Headlines for 11-12-07

Veterans deserve better Bush and Congress agree that veterans' care needs a spending boost, but both are holding it hostage to more divisive issues.



Merkel, Sarkozy say sanctions and trade curbs on Iran possible Merkel said she and Sarkozy had also considered other ways to tighten the screws on Iran if no agreement on sanctions could be struck within the UN Security Council.


Britain threatens sanctions on Iran


US sniper acquitted of murdering Iraqis A US military sniper has been acquitted of murder charges linked to the killing of three Iraqis earlier this year but jailed him for other offences, the US military said on Saturday.


Experts: Danger of Nuclear-Armed Iran Hyped the White House and its partisans may be inflating the dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran, say experts on the Persian Gulf and nuclear deterrence. While there are dangers, they acknowledge, Iran appears to want a nuclear weapon for the same reason other countries do: to protect itself.


Israelis urge EU to get tougher on Iran Senior Israeli officials are touring Europe this week to raise the alarm about Iran's accelerating nuclear programme and urge EU governments to take tougher sanctions without waiting for the United Nations.


Iran president attacks 'traitors' Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has denounced as "traitors" those in Iran who have criticised its nuclear programme, state media have reported.


Suitcase nukes said unlikely to exist government experts and intelligence officials say such a threat gets vastly more attention than it deserves. These officials said a true suitcase nuke would be highly complex to produce, require significant upkeep and cost a small fortune.


Who?s the Enemy? And, nearly a year after President Bush proclaimed Iran to be Public Enemy No. 1 in Iraq, blaming Tehran for supporting both Al Qaeda and Shia militias, things are even getting better on that front. Last week, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates declared that Iran had quietly promised to halt the smuggling of weapons and advanced roadside bombs into Iraq. "I don't know whether to believe them. I'll wait and see," he said, in what was a rather dramatic downgrading of the White House?s warnings about Iran.


18 Veterans Arrested in Antiwar Protest


Middle East Expert Rami G. Khouri To Answer Viewer Questions Rami George Khouri, executive editor of the Beirut, Lebanon-based The Daily Star newspaper, will speak at the Madison Civics Club on Nov. 17, giving a presentation titled "A Fair and Balanced View from the Arab World."


Peres, Gul at odds over Iran nuke threat Peres told Gul that Israel could not accept a nuclear Iran. In response, Gul said that while Turkey was against the development and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, it did believe that countries had the right to develop alternative sources of energy.....In what officials said was an odd break in the rules of international diplomacy, Peres spoke frankly at a press conference following the meeting and told reporters that he disagreed with Gul. He said he told the Turkish leader that Israel was not willing to accept Ankara's line of thinking and that Iran, which has vast resources of oil and natural gas, was not in need of an alternative source of energy.


Federations to press Iran issue The measure calls on the UJC and Jewish federations to act in concert with the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and Jewish community relations councils around the United States to initiate, coordinate and fund expanded efforts to educate and mobilize the Jewish community and global community about the threats posed by a nuclear Iran.