Wednesday, December 10

Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines December 09, 2008 ~

Palestinians celebrate retreat of settlers from Homesh
On Friday, the popular committee of the villages affected by the Homesh settlement went to celebrate the almost complete retreat of the settlers. Hundreds of people gathered after prayer at the mosque of Burqa and marched together to the Homesh settlement.
Just in front of the settlement, they started planting trees and reclaiming their land in celebration of the successful efforts to force settlers to abandon their plans to re-populate the settlement. Last week, the settlers took all their belongings and left the area, and have not returned since. Only a few settlers were present but immediately left the area as the Palestiinan protest was approaching.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/1796.shtml

Jerusalem Diaries: Umm Kamel al-Kurd Returns Home
Umm Kamel, Palestinians, Israelis and internationals peace activists marched Thursday 4 December 2008 to Talpiot in a symbolic act to stress the right of Umm Kamel and the Palestinian people to return to their homes in Israel.
http://www.alternativenews.org/content/view/1448/477/

Half Gaza children suffer from anemia
A Palestinian commission has warned that 46% of Gaza children were suffering from anemia due to their parents' inability to feed them properly as a result of the siege.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/

Israeli Occupation Forces Assault Two Palestinians in the Village of Mardah

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) attacked, Tuesday, the Palestinian village of Mardah, north of Salfit, in the West Bank, and beat two Palestinian citizens.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57953

Bil`in, December 7: rewarded and invaded

Martin Forberg-International League for Human Rights-Even if the invasion was only for a short time and the young people were released later, the violent "normality" of the occupation must not be accepted by the international public if there is any real will to have a sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians!
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_ file.asp?num=30441

Hamas member wounded by P.A Security fire
A Palestinian security source reported on Monday that a Hamas member was shot and wounded by security personnel as he attempted to fire at them as they were trying to arrest him in Balata refugee camp, in the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57945

Israeli settlers storm mosque, assault Imam
Tens of extremist Jewish settlers on Monday raided the village of Doma to the south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus and opened fire in the air according to local sources.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/


Settler soldier indicted for assaulting cop
Soldier, resident of West Bank outpost, detained until end of trial for allegedly throwing stones, cursing at security forces evicting his home.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3635413,00.html

Israel releases Palestinian lawmaker who won seat while in prison
Israel released a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) after holding him for three years prison on Monday, following a court ruling. The court at Israel's Ofer detention center acquitted 47 year-old lawmaker Nizar Abdel Aziz Ramadan of all charges.
Ramadan had been held in administrative detention under which Palestinian detainees can be held without charge or trial virtually indefinitely. Ramadan was first detained in September 2005. He campaigned and won a seat in the PLC while still in prison in 2006. Ramadan is a member of Hamas' "Change and Reform" list representing the West Bank city of Hebron. Forty other members of the PLC are still in Israeli prisons. [end]
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33827

Extremists' wives detained after protest
Right-wing activists demonstrate outside homes of IDF commanders, state officials who they blame for 'Hebron expulsion.' Ayala Ben-Gvir, Elisheva Federman held for questioning, along with several other protestors.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3635177,00.html

Jeremy Salt: The disgrace of Hebron

The infiltration of Hebron began in the wake of the 1967 war when followers of the extremist and very violent rabbi Moshe Levinger took over the Park Hotel in the centre of the city. The Israeli government claimed there was nothing it could do to stop them when, in fact, Levinger and his followers were the brutal weapon the state needed to begin the colonisation of the territories seized in the June war. In the years to come, the stranglehold on Hebron was slowly tightened. In the early 1980s, the central bus station was closed down and turned into a sandbagged military outpost following a 'terrorist' attack on settlers. Another early target was the Ibrahimi Mosque, which was taken over from the Muslim waqf (administration) by the military and sectioned into prayer spaces for Muslims and the Jewish settlers living in and around the city.
http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2008/12/08/jeremy-salt-the-disgrace-of-hebron/

Does Hebron clash signal new round of settler revolts?
Last week's violence in the West Bank reveals just how far ultranationalist Jewish settlers have gone beyond the control of the Israeli government and army.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1209/p06s02-wome.html

AI: Siege in Gaza leaves people barely alive
London-based Amnesty International has warned that the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip was gravely affecting the life of its inhabitants in an unprecedented manner.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/

Gaza crossings open 'temporarily'

Four of Gaza's crossings with Israel have reopened to allow the passage of a limited amount of goods as well as the movement of journalists and aid workers, the Israeli military said. The easing of the blockade of the territory on Tuesday followed a lull in Palestinian rocket fire towards the Jewish state, the Israeli defence ministry said.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/12/2008129113110983360.html

Gaza closure hits 34th day, Palestinian dialogue expected after Eid Al Adha

Egyptian security sources said Monday that high-level contacts were made yesterday with the political bureau of Hamas to discuss resuming the Palestinian dialogue.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57944

End the Gaza Blockade
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) sent a letter urging Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to ensure that Israel ends the blockade of Gaza. The letter was sent (Dec 2) in support of the U.N. High Commissioner of Human Rights, Ms. Navi Pillay's call for the immediate end of the blockade.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14461

Gaza: Silence is not an option
Richard Falk (Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights on Palestinian territories_-Ma`an-Last week, Karen AbyZayd, who heads the UN relief effort in Gaza, offered first-hand confirmation of the desperate urgency and unacceptable conditions facing the civilian population of Gaza. Although many leaders have commented on the cruelty and unlawfulness of the Gaza blockade imposed by Israel, such a flurry of denunciations by normally cautious UN officials has not occurred on a global level since the heyday of South African apartheid.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33831

How Gaza Offends Us All
Faria al-Bobali's 10-month-old daughter is suffering from malnutrition due to an Israeli blockade on Gaza. Her mother depends on UNRWA, the United Nations relief agency that distributes food to at least half of Gaza's 1.5 million residents.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21411.htm

Israel tightens the noose on Gaza's neck

While Israel allows ships to reach Gaza for photo-ops (which is still useful), attempts to actually bring food and medications into Gaza are treated differently. On December 1st, the Libyan ship sailing to Gaza was stopped by the Herrenvolk Navy of Israel. In a bureaucratic legerdemain worthy of a Franz Kafka hero, the ship was told to send aid through the "regular crossings" (which are of coursed blocked by both Israel and Egypt).
http://jewssansfrontieres.blogspot.com/2008/12/israel-tightens-noose-on-gaza-neck.html

A Joyless Eid in Gaza
Every year, Abu Lu'ai used to participate with six of his family members in buying a calf to slaughter as a sacrifice marking the four-day Palestinian feast (Eid al-Adha). "This year, there will be no calf. I can not afford the price anymore," the father of seven told IslamOnline.net. "I may buy a turkey instead," a sarcastic Abu Lu'ai added bitterly.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1209/p06s02-wome.html

European children donate Eid/Christmas gifts to Gaza children
Children in the UK and France have been donating toys and other gifts for Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip to be presented to them on the occasions of Eid and Christmas.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/

Dignity to Gaza: "We're Back!"-Fourth Successful Voyage Breaks Through Siege of Gaza
The Free Gaza Movement ship "Dignity" successfully broke through the Israeli blockade for the fourth time since August, arriving in Gaza Port at 2:45pm, Tuesday 9 December. The ship carried one ton of medical supplies and high-protein baby formula, in addition to a delegation of international academics, humanitarian and human rights workers. Three earlier missions made landfall in Gaza in August, October, and November through the power of non-violent direct action and civil resistance. The Free Gaza ships are the first international ships to reach the Gaza Strip in over 41 years.
http://www.freegaza.org/index.php?module=latest_news&id=dcc90dda66ebd8d6a2931dc095d584 b7&offset=

Activists, Physicians, University Teachers Onboard Ship Heading to Gaza

Independent Palestinian Legislator and head of the Popular Committee Against the Siege, Jamal El Khodary, stated on Tuesday morning that another ship carrying activists, physicians, university teachers and aid supplies is on its way to the Gaza Strip.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57951

Breaking Through Israeli Blockade for Fourth Time

The Free Gaza Movement announced today that it would send a delegation from Cyprus to Gaza aboard their blockade-busting ship, the Dignity, at 11pm, Monday, 8 December. The Free Gaza Movement has successfully challenged the siege on three previous occasions this year, landing missions in Gaza in August, October, and November. Free Gaza ships are the first to dock in Gaza Port in over 41 years.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14459

PRESS RELEASE:BRITISH ACADEMICS TO BREAK THE SIEGE OF GAZA
Two Jewish academics from the UK, Emeritus Professor Jonathan Rosenhead and Research Fellow Mike Cushman, both from the Department of Management at the London School of Economics, have joined the latest 'Free Gaza' boat in an attempt to enable Palestinian university students to pursue their studies abroad.
http://www.freegaza.org/index.php?module=latest_news&id=935be1a33e1f998f662711e2fc4763 36&offset=

Musical resistance against the siege
On 27 October, a group of young Palestinians, none of them over the age of 25, organized the first music concert of its kind in the Gaza Strip, called Gaza Concert '08. Regardless of the awful conditions in the Gaza Strip brought on by the 19-month Israeli siege, the youth sang for freedom, peace and ending the unjust siege. Thousands of people came from all over Gaza while several international and local media outlets covered the event that was sponsored by Action for Peace Italia. A mixture of traditional Palestinian debka dance, rap, and nationalist anthems were performed calling for lifting the siege and ending Israeli occupation. Sameh Habeeb reports from Gaza.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10014.shtml

West Bank "Ultra-Marathon" to help Palestinian children
A 50km "ultra-marathon" will take place in the West Bank on 22 December 2008 to raise awareness of the plight of Palestinian children caught in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Two aid workers, Gergey Pasztor and Gerard Horton, will run the entire distance from the city of Ramallah to the Huwarra checkpoint at the entrance of Nabulus. Participating runners from the region and abroad will join them for five to ten of those kilometers.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33830

Unilever divests from Beigel Beigel, after study exposes settlement connection

Unilever is the fourth multinational pulling out of the occupied territories, following Heineken, the Swedish lock maker AssaAbloy and Soda Club.
http://www.unitedcivilians.nl/nl/doc.phtml?p=Unilever

Hamas-Fatah squabbling benefits none
The reported crackdown by Hamas on Palestinian pilgrims wanting to perform the Hajj highlights the depth of the bitterness Hamas and Fatah have sunk to.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/newsfull.php?newid=189352

West Bank Hardball: Fatah's Offensive Against Hamas

After several political and military setbacks, Fatah and the Palestinian Authority (PA) have waged an effective campaign against Hamas's political, economic, and military position in the West Bank. And as long as Israeli security forces remain in the West Bank, a Hamas seizure of power there is effectively impossible. Although this is an important positive development, Hamas is an adaptive opponent that should not be counted out in the long-term power struggle in the Palestinian territories.
http://www. washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2970

Media Assembly praises PA release of journalists
The Palestinian Media Assembly welcomed the release of two journalists by the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces in the West Bank on Sunday. Journalists Yazid Khader, from the town of from Deir Al-Ghusun north of Tulkarem and journalist Tariq Shahab, from the town of Anabta, east of Tulkarem, were released. In a statement the media organization also called for the immediate release of other Palestinian journalists and an end to a campaign of "political arrests." Journalists Farid Hammad, Bassam As-Sa'eh and Iyad Srur are still in PA custody.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33832

Abbas denies he requested postponement of prisoners' release
The Palestinian president's office issued a formal denial on Tuesday of reports in Israeli newspapers that President Mahmoud Abbas had requested that Israel postpone the planned release of 250 Palestinian prisoners. The prisoner released had been slated for before the Eid Al-Adha holiday, which began Sunday evening, as a goodwill gesture from the Israeli government to Abbas. No reason has been given for the postponement.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33838

Israeli envoy to UN: Obama must take care of U.S. before focusing on Mideast

Israelis 'refuse to name all Arab leaders' who engaged in behind closed-doors meetings in New York. She pointed to the UN interfaith conference in mid-November, held at the initiative of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, who listened to a speech by Israel's President Shimon Peres, something that had never happened before. Peres and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni also met privately with some Arab leaders during the two-day meeting in the General Assembly, and Shalev said she took part in some of the discussions. The Israelis refused to identify any of the Arabs, citing the sensitivity of the talks.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1044706.html

Kouchner Reverses Morgantini's Decision in the European Parliament
Despite the scathing remarks by European Parliament (EP) Vice-President last week, in regards to Israel's human rights abuses and incessant disregard for International law and Geneva Conventions, today, the EP's 27 foreign ministers voted unanimously to upgrade EU foreign relations with Israel.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57954

Extreme Right, settlement-friendly candidates do well in Likud primaries
Netanyahu`s ploy in the past weeks was to present a galaxy of "stars" adhering to the Likud, who were intended to give the party a "moderate, right of centre" image. This was foiled by the organized extreme right faction of Moshe Feiglin, active as "a party within a party", succeeded to get many of its nominees placed in prominent positions in the Likud list of candidates and push aside Netanyahu`s favourites.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_ file.asp?num=30434

Livni: Israel Must Do Whatever It Can to Weaken Hamas
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni claimed Tuesday that Israel must take all steps necessary to weaken Hamas' rule in the Gaza Strip, using a combination of immediate military, diplomatic, and economic measures., During a conference at Tel Aviv University, Livni also called for the Zionist entity to respond to all Qassam rocket attacks originating from the Gaza Strip in order to ensure that Israel not present an image of weakness., "Israel must respond to all rocket fire. It won't stop the attacks, but the image also has a purpose, when the image is that Israel is weak, our deterrent ability is weakened," she claimed., While Livni said she was "embarrassed to call the situation in the Gaza envelope a truce, as long as the rocket attacks haven't stopped," she emphasized that the responsibility for ensuring quiet in the Strip lies with Hamas., "If they know that we won't stay silent, they will enforce the truce themselves," Livni said. [end]
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=66726&language=en

Barhoum of Hamas: We are ready for all options in countering the Zionist enemy

Hamas media spokesperson, Fawzi Barhoum, stated on Monday that Hamas movement is ready for all options and available means in countering the Israeli occupation and its ongoing aggression. His statements came after the outgoing Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, said that Israel will retaliate to the firing of Qassam shells.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57946

Young israelis who refuse to serve the occupation need our support
A note from Shministit Omer Goldman: Dear Mary, My name is Omer Goldman. I am 19 years old. I am one of the Shministim. Thank you for signing the Shministim letter to support me and my friends. I first went to prison on September 23 and served 35 days. I am lucky, after 2 times in jail, I got a medical discharge, but I'm the only one. By the time you read this, many of my friends will be in prison too: in for three weeks, out for one, and then back in, over and over, until they are 21. The reason?We refuse to do military service for the Israeli army because of the occupation. I grew up with the army. My father was deputy head of Mossad and I saw my sister, who is eight years older than me, do her military service. As a young girl, I wanted to be a soldier. The military was such a part of my life that I never even questioned it.
http://palestinethinktank.com/2008/12/08/young-israelis-who-refuse-to-serve-the-occupation-need-our-support/

Seth Freedman: Two-tier Israel

Seth Freedman: It's not just Jews who are endangered by hazardous industrial waste – other groups are equally entitled to respite.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/09/israelandthepalestinians

Encountering Peace: Who owns the water?

Gershon Baskin-Jerusalem Post-Every project concerning water in the West Bank and Gaza requires the approval of the JWC. This is not the case for any water project in Israel, even though the same water resources are in question. Israel relates to all of the water resources, which are all essentially shared, as under its exclusive ownership.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_ file.asp?num=30439

Spying on Jews challenges Israel's secret service
They may falsely say your comrades gave confessions implicating you. They may bug your cell. They may deprive you of sleep, force you to sit in contorted postures for hours, even blindfold and beat you. Such warnings about Israeli interrogators from the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service are usually sounded among jailed Palestinians. But this time, they appear in a Hebrew-language pamphlet written for Jewish settlers and their sympathisers.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L9348036.htm

Jewish settlers issue pamphlet on how to dodge Israeli intelligence

Jewish settlers in the West Bank have issued a pamphlet instructing comrades on how to evade the tactics of Israel's Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/3689831/Jewish-settlers-issue-pamphle
t-on-how-to-dodge-Israeli-intelligence.html


From refugee camp to European Parliament: Palestinian seeks EU seat

Ma`an-A Palestinian born in a refugee camp in Lebanon is now campaigning to represent Denmark in the European Parliament. Fathi Al-Abed is the head of the Danish-Palestinian Friendship Association and a member of the Danish Socialist People`s Party. According to Al-Abed there are 28,000 Palestinians living in Denmark, part of a 300,000-strong Arab and Muslim community, a significant number in a nation of only five million.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33829

Pope may visit Jordan along with Israel: report

Pope Benedict XVI may visit Jordan as well as Israel during a possible trip next year, the visiting Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Monsignor Fouad Twal, told the ANSA news agency on Monday. The trip "may be broadened to include other stops," Twal was quoted as saying, adding: "I suppose the pontiff will begin his visit in Jordan" as earlier popes have done.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gjssXZhuYrgOqhH6k_ P1lI9NLZ4A

Carter arrives in Lebanon for first leg of Mideast tour

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter arrived in Lebanon on Tuesday for a Middle East tour that was also to include Syria.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1045050.html

Ex-President Carter says Hezbollah won't meet him
Reuters-Leaders of the Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah have turned down a request to meet former U.S. President Jimmy Carter during a visit to Lebanon that began on Tuesday, a Carter spokesman said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081209/pl_nm/us_lebanon_carter

Monday: 20 Iraqis Killed
Excerpt: Iraqis began Eid al-Adha observances at dawn, so there will be little news out of the country today even if violence continues. Instead, the focus is on Utah, where five Blackwater Worldwide guards handed themselves over to U.S. authorities in connection with the deaths of Iraqi civilians last year. No Coalition deaths were reported. The only report of Iraqi deaths came from Anbar province where a mass grave was discovered.
http://www.antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=13875

U.S. declines to free Reuters photographer in Iraq
The U.S. military in Iraq is not obliged to obey an Iraqi court order to release a freelance photographer working for Reuters news agency and will hold him into 2009, a spokesman said on Tuesday. The Iraqi Central Criminal Court ruled on November 30 that there was no evidence against Ibrahim Jassam Mohammed, and ordered the U.S. military to release him from Camp Cropper prison near Baghdad airport, where he has been detained since September.
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE4B82EZ20081209

Report: IED threat known before war
WASHINGTON — Military leaders knew the dangers posed by roadside bombs before the start of the Iraq war but did little to develop vehicles that were known to better protect forces from what proved to be the conflict's deadliest weapon, a report by the Pentagon inspector general says. The Pentagon "was aware of the threat posed by mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) … and of the availability of mine resistant vehicles years before insurgent actions began in Iraq in 2003," says the 72-page report, which was reviewed by USA TODAY.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2008-12-08-mrap_N.htm

US: Blackwater used grenades on unarmed Iraqis
Blackwater Worldwide security guards opened machine gun fire on innocent, surrendering Iraqis and launched a grenade into a girls' school during a gruesome Baghdad shooting last year, prosecutors said Monday in announcing manslaughter charges against five guards.
http://wokv.com/common/ap/2008/12/08/D94UMLB01.html

Blackwater charges: 14 counts of manslaughter
Blackwater Worldwide security guards used machine guns and grenade launchers against unarmed Iraqi civilians, some with hands up and others fleeing, prosecutors said Monday in announcing manslaughter indictments against five of them.
http://feeds.sfgate.com/click. phdo?i=9bbc19f2df8498b7556247afe4c62e 07

Bitterness at Blackwater shootings
The Iraqi government has welcomed the indictment in the US of five guards working for private security firm Blackwater who opened fire at a busy Baghdad intersection, killing 17 Iraqi civilians.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7770826.stm

Blackwater Guards Indicted for Role in Nisour Square Massacre
Five Blackwater security guards were charged on Monday for their role in the 2007 Nisour Square massacre in Baghdad that left 17 Iraqis dead and more than 20 wounded. The federal prosecutors accused the Blackwater guards of opening machine gun fire on innocent Iraqis and launching a grenade into a girls' school. We speak with Jeremy Scahill, author of "Blackwater: The Rise of the World"s Most Powerful Mercenary Army."
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/12/9/blackwater_guards_ indicted_for_role_in

Soldier pleads not guilty in Iraq detainee's death

AP-One of two 101st Airborne Division soldiers charged in the shooting death of an Iraqi detainee pleaded not guilty Monday, but his attorney said a plea agreement is still possible.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081208/ap_on_re_us/soldiers_charged

Iraq's oil-rich Basra province in autonomy move
Iraq's independent electoral commission announced plans on Sunday to collect signatures in support of a referendum to transform the oil-rich province of Basra into an autonomous region.
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/540558-iraqs-oil-rich-basra-province-autonomy-move

Voters want people, not parties in Iraq's Basra

Reuters-For the first time since the fall of Saddam Hussein, Iraqis could be seeing election candidates kissing babies and canvassing neighbors when a new polling system comes into force in January.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081209/wl_nm/us_iraq_elections_basra

'Times' (Self-Servingly) Endorses Single-Gunman Theory of Iraq War

I dislike George Bush as much as the next guy but this editorial in yesterday's Times, called the Deluder in chief, that attacks George Bush over the war in Iraq is so much comfort food for privileged blue staters. The White House is identified as the sole real efficient cause of the disastrous war, along with its politicized Pentagon. Rumsfeld, Cheney.
http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2008/12/times-selfservingly-endorses-singlegunman-theory-of
-iraq-war-.html


The Debt We Owe Iraqi Interpreters
New Haven, Conn.-The Iraqi pointed at me, pointed at his watch, and mimed an explosion. He'd been shouting frantically since he arrived at our small forward operating base minutes before, but like most American soldiers, I didn't speak Arabic. Had he come to warn us or to threaten us?Car bomb?Another mortar attack?When and where?Looking around desperately, I spotted a young woman in her early 20s bounding toward us. Wissam, one of our Iraqi interpreters, had arrived. After a brief conversation with the man, she turned back to me and said, "He says there is an IED [improvised explosive device] on the main road to Haswa. Good thing you have me around, I think."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/08/the-debt-we-owe-iraqi-int_n_149355.html

Babylon's history swept away in US army sandbags
AFP-Fragments of bricks, engraved with cuneiform characters thousands of years old, lie mixed with the rubble and sandbags left by the US military on the ancient site of Babylon in Iraq.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081209/ts_afp/iraqbabylonusarchaeology

Sweden Opens Doors For Iraqi And Afghan Refugees
Sweden is home to more Iraqi refugees than other European countries. The nation has also let in many Afghan refugees. We speak to Faisal Enayat Khan. He is a reporter for the Swedish newspaper the Local. Originally from Afghanistan, he is in Sweden after being granted asylum.
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/12/9/sweden_opens_doors_ for_iraqi_and

Interrogator On Daily Show: 'I Never Saw Coercive Methods Pay Off'

Matthew Alexander (not his real name) is a fourteen year Air Force vet who served as an interrogator in Iraq, and he's written a book called How to Break a Terrorist: The U.S. Interrogators Who Used Brains, Not Brutality, to Take Down the Deadliest Man in Iraq . Last night, Alexander made an appearance on The Daily Show , where he made a powerful case for the superior efficacy of not torturing people during interrogations. Host Jon Stewart asked about that ancient trope of torture enthusiasts, the "Ticking Time Bomb Scenario." Alexander replied: "When I was in Iraq we were dealing with the ticking time bomb every day, the people we had captured, they were behind the suicide bombs. So many of them, right then and there, had information that could have saved lives. But we knew that if we resorted to torture to get that information, that al Qaeda would have used that to recruit more fighters in the future." Did torture ever work?Not surprisingly, the answer was no . ... "I never saw coercive methods [pay off]...When I was in Iraq, the few times I saw people use harsh methods, it was always counterproductive. The person just hunkered down, they were expecting us to do that, and they just shut up. And then I'd have to send somebody in, build back up rapport, reverse that process, and it would take us longer to get information."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/09/interrogator-on-idaily-sh_n_149569.html

Andy Worthington: Is The 9/11 Trial Confession An Al-Qaeda Propaganda Coup?
In a genuinely surprising announcement from Guanta¡namo, the five men accused of plotting and facilitating the 9/11 attacks--Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who stated in his tribunal at Guantánamo last March that he was "responsible for the 9/11 operation, from A to Z," Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Mustafa al-Hawsawi, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Walid bin Attash--have declared at today's pre-trial hearing that they "request an immediate hearing session to announce our confessions."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-worthington/is-the-911-trial-confessi_b_149290.html

Chaos at Guantanamo tribunal
Five alleged Sept. 11 plotters offer to plead guilty, then three decline. One pledges loyalty to Bin Laden. Five men accused of plotting the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks turned what might have been their last appearance before a Guantanamo court Monday into a tribute to Osama bin Laden and a call on fellow holy warriors to strike the U.S. with weapons of mass destruction.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/middleeast/la-na-guantanamo-plea9-2008dec09,0,
5013985.story?track=rss


500 Muslim Soldiers' Tombs Desecrated In France
PARIS — Vandals desecrated at least 500 tombs of Muslim soldiers in northern France on Monday _ an act President Nicolas Sarkozy denounced as "repugnant racism."
The desecration near the town of Arras appeared timed with the start of Eid al-Adha, the most important holiday in the Muslim calendar. The administration for the Pas-de-Calais region said the damaged tombs were in the Muslim section of the Notre-Dame-de-Lorette cemetery, a well-groomed burial ground for World War I soldiers. Some had swastikas scrawled on the tombstone, others had lettering whose meaning was unclear.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/08/500-muslim-soldiers-tombs_n_149267.html

Ex-Marine sues to display anti-Islamic car decals
The ex-Marine's car left little doubt that he despised Islam and equated it with terrorism. "ISLAM =TERRORISM" read one decal. Another showed a cartoon boy urinating on a man wearing a turban. Two featured a stop symbol over "The KORAN" and another over the star and crescent symbol.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2008/12/09/61664.html

Carter Pens New Book on Resolving the Middle East Conflict
Washington — Former president Jimmy Carter is back with new advice for resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The former president is scheduled to publish a new book on the issue — slated for release on January 20, coinciding with the inauguration of Barack Obama.
http://www.forward.com/articles/14683/

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