News for 01-11-07

01-11-07 - U.S. forces raid Iranian office in Iraq: Tehran


01-11-07 - Senators fear Iraq war may spill to Iran, Syria ** "You cannot sit here today -- not because you're dishonest or you don't understand -- but no one in our government can sit here today and tell Americans that we won't engage the Iranians and the Syrians cross-border," said Hagel, a Vietnam veteran and possible 2008 presidential candidate.


01-11-07 - Soldiers doubt an influx of American troops will benefit Iraqi army


01-11-07 - Iran, Syria denounce Bush's Iraq plan Iran depicted the U.S. plan as an attempt to control Iraq for the benefit of Israel. Hosseini said the deployment of Patriot missiles in the region "is part of the U.S. policy direction to create a support umbrella for the Zionist regime through an Islamic country."


01-11-07 - Bush unlikely to face showdown over 'surge'


01-11-07 - US legislator fears Bush preparing to attack Iran ** "He has blamed Iran for attacks on America. The president is vowing to disrupt Iran. He is going to add an aircraft carrier to the shores off the coast of Iran. He has promised to give Patriot missiles to 'our friends and allies.' Isn't one war enough for this president?"


01-11-07 - Controversy as US arrests six in raid on 'Iranian consulate'


01-11-07 - Bush plan rejects dialogue with Syria


01-11-07 - Bush's Rush to Armageddon ** Though not considered a Middle East expert, Fallon has moved in neoconservative circles, for instance, attending a 2001 awards ceremony at the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, a think tank dedicated to explaining "the link between American defense policy and the security of Israel."




01-11-07 - Rift widens between US and British military strategies in Iraq


01-11-07 - China defends Iran gas deal talks China has demanded that the US stop interfering in its trade affairs with Iran, after Washington raised concerns over a planned energy deal with Tehran.


01-11-07 - Soldier Gets 9 Months for Iraqi Deaths A 101st Airborne Division soldier who had been charged with murder in the deaths of three Iraqi detainees pleaded guilty Tuesday to a lesser charge of aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to nine months in military jail.


01-11-07 - US to target anti-Iraq activity Her statement comes hours after US forces stormed an Iranian consulate in the northern Iraqi town of Irbil - prompting condemnation from Tehran.


01-11-07 - Pentagon abandons active-duty time limit The Pentagon has abandoned its limit on the time a citizen-soldier can be required to serve on active duty, officials said Thursday, a major change that reflects an Army stretched thin by longer-than-expected combat in Iraq.


01-11-07 - Lieberman applauds president's plan for Iraq


01-11-07 - Gates Cleans House


01-11-07 - Turkey, Egypt call for disbanding of militia, oil sharing in Iraq Foreign ministers Ahmed Abul Gheit of Egypt and Abdullah Gul of Turkey also underlined that US arch-foes Iran and Syria should be engaged in efforts to stabilize Iraq, rather than being isolated by the United States.


01-11-07 - Rice to head to Middle East with Iran in her sights The focus on Iran could overshadow efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, not the first time the issue has received a lower priority during President George W. Bush's tenure.


01-11-07 - "Scooter" Libby Judges Denies Request to Release Audio Recordings of Trial to News Media A federal judge will not make the audio recordings of the upcoming trial of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff available to the news media.


01-11-07 - Neither sanctions nor bombs will end the Iran nuclear crisis ** It is not as if Iran presents any immediate, compelling threat. Israeli officials argue that a nuclear bomb in the hands of a man who talks about Israel being "eliminated from the pages of time" poses an unacceptable risk, but he wields no power in foreign affairs. Moreover, Israel's nuclear deterrent would mean mutually assured destruction.


01-11-07 - China: Will do anything to solve Iran issue


01-11-07 - Syrian envoy at Madrid Conference: We want negotiations The Palestinians were represented by Hanan Ashrawi, who also participated in the first Madrid Conference. According to her, the Palestinian problem is at the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict.


01-11-07 - Bush's tough tactics are a 'declaration of war' on Iran ** But if the US is preparing to confront Iran militarily - which some top military officials in Israel are reportedly recommending - the Bush administration will find itself involved in conflicts on four fronts.


01-11-07 - Texas Congressman Ron Paul files for GOP presidential bid Ron Paul, the iconoclastic nine-term congressman from southeast Texas, took the first step Thursday toward launching a second presidential bid in 2008, this time as a Republican. Excellent. He gets my vote.


01-11-07 - Israel, Hezbollah violated laws of war during conflict: HRW "In its conduct of hostilities, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) repeatedly violated the laws of war by failing to distinguish between combatants and civilians," the US-based rights group said Thursday. "The IDF claims that the high proportion of civilian deaths in the war was due to Hezbollah hiding its rockets and fighters in villages and towns, but IDF attacks responsible for a majority of the civilian deaths took place at times when there was no evidence that Hezbollah fighters or weapons were even in the vicinity," the report said.



01-11-07 - From Jordan's harsh Ruweished desert camp to a new life in Ottawa The world seemed to have forgotten the family and their fellow Palestinians, several of whom decided to return and take their chances in Iraq rather than waste away in Ruweished. But UNHCR was onto their case, trying to find a long-term solution for the 150 Palestinians who remained in Ruweished.


01-11-07 - Brief Fire Fight between Army and Jund al-Sham in Ein el-Hilweh A brief fire fight broke out between Lebanese soldiers and Palestinian Islamists in the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp Thursday. A soldier was wounded.


01-11-07 - UAE rules out US or Israeli strikes on Iran from its soil **


01-11-07 - Defense attorneys make pleas After telling jurors he's Jewish, defense attorney Michael Deutsch condemned Israel's "brutal and genocidal occupation" of what once was Palestine. His voice cracking with fatigue and emotion three hours into his speech, he concluded by praising Salah and his family.


01-11-07 - Damra OK at N. Israel jail, lawyer tells family If he's such a threat to Israel and the US, why did Israel let him go in the first place?