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

Blackwater Mercenaries Kill 17 Iraqis; US Renews Firm's Contract (Matt Apuzzo, Lara Jakes Jordan / Associated Press & James Risen / The New York Times)
Blackwater Worldwide, the security contractor blamed by an angry Iraqi government for the shooting deaths of 17 civilians last year, is not expected to face criminal charges — all but ensuring the company will keep its multimillion-dollar contract to protect US diplomats.

Abuse Claims Mount Against Pentagon, Contractors (William Fisher / Inter Press Service)
The ACLU) has filed a equest with the Departments of Justice and Defence demanding release of a report on the unlawful interrogations of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay, which the group says has been completed for months but blocked by the Defence Department. Meanwhile, new torture claims were leveled at US contractors by a former Abu Ghraib "ghost" detainee who was wrongly imprisoned and later released without charge.

Rearming the World (Joshua Kurlantzick / The New York Times)
Last summer, as the US focused on the surge in Iraq, most ignored a military exercise with a potentially more far-reaching impact. In a remote location in the Ural Mountains, Russia, China, and several Central Asian nations gathered for a massive war game. The exercise highlighted an alarming new reality. With much less fanfare than the early days of the Cold War, the world is entering a new arms race, and with it, a dangerous new web of military relationships.

ACTION ALERT: Stopping Rape as a Weapons of War (Irene Khan / Amnesty International)
Rape is a weapon of war in so many countries around the world, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia and Sudan. And one thing is clear — the problem of violence against women vastly exceeds the resources currently devoted to stopping it. Amnesty International's Stop Violence Against Women campaign is leading an effort to end this systematic violation of women's basic human rights. Support the International Violence Against Women Act.

A Secret Afghanistan Mission Prepares for War with Iran (William M. Arkin / Washington Post)
Those predicting war with Iran or some Bush-Cheney October surprise attack on Tehran are constantly looking for signs of military preparations. A secret mission conducted last August over Afghanistan tells us everything we need to know about the ability of the US military to conduct a bolt-out-of-the-blue attack in Iran. It also tells us how useless such a strike might be.

Abuse Claims Mount Against Pentagon, Contractors (William Fisher / Inter Press Service)
eport on a long-running investigation of the role of the FBI in the unlawful interrogations of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay, new torture claims were leveled at two US military contractors by a former Abu Ghraib "ghost" detainee who was wrongly imprisoned and later released without charge.

Why does the US overthrow regimes in other countries? (Eric Black Ink / Forum: Eye on Gambling)
Why does the US overthrow regimes in other countries? How does the United States come to arrogate to itself the right and the need to overthrow the governments of countries that have not attacked ours? New York Times foreign correspondent. Kinzer has written book-length treatments of some of those overthrows – most recently and notably, the CIA's overthrow of the democratic government of Iran in 1953.

The US War on Journalists (Amy Goodman / TruthDig.com)
Targeting journalists, the Bush administration has engaged in direct assault, intimidation, imprisonment and information blackouts to limit the ability of journalists to do their jobs. The principal target these past seven years has been Al-Jazeera, the Arabic television network based in Doha, Qatar. US tactics targeting the media have included arrests, illegal detentions, torture and murder.

US Spy Base Attacked, Deflated (Stuff.co.nz & The New Zealand Herald)
Three men accused of deflating a dome at the Waihopai spy base last week were granted bail on the condition they stay out of Marlborough. The Christian Ploughshares war protest group allegedly broke into the base last week and used a sickle to pierce one of two 30-metre rubber domes that protect the satellite dishes.

Somalis Protest against US Missile Strike (BBC World News)
At least 1,000 residents of the central Somali town of Dusamareb have held a protest against a deadly US attack. The missile strike on Thursday killed the leader of a group which the US links to al-Qaeda. At least 10 others died when a house in the town was hit. Protest organisers said people feared further strikes by US forces on the town.

Ghana Halts Military Protection for Mining Companies (FIAN International)
Human rights violations in communities affected by mining have featured prominently during Monday’s discussion of the report submitted by Ghana to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The expansion of mining operations and the related deployment of the military and police to the mining areas has led to serious human rights violations in many mining communities in Ghana.

The Historic Wronging of Palestine (David Morrison / The Village Magazine)
The state of Israel came into existence 60 years ago on 14 May 1948. In the months before and after this declaration, Jewish forces drove around 750,000 Palestinians from their homes. Over 500 villages were emptied of their Palestinian population and most of them were destroyed so that those expelled had no homes to return to. Anybody who doubts that ethnic cleansing took place on this scale should read "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine" by Israeli historian, Ilan Pappe.

Democrats OK Funds for Covert Ops as Secret Bush "Finding" Widens War on Iran (Andrew Cockburn / CounterPunch)
ix weeks ago, President Bush signed a secret finding authorizing a covert offensive against the Iranian regime that, according to those familiar with its contents, "unprecedented in its scope" — authorizing overs actions across a huge geographic area – from Lebanon to Afghanistan. Bush's secret attack plan is said to include "the assassination of targeted officials."

Doubting the Evidence against Iran (Mark Kukis and Abigail Hauslohner/ Time Magazine)
Washington is not pleased with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's plan for a special panel to investigate allegations of Iranian interference in Iraq. For years, U.S. officials have aired accusations against Iran. The Iraqi government, however, remains unconvinced — with good reason.

Iran Rejects Nuclear Inspections unless Israel Allows Them (Alexander G. Higgins / Associated Press)
An Iranian envoy said Monday his government will not submit to extensive nuclear inspections while Israel stays outside the global treaty to curb the spread of atomic weapons. "The existing double standard shall not be tolerated anymore by non-nuclear-weapon states," Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh told a meeting of the 190 countries that have signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

Doing the Troops Wrong (Bob Herbert / New York Times Op-Ed)
Commentary: Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton support calls for a new "GI Bill," as do Harry Reid and Hose Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Who wouldn’t support an effort to pay for college for GI’s who have put their lives on the line, who in many cases have served multiple tours in combat zones and in some cases have been wounded? Well, you might be surprised at who is not supporting this effort. The Bush administration opposes it, and so does Senator John McCain.

Iraq: Corruption Eats Into Food Rations (Ali al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail / Inter Press Service)
Amidst unemployment and impoverishment, Iraqis now face a cutting down of their monthly food ration — much of it already eaten away by official corruption. "When the Americans came to occupy Iraq, they promised us a better life," Ina'm Majeed, a teacher at a girls school told IPS in Fallujah. "After killing our sons and husbands, they are killing us by hunger now."

‘Perhaps 60% of Today’s Oil Price Is Pure Speculation’ (F. William Engdahl / Global Research)
The price of crude oil today is not made according to any traditional relation of supply to demand. It’s controlled by an elaborate financial market system as well as by the four major Anglo-American oil companies. As much as 60% of today’s crude oil price is pure speculation driven by large trader banks and hedge funds. It has nothing to do with the convenient myths of Peak Oil. It has to do with control of oil and its price.

Bush Admits He Approved Torture (Helen Thomas / Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
Earlier this month, George W. Bush admitted to ABC that he knew about “enhanced interrogation” of detainees, including “waterboarding” or simulated drowning. “As a matter of fact,” Bush added, “I told them it was legal.” Helen Thomas asks: “Is Congress so cowed that it accepts the statements of a president who has little regard for the truth? Where are the voices of the other presidential candidates who will inherit the Bush legacy of torture? Why the silence?”

In Lebanon, Hezbollah Arms Stockpile Bigger, Deadlier (Sebastian Rotella / Los Angeles Times)
Almost two years after its war with Israel, Hezbollah has rearmed and is stronger than before the conflict, according to Israeli and Western officials and the Lebanon-based Shiite Muslim group itself. The militia acknowledges that it has rearmed since the 2006 war with Israel, but denies Western allegations that it is getting weapons smuggled from Iran and Syria.

Hundreds Killed by US Strikes in Sadr City (Pepe Escobar / The Real News.com)
Eyewitness Commentary: "Take a very good look at these images. Yes, they are disturbing. You won’t see them on Western TV networks. These are innocent civilians — poor Shi’ite Arabs living in the three million-strong Sadr City in Baghdad, one of the largest slums in the world. 1745 Iraqi civilians were killed in April — against 159 policemen and 104 soldiers. Over 400 people were killed in Sadr City alone. Only 10% were 'guerrillas.'"

Baghdad Hospital Damaged by US Missile, Dozens Injured (Shashank Bengali | McClatchy Newspapers)
A major hospital in Baghdad's Sadr City slum was damaged Saturday when an American military strike targeted a militia command center just a few yards away, the US military said. The rocket strike near Sadr Hospital injured 30 people, shattered the windows of ambulances and sent doctors and hospital staff fleeing the scene.

Shadowing Slaughter in Sadr City (Hala Jaber / The Times)
As the first UK journalist to be embedded with the rebel Mahdi Army, Hala Jaber reports on its terrifying battle: “On Wednesday afternoon, Zaydan was still waiting for seven family members to be disinterred from the rubble. The other three were in the morgue, among them a nephew, aged three, lying on a trolley in a puddle of blood. The child was another helpless victim of a clash between titanic powers which has killed 935 people and wounded 2,605.”

US Navy Revives (Lamia Oualalou / Le Figaro & Specialist 1st Class Michael E. Miller Jr. / USS Boxer)
The Pentagon is going to resuscitate its WW-II-era “Fourth Fleet,” with the mission of patrolling the waters of Latin American and the Caribbean. In recent days, the US Navy has dispatched fleets of warships — including a nuclear aircraft carrier — to the waters off Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guatemala, El Salvador and Peru. Operation Continuing Promise 2008 involves a Humanitarian Civic Assistance mission in the Pacific Ocean off Central and Latin America.

Empty Promises — The Lure of the GI Bill (Patrick Campbell / San Francisco Chronicle)
Commentary: The GI Bill isn't what it used to be. The education benefits for troops are so low that they either never enrolled, or dropped out of school because they couldn't handle working two part-time jobs or living back home on Mama's couch to afford to attend school.Service members are forced to take out loans just to start classes, and then wait months to get any reimbursement. Even then, the benefit only covers 60 to 70 percent of the cost of a four-year public university.

China Builds Secret Nuclear Submarine Base (Jane's Intelligence Review & Thomas Harding / The Telegraph)
Jane's Intelligence Review, a respected defence periodical, reports that China is building a major underground nuclear submarine base on the southern tip of Hainan Island. Satellite images of the base from imagery provider DigitalGlobe were the first confirmation of the existence of the massive coastal base.

British Academics Warn US is Preparing “Shock and Awe” Attack on Iran (Peter Symonds /Global Research)
An 80-page study written by two British security analysts and released on August 28, 2007 makes a chilling estimation of the overwhelming force that the US would use in the event of any attack on Iran. “The US has made military preparations to destroy Iran’s WMD, nuclear energy, regime, armed forces, state apparatus and economic infrastructure within days, if not hours, of President George W. Bush giving the order,” the paper declared.

Consider the Consequences of Bombing Iran’s Nuclear Power Plants, and Pray (Floyd Rudmin / Global Research,)
If the USA or Israel deliberately bomb Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities, radioactive elements would be released into the environment. There would be horrific deaths for families in the immediate vicinity. An estimated 3 million deaths would result in 3 weeks from bombing the enrichment facilities near Esfahan. The fallout would cover Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India and the contamination would last 700 million years. McCain, Clinton and the media seem to think that's not a bad idea.

Israel Threatens Syria; US Threatens Iran (Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya / Global Research & Uri Avnery / Gush-Shalom)
In June, 2007, an inner circle of Israeli officials formed a “war cabinet” on tjhe presumption that a war with Syria would absolutely involve Iranian military intervention. It is now 2008 and the spectre of war has remerged in the Middle East. Despite Tehran’s position that the US would not dare attack Iran, the Iranian military is on standby. The Lebanese military and Hezbollah have also been placed on alert. Meanwhile, an Israeli peace activist warns: "War is the height of stupidity!"

The Real Matrix: The Pentagon Invades Your Life (Nick Turse / TomDispatch.com)
Most Americans mistakenly believe the military-industrial complex is a discrete entity far removed from everyday life but a new book reveals the disturbing truth — the military and its corporate cronies now control or produce our means of communication, our appliances, our toys, education, entertainment choices, video games, cosmetics. our children's toys, our food. The truth is that, at every turn, in countless, not-so-visible ways our life is wrapped up with the military.

War and the Morality of Americans (Joseph Potter / Lew Rockwell.com)
The US has used "Weapons of Mass Destruction" around the world on innocent civilian populations. These are American bombs, both nuclear and conventional, used indiscriminately for no military objective. The targets are civilian centers and the victims are simply called "collateral damage."

US Weighing Readiness for Military Action Against Iran (Ann Scott Tyson / Washington Post Staff Writer)
The nation's top military officer has said that the Pentagon is planning for "potential military courses of action" as one of several options against Iran, criticizing what he called the Tehran government's "increasingly lethal and malign influence" in Iraq.

Iraq War News for Friday, May 02, 2008 (War News Today.blogspot.com)
#1: Twelve people were wounded in overnight clashes in Sadr City, police and health officials said. Seven people were killed and nine others were wounded in clashes overnight between US forces and Mehdi army fighters in Sadr City. #2: US forces said they killed two gunmen in separate air strikes in Sadr City in eastern Baghdad. #3: Clashes erupted overnight between US forces and Mehdi army militants in al-Amil district in southwestern Baghdad. And the list goes on....

Iraqi Leaders: "US Repeats Halabja Massacre in Baghdad’s Sadr City" (Alaa al-Tameemi / Azzaman & CNN)
In 1988, former leader Saddam Hussein gassed his own people in the city of Halabja. Today, the power that helped Saddam build the same chemical weapons he dropped on Halabja is reported to be carrying out a repeat of his crimes in Baghdad's Sadr City. Iraqi member of parliament Falah Hassan declared the "operations the US is carrying out in Sadr city are similar to what happened in Halabja.” CNN report provides graphic video evidence of shattered homes and dying children.

Is There an Army Cover-Up of Rape and Murder of Women Soldiers (Col Ann Wright (US Army, Ret.) / t r u t h o u t | Perspective)
The Department of Defense statistics are alarming — one in three women who join the US military will be sexually assaulted or raped by men in the military. But, now, even more alarming, are deaths of women soldiers in Iraq and in the United States following rape. The military has characterized each death of women who were first sexually assaulted as deaths from "noncombat related injuries," and then added "suicide."

US Air Force Planned Nuclear Strike on China over Taiwan: Report (Agence France-Presse)
The United States Air Force had considered a plan to drop nuclear bombs on China during a confrontation over Taiwan in 1958 but it was overruled, recently declassified documents reveal. To the dismay of military leaders, the initial plan to drop 10-15 kiloton bombs on airfields in Amoy (now called Xiamen) , was vetoed by President Dwight Eisenhower who was concerned that fallout would affect the civilian population centers in Taiwan.

West Coast Dockworkers Strike 'Over Iraq': Labor Rises to Challenge Power (Agence France-Press & Los Angeles Times & John V. Burke)
Around 25,000 workers at 29 ports along the western US coastline went on strike on Thursday to demand an end to the war in Iraq, union officials said. A job action against the Vietnam War would have been not only a challenge to the law but a sharp break with the postwar "social compact." The first big crack in the ice is the ILWU's planned coastwide work stoppage. It may get ugly; I don't think there are any US Attorneys dumb enough to try to indict the ILWU leadership,

US Releases al-Jazeera Cameraman after Six Years in Gitmo (Martin Hodgson / The Guardian & Al Jazeera)
Sami al-Haj, an al-Jazeera cameraman detained by American forces in Afghanistan was last night released after spending nearly six years imprisoned without charge at Guantánamo Bay. Speaking to the press on his arrival in Sudan, al-Haji stated: ""In Guantanamo ... rats are treated with more humanity. But we have people from more than 50 countries that are completely deprived of all rights and privileges."

Are the CIA's Syrian Nuclear Pictures Faked? (Ewen MacAskill / The Guardian)
Analysis: Last week, the CIA published three aerial photographs purporting to show a Syrian nuclear reactor bombed by Israel last September. But are the pictures all that they seem? Professor William Beeman, head of anthropology at the University of Minnesota, questioned why the alleged reactor had no air defences, no military checkpoints. Turning to two shots of the bombed building, he notes that the first shows a rectangular building and the second a square one.

Rev. Jeremiah Wright's Address to the National Press Club (Transcript / Chicago Tribune)
The comments of Rev. Jeremiah Wright have been selectively quoted for partisan purposes. Here is the complete, unedited transcript of Rev. Wright's remarks to the National Press Club in which he declared: "We have troops stationed all over the world, just like Rome had troops stationed all over the world, because we run the world. That notion of imperialism is not the message of the Gospel of the Prince of Peace nor God, who loves the world."

ACTION ALERT: MAY DAY: A Call To Action (After Downing Street.org)
May 1st is shaping up to be a day of anti-war resistance, with strikes by the ILWU and other unions, plus immigrant rights rallies, and peace and impeachment activities — across the US and abroad.

National Level Exercise 2-08: US to Stage Week-long "Terror Exercise" (Department of Homeland Security & FEMA & NORAD)
Beginning on May 1, the Bush administration will conduct a combined exercise "to test hurricane preparedness planning, assess federal interagency Continuity of Operations procedures, exercise a response to terrorist attacks in Washington State and test Defense Support of Civil Authorities." The last three of the four elements involve exercises related to the declaration of a state of emergency and the institution of martial law.

Tehran Calls Clinton's "Obliteration" Threat a Violation of UN Charter (BBC World News)
Tehran has complained to the UN about Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's threat that the US could "totally obliterate" Iran if it attacked Israel. In a letter to the UN Secretary General, Iran's deputy UN ambassador said Clinton had "unwarrantedly and under erroneous and false pretexts threatened to use force against the Islamic Republic of Iran" and called the remarks "a flagrant violation" of the UN Charter. Meanwhile, the UN has imposed new sanctions on Iran.

Real Women Don't Throw Bombs (Olga Bonfiglio / OpEd News.com)
Commentary: Shirin Ebadi won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote democracy and human rights, especially for women and children in Iran. She was the first Muslim woman to receive the award. Ebadi, an Iranian lawyer, writer, teacher and former judge recently told an American audience: "Never have the problems of any country been solved through war." That same week, Hillary Clinton, proclaimed that the US could "obliterate Iran" with nuclear weapons.

West Coast Dockworkers Strike 'Over Iraq': Labor Rises to Challenge Power (Agence France-Press & Los Angeles Times & ohn V. Burke)
Around 25,000 workers at 29 ports along the western US coastline went on strike on Thursday to demand an end to the war in Iraq, union officials said. A job action against the Vietnam War would have been not only a challenge to the law but a sharp break with the postwar "social compact." The first big crack in the ice is the ILWU's planned coastwide work stoppage. It may get ugly; I don't think there are any US Attorneys dumb enough to try to indict the ILWU leadership,

15 Reasons Why an Attack on Iran May Be Imminent (Dan Hamburg / Mirror Contributing Writer)
A former member of Congress warns: "George W. Bush is poised to order a massive aerial bombardment — possibly including tactical nuclear weapons — of up to 10,000 targets in Iran. The attack would be justified on grounds that Iran is interfering with US efforts in Iraq and that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon, a charge that was debunked last fall in the National Intelligence Estimate."

MAYDAY ALERT! Military Experts Warn US Terror Drills Could 'Go Live!' (Dr. James H. Fetzer, Major William B. Fox, Captain Eric H. May & SFC Donald Buswell / IndyMedia)
The name "false flag" comes from the old pirate's ruse of flying another country's flag during an attack, thereby shifting blame for the attack to a party that had nothing to do with it. Governments use false flag attacks to push their nations into dictatorship or war. As military experts, we fear that national terror drills, scheduled for May 1-8, could be used to camouflage a false flag attack in the United States.

"Hostile" Iran Sparks US Attack Plan (David Martin / CBS Evening News)
A second American aircraft carrier steamed into the Persian Gulf Tuesday as the Pentagon ordered military commanders to develop new options for attacking Iran. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports that the planning is being driven by what one officer called the "increasingly hostile role" Iran is playing in Iraq — smuggling weapons into Iraq for use against American troops.

US Supplies Weapons to Terrorists in Mideast Civil War (Ezra HaLevi & Hana Levi Julian / IsraelNN.com & Khaled Abu Toameh / The Jerusalem Post & Christopher Brauchli / CounterPunch.org)
The US is preparing to attack Iran, claiming that iran's Quds Force is smuggling weapons into Iraq to support the insurrection. At the same time, the US is opening sending tons of deadly weapons through Israel and into the hands of Fatah fighters to stoke the ongoing civil war betweenFatah and Hamas. The same day Washington accused Iran of "meddling" in Iraq, the Pentagon delivered "thousands of M-16 assault rifles" to Fatah — home of the Al-Aksa Brigade terror group.

TV Networks Silenced Anti-War Voices (Jeff Cohen / Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting)
Commentary: "In the fall of 2002, week after week, I argued vigorously against invading Iraq in debates televised on MSNBC. I used every possible argument that might sway mainstream viewers — no real threat, cost, instability. But as the war neared, my debates were terminated."

Documents Obtained By ACLU Describe Charges Of Murder and Torture Of Prisoners In US Custody (American Civil Liberties Union)
The American Civil Liberties Union obtained documents today from the Department of Defense confirming the military’s use of unlawful interrogation methods on detainees held in US custody in Afghanistan. The newly released government documents show Special Forces used illegal interrogation techniques on individuals detained in Afghanistan.

US Kills 800 in Sadr City, Leaves 500 Children Disabled in Fallujah (Laith Jawad, Haqi Ismael, Omer al-Mansouri & Fatih Abdulsalam / Azzaman)
Sheikh Salaman al-fariji said the US troops have killed more than 800 and injured more than 1,800 people in three weeks of fighting, causing large-scale destruction of private property and the city’s infrastructure. Alaa Hamed of the Society for the Welfare of Children said the US-led military operations in the city have left behind “massive destruction and at least 500 mentally or physically handicapped children.”

Former Prime Minister Wants Bush Tried for War Crimes (Agence France-Presse)
In a speech at Imperial College, London, Former Indonesian Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has called for an international tribunal to try Western leaders with war crimes over the war in Iraq. Mahathir told an overflow crowd of students that George W. Bush, Tony Blair and John Howard should all be tried for war crimes for their role in the invasion, destruction and occupation of Iraq.

President Karzai Escapes Fourth Assassination Bid, Three Killed (Matt Dupee / The Long War Journal / Afgha.com)
fghan President Hamid Karzai escaped a barrage of automatic gunfire and mortar shells fired on a ceremony he attended in Kabul. State run television captured the pandemonium showing hundreds of visiting dignitaries, soldiers and journalists running for cover after the gun fire began. In all, 11 people suffered serious wounds, including two MP’s, and a local Shiite cleric and small child died in the attack.

US Marines Deploying in Afghanistan for 1st Time in Years (Jason Straziuso / Hampton Roads.com / Associated Press)
US Marines are crossing the sands of southern Afghanistan for the first time in years, providing a boost to a NATO coalition that is growing but still short on manpower. They hope to retake the 10 percent of Afghanistan the Taliban holds.

Suspected US Chemical Shells Dug up in Okinawa (The Asahi Shimbun)
Seventy-six unexploded US mortar shells, including 22 that may contain chemical toxins, were found in a densely populated residential area in Okinawa Prefecture. Japanese officials have asked the US military to dispose of the 22 shells, fearing that they may contain illegal chemicals banned under the Geneva Protocol.

Amnesty International Unveils Shock 'Waterboarding' Film (Nigel Morris, Home Affairs Correspondent)
Malcolm Nance, an American expert in torture techniques has denounced his government for allowing "waterboarding" to be practised against terror suspects, just as a graphic advertisement showing the brutal reality of the technique is unveiled to British cinema-goers.

The Pentagon Strangles Our Economy: Why the US Has Gone Broke (Chalmers Johnson / Le Monde Diplomatique)
The military adventurers in the Bush administration have much in common with the leaders of the defunct energy company Enron. We are spending insane amounts of money on "defense" projects that bear no relation to the national security while the White House practices "military Keynesianism" in the mistaken belief that huge expenditures on weapons and large standing armies can indefinitely sustain a wealthy capitalist economy. The opposite is actually true.

Skepticism toward Bush Claims about Syria and North Korea (Glenn Greenwald / Salon.com)
Analysis: here are multiple reasons why substantial skepticism is warranted concerning the Bush administration's claims that the structure which Israeli jets destroyed inside Syria last September was a nuclear reactor Syria was developing with the aid of North Korea. Such skepticism, however, is difficult to find in most (though not all) American press accounts, which do little other than repeat Government claims without challenge.

Israelis Claim Secret Agreement With US (Glenn Kessler / Washington Post)
A letter that George W. Bush personally delivered to then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon four years ago has emerged as a significant obstacle to Bush's efforts to forge a peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians. Current Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert said this week that Bush's letter gave the Jewish state permission to expand the West Bank settlements, even though Bush's peace plan officially calls for a freeze of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory.

Petraeus Promotion Ensures Future for Bush War Policy (Julian E. Barnes / The Los Angeles Times)
The promotion of a like-minded general to a post lasting into the next administration could help perpetuate high troop levels in Iraq and heighten attention on Iran.

ACTION ALERT: Cluster Bomb Ban: Paul McCartney Calling (Friends Committee on National Legislation)
The world community is calling for a ban on cluster bombs. On May 19, representatives of more than half the world's nations will gather in Dublin, Ireland, to hammer out the final details of a treaty banning the use and export of all or most cluster bombs.

Widows Endure Hardships as War Claims their Men (Ernesto Londono / Washington Post)
Thousands of Iraqi women have in recent years embraced new roles as violence has claimed their men. Nearly 1 million women in Iraq are widows or divorcees, or their husbands are missing, according to Samira al-Mosawi, a Shiite member of parliament who heads the women's affairs committee.

"Just as the Wall is Called a Fence, So are the Mercenaries Called Contractors" (An Interview with Robert Fisk by Dan Glazebrook / CounterPunch)
"You have this business where television will not show what we see, for reasons of so-called "bad taste". I remember once being on the phone to a TV editor in London when Jazeera were asked to feed some tape of children killed and wounded by British shell fire in Basra, and the guy started saying, "there's no point feeding us this, we can't show this."

ACTION ALERT:
Unequal distribution of global resources, increasingly controlled by large multinational companies, global debt policy and unfair international trading practices ultimately could not be maintained without military security. The terror attacks of September 11, 2001 are increasingly used to justify systematic surveillance and the dismantling of constitutional rights.

Ex-Mossad Head Defends Meshaal Assassination Plot (Laila El-Haddad / Al-Jazeera)
Danny Yatom has held key military, security and political posts during major junctures in Israel's history. But he is perhaps best known for his stint as the director of Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, and the organisation's botched assassination attempt on Khaled Meshaal, Hamas's political leader. Yatom says the plot to kill Meshaal — by injecting poison into the Hamas leader's ear — was "a failure" but not "a mistake".

UN Humanitarian Lawyer, Karen Parker, On the Violation of Human Rights in California (Cathy Garger / Axis of Logic.com)
A raging human rights battle brewing between the federal Department of Energy and the people of California will soon be coming to a head. Citizen activists and environmental rights groups are up in arms over the right of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) — previously called the Lawrence Livermore Nuclear Weapons Laboratory, and before that, Lawrence Radiation Laboratory — to explode toxic and radioactive materials into California’s air.

Breaking the Silence - Israeli Soldiers Speak (Stephen Lendman / OpEd News.com)
They're called "Refuseniks" but not for refusing to serve. They've done it proudly and courageously, and here's how "Courage to Refuse" members state their position: "We, reserve officers and soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)....have always served in the front lines....were first to carry out any mission, light or heavy, (and we did it) to protect the State of Israel and strengthen it....We hereby declare that we shall not continue to fight this War of the Settlements."

US Planes and Choppers Cross Pakistan Border, (Muhammad Khurshid / OpEd News.com)
US-led NATO forces, Pakistani troops and militants have started exchanging fire in Bajaur Agency, tribal areas situated on Pak-Afghan border. The clashes, which claimed the live of dozens of people, have created great terror and fear in the areas. This time the coalition against terrorism is in disarray as NATO forces and Pakistani troops also exchanged firing.

Conservation Coordinator Signs Up to Rebuild Farms in Iraq (Lee Juillerat / The Capital Press)
Oregon state conservationist Jim Vancura volunteered to spend a year in Iraq as an agricultural specialist because his daughter, Amy, is in the Air National Guard. His interest is agriculture, but Jim Vancura is outfitted in full body armor whenever he's away from the base. He's lost 50 pounds since arriving in Iraq. Vancura is learning about life and agriculture in Iraq, but not the way he expected.

The Shambles of US Nuclear Weapons Security (Victoria Samson / Center for Defense Information)
Last summer, a B-52 crew unknowingly flew across the United States with nuclear cruise missiles, the US nuclear weapons establishment underwent a very public mea culpa. The American public was reassured that it was a one-time deal and that the US nuclear arsenal was under control. But as we found out recently, this is not necessarily the case. In 2006, the US accidentally sent Taiwan four fuses that were intended for its nuclear weapons.

Clinton Proposes Nuclear Genocide (Robert Scheer / Creators Syndicate)
Commentary: "Seizing upon a question of how she would respond to a nuclear attack by Iran, which doesn't have nuclear weapons, on Israel, which does, Clinton mocked reasoned discourse by promising to "totally obliterate them," in an apparent reference to the population of Iran. That is not a word gaffe; it is an assertion of the right of our nation to commit genocide on an unprecedented scale."

Iran Says US Aids Rebels at its Borders (Borzou Daragahi / Los Angeles Times)
A series of conflicts with insurgent groups along Iran's borders may be impelling Tehran to back its own allies in Iraq in what it regards as a proxy war with the US, according to security experts and officials in the US, Iran and Iraq.

Ecuador’s Leader Purges Military and Moves to Expel American Base (Simon Romero / New York Times)
Chafing at ties between American intelligence agencies and Ecuadorean military officials, President Rafael Correa is purging the armed forces of top commanders and pressing ahead with plans to cast out more than 100 American military personnel from an air base here in this coastal city.

The Bush Legacy: Losing Latin America ... All the Way to Tierra del Fuego (John Ross / CounterPunch)
For George Bush, the March 1 anti-terror strike by the Colombian air force under US guidance on a FARC guerrilla camp deep in the Ecuadorian jungle had everything to do with legacy. During eight years in the White House, Bush's war on Iraq so absorbed his attention that, for once in three centuries, Latin America has breathing room to shore up common defenses against the Colossus of the North and even elect some social democratic presidents.

Oil Bill Protest Shuts Mexican Congress (James C. McKinley Jr. / New York Times)
For eight days, leftist lawmakers have paralyzed both houses of Congress with a sit-in to stop a proposal by President Felipe Calderón that would revamp PEMEX, the state-owned oil monopoly, and allow it greater freedom to hire private companies to build and operate refineries, find undersea oil fields and transport oil.

Trying to Hold Together Iraq's Army (Mark Kukis/Time Magazine)
Reports of desertions, retreats and insubordination by Iraqi forces deployed against the Mahdi Army have become commonplace, as fighting between the two sides continues in Baghdad and southern Iraq. An estimated 1,300 Iraqi soldiers refused to fight or even switched sides during confrontations between Iraqi forces and the Mahdi Army in Basra last month. And twice in recent days, Iraqi troops were reported to have abandoned posts in Sadr City.

Does Global Warming Compromise National Security? (Bryan Walsh/ TIME Magazine)
If we want to survive the future, we'll need to learn how. But the two sides — climate and defense — needn't be opposed. In a recent paper, James Woolsey imagined a dialogue between John Muir, the founder of the Sierra Club, and General George Patton on climate change.

VA Goes on Trial for Mistreating War Vets (Lyanne Melendez / KGO TV & Paul Elias / Monterey County Herald)
One of the most important trials ever involving America's veterans began today in San Francisco federal court. Two veterans groups are suing the government to improve the treatment of vets suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Veteran’s Administration Hid Suicide Risk, Internal E-Mails Show (Armen Keteyian / CBS Evening News)
The VA is facing a lawsuit by veterans rights groups accusing the agency of not doing enough to stem a looming mental health crisis among veterans. VA chief Dr. Ira Katz has publicly declared there is “no epidemic in suicide” among vets but CBS obtained emails from Katz, including one titled "Not for the CBS News Interview Request," that begins with the word "Shh!" — as in keep it quiet — and asks: "Is this something we should (carefully) address … before someone stumbles on it?"

Producing Peace: Converting a Permanent War Economy (Andrew Norman / The Reader.com)
In 2007, the previously mentioned 42.2 percent of every income tax dollar comes to 28.7 percent for current military and war spending, 10 percent for interest on military debt and 3.5 percent for veterans' benefits; while 8.7 percent of every dollar went toward anti-poverty programs, 4.4 percent toward education training and social services, and 2.6 percent toward the environment, energy and science programs.

Winter Soldier Testimony Now Online (World Can't Wait & WBAI & Iraq Veterans Against War)
Despite a nearly universal black-out by the corporate media, some of us have seen, heard, or read portions of the testimony provided by soldiers attending the Winter Soldier hearings in March. Now, the full testimony is available online. Audios at WBAI; Videos at World Can’t Wait.

Wars Begin in High School Cafeterias (David Swanson / After Downing Street.org)
Citizens in a number of school districts around the country have dramatically reduced military recruitment through simple procedures that anyone can do. No marching or civil disobedience is required. You might, however, have to chat with a principal at a football game or write a couple of letters. Why aren't more of us doing more of this?

May it Please Your Majesty: About those 8,000 US Marines in Curacao... (Hugh O'Shaughnessy / The New Statesman)
Military officials have called Curaçao a “forward operating location" in Washington's on-going attempts to harass, destabilize, and overthrow the democratically elected government in oil-rich Venezuela. In the past three years, the Pentagon has moved spy planes, landing craft and a US aircraft carrier to Curacao, along with 35 helicopters, 85 fighter jets and nearly 8,000 Marines. An armed US nuclear submarine cruises in the waters off Venezuela.

Doctors Report Dozens of Civilians Wounded Following US Military Air Strike on Baghdad Neighbourhood (Doctors for Iraq / Baghdad)
Doctors for Iraq has received reports from the Imam Ali hospital in Sadar City, of dozens of civilian casualties following US military air strikes on the densely populated neighborhood. According to doctors. 30 people were killed in the attacks and dozens injured in fighting between the Iraqi and US military and the Mehdi army militia. A US missile killed 13 civilians, ncluding a number of children, according to hospital sources.

Sadr Threatens Open War as US Attacks
The siege of Baghdad's Sadr City district has been called a 'large humanitarian crisis.' An Iraqi Parliament Member stated: "The hospitals are jammed with dead bodies... The occupation forces open fire at any convoy trying to deliver humanitarian aid. The occupation forces have burnt the city's markets." Meanwhile, followers of anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr denounced the American military's construction of a concrete wall through their Sadr City stronghold in Baghdad.

New US Weapon: Hand-held Lie Detector (Bill Dedman / MSNBC)
The Pentagon will issue hand-held lie detectors this month to US Army soldiers in Afghanistan, pushing to the battlefront a century-old debate over the accuracy of the polygraph. ‘Red’ means you're lying

Gender in the Ranks (Maya Schenwar / t r u t h o u t | Report)
Unlike many of the other panels at Winter Soldier, the one devoted to gender and sexuality in the military featured no gory videos. The testimonies included many secondhand accounts, especially when the subject came around to rape and sexual assault. And though it was the only panel in which none of the speakers divulged personal acts of violence, it was one that, at times, betrayed a raw sense of shame.

Food Crisis Points to 'Imminent Massacre,' UN Official Says (KavkazCenter.com & Islam Online)
The United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Right to Food has blasted the booming industry of biofuel for diverting fertile land from essential food production. "Producing biofuels today is a crime against humanity," Jean Ziegler told the German radio station Bayerischer Runfunk.

Dockers Refuse to Unload China Arms Shipment for Zimbabwe (Philippe Naughton, and Jane Macartney / Times Online)
South African dock workers are refusing to unload a Chinese cargo ship carrying 77 tons of small arms destined for Zimbabwe. The arms, including three million rounds of ammunition suitable for AK47s and 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades, were ordered by the Zimbabwean military at the time of the March 29 election — which Britain and other Western powers have accused Robert Mugabe of trying to rig.

Longshoremen to Close Ports on West Coast to Protest War (Jack Heyman / San Francisco Chronicle)
Dockworkers of the IILWU have voted to stop work in all US West Coast ports on May 1, International Workers' Day, to call for an end to the war. This decision came after an impassioned debate where the union's Vietnam veterans turned the tide of opinion in favor of the anti-war resolution. The motion called the war an imperial action for oil in which the lives of working-class youth and Iraqi civilians were being wasted and declared May Day a "no peace, no work" holiday.

US Strategic Command is the Main Threat to Peace in Korean Peninsula (Ko Young-dae / Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea)
The Bush administration has formulated a nuclear war strategy plan with North Korea and Iran as the main targets, thereby making the Korean Peninsula the most dangerous region in the world, with the US nuclear weapons playing a part in military strategy. This nuclear war plan is called CONPLAN 8022, which combines five regional theatres into a single unit and articulates the idea of a global strike, where by the US can strike at any region within one hour.

Yoo’s Presence and the Faculty’s Silence (Gray Brechin / Berkeley Daily Planet)
Commentary: The recent disclosure of a memo by Boalt Law School faculty member John Yoo has given that school and the University of California itself a long overdue public relations nightmare. The memo reveals Professor Yoo's role in justifying the Bush regime’s claims to the dictatorial powers. That Professor Yoo has not yet been convicted of criminal acts is no reason to remain silent on the possibility of his having done so.

Body of War: The Powerful Film that Salutes a War Survivor (Phil Donahue / Body of War.com)
On April 4, on his first mission to Sadr City, Tomas Young was was shot just above his left collarbone. He was instantly paralyzed. In his very brief tour of duty, he had not fired a single shot. Paralyzed and unconscious, Tomas was first evacuated to Kuwait, then Germany and finally moved to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. As he slowly came back to consciousness and a new life paralyzed from the chest down, he began to question the entire premise of the Iraq war.

In Protest Against War, Some Decline To Pay Taxes (Jacqueline Johnston / The Daily Californian)
The day before the April 15 Tax Day, Northern California War Tax Resistance, a Berkeley-based group of conscientious war tax resistors awarded $10,000 in grants to activist groups that promote peace and social justice. "I'm not opposed to taxes at all," said Berkeley resident Martha Cain. "I just completely disagree with the way in which those taxes are spent."

Petraeus Points to War with Iran: Bush's Plan to Elect John McCain? (Patrick J. Buchanan / San Francisco Chronicle)
It is not Iran that wants a war with the US. It is the US that has reasons to want a short, sharp war with Iran. This is Bush's last chance to strike and, when Iran responds, are Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney likely to pass up this last chance to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities and effect the election of John McCain? For any attack on Iran's "terrorist bases" would rally the GOP and drive a wedge between Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Torturers in the White House (Ruth Conniff / The Progressive)
The biggest news of the last week went virtually uncovered by the mainstream, print media. ABC News first reported last Wednesday that top Bush Administration officials, including Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, John Ashcroft, and George Tenet, Colin Powell, and Donald Rumsfeld met to discuss which particular torture techniques should be used against Al Qaeda suspects in U.S. custody.

ACTION ALERT: Condoleeza Rice Lied about Torture: Bush Now Admits He “Approved” It (Robert Greenwald / Brave New Films & Democrats.com)
Thanks to a new report from ABC News, we now know that Condoleezza Rice led White House meetings authorizing torture that were so detailed, "the interrogation sessions were almost choreographed." Sign the "Condi Must Go" Petition. George W. Bush also informed ABC that he personally approved the torture technique known as waterboarding. Bush should be impeached.

Body of War: Phil Donahue's Anti-War Documentary (Body of War.com)
Body of War, a powerful new documentary by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro, is an intimate and transformational feature about the true face of war. Tomas Young, 25 years old, paralyzed after a bullet pierced his spine on his fifth day in Iraq, has become an eloquent voice against war and a galvanizing advocate for veterans' rights. "Body of War" has been acclaimed as "The Best Documentary of the Year." It opens across the nation this week.

The End of the World as We Know It (Michael Klare / Tom Dispatch.com)
Rising energy demand, the emergence of powerful new energy consumers, and the contraction of the global energy supply is demolishing the world we are familiar with and creating a new world order characterized by fierce global competition for dwindling stocks of oil, natural gas, coal, and uranium, and a tidal shift in power and wealth from energy-deficit states like China, Japan, and the US to energy-surplus states like Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela.

Financial Collapse will End the Occupation: (Mike Whitney / Information Clearinghouse)
The US Military has won every battle it has fought in Iraq, but it has lost the war. Wars are won politically, not militarily. Bush doesn't understand this. He still clings to the belief that a political settlement can be imposed through force. But he is mistaken.

Two Days in Iraq (Iraq War News Today.blogspot)
It's hard to get a "close-up" feel for the war in Iraq but Iraq Today offers a daily compilation of attacks that provides a glimpse of the scale and grinding devastation of life and strife under foreign occupation.

The Martial Law Act of 2008 (James Bovard / The Democratic Underground)
Martial law is perhaps the ultimate stomping of freedom. And yet, on September 30, 2006, Congress passed a provision in a 591-page bill that will make it easy for President Bush to impose martial law in response to a terrorist “incident.” It also empowers him to effectively declare martial law in response to what he or other federal officials label a shortfall of “public order” – whatever that means.

Petraeus's Betrayal (Robert Scheer / Truthdig)
eneral Betray Us? Of course he has. MoveOn.org can hardly be expected to recycle its slogan from last September, when Gen. David Petraeus testified in support of escalating the U.S. war in Iraq, given the hysterical denunciations that worthy group received at the time.But it was right then — as it would be to repeat the charge now.

American Hegemony Is Not Guaranteed (Paul Craig Roberts / AntiWar.com)
Could anyone possibly believe that Iran is so desirous of having its beautiful country bombed and its nuclear energy program destroyed that Iran would invite an attack by fighting a "proxy war" against the US in Iraq? That the Bush regime would tell such a blatant lie shows that the regime has no respect for the intelligence of the American public and no respect for the integrity of the US media.... And why should it?

Five Years On, Fallujah in Tatters (Ali al-Fadhily & Dahr Jamail / Inter Press Service)
More than two years after the November 2004 US-led assault, Fallujah remains a crippled city.The city suffered two devastating US military attacks during 2004. Many of the buildings were destroyed, or heavily damaged. Several collapsed under the heavy bombing, and were never rebuilt. The heaps of concrete slabs and piles of rubble remain where they were.

Bush Admits He Was “Aware” of Torture Talks and “Approved” Tactics (Jan Crawford Greenburg, Howard L. Rosenberg & Ariane de Vogue / ABC News)
President Bush says he knew his top national security advisers discussed and approved specific details about how high-value al Qaeda suspects would be interrogated by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to an exclusive interview with ABC News Friday.

Semantics Can't Mask Bush's Chicanery (Robert Fisk / The Independent)
Commentary: "fter his latest shenanigans, I've come to the conclusion that George Bush is the first US president to march backwards. First we had weapons of mass destruction. Then, when they proved to be a myth, Bush told us we had stopped Saddam's "programmes" for weapons of mass destruction (which happened to be another lie). Now he's gone a stage further. George Bush told us this week that "thanks to the surge, we've renewed and revived the prospect of success".

Tax Outrage: Are You Paying For Corporate Fat Cats? (Gary Weiss / Parade Magazine)
A 2004 US Government Accountability Office (GAO) study found that 61% of American corporations, including 39% of large companies, paid no corporate income taxes between 1996 and 2000. Last year, corporations shouldered just 14.4% of the total US tax burden, compared with about 50% in 1940. While companies are getting off easy, ordinary wage earners are getting stuck with the tab. By 2013, the ordinary taxpayers’ bills may climb to $1.86 trillion.

Sources: Top Bush Advisors Approved 'Enhanced Interrogation' (Jan Crawford Greenburg, Howard L. Rosenberg & Ariane de Vogue / ABC News)
In dozens of top-secret White House meetings, senior Bush administration officials — including Vice President Cheney, former National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, CIA Director George Tenet and Attorney General John Ashcroft — discussed and approved specific details of how high-value al Qaeda suspects would be interrogated by the Central Intelligence Agency.

ACTION ALERT: Turn up the Heat on Condi: Complicit in Torture (True Majority.org)
Yesterday, ABC News reported that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice chaired explicit White House discussions about which torture techniques should be used on prisoners. They "were so detailed" that "some of the interrogation sessions were almost choreographed — down to the number of times CIA agents could use a specific tactic." Given these new revelations, Condoleezza Rice can not continue as Secretary of State.

Earth's Ozone Would Be Largely Destroyed in Nuclear Conflict (Adam Satariano / Bloomberg)
A nuclear war involving 100 Hiroshima-size bombs would open a massive hole in the earth's ozone layer, exposing life to dangerous levels of the sun's rays, a new study shows. Smoke caused by the atomic explosions would trap heat in the stratosphere and lead to the deterioration of more than 20 percent of ozone globally, according to a study published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Jordan Acted as Hub for US Renditions, Report Says (William Fisher / InfoShop.org / IPS)
Jordan, often described in the mainstream press as the most moderate country in the Arab Middle East, was the first to receive prisoners "as a true proxy jailer for the CIA" and has received more victims of "extraordinary rendition" than any other country in the world, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW). US officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, were aware that "Jordan was already notorious for torturing security detainees."

Protests over Stratcom at Omaha Gathering (Associated Press & David Swanson / Liveblog)
Hundreds of people from anti-nuclear and peace organizations around the world are converging on Omaha.The Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space is holding its 16th annual international space organizing conference in Omaha this weekend.he organization is made up of more than 145 groups around the world who are working to oppose the introduction of weapons and nuclear power into space.

Chevron Seeks Contract with Iraq on Oil Field (David R. Baker / San Francisco Chronicle)
Chevron Corp. confirmed Thursday that it is negotiating with the Iraqi government for a contract to help expand production at a major oil field near Basra. All the large, international oil companies are believed to be negotiating similar deals with the Iraqi ministry of oil.

Top US Contractors Ready for Space-arms Studies ( Jim Wolf / Reuters)
Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp each have said they would respond to any U.S. request to explore a space-based layer for ballistic missile defense. "If our customer comes to us and says we want you to investigate this, certainly industry will be ready, willing and able to do so," said Boeing's top executive for missile defense systems.

How Cops and Former Secret Service Agents Ran Black Ops on Green Groups (James Ridgeway / Mother Jones)
Papers reveal how PR companies working for Dow Chemical and Kraft Foods organized an intelligence operation that staged a midnight raid targeting Greenpeace and identified other groups suitable for surveillance. The spying targets included the National Environmental Trust, Friends of the Earth, the Center for Food Safety, Environmental Media Services, the Environmental Working Group, the US Public Interest Research Group, and the Center for Health, Environment and Justice

Human Rights 'Apply to UK Troops': Families Hail Ruling (BBC World News)
Human rights laws can be applied to British troops even in combat, a High Court judge has ruled. Sending soldiers into action with defective equipment could breach their human rights. The court ruled families of those killed in conflict should get legal aid and access to military documents. Ministers are appealing against the ruling.

Speier Blasts Iraq War in First House Speech (Zachary Coile / Chronicle)
Newly elected Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier of Hillsborough was sworn into Congress Thursday morning and promptly gave a fiery speech criticizing the Iraq policies of President Bush and likely GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, leading some Republicans to boo and walk out of the House chamber.

Chevron Seeks Contract with Iraq on Oil Field (David R. Baker / San Francisco Chronicle)
Chevron Corp. is negotiating with the Iraqi government for a contract to help expand production at a major oil field near Basra. The company plans to work with French oil giant Total to improve operations at the West al-Qurna field in southern Iraq. raq holds what may be the world's third-largest oil reserves, and petroleum is the country's only significant export.

Cheney OKd Harsh Tactics on Terrorists: Rice, Ashcroft, Tenet, Powell Also Involved (Lara Jakes Jordan & Pamela Hess / Associated Press)
Bush administration officials from Vice President Dick Cheney on down signed off on using harsh interrogation techniques against suspected terrorists after asking the Justice Department to endorse their legality, the Associated Press has learned. The officials also took care to insulate George Bush from a series of meetings where CIA interrogation method — including waterboarding, which simulates drowning — were discussed and ultimately approved.

Top Ten Points about StratCom: Protest StratCom, April 11-13 (Nebraskans for Peace StratCom Watch Committee)
On 9/11, George W. Bush was rushed to US Strategic Command’s underground headquarters near Omaha, Nebraska. From that day forward, the legendary command that for over half a century had maintained America’s nuclear deterrent would never again be the same.From its previously “unthinkable” mission of nuclear holocaust, StratCom was tasked with offensively waging the White House’s “War on Terror.”

The Noble American Tradition of Tax Resistance (Gar Smith / Berkeley Daily Planet)
Ask the average American to name a famous war-tax resister and most folks would probably cite Henry David Thoreau. But how about Joan Baez, Noam Chomsky, Gloria Steinem and Julia Butterfly Hill? Baez, Chomsky and Steinem—and more than 500,000 fellow Americans — openly resisted paying taxes to support the war in Vietnam.

The Story Behind the Battle for Basra (Conn Hallinan / Dispatches From The Edge)
When the Battle of Basra opened on March 25, President Bush described it as a “defining mo-ment” for the US-backed government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Within days, however, the White House was scrambling to distance itself from the shellacking the Iraqi Army took at the hands of Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army.

ACTION ALERT: A Responsible Plan for Iraq (TrueMajority.org)
There is a better plan to end the war but it needs your vote of support. A group of Congressional candidates have come up with a responsible plan to get our nation out of this nightmare, and scores of them have already agreed that if elected they will actually carry out the plan, not just keep holding hearings while continuing the war.

Ritter Says White House Preparing for War in Iran (Ed Barba / Herald Correspondent)
Scott Ritter was right on Iraq. I am afraid he will be right on Iran too. War preparations are all over the place, while most Americans are sitting in front of their TV believing that the "Surge" is succeeding.

Senator Allard Calls for Return to Star Wars (Tom Roeder / Colorado Springs Gazette)
Satellites armed with missiles are needed to counter nuclear threats, US Sen. Wayne Allard said Tuesday in Colorado Springs, calling for something akin to the Reagan-era Star Wars program.

Cost of Occupation in Iraq: $3 Trillion Estimate Was Too Low (Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes / AlterNet)
President Bush has tried to give the impression that the $3 trillion dollar estimate of the total cost of the war that we provide in our new book may be exaggerated. We believe that it is, in fact, conservative.

Nature Burgeons in Unnatural DMZ (Lee Hyo-won / The Korean Times)
Stretching 248 kilometers across the heart of the Korean peninsula, 2 kilometers north and 2 kilometers south, the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is the last remnant of the Cold War — a stuffed specimen of division. But in this land marking the unnatural divide of a people, nature flourishes. (Check out the great photo at site.)

British Fear US Commander Is Beating the Drum for Iran Strikes (Damien McElroy / The Telegraph)
British officials gave warning yesterday that America's commander in Iraq will declare that Iran is waging war against the US-backed Baghdad government.

The General and the Trap (Ira Chernus & Tom Englehardt / Tom Dispatch)
They came, they saw, they... deserted.That, in short form, is the story of the Iraqi government "offensive" in Basra (and Baghdad). The New York Times estimate that at least 1,000 Iraqi soldiers and policemen, or more than 4% of the force sent into Basra, "abandoned their posts" during the fighting, including "dozens of officers" and "at least two senior field commanders."

Yoo's Memo Hints at Bush's Secrets (Jason Leopold / Baltimore Chronicle)
The Pentagon’s declassification of a five-year-old memo authorizing military interrogators to use brutal methods to extract information from prisoners at Guantanamo Bay sheds new light into the dark corners of the Bush administration’s legal theories that put the President and his subordinates beyond domestic and international law.

Chalabi's Lobby (Aram Roston / The Nation)
Only now, five years later, are we beginning to get a clear understanding of the circumstances that led to the invasion of Iraq. Aram Roston's new book, The Man Who Pushed American to War, is a highly unauthorized — and already highly acclaimed — biography of Ahmad Chalabi, the Iraqi exile and fraudster who was instrumental in propelling America to war

Tortoises Airlifted to New Home to Make Room for Fort Irwin Expansion (Jennifer Bowles / The Press-Enterprise)
The Pentagon is removing nearly 800 rare desert tortoises from their ancient home in the southern California desert to give troops and tanks more room to practice invasion tactics. The $8.5 million move came despite the fact that the reptiles are supposed to be protected under the Endangered Species Act. Environmentalists threats of lawsuits have not deterred the Army’s plans to evict the tortoises and occupy their homeland.

Ghawar Is Dead!: The Wide-Spread Use of Advanced Extraction Techniques are Killing the Mother of All Oil Fields (Matthew S. Miller / CommonDreams.org)
Commentary: While the US media mourned the death of Anna Nicole Smith, Saudi Arabia was confronting the imminent death of the Ghawar oil field. Once a veritable sea of light sweet crude 174 miles long and 12 miles wide — lying under the sands of the eastern province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — the fate of the Ghawaz — source of the the majority of Saudi wealth — has become clear: "Now she is dead."

ACTION ALERT: Say No to a New Generation of Nuclear Weapons (CREDO Action from Working Assets)

The Lessons of Basra (Robert Dreyfuss / The Nation)
At the start of the military offensive launched last week into Basra by US-trained Iraqi army forces, President Bush called the action by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki "a bold decision." He added: "I would say this is a defining moment in the history of a free Iraq." That's true — but not in the way the President meant it. It's apparent that the big winner of the Six-Day War in Basra are the forces of rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Disgusting Profits by US Armament Companies (Matthew Rothschild / The Progressive)
Since the Iraq War began, aerospace and defense industry stocks have more than doubled. General Dynamics did even better than that. Its stock has tripled.

Inside Guantánamo with Detainee 061 (Mariah Blake / Mother Jones)
Murat Kurnaz, a German-born Turkish citizen, had been pulled off a bus in Pakistan in 2001 and turned over to US forces and flown to a prison cell at Guantanamo. Since then, American security agencies hadn't turned up any evidence that he belonged to a terrorist group or posed a threat to the US. But Kurnaz was not set free. Instead, he spent another four years languishing at Guantánamo,

Oliver Stone Rushes to Finish Bush Film (Ed Pilkington / The Guardian)
Oliver Stone, director of "JFK" and "Nixon," is rushing to get the film into cinemas before the November presidential election, and certainly before Bush quits the White House on January 20. ABC News, which has read an early copy of the screenplay, describes it as a "warts-and-all portrayal", though judging by its account of the script it might more accurately be called a "warts-and-yet more warts" portrait.

Pentagon Spent $1.6 Trillion on Arms in 2007 (MSN.com)
The US Defense Department's spending on weapon systems rose to $1.6 trillion in 2007, doubling $790 billion in 2000, according to a congressional report. A Google search shows virtually no coverage of this story by mainstream US newspapers. The story was, however, picked up by dozens of papers in Thailand, India, Russia, and China.

Military Feels the Gouge of Fuel Costs (Associated Press)
US troops in Iraq are paying almost as much as Americans back home, despite burning fuel at staggering rates in a war to stabilize a country known for its oil reserves.

Longtime Activist, 72, Sent to Federal Prison (Sara Flounders / Workers World)
Ed Lewinson is 78 years old and blind. On April 2 he leaves for the federal prison in Elkton, Ohio, to serve a 90-day prison sentence based on his 2007 arrest protesting the School of the Americas (US School of Torture) at Ft. Benning, Ga.

FBI: Eco-Terrorism Remains No. 1 Domestic Terror Threat (FOXNews.com)
For nearly seven years, the US has trained its terror focus on Al Qaeda. But there is a domestic terror threat that the FBI still consider priority No. 1 — eco-terrorism. The FBI's definition of eco-terrorism includes the "threatened use of violence... against... property... for environmental-political reasons" in an attempt to influence public opinion with "symbolic"actions.

Controversy Surrounds "Crash" of Nuclear B1 Bomber in Qatar (What Does It Mean.com & Rapid City Journal & Dakota Voice)
A B-1 Lancer supersonic strategic nuclear bomber based at Ellsworth Air Force Base was reported to have crashed in Qatar. Other reports had the bomber catching fire upon landing. Reports attributed to Russian intelligence claim the bomber was intercepted by USAF jets after it "deviated" from it flight plan, issued a CIA identification code, and appeared to be heading toward Iran on an attack run.

Angola Crowns Miss Landmine Survivor (Saeed Ahmed / CNN)
A 31-year-old woman who lost part of her leg when she stepped on a land mine has won the unusual title of Miss Landmine Angola 2008. Organizers say they want the pageant to restore the women's pride and raise awareness about the prevalence of landmines left over from Angola's three decade-long civil war. Undetonated mines still maim 300 to 400 people a year according to the United Nations.

Nebraska's StratCom on Satellite Shootdown (Tim Rinne / Lincoln Journal Star)
In October 2002, when the US Space Command was shifted to StratCom, nobody could have imagined that in six months the “shock and awe” bombing campaign on Iraq would originate from Omaha. With 70 percent of the missiles and smart bombs used in that pre-emptive attack guided from space, StratCom directed what Air Force Secretary James Roche termed the “the first true space war.”

Who Wants a Mercenary Army Training Camp in Louisa County? (Christina Mora / NBC 29 Television)
A private military training firm has its eyes on 1,000 acres of Louisa County land. The group wants to build a training center equipped with firing ranges, driving courses, and shooting houses.The Cincinnati-based O'Gara Group currently has a training facility in Danville, but they want to expand it. That's where Louisa comes in.

Morality, Justice and Life Destroyed: Lies and Slaughter Without End (Arthur Silber / Power of Narrative.blogspot)
Commentary: Several decades ago, after another of the numerous instances of atrocity, barbarity, murder and destruction committed by the United States government, M. Scott Peck was appointed the chairman of a committee of three psychiatrists by the Army Surgeon General. The committee was to examine the causes of the My Lai atrocities. The lessons were not learned: In Iraq, the US has committed genocide and destroyed a nation.

Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence (The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.)
Forty-one years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King gave his most prophetic speech to an assemblage of Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam, at Riverside Church in New York City. Forty years ago today, he was murdered. The full text of that speech follows.

The Prophetic Anger of MLK (Michael Eric Dyson / Los Angeles Times)
On the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s death, few truths ring louder than this: Barack Obama and Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. express in part the fallen leader's split mind on race, a division marked by chronology and color. Before 1965, King was upbeat and bright, his belief in white America's ability to change by moral suasion resilient and durable.After 1965, the civil rights leader grew angrier over America's unwillingness to change

In Backing the Basra Assault, the US Has Only Helped Sadr (Jonathan Steele / The Guardian)
Analysis: The battle for Basra, which came to a halt on Sunday, was a disaster for everyone except its intended losers. The tacit promotion of Shia civil war has left the militias stronger and fuelled scepticism about the much-hyped surge.

How the US Just Got Schooled by a 'Rag-Tag' Neighborhood Army in Iraq (Gary Brecher / The eXile)
Commentary: What happened in Iraq this week was a beautiful lesson in the weird laws of guerrilla warfare. Unfortunately, it was the Americans who got schooled. Sadr won big. Iran won even bigger. Maliki, the Iraqi Army, Petraeus and Cheney lost.

ACTION ALERT: Saudis Prepare for US Attack on Iran (Chris Floyd / Global Research)
The day after Dick Cheney held secret meetings with the Saudi King and his ministers, the Saudi Shura Council announced “national plans” to prepare for radioactive fallout from US “attacks on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactors.” The already-issued orders governing the operation put the decision solely in the hands of the president: he picks up the phone, he says, "Go" – and in twelve hours' time, up to a million Iranians could be dead.

Russia "Alarmed" As US Readies April Nuclear Attack On Iran (Sorcha Faal / What Does It All Mean?.com)
Russian Foreign Ministry Officials are reported to be "alarmed" today over a "presentation" made by the United States War Leaders to President Putin at this weeks NATO summit in Romania and which details the Americans plan to begin a nuclear attack against Irans atomic facilities in the next two weeks.

Israel's Military Calls for National "Emergency Drill" in April; Syria Alerts Reserves, Fearing an Israeli Strike (Hanan Greenberg / Isreal News & Roee Nahmias / Israel News)
Isreal's defense establishment, government and cabinet are all expected to participate in an exercise simulating a "crisis situation" as part of upcoming national emergency drill to be held in April. Both Home Front Command and Health Ministry officials stressed the importance of preparing for "any possible scenario."

Saudi Arabia 'Braces for Nuclear War': US Sends Nuclear Sub to Region (Iran Press TV)
Saudi Arabia is reportedly preparing to counter any 'radioactive hazards' which may result from a US strike on Iran's nuclear plants. The Saudi Shura Council approved of nuclear fallout preparation plans only a day after US Vice President Dick Cheney met with the Kingdom's high-ranking officials, including King Abdullah. An American nuclear submarine, reportedly crossed the Suez Canal in February to join the US fleet stationed in the Persian Gulf.

The Lessons of Basra (Robert Dreyfuss / The Nation)
Analysis: As the smoke clears over new rubble in Iraq's second city, at the heart of Iraq's oil region, it's apparent that the big winner of the Six-Day War in Basra are the forces of rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army faced down the Iraqi armed forces not only in Basra, but in Baghdad, as well as in Kut, Amarah, Nasiriyah, and Diwaniya, capitals of four key southern provinces.

Who is the Iraqi Army? (Cenk Uygur / Huffington Post)
Analysis: The Bush administration claims the Iraqi Army is a unified force of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds who fight together for the centralized government of Iraq. That's complete nonsense. In fact, the different divisions of the army are segregated by sect. The so-called Iraqi Army fighting in the south right now is mainly the Badr Corps. This is a rival Shiite militia to Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army.

Students Respond to Five Years of War (Peace Action)
March 19 marked the 5th anniversary of the US occupation of Iraq. Young activists came together that day to resist the institutions that profit from war with coordinated acts of nonviolent resistance. Students living in marginalized communities are targeted by military recruiters through a school system that has suffered drastic budget cuts to pay for the occupation of Iraq, resulting in fewer supplies, crowded classrooms, and underpaid teachers.

International Meeting Debates Anti-imperialist Issues (John Catalinotto & Teresa Gutierrez / Workers Daily World)
Political activists from 40 countries and 90 socialist and communist parties worldwide — some of them in power in their countries or participating in the government — took part from March 13-15 here in Mexico City in the 12th of a series of annual seminars organized by the Labor Party of Mexico (Partido del Trabajo — PT) to discuss key issues facing the working class and the world’s people.

Weaponizing the Pentagon's Cyborg Insects (Nick Turse / TomDispatch.com)
Biological weapons delivered by cyborg insects. It sounds like a nightmare scenario straight out of the wilder realms of science fiction, but it could be a reality, if a current Pentagon project comes to fruition. Right now, researchers are already growing insects with electronics inside them. They're creating cyborg moths and flying beetles that can be remotely controlled to spy on distant battlefields or US streets.

The Noble American Traditon of Tax Resistance (Gar Smith / AlterNet)
If you ask the average citizen to identify a famous American war-tax resister, most folks (if they came up with a name at all) would probably cite Henry David Thoreau. But how about Joan Baez, Noam Chomsky or Gloria Steinem? Baez, Chomsky and Steinem were joined by more than 500,000 Americans who openly opposed paying taxes to support Washington's bloody war in Vietnam.

ACTION ALERT: Protest War: Tax Day Actions, Tuesday, April 15, 2008 (National Committee on War Tax Resistance)
Over $500 billion has been spent by the Pentagon for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the bill is still skyrocketing with an ongoing cost of over $700 million a day. Five years of a war built on lies is 5 years too many. More than 6 years of war on terror has led to more acts of terror worldwide. Get out on tax day and demand that our hard-earned money be used to help people, not kill them!

ACTION ALERT: Stop US Military Support to Countries Using Child Soldiers (Oxfam America.org)
Governments around the world are using children as young as 7 as frontline solders, porters, and spies. The UN estimates that 250,000 children are actively involved in armed conflicts.In many cases, the US is providing military financing, training, and weapons to the very governments that recruit and use child soldiers. A bipartisan bill to curb this military aid could reach the Senate this month. Your action today is critical.

Reported Security Incidents in Iraq (War News Today. Blogspot)
Two MND-Baghdad soldiers were killed by roadside bomb on Saturday. Three volleys of mortar attacks on the Green Zone during the day, but US officials offered no information on damage or casualties. Meanwhile, the curfew means no fresh food is coming into the city. The vegetables on the stalls are now several days old, prompting expression of disgust from shoppers. And prices are starting to rise.

In Iraq, Was I a Torturer? (Justine Sharrock / Mother Jones)
The prisons in Iraq stink. Ask any guard or interrogator and they'll tell you it's a smell they'll never forget: sweat, fear and rot. From May to September 2003, soldier a small outfit named Tiger siad, stand prisoners were made to stand in awkward positions, so that they could not rest their heads against the wall. Sometimes he blared loud music, such as Ozzy or AC/DC, blew air horns, banged on the container, or shouted. "Whatever it took to make sure they'd stay awake," he explains.

Commentary: A Former Officer Speaks Up (John F. Davies / Berkeley Daily Planet)
Commentary: "As a former Officer of Marines, I wish to make some comments on this fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, some of which will no doubt be controversial. During the Winter Soldier hearings two weeks ago in Washington D.C., a question was raised about why not many active or retired officers are speaking up against the war."

They Led Us into a Disastrous War, Yet Still they Prosper. Why? (Catherine Bennett / The Observer (Commentary))
Commentary: Five years on, and Jonathan Powell is just one of Blair's inner circle who continue to rise rather than apologise. Blair was always wanting us to draw lines, move on and get over things, quickly if we wouldn't mind hurrying up. Why do we still indulge him?

UK Apologises over Iraq Abuses (Al Jazeera and Agencies)
Britain will admit in the country's high court that troops breached parts of the European human rights convention with regard to an Iraqi prisoner who died in custody in Basra in 2003. Des Browne, the British defence secretary, said that the ministry of defence would also on Friday admit breaching the rights of eight other Iraqi deatinees.

Peru's Legacy of Conflict (Mariana Sanchez / Al Jazeera & Agencies)
Peruvian villagers are demanding justice for the massacres that took place in the 1980's and 90's when the Peruvian army battled against Shining Path rebels. On the morning of August 14, 1995, the Peruvian army descended on the village of Accomarca, marched the residents down a mountain trail and killed 69 villagers — among them the elderly, pregnant women and 26 children.

Expansion of US Bases Spurs Philippine Resistance (Sara Flounders / Workers World)
The Pentagon is building semi-secret US bases to extend its military presence around the globe. Called CSLs, for Cooperative Security Locations, these bases are a new, covert form of intervention. The US military presence is expanding throughout East, South and Central Asia in an apparent attempt to surround and isolate the growing influence of China. The Pentagon also uses joint military exercises to exert influence over the militaries of smaller, developing nations.

Ex-Terror Detainee Says US Tortured Him (60 Minutes / CBS)
A German resident held by the U.S. for almost five years tells 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley that Americans tortured him in many ways - including hanging him from the ceiling for five days early in his captivity when he was in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Murat Kurnaz says the torture continued even after they determined that he was not a terrorist,

Five Ex-Chief US Diplomats: "Open a Dialogue with Iran" (Greg Bluestein / Associated Press)
In an extraordinary break with tradition, five former top-ranking Republican and Democrat Secretaries of State have spoken out publicly against current policies of the Bush administration. Colin Powell, Henry Kissinger, James Baker III, Warren Christopher and Madeleine Albright issued calls for dialogue with Iran, demanded the closure of the Guantanamo detention camp, and urged an end to Washington's 50-year embargo of Cuba.

Florida Police To Be First to Use Unmanned Drones to Spy on Public (Tom Brown / Reuters & John Lantigua / Palm Beach Post)
The Miami police plan to use unmanned drones to help fight crime. Small pilotless vehicles capable of flying and hovering would follow and watch citizens using video cameras and night-time sensors. The US military has used unmanned drones in Iraq and Afghanistan to track and kill suspected enemy targets. Now law enforcement agencies across the US are voicing a growing interest in using drones for domestic crime-fighting missions.

Afghanistan: A River Running Backward (Conn Hallinan: Dispatches From The Edge / Berkeley Daily Planet)
Commentary: When historians look back on the war in Afghanistan, they may well point to the battle for Musa Qala as a turning point. US and NATO forces “won” the battle by leveling Musa Qala with B-1 and B-52s bombers, A-10 attack planes, Apache helicopters, AC-130 gunships, and artillery barrages. According to NATO, “Operation Snake” killed hundreds of Taliban. According to the London Times, British mop-up forces found one dead insurgent. Most of the dead were civilians.

Sadr’s Uprising (The Progress Report / http://www.americanprogressaction.org)
Commentary: While George Bush speaks of progress in Iraq and the Basra battle as a "defining moment," the violence spreading across southern Iraq is pouring cold water on the Pentagon's tactical gains, erupting in several Iraqi cities including Baghdad, where "rockets pounded the fortified Green Zone area." The crack-down on Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr threatens to end Sadr's pivotal cease fire, credited with much of the reduced violence across Iraq.

International Zone under Curfew as Attacks Continue (CNN & BBC World News)
Iraq's government imposed a weekend curfew in Baghdad amid clashes between government troops and Shiite militia fighters. US Embassy staff were told to remain indoors after rocket attacks killed two US government employees. Sixteen rockets were fired Wednesday and 12 on Tuesday. The name of the US official killed in the attacks Thursday has not been released. Meanwhile, the FBI identified the remains of two US contractors missing in Iraq for more than a year.

Fight Violence with Nonviolence: Unarmed Civilian Peacekeepers Are Saving Lives Today (Rolf Carriere & Michael Nagler / The Christian Science Monitor Online)
Can ordinary people armed only with wisdom and courage check the impulse to fight wars over oil, water, or identity? Mahatma Gandhi thought so when he created his civilian Shanti Sena or "Army of Peace." Over the past 25 years, nonviolent, unarmed peacekeepers have entered into zones of intense conflict with the aim of bringing a measure of peace, protection, and sanity — and they have won dramatic, small-scale, quiet, and unglamorous successes in many a tense community.

Frontline: Too Timid, Too Little, Too Late (Ray McGovern / Consortium News)
Commentary: A former CIA analyst assesses the recent PBS documentary, "Bush's War," a production that managed to include no mention of oil, corporations, or Washington's history of geopolitical expansion in the Middle East and Asia. Also missing: The only time Frontline showed bloodied corpses, they were identified as victims of sectarian violence. Even in the US siege of Fallujah, Frontline failed to show a single casualty of Washington's invasion and ongoing Occupation of Iraq.

US Air Base Tied to Deadly Colombian Raid on Ecuador (Kintto Lucas/ InterPress Service)
Military and diplomatic sources see a link between the Manta air base, operated by the United States in Ecuadorean territory, and this month’s bombing raid by Colombia on a FARC guerrilla camp in Ecuador. A high-level Ecuadorean military officer, who preferred to remain anonymous, told IPS that "a large proportion of senior officers" in Ecuador share "the conviction that the United States was an accomplice in the attack."

More Money, More Problems (Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Satyam Khanna, Matt Corley, Ali Frick, and Benjamin Armbruster /The Progressive Report)
With an estimated $16 billion in defense contracts, KBR is by far the largest contractor in Iraq. The firm has 54,000 people working on its projects in Iraq. According to the Pentagon Inspector General, dozens of US troops in Iraq were sickened after using "unmonitored and potentially unsafe" water supplied by KBR. KBR has avoided paying hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicare and Social Security taxes by hiring workers through shell companies in the Cayman Islands.

Barbara Lee's War on Poverty (Katrina vanden Heuvel / The Nation )
Recently, Congresswoman Barbara Lee said to me, "This is a moment when people are suffering. They are one paycheck — if they have a paycheck — away from poverty." ne in eight Americans — approximately 37 million people — now live below the federal poverty line of $19,971 for a family of four. George W. Bush's near-half-trillion-dollar war budget is a large part of the problem.

The Nature of War: How War Harms, Benefits Wildlife (Hamish Clarke / Cosmos Online)
Landmines, chemical agents and hunting for bushmeat all take a heavy toll on wildlife during war, but on occasion animals can fare surprisingly well in times of conflict. What can we learn from these examples?

Tibet and the March 10 Commemoration of the CIA's 1959 'Uprising' (Gary Wilson / Workers World)
Has Tibet become the front line of a new national liberation struggle? Or is something else happening there? Washington sees China as a major competing economic and military threat. So it should be no surprise to discover that the CIA has found ways to turn the Tibetan freedom struggle against China to its own geopolitical advantage.

A War Of Utter Folly (Hans Blix / The Guardian)
Commentary: The former head of UN inspections in Iraq in 2003 writes: "The invasion of Iraq in 2003 was a tragedy — for Iraq, for the US, for the UN, for truth and human dignity. Responsibility for this spectacular tragedy must lie with those who ignored the facts five years ago."

The Volunteer Army: Who Fights and Why? (Michael Massing / The New York Review of Books)
A review of recent books by soldiers reveals that "the idea of joining the military to defend America or uphold its values is largely absent. Rather, these soldiers signed up to escape dead-end jobs, failed relationships, broken families, bills, toothaches, and boredom. The armed forces offered a haven from the struggles and strains of life in modern-day America, a place to gain security and skills, discipline and self-esteem."

Five Years of Iraq Lies (Juan Cole / Salon.com)
Commentary: How President Bush and his advisors have spent each year of the war peddling mendacious tales about a mission accomplished. Each year of George W. Bush's war in Iraq has been represented by a thematic falsehood. That Iraq is now calm or more stable is only the latest in a series of such whoppers, which the mainstream press eagerly repeats.

In Firefighters’ Glee at US Deaths, Insurgency Blooms (Dexter Filkins / New York Times)
In his book, “The Forever War,” (to be published in September) Dexter Filkins, a correspondent for the Baghdad bureau of The New York Times, recalls the day when two US soldiers were stopped in traffic and assassinated by Iraqi insurgents as local firefighters looked on and cheered. “I was happy, everyone was happy,” one of the firefighters said. “The Americans, yes, they do good things, but only to enhance their reputation. They are occupiers. We want them to leave.”

Alternatives to War (Colonel Dan Smith, USA (Ret.) / Friends Committee on National Legislation)
As 2008 began, the Friends Committee on National Legislation registered 14 significant ongoing armed conflicts and another 21 “hot spots” that could slide into or revert to war.

Japanese Protest against US Base (Al Jazeera)
esidents of Okinawa have gathered to protest against the US military presence on the southern Japanese island, following a series of incidents allegedly involving US personnel, including the rape of a schoolgirl. Thousands of people attended Sunday's demonstration, despite pouring rain.

UN Accuses Sudan's Army, Allies of Rape in West Darfur (Eliane Engeler / Associated Press)
The United Nations' human rights chief accused the Sudanese army Thursday of looting towns and raping girls and women during attacks it carried out in West Darfur with the help of Arab militias. The Feb. 8 attacks on Sirba, Sileia and Abu Suruj, made with helicopter gunships and fixed-wing aircraft, killed at least 115 people and caused 30,000 to flee their homes.

German Intelligence Was 'Dishonest, Unprofessional and Irresponsible' (Interview with David Kay / Der Spiegel)
David Kay was charged by the Bush administration with finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq after the invasion. Instead of finding weapons, though, he found what he told SPIEGEL was 'the biggest intelligence fiasco of my lifetime.'

The Woman Who Nearly Stopped The War (Martin Bright / The New Statesman)
Of all the stories told on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War, there is one important episode that has gone largely unreported. It concerns a young woman who was a witness to something so outrageous, something so contrary to the principles of diplomacy and international law, that in revealing it she believed war could be averted. That woman was Katharine Gun, a 29-year-old Mandarin translator at the British Government's Communications Headquarters.

Chilean Envoy to UN Recounts Threats of Retaliation in Run-Up to Invasion (Colum Lynch / Washington Post)
George W. Bush’s vaunted “coalition of the willing” was, for some countries, the “coalition of the bullied.” According to a new book by Heraldo Muñoz, Chile's UN ambassador, in the months leading up to the US-led invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration threatened trade reprisals against friendly countries who withheld their support, spied on its allies, and pressed for the recall of UN envoys that resisted US pressure to endorse the war.

ACTION ALERT: Petition against Czech Missile Bases (Nonviolence Czechoslovakia)
George W. Bush wants to build a missile base in Czech Republic but more than More than 80% of the Czech population are against this project. If you think it is only fair that the Czech people have the right to decide on such an important question by means of a referendum, please consider signing the international petition to "Stop Star Wars.}

US Death Toll in Iraq War Hits 4,000 (Robert H. Reid / Associated Press & Al Jazeera)
A roadside bomb killed four US soldiers in Baghdad on Sunday, the military said, pushing the overall American death toll in the five-year war to at least 4,000.

ACTION ALERT: Stop Stop-Loss (CREDO Mobile Action / Working Assets)
or the past several years, the military has been using its stop-loss policy as a backdoor draft. This policy involuntarily extends service members' enlistment contracts, thereby preventing them from leaving the military — or coming home from Iraq or Afghanistan — after their term of enlistment has ended. Sign a petition to Defense Secretary Gates, demanding an end to enforced military service.

Military Veterans to Deliver Citizen Arrest Warrants for Bush and Cheney (Kathlyn Stone / OpEd News & Global Research)
Backed by family members and supporters all across the nation, US military veterans will serve citizen arrest warrants for George Bush and Dick Cheney tomorrow in Washington, DC. The warrants are "for multiple violations of the Constitution and international war crimes," according to a statement issued by Veterans for Peace, a national organization of men and women who served in wars and military conflicts.

Depleted Uranium turns Earthworms into Glowworms (Jasper Hamil / Sunday Herald)
Earthworms were pushed into the firing line last week after a resumption of the testing of depleted uranium shells at a Ministry of Defense weapons range. The discovery that worms in the local worms showed significant traces of poisonous uranium isotopes in their bodies raised fears that radioactive material has tainted ecosystem. More than 6.000 DU shells (20-plus tons of nuclear waste) have been fired at the range and increased rates of cancer and leukaemia are now common in the area.

Where Has All the Rage Gone? (Tariq Ali / The Guardian)
Commentary: Tariq Ali considers the legacy 40 years on. "A storm swept the world in 1968. It started in Vietnam, then blew across Asia, crossing the sea and the mountains to Europe and beyond. A brutal war waged by the US against a poor south-east Asian country was seen every night on television. The cumulative impact of watching the bombs drop, villages on fire and a country being doused with napalm and Agent Orange triggered a wave of global revolts not seen on such a scale before or since."

Iraq Begins Sixth Year of Chaos, Bloodshed (Jay Deshmukh / Agence France-Presse)
The US-led war on Iraq that toppled the brutal regime of dictator Saddam Hussein entered its sixth year on Thursday with millions of Iraqis still battling daily chaos and rampant bloodshed. Five years on, Iraqis, US and allied forces face daily attacks from insurgents and Islamist militants, and fighting continues between factions from both sides of Iraq's Sunni-Shiite sectarian divide. The war has killed tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians.

Life After Saddam - Five Years On (Ali Marzook / Information Clearning House)
Violence may have waned, but people’s lives continue to be plagued by fear and suspicion. It’s been five years since the so-called occupation, liberation, invasion — and we’re not witnessing progress. Our infrastructure is damaged, as is the spirit of the people. There is little optimism for the future. Instead, we are surrounded by fear, depression and violence.

Iraq Lives: A Schoolgirl in Baghdad (Noor Salman / BBC World News)
Noor Salman, a 16-year-old Iraqi girl living in Baghdad, writes about her experiences of life in the five years since the US-led invasion. "Up until two years ago we had a big house and had plenty of money and my father looked after us. Now we live in a small rented two-bedroom house with my mother, my brother and his wife and my seven sisters. But my dad is no longer with us....Many other teenagers like me have also lost their fathers in Baghdad, killed for no apparent reason."

Ordinary Life in a Broken Country (Oliver Poole / BBC World News)
Oliver Poole, one of the few Western journalists who stuck it out in Baghdad for most of the five years since the US-led invasion, leaving only in November 2006, reflects on the impact of the war on Iraqi families.

Five Years of Occupation, Five Years of War Crimes (Former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark / Vote to Impeach)
A message from Former US Attorney-General Ramsey Clark on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion: Impeachment now will end the Bush Presidency and inform the next several, at least, that the American people will not tolerate lawless wars on foreign peoples and American Principles.

Winter Soldier Hearings: Troops Confirm US War Crimes (Michael Kramer / Workers World)

US Voices against the War (Rob Winder / Al Jazeera)
Hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets of Washington DC on the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq to demand that the US withdraw its troops. Al Jazeera spoke to them about why they were there, their messages for the Iraqi people, and their hopes for the forthcoming US election.

Winter Soldier Hearings: Stop the Next My Lai (Laura Flanders / The Nations)
The New York Times saw fit to mark the fifth anniversary of the US invasion by inviting nine "experts" including not one soldier to reflect on the conduct of the war and occupation of Iraq. The Times chose to listen to Richard Perle and Robert Bremer III but not one soldier. The Times has no time for troops like Camilo Mejia or Kelly Dougherty. But the public must take the time.

Five Years after the Invasion, the Totality of our Failure is Clear (Patrick Cockburn / The Independent)
Commentary: "When the invasion of Iraq was conceived, it was as an experiment in the transforming force of a confident superpower....[Today], the removal of that dictator remains the single attainment of an enterprise that was always as flawed in its genesis as in execution. Iraq is a war-torn and wasted land. Estimates of its civilian dead range from almost 100,000 to more than 10 times as many. More than two million of its people have fled [and] ethnic cleansing continues apace.

A War Built on Lies Continues—Lie after Lie after Lie (Patrick Cockburn / The Independent)
Commentary: "It has been a war of lies from the start. All governments lie in wartime but American and British propaganda in Iraq over the past five years has been more untruthful than in any conflict since the First World War. The outcome has been an official picture of Iraq akin to fantasy and an inability to learn from mistakes because of a refusal to admit that any occurred."

The Only Lesson We Ever Learn Is that We Never Learn (Robert Fisk / The Independent)
Commentary: "ive years on, and still we have not learnt. With each anniversary, the steps crumble beneath our feet, the stones ever more cracked, the sand ever finer. Five years of catastrophe in Iraq and I think of Churchill, who in the end called Palestine a 'hell-disaster.'... there is a connection between our occupation of Muslim lands and "terror". It's not too complicated an equation. And we don't need a public inquiry to get it right."

Five Years of Failure (Bianca Jagger / The Guardian)
Commentary: "If George Bush and Tony Blair had presided as CEOs over deceptive and fraudulent practices in the City comparable to those they are guilty of with regard to Iraq, they would have been immediately and unceremoniously sacked.... The Iraq war was always illegal and unwinnable. Gordon Brown must now name the date for withdrawal."

Toxic World Fallout from Iraq Invasion (Paul Reynolds / BBC News)
The war in Iraq was supposed to be over long before now. It was not supposed to provoke a conflict between Sunni and Shia or stir up an al-Qaeda hornet's nest.Nor was it supposed to alienate much of the rest of the world from US foreign policy.

The Wages of Peace (Robert Pollin & Heidi Garrett-Peltier / The Nation)
There is no longer any doubt that the Iraq War is a moral and strategic disaster for the United States. But what has not yet been fully recognized is that it has also been an economic disaster. To date, the government has spent more than $522 billion on the war, with another $70 billion already allocated for 2008.

A Crude Case for War? (Steven Mufson / Washington Post)
Five years ago this week the United States initiated its invasion of Iraq with the purpose of removing Saddam Hussein from power. Many always believed that the real motivation behind the invasion of Iraq was oil. We are all part of the "oil conspiracy." We are addicted to the stuff. Even George W. Bush admits that. Moreover, we're running out of it and Iraq is sitting on a pretty good supply of it.

Public Hearing on Pentagon "Bombplex" March 18-19 (Tri-Valley CAREs & estern States Legal Foundation & Peace Action West)
A broad range of Northern California peace, religious, science and environmental advocates opposed to the Dept. of Energy's plan to build new bomb plants in the state are speaking out at public hearings March 18-19. The public hearings follow the release by the Department of its draft "Complex Transformation" plan for a massive reorganization of the nuclear weapons complex, including building new bomb plants to produce new nuclear weapons.

Iraq Demonstrates the Limits of Raw Military Power (Max Hastings / The Guardian)
Commentary: After five years of violence and bloodshed, the Iraq experience has laid bare the limits of raw military power. The next US president must reject the juvenile Bush vision, reach out to Iran and seek justice for the Palestinian people.

UN Agency Finds Iraq Plagued by a Human Rights Nightmare (Erica Goode / New York Times & United Nations Press Office)
The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq reports that human rights problems that plague Iraq, including violence against civilians, abuse of detainees, persecution of women and ethnic minorities, and a lack of food and shelter for displaced people.

The War in Iraq at Five Years: The View from Travis Air Force Base (Carl Nolte / San Francisco Chronicle)
The war in Iraq has gone on for five years now, but there is almost no sign of it in the Bay Area, a region where 7 million people live. People are worried about a recession, or gasoline prices. It is springtime and the hills are green. The war is far away and out of sight. Michael Myatt, a retired Marine Corps general, remembers a sign he saw just outside the Camp Pendleton Marine base not long ago: "The Marines are at war. America is at the mall."

Protest against Oil Profits and War at Chevron's Gate (Anastasia Ustinova / San Francisco Chronicle)
More than 300 people marched from downtown Point Richmond to the Chevron refinery Saturday to protest the company they say is profiting from the US invasion of Iraq.Twenty-four demonstrators were arrested for trespassing late in the afternoon after removing a police barricade, entering refinery property and linking arms.

Survivors Reflect 40 Years After My Lai (Ben Stocking / Associated Pres