The Nation: Agents of Influence
Did Ariel Sharon, the Prime Minister of Israel, run a covert program with operatives in high-level US government positions to influence the Bush Administration's decision to go to war in Iraq? The FBI wants to know.
That's the story behind the latest Washington spy scandal, involving Israel, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and a mid-level civilian Pentagon employee allegedly caught red-handed trying to deliver US secrets to the Israelis.
Saturday, September 25, 2004
IRAQ
Salon: Hell
Editor's note: Salon correspondent Phillip Robertson has spent five months covering the war in Iraq. As the presidential campaign finally focuses on the war, Robertson offers this assessment of the grim situation there.
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Three years after the attacks on the World Trade Center, attacks in which they played no part, the people of Iraq have been liberated from one tyranny only to be remanded to another: continuous urban warfare, religious extremism and a contagion of fear. The celebrated hand of the free market in Iraq has brought not only cellphones and satellite TV, it has also brought down prices for automatic weapons, making them affordable to the average Iraqi. The last time I checked, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher cost about $250.
Editor's note: Salon correspondent Phillip Robertson has spent five months covering the war in Iraq. As the presidential campaign finally focuses on the war, Robertson offers this assessment of the grim situation there.
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Three years after the attacks on the World Trade Center, attacks in which they played no part, the people of Iraq have been liberated from one tyranny only to be remanded to another: continuous urban warfare, religious extremism and a contagion of fear. The celebrated hand of the free market in Iraq has brought not only cellphones and satellite TV, it has also brought down prices for automatic weapons, making them affordable to the average Iraqi. The last time I checked, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher cost about $250.
IRAQ: VIDEO
Newsgateaway: Massacre of Civilians in Fallujah -- "Aw dude!"
Stan Goff comments: "The “tell” is in the audio. When the pilot asks permission to fire, he reports a large number of people… not armed people. People. And permission is granted instantly. This is an indication that the mission guidance is to shoot anyone who is in the street. This is a clear war crime, and one that begins with the commander’s stated intent in the operations order. The pilot’s exclamation of satisfaction, “Aw dude!” at the end just underlines how this casual sadism comes to dominate the psyches of those who are part of a military occupation force, and how the ground reality become “race war.”"
Stan Goff comments: "The “tell” is in the audio. When the pilot asks permission to fire, he reports a large number of people… not armed people. People. And permission is granted instantly. This is an indication that the mission guidance is to shoot anyone who is in the street. This is a clear war crime, and one that begins with the commander’s stated intent in the operations order. The pilot’s exclamation of satisfaction, “Aw dude!” at the end just underlines how this casual sadism comes to dominate the psyches of those who are part of a military occupation force, and how the ground reality become “race war.”"
IRAQ
Moscow Times:Global Eye
How many times must the truth be told before it conquers the lies? Again and again, the brutal realities behind the rape of Iraq -- that it was planned years ago, that the aggressors knew full well that their justifications for war were false and that their invasion would lead to chaos, ruin and unbridled terror -- have been exposed by the very words and documents of the invaders themselves. Yet the reign of the lie goes on, rolling toward its final entrenchment in November.
How many times must the truth be told before it conquers the lies? Again and again, the brutal realities behind the rape of Iraq -- that it was planned years ago, that the aggressors knew full well that their justifications for war were false and that their invasion would lead to chaos, ruin and unbridled terror -- have been exposed by the very words and documents of the invaders themselves. Yet the reign of the lie goes on, rolling toward its final entrenchment in November.
IRAQ
Liberty Forum: Detection of Sixteen Dead Bodies in A mass Grave
The Detection of Sixteen Dead Bodies in A mass Grave in Falluja
probably belong to American soldiers who were buried in a ditch in the North West sector of the city
The Detection of Sixteen Dead Bodies in A mass Grave in Falluja
probably belong to American soldiers who were buried in a ditch in the North West sector of the city
IRAQ
New York Times: Bush Upbeat as Iraq Burns
George W. Bush was a supporter of the war in Vietnam. For a while.
As he explained in his autobiography, "A Charge to Keep: My Journey to the White House":
"My inclination was to support the government and the war until proven wrong, and that only came later, as I realized we could not explain the mission, had no exit strategy, and did not seem to be fighting to win."
How is it that he ultimately came to see the fiasco in Vietnam so clearly but remains so blind to the frighteningly similar realities of his own war in Iraq? Mr. Bush cannot explain our mission in Iraq and has nothing resembling an exit strategy, and his troops - hobbled by shortages of personnel and by potentially fatal American and Iraqi political considerations - are certainly not fighting to win.
George W. Bush was a supporter of the war in Vietnam. For a while.
As he explained in his autobiography, "A Charge to Keep: My Journey to the White House":
"My inclination was to support the government and the war until proven wrong, and that only came later, as I realized we could not explain the mission, had no exit strategy, and did not seem to be fighting to win."
How is it that he ultimately came to see the fiasco in Vietnam so clearly but remains so blind to the frighteningly similar realities of his own war in Iraq? Mr. Bush cannot explain our mission in Iraq and has nothing resembling an exit strategy, and his troops - hobbled by shortages of personnel and by potentially fatal American and Iraqi political considerations - are certainly not fighting to win.
IRAQ: US TORTURE
TNS: Abuse, Torture and Rape Reported at Unlisted U.S.-run Prisons in Iraq:
" the US-run prison system in Iraq. A Michigan legal team meeting with former detainees in Baghdad during an August fact-finding mission gathered evidence supporting claims of prisoner abuse at some 25 US-run detention centers, most of them so far not publicly mentioned as being embroiled in the Iraq torture scandal."
" the US-run prison system in Iraq. A Michigan legal team meeting with former detainees in Baghdad during an August fact-finding mission gathered evidence supporting claims of prisoner abuse at some 25 US-run detention centers, most of them so far not publicly mentioned as being embroiled in the Iraq torture scandal."
IRAQ
RFE: Rumsfeld: Iraq Troop Pull-Out Possible Before Peace
24 September 2004 -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said today he felt it was possible to start withdrawing troops from Iraq before peace was established over the entire country.
24 September 2004 -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said today he felt it was possible to start withdrawing troops from Iraq before peace was established over the entire country.
IRAQ
Rense: Allawi, Bush, Cheney All Lying About Conditions In Iraq
The puppet PM of Iraq, Iyad Allawi, his sponsors, President Bush and VP Dick Cheney are all lying to the American public about the real situation in Iraq. They say things are getting better, that most of Iraq could vote in an election tomorrow and that "democracy and freedom will prevail, without a doubt." Nonsense! Out and out lies.
The Sunni Triangle, Sadr City, Najaf, Ramadi, Karbala, Mosul, Samarra-all of these important centers, even Kirkuk, which once seemed safe in the hands of the Kurds, have all become no-go zones for the American troops and the small number of Iraqis who dare venture in to be shot. America is bombing all of these places on an almost daily basis; thus, antagonizing more and more Iraqis and more Muslims throughout the world. As I said in an article months ago, America and its puppets around Allawi have succeeded in doing something that could not be done since the 700s, they have united the Sunni and Shi'a against America and its occupation army.
The puppet PM of Iraq, Iyad Allawi, his sponsors, President Bush and VP Dick Cheney are all lying to the American public about the real situation in Iraq. They say things are getting better, that most of Iraq could vote in an election tomorrow and that "democracy and freedom will prevail, without a doubt." Nonsense! Out and out lies.
The Sunni Triangle, Sadr City, Najaf, Ramadi, Karbala, Mosul, Samarra-all of these important centers, even Kirkuk, which once seemed safe in the hands of the Kurds, have all become no-go zones for the American troops and the small number of Iraqis who dare venture in to be shot. America is bombing all of these places on an almost daily basis; thus, antagonizing more and more Iraqis and more Muslims throughout the world. As I said in an article months ago, America and its puppets around Allawi have succeeded in doing something that could not be done since the 700s, they have united the Sunni and Shi'a against America and its occupation army.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
IRAQ: RESISTANCE
Independent: US determined to cut out 'cancer of Fallujah'
American military commanders in Iraq are planning a series of major assaults before the end of the year to retake control of Fallujah and other cities held by insurgents.
While commanders say they have not fixed a precise date for the new operation, much will depend on the readiness of Iraqi police and military police units which would occupy the cities once they have been taken.
American military commanders in Iraq are planning a series of major assaults before the end of the year to retake control of Fallujah and other cities held by insurgents.
While commanders say they have not fixed a precise date for the new operation, much will depend on the readiness of Iraqi police and military police units which would occupy the cities once they have been taken.
IRAQ: ECONOMY
Harpers Magazine: Baghdad Year Zero by Naomi Klein
"Pillaging Iraq in pursuit of a neocon utopia"
With unemployment as high as 67 percent, the imported products and foreign workers flooding across the borders have become a source of tremendous resentment in Iraq and yet another open tap fueling the insurgency.
"A must read"
"Pillaging Iraq in pursuit of a neocon utopia"
With unemployment as high as 67 percent, the imported products and foreign workers flooding across the borders have become a source of tremendous resentment in Iraq and yet another open tap fueling the insurgency.
"A must read"
MEDIA WATCH
Truth Out: Your Media is Killing You by William Rivers Pitt
The American mainstream television news media, in whole and in part, has catastrophically failed the American people and is singularly responsible for the untimely deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people.
The trajectory of this plunge is easy to chart. The 1980s saw unprecedented deregulation of the rules pertaining to the ownership of media outlets. Thus began the combination and consolidation of dozens of differing viewpoints under the iron control of a few massive corporations. The many voices became one voice, and a dullard's voice at that.
"CHECK IT"
The American mainstream television news media, in whole and in part, has catastrophically failed the American people and is singularly responsible for the untimely deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people.
The trajectory of this plunge is easy to chart. The 1980s saw unprecedented deregulation of the rules pertaining to the ownership of media outlets. Thus began the combination and consolidation of dozens of differing viewpoints under the iron control of a few massive corporations. The many voices became one voice, and a dullard's voice at that.
"CHECK IT"
Monday, September 20, 2004
MEDIA MANIPULATION
Canadian Jewish editors falsify Reuter's reports from Palestine
Ottawa- Jewish-controlled Canada's largest newspaper chain, Can-West Global, has been accused of falsifying newswire reports to make it look more pro-“Israeli” and anti-Palestinian.
On Friday, Reuters News Agency accused the owner of the National Post and dozens of other papers across Canada of inappropriately inserting the word "terror" and "terrorists’ into newswire copy dealing with the Middle East thereby changing the meaning of those stories.
Reuters said Can-West newspapers have been altering words and phrases in its stories dealing with the war on Iraq and the conflict in Palestine.
The Global managing editor for Reuters, David Schlesinger, called such changes unacceptable. He said Can-West had crossed a line from editing for style to editing the substance and slant of news from the Middle East.
Ottawa- Jewish-controlled Canada's largest newspaper chain, Can-West Global, has been accused of falsifying newswire reports to make it look more pro-“Israeli” and anti-Palestinian.
On Friday, Reuters News Agency accused the owner of the National Post and dozens of other papers across Canada of inappropriately inserting the word "terror" and "terrorists’ into newswire copy dealing with the Middle East thereby changing the meaning of those stories.
Reuters said Can-West newspapers have been altering words and phrases in its stories dealing with the war on Iraq and the conflict in Palestine.
The Global managing editor for Reuters, David Schlesinger, called such changes unacceptable. He said Can-West had crossed a line from editing for style to editing the substance and slant of news from the Middle East.
USA, ISRAEL: IRAN NEXT?
MSNBC: War-Gaming the Mullahs
The U.S. weighs the price of a pre-emptive strike
- Unprepared as anyone is for a showdown with Iran, the threat seems to keep growing. Many defense experts in Israel, the United States and elsewhere believe that Tehran has been taking advantage of loopholes in the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and is now within a year of mastering key weapons-production technology. They can't prove it, of course, and Iran's leaders deny any intention of developing the bomb. Nevertheless, last week U.S. and Israeli officials were talking of possible military action—even though some believe it's already too late to keep Iran from going nuclear (if it chooses). "We have to start accepting that Iran will probably have the bomb," says one senior Israeli source. There's only one solution, he says: "Look at ways to make sure it's not the mullahs who have their finger on the trigger."
The U.S. weighs the price of a pre-emptive strike
- Unprepared as anyone is for a showdown with Iran, the threat seems to keep growing. Many defense experts in Israel, the United States and elsewhere believe that Tehran has been taking advantage of loopholes in the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and is now within a year of mastering key weapons-production technology. They can't prove it, of course, and Iran's leaders deny any intention of developing the bomb. Nevertheless, last week U.S. and Israeli officials were talking of possible military action—even though some believe it's already too late to keep Iran from going nuclear (if it chooses). "We have to start accepting that Iran will probably have the bomb," says one senior Israeli source. There's only one solution, he says: "Look at ways to make sure it's not the mullahs who have their finger on the trigger."
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