Essential Information

A compendium of articles, reports, essays and investigations into the effects of militarism on the environment and human society. Send additional documents to editor@envirosagainstwar.org.

• Featured Reports
• General Impacts of a War in the Gulf
• Human Impacts
• Land Impacts
• Marine and Water Impacts
• Oil and Its Alternatives
• Militarism and Civil Liberties
• The 1991 War
• Weapons of War

FEATURED REPORTS

New US Drone Attack in Pakistan Kills at Least 15, Wounds 30 (BBC News & Al Jazeera)
At least 10 militants have died after missiles were fired by a suspected US drone aircraft at a Taliban target in Pakistan. There have been more than 35 US strikes since last August, killing over 340 people. Pakistan has been publicly critical of drone attacks, arguing that they kill civilians and fuel support for the militants.

The Lingering Effects of Torture (Devin Powell / Inside Science News Service & ABC News )
Newly emerging research on large numbers of torture survivors suggests that "psychological" forms of torture — often thought to be milder than the direct infliction of physical pain — can in fact have serious long-term mental health consequences.

The Scramble for Iraq's 'Sweet Oil' (Nicole Johnston / Al Jazeera )
With proven oil reserves of around 112 billion barrels and up to another 150 billion barrels of probable reserves, Iraq is the greatest untapped prize for international oil companies. So it is little wonder that giant international oil companies are lining up to get back into Iraq after the industry was nationalised in the 1970s and the oil majors were kicked out.

ACTION ALERT: Denounce the Human Rights Abuses in Honduras (COFADEH & School of the Americas Watch)
The situation in Honduras turned violent when over 10,000 people gathered in the streets to protest the coup Monday evening. Using tear gas, high-powered water and guns (it is still not clear whether soldiers were armed with rubber bullets or otherwise) many people were wounded and there has been one confirmed death in the capital, Tegucigalpa. In the capital, pro-coup marches are occurring, defended by the police and national guard.

ACTION ALERT: Israelis Attack Humanitarian Aid to Gaza
Last night, Israeli Occupation Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries, including Noble laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. The passengers and crew are being forcibly dragged toward Israel.

A Sickening Situation (Katie Connolly / Newsweek)
KBR, the company contracted to provide waste-disposal services at US bases in Iraq, has allowed the burning of batteries, unexploded ordnance, gas cans, mattresses, rocket pods, and plastic and medical waste (including human body The resulting fumes — containing carcinogenic dioxins, heavy metals, and particulates — have sickened and disabled US soldiers and iraqis exposed to the toxic smoke.

Approaching Gaza Intercepted by Israeli Gunboat (Reuters)
Activists sailing to Gaza with humanitarian aid said they had been intercepted by an Israeli gunboat on Tuesday, but the Israeli military said it was just monitoring the aid ship while it was in international waters. Overnight, the activists — in a small ferryboat sailing from Cyprus to Gaza — said they had received threats they would be fired upon unless they turned back.

A Fight for the Amazon That Should Inspire the World (Johann Hari / The Independent)
While the world nervously watches the uprising in Iran, an even more important uprising has been passing unnoticed — yet its outcome will shape your fate and mine and will determine the future of the planet. Here's the story of how it happened — and how we all need to pick up this fight.

Rights Group: Israeli Drones Killed Gaza Civilians (Joseph Marks / Associated Press)
Human Rights Watch charged Tuesday that Israeli pilots failed to verify targets of drone aircraft at least six times during the Gaza war, firing missiles that killed at least 29 civilians. A HRW expert called drones the most precise weapons available and noted "We should not find so many civilian casualties from these incidents." An Israeli military spokesperson accused HRW of being taken in by the "Gazan propaganda system."

How 6 Million People Were Killed In CIA Secret Wars Against Third World Countries (John Stockwell / The Secret Wars of the CIA)
John Stockwell, former CIA Station Chief in Angola in 1976, working for then Director of the CIA, George Bush. He spent 13 years in the agency. He gives a short history of CIA covert operations. He is a very compelling speaker and the highest level CIA officer to testify to the Congress about his actions. He estimates that over 6 million people have died in CIA covert actions, and this was in the late 1980's.

The Secret Wars of the CIA: Part 2 (John Stockwell / The Secret Wars of the CIA)
I just got my latest book back from the CIA censors. If I had not submitted it to them, I would have gone to jail, without trial — for having violated our censorship laws....The United States CIA is running 50 covert actions, destabilizing almost one third of the countries in the world today.... I urge you not to take my word for anything. I'm going to stand here and tell you and give you examples of how our leaders lie.

The War Comes Home: Washington's Battle Against America's Veterans (Making Contact / National Radio Project & Luis Carlos Montalván / Huffington Post)
Nearly two million Americans have fought in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. On this edition, reporter Aaron Glantz takes us inside the war as it comes home to our communities, with a focus on the special role our educational institutions can play in helping former soldiers adjust to civilian life.

ACTION ALERT: Condemn Honduran Coup and Restore Honduran President Zelaya (International Action Center / Centro de Acción Internacional)
Demand that the Barack Obama administration and the US Congress unequivocally condemn the unconstitutional and anti-democratic military coup in Honduras and insist that the military regime and the newly appointed but illegitimate president of Honduras restore President Zelaya to office, free all the imprisoned popular leaders and remove the curfew.

The Iran Election and Leftist Confusion (Reese Erlich / Common Dreams)
When I returned from covering the Iranian elections recently, I was surprised to find progressive authors, academics and bloggers bending themselves into knots about the current crisis in Iran. They cite the long history of US interference in Iran and conclude that the current unrest must be sponsored or manipulated by the Empire. That comes as quite a shock to those risking their lives daily on the streets of major Iranian cities fighting for political, social and economic justice.

Iran Had a Democracy Before We Took It Away (Chris Hedges / TruthDig)
Iranians do not need or want us to teach them about liberty and representative government. They have long embodied this struggle. It is we who need to be taught. It was Washington that orchestrated the 1953 coup to topple Iran's democratically elected government, the first in the Middle East, and install the compliant shah in power.

Between Tel Aviv and Tehran (Uri Avnery / Op Ed News)
Gideon Levy wrote in Haaretz that he envies the Iranians. And indeed, anyone who tries these days to get Israelis in any numbers into the streets could die of envy. It is very difficult to get even hundreds of people to protest against the evil deeds or policies of our government — and not because everybody supports it. At the height of the war against Gaza, half a year ago, it was not easy to mobilize ten thousand protesters.

ACTION ALERT: Honduran Coup (Campaign for Labor Rights)
President of Honduras Manuel Zelaya confirmed he is in Costa Rica, as he was kidnapped by Honduran military officers, who dragged him from his residence. Zelaya's supporters are asking people to defend democracy by calling the State Department and White House to demand: A cut-off all military aid to Honduras until Pres. Zelaya and Chancellor Rodas are safely returned to office and support any international movements to bring the coup plotters to justice.

Shadow Wars (Conn Hallinan / Foreign Policy in Focus)
The “privatization” of war, with its use of armed mercenaries, has come under heavy scrutiny, but the “covertization” of war has remained largely in the shadows. According to a 2004 classified document, the US now claims the right to attack “terrorists” in some 15 to 20 nations. The Israeli military has long used “targeted assassinations” to eliminate Tel Aviv’s enemies. US and NATO “assassination teams” and unmanned drone aircraft have killed scores of peoplein Iraq and Afghanistan.

Solferino: The Red Cross Marks Battle Anniversary (Imogen Foulkes / BBC News)
The Red Cross is marking the 150th anniversary of the battle that inspired Henri Dunant to found the world's best known humanitarian movement. At the end of June 1859, the armies of France and Sardinia, led by Napoleon III, confronted the Austrians at Solferino in northern Italy. Dunant, a Geneva businessman, happened to be passing and witnessed the battle. Horrified by what he saw, he was inspired to develop an organisation dedicated to helping war wounded.

Homeland Security and US Army Plan Invasion of States (Jim Kouri / News and Views)
The Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security recently hosted a teleconference for the National Association of Chiefs of Police to discuss the Obama Administration's interest in using the military during domestic "emergencies." However, many law enforcement organizations went on the record saying they did not appreciate the prospect of federal troops usurping the authority of local and state agencies or the role of National Guard units currently under the control of governors.

White House Executive Order on Indefinite Detention Would Bypass Congress (Dafna Linzer and Peter Finn / The Washington Post)
The Obama administration, fearing a battle with Congress that could stall plans to close Guantanamo, is drafting an executive order that would reassert presidential authority to incarcerate suspected terrorists indefinitely, according to three senior government officials with knowledge of White House deliberations. Such an order would embrace claims by former President George W. Bush that certain people can be detained without trial for long periods under the laws of war.

Why It's Time to Get Rid of the So-Called Terrorist Watch List (Liliana Segura / AlterNet)
A new report finds people on the terrorist watch list can more easily buy guns than board planes. But the real problem lies deeper than that. According to a new report by the Government Accountability Office, folks on the list bought guns 865 times — in 963 attempts — over a five-year period. And not just guns — at least one person purchased more than 50 pounds of explosives.

US Announces Revamp of Afghan Drug Policy (The Associated Press)
The US announced a new drug policy Saturday for opium-rich Afghanistan, saying it was phasing out funding for eradication efforts and using the money for drug interdiction and alternate crop programs instead. The US envoy for Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, explained that eradication programs were "a waste of money" — they were not weren't working and were only driving farmers into the hands of the Taliban.

Kicking the Nuclear Habit: Why We Need a World Free of Nuclear Weapons (Lawrence S. Wittner / t r u t h o u t | Perspective)
With President Barack Obama and other world leaders now talking about building a nuclear-free world, it is time to consider whether that would be a good idea. Six reasons for supporting nuclear abolition are particularly cogent.

Vandenberg Schedules Minuteman III Launch (Vandenberg AFB News Release)
While the US media obsesses over North Korea, the US is developing a new Global Strike Command and firing an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from the West Coast into the West Central Pacific Ocean. The missile's three unarmed re-entry vehicles are expected to travel approximately 4,190 miles, hitting a pre-determined target near the Kwajalein Atoll. Read this US Air Force press release.

Bill Would Boost Congressional Oversight of Covert Spy Programs (Greg Miller / The Los Angeles Times)
Legislation backed by Democrats would require the president to brief all intelligence panel members on classified operations. Lawmakers had said Bush withheld information to reduce scrutiny. The legislation approved by the House Intelligence Committee, would eliminate the president's ability to keep classified operations secret from any member of the panel.

US House Passes Key Climate Bill (Al Jazeera)
The passage of he American Clean Energy and Security Act made headlines around the world. The home page of Al Jazeera spotlighted the news with the following declaration: "The US House of Representatives has passed legislation to slash industrial pollution blamed for global warming." But critics have complained the bill does not go far enough — especially for the 315,000 people a year who are dying from weather-related hunger, sickness, floods and drought.

CIA-backed International Terrorist Alleged behind Plot to Kill Venezuelan Leader (Granma Internacional & National Security Archive & ABC Nightline)
Former Venezuelan vice president José Vicente Rangel today identified the international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles as a participant in a plot to assassinate President Hugo Chávez in El Salvador. Posada Carriles, who acted as an agent of the CIA, committed numerous terrorist bombing of hotels in Cuba and planted a bomb on a commercial jetliner in 1976, killing 73 innocent civilians. Now in his 80s, Posada Carriles is awaiting trial on bribery charges.

Russia Preparing to Test-fire Intercontinental Nuclear Missle (RIA Novosti)
While Washington and the US media are focused on North Korea’s test launch of a medium-range missile sometime in July, Russia is planning a July test of a sea-launched intercontinental missile that is designed to become “the backbone of Russia’s nuclear triad.”

'US Drone' Hits Pakistan Funeral (Al Jazeera)
Up to 80 people have been killed after missiles were fired from a US "drone" at the funeral of a suspected Taliban commander of the Pakistani Taliban in South Waziristan, Pakistan officials have said. The attack by the unmanned aircraft was carried out in the village of Najmarai in the Makeen district. Three missiles were fired by drones as people were dispersing after offering funeral prayers for [Taliban commander] Niaz Wali.

Lethal Crop Dusters (Defense Update)
The US Navy is already evaluating an armed version of Embraer’s EMB-314 Super Tucano under a classified evaluation program known as ‘Imminent Fury’. The Navy is currently evaluating a single aircraft and is seeking a budget of $44 million to embark on a larger program. Armed Super Tucanos are currently operated by Brazil, Columbia, and the Dominican. Super Tucano can carry 1.5 tons of weapons, and can stay on a mission up to 6.5 hours.

Free Speech vs. Surveillance in the Digital Age (Amy Goodman / TruthDig.com & James Risen & Eric Lichtblau / The New York Times)
Tools of mass communication that were once the province of governments and corporations now fit in your pocket. As these technologies have developed, so too has the ability to monitor, filter, censor and block them. US companies have supplied Chian and Iran with sophisticated mechanisms for controlling and censoring the Internet, allowing government spies to examine the content of individual online communications on a massive scale. These tools could soon be employed by the US.

Scientist, Environmentalist and Eco-Prophet James Lovelock Warns of ‘The Vanishing Face of Gaia’ (James Murry-White / Green Prophet)
As the 90-year-old author prepares to take up Richard Branson’s offer of a place upon a Virgin Galactic flight in space, he is at his simplest and most direct in this book. Highly critical of European green politics and environmentalism, he offers what he believes are the only solutions for partial human survival through the onslaught of climate change. “Our gravest dangers are not from climate change itself, but indirectly from starvation, competition for space and resources, and tribal war.”

ACTION ALERT: Demand Afghanistan Exit in "Defense: Authorization Bill (David Swanson / After Downing Street)
Rep McGovern's amendment (HR 2404) to the Defense Authorization bill calls for an "exit strategy" to end US military involvement in Afghanistan. Although the right strategy remains to collect co-sponsors for the stand-alone bill, it is this amendment that will actually be voted on. Increasing the number of co-sponsors for HR 2404 will help raise visibility of the issue and make it more politically safe for Members to vote in favor of the amendment. Vote due today: Thursday!

Taliban Use Stolen US Gear Against US (National Terror Alert.com )
Some Taliban fighters have been able to ward off attacks by US aircraft by wearing special infrared patches on their shirts that signal that they are friends, not foes. The patches, which can also help suicide bombers get close to US targets, are supposed to be the property of the US government alone, but can be easily purchased over the Internet for about $10 each. Also available online: night-vision goggles and military-grade communications systems like the ones used by the terrorists who attacked the Indian city of Mumbai last year.

Carly Sheehan at Hayward High School (We Are Not Your Soldiers.org)
On Monday June 8th, Carly Sheehan (whose brother Casey was killed in Iraq) and I went to Hayward High School as part of the “We Are Not Your Soldiers” tour. Hayward High is a diverse working class school in the Bay Area that recruiters regularly visit.

Confidential Memo Reveals US Plan to Provoke an Invasion of Iraq (Jamie Doward, Gaby Hinsliff and Mark Townsend / The Observer)
A confidential record of a meeting between President Bush and Tony Blair before the invasion of Iraq, outlining their intention to go to war without a second United Nations resolution, will be an explosive issue for the official inquiry into the UK's role in toppling Saddam Hussein. The plot was hatched as the two men became increasingly aware that UN inspectors would fail to find weapons of mass destruction hidden in Iraq.

Testing Times for Nuclear Watchdog (Alan Fisher / Al Jazeera)
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency insists that Iran poses no immediate threat from nuclear weapons. However, he adds, “I can assure you that if they have no intention to develop nuclear weapons, they will go into a crash course to develop nuclear weapons. They bombed Iraq in the 1980s and Saddam launched a clandestine nuclear operation. Military action is not the answer."

'Pakistan Taliban Hit by US Drones' (Al Jazeera)
At least 45 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a series of missile raids by US drones in northwest Pakistan, Pakistani intelligence officials have said. The first missile attack early on Tuesday hit what authorities said was a "Taliban training centre" in the South Waziristan tribal region that borders Afghanistan. Several hours later, a second attack was carried out during a funeral procession for those killed in the first raid.

Hamas Foiled Plot to Assassinate Carter in Gaza (Avi Issacharoff / Haaretz)
Hamas has foiled an attempt by Palestinian militants to attack former US president Jimmy Carter during his visit to the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian source told news agencies. According to the source, militants linked with Al-Qaida planted two roadside bombs at a border crossing between Gaza and Israel with the intent of striking Carter's vehicle. Plus: The transcript of Carter's June interview with Haaretz.

ACTION ALERT: June 25 Torture Accountability Action Day
On June 25, demonstrations, vigils and actions will be held across the USA — in Salt Lake City, Seattle, Portland, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Anchorage, Pasadena, Bryn Mawr (Philly Area), Tampa, Thousand Oaks , Boston, and San Francisco — to demand that the individuals who debased our country by authorizing torture of foreign detainees and US citizens be held accountable for their actions.

US Military Hands over Sadr City (Al Jazeera)
US troops have handed over control of Baghdad's Sadr City district to the government of Iraq. Military leaders held a ceremony in the Iraqi capital on Saturday to mark the handover of responsibility in the city's predominantly Shia district.

Pentagon Predator Drones Used in More than 20 Pakistan Attacks This Year (Bill Roggio / The Long War Journal )
The US used unmanned Predator drone aircraft in at least 38 attacks against targets in Pakistan in 2008. So far this year, Pentagon drones have reportedly been used in 22 attacks on targets inside Pakistan. Because Predator drones use Hellfire missiles to destroy targets on the ground, there is a strong likelihood that civilians will be killed along with intended targets.

Judge Tosses City Laws Restricting Army Recruiters (Matthew B. Stannard/ San Francisco Chronicle )
Without fanfare, a federal judge in Oakland on Thursday threw out voter-approved laws in two Northern California cities barring military recruiters from contacting minors. U.S. District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong ruled that laws passed in the Humboldt County cities of Arcata and Eureka in November were unconstitutional and invalid.

Gold and Depleted Uranium: Destroying Indigenous Populations from the US to the Middle East (Dahr Jamail / t r u t h o u t | Perspective)
"We call gold the metal which makes men crazy," says Charmaine White Face. "Knowing they could not conquer us like they wanted to ... because when you are fighting for your life, or the life of your family, you will do anything you can ... so they had to put us in prisoner of war camps. I come from POW camp 344, the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. We want our treaties upheld, we want our land back."

Russia Ready for Deep Nuclear Arms Cuts (Financial Times)
Russia is ready to dramatically cut its nuclear stockpiles in a new arms pact with the United States if Washington meets Russia’s concerns over missile defence, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Saturday.

Protestors Killed as Council Rejects Claims of Voting Irregularities in Iran (CNN)
Earlier Sunday, thousands of riot police and militia lined Tehran's streets as the public rift among Iranian leaders appeared to be widening. The country's foreign minister disputed allegations of ballot irregularities in Iran's disputed presidential election, while the parliamentary speaker implied the nation's election authorities had sided with one candidate. Meanwhile, crowds of protesters have been attacked by police and pro-government militias.

US and Israel Involved in Tehran Turmoil? (Paul Craig Roberts / Information Clearing House & Chartingstocks)
The overthrow of Iran's democratically elected President Mohammed Mosaddeq, by the CIA and the British MI6 in 1953 was preceded by CIA bribes of Iranian government officials, businessmen, and reporters. The CIA also paid Iranians to demonstrate in the streets. A former Reagan Administration official believes "the street demonstrations in Tehran show signs of orchestration." Meanwhile, Israel has been accused of using Twitter as a means of destablizing the Iranian government.

Iranian Elections: The ‘Stolen Elections’ Hoax (Prof. James Petras / Global Research)
What is astonishing about the West’s universal condemnation of the electoral outcome as fraudulent is that not a single shred of evidence has been presented. The Western media ignored the fact that the incumbent candidate was drawing his support from the far more numerous poor working class, peasant, artisan and public employee sectors while the bulk of the opposition demonstrators was drawn from the upper and middle class students, business and professional class.

Indigenous 'Genocide' in Battle for Oilfields (John Vidal / Sydney Morning Herald)
It has been called the world's second "oil war" but the only similarity between Iraq and events in the jungles of northern Peru over the past few weeks has been the mismatch of force. On one side have been police armed with automatic weapons, tear gas, helicopter gunships and armoured cars. On the other are several thousand Awajun and Wambis Indians, many of them in war paint and armed with bows and arrows, and spears.

Peru: Blood Flows in the Amazon (Prof James Petras / Global Research)
In early June, Peruvian President Alan García, an ally of US President Barack Obama, ordered armored personnel carriers, helicopter gun-ships and hundreds of heavily armed troops to assault and disperse a peaceful, legal protest organized by members of Peru’s Amazonian indigenous communities protesting the entry of foreign multinational mining companies on their traditional homelands.

Indigenous Protest and State Violence in the Peruvian Amazon: How the Media Misrepresents (John Gibler / Huffington Post)
When police surround and attack a group of peaceful protester from land and air, the responsibility for violence is clearly on the aggressors and their unjustifiable and disproportionate use of force. But the media presented a different picture. The Los Angeles Times article, "Insurgents threaten Peru's Stability," for example, represents the Indigenous protesters as "insurgents" and claims they are "threatening" Peru, rather than defending their ancestral and communal lands.

US Failures 'Caused Afghan Deaths' (Al Jazeera)
eadly air strikes by a US bomber in Afghanistan last month did not follow strict rules and probably caused civilian casualties, a US military report has said. The report said 26 Afghan civilians and 78 Taliban fighters probably died in the May 4 incident, most likely during three bombing runs by the air craft, although it did not "discount the possibility" that more were killed.

Colombian Army 'Killed Civilians' (Al Jazeera)
Philip Alston, the UN rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, has accused Colombian soldiers of killing hundreds of civilians during the past six years and falsely identifying the dead as guerrilla fighters. Alston said it was "unsustainable" for officials in Uribe's government to argue that the killings by troops seeking bonuses were carried out on a small scale.

Audit Finds That US Overpaid Blackwater (Youchi J. Dreazen / Wall Street Journal Online)
A government audit found that the State Department overpaid the contract-security firm once known as Blackwater Worldwide by tens of millions of dollars because the company failed to properly staff its teams in Iraq. The report said the State Department should have withheld at least $55 million in payments to the company because of the shortfalls.

US Govt. Threatens to Prosecute Waterboarding (David Swanson / After Downing Street)
We've been lobbying the Department of Justice all these months without realizing that the key to justice lay in the Department of the Interior, and specifically in the National Park Service, which has told activist Steve Lane he will be prosecuted if he attempts to demonstrate waterboarding at Thursday's anti-torture rally in Washington, D.C. The permit for the rally reads "Waterboarding exhibit will not be allowed for safety reasons."

President Carter and Citizen Activists Witness Destruction in Gaza (Ann Wright / Common Dreams)
On June 16, 2009, former President Jimmy Carter spoke in unflinchingly blunt terms of devastating damage caused by the 22-day Israeli military assault on Gaza and the failure of the international community to help the citizens of Gaza after the military destruction of homes, government offices and industries.

Heed Voices Calling for Justice for Palestinians (Huwaida Arraf / Special to The Seattle Times)
e Palestinians are often asked where the Palestinian Gandhi is and urged to adopt nonviolent methods in our struggle for freedom from Israeli military rule. On April 17, an Israeli soldier killed my good friend Bassem Abu Rahme at a nonviolent demonstration against Israeli confiscation of Palestinian land. Bassem was one of many Palestinian Gandhis.

Obama and Anti-War Democrats (Norman Solomon, t r u t h o u t | Perspective)
As a close vote neared on a supplemental funding bill for more war in Iraq and Afghanistan, The San Francisco Chronicle reported that "the White House has threatened to pull support from Democratic freshmen who vote no." In effect, it was so important to President Obama to get the war funds that he was willing to paint a political target on the backs of some of the gutsiest new progressives in Congress.

Gonzales's Advice to Bush on How to Avoid War Crimes (Jason Leopold / t r u t h o u t | Report)
On January 25, 2002, then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales advised George W. Bush in a memo to deny al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners protections under the Geneva Conventions because doing so would "substantially reduces the threat of domestic criminal prosecution under the War Crimes Act" and "provide a solid defense to any future prosecution."

CIA Mistaken on 'High-Value' Detainee, Document Shows (Peter Finn and Julie Tate / Washington Post )
An al-Qaeda associate captured by the CIA and subjected to harsh interrogation techniques said his jailers later told him they had mistakenly thought he was the No. 3 man in the organization's hierarchy and a partner of Osama bin Laden, according to newly released excerpts from a 2007 hearing.

CIA Refuses to Release Torture Report (World Can’t Wait & The Washington Post)
The CIA is pushing the Obama administration to maintain the secrecy of significant portions of a comprehensive internal account of the agency's interrogation program. The CIA is urging the suppression of passages describing in graphic detail how the agency handled its detainees, arguing that the material could damage ongoing counterterrorism operations.

Carter Grieves for Gaza as Lieberman Vows No Keep Building Settlements (Al Jazeera)
Jimmy Carter has spoken of his "grief and despair" at seeing the destruction in the Gaza Strip carried out by Israel's 22-day offensive on the territory six months ago.Meanwhile, Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli foreign minister, has said his country could not accept a "complete" freeze on settlement building in the West Bank, despite US calls to do so.

Army’s Olive Drab Turns Brighter Shade of Green (Cassandra Stern / Apollo News Service )
Few realize that the US Department of Defense is one of the largest purchasers and users of green energy in the country. The Air Force is the government’s largest buyer and the Army’s Fort Carson Base is home to the seventh largest photovoltaic (PV) generating station in the nation.

Downloading Disaster: Cyberscares About Cyberwars (Frida Berrigan / TomDispatch)
As though we don't have enough to be afraid of already, what with armed lunatics mowing down military recruiters and doctors, the H1N1 flu virus, the collapse of bee populations, rising seas, flailing states, North Korea, al-Qaeda wannabes in New York with terrorist aspirations, and who knows what else — now cyberjihadis are evidently poised to steal our online identities, hack into our banks, take over our Flickr and Facebook accounts, and create havoc on the World Wide Web.

Neo-Nazis Are in the Army Now (Matt Kennard / The Nation)
Army regulations prohibit soldiers from participating in racist groups, and recruiters are instructed to keep an eye out for suspicious tattoos. But, snce the launch of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US military has struggled to recruit and reenlist troops. As the conflicts have dragged on, the military has loosened regulations, opening the military's doors to neo-Nazis, white supremacists and gang members

Buchenwald, D-Day, Communists, Hitler's Backers, Capitalism And Media ( Jay Janson / Countercurrents.org)
World War II, the Holocaust and incomprehensible extermination of six million Jewish Europeans and the non-Jewish victims of the death camps, which, while never denied, are certainly less often mentioned — all three of these connected events should be studied in the context of the many eminent American and European industrialists and bankers who made fortunes backing German rearmament under Hitler.

Nuclear Disaster Averted by Dirty Laundry (Louise Gray / The [Independent)
A radioactive leak that could have caused Britain's worst nuclear disaster was only averted when a worker in an adjoining room spotted water as he sorted laundry, according to a newly-obtained official report.

ACTION ALERT: Only 3 More Votes Needed to Stop War Spending Bill (Voters for Peace & Democrats.com)
According to Democrats.com: "All 178 House Republicans plan to vote against the $100 billion Iraq/Af/Pak War Supplemental to protest $5 billion for the International Monetary Fund. That means 39 Democratic opponents could defeat the bill. 36 Democrats promised to vote no, so we only need 3 more." See below for action links and phone numbers.

15 Months after Bloodbath in Iraq, Young Veteran Takes his Life (The Sacramento Bee)
On March 7, 2007, Army Spc. Trevor Hogue was inside his barracks in Baghdad, describing his morning on the battlefield. That day the young soldier saw his sergeant blown to pieces. He saw the bodies of half of the men in his platoon torn apart. "I saw things today that I think will mess me up for life," Hogue typed to his mother. Last week, he committed suicide by hanging himself in the backyard of his childhood home. He was 24 years old.

Agent Orange Continues to Poison Vietnam (Marjorie Cohn / t r u t h o u t | Perspective)
From 1961 to 1971, the US military sprayed Vietnam with Agent Orange, which contained large quantities of Dioxin, in order to defoliate the trees for military objectives. Between 2.5 and 4.8 million people were exposed to Agent Orange. Several treaties the United States has ratified require an effective remedy for violations of human rights. It is time to make good on Nixon's promise and remedy the terrible wrong the US government perpetrated on the people of Vietnam.

Pelosi Pushes Democrats To Vote For War Money (Adam Graham-Silverman / Congressional Quarterly)
House leaders appear ready to push ahead with a floor vote on the next war funding bill as early as Tuesday. It’s not yet clear that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has persuaded enough fellow Democrats to support it. Democrats are the ones who’ll have to supply the votes because Republicans say they are going to stay united and vote against it.

Downloading Disaster: Cyberscares About Cyberwars (Frida Berrigan / TomDispatch)
As though we don't have enough to be afraid of already, what with armed lunatics mowing down military recruiters and doctors, the H1N1 flu virus, the collapse of bee populations, rising seas, flailing states, North Korea, al-Qaeda wannabes in New York with terrorist aspirations, and who knows what else — now cyberjihadis are evidently poised to steal our online identities, hack into our banks, take over our Flickr and Facebook accounts, and create havoc on the World Wide Web.

UN Official Urges New Tactics in Afghanistan (Adam B. Ellick / New York Times)
In unusually firm remarks, Kai Eide, the chief of the UN mission in Afghanistan, has said there is "an urgent need to review" Special Operations forces. The official called the political costs of civilian casualties from US/NATO special operations air strikes "disproportionate to the military gains," and said the Special Operations forces needed to become "more Afghanized."

CIA Secrecy on Pakistan Drone Attacks Data Hides Abuses (Gareth Porter / Inter Press Service)
The US Central Intelligence Agency’s refusal to share with other agencies even the most basic data on the bombing attacks by remote-controlled unmanned predator drones in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal region, combined with recent revelations that CIA operatives have been paying Pakistanis to identify the targets, suggests that managers of the drone attacks programmes have been using the total secrecy surrounding the programme to hide abuses and high civilian casualties.

US: Congress Reviews Military Contracts, Kabul Embassy Scandal (Pratap Chatterjee / IPS)
KBR, a firm linked to former VP Dick Cheney's firm, Halliburton, received $30 million to build an unneeded dining facility in Iraq. An ArmorGroup official spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy counterfeit boots from his wife's company. These abuses prompted Claire McCaskill chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, to investigate ArmorGroup's five-year, $189.3-million contract in an attempt to answer the question: "Do we have criminals working for us?

Accountability: The Futility of the War on Terror (Charles J. Hanley / Associated Press)
If a terrorist nuclear bomb destroyed the heart of a great city, how would we know who did it, with what? Mideast fanatics with a device improvised from stolen uranium? A weapon smuggled in by a rogue regime? A hijacked US bomb? Where do you strike back? How do you head off another attack?

Why Have We Stopped Talking About Guns? (Bill Moyers and Michael Winship / t r u t h o u t | Perspective)
There is much talk about hate talk; hate crimes against blacks, whites, immigrants, Muslims, Jews; about violence committed in the name of bigotry or religion. But why don't we talk about guns? We're arming ourselves to death. Even as gunshots ricocheted around the country, an amendment allowing concealed weapons in national parks snuck into the popular credit card reform bill. Another victory for the gun lobby, to sounds of silence from the White House.

Iran: A Female Voter's Perspective (Tara Mahtafar / Al Jazeera)
Commentary: "Many gave the 2005 presidential election the cold shoulder and these "silent voters" unwittingly contributed to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s ascent to power.... Four years of Ahmadinejad’s bellicose foreign policy and savage mismanagement of the economy has roused those millions to drop their boycott on voting for fear of unintentionally aiding his re-election."

Azar Nafisi on Iran Election (Kathleen McCaul / Al Jazeera)
Azar Nafisi is best known as the author of Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books, an often harrowing portrait of how the Islamic Revolution in Iran affected one professor and her students.Nafisi insists: "The homogeneous picture of extreme belief where the majority of people believe in orthodox Islam which comes out of Iran is not true."

Judge Allows Civil Lawsuit Over Claims of Torture (John Schwartz / The New York Times)
The decision issued late Friday by a judge in San Francisco allowing a civil lawsuit to go forward against a former Bush administration official, John C. Yoo, might seem like little more than the removal of a procedural roadblock. But lawyers for the man suing Mr. Yoo, a US citizen named Jose Padilla, say it provides substantive interpretation of constitutional issues for all detainees and could have a broad impact.

After More Civilian Deaths, US Agrees to 'Review' Afghan Tactics
he newly appointed commander of US forces in Afghanistan is to review military tactics in the region in response to widespread anger about the high number of civilian casualties. General Stanley McChrystal says his focus will be on balancing the "short-term tactical impact" of operations with the "long-term strategic effect".

Cover-up Claim after Peru Clashes (BBC News)
Human rights lawyers have accused Peru's government of a cover-up, after clashes between police and indigenous protesters killed at least 50 people. The lawyers say hundreds more may be missing, amid rumours that the police have hidden bodies. But they say rights groups cannot get in to investigate. The government denies the claims and says police were the victims.

How Americans Came to Support Torture, in Five Steps (Roy Eidelson /TruthOut & AlterNet)
In recent weeks, new revelations about the harsh interrogation and torture of detainees during the Bush administration years have made headlines and stirred controversy. The positions of prominent advocates and opponents on each side are clear. But what do we know about how the American people in general have come to view the use of torture by the U.S. government?

ACTION ALERT: Stop the $106 Billion War Spending Supplemental
The Virtual Phonebank is a new tool that will connect your phone to each key office and even let you leave a message after hours. Ask all the fence-sitting congress members to vote No on the $106 billion war supplemental.

KBR, Halliburton Sued over War-zone’s Toxic Burn Pits (Sue Sturgis / Grist & Facing South)
Confronted with the need to dispose of enormous quantities of war-related trash including batteries, pesticide containers, medical waste and even human body parts, but lacking proper incinerators, private contractors working for the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan came up with a simple solution. They burned the trash in big, open pits.

Questions After A.Q. Khan's Resurfacing (J. Sri Raman/ t r u t h o u t | Perspective)
The Congressional Research Service has confirmed reports that Pakistan was expanding its nuclear arsenal. The CRS said: "Pakistan's nuclear arsenal consists of approximately 60 nuclear warheads. It continues fissile material production for weapons, and is adding to its weapons production facilities and delivery vehicles." India, for its part, has no dearth of nuclear militarists to promote this diabolical madness.

US-Peru Free Trade Agreement Sparks Indigenous Massacre (Tom Loudon / t r u t h o u t | Report)
During the last week, deep in the Peruvian Amazon, confrontations between nonviolent indigenous protesters and police have left up to 100 people dead. The vast majority of the casualties are civilians, who have been conducting peaceful demonstrations in defense of the Amazon rain forest. For months, as many as 30,000 indigenous people have been blocking road and river traffic to demand repeal of presidential decrees issued to inplement the US-Peru FTA.

US Towns Challenge Feds on Military Recruiting (Associated Press)
Arcata and Eureka, two towns nestled in the rugged coastline and the liberal politics of Northern California, have fought the federal government by banning the US military from recruiting minors within their city limits. Now the federal government is fighting back.

ACTION ALERT: Another Act of Domestic Terrorism (Kate Stayman-London / CREDO Action )
The deadly shooting at the Holocaust Museum underlines the urgency of finding ways to stop thes courge of gun violence in America. One action Congress can take is to close the gun show loophole that allows criminals and corrupt gun sellers to avoid the background checks required by the Brady Bill. Contact your representatives to let them know about your concern over the circumvention of gun legislation.

Conservatives Outraged at Homeland Security Report Characterizing ‘Right-wing Extremism’ (Raw Story)
An April 7 DHS report cuased waves of indignation among conservatives for labeling “rightwing extremism” the “most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States.” Surprisingly, the report found “no specific information that domestic rightwing terrorists are currently planning acts of violence,” but warned that the economic recession, coupled with the recent election of the first African-American President of the United States, is driving radical groups’ recruitment.

Rightwing Extremism Is Top Domestic Terrorist Threat (US Department of Homeland Security)
Threats from white supremacist and violent antigovernment groups during 2009 have been largely rhetorical and have not indicated plans to carry out violent acts. Nevertheless, the consequences of a prolonged economic downturn—including real estate foreclosures, unemployment, and an inability to obtain credit—could create a fertile recruiting environment for rightwing extremists

Iraq's New Death Squads (Shane Bauer / The Nation)
The Iraq Special Operations Forces is probably the largest special forces outfit ever built by the US. It is free of the controls that most governments employ to rein in such lethal forces. The US Army's Special Forces and Green Berets trained mostly 18-year-old Iraqis with no prior military experience to create a deadly, elite, covert unit, fully fitted with US equipment and designed to operate under US command, unaccountable to Iraqi government officials.

Officials: US Made Mistakes in Afghan Attack (Karen DeYoung / Washington Post)
US military personnel in western Afghanistan failed to follow established procedures in a battle with the Taliban last month that killed dozens of Afghan civilians. Among the rules violated or poorly followed were poor initial planning for combat in a populated area and the dropping of a 2,000-pound bomb from a B-1 bomber on a building without proper visual and ground confirmation of the target. The attack killed between 97 and 140 civilians.

The Green Zone: The Environmental Costs of Militarism (Barry Sanders: Book Excerpt / AK Press )
When we declare war on a foreign nation, we now also declare war on the Earth, on the soil and plants and animals, the water and wind and people, in the most far-reaching and deeply infecting ways. A bomb dropped on Iraq explodes around the world. We have no way of containing the fallout. Technology fails miserably here. War insinuates itself, like an aberrant gene and, left unchecked, has the capacity for destroying the Earth’s complex and sometimes fragile system.

Justice for Pakistan's 'Disappeared' Delayed (James Palmer / San Francisco Chronicle Foreign Service)
Hundreds of Pakistanis have vanished during the rule of former president Pervez Musharraf (1999-2008), according to Defense of Human Rights, a national organization based in this northern city. Since its formation in 2005, Defense of Human Rights has registered 640 disappearances. Since then, 150 have been released and 70 have been located and are still in custody. The group also estimates that as many as 10,000 people disappeared during Musharraf's rule.

Obama's Speech: The Tone and the Music (Uri Avnery / Gush-Shalom)
One man spoke to the world, and the world listened. He walked onto the stage in Cairo, alone, without hosts and without aides, and delivered a sermon to an audience of billions. Egyptians and Americans, Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Arabs, Sunnis and Shiites, Copts and Maronites – and they all listened attentively.

Shell Settles Nigeria Deaths Case (BBC News)
Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to pay $15.5 million to settle a lawsuit which accused the oil firm of complicity in rights abuses in Nigeria and the death of artist and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa who was executed along with other anti-Shell activists in 1995. The case, due for trial in the US next week, was brought by relatives of the activists murdered by Nigeria's military rulers.

Global Military Spending Surges (Al Jazeera & Reuters)
Global military spending surged to a record $1,464 billion last year, with the US maintaining its position as the world's leading arms spender, a report by a Swedish monitoring group has said. Meanwhile, Chinese military spending is on the rise, with Beijing becoming the second biggest military buyer.

Russia: no nuclear cuts if US unclear on missile defence (Agence France-Presse)
Russia's military on Friday warned the US that it would not reduce its nuclear arsenal until Washington made clear whether or not it would go ahead with a controversial missile shield in Central Europe. The comments by the country's top general exposed a potential hitch as the two sides hold talks on replacing a key Cold War-era nuclear arms reduction treaty by the end of the year.

Final Chemical Agent Disposal Campaign Begins at Umatilla (Global Security Newswire & Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons)
The final chemical agent demilitarization campaign is under way at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon. Transport of bulk containers filled with mustard blister agent began on June 4, 2009. The chemical weapons destruction facility located at Pueblo will destroy 2,371 metric tonnes of mustard agent stored in different types of projectiles and mortars. To date, the facility has completed the destruction of all GB and VX agents, representing 37% of the original stockpile at that site.

The Elephant in the Room: Israel’s Nuclear Weapons ( David Morrison / Special to Environmentalists Against War)
When President Barack Obama hosted a press conference in the White House on 18 May 2009. with Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu there was an elephant in the room with them — a large and formidably destructive elephant, which they and the assembled press pretended not to see. I am, of course, referring to Israel’s actual nuclear weapons systems, which are capable of doing to cities in the Middle East what the US did to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Who Will Stand Up to America and Israel? (Paul Craig Roberts / Information Clearinghouse)
“Obama Calls on World to ‘Stand Up To’ North Korea” read the headline. The US, Obama said, was determined to protect “the peace and security of the world.” We are witnessing the Washington gangsters construct yet another threat like Slobodan Milosevic, Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, John Walker Lindh, Hamas, Mahkmoud Ahmadinejad, and the hapless detainees US Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld called “the 700 most dangerous terrorists on the face of the earth.”

Chevron, Shell and the True Cost of Oil (Amy Goodman / TruthDig)
he economy is a shambles, unemployment is soaring, the auto industry is collapsing. But profits are higher than ever at oil companies Chevron and Shell. Yet across the globe, from the Ecuadorian jungle, to the Niger Delta in Nigeria, to the courtrooms and streets of New York and San Ramon, Calif., people are fighting back against the world's oil giants.

The Dark Side of Plan Colombia: How the US is Subsidizing Death and Drug Trafficking on Stolen Lands (Teo Ballvé / The Nation)
On May 14 Colombia's attorney general quietly posted notice on his office's website of a public hearing that will decide the fate of Coproagrosur, a palm oil cooperative based in the town of Simití in the northern province of Bolívar. A confessed drug-trafficking paramilitary chief known as Macaco had turned over to the government the cooperative's assets, which he claims to own, as part of a victim reparations program.

Russia: no nuclear cuts if US unclear on missile defence (Agence France-Presse)
Russia's military on Friday warned the US that it would not reduce its nuclear arsenal until Washington made clear whether or not it would go ahead with a controversial missile shield in Central Europe. The comments by the country's top general exposed a potential hitch as the two sides hold talks on replacing a key Cold War-era nuclear arms reduction treaty by the end of the year.

The Militarization of Public Health (William Engdahl / Global Research)
The French Government is developing secret plans to impose mandatory vaccination of the entire French population, allegedly against possible Swine Flu disease according to reports leaked in a French newspaper. The plan is without precedent and defies recommended public health advice. Pharmaceutical giants benefit from the move, as the Swine Flu increases the trend towards the militarization of public health and use of needless population panic to advance the agenda.

ACTION ALERT: Stop Rape as a Weapon of War (Raymond C. Offenheiser / Oxfam America & Marcel Stoessel / Oxfam International)
Sifa is a 23-year old woman living in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where mass rape is routinely being used as weapon of war to destroy women, families, and communities. The brutality she faced was one of more than 15,000 reported sexual violations against women and girls, even babies as young as 10 months and women as old as 80.

The Torture Trainers and the American Psychological Association (Stephen Soldz / Op Ed News)
The CIA's Torture Teachers, psychologists James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen [see Eban and Mayer for a reminder of their work], are in the news again. In a front page New York Times article on the interrogation of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, it is mentioned that the subject of the story, Deuce Martinez is now employed by the dynamic torture firm:

Torture Retorts (Eric Etheridge / The Opinionator: New York Times Blog)
Torture continues to be topic A online. The Senate Armed Services Committee released its 232-page report on military interrogations of terrorism suspects. Elsewhere online, the debate continued over the efficacy of torture. Serial sadists Bruce Jessen and James Mitchell, the psychologists who were the first to rationalize torture, are not covered under Obama’s immunity blanket and they should lose their licenses and face criminal prosecution.

Bin Laden Attacks Obama Policies (Al Jazeera & Reuters)
While most of the world was praising President Obama's address to the Middle East and the world, Osama Bin Laden insisted in a new tape that Obama is laying the foundation for long wars. Background: In a speech from 2008 addressed to "The Western Peoples," bin Laden sought to explain " the struggle between our and your civilizations, I mean the Palestinian issue."

The Health Risks of Nuclear Radiation: Toxic Link: the WHO and the IAEA (Oliver Tickell / The Guardian )
A 50-year-old agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency has effectively gagged the World Health Organization from telling the truth about the health risks of radiation. The effect of this agreement has been to give the IAEA an effective veto on any actions by the WHO that relate in any way to nuclear power — and so prevent the WHO from playing its proper role in investigating and warning of the dangers of nuclear radiation on human health.

Positive and Negative Readings of Obama’s Speech (Saed Bannoura / International Middle East Media Center & Agecnies)
The historic speech of US President, Barack Obama, at Cairo, was seen as a speech of reconciliation with the Islamic World, yet he referred to resistance as violence. He said that Hamas must “end violence, recognize the previously signed peace deals, and recognize Israel.” Obama also used the word “occupation” when referring to Israel’s control over the West Bank, but he did not ask Israel to officially recognize the internationally guaranteed Palestinian right of return.

Words That Could Heal Wounds of Centuries (Robert Fisk / The Independent (UK))
Preacher, historian, economist, moralist, schoolteacher, critic, warrior, imam, emperor. Sometimes you even forgot Barack Obama was the President of the United States of America. Will his lecture to a carefully chosen audience at Cairo University "re-imagine the world" and heal the wounds of centuries between Muslims and Christians? Will it resolve the Arab-Israeli tragedy after more than 60 years? If words could do the job, perhaps...

Bin Laden: Obama's Pakistan Support Inflamed Hatred Toward The US (Maamoun Youssef / Huffington Post & Reuters)
Osama bin Laden threatened Americans in a new audio recording aired Wednesday, saying President Barack Obama inflamed hatred toward the US by ordering Pakistan to crack down on militants in Swat Valley and block Islamic law there. Bin Laden claimed US pressure led to a campaign of "killing, fighting, bombing and destruction" that prompted the exodus of a million Muslims from Swat in northwest Pakistan.

US Apologies for Killing Afghan Civilians (Reuters & Agence France-Presse)
The deadly US air attack in May 2009 resulted in the mass-killing of civilians and stoked Afghan anger with some Afghans angrily denouncing America as “the world’s biggest terrorist.” After initially denying the deaths, the US has now apologized.

Spain's 'World Court' May Be Restricted (Helene Zuber /Der Spiegel)
Victims of human rights abuses from around the world have turned to Spain's National Court for help from its bold examining magistrates. But now the Spanish government, responding to pressure from abroad, wants to clip the court's wings. Both the Israeli and US governments have put pressure on Spain to detail judicial questioning of Israel's war crimes and America's illegal use of torture, kidnapping and imprisonment without trial.

UN Human Rights Council Blasts US for Killing Civilians, Drone Attacks and Using Mercenaries (Jeremy Scahill / Rebel Reports)
he UN Human Rights Council has issued a report blasting the US for killing civilians, violating human rights and creating a “zone of impunity” for unaccountable private contractors to fight its wars. The UN group also criticized the US use of drones to attack Pakistan. The report, released this week was authored by Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

Is Obama Serious about a Palestinian State? (David Morrison / Special to Environmentalists Against War)
The phrase “two-state solution” didn’t cross the lips of Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, at his press conference with President Barack Obama in the White House on 18 May 2009. Obama made it clear at the press conference that achieving a “two-state solution” was now a US foreign policy objective. But Obama has not spelt out in what sense a two-state solution is in the national interests of the United States.

ACTION ALERT: Fire Casey: We Need a New Top Dog in the Army! (Winograd for Congress & PeaceTeam.net)
The headlines read — "Army Chief Says US Ready to be in Iraq 10 Years." Did General George Casey, the Army Chief of Staff, somehow miss the message of the Presidential election? Marcy Winograd, 36th congressional district candidate, reminds General Casey that the American people voted for a President who promised to get us out of Iraq, not to prolong the agony of occupation.

Talking to Terrorists - A Strategy that Works (John Arquilla / San Francisco Chronicle)
While the fruitless, unseemly debate about the possible value of the U.S. government having tortured terrorists drags on, the notion of talking to terrorists has been all but forgotten. This despite the fact that torture obviously hasn't worked - if it did, the war on terrorism would be over by now - but talking almost always has.

Protests against US Torture in 16 US Cities (World Can't Wait)
On May 28, World Can't Wait and other activist organizations protested in 16 cities to demand that the Obama administration release the torture photographs, and prosecute the war crimes of the Bush regime. New information suggests that the suppressed photos contradict President Obama's statement on May 12 that they are "not particularly sensational." One demonstration coincided with Karl Rove’s appearance in Chicago.

Full Text of President Obama Speech in Egypt (Agence France-Presse)
I am honoured to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. For over 1,000 years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning, and for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt's advancement. Together, you represent the harmony between tradition and progress.... have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect.

Here Comes Summer, and Iraqis Brace for an Ordeal: Power Shortage Looms (Nizar Latif, / The National — Arab Emirates)
Another summer is on its way and for Iraqis that means the grim and inevitable prospect of temperatures so high that days and nights become a kind of physical endurance test. Despite hundreds of millions of dollars in investment by the Iraqi government aimed at getting the national grid fully operational, most neighbourhoods still rely heavily on small diesel generators run by local businessmen.

Busted, Pentagon: Why The Photos Probably Do Show Detainees Sodomized and Raped (Naomi Wolf / The Huffington Post)
Highly perverse, systematic sexual torture and sexual humiliation was, original documents reveal, directed from the top; Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rice were present in meetings where sexual humiliation was discussed as policy; the Defense Authorization Act of 2007 was written specifically to allow certain kinds of sexual abuse, such as forced nakedness. Rumsfeld is on the record consulting with subordinates about the policy and practice of sexual humiliation.

Amnesty Report Warns World on Verge of Global Unrest (Uprising Radio & Amnesty International)
The USA has long denied the validity of economic and social rights and is not a state party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The economic crisis should not become a pretext for wealthier countries to cut back on their development assistance. International aid is even more important now in the economic downturn to support some of the poorest countries deliver core services on health, education, sanitation and housing.

Three GI Resisters Tell their Stories (Dee Knight / Workers World)
In real life Travis Bishop is best known for his acoustic country music CD, “So Here We Go.” He is also known as Sgt. Bishop, currently AWOL from Fort Hood after refusing to deploy with the 57th Elite Service Battalion to Afghanistan.

Tentative Deal Struck for Funding War (Andrew Taylor / The Associated Press)
Top House and Senate Democrats reached a tentative agreement on an almost $100 billion war funding bill Monday, including a generous new line of credit for the International Monetary Fund. At the core of the measure is President Barack Obama's war funding request, which included $76 billion for Pentagon operations.

Pakistan City Centre 'Destroyed' (BBC World News)
Taliban rebels were driven out of Mingora on Saturday by Pakistan government troops. The scale of the war damage to the main city in the Swat valley has become clear. A BBC correspondent who went to Mingora has reported widespread damage — all the buildings and shops in the town square had been completely destroyed. With water, food, electricity and fuel unavailable, the International Red Cross said it was "gravely concerned" by the humanitarian situation in Swat.

ACTION ALERT: June is Torture Awareness Mont (National Religious Campaign Against Torture)
The fight to end US-sponsored torture is not over. At noon on June 11, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture will sponsor a major religious public event in front of the White House asking President Obama to create a Commission of Inquiry. A broad community of religious organizations have made Torture Awareness Month resources available online. See below.

National Ignition Facility "Opens" Amid Continuing Controversy (Suzanne Bohan / Contra Costa Times & Tri-Valley CAREs)
Nine years behinds schedule and $4 billion over budget, California's Lawrence Livermore Laboratory has officially opened its National Ignition Facility, 15 contentious years after the project's approval. While the local press repeated a NIF official's statement that "the dedication of NIF marks a new era," a local environmental watchdog group explains why the Lab's controversial decision to use weapons-grade plutonium poses an unprecedented danger to the surrounding neighborhoods

Iraq Redux? Obama Seeks Funds for Pakistan Super-embassy (Saeed Shah and Warren P. Strobel / McClatchy Newspapers)
The U.S. is embarking on a $1 billion crash program to expand its diplomatic presence in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan, another sign that the Obama administration is making a costly, long-term commitment to war-torn South Asia. The White House has asked Congress for — and seems likely to receive — $736 million to build a new U.S. embassy in Islamabad, along with permanent housing for U.S. government civilians and new office space in the Pakistani capital.

Sri Lanka Toll 'May Never Be Known' (Al Jazeera)
Rejecting a newspaper report claiming that 20,000 civilians had died in the final days of the conflict, John Holmes, the UN humanitarian chief, on Friday said the death toll was "unclear.". "I fear we may [never know], because I don't know that the government would be prepared to co-operate with any inquiry," Holmes said.

UN Calls US Human Rights Record "Deplorable" (Mark Benjamin / Salon.com)
The United Nations has released a new report on accountability for human rights abuses by the United States, focusing mostly on transgressions during the Bush administration's so-called war on terror. The report concluded that the Bush-Cheney administration had sponsored "alleged unlawful killings — including possible war crimes — in the United States' international operations."

Taguba Saw "Video of Male Soldier Sodomizing Female Detainee" (Jason Leopold / t r u t h o u t)
In 2007, shortly after he was forced into retirement, Army Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba made a startling admission. During the course of his investigation into the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, Taguba said he saw "a video of a male American soldier in uniform sodomizing a female detainee."

Torture and Truth (Jonathan Schell / The Nation)
Initially, President Obama dealt with the policies and practices of torture inaugurated by the Bush administration boldly, ordering an end to the abuses, announcing the closure of the detention camp at Guantánamo and releasing the Bush-era Justice Department memos authorizing torture. Subsequently, he seems to have grown cautious and has discouraged formation of an independent commission to investigate the torture.

US Army Base Shuts Down after Rise in Suicides (Dan De Luce / Agence France-Presse)
The commander of Fort Campbell army base in Kentucky has ordered a three-day suspension of regular duties to focus on a spike in suicides among his troops amid concern over a wider trend across the armed services. Last year 128 soldiers took their lives, up from 115 in 2007, as tours of duty since 2001 have come ever more frequently and last longer. With 64 confirmed or suspected suicides so far this year, the army looks likely to surpass last year's record numbers.

Maybe We Should Take The North Koreans At Their Word
Commentary: "The US has thousands of nukes and has them positioned all around the world to enforce the will of the American empire. The US is the only country on earth that has ever used nuclear weapons in war. What exactly gives the US the moral right to be lecturing North Korea or even Iran on who should or should not have nuclear weapons—except our chutzpah and our military power?"

Climate Change Kills 315,00 a Year; Obama's Climate Plan Undermined by Conservative Demmocrats (egan Rowling / Reuters & Kristen Sheeran & Mindy Lubber / Great Falls Tribune)
The Global Humanitarian Forum estimates that climate change causes 315,000 deaths a year. Meanwhile, Congress is considering landmark energy legislation that would accelerate our nation's essential shift to greater energy efficiency and new renewable energy sources, and start phasing out our dependence on foreign oil and dirty coal. Unfortunately, conservative Democrats are undermining the mill by pushing for continued use of coal and oil.

An Early Call for Obama's Resignation (Ted Rall / TedRall.com)
Commentary but author and political cartoonist Ted Rall: "We expected broken promises. But the gap between the soaring expectations that accompanied Barack Obama's inauguration and his wretched performance is the broadest such chasm in recent historical memory. This guy makes Bill Clinton look like a paragon of integrity and follow-through."

Abu Ghraib Abuse Photos 'Show Rape' (Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent and Paul Cruickshank / The Telegraph)
Photographs of alleged prisoner abuse which Barack Obama is attempting to censor include images of apparent rape and sexual abuse. At least one picture shows an American soldier apparently raping a female prisoner while another is said to show a male translator raping a male detainee. Further photographs are said to depict sexual assaults on prisoners with objects including a truncheon, wire and a phosphorescent tube.

The Rule of International Criminal Law: George Bush versus Bill Clinton (Prof. Anthony J. Hall / Global Research)
George W. Bush appearance with Bill Clinton on the stage of the Metropolitan Toronto Convention Centre raises the question: Should George W. Bush Be Arrested in Alberta and held for trial? The international crimes of Bush and many of his ministers and advisers have been so obvious and gigantic that citizens must mobilize globally to insist that the rule of international criminal law should be made to prevail over the rule of force and political expediency.

West Plots To Supplant United Nations With Global NATO (Rick Rozoff / Global Response)
Ten years ago it first became evident to the world that moves were afoot in major Western capitals to circumvent, subvert and ultimately supplant the United Nations, as the UN could not always be counted on to act in strict accordance with the dictates of the United States and its NATO allies. The first indication that the UN was marked for dissolution occurred n 1996 when the US browbeat the Security Council into deposing then-UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

Leaked Agenda: Bilderberg Group Plans Economic Depression (Paul Joseph Watson / Prison Planet.com)
On the eve of the 2009 Bilderberg Group conference in Vouliagmeni, Greece, reporter Daniel Estulin has uncovered shocking details of the secretive group's plans for the global economy. According to Estulin’s sources, Bilderberg is divided on whether to promote “a prolonged, agonizing depression … or an intense-but-shorter depression that paves the way for a new sustainable economic world order, with less sovereignty but more efficiency.”

Is Canada Becoming A Safe Haven For War Criminals? (Joshua Blakeney / Global Research)
World-renowned, award-winning journalist John Pilger commented on George Galloway’s autobiography: “Galloway’s work has saved countless lives, particularly in Iraq”. This is an accurate statement about the record of the five-times elected British MP who was described by Canadian Minister for Immigration Jason Kenny as “a threat to Canada’s security” and subsequently banned from entering Canada during March of this year.

VIDEO: Splitting the Sky vs Bush: Civil Resistance in the 21st Century (Global Research & WarCriminalsOut.com)
A native Mohawk named Dacajeweiah (which translates to "Splitting the Sky") attempted to make a citizen's arrest of former US President and accused war criminal George W. Bush to Calgary, Alberta, on March 17th, 2009. For his actions, he was arrested and charged with 'Obstruction of a Peace Officer'. He will plead NOT guilty. His legal defense will be 'Civil Resistance'.

Colonizing Culture (Dahr Jamail / t r u t h o u t | Perspective)
he geo-strategic expansion of the American empire is an accepted fact of contemporary history. I have been writing in these columns about the impact of the US occupation on the people of Iraq in the wake of the "hard" colonization via F-16s, tanks, 2,000-pound bombs, white phosphorous and cluster bombs. But there also is a less obvious but far more insidious phenomenon — "soft" colonization.

Memorial Day in Iraq: Who Will Do Justice to Victims of US Invasion? (Fatih Abdulsalam / Azzaman)
Commentary: "Iraqis killed, maimed, turned into refugees, and made homeless as a direct or indirect result of the 2003-US invasion are in millions. Who will do justice to them? The victims of the past six years, it seems, have turned into meaningless numbers about which nobody cares. They have apparently turned into erased lines in Iraq’s book of darkness, or graves with erased epitaphs in the desert of death."

General Disputes Cheney: “Torture Creates Terrorists” (Huffington Post & Brave New Films)
Dick Cheney's claim that torturing detainees has saved American lives is patently false. Watch as Matthew Alexander, the senior military interrogator for the task force that tracked down Al Qaeda-in-Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, explains how Cheney's torture policy was directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of American servicemen and women.

ACTION ALERT: Investigate Cheney's Iraq-Torture Scandal (Democrats.com)
Just five days after 9/11, Dick Cheney announced his plan to work "the dark side" on Meet the Press. For the next seven years, he fulfilled his promise through torture and other war crimes. Still, most of the Corporate Media refuses to cover the biggest scandal in American history. It's time for Congress to investigate the massive Iraq-Torture Scandal — and for the Department of Justice to prosecute Dick Cheney for creating it.

ACTION ALERT: Repeal the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (Center for Constitutional Rights &)
Last week, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Civil Liberties Defense Center and civil rights attorneys moved to dismiss the federal indictment against animal rights activists for "conspiracy to commit animal enterprise terrorism." Charges against the "AETA 4" include protesting, chalking the sidewalk, chanting and leafleting, and the alleged use of "the Internet to find information on bio-medical researchers." These actions are clearly protected by the First Amendment.

Livermore Lab Caught Conducting Illegal Restricted Bio-Experiments (Tri-Valley CAREs)
Tri-Valley CAREs recently received documents that the group had long been seeking under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regarding Livermore Lab’s biological agent programs. The records we received show that Livermore Lab violated federal regulations by conducting "restricted experiments" without the proper approval. Restricted experiments are experiments utilizing recombinant DNA that involve the deliberate transfer of a drug resistance trait to select agents like anthrax and plague.

North Korea Conducts Nuclear Test (BBC News & Al Jazeera)
North Korea says it has staged a "successful" underground nuclear test, prompting international condemnation. Government officials state the blast was more powerful than the previous one in October 2006. See Video report from Al Jazeera.

Anger over Palestinian Nakba Ban Proposal (BBC World News)
Some 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in the 1948 war after Israel declared independence. This is known as the Nakba. About 20% of Israel's population are descended from Arab citizens who remained on the territory that became Israel. New Israeli demolitions threaten a "second Nakba" — the largest number of expulsions since 1948. At the same time, right-wing politicians have proposed a law that would jail anyone who tries to commemorate the Nakba.

Provoking the Inevitable in Iraq: Behind the Recent Rise in Violence (Dahr Jamail / t r u t h o u t Perspective)
Iraqi government security forces, sometimes backed by the US military, have undertaken an ongoing mission to kill or capture both Sahwa leadership and fighters. The results of these attacks against the Sahwa are already evident in an escalation in violence that has taken two forms - a dramatic increase in spectacular attacks against Iraqi civilians and increasing attacks against occupation forces.

Rep. Kucinich: Have Dick Cheney Testify (The Note / ABC News)
During an interview with ABCNews' Top Line, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH-10) stated: "I think that Mr. Cheney should be brought before the Congress, made to raise his right hand, and have to testify about the statements he made that took us into a war, that created an increased national security problem for the United States," Kucinich said.

ACTION ALERT: National Protests Against US Torture on May 28 (Was Criminals Watch.org)
There is abundant evidence that war crimes were committed by the Bush Administration. Indeed more evidence appears on an almost daily basis. The question is very simple: Will any officials of the Bush administration who are responsible for the “war on terror” be indicted and held accountable for those crimes?

US Military Budget Saps Economy (Gavrielle Gemma / Workers World)
Once again the military budget is rising, dashing hopes that the new administration would reverse the course of the Bush years. As many as 100,000 troops are being added to the military, with 22,000 slated to go to Afghanistan. The annual budget of the Department of Defense will go from $487.7 billion to $527.7 billion this year. However, the cost of the Iraq/Afghanistan invasions and occupations, which is counted separately, will come to at least another $150 billion for the fiscal year.

Generals Find Suicide a Frustrating Enemy (Ann Scott Tyson and Greg Jaffe / Washington Post)
In 2008, 140 soldiers on active duty took their own lives, continuing a trend in which the number of suicides has increased more than 60 percent since 2003, surpassing the rate for the general U.S. population. To deal with the problem, the Army has added to the ranks of mental health and substance abuse counselors. The service also required all units to cease operations for two to four hours to talk about suicide prevention in February and March.

FBI Blows It: Supposed Terror Plot Against NY Synagogues Is Bogus (Robert Dreyfuss / The Nation)
Once again it is revealed that the "mastermind" behind a “domestic terror plot” was not Al Qaeda but the FBI. The Assistant US Attorney called the plot “chilling” when, in fact, the “bomb” and “missile” involved were both built and supplied by the FBI and the plot was drawn up by a paid FBI informant. Also: a report from the Masjid al-Ikhlas mosque.

Neocon Group Calls for Military Strikes on Media ( Jeremy Scahill / AntiWar.com)
Instead of honoring the 189 journalists killed in Iraq (at least 16 killed by US military forces), a right-wing commentator has attacked members of the free press as "a hostile third party.... killers without guns." Retired US Army Col. Ralph Peters goes on to state that "freedom of the press stops when its abuse ... strengthens our enemies." Peters reserves his respect for propagandistic "media establishments" that are driven by a "sense of sober patriotism."

Crash Landings: Is the New Wave of War Veterans Getting the Help it Needs? (Sarah Phelan / Bay Guardian)
As the US military wrestles with President Barack Obama's plan to expand the war in Afghanistan while reducing its presence in Iraq, there's a mounting cost on the home front for the 1.9 million soldiers who have been deployed to those conflicts and are now beginning the often difficult transition back to civilian life.

Public Showing of Italian 9-11 Truth Film Could Lead to International Tribunal (Deutsche Welle)
Italian filmmaker Giulietto Chiesa, one of Italy's most respected journalists and a foreign correspondent for more than 20 years, had produced a documentary that questions the official US version of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The film, in Italian, features novelist Gore Vidal, playwright Dario Fo, and retired professor David Ray Griffin whose research contradicts mainstream accounts of events of 9-11. Chiesa has called for a International Tribunal to investigate the truth behind the attacks.

ACTION ALERT: National Protests Against US Torture on May 28 (Was Criminals Watch.org)
There is abundant evidence that war crimes were committed by the Bush Administration. Indeed more evidence appears on an almost daily basis. The question is very simple: Will any officials of the Bush administration who are responsible for the “war on terror” be indicted and held accountable for those crimes?

Cheney Intervened in CIA Inspector General's Torture Probe (Jason Leopold / t r u t h o u t | Report)
Former Vice President Dick Cheney intervened in the CIA Inspector General's investigation into the use of torture against "high-value" detainees, but the watchdog was still able to prepare a report that concluded the interrogation violated provisions of the International Convention Against Torture. The report, which the Obama administration may soon declassify, was completed in May 2004 and implicated CIA interrogators in at least three detainee deaths.

ACTION ALERT: Heading to a National Park? Now You Can Pack Heat (David Lightman / McClatchy Newspapers)
Thanks to a 279-147 vote Wednesday in the House of Representatives, visitors to the nation's parks and wildlife refuges will be able to carry weapons there if they abide by state weapons laws. Gun control advocates howled Wednesday, but to little effect. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., protested "the bill has been hijacked," and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., maintained, "American taxpayers ought to be incensed." Contact Congress to express your opinion.

The Disease of Permanent War (Chris Hedges / Truthdig)
Commentary: "The embrace by any society of permanent war is a parasite that devours the heart and soul of a nation. It was a decline into permanent war, not Islam, which killed the liberal, democratic movements in the Arab world, ones that held great promise in the early part of the 20th century in countries such as Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Iran. It is a state of permanent war that is finishing off the liberal traditions in Israel and the United States."

The Almighty Renminbi? (Nouriel Roubini / New York Times Op-Ed)
The 19th century was dominated by the British Empire, the 20th century by the US. We may now be entering the Asian century, dominated by China. While the dollar’s status as the major reserve currency will not vanish overnight, we can no longer take it for granted. Sooner than we think, the dollar may be challenged by other currencies, most likely the Chinese renminbi. When this happens, our ability to finance our budget and trade deficits cheaply will disappear.

McClatchy: Cheney's Speech (Jonathan S. Landay and Warren P. Strobel / McClatchy Newspapers & Joe Sudbay / America Blog)
Analysis: "Former Vice President Dick Cheney's defense Thursday of the Bush administration's policies for interrogating suspected terrorists contained omissions, exaggerations and misstatements.... A top-secret 2004 CIA inspector general's investigation found no conclusive proof that information gained from aggressive interrogations helped thwart any "specific imminent attacks" according to one of four top-secret Bush-era memos that the Justice Department released last month."

Credit Card Gun Bill Would Allow Concealed Pistols in Parks — and the White House (Russell Krauss / Boise Liberal Examine & Carol E. Lee / Politico.com)
An amendment to the credit card reform bill reverses the 1983 Reagan ban on loaded guns in national parks and wildlife preserves, opening the door to gun-toting "opportunistic poachers" in our parks and alcohol-related gun accidents and deaths. And, since the US Capitol contains many National Park sites, the amendment makes it legal to carry concealed weapons into the Lincoln Memorial, the Statue of Liberty and even the White House.

ACTION ALERT: KBR Got Bonuses for Work that Killed Soldiers (Jeremy Scahill / The Nation)
The Department of Defense paid former Halliburton subsidiary KBR more than $80 million in bonuses for contracts to install electrical wiring in Iraq. The award payments were for the very work that resulted in the electrocution deaths of US soldiers, according to Department of Defense documents revealed today in a Senate hearing. ACTION: Sing a petition protesting the expenditure of taxpayer dollars to a company whose shoddy work is responsible for the deaths of US soldiers.

Blowback: A Canadian History of Agent Orange and the War at Home (Chris Arsenault / Rabble.ca)
Book Excerpt: "The reason for this spraying was to kill trees and other brush to make room for training areas, shooting ranges, and roads. It should not be surprising that contractors and the government itself tried to save money on labor costs at the expense of human health and the natural environment. In a market-driven economic system, this, sadly, is just the cost of doing business."

The Drones Are Coming: New War on Civilians (Ramzy Baroud / Global Research)
if one is to delineate a major difference in the Bush and Obama administrations regarding Afghanistan , it's the fact that Obama apologises when the number of innocent civilians killed by US air strikes is too harrowing to ignore. Another notable difference is that President Obama has committed 17,000 additional troops to the already war-devastated country, promising more bloodshed.

Retired Generals Call on Military, Citizens to Step Up to Climate Challenge (Bill Becker / Solve Climate.com)
Twelve retired admirals and generals who made the national security case for clean energy yesterday put two other important messages in their report. First, the U.S. military must do its part to help the nation shift away from fossil fuels. Second, the American people must get directly involved in protecting the nation from harm.

And He Shall Be Judged (Robert Draper / GQ Magazine)
Former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld has always answered his detractors by claiming that history will one day judge him kindly. But as he waits for that day, a new group of critics—his administration peers—are suddenly speaking out for the first time. What they’re saying? It isn’t pretty

To Meet June Deadline, US and Iraqis Redraw City Borders (Jane Arraf / The Christian Science Monitor)
On a map of Baghdad, the US Army's Forward Operating Base Falcon is clearly within city limits. Except that Iraqi and American military officials have decided it's not. As the June 30 deadline for US soldiers to be out of Iraqi cities approaches, there are no plans to relocate the roughly 3,000 American troops who help maintain security in south Baghdad along what were the fault lines in the sectarian war. "We and the Iraqis decided it wasn't in the city," says a US military official.

The Bush Torture Memos and Historical Amnesia (Noam Chomsky / TomDispatch.com)
Commentary: "The torture memos released by the White House elicited shock, indignation, and surprise. The shock and indignation are understandable. The surprise, less so.... Historical amnesia is a dangerous phenomenon, not only because it undermines moral and intellectual integrity, but also because it lays the groundwork for crimes that still lie ahead."

Situation Deteriorates for Women in Afghanistan (Women for Afghan Women)
Women for Afghan Women is appalled and outraged at the new law that President Karzai has approved, a law that legalizes rape within marriage and child marriage and makes it illegal for women to leave the home without a male relative’s permission.

Demilitarize and Prevent the Weaponization of Space! (Nebraskans for Peace)
Each year in the General Assembly, member states adopt a resolution on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) by an overwhelming majority. In fact, every country in the world votes in favor of negotiating a treaty on PAROS except for the US, which has voted for the past three years, and Israel, which has abstained.

David Attenborough: "Our Planet Is Overcrowded" (Alison George / The New Scientist Magazine, issue 2708.)
Veteran TV naturalist David Attenborough loves humans as much as other wildlife. But not when global populations are out of control. Talking exactly as he does on TV — breathily, enthusiastically, gesticulating to emphasise certain words — Attenborough is old-school charming. He seems at pains to be even-handed, to see both sides, an attitude he attributes to his early years at the BBC.

Peru Army Moves into Amazon after Tribes Blockade Rivers and Roads (Rory Carroll / The Guardian)
Peru's army is poised to deploy in the Amazon rainforest to lift blockades across rivers and roads by indigenous people opposed to oil, gas, logging and mining projects. The government has authorised the military to move into remote provinces where a state of emergency has been declared in the wake of a month-long stand-off between indigenous people and police.

FBI Infiltrated Iowa Anti-war Group before GOP Convention (William Petroski / Des Moines Register and Tribune)
Confidential FBI documents show an FBI informant was planted among a group described as an "anarchist collective" that met regularly last year in Iowa City. One of the group's goals was to organize street blockades outside the Republican convention, held Sept. 1-4, 2008. The Iowa City Police Department was not aware that an FBI informant was monitoring local anti-war activists last year.

Our President, Our War? Democrats Break with President (teve Weissman / t r u t h o u t | Perspective)
Commentary: As Congress prepared to vote for $97 billion in additional spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Congressman Jim McGovern introduced a resolution requesting that President Obama provide a detailed exit strategy for Afghanistan by the end of the year. With the help of a coalition of peace groups, McGovern and his colleagues in the Progressive Caucus gathered 76 co-sponsors, all in a very short time.

ACTION ALERT: Help Monitor Violence in Sri Lanka; Help Support Refugees (Amnesty International & Mercy Corps)
An estimated 265,000 Tamil civilians have fled the final battleground between government forces and the Tamil Tigers. Powerful satellite monitoring technologies can make the difference when lives hang in the balance and world leaders aren't moving quickly or decisively enough to stem bloody violence. Help AI uncover evidence of the tremendous human toll in Sri Lanka and help Mercy Corp support housing, water and hygiene to the civilian refugees of the conflict.

New GI Bill Too Popular for the Pentagon's Own Good? (Gordon Lubold / The Christian Science Monitor)
Veterans are scrambling to sign up for a generous new GI Bill, accepting a nation's collective thanks for serving in the military since 9/11. But there are questions about whether the government's magnanimity will create a military exodus.

Six Days in Fallujah: Videogame Takes War Profiteering to a New Level ( Jay Youngdahl / East Bay Express)
The marginalization of America's veterans continues. Their deaths and sacrifices, along with those of others who suffered and died in Iraq, are becoming the stuff of video games even while the war continues. Earlier this year, the game developer Atomic Games and game publisher Konami Digital Entertainment announced a new game called "Six Days in Fallujah."

Humans Seem Hell Bent on Committing Mass Suicide — But There's Still Hope (Fred Branfman / AlterNet)
Nobel laureate Doris Lessing’s novel, "Briefing for a Descent Into Hell," imagines other planets sending volunteers to try and save Earth. The volunteers are first informed of the scope of their mission and nature of the planet’s inhabitants during a "briefing" session. The basic problem is that human beings have not learned that everything is interconnected and "have not yet evolved into an understanding of their individual selves as merely part of a whole.

STRATCOM Simulates War With North Korea (Tim Rinne / Nebraskans for Peace)
The following “Nuclear Brief” was posted on the December 2, 2005 Nuclear Information Project web site. On November 18, 2005, U.S. Strategic Command’s new Joint Functional Component Command for Space and Global Strike (JFCC S&GS) achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC) at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. This includes nuclear preemptive strikes under CONPLAN 8022 (Global Strike), if ordered to do so by the President.

Afghanistan: US Should Act to End Bombing Tragedies (Human Rights Watch)
"Afghans have heard promises from the US before that they would take all possible steps to avoid civilian casualties," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "But if the US is to have any credibility, this latest outrage needs to be the last of its kind. The Petraeus review should result in measures that genuinely minimize civilian loss of life."

Ex-CIA Official: Agency Brass Lied to Congress About Interrogations (Jason Leopold / t r u t h o u t | Report)
"A CIA employee of two decades, McCarthy became convinced that 'CIA people had lied' in that briefing, as one of her friends said later, not only because the agency had conducted abusive interrogations but also because its policies authorized treatment that she considered cruel, inhumane or degrading."

World Court Opinion Needed on Nuclear Disarmament (Harvard Law School Human Rights Program)
The UN General Assembly should ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to clarify the legal obligation to achieve nuclear disarmament, said the International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) at Harvard Law School and the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms. IHRC and IALANA call for a new ICJ advisory opinion in a report they have released at a major UN conference taking place in New York this week.

Has Cheney been Murdering Americans? (Op Ed News)
Commentary: "The stunning revelation from our nation’s premiere investigative reporter, Seymour Hersh, that Vice President Dick Cheney was running an “executive assassination ring” directly under his control and outside of the normal chain of command has raised the specter that the Vice President of the US may have been murdering Americans. As a scholar who has invested a considerable effort in the investigation of the death of US Senator Paul Wellstone, this comes as no surprise."

Nuclear Weapons: Same Double Standards from Obama (David Morrison / Special to Environmentalists Against War)
Commentary: President Obama made a speech in Prague on 5 April 2009 in which he proclaimed “America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.” His seriousness about pursuing this commitment can be judged by the fact that he singled out two states – North Korea and Iran – neither of which, it is generally agreed, is a major nuclear weapons power. Obama chose not to mention the eight countries that DO have nuclear weapons.

Barbara Lee Speaks In Opposition to H.R. 2346, Supplemental War Funding (Hon. Barbara Lee / US House of Representatives)
“I opposed the 2001 resolution authorizing the use of force because I believed it gave President Bush and any future President an open ended blank check to wage war anywhere on the globe, starting in Afghanistan. Today, nearly eight years later, I oppose the supplemental appropriations bill for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq because it continues us down the wrong path and can lead to war without end."

ACTION ALERT: Vets and Voters Oppose War Spending and Afghan Surge (Farah Stockman / The Globe Staff & Voters for Peace)
President Obama's $94.2 billion war-funding bill would support 21,000 additional combat troops and military trainers for Afgrhanistan. Representative James McGovern of Massachusetts — who has launched the only effort in the US House to oppose President Obama's plans for the Afghan war — received an unexpected boost of support yesterday from a group of Afghan and Iraqi war veterans, who raced around Capitol Hill lobbying for his bill. See ACTION ALERT in second story.

Cut the Military Budget (Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) / Nebraskans for Peace)
Ten days before the November election — Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, set off a firestorm by calling for a 25 percent cut in military spending. The math is compelling: if we do not make reductions approximating 25 percent of the military budget starting fairly soon, it will be impossible to continue to fund an adequate level of domestic activity even with a repeal of Bush’s tax cuts for the very wealthy.

ACTION ALERT: US Military Fires an Arabic Linguist for Being Gay (Lieutenant Dan Choi / CREDO Action)
"I am gay." As an infantry officer, an Iraq combat veteran and a West Point graduate with a degree in Arabic, I refuse to lie to my commanders. I refuse to lie to my peers. I refuse to lie to my subordinates. As a result, the Army sent a letter discharging me on April 23. The letter is a slap in the face. It is a slap in the face to me, and it is a slap in the face to the soldiers who I have commanded and served with over the last decade.

Afghanistan & Guernica (Workers World)
The US Air Force bombed and strafed villages with heavy machine guns in the Farah province of Afghanistan on the evening and night of May 4. Survivors buried 113 bodies, including many women and children. Later, more bodies were pulled from the rubble and some victims who had been taken to the hospital died. “The governor said that the villagers have brought two tractor trailers full of pieces of human bodies to his office to prove the casualties that had occurred.”

Dick Cheney Defends Torture — With Two Lies (AW Commentary & Face the Nation)
Asked for evidence that "enhanced interrogation"efforts were justified, Dick Cheney argued on Face the Nation that water-boarding had saved "hundreds of thousands of lives." He cited two examples but neither example had anything to do with the War on Terror, with Al Qaeda, or with any detained "enemy combatants." The threats Cheney falsely cited involved (1) a scientist with a major US ally and (2) researchers at a major US bio-weapons lab. A full transcript of Cheney's interview below.

ACTION ALERT: The Torture Testimony that Cheney is Trying to Drown Out (Sharon Kelly / Human Rights First)
Why is Dick Cheney suddenly making such a loud case for torture? His side of the debate is trying to drown out new evidence that torture actually weakened American security. Urge President Obama to set up a nonpartisan inquiry on torture to evaluate the full cost of abuses, look at how we got there, and come up with safeguards so we don't repeat the same mistakes.

Why We Are in Afghanistan: Blue Gold, Turkmen Bashes, and Asian Grids (Pepe Escobar / TomDispatch)
As Barack Obama heads into his second hundred days, let's head for the big picture — the tumultuous rush towards a new, polycentric world order. The Obama presidency has introduced us to a brand new acronym, OCO for Overseas Contingency Operations, formerly known as the Global War on Terror. It's on the immense energy battlefield that extends from Iran to the Pacific Ocean, that the Liquid War for the control of Eurasia is taking place.

When PTSD Comes Marching Home (William Rivers Pitt, t r u t h o u t | Columnist)
The soldier who shot five fellow troops in Iraq did so in a base clinic catering to service members suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He had served three tours in Iraq. As with the other soldiers who committed the above-described crimes, he suffered from PTSD, and in the end, his disorder became the catalyst for savagery.

CIA Refuses to Turn Over Torture Tape Documents (Jason Leopold / t r u t h o u t | Report)
he CIA claims the integrity of a special prosecutor's criminal investigation into the destruction of 92 interrogation videotapes will be compromised if the agency is forced to turn over detailed documents to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) describing the contents of the tapes, according to newly released court documents.

Some US Soldiers Forced to Steal Water in Iraq (Jeremy Rogalski / KHOU-TV)
Imagine a miserable summer day and add 40 degrees, making temperatures 130 or more. Next, add an extra 100 pounds of life-protecting gear to your body: bulletproof vests, guns and ammunition. And then imagine not having enough water around to drink. "We were rationed two bottles of water a day," said Army Staff Sgt. Dustin Robey, referring to 1 to 1.5 liter bottles. And he said that wasn't nearly enough. "You'll see guys throw up, you'll see them pass out," he said.

'More than 1,000 Civilians Killed in Attacks on Sri Lanka “Safe Zone” (Gethin Chamberlain and Mark Tran / The Guardian)
A doctor working inside the no-fire zone in Sri Lanka today told the Guardian that more than 1,400 people were believed to have been killed in two days of air and artillery attacks. He warned that reports from survivors led him to believe that as many as 1,000 more people could have been killed.

Britain "Appalled" by Civilian Deaths in Sri Lanka (Louis Charbonneau / Reuters)
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on Monday he was appalled by reports that hundreds of Sri Lankan civilians were killed during the weekend in what the United Nations has described as a "bloodbath."

U.N. Tells of ‘Bloodbath’ in Sri Lanka (Mark McDonald & Thomas Fuller / The New York Times)
As the UN warned a “bloodbath” was taking place in Sri Lanka, leading aid agencies said that both the government and the Tamil rebels it is fighting had shown a “wanton disregard for human life.” Food, water and shelter are in short supply inside the battle zone. An official with a Catholic relief group said that only one field hospital remained in operation, with doctors and other medical staff fearful of leaving their bunkers because of periodic shelling by the army.

ACTION ALERT: Help Stop the Sri Lankan Bloodbath (Avaaz.org)
Tens of thousands of civilians are trapped in a shrinking 3-square-kilometer conflict zone — bombarded by government artillery and used as human shields by Tamil Tiger rebels. The Japanese government, Sri Lanka's largest donor and closest regional partner, has the power to help stop this humanitarian disaster. Send a message to Japan´s Foreign Minister Nakasone demanding that Japan act to prevent further civilian deaths.

Doctors Raise Phosphorus Concerns After US Strikes in Afghanistan (Jon Boon / The Guardian)
Afghanistan's leading human rights organisation is investigating claims that white phosphorus was used during a deadly battle between US forces and the Taliban last week in which scores of civilians may have died. US forces in Afghanistan denied they had used the chemical but members of the UN mission in Afghanistan have been appalled by witness testimony from people in the village.

CIA Headquarters Micromanaged Torture (Jason Leopold / t r u t h o u t | Report)
CIA interrogators provided top agency officials in Langley with daily "torture" updates of Abu Zubaydah, the alleged "high-level" terrorist detainee, who was held at a secret "black site" prison and waterboarded 83 times in August 2002, according to newly released court documents obtained by reporter ason Leopold.

Will Congress Keep Paying for these Two Wars? (David Lightman and William Douglas / McClatchy Newspapers)
The debate over how - and how long - the United States should fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan returns to Washington's political stage this week as a wary Congress begins considering new funding for the conflicts. The House of Representatives is scheduled to spar over a $96.7 billion plan to pay this year's costs for the wars and flu prevention strategies, with final passage likely by the end of the week. The Senate Appropriations Committee plans to write its version on Thursday.

UN 'Appalled' at Sri Lanka Deaths (Al jazeera)
The United Nations secretary-general has said that he is "appalled" by reports of the recent killing of hundreds of civilians in Sri Lanka's offensive against the separatist Tamil Tigers. UN officials in Sri Lanka described the shelling as a "bloodbath".

Desperation in Pakistani Hospitals, Refugee Camps (The Guardian)
The Pakistan army's assault on northwestern Swat Valley, has prompted the flight of hundreds of thousands of terrified residents, adding a humanitarian emergency to the nuclear-armed nation's security, economic and political problems. Desperate refugees looted UN supplies in one camp, taking blankets and cooking oil.

Half a Million Flee Swat Valley (Andrew Buncombe / The Guardian)
Up to 500,000 terrified residents of Pakistan's Swat valley have fled or else are desperately trying to leave as the military steps up an operation using fighter jets and helicopter gunships to "eliminate" Taliban fighters. The UN said 200,000 people had already arrived in safe areas in the past few days while another 300,000 were on the move or were poised to leave.

Pentagon’s Black Budget Grows to More Than $50 Billion (Updated) (Noah Shachtman / Wired)
The Pentagon wants to spend just over $50 billion on classified programs next year, newly-released Defense Department budget documents reveal. “That’s the largest-ever sum,” according to Aviation Week’s Bill Sweetman, a longtime black-budget seer — a three percent increase over last year’s total.

US Threatens 'Military Force' against Hackers (Associated Press / The Independent)
Cyber espionage and attacks from well-funded nations or terror groups are the biggest threats to the military's computer networks. Air Force General Kevin Chilton, who heads US Strategic Command, asserted that the US would consider using military force against an enemy who attacks and disrupts the nation's critical networks.

Sri Lankan Armey Accused of Shelling Civilians (BBC News)
At least 378 people have been killed by fierce shelling from the Sri Lankan army in the past 24 hours, a health official has told the BBC. The doctor, working in the northern conflict zone, said 1,122 others had been injured - and more bodies were on beaches and by the sides of roads.

Pakistan War Refugees Reluctant to Move into Camps (IRIN)
housands of people displaced by fighting between government forces and militants in Swat Valley, North West Frontier Province (NWFP), have been pouring into the capital, Islamabad, but many are reluctant to move into camps for "cultural reasons."

Guatemalan Anti-mining Activist Wins Rights Prize (Shawn Pogatchnik / MSNBC)
Dr. Yuri Melini was awarded the Frontline Protection of Human Rights Defenders Award at Dublin’s City Hall, in Ireland. Dr. Melini, a leading Guatemalan environmentalist recently survived an assassination because of his efforts to stop the rapid growth of environmentally destructive mines in his mineral-rich Central American nation.

President Obama Outlines His Plan for Missile Defense (Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance / PRNewswire-USNewswire)
With an overall $8.2 billion spent on Missile Defense including Army Patriot Missile Defense systems at $400 million for 2010, missile defense still remains a core mission of the Department of Defense and President Barack Obama's Administration. The Department of Defense budget was increased by $21 billion, a 4% increase from last year while funding going to the Missile Defense Agency budget was decreased by $1.2 billion, a 13% decrease.

US Admits Air Raids ‘Partly to Blame’ in Deaths (Elisabeth Bumiller, Carlotta Gall,Taimoor Shah / New York Times)
US officials acknowledged Thursday for the first time that at least some of what may be 100 civilian deaths in western Afghanistan were caused by American bombs, as Afghan residents angrily protested the casualties and demanded that US forces leave the country.

Former US Soldier Convicted in Iraqi Family Deaths (Brett Barrouquere / Associated Press)
A jury convicted a former soldier of raping and fatally shooting a 14-year-old girl after killing her parents and younger sister while serving in Iraq. Pfc. Steven Dale Green faces a possible death sentence when the penalty phase of his trial begins Monday. Green, 24, of Midland, Texas, was tried in civilian court because he was discharged from the Army for a personality disorder before he was charged with the Iraq crimes.

Stopping Pakistan Drone Strikes Suddenly Plausible (Robert Naiman, t r u t h o u t | Perspective)
Counterinsurgency guru David Kilcullen has told Congress that US drone strikes in Pakistan are backfiring and should be stopped. Until now, Congress has been reluctant to challenge the drone strikes, as they are reluctant in general to challenge "military strategy," even when it appears to be causing terrible harm. Since 2006, we've killed 14 senior Al Qaeda leaders using drone strikes; in the same time period, we've killed 700 Pakistani civilians

ACTION ALERT: Keep the Pork out of the Pentagon Budget (Matt Holland / True Majority)
The full Pentagon budget hasn't even been drafted yet. But some members of Congress are already trying to slip billions of dollars of pork-barrel weapons projects into the supplemental budget request for Iraq and Afghanistan. The Air Force doesn't want the C-17, and the Secretary of Defense explicitly asked to *cut* the planes from the budget. The only people who still want the planes are the contractors — and the politicians who accept the money of the weapons-makers lobbiests.

Are Pakistan's Nuclear Arms Secure? (Al Jazeera)
Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani president, says his country's nuclear weapons are under tight control, with 10,000 soldiers guarding them. There are over a dozen nuclear sites dotted around Pakistan. Close to the North West Frontier Province, recent satellite photos show two plutonium-producing reactors at the Khushab site. The majority of Pakistan's nuclear weapons are to be found near the capital Islamabad, and the neighbouring city of Rawalpindi.

UN Accuses Israel of Gaza 'Negligence or Recklessness' (Rory McCarthy and Ed Pilkington / The Guardian & Al Jazeera)
A United Nations inquiry today accused the Israeli military of "negligence or recklessness" in its conduct of the January war in Gaza and said the organisation should press claims for reparations for deaths and damage. In response, Israel's President Shimon Peres, condemned a UN investigation into the use of devastating WMD phosphorous for an attack on UN facilities in Gaza as "outrageous" and "one-sided."

Civilians Flee as Pakistani Forces Hit Resistance (Sheikh Jana / The New York Times)
The Pakistani forces air-dropped commandos into the main town in Buner on Wednesday and quickly retook control of it from Taliban militants who flooded into the area last week. Villagers who fled the fighting and made it to this village on the plains said the military was bombing in Buner with fighter jets and firing rockets from helicopter gunships. Despite a curfew imposed by both the Taliban and the army, a cowherd in his 20s, said everyone was trying to get out of the district.

World War III: It’s Happening Today (Chuck Burr / Culture Change)
Commentary: "When you look at anything from our modern culture, think of war. Car, computer, toaster, light bulb, money, water, food, population, government, media—think of war. The more people, the more competition, the more war. We are just not using nuclear weapons. Resource war, class war, drug war, gang war, terror war, trade war, plus war on all other species is global. Is this the culture you want to say you belong to? Is your lifestyle worth it?"

US Bombs Kill More Than 100 Afghan Civilians: US Apologizes (Rahim Faiez / Associated Press)
The international Red Cross says its officials have seen dozens of bodies in each of two villages in western Afghanistan following a US bombing run that villagers killed as many as 120 civilians — including many women and children — in two Afghan villages. The US has apologized for the loss of life.

Citizens Protest Army's "Disneyland of Death" (Rob Kall / Op Ed New & Debra Sweet / The World Can't Wait)
The Army Experience Center, built in a Pennsylvania mall near opposite a popular skatepark, is a 14,000-square-foot mini-version of Disney world, with simulation rooms filled with life-sized military helicopters, a Humvee and a troop carrier all equipped with guns and surrounded by giant screens, where images of enemy combatants and innocent citizens are displayed. On May 2, 200 parents and children protested at the recruiting high-tech site and 11 were arrested.

11 Arrested near Fort LewIs Trying to Block Strykers Headed for Afghanistan (Sandi Doughton / Seattle Times)
Eleven people were arrested Saturday night trying to block a convoy of Stryker military vehicles from Fort Lewis in protest of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Some Thoughts about Torture. And Mr. Obama (William Blum / The Anti-Empire Report)
Commentary: "When George W. Bush said "The United States does not torture", everyone now knows it was crapaganda. And when Barack Obama, a month into his presidency, said "The United States does not torture"[1], it likewise had all the credibility of a 19th century treaty between the US government and the American Indians."

Environment Emerges as a Major Casualty in Gaza (Erin Cunningham / Inter Press Service)
An already deepening environmental crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip has been further compounded by the recent war. hroughout the three-week Operation Cast Lead, Israel targeted almost every aspect of the coastal territory's infrastructure. Homes, businesses, factories, power grids, sewage systems and water treatment plants were reduced to piles of rubble across the Gaza Strip.

Analyzing Obama's War Budget Numbers (Jeff Leys / t r u t h o u t Perspective)
President Obama is seeking an additional $75.8 billion in war funds for this fiscal year. It is possible that Congress will add to this amount before final passage. At first glance, it is easy to conclude that the proposed 22 percent reduction in war spending from 2008 to 2009 represents a significant shift in war strategy and is indicative of a drawing down of the twin wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sadly, such a conclusion would be wrong.

Pete Seeger Deserves One More Honor — the Nobel Peace Prize (Peter Dreier / Common Dreams)
More than 15,000 admirers celebrated Pete Seeger's 90th birthday with him at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, which included a greeting from President Barack Obama. Seeger's admirers have launched a campaign to nominate him for he Nobel Peace Prize. A petition signed by more than 28,000 individuals appears on a website designed to promote the singer/activist's nomination for the Nobel honor. It is well-deserved.

Scandal Flares as Video Shows US Troops in Afghanistan Being Told to Witness for Jesus (James Bays / Al Jazeera)
A former Afghan prime minister has called for an inquiry after the broadcast of video footage showing Christian US soldiers appearing to be preparing to try and convert Muslims in Afghanistan. In one video, the chief of the US military chaplains in Afghanistan, tells soldiers that, as followers of Jesus Christ, they all have a responsibility "to be witnesses for him."

Children as Unlamented Victims of Bush’s War Crimes (Michael Haas / Information Clearinghouse)
Those who support Bush’s pursuit of the “war on terror” have not been impressed by recriminations over torture or the murders of at least 50 prisoners in Abu Ghraib, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo. he case for abusing children, however, is more difficult to support. The best kept secret of the Bush’s war crimes is that thousands of children have been imprisoned, tortured, and otherwise denied rights under the Geneva Conventions and related international agreements.

Spanish Court Opens Investigation of Guantánamo Torture Allegations (Giles Tremlett /)
On April 29, a court in Spain opened an investigation into torture allegations against US military personnel at the Guantánamo detention centre. Judge Baltasar Garzón, an investigating magistrate at the National Court in Madrid, said he would investigate allegations made by four detainees who were held at the centre and later released without charges. The torture allegations include "sexual abuse", "beating" and the throwing of fluids into prisoners' eyes.

Hold Motorola Shareholders Accountable! (US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation)
After a year of the Hang Up On Motorola boycott campaign, Motorola's management still doesn't understand that they are responsible for their products systematically being used to violate Palestinian rights.

Detainee's Harsh Treatment Foiled No Plots (Peter Finn and Joby Warrick / Washington Post)
When CIA officials subjected their first high-value captive, Abu Zubaida, to waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods, they were convinced that they had in their custody an al-Qaeda leader who knew details of operations yet to be unleashed. n the end, though, not a single significant plot was foiled as a result of Abu Zubaida's tortured confessions. Nearly all of the leads attained through the harsh measures quickly evaporated.

WWII 'Time' Bombs Still lLtter Japan Island (Eric Talmadge / Associated Press)
Like former battlefields all over the world, the southern Japan island of Okinawa — home to more than 1 million people and the site of some of World War II's most savage fighting — is a tinderbox of unexploded bombs, thousands and thousands of tons of them, rusted and often half buried. The bombs are the bane of construction crews, divers and unsuspecting children.

Iranian Aircraft 'Hit' Iraqi Kurd Areas (Al Jazeera)
Iranian helicopters have attacked three Kurdish villages in northern Iraq in an apparent cross-border raid targeting Kurdish separatists,according to an Iraqi Kurdish border guard official. There was no immediate comment from Iran. The air raid, if confirmed, would be the first by the Iranian air force on the region.

Taliban Announce 'Operation Victory' (KavKaz Center)
Afghanistan's Taliban Mujahideen Wednesday threatened a new operation against occupation troops in response to a surge of thousands of extra US soldiers due in the coming weeks. ‘Operation Nasrat' (Victory), to be launched on Tuesday, would also target Afghan puppet officials and international diplomats with a wave of Shahada operations and attacks, claimed a statement from the Taliban. The full statement can be read from here.

Russia Thwarts Israeli Plan to Attack Iranian Airshow (Richard Cochrane / DebkaFile)
Iranian and intelligence sources disclose that Moscow warned Tehran Friday April 17 that Israel was planning to destroy all of its 140 fighter-bombers concentrated at the Mehr-Abad Air Force base for an air show over Tehran on Iran's Army Day the following day. The entire fleet was accordingly removed to remote bases and the display cancelled.

A Historic Day For Iraq (Robert Fisk / The Independent)
Commentary: "One hundred and seventy-nine dead soldiers. For what? 179,000 dead Iraqis? Or is the real figure closer to a million? We don't know. And we don't care. We never cared about the Iraqis. That's why we don't know the figure. That's why we left Basra yesterday. I remember going to the famous Basra air base to ask how a poor Iraqi boy, called Bahr Moussa, had died. He was kicked to death in British military custody. Yesterday, his country was set free from his murderer. At last."

A 100-Day Nuclear Disarmament Agenda: President Obama Scores High (David Krieger / Nuclear Age Peace Foundation)
At the end of 2008, following President Obama’s election but prior to his inauguration, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation put forward “A Nuclear Disarmament Agenda for President Obama,” focusing on his first 100 days in office. resident Obama has, in fact, acted quickly and boldly on a nuclear disarmament agenda.

Germany to US: “Yankee Bombs Go Home” (Der Spiegel)
Reacting to Obama's vision of a nuclear-free world, German Foreign Minister Steinmeier has called for American nuclear weapons to be removed from Germany. His stance is in opposition to Chancellor Merkel, who wants to keep the bombs to secure Germany's say in NATO.

European Parliament Recommends Complete Nuclear Disarmament by 2020 (Pol Dhuyvetter / Active Nonviolence)
On April 24, the European Parliament approved with a majority of 177 votes against 130 an amendment introducing the “Model Nuclear Weapons Convention” and the “Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol” (attached) as concrete tools to achieve a nuclear weapons free world by 2020. The amendment was introduced by the Ana Gomes for the PES and Angelika Beer for the Greens/EFA.

Chemical Weapons Must Not be Allowed to Spread, U.N. Chief Says (Global Security Newswire)
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon yesterday called for the international community to redouble its efforts to prevent the proliferation of chemical weapons. Ban issued his message on the Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare, which falls on the anniversary of the 1997 entry into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Costs of a Global Empire (Jim Quinn / OpEdNews)
Commentary: "Since 1990, the United States has depleted the US Treasury of $7 trillion for spending on Defense. With no military on earth capable of challenging us why would there be a need to spend this much on the military? As we spend $765 billion per year on weapons, 37 million Americans live in poverty, with 46 million uninsured. There are 3 to 4 million people homeless in any given year."

Hawaiian Rights Leaders' Letter to Obama (Hawaiian Independence Alliance)
Mr. President, we write to solemnly inform you of our categorical opposition to legislation now before the US Senate and House entitled "The Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act." This legislation proposes that the US Government recognize a "Native Hawaiian Government." We reject this bill because the historical harm the US committed in Hawai'i in 1893 brought down, not a "Native Hawaiian Government" but an independent Hawaiian Kingdom.

Shimon Peres Changes Tone as Iran-Israel Tensions Continue (DEBKAfile & Haaretz)
On April 13, Israeli President Shimon Peres told an Israeli radio interviewer that Israel was prepared to "strike him," referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But on April 30, Peres admitted that attacking Iran might not be the “best solution.” Meanwhile, the Israeli-Iran stand-off continues to cause problems for the US and Saudi Arabia.

Full Text of President Ahmadinejad’s Remarks at UN Conference on Racism (President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad / Information Clearing House)
Much has been made in the Western media about the speech of the Iranian president, with pointed references to delegates who chose to walk out in protest of the Iranian leader's remarks. But what, exactly did he say? This is a rush transcript of the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s remarks at the United Nations Durban Review Conference on racism in Geneva, Switzerland, on April 20, 2009. Transcribed from the translation given in the UN webcast of the speech.

UAE Guns for Advanced Weaponry (Ahmed Janabi / Al Jazeera)
Despite the global economic crisis, the United Arab Emirates, a country of under a million people, is set to see its total defence spending for this year soar to over $7 billion. The UAE, by 2008, had become the world's third-largest arms importer, behind China and India.

Going Nuclear: Navy Tries to Skip Out on Radioactive Cleanup in San Francisco (Sarah Phelan / San Francisco Bay Guardian)
From the 1940s to 1974, the Navy dumped industrial, domestic, and solid waste, including sandblast waste, on a portion of Hunters Point in San Francisco. Among the materials that may be underground: decontamination waste and debris from ships involved in atomic tests in the South Pacific that were showered with falloutl. Federal officials don't want to pay to haul 1.5 million tons of toxic and radioactive dirt off the site before it's used for parkland.

Pandemic: The Mysterious Deaths of the World's Microbiologists (Jolly Roger Revolution & Mark Harper / Rense.com)
Commentary: "By 2005, we lost 40 microbiologists in less than 4 years, all under suspicious circumstances, and during this time someone discovered that they were all working for the government, or government contractors, on projects related to bio-terrorism, flu pandemics, or anthrax. Obviously they weren’t trying to find a cure for anything, or there would be no need to silence them."

Chavez, Obama and Galeano (Richard Gott / The Guardian)
Some surprise has been expressed in the Anglo-Saxon world that Hugo Chavez should have presented a book to Barack Obama by Eduardo Galeano. Galeano is one of the most well-known and celebrated writers in Latin America, up there with Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and his huge output of fact and fiction, as well as his journalism, has been published all over the continent. His books have been continuously in print since the 1960s, read voraciously by successive generations.

NATO Warships begin Exercise with Pakistan Navy (DAWN.com)
ATO warships sailed out on Monday to take part in an exercise with Pakistan Navy and its air units against piracy, terrorism and human trafficking in the Arabian Sea. Nine warships, four of NATO and five of Pakistan Navy, are taking part in the exercise which has assumed great significance in the wake of latest incidents of piracy in the Horn of Africa.

World-famous Pianist Boycotts US to Protest Washington's Militarism (Mark Swed et al. / Los Angeles Times Blog)
Making his Disney Hall debut on April 26, in a recital sponsored by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Krystian Zimerman — who has become arguably the greatest pianist of his generation — made the surprise and shocking announcement from the stage that, in protest to America's military policies overseas and particularly in Poland, he would no longer perform in the United States.

Iran Arrests Bomb Suspects, Cites Israeli Link (Nazila Fathi / New York Times & Payvand News / Press TV)
An Iranian newspaper said Monday that the authorities had arrested a group of what it called terrorists linked to Israel, accusing them of planning to plant bombs in Tehran ahead of the June 12 elections.

House Judiciary Democrats Want Special Prosecutor for Torture (David Swanson / After Downing Street)
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. and 15 other Judiciary Democrats today called on Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special counsel to investigate possible violations of federal criminal law related to the interrogation of detainees. The attorney general acknowledged in his confirmation hearings that waterboarding is torture. The International Committee of the Red Cross has concluded that the United States engaged in torture of detainees.

Plan Would Deploy US National Guard Near Mexico (Mary Beth Sheridan, Spencer S. Hsu and Steve Fainaru / Washington Post)
The Pentagon and Homeland Security Department are developing contingency plans to send National Guard troops to the US-Mexican border under a $350 million initiative that would expand the US military's role in the drug war. The circumstances under which the troops could be deployed have not been determined, the officials said.

The World's Largest Refugee Camp: Human Tide of Misery Flees the Anarchy of Somalia (Daniel Howden / The Independent)
Recent refugees from the fighting in Somalia have joined a population of 267,000 and counting, in a facility built to shelter just 45,000. While the world has been captivated by the high seas drama of Somalia's pirates, this human tide has swollen the ranks of Dadaab, turning it into the world's largest refugee camp.

Al-Maliki Slams US Troops over Iraq Raid (Ernesto Londono & Zaid Sabah / Washington Post)
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Sunday denounced a predawn American raid in southern Iraq during which two Iraqis were killed, saying his government intends to prosecute US soldiers who carried out the operation. The incident marked the first time Iraq's government has called for the prosecution of US soldiers, setting the stage for a showdown between the two countries at a time when sectarian violence appears to be spiking.

On Patrol with Nigeria's Police (Andrew Walker / BBC News)
Municipal police agencies are ideally supposed to "serve and protect" the law-abiding civilian population but as this report from Nigeria illustrates, when an armed group of men is given extraordinary powers within a context of insecurity (understandable given the tenacity of the urban gangsters the police are tasked to control), the result is likely to deprive local residents of both their civil rights and any real sense of security.

California Towns Ban Military Recruiters (Steve Wiegand / The Sacramento Bee & Matthew B. Stannard / San Francisco Chronicle)
Last November, voters in Eureka and Arcata (population approved ballot measures that were collectively referred to as "the Youth Protection Act." Passed by convincing margins (73 percent in Arcata, 57 percent in Eureka), the act prohibits military recruiters from initiating contact with anyone under the age of 18 within the cities' limits. Violations can result in a fine of $100 for both the recruiters and their commanding officers. The Pentagon intends to challenge this law in court.

War On Cameroon’s Elephants Could Mean Extinction in 10 Years (Tansa Musa / Reuters)
orest elephants in Cameroon and the Congo Basin could be extinct within 10 years without measures to fight the illegal ivory trade and curb habitat loss. Poachers are also using more sophisticated weapons such as AK47 assault rifles, making it hard for local game park wardens to take them on. The weapons are freely available in a region with porous borders and conflicts in neighbouring countries. The massive circulation of war arms is boosting elephant poaching.

Cold Fusion Is Hot Again (60 Minutes / CBS)
When first presented in 1989 cold fusion was quickly dismissed as junk science. But, as Scott Pelley reports, there's renewed buzz among scientists that cold fusion could lead to monumental breakthroughs in energy production. Other scientists have replicated the experiment and even the Pentagon is working on the technology, convinced that there is "no doubt that anomalous excess heat is produced in these experiments."

First Black President Defeats US Antiwar Movement (Glen Ford / The Black Agenda Report)
Commentary: "The arrival of the Obama administration has crippled the US anti-war movement, which has neither the fortitude nor political depth to confront imperialism with a Black face. The Out of Iraq caucus on Capitol Hill might as well call itself the Out of Action caucus, since it can’t figure out a way to respond to President Obama’s expanding military budgets and wars. National anti-war organizations cling to the fiction that Obama is really seeking a military withdrawal from Iraq."

‘Terror’ Attacks Killed 7,473 Iraqis in 2008 (Zayna Sami / Azzaman)
Violence claimed 7,473 lives in 2008 in Iraq, the year which the government and US occupation forces say was relatively quiet. The figure, announced by Human Rights Minister Wajdan Salem, does not include Iraqi casualties resulting from US attacks or Iraqi government forces’ operations.

UK Police Arrest 114 People in Preemptive Strike Against Environmental Protesters (Juliette Jowit and Matthew Taylor / Guardian)
Police have carried out what is thought to be the biggest pre-emptive raid on environmental campaigners in UK history, arresting 114 people believed to be planning direct action at a coal-fired power station. The arrests - for conspiracy to commit criminal damage and aggravated trespass - come amid growing concern among campaigners about increased police surveillance and groups being infiltrated by informers.

Iraq Grants Oil Contracts to 8 Countries; Excludes US Firms (Fatima Kamal / Azzaman & Razaq Nameq / Azzaman)
The Oil Ministry has revealed the names of international firms that have won service deals to develop 11 oil fields in the country. A statement by the ministry said the contracts will be implemented with joint cooperation and participation from the Iraqi side. The companies come from Russia, Angola, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Vietnam, India, Japan and Britain. The list includes no US firms.

Military Warned against Policy Allowing Torture (Peter Finn & Joby Warrick/ The Washington Post)
he military agency that helped to devise harsh interrogation techniques for use against terrorism suspects referred to the application of extreme duress as "torture" in a July 2002 document sent to the Pentagon's chief lawyer and warned that it would produce "unreliable information."

Washington, Moscow Ready to Cut Nuclear Weapons but Pentagon Balks (The Army Times & The Associated Press)
Russia is prepared to "significantly" cut its nuclear arsenal if a deal is reached with the US, according to the head of the Russian General Staff, Nikolai Makarov. But in defiance of President Barack Obama's call for a "nuclear-free future," the Pentagon has begun work on a nuclear mission statement that envisions the US maintaining its atomic weapons stockpile for the next five to 10 years.

Abu Ghraib Victims Can Sue Interrogators (William Fisher / Op Ed News)
In a ruling that could have widespread implications for government contractors overseas, a federal court has concluded that four former Abu Ghraib detainees, who were tortured and later released without charge, can sue the USmilitary contractor who was involved in conducting prisoner interrogations for the Pentagon in Iraq.

'The Granny 7' Score One for the First Amendment (Joan Wile/ Op Ed News)
he "Granny 7," the seven intrepid women of the Granny Peace Brigade who were arrested and jailed on March 18, 2009, when they protested at the Times Square recruiting station against the Afghanistan war escalation and the retention of 50,000 troops in Iraq after the official withdrawal date, achieved a victory April 14 for the First Amendment principle protecting peaceful protest.

Africa: The Second Scramble for Africa Starts (Julio Godoy / All Afica.com)
Sub-Saharan African countries have of late become the target of a new form of investment that is strongly reminiscent of colonialism: investors from both industrialised and emerging economies buy or lease large tracts of farm land across the continent, either to guarantee their own food provisions or simply as yet another business.In doing so, investors even deal with warlords who claim property rights, as in Sudan.

Bob Gates vs. Lockheed Martin (Lou Dubose / The Washington Spectator)
It's no secret that Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants to close out production of the F-22. Gates has been a critic of the bells-and-whistles guys in the Pentagon, has argued against Cold War weapons systems, and in June fired the fighter jet's most outspoken advocates—Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and Chief of Staff T. Michael Moseley.

AP Iraqi Deaths Top 110,000 since 2003 (Kim Gamel / Associated Press)
Iraq's government has recorded 87,215 of its citizens killed since 2005 in violence ranging from catastrophic bombings to execution-style slayings, according to government statistics obtained by the Associated Press that break open one of the most closely guarded secrets of the war.

UN Report Discloses 6,500 Civilians Killed in Sri Lanka War (A; Jazeera)
Nearly 6,500 civilians have been killed and 13,000 wounded in fighting in Sri Lanka over the past three months, accord to a UN report. The UN estimates 50,000 are still trapped in the war zone.

Global Assistance Could Boost Protection, Security in Somalia – UN Expert (United Nations News Centre)
On the heels of donors pledging over $200 million for Somalia yesterday, a United Nations human rights expert stressed that these funds could greatly help protect civilians in the war-torn Horn of Africa nation and bolster its security forces.

Navy Slashes Energy Use through Variety of Projects (Tim Kauffman / Federal Times)
The US Navy's Guam base is set to become "the greenest military base in the world" as construction continues on one of dozens of high-profile projects being undertaken by the Navy in a concerted effort to cut energy use and decrease consumption of oil and other fossil fuels by harnessing solar power, wind energy and even ocean temperatures.

ACTION ALERT: Putting the Military to Work for the Environment (Green Living Tips)
If your green support group is planning an activity such as a local clean-up day or plant-a-tree activity, it's often quite easy to get some extra help from local military bases. All you have to do is draft a press release for the event, along with an invitation for all military members to attend.

Obama Dances with Drones (Steve Weissman / t r u t h o u t | Perspective)
Over a year ago, in March 2008, Newsweek reported that then-President Pervez Musharaff had given Washington "virtually unrestricted authority" to launch Predator drones from secret bases near Islamabad and Jacobabad. The Washington Post similarly spoke of a tacit understanding that Washington had with Musharraf and Army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani to allow US strikes on foreign fighters operating in Pakistan, but not against the Pakistani Taliban.

Dozens of Prisoners Held by CIA Still Missing, Fates Unknown (Dafna Linzer / ProPublica)
One of the newly released Bush-era memos confirmed that the CIA held an al-Qaeda suspect named Hassan Ghul in a secret prison and subjected him to "enhanced interrogation techniques." The CIA has never acknowledged holding Ghul, and his whereabouts today are secret. But Ghul is not the only such prisoner who remains missing. At least three dozen others who were held in the CIA's secret prisons overseas appear to be missing as well.

Xe, Formerly Blackwater, Still Operates in Iraq (Matthew Lee & Mike Baker / Associated Press)
Who really holds the power in Iraq? At least one private corporation seems capable of thwarting the wishes of both the Iraqi and US governments. Armed guards from the security firm once known as Blackwater Worldwide are still protecting US diplomats in Iraq, even though the company has no license to operate there and has been told by the State Department that its contracts will not be renewed two years after a lethal firefight that stirred outrage in Baghdad.

A Brand New Blackwater: Erik Prince Renames Mercenary Firm (Human Rights Now & Bruce Falconer / Mother Jones)
Just as it seemed everyone knew about Blackwater and its laundry list of scandals, the company pulled an all-too-common move of ducking a public-relations battering and organization-level accountability by changing it’s name. Poof. No more “Blackwater”, no more problem. Now, there’s just Xe (the company’s new name) and the “US Training Center”.

Senate Report Concludes: Bush Policy 'Led to Abu Ghraib' (BBC News & US Senate)
US government backing for the CIA's harsh interrogation methods set the tone for abuses by US troops towards detainees in Iraq, a US report says. It was not appropriate simply to blame low-ranking officers for what occurred at Abu Ghraib prison, the report by the Senate Armed Services Committee said.Top officials had sent the message that such acts were appropriate.

The Torturer's Tale (Jon Carroll / San Francisco Chronicle)
Commentary: "I am prepared to accept that torture has always been part of warfare.... But: We do have to save special contempt for the cold-blooded torturers, the ones in nice suits thousands of miles away from the action, sitting in nice offices writing thoughtful memos explaining why torture is not really torture, or not torture as defined by the Geneva Convention, or not torture per se, as it were, see footnote three.

Obama Defends Torture Data Release (Al Jazeera)
President Obama has sought to reassure CIA employees after the government released memos detailing the torture of al-Qaeda suspects. Obama, on his first visit to the CIA's headquarters as president, told employees he released the memos because much of the material "had been publicly acknowledged [and]... the covert nature of the information had been compromised. I have fought to protect the integrity of classified documents in the past and will do in the future."

Emanuel: Torture Policymakers in the Clear (Douglass K. Daniel /Associated Press)
President Barack Obama does not intend to prosecute Bush administration officials who devised the policies that led to the harsh interrogation of suspected terrorists, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said. Former Justice Department officials who worked on interrogation policies include Jay Bybee, now a judge on the San Francisco-based Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and John Yoo, a UC Berkeley law professor now on leave to teach at Chapman University in Orange.

ACTION ALERT: Impeach Torture-Memo Judge Jay Bybee (Kevin Zeese / Voters for Peace & Vincent Warren / Center for Constitutional Rights)
Bybee was the primary author of legal memoranda justifying torture during the Bush administration. When he was confirmed for the federal bench this information was denied. Now that Bybee's fundamental role is known, how can he remain a judge in the US federal courts? His lifetime appointment will continue the legacy of torture under President Bush, rather than put it behind us.

The Wrong Lawyers Face Imprisonment (Bob Egelko / San Francisco Chronicle)
A former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who accused a Bay Area company of flying him to foreign torture chambers for the CIA is at the center of a bizarre new case, in which his lawyers face possible jail sentences for writing a letter that asked President Obama to disclose how brutally he was treated.

The Bush Administration's Secret Legal Memos (American Civil Liberties Union)
For more than five years, the ACLU and other advocacy organizations have been seeking the release of Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) memos that supplied the basis for the Bush administration's interrogation, detention, rendition, and warrantless surveillance policies.

White House and DNI Repond to Release of Torture Memos (President Barack Omaba & Dennis C. Blair, Director of National Intelligence)
My judgment on the content of these memos is a matter of record. In one of my very first acts as President, I prohibited the use of these interrogation techniques by the US because they undermine our moral authority and do not make us safer....A democracy as resilient as ours must reject the false choice between our security and our ideals, and that is why these methods of interrogation are already a thing of the past.

Terror Suspect Waterboarded 183 Times in One Month; Children Tortured (After Downing Street & John Byrne / Information Clearinghouse)
According to the May 30, 2005 Bradbury memo, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times in March 2003 and Abu Zubaydah was waterboarded 83 times in August 2002. “The Pakistani guards told my son that the boys were kept in a separate area upstairs and were denied food and water by other guards,” the statement read. “They were also mentally tortured by having ants or other creatures put on their legs to scare them and get them to say where their father was hiding.”

Water Boarding Is Torture: The War Crimes Act of 1996 (George Washington's Blog / Global Research)
The War Crimes Act of 1996, makes it a federal crime for any US national, whether military or civilian, to violate the Geneva Convention by engaging in murder, torture, or inhuman treatment. The statute applies not only to those who carry out the acts, but also to those who ORDER IT, know about it, or fail to take steps to stop it. There is no statute of limitations, which means that a war crimes complaint can be filed at any time.

US Air Raids Killed Mostly Women and Children (Kim Sengupta, Defence correspondent / The Independent)
Air strikes and artillery barrages have taken a heavy toll among the most vulnerable of the Iraqi people, with children and women forming a disproportionate number of the dead. Analysis carried out for the research group Iraq Body Count (IBC) found that 39 per cent of those killed in air raids by the US-led coalition were children and 46 per cent were women.

Weapons That Kill Civilians — Deaths of Children and Noncombatants in Iraq (New England Journal of Medicine)
Armed violence, such as that in the ongoing conflict in Iraq, is a threat to global health.1 It causes serious injuries and deaths of civilians, makes orphans of children, traumatizes populations, and undermines the ability of communities to provide adequate medical care even as it dramatically increases health care needs.

Errant Drone Attacks Spur Militants in Pakistan (Gareth Porter / InterPress Service)
The U.S. programme of drone aircraft strikes against higher-ranking officials of al Qaeda and allied militant organisations, which has been touted by proponents as having eliminated nine of the 20 top al Qaeda leaders, is actually weakening Pakistan’s defence against the insurgency of the Islamic militants there by killing large numbers of civilians based on faulty intelligence and discrediting the Pakistani military.

War, Oil and Gas Pipelines: Turkey Is Washington’s Geopolitical Pivot (F. William Engdahl / Global Research)
The recent visit of US President Obama to Turkey was far more significant than the President’s speech would suggest. For Washington Turkey today has become a geopolitical “pivot state” which is in the position to tilt the Eurasian power equation towards Washington or significantly away from it depending on how Turkey develops its ties with Moscow and its role regarding key energy pipelines.

Human Body Parts (Dahr Jamail / t r u t h o u t | Perspective)
In Iraq, time leaves bloody marks upon each day of the ongoing US occupation. The policies of the Obama administration, adopted from the Bush administration, continue to wreak their havoc on the Iraqi people. The US-created a Sunni militia comprised mostly of former resistance fighters and even some members of al-Qaeda, that now threatens to resume anti-occupation resistance operations against the US military and Iraqi government security forces.

Book Tells of Female US Soldiers Raped by Comrades (Christine Kearney / Reuters)
"The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq," a book based on 40 in-depth interviews, recounts the stories of female veterans who served in combat zones and tells of rape, sexual assault and harassment by male counterparts. A 2003 survey of more than 550 female vets who served in wars from Vietnam to the first Gulf war found that 30 percent said they suffered from rape or attempted rape and 79 percent reported being sexually harassed.

Gorbachev: US Military Power Blocks 'No Nukes' (Charles J. Hanley / AP)
President Barack Obama's call for a nuclear weapons-free world is welcome, but the huge US defense budget may prove an "insurmountable obstacle" to reaching that goal, former Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev said. Disarmament talks would be "just rhetorical" if other nations were asked to give up nukes while the United States maintains an overwhelming conventional military superiority, Gorbachev said. What's needed, he said, are talks to "demilitarize" world politics.

Iraqi Gays Face 'Lives of Hell' ( Jim Muir / BBC News)
Posters have appeared on walls in the poor Shia suburb of Sadr City in eastern Baghdad, listing alleged homosexuals by name and threatening to kill them. The phenomenon seems mainly to be affecting Shia neighbourhoods, where a number of clerics have given sermons seen as homophobic incitement.

Obama Exempts CIA 'Torture' Staff (BBC News)
US President Barack Obama says CIA agents who used harsh interrogation techniques on terrorism suspects during the Bush era will not be prosecuted. Mr. Obama banned the use of methods such as sleep deprivation and simulated drowning in his first week in office. He has now released four memos detailing techniques the CIA was able to use under the Bush administration. Rights groups have criticized his decision.

Obama Offers to Stop Flow of US Weapons Killing Mexicans (Scott Wilson / The Washington Post)
President Obama is set to announce that he will push the US Senate to ratify an inter-American arms trafficking treaty designed to curb the flow of guns and ammunition to drug cartels and other armed groups in the hemisphere. Many of the guns used by the drug cartels travel south from the United States. Some assault rifles recovered by Mexican authorities have been traced back to US military bases.

ACTION ALERT: Tell Congress: Fund Aid, Not War (Friends Committee on National Legislation)
Next week, the House will consider President Barack Obama's request for billions of dollars to fund the war in Iraq and expand the war in Afghanistan. Although the president has laid out a strategy in Afghanistan that includes diplomacy and development, the vast majority of the funds in this war supplemental bill will be focused on military troops, guns, and ammunition.

US Navy's Somali "Victory" & "Enough Dead Pirate Porn" (Glen Ford / Black Agenda Report & Lindsay Beyerstein / Majikthise)
The US Navy, backed up by warships from 20 other nations, knocked off three Somali guys crouching with rifles in a lifeboat tied by a rope to a US destroyer. To hear the US corporate media tell it, the US won a huge victory over the forces of evil. The sole surviving Somali is 16-years-old. There is something obscene about a superpower whose media finds some sick form of national catharsis every the country's military forces manage to overcome a weak and desperate opponent.

The War Is Not Over — Anti-War Tax Protests Cross the Nation (National War Tax Resistance Committee)
Here at the NWTRCC office a few notes have come in from people saying, “I’ve decided not to resist this year to give Obama a chance.” This is a familiar problem for the peace movement when a Democrat is elected, and, there’s no denying that Obama is looking pretty good after the Bush years. But a couple things remain clear: we will not see dramatic cuts in military spending soon, and the wars are not close to an end.

A People’s Campaign to Defund the War (War Tax Boycott)
The War Tax Boycott was initiated in September 2007 by the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee. Last year more than 500 people around the US joined the War Tax Boycott ending April 15, 2008. They redirected more than $300,000 to humanitarian programs ranging for relief to survivors of Hurricane Katrina, support for Iraqi refugees in Jordan, and free food for hungry families in the US.

Tax Day: Why Don't the Rich Pay Their Share? (Chuck Collins & Sam Pizzigati / AlterNet / Mark Ames & Yasha Levine and Alexander Zaitchik / AlterNet)
In 1955, the year April 15 became the IRS tax-filing deadline, America's top 400 taxpayers paid three times more of their income in taxes than the top 400 of 2006, the most recent year with IRS data available. if the top 400 of 2006 had paid taxes at 1955 rates, the federal treasury would have collected — from these 400 taxpayers alone — an additional $35.9 billion more in revenue in 2006.

Iraq in Fragments (Dahr Jamail / Foreign Policy In Focus)
US Major General David Perkins' comments that "Attacks are at their lowest since August 2003" in Baghdad, made headlines in the US media. But this was little consolation for the families of 28 Iraqis killed in attacks across Iraq the following day. Nor did it bring solace to the relatives of the 27 Iraqis slain in a March 23 suicide attack, or those who survived a bomb attack at a bus terminal in Baghdad on the same day that killed nine Iraqis.

First Iran, Now Arabs Going Nuclear (Ahmed Shihab-Eldin / Al Jazeera)
Al Jazeera spoke to Richard Falk, the chair of the board at the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, about Iran's nuclear programme, its effect on regional Arab ambitions for nuclear power, and whether the Middle East will enter a nuclear arms race. The following are excerpts from the interview:

Background: 'Toxic Waste' behind Somali Piracy ( Najad Abdullahi / Al Jazeerah)
Somali pirates have accused European firms of dumping toxic waste off the Somali coast and are demanding an $8 million ransom for the return of a Ukranian ship they captured, saying the money will go towards cleaning up the waste. The ransom demand is a means of "reacting to the toxic waste that has been continually dumped on the shores of our country for nearly 20 years", Januna Ali Jama, a spokesman for the pirates, based in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, said.

Iran Offers Deal on Nuclear Dispute (Al Jazeerah & Agencies)
Iran's president has said that Tehran will offer a new package to world powers for negotiations aimed at resolving the standoff over its nuclear program. In a speech in the southern province of Kerman, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said: "We are preparing a new package which will be ready very soon. Iran will hold discussions based on this new package which guarantees peace and justice in the world."

Investigating Israeli War Crimes in Gaza ( Stephen Lendman / After Downing Street)
Independent investigations and convincing testimonies, on both sides, provide compelling evidence of Israeli war crimes in Gaza. It's time to hold the guilty accountable. In February, the Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights showed conclusively how Israel violated international law principles by indiscriminately attacking civilians in spite of IDF claims such instances were justified. Amnesty International has called on the UN Security Council to impose an arms embargo.

No Coincidences in Iraq (Dahr Jamail / T r u t h o u t | Perspective)
Following George W. Bush's example of keeping war funding off the books, President Barack Obama is seeking $83.4 billion in additional "emergency" funding for the American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which, if approved, would bring the 2009 funding to around $150 billion and the overall costs of the two wars to nearly $1 trillion.

Pentagon Prioritizes Pursuit of Alternative Fuel Sources (Steve Vogel / The Washington Post)
For the Defense Department, the largest consumer of energy in the United States, addiction to fuel has greater costs than the roughly $18 billion the agency spent on it last year. By some estimates, about half of the U.S. military casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan are related to attacks with improvised explosive devices on convoys, many of which are carrying fuel. As of March 20, 3,426 service members had been killed by hostile fire in Iraq, 1,823 of them victims of IEDs.

Surgified Iraq (John Little / After Downing Street)
In recent months the world has been hearing more and more about a sharp increase of vendetta style torture and killing by the current Iraqi government against those leaders of Sunni tribes who were partners with the US during the infamous surge of 2007 and 2008, namely the Sons of Iraq aka, the Awakening Councils.

Troops Stole Boxes of Iraq Reconstruction Cash ... Literally ... But There's a Lot More to the Story (Liliana Segura / AlterNet)
According to a Los Angeles Times headline "Some U.S. troops tempted by reconstruction cash." The paper reports that the Department of Justice is pursing some "three dozen prosecutions" of soldiers and others involving bribery for "reconstruction" projects in Iraq and Afghanistan. In one case, a 28-year-old Army captain "managed to skim more than $690,000 in cash ... intended for reconstruction projects and payments to private Iraqi security forces."

We're Being Lied to About Pirates (Johann Hari / Independent)
Who imagined that in 2009, the world's governments would be declaring a new War on Pirates? Some are clearly just kidnappers and gangsters. But others are trying to stop illegal dumping and devastating fishing.The people our governments are labeling as "one of the great menaces of our times" have an extraordinary story to tell — and some justice on their side.

Mixed Messages from Washington Could Lead to Catastrophe in I (Roane Carey / Tom Dispatch)
Israel has been steadily ratcheting up pressure on the United States concerning the grave threat allegedly posed by Iran, which seems poised to master the nuclear fuel cycle, and thus the capacity to produce nuclear weapons. The new Israeli prime minister, Likud Party hawk Benjamin Netanyahu, has warned President Barack Obama that if Washington does not quickly find a way to shut down Iran's nuclear program, Israel will.

US Torture: Voices from the Black Sites (Mark Danner / The New York Review of Books (April 09, 2009))
We think time and elections will cleanse our fallen world but they will not. The decisions that that president made, especially the monumental decisions taken after the attacks of September 11, 2001—decisions about rendition, surveillance, interrogation—lie strewn about us still, unclaimed and unburied, like corpses freshly dead. And now, a voluminous report by the International Committee of the Red Cross documents, in horrific detail, the barbaric forms of torture that were unleashed by the Bush team.

Top Prosecutor Argues Bush Should Be Tried for Murder as Well as Torture (Michael Collins / OpEd News)
The legendary Los Angeles County prosecutor and top-selling true crime author, Vincent Bugliosi, continues to make the case that George W. Bush and is guilty of more crimes than prison torture and wiretapping. Bush deliberately deceived the United States into launching an unnecessary, unprovoked and illegal war that resulted in the deaths of 4,200 U.S. soldiers and more than 1,000,000 Iraqi civilians.

Legal US Arms Exports May Be Source of Narco Syndicates Rising Firepower (Bill Conroy / Narco News)
While some criminal actors are smuggling small arms across the border into Mexico, the drug war is not being fought with Saturday night specials, hobby rifles and hunting shotguns. The drug cartels are now in possession of high-powered munitions in vast quantities that can’t be explained by the gun-show loophole. US military-issued ammunition has popped up in an arms cache seized in Reynosa, Mexico. So where are these military-grade weapons really coming from?

America’s Violations of International Law (Ann Fagan Ginger / Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute)
Commentary: "As a human rights lawyer and former professor, I think it is necessary to add three facts to the story about the Spanish judge considering indicting six Bush administration officials for violating international law."

ACTION ALERT: Obama Proposes $83 Billion War Budget — Bigger than Bush (BBC News & Voters for Peace)
President Barack Obama is reportedly seeking $83.4 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan this year at the same time the US is facing an economic crisis unlike any it has seen 80 years. President Obama has introduced a military budget that is $21 billion larger than the Bush military budget. On top of this he is preparing to ask Congress for more war funding for Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan — an additional $75.5 billion is expected. Please contact Washington at the link below.

Opening a New Window on Military Budgets: Defense Secretary Gates's FY 2010 Military Budget Proposal (Friends National Committee on Legislation)
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has unveiled the details of a ground-breaking military budget proposal. His proposal would cut a number of unnecessary weapons programs while giving more money to support troops on the ground. It would reform Pentagon contracting practices, cut $9.6 billion in wasteful weapons spending, and improve health and family supports for military personnel and veterans.

Throws Down the Gauntlet on Defense Budget (Center for Arms Control and Non-proliferation)
On April 6, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates proposed a significant changes to the fiscal year 2010 defense budget.The good news is that Gates wants to modify or terminate a number of high-priced weapons programs that are over cost, behind schedule, useless in Iraq and Afghanistan, and unneeded for the foreseeable future. The bad news is that the Pentagon budget, at $534 billion, still perpetuates the decade-long uptick in US defense spending

The Afghan Rubik’s Cube (Conn Hallinan / Dispatches From the Edge: Berkeley Daily Planet)
Commentary: "At first glance, the decision to send 21,000 more U.S. troops into a conflict that has dragged on for almost 30 years seems to combine equal parts illusion and amnesia—illusion that the soldiers could make a difference, amnesia in trying something that already failed disastrously in 2005. But then, Afghanistan seems to have a deranging effect on its occupiers."

President Obama – Headed For the Wrong Goal Posts (Paul Smith / Culture Change)
Commentary: "President Obama’s fundamental mistake is his failure to recognize that the current economic contraction is a permanent contraction. Unfortunately, President Obama’s teammates are confident that he is on the right course and are cheering him on. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the principal economic premise has been that perpetual growth is possible and beneficial. The idea that there are limits to growth has not even been considered."

Israel, Preparing for Major War, Mobilizes Civilian Population (Anshel Pfeffer / Haaretz)
Israel's Home Front Command is preparing to hold the largest exercise ever in Israeli history, scheduled to take place in about two months, in hopes of priming the populace and raising awareness of the possibility of war breaking out. The aim of the nationwide drill, Sofer said, "is to transform the population from a passive to an active one. We want the citizens to understand that war can happen tomorrow morning."

What Do Rocket Fuel and Baby Formula Have in Common? (Adrine Akopyan / Centers for Disease Control & Joaquin Sapien / ProPublica)
A recent study by scientists at the Centers for Disease Control has found potentially dangerous levels of perchlorate, a chemical used in rocket fuel, in powered infant formula. Exposure to perchlorate damages the thyroid and might potentially impair brain development in infants. Widespread perchlorate contamination is due in large part to rocket and missile tests during the Cold War Era.

Video Surfaces: London Police Accused of Murder over G20 Protest Death (BBC News & George Monbiot / The Guardian)
Liberal Democrats are demanding a criminal inquiry after video footage of the G20 protest showed a police officer pushing over a man who later died. "At the G20 protests in London only one group appears to be looking for violent confrontation – and it's not the protesters. The trouble-makers are out in force again. Dressed in black, their faces partly obscured, some of them appear to be interested only in violent confrontation."

ACTION ALERT: Support Call to Cut Wasteful Pentagon Spending (Los Angeles Times & CNN & TrueMajority / USAction)
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has outlined programs to eliminate wasteful Pentagon spending. The Weapons Industry and pork-barrel politics will resist this call. Send a message to Congress, the White House and the Pentagon saying it is time to stop wasting taxes on weapons that don't work and have no conceivable use against real-world enemies. Use the link below to sign a petition to Congress.

Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones (Adam Shapiro / United Nations Chronicle)
With tens of thousands of nuclear weapons left over from the Cold War, only a small fraction of which is capable of obliterating this planet many times over, nuclear disarmament is perhaps the most vital issue on the global security agenda. Despite the hazards associated with these weapons, nations continue to proliferate out of fear and insecurity.

Nuclear Disarmament Panel Urges US to Adopt No-First-Use Policy (Nuclear News.net & Kyodo News International)
he International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, a commission established by the governments of Australia and Japan, is urging the United States to develop a policy of “no first use” and to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

Medical Workers Aided CIA Torture, Report Says (Scott Shane / New York Times)
Medical personnel were deeply involved in the abusive interrogation of terrorist suspects held overseas by the CIA, including torture, and their participation was a "gross breach of medical ethics," a long-secret report by the International Committee of the Red Cross has concluded.

Central Asia Nuclear-free Zone Enters into Force (DPR / Earthtimes.org)
The first nuclear weapon free-zone in the northern hemisphere entered into force on March 21, 2009 when five Central Asian states forswore nuclear weapons and pledged to abandon all nuclear activities. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the event, saying it is of particular significance because it encompasses a region where nuclear weapons previously existed.

Spanish Court Begins Criminal Proceedings Against Bush Officials for Authorizing Torture (Marjorie Cohn / San Francisco Chronicle)
A Spanish court has initiated criminal proceedings against six former officials of the Bush administration. John Yoo, Jay Bybee, David Addington, Alberto Gonzales, William Haynes and Douglas Feith may face charges in Spain for authorizing torture at Guantánamo Bay. If arrest warrants are issued, Spain and any of the other 24 countries that are parties to European extradition conventions could arrest these six men when they travel abroad.

Prize-winning Reporter Claims: Secret US Forces Carried Out Assassinations in 'a Lot of' Countries' (Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!)
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh claims the Bush administration ran an executive assassination ring that reported directly to Vice President Dick Cheney. Hersh tells Democracy Now: "Under President Bush's authority, they've been going into countries... and finding people on a list and executing them and leaving."

Hey Mr. Cheney, What About Those 'Executive Assassination Squads'? (John Nichols / The Nation)
Commentary: "Dick Cheney is not going to fade away. here will be no apologies from the former vice president. And there will be no withdrawal from the political frontlines. Cheney should be welcomed to the microphones... to explain a few things — under oath. How about with investigative reporter Seymour Hersh's allegation that the Bush-Cheney White House operated an "executive assassination ring" that reported directly to Cheney's office?"

Killings and Concentration Camps: A Colossal Humanitarian Tragedy is Underway in Sri Lanka and No One is Saying a Word (Arundhati Roy /Comment Is Free)
The horror that is unfolding in Sri Lanka becomes possible because of the silence that surrounds it. There is almost no reporting in the mainstream Indian media — or indeed in the international press — about what is happening there. Why this should be so is a matter of serious concern.

President Barack Obama's Prague Speech On Nuclear Weapons (Huffington Post)
To protect our planet, now is the time to change the way that we use energy. Together, we must confront climate change by ending the world's dependence on fossil fuels, by tapping the power of new sources of energy like the wind and sun.... The existence of thousands of nuclear weapons is the most dangerous legacy of the Cold War.... I state clearly and with conviction America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.

The Obama-Medvedev Joint Statement on Nuclear Weapons (David Krieger / New Age Peace Foundation)
On April 1, 2009, the presidents of the United States and Russia, Barack Obama and Dmitriy Medvedev, issued a Joint Statement, promising “a new tone” and a far more constructive working relationship between the two countries. The Joint Statement announced to the world that Obama and Medvedev are “ready to move beyond Cold War mentalities and chart a fresh start in relations between [the] two countries.”

The Nuclear Goliath: Confronting Industrial Energy (Joseph Smecker/ Toward Freedom)
Commentary: Lately, many may have heard the affable radio jingles for nuclear energy as a clean and reliable candidate to supplant the US’s reliance on foreign fossil fuels. This is sheer, malignant propaganda. From its inception through mining processes to enrichment, fission, and post-fission, nuclear energy supplies the human race with more destructive waste than energy.

ACTION ALERT: Urge President Obama to Halt War on Wolves (Campaign to Save America’s Wolves)
President Obama’s pick as Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, has taken it upon himself to eliminate Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in Greater Yellowstone, the Northern Rockies and other parts of the American West. To send a strong message, we need to generate at least 100,000 messages in support of protections for our wolves before May 4th, when the federal protections are lifted and the wolf killing can resume.

Smarten Up Naval Sonar to Save the Whales (Jean-Michel Cousteau and Joel R. Reynolds / Christian Science Monitor)
The Bush administration may be gone, but whales and other marine life along our coasts will be hearing from it for years to come – literally. Before leaving office, Bush's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the US Navy released a series of regulations that, during the next five years, could cause environmental harm on a staggering scale. But by acting decisively, the Obama administration can prevent it.

Greenpeace Criticizes G20 Deal & G20: Nothing but a 'Big Show' (Agence France-Presse & Walden Bello / Foreign Policy in Focus)
Advocates for the poor welcomed world leaders’ moves to shore up the global economy Thursday but said much more needed to be done to shield needy countries bearing the brunt of the crisis.

Militarism Under Obama: A New Phase of the Anti-war Movement (Jeff Nall / Toward Freedom)
Marking the sixth anniversary of the Iraq war, about 10,000 people Marched on the Pentagon. While there were radical groups that viewed Obama as being little different from Bush, Obama supporters comprised a sizeable contingent of protesters. Marking a new phase of the 21st century anti-war movement, protesters’ criticisms were not limited to Iraq but encompassed foreign policy, the US’s role in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and its backing of Israel’s assault on Gaza.

Nuclear Ignition Facility Called Flawed (Stephen E. Bodner / Tri-Valley CARES)
Analysis: The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has now published several scientific articles on the performance of the first National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser beams. According to their own data, the laser beams did not meet the minimum requirements needed to test their ignition target design. In addition to conducting research on fusion reactions, the NIF will be used to monitor and improve the US nuclear arsenal.

Amnesty International Condemns Massive US Arms Shipment to Israel (Amnesty International)
Amnesty International today revealed that the United States has sent a massive new shipment of arms to Israel — about 14,000 tons worth — despite evidence that U.S. weapons were misused against civilians in the Gaza attacks. The human rights organization called on President Obama to suspend future arms shipments to Israel until there is no longer substantial risk of human rights violations.

ACTION ALERT: Protest US Arms Transfers to Israel (Amnesty International)
Amnesty International researchers visiting Gaza and southern Israel during and after the fighting found evidence of war crimes and violations of international law, some involving US weapons. Amnesty researchers this week confirmed a massive shipment of US weapons to Israel on March 22, despite clear evidence of Israeli human rights violations, some amounting to war crimes, including the use of US-made white phosphorous munitions. Contact the White House and State Department.

Pentagon's "Drone Wars" Continue to Kill inside Pakistan (BBC News & Munir Ahmad /Associated Press)
A suspected US missile strike in northwest Pakistan has killed 13 people, local security officials have said. The apparent drone attack targeted a home in the North Waziristan region near the Afghan border, officials said. The latest incident comes only three days after a missile fired by a suspected US drone killed at least 14 people in Pakistan's Orakzai tribal area, near the Afghan border. Correspondents say that more than 35 suspected drone strikes have killed more than 340 people since August 2008.

US, Russia Agree to Arms Reduction Talks (Christi Parsons and Megan K. Stack / Los Angeles Times)
President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed Wednesday to open negotiations on a treaty that could slash their nuclear arsenals by one-third, part of what they described as a step "to move beyond Cold War mentalities" in relations between the two countries.

Provocations Rise on All Sides as North Korean Prepares to Launch Satellite ( Jon Herskovitz / Reuters & Blaine Harden / Washington Post)
North Korea has begun fuelling a long-range rocket and could launch it by the weekend, CNN said, with the United States and others threatening punishment. The government of Kim Jong Il warned Wednesday in a radio broadcast that its forces "will relentlessly shoot down" US reconnaissance aircraft that monitor preparation for its missile launch, which could occur as early as this weekend.

Pakistan Taliban Head Threatens Attacks in US (Zulfiqar Ali & Laura King / Los Angeles Times)
Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of Pakistan's Taliban movement, threatened Tuesday to launch attacks inside the United States in retaliation for US missile strikes aimed at militant leaders sheltering in Pakistan's tribal areas.

Scientists Take Another Stab at Nuclear Fusion; (Jim Doyle / San Francisco Chronicle)
After more than a decade of work and an investment of $3.5 billion, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory say they have created a super laser that will enable them to build a miniature sun within the lab in the next two years. Scientists also plan to use the giant laser to conduct experiments to gauge the reliability of the nation's aging nuclear weapons stockpile.

Karzai Accused Of Bid To 'Legalise Rape' in Afghanistan (Jerome Starkey / The Independent)
Afghanistan's President, Hamid Karzai, has signed a law which "legalises" rape, women's groups and the United Nations warn. Critics claim the president helped rush the bill through parliament in a bid to appease Islamic fundamentalists ahead of elections in August.

Gays Sentenced to Death in Iraq, Executions to Begin Next Week (Andy Harley/ Page One)
Ground Zero for the so-called 'war on terror' is a nation where gays and lesbians live in real terror of rape and murder. In July, More than 100 prisoners in Iraq are facing execution. Many of them, says an underground gay rights organization in the country, are believed to have been convicted of the 'crime' of being gay, according to the UK-based Iraqi-LGBT group.

Jailed Without Justice: Immigration Detention in the USA (Amnesty International)
More than 300,000 men, women and children are detained by US immigration authorities each year.[7] They include asylum seekers, torture survivors, victims of human trafficking, longtime lawful permanent residents, and the parents of US citizen children. The use of detention as a tool to combat unauthorized migration falls short of international human rights law, which contains a clear presumption against detention. Everyone has the right to liberty, freedom of movement, and the right not to be arbitrarily detained.

Iraq Seeks to Buy US-made F-16 Fighter Jets (Tim Reid / The Times)
Lieutenant-General Anwar Ahmed, the head of the Iraqi Air Force s Iraq wants to buy an initial squadron of 18 American F16 fighter jets this year to help to guard against perceived threats from Iran and Syria after US forces leave. The US is also producing the fighter jets for Israel, Pakistan, Poland and Greece.

The Challenge of Policing the G20 (Dominic Casciani / BBC News)
On Wednesday, large "direct actions" are predicted in the over-lapping "Fossil and Financial Fools Day" protests and the "G20 Meltdown". At the same time, the Climate Camp group says its supporters will try to build a tent city in the middle of one of London's busiest roads. It's little wonder that Scotland Yard is describing the G20 policing plan as one of the largest, most challenging and complicated public order operations it has ever devised.

Britain Tightens Security as Leaders Meet for G-20 (David Stringer / Associated Press)
Thousands of extra police are patrolling London's streets ahead of this week's Group of 20 summit amid fears that terrorists could capitalize on the presence of tens of thousands of unruly protesters to launch an attack. The convergence of the two threats comes as Britain already is at a "severe" level of alert, believing an attack is highly likely. Bankers are being warned to dress casually and luxury hotels are securing their perimeters.

Are London's Police Preparing for a "Glencoe Massacre"? (Wikipedia)
Organizers of the protests set for the meeting of the G20 have expressed concern that a huge police force has been mobilized and armed with tasers and other weapons as part of an exercise labeled "Operation Glencoe." The name of the operation seems chillingly provocative since it harkens back to a bloody massacre well-known in British history. Here is some background on the Glencoe Massacre.

Met Police Turn 'Big Brother' For G20 Summit (Sky News)
With security fears rising in the build-up to the G20 summit on Thursday, the Metropolitan Police have been given access to more than 3,000 CCTV cameras around London. Scotland Yard's Central Communications Command in Lambeth, South London, will become the eyes of the city tomorrow when more than 100 officers monitor live links across the capital.

UK Troops begin Iraqi Withdrawal (BBC News)
British forces will officially begin their withdrawal from Iraq on Tuesday as the UK's top general in the south of the country hands over to a US general. Most of Britain's 4,000 troops will leave by 31 May, the official end-of-combat date. About 400 will stay after that, either in HQ roles or to train the Iraq Navy.

The Worldwide Network of US Military Bases & Personnel (Jules Dufour / Global Research)
Why does the US maintain 1,000 foreign bases around the globe? The Worldwide control of humanity's economic, social and political activities is under the helm of US corporate and military power. Underlying this process are various schemes of direct and indirect military intervention. These US sponsored strategies ultmately consist in a process of global subordination.

The Battle Over Bases: Bush’s Plan to Close 300 US Bases (David Vine / Antiwar.com)
In 2003 and 2004, President George W. Bush announced his intention to initiate a major shrinkage of what his administration described as an economically wasteful and outdated US overseas basing structure. The plan was to close more than a third of the nation's Cold War-era bases in Europe, South Korea, and Japan. Over a planned six to eight years, as many as 70,000 US troops and 100,000 family members and civilians would return to bases in the United States.

Housing the Homeless in Abandoned Military Bases (Office of Housing and Urban Development & The Washington Post & The New York Times)
For more than four decades, the Department of Defense has closed military installations to reduce overhead, enhance readiness and modernization. In 1987, Congress enacted a law that made serving the homeless the first priority for use of all surplus Federal properties, including military installations. Despite the law and the backing of the Clinton and Bush administrations, this major housing resource remains untapped.

ACTION ALERT: What Happened to Obama's Campaign Promise of Peace? ( Josh Mitteldorf / OpEd News & Kevin M. Martin / Peace Action)
President Barack Obama has announced his plans to send another 21,000 troops to Afghanistan. This poorly conceived strategy continues failed Middle East policies where military engagement serves as the primary tool. The war weary American publics increasingly thinks that the Afghanistan war was a mistake. Take Action.

Israel Accused of Indiscriminate Phosphorus Use in Gaza (Rory McCarthy / The Guardian)
In a 71-page report, Human Rights Watch has accused Israel's military of firing white phosphorus in crowded civilian areas of Gaza repeatedly and indiscriminately during its three-week war. Appalling photos and videos of the attack and the injuries make it clear that Israel chose to use a horrific weapon against targets in Gaza, killing and injuring civilians and committing war crimes. Videos and slideshow links below.

Secret Memos Point to Bush Treason; Spanish Court Mulls Trials for Bush Officials (Naomi Wolf / AlterNet & BBC News)
In early March, more shocking details emerged about George W. Bush legal counsel John Yoo's memos outlining the destruction of the republic. The memos lay the legal groundwork for the president to send the military to wage war against US citizens; take them from their homes to Navy brigs without trial and keep them forever; close down the First Amendment; and invade whatever country he chooses without regard to any treaty or objection by Congress.

Ex-State Dept. Lawyer Condemns Bush Policies (Andrew O. Selsky, Associated Press)
A former State Department lawyer responsible for Guantanamo-related cases said Friday that the Bush administration overreacted after 9/11 and set up a system in which torture occurred. Vijay Padmanabhan is at least the second former Bush administration official to publicly label "enhanced interrogation techniques" as torture.

A New Strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan (President Barack Obama / The White House Press Office)
Today, I am announcing a comprehensive, new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.... he situation is increasingly perilous.... What is our purpose in Afghanistan? After so many years, they ask, why do our men and women still fight and die there? They deserve a straightforward answer.

Afghanistan: The Four Questions (Robert Naiman, t r u t h o u t | Perspective)
Commentary: President Obama has announced his new Afghanistan strategy but there weren't any big surprises. It is widely recognized that sending more soldiers and civilians is unlikely to change anything fundamental in Afghanistan. The US almost certainly never will be willing and able to commit the resources that would be necessary to transform Afghanistan into a peaceful "democracy" according to the present policy.

Washington State Environmentalists to Battle Navy Proposal (Justin Burnett / Whidbey Examiner)
Whidbey Island environmental groups opposed to the Navy's plan to expand its Northwest training operations. The Navy is planning to expand operations in its Northwest Training Range Complex, an area encompassing about 122,400 nautical miles of air, surface and subsurface space stretching from Washington to northern California. The proposal ranges from increasing missile and sonar testing to dumping depleted uranium.

US Gun Sales Fueling Mexican Drug Violence but Congress Remains Gun-shy on Gun Control (Suzanne Gamboa / Associated Press & Richard A. Serrano / Los Angeles Times)
High-powered automatic weapons and ammunition are flowing virtually unchecked from border states into Mexico, fueling a war among drug traffickers, the army and police that has left thousands dead, according to US and Mexican officials. Members of Congress may be alarmed by the surge in Mexican drug violence and its potential to spill across the border, but they grow silent when the talk turns to gun control as a solution.

US Rethinks Afghanistan Strategy but How Much Has Changed? (Justin Webb / BBC News & AntiWar.org)
US President Barack Obama has confirmed a fundamental rethink of US strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan to combat an "increasingly perilous" situation. He said an extra 4,000 US personnel would train and bolster the Afghan army and police, and he would also provide support for civilian development. But, as is so often the case, the “new” nature of the strategy seems very much in question. More troops, more money, more praise for the mission.

Three Mile Island 30 Years Later: A Reminder that Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear Energy Are Fundamentally Linked (Harvey Wasserman / Free Press & Peter A. Bradford / US Senate Testimony)
People DID die as a result of the partial meltdown of the nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island. Officials covered up the truth with a string of lies that continue to put the public at risk. Harvey Wasserman investigated the accident and its human health aftermath; Peter Bradford, a Commissioner with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission during the TMI accident, recently warned a Senate Committee that the call for a "nuclear renaissance" ignores the deadly lessons of Three Mile Island.

Palin Administration Calls in the Helicopters for Sweeping Wolf Massacre (Defenders of Wildlife)
Using helicopters and high-powered rifles, the Palin administration has considerably escalated its aerial wolf killing spree. At least 58 wolves were killed in the Upper Yukon/Tanana area of Alaska over four days by Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The legality of program challenged as state personnel in helicopters aim to kill hundreds of wolves despite objections from the National Park Service

Communities Seek Accountability for Military Pollution (itizens for Safe Water Around Badger)
More than 80 US communities and organizations are calling for federal legislation to require the Pentagon and the Department of Energy to protect human health and the environment. The DOD is responsible for more than 31,000 cleanup sites on more than 4,600 active and former defense properties. About one in 10 Americans – nearly 29 million – live within 10 miles of a military site that is listed as a national priority for hazardous waste cleanup.

Is Western Media Overreacting to N. Korea's Communications Satellite Launch? (The Telegraph & & BBC & The Washington Post & Asia Times & Korea Times & Associated Press &)
The US has deployed two warships with anti-missile capabilities in the waters off Japan as tensions mount over North Korea's plans to test-fire a long-range ballistic missile capable of striking Alaska. Despite US intelligence analysis that the launch is only intended to place a communications satellite in orbit, a media frenzy is driving Western press reports. Even the BBC falsely headlined a story (see below) to suggest that Japan was prepared to "

Iran Joins Space Club; Why US Expresses “Great Concern” (Colin Clark / DOD Buzz.com)
In February, Iran, after a decade of trying to develop space capabilities, joined the small club of countries able to build and launch a satellite into orbit. In and of itself, the Iranian technological success worries American national security experts because "it places Iran much closer to being able to deliver a nuclear warhead against an enemy." Note: The US already has missles capable if delivering multiple nuclear warheads anywhere on Earth.

US Has a History of Shooting Down Satellites in Space (Space War & MSNBC & American Forces Press Service)
On March 18, the US military successfully shot down a short-range ballistic missile near Hawaii in a test of its ground-based missile defense system.

US Using British Atomic Weapons Factory for its Nuclear Programme (Matthew Taylor and Richard Norton-Taylor / The Guardian)
The US military has been using Britain's atomic weapons factory to carry out research into its own nuclear warhead program. US defence officials said that "very valuable" warhead research has taken place at the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston in Berkshire as part of an ongoing and secretive deal between the British and American governments.

Who Bombed Sudan Convoy? Israel and US Both Accused (Al Jazeera & Jenny Booth / The Times)
Sudan admitted today that foreign fighter planes carried out an airstrike on a convoy of 17 trucks transporting arms to Gaza in January. CBS News reports 39 people were killed in the air attack but other sources placed the death toll at 800. Mabrouk Mubarak Salim, the state minister for highways, said that Sudanese, Somalis, Ethiopians, and Eritreans were killed in the attacks in January and February. Salim said the air raids were launched from the US fleet in the Red Sea.

UN, Human Rights Watch Accuse Israeli Army of War Crimes, Rights Violations (James Hider / The Times)
A leading human rights group accused Israel’s army yesterday of committing war crimes by using white phosphorus shells in the recent war in Gaza. A United Nations report accused Israeli troops yesterday of using a Palestinian child as a human shield during fighting in Gaza, shooting Palestinian children, bulldozing a house with a woman and child inside and shelling a building they had ordered civilians to enter a day earlier.

Call for Investigation as Israeli Troops Confess to War Crimes (James Hider / The Times Online & Uzi Mahnaimi / The Sunday Times)
The Israeli army has been forced to open an investigation into the conduct of its troops in Gaza after damning testimony from front line soldiers revealed the killing of civilians and rules of engagement so lax that one combatant said that they amounted to “cold-blooded murder.” Meanwhile, Moshe Ya’alon, a hawkish general, who cancelled a trip to London four years ago because he feared being arrested on war crime charges, is expected to become Israel’s new defence minister.

The US/Mexico Border’s “Agent Orange” Controversy (Frontera NorteSur / Narco News)
In the Vietnam War, the US sprayed vast tracts of land with the defoliant Agent Orange. Although the dioxin released by Agent Orange was later blamed for illnesses that struck thousands of US soldiers and upwards of four million Vietnamese citizens, four decades later, the US Border Patrol intends to employ aerial spraying to spread Imazapyr herbicide along the US-Mexico border to remove ground cover that makes it easier for people to cross the border.

Brain-injured GIs Could Number 360,000. While Billions Go to Wall Street, Only $242 Million Goes to Treat Brain-injured Soldiers (Associated Press, Military.com & Mary MacElveen)
The number of US troops who have suffered wartime brain injuries may be as high as 360,000. The vast majority of them suffering concussions — represents 20 percent of the roughly 1.8 million men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, where blast injuries are common.

President Obama's Message to Iran: A Cause for Concern? (John V. Whitbeck / San Francisco Chronicle & Gwynne Dyer / Arab News)
Commentary: "On the occasion of the Persian New Year, President Obama videotaped a personal statement to the Iranian people that is being portrayed in the Western media as a significant change, in both tone and substance... [but] the words and concepts used in his efforts continue to reflect the blind self-righteousness and myopic obliviousness to reality and the way others might perceive America.

Israeli Military Condemns Bloodthirsty T-shirts (Matti Friedman / Associated Press)
Israel's military condemned soldiers for wearing T-shirts of a pregnant woman in a rifle's cross-hairs with the slogan "1 Shot 2 Kills," and another of a gun-toting child with the words, "The smaller they are, the harder it is." The T-shirts were worn by some Israeli Defense Force soldiers to mark the end of basic training and other military courses.

Hawaii's Top Court Torpedoes 'Ferry from Hell' (Gar Smith / San Francisco Chronicle)
Hawaii's Supreme Court has scuttled a controversial inter-island ferryboat that had raised eco-hackles from Oahu to Kauai. The court ruled on March 16 that the operators of the Superferry Alakai would have to file an environmental impact statement before the ship could resume business. Some have called the ferry a prototype for a new naval warship. With a 56,800-gallon tank and four turbocharged engines, the Alakai is perfectly suited for hauling Humvees and 21-ton Stryker tanks.

US, Afghans in Dispute over Deaths in Raid (Abdul Waheed Wafa & Carlotta Gall / New York Times)
A predawn raid by US Special Forces that killed five people on Sunday in the northern province of Kunduz has once again produced conflicting accounts from the American military and local Afghan officials as to whether the dead were civilians or militants. While US forces described the survivors as “suspected militants,” they insisted all the dead Afghanis were “militants.”

Closing Military Base to Save the Economy (John Pomfret / The Washington Post & The Washington Post)
Looking to cut billions from the federal budget? Consider closing some of the 1,000 military bases the United States maintains abroad. Closing some of the bases would save billions, according to none other than former defense secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who in 2004 estimated a savings of $12 billion if the US shut just 200 foreign bases. In 1993, the Clinton Administration drafted plans to close bases in the US and use them to house homeless Americans.

The Costs of Empire: Can We Really Afford 1,000 Overseas Bases? (David Vine / Foreign Policy in Focus)
Officially the Pentagon counts 865 base sites, but this omits all our bases in Iraq (likely over 100), Afghanistan (80 and counting), and other well-known and secretive bases. More than half a century after World War II and the Korean War, we still have 268 bases in Germany, 124 in Japan, and 87 in South Korea with other bases scattered around the globe in places like Aruba and Australia, Bulgaria and Bahrain, Colombia and Greece, Djibouti, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, Romania, Singapore, and Cuba.

From Coast to Coast, Protests Call for War's End (Nafeesa Syeed / Associated Press)
From California to Washington, DC, war protesters demonstrated Saturday afternoon, calling for an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. On the East Coast, protestors placed cardboard coffins in front of the offices of northern Virginia defense contractors such as KBR Inc. and Lockheed Martin Corp. as riot police stood by. In San Francisco, the appearance of riot-equipped police sparks scuffles and lead to several arrests.

ACTION ALERT: US Opposes "Water as a Human Right" (Wenonah Hauter / Executive Director, Food & Water Watch)
We've flooded Congress with more than 17,000 messages objecting to the actions by US representatives at the World Water Forum in Turkey, which removed language declaring water as a human right and public good from the final ministerial document. Help us get to 50,000!

How to Avoid Wars over Water (Kevin Watkins and Anders Berntell / International Herald Tribune)
The CIA, the accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and, most recently, Britain's Ministry of Defense have all raised the specter of future "water wars." With water availability shrinking across the Middle East, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, violent conflict between states is increasingly likely. The specter is on the agenda for the 140 countries gathered for the annual World Water Week forum

US Says Missile Attacks Take Toll on al Qaeda (Greg Miller / Los Angeles Times)
US intelligence and counterterrorism officials claim that an intense, six-month campaign of Predator strikes in Pakistan has taken such a toll on al Qaeda that militants have begun turning violently on each other out of confusion and distrust.

US and Iran Exchange New Year's Message (The Washington Post & The Fars News Agency)
President Obama's video to the Iranian people for Nowruz went far beyond the general Nowruz statements issued by previous Presidents Bush and Clinton but Iran's leader, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, matched Obama's words with Iran's request for reciprocal actions on both sides — in word and in deed.

UN Says Gaza Assault Was 'Inhumane' (Al Jazeera)
The United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories has said Israel's military offensive on Gaza "would seem to constitute a war crime of the greatest magnitude under international law." Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers tell the press that killing Palestinian civilians and destroying their homes "was allowed in Israel’s rules of engagement during the war."

Preparing for Civil Unrest in America (Michel Chossudovsky / Global Research)
The financial meltdown has unleashed a social crisis across the US. When people whose lives have been shattered, come to realize the true face of the "free market" system, the Wall Street and the Federal Reserve, the US administration will be challenged. How will Washington handle an impending social catastrophe? One solution is to curb social unrest. The chosen avenue, inherited from the Bush administration,is to curb social unrest by confining angry citizens to detention camps

Envoy Damns US Afghan Drug Effort (BBC News)
US efforts to eradicate opium poppy crops in Afghanistan have been "wasteful and ineffective", the US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan says. Richard Holbrooke said the $800m (£550m) a year the US was spending on counter-narcotics would be better used in supporting Afghan farmers.

ACTION ALERT: Investigate Cheney's Personal "Assassination Ring" (The Pen & The Peace Team)
Remember when former Vice President used to claim that he constituted a peculiar fourth branch of government unto himself, claiming executive privilege as part of the executive branch? Now we learn that Dick Cheney reportedly ran his own private worldwide "assassination squad," reporting only to himself. Congress must launch its own investigation. The staggering criminality of the previous administration cannot be swept under the rug.

Red Cross Found Torture at Secret CIA Prisons (Joby Warrick, Peter Finn & Julie Tate / Washington Post)
he International Committee of the Red Cross concluded in a secret report that the Bush administration's treatment of al Qaeda captives "constituted torture," a finding that strongly implied that CIA interrogation methods violated international law, according to newly published excerpts from the long-concealed 2007 document.

Ex-Bush Official: Many Gitmo Detainees Innocent (Andrew O. Selsky / Associated Press)
Many detainees locked up at Guantanamo were innocent men swept up by US forces unable to distinguish enemies from noncombatants, a former Bush administration official has revealed. "There are still innocent people there," Lawrence Wilkerson, a Republican who was chief of staff to then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, told the Associated Press. "Some have been there six or seven years."

Allies Facing Afghan 'Stalemate' (BBC News)
Foreign Secretary David Miliband has said that the UK, the US and their allies face a "strategic stalemate" in some parts of Afghanistan. He said a "bigger and more effective" security force was needed to stop the Taleban controlling more territory. Mr Miliband said some EU countries should provide more troops and carry a "better share of the burden."

Asking the Hard Questions about the Iraq War (Barbara Lee, Lynn Woolsey,Maxine Waters / San Francisco Chronicle)
No matter how uncomfortable it may be for those of us who support President Obama (who himself opposed the invasion from the beginning), we must hold our Iraq policy accountable and demand answers to tough questions regarding how and when our occupation of Iraq will end.

ACTION ALERT: Ask the President for a New Policy on Foreign Wars (Peace Action)
Six years ago today the US invaded Iraq. It is staggering to reflect on the losses both Americans and Iraqis have suffered. A million Iraqis have died in the past six years; and, according to the United Nations another 4.2 million have been displaced. We must remind our new President that it is not enough to shift away from the failed policies of the former administration and that he promised a completely new direction — a new path for American foreign policy and he can start with Afghanistan.

ACTION ALERT: March on the Pentagon This Weekend (Peace Action et al.)
The war in Afghanistan is escalating with 17,000 troops. More war will create greater instability and more threats to US national security. The U.S. has more effective tools to resolve these conflicts. Please join us this Saturday, March 21, 2009. Gather at 12 noon in Washington, DC for a rally followed by the march to the Pentagon, and then to the offices of Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and KBR (the former Halliburton subsidiary).

Obamas to Plant White House Vegetable Garden (Marian Burros / The New York Times)
On March 20, the first day of Spring, Michelle Obama will begin digging up a patch of White House lawn to plant a vegetable garden, the first since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden in World War II. There will be no beets (the president doesn’t like them) but arugula will make the cut.

Sri Lanka Children 'Being Killed' (BBC News)
The conflict in Sri Lanka has killed hundreds of children and left many more injured, the United Nations' children's agency, Unicef, has said. Moreover, thousands of children are at risk because of "a critical lack of food, water and medicines", the agency says.

War and the Environment (Peace Pledge Union)
Twentieth century weapons technology has ensured a lethal harvest. Landmines: planted in millions in war-torn countries, kill and maim long after wars are over, and deny agricultural use of the land in which they lurk. A Khmer Rouge general called them ‘the perfect soldier’: cheap, efficient, expendable, never hungry, never needing sleep. But eighty percent of landmine victims are civilians, not soldiers; and nearly a quarter of those are children.

Scarred Lands and Wounded Lives: The Environmental Footprint of War (Rosanne Skirble / Voice of America & Environmental Film Festival)
Loss of human life is the most serious consequence of war. But war also devastates the earth and has unintended consequences on the environment and public health. That often untold story is the subject of a 2008 documentary, "Scarred Lands and Wounded Lives: The Environmental Footprint of War."

US Poised to Join Mexico Drug War (BBC News)
The US is drawing up comprehensive plans to help Mexico in its fight against drug-trafficking, a senior military official has told Congress. Gen Gene Renuart, head of the US Northern Command, told a Senate hearing that troops or anti-narcotics agents would be sent to the Mexican border. The plan could be finalised as early as this week

Blank Spots on the Map: The Dark Geography of the Pentagon's Secret World (The Seattle Post-Intellligencer)
The Seattle Post-Intellligencer, a long-established, prizewinning newspaper ceases print publication today and moved to an online-only edition. A few weeks earlier the PI ran the following review of a book that exposes the CIA/DOD’s “shadow nation of state secrets: clandestine military bases, ultra-secret black sites, classified factories, hidden laboratories, and top-secret agencies making up what defense and intelligence insiders themselves call the ‘black world.’”

Women in Congo Speak Out About Rape Despite Taboo (Associated Press & The New York Times)
Rape has been used as a brutal weapon of war in Congo, where conflicts based on tribal lines have spawned dozens of armed groups amid back-to-back civil wars that drew in several African nations. More than 5 million people have died since 1994. Women have become even more vulnerable since a rebel advance at the end of last year drove a quarter-million people from their homes and fighting this year left another 100,000 others homeless, according to aid workers.

The Ongoing Occupation of Iraqi Artists (Dahr Jamail / t r u t h o u t | Perspective)
For centuries, artists, writers, and intellectuals have been meeting in Baghdad's teahouses over tulip-shaped glasses of sweet lemon tea, cigarettes, and shisha pipes. A year-and-a-half ago, a car bomb detonated near one of the oldest teahouses causing massive destruction around the area. When it reopened recently, Mohammed Al-Mumain, a 59-year-old biology teacher resumed his visits there.

Red Cross Found Torture at Secret CIA Prisons (Joby Warrick, Peter Finn,Julie Tate, Washington Post)
The International Committee of the Red Cross concluded in a secret report that the Bush administration's treatment of al Qaeda captives "constituted torture," a finding that strongly implied that CIA interrogation methods violated international law, according to newly published excerpts from the long-concealed 2007 document.

How Not to End Another President’s War (L.B.J. Edition) (Robert Dallek / New York Times blog)
Since Kennedy had left no clear indication of what he would do in response to worsening conditions in Vietnam, Johnson was free to put his own stamp on American policy. Lyndon Johnson tried to give his nation guns and butter. In the end, he provided neither.

Time to Eradicate a Failed "War on Drugs" Policy< (San Francisco Chronicle)
Commentary: "I have an idea that will start saving millions of federal dollars right now: Shut down Plan Colombia. To date it has wasted about $6 billion." "The war on drugs is a failure," the former presidents of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico wrote in the Wall Street Journal last month. "Prohibitionist policies based on eradication, interdiction and criminalization simply haven't worked,"

Air Force Releases 'Counter-Blog' Marching Orders ( Noah Shachtman / Wired)
Bloggers: If you suddenly find Air Force officers leaving barbed comments after one of your posts, don't be surprised. They're just following the service's new "counter-blogging" flow chart.

Hawaii’s Ferry Carries Some Heavy Pentagon Baggage (Gar Smith / Earth Island Journal)
The Hawai‘ian Superferry Alakai was originally promoted as an “eco-friendly” transit option between the state’s islands but a new book suggests the Superferry — a massive dreadnaught towering five stories above the water and spanning the length of 1.5 football fields — is a Trojan seahorse designed to allow Pentagon profiteers to use Paradise (and taxpayer dollars) to test out a prototype armament-carrier that can carry heavy weapons across the world's oceans.

Regrets Only? Native Hawaiians Insist U.S. Apology Has a Price (Jess Bravin & Louise Radnofsky / Wall Street Journal)
A century after a cabal of American sugar planters, financiers and missionaries overthrew the Kingdom of Hawaii, Congress said it was sorry. The US Supreme Court soon will decide whether that apology meant anything — from a legal standpoint. The 1993 Apology Resolution admits that, in 1893, US agents participated in a "conspiracy to overthrow the Government of Hawaii" by staging a coup d'état that was "a violation of treaties between the two nations and of international law."

ACTION ALERT: Obama Posed for Decision on Afghanistan & 10 Reasons to End the Occupation of Afghanistan (Kevin B. Zeese / Voters for Peace)
President Obama is expected to make a final decision on his Afghanistan strategy next week. He is faced with widespread evidence of failure and a history of a country that has proven time and again to be "the grave yard of empires." It is time to bring US troops home.

Gaza as Seen through the Eyes of YouTube (Multiple Contributors / YouTube.com)
A random compendium of video clips from Gaza goes beyond words to show children singing, soldiers firing on unarmed farmers, rocket attacks on Israeli towns, bombing attacks on Gaza dwellings, suicide bombers, songs of sadness and songs of peace.

US Nonviolent Activist Shot in Head by Israeli Troops (San Francisco Chronicle & Associated Press & International Solidarity Movement)
An American activist struck in the head by a tear gas canister fired by Israeli troops in the West Bank was in serious condition after undergoing surgery. Tristan Anderson, 38, of Oakland, Calif., was wounded in the West Bank village of Naalin, during a protest against Israel's separation barrier. In the past year, four Palestinians have been killed and scores injured by Israeli troops putting down weekly stone-throwing protests against the barrier, which cuts off Naalin from 300 acres of olive groves.

Israelis 'Firing Live Rounds' at West Bank Protesters (Peter Beaumont / The Observer)
Israeli armed forces and border police used the cover of the war against Hamas in Gaza to reintroduce the firing of .22 rifle bullets — as well as the extensive use of a new model of tear-gas canister — against unarmed demonstrators in the Occupied West Bank protesting at the building of Israel's "separation wall."

The Militarization and Annexation of North America (Stephen Lendman / After Downing Street)
The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (also known as the North American Union) was formerly launched at a March 23, 2005 meeting attended by George Bush, Mexico's President Vincente Fox, and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. In short, it's a military-backed corporate coup d'etat against the sovereignty of three nations, their populations and legislative bodies. yet the public is largely unaware of what's happening.

On Bush, Cheney Crimes: Seek Truth and Accountability (John Nichols / The Nation & The Telegraph)
Commentary: Senate Judiciary Committee chair Patrick Leahy's proposal to establish a truth and reconciliation commission to review the assaults on the Constitution and general lawlessness of the Bush-Cheney administration would remove the prospect of prosecution of officials who committed crimes. This goes against the fundamental precept that the rule of law must apply to all of us — even presidents, vice presidents, attorneys general and White House aides.

Hawaii’s Ferry Carries Some Heavy Pentagon Baggage (Gar Smith / Earth Island Journal)
The Hawai‘ian Superferry Alakai was originally promoted as an “eco-friendly” transit option between the state’s islands but a new book suggests the Superferry — a massive dreadnaught towering five stories above the water and spanning the length of 1.5 football fields — is a Trojan seahorse designed to allow Pentagon profiteers to use Paradise (and taxpayer dollars) to test out a prototype armament-carrier that can carry heavy weapons across the world's oceans.

ACTION ALERT: Prepare for Iraq War Anniversary on March 19 (Voters for Peace)
Voters for Peace is working with activists in the San Francisco Bay Area on a project to reduce the military budget by 25% as a first step toward putting the necessities of the American people before weapons. The goal of the campaign is to begin to cut the bloated U.S. military budget which makes up more than half of federal discretionary spending and equals the spending of the whole world combined. The initial goal is a 25% cut in the military budget.

Top General in Iraq Says 'If They Ask Us to Stay We Will Probably Stay' (Martha Raddatz and Luis Martinez / ABC News)
Gen. Ray Odierno, the top US military commander in Iraq, said that continuing the fight against insurgents in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul might lead to US troops remaining in the city past a June 30, 2009 deadline for all US combat troops to leave Iraqi cities, but only if the Iraqi government made such a request.

No Radical Shift in Foreign Policy from Obama (Robert Kagan / The Washington Post)
President Obama's foreign policy team has been working hard to present its policies to the world as constituting a radical break from the Bush years. When it comes to actual policies, however, selling the pretense of radical change has required some sleight of hand — and a helpful press corps.

Investigative Reporter Seymour Hersh Describes 'Executive Assassination Ring' (Eric Black / Minn Post.com)
At a “Great Conversations” event at the University of Minnesota last night, legendary investigative reporter Seymour Hersh may have made a little more news than he intended by talking about new alleged instances of domestic spying by the CIA, and about an ongoing covert military operation that he called an “executive assassination ring.”

UN Fears Sri Lanka 'War Crimes' (BBC News)
Actions by Sri Lanka's government and the Tamil Tiger rebels may amount to war crimes, the United Nations says. UN High Commissioner of Human Rights Navi Pillay called on the two warring sides to suspend hostilities immediately in the island's northeast.

Secret Emails Show Iraq Dossier Was 'Sexed Up' (Nigel Morris, Deputy Political Editor / The Independent)
Secret Whitehall emails released yesterday provide damning new evidence that the British government's notorious dossier making the case for invading Iraq was intentionally concocted to falsely create an impression of imminent threat where none existed. Newly released emails reveal that officials privately mocked assertions that the Iraqi president was covertly trying to develop a nuclear capability.

Aid Convoy Enters Gaza Strip (Al Jazeera)
After an 8,000-kilometer journey, a British convoy carrying medical relief for the impoverished residents of the Gaza Strip has crossed into the territory from Egypt. The convoy is led by George Galloway, a British member of parliament.

ACTION ALERT: Criminal Prosecution and Accountability of Bush & Cheney (ProsecuteBushCheney.org)
Overwhelming evidence of probable cause for prosecutions is in the public realm, in some cases including public confessions and other evidence of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. No one should be denied a fair trial, but no trials should be delayed which are already compelled by the evidence. A prosecutorial investigation would be the most effective tool for producing additional evidence.

ACTION ALERT: US Still Fighting Two Wars (Voters for Peace)
The United States continues to find itself embroiled in two wars that are draining the strength of the country, already weakened by economic collapse and years of war. Iraq and Afghanistan present different challenges for the peace movement but both need our immediate attention.

Iraq's Women's Affairs Minister Withdraws her Resignation after Pledges of Aid (Sinan Saleheddin / Associated Press)
Iraq's state minister for women's affairs said Monday she plans to withdraw her resignation after receiving pledges from aid organizations to help improve women's lives. awal al-Samarraie quit last month to protest the lack of resources for women, accusing the government of not making women's needs a priority.

Fears Drug War Will Destabilize Mexico (Carolyn Lochhead / San Francisco Chronicle)
Concern about a potential failed state — not Pakistan, not Somalia, but California's neighbor Mexico — is mounting in Washington as an all-out war involving 45,000 Mexican military personnel fails to quell rising drug violence that is spilling from such Mexican cities as Tijuana into the United States. Meanwhile, the BBC reports, Forbes magazine has named one of Mexico's most powerful drug lords as of the world's richest billionaires.

War and Peacekeepers: UN's Blue Berets Face Criticism (Al Jazeera)
The UN peacekeepers – the Blue Berets — form one of the largest, best equipped and international forces in the world. Yet no other army anywhere has suffered quite the same hostility or accusations of corruption and incompetence.

Pentagon's Unwanted Projects in Earmarks (R. Jeffrey Smith and Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post)
When President Obama promised Wednesday to attack defense spending that he considers wasteful and inefficient, he opened a fight with key lawmakers from his own party. It was Democrats who stuffed an estimated $524 million in defense earmarks that the Pentagon did not request into the 2008 appropriations bill, about $220 million more than Republicans did, according to an independent estimate.

The Military Needs To Tighten It's Belt (Peace Action)
While the US economy falters, the issue of the US military spending has received very little attention as a government sector ripe for spending reform. Domestically — not including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq — military spending requests for 2009 constitute 54% of the discretionary budget that is voted on by Congress. When the cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are included, U.S. military spending jumps to 57% of the overall discretionary budget.

Pentagon Spending and Procurement Crisis Looms? (Steve Clemons / The Washington Post)
Commentary: "I have my doubts whether Obama can simultaneously pull off any kind of serious reform of the military services while also trying to engineer a few "Nixon Goes to China" moments in our national security policies." With reader responses.

The Cost of War: Where the Money Goes (Norman Solomon / San Francisco Chronicle)
Every day, the US Treasury spends close to $2 billion on the military. Such big numbers are hard to fathom, but it's worth doing the math. More than 40 percent of federal tax dollars go to military spending. The outlays buy a mighty war machine while depleting our own communities. In San Francisco, taxpayers have already sent the US government $2.2 billion for the Iraq war — enough to provide health care to 828,378 children for a year. I

North Korea Girds for War as US Mounts War Games and Threatens Satellite Launch (Associated Press & Voice of America & Al Jazeera)
North Korea put its armed forces on standby for war Monday and threatened retaliation against anyone seeking to stop the regime from launching a satellite into space in the latest barrage of threats from the communist regime. onday's warning came as US and South Korean troops kicked off annual war games across the South, exercises the North has condemned as preparation for an invasion. Pyongyang last week threatened South Korean passenger planes flying near its airspace during the drills.

Tibetans Rally to Mark Anniversary; China Prepares Lockdown (Al Jazeera)
Tibetan exiles have kicked off worldwide rallies outside the White House marking the 50th anniversary of a failed uprising that led to the exile of the Dalai Lama. Meanwhile, Chinese authorities have imposed a security lockdown in Tibet with reports that military checkpoints had been set up and access to the internet has been cut off in the Himalayan region.

Israeli Military Shoots Gaza Farmer: European Union Calls for an End to Israel's Attacks on Farmers (Via Campesina, the International Peasants Union)
Israeli forces shot an unarmed Palestinian farmer as he worked his land in the village of Al-Faraheen in the Gaza Strip. The unprovoked attack was videotaped by International Human Rights Activists accompanying a group of farmers as they worked approximately 500m from the Green Line. Meanwhile, the European Union has called on Israel to "Leave the Fields to the Farmers; End the Violence in Gaza!"

The Recession’s Green Lining (Sharon Begley / NEWSWEEK)
It is no coincidence that some of the dirtiest industrial operations are falling victim to the global recession. Over the past two decades, much of the world's manufacturing moved to where pollution standards are little more than mild suggestions. Since small, corner-cutting, inefficient facilities tend to both flout pollution laws and be most vulnerable to a sudden drop in demand, the global recession has hit such operations especially hard.

Why 10,000 Ugandans Are Serving in Iraq (Max Delany / The Christian Science Monitor)
Thousands of young Ugandans are increasingly desperate to be sent to war-torn Iraq. The Ugandan government says there are more than 10,000 men and women from this poverty-stricken East African nation working as private security guards in Iraq. Hired out to multibillion-dollar companies for hundreds of dollars a month, they risk their lives seeking fortunes protecting US Army bases, airports, and oil firms.

Inheriting Halliburton's Army: What Will Obama Do With KBR? (Pratap Chatterjee / CorpWatch & TomDispatch.com)
When President Obama visits Baghdad and Kabul in Air Force One, he will join US soldiers for meals prepared by migrant Asian workers under contract to Houston-based KBR, the former subsidiary of Halliburton. His travel will be made possible by KBR employees. And when Obama orders the troops home, he will effectively sign a blank check for billions of dollars in withdrawal logistics contracts that will largely be carried out by a company once overseen by Dick Cheney.

Halliburton's Army: How A Well-Connected Texas Oil Company Revolutionized The Way America Makes War (by Pratap Chatterjee / Book Review from CorpWatch)
Muckraking journalist Pratap Chatterjee conducts a highly detailed investigation into Halliburton and its former subsidiary KBR’s activities in Kuwait and Iraq, uncovering much new information about its questionable practices and extraordinary profits.

Despite a Crashing Economy, Private Prison Firm Turns a Handsome Profit (Erin Rosa / Special to CorpWatch)
While the nation’s economy flounders, business is booming for The GEO Group Inc., a private prison firm paid millions by the U.S. government. Behind the financial success and expansion of the for-profit security company, there are increasing charges of negligence, civil rights violations, abuse and even death.

Israel Plans to Double West Bank Settlers - Study (Agence France Presse)
Israel's Housing Ministry has plans for West Bank construction that would nearly double the number of settlers there, the group Peace Now says. The presence of the so-called Israeli "settlers" in the Occupied Territories is illegal under international law.

ACTION ALERT: Protest Nightly Invasions of Palestinian Villages in the West Bank (Haggai Matar / New Profile & Anarchists Against the Wall)
"The following item provides detailed information on the current military onslaught against West Bank Palestinian villagers peacefully resisting the theft of their lands and livelihoods by Israel's "separation wall." It was compiled and circulated by activist Haggai Matar of Anarchists Against the Wall and New Profile."

The Real Israel-Palestine Story is in the West Bank (Ben White / The London Guardian)
It is quite likely that you have not heard of the most important developments this week in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the West Bank, while it has been "occupation as normal," there have been a large number of Israeli raids on Palestinian villages, with dozens of Palestinians abducted. Soldiers have occupied homes, detained residents, blocked roads, vandalised property, beat protestors, and raised the Israeli flag at the top of several buildings.

Ni'lin pays tribute to Jewish victims of the Holocaust (George H. Hale)
Every Friday, the West Bank village of Ni'lin is home to some of the most violent clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian, Israeli and international demonstrators. Each week, activists from the village's Land Defence Committee stage demonstrations at the Separation Barrier which cuts off as much as half the village's farmland and water from its inhabitants.

Ethnic Cleansing and Israel (Conn Hallinan / Dispatches From The Edge: The Berkeley Daily Plaanet)
One of the more disturbing developments in the Middle East is a growing consensus among Israelis that it would be acceptable to expel—in the words of advocates, “transfer”—its Arab citizens to either an as-yet-unformed Palestinian state or the neighboring countries of Jordan and Egypt. Such sentiment is hardly new among Israeli extremists: “Transfer” is no longer the exclusive policy of extremists, as it has increasingly become a part of mainstream political dialogue.

Oscar-Nominated Animator Addresses Gaza Siege in (Jewish Peace News & Ha'aretz)
Yoni Goodman, the director of animation for the movie "Waltz with Bashir," created a very short film called "Closed Zone" to illustrate the effects of closure in Gaza. For the last 18 months, Israel has maintained a siege of Gaza, strictly limiting who and what enters or exits the small & overcrowded strip of land. You can watch the video online.

Israelis Peace Activists Are Beginning to See the Power of Boycotts (Jewish Peace News Blogspot & Alternative Information Center)
Global boycott efforts are starting to be felt in Israel, especially since the Gaza slaughter. Shir Hever provides examples of articles dealing with this issue, from the Israeli Marker magazine for economic news. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv pulled out of negotiations to move into an office building built and owned (in large part) by Africa-Israel, a company with heavy investments in the Occupied Territories where the company has been instrumental in promoting construction of Jewish settlements.

Did Clinton Sabotage a Palestinian Reconciliation? (Hasan Abu Nimah and Ali Abunimah / The Electronic Intifada)
Still reeling from the Israeli massacres in the occupied Gaza Strip, Palestinians have lately had little to celebrate. So the strong start to intra-Palestinian reconciliation talks in Cairo last week provided a glimmer of hope. But the good feeling came to a sudden end after what looked like a coordinated assault by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, European Union High Representative Javier Solana, and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Yher Palestinian Village that Pays Tribute to Jewish Victims of the Holocaust (George H. Hale)
Every Friday, the West Bank village of Ni'lin is home to some of the most violent clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian, Israeli and international demonstrators. Each week, activists from the village's Land Defence Committee stage demonstrations at the Separation Barrier which cuts off as much as half the village's farmland and water from its inhabitants.

Gaza Homes Destruction 'Wanton' (BBC News)
Human rights investigators say Israeli forces engaged in "wanton destruction" of Palestinian homes during the recent conflict in Gaza. Many buildings were demolished either by bulldozers or explosives after the area was under Israeli control. Amnesty International has told the BBC News website the methods used raised concerns about war crimes. Israel's military said buildings were destroyed because of military "operational needs".

Memos Show Bush/Cheney Plan to Gut Constitution. Will Congress Hold Them Accountable (ABC News & Matt Renner / Truthout & The Raw Story)
The release of previously secret Justice Department reveal the Bush administration's plans for to suspend Constitutional protections and invoke martial law by voiding the Fourth Amendment's ban against domestic military operations and "subordinating" the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech and of the press.

ACTION ALERT: Demand a Truth Commission to Investigate Bush/Cheney Crimes (Jim Dean / Democracy For America)
Remember the last time a Republican President broke the law? Congress established the Church Commission to investigate Richard Nixon and Watergate. Presidential abuses that go unchecked and unquestioned, become legally-accepted precedent. Only if Congress takes action can we protect our country and the world from a lawless American President in the future.

Top UN Official Accuses US of Inhuman Atrocities in Iraq, Afghanistan (Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann / President, UN General Assembly)
The President of the UN General Assembly has called for the world body to address "the massive violations human rights in Iraq. Even as the world absorbs the inhumanity of the recent invasion of Gaza, we see Iraq as a contemporary and ongoing example of how the illegal use of force leads inexorably to human suffering and disregard for human rights. The illegality of the use of force against Iraq... runs contrary to the prohibition of the use of force in article 2(4) of the UN Charter."

US Press Missed a Lot in Gaza, Producer Says (Joe Garofoli / San Francisco Chronicle)
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visits Israel and the West Bank this week, giving the US media another opportunity to tell the story of the 22-day war between the Israeli military and Hamas in Gaza in December and January. To San Francisco-based Middle Eastern media watcher Jalal Ghazi and other analysts, few Americans saw as many of the devastating images from Gaza as the rest of the world did.

80 Countries Offer $2.8 Billion to Rebuild Gaza, Palestine: Israel Only Asked to Pay for Attack on UN Compound (Associated Press)
The US will pledge about $300 million in US humanitarian aid for the war-torn Gaza Strip, plus about $600 million in assistance to the Palestinian Authority. Israel is not among the 80 nations contributing funds to repair the damage inflicted by Israel's disproportionate attack on Gaza. Meanwhile, the UN has suggested that Israel should pay for the hundreds of tons of food and other supplies destroyed when Israeli shells struck the main UN compound in Gaza.

UN Reports Israel's Gaza Attack Has Spurred Anger and Harmed Women (United Nations Department of Public Information)
Combating violence against women was a particularly complex task in Palestine. Israel’s recent invasion of Gaza has worsened the situation while causing the deaths of 114 women and injury to more than 800 others. The construction of the separation wall has increased that lack of access and in some cases women were delivering babies at Israeli-controlled checkpoints. Meanwhile, the UN reports, the mood in Gaza has “moved from a pervasive sense of grief to a pervasive sense of anger.”

After Gaza: Israel's Last Chance (Paul Rogers / Open Democracy)
Background: Israel's failure to achieve its key objectives in the Gaza war is rooted in an exhausted and counterproductive security doctrine. The concentrated assaults have inflicted damage estimated at $1.4 billion on Gaza's infrastructure, destroyed much of the infrastructure of the governing Hamas movement and eliminated some of its senior officials.

International Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Sudan's Leader (CNN News)
The International Criminal Court at the Hague issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for a five-year campaign of violence in Darfur. It is the first arrest warrant ever issued for a sitting head of state by the world's only permanent war crimes tribunal.

Russian Scholar Says US Will Collapse Next Year (Mike Eckel / ABCNews)
If you're inclined to believe Igor Panarin, and the Kremlin wouldn't mind if you did, then President Barack Obama will order martial law this year, the US will split into six rump-states before 2011, and Russia and China will become the backbones of a new world order.

CIA Fears Economic Collapse of US & 'There Will Be Blood' (Joby Warrick / Washington Post & Globe and Mail)
Harvard economic historian Niall Ferguson predicts prolonged financial hardship, even civil war, before the ‘Great Recession' ends. “A crisis of this magnitude is bound to increase political as well as economic [conflict]. It is bound to destabilize some countries. It will cause civil wars to break out, that have been dormant. It will topple governments that were moderate and bring in governments that are extreme. These things are pretty predictable.”

Memos Reveal Bush/Cheney Had Blueprint for Police State (Marjorie Cohn / After Downing Street)
Seven newly released memos from the Bush Justice Department reveal a concerted strategy to cloak the President with power to override the Constitution. The memos provide “legal” rationales for the President to suspend freedom of speech and press; order warrantless searches and seizures, including wiretaps of US citizens; lock up US citizens indefinitely in the United States without criminal charges.

Largest Global Warming Protest Closes Washington, DC Coal Plant
More than 2,500 former coal miners, ministers, mothers, students, and climate activists, representing over 40 states, successfully blocked all five entrances to the Capitol Power Plant for nearly four hours today, forming the largest display of civil disobedience on the climate crisis in US history. The demonstration was led by Dr. James Hansen, one of the world’s leading climate scientists, Robert Kennedy, Jr., Bill McKibben, Wendell Berry, Gustave Speth, and Vandana Shiva.

Iraqi Refugees Suffer Hardships in Syria, Sweden and Iraq, Itself (Mundher Shawi / Azzaman & Mundher al-Shawfi / Azzaman)
Syria says the presence of more than a million Iraqi refugees is stretching its strapped economic resources to the limit and has asked other Arab countries for help. The Swedish government is tightening rules under which Iraqi refugees seeking asylum could stay in the country and is using force to have them deported.

US Energy Department Cannot Account for Nuclear Materials at 15 Locations (Katherine McIntire Peters / Global Security Newswire)
A new report reveals lax accounting over some US nuclear materials. Auditors found that Energy could not accurately account for the quantities and locations of nuclear material at 15 out of 40, or 37 percent, of facilities reviewed. The materials written off included 20,580 grams of enriched uranium, 45 grams of plutonium, 5,001 kilograms of normal uranium and 189,139 kilograms of depleted uranium.

Army Updates Plans for Electronic Warfare (MSNBC)
For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the Army is updating its plans for electronic warfare, calling for more use of high-powered microwaves, lasers and infrared beams to attack enemy targets and control angry crowds. A 112-page manual lays out in broad terms the Army's fear that without new equipment and training, US forces may be at a deadly disadvantage.

March 2: NASA Scientist to Lead Civil Disobedience at Massive DC Climate Change Protest (Stephen Leahy / Common Dreams & Renee Schoof / McClatchy)
More than 12,000 people are planning to gather in Washington on March 2, to demand immediate and deep cuts in US emissions of carbon dioxide. At least 2,000 people, led by NASA Scientist James Hansen, plan to close the coal/oil powered Capitol Power Plant that supplies heat to Capitol Hill, breaking the law if necessary. Meanwhile, scientists report that the global climate is more sensitive to rising temperatures than expected and the effects of CO2 could last for millennia.

US Prepared to Shoot Down North Korea Satellite Missile (Martha Raddatz & Lauren Sher / ABC News & Hyung-Jin Kim / Associated Press)
As North Korean prepares to use a rocket to launch a satellite into orbit, Adm. Timothy Keating, head of the US Pacific Commands, has told ABC News that the military is prepared to shoot down any North Korean missile — if President Obama should give the order. "Should it look like it's not a satellite launch — that it's something other than a satellite launch — we'll be ready to respond," Keating warned.

Guantanamo Will Close but What About Bagram? (William Fisher / Inter Press Service)
While human rights and legal advocacy groups applauded President Barack Obama’s decision to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, many raised another thorny question: "What about Bagram?" In a federal court filing last week, lawyers from Obama's Department of Justice said they would adopt the same position taken by the Bush administration — that detainees held at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan have no right to challenge their detention in US courts.

Obama Team Channels Bush as US Repeats Old Iran Lies at UN (PressTV.com & Reuters Blog)
Iran's UN envoy has criticized the new US ambassador, who accused Tehran of supporting terrorism and attempting to develop nuclear weapons. In a speech to the UN Security Council during a session on Iraq, Susan Rice said the US would 'seek an end to Iran's ambitions to acquire an illicit nuclear capacity, and its support for terrorism'. Meanwhile Iran negotiates for nuclear fuel from Russia — with the spent fuel rods to be returned to Mosow after use.

ACTION ALERT: March 3 DC Demo — Why I’ll Get Arrested to Stop the Burning of Coal (Bill McKibben / Yale Environment 360)
Make history March 2, 2009 in Washington, DC. Be part of the largest mass civil disobedience for the climate in US history. Environmentalist Bill McKibben will join demonstrators who plan to march on a coal-fired power plant in Washington DC. In his article for Yale Environment 360, McKibben explains why he’s ready to go to jail to protest the continued burning of coal.

Nuclear General Rebuffs New Commander-in-Chief (Global Security Newswire)
The nation's most senior nuclear combat commander yesterday took issue with President Barack Obama's characterization of US atomic weapons as being on "hair-trigger alert" and warned against reducing the arsenal's launch readiness. Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton, who heads US Strategic Command, dismissed calls for taking America's "nuclear deterrent" off "hair-trigger" status, despite growing international calls to ratchet down the threat of an accidental nuclear conflagration.

US Is Arms Bazaar for Mexican Cartels (James C. McKinley Jr. / The New York Times)
Mexican authorities have long complained that American gun dealers are arming the country’s violent drug cartels. US gun dealers have sold thousands of weapons — including AK-47 rifles — to drug gangs in the state of Sinaloa, helping to fuel the gunfights that left more than 6,000 Mexicans dead last year alone.

Rev. Dr. King's Condemnation of Predatory Capitalism Again Deleted in Black History Month (Jay Janson / OpEdNews)
February Black History Month is now past. Strikingly absent from the corporate media coverage were any references to the biting condemnations of America's imperialist wars and predatory international capitalism by Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. One begins to wonder if there is perhaps an unwritten law that keeps even black leaders from quoting Dr. Martin King's 1967 condemnations of U.S. wars and covert criminal CIA activities to support overseas investments and trade.

Undersea Bombs Threaten Marine Life (Azadeh Ansari / CNN)
Beyond the golden beaches and beneath the blue waters of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques is a site that resembles more of a munitions graveyard than a Caribbean paradise. Hundreds of corroding and unexploded bombs litter the sea floor, leaking toxins and taking a toll on nearby marine life. The munitions were left by the US Navy, which had a training site on Vieques for six decades.

Obamas Iraq (BBC News & Anne Gearan / Associated Press Military Writer)
President Barack Obama has announced the withdrawal of most US troops in Iraq by the end of August 2010. But up to 50,000 of 142,000 troops now there will stay into 2011 to advise Iraqi forces and protect US interests, leaving by the end of 2011, he said.

Guantánamo's Last Days (Tim Elfrink & Jesse Hyde / San Francisco Weekly)
America prepares to shutter the infamous prison camp, and more jihad looms. Omar Khadr, and he is the only Westerner held at the prison camp just across the Florida Straits from Miami, he is also its youngest detainee. Village Voice Media was inside the Guantánamo Bay camps for both Khadr's January 20 hearing, likely the last one to be held in Cuba, and President Barack Obama's order the next day to close the place.

Dianne Feinstein Plans Torture Coverup (Bob Fertik / Democrats.com)
In January, Dianne Feinstein replaced Jay Rockefeller as chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. And her first act as chair will be to coverup the Bush System of Torture. The officials described the planned inquiry as a "study" and stressed that it would not yield recommendations for possible legal proceedings. Why not? Because the new CIA Director, Leon Panetta, wants to protect the torturers:

Senate to Investigate CIA's Actions under Bush (Greg Miller / Los Angeles Times)
The Senate Intelligence Committee is preparing to launch an investigation of the CIA's detention and interrogation programs under President George W. Bush, setting the stage for a sweeping examination of some of most secretive and controversial operations in recent agency history. The 'fact-finding' effort will seek details on secret prisons and interrogation methods — but will not aim to determine if CIA officials broke laws, legislative sources say.

ACTION ALERT: End the Recruitment of Child Soldiers (Larry Cox / Amnesty International USA)
Around the world today, children are not only war's victims, but also its combatants. Help us expose and bring to justice those who recruit and use child soldiers.

Can Gaza Be Rebuilt Through Tunnels? (Ann Wright, t r u t h o u t | Perspective)
"How do you rebuild 5,000 homes, businesses and government buildings when the only way supplies come into the prison called Gaza is through tunnels? Will the steel I-beams for roofs bend 90 degrees to go through the tunnels from Egypt? Will the tons of cement, lumber, roofing materials, nails, dry wall and paint be hauled by hand, load after load, 70 feet underground, through a tunnel 500 to 900 feet long and then be pulled up a 70-foot hole and put into a waiting truck in Gaza?"

Obama's Budget Boosts Pentagon Spending 4% Higher than Congress Proposed (Rob Reynolds / Al Jazeera & Vago Muradian / The Army Times & Eric Gershon / The Hartford Courant)
As President Barack Obama prepared to send his budget outline to congress, US defense spending was coming under new scrutiny. Fighting two wars and supporting an enormous global military machine, cost the US almost $700 billion in 2008. Despite pledges to cut back on Pentagon waste, no-bid contracts and outmoded weapons, President Obama's budget proposal for the 2010 fiscal year would provide $533.7 billion for basic defense spending,— a 4 percent increase over what Congress approved for 2009.

ACTION ALERT: Save our Economy: Cut the Military Budget (Progressive Democrats of America)
With the economy in awash in debt, there a major step that can be taken to help stem the tide — cutting wasteful military spending. Outdated weapons, weapons that don't work, hundreds of overseas military bases, and so on. Ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will save $162 billion. We can cut this budget by 25% and still maintain the most powerful military in the world. It's time to foucs on domestic needs. Send an email to Congress and the president. Take action now

President's Address to Congress & Rahm Emanuel Signals Deep Defense Spending Cuts (President Barack Obama & Chris Bowers / Open Left.com)
President Obama: "We'll eliminate the no-bid contracts that have wasted billions in Iraq... and reform our defense budget so that we're not paying for Cold War-era weapons systems we don't use." Commentary: White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is signaling that not only will there be defense spending cuts, but that those cuts will be deep.

Obama Poised to Withdraw Troops from Iraq: Sources (Andrew Gray and David Morgan / Reuters)
U.S. President Barack Obama is likely to decide to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq over a period of about 19 months with a formal announcement expected by the end of the week, officials said Tuesday. But they said he was likely to favour a timetable of around 19 months to get combat troops out of Iraq.

Top Secret Tourism: Your Travel Guide to Germ Warfare Laboratories, Clandestine Aircraft Bases and Other Places in the United States You're Not Supposed to Know About (Harry Helms / BuzzFlash.com Review)
Here is the unseen America of government facilities and installations protected by a wall of secrecy, deception, and misinformation. It includes huge, isolated areas (some larger than the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island), along with innocuous office buildings located in the middle of major cities. This “other America” has an enormous impact on your life, but you probably have little idea of its extent, scope, and power.

Investigating Gaza's 'War Crimes': ‘White Flag’ Killing and Israel Prepares to Demolish More Palestinian Homes (Al Jazeera)
Rawhiyya al Najar, a mother and a Gaza native was killed on January 13, aged 37, by what was estimated to be a single shot to the head. Eyewitnesses, friends, neighbors and human rights experts have expressed outrage that a woman carrying a baby and white flag was shot in broad daylight by an Israeli soldier. Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, 1500 Palestinians face the demolition of their homes, which Israeli authorities have declared “illegal.”

US Jails Syrian-born Arms Dealer (Al Jazeera)
A US district court has sentenced a Syrian-born arms dealer to 30 years in prison for conspiring to sell weapons to Colombian rebels. Monzer al-Kassar, 63, a longtime resident of Spain and known as the "Prince of Marbella" for his lifestyle in the posh seaside town, was taken from his home in Spain in 2007 and extradited to the US.

ACTION ALERT: Request A Special Prosecutor for Bush, Cheney (Voters for Peace)
The US is a nation that holds that no one is above the law. If war crimes were committed, accountability is required. The world knows the US government violated international law in recent years. How does the US demonstrate adherence to the rule of law without investigating allegations of such violations and holding responsible those who have ignored the law? Please join the call for empowering a special prosecutor to examine these crimes as a means of restoring US respect for international law.

Ex-Detainee Charges 'Medieval' Torture by US (Kevin Sullivan / Washington Post)
Binyam Mohamed, 30, a former British resident released after seven years in detention, more than four of them at the Guantanamo Bay military prison, arrived back in London on Monday, saying the U.S. government subjected him to years of "medieval" torture.

ACTION ALERT: Ask Sec. of State Clinton to Investigate Potential War Crimes in Gaza. (Amnesty International)
An Amnesty International research team recently found evidence of US-made weapons were used in Israel’s attack on the civilian residents of Gaza, including the misuse of white phosphorus munitions. Amnesty is urging concerned Americans to contract Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to demand that she immediately call for an investigation into Israel’s use of US weapons of mass destruction in Gaza.

Applying Iraq's Broader Lessons in Afghanistan (Matthew B. Stannard, Chronicle Staff Writer)
As the United States and NATO craft a new strategy for Afghanistan, they are likely to apply counterinsurgency lessons learned at great cost during the war in Iraq. Last week, President Obama ordered 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan, prompting comparisons to the "surge" strategy in Iraq. But there was more to the surge than just additional troops.

Marine Regiment Returns to Bay Area Intact (Demian Bulwa / San Francisco Chronicle)
or the last three months, Cpl. Vandoan Ngo slept in a fuel truck, which he parked in a series of fields in Iraq. He lay on the floor, face to the pedals. He was cold and dirty, taking just three showers in 93 days. And the fear of enemy attack was always there. Then, on Sunday, Ngo resumed his life.

Israeli University Welcomes ‘War Crimes’ Colonel (Jonathan Cook / Global Research)
The Israeli government has moved quickly to quash protests over the appointment of the army’s senior adviser on international law to a teaching post at Tel Aviv University. Col Pnina Sharvit-Baruch is thought to have provided legal cover for war crimes during the recent Gaza offensive.

ACTION ALERT: Obama’s Surge of Troops to Afghanistan (Peace Action & Credo Action)
President Obama was right when he said we need to focus more resources on Afghanistan. But rather than completing an examination of all available options, he has decided to deploy 17,000 more troops without a clear plan for turning things around. Sec. Gates and Obama announced plans to deploy an additional 17,000 troops — a 50 percent increase — despite the fact that the Pentagon has not determined a long term strategy for the conflict, including exit strategy.

US Apologizes for Killing 13 Afghan Civilians; Kills 14 More (Xinhua & Associated Press &)
An operation the American military at first described as a "precision strike" instead killed 13 Afghan civilians and only three militants, the US military said Saturday, three days after sending a general to the site to investigate. The US military originally said 15 militants were killed Tuesday in a coalition operation in the Gozara district of Herat province, but Afghan officials said six women and two children were among the dead, casting doubt on the US claim.

US Soldiers Investigated over 'Fraud' Bigger than Madoff (Patrick Cockburn / The Belfast Telegraph)
In what could turn out to be the greatest fraud in US history, American authorities have started to investigate the alleged role of senior military officers in the misuse of $125 billion in a US-directed effort to reconstruct Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein. The exact sum missing may never be clear, but a report by the US Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction suggests it may be an even bigger theft than Bernard Madoff's notorious Ponzi scheme.

Prosecute War Criminals and Their Lawyers (Marjorie Cohn / t r u t h o u t | Perspective)
Since he took office, President Obama has instituted many changes that break with the policies of the Bush administration. The new president has ordered that no government agency will be allowed to torture, that the U.S. prison at Guantánamo will be shuttered, and that the CIA's secret black sites will be closed down. But Obama is non-committal when asked whether he will seek investigation and prosecution of Bush officials who broke the law.

Marine Regiment Returns to Bay Area Intact (Demian Bulwa / San Francisco Chronicle)
or the last three months, Cpl. Vandoan Ngo slept in a fuel truck, which he parked in a series of fields in Iraq. He lay on the floor, face to the pedals. He was cold and dirty, taking just three showers in 93 days. And the fear of enemy attack was always there. Then, on Sunday, Ngo resumed his life.

Russia, China Spar over Deadly Russian Naval Attack (RIA Novosti & Xinhua News Service & Asia-Pacific News)
Eight crew were feared dead after Russian Coast Guard vessels fired more than 500 times on a Chinese ship that was fleeing port after a dispute over a rice cargo. The Russian Foreign Ministry maintains the attack was :legal." The ship's owner, however, called the attack "an act of murder." The Chinese government is demanding an investigation and compensation for loss of the vessel and loss of lives.

Colombia Military Accused of Killing Civilians (Mike Ceaser / Chronicle Foreign Service)
President Alvaro Uribe has vowed to end the killing of civilians but his administration has been criticized by US Democrats for its checkered human rights record. The US, after providing Colombia with $5 billion in mostly military aid, suspended financing after several Colombian military units were implicated in killings of noncombatants. Some human rights group say numerous US-funded military units are still involved in extrajudicial killings.

Russia Sinks Chinese Ship Bound For US With Nuclear Warhead (Sorcha Faal / What Does It Mean?)
Russian Military Analysts are reporting that Russian Coast Guard and Naval forces were ‘forced’ to sink the Chinese registered cargo ship New Star bound for US Port of Seattle after it refused orders to stop and be boarded over fears it was carrying a ‘missing’ nuclear warhead from a Russian Topol-M intercontinental ballistics missile. [Note: EAW can find no secondary corroboration regarding the presence of a Topol-M warhead onboard the vessel.]

Africa Border Opens for Gaza Aid after UK (BBC News)
The border between Morocco and Algeria, closed for almost 15 years, was temporarily reopened for an British aid convoy of 99 vehicles heading to the Gaza Strip loaded with medicine, food, clothes and toys. Britain’s “terror police” earlier seized three of the convoy’s vehicles (including an ambulance), closed a major highway, arrested nine volunteers, cordoned off residential areas and invaded the homes of three volunteers. All nine were eventually released without charges.

Gaza: Death’s Laboratory: WMD's from Boeing and UC Berkeley to the Streets of Gaza (Conn Hallinan, Dispatches From The Edge / Berkeley Daily Planet)
The GBU-39, a Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME) was developed by the US Air Force, Boeing Corporation, and University of California’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2000. The weapon wraps the high explosives HMX or RDX with a tungsten alloy and other metals like cobalt, nickel or iron, in a carbon fiber/epoxy container. When the bomb explodes, the container evaporates and the tungsten turns into micro-shrapnel that is extremely lethal up to about 60 feet.

Gaza: Inside the World's Biggest Prison (Lara Marlowe / The Irish Times & Taghreed El-Khodary / New York Times)
Evidence is mounting that the Israeli defence forces used the Gaza assault as a testing ground for new, horrific weapons — including new WMDs designed and manufactured in the US —that have confounded doctors’ attempts to save the wounded. Three congressional Democrats, including Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, visited Gaza on Thursday, saying they wanted to see for themselves the destruction caused by the war with Israel last month and to assess the area's needs.

Israel’s Rationale for Murder: No One is Innocent (Junaid Levesque-Alam / Dissident Voice)
Commentary: The Israeli military has admitted shelling the home of a Palestinian doctor during its Gaza offensive and killing three of his daughters, but said its soldiers' actions were "reasonable." "Israel’s official excuses for extinguishing over 1,300 Palestinian lives—half of them civilian and one-third of them children— are oft-repeated [but] are they smokescreens, designed to disguise troublesome facts about both Israel’s strategy and its very origins?

US Probes Reports of 8 Afghan Civilian Deaths (Jason Straziuso / Associated Press)
Responding quickly to another allegation of civilian casualties, a US general traveled to western Afghanistan on Wednesday to investigate reports that six women and two children were killed in a US air strike. Photos of the site showed at least one dead boy, bloodied and dirty from the attack.

NATO 'Can't Allow Afghan Failure' (BBC News & Deutsche Welle & CBC News)
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has said that failure in Afghanistan is "not an option" but he ruled out a military solution alone. Speaking at a meeting of NATO and partner defence ministers in Krakow, Poland, he said: "We cannot afford the price of failure."

Former Gitmo Guard Tells All ( Scott Horton / Harpers Magazine)
rmy Private Brandon Neely served as a prison guard at Guantánamo in the first years the facility was in operation. With the Bush Administration, and thus the threat of retaliation against him, now gone, Neely decided to step forward and tell his story. “The stuff I did and the stuff I saw was just wrong,” he told the Associated Press.

Will Obama Institute a New Kind of Preventive Detention for Terrorist Suspects? (Jane Mayer / The New Yorker & Fresh Air)
The last “enemy combatant” being detained in America is incarcerated at the U.S. Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston, South Carolina—a tan, low-slung building situated amid acres of grassy swampland. The prisoner, known internally as EC#2, is an alleged Al Qaeda sleeper agent named Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri. He has been held in isolation in the brig for more than five years, although he has never stood trial or been convicted of any crime.

Behind the Executive Orders (Janes Mayer / The New Yorker)
On January 22, President Barack Obama consigned to history the worst excesses of the Bush Administration’s “war on terror.” One of the four executive orders that Obama signed effectively cancelled seven years of controversial Justice Department legal opinions authorizing methods of treating terror suspects so brutal that even a top Bush Administration official overseeing prosecutions at Guantánamo, Susan Crawford, recently admitted that they amounted to torture.

US and Russia Make Military Moves in Africa (Agence France-Presse & The Jamestown Foundation & Eurasia Daily Monitor)
A US warship has docked in Maputo for the first time as part of a maritime security training partnership along the east African coast, where piracy has lent new urgency to the venture. Also of note: The recently released Ukrainian ship, MV Faina, seized by Somali pirates in September, held 33 Russian-designed T-72 battle tanks and a substantial cargo of grenade launchers, anti-aircraft guns, small arms and ammo believed to be on their way to landlocked South Sudan.

Space Crash Called "Catastrophic," Lots of Debris (The Associated Press)
The crash of two satellites has generated an estimated tens of thousands of pieces of space junk that could circle Earth and threaten other satellites for the next 10,000 years. One expert called the collision "a catastrophic event" that he hoped would force President Barack Obama's administration to address the long-ignored issue of debris in space.

Feinstein Comment on US Drones likely to Embarrass Pakistan (Greg Miller / Los Angeles Times)
The Predator planes that launch missile strikes against militants are based in Pakistan, US Senator Dianne Feinstein has revealed. Thissuggests a much deeper relationship with the US military than Islamabad would like to admit.

Social Collapse Best Practices (Dmitry Orlov / The Long Now Foundation)
The comparative theory of superpower collapse remains just a theory, although it is currently being quite thoroughly tested. The theory states that the US and the Soviet Union will have collapsed for the same reasons, namely: a severe and chronic shortfall in the production of crude oil, a severe and worsening foreign trade deficit, a runaway military budget, and ballooning foreign debt. I call this particular list of ingredients "The Superpower Collapse Soup."

Defence Role in CIA's Secret Jails (The Age)
Three human rights groups have obtained documents that confirm US Department of Defence involvement in the CIA's "ghost" detention program, and the existence of secret prisons at Bagram air base in Afghanistan and in Iraq.

Obama Sends Mixed Signals on Torture (Thomas R. Eddlem / The New American & Editorial / The New York Times)
A Gallup Poll released February 12 revealed that 62 percent of Americans want to investigate or criminally prosecute Bush administration officials who authorized torture in the so-called “war on terror.” But even though President Obama has said numerous times that “nobody's above the law,” on February 10 he used the Bush administration’s “state secrets” gambit to quash a lawsuit attempting to penalize some of those involved in renditioning torture subjects.

Unredacted Documents Reveal Prisoners Tortured to Death (Stephen C. Webster / Raw Story.com)
Human rights groups accuse Pentagon of running secret prisons, cooperating with CIA "ghost detention" program. The American Civil Liberties Union has released previously classified excerpts of a government report on harsh interrogation techniques used in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. These previously unreported pages detail repeated use of "abusive" behavior, even to the point of prisoner deaths.

Defence Role in CIA's Secret Jails (The Age)
Three human rights groups have obtained documents that confirm US Department of Defence involvement in the CIA's "ghost" detention program, and the existence of secret prisons at Bagram air base in Afghanistan and in Iraq.

France and UK Cover-up as Nuclear Subs Collide in Mid-Atlantic (BBC News & The Sun & The Independent)
A Royal Navy nuclear submarine was involved in a collision with a French nuclear sub in the middle of the Atlantic . Although both vessels were left visibly damaged by the crash, the incident was covered up for several weeks, with the French concocting a false story that their sub had collided with cargo spilled from a shipping vessel. The two British and French warships had enough weapons on board to carry out 1,248 Hiroshima bombings

An American Foreign Legion: Is the US Military Now an Imperial Police Force? (William Astore / TomDispatch.com)
Commentary: "A leaner, meaner, higher tech force — that was what George W. Bush... promised to transform the American military into. Instead, they came close to turning it into a foreign legion. Foreign as in being constantly deployed overseas on imperial errands; foreign as in being ever more reliant on private military contractors; foreign as in being increasingly segregated from the elites that profit most from its actions, yet serve the least in its ranks."

Iraq's Young Jobless Threaten Stability, Report Says (Tina Susman / The Los Angeles Times)
More than a fourth of young men are out of work, a U.N. report says. Unemployment statistics illustrate the difficulty of attracting investment to a country still viewed as a risky environment. Among its findings: 28% of males ages 15 to 29 are unemployed, 17% of women have jobs, and most of the 450,000 Iraqis entering the job market this year won't find work "without a concerted effort to boost the private sector."

Is the U.S. Repeating Soviet Mistakes in Afghanistan? (Jonathan S. Landay | McClatchy Newspapers)
Analysis: "Twenty years to the day after the last Soviet soldier left Afghanistan, Dastagir Arizad ticked off grievances against President Hamid Karzai and the United States that are disturbingly reminiscent of Moscow's humiliating defeat. 'People are not feeling safe. Their lives are not secure. Their daughters are not safe. Their land is not secure. The Karzai government is corrupt'."

US Army 'Wants More Immigrants' (BBC News)
he United States army is to accept immigrants with temporary US visas, for the first time since the Vietnam war, according to the New York Times. Until now immigrants have had to have permanent residency — a "green card" - in order to qualify for the services. But those with temporary visas will be offered accelerated citizenship if they enroll.

Afghan Kids Killed as Aussies Battle Taliban (Richard A. Oppel Jr.,Taimoor Shah / New York Times)
Five children were killed in predawn fighting Thursday between Australian special operations troops and Taliban guerrillas in south central Afghanistan, the Australian military said, the latest episode of civilian casualties that have hurt support for U.S. and NATO troops here.

Our Troops Need More Time between Deployments (Ellen Tauscher / San Francisco Chronicle)
Having fought two wars on two fronts for more than seven years, our troops are tired and our military's equipment is worn out. The demands of multiple deployments in quick succession have taken a toll on our troops, who suffer on a personal level, experiencing higher rates of suicide, divorce and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Attorney General Eric Holder Invokes 'State Secrecy' Shield (San Francisco Chronicle Editorial)
In one of his first acts as attorney general, Eric Holder made the right move in asking for a review of all litigation where the Bush administration invoked the "state secrets" clause. So why did he then turn around and invoke the same "state secrets" privilege as Bush did in a case in San Francisco this week?

ACTION ALERT: Help for the Congo (Mercy Corps)
21-year-old Elizabeth Aziza lives in a tent pitched at an orphanage on the outskirts of Goma, a city in eastern Congo that has seen its population swell by a quarter-million people over the last few months. Nearly all escaped their villages as they were attacked. Most lost their homes. Many saw their loved ones killed.

Why Is Obama Adopting Bush’s Blustery Stance on Secret Documents about Rendition? (Matthew Rothschild / The Progressive)
President Obama is retreating again on his position against torture and rendition. Last week that he had made an exception for “facilities used only to hold people on a short-term, transitory basis.” This week we learned that Obama’s Administration has reaffirmed one of Bush’s egregious positions on rendition.

UN Moves to Charge Israel with War Crimes (Global Research)
Ethical and moral questions linger even among Israeli peace activists over the destruction and civilian deaths wrought by the immense Tel Aviv firepower employed in Gaza.The United Nations moves to set up a commission to look into Israeli war crimes and respond to its human rights violations in Gaza.

USA Ready to Lose More Men in Afghanistan for the Sake of Opium Drugs (Vladimir Anokhin / Pravda)
NATO and the USA have lost the control over the biggest part of Afghanistan’s territory. Taliban and al-Qaeda continue to intensify their activities in the north-west of Pakistan. Resistance has been gathering pace in Afghanistan, while the coalition troops have been suffering from the shortage of personnel.

ACTION ALERT VICTORY! Nuclear Bailout Stripped from Stimulus Package! (Michael Mariotte / Nuclear Information and Resource Service)
After a deluge of public oppositions, including more than 10,000 letters to Congress in one week, the $50 Billion in taxpayer loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors and "clean coal" plants has been stripped from the final economic stimulus bill. "Your actions made a huge difference," says Michael Mariotte, Executive Director of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service.

On the Ukranian Weapons Ship Stand-off (EcoTerra International & East African Seafarers Assistance Program)
Becoming a pirate is a way to survive in Somalia, a devastated African country of about 9 million people living on a territory slightly larger than Ukraine yet just below the size of Texas. Getting rid of the Somali pirate phenomenon requires addressing the complexities of Somalia as a nation, its deep political and economic challenges.

The Environmental Roots of the “Somali Pirate Crisis” (EcoTerra International)
ECOTERRA International, the last international environmental organization still working in Somalia, warned ship-owners as far back as 1992 that they were fishing illegally within the Somalia's Exclusive Economic Zone. When foreign vessels refused to stop pirating Somalia's ocean resources, EcoTerra repeatedly appealed to theUS and the international community for help to protect the coastal waters of the war-torn state to no avail. This void provided an opening for the rise of Somalia's pirate fleets.

US Navy to Test “Pain-Ray” and Laser Weapons on Somali Pirates (Ecoterra International)
According to recently leaked information the anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden are to be used as a cover-up for the live testing of recently developed "non-lethal" and "sub-lethal" weapons systems including chemical and biological gasses to sicken and confuse targeted individuals, sonic blasters that can render victims deaf, laser dazzlers that temporarily blind, and a "pain-ray" that causes an unbearable burning sensation when trained on people at a great distance.

Hunger Strikes Continue at Guantánamo (Robert Mackey / New York Times)
A United States military lawyer representing one of the 242 detainees still imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay told a British newspaper on Sunday that, including her client, “at least 50 people are on hunger strike, with 20 on the critical list” at the detention center.

Russia Issues Nuclear Attack Warning Over US Takedown Of Satellite (Sorcha Faal / What Does It Mean & RIA Novosti)
Reports circulating in the Kremlin today are stating that a ‘shocked’ Russian leadership is struggling for an ‘appropriate’ response to the United States deliberate destruction of one of Russia’s most advanced surveillance satellites tasked with monitoring North Korea nuclear missile activity.

The Tunnels of Gaza (Sara Flounders / Global Research & The Times Online)
Life in Gaza could not be more impossible. Its tunnels are a symbol of resistance. Eighteen months ago, outraged when the Palestinians voted for the militant leadership of Hamas in democratic elections, Israel imposed a total lockdown on the entire population of Gaza. But the entire people were determined to continue to resist. They found a way to circumvent total starvation. The besieged Palestinians have dug more than 1,000 tunnels under the totally sealed border.

Will Obama Break the Law for Israel's Sake? (Grant F. Smith / Global Research & antiwar.com)
Since entering office, President Barack Obama has promised sweeping changes in governance: transparency, law enforcement, and stewardship of US tax dollars. But Obama's entire facade momentarily crumbled under a single withering question from reporter Helen Thomas during the president's Feb. 9, 2008 press conference on "Do you know of any country in the Middle East that has nuclear weapons?" Obama dodged the substance of the question:

The Environmental Roots of the “Somali Pirate Crisis” (EcoTerra International)
ECOTERRA International, the last international environmental organization still working in Somalia, warned ship-owners as far back as 1992 that they were fishing illegally within the Somalia's Exclusive Economic Zone. When foreign vessels refused to stop pirating Somalia's ocean resources, EcoTerra repeatedly appealed to theUS and the international community for help to protect the coastal waters of the war-torn state to no avail. This void provided an opening for the rise of Somalia's pirate fleets.

Action Alert: No A Bailout for the Nuke Labs (Council for a Livable World)
Help prevent $1 billion in funding for nuclear weapons infrastructure programs. When the House of Representatives created its version of the economic stimulus bill, no funding for the nuclear weapons complex was included.

US Senators Leahy and Feingold Call for Investigation of Bush/Cheney Crimes (The Huffington Post & After Downing Street)
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy insisted on Monday in firm and passionate terms that a comprehensive investigation be launched into the conduct of the Bush administration, saying anything less would prevent the country from moving forward. Senator Russ Feingold backed the call, arguing that "Getting all the facts out about what happened over the last eight years is a crucial part of restoring the rule of law."

Financial Crisis Could Trigger Global Unrest, Beginning in China (Agence France-Presse & Carol Divjak / Global Research)
The global economic crisis could trigger political unrest equal to that seen during the 1930s, the head of the World Trade Organization told a German newspaper on Saturday. At the same time, the Chinese government is facing a massive unemployment crisis, far worse than in the late 1990s, when lay-offs of more than 30 million workers from state enterprises led to a wave of militant protests.

Hitler's Carmaker: The Inside Story of How General Motors Helped Mobilize the Third Reich (Edwin Black / Global Research)
On May 2, 1934, after practicing his Sieg Heil in front of a mirror, the president of the General Motors Overseas Corporation James D.Mooney and two other senior executives from General Motors and its German division, Adam Opel A.G., went to meet Adolf Hitler in his Chancellery office. Waiting with Hitler would be Nazi Party stalwart Joachim von Ribbentrop, who would later become foreign minister, and Reich economic adviser Wilhelm Keppler.

Arab-Kurd Tension Rising over Kirkuk Control of Iraqi City Remains in Dispute (Sebastian Abbot / Associated Press)
The prime minister of Iraq's Kurdish region accused the Arab-dominated national government yesterday of trying to use troops to seize control of the disputed city of Kirkuk, escalating tensions. US officials consider the growing rift between Iraqi Kurds and the Arab leadership in Baghdad as one of the major threats to Iraq's stability as President Barack Obama maps a plan to withdraw US troops from Iraq.

Poll Shows Afghan Faith in US Eroding (Jon Cohen and Jennifer Agiesta / Washington Post)
A new poll in Afghanistan shows sagging support for US efforts in that country, with air strikes a chief concern. A quarter of Afghans say attacks on American or allied forces are justifiable, double the proportion saying so in late 2006.

Some Democrats Wary of Adding Troops in Afghanistan (Anne Flaherty / Associated Press)
After campaigning on the promise to end one war, President Obama is preparing to escalate another.After campaigning on the promise to end one war, President Obama is preparing to escalate another. While increasing the military's focus in Afghanistan was anticipated, many Democrats acknowledged in recent interviews that they are skittish about sending more troops, even in small numbers.

Afghanistan 'Tougher than Iraq' (BBC News)
US President Barack Obama's envoy to Afghanistan has said that winning the conflict there will be "much tougher" than in Iraq. Richard Holbrooke told a conference in Munich: "I have never seen anything like the mess we have inherited."

Financial Crisis Could Trigger Global Unrest, Beginning in China (Agence France-Presse & Carol Divjak / Global Research)
The global economic crisis could trigger political unrest equal to that seen during the 1930s, the head of the World Trade Organization told a German newspaper on Saturday. At the same time, the Chinese government is facing a massive unemployment crisis, far worse than in the late 1990s, when lay-offs of more than 30 million workers from state enterprises led to a wave of militant protests.

Rendition Case in To Test Obama Policies (Bob Egelko / San Francisco Chronicle)
The public is likely to get its first close look at the Obama administration's policies on torture, secrecy and prisoners' rights in a San Francisco courtroom. Five men — one now imprisoned in Egypt, one in Morocco, one at Guantanamo Bay and two who have been released without charges — are asking the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate a lawsuit that accuses a San Jose company of helping the CIA transport them to overseas dungeons where they were subjected to torture.

How Bush Threatened Britain to Quash Evidence of US Torture (Andrew Sullivan / The Atlantic & Robert Stevens / WSWS)
The Bush administration threatened the British government with withdrawal of intelligence sharing if they allowed a court to publish details of its torture during the trial of Binyam Mohamed. Mohamed, 30, is currently in Guantánamo Bay but is reportedly being prepared for a return to the UK. He states that he was tortured by US agents in Pakistan, Morocco and Afghanistan between 2002 and 2004, and that Britain's security agencies were complicit.

Eye-Spy Tech Used in Iraq Is Coming to an iPhone Near You (Noah Shachtman / Wired)
There's software that's smart enough to recognize people by their faces, or by their irises. The technology was used in Iraq to control entry to cities under siege. Although there are fears these "iris scans" could be used to creat police-state "hit lists," US spy agencies are refining the technology to work at great distances, in poor lighting, or even as close as a stranger's iPhone.

Jailed CIA Spy, Son Accused of Accepting Russian Payouts (Bryan Denson / The Oregonian)
Harold James "Jim" Nicholson was arrested Nov. 16, 1996, at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., on his way to Switzerland to meet with Russian intelligence officials. The FBI said he carried film of top-secret documents.

Gaza Activist Detained in Egypt
A German-Egyptian activist has been detained north of Cairo during a rally in support of Palestinians in Gaza. Philip Rizk has been an outspoken activist on Palestinian issues and lived in Gaza for two years. He previously worked on aid projects with Canon Andrew White, special envoy to the Middle East for the Archbishop of Canterbury. Eyewitnesses said he was bundled into a white van with no licence plates, which then sped off.

Q&A: The History of the Gaza Conflict (BBC News)
Three weeks after it began its offensive in the Gaza Strip, Israel announced a unilateral ceasefire, followed hours later by Hamas announcing a one-week ceasefire. The BBC News website looks at the background to the conflict and what the ceasefire means.

Bomb Plants Could Shift to Control of Pentagon (Matthew L. Wald / The New York Times)
The Obama administration is considering whether to shift the management of nuclear weapons production to the Pentagon from the Energy Department, a step that would end more than 60 years of civilian control over nuclear bomb manufacture.

Enough Plutonium Reported Missing to Produce 8 Nuclear Bombs: Obama Orders Pentagon To Secure US Nukes (Sorcha Faal / What Does It Mean)
Reports are circulating around the Munich Security Conference that the United States delegation headed by their Vice President Joseph Biden has told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that President Obama has ordered the Pentagon to take over from the US Energy Department all American nuclear weapons plants after it was discovered that enough plutonium was ‘missing’ to make 6-8 one-kiloton atomic bombs.

War News for Friday, February 06, 2009 (War News Today)
A local round-up of violence in Iraq for the past week begins "A civilian man was killed and two others injured when an improvised explosive device went off south of the district of Mandili, Diala province, on Thursday, a security source said. “An IED went off near a civilian vehicle in Ballour area, (10 km south of Mandili) killing a man and wounding two others,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency."

UN Chief Calls for “Green New Deal” to Fight Global Recession (UN News Centre)
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the world’s business and other leaders to use the current economic crisis to launch a new Global Compact entailing a “Green New Deal” that creates jobs and fights climate change by investing in renewable energy and technological development. (Ban's complete speech is included below.

Congo Gorillas Thriving Despite War (Agence France-Presse & Discovery Channel)
ountain gorillas living in a war-torn region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have increased in number despite the bloody conflict. The census — the first since specialized rangers were expelled by rebel forces from the Virunga National Park 16 months ago — showed a sub-population of gorillas used to humans had gone up from 72 to 81.

Kissinger Sent to Russia to Negotiate Nuclear Draw-down (Xinhua)
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on Friday urged the United States and Russia to immediately start negotiations on a new agreement to pledge new significant cuts in their nuclear weapons. President Obama has now sent Kissinger on a mission to Moscow. “The decision to send Mr. Kissinger to Moscow, taken by Mr Obama when he was still president-elect, is part of a plan to overcome probable Republican objections in Congress,” reports The Daily Telegraph's Adrian Blomfield.

Cambio?: Latin America in the Era of Obama (Tomás Ayuso and Guy Hursthouse / Council on Hemispheric Affairs)
Bush's legacy leaves an estranged Latin America as a new range of Latin American issues vie for Washington's attention. Regional leaders express hope,but remain cautious in the face of conflicting messages from Obama's diverse cabinet.

USA Ready to Lose More Men in Afghanistan for the Sake of Opium Drugs (Vladimir Anokhin / Pravda)
ATO and the USA have lost the control over the biggest part of Afghanistan’s territory. Taliban and al-Qaeda continue to intensify their activities in the north-west of Pakistan. Taliban enjoys a constant presence on 72 percent of Afghanistan’s territory, whereas in 2007 it was present on 54 percent of the country’s territory. The foreign contingent can presently use only one of the four highways from Kabul for safety reasons.

Iraq's Ruling Party Claims Election Win; Tribal Leader Claims Election Fraud (McClatchy Newspapers & Associated Press)
The defeat of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq suggests that many voters in Iraq's Shiite Muslim south abandoned a party that is widely viewed as an arm of neighboring Iran in favor of a nationalist party that advocates a strong central state. Meanwhile, a senior Sunni tribal leader claims to have hundreds of documents proving fraud in weekend elections in Anbar province, escalating a crisis that has threatened to reignite violence in the former insurgent stronghold.

Soldier Suicides at New High (Pauline Jelinek / Associated Press)
Suicides among U.S. soldiers rose last year to the highest level in decades, the Army said last week. At least 128 soldiers killed themselves in 2008. But the final count is likely to be considerably higher because 15 more suspicious deaths are being investigated and could turn out to be self-inflicted, the Army said.

UN Chief Calls for “Green New Deal” to Fight Global Recession (UN News Centre)
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the world’s business and other leaders to use the current economic crisis to launch a new Global Compact entailing a “Green New Deal” that creates jobs and fights climate change by investing in renewable energy and technological development. (Ban's complete speech is included below.

Kissinger Sent to Russia to Negotiate Nuclear Draw-down (Xinhua)
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on Friday urged the United States and Russia to immediately start negotiations on a new agreement to pledge new significant cuts in their nuclear weapons. President Obama has now sent Kissinger on a mission to Moscow. “The decision to send Mr. Kissinger to Moscow, taken by Mr Obama when he was still president-elect, is part of a plan to overcome probable Republican objections in Congress,” reports The Daily Telegraph's Adrian Blomfield.

Israel Beats, Expels Gaza Aid Ship Crew (Al Jazeera)
Israel has expelled 10 activists and journalists after detaining them for hours and seizing their cargo ship that was trying to deliver aid to Gaza. Al Jazeera's Salam Khoder, who was among the group, said she and some of the others on board were beaten by Israeli forces before being taken to a police station in Ashdod and interrogated.

Put Pentagon War Waste on the Chopping Block (David Swanson / After Downing Street)
The total tax dollars we devote to killing each year now is over a trillion and a half, which compares to some $1.2 trillion we devote to living, not counting trust funds like Social Security and not counting Paulson's Plunder. In fact, what we spend on the military is now more than all other nations combined. We should be thinking in terms of cutting at the very least a quarter of the whole $1.5 trillion — or $375 billion.

ACTION ALERT: Reject Nomination of Raytheon Lobbyist William Lynn (Voters for Peace)
The nominee for Deputy Secretary of Defense, the chief operating officer of the Pentagon, is a lobbyist for Raytheon. William Lynn, is due $1.5 million in payouts for his work lobbying for the defense industry. This revolving door has to stop. We need to break the military-industrial complex and stop having defense contractors and their lobbyists working on the inside of the Pentagon.

Civilian in Sri Lanka Killed in Hospitals; Murdered in their Sleep (The Economist & War Victims Monitor)
he individual stories are dreadful: of families killed together in their sleep by exploding artillery shells, of thousands forced from their homes. Civilians in northern Sri Lanka are caught between advancing government soldiers and the crumbling forces of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Pentagon Study: US Should Pare Afghanistan Goals (Robert Burns and Pauline Jelinek / The Associated Press)
A classified Pentagon report urges President Barack Obama to shift U.S. military strategy in Afghanistan, de-emphasizing democracy-building and concentrating more on targeting Taliban and al-Qaida sanctuaries inside Pakistan with the aid of Pakistani military forces.

Kyrgyzstan Moves to Shut US Base (BBC News)
yrgyzstan's government has submitted a decree to parliament for the closure of a key US air base in the Central Asian state, Kyrgyz officials say. The move was prompted by popular disapproval of the base, government spokesman Aibek Sultangaziyev said. US officials say they have received no notification of the closure, and are talking to the Kyrgyz government.

US Threatens UK Not to Release Torture Information (BBC News)
A senior Conservative says ministers must urgently respond to allegations that Britain was complicit in torture after a High Court ruling alleged a British resident held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba had been tortured. The ruling suggested the US threatened to withdraw intelligence help from the UK if details were released. The BBC's Nick Robinson said the claims were "extraordinarily serious."

Israel seizes Gaza aid ship: Bombing of Doctor's Home Investigated (BBC News)
A Lebanese ship carrying aid for Gaza was stopped by the Israeli navy and is being escorted into port, Officials in Lebanon said Israeli gunboats had fired on the ship before soldiers boarded it, Meanwhile, an Israeli probe into the death of the three daughters of a well-known Gaza doctor in the recent offensive there has concluded they were killed by Israeli fire.

Photos Show Growing Toll on Civilians in Sri Lanka (Ravi Nessman / Associated Press)
Journalists and most aid groups have been barred from the area of the fighting, but independent observers shot video footage and photographs over the past week and provided them to the Associated Press. The observers provided the images on condition they not be identified because they feared government reprisal.

How Taxpayers Finance Fantasy Wars: The Looming Crisis at the Pentagon (Chalmers Johnson / TomDispatch & CommonDreams)
A looming crisis threatens the military-industrial complex. The crisis has its roots in the corrupt and deceitful practices that have long characterized the high command of the Armed Forces, civilian executives of the armaments industries, and Congressional opportunists — and criminals looking for pork-barrel projects— looking to secure defense dollars for their districts in exchange for bribes for votes.

Reporter's Diary: Obstacles in Gaza (Zeina Awad / Al Jazeera)
Israel's war on Gaza caused billions of dollars in damage and left the local economy on the verge of collapse. Some of the world's richest countries — including the US, which has promised a $20-million aid package — have pledged funds to rebuild the Gaza Strip. But, as Al Jazeera's Zeina Awad reports, the rivalry between Hamas, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and other Palestinian factions threatens to scuttle efforts to rebuild Gaza and rehabilitate its people.

The Economic Cost of the Military Industrial Complex (James Quinn / Seeking Alpha)
The United States, the only superpower remaining on earth, currently spends more on military than the next 45 highest spending countries in the world combined. The US accounts for 48% of the world’s total military spending. Where did the peace dividend from winning the Cold War go?

The Economic Cost of the Military Industrial Complex (James Quinn / Seeking Alpha)
The United States, the only superpower remaining on earth, currently spends more on military than the next 45 highest spending countries in the world combined. The US accounts for 48% of the world’s total military spending. Where did the peace dividend from winning the Cold War go?

A Military Solution to a War on Terrorism is Doomed (Deepak Chopra & Ken Robinson / San Francisco Chronicle)
Any solely military solution to terrorism is doomed to fail. Right now, U.S. intelligence knows that the jihadist movement is endemic in the extremist sects of Islam. It exists from neighborhood to neighborhood, dinner table to dinner table, across a vast swath of the globe. Although terrorism is a tactic, what lies behind it is an idea, and once an idea seeps into people's brains, bombs and mortar attacks won't defeat it.

Professor John Yoo, War Criminal? (Robert Gammon / The East Bay Express)
The chances that the notorious UC Berkeley law professor will be investigated for war crimes appear to have increased in recent weeks. But why would Yoo be a more likely target than George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, or Donald Rumsfeld? It's clear now that they were the ones who ordered prisoners to be tortured at Guantanamo Bay prison and elsewhere. Or what about the CIA and military interrogators who waterboarded prisoners?

Outsourcing War: American Mercenary Forces Exploit Remnants of Old Dictatorship (Alex W / Operation Itch)
Commentary: "A subject that has always interested me is the continuing effects on society of having lived through a dictatorship or totalitarian rule. This is an important topic for the United States, because we live in a society that has supported dictatorships for many years, and as nations are emerging from the turmoil inflicted upon them by the US."

Rethinking Military Escalation in Afghanistan (ZP Heller / Brave New Films)
Commentary: "Why is our government sending an additional 30,000 US soldiers to Afghanistan? So far, not even members of the Obama administration seem able to answer this question. Both Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen admit that, while they’re thinking about the war in Afghanistan in terms of a 3-5 year time frame, their immediate goals are unclear. "

Bombing Civilians: A 20th Century History (Bill Moyers Journal / PBS)
In 1921, Italian tactician Giulio Douhet advanced a theory of air power that remains influential to this day: air power can win a war without ground forces by bombing an enemy's heartland. By bringing the war to civilians, reasoned Douhet, they will cease to support the war effort. Without the support of the heartland, their army will be forced to surrender. Bombing civilians may be distasteful, proponents allow, but it saves more lives in the long run by shortening wars.

Military 2.0: Should You Fear the Killer Robots? (Eric Stoner / Mother Jones)
In his new book, "Wired for War," Peter Singer takes an in-depth and at times frightening look at the growing use of robotics by the military — a development that he argues will be looked on as "something revolutionary in war, maybe even in human history." Recently, he spoke with < I>Mother Jones about the unforeseen ripple effects of these new technologies, the folly of calls to use robots in Darfur, and whether we should ban these machines before it's too late.

American Killing Machines (P.W. Singer / The Los Angeles Times)
America has a new corps of warriors fighting on its behalf. But they also have no pulse and have killed at least three people who the United States thought were Osama bin Laden, but who later turned out not to be. Science fiction is coming true on our battlefields. Robotics are revolutionizing today's battlefields, but what kind of blowback might this kind of science-fiction warfare bring?

US, UN Call for Investigation of Israel's Gaza War Crimes (Reuters & Aluf Benn / Ha’aretz & Amos Harel / Ha’aretz)
US UN Ambassador Susan Rice said in her debut speech before the UN Security Council said Israel must investigate allegations that its army violated international law during its three-week war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Israel is preparing for a wave of lawsuits claiming they were responsible for war crimes due to the harsh results stemming from the IDF's actions against Palestinian civilians and their property.

Italians Occupy Site of Proposed US Military Base in VicenzaItalians Occupy Site of Proposed US Military Base in Vicenza (After Downing Street)
In February 2008, 200,000 Italians marched to protest the construction of a US military base in Vicenza. Largely as a result, the Prime Minister was (temporarily) driven from power. Now large tents hold activists who are keeping a 24-hour vigil while hundreds of senior citizens, children, and families are trained to nonviolently stop American bulldozers. Should a conflict erupt, it will be as surprising to US TV viewers as the 9-11 attacks — unless someone tells them what is going on.

Palestinian Men Bear Trauma of War (Zeina Awad / Al Jazeera)
The mental health of Gazans has been badly affected by Israel's war on the coastal territory. Palestinian men have been hit especially hard as they struggle to find work under Israel's blockade and the horrors of the war have made work difficult and life more traumatic. Al Jazeera's Zeina Awad reports from a mental health clinic in Gaza City.

Obama Lets CIA Keep Controversial Renditions Tool (Greg Miller / Chicago Tribune)
The CIA's secret prisons are being shuttered. Harsh interrogation techniques are off-limits. The prison at Guantanamo Bay will eventually be shut down. But even while dismantling these discredited programs, President Barack Obama left one controversial counter-terrorism tool intact. Under executive orders signed by the president last week, the CIA still has authority to carry out renditions — the secret abductions and transfers of prisoners to countries that cooperate with the U.S.

ACTION ALERT: Sign the Treaties on Landmines and Cluster Bombs (Ban Mines USA & Friends Committee on National Legislation)
On December 3rd, as half of the world’s governments signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Oslo, a spokeswoman for the Obama Transition Team said that the next president would “carefully review the new treaty.” Contact the White House to encourage swift action on signing this international treaty.

Fears over Sri Lanka War Children & Witness 'Trained Child Soldiers' (BBC News)
A growing number of children have been killed or injured in Sri Lankan fighting over the last 10 days, the UN children's agency (Unicef) says. It has called on the government and Tamil Tiger rebels to give "absolute priority" to the safety of children and the wider civilian population. Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court in The Hague has heard from a man who says he trained children to use Kalashnikovs for DR Congo warlord Thomas Lubanga.

Is the Pentagon Recession-Proof? (Janes & The Washington Post)
Even as companies across the U.S. are laying off thousands of workers, defense companies expect to maintain much of the momentum they built up during the Bush administration's sharp increase in weapons spending. Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates warned the Senate that ethics rules that limit the ability of government personnel to rotate between government and industry could be an example of "cutting off our nose to spite our face."

Fidel Castro’s Reflections on Obama, Gaza and Gitmo (Al Jazeera & Granma & CubaDebate)
Former Cuban President Fidel Castro has praised President Barack Obama as "honest" and "noble." But in his latest essay, Castro accuses Obama of supporting "Israeli genocide" of the Palestinians and continuing the policies of George Bush. It’s not enough to close the Guantanamo prison, Castro writes. The US must leave Cuba: “Maintaining a military base in Cuba against the will of our people is in violation of the most elemental principles of international law.”

US Spends Millions of Taxpayer Dollars to Protect Terrorist (Jean Guy Allard / Granma)
The New Jersey grand jury that has been in session for three years, whose mandate is to examine evidence of international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles’ participation in the terror campaign unleashed in Havana in 1997, has now cost US taxpayers "millions of dollars," without having reached any conclusion.

ACTION ALERT: No Taxpayer Loan Guarantees for New Nuclear Reactors! (Michael Mariotte / Nuclear Information and Resource Service)
On January 27, the US Senate Appropriations Committee snuck in a late-night provision to the President's economic stimulus package that would allow as much as $50 BILLION tax dollars to be used as loan guarantees for constructing new nuclear reactors. This would be on top of the $18.5 Billion taxpayer dollars already authorized by Congress during the Bush administration. ALERT: Send letters to the Senate about this proposal.

Obama and US Policy Towards Africa (Horace Campbell / Pambazuka News)
Instead of a future of sustainable peace and transformation, one saw in Barack Obama's appointments a re-emergence and recycling of the same militarists that have previously held sway. Individuals such as Susan Rice emerging as a top official of the US foreign policy establishment and Lawrence Summers, who wrote the memo that it was more economical to dump toxic waste in Third World Countries, who has emerged as a major economic adviser.

US Army Suicides Hit Record High (BBC News)
The rate of suicides among US Army soldiers has risen to a record level for the second year in a row. The army said there were 128 confirmed suicides in 2008, with a further 15 deaths still under investigation. Military officials said they did not know why the number has kept increasing. The problem is not confined to the US. In 2007, "almost an entire battalion of Russian soldiers committed suicide" —A total of 341 military personnel killed themselves.

Iraq, Afghan Auditors Discuss Rebuilding from Wars (Pauline Jelinek / Associated Press)
The often chaotic and wasteful $125 billion Iraq rebuilding effort will face new trouble and uncertainty this year despite the decline in violence there, a new audit report says. A separate report on Afghanistan said there is no coherent strategy for that country's $32 billion reconstruction campaign

Russia Halts Missile Plans for Eastern Europe (Financial Times of London & The New York Times)
Russia has dropped plans to station cruise missiles on the territory of its European enclave in Kaliningrad, a military official said, citing signals from the US that it might not deploy an anti-ballistic missile system in eastern Europe. Meanwhile, a report from the New York Times cautions that the signals of a new thaw in US-Russian relations remain unclear and unverified.

White House Wants Space Weapons Ban (Frank Morring, Jr. / Aviation Week)
The new White House Web site puts the administration of President Barack Obama on record as favoring a "worldwide ban on weapons that interfere with military and commercial satellites." But the wording on the site raises questions about exactly what it means.

Sixty House Dems Ask Clinton to Intercede in Gaza Crisis (Elana Schor / Talking Points Memo)
In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today, 60 House Democrats urged her to release emergency funds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East to help rebuild the the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of its war with Israel. The letter focuses on the need to rebuild Gaza's demolished infrastructure and remedy the shortage of medical supplies that has sparked a "humanitarian emergency." (Read the list of signers below.)

Iranian Leader Demands US Apology (BBC News)
Iran's president has responded to an overture by the new US president by demanding an apology for past US "crimes" committed against Iran. America's crimes against Iran, the Iranian leader said in his televised speech, included support for the Iranian coup of 1953 and backing for Saddam Hussein in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. (See the Timeline of US-Iran Relations.)

President's First Interview: Obama Tells Al Arabiya Peace Talks Should Resume (Al Arabiya.net)
In his first interview since taking office, President Barack Obama told Arab satellite station Al Arabiya that Americans are not the enemy of the Muslim world and said Israel and the Palestinians should resume peace negotiations. READ the complete transcript.

Order to Israeli Troops: (Sheera Frenkel / The Times)
“Fire on anything that moves in Zeitoun” — that was the order handed down to Israeli troops in the Givati Shaked battalion, who reduced the eastern Gaza City suburb to little more than rubble in a matter of days. A soldier, who broke Israeli military censorship restrictions to talk to The Times said: "We were to shoot first and ask questions later.”

Israel Finally Admits Using White Phosphorous in Attacks on Gaza (James Hider Sheera Frenkel / The London Times Online)
After weeks of denying that it used white phosphorus in the heavily populated Gaza Strip, Israel has finally admitted that the weapon was deployed in its offensive. The army's use of white phosphorus was first reported by The Times on January 5, when it was strenuously denied by the Israeli army. Now, in the face of mounting evidence and international outcry, Israel has been forced to backtrack on that initial denial.

Holding Bush Accountable: Impeachment, The Case in Favor (Elizabeth Holtzman / The Nation)
Author and former US Representative from New York, Elizabeth Hotlzman argues tht the abuses and crimes of the outgoing Bush/Cheney administration “demand scrutiny and prosecution. Obama cannot let former Bush administration officials get away with breaking the law without violating his own oath of office. If we don't act now, future generations will see that a weapon intended to defend the rule of law grew rusty and unusable on our watch.”

Facing 23% Budget Cut, Iraq Announces Plan to Buy 2,000 Russian Tanks (Azzaman)
According to General Babaker Zaybari, the Iraqi army’s weapons “are similar to those the police in other countries use.” So why, with Iraq’s struggling oil-dependent economy forcing the government to cut its 2009 budget by 23%, is Iraq’s army preparing to buy 2,000 Russian tanks? The answer appears to be: corruption.

'I Waited for My Fate,' Says Gaza Father (Yasser Ahmad and Ashraf Khalil / The Los Angeles Times)
A farmer's attempt to flee to safety with his two sons fails when Israeli soldiers fire on their car. It takes 20 hours for an ambulance to get to them.

US Peace Envoy George Mitchell Starts Middle East Push (BBC News & Nicholas Watt / The Guardian)
George Mitchell — the former Democratic Senate majority leader who has been appointed by Barack Obama as his Middle East peace envoy — spent years working painstakingly to shepherd the Northern Ireland peace process. Now, The Guardian predicts, in his new post as Barack Obama's Middle East peace envoy , Mitchell “will bring the same quiet determination to negotiations on the Israeli-Arab front that he did as Bill Clinton's intermediary in the Troubles.”

AU Troops 'Shell Somali Civilians' (Al Jazeera)
frican Union troops in Somalia have been accused of indiscriminately shelling a Mogadishu neighbourhood after an attempted suicide bomb attack on their base. At least 22 people were killed in the car bomb blast and an ensuing firefight on Saturday, witnesses and medics said.

Agricultural Sector Losses as a Result of the Israeli Aggression against Gaza Strip (The Palestinian Farmers Union (PFU) via Via Campesina the International Peasant Farmers Movement)
The fierce Israeli attack against Gaza Strip has lead to the complete destruction of the agriculture sector — starting from land bulldozing to destruction of irrigation networks to uprooting of trees uprooting and crops damage, the demolition of greenhouses, the slaughter of variety of livestock shelter and the deaths of 30 farmers killed while working in their fields.

Israel Accused of War Crimes Over 12-hour Assault on Gaza Village (Fida Qishta in Khuza'a and Peter Beaumont / The Observer & PressTV)
Israel stands accused of perpetrating a series of war crimes during a sustained 12-hour assault on a village in southern Gaza last week in which 14 people died. Residents of the village of Khuza claim the advancing army killed unarmed civilians trying to escape under the protection of white flags and bulldozed homes with families still inside. Meanwhile, A Palestinian infant exposed to phosphorous gases has died, becoming the youngest casualty of Israel's illegal weapon

A Pointless War Has Led to a Moral Defeat for Israel (Editorial / The Guardian)
Commentary: "In historical terms, it is impossible to separate Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza from the long narrative of conflict and mutual grievance in the region. In geographic terms, the war over a tiny plot of land cannot be detached from the wider involvement and strategic interests of other countries: Syria, Egypt, the US, Iran. All of which makes it difficult to judge where — even if a unilateral Israeli ceasefire holds — the war really begins and ends.

Punishing the Palestinians (Ralph Nader / Commondreams)
Commentary: "While a massive bombing and invasion of Gaza was underway, the resolution blaming Hamas for all the civilian casualties and devastation — 99% of it inflicted on Palestinians — zoomed through the Senate by voice vote and through the House by a vote of 390 to 5 with 22 legislators voting present. There is more dissent against this destruction of Gaza among the Israeli people, the Knesset, the Israeli media, and Jewish-Americans than among the dittoheads on Capitol Hill."

Evidence Mounts that Israel Used Horrific New Explosive in Gaza (Al Jazeera & The Guardian & Noah Shachtman.com)
One doctor described the injuries as 'new' and 'much more dramatic' than landmine wounds. In addition to using white phosphorus, evidence suggests Israel has also used DIME explosives and micro-penetrating projectiles that are surgically impossible to remove. Deaths caused by burning and internal wounds were first reported when Israel attacked Gaza in June 2006. Then, as now, Jerusalem denies using the experimental weapon.

Sri Lankan Dam Targeted as Civilians Remain Trapped in Tiger Battle (Al Jazeera)
Hundreds pf civilians have been killed as Sri Lankan government troops push further into rebel Tamil Tiger territory. Scored were killed when government shells hit a school doubling as a hospital. The attack as so severe that health workers had difficulty establishing a death count because so many of the bodies were dismembered. An estimated 230,000 civilians are reported to be trapped in the conflict zone

Stun-Guns Responsible for 600% Increase in Police-related Homicides (San Francisco Chronicle & American Journal of Cardiology)
The number of reported sudden deaths among individuals taken into custody by police, rose six-fold during the first year California law enforcement agencies began using stun guns, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco. "Tasers are not as safe as thought," said Dr. Byron Lee, one of the cardiologists involved in studying the death rate related to Tasers, the most widely used stun gun. "And if they are used, they should be used with caution."

Obama Ignores Pakistan Pleas: Orders Missile Strike that Kills Nine Civilians (Los Angeles Times & Pakistan Daily Times & The Guardian)
In the first such strikes since the inauguration of President Barack Obama, suspected US missile barrages Friday killed at least 18 people in the lawless tribal region near the Afghan border. The two raids suggested that the new US administration intends to press ahead with attacks against Islamic militants in rural areas, even though the campaign has been politically costly to Pakistan's Western-leaning civilian government.

Black Humor Department: A Salute to the Insanity of War (Conn Hallinan / The Berkeley Daily Planet)
Military massacres, Pentagon blunders, federal bugger-ups and corporate snafus. It's business as usual in the Mad Mad World of War. The following list leavens the horror with humor to remind us of stories we might otherwise be tempted to forget — and dredged us stories you may be surprised to learn you never saw reported in the daily press.

Unexploded Munitions Threaten Gaza (The Mideast Times & UPI & The International Committee of the Red Cross)
The International Committee of the Red Cross is warning that despite a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel, unexploded munitions in Gaza remain a threat. With the cease-fire in place, a number of people, especially children, are leaving their homes for the first time, running the risk of being killed or maimed by unexploded munitions scattered in civilian area. On 20 January, two children were killed by unexploded ordnance in the Shaaf area, near Jabaliya, east of Gaza City.

unnels Back in Business at Gaza-Egypt Border (Alfred de Montesquiou / Associated Press)
The tunnels linking Gaza and Egypt are back in business, despite the hundreds of tons of bombs and missiles that Israeli troops rained down on them. Their fast recovery underlines the difficulty of stopping the smuggling and reinforces Israel's fears that Gaza's Hamas rulers will use the tunnel network to bring in weapons to rearm after the offensive. But for Gazans, trapped inside an Israeli-Egyptian blockade, the tunnels are also a lifeline for fuel, medicine and food.

4,229 Soldiers Dead in Iraq: Many Have Died from Electrocution (Associated Press)
At least 4,229 members of the US military have died in the Iraq since March 2003. At least 18 US service members and contractors may have died as the result of electrocution. A lawsuit over the January 2008 electrocution death of Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth triggered an Army investigation that concluded Maseth’s death was the result of "negligent homicide" on the part of the military contractor KBR Inc., formerly a subdivision of Halliburton, the company once headed by Dick Cheney.

Georgia, Russia ‘Violated’ Laws of War in S. Ossetia (Human Rights Watch & Georgian Daily)
Georgian, Russian and South Ossetian forces committed numerous violations of the laws of war in the conflict in August 2008 over South Ossetia and its aftermath, causing many civilian deaths and injuries and widespread destruction of civilian property, according to a comprehensive 200-page report released by Human Rights Watch.

UN 'shocked' by Gaza destruction (BBC News)
UN workers have been given access to Gaza after Israel lifted a nearly three-month-long ban on international aid agencies entering the Palestinian territory. The UN's humanitarian chief, Sir John Holmes, told the BBC the situation in Gaza after a three-week Israeli offensive against Hamas was worse than he anticipated. Holmes stated he was shocked by "the systematic nature of the destruction" an estimated that the territory's economic activity had been set back by years.

ACTION ALERT: Jews for Gaza (Jews in Solidarity with Palestine)
Nearly a thousand women, men and children killed by US-made Israeli bombs. Thousands more wounded.1.5 million under siege for the past 18 months, without food, water, medicine, fuel. Collective punishment for resisting occupation; emergency aid blocked. Massive violations of international law. Apartheid wall. Racist oppression. Homes and land stolen. Forced into refugee camps. 60 years of occupation, from the river to the sea. We Say Enough!

A Bailout Run by Those Who Got Us in (Robert Scheer / Creators Syndicate)
Commentary: "Why rush to throw another $350 billion of taxpayer money at the Wall Street bandits and their political cronies who created the biggest financial mess since the Great Depression? And why should we taxpayers be expected to double our debt exposure when the 10 still-secret bailout contracts made in the first round are being kept from the public?"

Israel Faces 'War Crime' Charge for Use of White Phosphorus (Amnesty International & Associated Press & International Herald Tribune)
The Israeli army used white phosphorus, a weapon with a highly incendiary effect, in densely populated civilian residential areas of Gaza City, according to indisputable evidence found an Amnesty International fact-finding team that found still-burning white phosphorus wedges all around residential buildings on Sunday. When white phosphorus lands on skin it burns deeply through muscle and into the bone, continuing to burn until deprived of oxygen.

Hamas Executes Suspected Fatah Traitors in Gaza (Matthew Kalman / San Francisco Chronicle Foreign Service)
s Israel's last troops left the Gaza Strip Wednesday, Hamas officials conceded that they are executing Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel during the three-week invasion. In addition to the executions, withnesses claim three men have been blinded during questioning and more than 60 have been shot in the legs as punishment.

Obama Orders Guantanamo Closure (BBC News)
US President Barack Obama has ordered the Guantanamo Bay prison camp to be closed within one year. Signing the order, Mr Obama said the US would continue to fight terror, but maintain "our values and our ideals".

Israel TV News Broadcasts a Gaza Father's Heartbreak (Jeffrey Fleishman & Batsheva Sobelman / Los Angeles Times)
Israeli TV broadcast a father's heartbreak Friday night when a Palestinian doctor living in Gaza made a frantic phone call to a newscaster saying an Israeli tank had shelled his home, killing three of his daughters and injuring other family members. Dr. Izz el-Deen Aboul Aish, who gave frequent interviews to the Israeli media, was minutes away from giving another when he called newscaster Shlomi Eldar, screaming and weeping with grief.

Ban 'Appalled' by Gaza's Damage; Demands Israel Be Held Accountable (BBC News & Al Jazeera & The London Telegraph)
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he is appalled by Israeli attacks on a UN compound and food storage warehouse in Gaza and has demanded that Israeli troops are held 'accountable' for an attack on a UN compound. Ban called on Israel to end its blockade of Gaza, saying the embargo only strengthens Hamas by fuelling desperation in the impoverished enclave.

UN Demands Flow of Goods to Gaza's Devastated Populace (BBC News & Al Jazeera & The London Telegraph)
The UN humanitarian chief has urged Israel to fully open all crossings with Gaza to allow a free flow of goods. John Holmes said unless Israel allowed building materials into Gaza, no reconstruction could begin there. For beleaguered civilians here there is no kind of victory in the waste laid to entire city blocks in Gaza. "I don't know who won or lost," said Mazen Hamada, a chemistry professor at Al Azhar University.

UN Appalled by Ugandan Rebel Militia''s Trail of Devastation in DR Congo (UN News Centre)
The Ugandan rebel militia terrorizing villagers in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has killed over 500 people and forced some 115,000 to flee their homes since September, the United Nations refugee agency reported today, adding it was “shocked” by the state of survivors remaining in the area.

Karzai Blames Allies' 'War on Terror' for Afghanistan's Problems (BBC News & Al Jazeera & The London Telegraph)
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called on his international allies to change the way the "war on terror" is being fought in his country. Addressing parliament, Mr Karzai once again urged US-led and NATO troops to do more to reduce civilian casualties. He also called for a rethink in the way billions of dollars in aid are spent and accused his allies of not doing enough to curb the illegal drugs trade.

US Moving toward Czarism, away from Democracy (David Sirota / San Francisco Chronicle)
Commentary: "History's great American parables teach that if anything unified our founders, it was a deep antipathy to dictatorship.... If that is true, then every patriot should be concerned about the intensifying efforts to supplant democracy with something far more authoritarian. Call it American czarism.... In recent years, this culture of "presidentialism," has justified the Patriot Act, warrantless wiretaps and a radical theory of the "unitary executive."

In Defense of Humanity: Let Gaza Live (Cynthia McKinney / Global Research)
Commentary: "We don't see the images. They are neatly censored from our view in this country. But everywhere else around the world the carnage that is Gaza is being seen and the people are revolted by what they see. They see exploding white phosphorus shells, cluster bombs, depleted uranium munitions."

Obama To Defer on Big Defense Changes for a Year (Congressional Quarterly Today)
President-elect Barack Obama’s incoming defense team will submit a $584 billion budget request this spring that closely follows the plans of the outgoing administration, pushing major changes back to next year.The current draft of the fiscal 2010 budget, an increase of about $57 billion over previous Bush administration proposals, was never assessed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense or the outgoing White House.

A Disastrous Eight Years under Bush (Editorial / San Francisco Chronicle)
It is hard to imagine that one US presidency could leave more wreckage than George W. Bush's did during his eight years in the White House. By his own yardsticks, his administration was an abject failure. He was a divider, not a uniter. He was "the decider" who led the country into a war of choice on what proved to be false pretenses.

Israel Declares Ceasefire; Bans Arab Political Parties from Upcoming Election (BBC News & Antiwar.com & Associated Press & Ha’aaretz)
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said he wants Israeli troops to leave Gaza "as quickly as possible" after Israel's three-week offensive. Meanwhile, the Israeli Central Elections Committee has moved to ban the Balad Party from running in next month's election.They also banned the United Arab List-Ta'al (UAL-T). The two bans will prevent more than half of the current Arab members of Israel's Parliament, the Knesset, from running for reelection.

ACTION ALERT: Join the Obamas and the Bidens for a Day of Service in Honor of Dr. King (Mercy Corps & Global Citizen Corp)
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of freedom and justice for all. He knew that when people join together, they can make the world a better place.This Monday, January 19, please answer President-elect Obama's call to service. Join one of the many groups leading service projects to bring Dr. King's dream to life. Volunteer in your own community, or go online and lend your skills to those in need thousands of miles away.

Russia's Next Flash Point (Denis Corboy, William Courtney and Kenneth Yalowitz / International Herals tribune)
Russia's coercion of its neighbors is a looming flash point for Europe and the United States, and President-elect Barack Obama. Autocratic Russia is bent on exploiting weak neighbors and reversing perceived humiliations since the breakup of the Soviet Union.

US Prevents UN Condemnation of Israel; Jewish MP Compares Israel’s Attacks to Nazis (Yitzhak Benhorin / YNet & Sir Gerald Kaufman / House of Commons & George Galloway / House of Commons & Lynn Pollack / Jewish Voice for Peace)
Israel and the US succeeded in preventing a UN announcement condemning the Jewish state for its strike on a UN compound in Gaza. Meanwhile, Sir Gerald Kaufman, a member of Britain's a member of the Jewish Labour movement compared the actions of Israeli troops in Gaza to the Nazis who forced his family to flee Poland. Kaufman called for an arms embargo against Israel.Finally, Lynn Pollack of Jewish Voice for Peace, praises the Daily Show for speaking truth to power.

ACTION ALERT: Join the Obamas and the Bidens for a Day of Service in Honor of Dr. King (Mercy Corps & Global Citizen Corp)
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of freedom and justice for all. He knew that when people join together, they can make the world a better place.This Monday, January 19, please answer President-elect Obama's call to service. Join one of the many groups leading service projects to bring Dr. King's dream to life. Volunteer in your own community, or go online and lend your skills to those in need thousands of miles away.

Israel Shells UN School in Gaza as Children Bear the Brunt of Israel's Assault (Al Jazeera)
Two Palestinian boys have been killed after Israeli tank shells hit a UN-run school in Gaza - hours before Israel's security cabinet is expected to vote on a proposal for a unilateral ceasefire. The UN has called for a war crimes investigation over the shelling of its school. Children are bearing the brunt of Israel's war on the Gaza Strip, with more than 300 children have been killed and hundreds more wounded.

Naming the Deceased: The Child Victims of Gaza (Al Jazeera)
During the three weeks of Israel’s assault on Gaza, Hamas rockets killed four Israeli citizens. The Associated Press reports that during this same period “almost 1,200 Palestinians have … been killed, about half of them civilians.” Half of those were children. Gazan authorities have provided the following list of children who died as a result of Israel’s attacks.

MLK's Dream also Included Economic Justice (Deepti Hajela / Associated Press)
Although Rev. Martin Luther King Jr is best known for his civil rights work, he was a staunch advocate for economic justice. In the months before he was killed, he had been working on the Poor People's Campaign and calling for an economic bill of rights. The current economic crisis could widen the already large financial gaps between whites and blacks and make it more difficult to attain King's dream of economic equality in America.

When Israel Expelled Palestinians (Randall Kuhn / The Washington Times)
Commentary: "In the wake of Israel's invasion of Gaza, Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak made this analogy: 'Think about what would happen if for seven years rockets had been fired at San Diego, California from Tijuana, Mexico.' ...Think about what would happen if San Diego expelled most of its Hispanic, African American, Asian American, and Native American population, about 48 percent of the total, and forcibly relocated them to Tijuana. "

Still Breathing, A Report from Gaza (Caoimhe Butterly / Free Gaza.org)
The morgues of Gaza's hospitals are over-flowing. The bodies in their blood-soaked white shrouds cover the entire floor space of the Shifa hospital morgue. Some are intact, most horribly deformed, limbs twisted into unnatural positions, chest cavities exposed, heads blown off, skulls crushed in. Family members wait outside to identify and claim a brother, husband, father, mother, wife, child. Many of those who wait their turn have lost numerous family members and loved ones.

Israel's Moral and Political Insanity (Mike Whitney / Global Research)
Commentary: "Sephardi chief rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu has written ... that 'all civilians living in Gaza are collectively guilty for Kassam attacks on Sderot.' ...Eliyahu ruled that there was absolutely 'no moral prohibition against the indiscriminate killing of civilians during a potential massive military offensive on Gaza aimed at stopping the rocket launchings.' "No moral prohibition against the indiscriminate killing of civilians." Isn't this the definition of terrorism?

Obama and the Military-Industrial-Scientific Comple (Karl Grossman / CounterPunch.org)
Analysis: Dwight Eisenhower’s farewell address as president 48 years ago is famous for his warning of the rise of a “military-industrial complex.” As the incoming president, Barack Obama, draws from this federal scientific establishment for appointments, the warning needs to be sounded again.

Latest Victim of Israel's War Crimes: The United Nations (International Herald Tribune & Atul Aneja / The Hindu & Hon. Dennis Kucinich)
Israeli forces shelled the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency on Thursday, attacking the UN compound with at least three phosphorus explosives despite the nearby presence of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The blast destroyed thousands of tons of food, medical stores and emergency supplies. US Representative Dennis Kucinich called the attacks on Gaza as "collective punishment" and condemned the US for supplying the weapons used to terrorized the city.

Israel Denies Using Banned Phosphorus Bombs (Matthew Kalman / San Francisco Chronicle)
As Abu Halimah lay in a bed at Gaza's Shifa Hospital on Tuesday, she described how a "ball of fire" engulfed her house in the northern Gaza village of Beit Lahiya. Abu Halimah said her extended family of 18 people were cowering in the living room when rockets fell. "When I woke up and looked across the room, I saw the blackened bodies of my husband and my teenage son like pieces of charcoal. Both their heads were severed completely from their bodies. My baby was dead."

British Generals: 'Scrap the Nuclear Deterrent' (BBC News)
The UK's nuclear deterrent should be scrapped, according to a group of retired senior military officers. In a letter to the Times, Field Marshal Lord Bramall and Generals Lord Ramsbotham and Sir Hugh Beach denounce Trident, calling the £20 billion nuclear submarine-missile-and-warhead system "irrelevant."

Outgoing CIA Chief Warns Obama: Don't Investigate CIA Torture (Ray McGovern / Consortium News)
A former top CIA intelligence officer writes: "Outgoing CIA Director Michael Hayden is going around town telling folks he has warned President-elect Barack Obama "personally and forcefully" that if Obama authorizes an investigation into controversial activities like water boarding, 'no one in Langley will ever take a risk again.' Hayden has bragged loudly about the crimes in which he was directly involved, and has defended... "high-end" interrogation techniques—water boarding, for example."

Israel Faces Calls for Gaza War Crimes Investigation (Chris McGreal / The Guardian)
Israel is facing growing demands from senior United Nations officials and human rights groups for an international war crimes investigation in Gaza over allegations such as the "reckless and indiscriminate" shelling of residential areas and the use of Palestinian families as human shields by soldiers.

FACTSHEET: How Israel Torpedoed the Ceasefire to Produce a Casus Bell (David Morrison / The Irish Times)
Analysis: "Israel torpedoed the ceasefire on the evening of 4 November (when the world was watching the election of Barack Obama) by its military action in Gaza, contrary to the terms of the agreement — and, by so doing, increased the threat to its citizens and provoked a /casus belli/ for its assault on Gaza on 27 December."

ACTION ALERT: Canada's Shame: Conservative Government Stands Alone in Votes against Human Rights (Canadian Peace Alliance)
On January 12, 2008 the United Nations Human Rights Council voted to condemn the "massive violations of human rights" by Israel in Gaza. Thirty three countries voted in favour of the resolution and, shamefully, Canada was the only country to vote against. ACTION: Send a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Gaza Is Sinking in a River of Blood: A Message from Gaza (Mohammed Fares Al Majdalawi / Commondreams)
I want to write about the suffering of my people and my family in these days of siege against the people of Gaza. 888 people have been killed and more than 3700 injured. The Red Cross has accused the Israeli military of repeatedly refusing to allow ambulances to go to Zeitoun area, so those who are injured become those who die; a premeditated and purposeful violation of human rights.

Navy Gets 1-year OK to Train with Sonar off Hawaii (Audrey McAvoy / Associated Press)
The US Navy was granted a one-year permit to train with sonar and bombs in Hawaii waters so long as it tries to protect whales and other marine animals from harm.

In Defense of Humanity: Let Gaza Live (Cynthia McKinney / Global Research)
A former US Congresswoman and Green Party Presidential Candidate reports from the Middle East: "We don't see the images. They are neatly censored from our view in this country. But everywhere else around the world the carnage that is Gaza is being seen and the people are revolted by what they see."

Israel’s Blockade “Inhuman.” Civilian Victims Crowd Hospitals (CNN)
Cassandra Nelson, a humanitarian aid worker with Mercy Corps, spends most of her time deployed in hotspots and hostile areas. She has worked in Iraq, Darfur, Lebanon, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Liberia, North Korea, Sri Lanka, Banda Aceh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. Here she describes her experiences trying to provide relief in Gaza. A second article reports on the desperate state of civilian wounded arriving in Gaza's war-ravaged hospitals.

America’s Shame (Paul Craig Roberts / Information Clearinghouse)
Commentary: "Driving people off their land is strictly illegal under international law, but Israel has been getting away with it for decades. Gaza is a concentration camp of 1.5 million Palestinians who were driven from their homes and villages and collected in the Gaza Ghetto. The US Senate endorsed Israel’s massacre of Palestinians with a vote of 100-0. The US House of Representatives voted 430-5 to endorse Israel’s massacre of Palestinians."

US Weaponry Facilitates Killings in Gaza (Thalif Deen / InterPress Service)
The US weapons systems used by the Israelis — including F-16 fighter planes, Apache helicopters, tactical missiles and a wide array of munitions — have been provided by Washington mostly as outright military grants. "Israel's intervention in the Gaza Strip has been fueled largely by US supplied weapons paid for with US tax dollars," says a background briefing released Thursday by the Arms and Security Initiative of the New York-based New America Foundation.

Legal Scholars State: Israel’s Bombardment of Gaza Is Not Self-defence — It’s a War Crime (Juan Cole)
The rocket attacks on Israel by Hamas deplorable as they are, do not, in terms of scale and effect amount to an armed attack entitling Israel to rely on self-defence. Under international law self-defence is an act of last resort. The killing of almost 800 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and more than 3,000 injuries, is not commensurate to the deaths caused by Hamas rocket fire. Israel’s actions amount to aggression, not self-defence, not least because its assault on Gaza was unnecessary.

ACTION ALERT: Cast your Vote for the Global Elimination of Nuclear Weapons by 2020 (Change.org)
The Social networking site Change.org is hosting an open forum to determine the top 10 policy recommendations to the Obama administration. Please cast your vote calling for US Leadership to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Globally. The Final Round of Voting ends on Thursday, January 15.

The US Promotes Israeli Genocide Against the Palestinians (Prof. Francis A. Boyle / Global Research)
Commentary: "As long ago as October 19, 2000, the then-United Nations Human Rights Commission (now Council) condemned Israel for inflicting “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” upon the Palestinian people....I anticipate no fundamental change in America’s support for the Israeli campaign of genocide against the Palestinians during the tenure of the Obama/Clinton administration."

Weapons Killing People In Gaza, Made In USA (Hon. Ron Paul / US House of Representatives)
Statement on House Resolution 34, Reaffirming the United States strong support for Israel. Rep. Ron Paul declared: "The resolution clearly takes one side in a conflict that has nothing to do with the United States or US interests. I am concerned that the weapons currently being used by Israel against the Palestinians in Gaza are made in America and paid for by American taxpayers."

U.S. Sent Israel 3.000 Tons of Weapons before Attack on Gaza; Plans to Send another 4,000 Tons this Month (Press TV & Stefano Ambrogi / Reuters)
In September, Congress approved a plan to sell Israel 1,000 bunker-buster (GBU-39) bombs, designed to penetrate deep fortified constructions, such as Iran's nuclear facilities. In December, before the end of the Israeli-Hamas ceasefire, a German ship hired by the US sent a massive 4,000-ton cargo of weapons to Israel. Now the Pentagon plans to ship another 3,000 tons of ammo to Israel this month, raising fears the deadly assault on Gaza's residents will go on for a long time.

"Limbs And Meat" In The Street & Children of Gaza, Run to the Angels (Ewa Jasiewicz / The Sunday Herald & Suzanne Baroud / Global Research)
Paramedics at the Fakhoura UN school where 42 people died, 20 of them children, when Israeli tanks opened fire on a busy intersection, reported seeing nothing but "limbs and meat" in the street at the time. One eyewitness said: 'A boy next to me, he went crazy, he was overwhelmed, he saw the massacre, the street was full of blood, the nails from the shells were as long as your hand.'

Both Parties Cheerlead Still More Loudly for Israel's "War" (Glenn Greenwald / Salon)
Commentary: "Much of the world is urging an end to the war [in Gaza] and acting to forge a cease-fire — except the US. Here, blind and unequivocal support for the Israeli attack is increasing almost as fast as the Palestinian body count piles up. It isn't enough that we supply the very bombs being dropped on the Palestinians and use our UN veto power to prevent any action to stop the war. Now the US Congress wants to involve the US further still in Israel's war."

US Thwarted Israeli Plan to Bomb Iranian Nuclear Facility (Karen DeYoung / Washington Post)
Pentagon officials revealed yesterday that George W. Bush last year rejected an Israeli request to provide sophisticated, deep-penetration bombs to attack Iran's underground nuclear enrichment facilities. The administration also rebuffed Israel's plan to fly through US-controlled Iraqi airspace to reach the Iranian site.

Israel Using Phosphorus Weapons against Civilians in Violation of International Law (Michael Evans and Sheera Frenkel / The Times Online)
Photographic evidence has emerged that proves that Israel has been using controversial white phosphorus shells during its offensive in Gaza, despite official denials by the Israel Defence Forces.There is also evidence that the rounds have injured Palestinian civilians, causing severe burns. The use of white phosphorus against civilians is prohibited under international law.

What Humanitarian Crisis? Livni's Big Lie & Criticism of Israel's War Crimes Mounts (Rannie Amiri / Counterpunch.org & Jonathan Cook / Global Research)
“There is no humanitarian crisis in the [Gaza] Stri,.” Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, declared on January 1, 2009. But facts always run contrary to The Big Lie. According to the agencies of the United Nations and multiple international relief organizations:ighty percent of Gazans were dependent on humanitarian assistance during the crippling 18-month siege of Gaza but before the outbreak of hostilities. .

ACTION ALERT: Want to End the Violence in Gaza? Boycott Israel (Naomi Klein / The Nation)
It's time. Long past time. The best strategy to end the increasingly bloody occupation is for Israel to become the target of the kind of global movement that put an end to apartheid in South Africa.

Global Protests over Gaza while UN Investigates Attack on Civilian Shelter (Al Jazeera & BBC)
More than 50,000 Egyptian have protested in the city of Alexandria against Israel's assault on Gaza, one of many held across the world as the conflict enters its 14th consecutive day. Protesters in Kuala Lumpur, urged Arab countries to cut off oil supplies to the US and boycott goods from Coca-Cola, Colgate and Starbucks. Meanwhile, the UN has called an Israeli attack on one of its civilian shelters "one of the gravest incidents since the beginning of operations."

Witness Diary: 'Gaza Has Been Zeroed' (Sami Abdel Shafi / Al Jazeera)
A resident of Gaza writes about life in a city under siege — without power, without food, without safety. "When the munitions actually impact, not only do you have a huge explosion but a huge vacuum is generated that sends shockwaves through the surrounding structures. We have to keep all of the windows open to prevent the glass from shattering and flying across the room. That’s the only precaution we can take."

Death Toll in Gaza Exceeds 800 (Al Jazeera)
The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 821 people and more than 3,300 injured as the Israeli offensive enters its third week. The attacks continued on Saturday with aerial bombardments across the strip and Israeli forces advancing further into the outskirts of Gaza City. Eight members of one family were among the latest fatalities, killed by an Israeli tank shell in Jabalya.

Guns, Butter and Obama (Conn Hallinan / The Berkeley Daily Planet)
Over the next several months there will be a battle for hearts and minds, but not in Iraq or Afghanistan. The war will be here at home, waged mostly in the halls of Congress, where lobbyists for the 185,000 corporations that profit from building US weapons of war will be fighting to preserve their stake in the massive US military budget. To succeed, they must target the new administration’s plans to expand spending on programs to support health care, education and the environment.

The Violence in Gaza Mirrors the War in Iraq (Fatih Abdulsalam / Azzaman)
Commentary: "The war in Gaza reminds me of the war in Iraq. When President George W. Bush invaded Iraq, the whole world watched as his marauding troops, using state-of-the art weaponry tore the country to pieces."

Martial Law, the Financial Bailout, and War (Prof. Peter Dale Scott / Global Research)
The bailout measures of late 2008 may have consequences at least as grave for an open society as the response to 9/11 in 2001. The excuse for bypassing normal legislative procedures was the existence of an emergency. The US Army War College has also raised the possibility of the US Army being used to control civil unrest. The US Army War College talks about the possibility of Pentagon resources and troops being used should the economic crisis lead to civil unrest.

Group Slams DoD for Poor Nuke Oversight (Associated Press)
A Pentagon advisory group plans to release a report today criticizing the Defense Department for lack of focus on its nuclear mission, and recommending more oversight after a series of embarrassing incidents that called into question the Air Force's ability to keep track of its nuclear weapons and related materials.

Venture Capitalist Says US Losing Green Race (Zachary Coile / San Francisco Chronicle)
Silicon Valley venture capitalist John Doerr, whose early investments helped launch Google and Amazon, delivered a stark warning to Congress on Wednesday that the United States is on the verge of being left behind in the green tech revolution. Doerr has authored a new book that calls for a green tech revolution to solve the country's climate, energy and oil-based foreign policy challenges.

Canada Expels US Woman Deserter (BBC News & Dan Glaister / The Guardian)
Canada has ordered the deportation of the first woman US soldier to have sought asylum in the country to avoid being deployed to Iraq. Kimberly Rivera, a mother of three, had requested permission to remain in Canada on humanitarian grounds. In 2008, Corey Glass became the first US army deserter to be repatriated from Canada to the US.

The Demolition of Rafah & Israel Targets Medics (Adam Taylor / International Solidarity Movement & PalSolidarity.org)
Eyewitness in Gaza: "People are told to leave their homes but even if they leave they are attacked. Nowhere is safe in the Gaza strip. Where will these families go? They are afraid to seek sanctuary in local UNRWA schools following yesterday’s massacres in Jabaliya. They are afraid to drive somewhere and be shot down on the road like the Sinwar family was." Meanwhile, the ISM reports "at least six Palestinian medical personnel have been killed by Israeli attacks in the eight past days."

Where Would You Go? & The Death of a Medic (Eva Bartlett / International Solidarity)
Eva Bartlett, a volunteer with the ISM, ministering to civilians in Gaza, asks the question: "If your unbelievably small and overcrowded land was being terrorized, pulverized by bombs from the world’s 4th largest military, and your borders were closed; if your house was not safe, mosque (church) not safe, school not safe, street not safe, UN refugee camp not safe…Where would you go, run, hide?" And she recalls the death of her colleague Arafa Hani Abd al Dayem.

Army Recruiter Suicides Prompt Investigations (John McChesney / Morning Edition — National Public Radio)
The Army is investigating a cluster of suicides in the Houston Recruiting Battalion, where five soldiers have taken their own lives since 2001. Nationally, 17 recruiters have committed suicide during the same period.

Obama's Statement on the Crisis in Palestine (Andrew Hughes / Global Research)
Commentary: "It's no small wonder that President-Elect Barack Obama is keeping silent on the current round of wanton slaughter and destruction in Palestine. After all He had already made his position crystal clear when he addressed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. 'I want you to know that today I'll be speaking from my heart, and as a true friend of Israel.... the bond between the United States and Israel is unbreakable today, tomorrow and forever.'"

An Open Letter to the President Elect Regarding Gaza (Laila Halaby / The Beacon Post)
Commentary: "Last night I forced myself to look at coverage of Gaza. I started with CNN or Reuters, and though at that point over 200 Palestinians had been killed, the footage I saw was of the funeral for the one Israeli who died. I watched several men carry a coffin. I saw attractive women crying. It was both public and private and one felt their grief. The message was clear: one Israeli death is one too many whereas more than 200 Palestinian deaths are in a different category."

The View From Tel Aviv (Hillel Schenker / The Nation)
Commentary: "The Israeli government felt it was necessary to act militarily because of pressure from public opinion, the media and the right. After all, we are in the middle of an election campaign. And those are the rules of Middle Eastern life: you can't show weakness when being attacked. That's the Israeli mindset that Baram was referring to."

Understanding the Gaza Catastrophe (Richard Falk / Huffington Post)
Commentary:Richard Falk, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories, recalls that, prior to the mid-December end of the six-month cease-fire, "For eighteen months the entire 1.5 million people of Gaza experienced a punishing blockade imposed by Israel, and a variety of traumatizing challenges to the normalcy of daily life."

‘Sound Bombs' Hurt Gaza Civilians, Trigger Miscarriages in Women (The Guardian & Sorcha Faal & Mike Whitney / Information Clearing House & John Pilger / Information Clearing House & Rory McCarthy, David Batty and agencies / The Guardian)
The tactic of jets creating sonic booms low over the homes of Palestinians has been attacked by doctors and UN officials as terrifying and indiscriminate. These terrifying sonic blasts have reportedly caused spontaneous abortions and miscarriages. The horrible impacts of these weapons have been known since at least 2005, yet Israel persists in using against the civilian population of Gaza. Almost half the population under attack in Gaza is under the age of 15.

War Crimes Charged as Depleted Uranium Used to Attack Gaza (Press TV & Matthew Weaver and agencies / The Guardian)
Norwegian medics told Press TV correspondent Akram al-Sattari that some of the victims who have been wounded since Israel began its attacks on the Gaza Strip on December 27 have traces of depleted uranium in their bodies. Palestinian medical officials said that an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza mosque had killed 10 people and wounded dozens more. At least 200 people were reportedly praying inside the Ibrahim al-Maqadna mosque in northern Gaza when the Israeli missile struck.

Gaza City Residents Hunker Down (Richard Boudreaux and Rushdi abu Alouf / The Los Angeles Times)
As Israeli forces closed in on Gaza City, residents scrambled to stock up dwindling supplies of food they would need while hunkering down at home. Soon, Israeli shells rained down and five civilians died when tank shells hit a market. Most residents stayed indoors to avoid Israeli shelling. 'Anyone who survives this wave, it will be like they were born again,' said one man.

Former US Congresswoman Recounts Attack by Israeli Navy (Cynthia McKinney / OpEd Nedws)
We've been told that the sturdy, wood construction of our boat, Dignity, is the reason we are still alive. Fiberglass would probably not have withstood the impact of the Israeli attack and under different circumstances, we might not be here to tell the story.

Massive Peace Protests in Tel Aviv, London (Gush Shalom & The London Observer)
At the same time as Ehud Barak was ordering the army to start the bloody ground offensive against Gaza, some ten thousand protesters from all over Israel marched in Tel-Aviv in a massive protest against the war. Meanwhile, in London's Trafalgar Square, a peaceful protest against Israeli aggression turned violent when some members of a crowd of 5,000 burned Israeli flags and hurled missiles at police officers.

US Voices Oppose Gaza 'Massacre', Obama's Low Profile (Jennifer Epps / OpEdNews)
Like they did for the Iraq War, the corporate media has grossly under-represented this week's U.S. peace protests against Israel's assault on Gaza. An Associated Press story on the protests reported that "hundreds" of people had participated in "pro-Palestinian protests" on Dec. 30th, and made it seem as if these protests had only occurred in five cities:

Shalom, Shabbat, & Shibboleth (Rabbi Arthur Waskow / Op-Ed News)
Commentary: "It gets harder, Shabbat by Shabbat, to say without weeping the words "Shabbat shalom" — a sabbath of peace — when the present government of Israel has used last week's Shabbat and yesterday's to massively increase the level of its violence as a response to the violence of Hamas."

Open Letter to Barack Hussein Obama, President-elect of the United States of America (Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and Former Prime Minister of Malaysia / Global Research)
Commentary: "I welcome your promise for change. Certainly your country, the United States of America needs a lot of changes. That is because America and Americans have become the most hated people in the world. Even Europeans dislike your arrogance. Yet you were once admired and liked because you freed a lot of countries from conquest and subjugation. may I politely suggest that you also resolve to do the following in pursuit of Change."

After 7 Days of Air Strikes, Israeli Troops Enter Gaza (BBC News & Reuters)
There was no sign of a ceasefire on the seventh day of the conflict, in which at least 425 Palestinians have been killed and 2,000 wounded. Four Israeli civilians have been killed by Palestinian rockets fired from Gaza, which strike southern cities at random. After a week of air strikes to try to halt rocket attacks by Palestinian militants, srael has sent ground forces into the Gaza Strip.

Gaza: Leaders Lie, Civilians Die and the Lessons of History Are Ignored (Robert Fisk / The Independent)
We've got so used to the carnage of the Middle East that we don't care any more — providing we don't offend the Israelis. It's not clear how many of the Gaza dead are civilians, but the response of the Bush administration, not to mention the pusillanimous reaction of Gordon Brown, reaffirm for Arabs what they have known for decades: however they struggle against their antagonists, the West will take Israel's side.

Gross Human Rights Violations and War Crimes in the Gaza Strip (Palestinian Human Rights Community / Global Research)
Dear Member State of the UN Human Rights Council, we write to you with an urgent request for intervention by the UN Human Rights Council to put an end to the war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. At least 310 persons, including 37 children, have been killed and over 1000 Palestinians have been injured. The civilian population will inevitably continue to suffer heavy losses without external intervention.

Letter to Bush on Gaza Crisis & What Became of Western Morality? (Ralph Nader & Paul Craig Roberts / Information Clearinghouse)
Nader writes: "Alfred North Whitehead once said: "Duty arises out of the power to alter the course of events." By that standard, you have shirked mightily your duty over the past eight years to bring peace to both Palestinians and Israelis and more security to a good part of the world." Roberts writes: "It is the goyim moralists who are silent, not the Jews. It is the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, not the goyim media, that provides reports of Israel’s abuse of Palestinians."

Top UN Official Accuses Israel of Committing War Crimes (Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, President, United Nations General Assembly)
The President of the UN General Assembly has declared that "the behavior by Israel in bombarding Gaza is simply the commission of wanton aggression by a very powerful state against a territory that it illegally occupies. The Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip represent severe and massive violations of international humanitarian law as defined in the Geneva Conventions, both in regard to the obligations of an Occupying Power and in the requirements of the laws of war.

Gazans Fight Cold and Hunger as Supplies Run Dry (Azmi Keshawi in Bureij / The Times)
heir windows smashed in the dead of winter by bomb blasts, Jihad Hamed, his wife and seven children huddle together every night in one bedroom of their freezing house, trying to keep warm and as far away as possible from the next explosion, wherever it might come from.

An Israeli War Crimes Tribunal (ICTI) May be the Only Deterrent to a Global War (Francis A. Boyle / Global Research)
The United Nations General Assembly must immediately establish an International Criminal Tribunal for Israel (ICTI) as a "subsidiary organ" under U.N. Charter Article 22. The ICTI would be organized along the lines of the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY), which was established by the Security Council.

Dear Mr. Obama: Please Say SOMETHING about Gaza (The BAR Staff & Brian O’Leary)
Former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has called upon President-Elect Barack Obama to "please, say something about the humanitarian crisis that is being experienced by the people of Gaza." And a former astronaut and presidential advisor warns: "by supporting some of the most criminal actions in human history, the powerful elite have created an atmosphere of mass obedience by a fearful and helpless populace to wanton genocide and ecocide. "

Stressed-out Iraqi Soldiers Abusing Drugs (Mudhafer al-Husaini,Erica Goode / New York Times)
For an Iraqi army soldier patrolling Baghdad's unpredictable streets, each 12-hour shift is an exercise in terror and uncertainty. So Ahmed Qasim pops a small white tablet called Artane to help him through his duties. The abuse of prescription drugs, widely available in Iraq on the black market and through private pharmacies, has significantly increased since 2003, doctors and other health specialists say, nourished by the stresses of the war and the lack of strict government regulation.

Can There Be Any Doubt Who The Real Terrorists Are? (Stuart Littlewood / Global Research & Middle East Online)
Commentary: "Today’s slaughter of innocents in Gaza, with at least 230 reported killed in raids on 'Hamas terror operatives' (as the Israeli military put it), amounted to 'a mass execution,' said Hamas. The killing spree couldn’t have happened without the tacit approval of America, Britain and the EU."

The Holocaust (Dahlia Wasfi / Information Clearinghouse)
Commentary: "I’m not talking about World War II, Mahmoud Ahmedinijad, or Ashkenazi Jews. I’m referring to the holocaust we are all witnessing in Gaza today and in Palestine over the last 60 years. By definition, a holocaust is a mass slaughter of people, especially through fire. There isn’t a more accurate description of the hell that US-armed and –funded Israeli Occupation Forces are unleashing on the people of Gaza at this moment. "

ACTION ALERT: CEASE FIRE NOW! (Gush Shalom / Haaretz & Avaaz & Toni O'Loughlin / The Guardian)
Israel's preeminent peace group writes: "The killing of hundreds of Palestinians and the destruction of the infrastructure of life in the Gaza Strip are abominable acts. Those who hope to reap electoral profits from them are greatly mistaken." Avaaz petition calls for Cease Fire in Gaza. And Israel's supreme court orders the government to allow the international media into Gaza to report on the effect of the air strikes on Palestinians.

Jan. 1 Will Begin New Era of US in Iraq (Trudy Rubin / HonoluluAdvertiser)
On New Year's Day, the status-of-forces agreement recently signed by Washington and Baghdad will take effect. From that day on, Iraq must sign off on all US military operations. The accord also calls for all US combat troops to withdraw from Iraqi cities by June 30, and for all US forces to leave the country "no later than Dec. 31, 2011.

UN Fails to Make Progress on Gaza (BBC News)
The UN Security Council has discussed a draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire to halt the Israeli-Palestinian violence. But the meeting failed to vote on the Libyan draft after ambassadors from the US and UK said it contained nothing about Palestinian attacks on Israel. The draft condemned Israel's military action and called on it to cease.

Iraq Takes Control of Green Zone (Caroline Wyatt / BBC News)
new legal framework for the presence of US and UK forces in Iraq has come into effect. The end of the UN mandate - put into place soon after the invasion in March 2003 - means Iraq will now take greater control of its own security. Foreign forces will also face new rules. Iraqis now have the right to prosecute US soldiers for any crimes committed while off-base and off-duty, though it is not yet clear if the same rule will apply to British troops.

The Truth about those Hamas Rockets (Dennis Rahkonen / Online Journal)
Commentary: "What would we do if rockets were being launched on our homes in New York or Texas, from Canada or Mexico? The proper answer is that, if those two nations had been unlawfully occupied or embargoed by the United States for 60 years of relentless oppression and repression, and if all attempts at peaceful change had been forcefully prevented or scuttled by the U.S., then such attacks would be an understandable, indeed a justifiable attempt at gaining intolerably deferred liberty."

Bosnia Lacks Cash to Clear Away Killer Mines (William J. Kole / Associated Press)
Thirteen years after Bosnia's 1992-95 war ended, mines are still claiming scores of victims. A closer look by the Associated Press shows the problem is not that officials don't know where most of the explosives are buried. It's that they just can't seem to scrape together enough cash to get them out of the ground.

Ex-Colombia Hostage Tells Her Tale (Santiago Fourcade with Mark Walsh / Chronicle Foreign Service)
In a nondescript hotel lobby, Clara Rojas stares into the distance before speaking in a hesitant voice. The former vice presidential candidate, who spent nearly six years held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

Mugabe uses 'subliminal terror' to hold power (Robyn Dixon / Los Angeles Times)
Zimbabwe's longtime leader, 84-year-old Robert Mugabe, has outmaneuvered and outlasted his critics for more than 25 years. Mugabe drew his most important lesson from the West's blase reaction to a bloody purge that killed 20,000 of his opponents. This lead Mugabe to believe there's a level of "acceptable" violence that will escape international condemnation but still destroy any threat to his power.

Troops Confiscate Toy Guns in Iraq (Kim Gamel / Associated Press)
With more children on the streets now that violence is down, American soldiers have a new mission in this former "triangle of death" city south of Baghdad: clearing all toy guns from the bustling shopping area as they search for suspected insurgents and weapons caches. The toy gun ban shows how jittery the US and Iraqi forces still are in a country where the enemy doesn't wear a uniform.

UN Wants More Protection for Afghan Civilians ( Heidi Vogt / Associated Press & Fisnik Abrashi / Huffington Post)
The UN chief in Afghanistan called Wednesday for international military forces to revise their agreement with the Afghan government to include practices that will better safeguard civilians. The United Nations has repeatedly criticized international forces for not doing enough to protect Afghan civilians during air strikes, house searches and when detaining suspects.

US Moves to Secure Afghans' Voting Rights (Jason Motlagh / Chronicle Foreign Service)
The US has launched a campaign to protect residents who want to register to vote in a presidential election to be held sometime in the second half of 2009. According to a recent report by the International Council on Security and Development, the Taliban and other insurgents, have a permanent presence in nearly three-quarters of the country, NATO and Afghan government officials have rejected the findings.

Shoe Thrower 'Beaten in Custody'; Iraqis Rally for Journalist's Release (BBC World News)
The brother of the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush has said that the reporter has been beaten in custody. Muntadar al-Zaidi has suffered a broken hand, broken ribs and internal bleeding, as well as an eye injury, his older brother, Dargham, told the BBC.

Bush Shoe-Tosser Triggers Global Reactions (Timothy Williams & Sharon Otterman / New York Times & Chelsea J. Carter / Associated Press)
A day after an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at George W. Bush at a Baghdad news conference, his act of defiance continues to resonate throughout Iraq and beyond as critics called the attack "a message to Bush and all the US policymakers that they have to stop killing and humiliating people." According to Iraq Body Count, as many as 98,000 Iraqi civilians may have been killed since the war began.

ACTION ALERT: Peace Activists to Deluge White House with Tossed Shoes Wednesday, Dec. 17 (Code Pink & Shoes for Bush)
In solidarity with an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at George W. Bush at a Baghdad press conference Sunday, peace activists will gather outside the White House with bags of shoes representing Iraqis and U.S. soldiers who have died since the Bush Administration’s illegal invasion of Iraq. If you can't get to DC, you can mail shoes to the White House.

Congo Violence Reaches Endangered Mountain Gorillas (Jeffrey Gettleman / The New York Times)
Eastern Congo is home to almost a third of the world’s last 700 wild mountain gorillas. Their home, Virunga National Park, is high ground along the porous Congo-Rwanda border, where rebels are suspected of smuggling in weapons from Rwanda. Officials with Virunga National Park are urging the rebels and government troops to allow them to return to work. The rebels insist the gorillas are safe. “We are protecting them,” said Babu Amani, a rebel spokesman.

Report Details US Failure to Rebuild Iraq (James Glanz & T. Christian Miller / New York Times)
An unpublished, 513-page federal history of the US-led reconstruction of Iraq depicts an effort crippled before the invasion by Pentagon planners who were hostile to the idea of rebuilding a foreign country, and then molded into a $100 billion failure by bureaucratic turf wars, spiraling violence and ignorance of the basic elements of Iraqi society and infrastructure.

At Gaza Strip, Escape Comes via Drug Tramadol (Ben Hubbard / Associated Press)
The new drug overtaking the Gaza Strip doesn't cause hallucinations or increase endurance at the dance club. It merely chills you out, which is exactly what many Gazans say they need. Thus the boom in the popularity of tramadol, a painkiller known here by a common brand name, "Tramal" as growing numbers of Gazans have begun using the drug to take the edge off life in the impoverished seaside strip.

Iraqi Victims and Families Meet US Prosecutors (Katherine Zoepf & Anwar J. Ali / The New York Times)
American prosecutors met Saturday with victims’ families and survivors of the September 2007 shootings of Iraqi civilians by private security guards employed by Blackwater Worldwide. The meeting was the first time the victims had been brought together so that prosecutors could inform them about the investigation and their rights under American law.

Farmers Say No to War and Terror: 15 Reasons (Farms Not Arms)
All farmers of the world share the unique privilege and the daunting responsibility of making sure everyone is fed and the land is protected to feed the future generations. As farmers, farm-workers and those in the agricultural industry who support them, we come together to oppose the war in Iraq and the dangerous cycle of war and terror that threatens our world.

One Soldier’s Story (Matt McCue / Farms Not Arms)
Rather than thinking of Iraq as the place where my heart was broken and my mind was controlled, I prefer to think of Iraq as the place where I discovered the key to my freedom. I prefer to remember the trucks full of watermelons and pomegranates that would pass through our checkpoints. I felt strangely human as I waved cars by with pomegranate seeds stuck to my Kevlar vest.

US Rural Soldiers Account for a Disproportionately High Share of Casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan (William O’Hare & Bill Bishop / The Carsey Institute)
n time of war, all Americans are expected to sacrifice and rural Americans have always stepped forward to do their part in past wars and national emergencies. However, as the data presented here attests, today rural Americans are paying the ultimate sacrifice in disproportionately high numbers.

Ramsey Clark Receives UN Human Rights Award 2008 (International Action Center)
Ramsey Clark, a former US Attorney General and internationally renown human rights defender, received the respected United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights on the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The award is made every five years to five human rights defenders whose life's work has been outstanding.

US Soldiers Kill4 Civilians on Bus; US Troops Kill 6 Afghan Police; Eight-year-old Boy Kills 8 UK Troops (Rahim Faiez & Heidi Vogt / Associated Press & Kavkaz Center & Candace Rondeaux / Washington Post)
US troops opened fire on a bus carrying civilians Friday in central Afghanistan, killing four passengers after their driver refused to stop, On December 10, US Special Forces in southeastern Afghanistan killed six Afghan police officers and injured 13 Wednesday in an incident that Afghan and US officials said was a case of mistaken identity.

Atrocity Unlimited: US Seeks to Turn Somalia into Global Free-Fire Zone (Chris Floyd / Uruknet)
Not content with destroying the only vestige of stability that Somalia had known for almost two decades by arming, backing and participating in a brutal "regime change" invasion by Ethiopia, the Bush Administration now wants to turn the ravaged land into an international "free fire zone" — a giant Fallujah where any powerful nation on earth can launch armed incursions on Somali soil.

EU Agrees Renewable Energy to Provide a Fifth of Needs by 2020 (Sydney Morning Herald & Clifford Krauss / New York Times)
European Union governments and the European Parliament agreed Tuesday on a bill obliging Europe to use renewable sources for 20 percent of its energy needs by 2020, Meanwhile, jatropha is a one-time weed that is now being planted and grown in Mali as a source for biofuel.

Rwanda 'Recruited Child Soldiers for Congo Rebels' (Mike Pflanz / The Telegraph)
Rwanda's army and government helped recruit fighters, including children, to support the Democratic Republic of Congo's rebel leader Laurent Nkunda, a high-level United Nations panel has claimed. The panel's draft report contradicts repeated denials by Rwanda's President Paul Kagame that his government has supported the Tutsi-led rebellion in neighbouring DR Congo in any way.

Senate Report: Top Bush Officials Authorized Torture (David Morgan / Reuters & Joby Warrick /Washington Post)
A bipartisan Senate report released Thursday said former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other top Bush administration officials are directly responsible for abuses of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and charged that decisions by those officials led to serious offenses against prisoners in Iraq and elsewhere.

US Silent as Possible Afghan War-crimes Evidence Is Removed (Tom Lasseter / McClatchy Newspapers)
Seven years ago, a convoy of container trucks rumbled across northern Afghanistan loaded with a human cargo of suspected Taliban and al Qaida members who'd surrendered to Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, a key US ally in ousting the Taliban regime. When the trucks arrived at a prison in the town of Sheberghan, they were filled with corpses. Earlier this year, bulldozers returned to the scene and removed evidence of the atrocity to sites unknown.

Noisy, Acid Oceans Increasingly Harmful to Whales (Environmental News Service)
Oceans and seas are becoming noisier with more vessels, increased seismic surveys for oil and gas, off-shore construction and recreation, and a new generation of military sonars, an alliance of wildlife groups said today. They warn that the cacophony is intensifying threats to marine mammals that use sound to communicate, forage for food and find mates

Injured Vets Still Wait for Appeals to Be Heard (Kevin Maurer / Associated Press)
Veterans advocates are protestng that the military is manipulating disability ratings to save money. Last year, Congress ordered the Pentagon to accept appeals from wounded and injured troops. So far, officials have yet to examine a single case.

City Asks US to Charge Local Professor with War Crimes (San Francisco Chronicle & Berkeley Daily Planet)
After an emotional, rancorous debate over torture and academic freedom, Berkeley's City Council passed a measure late Monday night imploring the United States to prosecute Berkeley resident and former White House official John Yoo for war crimes. Yoo, a tenured professor at UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law, wrote the legal memos justifying torture during the interrogation of terrorism suspects when he served as deputy assistant attorney general for the Bush administration in 2001-03.

Chinese War Museum Casts US in Harsh Light (John M. Glionna / Los Angeles Times)
At China's Museum of the War to Resist American Aggression and Aid Korea, it's as if the clock stopped 55 years ago. The museum in this provincial city on the North Korean border tells a personal version of the Korean War, one that casts US foreign policy and military tactics in a decidedly negative light. Hundreds of historical photographs and exhibits present a pro-Beijing side of a conflict that saw Chinese forces rush to the aid of North Korea.

US at Disadvantage in Afghan Insurgent Hotbed (Jason Motlagh / San Francisco Chronicle Foreign Service)
In the past year, the Taliban and other insurgent groups in Wardak have increased their attacks by 58 percent. With deadly frequency, the militants use the valley to launch attacks on Kabul and a national highway that is the economic lifeline to the southern part of the country. A shadow Taliban government collects taxes and runs roadside checkpoints, while fighters are largely free to train and stash arms and kidnap victims with little interference.

Global Zero Calls for Nuclear Weapons Ban (Gordon Corera / BBC News)
A group of international dignitaries have launched a new campaign in Paris to eliminate nuclear weapons. Global Zero consists of 100 leading figures seeking practical steps towards nuclear abolition and gaining public support for that goal. The group will hold meetings in Moscow and Washington in the coming days.

UN Official Slams Israel 'Crimes' (BBC News)
The UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories has said Israel's policies there amount to a crime against humanity and urged the UN to protect the Palestinian population suffering what he called "collective punishment". Richard Falk's statement came as UN human rights delegates urged Israel to take nearly 100 measures including ending its blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Answers Sought over Nerve Gas Plan: US Planned to Bombard Australian Troops with Sarin (Cameron Stewart and Nicola Berkovic | / The Australian)
Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon has asked for an "urgent and full briefing" from his department about US plans to drop deadly nerve gas bombs in Queensland in the 1960s. The secret US plan to test the effectiveness of nerve gas agents, including sarin gas, in jungle warfare called for the Menzies government to lie to Australians about the tests. The revelations, which were contained in recently declassified top secret documents held by the National Archives

Blackwater guards 'Used Grenades' (BBC World News)
US guards indicted over the 2007 fatal shooting of 17 Iraqis used machine guns and grenade launchers against unarmed civilians, prosecutors have said. The guards, from the US security firm Blackwater, were contracted to defend US diplomats. The firm says its guards acted in self-defence.

60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights ( Rita Maran /)
A quietly-revolutionary document that changed our world for the better, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, turns 60 this year.

The Declaration is The Law: Berkeley and the UNDR (Ann Fagan Ginger / Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute)
Commentary: Many of us have complained that the United States does not live up to the Universal Declaration, even though Eleanor Roosevelt played such an important role in getting it set down in print. Even in Berkeley relatively few folks have learned from lecturers that the declaration was a declaration, and was not The Law.

Made In The USA: Teen Bombers (Armen Keteyian / CBS Evening News)
The federal government released the latest data showing there were at least 2,700 reported incidents involving bombs and explosive devices in the US last year. But the sheer number is not the biggest concern: It's who's behind the majority of the bombings. Six out of 10 of these explosive incidents involve juveniles.

Supreme Court to Hear Case of Qatari Student Held by US (Michael Doyle / McClatchy Newspapers)
The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the president has the power to detain indefinitely an alleged enemy combatant seized on US soil. In another landmark challenge to the Bush administration's war-on-terror strategy, lawyers for Ali Saleh Kahlah al Marri say the Qatari native and former graduate student has been improperly held on nothing but the president's say-so for more than five years. They want him to be charged with a crime or released.

Kansas Picked for Biodefense Lab & he Germs Next Door (Sam Hananel / Associated Press & Stan Cox / CounterPunch)
Kansas has won a three-year competition to land a new $450 million federal laboratory to study livestock diseases and some of the world's most dangerous biological threats. But some states that lost out are crying foul. What would it take to convince you that your town should play host to the world's most feared human and animal pathogens? Believe it or not, five states are locked in fierce competition over a proposed bioterror lab that would have them doing just that.

‘Culture of Dishonesty' at Department of Veterans Affairs (Jason Leopold / Online Journal Contributing Writer)
The economic meltdown that has dominated media coverage over the past several months has overshadowed a crisis at the Department of Veterans Affairs, an agency in dire need of new leadership, veterans groups and Democratic lawmakers say. The VA is now treating more than 350,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans and with the war in Iraq guaranteed to continue for at least another three years, and with the possibility of more troops being sent to fight in Afghanistan.

Washington Arrogance has Fomented a Muslim Revolution (Paul Craig Roberts / Information Clearinghouse)
Is Pakistan responsible for the Mumbai attack in India? No. Is India’s repression of its Muslim minority responsible? No. Is the United States government responsible? Yes. The attack on Mumbai required radicalized Muslims. Radicalized Muslims resulted from the US overthrowing the elected government in Iran and imposed the Shah; from the US stationing troops in Saudi Arabia; from the US invading and attempting to occupy Afghanistan and Iraq.

Somalia: Another CIA-Backed Coup Blows Up (Mike Whitney / Information Clearinghouse)
Up until a month ago, the Bush administration showed no interest in the incidents of piracy off the Somali coast. Now there's talk of sending in the Navy to patrol the waters off the Horn of Africa and clear out the pirates' hideouts. Why the sudden about-face? Could it have something to do with the fact that the Ethiopian army is planning to withdraw all of its troops from Mogadishu by the end of the year, thus, ending the failed two year US-backed occupation of Somalia?

US Soldiers Re-enlisting because of Poor Economy (John Milburn & Stephen Manning / Associated Press)
In 2008, as the stock market cratered and the housing market collapsed, more young members of the Army, Air Force and Navy decided to re-up. While several factors might explain the rise in re-enlistments, including a decline in violence in Iraq, Pentagon officials acknowledge that bad news for the economy is usually good news for the military.

92 Nations Sign Cluster-bomb Ban; US, Russia Don't (Doug Mellgren / Associated Press Writer)
An Afghan teenager who lost both legs in a cluster bomb explosion helped persuade his country to change its stance and join nearly 100 nations in signing a treaty Wednesday banning the disputed weapons. Afghanistan was initially reluctant to join the pact — which the United States and Russia have refused to support — but agreed to after lobbying by victims maimed by cluster munitions.

Military Contractor in Iraq Holds Foreign Workers in Warehouses (Adam Ashton / McClatchy Newspapers)
About 1,000 Asian men who were hired by a Kuwaiti subcontractor to the US military have been confined for as long as three months in windowless warehouses near the Baghdad airport without money or a place to work. Najlaa International Catering Services, a subcontractor to KBR, an engineering, construction and services company, hired the men, who're from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. (KBR was a subsidiary of Halliburton when the firm was headed by VP Dick Cheny.)

Children 'Executed' in 1950 South Korean Killings: US Covered Up Political Purge (Charles J. Hanley & Jae-soon Chang / Associated Press)
South Korean Truth and Reconciliation Commission investigators, digging into the grim hidden history of mass political executions, have confirmed that dozens of children were among at least 100,000 people shot by their own government early in the Korean War. Details of the killings, buried in classified US files for 50 years, were intended to keep leftists from aiding the invaders when the rightist, US-allied government was in danger of being overrun.

Blackwater Guards: Mercenaries or Decorated Vets? (Lara Jakes Jordan & Matt Apuzzo / Associated Press)
As Iraqis welcomed the charges against five Blackwater guards in a case that fueled anti-Americanism and roiled diplomacy with Baghdad, defense attorneys on Saturday lambasted the US indictments against decorated war veterans for deadly 2007 shootings. Charges against Blackwater security guards will be unsealed Monday, more than a year after the gruesome slayings of 17 Iraqi civilians on Sept. 16, 2007..

Soldiers Behaving Badly: From Blackwater to the 101st (Associated Press & The Leaf Chronicle / Associated Press)
Five Blackwater Worldwide security guards have been indicted for a 2007 shooting that left 17 Iraqis dead and became an anti-American rallying cry for insurgents. Meanwhile, two 101st Airborne soldiers will be arraigned next week on charges of premeditated murder in the shooting death of an Iraqi detainee and a third member of the 101st has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder in the death of his infant stepson.

Israel Criticized at Top UN Human Rights Meeting (Stephanie Nebehay / Reuters)
Israel’s neighbors accused it of committing systematic violations against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank during a meeing of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Delegations from Syria, Egypt and Iran raised concerns about Israel's security wall, its detentions of young Palestinians, and "illegal" Jewish settlements. Western countries (with the exception of the US) urged Israel to lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip, which they said had led to a worsening humanitarian situation.

Pickens to Obama: Oil Era Is Over & The Abundant Fossil Fuel You’ve Never Heard Of (Dave Hendricks / infoZine & Jeremy Kutner / The Christian Science Monitor)
Oilman and energy guru T. Boone Pickens offered some unsolicited advice to President-elect Barack Obama Tuesday: Push US automakers to build vehicles that run only on domestic fuel. Meanwhile, in Alaska, BP and the US Department of Energy are preparing for first large-scale production test-drilling for a hydrocarbon-rich mineral — chunks of methane gas hydrate.

War-caused Brain Injuries' Long-term Effects (Jia-Rui Chong / Los Angeles Times & Michael D. Lemonick / Time Magazine)
Traumatic brain injuries, one of the signature injuries of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, can be linked to such long-term problems as seizures, aggression and dementia reminiscent of Alzheimer's disease. Army researchers have found that one-sixth of soldiers surveyed had suffered at least one concussion during their yearlong deployment — typically during combat or from a blast — and has as much as a three-times higher risk for PTSD than those who hadn't had a concussion.

Bush Triggers Arms Race in US Parks (Peter Fimrite,/ San Francisco Chronicle & Trailspace.com)
The Bush administration has struck down federal regulations banning loaded guns in most national forests, a move that was widely seen as a parting shot on behalf of the National Rifle Association. The ruling overturned a 25-year-old federal regulation severely restricting concealed firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges. The new rule, would apparently allow anyone who already has a concealed weapons permit to tote a gun in federal parks within state boundaries.

Pentagon to Recruit Aliens on Visas (Pauline Jelinek / Associated Press)
Struggling to find enough doctors, nurses and linguists for the war effort, the Pentagon will temporarily recruit foreigners who have been living in the United States on student and work visas, or with refugee or political asylum status.

Naval Deployments by US, Iran, Israel (DebkeFile & Reuters)
Iran's navy and air force began a six-day maneuver covering 50,000 square miles of the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has threatened to block the narrow strait if attacked. Three US aircraft carriers with strike groups, task forces and nuclear submarines are in the waters of the Arabian Sea opposite the shores of India, Pakistan and Iran. Meanwhile, the Israeli navy turned back a Libyan ship on its way to deliver humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Syria Attack: Changing the Rules (Conn Hallinan / Berkeley Daily Planet)
A little more than a month ago, four US helicopters crossed the Syrian border from Iraq and attacked a civilian farmhouse. The US claims the farmhouse was an al-Qaeda way station and the eight men killed during the raid were terrorists. The Syrians say the dead—five of them members of the same family—were building a house and had nothing to do with terrorism or al-Qaeda. A BBC report found that most of the dead appeared to be construction workers.

Prisoners Occupy Iraqis’ Minds as Eid Approaches (Fatih Abdulsalam / Azzaman &)
raqis will soon mark the Eid –al-Adha, or feast of the sacrifice, with a long holiday, starting Monday. But there will be very little for them to celebrate. As the Eid comes, the best present an Iraqi family can hope for is the release of a loved one from the scores of prisons the US and the Iraqi government have constructed across the country.

Iraq’s Slippery Slope… to Peace? (Defense Tech & Department of Defense)
The Pentagon released the latest Measuring Security and Stability in Iraq report. Here are some pull-outs from the Executive Summary. Follow the link to read the full report.

Report from Mumbai: Feeling Lost in a City Under Siege (Sritanu Chakrabarti ? Berkeley Daily Planet)
First-person account: It’s been a long day at work and you just need to unwind by having a couple of beers with your friend from college who is in town. He wants to go to Leopold’s, the popular pub at Colaba. You think about the beef chili out there for a moment, then refuse to yield to temptation. For some reason you don’t want to travel today. You meet him at a sports bar close to the office and have a great time talking about old times and catching up with each other’s lives.

US Soldiers Sue over Chemical Exposure in Iraq (ENews)
Sixteen US soldiers have filed a federal lawsuit against KBR Inc. (a defense contractor linked to Dick Cheney's former company Halliburton). The the Indiana National Guardsmen claim they were sickened after being exposed to a carcinogen while protecting an Iraqi water pumping plant shortly after the US invasion in 2003.

Israeli Industrial Zones Using West Bank as Chemical Dump (Window into Palestine.blogspot)
The Israeli administration has buried more than 50 percent, or three million tons, of its nuclear and chemical waste in the occupied West Bank. Most of the waste comes from the Israeli industrial zones and is buried secretly causing slow death and disease as it seeps from the soil, PNN partner station Radio Dream reports.

Lawyers Call for International Court for the Environment (Louise Gray / The Telegraph)
One of Britain's top lawyers has called for the creation of a body similar to the International Court of Justice in The Hague to be the supreme legal authority on issues regarding the environment. The court's first role would be to enforce international agreements on cutting greenhouse gas emissions set to be agreed next year but the court would also fine countries or companies that fail to protect endangered species or degrade the natural environment.

Divorce Rate Increases in Marine Corps, Army (Pauline Jelinek / Associated Press)
The divorce rate among soldiers and Marines increased last year as military marriages suffered continuing stress from America's two ongoing wars. There were an estimated 10,200 failed marriages in the active duty Army and 3,077 among Marines. This divorce rate of 3.5 percent among more than 287,000 married troops in the Army is up from 3.3 percent in the previous fiscal year

The Hidden Military Agenda behind Hawai'i's Superferries (James Heddle / The Ecological Options Network)
Five stories high and a football field-and-a-half long, the superferry can carry 866 civilian or military personnel, 282 civilian cars and trucks...or an unknown quantity of Stryker Depleted Uranium-firing military tanks across the high seas and into shallow water on any island chain or continent. China, and other potential US rivals, please take note.

Pentagon's 7-Million-acre Land Grab Would Displace 17,000 Coloradans (Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition)
Ever since the planned expansion of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site became public knowledge in early 2006, the PCEOC has been warning Colorado that the Army's goal was to expand the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS) by up to 5.5 million acres. As it turns out, this was incorrect; the actual acreage desired by the US Army is 7 million acres

Native Americans Challenge World's Largest Uranium Producer (Alex White Plume / Native Unity)
An Atomic Licensing Board judges’ panel of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has ruled in favor of petitioners who filed interventions in the 10-year license renewal of Cameco, Inc.’s uranium mine near Crawford, Nebraska. The petitioners include imembers of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation; the Oglala Sioux Tribe; the Oglala Delegation of the Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council; the Lakota NGO Owe Aku (Bring Back the Way), and the Western Nebraska Resources Council.

US Snoops on Allies & Terror Bombers Claim They 'Worked for West' (Brian Ross, Vic Walter & Anna Schecter / ABC News & Global Research and Press TV)
A former communications intercept operator says US intelligence snooped on the private lives of two of America's most important allies in fighting al Qaeda: British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Iraq's first interim president, Ghazi al-Yawer. Meanwhile, three men accused of bombing a mosque in Iran — killing 13 and injuring more than 200 — have claimed during an Islamic Revolution court hearing that they had been "brainwashed" by a Western terrorist cell.

Terrorism That’s Personal: Targeting Women in Pakistan (Nicholas D. Kristof / New York Times Op-Ed)
Terrorism usually means bombs exploding or hotels burning, yet alongside the brutal public terrorism, there is an equally cruel form of terrorism that gets almost no attention and thrives as a result: flinging acid on a woman’s face to leave her hideously deformed. I’ve been investigating such acid attacks, which are commonly used to terrorize and subjugate women and girls in a swath of Asia from Afghanistan through Cambodia (men are almost never attacked with acid).

Analysts: Mumbai Attacks ‘A Ploy to Wreck Obama Plan to Isolate al-Qaeda.’ (Jeremy Page, Tom Coghlan and Zahid Hussain / The Times)
Analysis: The carnage in Mumbai may have been an attempt to put Pakistan and India at each other’s throats and kill US hopes for the region. One analyst even described the attacks as a “pre-emptive strike” against Barack Obama’s strategy to put Pakistan and Afghanistan at the centre of US foreign policy.

Vote First. Ask Questions Later (William Blum / The Anti-Empire Report)
Commentary: “It was historic. I choked up a number of times, tears came to my eyes, even though I didn't vote for him. I voted for Ralph Nader for the fourth time in a row. I'm glad Obama won for two reasons only: John McCain and Sarah Palin, and I deeply resent the fact that the American system forces me to squeeze out a drop of pleasure from something so far removed from my ideals. It's a form of extortion – Vote for Obama or you get more of the same.”

Obama Pledge on Treaties a Complex Undertaking (Bob Egelko / San Francisco Chronicle)
President-elect Barack Obama's pledge to restore the United States' international standing extends far beyond front-page topics such as closing Guantanamo and banning torture, into areas as diverse as nuclear testing, the rights of women and people with disabilities, and military and commercial activities in the world's oceans.

Gulf War Syndrome Linked to DoD's Pills and Pesticides (Julie Robotham / Sydney Morning Herald & Alan Silverleib / CNN & Thomas H. Maugh II and Mary Engel / Los Angeles Times & Kim Sengupta / The London Independent)
An officer who investigated illness states: "This is real, and it has devastated families." One in four Gulf War veterans suffer from Gulf War illness, report says Pesticides, drug used to thwart effects of nerve gas called most likely to blame. Illness termed "a real condition with real causes and serious consequences"

Ex-child Soldiers Launch UN Network to Help Kids (John Heilprin / Associated Press & Human Rights Watch & United Nations)
The UN says the number of child soldiers around the world is estimated at 250,000. Three former child soldiers from Africa announced the launch of a new UN-backed advocacy group Thursday to help other kids escape and heal from war. In 2004, UNICEF and the UN mission to Afghanistan set a target of demobilizing 5,000 child soldiers as part of the first year of their joint campaign to reintegrate war-affected youngsters in the country.

Korean Demilitarized Zone Has become Pristine Wildlife Habitat (Jeremy Hance / Mongabay.com)
For the first time since the Korean DMZ was created a research team has surveyed the area to study its wildlife and ecosystems. Scientists, historians, and culture experts surveyed 563 miles of the DM— including six streams, 37 mountains, and 32 wetlands — and found that over the past 50 years, farming and residential areas have now become home to 50 animal and 12 plant species. Without human presence, the DMZ has become a pristine wildlife habitat.

Will Nuclear Disarmament Be on Obama's Agenda? (Thalif Deen & Jacqueline Cabasso / InterPress Service)
As a new president prepares to assume office, Thalif Deen interviews Jacqueline Cabasso, winner of the Sean MacBride Peace Prize, and asks "Will Obama, who was once quoted as saying that 'America seeks a work in which there are no nuclear weapons' place a higher priority on nuclear disarmament than previous US administrations?

US Would Control Profits from Iraqi Oil Exports Under Agreement ( Jeremy R. Hammond / Global Research)
There's been no shortage of controversy surrounding what has been termed the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the governments of the United States and Iraq. After battling away for most of the year at what the terms of the agreement should be, the text was at last finalized this month. The terms of the agreement effectively allow the US to continue to control billions of dollars of proceeds from the sale of exported Iraqi oil held in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Despite Agreement, US Future in Iraq Unclear (Maya Schenwar / t r u t h o u t)
Iraq's Parliament passed the US-Iraq security pact by a slim majority. While it sets a timetable for withdrawal (a provision the Bush administration previously refused to consider), the aggrement calls for a three-year timetable — twice as long as the one suggested by President-elect Obama — and calls for a one-year period before a there-year withdrawal could begin. In essence, the pact would prevent President Obama from withdrawing US troops during his four-year term.

Mumbai to Obama: End Bush's War on Terror (Steve Weissman / t r u t h o u t | Perspective)
The terrorist attacks in Mumbai call out to President-elect Barack Obama and his advisors to rethink the signature blunder of George W. Bush's eight years in office - the so-called War on Terror. As Barton Gellman shows so brilliantly in his book "Angler," Dick Cheney and his team consciously wanted to create a wartime presidency with enormous unchecked power and scant regard for basic American liberties.

Japan to End Deployment in Iraq (Al Jazeera and Sources)
Japan has announced that it will end its air support for US-led coalition forces in Iraq by the end of the year. Japan has airlifted equipment and troops since 2006 from Kuwait to Iraq, including Baghdad, in support of the US-led forces. The Iraq and Afghan missions have tested the limits of Japan's pacifist constitution and divided public opinion. Critics oppose them as a violation of the nation's charter written in 1947 by the US, which bans Japan from engaging in warfare.

(John Two-Hawks / Native American Issues & Causes & NDN News & The Black Commentator)
Thousands of years before the 'official' Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed by Governor Winthrop of the Massachussetts Bay Colony in 1637, North American Indigenous people across the continent had celebrated seasons of Thanksgiving. It is reserved by history and the intent of "the founders" as the supremely white American holiday, the most ghoulish event on the national calendar.

Poverty and Despair: The Failed Policies & Human Rights Violations Directed against Native Americans (Stephen Lendman / Global Research)
Before US military forces invaded Iraq, the US Calvary invaded the sovereign territory of the continent’s Native Americans. As in Iraq, the attempt to occupy and pacify the local populace — and seize control of their lands and resources — resulted in mass killings of civilians, the destruction of indigenous infrastructure and the forced relocation of millions.

EU Nations May Host 10,000 Vulnerable Iraq Refugees (uk.news.yahoo.com)
European Union nations agreed Thursday to try and accept 10,000 of the most vulnerable refugees from war-torn Iraq, with Germany ready to take a quarter of them. They would include "refugees in a particularly vulnerable situation such as those with particular medical needs, trauma or torture victims, members of religious minorities or women on their own with family responsibilities."

Rights Group: US Security Deal Puts Iraqi Detainees at Risk (Voice of America (VOA) News)
Amnesty International, has warned that thousands of Iraqis now detained by US forces face torture or execution if handed over to Iraqi authorities. Amnesty said the security deal with the United States, approved by Itaq's Parliament, provides no safeguards for transferred prisoners, a situation one Amnesty official said moves them "from the frying pan to the fire."

American Woman among 18 Abducted at Gunpoint by Israeli Troops in Gaza (Window to Palestine.blogspot.com)
Darlene Wallach, a human rights observer from San Jose, California, was among eighteen persons abducted off the coast of Gaza on November 18, 2008. All eighteen were fishing in Gaza waters in zones authorized for Palestinian fisherman by the Oslo agreements of 1993 and 1994. They were abducted at gunpoint by Israeli frogmen and taken to Israel, along with the fishing boats.

Israeli Military Continues Policy of Assassinations (Window on Palestine & Haaretz)
According to a report published in Haaretz, the Israeli military has continued its assassination policy in apparent defiance of High Court of Justice guidelines. Documents at the hands of Haaretz reveal that the Israeli military approved assassinations in the West Bank, including cases where the targets could have been arrested instead, and that top-ranking military officers authorized the killings in advance, in writing, even if innocent bystanders would be killed

End US Support for Israel's Illegal Assassination Policy (Window on Palestine & Haaretz)
On the seventh anniversary of the assassination of Abu Ali Mustafa by a US-made missile shot from a US-made helicopter through the window of his office in Ramallah, the Zionist state continues to pursue its policy of assassinations. Hundreds of our community activists, local leaders, young people, fighters, student organizers; and sons and daughters have been targeted for killing by the bullets and missiles of the occupation, bought and paid for by the United States.

Extra-Judicial Execution (Palestinian Center for Human Rights)
When we think of crimes against humanity, we must be aware that governments and governmental groups can be more dangerous than individuals in this regard. Governments have the most power to inflict harm and are most likely to be recidivist. This kind of terrorism is the most dangerous brand. Extra-judicial killing or physical liquidation is the most prevalent practice of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) against the Palestinians.

Rape's Vast Toll in Iraq War Remains Largely Ignored (Anna Badkhen / The Christian Science Monitor)
Sexual assault is heavily stigmatized in the Middle East, and victims are often afraid to talk about it to anyone, fearing that their families will abandon them. Many Iraqi rape victims now live in Jordan illegally and without protection. Their shaky status in Jordan leaves them afraid to seek help and vulnerable to new assaults and abuse. They fear persecution by Jordanian immigration authorities almost as much as they fear returning to Iraq.

Despite Army's Assurances, Violence Erupts at Home (izette Alvarez / The New York Times)
The Army says that the measures it has taken have been effective in curbing domestic violence. But advocates of victims of domestic violence say that among combat troops the violence has spiked in the past two years and that women are often disinclined to report violence for fear of angering their partners and hurting their careers.

Inside Baghdad's Rusafa Prison (Andrew North / BBC News)
A jailer at Baghdad's Rusafa prison had just swung open the heavy metal-barred door. Inside a small dimly lit room, the first sight was the iron-framed double bunks, packed together and hung with plastic bags, clothes and towels. It was astonishing to see so many people packed into one space. It's the first time the foreign media have had such access to an Iraqi jail since the US invasion in 2003.

US Budgets $50 Million for Military Videogames (London Guardian & Stars and Stripes)
The US military uses videogames both to recruit and to teach soldiers. But here's an interesting new development — a special videogame unit has been set up to procure and modify commercial games for training use. The Army already uses a commercial first-person shooter video game — "DARWARS Ambush" — to train soldiers. Since 2006, PEO-STRI has fielded more than 3,000 copies of the game to the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Homeland Defense.

Karzai Urges Withdrawal 'Timeline': Hunger Threatens Afghanistan (Al Jazeera and agencies)
Nearly 70,000 mainly Western troops have been sent to Afghanistan since 2001. Now, President Hamid Karzai is demanding the US set a timetable to leave his country. If the international community fails to promise an end to Bush’s “war on terrorism,” Afghan officials have suggested their next course of action will be ‘to talk to Taliban and those opposing the government” about seeking a “political solution” to end the conflict. Plus: Video report on Food Emergency in Afghanistan.

Israel Keeps Gaza Siege & Deprivation and Desperation in Gaza (Global Research & Prensa Latina & Information Clearinghouse)
Israel kept its iron blockade on Gaza Strip for the 19th consecutive day, despite the precarious humanitarian situation here, while skirmishes continued between Hebrew military and Islamic Hamas militants. As conditions in the Gaza strip approach a catastrophic level of deprivation, the world media — and in particular the U.S. media — remain largely silent. This, despite the fact that more than 50% of the population in Gaza is comprised of children under the age of 15.

Former Congresswoman Prevented from Addressing Human Rights Event in Syria (Paul Joseph Watson / Prison Planet & Global Research)
Former Congresswoman and presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney has been prevented from leaving the country after she planned to give a speech in Damascus Syria at a Conference being held to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Cynthia McKinney Responds to Travel Ban: Read McKinney’s Intended Speech (Cynthia McKinney / Information Clearinghouse)
On November 23, Cynthia McKinney was slated to address a Conference in Syria commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights— and the 60th year that the Palestinian people have been denied their Right of Return enshrined in the UN's Universal Declaration. "But a funny thing happened to me while at the Atlanta airport on my way to the Conference," McKinney writes: " I was not allowed to exit the country." Read McKinney's planned address.

US Scrambles Ahead of Security Shift to Make Iraqi Criminal Cases (Ryan Lucas / Associated Press)
The US has been quietly running a prison system inside Iraq, that has detained as many as 32,000 Iraqis -- mostly without any charges and no trials. Now, the Iraq's government insisting on control over the right to arrest, imprison, and try its own citizens, the US military is rushing to build criminal cases against some 5,000 detainees it deems dangerous - including suspected members of al Qaeda in Iraq.

Pakistan's War on Taliban Swells Refugee Camps (Jason Motlagh / Chronicle Foreign Service)
Some 200,000 Pashtun tribal members have fled their homes in the past three months during an army offensive to expel Taliban and al Qaeda fighters in a largely lawless area bordering Afghanistan. Droves of displaced people are flocking to relief camps seeking food, shelter and safety. The Kacha Gari camp on the edge of Peshawar, looks like the aftermath of a bad earthquake: Row after crumbling row of adobe hovels fill a dusty plain, ringed by an expanse of green plastic tents.

Vigilant Shield 09: A Cover for Illegal Domestic Operations? (Better World Order)
On November 17, US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) and the NORAD concluded Vigilant Shield 09, described in a press release as a training exercise focused on "homeland defense and civil support." NORTHCOM has been mired in controversy since its creation. Among its more dubious accomplishments were illegal domestic spying operations in conjunction with the Pentagon's shadowy Counter Intelligence Field Activity unit ) that targeted antiwar activists.

From the Kremlin to Caracas, How Oil Collapse Changes Everything (Luke Harding, Ian Black & Rory Carroll / The Guardian)
As the price of a barrel falls to below $50 for the first time in years — to a third of its value just a few months ago — petrol will be cheaper but the shockwaves mean crisis for oil-producing nations and further instability for a battered global economy. Reports from Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

The 2008 Sean MacBride Peace Prize Laureate Lecture (Jacqueline Cabasso / International Peace Bureau)
Jacqueline Cabasso, a longtime peace crusader with the Western States Legal Foundation, was the recipient of this year's Sean MacBride Peace Prize. The only other American to be so honored was Rep. Barbara Lee, who cast a sole dissenting vote against the US invasion of Iraq. Here is the November 14, 2008 acceptance speech Cabasso delivered in Copenhagen. For photos and more information about the International Peace Bureau and the prize, see www.ipb.org.

US Citizen Diplomats Arrive In Iran, Invited by Ahmadinejad (Linda Milazzo / OpEd News)
In an effort to establish peaceful diplomacy with the government and people of Iran, and to model for the new Obama administration the power of cooperative good will, three highly regarded American peace makers have ventured to Iran. CODEPINK cofounders, Jodie Evans and Medea Benjamin, along with former Army Colonel and decorated Foreign Service Diplomat Ann Wright, are visiting Iran on visas personally granted them by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

A "Second 9/11": An Integral Part of US Military Doctrine (Michel Chossudovsky / Global Research)
For several years now, senior Bush administration officials (including the President and the Vice President) have intimated, in no certain terms, that there will be "a Second 9/11. The presumption of a Second 9/11 has become an integral part of US military doctrine. The resulting social turmoil resulting from the civilian casualties would be used to facilitate a major shift in US political, social and institutional structures, leading to the suspension of constitutional government.

A My Lai a Month (Nick Turse / The Nation)
In late 1969, Seymour Hersh broke the story of the 1968 My Lai massacre. In May 1970, a self-described "grunt" wrote a confidential letter to Gen. William Westmoreland, saying that the Ninth Division's atrocities amounted to "a My Lay each month for over a year." Vietnamese civilians still recall the horrors of the countless civilians killed to drive up body count. Army records indicate that no Division troops, let alone commanders, were ever court-martialed for the killings.

Israel Continues Starvation of Gazans Despite UN Pleas (The Irish Sun)
In what the UN has described as collective punishment, the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip continues. Notwithstanding 56% of the 1.5 million Gazan population consists of children, Israel has shut down access to the region refusing to allow desperately needed food trucks to reach their destination. UN food agencies in Gaza that have had their food supply cut by the Israeli blockade say they are facing a "humanitarian catastrophe."

US Opposes Anti-Nazi Resolution in the UN General Assembly (RIA Novosti & Global Research)
Russia sponsored a United Nations resolution to condemn the celebrations of the German Nazi party in response to recent parades staged in Latvia and Estonia that honored SS veterans who fought for Hitler during WWII. Some 122 nations voted to support the resolution and 54 delegations abstained. Only one nation voted not to condemn these pro-Nazi demonstrations — George W. Bush's United States of America.

ACTION ALERT: Petition to Oppose a Bush “Self-Pardon” and Ten Reasons to Impeach Bush & Cheney (Bob Fertik / Democrats.com)
Democrats.com asked Americans to launch a massive movement against the possibility of the Bush administration issuing executive “self-pardons” to the president and top government officials — current and former. A petition to this effect was signed by more than 46,000 citizens and Congress took notice. On November 21, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) introduced H.Res. 1531 urging President Bush not to pardon senior administration officials for crimes the President authorized.

Repressing Dissent at the Republican National Convention (Tom Burghardt / Global Research)
With "preemptive policing" all the rage in Washington, the whistleblowing website Wikileaks has exposed how repressive trends in the U.S. had real world consequences for democracy during September's Republican National Convention (RNC) in St. Paul, by publishing a leaked copy of "Special Event Planning: 2008 Republican National Convention," a dense schematic used by repressors who targeted activists, journalists and concerned citizens during the far-right conclave.

Pentagon to Seek Record Funding, Official Says (Mike Mount / CNN)
As President-elect Obama plans for his first budget early next year, the Pentagon is asking for a record amount — $524 billion for fiscal 2010, $9 billion more than last year's $515 billion baseline request. The additional amount asked for by the Pentagon to keep the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan going through the end of fiscal 2009, is $57 billion, according to the official, bringing the total Pentagon budget request to $581 billion.

Afghanistan: The Wrong War at Any Time (G. Dunkel / Workers World & The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan)
Afghanistan has become deadlier for US troops than Iraq, even though there are 32,000 US soldiers in Afghanistan and 160,000 in Iraq. This year many of the 900 civilian deaths, were caused by US/NATO attacks — including strikes on wedding parties and funerals. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has decried the presence of foreign armies from 38 countries, noting: "The brutality and barbarism being perpetrated by the invading army is trampling on our atmosphere, land and villages."

A Post-Election Polemic: Obama's 12 Flaws (James Petras / Information Clearinghouse)
Commentary: A critical assessment of Barack Obama's political positions from a writer sympathetic to the candidacies of Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney notes the importance of "speaking truth to power." Petras writes: "Obama’s public pronouncements, his top policy advisers, and the likely policymakers in his government have openly defined a most bellicose foreign policy and a profoundly reactionary domestic economic policy totally in line with Paulson-Bush-Wall Street."

Extrajudicial Assassinations As Official Israeli Policy (Stephen Lendman / Uruknet)
Extra-judicial killings are indefensible, morally abhorrent, and illegal under international laws and norms. Article 23b of the 1907 Hague Regulations prohibits "assassination, proscription, or outlawry of an enemy, or putting a price upon an enemy's head, as well as offering a reward for any enemy 'dead or alive.' " But Israel pioneered the use of extra-judicial killings in the Occupied Territories and now the US has followed suit in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A $50-Billion Warship Mystery (David Axe / Washington Independent)
There was tension in the House of Representatives hearing room July 31 as Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) called to order a meeting of the Seapower and Expeditionary Forces subcommittee. “This may very well be the most important hearing this subcommittee has held since our hearing last January on the procurement of Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles,” Taylor said.

Iraq Military Agreement (US & Iraq Government Signatories)
The full text of the November 16, 2008 "An agreement regarding the withdrawal of the U.S. forces from Iraq and regulating the U.S. activities during its temporary presence, between the United States and the Iraqi government."

Iraq Detention Imams Work for $2 Billion Private Equity Fund (Nick Mottern and Bill Rau, t r u t h o u t | Report)
hen Iraqi imams sit down with prisoners at a US detention center in Iraq to discuss Islam, they are working for a subsidiary of Global Innovation (GI) Partners LLP, a California- and London-based private equity firm that claims to have "$2 billion in capital under management."

Lawmaker Accuses Bush of Secrecy over Iraq Deal (Ross Colvin / Reuters)
The US government is refusing to make public the security pact it has signed with Iraq, even though it has already been published in full in an Iraqi newspaper. Rep. Bill Delahunt, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations and Human Rights, called a closed briefing on the pact "insulting and an after-thought," after the Bush administration earlier rebuffed calls for Congress to be consulted during year-long negotiations on the agreement.

Anxiety in East Congo as Rebels Approach (Todd Pitman / Associated Press)
On one side of this mountaintop ghost town, a line of black-booted rebels approaches on foot with rockets and tin boxes of ammunition, seizing new territory with each footstep despite promises of a cease-fire. On the other side, government soldiers in flip-flops balancing portable generators and luggage on their heads have begun to flee. n between, the vast Central African nation's deepening humanitarian crisis is laid bare.

Superpowers' Armed Naval Might Fails to Deter Pirates in Speedboats (Barbara Surk & Tarek El-Tablawy / AP & Borzou Daragahi & Edmund Sanders / LA Times)
In a dramatic escalation of high seas crime, Somali pirates hijacked a Saudi supertanker loaded with crude oil hundreds of miles off the coast of east Africa — defeating the security web of warships trying to protect vital shipping lanes.The takeover demonstrates the bandits' heightened ambitions and capabilities: Never before have they seized such a giant ship so far out to sea.

Israeli Tanks Enter Gaza, Level Some Land (Ibrahim Barzak / Associated Press)
Backed by a bulldozer and military jeep, Israeli Army tanks rumbled about a quarter-mile into the tiny seaside strip. Gaza residents and security officials said they leveled lands along the border east of the city of Rafah. Israel's military described the activity as "a routine operation to uncover explosive devices." As violence has escalated, Israel has clamped down on already-tight border crossings, drastically restricting vital supplies to the territory, which is home to 1.4 million people.

Study Finds ex-Guantanamo Prisoners Broken (Bob Egelko / San Francisco Chronicle)
The first extensive study of prisoners released from the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, finds that many of them are physically and psychologically traumatized, debt-ridden and shunned in their communities as terrorist suspects.

Obama Advisors Signal No Charges for Bush Officials Who Authorized Torture (Lara Jakes Jordan / Associated Press)
Barack Obama has condemned torture and Joe Biden expressed interest in holding US officials accountable for such crimes but now the incoming Obama administration is signaling that it is unlikely to bring criminal charges against government officials who authorized or engaged in harsh interrogations. Obama, in the meantime, is being urged by constitutional scholars and human rights groups to investigate possible war crimes by the Bush administration.

US Signs Iraq Withdrawal Agreement: Mullen Says Pull-out 'Not a Problem' (William H. McMichael / Army Times & Peter Graff / Reuters)
Iraq and the US signed a long-awaited accord on Monday requiring Washington to withdraw its forces by the end of 2011, eight years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. The pact must still be passed by the Iraqi parliament. In the meantime, Joint Chiefs Chair Navy Adm. Mike Mullen says he is “comfortable” with the deal.

US Aircraft Carrier an Imposing Presence (Eric Talmadge /Associated Press)
No country in the world has anything like the USS George Washington. It is a $5 billion floating air base with 67 aircraft ready to fly; it's a city unto itself, with a population of around 5,000; and it's an armory carrying about 4 million pounds of bombs. The George Washington's mere presence is makes a strong statement that the US is committed to stability in the region — which means: to keeping the foreign oil flowing to keep the US economy growing.

Toxic Chemicals Blamed for Gulf War Illness (Steven Reinberg / HealthDay News & Washington Post)
Gulf War illness, dismissed by some as a psychosomatic disorder, is a very real illness that affects at least 25 percent of the 700,000 U.S. veterans who took part in the 1991 Gulf War. It's likely cause was exposure to toxic chemicals that included pesticides that were often overused during the war, as well as a drug given to U.S. troops to protect them from nerve gas.

Smoking Poses Health Threat on All Fronts for Soldiers (urt Constable / The Daily Herald)
In a world where improvised exploding devices, suicide bombers and snipers are trying to kill you, it's easy to see how soldiers can overlook what might be the biggest threat to their lives and health: he collateral damage of tobacco.

DHS Stands By as Armed Terrorists Invade US, Kidnap, Kill Americans (CBS Evening News)
Law enforcement sources tell CBS News that Phoenix. Arizona has become ground zero for the explosion in the reported number of kidnappings and home invasions involving drug traffickers and criminals with connections to the Mexican drug cartels. A CBS News investigation has discovered that as of last weekend, there have been 266 reported kidnappings and 300 home invasions this year alone.

GM Crops to be Grown at Military Sites (Ellen Widdup / This Is London & Sean Poulter / London Daily Mail & Lucy Busuttil / Farmers Weekly)
The British government is drawing up plans to grow genetically modified crops in top secret military locations to thwart saboteurs. Almost all of the 54 GM crop trials conducted since 2000 have been vandalized by anti-GMO protesters. In the future secure government sites such as Porton Down near Salisbury, which carries out military research, will be used instead. Farmers Weekly reports: "Ministers will also have more power to crack down on the opponents of GM crops."

Iraqis Believe US Using Car Bombs to Promote SOFA (Anwar Ali / New York Times & Campbell Robertson / The New York Times)
A reporter in Baghdad writes: "It seems to me that things are getting worse. I was at the scene of a bombing in Adhamiya. I remember the smell of the blood, the injured people." A Times reporter writes: "It seems like more than some people think all these bombings are from the Americans. At times it seems like everyone thinks so. A witness says US troops were seen near the bomb only 10 minutes before it went off, a line that you hear so often it has almost become a formality.

Iraq's Government Approves Security Pact with US (Hamza Hendawi & Qassim Abdul-Zahra / Associated Press)
Iraq's Cabinet overwhelmingly approved a security pact with the US on Sunday, ending prolonged negotiations to allow American forces to remain for three more years in the country. The deal detailing the conditions of the US presence still needs parliamentary approval, and lawmakers could vote as soon as Nov. 24. For Iraqis, the breakthrough was bittersweet because they won concessions from the Americans but must accept the presence of US occupation troops until 2012.

US Role in Indonesia Holocaust (Anthony Deutsch / Associated Press)
Up to half a million Indonesians were massacred in 1965-66 in a purge backed by the US government. The CIA refuses to talk about the operation even today. But documents released by the National Security Archives, show that the US Embassy passed the names of Communist Party leaders to the Indonesian army, along with some of their locations. US Embassy iofficials n Indonesia passed on information to Washington about the killings of 50 to 100 people every night.

Pakistan and US Have Tacit Deal On Airstrikes (Karen DeYoung and Joby Warrick / Washington Post)
The United States and Pakistan reached tacit agreement in September on a don't-ask-don't-tell policy that allows unmanned Predator aircraft to attack suspected terrorist targets in rugged western Pakistan, according to senior officials in both countries. In recent months, the US drones have fired missiles at Pakistani soil at an average rate of once every four or five days.

ACTION ALERT: Closing Guantanamo; Ending Torture (Human Rights First & Amnesty International & Virginia School of Law)
More than 65,000 people joined Human Rights First's call on the presidential candidates to declare that they would end torture. We won: President-elect Obama has clearly and repeatedly stated his opposition to torture. Amnesty International has set a human rights challenge to President Obama for his first 100 Days in office to set a closing date for Guantanamo Prison, issue an executive order banning torture and ensuring accountability for human rights violators.

Blackwater Busted? Six Guards May Be Charged in Iraq Massacre ( Jeremy Scahill / The Nation)
After more than five years of rampant violence and misconduct carried out by the massive army of private corporate contractors in Iraq — actions that have gone totally unpunished under any system of law — the US Justice Department appears to be on the verge of handing down the first indictments against armed private forces for crimes committed in Iraq. The targets are six Blackwater operatives involved in the September 16, 2007, killing of seventeen Iraqi civilians in Baghdad's Nisour Square.

Sarkozy Backs Russian Calls for Pan-European Security Pact (Ian Traynor and Luke Harding / The Guardian UK)
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France joined Russia in condemning the Pentagon's plans to install missile defence bases in central Europe yesterday and backed President Dmitri Medvedev's calls for a new pan-European security pact. Russia sees such a deal as a way of halting NATO enlargement and stopping US missile defence projects in Poland and the Czech Republic. Sarkozy has branded the Bush administration's missile project as a setback for European security.

Veterans Occupy National Archives (After Dwoning Street)
For the second time, a group of veterans opposed to illegal wars has taken over the National Archives building in Washington, D.C. Six members of Veterans for Peace, one member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, and one member of Military Families Speak Out climbed 90 feet of scaffolding to unfurl their giant banners. They lost the really big "Arrest Bush and Cheney" banner to wind but have a smaller version and still have the "We Will Not Be Silent" Banner.

Honor Vets by Learning About Depleted Uranium (Barbara Bellows-TerraNova / OpEdNews)
As Europe mourns in Verdun today for those lost in "The War to End All Wars", World War I, we could look to another moment in European history to shed light on the most aggressively silenced story of the Bush administration. In January 2001, reports were exploding across Europe about the rise in cancer amongst NATO soldiers who had served in the "peacekeeping missions" in Bosnia and Kosovo. The effects of the depleted uranium in the US and UK weapons

Veterans, DU, Dioxin, and Deception (John Jonik / Fauxbacco.blogspot)
Veterans Day, 2008. Few say "Happy Veterans' Day". Time to look up some things about US vets, cancer, and Depleted Uranium. Search of NIH with the term, "Depleted Uranium Iraq"; 8 hits, most from long ago, early 90s, late 80s...some lengthy laws where anything about DU is well buried, if it's there. No indictments of the Pentagon or military contractors or etc.

Report for President-Elect Obama (Paul Sullivan / Veterans for Common Sense)
Commentary: "Congratulations on your election. As our next President of the United States of America, you face a serious challenge in fixing a badly broken Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and improving the delivery of health care and other services to our nation’s veterans and their families. As a leading national veterans’ organization, Veterans for Common Sense respectfully submits to you our recommendations on how to fix VA and help our veterans and their families. "

Stars and Stripes' Interview With Sen. Barack Obama (Leo Shane III / Stars and Stripes)
In an Aug. 6 interview with Stars and Stripes, the presidential candidate said his opposition to the increase in troop levels in Iraq last year “doesn’t detract from the heroic work that our troops have performed,” and believes his plan for a similar “surge” in Afghanistan is a more balanced, responsible plan. "During the presidential primaries earlier this year, Sen. Obama's campaign provided answers to a series of questions asked of all the candidates. See the responses here."

Pentagon Board Says Pentagon Cuts Essential (Bryan Bender / Boston Globe)
A senior Pentagon advisory group, in a series of bluntly worded briefings, is warning President-elect Barack Obama that the Defense Department's current budget is "not sustainable," and he must scale back or eliminate some of the military's most prized weapons programs.

Vets on Trial: Iraq Soldiers Attacked by US Cops for Trying to Exercize Free Speech (Cheryl Biren-Wright / OpEd News)
The day before Veterans day, 14 members of the ‘Hempstead 15' were arraigned on charges of disorderly conduct. The charges stem from a protest outside of the final presidential debate at Hofstra University on October 15. One Iraq war veteran, Nick Morgan, with left with a fractured eye orbit and cheekbone following a police attack captured on video.

In Secret Agreement, Shell Nets 25-year Monopoly on S. Iraq's Gas
Royal Dutch Shell oil company and the Iraqi Oil Ministry have struck a secret, as-of-yet non-binding agreement that gives a monopoly over southern Iraq's natural gas to the energy giant. It marks the first time in over 35 years a Western oil company has played a major role in the country's most lucrative industry. The Sept. 22 agreement essesntially delegates Shell sole access to the reserves for the next 25 years, with an option to extend that term.

Guardian Journalist on Obama’s Election: An “Armed Insurrection” Averted (Chris Marsden / World Socialist Web Site)
A British journalists observes:" If Barack Obama "had not won the 2008 presidential election and had not won it in some style, it would have been the most shocking political event in modern American political history.... It might have persuaded an entire generation that there was absolutely no validity whatever in electoral politics. Millions might have concluded that the only way to get the Republicans out of the White House was by some form of armed insurrection."

Supreme Court to Whales: War Games Come First (Pete Yost / Associated Press & International Marine Mammal Project)
The Supreme Court has ruled that military training trumps protecting whales in a dispute over the Navy's use of sonar in submarine-hunting exercises off the California coast. Ignoring the scientific merits of the claims put forward by concerned environmentalists, the court held that federal courts have no right to give orders the Navy. "Forcing the Navy to deploy an inadequately trained anti-submarine force jeopardizes the safety of the fleet," Chief Justice John Roberts ruled.

Revealed: How US Left Nuclear Warhead Lying at Bottom of Ocean after B-52 Crash in 1968 (Daily Mail Reporter)
US nuclear warhead was abandoned under the ice in northern Greenland after a B52 bomber crashed near Greenland's Thule Air Base in 1968, an investigation has found. The Pentagon had maintained that all four weapons had been 'destroyed', but declassified documents obtained by the BBC under the US Freedom of Information Act reveal investigators realised only three of the weapons could be accounted for.

Girl of 13 becomes Youngest Suicide Bomber in Day of Carnage (James Hider, Middle East Correspondent / Times Online)
A 13-year-old girl became the youngest suicide bomber to wreak havoc in Iraq yesterday, killing five Iraqi guards in a town that has become notorious for deadly attacks by women bombers. The girl blew herself up in Baquba, on the same day that a car bomb exploded in Baghdad, killing about 30 people and shattering a fragile sense of calm in the capital. The carnage was compounded by a male suicide bomber who joined the crowd of rescue workers.

Senior Iraqi Backs Obama Withdrawal Plan & Iraqi Party Suspends Ties With US Over Raid (Peter Graff and Mariam Karouny / Reuters & Waleed Ibrahim / Reuter)
A senior Iraqi official has explicitly backed US President-elect Barack Obama's plans to withdraw combat troops from the country by mid-2010, Baghdad's clearest endorsement yet of Obama's exit strategy. Meanwhile, Iraq's biggest Sunni Arab political party has suspended all dealings with US civilian and military personnel on after US and Iraqi forces carried out a raid in which a man was killed in the town of Falluja.

2000 Homeless Vets on the Streets of San Francisco (C.W. Nevius / San Francisco Chronicle)
It is not a surprise to hear that we are failing our veterans. After years of pouring millions of dollars into housing and social service programs, the system is still overtaxed and painfully slow. And given the last seven years of war, there are more homeless vets on the way. An estimated 2,000 homeless veterans live on the streets of San Francisco -- a number representing between a quarter and a third of the city's total homeless population.