The Flashlight, August 4-10, 2007
THE FLASHLIGHT, August 4-10, 2007
Israel/Palestine
NYTimes and Guardian, 8-8. Israeli riot police, by court, forcibly removed 17 Jewish settlers from the houses they had been occupying illegally in the center of Hebron, on the West Bank. The settlers threw rocks and chunks of metal at them. Twelve Israeli soldiers who refused to participate in settler removal were immediately court-martialed and imprisoned. The NY Times said, “All Israel settlements beyond the 1967 boundaries are considered illegal by much of the world.” [and under international law]. “Israel disputes that. But there are more than 20 settlement outposts created since March 2001, illegal under Israeli law, that the government has promised Washington to dismantle but has not.”
More than 400,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank plus East Jerusalem.
According to Haaretz, a liberal Israeli newspaper, Shimon Peres, President of Israel, has proposed a new peace plan giving the Palestinians 100% of occupied territory. Israel would keep settlements on 5% of the West Bank in exchange for an equal amount of land. Haaretz said, in an editorial, that the most important interest of the Zionist movement was to end the occupation of the territories. The editorial said that a stable majority of Israeli prefer a two-state solution to a binational state or an apartheid regime.
The Guardian said that Israelis fear that Islamic fanatics [Hamas et al] will take over the West Bank. They also fear Iran’s program to make nuclear weapons.
Ehud Barak, the Israeli Defense Minister, said that before Israeli withdraws from the West Bank, the technology for a missile defense system must be developed. He estimated this would take 3 to 5 years.
Iraq
Washington Post, 8-6. The General Accounting Office reported that 30% of the arms giving to the Iraqi Army are not accounted for. 190,000 assault rifles and pistols were given during 2004-2005. At that time General Petraeus was in charge of the training of Iraqi security forces. The GAO said an incorrect procedure was used.
Az-Zaman 8-7. The Ministry of Electricity of Iraqi said it is unable to provide energy for half the Iraqis in the country. The temperature is now ranging between 45-50 degrees Celsius [113-122 Fahrenheit]. Unnamed sources warned of the spread of epidemics as a result of the lack of means of water desalination and the rise in temperatures.
United States
CNN 8-9. Stocks declined 387 points, the worst decline since February. There is a “liquidity famine.” 8-10. NY Times. Paul Krugman said that this was ominous and that there is little that the government can do, especially in the light of its lack of credibility.
Book Review
Tim Weiner. Legacy of Ashes. The History of the CIA. NY 2007.
This is a definitive history of the CIA based on documents, oral histories, and interviews. The author is a NY Times reporter. He concludes that three generations of CIA officers have failed in their most important mission: to enable the President and the public to understand the world.
He says, “Stalin never had a master plan for world domination, nor the means to pursue it.” According to Khrushchev, Stalin was afraid of war.
The CIA was adept at using money to buy foreign politicians. Its money talked so loudly, that it saw no need to learn foreign languages or study the culture and history of other countries.
The focus of the organization was on clandestine paramilitary activities, which were expensive and unmonitored. The focus was not on intelligence gathering. Consequently, it was unable to warn the US of major crises. The 9-11 attack was the Pearl Harbor that the CIA was created to prevent.
When Bush appointed Porter Goss as Director of the CIA, the latter tried to purge the organization of officers he considered disloyal to the President. The most competent officers left or were fired.
Israel/Palestine
NYTimes and Guardian, 8-8. Israeli riot police, by court, forcibly removed 17 Jewish settlers from the houses they had been occupying illegally in the center of Hebron, on the West Bank. The settlers threw rocks and chunks of metal at them. Twelve Israeli soldiers who refused to participate in settler removal were immediately court-martialed and imprisoned. The NY Times said, “All Israel settlements beyond the 1967 boundaries are considered illegal by much of the world.” [and under international law]. “Israel disputes that. But there are more than 20 settlement outposts created since March 2001, illegal under Israeli law, that the government has promised Washington to dismantle but has not.”
More than 400,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank plus East Jerusalem.
According to Haaretz, a liberal Israeli newspaper, Shimon Peres, President of Israel, has proposed a new peace plan giving the Palestinians 100% of occupied territory. Israel would keep settlements on 5% of the West Bank in exchange for an equal amount of land. Haaretz said, in an editorial, that the most important interest of the Zionist movement was to end the occupation of the territories. The editorial said that a stable majority of Israeli prefer a two-state solution to a binational state or an apartheid regime.
The Guardian said that Israelis fear that Islamic fanatics [Hamas et al] will take over the West Bank. They also fear Iran’s program to make nuclear weapons.
Ehud Barak, the Israeli Defense Minister, said that before Israeli withdraws from the West Bank, the technology for a missile defense system must be developed. He estimated this would take 3 to 5 years.
Iraq
Washington Post, 8-6. The General Accounting Office reported that 30% of the arms giving to the Iraqi Army are not accounted for. 190,000 assault rifles and pistols were given during 2004-2005. At that time General Petraeus was in charge of the training of Iraqi security forces. The GAO said an incorrect procedure was used.
Az-Zaman 8-7. The Ministry of Electricity of Iraqi said it is unable to provide energy for half the Iraqis in the country. The temperature is now ranging between 45-50 degrees Celsius [113-122 Fahrenheit]. Unnamed sources warned of the spread of epidemics as a result of the lack of means of water desalination and the rise in temperatures.
United States
CNN 8-9. Stocks declined 387 points, the worst decline since February. There is a “liquidity famine.” 8-10. NY Times. Paul Krugman said that this was ominous and that there is little that the government can do, especially in the light of its lack of credibility.
Book Review
Tim Weiner. Legacy of Ashes. The History of the CIA. NY 2007.
This is a definitive history of the CIA based on documents, oral histories, and interviews. The author is a NY Times reporter. He concludes that three generations of CIA officers have failed in their most important mission: to enable the President and the public to understand the world.
He says, “Stalin never had a master plan for world domination, nor the means to pursue it.” According to Khrushchev, Stalin was afraid of war.
The CIA was adept at using money to buy foreign politicians. Its money talked so loudly, that it saw no need to learn foreign languages or study the culture and history of other countries.
The focus of the organization was on clandestine paramilitary activities, which were expensive and unmonitored. The focus was not on intelligence gathering. Consequently, it was unable to warn the US of major crises. The 9-11 attack was the Pearl Harbor that the CIA was created to prevent.
When Bush appointed Porter Goss as Director of the CIA, the latter tried to purge the organization of officers he considered disloyal to the President. The most competent officers left or were fired.
posted by THE FLASHLIGHT at 5:15 AM
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