Headlines for 09-11-07

Thousands of GIs cope with brain damage The war in Iraq is not over, but one legacy is already here in this city and others across America: an epidemic of brain-damaged soldiers.


Report: VA distorts record on wait times The Department of Veterans Affairs repeatedly understated wait times for injured veterans seeking medical care and in many serious cases forced them to wait more than 30 days, counter to department policy, an internal investigation shows.


New York - and Bin Laden - remember 9/11


The 'proxy war': UK troops are sent to Iranian border ** British forces have been sent from Basra to the volatile border with Iran amid warnings from the senior US commander in Iraq that Tehran is fomenting a "proxy war". In signs of a fast-developing confrontation, the Iranians have threatened military action in response to attacks launched from Iraqi territory while the Pentagon has announced the building of a US base and fortified checkpoints at the frontier.


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


Iran warns over 'US weak points' in Iraq, Afghanistan The new head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned the United States Tuesday that Tehran has identified its "weak points" in Iraq and Afghanistan and would launch a crushing response to any attack.


US general's plan means 10 more years of war: Democrats


Russia tests superstrength bomb, military says


Bush 'to announce Iraq troop cut' President George W Bush will this week announce he plans to reduce US troops in Iraq by about 30,000 by next summer


Iranian Raises Possibility of an Intrusion Into Iraq In a sharp escalation of a dispute over border fighting, an official Iranian delegation at a diplomatic conference here warned Sunday that if the Iraqi government could not stop militants from crossing into Iran and carrying out attacks, the Iranian authorities would respond militarily.


Reports Iranian arms reaching Taliban worry U.S. The United States is concerned over reports that Iranian-made weapons are crossing the Afghan border and reaching Islamist Taliban insurgents, a top U.S. diplomat said on Tuesday.


New bin Laden video shows 9/11 hijacker A new Osama bin Laden videotape released today on the sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks shows one of the suicide hijackers speaking his last will and testament into the camera as his image is superimposed upon an image of a burning World Trade Centre.


Lieberman blames Iran for Iraq attacks, asks if invasion should be authorized ** Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, who is among the Senate's fiercest hawks, blamed Iran for the deaths of "hundreds of American troops," and claimed the US has evidence that Iran is training insurgents outside Tehran before sending them to Iraq. He asked whether the US should expand its invasion into Iran.


9-11, Six Years Later Contrary to popular belief, we were not attacked because of our freedoms, because we're 'infidels' or because of our lifestyle/clothing. Our unconditional support of Israel's policies against the Palestinians was the primary motivation behind the attacks of September 11.


Retreat of the anti-war Democrats by Patrick J. Buchanan


Anti-Iran hype reaches fever pitch ** With strong links to US Vice President Dick Cheney's office and the White House, Washington-based AEI has, since the attacks of September 11, 2001, enjoyed unparalleled influence in shaping US interventionist policy in the Middle East. The think-tank helped lead the drive to war in Iraq, and more recently has assumed a prominent role in rallying for regime change in Iran.
These neocons are the biggest threat to this nation.


Rally to protest Ahmadinejad visit


Opec agrees to raise oil output


The Mystery of al-Qaeda Perhaps bin Laden knows whereof he speaks when he raises the overlapping interests of the neocons and the world's most wanted terrorists. This odd parallelism was noted in a BBC documentary made a couple of years ago, The Power of Nightmares, and bin Laden himself adds a whole new dimension to this in his recent video. He is, it seems, quite aware of his ideological doppelgängers and their power in the U.S


US says Israel jets struck Syria ** Israeli jets carried out an air strike in Syria last week, a US defence official has said. Dry run.


Local people against rebuilding of Palestinian refugee camp problems of unexploded ordnance, unsafe buildings and the danger of disease inside the devastated camp will take many months to overcome before reconstruction can even begin, and the government is now facing a growing chorus of anger from local residents such as Rawa Fiyad, who say they do not want to see Nahr al-Bared rebuilt at all.


Democratic Party Arm Calls Walt & Mearsheimer's Ideas 'Downright Dangerous' According to the JTA (my favorite wire service), the National Jewish Democratic Council has said that Walt and Mearsheimer's ideas are "irresponsible" and "downright dangerous."


'War was Israeli-Iranian'


Israel tried to attack ground targets in Syria, says Bishara "This could also have been an attempt to expose a breach in Syrian radar, allowing somehow to make way to Iran. This, of course, was impossible without Turkey's cooperation which the Israelis didn't seem to have. Either that or Turkey was flustered when IAF fuel tanks were found in its territory, prompting it to ask for an official explanation.


Syria struggles with Iraqi influx what the United Nations calls the biggest refugee crisis in Middle East since the flight of the Palestinians is still getting little attention from the outside world. Western (including Israeli) policies have made millions of Arabs refugees.


Syria complains to U.N. Syria filed a complaint with the United Nations over Israel's apparent violation of its airspace.


German official downplays Iranian threat ?The key interest of Iran is not destroying Israel,? said Roland Koch, president of the German state of Hesse. ?They want to be a respected member of society.?


Obama: Walt-Mearsheimer 'dead wrong' "Although Mr. Obama had not read the book, he was familiar with its arguments and disagreed with them," a statement from the campaign said, referring to the book "The Israel Lobby" by John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen Walt of Harvard University. What an utter ass-kisser.


CNN: U.S. pleased by Israel's Syria flyover The United States reportedly is pleased by Israel's alleged incursion of Syria last week.


U.S. Supports Israel Because Of Americans, Not Lobby The Lobby is crying long and hard over the new book by Messrs. Mearsheimer and Walt.


Chile and Brazil to receive Palestinian refugees UNHCR welcomes a decision by the Chilean government to receive 100 Palestinian refugees who had been living in Iraq, and who have been forced to live in destitute conditions on Iraq's borders over the past few years.


Henry Kissinger: Realist, or Neocon? by Philip Giraldi One of the most disturbing attributes of the neoconservatives is their willingness to subordinate the United States' national interests to those of Israel. To be sure, the attempt is frequently made to demonstrate that the two nations' interests are identical, but a careful analysis of the impact of Israel's domestic and foreign policies can only conclude that the relationship has been detrimental to the United States.


Wife of Islamist chief in Lebanon insists he is dead The wife of Fatah al-Islam chief Shaker al-Abssi insisted on Tuesday that her husband is dead and that a body she viewed at a morgue was his, despite DNA tests that have proved otherwise.


Jimmy Carter steps into the Hollywood spotlight Taking part in the film festival's first geo-political talk, taped for television, Carter called for Washington to hold "direct talks" with Iran, laid out his vision for Mideast peace and lamented the "unwarranted and unprecedented" religious fundamentalism that has crept into US politics. In a stinging attack on US President George W. Bush and his Christian supporters, he said: "I worship Christ who was the prince of peace, not pre-emptive war."



Syria visas 'halt fleeing Iraqis'