Thursday, August 31, 2006

[UrukNet] - [Daily Information from Occupied Iraq] - [newsletter 29 Aug 2006]


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اوروكنت.إنفو
:: information from occupied iraq
:: informazione dall'iraq occupato


Sinister Plan to Divide Iraq
Hassan Tahsin
One of the most unrealistic statements made by US President George Bush in recent times is that he is worried about the lack of progress in Iraq. In his statement in the Pentagon meeting on Aug. 15, Bush also expressed disappointment at the Iraqi people’s lack of understanding of the American "sacrifices" in terms of man and material for their sake. However the most serious point made by Bush at the meeting was, according to a White House statement, his rejection of the ! idea of Iraq’s division as a solution to end the violence. This meeting was not, apparently, held to express the US president’s worries over the Iraqi people’s plight. It was, presumably, to chalk out a method to extricate the US from the Iraqi quagmire. At the same time the US also wanted to guarantee the implementation of its secret scheme to divide the Arab world into small petty states that could be easily brought to obedience in order to protect the US and Israeli interests forever. Those familiar with the American behavior in recent times could view the White House statement only as a preliminary step on the road to Iraq’s division into three states — Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish. This division would also pave the US road to Iran and Syria...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26231



Apocalypse Now or Pack of Lies?*
UK Airport Terror Plot

Felicity Arbuthnot**
On September 11, 2001, when Prime Minister Blair announced, in the wake of the disaster of the Twin Towers — apparently without discussing Britain's stance with his Cabinet and with no debate in Parliament — that Britain stood "shoulder to shoulder" with the United States, the refrain on the street, on the bus, among friends was broadly "thanks a bunch, Tony, we are all targets now." Inspite of the outpouring of sympathy for innocent! lives lost, people were mindful of possible reasons, such as the 21 countries attacked or destabilized by America since 1945. Yet when London's bombings of July 7, 2005, took place, grief and sadness were accompanied by huge doses of cynicism.

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26225



The Lobby and the Israeli Invasion of Lebanon:
Their Facts and Ours

James Petras, www.dissidentvoice.org
All the national, state and local Jewish organizations have launched a $300 million fundraising and propaganda campaign in support of the 21 Jewish civilians and 116 soldiers killed during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon (but not the 18 Israeli Arabs who were excluded from Jews-only bomb shelters). As adjuncts of the Israeli foreign office not a single one of the 52 organizations which make up The P! residents of the Major Jewish Organizations in the US voiced a single public criticism of Israel’s massive destruction of civilian homes, hospitals, offices, supermarkets, refugee convoys and churches and mosques, and the deliberate killing of civilians, UN peacekeepers and rescue workers with precision bombing. On the contrary the entire Jewish lobby echoed in precise detail the Israeli lies that the Lebanese deaths were caused by the Lebanese resistance’s "use of human shields," despite the total devastation of the heavily populated southern suburbs of Beirut, completely out of range of any Hezbollah rockets. The magnitude of the Jewish Lobby’s cover-up of Israel’s massive military assault can be measured in great detail...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26221



If You Get Your News From the Corporate Media: Just Shut Up and Listen!!!
Advice to the Uninformed From TvNewsLIES

TvNewsLIES
...YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING IN IRAQ! You don’t know that the war in Iraq is getting less media coverage than any other conflict in American history. You only know that the invasion of Iraq is supposedly part of a greater War on Terror. The connection between Iraq and Al Qaeda was a lie, but you still believe the claim. The insurgency is made up largely of Iraqis who op! pose an invasion of their country, but they are constantly referred to as terrorists. No one tells you where the billions upon billions of your war dollars have gone; the Bush administration certainly has not rebuilt the country they bombed to smithereens. You don’t know what is happening because US reporters are not free to leave the safety of the Green Zone and they rely on official military reports for their information. You hear what the Pentagon chooses to tell you. You hear that progress is being made, despite the ongoing, daily, non-stop death and mayhem and carnage. You just don’t know...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26239



Free Speech or Censorship?
Project for the Old American Century blog
This story could end up being pivotal in terms of both free speech and censorship issues. The US government arrested and charged Javed Iqbal - an American businessman originally from Pakistan - for providing customers in New York with broadcasts from Al Manar (a "Hizbullah" television station in Lebanon). According to the prosecutor (Stephen A Miller), "The charge lurking in the background is material support for terrorism." Mr. Stephens said he! did not know of any other cases of people "accused of breaking US law by offering access to news outlets via satellite dish." Mr Iqbal was arrested under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ("IEEPA") (pdf) as Al Manar was listed as a terrorist organization in March 2006. Al Manar was bombed by Israel on June 12, 2006. Al Manar is one of the 10 most watched Arab stations...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26238



The Assault on Iraqi Agriculture --- U.S. Agribusiness Targets the Fertile Crescent
Daniel Stone
...In 1991, the U.S. deliberately bombed Iraq's civilian infrastructure of water purification and electrical plants, and then prevented Iraq from rebuilding same by imposing sanctions (more accurately a "military blockade" - an act of war). In both 1991 and 2003, "US bombing raids targeted cattle feed lots, poultry farms, fertilizer warehouses, pumping stations, irrigation systems, fuel depots and pesticide factories ! ---the very infrastructure of Iraqi agriculture." It will take years to restore these operations under good conditions. Under the U.S.-driven sanctions' rubric of "dual use," the most common and necessary materials were blocked from entering Iraq. For instance, some parts for irrigation systems were banned, thus preventing the repair and use of irrigation...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26237



Iraqi hospitals are war’s new ‘killing fields'
Medical sites targeted by Shiite militiamen

Amit R. Paley
...In Baghdad these days, not even the hospitals are safe. In growing numbers, sick and wounded Sunnis have been abducted from public hospitals operated by Iraq's Shiite-run Health Ministry and later killed, according to patients, families of victims, doctors and government officials. As a result, more and more Iraqis are avoiding hospitals, making it even harder to preserve life in a city where dea! th is seemingly everywhere. Gunshot victims are now being treated by nurses in makeshift emergency rooms set up in homes. Women giving birth are smuggled out of Baghdad and into clinics in safer provinces. In most cases, family members and hospital workers said, the motive for the abductions appeared to be nothing more than religious affiliation. Because public hospitals here are controlled by Shiites, the killings have raised questions about whether hospital staff have allowed Shiite death squads into their facilities to slaughter Sunni Arabs (...) According to patients and families of victims, the primary group kidnapping Sunnis from hospitals is the Mahdi Army, a militia controlled by anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr that has infiltrated the Iraqi security forces and several government ministries...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26247



Doing the Wrong Thing in Afghanistan: Depleted Uranium: The Definitive Moral Paradox
Michael Clarke
It is Canada Day evening, and I can barely hear the whistles, booms and bangs of the fireworks. It sounds a bit like distant bombs exploding, reminding me of the incredible moral paradox our federal government's aggressive military role in Afghanistan has created for all Canadians. Our government, military, newspapers, television and radio media are efficiently dispersing the official sound bytes: "our troops in Af! ghanistan have the moral authority"; "Canada is doing the right thing"; "it's a noble mission"; and, "we are just spreading freedom and democracy". But, they are not telling us that there is something else we are spreading around Afghanistan that any truly moral person would instinctively consider immoral and evil...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26240



Iraqi forces strike truce with Shiite militia after battles kill at least 80
Daily Star staff
Iraqi forces struck a truce Tuesday with Shiite militia fighters after violent clashes in a town south of Baghdad left at least 80 dead since Monday (...) The deal with the Shiite militias came as a string of sectarian attacks killed at least 10 and a pipeline exploded near Diwaniyya, incinerating at least 36 civilians as they looted fuel. And Iraqi police found the bodies of 24 people who had apparently been tortured an! d shot before being dumped at two locations in Baghdad, police said. "We reached a settlement with Mehdi Army forces to end the confrontation," town councilor Sheikh Ghanim Abid said, as shops in Diwaniyya reopened and water and electricity supplies were turned back on. Saheb al-Ameri, the head of cleric Moqtada Sadr's office in Najaf, said Diwaniyya's governor met the cleric on Monday to negotiate an end to the battle, which he blamed on the "personal behavior" of some Mehdi Army members...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26232



DAILY WAR NEWS FOR TUESDAY, August 29, 2006
Today in Iraq
U.S. soldier killed by roadside bomb southeast of Baghdad late Saturday. Marine killed on Friday in Anbar is identified as Cpl. Jordan C. Pierson, 21, of Milford, Connecticut. Bomb in a minibus in central Baghdad kills 9, injures 16. Bomb in a marketplace in Baghdad northern suburb al-Khalis kills six, wounds more than 12. Car bomb attack on Iraqi government-run newspaper in Baghdad kills one, injures 30, according to one report, kills two, wounds 20 accor! ding to another, kills 2, wounds 25 according to AFP. Al-Sabah, or "The Morning," newspaper is part of the government-run Iraqi Media Net group, which includes Iraqiya Television channel. 20 bodies found around Baghdad, shot in head and showing signs of torture...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26236



Israeli Apartheid
Segregation, Control and the Creation of Bantustans in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).

Owen Powell
The question of Israel as an apartheid state has received increasing attention over the last years as Israel has continued colonial expansion in the West Bank while simultaneously attempting to diverge itself from the Palestinians. The purpose of this article is to highlight the growing systemization of apartheid in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) with particular r! eference to Israel's policy of unilateral disengagement. The need for this debate is highlighted by the effective outcomes of disengagement which has already resulted in the segregation of Palestinian communities and delineation of exclusive Jewish space by means of the segregation barrier. Furthermore the creation of Palestinian enclaves or ghettos in the OPT bears a striking resemblance to the South African policies during the apartheid era which sought the establishment Bantustans as a means to facilitate segregation and to secure privileges for an ethnic minority...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26235



Why Israel Creates a Humanitarian Disaster in Palestine
James Marc Leas
Palestine is suffering a manmade disaster stemming from a sequence of US backed Israeli actions: military occupation, the wall, the embargo, and now the military invasion. Israel's pretext for these actions has been suicide bombers, captured Israeli soldiers, and rockets fired at Israeli towns. The real purpose appears to be weaken, humiliate, and force out the civilian population so Israel can take over the rest of their land. Back in 2003 a! UN report stated that "a humanitarian catastrophe" was already building in the occupied Palestinian territories "as a result of extremely harsh military measures that the occupying Israeli military forces have imposed in response to the outbreak of the second intifada in September 2000."...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26234



More Sunni-Shiite clashes are reported in Baghdad
Nancy A. Youssef and Mark Brunswick, McClatchy Newspapers
Armed groups of Sunni and Shiite Muslims battled Tuesday for control of several neighborhoods in southwest Baghdad, residents of those areas reported. It was another sign that security is deteriorating in the capital and that Iraq may be moving closer to a full-fledged civil war. Fighting between armed groups of Shiites and Sunnis isn't uncommon in Baghdad, but the extent of Tuesday's fighting was unprecede! nted (...) There was no official version of the fighting in al Ray, Shurta Rabiyah, Ghuratan and Suwaib, which are predominantly Sunni neighborhoods. Residents said an effort by supporters of militant Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr to seize control of the areas had triggered the fighting. A Sadr spokesman, while acknowledging battles, said no Sadr supporters were involved...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26242



Media Disinformation on 911: Anatomy of a Hatchet Job: CBC Radio’s “The Current” and Scholars for 9/11 Truth
Prof. Michael Keefer, Globalresearch.ca
...That’s much what happened in 2003 and since to the corporate media’s narratives about Saddam Hussein’s fearsome weapons of mass destruction, about the supposed reluctance of Bush and Blair to go to war in Iraq, and their supposedly pure and democratic motives when they did. That’s much what’s happening now to the claims advanced by Israel to legitimize its renewed! aggressions against the Palestinians and Lebanese (Hizbollah’s "kidnapping" of two Israeli soldiers rather loses its steam as a casus belli once people learn about Israel’s prior provocations—and about the fact that all the early Israeli statements and press reports identified the soldiers as having been on Lebanese soil when they were captured). It’s happening as well to two somewhat more complex stories that have, until recently, been managing to sustain themselves in the corporate media. One of these is the story that George W. Bush actually won the 2004 presidential election, and hence has some right to the office he continues to occupy. The other is the no less fraudulent story that the terrorist crimes of September 11, 2001 were perpetrated by a gang of Islamist fanatics led by a bearded Saudi in an Afghan cave—rather than being organized (and subsequently covered up) by civilian and military officials at the highest levels of the Bush regime...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26243



America Is Losing Iraq: Is Anybody Watching?
Danny Schechter, MediaChannel.org
...Iraq has been reduced to a litany of bloody incidents and body counts. For many, it is both boring and hard to follow, and so they tune out. Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, terrorists, insurgents, private militias...whatever happened to 'us' and 'them?' No wonder that when the JonBenet Ramsey story resurfaced the TV channels flocked to it like flies to a flame. When I worked for network TV, we had a term for stories we lost interest in. We ! would say, "Been there, done that!" In the nation's newsrooms, the triage has begun -- with Iraq sounding more and more like something that happened long ago. Get ready for more History Channel specials and somber retrospectives that help us to believe that we can be forgiven for thinking of the Iraq War in the past-tense. Besides, covering Iraq is so dangerous. Few reporters want to take so many risks for so little "face time" on TV. And there are hardly any " positive" stories to report -- even though the conservative media keep beating the bushes for them...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26246



Israel is a terrorocracy, not a democracy
Khalid Amayreh, thepeoplesvoice.org
One of the most enduring myths about Israel is the often-made claim that it is a democracy. The big lie is marketed effectively in many Western countries where Zionist-controlled or Zionist-influenced media has a definitive stranglehold on public opinion. consequently, the "veracity" of the myth is taken for granted by many politicians, journalists, intellectuals and ordinary people, and is used as a ready-made weapon against Israel’s c! ritics. The truth of the matter, however, is that Israel is not a real democracy but rather a nefarious religious- ethnic terrorist regime that heavily employs state-terror as official policy...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26230



The Big Lie About 'Islamic Fascism'
Eric Margolis
The latest big lie unveiled by Washington’s neoconservatives are the poisonous terms, "Islamo-Fascists" and "Islamic Fascists." They are the new, hot buzzwords among America’s far right and Christian fundamentalists. President George W. Bush made a point last week of using "Islamofacists" when recently speaking of Hezbullah and Hamas – both, by the way, democratically elected parties. A Canadian government minister from the Conservative Party compared Lebanon’s He! zbullah to Nazi Germany. The term "Islamofascist" is utterly without meaning, but packed with emotional explosives. It is a propaganda creation worthy Dr. Goebbels, and the latest expression of the big lie technique being used by neocons in Washington’s propaganda war against its enemies in the Muslim World. This ugly term was probably first coined in Israel – as was the other hugely successful propaganda term, "terrorism" – to dehumanize and demonize opponents and deny them any rational political motivation, hence removing any need to deal with their grievances and demands...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26228



Today's 'Islamic fascists' were yesterday's friends
Brendan O'Neill
...In a nutshell, the wars over state, territory, and politics that defined the Cold War era have given way to cosmic battles between "good" and "evil" - between a West apparently keen to defend secular, democratic values and its twisted opponents who prefer the idea of autocratic Islam. This simplistic view of the new geopolitical landscape is deeply problematic. It overlooks the key role that the West played in nurturing radical Islamist groups! , precisely as a means of isolating and undermining secular movements that were judged by Western governments to be too uppity or dangerous. Over the past 80 years and more - from Egypt to Afghanistan to Palestine - powerful governments in the West and their allies in the Middle East helped to create radical Islamic sects as a bulwark against secular nationalist parties or pan-Arabism. They gave the nod to, and in some instances funded and armed, Islamist movements that might challenge the claims of local anti-colonial, liberationist, or communistic outfits...


Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26227



Johann Hari. "Who Is This Guy?"
Stalin’s nephews in our democracy fiction

Gabriele Zamparini, The cat's dream
Johann Hari, the "award-winning journalist", the "twice-weekly columnist for The Independent, one of Britain's leading newspapers" and "the youngest person to ever be nominated for the prestigious Orwell Prize for political writing" wrote on 25 August 2006 "An intriguing example of blatant anti-Semitism and blindness to it by some on the left" where he accused me of anti-Semitis! m not for something I did, said or wrote but for a comment someone else left on my blog. Accusations of "anti-Semitism" have become in these days like patriotism: usually used as the refuge of the scoundrel. In spite of the ludicrous writing of Johann Hari, this topic is quite important and it’s the subject of two interesting books by Norman G. Finkelstein: The Holocaust Industry and Beyond Chutzpah, On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26226



Battle highlights splits in Iraq's Shi'ite south
Reuters
A battle between militiamen and Iraqi troops that left dozens dead highlighted deep fractures among Shi'ite parties united in the Baghdad coalition government but warring for influence over the oil-rich Shi'ite south (...)
At the heart of the fighting in Diwaniya, a provincial capital in the fertile Middle Euphrates plain, appear to have been fighters from the Mehdi Army militia, even though senior political officials close to its clerical leader Moqtada al-Sadr denied involvement in a battle that killed at least 20 soldiers. Sadr's movement, popular among poor and long-oppressed Shi'ites for charity work modelled on Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hizbollah, is one of a handful of major Shi'ite parties grouped in the United Alliance, which dominates parliament and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's U.S.-backed national unity government...

Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26222



GI Special 4H29: Cornered Rat - August 29, 2006
Thomas F. Barton
Rumsfeld Caught Telling More Stupid Lies:
Meets With Families Of Soldiers Held In Iraq Against Their Will;
Press Shut Out, But Soldiers Wife Tapes And Spreads It;
"A 'Death Watch’ For Soldiers"
... Asked why reporters would not be permitted to cover his meeting with the family members, Rumsfeld at first replied, "I don't have any idea. I haven't addressed the subject." Later he said he makes it a practice to make all family meetings private ...


Read the full article / Leggi l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=26218




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new articles on APFN


NSA Wiretapping Whistleblowers Found Dead — Brad Friedman, Tue Aug 29 00:06
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Prisonplanet.com (LBJ)


From Prisonplanet.com (WTC7)


The Penta-bomb

CANNONFIRE
Joseph Cannon (cannonfiremail@yahoo.com)

The Penta-bomb

By Joseph

(Note: In 2003, I wrote an unpublished piece on the conspiracy theories congealing around the Pentagon strike. What you are about to read is the first half, updated and revised, with many of the footnotes worked into the text. I'll publish an updated version of the rest of the piece if readers ask for it, although I suspect that most of you will consider this bit sufficient -- perhaps even TMI.

I beg commenters to focus on the specific subject at hand. There will be time enough later to talk about the temperature of melting steel or pods beneath the jetliner wings or Why Bush is Bad or whatever other topic you are dying to switch to. This is about American Airlines 77.)


The French edition of Thuerry Meyssan’s The Frightening Fraud -- which posits that American Airlines Flight 77 did not fly into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 -- sold nearly 200,000 copies in its first three weeks of publication. No other volume in French history has sold so well in so short a time. The book’s argument comes down to four simple words: Where is the Boeing?

Most Americans were introduced to this argument via a popular web site, where, in photograph after photograph, visual evidence did indeed seem to present an intriguing mystery. None of the photos display any aircraft debris. The collapsed area of the Pentagon's outer wall is substantially smaller than the nearly 125-foot wingspan of a Boeing 757. Only the outermost of the building's five concentric "rings" of offices collapsed, and the width of this ring is smaller than the 155-foot length of a Boeing 757.

"Can you explain," asks Meyssan, "how a Boeing 757-200, weighing nearly 100 tons and traveling at a minimum speed of 250 miles an hour, only damaged the outside of the Pentagon?" The building is five stories high, while the jet is just under 15 yards in height, with the landing gear down. Early photos, taken within the first fifteen minutes, show that the upper floors did not collapse immediately. The hole, in short, seems much smaller than the object which created it.

The French theorist also believes that the Secretary of Defense acted suspiciously when he "deemed it necessary to sand over the lawn, which was otherwise undamaged..." (The reference here is to the grassy area in front of the impact site.) Meyssan has stated that either a bomb or a missile damaged the building; the actual fate of Flight 77 remains unknown.

His collection of photographs makes for an interesting case, which will persuade only those who close their eyes to certain facts.

Let us first deal with the "sand over the lawn" poser, which has a simple solution. The task of hauling away building wreckage required heavy equipment, and that equipment required a makeshift roadway. No engineer would want to place a massive crane on soft earth -- and no evidence suggests that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld personally made the decision to re-surface the area.

Anyone studying the crash scene photographs should keep in mind that the Pentagon is not only the largest office building in the world, it is also the most heavily fortified. Each of its five outermost walls features a limestone exterior, placed over a mixture of 100,000 tons of sand and steel-reinforced concrete. Not long before the disaster, the building received further reinforcement -- a "skeleton" of steel tubing, a Kevlar-like wall-covering material, and blast-resistant windows -- to help prevent collapse during a terrorist bombing.

Despite this protection, the Boeing obliterated the bottom two floors of the outermost ring of offices, causing a section of that ring to cave in less than fifteen minutes later. The next ring received substantial impact damage, although it did not collapse. Parts of the plane even reached the middle sector. Aerial photos show that fire affected all five rings over a wide area. (By way of comparison, note that the World Trade Center towers -- only 208 feet wide, with far more fragile outer walls -- “consumed” most of the two jets which ploughed into their sides.)

According to witnesses, the landing gear was not down as the plane sailed across the lawn before impact with the Pentagon, which means the height of the jet was well short of 15 yards. The body of a 757 is in fact less than twelve feet high and less than 14 feet wide. The heaviest portion of the body is the lower half; the top portion – where the passengers sit – is comparatively thin.

This fact goes some ways toward explaining why the initial impact obliterated only the bottom two floors. Real life is not a Tex Avery cartoon, and we should not expect to see the exact outline of a jet punched into the wall. The photographic evidence demonstrates that the width of the total impact zone far exceeded the section which collapsed. A stout wall can be hit hard yet remain upright, as a number of drunk drivers have discovered. Some windows did remain intact – not surprising, since the windows were blast-reinforced.

(To read the rest, click "Permalink" below)

The images chosen for Meyssan's web site may not show aircraft debris, but other photos do -- silvery pieces, matching the color of an American Airlines jet. Fans of the “penta-bomb” idea have mooted the suggestion that these photographs were faked. Conversely, opponents of this theory have accused Meyssan of cropping his images in a deceptive fashion. Technology writer Paul Boutin points out: "If you've seen photos of airline crashes after the fire is out, they look more like landfill sites than anything recognizable as having been an airplane." (“‘Hunt the Boeing’ Answers”: http://www.geocities.com/killtown/paul_boutin.html; accessed 2003. )

British writer Joe Vialls, a former member of London's Society of Licenced Aeronautical Engineers and Technologists – whom I quote precisely because he is a 911 conspiracy theorist – sneers at the French theory:
Visit any one of several hundred vertical or near-vertical high-speed crash sites and you will observe a strange phenomenon -- the aircraft all seem to vanish into relatively small holes. There is no easy explanation for this, but rest assured that I speak from direct experience.

In the early sixties we were sent out to find the crash site of an English Electric Lightning Mach 2 fighter, which went in vertically at nearly 400 miles per hour during an aerobatics display. Despite having a wingspan of 35 feet, the Lightning impact crater measured only 22 feet across. Did we find the wings lying about in the field next door? No, we did not.

By some strange twist of physics the wings were in the same impact crater, near the top. What was left of the Lightning fuselage lay many feet beneath the wings...
In a follow-up article, Vialls notes a case offering a direct parallel to the Flight 77 tragedy. (http://www.geocities.com/roboplanes/747.html, dated May 2002.) On October 4, 1992, El Al Flight 1862, a 747 jumbo jet – weightier and larger than the craft which hit the Pentagon -- lost an engine shortly after take-off from an airport in Amsterdam; the pilot managed to keep the craft more-or-less horizontal as it lost power and slammed into a massive apartment block in Bjilmer, an Amsterdam suburb. Although the 747 had a 212-foot wingspan, the resultant “hole” in the building was only half as wide. As in the Pentagon case, photographs of the crash site (taken from a distance) do not show any obvious pieces of the craft. Indeed, those photos depict a scene quite similar to the disaster along the Potomac, even though the Bjilmer apartments must have had far weaker exterior walls.

As Vialls notes:
A high proportion of the mass in any aircraft is contained within its fuselage, which presents a very small cross section at the point of impact, relative to the thin but very wide and fragile wings. Thus in both cases the high mass and low cross section caused Flight 77 and Flight 1862’s fuselages to punch holes deep into and through the concrete targets.

The wings are a different matter… The problem when an aircraft hits a flat building is that, although the wings snap off, they still have enormous inertia and will continue moving forward if at all possible...
First-hand accounts of the Pentagon catastrophe confirm this analysis. One eyewitness, a pilot named Tim Timmerman, noted that American Airlines Flight 77 "added power on its way in. The nose hit, and the wings came forward and it went up in a fireball." Keep in mind that the Pentagon’s walls received a substantial blow outside the collapsed area.

News reports quote numerous other witnesses -- a priest, commuters, office workers, reporters (the USA Today building offers a view of the impact zone), even a gardener. They all tell a consistent tale of passenger-jet-meets-building. None of them speak of bombs or missiles.

John O'Keefe, managing editor of a publication called Influence, was traveling on Interstate 395 when "from my left side -- I don't know whether I saw or heard it first -- this silver plane, I immediately recognized it as an American Airlines jet. It came swooping in over the highway, over my left shoulder, straight across where my car was heading... I thought, 'That's not going to make it to National Airport.' And then I realized where I was, and that it was going to hit the Pentagon. There was a burst of orange flame that shot out that I could see through the highway overpass. Then it was just black. Just black thick smoke." (New York Law Journal, September 12, 2001.)

Omar Campo was mowing the lawn across the road from the Pentagon when the plane came in overhead. "It was a passenger plane. I think an American Airways plane. I was cutting the grass and it came in screaming over my head. The whole ground shook and the whole area was full of fire." ("Pentagon Eyewitness Accounts," The Guardian, September 12, 2001)

Tim Timmerman, quoted above, also identified an American Airlines jet. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/wtccrash/story/0%2C1300%2C550486%2C00.html)

Truck driver Steve Eiden noticed a passenger plane flying extremely low in what he presumed to be restricted airspace. "You could almost see the people in the windows." ("Sept 11, the Day America Changed," The Baxter Bulletin, 2001.)

During his drive to work, Fred Gaskins, an editor at USA Today, saw the jetliner "flying fast and low and the Pentagon was the obvious target." (USA Today, September 11, 2001.)

Steve Anderson had a clear view of the tragedy from his office in the USA Today building. "I thought to myself that I couldn't believe the pilot was flying so low. Then it dawned on me what was about to happen. I watched in horror as the plane flew at treetop level, banked slightly to the left, drug its wing along the ground and slammed into the west wall of the Pentagon, exploding into a bright orange fireball." (From an essay posted to web page devoted to his university, October 2, 2001)

While driving to Arlington for a funeral, Father Stephen McGraw took a wrong turn which brought him within view of the Pentagon. "The plane clipped the top of a light pole just before it got to us, injuring a taxi driver, whose taxi was just a few feet away from my car. I saw it crash into the building. My only memories really were that it looked like a plane coming in for a landing. I mean in the sense that it was controlled and sort of straight... There was an explosion and a loud noise and I felt the impact. I remember seeing a fireball come out of two windows." ("Pentagon crash eyewitness comforted victims," MDW News Service, September 28, 2001.)

Aydan Kizildrgli, a Turkish exchange student, described what he saw as a jetliner. (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2001/09/11/attack-usat.htm)

Deb Anlauf, watching from the 14th floor of the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington, told a reporter: “"Suddenly I saw this plane right outside my window... You felt like you could touch it; it was that close. It was just incredible. Then it shot straight across from where we are and flew right into the Pentagon. It was just this huge fireball that crashed into the wall (of the Pentagon). When it hit, the whole hotel shook." (http://www.leadertelegram.com/specialreports/attack/storydetail.asp?ID=7)

Dan Creed, of Oracle software, said “"I can still see the plane. I can still see it right now. It's just the most frightening thing in the world, going full speed, going full throttle, its wheels up.” (http://www.abovetopsecret.com/pages/911_pentagon_757_plane_evidence.html; the link to a Ahwatukee Foothill News account no longer functions.)

The CSPAN website made available an audio record of the D.C. area emergency dispatch system, in which a harried -- but always professional -- operator fields incoming information about the disaster. Within the first minute, a male voice reports that an “American Airlines” passenger plane has crashed. It is fair to presume that this report came from a police or security officer who had witnessed the event.

The NFPA Journal of November 1, 2001 (cited here: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/pages/911_pentagon_757_plane_evidence.html) quotes a firefighter named Defina as saying that “we saw pieces of the nose gear” inside the Pentagon.

Anyone capable of discounting the eyewitness accounts will probably also discount the fact that Flight 77's two "black boxes" turned up in the wreckage ("Flight Data and Voice Recorders Found at Pentagon," PBS Online Newshour, Sept. 14, 2001; “The Tech Behind Black Boxes,” ABC news, Sept. 17, 2001), as did identifiable pieces of a passenger jet – not to mention the remains of the passengers. A team of some 50 forensic specialists from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, working twelve hour shifts in the mortuary at Dover Air Force Base, managed to identify 64 passengers and crew members, using DNA and other identification methods. (News release, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, January 11, 2002.)

Very few eyewitnesses reported smaller aircraft. A Mrs. Khavkin reported a “small commercial craft.” (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/1540586.stm) However, she was much further away than many of the other witnesses mentioned here – the BBC account quotes her thus: “Our balcony faces the city, with a panoramic view of the Pentagon, National Airport, and the entire downtown area of Washington, DC.” Note too that she says that “the plane knocked down a number of street lamp poles,” even though a few conspiracists insist that a jetliner could not do such a thing. Other witnesses who described a small jet are Don Wright, who watched from the 12th floor of a building in Rosslyn, and Steve Patterson, who watched from the 14th floor of a building in Pentagon City. (http://www.911review.com/errors/pentagon/witnesses.html)

We have hardly exhausted the list of eyewitnesses. Only the loopiest sort of conspiracy buff could envision a squad of American spooks scurrying about on that day, forcing numerous witnesses to change or concoct their stories. Predictably, the die-hard conspiracists react by “swiftboating” anyone who says anything they don’t want to hear. (See, for example, here: http://911review.org/Wiki/PentagonAttackWitnessesBlast.shtml.)

Given the location involved, we should not be surprised to see military personnel and USA Today reporters prominent among the witnesses. I do not believe that everyone who works in any capacity for the nation’s military is a born liar. And although I am by no means a fan of USA Today, I cannot believe that everyone who has ever worked for that journal would lie about so important a matter.

If the presumed conspirators could compel such a massive degree of false testimony, if the conspirators command such god-like powers, then why did any “difficult” data find ink? Why, for example, were Khavkin and Wright allowed to have their say in print? And why did one reporter from the hated USA Today suddenly become credible when he uttered words that the “no jet” theorists found convenient?

USA Today’s Mike Walter, who was in traffic nearby, reported that he saw an American Airlines jet strike the Pentagon, as CNN mentioned in a story posted on September 11, 2001. (http://archives.cnn.com/2001/CAREER/trends/09/11/witnesses/index.html ) However, Walter became a “good” witness for the conspiracy promoters when he described the craft as coming in “like a guided missile with wings.” Those who never attended English class -- and thus never learned that the word “like” signals the onset of a thing called a simile – took these words in an ultra-literal fashion. As Walter told a later interviewer (http://www.pentagonresearch.com/mike.html):
I never imagined for a moment that a statement like that would come back to haunt me over and over again. A French author would come out with a book describing in detail the conspiracy theory and he would use that quote out of context to help promote his conclusions. I was very angry about all of this, and I remain angry about it today. I’m also upset that so many people lost their lives that day and while some people who have written about that tragic day have donated any and all proceeds to the victims of 9-11, he has capitalized on it to make an awful lot of money.
When Walter said these words, he became re-stigmatized as one of USA Today's liars-for-lucre.

A sufficiently determined conspiracist -- believe me, I’ve known a few -- can impeach anyone. The priest can be impeached with an appeal to anti-Catholic bigotry; a few muttered words about the Vatican banking scandal of thirty years ago will suffice to brand all priests as liars. Obviously, the Salvadoran gardener must have had immigration problems. How do we know that this alleged Turkish student really exists? Those 50 forensic specialists at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology must be fictional as well. I suppose I could try to contact one of those specialists via telephone, but why bother? A nay-sayer will simply presume that any interview subject who offers inconvenient testimony must be a liar.

Always keep in mind that a creative mind will find grounds to question your own testimony, should you ever see something that someone else does not want you to have seen. It does not matter who you are or what your background might be. Your entire work history and family background will be scoured until something comes up that sets off alarm bells: You say your cousin worked for the FBI ten years ago? A-HA! You once went to Baylor University? Ah, that’s where the CIA did MKULTRA experiments... And so you join the ranks of the presumed paid prevaricators, even though you're not a penny richer for it.

The theory of widespread witness intimidation and fabricated testimony becomes particularly risible when we compare the Pentagon tragedy to, for example, the JFK assassination. The FBI and the Warren Commission desperately wanted to find someone who would place Oswald in that 6th floor window, but the only witness available was a severely nearsighted man who didn’t wear his glasses that day. Pretty pathetic -- especially when compared to the dozens and dozens of alleged “liars” testifying to the Pentagon strike.

Although we have some credible accounts of attempted witness intimidation in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination, we nevertheless have the testimony of Jean Hill, the Newmans, Abraham Zapruder, Ed Hoffman, James Tague and many other people whose words damaged the Commission’s conclusions. Compare that situation to the 9/11 aftermath: Not one person has stepped forward to say: "The feds tried to pressure me into telling a false story about the Pentagon strike." Are we to believe that Hoover’s FBI was less intimidating than is the current incarnation? Ridiculous. Are we to believe that Americans are more compliant now than they were then? Ridiculous.

Indeed, I would posit that the Meyssanites are mimicking not the Warren Commission skeptics, but the Warren Commission’s defenders. Any eyewitness offering testimony contradicting the predetermined conclusion must be swift-boated – smeared through fair means or foul. Dan Creed and Jean Hill must go through the same meat grinder. The conclusion remains unmovable; the facts are malleable.

The “no jet hit the Pentagon” belief system marks the point where conspiracy theory becomes an exercise in gonzo epistemology. Reality is what you make of it. You can, if you wish, call into question which teams played last year’s World Series. After all, each person in the stadium offers impeachable testimony. Newspapers lie. Special effects wizards can manipulate the broadcast image.

How do you really know the Cubs didn’t win?




Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Fwd: what will it take? -- arrest the Administration -- or take down an entire deviant ruling class?

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dick Eastman <olfriend@nwinfo.net>
Date: Aug 29, 2006 11:18 PM
Subject: what will it take? -- arrest the Administration -- or take
down an entire deviant ruling class?
To: Undisclosed-Recipient

From: Michael Morrissey
August 29, 2006

Two Views of Reality

Morgan says the government is in the hands of outlaws
and we know who they are.

Kyle says the government is in the hands of outlaws
and we don't know who they are.

Morgan says, "Come out of the White House with your hands up."

Kyle says, "The reality is far more complex
within the gargantuan, byzantine government
and global military-industrial-intelligence complex
and more complex still given the huge power of drug, banking,
illicit weapons and other criminal cartels and
the fact that US officials may have acted the part of guilty parties
in some cases
to cover-up their own incompetence
or criminal negligence even
as they were aware the official story
didn't hold any water."

I agree with Morgan
partly because I am an optimist.

--Michael D. Morrissey, Aug. 29, 2006

------------------------------------------------------

May I add to that a third choice -- the matter is far more complex
and we know that relations and networks among the perpetrators are so
interwoven that we can't isolate and remove the individuals == we have
to tear out the class of leadership -- the entire ruling minority
throughout the country and the financial elite that controls the
world.

International money power is behind everything or it will not happen.
You can't go after Paul Wolfowitz and Dov Zakheim for 9-11 without
also going after the men in the City of London and in New York and
around the world that all this was designed to please.

In the end it will have to be a class war -- with a failed ruling
elite deposed and dispossessed. I give Hence credit for seeing that
this bad tooth has roots that reach down to all the toes.

I personally want a Jeffersonian movement to remove the enemies of the
Republic and to restore the constitution -- I want a populist
takeover from the sadistic p-ornographic anarcho-capitalist Zionist
criminals who since before the U.S. Civil war have worked to subvert
the Jeffersonian revolution and restore the darkness of aristocracy,
plutocrarcy, the death of middle classes and a proletarianized world
of debt slaves and a slum earth..

And yes, the ideology of this international money they have been
thrown out of countries before -- what we have to do now is to ban
them from international trade and banking and media -- clip their
meny wings (which they got from arranging world wars, cold wars, and
economic depressions to grab mankind's wealth. And there will be a
free media, not dominated by the Jews, that will remind everyhone of
exactly why this had to be done.

Yes, it can be done -- if we move fast enough while the internet is
still here -- very simple, just acknowledge that Zionism is a deadly
national threat -- a threat to the world -- more so than communism
was, more so than Gengis Khan in his day, more than the Black Death.

A class war that confiscates fortunes made on war. A class war that
ends the global theft and debt slavery of international banking and
finance. A class war that takes the media and education out of Jewish
hands where they now control all of it.

Why not have a Chavez president here -- a Huey Long here? What if
all the centralized power that has been used for evil -- a war on
terror and police state based on the lie of 9-11 etc. were used to
restore the people to greatness?

Or maybe you disagree and think electing Hillary Clinton will be enough?

Dick Eastman

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DNAIndia.com : Armitage triggered CIA leak case

Full Story can be found at http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1050063&CatID=9

Armitage triggered CIA leak case
By - PTI

NEW YORK: Former US Deputy Secretary of State Richard L Armitage has acknowledged that he was the person whose conversation with a columnist in 2003 prompted a long, politically-laden criminal investigation in what became known as the CIA leak case, a lawyer involved in the probe said.

He has confirmed that he was the initial and primary source for the columnist, Robert D Novak, whose column of July 14, 2003, identified Valerie Wilson as a Central Intelligence Agency officer, 'The New York Times' quoted the lawyer and other associates of Armitage as saying.

In the accounts by the lawyer and associates, 'The Times' said Armitage disclosed casually to Novak that Wilson worked for the CIA at the end of an interview in his State Department office.

Armitage knew that because he had seen a written memorandum by Under Secretary of State Marc Grossman.

Grossman had taken up the task of finding out about Wilson after an inquiry from I Lewis Libby Jr, chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

Libby's inquiry was prompted by an Op-Ed article on May 6, 2003, in 'The New York Times' by Nicholas D Kristof and an article on June 12, 2003, in 'The Washington Post' by Walter Pincus.

The two articles reported on a trip by a former ambassador to Africa sponsored by the CIA to check reports that Iraq was seeking enriched uranium to help with its nuclear arms programme. Neither article identified the ambassador, but 'The Times' said it was known inside the government that he was Joseph C Wilson, Wilson's husband.

White House officials wanted to know how much of a role Wilson had in selecting him for the assignment.

She was a covert employee, and after Novak printed her identity, the agency requested an investigation to see whether her name had been leaked illegally.

Some administration critics, the paper noted, said her name had been made public in a campaign to punish Wilson, who had written in a commentary in 'The Times' that his investigation in Africa led him to believe that the Bush administration had twisted intelligence to justify an attack on Iraq.

A special prosecutor Patrick J Fitzgerald was appointed to investigate but he did not bring charges in connection with laws that prohibit the willful disclosure of the identity of a CIA officer.

But he did indict Libby on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, saying Libby had testified untruthfully to a grand jury and federal agents when he said he learned about Wilson's role at the agency from reporters rather than from several officials, including Cheney.

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For news updates throughout the day, visit www.dnaindia.com
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A quick word on FEMA Brown


Crooks and Liars
John Amato's Virtual Online Magazine

A quick word on FEMA Brown

By John Amato on a look back at Katrina

He’s been doing the talk show circuit since he has apologized and says that he really feels bad about reciting BushCo’s talking points on all the shows during Hurricane Katrina while people were suffering. This is what he said on Hardball:

BROWN: The lie was that we were working as a team and that everything was working smoothly. And how we could go out, and I beat myself up almost daily for allowing this to have happened, to sit there and go on television and talk about how things are working well, when you know they are not behind the scenes, is just wrong.

O‘DONNELL: So let me get this clear. Someone in the White House was telling you to lie?

BROWN: Well, yes. They give you the talking points. Whenever you go out to do any interviews they always have the talking points. Here‘s what the message for today is and here‘s how we are going to spin everything. That‘s just the way Washington, D.C. works and that‘s just wrong.

Well, you’ll see some of his work when I post the video of those performances and you be the judge. We have short memories and while we are a forgiving people at heart–his behavior back then was reprehensible. If you take him at his word then instead of telling the truth and possibly quitting–he chose to lie. And it shows how low this administration will go at trying to deceive our country in a time of crisis. This administration isn’t the only one culpable for the disaster, but it certainly was a big part of it–and they had people lie to cover their shortcomings.

Comments



[imra] Daily digest - Volume: 2 Issue: 1504 (14 messages)

imra Wed Aug 30 00:21:43 2006 Volume 2 : Issue 1504

In this issue of the imra daily Digest:

MEMRI: New Syrian Org. for Liberation of Golan Heights
Excerpts: Jordan tough terror law and reintroduction
of oil "gift" from Iraq. Arab "lack of effort to cure our own
ailment 28 August 2006
Text: PM Olmerts Haifa speech announcing investigation of war
Press Release: Update on the Condition of Mr. Ariel Sharon-
transferred out of intensive care
Statement From PM Olmert's Bureau
Regarding the State Comptroller's Press Release
Ehud Yaari on motives of Nasrallah's remarks
OIC reiterates legitimacy of Lebanese resistance
Palestinian Child Killed and His Brother Wounded
When They Foozled with a Rocket in Beit Hanoun
Poll of Americans 42% Israel was
given to the Jewish people by God
On The Palestinian School Curriculum: Erasing Israel
Diskin: Gaza smuggling skyrocketing
Excerpts: Nasrallah condemned.Saudi's Abdullah
speaks about "drastic solutions".29 August 2006
Gaza Citizens Exempted from Jordan School Fees
Syrian Defense Minister Calls on
Maritime Forces to Promote Performance

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: MEMRI: New Syrian Org. for Liberation of Golan Heights

Special Dispatch-Syria/Jihad & Terrorism Studies Project
August 29, 2006
No. 1270

New Syrian Org. for Liberation of Golan Heights: We May See Military Actions
in the Golan

On August 25, 2006, the Kuwaiti daily Al-Ra'i Al-'Aam reported on a new
organization established in Syria for "the liberation of the Golan," using
the strategy of Hizbullah. This report comes after several weeks during
which the Syrian government press published numerous articles praising the
"resistance," and even several articles threatening that Syria would adopt
the path of resistance in the Golan Heights.(1) Syrian President Bashar
Al-Assad said in an August 14, 2006 interview with the Egyptian opposition
weekly Al-'Usbu' that "the Golan will be liberated by Syrian hands." He
repeated this statement in a speech on August 15, 2006. In an August 23,
2006 interview with Dubai TV, he said that "it is the Syrian people who will
decide if there will be resistance in the Golan."(2)

The following are excerpts from the article:(3)

"The Popular Organization for the Liberation of the Golan announced, in its
first communiqu�, that 'from now on it will not stay silent in the face of
the ignoring of our rights and in the face of the Golan remaining under
occupation.' The organization claimed that 'the way to restore [the Arabs']
rights has become clear, and the way [to achieve] victory and honor is the
way of resistance.' The statement proclaimed that 'the Popular Organization
for the Liberation of the Golan follows the path of resistance, and Israel
and the [Western] powers will be made to bear their responsibility, after
they have closed off for us all [other] paths.'"

A senior member of the Popular Organization for the Liberation of the Golan
told Al-Ra'i Al-'Aam that "'resistance [includes] political and economic
paths, and various paths of resistance alongside military action.'" He added
that "'the organization will immediately begin its resistance actions in its
general framework, and we may see, in the near future, military actions in
the occupied Syrian Golan.'"

The paper reported that it was evident that there was an attempt to give an
Islamic flavor to the statement, which opened with the Koranic verse "If
Allah grants you victory, no one will be able to defeat you." The senior
member in the organization added that "'the U.N. stood helpless in the face
of the U.S.'s determination to implement international resolutions in a
selective and one-sided manner - something which has brought the Arab people
in Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria, and the Arab masses, to deny the
legitimacy of the U.N. and the international community, due to their
pro-Israel leanings. This situation has brought [us] to the point where we
have no other option left besides the option of resistance, which has proved
its effectiveness, despite what those who hold back [the resistance] and the
defeatist people say when they describe the option of resistance as an
option of adventurers.'"

He further said that "the sons of the occupied Golan, and the sons of proud
Arab Syria, are continuing on their path, since the international community
has abandoned them and turned its back on them. There is no other option
left for us other than to adopt the Lebanese resistance as our model, as our
patience has come to an end."

Endnotes:
(1) See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 1264, "Syrian Government Press Threatens
War in the Golan: 'Those Who... Call for Peace Must Always Support the
Resistance,'" August 25, 2006,
http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD126406 .
(2) See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 1250, "'We Have Reentered the Era of
Victory Through Resistance': Iranian and Syrian Reactions to the Crisis -
August 13-14," August 16, 2006,
http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP125006 ;
MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 1256, "Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad Praises
the Resistance, Harshly Criticizes Arab Leaders, and Threatens Israel,"
August 22, 2006,
http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP125606 ;
MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 1265, "Syrian President Al-Assad on Deploying
UNIFIL at Lebanese-Syrian Border: 'If [Lebanon] Wants to Destroy Relations
Between Syria and Lebanon, It is Free to Do So - and to Bear the
Responsibility,'" August 25, 2006,
http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP126506 .
(3) Al-Ra'i Al-'Aam (Kuwait), August 25, 2006.

*********************
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent,
non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle
East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background
information, are available on request.

MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with
proper attribution.

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
P.O. Box 27837, Washington, DC 20038-7837
Phone: (202) 955-9070
Fax: (202) 955-9077
E-Mail: memri@memri.org
Search previous MEMRI publications at www.memri.org

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Excerpts: Jordan tough terror law and reintroduction
of oil "gift" from Iraq. Arab "lack of effort to cure our own
ailment 28 August 2006

Excerpts: Jordan tough terror law and reintroduction of oil "gift" from
Iraq. Arab "lack of effort to cure our own ailment 28 August 2006

+++ARAB NEWS (Saudi) 28 Aug.'06:"Jordan's Lower House Approves New Terror
Prevention Law "Abdul Jalil Mustafa
QUOTE FROM TEXT:
"Jordan to get 30,000 bpd of Iraqi Crude ar reduced prices"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXCERPTS:

AMMAN, 28 August 2006 - Jordan's lower house of Parliament yesterday
approved with majority of votes a controversial "terrorism prevention" draft
law despite warnings by Arab and Jordanian human rights bodies that the bill
posed threats to personal and public freedoms.. . .The government
contended that the law would enable the country's security organs to uncover
acts of terrorism before they took place, while its opponents, mainly the 17
lawmakers of the Islamic Action Front (IAF), viewed it as an encroachment on
public freedoms that run counter to constitutional articles.
IAF deputy Nidal Abbadi alleged the draft echoed similar legislations that
were enacted by the United States and other Western countries as part of the
US-led war on terrorism.
The draft law entitles the State Security Court (SSC) public prosecutor to
detain suspects, impose surveillance on their residences, monitor their
contacts and prevent them from traveling, parliamentary sources said.
The bill now goes to the Senate for approval before receiving the king's
consent prior to becoming law...
Jordan to Get 30,000 bpd of Iraqi Crude at Reduced Prices:
[IMRA: Under Saddam, Jordan annually received 50% of its total oil needs
free and 50% at discount from world price payable in goods and servises.]
..., Bakhit revealed yesterday that the Iraqi government had agreed to
supply Jordan with 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude at "preferential
prices". He told the lower house of Parliament that the most important
results of his visit to Iraq earlier this month was "a memorandum of
understanding for supplying Jordan with 30,000 bpd of Iraqi crude oil at
preferential prices and an agreement to build an oil pipeline between Iraq
and the port of Aqaba" on the Red Sea.
"We have also agreed to increase Jordan's imports of Iraqi crude gradually
from 30,000 to 60,000 bpd," he said. Bakhit said that "Jordan cannot import
all of its energy requirements, amounting to 100,000 bpd, from Iraq at the
start because we have to mix Iraqi crude with other oils" during the
downstream operations conducted at Jordan's sole refinery at Zarqa, 30
kilometers east of Amman.
He did not give further details about the pipeline, but he referred to an
agreement concluded with the former regime of President Saddam Hussein to
construct such a facility between the two countries

+++THE DAILY STAR (LEBANON) 29 Aug.'06:"'EDITORIAL: Time and again, the Arab
world proves to be its own worst enemy"
QUOTE FROM TEXT:
"The entire Arab world needs to win teh battle against its own inaction"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXCERPTS:" Editorial

It has long been fashionable in the Arab world to blame external entities
for the region's woes. In some diplomatic corridors of the region, the
newest enemies of the Arabs are the rulers of Iran. On Saturday, Saudi
Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal indirectly blamed Tehran for the
region's problems ...Prince Saud's statements are an example of...: our lack
of effort to cure our own ailments. Our tendency to stop short of pursuing a
cure and to focus on laying blame on outsiders has prevented us from
resolving many of our own problems.. . ..
.... Four consecutive Arab Human Development Reports have detailed the
region's ills - including poverty, unemployment, an absence of freedom and
the oppression of women - but we have seen no urgent effort on the part of
Arab leaders to pursue cures. .... By limiting ourselves to vague diagnoses,
and failing to apply any remedies, we are in effect welcoming the
intervention of outsiders who will try to impose their own cures. . . .
The entire Arab world needs to win the battle against its own inaction.
==================================================================
Sue Lerner - Associate - IMRA

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Text: PM Olmerts Haifa speech announcing investigation of war

OLMERT'S 28.8.06 HAIFA SPEECH TO LOCAL AUTHORITY HEADS
[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA

"I want to make one thing clear: the responsibility for the decision to go
to war, to react with military force, not to keep quiet over the attack on
our soldiers, citizens and sovereignty, as well as the responsibility for
the results of the war, is wholly mine."

But the primary complaint was the flip-flop decision making by the Olmert
team during the course of the war that had frustrated soldiers getting their
orders changed many times - not mentioned here.

Mr. Olmert's narrative also declines to mention that Hizbullah was rapidly
rearmed from Syria after the war.

But perhaps most disturbing of all: instead of recognizing the threat in
the Gaza Strip as a practical opportunity to demonstrate that Israel is not
being taken a fool a second time, the Olmert team appears to have
operations in the Gaza Strip on auto-pilot. The weapons keep rolling
over/under the border from "peace partner" Egypt and the only initiative
around is the dubious proposal that Israel rely of international inspectors
to vouch for inspections at yet another crossing point.]

Link:
www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/Communication/PMSpeaks/speechhaifa280806.htm

Distinguished Minister,
Mayors,
Dear Friends,

I am pleased to have this opportunity to meet with you again - we have met
quite a few times in the recent period, and this meeting will not be our
last.

Later on, I will share with you the ways in which I intend to examine the
events of the war, learn all the lessons and prepare for the future as
quickly as possible.

I want to make one thing clear: the responsibility for the decision to go to
war, to react with military force, not to keep quiet over the attack on our
soldiers, citizens and sovereignty, as well as the responsibility for the
results of the war, is wholly mine.

During the last campaign, the Israeli, civilian home front was the enemy's
main target. And this is not by chance.

Hezbollah's goal was to prove its "spider web" theory. To damage the home
front, kill, terrorize with the intention of causing alarm, panic, a public
outcry which would paralyze IDF activities. They believed that pressure on
our home front was their life boat.

They hoped our civilian home front would not withstand it, and they were
surprised. The home front withstood it.

It withstood it, because of the conduct of the citizens in the shelters and
workplaces. It withstood it, because of the volunteer spirit and solidarity
displayed by Israeli society, which mobilized in its entirety, to help,
volunteer, contribute, host, and do whatever was needed. It withstood it,
because of your leadership, in your hometowns, among your residents, and
because of your wisdom and courage.

It is also because of the actions of the Government, which acted from the
first few days, at the height of a difficult military campaign, which was
forced on us.

Yes, the home front stood firm, and because of this, largely, the Hizbollah
failed in deterring us.

You remember Nassrallah's first speech on television, his smugness, his
scorn for us, his confidence in his victory.

I know there are disagreements regarding the level of success, which is
perhaps dependent on the level of early expectations. There were those who
were quick to summarize. Gentlemen - patience. One thing is clear: in Beirut
and other capitals in the Middle East, they understood that we are not going
to tolerate attacks on our sovereignty, our citizens and our soldiers. This
lesson, which is so important, is one we have learned for ourselves, and the
world has also learned it. We saw Nassrallah yesterday say simply in his
speech of regret: "If I had known that these would be the consequences, or
even one percent of them - I would not have ordered the kidnapping and begun
the war." Very simple.

If, two months ago, someone would have predicted results like these, we
would have said that he was exaggerating.

What is the situation today?

. Hizbollah has been pushed back from the fence, from the border. There are
no more Hizbollah posts over Manara, Dovev, Avivim or Margaliot. There are
no positions which control the border.

. Most of the forces on the front line of Hizbollah have been destroyed.
Hundreds of dead, hundreds of wounded. This force, which trained for years
to attack us, was hit hard from the air and on the ground.

. Most of the long-range missiles, which were the enemy's strategic threat
over Israel, were destroyed in the first hours of the campaign, in a grand
campaign by our Air Force, within 34 hours - a campaign which reminds one of
the destruction of the Arab air forces during the Six Day War and the
destruction of the Syrian missiles in the Peace of the Galilee War.

. Hizbollah strongholds in Beirut and all its command centers and facilities
were destroyed. The heads of the Hizbollah are homeless, rootless, hunted
and seeking shelter.

. The Lebanese Army has deployed in the south, on our northern border, in
order to prevent the Hizbollah from renewing its threat to us, for the first
time since the outbreak of the Lebanese civil war 35 years ago.

. A strong international force, comprised of armies from European countries
is organizing to enter Lebanon and assist in stopping the Hizbollah.

. Resolution 1701 is one of Israel's most important accomplishments in the
international arena. If it is fully implemented - our situation along the
northern border will be infinitely better than it was on July 12th.

This was not just a war against Hizbollah. Hizbollah was equipped with the
best weapons, missiles, night vision equipment, anti-tank missiles,
katyushas, and every destructive tool possible. Iran and Syria operated all
the mechanisms, provided total backup, and were, in fact, the infrastructure
and basis which the State of Israel faced during the last month.

It is clear to the world that Hizbollah has been beaten. The President of
the United States, which is Israel's great friend, George Bush said it best
a couple of days ago when he said that very soon it would become clear just
how much Israel won, and how much Hizbollah was defeated, as well as those
who stood behind them.

For the first time, there is a chance for an agreement in Lebanon which
would remove the immediate threat on Israel. There is a chance - not a
certainty. We must stand guard, continue in our diplomatic efforts, and be
prepared to use force in order to defend ourselves if need be, if the
political arrangement fails.

We achieved this because we did not hesitate to use force when necessary,
but we acted with restraint and responsibility whenever possible. We knew to
instruct the Army to act unhesitatingly when there was need, and we also
knew to finish when the first appropriate diplomatic opportunity was
created.

So, is everything good? No. Not everything is good.

We suffered heavy losses. It is true that they suffered heavier losses, but
this does not console us over the loss of one soldier, one person who was
killed, one citizen who died.

We were not successful in stopping the katyushas. It must be admitted - we
did not, nor did anyone, have a suitable solution to stopping the curved
trajectory weapons. Even complete control over the territory did not afford
us total immunity. However, it must be remembered that even the katyushas
from Lebanon - like the qassams from Gaza - cannot stop us.

Most importantly - we have not brought the boys home. The Government of
Israel, and I as its head, will spare no effort to find them and bring them
home. I, Ehud Olmert, Prime Minister of Israel, promise you that they will
come home, perhaps not as soon as we would like, but they will come home.

And it is true, not everything worked as we would have liked. We were not as
ready as we needed to be in every place. We did not always achieve the
results we hoped for. Not everything worked. There were incidents. There
were deficiencies. There were also failures.

Even if the overall balance is positive, we cannot ignore the failures, we
must not cover them up, we must not overlook anything. We do not have time.
We must act quickly. It is my duty, as Prime Minister, to examine
everything, draw conclusions, learn lessons and fix everything that must be
fixed. And I will fulfill this duty, as I promised immediately after the
war.

From the first day, we all knew that this war would cost us dearly, on the
frontlines and on the home front. We knew that we would be exposed to rocket
and missile fire directed at population centers. We seriously considered the
risks and decided - if not now - when?

If we had not reacted thus, if we had again restrained ourselves from
reacting to this serious provocation to our sovereignty and our citizens'
way of life - it is possible that in a short time, we would awaken to a new
reality, immeasurably more difficult, dangerous and threatening than that
with which we dealt.

The war in the north did not create new dangers of which we were not
previously aware. It obligated us to deal with these dangers without
compromise, and before it was too late.

It was clear ahead of time to everyone that this war would eventually end in
the diplomatic step of a cease fire, because we never intended to stay in
Lebanon, and did not want to wallow there for many years as we did in the
past.

On Wednesday, August 9, the U.S. government informed us that a process was
ripening which would bring about a cease fire under conditions which were
acceptable to Israel. The Government, and I as its Head, was convinced that
this opportunity should not be missed.

However, in the following days and especially on Friday, August 11, it
became clear that the proposed draft of the resolution which would be
presented to the Security Council was completely unacceptable to Israel.
Under these circumstances, I instructed the IDF to continue to expand its
activity on the ground in the south of Lebanon.

On Saturday morning, August 12, the resolution was accepted by the UN,
largely due to the continuation of Israel's warfare. The IDF was on the
move. Hizbollah declared it would continue to fight. The Lebanese government
had not yet convened to approve its support of the resolution. Under those
circumstances, in agreement with the top command of the IDF, it was
necessary for the troops to move forward to ensure that the best possible
conditions for us would be achieved.

We suffered painful, heartbreaking losses, also during the last hours of
warfare. Like the rest of the people of Israel and, first and foremost, the
bereaved families, I carry in my heart the pain of these losses as also the
indescribable sorrow for all the fallen and wounded soldiers.
In this case too, I am convinced that this difficult decision was
inevitable. Because of it we could end the warfare and remain in Lebanon for
two weeks without continuing to fight.

I hear the voices of criticism. There is, of course, professional protest
and political criticism. I ignore these. We all know these games, of those
who smell the political opportunity or let the surveys go to their heads.

But, there is also true, genuine, heart-felt criticism - that of reservists,
citizens - of those who are driven by love and not hatred. They stand and
protest - also against me, and I hear them and respect what they have to
say.

They are right about certain issues, and I disagree with them on other
issues. However, the question is what should be done with this criticism,
how we take the rage, disappointment, frustration and despair, as well as
the sense of responsibility and the love we all feel for the country, and
use them to rectify that which needs to be rectified. And rectification is
required.

During the past few days, I struggled with myself on this question. I
consulted many people, including the Attorney General, many experts in the
fields of security, government and justice, and with my fellow ministers. I
mainly debated about my duty as Prime Minister, who bears supreme
responsibility not only for what was, but mainly for what will be, and for
what may be.

The solution is simple on the surface: a judge will be appointed to chair a
State judicial commission of investigation, which will hear witnesses,
collect evidence and pass a verdict - an external, impartial, objective
body.

This may be a tempting solution, politically, and may appeal to certain
public opinion - one which would ensure tranquility for a long period of
time until the investigation is completed. However, this is not what the
country needs.

But, it is clear to everyone what will happen. For a long period of time the
top of the military and security leadership, including the IDF command will
be completely paralyzed in fear of the verdict. Many will quickly equip
themselves with top lawyers, create narratives, cleanse themselves of guilt
and, G-d forbid, place the blame on others. This is the nature of things.
This is how it goes. This is how it has been.

And it must be borne in mind: all this, while the warfare has not ended
completely, while IDF soldiers are still in Lebanon, while the firing may
still be renewed, while the threat has not yet been lifted. Still, beyond
the approaching horizon, we should be prepared for the threat from Iran and
its Israel-hating president. We do not have the luxury of sinking into years
of investigations into the past, which have nothing to do with learning
lessons or preparation for the future.

Anyone, in all honesty, knows that this will not repair the defects or
prevent incidents.

What we need is an effective, professional inquiry, to examine the issues in
depth, draw conclusions, and learn lessons.

Firstly, the army actions. I wish to tell you something personal. I sat with
the army commanders during the war and especially during its long nights. I
saw the Chief of Staff , chief commanders and many other commanders. I saw
them in doubt, in agony over each loss, and anxious about further losses. I
saw them shoulder responsibility and do their utmost to forbear.

I will not allow the army to stand a public lineup of collective flogging.
We do not have another IDF. We do not have another army. The IDF cannot be
replaced. I will not allow the IDF to be paralyzed for many months or more
only to please one person or another. I will not let this happen.

The army should be examined in the manner in which a civic democratic
society examines its army, and the same applies to us - the political
echelon.

My Government will appoint a committee of inquiry chaired by Nahum Admoni,
former Head of the Mossad. Among the committee members will be Maj. Gen.
(Res.) Yedidya Yeari, Prof. Ruth Gabison, Prof. Yehezkel Dror.

The committee will be charged with the task of examining the functioning of
the Government, its proceedings and decision making, and anything else it
sees fit to examine. The Government will not be exempt from professional
examination and criticism.

The defense system will act, in the framework of its authorities, to conduct
a thorough examination in order to implement the necessary changes in the
preparedness of the IDF, its combat doctrine and force structuring, in light
of the lessons of this war and threatening scenarios.

The Government will request the State Comptroller to conduct an extensive
and in depth examination of the defects which were discovered in the home
front's preparedness in the face of the threat of missiles and rockets.
Thus, the three structures - political, military and civilian - will be
examined.

I am confident that these extended examinations will teach us lessons in the
shortest time possible, while at the same time conducting a reliable and an
open procedure. Upon realization of these procedures our capabilities will
improve significantly. In the long term, Israel will emerge from this more
resistant, stronger, and, with G-d's help, better prepared for the
challenges of the future and its chances. And, the most important thing is
that it will happen in a short time.

All of this is not enough.

This war, the difficult trials of a significant part of our civilian
population, also revealed the terrible hardships which befell segments of
Israeli society in the last few years.

We will not be able to avoid serious and thorough attention to these
problems. The Government resolved to carry out an extended action to
strengthen the north and Haifa, while placing special emphasis on the
physical rehabilitation of the affected areas, but also allocating special
budgets to the education system, underprivileged population, single-parent
families, new immigrants, minorities, senior citizens of whom many were
affected in recent years, children at risk and underprivileged
neighborhoods.

This is true not only in regard to the north. This situation undermines the
stability of the entire Israeli society and also other areas, especially the
south and the Negev.

We will not be deterred from our commitments to prepare for the multi-annual
plan in which the Government decided to deal with this challenge. In the
coming weeks the Government will decide on a detailed plan for the
fulfillment of these commitments. These plans will be presented to the
public.

Dear Friends,

The campaign is not over - neither this campaign nor the others - on other
fronts, from without or within. We will continue to discuss these issues.

Right now, I only wish to remember and remind you of:

The families of the victims - bereaved families whose pain is unbearable. We
shall not forget.

The wounded who are still in hospital, struggling to recuperate, to be
rehabilitated and return to their lives. We shall not forget.

The citizens who face their ruined houses and deserve a helping,
constructive, generous hand. We shall not forget.

The employees, the self employed and business owners - small, medium or
large businesses - who were the first to suffer the economic burden, and may
collapse as a result. We shall not forget.

The reservists who returned to their homes, some of whom are angry or
disappointed, and have to make up for that which they missed. We shall not
forget.

We shall not forget.

Gilad Shalit who today celebrates his twentieth birthday. I take this
opportunity to send a warm embrace on my own behalf and on behalf of all of
you, to Gilad, to his family who so fear for his life and to all those who
love him.

Udi Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. We shall not forget.

We will examine with one hand and fix with the other. We have an opportunity
here.

From here, we will embark on a new path.

Thank you very much.

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Press Release: Update on the Condition of Mr. Ariel Sharon-
transferred out of intensive care

THE CHAIM SHEBA MEDICAL CENTER
at Tel Hashomer, Israel

International Public Affairs Department
Tel. +972-3-530-2473, Fax +972-3-535-6851

PRESS RELEASE
August 29, 2006

Update on the Condition of Mr. Ariel Sharon

Tel Hashomer, Israel. This morning, former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon was transferred out of intensive care and back to the respiratory
rehabilitation department at the Sheba Medical Center. This follows a
noticeable improvement in his kidney function and the pneumonia in his
lungs.

###

The Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer is the largest medical enterprise
in the Middle East, treating more than one million patients a year. It is
situated on a 150-acre campus on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, with 120
departments and clinics and 1,700 beds, employing 850 physicians, 2,000
nurses and 3,000 other healthcare workers, scientists and support staff. The
medical center uniquely combines a major Acute Care Hospital with a
Rehabilitation Hospital, Women's Hospital, Children's Hospital, Academic
Campus and Medical Research Complex.

Please note that this notice includes all relevant information.
Sheba doctors will NOT be giving interviews on this topic.

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Statement From PM Olmert's Bureau
Regarding the State Comptroller's Press Release

Statement From Prime Minister Olmert's Bureau Regarding the State
Comptroller's Press Release
(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Bureau has today (Tuesday), 29.8.06, released
the following statement regarding the press release from State Comptroller
Micha Lindenstrauss:

"We were astounded to hear - from the media, of course - State Comptroller
Micha Lindenstrauss's remarks and grievances regarding Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert's decision to submit for Government approval a draft decision
according to the 1958 State Comptroller Law (
www.mevaker.gov.il/serve/site/english/emevaker.asp ). Article 21 of the
1958 State Comptroller Law states: 'The Comptroller shall, if requested to
do so by the Knesset, the Committee or the Government, prepare an opinion as
to any matter within the scope of his functions. The said opinion shall be
published at a time specified by the Comptroller.' All of the Prime
Minister's actions in this regard, including those related to the State
Comptroller, have been coordinated in advance, and will continue to be
coordinated, with Attorney General Meni Mazuz. Having heard from the media
that State Comptroller Lindenstrauss wrote the press release himself, we are
convinced that he made an innocent mistake since it is inconceivable that he
would not be familiar with the law according to which he works.

Prime Minister Olmert will - as soon as possible - submit the request to
State Comptroller Lindenstrauss, according to Article 21 of the 1958 State
Comptroller Law, to the Government for approval. We trust that the State
Comptroller will act according to the law."

------------------------------

To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Ehud Yaari on motives of Nasrallah's remarks

Ehud Yaari on motives of Nasrallah's remarks

Dr. Aaron Lerner Date: 29 August 2006

IMRA asked Israel Television Channel Two Senior Arab Affairs correspondent,
Ehud Yaari:

"To what extent are Nasrallah's remarks designed to loll the Israelis back
to sleep & keep the incompetent Israeli leaders in place?"

Yaari replied:

"He is simply trying to oblige LEBANESE public opinion. He has trouble
keeping the Shiites in line, so he promises no more war, admits
miscalculating and distributes money. He wants time to get rid of the
Siniora government or at least force on them to take [AL: Hizbollah's main
Christian ally, opposition leader Michel] Aoun in."

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: OIC reiterates legitimacy of Lebanese resistance

OIC reiterates legitimacy of Lebanese resistance
Tuesday, August 29, 2006 - 01:10 PM
BEIRUT, (SANA - Syrian News Agency)-
www.sana.org/eng/22/2006/08/29/61446.htm

Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Prof.
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, described the Lebanese Hizbullah Party as a legitimate
resistance, asserting that the Lebanese resistance is justified in the face
of the Israeli aggression on Lebanon.

In a statement to the press published Tuesday on the sidelines of his visit
to Beirut, Ihsanoglu condemned the Israeli aggression on Lebanon, asserting
that Israel has practiced state terrorism during this aggression.

H.Zein/ Zahra

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Palestinian Child Killed and His Brother Wounded
When They Foozled with a Rocket in Beit Hanoun

PCHR
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

Security Chaos and Proliferation of Small Arms
Misuse of Weapons by Armed Groups and Security Forces

Field Update
29 August 2006

A Child Killed and His Brother Wounded When They Foozled with a Rocket in
Beit Hanoun

On Monday noon, 28 August 2006, a child was killed and his brother was
wounded as they foozled with a locally made rocket near their house in the
northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun. In another incident, unknown gunmen
fired at an officer of the Palestinian National Security Forces in Beit
Lahia, but no casualties were reported.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 13:15 on
Monday, 28 August 2006, a heavy explosion occurred in a room near a house
belonging to Khaled Mohammed al-Za'anin in al-Qaraman Street in Beit Hanoun.
As a result, the owner's son, 17-year-old Mohammed, was instantly killed,
and his other son, 14-year-old Bilal, was injured by shrapnel throughout the
body. The explosion occurred when the two brothers were foozling with a
locally made rocket apparently stored in the room by Palestinian resistance
activists.

On Saturday morning, 26 August 2006, a number of gunmen traveling in a
civilian car opened fire at another civilian car, in which Talal 'Abdul
Rahman Abu Safiya, 37, an officer of the Palestinian National Security
Forces, from Jabalya town in the northern Gaza Strip, was traveling. Abu
Safiya's car was severely damaged, but he was not hurt.

PCHR is gravely concerned over the continued number of deaths and injuries
resulting from the misuse of weapons, which has become a prominent feature
of the ongoing security chaos in the region. PCHR calls upon the
Palestinian National Authority, represented by the Attorney-General to
investigate such incidents and bring those found responsible for them to
justice.

Public Document
**************************************
For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8
2824776 - 2825893
PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip.
E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
-----------------------------------
If you got this forwarded and you want to subscribe, send mail to
request@pchrgaza.org
and write "subscribe" in the subject line.

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Poll of Americans 42% Israel was
given to the Jewish people by God

Poll of Americans 42% Israel was given to the Jewish people by God
August 24, 2006
http://pewforum.org/docs/index.php?DocID=153
....

Israel and Biblical Prophecy

A substantial minority of the public views the state of Israel through a
religious lens. Indeed, a plurality of the public (42%) believes that Israel
was given to the Jewish people by God. Similarly, more than one-in-three
Americans (35%) say that Israel is part of the fulfillment of biblical
prophecy about the second coming of Jesus. These numbers are largely
unchanged since 2003.

In the South, a solid majority (56%) believes that Israel was given to the
Jewish people by God, and nearly half (45%) say that Israel fulfills
biblical prophecy about the second coming of Jesus. In other regions of the
country, there is much less support for these points of view.

Among religious groups, white evangelical Protestants stand out for their
widespread belief that Israel was given by God to the Jews (69%), and that
Israel is the fulfillment of biblical prophecy (59%). Majorities of black
Protestants also share these points of view. White mainline Protestants and
Catholics, by contrast, are much less likely to see a religious dimension to
the establishment of the state of Israel.

Not surprisingly, beliefs about the Bible are closely related to views about
the state of Israel. Large majorities of those who view the Bible as the
literal word of God say that Israel was given by God to the Jews and that
Israel is the fulfillment of prophecy (70% and 62%, respectively). These
figures are much lower among those who do not believe the Bible is the
actual word of God.

Religious Views Shape Mideast Sympathies

The July survey also shows that many more Americans say they sympathize more
with Israel (44%) than the Palestinians (9%). A subsequent Pew survey,
conducted Aug. 9-13, found even broader support for Israel; 52% said they
sympathized more with Israel, compared with 11% who sympathized more with
the Palestinians. (See "American Attitudes Hold Steady in Face of Foreign
Crises," Aug. 17).

An analysis of the July survey finds that support for Israel is even
stronger among those who see religious implications in the
state of Israel. Indeed, a large majority (63%) of those who believe Israel
was given by God to the Jewish people say they sympathize more with Israel,
as do a majority (60%) of those who see Israel as the fulfillment of
biblical prophecy. By contrast, among those who do not share these beliefs
far fewer say they sympathize more with Israel than the Palestinians.

Results for this survey are based on telephone interviews conducted under
the direction of Schulman, Ronca, & Bucuvalas, Inc. among a nationwide
sample of 2,003 adults, 18 years of age or older, from July 6-19, 2006. For
results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the
error attributable to sampling is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. For
results based on Form 1 (N=996) or Form 2 (N=1,007) only, the error
attributable to sampling is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question
wording, sequencing and other practical difficulties in conducting surveys
can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.

About the Projects

This report is a joint effort of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and
the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Both organizations are
sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts and are projects of the Pew Research
Center, a nonpartisan "fact tank" that provides information on the issues,
attitudes and trends shaping America and the world.

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: On The Palestinian School Curriculum: Erasing Israel

On The Palestinian School Curriculum: Erasing Israel
By: David Bedein , Special To The Evening Bulletin 8/28/2006
www.theeveningbulletin.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17118984&amp;BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=6

As this is being written, in late August 2006, news wires around the world
are running a story that Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority,
has launched a new peace initiative with Israel.

However, the new school books that the same Mahmoud Abbas has now introduced
in the Palestinian Authority school system - run independently of Hamas -
represent a curriculum that prepares a new generation of Palestinians to
destroy Israel.
Following fervent support given to Hezbollah's total war on Israel by Abbas
and the Palestinian Authority this summer, this raises the question as to
whether the new school year in the Palestinian Authority, opening next week,
will simply add fuel to the fire of the Palestinian Authority's war against
Israel, instead of a new peace initiative with the Jewish State.

Because these PA school books have also been incorporated in the Arab
schools in Jerusalem, which raises cause for further concern, a movement is
afoot in the Israeli Arab schools in the rest of Israel to adopt the PA
curriculum in their schools.

Indeed, the latest study of PA textbooks,
www.intelligence.org.il/eng/default.htm, commissioned by the Intelligence
and Terrorism Information Center in Herzelia (www.intelligence.org.il, an
agency that had been consistently supportive of the Oslo Peace Process),
speaks for itself.

Here are some pearls of wisdom that Palestinian children will learn from the
new school books of the Palestinian Authority this year:

1. Israel does not appear on any maps of the world in the new PA textbooks,
while maps of Israel replace the name Israel with Palestine in all of the
new Palestinian Authority school books.

2. The new Palestinian School Books "annex" sites in Israel to Palestine.

"Haifa is a Palestinian seaport," (p. 7) (Lughatuna al-Jamila (Our Beautiful
Language) Vol. 2, 5th grade textbook, p. 86).
"Galilee, Nazareth and Beit She'an are regions in Palestine," (p. 7)
(Al-Iqtisad al-Manzili (Home Economy), 10th grade textbook, pp. 36-37).

3. The new Palestinian school books mention Israel only as an enemy, in
reference to "occupation of lands" in 1948 and 1967:
"There is no doubt that the Israeli occupation has a negative impact on
[Palestinian] agriculture and its export," (p. 8) (Lughatuna al-Jamila (Our
Beautiful Language) Vol. 1, 10th grade textbook, p. 102).

4. The new Palestinian school books present Zionism only as an enemy
movement:
"The Palestinian people are under an oppressive siege, limiting their
movement and way of life," (p. 9) (Al-Tarbiyah al-Islamiyyah (Islamic
Education), Vol. 1, 5th grade textbook, p. 49).
Accusation against settlements [from 1948!] of damaging water sources "the
influence of settlement on sources of water in Palestine," (p. 9) (Ulum
al-Sihha wal-B'ia (Health and Environmental Sciences), 10th grade textbook,
p. 122).
"The Palestinian family has problems...stemming from the occupation...it
loses father, mother or son to death or imprisonment...endures the
difficulties of life...," (p. 11) (Al-Tarbiyah al-Wataniyya (National
Education), 5th grade textbook, p. 23).

5. The new Palestinian School Books make the false claim that an "extremist
Zionist" set fire to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1969, (p. 12) (Tarikh al'Alam
al-Hadith wal-Mu'asir (History of the new Modern World), 10th grade
textbook, p. 106) when it was really a mentally unstable fundamentalist
Christian Australian.

6. The new Palestinian school books teach that the First Zionist Congress at
Basel fostered the Zionist State based on a secret decision of what came
came to be known as the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion." (p. 13) (Tarikh
al-'Alam al-Hadith wal Mu-'asir (History of the News Modern World), 10th
grade textbook, pp. 60-64).

7. The new Palestinian School books teach that the only ancient inhabitants
of Israel were Arabs, ignoring any ancient Jewish presence.
"Concentrated...in the land of Al-Sham [Greater Syria]...was the culture of
the Canaanite and Aramaic peoples who migrated there from the Arab
peninsula," (p.14-15) (Tarikh al-Hadarat al-Qadima (History of Ancient
Civilizations), 5th grade textbook, Foreword).

8. The new Palestinian school books teach that Palestinians must use war and
violence - especially martyrdom - to accomplish their goals:
The heroic mother, "who incessantly presents one sacrifice [fida'] after
another." (Lughatuna al-Jamila (Our Beautiful Language), Vol 2, 5th grade
textbook, p. 31).
The warrior goes to war faced with one of the good options: victory or
martyrdom in battle for the sake of Allah. (Ibid. Vol. 1, 5th grade
textbook, p. 70).
"Allah gave the people of this land (Al-Sham and Palestine) an important
task: they must stand on the forefront of the Muslim campaign against their
enemies, and only if they fulfill their duty to their religion, nation, and
land will they be rewarded as stated in the scriptures." (Al-Tarbiya
al-Islamiyyah (Islamic Education), Vol 2, 10th grade textbook, p. 50).

9. The new Palestinian school books feature children with names such as
Jihad (holy war) and Nidal (struggle). (p.22) (Tarikh al-Hadarat al-Qadima
(History of Ancient Civilizations), 5th grade textbook, p.6).

10. The new Palestinian school books stress the importance of "return" of
refugees to all of Palestine - by violence:
"The wrong must be made right by returning them to their homes: we returned
to the homeland after a long absence." (Lughatuna al-Jamila (Our Beautiful
Language), Vol 2, 5th grade textbook, p. 43). "Returning to the homes, the
plains and the mountains, under the banners of glory, jihad [holy war] and
struggle" (Lughatuna al-Jamila (Our Beautiful Language), Vol 1, 5th grade
textbook, p.88).

Tragically, most Israeli leaders do not take the influence of such
"education" as seriously as they should.

In May, 2001, when this reporter asked then-Mayor of Jerusalem Ehud Olmert
about the incorporation of PA textbooks in the Arab schools in Jerusalem,
his answer was that "they can teach what they want, and we will teach what
we want."

Questions placed to now-Prime Minister Olmert on this issue have gone
unanswered. When the Evening Bulletin raised the issue of the curriculum to
Olmert's cabinet secretary, he said that the issue is not on the agenda.

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Diskin: Gaza smuggling skyrocketing

Diskin: Gaza smuggling skyrocketing
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154525966410&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

sheera claire frenkel and jpost.com staff, THE JERUSALEM POST Aug. 29, 2006

Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin reiterated on Tuesday at a meeting of the Foreign
Affairs and Defense Committee that Palestinian terrorist organizations were
studying the Lebanese-Israeli war to learn how to play on Israel's weaker
points.

Diskin said the West Bank has become increasingly violent, especially in the
area of Samaria. Following last summer's withdrawal from the four
communities in northern Samaria, the intelligence community has found it
difficult to control the area and gather information.

"Samaria has become the land of Islamic Jihad following the disengagement,"
he said.

Weapons smuggling through the Rafah crossing has gone up exponentially since
the pullout, Diskin warned, adding that "Rafah will soon be the garden of
Eden of weapons smuggling."

He estimated that approximately 15,000 guns, 4 million bullets, 2,300
pistols, 38 rockets, dozens of anti-tank missiles, 15 tons of TNT, 400 RPGs,
and 10-15 Katyushas like those used in Lebanon had been smuggled into Gaza
from Egypt so far - and, he said, those are just the ones we know about.

After three to five years of this kind of weapons transfer, he warned,
Israel will face a situation similar to south Lebanon.
"At this point, anybody who wants to smuggle something through the
Philadelphi route can apparently do so," Diskin said. "You can smuggle
anything through Philadelphi except maybe a tank or plane."

MK Natan Sharansky (Likud) responded to Diskin's report, saying, "For ten
years, we've been hearing these types of reports, but there has never been
such an immediate need for action. Every kind of weapon is getting into the
Gaza Strip, and Hamas is establishing a terrorist army. It is no longer
possible to say they didn't warn us."

Diskin also told the committee that during the course of the war, the Shin
Bet had offered its investigative services to the IDF in order to help
interrogate the captives taken during the war.

He said the Shin Bet has more professional, proven methods of interrogation,
which is why they offered to help the army. The IDF, however, declined the
offer.

During the meeting, tensions between committee MKs and Committee Chairman
Tzahi Hanegbi flared up once again when the chairman blocked a request by MK
Effi Eitam to discuss Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's formation of two inquiry
committees.
The majority of MKs on the committee supported an investigation by a
subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, as well as a
state inquiry, which would be allowed to dismiss top officials.

MKs said that Hanegbi's actions over the past several weeks have turned the
committee into a useless entity.

"I spoke to Hanegbi this morning with a request to hold an urgent discussion
on the issue [of a state inquiry commission], and unfortunately, Hanegbi was
caught up in all sorts of procedural issues and announced that he would not
allow the discussion," MK Matan Vilna'i said.

Hanegbi responded by saying that the committee members were not acting
according to regulations and had not officially called to convene a
committee meeting. If they did, Hanegbi said, he would bring up the topic.

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Excerpts: Nasrallah condemned.Saudi's Abdullah
speaks about "drastic solutions".29 August 2006

Excerpts: Nasrallah condemned.Saudi's Abdullah speaks about "drastic
solutions".29 August 2006

+++ARAB NEWS (Saudi) 29 Aug.'06:"Nasrallah Accused of 'Adventurism' for
Plunging Lebanon Into Costly War "Samir Al-Saadi & Hasan Hatrash
QUOTE FROM TEXT:
"Hezbollah's kidnapping of the Israeli soldiers has taken Lebanon back to
'square one' "
" 'All the people that have suffered from this war should file lawsuits
against him (Nasrallah)' "
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL TEXT:

JEDDAH, 29 August 2006 - With the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah
expressing regret Sunday on Lebanese TV for the month-long war in Lebanon in
which more than a thousand people died, many people in the Kingdom accused
the Hezbollah militia of "adventurism" and being "irresponsible."
According to Homoud Al-Bader, a Shoura Council member, Hezbollah's
kidnapping of the Israeli soldiers has taken Lebanon back to "square one."
Describing the actions as "miscalculated" and "provocative" Al Bader said
that Lebanon had lost hundreds of lives, its infrastructure had been
demolished, and now other governments were helping the country to rebuild.
Jeddah resident Abu Sami said Saudi Arabia was correct when they described
the Hezbollah war against Israel as an adventure. "If we look at the
situation now, the only thing that Nasrullah gained was scaring Israeli
citizens and forcing them to live in bunkers for a month. But let's be
realistic, what did the Lebanese people win? Nothing."
Abu Sami believes that the war was not worth the hassle of having roads
bombed, houses demolished and people made homeless. "The Lebanese government
should charge Nasrullah for having pursued an ill-conceived adventure
against the Lebanese people. All the people that have suffered from this war
should file lawsuits against him," he added.
At the outbreak of war between Hezbollah and Israel, many Saudis felt angry
when the Saudi government negatively described Nasrullah's movement.
Abu Muhammad, a Saudi private sector worker, said, "What I don't understand
is that if he knew that Israel was going to react like this then why did he
do it? In my opinion he is no different to (Osama) Bin Laden who brought
destruction to the Arab and Islamic world because of his adventurism."
Speaking about the refugees, Salah Salama, a Palestinian living in Saudi
Arabia, said, "What about the thousands of Lebanese that have died because
of the Israeli attack? What are they going to tell their families? That they
died for nothing."
Salama added that Nasrullah made a big mistake. "He gave the Israelis an
excuse to attack and destroy a county that was rebuilding what was destroyed
in 15 years of civil war," he said.
Hasan Minawi is a Lebanese national in his early 30s living in Jeddah. He
said, "Nasrallah's regret was expected - he wasn't even ready for this war.
He did not build any shelters or at least set up an siren system to warn
people about pending attacks. He was ready with arms but not with backup. He
should have apologized long ago."
Minawi added, "Nasrallah knows how the Israeli enemy behaves, he should have
known it was going to go this far and even beyond."
Mazin Mansoor, a 24-year-old Lebanese working in a media company, said, "It's
too late for regret, the cost has been too great. We have lost Lebanon and
many innocent civilians. This is not a true victory for Lebanon - the cost
was too much to bear."
Saudi political analyst, Turki Al-Hamad, said, "These actions make us feel
poignant. The only outcome of such aimless actions is feeding hatred against
Islam."
Commentating on the two journalists who were taken hostage by a previously
unheard of Islamic group in Palestine recently and forced to convert at
gunpoint in front of a video camera, Homoud Al-Bader said, "Our problems
come from the uneducated groups who hide in caves and speak about a religion
that they apparently do not know the basics of. In Islam no one can force a
non-Muslim to become a Muslim."
Al-Bader added, "Sadly our problems come from within the Islamic world
through the hands of terrorists who claim to speak in the name of Islam, we
the majority of Muslims have become the victims and our cause hurt by their
acts."

+++ARAB NEWS (Saudi) 29 Aug.'6:" 'Drastic Solutions Needed for Regional
Stability' "P.K. Abdul Ghafour
QUOTES FROM TEXT:
"Saudi Arabia ... seeking drastic solutions to problems threatening the
region's security and stability"
"Abdullah emphasized Saudi Arabia's significant role in the Arab and
Islamic world"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXCERPTS
JEDDAH, 29 August 2006 - Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah
announced yesterday that Saudi Arabia was seeking drastic solutions to
problems threatening the region's security and stability, including
Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon.
...Abdullah said the solutions to be proposed by the Kingdom would be based
on its values and take care of the higher interests of the Arab nation.
"Our efforts are aimed at achieving peace for everybody, beyond narrow
personal interests and without promoting a particular thought or imposing a
single course of action on anybody," the king said.
Abdullah emphasized Saudi Arabia's significant role in the Arab and Islamic
world. "The Kingdom is the house of the Ummah and the center of Arabism and
the window that can communicate with the world with confidence and in an
openhanded manner," he said.
In this respect, the Saudi leader referred to his talks with Jordan's King
Abdallah here last week. "Both of us were convinced that joint efforts are
required to protect the region from dangers and ambitious parties," the king
told the ministers.
Culture and Information Minister Iyad Madani said the Cabinet meeting
emphasized Riyadh's efforts to find peaceful solutions to regional and
international issues. The meeting also reiterated the Kingdom's moderate oil
policy [. . .
===============================================================================================
...

Sue Lerner - Associate - IMRA

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Gaza Citizens Exempted from Jordan School Fees

Gaza Citizens Exempted from School Fees
www.petra.gov.jo/nepras/2006/Aug/29/18000.htm

Amman, Aug. 29(Petra - Jordan News Agency)-- Gaza citizens holding a
Jordanian passport are exempted from school fees for two years at all
government schools, according to the cabinet's decision issued on Tuesday.

//Petra// Salem

29/08/2006 21:59:57

------------------------------

From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: imra@imra.org.il
Subject: Syrian Defense Minister Calls on
Maritime Forces to Promote Performance

Syrian Defense Minister Calls on Maritime Forces to Promote Performance
Tuesday, August 29, 2006 - 09:10 PM
www.sana.org/eng/21/2006/08/29/61645.htm

Damascus, (SANA - Syrian News Agency)-Syrian Defense Minister Hasan Turkmani
on Tuesday called on naval forces to exert more efforts in the training
fields to promote performance that makes them a deterrent power in the face
of any aggression on Syrian coasts.

Lieu. Gene. Turkmani, during a celebration marking the 58th anniversary of
maritime forces foundation, reviewed the latest developments in the region,
particularly in Lebanon and "the Israeli bids to implement the new middle
eastern project which is considered the most dangerous project in the Arab
region."

" The Lebanese resistance victory is a victory for all honest people in the
world. the most important record of the resistance in facing the Israeli
aggression is destroying two Israeli battleships and one military boat in
the regional waters," Turkmani, also Deputy General Leader of Army and armed
forces, added.
Mazen

------------------------------

From: imra-owner@imra.org.il
Subject: IMRA Subscription Info

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End of [imra] Daily digest - Volume: 2 Issue: 1504 (14 messages)
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