Headlines for 03-20-08

Architect of War(s) The containment and eventual emasculation of Iran has always been the Administration's principal post-Iraq objective in the Persian Gulf, and now that Cheney can claim a "successful" outcome to its first war in the region, it can begin laying groundwork for the next. The chief obstacle standing in the way of war against Iran has been the opposition of senior US military officers, who fear that another major military operation would further burden America's already overstretched combat forces.


Russia obtained US guarantees on missile shield: Lavrov The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, says the United States has given Moscow guarantees that its proposed anti-missile shield "will not be directed" against Russia


At least 200 arrested in US anti-war protests


Beware an attack on Iran


Israel, U.S. commanders test 'extreme' scenarios in joint drill At the completion of the exercise, both the Israeli and the U.S. sides announced that extreme scenarios were tested that challenged the participating armies to assist each other. The scenarios were set in the present and based on events of the past several years or events that are expected to occur in the near future.


Bush picks new homeland security adviser From the White House, Ken Wainstein will coordinate efforts "to ensure that we continue to make progress on combating terrorism, securing our borders and strengthening our emergency preparedness," Bush said in a statement


US economist calls financial crisis worst since 1930s


World trade decelerates almost to a standstill


Why Did the US Invade Iraq? According to a 1996 paper drafted by prominent hard-line neoconservatives ? including some, like Douglas Feith and David Wurmser, who would later serve in senior posts in Cheney's office and the Pentagon in the run-up to the invasion ? ousting Hussein and installing a pro-Western leader was the key to destabilizing Israel's Arab enemies and/or bending them to its will. This would permit the Jewish state not only to escape the Oslo peace process, but also to secure as much of the occupied Palestinian (and Syrian) territories as it wished. Indeed, getting rid of Hussein and occupying Iraq would not only tighten Israel's hold on Arab territories, in this view; it could also threaten the survival of the Arab and Islamic worlds' most formidable weapon against Israel ? OPEC ? by flooding the world market with Iraqi oil and forcing the commodity's price down to historic lows.



Cheney trip not aimed at preparing Iran strike US Vice President Dick Cheney?s nine-day trip to the Middle East and Turkey does not aim to set the stage for a US military strike on Iran, a senior aide said on Thursday......."The vice president talked about the concerns we have about the full range of their activities," said the official, underlining what the United States sees as "an increase in the Iranian relationship with Hamas." Riiiight. And even if we believe that there is such an "an increase in the Iranian relationship with Hamas", what the hell does that have to do with the AMERICAN national interest?


Annan warns against conflict with Iran


Bin Laden says free Gaza with "iron and fire" "My speech is about the Gaza siege and the way to retrieve it and the rest of Palestine from the hands of the Zionist enemy," the Saudi-born militant said. "Our enemies did not take it by negotiations and dialogue but with fire and iron. And this is the way to get it back."




Russian FM warns military action on Iran 'disastrous' Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday warned that any military means to solve Iran's controversial nuclear programme would have a "disastrous" effect.


Court bans Libby from practicing law


Sen. Chuck Hagel Calls for Independent Leadership, Suggests New Party in Book U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel writes in a new book that the United States needs independent leadership and possibly another political party, while suggesting the war in Iraq might be remembered as one of the five biggest blunders in history.


The year of living dangerously Avi Steindel is glad to be back in Pittsburgh after spending a year as an Israeli army sharpshooter Is there something wrong with serving in THIS nation's military?


Russian FM meets Syria's Assad


'Bin Laden' in Palestinian call "It can be said with a high degree of confidence that it is in fact the voice of Osama Bin Laden," a CIA official told Reuters news agency.


McCain: A History of Being Wrong About Al Qaeda, Iraq and Iran


US launches legal review of Swiss-Iran gas deal Here's why. And again.


McCain in Holy Land; Evangelicals satisfied Although many American Jews do not view McCain's ties with Hagee favorably, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) decided to allow him to speak at its recent annual convention.