Secret US-equipped 'Dirty Brigade' in Iraq forefront 26 Jun 2009 Iraqi security services employ an elite, American-trained force [death squad] with a reputation that leads many Iraqis to call it "the dirty brigade." Its real name is the Counter Terrorism Bureau. The elite units, armed with high-tech U.S.-made equipment, often pair up with American special forces to go after Iraq's foes. Formed soon after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the force became known as the "Dirty Brigade" because it was secretive and until recently operated outside the Iraqi chain of command, reporting directly to its U.S. handlers. The little-known group was rumored to be used against the government's opponents in the political mainstream_ a charge denied by the Iraqis and the Americans. The group is reported to have doubled in size to about 9,000 members and now reports directly to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Baghdad bombings proceed at rapid pace 26 Jun 2009 Eleven people are reported to have died in a bombing which occurred in an industrial area of Baghdad. The bomb injured many other people after a motorbike, which was placed amongst other motorcycles, exploded.
Blast claims 11, injures 46 in Baghdad 26 Jun 2009 At least eleven people have been killed and forty six others wounded after a bomb exploded in the Iraqi capital's market, Iraqi officials have said. According to Iraqi security officials, the bomb went off at a market selling motorcycles in the Bab al-Sheikh area of central Baghdad on Friday.
Did toxic chemical in Iraq sicken GIs? 27 Jun 2009 ...What these three men -- one sick, one dying, one dead -- had in common is they were National Guard soldiers on the same stretch of desert in Iraq during the early months of the war in 2003. These soldiers and hundreds of other Guard members from Indiana, Oregon and West Virginia were protecting workers hired by a subsidiary of the giant contractor, KBR Inc., to rebuild an Iraqi water treatment plant. The area, as it turned out, was contaminated with hexavalent chromium, a potent, sometimes deadly chemical linked to cancer and other devastating diseases.
Ministry of Defence blocks Wikileaks --Whistleblower site made off-limits to personnel after publishing operations manuals used by troops 25 Jun 2009 The Ministry of Defence is trying to block all internet access to the whistleblowing site Wikileaks from thousands of its own computers after discovering that dissidents have been using it to leak copies of British military manuals. Newly obtained MoD emails reveal alarm over the discovery that Wikileaks is freely publishing manuals that are used by patrols in Iraq. One email says: "There are thousands of things on here, I literally mean thousands. Not just UK MoD but other places as well. Everything I clicked on to do with MoD was 'restricted' ... It is huge." [Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!] Dismay was sparked by the discovery that Wikileaks had posted copies of a 2007 manual on UK tactics for Iraq and Afghanistan, and a handbook on Istar (intelligence surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance) on its website. [Well, have a nice dish of dismay!]
US wants to [again] delay release of CIA report 26 Jun 2009 The U.S. government wants to wait until next week [LOL, during the July 4 holiday, when no one is paying attention] to give the American Civil Liberties Union a 5-year old internal CIA report that criticizes its harsh interrogation torture program. On Friday, the Justice Department asked a federal judge to allow the release of the report to be delayed until Wednesday -- two weeks since it was first expected. The government is struggling over how much of the classified CIA inspector general's report should be made public.
Delay in Releasing CIA Report Is Sought 20 Jun 2009 The Justice Department needs a week to complete its review of a 2004 CIA inspector general's report before releasing it in redacted form to civil liberties advocates, officials said yesterday. Government lawyers notified the American Civil Liberties Union of the delay yesterday afternoon, citing a longer-than-expected review process at the CIA. Activists requested the report as part of a longstanding Freedom of Information Act lawsuit focusing on the U.S. government's detention and treatment of terrorism suspects after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
US counterintel chief to be replaced 26 Jun 2009 The U.S. official in charge of catching foreign spies and foiling their plots is leaving his post on July 4. National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair announced the departure of Joel Brenner, the national counterintelligence executive for the last three years, in a message to employees sent Friday.
Administration considering executive order authorizing president to incarcerate terrorism suspects indefinitely 27 Jun 2009 The Obama administration is considering forgoing legislation and issuing an executive order that would authorize the president to incarcerate some terrorism suspects indefinitely, White House officials said Friday. Such an order would be controversial -- seemingly aligning the administration with a disputed legal doctrine of former President [sic] George W. Bush, whose lawyers held that the president had sweeping authority in wartime to imprison those he deemed threats to national security. Obama officials sought to play down the significance of the discussions by an administration panel... They said that lawyers had not written a specific proposal and that nothing had been submitted to the White House for review by senior officials.
Under cover of the Friday afternoon Obama Administration civil liberties/environmental 'bad news' dump: White House Drafts Executive Order to Allow Indefinite Detention of Terror Suspects --Friday 26 Jun 2009 5:18 PM The Obama administration, fearing a battle with Congress that could stall plans to close Guantanamo, has drafted an executive order that would reassert presidential authority to incarcerate terrorism suspects indefinitely, according to three senior government officials with knowledge of White House deliberations. Such an order would embrace claims by former president [sic] George W. Bush that certain people can be detained without trial for long periods under the laws of war. Under one White House draft that was being discussed earlier this month, according to administration officials, detainees would be imprisoned at a military facility on U.S. soil but their ongoing detention would be subject to annual presidential review. U.S. citizens would not be held in the system.
US sends 10,000 troops to an Afghan opium hub 27 Jun 2009 A new wave of US troops has arrived in Helmand, an opium-growing southern province where the foreign troops in Afghanistan have lost several grounds to the Taliban in recent months. According to the US Army, the troops are tasked with improving the order ahead of the August 20 presidential vote as well as fighting the 'insurgents' with widespread power in the province.
Roadside Bomb Kills 3 Aid Workers in Northern Afghanistan 24 Jun 2009 A roadside bomb on Tuesday killed three Afghan aid workers with a partner organization of the United Nations refugee agency in a northern province, a sign of the militants’ continuing efforts to extend their reach in the country. The three aid workers were driving in Jowzjan Province when their car was struck by a remotely detonated roadside bomb operated by someone watching the road, said Muhammad Khalil Aminzada, the provincial police chief.
G8 condemns N. Korea's missile tests 26 Jun 2009 Foreign ministers from Group of Eight countries today condemned North Korea's nuclear and missile tests and urged the country to return to the negotiating table. After its nuclear explosion last month, the United Nations slapped sanctions on Pyongyang. "We condemn in the strongest terms the nuclear tests" in May, and the April launch using ballistic missile technology, "which constitute a threat to regional peace and stability," the G-8 foreign ministers said in a statement during their meeting in Italy.
Ahmadinejad warns Obama over interference 27 Jun 2009 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has criticized his American counterpart anew, saying Barack Obama's stance on Iran's post-election protests has jeopardized his change-seeking posture. Addressing a group of judiciary officials on Saturday, President Ahmadinejad questioned President Obama's objective in making what he described as interfering remarks about the current political situation in Iran.
Iran's Ahmadinejad compares Obama to Bush 25 Jun 2009 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused Barack Obama on Thursday of behaving like his predecessor towards Iran and said there was not much point in talking to Washington unless the U.S. president apologised. Obama said on Tuesday he was "appalled and outraged" by a post-election crackdown and Washington withdrew invitations to Iranian diplomats to attend Independence Day celebrations on July 4. "Mr Obama made a mistake to say those things ... our question is why he fell into this trap and said things that previously (former president [sic] George W.) Bush used to say," the semi-official Fars News Agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. [Obama doesn't just 'say' things Bush used to say: He *does* things Bush used to *do.* --LRP]
US State funds covert Israeli linked Iran Visual News Corp aka Peyman Online 2007 (WikiLeaks) 12 Apr 2008 This file provides budgetary information regarding a specific covert new media initiative funded by the US State Department that targets Iran. This document was leaked because the man who is in charge of the initiative has strong ties to Israeli Intelligence and subcontracts portions of the work to Israeli intel fronts such as MEMRI using US tax dollars. It is currently not known if this project is still being funded by the US State Department. [Well, we should call/e-mail and ask. Grants Administrator: Ann Perrelli, 202-776-8545, perrelliAM@state.gov. Recipient's Administrator: Avi Davidi, 202-374-3420, avidavidi2006@gmail.com.]
CIA has Distributed 400 Million Dollars Inside Iran to Evoke a Revolution 18 Jun 2009 Former Pakistani Army General Mirza Aslam Beig claims the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has distributed 400 million dollars inside Iran to evoke a revolution. In a phone interview with the Pashto Radio on Monday, General Beig said that there is undisputed intelligence proving the US interference in Iran. "The documents prove that the CIA spent 400 million dollars inside Iran to prop up a colorful-hollow revolution following the election," he added. Pakistan’s former army chief of joint staff went on to say that the US wanted to disturb the situation in Iran and bring to power a pro-US government.
Iranian envoy: CIA involved in Neda's shooting? 26 Jun 2009 The United States may have been behind the killing of Neda Agha-Soltan, the Iranian woman whose fatal videotaped shooting Saturday made her a symbol of opposition to the June 12 presidential election results, the country's ambassador to Mexico said Thursday. "This death of Neda is very suspicious," Ambassador Mohammad Hassan Ghadiri said. "My question is, how is it that this Miss Neda is shot from behind, got shot in front of several cameras, and is shot in an area where no significant demonstration was behind held?" He suggested that the CIA or another intelligence service may have been responsible. Though the video appeared to show that she had been shot in the chest, Ghadiri said that the bullet was found in her head and that it was not of a type used in Iran. "These are the methods that terrorists, the CIA and spy agencies employ," he said.
U.S. denied Iran official visa for U.N. meeting: envoy 26 Jun 2009 Tehran's U.N. envoy on Friday accused the United States of denying Iran's first vice president and members of his delegation visas to attend a three-day U.N. conference on the global financial crisis. "I am indeed delivering this speech on behalf of Dr. (Parviz) Davoudi, first vice president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who along with members of the Iranian delegation was not able to participate in the conference," Iranian U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee told the U.N. General Assembly. "Their entry visas were not issued by the host country," he added, referring to the United States.
Israeli troops raid peaceful anti-wall protest 27 Jun 2009 Israeli soldiers have attacked dozens of Palestinian and international peace activists protesting against the 'Apartheid Wall' in the West Bank. Israeli forces attacked Palestinian villagers along with their international and Israeli peace supporters during the weekly non-violent protest against the wall in Ni'lin and Bil'in villages, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, on Friday.
A Journalist Beaten -- One Year Later By Mohammed Omer 29 Jun 2009 June 26, 2008 is a day I will never forget... That day I was detained, interrogated, strip searched, and tortured while attempting to return home from a European speaking tour... I want to address the denials from Israel and the inaccurate reporting by a few journalists in addition to requesting state of Israel to acknowledge what it did to me, prosecute the members of the Shin Bet responsible for it and put in place procedures that protect other journalists from such treatment.
Murdoch's Wall Street Urinal sued: Ecuador to sue WSJ over FARC allegations 26 Jun 2009 Ecuador's President Rafael Correa has vowed to sue the Wall Street Journal for linking his government to the Colombian FARC rebels. "We will sue this newspaper because we are sick of their lies," Correa told reporters on Thursday after addressing the UN General Assembly's Conference on the world financial crisis, Reuters reported. "We demand the Wall Street Journal provide proof," he said, dismissing the journal's accusations that he is affiliated with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Obama administration seeks to quash suit by 9/11 families By Barry Grey 26 Jun 2009 The Obama administration has intervened to quash a civil suit filed against Saudi Arabia by survivors and family members of victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The suit seeks to hold the Saudi royal family liable, charging that it provided financial and other support to Al Qaeda and was thereby complicit in the hijack bombings that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York and Washington DC. [See: Documents Back Saudi Link to Extremists 24 Jun 2009.]
Swine flu shot campaign could involve 600M doses 27 Jun 2009 A potential fall swine flu immunization campaign may involve an unprecedented 600 million doses of vaccine, but health officials are still trying to figure out how to find enough workers to administer all those [deadly] shots. Although about 300 million people live in the U.S., health officials say children and some adults may need two doses of the vaccine.
Arkansas State Health Department: Mandatory Vaccines Are Constitutional --Legal council tells concerned caller that American citizens must accept enforced shot in event of mass swine flu vaccination program By Paul Joseph Watson 26 Jun 2009 A member of the public who was concerned about a mandatory mass vaccination program in light of the swine flu pandemic called the Arkansas State Health Department for advice only to be told that mandatory vaccines were constitutional and could be enforced at gunpoint by the government if necessary. The editor of the popular blog "Pissed Off Former Democrat" phoned the legal council at the Arkansas State Health Department to seek advice about obtaining waiver forms for a future mass swine flu vaccination program.
Voting Himself Rich: CDC Vaccine Adviser Made $29 Million Or More After Using Role to Create Market By Dan Olmsted and Mark Blaxill 16 Feb 2009 Dr. Paul Offit of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) took home a fortune of at least $29 million as part of a $182 million sale by CHOP of its worldwide royalty interest in the Merck Rotateq vaccine to Royalty Pharma in April of last year, according to an investigation by Age of Autism. Based on an analysis of current CHOP administrative policies, the amount of income distributed to Offit could be as high as $46 million.
Members of U.S. House Financial Services Committee snapped up or dumped bank stocks as bottom fell out of market 25 Jun 2009 As financial markets tumbled and the government worked to stave off panic by pumping billions of dollars into banks last fall, several members of Congress who oversee the banking industry were grabbing up or dumping bank stocks. Anticipating bargains or profits or just trying to unload before the bottom fell out, these members of the House Financial Services Committee or brokers on their behalf were buying and selling stocks including Bank of America and Citigroup -- some of the very corporations their committee would later rap for greed, a Plain Dealer examination of congressional stock market transactions shows.
Historic climate bill passes House in a close vote 26 Jun 2009 By a narrow margin, the House of Representatives on Friday took the first legislative step in U.S. history to reduce the heat-trapping gases building up in the atmosphere and gradually shift America to cleaner sources of energy. With strong pressure from President Barack Obama to move ahead on one of his priorities and over the strong objections from Republicans and some Democrats, the House voted 219 to 212.
Brazil approves controversial land tenure law 26 Jun 2009 President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has approved a law that could legalize landholdings by some 1 million squatters occupying a Texas-sized chunk of the Amazon rain forest, despite environmentalist fears it will accelerate deforestation. The law, approved late Thursday night, affects 260,233 square miles (67.4 million hectares) of federally owned land that for decades has been illegally occupied -- mostly by small farmers, but also by large property holders and loggers.
Governor Used State's Money to Visit Lover 26 Jun 2009 Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina acknowledged Thursday that he visited his mistress in Argentina on a taxpayer-financed trade mission to South America early last summer, an admission adding another layer to a scandal that produced increasing calls for his resignation. Mr. Sanford called questions about the trip to Argentina "very legitimate" and said he would reimburse its costs. Documents provided by the South Carolina Department of Commerce suggested that they totaled at least $12,000. [See: Larry Craig: I Did Not Meet Governor Sanford In Buenos Aires 25 Jun 2009 (Satire).]
Previous lead stories: FBI report: Saddam Hussein 'would have sought security agreement' with US --Iraq leader 'would have cut a deal' with Bush 24 Jun 2009 Saddam Hussein feared Iran's arsenal more than a U.S. attack, and even considered asking ex-President [sic] George W. Bush "to protect" Iraq from its neighbor, once secret FBI files show... Asked how he would have faced "fanatic" Iranian ayatollahs if Iraq had been proven toothless by UN weapons inspectors in 2003, Iraq's ex-president said he would have cut a deal with Bush. "Hussein replied Iraq would have been extremely vulnerable to attack from Iran and would have sought a security agreement with the U.S. to protect it from threats in the region," according to a 2004 FBI report among the declassified files. Without Bush's help, "Iraq would have done what was necessary," he told FBI Agent George Piro in his Baghdad International Airport cell. [Right, but there was the matter of the *oil.* See: Iraqi officials plan welcome-back party for Big Oil 25 Jun 2009.]
Iraq opens fields; Exxon, Shell seek foothold 26 June 2009 Iraq is set to welcome back foreign oil companies into the war-torn nation to develop the world’s third-largest crude reserves three decades after expelling them. Eight of the world’s top 10 nonstate oil producers, including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, are vying for the right to help Iraq develop six oilfields and two natural-gas deposits. More than 30 companies in total are bidding for $16 billion worth of technical service contracts for producing fields that will be awarded in Baghdad on June 29 and 30. "Iraq is the big prize in the region," said Raja Kiwan, a Dubai-based analyst at consultants PFC Energy.
US drone strike kills 80 Pakistanis By Tom Eley 25 Jun 2009 On Tuesday, an unmanned US Predator drone fired missiles into a funeral procession in the Pakistani region of South Waziristan, killing as many as 80 people and maiming dozens more. It was the deadliest US attack within Pakistan to date. The mourners had gathered for the funeral of seven victims of another US drone attack that had taken place earlier the same day.
