[A scan of news articles and commentary on the internet.]
Update:
Update:
The Jerusalem Post reports that the Israeli Air Force is training to bomb Iran.
That's great, the air strike, predicted by many in the reality-based community, is likely to kill many innocent civilians in Iran and destabilize much of the world.
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has been training on long-range flights, including refueling in mid-flight, in preparation for potential strikes against Iranian nuclear targets.
The training program has been taking place for some time but has only been released for publication Friday, the Ma'ariv daily reported.
Intelligence assessments received by the defense establishment concur that once Iran passes the point of no return in its nuclear efforts, the entire Middle East will enter a frantic nuclear armament race. Egypt and Saudi Arabia are expected to take the lead should such a scenario become reality.
At the end of 2007 the US and Israel are expected to hold a joint assessment to ascertain the influence of economic sanctions against Iran.
A new package of upgraded sanctions prepared jointly by Israel and the US, includes exerting pressure on European governments to cancel US $22 billion in loan guarantees given annually to European companies trading with Iran.
The new package also includes sanctions against banks working with Iran, non-renewal of oil infrastructure in Iran and a long series of economic actions that are meant to seriously hurt the Iranian economy.
Following the end-of-year assessment, Washington will decide how to move forward in the struggle against Iran's nuclear race.
Members of the international community - the US and Israel leading - are convinced that Iran's race to enrich uranium is aimed at producing nuclear weapons. The Islamic Republic, on its side, insists it is looking for energy sources that would be an alternative to fossil fuels.
Iran has so far remained defiant in face of the demands voiced by the international community that it make its nuclear program transparent to UN-mandated monitoring.
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Top American newspapers report that the surge is failing. Though the US occupation is illegal, brutal, and stupidly conceived, the latest assessments from the mainstream media are that it is also failing.
New York Times: Militants Said to Flee Before U.S. Offensive — John Burns writes that even the generals let the truth drip out: “The operational commander of troops battling to drive fighters with Al Qaeda from Baquba said Friday that 80 percent of the top Qaeda leaders in the city fled before the American-led offensive began earlier this week.”
Iraq Push Revives Criticism of Force Size — Thomas E. Ricks at the Post reports same: The major U.S. offensive launched last weekend against insurgents in and around Baghdad has significantly expanded the military's battleground in Iraq -- 'a surge of operations,' and no longer just of troops, as the second-ranking U.S. commander there said yesterday -- but it has renewed concerns about whether even the bigger U.S. troop presence there is large enough.
Bill O’Reilly to American Newspapers: Americans Hate You — Think Progress reports that Bill O’Reilly, who fancies himself a military leader and regularly rages against those with whom he disagrees as not knowing how to “defend America,” said American newspapers will fail as journals because Americans “hate you” and your "liberal" ideology. Likely, the reporting of the latest failings of the surge in the Times and Post will not please Col. O’Reilly.
Bush claims oversight exemption too — Josh Meyer's piece in the LA Times notes: "The White House says the president's own order on classified data does not apply to his office or the vice president's."
Vets Attacked by Gov for Protesting War — Highlights from Kirsten Scharnberg’s piece in the Chicago Tribune:
The young combat veteran stared at the letter in disbelief. It accused him of being "disloyal," a word hard to swallow for a man who had risked his life to serve his nation.
The Marine Corps was recommending him for "other than honorable discharge." The letter alleged he had violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice by wearing part of his uniform during an anti-war rally. Furthermore, the letter accused him of being "disloyal," a word hard to swallow for a man who had risked his life to serve his nation.
A Zogby poll last year showed that war critics ... may not be entirely on the fringes of the mainstream military. The poll of 944 U.S. military personnel in Iraq conducted by Zogby International and Le Moyne College found that 72 percent believed the U.S. should pull out within one year.
"The unrest has been churning below the surface for a while," said Madden, who is still waiting to see what will become of his less-than-honorable discharge recommendation. "But now the signs of that unrest are starting to be readily apparent."
###
New York Times: Militants Said to Flee Before U.S. Offensive — John Burns writes that even the generals let the truth drip out: “The operational commander of troops battling to drive fighters with Al Qaeda from Baquba said Friday that 80 percent of the top Qaeda leaders in the city fled before the American-led offensive began earlier this week.”
Iraq Push Revives Criticism of Force Size — Thomas E. Ricks at the Post reports same: The major U.S. offensive launched last weekend against insurgents in and around Baghdad has significantly expanded the military's battleground in Iraq -- 'a surge of operations,' and no longer just of troops, as the second-ranking U.S. commander there said yesterday -- but it has renewed concerns about whether even the bigger U.S. troop presence there is large enough.
Bill O’Reilly to American Newspapers: Americans Hate You — Think Progress reports that Bill O’Reilly, who fancies himself a military leader and regularly rages against those with whom he disagrees as not knowing how to “defend America,” said American newspapers will fail as journals because Americans “hate you” and your "liberal" ideology. Likely, the reporting of the latest failings of the surge in the Times and Post will not please Col. O’Reilly.
Bush claims oversight exemption too — Josh Meyer's piece in the LA Times notes: "The White House says the president's own order on classified data does not apply to his office or the vice president's."
Vets Attacked by Gov for Protesting War — Highlights from Kirsten Scharnberg’s piece in the Chicago Tribune:
The young combat veteran stared at the letter in disbelief. It accused him of being "disloyal," a word hard to swallow for a man who had risked his life to serve his nation.
The Marine Corps was recommending him for "other than honorable discharge." The letter alleged he had violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice by wearing part of his uniform during an anti-war rally. Furthermore, the letter accused him of being "disloyal," a word hard to swallow for a man who had risked his life to serve his nation.
A Zogby poll last year showed that war critics ... may not be entirely on the fringes of the mainstream military. The poll of 944 U.S. military personnel in Iraq conducted by Zogby International and Le Moyne College found that 72 percent believed the U.S. should pull out within one year.
"The unrest has been churning below the surface for a while," said Madden, who is still waiting to see what will become of his less-than-honorable discharge recommendation. "But now the signs of that unrest are starting to be readily apparent."
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That's great, the air strike, predicted by many in the reality-based community,
ReplyDeletedefine this
is likely to kill many innocent civilians in Iran source your presumptions and destabilize much of the world. hyperbole
Josh,
ReplyDeletethank you for the commment.
- reality-based community: C'mon, you know what that means, via a vis neocons'.
- Killing innocents: That's what raining bombs tend to do.
- Destablilize: Are you kidding? Israel bombing an Islamic country not destablizing, I wish it were hyperbole.
Best,
Mike