The Duty of Progressives to Speak Out Against Oppressors and Not Excoriate Their Resisting Victims
Kim PetersenThe expanding violence that the Zionist regime is unleashing upon its neighbors is drawing muted reaction from the international community or, even worse, support from imperialist-Zionist serving regimes, such as in the United States and Canada. Zionist supporters claim that Israel has a right to defend itself. Supposedly then, the Palestinians have that same right. And one would assume that Lebanon and the rest of the region has that same right. But does Israel have some special right to defend itself? Does a thief have a right to defend himself from his dispossessed victim? Important to remember is that the scofflaw state of Israel exists because it violently stole the territory of an indigenous people (similar to other states, such as Canada and the United States). To acknowledge Israel is to acknowledge territory acquired by invasion. Zionist Israelis are, for the most part, an invading migrant people. The Palestinians, on the other hand, have the right to oppose their occupation and dispossession. The statements of imperialist-serving states are not surprising. It is the comments of some people usually described as progressives that give pause (...) More surprising is the recent tangent in the writing of Robert Fisk. The courageous British journalist appears to be on a literary offensive against the Syrian regime. Fisk, who labels Iraqis as "insurgents," seems bent on tying Syria to the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri (with little evidence). In so doing, Fisk absolves Zionists of any connection to the assassination. Instead, Fisk points Israelis in the direction of Damascus, which he identifies as the "central hub" for Hizbollah terrorism. Fisk claims good contacts and supposedly so does the CIA. Contacts serve their own purposes, and the information that gets to Fisk serves a purpose...
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The Jewish State’s Final Solution: The Assault on Gaza
James Petras...Since Israel is the aggressor and the Jewish Lobby is deeply engaged and the mass media is flashing the face of the lone Israeli military captive, the US peace movement is virtually dead to the Palestinians’ nightmare. Even the infamous disclaimers of the power of the Jewish lobby (Chomsky, Palast, Albert and an army of progressive intellectuals and journalists) would be hard pressed to find a 'Big Oil’ interest buried in the sands and rubble of Gaza. Nor can US government support of Israeli aggression be linked to any 'geo-political interests in the Middle East’ as argued by Professor Steven Zunes. The Lobby has spoken and Washington has listened: Israel is to be supported, their lies are truths, their invasion is defensive, their 'anguish’ is real, their life is a 'nightmare’; the 'others’ are terrorists. The Palestinians’ tiny crowded strip of land is backed up against the sea: a little push from Israeli storm troopers and they will be driven in mass into the sea. God Bless Israeli crimes against humanity! God Bless US acquiescence! God Bless an impotent American peace movement which places unprincipled tactical alliances above solidarity with humanity!...
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Letters from Baghdadis
Felicity ArbuthnotA., lives in Baghdad, a professional and Iraqi through and through. He has never thought of leaving Iraq, not during the 1991 onslaught, during the misery of the embargo years, when like so many, he risked even his eyesight, writing reports by candle light or flickering lantern in the evenings due to embargo of parts for the bombed electricity stations and sub-stations (...) This week I received: 'Hello Dear Felicity, 'The b ... d and evil militias of (Iranian backed) Muqtada Al-Sadr and the Badr Corps are mercilessly and brutally kidnapping and assassinating the innocents from both sects, Shi'ite or Sunni under pre- made charges (of being 'Ba'athist, Saddamist..') 'They kidnapped me and put me in my car boot (in 100f heat) for ninety minutes.' They also kidnapped his brother, beat them both severely, relieved them of the two cars and $5,000 - their all. Iraqis now carry any money they are lucky enough to have, knowing if the Americans 'soldiers' or their militias (spot the difference) break into their homes it will be stolen along with all their valuables. The kidnappers also did some fancy, anesthetic-free surgery to one ear. But they escaped with their lives. A., whose formative years were under Iranian bombardment of the eight year (western driven) Iran-Iraq war and like all Iraqis has suffered so grievously from the actions of the UK and US without a thought of emigrating, ended with a plea, from one who had never begged for anything in his life : 'Please, please, help me to get to Europe.'...
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"This is our war, too"
Gabriele Zamparini...The banality of evil gets into our homes between a talk show and the weather forecast when "our" TV channels normalize the unthinkable of massive crimes against humanity perpetrated by the racist, nuclear theocracy with the support of the other two genocidal regimes of Washington and London. The three-headed monster frames our brains, our consciences and our will through the propaganda coming from the state-corporate media. "The governments of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia are, to say the least, indifferent to the fate of Hamas and Hezbollah. The Palestine Liberation Organization (Fatah) isn’t a player. The prime mover behind the terrorist groups who have started this war is a non-Arab state, Iran, which wasn’t involved in any of Israel’s previous wars." wrote in the Financial Times the American Neo-Con William Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard and Chairman of the Project for the New American Century [PNAC]. Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon… Blood seems to be never enough for these psychopaths. "This is our war, too" Mr. PNAC concludes. And for the country that since 1946 has slaughtered and plundered much of the world without the constitutional approval of its own Congress, Kristol’s words have the gravity of a declaration of war. But make no mistake, as Puppet George would say. There is NO Middle East "crisis". It’s Kristol clear that there is only one "war", the Empire AGAINST Humanity. And too much hypocrisy in between...
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Iraqis in Lebanon evacuated to where exactly?
Truth About IraqisJust heard this: The Iraq embassy in Lebanon has asked all Iraqi citizens to register so that means of safe passage out of Beirut and other cities can be arranged. I laughed my *** off when I heard this. Honestly. This is the real message from the Iraqi embassy: Dear Iraqi citizens and those of you who managed to escape the great purge, Please let us know who you are, where you live, when you escaped our stranglehold, particularly if you are scientists, medics, and all other professionals who have been targeted in recent years. We will send our valiant Iraqi forces (shhh, Badr and Mehdi have volunteered for this auspicious task) to get you out of Lebanon safely. Also, let us know who your relatives in Iraq are, where they live and what sect they belong to. (...) The real message here is: Dear Iraqi patriot and former army officer, soldier, and volunteer, We can't find you. We killed your kin, raped your mothers, sisters and daughters but you still didn't show up. We cannot beat the resistance you have formed for the honor of Iraq, nor can we accept Maliki's reconciliation plan. So please, come and get your pay. We will greet you with drill machines and cranes and ready the swords and daggers to behead you. Come all you valiant, Iraqis...
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NCA Position on Israeli Colonial Conquest
The Sun Rises from the South
...The coming period is critical. Attempts to destabilize Iran and Syria are likely to escalate, along with an even larger attack on the resistance in South Lebanon and Palestine. The confluence of these policies with US designs in Iraq constitutes the overall defining strategy for the US-controlled "New Middle East". In this "New Middle East", the US hopes that natural resources, land and sea access, and political servitude would be at will. The Arab American community and allies in the peace and justice movement can't afford to turn a blind eye to any of the elements of these colonial policies. It is vital that the support for boycott and divestment campaigns expand. We must jointly call for an end to the war on Iraq and an end to US funding of Israeli atrocities. Naiveté in the understanding of geopolitics is a hindrance to peace and justice - Iraq is inseparable from Palestine and Lebanon...
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Ariel Sharon still killing from (almost) beyond the grave
William Bowles, I'n'I...So even from his deathbed Ariel Sharon lives on—to kill. As I stated in 'Just testing the waters’, the murderous terror bombing was planned months ago. It’s Guernica all over again, reports are coming in that Israel has been using banned weapons on Lebanon, phosphorus and so-called vacuum bombs. So will it work this time? According to Uri Avnery’s analysis, it has just as much chance of succeeding, that is, not much. [It] is clearly impossible under the present Lebanese regime, a delicate fabric of ethno-religious communities. The slightest shock can bring the whole structure crashing down and throw the state into total anarchy – especially after the Americans succeeded in driving out the Syrian army, the only element that has for years provided some stability. Of course such subtleties escape the blinkered gaze of the Western media, it is after all, too intent in pushing the propaganda that justifies the terrorist operation of the Zionist government...
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Neocons Rise From Mideast Ashes
Robert Dreyfuss...Make no mistake: Until last week, before Israel went to war, the neoconservatives were losing across the board. They watched in horror as the war in Iraq faltered, and they were appalled by President Bush’s Condi-led opening to Iran. Indeed, to many it seemed as if the entire post-9/11 project to remake the Middle East and build American hegemony on that cornerstone was in jeopardy. Speaking at a forum at the American Enterprise Institute last week, Frederick Kagan warned that the United States is in "danger of losing everything" because the war in Iraq is not being pursued aggressively enough. "All of this success can and will be undone … if we do not get the security situation [in Iraq] under control, and fast," he said, accurately enough. Now that Israel is at war, they have the chance once again to go on the offensive, against Iran, in Iraq, against Syria, and against the mythical Terrorist International that they warn about so regularly. You can imagine what Cheney and his allies are whispering to the president: Be resolute, be strong—and bring 'em on!...
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Where is the rage? Where is the outrage?
Michael Payne, Online Journal Contributing Writer...It seems that we have become a society that no longer may know what is right versus what is just plain wrong. We collectively watched the illegal and immoral invasion of Iraq. Then came the "shock and awe" and the complete destruction of the city of Fallujah. We began to hear the bizarre stories of the inhuman torture of prisoners at Abu Grahib and Guantanamo. Now we are beginning to hear details of the horrendous story about the village of Haditha, a potential time bomb of immense proportions. The senseless deaths of our military and Iraqi civilians continue each and every day; this is complete madness! Is Big Brother wiretapping you and me? Does anyone care? America remains in a state of conditioned silence. Where is the rage? Where is the outrage? National opinion polls have determined that there is dissatisfaction, uneasiness, and a tiredness in the American people. The public now feels the Iraq war was a mistake and not worth it. Is America disillusioned simply because we are not winning?...
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Urgent Warning: CNN prepares Israeli false flag war provocation vs. Americans in Lebanon
Webster G. Tarpley, Online Journal Guest WriterThe escalating Israeli assault on Lebanon clearly represents a conscious bid to provoke a general war in the Middle East. The captured Israeli soldiers are only the pretext for the present massive military operations. Israeli spokesmen are making constant allegations that Hezbollah missiles being fired at Israel have been manufactured or delivered by Iran. At the same time, the Israelis accuse Hezbollah of wanting to transfer the two captured Israeli soldiers to Syria or Iran. These statements are an attempt to build a case for an Israeli sneak attack on Syria and/or Iran. US spokesmen, including the Nietzschean fascist John Bolton, constantly repeat the litany that Syria and Iran are the supporters of Hezbollah...
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G8 leaders line up behind Israeli aggression in Lebanon and Gaza
Chris Marsden, WSWSThe Group of Eight leaders have fallen into line behind Washington and Tel Aviv, issuing a statement Sunday blaming Hezbollah and Hamas for the conflict in the Middle East."These extremist elements and those that support them cannot be allowed to plunge the Middle East into chaos," it read, affirming Israel’s right to "defend itself" and only then making a perfunctory appeal for Tel Aviv to exercise "utmost restraint." The statement is a rejection of calls for a cease-fire in Lebanon and gives the green light for continued Israeli aggression both there and in Gaza...
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Lebanon civilian deaths morally not same as terror victims -- Bolton
AFPUS Ambassador John Bolton said there was no moral equivalence between the civilian casualties from the Israeli raids in Lebanon and those killed in Israel from "malicious terrorist acts". Asked to comment on the deaths in an Israeli air strike of eight Canadian citizens in southern Lebanon Sunday, he said: "it is a matter of great concern to us ...that these civilian deaths are occurring. It's a tragedy." "I think it would be a mistake to ascribe moral equivalence to civilians who die as the direct result of malicious terrorist acts," he added, while defending as "self-defense" Israel's military action, which has had "the tragic and unfortunate consequence of civilian deaths"...
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Saddam presses on with hunger strike
ReutersSaddam Hussein plans to pursue a 10-day hunger strike until his lawyers are adequately protected and a fair trial is ensured, his chief defence counsel said today. "The strike has begun to have an effect on his health," Khalil Dulaimi told Reuters in Amman. He was speaking after meeting Saddam, 69, for the first time since the ousted Iraqi leader and three co-defendants went on hunger strike on July 7. Dulaimi saw Saddam on Monday in a high-security facility near Baghdad airport. He said Saddam's morale remained high but declined to elaborate on details of his health...
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The Killing of Civilians as a Policy
Rodrigue TremblayDead children lying on the ground-that's the barbarous legacy left by the Israeli bombings of Lebanon, in early July 2006. In less than one month, the Israeli government willfully delivered two collective punishments against civilians, in direct violation of international law according to the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War; first, it was against Gaza's civilian Palestinian population; then, they extended this unquestionable policy to the civilian population of Beirut and other regions of Lebanon. The government of Israel has been lighting fires in the Middle East for more than half a century. Incredibly, this nation of only six million people has decided to be a law unto itself, with the voluminous aid and active support of various American administrations...
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Report: US will exit Iraq by 2016
Raw StoryThe conservative Washington Times is reporting that American military leaders don't see a US exit from Iraq until 2016. An excerpt from the registration-restricted Times story follows: U.S. war commanders think some level of American forces will be needed in Iraq until 2016 and those forces will receive continued support from the vast majority of Iraqis. At the tactical level, the U.S. is getting better at detecting deadly improvised explosive devices (IEDs), especially using unmanned spy planes. But the enemy is growing more sophisticated. A raid on an IED factory earlier this year netted two bomb-makers who hold master's degrees in chemistry and physics -- from U.S. colleges...
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Bush & Blair Raw & Uncut
Adam Boulton, Sky NewA fascinating conversation between Tony Blair and George Bush has been caught by the microphones at the G8, when the two men didn't think they were being overheard. It tells us a lot about the relationship between the two men, about the US-UK special relationship and the two men's views on the Middle East. Here's a transcript as best as we can make out...
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Three American Soldiers killed in Iraq
The Associated PressThree American soldiers were killed Monday in separate attacks, two in the Baghdad area and one in western Iraq, the U.S. military said. A U.S. statement said one soldier was hit by small arms fire early in western Baghdad. Another soldier died from injuries suffered in an explosion south of the capital, the military said in a separate statement. The third soldier, assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, died "due to enemy action" in Anbar province, west of Baghdad, the military said...
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How to win a fight (part III)
Mickey Z.Learning how to fight is not the same as promoting belligerent, anti-social behavior. We live in an exceedingly violent society. Our films, books, TV shows, and video games glorify mayhem and carnage. Our leaders (sic) solve most of their problems through aggression...or the threat thereof. While talk of non-violence is understandable and the struggle for peace has never been more essential, let's face it: The odds are that sooner or later you're going to end up in a confrontation that may escalate into physical violence. So, why not be prepared?...
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www.uruknet.info: a site gathering daily information concerning occupied Iraq:
news, analysis, documents and texts of iraqi resistance available in Italian and
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