Military commanders tell Brown to withdraw from Iraq without delay

By Raymond Whitaker and Robert Fox
The Independent

"Senior military commanders have told the Government that Britain can achieve "nothing more" in south-east Iraq, and that the 5,500 British troops still deployed there should move towards withdrawal without further delay.

Last month Gordon Brown said after meeting George Bush at Camp David that the decision to hand over security in Basra province – the last of the four held by the British – "will be made on the military advice of our commanders on the ground". He added: "Whatever happens, we will make a full statement to Parliament when it returns [in October]."

Two generals told The Independent on Sunday last week that the military advice given to the Prime Minister was, "We've done what we can in the south [of Iraq]". Commanders want to hand over Basra Palace – where 500 British troops are subjected to up to 60 rocket and mortar strikes a day, and resupply convoys have been described as "nightly suicide missions" – by the end of August. The withdrawal of 500 soldiers has already been announced by the Government. The Army is drawing up plans to "reposture" the 5,000 that will be left at Basra airport, and aims to bring the bulk of them home in the next few months......"

'It's bleak and ferocious, but is it still winnable?'

Mark Townsend has spent three weeks with British troops in Helmand who are fighting for their lives - and sometimes losing them - in a conflict that grows more gruelling by the day. He found them facing fresh enemies, as well-trained jihadists from around the world arrived to confront the Nato forces

Sunday August 19, 2007
The Observer


"As usual, the conversation turned towards the same simple question. 'Do you think it is winnable?', the British commanders, officers and soldiers of Helmand would ask. It was a tough call. Talk would then veer towards the intractability of fighting, the miasma of tribal politics, terrorism and the deaths of British men.

The obstacles were piled high. Progress, by comparison, seemed stunted. Few who asked seemed sure of success. Some sensed it was possible, others wondered at what cost. One officer simply exhaled sharply and gazed at his desert combat boots.

Such discussions, often conducted against the soundtrack of fighting, would unfailingly find agreement on one topic: more young adults from Britain would die here. The nagging dread that they might perish in vain was palpable....."

Shock toll of British injured in Afghan war

· Half of frontline troops 'patched-up'
· Senior officers fear exodus

Mark Townsend, defence correspondent
Sunday August 19, 2007
The Observer

"The human cost of the war in Afghanistan to British soldiers can be revealed today as figures show that almost half of frontline troops have required significant medical treatment during this summer's fighting.

In a graphic illustration of the intensity of the conflict in Helmand province, more than 700 battlefield soldiers have needed treatment since April - nearly half of the 1,500 on the front line. The figures, obtained from senior military sources, have never been released by the government, which has faced criticism that it has covered up the true extent of injuries sustained during the conflict......."

Britain faces Iraq rout says US

"A MILITARY adviser to President George W Bush has warned that British forces will have to fight their way out of Iraq in an “ugly and embarrassing” retreat.

Stephen Biddle, who also advises the US commander in Iraq, said Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias in the south would try to create the impression they were forcing a retreat. “They want to make it clear they have forced the British out. That means they’ll use car bombs, ambushes, RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades] . . . and there will be a number of British casualties.”

The comments coincide with British military estimates that withdrawal could cost the lives of 10 to 15 soldiers.

Some British officers believe they are facing a “humiliating” retreat under fire to Kuwait or the southern Iraqi port of Umm Qasr.

“I regret to say that the Basra experience is set to become a major blunder in terms of military history,” said a senior officer. “The insurgents are calling the shots . . . and in a worst-case scenario will chase us out of southern Iraq.”......"

حرب اعلامية سعودية سورية

"دخلت العلاقات السعودية ـ السورية مرحلة غير مسبوقة من التوتر، عندما ردت الحكومة السعودية علي لسان مصدر رسمي مسؤول بعنف علي الانتقادات العاتبة التي وجهها اليها السيد فاروق الشرع نائب الرئيس السوري، اتهمته فيها بالخروج عن الآداب المرعية بين الدول، ومتهمة حكومته السورية بنشر الفوضي والقلاقل في المنطقة.
الرد السعودي جاء مفاجئا في عنفه وفي الفاظه، بالاضافة الي سرعته، لان من عادة السعودية التريث في اتخاذ المواقف، واستخدام كلمات اكثر دبلوماسية في حال اذا ما قررت الرد علي اي انتقاد لها، الامر الذي يعكس تغيرا جذريا في السنن السعودية، جاء مع تولي العاهل السعودي الملك عبد الله بن عبد العزيز مقاليد الحكم في البلاد.
نحن الان نقف امام حرب اعلامية من العيار الثقيل بين دولتين كانتا حتي الامس القريب جزءا من تحالف قوي الي جانب مصر، حكم المنطقة، وصاغ سياساتها طوال ربع القرن الماضي علي الاقل.
مصدر الخطورة الحقيقي يكمن في امكانية تطور هذه الحرب الاعلامية الي مواجهات دموية في مناطق التنافس والصراع، مثل لبنان، بل وسورية والمملكة العربية السعودية نفسهما، خاصة ان انصار الطرفين في الاعلام اللبناني بدأوا مرحلة من التلاسن العلني وتبادل الاتهامات.
ما يجعلنا نضع ايدينا علي قلوبنا، هو ما صرح به السيد جمال خاشقجي رئيس تحرير صحيفة الوطن السعودية، والمستشار السابق للامير تركي الفيصل السفير السعودي السابق في كل من واشنطن ولندن وقبلها رئيس جهاز الاستخبارات، لقناة العربية التلفزيونية الفضائية تعقيبا علي بيان المصدر السعودي المسؤول، عندما لمّح الي ان المملكة العربية السعودية ربما لا تسمح باستمرار الفراغ الحالي في السلطة في سورية، وتتبني طروحات تغيير النظام الحالي، ودعم قوي المعارضة.
وربما يجادل البعض بان السيد خاشقجي لا يحتل حاليا اي موقع رسمي، وكلامه بالتالي لا يعكس رأي الحكومة، وهذا صحيح ولكنه يظل جزءا اصيلا من الآلة الاعلامية السعودية الضاربة، وعلي اطلاع مستمر بحكم الخلفية والوظيفة علي دهاليز السياسة السعودية ومنحنياتها.
المنطقة العربية تعيش حاليا حالة من الفرز والاستقطاب غير مسبوقة، حيث يوجد تياران رئيسيان، الاول يتكون مما يسمي دول محور الاعتدال، وهي مصر والاردن الي جانب دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي الست، ودول ما يسمي محور الشر وفق التوصيف الامريكي ويضم ايران وسورية و حزب الله و حماس . والتجاذب الاعلامي السوري ـ السعودي الراهن هو احد انعكاسات حالة الاستقطاب هذه.
تبني الحكومة السعودية لنظرية تغيير النظام في سورية اذا ما حصل سيشكل تطورا خطيرا، لانه يعني اللعب علي المكشوف، والسعودية تملك فائضا ماليا ضخما يؤهلها للايذاء، من خلال دعم حركات المعارضة السورية، وتحالف حركة الاخوان المسلمين مع السيد عبد الحليم خدام نائب رئيس الجمهورية السابق المنشق عن النظام، علي وجه الخصوص.
وتوجد هناك علاقات تاريخية بين الحكومة السعودية وحركة الاخوان في سورية، لم تنقطع الا بعد انضمام سورية في عهد الرئيس حافظ الاسد الي الحلف السعودي ـ المصري.
ومن غير المتوقع ان تلتزم سورية جانب الصمت في حال بدأت السعودية في تبني المعارضة لنظامها. وتستطيع ان ترد من خلال دعم جماعات مناهضة للنظام السعودي ومحوره الجديد، فاذا كان رأس النظام هو المستهدف، فلماذا لا يتم التعاون مع الشيطان، اي تنظيم القاعدة في هذه الحالة، وبعض الجماعات الاسلامية السعودية المتطرفة سنية كانت او شيعية؟
الامر المؤكد ان القطيعة النهائية بين السعودية وسورية تمت، واصلاح العلاقات بين الطرفين بات مهمة صعبة ان لم تكن مستحيلة، حتي لو تحققت مطالب الحكومة السعودية في اعتذار السيد الشرع وتراجعه علنا عن تصريحاته، او حتي بازالته من موقعه. فقد افترقت السبل، واصبح الصدام بين المحورين وشيكا، ولن نستغرب اذا ما كان هذا الخلاف مفتعلا في اساسه لتفجير احتقان مكتوم، واظهاره الي العلن، وتبرير ما هو قادم من مواجهات وصدامات تبدأ في لبنان وتمتد الي ساحات اخري."

Dr. Mona El-Farra: Gaza sinks into darkness

"Gaza today
i am extremely worried about the power cut off . more than 50%of Gaza elecrtricity is paralysed.at AlAwda hospital , we have enough of fuel to run our alternative electrical generators for one week . all hospital are threatened to stop of its surgical operations and diffrent medical services .if the situation will continue .
many essential medications are lacking on the hospital shelves,
i expect the poverty level to increase to unprecented level.
Ordinary Palestinian people pay the price of the occupation , their democratic choice and bewilderment of thier leaders.
i promise u that i shall work hard with my team to help people . with your support and solidarity we can do alot

Mona elfarra"

"Outrage over Gaza power cut
GAZA CITY: A Palestinian company cut off power to parts of the central Gaza Strip yesterday after Israel closed a crossing through which fuel is brought into the Palestinian area.

Several neighbourhoods of Gaza City were blanketed in darkness a few hours after the Gaza Generating Company, which supplies the strip with about 25 per cent of its electricity, said it would turn off three of its four generators.
......"

U.S. actions against Iran raise war risk, many fear

By Warren P. Strobel and Nancy A. Youssef | McClatchy Newspapers

"WASHINGTON — As President Bush escalates the United States' confrontation with Iran across a broad front, U.S. allies in Europe and the Middle East are growing worried that the steps will achieve little, but will undercut diplomacy and increase the chances of war.

In the latest step, Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are considering designating Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the elite military force that serves as the guardian of Iran's Islamic state, as a foreign terrorist organization.

News of the decision was leaked to newspapers in what a senior State Department official and Washington-based diplomats said was a sign of an intensifying internal struggle within the U.S. government between proponents of military action and opponents, led by Rice.

State Department officials and foreign diplomats see Rice's push for the declaration against the Revolutionary Guards as an effort to blunt arguments by Vice President Dick Cheney and his allies for air strikes on Iran. By making the declaration, they feel, Rice can strike out at a key Iranian institution without resorting to military action while still pushing for sanctions in the United Nations.

Partisans of military force argue that Rice's strategy has failed to change Tehran's behavior......."

Video: Imperial Storm Troopers in Action

A Great Video, 5-Star Rating

The Only Palestinian Ideology They Have is $$$$$

Mr. al-Masri, the Nablus billionaire, is one of the richest men in the Palestinian territories. He told the Jerusalem Post that Palestinians need to shift their focus from politics to economics and sports

Businessmen invest in politics

"RAMALLAH, West Bank — A group of West Bank businessmen is trying to establish a political party to tap into Palestinian disillusionment with Hamas and Fatah by challenging both.

Though other challengers to the Islamist Hamas and secular Fatah performed poorly in the last election, the businessmen think the feud between the two groups will persuade a growing number of Palestinians to look for an alternative the next time they vote......

The founders, who include Nablus billionaire Munib al-Masri, hope to sign up several hundred businessmen, academics and political activists by next month to formally begin the political movement. For now, the movement is being called "Muntada Falastin" or the Palestinian Forum......

Mr. Muslih said that, despite the influence and power of the business executives, they lack a constituency as well as a charismatic leader.

Mr. al-Masri, the Nablus billionaire, is one of the richest men in the Palestinian territories. He told the Jerusalem Post that Palestinians need to shift their focus from politics to economics and sports.

Sam Bahour, who owns a software consulting business, said he turned down an invitation to the movement's meeting in Ramallah yesterday....."Although I'm from the private sector, I don't think a common denominator of people frustrated with a situation is enough to create a political platform," he said. "Right now, the [Palestinian] program to end the [Israeli] occupation is at risk. That doesn't mean we turn our back on politics.""

Still Pursuing the European Mirage? Will You Ever Learn?

Zahhar: Hamas's relations with euro countries to witness positive development

"GAZA, (PIC)-- Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahhar, the prominent Hamas figure, has affirmed that his Movement's relations with European countries would witness positive developments within two months.

He revealed that a number of meetings were held with official European parties in this regard.

Italian premier Romano Prodi and the foreign relations committee in the British House of Commons had recently called for holding dialogue with Hamas.

Shifting to another issue, Zahhar renewed his Movement's rejection of holding early legislative elections."

Iraq, Iran & the Vanishing Context in American News

Anna Beats Bush

By ANTHONY DiMAGGIO
CounterPunch

"It's no coincidence that the American corporate media is the wealthiest communication systems in the world, yet also one of the worst in terms of educating its citizens. Extraordinary riches require extraordinary efforts to divert public attention from extreme inequality and the democratic deficit under which Americans suffer. Despite the abundance of media sources throughout this country, Americans still endure a staggering ignorance regarding the reality of U.S. foreign policy. Horrendous media coverage no doubt accounts for much of this ongoing tragedy. While there may be more information available today than at any time in history (in light of the rise of cable news, the Internet, and other technological developments), the quality of that news leaves much to be desired......

.....A summary of the following stories gives us a better picture of how much is missing from print media......

.....As Noam Chomsky cogently argues: in a democracy, "You can no longer control people by violence. You can't just throw them into a torture chamber. You have to find other means. One means is propaganda. Another means is rabid consumerism, to try to drive people into massive consumption......"

Greed and Folly on Wall Street

Here Come the Corporate Bailouts

By RALPH NADER
CounterPunch

"The corporate capitalists' knees are shaking a bit. Their manipulation of the sub-prime housing market has led to a spreading credit crunch and liquidity crisis. So it is time for them to call on Uncle Sam--the all purpose bailout man......

More and more, corporate capitalists inside and beyond the financial markets do not want to behave as capitalists-willing to take the losses along with the profits. They want Washington, D.C., meaning you the taxpayers, to pay for their facilities (as with big time sports stadiums) or take on their losses because they believe that they are too big to be allowed to fail (as with large banks or industrial companies).

These corporate capitalists should be exposed when they always say that government is the problem whenever it moves to help the little guys with health and safety regulations, for example, but government is wonderful when the bureaucrats are summoned to perform missions to rescue them from their own greed and folly."

Cheney, Lieberman and the Iran War Conspiracy

A Good Article

By Gareth Porter

"I was never one of those who believed the Bush administration was getting ready to attack Iran in 2006 or early 2007. But it is now clear that at least Vice President Dick Cheney is conspiring to push through a specific plan for war with Iran. And Senator Joe Lieberman is an active part of that conspiracy.

We have known for a long time that Cheney wants a major air attack on Iranian nuclear sites and other military and economic targets. But an August 9 story published by McClatchy newspapers reveals that, instead of waiting for a decision to go ahead with such a strategic attack against Iran, Cheney now hopes to get Bush to approve an attack on camps in Iran where Iraqi Shiite militiamen have allegedly been trained in recent years......

The Cheney proposal for an airstrike against three bases in Iran can have only one purpose -- to provoke an Iranian retaliation that would then make it possible to unleash a full-fledged strategic air attack against Iran. The provocation strategy would be an obvious way around the political obstacles in the way of an unprovoked attack.....

The revelation of the Cheney attack proposal throws a new light on a series of developments relating to Iraq since early June. The first event that takes on new meaning is Joe Lieberman's public call on June 11 for exactly the same kind of attack on the alleged training bases in Iran as Cheney was advocating inside the administration.....

Was that just a coincidence? Not a chance, says one Washington insider who is very familiar with Lieberman and the inner workings of the whole neoconservative demi-monde. "Lieberman is not the kind of guy who goes off on his own to make a proposal like this," says the observer. "He's very disciplined. He's a foot soldier, an integral part of the neoconservative movement ......

Whether the Cheney's conspiring with Lieberman and the U.S. command is part of an "end-run strategy" or are sanctioned by Bush, Cheney's ability to manipulate Bush poses the chilling possibility that a hapless president will commit the ultimate blunder of war with Iran."

Not a Worry in the World.....
He Just Keeps Smiling and Waving.....
He Waves to the Cars, to the Trees, Even to the Rocks.....
The Eternal "Candidate" Campaigning?

Looking back at Lebanon

The conflict in Lebanon ended a year ago this week. Robert Fisk reflects on the human misery and destruction inflicted on the country – and on how lucky he is to be alive after more than 30 years of reporting from some of the most dangerous places in the world.

By Robert Fisk

"I don't think war is addictive – for some, perhaps, but not for me. I was asked about this by a journalist in Beirut the other day and I responded in my usual, tired way. War is about history. Anyone who finds conflict addictive is sick. Yes, I agree with Winston Churchill who once said that there is nothing so satisfying as to be shot at without effect. A good dinner after a bad day is much to be enjoyed. But I hate wars......

In the end, I think I did understand something about the Middle East, about its terrible tragedy, about our betrayal of its people. I've been welcomed into homes full of bereavement, treated with immense kindness and respect by men and women whose husbands, sons, daughters, wives, lovers, have been torn to pieces by munitions made in America and Britain and in France and Russia. God knows why they were so kind to me. When I was badly beaten on the Afghan border in 2001, I wrote that had I been an Afghan I would have done the same to Robert Fisk. Those who were trying to kill me had just lost their loved ones under an American air attack – a fact that those who chose to condemn me for my words always omitted to mention – yet I have lived an almost charmed life.

Today, I sit on my balcony overlooking the Mediterranean and riffle through the pages of Double Blind and I thank whatever God controls our lives that I have not died and I think of the good, loyal friends who have protected me and cared for me and I feel a most fortunate man. Few can say that."

John Pilger online

Thanks to all of you who posted questions for John Pilger. Read his answers here.

Comment is Free
The Guardian

"ON HUGO CHAVEZ:

ON DEMOCRACY:

ON IMPERIALISM:
....
9. Who or what are the driving forces behind US imperialism? (bluezebra)

The United States is the product of imperialism, which its independent leaders continued, first against the Native Americans and African Americans, then in its declaration of a "manifest destiny" to rule the lesser breeds of its own hemisphere. Race and Class are the major elements of imperialism, and US history has them in spades. I'm always amused when I read that the US only lost its "innocence" after World War II - not true.....

ON YOURSELF: "

If Not Insanity, It Must Be Treason

Abbas and his aids have no conscience or shame joining the government of the settlers in the fight against the Palestinian resistance and starving and killing the people he claims to be their president.

By Dr. Hasan Afif El-Hasan
Special to PalestineChronicle.com

"By releasing $120 million of frozen Palestinian tax revenues to Abbas and Fayyad government, Israel had the best deal money can buy. It was Palestinian money used to buy a Palestinian partner in the fight against the Palestinian resistance to occupation and settlements. Better yet, the partner is the Palestinian President and the money is a reward for his collaboration with the Israelis on condition that he and his Prime Minister Fayyad must not renew contacts with Hamas.......

As part of the payoff to the Israelis, Abbas security forces have been cooperating with the occupation agencies in pursuing the Palestinian resistance cells in the West Bank, while the Israeli military unleashed daily air strikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip killing activists and civilians and destroying property. The PA leadership made it easy for Israel to divide the Palestinians into moderates and extremists and resume assassination and arrests of those who oppose the occupation everywhere in the occupied land. PA security forces arrest of Hamas activists is coordinated with the Israeli occupation forces which tightly controls the territories. News media reported that sometimes the Israeli military targeted the same individuals arrested by the PA......

Abbas talks about reaching a framework that goes beyond declarations in the upcoming US proposed meeting. Never mind that the Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak thinks a peace deal with the Palestinians anytime soon is "fantasy", Abbas chose to be not as the president of all the Palestinians. Israel believes that Abbas earned only the tax money and photo ops with Prime Minister Olmert every two weeks for the services he rendered. The Israeli defense minister who controls the West Bank and lays complete siege on Gaza Strip through the IDF suggested on August 10, 2007 that Israel would keep the checkpoints in the West Bank for several years to come. The defense minister added that the regular meetings between Olmert and Abbas are only for public relations......

Nabil Amr, a close aide to Abbas and a former Palestinian Authority minister of information stated in an interview with al-Hayat newspaper that Hamas is sheltering and harboring members of Al-Qaeda in Gaza. His charge is devoid of any credibility because Hamas is not a jihadist organization like Al-Qaeda, but it suggests that Abbas and his supporters have no problem spreading lies to aid Israel and the US in their claim that the Palestinian resistance is part of the international terrorism. They openly justify Israel’s continuous attacks on their own people. Lumping Hamas group and Al Qaeda terrorists together by Palestinian leaders at this time when the US is fighting terrorism tooth and nail is an invitation by Abbas henchmen to crush the Palestinian resistance.

And on July 30, Abbas envoy to the United Nations blocked efforts by Qatar to introduce a resolution that would have brought attention to the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza and the need to rescue the one and half million from diseases and starvation due the Israeli siege. Abbas man managed to “pull out the resolution” and spare Israel the effort to defend its unlawful inhumane actions against the residents of the big jail that is called Gaza Strip.

Abbas and his aids have no conscience or shame joining the government of the settlers in the fight against the Palestinian resistance and starving and killing the people he claims to be their president. If this is not insanity, it must be treason."

How did Suha Arafat amass all these millions?

Khalid Amayreh in Occupied East Jerusalem

"There have been consistent reports that Suha Arafat, widow of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, has withdrawn tens of millions of dollars’ worth of investment from Tunis, prompting the Tunisian authorities to strip her of the Tunisian citizenship. Some news agency reported this week that Suha’s investments in Tunisia were estimated to be in the vicinity of $40 million.

Well-connected sources in Ramallah have intimated that Suha Arafat “inherited” hundreds of millions of dollars registered under her deceased husband’s name in several European banks. The vast bulk of the money is believed to have belonged to Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

This writer sought to raise this subject with several Palestinian officials in Ramallah. The officials agreed to speak rather reluctantly and only on condition of “anonymity” citing the “sensitivity of the subject.”.....

Very few people were aware of Yasser Arafat’s financial assets during his lifetime. One of these was Muhammed Rashid, the late Palestinian leader’s economic advisor, who is now living in Cairo. Rashid has consistently refused to give details of Arafat’s secret bank accounts and other assets, saying he would report only to the Palestinian Authority.

According to an al Jazeera report a few years ago, Arafat had written a will leaving some of his fortune to his wife and their daughter, Zahwa. However, other reports said Arafat left no will, leaving most of his fortune in the hands of Rashid and Suha. However, it is uncertain if Rashid behaved single-mindedly with Arafat’s financial empire, or if he “settled things” quietly with Suha following Arafat’s death.

At the time of his death, Arafat’s assets were estimated at $200 million by the Forbes magazine. Forbes listed him ninth in its ranking of the world’s wealthiest heads of state, even though he was a ruler without a country and many of his people were (are) suffering from abject poverty. Other sources, including the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), put Arafat’s fortune at $6 billion dollars, a figure exaggerated according to several PLO figures I have talked to.....

Following Arafat’s death in November, 2004, and wishing to settle “the problem” with Suha quietly, Palestinian Authority leaders, e.g. Fatah leaders, reportedly struck a deal with Suha whereby she agreed to receive a large amount of Arafat’s fortune as well as a monthly stipend of tens of thousands of dollars for the rest of her life, all in return for shutting her mouth.

While the exact details of Suha’s present fortune are still not known, it is very likely that the bulk of her assets has been arrogated from monies that belonged to the Palestinian people. Suha was not known as a businesswoman and she didn’t hail from a particularly rich family. Her mother, Rimonda Tawil published a weekly magazine in East Jerusalem, called al Awda, which was financed by the PLO. And she inherited very few assets from her father. So, how did she amass all this wealth, all these hundreds of millions of dollars?

In simple English, it seems we are talking about a huge theft by every conceivable standard of logic. I know that a suspect is innocent until proven guilty. However, it this case, the guilt screams to the seventh haven. People don’t just make hundreds of millions that easily and in such a short period of time.

Besides Yasser Arafat’s bank accounts, secret or otherwise, didn’t belong to him personally but to the Palestinian people. More to the point, the late Palestinian leader, with all due respect to his struggle for freedom and statehood, had no right to leave hundreds of millions or tens of millions of dollars to his wife and daughter. These millions were not his. They belonged to the people.

Hence, it is imperative that the Palestinian society raise the issue and exert meaningful pressure on government officials so that they immediately order a full and comprehensive investigation into Suha Arafat’s finances. The people of Palestine have every right to know where every cent of Suha’s millions came from, and if a genuine investigation is carried out and incriminating evidence is obtained, then the PA will have to seek her extradition so that she will stand trial for corruption and embezzlement of the Palestinian people’s money.

This is test case not only for the Palestinian resolve to fight corruption, but also for the seriousness of our quest for independence and statehood. After all, corrupt politicians who cover up corruption and protect the grand thieves can’t be entrusted with the fate of the people and the country."

HARDER LINE WITH IRAN LEAVES US WITH FEWER OPTIONS

By Georgie Anne Geyer

"WASHINGTON -- Lest you cling to the impression that the Bush administration is looking for ways out of Iraq, instead of digging ourselves deeper in, take a look at recent headlines......

This is the first time that the United States has added the armed forces of any sovereign government to its list of terrorist organizations. Think about that! Before, the word "terrorist" always meant "non-state actor." This change could mean -- WILL mean, if this gang stays in the White House -- that we could soon be calling any army on the face of the Earth that irks us by the name of terrorist. That would, of course, even further threaten the Geneva Accords and other civilized institutions as well.....

William Lind, the well-known military historian, commented to me: "This all continues to point more and more to the fact that Iran is still on the menu. It all continues to point to how can we pump up the conflict. This act moves any political relationships with Iran backward."

And that's where we're going -- at top speed."

Warlords of the Empire:
A Sectarian Mini State For You, And A Sectarian Mini State For Me

FBI, CIA Scriveners Edit Wikipedia Entries

By Kurt Nimmo

"According to Reuters, “CIA and FBI computers have edited entries in the online encyclopedia Wikipedia on topics including the Iraq war and the Guantanamo prison, according to a new tracing program.” No doubt, as well, the FBI and CIA have made other changes to “the world’s most important online encyclopaedia,” editorial changes not as grandiose as expanding former CIA chief William Colby’s entry, dumping a chart on Iraq casualties, or removing satellite images of the concentration camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. You can bet they edited scads of lesser entries as well.

“The changes may violate Wikipedia’s conflict-of-interest guidelines, a spokeswoman for the site said Thursday,” although Wikipedia, of course, will do nothing about it, as they are not in the business of posting factual information, instead often serving as a platform for character assassination and slander, an area familiar to both the FBI and CIA, often tasked with neutralizing or at least harassing dissidents and those who believe the First Amendment means what it says......"

Riyadh: Syria spreading chaos in the Middle East [but Israel is spreading love and peace, and the U.S. is spreading kindness and prosperity in Iraq]

"Saudi Arabia accused Syria on Thursday of attempting to destabilize the region and spread chaos, in response to Syrian accusations that its role in the Middle East was waning.

A government spokesman in the Saudi capital Riyadh rejected the Syrian claims as "lies and fallacies" in a widely broadcast statement Thursday evening, signaling a new low in diplomatic ties already strained over Lebanon and Iraq.

In an unusually scathing statement, the conservative Muslim kingdom, which has been trying to bolster its regional role, was lashing out against criticism made by Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Shara earlier this week.

"They believe they can deceive the Arab and Muslim nation, but their actions are proof of their malicious intentions," the statement said.

Saudi Arabia is a close ally of the United States in the Middle East, and has just signed an arms deal with it for an estimated $20 billion of sophisticated weaponry. Syria, however, is accused by the U.S. of supporting terrorism and aiding the insurgency in Iraq.

The Saudi royal house accused Syrian Vice-President Farouq al-Sharaa of spreading "lies" about Saudi Arabia.

Al-Sharaa had said on Tuesday at a press conference in Damascus that Saudi Arabia was not playing an active role in regional politics. He also said that in its foreign policy, the Islamic kingdom was paralyzed - pointing to the failure of a Palestinian unity deal forged in the Saudi holy city of Mecca in February.

Al-Sharaa said the outline of the Mecca deal had already been hammered out in Damascus anyway, and hinted that its collapse showed either that Saudi Arabia was hamstrung or that the kingdom had lost the ear of its ally the U.S......"

Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Online Poll

The question is:

Do you support arms deals with Arab countries in the Gulf region to confront Iran?

With about 1,300 responding so far, 77% said no.

ليبرمان يريد «جرّ سوريا» في «أي مواجهة» مع حزب الله

"17/08/2007 دعا وزير الشؤون الإستراتيجية، نائب رئيس الحكومة الإسرائيلية أفيغدور ليبرمان، أمس إلى «جر سوريا» إلى أي «مواجهة مقبلة» مع حزب الله. وقال «يجب تدمير سوريا، يجب ضرب معامل التكرير، ضرب البنى التحتية القومية، المطار، قصر (الرئيس بشار) الأسد والمباني الحكومية، وألّا يكون شيء محصناً من الضربات الإسرائيلية»، مشيراً إلى أنَّ على دمشق أن تفهم أنها «ستتلقى، إذا استمرت في طريقها، ضربة قاضية، وعلينا كسر إرادتها القتالية كما فعلت أميركا بألمانيا».
ورأى ليبرمان، في مقابلة مع ملحق «يديعوت أحرونوت» الذي يصدر يوم الجمعة، أنَّ السوريين رابحون أكثر من الإسرائيليين في حال اتفاق سلام بين الطرفين. وبالنسبة إلى ليبرمان، فإن الانسحاب من الجولان المحتل «ليس وارداً». وإذا كانت هناك مفاوضات بين الطرفين، فإنه يأمل أن يقول الإسرائيليون للسوريين إنَّ «قضية الجولان لن تكون على الطاولة وإسرائيل مستعدة لاحتكار الجولان لمدة 99 عاماً».
وأعرب ليبرمان عن اعتقاده بأنَّ إسرائيل «أخطأت بالتأكيد»، عندما قررت عدم ضرب سوريا في العدوان الأخير على لبنان. وقد زعم ليبرمان أنَّ «كل التنظيمات الإرهابية موجودة في سوريا، والسلاح يجري من هناك إلى حزب الله». وتساءل «لماذا علينا أن نصدق الأسد حين يقول إنه يريد سلاماً؟ وهل يكفي أنه يقول؟ من المفضل أن ننظر إلى أفعاله، وهذا لا يدل على أنّه متجه نحو السلام. فليحذر».
وأشار ليبرمان إلى أن هناك «ميلاً لدى اليهود للهرب من الواقع»، متسائلا «لماذا لا يصدق اليهود (الرئيس الإيراني محمود) أحمدي نجّاد عندما يهدد بتدميرنا؟ لماذا لا يتذكرون عندما أصدر هتلر كتابه (كفاحي)، حين قالوا عنه مجرد مجنون لا يمثل أحداً؟ ورأينا النتيجة». وأضاف «عندما رأينا نتائج حرب لبنان الثانية، وكيف تأقلم الجيش مع الميليشيات، أو بالأحرى مع عدد من المشاغبين، عدنا وفكرنا في أن علينا أن نسأل كيف سنتأقلم في مقابل دولة وتهديد وجودي».
ورأى ليبرمان أن رئيس حكومة العدو ايهود اولمرت في الواقع «أفضل مما يصورونه في الإعلام»، موضحاً أنه رأى رؤساء الحكومة في إسرائيل منذ فترة اسحق شامير، «أولمرت ليس الأفضل، لكنَه ليس الأسوأ». وعن قرار أولمرت الخروج إلى الحرب، قال «كان القرار صائباً، امتلك اولمرت الشجاعة لاتخاذ هذا القرار، لكن إدارة الحرب كانت فاشلة».
وأعاد ليبرمان طرح خطّته لـ«عزل قطاع غزة كلياً عن إسرائيل»، معتبراً أنَّ هناك «كيانين، واحد في الضفة الغربية التي نجري معها مفاوضات، وواحد في غزة التي سننعزل عنها كلياً، يشمل قطع التيار الكهربائي والماء عنه»، محذراً من أنه «إذا لم نستيقظ، فسيكون في غزة جيش نظامي ومسلح مع قدرة لضرب ديمونا وأشدود».
وقال ليبرمان إنه أبلغ وزيرة الخارجية الأميركية كوندوليزا رايس بأنّ «تحليلها أن الاحتلال سبب الصراع خاطئ»، مضيفاً إن الانسحاب حتى حدود الرابع من حزيران عام 67 «لن يكون الحل».
وختم بالقول إن مشكلة الأقليات موجودة في كل العالم، لكنها «مضاعفة» في إسرائيل لأن «الخلاف ديني وقومي أيضاً»، مشيراً إلى أن الدولة العبرية «مندوبة عن الغرب الحر في الصراع الديني في مقابل مندوبي الإسلام المتطرف»."

US steps closer to war with Iran

From Bosnia to Afghanistan to Iraq, the US military and intelligence have cooperated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, which Washington now wants to declare a terrorist outfit. This collaboration will end, leaving the US "unfettered" for a strike on Iran. And despite what some may think, a "war of attrition" with low-intensity clashes is not possible. It can only be all-out war.

By Kaveh L Afrasiabi
Asia Times

"The Bush administration has leaped toward war with Iran by, in essence, declaring war with the main branch of Iran's military, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which it plans to brand as a terrorist organization......

Coming 'war of attrition'?
The idea of an all-out military confrontation between the US and Iran, triggered by a US attack on the IRGC, has its watered-down version in a "war of attrition" whereby instead of inter-state warfare, we would witness medium-to-low-intensity clashes.

The question, then, is whether or not the US superpower, addicted to its military doctrine of "superior and overwhelming response", will tolerate occasional bruises at the hands of the Iranians. The answer is highly unlikely given the myriad prestige issues involved and, in turn, this raises the advisability of the labeling initiative with such huge implications nested in it.

No matter, the stage is now set for direct physical clashes between Iran and the US, which has blamed the death of hundreds of its soldiers on Iranian-made roadside bombs. One plausible scenario is the United States' "hot pursuit" of the IRGC inside Iranian territory, initially through "hit and run" commando operations, soliciting an Iranian response, direct or indirect, potentially spiraling out of control.

The hallucination of a protracted "small warfare with Iran" that would somehow insulate both sides from an unwanted big "clash of titans" is just that, a fantasy born and bred in the minds of war-obsessed hawks in Washington and Israel."

The old Iran-Contra death squad gang is desperate to discredit Chavez

Democracy and hope in Latin America have been revived by Venezuela's leader. But the forces allied against him are formidable

John Pilger
Friday August 17, 2007
The Guardian

"I walked with Roberto Navarrete into the national stadium in Santiago, Chile. With the southern winter's wind skating down from the Andes, it was empty and ghostly. Little had changed, he said: the chicken wire, the broken seats, the tunnel to the changing rooms from which the screams echoed. We stopped at a large number 28. "This is where I was, facing the scoreboard. This is where I was called to be tortured."

Thousands of "the detained and the disappeared" were imprisoned in the stadium following the Washington-backed coup by General Pinochet against the democracy of Salvador Allende on September 11 1973. For the majority people of Latin America, the abandonados, the infamy and historical lesson of the first "9/11" have never been forgotten. "In the Allende years, we had a hope the human spirit would triumph," said Roberto. "But in Latin America those believing they are born to rule behave with such brutality to defend their rights, their property, their hold over society that they approach true fascism. People who are well-dressed, whose houses are full of food, bang pots in the streets in protest as though they don't have anything. This is what we had in Chile 36 years ago. This is what we see in Venezuela today. It is as if Chávez is Allende. It is so evocative for me."......"

Latest From Dr. Mona El-Farra: lectures in children centers

"just would like to let you know , that i visited all our children projects in Gaza
Alasria center -jabalia
raechel Chorie -Rafah
Afaq Jadida-Nussierat camp
Never stop dreaming -Khanyunis

i met tens of children , , different ages ,6-15 years old , i saw them reading , writing ,painting , dancing playing...etc....
i gathered them all in the diffrent centers i visited, and the staff too, and i simply talked about my visit to the USA , my reflections, my future hopes , i talked to them about the wonderfull people i met in the states , and how much their solidarity means to us here in the occupied isolated Gaza .
i transferred a messege of peace, love and solidarity from you all
the children were so excited and showered me with questions , the meetings went all well
i think it was so important educational meeting too to our Palestinian children , who feel lonely isolated and forgotten
i said no you are not alone, and one day people will make the change in their goverment policies, when we all work together justice will prevail, peace based on justice is our Goal."

By Mike Luckovich

Puppets on a String...

By Layla Anwar

"....."Maliki is forming a new alliance to save the government."
A new alliance ? Save it ? From whom? I smiled...I knew it all along...

Maliki declared today that a new alliance is formed. An alliance of 4 parties.
- The Dawa party of which he is a member. Other members of the Dawa party are: Al Jaafari and Muqtada al Sadr and his drill boys.
- The other party is the Supreme Islamic Revolutionary Council of Iran - sorry meant Iraq. The SIRCI headed by his "eminence" (hahaha) Adbel Aziz Al Hakeem.
- The third party is the Jalal Talabani party, our buffoon /mossad agent/ president, of the Kurdish Patriotic Front and
- The fourth is none other than the other mossad agent/crook, M.Barazani of the Kurdish Democratic Party.

So our new government is made of Shias loyal to Iran and Kurds loyal to Iran and Israel...and both are loyal to America. Oh wow...what a novelty!

Absent are: the Sunni Alliance and the butcher of Falluja, Allawi.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please meet Israel and Iran in Baghdad. And who said that enemies can’t be lovers ?

I told you so. Am starting to sound like my own mother. She keeps repeating it: "I told you so."

- I did say that there is an increase of Peshmergas mobilization in Baghdad. Peshemargas are the armed wing of the Kurdish parties (trained and armed by Israel).
- I also said that Kirkuk is on the agenda. Preceded by a massive ethnic cleansing. Both Talabani and Barazani are pushing for a referendum on Kirkuk before the end of this year.
- I also mentioned time and time again of the ethnic cleansing of Sunnis as a political and demographic weapon. The Shia parties like Al Dawa and the SIRCI of Iran, and their armed wings have been conducting a genocide within a genocide against the Sunnis in Iraq. It started in Basrah where most Sunnis and Christians have fled and the government then worked its way to Baghdad.

The Americans and the Brits have aided these two parties in power, by building walls, arbitrary arrests,(prisons in Baghdad are full of Sunnis), and massive shootings and bombings of civilian targets...killing so called "insurgents".
Who happen to be for the most part Sunnis unarmed civilians.

That is one the reasons the Sunni Alliance and Allawi,the butcher walked out of this government two weeks ago. The sectarian nature of the government backed by the Americans was becoming way too obvious. And even a paycheck of 30’000 dollars a month would not obliterate that truth.

So let us see what these killings have led to and let us assess if they are in line with the initial American plan of ethnic division and partition of Iraq, or not.

Remember the Americans came with a precise agenda: 1) Regime Change 2) The Division of Iraq along ethnic lines. Shias, Sunnis and Kurds. Kurds are majority Sunnis by the way. And I have said it before and it is getting boring repeating myself. You cannot divide a country along sectarian and ethnic lines. It is either /or...But the Americans did as they did so many other things...

So far , four years down the line this is what we have.

1) The South of Iraq is an all Shia Iranian enclave. Sunnis and Christians have fled. Basrah, Najaf and Kerbala have been literally bought by the Iranians. Persian is the language there.

2) The North, so called Kurdistan has full autonomy. The Kurds have been cleansing Dohuk, Erbil, Kirkuk and soon Mosul of all non Kurdish inhabitants. Turkomans, Arabs, both Christians and Muslims, have been fleeing en masse. Any non Kurdish Iraqi who wants to go to the north of his-her own country needs a visa. They have their own passports, their own flag and their own secret service trained by the mossad.

3)What is left is Baghdad and its surroundings. Ramadi, Falluja, etc...
The majority Sunni areas like Diyala, Falluja, Ramadi...are under total siege and the fighting has not stopped there.
Baghdad, on the other hand, has witnessed some massive ethnic cleansing. Sunnis have been forced to go and artificially form an all Sunni area like Ameriya and Adhamiya for instance...and these two areas are sealed with huge walls...
What were once mixed neighborhoods, have been virtually cleansed and there still remains little pockets of resistance from the inhabitants but they too will be driven out...Examples: Fadil, Amil, Bayaa, Dora, Mansur...

What am basically driving at, is what has preceded this "new" governmental alliance, was the logical thing to do. Cleanse first then partition.
They managed to drive the Sunnis out, both in terms of population and government members. Al Dulaimi, one of the Sunni reps, pleaded for the hundredth time, saying there is a genocide against the Sunnis and asked for assistance from Sunni countries but to no avail. Jordan and Saudi Arabia will never come to the rescue.
The government also managed to drive out the so called seculars as represented by Allawi.
So what you are basically left with is a chauvinistic, sectarian government, exactly like the Americans had planned it. A government loyal to them, to Iran and to Israel......"

Latest From Laila El-Haddad: The law of the land

".....I suppose part of it is realizing my existence is at stake somehow in all of this. I have to renew my Palestinian "passport" soon (I have that in quotations because the "passport" is, as stated in the first page, issued pursuant to the sham that is Oslo), but I can't go back to Gaza. I have no where to go to, no where to return to. At least not now. Permanence is transient. Transience is permanent.

I've taken to doing some senseless things lately. Trying to clear my mind, regain some perspective. I watched a little bit of "Escape from Alcatraz" the other day. Funny, but it looked like paradise compared to Gaza now. I also just finished reading Ben White's "Brief Encounters with Che Guevera", a collection of short stories, many of them about Haiti and US involvement there. Naturally, I thought of our situation. I thought-can it get any more f****** up than this? No really, I'm serious, can it?

I'm not sure what it will take anymore for people to realize the absurdity of it all. I mean, sanctioning an occupied people for God's sake? Demanding an end to "violence" by those occupied people all while the US shells out another $30 billion in military aid to the world's third strongest army?

And I'm not talking about the US only here. I'm talking about our very own Arab governments who, from day one, bowed in submission to US commands to freeze financial transactions to Hamas. Yes, the world, including the Arab world, has been complicit in the destruction of a society.

And now we have Abbas the degenerate thinking he's actually running the show in the West Bank; suddenly the money starts coming in, some prisoners scheduled for release anyway are released, leaving thousands of others languishing; and Abbas and his cronies are the new "moderates"; was it worth it? A few weeks ago a friend working with a respected human rights organization asked Saeb Erekat whether there had been any talks or negotiations with Israel regarding re-opening Rafah Crossing. Plain and simple, he answered no. If only he'd exert so much effort in all his negotiations.

Amazing how just a few years ago Sharon flew to Washington to convince Bush Abbas was not a partner for peace.

And now there are calls for early elections that will exclude parties who "don't obey the law". And what law might that be, exactly?"

Of All People, Only the Palestinians Would Accept a Clear Traitor and a War Criminal, as a "President." Tell That to the Iraqi Resistance.

Fatah leader: rapprochement with Hamas before Ramadan

From Khalid Amayreh in the West Bank

"A high-ranking Fatah leader has predicted that a “rapprochement” with Hamas will be reached before the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan which begins on the 13th or 14th September.

The Ramallah-based official, who asked for anonymity “because of the sensitivity of the subject,” said he believed that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was reconsidering his earlier stiff position vis-à-vis Hamas.....

“I think Abbas has reasoned that saying ‘No’ to all Arab and foreign mediation efforts is counterproductive, self-defeating and inexpedient for Palestinian national interests,” said the official who occupied a ministerial portfolio in the Oslo-era Palestinian governments.

“You see, the vast bulk of Palestinians want an agreement between Fatah and Hamas as soon as possible. Nobody is comfortable with this abnormal, even depressive, situation, and there are certain signs that many Palestinians are blaming Abbas and Fatah for the current deadlock because their refusal to sit down with Hamas and end the crisis.”

Asked if he thought that Israel would ultimately prevent Abbas from mending ties with Hamas, the official said Israel would certainly try hard “to keep Abbas within the Israeli-American circle.

“Of course, they are striving, using carrots and sticks, to keep him within the Israeli-American circle. However, it is quite obvious that the President is realizing that Israel is not really sincere about peace and that the upcoming regional conference will be just another illusion......"

High stakes gamble

Abbas has bet everything on cooperating with Israel

By Khaled Amayreh
Al-Ahram Weekly

"......Adel Samara is a noted leftist intellectual and economist in the West Bank with no ideological or political affiliation with either Hamas or Fatah. In an exclusive interview with the Weekly, he argues that it is pointless to expect Abbas to talk with Hamas since the man "has lost his free will" to the Americans and the Israelis.

"It is abundantly clear that the Palestinian Authority is acting under the influence of Israel and the United States, and that it has lost its ability to act independently. In fact, Abbas is finding himself in a situation where his very political survival is very much dependent on appeasing Israel and the Bush administration, whereas talking with Hamas, let alone revive the government of national unity, could mean political suicide for him."

Underscoring Abbas's naivety, Samara argued that the Bush administration is only using the Fatah leader as an additional asset to effect American strategic goals in the Middle East. "Israel and the US are only using him to weaken the overall Palestinian national cause. I am worried that by the time he wakes up, the Palestinian cause will have been seriously weakened."

Asked if he thought Abbas was counting too much on the American-sponsored regional peace conference slated to take place in November, Samara said "Abbas is being deceived and duped by Olmert."

"If you want to know true Israeli thinking, don't pay attention to what Olmert says, instead we should pay attention to what (Israeli Defence Minister Ehud) Barak says. And he says he doesn't count much on Abbas."

Samara argued that the present Palestinian crisis is likely to continue for sometime unless the Arab states, especially Egypt and Saudi Arabia, move swiftly to exert real pressure on both sides, especially on Abbas, to reestablish Palestinian unity.

Samara said that Abbas was betting on a Hamas surrender, mainly as a result of the stringent Israeli-western blockade. "I believe that Hamas won't surrender. On the contrary, Hamas seems to be determined to remain steadfast and is itself betting on the disintegration of the Abbas regime, mainly as a result of Abbas's expected failure to extract any meaningful political concessions from Israel."....."

The one clear solution

A workable and just solution in Palestine is predicated on one principle, tested in South Africa: side with racism or be against

By Azmi Bishara
Al-Ahram Weekly

"......Isn't it amazing that discussions of this sort could arise at a time when the Palestinians and their cause against the colonialist apartheid system in Palestine are in such a tragic plight? While the Palestinians are mired in turmoil and confusion, their friends in South Africa and elsewhere are in a quandary over whether to be more Palestinian than the Palestinians: Should they support Hamas or Fatah? Is it right to boycott Israel when the Palestinian leadership, itself, is busily normalising relations with the Israeli government? One can understand their predicament. However, they should bear in mind that in Palestine this "normalisation" is taking place before any deal has been struck and that whatever deals are in the works do not aim to alter the existing racist order.....

.....Last week, a prominent ANC leader told me, "long ago we advised the Palestinians not to accept Oslo. As you know, we are not in favour of the ethnic-state solution to problems of this sort. But this was their choice. We, too, did not want anyone from African or other friendly nations to meddle in our affairs." On the other hand, a former resistance hero who is now a top ranking minister admitted, "Israel is an apartheid regime. This is not a foreign policy issue for a country such as South Africa, regardless of the geographical distance."

......More immediately, the so-called two-state solution that is on the table between the two "sides" is not intended to produce two actual states, but rather to entrench the existing Zionist/apartheid state that was founded at the expense of a dispossessed people and a Palestinian "Bantustan". South Africans know only too well what a Bantustan is. They were semi-autonomous political entities with puppet chieftains, intended to alleviate the apartheid regime's demographic burden......

So what are friends of the Palestinian people supposed to do if they feel that racism and colonialism are universal moral questions and not foreign or domestic policy issues in this day and age? Here are Israel and the Palestinian Authority on the verge of producing some vague declaration of principles that will offer the Palestinians even less than what Barak proposed in Camp David II. There's a conference in the works that the Americans tentatively called a "meeting" (so as to spare the participants any embarrassment and so as to keep people from pinning too high expectations on what is essentially a PR gambit). But the contours of the outcome of that meeting have been clear for quite a while. They have been shaped by current balances of power. There will be no right of return for Palestinian refugees; East Jerusalem will not be the Palestinian capital; and there will be no dismantlement of all Israeli settlements and no return to pre-June 1967 borders. At the same time, the Zionist regime will remain fully intact and its inherent racism will become a domestic issue......

The Palestinian people have been torn by the occupation and by the consequences of the occupation. They need a unified national liberation programme opposed to the artifice of the current Palestinian-Israeli negotiating scheme. But this alternative programme must tell the Palestinian people and the world what Hamas truly wants (merely to return to a power-sharing formula with Fatah, for example?) and what Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and a large segment of Fatah want. These forces must assume this responsibility before it is too late, even to the extent of neutralising conflicting ideologies so as to produce a truly democratic national alternative and to emerge as a strong and cohesive political force. Is this not what leadership is all about?"

Al-Jazeera Cartoon

The Iraq Relay Race

The Petraeus Report Will Actually Be Written by the White House!

Top general may propose pullbacks

".......Despite Bush's repeated statements that the report will reflect evaluations by Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, administration officials said it would actually be written by the White House, with inputs from officials throughout the government.

And though Petraeus and Crocker will present their recommendations on Capitol Hill, legislation passed by Congress leaves it to the president to decide how to interpret the report's data.

The senior administration official said the process had created "uncomfortable positions" for the White House because of debates over what constitutes "satisfactory progress."

During internal White House discussion of a July interim report, some officials urged the administration to claim progress in policy areas such as legislation to divvy up Iraq's oil revenue, even though no final agreement had been reached. Others argued that such assertions would be disingenuous......."

Convert to Christianity or Be Killed; Jesus Wouldn't Have it Any Other Way!

DOD Stops Plan to Send Christian Video Game to Troops in Iraq

"Plans by a Christian group to send an evangelical video game to U.S. troops in Iraq were abruptly halted yesterday by the Department of Defense after ABC News inquired about the program.

Operation Start Up (OSU) Tour, an evangelical entertainment troupe that actively proselytizes among soldiers, will not be sending the "apocryphal" video game in care packages as planned, according to the department.

"Left Behind: Eternal Forces" was inspired by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins' best-selling book series about the battle of Armageddon, in which believers of Jesus Christ fight the Antichrist.

The game has inspired controversy among freedom of religion advocates since it was released last year.

"It's a horrible game," said the Rev. Timothy Simpson of the Christians Alliance for Progress. "You either kill or covert the other side. This is exactly what the Osama bin Ladens of the world have portrayed us.".....

MRFF President Mikey Weinstein said he is gratified the Pentagon "claims it is going to cease this provocative act" that emboldens organizations like the Taliban and al Qaeda.

"I doubt this will prevent unconstitutional activity in the Pentagon with regards to freedom of religion for more than just a few days," said Weinstein.

OSU Tour is one of the newest members of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which connects citizens and corporations with members of the military and their families at home and abroad......"

The Second Lebanon War, A Year Later

Nearly All the War Crimes Were Israel's

By JONATHAN COOK
CounterPunch

"....But many significant developments since the war have gone unnoticed, including several that seriously put in question Israel's account of what happened last summer. This is old ground worth revisiting for that reason alone.

In the meantime, there is every indication that Israel is planning another round of fighting against Hizbullah after it has "learnt the lessons" from the last war. The new defence minister, Ehud Barak, who was responsible for the 2000 withdrawal, has made it a priority to develop anti-missile systems such as "Iron Dome" to neutralise the rocket threat from Hizbullah, using some of the recently announced $30 billion of American military aid.......

Recent reports have revealed that one of the main justifications for Hizbullah's continuing resistance -- that Israel failed to withdraw fully from Lebanese territory in 2000 -- is now supported by the UN. Last month its cartographers quietly admitted that Lebanon is right in claiming sovereignty over a small fertile area known as the Shebaa Farms, still occupied by Israel. Israel argues that the territory is Syrian and will be returned in future peace talks with Damascus, even though Syria backs Lebanon's position. The UN's admission has been mostly ignored by the international media......

At the time, it looked suspiciously as if Israel had taken the brief opportunity before the war's end to make south Lebanon -- the heartland of both the country's Shia population and its militia, Hizbullah -- uninhabitable, and to prevent the return of hundreds of thousands of Shia who had fled Israel's earlier bombing campaigns......

The delay is not surprising. An initial report by the army, leaked to the Israeli media, discovered that the cluster bombs had been fired into Lebanese population centres in gross violation of international law. The order was apparently given by the head of the Northern Command at the time, Udi Adam. A US State Department investigation reached a similar conclusion.....

There were always strong reasons for suspecting the Israeli claim to be untrue. Hizbullah had invested much effort in developing an elaborate system of tunnels and underground bunkers in the countryside, which Israel knew little about, in which it hid its rockets and from which fighters attacked Israeli soldiers as they tried to launch a ground invasion. Also, common sense suggests that Hizbullah fighters would have been unwilling to put their families, who live in south Lebanon's villages, in danger by launching rockets from among them. Now Israeli front pages are carrying reports from Israeli military sources that put in serious doubt Israel's claims.....

As a first-hand observer of the fighting from Israel's side of the border last year, I noted on several occasions that Israel had built many of its permanent military installations, including weapons factories and army camps, and set up temporary artillery positions next to -- and in some cases inside -- civilian communities in the north of Israel. Many of those communities are Arab.....

It seems likely that Hizbullah, which had flown pilotless spy drones over Israel earlier in the year, similar to Israel's own aerial spying missions, knew where many of these military bases were.....

Nonetheless, new evidence suggests strongly that, whether or not Hizbullah had the right to use its rockets, it may often have been trying to hit military targets, even if it rarely succeeded....

The evidence so far indicates that Israel:

* established legitimate grounds for Hizbullah's attack on the border post by refusing to withdraw from the Lebanese territory of the Shebaa Farms in 2000;

* initiated a war of aggression be refusing to engage in talks about a prisoner swap offered by Hizbullah;

* committed a grave war crime by intentionally using cluster bombs against south Lebanon's civilians;

* repeatedly hit Lebanese communities, killing many civilians, even though the evidence is that no Hizbullah fighters were to be found there;

* and put its own civilians, especially Arab civilians, in great danger by making their communities targets for Hizbullah attacks and failing to protect them.

It is clear that during the Second Lebanon war Israel committed the most serious war crimes."

Thanks to His Joint Efforts With Israel and the U.S. at the UN, Palestinian Observer to UN Says Situation in Palestinian Territories is Deteriorating

"The Palestinian observer to the United Nations sends messages of the Gaza – Ma'an - The Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, Ambassador Dr Riyad Mansour has told the UN General Assembly that the situation in the Palestine Territories is deteriorating.

He also informed them of Israel's consistent breaking of humanitarian law including repeated incursions spreading death and destruction among the citizens. He specifically mentioned Tuesday's incursion into the town of Abassan in Khan Younis, which resulted in 7 deaths, including members of three generations of the same family, 25 people wounded and 100 people being arrested.

He also talked about the harsh conditions that detainees are facing inside Israeli prisons.

Ambassador Mansour described Israel as an "occupying force" that prevents worshipers from accessing places of worship, as happened at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, on August 13, 2007.

He added that the international community and the Palestinian people were looking forward to the international conference in support of the peace process.

The ambassador also said in his report that Israel would continue its illegal acts because it will never be punished."

مفاجأة نصر الله.. والخيار السوري

مفاجأة نصر الله.. والخيار السوري

عبد الباري عطوان

A Good Analysis; I Wish I Had Time to Translate it

Could One of Our Readers Do it, Even Just the Highlights?

"السيد حسن نصر الله زعيم حزب الله اللبناني، رجل لا يكذب، يقول ويفعل، وعندما يتوعد اسرائيل بمفاجأة، قد تغير وجه المنطقة، اذا ما اعتدت علي لبنان، فان عليها ومن خلفها، أخذ هذا الكلام علي محمل الجد، خاصة وهي تجري مناورات عسكرية مكثفة في الوقت الراهن، بالقرب من الحدود اللبنانية والسورية، استعدادا لحرب جديدة، تعتقد انها ستنقذ ماء وجه مؤسستها العسكرية بعد هزيمتها المهينة في لبنان قبل عام.
من المرجح ان السيد نصر الله لا يتحدث هنا، عن صواريخ جديدة، تصل الي نقاط ابعد في العمق الاسرائيلي، فقد كشف في حديثه لقناة الجزيرة قبل بضعة اسابيع عن ازدحام ترسانته بمثل هذه الصواريخ التي تصل حسبما قال الي كل نقطة في الدولة العبرية، مثلما كشف ايضا في احاديث ســابقة، عن امتلاك الحزب عشرين الفا منها علي الاقل.
مفاجأة السيد نصر الله ستظل موضع تكهنات من قبل الخبراء العسكريين، الامريكيين والاسرائيليين منهم خاصة، ولكن ما يمكن استخلاصه للوهلة الاولي، هو امكانية تزويد هذه الصواريخ او بعضها، برؤوس كيماوية او بيولوجية. لان الحرب المقبلة اذا ما اشتعل فتيلها ربما تكون الاخيرة في المنطقة فعلا، ولن تتردد اطرافها في استخدام كل ما في جعبتها من اسلحة، لان الدرس الذي تعلمه العرب من العراق، وغزوه واحتلاله، هو ان بقاء الانظمة المستهدفة مستحيل مهما قدمت من تنازلات، ولهذا ليس امامها غير خيار شمشون . ومثلما لم يتردد حزب الله في تسجيل ضرب العمق الاسرائيلي بالصواريخ، فانه لن يكون مفاجئا، او مستغربا، اذا ما لجأ الي استخدام اسلحة الدمار الشامل في اي مواجهة جديدة.
من الواضح ان الحلف السوري ـ الايراني المستهدف امريكيا واسرائيليا، ومن بعض حلفائهم العرب المعتدلين ، بات يميل الي التخلي عن استراتيجيته السابقة في التقوقع في خندق الدفاع، والتزام الصمت تجاه الطرف الآخر، وينتقل بشكل تدريجي متسارع الي استراتيجية الهجوم الاعلامي، في تزامن محسوب مع الاستعدادات العسكرية التقليدية وغير التقليدية. ولعل الانتقاد الساحق وغير المسبوق الذي شنه السيد فاروق الشرع نائب الرئيس السوري علي كل من السعودية ومصر، قائدتي ما يسمي بـ محور الاعتدال هو اول مؤشرات التوجه الجديد.
سورية التزمت الصمت لاكثر من ربع قرن تجاه حليفيها السابقين، مصر والسعودية، ولم توجه كلمة انتقاد واحدة لنظاميهما حتي بعد ان تفرقت السبل، وانهار مثلث التحالف الذي جمعها بهما وتوثق منذ غزو القوات العراقية للكويت عام 1990، وتجسد عمليا فيما سمي في ذلك الوقت بمنظومة دول اعلان دمشق ، ولهذا فان السؤال الذي يطرح نفسه بقوة هو عما دفع السيد الشرع الي شن هذا الهجوم علي النظامين المصري والسعودي، بهذا الوضوح، وتسمية الاشياء باسمائها وبالصوت والصورة، مثل قوله ان الملك السعودي عبد الله بن عبد العزيز، والرئيس المصري حسني مبارك لم يجرآ علي عقد قمة ثلاثية مع الرئيس بشار الاسد في الرياض خوفا من امريكا. او قوله ان السعودية عجزت عن اقناع الادارة الامريكية برفع الحصار المالي عن الفلسطينيين بعد توقيع اتفاق مكة الفلسطيني، وهي اقوي حلفاء واشنطن في المنطقة.
الاجابة علي هذه الاسئلة، وغيرها، يمكن استخلاصها من تعمق حال القطيعة، وحدوث الطلاق البائن الذي لا رجعة فيه بين النظام السوري وحلفائه السابقين في الاشهر الاخيرة، لان الاخيرين ذهبا بعيدا في التماهي مع الاستراتيجية الامريكية في المنطقة، وشاركا بحماس في ابرز اهدافها اي عزل سورية وحلفائها مثل حزب الله في لبنان، وحركة حماس في قطاع غزة، والتمهيد للدخول في حلف عسكري جديد مع اسرائيل والولايات المتحدة لضرب ايران، في حال فشل الجهود الدبلوماسية لإيجاد حل سلمي لأزمــــة المــفاعل النووي الايراني.
السيد وليد المعلم وزير الخارجية السوري اشتكي اكثر من مرة في جلسات خاصة، من رفض نظيره السعودي الامير سعود الفيصل زيارة دمشق تلبية للدعوات المتكررة من قبله، والسيد الشرع تحدث في خطابه في عيد الصحافيين عن رفض السعوديين المشاركة في اجتماع استضافته دمشق علي مستوي الخبراء لبحث الوضع في العراق، كما قال انها لم تلتزم باتفاق اقامة منطقة حرة بين البلدين، اي ان القطيعة امتدت حتي للجوانب الاقتصادية ايضا.
من الواضح ان المسؤولين السوريين توصلوا الي قناعة راسخة بان الشريك السعودي السابق اختار منحي مختلفا، وادار الظهر كليا لسورية، وانتقل الي مرحلة الايذاء، وبدأ بالحرب الاعلامية، وتحدث السيد الشرع صراحة عــن هذه المسألة عنـــدما قال ان وســائل الاعلام الســعــودية تتــحــدث مــرارا وتكــرارا، وبـ سلبية مؤســفة عن ســـورية خــلافا لوسائل الاعلام السورية آملا ان لا يتكرر ذلك في تهديد مبطن.
في الاسبوع الماضي، ويوم الاثنين السادس من آب (اغسطس) قطع الامير سعود الفيصل الشعرة الاخيرة في العلاقات مع سورية، عندما جدد في لقائه مع الصحافيين ما سماه بالمضامين التي وردت في الموقف الصادر عن مجلس الوزراء السعودي، وقال ان المملكة تحرص في كل مواقفها علي المحافظة علي مصالحها الوطنية، وأمنها، واستقرار شعبها، ووحدة العمل العربي، وتضامن العالم الاسلامي، و الفهم الواقعي للعالم والقوي المؤثرة فيه، وتري ان الطريق الي ذلك هو استقلالية القرار الوطني، والتعامل بندية وانفتاح مع دول العالم اجمع ووصل الي القول ان ما يحول دون ذلك هو القوي التي تتحدث باكثر من صوت، وتبحث عن مكامن الفرقة، وتبني مواقفها بعيدا عن الحقائق، وتعمل من اجل منفعتها الضيقة المباشرة، وان طريق التعامل مع ازمات المنطقة وتحقيق تقدم شعوبها ينبني علي تجاوز هذه القوي وشعاراتها وايديولوجياتها .
الامير سعود الفيصل لم يسم هذه القوي التي تريد بلاده تجاوزها، وايديولوجياتها، ولكن امبراطورية الاعلام السعودي الضخمة، قالت في اكثر من مقال لكتاب معروفين بعكسهم للسياسة الرسمية السعودية، بان الدولة المقصودة هنا هي سورية.
العارفون ببواطن الامور، في سورية يقولون ان هناك مدرستين داخل النظام السوري، واحدة تتسم بالمرونة والاعتدال، والتحلي باكبر قدر ممكن من ضبط النفس، والابقاء علي قنوات الاتصال مع واشنطن والغرب الاوروبي وحلفائهم من العرب، يمثلها جناح يتزعمه السيد وليد المعلم وزير الخارجية، ومدرسة اخري لا تري اي فائدة في مجاراة الغرب وحلفائه، وتؤكد علي ضرورة العودة الي ينابيع النهج السوري الاصلية، في التمسك بالثوابت القومية السورية في مواجهة السياسة الامريكية والاسرائيلية، واتباع نهج التصدي، وتثوير المنطقة مرة اخري. ويمثل هذه المدرسة السيد الشرع.
جناح الشرع عارض اعادة العلاقات الدبلوماسية مع النظام العراقي المنبثق من رحم الاحتلال، وطالب دائما بدعم المقاومة مثلما عارض اي تقارب مع محور الاعتدال العربي الذي يتبني حروب امريكا الحالية في العراق وافغانستان، والقادمة ضد ايران، مثلما عارض ايضا، وبقوة مسايرة لجنة التحقيق الدولية في مقتل الحريري رئيس وزراء لبنان الاسبق وشروطها المهينة، ولكن كفة الجناح الواقعي الذي يمثله السيد المعلم طوال العامين الماضيين كانت هي الأرجح.
الصورة تغيرت فيما يبدو، وباتت الاستراتيجية السورية الجديدة تنحاز الي جناح الصقور، في تبادل مدروس للأدوار، بسبب ادراك القيادة بان الوقت يمضي بسرعة، واحتمالات المواجهة مع اسرائيل وامريكا باتت اكبر وربما اسرع مما يتوقعه الكثيرون، ولم تعد هناك فائدة من الصمت والمسايرة والتخندق في خندق الدفاع والتغاضي عن حروب الطرف الآخر الاعلامية، والتحالفات السياسية والعسكرية المتسارعة التي ينسجها اقليميا ودوليا، وهذا ما يفسر مقاطعة سورية الكاملة لاجتماع وزراء خارجية الدول العربية الاخير الذي بحث مسألة تفعيل مبادرة السلام العربية، واستبعادها كليا من مؤتمر السلام الامريكي الذي دعا اليه الرئيس بوش في الخريف المقبل، وتقلص زيارات المسؤولين العرب الي عاصمتها، وخاصة السعوديين والمصريين.
السؤال هو: هل تبدأ سورية بترجمة استراتيجيتها الجديدة في خطوات عملية علي الارض، وكيف؟
من الصعب اعطاء اجابة حاسمة في هذا الخصوص، ولكن ما يمكن قوله هو ان تهديدات السيد حسن نصر الله وخطابه الجماهيري القوي والمعد جيدا وتزامنها في الوقت نفسه مع خطاب السيد الشرع وغير المسبوق في انتقاده للسعودية ومصر وامريكا ومؤتمر السلام المقبل والهرولة العربية اليه دون تبصر، وحدوث تحول في لهجة الاعلام السوري، كلها تؤشر الي بداية حرب اعلامية شرسة.
مشاكل سورية كثيرة ولكن الاساسية فيها هو ان محورها الذي تقف في خندقه يملك الارضية الوطنية القوية، ويرتكز علي منظمات وقوي شعبية تقاوم الاحتلال الاسرائيلي (حماس وحزب الله) ويمتلك الصواريخ وطابور الاستشهاديين، ولكنه لا يملك الأدوات الاعلامية الفاعلة والمؤثرة في اي حرب اعلامية مقبلة.
فقد كان لافتا ان محطة الجزيرة المدفعية الثقيلة التي عولت عليها الحكومة السورية طويلا وكثيرا لم تبث تهجمات السيد الشرع علي السعودية مثلما كان متوقعا منها، وفضلت اتخاذ موقف اقرب الي الحياد في هذا الصدد. وفي الوقت نفسه لا تتمتع الفضائية السورية بمصداقية كبيرة في اوساط الشارع العربي لانها ما زالت تتبع اساليب الحرب الباردة الاعلامية، او بالأحري الشق السوفييتي منها. بينما تملك الجبهة الاخري امبراطورية اعلامية ضخمة متعددة الاذرع، ومهيمنة بالكامل علي الساحة العربية.
التطور الاخطر الذي يمكن ان يكون بالغ التأثير، اذا ما لجأت اليه القيادة السورية، هو النزول الي ميدان العنف، او الارهاب ، لزعزعة استقرار خصومها. فليس هناك ابرع من المخابرات السورية في هذا الميدان، اذا ما قرروا اللجوء الي خيار شمشون اي علي وعلي اعدائي . ويكفي التذكير بان فتح الاسلام ورغم كونها ليست صنيعة المخابرات السورية، باعتراف العماد ميشال سليمان قائد الجيش اللبناني، وهو محق في ذلك لان الاصوليين الاسلاميين، والسعوديين منهم خاصة، يعتبرون النظام السوري نظاما علمانيا ملحدا، فان التسهيلات السورية هي التي ابقت هذه الجماعة علي صغرها، تصمد لمدة ثلاثة اشهر في مواجهة جيش رسمي جرار وتلحق به خسائر كبري في الارواح والمعنويات.
سورية حكمت المنطقة العربية بأسرها بـ العنف الفلسطيني طوال فترتي السبعينات والثمانينات وتستطيع اعادة الكرّة مرة اخري، فهناك الملايين من المحبطين من عمليات الإذلال والمهانة التي يتعرض لها العرب علي ايدي الامريكان وحلفائهم العرب، لكن السؤال الذي يطرح نفسه هو عما اذا كانت سورية تملك الوقت للسير في هذا النهج مرة اخري؟
الايام المقبلة حافلة بالمفاجآت، وهي قطعا ليست سارة لامريكا واسرائيل، ومحور الاعتدال العربي، فنحن امام صراع فيلة مقبل، ومرحلة اللاسلم واللاحرب، او بالاحري اللاحسم الحالية لن تطول في جميع الاحوال، ومفاجأة السيد نصر الله قد تكون واحدة منها فقط."

As U.S. Steps Up Pressure on Iran, Aftereffects Worry Allies

By Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 16, 2007; A09

(photo from antiwar.com)

"America's allies are increasingly concerned about the Bush administration's plans to unilaterally escalate pressure on Iran, fearing that an evolving strategy may also set in motion a process that could lead to military action if Iran does not back down, according to diplomats and officials of foreign countries.

Although they share deep concern about Iran's alleged nuclear ambitions, European and Arab governments are particularly alarmed about new U.S. moves, including plans to cite Iran's entire Revolutionary Guard Corps as a "specially designated global terrorist." The move would block the elite unit's assets and pressure foreign companies doing business with its vast commercial network.

Allies are less concerned about that step than they are about the new momentum behind it, and the potential for spillover in a region reeling with multiple conflicts. "If the region is strewn with crises, then there's potential for real disaster. There's a fear that they will all merge into a super-emergency bigger than any one country can deal with," a leading Arab envoy said.

Language from the State Department yesterday triggered further alarm. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters: "We are confronting Iranian behavior across a variety of different fronts on a number of different 'battlefields,' if you will. We are confronting Iran's behavior in arming and providing material support to those groups that are going after our troops. We confront them on the ground in Iraq. Our military is doing that. We are confronting Iran diplomatically in the international arena with respect to their nuclear program."

European envoys expressed alarm at the use of "battlefield" in describing policy on Iran......"

Backlash Over Book on Policy for Israel

"“The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy” is not even in bookstores, but already anxieties have surfaced about the backlash it is stirring, with several institutions backing away from holding events with the authors.

John J. Mearsheimer, a political scientist at the University of Chicago, and Stephen M. Walt, a professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, were not totally surprised by the reaction to their work. An article last spring in the London Review of Books outlining their argument — that a powerful pro-Israel lobby has a pernicious influence on American policy — set off a firestorm as charges of anti-Semitism, shoddy scholarship and censorship ricocheted among prominent academics, writers, policymakers and advocates. In the book, published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux and embargoed until Sept. 4, they elaborate on and update their case.

“Now that the cold war is over, Israel has become a strategic liability for the United States,” they write. “Yet no aspiring politician is going to say so in public or even raise the possibility” because the pro-Israel lobby is so powerful. They credit the lobby with shutting down talks with Syria and with moderates in Iran, preventing the United States from condemning Israel’s 2006 war in Lebanon and with not pushing the Israelis hard enough to come to an agreement with the Palestinians. They also discuss Christian Zionists and the issue of dual loyalty......."