Puppet MastersS


Bad Guys

Kristol and Kagan: 'Put Everything' Behind Escalation So We Can Bomb Iran and Syria


Think Progress
Tue, 29 May 2007 15:57 UTC
William Kristol
Weekly Standard editor William Kristol and fellow neoconservative Frederick Kagan have consistently been wrong in their predictions about Iraq. Last year, Kristol claimed an escalation would "improve our chances of winning." Kagan proclaimed at the end of April, "We are turning a corner in Iraq." But May was the deadliest month this year for U.S. soldiers.

This week, Kristol and Kagan renewed their calls for a defense of the status quo in Iraq. Writing an op-ed in the Weekly Standard, Kristol and Kagan call for unbridled support of the failing escalation:
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Attention

Flashback Arafat: Hamas Are Sharon's Children


Global Research
Fri, 21 Dec 2001 10:52 UTC
In interviews with leading Italian publications, Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat went into some detail regarding the genesis and operation of Hamas. To Corriere della Sera on Dec. 11, he said:
"We are doing everything possible to stop the violence. But Hamas is a creature of Israel which, at the time of Prime Minister [Yitzhak] Shamir [the late 1980s, when Hamas arose], gave them money and more than 700 institutions, among them schools, universities and mosques. Even [former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak] Rabin ended up admitting it, when I charged him with it, in the presence of [Egyptian President Hosni] Mubarak."
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Gear

Abu Nidal - Mossad terrorist


The 7th Fire
Sat, 02 Jun 2007 08:17 UTC
Abu Nidal began his long and bloody career in the PLO, only to become a bitter rival of Yasser Arafat. It was a situation that the Israeli Mossad, in a manner similar to their CIA cousins, would seek to exploit.

As Middle East expert Patrick Seale writes:

Israeli penetration of Palestinian organizations was common, but it was clearly not the whole story. Most intelligence sources I consulted agreed that it was standard practice to use penetration agents not simply to neutralize or destroy the enemy but to try to manipulate him so that he did one's bidding without always being aware of doing

Whatever jobs [Abu Nidal] might have done for Arab sponsors, and they had been numerous and nasty, he had done many other jobs from which Israel alone appeared to benefit."(1312)

Confirming Seale's theory are top Middle East terrorism experts, including intelligence officers in Arab countries, and even within Abu Nidal's own organization.
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Rocket

Russia announces large joint military exercise with China, Shanghai Six


RIA Novosti
Fri, 01 Jun 2007 14:02 UTC
Russia will hold a counterterrorism military exercise with China and other members of the "Shanghai Six" in August, the Ground Forces commander said Friday.

"The main [of the six international counterterrorism exercises planned for the year] will be a joint exercise of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in August," a regional grouping dominated by Russia and China, Army General Alexei Maslov said.

The exercise will be held in the Russian Urals and will involve 500 vehicles from Russia and China, about 2,000 Russian and 1,600 Chinese personnel, a company (around 100 men) from Tajikistan, and smaller units from other members, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, the general said.

While China has yet to decide how its troops would be transited through Kazakhstan, he has already suggested an alternate route directly across the Sino-Russian border in the Far East.
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Evil Rays

Rice to Israel: Don't push Syria peace

HILARY LEILA KRIEGER
Jerusalem Post
Thu, 31 May 2007 09:39 UTC
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice denied that America has nixed Israeli talks with Syria, but still appeared to throw cold water on the idea when questioned about it Tuesday.
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Bomb

Soltaniyeh calls UNSC's resolution against Iran as illegal


IRNA
Wed, 30 May 2007 18:25 UTC
VIENNA - Iran Nuclear Resolution

Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh on Wednesday called the resolutions issued by the United Nations Security Council against Iran as 'illegal'.
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Bizarro Earth

Beverly Hills Considers Outdoor Smoking Ban


KTLA
Tue, 29 May 2007 21:06 UTC
Officials in Beverly Hills will vote on a smoking ban tonight for outdoor diners.

The proposal prohibits smoking at restaurant patios and poolside bars and eateries at hotels.
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Stop

Beijing protests U.S. report on Chinese military power


RIA Novosti
Mon, 28 May 2007 11:28 UTC
Beijing has issued a strong protest to the U.S. following the publication of an annual report on China's military power, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Monday.

Jiang Yu said the report overstates the power of China's Armed Forces and its military spending, "continues to spread the theory of the 'Chinese threat,' seriously violates the basic principles of international relations, and constitutes gross interference in China's internal affairs."

"China is a peace-loving state. It follows a peaceful path of development and conducts a defensive military policy," she said.

The U.S. Defense Department report said China's military buildup is aimed against Taiwan and its possible incorporation into China by force. According to the Pentagon, China's military spending in 2007 will be $85-125 billion.

However, according to official Chinese statistics released in March, the country will spend about $45 billion on its defense needs in 2007.
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Rocket

Pentagon is preparing the ground for another "defensive attack"? Pentagon says China improving ability to launch surprise attacks

Robert Burns
Boston Globe / Associated Press
Sat, 26 May 2007 08:03 UTC
China is modernizing its military in ways that give it options for launching surprise attacks, potentially far from its borders, the Pentagon said yesterday.

In an annual report to Congress, the Pentagon said the Chinese are acquiring better missiles, submarines, and aircraft and should more fully explain the purpose of a military buildup that has led some to view China as a threat.

In a measured tone, the report offered a detailed look at China's military modernization. And it outlined areas of perceived ambiguity in Chinese strategy, including its declared policy of never starting a nuclear war; it concluded that Beijing may be exploring "new options" provided by its force modernization.
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Bomb

The true heart of darkness

Pepe Escobar
Asia Times Online
Sat, 19 May 2007 21:41 UTC
BAGHDAD - There's a graffiti war going on in Baghdad. In Sunni neighborhoods the champions are "Saddam Hussein is a martyr" and "Muqtada [al-Sadr] is the leader of the thieves". In Shi'ite neighborhoods the favorite used to be "From Fallujah to Kufa Iraq won't be beaten down"; now "Fallujah" has been erased from the script. In Sadr City the favorite is "Down with the Ba'athists".

The Adhamiyah wall - the symbol of the Baghdad gulag, rejected by more than 70% of Iraqis - is not yet finished, but the neighborhood is already isolated by a cluster of checkpoints, with all major streets blocked by blast walls and barbed wire. Walls are planned to expand to Dora, Ghazaliyah, Amiriya, al-Amel, al-Adl - a replication of gulag practices in Fallujah, Tal Afar, Haditha, Samarra.
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