We as a society have come to believe, Opinion is news. The Field" reporters are doing there jobs, the stories are being written But not adequitly "shared"with the Public. So I'll spare you my "humble" Opinion and Simply Bring You, "The News" By looking at all the stories and Outstanding Editorials available on a topic and blending Them together in Mosaic fashion with The goal of giving you all the information needed to develope YOUR "Opinion"
Iran offered the US a package of concessions in 2003, but it was rejected, a senior former US official has told the BBC's Newsnight programme. Tehran proposed ending support for Lebanese and Palestinian militant groups and helping to stabilise Iraq following the US-led invasion. Offers, including making its nuclear programme more transparent, were conditional on the US ending hostility. But Vice-President Dick Cheney's office rejected the plan, the official said. The offers came in a letter, seen by Newsnight, which was unsigned but which the US state department apparently believed to have been approved by the highest authorities. In return for its concessions, Tehran asked Washington to end its hostility, to end sanctions, and to disband the Iranian rebel group the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq and repatriate its members. Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had allowed the rebel group to base itself in Iraq, putting it under US power after the invasion. One of the then Secretary of State Colin Powell's top aides told the BBC the state department was keen on the plan - but was over-ruled. "We thought it was a very propitious moment to do that," Lawrence Wilkerson told Newsnight. "But as soon as it got to the White House, and as soon as it got to the Vice-President's office, the old mantra of 'We don't talk to evil'... reasserted itself." Observers say the Iranian offer as outlined nearly four years ago corresponds pretty closely to what Washington is demanding from Tehran now. Since that time, Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah inflicted significant military losses on the major US ally in the region, Israel, in the 2006 conflict and is now claiming increased political power in Lebanon. Palestinian militant group Hamas won power in parliamentary elections a year ago, opening a new chapter of conflict in Gaza and the West Bank. The UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on Iran following its refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment programme. Iran denies US accusations that its nuclear programme is designed to produce weapons. Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6274147.stm Published: 2007/01/18 10:55:31 GMT
U.S. Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales has so politicized the Justice Department that he should step down for the sake of the nation,said Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York — citing recent disclosures about the FBI's improper use of administrative subpoenas to obtain private records and the controversy over the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys in December — told CBS' "Face the Nation" that Gonzales, who previously served as White House counsel, was "no longer just the president's lawyer, but has a higher obligation to the rule of law and the Constitution." Schumer, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, charged that under Gonzales the Justice Department had become even more politicized than it was under President Bush's first attorney general, John Ashcroft. "And so," Schumer said, "I think for the sake of the nation, Atty. Gen. Gonzales should step down." Appearing on the same program, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, did not go so far as to suggest that Gonzales step down. But he said that a report released Friday by the Justice Department's inspector general raised questions about the investigatory powers given to federal agents under the Patriot Act, which Congress reauthorized last year. Specter said the inspector general's report showed widespread violations of Patriot Act requirements designed to protect privacy rights of U.S. citizens. Stating that the act has been "very badly abused," Specter said Judiciary Committee hearings planned for this month — including one with FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III — not only should look at the failures but should include "very active consideration about withdrawing some of those powers." As for the alleged firing of U.S. attorneys for political reasons, Specter said he was concerned about the removal of the U.S. attorney in New Mexico, David C. Iglesias, who has said he received calls last year from two GOP members of Congress from New Mexico, Sen. Pete V. Domenici and Rep. Heather A. Wilson. The legislators, he told Congress last week, were asking about the progress of a corruption investigation against Democrats in the state, and he said he interpreted the calls as pressure to bring indictments before the 2006 midterm elections.At the same time "The White House acknowledged on Sunday that presidential adviser Karl Rove served as a conduit for complaints to the Justice Department about federal prosecutors who were later fired for what critics charge were partisan political reasons. "White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Rove had relayed complaints from Republican officials and others to the Justice Department and the White House counsel's office. She said Rove, the chief White House political operative, specifically recalled passing along complaints about former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias and may have mentioned the grumblings about Iglesias to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.After initially citing 'performance-related' reasons, the Justice Department later acknowledged that policy differences played a role but denied acting at the request of the White House. Justice Department spokesman, Brian Roehrkasse, said in a written statement that Gonzales had demonstrated "decisive leadership by demanding a new level of accountability." And during a question-and-answer session with reporters in Montevideo, Uruguay, Bush expressed continued confidence in both Gonzales and Mueller. contains eliments of:Gonzales is urged to quit 'for the nation'By Walter F. Roche Jr., Times Staff Writerand Dan Froomkin Special contributor to the washingtonpost.com Attorney David Iglesias. Associated Press photo by Jake Schoellkopf
Flash Back THE MITCHELL REPORT 9-27-06 THE MITCHELL REPORT Rumsfeld bungling the war in Iraq
Retired senior military officers told a Democratic Policy Committee's ((DPC) panel yesterday that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's failure to plan adequately for postwar Iraq has fostered the rise of insurgents and that the administration is not focusing enough on training and equipping Iraqi security forces. The forum was the first of what Democrats say will be a series of five or six hearings intended to shed light on the administration's conduct of the Iraq war.And were held despite heavy Republican objection.
Democrats were insistant that Republicans, who hold majorities in both chambers, have not been vigorous in their role as overseers of the executive branch.Democrats also expressed frustration that Republican chairmen have been reluctant to call witnesses who do not share White House views.
(Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) is threatening to punish Democrats for using an Appropriations Committee room for an unofficial hearing on Iraq oversight if it happens again."They better stop this," the Mississippi Republican said. "This will be the last one or there will be retribution." Lott suggested that Republicans could hold GOP-only hearings or seek other forms of payback.)
Retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste told several senior Democratic senators and Republican Rep. Walter B. Jones who attended the hearing.
" Secretary Rumsfeld ignored 12 years of U.S. Central Command deliberate planning and strategy, dismissed honest dissent, and browbeat subordinates to build 'his plan,'" "Bottom line: his plan allowed the insurgency to take root and metastasize to where it is today," Batiste said. Batiste also said "I believe that Secretary Rumsfeld and others in the administration did not tell the American people the truth for fear of losing support for the war in Iraq," He said Rumsfeld at one point threatened to fire the next person who mentioned the need for a postwar plan in Iraq.Batiste said if full consideration had been given to the requirements for war, it's likely the U.S. would have kept its focus on Afghanistan,"not fueled Islamic fundamentalism across the globe,and not created more enemies than there were insurgents." Gen. Batiste, also blamed Congress for failing to ask "the tough questions."
Retired Major Gen. Paul Eaton,responsible for training the Iraqi military and later for rebuilding the Iraqi police force. Assessed Rumsfeld as "incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically.""Mr. Rumsfeld and his immediate team must be replaced or we will see two more years of extraordinarily bad decision-making.Eaton also indicated "planning for the postwar period was "amateurish at best,incompetent a better descriptor."
Retired Col. Thomas X. Hammes,who was responsible for establishing bases for the Iraqi armed forces,and is now Marine Senior Military Fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, National Defense University. Said that not providing the best equipment was a "serious moral failure on the part of our leadership." The United States "did not ask our soldiers to invade France in 1944 with the same armor they trained on in 1941. Why are we asking our soldiers and Marines to use the same armor we found was insufficient in 2003?"
* One Republican, Rep. Walter "Freedom Fries" Jones of North Carolina, participated In The forum conducted by Senate Democrats. In his opening statement, Jones quoted Rudyard Kipling: "If any question why we died, tell them, because our fathers lied."
** The conflict, now in its fourth year, has claimed the lives of more than 2,600 American troops and cost more than $300 billion.
SOURCE - DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent
**The conflict,has NOW claimed the lives of more than
3,100 American troops
Remember Our Service Men & Women Die when our Military leaders make mistakes
Are Republicans Willing to Sacrifice "every Pawn" possible to "delay" admitting Failure? House Democratic leaders vowed Thursday to pass legislation setting a deadline of Sept. 1, 2008, for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq, a challenge to President Bush's war policy that drew a blunt veto threat in return.
House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio led the GOP counterattack saying repeatedly to the crowd of reporters, There plan equals failure..There Time tables and goals (as opposed to ours) equals failure...
While White House spokesman Dan Bartlett, from his seat on air force one said "It would unnecessarily handcuff our generals on the ground, and it's safe to say it's a nonstarter for the president,"
So... just what did the general have to say? Speaking publicly Thursday for the first time since taking charge in Baghdad last month, Gen. David Petraeus said military action was necessary to improve security in Iraq but "not sufficient" to end violence altogether.
"There is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq, to the insurgency of Iraq," Petraeus told a news conference, adding that political negotiations were crucial to forging any lasting peace...
First , I'll say ask any Iraqi "who" won This war ?
3100+ U.S. troops have given the Ultimate sacrifice ... Some estimate as many as 600,000 Iraqi's have perished...
Sadam is dead, along with his sons.Those that were repressed the(shia) are now in Power.The Oppressors the(Sunny), now removed from There positions of wealthand privlidge.
Iraqs Infastructure is destroyed.We Know ,There are, no wmd that can be given to Terrorists by Iraqi's. And mere ..days ago, we inched closer to"securing" the brass ring..which i'll leave unstated. ...
We won, We won The Iraq war
however...
If our goal was to institute democratic reform in Iraq,We Failed...
If the goal was to set off a "democray" based chain reaction within the middle~east with Iraq as the first of many.. We Failed
Both of those agendas are political .. thus should be looked upon as Political Failures of The White house.
As Political Failures of The Republicans and there policies.
And Thus my question... Are Republicans Willing to Sacrifice"every Pawn" possible to "delay" admitting Failure?
Ever play chess? your queen gets taken .. your knights, Biships,castles and your opponet has his full compliment. And he knows... you cant win
And You know ... you cant win/have failed,but your pride ..has you determined to win .. win with those pawns...
And as the pawns get Picked Off one by one ... and the reality of failure begins to loom larger...you begin to put the "taken" pawns back onto The Board .And you hear people around you saying it's of no use ...but
You find that You.."Must" play it out..Because"Theres always.... a chance"
But You see Our Troops Are Not pawns... And Iraq is no game... Is It?
Louis "Mack" Mitchell Jr Editor:EroticIntellectuals.Blogspot.com
From WASHINGTON — In a direct challenge to President Bush, House Democrats unveiled legislation Thursday requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the fall of next year. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the deadline would be added to legislation providing nearly $100 billion the Bush administration has requested for fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
She told reporters the measure would mark the first time the new Democratic-controlled Congress has established a "date certain" for the end of U.S. combat in the four-year-old war that has claimed the lives of more than 3,100 U.S. troops.
Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said the proposal would bring an "orderly and responsible close" to American participation in what he called an Iraqi "civil war."
According to an explanation of the measure distributed by Democratic aides, the timetable for withdrawal would be accelerated if the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki did not meet goals for providing for Iraq's security.
Democrats won control of Congress last fall in midterm elections shadowed by public opposition to the war
house Leader Pelosi made her announcement as Senate Democrats reviewed a different approach — a measure that would set a goal of troop withdrawal by March of 2008.
Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada called a closed-door meeting of the rank-and-file to consider the measure.
the spending legislation will come up for vote, likely later this month.
Democrats also intend to add $1.2 billion to Bush's request for military operations in Afghanistan, where the Taliban is expected to mount a spring offensive.
The bill also will exceed Bush's request for veterans' health care and medical programs for active duty troops at facilities such as the scandal-scarred Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington.
Democrats also are including funds for a health care program for low-income children. The program is popular among governors of both political parties, but the administration has not signaled its acquiescence to the additional money.
As described by Democrats, the legislation will require Bush to certify by July 1 and again by Oct. 1. whether the Iraqi government is making progress toward providing for the country's security, allocating its oil revenues and creating a fair system for amending its constitution.
They said if Bush certified the Iraqis were meeting these so-called benchmarks, U.S. combat troops would have to begin withdrawing by March 1, 2008, and complete the redeployment by Sept. 1, 2008
Otherwise, the deadlines would move up.
If Bush cannot make the required certification by July 1, troops must begin a six-month withdrawal immediately. If Bush cannot make the second certification, the same six-month timetable would apply.
The legislation also requires the Pentagon to adhere to its existing standards for equipping and training U.S. troops sent overseas and for providing time at home between tours of combat.
Pelosi said the provision was designed to make sure the government would "not be sending our troops into battle without the proper training, the proper equipment."
Yet The legislation also permits Bush to issue waivers of these standards. the overall effect would be to permit the administration to proceed with plans to deploy five additional combat brigades to the Baghdad area over the next few months.
The measure emerged from days of private talks among Democrats following the collapse of Rep. John Murtha's original proposal, which would have required the Pentagon to meet readiness and training standards without the possibility of a waiver.
Murtha, D-Pa. and chairman of a House Appropriations military subcommittee, said its implementation without the possibility of a waiver, would have starved the war effort of troops because the Pentagon would not have been able to find enough fully rested, trained and equipped units to meet its needs.
Contains portions of DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondents Democrats want Iraq pullout by fall 2008
Today my family formally purchased and took over Air America Radio. Why? Because if progressive values were a stock, now is the time to buy.
This hasn't always been true, as the cycle of politics demonstrates. In recent decades, politics seems to have been governed by physics
for every action, there's an opposite and equal reaction.
William F. Buckley Jr. started The National Review in the 1950s to rebut what he saw as the dominance of liberalism in the academy and opinion journals like The Nation and The New Republic. From 1970-72,
Public Citizen, Common Cause and the NRDC were all created in reaction to Nixon's depredations. Similarly, People For the American Way grew out of the rise of the Religious Right under Reagan in the mid-80s.
New progressive think tanks over the past 10 years, most recently and prominently the Center for American Progress, were created to counter AEI and Heritage. And of course, the Huffington Post and Air America were born in reaction to the electronic propaganda of Drudge and Limbaugh et. al.
Air America was a large, smart idea to counter the near-monopoly on talk radio by the far (f)right. But
like most start-ups, the business plan collided with reality. Six CEOs over its first three years and various missteps and misspending ..sent it into Chapter 11.
It's now ready to go from The Perils of Pauline to The Little Engine that Could. How? First, by focusing on the radio fundamentals of making a strong line-up even stronger;
second, by connecting to other major progressive organizations to be mutually fortifying;
and third, by being a multi-media content company involving other information platforms mobile, video, broadband, blogs, websites.
It's time to think outside the (radio) box.
The twin goals are to make it profitable and influential. One without the other won't work. If it's not a business, it'll go out of business.
But it'll be a business with a sharp point of view.
The era of on-the-one-hand-on-the-other-hand liberalism is over --
or as Robert Frost once wrote, "a liberal man is too broad-minded to take his own side in a quarrel."
For all those who worry about messianic misleaders governing on a right wing and a prayer,
Air America 2.0 will be an answer.
For all those fearful of plutocracy and theocracy,
the pro-democracy hosts of AAR's programs are the answer.
If the conservative media continue to spout propaganda and call it news, we are the alternative of truth, justice and the Air American way.
It's no longer enough just to hope that The New York Times will cover a rally or press release. The relatively new combination of The Huffington Post, Alternet, MoveOn, Center for American Progress and Campaign for America's Future, The Nation and The American Prospect, DailyKos and Talking Points Memo, The Erotic Intellectuals and so many labor unions means
that Air America will be part of a larger progressive infrastructure heard by a widening audience. For if we can't now grow and prosper as Democrats --
given the 110th Congress, given the unmitigated disaster that's Iraq, given a slew of top-quality presidential aspirants -- when will we?
So Air America will aggressively cover national politics and policies in ways that will be informative, opinionated and entertaining. All three.
We'll be full of news and views. Two views especially. First,
America should stop attacking Muslim countries in ways that multiply terrorism.
Second, instead of only talking about exporting democracy, Washington should begin practicing it here at home, for example by making sure elections aren't auctions, which means the public funding of public elections.
Speaking personally, my brother and I are excited by this important challenge and look forward to working with the Air America professionals in front of the mic and behind it who have held this dream together.
Steve Green has been a very successful businessman accustomed to making money -- and he doesn't intend for AAR to be an exception. I've been an author, public interest lawyer and the NYC Public Advocate; for me this feels like a continuation of so much I've done for the progressive movement over three decades. Air America is like a public advocate for the country, exposing problems and offering solutions.
So we're both optimists in the spirit of Walt Whitman, who wrote that "America is always becoming." Well, Air America too is always becoming.
But that requires a conversation called democracy. In the spirit that dialogue beats monologue, I am today contacting the New Hampshire Republican Party and the New York Post editorial page.
Since the Democratic Party of Nevada actually invited Fox News to host that state's Democratic debate, I asked if Air America could host the first Republican debate in New Hampshire, assuring them that we too can be fair and balanced.
And to Bob McManus, editorial page editor of The New York Post, I proposed that he come on Air America to discuss his views and that Air America commentators would in turn once-a-month write an op-ed on his pages, because it's better to exchange ideas than insults. His 720,000 readers should hear from us and our 2 million+ audience should hear from him.
We have many fresh ideas for programming, for technology, for partnerships with sister organizations. But it's this conversation called democracy that's the cornerstone of Air America 2.0.
We intend to listen to our listeners; to increase our listeners ; and hope they will join our journey to a better network, better programming, and a better country. To tell them that it's your America, and your Air America.
Originally Released on The Huffington Post (March 6, 2007)
Air America Radio Network Schedule Weekdays
The Mark Riley Show w/ Mark Riley 5am - 6am EST
The Young Turks w/ Cenk Uygur,Ben Mankiewicz & Jill Pike
6am - 9am EST
The Sam Seder Show w/ Sam Seder
9am - Noon EST
The Thom Hartmann Program
Noon - 3pm EST
The Randi Rhodes Show w/ Randi Rhodes
3pm - 6pm EST
The Rachel Maddow Show w/ Rachel Maddow 6pm - 8pm EST
Politically Direct w/ David Bender 8pm - 9pm EST
EcoTalk w/ Betsy Rosenberg
9pm - 10pm EST
The Jon Elliott Show w/ Jon Elliott 10pm - 1am EST
Weekends Saturdays
12 am. - 3 am. The Young Turks (rebroadcast, full show) w/ Cenk Uygur, Ben Mankiewicz & Jill Pike
3 am. - 6 am. The Randi Rhodes Show (rebroadcast, full show) Host: Randi Rhodes
6 am. - 9 am. Best of The Thom Hartmann Program Host: Thom Hartmann
9 am. - 12 Noon Best of Sam Seder Host: Sam Seder
12 Noon - 3 pm. Best of The Young Turks Hosts: w/ Cenk Uygur, Ben Mankiewicz & Jill Pike
3 pm. -4 pm. Best-of “Politically Direct” Host: David Bender
4 pm. - 5 pm. The Time is NOW. Host: Rev. Dr. James Forbes, Jr.
5 pm. - 7 pm. Ring of Fire Hosts: Mike Papantonio & Robert Kennedy Jr.
7 pm. - 10 pm. Radio Nation Host: Laura Flanders
10 pm. - 12 Midnight Best-of Jon Elliott
Host: Jon Elliott
Sunday
12 Midnight - 1 am. Best-of Jon Elliott Host: Jon Elliott
1 am. - 4 am. Best of The Sam Seder Show Host: Sam Seder
A firefighter emerged from the site of a car bomb attack yesterday in Baghdad that tore through the city's book market, killing at least 38 people and injuring 105. (ali jasim/REUTERS
A suicide car bomber turned a venerable book market into a deadly inferno and gunmen targeted Shiite pilgrims Monday as suspected Sunni insurgents brought major bloodshed back into the lap of their main Shiite rivals. At least 38 people died in the blast and seven pilgrims were killed.
The violence — after a relative three-day lull in Baghdad — was seen as another salvo in the Sunni extremist campaign to provoke a sectarian civil war that could tear apart the Shiite-led government and erase Washington's plans for Iraq.
The Shiite Mahdi Army militia has so far resisted full-scale retaliation through a combination of self-interest and intense government pressure. But the militia's leader, the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, is now being cornered in new ways that have put him on the defensive.
An expected Cabinet reshuffle could take a serious bite out of al-Sadr's voice in government — a move strongly encouraged by Washington.
Al-Sadr also opened the door for U.S. and Iraqi troops to enter the Mahdi stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad — under a painstaking deal with authorities — but his loyalists are still being hunted outside the capital.
"Al-Sadr and his forces could be feeling under siege," said Alireza Nourizadeh, chief researcher at the London-based Center for Arab-Iranian Studies. "That makes them less predictable. That means they are more dangerous."
One possible sign of brewing troubles was 30 bullet-ridden bodies found across Baghdad. Many of those killings are blamed on Shiite death squads, and Monday's figure was the highest in weeks.
And the Sunni extremists keep pressing.
The suicide mission tore through booksellers and other stores on narrow Mutanabi Street, a mostly Shiite-run commercial area in Baghdad's historical heart along the Tigris River.
Within seconds, flames engulfed open-air stalls and shops brimming with books and magazines. Gas-powered generators — needed because of frequent power cuts — exploded one by one.
Bloodstained pages that escaped the fire were carried away in a wind-whipped pillar of black smoke.
Firefighters had to spray huge arches of water from blocks away because their trucks were to large for the warren of lanes in old Baghdad. At least 38 people died and 105 were injured, said Raad Jabar, a Health Ministry official.
But the final casualty count may not be clear until Tuesday. Fire crews still battled the blazes more than 12 hours after the attack, said civil defense Maj. Gen. Abdul Rasoul al-Zaidi.
"Papers from the book market were floating through the air like leaflets dropped from a plane," said Naeem al-Daraji, a Health Ministry worker who was driving about 200 yards from the blast and was slightly injured by broken glass from his car window.
"Pieces of flesh and the remains of books were scattered everywhere," he said.
A worker at a nearby shoe store, Youssef Haider, 24, said the blast flipped burning cars with charred bodies trapped inside. He and co-workers used two-wheel pushcarts for shoe boxes to carry away the wounded.
In other violence, gunmen opened fire on Shiite pilgrims in several places around Baghdad, killing at least seven people, police said.
The Shiites were apparently heading to shrines and holy sites in southern Iraq for the annual commemoration to end a 40-day mourning period for the death of a revered 7th century Shiite martyr, Imam Hussein.
It was the bloodiest day in the capital in more than a week, and came on the heels of a major push by nearly 1,200 U.S. and Iraqi troops into teeming Sadr City as part of a nearly 3-week-old security offensive across Baghdad.
The sweeps seek to drive out militants and establish permanent stations in troubled areas. Search teams also uncovered a nearly tenfold increase in hidden weapons stashes in the past week, the military said.
More than 21,000 small arms rounds were confiscated last week, up from 2,160 the previous week; 937 mortar rounds were discovered, up from 89 the week before, it said. Attacks on soldiers in some Shiite districts are also down sharply.
That's mostly because al-Sadr ordered his fighters to pull back after coming under strong government arm-twisting to allow the security plan to proceed.
In Sadr City, Iraqi troops set up checkpoints and took a far more visible role than Americans, who led the push into the area Sunday. The move was an apparent attempt to avoid Shiite anger in a place of past street battles with U.S. forces.
The troops plan to establish outposts in Sadr City that will bring together Iraqi police, military and U.S.-led forces, said U.S. Brig. Gen. Terry Wolff, who oversees training of Iraqi soldiers.
"It's about presence," he said.
But pressure on al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army continued on other fronts.
In the southern city of Karbala, the home of a Mahdi Army leader was raided in a joint U.S.-Iraqi operation, the U.S. military said.
Al-Sadr's followers also warned they would fight any Cabinet changes that would single them out.
"We will not give up our share and any of our ministerial posts under any circumstances unless all other blocs are subjected to the same procedure," said Saleh al-Ukaili, head of Sadrist faction in parliament, where the bloc controls 30 of the 275 seats.
An adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said 10 of the 39 ministry posts soon would be replaced — including five of the six ministers loyal to al-Sadr. The adviser spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not supposed to release the information.
Relations between al-Sadr and the government are already tense. Late last year, the prime minister withdrew his official protection for al-Sadr and the Mahdi Army and allowed U.S.-led forces to close in.
Contains Portions Of: 38 die, 105 hurt in Baghdad market blast By BRIAN MURPHY, Associated Press Writer
President Bush said that if anyone on his staff committed a crime in the CIA-leak case, that person will "no longer work in my administration." At the same time, Bush yet again side stepped a question on the role of his top political adviser, Karl Rove, in the matter. "We have a serious ongoing investigation here and it's being played out in the press," Bush said at the July, 2005 East Room news conference.
((((Follow Up)))))
Bush failed to mention That he had "Declassified" Plame
President Bush signed an executive order in 2003 authorizing Cheney to declassify certain intelligence documents. The order was signed on March 23, four days after the start of the Iraq War and two weeks after Wilson first appeared on the administration's radar.
Instead
giving the impression That he didn't know "anything about it ,
September 2003, Former White House spokesman Scott McClellan promised : Any staffer proven to have leaked CIA officer Valerie Plame's identity "would no longer be in this administration,"
(Can a President Let "Himself go ? )
(((Resume)))
The Following Top officials leaked "On" CIA officer Valerie Plame whose job as a covert agent was classified as an official government secret.
Vice President Cheney
Cheney's notes, (See Photo Above ) which were introduced into evidence during Libby's perjury and obstruction-of-justice trial, call into question the truthfulness of President Bush's vehement denials about his prior knowledge of the attacks against Wilson. The revelation that Bush may have known all along that there was an effort by members of his office to discredit the former ambassador begs the question: Was the president also aware that senior members of his administration compromised Valerie Plame's undercover role with the CIA?
When Libby reminded his boss the vice president that he learned about Plame from him, Cheney tilted his head quizzically and said, "From me?"
David Addington former counsel to the vice president, was named Cheney's chief of staff - a position Libby had held before resigning.
* Addington revealed during his testimony that in June 2003 there were internal discussions - involving President Bush and Vice President Cheney - about declassifying for specific reporters a portion of the highly classified October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate as a way to counter Wilson's criticisms against the administration.
Karl Rove Bush's top political mastermind told reporters Robert Novak and Matt Cooper about Plame.
Ari Fleischer Bush's former spokesman got immunity before admitting he told reporters John Dickerson and David Gregory about Plame. Reporter Walter Pincus said Fleischer told him about her, too.
(sought immunity from prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald because he was worried he might have committed treason, and was in jeopardy of the death penalty : ... )
Cathie Martin
Deputy Communications Secretary for the Bush White House and worked for Vice President Cheney during the period in question .
Her testimony makes it clear that by July 7, 2003–a week before the publication of Bob Novak’s article made “Valerie Plame” a household name–the Office of the Vice President was obsessed with press accounts of an ambassador’s trip to Niger and that the vice president and Libby were intimately and repeatedly involved in trying to manage the spin on the story.
Richard Armitage The former deputy secretary of state " told reporterRobert Novak about Plame.
Dan Bartlett : Presidential counselor discused Plame
Robert Grenier The top CIA official overseeing Iraq operations got nervous over Libby's pestering and later "felt guilty" about telling
Bill Harlow The CIA spokesman told Cheney, Martin.
Marc Grossman The No. 3 at the State Department:
Libby was pressing Grossman for official information on Wilson and receiving information on Wilson and his wife (which was classified),
Craig Schmall Cheney's CIA daily briefer Schmall briefed Libby and Cheney about Mrs. Wilson,
Contains Eliments Of:
All these President's men leaked CIA agent's name
BY JAMES GORDON MEEK NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU Originally published on February 20, 2007
Cheney's Handwritten Notes Implicate Bush in Plame Affair By Jason Leopold and Marc Ash A t r u t h o u t Report Wednesday 31 January 2007
t r u t h o u t .Org Executive Director Marc Ash and Jason Leopold , Jason Leopold is a former Los Angeles bureau chief for Dow Jones Newswire. He has written over 2,000 stories on the California energy crisis and received the Dow Jones Journalist of the Year Award in 2001
50 countries vie'd for Money and contracts at a Mideast arms fair The Middle East's biggest arms fair, IDEX-2007, opened in the United Arab Emirates with hundreds of manufacturers displaying state-of-the-art weaponry to oil-rich monarchies The eighth bi-annual International Defence Exhibition,first held in 1993, was opened by UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan who indicated, There determined to "reinforce There defence capacity, through the acquisition of the most sophisticated equipment in the military industry worldwide," A total of 862 exhibitors from 50 countries, including The United States, France, Britain, China, Italy, Turkey, Russia and South Korea, are showcasing their latest products for deep-pocketed Gulf countries. The "pro-Western" Gulf Arab states are seeking to reinforce their armed forces and security systems amid heightened instability in neighbouring Iraq and the international community's nuclear standoff with Iran. (((Follow Up))) The Gulf Arab states, have chosen NOT to send troops into Iraq ? Why wont they "help" stabilize Iraq ? Evidence might suggest There in fact doing the Opposite? (((dont mind me))) The organisers of the five-day exhibition, who are expecting some 40,000 visitors, boasted that previous editions of the show had "largely influenced armament decisions by countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia." (((show me the Money))) After earning more than 400 billion dollars in oil revenues in 2006 , the six Gulf Arab states have record budget surpluses and money to spend.Between them Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE control some 45 percent of world oil reserves. In 2006, they concluded armament deals worth 35 billion dollars, said Mustafa Alani, a security expert at the Dubai-based Gulf Research Centre (GRC). British suppliers won some 13 billion dollars of these contracts, United States firms 11 billion French manufacturers 10 billion, Alani told AFP. Between 2000 and 2005, accummulated armament spending by the six countries totalled 233 billion dollars, representing 70 percent of armament expenditure in the Arab world and four percent worldwide, a survey published by the GRC in January found.
Last summer, the Pentagon notified Congress of possible arms sales to Saudi Arabia -- the biggest spender of the six -- totalling well over nine billion dollars. The mooted deals included M1 Abrams tanks, light armoured vehicles, Black Hawk helicopters and upgrades for AH-64 attack helicopters.
Despite their huge spending on defence, the six Gulf Arab states will ultimately remain dependent for their protection on the Western countries that consume their oil, Alani said.
(((( mental note))))
Despite their huge spending on defence, the six Gulf Arab states will ultimately remain dependent for their protection on the Western countries that consume their oil, Alani said.
(((( Interesting ))))
contains eliments of: Biggest Mideast arms fair opens in UAE by Taieb Mahjoub Agence France Presse
Have they buried Anna Nicole Smith yet?Are you kidding? Ms. Smith may be dead , but there’s too much fun still to be reaped from her story to let it die just yet. This is world-class entertainment: Larry King, “Today,” CNN, The New York Times.Even the judge in the televised hearing over what to do with Ms. Smith’s remains is milking his 15 minutes.”When we were kids we were taught not to laugh at people who were obviously mentally or emotionally disturbed. With Ms. Smith, who was deeply and unmistakably disturbed, we put her on television and laughed and laughed. Would she say something stupid, or spill out of her dress, or pass out in public from booze or drugs? How hysterically funny!Then her son died. Then she died, leaving an orphaned infant daughter. Instead of turning away , we homed in . Whatever entertainment value Ms. Smith had when she was alive increased exponentially when she was kind enough to die for us. Now she’s on the tube around the clock.The story, as they say, has legs.There are other stories out there, but they aren’t nearly as much fun. The Times reported Last week, for example, that Al Qaeda is getting its act together in Pakistan and is setting up training camps in an area that, apparently, we don’t dare trespass in.According to the article, “American officials said there was mounting evidence that Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, had been steadily building an operations hub in the mountainous Pakistani tribal area of North Waziristan.”The article went on to say, ominously, “The United States has also identified several new Qaeda compounds in North Waziristan, including one that officials said might be training operatives for strikes against targets beyond Afghanistan.”
((((((Follow Up )))))).....When "we" said we'll find them "anywhere"
well smoke em "out of there holes" dead or alive ???
um.... seems they've "Stopped" hiding. Perhaps now we can hold Them Accountable for the lives they Stole!!! (continue) I imagine that there are a fair number of television viewers and newspaper readers who have trouble distinguishing the relative importance of celebrity stories, like the death of Anna Nicole Smith, from other matters in the news, ((((((Follow Up )))))).....The Media seems to have trouble distinguishing the relative importance of celebrity stories, like the death of Anna Nicole Smith, from other matters in the news as well, many times the American Public that "doesn't ACTively seek out NEWS" they wont "get" It . Think about sitting and "watching" Fox "news" from 6 to 10 pm .. not unusual ? Now Think about watcing "McNeil Leher Report" for 4 straight hours ???
we haven't Been getting NEWS for some time! I was amazed that while the Congress debates the Detainie Bill , News Agency's chose to focus on a pedifile's return from the Orient ? possible assasination attempt on Cheney we heard how Al gores light bill was high last month?? (((Continue)))
It’s been obvious for the longest time that the line between news and entertainment has vanished. News is entertainment. And the death of Anna Nicole Smith is more entertaining — for the time being, at least — than the war in Iraq or the plodding machinations of bin Laden and Zawahri. The nation may be at war, and Al Qaeda may be gearing up for a rematch. But that’s no fun, not when the thrill-a-minute watch over Anna Nicole’s remains is still the hottest thing on TV.It was Neil Postman who warned in 1985 that we were amusing ourselves to death. I’m not sure anyone knew how literally to take him.More than 20 years later, the masses(MEDIA) have nearly succeeded in drawing the curtains on anything that’s not entertaining. No one can figure out what to do about Iraq or Al Qaeda. A great American cultural center like New Orleans was all but washed away, and no one knows how to put it back together. The ice caps are melting and Al Gore is traveling the land like the town crier, raising the alarm about global warming.But none of that has really gotten the public’s attention. None of it is amusing enough. As a nation of spectators, we seem content to sit with a pizza and a brew in front of the high-def flat-screen TV, obsessing over Anna Nicole et al., and giving no thought to the possibility that the calamitous events unfolding in the world may someday reach our doorsteps .
One measure of the impact of the Iraq War is the precipitous drop in public support for the United States in Muslim countries. Jordan, a key U.S. ally, saw popular approval for the United States drop from 25 percent in 2002 to 1 percent in 2003. In Lebanon during the same period, favorable views of the United States dropped from 30 percent to 15 percent, and in the world’s largest Muslim country, Indonesia, favorable views plummeted from 61 percent to 15 percent. Disliking the United States does not make you a terrorist, but clearly the pool of Muslims who dislike the United States has grown by hundreds of millions since the Iraq War began. The United States’ plummeting popularity does not suggest active popular support for jihadist terrorists but it does imply some sympathy with their anti-American posture, which means a significant swath of the Muslim population cannot be relied on as an effective party in counter-terrorism/insurgency measures. And so, popular contempt for U.S. policy has become a force multiplier for Islamist militants. The Iraq War has also encouraged Muslim youth around the world to join jihadist groups, not necessarily directly tied to Al Qaeda but often motivated by a similar ideology. The Iraq War allowed Al Qaeda, which was on the ropes in 2002 after the United States had captured or killed two-thirds of its leadership, to reinvent itself as a broader movement because Al Qaeda’s central message--that the United States is at war with Islam--was judged by significant numbers of Muslims to have been corroborated by the war in Iraq. And compounding this, the wide dissemination of the exploits of jihadist groups in Iraq following the invasion energized potential and actual jihadists across the world.
How exactly has The Iraq Effect played out in different parts of the world? The effect has not been uniform. Europe, the Arab world, and Afghanistan all saw major rises in jihadist terrorism in the period after the invasion of Iraq, while Pakistan and India and the Chechnya/Russia front saw only smaller increases in jihadist terrorism. And in Southeast Asia, attacks and killings by jihadist groups fell by over 60 percent in the period after the Iraq War. The strength or weakness of The Iraq Effect on jihadist terrorism in a particular country seems to be influenced by four factors: (1) if the country itself has troops in Iraq; (2) geographical proximity to Iraq; (3) the degree of identification with Iraq’s Arabs felt in the country; and (4) the level of exchanges of ideas or personnel with Iraqi jihadist groups. This may explain why jihadist groups in Europe, Arab countries, and Afghanistan were more affected by the Iraq War than groups in other regions. Europe, unlike Kashmir, Chechnya, and Southeast Asia for example, contains several countries that are part of the coalition in Iraq. It is relatively geographically close to the Arab world and has a large Arab-Muslim diaspora from which jihadists have recruited.
European intelligence services are deeply concerned about the effect of the Iraq War. For example, Dame Eliza Mannigham-Buller, the head of Britain’s MI5, stated on November 10, 2006, "In Iraq, attacks are regularly videoed and the footage is downloaded onto the Internet [and] chillingly we see the results here. Young teenagers are being groomed to be suicide bombers. We are aware of numerous plots to kill people and damage our economy...30 that we know of. [The] threat is serious, is growing, and, I believe, will be with us for a generation." Startlingly, a recent poll found that a quarter of British Muslims believe that the July 7, 2005, London bombings were justifiable because of British foreign policy, bearing out Dame Eliza’s concern about a new generation of radicals in the United Kingdom.
While Islamist militants in Europe are mobilized by a series of grievances such as Palestine, Afghanistan, the Kashmir conflict, and Chechnya, no issue has resonated more in radical circles and on Islamist websites than the war in Iraq. This can be seen in the skyrocketing rate of jihadist terrorist attacks around the Arab world outside of Iraq. There have been 37 attacks in Arab countries outside of Iraq since the invasion, while there were only three in the period between 9/11 and March 2003. The rate of attacks in Arab countries jumped by 445 percent since the Iraq invasion, while the rate of killings rose by 783 percent. The November 9, 2005 bombings of three American hotels in Amman, Jordan, that killed 60, an operation directed by Abu Musab al Zarqawi’s Al Qaeda in Iraq network, was the most direct manifestation of The Iraq Effect in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia, in particular, has seen an upsurge in jihadist terrorism since the U.S. invasion of Iraq. There were no jihadist terrorist attacks between 9/11 and the Iraq War but 12 in the period since. The reason for the surge in terrorism was a decision taken by Al Qaeda’s Saudi branch in the spring of 2003 to launch a wave of attacks (primarily at Western targets) to undermine the Saudi royal family. These attacks were initiated on May 12, 2003 with the bombing of Western compounds in Riyadh, killing 34, including 10 Americans. While Saudi authorities believe that planning and training for the operation predated the war in Iraq, the timing of the attack, just weeks after the U.S invasion is striking.
The fact that the Iraq War radicalized some young Saudis is underlined by studies showing that more Saudis have conducted suicide operations in Iraq than any other nationality. For instance, Mohammed Hafez, a visiting professor at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, in a study of the 101 identified suicide attackers in Iraq from March 2003 to February 2006, found that more than 40 percent were Saudi. This jihadist energy was not just transferred over the Saudi border into Iraq. It also contributed to attacks in the Kingdom. The group that beheaded the American contractor Paul Johnson in Riyadh in June 2004 called itself the "Al Fallujah brigade of Al Qaeda" and claimed that it had carried out the killing in part to avenge the actions of "disbelievers" in Iraq. In January 2004 Al Qaeda’s Saudi affiliate launched Al Battar, an online training magazine specifically directed at young Saudis interested in fighting their regime. The achievements of jihadists in Iraq figured prominently in its pages. Indeed, a contributor to the first issue of Al Battar argued that the Iraq War had made jihad "a commandment" for Saudi Arabians "[because] the Islamic nation is today in acute conflict with the Crusaders."
The Iraq War had a strong impact in other Arab countries too. Daily images aired by Al Jazeera and other channels of suffering Iraqis enraged the Arab street and strengthened the hands of radicals everywhere. In Egypt, the Iraq War has contributed to a recent wave of attacks by small, self-generated groups. A Sinai-based jihadist group carried out coordinated bombing attacks on Red Sea resorts popular with Western tourists at Taba in October 2004, at Sharm el-Sheikh in July 2005, and at Dahab in April 2006, killing a total of more than 120.
One of the cell’s members, Younis Elian Abu Jarir, a taxi driver whose job was to ferry the group around, stated in a confession offered as evidence in court that "they convinced me of the need for holy war against the Jews, Americans, Italians, and other nationalities that participated in the occupation of Iraq." Osama Rushdi, a former spokesman of the Egyptian terrorist group Gamma Islamiyya now living in London, told us that while attacks in the Sinai were partly directed at the Egyptian regime, they appeared to be primarily anti-Western in motivation: "The Iraq War contributed to the negative feelings of the Sinai group. Before the Iraq War, most Egyptians did not have a negative feeling towards American policy. Now almost all are opposed to American policy."
Pt "2" of "5"reports compiled by Robert Dreyfuss and Dave Gilson Illustrations by Peter Hoey Maps by Karen Minot Origionally appeared on http://www.motherjones.com/
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In 2003–a week before the publication of Bob Novak’s article made “Valerie Plame” a household name–the Office of the Vice President was obsessed with press accounts of an ambassador’s trip to Niger and that the vice president and Libby were intimately and repeatedly involved in trying to manage the spin on the story according to testimony given by Martin during the Libby Perjury Trial
1970 Our Richest controled 1% of All Income2000 Our Richest Now control 5% of all Income500% Increase Now Lets Look at"How" Our poorest "Faired" 1970 Our Poorest controled 10% of All Income2000 The Poorest NOW control Only 5% <50%> Decrease
