Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered Since The U.S. Invaded Iraq  “1,225,898"
www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq/iraqdeaths.html
 
===
 
Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America’sWar On Iraq 4,102
icasualties.org/oif/
 
The War And Occupation Of Iraq Costs

$529,928,234,204
 
See the cost in your community
nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182
 
===
 
U.S. Says Exercise by Israel Seemed Directed at Iran
 
By MICHAEL R. GORDON and ERIC SCHMITT
 
Israel carried out a major military exercise earlier this month that American officials say appeared to be a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20143.htm
 
===
 
Bomb Iran? What’s to Stop Us?
 
By Ray McGovern
 
It’s crazy, but it’s coming soon – from the same folks who brought us Iraq.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20140.htm
 
===
 
Iran: Stop Nukes by Bombing Oil Wells, Neocons Suggest
 
By Raed Rafei in Beirut
 
Why 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 skyrocket and the world economy might collapse. But, hey, that’s the price you pay for security.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20142.htm
 
===
 
A MAD Foreign Policy
 
America’s Irrational Defense of Israel
 
By Robert Weitzel
 
Does our “non-negotiable” support for Israel make us more secure, or is it a MAD policy akin to the insane Cold War strategy of “mutual assured destruction?” Such a strategy may, in the war on terror between “radical Islam” and “freedom-loving democracies,” result in the mutual assured destruction of both the United States and Israel.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20141.htm
 
===
 
U.S. Military Hoped for Virtually Unlimited Freedom of Action in Iraq
 
Drafting of U.S.-Iraq Security Agreement Began Nearly Five Years Ago
 
By National Security Archive
 
Documents obtained by the National Security Archive under the Freedom of Information Act indicate that the U.S. started drafting the agreement in November 2003. – These preliminary planning documents show that from the outset U.S. aspirations for conducting military operations based in Iraq were essentially without limit.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20138.htm
 
===
 
The Poverty of Reaganism-Bushism
 
By David Michael Green
 
Marx wasn’t sitting in the British Museum all day long figuring out how he could get rich by exploiting the masses. Reaganism-Bushism was always just the opposite – it’s just as non-altruistic a program as thievery always was, whatever fancy label you want to paste on it, however much lipstick you slather on the pig. Just as evil as slavery, colonialism, worker exploitation and environmental depredation ever were.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20144.htm
 
===
 
Japanese Lawmaker Takes 9/11 Doubts Global
 
By JOHN SPIRI

Special to The Japan Times
 
Fujita, along with a growing number of individuals – including European and American politicians – are leading a charge to conduct a thorough, independent investigation of what happened on Sept. 11, 2001.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20137.htm
 
===
 
Meat Wars
 
Why Are Those Wacky Koreans Dissin’ Our Beef?
 
By Mike Whitney
 
You wouldn’t know it from reading the newspapers, but the streets of Seoul are packed with tens of thousands of angry protestors who’ve brought business and government to a standstill. The demonstrations have dragged on for more than a month and show no sign of ending anytime soon.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20139.htm
 
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Suicide attack on US convoy in occupied Afghanistan kills seven:
 
A suicide attack on a military convoy killed a US-led soldier and six Afghans in southern Afghanistan Friday, a day after a huge operation to drive Taliban rebels from a key stronghold.
tinyurl.com/3qu3sz
 
===
 
Afghans count Taliban dead:
 
On Friday, the governor of Kandahar province took a group of journalists to the battle zone. – They saw the havoc wreaked by shelling on the small mud walled forts that are familiar sights in the Pashtun tribal lands of the region.
nz.news.yahoo.com/080620/5/691z.html
 
===
 
Occupied Afghanistan: After $6 Billion, Where’s a Cop When You Need One?:
 
New GAO Report Says Not One Fully Capable Police Unit in Afghanistan After US Money and Effort
www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5197912&page=1
 
===
 
Have none of our leaders got the guts to ask how we got into this mess?:
 
No politician, no commentator, has asked the one fundamental question: exactly why and how did Bush and his cronies get us all into the Afghan mess in the first place?
tinyurl.com/4cey58
 
===
 
Pakistan: 5 militants killed after attack on food convoy leaves 4 dead:
 
Security forces, backed by helicopter gunship, on Thursday killed five militants in a retaliatory attack in the tribal Kurram region.
tinyurl.com/4y8lqg
 
===
 
One killed on Pak-Iran border:
 
A man was killed while his cousin got injured when the border security force of Iran opened fire when they crossed into the Pak-Iran border at Panjgoor on Thursday.
www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=15473
 
===
 
Iraq: At least 9 killed in another bloody day of US occupation:
 
U.S. forces killed four “militants” and detained 18 others on Thursday and Friday during operations around Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKL206989220080620
 
===
 
‘Breakthrough’ in Iraq pact:
 
Muqtada al-Sadr’s Shi’ite movement is playing a smart game by opposing the deal and demanding a referendum on it, as it declared through a mass protest in late May. This strategy both strengthens the Sadrists’ anti-US credentials and gains the favor of the masses by insisting on public approval for any agreement.
www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JF21Ak03.html
 
===
 
What Oil Companies Will Get in Iraq:
 
Western oil companies. Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP appear set to win no-bid contracts allowing them to work in some of Iraq’s rich oil fields.
www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1816599,00.html
 
===
 
The answer lies in oil:
 
The multinationals negotiating deals to exploit oilfields in Iran and Iraq should reflect on gloomy historical precedents
www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/20/iraq.oil
 
===
 
World Refugee Day: U.S. Criticized For Failing to Help Iraqi Refugees :
 
Over the past five years the U.S. has resettled just 5,000 Iraqis. Compare that to Sweden-a country of only nine million people-which resettled 18,000 Iraqis last year alone.
www.democracynow.org/2008/6/20/world_refugee_day_us_criticized_for
 
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Israel Rehearsed Iran Nuclear Attack, say US Officials:
 
According to reports provided by US officials, over 100 Israeli combat jets participated, with the exercise having taken place over Greece and a wider section of the Mediterranean at the beginning of this month.
tinyurl.com/6rzzx7
 
===
 
Tehran pledges to deal ‘powerful blow’ against attack:
 
Iran’s senior cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said Friday that Tehran would respond to any attack by Israel or the U.S. with a “powerful blow” after a paper claimed that Israel was preparing to attack Iran.
en.rian.ru/world/20080620/111496436.html
 
===
 
How Iran would retaliate if it comes to war:
 
Military analysts say the Islamic Republic would strike back in unconventional ways – targeting American interests in Iraq and Afghanistan.
www.csmonitor.com/2008/0620/p07s04-wome.html
 
===
 
Russia’s foreign minister strongly warns against use of force on Iran:
 
Russia’s foreign minister on Friday warned against the use of force on Iran, saying there is no proof it is trying to build nuclear weapons.
www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20080620-0523-russia-iran.html
 
===
 
Is Israel Really Preparing to Attack Iran? Col. Gardiner Says No:
 
“The signal I received is that Israel does NOT have the capability to effectively attack Iran’s nuclear facilities,” Col. Gardiner says.
tinyurl.com/4r5y43
 
===
 
Russia confirms intention to complete Iranian electro-nuclear project:
 
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kiseljak in a press statement made following his meeting with his US counterpart William Burns, said “Bushehr station is consistent with all internationally-applicable standards and Russian experts will continue to work on its construction”.
tinyurl.com/3shwws
 
===
 
Tense Israeli-Hamas truce holds:
 
Israel has said it will begin to ease its economic blocakde of Gaza on Sunday, should the truce hold.
english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/06/20086191448553832.html
 
===
 
Dancing with AIPAC: Obama’s Missteps:
 
On his first day as the presumptive Democratic candidate for president earlier this month, Barack Obama committed a serious foreign policy blunder.
www.counterpunch.org/bisharat06192008.html
 
===
 
John Bolton Says ‘Best’ Possible Outcome Of Obama Presidency Is ‘More Bombings, More Attacks’:
 
The facts are these: when it comes to driving an increase in “bombings and attacks,” there are few things more successful than President Bush’s Iraq War policies. According to the Center for American Progress:
tinyurl.com/4kfddb
 
===
 
Zimbabwe death toll reaches 85 as militias step up killings and torture:
 
Fourteen killings were reported in a single day yesterday, including four opposition activists burnt to death in a petrol bombing.
tinyurl.com/4hagtw
 
===
 
Several killed in occupied Somalia:
 
Fresh clashes have erupted between fighters from the Islamic Courts Union and Ethiopian forces in the Somali capital Mogadishu, leaving at least 13 people dead, most of them civilians
english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2008/06/200862084822676959.html
 
===
 
U.S. ‘plans to neutralize Russian nuclear weapons by 2012-2015':
 
The U.S.-proposed European missile shield will eventually spread along Russia’s borders and may neutralize Russia’s nuclear potential by 2012-2015, a Russian political analyst said on Wednesday.
en.rian.ru/russia/20080618/111155009.html
 
===
 
Gates’ reference to Russia’s nuclear capabilities alarming:
 
Gates should be happy that even Russian generals, who cannot be suspected of love for the United States, are openly talking about the weakness of Russia’s nuclear capability.
en.rian.ru/analysis/20080617/110933648.html
 
===
 
China ranks third in the world in military expenses:
 
Last year, the three nations with the world’s biggest military expenses were the United States ($547 billion), the United Kingdom ($59.7 billion) and China ($58.3 billion).
en.rian.ru/analysis/20080618/111158350.html
 
===
 
Paraguay’s Lugo joins Latin America’s left:
 
Paraguayan President-elect Fernando Lugo was all smiles as he and Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez embraced, talked of a revolution for the poor and pledged to build a united Latin America.
tinyurl.com/4crqat
 
===
 
Chavez threatens Europe oil ban:
 
Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, has threatened to stop selling oil to European countries if they implement tough new legislation against illegal immigrants.
tinyurl.com/3pdyoa
 
===
 
Venezuela Rebuffs U.S. on Hezbollah Aid: –
 
Venezuela’s foreign minister on Thursday rejected U.S. government accusations that a Venezuelan diplomat helped finance Hezbollah in Lebanon.
tinyurl.com/476pw2
 
===
 
Bolivia officials say suspects arrested in possible plot to kill president:
 
Officials said the two were arrested Thursday shortly before Morales arrived at El Trompillo airport in the eastern city of Santa Cruz, and one of them carried a rifle and ammunition.
tinyurl.com/4gztfq
 
===
 
EU lifts sanctions against Cuba:
 
The sanctions’ removal is largely symbolic but still a success for Raul Castro’s new government, analysts say.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7463803.stm
 
===
 
In Court Filings, Cheney Aide Says Bush Approved Leak:
 
President Bush authorized Vice President Dick Cheney in July 2003 to permit Mr. Cheney’s chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby Jr., to leak key portions of a classified prewar intelligence estimate on Iraq, according to Mr. Libby’s grand jury testimony.
tinyurl.com/3o5xmm
 
===
 
Judge urged drop Guantanamo charge, restore US image:
 
A military defense lawyer urged a Guantanamo judge to help restore America’s reputation by dropping attempted murder charges against an Afghan prisoner who was subjected to 14 consecutive days of sleep deprivation.
www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N19369060.htm
 
===
 
House passes new surveillance law:
 
The House Friday easily approved a compromise bill setting new electronic surveillance rules that effectively shield telecommunications companies from lawsuits arising from the government’s terrorism-era warrantless eavesdropping on phone and computer lines in this country.
tinyurl.com/44okvp
 
===
 
Senate Housing Bill Requires eBay, Amazon, Google, and All Credit Card Companies to Report Transactions to the Government:
 
Hidden deep in Senator Christopher Dodd’s 630-page Senate housing legislation is a sweeping provision that affects the privacy and operation of nearly all of America’s small businesses.
tinyurl.com/5s8bow
 
===
 
Pentagon blasts KBR’s operation:
 
A Pentagon investigative report alleges the firm KBR Inc. held an illegal contract, overcharged millions to the Navy and produced shoddy workmanship on its South Mississippi jobs after Katrina.
www.sunherald.com/pageone/story/634100.html
 
===
 
Medicare providers keeping billions of taxes for themselves:
 
Thousands of hospitals, nursing homes and other Medicare providers owe the federal government more than $2 billion in payroll and other taxes.
www.startribune.com/nation/20583419.html?location_refer=Nation
 
===
 
No longer proud to be an American:
 
In actuality, and without hesitation, I can state that I am embarrassed to call myself an American.
tinyurl.com/3lwtmy
 
===
 
Passengers virtually stripped naked by 3-D airport scanner:
 
The airport in Kelowna, B.C., will be the first in Canada to test a new type of passenger scanner that creates a three-dimensional image of people’s bodies
tinyurl.com/3gj6xw