May 2004
Re-certification
Posted: Monday, May 31, 2004
Venezuela's Signature Re-certification Ends Without Major Incident but with Many Minor Ones
Caracas, May 31, 2004 (Venezuelanalysis.com) - At the end of the third day in which Venezuelans who want a recall referendum against President Chavez could re-certify invalidated signatures, both the opposition and pro-government sectors claimed success.
While no major incident interfered with the process, police forces arrested several individuals and carried out several raids in several locations where forged identity documents were found.
New York Times says it was duped by Pentagon 'cunning'
Posted: Monday, May 31, 2004
David Teather in New York
Monday May 31, 2004
The Guardian UK
The New York Times donned sackcloth and ashes again yesterday when its ombudsman said the newspaper had been duped by "the cunning campaign" of those that wanted the world to believe that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
Some stories, Daniel Okrent said, "pushed Pentagon assertions so aggressively you could almost sense epaulets on the shoulders of editors". The half-page critique of the newspaper's coverage during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq followed a separate admission signed by "the editors" last week that said the newspaper had not been as "rigorous as it should have been" in questioning Iraqi exiles.
Mr Okrent said that in the run-up to the invasion, "cloaked government sources ... insinuated themselves and their agendas into prewar coverage". The newspaper's failure, he said, was institutional. "To anyone who read the paper between September 2002 and June 2003, the impression that Saddam Hussein possessed, or was acquiring, a frightening arsenal of WMD seemed unmistakable." Full Article
Latest News
Posted: Monday, May 31, 2004
¤ Car bomb rocks busy Baghdad street
¤ Bomb Kills at Least 15 in Karachi Shi'ite Mosque
¤ America's Abu Ghraibs
¤ 16 Killed As Bomb Blasts Pakistan Mosque
¤ Iraqis Decry U.S. Over President Choice
¤ Baghdad Blast Kills Four Iraqis
¤ Memorial Day, Forever?
¤ America's battle to regain respect
¤ Much in dispute before Iraq shift
¤ Alleged Halliburton ties haunt Cheney
¤ Thousands died so that Bush could play cowboy with Saddam's gun
¤ Iraq and The Times
¤ Bad News for the Americanized
¤ Iraq, R.I.P.
¤ IDF razes 20 additional Palestinian homes in Rafah raid
¤ North Korea Accuses U.S. of War Pretext Plot
¤ U.N. Troops Heading Back to Haiti
¤ U.S. is lost in Afghanistan
¤ Where Does Iraq Stand Among U.S. Wars?
¤ China Accuses U.S. of Pushing Taiwan Independence
¤ Casualty count in Iraq still rising
¤ U.N. to assess rights of Iraqis
¤ Iraqi council member assassinated
¤ Paying the price for incompetence
¤ British oil executive was among the first to die
¤ The oil connection
¤ 2 U.S. Troops Killed in Clash With Gunmen
¤ New York Times says it was duped by Pentagon 'cunning'
¥ The main stream media has always been willing pawns for the Government
¤ The Chalabi affair exposes a massive failure of intelligence
¤ Jailed - for showing dislike of US invaders
¤ Military Completed Death Certificates for 20 Prisoners Only After Months Passed
¤ The Problem Is At the Top
¤ On Their Way to Abu Ghraib
¤ Politics and terror warnings
¤ The Pentagon's Plunge into Barbarism
¤ To look again
¤ Abu Ghraib prompts denial, spin, evasion
¤ Split over presidency delays deal on Iraqi govt
¤ Bush needs some good news
¥ Or some bad news in fact any type will work right now
¤ Army Is Investigating Assaults and Thefts by G.I.'s Against Iraqi Civilians
¤ Inside The Takedown
¤ American contractors' role in Chalabi raid revealed
¤ Never mind the truth
¤ America's home-grown war
¤ Curse of wartime presidents strikes G.W. Bush
¤ Car explodes in Baghdad
¤ Aristide to Live in Exile in S. Africa
¤ Car bomb rocks busy Baghdad street
¤ The Abu Ghraib Scandal Cover-Up?
¤ Cheney office denies role in Halliburton deal
¤ 'Friendly fire' killed American football star in Afghanistan
> It is an embarrassment for the US military, however,
> which had earlier given a fairly detailed account of the
> events leading up to his death. In that version, Cpl Tillman
> was said to have died after the second unit in a two-unit convoy
> came under attack and he turned back with his men to help his comrades.
¥ Caught lying again
¤ For Shame
¤ How Bush got into this quagmire
¤ U.S. Marines See Falluja Brigade in New Iraq Army
¤ Council defies US over top job choice
¤ Oil price quakes as hostages killed
Latest News
Posted: Sunday, May 30, 2004
¤ Bush Keeps Saddam's Pistol As Trophy
¤ Bulldozers crush Gaza children's dreams and build its martyrs
¤ Saudis Try to Calm Oil Execs After Attack
¤ Bush Doctrine Breeds Terror and Tyranny
¤ Saudi Arabia hostage standoff ends
¤ How Much Is Hussein's Departure Worth?
¤ Cheney coordinated Halliburton Iraq contract: report
¤ Israel threatens to kill Nasrallah
¤ Bush and Blair should be punished
¤ Government uses Tillman to sell war on terrorism
¤ Was Nick Berg a US spy?
¤ Big Oil Guzzles Profits As Gas Prices Rise
¤ N.Y. Times' latest misstep is also greatest
¤ The Paper Trail: Did Cheney Okay a Deal?
¤ An Iraq Pledge to Watch Closely
¤ Bush was sure that Iraq’s oil reserves would be flowing again by now
¤ A policy of lies
¤ Whatever you ask, please do not ask why we 'hate' you'
¤ It was the porn that made them do it
¤ UN observer killed
¤ Two Killed in Attack on Convoy in Baghdad
¤ April-May GI Iraq Death Toll Tops 200
¤ Red Cross Plans Investigation at Iraqi Prison
¤ The Empire at Oil's End
¤ Gunmen Kill 2 Foreigners, Seize 3 in Baghdad
¤ The handover that became a shambles: ten U-turns on the road to 'peace'
¤ Two dared to speak truths about Abu Ghraib
¤ Polish Army `outraged' at prisoner-abuse accusations
¤ Attack On Iraqi Governing Council Member Kills Two
¤ Palestinian Home Demolitions Breach International Rights, Says UN
¤ Violence in the Middle East
¤ Quake hampers floods rescue efforts
¤ New Iraqi government takes shape
¤ Howard says finding WMDs still possible
¤ Bush silent on Iraq as he lauds heroes
¤ UK troops investigated over deaths of 10 civilians
¤ Iraq prison abuse 'widespread'
¤ SF gallery owner becomes target after showcasing painting of Iraqi abuse
¤ Saudi Forces Killed Two Militants in Khobar
¤ Friendly fire killed sports star turned soldier
¤ Iraqi defectors tricked us with WMD lies, but we must not be fooled again
¤ UN sidelined in choice of Iraqi leader
¤ Weapons of Mass Destruction? Or Mass Distraction?
¤ Scant Evidence Cited in Long Detention of Iraqis
¤ Iraq's interim PM gets to work amid confusion over how he was chosen
¤ Carter in Caracas as Venezuela checks a million Chavez recall signatures
¤ Militia clashes with US as ceasefire fails
¤ Tough weekend for Tillman news
¤ Tillman wasted by 'friendly fire'
Abu Hamza al-Masri: Made in the USA
Posted: Sunday, May 30, 2004
By Kurt Nimmo, www.kurtnimmo.com
It is a bit of historical data rarely quoted by Fox News or CNN as they clank out soundbite-sized backgrounders on terrorism: Many of America's Islamic enemies were custom-made to order by the CIA and Pakistan's ISI (Inter-Service Intelligence Directorate) in Afghanistan.
Abu Hamza al-Masri is no exception.
"In an 11-count indictment unsealed in New York on Thursday, Attorney General John Ashcroft said Mr. Masri faced charges of hostage-taking and conspiracy in connection with an attack in Yemen in 1998 on 16 tourists, including two Americans. Four hostages -- three Britons and one Australian -- were killed and several others were wounded when the Yemeni Army tried to rescue them," reports the New York Times.
No doubt about it. Abu Hamza al-Masri is not a nice person. But he was precisely the kind of not nice person the United States recruited to terrorize and kill Soviet conscripts. Masri lost both hands and an eye fighting for the CIA against the Soviets in Afghanistan.
The Carter State Department knew exactly what sort of reactionary fanatics they were unleashing back in 1979 -- not only on the Soviets, but the people of Afghanistan.
But they didn't care about the people of Afghanistan and admitted as much.
"[T]he United States' larger interest ... would be served by the demise of the [pro-Soviet] Taraki-Amin regime, despite whatever setbacks this might mean for future social and economic reforms in Afghanistan," a classified State Department report stated in 1979, months before the Soviets rolled across the border to support the Taraki-Amin regime.
"The question here was whether it was morally acceptable that, in order to keep the Soviets off balance, which was the reason for the operation, it was permissible to use other lives for our geopolitical interests," Zbigniew Brezinski, Carter's national security adviser, later offered as an explanation.
In other words, screw the people of Afghanistan. Let them suffer under opium-growing warlords and fanatical Taliban extremists. It was all in the best interest of the United States and especially oil and natural gas multinationals eager to build pipelines and get product to market.
Crazed Islamic fundies like Gulbuddin Hekmatyar -- "a particularly fanatical fundamentalist and woman-hater," as journalist Tim Weiner describes him -- were recruited to fight the Soviets. Pakistan's brutal Zia-ul-Haq teamed with the CIA and Pakistan's ISI to organize, train, and unleash the mujahideen. "Estimates of how much money the U.S. government channeled to the Afghan rebels over the next decade vary, but most sources put the figure between $3 billion and $6 billion, or more," writes Phil Gasper (Afghanistan, the CIA, bin Laden, and the Taliban). It was, the CIA proudly boasted, the most successful intelligence mission in history. Under the affable guidance of Reagan, Gasper writes that
At any one time during the Afghan fighting season, as many as 11 ISI teams trained and supplied by the CIA accompanied mujahideen across the border to supervise attacks ... The teams attacked airports, railroads, fuel depots, electricity pylons, bridges and roads ... CIA operations officers helped Pakistani trainers establish schools for the mujahideen in secure communications, guerrilla warfare, urban sabotage and heavy weapons ... Although the CIA claimed that the purpose was to attack military targets, mujahideen trained in these techniques, and using chemical and electronic-delay bomb timers supplied by the U.S., carried out numerous car bombings and assassination attacks in Kabul itself.
As Ahmed Rashid of the Daily Telegraph of London explains, between "1982 and 1992, some 35,000 Muslim radicals from 43 Islamic countries in the Middle East, North and East Africa, Central Asia and the Far East would pass their baptism under fire with the Afghan Mujaheddin. Tens of thousands more foreign Muslim radicals came to study in the hundreds of new madrassas that Zia's military government began to fund in Pakistan and along the Afghan border. Eventually more than 100,000 Muslim radicals were to have direct contact with Pakistan and Afghanistan and be influenced by the jihad." (Osama Bin Laden: How the U.S. Helped Midwife a Terrorist.)
After the Soviets packed up and left the country in defeat, the United States essentially turned its back on the mujahideen and war ravaged Afghanistan. But this dismal fact does not particularly concern intellectuals such as Samuel Huntington. Instead, as Huntington views the situation through his "Clash of Civilizations" blinders, the problem is the CIA's war left a whole lot of disenfranchised Muslims strewn about. It's not this disenfranchisement per se that bothers Huntington and his fellow Islamophobe scholars, but rather the fact these formerly useful castaway Muslims are now on the prowl, ready and able to raise hell due to their hatred and jealousy of our American Idol way of life.
"The war left behind an uneasy coalition of Islamist organizations intent on promoting Islam against all non-Muslim forces," writes Huntington. "It also left a legacy of expert and experienced fighters, training camps and logistical facilities, elaborate trans-Islam networks of personal and organization relationships, a substantial amount of military equipment including 300 to 500 unaccounted-for Stinger missiles, and, most important, a heady sense of power and self-confidence over what had been achieved and a driving desire to move on to other victories."
As AG Ashcroft and the Bushites see it, Abu Hamza al-Masri embodies this "driving desire to move on to other victories" in the name of al-Qaeda and worldwide jihad versus McDonald's, as Thomas Friedman of the New York Times characterizes it. The partially blind and handicapped cleric stands accused of providing material support for al-Qaeda to further a holy war in Afghanistan and conspiracy to aid the Taliban in its guerrilla war against the Good and Righteous as they kick down doors and slaughter wedding party guests.
In other words, Masri faces life in prison -- or possibly the death penalty -- for doing what the CIA and Pakistan's ISI trained and encouraged him to do all those years ago. The United States changed the rules of the game. Hamza refused to get with the program. Now he will serve as a poster child for all that is wicked and violent with hidebound Muslims.
"Hamza is the real deal," Raymond W. Kelly, New York City's police commissioner, told the New York Times. "He is suspected of providing material support to trainees in Osama bin Laden's terrorist camps, as well as dispatching associates from England to help establish a jihad training site on US soil. Think of him as a freelance consultant to terrorist groups worldwide."
And while we are thinking about that "jihad training site on US soil," maybe we should also think about the fact that many Afghan mujaheddin were sent to Camp Peary, the CIA's spy training camp in Virginia, as John Cooley, a former journalist with the ABC television network and author of Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, America and International Terrorism, has documented.
Kelly neglected to mention those very Afghan terrorist camps were financed by the United States and provided all the training and equipment necessary to kill infidels. But then police commissioners and neocons can't be expected to connect the dots. Or tell the American people about the real deal -- in large part militant Islam was engineered and encouraged by the United States, "despite whatever setbacks this might mean."
Nor did Kelly mention -- or is he likely to know -- that shoppers in Rawalpindi and Peshawar can still buy textbooks published as part of a series underwritten by a USAID $50 million grant to the University of Nebraska in the 1980s. These books encourage radical Islam as a way to counter Marxism and urge Afghan children to "pluck out the eyes of the Soviet enemy and cut off his legs." The maniacal Taliban -- friends of the United States until they were considered obstructionist on Unocal's gas pipeline deal -- used these USAID-produced books in their madrassas.
For Bush, Ashcroft, the Zionist neocons, and the rapture-dizzy Christian Zionists, Abu Hamza al-Masri is the perfect Islamic fanatic. In the weeks ahead, as he is extradited from Britain to face the death penalty in America, the cleric will be held up as a primary example of the inherent viciousness and homicidal character of al-Qaeda and radical Muslims in general who want nothing more than to force us at the point of an AK47 to face Mecca five times a day.
Few will mention -- least of all Fox and the slavish Bush Ministry of Disinformation where the intellectually incurious lap up easily digestible propaganda flavored as news -- that Abu Hamza al-Masri was doing precisely what the CIA trained him to do.
Kurt Nimmo is a photographer and multimedia developer in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Visit his excellent no holds barred blog at www.kurtnimmo.com
Exiled Allawi was responsible for 45-minute WMD claim
Posted: Saturday, May 29, 2004
independent.co.uk
The choice of Iyad Allawi, closely linked to the CIA and formerly to MI6, as the Prime Minister of Iraq from 30 June will make it difficult for the US and Britain to persuade the rest of the world that he is capable of leading an independent government.
He is the person through whom the controversial claim was channelled that Iraqi weapons of mass destruction could be operational in 45 minutes.
In the mid-1990s the INA claimed to have extensive contacts in the Iraqi officer corps. Dr Allawi began to move from the orbit of MI6 to the CIA. He persuaded his new masters that he was in a position to organise a military coup in Baghdad. Full Article
Latest News
Posted: Saturday, May 29, 2004
¤ Rwanda - Part I
¤ 'Terror lady' in U.S. custody, says Pakistan
¤ Many killed, hostages taken in Saudi attacks
¤ Gunmen Kill 10 in Saudi Housing Compound
¤ Moore interviewed Berg for 'Fahrenheit 9/11'
¤ 4 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan
¤ CIA stooge Allawi gets Iraqi presidency as reward for bogus WMD claim
¤ In my name
¤ WAR ON TERROR: 16 KILLED IN GUN BATTLE
¤ Rumsfeld Says 'War on Terror' Just Beginning
¤ Tens of thousands hit by floods in Caribbean as more rains fall
¤ Quake Rattles Flood-Hit Hispaniola
¤ Who killed Nick Berg?
¤ Jews fear being blamed for Iraqi war
¤ Collective Penalities in Iraq
¤ The Long Shadow of CIA Torture Research
¤ Abu Hamza al-Masri: Made in the USA
¤ Don't Let Bush Destroy Another Piece of Iraqi History
¤ What the Times Did was Bad; What It Didn't Do was Worse
¤ Jung Meets Bush
¤ US aircraft bombard southern Afghanistan
¤ 'What the Arab world hears when Bush speaks'
¤ Service Members Killed in Afghanistan, Iraq
¤ America in expectation of a major terrorist attack
¤ British-educated surgeon is new Iraqi prime minister
¤ How Chalabi and the White House held the front page
¤ Explosion Hits Russian Train Near Chechnya
¤ Reports: Tillman Killed by Friendly Fire
¤ Lying or Confused?
¤ Bush Doctrine Breeds Terror and Tyranny
¤ New reports question war on terror
¤ For Iraqi women, Abu Ghraib's taint
¤ 23 killed in Iran quake
¤ US warplanes, ’copters violate Pak airspace
¤ Too bad to be true
¤ IRAQI WOMEN RAPED AT ABU GHRAIB: REPORTS
¤ Attackers Shell American Base in Najaf
¤ With 2 Wars, U.S. Need of Munitions Is Soaring
¤ Guantanamo sent Its Interrogators to Iraqi Prison
¤ Exiled Allawi was responsible for 45-minute WMD claim
¤ Profile: Iyad Allawi
¤ Surprise at Iyad Allawi's PM nomination
¤ Iraqi with MI6 links is new prime minister
¤ AP: Intelligence Agents Accused in Abuse
¤ Five foreigners gunned down in Saudi
¤ F.B.I. Issues and Retracts Urgent Terrorism Bulletin
Fatal Error: The Lies of Our Times
Posted: Friday, May 28, 2004
by Amy Goodman and David Goodman
www.democracynow.org
In our new book, The Exception To the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers and the Media That Love Them, we titled one chapter "The Lies of Our Times" to examine how The New York Times coverage on Iraq and its alleged stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction helped lead the country to war. Yesterday, The New York Times, for the first time, raised questions about its own coverage in an 1,100-word editor's note. Here is an excerpt from our section of the book on the New York Times and Iraq.
"From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August." -- Andrew H. Card, White House Chief of Staff speaking about the Iraq war P.R. campaign, September 6, 2002
In the midst of the buildup to war, a major scandal was unfolding at The New York Times-the paper that sets the news agenda for other media. The Times admitted that for several years a 27-year-old reporter named Jayson Blair had been conning his editors and falsifying stories. He had pretended to be places he hadn't been, fabricated quotes, and just plain lied in order to tell a sensational tale. For this, Blair was fired. But The Times went further: It ran a 7,000-word, five-page expose on the young reporter, laying bare his personal and professional escapades.
The Times said it had reached a low point in its 152-year history. I agreed. But not because of the Jayson Blair affair. It was The Times coverage of the Bush-Blair affair.
When George W. Bush and Tony Blair made their fraudulent case to attack Iraq, The Times, along with most corporate media outlets in the United States, became cheerleaders for the war. And while Jayson Blair was being crucified for his journalistic sins, veteran Times national security correspondent and best-selling author Judith Miller was filling The Times' front pages with unchallenged government propaganda. Unlike Blair's deceptions, Miller's lies provided the pretext for war. Her lies cost lives.
If only The New York Times had done the same kind of investigation of Miller's reports as it had with Jayson Blair.
The White House propaganda blitz was launched on September 7, 2002, at a Camp David press conference. British Prime Minister Tony Blair stood side by side with his co-conspirator, President George W. Bush. Together, they declared that evidence from a report published by the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) showed that Iraq was "six months away" from building nuclear weapons.
"I don't know what more evidence we need," crowed Bush.
Actually, any evidence would help-there was no such IAEA report. But at the time, few mainstream American journalists questioned the leaders' outright lies. Instead, the following day, "evidence" popped up in the Sunday New York Times under the twin byline of Michael Gordon and Judith Miller. "More than a decade after Saddam Hussein agreed to give up weapons of mass destruction," they stated with authority, "Iraq has stepped up its quest for nuclear weapons and has embarked on a worldwide hunt for materials to make an atomic bomb, Bush administration officials said today."
In a revealing example of how the story amplified administration spin, the authors included the phrase soon to be repeated by President Bush and all his top officials: "The first sign of a 'smoking gun,' [administration officials] argue, may be a mushroom cloud."
Harper's publisher John R. MacArthur, author of Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the Gulf War, knew what to make of this front-page bombshell. "In a disgraceful piece of stenography," he wrote, Gordon and Miller "inflated an administration leak into something resembling imminent Armageddon."
The Bush administration knew just what to do with the story they had fed to Gordon and Miller. The day The Times story ran, Vice President Dick Cheney made the rounds on the Sunday talk shows to advance the administration's bogus claims. On NBC's Meet the Press, Cheney declared that Iraq had purchased aluminum tubes to make enriched uranium. It didn't matter that the IAEA refuted the charge both before and after it was made. But Cheney didn't want viewers just to take his word for it. "There's a story in The New York Times this morning," he said smugly. "And I want to attribute The Times."
This was the classic disinformation two-step: the White House leaks a lie to The Times, the newspaper publishes it as a startling expose, and then the White House conveniently masquerades behind the credibility of The Times.
"What mattered," wrote MacArthur, "was the unencumbered rollout of a commercial for war."4
Judith Miller was just getting warmed up. Reporting for America's most influential newspaper, Miller continued to trumpet administration leaks and other bogus sources as the basis for eye-popping stories that backed the administration's false premises for war. "If reporters who live by their sources were obliged to die by their sources," Jack Shafer wrote later in Slate, "Miller would be stinking up her family tomb right now."
After the war, Shafer pointed out, "None of the sensational allegations about chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons given to Miller have panned out, despite the furious crisscrossing of Iraq by U.S. weapons hunters."
Did The New York Times publish corrections? Clarifications? Did heads roll? Not a chance: Judith Miller's "scoops" continued to be proudly run on the front pages.
Here are just some of the corrections The Times should have run after the year-long campaign of front-page false claims by one of its premier reporters, Judith Miller.
FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
Scoop: "U.S. Says Hussein Intensifies Quest for A-Bomb Parts," by Judith Miller and Michael R. Gordon, September 8, 2002. The authors quote Ahmed al-Shemri (a pseudonym), who contends that he worked in Iraq's chemical weapons program before defecting in 2000. " 'All of Iraq is one large storage facility,' said Mr. Shemri, who claimed to have worked for many years at the Muthanna State Enterprise, once Iraq's chemical weapons plant." The authors quote Shemri as stating that Iraq is stockpiling "12,500 gallons of anthrax, 2,500 gallons of gas gangrene, 1,250 gallons of aflatoxin, and 2,000 gallons of botulinum throughout the country."
Oops: As UN weapons inspectors had earlier stated-and U.S. weapons inspectors confirmed in September 2003-none of these claims were true. The unnamed source is one of many Iraqi defectors who made sensational false claims that were championed by Miller and The Times.
Scoop: "White House Lists Iraq Steps to Build Banned Weapons," by Judith Miller and Michael Gordon, September 13, 2002. The article quotes the White House contention that Iraq was trying to purchase aluminum pipes to assist its nuclear weapons program.
Oops: Rather than run a major story on how the United States had falsely cited the UN to back its claim that Iraq was expanding its nuclear weapons program, Miller and Gordon repeated and embellished the lie.
Contrast this with the lead paragraph of a story that ran in the British daily The Guardian on September 9: "The International Atomic Energy Agency has no evidence that Iraq is developing nuclear weapons at a former site previously destroyed by UN inspectors, despite claims made over the weekend by Tony Blair, western diplomatic sources told The Guardian yesterday." The story goes on to say that the IAEA "issued a statement insisting it had 'no new information' on Iraq's nuclear program since December 1998 when its inspectors left Iraq."
Miller's trumped-up story contributed to the climate of the time and The Times. A month later, numerous congressional representatives cited the nuclear threat as a reason for voting to authorize war.
Scoop: "U.S. Faulted Over Its Efforts to Unite Iraqi Dissidents," by Judith Miller, October 2, 2002. Quoting Ahmed Chalabi and Defense Department adviser Richard Perle, this story stated: "The INC [Iraqi National Congress] has been without question the single most important source of intelligence about Saddam Hussein."
Miller airs the INC's chief complaint: "Iraqi dissidents and administration officials complain that [the State Department and CIA] have also tried to cast doubt on information provided by defectors Mr. Chalabi's organization has brought out of Iraq."
Oops: Miller championed the cause of Chalabi, the Iraqi exile leader who had been lobbying Washington for over a decade to support the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime. As The Washington Post revealed, Miller wrote to Times veteran foreign correspondent John Burns, who was working in Baghdad at the time, that Chalabi "has provided most of the front page exclusives on WMD [weapons of mass destruction] to our paper."
Times readers might be interested to learn the details of how Ahmed Chalabi was bought and paid for by the CIA. Chalabi heads the INC, an organization of Iraqi exiles created by the CIA in 1992 with the help of the Rendon Group, a powerful public relations firm that has worked extensively for the two Bush administrations. Between 1992 and 1996, the CIA covertly funneled $12 million to Chalabi's INC. In 1998, the Clinton administration gave Chalabi control of another $98 million of U.S. taxpayer money. Chalabi's credibility has always been questionable: He was convicted in absentia in Jordan of stealing some $500 million from a bank he established, leaving shareholders high and dry. He has been accused by Iraqi exiles of pocketing at least $4 million of CIA funds.
In the lead-up to war, the CIA dismissed Chalabi as unreliable. But he was the darling of Pentagon hawks, putting an Iraqi face on their warmongering. So the Pentagon established a new entity, the Office of Special Plans, to champion the views of discredited INC defectors who helped make its case for war.
As Howard Kurtz later asked in The Washington Post: "Could Chalabi have been using The Times to build a drumbeat that Iraq was hiding weapons of mass destruction?"
Scoop: "C.I.A. Hunts Iraq Tie to Soviet Smallpox," by Judith Miller, December 3, 2002. The story claims that "Iraq obtained a particularly virulent strain of smallpox from a Russian scientist." The story adds later: "The information came to the American government from an informant whose identity has not been disclosed."
Smallpox was cited by President Bush as one of the "weapons of mass destruction" possessed by Iraq that justified a dangerous national inoculation program-and an invasion.
Oops: After a three-month search of Iraq, " 'Team Pox' turned up only signs to the contrary: disabled equipment that had been rendered harmless by UN inspectors, Iraqi scientists deemed credible who gave no indication they had worked with smallpox, and a laboratory thought to be back in use that was covered in cobwebs," reported the Associated Press in September 2003.
Scoop: "Illicit Arms Kept Till Eve of War, an Iraqi Scientist Is Said to Assert," by Judith Miller, April 21, 2003. In this front-page article, Miller quotes an American military officer who passes on the assertions of "a man who said he was an Iraqi scientist" in U.S. custody. The "scientist" claims that Iraq destroyed its WMD stockpile days before the war began, that the regime had transferred banned weapons to Syria, and that Saddam Hussein was working closely with Al Qaeda.
Who is the messenger for this bombshell? Miller tells us only that she "was permitted to see him from a distance at the sites where he said that material from the arms program was buried. Clad in nondescript clothes and a baseball cap, he pointed to several spots in the sand where he said chemical precursors and other weapons material were buried."
And then there were the terms of this disclosure: "This reporter was not permitted to interview the scientist or visit his home. Nor was she permitted to write about the discovery of the scientist for three days, and the copy was then submitted for a check by military officials. Those officials asked that details of what chemicals were uncovered be deleted." No proof. No names. No chemicals. Only a baseball cap-and the credibility of Miller and The Times-to vouch for a "scientist" who conveniently backs up key claims of the Bush administration. Miller, who was embedded with MET Alpha, a military unit searching for WMDs, pumped up her sensational assertions the next day on PBS's NewsHour with Jim Lehrer: Q: Has the unit you've been traveling with found any proof of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?
JUDITH MILLER: Well, I think they found something more than a smoking gun. What they've found...is a silver bullet in the form of a person, an Iraqi individual, a scientist, as we've called him, who really worked on the programs, who knows them firsthand.
Q: Does this confirm in a way the insistence coming from the U.S. government that after the war, various Iraqi tongues would loosen, and there might be people who would be willing to help?
JUDITH MILLER: Yes, it clearly does.... That's what the Bush administration has finally done. They have changed the political environment, and they've enabled people like the scientists that MET Alpha has found to come forth.
Oops: The silver bullet got more tarnished as it was examined. Three months later, Miller acknowledged that the scientist was merely "a senior Iraqi military intelligence official." His explosive claims vaporized.
A final note from the Department of Corrections: The Times deeply regrets any wars or loss of life that these errors may have contributed to.
UP IN SMOKE
Tom Wolfe once wrote about a war-happy Times correspondent in Vietnam (same idea, different war): The administration was "playing [the reporter] of The New York Times like an ocarina, as if they were blowing smoke up his pipe and the finger work was just right and the song was coming forth better than they could have played it themselves." But who was playing whom? The Washington Post reported that while Miller was embedded with MET Alpha, her role in the unit's operations became so central that it became known as the "Judith Miller team." In one instance, she disagreed with a decision to relocate the unit to another area and threatened to file a critical report in The Times about the action. When she took her protest to a two-star general, the decision was reversed. One Army officer told the Post, "Judith was always issuing threats of either going to The New York Times or to the secretary of defense. There was nothing veiled about that threat."
Later, she played a starring role in a ceremony in which MET Alpha's leader was promoted. Other officers were surprised to watch as Miller pinned a new rank on the uniform of Chief Warrant Officer Richard Gonzales. He thanked her for her "contributions" to the unit. In April 2003, MET Alpha traveled to the compound of Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmed Chalabi "at Judy's direction," where they interrogated and took custody of an Iraqi man who was on the Pentagon's wanted list-despite the fact that MET Alpha's only role was to search for WMDs. As one officer told the Post, "It's impossible to exaggerate the impact she had on the mission of this unit, and not for the better."
After a year of bogus scoops from Miller, the paper gave itself a bit of cover. Not corrections-just cover. On September 28, 2003, Times reporter Douglas Jehl surprisingly kicked the legs out from under Miller's sources. In his story headlined AGENCY BELITTLES INFORMATION GIVEN BY IRAQ DEFECTORS, Jehl revealed: An internal assessment by the Defense Intelligence Agency has concluded that most of the information provided by Iraqi defectors who were made available by the Iraqi National Congress was of little or no value, according to federal officials briefed on the arrangement. In addition, several Iraqi defectors introduced to American intelligence agents by the exile organization and its leader, Ahmed Chalabi, invented or exaggerated their credentials as people with direct knowledge of the Iraqi government and its suspected unconventional weapons program, the officials said.
The Iraqi National Congress had made some of these defectors available to...The New York Times, which reported their allegations about prisoners and the country's weapons program. Poof. Up in smoke went thousands of words of what can only be called rank propaganda.
This Times confession was too little, too late. After an unnecessary war, during a brutal occupation, and several thousand lives later, The Times obliquely acknowledged that it had been recycling disinformation. Miller's reports played an invaluable role in the administration's propaganda war. They gave public legitimacy to outright lies, providing what appeared to be independent confirmation of wild speculation and false accusations. "What Miller has done over time seriously violates several Times' policies under their code of conduct for news and editorial departments," wrote William E. Jackson in Editor & Publisher. "Jayson Blair was only a fluke deviation.... Miller strikes right at the core of the regular functioning news machine."
More than that, Miller's false reporting was key to justifying a war. And The Times' unabashed servitude to the administration's war agenda did not end with Iraq.
On September 16, 2003, The Times ran a story headlined SENIOR U.S. OFFICIAL TO LEVEL WEAPONS CHARGES AGAINST SYRIA. The stunningly uncritical article was virtually an excerpt of the testimony about to be given that day by outspoken hawk John R. Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control. The article included this curious caveat: The testimony "was provided to The New York Times by individuals who feel that the accusations against Syria have received insufficient attention." The article certainly solved that problem.
The author? Judith Miller-preparing for the next battlefront.
Reproduced from:
www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/05/26/1610213
Latest News
Posted: Friday, May 28, 2004
¤ Attackers Shell American Base in Najaf
¤ Terror threat source called into question
¤ Terror warning surprises Homeland Security Dept.
¤ If Fear Fails, What's Next?
¤ Has the U.S. Government Committed War Crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq?
¤ Pie-in-the-sky optimisim - again
¤ 10 ways we botched Iraq
¤ 'George Bush: Commander In.... please!'
¤ Will Bush the Beheader use terrorism to become America's Pinochet?
¤ 'The Administration that Cried Wolf'
¤ 'To tell the truth'
¤ Can bin Laden Save Bush?
¤ Two Japanese journalists killed in Iraq
¤ How War in Iraq Derails Real War on Terror
¤ Major 'Liberal' Outlets Clog Media Diets
¤ A Super-Size Scandal
¤ Teacher Suspended Over Berg Video Anomalies
¤ New Iraq premier
¤ 23 Killed in Northern Iran Earthquake
¤ Pakistan on the march again
¤ Washington Intrigue
¤ U.S., U.N. Blindsided on Iraq PM Announcement
¤ Now the sovereignty muddle
¤ Clashes erupt in Kufa
¤ White House Divided Over Terror Alert
¤ Nine killed in held Kashmir violence
¤ Democracy there and democracy here
¤ US and the failure of our democracy
¤ DUBYA A DANGER TO THE WORLD
¤ Healthy disagreement
¤ How Much Is Hussein's Departure Worth?
¤ A few major omissions in Bush's speech to nation
¤ Evangelicals Give US Foreign Policy an Activist Tinge
¤ For Iraqi women, Abu Ghraib's taint
¤ Rhetoric vs. Reality in Iraq
¤ Worry and Anger Over Iraq Situation
¤ Karpinski Was 'Set Up,' but Sanchez Takes the Fall
¤ $226 Million in Govt Ads Helped Pave the Way for War
¤ The Americans have lost control of almost the entire country
¤ NY editor slams apology for his record
¤ Catch-22 revisited
¤ Fatal Error: The Lies of Our Times
¤ Wish you were here
¤ Bodies found after reporters attacked in Iraq
¤ Gov't Turf Battle Over Terror?
¤ Terror label 'astonishes' Israel
¤ Officials Defend Terror Attack Warning
¤ Only a Lull Before Another Storm
¤ 'There Are So Many People the Americans Have Shot'
¤ UN: Bullies and Beggars
¤ Soldiers fire to disperse Lebanese strikers
¤ In the dock: the radical cleric who became an embarrassment
¤ Latest US Terror Warning Raises Questions
¤ Interrogators hid identities
¤ 'Full Iraqi sovereignty', says Chirac
Latest News
Posted: Thursday, May 27, 2004
¤ Pending Draft Legislation Targeted for Spring 2005
¤ Reserve recruiters' tactic may skirt edge of deception
¤ New Transcripts Point to US Role in Chile Coup
¤ U.S. dismisses report on human-rights abuses
¤ Iraqi dissidents: Down, but far from out
¤ Warning on al-Qaeda rings hollow
¤ Bush's Iraq: almost unrecognizable
¤ Fatal Error: The Lies of Our Times
¤ Bush's Credibility Problem
¤ Oil Money And A Smart Energy Policy Don't Mix
¤ Ragging the Dogs of War at the New York Times
¤ The Times Confesses...Kind Of
¤ Banana Republicans
¤ Can't find Iraqis taped in arms plot, Powell says
¤ Did the Washington Post Create Ahmed Chalabi?
¤ Is the US govt crying 'wolf'?
¤ Terrorists on Ashcroft's 'Wanted List' Already in Jail
¤ Al-Qaida suspects : Who are they?
¤ New photos show Abu Ghraib tactics
¤ Sovereignty-lite: The devil is in the details
¤ Rodin sculptures used in protest of treatment of Iraqi prisoners
¤ Scientist jailed by Saddam is tipped for PM
¤ Blair tried to block US inquiry into WMD
¤ No 10 denies rift with Bush over control of troops
¤ Healthy disagreement
¤ The Bush orthodoxy is in shreds
¤ Island flood toll soars to 2,000
¤ Israel holds British journalist
¤ Israel detains British journalist who broke nuclear whistleblower's story
¤ New York Times admits failures in run-up to war
¤ War on terror leaves human rights at 50-year low, claims Amnesty
¤ UN fury over Bush attempts to install PM
¤ Emin: 'I'm more upset about kids being killed in Iraq'
¤ Amnesty: 'Bankrupt' war on terror is world's most damaging conflict in 50 years
¤ Amnesty: War on Terror Used to Justify Abuses
¤ Amnesty: Abu Ghraib Cases Not Isolated
¤ U.S. war policy 'grave error'
¤ Bush Has a Plan - Really
¤ US fears al-Qaida squad is in place for election hit
¥ But would'nt a Bombing aid Bush?
¤ Terror suspects named by FBI
¤ Scepticism over new US terror warning
¤ Analysts Say U.S. Threat Warning Is Back-Covering
¤ Does Terrorists' Chatter Matter?
¤ New York Police Unaware of New Terror Plot
¤ An Overreaction?
¤ Sarin Shells Made Before 1991 War
¤ U.S. Has So Far Provided $191B for Wars
¤ Countries under scrutiny
¤ U.S. using some Iraqis as bargaining chips
¤ Home With the Armadillos
¤ Competition, Not Mea Culpas: the Real Cure for Media Bias
¤ Pulitzer Prize-Winning Reporter Crosses The NY Times' Line of 'Strict Neutrality'
¤ Mass graves hold hundreds of flood victims
¤ Bush under fire over terror alert
¤ Australia denies hiding knowledge of Iraqi prisoner abuse
¤ Russian electricity workers, two Iraqis killed
¤ Drug causing GIs permanent brain damage
¤ Caribbean flood death toll nears 2,000
¤ The fall of the vulcans
¤ Battles continue in Najaf
¤ George's Bumper Sticker Mythology
¤ The Priorities of the Godly
Latest News
Posted: Wednesday, May 26, 2004
¤ The things Bush didn't mention in his speech
¤ Report: US Needed 500,000 Troops to Pacify Iraq
¤ U.S. Civilian Working at Abu Ghraib Disputes Army's Version of Role in Abuses
¤ The New Draft UN Resolution Allows for Perpetual Occupation
¤ Bush and Sharon: The Oil Connection
¤ More on Morons and War Crimes
¤ Anger Rising
¤ Follow Torture Trail at Abu Ghraib
¤ About That Invitation to Join the Bush-Cheney '04 Team...
¤ The Bush and Kerry Tilt
¤ President Bush’s May 24 Speech on Iraq: A Critique
¤ Amnesty slams 'bankrupt' vision of US in damning report
¤ Amnesty blasts U.S., allies in report
¤ How Palestine is dying in Iraq
¤ Pakistan blast kills one, wounds 27
¤ 'The New York Times,', Finds Much to Fault in its Iraq WMD Coverage
¤ The worst US media performances
¤ Haitian singer says Marines traumatized her
¤ Follow torture trail at Abu Ghraib
¤ Furore over torture in Iraq prompts new revelations of US abuse in Afghanistan
¤ Weapons of mass homophobia
¤ Jogging in the twilight zone
¤ Amnesty: Attacks on Israeli civilians - crimes against humanity
¤ Statistics for the Palestinian Intifada
¤ Caribbean Flooding Kills More Than 660
¤ Bush administration has used 27 rationales for war in Iraq, study says
¤ Uncovering the Rationales for the War on Iraq
¤ Iraqis snap up CDs of abuse images
¤ Battles continue in Najaf
¤ Blast rocks Baghdad hotel
¤ US soldiers accused of theft
¤ Bomb damages Pakistani gas pipeline
¤ Abuse of Captives More Widespread, Says Army Survey
¤ The other obstacle we face in Iraq - ourselves
¤ Magical History Tour
¤ Our Iraq Legacy May be Chaos and Anarchy
¤ Washington Pushes Freedom – But Not for Al-Jazeera
¤ Psyops In Fourth Generation War
¤ Millions 'Warehoused' Without Rights for 10 Years or More
¤ EU Interested in Boosting Energy Cooperation With Iran
¤ Tracing a Civilian's Odd Path to His Gruesome Fate in Iraq
¤ The Times and Iraq
¤ General Is Said To Have Urged Use of Dogs
¤ Who Would Try Civilians of U.S.? No One in Iraq
¤ ''America's Chechnya''
¤ Two US soldiers killed in Iraq
¤ Amnesty International Wants Iraqi Prison To Stay
¤ Large-Scale Battles Reported in Afghanistan
¤ Mehdi Army Grows as Tempers Rage Over ‘Wedding Massacre’
¤ Two out of three voters say no to more UK troops
¤ This Made Ashcroft Gag
¤ This is Your Bill for the War
¤ Israel Attained Nuclear Weapons With U.S. Assistance
¤ Americans raping Iraqi juveniles
¤ U.S. went to war in Iraq to help Israel
¤ The trouble with joint intelligence
¤ Back to the UN
¤ Nine Killed in Overnight Clashes in Iraq
¤ Bloody vengeance or assault on terrorists
¤ Deserter Accuses U.S. of War Crimes
¤ Occupation has boosted al-Qaida, says thinktank
¤ Iraq Civilian Interrogator Hiring Blocked
¤ Blair and Powell clash over Iraqi veto on Allied forces
¤ Abu Ghraib and the Dow
¤ Our Psyops Disasters
¤ The Madness Of King George
¤ 18 Iraqis killed, shrine of Hazrat Ali (RA) damaged
¤ The Rape of Rafah (part-II)
¤ African Union to inaugurate Security Council
¤ Bush’s message and ME reality
¤ Amnesty slams Australia's human rights record
¤ Internet sex scandal rocks US politics
¤ Violent Caribbean storms kill 502
¤ Habib tortured till he passed out: inmate
¤ US troopers ordered Iraqis to jump off bridge
¤ Secrecy may have cost Russian virus scientist her life
¤ Bush speech alarms even war enthusiasts
¤ Fightings kill 9, wound 50 in Najaf
¤ Terrorists Planning Summer Attack
¤ FAKE TERROR - THE ROAD TO WAR AND DICTATORSHIP
Latest News
Posted: Tuesday, May 25, 2004
¤ The Geneva Conventions & Moral Authority
¤ Iraq abuse insider disciplined
¤ Abu boo-boo: President tortures the name of shame
¤ Bush Sr.'s Iraq-Iran Secrets
¤ Go to Hell, Bush!!!
¤ White man's burden
¤ Marching Off the Cliff
¤ US created al Qaeda to encounter ''Iranian system''
¤ War returns with a vengeance as Bush fails the Afghan people
¤ Bush-Cheney Iraq War Worst Disaster In American Foreign Policy History?
¤ 'In line for the rapture'
¤ War Crimes: What Secrets Can the Photos Reveal?
¤ America's brutal culture of unseen oppression
¤ Iraqis dismiss Bush's Abu Ghraib plan
¤ Iraq Speech: Bush Offers Nothing New Except Prison
¤ Bush Promises the Appearance of Chaos Ahead
¤ Bush's Speech: Simply More of the Same
¤ US intelligence fears Iran duped hawks into Iraq war
¤ Iran 'steered White House into eliminating its enemy'
¥ Iran to blame for Iraq War?
¥ These links tell a different story...
¤ The 2003 Iraq War - Made in Israel!
¤ The United States of Israel
¤ Is Congress Aiding A Massive Israeli Deception?
¤ Israel Urges US to Attack Iraq:"Sooner, Rather than Later"
¤ J.Raimondo: Hollings is right: It's all about Israel
¤ Israels involvement in Iraq: Torture and Petroleum
¤ Israel urges US to strike
¤ The war on Iraq: Conceived in Israel
¤ The spies who pushed for war
¤ War will benefit Israel, Cheney tells Jews in Boca
¤ War Launched to Protect Israel - Bush Adviser
¤ Israel and the US War on Iraq
¤ Bush outlines strategy for Iraq
¤ No normal wedding? Cartoon
¤ Wedding party video casts doubt on American version of attack
¤ US to demolish Abu Ghraib jail and punish its general
¤ Iraq's day of reckoning
¤ Bush tortures pronunciation again
¤ Bush's speech on Iraq
¤ No pass for U.S. brass in Iraq
¤ Homeless and angry, Palestinians call for justice
¤ Dead were civilians, Israeli army admits
¤ UN troops buy sex from teenage refugees in Congo camp
¤ The wheels come off
¤ Neo-Cons Call For Exterminating the Resistance
¤ 39 more Iraqis killed in fighting
¤ Hundreds feared dead in Caribbean floods
¤ Afghanistan, the war the world forgot
¤ The Rape of Rafah (part-1)
¤ Treatment of prisoners by US
¤ Censuring inhumane acts
¤ Bush's vision of Iraq vs reality
¤ US dodges sovereignty issue
¤ You Call This 'Sovereignty'?
¤ US Offers Iraq 'Sovereignty Lite'
¤ Nothing new except prison
¤ Socrates the destroyer
¤ Our Darkest Days Are Here
¤ War College Predictions Proving Accurate
¤ New U.S. proposal on Iraq draws quick criticism at UN
¤ Emigrés Caught Between Bush and Castro
¤ Doonesbury strip to run roll call of US war dead
¤ 18 killed in Baghdad clashes
¤ UN draft sets no date for Iraq troop exit
¤ Iraqi oil pipeline badly damaged
¤ US jails in Afghanistan being reviewed
¤ The Real Shame of Abu Ghraib
¤ Israeli Agents Believed Involved in Abu Ghraib
Latest News
Posted: Monday, May 24, 2004
¤ Iraqi city of Karbala left in ruins by US military
¤ Gulf War III
¤ Training Wheels and Fighting Words
¤ A Lie By Any Other Name Still Smells
¤ US: More oil from Saudi Arabia
¤ Taiwan says no marines to go to Iraq
¤ U.S. seeks U.N. approval of multinational force in Iraq
¤ U.N. Iraq Draft Gives No Exit Date for Foreign Force
¤ More Dirty Tricks in TortureGate
¤ "Wrong War, Wrong Place, Wrong Time
¤ Bomb Now or Forever Hold Your Peace
¤ An Abut Ghraib Photo We Didn't See on the Front Page of the NYTs
¤ The Nicholas Berg execution
¤ The Picture Gets Worse
¤ Iraq to get veto on foreign troop action - Britain
¤ Surge in drug deaths linked to falling cost and rise in casual use
¤ Iraqi Scientist Killed In U.S. Detention: Report
¤ 373 Palestinian Teens Abused in Israeli Jails
Flashback ¤ Evidence points to US cover-up of Afghan massacre
¤ The White House Even Lies About the Weather!
¤ Bush Suffers Cuts, Bruises While Biking
¤ 'But I thought ...' will forever haunt Bush's Iraq policy
¤ Britons killed in Baghdad blast
¤ 'Rumsfeld's long list of failures'
¤ It's Not Just the Emperor Who is Naked
¤ What Have We Done?
¤ Did Somebody Say War?
¤ How Fascism Starts
¤ No Honor Among Thieves
¤ U.S. Adventure in Iraq Amounts to Big Con Job
¤ George "Black Eye" Bush misses daughter's graduation day
¤ Nicholas von Hoffman on the big lie
¤ No 10 'worked with Sun to manage news'
¤ Which bumbling fumbling idiot should lead?
¤ Bush to Spell Out Iraq Plan, Major Fighting Flares
¤ Video shows destruction at Iraq wedding party
¤ Afghan Deaths Linked to Unit at Iraq Prison
¤ 'You did this to mess with me'
¤ US military kills 32 in Kufa mosque raid
¤ Iraqi scientist 'died at US base'
¤ 33 die in Kashmir bus blast
¤ Norwegian soldier killed in Kabul
¤ 'We Killed 30 Civilians In 6 Weeks. I Felt We Were Committing Genocide'
¤ War Crimes & Double Standards
¤ If You Can’t Trust Chalabi-the-Thief, Whom Can You Trust?
¤ U.S. Death Total Tops 800
¤ Ordinary Iraqis killed: 11,500 and not counting
¤ American Shame in Rafah
¤ Gen. Zinni: 'They've Screwed Up'
¤ Strip clubs' naked ambition to oust Bush
¤ Singh faces first crisis as Kashmir bomb kills 33
¤ 'I will always hate you people'
¤ New doubts over pre-war intelligence
¤ First Afghan private TV station goes on air
¤ The Other U.S. Military
¤ The failing Iraqi Operation Cartoon
¤ US soldiers storm mosque in worst day of fighting with Sadr's militia
¤ Bush gives new pledge on 'full sovereignty'
¤ What powers should be handed over?
¤ What have we done?
¤ The myth of the reluctant occupier
¤ Israel remains in Rafah, storms Nablus
The Myth of the Reluctant Occupier
Posted: Monday, May 24, 2004
www.theage.com.au
Iraq is a strategic prize in the Arab world with huge reserves of oil. America will stay put, writes Scott Burchill.
Now a new orthodoxy is shaping comment and analysis about events in Iraq. Let's call it the "reluctant occupier myth".
Having removed Saddam and his cohorts from power and set Iraq on a path towards democracy, the US is now preparing to leave - the "Vietnamisation" of Iraq. It will find a smooth way out by returning sovereignty to a new Iraqi administration, initially on July 1 through the auspices of the UN and then early next year through democratic elections. Coalition forces, which don't want to be in Iraq a day longer than is necessary to "finish the job", will stay on for a time to "maintain" security, but only at the pleasure of a new interim government in Baghdad.
Like the earlier myths, this one is also a fabrication.
It is difficult to see what could be more obvious than that the US is desperately trying to stay in Iraq - and specifically, in charge in Iraq.
Despite disingenuous claims that coalition troops would leave if asked to by a new Iraqi authority after July 1, US Secretary of State Colin Powell got closer to the truth when he stated on April 26 that "I hope they (the Iraqi people) will understand that in order for this government to get up and running - to be effective - some of its sovereignty will have to be given back (to Washington)".
So, coalition troops will stay on regardless. After all, what was the point of invading in the first place if they were going to get out? Full Article
Latest News
Posted: Sunday, May 23, 2004
¤ Ordinary Iraqis killed: 11,500 and not counting
¤ U.S.: Geneva rules didn't fully apply
¤ Professor Denounced for POW Memo for Bush
¤ Hundreds rally against Iraq abuse
¤ Berg decapitation video was filmed inside the Abu Ghraib prison
¤ War Crimes in the name of Democracy and Freedom
¤ Bush is a war criminal, Livingstone tells rally
¤ 240 missing in Bangladesh ferry disasters
¤ Fighting in Kufa kills 32 Mehdi fighters: US military
¤ The Great Whitewash: The 9/11 Commission and the Avoidance of the Truth
¤ Iraq reveals mounting mental health problems in our military
¤ US soldiers killed in ambush near Falluja
¤ OPEC unity strained over Saudi output plan
¤ Many dead in Iraq clashes
¤ Roof collapses at Paris airport
¤ UN says IDF troops raid UN office in Jenin
¤ Rumsfeld bans camera phones
¤ Wolfowitz's blunders cost us dearly
¤ 'Spray and slay': are American troops out of control in Iraq?
¤ U.S. Disputed Protected Status of Iraq Inmates
¤ Bush team shrugs off Cannes result
¤ Civilian Interpreter at Abu Ghraib Fired
¤ Pakistan restored to full membership of Commonwealth
¤ Report: US general witnessed Iraq abuse
¤ Tehran warns US over Iraq policy
¤ Report Links U.S. General to Iraq Prison Abuse Case
¤ Official Compares Israeli Action to Nazi's
¤ Kashmir Bus Explosion Kills 26 Soldiers
¤ Five killed in Baghdad suicide car bombing
¤ Manmohan Singh sworn in as PM
¤ Massive anti-war protest held in London
¤ US names general for review of Afghan jails
¤ Afghan woman killed in raid: US military
¤ Bay of Goats
¤ Breaking Bombshell: It's Iran's Fault!!
¥ Sure...
¤ The revenge of the CIA
¤ Sworn Statements by Abu Ghraib Detainees
¤ Anti-War Protesters Call for Blair and Bush to Resign
¤ Iraq abuse unveiled in January
¤ US force 'risks catastrophe'
¤ US tactics 'heavy handed' says Straw memo
¤ Marines admit abuse at second prison
¤ New allegations of systematic abuse of Iraqis by British troops
¤ Iraqis lose right to sue troops over war crimes
¤ Iraqi prisoner 'was beaten, kicked and left to die by Marines'
¤ UN cries freedom to contented colonies
¤ Road to freedom
¤ Here be monsters
¤ Victims of Israeli raid pile up in a flower storeroom
¤ Iraq: The Wedding Party Massacre
¤ Behind the Walls of Abu Ghraib
Latest News
Posted: Saturday, May 22, 2004
¤ Can Iraq Get Any Worse?
¤ Nothing New About Abuse of Prisoners
¤ A Political Obituary: Colin Powell, DOA
¤ Bush's Crusades and the Carlyle Group
¤ America is Committing War Crimes in Iraq
¤ Democracy in Latin America
¤ Bushwhacked in the Caribbean
¤ The Rape of Rafah
¤ Assume the Worst
¤ Why I Burned My Israeli Military Papers
¤ Exhibitionistic Revenge at Abu Ghraib
¤ Sexual Domination in Uniform: An American Value
¤ The Necrophilia War
¤ Charting a New Course for US Nuclear Policy
¤ Senor Shows Human Side, Is Whisked Away by Security Contractors
¤ Russert subpoenaed in CIA leak probe
¤ What price Israeli security?
¤ Is Congress Aiding A Massive Israeli Deception?
¤ More charges arise in Iraqi abuse
¤ 37 Died In American Custody In Iraq, Afghanistan, Admits Pentagon
¤ Skipped autopsies in Iraq revealed
¤ U.S. Says No Evidence of Wedding at Site
¤ 'Cheap hoods and thug-brained goons'
¤ Video shows Iraq wedding carnage
¤ Video of wedding attack shows survivors sifting through debris
¤ Anti-US demonstrations shake Bahrain
¤ German shot dead in Riyadh
¤ Arafat appeals for international protection
¤ Security Official Wounded in Baghdad Blast
¤ Qaddafi, Scorning Agenda, Walks Out of Arab Summit
¤ Anti-war protesters to call for Iraq pullout
¤ Blair will delay extra troops until after June 10 poll
¤ Israel Launches "Dirty War" In Rafah: Le Monde
¤ The United States of Israel
¤ Report Says Iraqi Prisoners Abused for Punishment or Amusement
¤ Israeli Troops Kill 4-Year-Old Palestinian -Witnesses
¤ Report Cites Marines in Iraqi's Death at a Camp
¤ Gadhafi Walks Out of Arab League Summit
¤ All is not rosy in the Arab League
¤ Israel Kills 4-year-old Palestinian Girl In Rafah
¤ 5 Afghans Die and 4 U.S. Soldiers Are Wounded in Clashes
¤ Chalabi Raid Sends 'Wrong Message' to America's Arab Allies
¤ U.N.: 128 Palestinians killed last 30 days
¤ Army captain accused of photographing soldiers in shower resigned
¤ Outcry Over Rule Changes that Allow More Pesticides, Hormones
¤ Michael Moore's 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Wins Top Honor at Cannes Film Festival
¤ How America Came to Justify Prisoner Abuse
¤ The Year of the Troops?
¤ Released Iraqi Prisoners Tell of Abuse
¤ Abu Ghraib: inmates raped, ridden like animals, and forced to eat pork
¤ Outsourcing Torture and the Problems of 'Quality Control'
¤ Abu Ghraib Soldiers Were Properly Trained
¥ Yes they passed Torure 101 with flying colors
¤ Bomb Kills 5 Outside Iraqi Official's Home
¤ Tension rises as bulldozers tear down zoo in Rafah
¤ A window on the world of Abu Ghraib
¤ Abu Ghraib and the Berg Beheading: To look or not to look
¤ Our Iraq Legacy May be Chaos and Anarchy
¤ Iraq sarin shell is not part of a secret cache
¤ Bush's path to reelection runs through Iraq
¤ Beautiful minds and ugly truths
¤ Hubris and hypocrisy: America is failing to honor its own codes
¤ War will benefit Israel, Cheney tells Jews in Boca
¤ Israel Urges US to Attack Iraq: "Sooner, Rather than Later"
¤ US forces battle militia in several Iraqi cities
¤ At least five dead in Baghdad car bombing
¤ Chalabi: From White House to dog house
¤ If they can do it to Chalabi
¤ Iran used Chalabi to dupe U.S., report says
¤ Israel razes more Gaza homes
¤ Bomb Kills 5 Outside Iraqi Official's Home
¤ 9 U.S. Prison Deaths Probed As Homicides
¤ When war no longer makes sense
¤ Soldier Who Refused to Return Is Found Guilty of Desertion
¤ 3 year old Palestinian girl was shot dead by Israeli forces
¤ Six dead in blast at Iraqi official's home
¤ Anti-US demonstrations shake Bahrain
¤ Pentagon urged to release Guantanamo tapes
¤ Dogs and Other Harsh Tactics Linked to Military Intelligence
¤ U.S. officials sought ways to avoid POW laws
¤ Gaza Paradox: Israeli Army Moves In So It Can Pull Out
¤ Rights Groups: No War Crimes Exemption for US
¤ Rafah: The Movie
¤ Punishment and Amusement
¤ The Picture Gets Worse
¤ Doctors: US Obstructed Care in Fallujah
¤ The sexual sadism of our culture, in peace and in war
¤ Australia takes US word on alleged abuse
¤ Letter to Ashcroft Requesting Special Counsel to Determine (PDF)
> if The Bush Administration Violated the War Crimes Act when it
> Approved the Use of Torture Techniques Banned by Int'l Law
¤ U.S. Planes, Tanks Hit Militia in Karbala
¤ History's Fools
Latest News
Posted: Friday, May 21, 2004
&¤ New pics published, former detainees say forced to denounce Islam, eat pork
¤ The Abu Ghraib Prison Photos
¤ More Iraq Torture Photos
¤ Iraq sarin shell is not part of a secret cache
¤ Robert Fisk Interview on ABC Late Night Live (Audio)
¤ `They didn't even spare one child'
¤ Stopping the carnage in Rafah
¤ The word you're looking for is "lies"
¤ Who really smuggled weapons to Rafah?
¤ Last Spanish troops leave Iraq
¤ Geneva Conventions? Ha! Justice memos explained how to skip prisoner rights
¤ How fascism starts
¤ Pentagon protege humiliated as US and Iraqi police raid Baghdad villa
¤ Berg Conspiracy Theories
¤ Conspiracy theories surround Berg
¤ Berg beheading: No way, say medical experts
¤ CNN airs video of U.S. abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib
¤ US voices "strong" support for Israel
¤ U.S.: Our Support for Israel Still Strong
¤ Dumb Like A Bullet
¤ Our Iraq Legacy May be Chaos and Anarchy
¤ 'Worst president ever doesn't know the meaning of the word shame'
¤ Yet more photos of US brutality published
¤ Videos Amplify Picture of Violence#164; Iraq Governing Council Member Condemns U.S. Raid
¤ More tough times ahead after power transfer, Bush warns GOP lawmakers
¤ Afghan Policies on Questioning Prisoners Taken to Iraq
¤ 18 Killed in Heavy Fighting in Karbala
¤ Israel Withdraws From Parts of Rafah Camp
¤ Marching valiantly into the quagmire
¤ 10 Reasons Bush Wants To Ban Moore Film
¤ Carelessness 'defies belief' in US attack on Iraqi wedding
¤ Israel Mounts New Air Strike in Bloody Gaza Raid
¤ One incident. Forty dead. Two stories. What really happened?
¤ 5 Reasons to Stop US Military Aid to Israel
¤ 'US soldiers started to shoot us, one by one'
¤ Yet more photos of US brutality published
¤ Prisoners 'sexually fondled' by soldiers: report
¤ Interrogation abuse 'normal,' says US soldier
¤ Hooded and under duress, an Iraqi dies
¤ Major Iraq contract falls over
¤ Videos Amplify Picture of Violence
¤ Lies about crimes
¤ George Bush never looked into Nick's eyes
¤ Report of Habib torture in Guantanamo
¤ Pentagon protege humiliated as US and Iraqi police raid Baghdad villa
¤ US Wants One-Year Extension of UN Exemption from War Crimes Law
¤ Thumbs up and smiles in new horror pictures
¤ Afghan Policies on Questioning Prisoners Taken to Iraq
¤ War College Report Compares Iraq and Vietnam
¤ Bulldozers crush hope in Rafah camp
¤ Giuliani's 9/11 account clashes with evidence
¤ AG wants new Philadelphi plan; Rafah raid enters fourth day
¤ Chalabi – From White House to Dog House in Just Five Months
¤ How the Middle East is really being remade
¤ Corruption stench as company loses Iraq contract
¤ This is the predator's boast: 'I got me one!'
¤ Iraq sarin shell is not part of a secret cache
¤ Spanish troops leave Iraq base
¤ Spanish rally against Iraq occupation
¤ Rabbi supports killings in Rafah
¤ Five killed in Saudi gunfight
¤ Aljazeera crew member killed in Iraq
Latest News
Posted: Thursday, May 20, 2004
¤ Purple cloud colours a perfect metaphor
¤ The Diseases of a Troubled Nation
¤ The Truth About Ahmed Chalabi
¤ A Daily Look at U.S. Iraq Military Deaths
¤ The Power of Laughter
¤ Phony Stories, Real War
¤ How Bush’s America Will Be a Lot Like the New Iraq
¤ War will benefit Israel, Cheney tells Jews in Boca
¤ Senator spoke for many on Hill when he blamed Israel for war
¤ U.S. Military Vows to Keep Afghan Jails Secret
¤ Chalabi furious at US over raid on Baghdad office
¤ Bush’s legal propagandist defends the indefensible
¤ U.S. Vetoes of UN Resolutions Critical of Israel
¤ Israel 'disappointed' by US failure to veto UN resolution on Rafah
¤ Children dismembered in Israeli attack on refugees
¤ The Truth About Ahmed Chalabi
¤ Chalabi's INC Received at Least $33 Million -Report
¤ US wants court exemption renewed
¤ Poll: US are occupiers, not liberators
¤ Sonia Gandhi declines India’s prime ministership
¤ Why the neo-cons lost their pin-up boy
¤ Cuba libre
¤ The Bush family: Middle Kingdom rainmakers
¤ The War Crimes of Bush, Cheney and Co.
¤ Genocide by Public Policy
¤ You Can't Mock the President or Say "Balls"
¤ HAMAS LEADER KILLED
¤ We Can Torture, but You Better Not
¤ Arabs Give Little Credence To U.S. Airstrike Account
¤ US denies bombing wedding party
¤ Terrorism begins at home
¤ 'This is your government on drugs'
¤ The Dupe of Oil
¤ The Un-Civilization
¤ How the Middle East is really being remade
¤ Strategic miscalculations
¤ Man with fake al Qaeda identity booked for extortion in Delhi
¤ Israel Continues Military Offensive in Gaza
¤ 9/11 relatives jeer Giuliani as he addresses panel
¤ GI gets 1 year in prison for Iraq abuse
¤ Shocking prison pictures emerge
¤ Prisoner abuse scandal widens
¤ Rafah deaths spark international outrage
¤ Soldier snapped grinning over Iraqi corpse
¤ More Abu Ghraib abuse pictures surface
¤ Occupation bombs Iraq wedding party
¤ Israel ignores UN and world condemnation
¤ Israel continues killing in occupied Rafah
¤ US policy-makers ignored Iraqi input
¤ Israeli forges ahead with Rafah offensive despite UN call for halt
¤ Israelis massacre kids
¤ Ten die as Israeli tanks fire on peaceful protest
¤ The Abu Ghraib Prison Photos
¤ Settler Rabbi: Killing innocent people in war is allowed if saves lives
¤ 45 Iraqis die in US air attack on wedding party
¤ Anti-American sentiment rising in Asia: experts
¤ Historians vs. George W. Bush
¤ US troops allowed to mistreat Afghan POWs’
¤ U.N. demands Israel end home demolitions
¤ Israel Vows No Let-Up in Gaza, 33 Palestinians Die
¤ Oh, what a tangled web we weave
¤ An Open Letter to My Pro-Bush Brother-in-Law
¤ The Empire Strikes Out
¤ Imperial Dreams Sink in Iraqi Quagmire
¤ What Does America Offer the World?
¤ Abu-Ghraib is a resort compared to Chechnya
¤ C.I.A. cut Nick Berg's head off?
¤ Even the word 'democracy' now repels Mideast reformers
¤ More Photos Surface
¤ American Cardinal Raises Questions on Torture
¤ Shocking Details on Abuse of Reuters Staffers in Iraq
¤ Bush Pretends He Never Gave Secret Prison Order
¤ U.S. lets Afghanistan traffic in opium
¤ Iraq's rebel cleric gains surge in popularity
¤ No Consensus on Iraq Bioweapons Labs -White House
¤ Wedding party massacre
¤ U.S. Troops Surround Chalabi's House
¤ British guard shot dead in ambush
¤ Skeletons in the closet
¤ US soldiers could go from pawns to kingmakers
¤ Left-wing activists protest against Rafah incident
¤ Father tells of his shock at son's death in Iraq
¤ At a Palestinian Protest, Israeli Gunfire Leaves at Least 10 Dead
¤ A brother, a sister, and a morgue too full for them both
¤ Bush Rushing to Show Iraq Handover Strategy
¤ Generals deny knowledge of abuse
¤ British embassy attacked in Iran protest
¤ Israel Continues Offensive Despite Outcry
¤ U.S. Warns That Iraq Insurgency Could Grow
¤ Habib 'tortured' in custody: report
Arundhati Roy On the Indian Elections
Posted: Wednesday, May 19, 2004
www.democracynow.org
"What has happened is that as soon as the election results were announced, the BJP., the hard-right wing members of the B.J.P. and its goon squads started saying we'll shave our heads. We'll eat green gram and make a revolution in this country against this foreign woman on the one hand, and on the other hand, equally hard core corporate groups were acting -- they were out on the streets
They were yelling like fundamentalists would, and all of these corporate television channels had split screens where on the one hand, you saw what is happening in Sonia Gandhi's house and on the other half, you just had what the stockbrokers are saying
And the whole of the one billion people who had voted had just been forgotten. They had been given their photo opportunity, their journeys on elephant back and camel and whatever it was to the election booth. Now they were just forgotten. The only comments you get are what the industrialists think... and what the centrists think about Sonia Gandhi
It is an absolutely absurd kind of blackmail by fascists on the one hand and corporate fascists on the other." Full Article
Latest News
Posted: Wednesday, May 19, 2004
¤ Iraqis: U.S. Kills 40 At Wedding
¤ U.S. Reportedly Kills 40 Iraqis at Party
¤ Children among 20 dead as Israeli army begins huge crackdown on Rafah
¤ Israelis fire on Rafah demonstration
¤ '140,000 people, 40 beds and a war'
¤ Israeli forces massacre protesters in Rafah
¤ Iraqis slain as 'US bombs wedding'
¤ Singh agrees to take Indian premiership
¤ Berg's father backs anti-war camp
¤ Israel stands condemned
¤ Israeli officals play down demolitions
¤ ‘Bullied and Pushed’
¤ Divorced fathers flour-bomb Blair
¤ Win-win: Manmohan Singh gets the nod
¤ The dilemmas of Iran's policy toward Iraq
¤ Killing people for their own good
¤ They Know and Still They Lie
¤ Israeli Media Say at Least 22 Die in Rafah Strike
¤ 41 Iraqis Killed in Najaf, 10 Killed in Sadr City, 4 Killed in Kufa
¤ The Human price of maintaining the Israeli occupation
¤ Bush softens opposition to Israel's Gaza incursion
¤ Thousands in Tehran anti-US march
¤ A benevolent dictator for Iraq?
¤ Eight Killed in Afghan Clashes
¤ Honduran Troops Complete Withdrawal from Iraq
¤ If Malcolm Were Alive
¤ Where's John Kerry?: Homes Destroyed; Death Toll Mounts
¤ Israeli War Crimes
¤ Arundhati Roy On the Indian Elections
¤ Transforming People into Perpetrators of Evil
¤ Liberty Forum Down Due To INTERNAL Sabotage
¤ Bush Declines to Condemn Israeli Attack
¤ 14 US Military Bases Under Construction In Iraq
¤ Donald Rumsfeld Talking Action Figure
¤ News Conference in Reaction to Massacre of Palestinian Protesters
¤ It's Too Late to Uproot Iraq's Growing Resistance
¤ Fire the War Pimps
¤ Sexual Domination in Uniform: An American Value
¤ Tearing the Fabric of Lies
¤ Iraq Disaster Isn’t Coming to an End, it’s Only Just Begun
¤ UK Protesters Taunt Bush Sr. with Torture Hoods
¤ 'War Profiteers': Five Protesters Arrested at Halliburton Meeting
¤ Brutal interrogation in Iraq
¤ Uproar as Gandhi says: I won't be PM
¤ Homes wrecked, lives destroyed: Israeli tactics that fuel the Intifada
¤ Washington to stop funding Iraqi whose misleading WMD claims hastened war
¤ Officer Says Army Tried to Curb Red Cross Visits to Prison in Iraq
¤ End Self-Delusion
¤ Moore-onomics
¤ Can torture be justified?
¤ Dynast who doesn't want to rule
¤ Bush anti-Castro beat goes on
¤ Medical Rights Being Violated in Gaza Strip
¤ Factory Bush Touted Closes; 1,300 Ohioans Jobless
¤ Nick E. Berg the Perfect Patsy
¤ ‘US troops allowed to mistreat Afghan POWs’
¤ Saddam must be laughing
¤ Falluja: pullout amid signs of urban guerilla combat
¤ US made mistakes in Iraq, Wolfowitz admits
¤ 'Sniper shot teens' in Gaza invasion
¤ Israeli troops remain in Rafah despite protest
¤ Power and Water Knocked Out as Israel Sweeps Through Refugee Camp
¤ One Iraqi killed, seven wounded in Karbala clashes
¤ Ovation for Moore's 'Fahrenheit' lasts longer than Bush dawdled
¤ Wolfowitz says war planners underestimated Iraqi resilience
¤ Prisoner abuse trial to begin
¤ Fierce clashes erupt in Nablus, Jenin
¤ Iraqis killed in Karbala battles
¤ Central Nigeria declares state of emergency
¤ Rice warns of more violence
¤ 'I should have questioned orders': Interrogation chief
¤ Berg father backs anti-war stance
¤ Doctrine of 'kill, kill and kill again' angers British officers
¤ Iraqi prisoners ‘forced to crawl over glass’
¤ Bush abandons his 'favourite son' Chalabi
¤ Jazeera's Iraq coverage hits U.S. raw nerve
¤ Israel shrugs off international critics
¤ Prison scandal blunts human rights report
¤ Torture Photos, Videos a Time-Honored CIA Tradition
¤ Halliburton Says Iraq Billing Talks Continue
¤ Lawmakers amazed at lack of info on Iraqi prisons
¤ ‘Definitely a Cover-Up’
¤ U.S. Military Opens Abu Ghraib Prison To Media
Latest News
Posted: Tuesday, May 18, 2004
¤ Lynndie Bares New Jail Horrors
¤ Iraqi inmate: 'Treated like dogs'
¤ Reuters, NBC Staff Abused by U.S. Troops in Iraq
¤ Sonia Gandhi declines Indian prime ministership
¤ The Gaza Debacle
¤ Why Abu Ghraib Shouldn't Surprise Us
¤ Racist Imagery and Humiliation
¤ Torture and Moral Agency
¤ Tide is Changing in US Coverage of War in Iraq
¤ Moore rant wows Cannes
¤ Iraq's 'Sovereignty' Mirage
¤ U.S. Accused of Violating Press Freedom
¤ Wolfowitz: We Don't Know How Long We'll Be in Iraq
¤ 'The war on terror: Victims turning perpetrators'
¤ The politics of torture
¤ How India funds Bush's campaign
¤ Corporate Mercenaries Part 1: Profit comes with a price
¤ Taiwan, a victim of UN 'health apartheid'?
¤ Mistreatment of Detainees in US Custody
While the world is distracted....
¤ Israel commits 'war crimes' in Rafah
¤ Big Israeli raids in Palestinian areas
¤ Sources: 15 Palestinians killed in Rafah
¤ Mosque, homes destroyed in Rafah
¤ Rafah invasion toll climbs
¤ Israel invades, seals off Rafah
¤ Israel brings death to Rafah refugee camp
¤ '11 killed' as Israeli bulldozers roll into Rafah
¤ Fears for Gaza homes as Israelis seal off town
¤ 12 Palestinians killed in Rafah incursion
¤ 'There were rockets, shells. It was war. Then bulldozers destroyed everything'
¤ Rafah awaits mass demolitions as Israeli troops pour into Gaza town
¤ U.S. report: Israel's record in territories remains poor
¤ Amnesty Int'l: Israel razed 3,000 homes since intifada began
Flashback ¤ Israelis Trained US Troops in Jenin-style Urban Warfare
¤ Bush: Israel Has Right to Defend Itself
¤ Israeli Troops Kill 20 in Gaza Camp Raid
¤ Israeli officals play down demolitions
¤ Lebanon cracks 'Israeli spy ring'
¤ Annan calls on Israel to halt destruction of Palestinian homes in Gaza
¥ As if Israel ever listens to the U.N
¤ EU presses Israel to stop Gaza demolitions 'immediately'
¤ U.S. releases its report on human rights after prison scandal
¤ Amnesty denounces Israel
¤ Sex abuse is poor interrogation tool: Israeli expert
¥ If any country should know about torture Israel should
¤ UN backs GM crops despite concerns that benefits do not reach the world's poor
¤ America's worst export
¤ Jobs and Growth?
¤ The Twelfth Hundred Days
¤ U.S. V.P: War will Benefit Israel
¤ US forces close in on Najaf centre
¤ 'I killed innocent people for our government'
¤ British Fury at US 'Kill and Kill Again' Policy - Report
¤ Busharon: The Countdown
¤ Oil Prices Surge; Gas Prices Hit Record
¤ Russian soldiers killed in Chechnya
¤ Soldiers Swap Sick Dvds Of Iraqi Killings
¤ Sudan's hellish humanitarian crisis
¤ The first decision is about Bush
¤ Iraq horrors grow more complex
¤ Council members can be moving targets
¤ Is the U.S. Pedaling Backwards in Iraq?
¤ U.S. troops find bomb with sarin in Baghdad
¤ Powell Admits False WMD Claim
¤ 'Nerve gas bomb' explodes in Iraq
¤ Sarin bomb found in Iraq by American forces
¤ Sarin Shell 'Probably A Stray' - Blix
¤ Defector lied to U.S. about weapons
¤ Is the Sarin Claim Bogus?
¤ shell explodes in Iraq - or does it?
Flashback ¤ New Reports on U.S. Planting WMDs in Iraq
¤ The Bushes and the Bin Ladens
¤ Phony Disengagement, Secret Escalation
¤ Fighting flares up in Iraqi holy cities
¤ Raiding Iraq's Piggy Bank
¤ US Red Cross boss quits amid Iraq prisoner scandal
¤ The Decent Thing
¤ Israel floats Gaza moat plan
¤ The ugly face of America
¤ Moore cheered at Cannes
¤ Memo to Bush may have led to torture
¤ Bomber kills US-backed Iraqi leader
Protest Colombian Paramilitary
Posted: Monday, May 17, 2004
Thousands Protest Colombian Paramilitary Presence
Chavez to Set up 'People's Militia'
President Hugo Chavez announced his government would establish "people's militias" to counter what he called foreign interference after an alleged coup plot by Colombian paramilitaries Caracas claims was financed by Washington. Chavez also said he would boost the strength of Venezuela's armed forces as part of a new "anti-imperialist" phase for his government.
"Each and every Venezuelan man and woman must consider themselves a soldier," said Chavez. "Let the organization of a popular and military orientation begin from today."
The president's announcement came a week after authorities arrested 88 people described as Colombian paramilitaries holed up on property belonging to a key opposition figure. Earlier, thousands of Chavez supporters draped in national colors marched through the streets of Caracas to protest the alleged coup plot. Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel claimed the United States and Colombians were involved in the conspiracy. www.commondreams.org
Latest News
Posted: Monday, May 17, 2004
¤ Iraqi council replaces slain leader
¤ Taliban in Texas: Big Oil hankers for old pals
¤ US: Where have all the terrorists gone?
¤ US troops protect Colombian pipeline for Big Oil
¤ 'Pyrrhic victory'
¤ 'Ugly America: Wolfie, Hannity & rent-a-union basher'
¤ Our man in Baghdad: his gray eminence, John Negroponte
¤ Moore's new anti-Bush film ignites Cannes
¤ News blackout in Gaza
¤ Exit Iraq Or Exit No 10
¤ Comparing Bush and bin Laden
¤ Nick Berg Video : detailed breakdown
¤ Thousands Protest Colombian Paramilitary Presence in Venezuela
¤ The Dumbest Policy
¤ Chaos in Washington
¤ The Violence of the Camera
¤ The Revelations of Mr. W
¤ Iraq from Saddam to Occupation
¤ The Last Moments in the Life of Nick Berg
¤ Puppets and Power in Iraq
¤ Honduran Prison Fires Kills 103 Inmates
¤ Honduran Prison Fires Kills 103 Inmates
¤ Dow industrials give up 106; Nasdaq Composite loses 28
¤ Dow Plummets 106, Nasdaq Drops 28
¤ Israel invades, seals off Rafah
¤ Car bomb kills U.S appointed head of Iraq ruling council
¤ Skyrocketing Iraqi Anger as US Raids Sunni Mosque
¤ Vietnam all over again
¤ Who commands the private soldiers (contractors)?
¤ From Japan: A View of Insanity
¤ Parallel Paths at Stanford and Abu Ghraib
¤ Rumsfeld Should Go? No Way!
¤ The Bush Administration’s Appalling Ineptness
¤ Better to Be Children
¤ Blame the white trash
¤ Powell Faces Mistrust of U.S., by Arabs, on Iraq and Israel
¤ Powell snaps at bid to cut short interview
¥ Can you say staged
¤ Gunmen shoot three women
¤ Israeli troops kill four in Gaza Strip
¤ GCC condemns US abuses in Iraq
¤ Rice denies Iraqi prisoner scandal tarnished US moral authority
¤ The Jewish state?
¤ US admits Shia unrest is 'uprising'
¤ Iraqis, desperately seeking detainees, meet frustration
¤ Actions of a few, or a policy from the top?
¤ Rumsfeld accused on abuse
¤ Who commands the private soldiers?
¤ 100,000 tell Sharon to get out of Gaza
¤ Britain accused on Guantánamo
¤ IDF amassing forces for major offensive in southern Gaza Strip
¤ Khamenei condemns attacks on holy sites
¤ Israeli army to destroy hundreds more homes
¤ For GIs, the mission is turning murkier
¤ Israel steps up Gaza demolitions
¤ Bremer office 'hampering oil-for-food corruption inquiry'
¤ The Hawks Loudly Express Their Second Thoughts
¤ Terrorists hope to sway U.S. vote, Aznar warns
¤ Eu Ignores U.S. Sanctions On Syria
¤ Powell puts on brave face at WEF but fails to impress Arabs
¤ We took photos because prisoners looked funny, says guard
¤ Allies accused of breaking Geneva Conventions on civilian losses
¤ America adrift in Iraq
¤ US to redeploy South Korea-based troops to Iraq
¤ Another scoop for My Lai massacre journalist
¤ Blasts ahead of Blair Turkey visit
¤ Iraqi captors show Russian hostages
¤ Call for UN intervention in Sudan
¤ When Women Abuse Power
¤ Powell Takes Lead in Defending US Policy in Iraq
Political earthquake in India
Posted: Sunday, May 16, 2004
Hindu supremacist BJP falls from power
By Keith Jones, www.wsws.org
To the shock of India's entire political and economic establishment, the Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition have been swept from office. Just hours after vote counting began Thursday morning, the BJP-led NDA conceded defeat in India's 14th general election and by evening Atal Behari Vajpayee, the Prime Minister since 1998, had tendered his resignation.
The BJP had triggered early elections calculating that it could exploit a spurt in economic growth, popular enthusiasm for its peace overtures to Pakistan, and the disarray of its principal rival, the Congress party, to win an increased majority. In this it was strongly encouraged by big business and the corporate media.
The sparse crowds at BJP rallies and a spate of exit polls during the multi-phase voting indicated that there was a strong current of popular opposition to the government. But till Thursday the media continued to insist that the NDA would win a plurality of seats and the BJP many more than the Congress.
In fact, the NDA, which in the outgoing Lok Sabha held more than 300 seats, saw its total slashed to 186, thirty less than the Congress-led multi-party alliance. As for the BJP, its individual seat tally was cut by 49 seats from the 1999 election, falling from 182 to 133. For the first time since the 1991-96 parliament, the Congress' Lok Sabha delegation will be larger than the BJP's. Full Article
Latest News
Posted: Sunday, May 16, 2004
¤ Israeli Missiles Cut Power for 40,000 Gazans
¤ Israel Threatens to Destroy Hundreds of Gaza Homes
¤ Israel Vow to Step Up Military Action
¤ Israel commits 'war crimes' in Rafah
¤ Israeli rockets strike Gaza
¤ Israelis destroy Islamic Jihad HQ
But....Powell Blames Arafat for Hindering Peace
Then Criticizes Arafat for Statements
¤ More clashes in Iraq
¤ E-Mails From US Consulate To Berg's Family
¤ India's Policy On Israel Likely To Change
¤ Iranian Protesters Stone British Embassy
¤ Tell us what this war is about
¤ The second trip to Falluja and the courteous kidnappers.
¤ Torture: A deliberate tool of imperialist occupation
¤ Cease Fire Now, Mr. "War President"
¤ What if?
¤ Get Me Rewrite!
¤ The Buck Stops … Where?
¤ Riyadh scraps euro foreign reserves policy
¤ Iran leader condemns US 'stupidity'
¤ U.S. holds huge network of secret terror prisons
¤ Blair, Bush to make joint Iraq trip
¤ When the ess hits the fan
¤ 50 years of desegregation has taught hard lessons
¤ Gunmen Fire on Bus in Baghdad, Killing 2
¤ Pentagon Denies Report's Rumsfeld Claims
¤ US troops battle militia in Baghdad
¤ US troops to stay in Iraq after June 30
¤ Blair ready to hand over Iraq by July
¤ 'They tied me up like a beast and began kicking me'
¤ 59 killed in Iraq battles
¤ Libya defends Syria against WMD accusations
¤ New abuse claims, shrine hit as US attacks rebel hold
¤ Image problems for US
¤ Barbarism theory put into sickening practice in Iraq
¤ The Terrible and Strange Death of Nick Berg
¤ Democrats agree to suppress photos of US torture in Iraq
¤ Oils ain't just oils, they're to die for
¤ Blast Wounds U.S. Soldier in Afghanistan
¤ US guards 'filmed beatings' at terror camp
¤ Criminal Negligence
¤ The Springs of Fate
¤ U.S. Soldier Killed in Afghanistan
¤ In the Absence of Truth from the White House....
¤ How a secret Pentagon program came to Abu Ghraib.
¤ Ex-inmate identifies himself in abuse photo
¤ Israel approves more home demolitions
¤ Iraqi family killed in mortar blast
¤ Chechnya: seat of main traitor still vacant
¤ On reasons to hate
¤ From Red Terror to Putin's Terror – 2
¤ Electricity Production in Iraq Remains Below Pre-War Levels
¤ A terribly expensive war
¤ Start co-operating or we'll hand you over, Saddam told
¤ Interrogators Say Abuse Doesn 't Yield Info
¤ Regiment in fake photo storm to be charged over death of prisoner
¤ British businessman accused of leading role in failed coup
¤ Army plans to double troops in Iraq as ambushed British kill 20 in Basra
¤ A new American dream
¤ Abuse was authorised from the top
¤ Mandela leads the party as SA wins Cup bid
¤ US guards 'filmed beatings' at terror camp
Latest News
Posted: Saturday, May 15, 2004
¥ All of this.....
¤ The Beheading of Nick Berg in Iraq: A Muslim Perspective
¤ 98% Chance That This is a Military-Industrial Complex Psyop
¤ Berg Beheading Is A Bush "Psy Op"
¤ Could N. Berg's execution be fake?
¥ For This....
¤ Bush Says Zarqawi Killed Berg, Cites Saddam 'Ties'
¤ Where Was Press When First Iraq Prison Allegations Arose?
¤ Court bars IDF from demolishing additional Rafah homes
¤ Iraqi Newspaper Urges Rumsfeld to Resign
¤ U.S. Companies Put Little Capital Into Iraq
¤ Rancid from Top to Bottom
¤ ABCs of American Interrogation Methods
¤ The Kings of Pain: U.K., U.S. and Israel
¤ Torture: A Fond Reminiscence
¤ Sex, Lies and Videotapes
¤ Why the Outrage About Abu Ghraib?
¤ Massive Demolition of Palestinian Homes in Gaza
¤ Iraq Goddamn
¤ Bush, Cheney disclose vast fortunes
¤ Danish medics reported seeing tortured Iraqis
¤ UN: Israel must stop orgy of destruction
¤ Israel commits 'war crimes' in Rafah
¤ India's Congress Chooses Gandhi for PM
¤ Powell: If asked, U.S. will leave Iraq
¤ Army specialist faces charges
¤ Fighting Continues in Karbala; Najaf Quiet
¤ Another Afghan Prison Probe Launched
¤ Daily Mirror Apologizes for Phony Photos
¤ Door to Iraqi withdrawal left open
¤ US backflips on prisoner interrogation
¤ Jail tactics broke rules: Wolfowitz
¤ Media 'too biased' for Bush
¤ Annan calls for end to Gaza destruction
¤ Two Israeli soldiers, Palestinian killed in Gaza fighting
¤ US does not stay where not welcome: Bremer
¤ Cart before the horse
¤ An Iraq exit strategy
¤ Regime change in America its last hope?
¤ Wolfowitz admits inhumane interrogation
¤ The roots of revenge
¤ Image problems - war in the digital age
¤ Soldier spills the beans
¤ New president, same grotesque abuse of power
Flashback ¤ The president's real goal in Iraq
¤ U.S. avoiding 'torture' to describe soldiers' actions
¤ More occupation troops die in Iraq
¤ Gaza leader escapes Israeli missile strike
¤ Freed detainees tell of torture in Abu Ghraib
¤ Who Had Custody of Nick Berg, and When?
¤ John Kerry on the Administration's Request for $25 Billion for Iraq
¤ Israel Destroys Hundreds of Palestinian Homes to Expand Military Zone
¤ Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Blames Israel for Torture Scandal
¤ Bigger than Abu Ghraib
¤ One big experiment gone wrong
¤ E-mail says Berg was in U.S. hands
¤ Iraqi In Custody Tortured To Death
¤ U.S. releases some Iraqi prisoners
¤ Sacred Shia site damaged as tanks move into Najaf
¤ Our moral Waterloo
¤ 4 Killed at Iraqi Army Recruiting Center
¤ Another Afghan Prison Probe Launched
¤ Officials 'knew of beatings at Guantánamo'
¤ 5 U.S. Soldiers Die in Separate Incidents
¤ End Self-Delusion
¤ Sunnis and Shi'ites Uniting Against US
¤ Time to move along
¤ Castro leads march against US crackdown
¤ What a difference a year makes
¤ Bush faces new allegations of torture
¤ US Pushes World Court Immunity Amid Iraq Scandal
¤ Two soldiers killed as Gaza raid destroys 100 Palestinian homes
¤ 600 Filipino workers in Iraq quit
¤ Brutality starts at home
¤ Rice turns on the charm to keep US allies loyal
Latest News
Posted: Friday, May 14, 2004
¤ Evidence Grows of More Widespread Abuse
¤ Slabodam: We must oppose the USA
¤ Castro Leads Protest Against U.S. Embargo
¤ Brutality starts at home
¤ Abuse travels very well
¤ BEHEADING VICTIM: Mystery of dead man's life deepens
¤ Bush's POW Porn
¤ God, Country and Torture
¤ Released prisoners complain of torture as fighting rages in Najaf
¤ Please Write More About Rape
¤ Building Democracy in Iraq and Other Absurdities
¤ From Killing Civilians in "Mock" Attack to Torture in Abu Ghraib Prison
¤ Bush has no Excuse in Abuse Scandal
¤ 1963: American/British Assassination of the Leader of Iraq
¤ What’s Bouncing Around in Bush’s Head? Explaining More Idiotic Policies
¤ The Wolf in Reporter's Clothing: The Rise of Pseudo-Journalism in America
¤ Look out for 'torture fatigue'
¤ Could N. Berg's execution be fake?
¤ White Supremacy in Iraq
¤ Battles rage around Najaf's holy sites
¤ U.S. Tanks Thrust Into Iraq Cemetery at Holy City
¤ US, Shiite Militia Clash in Iraq Holy Cities
¤ Officials Unaware of Interrogation Rules
¥ Sure
¤ U.S. Soldiers Attack Targets in Najaf
¤ We Have Seen The Enemy......
¤ Allegations mount of US cover-up of Iraqi prisoner abuse
¤ Pentagon Admits Iraq Methods Violated Geneva Rules
¤ Berg Died for Bush, Rumsfeld 'Sins' - Father
¤ Red Cross dossier on prisoner abuse puts Blair under pressure
¤ Bets surge on Blair stepping down
¤ REASONS FOR NOT RELEASING PHOTOS
¤ Freedom fries
¤ US troops tell of prison sex shows
¤ Israel kills 12 Palestinians in Gaza
¤ US abuse of Afghan prisoners systemic: HRW
¤ Photo may show intelligence officers in charge
¤ Just like an American
¤ Blair: 'I will remain shoulder to shoulder with George Bush'
¤ Bad apples or bad orders?
¤ Italy general backs abuse claims
¤ Palestinians claim victory after Gaza gun battles leave 38 dead
¤ Second Iraqi identifies himself in prison abuse photographs
¤ A systematic process learned from Cold War
¤ Israel to raze hundreds of houses in Rafah
¤ Red Cross slams Guantanamo abuses
American's Beheading, Fishy and Flawed
Posted: Thursday, May 13, 2004
Updated, May 24, 2004
Was this really Nick Berg's last moment or was he killed earlier?
The Nicholas Berg execution
This article aims to shed light on the apparent execution by beheading of Nicholas Berg . I believe that most of the available evidence surrounding the case suggests that it was a "black operation"by US psychological warfare specialists, the purpose of which was to provide the media with a "moral relativity" argument to counter the adverse publicity over torture at Abu Ghraib prison. www.brushtail.com.au
98% Chance That This is a Military-Industrial Complex Psyop
Infowars.com
by Alex Jones, May 14, 2004
One would have to be totally blind to ignore the incredible stench of P2OG Pentagon theater in the case of Nick Berg. We've got Nick Berg in US custody for 13 days, a diplomat's email confirms this, the FBI admits it and the Iraqi puppet government confirms it.
Meanwhile the Defense Department was desperately trying to deny it. Now they have to admit that Berg was indeed in their custody. Then, Berg gets released and within days is in al-CIAeda hands
Many doctors have looked at the video and it is questionable. when you cut someone's head off blood can spray up to 10 feet. Full Article
Iraq militants claim al-Zarqawi is dead
The statement did not say when al-Zarqawi was supposedly killed, but U.S. jets bombed strongholds of the extremist Ansar al-Islam in the north last April as Saddam Hussein’s regime was collapsing.
It said al-Zarqawi was unable to escape the bombing because of his artificial leg.
Before the Iraq conflict began last March, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said al-Zarqawi received hospital treatment in Baghdad after fleeing Afghanistan. U.S. intelligence sources said he apparently was fitted with an artificial leg. www.msnbc.msn.com
15 Anomalies Surrounding Death Of Nick Berg
The chair that Berg was seated in during the filming was a standard issue military chair of the exact same kind as seen in a color photo taken at the Abu Ghraib Prison. The chances a terrorist cell would be using this same chair are minimal at best. www.rense.com
MSNBC CHANGED THEIR WEBSITE, DELETING THE FACT THAT BERG WORKED AT ABU GHRAIB
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4953015/
They took out this section:
"During his time in Iraq, he struggled with the Arabic language and worked at night on a tower in Abu Ghraib, a site of repeated attacks on U.S. convoys and the location of the notorious prison where U.S. soldiers abused Iraqi inmates."
This extract can still be found here: www.lasvegassun.com
The Nick Berg Execution Psy-Op: Alex Jones Interviews Fintan Dunne
Berg Video Uploaded From London, Not Iraq
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nick Berg decapitation video declared "a fraud" by medical doctor
The first casualty of war is the truth and this one has been no exception. La Voz de Aztlan obtained a copy of the video showing the beheading of American Nick Berg of Philadelphia and immediately something very odd was readily apparent. Not only were the purported screams of Nick Berg not in synchrony with the decapitation but their was also a total lack of blood spurting out as his jugular and other veins and arteries were being cut.
We forwarded the video to Doctor Raul Castro Guevara, a surgeon and forensic expert in Mexico City for his expert opinion. He wrote back and commented, "No hay manera que el individuo en el video estaba vivo y su corazon funcionando cuando le estaban cortando la cabeza. En estos casos, el corazon impela sangre con gran presion, y se corta las arterias del cuello, hay una gran cantidad de sangre que salpica por todos lados. En mi opinion el video es un fraude."
Doctor Raul Castro Guevara is saying that there is no way that the individual in the video was alive and his heart pumping while his neck was being cut. The doctor adds that in these cases, while the heart is pumping, cutting a person's artery in the neck, would cause copious amounts of blood to spurt all over the immediate environment. He says that in his opinion the video is a fraud. aztlan.net
The Unanswered Questions of Nick Berg's Murder
Bizarre new link in Berg beheading
Could N. Berg's execution be fake?
english.pravda.ru
Given the incomprehensible jungle of information, the very first question, when viewing this video of an American civilian, N. Berg"s execution, should be whether it is even true?
There appear to be a few problems with it, casting doubt on its authenticity. If these questions aren"t answered, one should be wary of the entire matter and be advised not to give in to the patriotic blindness brought on by the emotional charge this video packs. Full Article
American's Beheading, Fishy and Flawed
1) extremely convenient "wag the dog" timing at the height of furor
regarding U.S. torture of Iraqis
2) CNN poll question: "Is the Berg killing a reason for withholding any
remaining Iraq prisoner abuse pictures?" Bush has been reported to be
struggling with question of whether Pentagon should release additional
torture photos. Given that the alleged decapitation of Berg was allegedly
prompted by the first wave of torture photos, Bush could now cite "national
security" issues for witholding additional materials.
3) Berg's last known whereabouts was in U.S. custody.
4) Berg shown in video wearing orange jumpsuit known to be of U.S. issue
(compare with pictures at Guantanamo).
5) Berg mysteriously captured by Al-Quaeda (still wearing jumpsuit). Either
he escaped from U.S. captors or U.S. let him out -- with orange suit and
all -- to be immediately apprehended by Al-Quaeda (before he had a chance to
change).
6) Tape obviously spliced together and heavily edited. Goes from a) Berg
sitting in chair talking about family, to b) Berg sitting on floor with
hooded "militants" behind, to c) blurry camera movement, to d) almost
motionless Berg on floor as head cut off.
7) Audio clearly dubbed in. www.africaspeaks.com/weblog
Bloggers doubt Berg execution video
Revolting millions around the world, the video footage of an American citizen's execution has also raised numerous questions concerning its authenticity.
Even at first glance, internet bloggers were asking on Thursday why Nick Berg was wearing an orange jumpsuit – just like US prisoners wear.
Other net-surfers point to the unlikely timing of the executioner's dubbed announcement that Berg was to die for "Iraqi prisoner abuse".
Berg was last seen alive on 10 April, when his father Michael Berg believes he was killed - two weeks before the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal broke in the world's media.
Some discussions focus on the timing of the video's release - guaranteed to divert attention from the outrage regarding US torture of Iraqis. english.aljazeera.net
LOOKING AT A PREVIOUS US GOVERNMENT LIE
On Friday 14 December 2001 a videotape of Osama bin Laden "confessing" to the 9/11 attacks was released. The tape was supposedly found in a house in Qandahar, Afghanistan. The recording was of very poor audio and visual quality and the authenticity of the tape was questioned. This annoyed President Bush who said "[It is] preposterous to think this tape was doctored".
Okay, let's have a look.
Once again Bush tries to sell a link between al-Qaeda and Saddam
Bush Says Zarqawi Killed Berg, Cites Saddam 'Ties'
Fri, May 14, 2004, news.yahoo.com
President Bush on Friday blamed al Qaeda supporter Abu Musab al-Zarqawi for beheading American Nicholas Berg and cited him as an example of Saddam Hussein's "terrorist ties" before the U.S.-led war in Iraq Full Article
Latest News
Posted: Thursday, May 13, 2004
¤ 2005 request for war funds to top $50 billion
¤ US soldier 'photographed having sex'
¤ Revenge American Style?
¤ An Open Letter to George Bush
¤ Conditions of Atrocity
¤ "Sorry's" Hollow Ring
¤ Shocked! I’m Simply Shocked that Abuse is Going on Here!
¤ A Pattern of Culpability in Iraq
¤ I wonder what the standard issue chair is at Abu Ghraib prison?
¤ Friend: Berg said he was in U.S. custody
¤ FBI told police to hold Berg
¤ Haitians seized, abused by U.S. Marines
¤ UK superiors 'condoned prisoner abuse'
¤ Detainees suffer terror at U.S. hands
¤ 'Patriots and assholes'
¤ BEHOLD THE TORTURE APOLOGISTS
¤ The Iraq gold rush
¤ It's Bush who is in the dock
¤ CIA blames Zarqawi for beheading
¤ Iraq militants claim al-Zarqawi is dead
¤ Berg Died for Bush, Rumsfeld 'Sins' - Father
¤ 'Weapons of mass photography'
¤ Two Marines Die From Hostile Fire in Iraq
¤ Syria defies US sanctions
¤ See Rummy Spin. Spin, Rummy, Spin.
¤ Flashback You Are Looking At A Us Government Lie
¤ Executioner wore gold ring - forbidden by Islam
¤ Nullifying Torturegate? The Case Nick Berg
¤ Bloggers doubt Berg execution video
¤ Who Organised the Beheading of Nick Berg – and Why ?
¤ Death of Nick Berg: Bush-Cheney-Pentagon PsyOps?
¤ Beheaded On Camera
¤ Berg family points finger at FBI
¤ Questions surround young American shown decapitated in video
¤ Questions Surround Slain American in Iraq
¤ Captive beheaded after release by police
¤ Polls Show Big Impact from Abuse Photos
¤ New prisoner abuse images 'far worse'
¤ New torture photos shock
¤ Accounts of Atrocities Emerge from the Rubble of Fallujah
¤ 'They abused me and stole my dignity'
¤ America's military coup
¤ US military to investigate prisoner abuse in Afghanistan
¤ US accused of abusing and beating Afghan detainees
¤ Hicks was abused in Guantanamo: lawyer
¤ ‘Bend the Rules’
¤ Fears for reconstruction as contractors flee Baghdad
¤ NEW U.S. SANCTIONS ON SYRIA DEEMED SYMBOLIC
¤ Gaza death toll mounts as Israeli troops are ambushed
¤ Former FBI Agent Pleads Guilty to Lying
¤ Plea for Canada's missing
¤ Gandhi-Led Opposition Wins India Election
¤ Chilling new evidence of the brutal regime at Iraqi prison
¤ Secret US jails hold 10,000
¤ Rumsfeld approved 'harsh' interrogation
¤ CIA lacked trained interrogators, Agency turned to contractors
¤ Private Contractors and Torture at Abu Ghraib, Iraq
¤ Prisongate: The Down and Dirty
¤ Who ordered 'shock and awe'?
¤ Inventing Iraq – Yet Again?
¤ Venezuela Asks U.S. Military to Leave Base Offices
¤ Deal to end standoff in Iraq fails
¤ Iraqi democracy: the sales pitch
¤ Iraqi prisoners 'shot by guards'
¤ 25 Iraqis die in Karbala battle
¤ The chain of command under fire
¤ Arab media cautious about pictures of murder
¤ Private says: I was told to stand there, hold the leash and look at the camera
¤ Nine killed in Karachi
¤ 25 Iraqis die in Karbala battle
¤ Six Israeli soldiers killed in blast
¤ India's ruling party concedes defeat
¤ Syrian President Rejects U.S. Sanctions
¤ Emasculating Arabia
¤ Billionaire's farm raided to thwart Chávez 'coup plot'
¤ Defense chief cites legal barriers to releasing prisoner abuse photos
¤ U.S. Trade Deficit Grows Unchecked
¤ Diverging tale of two allies, Koizumi and Blair
¤ The war of the snuff videos
¤ Battlefield: images of war
¤ Israeli missile strikes kill 19 Palestinians
¤ Filipinos killed in US camp attack
¤ Israel accused of attacking UN post
¤ Opec ponders emergency talks as oil price approaches record
¤ Humanising Washington’s prisons
US Abuse of Black Men a Prelude to Scandal
Posted: Wednesday, May 12, 2004
by Derrick Z. Jackson, www.boston.com
DEFENSE Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the abuse of Iraqi soldiers by American soldiers was "inconsistent with the values of our nation. It is inconsistent with the teachings of the military to the men and women of the armed forces, and it was certainly fundamentally un-American." In his Rose Garden press appearance with King Abdullah II of Jordan, President Bush said he told the king: "I was sorry for the humiliation suffered by the Iraqi prisoners and the humiliation suffered by their families. I told him I was equally sorry that people who have been seeing those pictures didn't understand the true nature and heart of America.
"I assured him Americans, like me, didn't appreciate what we saw, that it made us sick to our stomachs. I also made it clear to His Majesty that the troops we have in Iraq, who are there for security and peace and freedom, are the finest of the fine, fantastic United States citizens, who represent the very best qualities of America: courage, love of freedom, compassion, and decency."
Of course, all of the apologizing over un-American behavior comes only after the global equivalent of the Rodney King tape. Full Article
Latest News
Posted: Wednesday, May 12, 2004
¤ Fishy Circumstances and Flawed Timelines Surround Beheading
¤ FBI Saw Berg During Iraq Police Detention
¤ Republican Senator says Iraqis deserved it
¤ The Deranged Mind of James Inhofe
¤ A Lethal Cocktail in Iraq: Racism and Ignorance
¤ Venezuela Asks U.S. Military to Leave Base Offices
¤ Iraq militants claim al-Zarqawi is dead
¤ Spinning Torturegate
¤ Senseless Crackdown on Cuba
¤ Arrogance Has Led Us To Quagmire
¤ Bush the Torturer Must Leave Office
¤ Why Media Stood Silent When Torture Cases First Came To Light
¤ US Abuse of Black Men a Prelude to Scandal
¤ What are those ‘contractors’ doing in Iraq?
¤ More Polish Soldiers Dead
¤ Two More U.S. Soldiers Charged with Prisoner Abuse
¤ Exclusive: Iraqi family tells of torture
¤ Vatican calls prison abuse a bigger blow to U.S. than 9/11
¤ Beheaded Man's Firm Was On Right-Wing 'Enemies' List
¤ America's Rape Rooms
¤ Rumsfeld approved 'harsh' interrogation
¤ They expect Iraqis to be thankful?
¤ Afghanistan: Waiting for the Bottom to Drop
¤ The infamous army training school in Georgia
Flashback ¤ CBS to Air U.S. Soldier's Video Diary of Iraq Abuse
¤ It's not just Iraq: An Afghan gives his own account of U.S. abuse
¤ Is the liberal outrage really worse than the torture?
¤ Genital Torture For Dummies
¤ 'What Greenspan won't admit about deficit'
¤ The Abu Ghraib scandal is deeper than just a couple of rogue soldiers.
¤ Gen. Sanchez' Command OK'd Use of Dogs on Prisoners
¤ Prisoner Abuse: Patterns from the Past
¤ So, Who's to Blame?
¤ West Chester contractor missing in Iraq
¤ Israel applauds Syria sanctions
¤ Harsh methods approved at top
¤ Focus shifts to jail abuse of women
¤ Too easy to blame Bush
¤ Blair downplays Iraq prisoners scandal
¤ Blair's perversity does him harm and Iraq no good
¤ American beheaded as torture backlash grows
¥ As usual this 'killing' seemed to come at a very convienient time
¤ Berg family angry with American government over son's brutal death
¤ Why I no longer back Bush's war
¤ The Mongol Invasion of Iraq: Lessons Never Learned
¤ Against the Phony Resolution on Iraq Abuse
¤ Where the US goes after Abu Ghraib
¤ Chechnya and Iraq comparisons not so simple
¤ Cuba retaliates with clampdown on dollar
¤ So if Iraq is Vietnam, What is the War on Terror?
¤ The Tragedy of Iraq
¤ Israeli link possible in US torture techniques
¤ Serving Two Flags: Neocons, Israel and the Bush Administration
¤ Warnings That Sharon's Latest War Schemes Target Syria
¤ U.S. plans sanctions for Syria
¤ U.S. slaps sanctions on Syria
¤ Six Israeli soldiers, eight Palestinians die in Gaza fighting
¤ UK troops killed 37 Iraqi civilians: AI
¤ Britain rest of us inhabit
¤ Iraq Occupation Means Good Times for War Profiteers
¤ Rumsfeld is the designated fall guy
¤ Browser Hijackers Ruining Lives
¤ Senators to See More Iraqi Abuse Photos
¤ U.S. Probes Alleged Afghan Prison Abuse
¤ America to hand over Saddam
¤ Israel Fires Missile in Gaza
¤ Putin orders more police for Chechnya
Latest News
Posted: Tuesday, May 11, 2004
¤ My Tax Dollars at Work
¤ Bush imposes sanctions on Syria
¤ Toll rises in Gaza rampage
¤ In the heart of Bushland
¤ Eleven dead in Gaza battle
¤ Iraqi families win right to challenge government
¤ Amnesty details killing of civilians by British soldiers
¤ On the Necessity of Torture
¤ More Troops?
¤ Torture on the Homefront
¤ Killing Muqtada al Sadr
¤ The Unconscious Country
¤ Racism & Torture as Entertainment
¤ See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil
¤ To Bush, the Arab is Always the Villain
¤ Handover Of Sovereignty In Iraq Will Not Be Finalised On June 30
¤ A Double Ordeal for Female Prisoners
¤ Columbus murder linked to Iraq war
¤ Blair rejects calls for independent investigation into Iraq killings
¤ New Yorker has worse Iraq pix
¤ 'Washington Post' Publishes Only a Few of Its Many Iraq-Prison Photos
¤ Australian soldiers facing dimissal for torturing kittens
¤ UNICEF 'disturbed' over child abuse claims
¤ Top Officials Hold Fake Degrees
¤ Secret world of U.S. interrogation
¤ US Refuses To Permit Saddam's Lawyer To See Him
¤ Abuses, mistaken arrests called rampant
¤ 'Just trust us'
¤ The US Bush knows is not the point
¤ Israel destroying more homes than ever
¤ Kashmir rebels suffer fresh blow
¤ Misperceptions Reflect Media Distortion
¤ Monsanto abandons worldwide GM wheat project
¤ UN issues warrant for Indonesian general
¤ The sound of freedom
¤ I, too, was tortured in Abu Ghraib
¤ Amnesty report lists 37 'disputed' killings by UK forces
¤ Troops broke hooding ban, Government concedes
¤ Six Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza bomb explosion
¤ Bush Lauds Rumsfeld For Doing 'Superb Job'
¤ Red Cross Found Abuses at Abu Ghraib Last Year
¤ Mistreatment Of Detainees Went Beyond Guards' Abuse
¤ Most Iraqi detainees 'arrested by mistake'
¤ Red Cross Was Told Iraq Abuse 'Part of the Process'
¤ The Israeli Torture Template
¤ Passing the Buck in Iraq
¤ 'Patriot' games
¤ A 'clear ... system failure'
¤ The US Bush knows is not the point
¤ My Airport Fugitive Moment
¤ The Feminist Road to Abu Ghraib
¤ Angry Fallujans Prepared to Resist Renewed U.S. Patrols
¤ CNN producer under house arrest
¤ Ten killed in Kashmir explosion, gunfights
¤ 16 Sadr men killed in Baghdad battles
¤ ‘Israel a nation of spies and drug dealers’
¤ Apologies are not enough
¤ The power of a picture
¤ The myth and reality of sacred cow
¤ Blame could reach highest levels of US military
¤ García Márquez asked to solve Cuba crisis
¤ Mandela bids farewell to parliament
¤ Russian Killed, Two Taken Hostage in Iraq
¤ Leave my Rummy be (Cartoon)
¤ First solid evidence of torture
¤ Propaganda that no amount of spin can contain
¤ Red Cross Faces Pressure in Abuse Scandal
¤ U.S. forces raze cleric's office
¤ OPEC warns over oil prices
¤ Uncle Sam's 'gift' to al-Qaida
¤ Red Cross reported abuse months ago
¤ Builders 'planted bomb that killed Chechen leader'
¤ The green commando
¤ Prisoners 'threatened with Guantanamo'
¤ Human Shields, Fighting, More Bombs
¤ Iraq power plant in flames after possible sabotage
¤ Amnesty: UK troops shot civilians
¤ Mandela marks 10-year anniversary with speech criticising Britain and US
¤ Brutality: the home truths
Venezuelan President condemns US 'terror' on Cuba
Posted: Monday, May 10, 2004
Venezuela's president has condemned the United States as a "terrorist state" for toughening sanctions against Cuba. Hugo Chavez vowed on Sunday that his government would increase its trade and cooperation with the Communist island.
The policy includes an increase in support for internal opponents of President Fidel Castro.
"That's called state terrorism, inciting people to kill President Castro, to overthrow him, inciting violence," Chavez said.
Since he was elected in 1998, Chavez has angered the United States by forging a close relationship with Cuba - the target of a long-running US trade embargo. Venezuela is Cuba's biggest trade partner, sending cheap oil to Havana, while more than 10,000 Cuban doctors, sports instructors and other experts work in the South American country.
He said he had ordered the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) to study the possibility of investing in an idle Soviet-built refinery at Cienfuegos on the island's south-central coast. Under a 2000 energy accord, Venezuela ships at least 53,000 barrels per day of oil to Cuba. english.aljazeera.net
US 'terror'
Posted: Monday, May 10, 2004
Venezuelan President condemns US 'terror'
Venezuela's president has condemned the United States as a "terrorist state" for toughening sanctions against Cuba. Hugo Chavez vowed on Sunday that his government would increase its trade and cooperation with the Communist island.
The policy includes an increase in support for internal opponents of President Fidel Castro.
"That's called state terrorism, inciting people to kill President Castro, to overthrow him, inciting violence," Chavez said.
Since he was elected in 1998, Chavez has angered the United States by forging a close relationship with Cuba - the target of a long-running US trade embargo. Venezuela is Cuba's biggest trade partner, sending cheap oil to Havana, while more than 10,000 Cuban doctors, sports instructors and other experts work in the South American country.
He said he had ordered the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) to study the possibility of investing in an idle Soviet-built refinery at Cienfuegos on the island's south-central coast. Under a 2000 energy accord, Venezuela ships at least 53,000 barrels per day of oil to Cuba. english.aljazeera.net
Latest News
Posted: Monday, May 10, 2004
¤ As insurgency grew, so did prison abuse
¤ New picture and military critics increase pressure on Bush
¤ Top brass 'picked man who ordered torture'
¤ Three more American soldiers die in Iraq
¤ Iraqis' doubts of U.S. deepen
¤ Perhaps Not So Exceptional After All
¤ Big Talk
¤ Live by the Spin, Die by the Spin
¤ Forget Rumsfeld's fate; give us facts
¤ A failure of leadership at the highest levels
¤ The Israeli Torture Template
¤ Venezuelan President condemns US 'terror' on Cuba
¤ The Crimes at Abu Ghraib Are Not the Worst
¤ A new monster-in-chief
¤ I Believed In This War.. I Was So Wrong
¤ Rights Groups Demand That U.S. Open All Detention Facilities
¤ Mandela, in Farewell Speech, Slams Iraq War
¤ When 'Evil-Doers' Are On Our Side
¤ From Texas to Abu Ghraib: The Bush Legacy of Prisoner Abuse
¤ 'Bad Apples' or Predictable Fruits of War?
¤ An Ugly Prison Record
¤ Would Rumsfeld Really Sing?
¤ The Crimes at Abu Ghraib Are Not the Worst
¤ Sadism in war old habit
¤ Sadism, arrogance and the Marx Brothers
¤ Bush approval hits new lows in poll
¤ Angry Fallujans Prepared to Resist Renewed U.S. Patrols
¤ New torture row
¤ Bush's Science Fiction
¤ Military Personnel: Don't Read This!
¤ Soldiers fined over kitten cruelty
¤ Sometimes They Pretended to Kill Me
¤ Pipe attack 'slows Iraq oil flow'
¤ Soldier: Foul photos of inmates were prized
¤ War on the installment plan
¤ Four Poles killed in black weekend in Iraq
¤ Iraq so dangerous that U.S. outfitting military dogs with bulletproof vests
¤ Spain Refused Request to Hunt Iraq Leader
¤ Israeli Troops Demolish Palestinian Homes
¤ Iran Says Has Evidence of Worse Abuses in Iraq
¤ A Pattern of Abuse?
¤ Rumsfeld and the 'beastly' Boykin
¤ An American tragedy
¤ Red Cross: Iraq Abuse Widespread, Routine
¤ Q&A: Iraq abuse charges
¤ Bush stands by his man over torture scandal
¤ Mandela chides US, Britain over Iraq war
¤ Imperial Barbarians
¤ Why They Hate Us: Racism, Bigotry and Abuse
¤ Rationalizing the Rape of a People
¤ Not Getting the Picture
¤ New picture and military critics increase pressure on Bush
¤ Bremer knew, minister claims
¤ Like the Wehrmacht, we've descended into barbarity
¤ Pro-Moscow leader among at least 7 dead after attack
¤ Putin faces long battle to tame Chechnya
¤ Sharon cancels trip to US after cabinet revolt
¤ Poll shows majority want UK troops to pull out
¤ New pictures and further allegations deepen the mire for Bush and Rumsfeld
¤ Gas Prices Make Biggest Jump Since August
¤ Faces of a tormenter
¤ New jail chief defends guard policy
¤ Torture at Abu Ghraib
¤ Kerry's heiress wife fights to keep tax details secret
¤ Boy, 16, 'was subjected to mock execution by US interrogators'
¤ Abu Ghraib and Beyond
¤ Troops shot Iraqi civilians dead in cold blood, new dossier claims
¤ Abuse photos harden US war divide
¤ US Retreat in Iraq? Or a Retread?
¤ Filipinos choose president with troops on high alert
¤ New photo shows naked prisoner's ordeal
¤ Iraq jail torture scandal worsens
¤ Vietnam gets revenge with swipe at US over Iraq
¤ Nineteen insurgents killed in Baghdad clashes
¤ Chechen president killed in Grozny blast
¤ 36 die in Iraq attacks
¤ Pentagon backed interrogations
¤ Chechen 'president' killed
¤ Venezuelan President condemns US 'terror'
¤ A war that doesn't exist
¤ Outside the law
Colombian paramilitaries
Posted: Sunday, May 9, 2004
The Venezuelan government has given absolute assurances that the captured Colombian paramilitaries' Human Rights will be respected and they need not fear USA Iraq-style torture
President Hugo Chavez Frias: Capture of Colombian
paramilitaries is a blow against opposition terrorism
"The capture of 56 Colombian paramilitaries in Sabaneta, Baruta (Miranda) is a very important blow against terrorism, coups, and violence in the entire world," said President Hugo Chavez Frias during his weekly TV program, "Alo Presidente."
Venezuela accuses Colombian paramilitaries of coup plot
CARACAS : Venezuelan authorities arrested 56 people they said are Colombian right-wing paramilitaries plotting to join Venezuelan dissidents in a bid to overthrow left-wing President Hugo Chavez. The group was arrested on a farm outside Caracas where they had been training for a month, said Miguel Rodriguez Torres, chief of the police intelligence service.
Image by image, confession by confession, the horror emerges
Posted: Sunday, May 9, 2004
news.independent.co.uk
Until their publication shocked the world, these pictures were dismissed by the Pentagon as the work of 'six morons who lost the war'. Now the White House says it is as shocked as anyone about what they reveal, and that a few bad apples have poisoned the reputation of a nation. But yesterday the first evidence emerged of systematic abuse of Iraqis. In this special report, we follow the trail from 9/11, the detention camps of Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay to the shame of Abu Ghraib Full Article
How the U.S. is Liberating Iraq (new photo)
Posted: Sunday, May 9, 2004
CHAIN OF COMMAND
by SEYMOUR M. HERSH, www.newyorker.com
An Iraqi prisoner and American military dog handlers.
Other photographs show the Iraqi on the ground, bleeding.
One of the new photographs shows a young soldier, wearing a dark jacket over his uniform and smiling into the camera, in the corridor of the jail. In the background are two Army dog handlers, in full camouflage combat gear, restraining two German shepherds. The dogs are barking at a man who is partly obscured from the camera’s view by the smiling soldier. Another image shows that the man, an Iraqi prisoner, is naked. His hands are clasped behind his neck and he is leaning against the door to a cell, contorted with terror, as the dogs bark a few feet away. Other photographs show the dogs straining at their leashes and snarling at the prisoner. In another, taken a few minutes later, the Iraqi is lying on the ground, writhing in pain, with a soldier sitting on top of him, knee pressed to his back. Blood is streaming from the inmate’s leg. Another photograph is a closeup of the naked prisoner, from his waist to his ankles, lying on the floor. On his right thigh is what appears to be a bite or a deep scratch. There is another, larger wound on his left leg, covered in blood. Full Article
Latest News
Posted: Sunday, May 9, 2004
¤ Chechen rebel bomb kills president, 13 others
¤ U.S. tanks push into stronghold of Iraqi cleric's militia
¤ French President Repeats Demands for Immediate Power Transfer in Iraq
¤ Torture of Iraqi POWs
¤ Bush pleases Israel, riles Palestinians
¤ Losing the war of images
¤ US 'approved techniques'
¤ THE RUMSFELD RHUMBA
¤ Red Cross: US Systematically Abused Prisoners
¤ Bush and Blair say they are shocked by the abuse of war prisoners ... but
¤ Catastrophe
¤ How the Department of Defense mishandled the disaster at Abu Ghraib
¤ Iraqi scholars plan US opposition
¤ Two Foreigners Found Dead in Afghanistan
¤ U.S. Soldier Killed in Mortar Attack in North Iraq
¤ Pentagon Approved Tougher Interrogations
¤ British quizzed Iraqis at torture jail
¤ Fifty years on, segregation still blights US schools
¤ Blast Kills Chechen Leader, Russian Gen.
¤ US military confirms existence of horrific pictures and video
¤ When did British ministers know of prison torture?
¤ Abuse reports began almost at war's start
¤ Abuse charge soldier: I was told to 'make it hell'
¤ Mirror pictures 'reveal' real abuse
¤ More Bad News May Be on the Way for Bush
¤ Floundering in a moral swamp
¤ Pentagon Approved Tougher Interrogations
¤ Mexico won't follow U.S. plan for Cuba
¤ Troops shot Iraqi civilians dead in cold blood, new dossier claims
¤ Iraq prison abuse images shake the Net
¤ Tony's fight of fantasy
¤ Image by image, confession by confession, the horror emerges
¤ Diary of an interrogator
¤ 'Tip of the iceberg? This iceberg is so big there's no water left to float it'
¤ Two Stryker Brigade soldiers killed in Iraq
¤ Why torture must lead to defeat
¤ Abu Ghraib: Who Was In Charge?
¤ Five days, four bombs
¤ Report steers clear of interrogators' boss
¤ A Look Prisoners' Deaths in U.S Custody
¤ Fierce fighting in Basra
¤ One killed as violence continues in Karachi
¤ US Marine killed in Afghan attack
¤ Rumsfeld blasted in EU press
¤ The apologies
¤ Bush moves to play down abuse scandal
¤ US approved harsh techniques at Guantanamo
¤ Moscow-backed Chechen leader killed
¤ Australia's Iraq war catastrophe
¤ Cheney Defends Rumsfeld, Says 'Get Off His Case'
¤ Cheney: Rumsfeld 'the best'
¤ The Price of Arrogance
¤ Many dead in Chechen stadium blast
¤ Bomb blast kills Iraqis as clashes continue
¤ Anti-occupation Iraqi group forms
¤ More evidence US ignored abuse warnings
Latest News
Posted: Saturday, May 8, 2004
¤ Torture Is News But It's Not New
¤ America and Its Moral Superiority Complex
¤ Iraq abuse cases are no aberration
¤ Bush dogged by prison abuse scandal
¤ Red Cross: Abuse of Iraqis widespread
¤ More bad news may be on the way for Bush
¤ Rumsfeld Apology Fails to Calm Arab Anger
¤ Our Hidden WMD Program
¤ Nepal's prime minister resigns
¤ Canadian who was imprisoned in Iraq alleges torture
¤ Amnesty demands US 'war crimes' inquiry
¤ They Knew
¤ Inspector says he warned U.S. officials of Iraqi prisoner abuse
¤ Red Cross Sees Torture-Like Abuse in Iraq
¤ Details of Army's abuse investigation surface
¤ Torture as Normalcy: As American as Apple Pie
¤ Torture, the CIA and the Press
¤ Dehumanization and Scapegoating in Iraq
¤ (There Are No Innocent Bystanders)
¤ Someone Knew: There Were No Weapons of Mass Destruction
¤ How the Bush Gang Exploited 9/11
¤ General told MPs to 'soften up' prisoners
¤ Bush Says Iraq Prisoner Abuse Won't Derail
¤ Mistreatment of Prisoners Is Called Routine in U.S.
¤ Bomb kills three Iraqis; gunmen wound cop
¤ 'It will convince almost no one'
¤ Revealed: how an army raid for guns led to death and a growing scandal
¤ Soldier's Family Set in Motion Chain of Events on Disclosure
¤ Bush Seeks World Support for Sharon Withdrawal Plan
¤ Bush: Chance of Palestinian State in 2005 Has Diminished
¤ Bush: Palestinian state by 2005 'may be hard'
¤ The Misunderestimated Man
¤ A Fish Called George
¤ British troops under fire as Shiite radicals extend uprising south
¤ Donald Rumsfeld got off easy.
¤ Just Go...
¤ Spinning on the Axis of Evil
¤ America is losing the war - and more
¤ From heroine to humiliator
¤ Oil for favours
¤ Not My Generation
¤ Between Iraq and a Hard Place
¤ Sudan's 'reign of terror' revealed to UN
¤ Jessica Lynch and Lynndie England: An American odyssey
¤ 'I was beaten for three days by British soldiers'
¤ Are there times when we have to accept torture?
¤ Attack in S. Afghanistan Kills Marine
¤ Shiite Gunmen, U.K. Troops Clash in Basra
Flashback ¤ A War for Israel?
¤ Brer Bush and the Iraqi tar baby
¤ Gunned down to impress America
¤ Violations were 'tantamount to torture'
¤ Rumsfeld under fire
¤ As oil tops $40, response is muted
¤ Scandal could become murder, rape inquiry
¤ U.N. Rights Head Details Sudan Atrocities
¤ 'It will convince almost no one'
¤ Pakistan bombing kills 14
¤ Bush stands by Rumsfeld - for now
¤ Blast for Sudan on 'ethnic cleansing'
¤ More 'proof' of British army abuse in Iraq
¤ Eight Iraqis killed in Karbala clashes
¤ Two killed in Basra clashes
¤ Karachi mosque attack kills 15
¤ Sudan denies 'Darfur crimes'
¤ Polish, Algerian reporters killed in Iraq
¤ US jobs grow amid oil price fears
¤ A president beyond the law sets a bad example
¤ In prison, guards watch the boss
¤ It Was About “Regime Change” from the Get-Go
¤ Bush's New, New Lie
¤ You're soaking in it, Mr Howard
¤ That cursed word again
¤ Red Cross describes systematic abuse in Iraq
¤ Rumsfeld, Myers defend asking press to delay running abuse pictures
¤ UK forces taught torture methods
¤ Bush sickened, but suspects still at work
¤ Soldier's anonymous tip-off unleashed Iraq abuse scandal
US Intervention
Posted: Friday, May 7, 2004
Chavez Vows to Defend Venezuela Against US Intervention
Earlier this Friday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez inaugurated the nation’s 3,200th Bolivarian School in the city of San Juan de los Morros. Addressing a large crowd of supporters, the Venezuelan leader reiterated his government’s firm stance against any potential international intervention from the United States, as has been requested by some political sectors opposed to his administration. Chávez signaled out Venezuelan media baron and billionaire Gustavo Cisneros as a Mafioso who continues to conspire and lead the campaign against his democratically elected government.
Venezuela’s Ambassador to OAS Asks
Endowment to Stop Funding Opposition
Caracas, May 5, 2004—Venezuela's Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS) sent a letter to the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a U.S. government funded organization that is supposed to fund activities and organizations that enhance democracy throughout the world. The letter asks the NED director, Vin Weber, to "immediately discontinue" the organization's funding of groups in Venezuela that supported the coup attempt against President Chavez in April 2002.
Nigerian Muslims bury 600 after Christian slaughter
Posted: Friday, May 7, 2004
Reuters in Yelwa
The Guardian
A Muslim community leader in the Nigerian town of Yelwa said yesterday that 630 bodies had been buried there after an attack by Christian militia on Sunday. The previous estimate of the death toll was 300.
Survivors of the attacks said many people were still missing and the final death toll could reach 1,000. Another 600 were said to be seriously wounded.
"We buried a total of 630 people yesterday, 1,500 people were injured and 600 were taken for emergency treatment," the community leader, Abdullahi Abdullahi, said.
There was no independent confirmation of the toll. Many residents fled Yelwa after the attack. www.guardian.co.uk
Toll 'hits 630' in Nigeria attack
A Muslim community leader in the Nigerian town of Yelwa says 630 corpses have been buried after an attack by Christian militia, and survivors says the final toll may reach 1000.
Police have spoken only of "hundreds" killed in the attack on Sunday, but access to the remote farming town has been very limited because of the threat of reprisals.
"We buried a total of 630 people yesterday, 1500 people were injured and 600 were taken for emergency treatment," said community leader Abd Allahi Abd Allahi. english.aljazeera.net
Arabs attack Africans in Sudan: report
Posted: Friday, May 7, 2004
REIGN OF TERROR: The Arab-led Sudanese government is being accused of joining Arab militias in attacks on black Africans, clearing villages and executing 'enemies'
THE GUARDIAN, DAKAR, SENEGAL
Sunday, Apr 25, 2004,Page 7
www.taipeitimes.com
Human Rights Watch on Friday issued a stinging report accusing the Arab-led Sudanese government of joining Arab militias in attacks on black Africans in the Darfur region of western Sudan, clearing villages, destroying their food supplies and executing men deemed enemies. It came on a day that the UN's top human rights body passed a resolution on human rights abuses in Darfur that the US rejected as too soft on Sudan.
In an unusually strong report, based on interviews with Sudanese refugees across the border in Chad, a four-member team of investigators described the raids by the Arab militias, or janjaweed, as "a reign of terror." The report, released to the press earlier this week, documents rapes and killings of civilians, forced displacement of black Africans from their villages and aerial bombings by Sudanese military planes.
"Attacks carried out by the armed forces of Sudan and the janjaweed reflect a disturbing pattern of disregard for basic principles of human rights and humanitarian law," the report read. It went on to say that the human rights violations reported in Darfur "may constitute war crimes and/or crimes against humanity."
In some places, government planes bombed villages ahead of the militias' attacks and circled overhead afterward to see if the area had been cleared, according to Human Rights Watch. Elsewhere, the military and the militias set up a joint presence, "often in the local police station," before launching an attack on a village, the group said in a statement accompanying the report.
One of the researchers, Julie Flint, who spent 25 days this month inside Darfur, said in a telephone interview from London on Friday that in a roughly 66km2 area she saw 11 of 13 villages burned, with the other two deserted. Homes and food storage areas were burned, she said. All that was left were bits of peanuts and shards of glass -- remnants of tea glasses.
One villager, she said, brought her a list of 62 mosques that had been burned. She said she collected reports of massacres during prayer time at mosques. In two sweeps in March, she reported, Sudanese soldiers detained 136 African men whom the militias massacred hours later. "They are no longer working alone," Flint said of the militias.
According to UN estimates, the attacks have displaced 900,000 people inside Darfur and roughly another 100,000 refugees who have fled across the frontier, to Chad. Low-level clashes over land between Arabs, who are herders, and black Africans, who are farmers, broke out in a full-scale war in February last year, when a rebel movement emerged.
Meanwhile, aid workers, so far restricted in their movements inside Darfur, are scrambling to ferry food, tarpaulins and other relief supplies to displaced peasants camped out across the vast, largely arid territory. Seasonal rains are likely to come in less than two months, making roads impassable. The government in Khartoum said earlier this week that it would allow a UN humanitarian assessment team to travel through the area.
Meanwhile, in Geneva, the UN's top human rights body stopped short of condemning the Khartoum government for "ethnic cleansing," choosing instead milder language to express its concern about "the scale of reported human rights abuses and the humanitarian situation in Darfur" and appointing a monitor to investigate the charges.
Fifty members of the UN Human Rights Commission backed the resolution, drafted by EU countries. Washington rejected it, calling for stronger language, and there were two abstentions. The African Union also on Friday said it would dispatch ceasefire monitors to Darfur, and peace talks between the Sudanese government and two guerrilla groups resumed in Chad.
After the vote in Geneva, Richard Williamson, head of the US delegation, called for an emergency session to review their decision after UN investigators return from a trip to Darfur. The team is in Sudan now.
Sudan's allies on the UN team this week lashed out at UN officials, calling for an investigation into the leaks. Sudan has consistently denied responsibility for the actions of the janjaweed.
The UN, which has so far received pledges of US$30 million, is calling on donor countries to provide another US$130 million in emergency aid. UN officials have lately stepped up their criticism of the government in Darfur, as have those within the Bush administration.
In a report prepared for the UN commission meeting in Geneva, the Bush administration lashed out at Khartoum for barring aid groups and human rights investigators from the hardest-hit areas of Darfur. "The government of Sudan is denying assistance from reaching its own people," the report declared. "It is time that the international community stand united and denounce the violence and ethnic cleansing taking place in Sudan."
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www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/04/25/2003138028
Latest News
Posted: Friday, May 7, 2004
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This War and Racism -- Media Denial in Overdrive
Posted: Friday, May 7, 2004
Among the millions of words that have appeared in the U.S. press since late April about abuse and torture at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, one has been notably missing:
Racism.
Overall, when it comes to racial aspects, the news coverage is quite PC -- as in Pentagon Correct. The outlook is "apple pie" egalitarian, with the media picture including high-profile officers who are African-American and Latino. Meanwhile, inside the policy arena, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice are frequently in front of cameras to personify Uncle Sam in blackface.
The U.S. government doesn't drop bombs on people because of their race. Washington's geopolitical agendas lead to military actions. But racial biases make the war process easier when the people being killed and maimed aren't white people. An oversize elephant in the American media's living room is a reality that few journalists talk about in public: The USA keeps waging war on countries where the victims resemble people who often experience personal and institutional racism in the United States. www.commondreams.org
A profound racism infects the US and British establishments
Ahdaf Soueif
Wednesday May 5, 2004
The Guardian
The media in this country is politely shocked at photos of Iraqis being tortured and humiliated by US and British soldiers. A BBC1 news presenter says the pictures seem to have been "merely mementos". That's all right, then. The folks at home will have a good laugh and paste them into the family album.
In the first half of the last century, the French in Algeria and Morocco used to send home postcards of prostitutes posing sullenly, with breasts bared and skirts pulled up to their thighs, over captions like "Le harem Arabe" or "Fille Mauresque". The Americans have pushed it further: their pornography of occupation is at once more childish, playful, crude and sinister than that of "old Europe". Also, we assume the prostitutes were paid.
BBC commentators and British politicians have been reminding us that the soldiers' activities "do not compare with Saddam Hussein's systematic tortures and executions". Hussein is now the moral compass of the west. www.guardian.co.uk
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Prisoner abuse: What about the other secret U.S. prisons?
Posted: Tuesday, May 4, 2004
NEW YORK We must all, like President George W. Bush, share a "deep disgust" at the pictures of U.S. military personnel subjecting Iraqi detainees to humiliating treatment. The problem, however, is that this does not appear to be an isolated incident.
Across the world, the United States is holding detainees in offshore and foreign prisons where allegations of mistreatment cannot be monitored. It has also been accused of sending terror suspects to countries where information has been beaten out of them.
The classic case, of course, has been Guantánamo, Cuba, which the Bush administration deliberately chose as a detention facility for more than 700 detainees from 44 countries in an attempt to put them beyond the reach of the U.S. courts - and of any courts, for that matter. The U.S. government has argued that U.S. courts would not have jurisdiction over these detainees even if it they were being tortured or summarily executed. Full Article
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Posted: Tuesday, May 4, 2004
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Posted: Monday, May 3, 2004
¤ Our Invasion Made Matters Worse
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¤ The Remarkable Persistence of Corporate Crime and Kickbacks
¤ Good news -- just in time to drown out those tales of torture!
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¤ U.S. says mistreatment is not 'systematic'
Flashback ¤ Is the US military torturing Iraqis with electricity?
Flashback ¤ Massacred prisoners' hands were tied
Flashback ¤ US turns to torture to crack prisoners of war
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¤ Beyond the law
¤ US officer says prison guards tried to cover up abuse of Iraqi prisoners
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¤ Foreign oil workers evacuated after gun attack in Saudi city
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¤ Iraqi general refuses to give up Falluja fighters
¤ Defeat for Sharon
¤ Sadistic Abuse of Iraqi Inmates
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¤ Mother and four children shot in Gaza
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Posted: Sunday, May 2, 2004
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¤ US spies 'urged abuse' of prisoners
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¤ Six U.S. troops killed in mortar attack; 30 wounded
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¤ Americans urged to leave Saudi Arabia
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¤ Torture at Abu Ghraib
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¤ Deja vu all over again
¤ Letterman's the king of late night Bush-bashing
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¤ 10 die in Saudi Arabia attack
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¤ Taliban step up guerrilla attacks in Afghanistan
¤ US soldier, two foreign contractors killed in Iraq
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Shame Of Abuse By British Troops in Iraq
Posted: Saturday, May 1, 2004
A HOODED Iraqi captive is beaten by British soldiers before being thrown from a moving truck and left to die.
The prisoner, aged 18-20, begged for mercy as he was battered with rifle butts and batons in the head and groin, was kicked, stamped and urinated on, and had a gun barrel forced into his mouth.
After an EIGHT-HOUR ordeal, he was left barely conscious and close to death. Bleeding and vomiting and with a broken jaw and missing teeth, he was driven from a Basra camp and hurled off the truck. No one knows if he lived or died. www.mirror.co.uk
Punched, kicked, then left to die
British investigate 10 claims of abuse
Racism at the Core of Iraq Invasion
The popular perception in the US is that Iraq is a country of uncivilized criminals and terrorists raised to hate America because common people hate freedom and liberty, "ragheads" and "sand niggers" who brought down the Twin Towers in New York City and attacked the Pentagon. US-based columnists have taken to calling Iraqis lazy and ungrateful... www.unobserver.com
Latest News
Posted: Saturday, May 1, 2004
¤ Punched, kicked, then left to die
¤ Shame Of Abuse By British Troops in Iraq
¤ British investigate 10 claims of abuse
¤ Ex-Saddam general drives into city as marines begin withdrawal
¤ Gunmen Kill 6 Westerners in Saudi Office
¤ Saudi Attack Kills 2 Americans, 5 Others
¤ Saudi Militants Raise Stakes in Battle of Wills
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¤ Gringo, We're Going Home
¤ An Army Vet on Prisoner Torture in Iraq
¤ Seems Like Old Times in Fallujah
¤ Bush's Torturous Logic Shocked, Shocked, Shocked
¤ Soldier's diary details wider abuse at Iraq prison
¤ The Gall Of The Chickenhawks
¤ Arabs repulsed, furious over prison photos
¤ Shock, outrage over prison photos
¤ Iraq Veteran Criticizes Bush on Radio
¤ How We Got Into This Unjust War
Flashback ¤ War Launched to Protect Israel
¤ Losing their hearts and minds, bodies and souls
¤ Iraq "One Big Guantanamo" Reports War Cheerleader NY Times
¤ Abuse may have been 'order'
¤ American soldiers brutalized Iraqis. How far up does the responsibility go?
¤ 'They're Not Fit To Wear Queen's Uniform'
¤ 'Mission Accomplished' One Year Later
¤ Stand by for more terrorism scares, US warns
¤ Iraqis hail Falluja "victory"
¤ '11 hard questions for Bush'
¤ 'Mutiny in Iraq'
¤ 'Those pictures...'
¤ U.S. Troops Kill Alleged Afghan Assailant
¤ Mutiny is the only way out of Iraq's inferno
¤ UN to send troops and police to Haiti
¤ Killings 'staged to win US support'
¤ Now British army is in the dock as Allies outrage world opinion
¤ Cheney accused of smear campaign by ambassador
¤ Marines hand over control of Fallujah to ex-Saddam general
¤ U.S. Tries to Calm Furor Caused by Photos
¤ Lots of Mistakes
¤ US On the Brink Over Iraq
¤ Saddam's man takes over in Fallujah
¤ 'I asked for help and warned of this but nobody would listen'
¤ Falluja fighters dent US morale
¤ Likud vote 'will not halt Sharon'
¤ Six Afghan soldiers killed in ambush
¤ US guarded about Fallujah force
¤ The Bush Administration's Militarism
¤ Errors in American History
¤ Bush ignores the horrors of his war
¤ The US and its friends: Losing that loving feeling
¤ New looting in Iraq
¤ Part 1: Besieged in Shawal
¤ US, Iraqi views of occupation converging
¤ UN ponders as Fallujah burns
¤ 'Liberators worse than dictators'
¤ Photos of torture reach Iraq
¤ Iraqi prisoner pictures: Your reaction
¤ Canada's 500 troops to remain in Haiti
¤ More occupation troops killed in Iraq
¤ US soldiers hit in Afghanistan
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