News for 11-29-06

11-29-06 - Bipartisan group reaches accord on Iraq A bipartisan commission has reached a consensus on new U.S. policies for Iraq and will announce its recommendations next week, the group's co-chairman said Wednesday.


11-29-06 - Iraq one of greatest presidential blunders: Carter


11-29-06 - Bush set for delayed Iraq talks


11-29-06 - US forces kill two women in Iraq


11-29-06 - Bush tells Abdullah time not ripe for dialogue with Syria


11-29-06 - Hezbollah denies training Iraqis Hezbollah spokesman Hussein Rahal said the accusations were baseless and reflected attempts to blame others for "the disastrous situation in Iraq".


11-29-06 - Judge Strikes Down Parts of Executive Order on Terrorism A Los Angeles federal judge has ruled that key portions of a presidential order blocking financial assistance to terrorist groups are unconstitutional, further complicating the Bush administration's attempts to defend its aggressive anti-terrorism tactics in federal courts.



11-29-06 - Powell: Iraq meets civil war definition Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday at a business conference here that the war in Iraq "could be considered a civil war," the conference organizer said.


11-29-06 - Is Putin Being Set Up? by Patrick J. Buchanan As the predictable effect of Litvinenko's death has been to put a cloud of suspicion over Putin and a chill over Russian relations with the West, one must ask: To whose benefit is the discrediting of Putin? Who would seek a renewal of the Cold War?


11-29-06 - Mofaz: Arafat agreed to house secret Iranian bases inside PA Iran and the Palestinian Authority, then headed by Yasser Arafat, reached a secret agreement in 2002, which called for the creation of branch Iranian revolutionary guard corps bases in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in exchange for military aid to the Palestinian Authority. And they just discovered this NOW. Mmm k.


11-29-06 - Egyptian intelligence chief to visit Israel


11-29-06 - Radio Spoof Draws Support for Nazi-Like Treatment of U.S. Muslims; CAIR Says Callers' Reaction is a 'Wake-Up Call' on Anti-Muslim Bigotry


11-29-06 - Court Rejects N.Y. Times on Leak Probe The one-sentence order came in a First Amendment battle that involves stories written in 2001 by Times reporters Judith Miller and Philip Shenon


11-29-06 - Baker Panel Aide Expects Israel Will Be Pressed AIPAC's Congress (formerly the US Congress) will never allow it. 100 new pieces of legislation will be passed therein to counter such a move.


11-29-06 - Congress to Ponder Conscription? by Rep. Ron Paul


11-29-06 - Syria accuses Israel of building dam in Golan to secure water Damascus accused Israel on Monday of building a dam on the Golan Heights to steal water and deprive Syria and Jordan from badly needed resources, Syria's official news agency reported.


11-29-06 - Iran leader appeals to US people The Iranian leader's discursive, five-page letter also urged Washington to recognise a Palestinian state, saying it was ignoring public opinion in "trampling the rights of the Palestinian people".


11-29-06 - The Litvinenko Mystery


11-29-06 - Avigdor Lieberman to Washington ** Lieberman, whose Yisrael Beitenu Party joined Prime Minister Ehud Olmert?s government last month, will participate in a conference at the end of next week at the Brookings Institution?s Saban Center. The conference, which is closed to the public, will include other top Israeli and U.S. officials.
Lieberman is the new guy in charge of Israel's 'attack Iran' department.


11-29-06 - Abdullah asked to probe Bush on overflights Jordan?s king may raise Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace during talks with President Bush.


11-29-06 - Colin Powell: Reach Out to Arabs and Muslims


11-29-06 - China shows solidarity with Palestinian people China strongly condemns Israel's military actions, which have caused heavy casualties to innocent Palestinian civilians. China is also concerned with the human rights situation in occupied Palestinian territory, he said.


11-29-06 - Ahmadinejad's letter to Americans


11-29-06 - Judge strikes ban on terrorist funding A California judge declared unconstitutional a 2001 presidential order blocking funds for terrorist groups, a decision that could affect funding for Hamas and Hezbollah.


11-29-06 - Rebuilding Lebanon: the task ahead Lebanon's finance minister, Jihad Azour, says that physical losses from the 34-day war amount to $2.5bn.


11-29-06 - Man ordered imprisoned for threatening President Bush An Israel-born Palestinian was sentenced Tuesday to federal prison but was credited with time already served on charges that he threatened to castrate President Bush while involuntarily committed at a mental hospital.


11-29-06 - Energy-hungry China breaks ground in Middle East The Chinese have cleared thousands of cluster bombs and other ordnance -- including the bomb 2nd Sergeant Liu was tackling in Zebqin -- since the Israeli-Hezbollah war ended on August 14, winning them a degree of affection from Lebanese villagers.


11-29-06 - And now a word from neocon Daniel Pipes Who is trying to decide for YOU, the American public at large, what you will and will not learn about in college. Message to Pipes (the look on that guy's face in the photo is priceless).


11-29-06 - Is 'American era' ending in Middle East?

News for 11-28-06

11-28-06 - Five young girls killed in US attack on Iraqi insurgents


11-28-06 - Bush says U.S. won't pull out of Iraq "There's one thing I'm not going to do, I'm not going to pull our troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete," he said in a speech setting the stage for high-stakes meetings with the Iraqi prime minister later this week.


11-28-06 - Iran to let atomic watchdog take more samples


11-28-06 - UN nuclear probe of Iran hampered by blind spots: ElBaradei


11-28-06 - Bush rules out talks with Iran until it stops nuclear program


11-28-06 - Iraq 'on the brink of civil war'


11-28-06 - Iran tells Talabani that US-led forces must leave Iraq


11-28-06 - Gingrich: US may be forced to reexamine freedom of speech


11-28-06 - The Nuking of Alexander Litvinenko


11-28-06 - Senior EU officials accused of covering up secret CIA prisons for terror suspects The document also said that Nicolo Pollari, former head of Italy's Sismi intelligence service, had "concealed the truth" when he told a European Parliament committee in March that Italian agents had played no part in the CIA kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric


11-28-06 - Militant killed at Syrian border A Syrian interior ministry statement said Abdullah opened fire at security forces before attempting to escape.


11-28-06 - Lahoud 'to block' Lebanon panel


11-28-06 - UN Security Council gives US-led force in Iraq until end-2007 "We are obviously very pleased with the adoption of Resolution 1723 unanimously extending the mandate of the multinational force in Iraq for another year," US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton told reporters after the vote.


11-28-06 - Palestinian elderly refugee abducted, killed in Iraq


11-28-06 - Salvaging Bush's Mideast disaster like it or not, the fact remains that the now 39-year-long Israeli occupation of Palestinian land continues to be the most incendiary issue in the Arab-Muslim world, the single thing that most inspires hatred of the U.S. A U.N.-sponsored group recently found that tensions between Islam and the West are caused not by religion but overwhelmingly by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has acquired a symbolic significance larger than itself......Bush's neoconservative brain trust is urging him to maintain his hard line against Syria and Hezbollah. But as Israel's recent, unsuccessful war shows, the Shiites in Lebanon are too powerful to smash into submission. The only long-term solution to Lebanon's woes, as former ABC News chief Middle East correspondent Charles Glass, who was kidnapped by Hezbollah in 1987, recently argued, is to remove Hezbollah's raison d'être by providing justice for the Palestinians. Excellent article there at Salon.


11-28-06 - Lebanon's farm business is suffering Lebanon's agriculture sector suffered about $280 million in damage during this summer's conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, a U.N. food agency said Monday.


11-28-06 - Briton tells of surviving blast from Israeli mine


11-28-06 - Jordan to urge Bush action on Israel-Palestinian conflict "The best way to counter this Iranian danger is to resolve the Palestinian issue on the basis of a two-state solution, which will strengthen the moderate trends in the region and allow stability."


11-28-06 - Jordan will reject 'unjust' Mideast settlement


11-28-06 - Hezbollah Said to Help Shiite Army in Iraq The interview occurred at a time of intense debate over whether the United States should enlist Iran?s help in stabilizing Iraq. The Iraq Study Group, directed by James A. Baker III, a former Republican secretary of state, and Lee H. Hamilton, a former Democratic lawmaker, is expected to call for direct talks with Tehran. Wow, what a coincidence, this finding. For, the Iraq Study Group is going to release it's recommendations very soon, and well, we can't negotiate with Iran NOW, can we?


11-28-06 - China's Muslims look to Middle East as ties grow


11-28-06 - U.S. Critiques Russia as It Readies for Mideast Democracy Forum

News for 11-27-06

11-27-06 - Israelis avoiding Cyprus due to Lebanese refugees


11-27-06 - US panel on Iraq to urge aggressive regional diplomacy According to The Times, the draft of the section on diplomatic strategy was heavily influenced by panel co-chairman and former secretary of state James Baker and seemed to reflect his public criticism of the administration for its unwillingness to talk with nations like Iran and Syria.


11-27-06 - U.S. envoy: Iran nears nuclear weapons "Our assessment ... the assessment from our intelligence community, is that the soonest they could produce a nuclear weapon would be the beginning of next decade, 2010 to 2015," said Gregory L. Schulte, U.S. ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency.


11-27-06 - Iran offers Iraq all possible help with security "The Iranian nation and government will definitely stand beside their brother, Iraq, and any help the government and nation of Iran can give to strengthen security in Iraq will be given," Ahmadinejad said, according to Iran's ISNA news agency.


11-27-06 - Iran and China poised to sign pact on oil field TEHRAN: Iran and China have moved a step closer to signing an energy deal worth as much as $100 billion, with the Islamic republic saying it had invited China Petrochemical's managing director to Tehran to sign an accord first reached in 2004


11-27-06 - We Must Do What? I was surprised that an essay of such ignorance, such hatred, and such embarrassing lack of credibility was published at all in a major newspaper. I was surprised that Joshua Muravchik has an audience; that he apparently does is frightening.


11-27-06 - Justice Department eyes spy program The Justice Department has begun an internal investigation into its handling of information gathered in the government's domestic spying program. However, Democrats criticized the review as too narrow to determine whether the program violated federal law.


11-27-06 - 'Neocons' abandon Iraq war at White House front door


11-27-06 - Cheney and Neo-Cons Plotting More Wars suddenly, the Saudis, along with several other Sunni Arab regimes, find themselves as strange bedfellows with Washington's neo-cons and with the Ehud Olmert government in Israel--in common cause against Iran.



11-27-06 - TV Blowhard Barks at Iran: Let?s Hold CNN Accountable His name is Glenn Beck, a smiley-toothed monologist and proselytizer who is a recovering alcoholic, talk-radio host, convert to Mormonism and self-described ?rodeo clown.? His crude rants would be easy to ignore except that CNN -- part of the Time Warner conglomerate ? has chosen to give Beck a primetime platform which he uses day after day to cheer on a confrontation with Iran.


11-27-06 - Military plane crashes in Tehran An Iranian military plane has crashed while taking off from an airport in Tehran, killing elite troops.


11-27-06 - Bolton: Bush to discuss nations, Lebanon Iranian and Syrian interference in Lebanon is a major U.S. concern and will be a subject of discussion during President Bush's trip to the Middle East later this week, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said Monday.


11-27-06 - Secret Pentagon Documents Classify "If we aren't investigated by the government, we probably aren't doing our job,"


11-27-06 - IDF officials: Mines in Lebanon could have been laid by Syria, Hezbollah Dalya Farran, a spokeswoman for the UN agency, said its experts found the land mines and were able to tell they were new Israeli anti-personnel mines based on their "type, shape and condition." Right. Like that 'mine' that Hamas planted on the Gaza beach in July. K.


11-27-06 - Israelis Split on Unilateral Attack Against Iran Do you count on the United States and on the Europeans to succeed in stopping the nuclear program of Iran by peaceful means and via United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions? That's PEACEFUL means. Look at the results. They forgot to ask the most important question: are you expecting America to attack Iran for Israel?


11-27-06 - Oil price falls as US stocks rise


11-27-06 - Flurry of diplomacy as US seeks to regain Mideast initiative The burst of US diplomacy is seen in part as an effort to counter Iran's bid for a greater role in the region, where it has significant influence with Shiite militants who have been foiling US policies in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian areas Iran is the reason.


11-27-06 - Dollar's downward slide continues The dollar has continued its downward slide against the euro, slipping to 20-month lows.


11-27-06 - A Storm Is Brewing in Kurdistan.


11-27-06 - Iraq's Palestinians in bull's-eye international officials warn that Palestinians are in an especially precarious position because they are considered outsiders, even after decades of living in Iraq, and have difficulty gaining admission to other countries because they do not carry Iraqi passports


11-27-06 - Carter shares insight on peace in Mideast I mention in the book that we've vetoed resolutions, some of them overwhelmingly supported by the world community, probably now about 45 times, in fact twice within the last two weeks when Israel attacked the Gaza people and killed those 18 civilians. The United States vetoed the resolution that condemned that action. And I have to tell you that I have always considered myself a supporter of Israel -- but with the premise that Israel comply with international law and withdraw from occupying territories of the West Bank and Gaza. And what's degenerated in recent years, to a very disturbing degree, is the gross abuse of the Palestinians by the Israeli occupying powers. It's one of the most serious human-rights abuses about which I'm familiar. It aggravates and alienates not only the Palestinians and the Arab world, but most of the rest of the world


11-27-06 - Spy death linked to nuclear thefts


11-27-06 - Bush Asking Arab Friends for Iraq Help Meanwhile, one of Ms. Rice?s most trusted aides, Philip D. Zelikow, announced Monday that he was resigning his post as State Department counselor. Mr. Zelikow, widely viewed as a voice of candor in the administration on the Iraq crisis, said in his resignation letter that he would return to teaching at the University of Virginia


11-27-06 - Murdered KGB Agent Visited Israel


11-27-06 - Saudi urges US to play fair in Mideast


11-27-06 - The Saudis strike back at Iran Three things must be said about Cheney's beliefs. First, he is steadfast in his belief that the Iraq war is still a "doable" job. Second, he consistently maintains that an Iraq settlement is inconceivable without a regime change in Iran. Most important, Cheney believes that when it comes to Israel's security, US politicians are alike. Name them, they are all "friends of Israel" - Democratic presidential hopefuls Senators Hillary Clinton and Evan Bayh, Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, and the incoming chairman of the House Committee on International Affairs, Democratic Congressman Tom Lantos.



11-27-06 - Zuckerman, Tisch and Lauder: Rock stars of the Jewish world honored at ZOA dinner R. James Woolsey, former Director of the CIA under President Bill Clinton, was ZOA?s Keynote Speaker. Woolsey was honored with the ZOA?s Defender of Israel Award .....Among the numerous distinguished guests who attended the Dinner were Kenneth Bialkin, Malcolm Hoenlein, Steve Emerson and a number of national board members of AIPAC.

News for 11-26-06

11-26-06 - Iran says it's set to help U.S. on Iraq Iran said Sunday it is willing to help Washington calm Iraq's escalating sectarian violence if the U.S. drops its "bullying" policy toward Tehran, but denied organizing a summit with the leaders of Iraq and Syria to discuss the troubles in its neighbor.


11-26-06 - Anti-war Democrat has ties to U.S.' prewar Iraq claims Carney, 47, is not apologetic about his work for Feith's unit at the Pentagon. "I certainly stand by the fact that I believe there was some sort of relationship," he said in an interview. "On a scale from zero to 10, with zero being no relationship and 10 perfect operational coordination," Carney said, the Iraq-al-Qaida link was "somewhere in the 2.5 range."



11-26-06 - Tehran to protest to UAE over 'anti-Iran activities' "Despite some slogans and stands taken by the Americans for changes in policy, there is no practical change. An example is their operations in UAE," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters.


11-26-06 - Iraqi president to hold talks in Tehran Iran had invited Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the talks, but Syria did not respond.


11-26-06 - "America's moment in the Middle East is about to end" So, who benefits from greater antagonism between Washington and Damascus? Who gains from the continuing bloodshed in Iraq? Prime Minister Olmert helped answer this question just a few days ago when he said: "I know that (Bush's) policies are controversial in America. (but) I stand with the president because I know that Iraq without Saddam Hussein so much better for the safety and security of Israel?Thank God for the determination and leadership of George Bush". (Reuters)


11-26-06 - US man allegedly spied for Israel, China A federal grand jury in Honolulu has indicted a leading former military engineer for allegedly transferring classified information to Israel, China, and other countries.


11-26-06 - Bonkers Diplomacy it now appears that the principal result of Bush-Cheney-Rice-Bolton ramming the US-India nuclear deal through Congress and the NSG will be the establishment of a Russian-Chinese-Indian co-prosperity sphere, encompassing the Caspian Sea nuclear-oil-gas energy resources of Kazakhstan and Iran, as well as the Persian Gulf oil-gas energy resources of Iran and perhaps even Iraq.



11-26-06 - Needed: A Big Stick Iran and Syria are ruthlessly waging war against Western interests in the Middle East. Offering to talk is only a small part of what it will take to stop them. This is an editorial by the Washington Post that falls in lockstep with the neocons' agenda.


11-26-06 - Peacekeepers bring calm to south Lebanon


11-26-06 - Lebanon divide hits dangerous deadlock over UN court plans


11-26-06 - Jordan king warns on Mideast civil wars "We could possibly imagine going into 2007 and having three civil wars on our hands," he said, citing conflicts in Iraq, Lebanon and the decades-long strife between the Palestinians and Israelis.


11-26-06 - Lebanon's grief for lost leader turns to dread of new civil war The funeral took place on the day Hezbollah had been due to call a million supporters on to the streets with the aim of toppling the government in which Gemayel served


11-26-06 - Egypt threatens to quit importing Israeli cotton over price hike Under the agreement, Egypt is obligated to incorporate in the production Israeli output to a minimum of 11.7% in order to receive customs tax exemptions in the United States

News for 11-25-06

11-25-06 - US involved for longer time in Iraq than in World War II The US involvement in Iraq will pass another sad milestone on Sunday, when it overtakes the length of America's engagement in World War II.


11-25-06 - Cheney returning to U.S. after talks with Saudis A Western diplomat said the United States wanted to counter the threat from Iran and Syria by co-opting moderate Arab nations on both Iraq and the Palestinian-Israeli issue and the current diplomatic push was proof of this.


11-25-06 - Rumsfeld okayed abuses says former U.S. general Karpinski, who ran the prison until early 2004, said she saw a memorandum signed by Rumsfeld detailing the use of harsh interrogation methods.


11-25-06 - Woes for Baker group Accusations that Syria was behind Tuesday's assassination of Lebanese Christian cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel are expected to make an opening to Syria more difficult. Well isn't that conVENient (Church Lady)?


11-25-06 - And now - Deep Background by Philip Giraldi FBI reportedly has kept the case open as Wells, an Israeli citizen who claims to be a student but does not appear to be registered for a course of study anywhere, is suspected of working for Israeli intelligence in some capacity. If it is determined that he might be from Mossad, he will undoubtedly be quietly deported on immigration charges to avoid embarrassing the Israeli government.


11-25-06 - U.N. group: Israel laid mines in Lebanon The Israeli military said it wasn't convinced the mine was recently laid or used by Israel, saying it could have placed by Hezbollah or another party during the decades of conflict in Lebanon. But officials were evasive when asked whether Israel laid mines in Lebanon this summer. More deceptive behavior from the Israeli government.


11-25-06 - Larijani says Israel cannot attack Iran with US support: report "How could IAEA and the West blame Iran for any illegal activity while the Agency's cameras are covering every activity and its inspectors have been inspecting each of Iran's nuclear installations?" Larijani asked.


11-25-06 - Mubarak: identifying those behind Lebanon killings 'premature'


11-25-06 - US hawk judges 'war on terror' a mistake Rejecting calls to arms by the same neo-conservatives who advocated invading Iraq, he says a pre-emptive attack on Iran "would be a catastrophic failure".


11-25-06 - UN says Israel planted landmines in Lebanon as four wounded Four members of an international demining team have been wounded in an Israeli-laid minefield in south Lebanon, a UN spokeswoman said, adding it was the first evidence of use by the Jewish state of anti-personnel mines in the summer conflict


11-25-06 - Hezbollah 'to rule within five years' Not all Israeli experts believe the Syrian Government was involved in the assassination of the Lebanese minister. Zvi Barel, Arab affairs analyst of the daily Ha'aretz, noted that Syria was in the midst of chalking up significant diplomatic points that could only be harmed if it were shown to be involved in another political assassination.


11-25-06 - West must prepare for Chinese, Indian dominance: Wolfensohn Because corporate interests sold America down the river by outsourcing our jobs to both countries. This is high treason, IMO.


11-25-06 - Hariri court gets Lebanon backing While he did not want to pre-judge any investigation into Mr Gemayel's death, Mr Bolton said, proof of Syrian involvement would show it was "not just a supporter of terrorism but is a state actor in a terrorist fashion".


11-25-06 - Saudis may pull out of Eurofighter contract over fraud probe: report


11-25-06 - U.S. Groups To Host Rightist Minister With Anti-Arab Plan In a further indication of his acceptance into the political mainstream, controversial right-wing Israeli politician and newly minted government minister Avigdor Lieberman will be hosted next month in New York by the most influential umbrella organization of American Jewish groups. It speaks volumes. He's coming here to speak about Iran.


11-25-06 - From Nov. 2005: UN Amb. John Bolton And Jerusalem Post's Caroline Glick The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is pleased to announce that U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton will be the Keynote Speaker at the annual ZOA Louis Brandeis Award Dinner. He will also receive ZOA?s Defender of Israel award


11-25-06 - From Dec. 2005: Israeli Aides Warn U.S. Not To Drop Ball on Iran Israeli officials, sources said, were surprised by reports that rather than take the lead in pressuring Iran, the Bush administration instructed its ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khaklilzad, to open a dialogue with Iran's ambassador there. In addition, Israeli officials were also upset by Washington's restrained reaction to the deal that Russia is finalizing to sell Tehran more than $1 billion worth of anti-aircraft missiles, which could be used to help Iran protect its nuclear facilities against a possible air strike.


11-25-06 - Israeli military chief may quit over failed campaign Many Israeli officers regard this year?s battles as a ?dress rehearsal for the real thing? ? a war against the combined might of Hezbollah and Syria, and possibly Iran.


11-25-06 - Syrian Jews: Talk to Syria now

And now - Deep Background by Philip Giraldi

p.21 of the December 4, 2006 issue of The American Conservative:

Yechezkel Wells, a Florida student, pleaded guilty on Oct. 24 to making a phony bomb threat after he called 911 at Long Beach Airport, near Los Angeles. Wells claimed that he had arrived at the terminal on Aug. 26 too late to clear security for his flight so he made the call, hoping to delay the departure so he could board. Instead, the airport was shut down while the plane was searched. Wells will be sentenced on Jan. 29 and faces a punishment that can range from probation to five years in prison. The FBI reportedly has kept the case open as Wells, an Israeli citizen who claims to be a student but does not appear to be registered for a course of study anywhere, is suspected of working for Israeli intelligence in some capacity. If it is determined that he might be from Mossad, he will undoubtedly be quietly deported on immigration charges to avoid embarrassing the Israeli government.

News for 11-24-06

11-24-06 - Iran makes concession to UN nuclear investigation


11-24-06 - Russian rocket deliveries to Iran started Russia has begun deliveries of the Tor-M1 air defence rocket system to Iran, Russian news agencies quoted military industry sources as saying, in the latest sign of a Russian-US rift over Iran.


11-24-06 - Russian nuclear chief to visit Tehran


11-24-06 - US interference 'allowed terror gang to escape' A team of suspected terrorists involved in an alleged UK plot to blow up trans-atlantic airliners escaped capture because of interference by the United States, The Independent has been told by counter-terrorism sources.


11-24-06 - 'US troops kill four' on Iraq bus


11-24-06 - US in contact with anti-Iran Kurds: PKK Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh revealed recently in the New Yorker magazine that American forces were supporting the PJAK movement as part of their strategy to destabilize the Tehran government.


11-24-06 - Who Decides on War With Iran?


11-24-06 - Expert: Bush can't attack Iran ** US President George Bush does not have sufficient credit to initiate a military strike on Iran , Giora Romm, senior researcher for the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, told a forum attended by members of the Foreign Ministry and delegates from the American Jewish community in Jerusalem Tuesday.


11-24-06 - Australian Company AWB 'knew Iraq plans a year before' The documents, released at the Cole inquiry yesterday, undercut previous statements by Prime Minister John Howard that Australia did not agree to join the war before the UN debate in late 2002 and early 2003.


11-24-06 - Leaving Iraq, Honorably By Chuck Hagel


11-24-06 - The rise and decline of the neo-cons ** There is no doubt that the top foreign policy priority for neo-conservatives in the final two years of Bush's presidency will be to goad him into attacking Iran's suspected nuclear facilities, if ongoing diplomatic efforts to contain or roll back Tehran's nuclear program stall or fail. Wrote Joshua Muravchik, an AEI scholar, in the November 2006 issue of the influential magazine Foreign Policy: "Make no mistake, President Bush will need to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities before leaving office."
The neoconservatives, hoping to find an excuse to foist their 'Clean Break' strategy on the US, also signed on to the PNAC - an outfit whose website proclaimed that the US needed a 'new Pearl Harbor'. Coincidentally, they got just that (in the form of 9/11) very shortly into the Bush presidency and with all of the neocons in key positions therein.


11-24-06 - Lebanon strikers call for unity


11-24-06 - Cluster bomb wounds two experts Two mine-clearing experts were rushed to hospital in Lebanon after a dormant cluster bomb left behind by Israel exploded.


11-24-06 - Netanyahu warns on Iran The boy who cried wolf.


11-24-06 - There's no accounting for it Gemayel's murder will be fully investigated - but there is no sign of justice for the 1,183 Lebanese civilians killed in this summer's war Good point.


11-24-06 - Palestinians on Iraq-Syria border UNHCR is very concerned about five Palestinians ? three men and two boys ? who were arrested on Tuesday by Iraqi security forces at Al Tanf border crossing between Iraq and Syria.


11-24-06 - Syria: Convenient but Unlikely Fall Guy for Gemayel's Death Gemayel's death, and Syria's blame for it, strengthens the case of the neoconservatives in Washington ? Israel's allies in the Administration ? whose star had begun to wane. They can now argue convincingly that Syria is unreformed and unreformable. Such an outcome helps to avert the danger, from Israel's point of view, that White House doves might win the argument for befriending Syria.




11-24-06 - Killing plunges Lebanon deeper into crisis The assassination of Gemayel, and the fingerpointing at Syria, at a time when the ice was thawing between Syrian and the West - is highly reminiscent of the Lavon Affair. Somebody sought to poison the warming relations between Egypt's Nasser and the West. Who was it? And who are the experts at assassinations?


11-24-06 - Lebanese viewpoints I think Israel and the USA are benefiting from the situation; but I don't know who did it. We should wait for the investigation.


11-24-06 - Tycoon blames Kremlin in spy death Leonid Nevzlin, who fled to Israel in 2004 after Russian authorities charged officers of the Yukos oil giant with tax evasion, murder and fraud, said Alexander Litvinenko had shared with him evidence of Kremlin malfeasance in the Yukos affair.


11-24-06 - Syria expects foes to slander it over killing of Gemayel Syria, while clearly unhappy with the tribunal and with Lebanon's Western-backed government, argues that Gemayel's death plays into the hands of its Lebanese opponents and hurts its chances of dialogue with Europe and the United States.


11-24-06 - Keeping it unreal Built by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) more than 30 years ago, the purpose of this replica town is to train Israeli soldiers in the strategies of modern urban combat. It was here that the IDF rehearsed the invasion of Beirut in 1982 and the withdrawal from Gaza last year. It was here, too, that US forces drilled the battle of Fallujah and the raid of Baghdad three years ago
They trained our guys in 'urban combat', among other things. Now you know why there are so many similarities (the origin of the term "Palestinian hangings"). Then one wonders why Iraqis didn't accept us as 'liberators'. (Because Israeli tactics work so well on Palestinians..)


11-24-06 - Iran and Syria Helping Hizballah Rearm additional reporting by Aaron J. Klein/Tel Aviv Wouldn't you know - Aaron Klein reported this propaganda, I mean news.


11-24-06 - Kremlin critic who died in London suffered radiation poisoning: Britain Litvinenko's rapid, and previously unexplained decline, was reminiscent of that of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who became ill with nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea after eating dinner in his compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Oct. 12, 2004. The symptoms continued for more than two weeks before he was evacuated to France where he died on Nov. 11.




11-24-06 - When will Israel attack Iran?

News for 11-23-06

11-23-06 - Iran offers UN new nuclear access


11-23-06 - Mideast diplomacy / Bush to visit Jordan, won't meet PM, Abbas We can assume that Bush informed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of his intentions to limit the American presence in Iraq during their meeting last week. That would explain Olmert's controversial statements regarding a rushed American pullout from Iraq that would "undermine stability" in the region. From Israel's point of view, there is tremendous significance to the thinning American presence in the Middle East, at a time when Iran is getting stronger and is seeking to form a regional alliance against America and its allies.



11-23-06 - Gunmen clash with Lebanese-Palestinian security forces in refugee camp, 3 wounded


11-23-06 - Louise Arbour: Israel may be more to blame than Hizbullah "I left Gaza with a sense that the right of its people to their physical integrity - their right to life - was particularly imperiled," Arbour said.


11-23-06 - France okays firing at IAF over Lebanon French soldiers in Lebanon who feel threatened by aggressive Israeli overflights are permitted to shoot at IAF fighter jets, a high-ranking French military officer told The Jerusalem Post.


11-23-06 - Thousands attend Beirut funeral


11-23-06 - Civil war In Lebanon


11-23-06 - The Next Act: Will the Republicans? Mid-Term Loss Hurt Chances of a War on Iran? ** What's happening right now and the reason some of the people talked to me about the new Israeli intelligence, is that there's a great debate inside the community about how good it is, whether it's for -- you know, there is human intelligence about a warhead being manufactured, but nobody in the CIA knows much about it, who the source is, knows ? are there drawings, any evidence, any technical evidence? Those questions aren?t being asked and answered because the White House likes it. The Israelis are supplying us with intelligence on a Middle Eastern country's alleged WMD program - again.


11-23-06 - Ex-council leader jailed for contacting Iranian agents


11-23-06 - Poll: More than half of Israelis support Syria talks More than half of Israelis would like to see Israel engage in negotiations with Syria, but are unprepared to withdraw from the Golan Heights as a price for peace


11-23-06 - What the U.S. Has Failed to Learn in Lebanon a key reason for the U.S.'s setbacks in the Middle East is it's chronic refusal to wholeheartedly address the root causes of conflict, such as the lack of a negotiated end to Israel's occupation of Arab lands, the failure to establish a Palestinian state and Western support for repressive Arab regimes.


11-23-06 - Damascus awaits a renewed political backlash Syria now expects its enemies to use the killing to blacken its image and dash its hopes of a thaw in ties with the West. This particular killing is reminiscent of the Lavon Affair. Who did it and why?


11-23-06 - Israel's Rumsfeld Takes Heat In my opinion were Israel to attack Iran, and if Iran takes revenge the world's oil market will be in a mess.


11-23-06 - War on terror is WWIII: Israeli Lt Gen The West should confront the threat through diplomatic and even military action if necessary, and Iran and Syria must be held responsible for their support of militants in Iraq, Lt Gen Yaalon said.

News for 11-22-06

11-22-06 - Volunteer Drivers Needed More than 9,000 volunteers drive veterans to their VA medical center and clinic appointments as part of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Volunteer Transportation Network (VTN). Additional volunteer drivers are needed to sustain the program of providing free rides to veterans. Support the veterans of this country. While some may disagree with this war, that doesn't mean we don't care about our veterans.


11-22-06 - Iraqi death toll hits record high


11-22-06 - Top Marine: Troops under too much strain The new Marine Corps commandant said Wednesday that the longer than anticipated pace of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan is putting an unacceptable strain on his troops.


11-22-06 - Cheney to meet with King Abdullah in Saudi Arabia U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney will travel to Saudi Arabia on Friday for a meeting with King Abdullah to discuss issues of "mutual interest" in the Middle East "mutual interest"=Iran


11-22-06 - Reno, Former Justice Department Officials Criticize Bush Administration Terror Laws


11-22-06 - Web site wants every name listed of those killed in Iraq


11-22-06 - Italy Replaces Intelligence Chief The government on Monday replaced the head of Italy's military intelligence agency, who was under investigation for the alleged CIA abduction of an Egyptian cleric and links to a fake dossier that purported to show Iraq tried to buy uranium ahead of the U.S.-led invasion.


11-22-06 - Iraq war was good for Israel: Olmert "I stand with the president because I know that Iraq without Saddam Hussein is so much better for the security and safety of Israel, and all of the neighbors of Israel without any significance to us," added Olmert, who was speaking in English.


11-22-06 - US to boost military help for Lebanon Cui bono ? Who benefits? ? is a question that must ever be asked about Middle Eastern terror


11-22-06 - UN agency to turn down Iranian reactor request: diplomats


11-22-06 - UN agrees to probe Lebanon murder


11-22-06 - Israel eyes trade deals from China visit Beijing has also sought closer ties with Israel in recent years, particularly in trying to source military technology and hardware Yeh, OURS. And Israel has indulged them.


11-22-06 - US could bomb Iran nuclear sites in 2007: analysts ** Israel has also been pushing Washington to get tough on Iran.


11-22-06 - Bush pledges to stand by Lebanon US President George W Bush has pledged to support Lebanon's independence from what he called the "encroachments of Iran and Syria",


11-22-06 - Israel army trains U.N. in bomb disposal for Lebanon Isn't that nice of them? Why not refrain from dropping those cluster bombs into civilian areas in the first place? Too easy.


11-22-06 - israel opts for MAJOR war in Gaza The deeper the domestic crisis erupting in Lebanon in the wake of the assassination of Pierre Gemayel on Tuesday, Nov. 21, the less Hizballah will be free to start another war against Israel.


11-22-06 - UN approves tribunal to try Hariri murder suspects


11-22-06 - Neo-Cons or Just Plain "Cons"


11-22-06 - Oil price falls as US stocks rise


11-22-06 - Arms deals frozen because of Chavez Anti-Israel comments by Venezuelan president delay weapon deals with Israel

News for 11-21-06

11-21-06 - Annan sees US 'trapped' in Iraq The US is effectively "trapped" in Iraq, with the prospect of staying in the country as problematic as pulling out, the head of the UN has said.


11-21-06 - Hersh: US Backs Kurdish Rebels in Iran He explained that Washington backed the PKK?s Iranian wing PEJAK in order to destabilize the Iranian administration.


11-21-06 - Selective Service: Ready for a draft Although Congress is unlikely to follow calls from a top Democrat to bring back the military draft, the United States does have a plan, if necessary, aimed at inducting millions of young men for service.


11-21-06 - U.S. Sets Up a Perch in Dubai to Keep an Eye on Iran


11-21-06 - War Supporters Must Face the Music by Jesse Jackson the American people have begun to understand the scope of the fiasco. They went to the polls to demand a change in course in Iraq. Bush dismissed Rumsfeld, leader of the neocons, and brought in the pros -- James Baker, Robert Gates -- from his father's administration. They, with the new Democratic leadership in the Congress, will have the impossible task of trying to extricate America, with as little damage as possible, from the mess the neocons got us into. The neocons and anyone else that contributed to one of the greatest deceptions in the history of America need to be brought to justice. We owe it to our men and their families.


11-21-06 - Military Data Reveal Tips on Antiwar Activities The head of the office that runs the military database, which is known as Talon, said Monday that material on antiwar protests should not have been collected in the first place.


11-21-06 - Elder Bush takes on son's Arab critics His son was snookered by the VP and his office-full of neocons.


11-21-06 - Lebanon mourns murdered minister BBC Middle East correspondent Jeremy Bowen says the assassination seems to have been designed to inflame sectarian tensions at a time when Lebanon was already going through a profound political crisis. Cui bono? - who benefits? - is a question that must ever be asked about Middle Eastern terror.- Patrick J. Buchanan


11-21-06 - Oil prices rise on Opec cuts talk


11-21-06 - American foes step into the Iraq fray The US has repeatedly accused Iran and Syria of stirring up violence inside Iraq, but recently the notion of isolating them as punishment has lost favor in Washington. A growing number President Bush's advisers are urging direct dialogue with both nations. Not going to happen now, is it?


11-21-06 - Israel's Domestic Political Game Raises the Danger of a U.S.-Iran War ** One reason it won't be debated publicly because it's based on a fallacy promoted by a calculated campaign of hysteria by Israel's leadership


11-21-06 - Israel backers say no need to worry as Iraq Study Group prepares report


11-21-06 - Iraq and Syria restore relations Correspondents say Iraq hopes the move will help to stem a flow of militants across the border with Syria. What will the AIPACers do if they can't blame Syria for this? Wait a minute, wait a minute. What happened today.... in Lebanon..


11-21-06 - 'Israel should embrace, not fear, James Baker' In 1989, Baker also stunned many by telling an AIPAC conference that "now is the time to lay aside once and for all the unrealistic vision of a Greater Israel. Israeli interests in the West Bank and Gaza, security and otherwise, can be accommodated in a settlement based on [UN Security Council] Resolution 242. Forswear annexation; stop settlement activity; allow schools to reopen; reach out to the Palestinian as neighbors who deserve political rights." Demand Israel abide by international law? The horror!


11-21-06 - Support Information Clearinghouse This man has many many videos and daily updates of news of Palestine, neocons, etc.


11-21-06 - Reid "can't afford not to (support israel)"


11-21-06 - The Geriatric Squad It has occurred to me that perhaps the real goal of the invasion of Iraq has already been accomplished. That is, the real goal all along might well have been to half-destroy the country and create chaos. A country in chaos is not a strong country. It's been taken out of the play. That might explain Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's statement that the Iraq invasion has contributed greatly to Israel's security.




11-21-06 - U.S. to address cluster bombs


11-21-06 - Netanyahu and the End Times In a congressional spinoff, the FBI and Justice Department are investigating claims of collusion between AIPAC and Rep. Jane Harman of California, ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. In return for lobby support for her reappointment, Harman allegedly agreed to press the government to go easy on Rosen and Weissman

News for 11-20-06

11-20-06 - Iran and Syria try to upstage US in Iraq President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad has invited the leaders of Iraq and Syria to a summit in Tehran this weekend to discuss ways of ending the sectarian violence in Iraq, upstaging the US and underlining the growing influence of Iran.


11-20-06 - U.S., EU oppose atomic aid for Iran at tense IAEA meet Western powers urged the U.N. nuclear agency on Monday to deny Iran's request for help with a plant that could yield plutonium for atom bombs, but Washington voiced no objection to seven other projects presented by Tehran.


11-20-06 - Iranian militia threatens Gulf if US strikes A hardline Iranian group has threatened to send suicide bombers to attack pro-American Gulf neighbours if the United States uses its military bases to strike Iran.


11-20-06 - Military Plea Bargains Raise Questions of Justice Four of the U.S. soldiers on trial for the murder of a disabled Iraqi man have reached plea bargains with military prosecutors, drastically minimizing the time they will spend in jail.


11-20-06 - Ahmadinejad is no Hitler American officials have historically discounted its bluster and paid attention to its actual conduct. And they were right to do so. Khamenei and Rafsanjani, despite their irresponsible assertions and pernicious support for a variety of terrorist organizations, have pursued a relatively pragmatic foreign policy that has sought to eschew direct confrontation with the U.S. and Israel.


11-20-06 - Report: Pentagon's 'closely guarded' review of Iraq offers three options The Post reports that the military is acting independently of any other group that may be studying the Iraq situation, such as bipartisan Iraq Study Group, led by former Secretary of State Jim Baker


11-20-06 - Syria plays Iraq card against US


11-20-06 - Iran wants 60,000, not 100,000, centrifuges: agency "We intend to install 60,000 centrifuges and, God willing, Iran will be able to provide for its needs in nuclear fuel by next year," Ahmadinejad was quoted by ISNA as saying in a corrected report.


11-20-06 - White House dismisses Hersh article ** In his interview, Hersh alluded to a spat between the White House and the Central Intelligence Agency over an alleged Israeli intelligence assessment that puts Iran close to developing a trigger for a nuclear bomb. "The CIA isn't getting a good look at the Israeli intelligence," Hersh said
Perhaps because it's BS (like the intel Israel provided us with regard to Iraq prior to our invasion thereof)?


11-20-06 - Bush: I would understand if Israel chose to attack Iran ** The United States lacks sufficient intelligence on Iran's nuclear facilities at this time, which prevents it from initiating a military strike against them, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has told European politicians and diplomats with whom she has recently met. An attack on Iran by Israel would automatically involve us in it.


11-20-06 - Ahmadinejad: Israel weak, won't attack Iran The ISNA news agency reported Monday that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel would not attack the Islamic Republic as ?its regime is weak and it has many problems.?


11-20-06 - Time to toughen up on Iran: Israeli FM


11-20-06 - Security Council put off decision on Hariri tribunal


11-20-06 - France, Israel talk on Lebanon flights: ambassador


11-20-06 - Israeli army disobeyed order not to use cluster bombs: TV For its part, the Internet site of the Yediot Aharonot daily said an initial probe by the army had determined that Israeli artillery used the munitions contrary to a ban by Halutz. Months later they discover this? Please. This is simply the latest in a series of Israel's attempts to correct its image in the world, nothing more. And for the record, Halutz was behind this incident. It's unlikely that he gives a rat's about using cluster bombs on Arabs.


11-20-06 - The Gewalt agenda Olmert is foiling any possible progress on this track: On his way home from Los Angeles, the prime minister "calmed" the reporters - and perhaps even himself - by saying there is no danger of U.S. President George W. Bush accepting the expected recommendations of the Baker-Hamilton panel, and attempting to move Syria out of the axis of evil and into a coalition to extricate America from Iraq. The prime minister hopes the Jewish lobby can rally a Democratic majority in the new Congress to counter any diversion from the status quo on the Palestinians. Note the source (horse's mouth).


11-20-06 - Cheney, the neocons and Israel work together again - this time, Iran **


11-20-06 - 2nd man charged in terrorism TV case A man was charged Monday with supporting terrorists by enabling customers to obtain satellite broadcasts of a Hezbollah television station, the second person accused in a case that has drawn scrutiny over how far the government can go in claiming someone is aiding terrorist groups.


11-20-06 - Stalemate over West Bank settlements We were there, a small group of witnesses, to try to make sure that the settlers did not simply attack the Arab families with their automatic weapons and truncheons, as they had done in the past..... this is not the real reason that Baker is disliked by Jews. He is also the only U.S. secretary of State since the Camp David accords in 1979 to have taken credible action against the proliferation of Jewish settlements like Havat Maon. In 1991, he and the first President Bush got the Senate to hold up a program of American loan guarantees for Israel that were earmarked to help settle Russian Jewish immigrants; he had tried, and failed, to elicit a promise from then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir not to use any of this money for expanding settlements. This is proof positive, Jews tell themselves, that he is "anti-Israel."



11-20-06 - Oil falls after Opec warns of cut


11-20-06 - IDF admits targeting civilian areas in Lebanon with cluster bombs According to the officer, in order to compensate for the rockets' lack of precision, they were told to "flood" the area with them. "We have no option of striking an isolated target, and the commanders know this very well," he said. Strange, because that's exactly what Hezbollah did with its rocket fire toward Israeli civilian population centers. One is no better than the other.


11-20-06 - Ahmadinejad dismisses Israeli threats Iran?s president shrugged off Israeli threats to attack his country?s nuclear facilities as psychological warfare.


11-20-06 - London mayor: Muslims demonized like Jews The mayor of London said Muslims are demonized like Jews were in the past.


11-20-06 - Previously unknown group warns of 'Shiite death squads' preparing to attack Sunni Muslims in Lebanon The statement's authenticy could not immediately be verified.

More collaberators with Israel, perhaps?


11-20-06 - Group alleges Israeli, Hezbollah crimes Amnesty International again criticized Israeli and Hezbollah forces' handling of the 34-day war in southern Lebanon, saying both sides committed war crimes by attacking civilians and singling out Israel for its use of cluster bombs.


11-20-06 - Sharansky exits


11-20-06 - Blair indicates policy shift in West's "war on terror" Resolving the Israel-Palestinian conflict was a key first step in "untying the knot of terrorism",


11-20-06 - Ties to Israel are nothing new for Senate?s next majority leader As the newly elected majority leader in the U.S. Senate, Reid will play an instrumental role in crafting U.S. policy in the Middle East. Friends and political observers are confident his position on Israel won't change.


11-20-06 - A different course in the Mideast?

Cheney, the neocons and Israel work together again - this time, Iran

Once again, Seymour Hersh reports on the efforts by Cheney, the neocons, and Israel to get America to attack Iran:

As the C.I.A.’s assessment was making its way through the government, late this summer, current and former military officers and consultants told me, a new element suddenly emerged: intelligence from Israeli spies operating inside Iran claimed that Iran has developed and tested a trigger device for a nuclear bomb. The provenance and significance of the human intelligence, or HUMINT, are controversial. “The problem is that no one can verify it,” the former senior intelligence official told me. “We don’t know who the Israeli source is. The briefing says the Iranians are testing trigger mechanisms”—simulating a zero-yield nuclear explosion without any weapons-grade materials—“but there are no diagrams, no significant facts. Where is the test site? How often have they done it? How big is the warhead—a breadbox or a refrigerator? They don’t have that.” And yet, he said, the report was being used by White House hawks within the Administration to “prove the White House’s theory that the Iranians are on track. And tests leave no radioactive track, which is why we can’t find it.” Still, he said, “The agency is standing its ground.”........The Pentagon consultant told me that, while there may be pressure from the Israelis, “they won’t do anything on their own without our green light.” That assurance, he said, “comes from the Cheney shop. It’s Cheney himself who is saying, ‘We’re not going to leave you high and dry, but don’t go without us.’ ” A senior European diplomat agreed: “For Israel, it is a question of life or death. The United States does not want to go into Iran, but, if Israel feels more and more cornered, there may be no other choice.”

Full article here. - A must read

News for 11-19-06

11-19-06 - Military victory in Iraq impossible: Kissinger


11-19-06 - The Next Act - Is a damaged Administration less likely to attack Iran, or more? ** by Seymour Hersh


11-19-06 - Alarm over China's arms pursuit - in space


11-19-06 - Bush May Limit Scope of Iran Sanctions A Security Council resolution should aim at denying technology to Iran for its nuclear industry and its enrichment programs but not crimp Iran's oil and gas production, Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said.


11-19-06 - Democrats vow to stand in the way of sending more troops


11-19-06 - Congress to probe UK's claims on Iraq uranium Senator Carl Levin, a long-time critic of the handling of pre-war intelligence who will head the Senate's Armed Forces Committee, said: "I want the Niger yellowcake affair to be explored in all its inglorious aspects ? including the British role." Why not investigate Michael Ledeen's(neocon) role in it?


11-19-06 - Bomb Iran ** This individual had a similar article published on the AEI website - a notorious neocon outfit - just weeks ago. It's a curiousity why the LA Times felt the need to give his bellicose blatherings (additional) air time.


11-19-06 - Rep. Rangel will seek to reinstate draft That way, Americans will be FORCED to serve in wars in the Middle East that primarily benefit a nation other than this one.


11-19-06 - Federalist Society's Annual Lawyers Convention Featured Speaker Michael Chertoff Scroll down to the section about Israel's wall. Now isn't it a coincidence that Chertoff - whose mother was Israeli - is advocating against international law and citing the ICJ's opinion on Israel's wall as an example of why America should disregard said law. Notice his spin on the issue. And then read the actual decision here. The issue is not with the wall itself - the issue is that this wall is unlawfully built within occupied Palestinian land. Pro-Israelis seem to have an awfully hard time grasping that concept.


11-19-06 - German globe maker 'establishes' Palestine Pro-Israel advocacy groups campaign around the globe against the use of the word Palestine, since no such country exists, but it turns out that globes being sold in Israel bear the term.

Palestine was on the maps before Israel's creation. It's why the British mandate of the region was called the Palestine Mandate. So, what happened that Palestine is no more? Who/what literally 'wiped (Palestine)off the map'?


11-19-06 - Syria seeks US pullout timetable


11-19-06 - Is the Next Congress For Sale?


11-19-06 - Bolton is Israel's secret weapon, says Gillerman According to Arutz Sheva, Gillerman told the Jewish assembly the Israeli delegation to the United Nations is not five people as most believe, but six, including Bolton, who is the Israeli government's secret weapon. Bolton in no way represents the US at the UN, it is clear.


11-19-06 - From Nov 2002: After Iraq, Bush Will Attack His Real Target The real target of the coming war is Iran, which Israel views as its principal and most dangerous enemy. Iraq merely serves as a pretext to whip America into a war frenzy and to justify insertion of large numbers of U.S. troops into Mesopotamia

News for 11-18-06

11-18-06 - CIA analysis finds no Iranian nuclear weapons drive: report ** A classifed draft CIA assessment has found no firm evidence of a secret drive by Iran to develop nuclear weapons, as alleged by the White House, a top US investigative reporter has said. Seymour Hersh, writing in an article for the November 27 issue of the magazine The New Yorker released in advance, reported on whether the administration of Republican President George W. Bush was more, or less, inclined to attack Iran after Democrats won control of Congress last week.....A current senior intelligence official confirmed the existence of the CIA analysis and said the White House had been hostile to it, he wrote.
Seymour Hersh does it again! This guy is golden.


11-18-06 - Baker met Syrians to discuss Iraq cooperation: report


11-18-06 - Condi's Iraq surprise Abshire bristled a bit when asked about speculation in the press that somehow Baker had set up the group as some sort of favor to help out the president's father. "It is sometimes misunderstood that this is a group that Baker formed," he said


11-18-06 - Americans Say U.S. Should Have Stayed Out of Iraq 3+ years too late.


11-18-06 - Public to get a look at Libby documents In today? ruling, Walton ordered the CIA and Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald to begin a review of classified court filings and transcripts of closed hearings related to requests by I Libby, who is seeking to introduce certain classified documents at trial. Walton said he wants the government to provide him redacted versions so that the public will have an opportunity to view them.


11-18-06 - Iran declaring 'economic warfare' Iran may have signed a virtual "death warrant" by openly declaring a governmental decision to move away from the dollar in the country's foreign-exchange transactions, says WND columnist Jerome Corsi


11-18-06 - Russia implementing arms contract with Iran - official Russia is going ahead with a contract to deliver sophisticated air defence systems to Iran, a Russian defence ministry official said, despite appeals from Washington to reconsider.


11-18-06 - Judge: Detainee can't speak to attorney A suspected terrorist who spent years in a secret CIA prison is not allowed to speak to a civilian attorney until an appeals court decides what rights military detainees have, a federal judge said Friday.


11-18-06 - A 'Grand Bargain' with Iran a ?grand bargain? represents the only real hope of for finding a way of curbing the sectarian violence in Iraq and avoiding a regional conflagration over the Iranian nuclear program. It has the advantage of being able to refer to an Iranian proposal to the United States in spring 2003 which laid out a very concrete framework for negotiating such a bargain.


11-18-06 - US judge refuses to derail domestic spying case


11-18-06 - Iran despises weakness by Henry Kissinger


11-18-06 - Iran presses on with plans for Arak nuclear reactor Iran has said it will only shut down its four-decade-old light-water research reactor in Tehran after a heavy-water reactor in the town of Arak is up and running, a news agency has reported.


11-18-06 - Britain denies Blair's Iraq 'disaster' comment


11-18-06 - Crisis-hit Lebanon awaits UN decision on Hariri court


11-18-06 - Russia questions Lebanon approval of Hariri court


11-18-06 - Olmert's drums of war ** The Democrat's victory in midterm elections in the United States also lessened the likelihood that Bush will bomb Iran. Israel, it seems, is facing Ahmadinejad alone.


11-18-06 - U.S. Lawyers: Libby May Have Disclosed Iraq Secrets


11-18-06 - Bolton in extraordinary outburst against United Nations Despite the resolution being significantly watered down at the behest of the United States, and being passing by 156 votes to seven, Bolton launched a blistering attack on the UN, and many of its members. John Bolton IS - Israel's man at the UN.


11-18-06 - Aides to Abbas, Olmert to meet in Washington for summit meeting: report Sama news agency quoted Palestinian officials as saying that the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has asked both Abbas and Olmert to send their aides in order to "discuss ways of removing obstacles that prevented the pair from meeting." I would like to believe that this is geniune. However, given these events toward peace also happened in the recent past and were seen as necessary to get Europe (and others) on board for the Iraq war, and given that Olmert and other Israeli officials were just here calling for someone to do something about Iran, I think that it is safe to say that the peace efforts now underway are toward the same ends: to get support for forthcoming action on Iran by the US.


11-18-06 - Chertoff says U.S. threatened by international law


11-18-06 - The Stab in the Back This war was always about enhancing Israel's strategic position, and nothing else: not oil, not democracy, not WMD. The goal was to extend Israel's sphere of influence, and that is precisely what is occurring. To the victor go the spoils, and Hersh's revelations highlight the Israelis as the real winners of this war


11-18-06 - Annan urges Syria, Iran to aid Lebanese stability


11-18-06 - Washington gets real ** A senior political advisor to the Republican Party who has criss-crossed America in his clients' Congressional election campaigns, estimated this week that the chances of an American attack have dropped to zero. This, in his opinion, is the implication of the Democrats' victory last week. The public does not want to hear about a new military adventure. Only a large terror attack in the United States, or some other shocking event that can be connected to Iran, would make it possible to enlist public opinion for new hostilities. Ambassador Ayalon disagreed with this assessment this week. He believes that Bush will stop Iran, even by force. A good assessment of the president's intentions, but not necessarily of his ability to realize them.


11-18-06 - Syria exerts backstage influence on Hamas Open to a rapprochement with the West, Damascus has been gently pushing its ally Hamas into solving differences with President Mahmoud Abbas on a new Palestinian government that have played into the hands of Israel, they said.


11-18-06 - 'Bush cronies' or Salah? Salah, of Bridgeview, was caught by Israeli authorities during a January 1993 money-running mission to the Occupied Territories. He was accused of delivering cash to high-ranking Palestinian militants, but Salah's lawyers insist the money was for the charitable arm of Hamas.


11-18-06 - Syrian president, Annan discuss Lebanon U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan spoke with Syrian President Bashar Assad by telephone Saturday to discuss political developments in Lebanon and Iraq.

News for 11-17-06

11-17-06 - Former Iran leader urges Bush on 'axis' Rafsanjani also warned the U.S. not to consider military intervention in Iran, saying Washington's "iron fist policy" has failed.


11-17-06 - Russia, U.S. disagree on Iran sanctions


11-17-06 - Iran dismisses U.N. report on uranium Iran on Wednesday dismissed a U.N. report that inspectors found new traces of enriched uranium and plutonium at a nuclear waste facility, saying it had already explained that discovery.


11-17-06 - Iran leader offers talks with Rome on Iraq, Mideast Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has told Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi in a letter that he is willing to consult Rome on working for peace in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East.


11-17-06 - Russia doesn't want Iran punished in nuclear stand-off: Lavrov Russia does not want to see the UN Security Council punish Iran over its refusal to freeze sensitive nuclear work, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.


11-17-06 - Blair accepts 'disaster' in Iraq


11-17-06 - US soldier jailed for life A US military judge has sentenced a soldier to life in prison with possibility of parole for the rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and her family.


11-17-06 - Invasion of Iraq was Blair's 'big mistake', says Hodge


11-17-06 - Dutch military in Iraq abuse row


11-17-06 - Syria denies arming Somali Islamists Syria denied sending weapons to Somali Islamists in violation of the arms embargo imposed on Somalia since 1992, rejecting the conclusions of a United Nations report.


11-17-06 - Iran says had no role in 1994 bombing of Argentina Jewish group "We can prove with documents that Iran had nothing to do with the attack. I am talking concrete proof," Iranian Trade attache Moshen Baharvand said in an interview published in the daily Clarin.


11-17-06 - The New Media Offensive Against Withdrawal I'll tell you why the media is now against Iraq withrawal.


11-17-06 - Pentagon wants to build mini-city for terror trials To anybody it would beg questions: . . . 'What are we doing here? Why are we doing it this way? What is the requirement? Why is it going to cost that much?' These are routine oversight questions and we will do this,''


11-17-06 - Italy welcomes Iran's offer for dialogue on Mideast issues


11-17-06 - Road to peace in Iraq is through Jerusalem and Beirut For American neo-conservatives, the toppling of Saddam Hussein was supposed to put other adversaries like Iran and Syria on notice, spread democracy throughout the region, and ultimately lead to peace with Israel on the Jewish state's terms.



11-17-06 - U.N. calls on Israel to end operation The resolution passed Friday by a vote of 156 to 7, with six abstentions. The U.S., Israel and Australia voted against the document, while all the European Union members supported it after last-minute changes were made to soften the tone.


11-17-06 - French UN troops prepare guns against Israeli jets in Lebanon He said "UNIFIL observed and reported 14 Israeli air violations this morning, on November 17, 2006, and 11 of these violations occurred in the area of operation of the French battalion with UNIFIL." Israel will not stop violating Lebanon's airspace and menacing both the Germans and the French who are there to keep the peace. Ingrates.


11-17-06 - Pastor's trip to Syria draws criticism A trip to Syria that U.S. megachurch pastor Rick Warren says was inspired by a backyard chat with a Muslim neighbor has triggered criticism and questions that highlight the potential risks when preaching meets international politics.


11-17-06 - Carter Discusses New Book on Israel and the Middle East I?ve seen the coverage given to Israel?s activities in Europe and in Israel itself ? a highly contentious debate over (Israel). There is no such debate in the United States. There?s not any debate in the Congress. There?s not any debate in the White House, at least since George Bush Sr. and I were there, and in the news media of the United States there is very rarely any editorial comment that would criticize some of the practices of Israel which I consider to be deplorable ? and that is the persecution of the Palestinians, and the occupation and confiscation and the colonization of Palestinian land.


11-17-06 - UNIFIL protests about Israeli flights over Lebanon


11-17-06 - Israel's July attack on UN post in Lebanon 'error': leaked document An Israeli attack on a UN base in Lebanon that killed four peacekeepers in July was the result of "severe professional errors" due to poor planning, according to a leaked army document. How to get away with murder - join the IDF, blame it on 'error', 'technical problem', etc etc etc.


11-17-06 - Groups Side With Bush on Bolton Bolton is viewed as a strong supporter of Israel, and exercised the American veto last week on a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. While American support for Israel at the U.N. is unlikely to change with a new ambassador and a Democratic Congress, Bolton had cultivated especially close personal bonds over the years with all major Jewish groups


11-17-06 - UN General Assembly set to slam Israeli offensive in Gaza Strip The text expected to be overwhelmingly endorsed by the General Assembly would condemn the Israeli killing of 19 Palestinians, mainly children and women, in Beit Hanun last week, as well as Palestinian rocket firing into Israel.


11-17-06 - Israeli-Arab activist in mission to tackle Iran over Holocaust A text on the wall of his museum declares: "The Palestinians are the only people in the world who for the sake of providing shelter to the Jews have paid their homeland as a price for the sins and the deeds of the Nazis."


11-17-06 - PM uses al-Jazeera to target Mid East


11-17-06 - Mid-East peace 'crucial' - Blair


11-17-06 - Oil stabilises after 17-month low US light, sweet crude settled down 45 cents to $55.81 a barrel in New York, while Brent crude gained ground up 45 cents to $58.99.


11-17-06 - Israel's Elbit unit get $51 mln U.S. army deal


11-17-06 - Former Lebanese Army sergeant brings torture suit against 2 ex-Syrian officers


11-17-06 - Leak case judge denies motion Prosecutors asked for an exemption from having to prove that the leaking harmed U.S. interests. In denying their motion Thursday, Ellis exhibited exasperation, because his earlier decision, rejecting a defense motion to dismiss the case, had favored the prosecutors overall


11-17-06 - Al-Arian Gets 18 More Months For Contempt


11-17-06 - FBI agent, defense clash over 1993 meeting


11-17-06 - On Iran, U.S. may have to differ with Israel ** For the past six years there has not even been a sliver of light between the positions of the United States and Israel. It's safe to say that no administration has been as supportive of Israel's policies as the administration of President George W. Bush..... Gary Sick, an Iran expert at Columbia University, says it might be too late to stop Iran from developing weapons-grade nuclear fuel. But he says it could well be another decade or more before Iran would actually have a deliverable nuclear weapon; we are not in a crisis now, and we shouldn't be acting as if we were.



11-17-06 - GOP House leaders remain the same Both men have strong Jewish community ties and Blunt, who is married to a Jewish woman, has led numerous congressional delegations to Israel.


11-17-06 - Britain dragging its feet on treaty to ban cluster bombs, say activists


11-17-06 - 'Blue Dogs' endorse Harman Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who is set to become speaker now that Democrats have won the House, opposes Harman, who is Jewish, partly because she's incensed that Harman solicited lobbying for the post from top Jewish donors to the Democrats. Harman has been the top-ranked Democrat on the committee for four years. Harman is under investigation by the USDOJ because she "agreed to pressure the administration to "go lighter" on two former AIPAC lobbyists facing trial on classified information charges" according to TIME.


11-17-06 - From June: Alleged AIPAC informant promoted The Bush administration promoted David Satterfield, an alleged informant for a former AIPAC lobbyist facing trial in a classified information case.


11-17-06 - Pelosi drops the ball - AIPAC takes all What a line up - AIPAC couldn't ask for anything more. It matters not if Dems or Repubs won the elections. AIPAC still wins. It always does.


11-17-06 - Political Blogging as Hate Crime