Secret order lets U.S. raid Al Qaeda around the worldWASHINGTON - The United States military since 2004 has used broad, secret authority to carry out nearly a dozen previously undisclosed attacks against Al Qaeda and other militants in Syria, Pakistan and elsewhere, according to senior American officials.
These military raids, typically carried out by Special Operations forces, were authorized by a classified order that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld signed in the spring of 2004 with the approval of President George W. Bush, the ... (more)
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Pentagon Hands Iraq Oil Deal to ShellIn June of this year, Andrew Kramer, writing in the New York Times broke the story that the world's oil giants, "Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP ... along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies" were "in talks with Iraq's Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq's largest fields." Subsequently, the Times went on to report that "A group of American advisers led by a small State Dep... (more)
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In secret agreement, Shell nets 25-year monopoly on S. Iraq's gasRoyal Dutch Shell oil company and the Iraqi Oil Ministry have struck a secret, as-of-yet non-binding agreement that gives a monopoly over southern Iraq's natural gas to the energy giant. It marks the first time in over 35 years a Western oil company has played a major role in the country's most lucrative industry.
Signed Sept. 22 and obtained by United Press International, the "Heads of Agreement" document -- basically a legal framework for a contract -- delegates Shell sole ... (more)
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How we fuel Africa's bloodiest warPeople throw stones at UN peacekeepers patrolling on a road in Kibati, about 16 miles north of Goma
The deadliest war since Adolf Hitler marched across Europe is starting again – and you are almost certainly carrying a blood-soaked chunk of the slaughter in your pocket. When we glance at the holocaust in Congo, with 5.4 million dead, the clichés of Africa reporting tumble out: this is a "tribal conflict" in "the Heart of Darkness". It isn't. The United Nations ... (more)
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U.S. Threatens to Halt Services to Iraq Without Troop AccordBAGHDAD - The U.S. military has warned Iraq that it will shut down military operations and other vital services throughout the country on Jan. 1 if the Iraqi government doesn't agree to a new agreement on the status of U.S. forces or a renewed United Nations mandate for the American mission in Iraq.
Many Iraqi politicians view the move as akin to political blackmail, a top Iraqi official told McClatchy Sunday.
In addition to halting all military actions, U.S. forces... (more)
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US-Iraq "Security" Agreement Includes 'Some Secret Provisions'The controversial US-Iraq security agreement includes 'some secret provisions', which would flagrantly violate Iraq's sovereignty.
Secret provisions have been incorporated in the so-called Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which would violate Iraq's sovereignty in a more direct manner than the provisions disclosed by the Iraqi media, the Saudi daily Okaz reported on Sunday, citing "informed political sources".
According to the report, although "the secret provision... (more)
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Organic farming 'could feed Africa'Organic farming offers Africa the best chance of breaking the cycle of poverty and malnutrition it has been locked in for decades, according to a major study from the United Nations to be presented today.
New evidence suggests that organic practices – derided by some as a Western lifestyle fad – are delivering sharp increases in yields, improvements in the soil and a boost in the income of Africa's small farmers who remain among the poorest people on earth. The head of... (more)
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Standard Warfare May Be Eclipsed By Nation-BuildingThe Army on Monday will unveil an unprecedented doctrine that declares nation-building missions will probably become more important than conventional warfare and defines "fragile states" that breed crime, terrorism and religious and ethnic strife as the greatest threat to U.S. national security.
The doctrine, which has generated intense debate in the U.S. military establishment and government, holds that in coming years, American troops are not likely to engage in major ground com... (more)
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US generals planning for resource warsAS GENERAL Ray Odierno takes command of US forces in Baghdad from troop surge architect Gen David Petraeus, America has begun planning in earnest for its phased withdrawal.
The extra brigade combat teams - or battlegroups - deployed to Iraq by Petraeus have already withdrawn and a further 8,000 troops have been diverted to Afghanistan.
In January, the next president of the United States will conclude America's timetable for withdrawal in final negotiations with the ... (more)
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Satellite Photos Show Sectarian Cleansing, Not Surge, Led to Drop in Iraq ViolenceWhile the fighting in Iraq continues to kill scores of civilians every week, the relative decline in violence over last year’s levels has been the cause of much optimism among war weary Americans and touted by President Bush as a vindication of his “surge” strategy.
But though both major Presidential candidates having declared the surge a ... (more)
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George Bush isn't in charge, says Vladimir PutinIn a thinly veiled dig at George Bush, Vladimir Putin today suggested that the US President was not in charge of American affairs, saying that it was “the court that makes the king”.
Amid heightened tensions with the US in the wake of the war in Georgia, the Russian Prime Minister insisted that the US leader was a man of honour and integrity, but blamed members of the administration for the sharp deterioration of relations with Russia.
”I still hop... (more)
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Impact of Five-Day War on Global EnergyThe brief armed conflict in South Ossetia will have long-lasting and serious repercussions globally. The infrastructures of the energy sector have been particularly affected by the crisis. It is hard to say at the moment whether fundamental changes in the energy landscape of the Caspian and Middle East regions should be expected, but the immediate character of the reaction of exporters and transit countries shows that the military factor is bound to play a bigger role in assessing both individua... (more)
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Interactive Map: US Military Presence Around the World Education Material: Carefully researched Interactive Map of US Military Deployment and Installations Worldwide
Excerpt [USA]
The vast sums expended in the name of national defense dwarfs everything else in the federal budget. As of 2008, the Pentagon reported having 1,174 stateside bases with a combined "replacement value" of a staggering $586 billion. The De... (more)
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Chinese cop-killer becomes internet heroYang Jia, a 28-year-old unemployed man from Beijing, appeared in court in Shanghai charged with an alleged attack against the police on July 1, the anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party.
Mr Yang is said to have thrown molotov cocktails into a police station in Zhabei, a northern suburb of the city, before entering the building and attacking a group of unarmed officers with a knife. He was arrested at the scene.
However, instead of condemnation, ... (more)
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US must share power in new world order, says Turkey's controversial presidentDays after Russia scored a stunning geopolitical victory in the Caucasus, President Abdullah Gül of Turkey said he saw a new multipolar world emerging from the wreckage of war.
The conflict in Georgia, Gül asserted, showed that the United States could no longer shape global politics on its own, and should begin sharing power with other countries.
"I don't think you can control all the world from one centre," Gül told the Guardian. "There are big natio... (more)
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Israel backs Georgia in Caspian Oil Pipeline Battle with Russia Georgian tanks and infantry, aided by Israeli military advisers, captured the capital of breakaway South Ossetia, Tskhinvali, early Friday, Aug. 8, bringing the Georgian-Russian conflict over the province to a military climax.
Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin threatened a “military response.”
Former Soviet Georgia called up its military reserves after Russian warplanes bombed its new positions in the renegade province.
In Moscow&rsquo... (more) "Jerusalem owns a strong interest in Caspian oil and gas pipelines reach the Turkish terminal port of Ceyhan, rather than the Russian network. Intense negotiations are afoot between Israel Turkey, Georgia, Turkmenistan and Azarbaijan for pipelines to reach Turkey and thence to Israel’s oil terminal at Ashkelon and on to its Red Sea port of Eilat. From there, supertankers can carry the gas and oil to the Far East through the Indian Ocean." |
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Georgia: Russia has invaded and we are under attackRussian First Channel claims these are burning Georgian armored vehicles are seen in Tskhinvali in the South Ossetian breakaway region of Georgia on Friday, Aug. 8, 2008.
Russia sent troops and tanks into the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia today as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin declared "the war has started".
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "War started today in South Ossetia when Georgia attacked Russian peacekeepers ... (more)
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U.S. Perpetuates Mass Killings In IraqThe United States is directly responsible for over one million Iraqi deaths since the invasion five and half years ago. In a January 2008 report, a British polling group Opinion Research Business (ORB) reports that, “survey work confirms our earlier estimate that over 1,000,000 Iraqi citizens have died as a result of the conflict which started in 2003…. We now estimate that the death toll between March 2003 and August 2007 is likely to have been of the order of 1,033,000. If one t... (more)
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Preparing the Battlefield: The Bush Administration steps up its secret moves against IranLate last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, were described in a Presidential Finding signed by Bush, and are designed to destabilize the country’s religious leadership. The covert activities involve support of the minority Ahwazi Arab and Balu... (more)
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Iran: Stop nukes by bombing oil wells, neocons suggestWhy attack Iran's nuclear facilities when striking their oil infrastructure would be much more effective in the scope of a US-led preventive war? Sure, oil prices might skyrock... (more)
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Only 7 percent support taking military action against IranAccording to a new poll from Public Agenda, nearly 50 percent of those who follow the situation in Iran say “the one” best way to deal with Iran is through using diplomacy “to establish better relations.” Only five percent favor threatening military action, down from nine percent in fall 2007. Seven percent support taking military action:
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