Ah, yes...the 'Ol "Beware the dog that DID NOT bark" school of logic.

puh-thetic.

-T

NewsWEAK's covers.

Anybody feel like McMedia's playing to a different audience outside the US? (look at the Euro, Asia and S.American covers vs the US cover down the left side!)

-T

sNoozWeak
________________
Each has a dramatic shot of a Taliban fighter shouldering an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade). The cover headline is: "Losing Afghanistan," pointing to a devastating piece on our Afghan War by Ron Moreau, Sami Yousafzai, and Michael Hirsh, "The Rise of Jihadistan." which sports this subhead: "Five years after the Afghan invasion, the Taliban are fighting back hard, carving out a sanctuary where they--and Al Qaeda's leaders--can operate freely." The piece begins: "You don't have to drive very far from Kabul these days to find the Taliban." (In fact, the magazine's reporters found a gathering of 100 of them in a village just a two-hour drive south of the Afghan capital.)

"The Rise of Jihadism" is still inside, of course; now, a secondary story. After all, Angelina Jolie is ours, while a distant botch of a war in Afghanistan..? As the magazine's editors clearly concluded, while the rest of the world considers the return of the Taliban, let us eat cake.
_________________

also puh-thetic.

MILLIONS of unexploded bomblets paralyse Southern Lebanon.
___________________
The scourge of munitions from the cluster bombs now littering southern Lebanon, mostly American-made but some manufactured in Israel, will be a "lasting legacy," the United Nations has said. U.N. officials estimate that the Israeli military fired 90 percent of the bombs during the last 72 hours of the conflict, which began on July 12 after Hezbollah fighters seized two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid and ended with a cease-fire on Aug. 14. As many as 1 million of the bomblets are unexploded, they say, wounding or killing three people a day. The threat of stumbling across a bomblet has paralyzed life in parts of the south that depend on the harvest of tobacco and now-abandoned groves of bananas, olives and citrus.

In Saqlawi's village of Deir Qanoun, Lovell found four holes where residents had picked up 1,013 bomblets on their own. Residents said landowners were paying the more daring among them $1 to $2 for each bomblet they disposed of. The bomblets were piled in crates and boxes. Along the road, a tractor driver asked a passerby, "Will I die if I go in there?"

Down the street, Saqlawi hopped among the piles of rubble where he used to live with his wife and 6-month-old son, Hussein.

"Everything's gone," he said, "the house, the trees, the olive harvest. Everything's gone."

He gave a bitter grin. "Praise God," he said.
________________

The Israelis have simply found a new way of poisoning the wells and salting the earth. All done with the approval of America, likely just to make room for all the NEW clusterbombs we'll be paying them to buy from us.

MOST puh-thetic.

-T

Still no "Comments" selector on the Main Page. Probably keeps a lot of new folks from making a statement or two...

I'm sure they're workin' on it!

From what I have seen of Mr. Hitchens, he appears to have personally elevated himself to a position of grandeur, a legend in his own mind so-to-speak. Yet through all that he is still given credence to speak and expects us to believe him and his pompousity.

Too many like him are allowed to spew their rhetoric without consequence, go figure!

Move along David, nothing to see there.

David, sometimes I think you should do to Hitchens what so many on this blog say they do...scroll past.

If the Christopher Hitchens-types of the world got no response to their factless babble, people like you could focus your obvious talents and energies on providing good, solid information that truly effects our lives.

With no disrespect intended, responding to Hitchens does one thing: it provides him the means to make a living.

You smash Hitchens twisted and dishonest arguements with a fact hammer ..pieces of the lies fly and then you hit the remaining fragments with a laser .. they turn to dust.

The Duelfer report and David Kay confirmed what Scott Ritter, Hans Blix and Iaea's El Baradei had all ready been saying prior to the invasion.

We can all be sure that American and Iraqi families that have lost their husbands, wives, aunts, uncles, sons, daughters, in this "war of choice" wish that our "supposed" leaders and representatives would have been more thorough and honest in making their decisions to "cakewalk/lie" this nation into Iraq.

Instead many of the same radical chickenhawks push our nation into a face off with Iran.

When will these fuckers ( I am channeling Cheney) put on uniforms or offer their own children as war sacrifices. They are truely psychopaths.

Oh, those Repugs and their hypocrisy. Taking a look back ten years....10 years!

President wants Senate to hurry with new anti-terrorism laws
-- JULY 30, 1996

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Clinton urged Congress Tuesday to act swiftly in developing anti-terrorism legislation before its August recess.

"We need to keep this country together right now. We need to focus on this terrorism issue," Clinton said during a White House news conference.

But while the president pushed for quick legislation, Republican lawmakers hardened their stance against some of the proposed anti-terrorism measures.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, doubted that the Senate would rush to action before they recess this weekend. The Senate needs to study all the options, he said, and trying to get it done in the next three days would be tough.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, emerged from the meeting and said, "These are very controversial provisions that the White House wants. Some they're not going to get."...

Hatch also said he had some problems with the president's proposals to expand wiretapping.

So many attempting to undermine the Fitzgerald investigation..Bob Woodward, Victoria Toensing, Robert Novak, Christopher Hitchens, Byron York etc etc.

Even Bush when asked about this investigation has said that he will not talk about an ongoing Federal investigation.

Is it legally appropriate and professional for these folks to be making so many public statements about this investigation?

I would love to know who got to hitchens. His sudden, political about face is quite the mystery.

have you guys ever seen the unbelievably bogus forged Niger uranium documents?

Olbermann: Clinton was right, Bush is unmanly slime

Bleating, shame, dishonesty, nefariousness, more

After defending Clinton's indignation on Fox [Video HERE ], Olbermann continues to lacerate the Bush administration and its "minions" in this latest commentary.

I'm getting carpal tunnel trying to pick out all the best parts. It is best parts. Watch right.

Some key points (full transcript after the jump):

Of Wallace's smear job on Clinton:

The kind of proof of incompetence, for which the administration and its hyenas at Fox need to find a diversion, in a scapegoat.

It was the kind of cheap trick which would get a journalist fired—¢ut a propagandist, promoted:

Promise to talk of charity and generosity; but instead launch into the lies and distortions with which the Authoritarians among us attack the virtuous and reward the useless.

And don’¥ even be professional enough to assume the responsibility for the slanders yourself; blame your audience for "e-mailing" you the question.

Mr. Clinton responded as you have seen.

He told the great truth untold about this administration’≥ negligence, perhaps criminal negligence, about bin Laden.

He was brave.

Then again, Chris Wallace might be braver still. Had I in one moment surrendered all my credibility as a journalist, and been irredeemably humiliated, as was he, I would have gone home and started a new career selling seeds by mail.

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

A full transcript at the link above.

capt

Hajji, I know the ignorant will call me an anti-semite for saying this but I hope the Zionist crazies leading Israel off the cliff along with their US enablers, are soon consigned, as President Ahmadinejad said, to the pages of history. (Note to idiot bushbots, this is actually the correct translation of his comment, not "wipe Israel off the map.) Then maybe all the honest, peace loving people of Israel as well as we Americans, can start the healing process, before this war disease becomes fatal.

Krauthammer, Iran, and the End Days

WRH

Krauthammer and the neocons understand well Iran does not and will not pose a nuclear threat and all the End Days nonsense bantered around in the corporate media is scary nonsense designed to frighten those of us who are apparently incapable of comprehending otherwise, and there are at least 100 million of us, glued to our brainwash machines, ready to believe Arabs and Muslims, like the Japs and Huns of previous generations, are biologically and genetically predisposed to murder and suicide.
Indeed, Iran will be shock and awed, and probably nuked, and Charles Krauthammer's latest piece is evidence the neocons are certain their deadly agenda will go forward, probably late next month, but certainly before Bush exits office, if indeed, as the unitary decider who believes a dictatorship would be easier, he exits at all.
==============
"there are at least 100 million of us, glued to our brainwash machines, ready to believe Arabs and Muslims, like the Japs and Huns of previous generations, are biologically and genetically predisposed to murder and suicide."

Hey! That sounds just like some of the crap spewed on this blog! Now I wonder where they EVER got such crazy ideas?

THE MIRACULOUSLY CHANGING PHYSICS OF THE WTC COLLPASE

Media and science establishment complicity in the crimes of Sept 11

Rice Evokes Possible New Sanctions Against Syria for Destabilizing Lebanon
The United States is hoping to convince its allies to back new sanctions against Syria in response to its purported role in destabilizing Lebanon and Iraq and supporting the radical Palestinian movement Hamas, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.
===============
EXCUSE ME??!! WHO has destabilized Lebanon? Do these psychos actually believe the pure bullshit that spills from their disgusting, lying mouths?

Hey! whos the toupe salesman?

Sal, would that be the same Syria that defended the US embassy, and subsequently losing their own troops?

Lost not losing, sheesh!

Will someone PLEASE hurry and put this admin. in JAIL before they screw anything else up!

yes DEN, the same Syria that removed their troops when bush threatened them, and left Lebanon a sitting duck, that Syria.

Daily Show Rips Cable News for Clinton Coverage

Jon Stewart and Samantha Bee weigh in on the FOX-Clinton interview. Jon makes an astute point which the responsible, serious mainstream media seems to miss; Clinton's record on bin Laden is strong. Much stronger than Bush who is STILL not doing anything about him.

Video-WMP

Video-QT

The CIA shut down their bin Laden unit in July and a recent article says the trail has gone "stone cold." Then, we have this report that says Pakistan signed a deal with the forces who control the area where bin Laden is believed to be hiding (or dying depending on how gullible you are) Yea REAL serious about terrorism.

(guest blogged by Mike L)

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

The only place to get real news is on the fake news.

capt

This difference among others led me to separate myself from The Nation, where neither my prose nor my socializing were as stellar as Corn recalls. Incidentally, I begin to tire of this sickly idea that I used to be a great guy until I became fed up with excuses for dictators and psychopathic murderers (let alone for mediocre CIA fantasists). Alexander Cockburn is surely nearer the mark when he says that I was a complete shit and traitor all along.

Hitchens sees himself as a character in his own life drama. Is it cocktail hour yet?

Sal, I thought Syria pulled out of Lebanon per their request after the bombing there killed the prime minister and Syria was the main suspect in that bombing.

Perhaps I missed something.

I thought originally the bombing was the work of zionistas to get Syria out so they could move in, never proven though. However the later zionista invasion did give dredence to that theory.

When Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace gently asked the former president "why didn't you do more" to put Al Qaeda "out of business," he sparked an unexpected blast. Clinton, who had granted Wallace an interview at his signature Global Initiative Forum in New York last week, accused the host of being a conservative hit man.
The former president said his anti-bin Laden efforts had far exceeded those of the Bush administration before 9/11. "At least I tried. That's the difference in me and some, including all of the right-wingers who are attacking me now," Clinton said, thrusting his face into the mild-mannered Wallace's. "They ridiculed me for trying. They had eight months to try, they did not try."

Hey Bush! How Stupid Do You Think We Are?

Dear Mr. President, just how stupid do you think we are? Who do you think you are fooling?

Folks are catching on. Here's how it goes. "Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." That phrase, if you recall, was beyond your simplistic brain and home spun elocution if you can call it that.

We are fed up. The World has had enough of your attempts to pull the wool over its eyes. No longer does Karl Rove's rhetoric fool global ears. We are wising up.

And yet, you still have total disdain for the intelligence of the people whom you represent. You still think you can get away with anything. Outside of Podunk, USA, you couldn't sell a Martini to an alcoholic, a pair of shoes to Imelda Marcos or give Jimi Hendrix's favorite guitar away.

More HERE

Battle Breaks Out in Media Over Bleak NIE Iraq Assessment

By E&P Staff

Published: September 24, 2006 4:50 PM ET updated 6:15 PM ET, 9:30 PM

NEW YORK A pitched battle over an intelligence assessment, covered first by The New York Times and then The Washington Post, broke out across the media today. Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig went so far as blame the whole fuss -- over the negative view of the war in Iraq and the war on terror -- on liberal journalists. CNN aired an interview with President Bush in which he declared that one day the Iraq war will look like "just a comma."

The National Intelligence Estimate declared that the war in Iraq has increased Islamic radicalism, worsening the overall terror threat, cutting at the heart of the White House defense of its strategy. The assessment ?should put the final nail in the coffin for President Bush?s phony argument about the Iraq war,? Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) said in a statement.

Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) said that ?my feeling is the war in Iraq has intensified Islamic fundamentalism and radicalism." But the Senate majority leader, Billl Frist, said "we are going to be fighting this battle, this war overseas, or it?s going to be right here in this country.?

The White House quickly issued a statement pointing out that Bush had noted that Osama bin Laden had declared the war in Iraq to be the most ?serious issue today for the whole world.? It said the press report on the document "is not representative of the complete document."

In the CNN interview (recorded earlier this week and aired today), Wolf Blitzer asked about the continuing setbacks in Iraq. Bush, with a slight smile, replied, "Yes, you see -- you see it on TV, and that?s the power of an enemy that is willing to kill innocent people. But there?s also an unbelievable will and resiliency by the Iraqi people -- 12 milion people voted last December. ... I like to tell people when the final history is written on Iraq, it will look like just a comma because there is -- my point is, there?s a strong will for democracy. ... The unity government is functioning."

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said, "Attacks here at home stopped when we started fighting al-Qaida where they live, rather than responding after they hit."

Sen. John McCain told CBS' "Face the Nation" that if the U.S. were to fail in Iraq, "then our problems will be much more complicated."

But Rep. Jane Harman of California, the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, who has actually read the report, said she agreed that the Iraq war had caused the spread of jihadist ideology. "Every intelligence analyst I speak to confirms that," she said on CNN's 'Late Edition.'

(link)

Beware The NIE
Robert Dreyfuss
September 26, 2006

Robert Dreyfuss is an Alexandria, Va.-based writer specializing in politics and national security issues. He is the author of Devil's Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam (Henry Holt/Metropolitan Books, 2005), a contributing editor at The Nation, and a writer for Mother Jones , The American Prospect and Rolling Stone. He can be reached through his website, www.robertdreyfuss.com.

A rollicking controversy has developed over the leaked U.S. National Intelligence Estimate on terrorism, apparently the first comprehensive U.S. intelligence product on terrorism since the 1990s. So far, nearly all of the coverage?and the superheated political debate around it?has revolved around the NIE?s reported conclusion that the war in Iraq has inflamed anti-American passions in the Middle East and the Muslim world. Paraphrasing the NIE, and stating its conclusions in its own words, The New York Times , which broke the story on Sept. 24, reported that the war and the occupation of Iraq has ?helped spawn a new generation of Islamic radicalism? and adds that ?the overall terrorist threat has grown since the Sept. 11 attacks.? The headline in the Times proclaimed: ?Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Worsens Terrorism Threat.?

That conclusion, that the war in Iraq is creating terrorists, was treated as manna from heaven by Democrats, and not surprisingly. At first glance, the NIE seems to drive a stake through the heart of President Bush?s central argument for the continuing war in Iraq?namely, that the war is making Americans safer. Ted Kennedy used a similarly grim metaphor, calling the NIE ?the final nail in the coffin for President Bush?s phony argument about the Iraq war.?

There?s no denying that the war in Iraq has had a catastrophic effect on American interests. It has opened a festering wound at the heart of the Middle East, a vortex of violence that threatens to fragment the nation of Iraq and spill over Iraq?s borders into all six of its neighbors. The war has inflamed Arab and Muslim public opinion against the United States. It has alienated America?s allies, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. It has cheered or emboldened America?s adversaries and rivals, including China and Russia. And it has fueled the sort of anti-Americanism articulated by Venezuela?s Hugo Chavez at the United Nations last week.

But is the war in Iraq producing more terrorists? I don?t think so. And until I read the whole text of the NIE?which hasn?t been released?and until I sort out the politics of how it was produced, I?m not convinced that the U.S. intelligence community think so, either.

(link)

Consult America Before Iran War!

Bismarck called pre-emptive war committing suicide out of fear of death not a bad description of what we did in invading Iraq.

Today, President Bush does not have the constitutional authority to launch pre-emptive war. Congress should remind him of that, and demand that he come to them to make the case and get a declaration of war, before he undertakes yet another war on Iran.

Before any air strikes are launched on Iran's nuclear facilities, every American leader should be made to take a public stand for or against war. No more of these "If-only-I-had-known" and "We-were-misled" copouts.

More HERE

Lie by Lie: Chronicle of a War Foretold: August 1990 to March 2003

A slick multimedia presentation.

Capt, Olmert isnt going to like that at all. He thinks he has us trained to fight his battles because his army is like his penis, too small.

Cornposters,

'Twould appear that the libs in general, and the the New York Times in particular, have once again been gobsmacked by Karl Rove. You would think that after he has fooled you so many times, you wouldn't fall for his latest little act.

President Bush has just called for the declassification on the NIE document partially leaked by the Times.

Spook 86 has some of the details:

"In one of its early paragraphs, the estimate notes progress in the struggle against terrorism, stating the U.S.-led efforts have 'seriously damaged Al Qaida leadership and disrupted its operations.' Didn't see that in the NYT article.
Or how about this statement, which--in part--reflects the impact of increased pressure on the terrorists: 'A large body of reporting indicates that people identifying themselves as jihadists is increasing...however, they are largely decentralized, lack a coherent strategy and are becoming more diffuse.' Hmm...doesn't sound much like Al Qaida's pre-9-11 game plan.

The report also notes the importance of the War in Iraq as a make or break point for the terrorists: 'Should jihadists leaving Iraq perceive themselves to have failed, we judge that fewer will carry on the fight.' It's called a ripple effect.

More support for the defeating the enemy on his home turf: 'Threats to the U.S. are intrinsically linked to U.S. success or failure in Iraq.' President Bush and senior administration officials have made this argument many times--and it's been consistently dismissed by the 'experts' at the Times.

And, some indication that the growing' jihad may be pursuing the wrong course: 'There is evidence that violent tactics are backfiring...their greatest vulnerability is that their ultimate political solution (shar'a law) is unpopular with the vast majority of Muslims.' Seems to contradict MSM accounts of a jihadist tsunami with ever-increasing support in the global Islamic community.

The estimate also affirms the wisdom of sowing democracy in the Middle East: 'Progress toward pluralism and more responsive political systems in the Muslim world will eliminate many of the grievances jihadists exploit.' As I recall, this the core of our strategy in Afghanistan and Iraq."

AREN'T YOU FOLKS EVER GOING TO TIRE OF BEING PLAYED THE FOOL BY ROVE?

Showdown Over Habeas

Sen. Patrick Leahy

September 26, 2006

Today we are belatedly addressing the single most consequential provision of this much-discussed bill, a provision that can be found buried on page 81 of the proposed bill. This provision would perpetuate the indefinite detention of hundreds of individuals against whom the government has brought no charges and presented no evidence, without any recourse to justice whatsoever. That is un-American, and it is contrary to American interests.

More at Tom Paine

33 I didn't think factchecker could find his way to the comments section nevermind leap to the unsubstantiated conclusion Rove was behind the unauthorized leak of the NIE. If he was, should he be allowed to keep his security clearence?

If the NIE represents the best estimate of our intelligence agencies - without meddling from high white house officials - it's good news that it's been declassified.

Let the debate of national security policy begin. It's clear Bush has his head up his ass in Iraq.

Iraq: Making Terror Worse

Mark Mazzetti writes in the New York Times: "A stark assessment of terrorism trends by American intelligence agencies has found that the American invasion and occupation of Iraq has helped spawn a new generation of Islamic radicalism and that the overall terrorist threat has grown since the Sept. 11 attacks.

"The classified National Intelligence Estimate attributes a more direct role to the Iraq war in fueling radicalism than that presented either in recent White House documents or in a report released Wednesday by the House Intelligence Committee, according to several officials in Washington involved in preparing the assessment or who have read the final document. . . .

"The report 'says that the Iraq war has made the overall terrorism problem worse,' said one American intelligence official."

(link)

More from the same article:

Going forward, the bill departs even more radically from our most fundamental values. It would permit the president to detain indefinitely—even for life—any alien, whether in the United States or abroad, whether a foreign resident or a lawful permanent resident, without any meaningful opportunity for the alien to challenge his detention. The administration would not even need to assert, much less prove, that the alien was an enemy combatant; it would suffice that the alien was "awaiting [a] determination" on that issue. In other words, the bill would tell the millions of legal immigrants living in America, participating in American families, working for American businesses, and paying American taxes, that our government may at any minute pick them up and detain them indefinitely without charge, and without any access to the courts or even to military tribunals, unless and until the government determines that they are not enemy combatants.

THIS MEANS YOU! and anybody else opposing their rule!

Warming up the detention centers as we read.

O'Reilly:

You poor, gullible soul!! The portion of the NIE report leaked to the Times was only a small fraction of the report. Now, why didn't the Times disclose all of the report, instead of just the critical portion? Wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that the Times is simply another manifestation of The Daily Worker, would it?

Now all of the good parts of the report will come flooding out. All in all, it looks like a fair and balanced report, with both good and bad things to say about everyone. On the whole, it appears more positive than negative.

But you miss the point. The conversation for the next news cycle won't just be contents of the report, but why the Times was so one-sided in its disclosure of them.

Once again, for all you conspiracy theorists, Karl Rove will have set the tone for the debate.

More of What You Won't Read in the NYT (from In From The Cold):

"Yesterday, we noted that the MSM (along with their fellow travelers in the intel community), had apparently "cherry-picked" information from a recent National Intelligence Estimate, making their case that the Bush Administration's War on Terror had actually made the problem worse. In closing, we observed that if the NIE was that biased, it represented a grave disservice to both the community and the nation.

Thankfully, the actual NIE is not the harbinger of disaster that the Times and WaPo would have us believe. According to members of the intel community who have seen the document, the NIE is actually fair and balanced (to coin a phrase), noting both successes and failures in the War on Terror--and identifying potential points of failure for the jihadists. The quotes printed below--taken directly from the document and provided to this blogger--provide "the other side" of the estimate, and its more balanced assessment of where we stand in the War on Terror (comments in italics are mine).

In one of its early paragraphs, the estimate notes progress in the struggle against terrorism, stating the U.S.-led efforts have "seriously damaged Al Qaida leadership and disrupted its operations." Didn't see that in the NYT article.

Or how about this statement, which--in part--reflects the impact of increased pressure on the terrorists: "A large body of reporting indicates that people identifying themselves as jihadists is increasing...however, they are largely decentralized, lack a coherent strategy and are becoming more diffuse." Hmm...doesn't sound much like Al Qaida's pre-9-11 game plan.

The report also notes the importance of the War in Iraq as a make or break point for the terrorists: "Should jihadists leaving Iraq perceive themselves to have failed, we judge that fewer will carry on the fight." It's called a ripple effect.

More support for the defeating the enemy on his home turf: "Threats to the U.S. are intrinsically linked to U.S. success or failure in Iraq." President Bush and senior administration officials have made this argument many times--and it's been consistently dismissed by the "experts" at the WaPo and Times.

And, some indication that the "growing" jihad may be pursuing the wrong course: "There is evidence that violent tactics are backfiring...their greatest vulnerability is that their ultimate political solution (shar'a law) is unpopular with the vast majority of Muslims." Seems to contradict MSM accounts of a jihadist tsunami with ever-increasing support in the global Islamic community..

The estimate also affirms the wisdom of sowing democracy in the Middle East: "Progress toward pluralism and more responsive political systems in the Muslim world will eliminate many of the grievances jihadists exploit." As I recall, this the core of our strategy in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Quite a contrast to the "doom and gloom" scenario painted by the Times and the Post. Not that we'd expect anything different. But the obvious slant of their coverage does raise an interesting question, one that should be posed to their ombudsman or public editor. If sources used by the papers had access to the document, why weren't they asked about the positive elements of the report? Or, if sources provided some of the more favorable comments regarding our war on terror, why weren't those featured in articles published by the Times and the Post?

The ball's in your court, Mr. Keller and Mr. Downie. We'd like an answer to these questions, since they cut to the heart of whether your publications can actually cover a story in a fair and objective manner. We won't hold our breath waiting for a response.

AND PLEASE TELL ME YOU CAN DISCERN WHEN I AM NOT BEING SERIOUS ABOUT A ROVE CONSPIRACY

capt 30, no more cop outs is right! That bullshit that they didn't know is happy crappy if I ever heard it. Bloggers working on a shoestring knew, how could the biggest newspapers and all the reps not know? That reagan defense isn't cutting it.

UN envoy: Israel turned Gaza into prison

Special UN envoy on human rights in PA says in special report Israel's actions in territories can be described as 'ethnic cleansing,' adds three-quarters of Gaza population depend on food aid for survival
Ali Waked and Reuters Published: 09.26.0619:28

United Nations Human rights envoy to the Palestinian territories John Dugard has published a report Tuesday where he does not shy away from sharply criticizing Israel and the West for the situation in Gaza. "Israel has turned the Gaza Strip into a prison for Palestinians and have thrown away the key," he said, adding that "in other countries this process might be described as ethnic cleansing."

In the report handed to the UN Human Rights Council Dugard wrote that "life in Gaza has turned to be intolerable, appalling and tragic." According to him, 75 percent of Gaza's population is dependant on food aid for survival, and the destruction left from Israeli bombings is "intolerable."

Dugard also mentions the situation in the West Bank where there is a danger of a humanitarian crisis because of the security fence which is as bad as in Gaza.

The South African lawyer, who has been a special UN investigator since 2001, repeated earlier accusations that Israel is breaking international humanitarian law with security measures which amount to "collective punishment."

Dugard also attacked the United States, the European Union and Canada for withdrawing funding for the Palestinian Authority in protest at the governing party Hamas' refusal to accept Israel's right to exist.

"If ... The international community cannot ... take some action, it must not be surprised if the people of the planet disbelieve that they are seriously committed to the promotion of human rights," he said.

"Israel violates international law as expounded by the Security Council and the International Court of Justice and goes unpunished. But the Palestinian people are punished for having democratically elected a regime unacceptable to Israel, the US and the EU," Dugard said.
==============
It's only ethnic cleansing when someone else does it, with Israel it's "self defense." Factchucker will be very happy to know that Israel is making his dream of "killing them in large quantities" a reality, they are dying in large numbers. Those not yet dead are suffering horrifically, the next best thing, right?

More happy news for the wishers of death and destruction upon the innocent.

'Million bomblets' in S Lebanon
BBC News

There are three times more live devices than previously thought
Up to a million cluster bomblets discharged by Israel in its conflict with Hezbollah remain unexploded in southern Lebanon, the UN has said.
The UN's mine disposal agency says about 40% of the cluster bombs fired or dropped by Israel failed to detonate - three times the UN's previous estimate.

It says the problem could delay the return home of about 200,000 displaced people by up to two years.

The devices have killed 14 people in south Lebanon since the August truce.

The manager of the UN's mine removal centre in south Lebanon, Chris Clark, said Israel had failed to provide useful information of its cluster bomb strikes, which could help with the clearance operation.

Last month, the UN's humanitarian chief, Jan Egeland, accused Israel of "completely immoral" use of cluster bombs in the conflict.

Israel says all its weapons and munitions, as well as their use, comply with international law.
===============
This way they can blow them away while they're young, they will be "prempted" from ever joining Hezbollah, what a brilliant plan! It's not against international law when Israel does it.

The Queen's Death Star
Depleted Uranium Measured in British Atmosphere from Battlefields in the Middle East
LEUREN MORET / Mindfully.org 26feb2006

"Did the use of Uranium weapons in Gulf War II result in contamination of Europe? Evidence from the measurements of the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), Aldermaston, Berkshire, UK," reported the Sunday Times Online (February 19, 2006) in a shocking scientific study authored by British scientists Dr. Chris Busby and Saoirse Morgan.

The highest levels of depleted uranium ever measured in the atmosphere in Britain, were transported on air currents from the Middle East and Central Asia; of special significance were those from the Tora Bora bombing in Afghanistan in 2001, and the "Shock & Awe" bombing during Gulf War II in Iraq in 2003.

Out of concern for the public, the official British government air monitoring facility, known as the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), at Aldermaston, was established years ago to measure radioactive emissions from British nuclear power plants and atomic weapons facilities.

The British government facility (AWE) was taken over 3 years ago by Halliburton, which refused at first to release air monitoring data to Dr. Busby, as required by law.

An international expert on low level radiation, Busby serves as an official advisor on several British government committees, and co-authored an independent report on low level radiation with 45 scientists, the European Committee on Radiation Risk (ECRR), for the European Parliament. He was able to get Aldermaston air monitoring data from Halliburton /AWE by filing a Freedom of Information request using a new British law which became effective January 1, 2005; but the data for 2003 was missing. He obtained the 2003 data from the Defence Procurement Agency.

The fact that the air monitoring data was circulated by Halliburton/ AWE to the Defence Procurement Agency, implies that it was considered to be relevant, and that Dr. Busby was stonewalled because Halliburton/ AWE clearly recognized that it was a serious enough matter to justify a government interpretation of the results, and official decisions had to be made about what the data would show and its political implications for the military.

After the "Shock and Awe" campaign in Iraq in 2003, very fine particles of depleted uranium were captured with larger sand and dust particles in filters in Britain.

These particles traveled in 7-9 days from Iraqi battlefields as far as 2400 miles away.

The radiation measured in the atmosphere quadrupled within a few weeks after the beginning of the 2003 campaign, and at one of the 5 monitoring locations, the levels twice required an official alert to the British Environment Agency.

In addition to depleted uranium data gathered in previous studies on Kosovo and Bosnia by Dr. Busby, the Aldermaston air monitoring data provided a continuous record of depleted uranium levels in Britain from the other recent wars.

Extensive video news footage of the 2003 Iraq war, including Fallujah in 2004, provided irrefutable documented evidence that the US has unethically and illegally used depleted uranium munitions on cities and other civilian populations.

These military actions are in direct violation of not only the international conventions, but also violate US military law because the US is a signatory to The Hague and Geneva Conventions and the 1925 Geneva Gas Protocol.
=========
Not to mention poisoning our own troops as well.
I suppose clinton had no clue what was going on? bushco knows, they all know and they do it anyway.

Dear Mr. Corn,

You had to do it, take on Christopher Hitchens. I too once admired his brilliance. The decline came first with his objections to abortion which, at the time, I felt totally in sync with an incredibly intelligent, feeling and rational person. Abortion is terribly horrific to tackle. It defies all your inner emotional, moral instincts but still offers a viable way out of overpopulating this planet and overcoming the vagaries that is nature and its effects on young girls and their unlucky offspring. A complex, thorny issue that sinks to the bones of morality.

However, Hitchens has lowered himself to the level of people such as David Horowitz, Dick Cheney, Richard Perle et al. They write and speak presumtively, as you speak of, and then base their "reasoned argument" upon those presumptons fashioned from fantasy. Much like some of the dissenters on this blog. By giving one's all, allowing their presumptions to trickle into the debate, we fall for their game. You, of course, are aware of this, and you stand strong against such tactics. Still, there is no reasoning with this illogical tact, designed to conceal specious reasoning. As full of integrity and scholarship as you are, there is no porthole of chance to convince certain people. Hitchens, in his total arrogance, as in Cockburn, find you a challenge. An astute, incorruptable, stubborn mule of a challenge. They will not leave you alone. I'm sure you're aware why they attack you, professional and personal jealousy. It's so utterly obvious.

I heard you on Al Franken's Air America show this morning. My sister called to tell me you were on. BRAVO! I loved the David Kay story, though you were essentially cut off due to time limitations. As always, keep up the wonderfully dilligent good work. You are a scholarly journalist of the highest integrity.

Thank you for Hubris.

Sincerely,
Carey Self Hickman

Vermont Congress candidate calls on Pentagon to arrest Bush, Cheney Document Actions Last modified 2006-09-25 10:55
Saturday, Septmber 23

Former Army Lieutenant and candidate for Congress in Vermont, Dennis Morrisseau, today called for the arrest of President Bush and Vice President Cheney by the American military "if necessary" to prevent an unauthorized attack upon the nation of Iran.
The antiwar Vietnam vet is a Republican, but he has won approval from the State of Vermont to run on the ballot line Impeach Bush Now, rather than Democrat or Republican.
"American forces are apparently already active inside Iran, and Naval forces have received orders to deploy to that country," Morrisseau said. "The President has NO AUTHORITY to attack the nation of Iran whatsoever, in the absence of a full, formal Declaration of War on Iran by the sitting Congress."
Morrisseau said any order for an attack upon Iran or to deploy naval forces to its coastal waters is illegal, and called upon officers of the American military to "First, refuse to obey such an order. If the president persists and insists on ordering our forces into combat in or over Iran without a formal Declaration of War, then I call upon you, General Pace, as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and upon such other military officers as clearly see their duty in these circumstances to detain both the President and Vice President, until such time as the Congress shall act."

Letter to General Pace of the Joint Chiefs

Morrisseau, who was court-martialled for opposition to the Vietnam War in 1968, said he has written to General Pace to ask for the intervention of the military. "In spite of my opposition to the Vietnam War and the court-martial which we ultimately defeated, I was a good soldier who had the respect of my superior officers throughout the ordeal. And they had mine!" Morrisseau said. "There are many many, very, very decent people in the active duty military. I know this," he said " people who love their country and democracy too, and hate war."
Morrisseau wrote that "Iran is no present threat to us or anyone. Their right to enrich uranium under treaties signed by us for the production of nuclear power is clear: and that is all they have so far done. An attack upon that nation now by us, acting alone will constitute an illegal war of aggression under international law. It is illegal under our law as well. I urge you to so advise the President," Morrisseau wrote to Pace, "and urge that he take no such actions. In particular, he must not act in the absense of a full, formal, responsible War Declaration by Congress. That is the Constitutional requirement."
===============
Wouldn't that be awesome?? Looks like the people have had just about enough, forget the labels, vote anti-war!

The Voice of the White House

Washington, D.C., September 24, 2006: It's always nice to be right, isn't it? I thought I was wrong once but I found out later I was mistaken. What am I talking about? Osama bin Ladin. I have published, at least three time over the past two and one half years that bin Laden was dead. I have had in my hand a report from the CIA to the NSC stating categorically that bin Laden died in a Pakistani hospital of kidney failure in September of 2003. The Pakistani government informed the Department of State and the CIA informed the NSC at about the same time. We never heard about this in our free and unfettered media because the Cheney people didn't want us to. Why is this? Because it gave them a wonderful opportunity to get the CIA, in their Texas facility, the chance to produce more bin Laden tapes with which to terrify the voting public at opportune times, such as just before an important election or when Bush's approval ratings dipped below twenty. However, militant Islamist groups in the Pakistani government are giving some thought to discrediting their current leader and taking control of that country and its known atomic weaponry. Part of this activity is to discredit the United States by showing that bin Laden was dead while the U.S. was faking anti-Muslim scare tapes. Knowing this was about to erupt, suddenly our people allowed rumors to start that, yes, bin Laden was dead but only just recently and not from kidney failure but typhoid! And why just now? Because if they admitted the truth; that the long-dead bin-Laden was making propaganda tapes from the grave, voters in November might just begin to wonder who was making them and why the CIA always rushed forward to breathlessly inform us that their superior technology had clearly proved them to be genuine. Add this nonsense to the liquid bomb farce and we still haven't moved Bush's ratings up. Cheney is about 8% approval and Bush around 27-35% and in this, we can see a hopeful augury for massive death and destruction at the mid-term elections. Actually, all of them should be thrown out of office and we can start with fresh blood. It would take at least a decade before the new ones would be as corrupt, self-serving and useless as the present hog pen but during this time, hopefully things will get better.
============
This was bound to come out sooner or later.

#13 Capt

Thanks for the link. This is one hellava commentary. It transcends anything we've seen from TV broadcast journalists.

Saladin,

Someone got to Hitchens. I once wrote here that I'd read that it might be familial or otherwise blackmail. It is a mystery. People say it's alcohol, by I find that hard to believe. I have it from one of Cockburn's good friends that Cockburn blames the alcohol. (Source is an old family friend.)

Robert Schwartz,

I saw some clips from yesterday's hearings. WOW! Last night on Olbermann Major Gen. Paul Eaton said, aside from all of the other top brass' military outcries that the administration has acted immoraly, (Bushco's actions only led to a militarized insurgency) that, even though the Generals had put their hearts into training Iraqi Security Forces, they had nothing to equip them with. Equipment is not forthcoming from us.

One wonders, and I've joked about this, does God ever, ever question these assholes? Karma will come, there's no doubt. But so many are dying in the process.

I'm short of time today. Saladin has sent me two tempting DVDs. Write at you later.

Hitchens is a scumbag and a slime ball. Mr. Corn, he is a nothing. Do not waste your time by commenting on him. You are not running for political office so why give him the time of day. If you were running for political office, you would need to attack him like a junkyard dog attacks any intruder.

I heard this morning that Osama bin Laden is dead. Karzai in Afghanistan believes that OBM is dead. I have felt that he has been dead for some time.

What is interesting about the terrorists is that they are a network and not beholden to a single leader. They have many leaders while Nazi America is seeking one leader who can talk without a fork tongue.

test

Anybody catch this one today?

Q Thank you, Mr. President. Former President Clinton says that your administration had no meetings on bin Laden for nine months after he left office. Is that factually accurate, and how do you respond to his charges?

PRESIDENT BUSH: You know, look, Caren, I've watched all this finger-pointing and naming of names, and all that stuff. Our objective is to secure the country. And we've had investigations, we had the 9/11 Commission, we had the look back this, we've had the look back that. The American people need to know that we spend all our time doing everything that we can to protect them. So I'm not going to comment on other comments.

But I will comment on this -- that we're on the offense against an enemy that wants to do us harm. And we must have the tools necessary to protect our country. On the one hand, if al Qaeda or al Qaeda affiliates are calling somebody in the country, we need to know why. And so Congress needs to pass that piece of legislation. If somebody has got information about a potential attack, we need to be able to ask that person some questions. And so Congress has got to pass that piece of legislation.

You can't protect America unless we give those people on the front lines of protecting this country the tools necessary to do so within the Constitution. And that's where the debate is here in the United States. There are some decent people who don't believe -- evidently don't believe we're at war, and therefore, shouldn't give the administration what is necessary to protect us.

And that goes back to Jennifer's question, you know. Does being on the offense mean we create terrorists? My judgment is the only way to defend the country is to stay on the offense. It is preposterous to think if we were to withdraw and hope for the best, things would turn out fine against this enemy. That was my point about, before we were in Iraq there were thousands being trained in Afghanistan to strike America and other places. The only way to protect this country is to stay on the offense, is to deal with threats before they fully materialize and, in the long-term, help democracy succeed, like Afghanistan and Iraq, and Lebanon and a Palestinian state.

But there's a difference of opinion. It will come clear during this campaign, where people will say, get out, leave before the job is done. And those are good, decent, patriotic people who believe that way -- I just happen to believe they're absolutely wrong. So I'm going to continue to work to protect this country. And we'll let history judge -- all the different finger-pointing and all that business. I don't have enough time to finger-point. I've got to stay -- I've got to do my job, which comes home every day in the Oval Office, and that is to protect the American people from further attack.

Now, there are some who say, well, maybe it's not going to happen. Well, they don't see what I see. All I ask is that they look at that terror plot that, along with the Brits, we helped -- helped stop -- people who were going to get on an airplane and blow up innocent lives in order to achieve political objectives. They're out there, they're mean, and they need to be brought to justice.

*******************************

Translation: Yes, it is true. Despite receiving the August 6, 2001 PDR, despite Clinton's telling us that bin Laden would be our most consuming problem, despite Richard Clark and John O'Neal, and Colleen Rowley, despite warnings from Germany, Egypt and elsewhere the Cabinet did not meet, but we allowed the most blinding, confusing, ill conceived, TOP SECRET WAR GAMES in history to proceed, to game out planes hitting buildings, which of course, as Condi has told you, nobody could have conceived of. Clear now?

If folks have not watched Amy Goodman's interview with Juan Cole at Democracy Now yesterday it is well worth watching/listening/learning. Juan Cole really understands the situation in the middle east better than most

Someone knew 9/11 was going to happen..this is another major piece of the 9/11 puzzle.

If you have not watched this four part series..DO

INFORMATION CLEARING HOUSE (ORIGINALLY ON FOX NEWS LATE SEPT 2001)
Israel Is Spying In And On The U.S.? Part 1

BRIT HUME, HOST: It has been more than 16 years since a civilian working for the Navy was charged with passing secrets to Israel. Jonathan Pollard pled guilty to conspiracy to commit espionage and is serving a life sentence. At first, Israeli leaders claimed Pollard was part of a rogue operation, but later took responsibility for his work.

Now Fox News has learned some U.S. investigators believe that there are Israelis again very much engaged in spying in and on the U.S., who may have known things they didn't tell us before September 11. Fox News correspondent Carl Cameron has details in the first of a four-part series.

Published: 12/12/01 FOX News. Part 1 of a 4 part series: Part 2- Part 3 - Part 4
These items have since been removed from the FOX News web site:

Congress unlikely to pass wiretapping
LAURIE KELLMAN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Congress is unlikely to approve a bill giving President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program legal status and new restrictions before the November midterm elections, dealing a significant blow to one of the White House's top wartime priorities.

House and Senate versions of the legislation differ too much to bridge the gap by week's end, when Congress recesses until after the Nov. 7 elections, according to two GOP leadership aides who demanded anonymity because the decision had not yet been announced.

More.

*********************************

2001 memo to Rice contradicts statements about Clinton, Pakistan
Larry Womack
Published: Tuesday September 26, 2006

A memo received by United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice shortly after becoming National Security Advisor in 2001 directly contradicts statements she made to reporters yesterday, RAW STORY has learned.

"We were not left a comprehensive strategy to fight al Qaeda," Rice told a reporter for the New York Post on Monday. "Big pieces were missing," Rice added, "like an approach to Pakistan that might work, because without Pakistan you weren't going to get Afghanistan."

Rice made the comments in response to claims made Sunday by former President Bill Clinton, who argued that his administration had done more than the current one to address the al Qaeda problem before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. She stopped short of calling the former president a liar.

However, RAW STORY has found that just five days after President George W. Bush was sworn into office, a memo from counter-terrorism expert Richard A. Clarke to Rice included the 2000 document, "Strategy for Eliminating the Threat from the Jihadist Networks of al-Qida: Status and Prospects." This document devotes over 2 of its 13 pages of material to specifically addressing strategies for securing Pakistan's cooperation in airstrikes against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

More.

******************************

BUSH DECLASSIFIES JUST 4 PAGES OF HYPED,
30-PAGE REPORT ON TERROR, IRAQ... DEVELOPING...RAW STORY

Who is in control of the elections? Saudi Arabia OPEC? How soon will Osama Bin Laden appear? Will the American voters fall for the same old tricks?

September 26, 2006 12:16 AM
September Surprise
Down are gas prices; out is a Democratic talking point.

By Rich Lowry

When will someone call for an investigation of the oil companies for their latest transgression? In a blatant and unconscionable violation of their responsibility to their shareholders, oil executives are apparently manipulating the market to drive down prices and their own profits?

Why? Perhaps they enjoy the power rush that comes from yanking around such a vast worldwide market. Perhaps they are feeling less greedy this month. Perhaps they grew bored with rising prices. Whatever the reason for the drop in the price of gas lately, it cannot simply be a product of the forces of the free market — at least not if we remember the rhetoric of Democrats just a few months ago.

@ National Review

Remember when Richard Clark apologized to the American people?

Weezle is a liar, chimpster is a liar, rummy is a liar, chainer is a big fat liar, most the repugs in congress are liars, did I leave anyone out?

Liar disease has claimed these so-called leaders, send their lying asses to a KBR detention center, waterboard them till they talk truth, then beat them and torture them some more.

What better justice is there for these thugs?

Richard Clark is a man of honor, unlike the rest of the bozos.

OBL is dead and has been since 2003, just ressurected for special neo-conartists occasions like the 04 election, and low poll numbers.

Sept 26 Washington Note
BIG NEWS: John Bolton Confirmation Battle Really, Really Dead

Thanks for the link in #2 Hajji. Truthiness is self evident...and so is cowardice. After viewing these world shaping issues discussed in two public forums, notably David Corn/Byron York and Bill Clinton/ Chris Wallace I have come to one conclusion: is a moderator required? Can people not be allowed to complete sentences and prove themselves fools rather than interruption after interruption as if impatience is a virtue and clairvoyance is a fact. I cannot help but notice a problem with measured, controlled discourse between intelligent people. Yes, I understand Mr. Clinton's and Corn's displeasure with trying to communicate with such mouth breathing morons, but it's a win/win when approached with tact and decorum. Just my opinion...

Bolton's response to hearing the news "#!%#$$%#"
John Bolton Confirmation Battle Really Really Dead!
Washington Note Sept 26

The last pre-election loophole through which John Bolton's confirmation might have snuck through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was at 2:15 this afternoon at a previously called "business meeting" of the Committee.

That meeting has been cancelled -- and with it even the dimmest chance of John Bolton being confirmed as US Ambassador to the United Nations.

Some have said that another effort could be mounted during a lame duck session of Congress, but there are several Republicans who will not feel bound by the White House in that circumstance; Dems as well -- who will vote against cloture on the floor of the Senate were it to get out of Committee then.

So, it's over. Wow.

John Bolton might agree to serve as the uncompensated Ambassador to the UN in a second recess appointment, or might agree to serve as a recess appointed political deputy at the UN and made "acting Ambassador and Chief of Mission" at a pay cut.

Either way, Ambassador Bolton will fill his term as the only unconfirmed Ambassador at the United Nations in American history.

For the record, I do believe that John Bolton has strengths as a public servant. Those who have opposed him should in fact know that he has done some good things for this country. I strongly disagree with his international views and his brand of diplomacy, but there are other jobs in the Bush administration that I would support John Bolton for.

It is time to say that. I hope that Ambassador Bolton, in the next few months, works at trying to leave a legacy that is constructive regarding America's engagement with the UN.

But this battle seems now to be definitively, completely at an end.

Wow. I'm amazed that those concerned about this appointment have really won -- twice.

-- Steve Clemons

From today's New York Post:

"Clinton insisted that his version is backed both by Clarke's book and public testimony before the 9/11 Commission.

In fact, Clarke told the commission a very different story during hours of private testimony behind closed doors - one that jibed with a 2002 background briefing he gave to reporters.

Back then, he said: "There was no plan on al Qaeda that was passed from the Clinton administration to the Bush administration. . . . [a] plan, strategy - there was no, nothing new."

Indeed, Clarke said, the Bush team in 2001 "changed the [Clinton] strategy from one of rollback [of] al Qaeda over five years to a new strategy that called for the rapid elimination of al Qaeda. That is in fact the timeline."

Bush, he added, took action on several "issues that had been on the table for a couple of years," such as instituting a new policy in Pakistan that convinced Islamabad "to break away from the Taliban" and boosting "CIA resources . . . for covert action five-fold to go after al Qaeda."

In fact, a 1999 Clarke after-action memo - the one top Clinton aide Sandy Berger later stole from the National Archives - identified national-security weaknesses so "glaring" that only sheer "luck" prevented a cataclysmic attack back then.

And, as Clarke told the 9/11 Commission publicly, there was nothing the Bush administration could have done that would have prevented the attacks."

I believe what Richard Clarke said here, don't you?

Macaca Allen and the Deer Head

Quite possibly George "Macaca" Allen has more skeletons in his closet. This is just disgusting deer's head in a black family's mailbox.

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

This reveals the type of quality politician the GOP respects! Hate and racism is a double plus. Where are the GOPhers screaming about this slug? The silence is deafening.

capt

clever!

September 25, 2006

The Honorable J. Dennis Hastert Speaker United States House of Representatives H-232, The Capitol Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Speaker Hastert:

More than three weeks ago, we wrote to you requesting action on key issues facing the American people. Though we have yet to receive a response from you, the urgency to act remains: from national security to economic security, from the cost of health care and college tuition to the price at the pump, our country is heading in the wrong direction.

Based on the concerns of all Americans, Congress must act on five key issues that have an immediate impact on the lives of the American people before adjourning for the November election. As Majority Leader Boehner continues to say that Congress will adjourn by Friday, September 29th, this leaves less than one week in which to act. We reject assertions that the people's business can wait until after the November election, and therefore, unless you address the following issues, Democrats will actively resist adjournment.
@raw story

Why not read the documents yourself, instead of relying on the LOONY MOONY news. Facts for the checker.

Checkered Facts...

Clarke's Take On Terror
What Bush's Ex-Adviser Says About Efforts to Stop War On Terror
March 21, 2004

Richard Clarke says the White House dropped the ball against terrorism before Sept. 11. (CBS)

Quote
"I find it outrageous that the President is running for re-election on the grounds that he's done such great things about terrorism. He ignored it."
Richard Clarke


(CBS) In the aftermath of Sept. 11, President Bush ordered his then top anti-terrorism adviser to look for a link between Iraq and the attacks, despite being told there didn't seem to be one.

The charge comes from the adviser, Richard Clarke, in an exclusive interview on 60 Minutes.

Checkered facts go hear the facts from the man himself at 60 minutes

sorry wrong doofus newspaper, just when I think I are near perfect too, dang.

Give it up Checkers! Your arguments just do not hold any water, the lies are catching up. Just too late for those who have lost their lives due to the lies.

BBC
Four successive US presidents have picked Richard Clarke to defend the country against terrorists.

Clarke will testify in the inquiry into the 11 September attacks

His fourth boss, George W Bush, may be regretting the choice.

Mr Clarke has turned on his former master, a year after stepping down as the cyber-security adviser charged with protecting America against an "electronic Pearl Harbour".

He has accused President Bush of doing a "terrible job" fighting terrorism - of ignoring the al-Qaeda threat before 11 September 2001 and distorting it afterwards.

@BBC

Well, finally. Warning, IF YOU DON"T SEE ME FOR FOR A WHILE IT'S BECAUSE I BAASHED MY COMPUTER IN. (not really)

This was too important to not fight the computer to this site.

Cornposters,

So, are you saying that all the things Richard Clarke said in #61, most of them under oath, were lies?

So, was Richard Clarke lying then, or is he lying now?

Checkered Facts. Blaa, blaa, blaa. Answer my question! Blaa, blaa, blaa. When are you liberals going to learn? Blaa, blaa, blaa. Blaa, blaa, blaa.

Declassified NIE Shows Cheney and Bush Misled Americans

The National Intelligence Estimate "the most authoritative document[] that the intelligence community produces" was delivered to President Bush and Vice President Cheney in April 2006. It was declassified today.

Here's a key excerpt:

The Iraq conflict has become the cause celebre for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of US involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement.

President Bush, August 21 2006: (clip at link)

Vice President Cheney, September 10, 2006: (clip at link)

Transcripts:

Clip 1

BUSH: You know, I've heard this theory about everything was just fine until we arrived, and kind of "we're going to stir up the hornet's nest" theory. It just doesn't hold water, as far as I'm concerned. The terrorists attacked us and killed 3,000 of our citizens before we started the freedom agenda in the Middle East.

Clip 2

RUSSERT: Here's what the American people said in a recent poll. Is the U.S. involvement in Iraq or Afghanistan creating more terrorists or eliminating terrorists? And look at that. Overwhelmingly, 54 percent, clear majority, believe we are creating more terrorists.

TEXT:

U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN
CREATING MORE TERRORISTS 54%
ELIMINATING TERRORISTS 15%
The New York Times CBS/Poll

CHENEY: I, I, I can't buy that.

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

What a pack of miserable liars, eh?

capt

Well, finally. If you don't hear from me for a while it's I bashed the computer in. No, none of you can help me. This thing has had it.

Here: Oh screw it. See it on USA Today headlines. My computer is shit. It's about Bush hiding the facts about hurricanes worsening from global warming.

Saladin,

Before this thing completely goes kaput, thank you for the DVD "9/11 Press For Truth". The implication of Pakistan has occurred to me for a while now (ISI-Pakistani intelligence). Things we don't know about yet. Something is terribly amiss with Pakistan. Seeing as how they are Muslim I don't have a clue. And how does it relate to India? But that's where any investigation should start at this point. Mind you, this is so convoluted. It's not just Pakistan. But something is wrong. Gut instinct.

“The West threw away a real opportunity to inject fairness and balance into the issue of nuclear weapons,” the Saudi Arabia-based Arab News editorialized Sept. 24.

“The nuclear threat from Israel is all too real. The threat from Iran is still at the most an intention, and may not even be that,” the editorial said. “However if Iran is actually intent on acquiring its own arsenal, it is in large measure because the West has allowed Israel to amass such a destructive nuclear stockpile as to pose a regional threat.”

This view echoed the Arab and Muslim world’s lament of four years ago — that the U.N. Security Council was enforcing its resolutions against Iraq, but not against Israel. But several diplomats and analysts suggest that they’re two different issues.

Bush Administration's Pre-9/11 Focus Was Missile Defense, Not Terrorism

In her interview with the New York Post, Condoleezza Rice falsely claimed that President Bush's pre-9/11 anti-terror efforts were "at least as aggressive" as President Clinton's. In fact, the 9-11 Commission disputes that account. While the Bush administration should have been preparing for a potential terrorist attack, it was instead focused on developing a costly missile defense system. Here are the facts:

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

Oh my, those pesky facts always proving Bush and his crew as liars. OUCH - this one really must hurt. The "Do nothing" pres did nothing. *sigh*

capt

West rebuffs effort to slam Israel
at meeting of atomic energy agency
By Michael J. Jordan September 26, 2006

VIENNA, Sept. 26 (JTA) —†The International Atomic Energy Agency’≥ General Conference is said to be a genteel sort of place, where 141 member-states focus on technical issues like nuclear-safeguard compliance.
So when the Middle East conflict was injected into the tail end of a celebratory 50th anniversary gathering last week, the attempted politicization of the U.N. forum rankled several members.

A mostly Arab-Muslim bloc of states, angered by what they deem Western inaction during Israelճ recent conflict with Hezbollah, pushed for a resolution to brand Israelճ suspected nuclear weapons a ҴhreatӠto regional peace and stability.

@JTA

Sherrod Brown won the Progressive Patriots Funding

Hmmm, poor Corn still won't and maybe can't get it...

Sadly this grown man still didn't get the Armitage memo so continues on in the "barking moonbat" method which Corn seemingly has made his own: "The piece also reminds (or, attempts to remind) Hitchens of other facts he never references when he writes about the Plame case: namely, that Karl Rove and Scooter Libby were out to undermine Wilson and in doing so leaked classified information about his wife's CIA employment"...

Nice try Corn but still no cigar...

Oh my grammer was awful in my last post. I just kept looking to see if I was being turned off by my computer.

Seriously, there is something about Pakistan that has been chewing at me. What I don't know. When I said this is convoluted, I don't think we even know the beginning of it. (9/11 and beyond.)

Okay, this is an experiment. There is something seriously wrong with my computer. I have posted twice now without proof.

Sorry for the grammer in my last post. What I'm trying to express is that something about Pakistan has been gnawing at me. I don't know what it is, but it's there.

One more time. Am I posting?

I see your posts Carey.

Carey 73, the credit for the DVD goes to capt. And you're right, the whole damn thing is convoluted and totally bogus. Look to the pipeline deal and work forward, AKA, follow the money.

Fellow Americans:

Perhaps when all that one can do is link and cut and paste, the ability to reason is reduced if not altogether eliminated.

The Good Captain takes an interpretation from a loony left blog as gospel and reports it here as fact.

Perhaps the Good Captain would care to discuss the "facts" as described, not by some moonbat website, but by Richard Clarke, himself, at #61 above.

I also notice that the libs are more interested in process than results. All Bill Clinton had to do is say, "I tried as hard as I could." For to an emotional liberal, caring is the same as doing, perhaps more.

And, so, if the Clintons held more meetings, it must have meant that they were trying harder and, ergo, were more successful.

They were trying harder when Sandy Berger wasn't putting the ixnay on the killing of Bin Laden.

They were trying harder when Clinton wouldn't respond in Mogadishu.

They were trying harder when Clinton treated the 93 WTC bombing as a police matter and never even visited the site.

They were trying harder when Clinton didn't respond to Khobar.

They were trying harder when Clinton didn't respond to the USS Cole.

They were trying harder when Clinton never responded to the bombing of our embassies.

So, Clinton was totally impotent, like all other libs, but he "meant" well.

Do you begin to understand why most Americans are afraid of you and your thought processes? I'm sure you mean well, but you are weak and illogical.

"...So, Clinton was totally impotent, like all other libs..."

What is it about Bubba's Presidential pecker that so obsesses these wingnuts?

“[T]here was just an explosion [in the south tower]. It seemed like on television [when] they blow up these buildings. It seemed like it was going all the way around like a belt, all these explosions.”
--Firefighter Richard Banaciski

“I saw a flash flash flash [at] the lower level of the building. You know like when they demolish a building?”
--Assistant Fire Commissioner Stephen Gregory

“[I]t was [like a] professional demolition where they set the charges on certain floors and then you hear 'Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop'."
--Paramedic Daniel Rivera

The above quotations come from a collection of 9/11 oral histories that, although recorded by the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) at the end of 2001, were publicly released only on August 12, 2005. Prior to that date, very few Americans knew the content of these accounts or even the fact that they existed.

The day after 9/11, a story in the Los Angeles Times, referring to the south tower, said: “There were reports of an explosion right before the tower fell, then a strange sucking sound, and finally the sound of floors collapsing."4

A story in the Guardian said that “police and fire officials were carrying out the first wave of evacuations when the first of the World Trade Centre towers collapsed. Some eyewitnesses reported hearing another explosion just before the structure crumbled. Police said that it looked almost like a ‘planned implosion.’"

wtc janitor William Rodriguez reported that he and others felt an explosion below the first sub-level office at 9 AM, after which co-worker Felipe David, who had been in front of a nearby freight elevator, came into the office with severe burns on his face and arms yelling "explosion! explosion! explosion!"

Engineer Mike Pecoraro, who was working in the sixth sub-basement of the north tower, said that after an explosion he and a co-worker went up to the C level, where there was a small machine shop. “There was nothing there but rubble,” said Pecoraro. “We're talking about a 50 ton hydraulic press--gone!” They then went to the parking garage, but found that it was also gone. Then on the B level, they found that a steel-and-concrete fire door, which weighed about 300 pounds, was wrinkled up "like a piece of aluminum foil." Having seen similar things after the terrorist attack in 1993, Pecoraro was convinced that a bomb had gone off.

FDNY Captain Dennis Tardio, speaking of the south tower, said: "I hear an explosion and I look up. It is as if the building is being imploded, from the top floor down, one after another, boom, boom, boom."

Official: Battalion 3 to dispatch, we've just had another explosion.
Official: Battalion 3 to dispatch, we've had additional explosion.
Dispatcher: Received battalion command. Additional explosion.

Firefighter Louie Cacchioli, after entering the north tower lobby and seeing elevator doors completely blown out and people being hit with debris, asked himself, “how could this be happening so quickly if a plane hit way above?” After he reached the 24th floor, he and another fireman “heard this huge explosion that sounded like a bomb [and] knocked off the lights and stalled the elevator.” After they pried themselves out of the elevator, “another huge explosion like the first one hits. This one hits about two minutes later . . . [and] I’m thinking, ‘Oh. My God, these bastards put bombs in here like they did in 1993!’”

Multiple explosions were also reported by Teresa Veliz, who worked for a software development company in the north tower. She was on the 47th floor, she reported, when suddenly “the whole building shook. . . . [Shortly thereafter] the building shook again, this time even more violently." Then, while Veliz was making her way downstairs and outside: “There were explosions going off everywhere. I was convinced that there were bombs planted all over the place and someone was sitting at a control panel pushing detonator buttons. . . . There was another explosion. And another. I didn't know where to run."

Steve Evans, a New York-based correspondent for the BBC, said: “I was at the base of the second tower . . . that was hit. . . . There was an explosion. . . . The base of the building shook. . . . [T]hen there was a series of explosions.”

Sue Keane, an officer in the New Jersey Fire Police Department who was previously a sergeant in the U.S. Army, said in her account of the onset of the collapse of the south tower: “[I]t sounded like bombs going off. That's when the explosions happened. . . . I knew something was going to happen. . . . It started to get dark, then all of a sudden there was this massive explosion.” Then, discussing her experiences during the collapse of the north tower, she said: “[There was] another explosion. That sent me and the two firefighters down the stairs. . . . I can't tell you how many times I got banged around. Each one of those explosions picked me up and threw me. . . . There was another explosion, and I got thrown with two firefighters out onto the street.”

Wall Street Journal reporter John Bussey, describing his observation of the collapse of the south tower from the ninth floor of the WSJ office building, said: “I . . . looked up out of the office window to see what seemed like perfectly synchronized explosions coming from each floor. . . . One after the other, from top to bottom, with a fraction of a second between, the floors blew to pieces.”

Another Wall Street Journal reporter said that after seeing what appeared to be “individual floors, one after the other exploding outward,” he thought: “‘My God, they’re going to bring the building down.’ And they, whoever they are, HAD SET CHARGES. . . . I saw the explosions.”

A similar perception was reported by Beth Fertig of WNYC Radio, who said: “It just descended like a timed explosion—like when they are deliberately bringing a building down. . . . It was coming down so perfectly that in one part of my brain I was thinking, 'They got everyone out, and they're bringing the building down because they have to.'”

Fireman 1: “We made it outside, we made it about a block . . . .”

Fireman 2: “We made it at least two blocks and we started running.” He makes explosive sounds and then uses a chopping hand motion to emphasize his next point: “Floor by floor it started popping out . . . .”

Fireman 1: “It was as if they had detonated--as if they were planning to take down a building, boom boom boom boom boom . . . .”

Fireman 2: “All the way down. I was watching it and running. And then you just saw this cloud of shit chasing you down.”

Battalion Chief John Sudnik said that while he and others were working at the command post, “we heard a loud explosion or what sounded like a loud explosion and looked up and I saw tower two start coming down.”20

Firefighter Timothy Julian said: “First I thought it was an explosion. I thought maybe there was a bomb on the plane, but delayed type of thing, you know secondary device. . . . I just heard like an explosion and then a cracking type of noise, and then it sounded like a freight train, rumbling and picking up speed, and I remember I looked up, and I saw it coming down.”

Chief Frank Cruthers: “There was what appeared to be at first an explosion. It appeared at the very top, simultaneously from all four sides, materials shot out horizontally. And then there seemed to be a momentary delay before you could see the beginning of the collapse."

READ NIE "KEY FINDINGS"

...as Pande would say..."Be careful...its a PDF!"

-T

Just a test to see if I can comment, now that Micki e-mailed to me 'the secret way in'.

But I'll not go back through the previous threads, too busy...

WEBMASTER! GEEKS! FIX THE COMMENTS ON THE MAIN PAGE!

Iraq, Overstretched Army Bring Bush New Grief

WASHINGTON - With the U.S. intelligence community agreed that the invasion and occupation of Iraq have made this country less safe from terrorist threats, President George W. Bush appears now to be facing a growing revolt among top military commanders who say U.S. ground forces are stretched close to the breaking point.

According to Monday's Los Angeles Times, the Army's top officer, Gen. Peter Schoomaker, has called for nearly a 50 percent increase in spending -- to nearly 140 billion dollars -- in 2008 to cope with the situation in Iraq and maintain minimal readiness for possible emergencies.

To convey his seriousness, Schoomaker reportedly withheld the Army's scheduled budget request last month in what the Times called an "unprecedented... protest" against previous rejections by the White House of funding increases.

The news of Schoomaker's action, which is almost certain to intensify the growing debate over what to do in Iraq just seven weeks before the Nov. 7 mid-term Congressional elections, comes just days after the New York Times reported that the Army is considering activating substantially more National Guard troops or reservists.

More HERE

*****end of clip*****

Bush has always lied when he says he listens to the military commanders.

capt

capt --- In one ear and out the other...

who was it on this very blog just the other day that said something like israel is giving back gaza to the palestinians.

the UN would seem to beg to differ with that statement.

United Nations Human rights envoy to the Palestinian territories John Dugard has published a report Tuesday where he does not shy away from sharply criticizing Israel and the West for the situation in Gaza. "Israel has turned the Gaza Strip into a prison for Palestinians and have thrown away the key," he said, adding that "in other countries this process might be described as ethnic cleansing."

Tonight on Hardball it was announced that the complete NIE report will be released and that (D-Ca)Congresswoman Jane Harman has also announced that there is another NIE report that they are demanding also be released.

This was on Jane Harman's website

The national debt on September 26: $8,486,533,383,935.70
Your share of the national debt: $28,303.79

Edna Cintron's Last Stand

Unless you know where to look, you likely cannot see Edna Cintron standing in the plane shaped hole.

The fires that blazed above her have burned out, and she still hasn't given up hope.

In two stills from a NIST report Edna Cintron shows that the report is a pack of lies, because she's standing at the junction of where the fuselage and wingroot would have been, at the nexus of the gastanks, and the center point of any resulting blaze.
----
looking at these photos of where the alleged 767 hit wtc1 you can see that after the alleged 767 entered the tower entirely (not one inch of it broke off and fell to the street below) it somehow pushed the massive perimeter columns behind itself to block the hole before it (alleged 767) disappeared without a trace.