News For October 25, 2010

Torture, Killing, Children Shot
How the US Tried to Keep it all Quiet

Reports by Emily Dugan, Nina Lakhani, David Randall, Victoria Richards and Rachel Shields

Today, seven and a half years on from the order to invade, the largest leak in history has shown, far more than has been hitherto known, just what was unleashed by that declaration of war. The Iraqi security services tortured hundreds, and the US military watched, noted and emailed, but rarely intervened. Continue

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The Shaming of America

By Robert Fisk

As usual, the Arabs knew. They knew all about the mass torture, the promiscuous shooting of civilians, the outrageous use of air power against family homes, the vicious American and British mercenaries, the cemeteries of the innocent dead. All of Iraq knew. Because they were the victims. Continue

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WikiLeaks and Assange Honored

By Ray McGovern

You are not likely to learn this from the “mainstream media,” but WikiLeaks and its leader Julian Assange have received the 2010 Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence (SAAII) award for their resourcefulness in making available secret U.S. military documents on the Iraq and Afghan wars. Continue

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The Bush Lie

By David Michael Green

The Boy King's memoir is soon to be released, and we can certainly expect a lot more of these attempts at reviving the stinking corpse of his wrecking ball presidency. Continue

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The Politics of Class in the US

By Joe Bageant

Representing the 'hillbilly' class as a minority, Bageant laments 'the piece of the rainbow pie' promised to the working class of his forefathers, which never materialized. Continue

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US airstrike kills 50 Afghan civilians: At least 50 civilians, mostly women and children, have been killed in a US airstrike in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, the Taliban have announced.
25 killed in Nato air strike in Afghanistan, official claims: Fazal Bari, the head of Helmand's provincial council, said local officials had told him that 25 people had been killed but that the casualty figures could rise because many bodies were still buried in the rubble.
Journalists banned from major Afghan offensive: The Pentagon brass knows that they need to conceal the deaths of innocent Afghan civilians and American GIs to bolster popular support for the war. They knew that this operation would involve especially large numbers of both and decided that they could not take the risk.
9 Taliban militants killed in S. Afghanistan: official: Nine Taliban fighters, including two commanders, were killed as security forces stormed their hideout in Kandahar province, south of Afghanistan, Zalmai Ayubi, spokesman for provincial administration, said Saturday, Xinhua reported.
US-led strike kills four Afghan civilians: Local witnesses say at least four people, including an Afghan child, were killed in the US-led airstrike in the central province of Wardak.
Two Afghan students killed by NATO occupation troops: Afghan officials accused NATO-led troops of killing two schoolboys in central Afghanistan on Saturday after a patrol came under fire by Taliban insurgents, but foreign troops said the circumstances were unclear.
Afghans hold anti-US : Afghan people have staged an anti-US rally after American troops killed two students and injured another one in Maidan Wardak province in central Afghanistan.
Danish occupation force soldier killed in Afghanistan: The soldier was wounded when a Danish patrol was engaged by gunfire near the Danish base of Bridzar.
Bomb kills US-led occupation force soldier in Afghanistan: A bomb attack has killed a US-led soldier in southern Afghanistan, bringing the death toll of US-led soldiers in the war-torn country closer to 600 so far this year.
Taliban peace talks with Hamid Karzai are 'mostly hype': Observers say encounters exaggerated to reinforce impression that Nato and Afghan forces are making strategic gains
Holbrooke: No 'pure' Afghan victory: Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, is downplaying news reports of American “peace talks” with Taliban leaders, but he acknowledges that a “pure military victory” in Afghanistan “is not possible.”
'Iran pays Afghan president's chief of staff': Afghan President Hamid Karzai's chief of staff, Umar Daudzai, has been receiving regular cash payment from Iran, which is trying to expand its interests in the Afghan presidential palace, The New York Times reported late on Saturday.
23 militants killed in Pakistan: Troops backed by helicopter gunships on Saturday targeted militant positions in different areas of Orakzai Agency, destroying several hideouts, Dawn News reported. According to sources, 18 militants were killed and 12 injured in the shelling.
US could have avoided Afghan war: Musharraf: Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has said that the US could have avoided the nine-year long war in Afghanistan, had it recognised the then Taliban regime there.
Pakistani clerics issue death decree against Musharraf: The decree holds Musharraf, who is currently living in self-exile in London, as a “criminal of Islam and Pakistan” liable to be killed by any Muslim whosoever finds him.
US Seeks Wider CIA Role in Pakistan: The Wall Street Journal reported late Friday the U.S. has asked Pakistan in recent weeks to allow more CIA officers and special operations military trainers into the country to participate in Washington's efforts step up pressure on militants.
Pakistan's Defense Minister Urges US to Respect Pakistan's Borders: Defense Minister Ahmad Mukhtar called on Washington to order the US troops to avoid violating Pakistan's borders and show respect for the Muslim state's sovereignty.
Sunday: 4 killed, 10 injured in northern Iraq car bombing: At least four people were killed and some 10 others wounded Sunday in a car bomb explosion outside a medical complex in Mosul, the capital city of Nineveh province, a provincial police source said.
Saturday: At least eight killed in Iraq attacks: At least eight people, including two Iraqi soldiers, were killed and 16 injured Saturday in various attacks around Iraq, according to security sources.
Iraqi Parliament Ordered to Resume: Iraq's highest court on Sunday ordered parliament back to work after a seven-month political impasse that has blocked the formation of a new government. Iraq's federal Supreme Court called the delay unconstitutional.
Iraqi PM personally ran secret army squad: report: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been running a "detention squad" that exists outside the military command structure and may be cracking down on Sunni Muslims who oppose the Shia Muslim leader, according to an analysis of documents in the WikiLeaks release.
Iraq war logs: Battle for Samarra killed dozens of innocent people: Blow-by-blow files say nothing about 48 or more civilians killed in Operation Baton Roug
Iraq war logs: How civilians have paid heaviest price: Leaked military files analysed by the Guardian reveal secret US tally of Iraqi deaths
Iraq war logs: Apache helicopters kill 14 civilians in hunt for insurgents: US Apache helicopters killed at least 14 unarmed civilians in a series of previously unreported "gun runs" in eastern Baghdad only four days after the notorious killing of two journalists and 10 other civilians that was captured on a leaked cockpit video released in April.
Iraq war logs: Secret order that let US ignore abuse: Mistreatment of helpless prisoners by Iraqi security forces included beatings, burning, electrocution and rape
UN calls for probe into US inaction on torture: The United Nations' point man on torture is calling on the Obama administration to open a full investigation into newly-released documents that suggest the US may have turned a blind eye to torture in Iraq.
Iraq war logs: Operation Steel Curtain and its 25 ignored civilian casualties: Military trumpeted Husaybah campaign as victory over foreign fighters but didn't mention the innocents lying in the rubble
Lawyer claims Brit soldier killed Iraqi girl while she played : A lawyer representing several Iraqi clients has controversially revealed that a British soldier killed an eight-year-old Iraqi girl while she was playing on a street.
Iraq war logs: UN calls on Obama to investigate human rights abuses: The call, by the UN's chief investigator on torture, Manfred Nowak, came as Phil Shiner, human rights specialist at Public Interest Lawyers in the UK, warned that some of the deaths documented in the Iraq war logs could have involved British forces and would be pursued through the UK courts
Investigate: Iraq War Logs 2004 - 2009 -
The final reasons for going to war are being swept away: The leaked files expose a cavalier attitude towards international law with regard to the treatment of enemy soldiers and disgraceful tolerance of civilian casualties.
’Child cancer skyrocketing in Iraqi city’: A suspected source of the afflictions is the depleted uranium (DU) used by the invading forces. It is reported that the United States and Britain used up to 2,000 tons of DU during the Iraq war.
Abbas discusses UN-approved Palestinian statehood with Saudi King: President Mahmoud Abbas and Saudi King Abdullah discussed plans to persuade the United States to accept a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, a regional daily said Saturday.
Vatican Calls for End of Israeli Occupation of Arab Lands: Awareness of Israel's ongoing aggressions against the native population of Palestine has led to a demand from the Vatican in Rome, that Israel accept U.N. resolutions and end its unlawful occupation of Arab lands.
Bishops Urge Israel to End Its Occupation of Palestinian Territories: The bishops also urged Israel not to use the Bible “to wrongly justify injustices,” apparently referring to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
The Bible: A Manual for Genocide : 2 Minute Video
Haiti cholera death toll exceeds 250: The death toll from a cholera epidemic in Haiti topped 250 on Sunday amid fears it may spread in the country's crowded, earthquake-ravaged capital.
In pictures: : Haiti cholera outbreak: A woman screams in agony in the back of a transport truck for the loss of her husband outside of St. Nicolas Hospital
Google admits copying computer data: Internet search engine Google has admitted copying household computer passwords and emails, it has been revealed.
One Quarter of French Gas Stations Without Fuel Amid Strikes, Blockades: The refiners’ group Union Francaise des Industries Petrolieres said shortages may worsen tomorrow as truck drivers transporting fuel couldn’t make deliveries today, Agence-France Presse reported today citing the UFIP.
France's Sarkozy approval at record low: French President Nicolas Sarkozy's approval rating has sunk to its lowest level yet, a poll reported Sunday, as protests over his pension reforms left the country struggling with gas shortages, travel chaos and school shutdowns.
Retired and broke: Why retirees are declaring bankruptcy: An elderly couple makes stroll outside a home for the elderly in this file photo. REUTERS/Christian Charisius For more and more seniors, retirement doesn’t mean a debt-free life of leisure. An increasing number of Americans aged 65 and older are declaring bankruptcy, according to a recent study by John Pottow, professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School.
FDIC Called On To Put Bank Of America Into Receivership: "We should remove the senior leadership of the banks and replace them with experienced bankers with a reputation for integrity and competence, i.e., the honest officers that quit or were fired because they refused to engage in fraud," Black and Wray write.
Foreclosure Mess Scares Away Investors as 'Fear Has Taken Hold': Investors who have been snapping up foreclosed homes are backing off in the wake of the U.S. foreclosure fiasco, driven off by sagging inventory and fears over legal title.