EAW's Breaking News archive

The Untouchable Budget: Defense Department, Inc.
(Saul Landau & Nelson P. Valdes / CounterPunch & Democratic Underground)

President Obama called his $3.8-trillion budget a big step in restoring America's economic health. But he also declared the Pentagon's $1.5 trillion portion "untouchable." The Pentagon has laid siege to nearly 40% of the federal budget, dwarfing even the rescue package for the financial oligarchs. Once again, it's money taken from the have-nots and given to the have-mores.
/know/read.php?itemid=9128

100 Years Ago: International Women's Day Born
(Megan Cornish / Global Research & Freedom Socialist Party & La Via Campesina)

March 8th marked the 100ths anniversary of International Women's Day. There were at least 984 events last year in 64 countries. IWD is an official holiday in 29 countries. Because profit system depends on the second-class status of women, the day is mostly honored in countries with an anti-capitalist history -- including China, Cuba, Vietnam, and states within Russia, Eastern Europe and Africa.
/know/read.php?itemid=9129

The Washington Post on 'Lunatic' 9/11 'Conspiracy Theorists'
( Jeremy R. Hammond / Foreign Policy Journal)

An editorial in the Washington Post slammed Japanese member of parliament Yukihisa Fujita because he "seems to think that America's rendering of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, is a gigantic hoax." Yet while serving out a hit piece against the global "9/11 Truth" movement, it is in fact the editors of the Washington Post who are demonstrably "fact-averse."
/know/read.php?itemid=9130

Proof that 9/11 Truthers Are Dangerous
(Washington's Blog)

On March 8, ABC's Nightline attempted to debunk people who doubt the "official story" about the 9/11 attack as "conspiracy theorists" without "evidence." Below is a partial list of people who question what our Government has said about 9/11. The list of skeptics includes prominent politicians, military leaders, public figures, academics and even members of the government's own 9/11 Commission.
/know/read.php?itemid=9131

Fiction of Marjah as City Was US Misinformation
( Gareth Porter / Inter Press Service)

For weeks, the US public followed the biggest offensive of the Afghanistan War against what it was told was a "city of 80,000 people" as well as the logistical hub of the Taliban. It turns out, however, that Marjah is not a city or even a real town. The picture presented by military officials and obediently reported by major news media is one of the clearest and most dramatic pieces of misinformation of the entire war.
/know/read.php?itemid=9124

ACTION ALERT: War in Afghanistan Privileged Resolution
(Hon. Dennis Kucinich / US House of Representatives)

This week a privileged resolution will be brought to the floor of the House of Representatives in an attempt to get America out of the war in Afghanistan. This resolution requires the President to remove the troops within 30 days from the time the resolution is passed and no later than December 31st. Please, contact members of Congress. The vote will occur on Wednesday.
/know/read.php?itemid=9125

US Moves to Place Missiles in Romania & Poland in April
(Arn Specter / Special to EAW & Agence France-Presse & Romanian Times & UPI & SpaceWar.com)

US makes provocative military moves on Russia's Western boarder as Romania prepares to host three batteries of interceptor missiles as part of a planned US defence shield that has upset Russia. Confirming a move speculated for months, Poland has announced plans to host controversial US Patriot missiles and a contingent of US troops that will operate them, by April.
/know/read.php?itemid=9126

Obama Signs Patriot Act Extension without Reforms
(Michael B. Farrell / Christian Science Monitor & ACLU Blog)

Privacy advocates had called for greater oversight on aspects of the Patriot Act that give the government broad powers. But the version Obama signed on February 28, moved through Congress unchanged.
/know/read.php?itemid=9127

Obama, Gates Not Always Eye-to-eye on New Nukes
(Politico)

President Barack Obama has been clear. He wants no new nukes. Pentagon chief Robert Gates has been equally direct, advocating in recent years for a new generation of warheads. And nearly 14 months into their bipartisan-tinged partnership, Obama and Gates haven't publicly reconciled their views.
/know/read.php?itemid=9120

Policy Of Provocation
(Khaled Amayreh / Al Ahram)

Israeli provocations, including annexing Islamic sites to an alleged heritage list, are creating a powder keg in the occupied territories, writes Khaled Amayreh in the West BankPalestinian officials have warned that recent Israeli provocations, including government-backed attempts by Jewish religious extremists to claim a foothold at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, are creating an incendiary situation in the occupied territories.
/know/read.php?itemid=9121

The Harlot’s Grave
(Uri Avnery / Gush Shalom)

After the Six-day War and the beginning of the occupation, the worship of holy places assumed a much more sinister character. It became an instrument of the settlers. Using holy sites to justify conquest and massacres is by no means an Israeli, or Jewish, invention.
/know/read.php?itemid=9122

A Debate over the Claim of "Muslim Disunity"
(Qais Nawwaf / Dissident Voice & Paul Craig Robert / CounterPunch)

Commentary: "I took serious offense to Paul Craig Roberts' patronizing article, "Muslim Disunity: A Religion Divided Among Itself." Roberts audaciously states that the "reason Americans are still in Iraq is because the Iraqis hate each other more than they hate the American invader." Roberts blames the vast majority of the violence in the war on Iraqis themselves."
/know/read.php?itemid=9123

Action Alert: This Is How We Stop Blackwater
(LiAnna Davis / CREDO Action from Working Assets)

More than 22,000 mercenaries are operating in Iraq and Afghanistan, and these unaccountable hired guns have shot civilians and participated in torture at Abu Ghraib and other detention facilities. The Stop Outsourcing Security Act, would prohibit hiring private mercenaries like Blackwater to perform tasks traditionally done by the military.
/know/read.php?itemid=9116

US Tightens Missile Shield Encirclement Of China And Russia
( Rick Rozoff / Global Research)

The US has succeeded in inflaming tensions with China and indefinitely holding up a new strategic arms reduction treaty with Russia through its relentless pursuit of global interceptor missile deployments. On January 29 the White House confirmed the completion of a nearly $6.5 billion weapons transfer to Taiwan which includes 200 advanced Patriot anti-ballistic missiles.
/know/read.php?itemid=9117

Planning for the Next War
(Tom Engelhardt / Tom Dispatch.com)

Iraq remains a mess from which the US military seems increasingly uninterested in withdrawing fully and Afghanistan a disaster area, but it’s never too soon to think about the next war. The subject is already on the minds of Pentagon planners. The question is: Are they focusing on how to manage future wars so that they won’t last longer than the American Revolution, the Civil War, and World War II combined?
/know/read.php?itemid=9118

Polls Open in Iraq Election
( Al Jazeera & San Francisco Chronicle)

Around 19 million Iraqi voters will cast their ballots at 47,000 polling stations across the country in a “democratic” election that bans the participation of members of certain political parties. Meanwhile, for expatriate Iraqis, it is proving easier to express their electoral preferences in Iran than in the US where some overseas Iraqis had to drive from Seattle to the San Francisco Bay Area to cast a ballot.
/know/read.php?itemid=9119

Obama Vows To Reduce Nuclear Arms
(BBC News)

WASHINGTON (March 5, 2010) -- US President Barack Obama has pledged to cut the number and role of nuclear weapons in America's national security strategy. Mr Obama, marking the 40th anniversary of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, said a policy review would go "beyond outdated Cold War thinking."
/know/read.php?itemid=9112

Troops in Afghanistan Face New Rules for 'Night Raids'
( Lynne O'Donnell /Agence France-Presse)

Foreign troops in Afghanistan have been ordered to carry out night-time raids on people's homes only when absolutely necessary and only in the company of Afghan soldiers. The raids, mainly on people's homes, are now to be conducted with Afghan forces in the lead, women are to be searched by women, any property seized is to be recorded and any property damaged is to be compensated for.
/know/read.php?itemid=9113

Tha Cost of War in Afghanistan
(Afghan Civil Society Forum, et al )

The past three decades of war and disorder have had a devastating impact on the Afghan people. Millions have been killed, millions more have been forced to flee their homes and the country’s infrastructure and forests have all but been destroyed. The social fabric of the country is fractured and state institutions are fragile and weak.
/know/read.php?itemid=9114

The Need to Demilitarize US National Security
(Melvin A. Goodman / t r u t h o u t )

Defense Secretary Robert Gates gave a provocative speech at the National Defense University that revealed the a dangerous hold-ver of cold-war thinking. For the past several years, under both the Bush and Obama administrations, Gates has been making the case for turning NATO into an instrument for the projection of power abroad, using Afghanistan as an example of an expanded US global role.
/know/read.php?itemid=9115

Can Obama Assassinate Americans?
( Nat Hentoff / The Cato Institute)

During a Feb. 3 hearing before the House Intelligence Committee, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair testified that the US intelligence community, when dealing with direct terrorist threats to the United States, does "take direct action against terrorists" And "if we think that direct action will involve killing an American, we get specific permission to do that."
/know/read.php?itemid=9108

Two Suspects Entered US After Killing in Dubai
( Robert F. Worth / The New York Times)

At least two suspects in the killing of a Hamas official in a hotel here in January traveled to the US afterward. That disclosure broadened the scope of an international investigation that has fostered diplomatic tensions and cast a harsh light on the methods of Israel’s intelligence service, the Mossad, which police officials here accuse of ordering the killing.
/know/read.php?itemid=9109

Mossad Comes to America: Death Squads by Invitation
(Prof. James Petras / Global Research & petras.lahaine.org)

Commentary & Analysis: "Among the Mossad agents who entered Dubai to kill Mabhouh, twelve agents used stolen or forged British passports, three Australian, three French, one German and six Irish. These agents assumed the identity of European citizens to commit murder in a sovereign nation. Two of the 26 assassins, carrying fake Irish and fake UK passports, are known to have entered the US after the killing.
/know/read.php?itemid=9110

Iran vs. Israel: What The Media Wants You To Forget
(What Really Happened)

The corporate media have been given their orders to throw the focus back on to Iran. Here is a recap of what they are trying to make you forget.
/know/read.php?itemid=9111

ACTION ALERT: How Kucinich's Resolution to End the War Will Help Us End the War
(David Swanson / After Downing Street)

On March 4, Congressman Dennis Kucinich plans to introduce a privileged resolution to end the Afghan War. The resolution requires that the House debate, within the next week, the continuing war in Afghanistan, now the second longest war in US history. While the resolution may not win a majority vote, it will put many congress members on record as to whether they support or oppose this costly war.
/know/read.php?itemid=9103

An Atomic Credibility Gap: Obama Goes Nuclear
(Karl Grossman / CounterPunch)

Is there any chance that President Barack Obama can return to his long-held stand critical of nuclear power? Is he open to hearing from scientists and energy experts, such as Amory Lovins, who can refute the pro-nuclear arguments that have apparently influenced him?
/know/read.php?itemid=9104

Deadly Gamble: Nuclear Power and You -- The Ten Big Lies!
( Karl Grossman / Karl Grossman.blogspot)

Advocates in government and the private sector are engaged in a massive drive to "revive" nuclear power. Here are ten Big Lies they’re using to promote their deadly agenda.
/know/read.php?itemid=9105

Israel's PM Faces Arrest over Dubai Assassination: Two Suspects Linked to US
(Reuters, Al Jazeera & The Irish Times)

The head of the Dubai police is planning to seek the arrest of Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the head of the country's secret service, Mossad, over the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a Hamas leader. Meanwhile, it has been revealed that two of the suspected assassins fled to the US. Britain, Australia and Ireland are investigating the use of false passports in the murder. The US has not commented on the case.
/know/read.php?itemid=9106

America's Global Weapons Monopoly: Don't Call It "The Global Arms Trade"
(Frida Berrigan / TomDispatch.com)

In 2008, according to a Congressional Research Service report, $55.2 billion in weapons deals were concluded worldwide. Of that total, the US was responsible for $37.8 billion in weapons sales agreements, or 68.4% of the total "trade." It doesn't take a PhD in economics to recognize that, when one nation accounts for nearly 70% of weapons sales, the term "global arms trade" doesn't quite cut it. The real word is "monopoly."
/know/read.php?itemid=9096

Obama's New Budget Increases Funding for Nuclear Weapons
(Jay Coghlan / The Watch Blog – Nuclear Watch New Mexico)

In the new budget request for 2011 the Obama Administration proposes to freeze discretionary domestic spending for programs such as education, nutrition, air traffic control and national parks for three years while dramatically increasing funding for new US nuclear weapons production facilities. Meanwhile the proposed budget for dismantling warheads retired from the stockpile is down by 40%.
/know/read.php?itemid=9100

Despite Non-Proliferation Pledge, Obama Budget Request Seeks Additional $7B for Nuclear Arsenal
(Jay Coghlan & Amy Goodman / Democracy Now!)

As part of a record $3.8 trillion budget proposal, the Obama administration is asking Congress to increase spending on the US nuclear arsenal by more than $7 billion over the next five years. Obama is seeking the extra money despite a pledge to cut the US arsenal and seek a nuclear weapons-free world.
/know/read.php?itemid=9101

The War Movie You Don't Want to See
(Michael Jernigan / New YOrk Times Online)

"Home Fires" is a New York Times online commentary post that features the writing of men and women who have returned from wartime service in the United States military. This is the second in a five-part series, “Retelling the War,” in which veterans discuss how books, movies and other tales of combat shaped their perceptions of themselves and of war.
/know/read.php?itemid=9102

The Most Dangerous Man in America
(Film Review by Gar Smith / Environmenetalists Against War)

An Oscar-nominated documentary tells the story of former Marine company commander and Harvard PhD, Dan Ellsberg who went from writing President Johnson's war speeches to leaking the Pentagon Papers. It was while reading all 7,000 pages that Ellsberg came to realize: “It’s not that we were on the wrong side, we WERE the wrong side. [The war] was a crime from the start.”
/know/read.php?itemid=9095

Director John Cameron Defends "Avatar" against Right-wing Attacks
(Glenn Whipp / Chicago Tribune Newspapers)

Right-wing pundits have called "Avatar" a "deep expression of anti-Americanism" with an environmentalist bias towards nature and Indigenous cultures. Cameron takes no small delight in these conservative attacks. "Let me put it this way," Cameron says during a recent dinner conversation at a Hollywood cafe. "I'm happy to (tick) those guys off. I don't agree with their worldview."
/know/read.php?itemid=9097

Military Voices Attack Oscar-nominated
(Christian Davenport / Washington Post )

Many in the military say "Hurt Locker" is plagued by unforgivable inaccuracies that make the most critically acclaimed Iraq war film to date more a Hollywood fantasy than the searingly realistic rendition that civilians take it for. Some soldiers and veterans say the movie, a favorite for the best picture Oscar, portrays them as renegades and doesn't depict combat accurately. But film critics have praised its authenticity.
/know/read.php?itemid=9098

James Cameron: "I'm the Geenest Director in the World!"
(Janet Wilson / Grist)

He's made the highest grossing film on the planet, but Hollywood mega-director James Cameron is now promoting "Avatar" as the most successful environmental film of all time, too. Really. "There is no studio anywhere in the world who would say an environmental message would make $3 billion ... I can’t think of any other really commercially successful ones, can you?" "WALL-E?" replied his wife.
/know/read.php?itemid=9099

Iran Captures "Top CIA Terrorist"
(Press-TV & Ray McGovern / Informationa Clearing House)

Abdolmalek Rigi, the ringleader of the Jundallah terrorist group, has been captured by Iranian authorities. Rigi reportedly was scheduled to meet US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke at the Manas Air Base for talks on waging an insurgency against the Islamic Republic of Iran. A former CIA officer provides analysis.
/know/read.php?itemid=9091

The New Name “Operation New Dawn”
(Fatih Abdulsalam / Azzaman)

Comentary: "No one exactly knows which 'dawn' the Americans are talking about as they pack and leave a country they have imploded and humiliated for seven years. Instead of the “dawn” they are talking about, Iraqis have borne witness to rivers of blood, deprivation, hunger, displacement, a surge in number of prisons and new laws and regulation that allow any force with or without uniform to storm houses at night."
/know/read.php?itemid=9092

The Road to Armageddon: Architects Call for New 9/11 Investigation
(Paul Craig Roberts / Information Clearing House & Jennifer Harper / Washington Times)

How did three World Trade Center skyscrapers suddenly disintegrate into fine dust? How did massive steel beams in three skyscrapers suddenly fail as a result of short-lived, isolated, and low temperature fires? “A thousand architects and engineers want to know, and are calling on Congress to order a new investigation into the destruction of the Twin Towers and Building 7,” reports the Washington Times.
/know/read.php?itemid=9093

Bullets for Ballots: Iraqi PM Accused of Handing Out Guns in Bid to Buy Tribal Votes
(Martin Chulov / The Guardian & UrukNet)

A senior Iraqi spy has accused the prime minister, Nour al-Maliki, of handing out thousands of guns to tribal leaders in a bid to win votes. The claim was made by Iraqi National Intelligence Service former spokesman, Saad al-Alusi, a week before Iraq's general election, in which allegations of vote buying and exorbitant handouts have become widespread.
/know/read.php?itemid=9094

Allied Bid for Obama to Remove US European Nuclear Stockpile
(Agence France-Presse)

European NATO allies are to urge President Barack Obama to remove all remaining US nuclear weapons from European soil, as domestic pressure grows to rid its soil of outdated Cold War-era aerial bombs. Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and Norway will call "in the coming weeks" for more than 200 American warheads, mostly stocked in Italy and Turkey, to be returned to the US.
/know/read.php?itemid=9085

NATO States Want US Nukes Out of Europe
(Arn Specter / ArnPeaceBlog & Agence France-Presse & Ralf Neukirch / Der Spiegel)

Tensions are mounting in Europe and the United States over the desire for the US to remove over 200 Nuclear Warheads from European soil, mostly from Italy and Turkey. Strong objections to the continued stockpiling of US nuclear weapons have come from Belgium and Germany, as reported in the two articles below.
/know/read.php?itemid=9087

US Nuclear Weapons Withdrawn From the United Kingdom
(Hans M. Kristensen / Federation of Atomic Scientists)

Withdrawal of US nuclear weapons from three European bases since 2001 means that two-thirds of the arsenal is now on the southern flank. The removal of nuclear weapons from three bases in two NATO countries in less than a decade (which has not been officially announced) undercuts the argument for continuing deployment in other European countries.
/know/read.php?itemid=9088

USAF Report: 'Most' Nuclear Weapon Sites In Europe Do Not Meet US Security Requirements
(Hans Kristensen / Federation of Atomic Scientists)

An internal US Air Force investigation has determined that “most sites” currently used for deploying nuclear weapons in Europe do not meet Pentagon security requirements. The investigation followed an incident in 2007 when the Air Force lost track of six nuclear warheads for 36 hours as they were flow across the US without the knowledge of the military personnel in charge of safeguarding the weapons.
/know/read.php?itemid=9089

Iran Captures "Top CIA Terrorist"
(Press-TV & Ray McGovern / Informationa Clearing House)

Abdolmalek Rigi, the ringleader of the Jundallah terrorist group, has been captured by Iranian authorities. Rigi reportedly was scheduled to meet US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke at the Manas Air Base for talks on waging an insurgency against the Islamic Republic of Iran. A former CIA officer provides analysis.
/know/read.php?itemid=9090

America's Secret Afghan Prisons
(Anand Gopal / The Nation)

In the past few years Pashtun villagers in Afghanistan's rugged heartland have begun to lose faith in the American project. Many of them can point to the precise moment of this transformation, and it usually took place in the dead of night. These night raids (which frequently are followed by detentions and disappearances) have become even more feared and hated in Afghanistan than coalition airstrikes.
/know/read.php?itemid=9081

Beyond Oil — Energy In a Box
(David R. Baker / San Francisco Chronicle)

Bloom Energy Corp., one of Silicon Valley's most secretive startups, unveiled on Wednesday its long-awaited "power plant in a box," a collection of fuel cells that the company says can provide clean electricity to homes, office buildings -- even whole villages in the developing world.
/know/read.php?itemid=9082

Fear in Baghdad; Fury in Missan over US Killings
(Anwar Jumaa & Ali Mawsaiw & Talib al-Zamili / Azzaman.com)

Last Sunday 67 corpses were brought to Baghdad morgue all shot with silencer guns. The latest victim was a university professor shot dead as he drove home. Iraqi security forces might have succeeded in slashing the number of massive bomb attacks but have failed to contain violent crime. Meanwhile, the Governor of Missan has formally asked US troops for an apology and compensation for the killing of 10 Iraqis in his province.
/know/read.php?itemid=9083

The Afghan Mask Slips
(Tom Engelhardt / Tom Dispatch)

So explain something to me: Why does the military of a country convinced it's becoming ungovernable think itself so capable of making another ungovernable country governable? What’s the military’s skill set here? What lore, what body of political knowledge, are they drawing on?
/know/read.php?itemid=9084

Afghan Resistance Against US Invaders
(Eric Walberg / Global Research)

Commentary: "The thousands of civilians and resistance fighters who have been killed by airstrikes -- none of them guilty of anything more egregious than defending their homeland -- is more than ample proof, as is the craven propping up of a US-imposed government, and the proliferation of US bases in the country."
/know/read.php?itemid=9077

A Report From The Afghanistan Resistance
(Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan)

Perspective: "A 15,000-strong army of NATO, British and US forces has been carrying out military operations in Marjah. Jet bombers, unmanned drones, 60 gunship helicopters and 65-ton huge Abrahams and Shifton tanks are taking part in the operations. But despite the boasts and propaganda stunts, the enemy have not been able to make any headway against a small group of Mujahideen who are not more than 1000 armed men."
/know/read.php?itemid=9078

The Secret War Against Iran
(Global Research & ABC News)

A Pakistani tribal militant group, called Jundullah, responsible for a series of deadly guerrilla raids inside Iran has been secretly encouraged and advised by American officials since 2005, US and Pakistani intelligence sources tell ABC News.
/know/read.php?itemid=9079

Israel Drones 'Could Target Iran'
(Al Jazeera)

Israel's air force has unveiled a fleet of Heron TP unmanned aircraft that its says are able to reach the Gulf, putting Iran within range. The drones, which have a wingspan the size of a Boeing 737 passenger jet, can fly at least 20 consecutive hours and be used for surveillance or launching a missile attack.
/know/read.php?itemid=9080

Dutch Confirm Afghan Troop Pullout Sparking Fears of Domino Effect
(David Charter & Tom Coghlan / The Times)

NATO was left in fear of further troop withdrawals from Afghanistan yesterday after the Dutch Prime Minister conceded that he could not prevent his forces being pulled out this year after the collapse of the Government in The Hague
/know/read.php?itemid=9073

Berkeley Law Students Applaud DOJ Report Findings, Torture Memo Lawyers Engaged in Misconduct
(David Swanson / After Downing Street)

The final report of the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) released Friday found that former Office of Legal Counsel lawyer John Yoo engaged in "intentional professional misconduct" and that Yoo's colleague, former Office of Legal Counsel lawyer John Bybee, engaged in "reckless disregard of his professional obligations" to promote the Bush administration's "War on Terror."
/know/read.php?itemid=9074

Two Commentaries on the Mossad -- Israeli's International Terrorists?
(Ian Black / The Guardian & Gwynne Dyer / Vancouver Free Press)

Commentaries: "The recent, outlandish assassination in Dubai may prove the most damaging yet in the Mossad's history of high-profile, bungled operations. How did it squander its reputation for ruthless brilliance?" "The Israeli government will neither confirm nor deny it, but the average Israeli citizen is sure of it, and quite pleased by it. After all, who else was going to go after him?"
/know/read.php?itemid=9076

Liquidating the Empire: America's Warfare State
(Patrick J. Buchanan / The Creators Group)

We invaded Panama and Haiti, smashed Iraq, liberated Kuwait, intervened in Somalia and Bosnia, bombed Serbia, and invaded Iraq again and Afghanistan. Now we prepare for a new war -- on Iran. We spend more on defense than the next 10 nations combined. Our Navy exceeds in firepower the next 13 navies combined. US troops are now stationed in 148 countries and 11 territories.
/know/read.php?itemid=9075

Behind Taliban Line
(Frontline / Public Broadcasting System)

The story of an Afghan journalist's extraordinary 10 days living and filming with an insurgent cell allied with Al Qaeda to sabotage a key US/NATO supply route. And an interview with the filmmaker, Najibullah Quraishi.
/know/read.php?itemid=9069

McChrystal's Nightmare
(James Bays / Al Jazeera)

Once again, a NATO attack has left civilians dead. Operation Moshtarak, the largest military offensive in Afghanistan since 2001, was supposed to be NATO's chance to retake the initiative. I remember similar incidents when, for days, the military claimed the dead were Taliban fighters, despite TV pictures showing the bodies of dead civilians. General McChrystal hoped a new start. This is a serious set-back.
/know/read.php?itemid=9070

Troop Deployments Hit Vermont Hard
(Al Jazeera Video & Vermont Public Radio)

The military offensive in Marjah in southern Afghanistan is a crucial test of the US president's new strategy in the country. It is also the first major ground operation since Barack Obama ordered 30,000 additional troops to the country. The state of Vermont, which has been hit hard by continued troop deployments, for a war already into its eighth year.
/know/read.php?itemid=9071

How Air Force Secretly Stole Babies' Blood to Identify "Ethnic...Corpses"
(Mary Ann Roser / American-Statesman)

Without parental consent or knowledge, the Texas State Health Department sent 800 anonymous samples of blood from newborn babies to the military to help create a national DNA database. Texas officials said they agreed to take part in the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory database project because the samples might help identify "ethnic or ancestral origins of unidentified corpses using mitochondrial DNA."
/know/read.php?itemid=9072

US Vows Probe into 27 Afghan Civilian Deaths as NATO Asssaults Trigger a "Humanitarian Crisis"
(Reuters & Al Jazeera & Washington Post)

Sunday's airstrike was the second time in nine days that NATO has apologized for killing civilians. More than a week into the NATO-Afghan offensive against the Taliban in the town of Marjah, warnings of a humanitarian crisis are growing. Members of a fleeing family say they fled the fighting because they could stop neither the Taliban nor US soldiers from entering their homes.
/know/read.php?itemid=9065

Burma's Kachin Army Prepares for Civil War
(Alastair Leithead / BBC News)

Their discipline is good, their uniforms smart and there is little doubting their sense of purpose or patriotism towards the red and green flag with crossed machetes they proudly wear on their right shoulders. They are the next generation of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and say they are not afraid to be the generation that fights in a civil war many fear may soon be upon them.
/know/read.php?itemid=9066

The Mossad's Secret Wars
( Al Jazeera)

The Mossad has built itself a formidable reputation for killing enemies of Israel. For more than half a century, the Mossad has been blamed for numerous killings around the world, and is often at the centre of conspiracy theories, including those surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the 1998 Lockerbie bombing and the 911 attacks in the US.
/know/read.php?itemid=9067

ACTION ALERT: NYC Peace Grannies to Hold Memorial for 1,000 GI Deaths In Afghanistan
(Peace Grannies / New York City)

According to www.icasualties.com, the number of US soldiers killed in Afghanistan has reached 1,000 as of today, Feb. 22.Therefore, Grandmothers Against the War will go ahead with its commemorative vigil Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 5:30 p.m. at its regular weekly Rockefeller Center vigil site — the west side of 5th Ave. between 49th and 50th Sts.
/know/read.php?itemid=9068

A Base for War Training, and Species Preservation
(Leslie Kaufman / The New York Times)

Even as it conducts round-the-clock exercises to support two wars, Fort Stewart spends as much as $3 million a year on wildlife management, grooming its 279,000 acres to accommodate five endangered species that live there. Last year, the wildlife staff built about 100 artificial cavities 25 feet high in large pines so the red-cockaded woodpeckers did not have to toil for six months to build the nests.
/know/read.php?itemid=9061

Falklands War II? War Over Oil?
(David Leask / The Scotsman)

"The Malvinas will never be surrendered," said Cristina Kirchner, Argentina's president. Britain, which has held the Falklands since 1833, has made it equally clear it is ready to stand up for its rights to the potentially resource-rich seas around them. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the UK had "made all the preparations that are necessary to make sure the Falkland islanders are properly protected."
/know/read.php?itemid=9062

Peace Now Holds 'Masquerade Carnival' to Protest Government
(Ben Hartman / The Jerusalem Post)

A week before Purim, the Israeli anti-war organization, Peace Now, handed out dozens of masks depicting Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak at a "satirical" demonstration in Tel Aviv on Saturday night meant to protest what activists and speakers described as the government's dangerous policies.
/know/read.php?itemid=9063

Analyzing Obama's Nuclear Power Turn-around
(AlterNet & Harvey Wasserman / The Free Press)

Commentary: "Okay. One more time. Nuclear power is neither safe nor clean. As I listened to Obama give his speech, I couldn’t understand why he was buying into this big lie. Nuclear energy is not clean. It does not equate to wind and solar. It’s not even close." "As Vermont seethes with radioactive contamination and the Democratic Party crumbles, Barack Obama has plunged into the atomic abyss."
/know/read.php?itemid=9064

The Battle for Marjah. Why the US Has Already Lost
(Dave Lindorff / Counter Punch & Deborah Sweet / World Can't Wait)

The fighting is still underway in the town of Marjah, in what is being described as the first battle in Obama's War in Afghanistan, or alternatively as the biggest battle of the US War in Afghanistan. But already, the US has lost that battle. It lost it from day one, when troops fired missiles in to a Marjah house, killing 12 civilian occupants -- half of them children.
/know/read.php?itemid=9057

Obama's Surge vs. Afghanistan's Eco-System
(Mickey Z / Planet Green)

Commentary: "The environmental costs of war are no secret but the stakes continue to rise with the US using weapons such as depleted uranium. Afghanistan now has 33 species on its endangered list. However, the National Environmental Protection Agency expects that list to grow to over 80 species by the end of the year.
/know/read.php?itemid=9058

Environmentalists Oppose Army's Plan to Blow Up Old Chemical Weapons
(Jeffrey McMurray / Associated Press & Tina Redlup / BioPrep Watch )

Under the gun to destroy the US chemical weapons stockpiles -- and now all but certain to miss their deadline -- Army officials have a plan to hasten the process: Blow some of them up.
/know/read.php?itemid=9059

The Guantanamo "Suicides": A Camp Delta Sergeant Blows the Whistle
(Scott Horton / Harper's Magazine)

When President Obama took office, he promised to "restore the standards of due process and the core constitutional values that have made this country great" by closing the Guantanamo prison. A year later, emerging evidence suggests the abuses of the Bush presidency are being maintained by the current administration -- including failure to investigate the possible homicides of three prisoners.
/know/read.php?itemid=9060

NATO Commanders on Afghan Civilian Deaths: Rockets
(Craig Considine / World Can't Wait)

Two NATO HIMARS rockets hit a home in Marjah and killed 12 civilians -- 10 of which were of one family, 6 of which were children. NATO commanders said the rockets 'misfired' by up to 300 meters. The whole operation was deemed a regrettable and "unfortunate consequences of war." But Major General Nick Carter of Great Britain subsequently admitted the rockets did not malfunction, that they did indeed hit their intended target.
/know/read.php?itemid=9053

Following The Mineral Trail: Congo Resource Wars and Rwanda
(John Lasker / Toward Freedom)

In 2000, Rwanda, an African ally of Washington, produced 83 tons of coltan from its own mines but found a way to export a total of 603 tons that year, according to figures from the National Bank of Rwanda. The Rwandan army, which at the time was receiving funding and training from the US military, made $250 million selling stolen Congolese minerals, most likely purchased from their shadow militias.
/know/read.php?itemid=9054

UK Presses Israel on Dubai Murder
(BBC News)

The British government has called in the Israeli ambassador to discuss the use of fake UK passports by the alleged killers of a Hamas commander in Dubai. Gordon Brown has also ordered an inquiry into the passports, which bear the names of six British-Israelis who are not the men pictured.
/know/read.php?itemid=9055

Dubai Calls for Arrest of Mossad Chief; An Israeli Calls for an End to Mossad Terrorism
(Julian Borger and Mark Tran / The Guardian & Gilad Atzmon)

Commentary: "Interpol should help arrest the head of Mossad if Israel's spy agency was responsible for the killing of a Hamas commander in Dubai, the emirate's police chief said today. Emirate is '99% sure' Israeli spies were behind Mabhouh death. Britain has ask its Israeli ambassador to explain use of fake British passports."
/know/read.php?itemid=9056

Call to Arrest Mossad Chief; A Long History of Isreali Assassinations
(Julian Borger and Mark Tran / The Guardian & Heather Sharp / BBC News)

Interpol should help arrest the head of Mossad if Israel's spy agency was responsible for the killing of a Hamas commander in Dubai, the emirate's police chief said today. Emirate is '99% sure' Israeli spies were behind Mabhouh death. Britain has ask its Israeli ambassador to explain use of fake British passports.
/know/read.php?itemid=9049

Suicide Letter of Man who Crashed Into IRS Building In Austin Texas
(A. Joseph Stack)

What is it that drives some people to execute acts of terror aimed against political targets and innocent civilians. In the case of the Joe Stack, the grievances were wide-ranging, home-grown. Stack's Web site was removed from the Internet at the request of the FBI, but not before his message was copied and widely circulated.
/know/read.php?itemid=9050

The Richest 1% Have Captured America's Wealth What's It Going to Take to Get It Back?
(David DeGraw / AlterNet & Information Clearing House)

The US already had the highest inequality of wealth in the industrialized world prior to the financial crisis — and it's gotten even worse. As a record amount of US citizens are struggling to get by, many of the largest corporations are experiencing record-breaking profits, and CEOs are receiving record-breaking bonuses. How could this be happening, how did we get to this point?
/know/read.php?itemid=9051

The Economic Elite Have Engineered an Extraordinary Coup, Threatening the Very Existence of the Middle Class
(David DeGraw / AlterNet & Information Clearing House)

The economic elite have robbed us all. The amount of suffering in the United States of America is literally a crime against humanity.
/know/read.php?itemid=9052

Martial Law? There's an App for That
(Los Angeles Times & National Public Radio & Christian Science Monitor)

What if a crippling attack struck the country's cellphones and other digital infrastructure? Experts including current and former officials tackle the question. The peril is real and growing and the responses could include a government shutdown of all phone service and a declaration of martial law. But why the focus on Al-Qaeda when North Korea and China have already launched successful attacks on the US?
/know/read.php?itemid=9045

Cancer: A Deadly Legacy of the Invasion of Iraq
(Jalal Ghazi / Al Jazeera English & New America Media)

Cancer is spreading like wildfire in Iraq. Thousands of infants are being born with deformities. Doctors say they are struggling to cope with the rise of cancer and birth defects, especially in cities subjected to heavy American and British bombardment.
/know/read.php?itemid=9046

Cheney Admits to War Crimes, Media Yawns, Obama Turns the Other Cheek
(Jason Leopold / t r u t h o u t | News Analysis)

In an exclusive interview onABC News' "This Week," former Vice President Dick Cheney proclaimed his love of torture and derided the Obama Administration for outlawing the practice. "I was a big supporter of waterboarding," Cheney told his listening audience, "I was a big supporter of the enhanced interrogation techniques..."
/know/read.php?itemid=9047

Questions Raised About Role of Military Chaplains
(John Lasker / t r u t h o u t | Report)

While the US military continues to aggressively recruit Roman Catholic priests as chaplains, some Catholics question whether the military seeks priests as spiritual guides or as "force-multipliers."
/know/read.php?itemid=9048

Video: Dubai Names Hamas 'Killer Team'
(BBC News & Al Jazeera)

Police in Dubai are to issue arrest warrants for 11 "agents with European passports" suspected of assassinating a top Hamas official last month. Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was murdered in his hotel room in Dubai on 20 January. Reports have suggested that he was in Dubai to buy weapons for Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. It has accused Israeli agents of killing him.
/know/read.php?itemid=9041

Interview with Murdered Hamas Leader Mahmoud Abdul Raouf al-Mabhouh
(Al Jazeera Arabic)

Approximately 10 months ago, Al Jazeera Arabic interviewed a man in Damascus, Syria who was believed to be part of a cell that had kidnapped and killed two Israeli soldiers in 1989. Al Jazeera has since learned that the man -- who kept his face covered for the interview -- was Mahmoud Abdul Raouf al-Mabhouh, a Hamas military commander who was killed in Dubai on January 20. Here is a transcript of the interview.
/know/read.php?itemid=9042

Accord Reached with US on Drones: Reports
( Correspondent / The Dawn)

As a US national security team held strategic talks in Islamabad, defense and intelligence officials told the media that Pakistan and the US seemed to have a broad agreement on the use of unmanned drones for attacks inside the country. Meanwhile, major US media urged Washington to employ “respect, reconciliation and religious freedom” to defeat Taliban insurgents on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border.
/know/read.php?itemid=9043

The War in Afghanistan -- The View from the Other Side of the Gun Barrell
(The Unjust Media.com )

The battle in Afghanistan is being waged on the ground and also in cyberspace. Compare reports in the US media to this report from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan on "operations against the enemies of Islam" reported by e-mails from Mujahideen fighting US and NATO troops. The Mujahideen claim an inflated number of casualties that is far higher than anything reported in the Wesstern media.
/know/read.php?itemid=9044

Army to Discharge Single Mom, Rather Than Court-Martial Her
(Dahr Jamail / t r u t h o u t | Report)

Last fall, Army Spc. Alexis Hutchinson, a single mother, was ordered to prepare to deploy to Afghanistan but after her childcare plans fell through, Hutchinson was faced with a dilemma. If she refused to abandon her young son, she faced imprisonment by the Army. On February 11, Army Spc. Alexis Hutchinson, a single mother, was informed she would be granted an administrative discharge from the Army.
/know/read.php?itemid=9037

Civilian Death Toll Climbs in Afghan Offensive
(Alfred de Montesquiou / Associated Press)

Three more Afghan civilians have been killed in the assault on a southern Taliban stronghold, NATO forces said Tuesday, highlighting the toll on the population from an offensive aimed at making them safer.
/know/read.php?itemid=9038

ACTION ALERT: US Poised to Commit War Crimes in Marjah
(Robert Naiman / t r u t h o u t | News Analysis)

If the United States cannot protect civilians in Marjah, as the US is required to do under the laws of war, the assault should be called off. Under international law, every US citizen is legally obligated to work to bring about the compliance of the United States with international law.
/know/read.php?itemid=9039

Did NBC's Broadcast Ignore a War Crime?
(Gar Smith / Environmentalists Against War)

The broadcast version of the NBC Nightly News for February 15, contained a report on the US incursion into the Marjah region that described how the villagers voluntarily came forth to offer information on the location of hidden weapons. However, the unedited Web-only version of the story suggests that the US Marines may have committed actions that violate the Geneva Convention regarding the treatment of civilians.
/know/read.php?itemid=9040

Civilians Die in Afghan Offensive
(BBC News & Al Jazeera)

NATO has confirmed that two rockets fired at militants during its offensive in Helmand, south Afghanistan, missed their target and killed 12 civilians. Two rockets from a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System missed its intended target by approximately 300 metres — nearly one-fifth of a mile. The rockets struck a house in Marjah as thousands of NATO troops continued their operations to oust the Taliban.
/know/read.php?itemid=9032

The Deadly Debris Of War
(Dorothy Bryant / The Daily )

Year after year, innocent civilians (many of them children) are injured and killed -- in Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia, Georgia/Abkhazia, Kosovo, Mozambique, Nagorno Karabakh, Somaliland, and Sri Lanka -- by the debris of past wars: landmines; large caliber ordnance; ammunition, from shells to bullets; and weapons, from assault rifles to heavy weapons systems.The 21-year-old HALO Trust is working to reduce these dangers.
/know/read.php?itemid=9033

Women at War: Life on the Front Line
(BBC World News)

The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are the first in which tens of thousands of women have fought alongside men for prolonged periods. This week the BBC World Service is taking an in-depth look at women's stories from the front line. Robyn Bresnahan reports on one Canadian commander based in Kandahar.
/know/read.php?itemid=9035

What Do Empires Do?
(Michael Parenti / ZSpace & Common Dreams)

Commentary: "When I wrote my book "Against Empire" in 1995, some of my US compatriots thought it was wrong to call the US an empire. It was widely believed that US rulers only intervened abroad out of self-defense or to overthrow tyranny. But by 2000, even right-wing pundits were proclaiming: 'We're an empire, with all the responsibilities and opportunities of empire and we better get used to it.'"
/know/read.php?itemid=9036

Ethiopian Jetliner Brought Down by Terrorist Bomb: Cover-up Alleged
(DebkaFile & China Peoples Daily & The Telegraph & Associated Press)

After an Ethiopian plane imexplicably reversed course and fell from the sky in flames, Ethiopian, French, British and US authorities rushed to dispel the idea that the tragedy was the result of terrorism. But information now suggests the plane was destroyed by a bomb blast that targeted a team of French intelligence agents. The success of the attack could explain why officials would be engaged in a cover-up.
/know/read.php?itemid=9027

Globalization Is Killing The Globe: Return to Local Economies
(Thom Hartmann / The Huffington Post)

Commentary: "Globalization is killing Europe, just as it's already wiped out much of the American middle class. Spain and Greece are facing immediate crises that many other European nations see on the near horizon. Nations — and in large countries like the USA, even states — must again rebuild their manufacturing base and become locally self-sufficient. Globalization is the villain here."
/know/read.php?itemid=9029

Descent Into Barbarism: The US and NATO Wage War on the World
(Finian Cunningham / Global Research)

Commentary: "The profit system has hit an historic dead-end. Similar historic junctures have been witnessed before when capitalism floundered from its inexorable tendency to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. Disturbingly, the release valve for the system and its bankruptcy has always been war. Death and destruction is the lender of last resort."
/know/read.php?itemid=9030