The War Card: Orchestrated Deception on the Path to War
By Charles Lewis and Mark Reading-Smith
January 23, 2008
FALSE PRETENSES – Following 9/11, President Bush and seven top officials of his administration waged a carefully orchestrated cammpaign of misinformation about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
President George W. Bush and seven of his administration's top officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, made at least 935 false statements in the two years following September 11, 2001, about the national security threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Nearly five years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, an exhaustive examination of the record shows that the statements were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses.
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Former US soldiers describe rape of Iraqi girl, killings
Posted: Fri May 1 2009, 4:55 pm ET | News.Yahoo.com
PADUCAH, Kentucky (AFP) – One of the five US soldiers who helped rape an Iraqi girl and kill her family told jurors Friday that he regrets what happened that day in March 2006.
I should have had more sense that that," James Barker testified, calling the crimes "barbaric" and saying his actions that day went against how he was raised.
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Military rape reports rise, prosecution still low
by: Anne Gearan | Visit article original @ The Associated Press
Tuesday 17 March 2009
Washington - More people came forward to report sexual assaults in the military last year, but a significant percentage wouldn't give crucial details needed for an investigation.
The Pentagon said it received 2,923 reports of sexual assault across the military in the 12 months ending Sept. 30 2008. That's about a 9 percent increase over the totals reported the year before, but only a fraction of the crimes presumably being committed.
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Soldier suicides skyrocket
But a tepid Senate hearing on Wednesday, with no testimony from lower-ranking combat troops from Iraq or Afghanistan, does little to explain why.
By Mark Benjamin, Salon.com, Wed. 3.18.09
Last year the Army had its highest suicide rate on record -- 140 soldiers. But new data from the Army on Wednesday showed the number jumping even higher. Forty-eight soldiers have already killed themselves so far this year. If that rate keeps up, nearly 225 Army soldiers will be dead by their own hand by the end of 2009.
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Red Cross Described 'Torture' at CIA Jails
Secret Report Implies That U.S. Violated International Law
By Joby Warrick, Peter Finn and Julie Tate
The International Committee of the Red Cross concluded in a secret report that the Bush administration's treatment of al-Qaeda captives "constituted torture," a finding that strongly implied that CIA interrogation methods violated international law, according to newly published excerpts from the long-concealed 2007 document.
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Airman Treated for PTSD Before 'Murder-Suicide' Death
LAS VEGAS — A Nellis Air Force Base airman involved in what police think is a murder-suicide was being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder after a tour in Iraq, base officials confirmed.
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 BUSH SAYS SADDAM HUSSEIN WAS NOT CONNECTED TO 9/11
But how frequently did Bush make this acknowledgement? Not often, at least not publlcly. Instead, he repeatedly (and much more memorably) juxtaposed references to the 9/11 terror attacks to those of Saddam Hussein, thereby helping to create the false impression that Saddam Hussein was connected to 9/11.
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››› NO HARD EVIDENCE CONNECTING BIN LADEN TO 9/11
Osama bin Laden’s role in the events of September 11, 2001 is not mentioned on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” poster.
On June 5, 2006, author Ed Haas contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters to ask why, while claiming that bin Laden is wanted in connection with the August 1998 bombings of US Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, the poster does not indicate that he is wanted in connection with the events of 9/11.
Rex Tomb, Chief of Investigative Publicity for the FBI responded, “The reason why 9/11 is not mentioned on Osama bin Laden’s Most Wanted page is because the FBI has no hard evidence connecting bin Laden to 9/11.” Tomb continued, “Bin Laden has not been formally charged in connection to 9/11.” Asked to explain the process, Tomb responded, “The FBI gathers evidence. Once evidence is gathered, it is turned over to the Department of Justice. The Department of Justice then decides whether it has enough evidence to present to a federal grand jury. In the case of the 1998 United States Embassies being bombed, bin Laden has been formally indicted and charged by a grand jury. He has not been formally indicted and charged in connection with 9/11 because the FBI has no hard evidence connecting bin Laden to 9/11.”
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No Habeas Corpus for “Any Person”
With the approval of Congress and no outcry from corporate media, the Military Commissions Act (MCA) signed by Bush on October 17, 2006, ushered in military commission law for US citizens and non-citizens alike. While media, including a lead editorial in the New York Times October 19, have given false comfort that we, as American citizens, will not be the victims of the draconian measures legalized by this Act—such as military roundups and life-long detention with no rights or constitutional protections—Robert Parry points to text in the MCA that allows for the institution of a military alternative to the constitutional justice system for “any person” regardless of American citizenship. The MCA effectively does away with habeas corpus rights for “any person” arbitrarily deemed to be an “enemy of the state.” The judgment on who is deemed an “enemy combatant” is solely at the discretion of President Bush.
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CNN tells you what you won’t see on CNN
And what other, Arab media outlets will show about the Gaza conflict.
Gaza: What Arabs are watching. CNN's Octavia Nasr reports on how Arab media is covering the conflict in Gaza. Graphic images, viewer discretion advised.
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U.S. Weaponry Facilitates Killings in Gaza
By Thalif Deen January 09, 2009 "IPS"
The devastating Israeli firepower, unleashed largely on Palestinian civilians in Gaza during two weeks of fighting, is the product of advanced U.S. military technology. The U.S. weapons systems used by the Israelis -- including F-16 fighter planes, Apache helicopters, tactical missiles and a wide array of munitions -- have been provided by Washington mostly as outright military grants.
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Ban on foreign journalists skews coverage of conflict
* Chris McGreal in Jerusalem * The Guardian, Saturday 10 January 2009
Throughout the two-week bombardment of the Gaza Strip most journalists have been kept out by the Israeli government on the pretext of security. And the Israelis are pleased with the results.
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Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land:
U.S. Media & the Israel-Palestine Conflict
 Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land provides a striking comparison of U.S. and international media coverage of the crisis in the Middle East, zeroing in on how structural distortions in U.S. coverage have reinforced false perceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This pivotal documentary exposes how the foreign policy interests of American political elites--oil, and a need to have a secure military base in the region, among others--work in combination with Israeli public relations strategies to exercise a powerful influence over how news from the region is reported.
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The “Golden Voice of the Great Southwest”:
Legendary Folk Musician, Activist Utah Phillips, 1935-2008
Thursday 1 January 2009; Democracy Now! radio and television broadcast
Utah Phillips, the legendary folk musician and peace and labor activist, died earlier this year at the age of seventy-three. Over the span of nearly four decades, Utah Phillips worked in what he referred to as “the Trade,” performing tirelessly throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. The son of labor organizers, Phillips was a lifelong member of the Industrial Workers of the World, known as the Wobblies. As a teenager, he ran away from home and started living as a hobo who rode the rails and wrote songs about his experiences. In 1956, he joined the Army and served in the Korean War, an experience he would later refer to as the turning point of his life. In 1968, he ran for the US Senate on the Peace and Freedom Party ticket. For the past twenty-one years he lived in Nevada City, where he started a nationally syndicated folk music radio show. He also helped found the Hospitality House homeless shelter and the Peace and Justice Center. We spend the hour with an interview with Phillips from January 2004. [includes rush transcript]
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Unrest Caused by Bad Economy May Require Military Action, Report Says
Monday 29 December 2008 by: Diana Washington Valdez, El Paso Times
El Paso - A U.S. Army War College report warns an economic crisis in the United States could lead to massive civil unrest and the need to call on the military to restore order.
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Download the full report from the US Army War College here: 
Known Unknowns: Unconventional "Strategic Shocks" in Defense Strategy Development
Oklahoma City war veteran accused of selling bombs to gang members
By Johnny Johnson, Published: December 25, 2008
Police spent the day searching the house of a decorated, two-tour Iraq war veteran on Tuesday to investigate a tip that the former soldier was said to have been making explosive devices to sell to gang members, according to a probable cause affidavit.
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Republican IT Specialist Dies in Plane Crash
December 22, 2008; Democracy Now! broadcast
A top Republican internet strategist who was set to testify in a case alleging election tampering in 2004 in Ohio has died in a plane crash. Michael Connell was the chief IT consultant to Karl Rove and created websites for the Bush and McCain electoral campaigns. Michael Connell was deposed one day before the election this year by attorneys Cliff Arnebeck and Bob Fitrakis about his actions during the 2004 vote count in Ohio and his access to Karl Rove’s email files and how they went missing. [includes rush transcript]
What haven't we heared about this in the mainstream news?
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'September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows Continue Advocacy for Victims of US Attacks on Iraq, Afghanistan
September 11, 2008; Democracy Now! broadcast
Nearly seven years ago, a group of family members of those killed on Sept. 11 united to advocate for a nonviolent response to the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Since then, members of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows have traveled to Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflict areas to meet with the victims of the Bush administration’s so-called war on terror. We speak to Terry Rockefeller, who has just returned from her second trip to Iraq. Terry’s sister Laura died on 9/11 at the World Trade Center. [includes rush transcript]
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'I Was Still Holding my Grandson's Hand - The Rest Was Gone'
December 16, 2008 "The Guardian"
In the second of our series of dispatches from the ravaged country, Afghans explain how mounting civilian casualties are aiding Taliban recruiting
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US Troops Open Fire On Fallujah Students at Shoe Rally
Posted Wednesday, December 17 2008
Separate Incident Reported at Baghdad Bridge as Public Increasingly Shows Unrest
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Federal Report Finds $100B Failure in US Reconstruction of Iraq
A Democracy Now! Report
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
An unpublished federal report has concluded the US reconstruction effort in Iraq has been a $100 billion failure. It found that the rebuilding has not done much more than restore what was destroyed during the invasion and the looting that followed. We speak to journalist T. Christian Miller of the investigative website ProPublica, who obtained a copy of the report. [includes rush transcript]
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