Month: July 2006

Two days ago we made available to the public news that one of our members, Russell Tice, a former NSA senior analyst, had been served with a subpoena asking him to appear before a federal grand jury regarding the criminal investigation of recent disclosures that involved NSA warrantless eavesdropping. Our announcement was followed up in … Continue reading “All That’s Given Up in the Name of Security”

SIDON, Lebanon – The Israeli attack on Qana has taken the biggest toll of the war, but it is only one of countless lethal attacks on civilians in Lebanon. Large numbers fled the south after the Israeli military dropped leaflets warning of attacks. Others have been unable to leave, often because they have not found … Continue reading “Lebanese Civilians Bear the Brunt of Israel’s Destruction”

Despite Israel’s repeated insistence that it does not want an armed conflict with Syria, could the United States be encouraging the Israelis to attack Syria, or to goad the Syrians into attacking Israel first? According to Sunday’s Jerusalem Post, IDF officials have been "receiving indications from the United States that the U.S. would be interested … Continue reading “Is the US Encouraging Israel to Attack Syria?”

Sometimes, something happens that is so awful that we find ourselves rationalizing it, talking as if it had to happen, to make ourselves feel better about the horrible event. For many people, I believe, President Truman’s dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945, were two … Continue reading “Remembering Hiroshima”

Nothing compares to Israel’s open, independent, and pluralistic media in times of war. Saturday we had the pleasure of watching Anti-Defamation League national director Abraham Foxman give an especially repulsive horror show on Israeli public television (Channel 1). Foxman was invited to the studio to comment on Kofi Annan’s announcement that four UN observers had … Continue reading “‘Respecting Lebanon’s Sovereignty’”

In the weeks before the Israeli re-invasion of Lebanon, Israel’s amen corner launched a preemptive attack against the enemy – Condoleezza Rice. Richard Perle, writing in the Washington Post, lashed out against the "dithering" of the Bush administration: "For more than five years, the administration has dithered. Bush gave soaring speeches, the Iranians issued extravagant … Continue reading “The Return of the Neocons”

Byblos, Lebanon – Israeli air strikes on an electricity plant have released oil that has now spread over much of Lebanon’s coastline. More than 15,000 barrels of oil have hit the coast after the bombing of five of six storage tanks at the plant in the coastal village El-Jiye, 30km south of Beirut. The northern … Continue reading “Oil Spill Hits Lebanon, No Cleanup in Sight”

"Trust that Iraq will be the graveyard for terrorism and terrorists for the good of all humanity," said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in an address to a joint session of Congress that went reasonably well despite some grumbling in advance. "Iraq is the front line in this struggle, and history will prove that the … Continue reading “Remember Iraq?”

BEIRUT – Lebanese doctors, aid workers, and refugees are all reporting that the official number of dead in Lebanon is far lower than the actual. "I think that the real number is at least 750 dead so far," Dr. Bachir el-Sham at the Complex Hospital in Sidon told IPS in a telephone interview. Sidon is … Continue reading “Lebanese Death Toll Could Be Twice the Official Figure”