Juan Cole: Falling like Flies
53 Iraqi Parties Withdraw from Elections
Xinhuanet reports that:
' According to the Al Furat newspaper, 53 political parties and organizations as well as 30 individuals have asked their names to be dropped from the election lists in a bid to show their rejection of elections under US occupation.
'There had been 105 parties and individuals, and 6 coalitions, participating in the elections. There were only about 30 individuals running as independents, and it appears that they have all now withdrawn. And half of the registered parties have also withdrawn, if al-Furat is correct. The individuals mostly never had a chance, since voters only get one vote, and few would have wasted it on a single individual when they could vote for an entire party list. So their withdrawal may in part simply reflect a realistic assessment of their chances. But parties at least had the potential of gaining a seat or a few seats, and their withdrawals are serious.
Friday, January 14, 2005
IRAQ: RESISTANCE
JUS: More Heavy US Losses
Including 18 Decapitated GIs
Mujahideen Strike Heavy In Ramadi And Basra
Mujahideen continued to target American occupiers and Iraqi collaborators throughout Iraq on Tuesday. Fierce fighting took place in Ramadi with large number of American casualties reported. Basra was also hot with reports of a rocket attack that took the life of some British soldiers. In the mean time, Americans also discovered 18 bodies of their comrades that had been beheaded in Fallujah,
Fallujah remains under media lockdown as little information is being received. We will update readers as soon as more information becomes available.
Including 18 Decapitated GIs
Mujahideen Strike Heavy In Ramadi And Basra
Mujahideen continued to target American occupiers and Iraqi collaborators throughout Iraq on Tuesday. Fierce fighting took place in Ramadi with large number of American casualties reported. Basra was also hot with reports of a rocket attack that took the life of some British soldiers. In the mean time, Americans also discovered 18 bodies of their comrades that had been beheaded in Fallujah,
Fallujah remains under media lockdown as little information is being received. We will update readers as soon as more information becomes available.
Thursday, January 13, 2005
INTERNET
Wired: The Shadow Internet
They start with a single stolen file and pump out bootleg games and movies by the millions. Inside the pirate networks that are terrorizing the entertainment business.
They start with a single stolen file and pump out bootleg games and movies by the millions. Inside the pirate networks that are terrorizing the entertainment business.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
IRAQ: DEMOCRACY
Financial Times: Allawi group slips cash to reporters
The electoral group headed by Iyad Allawi, the interim Iraqi prime minister, on Monday handed out cash to journalists to ensure coverage of its press conferences in a throwback to Ba'athist-era patronage ahead of parliamentary elections on January 30.
//
After a meeting held by Mr Allawi's campaign alliance in west Baghdad, reporters, most of whom were from the Arabic-language press, were invited upstairs where each was offered a "gift" of a $100 bill contained in an envelope.
Many of the journalists accepted the cash - about equivalent to half the starting monthly salary for a reporter at an Iraqi newspaper - and one jokingly recalled how Saddam Hussein's regime had also lavished perks on favoured reporters
The electoral group headed by Iyad Allawi, the interim Iraqi prime minister, on Monday handed out cash to journalists to ensure coverage of its press conferences in a throwback to Ba'athist-era patronage ahead of parliamentary elections on January 30.
//
After a meeting held by Mr Allawi's campaign alliance in west Baghdad, reporters, most of whom were from the Arabic-language press, were invited upstairs where each was offered a "gift" of a $100 bill contained in an envelope.
Many of the journalists accepted the cash - about equivalent to half the starting monthly salary for a reporter at an Iraqi newspaper - and one jokingly recalled how Saddam Hussein's regime had also lavished perks on favoured reporters
IRAQ: RESISTANCE
Independent: Iraqi insurgents ahead in war of intelligence by Robert Fisk
01/11/05 "The Independent" -- Baghdad: As usual, it was an inside job. Brig Amer Ali Nayef, deputy head of the Baghdad police, and his policeman son, Lt Khaled Amer, were driving to work in an unmarked civilian car, hoping to move through the streets of Dora without being noticed.But the two carloads of gunmen who approached from behind knew the car, its registration number and its occupants. They blazed away with Kalashnikovs until Nayef, dead at the wheel, drove into a house.
01/11/05 "The Independent" -- Baghdad: As usual, it was an inside job. Brig Amer Ali Nayef, deputy head of the Baghdad police, and his policeman son, Lt Khaled Amer, were driving to work in an unmarked civilian car, hoping to move through the streets of Dora without being noticed.But the two carloads of gunmen who approached from behind knew the car, its registration number and its occupants. They blazed away with Kalashnikovs until Nayef, dead at the wheel, drove into a house.
IRAQ: FALLUJAH RESISTANCE
Dahr Jamail: Iraq - 'This Is Not A Life'
Already today at least 18 Iraqis have died as violence continues to escalate as the so-called elections approach.
Suicide car bombers are striking Iraqi Police (IP) stations on nearly a daily basis now.
Today's target was in Tikrit, where U.S. military spokesman Major Neal O'Brien said six were killed when the police headquarters was bombed.
He also said, "As the Iraqi police continue to get stronger, and continue to pose a threat to the insurgents and terrorists, they will be targeted."
Most Iraqis I've spoken with appear to disagree with Mr. O'Brien.
Already today at least 18 Iraqis have died as violence continues to escalate as the so-called elections approach.
Suicide car bombers are striking Iraqi Police (IP) stations on nearly a daily basis now.
Today's target was in Tikrit, where U.S. military spokesman Major Neal O'Brien said six were killed when the police headquarters was bombed.
He also said, "As the Iraqi police continue to get stronger, and continue to pose a threat to the insurgents and terrorists, they will be targeted."
Most Iraqis I've spoken with appear to disagree with Mr. O'Brien.
IRAQ: FALLUJAH RESISTANCE
Guardian: City of ghosts
On November 8, the American army launched its biggest ever assault on the Iraqi city of Falluja, considered a stronghold for rebel fighters. The US said the raid had been a huge success, killing 1,200 insurgents. Most of the city's 300,000 residents, meanwhile, had fled for their lives. What really happened in the siege of Falluja? In a joint investigation for the Guardian and Channel 4 News, Iraqi doctor Ali Fadhil compiled the first independent reports from the devastated city, where he found scores of unburied corpses, rabid dogs - and a dangerously embittered population Watch an extract from the documentary
On November 8, the American army launched its biggest ever assault on the Iraqi city of Falluja, considered a stronghold for rebel fighters. The US said the raid had been a huge success, killing 1,200 insurgents. Most of the city's 300,000 residents, meanwhile, had fled for their lives. What really happened in the siege of Falluja? In a joint investigation for the Guardian and Channel 4 News, Iraqi doctor Ali Fadhil compiled the first independent reports from the devastated city, where he found scores of unburied corpses, rabid dogs - and a dangerously embittered population Watch an extract from the documentary
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
MIDDLE EAST
Guardian: The right to rule ourselves
For nearly a century, democracy has been denied to the Arabs by the west. There is little sign of that changing
Arabic-speaking peoples from the Atlantic Ocean to the Persian Gulf suffer one common chronic ailment, namely oppressive despotism. Most of the states that stretch between the two water basins came into being less than a century ago; many were former colonies of one or other of the European powers. France and Britain in particular were instrumental after the first world war in shaping the entire map of what is today the Middle East and North Africa.
For nearly a century, democracy has been denied to the Arabs by the west. There is little sign of that changing
Arabic-speaking peoples from the Atlantic Ocean to the Persian Gulf suffer one common chronic ailment, namely oppressive despotism. Most of the states that stretch between the two water basins came into being less than a century ago; many were former colonies of one or other of the European powers. France and Britain in particular were instrumental after the first world war in shaping the entire map of what is today the Middle East and North Africa.
MIDDLE EAST
Guardian: The right to rule ourselves
For nearly a century, democracy has been denied to the Arabs by the west. There is little sign of that changing
Arabic-speaking peoples from the Atlantic Ocean to the Persian Gulf suffer one common chronic ailment, namely oppressive despotism. Most of the states that stretch between the two water basins came into being less than a century ago; many were former colonies of one or other of the European powers. France and Britain in particular were instrumental after the first world war in shaping the entire map of what is today the Middle East and North Africa.
For nearly a century, democracy has been denied to the Arabs by the west. There is little sign of that changing
Arabic-speaking peoples from the Atlantic Ocean to the Persian Gulf suffer one common chronic ailment, namely oppressive despotism. Most of the states that stretch between the two water basins came into being less than a century ago; many were former colonies of one or other of the European powers. France and Britain in particular were instrumental after the first world war in shaping the entire map of what is today the Middle East and North Africa.
GEOPOLITICS
Asia Times: India finds a $40bn friend in Iran
India's oil diplomacy took a giant leap forward on Friday when New Delhi unveiled a multibillion-dollar deal with Iran and Russia that will be crucial to India's long-term energy security, and took the initiative the same week to host the first-ever conference on regional cooperation among Asian oil-producing and consuming countries. In its US$40 billion deal with the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC), India committed to import natural gas from Iran over a 25-year period and to develop two Iranian oil fields and a gas field. Iran will sell the liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India at a price linked to Brent crude oil. According to the agreement, India will pay $1.2 plus 0.065 of Brent crude average, with an upper ceiling of $31 per barrel. Iran will ship 5 million tonnes of LNG to India annually, with a provision to increase the quantity to 7.5 million tonnes.
India's oil diplomacy took a giant leap forward on Friday when New Delhi unveiled a multibillion-dollar deal with Iran and Russia that will be crucial to India's long-term energy security, and took the initiative the same week to host the first-ever conference on regional cooperation among Asian oil-producing and consuming countries. In its US$40 billion deal with the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC), India committed to import natural gas from Iran over a 25-year period and to develop two Iranian oil fields and a gas field. Iran will sell the liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India at a price linked to Brent crude oil. According to the agreement, India will pay $1.2 plus 0.065 of Brent crude average, with an upper ceiling of $31 per barrel. Iran will ship 5 million tonnes of LNG to India annually, with a provision to increase the quantity to 7.5 million tonnes.
IRAQ: DIRTY WAR
The Times: US DEATH SQUADS
From Roland Watson in Washington
THE Pentagon is considering forming hit squads of Kurdish and Shia fighters to target leaders of the Iraqi insurgency in a strategic shift borrowed from the American struggle against left-wing guerrillas in Central America 20 years ago. Under the so-called “El Salvador option”, Iraqi and American forces would be sent to kill or kidnap insurgency leaders, even in Syria, where some are thought to shelter. The plans are reported in this week’s Newsweek magazine as part of Pentagon efforts to get US forces in Iraq on to the front foot against an enemy that is apparently getting the better of them. Iyad Allawi, the interim Iraqi Prime Minister, was said to be one of the most vigorous supporters of the plan.
It's all 80s again and the same people are pulling the strings.
From Roland Watson in Washington
THE Pentagon is considering forming hit squads of Kurdish and Shia fighters to target leaders of the Iraqi insurgency in a strategic shift borrowed from the American struggle against left-wing guerrillas in Central America 20 years ago. Under the so-called “El Salvador option”, Iraqi and American forces would be sent to kill or kidnap insurgency leaders, even in Syria, where some are thought to shelter. The plans are reported in this week’s Newsweek magazine as part of Pentagon efforts to get US forces in Iraq on to the front foot against an enemy that is apparently getting the better of them. Iyad Allawi, the interim Iraqi Prime Minister, was said to be one of the most vigorous supporters of the plan.
It's all 80s again and the same people are pulling the strings.
IRAQ
ICH: Iraq: The Devastation
01/07/05 -- The devastation of Iraq? Where do I start? After working 7 of the last 12 months in Iraq, I'm still overwhelmed by even the thought of trying to describe this.The illegal war and occupation of Iraq was waged for three reasons, according to the Bush administration. First for weapons of mass destruction, which have yet to be found. Second, because the regime of Saddam Hussein had links to al-Qaeda, which Mr. Bush has personally admitted have never been proven. The third reason -- embedded in the very name of the invasion, Operation Iraqi Freedom -- was to liberate the Iraqi people.So Iraq is now a liberated country.
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01/07/05 -- The devastation of Iraq? Where do I start? After working 7 of the last 12 months in Iraq, I'm still overwhelmed by even the thought of trying to describe this.The illegal war and occupation of Iraq was waged for three reasons, according to the Bush administration. First for weapons of mass destruction, which have yet to be found. Second, because the regime of Saddam Hussein had links to al-Qaeda, which Mr. Bush has personally admitted have never been proven. The third reason -- embedded in the very name of the invasion, Operation Iraqi Freedom -- was to liberate the Iraqi people.So Iraq is now a liberated country.
CHECK IT
USA
New York Times: Warning From a Student of Democracy's Collapse
FRITZ STERN, a refugee from Hitler's Germany and a leading scholar of European history, startled several of his listeners when he warned in a speech about the danger posed in this country by the rise of the Christian right. In his address in November, just after he received a prize presented by the German foreign minister, he told his audience that Hitler saw himself as "the instrument of providence" and fused his "racial dogma with a Germanic Christianity."
FRITZ STERN, a refugee from Hitler's Germany and a leading scholar of European history, startled several of his listeners when he warned in a speech about the danger posed in this country by the rise of the Christian right. In his address in November, just after he received a prize presented by the German foreign minister, he told his audience that Hitler saw himself as "the instrument of providence" and fused his "racial dogma with a Germanic Christianity."
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES: ELECTIONS
ZMAG: Israelis Hinder East Jerusalem Elections by Kristen Ess
Israeli police cars and military jeeps parked in crossroads near the Salah Adiin Street post office in East Jerusalem Sunday morning. Israeli soldiers with rifles slung over their shoulders stood next to Israeli police who watched scores of journalists mingle with the voters arriving just after the polls opened at 7. Already the Israeli government would not allow 96,000 of East Jerusalem's 100,000 registered Palestinian voters to vote inside the city of East Jerusalem, instead forcing them to cross checkpoints or go around the Apartheid Wall to Jerusalem neighborhoods now stuck on the other side. But as the day wore on, East Jerusalem residents realized almost none of them were going to be allowed to vote in their city
AP: Arab world welcomes Palestinian elections
but remains skeptical over Israel
CAIRO, Egypt - The Arab world cautiously welcomed Palestinian elections - portrayed by the West as means to a Mideast peace agreement - but remained skeptical of whether the successful vote would push Israel into making concesssions.
Some also cautioned that Palestinian militants who spurned the balloting could derail peace talks by launching attacks on Israel.
Mahmoud Abbas was elected Palestinian Authority president with 62.3 percent of the vote in the elections that were a rare example of political reform in the Arab world. Israeli leaders welcomed Abbas’ victory, but said Monday they will watch closely how hard he tries to subdue militants.
Israeli police cars and military jeeps parked in crossroads near the Salah Adiin Street post office in East Jerusalem Sunday morning. Israeli soldiers with rifles slung over their shoulders stood next to Israeli police who watched scores of journalists mingle with the voters arriving just after the polls opened at 7. Already the Israeli government would not allow 96,000 of East Jerusalem's 100,000 registered Palestinian voters to vote inside the city of East Jerusalem, instead forcing them to cross checkpoints or go around the Apartheid Wall to Jerusalem neighborhoods now stuck on the other side. But as the day wore on, East Jerusalem residents realized almost none of them were going to be allowed to vote in their city
AP: Arab world welcomes Palestinian elections
but remains skeptical over Israel
CAIRO, Egypt - The Arab world cautiously welcomed Palestinian elections - portrayed by the West as means to a Mideast peace agreement - but remained skeptical of whether the successful vote would push Israel into making concesssions.
Some also cautioned that Palestinian militants who spurned the balloting could derail peace talks by launching attacks on Israel.
Mahmoud Abbas was elected Palestinian Authority president with 62.3 percent of the vote in the elections that were a rare example of political reform in the Arab world. Israeli leaders welcomed Abbas’ victory, but said Monday they will watch closely how hard he tries to subdue militants.
Monday, January 10, 2005
IRAQ: RESISTANCE
JUS: Resistance Claims 80+ More US Dead In Fallujah
Resistance spokesman: booby traps kill 80 US troops in an-Nazal neighborhood on Thursday-Friday.
In a dispatch posted at 12:30pm Mecca time Friday, the correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam in al-Fallujah reported that more than 80 US troops had been killed during Thursday-Friday in the an-Nazal neighborhood of the city, which the Americans occupied during heavy fighting early Thursday.
Resistance spokesman: booby traps kill 80 US troops in an-Nazal neighborhood on Thursday-Friday.
In a dispatch posted at 12:30pm Mecca time Friday, the correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam in al-Fallujah reported that more than 80 US troops had been killed during Thursday-Friday in the an-Nazal neighborhood of the city, which the Americans occupied during heavy fighting early Thursday.
Friday, January 07, 2005
IRAQ: RESISTANCE
Iraqwar.ru: US Forces Breach Resistance Stronghold in Falluja
With a massive force of 4,000 troops and 700 tanks, the US forces have managed to breach the Resistance stronghold positioned in the southern part of Falluja at 3 a.m. this morning. The US troops using massive air support have been able to completely control the ‘Nazaal’ neighborhood while at the same time occupying parts of ‘Shuhada’ and ‘Jubail’ neighborhoods. Reports indicate that US forces have not only used mustard gas, nerve gas, and cluster bombs to pave the way for their advance, but that a small neutron bomb has also been used at ‘Kubaysaat’ street which they were unable to capture through conventional methods.
With a massive force of 4,000 troops and 700 tanks, the US forces have managed to breach the Resistance stronghold positioned in the southern part of Falluja at 3 a.m. this morning. The US troops using massive air support have been able to completely control the ‘Nazaal’ neighborhood while at the same time occupying parts of ‘Shuhada’ and ‘Jubail’ neighborhoods. Reports indicate that US forces have not only used mustard gas, nerve gas, and cluster bombs to pave the way for their advance, but that a small neutron bomb has also been used at ‘Kubaysaat’ street which they were unable to capture through conventional methods.
Thursday, January 06, 2005
PEAK OIL
Peak Oil To Arrive As Early As 2014
I fear we're going to be at war for decades, not years ..... one major component of that war is oil."James Woolsey, Former Director of The CIAReport On The Annual Policy Forum Of The American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE)Washington, 6-7 December 2004RenewableEnergyAccess.com, 14 December 2004
I fear we're going to be at war for decades, not years ..... one major component of that war is oil."James Woolsey, Former Director of The CIAReport On The Annual Policy Forum Of The American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE)Washington, 6-7 December 2004RenewableEnergyAccess.com, 14 December 2004
IRAQ: RESISTANCE
Interventionmagazine: The Jungle In The Desert
We never learned why we lost the Vietnam War, and now we're losing another Asian War
With the proliferation of the Internet and the spread of political polarization, there has been an explosion of know-it-alls in America. Those who know what America should and shouldn’t do, what will happen tomorrow and what won’t happen next year. They know everything
Resistance Report: Mujahideen Claim Major US Losses In 8 Weeks In Fallujah
Press Release From Consultative Council of Mujahideen of al-Fallujah
The Consultative Council of Mujahideen of al-Fallujah issued a communiqué concerning the nature and results of the fighting that took place between the occupation and the Resistance in the city between 6 November 2004 and 2 January 2005. The communiqué, a copy of which was obtained by Mafkarat al-Islam, gave reasons for the withdrawal of Resistance forces from the northern neighborhoods of the city and from the al-Askari neighborhood in the city's eastern section. It also gave a count of US and British losses as well as those suffered by the Resistance.
The communiqué gave a final count of occupation forces, losses up to 2 January 2005 as follows:
1. More than 6,500 US troops killed and 700 more wounded.
2. More than 425 British troops killed and about 325 wounded.
3. A large number of Americans and Britons captured, some of whom were killed during escape attempts.
4. More than 1,350 tanks and armored vehicles destroyed.
5. About 800 Humvees and personnel carriers destroyed.
6. 41 aircraft, including three fighter planes, shot down.
7. 200 US light and medium weapons seized, as well as hundreds of scopes, bayonets, compasses, bullet-proof vests, and classified maps of occupation positions in al-Anbar Province.
We never learned why we lost the Vietnam War, and now we're losing another Asian War
With the proliferation of the Internet and the spread of political polarization, there has been an explosion of know-it-alls in America. Those who know what America should and shouldn’t do, what will happen tomorrow and what won’t happen next year. They know everything
Resistance Report: Mujahideen Claim Major US Losses In 8 Weeks In Fallujah
Press Release From Consultative Council of Mujahideen of al-Fallujah
The Consultative Council of Mujahideen of al-Fallujah issued a communiqué concerning the nature and results of the fighting that took place between the occupation and the Resistance in the city between 6 November 2004 and 2 January 2005. The communiqué, a copy of which was obtained by Mafkarat al-Islam, gave reasons for the withdrawal of Resistance forces from the northern neighborhoods of the city and from the al-Askari neighborhood in the city's eastern section. It also gave a count of US and British losses as well as those suffered by the Resistance.
The communiqué gave a final count of occupation forces, losses up to 2 January 2005 as follows:
1. More than 6,500 US troops killed and 700 more wounded.
2. More than 425 British troops killed and about 325 wounded.
3. A large number of Americans and Britons captured, some of whom were killed during escape attempts.
4. More than 1,350 tanks and armored vehicles destroyed.
5. About 800 Humvees and personnel carriers destroyed.
6. 41 aircraft, including three fighter planes, shot down.
7. 200 US light and medium weapons seized, as well as hundreds of scopes, bayonets, compasses, bullet-proof vests, and classified maps of occupation positions in al-Anbar Province.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
THE IRAQI RESISTANCE
AFP: Iraqi Resistance Numbers More Than 200,000
Iraq's insurgency counts more than 200,000 active fighters and sympathisers, the country's national intelligence chief told AFP, in the bleakest assessment to date of the armed revolt waged by Sunni Muslims.
"I think the resistance is bigger than the US military in Iraq. I think the resistance is more than 200,000 people," Iraqi intelligence service director General Mohamed Abdullah Shahwani said in an interview ahead of the January 30 elections.
Shahwani said the number includes at least 40,000 hardcore fighters but rises to more than 200,000 members counting part-time fighters and volunteers who provide rebels everything from intelligence and logistics to shelter.
Iraq's insurgency counts more than 200,000 active fighters and sympathisers, the country's national intelligence chief told AFP, in the bleakest assessment to date of the armed revolt waged by Sunni Muslims.
"I think the resistance is bigger than the US military in Iraq. I think the resistance is more than 200,000 people," Iraqi intelligence service director General Mohamed Abdullah Shahwani said in an interview ahead of the January 30 elections.
Shahwani said the number includes at least 40,000 hardcore fighters but rises to more than 200,000 members counting part-time fighters and volunteers who provide rebels everything from intelligence and logistics to shelter.
USA: MISSLE SHIELD
ICH: Rude awakening to missile-defense dream
DELMAR, N.Y. (CSM) - On Christmas Eve 2004, the Russian Strategic Missile Force test fired an advanced SS-27 Topol-M road-mobile intercontinental ballistic Missile (ICBM).This test probably invalidated the entire premise and technology used in the National Missile Defense (NMD) system currently being developed and deployed by the Bush administration, and at the same time called into question the validity of the administration's entire approach to arms control and disarmament.
However, the Bush administration's dream of a viable NMD has been rendered fantasy by the Russian test of the SS-27 Topol-M. According to the Russians, the Topol-M has high-speed solid-fuel boosters that rapidly lift the missile into the atmosphere, making boost-phase interception impossible unless one is located practically next door to the launcher. The SS-27 has been hardened against laser weapons and has a highly maneuverable post-boost vehicle that can defeat any intercept capability as it dispenses up to three warheads and four sophisticated decoys.
DELMAR, N.Y. (CSM) - On Christmas Eve 2004, the Russian Strategic Missile Force test fired an advanced SS-27 Topol-M road-mobile intercontinental ballistic Missile (ICBM).This test probably invalidated the entire premise and technology used in the National Missile Defense (NMD) system currently being developed and deployed by the Bush administration, and at the same time called into question the validity of the administration's entire approach to arms control and disarmament.
However, the Bush administration's dream of a viable NMD has been rendered fantasy by the Russian test of the SS-27 Topol-M. According to the Russians, the Topol-M has high-speed solid-fuel boosters that rapidly lift the missile into the atmosphere, making boost-phase interception impossible unless one is located practically next door to the launcher. The SS-27 has been hardened against laser weapons and has a highly maneuverable post-boost vehicle that can defeat any intercept capability as it dispenses up to three warheads and four sophisticated decoys.
IRAQ: AL-ZARQAWI ARRESTED?
Itar: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi reportedly arrested in Iraq
DUBAI, January 4 (Itar-Tass) - Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi, whom the US occupation authorities declared to be the "target number one" in Iraq, has been arrested in the city of Baakuba, the Emirate newspaper al-Bayane reported on Tuesday referring to Kurdish sources. Al-Zarqawi, leader of the terrorist group Al-Tawhid Wa'al-Jihad, was recently appointed the director of the Al-Qaeda organisation in Iraq.
The newspaper's correspondent in Baghdad points out that a report on the seizure of the terrorist, on whom the US put a bounty of 10 million dollars, was also reported by Iraqi Kurdistan radio, which at one time had been the first to announce the arrest of Saddam Hussein.
There have been no official reports about the arrest of the terrorist. Al-Zarqawi, 38, a Jordanian, whose real name is Ahmad al-Khalayleh, aims to turn Iraq into a "new Afghanistan". According to Arab press data, Al-Tawhid Wa'al-Jihad group has divided Iraq into several emirates. The group's independent subdivisions at a strength of 50 to 500 militants operate in the cities of Al-Falluja, Al-Qaim, Diala, and Samarra.
DUBAI, January 4 (Itar-Tass) - Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi, whom the US occupation authorities declared to be the "target number one" in Iraq, has been arrested in the city of Baakuba, the Emirate newspaper al-Bayane reported on Tuesday referring to Kurdish sources. Al-Zarqawi, leader of the terrorist group Al-Tawhid Wa'al-Jihad, was recently appointed the director of the Al-Qaeda organisation in Iraq.
The newspaper's correspondent in Baghdad points out that a report on the seizure of the terrorist, on whom the US put a bounty of 10 million dollars, was also reported by Iraqi Kurdistan radio, which at one time had been the first to announce the arrest of Saddam Hussein.
There have been no official reports about the arrest of the terrorist. Al-Zarqawi, 38, a Jordanian, whose real name is Ahmad al-Khalayleh, aims to turn Iraq into a "new Afghanistan". According to Arab press data, Al-Tawhid Wa'al-Jihad group has divided Iraq into several emirates. The group's independent subdivisions at a strength of 50 to 500 militants operate in the cities of Al-Falluja, Al-Qaim, Diala, and Samarra.
WEATHER WEAPONS
Memoryhole: Secretary of Defense Reveals Earthquake and Volcano Weapons
This one might seem beyond belief, but we have it from none other than a sitting Secretary of Defense. In April 1997, then-Defense Secretary William Cohen was speaking at a terrorism conference at the University of Georgia. After some introductory remarks about the conference, Cohen takes questions from the media in attendance. A reporter asks a question based on the fake anthrax letters that had recently been sent to B'nai Brith. Cohen gives a strange answer, using the occasion to mention the exotic weapons being developed by terrorists (as well as--one would assume--governments).
"Others are engaging even in an eco- type of terrorism whereby they can alter the climate, set off earthquakes, volcanoes remotely through the use of electromagnetic waves.
This one might seem beyond belief, but we have it from none other than a sitting Secretary of Defense. In April 1997, then-Defense Secretary William Cohen was speaking at a terrorism conference at the University of Georgia. After some introductory remarks about the conference, Cohen takes questions from the media in attendance. A reporter asks a question based on the fake anthrax letters that had recently been sent to B'nai Brith. Cohen gives a strange answer, using the occasion to mention the exotic weapons being developed by terrorists (as well as--one would assume--governments).
"Others are engaging even in an eco- type of terrorism whereby they can alter the climate, set off earthquakes, volcanoes remotely through the use of electromagnetic waves.
IRAQ: RESISTANCE
MSN: Al-Zarqawi claims slaying of Baghdad governor
In other attacks, 10 Iraqis dead after car bombing, 5 GIs killed
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents assassinated the highest-ranking Iraqi official in eight months Tuesday, gunning down the governor of Baghdad province and six of his bodyguards. Separately, a suicide truck bomber killed 10 people at an Interior Ministry commando headquarters, the latest in a string of violence ahead of Jan. 30 elections
In other attacks, 10 Iraqis dead after car bombing, 5 GIs killed
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents assassinated the highest-ranking Iraqi official in eight months Tuesday, gunning down the governor of Baghdad province and six of his bodyguards. Separately, a suicide truck bomber killed 10 people at an Interior Ministry commando headquarters, the latest in a string of violence ahead of Jan. 30 elections
THE AL QAEDA PHANTOM
Kirwan: The Myths of Al Qaeda
In George Orwell's classic "1984," his world was held together by continuous and unending war: In the book his concept was defined by video clips of HATE, broadcast several times a day during which the population (in the novel) was required to watch and rave against the ENEMY. Those who rule this nation now, seek to use Al Qaeda as the 2005 version of the terror created in '1984' by proclaiming the now infamous phrase "Links to Al Qaeda!"
Since the war began in Afghanistan, the administration has been using this completely damning and completely empty phrase at every opportunity. "Damning " because the phrase carries all the unspoken horror, and all the unspecified terror that our Bandits want the world to feel - every time there is any activity that the USA disapproves of. "Empty" because nothing, despite Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, has ever been publicly found, no trials have been held that we know of, and no one has been convicted of being part of Al Qaeda - except the dead. So - What exactly is Al Qaeda?
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In George Orwell's classic "1984," his world was held together by continuous and unending war: In the book his concept was defined by video clips of HATE, broadcast several times a day during which the population (in the novel) was required to watch and rave against the ENEMY. Those who rule this nation now, seek to use Al Qaeda as the 2005 version of the terror created in '1984' by proclaiming the now infamous phrase "Links to Al Qaeda!"
Since the war began in Afghanistan, the administration has been using this completely damning and completely empty phrase at every opportunity. "Damning " because the phrase carries all the unspoken horror, and all the unspecified terror that our Bandits want the world to feel - every time there is any activity that the USA disapproves of. "Empty" because nothing, despite Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, has ever been publicly found, no trials have been held that we know of, and no one has been convicted of being part of Al Qaeda - except the dead. So - What exactly is Al Qaeda?
CHECK IT
ASIA: TSUNAMI
India Daily: Most All Quake Govts Knew -But Didn't Issue Warnings
Now it is slowly coming out that almost all the Governments affected by the Tsunami knew about the earthquake and possible Tsunami hours before their countries were hit. by the killer tidal waves. The only local Government that did not have a chance to react or evacuate was in Sumatra and Andaman Nicobar islands.
Based on the analysis of the time sequence in which these Governments received information and failed or decided not to act is alarming. In Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and Thailand rumors in the main street are rampant that their respective Governments were told not to act by someone or some entity.
Now it is slowly coming out that almost all the Governments affected by the Tsunami knew about the earthquake and possible Tsunami hours before their countries were hit. by the killer tidal waves. The only local Government that did not have a chance to react or evacuate was in Sumatra and Andaman Nicobar islands.
Based on the analysis of the time sequence in which these Governments received information and failed or decided not to act is alarming. In Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and Thailand rumors in the main street are rampant that their respective Governments were told not to act by someone or some entity.
Monday, January 03, 2005
THE FALSIES AWARD 2004
Alternet: The 2004 Falsies Awards
This year marks the beginning of a new tradition for the Center for Media and Democracy. To remember the people and players responsible for polluting our information environment, we are issuing a new year-end prize that we call the "Falsies Awards." The top ten finalists will each receive a million bucks worth of free coupons, a lifetime supply of non-fattening ice cream, an expenses-paid vacation in Fallujah, and our promise to respect them in the morning. The winners of the Falsies Awards for 2004 are:
1. I'm Karen Ryan, reporting
2. War Is Sell
3. The Hidden (in Plain Sight) Persuaders
CHECK IT
This year marks the beginning of a new tradition for the Center for Media and Democracy. To remember the people and players responsible for polluting our information environment, we are issuing a new year-end prize that we call the "Falsies Awards." The top ten finalists will each receive a million bucks worth of free coupons, a lifetime supply of non-fattening ice cream, an expenses-paid vacation in Fallujah, and our promise to respect them in the morning. The winners of the Falsies Awards for 2004 are:
1. I'm Karen Ryan, reporting
2. War Is Sell
3. The Hidden (in Plain Sight) Persuaders
CHECK IT
IRAQ
IPS: New Horror Stories Of GI Abuses At Iraqi Hospitals by Dahr Jamail
The U.S. military has been preventing delivery of medical care in several instances, medical staff say.
Iraqi doctors at many hospitals have reported raids by coalition forces. Some of the more recent raids have been in Amiriyat al-Fallujah, about 10km to the east of Fallujah, the town U.S. forces now hold after a bloody assault. Amiriyat al-Fallujah has been the source of several reported resistance attacks on U.S. forces.
The main hospital in Amiriyat al-Fallujah was raided twice recently by U.S. soldiers and members of the Iraqi National Guard, doctors say. "The first time was November 29 at 5:40 a.m., and the second time was the following day," said a doctor at the hospital who did not want to give his real name for fear of U.S. reprisals.
...Targeting hospitals or ambulances is in direct contravention of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which strictly forbids attacks on emergency vehicles and the impeding of medical operations during war.
The U.S. military has been preventing delivery of medical care in several instances, medical staff say.
Iraqi doctors at many hospitals have reported raids by coalition forces. Some of the more recent raids have been in Amiriyat al-Fallujah, about 10km to the east of Fallujah, the town U.S. forces now hold after a bloody assault. Amiriyat al-Fallujah has been the source of several reported resistance attacks on U.S. forces.
The main hospital in Amiriyat al-Fallujah was raided twice recently by U.S. soldiers and members of the Iraqi National Guard, doctors say. "The first time was November 29 at 5:40 a.m., and the second time was the following day," said a doctor at the hospital who did not want to give his real name for fear of U.S. reprisals.
...Targeting hospitals or ambulances is in direct contravention of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which strictly forbids attacks on emergency vehicles and the impeding of medical operations during war.
Sunday, January 02, 2005
UKRAINE: NEW COLD WAR?
ZMAG: US and Ukraine
Are we on the brink of a new cold war? On both sides of the Atlantic, media commentators see the crisis in Ukraine as comparable to the Berlin crises, involving the US and the Soviet Union, which kept the world on tenterhooks for decades. In this supposed drama, a resurgent Kremlin under an ex-KGB colonel is suppressing freedom at home and encroaching on ex-Soviet republics around his country's vast rim.
Are we on the brink of a new cold war? On both sides of the Atlantic, media commentators see the crisis in Ukraine as comparable to the Berlin crises, involving the US and the Soviet Union, which kept the world on tenterhooks for decades. In this supposed drama, a resurgent Kremlin under an ex-KGB colonel is suppressing freedom at home and encroaching on ex-Soviet republics around his country's vast rim.
Thursday, December 30, 2004
IRAQ: ROBERT FISK
ICH: A Glimpse of the Ghost of Vietnam in Iraq Lies and Atrocities
12/27/04 "The Independent" -- Who said this and when? “The people of England have been led in Mesopotamia into a trap from which it will be hard to escape with dignity and honor. They have been tricked into it by a steady withholding of information. The Baghdad communiqués are belated, insincere, incomplete. Things have been far worse than we have been told, our administration more bloody and inefficient that the public knows... We are today not far from a disaster.” Answer: TE Lawrence (of Arabia fame) in The Sunday Times in August, 1920.
And every word of it is true today. We were lied to about weapons of mass destruction. We were lied to about the links between Saddam Hussein and Sept. 11, 2001. We were lied to about the insurgents — remember how they were just “dead-enders” and “remnants”? And we were lied to about the improvements in Iraq when the entire country was steadily falling outside the hands of the occupying powers or of the government of satraps that they have set up in their place. We are, I suspect, being lied to about elections next month.
The biggest development in the Middle East over the past 30 years has been this shaking off of fear. Fear — of the occupier, of the dictator — is something that you cannot re-inject into people. And this, I suspect, is what has happened in Iraq.
12/27/04 "The Independent" -- Who said this and when? “The people of England have been led in Mesopotamia into a trap from which it will be hard to escape with dignity and honor. They have been tricked into it by a steady withholding of information. The Baghdad communiqués are belated, insincere, incomplete. Things have been far worse than we have been told, our administration more bloody and inefficient that the public knows... We are today not far from a disaster.” Answer: TE Lawrence (of Arabia fame) in The Sunday Times in August, 1920.
And every word of it is true today. We were lied to about weapons of mass destruction. We were lied to about the links between Saddam Hussein and Sept. 11, 2001. We were lied to about the insurgents — remember how they were just “dead-enders” and “remnants”? And we were lied to about the improvements in Iraq when the entire country was steadily falling outside the hands of the occupying powers or of the government of satraps that they have set up in their place. We are, I suspect, being lied to about elections next month.
The biggest development in the Middle East over the past 30 years has been this shaking off of fear. Fear — of the occupier, of the dictator — is something that you cannot re-inject into people. And this, I suspect, is what has happened in Iraq.
ASIA: TSUNAMI
CitizienTimes: Death toll more than 114,000 in tsunami
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - The death toll from Sunday's tsunami disaster has leapt to more than 114,000, after Indonesia dramatically increased its count of the dead
News24: 5 000 000 displaced by tsunami
Hong Kong - Up to five million people have been displaced by the devastating tsunamis that pummelled large tracts of Asia over the weekend, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday
AZtel: U.S. Aid For Victims Of Tsunami $35 Million: Cost Of Bush Inauguration $30 Million:The $250,000 donors include former Enron President Richard Kinder, Dell Computer founder Michael Dell and Texas oilman and corporate takeover specialist T. Boone Pickens.
Crickey: Tracking the tsunami donations
Billions of dollars will be donated to the Asian tsunami relief effort but keeping track of who is giving what will be a big and interesting exercise.
ICH: Mickey Z: A Wave of Questions Putting a Disaster in Context
The recent earthquake/tsunami in Asia raises more questions than answers. Here's a start:
ICH: Grief, relief, and the stingy West
The horrific aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami has revealed what many in the world have known for a long time: Western nations are eager to exploit the under privileged, but slow to lend a helping hand in times of crisis.
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - The death toll from Sunday's tsunami disaster has leapt to more than 114,000, after Indonesia dramatically increased its count of the dead
News24: 5 000 000 displaced by tsunami
Hong Kong - Up to five million people have been displaced by the devastating tsunamis that pummelled large tracts of Asia over the weekend, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday
AZtel: U.S. Aid For Victims Of Tsunami $35 Million: Cost Of Bush Inauguration $30 Million:The $250,000 donors include former Enron President Richard Kinder, Dell Computer founder Michael Dell and Texas oilman and corporate takeover specialist T. Boone Pickens.
Crickey: Tracking the tsunami donations
Billions of dollars will be donated to the Asian tsunami relief effort but keeping track of who is giving what will be a big and interesting exercise.
ICH: Mickey Z: A Wave of Questions Putting a Disaster in Context
The recent earthquake/tsunami in Asia raises more questions than answers. Here's a start:
ICH: Grief, relief, and the stingy West
The horrific aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami has revealed what many in the world have known for a long time: Western nations are eager to exploit the under privileged, but slow to lend a helping hand in times of crisis.
IRAQ: RESISTANCE
Prisonplanet: Mujahideen Blow Up House In Fallujah, Killing 24 American Soldiers
Based on eyewitness reports, Mujahideen detonated explosives that blasted apart the house that US soldiers were searching in the city. According to the correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam in Fallujah, the Mujahideen had planted 500kg of TNT as well as the high explosive “Austrian” bombs inside the house, located in the al-Wahdah neighborhood. Mujahideen forces attracted the US forces to the house by making them think that a number of fighters were barricaded in it. The Mujahideen then detonated the explosives in the 450 square meter building when the Americans entered the building to investigate. The blast reportedly killed 24 American troops in addition to seven others whose bodies had not been extracted from the rubble when the correspondent submitted his report, posted at 2:30pm Mecca time Tuesday
Based on eyewitness reports, Mujahideen detonated explosives that blasted apart the house that US soldiers were searching in the city. According to the correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam in Fallujah, the Mujahideen had planted 500kg of TNT as well as the high explosive “Austrian” bombs inside the house, located in the al-Wahdah neighborhood. Mujahideen forces attracted the US forces to the house by making them think that a number of fighters were barricaded in it. The Mujahideen then detonated the explosives in the 450 square meter building when the Americans entered the building to investigate. The blast reportedly killed 24 American troops in addition to seven others whose bodies had not been extracted from the rubble when the correspondent submitted his report, posted at 2:30pm Mecca time Tuesday
USA: OIL
Village Voice: Homeland Insecurity
WASHINGTON, D.C. Running below the surface of the year-end self-congratulatory assertions of American supremacy (as in Monday's Washington Times: "The world really is becoming more 'American' ") are warnings, often ignored, of our decline. The steady loss of the dollar against the euro is one. The spiraling trade deficit is another.
And in the past weeks, there were two serious economic signs signaling momentous change, if not outright decline.
The first concerns China's invasion of Canadian oil fields, heretofore a U.S. energy fiefdom. The second came in the form of an all-but-hidden report from the Department of Agriculture that America, the breadbasket of the world, is now a net importer of food.
WASHINGTON, D.C. Running below the surface of the year-end self-congratulatory assertions of American supremacy (as in Monday's Washington Times: "The world really is becoming more 'American' ") are warnings, often ignored, of our decline. The steady loss of the dollar against the euro is one. The spiraling trade deficit is another.
And in the past weeks, there were two serious economic signs signaling momentous change, if not outright decline.
The first concerns China's invasion of Canadian oil fields, heretofore a U.S. energy fiefdom. The second came in the form of an all-but-hidden report from the Department of Agriculture that America, the breadbasket of the world, is now a net importer of food.
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
IRAQ: RESISTANCE REPORT
Iraqi Resistance Report for Sunday, 26 December 2004
Al-Fallujah.
Seven hundred civilian bodies recovered from al-Fallujah ruins to date; 504 of them women and children.
Dr. Tamir Salih al-‘Ani, who is in charge of the morgue in al-Fallujah General Hospital has reported that emergency teams in al-Fallujah Hospital have recovered 700 bodies of Iraqis from the ruins of houses destroyed in the course of the US aggressors’ offensive on the city. Dr. Salih confirmed that among the 700 bodies were 504 bodies of women and children. The rest are the bodies of elderly and middle aged men.
Al-Fallujah.
Seven hundred civilian bodies recovered from al-Fallujah ruins to date; 504 of them women and children.
Dr. Tamir Salih al-‘Ani, who is in charge of the morgue in al-Fallujah General Hospital has reported that emergency teams in al-Fallujah Hospital have recovered 700 bodies of Iraqis from the ruins of houses destroyed in the course of the US aggressors’ offensive on the city. Dr. Salih confirmed that among the 700 bodies were 504 bodies of women and children. The rest are the bodies of elderly and middle aged men.
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
911: RUMSFELD
Worldnetdaily: Rumsfeld says 9-11 plane 'shot down' in Pennsylvania
During surprise Christmas Eve trip, defense secretary contradicts official story
WASHINGTON – Ever since Sept. 11, 2001, there have been questions about Flight 93, the ill-fated plane that crashed in the rural fields of Pennsylvania.
The official story has been that passengers on the United Airlines flight rushed the hijackers in an effort to prevent them from crashing the plane into a strategic target – possibly the U.S. Capitol.
During his surprise Christmas Eve trip to Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld referred to the flight being shot down – long a suspicion because of the danger the flight posed to Washington landmarks and population centers.
Was it a slip of the tongue? Was it an error? Or was it the truth, finally being dropped on the public more than three years after the tragedy of the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000?
During surprise Christmas Eve trip, defense secretary contradicts official story
WASHINGTON – Ever since Sept. 11, 2001, there have been questions about Flight 93, the ill-fated plane that crashed in the rural fields of Pennsylvania.
The official story has been that passengers on the United Airlines flight rushed the hijackers in an effort to prevent them from crashing the plane into a strategic target – possibly the U.S. Capitol.
During his surprise Christmas Eve trip to Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld referred to the flight being shot down – long a suspicion because of the danger the flight posed to Washington landmarks and population centers.
Was it a slip of the tongue? Was it an error? Or was it the truth, finally being dropped on the public more than three years after the tragedy of the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000?
CONTROL TROUGH FEAR
Thom Hartmann: Explosive BBC Doc Exposes Decades-Old Neocon Deceits
What if there really was no need for much - or even most - of the Cold War?
What if, in fact, the Cold War had been kept alive for two decades based on phony WMD threats?
What if, similarly, the War On Terror was largely a scam, and the administration was hyping it to seem larger-than-life?
What if our "enemy" represented a real but relatively small threat posed by rogue and criminal groups well outside the mainstream of Islam?
What if that hype was done largely to enhance the power, electability, and stature of George W. Bush and Tony Blair?
And what if the world was to discover the most shocking dimensions of these twin deceits - that the same men promulgated them in the 1970s and today?
It happened.
The myth-shattering event took place in England the first three weeks of October, when the BBC aired a three-hour documentary written and produced by Adam Curtis, titled "The Power of Nightmares http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/3755686.stm
see the documentary online at: Informationclearinghouse.info
What if there really was no need for much - or even most - of the Cold War?
What if, in fact, the Cold War had been kept alive for two decades based on phony WMD threats?
What if, similarly, the War On Terror was largely a scam, and the administration was hyping it to seem larger-than-life?
What if our "enemy" represented a real but relatively small threat posed by rogue and criminal groups well outside the mainstream of Islam?
What if that hype was done largely to enhance the power, electability, and stature of George W. Bush and Tony Blair?
And what if the world was to discover the most shocking dimensions of these twin deceits - that the same men promulgated them in the 1970s and today?
It happened.
The myth-shattering event took place in England the first three weeks of October, when the BBC aired a three-hour documentary written and produced by Adam Curtis, titled "The Power of Nightmares http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/3755686.stm
see the documentary online at: Informationclearinghouse.info
Monday, December 27, 2004
THINK TANK: US LOST WAR IN IRAQ
IRNA: ICG Says US May Already Have Lost War in Iraq
Brussels, Dec 24, IRNA -- An international think-tank in a report published here on Thursday announced that the US campaign in Iraq has failed to achieve Washington`s desired goals, warning that anti-US sentiments have deteriorated in Iraq. "In Iraq, the US is engaged in a war it may already have lost," stressed the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) in its latest report on Iraq. "Iraqi hostility toward the American-led occupation, more widespread and deeper rooted than the US has acknowledged, means the Bush administration`s policy there can no longer achieve its original aims."
Brussels, Dec 24, IRNA -- An international think-tank in a report published here on Thursday announced that the US campaign in Iraq has failed to achieve Washington`s desired goals, warning that anti-US sentiments have deteriorated in Iraq. "In Iraq, the US is engaged in a war it may already have lost," stressed the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) in its latest report on Iraq. "Iraqi hostility toward the American-led occupation, more widespread and deeper rooted than the US has acknowledged, means the Bush administration`s policy there can no longer achieve its original aims."
IRAQ: MOSUL RESISTANCE
Guardian: Insurgents operate at will in Mosul, US says
Security failures were known before attack in mess tent
Insurgents have been able to "operate at will" in Mosul, where 22 people died in a bomb attack this week, because the US forces and the Iraqi authorities have failed to tackle them, an intelligence assessment by senior US officials in northern Iraq concludes.
The report, seen by the Guardian yesterday, was drafted before this week's suicide attack on the mess tent at Camp Merez.
It was made after the uprising last month, when most of Mosul's police force either deserted or defected and parts of the city fell, albeit briefly, to the insurgents.
Security failures were known before attack in mess tent
Insurgents have been able to "operate at will" in Mosul, where 22 people died in a bomb attack this week, because the US forces and the Iraqi authorities have failed to tackle them, an intelligence assessment by senior US officials in northern Iraq concludes.
The report, seen by the Guardian yesterday, was drafted before this week's suicide attack on the mess tent at Camp Merez.
It was made after the uprising last month, when most of Mosul's police force either deserted or defected and parts of the city fell, albeit briefly, to the insurgents.
IRAQ: RESISTANCE
Asia Times: Mosul attack 'an inside job'
The deadly suicide attack on a US military base in Mosul this week was an "inside job" carried out by insurgents who are part of the Iraqi armed forces, Asia Times Online has been told. Sources said a strong nexus between Iraqi forces and the resistance is what allowed them to carry out the most devastating attack on US troops since the beginning of the invasion. US forces have imposed a curfew in Mosul and have launched a military operation in the city, but, the sources say, this will have little effect on the problem, for the simple reason that the US-trained Iraqi military is heavily infected with people loyal to the resistance groups.
The deadly suicide attack on a US military base in Mosul this week was an "inside job" carried out by insurgents who are part of the Iraqi armed forces, Asia Times Online has been told. Sources said a strong nexus between Iraqi forces and the resistance is what allowed them to carry out the most devastating attack on US troops since the beginning of the invasion. US forces have imposed a curfew in Mosul and have launched a military operation in the city, but, the sources say, this will have little effect on the problem, for the simple reason that the US-trained Iraqi military is heavily infected with people loyal to the resistance groups.
IRAQ: ELECTIONS
Swissinfo: Iraq rejects vote rigging talk
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's election body has rejected a suggestion in Washington it adjust the results of next month'svote to benefit the Sunni minority if low turnout in Sunni areas means Shi'ites have an exaggerated majority in the newassembly.Speaking of "unacceptable" interference, Electoral Commission spokesman Farid Ayar said: "Who wins, wins. That is theway it is. That is the way it will be in the election."
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's election body has rejected a suggestion in Washington it adjust the results of next month'svote to benefit the Sunni minority if low turnout in Sunni areas means Shi'ites have an exaggerated majority in the newassembly.Speaking of "unacceptable" interference, Electoral Commission spokesman Farid Ayar said: "Who wins, wins. That is theway it is. That is the way it will be in the election."
ASIA: TSUNAMI
Independent: 12,300 Killed As Tsunami Sweeps Across Asia
There was no warning. As the sun began to climb into a cloudless sky, the people of Banda Aceh were going about their lives in this city on the north-western tip of Sumatra, Indonesia. It was early morning when the first gigantic wall of water hit.
USGS: Magnitude 9.0
Magnitude
9.0
Date-Time
Sunday, December 26, 2004 at 00:58:50 (UTC) - Coordinated Universal TimeSunday, December 26, 2004 at 07:58:50 AM local time at epicenterTime of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Remarks
At least 3,000 people killed in Sri Lanka, 2,300 in India, 2,000 in Indonesia, 289 in Thailand, 42 in Malaysia, 8 in Somalia and 2 in Bangladesh by tsunamis. Tsunamis also occurred on the coasts of Maldives and Cocos Island. At least 200 people killed, buildings destroyed or damaged in the Banda Aceh area, Sumatra. Felt widely in Sumatra. Also felt in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand. This is now the fourth largest earthquake in the world since 1900 and is the largest since the 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska earthquake.
There was no warning. As the sun began to climb into a cloudless sky, the people of Banda Aceh were going about their lives in this city on the north-western tip of Sumatra, Indonesia. It was early morning when the first gigantic wall of water hit.
USGS: Magnitude 9.0
Magnitude
9.0
Date-Time
Sunday, December 26, 2004 at 00:58:50 (UTC) - Coordinated Universal TimeSunday, December 26, 2004 at 07:58:50 AM local time at epicenterTime of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Remarks
At least 3,000 people killed in Sri Lanka, 2,300 in India, 2,000 in Indonesia, 289 in Thailand, 42 in Malaysia, 8 in Somalia and 2 in Bangladesh by tsunamis. Tsunamis also occurred on the coasts of Maldives and Cocos Island. At least 200 people killed, buildings destroyed or damaged in the Banda Aceh area, Sumatra. Felt widely in Sumatra. Also felt in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand. This is now the fourth largest earthquake in the world since 1900 and is the largest since the 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska earthquake.
IRAQ: RESISTANCE REPORT
Iraqi Resistance Report for Friday, 24 December 2004
Tikrit.
US troops stain their hands with the blood of children in Saddam Hussein’s home town, after losing fierce battles with Resistance forces.
Al-Fallujah.
Friday fighting in al-Fallujah
Al-Qa’im.
Iraqi Resistance blows up bridge near al-Qa’im, shoots down US helicopter capturing American supplies, maps, mail and food and killing 16 US troops.
Baghdad.
US troops murder religious figure on his doorstep in al-‘Amiriyah
Tikrit.
US troops stain their hands with the blood of children in Saddam Hussein’s home town, after losing fierce battles with Resistance forces.
Al-Fallujah.
Friday fighting in al-Fallujah
Al-Qa’im.
Iraqi Resistance blows up bridge near al-Qa’im, shoots down US helicopter capturing American supplies, maps, mail and food and killing 16 US troops.
Baghdad.
US troops murder religious figure on his doorstep in al-‘Amiriyah
Friday, December 24, 2004
IRAQ: FALLUJAH RESISTANCE
Outlook India: The End Of Warfare
Against the most heavily armed opponent in the history of War, Fallujah has still not let itself be "taken" to date. The mightiest military machine in history has met its match. A turning point in military affairs? The end of warfare, as practiced by the Americans - the application of overwhelming force to obtain a victory?
Fallujah has not been taken. Not only has Fallujah not been taken, but the coalition forces have staged several retreats and are now confined largely to the outside of the city. The Iraqi resistance is currently in control of most of the city and have forced back at least three of the largest armored assaults in recent history.
Raw unopposed firepower has reached its limits. Never have so few battled against so many in face of overwhelming odds and brought a superpower to its knees. And the nightmare continues. It is indeed the greatest military victory in history. The self proclaimed mightiest empire that ever was, in fact, turns out to have had the shortest reign ever. This Empire met its match in the land between the two rivers.
"CHECK IT"
Against the most heavily armed opponent in the history of War, Fallujah has still not let itself be "taken" to date. The mightiest military machine in history has met its match. A turning point in military affairs? The end of warfare, as practiced by the Americans - the application of overwhelming force to obtain a victory?
Fallujah has not been taken. Not only has Fallujah not been taken, but the coalition forces have staged several retreats and are now confined largely to the outside of the city. The Iraqi resistance is currently in control of most of the city and have forced back at least three of the largest armored assaults in recent history.
Raw unopposed firepower has reached its limits. Never have so few battled against so many in face of overwhelming odds and brought a superpower to its knees. And the nightmare continues. It is indeed the greatest military victory in history. The self proclaimed mightiest empire that ever was, in fact, turns out to have had the shortest reign ever. This Empire met its match in the land between the two rivers.
"CHECK IT"
Thursday, December 23, 2004
USA: SPY SCANDAL
UPI: Outside View: Israeli hubris vs. the U.S.
The latest spy tale in Washington, D.C., involving Larry Franklin, an intelligence analyst at the Defense Department, and some of Israel's most important lobbyists in America, is becoming deeper by the week. Spy stories are always like that, but this one packs an intricate tale of a trusted ally betraying America, a White House intent on using the misstep to leverage its influence, and an American intelligence community that feels it has been made to wear horns. Clearly Israel has aroused the formidable bull and will be made to pay a price. One can speculate from what we already know.
Immediately after his re-election, Bush said he had "accumulated enough capital" in his first term that he plans to use it in his second term to advance the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. Among other things, he may indeed have been hinting, friends in the intelligence community tell me, at the "Franklin" affair.Bush does not need to have an outcome to this investigation. He just needs to have a process whereby accusations keep hanging in the air, while he demands to cash in his capital. Bush is like that. He plays hard, even with friends. Even with Israel.
The latest spy tale in Washington, D.C., involving Larry Franklin, an intelligence analyst at the Defense Department, and some of Israel's most important lobbyists in America, is becoming deeper by the week. Spy stories are always like that, but this one packs an intricate tale of a trusted ally betraying America, a White House intent on using the misstep to leverage its influence, and an American intelligence community that feels it has been made to wear horns. Clearly Israel has aroused the formidable bull and will be made to pay a price. One can speculate from what we already know.
Immediately after his re-election, Bush said he had "accumulated enough capital" in his first term that he plans to use it in his second term to advance the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. Among other things, he may indeed have been hinting, friends in the intelligence community tell me, at the "Franklin" affair.Bush does not need to have an outcome to this investigation. He just needs to have a process whereby accusations keep hanging in the air, while he demands to cash in his capital. Bush is like that. He plays hard, even with friends. Even with Israel.
IRAQ: MOSUL RESISTANCE
ABC: Mosul Base Commanders Had Warning of an Attack
Dec. 22, 2004 -- Three weeks before the deadly attack on a U.S. base in Mosul, commanders at the base had a warning that insurgents were planning a "Beirut"-type attack on U.S. forces in northern Iraq, ABC News has learned. The warning prompted them to take additional unspecified security measures on the base.
On Tuesday, 22 people — including 13 U.S. soldiers — were killed in an attack on the crowded mess tent at Forward Operating Base Marez in Mosul. The Pentagon said today the deadly attack was apparently the work of a suicide bomber.
Dec. 22, 2004 -- Three weeks before the deadly attack on a U.S. base in Mosul, commanders at the base had a warning that insurgents were planning a "Beirut"-type attack on U.S. forces in northern Iraq, ABC News has learned. The warning prompted them to take additional unspecified security measures on the base.
On Tuesday, 22 people — including 13 U.S. soldiers — were killed in an attack on the crowded mess tent at Forward Operating Base Marez in Mosul. The Pentagon said today the deadly attack was apparently the work of a suicide bomber.
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
IRAQ: RESISTANCE
Reuters: Attack on U.S. Base in Iraq Kills 22
MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - A mortar and rocket attack on a U.S. military dining hall killed 22 people and wounded more than 50 in Iraq's northern city of Mosul on Tuesday in one of the deadliest attacks on U.S. forces since the war began.
The attack came as British Prime Minister Tony Blair made a surprise visit to Baghdad, where he vowed the war against insurgents would be won and elections would go ahead on Jan. 30. As he left Baghdad, mortars fell on the Green Zone compound, as they do almost daily. There was no word on any casualties
"The US Military does not control Mosul neither do they control Fallujah after more than a month of fierce battle. The Resistance grows deadlier each day. Bush and Blair are still pretending that everything is better now. Iraq as it turns out really is the disaster every sane mind has predicted"
MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - A mortar and rocket attack on a U.S. military dining hall killed 22 people and wounded more than 50 in Iraq's northern city of Mosul on Tuesday in one of the deadliest attacks on U.S. forces since the war began.
The attack came as British Prime Minister Tony Blair made a surprise visit to Baghdad, where he vowed the war against insurgents would be won and elections would go ahead on Jan. 30. As he left Baghdad, mortars fell on the Green Zone compound, as they do almost daily. There was no word on any casualties
"The US Military does not control Mosul neither do they control Fallujah after more than a month of fierce battle. The Resistance grows deadlier each day. Bush and Blair are still pretending that everything is better now. Iraq as it turns out really is the disaster every sane mind has predicted"
USA: COUP EXPORT
Mother Jones: The Coup Connection
How an organization financed by the US government has been promoting the overthrow of elected leaders abroad
In early 2004, chaos overwhelmed Haiti. In January, a rebellion erupted against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the former slum priest who had frequently angered the United States with his leftist rhetoric. Aristide had twice been elected, but he had alienated many Haitians with his increasing demagoguery and use of violence against the opposition. Yet polls showed that Aristide remained relatively popular, so even experienced Haiti watchers were surprised when, in late February, armed militias marched on the nation’s capital while demonstrators shut down the streets. In the violence, some 100 Haitians were killed. At dawn on February 29, with the militias closing in, Aristide left Haiti on a U.S. government plane. ¨
But did the rebellion really spring from nowhere? Maybe not. Several leaders of the demonstrations -- some of whom also had links to the armed rebels -- had been getting organizational help and training from a U.S. government-financed organization. The group, the International Republican Institute (IRI), is supposed to focus on nonpartisan, grassroots democratization efforts overseas. But in Haiti and other countries, such as Venezuela and Cambodia, the institute -- which, though not formally affiliated with the GOP, is run by prominent Republicans and staffed by party insiders -- has increasingly sided with groups seeking the overthrow of elected but flawed leaders who are disliked in Washington.
"Haiti, Venzuela, Georgia, Ukraine, Romania....more to come"
How an organization financed by the US government has been promoting the overthrow of elected leaders abroad
In early 2004, chaos overwhelmed Haiti. In January, a rebellion erupted against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the former slum priest who had frequently angered the United States with his leftist rhetoric. Aristide had twice been elected, but he had alienated many Haitians with his increasing demagoguery and use of violence against the opposition. Yet polls showed that Aristide remained relatively popular, so even experienced Haiti watchers were surprised when, in late February, armed militias marched on the nation’s capital while demonstrators shut down the streets. In the violence, some 100 Haitians were killed. At dawn on February 29, with the militias closing in, Aristide left Haiti on a U.S. government plane. ¨
But did the rebellion really spring from nowhere? Maybe not. Several leaders of the demonstrations -- some of whom also had links to the armed rebels -- had been getting organizational help and training from a U.S. government-financed organization. The group, the International Republican Institute (IRI), is supposed to focus on nonpartisan, grassroots democratization efforts overseas. But in Haiti and other countries, such as Venezuela and Cambodia, the institute -- which, though not formally affiliated with the GOP, is run by prominent Republicans and staffed by party insiders -- has increasingly sided with groups seeking the overthrow of elected but flawed leaders who are disliked in Washington.
"Haiti, Venzuela, Georgia, Ukraine, Romania....more to come"
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Uri Avnery: The mountain and the mouse
Sharon's "vision" for Israel and the Palestinians exposed
Uri Avnery deconstructs Sharon's recent speech to Israeli financial, political and academic leaders in which he painted a rosy picture of Israel's prospects. But "the most important part of the speech was the part that was not there. There was no peace offer to the Palestinians. He did not talk about peace at all."
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Sharon's "vision" for Israel and the Palestinians exposed
Uri Avnery deconstructs Sharon's recent speech to Israeli financial, political and academic leaders in which he painted a rosy picture of Israel's prospects. But "the most important part of the speech was the part that was not there. There was no peace offer to the Palestinians. He did not talk about peace at all."
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OSAMA BIN LADEN
Time: Bin Laden's New Message
In his latest audiotape pronouncement to the world, released Dec. 16 on an extremist Islamic website, Osama bin Laden largely shifted his attention from the U.S. to the Saudi royal family. He called its members "agents of infidels," praised the Dec. 6 attack on the U.S. consulate in Jidda and urged Muslims to support the insurgency in Iraq. According to one leading expert, the new tape was part of a change in emphasis in recent communications by the al-Qaeda leader and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri — an effort to speak as much to the Muslim world as to the U.S. and a paving of the theological way for what may be another major attack on the U.S.
In his latest audiotape pronouncement to the world, released Dec. 16 on an extremist Islamic website, Osama bin Laden largely shifted his attention from the U.S. to the Saudi royal family. He called its members "agents of infidels," praised the Dec. 6 attack on the U.S. consulate in Jidda and urged Muslims to support the insurgency in Iraq. According to one leading expert, the new tape was part of a change in emphasis in recent communications by the al-Qaeda leader and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri — an effort to speak as much to the Muslim world as to the U.S. and a paving of the theological way for what may be another major attack on the U.S.
IRAQ: ELECTIONS OF FEAR
Independent: A poll governed by fear by Patrick Cockburn
The 30 January election will go ahead, even though violence is unabated and the campaign may worsen divisions
The Iraqi election on 30 January, for which campaigning began last week, will be one of the most secretive in history. Iraqi television shows only the feet of election officials rather than their faces, because they are terrified of their identity being revealed. It will be a poll governed by fear.
The 30 January election will go ahead, even though violence is unabated and the campaign may worsen divisions
The Iraqi election on 30 January, for which campaigning began last week, will be one of the most secretive in history. Iraqi television shows only the feet of election officials rather than their faces, because they are terrified of their identity being revealed. It will be a poll governed by fear.
IRAQ
Independent: The Army had not a word of compassion by Robert Fisk
It was the insouciance, the absolute indifference of the British military press office in Basra that shocked me.Here I had documents--one of them signed by a British officer--stating that Baha Mousa had died in British custody, another that Mousa's colleague had been "assaulted" when he too was a prisoner and suffered "acute renal failure", the statement of his father that the British army waited three days before admitting to the family that he was dead--and the British spokesman said he couldn't help.
Baha Mousa had been brutally beaten while hooded and tied up--none of the other prisoners suffering with him were ever charged with any crime--by soldiers who gave them the names of footballers. His father was a police colonel and had seen his son before his arrest at a local hotel. He even acquired a note from the arresting officer that Baha would be looked after. His name--typically--was meaningless: it was signed "Second Lieutenant Mike".
It was the insouciance, the absolute indifference of the British military press office in Basra that shocked me.Here I had documents--one of them signed by a British officer--stating that Baha Mousa had died in British custody, another that Mousa's colleague had been "assaulted" when he too was a prisoner and suffered "acute renal failure", the statement of his father that the British army waited three days before admitting to the family that he was dead--and the British spokesman said he couldn't help.
Baha Mousa had been brutally beaten while hooded and tied up--none of the other prisoners suffering with him were ever charged with any crime--by soldiers who gave them the names of footballers. His father was a police colonel and had seen his son before his arrest at a local hotel. He even acquired a note from the arresting officer that Baha would be looked after. His name--typically--was meaningless: it was signed "Second Lieutenant Mike".
CLIMATE CHANGE
Indpendent: Mysterious Arctic Light Blamed On Climate Change
Santa and his reindeer will be able to see their way better than ever on Christmas Eve, for a mysterious light is beginning to brighten the dark polar winter.
Eskimos and scientists report a strange "lightness at noon" that is turning the usual all-day darkness of the high Canadian Arctic into twilight, apparently in defiance of natural laws. Canadian government officials say it may be the result of an unusual atmospheric phenomenon caused by global warming.
Inuit hunters are telling the government's weather station at Resolute Bay - Canada's second most northerly village, 1,000 miles from the North Pole - of a new light in the sky.
And Wayne Davidson, the Canadian government official who runs the station, says he believes it it caused by climate change.
Santa and his reindeer will be able to see their way better than ever on Christmas Eve, for a mysterious light is beginning to brighten the dark polar winter.
Eskimos and scientists report a strange "lightness at noon" that is turning the usual all-day darkness of the high Canadian Arctic into twilight, apparently in defiance of natural laws. Canadian government officials say it may be the result of an unusual atmospheric phenomenon caused by global warming.
Inuit hunters are telling the government's weather station at Resolute Bay - Canada's second most northerly village, 1,000 miles from the North Pole - of a new light in the sky.
And Wayne Davidson, the Canadian government official who runs the station, says he believes it it caused by climate change.
Monday, December 20, 2004
IRAQ: MOSUL RESISTANCE
Independent: American forces lose control of key city
Gunmen raked a car with machine-gun fire in the northern city of Mosul yesterday, killing three foreigners and their driver. They then cut off the head of one of their victims.
The killings show that at the same time as the US was recapturing Fallujah in a heavily publicised assault it largely lost control of Mosul, Iraq's northern capital. Though US troops launched a counter-attack, their grip on the city remains tenuous. The four men who died yesterday were travelling in a white sedan when it was attacked with automatic weapons and set on fire at a traffic intersection in Mosul.
One of the foreigners was briefly captured by the insurgents, according to an eyewitness. When he tried to escape they cut his head off and left his body in a pool of blood.
Gunmen raked a car with machine-gun fire in the northern city of Mosul yesterday, killing three foreigners and their driver. They then cut off the head of one of their victims.
The killings show that at the same time as the US was recapturing Fallujah in a heavily publicised assault it largely lost control of Mosul, Iraq's northern capital. Though US troops launched a counter-attack, their grip on the city remains tenuous. The four men who died yesterday were travelling in a white sedan when it was attacked with automatic weapons and set on fire at a traffic intersection in Mosul.
One of the foreigners was briefly captured by the insurgents, according to an eyewitness. When he tried to escape they cut his head off and left his body in a pool of blood.
USA
AP: Almost Half of Americans Favor Restrictions on Muslims' Rights
Nearly half of all Americans believe the U.S. government should restrict the civil liberties of Muslim-Americans, according to a nationwide poll.The survey conducted by Cornell University also found that Republicans and people who described themselves as highly religious were more apt to support curtailing Muslims’ civil liberties than Democrats or people who are less religious.'Disturbing news'Researchers also found that respondents who paid more attention to television news were more likely to fear terrorist attacks and support limiting the rights of Muslim-Americans.
Nearly half of all Americans believe the U.S. government should restrict the civil liberties of Muslim-Americans, according to a nationwide poll.The survey conducted by Cornell University also found that Republicans and people who described themselves as highly religious were more apt to support curtailing Muslims’ civil liberties than Democrats or people who are less religious.'Disturbing news'Researchers also found that respondents who paid more attention to television news were more likely to fear terrorist attacks and support limiting the rights of Muslim-Americans.
IRAQ: FALLUJAH
GE NEWS: An Honest US Marine Confirms Fallujah Disaster
AFP: 6 More Marines Die In Fallujah - Virtual News Blackout
West and Wilson insisted however that fighting that broke out Friday in Fallujah, which left six marines dead, was not an example failure.
"We are not talking of a setback, but just about insurgents hiding in houses for a chance to kill a soldier," Wilson said.
JUS: Major US Defeat In Fallujah Claimed
A massive US ground offensive on Fallujah yesterday has ended in humiliating defeat for the Americans. While dust storms disabled US airpower, matters were further complicated when Allawi troops fled the battleground after 15 minutes of fighting and Mujahideen launched devastating attacks under the cover of poor visibility.
Aljazeera: US warplanes strike Falluja
According to independent Iraqi journalist Fadhil al-Badrani, US warplanes targeted Falluja's eastern and southern districts.
He said fierce clashes had broken out in the city centre between US forces who have been in the city since 8 November and Iraqi fighters who had infiltrated back in across the Euphrates river.
"There is no way to determine the number of casualties as US authorities have barred journalists and aid workers from entering Falluja," al-Badrani told Aljazeera.
AFP: 6 More Marines Die In Fallujah - Virtual News Blackout
West and Wilson insisted however that fighting that broke out Friday in Fallujah, which left six marines dead, was not an example failure.
"We are not talking of a setback, but just about insurgents hiding in houses for a chance to kill a soldier," Wilson said.
JUS: Major US Defeat In Fallujah Claimed
A massive US ground offensive on Fallujah yesterday has ended in humiliating defeat for the Americans. While dust storms disabled US airpower, matters were further complicated when Allawi troops fled the battleground after 15 minutes of fighting and Mujahideen launched devastating attacks under the cover of poor visibility.
Aljazeera: US warplanes strike Falluja
According to independent Iraqi journalist Fadhil al-Badrani, US warplanes targeted Falluja's eastern and southern districts.
He said fierce clashes had broken out in the city centre between US forces who have been in the city since 8 November and Iraqi fighters who had infiltrated back in across the Euphrates river.
"There is no way to determine the number of casualties as US authorities have barred journalists and aid workers from entering Falluja," al-Badrani told Aljazeera.
USA: POWELL
Telegraph: Powell 'Pushed Out' By Bush For Seeking To Rein In Israel
Colin Powell, the outgoing US secretary of state, was given his marching orders after telling President George W Bush that he wanted greater power to confront Israel over the stalled Middle East peace process.
Although Mr Powell's departure was announced on November 15, his letter of resignation was dated November 11, the day he had a meeting with Mr Bush.
According to White House officials, at the meeting Mr Powell was not asked to stay on and gave no hints that he would do so. Briefing reporters later, he referred to "fulsome discussions" - diplomatic code for disagreements.
"The clincher came over the Mid-East peace process," said a recently-retired state department official.
"Powell thought he could use the credit he had banked as the president's 'good cop' in foreign policy to rein in Ariel Sharon [Israel's prime minister] and get the peace process going. He was wrong."
Colin Powell, the outgoing US secretary of state, was given his marching orders after telling President George W Bush that he wanted greater power to confront Israel over the stalled Middle East peace process.
Although Mr Powell's departure was announced on November 15, his letter of resignation was dated November 11, the day he had a meeting with Mr Bush.
According to White House officials, at the meeting Mr Powell was not asked to stay on and gave no hints that he would do so. Briefing reporters later, he referred to "fulsome discussions" - diplomatic code for disagreements.
"The clincher came over the Mid-East peace process," said a recently-retired state department official.
"Powell thought he could use the credit he had banked as the president's 'good cop' in foreign policy to rein in Ariel Sharon [Israel's prime minister] and get the peace process going. He was wrong."
IRAQ: FALLUJAH
AFP: US Marines 'Traumatised' By Fallujah Assault
Nearly six weeks after US marines stormed the rebel enclave of Fallujah, military psychologists are still seeing a steady stream of service personnel traumatised by the long days and nights of ferocious street fighting.
In the macho culture of the US Marine Corps, it is sometimes hard for its personnel, male or female, to admit they have a problem and some try to ride out the symptoms, only seeking help after weeks of suffering in silence.
The US-backed government put rebel losses at more than 2,000, although unit commanders later revealed their troops had orders to shoot all males of fighting age seen on the streets, armed or unarmed, and ruined homes across the city attest to a strategy of overwhelming force.
Shooting all males of fighting age means shooting all males between 15 and 64 years old.
This is a war crime under international law.
Nearly six weeks after US marines stormed the rebel enclave of Fallujah, military psychologists are still seeing a steady stream of service personnel traumatised by the long days and nights of ferocious street fighting.
In the macho culture of the US Marine Corps, it is sometimes hard for its personnel, male or female, to admit they have a problem and some try to ride out the symptoms, only seeking help after weeks of suffering in silence.
The US-backed government put rebel losses at more than 2,000, although unit commanders later revealed their troops had orders to shoot all males of fighting age seen on the streets, armed or unarmed, and ruined homes across the city attest to a strategy of overwhelming force.
Shooting all males of fighting age means shooting all males between 15 and 64 years old.
This is a war crime under international law.
Friday, December 17, 2004
IRAQ: FALLUJAH RESISTANCE
Rense: Major US Defeat In Fallujah Claimed
Lions Of Fallujah Hail Major Victory Over US Forces
A massive US ground offensive on Fallujah yesterday has ended in humiliating defeat for the Americans. While dust storms disabled US airpower, matters were further complicated when Allawi troops fled the battleground after 15 minutes of fighting and Mujahideen launched devastating attacks under the cover of poor visibility.
In a new development on the Fallujah battlefield, US forces attempted to wage a massive ground offensive on the city yesterday to destroy the center of the Resistance in the south of the city, but were repulsed by the Mujahideen. In news received from Mafkarat al-Islam, the details on the situation were revealed in a report filed at 7:20pm last night Mecca time.
Shaykh As'ad ad-Dulaymi, official spokesman for the city's Mujahideen, said that more than 400 US tanks and 200 armored vehicles took part in the attack along with about 4,000 US troops, in addition to support from Allawi "national guards," in what was the biggest massing of US forces in the battle for the city so far. No other attack of this scale had been mounted either in this offensive or in the first siege of Fallujah in April 2004. Ad-Dulaymi said that the Americans apparently wanted to make today the last day of the resistance in Fallujah.
Lions Of Fallujah Hail Major Victory Over US Forces
A massive US ground offensive on Fallujah yesterday has ended in humiliating defeat for the Americans. While dust storms disabled US airpower, matters were further complicated when Allawi troops fled the battleground after 15 minutes of fighting and Mujahideen launched devastating attacks under the cover of poor visibility.
In a new development on the Fallujah battlefield, US forces attempted to wage a massive ground offensive on the city yesterday to destroy the center of the Resistance in the south of the city, but were repulsed by the Mujahideen. In news received from Mafkarat al-Islam, the details on the situation were revealed in a report filed at 7:20pm last night Mecca time.
Shaykh As'ad ad-Dulaymi, official spokesman for the city's Mujahideen, said that more than 400 US tanks and 200 armored vehicles took part in the attack along with about 4,000 US troops, in addition to support from Allawi "national guards," in what was the biggest massing of US forces in the battle for the city so far. No other attack of this scale had been mounted either in this offensive or in the first siege of Fallujah in April 2004. Ad-Dulaymi said that the Americans apparently wanted to make today the last day of the resistance in Fallujah.
USA: WAR ON EVERYBODY
Asia Times: Evildoers, here we come by Pepe Escobar
"Far more than the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, the defeat of the mullahcracy and the triumph of freedom in Tehran would be a truly historic event." - Michael Ledeen, neo-conservative and member of the American Enterprise Institute, June 2003
Iran is very much in the US spotlight at present over concerns that it is developing nuclear weapons, with much talk of "regime change". Over the next four years of the second George W Bush term, any of a number of countries could come into the crosshairs - Syria, Saudi Arabia and "axis of evil" original North Korea. Ralph Peters, a former lieutenant-colonel responsible for "future warfare" at the Office of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and deputy chief of staff for intelligence before he retired, commented, "It's really difficult to exactly delineate who our enemies are, but they number in millions. They're Arab and Muslim ... Our enemy is the majority of the people who live in what we think of as the large Arab nations, plus certain other groups. Our enemy is concentrated in Egypt, Libya, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Syria, plus the Palestinians are part of it."
"Far more than the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, the defeat of the mullahcracy and the triumph of freedom in Tehran would be a truly historic event." - Michael Ledeen, neo-conservative and member of the American Enterprise Institute, June 2003
Iran is very much in the US spotlight at present over concerns that it is developing nuclear weapons, with much talk of "regime change". Over the next four years of the second George W Bush term, any of a number of countries could come into the crosshairs - Syria, Saudi Arabia and "axis of evil" original North Korea. Ralph Peters, a former lieutenant-colonel responsible for "future warfare" at the Office of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and deputy chief of staff for intelligence before he retired, commented, "It's really difficult to exactly delineate who our enemies are, but they number in millions. They're Arab and Muslim ... Our enemy is the majority of the people who live in what we think of as the large Arab nations, plus certain other groups. Our enemy is concentrated in Egypt, Libya, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Syria, plus the Palestinians are part of it."
IRAN
Asia Times: How Iran will fight back
TEHRAN - The United States and Israel may be contemplating military operations against Iran, as per recent media reports, yet Iran is not wasting any time in preparing its own counter-operations in the event an attack materializes. A week-long combined air and ground maneuver has just concluded in five of the southern and western provinces of Iran, mesmerizing foreign observers, who have described as "spectacular" the massive display of high-tech, mobile operations, including rapid-deployment forces relying on squadrons of helicopters, air lifts, missiles, as well as hundreds of tanks and tens of thousands of well-coordinated personnel using live munition. Simultaneously, some 25,000 volunteers have so far signed up at newly established draft centers for "suicide attacks" against any potential intruders in what is commonly termed "asymmetrical warfare".
TEHRAN - The United States and Israel may be contemplating military operations against Iran, as per recent media reports, yet Iran is not wasting any time in preparing its own counter-operations in the event an attack materializes. A week-long combined air and ground maneuver has just concluded in five of the southern and western provinces of Iran, mesmerizing foreign observers, who have described as "spectacular" the massive display of high-tech, mobile operations, including rapid-deployment forces relying on squadrons of helicopters, air lifts, missiles, as well as hundreds of tanks and tens of thousands of well-coordinated personnel using live munition. Simultaneously, some 25,000 volunteers have so far signed up at newly established draft centers for "suicide attacks" against any potential intruders in what is commonly termed "asymmetrical warfare".
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
STATE TERRORISM
There was an interesting article in todays Neue Zürcher Zeitung about a clandestine Nato intelligence army called "Gladio" which was active in many Countries through Europe operating without knowledge of Parliments and carrying out Terrorist attacks in Itali during the 1970's.The Gladio-Secret Army was uncovered during parlimentary enquiries into terrorattacks from Brigade Rosso in Italy in 1990. Gladio carried out Terror Attacks in Italy to blame it on the left wing guerilla group "Brigade Rosso" with the goal to create fear under the civilian population so that they will ask for a more authoritarian Goverment and stronger homelandsecurity laws to fight this communist guerilla group. Later it was learned that Gladio was active in many European countries including the "neutral" Sweden and Switzerland where Gladio was active under the name P-26. Gladio was build with the goal to be a secret "stay-behind army" should communist sovjetunion take over europe and to engage them in guerilla warfare should other means fail.unfortunately the articel is not available online and in german. Maybe there's more information in english at the Center for Security Studies (CSS) of the ETH Zürich which is running a research project in that whole matter. I will check that out later.
you can download the Hi-res Version of my Scan here
you can download the Hi-res Version of my Scan here
ESSAY
Harpers Magazine: QUITTING THE PAINT FACTORY
On the virtues of idleness
I distrust the perpetually busy; always have. The frenetic ones spinning in tight little circles like poisoned rats. The slower ones, grinding away their fourscore and ten in righteousness and pain. They are the soul-eaters.
On the virtues of idleness
I distrust the perpetually busy; always have. The frenetic ones spinning in tight little circles like poisoned rats. The slower ones, grinding away their fourscore and ten in righteousness and pain. They are the soul-eaters.
ACTUALLY PEOPLE ARE KILLED IN WAR
Vaiw.org: Amputation Rate for US Troops Twice That of Past Wars
US troops injured in Iraq have required limb amputations at twice the rate of past wars, and as many as 20 percent have suffered head and neck injuries that may require a lifetime of care, according to new data giving the clearest picture yet of the severity of battlefield wounds. The data are the grisly flip side of improvements in battlefield medicine that have saved many combatants who would have died in the past: Only 1 in 10 US troops injured in Iraq has died, the lowest rate of any war in US history. But those who survive have much more grievous wounds. Bulletproof Kevlar vests protect soldiers' bodies but not their limbs, as insurgent snipers and makeshift bombs tear off arms and legs and rip into faces and necks. More than half of those injured sustain wounds so serious they cannot return to duty, according to Pentagon statistics.
US troops injured in Iraq have required limb amputations at twice the rate of past wars, and as many as 20 percent have suffered head and neck injuries that may require a lifetime of care, according to new data giving the clearest picture yet of the severity of battlefield wounds. The data are the grisly flip side of improvements in battlefield medicine that have saved many combatants who would have died in the past: Only 1 in 10 US troops injured in Iraq has died, the lowest rate of any war in US history. But those who survive have much more grievous wounds. Bulletproof Kevlar vests protect soldiers' bodies but not their limbs, as insurgent snipers and makeshift bombs tear off arms and legs and rip into faces and necks. More than half of those injured sustain wounds so serious they cannot return to duty, according to Pentagon statistics.
IRAQ: FALLUJAH RESISTANCE
AP: U.S. warplanes strike Fallujah; 9 U.S. troops killed
American warplanes pounded Fallujah with missiles Sunday as insurgents fought running battles with coalition forces in the volatile western Iraqi city. The U.S. military said two soldiers and seven Marines died in separate incidents.
Several detained leaders of Saddam Hussein's regime began refusing meals in apparent protest against their upcoming trials, U.S. military officials and a lawyer said. Former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein was not among them.
Three weeks ago : US commander says Fallujah is 100 per cent secure
American warplanes pounded Fallujah with missiles Sunday as insurgents fought running battles with coalition forces in the volatile western Iraqi city. The U.S. military said two soldiers and seven Marines died in separate incidents.
Several detained leaders of Saddam Hussein's regime began refusing meals in apparent protest against their upcoming trials, U.S. military officials and a lawyer said. Former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein was not among them.
Three weeks ago : US commander says Fallujah is 100 per cent secure
SPAIN: MADRID BOMBING COVER UP
Independent: Aznar 'purged all records in Madrid bombings cover-up'
Spain's socialist Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, condemned his conserva- tive predecessors yesterday for carrying out a "massive deception" in blaming the 11 March train bombings on Eta Basque separatists.
Jose Maria Aznar's team also destroyed all computer records dealing with the bombings before leaving office, Mr Zapatero stated
Spain's socialist Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, condemned his conserva- tive predecessors yesterday for carrying out a "massive deception" in blaming the 11 March train bombings on Eta Basque separatists.
Jose Maria Aznar's team also destroyed all computer records dealing with the bombings before leaving office, Mr Zapatero stated
USA: IRAN NEXT?
La Times: A Cult Is Trying to Hijack Our Iran Policy
About 15,000 people, most of them Iranian Americans or exiles, recently flocked to Washington to denounce the fundamentalist Islamic government of Iran. The crowd shouted slogans against Iran's reviled clerical regime and hoisted placards encouraging President Bush to take whatever action necessary — including preemptive military strikes — to ensure that Iran did not develop nuclear weapons.
By all appearances, the march seemed like a protest by concerned Iranians who supported regime change in Iran. In reality, it was a meticulously orchestrated political rally in support of a violent, pseudo-Marxist Iranian religious cult — the People's Mujahedin of Iran, also known as the Mujahedin Khalq (MEK) — an organization that has been on U.S. and European Union terrorist watch lists for years.
Times: Attack Iran the day Iraq war ends, demands Israel
05.11.2002 ISRAEL’S Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has called on the international community to target Iran as soon as the imminent conflict with Iraq is complete.
In an interview with The Times , Mr Sharon insisted that Tehran — one of the “axis of evil” powers identified by President Bush — should be put under pressure “the day after” action against Baghdad ends because of its role as a “centre of world terror”. He also issued his clearest warning yet that Israel would strike back if attacked by Iraqi chemical or biological weapons, no matter how much Washington sought to keep its controversial Middle Eastern ally out of any war in Iraq.
NI_MPU('middle');
He made clear that western Iraq would be one of the first areas targeted by the US in any invasion, saying that lessons had been learnt from strategic mistakes of the 1991 Gulf War when Iraq successfully fired 39 Scud missiles into Israel.
About 15,000 people, most of them Iranian Americans or exiles, recently flocked to Washington to denounce the fundamentalist Islamic government of Iran. The crowd shouted slogans against Iran's reviled clerical regime and hoisted placards encouraging President Bush to take whatever action necessary — including preemptive military strikes — to ensure that Iran did not develop nuclear weapons.
By all appearances, the march seemed like a protest by concerned Iranians who supported regime change in Iran. In reality, it was a meticulously orchestrated political rally in support of a violent, pseudo-Marxist Iranian religious cult — the People's Mujahedin of Iran, also known as the Mujahedin Khalq (MEK) — an organization that has been on U.S. and European Union terrorist watch lists for years.
Times: Attack Iran the day Iraq war ends, demands Israel
05.11.2002 ISRAEL’S Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has called on the international community to target Iran as soon as the imminent conflict with Iraq is complete.
In an interview with The Times , Mr Sharon insisted that Tehran — one of the “axis of evil” powers identified by President Bush — should be put under pressure “the day after” action against Baghdad ends because of its role as a “centre of world terror”. He also issued his clearest warning yet that Israel would strike back if attacked by Iraqi chemical or biological weapons, no matter how much Washington sought to keep its controversial Middle Eastern ally out of any war in Iraq.
NI_MPU('middle');
He made clear that western Iraq would be one of the first areas targeted by the US in any invasion, saying that lessons had been learnt from strategic mistakes of the 1991 Gulf War when Iraq successfully fired 39 Scud missiles into Israel.
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Guardian: Israelis hasten land grab in shadow of wall
Bulldozers go in as expansion of settlements continues
Sharif Omar has been waiting two years for the bulldozers, ever since Israel's steel and barbed wire "security fence" carved its way between his village and its land. Last week the excavators and diggers finally arrived on the outskirts of Jayyous to lay the foundations for an expansion of the nearby Jewish settlement of Zufim, fulfilling the fears and warnings of its Palestinian neighbours.
The bulldozers were preparing the ground for hundreds of new homes, despite the Israeli government's claim that it is not expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Like other building work along the route of the barrier, it seems to be an attempt to ensure that the land between the fence and the 1967 border remains in Israeli hands in any final agreement with the Palestinians.
Bulldozers go in as expansion of settlements continues
Sharif Omar has been waiting two years for the bulldozers, ever since Israel's steel and barbed wire "security fence" carved its way between his village and its land. Last week the excavators and diggers finally arrived on the outskirts of Jayyous to lay the foundations for an expansion of the nearby Jewish settlement of Zufim, fulfilling the fears and warnings of its Palestinian neighbours.
The bulldozers were preparing the ground for hundreds of new homes, despite the Israeli government's claim that it is not expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Like other building work along the route of the barrier, it seems to be an attempt to ensure that the land between the fence and the 1967 border remains in Israeli hands in any final agreement with the Palestinians.
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Reuters: Abbas Calls on Palestinians to Drop Armed Struggle
GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said his people should drop their weapons in the struggle for a state, marking out a clear change of strategy for peace with Israel after Yasser Arafat's death last month.
Abbas, near certain to win a Jan. 9 election to succeed Arafat, made the comments in an interview published on Tuesday, two days after militants showed their muscle with the deadliest attack on Israeli troops since May.
The U.S.-favored veteran leader had previously shown his opposition to armed attacks in a 4-year-old uprising
The idea of giving up weapons was dismissed by a spokesman for Hamas Islamic militants, who joined with a group from Abbas's own dominant Fatah faction to launch Sunday's attack.
"I believe the consensus of the Palestinian people contradicts these statements," said Sami Abu Zuhri. "The strategies of the Palestinian people should be discussed through a serious and comprehensive dialogue."
Hamas has called for a boycott of the presidential election and a low turnout could damage the credibility of Abbas if it comes to disarming militants.
GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said his people should drop their weapons in the struggle for a state, marking out a clear change of strategy for peace with Israel after Yasser Arafat's death last month.
Abbas, near certain to win a Jan. 9 election to succeed Arafat, made the comments in an interview published on Tuesday, two days after militants showed their muscle with the deadliest attack on Israeli troops since May.
The U.S.-favored veteran leader had previously shown his opposition to armed attacks in a 4-year-old uprising
The idea of giving up weapons was dismissed by a spokesman for Hamas Islamic militants, who joined with a group from Abbas's own dominant Fatah faction to launch Sunday's attack.
"I believe the consensus of the Palestinian people contradicts these statements," said Sami Abu Zuhri. "The strategies of the Palestinian people should be discussed through a serious and comprehensive dialogue."
Hamas has called for a boycott of the presidential election and a low turnout could damage the credibility of Abbas if it comes to disarming militants.
IRAQ: AL-ZARQAWI
Aljazeera: The Risks of the al-Zarqawi Myth by Scott Ritter
An interesting phenomenon is taking place today in the Iraqi city of Falluja
For months now, the Bush administration had been building up the image of a massive network of foreign terrorists using Falluja as a base for their terror attacks against targets associated with the interim government of Iyad Allawi and the US military which backs him. One name appeared in western media accounts, over and over again: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a wanted Jordanian turned alleged "terror" mastermind. Almost overnight, Zarqawi's terrorist group, al-Qaida Holy War for Iraq, expanded its operations across the width and breadth of Iraq. Al-Zarqawi was everywhere, his bombers striking in Mosul, Baghdad, Samarra, Najaf, Baquba, Ramadi and Falluja. Islamist websites published accounts of al-Zarqawi's actions, and the western media, together with western intelligence services, ran with these stories, giving them credibility. The al-Zarqawi legend, if one can call it that, was born.
"CHECK IT"
An interesting phenomenon is taking place today in the Iraqi city of Falluja
For months now, the Bush administration had been building up the image of a massive network of foreign terrorists using Falluja as a base for their terror attacks against targets associated with the interim government of Iyad Allawi and the US military which backs him. One name appeared in western media accounts, over and over again: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a wanted Jordanian turned alleged "terror" mastermind. Almost overnight, Zarqawi's terrorist group, al-Qaida Holy War for Iraq, expanded its operations across the width and breadth of Iraq. Al-Zarqawi was everywhere, his bombers striking in Mosul, Baghdad, Samarra, Najaf, Baquba, Ramadi and Falluja. Islamist websites published accounts of al-Zarqawi's actions, and the western media, together with western intelligence services, ran with these stories, giving them credibility. The al-Zarqawi legend, if one can call it that, was born.
"CHECK IT"
USA
ICH: The Rise of the Amerikan Nazis by Manuel Valenzuela
Part I of III: Birth of Despotism
12/14/04 "ICH" -- The rise to power of the Amerikan Nazis, and the subsequent dive into the cesspool of fascism the nation is now experiencing, was assured with the ascension to the White House of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney in November 2000. Through the well-conceived, methodical fraud committed against the American people, the Amerikan Nazis were now free to unleash their devastation upon the world. They were now free to release the demons of war on humanity, destroying innocent human life, tearing flesh apart, devastating environments, endangering freedoms and rights, eviscerating democracy and decimating entire peoples and nations.
Part I of III: Birth of Despotism
12/14/04 "ICH" -- The rise to power of the Amerikan Nazis, and the subsequent dive into the cesspool of fascism the nation is now experiencing, was assured with the ascension to the White House of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney in November 2000. Through the well-conceived, methodical fraud committed against the American people, the Amerikan Nazis were now free to unleash their devastation upon the world. They were now free to release the demons of war on humanity, destroying innocent human life, tearing flesh apart, devastating environments, endangering freedoms and rights, eviscerating democracy and decimating entire peoples and nations.
IRAQ: IRAQ WAR CRIMES
Reuters: Marines Staged Mock Executions Of Juveniles
U.S. Marines fired a pistol in a mock execution involving four young Iraqi looters and shocked another Iraqi detainee with an electric transformer until he "danced," a document made public on Tuesday showed.
The June 16 U.S. Navy document detailed 10 "substantiated" incidents of detainee abuse in Iraq involving 24 Marines dating back to May 2003. The Marine Corps said 13 Marines were convicted in courts-martial stemming from the incidents, getting prison sentences of up to 15 months.
The document was written seven weeks after pictures of U.S. Army soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib jail became public, triggering worldwide condemnation.
U.S. Marines fired a pistol in a mock execution involving four young Iraqi looters and shocked another Iraqi detainee with an electric transformer until he "danced," a document made public on Tuesday showed.
The June 16 U.S. Navy document detailed 10 "substantiated" incidents of detainee abuse in Iraq involving 24 Marines dating back to May 2003. The Marine Corps said 13 Marines were convicted in courts-martial stemming from the incidents, getting prison sentences of up to 15 months.
The document was written seven weeks after pictures of U.S. Army soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib jail became public, triggering worldwide condemnation.
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
IRAQI RESISTANCE: VIDEO
ICH: A Message From The Iraq Resistance
Islamic Jihad Army - A message in English
"We are simple people who chose principles over fear."
The media platoon of the Islamic Jihad Army. On the 27th of Shawal 1425h. 10 December 2004
People of the world! These words come to you from those who up to the day of the invasion were struggling to survive under the sanctions imposed by the criminal regimes of the U.S. and Britain .
We are simple people who chose principles over fear.
We have suffered crimes and sanctions, which we consider the true weapons of mass destruction.
"CHECK IT"
Islamic Jihad Army - A message in English
"We are simple people who chose principles over fear."
The media platoon of the Islamic Jihad Army. On the 27th of Shawal 1425h. 10 December 2004
People of the world! These words come to you from those who up to the day of the invasion were struggling to survive under the sanctions imposed by the criminal regimes of the U.S. and Britain .
We are simple people who chose principles over fear.
We have suffered crimes and sanctions, which we consider the true weapons of mass destruction.
"CHECK IT"
Monday, December 13, 2004
USA: PROPAGANDA WATCH
NY Times: Pentagon Weighs Use of Deception in a Broad Arena
The Pentagon is engaged in bitter, high-level debate over how far it can and should go in managing or manipulating information to influence opinion abroad, senior Defense Department civilians and military officers say.
The Pentagon is engaged in bitter, high-level debate over how far it can and should go in managing or manipulating information to influence opinion abroad, senior Defense Department civilians and military officers say.
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Now, critics say, some of the proposals of that discredited office are quietly being resurrected elsewhere in the military and in the Pentagon.
Pentagon and military officials directly involved in the debate say that such a secret propaganda program, for example, could include planting news stories in the foreign press or creating false documents and Web sites translated into Arabic as an effort to discredit and undermine the influence of mosques and religious schools that preach anti-American principles.
"largely because commanders there believe they are safely separating the two operations and say they need all the flexibility possible to combat the insurgency."
Indeed, senior military officials in Washington say public affairs officers in war zones might, by choice or under pressure, issue statements to world news media that, while having elements of truth, are clearly devised primarily to provoke a response from the enemy.
USA SPYING ON EL-BARADEI
Washington Post: IAEA Leader's Phone Tapped
U.S. pores over transcripts to try to oust nuclear chief.
The Bush administration has dozens of intercepts of Mohamed ElBaradei's phone calls with Iranian diplomats and is scrutinizing them in search of ammunition to oust him as director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to three U.S. government officials.
Although eavesdropping, even on allies, is considered a well-worn tool of national security and diplomacy, the efforts against ElBaradei demonstrate the lengths some within the administration are willing to go to replace a top international diplomat who questioned U.S. intelligence on Iraq and is now taking a cautious approach on Iran.
U.S. pores over transcripts to try to oust nuclear chief.
The Bush administration has dozens of intercepts of Mohamed ElBaradei's phone calls with Iranian diplomats and is scrutinizing them in search of ammunition to oust him as director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to three U.S. government officials.
Although eavesdropping, even on allies, is considered a well-worn tool of national security and diplomacy, the efforts against ElBaradei demonstrate the lengths some within the administration are willing to go to replace a top international diplomat who questioned U.S. intelligence on Iraq and is now taking a cautious approach on Iran.
USA: VENZUELA COUP
ZNET: CIA and Venezuela
CIA Documents Cast New Light on Washington's Role in Venezuela
WASHINGTON, December 8. When it comes to Venezuela's rocky diplomatic relations with the United States, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is usually given the blame. His frequent denunciations of U.S. "intervention" in Venezuela are taken as indications that he is hostile to America.
But the evidence is mounting that Washington is the party responsible for friction with our third largest oil supplier. Last week the New York Times reported on recently released CIA documents showing that our government had advance knowledge of the military coup that briefly overthrew Venezuela's democratic government on April 11-13 of 2002. The Bush Administration not only failed to warn Venezuela of the coup, but actually pretended that it wasn't a coup at all.
"They lied about not knowing about coup threats before April 11th, and when they claimed that the coup was a popular uprising when they knew that it was actually being planned for weeks," said U.S. Congressman Jose Serrano of New York City today.
The documents (available at http://www.venezuelafoia.info/CIA/CIA-index.htm), show clearly that the White House knew that there were detailed plans for a coup in April, that these plans included arresting the President, and that "to provoke military action, the plotters might try to exploit unrest stemming from opposition demonstrations." That is exactly what happened on April 11.
CIA Documents Cast New Light on Washington's Role in Venezuela
WASHINGTON, December 8. When it comes to Venezuela's rocky diplomatic relations with the United States, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is usually given the blame. His frequent denunciations of U.S. "intervention" in Venezuela are taken as indications that he is hostile to America.
But the evidence is mounting that Washington is the party responsible for friction with our third largest oil supplier. Last week the New York Times reported on recently released CIA documents showing that our government had advance knowledge of the military coup that briefly overthrew Venezuela's democratic government on April 11-13 of 2002. The Bush Administration not only failed to warn Venezuela of the coup, but actually pretended that it wasn't a coup at all.
"They lied about not knowing about coup threats before April 11th, and when they claimed that the coup was a popular uprising when they knew that it was actually being planned for weeks," said U.S. Congressman Jose Serrano of New York City today.
The documents (available at http://www.venezuelafoia.info/CIA/CIA-index.htm), show clearly that the White House knew that there were detailed plans for a coup in April, that these plans included arresting the President, and that "to provoke military action, the plotters might try to exploit unrest stemming from opposition demonstrations." That is exactly what happened on April 11.
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES: RESISTANCE
Jerusalem Post: 13 IDF Wounded In AttackOn Rafah Terminal Crossing
Thirteen Israeli soldiers were reported wounded Sunday evening in a combined bomb and mortar attack on an IDF position near the Rafah Terminal Crossing in the southern Gaza Strip along the border between Gaza and Egypt.
A strong explosion was heard near the crossing, followed almost immediately by a barrage of mortar shells and small arms fire. Security officials said the blast occurred when over one ton of explosives were activated inside a tunnel, which was dug under the area where soldiers check Palestinians wishing to leave Gaza for Egypt.
At least two suicide bombers were involved in the attack, Israel Radio reported.
Immediately after the blast, Palestinians opened mortar and light arms fire at the crossing. The wounded were being evacuated under fire towards the nearby Israeli community of Keren Shalom.
Thirteen Israeli soldiers were reported wounded Sunday evening in a combined bomb and mortar attack on an IDF position near the Rafah Terminal Crossing in the southern Gaza Strip along the border between Gaza and Egypt.
A strong explosion was heard near the crossing, followed almost immediately by a barrage of mortar shells and small arms fire. Security officials said the blast occurred when over one ton of explosives were activated inside a tunnel, which was dug under the area where soldiers check Palestinians wishing to leave Gaza for Egypt.
At least two suicide bombers were involved in the attack, Israel Radio reported.
Immediately after the blast, Palestinians opened mortar and light arms fire at the crossing. The wounded were being evacuated under fire towards the nearby Israeli community of Keren Shalom.
IRAQ: FALLUJAH RESISTANCE
AP: U.S. Strikes Fallujah; Two Troops Killed
Baghdad - American warplanes pounded Fallujah with missiles Sunday as insurgents fought running battles with coalition forces in the volatile western Iraqi city. The U.S. military said two troops died in separate incidents.
Meanwhile, a large swath of Iraq lost electricity Sunday after a fire erupted in a major power plant north of Baghdad. Prime Minister Ayad Allawi called the fire an accident, but accused guerrillas of hurting Iraqis with attacks on infrastructure. The capital went dark at about 4 p.m. and power was still out at 7 p.m. The only lights came from the Green Zone and a few other places that have their own generators.
Baghdad - American warplanes pounded Fallujah with missiles Sunday as insurgents fought running battles with coalition forces in the volatile western Iraqi city. The U.S. military said two troops died in separate incidents.
Meanwhile, a large swath of Iraq lost electricity Sunday after a fire erupted in a major power plant north of Baghdad. Prime Minister Ayad Allawi called the fire an accident, but accused guerrillas of hurting Iraqis with attacks on infrastructure. The capital went dark at about 4 p.m. and power was still out at 7 p.m. The only lights came from the Green Zone and a few other places that have their own generators.
IRAQ: FALLUJAH
Rense: Fallujah To Be A Virtual Concentration Camp
Retina scans to get into your own home. Work details under armed guard. No cars. Military armor on every corner. All men to be shot on sight after curfew. No freedom of movement. These are just some of the details of the new order in Fallujah (and one assumes any other Iraqi city that the US destroys in the future). Somewhere between a concentration camp and what US troops called a strategic hamlet in Vietnam, this is the latest version of Washington's freedom and democracy installation in Iraq. How much clearer does it have to become before the US media and its brainwashed audience admit to themselves that this whole adventure is about domination and control? If there are any arms caches left in Fallujah after the US military finishes its so-called security searches, one can guarantee that these draconian measures being put into place will insure that those weapons will be used against US forces.
Retina scans to get into your own home. Work details under armed guard. No cars. Military armor on every corner. All men to be shot on sight after curfew. No freedom of movement. These are just some of the details of the new order in Fallujah (and one assumes any other Iraqi city that the US destroys in the future). Somewhere between a concentration camp and what US troops called a strategic hamlet in Vietnam, this is the latest version of Washington's freedom and democracy installation in Iraq. How much clearer does it have to become before the US media and its brainwashed audience admit to themselves that this whole adventure is about domination and control? If there are any arms caches left in Fallujah after the US military finishes its so-called security searches, one can guarantee that these draconian measures being put into place will insure that those weapons will be used against US forces.
ANALYSE
Worldaffairsbrief: ANALYSIS OF STRATEGIC THREATS
IN THE CURRENT DECADE (2000-2010) by Joel M. Skousen
INTRODUCTION
Strategic threats are carefully planned threats by predator nations or groups that transcend their own normal sphere of influence and threaten the entire world with conquest and/or control. In this analysis I will discuss three current strategic world powers, which constitute a premeditated threat to world liberty, and the complex tactical maneuvers between them as they position themselves for the coming, inevitable conflict. Two of these world powers are nations--Russia and China--and the third is a transnational conspiracy of power by a combination of individuals in the West attempting to maneuver the world into a New World Order (NWO) of global control, euphemistically masquerading as a "global democracy." I will refer to the latter as Western globalists. All less powerful nations in the world fall under the influence of one of these three powers, either as direct allies, client states for the purchase of arms, and/or diplomatic allies working in collusion to further strategic goals of global hegemony. There is one further complicating factor, however. The Western globalists are divided into two main factions: a US/British faction firmly in control of the financial means of the NWO, and a European faction of hard-core leftists, secretly aligned with Moscow, which controls the majority of votes in the General Assembly of the UN. I will attempt to describe each of the three power centers, their allies, and what I believe their individual strategy involves.
IN THE CURRENT DECADE (2000-2010) by Joel M. Skousen
INTRODUCTION
Strategic threats are carefully planned threats by predator nations or groups that transcend their own normal sphere of influence and threaten the entire world with conquest and/or control. In this analysis I will discuss three current strategic world powers, which constitute a premeditated threat to world liberty, and the complex tactical maneuvers between them as they position themselves for the coming, inevitable conflict. Two of these world powers are nations--Russia and China--and the third is a transnational conspiracy of power by a combination of individuals in the West attempting to maneuver the world into a New World Order (NWO) of global control, euphemistically masquerading as a "global democracy." I will refer to the latter as Western globalists. All less powerful nations in the world fall under the influence of one of these three powers, either as direct allies, client states for the purchase of arms, and/or diplomatic allies working in collusion to further strategic goals of global hegemony. There is one further complicating factor, however. The Western globalists are divided into two main factions: a US/British faction firmly in control of the financial means of the NWO, and a European faction of hard-core leftists, secretly aligned with Moscow, which controls the majority of votes in the General Assembly of the UN. I will attempt to describe each of the three power centers, their allies, and what I believe their individual strategy involves.
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
USA: VOTE FRAUD
Brad Blog: This Report Blows the Lid Off of E-Voting Manipulation in South Florida
In stunning revelations set to rock the vote from Tallahassee to Capitol Hill -- and perhaps even a bit further up Pennsylvania Avenue -- a Florida computer programmer has now made remarkable claims in a detailed sworn affidavit, signed this morning and obtained exclusively by The BRAD BLOG!
- Affidavit in .PDF format - (Generously hosted by Raw Story!)
The programmer claims that he designed and built a "vote rigging" software program at the behest of then Florida Congressman, now U.S. Congressman, Republican Tom Feeney of Florida's 24th Congressional District.Clint Curtis, 46, claims that he built the software for Feeney in 2000 while working at a sofware design and engineering company in Oviedo, Florida (Feeney's home district).Curtis, in his affidavit, says that as technical advisor and programmer at Yang Enterprises, Inc. (YEI) he was present at company meetings where Feeney was present "on at least a dozen occasions".Feeney, who had run in 1994 as Jeb Bush's running-mate in his initial unsuccessful bid for Florida Governor, was serving as both corporate counsel and registered lobbyist for YEI during the period that Curtis worked at the company. Feeney was also concurrently serving as a Florida state congressman while performing those services for YEI. Feeney would eventually become Speaker of the Florida House before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002. He is now a member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.
"a must read"
In stunning revelations set to rock the vote from Tallahassee to Capitol Hill -- and perhaps even a bit further up Pennsylvania Avenue -- a Florida computer programmer has now made remarkable claims in a detailed sworn affidavit, signed this morning and obtained exclusively by The BRAD BLOG!
- Affidavit in .PDF format - (Generously hosted by Raw Story!)
The programmer claims that he designed and built a "vote rigging" software program at the behest of then Florida Congressman, now U.S. Congressman, Republican Tom Feeney of Florida's 24th Congressional District.Clint Curtis, 46, claims that he built the software for Feeney in 2000 while working at a sofware design and engineering company in Oviedo, Florida (Feeney's home district).Curtis, in his affidavit, says that as technical advisor and programmer at Yang Enterprises, Inc. (YEI) he was present at company meetings where Feeney was present "on at least a dozen occasions".Feeney, who had run in 1994 as Jeb Bush's running-mate in his initial unsuccessful bid for Florida Governor, was serving as both corporate counsel and registered lobbyist for YEI during the period that Curtis worked at the company. Feeney was also concurrently serving as a Florida state congressman while performing those services for YEI. Feeney would eventually become Speaker of the Florida House before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002. He is now a member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.
"a must read"
USA: VOTE FRAUD
Online Journal: Texas to Florida: White House-linked clandestine operation paid for "vote switching" software
December 6, 2004—The manipulation of computer voting machines in the recent presidential election and the funding of programmers who were involved in the operation are tied to an intricate web of shady off-shore financial trusts and companies, shady espionage operatives, Republican Party politicians close to the Bush family, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) contract vehicles.
An exhaustive investigation has turned up a link between current Florida Republican Representative Tom Feeney, a customized Windows-based program to suppress Democratic votes on touch screen voting machines, a Florida computer services company with whom Feeney worked as a general counsel and registered lobbyist while he was Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, and top level officials of the Bush administration.
According to a notarized affidavit signed by Clint Curtis, while he was employed by the NASA Kennedy Space Center contractor, Yang Enterprises, Inc., during 2000, Feeney solicited him to write a program to "control the vote." At the time, Curtis was of the opinion that the program was to be used for preventing fraud in the in the 2002 election in Palm Beach County, Florida. His mind was changed, however, when the true intentions of Feeney became clear: the computer program was going to be used to suppress the Democratic vote in counties with large Democratic registrations.
"a must read"
December 6, 2004—The manipulation of computer voting machines in the recent presidential election and the funding of programmers who were involved in the operation are tied to an intricate web of shady off-shore financial trusts and companies, shady espionage operatives, Republican Party politicians close to the Bush family, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) contract vehicles.
An exhaustive investigation has turned up a link between current Florida Republican Representative Tom Feeney, a customized Windows-based program to suppress Democratic votes on touch screen voting machines, a Florida computer services company with whom Feeney worked as a general counsel and registered lobbyist while he was Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, and top level officials of the Bush administration.
According to a notarized affidavit signed by Clint Curtis, while he was employed by the NASA Kennedy Space Center contractor, Yang Enterprises, Inc., during 2000, Feeney solicited him to write a program to "control the vote." At the time, Curtis was of the opinion that the program was to be used for preventing fraud in the in the 2002 election in Palm Beach County, Florida. His mind was changed, however, when the true intentions of Feeney became clear: the computer program was going to be used to suppress the Democratic vote in counties with large Democratic registrations.
"a must read"
IRAQ: FALLIJAH
Rense: Fallujah As A 'Model City' by Dhar Jamal
The unbearable gas crisis has worsened yet further. Lines at stations are up to 8 miles long in places, causing people to wait hours, sometimes days, for fuel. If they are lucky the station won't run out of gas before they are allowed in to fill their tank.
Petrol on the black market now, if you are lucky enough to find it, is nearly 1$ per liter!
Another example of the winning of hearts and minds of Iraqis is being formulated for the residents of Fallujah. The military has announced the plans it is considering to use for allowing Fallujans back into their city.
They will set up "processing centers" on the outskirts of the city and compile a database of peoples' identities by using DNA testing and retina scans. Residents will then receive a badge which identifies them with their home address, which they must wear at all times.
Buses will ferry them into their city, as cars will be banned since the military fears the use of them by suicide bombers.
Another idea being kicked around is to require the men to work for pay in military-style battalions where these "work brigades" will reconstruct buildings and the water system, depending on the men's skills.
"What a nice idea. First we bomb their Cities to the ground and then we require them to build their torn cities again from the scratch. As next step we could set up some concentration camps and use them to do the dirty work for halliburton"
The unbearable gas crisis has worsened yet further. Lines at stations are up to 8 miles long in places, causing people to wait hours, sometimes days, for fuel. If they are lucky the station won't run out of gas before they are allowed in to fill their tank.
Petrol on the black market now, if you are lucky enough to find it, is nearly 1$ per liter!
Another example of the winning of hearts and minds of Iraqis is being formulated for the residents of Fallujah. The military has announced the plans it is considering to use for allowing Fallujans back into their city.
They will set up "processing centers" on the outskirts of the city and compile a database of peoples' identities by using DNA testing and retina scans. Residents will then receive a badge which identifies them with their home address, which they must wear at all times.
Buses will ferry them into their city, as cars will be banned since the military fears the use of them by suicide bombers.
Another idea being kicked around is to require the men to work for pay in military-style battalions where these "work brigades" will reconstruct buildings and the water system, depending on the men's skills.
"What a nice idea. First we bomb their Cities to the ground and then we require them to build their torn cities again from the scratch. As next step we could set up some concentration camps and use them to do the dirty work for halliburton"
WAR ON TERROR
UPI: Ex-CIA official: We will lose terror war
The United States will ultimately lose the war on terror because of its policies in the Middle East and because of concerns over the human rights of militants worldwide, the former head of the CIA's team that hunted Osama bin Laden said Friday. In a conversation with United Press International's reporters and editors, Michael Scheuer, newly revealed as the author of the bestselling book "Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War on Terror," said bin Laden was now possibly the Arab world's most popular leader, adding al-Qaida's domination of the Internet in the Muslim world was leading to the United States losing its battle for the hearts and minds of Muslims worldwide
Sunday Herald: US admits the war for ‘hearts and minds’ in Iraq is now lost
THE Pentagon has admitted that the war on terror and the invasion and occupation of Iraq have increased support for al-Qaeda, made ordinary Muslims hate the US and caused a global backlash against America because of the “self-serving hypocrisy” of George W Bush’s administration over the Middle East.
On “the war of ideas or the struggle for hearts and minds”, the report says, “American efforts have not only failed, they may also have achieved the opposite of what they intended”.“American direct intervention in the Muslim world has paradoxically elevated the stature of, and support for, radical Islamists, while diminishing support for the United States to single digits in some Arab societies.”Referring to the repeated mantra from the White House that those who oppose the US in the Middle East “hate our freedoms”, the report says: “Muslims do not ‘hate our freedoms’, but rather, they hate our policies. The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favour of Israel and against Palestinian rights, and the long-standing, even increasing support, for what Muslims collectively see as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan and the Gulf states.
"Wow the bright people in Pentagon only needed 3 Years to figure out that the muslims don't hate them because of their "Freedom" but because of their policies and support for Israel"
The United States will ultimately lose the war on terror because of its policies in the Middle East and because of concerns over the human rights of militants worldwide, the former head of the CIA's team that hunted Osama bin Laden said Friday. In a conversation with United Press International's reporters and editors, Michael Scheuer, newly revealed as the author of the bestselling book "Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War on Terror," said bin Laden was now possibly the Arab world's most popular leader, adding al-Qaida's domination of the Internet in the Muslim world was leading to the United States losing its battle for the hearts and minds of Muslims worldwide
Sunday Herald: US admits the war for ‘hearts and minds’ in Iraq is now lost
THE Pentagon has admitted that the war on terror and the invasion and occupation of Iraq have increased support for al-Qaeda, made ordinary Muslims hate the US and caused a global backlash against America because of the “self-serving hypocrisy” of George W Bush’s administration over the Middle East.
On “the war of ideas or the struggle for hearts and minds”, the report says, “American efforts have not only failed, they may also have achieved the opposite of what they intended”.“American direct intervention in the Muslim world has paradoxically elevated the stature of, and support for, radical Islamists, while diminishing support for the United States to single digits in some Arab societies.”Referring to the repeated mantra from the White House that those who oppose the US in the Middle East “hate our freedoms”, the report says: “Muslims do not ‘hate our freedoms’, but rather, they hate our policies. The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favour of Israel and against Palestinian rights, and the long-standing, even increasing support, for what Muslims collectively see as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan and the Gulf states.
"Wow the bright people in Pentagon only needed 3 Years to figure out that the muslims don't hate them because of their "Freedom" but because of their policies and support for Israel"
IRAQ: ELECTIONS
DailyStar: Bloody weekend hits hopes for Iraq polls
90 killed in string of deadly attacks over 3 days
With more than 90 people killed in the last three days in a huge upsurge of unrest Sunni Muslim Iraqis also stepped up calls to delay the election.
Lakhdar Brahimi, a special advisor to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and until recently UN envoy in Iraq, said the January 30 vote could only take place "if first and foremost security improves
90 killed in string of deadly attacks over 3 days
With more than 90 people killed in the last three days in a huge upsurge of unrest Sunni Muslim Iraqis also stepped up calls to delay the election.
Lakhdar Brahimi, a special advisor to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and until recently UN envoy in Iraq, said the January 30 vote could only take place "if first and foremost security improves
ISRAEL: DEMOCRACY
Al-Jazeera: Report: Israel biased against non-Jews
A civil rights group has accused the Israeli interior ministry of grossly and systematically violating the rights of non-Jews in Israel in order to maintain the state's ethnic purity.
In its analysis, the ACR pointed out that the most discriminated-against group are Palestinians who are denied residential status in Israel even if they are married to an Israeli spouse.
Israel prevents some non-Jewish families from living together
The report said that ministry workers had made every conceivable effort to deny decent family life to Israeli citizens married to Palestinians. According to Arab Knesset member Muhammad Baraka, if an Israeli Arab male citizen marries a woman from the West Bank or Gaza Strip, he will either have to give up his Israeli citizenship, which means leaving the country, or get a speedy divorce.
The couple has a third choice, to stay apart, one living in Israel and the other living in the occupied territories. "Nothing like this happens anywhere in the world, and the reason is racism, sheer racism," said Baraka in a recent interview with Aljazeera.net.
"Remember that Israel is the only "Democracy" in the Middle East"
A civil rights group has accused the Israeli interior ministry of grossly and systematically violating the rights of non-Jews in Israel in order to maintain the state's ethnic purity.
In its analysis, the ACR pointed out that the most discriminated-against group are Palestinians who are denied residential status in Israel even if they are married to an Israeli spouse.
Israel prevents some non-Jewish families from living together
The report said that ministry workers had made every conceivable effort to deny decent family life to Israeli citizens married to Palestinians. According to Arab Knesset member Muhammad Baraka, if an Israeli Arab male citizen marries a woman from the West Bank or Gaza Strip, he will either have to give up his Israeli citizenship, which means leaving the country, or get a speedy divorce.
The couple has a third choice, to stay apart, one living in Israel and the other living in the occupied territories. "Nothing like this happens anywhere in the world, and the reason is racism, sheer racism," said Baraka in a recent interview with Aljazeera.net.
"Remember that Israel is the only "Democracy" in the Middle East"
SYRIA
Yahoo: Syrian President Makes Peace Overtures
Lebanon - Fearful of being left behind, Syrian President Bashar Assad has been saying something quite startling — that he is willing to resume peace talks with Israel unconditionally.
The Israeli and U.S. response has been lukewarm, with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) insisting last week that Syria first must crack down on militants. Publicly, Assad's government has backpedaled.
"as one sees israel has no partners for peace in the middle east"
Lebanon - Fearful of being left behind, Syrian President Bashar Assad has been saying something quite startling — that he is willing to resume peace talks with Israel unconditionally.
The Israeli and U.S. response has been lukewarm, with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) insisting last week that Syria first must crack down on militants. Publicly, Assad's government has backpedaled.
"as one sees israel has no partners for peace in the middle east"
IRAQ: RESISTANCE
AP: Gunmen seek U.S. collaborators in Baghdad
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Brazen gunmen firing automatic weapons roamed Baghdad's streets today within blocks of the country's most fortified facilities, including the U.S. Embassy and the headquarters of Iraq's interim government. Five more American troops were killed in volatile Anbar province.
A dawn attack on a domestic oil pipeline supplying fuel from northern Iraq to Baghdad and clashes that killed three militants in the country's turbulent west underlined the security difficulties ahead of Jan. 30 national elections.
The heavily armed insurgents have been emboldened by a spate of attacks across Iraq that have claimed more than 80 lives in recent days, mostly Iraqis working for the coalition or Iraqi national security forces.
NY Times: 2 C.I.A. Reports Offer Warnings on Iraq's Path
A classified cable sent by the Central Intelligence Agency's station chief in Baghdad has warned that the situation in Iraq is deteriorating and may not rebound any time soon, according to government officials
The Australian: Shiites plan autonomous region
ABOUT 600 leaders from central Iraq's Shiite Muslim provinces announced plans to begin setting up their own autonomous region, following a meeting today in the holy city of Najaf.Representatives agreed to set up a security committee for their five provinces and a regional council to stimulate the economy of their neglected region.
Iraq's provisional constitution recognises the federal nature of Iraq, most of whose Kurdish population lives in three northern provinces with a large degree of autonomy.
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Brazen gunmen firing automatic weapons roamed Baghdad's streets today within blocks of the country's most fortified facilities, including the U.S. Embassy and the headquarters of Iraq's interim government. Five more American troops were killed in volatile Anbar province.
A dawn attack on a domestic oil pipeline supplying fuel from northern Iraq to Baghdad and clashes that killed three militants in the country's turbulent west underlined the security difficulties ahead of Jan. 30 national elections.
The heavily armed insurgents have been emboldened by a spate of attacks across Iraq that have claimed more than 80 lives in recent days, mostly Iraqis working for the coalition or Iraqi national security forces.
NY Times: 2 C.I.A. Reports Offer Warnings on Iraq's Path
A classified cable sent by the Central Intelligence Agency's station chief in Baghdad has warned that the situation in Iraq is deteriorating and may not rebound any time soon, according to government officials
The Australian: Shiites plan autonomous region
ABOUT 600 leaders from central Iraq's Shiite Muslim provinces announced plans to begin setting up their own autonomous region, following a meeting today in the holy city of Najaf.Representatives agreed to set up a security committee for their five provinces and a regional council to stimulate the economy of their neglected region.
Iraq's provisional constitution recognises the federal nature of Iraq, most of whose Kurdish population lives in three northern provinces with a large degree of autonomy.
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