Headlines for 12-13-07

Russia, Iran 'agree nuclear deal' Mr Shmatko said the controversial delivery of nuclear fuel, after which the plant could begin operating within six months, would go ahead, although he again did not say when.


US admits 'tactical differences' with Russia, China on Iran


Some Republicans question Iran finding on Wednesday, a senior intelligence official told reporters that intelligence analysts are aware of the political tumult surrounding the report but don't worry about the political repercussions of their judgments.....Analysts focus on making certain their reports are sound, logical and based on reliable information, he said.


US marine guilty of Iraq killing


US missile shield 'needed against Iran threat' Acting Undersecretary of State John Rood has met Russian diplomats in Budapest for a series of talks to allay Russian concerns about the radars and intercepting missiles Washington plans to place in the Czech Republic and Poland.


Iran, NKorea and Mideast top Rice agenda


Iran, IAEA wrap up latest nuclear talks: official


Iran kills Sunni rebels planning attacks: police


China urges 2-track approach on Iran China wants a two-track approach in trying to resolve the dispute with Iran over its nuclear program ? a revitalized diplomatic initiative along with a new U.N. resolution on sanctions, Beijing's U.N. ambassador said Thursday,


Iranian rockets handed over by Iraqis: US-led military Iraqi civil defence members have found 14 Iranian-made rockets and handed them to coalition forces, the US-led military said on Thursday.


Key Neocons Giving Up on Iran Attack? **


1 Acquitted in Sears Tower Plot One of seven defendants was acquitted Thursday of plotting to destroy Chicago's Sears Tower and wage war against the U.S., and a mistrial was declared for the remaining six after the federal jury deadlocked on them.


Neocons Down, Not Out the NIE represented a declaration of independence by professional U.S. intelligence analysts who had been bullied by the neocons over the past three decades and especially during the run-up to the war with Iraq.....Though Bush and the neocons again find themselves on the defensive, the political battle is far from over. The neocons retain extraordinary strength within the U.S. news media as well as in the leading Washington think tanks and inside many of the presidential campaigns


Iran tests long-range missile Iran has secretly tested a new long-range missile, Israel's intelligence services said.


US wants nuclear-free Middle East US ambassador Gregory Schulte told the Gulf Studies Centre on Wednesday that "Israel never signed the (nuclear) Non-Proliferation Treaty, so never violated the NPT."


Secret U.S. Intelligence Court Intends To Keep Wiretap Rulings Under Wraps A secret U.S. intelligence court has issued its third public ruling in 30 years, declaring that while it agrees on the benefits of making its rulings on warrantless wiretapping public, it will keep them secret.


Waterboarding Our Democracy When the CIA destroyed those prisoner interrogation videotapes, was it also destroying the truth about 9/11? After all, according to the 9/11 Commission Report, the basic narrative of what happened on that day-and the definition of the enemy in this war on terror that George W. Bush launched in response to the tragedy-comes from the CIA's account of what those prisoners told their torturers. The commission was never allowed to interview the prisoners, or speak with those who did, and was instead forced to rely on what the CIA was willing to relay.


Lawmaker: N. Korea halts work with Syria


US Jews Tilt Rightwards on Israel The very well-endowed Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), a group of mainly pro-Likud and neoconservative donors, is also likely to play a strong role in next year's election. Several RJC leaders helped found Freedom's Watch, a group that is expected to spend as much as 200 million dollars over the next year to promote Bush's "war on terror" and more hawkish policies directed against Iran and other perceived threats to Israel's security.


Syria hints at 'Israel's connection' in Lebanese general's killing Syria condemned the killing of a senior Lebanese army officer in a blast in eastern Beirut on Wednesday and hinted that Israel may have been behind the attack,


Jewish Chauvinism in Feith's, and Friedman's, Back Pages It would be hard to think of two men who played a more significant role in pushing the Iraq war than Feith and Friedman. Both at heart romantics about Israel, they both invoked Israel's security in justifying the disastrous invasion


North Korea may have aided Hezbollah: U.S. report The CRS document also cited a report by a prominent South Korean academic, Moon Chung-in, that the Mossad Israeli intelligence agency believed that "vital missile components" used by Hezbollah against Israel came from North Korea.


Iran condemns general's assassination IRAN has strongly condemned the killing of a top Lebanese army officer, and said Israel is the only one to benefit from unrest in Lebanon, state television has reported.


Bush balks at call for Syria info President Bush is threatening to veto an intelligence bill in part because it would require revelations about an Israeli strike on Syria......Ros-Lehtinen is close to the pro-Israel community and hopes to use the revelation to justify further sanctions on Syria. Ros-Lehtinen's pro-Israel activities on Capitol Hill are borderline if not all out treasonous. She is one of Israel's top two agents therein.


Men questioned over Lebanon blast Lebanese police are questioning several men after Wednesday's car bombing in Beirut which killed a general expected to become army chief, officials say.


No time to ease up on Iran Locals dubious about newly released arms data Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, founder and president of The Israel Project, a District-based advocacy organization, questioned the believability of NIE conclusion, and termed it "one of the most damaging things that could have been done to Israel's security in recent memory." And strangely, it was one of the most beneficial things that could have been done to AMERICA's security in recent memory. Imagine.


U.N. envoy: NIE report hurts Zhalmay Khalilzad, in remarks Thursday to the Union for Reform Judaism biennial in San Diego, said the National Intelligence Estimate has made it more difficult for the United States to push for new and tougher sanctions against Iran.


Stone to make Ahmadinejad biopic? Oliver Stone wants to make a biopic about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, according to Iranian press reports.


Israel's German envoy: Stand up to Iran A tough stand against Iran is necessary, he told reporters, despite U.S. intelligence reports showing that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003.


Judge Drops Contempt Citation Against Al-Arian A federal judge has lifted a civil contempt citation against a Palestinian Arab activist and former professor, Sami Al-Arian, after prosecutors essentially relented in their effort to keep him behind bars for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating Islamic charities in Northern Virginia......
However, the former professor will not be released immediately



Bush warns against Syrian interference in Lebanon


Assassination pulls Lebanese army into power game Damascus has discerned the hand of Israel in the death of a man whose car was blown up back in 1976 after he refused to join a pro-Israeli militia in his southern home village of Rmeish.


Audio: Gingrich: ?US Intelligence Report on Iran is Dishonest?