Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered Since The U.S. Invaded Iraq “1,193,480"
www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq/iraqdeaths.html
 
===
 
Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America’sWar On Iraq 4,001
icasualties.org/oif/
 
The War in Iraq Costs
$505,547,518,807
 
See the cost in your community
nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182
 
===
 
Update On The Fighting In Basra
 
Mahdi Army arrested 17 American soldiers?
 
 By Roads To Iraq
 
The situation right now is nothing to do with “Iraqi government” or “Iraqi Army”, it is a Shiite-Shiite war, Mahdi Army with primitive arms and “Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution” [formed by Iran] with an army and supported by the Americans.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19600.htm
 
===
 
The Coming War on Venezuela
 
By George Ciccariello-Maher
 
The revelations gleaned from the FARC’s magic laptop, which allegedly implicate Chávez himself in funding the FARC (a charge which Colombia, not coincidentally, eventually decided not to pursue), are also drawn straight from the playbook of Plan Balboa, which was premised upon the threat posed by an alliance between the radical sectors of the “Brown” and “White” countries.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19602.htm
 
===
 
America’s Ruling Clique
 
By Charles Sullivan
 
Neoconservatives derive much of their political strength from the portrayal of big government as the enemy of the people: a belief that plays only too well in America.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19603.htm
 
===
 
Torture in Our Own Backyards
 
The Fight Against Supermax Prisons
 
By Jessica Pupovac
 
In supermax prisons, 23 hours a day of solitary confinement is the norm. How did our prison system become so cruel?
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19601.htm
 
===
 
When America Can’t Handle the Truth
 
By Pierre Tristam
 
The word, attributed to the late writer Saul Bellow, is “angelization” – willfully putting someone beyond blame. Angelizing America is the common tongue of all national politicians, the oath candidates implicitly take when running for president. It’s what the most sentimental people on Earth expect.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19606.htm
 
===
 
In Case You Missed it
 
Friendly Feudalism
 
The Tibet Myth
 
By Michael Parenti
 
Along with the blood drenched landscape of religious conflict there is the experience of inner peace and solace that every religion promises, none more so than Buddhism. Standing in marked contrast to the intolerant savagery of other religions, Buddhism is neither fanatical nor dogmatic—so say its adherents.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19605.htm
 
===
 
At least 25 killed as US occupation grinds on:
 
At least 25 people were killed in Iraq on Tuesday, including civilians and Mahdi Army militants, and dozens wounded in ongoing heavy fighting between the Iraqi forces and militants in the southern city of Basra, security sources said.
tinyurl.com/yupn88
 
===
 
US air strike kills ‘Iraq allies’ :
 
Six people have been killed in a US air strike near the Iraqi town of Samarra, with some reports suggesting they were US-allied anti-al-Qaeda Sunni fighters.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7309292.stm
 
===
 
Iraqi and U.S. Occupation Forces Battle Shiite Militia :
 
Serious fighting broke out Tuesday in Basra and Baghdad, Iraq’s largest cities, between restive members of Iraq’s biggest Shiite militia and Iraqi Army forces backed by American troops.
www.nytimes.com/2008/03/26/world/middleeast/26iraq.html?hp
 
===
 
Sadrists expand disobedience campaign nationwide as clashes break out in Basra :
 
The head of the Sadrist parliamentary bloc says the move comes because of the continued U.S. and Iraqi actions against the movement’s Mahdi Army militia despite a cease-fire. Nassar al-Rubaie has demanded that the raids stop, Sadrist detainees be released and an official apology be issued.
tinyurl.com/23olmn
 
===
 
Sadr militia seizes parts of S.Iraq town-police:
 
Armed followers of Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr seized control of five districts in the southern Iraqi town of Kut on Tuesday, police sources said.
www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSL25614594
 
===
 
Basra’s gun rule risks Iraq future :
 
There are now worrying signs that action against the militia in Basra and arrest raids in Baghdad are jeopardising the ceasefire.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7313062.stm
 
===
 
McCain Says US Succeeding in Iraq :
 
To underscore his view of the stakes in Iraq, the certain Republican presidential nominee twice referenced a recent audio tape from Osama bin Laden in which the al-Qaida leader urged followers to join the al-Qaida fight in Iraq and called the country “the greatest opportunity and the biggest task.”
tinyurl.com/2aam3g
 
===
 
Bush’s War: Frontline. PBS Video:
 
How the war began and how ist has been fought, both on the ground and deep within the government
www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/bushswar/
 
===
 
White House: Iraq Agreement To Be Based On Afghanistan:
 
Congressional Democrats, including presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, have insisted that any agreement with Iraq that obligates U.S. troops to defend the country would require congressional approval.
tinyurl.com/yol98w
 
===
 
Iraq seen as more stable than Afghanistan – report:
 
Iraq has emerged as a more stable country than Afghanistan, thanks to lower violence, the presence of a large U.S.-led international force and high oil prices, according to a report published on Tuesday.
tinyurl.com/2c6m7e
 
===
 
Taliban ambush kills four Afghan police, two civilians :
 
Taliban insurgents ambushed a police patrol in western Afghanistan, killing four policemen and two men working on a farm nearby, officials said Tuesday.
news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080325/wl_sthasia_afp/afghanistanunresttaliban
 
===
 
Taliban militants kill Afghan ‘US spy’ in Pakistan: official :
 
Taliban militants shot dead an Afghan refugee in a Pakistani tribal area, accusing him of spying for US forces operating in neighbouring Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday.
tinyurl.com/26hopl
 
===
 
Taliban vow to launch spring offensive in Afghanistan :
 
Mullah Brother who claims to be deputy to the outfit’s supreme but elusive leader Mullah Mohammad Omar read out a statement to media outlets in south Afghanistan stressed that the Taliban would launch spring operation dubbed “Abrat” or lesson to teach a lesson to foreign forces and force them to pull out from Afghanistan.
tinyurl.com/ysgxpp
 
===
 
Army begins using $150,000 artillery shells in occupied Afghanistan :
 
Canadian army occupation force gunners in Afghanistan are now cleared to fire GPS-guided artillery shells at Taliban militants – at the cost of $150,000 a round.
www.mytelus.com/ncp_news/article.en.do?pn=canada&articleID=2892741
 
===
 
Afghan aid money spent on high salaries, living costs :
 
Since 2001, the international community has pledged $25 billion in help but has delivered only $15 billion, the alliance said. Of that $15 billion, some 40 percent of it – or $6 billion – goes back to donor countries in corporate profits and consultant salaries, the report found.
tinyurl.com/yrr4kg
 
===
 
40% of aid to Afghanistan goes to consultants: report:
 
Nearly half the $15 billion in foreign aid given by Britain, the U.S. and other countries to rebuild Afghanistan since 2001 has been spent on consultants and contractors, according to a report by aid agencies released yesterday.
tinyurl.com/2gujk8
 
===
 
Suicide blast at Pakistan army camp :
 
At least five soldiers have been killed and dozens of others wounded after a suicide bomber struck a Pakistan army base in a troubled tribal region bordering Afghanistan, officials say.
tinyurl.com/2kn64o
 
===
 
Musharraf never allowed US strikes in Tribal Areas’:
 
Presidential spokesman rejects Newsweek report alleging Musharraf’s tacit approval for drone attacks
www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\03\25\story_25-3-2008_pg7_1
 
===
 
U.S. diplomats court new Pakistani leaders:
 
Two top American officials arrived in Pakistan to hold talks with the new political leadership in a changing political environment as Yousaf Raza Gilani, the newly elected prime minister, was sworn in Tuesday.
www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/25/asia/pakistan.php
 
===
 
Musharraf swears in prime minister, US envoys meet new leaders :
 
A key figure in Pakistan’s new government told two top U.S. envoys on Tuesday there needs to be a change in President Pervez Musharraf’s policy of using the power of the army against Islamic militants.
tinyurl.com/ywq8ry
 
===
 
Pakistan’s Sharif warns US of ‘war on terror’ review:
 
Pakistan’s new government will review the country’s role in the US-led “war on terror,” former Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif said Tuesday after holding talks with a top American envoy.
news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080325/wl_afp/pakistanpoliticsusdiplomacy
 
===
 
Musharraf’s presidency is “illegal”, Sharif tells US:
 
Sharif, whose PML-N party is a key constituent of the PPP-led new coalition government, met visiting US deputy secretary of state John Negroponte and assistant secretary Richard Boucher here and told them that Musharraf was an “unconstitutional and illegal” President.
tinyurl.com/2zqjo6
 
===
 
Israeli occupation forces kill Palestinian in Gaza :
 
Yussef Abu Daher was shot dead near the al-Qarara village by Israeli soldiers who opened fire from a military position near the Kissufim crossing, witnesses said.
syriatimes.tishreen.info/_default.asp?FileName=104130288920080325101830
 
===
 
Qureia: Fatah signed reconciliation draft with Hamas due to mixup :
 
Under the Yemeni plan, Fatah and Hamas agreed on the goal of uniting in a single Palestinian government. The proposal was signed Sunday by a representative from Hamas and by a senior Fatah official, former Palestinian Prime Minister Azzam al-Ahmed.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/967295.html
 
===
 
Blair calls for rethinking Gaza strategy, citing humanitarian crisis:
 
Blair says action must be taken to get more goods and food into Gaza to ease the humanitarian crisis there, and says “the present strategy in Gaza is not working
tinyurl.com/27ub94
 
===
 
Israel to allow Abbas’ security forces to deploy in occupied Jenin :
 
Israel will let Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas deploy hundreds of his security forces in the West Bank city of Jenin after they complete U.S.-funded training in Jordan, Israeli officials said on Tuesday.
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/968177.html
 
====
 
Bush Closer to Bombing Iran:
 
The odds of Bush bombing Iran have gone up dramatically this week. There’s just no other way to rationally interpret the resignation of Admiral William Fallon as head of Centcom.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19604.htm
 
====
 
Manufacturing Consent For War With Iran:
 
PM-Cheney meeting shrouded in mystery:
 
US Vice President Dick Cheney’s second meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Monday morning, like their first meeting Saturday night, was shrouded in mystery, leading to speculation among diplomatic officials that the focus was on how to stop Iran’s nuclear program.
tinyurl.com/26n7af
 
===
 
Manufacturing Consent For War With Iran:
 
Iran’s lethal uranium plans: :
 
 VICE-President Dick Cheney has said Iran was developing a uranium enrichment program for military purposes. “Obviously, they’re… heavily involved in trying to develop nuclear weapons enrichment, the enrichment of uranium to weapons grade levels,” Cheney said in an interview with ABC television.
www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23428344-15084,00.html
 
===
 
Manufacturing Consent For War With Iran:
 
Cheney Claims Iran Trying To Develop Bomb Despite No Evidence:
 
Cheney alleged in an interview Monday that Iran was trying to develop weapons-grade uranium, even though international inspectors have never found such evidence
www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/25/cheney-claims-iran-trying_n_93303.html
 
====
 
Manufacturing Consent For War With Iran: Report:
 
Iranian, Syrian missiles to pound Israel in next war :
 
 Secret report paints grim picture: Thousands of casualties, nationwide power outages
 www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3522937,00.html
 
====
 
Would a McCain Presidency Be Bush’s Third Term?:
 
Standing along the edge of the Gaza Strip and flanked by a hero of the Israeli military, Sen. John McCain last week invoked the tough rhetoric of President Bush, warning of Iranian influence in the Middle East and cautioning against negotiations with terrorists.
arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=108189&d=25&m=3&y=2008
 
===
 
Saudi king says he’ll convene interfaith conference with Jews::
 
“I invite representatives of all the monotheistic religions to meet with their brothers in faith,” the king was quoted as saying. The theme of the expected conference was reported to be “respect among the religions.”
tinyurl.com/ysu55q
 
===
 
US Kills One In Suez Canal Shooting :
 
An investigation has been launched after a US container ship opened fire on a small Egyptian boat as it approached the Suez Canal.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7311992.stm
 
===
 
US missile defense is against Russia, China, not Iran, Gorbachev says:
 
Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev charged Monday a proposed missile defense system Washington wants to place in eastern Europe is aimed against Russia and China, but not Iran, as the US has been claiming.
www.kyivpost.com/bn/28668/
 
===
 
Tibet: 2 more killed in fresh violence:
 
At least two people have died in fresh protests in a Tibetan part of western China, reports said on Tuesday, as authorities made arrests in Tibet’s capital Lhasa in an effort to reassert control over the restive region.
tinyurl.com/yo8wyt
 
===
 
140 killed in Tibet: Exile govt:
 
Some 140 people have been confirmed killed in a Chinese crackdown in Tibet, the “prime minister” of the Tibetan government-in-exile said on Tuesday.
tinyurl.com/26kv3y
 
===
 
Missing: monks who defied Beijing:
 
They were the 15 youthful Tibetan monks – three still in their teens – who sparked a rebellion by daring to speak out against China’s repression of their homeland.
tinyurl.com/3b7kt9
 
===
 
Battles on Comoros rebel island :
 
Troops from the Comoros archipelago in the Indian Ocean have recaptured most of the island of Anjouan after a year-long rebellion, officials say.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7312031.stm
 
====
 
Ecuador seeks OAS role in raid row :
 
Ecuador has said it will take the issue of the killing of one of its citizens during Colombia’s March 1 attack on a rebel camp inside its territories before the Organisation of American States (OAS).
tinyurl.com/3dcwe5
 
===
 
Officials Allege US Aided Ecuador Raid:
 
Senior military sources in Ecuador are drawing a link between the Manta air base, which is operated by the United States in Ecuadorean territory, and this month’s bombing raid by Colombia on a FARC guerrilla camp in Ecuador.
tinyurl.com/2dve6d
 
===
 
Ecuador: Manta Air Base Tied to Colombian Raid on FARC Camp:
 
Military and diplomatic sources see a link between the Manta air base, operated by the United States in Ecuadorean territory, and this month’s bombing raid by Colombia on a FARC guerrilla camp in Ecuador.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41687
 
===
 
Chavez: Colombia reviving tensions:
 
Colombian comments defending its bombing raid on a rebel camp in Ecuador this month have revived tensions in the Andean region, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez said.
tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411366/1657162
 
===
 
Threat to millions as food aid scheme runs out of money:
 
Faced with the dramatically spiralling costs of wheat, rice and corn, the World Food Programme has made an unprecedented appeal for at least $500m (£250m) to help it continue supplying food aid to 73 million needy people this year.
tinyurl.com/2zdce4
 
===
 
Vast Antarctic Ice Shelf on Verge of Collapse:
 
A vast ice shelf hanging on by a thin strip looks to be the next chunk to break off from the Antarctic Peninsula, the latest sign of global warming’s impact on Earth’s southernmost continent.
tinyurl.com/2cgzfg
 
===
 
If the bailout comes, watch for a dollar dive:
 
If the United States bails out the financial system by buying mortgage debt directly, the price just might be surging inflation and a dollar crisis.
tinyurl.com/2zyh8h
 
===
 
U.S. consumer confidence at 5-year low: survey:
 
U.S. consumer confidence sank to a five-year low in March as tight credit markets, rising prices and worsening job prospects deepened worries that the economy has fallen into recession.
tinyurl.com/22ztsg