Iranian diplomat A high-ranking Iranian official acknowledged Wednesday the "reality" of the Holocaust, unlike President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but said it should not be used to justify the repression of the Palestinians.
02-14-07 - Ex-aide says Rice misled Congress on Iran Leverett said Powell, in a conversation about the Iranian proposal, told him he "couldn't sell it at the White House." This was evidence it had been discussed there, he said.
02-14-07 - Libby Believes NBC News Could Clear Him
02-14-07 - Journalists Testify That Libby Never Mentioned CIA Officer
02-14-07 - Intelligence on the NIE NIo: What would be your own intelligence estimate of the threat that Al-Qaeda poses today? MS: I think it?s probably worse then it was on 9/11. Not necessarily because they?re stronger, simply because we?ve done nothing to defend the United States.
02-14-07 - UN welcomes US Iraq refugee plan The US move has been prompted by criticism over the number it has taken in so far.
02-14-07 - Military Accepting More Recruits With Criminal Records Defense Department statistics show that the number of Army and Marine recruits needing waivers for felonies and serious misdemeanors, including minor drug offenses, has grown since 2003. Some recruits may get more than one waiver.
02-14-07 - Thousands rally in Lebanon in memory of Hariri
02-14-07 - Chirac leans toward Iran to protect French UN troops According to reports, Chirac proposed sending a special envoy to Tehran to reach understandings that would protect the French soldiers serving in in the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
02-14-07 - Media fall for pro-Israel hate group's "Terror Free Oil" It takes only moments to discover that TFO spokesman Joe Kaufman is founder of a group called "Americans Against Hate," whose main agenda appears to be support for the Israeli extremist right
02-14-07 - Israel, Turkey have to do some deep thinking It is clear that Israel feels deep interest in the Iraqi Kurdish region but does not even attempt to forge direct links not to offend Turkey.
02-14-07 - Obama Set For Big Jewish Push That includes the recruitment of top Jewish donors and advisers, and an expected major speech on Israel and the Middle East that a Democratic insider said "will set the baseline and establish Sen. Obama as a reliable, strong supporter of Israel."
Pucker up, Obama, the pro-Israeli heiney is quivering with anticipation.
02-14-07 - The Covert War and Elevated Risks Israel is far from a passive victim of Iranian skullduggery, of course. It has been involved in these types of intelligence wars since the founding of the state -- and, if one counts the Jewish insurgent and terrorist attacks against British forces and Muslims in the 1930s and 1940s, even before
02-14-07 - Jewish groups back bias crimes bill U.S. Jewish groups are backing a proposed bill that would expand prosecution of hate crimes. There is some controversy over this bill as it relates to freedom of speech and how it will relate to criticism of Israel.
02-14-07 - A pair of honest politicians who deserve praise
02-13-07 - Joint Chiefs Chairman Sees No Evidence of Meddling by Iran's Regime ** A day after the U.S. military charged Iran's government with shipping powerful explosive devices to Shiite Muslim fighters in Iraq to use against American troops, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday that he hasn't seen any intelligence to support the claim. ..."We know that the explosively formed projectiles are manufactured in Iran. What I would not say is that the Iranian government per se knows about this," Pace replied. "It is clear that Iranians are involved and it is clear that materials from Iran are involved. But I would not say based on what I know that the Iranian government clearly knows or is complicit." ....Democratic lawmakers and other administration critics, including some former senior U.S. officials, are worried that the White House may be exaggerating its case against Tehran to justify a military strike on Iran's suspected nuclear weapons facilities. Speak now or forever hold ...
02-13-07 - Sadr has left Iraq for Iran, fearing US bomb strike: reports ** How conVENient. Well then we MUST strike Iran!
02-13-07 - Bush plan would cut VA funding The Bush administration plans to cut funding for veterans' health care two years from now - even as badly wounded troops returning from Iraq could overwhelm the system. That is a slap in the face to our guys who are serving on the front lines for this administration.
02-13-07 - Bush rejects talk of Iran strike ** Democrats say they see parallels with the run-up to the Iraq war, when the US made a case for action on the basis of weapons which were never found.
02-13-07 - Al-Qaida's No. 2 calls Bush an alcoholic
02-13-07 - Iraq's borders with Syria and Iran blocked The Iraqi commander of the Baghdad security crackdown said that Iraq planned to close its borders with Syria and Iran for 72 hours as part of the drive to secure the Iraqi capital.
02-13-07 - Iran drones 'can attack US ships' **
02-13-07 - Iran president 'ready for talks'
02-13-07 - Anti-American cleric flees Iraq for Iran ** Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr fled Iraq for Iran ahead of a security crackdown in Baghdad and the arrival of 21,500 U.S. troops sent by President Bush to quell sectarian violence, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday.
02-13-07 - Iraqi insurgents using Austrian rifles from Iran ** Audio: Revelation makes US action against Iran more likely, says Thomas Harding
02-13-07 - After Iranian pressure, top UN nuclear inspector removed Iran had banned Charlier last April from entering the country in retaliation for alleged leaks to the press and in recent months had said in personal appeals to ElBaradei that it wanted Charlier no longer even to see reports on Iran, a diplomat said.
02-13-07 - Iran opposes 'any' nuclear proliferation: Ahmadinejad
02-13-07 - Iran on course for nuclear bomb, EU told The downbeat conclusions of the "reflection paper" ? seen by the Financial Times ? are certain to be seized on by advocates of military action I'd be checking into the backgrounds of those that compiled this 'reflection paper' about now.
02-13-07 - Real Special - Douglas Feith and the Office of Special Plans
02-13-07 - Blowup? America?s Hidden War With Iran **
02-13-07 - Secrets Bush and Cheney Can't 'Declassify'
02-13-07 - Libby, Cheney avoid stand in leak trial On cross-examination, Fitzgerald turned Libby's busy schedule against his defense.
02-13-07 - Iraqi refugees seek help abroad Over two million Iraqis have fled their homes, mainly to neighbouring Syria and Jordan.
02-13-07 - US House clashes on Iraq policy There have been sharp exchanges in the US House of Representatives at the start of a marathon debate on Iraq.
02-13-07 - Putin offers Saudi atomic energy cooperation
02-13-07 - Two-thirds of Germans back Putin's U.S. criticisms
02-13-07 - From Aug. 2005: CIA trained Iraqi paramilitaries to create pre-war unrest Authorized by President George W. Bush in March 2002 as part of a policy of "regime change" in Iraq, the Scorpions were made made up mostly of exiles recruited by the Kurds who were sent to Iraqi cities including Baghdad, Fallujah and Qaim to give the impression that a rebellion was under way, current and former US intelligence officials told The Washington Post.
Sounds familiar...
02-13-07 - From Mar. 2006: Neo-con cabal blocked 2003 nuclear talks The George W Bush administration failed to enter into negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program in May 2003 because neo-conservatives who advocated destabilization and regime change were able to block any serious diplomatic engagement with Tehran, according to former administration officials.
02-13-07 - Feith-Libby Lies Exposed The phrase "not supported by the available intelligence" is merely bureaucratese for a "lie-filled pile of crap," and that's the most straightforward way to describe the intelligence product produced by the OSP, which was run directly out of the office of then-Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith. Feith, who was called "the fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth" by Gen. Tommy Franks, is a hard-core neoconservative with intimate ties to the Israeli far right. Good call, Sir.
02-13-07 - US aim in prodding Iran: negotiation?
02-13-07 - Ex-senator questions Fitzgerald's case "When you put too much power in the hands of unelected, unaccountable people who have every incentive to focus massive resources onto one particular person - who gets the plaudits in the media for doing so - it's a bad thing," Thompson told ABC. Isn't that what the Bush admin did to Plame?....
02-13-07 - Angry demonstrators in Syrian capital protest Israeli dig near Muslim holy site Hundreds of thousands of Syrians marched through Damascus' main thoroughfares on Tuesday in protest of the Israeli construction work near the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the official SANA news agency said.
02-13-07 - Qaeda urges Palestinians leave Fatah, embrace Islam The SITE Institute is a private U.S. organisation that tracks militant activities and often publishes militants' statements. It carried an English transcript of the Zawahri statement which it said appeared as a recording on the Internet. That explains a lot. Next we'll learn that it's run by a bunch of neocons (like MEMRI is).
02-13-07 - No one can prevent nuclear Iran, top defense official says ** Lubrani said the US "does not understand the threat and has not done enough," adding that the Americans and Europeans "must be shaken awake."
02-13-07 - National Security Experts Grim on Terror War
02-13-07 - A Terrorist by Any Other Name ** Once again, amidst the thunderous roar of treason, the voice of reason is being muted and the pundits at the AEI and other neo-cons are taking America to war. The mainstream media, by affording them a platform, are putting a rope around our values, our liberty and justice, but above all, they are snuffing out the life of our citizenry. Are we ready to submit? Hell no.
02-13-07 - Wake Up! The Next War Is Coming ** The new NIE in 2005, though, was the first key estimate managed by widely respected Thomas Fingar, the State Department officer who took leadership of the National Intelligence Council earlier that year. Its key judgments were not welcome downtown, however, since they were issued at a time when Vice President Dick Cheney was warning of a ?fairly robust new nuclear program,? in Iran, and was painting the threat?and particularly the danger to Israel?as far more imminent.
02-13-07 - Steinitz: US must stop Iran from arming ** "At this moment, Iran thinks that Israel is weak politically, so it would be better if the United States were to issue the threats," said Steinitz. Israel = the monkey on America's back. The same man was making the same calls in Sept. 2005. And then there's this from December.
02-13-07 - Attacks against Palestinian refugees in Iraq continues; three abducted on Tuesday
02-13-07 - Wolfowitz Emerges as Key Figure in Intel Manipulation
02-13-07 - From June 2005: Mossad Chief: U.S. to Be Mired in Middle East in Perpetuity Israelis who are trying to promote a role for NATO in the region, in one form or another, are actually promoting a generation-long American presence
02-13-07 - Pro-Israel PACs Not Invincible in U.S. Mid-Term Elections; Complications Ensue Emanuel is a noted Israel-firster whose father was a member of the terrorist Irgun, and who himself flew to help defend Israel during the first Gulf war.
02-13-07 - Iranian students demand Nestle boycott "Boycott Nestle, save our Al-Aqsa," read the placards carried by the university students, angered by Israeli building work near the east Jerusalem mosque compound, which was the focus of violent clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians.
02-13-07 - Three's a Crowd: Israel, Iran, and the Bush Administration Israel's power after 1947 was based on its military supremacy over its weaker neighbors. It is in the process of losing it ? if it has not already. Lesser problems, mainly demographic, will only be aggravated if tension persists
02-13-07 - Tension high for Hariri protest The opposition, including Hezbollah supporters, are to stage more protests aimed at bringing down the government.
02-13-07 - Lebanese, Palestinian Baptists ask for prayer amid continuing strife Open Doors, a United States-based group that tracks persecution of Christians around the globe, reported Feb. 13 that Palestinian Authority police officers had relinquished control of the six-story Gaza Baptist Church building, which they had seized Feb. 2.
02-13-07 - Survey results could presage test for Germany's special ties to Israel While about 80 percent of Israelis and almost 75 percent of American Jews would consider a military strike against Iran justifiable if Iran gets the bomb, 61 percent of Germans would oppose such a move.
02-13-07 - Israelis urged to shun Iraq The advisory appeared to be in response to reports that a growing number of Israelis are traveling to Iraq, usually on foreign passports, for business purposes. Israeli security experts are said to be in especially high demand in the relatively stable Kurdish areas of northern Iraq.
02-13-07 - JINSA honors ex-Spanish leader Aznar, a conservative, strongly backed the Bush administration?s war in Iraq, a stance that contributed to his loss of power in 2004. JINSA, a neocon outfit that pushed for the war on Iraq.
02-13-07 - U.S. marks Islamic Jihad leader The State Department offered a separate bounty for Mohammed Ali Hamadei, a Lebanese Hezbollah member suspected of involvement in the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847 that resulted in the murder of a U.S. sailor.
But the wholesale murder of THESE US sailors goes unpunished by this same government. An outrage.
02-13-07 - UN says Israel and Lebanon violated cease-fire The incident took place at the same location where the IDF had shot at and destroyed four improvised explosive devices on the Lebanese side of the Blue Line two days earlier.
02-13-07 - Fragile Lebanon needs urgent remedy
02-13-07 - From Feb. 2006: THE HOUR: Knowing What We Don't Know "Israeli intelligence played a hidden role in convincing Wolfowitz that he couldn't trust the CIA... Israeli intelligence officials frequently traveled to Washington to brief top American officials, but CIA analysts were often skeptical of Israeli intelligence reports, knowing that Mossad had very strong - even transparent - biases about the Arab world." Wolfowitz, who "had begun meeting personally with top Israeli intelligence officials," preferred the Mossad's analysis to the CIA's.
02-13-07 - Putin takes Mideast peace offensive to Jordan Putin also took a new swipe at the United States, accusing it of stirring up Russia as a "threat" in Congress to secure funds for its military action in Iraq and Afghanistan, five days after a blistering attack on US foreign policy
02-13-07 - Obama on Israel on 60 Minutes At this stage, in this interview, Obama says some key things that friends of Israel will appreciate
02-13-07 - Members of Congress, Knesset to Address Iranian Threat, Incitement By Palestinian Media U.S. Reps. Dave Weldon,
M.D. (R-FL) and Eliot Engel (D-NY) will host a joint press conference with
members of the Israeli Knesset following a meeting to, among other things,
address the growing regional threat posed by Iran's pursuit of nuclear
weapons and extremists' use of Palestinian media to incite violence against
Israelis and Americans.
Our legislators evidently have nothing better to do than all of this work on behalf of a foreign nation.
02-13-07 - Robert Fisk's February Talk at Ithaca College is Rescheduled for March 1
02-13-07 - 'Twelve killed' in Lebanon explosions Former president Amin Gemayel, a Christian, told the same radio station that "alien hands," were behind the explosions on being the explosions. "Lebanese do not kill Lebanese."
02-13-07 - Bombs tear through Lebanon buses The casualties were travelling on two buses near Bikfaya, a mainly Christian town in the hills north of Beirut. Somebody wants to split the Christians (who have come together with some other noted Lebanese groups for these protests in a rare show of unity) from the rest of the protest movement. Or so it would seem.
02-13-07 - What is Left? What is Right? Does it Matter?
02-13-07 - Mahathir's war crimes tribunal under fire Mahathir last week launched a war crimes tribunal which he said will focus on victims of abuse in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, saying the existing International Criminal Court in The Hague was biased.
02-13-07 - HARIRI ANNIVERSARY: PALESTINIAN REFUGEES ESCHEW LEBANON'S INTERNAL CRISIS
02-12-07 - Target Tehran: Washington Sets Stage for a New Confrontation ** The allegations by senior but unnamed US officials in Baghdad and Washington are bizarre. The US has been fighting a Sunni insurgency in Iraq since 2003 that is deeply hostile to Iran......The evidence against Iran is even more insubstantial than the faked or mistaken evidence for Iraqi WMDs disseminated by the US and Britain in 2002 and 2003
02-12-07 - EU agrees on Iran sanctions but open to new talks However European countries, some enjoying major trade ties with Iran, continue to resist American appeals for them to join a U.S.-led financial embargo of Iran.
02-12-07 - Iran denies any Al-Qaeda members in country
02-12-07 - Iran rejects 'baseless' US charges on Iraq bombs **
02-12-07 - White House Stands by Iran Munitions Evidence, Plays Down Talk of Military Action ** In Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected U.S. accusations about Iran's involvement. Speaking to ABC News on Monday, Ahmadinejad said his country is opposed to any kind of conflict in Iraq. He also suggested the United States is trying to draw Iran into a conflict.
02-12-07 - Iran 'does not fear attack by US'
02-12-07 - No 10 backs US claim over Iran arms **
02-12-07 - Report: Cheney snubbing Japan official Vice President Dick Cheney will not meet with Japan's defense minister during his trip to the country next week, a decision Japanese media characterized as a snub over the official calling the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq a "mistake."
02-12-07 - US claims against Iran: why now? ** the officials who presented the evidence could not make a direct link to Iran.
02-12-07 - CIA doubts didn't deter Feith's team "They didn't make the changes that were talked about in that August 20th meeting," Gimble said, and instead went on to present their deeply flawed findings to senior officials at the White House.
02-12-07 - Bush's New Iran Policy - No Evidence for IED Charge ** On Jun. 21, 2005, Gen. John R. Vines, then the senior U.S. commander in Iraq, told reporters that the insurgents had probably drawn on bomb-making expertise from former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's army......But sometime in the next six weeks, the Bush administration made a decision to start blaming its new problem in Iraq on Tehran. On Aug. 4, 2005, Pentagon and intelligence officials leaked the story to NBC and CBS that U.S. troops had "intercepted" dozens of shaped charges said to have been "smuggled into northeastern Iraq only last week".
02-12-07 - FBI criticized over 320 missing weapons, laptops
02-12-07 - Veterans Affairs Notifying 1.8 Million People Their Data May Be Missing The Department of Veterans Affairs began notifying 1.8 million veterans and doctors Monday that their personal and business information could be on a portable hard drive that has been missing from an Alabama hospital for nearly three weeks.
02-12-07 - Washington sources: Israel in race for more aid Israeli sources and US supporters of Israel agree that the time to act is now. Bush is the most pro-Israeli president ever to occupy the White House. The Bush administration is knowledgeable about aid negotiations with Israel. Everyone running for president, Democrats and Republicans alike, are considered strong supporters of Israel. None of them will challenge Bush for increasing aid to Israel during their election campaigns, where the Jewish vote is important Why us? Why not Germany? The US is the sole superpower in the world (for now), that's why. Israel = the monkey on America's back.
02-12-07 - IRAQ: Palestinians say gov?t cannot protect them Syria has been the most welcoming country to them and already hosts 432,000 Palestinian refugees. In addition, it hosts up to a million Iraqi refugees.
02-12-07 - Video: SNL's 'Valentine's Day with Dick and Lynne Cheney'
02-12-07 - Ousted Republican senator criticizes Bush on Israel Rhode Island: Ousted Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee criticized President George W. Bush's handling of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, saying the president was bowing to a faction of evangelical Christians who oppose a Palestinian state
02-12-07 - "Explosively formed penetrators" rebranded UK shells, and not Iranian?
02-12-07 - Jewish Group Blasts Mitt Romney for Choice to Hold Campaign Announcement at Henry Ford Museum The former Massachusetts governor, who is scheduled to formally launch his presidential candidacy from the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit on Tuesday, was taken to task by The National Jewish Democratic Council.
02-12-07 - Pulling the Iranian danger out of the shadows ** The Bush administration sincerely believes that Iran is now its main enemy in the world ............If US President George W. Bush actually plans to bomb Iran's nuclear installations before the end of his term, as many politicians in Europe believe, and in Israel hope, Somehow Israel's 'main enemies' become OURS. Recall that prior to the invasion of Iraq, Saddam was Israel's 'main enemy'.
02-12-07 - Saudi Arabia reaches out to Israel in effort to counter Iran's regional sway
02-12-07 - US offers $5m to catch militants Mohammed Ali Hamadei, allegedly a member of Hezbollah, is accused of murder and involvement in hijacking. Ramadan Abdullah Mohammad Shallah is the head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, blamed for bombings in Israel.
02-12-07 - YIKES - Warmonger Daniel Pipes Testifying to Congress - Do They Learn NOTHING? the real inspiration apparently came from Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) (Cuba sanctions, Palestinian sanctions, regime-change warrior?etc). What a surprise. Ros-Lehtinen's record on Capitol Hill should be thoroughly scrutinized to determine exactly how much time she spends on all matters Israel. For she would appear to be ISRAEL's representative therein, not ours.
02-12-07 - "Israel May Have to Act Alone" Lieberman: I am sensing on the part of the Americans an understanding for the Iranian problem, but currently I do not see in Washington enough political energy and determination for an independent step against Iran
02-12-07 - PM: Ceding entire Golan is price of peace with Syria "The whole world knows that in any future negotiations, if they are renewed, we will have to give up on the entire Golan Heights," Olmert said during a heated exchange with oppposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud).....Olmert also told the committee that it was during Netanyahu who had given life to Hamas during his tenure as prime minister.
02-12-07 - Feith calls prewar lies 'good government'
02-12-07 - Hamas says does not answer to foreign power Unfortunately, America does.
02-12-07 - CAIR: Congress Asked to Hear Both Sides of Mideast Conflict One of the speakers, Daniel Pipes, is best known for his position that
the only goal of the Israelis should be "getting the Palestinians to give
up." He also says Israel must convince the Palestinians "that their quest
for an independent homeland is futile."
02-12-07 - Rise of Extremist Avigdor Lieberman Makes U.S.-Israel Alliance More Dangerous
02-12-07 - Revisiting Bint Jbail Residents of a southern Lebanese town destroyed during the ground war between Israel and Hezbollah say life is returning to normal. But the remnants of war continue to endanger lives.
02-11-07 - Iran says wants to stay within nuclear rules
02-11-07 - Official says U-S commanders in Iraq showed lawmakers explosives that came from Iran ** Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut says he has seen some of the evidence and says he is "convinced" that Iran has been supplying insurgents in Iraq. No comment.
02-11-07 - Pentagon plan for Nevada bomb test stirs outcry in 3 states The Pentagon plans to test a 700-ton ammonium nitrate and fuel oil "bunker buster" weapon at the Nevada Test Site, a 1,375-square-mile chunk of desert.
02-11-07 - US accuses Iran over Iraq bombs ** US claims the bombs were smuggled from Iran cannot be independently verified.
02-11-07 - US baiting Iran retaliation ** White House officials are taunting Iran into an action the United States could use as an excuse for an attack, a former security official told Newsweek, the magazine reported.
02-11-07 - Democrats Urge Administration to Go Slow With Iran Evidence ** "Every leader in the region and every observer, every expert here in our country, tells us that Iran does not want a complete and total implosion in Iraq," Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry said Sunday.....Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said the administration could be laying the groundwork for an attack on Iran and that "I'm worried about that. That's how we got into the mess in Iraq," by relying on what Dodd called "doctored information." Senate Intelligence Committee member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said, "the administration is engaged in a drumbeat with Iran that is much like the drumbeat that they did with Iraq. We're going to insist on accountability."
02-11-07 - Intelligence on Bin Laden whereabouts has gone 'cold': US general Neocons will soon allege that he's in Iran, no doubt.
02-11-07 - Gates dismisses Putin remarks as blunt spy talk
02-11-07 - Douglas Feith Responds to Criticism CHADWICK: That again is a position that the inspector general seems to disagree with quite sharply. He concludes that a basic problem was that you were a policy person. You were formulating and advocating for a policy that you thought was the right thing to do, in this case the war in Iraq. And then you are presenting reports from your office that present themselves as neutral intelligence analysis when they're not.
02-11-07 - It is No Use Blaming Iran for the Insurgency in Iraq ** The US media, gullible over WMD, is showing itself equally gullible over this exaggerated Iranian threat.
02-11-07 - Syrian gets 12 years at 9/11 trial
02-11-07 - Envoy: Iran poses no threat to Israel Iran's nuclear program is not a threat to Israel and the country is prepared to settle all outstanding issues with the International Atomic Energy Agency within three weeks, its top nuclear negotiator said Sunday.
02-11-07 - Israeli missile test 'successful' One of the missiles was fired at night and destroyed what Israeli media said was a target similar to Iran's long-range Shahab-3 missile.
02-11-07 - Muslims face hatred, curiosity in U.S. heartland
02-11-07 - A Greater Israel After al-Qaeda?s terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Bush spotted a political opportunity to implement a long-held neoconservative strategy for eliminating anti-Israeli governments in the Middle East, whether or not they represented security threats to the United States.
02-10-07 - Target Iran: US able to strike in the spring ** US preparations for an air strike against Iran are at an advanced stage, in spite of repeated public denials by the Bush administration, according to informed sources in Washington....Neo-conservatives, particularly at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, are urging Mr Bush to open a new front against Iran. So too is the vice-president, Dick Cheney. Philip Giraldi and Vincent Cannistraro, former CIA and two of the good guys. Heed their warnings.
02-10-07 - Iran further isolated over nuclear program: US
02-10-07 - Putin begins tour of traditional US terrain in Middle East
02-10-07 - Putin Blames U.S. Use of Force For Global Nuke Issue
02-10-07 - Iran missile test-fire no threat to US ships in Gulf: White House Iran's successful test-firing of a land-to-sea missile is not a direct threat to US warships deployed in the Gulf, the White House said.
02-10-07 - ANALYSIS-Saudi seen worried over Iran, not U.S., in Mecca deal "Most of it is about Iran," said London-based Saudi analyst Mai Yamani. "Iran has been financing Hamas, while the Saudis in the last few months even refused to meet (Hamas Prime Minister Ismail) Haniyeh. They realised that if there is more chaos in the Palestinian territories Iran will have more influence
02-10-07 - 'NYT' Reporter Who Got Iraqi WMDs Wrong Now Highlights Iran Claims Gordon wrote with Miller the paper's most widely criticized -- even by the Times itself -- WMD story of all, the Sept. 8, 2002, ?aluminum tubes? story that proved so influential, especially since the administration trumpeted it on TV talk shows.
02-10-07 - Lebanon hit by black market weapons boom On February 4, Syrian officials said they had impounded an Iraqi truck transporting guns to Lebanon, and on Thursday a lorry loaded with weapons destined for Hezbollah was intercepted by security forces in east Beirut.
02-10-07 - Merkel says Iran must meet all demands over nuclear programme Merkel said the international community "cannot accept the statements from the Iranian president" about Israel, in a reference to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's threats to wipe Israel off the map.
02-10-07 - 9/11 ? What Did the Israelis Know?
02-10-07 - Lebanon, Again? The Israelis want another go ** Those who fear war with Iran had best look to Lebanon, where the first shots are being fired
02-09-07 - Disabled vets post-war employment problems 'understated' warns government auditor A report out on Thursday from the Government Accountability Office warns that the federal government is "understating" the complaints of disabled veterans. It is also doing a poor job of reporting to Congress on the complaints of veterans more generally.
02-09-07 - Pentagon: Prewar intel on Al Qaeda-Hussein link not illegal but 'dubious' McClatchy also reports that Feith's unit cited as one of its strongest piece of evidence of this relationship "a purported April 2001 meeting in the Czech capital of Prague between a senior Iraqi intelligence officer and Mohammed Atta, who led the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon several months later." The CIA and the FBI later concluded that the meeting never took place, but as late as 2004, Mr. Cheney was still citing this finding as evidence of an Al Qaeda and Iraqi link.
02-09-07 - Gates: U.S. can prove Iran's Iraq role ** Gates told reporters Friday that markings on explosives provide "pretty good" evidence that Iranians are supplying either weapons or technology for Iraqi extremists...."I think there's some serial numbers, there may be some markings on some of the projectile fragments that we found" that point to Iran, he said.....Gates' remarks left unclear how the U.S. knows the serial numbers are traceable to Iran and whether such weapons would have been sent to Iraq by the Iranian government or by private arms dealers.
02-09-07 - Pentagon Office Produced 'Alternative' Intelligence on Iraq The Pentagon investigation focused on the Policy Counter-Terrorism Evaluation Group, which Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz created shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to look for state sponsors of terrorism, according to a Pentagon response to the inspector general's report. The unit then began probing for possible links between Saddam's regime and Osama bin Laden's terrorist network. The Pentagon response from Eric Edelman, Feith's successor and a former aide to Cheney, said Wolfowitz asked Feith's analysts to ignore the intelligence community's belief that the militant Islamist al-Qaida and Saddam's secular dictatorship were unlikely allies.
These SOB's should be in prison.
02-09-07 - U.S. blames Iran for Iraqi arms surge
02-09-07 - IAEA suspends Iran aid projects
02-09-07 - Marine 'congratulated' men for murder of Iraqi civilian: witness
02-09-07 - How close is Iran to a nuclear bomb? ** Some voices argue that Iran remains at least five years away from nuclear weapons capability, and US intelligence estimates have consistently pushed back when that might be - so some argue there is no rush. 'They almost have the bomb! No wait, can't use that. I know, they're supplying the bombs to Iraqis. Yeh yeh, that's it, that's the ticket!!'
02-09-07 - Pentagon Report Finds Killing Over 600,000 Iraqis (For Israel) "Inappropriate" But Not Illegal
02-09-07 - Iranian official: U.S. seeks to mask failure in Iraq by scapegoating Iran
02-09-07 - Al-Qaeda Suspects Color White House Debate Over Iran ** Last week, the CIA sent an urgent report to President Bush's National Security Council: Iranian authorities had arrested two al-Qaeda operatives traveling through Iran on their way from Pakistan to Iraq. The suspects were caught along a well-worn, if little-noticed, route for militants determined to fight U.S. troops on Iraqi soil, according to a senior intelligence official......Since al-Qaeda fighters began streaming into Iran from Afghanistan in the winter of 2001, Tehran had turned over hundreds of people to U.S. allies and provided U.S. intelligence with the names, photographs and fingerprints of those it held in custody, according to senior U.S. intelligence and administration officials. Paragraphs 4 and 5 from the bottom of the article are of interest as well.
02-09-07 - Is Bombing Iran Bush's Call? by Patrick J. Buchanan ** will the neocons get their way and their new war ? on Iran?
02-09-07 - Army Says It Will Withhold $19.6 Million From Halliburton, Citing Potential Contract Breach
02-09-07 - Russian says U.S. expansion a threat Russian President Vladimir Putin has reacted angrily to U.S. plans to deploy missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic, saying Moscow does not trust U.S. claims they were aimed to counter missile threats from Iran and will take relevant countermeasures. Both countries are former Soviet satellites that became NATO members.
02-09-07 - Norquist: Bush?s Advisers Telling Him ?Invade Iran. Then Everyone Will See How Smart We Are? **
02-09-07 - Selective Service System Has Draft Boards Ready
02-09-07 - Iran "digging a hole" in nuclear dispute "Iran seems to be determined to further its isolation internationally on this issue of nuclear weapons," Nicholas Burns, U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, told reporters in Buenos Aires.
02-09-07 - No new arms race despite U.S. missile plan: Russia
02-09-07 - Palestinian official asks Iraq to protect refugees
02-09-07 - Libby Trial: Prosecution Rests--Strongly
02-09-07 - Oil prices stay near $60 a barrel Meanwhile, Opec members - led by Saudi Arabia - cut output in recent weeks. The move was designed to stabilise prices after they fell steadily from a high of more than $78 a barrel in August.
02-09-07 - Clint Eastwood against Iraq war, but admires Bush "tenacity" "I wasn't for going in there," Eastwood said. "Only because democracy isn't something that you get overnight. I don't think America got democracy overnight. It's something we had to fight for and believe in."
02-09-07 - DoD Report Appears to Confirm Downing Street Memo Senior administration officials, including Vice President Cheney, made numerous public statements that reflected the views of the Feith alternative analysis, which were inconsistent with the analysis and judgments of the intelligence community
02-09-07 - Rice Denies Seeing Iranian Proposal in '03
02-09-07 - Wolfowitz Warns of 'Surprise like Pearl Harbor' Months Before 9/11 Attacks This surfacing video only reinforces the pre-meditation established by the Project for a New American Century (PNAC).
02-09-07 - UNHCR urges support for Iraqi refugees in Syria, Jordan
02-09-07 - High Commissioner winds up visit to Middle East region, new arrivals of Palestinians at Iraq-Syria border Meanwhile in a related development, the number of Palestinian refugees stranded at Al Waleed on the Iraq-Syria border has now reached more than 750 after the arrival over the last two days of 73 refugees fleeing the violence, harassment and killings in Baghdad.
02-09-07 - INVESTIGATE HOW THE PRESS LED US INTO IRAQ
02-09-07 - 'Startling moment' at Libby trial as President Bush is referenced "It was a Kristof article in May of 2003 which first got the White House thinking about Ambassador Wilson, because it talked about an ambassador?s trip, which essentially undercut the State of the Union speech."
02-09-07 - Palestinian Refugees in Iraq
02-09-07 - Policy Watch: Russia-Iran gas OPEC unlikely To the extent that OPEC works as an effective oil cartel, it only does so because the largest producer -- Saudi Arabia -- has been willing to reduce production in order to raise prices (or keep them from falling).
02-09-07 - Syria waging war against us, says Netanyahu Opposition leader: Golan must remain part of Israel in any peace agreement land grabbers
02-09-07 - Netanyahu: Try Iranian on genocide charge genocide def - the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group . Who has driven nearly 3/4 million people from their homes, who has wiped Palestine off the map, who continues to squeeze a people into smaller and smaller areas of land by unlawful land confiscation (this includes by way of the wall)? Is it the Palestinians? And what of Avigdor Lieberman's comments calling on Israel to transfer the Arabs out of that country, hmm? He was just put in a very powerful position in the Israeli government. Can you say HYPOCRISY.
02-09-07 - Chris Hedges: The Christian Right?s War on America I try not to focus on it. I?ve had to deal with the Israeli lobby for so long that I really try and shut it out and try not to read it, because a lot of it is just completely untrue and unfair, and I don?t want to burn up a lot of energy. I?d rather just put the blinders on and keep going and say what I have to say. I don?t like it, obviously, and I especially don?t like it when it devolves?as it usually does?into character assassination. We saw that with the response to Jimmy Carter?s book
02-09-07 - Gatekeepers Bury Dancing Israeli Movers And Bogus Art Students On DN! They were released because they had no foreknowledge but they were celebrating because why? Why were they the only people in New York who seemed to realize that the first impact was a terrorist attack and not an accident? Because they lacked foreknowledge? I would bet all of my money on the fact that they knew what was coming, and that's why they came to Liberty Park to watch the incident, and that's precisely why they were seen cheering after the FIRST plane went into the WTC - when it had not yet been established that this was a terrorist attack. "Cui bono- Who benefits? - is a question that must ever be asked about Middle Eastern terror" - Pat Buchanan. Do your own research - who has benefited the most from the subsequent 'war on terror' and the political situation as well. You will get a few different answers: Israel, Cheney, and the neocons. Whose war is this?. I've got that Fox News video that has since disappeared without a trace from the internet at Fox's insistance. somewhere. Though I am not sure that I have all four parts of that series. For your perusal: the Bergen County Record article about the incident retrieved from the Internet Archiver.
02-09-07 - Lerner open to 9/11 conspiracy theory "I would not be surprised to learn that some branch of our government conspired either actively to promote or passively to allow the attack on 9/11," It is my belief that there are (and have been for some time) rogue elements in (and in a position to influence) our government at the highest levels. These elements do not give a damn about the lives of Americans - their agenda trumps all. They are not of the ordinary average type of American (such as police officers, firefighters; public servants) - and they will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, even if some Americans have to lose their lives in the process. They needed a new Pearl Harbor, and, with all of the players in the right place, by golly - they got one. For you to understand what kind of individuals to which I am referring, you need to study all of the materials in my website. They are a minority of extremists that can be found both here and in Israel. And their influence far exceeds their numbers. To the detriment of many nations. I don't care what you want to call me ('conspiracy theorist', etc). My mind goes there when every day I bear witness to the utter contempt for law and life by these folks. They are not American by any stretch of the imagination. And they are not 'our friends'. Those folks that got arrested because they were caught cheering the attack on the WTC - in the very least - had advanced knowledge of the attack, and they let it happen (there are precedents for this, the advanced knowledge of the bombings of the barracks in Beirut in 1983 and the deliberate suppression of information that could have saved the lives of our men, is one example. Read 'They Dare to Speak Out' by Paul Findley). That story was veritably buried by the MSM. The press have become accomplices.
02-09-07 - Rice focuses on endgame, but says conditions for Hamas remain in place At least a few of the 17 Jewish leaders arrived at the State Department armed with hard questions about Rice?s planned Feb. 19 summit with Olmert and Abbas.....They walked away reassured......Rice also forcefully addressed the U.S. determination to continue isolating Iran until it agrees to transparency about its nuclear program. She saw no point in otherwise dealing with the Iranian government.
02-09-07 - U.N.'s Ban Veers From Standard Line on Israel Lebanese military commanders said that before the shooting began on Wednesday, Israeli bulldozers crossed the border, moving 22 yards into Lebanon's territory near the village of Maroun el-Rass. But the Israeli press, quoting IDF sources, said the bulldozers came under fire from the Lebanese side after crossing a "technical fence" within Israel's territory, several yards from the international border, known as the "blue line."
The NY Sun is a staunchly pro-Israel rag, in case you hadn't yet noticed.
02-09-07 - Arabs Less Worried About Iran The face-to-face survey of a total of 3,850 respondents in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates found that close to 80 percent of Arabs consider Israel and the United States the two biggest external threats to their security. Only six percent cited Iran.
02-09-07 - Pair eager to leave their legal limbo "I came here for a way of life," he says. "I'd lived all my life under Israeli occupation, and I wanted to be free." Unfortunately, you will find that Israel occupies America as well - and you will be treated virtually the same here as there, seems.
02-09-07 - Lebanon to use seized Hezbollah arms to fight Israel The Lebanese army will use weapons seized from the Shiite group Hezbollah to fight Israel in case of any future violation of Lebanese sovereignty, Defence Minister Elias Murr said.
02-09-07 - Helping Israel Die ** this is the inevitable consequence of the planned air and missile attack on Iran
02-09-07 - Jordan's Queen says Islam does not demand veil
02-09-07 - Shoebat Paints Unflattering Portrait of World?s Muslims And that's precisely why this 'former Palestinian terrorist' is allowed to traipse around this country in the first place - the Hasbara(propaganda).
02-09-07 - JINSA Bestows Distinguished Service Award Upon Senator John McCain If JINSA likes him, then he in fact must be bad for America. JINSA = "Israel first!"
02-08-07 - Tehran warns US against attacks ** Iran will strike against US interests worldwide if it is attacked, the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned.
02-08-07 - Pentagon did "inappropriate" Iraq work, sources say The Pentagon inspector general's report concluded the Office of Special Plans in Feith's department had done nothing illegal or unauthorized but that some of its activities were "inappropriate," two U.S. defense officials told Reuters.
02-08-07 - Army made video warning about dangers of depleted uranium but never showed it to troops
02-08-07 - Iran, Russia urge negotiations in nuclear standoff Putin spoke last week in support of the IAEA chief's plan to create a timeout in the nuclear row.
02-08-07 - Four held over Iranian diplomat kidnapping Four Iraqi military officers have been detained over the kidnapping of an Iranian diplomat in Baghdad, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari says.
02-08-07 - Court Hears Libby Describe Cheney as 'Upset' at Critic
02-08-07 - MoD feels Pentagon wrath at video leak
02-08-07 - U.S. urges additional U.N. action against Iran
02-08-07 - US forms Iraq refugees task force after criticism
02-08-07 - Rice authorizes talks with Syria on Iraqi refugee crisis US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice revealed that she had authorized diplomatic talks with Syria about the Iraqi refugee crisis, despite a continuing freeze on high-level contacts with Damascus.
02-08-07 - Syria blames US for 'humanitarian catastrophe' in Iraq
02-08-07 - Alliance split over Iran nuclear defiance Europeans are accusing Americans of strong-arming them into cracking down on Iran in the latest trans-Atlantic conflict, a dispute that is straining efforts to maintain a joint front on Tehran over its refusal to freeze uranium enrichment.
02-08-07 - Iran says 100 spies working for US, Israel identified "One hundred people who were directly working for the US and Israeli intelligence ... who were intending to collect political and military information were identified and are now in our intelligence net,"
02-08-07 - Hezbollah slams Israel for construction work near Jerusalem mosque
02-08-07 - Libby lawyers to put Abramson on stand Defense attorneys for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby on Thursday won the opportunity to question a journalist they hope will undercut the prosecution's perjury case against the former White House aide.
02-08-07 - Syria: Won't force Iraqis to return Syria will not force any Iraqi refugees to return to their homeland despite the exchange of harsh words between the two countries, the U.N. refugee chief said Thursday.
02-08-07 - Bush to meet with former Lebanese president Gemayel Bush's meeting with Gemayel comes two days after the Lebanese government and the United Nations signed an agreement to set up an international court to try the suspected killers of another Lebanese leader, former premier Rafiq Hariri.
02-08-07 - There were no WMDs in Iraq, admits Spain's Aznar
02-08-07 - Double Standard - Why the disparate reactions to two cases of radioactive poisoning?
02-08-07 - Bremer quizzed over cash for Iraq "Who in their right mind would send 360 tons of cash into a war zone? But that is exactly what our government did," Henry Waxman, the Democratic chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said during Tuesday's hearing.
02-08-07 - UN boosts border presence after Israeli-Lebanese clash
02-08-07 - How Neocon Shi'ite Strategy Led to Sectarian War The U.S. policy decisions that led to the sectarian war can be traced back to the conviction of a group of right-wing zealots with close ties to Israel's Likud Party that overthrowing the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq would not destabilize the region, because Iraqi Shi'ites would be allies of the United States and Israel against Iran.
02-08-07 - Israeli, Lebanese troops clash at border Contrary to earlier reports, UNIFIL's assessment team, and the Lebanese Army, said the devices were just north of the Blue Line so Israeli fire had to cross the Blue Line in order to detonate the devices, which constitutes an Israeli violation of the cease-fire that ended the war.
02-08-07 - Friedman?s kids expelled from Jewish school A Jewish school in Vienna expelled the children of a fervently Orthodox Jew who attended a Holocaust denial conference in Iran.
02-08-07 - Lantos proposes nuclear fuel bank Lantos, who is Jewish and a Holocaust survivor, is close to Israel and the pro-Israel community in Washington.
02-08-07 - Ackerman backs Iran outreach A senior Jewish U.S. congressman slammed the Bush administration for refusing to engage with Iran.
02-08-07 - U.S. fire chiefs to Israel AIPAC?s American Israel Education Foundation partnered with the International Association of Fire Chiefs for the trip.
02-08-07 - Poll shows Arabs dislike Bush A new poll on Thursday underscored deep Arab unhappiness with the United States but said the negative image could be repaired if Washington brokered a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace agreement.
02-08-07 - Israel still top recipient of US foreign aid
02-08-07 - Israel intensifies flights over Lebanon border Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora also ordered his army to respond to any new violation of Lebanese sovereignty. "Siniora was in contact with the army command... and gave clear orders for the confrontation of any Israeli violation of Lebanese sovereignty," the Lebanese National News Agency reported.
02-08-07 - Hezbollah demands back seized munitions Hezbollah demanded the return of a truck carrying munitions seized by Lebanese authorities on Thursday and said the supplies were heading to its fighters in south Lebanon.
02-08-07 - U.N. tanks at Lebanon-Israel border Lebanese President Emile Lahoud lauded the army's action in opening fire at the Israelis, while Prime Minister Fuad Saniora told U.N. envoy Geir Pedersen the bulldozer's incursion compounded the daily violations of Lebanese sovereignty by Israeli aircraft flying over the country.
02-08-07 - Gonzales visits AMIA Luis Grynwald, president of the community?s DAIA political umbrella group, called the discussions with Gonzales ?very productive and promising,? but added that he had failed to offer DAIA and other Jewish organizations firm support for Argentina?s Interpol extradition request of nine Iranian officials wanted for questioning in the bombing.
02-08-07 - Complete hogwash The scary thing about a pre-emptive strike policy is that it can go both ways. Following our example, another nation could presumably feel justified in attacking the U.S. to keep their populations safe from our own mad leader.
02-07-07 - Iran test-fires Russian air defence missiles
02-07-07 - Five charged over US Iraq 'scam'
02-07-07 - Russert contradicts Libby's testimony
02-07-07 - Rice grilled over lack of smoking gun in allegations against Iran ** US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice faced a blistering challenge in Congress over the administration's failure to provide evidence to back up allegations Iran is building nuclear weapons and fueling attacks on US forces in Iraq.
02-07-07 - What to Ask Before the Next War ** The writer, a former national intelligence officer for the Near East and South Asia, teaches security studies at Georgetown University Paul Pillar was interviewed in the PBS Frontline documentary The Dark Side, which is available (last I knew) to watch online.
02-07-07 - U.S. Envoy Urges Sustained Nonmilitary Campaign Against Iran European countries should join the United States in a nonmilitary campaign aimed at pressuring the Iranian government to turn away from its nuclear ambitions, the U.S. representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency says.
02-07-07 - US should weigh war on terrorism tax - Lieberman To the contrary, Joe, a tax should be levied upon the neocons and all of the other warmongerers who stampeded the American people into war based on deceptive intelligence (and these same folks are at it again). And that includes you, num****.
02-07-07 - World must help Jordan, Syria assist Iraqi refugees: UN
02-07-07 - Israel calls for sanctions on Iran that bypass UN Security Council
02-07-07 - Ann Coulter angry that any mainstream news channel dare give the Libby trial too much attention Here's a tissue, Ann, to wipe the brown off your nose (How do the asses of the Bush admin/neocons smell these days, mm?).
02-07-07 - Russia plans new ICBMs, nuclear subs Sergei Ivanov's statements appeared aimed at raising his profile at home ahead of the 2008 election in which he is widely seen as a potential contender to succeed President Vladimir Putin. But they also seemed to reflect a growing chill in Russian-U.S. relations and the Kremlin's concern about U.S. missile defense plans.
02-07-07 - Iranian urges action vs. holy site work Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Wednesday called on Islamic nations to retaliate against Israel for its construction work at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, state TV reported.
02-07-07 - Sunni Arab view of US-Iran tensions ** There's virtually unanimous opposition to a US attack on Iran.
02-07-07 - Israel sounds alarm on Iran's nuclear efforts ** "It might be bad for Israel and bad for American Jews for Israel to be seen as pushing for action on Iran," said Yossi Klein Halevi, a senior fellow at the Shalem Center, a research institute in Jerusalem. "But we don't have the luxury of time anymore."....."I see a syndrome of America acting late," Sami Friedrich, an Israeli management consultant, lectured Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who joined the conference by video hookup from Washington.....Israel lacks the capability for a sustained offensive that might be needed to strike the bulk of Iran's facilities. Because of that, Ben-Israel and other officials say, Israel would prefer to join in an American-led attack on Iran Because, America doesn't have enough on its hands right now. K. If Israel seriously believed that it was in such grave danger - as it is leading us Americans to believe - there would be no talk. The Israeli nukes would've dropped on Iran by now. The fact is, Israel is not in imminent grave danger. That's why it's telling its own people ONE thing, and us quite another.
02-07-07 - Taki Goes Online
02-07-07 - U.S.-Israeli agreement on anti-terror due An Israel official said the memorandum would provide for exchanges of information, joint research and ways of coping with conventional and non-conventional terror. We need that like we need a hole in the head.
02-07-07 - U.S., Israel face trial in unofficial war tribunal in Malaysia A tribunal initiated by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was launched Wednesday to hear complaints of abuse and torture by victims of war in Iraq and the Palestinian territory.
02-07-07 - Israel weighing force against Hezbollah Israel's defense minister on Wednesday accused Syria of allowing the rearmament of Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon and said Israel has the right to act "forcefully" against the Shiite militia to counter the threat.
02-07-07 - Israeli and Lebanese troops clash at border A Reuters correspondent at the scene and Israeli security sources said the clash began after the Lebanese troops shot in the air as an Israeli patrol crossed a security fence to search for explosives planted by Hizbullah. Israeli troops responded with tank and light weapons fire, Israeli security officials said. Notice the difference between the Israeli version and that of the eyewitness.
02-07-07 - Clash on Israel-Lebanese border Lebanese officials said the Israelis were across the border. "An Israeli bulldozer crossed into south Lebanon tonight. Our forces opened fire at it. It pulled back and there was a brief exchange of fire," an army official told Reuters
02-07-07 - Syria waging war against us, says Netanyahu Syria is waging an indirect war against Israel , Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday
02-07-07 - Rice: Israel-Palestinian peace won't help Iraq US Secretary of State says Bush administration disagrees with Baker-Hamilton report, does not believe Israeli-Palestinian peace is key to solving conflicts elsewhere. Emphasizes however that new US diplomatic push is expected at upcoming three-way meeting with Olmert, Abbas
02-07-07 - Lebanon boycotts Munich meet because Israel attending Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora will not attend a major security conference in Germany this weekend because Israel's foreign minister will be attending.
02-07-07 - 12 Consequences of Attacking Iran ** The containment and disbanding of the Israeli lobby, one of the consequences put forth by the author, would actually be good for America. The rest of course, would not.
02-07-07 - Interpol lists 7 in AMIA bombing Interpol reportedly will put under high priority the detention of six Iranians and one Lebanese wanted in the 1994 AMIA bombing.
02-07-07 - US and Iran help rebuild Lebanon's destroyed bridges Send the bill to Israel.
02-07-07 - Benton Man Says Rapture Is Near Swell.
02-06-07 - Troops return to painful wait for needed help Veterans coming home stated that their superiors have harassed and punished them for seeking help for psychological problems triggered by their service in Iraq. Several of the soldiers' supervisors acknowledged the callous treatment......The American people must actively advocate and demand appropriate treatment for veterans who have been psychologically wounded by war.
02-06-07 - Iran blames US for kidnap of embassy official in Baghdad ** According to an Iraqi official, Mr Sharafi was detained on Sunday by an Iraqi army unit that reports directly to the US military, outside the Baghdad branch of the Iranian Bank Melli.
02-06-07 - No plans for military action on Iran, says Blair ** "It's not what the international community wants, it's not what we want," he said, while citing US President George W. Bush's phrase that "you can't take any option off the table."
02-06-07 - Iran's Guards to hold wargames in Gulf ? agencies ** Iran's Revolutionary Guards will hold two days of wargames in the Gulf and Sea of Oman this week, focusing on launching missiles, Iranian news agencies reported on Tuesday.
02-06-07 - The Blame Game Paul Richter of The Los Angeles Times reported that some officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, had resisted the release of the dossier, because they believed the assertions contained in it would have so little credibility that it would backfire politically. As Richter wrote, "They want to avoid repeating the embarrassment that followed the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, when it became clear that information the administration cited to justify the war was incorrect?"
Thus did Rice avoid being done in the way Powell was (by the same people too, no doubt).
02-06-07 - Hagel and McCain Spar Over Iraq War Policy Mr. Hagel, a Vietnam veteran like Mr. McCain and also a possible presidential candidate, called Mr. McCain?s approach ? which lists 11 benchmarks for Iraqi government progress without setting any penalties for failure ? "disingenuous."
02-06-07 - Iran challenges Europe to hand over Holocaust 'proof'
02-06-07 - The CIA Leak: Boring In on the Veep This is the first suggestion that Cheney himself talked about disclosing Wilson's wife's identity to the press as a way of undercutting Wilson's credibility.
02-06-07 - US tells Syria's Assad to put words into action on helping steady Iraq The United States chided Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for claiming his government could play a major role in helping stabilize Iraq, telling him actions speak louder than words.
02-06-07 - Joe Lieberman gets ripped apart by Chuck Hagel on MTP Great speech by Hagel in that clip. He gets my vote any day. Sorry you have to sit through Lieberman to get to the best part :(
02-06-07 - Blair accuses Iran of whipping up trouble Prime Minister Tony Blair accused Iran on Tuesday of trying to whip up the "maximum trouble" possible but said no one was contemplating military action against Tehran.
02-06-07 - Merkel says talks with Iran still possible German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the door remains open for negotiations between Iran and the international community over its contested nuclear programme.
02-06-07 - The War: 'Ambiguous' Intel on Iran's Meddling in Iraq ** three U.S. officials familiar with unpublished intel (unnamed when discussing sensitive info) said evidence of official Tehran involvement is "ambiguous," in the words of one of the officials
02-06-07 - From the Wonderful Folks Who Brought You Iraq ** By now, the story of how neoconservatives hijacked American foreign policy is a familiar one. With Vice President Dick Cheney and Rumsfeld leading the way, neocons working out of the office of the vice president and the Department of Defense orchestrated a spectacular disinformation operation, asserting that Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction posed a grave and immediate threat to the U.S. Veteran analysts who disagreed were circumvented......Once again, neocon ideologues have been flogging questionable intelligence about W.M.D. Once again, dubious Middle East exile groups are making the rounds in Washington?this time urging regime change in Syria and Iran......Ten years later, "A Clean Break" looks like nothing less than a playbook for U.S.-Israeli foreign policy during the Bush-Cheney era......Adds former C.I.A. officer Philip Giraldi, "I've heard from sources at the Pentagon that their impression is that the White House has made a decision that war is going to happen."
From Vanity Fair, no less. Excellent.
02-06-07 - Libby explains faulty recollections Meanwhile, the long-anticipated testimony by Cheney as well as Libby himself may not materialize
02-06-07 - Iran nuclear ambitions can be stopped without violence: Israel "Israel was never pushing anyone to any extreme action." Mmm k. The backpedaling continues.
02-06-07 - Two Pearl Destroyers Head for Persian Gulf ** They're meeting up with the USS Reagan carrier strike group and they heading to the western Pacific
02-06-07 - Chuck Hagel tshirts
02-06-07 - Russia wants U.S. to sign deal saying militaries don't target each other
02-06-07 - A Palestinian man killed in Iraq Palestinian sources in Baghdad reported that one Palestinian man was killed late Monday night during a rocket attack on the restaurant he works in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
02-06-07 - Defiant Hezbollah returns to Israel border with flags and bikes
02-06-07 - Bombs found 'are old' - Hezbollah
02-06-07 - PDF file on USDOJ website - submitted as evidence in the Libby trial It's Libby's schedule for June 23, 2003. 4:30 pm entry. I'm sure that meeting with Israeli generals is commonplace for White House officials, but I just thought it interesting.
02-06-07 - Cluster bombs: a war's perilous aftermath as UN-organized demining teams toil across olive groves and tobacco farms to destroy what they call an "unprecedented" concentration of the controversial cluster bombs here, the casualties continue to mount.
02-06-07 - Agudah rabbis call for Pollard?s release Agudath Israel says it will join other Jewish organizations in asking its members to phone the White House daily between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. EST until Passover.
02-06-07 - Mikulski slams Bush on security funding Most of the $25 million allocated in 2005, the first year such projects were underwritten by the federal government, went to Jewish institutions.
02-06-07 - Radio Free Europe wants more Iran The 2008 budget request for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty would increase broadcasts to Iran while cutting them to Eastern Europe. Here's why.
02-06-07 - SN opinion of Israel's use of cluster bombs correct
02-06-07 - Michael Savage Mulls Presidential Run LOL.
02-05-07 - Republicans block Iraq war debate A resolution opposing President George W Bush's decision to send extra troops to Iraq has failed to advance in the US Senate, dealing a blow to war critics.
02-05-07 - Iran to test new uranium enrichment plant soon: diplomats "It is a matter of hours, or of days, before the Iranians test the centrifuges on a vacuum, prior to putting in the UF6 (uranium hexafluoride) gas used to make enriched uranium," said the diplomat on condition of anonymity.
02-05-07 - US eases tone on Iran's role in Iraq ** "Cat fights" are common, Mr. White says, between "policy people" who want to get the information out, and the intelligence side that is more focused on long-term effectiveness. "I suspect there was quite a lot of friction last week over Iran," he says.
02-05-07 - Analysis: Bush's Iran stance echoes Iraq
02-05-07 - Iran 'sets up atomic centrifuges'
02-05-07 - Soldiers in Iraq view troop surge as a lost cause
02-05-07 - Syria 'can broker peace in Iraq' In an interview with ABC's Good Morning America, the president said: "Our role is going to be through supporting the different parties inside Iraq with support of the other parties like America, and any other country in the world - that's how we can stop the violence."
02-05-07 - Iraqi Shiite Calls for U.S.-Iran Talks
02-05-07 - Rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia now talking Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani made a visit to Saudi Arabia in mid-January that Arab media reports said sought Saudi help in easing tensions between his country and the United States and other Western nations over Tehran's nuclear program.
02-05-07 - Musharraf in Iran for Mideast talks
02-05-07 - Eitam: Four years for Iran diplomacy** Eitam was in Washington meeting privately with lawmakers and think-tank officials to outline Israeli military reforms in the wake of last summer?s war with Hezbollah.
02-05-07 - UN opens Syria no-man's land school for Iraq Palestinians The United Nations has opened a tented school for some 90 Palestinian refugee children in the no-man's land between Iraq and Syria.
02-05-07 - Neocons to Iraq: Screw You The neocons hate Arabs, all of them, Shia and Sunni alike (and the Persians, too). As long as these folks are killing each other, they can't attack the United States ? or Israel.
02-05-07 - Fitzgerald targets Cheney in Libby tapes The first 90 minutes of audiotapes, recorded during the 2003 grand jury testimony of top Cheney aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, were played for jurors in Libby's perjury and obstruction trial. More than six hours of additional tapes were to be played Tuesday.
02-05-07 - U.N.: Lebanon should OK Hariri tribunal Lebanon's current prime minister, Fuad Saniora, sent a signed copy of the agreement to the United Nations last week, U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said. The agreement must now be signed by the United Nations and returned to Lebanon for ratification.
02-05-07 - Libby Prosecutors Hope to Show Marked News Articles
02-05-07 - Czechs stress Israel support The representatives also agreed to help raise the profile on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's repeated calls for the destruction of Israel, which may violate the U.N. convention against genocide, Hoenlein said. From a different article: "America's proposed missile defence sites in Poland and the Czech Republic are designed to counter the potential missile threat from Iran and will not affect Russian security, a senior US defence official said." The lobby is in Czech to gather support for action on Iran.
02-05-07 - No Mideast peace with current US, Israel policies, says Iran Both sides had discussed the 7 billion-dollar-pipeline project with Pakistan and India, which is making slow progress, owing to hostilities between the two countries and US opposition
02-05-07 - These moderates are in fact fanatics, torturers and killers
02-05-07 - What's the big idea? Francis Fukuyama jumped clear of the wreckage as neocon certainties crashed in Iraq. But his change of heart made him enemies in Washington, he tells Oliver Burkeman
02-05-07 - Israelis 'find bombs on border' The Israeli military says it has found four explosive devices near the border with Lebanon which it suspects were planted by Hezbollah militants.
02-05-07 - Anti-Semitism monitor gets top radio post A scholar known for his work monitoring anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli activity in Europe was named president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Jeffrey Gedmin starts in March, according to a statement released last Friday by the congressionally funded pro-American radio network.....Its previous president was Tom Dine, formerly an executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
In other words, 'Radio Free Europe' funded by the US Congress, is pro-Israel propaganda.
02-04-07 - Iran strike 'would be disastrous' ** "Even according to the worst estimates, Iran is still years away from having a nuclear weapon.
02-04-07 - US military chiefs eye confrontation with Iran ** It is fuelling fears among some US diplomats - shared by Britain and its European allies - that hawks within President George W Bush's administration are preparing the ground for military action against Teheran before he leaves office in 23 months.
02-04-07 - Iraq-Syria relations strained anew Relations between Baghdad and Damascus that were restored just three months ago are already under strain amid allegations Syria is sheltering Iraqi fugitives but being "hostile" to genuine refugees.
02-04-07 - Japan calls US policy in Iraq 'naive' Japan's foreign minister has criticised the United States policy in Iraq as "very naive" and blamed it for spiralling unrest there, in another swipe at US tactics by the key Washington ally.
02-04-07 - Turkey to lobby U.S. over Kurd rebels in Iraq
02-04-07 - Iran steps up production of weapons-grade uranium ** Today a newly formed British alliance spells out the disastrous consequences of military action against Iran while urging greater engagement with Tehran to avert "global catastrophe".
02-04-07 - Syria accused over Iraq attacks
02-04-07 - Grassroots worries growing over Iran ** The American public is asleep at the wheel on this issue.
02-04-07 - Iran official says no plans to halt atomic work Iran will not suspend its uranium enrichment work as demanded by a U.N. sanctions resolution, the country's top nuclear official said on Sunday in the latest statement of defiance from Tehran as a U.N. deadline looms.
02-04-07 - N.Korea seeks oil for halting nuclear reactor: media
02-04-07 - In Europe, pushback against US 'war on terror'
02-04-07 - A Failed Cover-Up - What the Libby Trial Is Revealing The trial record suggests a simple answer: The White House was worried that the CIA would reveal that it had been pressured in 2002 and early 2003 to support administration claims about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, and that in the Niger case, the CIA had tried hard to resist this pressure.
02-04-07 - Why Dick Cheney Cracked Up The answer can be found in the timing of the CNN interview, which was conducted the day after the start of the perjury trial of Mr. Cheney?s former top aide, Scooter Libby. The vice president?s on-camera crackup reflected his understandable fear that a White House cover-up was crumbling.
02-04-07 - Russia and Iran Ponder an OPEC-Like Natural Gas Cartel
02-04-07 - Report: Russian calls U.S. 'difficult' "The Middle East settlement has been suspended because, despite our position and the position of the European Union, Washington has conducted policy based on the principle, 'He who is not with us is against us,'" Lavrov said.
02-04-07 - Report: Iranian Nuclear Scientist 'Assassinated' ** An intelligence source suggested that Ardeshire Hassanpour, 44, a nuclear physicist, had been assassinated by Mossad, the Israeli security service.
02-04-07 - Syria refuses to help refugees driven from Iraq Human Rights Watch appealed to the Syrian government to let the refugees in. Sarah Leah Whitson, its Middle East director, said: "It is hard to understand why Syria has provided refuge to nearly a million Iraqi refugees, but is shutting the door on hundreds of Palestinians. The Syrian government's mistreatment of these Palestinian refugees contrasts sharply with its declarations of solidarity with the Palestinian people."
02-04-07 - Gulf states to discuss nuclear ambitions with UN watchdog At a summit in Riyadh in December, the GCC's six members -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- set out plans for a joint civil nuclear programme.
02-04-07 - How AIPAC warps US policy - Walt and Mearsheimer in Action This panel discussion is a MUST SEE and a MUST PASS ON.
02-04-07 - US gets Israeli security for Super Bowl BPR is expanding outside the realm of airports and is being adopted by police and security officers collegiate stadiums around the US..... New Age Solutions's success in the homeland security market comes amid a larger movement of Israeli security companies seeking to export to the US market. Last week's US-Israel Homeland Security Technologies Conference in Fairfax County, Virginia, saw 18 companies meet with US contractors and systems integrators. Completely outrageous.
02-04-07 - Salah's long road to clear name The obstruction charge normally wouldn't carry much prison time, although prosecutors might push to have Salah's 1993 conviction in an Israeli military court on Hamas money-running charges count against him here. ?????
02-04-07 - Fight against Iran too familiar ** The Bush administration and close ally Israel have sharply intensified their war of words against Iran, claiming, implausibly, it poses a nuclear threat to the entire world.
02-03-07 - US ex-generals reject Iran strike ** Three former high-ranking American military officers have warned against any military attack on Iran.
02-03-07 - House of Healing In a show of support for the troops, thousands of Americans pitch in to fund a dazzling new rehabilitation center for severely injured servicemen and women.
02-03-07 - Bush to request hefty Iraq war funds President George W. Bush will request slightly more than $100 billion to cover war operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for the rest of this year and an even larger amount for fiscal 2008 that begins on October 1, congressional sources said on Thursday.
02-03-07 - Senator asks VA to explain Marine suicide An Iraq war veteran committed suicide after his family said he was turned away from two VA hospitals, and now a U.S. senator has asked for a probe into the hospitals? actions.
02-03-07 - Arab diplomats visit Iranian facilities
02-03-07 - No 'cherry picking' of intelligence: incoming US spy chief
02-03-07 - John Pilger: Iran: The War Begins ** Unlike Israel, the world's fifth military power - with its thermo nuclear weapons aimed at Middle East targets and an unmatched record of defying UN resolutions, as the enforcer of the world's longest illegal occupation - Iran has a history of obeying international law and occupies no territory other than its own.
02-03-07 - U.S. can't prove Iran link to Iraq strife ** Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates seemed to concede Friday that U.S. officials can't say for sure whether the Iranian government is involved in assisting the attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq.
02-03-07 - Saudis hold 10 for 'terror funds' The arrests follow evidence in a high-level US report that Saudi Arabia has been a source of funding for the insurgency in Iraq.
02-03-07 - AEI think tank sought critique of climate report The American Enterprise Institute, which has received $1.6 million from ExxonMobil, offered scientists up to $10,000 for a "policy critique" of the U.N. global warming report released on Friday..... AEI has had close ties to the Bush administration. Lynne Cheney, the wife of Vice President Dick Cheney, has an office there,
02-03-07 - Bush Targets Iran ** Congress should immediately pass a binding resolution reaffirming the United States' legal obligations and informing the Bush administration that it will not concur in any invasion or military action against Iran, would refuse to approve any funding for it, and would consider actions taken in contravention of the resolution as impeachable offenses.
02-03-07 - Hamas, Fatah scoff at reports of Iranian military experts in Gaza A top Hamas official in Gaza City challenged the PA to show pictures of the Iranians. "The next thing they will say is that they discovered a secret Iranian nuclear plant inside the university," he said sarcastically. One thing they agree on at this point.
02-03-07 - Bush's Trash Talk About Iran ** Within the Bush administration, there is a sharp division ? once again, in part, pitting the State Department against the National Security Council and the office of the Vice President ? over how far to raise tensions with Iran. In that context, the neocons can only be crossing their fingers in the hope that Iran will respond provocatively, making what is now a low-grade cold war inexorably heat up.
02-03-07 - Lawmakers Move to Restrain Bush on Iran ** Several influential senators have also posed pointed questions to the administration about whether it believes it has the constitutional authority to carry out military action against Iran without Congress's approval.
02-03-07 - U.S. supporting Egyptian peaceful nuclear efforts The United States is supporting Egypt's efforts to develop peaceful nuclear program, a senior U.S. official said here on Saturday.
02-03-07 - No Iranians arrested in Gaza, Tehran official says
02-03-07 - Sailors at Lemoore air base ship out on short notice to USS Reagan carrier.** The Reagan's rapid deployment is part of the Fleet Response Plan, which the Navy says will provide the military with the ability to respond to any global commitment on short notice.
02-03-07 - Libby Trial: Lawyers Clash Over Motive
02-03-07 - The Maverick - It's Hagel It will take a real grassroots movement to give him the momentum he needs to mount a serious effort. I'm game.
02-03-07 - China's Anti-Satellite Test: Worrisome Debris Cloud Circles Earth
02-03-07 - Iran plays big role in Lebanon, evoking both gratitude and complaints "The Zionist enemy destroys and Iran's Islamic Republic builds," reads a banner near bombed out buildings in a Shiite suburb of the capital Beirut. Similar banners are seen in southern Shiite villages devastated in the war.
02-03-07 - Groups Fear Public Backlash Over Iran ** While Jewish communal leaders focus most of their current lobbying efforts on pressing the United States to take a tough line against Iran and its nuclear program, some are privately voicing fears that they will be accused of driving America into a war with the regime in Tehran That's exactly what they're doing. Hello? Note to self: don't engage in an activity that I don't want to be accused of later on. Rocket science. (The authors go on to exonerate pro-Israeli groups of their role in the runup to the Iraq war - total baloney). True patriots and lovers of America, speak up now (against the forthcoming war on Iran), or forever hold your peace : "Jewish organizational officials and pro-Israel lobbyists on Capitol Hill downplayed the possibility that Congress might play a significant role in limiting the administration's response to Iranian nuclear ambitions. "It is very premature," one lobbyist said. "The administration has no war plan and Congress has no plan to block such a war." 'they always get what they want'
02-03-07 - The Israel Factor: Ranking the Political Candidates They rank Hagel last. Hagel it is!
02-03-07 - St. Charles man was buying weapons for 'war,' FBI says
02-03-07 - Six Lies You Shouldn't Believe About Iran, Especially Since, Hey, There's People Down Here.
02-03-07 - Lebanon's Sunni clerics issue fatwa Fearing a slide into civil war, Lebanon's top Sunni Muslim clerics published a religious edict on Friday prohibiting Muslims from killing their fellow countrymen, particularly other Muslims.
02-02-07 - Britain plays down claims of Tehran role ** Senior British officials, citing mistakes over Saddam Hussein?s alleged weapons of mass destruction, are voicing scepticism about US efforts to build an intelligence-based case against Iran.
02-02-07 - U.S. not planning for war with Iran, Gates says ** Gates said the United States was pursuing a purely diplomatic path to try to halt Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran says is for power generation but Washington says is aimed at producing nuclear weapons. This is a keeper. For, a few years from now, we'll be asking the same questions we are currently asking about Iraq - about Iran. Thus will there be the same backpedaling that we see now with regard to Iraq.
02-02-07 - Support the Troops by Ending the War by Rep. Ron Paul Why must so many Americans be killed or hurt in Iraq when our security and our liberty were not threatened? And why have those that deliberately misled the American people into attacking a country that posed no threat to us NOT been brought to justice? They are at it again. Their cohorts in the mainstream media are as well.
02-02-07 - Iran official says allows U.N. cameras at key atom site
02-02-07 - Justifications for attacking Iran on shaky ground ** A new U.S. intelligence estimate on Friday, however, concluded that Iranian and other outside meddling is "not likely" a major cause of the bloodshed in Iraq, and a new McClatchy analysis of U.S. casualties in Iraq found that Sunni Muslim insurgents, not Iranian-backed Shiites, have mounted most - but not all - of the attacks on American forces.
02-02-07 - Iran hosts tour of nuclear plant Some countries suspect Iran of secretly trying to develop a nuclear weapon.
02-02-07 - Kissinger, Albright urge Bush administration to talk to Iran and Syria strategy
02-02-07 - White House to Release Details on Eavesdropping Bowing to bipartisan pressure from lawmakers, the Justice Department announced today that it was turning over to select members of Congress secret documents detailing the National Security Agency?s domestic eavesdropping program.
02-02-07 - Choice for No. 2 at State Dept. Defends Bush?s Stance on Iran In a sign that the debate over Iraq is increasingly becoming a debate over Iran, Mr. Negroponte, appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, found himself answering the same questions, over and over again.
02-02-07 - Changing the Subject: From Bush?s Mess in Mesopotamia to the Peril in Persia Bush appears puppet-like under the influence of Vice-President Cheney and his cabal of neo-con warmongers, the principle architects of the imperialistic mis-adventure in Iraq. We are facing another fear driven, made-up run-up to an even more costly war against Iran to divert our attention from the debilitating debacle in Iraq that has taken such a terrible toll in lives, suffering and money, and to make more money for oil and war profiteers.....On January 7, 2007 the UK Guardian reported that Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR), a division of the energy and military giant Halliburton, had secured contracts in Iraq worth $13 billion including an uncontested $7 billion contract to rebuild Iraq's oil infrastructure.
02-02-07 - Iran blames US policy for Iraq conflict Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has said that US "militaristic" policies in the region were to blame for the raging violence in neighbouring Iraq.
02-02-07 - Libby: Don't release grand jury tapes Trial evidence is normally public and all exhibits in Libby's case have been made public so far. Even though Fitzgerald successfully fought to get Libby's full grand jury testimony admitted into evidence, Libby's attorneys say the audiotapes should not be released outside the courtroom.
02-02-07 - US report warns of worsening Iraq violence The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraq, which was presented to President George Bush yesterday, said a political reconciliation between Sunni and Shia factions is unlikely in the next 18 months.
02-02-07 - Malaysia stands by Iran gas deal Malaysia is threatening to end free trade talks with the United States if it is asked to break an energy development deal with Iran.
02-02-07 - Syria 'hostile' towards Iraqis: Baghdad Baghdad lashed out at Damascus, saying the strife-torn country's western neighbour was hostile towards Iraqis after it imposed new time limits for refugees staying in Syria.
02-02-07 - Bush Is Hiding the Ball on Iran ** instead of front-page stories about the dangers of an expanded war in the Middle East or an examination of alternative strategies that might be tried, the major U.S. newspapers act as if nothing is happening. Americans are clueless at this point. A repost of the Four Day War.
02-02-07 - Democrats Sidestep Defunding Demands after returning from a trip to Iraq, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi sidestepped questions over whether she would try to scuttle Bush's plan to increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, calling it "the one last chance" that the U.S. war in Iraq will "succeed."
02-02-07 - Libby Lawyers Seize on Miller Hesitation Miller the neoconette.
02-02-07 - Iraq: A humanitarian operation that will go on for years The Palestinians and the Syrians have to be our main protection concern as they are being targeted by various militias and they are being continually threatened and killed on a weekly basis. There is basically nowhere that we can send them at the moment.
Syrians? Interesting.
02-02-07 - Romney says Sen. Clinton 'timid' on Iran ** Responding to Romney's criticism, Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee said Friday: "Senator Clinton believes that no option should be taken off the table when it comes to preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Given his record of flip flops, the only thing that's timid are Governor Romney's convictions The bipartisan game of 'who can kiss the pro-Israeli ass the best' has shifted into high gear - a game where America always seems to come out the loser. Look no further for the reason why we will be attacking Iran.
02-02-07 - Russia, U.S. clash at ?Quartet? meet ?I don?t think you can solve any problem through boycott and isolation,? said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who pledged to continue Russia?s contacts with Hamas,
02-02-07 - US intelligence report projects deteriorating situation in Iraq ** Stratfor goes onto say that Israel, not wanting to take any chances and having realized that an overt attack on Iran is not really possible, is conducting covert activities in Iran, hinting that the recent death of a top Iranian nuclear scientist may be connected to Israel's secret service, the Mossad.
02-02-07 - Palestinians in Iraq say they are targeted by "ethnic cleansing campaign"
02-02-07 - Acquittal just latest setback in courts The resulting case against Salah relied largely on a confession obtained by Israeli intelligence agents in 1993. Salah claimed he had been tortured into confessing, a charge denied by the Israeli agents who, in an unprecedented move, testified under pseudonyms in a courtroom closed to the public. The American people are still, by and large, some of the most fair (among other things) people in the world.
02-02-07 - Kurds train for battle with Iran Meir Javedanfar, an Israel-based Iran expert, noted however that Israel has a long-standing relationship with Iraqi Kurdish leader Mustafa Barzani and "It would not surprise me to discover that Israel is using the Kurdish areas of Iraq to undermine Iran's influence in Iraq and monitor what's going on along the Iranian border, as well as to undermine the Iranian government itself." Israel is in fact training the Kurds. And again. One more.
02-02-07 - French lawmakers urge terror label for Hezbollah Both the IDF and Hezbollah deliberately targeted civilians during the summer war, according to the relevant HRW reports. What's good for the goose...
02-02-07 - American Involvement Deepens in Lebanon In recent weeks, Washington has also provided Saniora's government with military supplies, such as Humvee vehicles. After assassinations in 2006 of pro-government politicians opposing Syria, the FBI helped investigate.
Divide and conquer.
02-02-07 - AJC Disappointed in Mixed Verdict at U.S. Terror Trial The American Jewish Committee expressed its disappointment at a jury's decision to acquit two Palestinians on American federal racketeering laws, but find them guilty on obstruction of justice charges. Disappointed that AMERICAN justice was served? Disappointed that the AMERICAN jury didn't buy the dog and pony act? The heart bleeds.
02-02-07 - Israel planes still buzzing Lebanon: U.N. commander "They are continuing to do (overflights) on a daily basis ... sometimes five or six a day," Major-General Alain Pellegrini told Europe 1 radio. Asked what was the point of the flights, Pellegrini said: "It's obviously to control the territory, but it could also be to provoke."
Israel = rogue nation.
02-02-07 - Clinton wants talks with Iran Clinton told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee dinner in New York.
02-02-07 - Robert Fisk: Please spare me the word 'terrorist' the crisis in Lebanon is also about Iran and Syria, especially Iran's determination to damage or destroy any Middle East government which has earned America's friendship. In the growing, overheated drama being played out between Washington and Tehran (and Israel, of course), Lebanon is another board game for the two sides to use. America thus lined up to defend Lebanon's democracy - though it didn't care a damn about it when Israel bombarded the country last summer - while Iran continues to support Hizbollah whose government ministers resigned last year, provoking the current crisis.
02-02-07 - Pipes talk disrupted in California Anti-Israel protesters at a California college disrupted a speech by academic Daniel Pipes
02-02-07 - Orthodox teenagers indicted in hate crime On Oct. 29, Shahid Amber, 24, an immigrant from Pakistan, was eating an ice cream outside a Brooklyn Dunkin? Donuts when he was approached by a group of teenagers who taunted him, called him a terrorist, kicked and punched him and pushed him against a wall. He was treated for a broken nose and other injuries.
02-02-07 - Suleiman: 'Israel missed its best chance for peace' Suleiman said that Olmert's weakness led the IDF to embark on the Lebanon War instead of using the leverage of the talks to end the crisis peacefully.
02-02-07 - Clinton, Edwards Will Square Off At Aipac Tonight A Democratic political consultant who worked on President Clinton's re-election campaign, Hank Sheinkopf, noted that the Aipac dinner always draws a parade of politicians. "New York is the ATM for American politicians. Large amounts of money come from the Jewish community," he said. "If you're running for president and you want dollars from that group, you need to show that you're interested in the issue that matters most to them."
'Ziagra'. (Say, whatever was that brouhaha regarding Wesley Clark's comments regarding 'NY money people' all about anyway, mewonders?...)
02-02-07 - Israeli media says Syria has tested Scud The Israeli army's Green Pine radar system detected the test at the start of the week, according to security sources cited by the media Friday. Mmm k.
02-02-07 - Conference of Presidents in Prague The delegation is expected to thank Czech officials for their support of Israel and express concern over issues such as Europe?s relationship with Iran and United Nations votes condemning Israel.
02-02-07 - Hillary fails to 'perform' for pro-israel crowd Clinton's remarks at the Marriott Marquis were met with little applause, and after she left the stage, several people said they were put off by the presidential candidate. "This is the wrong crowd to do that with," said one person at the dinner, noting the pro-Israel crowd wanted to hear tougher rhetoric.
As to the title: give her some 'Zio-agra' or 'Ziagra' = more AIPAC $$$.
02-01-07 - Iran kicks off revolution fete with nuclear defiance
02-01-07 - US fighter jets to patrol Iran-Iraq border, report says ** "Having the ability to attack Iranian military targets and political targets is not just a deterrent. It may actually be used if we feel the Iranians are trying to subvert democracy in Iraq."
02-01-07 - US warns Iran on Iraq insurgents
02-01-07 - Chirac backtracks after Iran bomb threat brush off** "Where will it drop it, this bomb? On Israel? It would not have gone 200 meters into the atmosphere before Tehran would be razed to the ground," the reporters quoted Chirac as saying. What's wrong with that statement? He's absolutely correct.
02-01-07 - Iran has begun assembling centrifuges at Natanz site Iran has not yet assembled a complete line, or cascade, of centrifuges, the basic unit for beginning actual enrichment, said the diplomats, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.
02-01-07 - Ex-advisers offer revised Iraq plans ** "If the United States continues to be bogged down in a protracted bloody involvement in Iraq, and I emphasize what I am about to say, the final destination on this downhill track is likely to be a head-on conflict with Iran and with much of the world of Islam at large," Brzezinski said. And that's exactly what the neocons want.
02-01-07 - China airs rare public criticism of Bush Iraq policy
02-01-07 - 9-11 Panel Members Say Bush's Intelligence Overhaul a 'Failure'
02-01-07 - Libby May Have Consulted With Cheney
02-01-07 - Suicide bombers 'entering Iraq from Syria' Syria is Baathist country - they allow Al Qaeda to operate in their country as much as Saddam's Iraq did; it didn't. The two groups are at odds.
02-01-07 - Putin pledges effective response to U.S. anti-missile plan
02-01-07 - Stressing friendship with Iran, Putin backs UN watchdog
02-01-07 - Cheney To The Stand Months ago, Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, blasted the Bush administration for its resort to a "cabal" led by Cheney. Now we are getting chapter and verse from the prosecution of another chief of staff, I. Lewis ("Scooter") Libby, Cheney's front man until he was indicted for obstruction of justice
02-01-07 - U.S. Cautions Europeans to Avoid Oil, Gas Deals With Iran
02-01-07 - Germans issue arrest warrants for 13 suspected CIA agents German prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for 13 suspected CIA agents over their alleged kidnapping three years ago of a German citizen, authorities said Wednesday.
02-01-07 - The danger of Bush's anti-Iran fatwa the most virulent terror network in Iraq, which styles itself "al-Qaida in Mesopotamia," has openly announced that its policy is to kill as many Shiites as possible. That the ayatollahs of Shiite Iran are passing sophisticated weapons to these, their sworn enemies, is not plausible.
02-01-07 - Washington Post Drops Demand To View Cheney's Visitor Logs
02-01-07 - Going for Broke Endorsing the Baker report would have meant denouncing his entire foreign policy, so Bush is betting everything on the neocons? surge.
02-01-07 - ABC misled with coverage of Bush interview, repeated Bush myth: "I know you don't love polls"** Summary: An ABCNews.com article about Betsy Stark's interview with President Bush reported only that Bush stated he "does not plan to invade" Iran; however, during the interview, Bush said he had not "ruled out military action in Iran."
02-01-07 - US, Russia hold high-level talks amid rise in bilateral tensions The US and Russia hold high-level talks this week amid a spike in tensions between the former Cold War adversaries over issues ranging from Iran and Iraq to missile defenses and human rights concerns under President Vladimir Putin.
02-01-07 - Litvinenko 'didn't know any secrets', Putin says "He didn't know any secrets," insisted Mr Putin. "Before being fired from the Federal Security Service [FSB], Litvinenko served in the convoy troops and had no access to state secrets."
02-01-07 - Two Palestinians found not guilty in US Hamas financing trial This was the trial where disguised Israeli agents were allowed to give secret testimony. Guess the jury didn't buy it. Another failed witchhunt. Message to the lobby: American juries still require EVIDENCE, not contrived BS (which is customarily offered up in Israel).
02-01-07 - We ought to rewrite the Mideast script With such a limited range of choices on the table, and with the issue of U.S. support for Israel nowhere near the table, it seems clear that U.S. policy in the Middle East will not change significantly despite the Democratic victory in the 2006 midterm elections.
02-01-07 - Palestinians won't be dragged into Lebanon conflict: Fatah Palestinians who live in Lebanon will not allow themselves to be dragged into the political row between the Hezbollah-led opposition and the Western-backed government, the local head of Fatah said
02-01-07 - After 40 years, could the ice be melting on the Golan Heights? the Golan affords Israel total command of the Galilee basin, east as well as west - it "controls" 30 per cent of its fresh water resources
02-01-07 - Israel to develop new missile interceptors Israel has decided to produce two new missile systems after it failed to intercept short and medium range rockets during last summer's Lebanon war.
02-01-07 - Pope urges courageous Middle East Christians not to emigrate
02-01-07 - Journalist gets community service for leading group trip to Syria Visiting Syria without permission endangers Israel's national security and needs to be punished in order to deter others, the prosecution claimed.
02-01-07 - Clinton wants talks with Iran "We stand with Israel because it's a beacon of democracy in the region."
LOL @ Israeli 'democracy'. We 'stand with Israel' because of the intense efforts of the Israeli lobby.
02-01-07 - Losing hope, Lebanese seek future abroad Jolted by last year's war between Israel and Hezbollah guerillas and the power struggles and Sunni-Shi'ite clashes that have followed, thousands of Lebanese -- many of them young and talented -- are leaving to seek jobs and new lives abroad.
02-01-07 - Free Scooter Libby! By MICHAEL KINSLEY One neocon offers support for another. Precious.
02-01-07 - Muslim community rejoices in Salah verdict Salah was initially arrested in 1993 at a Gaza checkpoint, and much of the evidence used against him at trial in U.S. federal court was gathered by Israeli interrogators. Salah?s attorneys argued the Israelis had pried his confession with torture.
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