SADDAM
Spiegel: US-Demokrat wirft Bush inszenierte Festnahme vor
Nach der Festnahme Saddam Husseins triumphiert George W. Bush. Doch der demokratische Kongressabgeordnete Jim McDermott wirft dem Präsidenten vor, er habe den Zeitpunkt der Gefangennahme Saddams aus innenpolitischen Gründen bewusst festgelegt.
Washington - Der demokratische Kongressabgeordnete Jim McDermott sagte in einem Rundfunkinterview, das US-Militär hätte Saddam schon vor langer Zeit finden können, "wenn sie das gewollt hätten". Auf die Nachfrage, ob er die Gefangennahme für "getimt" halte, damit Bush innenpolitisch punkten könne, antwortete McDermott: "Ja, oh ja."
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
IRAQ
Amnesty International: Iraq Tribunal Established without Consultation
Amnesty International has expressed concern to the Coalition
Provisional Authority (CPA) and the Iraqi Governing Council about the decision to
establish an Iraqi special tribunal that was taken without prior
consultation with the Iraqi civil society or the international
community. 'We have been urging that the proposals to establish the tribunal be
subject to widespread consultation within Iraqi civil society,
especially the legal profession and human rights groups, as well as the
international community,' said Amnesty International today. 'Unfortunately, the draft
statute of the tribunal was not made public before its adoption.' Under
international humanitarian law, the authority of the CPA as an
Occupying Power to establish a tribunal of the scope envisaged for the Iraqi
special tribunal is doubtful at best.
Amnesty International: Iraq Tribunal Established without Consultation
Amnesty International has expressed concern to the Coalition
Provisional Authority (CPA) and the Iraqi Governing Council about the decision to
establish an Iraqi special tribunal that was taken without prior
consultation with the Iraqi civil society or the international
community. 'We have been urging that the proposals to establish the tribunal be
subject to widespread consultation within Iraqi civil society,
especially the legal profession and human rights groups, as well as the
international community,' said Amnesty International today. 'Unfortunately, the draft
statute of the tribunal was not made public before its adoption.' Under
international humanitarian law, the authority of the CPA as an
Occupying Power to establish a tribunal of the scope envisaged for the Iraqi
special tribunal is doubtful at best.
SADDAM
CNN: Iraqi war crimes court set up
Saddam always said he'd tell the world of his real connections with the
Reagan and Bush administrations if he got the chance. Now, thanks to an
"amazing coincidence," he won't get his day in a world court. That's
because 3 days before his alleged capture, the Bush interim government
in Iraq set up a special war crimes tribunal that will be closed to the
world except for "outside experts" (hand-picked by the Bush junta, of
course). How very, very convenient. As the AFP reported on December 10, "Back in
Iraq...the Governing Council approved late last night the creation of
an Iraqi penal tribunal to try former members of Saddam Hussein's regime
for their crimes against humanity.. Council members have said US overseer
Pau Bremer has to sign the tribunal statutes, but a coalition spokesman has
insisted it was the Governing Council that was taking the decisions
about the court and not the US-led occupation authority."
CNN: Iraqi war crimes court set up
Saddam always said he'd tell the world of his real connections with the
Reagan and Bush administrations if he got the chance. Now, thanks to an
"amazing coincidence," he won't get his day in a world court. That's
because 3 days before his alleged capture, the Bush interim government
in Iraq set up a special war crimes tribunal that will be closed to the
world except for "outside experts" (hand-picked by the Bush junta, of
course). How very, very convenient. As the AFP reported on December 10, "Back in
Iraq...the Governing Council approved late last night the creation of
an Iraqi penal tribunal to try former members of Saddam Hussein's regime
for their crimes against humanity.. Council members have said US overseer
Pau Bremer has to sign the tribunal statutes, but a coalition spokesman has
insisted it was the Governing Council that was taking the decisions
about the court and not the US-led occupation authority."
WATER
Alternet: The Battle for Water
We are taught in school that the Earth has a closed hydrologic system; water is continually being recycled through rain and evaporation and none of it leaves the planet's atmosphere. Not only is there the same amount of water on the Earth today as there was at the creation of the planet, it's the same water. The next time you're walking in the rain, stop and think that some of the water falling on you ran through the blood of dinosaurs or swelled the tears of children who lived thousands of years ago.
Alternet: The Battle for Water
We are taught in school that the Earth has a closed hydrologic system; water is continually being recycled through rain and evaporation and none of it leaves the planet's atmosphere. Not only is there the same amount of water on the Earth today as there was at the creation of the planet, it's the same water. The next time you're walking in the rain, stop and think that some of the water falling on you ran through the blood of dinosaurs or swelled the tears of children who lived thousands of years ago.
Monday, December 15, 2003
SADDAM
Rense: They Got The Wrong Guy
War is peace, Orwell said. It has never been clearer than now.
The theatrical apprehension of fallen Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from his pathetic hole in the dirt is a prima facie example of how the American vision of life and the world has become totally twisted. It was the culmination of an unjust war against a defenseless people, this ritual roughing up of a tired old man who was never more than a puppet following the orders of the master manipulators who always planned to do him in when it became convenient.
Saddam was never a danger to America, despite all the pre-war rhetoric that has all been proven false.
George W. Bush - and Bill Clinton and the elder Bush before him - killed many times more Iraqis than Saddam ever did. The 20,000 or so Iraqi innocents who perished in the recent bombing of the Cradle of Civilization were at least ten times more than the number of political malcontents who ran afoul of the murderous machismo of Saddam's inflexible rule, and the utter destruction of this functioning nation-state was certainly something Hussein never contemplated.
Rense: They Got The Wrong Guy
War is peace, Orwell said. It has never been clearer than now.
The theatrical apprehension of fallen Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from his pathetic hole in the dirt is a prima facie example of how the American vision of life and the world has become totally twisted. It was the culmination of an unjust war against a defenseless people, this ritual roughing up of a tired old man who was never more than a puppet following the orders of the master manipulators who always planned to do him in when it became convenient.
Saddam was never a danger to America, despite all the pre-war rhetoric that has all been proven false.
George W. Bush - and Bill Clinton and the elder Bush before him - killed many times more Iraqis than Saddam ever did. The 20,000 or so Iraqi innocents who perished in the recent bombing of the Cradle of Civilization were at least ten times more than the number of political malcontents who ran afoul of the murderous machismo of Saddam's inflexible rule, and the utter destruction of this functioning nation-state was certainly something Hussein never contemplated.
VANDALISM
Zürich: Sprayer festgenommen
Die Stadtpolizei Zürich hat in der Nacht auf Montag einen 17-jährigen Schweizer festgenommen, der zuvor eine Hauswand in der City besprayt hatte.
Der Sachschaden an der Hausfassade beläuft sich auf rund 2000 Franken.
Eine Streifenwagenpatrouille sah, wie eine vermummte Person an der Gottfried Keller-Strasse eine Hauswand besprayte. Als der Sprayer die Polizisten bemerkte, rannte er weg. Obwohl er stürzte, konnten ihn die Beamten erst beim Stadelhoferplatz stoppen, wie die Stadtpolizei mitteilte.
Der 17-Jährige leistete heftige Gegenwehr, so dass er nur «mit angemessener Gewalt» festgenommen werden konnte. Weil er über Schmerzen im linken Arm klagte, brachte ihn die Sanität ins Spital, wo eine Fraktur des Ellbogens festgestellt wurde.
Zürich: Sprayer festgenommen
Die Stadtpolizei Zürich hat in der Nacht auf Montag einen 17-jährigen Schweizer festgenommen, der zuvor eine Hauswand in der City besprayt hatte.
Der Sachschaden an der Hausfassade beläuft sich auf rund 2000 Franken.
Eine Streifenwagenpatrouille sah, wie eine vermummte Person an der Gottfried Keller-Strasse eine Hauswand besprayte. Als der Sprayer die Polizisten bemerkte, rannte er weg. Obwohl er stürzte, konnten ihn die Beamten erst beim Stadelhoferplatz stoppen, wie die Stadtpolizei mitteilte.
Der 17-Jährige leistete heftige Gegenwehr, so dass er nur «mit angemessener Gewalt» festgenommen werden konnte. Weil er über Schmerzen im linken Arm klagte, brachte ihn die Sanität ins Spital, wo eine Fraktur des Ellbogens festgestellt wurde.
IRAQ: SADDAM
Truthout: We Caught The Wrong Guy
Saddam Hussein, former employee of the American federal government, was captured near a farmhouse in Tikrit in a raid performed by other employees of the American federal government. That sounds pretty deranged, right? Perhaps, but it is also accurate. The unifying thread binding together everyone assembled at that Tikrit farmhouse is the simple fact that all of them - the soldiers as well as Hussein - have received pay from the United States for services rendered.
Independent: 'We Never Had WMD' Saddam Tells Interrogators
Saddam Hussein told his American interrogators that Iraq never had weapons of mass destruction, claiming that they were an invention of the US government to justify an invasion, it was reported last night.
Although Saddam was captured without a fight and was initially said to be co-operative, US intelligence sources said that he had since been unco-operative and defiant under questioning.
Independent: Saddam's Capture Will Not
Stop Resistance by Robert Fisk
"Peace" and "reconciliation" were the patois of Downing Street and the White House yesterday. But all those hopes of a collapse of resistance are doomed. Saddam was neither the spiritual nor the political guide to the insurgency that is now claiming so many lives in Iraq - far more Iraqi than Western lives, one might add - and, however happy Messrs Bush and Blair may be at the capture of Saddam, the war goes on.
Online Journal: Will Saddam's Capture Prove
To Be A Trap For Bush?
"There is another possibility that whoever thought this through had done his homework very well, and the timing was impeccable. If true, students of propaganda will be using this incident as a case study for decades to come."
It was pretty much of a shock to learn of Saddam Hussein's capture so soon. Then again, come to think of it, no! George W. Bush's popularity is dipping badly and those niggling questions about Sept 11 are now gaining feverish momentum.
Rense: Saddam Betrayed - He Was A Prisoner
It's becoming increasingly clear Saddam had apparently been betrayed by his own closest protectors weeks ago and was being kept a prisoner in a hole in the ground while they tried to arrange to sell him for the $25 million - or more - in US reward money
Truthout: We Caught The Wrong Guy
Saddam Hussein, former employee of the American federal government, was captured near a farmhouse in Tikrit in a raid performed by other employees of the American federal government. That sounds pretty deranged, right? Perhaps, but it is also accurate. The unifying thread binding together everyone assembled at that Tikrit farmhouse is the simple fact that all of them - the soldiers as well as Hussein - have received pay from the United States for services rendered.
Independent: 'We Never Had WMD' Saddam Tells Interrogators
Saddam Hussein told his American interrogators that Iraq never had weapons of mass destruction, claiming that they were an invention of the US government to justify an invasion, it was reported last night.
Although Saddam was captured without a fight and was initially said to be co-operative, US intelligence sources said that he had since been unco-operative and defiant under questioning.
Independent: Saddam's Capture Will Not
Stop Resistance by Robert Fisk
"Peace" and "reconciliation" were the patois of Downing Street and the White House yesterday. But all those hopes of a collapse of resistance are doomed. Saddam was neither the spiritual nor the political guide to the insurgency that is now claiming so many lives in Iraq - far more Iraqi than Western lives, one might add - and, however happy Messrs Bush and Blair may be at the capture of Saddam, the war goes on.
Online Journal: Will Saddam's Capture Prove
To Be A Trap For Bush?
"There is another possibility that whoever thought this through had done his homework very well, and the timing was impeccable. If true, students of propaganda will be using this incident as a case study for decades to come."
It was pretty much of a shock to learn of Saddam Hussein's capture so soon. Then again, come to think of it, no! George W. Bush's popularity is dipping badly and those niggling questions about Sept 11 are now gaining feverish momentum.
Rense: Saddam Betrayed - He Was A Prisoner
It's becoming increasingly clear Saddam had apparently been betrayed by his own closest protectors weeks ago and was being kept a prisoner in a hole in the ground while they tried to arrange to sell him for the $25 million - or more - in US reward money
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Spiegel: Autobomben töten zehn Menschen
Auch nach der Verhaftung von Saddam Hussein geht die Terror-Serie im Irak weiter. Heute morgen explodierten vor zwei Polizeistationen Autobomben - zehn Menschen starben.
Bagdad - Der erste Anschlag habe sich in der Ortschaft Husseinijah etwa 30 Kilometer nördlich der irakischen Hauptstadt ereignet, teilte ein Polizeisprecher mit. Neun Menschen seien getötet worden, viele weitere seien zudem verwundet worden. Über dem Tatort stieg dichter Rauch auf. Die US-Armee riegelte das Gebiet ab.
Eine zweite Autobombe ging vor einer Polizeistation im Bagdader Stadtteil Amirijah in die Luft. Der Fahrer des Wagens wurde getötet, mindestens acht Menschen wurden dabei verletzt, wie die Polizei mitteilte. Kurz zuvor hatten Sprengstoffexperten eine Autobombe entschärft, die in der Umgebung gefunden worden war.
Spiegel: Autobomben töten zehn Menschen
Auch nach der Verhaftung von Saddam Hussein geht die Terror-Serie im Irak weiter. Heute morgen explodierten vor zwei Polizeistationen Autobomben - zehn Menschen starben.
Bagdad - Der erste Anschlag habe sich in der Ortschaft Husseinijah etwa 30 Kilometer nördlich der irakischen Hauptstadt ereignet, teilte ein Polizeisprecher mit. Neun Menschen seien getötet worden, viele weitere seien zudem verwundet worden. Über dem Tatort stieg dichter Rauch auf. Die US-Armee riegelte das Gebiet ab.
Eine zweite Autobombe ging vor einer Polizeistation im Bagdader Stadtteil Amirijah in die Luft. Der Fahrer des Wagens wurde getötet, mindestens acht Menschen wurden dabei verletzt, wie die Polizei mitteilte. Kurz zuvor hatten Sprengstoffexperten eine Autobombe entschärft, die in der Umgebung gefunden worden war.
Sunday, December 14, 2003
IRAQ
Reuters: Saddam Hussein reportedly arrested
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has been arrested, an Iraqi Kurdish representative in Iran says, but the U.S. Defence Department says it can not confirm the report.
"I confirm that Saddam has been arrested," Nazem Dabag, representative in Iran of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), told Reuters on Sunday.
The official Iranian news agency IRNA quoted PUK leader Jalal Talabani as saying that Saddam had been captured in his home town of Tikrit.
"The American forces in Tikrit announced that Saddam was arrested on Sunday. The Americans said that they will announce the news officially in the next few hours," IRNA quoted Talabani as saying.
The news agency report was from Qasr-e Shirin in Iran across the border from Iraq. A Talabani aide said the Kurdish leader was in Tehran on his way to France.
The U.S. Defence Department said it could not confirm the report. Washington has made Saddam number one on its list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis, and placed a $25 million (14 million pounds) reward on his head.
U.S. officials had said Saddam, 66, had eluded American troops by moving every few hours, probably in disguise and aided by members of his clan.
Reuters: Saddam Hussein reportedly arrested
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has been arrested, an Iraqi Kurdish representative in Iran says, but the U.S. Defence Department says it can not confirm the report.
"I confirm that Saddam has been arrested," Nazem Dabag, representative in Iran of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), told Reuters on Sunday.
The official Iranian news agency IRNA quoted PUK leader Jalal Talabani as saying that Saddam had been captured in his home town of Tikrit.
"The American forces in Tikrit announced that Saddam was arrested on Sunday. The Americans said that they will announce the news officially in the next few hours," IRNA quoted Talabani as saying.
The news agency report was from Qasr-e Shirin in Iran across the border from Iraq. A Talabani aide said the Kurdish leader was in Tehran on his way to France.
The U.S. Defence Department said it could not confirm the report. Washington has made Saddam number one on its list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis, and placed a $25 million (14 million pounds) reward on his head.
U.S. officials had said Saddam, 66, had eluded American troops by moving every few hours, probably in disguise and aided by members of his clan.
Friday, December 12, 2003
IRAQ: PROFIT OVER PEOPLE
Pacific News: U.S. Arrests Iraqi Union Leaders
SAN FRANCISCO--U.S. occupation forces in Iraq escalated their efforts to paralyze Iraq's new labor unions with a series of arrests this weekend.
On Dec. 6, according to a union spokesperson interviewed by phone, a convoy of 10 Humvees and personnel carriers descended on the old headquarters building of the Transport and Communications Workers union, in Baghdad's central bus station, which has been used since June as the office of the Iraqi Workers Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU). Twenty soldiers jumped out, stormed into the building, put handcuffs on eight members of the Federation's executive board, and took them into detention.
"They gave no reason at all, despite being asked over and over," says IFTU spokesperson Abdullah Muhsin. Soldiers painted over the name of the federation on the front of the building with black paint, Muhsin says. The union had few resources, "but we did have a few files, and they took those," Muhsin adds. Ironically, the office had posters on the walls condemning terrorism, which soldiers tore down in the raid.
Früher hat man die Mafia losgeschickt um die Gewerkschaften von ihrem subversiven Treiben abzuhalten. Heute hat man das Militaer
Pacific News: U.S. Arrests Iraqi Union Leaders
SAN FRANCISCO--U.S. occupation forces in Iraq escalated their efforts to paralyze Iraq's new labor unions with a series of arrests this weekend.
On Dec. 6, according to a union spokesperson interviewed by phone, a convoy of 10 Humvees and personnel carriers descended on the old headquarters building of the Transport and Communications Workers union, in Baghdad's central bus station, which has been used since June as the office of the Iraqi Workers Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU). Twenty soldiers jumped out, stormed into the building, put handcuffs on eight members of the Federation's executive board, and took them into detention.
"They gave no reason at all, despite being asked over and over," says IFTU spokesperson Abdullah Muhsin. Soldiers painted over the name of the federation on the front of the building with black paint, Muhsin says. The union had few resources, "but we did have a few files, and they took those," Muhsin adds. Ironically, the office had posters on the walls condemning terrorism, which soldiers tore down in the raid.
Früher hat man die Mafia losgeschickt um die Gewerkschaften von ihrem subversiven Treiben abzuhalten. Heute hat man das Militaer
ISRAEL
WSWS: Ethnic Cleansing Now Official Israeli Government Policy
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his ministers have openly declared that Palestinians must be driven out to make way for Jewish settlements in land occupied illegally since the 1967 war.
Sharon and his cabinet utilised the November 15 ambush of Israeli security forces in Hebron by Islamic Jihad and the ensuing gun battle that killed 12 members of the Israeli armed forces and injured 15, as well as three of the Palestinian attackers, to make their announcements.
Sharon himself called for "territorial contiguity" between Kiryat Arba, a settlement overlooking Hebron, the tiny Zionist enclaves and the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a religious site venerated by both Moslems and Jews, inside the city. Palestinians living between the settlement, the enclaves and the Tomb would be forced to leave their homes to make way for the settlers-a policy known throughout the world as ethnic cleansing. He told army commanders in Hebron that Israel had to "take advantage of the opportunity" to "minimise the number of Palestinians living among Jewish settlers" and establish "Jewish points of presence". He described this as "an appropriate Zionist response" to such attacks.
Sharon's newly appointed foreign affairs minister and main leadership rival, Benyamin Netanyahu, was even more explicit. "We are going to cleanse the whole area and do the work ourselves." he declared
WSWS: Ethnic Cleansing Now Official Israeli Government Policy
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his ministers have openly declared that Palestinians must be driven out to make way for Jewish settlements in land occupied illegally since the 1967 war.
Sharon and his cabinet utilised the November 15 ambush of Israeli security forces in Hebron by Islamic Jihad and the ensuing gun battle that killed 12 members of the Israeli armed forces and injured 15, as well as three of the Palestinian attackers, to make their announcements.
Sharon himself called for "territorial contiguity" between Kiryat Arba, a settlement overlooking Hebron, the tiny Zionist enclaves and the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a religious site venerated by both Moslems and Jews, inside the city. Palestinians living between the settlement, the enclaves and the Tomb would be forced to leave their homes to make way for the settlers-a policy known throughout the world as ethnic cleansing. He told army commanders in Hebron that Israel had to "take advantage of the opportunity" to "minimise the number of Palestinians living among Jewish settlers" and establish "Jewish points of presence". He described this as "an appropriate Zionist response" to such attacks.
Sharon's newly appointed foreign affairs minister and main leadership rival, Benyamin Netanyahu, was even more explicit. "We are going to cleanse the whole area and do the work ourselves." he declared
IRAQ
WSWS: US, Israel Prepare Mass Killings In Iraq
The Bush administration is about to launch a campaign of wholesale killings in Iraq with the assistance of the Israeli military, according to both US and Israeli sources quoted in several recent news reports.
Frustrated over the growing popular resistance to the US military occupation and determined to reduce US casualties in Iraq before next November's election, the administration has authorized a policy that could well resemble the infamous "Operation Phoenix" assassination program run by the CIA during the Vietnam War. That operation claimed the lives of as many as 41,000 Vietnamese over a four-year period beginning in 1968.
In preparation for the new counterinsurgency campaign, the US military has brought urban warfare specialists from the Israeli Defenses Force (IDF) to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the headquarters of the US Special Forces. They are training assassination teams in methods that the IDF has used to suppress Palestinian resistance to the Israel occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
"This is basically an assassination program.... This is a hunter-killer team," a former senior intelligence official told the British Guardian newspaper. He warned that Washington's reliance on Israeli assistance in launching the operation would only intensify anger over the US occupation throughout the Middle East.
"It is bonkers, insane," the former official said. "Here we are-we're already being compared to Sharon in the Arab world, and we've just confirmed it by bringing in the Israelis and setting up assassination teams."
The Guardian also cited intelligence sources in Washington as reporting that Israeli military "consultants" have been sent to Iraq to advise US forces there on counterinsurgency operations.
According to the British newspaper, the new operation also includes the deployment of killer squads inside Syria to hunt down suspected resistance fighters from other Arab countries before they cross the border into Iraq.
Meanwhile, an article by Seymour Hersh, the veteran US investigative reporter, appeared in this week's New Yorker magazine also warning of a "major escalation of the Special Forces covert war in Iraq" and providing additional confirmation of Israel's role in training those who will carry out the assassination program.
According to Hersh, a new Special Forces group-Task Force 121-has been formed, drawing upon Army Delta Force troops, Navy SEALs and CIA paramilitaries. "Its highest priority is the neutralization of the Baathist insurgents, by capture or assassination," he reports.
Hersh continues: "According to American and Israeli military and intelligence officials, Israeli commandos and intelligence units have been working closely with their American counterparts at the Special Forces training base at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and in Israel to help them prepare for operations in Iraq. Israeli commandos are expected to serve as ad-hoc advisers-again, in secret-when full-field operations begin."
US and Israeli officials have refused to comment on the record about this collaboration on the Iraqi counterinsurgency campaign. "No one wants to talk about this; it's incendiary," an Israeli official told Hersh. "Both governments have decided at the highest level that it is in their interest to keep a low profile on US-Israeli cooperation" on the assassination program
WSWS: US, Israel Prepare Mass Killings In Iraq
The Bush administration is about to launch a campaign of wholesale killings in Iraq with the assistance of the Israeli military, according to both US and Israeli sources quoted in several recent news reports.
Frustrated over the growing popular resistance to the US military occupation and determined to reduce US casualties in Iraq before next November's election, the administration has authorized a policy that could well resemble the infamous "Operation Phoenix" assassination program run by the CIA during the Vietnam War. That operation claimed the lives of as many as 41,000 Vietnamese over a four-year period beginning in 1968.
In preparation for the new counterinsurgency campaign, the US military has brought urban warfare specialists from the Israeli Defenses Force (IDF) to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the headquarters of the US Special Forces. They are training assassination teams in methods that the IDF has used to suppress Palestinian resistance to the Israel occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
"This is basically an assassination program.... This is a hunter-killer team," a former senior intelligence official told the British Guardian newspaper. He warned that Washington's reliance on Israeli assistance in launching the operation would only intensify anger over the US occupation throughout the Middle East.
"It is bonkers, insane," the former official said. "Here we are-we're already being compared to Sharon in the Arab world, and we've just confirmed it by bringing in the Israelis and setting up assassination teams."
The Guardian also cited intelligence sources in Washington as reporting that Israeli military "consultants" have been sent to Iraq to advise US forces there on counterinsurgency operations.
According to the British newspaper, the new operation also includes the deployment of killer squads inside Syria to hunt down suspected resistance fighters from other Arab countries before they cross the border into Iraq.
Meanwhile, an article by Seymour Hersh, the veteran US investigative reporter, appeared in this week's New Yorker magazine also warning of a "major escalation of the Special Forces covert war in Iraq" and providing additional confirmation of Israel's role in training those who will carry out the assassination program.
According to Hersh, a new Special Forces group-Task Force 121-has been formed, drawing upon Army Delta Force troops, Navy SEALs and CIA paramilitaries. "Its highest priority is the neutralization of the Baathist insurgents, by capture or assassination," he reports.
Hersh continues: "According to American and Israeli military and intelligence officials, Israeli commandos and intelligence units have been working closely with their American counterparts at the Special Forces training base at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and in Israel to help them prepare for operations in Iraq. Israeli commandos are expected to serve as ad-hoc advisers-again, in secret-when full-field operations begin."
US and Israeli officials have refused to comment on the record about this collaboration on the Iraqi counterinsurgency campaign. "No one wants to talk about this; it's incendiary," an Israeli official told Hersh. "Both governments have decided at the highest level that it is in their interest to keep a low profile on US-Israeli cooperation" on the assassination program
EURO VS. DOLLAR
Hindustan Times: OPEC may trade oil in euros to compensate for dollar decline
OPEC Secretary General Alvaro Silva said the organisation is considering trading oil in euros to compensate for the US dollar's decline in value.
Another alternative is to trade in a basket of currencies other than the greenback, Silva told Venezuela's state news agency, Venpres.
"There is a talk of trading crude in euros. It is one of the alternatives," the former Venezuelan oil minister said from Vienna late on Monday.
"It is possible that the organisation will discuss that, and make a decision at some point in time," he said.
Silva did not provide more details.
Goodbye USA
Hindustan Times: OPEC may trade oil in euros to compensate for dollar decline
OPEC Secretary General Alvaro Silva said the organisation is considering trading oil in euros to compensate for the US dollar's decline in value.
Another alternative is to trade in a basket of currencies other than the greenback, Silva told Venezuela's state news agency, Venpres.
"There is a talk of trading crude in euros. It is one of the alternatives," the former Venezuelan oil minister said from Vienna late on Monday.
"It is possible that the organisation will discuss that, and make a decision at some point in time," he said.
Silva did not provide more details.
Goodbye USA
IRAQ: LIBERATORS?
Information Clearinghouse: Take no Prisoners
Another proud moment in U.S. Military History.
U.S. Marines execute an Iraqi to the cheers of fellow marines
-:WARNING:-
This video should only be viewed by a mature audience
VIDEO
Page Updated: 12/11/03 2:13 PM: PST.
Transcript:
CNN Presents: Fit To Kill
Aired October 26, 2003 - 20:00 ET
CROWLEY: Wounded, another Iraqi writhes on the ground next to his gun. The Marines kill him -- then cheer.
RIDDLE: Like, man, you guys are dead now, you know. But it was a good feeling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fire!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah!
CROWLEY: When the battle is over and you are still standing, the adrenalin rush is huge.
RIDDLE: I mean, afterwards you're like, hell, yeah, that was awesome. Let's do it again.
CROWLEY: Inexplicable to some, but not to generations of veterans
Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field. Geneva, 12 August 1949.
Art. 3. In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:
(1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.
To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:
(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
(b) taking of hostages;
(c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;
(d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgement pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.
(2) The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.
An impartial humanitarian body, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, may offer its services to the Parties to the conflict.
Das Video zeigt wie ein US-Soldat einen verwundeten, am Boden liegenden Iraker hinrichtet und die ganze Sache ziemlich cool findet. Kriegsverbrechen auf CNN
Information Clearinghouse: Take no Prisoners
Another proud moment in U.S. Military History.
U.S. Marines execute an Iraqi to the cheers of fellow marines
-:WARNING:-
This video should only be viewed by a mature audience
VIDEO
Page Updated: 12/11/03 2:13 PM: PST.
Transcript:
CNN Presents: Fit To Kill
Aired October 26, 2003 - 20:00 ET
CROWLEY: Wounded, another Iraqi writhes on the ground next to his gun. The Marines kill him -- then cheer.
RIDDLE: Like, man, you guys are dead now, you know. But it was a good feeling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fire!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah!
CROWLEY: When the battle is over and you are still standing, the adrenalin rush is huge.
RIDDLE: I mean, afterwards you're like, hell, yeah, that was awesome. Let's do it again.
CROWLEY: Inexplicable to some, but not to generations of veterans
Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field. Geneva, 12 August 1949.
Art. 3. In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:
(1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.
To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:
(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
(b) taking of hostages;
(c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;
(d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgement pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.
(2) The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.
An impartial humanitarian body, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, may offer its services to the Parties to the conflict.
Das Video zeigt wie ein US-Soldat einen verwundeten, am Boden liegenden Iraker hinrichtet und die ganze Sache ziemlich cool findet. Kriegsverbrechen auf CNN
IRAQI RESISTANCE
Haaretz: Explosions Rock Central Baghdad Near US Compound
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Three loud explosions boomed through central Baghdad early Friday, and sirens wailed in the compound housing the headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition.
U.S. military sources confirmed to CNN that three or four blasts had occurred in central Baghdad.
Some smoke rose inside the compound, known as the "Green Zone," but it was unclear whether it was related to the thunderous booms.
"We are aware that some explosions did take place. We do not know the location," a spokeswoman for the coalition said on customary condition of anonymity.
A spokesman said he heard three explosions.
"They were loud," he said. "But I've heard louder."
Insurgents last month fired mortars into the "Green Zone," a five-square-kilometer (two-square-mile) area that encompasses several buildings. But if Friday's explosions occurred inside, it would be the first time in several weeks that the seat of coalition power was hit.
Haaretz: Explosions Rock Central Baghdad Near US Compound
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Three loud explosions boomed through central Baghdad early Friday, and sirens wailed in the compound housing the headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition.
U.S. military sources confirmed to CNN that three or four blasts had occurred in central Baghdad.
Some smoke rose inside the compound, known as the "Green Zone," but it was unclear whether it was related to the thunderous booms.
"We are aware that some explosions did take place. We do not know the location," a spokeswoman for the coalition said on customary condition of anonymity.
A spokesman said he heard three explosions.
"They were loud," he said. "But I've heard louder."
Insurgents last month fired mortars into the "Green Zone," a five-square-kilometer (two-square-mile) area that encompasses several buildings. But if Friday's explosions occurred inside, it would be the first time in several weeks that the seat of coalition power was hit.
ANTI-SEMITISM
Haaretz: Anti-Semitism, Real And Exaggerated
Much was revealed by the study of anti-Semitism in Europe that caused such a controversy when the European Center for Monitoring Racism decided to shelve the results.
It showed a growing distancing from Israel and from European Jews, the ostensible representatives of the Jewish state. It exposed the failure of the immigrant absorption and integration policies adopted by European countries toward their Muslim minorities. And finally, the attitude to the report, whose data was not always well-grounded, showed how much hostility there is to Europe, particularly among members of the coalition parties in Israel, and the disproportionate manner in which they use the ghosts of anti-Semitism to distract themselves and Israeli public opinion in general from their own domestic problems.
First to the matter of anti-Semitism. Since September 11, it is being felt the way anger toward America is felt. But this is not the old style of race hatred against Jews; rather, it is more a general rejection of everything Israeli. Jews are identified with Israelis, just as the Israeli public is identified with its government. That first identification is more grave - it shows that hundreds of years of life in Europe and the memory of the genocide of the Jews has not been enough for the Jews to be recognized as citizens of their countries.
Add to that the criticism of Israeli policy. It can be justified, but the intensity with which it is expressed discloses not only the extent to which Germans are unable to put themselves in the place of a people suffering from constant terror; it also reveals a desire to disconnect, to get rid of decades' worth of complexes.
Haaretz: Anti-Semitism, Real And Exaggerated
Much was revealed by the study of anti-Semitism in Europe that caused such a controversy when the European Center for Monitoring Racism decided to shelve the results.
It showed a growing distancing from Israel and from European Jews, the ostensible representatives of the Jewish state. It exposed the failure of the immigrant absorption and integration policies adopted by European countries toward their Muslim minorities. And finally, the attitude to the report, whose data was not always well-grounded, showed how much hostility there is to Europe, particularly among members of the coalition parties in Israel, and the disproportionate manner in which they use the ghosts of anti-Semitism to distract themselves and Israeli public opinion in general from their own domestic problems.
First to the matter of anti-Semitism. Since September 11, it is being felt the way anger toward America is felt. But this is not the old style of race hatred against Jews; rather, it is more a general rejection of everything Israeli. Jews are identified with Israelis, just as the Israeli public is identified with its government. That first identification is more grave - it shows that hundreds of years of life in Europe and the memory of the genocide of the Jews has not been enough for the Jews to be recognized as citizens of their countries.
Add to that the criticism of Israeli policy. It can be justified, but the intensity with which it is expressed discloses not only the extent to which Germans are unable to put themselves in the place of a people suffering from constant terror; it also reveals a desire to disconnect, to get rid of decades' worth of complexes.
INTERNET
MSNBC: A Net of Control
UNTHINKABLE: How the Internet could become a tool of corporate and government power, based on updates now in the works
Picture, if you will, an information infrastructure that encourages censorship, surveillance and suppression of the creative impulse. Where anonymity is outlawed and every penny spent is accounted for. Where the powers that be can smother subversive (or economically competitive) ideas in the cradle, and no one can publish even a laundry list without the imprimatur of Big Brother. Some prognosticators are saying that such a construct is nearly inevitable. And this infrastructure is none other than the former paradise of rebels and free-speechers: the Internet
"CHECK IT"
MSNBC: A Net of Control
UNTHINKABLE: How the Internet could become a tool of corporate and government power, based on updates now in the works
Picture, if you will, an information infrastructure that encourages censorship, surveillance and suppression of the creative impulse. Where anonymity is outlawed and every penny spent is accounted for. Where the powers that be can smother subversive (or economically competitive) ideas in the cradle, and no one can publish even a laundry list without the imprimatur of Big Brother. Some prognosticators are saying that such a construct is nearly inevitable. And this infrastructure is none other than the former paradise of rebels and free-speechers: the Internet
"CHECK IT"
RUSSIA
Anti-War.com: NOW THEY'RE AFTER PUTIN
The decisive victory of Russian President Vladimir Putin's "United
Russia" slate of candidates for the Duma is the occasion for a new round of
Putin-bashing, with "human rights officials" condemning the election
results as "a retreat from Russia's democratic reforms."
Just what is a "human rights official," anyway? The way the Associated
Press puts it, one might almost suppose that we're talking about
elected officials here, or else guardian angels appointed by God to watch over
the human race in His stead. In either case, these unofficial officials
deserve to be recalled forthwith, just on the basis of their phony complaints
about the Russian electoral process:
"International observers delivered a blistering assessment of the vote,
calling it free but not fair. Taxpayer money and state television was
used to benefit a few parties, monitors said in their criticism."
When the Republicans run television ads featuring Bush's Top Gun
landing on that aircraft carrier, I wonder if these same monitors will lodge
complaints about inappropriate use of taxpayers' money. The
state-supported media of the OSCE countries – in whose name the rebuke to Putin was
issued – all have an indisputable political bias, and the problem is
even worse in Eastern Europe.
Bruce George, head of the OSCE's "parliamentary assembly," had the
nerve to pontificate that the election "failed to meet ... international
standards."
The White House endorsed this hypocritical hyperbole, noting "concerns
about the fairness of the election campaign. We share those concerns."
George openly worried that, "because of the use of administrative
resourcesand the biased media, legitimate democratic opposition parties would
notget the 5 percent of the vote they need to enter parliament."
If every government that used "administrative resources" to gain
electoral advantage were to be expelled from the ranks of democratic nations, who
would be left? As for "biased media" – is this something that the
Western media, which "embedded" itself in the U.S. government's war propaganda
machine, have the right to lecture the Russians about?
The real complaint of Putin's Western critics is that the Russian
parties favored by Washington and its Euro-weenie satellites – Yabloko and the
Union of Right Forces – failed to get the 5 percent required to garner
seats in the Duma. The election was "free but not fair" – because they
didn't like the results.
Anti-War.com: NOW THEY'RE AFTER PUTIN
The decisive victory of Russian President Vladimir Putin's "United
Russia" slate of candidates for the Duma is the occasion for a new round of
Putin-bashing, with "human rights officials" condemning the election
results as "a retreat from Russia's democratic reforms."
Just what is a "human rights official," anyway? The way the Associated
Press puts it, one might almost suppose that we're talking about
elected officials here, or else guardian angels appointed by God to watch over
the human race in His stead. In either case, these unofficial officials
deserve to be recalled forthwith, just on the basis of their phony complaints
about the Russian electoral process:
"International observers delivered a blistering assessment of the vote,
calling it free but not fair. Taxpayer money and state television was
used to benefit a few parties, monitors said in their criticism."
When the Republicans run television ads featuring Bush's Top Gun
landing on that aircraft carrier, I wonder if these same monitors will lodge
complaints about inappropriate use of taxpayers' money. The
state-supported media of the OSCE countries – in whose name the rebuke to Putin was
issued – all have an indisputable political bias, and the problem is
even worse in Eastern Europe.
Bruce George, head of the OSCE's "parliamentary assembly," had the
nerve to pontificate that the election "failed to meet ... international
standards."
The White House endorsed this hypocritical hyperbole, noting "concerns
about the fairness of the election campaign. We share those concerns."
George openly worried that, "because of the use of administrative
resourcesand the biased media, legitimate democratic opposition parties would
notget the 5 percent of the vote they need to enter parliament."
If every government that used "administrative resources" to gain
electoral advantage were to be expelled from the ranks of democratic nations, who
would be left? As for "biased media" – is this something that the
Western media, which "embedded" itself in the U.S. government's war propaganda
machine, have the right to lecture the Russians about?
The real complaint of Putin's Western critics is that the Russian
parties favored by Washington and its Euro-weenie satellites – Yabloko and the
Union of Right Forces – failed to get the 5 percent required to garner
seats in the Duma. The election was "free but not fair" – because they
didn't like the results.
USA-TAIWAN
WIRED: Bush Orders Taiwan to Forget about Freedom from China
Bush bluntly warned Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian against changing
the status quo with China in tough words delivered on Tuesday in a meeting
with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.Bush's comments were a warning to Chen not
to hold a referendum on the island alongside a March presidential
election, plans for which have sparked anger and fear in China that Taiwan is
creeping toward independence. 'We oppose any unilateral decision by
either China or Taiwan to change the status quo, and the comments and actions
made by the leader of Taiwan indicate that he may be willing to make
decisions unilaterally to change the status quo, which we oppose,' Bush said,
seatedwith Wen in the Oval Office.
LA TIMES: Conservatives are 'Appalled' by Bush's Anti-Democracy Move on Taiwan
To conservatives, it was a shocking scene. Bush sat chatting chummily
in the Oval Office on Tuesday with the premier of communist China and
harshlyrebuked the democratically elected leader of the United States' old
friend and ally, Taiwan. 'The only word I can use is 'appalled'," said John
Tkacik, a China specialist at the conservative Heritage Foundation and
a staunch administration supporter. 'The spectacle of the American
president who just gave such an eloquent speech in Whitehall barely three weeks
ago, saying the global expansion of democracy is a pillar of American
foreign policy...' His voice trailed off in disbelief. 'This just simply belies
that.' Behind the jarring imagery, however, was a simple message. The
Bush administration believes that it cannot afford a political crisis that
could draw the United States into a war over Taiwan while it has its hands
more than full with Iraq, Afghanistan and North Korea [as well as the 2004
campaign].
WIRED: Bush Orders Taiwan to Forget about Freedom from China
Bush bluntly warned Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian against changing
the status quo with China in tough words delivered on Tuesday in a meeting
with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.Bush's comments were a warning to Chen not
to hold a referendum on the island alongside a March presidential
election, plans for which have sparked anger and fear in China that Taiwan is
creeping toward independence. 'We oppose any unilateral decision by
either China or Taiwan to change the status quo, and the comments and actions
made by the leader of Taiwan indicate that he may be willing to make
decisions unilaterally to change the status quo, which we oppose,' Bush said,
seatedwith Wen in the Oval Office.
LA TIMES: Conservatives are 'Appalled' by Bush's Anti-Democracy Move on Taiwan
To conservatives, it was a shocking scene. Bush sat chatting chummily
in the Oval Office on Tuesday with the premier of communist China and
harshlyrebuked the democratically elected leader of the United States' old
friend and ally, Taiwan. 'The only word I can use is 'appalled'," said John
Tkacik, a China specialist at the conservative Heritage Foundation and
a staunch administration supporter. 'The spectacle of the American
president who just gave such an eloquent speech in Whitehall barely three weeks
ago, saying the global expansion of democracy is a pillar of American
foreign policy...' His voice trailed off in disbelief. 'This just simply belies
that.' Behind the jarring imagery, however, was a simple message. The
Bush administration believes that it cannot afford a political crisis that
could draw the United States into a war over Taiwan while it has its hands
more than full with Iraq, Afghanistan and North Korea [as well as the 2004
campaign].
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