INDEX RESEARCH

Index Research will focus on a country or an issue which is of particular interest to me. Articles have appeared on http://www.afterdowningstreet.org http://www.albasrah.net http://www.aljazeerah.info http://www.bellaciao.org http://www.brussellstribunal.org http://www.globalresearch.ca http://www.informationclearinghouse.info http://www.mediachannel.org http://www.uruknet.info http://www.williambowles.info and others.

Monday, November 27, 2006

Index on Afghanistan : November 2006

by Sarah Meyer
Index Research


Has Rumsfeld Really Gone?


Rumsfeld and "elected" President Karzai

Rumsfeld retired, but the disastrous Iraq and NATO ‘plans’ roll on unobstructed, with a little help from Rumsfeld’s UN-Nato ally, Victoria Nuland. Meanwhile, ‘Exit Strategy’ are the mots du jour amongst the “elected” leaders of and invading forces in both war-ravaged countries.

A coalition of US and international human rights groups announced a "plan to file a war crimes lawsuit" against Rumsfeld, and 13 others*.

Junior Bush has a knack for nominating strange bedfellows. Two U.S. NATO commanders, who headed notorious prisons, are not on the war crimes list. U.S. Army Chief Branz Craddock was an assistant to Rumsfeld and oversaw Guantanamo. Army General Dan K. McNeil oversaw the disgraced Bagram Prison in Afghanistan.

It would appear that no participatory NATO country in Afghanistan has the least idea what Rumsfeld’s big idea, ‘Global NATO’, actually entails. And have any Mainstream Media actually read the PNAC documents in which Rumsfeld spells out with 'cutesy' vocabulary, the US imperial policy, which is now destroying the NATO enterprise in Afghanistan? Even now, the US is still trying to run the show and change the ground rules.

‘Global NATO’ is a Psycho-Pop cover-up term for a U.S. military operation that financially benefits ONLY corporate America and its greedy arms industries. A small amount of reading would clarify the US imperial plans for NATO.

Now that the U.S. government has blamed their puppet, Maliki, for the U.S. occupation’s disaster in Iraq, is the blame also to fall, soon, on Karzai for the NATO fiasco?

*Along with Rumsfeld, Gonzales and Tenet, the other defendants in the case are:
• Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Stephen Cambone;
• former assistant attorney general Jay Bybee;
• former deputy assisant attorney general John Yoo;
• General Counsel for the Department of Defense William James Haynes II; and
• David S. Addington, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff.
• Senior military officers named in the filing are General Ricardo Sanchez, the former top Army official in Iraq;
• Gen. Geoffrey Miller, the former commander of Guantanamo;
• senior Iraq commander, Major General Walter Wojdakowski;
• Col. Thomas Pappas, the one-time head of military intelligence at Abu Ghraib.


UPDATE: New NATO commander raises questions
08.12.06. RADIO NETHERLANDS. Human rights groups have expressed concern over the appointment of NATO's new military chief who was sworn in at the Alliance's military headquarters in Belgium on Thursday. General Bantz John Craddock, who is taking over from General James Jones as Supreme Commander of all NATO forces, has a long and glittering military career. But there is one major stain on his otherwise impeccable military record - Guantanamo Bay.

1. ISAF / PRT Map of Afghanistan (15.11.06)
2. Oil and Gas in Afghanistan
3. Strategic Imperatives: Reports & Documents; Articles
4. Military Contracts
5. NATO, General
6. NATO, participating countries (Belgium; Canada; Germany; Holland; Poland; Sweden; UK
7. Corporate Investment in Afghanistan
8. Opium
9. Human Rights, War Crimes: Documents / Reports; Articles; Case Studies
10. Some of the Dead in Afghanistan: ‘regrets’ are not enough.
11. War Crimes: The Dead and Future Dead
12. References

Please also see :

Index on Afganistan to end .08.06.

Nato: The Bathtub of Unreadiness

Afghanistan: NATO is now US-ATO

Index on Afghanistan September 2006

Index on Afghanistan October 2006

I would be grateful, if you use this document for source material, if you would mention Index on Afghanistan. Thank you.

1. A map of Afghanistan showing the Provincial Reconstruction Teams; Data valid as of 15 November 2006.




2. Oil and Gas in Afghanistan

Why Are Canadians Dying in Afghanistan? For Oil?
16.11.06. J. Warnock, Global Research.ca. ‘Remembrance Day this year brought home to many Canadians the reality of Canada’s war in Afghanistan. Despite a campaign by the mass media, recent public opinion polls reveal that around fifty percent of Canadians think the government should bring our kids home. Hardly a day goes by that we don’t hear some Canadian general or colonel strongly advocate an active military role in Afghanistan. We are told that Canadian forces are fighting a war to defeat the Taliban, defend the democratic government in Kabul, and help with economic reconstruction. But when U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice comes to Canada, she emphasizes that Canada is in Afghanistan to support U.S. policy objectives. … The new administration of George W. Bush began talks with the Taliban government, which went from February 2 to August 6, 2001. Dick Cheney’s report on U.S. energy needs, released in May 2001, called for major U.S. involvement in the development of the Caspian Sea reserves. … Despite what we hear from our political and military leaders, this war to support U.S. oil policy is not going well.’

Hollow visions of Palestine’s future
17.11.06. J. Cook, ICH. ‘David Grossman’s widely publicised speech at the annual memorial rally for Yitzhak Rabin earlier this month has prompted some fine deconstruction of his “words of peace” from critics. … In reality, of course, Grossman draws from the same ideological well-spring as Israel’s founders and its greatest warriors. He embodies the same anguished values of Labor Zionism that won Israel international legitimacy just as it was carrying out one of history’s great acts of ethnic cleansing: the expulsion of some 750,000 Palestinians, or 80 per cent the native population, from the borders of the newly established Jewish state. … Remove the halo with which he has been crowned by the world’s liberal media and Grossman is little different from Zionism’s most distinguished statesmen, those who also ostentatiously displayed their hand-wringing or peace credentials as, first, they dispossessed the Palestinian people of most of their homeland; then dispossessed them of the rest; then ensured the original act of ethnic cleansing would not unravel; and today are working on the slow genocide of the Palestinians, through a combined strategy of their physical destruction and their dispersion as a people. … David Ben Gurion, for example, masterminded the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948 before very publicly agonising over the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza -- even if only because of the demographic damage that would be done to the Jewish state as a result.

Golda Meir refused to recognise the existence of the Palestinian people as she launched the settlement enterprise in the occupied territories, but did recognise the anguish of Jewish soldiers forced to “shoot and cry” to defend the settlements. Or as she put it: “We can forgive you [the Palestinians] for killing our sons. But we will never forgive you for making us kill yours.”

Yitzhak Rabin, Grossman’s most direct inspiration, may have initiated a “peace process” at Oslo (even if only the terminally optimistic today believe that peace was really its goal), but as a soldier and politician he also personally oversaw the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian cities like Lid in 1948. … ’


3. Strategic Imperatives: Reports & Documents; Articles; Media

• REPORTS

Countering Afghanistan’s Insurgency: No Quick Fixes
02.11,06. International Crisis Group. Summary and Report. “The desire for a quick, cheap war followed by a quick, cheap peace is what has brought Afghanistan to the present, increasingly dangerous situation. It has to be recognised that the armed conflict will last many years but the population needs to be reassured now that there is a clear political goal of an inclusive state. … Wrong-headed choices of allies within Afghanistan and across the border have contributed greatly to the current crisis.” (more) Recommendations given.


• ARTICLES

Enforcing insecurity in Afghanistan
01.11.06. S. Kolhatkar / J. Ingalls, Z Net. Overview of the Afghani situation from Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence. The authors are also the co-directors of the Afghan Women’s Mission, a U.S.-based non-profit organization that works with the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA).

Defence Secretary under fire over Taleban comeback
01.11.06. Loyd / Browne.

I will build more and kill less, says Nato's Afghanistan general
01.11.06. Evans / Loyd, Times on Line.

FACTBOX-Foreign hostages in Afghanistan
03.11.06. Reuters /

Time for Rumsfeld to go
04.11.06. Army Times.

No Clear Strategy in Afghanistan, Say Britons
04.11.06. Angus-Reid. Many adults (64%) in Britain question their country’s role in the war on terrorism, according to a poll by YouGov.

Afghan politician flays U.S., Britain roles in Afghanistan
04.11.06. Xinuanet. Padram opposed the presence of the U.S. and the UK forces unless they get legitimacy and mandate from the UN and Afghan parliament.

C.I.A. Review Highlights Afghan Leader’s Woes
05.11.06. Rohde / Risen. NY Times.

NGOs in Afghanistan fear backlash over NATO’s humanitarian role
07.11.06. Online News.

Rumsfeld resigns as US Defense Secretary
08.11.06. The Jurist.

US was warned of Iraq chaos, says ex-diplomat
09.11.06. A. McSmith, Independent. Mr Ross said when he was serving in the embassy in Afghanistan, as early as April 2002, British officials there knew troops were being held back in readiness for the Iraq invasion.

Staggering New Bill For Iraq?
09.11.06. Forbes. The U.S. armed services have requested a $160 billion supplemental appropriation to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the remainder of fiscal year 2007.

Italy wants review of international strategy in Afghanistan
AP. Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema also called on the United States to focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. … D'Alema made the comments on the eve of a trip to Afghanistan, where he will hold talks Saturday with President Hamid Karzai as well as with U.N. and EU envoys. He said he would press Afghan and international officials to hold a global conference on the future of the country. "The strategy of military intervention that has been followed so far unfortunately has turned out to be ineffective.”

Afghan violence 'likely to rise'
16.11.e06. BBC. (Shades of Iraq?) General Michael Maples said that insurgents had expanded their operations and abilities even while incurring serious combat losses. Gen Maples is head of the US Defence Intelligence Agency.

U.S. Airstrikes Climb Sharply in Afghanistan
17.11.06. D. Cloud, NY Times / anti-war.com. ‘The Air Force has conducted more than 2,000 airstrikes in Afghanistan over the past six months, a sharp increase in bombing that reflects the growing demand for American air cover since NATO has assumed a larger ground combat role, Air Force officials said.’

In Afghanistan, European troops avoid combat
16.11.06. P. Koring, Reporter News.com. ‘Troops from most major European nations are kept far from the fighting in Afghanistan, crippling NATO's effort to defeat the Taliban and secure the embattled south, according to NATO officers and independent analysts. .. That leaves U.S., British and Canadian soldiers doing most of the fighting and dying in the battle with the fierce Taliban insurgency, a review of casualties shows.’


• MEDIA

For One Reporter, Embedding Is Journalistic Folly
02.11.06. M. Weisskopf, NPR. “It became very difficult to objectively assess the role of U.S. soldiers who were housing, feeding, befriending and protecting me. After three weeks in a platoon, I came dangerously close to adopting the mindset and mission of a soldier. Their danger became my danger, their desensitizing forms of recreation -- war movies and heavy metal music -- became mine.”

News From Afghanistan
13.11.06. Channel 4’s Alex Thomson and their news team is in Afghanistan for a week. NON-embed material. Read/ watch videos. As good as his previous excellent reports from Lebanon. More MSM reporting should be like this? !


Media Pimp Alert:

Pentagon boosts 'media war' unit
31.10.06. BBC. The US defence department has set up a new unit to better promote its message across 24-hour rolling news outlets, and particularly on the internet.


4. Military Contracts

Military contractors' shares fall on news of Rumsfeld resignation
08.11.06. AP / IHT. … the largest U.S. military contractor, Lockheed Martin Corp. was one of the biggest losers The decline in defense stocks was broad, with armaments maker General Dynamics Corp., combat communications systems maker Raytheon Co., and government services company Halliburton Co. all falling into negative territory.

Boeing Wins Deal To Build Helicopters, Beating Lockheed
10.11.06. R. Merle, Washington Post. ‘Boeing Co. won a coveted contract yesterday for 141 Air Force search-and-rescue helicopters, a program that could be worth as much as $15 billion, besting rivals Lockheed Martin Corp. and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. The helicopters will replace the Air Force's fleet of HH-60 Pave Hawks, which have been used extensively in Iraq and Afghanistan.’

Blair scales back aims in Afghanistan as war takes toll on shattered people
20.11.06. C. Brown, Independent.


5. NATO, General



Turkey rejects NATO Afghanistan request
01.11.06. UPI.

NATO takes the fight to Pakistan
02.11.06. S. S. Shahzad. Pak. Times. It was agreed at that meeting that NATO forces operating in Afghanistan would be allowed to conduct hot-pursuit operations. Although Pakistani officials claim that Monday's operation was conducted by the Pakistani military, Asia Times Online contacts in the area are convinced that foreign forces were also involved, including US unmanned Hellfire Predator aircraft.

03.11.06. The U.S. government, not content to control just NATO, now also wants to take over UN forces:
Washington bid to take over UN forces
03.11.06. J. Bone / R. Beeston, The Australian / legitgov. ‘The United States is lobbying to put an American, possibly a general, in charge of all UN peacekeeping operations. The unprecedented US bid for the top UN peacekeeping post would place an American in command of the 95,000 UN peacekeepers in [US-created] trouble spots from Lebanon to Sudan. The American lobbying effort is set to prove hugely controversial. If successful, the change would amount to a radical remaking of the organisation, bringing it closer to its origin in World War II as a US-led alliance. Some UN officials fear that putting an American at the head of peacekeeping potentially could enable the US to use UN operations for covert activities - as it did with the UN weapons inspection teams in the Iraq of Saddam Hussein.’

NATO soldier says Afghan operations to extend a decade
03.11.06. Canada.com.

NATO fighting the wrong battle in Afghanistan
04.11.06. M K Bhadrakumar, Asia Times. “The pre-dawn attack on the Zia-ul-Uloom madrassa in Pakistan's Bajour tribal region on Monday killing 80 people, mostly students, is bound to impact on the course of the Afghan war. No matter the repeated assertions by Islamabad to the contrary, widespread suspicions of US involvement in the attack have arisen. … Almost everyone in Bajour is convinced that the missile strikes were launched by the US military through its pilotless Predator spy plane with the objective of subverting Islamabad's imminent peace agreement with militants. … The crisis forms several concentric circles. At the center lies the problem of a non-functioning, corrupt government that doesn't command respect because it lacks real popular support. Around it, an entire crisis area has developed in terms of weak authority, warlordism, breakdown of law and order, rampant opium trade, etc. This, in turn, provides a fertile ground to the Taliban's resurgence, which is inevitable regardless of whether or not Pakistani officials are turning a blind eye to Taliban activity in their territory. These are wrapped up with a fourth ring, namely the growing resentment among Afghans (and Pakistanis) about the continued foreign occupation of their country.”

United States Outlines "Ambitious Agenda" for Riga NATO Summit
03.11.06. V. Crawley, US info.state.gov. Heads of state plan to discuss Afghanistan, global missions, allied partnerships
RIGA SUMMIT SEEKS TO EXPAND ALLIED STRATEGIC DIALOGUE. Speaking October 30 at the Center for European Policy Studies in Brussels, Belgium, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Victoria Nuland said the United States has “a very, very ambitious agenda. … We want the strongest possible NATO; we want the strongest possible EU [European Union]; and we want the strongest-possible NATO-EU relationship.”

France blocks Nato bid to create a global terror force
04.11.06. S. Castle, Independent. ‘Paris has always been suspicious of Nato because of America's domination of the organization.’

US consul questions wisdom of Scottish independence
05.11.06. P. Hutcheon, Sunday Herald. Lisa Vickers, the new US consul in Scotland, questioned the effect of separation on American energy firms and criticised the SNP’s anti-Nato policy

Afghanistan expects no changes with U.S.
09.11.06. AP.

The face of Afghanistan five years after fall of the Taleban
11.11.06. Loyd / Lludin, Times. ‘On November 13, 2001, rebel forces marched on Kabul to oust the Taleban. But the triumph and hope have given way to despair and disappointment.’

U.S. Senate urges prompt NATO action to extend membership
17.11.06. AP / Int. Herald Tribune. Legislation passed by the U.S. Senate urges NATO to act quickly to make Albania, Croatia, Georgia and Macedonia full members of the alliance.What this article does not mention is the amount of $s the US and armament factories stand to gain; by yet more members in NATO.

NATO Trains ISAF for Possible Nuclear Attack in Afghanistan
17.11.06, zaman.

UN chief: Nato cannot defeat Taliban by force
18.11.06. D. Walsh, Guardian.

More Equipment Needed in Afghanistan, U.S. Commander Says
21.11.06. B. Brubaker, Washington Post. (This equipment, by the laws of NATO contracts, benefits the US arms industry. Mr. B.B. doesn’t mention this.)

Nato set to expand role to tackle WMD and terrorism
24.11.06. By Daniel Dombey andStephen Fidler, Financial Times. ’The classified document - officially called the "comprehensive political guidance" - says Nato should put a premium on "the ability to deter, disrupt, defend and protect against terrorism, and more particularly to contribute to the protection of the alliance's populations, territory, critical infrastructure and forces". Some US officials are keen to open the door to a greater Nato role in helping with "homeland security", although this remains controversial within the alliance.’

More troops won't solve Afghan crisis -Italy PM
24.11.06. Reuters.

UK says Nato's ambiguous N-policy does not inflame arms race
25.11.06. Irna. The British government has denied that NATO's ambiguous policy on using nuclear weapons is counter-productive by provoking an arms race.

US ‘global NATO’ plan to get summit thumbs-down
25.11.06. Financial express.

Nato runs critically short of combat troops to keep Taliban at bay
26.11.06. K. Sengupta, Independent.

Nato urges end of right to opt out of Afghanistan combat
27.11.06. M. Evans, The Times. “Germany, France, Spain and Italy will come under pressure this week to surrender the “red cards” that allow them to keep their troops away from the most dangerous areas of operations in Afghanistan.”

Nato urged to plan Afghanistan exit strategy as violence soars
27.11.06. S. Castle / K. Sengupta, Independent. “Nato's fragile unity over Afghanistan has begun to crack ahead of an important summit - with one public call to discuss an exit strategy from the Allied forces' bloody confrontation with the Taliban. “

Weakened Bush to meet NATO allies on Afghanistan
27.11.06. P. Taylor, Reuters.

Europe must shoulder its share of the Nato burden
28.11.06. J. Chirac, Guardian.

Afghanistan Takes Top Priority at NATO Talks
28.11.06. Washington Times.

Accept defeat by Taliban, Pakistan tells Nato
29.11.06. Ahmed Rashid, The Telegraph.

Nato's divided allies
30.11.06. Telegraph. “The Nato summit in Riga, which ended yesterday, confirmed the alarming gap between military requirements in Afghanistan and the political will to meet them. Some improvements were agreed. Poland and Romania lifted their "national caveats" on where their troops might be deployed; France said it would allow its forces to operate outside the capital, Kabul; a small American/Polish theatre reserve was designated; and Germany and Italy said they were prepared to move their contingents from the north "in extremis". But the alliance as a whole was unwilling to give the commanders the 2,200 extra troops they say they need or to furnish them with a sufficient number of helicopters. The brunt of the fighting in the embattled southern provinces will continue to be borne by America, Britain and Canada.”

6. NATO: participating countries

BELGIUM

Nato urged to plan Afghanistan exit strategy as violence soars
27.11.06. S. Castle, Independent. ‘Nato's fragile unity over Afghanistan has begun to crack ahead of an important summit - with one public call to discuss an exit strategy from the Allied forces' bloody confrontation with the Taliban.
While heads of government are to make a show of unity over Afghanistan at tomorrow's alliance summit in Riga, Belgium's Defence Minister has questioned the future of Nato's most important mission.’


CANADA

O'Connor says military 'scrambling' to find soldiers for Afghanistan
18.11.06. D. Walsh / R. Norton-Taylor, Guardian. ‘Official says alliance failing in Afghanistan as Blair admits Iraq is a 'disaster.'

Two Canadian soldiers killed in southern Afghanistan
28.11.06. Xinhuanet. The death toll among Canadian troops in Afghanistan since 2002 now stands at 44, along with one diplomat. Thirty-six have died this year.


GERMANY

Germany rules out troops to Iraq and hot spots in Afghanistan
14.11.06. Reuters/Gulf News.

Berlin sends roadmakers, not troops, to south Afghanistan
24.11.06. expatica.com.


HOLLAND

Dutch soldier refusing service in Afghanistan convicted without punishment
07.11.06. English People.


POLAND

Poland to have 1,200 troops deployed in Afghanistan by February, defense minister says
10.11.06. AP.


SWEDEN

FM: Sweden should join NATO plane pool
11.11.06. Xinhuanet. Sweden should join NATO's pool of military transport capacity, instead of buying two American aircraft at a cost of 2 billion kronor (280 million U.S. dollars) each.

Sweden may send more soldiers to Afghanistan
29.11.06. People’s Daily Online.


TURKEY

Turkey To Open 27th Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan
05.11.06. Conservative Voice. ‘The new PRT, in Wardak province, will assist Afghan authorities with reconstruction efforts and enhance development and stability within the province.’


UK

U.K. Military, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Is Short-Staffed, NAO Says
03.11.06. M. Deen, Bloomberg.


7. Corporate Investment in Aid and Reconstruction in Afghanistan

Kroll Looks to Sell Security Subsidiary
01.11.06. AP. Kroll, the risk consulting and technology division of Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc., is looking to sell a subsidiary that provides security services in Iraq and Afghanistan. … Two KSI workers were killed in Iraq in January 2005. Another Kroll employee died in December 2005, the company said.

EU To Give $3.2 Million To Afghanistan
02.11.06. Pak Tribune.

UNICEF plea for Afghanistan drought aid
07.11.06. UPI. ‘The U.N. Children's Fund has issued an urgent appeal for $3.8 million to help 2.5 million drought-stricken people in Afghanistan, half of them children. The appeal comes after there was no response to UNICEF's initial plea this summer for $2.5 million.’

AFGHANISTAN: Health crisis brewing in isolated Nuristan province
27.11.06. Reuters. "Despite billions of dollars of international aid coming to the country during the past five years, unfortunately the residents of Nuristan [province] are still deprived of a hospital to treat their women and children," provincial governor Mohammad Tamim Nuristani, told IRIN.


8. Opium

Opium Production at Highest Levels in Afghanistan! Thanks to Foreign Occupation Forces and their Corrupt Afghani Government Officials
02.11.06. J. Straziuso, AP/aljazeerah. Afghan farmers now planting opium poppies will probably reap a harvest comparable to this year's record crop (something never happened during the Taliban rule, before the 2001 US invasion). … Drug production has skyrocketed since a U.S.-led offensive toppled the Taliban regime five years ago.

Growing insurgency and booming opium trade major challenges – Security Council
13.11.06. Irin / The growing Taliban-led insurgency and the ongoing rise in opium production are the major challenges facing war-ravaged Afghanistan. … The new report was released on Sunday by the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB) - a body that is overseeing the implementation of the Afghanistan Compact

cpath=20061128\ACQDJON200611281353DOWJONESDJONLINE000662.htm&selected=9999&selecteddisplaysymbol=9999&StoryTargetFrame=_top&mkt=WORLD&chk=unchecked〈=&link=&headlinereturnpage=http://www.international.na">UN Report Says Afghan Government Protect Drug Traffickers
24.11.06. Nasdaq.


9. Human Rights: Documents/Reports; Articles; Case Studies

• REPORTS

List/Links of Rendition documents

Monitoring Terrorist Lists">News, Reports, Lists, Legal Anaysis, Links

Dangerous Ambivalence: UK Policy on Torture since 9/11
02.11.06. Human Rights Watch, press release. Lessons from History; A New Ambivalence Towards Torture; Torture as Response to Terrorism; Human Rights and Security: the False Dichotomy; Policing and prosecution as a means of confronting terror; The cost of abandoning the rules; Undermining the Torture Ban; Torture Evidence in Legal Proceedings: Sending People back to the Risk of Torture; The British way; No safeguard against torture; Trying to Rewrite the Rules on Deportation to Torture; Complicity in U.S. Abduction and Torture: British Refusal to Ask Questions; Complicity in Illegal Transfers; Whitewashing U.S. Government Abuses; Conclusion: A Stark Choice. See

Afghanistan: NATO must ensure justice for victims of civilian deaths and torture

27.11.06. Amnesty international press release. NATO leaders must set up a joint body, together with partners in Afghanistan, to pursue justice for civilians whose human rights may have been violated by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) in Afghanistan, said Amnesty International ahead of the NATO summit in Riga, Latvia on 28/29 November.

• ARTICLES

Military Commissions Act argued unconstitutional
02.11.06. Jurist.

Ex-Judges: Detainee Law Unconstitutional
02.11.06. M Apuzzo, Newsday. Seven retired federal judges from both political parties have joined dozens of Guantanamo Bay detainees in urging an appeals court to declare key parts of President Bush's new anti-terrorism law unconstitutional.

Prison Planet
03.11.06. N. Turse & T. Englehardt & N. Turse. The US has ‘supermax’ prisons in 40 out of 50 states. The US also has ‘ghost jails – a ‘network of detention facilities. One of these is The Salt Pit at Bagram, outside Kabul. Another is Kandahar. Other CIA ‘secret’ prisons discussed. In an investigative article in The Guardian (19.03.05) 'One huge US jail' the reporters say that a “network of over 20 U.S. prisons was believed to exist in Afghanistan.”

Canada justice minister declines to appeal anti-terror law ruling
03.11.06. Jurist. Friday's announcement responds to the first of two Canadian court decisions last month that ruled unconstitutional portions of the Anti-Terrorism Act [text; CBC backgrounder] that was passed three months after the Sept. 11 attacks [JURIST news archive] on the United States. In a separate decision last week, the Superior Court of Ontario ruled that a section of the act that defines "terrorism" is unconstitutionally vague [JURIST report] and contradicts several provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [text].

U.S. Seeks Silence on CIA Prisons
04.11.06. C. Leonnig / E. Rich, Washington Post. “Court Is Asked to Bar Detainees From Talking About Interrogations. The Bush administration has told a federal judge that terrorism suspects held in secret CIA prisons should not be allowed to reveal details of the "alternative interrogation methods" (torture) that their captors used to get them to talk.”

The documents, which were first reported by The Washington Post, were filed in opposition to a request that terror suspect Majid Khan should be given access to an attorney. Khan, 26, immigrated from Pakistan and graduated high school in Maryland.

War Criminals, Beware
05.11.06. Brecher / Smith, The Nation / ICH. On November 14 a group of lawyers and other experts will come before the German federal prosecutor and ask him to open a criminal investigation targeting Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzales and other key Bush Administration figures for war crimes. The recent passage of the Military Commissions Act provides a central argument for the legal action, under the doctrine of universal jurisdiction: It demonstrates the intent of the Bush Administration to immunize itself legally from prosecution in the United States, even for the most serious crimes.
For the Human Rights First ‘Case Against Secretary Rumsfeld’ see here.

CIA aircraft made 80 flights in UK air space, claims MP
08.11.06. A. McDermid, Herald. Transport Minister replies to Lib.Dem question about CIA Gulfstream jet registration N379P.

Rights groups set to file Rumsfeld war crimes lawsuit in Germany
09.11.06. The Jurist. The New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) [advocacy website] announced [press release] Thursday that a coalition of US and international human rights groups plan to file a war crimes lawsuit against outgoing US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld [official profile] after his resignation Wednesday. Rumsfeld enjoys statutory immunity in the United States and so CCR, the National Lawyers Guild, the International Federation of Human Rights [advocacy websites] and others will file the complaint in Germany under that country's universal jurisdiction [AI backgrounder] law. (see also Video).

• Human Rights Denial Deserves Impeachment
11.09.06. P. Phillips, ICH. The U.S. government is actively torturing people to death. One need only read the 44 official U.S. military autopsy reports on civilian detainees from Afghanistan and Iraq in 2002 to 2004 posted on the American Civil Liberties website to see the horrendous details of deaths by "strangulation," "asphyxiation" and "blunt force injuries. The Military Commission Act retroactively approved the use of torture to the beginning of the 9/11 Wars. Congress's reaction to the ACLU report in October of 2005 was to pass legislation banning further use of the Freedom of Information Act to request documents on current military operations."

• Donald Rumsfeld: The War Crimes Case
Marjorie Cohen, President of the National Lawyers Guild, The Jurist Forum.

• CIA pressed on torture guidelines
16.11.06. SMH. THE CIA has acknowledged for the first time the existence of two classified documents, including one signed by the US President, George Bush, that it used as guidelines in the interrogation and imprisonment of terrorist suspects.

Afghan rights deteriorating, watchdog tells Security Council
10.11.06. AP / . ‘A UN Security Council team due to visit Afghanistan at the weekend must immediately address a "deteriorating rights situation" that has led to the deaths of 1,000 civilians in insurgency-linked unrest this year.’ Lists of problems.

Despite US Confession, Europe Insists on Hiding CIA Bases
11.11.06. Zaman. …”the European Parliament Investigation Committee failed to obtain proof from the investigation conducted in the United States, the UK, Romania, Macedonia and Poland.”

Administration: Detainees Have No Rights
13.11.06. ABC. ‘It's the first time that argument has been spelled out since President Bush signed a law last month setting up military commissions for the thousands of foreigners being held in U.S. prisons abroad. … Human rights groups and attorneys for the detainees say the law is unconstitutional. Prisoners normally have the right to challenge their imprisonment.’
Poll: Most U.S. Voters Say Guantanamo Bay PrisonersDeserve Legal Rights

Senate to investigate rendition abuses
14.11.06. Sturke, Guardian.

1,245 Secret CIA Flights Revealed by European Parliament
28.11.06. ABC news. It listed the number of CIA flights, or stopovers, it found in a number of countries: Italy: 46 stopovers; United Kingdom: 170 stopovers; Germany: 336 stopovers; Spain: 68 stopovers; Portugal: 91 stopovers; Ireland: 147 stopovers; Greece: 64 stopovers; Cyprus: 57 stopovers.

Senior EU officials accused of covering up secret CIA prisons for terror suspects
29.11.06. A. Duval Smith, Independent.

• CASE STUDIES

Osama Hassan Mustafa Nasr (Abu Omar)

Kidnapping of Egyptian in Italy shines light on U.S."extraordinary renditions"
01.11.06. AP / IHT. A Muslim preacher is snatched off the streets of an Italian city — purportedly by CIA agents — and whisked off to his homeland of Egypt. There he all but vanishes for more than three years. … According to Italian officials, the 43-year-old cleric fought in Afghanistan and Bosnia and was suspected of recruiting fighters for radical Islamic causes. Italian prosecutors say the kidnapping on Feb. 17, 2003, was conducted by CIA agents with help from Italian agentBut his Egyptian lawyer, Montasser al-Zayat, said Abu Omar had only traveled to Jordan, Yemen, Albania and Germany before entering Italy illegally in 1997. … Abu Omar was freed in spring 2004 and returned to his native Alexandria on Egypt's Mediterranean coast. Three weeks later, he was arrested again for violating the terms of his release by talking about his torture in detention. … No charges have ever been brought against him.’

In Letter, Radical Cleric Details CIA Abduction, Egyptian Torture
10.11.06. C. Whitlock, Washington Post / ICH. … Although the case has caused a furor in Italy, the U.S. government has neither confirmed nor denied playing a role in Nasr's disappearance. Egyptian officials have also remained silent. A CIA spokesman declined to comment for this story.’


Abou Elkassim Britel

Italy: Documents sent to European Parliament committee on renditions allege other renditions and details of Abu Omar cover-up and the Britel rendition
11.06. List of documents sent to EU included. Even Graham Greene could not have invented this bizarre travelogue of prisons and torture.

Abdur Rahim Muslim Dost

Pakistan: "Disappearance"/fear of torture, Abdur Rahim Muslim Dost (m)
01.11.06. Amnesty International. Afghan national Abdur Rahim Muslim Dost was arrested without a warrant on 29 September in Peshawar. His whereabouts are now unknown and he is at risk of torture. Dost was imprisoned in Bagram (3 yrs), Kandahar and Camp Xray.


Cyrus Kar

U.S. moves to quash lawsuit by filmmaker imprisoned in Iraq
04.11.06. CBC. The U.S. government has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by an American filmmaker who spent two months in an Iraqi prison.

Kar, of Iranian descent, was taken into custody in May 2005 while visiting Iraq to make a documentary about the Persian king who wrote the world’s first human rights charter.

The lawsuit says the 45-year-old filmmaker was sometimes hooded, threatened, humiliated and abused when a U.S. soldier slammed his head into a wall. He was detained without charges for the two months.


10. Some of the Dead in Afghanistan: ‘regrets’ are not enough


Picasso’s Guernica

UN conceals Picasso’s “Guernica” for Powell’s presentation

"Every great work of art goes through messy phases while it is in transition."
-Major General William Caldwell, chief military spokesman in Baghdad

NATO sees body counts as a measure of success
03.11.06. P. Koring, Globe and Mail. “Alliance vision of Afghanistan is being painted by numbers. … The North Atlantic Treaty Organization's high-level decision to resurrect body counts apparently reflects an inability to find any other headline-grabbing measure to demonstrate success. Body counts were last used by the Pentagon in Vietnam, where the wildly optimistic and soaring totals were completely at odds with the grim reality that the United States was losing.”

Death as art: See also:

Iraq a 'work of art in progress' says US general after 49 die
03.11.06. J. Borger, Guardian / uruknet. An American general in Baghdad called Iraq a "work of art" in progress yesterday in one of the most extraordinary attempts by the US military leadership to put a positive spin on the worsening violence.

Taliban attacks kill 700 Afghans in 2006: NATO
04.11.06. Pak Tribune. Foreign forces in Afghanistan says bomb and suicide attacks carried out by Taliban militants have killed more than 700 civilians this year.

Insurgent activity rising in Afghanistan; 3,700 deaths this year
12.11.06. AP / Int. Herald Tribune.

U.K. minister criticizes U.S. military
12.11.06. The State. A British government minister criticized the U.S. military for failing to cooperate with inquests into the deaths of British soldiers allegedly killed by "friendly fire" in Iraq.

Afghan conflict deaths quadruple
13.11.06. BBC. The study on the situation in Afghanistan was compiled by the Joint Co-ordinating and Monitoring Board - made up of the Afghan government, its key foreign backers and the UN. It says more than 3,700 people had been killed since January this year and that the frequency of insurgent or terrorist-related security incidents had now risen four-fold to 600 a month.

U.S. Occupation Forces Acknowledge Attack Killed 31 Civilians
14.11.06. Rohde / |Shah, NY Times / ICH.

No militants killed in Pakistan madrassa attack, commission says
14.11.06. Turkish Press / ICH.

Afghan Civilians Shot Dead By British Troops
16.11.06. NASDAQ. Two Afghan civilians were killed and a child injured on Thursday after their van was shot at by the British troops. The incident happened north of Girish in Helmand province. The spokesman said that a full and thorough investigation into the circumstances of the incident has commenced. He also expressed regrets.

*REGRETS and “SORRY” are not enough.

Concerned more for the dead than for the living
16.11.06. P. Dasgupta , ICH. The British intercede when they see their war dead threatened but when innocent Palestinians are killed in their sleep by monstrous unprovoked Israeli violence, they set about quibbling about the balance of blame between the two sides.

NATO Apologizes as Troops Kill 2 Afghan Civilians, Injure Child
17.11.06. E. Johnson, Bloomberg. The incident happened two days ago in southern Helmand province, where the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force is battling Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents seeking to destabilize President Hamid Karzai's government. The deaths, which follow the killing of at least 12 civilians in fighting on Oct. 24, are a potential set back for NATO, which is trying to win the support of Afghan locals as it seeks to quell the insurgency.

4 civilians working for U.S. military killed in E. Afghanistan
27.11.06. People’s Daily Online.

11. War Crimes: The Dying and Future Dead


Scientist questions use of depleted uranium munitions
02.11.06. ABC. In the 1991 war with Iraq, the United States fired 320 tonnes of depleted uranium munitions. In 2003 they used as much as 2,000 tonnes. … When the US and Britain defend their use of these materials, they sometimes cite a World Health Organisation study compiled in 2001.” …Dr Keith Baverstock, a senior radiation adviser with the WHO, told the BBC a study showing the munitions could be carcinogenic was kept out of the final report or monograph.
DU was also used in Afghanistan.

12. References

T. Paglen/ A. Thompson, Torture Taxis, Melville House, 2006.

Afghanistan National Development Stragegy

NATO wird US-ATO: Geht die NATO als militärischer Arm der amerikanischen Weltherrschaft in Führung?
29.09.06. Zeit Fragen.

Sarah Meyer is retired and now a researcher living in England.

The url to Index on Afghanistan: November 2006 is: http://indexresearch.blogspot.com/2006/11/index-on-afghanistan-november-2006.html

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Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Palestine: Wake Up America

by Sarah Meyer
Index Research

updated 1 June 2008


Beit Hanoun Massacre 8 November 2006

Protocol I, Article 85, Section 3 of the Geneva Convention: "An indiscriminate attack affecting the civilian population or civilian objects and resulting in excessive loss of life, injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects is a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions."

“The lesson Israel is imparting in Gaza is unequivocal: War crimes are fine, so long as you remember to say sorry afterwards.”
Arthur Nelson,The Telegraph.

1. Prologue
2. Beit Hanoun: a Microcosm of War Crimes
3. References
4. Updates

1. Prologue

An American woman wrote to me about her support for Israel in the war against Lebanon. Another told me about an anti-Iraq-war relative who was a candidate in the recent US elections, and who also supported Israel’s policies. I protested. “You are wrong,” she said. I asked, “Are, then, Amnesty, the Red Cross, the UN, Human Rights Watch, and other respectable organisations as well as many people in our world all wrong?” An American man dismissed these organisations in a ‘comments’ section as being ‘leftie’ – thus, with 20th century ‘Cold War’ language, consigning moral integrity to the dustbin.

There is an ignorant ‘blind spot’ in America. That Palestine was a central cause of 9/11 has never been acknowledged or addressed. America, instead, bombed the soul out Afghanistan and Iraq in the name of ‘democracy and freedom,’ never mentioning oil. The Guardian headline (14.11.06), Blair urges White House to shift focus to Israel-Palestine conflict, is three years out of date. And will anything change with Mrs. Pelosi, America’s new darling? I doubt it. Read Robert Thompson’s article here.

Who is responsible for giving the American people warped facts, or no facts at all, about the plight of the Palestinian people? Why are the White House, Congress and the Senate, as well as Mainstream Media in collusion with the massive lobby, AIPAC? This lobby, according to the NY Times banner on their webpage, is “The most important organization affecting America’s relationship with Israel.”

It is time for the Sleeping Beauty - America the Beautiful, land of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights - to wake up not only to the so-called ‘war on terror’ and Iraq war lies, but also to the lies they have been fed about Palestine over many years.

Following is a short synthesis of articles and videos focusing on the Beit Hanoun horror – a microcosmic mirror of Israeli crimes perpetrated upon the Palestinian people. Read and watch, and wake up America. Then demand that the problem which was a causative factor in 9/11 be addressed. Hopefully, then, terrorism will decrease and we can share our planet together with integrity, respect and love. This must happen.




Video. Beit Hanoon Massacre 8 November 2006.
“My wife recorded this for my blog a couple of days ago. Since then, she won’t even look at the news.” Haitham Sabbah.

Listen Carefully to Condi’s Silence on Beit Hanoun
08.11.06. Haaretz / ICH. "I lost my sister, my brother-in-law and five of my nieces and nephews this morning. I feel nothing now; I can’t find the right words. All I know that the attack wasn’t a mistake. Israel fired six shells, how can that be a mistake? Israel wants to push us from our homes, but we will stay. This is our land.” -- Omar Thamena, 46, engineer.

ICRC deplores civilian deaths and casualties
08.11.06. ICRC. "The ICRC is appalled that at least 18 persons, including seven children and seven women, lost their lives and at least 58 others were wounded, some of them very severely, as a result of Israeli military operations in Beit Hanoun in the early hours of 8 November. … International humanitarian law strictly prohibits attacks against civilians and civilian objects and requires that a strict distinction be made between the civilian population and military objectives."

We overcame our fear
09.11.06.Jameela al-Shanti, Guardian. “Yesterday at dawn, the Israeli air force bombed and destroyed my home. I was the target, but instead the attack killed my sister-in-law, Nahla, a widow with eight children in her care. In the same raid Israel's artillery shelled a residential district in the town of Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip, leaving 19 dead and 40 injured, many killed in their beds. One family, the Athamnas, lost 16 members in the massacre: the oldest who died, Fatima, was 70; the youngest, Dima, was one; seven were children. The death toll in Beit Hanoun has passed 90 in one week."

Organization of the Islamic Conference accuses Israel of 'war crimes' and committing 'terrorist attacks' in Beit Hanoon
09.11.06. Aljazeerah.info. The Organization of the Islamic Conference accused Israel of committing a war crime after the Israeli army shelled a residential area in Beit Hanoon in the northern Gaza Strip, killing 18 Palestinians, on Wednesday.

Members of the European Parliament 'shocked and appalled' by the 'horrible carnage' in Gaza
Aljazeerah.info.

*It is not enough to feel ‘shocked and appalled’.

Video. (The Media Story) Beit Hanoun: Massacre or Technical Error? CNN / BBC. 7 min.

How did Mathew Price, a BBC reporter, feel? This article tells of Palestinian suffering. But the BBC been accused numerous times of being biased in favour of Israel. Who is telling Americans that the BBC is biased in favour of Palestine? Will you google ‘BBC bias Israel’ and read the truth for yourself?

VIDEO: Massacre of Palestinian Women and Children Israel's "Cloud of Autumn" Massacre in Gaza
10.11.06. M. Chossudovsky, Global Research. “The official story of the Israeli military is that this was an crack-down operation on "terrorists". Read the semi-official report by the Voice of America (VOA) (below) and then view the video to see what really happened.”

M. Chossudovsky gives related press reports: Mass kidnapping of Palestinian men in Beit Hanoun by Israeli occupation forces; Khalleez Times Online story; Xihua story.

Western Media Parrots Israeli Narrative on Beit Hanoun Massacre
12.11.06. K. Amayreh, a Palestinian journlalist.

Names of 83 Palestinian Martyrs Victims of Israeli Massacre in Bait Hanoun Gaza Strip
12.11.06. Palestine Free Voice / uruknet.

How a Beit Hanun family was destroyed
13.11.06. Amira Hass, Haaretz. "They knew very well who was in the house, how many children, how many women. They knew very well there were no terrorists and no arms in this house," said Majdi.

US vetoes UN resolution urging Israel to respect international humanitarian law in Gaza
10.11.06. The Jurist. The Palestinian government. says this veto “backs further massacres.”

Arab Nations To Lift Financial Blockade On Palestine
10.11.06. Nasdaq. ‘Arab nations on Sunday decided to lift the financial blockade on Palestine following the US veto on a U.N. Security Council draft resolution on Saturday, which would (have) condemned Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip, reported AP. The Arab decision to lift the blockade on Palestine was arrived at following discussions at a meeting of 11 Arab foreign ministers and other senior officials and diplomats at the headquarters of the Arab League in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.’

How Israel put Gaza civilians in firing line
12.11.06. Observer exclusive. “Israeli military commanders drastically reduced the 'safety' margins that separate artillery targets from the built-up civilian areas of Gaza earlier this year, despite being warned that the new policy risked increasing Palestinian civilian deaths and injuries. … According to Human Rights Watch, since September 2005 Israel has fired about 15,000 rounds at Gaza while Palestinian militants have fired around 1,700 back. … The IDF has claimed a fault in the artillery radar system's co-ordinates for the missiles changed the margin of error from 25 to 200m, but that still does not explain why it waited until the following day to return fire to a general area - a policy that the Israeli peace group B'Tselem describes as a 'war crime'. … As a point of comparison, between June 2004 and July 2006, 14 civilians (six of them minors) were killed by Qassam gunfire fired by Palestinians into Israeli territory and at settlements in the Gaza Strip. In the four weeks from 26 June-24 July this year, however, IDF actions in the Gaza Strip to end the Qassam rocket fire caused the death of 126 Palestinians, 63 of whom did not participate in the hostilities. Twenty-nine of these were minors. According to the UN, since the end of June 450 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza.”

Nobel winners petition Israel to outlaw targeted killing
13.08.06. AFP / Khaleej Times. ‘Hundreds of Israeli peace activists, joined by three foreign Nobel laureates, asked the nation's high court to rule against targeted assassinations carried out by the army in the Palestinian territories, saying the attacks were killing civilians. The petition, signed by 10 peace groups and 200 individuals, urged the supreme court to rule immediately on the issue in light of last week's Israeli fire in Gaza's Beit Hanun that killed 19 people, mostly women and children.’

US Officers planned the Beit Hanoun Massacre
13.11.06. Kawther Salam, Sabbah’s blog. WARNING: DISTURBING PHOTOS: “people everywhere in Palestine see such images on a daily basis not as pictures but live and anywhere they go.” ‘I often ask myself why the U.S.A does not stop donating to Israel the bombs which they use against the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. What, ever, have we done to the USA? … Why does the international media impose a veil of silence over what is happening in Palestine? …

What is the DIME weapon? DU researcher and expert, Dai Williams, believes this is a new class of weapons using enriched uranium, not through fission processes but through new physical processes kept secret for at least 20 years. Physicist Emilio del Giudice form the National Institute of Nuclear Physics came to the same conclusion.”

Leg injuries inflicted by new Israeli weapons. The flesh is apparently burnt and disintegrates into crumbles and liquids.


SORRY WE KILLED YOU IN YOUR SLEEP....WE'LL WAKE YOU NEXT TIME
13.11.06. Desert Peace, Israeli Jewish blogger. Includes Olmert’s interview with Al Quds newspaper.

3. References

Video. Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land.
U.S. Media & the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: How Israel manipulates and distorts American public perceptions. (17.07.06). This video ‘carefully analyzes and explains how--through the use of language, framing and context--the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza remains hidden in the news media, and Israeli colonization of the occupied terrorities appears to be a defensive move rather than an offensive one.’ 79 min.


Aid to Israel

• Perspective from Israel:

In Washington: Really helping Israel
09.11.06. Jerusalem Post. One of the reasons Israel is rarely an issue in House and Senate campaigns is that Congress only considers one significant piece of legislation relating to Israel every year. That is the Israel aid package, which is itself part of the overall foreign aid bill.

• Perspective from Palestine:

True Lies About U.S. Aid to" Israeli " War Machinery: Cost of Israel to U.S. Taxpayers
10.11.06. Palestine Free Voice. “Recently Americans have begun to read and hear that "Israel receives $3 billion in annual U.S. foreign aid." That's true. But it's still a lie. The problem is that in fiscal 1997 alone, Israel received from a variety of other U.S. federal budgets at least $525.8 million above and beyond its $3 billion from the foreign aid budget, and yet another $2 billion in federal loan guarantees. So the complete total of U.S. grants and loan guarantees to Israel for fiscal 1997 was $5,525,800,000.” An analysis of who does give and promote for Israeli interests.

• Perspective of the Law

US vetoes UN resolution urging Israel to respect international humanitarian law in Gaza
11.11.06. The Jurist.


US Arms Sales to Israel


U.S. eyes up to $750 million in military sales to Iraq
19.09.06.Reuters.

U.S. Congress okays $500m for defense projects with Israel
30.09.06. Haaretz.

Index on Illegal Weapons in Lebanon

Appendex II: Index on Weapons in Lebanon. War Crimes in Lebanon and Palestine

Lebanon: The Aftermath of War (updated to 14.11.06).


Nuclear Weapons

Then, of course, there is the unmentionable story of the “WMD” nuclear weapons in Israel. The US government prefers to focus on the non-existent WMDs in Iran - and support Israel’s (nuclear ?) threats on Iran.


US Vetoes

U.S. Vetoes of UN Resolutions Critical of Israel 1972 – 2006
Jewish Virtual Library / ICH.


The Wall

Video. Wall of Shame.
‘The wall being constructed on the West Bank by the Israeli government is twenty-five feet high. Studded with guard towers and armaments, and encrusted with high-tech sensors, the wall cuts across the land, separating Palestinians from their own farms, their own neighbors, and from the Israeli settlements which have sprung up rapidly as a result of lavish subsidies from the Israeli government.’ 28 min.


The Media

The Haditha Doctor and the Media Dissemblers
19.06.06. S. Meyer, Index Research. This research article probes the media stories on the murders in Haditha, Iraq – the ‘right-wing’ clan – and their funders.


Further Reading

JAMES PETRAS' NEW BOOK - THE POWER OF ISRAEL IN THE UNITED STATES
26.10.06. Stephen Lendman Review.


Other references

I asked Haitham Sabbah if he had any suggestions for this reference section. He wrote: “You can also find a good source of Palestinian bloggers in my other project, Palestine Blogs. It is an aggregator of all known Palestinian bloggers and/or bloggers who write and support Palestinians.” He mentioned his favourites, but I am hoping that those who want to know more will find their own favourites.

STOP PRESS: Sabbah emailed me at 16.54 today: "Tonight, the news is bad. Some angry Palestinian decided to take
revenge to Beit Hanoun massacre. A qassam rocket killed one and injured another Israli. This is so sad happening, again. Now the Israelis are saying that they will take a hard revenge, so God knows how many willbe killed more.... It's really devastating times that we are going through :( Lets pray for peace, soon...


Thank you Haitham Sabbah. Thanks also, to your family – and to the Palestinian people for their fortitude. All of you deserve some good health, good schools and real “democracy and freedom.” No more bombs or tanks. No more suffering. This will happen if the American people WAKE UP.

+

Postscript: My best wishes also to the Israeli people – as distinct from the Israeli government - and especially to my dearest lifelong close friend, Beth. I feel your suffering, too.

With thanks to W.W., M. and Kewe for their help and support.

+

4. Updates

Map Middle East.

18.11.06. Xymphora. ‘Take a look at this map of the imperial history of the Middle East and tell me who, based on history, has the best current claim to Palestine.’

OTHER MAPS:

Palestinian loss of land 1946 to 2000

Maps of Palestine

+


Beit Hanoun

Beit Hanoon women inspiring West Bank women and youth for a solidarity campaign
04.11.06. (Qalqilia) Palestine News Network / aljazeera.info.

Palestinian human shields give Israel pause
20.11.06. CSMonitor. ‘In perhaps the most effective act of nonviolent protest in the six-year Palestinian uprising, hundreds of Gazans forced Israel over the weekend to call off airstrikes on the residence of a militant leader by swarming the house as human shields.
In recent months, Israeli security forces have used telephone calls to warn Palestinian militants and others near alleged militant safe houses and weapons caches, giving them up to a half hour to evacuate.’

Beit Hanoon Mourns More Victims, Death Toll Reaches 49, PLO Condemns Israel's vicious attacks in Gaza
05.11.06. aljazeera.info

Nine children buried, victims of latest Israeli massacre, Beit Hanoon hospital over-run with casualties and corpses
09.11.06. aljazeera.info.

The Beit Hanoon Massacre: What about the day after?
12.11.06. S. Nazzal, aljazeera.info. Dr. Salim Nazzal is a Palestinian historian.

Writer, Stephen Lendman emailed: “Never saw a "commandment" saying genocide OK as long as just against Arabs and Muslims."

Bush and Blair Administrations Back Up Israeli Terrorist Offensive Against Beit Hanoon
04.12.06. aljazeerah. US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack put the blame for the offensive on Palestinian fighters and said Israel was defending itself. … On its part, the British foreign ministry stated yesterday that Israel has the right to defend itself but any military act should go with the international human rights. The ministry further called the Palestinians to stop firing missiles at Israeli areas adding that violence hinders peace efforts in the region.

Desmond Tutu prevented by Israeli occupation government to conduct a UN fact-finding mission in Beit Hanoun
12.12.06. Maan/ aljazeera.net.

Bush and Blair Administrations Back Up Israeli Terrorist Offensive Against Beit Hanoon
04.12.06. aljazeerah. US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack put the blame for the offensive on Palestinian fighters and said Israel was defending itself. … On its part, the British foreign ministry stated yesterday that Israel has the right to defend itself but any military act should go with the international human rights. The ministry further called the Palestinians to stop firing missiles at Israeli areas adding that violence hinders peace efforts in the region.

Desmond Tutu prevented by Israeli occupation government to conduct a UN fact-finding mission in Beit Hanoun

NEW VIDEO
Tutu leads UN probe into Beit Hanoun killings 28.05.08. al jazeera.

Tutu Shocked by Palestinian Suffering
28.05.08. IslamOnline.net & News Agencies/uruknet. Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu stressed on Wednesday, May 28, that the UN fact-finding team has been "devastated" by stories from the survivors of a 2006 Israeli bombing that killed 19 civilians in Gaza. / "We wanted to say that we are quite devastated. This is not something you want to wish on your worst enemy," said Tutu, the retired Anglican archbishop of Cape Town.

Tutu's Trip to Gaza Censored by the US Media
01.06.08. Mike Whitney, ICH. Tutu went to Gaza for peace and not one newspaper in the United States covered the story. Apparently, the "culture of impunity" extends to America's media as well as the Israeli leaders who killed the 18 Palestinians at Beit Hanoun.


The UN and Beit Hanoun

The flavour of the week has been a PR assault upon the United Nations by John Bolton and the Israelis. Bearing in mind Mr. Bolton’s term at the United Nations is going nowhere, it is a wonder that the American people/MSM continue to support/believe in Bolton’s lies.

UN General Assembly plans special summit on IDF Gaza action
15.11.06. S. Shamir, Haaretz.

ISRAEL CONDEMNS RESOLUTION CONDEMNING ISRAEL
18.11.06. Desert Peace / uruknet. ‘Since it's inception as a 'State', Israel has ignored every resolution passed by the United Nations which in any way criticised them or their actions. Why would anyone think that a condemnation of the Beit Hanoun massacre would be looked at any differently by them?’

The root of terror is clear
13.11.06. P. Preston, Guardian. Only a resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict will stop al-Qaida recruitment.

Qassam attacks kill one, wound two in Sderot; IDF: No magic bullet
16.11.06. Haaretz. Olmert says, "The operation in Gaza will continue without a break ... and we will decide on additional steps to fight this murderous terror."

Concerned more for the dead than for the living
16.11.06. P. Dasgupta , ICH. The British intercede when they see their war dead threatened but when innocent Palestinians are killed in their sleep by monstrous unprovoked Israeli violence, they set about quibbling about the balance of blame between the two sides.

Israelis mourn Gaza deaths
16.11.06. Ynet News / ICH. Obituaries published in Haaretz express 'deep sorrow' over Beit Hanoun victims. Edna Kovarski of Herzliya tells Ynet she published obituary because of shame she felt for what Israel is doing.

No one is guilty in Israel
17.11.06. G. Levy, Haaretz / anti-war.com. ‘Nineteen inhabitants of Beit Hanun were killed with malice aforethought. There is no other way of describing the circumstances of their killing. Someone who throws burning matches into a forest can't claim he didn't mean to set it on fire, and anyone who bombards residential neighborhoods with artillery can't claim he didn't mean to kill innocent inhabitants.’ Therefore it takes considerable gall and cynicism to dare to claim that the Israel Defense Forces did not intend to kill inhabitants of Beit Hanun.’

Screw The Palestinians, Full Steam Ahead
K and B. Christison, Rense.com. At a panel on the defense and foreign policy impact of the midterm election, sponsored two days after the election by Congressional Quarterly, Steven Simon, late of the Clinton administration and still a member of the Democratic, pro-Zionist mainstream at the Council on Foreign Relations, pronounced on prospects for Palestinian-Israeli peace and essentially declared it not worth anyone's effort. …”

Palestine Independence Day
15.11.06. Francis Boyle, Global Research.ca. “On November 15, 1988, the independent state of Palestine was proclaimed by the Palestine National Council (PNC), meeting in Algiers, by a vote of 253 to 46, as well as in front of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the capital of the new state, after the close of prayers, in testament to the monumental importance of Al Aqsa Mosque to the Palestinian people. A remarkable opportunity for peace was created by the Palestinian Declaration of Independence because therein the PNC officially endorsed a two-state solution in order to resolve the basic conflict. Right now the goal of obtaining peace with justice for all peoples in the Middle East can be achieved on the basis of a two-state solution for the Palestinian people and the Jewish people, respectively. … What is needed now from the Israeli government and people as well as from the American government and people is the same Will for Peace that was demonstrated by the Palestinians eighteen years ago. The Israelis and the Americans must seize this historic moment for peace. Otherwise, I doubt very seriously that history will given any of us a second chance for obtaining peace with justice for all peoples and states in the Middle East.” The Palestinian Declaration can be read at this site.

Jimmy Carter may head Beit Hanoun probe
17.11.06. Yitzhak Benhorin, ynet news. UN to vote on proposal by Arab nations to censure Israel for Beit Hanoun deaths, appoint UN probe into incident. US media reports ex-President Jimmy Carter could head mission.

Those Naive Europeans
18.11.06. Khalid Amayreh,The People’s Voice. … “Earlier, UN Secretary General Kufi Anan pointed out that the conflict in Palestine was the main reason for tension between Islam and the West. Even the usually duplicitous and mendacious British Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke along the same lines during an interview with the newly-launched Aljazeera International Television channel Friday night, 17 November. … Interestingly, nearly all Palestinian factions, including Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, have more or less accepted the new initiative, with the Islamic Jihad group, probably the most radical faction, declaring its willingness and readiness to observe a ceasefire with Israel provided Israeli reciprocity.

However, as expected, Israel “rejected out of hand” the fresh peace initiative. … I really wonder why the EU doesn’t embark on a really thorough investigation into the reasons and factors behind the failure of all peace efforts and initiatives pertaining to the Middle East from the Rogers’ Plan in 1968 to the now- moribund American-backed initiative known as the “Roadmap”? … Israel doesn’t want peace

Well, the reason why all peace efforts since 1967 have failed is very simple. Israel vehemently rejects any “peace settlement” with the Palestinians that would force the Zionist state to explicitly or implicitly give up the spoils of the 1967 war. This is the crux of the matter that every serious peace-maker must always keep in mind when delving into this matter.”

World must take decisive step to stop Israel: Qatar
19.11.06. Peninsular Qatar. ‘Qatar’s yesterday reiterated support to the Palestinian cause. Qatar, in its capacity as a Muslim state and a member in the un Security Council, shall exercise its duty to bolster the just Palestinian cause and the Palestinian peoples’ right to regain their national rights including the right to establish an independent state of their own with Al Quds as its capital. Ahmed bin Abdullah described the Israeli massacre at Beit Hanoun and the continued Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people, as war crimes and crimes against humanity adding these crimes would be a mark of disgrace on the face of the world community if it did not take a decisive step.’

Israeli War Crimes in Beit Hanoon, UNRWA Launches a Flash Appeal
21.11.06. aljazeerah.info. The United Nations agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) has issued the following flash appeal for Beit Hanoon following Israel's most recent assault on 8 November.

The heart of the matter: Palestine in the world today
22.11.06. A. Soueif, Ahram. Last week's Beit Hanoun massacre is just one more war crime in a long chain of atrocities committed by Israel for over half a century now. Ahdaf Soueif* argues that if the world is to be put back on an even keel, it has to be a world in which the Palestinians achieve equality and justice.


THE US / Bolton / ISRAEL VS. THE UN

Groups Side With Bush on Bolton
15.11.06. Forward.com / ICH. ‘In the first post-election battle between the Bush administration and the Democrats, the Jewish community is standing behind the president as he pushes the candidacy of John Bolton. Despite the declared hostility of Democrats and several moderate Republicans, the White House has formally put forth the reappointment of controversial diplomat John Bolton as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations…. The administration is now reportedly looking for ways to keep Bolton at the U.N. by circumventing the Senate.

“The Jewish community remains supportive and would want to see [Bolton] stay,” said Malcolm Hoenlein, vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. “He has been an effective advocate, and he is appreciated by the diplomatic corps.”

Bolton in extraordinary outburst against United Nations
18.11.06. Calcutta news. Bolton was furious over the adoption by the General Assembly of a resolution which said the assembly regretted the deaths of 19 civilians in an attack by the Israeli military in the town of Beit Hanoun last week. Despite the resolution being significantly watered down at the behest of the United States, and being passing by 156 votes to seven, Bolton launched a blistering attack on the UN, and many of its members. "The problem of anti-Israel bias is not unique to the Human Rights Council. It is endemic to the culture of the United Nations. It is a decades-old, systematic problem that transcends the whole panoply of the UN organizations and agencies," he continued. … The resolution was taken to the General Assembly after the United States used its veto to squash a similar motion in the Security Council. It was the 31st time the U.S. had used its veto at the UN to stop resolutions concerning Israel and the Palestinians.’

Gillerman: UN hijacked by evil forces
18.11.06. Y. Benhorin, ynetnews / ich. Mr Gillerman accuses the UN of being an evil force.’

Foreign Ministry: UN hindering fight against terror
18.11.06 Ynet news. The UN's decision to investigate the incident in Beit Hanoun over a week ago, in which 19 Palestinians were killed, was not well-received in Israel. Saturday, the Foreign Ministry called the decision one-sided and rewarding to terrorists.

JOHN BOLTON’S SPEECH TO AIPAC POLICY CONFERENCE
05.03.06

US / Bolton and Lebanon

Bolton Busy Framing Syria for Gemayel Assassination
25.11.06. K. Nimmo, uruknet. "John Bolton, the American ambassador to the United Nations, said recent probes into political killings in Lebanon suggested Syrian involvement. He told the BBC that if Syria was deemed to have been involved, the implications were serious."

Gaza

U.N. calls for end to Israel's Gaza ops
18.11.06. AP. The U.N. General Assembly called for an end to Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip on Friday, overwhelmingly passing a resolution in an emergency special session the Israeli ambassador blasted as a "farce" and a "circus."

UN asks Israel to vacate Gaza: US opposes, EU backs resolution
18.11.06. M. Haider, Dawn / ICH. ‘The UN General Assembly on Friday voted overwhelmingly to condemn Israel for "indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force" in its military offensive in Gaza which, according to the Palestinian ambassador, threatens to "destroy the entire people." The resolution was passed by a vote of 156 to 7, with six abstentions. The US, Israel and Australia voted against the document while all the European Union members supported it.’

United Nations - Where are Your Troops ? The Israelis are Heading for Large Scale Massacres on Gaza Strip !
"Israel" Is Planning New Ground Offensive
23.11.06. Hiyam Noir, Palestinian Free Voice / uruk. ‘Inside "Israel" there are demands for a larger- scale offensive against the Gaza Strip. The "Israelis" decided on Wednesday to step up the offensive against the Gaza Strip, demanding a high-scale ground operation.
The "Israeli" terrorist operations on ground continues in the northern Gaza Strip for the third consecutive day.’


Israel and Iraq

The puppet's last dance
16 – 22.11.06. Abdallah Al Ashaal, ahram.org. ‘Iraq will remain a scar in the face of US foreign policy for years to come. The US has proved itself to be clueless about regional politics all the way from Iraq to Afghanistan, from Lebanon to Palestine. Oil and Israel were all that the world's sole superpower could think of, and the consequences were nothing short of disastrous. Ironically, while Washington was contemplating a showdown with Iran, Israel was shoring up its relations with the emerging powers of the world: India and China.’

Iraq war was good for Israel: Olmert
22.11.06. D. Williams, Reuters / ICH.


UK / Palestine

No Peace, No Place For Palestine
22.11.06. S. Samples, ICH. ‘To be fair, Britain's Tony Blair has advocated peace in the Middle East throughout his tenure, but it's difficult to get that process started when you've announced that you're walking "shoulder-to-shoulder" with George W. Bush and you have long been a proud member of the US/Israel/UK massacre tag-team wreaking bloody destruction throughout the entire area.’


Israel: War Pimp Alerts

Hamas

Israel orders killing of Hamas politicians
18.11.06. U. Mahnaimi, The Times / ICH. Since withdrawing from Gaza more than a year ago, Israel has targeted Hamas’s military activists, but that has not stopped the rockets. Outraged by an attack last Wednesday on the village of Sderot, Israel is determined to ensure the political leadership in Gaza, the West Bank and abroad will “no longer escape responsibility” … Since the beginning of this month, 98 Palestinians have been killed..

Iran

Bush: I would understand if Israel chose to attack Iran
20.11.06. Y. Verter, Haaretz. Rice mentioned three reasons why the United States is currently unable to carry out a military operation against Iran: the wish to solve the crisis through peaceful means; concern that a military strike will be ineffective - that it would fail to completely destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities; and the lack of precise intelligence on the targets' locations. U.S. President George W. Bush and President Jacques Chirac of France met several weeks ago. Bush told his French counterpart that the possibility that Israel would carry out a strike against Iran's nuclear installations should not be ruled out.

Official says U.S. may mull pre-emptive Iran strike
14.11.06. A. Croft, Reuters / ICH. The United States or other countries will one day be forced to consider pre-emptive action if Iran and North Korea continue to seek nuclear weapons, a senior U.S. government official said on Tuesday.

Bush will not hesitate to use force in Iran: Israeli ambassador
15.11.06. Space War. Israel, widely considered the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear power, views Iran as its arch-foe, pointing to repeated calls by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to wipe the Jewish state off the map.

Olmert: Israel will challenge Iran
JTA / ICH. Israel “will not shy away from challenging Iran’s development of nuclear weapons,”

The Next Act
19.11.06. S. Hersh, N. Yorker. Is a damaged Administration less likely to attack Iran, or more? The United States does not want to go into Iran, but, if Israel feels more and more cornered, there may be no other choice.” ‘If the Democrats won on November 7th, the Vice-President said, that victory would not stop the Administration from pursuing a military option with Iran. The White House would put “shorteners” on any legislative restrictions, Cheney said, and thus stop Congress from getting in its way.’

White House dismisses Hersh article
19.11.06. AFP. Breitbart.com.

Islamic militancy could yield world war-US general
18.11.06. S. Malone, Reuters / ICH. Army Gen. John Abizaid compared the rise of militant ideologies, such as the force driving al Qaeda, to the rise of fascism in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s that set the stage for World War Two.

CIA analysis finds no Iranian nuclear weapons drive: report
19.11.06. AFP. A classified draft CIA assessment has found no firm evidence of a secret drive by Iran to develop nuclear weapons, as alleged by the White House, a top US investigative reporter has said.’

Israel’s Domestic Political Game Raises the Danger of a U.S.-Iran War

20.11.06. Tony Karon.

US Could Bomb Iran Nuclear Sites in 2007: Analysts
22.11.06. AFP / Common Dreams

Bush gives go-ahead for 'Bush Center' in Israel
17.11.06. Haaretz / ICH. U.S. President George Bush was informed on Tuesday of an initiative to establish a center under his name in Israel, as a sign of gratitude for his support for the country and its security


Media

The New York Times: Accuracy in Reporting of Israel / Palestine

English-language Al-Jazeera bets Americans will tune in for news
15.11.06. Sanfrancisco Gate. "It provides incendiary coverage that radicalizes people," Cliff Kincaid, who edits Accuracy in Media's twice-monthly press critique, says of Al-Jazeera. … ‘"It gets them to hate America and to hate Americans." What hyperbole! See the LIVE FEED.
Why did the US bomb the Baghdad Jazeera office?
An inquiry demand has met US/UK government resistance. The US says that Jazeera was the ‘mouthpiece for Al Qaida.’ Read Danny Schechter’s article here.

Al-Jazeera And The Truth
06.12.06. C. Reese, ICH. Since American politicians have involved us so deeply in the Middle East, the American public is entitled to see the truth of what's going on over there. The public can't get that from American television, which sanitizes its reports. Al-Jazeera shows you the grim reality. When the Israelis kill children, they show you the bodies and the weeping mothers. They show you all the ugly truth about Israeli and American policies and actions in the Middle East. They show you what war looks like.

So you don't need an electronic bug in the offices of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee to know that AIPAC and the Bush administration are putting pressure on the distributors to shun Al-Jazeera. Denying Americans their First Amendment right to the truth, in regard to Israel, is always Job One with AIPAC. That is necessary because the truth about Israel's actions toward the Palestinians and other Arab countries puts the lie to all of the Zionist propaganda.

, Jimmy Carter: Jew-Hater, Genocide-Enabler, Liar
14.12.06, D. Horowitz, Front Page. For full study of this dangerous and sick media society man and his world, and their corporate funding, see The Haditha Doctor and the Media Dissemblers

Israel boycott may be the way to peace
15.12.06. Letters, Guardian. Signed by: John Berger,Brian Eno, Sophie Fiennes, Eduardo Galeano, Reem Kelani, Leon Rosselson, Steven Rose, Arundhati Roy, Ahdaf Soueif, Elia Suleiman and 85 others. Ten Palestinians are killed for every Israeli death; more than 200, many of them children, have been killed since the summer. UN resolutions are flouted, human rights violated as Palestinian land is stolen, houses demolished and crops destroyed. For archbishop Desmond Tutu, as for the Jewish former ANC military commander now South African minister of security, Ronnie Kasrils, the situation of the Palestinians is worse than that of black South Africans under apartheid.


Pelosi

Who is Nancy Pelosi? Bi-partisan consensus on America's War in the Middle East
11.11.06. M. Gaffney, Global Research.

THE REAL SKINNY ON NANCY PELOSI
16.11.06. Direlanland.typepad.com

Pelosi's Problem
18.11.06. J. Nichols, The Nation. Of course, House Democrats made a mistake in choosing the slick favorite of Washington special interests, Steny Hoyer, over shambling populist John Murtha to serve as House Majority Leader. In one of the more ridiculous exercises of journalistic irresponsibility by a Washington press corps that is distinguished by nothing so much as its ineptness when it comes to offering useful perspective to the American people, Murtha was dismissed as an ethically-challenged mess of a man while Hoyer, the candidate of K. Street, was presented as the tidier Democrat. … While Murtha may be an imperfect individual, Hoyers imperfections are systemic. The Marylander who served as minority whip before the election is the embodiment of everything that is wrong with the insider Democrats of Washington: He votes right on just enough issues to keep in the good graces of Democratic special-interest groups. But he votes wrong on just enough economic issues to keep the doors of corporate America open to his fund-raising appeals. The sly strategy has worked for Hoyer -- Public Citizen rated the Maryland congressman as the "most dependent on special-interest money" in the House and ranked him fifth out of the 433 members reviewed for contributions received from lobbyists. … Where Murtha made his name by challenging the neo-conservative consensus on the war in Iraq in particular and foreign policy in general, Hoyer criticized his colleague for taking a stand, saying doing so "could lead to disaster."’

As new Congress organizes, Pelosi backslides on ethics
17.11.06. Yahoo / usa today. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, anointed Thursday as the next speaker of the House, must have an awfully short memory for promises or an awfully narrow definition of corruption.
Perhaps both. Less than a week after Democrats captured the House on promises to reverse the Republican "culture of corruption," who did Pelosi back to become the No. 2 House leader? Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record), D-Pa., who was implicated (though not charged) in one of Washington's most sordid scandals. And who has she refused to rule out as the next chairman of the ultra-sensitive House Intelligence Committee?
None other than Rep. Alcee Hastings (news, bio, voting record),D-Fla., a former federal judge who was impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate for conspiring to extort a $150,000 bribe in a case before him. Not exactly a flying start for setting a new ethical tone on Capitol Hill.’

Pelosi’s Price is Right for Jewish Community
24.11.06. M. Berger, Jewish Daily Forward.

Ties to Israel nothing new for Senate's next majority leader
29.11.06. Jerusalem Post.

You Don't Speak for All Americans on Palestine
06.01.07. MAHMOUD El-YOUSSEPH, Counterpunch / ICH.
A Challenge to Nancy Pelosi. Since Mrs. Pelosi is so concerned about America 's tarnished image abroad, she should stop pandering to the powerful pro-Israeli lobby. Maybe then we can have a genuine and just peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

DEMOCRATS OPEN SPECIAL INTEREST LOOPHOLES
15.01.07. Free Market. According to a posting at the Daily Kos blog by James Risser, newly chosen Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi [D-CA] has carved out exemptions to both measures for her own favored causes and constituents. Risser cites the official records, which show that in the first two bills before the new Congress, Pelosi has allowed exemptions – first (on lobbying restrictions) for AIPAC and the Aspen group, then (on the minimum-wage increase) for two companies doing business in American Samoa, both based in her own Congressional district.

Lobbies/AIPAC

Hillary Clinton, AIPAC and Iran
03.01.06. J. Frank, Counterpunch. ‘Israel, however, continues to develop a substantial nuclear arsenal, and in 2000 the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) reported that Israel has most likely produced enough plutonium to make up to 200 nuclear weapons. So, it is safe to say that Israel's bomb building techniques are light years ahead of Iran's dismal nuclear program. Yet the major U.S. ally in the Middle East still won't admit they have capacity to produce such deadly weapons. And while AIPAC and Israel pressure the U.S. government to force the Iran issue to the U.N. Security Council, Israel itself stands in violation of numerous U.N. Resolutions dealing with the occupied territories of Palestine, including U.N. Resolution 1402, which demands that Israel withdraw its military from all Palestinian cities at once.’

JOHN BOLTON’S SPEECH TO AIPAC POLICY CONFERENCE
05.03.06

How the Israeli lobby uses intimidation to prevent academic freedom in the U.S.
11.11.06. Video. At Columbia, the professors in the Middle East department believe there's a civil war under way for the hearts and minds of Americans. Discussion on the watchdog, Campus Watch.

Alleged AIPAC informant promoted
06/23/06. JTA / ICH. The Bush administration promoted David Satterfield, an alleged informant for a former AIPAC lobbyist facing trial in a classified information case.

AIPAC Runs Right
E. Alterman, NYU Tisch / The Nation. ‘The conservative colonization of much of the media, K Street lobbying firms and a good chunk of the judiciary has been well documented. It would therefore be surprising if other political institutions were resisting this trend. Perhaps some are, but don't for a second think that the conservative message machine is going to stop there. Over the years, owing to a variety of reasons and specific historical moments, the Republicanization and increasing hawkishness of the American Israel Political Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has continued apace, with little heed paid to the ramifications of this shift or its increasing alliance with the far right. Whether AIPAC is good or bad for US foreign policy is a topic of enormous and vitriolic dispute, and one I plan to avoid here (though of course I have pretty strong views). Rather, what requires some attention is the right-wing takeover of the organization and its increasingly close relationship with the Republican Party.

UN committee wants 'political' condemnations for rights abuses halted
18.11.06. The Jurist. The resolution was sponsored by Belarus [JURIST news archive; Foreign Ministry press release] and Uzbekistan [JURIST news archive], both of which been accused of extensive human rights violations in the past. China, Cuba, North Korea, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Sudan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zimbabwe were co-sponsors. The United States along with many European countries oppose the resolution, saying it favors nations that are long-term rights violators.

Hoyer Addresses AIPAC Political Leadership Conference
15.11.06. DemocraticWhip,house.gov. Full Speech.

24 Jewish organizations biggest fundraisers in US
26/11/06. ynetnews. At the head of the Jewish organizations on the list was the United Jewish Communities (UJC) which ranked 34. The organization raised nearly USD 334 million in 2005.

A “Grand Settlement” Versus the Jewish Lobby
03.12.06. J. Petras, ICH. Because of the refusal of the peace movement to take a stand and confront the Zionist Lobby, it is condemned to playing a passive ‘spectator role’ in the ‘Baker versus-Lobby’ battle for control over US Middle East policy.

Dems Rebut Carter on Israeli 'Apartheid'
04.12.06. M. Brown, The Nation,

Letter from James Abourezk, former US Senator from South Dakota to Jeff Blankfort on the Israel Lobby
04.12.06. Jeff Blankfort, uruknet. I can tell you from personal experience that, at least in the Congress, the support Israel has in that body is based completely on political fear--fear of defeat by anyone who does not do what Israel wants done.

Speaking frankly about Israel and Palestine
08.12.06. Jimmy Carter, LA Times.

Last Word: Jimmy Carter
25.12. – 1.01.07, NEWSWEEK/ MSNBC. Revisiting 'Apartheid.'

Why Condemning Israel and the Zionist Lobby is So Important
25.12.06. J. Petras, Dissident Voice.


Will it help the Palestinians if the Democrats are in power?

Wendy Singer, the Director General of AIPAC, says: “Our representatives are in a pro-Israel community. It does not matter which party will have control, because we have invested so much in the relations.”

America in No-Win War for Israel
20.11.06. Harmony Grant, aljazeerah. The dots will never be connected by mainstream media, but the facts are there. In midterm elections, America yelled “no” to an Israel-first agenda that left American boys dead in Iraq, squandered American money and reputation, and, oh yeah, caused the deaths of 44,206 (465,000?) Iraqi civilians.
"There’s only one tiny problem: Americans don’t know who they’re mad at. The lefties among us think the war was about oil; the loyal Republicans think the war was about national security. Few are looking at the neoconservative Jews (Paul Wolfowitz, Elliot Abrams, Richard Perle, Douglas Feith, among others) who crafted this war on behalf of Israel. … We went into Iraq primarily to make the Mideast safe for Israel.”

ANTI ZIONISM=ANTI SEMITISM? IT SEEMS SO TO SOME
23.11.06. Desert Peace, uruknet. ‘I have in recent days seen and heard ridiculous charges leveled against Gilad Atzmon, claims that he is an anti semite and should not have been invited to speak for the Scottish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign in Edinburgh last night. There were protests coming from renowned anti zionists in Britain as well as from the zionist 'alert rag' Engage. Engage, the very source that referred to me as an anti semite a few weeks ago has now added Atzmon to their 'list'.
All I can say is that if Engage's positions on who or who is not an anti Semite are being taken as Gospel Truth by anti zionists, then our movement is in serious trouble. Atzmon is a musician not a politician.’


Human Rights Abuses

2007 budget to perpetuate gaps between Jewish, Arab schools
16.11.06. Haaretz / ICH. The Education Ministry's 2007 budget will likely preserve the gaps between Jewish and Arab schools in terms of teaching hours, and development plans for minorities will also be slashed, Haaretz has learned.

WHAT THE AMERICANS DO NOT KNOW
19.11.06. I. Ebeid, Al Mohrer / uruknet. The aggression against the Palestinians is widening and the United States of America is taking an active role in it. The country of "Justice for All" and its allies are maintaining a deadly blockade against the people of Palestine. Medicine, food and water are not available and the Palestinian children, like their young brethren in Iraq, are suffering the most. Hospitals and medical centers are not operating to an acceptable standard because of lack of medicine, water and electricity. A friend of mine died at a barricade, he was gravely ill, and he was not allowed to cross to the hospital which was a couple of miles away. He was neither the first nor the last to die at the crossings or barricades. American taxpayer money is supplied to the Zionist terrorists to maintain this racist entity and to build settlements on Palestinian confiscated lands. American guns and bombs are killing Palestinians every day and in every spot of occupied Palestine.

"Israel," is guilty of mass murder but President Bush and our political parties, Republicans and Democrats are giving the Palestinians deaf ears and blind eyes, they are ignoring the tragedy and giving the racist Zionist state strong support, protection and immunity.”

Palestinians banned from travelling in yellow-plated cars, driver will be prosecuted
20.11.06. maan news.

Chris Hedges: Bring Down That Wall
20.11.06. Truth Dig.

Israel high court upholds northern route of security barrier
26.11.06. The Jurist.

Military Launches Investigation into 2003 Shooting of ISM Activist Brian Avery
26.11.06. Y. Yoaz, Haaretz / Palsolidarity.

Hebron Settlers Trespass on Palestinian’s family’s land with IOF Complicity
26.11.06. Palsolidarity. org.

GOODBYE TO THE ARSENAL
26.11.06. Black Looks

December 9th: Big Day of Action
Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and the Boycott Israeli Goods Campaign (BIG) are calling on activists around the country to join a day of boycott action against Israeli militarism and apartheid.

Video. Israeli Occupation Forces Demolish Palestinian Homes06.12.06. 8 min.

Child detainee threatened with rape during interrogation
05.12.06. IMEMC / uruknet.

The last casualty?
08.12.06. G. Levy, Haaretz / ICH. The numbers don't lie. They never do. In the past month, the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces was 45 times greater than the number of Israelis killed by Palestinians. The Palestinian dead included 13 minors.

Palestinians win legal right to sue Israel for damages
13.12.06. Independent

Video
Israeli Occupation Forces Demolish Palestinian Homes.
06.12.06. 8 min.

Child detainee threatened with rape during interrogation
05.12.06. IMEMC / uruknet.

The last casualty?
08.12.06. G. Levy, Haaretz / ICH. The numbers don't lie. They never do. In the past month, the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces was 45 times greater than the number of Israelis killed by Palestinians. The Palestinian dead included 13 minors.

Palestinians win legal right to sue Israel for damages
13.12.06. Independent.


The Boy They Killed was just a village boy

09.01.07. The We. Stunning photo story.

Who rules Human Rights Watch?

On human shields (and Human Rights Watch)
23.11.05. Helena Cobban, just world news / uruknet.

Human Rights Watch versus Gandhi
25.11.06. Xymphora / uruknet. ‘The increasingly obvious Human Rights Watch has officially come out against the Palestinian use of peaceful non-resistance against the daily attacks of Israel. It was becoming too effective, and had to be stopped.’


Weapons Industry

United States Rides Weapons Bonanza Wave
18.11.06. E.S. Grecco, FPIF / ICH. ‘War, instability, and high oil prices have created a perfect storm of profit for the world's weapons manufacturers. … This is the eighth year in a row that the United States has led in global arms deliveries. The United Kingdom trailed in second with $3.1 billion and Russia was a close third, at $2.8 billion in arms deliveries.’
Video. Why We Fight. 1.39 min.

Israel seeks futuristic nanoweapons to fight Palestinians
16.11.06. n.z. herald. A high tech and unmanned "bionic wasp" capable of destroying a cell of militants or guerrillas is among a series of futuristic weapons being discussed a group of experts set up by the Israeli Vice Prime Minister, Shimon Peres.

The Israeli Poison Gas Attacks

Palestinian doctors: IOF troops use hard-to-detect weapons against Palestinians
26.11.06. Peace4Palestine.

US and Israel Targeting DNA in Gaza? The DIME Bomb: Yet Another Genotoxic Weapon, Part I
05.12.06. aljazeerah. It is unfortunate that the US media have virtually blacked out the story of Israel’s new weapon, not least because our own military may soon be using it in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Part II;Part III

Israel’s use of DIME bombs in context of DU
12.12.06. Traprock Writers Blog / uruknet. The DIME bomb has been under development by the US.

U.S. Arms Sales: Agreements with and Deliveries to Major Clients,1998-2005
December 15, 2006. Congressional Research Service.


More References

Haitham Sabbah kindly suggested some of the following articles, as did Ragnar B. Johannessen from The Peoples Voice.


ANNEMARIE & EMILY JACIR

A Tale of Two Sisters: Witnessing an Undercover Israeli Operation in Ramallah (1)
Annemarie Jacir writing from Ramallah, occupied Palestine, Live from Palestine, 15 November 2006. Electronic Intifada. “Four hours ago my sister Emily, her curator Carolyn and I were shot at by the Israeli army. My nerves are still shaky. We've been drinking ever since. My legs are weak. I feel I can't stand on them.

A Tale of Two Sisters: Witnessing an Undercover Israeli Operation in Ramallah (2)
15.11.06. Emily Jacir, writing from Ramallah, Live from Palestine.
Electronic Intifada. “Today is November 15th. Today is our supposed "Independence Day". A joke. Was almost killed today."


KHALID AMAYREH

Zionism Must Be Dissolved For Peace
1.11.06. K. Amayreh, Palestine.info

USA pushing Arabs into extremism
12.11.06. K. Amayreh, Palestine.info.

Right of return is the heart and soul of the Palestinian problem
23.11.06. Palestine.info


SABBAH’S BLOG

US Veto To Support Israeli Crimes
11.11.06.

‘Hello’, this is your NIGHTMARE wake up call!
16.11.06.

Did You Know?
24.11.06.

Traveling in or out of the Holy/Honey Land Is No Fun

24.11.06.

Visit Palestine
29.11.06. Video by Calhome Butterly.

VIDEO Anthem for Someone's Child. 4 min.

Visit Palestine
29.11.06. Video by Calhome Butterly.

UMKHALIL

Elie Wiesel, Again
26.11.06, Umkahlil. "I suppose it is inevitable that Elie Wiesel turns up in the New York Daily News reminding everyone of the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's "murderous regime."


Books

Carter Discusses New Book on Israel and the Middle East
16.11.06. J. Siegal, Forward.com.


+

Sarah Meyer is retired and now a researcher living in England.

Palestine: Wake Up America was first published by the BRussels Tribunal at: http://www.brusselstribunal.org/MeyerPalestine.htm

The Index Research url to ‘Palestine: Wake Up America’ is: http://indexresearch.blogspot.com/2006/11/palestine-wake-up-america.html

This research will be updated.


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