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Israeli airstrike in Syria – an Kurdish analysis

by Mizgin (for more on Mizgin click here) “What is most troubling to me as a Jew is that the plight of fifteen million Kurds in Turkey most closely parallels the plight of Jews throughout centuries. For unlike the Iraqi Kurds who have always been at liberty to be Kurds, those in Turkey were ruthlessly legislated out of their ethnic identity and have remained so for more than sixty years.”~

Greet Bush and Die: The Killing of Abu Risha

by Patrick Cockburn Ten days after President George Bush clasped his hand as a symbol of America’s hopes in Iraq, the man who led the US-supported revolt of Sunni sheikhs against al-Qa’ida in Iraq was assassinated. Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha and two of his bodyguards were killed either by a roadside bomb or by explosives placed in his car by a guard, near to his home in Ramadi, the capital of

Military Drills – False Flag Provocation, Attack On Iran?

By Webster G. Tarpley ‘Solid Curtain’ And ‘Citadel Shield 2007’ Military Drills Raise Spectre Of Imminent False Flag Provocation And Attack On Iran WASHINGTON, DC — US military bases in the continental United States (CONUS) will go on special lockdown between September 17 and September 21 under the auspices of Solid Curtain-Citadel Shield ’07, a reliable source reported today. Under these exercises, US installations will institute enhanced anti-terror force protection

US General: “Ahmadinejad has nothing in Iran that we can’t penetrate, campaign will be easy”

WASHINGTON: The U.S. has a 14-ton super bomb more destructive than the vacuum bomb just tested by Russia, a U.S. general said Wednesday. The statement was made by retired Lt. General McInerney, chairman of the Iran Policy Committee, and former Assistant Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force. McInerney said the U.S. has “a new massive ordnance penetrator that’s 30,000 pounds, that really penetrates … Ahmadinejad has nothing in

Iran: Bush Will Be Tried on Atrocities

TEHRAN, — US President George W. Bush failed and defeated in his Middle East plan and would one day stand trial for “atrocities” in Iraq, Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said Friday. Ayatollah Khamenei made the remark in his second sermon to this week’s Friday prayers at Tehran University on the second day of the fasting month of Ramadhan. “Today the Americans are condemned by the public opinion of

Report: US to attack Iran in 8-10 months

According to the Jerusalem Post, Germany’s unwillingness to impose further sanctions on Iran has pushed the United States closer towards a decision on a military strike, FOX News reported on Wednesday. According to the report, Germany’s decision has spurred senior US army officials to try and convince US Foreign Secretary Condoleezza Rice to abandon once and for all the diplomatic route of preventing a nuclear Iran. The report further stated

Bomb Kills anti-Al Qaeda Sunni Leader

BAGHDAD — The most prominent figure in a revolt of Sunni sheiks against al-Qaeda in Iraq was killed Thursday by a bomb planted near his home in Anbar province, 10 days after he met with President Bush, police and tribal leaders said. Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha was leader of the Anbar Salvation Council, also known as the Anbar awakening – an alliance of clans backing the Iraqi government and US forces.

Was a Covert Attempt to Bomb Iran with Nuclear Weapons foiled by a Military Leak?

By Michael E. Salla, M.A., Ph.D. “The Canadian” – Critically exploring whether or not there was a covert attempt to instigate a catastrophic nuclear war against Iran is illuminated through an introduction using the recent B-52 Incident. On August 30, a B-52 bomber armed with five nuclear-tipped Advanced Cruise missiles travelled from Minot Air Force base, North Dakota, to Barksdale Air Force base, Louisiana, in the United States. Each missile

War Against Iran and the Logic of Dominance

By Gareth Porter “Huffington Post” — – — If the Bush administration launches an attack on Iran, the reason won’t be that Iran was about to obtain a nuclear weapon. The real reason will be that United States, as the world’s only superpower, wants to establish clearly that it — not Iran — is the dominant power in the Middle East. That would make us all less secure, but the

Tomgram: Tony Karon on Growing Dissent among American Jews

by Tom Engelhardt I often think of the letters that come into the Tomdispatch email box as the university of my later life — messages from around the world, offering commentary, criticism, encouragement, but mainly teaching me about lives (and versions of life) I would otherwise know little or nothing about. Then again, the Internet has a way of releasing inhibitions and, from time to time, the Tomdispatch email box

Al-Jazeera man ‘close to death’ at Guantanamo Bay

By Robert Verkaik An al-Jazeera journalist captured in Afghanistan six years ago and sent to Guantanamo Bay is close to becoming the fifth detainee at the US naval base to take his own life, according to a medical report written by a team of British and American psychiatrists Sami al-Haj, a Sudanese national, is 250 days into a hunger strike which he began in protest over his detention without charge

Israeli point of view on US-Iran confrontation: “The moment of truth is approaching”

By Shmuel Rosner in Washington and Aluf Benn in Jerusalem Standing on the deck of his ship, Vice Admiral Doug Crowder, the senior commander of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, rebuffed the speculations directed at him. No, he said, in reference to the large-scale military maneuvers in the Indian Ocean, there is “no connection between this exercise and any other country” – that is, Iran or China. Nevertheless, this

Ahmadinejad interview with Channel 4 – full transcript

Every question and answer from last night’s Channel 4 News interview with Jon Snow and the Iranian president” Q: Both the UK and the US have accused Iran of fighting a proxy war inside Iraq? A: “I think the Americans and the British, they should correct themselves …. We know that there is a difference between Americans and the British. The British when they moved out of Barsa, it was

Superior Derided Petraeus as Suck-Up, Opposed the Surge

by Gareth Porter In sharp contrast to the lionization of Gen. David Petraeus by members of the US Congress during his testimony this week, Petraeus’ superior, Admiral William Fallon, chief of the Central Command (CENTCOM), derided Petraeus as a sycophant during their first meeting in Baghdad last March, according to Pentagon sources familiar with reports of the meeting. Fallon told Petraeus that he considered him to be “an ass-kissing little

The Guantánamo Transcripts: “Ghost” Prisoners Speak After Five And A Half Years, And “9/11 hijacker” Recants His Tortured Confession

by Andy Worthington In another resounding demonstration of the importance of legally constituted checks and balances on executive power in the United States, the Associated Press, after filing a request to the Pentagon under the Freedom of Information Act, has secured 58 transcripts from the latest round of annual Administrative Review Boards at Guantánamo, convened to assess whether the detainees still pose a threat to the US, or if they

The Coming U.S. Hard Landing

By Nouriel Roubin The utterly ugly employment figures for August (a fall in jobs for the first time in four years, downward revisions to previous months’ data, a fall in the labor participation rate, and an even weaker employment picture based on the household survey compared to the establishments survey) confirm what few of us have been predicting since the beginning of 2007: the U.S. is headed towards a hard

Pigs of War

By Cindy Sheehan “I believe it is imperative that we never lose our voice of dissent, regardless of political pressure. As Martin Luther King, Jr said: ‘there comes a time when silence is betrayal’…However, it is unforgivable that Congress has been unwilling to examine these matters or take action to prevent these circumstances [executive branch crimes] from occurring again.” – Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), Introduction to Constitution in Crisis (2006)

Iran spy post heightens Gulf tension with US

According to The Telegraph, Iran has established a sophisticated spying operation at the head of the Arabian Gulf in a move which has significantly heightened tensions in its standoff with the United States. The operation, masterminded by the country’s elite Revolutionary Guard, includes the construction of a high-tech spying post close to the point where Iranian forces kidnapped 15 British naval personnel in March. The move has forced British and

Hamas on Alert for Israeli Attacks

GAZA, Sept 12–Hamas said on Wednesday its security forces in Gaza have gone on high alert ahead of an anticipated large-scale Israeli offensive in the Palestinian territory. Hamas said in a statement it had obtained “clear information” indicating that the “Zionist forces are preparing to launch a vast air, ground and sea offensive” in Gaza. Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and war minister Ehud Barak decided on the operation following

UN nuclear chief walks out on EU speech on Iran: diplomats

by Michael Adler (source: AFP)Tuesday, September 11, 2007 VIENNA (AFP) – UN nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei walked out on an afternoon session Tuesday of his IAEA to protest an EU speech which did not fully support his deal for new inspections in Iran, diplomats told AFP. “He walked out because the EU did not support the Secretariat,” a diplomat who was at the meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s

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