IRAQ
Aljazeera: Iraq: Still in the dark
Ten months after the occupation of Iraq in April 2003, the electricity
service has still not been fully restored. The Iraqi capital, Baghdad,
still suffers irregular electricity flow. Each district in the capital
has to live without electricity for at least six hours a day.
The situation is in stark contrast with what happened after the 1991
Gulf War which left the main Iraqi electrical power stations in ruins. It
took the then Iraqi government three months to restore electricity to its
pre-war level.
"First of all, Iraqi power plants are German, Russian, and French made,
but the US are insisting on assigning technicians from the US company
Bechtel to assess Iraq's electrical power stations. Second, they are insisting
on buying equipment from Bechtel, while the main stations in Iraq are not
made in USA."
Friday, February 13, 2004
USA: ELECTIONS
makethemaccountable: THE SCREAM
On December 1, 2003, Howard Dean was ahead by twenty points in the polls when he appeared on Hardball with Chris Matthews and said, ?We're going to break up the giant media enterprises.? This pronouncement went far beyond the governor?s previous public musings about possibly re-regulating the communications industry, and amounted to a declaration of war on the corporations that administer the flow of information in the United States.
It was an extraordinarily noble and dangerous thing to do: when he advocated a truly free press, Dr. Dean was provoking the corrupt media conglomerates that control what most Americans see and hear and read, and thereby control what most Americans think.
The media giants quickly responded by crushing his high-flying campaign with the greatest of ease. This time, they didn?t even have to invent a scandal in order to achieve the desired result; merely by chanting the word ?unelectable? at maximum volume, the mainstream media maneuvered Democratic voters into switching their support to someone who poses no threat to the status quo.
makethemaccountable: THE SCREAM
On December 1, 2003, Howard Dean was ahead by twenty points in the polls when he appeared on Hardball with Chris Matthews and said, ?We're going to break up the giant media enterprises.? This pronouncement went far beyond the governor?s previous public musings about possibly re-regulating the communications industry, and amounted to a declaration of war on the corporations that administer the flow of information in the United States.
It was an extraordinarily noble and dangerous thing to do: when he advocated a truly free press, Dr. Dean was provoking the corrupt media conglomerates that control what most Americans see and hear and read, and thereby control what most Americans think.
The media giants quickly responded by crushing his high-flying campaign with the greatest of ease. This time, they didn?t even have to invent a scandal in order to achieve the desired result; merely by chanting the word ?unelectable? at maximum volume, the mainstream media maneuvered Democratic voters into switching their support to someone who poses no threat to the status quo.
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
PEAK OIL
CNN: World oil and gas 'running out'
Global warming will never bring a "doomsday scenario" a team of scientists says -- because oil and gas are running out much faster than thought.
The world's oil reserves are up to 80 percent less than predicted, a team from Sweden's University of Uppsala says. Production levels will peak in about 10 years' time, they say.
CNN: World oil and gas 'running out'
Global warming will never bring a "doomsday scenario" a team of scientists says -- because oil and gas are running out much faster than thought.
The world's oil reserves are up to 80 percent less than predicted, a team from Sweden's University of Uppsala says. Production levels will peak in about 10 years' time, they say.
SITE OF THE DAY: PEAK OIL
LIFE AFTER THE OIL CRASH
Civilization as we know it is coming to an end soon. This is not the wacky conclusion of a religious cult, but rather the result of diligent analysis sourced by hard data and the scientists who study global “Peak Oil” and related geo-political events.
So who are these nay-sayers who claim the sky is falling? Conspiracy fanatics? Apocalypse Bible prophesy readers? To the contrary, they are some of the most respected, highest paid geologists and experts in the world. And this is what's so scary.
The situation is so dire that even George W. Bush's Energy Adviser, Matthew Simmons, has acknowledged that "The situation is desperate. This is the world's biggest serious question."
According to Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, "America faces a major energy supply crisis over the next two decades. The failure to meet this challenge will threaten our nation's economic prosperity, compromise our national security, and literally alter the way we lead our lives."
Below you find a brief explanation of Peak Oil, the ramifications, and what we can do about it. For the sake of simplicity, I have designed the following explanation for somebody unfamiliar with Peak Oil. If you would like more in depth explanations with graphs, charts, and the like, please consult the extensive interviews, articles and sites I have linked to throughout this site
Ultimately, the question is not "When will we run out of oil?" but rather, "When will we run out of cheap oil?"
LIFE AFTER THE OIL CRASH
Civilization as we know it is coming to an end soon. This is not the wacky conclusion of a religious cult, but rather the result of diligent analysis sourced by hard data and the scientists who study global “Peak Oil” and related geo-political events.
So who are these nay-sayers who claim the sky is falling? Conspiracy fanatics? Apocalypse Bible prophesy readers? To the contrary, they are some of the most respected, highest paid geologists and experts in the world. And this is what's so scary.
The situation is so dire that even George W. Bush's Energy Adviser, Matthew Simmons, has acknowledged that "The situation is desperate. This is the world's biggest serious question."
According to Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, "America faces a major energy supply crisis over the next two decades. The failure to meet this challenge will threaten our nation's economic prosperity, compromise our national security, and literally alter the way we lead our lives."
Below you find a brief explanation of Peak Oil, the ramifications, and what we can do about it. For the sake of simplicity, I have designed the following explanation for somebody unfamiliar with Peak Oil. If you would like more in depth explanations with graphs, charts, and the like, please consult the extensive interviews, articles and sites I have linked to throughout this site
Ultimately, the question is not "When will we run out of oil?" but rather, "When will we run out of cheap oil?"
DEMOCRACY: CHILE/USA
Commondreams: Kissinger Document Shows Pre-Emption in Practice
WASHINGTON - While critics and supporters of the Bush administration's pre-emption doctrine have described it as unprecedented in U.S. diplomacy, the release of a 34-year-old memo advocating ''regime change'' in Chile shows the policy has been around for quite some time.
The eight-page document by then-national security adviser Henry Kissinger to former president Richard Nixon also suggests that Washington's destabilization of Chilean President Salvador Allende Gossens was not largely motivated by any direct military or subversive threat the Allende government then posed or might pose in the future to the United States.
Kissinger, who couched his arguments carefully for maximum effect, suggests -- just two days after Allende was inaugurated -- that his main concern with the new president was the fear that, were he to successfully consolidate power, his government could serve as a ''model'' for left-wing movements in other countries, including western Europe.
"The example of a successful elected Marxist government in Chile would surely have an impact on -- and even precedent value for -- other parts of the world, especially in Italy," the memorandum warns Nixon just hours before a critical National Security Council (NSC) meeting in which Kissinger urged his boss to reject the ''modus vivendi approach'' recommended by the State Department.
The Memorandum
"Noch selten hat ein Dokument so klar aufgezeigt um was es den USA in Latein Amerika ging und Heute noch geht. Am 11.9.1973 wurde die erste demokratische gewählte Marxistische Regierung der Welt, durch einen von den USA unterstützten und inszenierten Militärputsch gestürzt. Daraufhin ergriff der Freund Amerikas, Augusto Pinochet, die Macht und errichtete eine der blutigsten Militärdiktaturen der Geschichte. Chile hat für die USA niemals eine Gefahr dargestellt, die USA hatte Angst davor, dass eine soziale Regierungsform Erfolg haben könnte und andere Länder dazu inspierieren könnte das gleiche zu tun. Es geht den USA nirgends um Demokratie ,sondern um Macht, Geld und Geopolitischen Einfluss. Auch der 11.9.1973 endetet mit von Flugzeugen zerstörten Regierungsgebäuden. Das nächste Ziel ist Venezuela."
Commondreams: Kissinger Document Shows Pre-Emption in Practice
WASHINGTON - While critics and supporters of the Bush administration's pre-emption doctrine have described it as unprecedented in U.S. diplomacy, the release of a 34-year-old memo advocating ''regime change'' in Chile shows the policy has been around for quite some time.
The eight-page document by then-national security adviser Henry Kissinger to former president Richard Nixon also suggests that Washington's destabilization of Chilean President Salvador Allende Gossens was not largely motivated by any direct military or subversive threat the Allende government then posed or might pose in the future to the United States.
Kissinger, who couched his arguments carefully for maximum effect, suggests -- just two days after Allende was inaugurated -- that his main concern with the new president was the fear that, were he to successfully consolidate power, his government could serve as a ''model'' for left-wing movements in other countries, including western Europe.
"The example of a successful elected Marxist government in Chile would surely have an impact on -- and even precedent value for -- other parts of the world, especially in Italy," the memorandum warns Nixon just hours before a critical National Security Council (NSC) meeting in which Kissinger urged his boss to reject the ''modus vivendi approach'' recommended by the State Department.
The Memorandum
"Noch selten hat ein Dokument so klar aufgezeigt um was es den USA in Latein Amerika ging und Heute noch geht. Am 11.9.1973 wurde die erste demokratische gewählte Marxistische Regierung der Welt, durch einen von den USA unterstützten und inszenierten Militärputsch gestürzt. Daraufhin ergriff der Freund Amerikas, Augusto Pinochet, die Macht und errichtete eine der blutigsten Militärdiktaturen der Geschichte. Chile hat für die USA niemals eine Gefahr dargestellt, die USA hatte Angst davor, dass eine soziale Regierungsform Erfolg haben könnte und andere Länder dazu inspierieren könnte das gleiche zu tun. Es geht den USA nirgends um Demokratie ,sondern um Macht, Geld und Geopolitischen Einfluss. Auch der 11.9.1973 endetet mit von Flugzeugen zerstörten Regierungsgebäuden. Das nächste Ziel ist Venezuela."
Monday, February 09, 2004
PROPAGANDA WATCH
Haaretz: Report - Al-Qaida Has Obtained Tactical Nuclear Explosives
Al-Qaida have possessed tactical nuclear weapons for about six years, the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper reported Sunday.
The Arabic daily reported that sources close to Al-Qaida said Osama bin Laden's group bought the nuclear weapons from Ukrainian scientists who were visiting Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 1998.
The report has not been confirmed.
Haaretz: Report - Al-Qaida Has Obtained Tactical Nuclear Explosives
Al-Qaida have possessed tactical nuclear weapons for about six years, the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper reported Sunday.
The Arabic daily reported that sources close to Al-Qaida said Osama bin Laden's group bought the nuclear weapons from Ukrainian scientists who were visiting Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 1998.
The report has not been confirmed.
Friday, February 06, 2004
PROPAGANDA WATCH
Sunday Times: Flashback - UK Ricin Plot Was A Pack Of Lies
The government is facing an embarrassing climbdown over its war on terror after prosecutors privately agreed to drop claims that the deadly poison ricin was found in London. Scientists at the Porton Down germ warfare laboratory have told the Crown Prosecution Service that toxicological tests on material recovered from a flat in north London mean they cannot prove ricin was present.
The alleged discovery of the ricin plot in January was reported by Downing Street, government officials and police as a significant escalation of the terrorist threat to Britain and appeared to bolster the case for war against Iraq.
Sunday Times: Flashback - UK Ricin Plot Was A Pack Of Lies
The government is facing an embarrassing climbdown over its war on terror after prosecutors privately agreed to drop claims that the deadly poison ricin was found in London. Scientists at the Porton Down germ warfare laboratory have told the Crown Prosecution Service that toxicological tests on material recovered from a flat in north London mean they cannot prove ricin was present.
The alleged discovery of the ricin plot in January was reported by Downing Street, government officials and police as a significant escalation of the terrorist threat to Britain and appeared to bolster the case for war against Iraq.
Thursday, February 05, 2004
GERMANY: TERROR
Spiegel: Gericht spricht Mzoudi frei
Das Urteil im zweiten Hamburger Terrorprozess ist gefallen. Das Gericht befand, Abdelghani Mzoudi könne keine Beteiligung an den Anschlägen vom 11. September nachgewiesen werden, und sprach den Marokkaner frei. Von der Unschuld des Angeklagten zeigte sich der Richter jedoch keineswegs überzeugt.
Spiegel: Gericht spricht Mzoudi frei
Das Urteil im zweiten Hamburger Terrorprozess ist gefallen. Das Gericht befand, Abdelghani Mzoudi könne keine Beteiligung an den Anschlägen vom 11. September nachgewiesen werden, und sprach den Marokkaner frei. Von der Unschuld des Angeklagten zeigte sich der Richter jedoch keineswegs überzeugt.
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Geostrategy-Direct.com: Iraqi Resistance May Have 5,000 Advanced SA-16 SAMS
The U.S. Army has assessed that Sunni insurgents in Iraq have obtained and deployed the advanced SA-16 anti-aircraft missile.
The determination was first reached in November 2003 and confirmed in Sunni surface-to-air missile attacks against U.S. Army helicopters over the last few weeks, U.S. military sources said. The SA-16 is believed to be the most advanced Soviet-origin anti-aircraft missile in the Sunni arsenal of at least 5,000 SAM missiles.
On Jan. 8, a SA-16 missile was used to down a UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter. The helicopter, used for medical evacuation, crashed and nine crewmembers and passengers were killed.
Geostrategy-Direct.com: Iraqi Resistance May Have 5,000 Advanced SA-16 SAMS
The U.S. Army has assessed that Sunni insurgents in Iraq have obtained and deployed the advanced SA-16 anti-aircraft missile.
The determination was first reached in November 2003 and confirmed in Sunni surface-to-air missile attacks against U.S. Army helicopters over the last few weeks, U.S. military sources said. The SA-16 is believed to be the most advanced Soviet-origin anti-aircraft missile in the Sunni arsenal of at least 5,000 SAM missiles.
On Jan. 8, a SA-16 missile was used to down a UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter. The helicopter, used for medical evacuation, crashed and nine crewmembers and passengers were killed.
CLIMATE CHANGE
unknowncountry: Pentagon Says Weather Wars in Our Future
In Major Media Finally Gets It, we wrote about Fortune Magazine's report on the Pentagon's concerns that global warming could cause weather changes that lead to war. Now the Soldiers for the Truth website reports on what the Pentagon actually said.
They report that "Pentagon planner Andrew Marshall, who heads up the DoD Office of Net Assessment…last year ordered up a long-range forecast of how a rapid onset of global warming could affect the security of the United States and its allies. The study, written by analysts Peter Schwartz and Doug Randall, provides a dire scenario of potential catastrophic impacts from global warming on the natural resources, political and economic systems and day-to-day life not only of the United States but the entire world.
"CHECK IT"
unknowncountry: Pentagon Says Weather Wars in Our Future
In Major Media Finally Gets It, we wrote about Fortune Magazine's report on the Pentagon's concerns that global warming could cause weather changes that lead to war. Now the Soldiers for the Truth website reports on what the Pentagon actually said.
They report that "Pentagon planner Andrew Marshall, who heads up the DoD Office of Net Assessment…last year ordered up a long-range forecast of how a rapid onset of global warming could affect the security of the United States and its allies. The study, written by analysts Peter Schwartz and Doug Randall, provides a dire scenario of potential catastrophic impacts from global warming on the natural resources, political and economic systems and day-to-day life not only of the United States but the entire world.
"CHECK IT"
ISRAEL
Counterpunch: The Only Democracy in the Middle East?
Most Israelis Don't Believe It (or Support It)
Anyone who follows the news has no doubt come across the claim that "Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East." Usually, this claim is followed by its logical inference: "As an island of freedom located in a region controlled by military dictators, feudal kings and religious leaders, Israel should receive unreserved support from western liberal states interested in strengthening democratic values around the globe."
Over the years, some of the fallacies informing this line of argument have been exposed. Whereas many commentators have emphasized that foreign policy is determined by selfish interests rather than by moral dictates, few analysts have challenged the prevailing view that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East.
In order to examine this issue, one must first determine Israel's international borders. Insofar as Israel's borders extend from the Jordan Valley to the Mediterranean Sea -- the de-facto situation for over 36 years -- then the state of Israel currently consists of a population of over 9 million people, 3.5 million of whom cannot vote.
CHECK IT
Counterpunch: The Only Democracy in the Middle East?
Most Israelis Don't Believe It (or Support It)
Anyone who follows the news has no doubt come across the claim that "Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East." Usually, this claim is followed by its logical inference: "As an island of freedom located in a region controlled by military dictators, feudal kings and religious leaders, Israel should receive unreserved support from western liberal states interested in strengthening democratic values around the globe."
Over the years, some of the fallacies informing this line of argument have been exposed. Whereas many commentators have emphasized that foreign policy is determined by selfish interests rather than by moral dictates, few analysts have challenged the prevailing view that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East.
In order to examine this issue, one must first determine Israel's international borders. Insofar as Israel's borders extend from the Jordan Valley to the Mediterranean Sea -- the de-facto situation for over 36 years -- then the state of Israel currently consists of a population of over 9 million people, 3.5 million of whom cannot vote.
CHECK IT
UK: WMD LIES
Independent: Intelligence chief's bombshell: 'We were overruled on dossier'
The intelligence official whose revelations stunned the Hutton inquiry has suggested that not a single defence intelligence expert backed Tony Blair's most contentious claims on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.
As Mr Blair set up an inquiry yesterday into intelligence failures before the war, Brian Jones, the former leading expert on WMD in the Ministry of Defence, declared that Downing Street's dossier, a key plank in convincing the public of the case for war, was "misleading" on Saddam Hussein's chemical and biological capability. Writing in today's Independent, Dr Jones, who was head of the nuclear, chemical and biological branch of the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) until he retired last year, reveals that the experts failed in their efforts to have their views reflected.
Dr Jones, who is expected to be a key witness at the new inquiry, says: "In my view, the expert intelligence analysts of the DIS were overruled in the preparation of the dossier in September 2002, resulting in a presentation that was misleading about Iraq's capabilities."
Independent: Intelligence chief's bombshell: 'We were overruled on dossier'
The intelligence official whose revelations stunned the Hutton inquiry has suggested that not a single defence intelligence expert backed Tony Blair's most contentious claims on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.
As Mr Blair set up an inquiry yesterday into intelligence failures before the war, Brian Jones, the former leading expert on WMD in the Ministry of Defence, declared that Downing Street's dossier, a key plank in convincing the public of the case for war, was "misleading" on Saddam Hussein's chemical and biological capability. Writing in today's Independent, Dr Jones, who was head of the nuclear, chemical and biological branch of the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) until he retired last year, reveals that the experts failed in their efforts to have their views reflected.
Dr Jones, who is expected to be a key witness at the new inquiry, says: "In my view, the expert intelligence analysts of the DIS were overruled in the preparation of the dossier in September 2002, resulting in a presentation that was misleading about Iraq's capabilities."
USA VS. VENEZUELA
V-Headline: WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Bush 2 administration officials again seeking to stimulate a regime change in Venezuela -- question is no longer IF, but WHEN!
Sources in Washington D.C. have revealed that Bush 2 administration officials are again seeking to "stimulate" a regime change in Venezuela after a USA-backed coup d'etat against democratically-elected President Hugo Chavez Frias failed when US puppet dictator Pedro Carmona Estanga moved to dissolve parliament, the judiciary and the constitution in one fell swoop.
Our sources (which must remain confidential, but have been verified) say that Venezuelan nationals, recruited on the promise of fast-track US citizenship and benefits, have been trained in the arts of USA terror tactics at the US Army School of Americas-SOA (renamed 3 years ago as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation-WHISC) at Fort Benning (Georgia) were relocated to training camps at Iquitos in the northern jungles of Peru under the direction of US Southern Command (Latin America & Caribbean) regional HQ at Fort Buchanan (San Juan, Puerto Rico).
SOA/WHISC commanders are said to be "smarting" over their failure to impose a US-backed military/civilian dictatorship in Venezuela in April 2002 when democratically-elected President Hugo Chavez Frias was swiftly returned to power after US-puppet dictator Pedro Carmona Estanga dissolved parliament, the judiciary and Venezuela's constitution in one fell swoop. Carmona Estanga was not able to control the massive surge against him as millions of Venezuelans took to the streets repudiating his imposition and demanding the return of reformist Chavez Frias.
V-Headline: WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Bush 2 administration officials again seeking to stimulate a regime change in Venezuela -- question is no longer IF, but WHEN!
Sources in Washington D.C. have revealed that Bush 2 administration officials are again seeking to "stimulate" a regime change in Venezuela after a USA-backed coup d'etat against democratically-elected President Hugo Chavez Frias failed when US puppet dictator Pedro Carmona Estanga moved to dissolve parliament, the judiciary and the constitution in one fell swoop.
Our sources (which must remain confidential, but have been verified) say that Venezuelan nationals, recruited on the promise of fast-track US citizenship and benefits, have been trained in the arts of USA terror tactics at the US Army School of Americas-SOA (renamed 3 years ago as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation-WHISC) at Fort Benning (Georgia) were relocated to training camps at Iquitos in the northern jungles of Peru under the direction of US Southern Command (Latin America & Caribbean) regional HQ at Fort Buchanan (San Juan, Puerto Rico).
SOA/WHISC commanders are said to be "smarting" over their failure to impose a US-backed military/civilian dictatorship in Venezuela in April 2002 when democratically-elected President Hugo Chavez Frias was swiftly returned to power after US-puppet dictator Pedro Carmona Estanga dissolved parliament, the judiciary and Venezuela's constitution in one fell swoop. Carmona Estanga was not able to control the massive surge against him as millions of Venezuelans took to the streets repudiating his imposition and demanding the return of reformist Chavez Frias.
USA: WMD LIES
ISP: When In Trouble, Blame the CIA
WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (IPS) - Badly wounded by the total collapse of its pre-war contentions that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had large stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, the administration of President George W. Bush has embarked on a strategy of diversion and delay.
It hopes to divert attention from the role played by senior administration officials in influencing and exaggerating the intelligence assessments of the Iraqi threat in the run-up to the war by focusing debate instead on flaws in the intelligence and how it can be improved in the future.
It hopes to delay until well after the November presidential elections the reporting deadline for a proposed commission that will study the fiasco.
''This is damage control'', said one Congressional aide, who added the president's re-election chances might well hinge on whether he is able to pull off the strategy. ''Bush wants to get this out of the headlines and into a commission that won't say anything until he's re-elected''
ISP: When In Trouble, Blame the CIA
WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (IPS) - Badly wounded by the total collapse of its pre-war contentions that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had large stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, the administration of President George W. Bush has embarked on a strategy of diversion and delay.
It hopes to divert attention from the role played by senior administration officials in influencing and exaggerating the intelligence assessments of the Iraqi threat in the run-up to the war by focusing debate instead on flaws in the intelligence and how it can be improved in the future.
It hopes to delay until well after the November presidential elections the reporting deadline for a proposed commission that will study the fiasco.
''This is damage control'', said one Congressional aide, who added the president's re-election chances might well hinge on whether he is able to pull off the strategy. ''Bush wants to get this out of the headlines and into a commission that won't say anything until he's re-elected''
USA: WMD LIES
Mother Jones: The Lie Factory
Only weeks after 9/11, the Bush administration set up a secret Pentagon unit to create the case for invading Iraq. Here is the inside story for how they pushed disinformation and bogus intelligence and led the nation to war.
IT'S A CRISP FALL DAY IN WESTERN VIRGINIA, a hundred miles from Washington, D.C., and a breeze is rustling the red and gold leaves of the Shenandoah hills. On the weather-beaten wood porch of a ramshackle 90-year-old farmhouse, at the end of a winding dirt-and-gravel road, Lt. Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski is perched on a plastic chair, wearing shorts, a purple sweatshirt, and muddy sneakers. Two scrawny dogs and a lone cat are on the prowl, and tne air is filled with swarms
So far, she says, no investigators have come knocking. Not from the Central Intelligence Agency, which conducted an internal inquiry into intelligence on Iraq, not from the congressional intelligence committees, not from the president's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. All of those bodies are ostensibly looking into the Bush administration's prewar Iraq intelligence, amid charges that the White House and the Pentagon exaggerated, distorted, or just plain lied about Iraq's links to Al Qaeda terrorists and its possession of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. In her hands, Kwiatkowski holds several pieces of the puzzle. Yet she, along with a score of other career officers recently retired or shuffled off to other jobs, has not been approached by anyone.
"CHECK IT CHECK IT CHECK IT"
Mother Jones: The Lie Factory
Only weeks after 9/11, the Bush administration set up a secret Pentagon unit to create the case for invading Iraq. Here is the inside story for how they pushed disinformation and bogus intelligence and led the nation to war.
IT'S A CRISP FALL DAY IN WESTERN VIRGINIA, a hundred miles from Washington, D.C., and a breeze is rustling the red and gold leaves of the Shenandoah hills. On the weather-beaten wood porch of a ramshackle 90-year-old farmhouse, at the end of a winding dirt-and-gravel road, Lt. Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski is perched on a plastic chair, wearing shorts, a purple sweatshirt, and muddy sneakers. Two scrawny dogs and a lone cat are on the prowl, and tne air is filled with swarms
So far, she says, no investigators have come knocking. Not from the Central Intelligence Agency, which conducted an internal inquiry into intelligence on Iraq, not from the congressional intelligence committees, not from the president's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. All of those bodies are ostensibly looking into the Bush administration's prewar Iraq intelligence, amid charges that the White House and the Pentagon exaggerated, distorted, or just plain lied about Iraq's links to Al Qaeda terrorists and its possession of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. In her hands, Kwiatkowski holds several pieces of the puzzle. Yet she, along with a score of other career officers recently retired or shuffled off to other jobs, has not been approached by anyone.
"CHECK IT CHECK IT CHECK IT"
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
UK
Daily Mirror: Blair's Mass Deception
by John Pilger
02/03/04: (Daily Mirror) IN THE wake of the Hutton fiasco, one truth remains unassailed: Tony Blair ordered an unprovoked invasion of another country on a totally false pretext, and that lies and deceptions manufactured in London and Washington caused the deaths of up to 55,000 Iraqis, including 9,600 civilians.
Consider for a moment those who have paid the price for Blair's and Bush's actions, who are rarely mentioned in the current media coverage. Deaths and injury of young children from unexploded British and American cluster bombs are put at 1,000 a month. The effect of uranium weapons used by Anglo-American forces - a weapon of mass destruction - is such that readings taken from Iraqi tanks destroyed by the British are so high that a British Army survey team wore white, full-body radiation suits, face masks and gloves. Iraqi children play on and around these tanks. British troops, says the Ministry of Defence, "will have access to biological monitoring".
Daily Mirror: Blair's Mass Deception
by John Pilger
02/03/04: (Daily Mirror) IN THE wake of the Hutton fiasco, one truth remains unassailed: Tony Blair ordered an unprovoked invasion of another country on a totally false pretext, and that lies and deceptions manufactured in London and Washington caused the deaths of up to 55,000 Iraqis, including 9,600 civilians.
Consider for a moment those who have paid the price for Blair's and Bush's actions, who are rarely mentioned in the current media coverage. Deaths and injury of young children from unexploded British and American cluster bombs are put at 1,000 a month. The effect of uranium weapons used by Anglo-American forces - a weapon of mass destruction - is such that readings taken from Iraqi tanks destroyed by the British are so high that a British Army survey team wore white, full-body radiation suits, face masks and gloves. Iraqi children play on and around these tanks. British troops, says the Ministry of Defence, "will have access to biological monitoring".
ISRAEL
Haaretz: Analysis / Could Sharon finally be serious?
The news of Sharon's interview to Haaretz about the planned evacuation of the Katif bloc settlements hit them as they came out of the office. It was immediately clear that the evacuation, even if no more than a declaration, would ignite any party meeting like a barrel of kerosene.
Perhaps Sharon should have waited with such a statement. But the convention is not the foremost thing on his mind right now. The difficult police questioning about his affairs, reportedly due on Thursday, is bothering him more. So is Attorney General Menachem Mazuz's impending decision concerning the affairs.
Yesterday Sharon managed to deflect public attention from the approaching questioning. Without committing to a schedule, without ordering the evacuation of a single settlement and without even evacuating the quasi-legal outpost Migron, Sharon is already talking of evacuating the Gaza Strip, whose settlements he until recently saw as a strategic asset.
So far, it's all talk.
Verbally, over the past three years, Sharon has established a Palestinian state, expelled Arafat and made numerous painful concessions.
Haaretz: Qureia: Gaza plan is 'good news'; Peres: Labor will back PM
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said Tuesday that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate settlements in the Gaza Strip was "good news."
Sparking a political storm Monday, Sharon told Haaretz that he has ordered plans drafted for the relocation of 17 settlements in the Strip and three in the northern West Bank, a move that he said could take one to two years.
Reuters: Sharon Drops Bombshell -
Gaza Settlements To Go
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Monday he planned to evacuate almost all of the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, dropping a political bombshell that stunned friends and foes alike.
"I have given the order to plan for the evacuation of 17 settlements in the Gaza Strip," the right-wing prime minister told the Haaretz newspaper. "I am working on the assumption that in the future there will be no Jews in Gaza."
Sharon, once considered the godfather of the settlement movement, later spelled out his intentions in a closed-door meeting of his pro-settler Likud party, but gave no time frame.
Haaretz: Analysis / Could Sharon finally be serious?
The news of Sharon's interview to Haaretz about the planned evacuation of the Katif bloc settlements hit them as they came out of the office. It was immediately clear that the evacuation, even if no more than a declaration, would ignite any party meeting like a barrel of kerosene.
Perhaps Sharon should have waited with such a statement. But the convention is not the foremost thing on his mind right now. The difficult police questioning about his affairs, reportedly due on Thursday, is bothering him more. So is Attorney General Menachem Mazuz's impending decision concerning the affairs.
Yesterday Sharon managed to deflect public attention from the approaching questioning. Without committing to a schedule, without ordering the evacuation of a single settlement and without even evacuating the quasi-legal outpost Migron, Sharon is already talking of evacuating the Gaza Strip, whose settlements he until recently saw as a strategic asset.
So far, it's all talk.
Verbally, over the past three years, Sharon has established a Palestinian state, expelled Arafat and made numerous painful concessions.
Haaretz: Qureia: Gaza plan is 'good news'; Peres: Labor will back PM
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said Tuesday that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate settlements in the Gaza Strip was "good news."
Sparking a political storm Monday, Sharon told Haaretz that he has ordered plans drafted for the relocation of 17 settlements in the Strip and three in the northern West Bank, a move that he said could take one to two years.
Reuters: Sharon Drops Bombshell -
Gaza Settlements To Go
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Monday he planned to evacuate almost all of the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, dropping a political bombshell that stunned friends and foes alike.
"I have given the order to plan for the evacuation of 17 settlements in the Gaza Strip," the right-wing prime minister told the Haaretz newspaper. "I am working on the assumption that in the future there will be no Jews in Gaza."
Sharon, once considered the godfather of the settlement movement, later spelled out his intentions in a closed-door meeting of his pro-settler Likud party, but gave no time frame.
PEAK OIL
From the Wilderness: Revealing Statements from a Bush Insider about Peak Oil and Natural Gas Depletion: FTW EXCLUSIVE CHECK IT
Bush energy advisor to the secret Energy Task Force headed by Dick Cheney before 9/11, Matthew Simmons, spoke candidly about Peak Oil at a recent Paris conference attended by FTW Editor Mike Ruppert. The transcribed remarks of this CFR member at this exclusive conference are chilling affirmations of the only issue driving world events since 9/11.
"The uh, I think basically that now, that peaking of oil will never be accurately predicted until after the fact. But the event will occur, and my analysis is leaning me more by the month, the worry that peaking is at hand; not years away. If it turns out I'm wrong, then I'm wrong. But if I'm right, the unforeseen consequences are devastating...But unfortunately the world has no Plan B if I'm right. The facts are too serious to ignore. Sadly the pessimist-optimist debate started too late
From the Wilderness: Revealing Statements from a Bush Insider about Peak Oil and Natural Gas Depletion: FTW EXCLUSIVE CHECK IT
Bush energy advisor to the secret Energy Task Force headed by Dick Cheney before 9/11, Matthew Simmons, spoke candidly about Peak Oil at a recent Paris conference attended by FTW Editor Mike Ruppert. The transcribed remarks of this CFR member at this exclusive conference are chilling affirmations of the only issue driving world events since 9/11.
"The uh, I think basically that now, that peaking of oil will never be accurately predicted until after the fact. But the event will occur, and my analysis is leaning me more by the month, the worry that peaking is at hand; not years away. If it turns out I'm wrong, then I'm wrong. But if I'm right, the unforeseen consequences are devastating...But unfortunately the world has no Plan B if I'm right. The facts are too serious to ignore. Sadly the pessimist-optimist debate started too late
EMPIRE: OIL
From the Wilderness: IN YOUR FACE
- Connections between Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force, 9/11 and Peak Oil “On the Table”
- July '04 Supreme Court Ruling on Secrecy, Task Force Documents Obtained through FOIA Suit on Collision Course as Cheney “Duck Hunts” with Scalia
- The Reason Why Activists of All Stripes are Ineffective
January 29, 2004 1700 PST ( FTW ) – Nothing can change the facts.
When, in May 2001, the conservative legal watchdog group Judicial Watch filed suit to see the records of Dick Cheney's National Energy Policy Development Group (NEPDG), it was the first to protest the unheard of secrecy at the energy task force. As the White House stonewalled, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) filed suit the following February. Congress had, after all, funded the project. Non-governmental officials had played major roles in its deliberations and, under the Constitution, the GAO had an obligation to see how the money was spent and what was produced. White House refusals prompted media speculation about deals with Enron and big oil companies; a divvying of spoils, a rape of the environment. Judicial Watch was later joined in its suit by the Sierra Club. A scandal for everyone!
It's a sure bet that of all the plaintiffs; from Congressman Henry Waxman (D – CA) and Comptroller General David Walker who fought for the GAO; to Judicial Watch's Larry Klayman, who had previously fought Bill Clinton; to the environmentalists, none had a clue as to what they were really asking for or why Dick Cheney fought them so ruthlessly.
The fight was just beginning.
From the Wilderness: IN YOUR FACE
- Connections between Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force, 9/11 and Peak Oil “On the Table”
- July '04 Supreme Court Ruling on Secrecy, Task Force Documents Obtained through FOIA Suit on Collision Course as Cheney “Duck Hunts” with Scalia
- The Reason Why Activists of All Stripes are Ineffective
January 29, 2004 1700 PST ( FTW ) – Nothing can change the facts.
When, in May 2001, the conservative legal watchdog group Judicial Watch filed suit to see the records of Dick Cheney's National Energy Policy Development Group (NEPDG), it was the first to protest the unheard of secrecy at the energy task force. As the White House stonewalled, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) filed suit the following February. Congress had, after all, funded the project. Non-governmental officials had played major roles in its deliberations and, under the Constitution, the GAO had an obligation to see how the money was spent and what was produced. White House refusals prompted media speculation about deals with Enron and big oil companies; a divvying of spoils, a rape of the environment. Judicial Watch was later joined in its suit by the Sierra Club. A scandal for everyone!
It's a sure bet that of all the plaintiffs; from Congressman Henry Waxman (D – CA) and Comptroller General David Walker who fought for the GAO; to Judicial Watch's Larry Klayman, who had previously fought Bill Clinton; to the environmentalists, none had a clue as to what they were really asking for or why Dick Cheney fought them so ruthlessly.
The fight was just beginning.
USA ECONOMY
NY Times Editorial: The Pinocchio Budget
The president's new budget proposal is an exercise in election-year cynicism. It calls for cuts in programs President Bush knows Congress will protect and future tax cuts he knows the nation cannot afford. Meanwhile, vital domestic programs, like environmental protection and housing for the poor, wind up as the sacrificial victims.
The budget acknowledges the need to increase spending on homeland security. But the rest of the domestic budget, excluding Medicare and Social Security, would be financed at less than 1 percent growth — a cut, in effect, when inflation is factored in. "Listen, government has got plenty of money," the president insisted last week. It is easy to tell people that a $2.4 trillion budget should have enough in it for everything we need. But when specifics pop to the surface, people will discover that a great deal is lacking — including fiscal responsibility.
NY Times Editorial: The Pinocchio Budget
The president's new budget proposal is an exercise in election-year cynicism. It calls for cuts in programs President Bush knows Congress will protect and future tax cuts he knows the nation cannot afford. Meanwhile, vital domestic programs, like environmental protection and housing for the poor, wind up as the sacrificial victims.
The budget acknowledges the need to increase spending on homeland security. But the rest of the domestic budget, excluding Medicare and Social Security, would be financed at less than 1 percent growth — a cut, in effect, when inflation is factored in. "Listen, government has got plenty of money," the president insisted last week. It is easy to tell people that a $2.4 trillion budget should have enough in it for everything we need. But when specifics pop to the surface, people will discover that a great deal is lacking — including fiscal responsibility.
USA ECONOMY
NY Times: Another Bogus Budget by Paul Krugman
Well, whaddya know. Even as the Republican leadership strong-armed the Medicare drug bill through Congress, the administration was sitting on estimates showing that the plan would cost at least $134 billion more than it let on. But let's not make too much of the incident. After all, it's not as if our leaders make a habit of faking their budget projections. Oh, wait.
The budget released yesterday, which projects a $521 billion deficit for fiscal 2004, is no more credible than its predecessors. When the administration promises much lower deficits in future years, remember this: two years ago it projected a fiscal 2004 deficit of only $14 billion. What's new this time is that the administration has decided to pay lip service to conservative complaints about runaway spending.
Over the past few months, many pundits have obediently placed the onus for rising deficits on "a vast increase in discretionary domestic spending," or words to that effect. By the way, the Heritage Foundation, which has orchestrated this campaign, is cagier than those pundits; it covers itself by relying on innuendo, never saying outright that domestic discretionary spending is the source of the deficit.
To mollify these critics, the new budget purports to shrink real domestic discretionary spending. This won't happen; even if it did, it would have a negligible impact on the deficit. But it isn't just a fake solution — it's a response to a fake problem.
NY Times: Another Bogus Budget by Paul Krugman
Well, whaddya know. Even as the Republican leadership strong-armed the Medicare drug bill through Congress, the administration was sitting on estimates showing that the plan would cost at least $134 billion more than it let on. But let's not make too much of the incident. After all, it's not as if our leaders make a habit of faking their budget projections. Oh, wait.
The budget released yesterday, which projects a $521 billion deficit for fiscal 2004, is no more credible than its predecessors. When the administration promises much lower deficits in future years, remember this: two years ago it projected a fiscal 2004 deficit of only $14 billion. What's new this time is that the administration has decided to pay lip service to conservative complaints about runaway spending.
Over the past few months, many pundits have obediently placed the onus for rising deficits on "a vast increase in discretionary domestic spending," or words to that effect. By the way, the Heritage Foundation, which has orchestrated this campaign, is cagier than those pundits; it covers itself by relying on innuendo, never saying outright that domestic discretionary spending is the source of the deficit.
To mollify these critics, the new budget purports to shrink real domestic discretionary spending. This won't happen; even if it did, it would have a negligible impact on the deficit. But it isn't just a fake solution — it's a response to a fake problem.
Monday, February 02, 2004
USA/PAKSITAN
Chicago Tribune: US Plans Al Qaeda Offensive
The Bush administration, deeply concerned about recent assassination attempts against Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and a resurgence of Taliban forces in neighboring Afghanistan, is preparing a U.S. military offensive that would reach inside Pakistan with the goal of destroying Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network, military sources said.
U.S. Central Command is assembling a team of military intelligence officers that would be posted in Pakistan ahead of the operation, according to sources familiar with details of the plan and internal military communications. The sources spoke on the condition they not be identified
Chicago Tribune: US Plans Al Qaeda Offensive
The Bush administration, deeply concerned about recent assassination attempts against Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and a resurgence of Taliban forces in neighboring Afghanistan, is preparing a U.S. military offensive that would reach inside Pakistan with the goal of destroying Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network, military sources said.
U.S. Central Command is assembling a team of military intelligence officers that would be posted in Pakistan ahead of the operation, according to sources familiar with details of the plan and internal military communications. The sources spoke on the condition they not be identified
DEAD SCIENTISTS
Rense: More Dead Top Microbiologist Scientists
Dr. Mike Patrick Kiley, Ebola, Mad Cow Expert, top of the line world class, dies of massive heart attack.
Dr. Robert Shope, Virus Expert Who Warned Of Epidemics dies in the same week.
Coincidently, both Dr. Shope and Dr. Kiley were working on the lab upgrade to BSL 4 at the UTMB Galvaston lab for Homeland Security. The lab would have to be secure to house some of the deadliest pathogens of tropical and emerging infectious disease as well as bioweaponized ones.
I have also noted a commonality of most of the now, 44 scientists who met their demise since 9/11/01 and that is all were expert in emerging infectious diseases especially Ebola, Mad Cow, HIV.
Dr. Shope had accumulated his own collection of virus samples gathered from all over the world.
Rense: More Dead Top Microbiologist Scientists
Dr. Mike Patrick Kiley, Ebola, Mad Cow Expert, top of the line world class, dies of massive heart attack.
Dr. Robert Shope, Virus Expert Who Warned Of Epidemics dies in the same week.
Coincidently, both Dr. Shope and Dr. Kiley were working on the lab upgrade to BSL 4 at the UTMB Galvaston lab for Homeland Security. The lab would have to be secure to house some of the deadliest pathogens of tropical and emerging infectious disease as well as bioweaponized ones.
I have also noted a commonality of most of the now, 44 scientists who met their demise since 9/11/01 and that is all were expert in emerging infectious diseases especially Ebola, Mad Cow, HIV.
Dr. Shope had accumulated his own collection of virus samples gathered from all over the world.
IRAQI RESISTNANCE
Knight Ridder: Iraq Revolt Brewing
Iraqi Whispers Mull Repeat Of 1920s Revolt
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Whispers of "revolution" are growing louder in Baghdad this month at teahouses, public protests and tribal meetings as Iraqis point to the past as an omen for the future.
Iraqis remember 1920 as one of the most glorious moments in modern history, one followed by nearly eight decades of tumult. The bloody rebellion against British rule that year is memorialized in schoolbooks, monuments and mass-produced tapestries that hang in living rooms.
Now, many say there's an uncanny similarity with today: unpopular foreign occupiers, unelected governing bodies and unhappy residents eager for self-determination. The result could be another bloody uprising.
"We are now under occupation, and the best treatment for a wound is sometimes fire," said Najah al Najafi, a Shiite cleric who joined thousands of marchers at a recent demonstration where construction workers, tribal leaders and religious scholars spoke of 1920.
Knight Ridder: Iraq Revolt Brewing
Iraqi Whispers Mull Repeat Of 1920s Revolt
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Whispers of "revolution" are growing louder in Baghdad this month at teahouses, public protests and tribal meetings as Iraqis point to the past as an omen for the future.
Iraqis remember 1920 as one of the most glorious moments in modern history, one followed by nearly eight decades of tumult. The bloody rebellion against British rule that year is memorialized in schoolbooks, monuments and mass-produced tapestries that hang in living rooms.
Now, many say there's an uncanny similarity with today: unpopular foreign occupiers, unelected governing bodies and unhappy residents eager for self-determination. The result could be another bloody uprising.
"We are now under occupation, and the best treatment for a wound is sometimes fire," said Najah al Najafi, a Shiite cleric who joined thousands of marchers at a recent demonstration where construction workers, tribal leaders and religious scholars spoke of 1920.
JIHAD
Memri: Al-Qa'ida's 'Voice of Jihad' Magazine: Issue No. 9
The online magazine 'The Voice of Jihad,' which is published by Al-Qa'ida members in Saudi Arabia and describes itself as a "biweekly dealing with Jihad and the Mujahideen in the Arabian Peninsula," devoted its ninth issue to two main subjects: Osama bin Laden's most recent speech, excerpts of which were broadcast on Al-Jazeera television, and the ongoing debate in Al-Qa'ida over attacks in Saudi Arabia. The following are excerpts from this issue: [1]
Memri: Al-Qa'ida's 'Voice of Jihad' Magazine: Issue No. 9
The online magazine 'The Voice of Jihad,' which is published by Al-Qa'ida members in Saudi Arabia and describes itself as a "biweekly dealing with Jihad and the Mujahideen in the Arabian Peninsula," devoted its ninth issue to two main subjects: Osama bin Laden's most recent speech, excerpts of which were broadcast on Al-Jazeera television, and the ongoing debate in Al-Qa'ida over attacks in Saudi Arabia. The following are excerpts from this issue: [1]
ISRAEL
AFP: Israel Calls For End Of 'Syrian
Occupation' Of Lebanon!
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom called on the international community to put an end to the "Syrian occupation" of Lebanon.
"Since 1976, Syria has been occupying Lebanon and stealing its resources and it is time for the world to order it to leave," Shalom told the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday.
He called on "the countries of the free world to start a diplomatic campaign" to force a withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and said he had raised the issue with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
"Da kann man ?ber die Heuchlerei nur noch lachen"
AFP: Israel Calls For End Of 'Syrian
Occupation' Of Lebanon!
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom called on the international community to put an end to the "Syrian occupation" of Lebanon.
"Since 1976, Syria has been occupying Lebanon and stealing its resources and it is time for the world to order it to leave," Shalom told the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday.
He called on "the countries of the free world to start a diplomatic campaign" to force a withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and said he had raised the issue with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
"Da kann man ?ber die Heuchlerei nur noch lachen"
WMD LIES
Rense: In His Own Words - Bush
On Saddam's WMD
"States like these (Iraq, Iran, North Korea) ... constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. The United States of America will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons." - President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 29, 2002
"The Iraqi regime possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons.... If we know Saddam Hussein has dangerous weapons today -- and we do -- does it make any sense for the world to wait to confront him as he grows even stronger and develops even more dangerous weapons?" - President George W. Bush, Cincinnati, Oct. 7, 2002
"Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of Sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent." - President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 28, 2003
"The security of the world requires disarming Saddam Hussein now." - President George W. Bush, March 17, 2003
"We've begun the search for hidden chemical and biological weapons and already know of hundreds of sites that will be investigated. No terrorist network will gain weapons of mass destruction from the Iraqi regime because the regime is no more." - President George W. Bush, May 1, 2003
"We'll find them. It'll be a matter of time to do so." - President George W. Bush, May 3, 2003
"We based our decisions on good, sound intelligence, and the - our people are going to find out the truth. And the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There's no doubt in my mind." - President George W. Bush, July 17, 2003
"Our coalition has made sure that Iraq's former dictator will never again use weapons of mass destruction. We are interviewing Iraqi citizens and analyzing records of the old regime to reveal the full extent of its weapons programs and its long campaign of deception." - President George W. Bush Sept. 23, 2003
"He (Saddam) had a weapons program." - President George W. Bush, Oct. 29, 2003
"Already the Kay report identified dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations." - President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 20, 2004
"We know from years of intelligence - not only our own intelligence services, but other intelligence-gathering organizations - that [Saddam] had weapons." - President George W. Bush, Jan. 27, 2004
David Kay, top Iraq weapons inspector for the Bush administration, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jan. 28, 2004: "We were almost all wrong."
Rense: In His Own Words - Bush
On Saddam's WMD
"States like these (Iraq, Iran, North Korea) ... constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. The United States of America will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons." - President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 29, 2002
"The Iraqi regime possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons.... If we know Saddam Hussein has dangerous weapons today -- and we do -- does it make any sense for the world to wait to confront him as he grows even stronger and develops even more dangerous weapons?" - President George W. Bush, Cincinnati, Oct. 7, 2002
"Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of Sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent." - President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 28, 2003
"The security of the world requires disarming Saddam Hussein now." - President George W. Bush, March 17, 2003
"We've begun the search for hidden chemical and biological weapons and already know of hundreds of sites that will be investigated. No terrorist network will gain weapons of mass destruction from the Iraqi regime because the regime is no more." - President George W. Bush, May 1, 2003
"We'll find them. It'll be a matter of time to do so." - President George W. Bush, May 3, 2003
"We based our decisions on good, sound intelligence, and the - our people are going to find out the truth. And the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There's no doubt in my mind." - President George W. Bush, July 17, 2003
"Our coalition has made sure that Iraq's former dictator will never again use weapons of mass destruction. We are interviewing Iraqi citizens and analyzing records of the old regime to reveal the full extent of its weapons programs and its long campaign of deception." - President George W. Bush Sept. 23, 2003
"He (Saddam) had a weapons program." - President George W. Bush, Oct. 29, 2003
"Already the Kay report identified dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations." - President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 20, 2004
"We know from years of intelligence - not only our own intelligence services, but other intelligence-gathering organizations - that [Saddam] had weapons." - President George W. Bush, Jan. 27, 2004
David Kay, top Iraq weapons inspector for the Bush administration, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jan. 28, 2004: "We were almost all wrong."
SWITZERLAND: WEF
20Min: «Landquarter Kessel»: Vorwürfe an die Polizei
Die Kontrolle von Hunderten von WEF-Gegnerinnen und -gegnern im Bahnhof Landquart (GR) ist laut Direktbetroffenen von der Polizei von langer Hand vorbereitet worden.
Der Zug sei nur gestoppt worden, um zu fichieren. Die unnötige Polizeigewalt im «Landquarter Kessel» soll nun Anzeigen und Untersuchungen nach sich ziehen
Nach Angaben des grünen Berner Stadtrats und Augenzeugen Daniele Jenni war der Zug «vorgeplant» durch die Polizei blockiert worden. Keinerlei Verhaltensweisen der Zuginsassen seien für die Blockierung ursächlich gewesen. Ein riesiges Polizeiaufgebot habe den Zug umzingelt und diesen brutal geräumt. «Bahnhofplatz, Tiefgarage, Einvernahmeräume, Bürocontainer und Warteräume waren dabei von langer Hand eingerichtet», sagte Jenni. Es sei nie darum gegangen, Zwischenfälle zu verhindern oder Sachbeschädigungen und Täterschaften abzuklären, sondern einzig darum, die Betroffenen zu fichieren und vom Widerstand abzuschrecken. Die Verantwortlichen des Polizeieinsatzes hätten dafür Freiheitsberaubung, Körperverletzung, die Gefährdung durch giftige Gase und die Störung des öffentlichen Verkehrs in Kauf genommen. Der Einsatz gegen die friedlichen Zugpassagiere sei unnötig, unangemessen und ungeeignet gewesen und habe auch die Grundrechte der Versammlungsfreiheit und freien Meinungsäusserung verletzt, sagte der Politiker.
Indymedia: Landquart? - COOPeration!
es geht nicht darum, die polizeirepression in landquart über die repressalien in davos und sargans/mels zu stellen, geschweige denn, aus der repression gewinn zu schlagen. aber darum, der verdrehten berichterstattung der schweizer medienlandschaft (von t wie tagi bis t wie tagesschau) entgegenzuwirken und das geschehene zu verstehen versuchen, um daraus einen gemeinsamen umgang entwickeln zu können
20Min: «Landquarter Kessel»: Vorwürfe an die Polizei
Die Kontrolle von Hunderten von WEF-Gegnerinnen und -gegnern im Bahnhof Landquart (GR) ist laut Direktbetroffenen von der Polizei von langer Hand vorbereitet worden.
Der Zug sei nur gestoppt worden, um zu fichieren. Die unnötige Polizeigewalt im «Landquarter Kessel» soll nun Anzeigen und Untersuchungen nach sich ziehen
Nach Angaben des grünen Berner Stadtrats und Augenzeugen Daniele Jenni war der Zug «vorgeplant» durch die Polizei blockiert worden. Keinerlei Verhaltensweisen der Zuginsassen seien für die Blockierung ursächlich gewesen. Ein riesiges Polizeiaufgebot habe den Zug umzingelt und diesen brutal geräumt. «Bahnhofplatz, Tiefgarage, Einvernahmeräume, Bürocontainer und Warteräume waren dabei von langer Hand eingerichtet», sagte Jenni. Es sei nie darum gegangen, Zwischenfälle zu verhindern oder Sachbeschädigungen und Täterschaften abzuklären, sondern einzig darum, die Betroffenen zu fichieren und vom Widerstand abzuschrecken. Die Verantwortlichen des Polizeieinsatzes hätten dafür Freiheitsberaubung, Körperverletzung, die Gefährdung durch giftige Gase und die Störung des öffentlichen Verkehrs in Kauf genommen. Der Einsatz gegen die friedlichen Zugpassagiere sei unnötig, unangemessen und ungeeignet gewesen und habe auch die Grundrechte der Versammlungsfreiheit und freien Meinungsäusserung verletzt, sagte der Politiker.
Indymedia: Landquart? - COOPeration!
es geht nicht darum, die polizeirepression in landquart über die repressalien in davos und sargans/mels zu stellen, geschweige denn, aus der repression gewinn zu schlagen. aber darum, der verdrehten berichterstattung der schweizer medienlandschaft (von t wie tagi bis t wie tagesschau) entgegenzuwirken und das geschehene zu verstehen versuchen, um daraus einen gemeinsamen umgang entwickeln zu können
SWITZERLAND
Indymedia: UPDATE zum Brücken"FALL" von Aubonne
Hier ein Update zur Unterstützungskampagne "Aubonne- Brücke". Es geht dabei um den Polizeieinsatz während des G8- Gipfels in Evian im Juni 2003 auf der Aubonne Brücke, bei dem eine Person schwer verletzt wurde (andere leiden heute noch an den psychischen Folgen), weil ein Polizist das Seil an dem zwei AktivistInnen hingen, um den Verkehr zu blockieren, ohne jede Vorwarnung durchtrennte.Im März findet nun voraussichtlich der Prozess gegen drei der AktivistInnen (!) statt, während gegen die verantwortlichen Polizisten noch kein Verfahren eingeleitet wurde
Indymedia: UPDATE zum Brücken"FALL" von Aubonne
Hier ein Update zur Unterstützungskampagne "Aubonne- Brücke". Es geht dabei um den Polizeieinsatz während des G8- Gipfels in Evian im Juni 2003 auf der Aubonne Brücke, bei dem eine Person schwer verletzt wurde (andere leiden heute noch an den psychischen Folgen), weil ein Polizist das Seil an dem zwei AktivistInnen hingen, um den Verkehr zu blockieren, ohne jede Vorwarnung durchtrennte.Im März findet nun voraussichtlich der Prozess gegen drei der AktivistInnen (!) statt, während gegen die verantwortlichen Polizisten noch kein Verfahren eingeleitet wurde
SWITZERLAND: MEDIA WATCH
Tages Anzeiger: Interviewsperre f?r Gewaltbereite
Die Sicherheitspolitische Kommission des St?nderats will im Fernsehen DRS Interviews mit Aktivisten verhindern, die zum gewaltt?tigen Widerstand aufrufen.
Das Fernsehen DRS hatte vor dem Weltwirtschaftsforum in Davos Ausz?ge einer Pressekonferenz von vermummten Aktivisten gezeigt. Nach Meinung der St?nderatskommission sollte das ?ffentliche Fernsehen k?nftig darauf verzichten, gewaltbereiten Personen eine Plattform zu bieten. Sie plant einen entsprechenden Vorstoss bei den zust?ndigen Instanzen. (nab/sda)
"Die Sichherheitspolitische Kommision des St?ndesrates scheint die Pressefreiheit und die unabh?ngigkeit des SFDRS nicht sonderlich zu m?gen. Unliebsame Meinungen sollen unterdr?ckt werden. Das ist Zensur. Diesesmal steht es ausnahmsweise in der Zeitung wieviel Einfluss hat die Politik auf die Berichterstattung des Schweizer Fernsehens wirklich?"
Tages Anzeiger: Interviewsperre f?r Gewaltbereite
Die Sicherheitspolitische Kommission des St?nderats will im Fernsehen DRS Interviews mit Aktivisten verhindern, die zum gewaltt?tigen Widerstand aufrufen.
Das Fernsehen DRS hatte vor dem Weltwirtschaftsforum in Davos Ausz?ge einer Pressekonferenz von vermummten Aktivisten gezeigt. Nach Meinung der St?nderatskommission sollte das ?ffentliche Fernsehen k?nftig darauf verzichten, gewaltbereiten Personen eine Plattform zu bieten. Sie plant einen entsprechenden Vorstoss bei den zust?ndigen Instanzen. (nab/sda)
"Die Sichherheitspolitische Kommision des St?ndesrates scheint die Pressefreiheit und die unabh?ngigkeit des SFDRS nicht sonderlich zu m?gen. Unliebsame Meinungen sollen unterdr?ckt werden. Das ist Zensur. Diesesmal steht es ausnahmsweise in der Zeitung wieviel Einfluss hat die Politik auf die Berichterstattung des Schweizer Fernsehens wirklich?"
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Electronic Intifada: Israeli army in Hebron uses PRCS ambulance as shield
Hebron (Bani Na'em village) -- A PRCS ambulance was transporting an elderly patient to her home in Al-Aroub Refugee Camp after undergoing hospital treatment. Israeli soldiers stopped the ambulance at the entrance of the refugee camp and initially denied it permission to continue. At this point, the Israeli soldiers began searching the ambulance, and one of the soldiers threatened the crew that they would be shot if they did not follow orders. The soldier then ordered the ambulance driver to drive into the camp very slowly without turning on the siren. As the ambulance entered the camp, the crew was taken by surprise as three Israeli soldiers suddenly jumped onto the back of the ambulance. The driver was obliged to continue driving further into the camp when suddenly the soldiers began to fire at the direction of camp residents and then proceeded to chase them. It is evident that the soldiers deliberately used the vehicle and crew as a human shield.
This incident constitutes a breach of articles 19, 24, 26 and 35 of the first Geneva Convention, which guarantees the protection of medical units, establishments and personnel in addition to the Fourth Geneva Convention, which guarantees the protection of civilians. Moreover, the Israeli Army in using medical personnel and ambulances as a shield to conduct a military operation placed the patient and crew in a life threatening situation, also constitutes a grave violation to article 15 (1) of Protocol 1: (Protection of civilian medical and religious personnel), article 21: Medical vehicles shall be respected and protected in the same way as mobile medical units under the Conventions and this Protocol, in addition to article 51(7): The presence or movements of the civilian population or individual civilians shall not be render certain points or areas immune from military operations, in particular in attempts to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield, favor or impede military operations.
Electronic Intifada: Israeli army in Hebron uses PRCS ambulance as shield
Hebron (Bani Na'em village) -- A PRCS ambulance was transporting an elderly patient to her home in Al-Aroub Refugee Camp after undergoing hospital treatment. Israeli soldiers stopped the ambulance at the entrance of the refugee camp and initially denied it permission to continue. At this point, the Israeli soldiers began searching the ambulance, and one of the soldiers threatened the crew that they would be shot if they did not follow orders. The soldier then ordered the ambulance driver to drive into the camp very slowly without turning on the siren. As the ambulance entered the camp, the crew was taken by surprise as three Israeli soldiers suddenly jumped onto the back of the ambulance. The driver was obliged to continue driving further into the camp when suddenly the soldiers began to fire at the direction of camp residents and then proceeded to chase them. It is evident that the soldiers deliberately used the vehicle and crew as a human shield.
This incident constitutes a breach of articles 19, 24, 26 and 35 of the first Geneva Convention, which guarantees the protection of medical units, establishments and personnel in addition to the Fourth Geneva Convention, which guarantees the protection of civilians. Moreover, the Israeli Army in using medical personnel and ambulances as a shield to conduct a military operation placed the patient and crew in a life threatening situation, also constitutes a grave violation to article 15 (1) of Protocol 1: (Protection of civilian medical and religious personnel), article 21: Medical vehicles shall be respected and protected in the same way as mobile medical units under the Conventions and this Protocol, in addition to article 51(7): The presence or movements of the civilian population or individual civilians shall not be render certain points or areas immune from military operations, in particular in attempts to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield, favor or impede military operations.
Thursday, January 29, 2004
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Haaretz: The Day The Road Map Died
Sharon used delaying and evasive tactics, and presented firm reservations about the map, but was careful to avoid conflict with the U.S. administration... Sharon's tactics paid off. The Americans blame the Palestinians for the failure."
The "road map" for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict died last Thursday. The funeral took place in the office of Condoleezza Rice in the White House, during a pleasant conversation among the U.S. national security adviser and her aides and on the Israeli side, the prime minister's bureau chief Dov Weisglass, Ambassador to the United States Danny Ayalon and the prime minister's foreign policy adviser, Shalom Tourgeman. It had a short life, did the road map, which was cut short before it was realized. In its place the "Bush vision" has returned to diplomatic discourse, as the political goal of Israel and the United States.
The public may have difficulty distinguishing between the concepts, but for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon the death of the road map is a great political victory. The plan for an imposed international agreement has already been removed from the path, the political process has been frozen until the departure of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, and Israel is enjoying freedom of action.
Sharon spoke of several months of waiting, during which he will try to implement the road map, before he abandons it and goes over to unilateral disengagement. But the waiting period has been drastically shortened, and Washington is now willing to hear about disengagement steps, on condition that they suit the Bush vision.
In his June 2002 speech, President George W. Bush called for a change in leadership as a condition for Palestinian independence. Israel rejoiced at the public letter of dismissal to Yasser Arafat.
"CHECK IT"
Haaretz: The Day The Road Map Died
Sharon used delaying and evasive tactics, and presented firm reservations about the map, but was careful to avoid conflict with the U.S. administration... Sharon's tactics paid off. The Americans blame the Palestinians for the failure."
The "road map" for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict died last Thursday. The funeral took place in the office of Condoleezza Rice in the White House, during a pleasant conversation among the U.S. national security adviser and her aides and on the Israeli side, the prime minister's bureau chief Dov Weisglass, Ambassador to the United States Danny Ayalon and the prime minister's foreign policy adviser, Shalom Tourgeman. It had a short life, did the road map, which was cut short before it was realized. In its place the "Bush vision" has returned to diplomatic discourse, as the political goal of Israel and the United States.
The public may have difficulty distinguishing between the concepts, but for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon the death of the road map is a great political victory. The plan for an imposed international agreement has already been removed from the path, the political process has been frozen until the departure of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, and Israel is enjoying freedom of action.
Sharon spoke of several months of waiting, during which he will try to implement the road map, before he abandons it and goes over to unilateral disengagement. But the waiting period has been drastically shortened, and Washington is now willing to hear about disengagement steps, on condition that they suit the Bush vision.
In his June 2002 speech, President George W. Bush called for a change in leadership as a condition for Palestinian independence. Israel rejoiced at the public letter of dismissal to Yasser Arafat.
"CHECK IT"
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Haaretz: IDF Indiscriminate Killing
"Reality shows that under Ariel Sharon's government, violent friction has become the only contact between Israelis and Palestinians and the government is doing nothing to instruct the army to behave in a restrained manner in its ongoing security operations."
The dry account provided by the army said an armored force entered the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza early yesterday morning to strike at Islamic Jihad activists. According to the Israel Defense Forces report, a firefight ensued between armed Palestinians and the armored force and the IDF identified direct hits on 10 armed men. The result is that at least nine Palestinians were killed in the incident, five of them from the Islamic Jihad. The Palestinians said an 11-year-old boy and three workers were killed and an ambulance driver was wounded.
It was another one of those routine reports that the Israeli public has grown used to. Apparently the public is accepting a situation in which military activity in Palestinian towns is accompanied by indiscriminate killing.
With a kind of collective shrug, the killing is excused as something self-evident in the circumstances of the war, in which it is difficult to distinguish between terrorists and innocent civilians. Nobody disputes the need to chase down activists from terror groups that want to strike in Israeli population centers, and the circumstances of the incident are such that occasionally innocent civilians can be accidentally harmed because terrorists operate in their midst.
Haaretz: IDF Indiscriminate Killing
"Reality shows that under Ariel Sharon's government, violent friction has become the only contact between Israelis and Palestinians and the government is doing nothing to instruct the army to behave in a restrained manner in its ongoing security operations."
The dry account provided by the army said an armored force entered the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza early yesterday morning to strike at Islamic Jihad activists. According to the Israel Defense Forces report, a firefight ensued between armed Palestinians and the armored force and the IDF identified direct hits on 10 armed men. The result is that at least nine Palestinians were killed in the incident, five of them from the Islamic Jihad. The Palestinians said an 11-year-old boy and three workers were killed and an ambulance driver was wounded.
It was another one of those routine reports that the Israeli public has grown used to. Apparently the public is accepting a situation in which military activity in Palestinian towns is accompanied by indiscriminate killing.
With a kind of collective shrug, the killing is excused as something self-evident in the circumstances of the war, in which it is difficult to distinguish between terrorists and innocent civilians. Nobody disputes the need to chase down activists from terror groups that want to strike in Israeli population centers, and the circumstances of the incident are such that occasionally innocent civilians can be accidentally harmed because terrorists operate in their midst.
UK: HUTTON WHITEWASH
Scotsman: Hutton Inquiry Whitewashes
Blair Government Over Iraq War
WSWS: Hutton Inquiry Whitewashes
Blair Government Over Iraq War
AFP: Judge Who Cleared Blair,
Blamed BBC Accused Of Whitewash
Greg Palast: Lord Hutton Blesses Blair's Attack on BBC's Investigation Of Iraq War Claims CHECK IT
Scotsman: Hutton Inquiry Whitewashes
Blair Government Over Iraq War
WSWS: Hutton Inquiry Whitewashes
Blair Government Over Iraq War
AFP: Judge Who Cleared Blair,
Blamed BBC Accused Of Whitewash
Greg Palast: Lord Hutton Blesses Blair's Attack on BBC's Investigation Of Iraq War Claims CHECK IT
UK: HUTTON INQUIRY
Independent: Demands grow for inquiry into the case for war as Hutton is accused of a 'whitewash'
The BBC chairman Gavyn Davies became the first casualty of the inquiry into the death of Dr David Kelly as Lord Hutton was accused last night of presiding over a "whitewash".
Tony Blair, his former director of communications Alastair Campbell and the Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon were all cleared of any improper behaviour leading up to the suicide of the weapons expert, bringing barely disguised relief in Government circles
The 740-page report sent shockwaves through the BBC. Lord Hutton said that the BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan's allegation that the Government had "sexed up" its dossier on Iraqi weapons and included intelligence it knew to be probably wrong or questionable was "unfounded
Independent: Lord Hutton's statement
Media Guardian: Press rounds on Hutton
The government may have won the battle but it appears to have comprehensively lost the war against the media, which today leapt instinctively to the BBC's defence in the face of what they widely consider to be a "whitewash" report into the Kelly affair.
In a powerful statement the Independent has a plain white front page with the word "Whitewash?" in red taking centreplace.
It asked was "all this an establishment whitewash?", adding "what of the central issues which Lord Hutton felt it could not address?".
The Daily Mail also delivered an unequivocal front page with former Telegraph editor and military author Sir Max Hastings on the front page. "We have the wretched spectacle of a BBC chairman resigning while Alastair Campbell crows from the summit of his dunghill" are his words above a picture of David Kelly's rose-strewn grave.
The Mirror also went for the jugular with two headlines: "UNFOUNDED... the charge they 'sexed up' dossier" above a picture gallery of the Labour threesome - Geoff Hoon, Tony Blair and Alastair Campbell. Beneath is "UNFOUND... the WMD they took us to war over" with full story across pages 2,4,5,6,8 and 9.
Independent: Demands grow for inquiry into the case for war as Hutton is accused of a 'whitewash'
The BBC chairman Gavyn Davies became the first casualty of the inquiry into the death of Dr David Kelly as Lord Hutton was accused last night of presiding over a "whitewash".
Tony Blair, his former director of communications Alastair Campbell and the Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon were all cleared of any improper behaviour leading up to the suicide of the weapons expert, bringing barely disguised relief in Government circles
The 740-page report sent shockwaves through the BBC. Lord Hutton said that the BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan's allegation that the Government had "sexed up" its dossier on Iraqi weapons and included intelligence it knew to be probably wrong or questionable was "unfounded
Independent: Lord Hutton's statement
Media Guardian: Press rounds on Hutton
The government may have won the battle but it appears to have comprehensively lost the war against the media, which today leapt instinctively to the BBC's defence in the face of what they widely consider to be a "whitewash" report into the Kelly affair.
In a powerful statement the Independent has a plain white front page with the word "Whitewash?" in red taking centreplace.
It asked was "all this an establishment whitewash?", adding "what of the central issues which Lord Hutton felt it could not address?".
The Daily Mail also delivered an unequivocal front page with former Telegraph editor and military author Sir Max Hastings on the front page. "We have the wretched spectacle of a BBC chairman resigning while Alastair Campbell crows from the summit of his dunghill" are his words above a picture of David Kelly's rose-strewn grave.
The Mirror also went for the jugular with two headlines: "UNFOUNDED... the charge they 'sexed up' dossier" above a picture gallery of the Labour threesome - Geoff Hoon, Tony Blair and Alastair Campbell. Beneath is "UNFOUND... the WMD they took us to war over" with full story across pages 2,4,5,6,8 and 9.
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
BREAK DANCE
CNN: Papal blessing for break-dancers
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- In an unusual spectacle at the Vatican, Pope John Paul II presided over a performance of break-dancers who leaped, flipped and spun their bodies to beats from a tinny boom box.
The 83-year-old pontiff seemed to approve, waving his hand after each dancer completed a move, then applauding for the entire group. He watched the performance from a raised throne.
"For this creative hard work I bless you from my heart," he said.
CNN: Papal blessing for break-dancers
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- In an unusual spectacle at the Vatican, Pope John Paul II presided over a performance of break-dancers who leaped, flipped and spun their bodies to beats from a tinny boom box.
The 83-year-old pontiff seemed to approve, waving his hand after each dancer completed a move, then applauding for the entire group. He watched the performance from a raised throne.
"For this creative hard work I bless you from my heart," he said.
USA VS. CUBA
Herald Tribune: Klayman says Castro has biochemical weapons in Cuba
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. --
Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Larry Klayman stepped up his call Tuesday to forcibly remove Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, whom he described as "a master terrorist" and a primary threat to U.S. security.
Five Republican and three Democratic candidates seeking the vacant Senate seat created by the retirement of three-term U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Miami Lakes, spoke about their campaigns Tuesday during a two-hour forum at the 10th annual planning meeting hosted by The Associated Press
"Mr. Klayman geht wohl vorallem um die Stimmen de Exil-Kubaner in Florida"
Herald Tribune: Klayman says Castro has biochemical weapons in Cuba
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. --
Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Larry Klayman stepped up his call Tuesday to forcibly remove Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, whom he described as "a master terrorist" and a primary threat to U.S. security.
Five Republican and three Democratic candidates seeking the vacant Senate seat created by the retirement of three-term U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Miami Lakes, spoke about their campaigns Tuesday during a two-hour forum at the 10th annual planning meeting hosted by The Associated Press
"Mr. Klayman geht wohl vorallem um die Stimmen de Exil-Kubaner in Florida"
USA
Information Clearinghouse: US denies ' imminent' threat warning
THE White House today denied it ever warned that Saddam Hussein posed an "imminent" threat to the United States.
It is already smarting from the failure so far to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
"I think some in the media have chosen to use the word 'imminent'. Those were not words we used. We used 'grave and gathering' threat," spokesman Scott McClellan said.
But if US President George W. Bush never called Saddam's Iraq an "imminent threat" in so many words, he said it was "urgent".
Vice President Dick Cheney called it "mortal" and it was "immediate" to Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
In an October 7, 2002 televised speech to the nation, Bush likened the standoff with Iraq to the October 1962 Cuban missile crisis, when Soviet missiles were revealed to be based just 145km off US shores.
In that same speech, he warned that Saddam "could decide on any given day to provide a biological or chemical weapon to a terrorist group or individual terrorists" like the al-Qaeda network behind the September 11, 2001, attacks
Information Clearinghouse: US denies ' imminent' threat warning
THE White House today denied it ever warned that Saddam Hussein posed an "imminent" threat to the United States.
It is already smarting from the failure so far to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
"I think some in the media have chosen to use the word 'imminent'. Those were not words we used. We used 'grave and gathering' threat," spokesman Scott McClellan said.
But if US President George W. Bush never called Saddam's Iraq an "imminent threat" in so many words, he said it was "urgent".
Vice President Dick Cheney called it "mortal" and it was "immediate" to Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
In an October 7, 2002 televised speech to the nation, Bush likened the standoff with Iraq to the October 1962 Cuban missile crisis, when Soviet missiles were revealed to be based just 145km off US shores.
In that same speech, he warned that Saddam "could decide on any given day to provide a biological or chemical weapon to a terrorist group or individual terrorists" like the al-Qaeda network behind the September 11, 2001, attacks
IRAQI RESISTANCE
ADN News: Car bomb explodes in front of Baghdad hotel
BAGHDAD, Iraq (January 27, 9:03 p.m. AST) - A car bomb exploded in front of a hotel in central Baghdad on Wednesday, partially destroying the three-story building and killing at least three people, police said.
At least three gutted cars were seen in front of the al-Shaheen hotel, only their metal skeletons remaining. Another car was half burned a little distance away in the street in Karadah district. What looked like pieces of flesh lay on the ground in front of the hotel.
Karadah police chief Kadhim Khalas said three people were killed and four injured
ADN News: Car bomb explodes in front of Baghdad hotel
BAGHDAD, Iraq (January 27, 9:03 p.m. AST) - A car bomb exploded in front of a hotel in central Baghdad on Wednesday, partially destroying the three-story building and killing at least three people, police said.
At least three gutted cars were seen in front of the al-Shaheen hotel, only their metal skeletons remaining. Another car was half burned a little distance away in the street in Karadah district. What looked like pieces of flesh lay on the ground in front of the hotel.
Karadah police chief Kadhim Khalas said three people were killed and four injured
IRAQI RESISTANCE
AP: Six US Soldiers Killed In Iraq Road Bombings
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The United Nations agreed Tuesday to send a team to Iraq to help break the impasse over electing a new government, as the deaths of six more American soldiers in roadside bombings underscored concerns about security in the volatile nation.
A bomb that exploded south of Baghdad killed three U.S. soldiers and wounded three others Tuesday night, hours after another bombing west of the capital killed three U.S. paratroopers and wounded one, the military said. In addition, two employees of Cable News Network died in a shooting south of Baghdad.
AP: Six US Soldiers Killed In Iraq Road Bombings
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The United Nations agreed Tuesday to send a team to Iraq to help break the impasse over electing a new government, as the deaths of six more American soldiers in roadside bombings underscored concerns about security in the volatile nation.
A bomb that exploded south of Baghdad killed three U.S. soldiers and wounded three others Tuesday night, hours after another bombing west of the capital killed three U.S. paratroopers and wounded one, the military said. In addition, two employees of Cable News Network died in a shooting south of Baghdad.
USA
Guardian: The US is now in the hands of a group of extremists by George Soros
Fundamentalism has spawned an ideology of American supremacy
The invasion of Iraq was the first practical application of the pernicious Bush doctrine of pre-emptive military action, and it elicited an allergic reaction worldwide - not because anyone had a good word to say about Saddam Hussein, but because we insisted on invading Iraq unilaterally without any clear evidence that he had anything to do with September 11 or that he possessed weapons of mass destruction.
The gap in perceptions between America and the rest of the world has never been wider. Abroad, America is seen as abusing the dominant position it occupies; opinion at home has been led to believe that Saddam posed a clear and present danger to national security. Only in the aftermath of the Iraqi invasion are people becoming aware they have been misled
Guardian: The US is now in the hands of a group of extremists by George Soros
Fundamentalism has spawned an ideology of American supremacy
The invasion of Iraq was the first practical application of the pernicious Bush doctrine of pre-emptive military action, and it elicited an allergic reaction worldwide - not because anyone had a good word to say about Saddam Hussein, but because we insisted on invading Iraq unilaterally without any clear evidence that he had anything to do with September 11 or that he possessed weapons of mass destruction.
The gap in perceptions between America and the rest of the world has never been wider. Abroad, America is seen as abusing the dominant position it occupies; opinion at home has been led to believe that Saddam posed a clear and present danger to national security. Only in the aftermath of the Iraqi invasion are people becoming aware they have been misled
USA
San Francisco Gate: Are Parallels To Nazi Germany Crazy?
The customers always write. I get about 400 e-mails in response to my columns every week, which might explain why I didn't answer yours. Here, slightly edited, is one of the more interesting ones from last week. It's from Herr Moellers in Germany:
"Dear Mr. Sorensen,
"I have many American friends and used to go on business travel to the U.S. a lot (I stopped doing that after even our European governments have given in to Uncle Sam's appetite for information about individuals traveling to God's Own Country), and I am shocked by the deterioration of democracy in a country that I used to love. This administration is a shame and the destabilization they have brought to the world is scaring the s** out of me.
"My father was a Nazi soldier and he realized during the war what he and most of his generation was led into. I have learned from him that a nation can be guilty and that we must stop the arrogance of the powers at the very beginning. To me, America is becoming truly scary and the parallels to the development in Germany of the thirties (although the reason behind it are totally different) are sickening.
"Thank you for writing about this development. The world is waiting for signs of opposition in the Unilateral States of America!"
Herr Moellers' e-mail is typical of a half dozen or so I've received over the past year from people with intimate knowledge of Nazi Germany.
I respect experience, so I'm inclined to believe what these people are telling me. Perhaps their memories help explain the attitude of Germans toward the Bush administration these days.
They've been there, they've done that. They know what a corrupt government smells like.
But are they "over the top"? Are they overreacting to a normal swing of the pendulum in American politics?
To make a comparison between Germany in the 1930s and America now, I relied on a Web site called "A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust." The passages in quotations below are taken from the site.
"With Adolf Hitler's ascendancy to the chancellorship, the Nazi Party quickly consolidated its power. Hitler managed to maintain a posture of legality throughout the Nazification process."
Whether by chance or design, George W. Bush is the most powerful American president in modern history. Not only does he have both houses of Congress beholden to him, but the majority of the Supreme Court is acting like a quintet of Bush lapdogs. And it all appears legal.
"Domestically, during the next six years, Hitler completely transformed Germany into a police state."
Civil libertarians insist that this is happening here now, with the USA Patriot Act in force and Patriot II on the table.
"Hitler engaged in a 'diplomatic revolution' by negotiating with other European countries and publicly expressing his strong desire for peace."
Nobody can accuse Bush of being overly diplomatic, but, like all political leaders, he is an apostle for peace, even while starting two wars during his brief tenure.
In 1933, the Reichstag, Germany's parliament building, was burned to the ground. Nobody knows for sure who set the fire. The Nazis blamed communists. "This incident prompted Hitler[,then Germany's chancellor,] to convince [German President Paul von] Hindenburg to issue a Decree for the Protection of People and State that granted Nazis sweeping power to deal with the so-called emergency."
The Reichstag fire parallels the Sept. 11 attacks here, and Hindenburg's decree parallels our USA Patriot Act.
Soon after Hitler took power, the concentration camp at Dachau was created and "the Nazis began arresting Communists, Socialists and labor leaders ... . Parliamentary democracy ended with the Reichstag passage of the Enabling Act, which allowed the government to issue laws without the Reichstag."
"CHECK IT"
San Francisco Gate: Are Parallels To Nazi Germany Crazy?
The customers always write. I get about 400 e-mails in response to my columns every week, which might explain why I didn't answer yours. Here, slightly edited, is one of the more interesting ones from last week. It's from Herr Moellers in Germany:
"Dear Mr. Sorensen,
"I have many American friends and used to go on business travel to the U.S. a lot (I stopped doing that after even our European governments have given in to Uncle Sam's appetite for information about individuals traveling to God's Own Country), and I am shocked by the deterioration of democracy in a country that I used to love. This administration is a shame and the destabilization they have brought to the world is scaring the s** out of me.
"My father was a Nazi soldier and he realized during the war what he and most of his generation was led into. I have learned from him that a nation can be guilty and that we must stop the arrogance of the powers at the very beginning. To me, America is becoming truly scary and the parallels to the development in Germany of the thirties (although the reason behind it are totally different) are sickening.
"Thank you for writing about this development. The world is waiting for signs of opposition in the Unilateral States of America!"
Herr Moellers' e-mail is typical of a half dozen or so I've received over the past year from people with intimate knowledge of Nazi Germany.
I respect experience, so I'm inclined to believe what these people are telling me. Perhaps their memories help explain the attitude of Germans toward the Bush administration these days.
They've been there, they've done that. They know what a corrupt government smells like.
But are they "over the top"? Are they overreacting to a normal swing of the pendulum in American politics?
To make a comparison between Germany in the 1930s and America now, I relied on a Web site called "A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust." The passages in quotations below are taken from the site.
"With Adolf Hitler's ascendancy to the chancellorship, the Nazi Party quickly consolidated its power. Hitler managed to maintain a posture of legality throughout the Nazification process."
Whether by chance or design, George W. Bush is the most powerful American president in modern history. Not only does he have both houses of Congress beholden to him, but the majority of the Supreme Court is acting like a quintet of Bush lapdogs. And it all appears legal.
"Domestically, during the next six years, Hitler completely transformed Germany into a police state."
Civil libertarians insist that this is happening here now, with the USA Patriot Act in force and Patriot II on the table.
"Hitler engaged in a 'diplomatic revolution' by negotiating with other European countries and publicly expressing his strong desire for peace."
Nobody can accuse Bush of being overly diplomatic, but, like all political leaders, he is an apostle for peace, even while starting two wars during his brief tenure.
In 1933, the Reichstag, Germany's parliament building, was burned to the ground. Nobody knows for sure who set the fire. The Nazis blamed communists. "This incident prompted Hitler[,then Germany's chancellor,] to convince [German President Paul von] Hindenburg to issue a Decree for the Protection of People and State that granted Nazis sweeping power to deal with the so-called emergency."
The Reichstag fire parallels the Sept. 11 attacks here, and Hindenburg's decree parallels our USA Patriot Act.
Soon after Hitler took power, the concentration camp at Dachau was created and "the Nazis began arresting Communists, Socialists and labor leaders ... . Parliamentary democracy ended with the Reichstag passage of the Enabling Act, which allowed the government to issue laws without the Reichstag."
"CHECK IT"
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Guardian: Insurgents Attack Polish Forces in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Insurgents attacked the headquarters of Polish
forces in a southern city, triggering a gunbattle that killed one Iraqi
policeman. In Baghdad, guerrillas fired a rocket into the U.S. compound but caused
on casualties. As attacks continued, Iraq's interim interior minister
blamed Osama bin Laden's terror network al-Qaida for many of the suicide car
bombings in the country in recent weeks.
"Es gibt nach wie vor keinen einzigen ausländischen Kämpfer den die Amerikaner vorzeigen könnten um ihre behauptungen von Al-Quida Terroristen im Irak zu untermauern."
Guardian: Insurgents Attack Polish Forces in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Insurgents attacked the headquarters of Polish
forces in a southern city, triggering a gunbattle that killed one Iraqi
policeman. In Baghdad, guerrillas fired a rocket into the U.S. compound but caused
on casualties. As attacks continued, Iraq's interim interior minister
blamed Osama bin Laden's terror network al-Qaida for many of the suicide car
bombings in the country in recent weeks.
"Es gibt nach wie vor keinen einzigen ausländischen Kämpfer den die Amerikaner vorzeigen könnten um ihre behauptungen von Al-Quida Terroristen im Irak zu untermauern."
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Asia Times: Targeting weak points: Iraq's oil pipelines
As with all models of asymmetrical warfare, a central element in the strategy of the Iraqi insurgency has been to attack weak point targets of least resistance, mainly through rudimentary attacks on supply lines, transports, or convoys and sabotage of the most vulnerable points of the Iraqi infrastructure. Seeking to enhance the disruptive effects of their attacks, the insurgents have also implemented specific attacks on the networks of oil pipelines.
Tactically, these attacks seek to disrupt the overall reconstruction effort and, with the Iraqi oil sector playing such a significant role both in terms of post-conflict economics and regional geopolitics, also serve as a major psychological blow to the stabilization effort
Asia Times: Targeting weak points: Iraq's oil pipelines
As with all models of asymmetrical warfare, a central element in the strategy of the Iraqi insurgency has been to attack weak point targets of least resistance, mainly through rudimentary attacks on supply lines, transports, or convoys and sabotage of the most vulnerable points of the Iraqi infrastructure. Seeking to enhance the disruptive effects of their attacks, the insurgents have also implemented specific attacks on the networks of oil pipelines.
Tactically, these attacks seek to disrupt the overall reconstruction effort and, with the Iraqi oil sector playing such a significant role both in terms of post-conflict economics and regional geopolitics, also serve as a major psychological blow to the stabilization effort
IRAQ
Islamonline: U.S.-Occupied Iraq Ready To Cooperate With Israel
BAGHDAD, January 25 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – A minister appointed by the U.S.-handpicked Iraqi Interim Governing Council (IGC) said Sunday, January 25, his "country" was ready to sell electricity to Israel.
Interim Electricity Minister Aiham al-Samarrai was quoted by the Qatari news agency as telling reporters "it was necessary to change the old mindset that banned dealing with them (Israel). It is a democratic world." "Der kleine Zyniker hat nur vergessen, dass er nicht vom Irakischen Volk, sondern von den Amerikanern gewählt wurde...wie demokratisch"
Islamonline: U.S.-Occupied Iraq Ready To Cooperate With Israel
BAGHDAD, January 25 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – A minister appointed by the U.S.-handpicked Iraqi Interim Governing Council (IGC) said Sunday, January 25, his "country" was ready to sell electricity to Israel.
Interim Electricity Minister Aiham al-Samarrai was quoted by the Qatari news agency as telling reporters "it was necessary to change the old mindset that banned dealing with them (Israel). It is a democratic world." "Der kleine Zyniker hat nur vergessen, dass er nicht vom Irakischen Volk, sondern von den Amerikanern gewählt wurde...wie demokratisch"
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Santa Fe News: Seven Iraqi Police Killed In Attacks; Search Continues For Americans Missing In Mosul
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Insurgents fired a rocket at the headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition after gunmen killed seven Iraqi policemen in a pair of attacks west of Baghdad. A senior Iraqi official blamed al-Qaida for many of the suicide bombings around the country in recent weeks.
In the north, military divers searched Monday the muddy waters of the Tigris River for three missing U.S. soldiers, including two pilots of an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter that crashed Sunday in Mosul during rescue operations after a patrol boat capsized.
It was the fifth U.S. helicopter lost in Iraq this month, three of which were downed by hostile fire.
Santa Fe News: Seven Iraqi Police Killed In Attacks; Search Continues For Americans Missing In Mosul
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Insurgents fired a rocket at the headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition after gunmen killed seven Iraqi policemen in a pair of attacks west of Baghdad. A senior Iraqi official blamed al-Qaida for many of the suicide bombings around the country in recent weeks.
In the north, military divers searched Monday the muddy waters of the Tigris River for three missing U.S. soldiers, including two pilots of an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter that crashed Sunday in Mosul during rescue operations after a patrol boat capsized.
It was the fifth U.S. helicopter lost in Iraq this month, three of which were downed by hostile fire.
IRAQI WMD
SMH: Nearly all WMD claims wrong: Kay
The Central Intelligence Agency's outgoing chief weapons inspector, David Kay, has concluded that the US was almost certainly wrong in its pre-war belief that Iraq had any significant stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.
Dr Kay, who headed the US search for WMDs after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime until he resigned on Friday, based his views on his team's interviews with Iraqi scientists, reviews of documents and examinations of facilities and other materials.
"I'm personally convinced that there were not large stockpiles of newly produced weapons of mass destruction," he said on Saturday. "We don't find the people, the documents or the physical plants that you would expect to find if the production was going on. I think they gradually reduced stockpiles throughout the 1990s."
SMH: Nearly all WMD claims wrong: Kay
The Central Intelligence Agency's outgoing chief weapons inspector, David Kay, has concluded that the US was almost certainly wrong in its pre-war belief that Iraq had any significant stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.
Dr Kay, who headed the US search for WMDs after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime until he resigned on Friday, based his views on his team's interviews with Iraqi scientists, reviews of documents and examinations of facilities and other materials.
"I'm personally convinced that there were not large stockpiles of newly produced weapons of mass destruction," he said on Saturday. "We don't find the people, the documents or the physical plants that you would expect to find if the production was going on. I think they gradually reduced stockpiles throughout the 1990s."
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
IRAQ WAR
Independent: No humanitarian case for Iraq war, says rights group
The United States and Britain had no justification for invading Iraq either on the grounds of alleged threats from illicit weapons and terrorism, or as a humanitarian mission, an international civil rights group said yesterday.
The failure to find Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction has left President George Bush and Tony Blair claiming that the invasion was on humanitarian grounds, said a hard-hitting annual report of Human Rights Watch. It said that the West had done nothing when Saddam massacred Kurds and Shias in the past, and there was no evidence of any continuing mass killings at the start of the war in March 2003.
The report claimed that the US and British occupation forces had "sidelined human rights... as a matter of secondary importance. The rule of law has not arrived and Iraq is still beset by the legacy of human rights abuses of the former government, as well as new ones that have emerged under the occupation." The reasons given for war by Mr Bush and Mr Blair - WMD and Saddam's alleged links with international terrorism - hadnot been proved, said Kenneth Roth, executive director of the organisation
Independent: No humanitarian case for Iraq war, says rights group
The United States and Britain had no justification for invading Iraq either on the grounds of alleged threats from illicit weapons and terrorism, or as a humanitarian mission, an international civil rights group said yesterday.
The failure to find Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction has left President George Bush and Tony Blair claiming that the invasion was on humanitarian grounds, said a hard-hitting annual report of Human Rights Watch. It said that the West had done nothing when Saddam massacred Kurds and Shias in the past, and there was no evidence of any continuing mass killings at the start of the war in March 2003.
The report claimed that the US and British occupation forces had "sidelined human rights... as a matter of secondary importance. The rule of law has not arrived and Iraq is still beset by the legacy of human rights abuses of the former government, as well as new ones that have emerged under the occupation." The reasons given for war by Mr Bush and Mr Blair - WMD and Saddam's alleged links with international terrorism - hadnot been proved, said Kenneth Roth, executive director of the organisation
UK
News of the World: Cash-Strapped Student
Auctions Virginity For Tuition
A student is so hard up she has decided to make the ultimate sacrifice ...she is selling her virginity to the highest bidder on the internet.
So far more than 400 men, many of them sickos, have placed bids offering 18-year-old Rosie Reid up to £10,000 for sex.
The drastic action has left Rosie's parents sickened. Her doctor dad has told her she "is selling her soul". Her nurse mum is outraged.
And Rosie is even willing to sleep with a man despite it being abhorrent to her"she is a LESBIAN.
But she would rather prostitute herself than see her studies suffer
News of the World: Cash-Strapped Student
Auctions Virginity For Tuition
A student is so hard up she has decided to make the ultimate sacrifice ...she is selling her virginity to the highest bidder on the internet.
So far more than 400 men, many of them sickos, have placed bids offering 18-year-old Rosie Reid up to £10,000 for sex.
The drastic action has left Rosie's parents sickened. Her doctor dad has told her she "is selling her soul". Her nurse mum is outraged.
And Rosie is even willing to sleep with a man despite it being abhorrent to her"she is a LESBIAN.
But she would rather prostitute herself than see her studies suffer
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES:
Palestine Chronicle: Israel's 'Wall' and Why It's Not a 'Fence'
Israelis claim that since most of the length of the 'Wall' is made up of barbed wide, it should be called a 'fence' .."
By RAY HANANIA
The Palestine Chronicle
The Palestinians call it the Wall. Israelis cleverly give it a softer spin as "the fence." Palestinians say it's intended to destroy Palestine. The Israelis hide their reasons for building it behind the broad claim that it will somehow prevent "terrorism."
This week, I had a chance to understand the "Wall" close-up, described in detailed photographs and personal testimonies from three Palestinians who spoke at the Palestinian American Congress conference in Chicago.
And what I learned about the Wall shocked even me.
Mohammed Alatar, a member of Palestinians for Peace and Democracy in Dallas, Texas, presented a lengthy Power-Point display on the true insidious nature of the Wall. (By the way. Alatar's poignant power point presentation is on my web page at www.hanania.com and you can download your own copy and see it for yourself.)
Let me address the issue of the word "fence" head on. Israelis claim that since most of the length of the "Wall" is made up of barbed wide, electrical wire and a fence, it should be called a "fence." But my response is simple. So what? Many of the concentration camps erected by the Nazis during World War II were bordered not by walls, but by fences, too. Does it make it any more innocent?
Palestine Chronicle: Israel's 'Wall' and Why It's Not a 'Fence'
Israelis claim that since most of the length of the 'Wall' is made up of barbed wide, it should be called a 'fence' .."
By RAY HANANIA
The Palestine Chronicle
The Palestinians call it the Wall. Israelis cleverly give it a softer spin as "the fence." Palestinians say it's intended to destroy Palestine. The Israelis hide their reasons for building it behind the broad claim that it will somehow prevent "terrorism."
This week, I had a chance to understand the "Wall" close-up, described in detailed photographs and personal testimonies from three Palestinians who spoke at the Palestinian American Congress conference in Chicago.
And what I learned about the Wall shocked even me.
Mohammed Alatar, a member of Palestinians for Peace and Democracy in Dallas, Texas, presented a lengthy Power-Point display on the true insidious nature of the Wall. (By the way. Alatar's poignant power point presentation is on my web page at www.hanania.com and you can download your own copy and see it for yourself.)
Let me address the issue of the word "fence" head on. Israelis claim that since most of the length of the "Wall" is made up of barbed wide, electrical wire and a fence, it should be called a "fence." But my response is simple. So what? Many of the concentration camps erected by the Nazis during World War II were bordered not by walls, but by fences, too. Does it make it any more innocent?
USA
Alternet: America's Empire of Bases
As distinct from other peoples, most Americans do not recognize – or do not want to recognize – that the United States dominates the world through its military power. Due to government secrecy, our citizens are often ignorant of the fact that our garrisons encircle the planet. This vast network of American bases on every continent except Antarctica actually constitutes a new form of empire – an empire of bases with its own geography not likely to be taught in any high school geography class. Without grasping the dimensions of this globe-girdling Baseworld, one can't begin to understand the size and nature of our imperial aspirations or the degree to which a new kind of militarism is undermining our constitutional order.
It's not easy to assess the size or exact value of our empire of bases. Official records on these subjects are misleading, although instructive. According to the Defense Department's annual "Base Structure Report" for fiscal year 2003, which itemizes foreign and domestic U.S. military real estate, the Pentagon currently owns or rents 702 overseas bases in about 130 countries and has another 6,000 bases in the United States and its territories.
Alternet: America's Empire of Bases
As distinct from other peoples, most Americans do not recognize – or do not want to recognize – that the United States dominates the world through its military power. Due to government secrecy, our citizens are often ignorant of the fact that our garrisons encircle the planet. This vast network of American bases on every continent except Antarctica actually constitutes a new form of empire – an empire of bases with its own geography not likely to be taught in any high school geography class. Without grasping the dimensions of this globe-girdling Baseworld, one can't begin to understand the size and nature of our imperial aspirations or the degree to which a new kind of militarism is undermining our constitutional order.
It's not easy to assess the size or exact value of our empire of bases. Official records on these subjects are misleading, although instructive. According to the Defense Department's annual "Base Structure Report" for fiscal year 2003, which itemizes foreign and domestic U.S. military real estate, the Pentagon currently owns or rents 702 overseas bases in about 130 countries and has another 6,000 bases in the United States and its territories.
IRAQ
Seattle Times: Iraq may be on path to civil war, CIA officials warn
WASHINGTON — CIA officers in Iraq are warning that the country may be on a path to civil war, current and former U.S. officials said yesterday, starkly contradicting the upbeat assessment President Bush gave in his State of the Union address.
The CIA officers' bleak assessment was delivered orally to Washington this week, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the classified information involved.
The warning echoed growing fears that Iraq's Shiite majority, which until now has accepted the U.S. occupation grudgingly, could turn to violence if its demands for direct elections are spurned.
Meanwhile, Iraq's Kurdish minority is pressing for autonomy and shares of oil revenue.
"Both the Shiites and the Kurds think that now's their time," one intelligence officer said. "They think that if they don't get what they want now, they'll probably never get it. Both of them feel they've been betrayed by the United States before."
Seattle Times: Iraq may be on path to civil war, CIA officials warn
WASHINGTON — CIA officers in Iraq are warning that the country may be on a path to civil war, current and former U.S. officials said yesterday, starkly contradicting the upbeat assessment President Bush gave in his State of the Union address.
The CIA officers' bleak assessment was delivered orally to Washington this week, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the classified information involved.
The warning echoed growing fears that Iraq's Shiite majority, which until now has accepted the U.S. occupation grudgingly, could turn to violence if its demands for direct elections are spurned.
Meanwhile, Iraq's Kurdish minority is pressing for autonomy and shares of oil revenue.
"Both the Shiites and the Kurds think that now's their time," one intelligence officer said. "They think that if they don't get what they want now, they'll probably never get it. Both of them feel they've been betrayed by the United States before."
WAR ON TERROR
CNS News: US War on Terror May Spread to Syria, Report Says
new report indicates that Syria may be the next target in the U.S. war on terror.
In a report released Friday by the London-based Jane's Intelligence Digest, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was quoted as saying that the U.S. is considering "multi-faceted attacks," which could be conducted against Hezbollah positions in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, controlled by Syria.
According to the report, the U.S. move would "almost certainly involve a confrontation" between American Special Forces and Syrian troops.
The report highlights potential military action against Somalia as well as Syria. According to the Jane's report, "Covert U.S. forces have periodically infiltrated Somalia over the past two years to conduct surveillance and even potentially snatch suspects wanted for the November 2002 suicide bomb attacks in Mombassa, Kenya."
CNS News: US War on Terror May Spread to Syria, Report Says
new report indicates that Syria may be the next target in the U.S. war on terror.
In a report released Friday by the London-based Jane's Intelligence Digest, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was quoted as saying that the U.S. is considering "multi-faceted attacks," which could be conducted against Hezbollah positions in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, controlled by Syria.
According to the report, the U.S. move would "almost certainly involve a confrontation" between American Special Forces and Syrian troops.
The report highlights potential military action against Somalia as well as Syria. According to the Jane's report, "Covert U.S. forces have periodically infiltrated Somalia over the past two years to conduct surveillance and even potentially snatch suspects wanted for the November 2002 suicide bomb attacks in Mombassa, Kenya."
IRAQ WAR
Globe and mail: 'It's just wrong what we're doing'
In an exclusive interview, repentant Vietnam War architect Robert McNamara breaks his silence on Iraq: The United States, he says, is making the same mistakes all over again
'Yet we were wrong, terribly wrong. We owe it to future generations to explain why."
With those words, written nine years ago, Robert McNamara began an extraordinary final phase of his career -- devoted to chronicling the errors, delusions and false assumptions that turned him into the chief architect and most prominent promoter of the Vietnam war.
No historic figure has put so much effort into self-examination: At the age of 87, he has now written three very detailed and analytical books, and starred in one very good movie, devoted to the fundamental mistakes that led the United States into the most politically costly and least successful war in its history.
What, then, does he think about Iraq? Until now, the former secretary of defence has avoided comment on the actions of that job's current occupant, Donald Rumsfeld. The two are often compared to each other in their autocratic leadership styles and in their technocratic, numbers-driven approaches to war. And their wars, of course, are often likened. But Robert McNamara has insisted in staying out of the fray.
He decided to break his silence on Iraq when I called him up the other day at his Washington office. I told him that his carefully enumerated lists of historic lessons from Vietnam were in danger of being ignored. He agreed, and told me that he was deeply frustrated to see history repeating itself.
Globe and mail: 'It's just wrong what we're doing'
In an exclusive interview, repentant Vietnam War architect Robert McNamara breaks his silence on Iraq: The United States, he says, is making the same mistakes all over again
'Yet we were wrong, terribly wrong. We owe it to future generations to explain why."
With those words, written nine years ago, Robert McNamara began an extraordinary final phase of his career -- devoted to chronicling the errors, delusions and false assumptions that turned him into the chief architect and most prominent promoter of the Vietnam war.
No historic figure has put so much effort into self-examination: At the age of 87, he has now written three very detailed and analytical books, and starred in one very good movie, devoted to the fundamental mistakes that led the United States into the most politically costly and least successful war in its history.
What, then, does he think about Iraq? Until now, the former secretary of defence has avoided comment on the actions of that job's current occupant, Donald Rumsfeld. The two are often compared to each other in their autocratic leadership styles and in their technocratic, numbers-driven approaches to war. And their wars, of course, are often likened. But Robert McNamara has insisted in staying out of the fray.
He decided to break his silence on Iraq when I called him up the other day at his Washington office. I told him that his carefully enumerated lists of historic lessons from Vietnam were in danger of being ignored. He agreed, and told me that he was deeply frustrated to see history repeating itself.
Monday, January 26, 2004
IRAQ: "DEMOCRACY"
Guardian: Of course the White House fears free elections in Iraq by Naomi Klein
"The people of Iraq are free," declared President Bush in his state of
the union address on Tuesday. The previous day, 100,000 Iraqis begged to
differ. They took to Baghdad's streets, shouting: "Yes, yes to
elections. No, no to selection."
According to Iraq occupation chief Paul Bremer, there really is no
difference between the White House's version of freedom and the one
being demanded on the street. Asked whether his plan to form an Iraqi
government through appointed caucuses was heading towards a clash with Ayatollah
Ali al-Sistani's call for direct elections, Bremer said he had no
"fundamental disagreement with him".
It was, he said, a mere quibble over details. "I don't want to go into
the technical details of refinements. There are - if you talk to experts in
these matters - all kinds of ways to organise partial elections and
caucuses. And I'm not an election expert, so I don't want to go into
the details. But we've always said we're willing to consider refinements."
I'm not an election expert either, but I'm pretty sure there are
differences here that cannot be refined. Al-Sistani's supporters want
all Iraqis to have a vote and the people they elect to write the laws of
the country - your basic, imperfect, representative democracy.
Bremer wants his Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) to appoint the
members of 18 regional organising committees. These will then choose
delegates to form 18 selection caucuses. These will then select
representatives to a transitional national assembly. The assembly will
have an internal vote to select an executive and ministers, who will form
the new government. This, Bush said in the state of the union address,
constitutes "a transition to full Iraqi sovereignty".
Got that? Iraqi sovereignty will be established by appointees
appointing appointees to select appointees to select appointees. Add the fact that
Bremer was appointed to his post by President Bush and Bush to his by
the US Supreme Court, and you have the glorious new democratic tradition of
the appointocracy: rule by an appointee's appointee's appointees'
appointees' appointees' selectees.
Guardian: Of course the White House fears free elections in Iraq by Naomi Klein
"The people of Iraq are free," declared President Bush in his state of
the union address on Tuesday. The previous day, 100,000 Iraqis begged to
differ. They took to Baghdad's streets, shouting: "Yes, yes to
elections. No, no to selection."
According to Iraq occupation chief Paul Bremer, there really is no
difference between the White House's version of freedom and the one
being demanded on the street. Asked whether his plan to form an Iraqi
government through appointed caucuses was heading towards a clash with Ayatollah
Ali al-Sistani's call for direct elections, Bremer said he had no
"fundamental disagreement with him".
It was, he said, a mere quibble over details. "I don't want to go into
the technical details of refinements. There are - if you talk to experts in
these matters - all kinds of ways to organise partial elections and
caucuses. And I'm not an election expert, so I don't want to go into
the details. But we've always said we're willing to consider refinements."
I'm not an election expert either, but I'm pretty sure there are
differences here that cannot be refined. Al-Sistani's supporters want
all Iraqis to have a vote and the people they elect to write the laws of
the country - your basic, imperfect, representative democracy.
Bremer wants his Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) to appoint the
members of 18 regional organising committees. These will then choose
delegates to form 18 selection caucuses. These will then select
representatives to a transitional national assembly. The assembly will
have an internal vote to select an executive and ministers, who will form
the new government. This, Bush said in the state of the union address,
constitutes "a transition to full Iraqi sovereignty".
Got that? Iraqi sovereignty will be established by appointees
appointing appointees to select appointees to select appointees. Add the fact that
Bremer was appointed to his post by President Bush and Bush to his by
the US Supreme Court, and you have the glorious new democratic tradition of
the appointocracy: rule by an appointee's appointee's appointees'
appointees' appointees' selectees.
IRAQ: NO WMD
Guardian: New WMD blow for Blair
Survey chief resigns saying Iraq never had stockpiles
Tony Blair last night suffered a blow on the eve of the most testing week of his premiership when the US official at the helm of the hunt for Saddam's weapons of mass destruction asserted Iraq did not have large stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons.
Resigning from his post after nine fruitless months in charge of the Iraq Survey Group he said he did not think there had been a large-scale weapons programme inside Iraq since 1991.
David Kay, a hardline CIA of ficial close to the Republicans also criticised President George Bush for failing to give him adequate support.
Guardian: New WMD blow for Blair
Survey chief resigns saying Iraq never had stockpiles
Tony Blair last night suffered a blow on the eve of the most testing week of his premiership when the US official at the helm of the hunt for Saddam's weapons of mass destruction asserted Iraq did not have large stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons.
Resigning from his post after nine fruitless months in charge of the Iraq Survey Group he said he did not think there had been a large-scale weapons programme inside Iraq since 1991.
David Kay, a hardline CIA of ficial close to the Republicans also criticised President George Bush for failing to give him adequate support.
UK: HUTTON INQUIRY/DAVID KELLY
GLOBE INTEL: EXPLOSIVE HUTTON REPORT WILL SHATTER UK/US POLITICAL AND INTELLIGENCE RELATIONSHIPS (complete) by Gordon Thomas
In Court 78, at the Royal Courts of Justice in London's Strand at 11am next Wednesday (January 28), Lord Hutton will deliver his report into the death of Dr David Kelly, Britain's weapons expert.
"The Hutton Report must clearly show both President Bush and Tony Blair were seriously misleading in the way they used original raw intelligence for their own political ends to go to war with Iraq."
That is the stark conclusion of a detailed evaluation prepared by analysts of Britain's security services.
Their conclusions are based on the same review of evidence Lord Hutton conducted to produce his own report.
The analysts also had the input of security service psychologists. They evaluated the body language of witnesses and their choice of words in giving evidence before Hutton.
They judged Blair's appearance before Hutton as "cold about Dr Kelly's death and imbued with a lawyer's cockiness".
Britain's Secretary of Defence, Geoff Hoon, is described as "shifty".
John Scarlett, the head of the Joint Intelligence Committee - the bridge between the intelligence services and Downing Street - is likened to "an intelligence officer who has acquired the evasive technique of a politician".
The analysts report is now in the hands of Sir Richard Dearlove, director-general of MI6, and Eliza Manningham-Buller of MI5.
Dearlove, predict the analysts, can expect to be "mildly criticised" by the Hutton report for failure to prevent raw intelligence from becoming politicised.
But Hutton's most damaging judgement could leave Britain's Secretary of Defence, Geoff Hoon, resigning and Prime Minister, Tony Blair, fighting for his political life.
A senior MI5 officer, who has seen a copy of the intelligence service report, said: "it predicts no one involved in the death of Dr Kelly will escape. The BBC and its reporter, Andrew Gilligan, will be severely censured for its lack of news-gathering controls over the way it handled Gilligan's story about Kelly. In the political arena, Alastair Campbell, Downing Street's former communications director, will be severely censured".
The MI6 analysts reserve praise for Dr Kelly's widow, Janice - "a courageous woman who knew very little of her husband's work". They predict she will "be a shining light in the otherwise dark pages of Hutton".
The MI5 officer predicted the Hutton Report will stun both London and Washington for its "ice cold ferocity".
He said: "the analysts concluded Blair and Bush spoon-fed each other intelligence they knew had been spun to make a case for war with Iraq. Hutton will destroy what credibility they have left. Blair is a man standing at the edge of the gallows trapdoor. He could hang himself by his evasions and half-truths".
Hutton, Britain's most distinguished Law Lord, will undoubtedly lay bare many of the so far unresolved machinations behind the claim of the president and prime minister of why they had to go to war with Iraq.
For Blair, already deeply embattled in a quagmire of evasions and, at times, untruths, it could finally mark the end of his premiership. He may not even survive to see George Bush achieve his dream of being re-elected in November.
And, for the president, Hutton's findings could be equally uncomfortable - finally exposing the fact there were no weapons of mass destruction.
Hutton could also be the spectre that will shadow all Bush says and does in the coming months on the stump.
"But both prime minister and president will undoubtedly look for scapegoats. One will be George Tenet, director of the CIA", said the MI5 officer.
Dearlove has already said he is resigning soon after the Hutton Report is published.
"Tenet may finally decide that he, too, has had enough of increasingly politicised intelligence work. He has told friends he does not plan to serve in any future Bush Administration", confirmed a CIA officer in Washington.
For the intelligence chiefs, the Hutton Report will make bitter-sweet reading.
On the evidence given before him, Lord Hutton will have to pronounce on such key issues as how far politicians in London and Washington spun raw intelligence to promote the need to go to war.
He will also have to pronounce on the relationship between the CIA and MI6.
"When he gave evidence by audio link from his office, Dearlove maintained his service's traditional stiff upper lip. But behind the scenes, we had no doubt about his concern at the way pressure had come from Washington and Downing Street", said the officer.
Hutton will also reveal embarrassing details about the secret life of the central figure in the report: Dr David Kelly.
Kelly had close links with MI6, the CIA, and MI5. He had also worked with Mossad, providing advice on Iraq's capability to launch biological and chemical weapons.
Those links could be exposed in explosive detail in the Hutton Report. Kelly was more than a £63,000 a year scientist. Lord Hutton may conclude Kelly had informed Dearlove the weapons did not exist. Dearlove told Tenet and John Scarlett. He told Tony Blair. Blair told Bush.
Hutton will likely pronounce on why Kelly, who had been a key member of the team preparing what became known as the "sexed up dossier", had suddenly found himself out of the Downing Street loop.
More than any scientist, Kelly knew about types and strains of micro-organisms, numbers of shells and aerial bombs filled with botulinum toxin. He knew the latest figures for the production of bio-weapons material in China, the gallons of growth material in Syria, Pakistan - and which countries had sold the material. He knew what Saddam did not have - and had not possessed for some time: biological and chemical weapons.
Almost uniquely, Kelly kept a large amount of his secret data in his study at home. There, on his desktop computer, were tens of thousands of secret documents and photographs.
Colleagues concerned about this were reassured by Kelly that his bosses in the Ministry of Defence or the Foreign Office were happy with his unorthodox methods. Hutton is also likely to criticise this laxness.
"In reality, Kelly was an academic who had escaped the dull confines of academia to live in the ever-dangerous world of secret intelligence and the hunt for weapons of mass destruction", said the MI5 officer, quoting from the intelligence analysts' report.
It predicts Hutton will have to consider such issues:
Why Dr Kelly's involvement in intelligence work had placed him on the hit list of Saddam's Hussein's notorious death squads.
Why Scotland Yard's Special Branch and the Thames Valley police, who had day-to-day responsibility to protect Kelly's home in the picture postcard village in Oxfordshire where he lived, did not provide Dr Kelly with protection at the outset of the Iraq War.
The intelligence analysts also predict Hutton will closely focus on:
Why did Dr. Kelly arrive home so upset the night before his death that his wife, Janice, was visibly shocked at his manner and appearance?
Why did Kelly leave his home suddenly on that Friday afternoon of his death.
Why, after his body was discovered, did MI5 officers and forensic scientists from Porton Down, Britain's bio-chemical research establishment, search the Kelly home? They left with a number of items sealed in bags. The police would not say what the items had to do with Kelly's death. Hutton may well reveal them.
Such issues will ensure that Kelly's death will be increasingly linked to his secret work for spy agencies, including Mossad.
Kelly's involvement with Mossad dated from April 1995. He travelled with two MI6 officers from London to New York. At the city's Israeli consulate they met two Mossad officers. Present, were officers of the Canadian Secret Intelligence Services and agents from the FBI.
The purpose of the meeting was to track how 32 tonnes of bacterial growth medium - essential for manufacturing lethal germs - was being illegally exported to Iraq from Montreal.
Dr Kelly - already a world-ranking expert on biological weapons - had played a "crucial role" in identifying the growth medium.
While many of the details to this day remain secret, Shabtai Shavit, who had been Mossad director-general at the time of the operation, would later pay tribute to Dr. Kelly's "great skills".
The scientist was first choice when the United Nations came to appoint a senior advisor to supervise the break-up of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programme after the first Gulf War.
Kelly's ability to do so placed him on Saddam's hit list. But in the end Saddam turned out to be too frightened of the repercussions to have assassinated a senior UN official at the time Iraq was rebuilding itself after the 1991 war.
In between working in Iraq, Dr Kelly was also in charge of the programme to dismantle Russia's biological warfare weapons programme under the trilateral agreement brokered between Russia, the United States and Britain.
In Moscow, Kelly met Russia's top microbiologist Vladimir Pasechnik. He was then a 53-year-old chemist who was director of the Ultra Pure Biopreperations Institute in St Petersburg.
The two men had become friends to the point where Pasechnik told Kelly - according to an MI5 document - he was "part of the Biopreparat, a large secret programme, which is developing biological weapons like plague and smallpox".
Kelly knew that plague, or Yersinia pestis, had brought the Black Death that wiped out a third of the population of Europe in 1348. It was air-transmitted, propelled by pneumonia like coughing.
Kelly reported what he had been told to Christopher Davis, then an MI6 officer.
"Davis was a close friend of Dr Kelly's. He could have thrown considerable light on Kelly's mindset. But curiously, Davis was not called by Hutton to give evidence", said the MI5 officer.
But others who did stand before the Law Lord cannot be looking forward to how he judges them when he speaks in Law Court 78 next Wednesday.
Ironically, it is only a short distance from the hotel lobby where Dr Kelly met BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan to set in motion the "sexed up dossier" story that Gilligan broadcast. The news report ultimately led to Dr Kelly's suicide.
"Unlike the on-going saga of Princess Diana's death, you can be certain that Lord Hutton will show conclusively that Dr Kelly did kill himself. But what Hutton will also show is the role played by all those who combined to drive him to do so", concludes the evaluation of the intelligence analysts.
The MI5 officer said he understood that details in the intelligence analysis had been fed to a Tory politician with long-time contacts to the intelligence world.
Those details may have helped Conservative Party leader, Michael Howard, to focus in the House of Commons Prime Minister's Questions for two weeks running on the same question to Blair about lying in his role about naming Dr Kelly.
The prime minister has already said he would resign if Hutton judged that he had named the scientist.
GLOBE INTEL: EXPLOSIVE HUTTON REPORT WILL SHATTER UK/US POLITICAL AND INTELLIGENCE RELATIONSHIPS (complete) by Gordon Thomas
In Court 78, at the Royal Courts of Justice in London's Strand at 11am next Wednesday (January 28), Lord Hutton will deliver his report into the death of Dr David Kelly, Britain's weapons expert.
"The Hutton Report must clearly show both President Bush and Tony Blair were seriously misleading in the way they used original raw intelligence for their own political ends to go to war with Iraq."
That is the stark conclusion of a detailed evaluation prepared by analysts of Britain's security services.
Their conclusions are based on the same review of evidence Lord Hutton conducted to produce his own report.
The analysts also had the input of security service psychologists. They evaluated the body language of witnesses and their choice of words in giving evidence before Hutton.
They judged Blair's appearance before Hutton as "cold about Dr Kelly's death and imbued with a lawyer's cockiness".
Britain's Secretary of Defence, Geoff Hoon, is described as "shifty".
John Scarlett, the head of the Joint Intelligence Committee - the bridge between the intelligence services and Downing Street - is likened to "an intelligence officer who has acquired the evasive technique of a politician".
The analysts report is now in the hands of Sir Richard Dearlove, director-general of MI6, and Eliza Manningham-Buller of MI5.
Dearlove, predict the analysts, can expect to be "mildly criticised" by the Hutton report for failure to prevent raw intelligence from becoming politicised.
But Hutton's most damaging judgement could leave Britain's Secretary of Defence, Geoff Hoon, resigning and Prime Minister, Tony Blair, fighting for his political life.
A senior MI5 officer, who has seen a copy of the intelligence service report, said: "it predicts no one involved in the death of Dr Kelly will escape. The BBC and its reporter, Andrew Gilligan, will be severely censured for its lack of news-gathering controls over the way it handled Gilligan's story about Kelly. In the political arena, Alastair Campbell, Downing Street's former communications director, will be severely censured".
The MI6 analysts reserve praise for Dr Kelly's widow, Janice - "a courageous woman who knew very little of her husband's work". They predict she will "be a shining light in the otherwise dark pages of Hutton".
The MI5 officer predicted the Hutton Report will stun both London and Washington for its "ice cold ferocity".
He said: "the analysts concluded Blair and Bush spoon-fed each other intelligence they knew had been spun to make a case for war with Iraq. Hutton will destroy what credibility they have left. Blair is a man standing at the edge of the gallows trapdoor. He could hang himself by his evasions and half-truths".
Hutton, Britain's most distinguished Law Lord, will undoubtedly lay bare many of the so far unresolved machinations behind the claim of the president and prime minister of why they had to go to war with Iraq.
For Blair, already deeply embattled in a quagmire of evasions and, at times, untruths, it could finally mark the end of his premiership. He may not even survive to see George Bush achieve his dream of being re-elected in November.
And, for the president, Hutton's findings could be equally uncomfortable - finally exposing the fact there were no weapons of mass destruction.
Hutton could also be the spectre that will shadow all Bush says and does in the coming months on the stump.
"But both prime minister and president will undoubtedly look for scapegoats. One will be George Tenet, director of the CIA", said the MI5 officer.
Dearlove has already said he is resigning soon after the Hutton Report is published.
"Tenet may finally decide that he, too, has had enough of increasingly politicised intelligence work. He has told friends he does not plan to serve in any future Bush Administration", confirmed a CIA officer in Washington.
For the intelligence chiefs, the Hutton Report will make bitter-sweet reading.
On the evidence given before him, Lord Hutton will have to pronounce on such key issues as how far politicians in London and Washington spun raw intelligence to promote the need to go to war.
He will also have to pronounce on the relationship between the CIA and MI6.
"When he gave evidence by audio link from his office, Dearlove maintained his service's traditional stiff upper lip. But behind the scenes, we had no doubt about his concern at the way pressure had come from Washington and Downing Street", said the officer.
Hutton will also reveal embarrassing details about the secret life of the central figure in the report: Dr David Kelly.
Kelly had close links with MI6, the CIA, and MI5. He had also worked with Mossad, providing advice on Iraq's capability to launch biological and chemical weapons.
Those links could be exposed in explosive detail in the Hutton Report. Kelly was more than a £63,000 a year scientist. Lord Hutton may conclude Kelly had informed Dearlove the weapons did not exist. Dearlove told Tenet and John Scarlett. He told Tony Blair. Blair told Bush.
Hutton will likely pronounce on why Kelly, who had been a key member of the team preparing what became known as the "sexed up dossier", had suddenly found himself out of the Downing Street loop.
More than any scientist, Kelly knew about types and strains of micro-organisms, numbers of shells and aerial bombs filled with botulinum toxin. He knew the latest figures for the production of bio-weapons material in China, the gallons of growth material in Syria, Pakistan - and which countries had sold the material. He knew what Saddam did not have - and had not possessed for some time: biological and chemical weapons.
Almost uniquely, Kelly kept a large amount of his secret data in his study at home. There, on his desktop computer, were tens of thousands of secret documents and photographs.
Colleagues concerned about this were reassured by Kelly that his bosses in the Ministry of Defence or the Foreign Office were happy with his unorthodox methods. Hutton is also likely to criticise this laxness.
"In reality, Kelly was an academic who had escaped the dull confines of academia to live in the ever-dangerous world of secret intelligence and the hunt for weapons of mass destruction", said the MI5 officer, quoting from the intelligence analysts' report.
It predicts Hutton will have to consider such issues:
Why Dr Kelly's involvement in intelligence work had placed him on the hit list of Saddam's Hussein's notorious death squads.
Why Scotland Yard's Special Branch and the Thames Valley police, who had day-to-day responsibility to protect Kelly's home in the picture postcard village in Oxfordshire where he lived, did not provide Dr Kelly with protection at the outset of the Iraq War.
The intelligence analysts also predict Hutton will closely focus on:
Why did Dr. Kelly arrive home so upset the night before his death that his wife, Janice, was visibly shocked at his manner and appearance?
Why did Kelly leave his home suddenly on that Friday afternoon of his death.
Why, after his body was discovered, did MI5 officers and forensic scientists from Porton Down, Britain's bio-chemical research establishment, search the Kelly home? They left with a number of items sealed in bags. The police would not say what the items had to do with Kelly's death. Hutton may well reveal them.
Such issues will ensure that Kelly's death will be increasingly linked to his secret work for spy agencies, including Mossad.
Kelly's involvement with Mossad dated from April 1995. He travelled with two MI6 officers from London to New York. At the city's Israeli consulate they met two Mossad officers. Present, were officers of the Canadian Secret Intelligence Services and agents from the FBI.
The purpose of the meeting was to track how 32 tonnes of bacterial growth medium - essential for manufacturing lethal germs - was being illegally exported to Iraq from Montreal.
Dr Kelly - already a world-ranking expert on biological weapons - had played a "crucial role" in identifying the growth medium.
While many of the details to this day remain secret, Shabtai Shavit, who had been Mossad director-general at the time of the operation, would later pay tribute to Dr. Kelly's "great skills".
The scientist was first choice when the United Nations came to appoint a senior advisor to supervise the break-up of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programme after the first Gulf War.
Kelly's ability to do so placed him on Saddam's hit list. But in the end Saddam turned out to be too frightened of the repercussions to have assassinated a senior UN official at the time Iraq was rebuilding itself after the 1991 war.
In between working in Iraq, Dr Kelly was also in charge of the programme to dismantle Russia's biological warfare weapons programme under the trilateral agreement brokered between Russia, the United States and Britain.
In Moscow, Kelly met Russia's top microbiologist Vladimir Pasechnik. He was then a 53-year-old chemist who was director of the Ultra Pure Biopreperations Institute in St Petersburg.
The two men had become friends to the point where Pasechnik told Kelly - according to an MI5 document - he was "part of the Biopreparat, a large secret programme, which is developing biological weapons like plague and smallpox".
Kelly knew that plague, or Yersinia pestis, had brought the Black Death that wiped out a third of the population of Europe in 1348. It was air-transmitted, propelled by pneumonia like coughing.
Kelly reported what he had been told to Christopher Davis, then an MI6 officer.
"Davis was a close friend of Dr Kelly's. He could have thrown considerable light on Kelly's mindset. But curiously, Davis was not called by Hutton to give evidence", said the MI5 officer.
But others who did stand before the Law Lord cannot be looking forward to how he judges them when he speaks in Law Court 78 next Wednesday.
Ironically, it is only a short distance from the hotel lobby where Dr Kelly met BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan to set in motion the "sexed up dossier" story that Gilligan broadcast. The news report ultimately led to Dr Kelly's suicide.
"Unlike the on-going saga of Princess Diana's death, you can be certain that Lord Hutton will show conclusively that Dr Kelly did kill himself. But what Hutton will also show is the role played by all those who combined to drive him to do so", concludes the evaluation of the intelligence analysts.
The MI5 officer said he understood that details in the intelligence analysis had been fed to a Tory politician with long-time contacts to the intelligence world.
Those details may have helped Conservative Party leader, Michael Howard, to focus in the House of Commons Prime Minister's Questions for two weeks running on the same question to Blair about lying in his role about naming Dr Kelly.
The prime minister has already said he would resign if Hutton judged that he had named the scientist.
SYRIA/ISRAEL
Antiwar.com: The Syrian Threat
Letter from Israel by Ran HaCohen
"Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land" (Jer 1:14) is a verse every Israeli pupil learns by heart. This biblical truth has never been more true than these days: the Syrian President, in a major threat to the Jewish state, offers Israel to resume peace talks. A blatant crime against war itself. Israel, understandably, is forced to defend itself.
There are several convincing reasons why Israel should reject the peaceful Syrian hand. First of all, Syria should come to the negotiation table without any preconditions. When Assad proved evil enough to accept this, Israel demanded that Syria stop it alleged support for "terrorism" (and accept the Israeli-American definition of terrorism, to include resistance to occupation). Fair enough: both sides, except the Israeli side, should come to the negotiation table without any preconditions. Imagine Syria demanding that Israel end its occupation, or just dismantle its death squads, as a precondition to resume peace talks.
Then we are told that president Assad is young and inexperienced. A problem indeed. A good solution would be to reject his offer for a few more decades of hostility, when all our "experts for Arab issues" will be able to claim safely that he is too old to change, and/or that his days are counted. Then we can wait for his successor, hopefully a young and inexperienced one.
Antiwar.com: The Syrian Threat
Letter from Israel by Ran HaCohen
"Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land" (Jer 1:14) is a verse every Israeli pupil learns by heart. This biblical truth has never been more true than these days: the Syrian President, in a major threat to the Jewish state, offers Israel to resume peace talks. A blatant crime against war itself. Israel, understandably, is forced to defend itself.
There are several convincing reasons why Israel should reject the peaceful Syrian hand. First of all, Syria should come to the negotiation table without any preconditions. When Assad proved evil enough to accept this, Israel demanded that Syria stop it alleged support for "terrorism" (and accept the Israeli-American definition of terrorism, to include resistance to occupation). Fair enough: both sides, except the Israeli side, should come to the negotiation table without any preconditions. Imagine Syria demanding that Israel end its occupation, or just dismantle its death squads, as a precondition to resume peace talks.
Then we are told that president Assad is young and inexperienced. A problem indeed. A good solution would be to reject his offer for a few more decades of hostility, when all our "experts for Arab issues" will be able to claim safely that he is too old to change, and/or that his days are counted. Then we can wait for his successor, hopefully a young and inexperienced one.
SYRIA/ISRAEL
Forward: U.S. Advice To Israelis: Don't Start Syria Talks
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration recently advised the Israeli government against taking up the offer of Syrian President Bashar Assad to resume peace negotiations, Israeli and American diplomats in Washington confirmed.
The administration, according to sources, voiced several concerns regarding Assad's recent public claims that he is willing to resume peace negotiations with Israel. The main concern, sources said, is that negotiations with Syria, which have slim chances of yielding an agreement anytime soon, would divert attention from the Israeli-Palestinian track and impede efforts to implement the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan.
"Die Usa gibt Israel den Ratschlag keine Friedensgespräche mit Syrien zu führen, da Sie eine eigene Syrien-Politik machen wollen um weiterhin Druck auf die Regierung Assad auszüben..soviel zu den Amerikanischen Friedensbemühungen im Nahen Osten"
Forward: U.S. Advice To Israelis: Don't Start Syria Talks
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration recently advised the Israeli government against taking up the offer of Syrian President Bashar Assad to resume peace negotiations, Israeli and American diplomats in Washington confirmed.
The administration, according to sources, voiced several concerns regarding Assad's recent public claims that he is willing to resume peace negotiations with Israel. The main concern, sources said, is that negotiations with Syria, which have slim chances of yielding an agreement anytime soon, would divert attention from the Israeli-Palestinian track and impede efforts to implement the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan.
"Die Usa gibt Israel den Ratschlag keine Friedensgespräche mit Syrien zu führen, da Sie eine eigene Syrien-Politik machen wollen um weiterhin Druck auf die Regierung Assad auszüben..soviel zu den Amerikanischen Friedensbemühungen im Nahen Osten"
Sunday, January 25, 2004
SITE OF THE DAY
CHECK: http://www.propagandacritic.com/
Created eight years ago, when the world-wide web was in its infancy, the propaganda site is inspired by the pioneering work of the Institute for Propaganda Analysis (IPA). From 1937 to 1942, the IPA was dedicated to promoting the techniques of propaganda analysis among critically-minded citizens.
CHECK: http://www.propagandacritic.com/
Created eight years ago, when the world-wide web was in its infancy, the propaganda site is inspired by the pioneering work of the Institute for Propaganda Analysis (IPA). From 1937 to 1942, the IPA was dedicated to promoting the techniques of propaganda analysis among critically-minded citizens.
PR-WATCH
hrainford: Why is the Internet not controlled by the authorities?
For Public Relations to be successful it must be perceived as information independent from the originator. This gives it credibility not there if it is perceived as self promotion.
The reason there is so much promotion of the “free press” is because if it was widely known that the “free press” was really advertising the concepts of the elite the masses would be more suspicious of the content. The media does allow some miscellaneous uncontrolled content but only to maintain credibility.
hrainford: Why is the Internet not controlled by the authorities?
For Public Relations to be successful it must be perceived as information independent from the originator. This gives it credibility not there if it is perceived as self promotion.
The reason there is so much promotion of the “free press” is because if it was widely known that the “free press” was really advertising the concepts of the elite the masses would be more suspicious of the content. The media does allow some miscellaneous uncontrolled content but only to maintain credibility.
UK
Independent: 'Jewish Lobby' Now An
Anti-Semitic Term - US Diplomat
A senior US diplomat in London has ruffled feathers in Britain's foreign policy establishment by publicly implying that a reference to the "Jewish lobby" in the United States is an anti-Semitic remark.
The incident happened yesterday at a Royal Institute of International Affairs (RIIA) lecture on US foreign policy given by David Johnson, who is the second in command at the American embassy in London.
During the question-and-answer session he was asked: "Will the US ever be willing to impose an equitable peace settlement in the Middle East, or is it perhaps that the Jewish lobby in America is too strong to make that feasible?"
Mr Johnson responded indignantly, saying: "I am highly resentful of the last part of your remarks, just because of its ethnic slur." And he went on: "During my time here I have become increasingly troubled by the willingness of European audiences to skirt up to the side of anti-Semitic language as a political criticism."
Independent: 'Jewish Lobby' Now An
Anti-Semitic Term - US Diplomat
A senior US diplomat in London has ruffled feathers in Britain's foreign policy establishment by publicly implying that a reference to the "Jewish lobby" in the United States is an anti-Semitic remark.
The incident happened yesterday at a Royal Institute of International Affairs (RIIA) lecture on US foreign policy given by David Johnson, who is the second in command at the American embassy in London.
During the question-and-answer session he was asked: "Will the US ever be willing to impose an equitable peace settlement in the Middle East, or is it perhaps that the Jewish lobby in America is too strong to make that feasible?"
Mr Johnson responded indignantly, saying: "I am highly resentful of the last part of your remarks, just because of its ethnic slur." And he went on: "During my time here I have become increasingly troubled by the willingness of European audiences to skirt up to the side of anti-Semitic language as a political criticism."
911
Guardian: German Trial Hears
How Iranian Agent Warned US Of Impending al-Qaida Attack
The United States was warned of impending September 11 terrorist attacks by an Iranian spy, but ignored him, German secret service agents testified yesterday in the trial of an alleged al-Qaida terrorist.
The spy, identified as Hamid Reza Zakeri, tried to warn the CIA after leaving Iran in 2001, but was not believed, two German officers who interviewed him told the Hamburg court.
Guardian: German Trial Hears
How Iranian Agent Warned US Of Impending al-Qaida Attack
The United States was warned of impending September 11 terrorist attacks by an Iranian spy, but ignored him, German secret service agents testified yesterday in the trial of an alleged al-Qaida terrorist.
The spy, identified as Hamid Reza Zakeri, tried to warn the CIA after leaving Iran in 2001, but was not believed, two German officers who interviewed him told the Hamburg court.
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
WIPE OUT WEF
Indymedia: Aufruf zum WEF 2004
Aufruf, Demokonzept und Daten gegen das WEF
revolutionäres Bündnis gegen das WEF, 20.01.2004 15:57
Aufruf, Daten, Konzept, Infoabend usw.
Wie jedes Jahr trifft sich die Elite aus Wirtschaft, Politik und Kultur zum Weltwirtschaftsforum in Davos.
Wie jedes Jahr versuchen sie einen Lösungsansatz zu finden um das Kapital aus der Krise zu führen.
Wie jedes Jahr entwickeln sie zu diesem Zweck Strategien, welche für uns einmal mehr in verschärften gesellschaftlichen Verhältnissen spürbar werden. Beispiele dafür sind Massenentlassungen und Angriffe auf soziale Errungenschaften der ArbeiterInnen, wie etwa die Sozialversicherungen, Lohnabbau, sowie Abbau der gesellschaftlichen Kinderbetreuung (Krippen, Horte). Existenzprobleme und soziale Unsicherheit sind die Folge davon.
Wie jedes Jahr versuchen sie das Ausbeutungsverhältnis in strategisch wichtigen Regionen neu zu etablieren. Gut sichtbar geworden ist dies anhand der imperialistischen Kriege im Nahen Osten.
Das WEF ist nicht zu trennen von den gesellschaftlichen Verhältnissen, den Ausbeutungsverhältnissen des Kapitalismus. Für uns ist deshalb klar: Ein Dialog kommt nicht in Frage! Und zwar weder mit dem WEF, noch mit den Schergen des Kapitals oder dem Staat und den Behörden, die den Rahmen für ihre Ausbeutungsprojekte garantieren. Es ist für uns deshalb auch kein Thema, etwa eine Demokratisierung des WEFs zu fordern, vielmehr wollen wir das WEF als Werkzeug des internationalen Kapitals abschaffen. Einen Angriff auf das WEF verstehen wir als einen Angriff auf das kapitalistische System.
In diesem Sinne rufen wir auf zur Demo gegen das World Economic Forum in Davos, weil wir uns diesen politischen Raum zurückerobern wollen.
Treffpunkt 24.01.2004, 14:00 Uhr Bahnhof Davos Dorf
Treffpunkt Zürich: 10.30 Hauptbahnhof für auf den Zug
10.30 Carparkplatz für auf die Busse.
Treffpunkt Bern: 09.00h Bhf. Bern
Demonstrieren sonst Blockieren!
Smash WEF heisst Kapitalismus zerschlagen!
Kampf dem Kapital!
Für eine Gesellschaft ohne Ausbeutung und Unterdrückung!
Indymedia: Aufruf zum WEF 2004
Aufruf, Demokonzept und Daten gegen das WEF
revolutionäres Bündnis gegen das WEF, 20.01.2004 15:57
Aufruf, Daten, Konzept, Infoabend usw.
Wie jedes Jahr trifft sich die Elite aus Wirtschaft, Politik und Kultur zum Weltwirtschaftsforum in Davos.
Wie jedes Jahr versuchen sie einen Lösungsansatz zu finden um das Kapital aus der Krise zu führen.
Wie jedes Jahr entwickeln sie zu diesem Zweck Strategien, welche für uns einmal mehr in verschärften gesellschaftlichen Verhältnissen spürbar werden. Beispiele dafür sind Massenentlassungen und Angriffe auf soziale Errungenschaften der ArbeiterInnen, wie etwa die Sozialversicherungen, Lohnabbau, sowie Abbau der gesellschaftlichen Kinderbetreuung (Krippen, Horte). Existenzprobleme und soziale Unsicherheit sind die Folge davon.
Wie jedes Jahr versuchen sie das Ausbeutungsverhältnis in strategisch wichtigen Regionen neu zu etablieren. Gut sichtbar geworden ist dies anhand der imperialistischen Kriege im Nahen Osten.
Das WEF ist nicht zu trennen von den gesellschaftlichen Verhältnissen, den Ausbeutungsverhältnissen des Kapitalismus. Für uns ist deshalb klar: Ein Dialog kommt nicht in Frage! Und zwar weder mit dem WEF, noch mit den Schergen des Kapitals oder dem Staat und den Behörden, die den Rahmen für ihre Ausbeutungsprojekte garantieren. Es ist für uns deshalb auch kein Thema, etwa eine Demokratisierung des WEFs zu fordern, vielmehr wollen wir das WEF als Werkzeug des internationalen Kapitals abschaffen. Einen Angriff auf das WEF verstehen wir als einen Angriff auf das kapitalistische System.
In diesem Sinne rufen wir auf zur Demo gegen das World Economic Forum in Davos, weil wir uns diesen politischen Raum zurückerobern wollen.
Treffpunkt 24.01.2004, 14:00 Uhr Bahnhof Davos Dorf
Treffpunkt Zürich: 10.30 Hauptbahnhof für auf den Zug
10.30 Carparkplatz für auf die Busse.
Treffpunkt Bern: 09.00h Bhf. Bern
Demonstrieren sonst Blockieren!
Smash WEF heisst Kapitalismus zerschlagen!
Kampf dem Kapital!
Für eine Gesellschaft ohne Ausbeutung und Unterdrückung!
MIDDLE EAST
Guardian: Israeli fighter jets strike south Lebanon
Israeli fighter jets today attacked Hizbullah guerrilla targets in south Lebanon, Israeli military officials said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the officials said that Israeli warplanes hit Hizbullah bases in the Bekaa Valley, the area of south Lebanon that is closest to the Syrian border.
Israel's Channel Two TV said that at least four explosions were heard. There were two targets but no immediate reports of casualties, the report said. The air strike followed a border incident yesterday, in which Hizbullah guerrillas fired an anti-tank missile at a bulldozer clearing explosives. An Israeli soldier was killed and another seriously wounded.
The Israeli army today changed its account of the border incident to acknowledge that the soldier killed in the clash had actually been on Lebanese and not Israeli soil at the time.
"We deviated [from standard procedure] by going into Lebanon," Reuters reported Brigadier General Yair Golan as saying.
"From their [Hizbullah's] standpoint [the attack] is legitimate, although not from ours," Brig Gen Golan said. "It is very serious and an escalation ... it is a provocation by Hizbullah."
"Israel schickt Soldaten über die Grenze nach Libanon. Sie werden, was vorauszusehen war, attackiert. Israel nennt das eine Provokation und bombardiert im Gegenzug Hisbollah Stellungen im Libanon um nachher Syrien die Schuld für den Zwischenfall zu geben.?????"
Guardian: Israeli fighter jets strike south Lebanon
Israeli fighter jets today attacked Hizbullah guerrilla targets in south Lebanon, Israeli military officials said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the officials said that Israeli warplanes hit Hizbullah bases in the Bekaa Valley, the area of south Lebanon that is closest to the Syrian border.
Israel's Channel Two TV said that at least four explosions were heard. There were two targets but no immediate reports of casualties, the report said. The air strike followed a border incident yesterday, in which Hizbullah guerrillas fired an anti-tank missile at a bulldozer clearing explosives. An Israeli soldier was killed and another seriously wounded.
The Israeli army today changed its account of the border incident to acknowledge that the soldier killed in the clash had actually been on Lebanese and not Israeli soil at the time.
"We deviated [from standard procedure] by going into Lebanon," Reuters reported Brigadier General Yair Golan as saying.
"From their [Hizbullah's] standpoint [the attack] is legitimate, although not from ours," Brig Gen Golan said. "It is very serious and an escalation ... it is a provocation by Hizbullah."
"Israel schickt Soldaten über die Grenze nach Libanon. Sie werden, was vorauszusehen war, attackiert. Israel nennt das eine Provokation und bombardiert im Gegenzug Hisbollah Stellungen im Libanon um nachher Syrien die Schuld für den Zwischenfall zu geben.?????"
Monday, January 19, 2004
IRAQ
Guardian: Why The US Is Running
Scared Of Elections In Iraq
Washington's Plan To Transfer Power Without A Direct Vote Is A Fraud
The occupation of Iraq continues to get worse for George Bush and Tony Blair. The deaths of at least 20 people in a suicide bomb attack outside the coalition headquarters in Baghdad yesterday morning underlines the spiralling unrest in the country. The toll of US casualties since Saddam Hussein's capture is higher than in the same period before it. Angry protests over unemployment and petrol shortages have erupted in several cities in the south, in areas under British control.
Guardian: Why The US Is Running
Scared Of Elections In Iraq
Washington's Plan To Transfer Power Without A Direct Vote Is A Fraud
The occupation of Iraq continues to get worse for George Bush and Tony Blair. The deaths of at least 20 people in a suicide bomb attack outside the coalition headquarters in Baghdad yesterday morning underlines the spiralling unrest in the country. The toll of US casualties since Saddam Hussein's capture is higher than in the same period before it. Angry protests over unemployment and petrol shortages have erupted in several cities in the south, in areas under British control.
Sunday, January 18, 2004
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Washington Post: Clerics Urge Shiites to Protest
Call for Iraqi Elections Carries Hint of Violence
KARBALA, Iraq, Jan. 16 -- Preachers in Shiite Muslim mosques appealed to their followers Friday to prepare for demonstrations, strikes and possible confrontations with occupation troops to back up demands for elections in advance of a transfer of authority from a U.S.-led administration to Iraqis.
The calls increased pressure on the Bush administration and its handpicked Iraqi Governing Council to satisfy demands by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the country's most influential cleric, for elections. President Bush's chief administrator for Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, and top Governing Council leaders are scheduled to meet in New York next week in hopes of enlisting U.N. help in changing Sistani's mind.
Washington Post: Clerics Urge Shiites to Protest
Call for Iraqi Elections Carries Hint of Violence
KARBALA, Iraq, Jan. 16 -- Preachers in Shiite Muslim mosques appealed to their followers Friday to prepare for demonstrations, strikes and possible confrontations with occupation troops to back up demands for elections in advance of a transfer of authority from a U.S.-led administration to Iraqis.
The calls increased pressure on the Bush administration and its handpicked Iraqi Governing Council to satisfy demands by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the country's most influential cleric, for elections. President Bush's chief administrator for Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, and top Governing Council leaders are scheduled to meet in New York next week in hopes of enlisting U.N. help in changing Sistani's mind.
DOCUMENTARY: CARLYLE GROUP
Informationclearinghouse: Exposed: The Carlyle Group
Shocking documentary uncovers the subversion of Americas democracy.
I defy you to watch this 48 minute documentary and not be outraged about the depth of corruption and deceit within the highest ranks of our government and the first family.
Note: The first one minute forty seven seconds of this program is in broadcast in Dutch, The remainder is in English
WATCH IT HERE
Informationclearinghouse: Exposed: The Carlyle Group
Shocking documentary uncovers the subversion of Americas democracy.
I defy you to watch this 48 minute documentary and not be outraged about the depth of corruption and deceit within the highest ranks of our government and the first family.
Note: The first one minute forty seven seconds of this program is in broadcast in Dutch, The remainder is in English
WATCH IT HERE
IRAQ: VIDEO
Rense: Video - Iraqi Farmers Slaughtered By US Apache Copter
In the video, the 'vehicle' on the left side of the frame is clearly a farm tractor...
"The clip was cut from a longer video obtained by ABC News last week and verified by a senior US army official." - WRH.com
Download the MPEG movie HERE
Rense: Video - Iraqi Farmers Slaughtered By US Apache Copter
In the video, the 'vehicle' on the left side of the frame is clearly a farm tractor...
"The clip was cut from a longer video obtained by ABC News last week and verified by a senior US army official." - WRH.com
Download the MPEG movie HERE
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