Headlines for 03-10-08

Exhaustive review finds no link between Saddam, al Qaida An exhaustive review of more than 600,000 Iraqi documents that were captured after the 2003 U.S. invasion has found no evidence that Saddam Hussein's regime had any operational links with Osama bin Laden's al Qaida terrorist network.


Oil hits record at $108 a barrel America needs another Boston 'tea' party. Post haste.


Gulf War syndrome firmly linked to chemical exposure some of the damage was likely caused by pills prescribed to protect against the use of nerve gas and pesticides used to control sand flies, according to the study published in the Proceedings


Iran Ready to Talk Nuclear With Europe


US admits no silver bullet in US-led drive against Iran


Russia criticizes US ships off Lebanon


Iran-Gulf Arabs must talk to prevent crisis: Qatar PM Dialogue between Gulf Arabs and Iran over its nuclear ambitions is the best way to avoid another crisis in the oil-exporting region, Qatar's prime minister said.


Support drops for action on Iran "It appears that people in many countries are interested in ramping down the confrontation with Iran, while still using UN inspectors to ensure that Iran is not developing nuclear weapons," said Steven Kull, director of Pipa, which carried out the poll in partnership with Globescan, on behalf of the BBC World Service......However, the US government says it still sees Iran as a significant danger, and Israel says it believes it is aiming to build nuclear weapons.


The Iran hawks' latest surge . On the Iranian issue in particular, there has long been a close relationship between the Israeli and U.S. governments, and the NIE's disclosure set off a flurry of activity in both countries. It had put hawks in an extraordinary position: If they wanted to keep up the pressure to go after Iran -- using diplomacy and sanctions, or perhaps military force if deemed necessary -- they would now have to discredit the highest-level intelligence report produced by the United States. In Jerusalem, top Israeli leaders convened a meeting to decide how to deal with the problem. One result of the meeting was that when President Bush visited Israel in January, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak was tasked with briefing him on Israeli intelligence on Iran, allegedly including some new information, in order to convince Bush to continue applying maximum pressure on Iran.
Whose war is it?


Minister Boim accuses IAEA chief of serving as agent for Iran Housing Minister Ze'ev Boim has accused the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog of acting as an agent for Iran and of allowing the Islamic Republic to proceed with its uranium enrichment without international intervention.


Bush sends Cheney to meet PM, Abbas US Vice President Dick Cheney is expected to take Jerusalem to task for settlement construction during his visit to Israel and other regional countries next week.....[Bush] also touched on the primacy of the Iranian issues, saying that Cheney would convey that "we fully see the threats facing the Middle East - one such threat is Iran - and that we will continue to bolster our security agreements and relationships with our friends and allies."


Cheney to tour Middle-East states "His goal is to reassure people the US is committed to a vision of peace in the Middle East," Mr Bush said. BS. It's to keep up the support for any action vis a vis Iran.


A Strategy for Peace ? and Survival Our foreign policy has put us in mortal danger, and not only because it empowers the worldwide Islamist insurgency that aims to attack the American homeland, but also because the "Iraq recession" is fast threatening to become the Iraq depression. The U.S. is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, and the $3 trillion war is going to sink us if it isn't stopped.


Chuck Norris the only WMD in Iraq: US troops Hollywood action star Chuck Norris - known for his martial arts prowess and tough-guy image - has become a cult figure among the US military in Iraq and an unlikely hero for some in Iraq's security forces.


Israel's Peres welcomed to France, warned on settlements On another major issue, Iran, Peres told reporters after his talks with Sarkozy that the two leaders hold the same view that Tehran represents the "greatest danger" to world security


Cheney to discuss peace and oil on Middle East trip Cheney will also continue U.S. efforts to persuade allies to help curb Iran's growing influence in the region.


Gasoline price should hit record Tuesday: AAA U.S. average gasoline prices should hit an all-time peak on Tuesday and may break $4 a gallon in some areas this summer, battering consumers already reeling from high energy costs, according to travel and auto group AAA.


Iran students put bounties on heads of Israel leaders Iranian hardline students have offered rewards totalling a million dollars for the "execution" of three Israeli military leaders over the deadly strikes on Gaza, the student news agency ISNA reported on Monday.


With sex and Israeli connection, echoes of McGreevey in Spitzer controversy Mark Brener, the alleged pimp at the center of the prostitution scandal engulfing Spitzer, is an Israeli. I'm wondering if the Israelis are using such nationals in sex-related situations to lure our officials in to situations in which they could be easily bribed.


Intel assessment: War unlikely in '08


Senate Dems target Iran's bank The American Israel Public Affairs Committee strongly backs the letter. No sh#t? Never would've guessed that.