Monthly Archives: December 2012

US to send missiles, troops to Turkey in bid to deter Syria

"Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signed an order Friday to send two Patriot missile batteries to Turkey to protect it from rounds crossing the border from Syria. The order includes 400 American personnel to operate the batteries. 'We are deploying two patriot batteries here to Turkey along with the troops that are necessary to man those batteries, so that we can help Turkey have the kind of missile defense it may very well need in dealing with threats that come out of Syria,' Panetta told the troops at Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS to send missiles, troops to Turkey in bid to deter Syria

Pentagon considering Air Force support for intervention in Mali

"The Obama administration hasn't ruled out having the Air Force play a lead role in transporting troops and equipment for an African-led intervention to dislodge militant Islamists in Mali, the Pentagon's top Africa official said Wednesday. The United Nations Security Council is weighing whether to approve a West African force of about 3,300 troops to take over the desert expanses of the country's northern half, which broke away following a March coup. Mali and its neighbors oppose any intervention by non-African troops. The United States, however, is involved in advising the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), which is putting the intervention force together." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPentagon considering Air Force support for intervention in Mali

Pentagon prepares military operation in Mali

"United States officials with knowledge of the matter tell the Washington Post that the Department of Defense and the US State Department will assist next year in a mission to overthrow Islamic extremists with ties to al-Qaeda who took under control a significant part of Mali. Earlier this year, military officers displaced the administration of then-President Amandou Toumani Toure, claiming that he was reluctant in addressing the extremist issue himself. However since then the military junta failed to improve security in the country and retake control of the northern part of Mali captured by the Islamists. Now the US is claiming that it’s ready to help the military rulers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPentagon prepares military operation in Mali

Western diplomats report Israel behind bogus Iran nuclear data leak

"The leak's principal impact, a European diplomat told The Guardian, was that it compromised the UN nuclear watchdog's ongoing investigation. Despite increasingly heated rhetoric from Tel Aviv and Washington, the international community still lacks evidence that Iran has been working on nuclear weapons since 2003. However, the IAEA’s publication of summary intelligence on an alleged Iranian nuclear weapons program helped the US and EU to impose a new round of sanctions against Tehran. Now, the 'amateurish hoax' is said to threaten the position of the IAEA's inspectors." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWestern diplomats report Israel behind bogus Iran nuclear data leak

Glenn Greenwald: AP’s dangerous Iran hoax demands an accounting and explanation

"AP helped perpetrate a dangerous hoax, and owes an explanation and accounting for what took place, including identifying the 'officials from a country critical of Iran's atomic program' who made false claims about what this is. To begin with, the graph AP touted as reflecting some sort of nefarious, highly threatening and complex nuclear calculation is, in fact, widely available all over the Internet in the most innocuous places. At the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (BAS), Yousaf Butt and Ferenc Dalnoki-Veress on Wednesday night wrote: 'Graphs such as the one published by the Associated Press can be found in nuclear science textbooks and on the Internet.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: AP’s dangerous Iran hoax demands an accounting and explanation

Why Is The US Building A Secret $100 Million Underground Facility Outside Tel Aviv?

"A Request for Proposal construction project planned for Israel called Site 911 reveals that the oddly named project will cost up to $100 million, take more than two years to complete, and can only be built by workers from specific countries with proper security clearances. When complete the well-guarded compound will have five levels buried underground and six additional outbuildings on the above grounds, within the perimeter. At about 127,000 square feet, the first three floors will house classrooms, an auditorium, and a laboratory — all wedged behind shock resistant doors — with radiation protection and massive security." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy Is The US Building A Secret $100 Million Underground Facility Outside Tel Aviv?

United Nations tells Israel to let in nuclear inspectors

"The resolution, approved by a vote of 174-6 with 6 abstentions, calls on Israel to join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty 'without further delay' and open its nuclear facilities to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Those voting 'no' were Israel, the U.S., Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau. Israel refuses to confirm or deny it has nuclear bombs though it is widely believed to have a nuclear arsenal. It has refused to join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, or NPT, along with three nuclear weapon states - India, Pakistan and North Korea." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUnited Nations tells Israel to let in nuclear inspectors

Britain’s ‘under-trained’ drone pilots create ‘significant risks’

"Badly trained pilots are creating 'significant risks' to Britain’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) programme, a military investigation has found. A probe by the Military Aviation Authority found that 'increasing demands' on drones used for surveillance and intelligence-gathering were 'constraining the length of time available to train and qualify' new pilots. MPs are due to debate the country’s involvement in drone warfare later Tuesday and Labour plans to push the government over whether unmanned aircraft will be deployed to kill terrorist suspects." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBritain’s ‘under-trained’ drone pilots create ‘significant risks’

Family of American subjected to indefinite detention pleads for international human rights review

"The family of Jose Padilla, an American citizen captured on U.S. soil and held without charge by the military as an enemy combatant, filed a petition with the Organization of American States (OAS) on Tuesday seeking a human rights review of Padilla’s treatment. Padilla and his mother have maintained for years that he was tortured while in U.S. custody, including being forced into stress positions, being kept awake for days at a time and being fed LSD and PCP against his will. The Bush administration ultimately claimed he was engaged in a plot to blow up a so-called 'dirty bomb,' but he was never charged with such a conspiracy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFamily of American subjected to indefinite detention pleads for international human rights review