Headlines for 04-23-08

Iran says IAEA nuclear talks were "positive"


U.S. Military, Critics at Odds over 'Special Groups' In the ongoing conflict in Iraq, U.S. military commanders stress that their main enemies are the so-called "Special Groups," Shiite militants who receive training and equipment from Iran. U.S. officials say the special groups are loosely connected to the militia of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr. Critics, however, argue that the focus on special groups is part of a crafted political strategy that wholly exaggerates their role.


Gates calls Iran 'hell bent' on getting nuclear arms


Italy joins EU drive for more Iran sanctions


House Dems, Ron Paul targeted over surveillance votes New radio ads are running in districts of several Democratic members of Congress, as well as Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul, targeting the lawmakers for their opposition to a White House-backed surveillance bill. The ads play on national security fears in an attempt to spur these lawmakers to give in to the administration's demands....The ads come from the ostensibly nonpartisan group Defense of Democracies The Defense of Democracies is a neocon 'thinktank'. Go figure.


IAEA, Iran agree on process to clarify Iran's nuclear programs


Bush: US not in recession


Japan freezes Iranian assets over nuclear activities


US 'war on terror' backfiring, says thinktank


US man 'gave secrets to Israel' A military engineer has appeared in court in the US on charges of passing classified information to Israel. Kudos to the US Justice department - score one for the good guys!


Gen. Petraeus picked to lead Mideast command Central Command, whose headquarters is at Tampa, Fla., is responsible for U.S. military operations throughout the Middle East, Central Asia and the Horn of Africa, and thus oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.


Syria hands over 700 looted artifacts to Iraqi authorities Syria handed over a trove of some 700 looted artifacts to Iraq on Wednesday after seizing the items from traffickers since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.


N.J. man accused of spying for Israel The Pollard case for a short time devastated U.S.-Israel relations. In its aftermath, Israel swore never to run a spy again, and Americans broadened their information sharing with Israel to keep the Israelis from temptation. Yeh, that makes sense. Reward the thieves.


Clinton warns Iran of U.S. nuclear response Clinton said it was vital that the United States create a new "security umbrella" to reassure Israel and its other allies in the region that they would not be threatened by Iran. She said she would tell them that "if you were the subject of an unprovoked nuclear attack by Iran, the United States, and hopefully our NATO allies, would respond to that."


Israel downplays US spy affair


FBI Claims a Confession in Israel Spy Case


Oil pauses for breath near $120


Israel downplays US spy affair


Israel says no spying on US since 1985 HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Hilarious! I bet the Justice Department isn't buying it either.


Former prosecutor says new spy case shows that Pollard case was bigger than thought DiGenova says the similarities are eerie. He says it clearly indicates the case is bigger than these two.


Turning the Page on US Foreign Policy, Part 2


Ross Issues Urgent Warning on Iran The U.S. and its allies probably have no more than a year to take action against Iran before that nation acquires nuclear weapons, warns Dennis Ross, an architect of the Mideast peace process. Why? Has Iran threatened us (in the absence of any threats we've made towards them) ,ATTACKED us? NO. So, why is it our job to disarm Iran of any purported nuclear weapons? Who made it so? ISRAEL. And not coincidentally, Dennis Ross is a staunch Israel-supporter.


Report: Olmert ready to cede Golan Israel reportedly has agreed to withdraw from the Golan Heights as part of a peace deal with Syria


Al-Qaeda accuses Iran of 9/11 lie Correspondents say the comments underline al-Qaeda's increasing public hostility towards Iran.


US Takes Counterinsurgency Lessons From Israel Iraq, it seems, is surging toward Gaza.
This fact is not missed by average Iraqis..... What we are seeing in Iraq today has much less to do with the declared shift in U.S. military doctrine than with a deeper and more far-reaching "Israelization" of U.S. military strategy and tactics over the past two decades that was only heightened by America's misadventures in the Middle East after Sept. 11, 2001.



ANALYSIS: New espionage affair may be old story, but will greatly damage Israel


Turkey reassures Syria on Israel peace feelers: reports Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has assured Syria that Israel is ready to return all of the Golan Heights, reports said on Wednesday amid renewed peace feelers between the bitter foes.


Bill Kristol, great man of sacrifice, on the duties of Passover People continue to be slaughtered and Americans sent to die so that his ideological dreams of an America-dominated Middle East and an Israel unconstrained by anyone or anything can be realized. As the wars and "sacrifices" rage on, his career as a War Commentator consequently flourishes, with more appearances on Fox, more readers for the war-loving Weekly Standard, and now even a column in the New York Times, itself the by-product of nepotistic connections, from which he preaches to the little people of their need to continue to sacrifice for his wars.



Jimmy Carter Gets the Point by Philip Giraldi Carter was also lacerated by the U.S. media, which did not report the visit in detail except to criticize it. The Washington Post's neocon-dominated editorial page was the most strident, denouncing Carter for embracing Hamas' terrorists. According to the Post, Hamas engages in "deliberate targeting of civilians," such as the Israeli town of Sderot, which "suffers daily rocket attacks." The Post seems unaware of Israeli targeting of civilians when it can't find an actual "militant" to kill......It is particularly ironic that the Israelis killed 20 Palestinians on April 16, all civilians and including five children, the day on which Obama made his speech and the White House was criticizing Carter's efforts.


Study: Muslim anti-Semitism threatens Israel The study singled out Iran as a country whose anti-Semitism poses a potential threat to Israel's existence, given Tehran's supposed nuclear program. Wow. The BS being spewed forth gets ever thicker.


Al Qaeda deputy criticises Muslims for not backing insurgencies Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant also blasted Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas over their reported readiness to consider a peace deal with Israel.


Dreary verses of the Bush-Cheney years Many of Cheney's hard-line allies from the first term are gone: the discredited Rumsfeld; Paul Wolfowitz, the architect of the Iraq war; Douglas Feith; Scooter Libby. The vice president's office may be the last power center in Washington that wants war with Iran.


US to release Syria nuke details 'soon' Asked when the public would be told about what US intelligence has picked up, Defence Secretary Robert Gates would only say "soon".

Who provided the US with this 'intelligence', is the real question.


From Dec. 2001: The Fox News report on the Israeli spy ring in America


Iran seeks to block Canadian NGO Ezrin said Iran is objecting in part because the Canadian Council is not involved in anti-racism or anti-discrimination work.


Israel Sees Iran Threat Recede


Israel 'ready to return Golan'


UN chief calls for immediate presidential elections in Lebanon and disarming of Hezbollah Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Monday for immediate presidential elections in Lebanon without foreign interference and told Syria and Iran they must support the disarmament of Hezbollah's well-armed militia.