WASHINGTON POST AND FOX NEWS DIFFER ON WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED IN IRAQ

FOX NEWS continues to tout the military success of "the surge" in Iraq, but the military success, although very fragile, has absolutely NOTHING to do with the overall goals of the Bush administration for Iraq according to the Washington Post.

Most of the benchmarks set down by the Bush administration in 2007 for Iraq have not been met according to a General Accounting Office report issued the other day.

However, FOX NEWS pulled out ONLY the military successes and conveniently overlooked the fact that the government in Iraq has accomplished little or nothing.

The Bush administration lacks an updated and comprehensive Iraq strategy to move beyond the "surge" of combat troops President Bush launched in January 2007 as an 18-month effort to curtail violence and build Iraqi democracy, government investigators said Monday.

http://tinyurl.com/3mon9b

While agreeing with the administration that violence has decreased sharply, a report released Monday by the Government Accountability Office concluded that many other goals Bush outlined a year and a half ago in the "New Way Forward" strategy remain unmet.

The report, after a bleak GAO assessment last summer, cited little improvement in the ability of Iraqi security forces to act independently of the U.S. military, and noted that key legislation passed by the Iraqi parliament had not been implemented while other crucial laws had not been passed.

The report also judged that key Iraqi ministries spent less of their allocated budgets last year than in previous years, and said that oil and electricity production had repeatedly not met U.S. targets.

Bush's strategy of January 2007, the GAO said, "defined the original goals and objectives that the Administration believed were achievable by the end of this phase in July 2008." Not meeting many of them changed circumstances on the ground and the pending withdrawal of the last of the additional U.S. forces mean that strategy is now outdated, the report said.

The GAO recommends that the State and Defense departments work together to fashion a new approach.

The GAO report contrasted with a Pentagon report, dated June 13 but not released until Monday. The Defense Department's quarterly assessment to Congress, "Measuring Security and Stability in Iraq," said that "security, political and economic trends in Iraq continue to be positive, although they remain fragile, reversible and uneven."

In many respects, the two reports seemed to assess wholly different realities. The 74-page Pentagon document emphasized what it called the "negative role" in Iraqi security that Iran and Syria have played. The 94-page GAO report did not mention Iran and referred to Syria only in the context of Iraqi refugees who had settled there.

REUTERS REPORT ON SECURITY PROBLEMS IN IRAQ DIFFERS FROM FOX NEWS GLOWING REPORTS

This REUTERS NEWS report flys in the face of FOX NEWS glowing reports about how well things are going in IRAQ.

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, June 25
REUTERSReuters North American News Service
Jun 25, 2008 12:48 EST
June 25 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 1745 GMT on Wednesday:
Source: http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=226890

* Denotes new or updated item

* KERBALA - A bomb attached to a parked minibus killed two people and wounded three others outside a restaurant in Kerbala, 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Baghdad, police said
.
* KIRKUK - A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol killed one civilian in southern Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

TIKRIT - A U.S. air strike on a house killed a family, including four children aged between four and 11, in the village of Samra, near the northern town of Tikrit, police said. The U.S. military said its troops had been fired at, then had seen an armed man enter the building. They called in the air strike after he did not respond to calls to come out, it said.

SAMARRA - U.S. forces said they killed two suspected al Qaeda members near Samarra, about 110 km (70 miles) north of Baghdad.

BAQUBA - An Iraqi soldier was killed and three were wounded in an explosion when they entered a booby-trapped house in Mullaeid, a reputed al Qaeda stronghold near Baquba 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - U.S. forces said a military convoy was fired on from a civilian vehicle near Baghdad airport. U.S. soldiers destroyed the vehicle, killing three occupants, they said.

MOSUL - A roadside bomb killed three U.S. soldiers and an interpreter late on Tuesday in Nineveh province, in northwestern Iraq, the U.S. military said.

MOSUL - Gunmen killed Mosul city council's public service director, Khalid Mahmoud, and his driver in a drive-by shooting in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

KIRKUK - A roadside bomb targeting Kirkuk's health director exploded in the city 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. The health director escaped unhurt but his driver was wounded, they said. (Compiled by Khalid al-Ansary)

WHAT FOX NEWS AND MAINSTREAM PRESS DON'T REPORT ABOUT BASRA, IRAQ

FOX NEWS and the mainstream press are bending over backwards these days to bring "feel good" stories to the American people about how things are going in Iraq.

The city of Basra is a perfect example of how FOX NEWS and the media are praising how "the surge" has brought peace and tranquility to Basra and how the Iraq security forces have run the Mehdi Army out of town.

There is one glaring problem with this kind of reporting. It tells only half the story.

There are huge water and electricity shortages in Basra and many of the residents fear a return to violence if something isn't done soon about the daily living conditions.

You can read more about the REAL BASRA in the story below and not the truncated version given to the American people by FOX NEWS.

COMMENTS BY BILL CORCORAN, EDITOR OF CORKSPHERE

Freed of militias, Basra has new problems
But electricity, water shortages pose new challenges in Iraqi city

The Associated Press
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25334420/

BASRA, Iraq - Men and women can openly study for the first time in years at Basra University, free from the threat of Shiite gunmen enforcing extreme Islamic views.

To get to class, however, the students must navigate traffic jams and ubiquitous checkpoints that the Iraqi military calls the price of peace in this sweltering, oil-rich southern city where temperatures soar above 120 degrees.

It often doesn't get any cooler indoors. Basra is suffering widespread electricity shortages that residents blame on Iraqi authorities, who in turn point the finger at neighboring Iran. And then there's the lack of clean tap water.

From students to merchants, people here say they are happy and hopeful about their new freedoms three months after the Iraqi military wrested control of the country's second-largest city from Shiite militiamen. But frustration is rising over the failure of the Iraqi government to follow through on its promises to improve basic services, provide jobs and distribute enough food to citizens.

"The government gives us food rations, but it is not enough. We are all tired," Chitaya Mashhan Madloon said as she pushed through the crowd at a market, using her black robe to wipe sweat from her forehead.

Possibility of more violenceMany worry the neglect could ignite more violence.
"The services are getting worse, they're not getting better. This is creating ill will toward the government," said Mustafa Mahdi Hussein, the dean of Basra University's college of administration and economics.

BREAKING: THREE U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED IN IRAQ AS VIOLENCE ESCALATES

No sooner had the Pentagon issued their glowing report on how violence was down all across Iraq than a series of bombings have killed three more U.S. soldiers in Iraq on Wednesday.

FOX NEWS' anchors BRIT HUME and LAURA INGRAHAM have been misleading their audiences and the familes of American soldiers in Iraq by claiming security conditions in Iraq have improved.

They haven't as this report (see story below) indicates violence is on the upswing all across IRAQ.

Three US soldiers killed in Iraq bombing

http://tinyurl.com/4bhhdu


A roadside bomb killed three US soldiers and an interpreter in northern Iraq, the US military said today.

A military statement gave no further details about last night's attack in Nineveh province, where US and Iraqi forces have been waging a crackdown against al Qaeda insurgents.

It brings the US military death toll to 25 so far in June. US troop deaths are up from May when they fell to 19, the lowest monthly total since the 2003 invasion. More than 4,100 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq.

Two US soldiers and two US government employees were among 10 people killed yesterday when a bomb exploded at a council meeting in the Baghdad stronghold of Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

On Monday, a gunman killed two US soldiers and wounded three as they left a council building southeast of Baghdad.

The US military said violence in Iraq fell to a four-year low in May following crackdowns by US and Iraqi forces on Shia militias in Baghdad and the south of the country, and on al Qaeda in Mosul, capital of Nineveh province. US officials say Mosul is the last major urban stronghold of the Sunni Arab insurgents. Despite the crackdown, security forces have reported frequent shootings and bomb attacks around the city.

The head of Mosul city council, Khalid Mahmoud, and his driver were killed in a drive-by shooting today, police said.

Late yesterday, a car driven by a suicide bomber exploded near a police station in Mosul, killing a policeman and a child and wounding 73 people, including seven policemen, police said.

The US military said as many as 90 civilians were wounded in the bombing, which it blamed on al Qaeda.

WILL BRIT HUME AND LAURA INGRAHAM OF FOX NEWS APOLOGIZE TO THEIR AUDIENCE FOR MISLEADING THEM ON CONDITIONS IN IRAQ?

LISTEN UP BRIT HUME AND LAURA INGRAHAM OF FOX NEWS: CAR BOMB IN MOSUL INJURES 90-WASHINGTON POST

Both BRIT HUME and LAURA INGRAHAM of FOX NEWS have been cheering about how stabilized MOSUL, Iraq has become.

What are HUME and INGRAHAM going to say NOW?

90 Wounded in Mosul; Sunnis Blamed
Wednesday, June 25, 2008; A07
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/24/AR2008062401340.html

BAGHDAD, June 24 -- A car bomb wounded 90 civilians in the northern city of Mosul on Tuesday, the U.S. military said in a statement. The military said the attack was carried out by the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Capt. Khalid Ibrahim Salman, a police official, said the Khazraj police station in downtown Mosul was the target of the bombing. The city is one of the last urban strongholds of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

CBS NEWS REPORTS: ISRAEL PRODDING U.S. TO ATTACK IRAN: CHENEY IS ALL FOR LAUNCHING A STRIKE ON IRAN

It appears as though Israel isn't going to be happy until they get the United States to strike Iran and this is just what the Bush Administration and their propaganda puppet FOX NEWS have been waiting to hear.

CBS is reporting Wednesday that Israel is working all the channels in an effort to get the United States to launch an air strike on Iran.

The Bush administration has already setup contingency plans for an air strike on Iran, but sources close to the administation claim they want to do it right after Labor Day so it will have more impact on the Presidential election.

Vice President Cheney is said to favor a strike, but both Joint Chife of Staff Mullen and Defense Secretary Gates are opposed to an attack which could touch off a third war in the region.

The following is how CBS News will be reporting Israel's request to the U.S. on Wednesday.

Israel Prodding U.S. To Attack Iran
June 24, 2008
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/24/eveningnews/main4206201.shtml

(CBS) Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen leaves Tuesday night on an overseas trip that will take him to Israel, reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin. The trip has been scheduled for some time but U.S. officials say it comes just as the Israelis are mounting a full court press to get the Bush administration to strike Iran's nuclear complex.

CBS consultant Michael Oren says Israel doesn't want to wait for a new administration. "The Israelis have been assured by the Bush administration that the Bush administration will not allow Iran to nuclearize," Oren said. "Israelis are uncertain about what would be the policies of the next administration vis-à-vis Iran." Israel's message is simple: If you don't, we will.

Israel held a dress rehearsal for a strike earlier this month, but military analysts say Israel can not do it alone. "Keep in mind that Israel does not have strategic bombers," Oren said. "The Israeli Air Force is not the American Air Force. Israel can not eliminate Iran's nuclear program."

The U.S. with its stealth bombers and cruise missiles has a much greater capability.

U.S. intelligence estimates Iran won't be able to build a weapon until sometime early in the next decade.

But Israel is operating on a much shorter timetable. "The Iranians, according to Israeli security sources, will have an operable nuclear weapon by 2009. That's not a very long time," Oren said.

For now, the Bush administration is counting on new economic sanctions which took effect Tuesday to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear program.

But nobody's counting on it.

HISTORY IS REPEATING ITSELF IN IRAQ

Two Caliphates in Baghdad: U.S. Paying High Cost for Ignoring History's Lessons

By Ben Tanosborn, Middle East OnlinePosted on June 24, 2008, Printed on June 24, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/89142/

The Brits made an imperial mess of Iraq back in 1930, now it is America's turn!

We followed the fate of the French in Vietnam; are trying hard to imitate the Russians in Afghanistan; and now, our emulation-in-progress is of our beloved European cousins.

Who would ever think that it was an American philosopher (by way of Spain), George Santayana, who stated just a century ago, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." And American government leaders always seem to be the forgetful ones, although as it happens in all these cases, it is the American people who are condemned to pay the consequences in both blood and dollars.

We are not even speaking of millennia ago, or even centuries; only the recent past. How can we be so forgetful as to how the British bamboozled a timid Iraqi Parliament, where the true nationalists lacked a voiced, into signing an agreement in 1930 that would have Iraq in turmoil with coup after coup until Saddam Hussein came to power in 1979? And we all know what has happened since then. Seventy-eight years later here we are, cramming down their throats an illegal "strategic alliance" that is similar in both content and tone to that Great Britain "imposed" on Iraq almost eight decades ago.

And I say illegal for both Iraq and the United States. For Iraq, it's a non-valid agreement since it will be contracted under duress from an occupier's demands, whatever excuses are brought forward to obtain legitimacy. For the US, it's also an invalid pact unless it is subsequently ratified by the US Senate. We are told that the wording in this strategic alliance has been crafted so as to "avoid such ratification." Nonsense, if the provisions in such agreement or alliance have the underlying intent of a treaty, it is a treaty; and as a treaty, constitutionally, it must be ratified.

Go back to link to read full story.

FOX ANALYST: IRAQIS 'OWE US' 100 YEAR LEASES ON THEIR OIL

Fox Analyst: Iraqis ‘Owe Us’ 100-Year Leases On Their Oil, ‘We Ought To Take It’»

Last week, the New York Times reported that four Western oil companies — Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total, and BP — are in the final stages of negotiating no-bid oil contracts “to service Iraq’s largest fields.” These contracts would run for one to two years, and give the oil companies a “foothold” in bidding on future contracts.

But one-to-two year service contracts aren’t enough for analyst Bob Beckel, a Fox News liberal. On the O’Reilly Factor last night, Beckel said that “what we ought to do is get Iraq to give us a 100 year lease” for exploring their oil fields:

BECKEL: OK, now, what we ought to do is get Iraq to give us 100 year lease on their unexplored — they’re the second largest source of oil in the world. Known reserves. Give the United States oil companies 100 year leases. Let us explore. We can get it quickly. It’s through sand. It’s the fastest way to get oil.

Beckel justified giving U.S. oil companies a century of business in Iraq by claiming, “The Iraqis owe us, Bill. We ought to take it.”

Watch it: http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/24/beckel-oil-iraq/

As the New York Times notes, such no-bid contracts play into the suspicions of those who believe that the U.S. invaded Iraq “precisely to secure the oil wealth these contracts seek to extract.” It’s uncertain what role the U.S. played in negotiating the four no-bid contracts.
If U.S. companies were given 100-year leases like Beckel wants, more people would likely agree with former Centcom Commander John Abizaid’s 2007 claim about the war in Iraq: “Of course it’s about oil.”

THE COMING CATASTROPHE? CONTINGENCY PLANS TO STRIKE IRAN

The Coming Catastrophe?The finishing touches on several contingency plans for attacking
Iran

By David DeBatto24/06/08
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20164.htm

Global Research Editor's noteWe bring to the attention of our readers David DeBatto's scenario as to what might occur if one of the several contingency plans to attack Iran, with the participation of Israel and NATO, were to be carried out.

While one may disagree with certain elements of detail of the author's text, the thrust of this analysis must be taken seriously.

"Israel has said a strike on Iran will be "unavoidable" if the Islamic regime continues to press ahead with alleged plans for building an atom-bomb." (London Daily Telegraph, 6/11/2008)
"Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany joined President Bush on Wednesday in calling for further sanctions against Iran if it does not suspend its uranium enrichment program." Mr. Bush stressed again that "all options are on the table," which would include military force. (New York Times, 6/11/2008)

We are fast approaching the final six months of the Bush administration. The quagmire in Iraq is in its sixth painful year with no real end in sight and the forgotten war in Afghanistan is well into its seventh year. The "dead enders" and other armed factions are still alive and well in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan again controls most of that country. Gas prices have now reached an average of $4.00 a gallon nationally and several analysts predict the price will rise to $5.00-$6.00 dollars per gallon at the pump by Labor Day.

This, despite assurances by some major supporters of the decision to invade Iraq that the Iraq war "will pay for itself" (Paul Wolfowitz) or that we will see "$20.00 per barrel" oil prices if we invade Iraq (Rupert Murdoch).

Continue reading here: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20164.htm

WE HAVE NAMES AND INFO ON LATEST U.S. CASUALTIES IN IRAQ

The following is a list of names or information on U.S. casualties from the Iraq war as confirmed by the Department of Defense (DOD). Click on name or details for more information:

Latest Coalition Fatalities
Source: http://icasualties.org/oif/

06/24/08 MNF: 3 Soldiers killed by attacked by IED in Ninewah Province
Three Multi-National Division - North Soldiers and an interpreter were killed in an improvised explosive device attack in Ninewah Province at 10:45 p.m., June 24.

06/24/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Staff Sgt. Du Hai Tran, 30, of Reseda, Calif.,died Jun. 20 in Baqubah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit while on patrol during combat operations. He was assigned to the Fires Squadron...

06/24/08 MNF: Two Soldiers, 2 civilians killed in Sadr City explosion
Two Coalition forces soldiers and two civilians serving with Coalition forces were killed after an explosion inside the District Advisory Council building in a southern neighborhood of Sadr City district at approximately 9:30 a.m. today.

06/23/08 MNF: Second soldier dies from small arms fire attack near Salman Pak
A Multi-National Division - Center Soldier was killed as a result of a small arms fire attack near Salman Pak, Iraq June 23...The Soldier was the second of two killed by the same attack.[url pending]
06/23/08 AP: American soldier killed, 5 others wounded in Iraq
The U.S. military says an American soldier has been killed and five others wounded southeast of Baghdad. The military says the soldiers were hit Monday by small-arms fire in an attack near Madain.

CNN REPORTS: U.S. TRAINS IRAQI WOMEN TO FIND FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBERS

U.S. trains Iraqi women to find female suicide bombers
Story Highlights
Halfway through 2008, the number of female suicide bombers is 20
"Daughters of Iraq" trains Iraqi women to find female suicide bombers
Women will work two or three days a month, making up to $300

http://tinyurl.com/4xzg5h

YUSUFIYA, Iraq (CNN) -- Female suicide bombers, who often slip through security checkpoints untouched because of cultural norms, are taking a more deadly toll than ever across Iraq.
But the U.S. Army has created a solution with "Daughters of Iraq," a program that trains Iraqi women to find female suicide bombers.

Women carried out eight bombings in all of 2007, according to the U.S. military. Halfway through 2008, the number of female suicide bombers is 20. A suicide attack carried out by a woman on Sunday in Baquba killed at least 16 people and wounded another 40.

"Daughters of Iraq" is a spinoff of "Sons of Iraq," which employs Iraqi men to run checkpoints and is credited with taking much of the steam out of the insurgency.

The goal of the women's program is twofold: to protect against female suicide bombers, and to provide much-needed income to Iraqi women with few chances for employment.

In the town of Yusufiya, southwest of Baghdad, some 30 women are being trained to search other females at security checkpoints -- something men are forbidden to do under Iraqi cultural norms.

In mid-May, a female suicide bomber killed an Iraqi army officer in this town.
"When he came out to meet her to help her with a problem she was having, she detonated the vest and killed him and injured some of his soldiers," said Michael Starz, a U.S. Army captain.
The women will work two or three days a month, making up to $300, an Iraqi military officer explained to applicants. In a community, where families struggle to survive, that's good money. Watch how "Daughters of Iraq" works »

The women come from small farming communities. Many of them are widows with numerous children and almost no income.

Click here http://tinyurl.com/4xzg5h for full CNN story.

ATTN: FOX NEWS' BRIT HUME AND LAURA INGRAHAM: SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS 2 AND INJURES 70 IN MOSUL

Both BRIT HUME and LAURA INGRAHAM of FOX NEWS are still singing about how well things are going in MOSUL, IRAQ while at the same time denying on Tuesday a suicide bomber killed two and injured 70 in MOSUL (see story below)

Also, the following incidents took place in MOSUL and were again somehow overlooked by BRIT HUME and LAURA INGRAHAM who kept bragging about how well things are going in MOSUL:

Mosul:#1: U.S. soldiers killed three people of the same family and arrested two other members in a raid on a house in western Mosul on Tuesday, police said. "The house raided by the U.S. forces was in al-Uraibi neighborhood, western Mosul. The raiding troops killed three and detained two, all members of the same family, without any apparent reason," the source, who asked not to be named, told Aswat al-Iraq.

#2: Unidentified gunmen kidnapped four Mosul University students while heading for their final exams in the western part of the city on Tuesday, police said. "Unknown gunmen boarding two civilian vehicles kidnapped four University Mosul students, residents of al-Anbar province, in al-Shifaa neighborhood, western Mosul, on Tuesday," the source, who asked not to have his name mentioned, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq. "The kidnappers released two of the four a short while later."

#3: Militants shot dead an off-duty police lieutenant studying law in the University of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, as he left the campus, police said.

#4: Police found the body of a tax department employee, who had been shot, in western Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

And the breaking news on Tuesday that BRIT HUME and LAURA INGRAHAM of FOX NEWS apparently missed in their "extensive research" on MOSUL, IRAQ was this:

Breaking News: Iraq: Suicide car bomber kills 2 people, wounds 70 in Mosul http://tinyurl.com/3q3h56

Breaking News: Iraq: Suicide car bomber kills 2 people, wounds 70 in Mosul

http://tinyurl.com/3q3h56 or this link http://www.gmanews.tv/story/103094/Iraq-Suicide-car-bomber-kills-2-people-wounds-70-in-Mosul

Even with ALL this documented evidence that things are not that "rosy" in MOSUL, IRAQ, both FOX NEWS BRIT HUME AND LAURA INGRAHAM continue to LIE, LIE, LIE to the Americian public through their respective shows, "FOX NEWS SPECIAL REPORT" and "FOX NEWS JUST IN."

CNN BREAKING NEWS: TWO U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED IN SADR CITY AND TWO AMERICAN CIVILIANS:VIOLENCE ERUPTS IN MOSUL AFTER "ROSY" REPORT BY BRIT HUME

U.S. Embassy staff, soldiers killed in Baghdad blast

One American soldier was killed and three more were wounded during a small arms attack just outside Baghdad in Madaen on Monday. One gunman was killed and an Iraqi interpreter was wounded. The soldiers were attending a local council meeting when a disgruntled official opened fire on them.

In Mosul, gunmen killed a policeman and a woman; two civilians were also wounded. A university student was killed in a drive-by shooting. An off-duty policeman was shot dead while at a market. Three Iraqi soldiers were wounded as they were trying to defuse a bomb. A bomb exploded near an army patrol, wounding an Iraqi soldier and five civilians. Also, two suspects were arrested and a weapons cache was confiscated.

The Mosul attacks came on the same day FOX NEWS' BRIT HUME ran a report on his "SPECIAL REPORT" claiming violence had been brought under control in MOSUL.

Story Highlights
Official: Civilians include U.S. State and Defense Department employees
Military says it caught fleeing suspect who "tested positive for explosive residue"
Blast comes day after gunmen kill local political leader in Baghdad Shiite enclave
U.S. military will transfer security responsibilities in Anbar province to Iraqi military

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- An explosion rocked a municipal building Tuesday in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, killing six Iraqis, two U.S. soldiers and two civilian U.S. Embassy employees, officials said.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/06/24/iraq.main/index.html

The U.S. military said troops detained a suspect in connection with the attack. The person was captured "fleeing the scene and tested positive for explosive residue," the military said.

The embassy official said the American civilians include "a direct hire civilian employee of the Department of State and a Department of Defense civilian employee."

The blast occurred during a meeting of the district advisory council in Sadr City, and U.S. troops were in the area, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said. The groups are neighborhood councils that assess local needs and pass on their assessments to the provincial government.

"We believe the target of the attack was a high-ranking [district advisory council] member as well as the U.S. soldiers," said Lt. Col. Steve Stover, a U.S. military spokesman.

An Interior Ministry official said six Iraqis were killed and 10 were wounded in the attack, including the deputy head of the council -- who was seriously injured.

The U.S. military confirmed the deaths, saying an American-led coalition soldier and three council members also were wounded. There have been 4,106 U.S. service members killed since the Iraq war began.

The military blamed Iranian-backed militants that U.S. officials call Special Groups for Tuesday's attack.

"We believe the Special Groups criminals were upset that the DAC member was working with coalition forces to improve the quality of life for the southern Sadr City residents," Stover said.

The explosion follows a Pentagon report issued Monday that touted a sharp decrease in violence in Iraq in recent months.

Sadr City is the stronghold of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and has seen some of the capital's most intense fighting between Shiite militia members and security forces.

Al-Sadr recently announced his intention to develop a fighting force that would battle U.S.-led forces in Iraq.

A truce was reached last month between the government and al-Sadr's followers, ending weeks of fighting and allowing the Iraqi army to enter Sadr City, but violence persists.

Tuesday's blast comes after gunmen stormed the house of the head of Abu Dsheer City Council on Monday night and fatally shot him.

Mehdi Alwan was an al-Sadr supporter. Abu Dsheer is a Shiite enclave in southern Baghdad's predominantly Sunni Dora district.

NEW VIDEO: TV NETWORKS SPEND ONLY TWO MINUTES A WEEK ON IRAQ WAR: CBS' LARA LOGAN AND THE REAL NEWS NETWORKS' PEPE ESCOBAR REPORT

Iraq story buried by US networks

Major networks spend only 2 minutes per week on Iraq war coverage; Lara Logan of CBS joins critiqueIraq story buried by US networks

The Real News Network's Pepe Escobar and CBS' Chief Foreign Correspondent Lara Logan are seen on this NEW video talking about how the television networks in the United States spend only TWO MINUTES A WEEK on the IRAQ WAR.

Watch VIDEO here: http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=1770

SHOCKING VIDEO: IRAQ FOR SALE: BLACKWATER USA

Most of us have heard about BLACKWATER,USA the security firm that has millions of dollars in contracts to carry out security services in Iraq.

This video provides an insiders look at just how BLACKWATER, USA operates and how they have turned an illegal war into a huge profit making venture.

While the mainstream media focuses on whether we should drill for oil off the coast of U.S. or in Alaska, or whether health care should be provided to ALL American citizens, the U.S. government is shelling out millions of dollars to BLACKWATER, USA to provide security for U.S. contractors like Halliburton and KBR who already are making big bucks off the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It is also important to remember Vice President Dick Cheney was CEO for HALLIBURTON and its subsidiary KBR before returning to politics.

Watch this eye-opening VIDEO here: http://www.youtube.com/v/N83BdpNPvgw&hl=en

GUNMAN IN IRAQ KILLS 2 U.S. SOLDIERS, WOUNDS 4

BAGHDAD - A disgruntled local official opened fire Monday on U.S. soldiers attending a municipal council meeting southeast of Baghdad, killing two of them and wounding four other Americans, U.S. and Iraqi officials said.

Gunman in Iraq kills 2 American soldiers, wounds 4
By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer Mon Jun 23, 4:18 PM ET
http://tinyurl.com/3sgycg

The assailant died in a hail of gunfire after the attack, which occurred in the town of Madain, also known as Salman Pak, about 15 miles south of Baghdad in an area with a history of Sunni-Shiite tension.

U.S. officials confirmed two American soldiers died and that four Americans, including a civilian interpreter, were wounded.

Iraqi police and witnesses said the attack took place in front of the Madain municipal building where the Americans had come to confer with local authorities.

U.S. officials said the Americans were leaving the building when the assailant opened fire about 1 p.m. However, the U.S. officials released no further details except that the assailant was killed.
"The attacker came out of his car with an AK-47 rifle in his hand and started firing on the American soldiers until he was killed by the return fire," said Hussein al-Dulaimi, 37, who owns an agricultural machine shop across the street.

Al-Dulaimi, other residents and a police official said the attacker had been a Sunni member of the municipal council until he was ousted by Shiites during sectarian violence following the February 2006 bombing of a Shiite shrine north of Baghdad.

But the Interior Ministry said the gunman was still an active council member.
The motive for the attack was unclear, and ministry officials were investigating whether the gunman had ties to Sunni insurgents.

The Madain area was a center of Saddam Hussein's biological and chemical weapons program. It also includes the tomb of Salman al-Farsi, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad.
The tomb has been the source of sectarian tension in recent years, with both Sunni and Shiite religious organizations competing for control of the shrine, which used to draw pilgrims from across the Muslim world.

Click here for rest of story: http://tinyurl.com/3sgycg

CBS' LARA LOGAN TELLS "DAILY SHOW" SOLDIERS IN IRAQ FEEL FORGOTTEN: PLUS VIDEO OF LOGAN RIPPING INTO FOX NEWS' LAURA INGRAHAM. DON'T MISS THESE 2 VIDS

Lara Logan is the Chief Foreign Correspondent for the CBS News and she recently appeared on the Comedy Central "Daily Show" hosted by John Stewart. Logan, who has spent years in Iraq and Afghanistan, talks about how the bosses at the network try to avoid putting on anything that has to do with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Logan told Stewart the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan "feel forgotten."

Logan's appearance on the "Daily Show" received a good deal of media attention because she used a expletive deleted word to describe how the network bosses treat stories coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Logan, who is stunningly beautiful, describes how she breaks the ice with troops when she climbs into a Humvee to go out on patrol in a war zone.

Watch the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/v/M8skwVT6jWk&hl=en

And watch the video of Lara Logan dish it out to Howard Kurtz of CNN's "Reliable Sources" by explaining to Kurtz how she can't report stories about Iraq rebuilding because it will bring on attacks on the project.

Logan also rips into Laura Ingraham, who now has her own show on FOX NEWS called "Just In," for saying reporters like Logan sit on a balcony in Iraq and report on the war. I doubt if Ingraham would ever have Logan on her idiotic show after hearing what Logan has to say about her.

Watch the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/v/6I420_fPM2E&hl=en

BREAKING NEWS: MORE DEATHS OF U.S. TROOPS AND MORE VIOLENCE IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

The mainstream media doesn't want you to know about any of this, but we feel it is our duty to the thousands of young Americans serving in Iraq and Afghanistan to tell the TRUTH about what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan. For more information on each U.S. death and each incident of violence, click on the name or subject highlighted in BLUE.

War News for Monday, June 23, 2008
MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Coalition Force soldier (Multi-National Division – North) in three roadside bomb attacks on Coalition force patrols in Diyala province.. Five other soldier were wounded in the attacks.

IC Publications is reporting the death of a U.S. soldier from small arms fire in Madain Iraq on Monday, June 23rd. Five additional soldiers were wounded in the attack as reported by the U.S. military.CJTF-101 is reporting the deaths of four coalition soldiers from an IED attack in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan on Saturday, June 21st.

Two other soldiers were wounded in the attack.NATO is reporting the death of one ISAF soldier from an IED attack in Paktika Province, Afghanistan on Saturday, June 21st. Four additional soldiers were wounded in the attack.

Nowe Media is reporting the soldier is from the Polish contingency was an officer and the attack was 40 kilometres from Wazi Khwa base.CJTF-101 is reporting the death of a coalition soldier in an IED attack while conducting combat operations in Farah province, Afghanistan on Friday, June 20th. Two other soldiers and one Afghani civilian were wounded in the attack.CJTF-101 is reporting the death of a coalition service member in a suicide attack and small arms fire in Helmand province, Afghanistan on Friday, June 20th. One Afghani civilian was killed in the attack.

The DoD is reporting a new death previously unreported by CENTCOM. Hospitalman Dustin Kelby Burnett. He died while conducting combat operations in Farah Province, Afghanistan on Friday, June 20th. No other details were released.

PNC News is reporting the death of a civilian security company personal. Christopher Quitugua died in a convoy accident in Iraq on an undisclosed date. No other details were released. According to Pacific Daily News Christopher Quitugua's grandparents, Albert A. Quitugua and Maria C. Quitugua, their grandson and three others were in a vehicle in a convoy when a tire blowout caused the vehicle to flip.OIF/OEF fatalities.

PDFJune 20 airpower summary:June 21 airpower summary:A Sunni legislator said on Monday that the security agreement to be signed between Baghdad and Washington would allow the latter to attack any country from Iraqi territories. "The Iraqi-U.S. agreement contains several items that impinge upon the sovereignty of Iraq, including the right of the U.S. forces in Iraq to attack any nation and raid any Iraqi house and arrest people without prior permission from the Iraqi government," Khalaf al-Alyan, a member of parliament from the Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF), told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq.

Reporters Say Networks Block War Reportsvideo: Afghanistan: Lost in translation

Reported Security incidents:Baghdad:#1: A roadside bomb targeted a National Police patrol in Waziriyah, near the cotton wool plant intersection at 11.30 a.m. Monday, injuring three policemen.
#2: A roadside bomb targeted a US military convoy in Qahira, near the water reservoir at noon. No casualties were reported.
#3: A roadside bomb targeted a US military convoy in Salahuddin Square, Kathimiyah neighbourhood at around noon. No casualties were reported.
#4: A roadside bomb targeted a US military convoy in Adil neighbourhood at around 1 p.m. No casualties were reported.
Diyala Prv:#1: At least 10 people were killed when insurgents fired off a spate of mortar rounds which fell on houses in Iraq's restive province of Diyala, officials told AFP on Monday. The projectiles, fired during the night in the town of Al-Adhaim, were apparently aimed at the police headquarters and the mayor's office but fell instead on people's homes, a government security official said. The mortars killed at least 10 people and wounded around 20, the official added. The attack was confirmed by Abdul Jabbar al-Obeidi, mayor of Adhaim, which is about 70 kilometres (43 miles) north of the provincial capital Baquba.

Kut:#1: A woman was wounded when a mortar shell landed in the heart of al-Nasr neighborhood, western Kut, on Monday, police said. "The woman was rushed to a hospital from the mortar shell of 120 mm., which also damaged a civilian vehicle," a security source, who requested anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq. "The shell perhaps targeted the Delta base, where the Multi-National Force (MNF) troops are stations in Wassit," the source said, adding the police started to investigate the incident.The Delta base is 15 km western Kut city.

Mosul:#1: A suicide car bomb attacked a police patrol in the city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, wounding 14 people, including 4 policemen, a provincial police source said on Monday. The attack occurred late on Sunday in the al-Wihda neighborhood in southern Mosul, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

#2: Three Iraqi army servicemen, including an officer in the rank of major, were wounded while trying to dismantle an improvised explosive device (IED) in northern Mosul on Monday, an official army source said. The IED went off while a bomb squad was trying to defuse it in al-Rashidiya neighborhood, seriously wounding Maj. Fakher Braori, the commander of the Iraqi army's 3rd contingent, 8th Brigade, and two other soldiers," the source told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq. "Maj. Braori lost a hand and a leg," the source said, adding the wounded were rushed to a hospital for treatment. He did not give further information on the incident.

#3: A policeman and a woman were killed and two civilians were wounded in an armed attack in western Mosul, a security source said on Monday. "Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a police checkpoint in Mosul al-Jadida region in western Mosul, killing one policeman and a woman and injuring two more, including a child," the source told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq.

#4: Gunmen killed a university student in a drive-by shooting in northern Mosul, police said.#5: Gunmen killed an off-duty policemen at a market in western Mosul, police said.

Al Anbar Prv:#1: The U.S. military will transfer control of security in Iraq's Anbar province to Iraqi forces this week.

Afghanistan:#1: The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan says it has killed 55 militants in the east of the country.A coalition statement said the battle took place on Friday in Paktika province, which borders Pakistan. It said militants ambushed a patrol with rocket and gun fire, prompting troops to fire back and call in warplanes.
#2: Suspected pro-Taliban Militants kidnapped 17 Pakistani policemen from posts on the road through the Khyber Pass, the latest insecurity on the vital supply route for Western forces in Afghanistan. Militants attacked four checkposts on the winding road through the pass that leads to the Afghan border on Sunday night, kidnapping the policemen and wounding one in a brief exchange of fire, a senior government official in the region said. "Our 17 khasadar are missing," said the official in Landikotal, the main town in the Khyber region, referring to members of special police forces raised in ethnic Pashtun tribal agencies.
#3: An Afghan official says police and U.S.-led forces attacked militants planting a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan and one insurgent and two civilians were killed. Zalmay Dadak, mayor of Khogyani district of Nangarhar province, said police shot dead one suspect shortly before midnight Sunday and gave chase to the others. Dadak said a helicopter from the U.S.-led coalition fired at the militants but also hit a house in a village, killing a man and a young child.
#4: At least 11 Shia Muslims were executed by a rival Sunni group in Pakistan's Kurram agency, a volatile north-western tribal district, a tribal leader said Monday. The beheaded bodies of eight people from the Shia tribe Toori were found dumped in Arawali and three in the Sadda area of the district, tribal chief Ali Akbar told the Geo news television channel. All those killed were abducted Friday when a food convoy they were travelling with came under attack in the Sunni-dominated area of Pir Qayyum, about 30 kilometres south-east of Kurram's central town of Parachinar.
#5: Four people, including a security guard, were killed in the ambush. Later, government forces, backed by helicopter gunships, chased the attackers, killing five of them.
#6: NATO forces struck back with two artillery attacks across the border into Pakistan after attackers hiding there fired a barrage of rockets into Afghanistan that killed three children, officials said Sunday. NATO said five rockets were fired at one of its bases in Khost province overnight. At least one hit a house in Kunday, a small village that sits between two military bases, killing the three children. Another hit a NATO base, wounding an Afghan man, the alliance said. NATO said its forces responded "in self-defense" to the attack "with artillery fire on the launch site located about 300 meters (yards) inside Pakistan." In an earlier attack Saturday afternoon, three rounds of "indirect fire" — which often refers to mortar or rocket attacks — landed near a NATO outpost in neighboring Paktika province, the alliance said. Three more landed in an Afghan army compound. No casualties were reported. NATO said those rounds also came from inside Pakistan and responded with artillery fire. NATO reported that another overnight barrage of rockets aimed at a base in Khost — this time from inside Afghanistan — killed another civilian. It responded with an airstrike as well as artillery fire, it said.
#7: Record duo face Taliban rocket attack with Scots forces. (this is worth reading)
#8: TALIBAN fighters have ambushed a food convoy intended for foreign soldiers, killing one truck driver and wounding another, a local police chief said. The militants claimed four security guards hired to protect the convoy had been killed and several trucks were burned in Sunday's attack. But a police spokesmen in the province said only one driver was killed and another wounded in the ambush, which happened in the Showak district of Paktia province. Two vehicles were set on fire during the attack, the spokesman said. The convoy was on its way from Gardez to Khost city to carry food to US-led troops based in Khost province.
#9: A Canadian soldier remained in serious condition Sunday following a traffic accident Saturday afternoon when an RG-31, or Nyala, armoured vehicle rolled over in Kandahar City. Three soldiers were injured in the incident, which occurred at approximately 5:30 p.m. local time. One soldier was flown by helicopter to the multinational medical unit at Kandahar airfield. The two others were treated for minor injuries and did not require hospitalization.
#10: U.S.-led coalition and Afghan troops killed several Taliban insurgents in an air and ground assault in Sangin district of southern Afghanistan on Sunday, a U.S. military statement said on Monday.
#11: Several militants were killed during U.S.led coalition operation in the southern Afghan province of Helmand of Sunday, U.S. military said in a statement on Monday.
#12: Police say a suspected suicide car bomb has killed four civilians in western Afghanistan.Police official Abdul Shuqur says the sports utility vehicle exploded at a market in the town of Shindand on Monday afternoon. Shuqur says witnesses told him that seconds before the blast the vehicle approached a convoy of foreign troops and that the troops opened fire on it. He says 12 other people were wounded.
Source: http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com/

HOTTEST VIDEO ABOUT IRAQ WAR EVER POSTED ON THIS BLOG. A MUST SEE FOR EVERY RED-BLOODED AMERICAN MALE

The video of a country western girl singing about her boyfriend in Iraq is the hottest video we have ever posted on this blog in the six months this blog has been up and running. The "hits" to my blog are coming in from all over and from what we hear the video is the talk of many of the GIs deployed to Iraq. You can watch it here. WOW!

http://www.youtube.com/v/6cAChVVVZaM&hl=en

CNN BREAKING NEWS: FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS 16 IN IRAQ

Female bomber kills 16 near government complex

Story Highlights
Attack took place on a street authorities had sealed off last week
Police officers, women, children among casualties, officials say
Authorities say women are increasingly offering themselves up for suicide missions
Officials: Al Qaeda preys on women who are illiterate, religious, in financial straits

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/06/22/iraq.main/index.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A female suicide bomber killed 16 people and wounded 40 Sunday when she detonated her explosives in a crowded area of central Baquba, police there said.
Police, women and children were among the casualties, according to the Diyala Military Operations command.

The attack happened near the main government complex in Baquba on a street that security officials had sealed off last week. Only official vehicles were being allowed in the area; civilian vehicles without special clearance were prohibited.

More than 20 female suicide bombers have carried out attacks in Iraq this year, a number much higher than in previous years. According to the U.S. military, women carried out eight bombings in 2007.

Authorities said that al Qaeda in Iraq is recruiting women and that increasing numbers of women are volunteering for missions.

The women are desperate and hopeless, officials said, and most have pre-existing ties to the insurgency. Their primary motive is revenge for a male family member killed by U.S. or Iraqi forces, the officials said.

"We do see certain members of cells attempting to persuade women -- specifically, in many cases, wives of those who have been killed as terrorists -- to conduct suicide operations," U.S. Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling said recently. His area of operations includes the volatile Diyala province.

Hertling's troops in Diyala have launched operations targeting relatives of suspected female bombers, as they attempt to break up the rings that are recruiting the women and girls.
Intelligence gathered from detainees indicates that al Qaeda in Iraq is looking for women with three main characteristics: those who are illiterate, are deeply religious or who have financial struggles.

Women in the last category often have money problems because they've lost the male head of the household, officials said.

Females always have played a role in the insurgency in Iraq, helping feed militants, hiding them in their homes and helping sneak weapons around the country.

They have proved to be effective in their operations because women are not to be searched by men for cultural and religious reasons.

The U.S. military has created a program called the Daughters of Iraq, similar to the U.S.-backed Sons of Iraq, across the Sunni regions of the country. The Daughters of Iraq are being trained to conduct searches of women.

In the northern city of Mosul, a suicide car bomber detonated near a police checkpoint, wounding at least 14 people -- including four policemen -- according to police.

Mosul is the capital of Nineveh province where Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched an ongoing offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni extremists last month.

Sunday's violence comes ahead of a U.S. report that will say violence in Iraq declined in the early part of this year, according to officials familiar with the report. (COMMENT: PERHAPS THE PENTAGON BETTER HOLD OFF ON THEIR GLOWING REPORT ABOUT HOW VIOLENCE IS DOWN IN IRAQ)

The Pentagon's upcoming report to Congress, which could be released as early as Monday, will cover events in Iraq from mid-February to mid-May.

COMMENT: THIS IS ALSO WHY SEN. JOHN McCAINS STATEMENT ABOUT PULLING OUT OF IRAQ WHEN THE VIOLENCE IS OVER MAKES NO SENSE WHATSOVER BECAUSE THE VIOLENCE WILL NEVER BE OVER IN IRAQ.

U.S. MARINES IN IRAQ. REAL WAR VIDEO: WARNING: VERY GRAPHIC

The United States Marine Corps have always distinguished themselves in battle and in Iraq they continue to display the type of courage and honor they deserve as seen in this VERY GRAPHIC video showing U.S. Marines in battle in Iraq.

http://www.youtube.com/v/enm9Dhp79Vk&hl=en

IRAQ WAR. (THE GREATEST WAR VIDEO EVER)

This video is hailed as the greatest war video ever made about the Iraq war. It is one you won't want to miss and perhaps even keep for future reference.

http://www.youtube.com/v/iRb7XxuxH_o&hl=en

VIDEO: HOT COUNTRY GIRL HAS MUSICAL MESSAGE FOR TROOPS IN IRAQ. WOW!

Wow is right. No wonder this video is a big hit with our guys in Iraq. And the message isn't bad either.

http://www.youtube.com/v/6cAChVVVZaM&hl=en

CNN REPORTS: ROCKETS LAUNCHED INTO AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan is becoming the new "hot spot" in the Middle East and there are more and more signs the Taliban is getting stronger.

Last week more American GIs were killed in Afghanistan than were killed in Iraq.

As usual the mainstream media in the United States except for CNN is reluctant to report the increase in Taliban attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan.

COMMENTS BY BILL CORCORAN, EDITOR OF CORKSPHERE

Rocket attacks hit ISAF bases in Afghanistan
Story Highlights
Four Afghan civilians killed by attacks on NATO-led bases in southern Afghanistan
ISAF: One barrage was launched from across the border in Pakistan
Pakistan informed, ISAF troops responded with attack aimed at the launch site

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/06/22/afghanistan/index.html

(CNN) -- Four Afghan civilians were killed by rocket attacks on NATO-led bases in southern Afghanistan Sunday, including on barrage launched from across the border in Pakistan, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

Three of the deaths happened near dusk Sunday when five rockets fired from about 300 yards inside Pakistan hit the village of Kundai, ISAF said. One rocket landed inside the ISAF base and wounded an Afghan male, ISAF said.

ISAF troops responded with an artillery attack aimed at the launch site, ISAF said.
"The Pakistan military was immediately notified when ISAF forces came under fire," ISAF said.

One Afghan civilian was killed early Sunday when 13 rockets were launched toward an ISAF base in the Khowst province, ISAF said.

The launch site, which was inside Afghanistan, was then targeted by ISAF artillery and an airstrike, ISAF said.

On Saturday, several rockets were launched from inside Pakistan toward an ISAF base in Afghanistan's northeastern Paktika province, ISAF said. There were no casualties reported.

BOMB IRAN? WHAT'S TO STOP BUSH?

Unlike the attack on Iraq five years ago, to deal with Iran there need be no massing of troops. And, with the propaganda buildup already well under way, there need be little, if any, forewarning before shock and awe and pox -- in the form of air and missile attacks -- begin.

By Ray McGovern, Consortium NewsPosted on June 20, 2008, Printed on June 22, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/88786/

This time it will be largely the Air Force's show, punctuated by missile and air strikes by the Navy. Israeli-American agreement has now been reached at the highest level; the armed forces planners, plotters and pilots are working out the details.

Emerging from a 90-minute White House meeting with President George W. Bush on June 4, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the two leaders were of one mind:
"We reached agreement on the need to take care of the Iranian threat. I left with a lot less question marks [than] I had entered with regarding the means, the timetable restrictions, and American resoluteness to deal with the problem. George Bush understands the severity of the Iranian threat and the need to vanquish it, and intends to act on that matter before the end of his term in the White House."

Does that sound like a man concerned that Bush is just bluff and bluster?

A member of Olmert's delegation noted that same day that the two countries had agreed to cooperate in case of an attack by Iran, and that "the meetings focused on 'operational matters' pertaining to the Iranian threat." So bring 'em on!

A show of hands please. How many believe Iran is about to attack the U.S. or Israel?
You say you missed Olmert's account of what Bush has undertaken to do? So did I. We are indebted to intrepid journalist Chris Hedges for including the quote in his article of June 8, "The Iran Trap."

We can perhaps be excused for missing Olmert's confident words about "Israel's best friend" that week. Your attention -- like mine -- may have been riveted on the June 5 release of the findings of the Senate Intelligence Committee regarding administration misrepresentations of pre-Iraq-war intelligence -- the so-called "Phase II" investigation (also known, irreverently, as the "Waiting-for-Godot Study").

Better late than never, I suppose.
Oversight?
Yet I found myself thinking: It took them five years, and that is what passes for oversight? Yes, the president and vice president and their courtiers lied us into war. And now a bipartisan report could assert that fact formally; and committee chair Jay Rockefeller could sum it up succinctly:
"In making the case for war, the administration repeatedly presented intelligence as fact when in reality it was unsubstantiated, contradicted, or even non-existent. As a result, the American people were led to believe that the threat from Iraq was much greater than actually existed."
But as I listened to Senator Rockefeller, I had this sinking feeling that in five or six years time, those of us still around will be listening to a very similar post mortem looking back on an even more disastrous attack on Iran.

My colleagues and I in Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) issued repeated warnings, before the invasion of Iraq, about the warping of intelligence. And our memoranda met considerable resonance in foreign media.

We could get no ink or airtime, however, in the Fawning Corporate Media (FCM) in the U.S. Nor can we now.

Click on link above for full story.