The massacre in the Do’ab district, Nuristan
Marc W. Herold, The Afghan Victim Memorial Project
On Sunday, April 6, 2008, in three isolated villages including Shok (Sharuk or Shawak), Daba (Dowaba) and Myan-i-Tok in the Shok Valley of the Do’ab district, western Nuristan Province about 15 kms north of the border with Laghman Province. In July 2007, the Taliban had captured the Do’ab and Mandol districts of Nuristan. The villages were intensely bombarded by U.S. warplanes while U.S.-led ground troops (of the Afghan 201st Kandak Company and the Afghan National Police) carried out a ground cordon-and-search assault upon the villages. A resident of Shok village (Shawak) told the independent Pajhwok Afghan News that U.S. helicopters had been fired-upon after which the U.S-led assault began. Heavy fighting lasting numerous hours ensued. As usual, U.S-Afghan soldiers called-in aerial close air support (CAS). Much of Shok village including the mosque was flattened. Yusuf Nuristani, a spokesman for the governor of Nuristan said that some 200 homes in the village of Myan-i-Tok village were badly damaged. 28-40 civilians including many women, elderly and children were slaughtered in the U.S. attack….

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Special Report: “On World Health Day; Palestinian detainees still facing slow death
Saed Bannoura – IMEMC
Palestinian researcher and specialist in the detainees affairs, Fuad Al Khuffash, prepared and published a comprehensive report on the Palestinian detainees and the conditions they are facing in Israeli prisons, as the world marks April 7; the World Health day. Al Khuffash said that the detainees are living in overcrowded cells and rooms, lacking covers, ventilation, showers, and fundamental needs that must be provided to the detainees in accordance to the international law. Food provided to the detainees is always insufficient and of a bad quality, the detainees are continuously losing weight while a significant number of them developed anemia….

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WHO Sits Idle While Gaza Strip Submerge at the Edge of a Disaster
Hiyam Noir, PalestineFreeVoice
The scandalous INTERNATIONAL SIEGE imposed on the residents in Gaza Strip, will go to the history, as one of the worst and cruelest crimes in modern time, conducted, against human kind. The consequences of the blockade,the siege and the Israelis serial killings have made the life nearly unbearable on Gaza strip. The streets in Gaza City are ee’ry and empty of people and cars, NO GAS, so no – or very limited public transportation’s to find in Gaza Strip.Many people does not have money enough, to pay for a bus ride or a taxi. There is NO FUEL ON GAZA STRIP, many car owners are changing the car motor from petrol to gas – now also gas does not enter the Gaza Strip.For one gallon of petrol the Gazan’s have to pay 6 US dollar. People need to work to be able to eat and pay their bills, and can not travel to their jobs. One other serious developement:PalestineFreeVoice have in several reports also alarmed about the Gaza Strip water conditions. The hot summer is approaching and water networks are out of work, Gaza Strip BEACHES are POLLUTED , the SEWAGE WATER is about to submerge over Gaza Strip because of the Israelis blockade and the siege…

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IRAQ: A Little Too Tense to Be Truce
Ahmed Ali and Dahr Jamail*
As violence continues in Baghdad and southern Iraq, it seems quiet on the surface in Baquba, the volatile city 40km north of Baghdad. But few believe truce between the U.S.-backed Awakening Groups and the government security forces can last. The Awakening Groups, known locally as the Sahwa, were formed to battle al-Qaeda. Members are paid 300 dollars a month by occupation forces, and now number over 80,000 across Iraq. The Sunni-dominated groups form a counterweight to the government security apparatus, which has long been known to comprise primarily Shia militiamen…In a new development, Sahwa groups are being set up comprising Shia men. “They are not necessarily fighters but notable members of the tribes,” Sahwa member Harith al-Ansari told IPS….

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The occupation has frozen Iraq. All else is tinkering
Yesterday’s declaration by General Petraeus that the surge must go on will simply prolong the country’s agony
Simon Jenkins, The Guardian,
The British troops encamped outside Basra resemble Davy Crockett’s colleagues in the Alamo. Nobody will come to their rescue. Their position is hopeless. They cannot win. They cannot escape. Their boss, the defence secretary Des Browne, has emphasised their political entombment by reneging on Gordon Brown’s pledge to reduce their numbers by a half this spring. The American general, David Petraeus, yesterday said the same of his troops. He wants 140,000 of them to remain at the end of the current surge, dashing hopes that their numbers might come down. The occupation of Iraq is now officially indefinite. Too many politicians have too much to lose by contemplating retreat…

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UN official to be denied entry to Israel
Saed Bannoura – IMEMC
Israeli Foreign Ministry stated on Tuesday that it will bar a UN official, appointed to investigate Human Rights abuses in Israel and Palestine, from entering the country after he, according to the officials, compared Israel to the Nazis and refused to retract his statements. The official, Prof. Richard Falk, is scheduled to occupy his post with the United Nations Human Rights Council in May. Israeli officials said that he will be denied visa to enter Israel at least until the second meeting of the Human Rights Council in September, Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported….

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The trick behind connecting the disbanding of Mahdi Army to the senior clerics
Roads to Iraq
…Recent Al-Sadr maneuver is to create Ayatollahs-war, Al-Sistani can not issue a fatwa to disband Mahdi Army because it is approved by Al-Ha’ari, and Al-Ha’ari can not issue the same fatwa because he can not abandoned his believes of the political Islam. For this reason Al-Sistani spokesman refused to comment on Al-Sadr request, but the Sadrists spokesman said: the clerics refused to disband the MA, in other words Al-Ha’ari refused….

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Obama calls for talks with Iran over Iraq
Africasia, UK
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday called for a “diplomatic surge” including talks with US foe Iran, to help stabilize the situation in Iraq. The Illinois Senator battling Hillary Clinton called for more pressure on the Iraqi government to embrace political reconciliation and a regional “diplomatic surge that includes Iran.” “We should be talking to them as well,” Obama told the top US General in Iraq David Petraeus and US ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker. “I do not believe we are going to be able to stablize the situation without that.”…

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So How Is Muqtada Al-Sadr Really Doing?
Kevin Drum
…This hardly bears repeating, but as with nearly all analysis of Iraq these days, this is mostly speculation. As near as I can tell, even regional experts don’t really know what’s going on in Iraq right now, and all the rest of us can do is keep our eyes and ears open and see what happens. All things considered, it still looks to me like Sadr’s organization is coming through the current fighting either intact or even a little stronger than before, but there’s evidence on both sides. So take this as a devil’s advocate post, and take it with the usual shaker of salt. And if anyone tells you that they know for sure what’s really happening in Iraq, that’s a good sign you should put them on your permanent “ignore” list….

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Daily KOS to visit Sderot – paid by Israel
Sabbah’s blog
Almost a year ago, old readers here remember my story (along with many pro-Palestine, anti-Zionism bloggers) with the so called American “left-wing” website called Daily KOS. I fell of the chair laughing today when I read that: Prominent writers, members of progressive American organizations known for their heavy criticism of Israel will tour the country, meet with top officials. ‘We want to provide them with an eye-opening experience that will help them better understand the complexity of the Arab-Israeli conflict,’ says trip organizer Ira Forman. Among the “guests”, Daily Kos editor David Waldman! Keep in mind the history of Daily KOS with Palestinian and pro-Palestine bloggers, this whole thing is a joke. All pro-Palestine, pro-Peace, anti-Apartheid, anti-Zionism bloggers knows very well that Daily KOS is not Israel critical. How can they be when they banned each and every “Palestinian” blogger there for no reason, while Zionists still enjoy there the full time show? Simply, it’s time that Israel pay back the “left-wing” Daily KOS for job well done…

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Iran condemns Green Zone attacks
PRESS TV – IRAN
Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini has roundly condemned the attacks on Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone. Hosseini denounced the ongoing tension in Baghdad’s Green Zone, which is the seat of the Iraqi government and foreign embassies. Hosseini also criticized the US forces for launching air strikes in Basra and the Shia bastion of Sadr City in Baghdad….

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Sixty years after Deir Yassin
Ronnie Kasrils, The Electronic Intifada, 8 April 2008
Ronnie Kasrils, The Electronic Intifada
As a 10-year-old growing up in Johannesburg, I celebrated Israel’s birth, 60 years ago. I unquestionably accepted the dramatic accounts of so-called self-defensive actions against Arab violence, to secure the Jewish state. The type of indoctrination South African cartoonist Zapiro so bitingly exposes in his work, raising the hackles of scribes such as David Saks of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies. When I became involved in our liberation struggle, I became aware of the similarities with the Palestinian cause in the dispossession of land and birthright by expansionist settler occupation. I came to see that the racial and colonial character of the two conflicts provided greater comparisons than with any other struggle….

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Gaza: Scores of cars protest against Israeli fuel cuts
Popular Committee Against Siege (PCAS)
Popular Committee Against Siege (PCAS) has organized a broad strike in Gaza city. Scores of cars and vehicles gathered in the main down town to express anger over Israel cuts for fuel deliveries. The cars lined up alongside the poor drivers to protest against the Israeli inhuman measures of decreasing and cutting the fuel. Chairman of PCAS and the independent Palestinian lawmaker, Jamal N. El khoudary, spoke to some media outlets explaining the ramifications of this harsh never-ending step!…

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Toy Soldiers
Hussein Al-alak, Iraq Solidarity Campaign
…Further to my last letter Training Kids to Kill, on reflection the proposal by the British Government to have children taught in the art of weapons training and military drills, becomes an even more insidious plan, as this will only be applied to those children in the state funded “comprehensive” school system. In other words, the Labour Party are planning to penalise working class young people, for having parents who cannot afford to send them to either privately funded or specialised schools and are basically forcing them into a no-win situation, where working class youth are being forced to choose between a life of instability; through the lack of employment, training and academic opportunities or receiving a medal in receipt for having their legs blown off…

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UN expert stands by Nazi comments
Tim Franks, BBC Middle East correspondent
The next UN investigator into Israeli conduct in the occupied territories has stood by comments comparing Israeli actions in Gaza to those of the Nazis. Speaking to the BBC, Professor Richard Falk said he believed that up to now Israel had been successful in avoiding the criticism that it was due. Professor Falk is scheduled to take up his post for the UN Human Rights Council later in the year. But Israel wants his mandate changed to probe Palestinian actions as well. Professor Falk said he drew the comparison between the treatment of Palestinians with the Nazi record of collective atrocity, because of what he described as the massive Israeli punishment directed at the entire population of Gaza…

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Sunnis recall Saddam’s parting words
AFP
Five years since that day on April 9, 2003, when Baghdad fell to US-led troops, Sunni loyalists of the former dictator still remember their leader’s last words. “His last words to us were “I promise the people of Adhamiyah golden monuments once we defeat the Americans’,” Abu Rima recalled. “The image flashes in front of my eyes even now like a scene from a film. It was April 9 and a Wednesday. That date is in my blood. Saddam is in my blood,” he said, his voice choking with emotion. The bald 65-year-old former teacher lives in the north Baghdad Sunni district of Adhamiyah, a Saddam stronghold where he made his last public appearance as president. “Just hours before the American tanks rolled into Firdoos Square and pulled down his statue, he was here with us in Adhamiyah and they couldn’t find him,” Abu Rima said as he squatted on the lawn outside his one-storey home…

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Aides say Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has called off mass rally in Baghdad
The Canadian Press
A aides to Muqtada al-Sadr say the anti-America Shiite cleric is calling off Wednesday’s planned mass rally in Baghdad. The aides say the decision comes after Iraqi security forces blocked al-Sadr’s followers from travelling to the capital from the southern Shiite heartland where the cleric enjoys wide support. Al-Sadr called for the “million-strong” protest to mark the fifth anniversary of the capture of Baghdad by U.S. troops…

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Tehran sending oil to Israel, says Israeli newsletter
Adnkronos International
Iran is selling oil to its long-time foe Israel , according to a report in the Israeli industry newsletter, EnergiaNews. But Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, director of international marketing at the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), strongly denied allegations that the country’s oil exports were reaching Israel. According to the newsletter, the Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Company was founded in Israel in 1968 with Iranian and Israeli capital, to manage oil purchases destined to a refinery in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon. At the time, Iran was among the biggest suppliers of oil to Israel when both countries enjoyed close diplomatic relations. Despite a sharp deterioration in relations after Iran’s Islamic revolution in 1979 and ongoing inflammatory exchanges, Israel has continued to import Iranian oil, according to the EnergiaNews report…

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Text of Petraeus Report
Associated Press
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to provide an update on the security situation in Iraq and to discuss the recommendations I recently provided to my chain of command. Since Ambassador Crocker and I appeared before you seven months ago, there has been significant but uneven security progress in Iraq. Since September, levels of violence and civilian deaths have been reduced substantially, Al Qaeda-Iraq and a number of other extremist elements have been dealt serious blows, the capabilities of Iraqi Security Force elements have grown, and there has been noteworthy involvement of local Iraqis in local security. Nonetheless, the situation in certain areas is still unsatisfactory and innumerable challenges remain. Moreover, as events in the past two weeks have reminded us and as I have repeatedly cautioned, the progress made since last spring is fragile and reversible…

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Fear and fighting in Iraq’s Sadr City
AFP
“We’re scared,” admitted Abu Muamel as the sudden blast of a mortar round fightened the baby in his arms to tears and set US and Iraqi armoured vehicles racing through Sadr City’s smoke-choked streets. “It’s too dangerous to stay here,” Abu Muamel added as he and his family of eight on Tuesday fled the sprawling district in eastern Baghdad that is the theatre of raging battles between Mahdi Army militiamen and security forces. “A mortar landed in our street, killing a boy. I’m taking my family out of here. We’re going to stay with relatives in Mansur,” the 42-year-old artisan said, referring to a relatively safe part of western Baghdad…

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A nation ruined
The war against Iraq, now five years old, is unquestionably one of the most unpardonable crimes against humanity.
JOHN CHERIAN
…More than two million Iraqis have been displaced from their homes and have become refugees in neighbouring countries such as Syria and Jordan. For the pauperised Iraqi middle class, the violence and anarchy that followed the American invasion was the last straw. Most of them have fled the country. Another two million Iraqis have become refugees inside Iraq. As a result of the occupation, there are now around 4.5 million orphans. Many of them are homeless. All sectors of Iraqi society have been affected, with women bearing the brunt of the war. Under Saddam Hussein and the Baath Party, women were represented in all sectors of society. More than half of the civil service personnel were women and a fourth of the parliament members since the 1980s comprised elected female members. Today all the gains made by Iraqi women have been negated. Even girls in Christian schools are forced to wear veils. According to the latest statistics provided by Iraq’s Ministry of Education, more than 70 per cent of Iraqi girls and women no longer attend school or college…

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Getting one’s knickers in a twist…
Layla Anwar, An Arab Woman Blues
…The BALKANISATION OF IRAQ is not complete yet. The PARTITION OF IRAQ AS PER THE ZIONIST PLAN and fully backed by Iran is not complete yet… Of course there will be a few tensions here and there…and the flexing of muscles and a show of force, but just as the US and the more radical elements from Qum reached an agreement in 2004 in Nejaf, they will reach it again in Baghdad in 2008. The cake is divided, some are just hampering over who gets the bigger piece. So save your energies and your boring political analysis and your “scenario désastre”…an agreement WILL be reached between Muqtada al-Sadr and Maliki, and between Iran and the US. You just need to wait for the different “fatwas” from Qum, Kerbala and Najaf to come to an agreement. It may carry a moderate or radical Iranian flavor…but the end result is the same — IRAQ is no longer. Americans when they shook hands with Chalabi, Jaafari, Rubaie, Sadr, Maliki, Hakeem, did foresee such a possible outcome and went ahead with it. They will not backtrack now…

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Afghanistan: Humanitarian crisis worsens, says Red Cross
Adnkronos International
Increased armed conflict is leading to a worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, says the International Committee of the Red Cross. The president of the ICRC, Jakob Kellenberger, is currently in Afghanistan for a seven-day visit. ‘’We are extremely concerned about the worsening humanitarian situation in Afghanistan,” Kellenberger said in a statement. “There is growing insecurity and a clear intensification of the armed conflict, which is no longer limited to the south but has spread to the east and west.”…

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IRAQ: Disbanding militias divides parliament
Nidhal al-Laithi, Azzaman
The call by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for Sadr’s Madhi Army to disband has divided the parliament with deputies urging other militia groups to disarm. Deputies from the restive city of Mosul in an apparent move backing the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his militiamen have asked for other militia groups to disarm namely Kurdish Peshmerga. Other deputies doubted the prime minister had the authority to order the disbanding of militia groups whose formation and presence in the country is legalized…

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Moqtada al-Sadr threatens to scrap ceasefire
Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters
Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr threatened on Tuesday to end a truce he imposed on his militia last year, raising the prospect of worsening violence just hours before top U.S. officials testified on Iraq in Washington. Sadr urged his Mehdi Army to “continue your jihad and resistance” against U.S. forces, although he did not spell out if this was an explicit call for attacks on American soldiers. His warning came a day after Shi’ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki threatened to bar Sadr’s movement from political life unless the anti-American cleric disbanded his militia….

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In Praise of Al Nakba
Salman Abu Sitta, PalestineChronicle.com
To Palestinians, as well as to an increasing number of people the world over, Al-Nakba represents the largest, longest, planned ethnic cleansing in modern history for which reason the title under which this article appears may appear at first sight cynical, if not downright offensive. The trauma of Al-Nakba is imprinted on the psyche of every Palestinian, on those that witnessed it as well as those that did not. They have all suffered, and in a multitude of ways: they lost their livelihoods, nationality, identity and, above all, their homes. In order to survive Palestinians were forced to defend themselves, fighting on many fronts…

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Death toll of patients, unable to exit Gaza, mounts to 125
Rami Almeghari – IMEMC
The death toll of patients, who are unable to get proper medication, due to the Israeli closure of Gaza’s travel crossings, mounted Tuesday to 125 after the passing away of Mohammad Hamdouna, 65. Hamdouna used to reside in Egypt along with his wife and daughter before he entered Gaza in January2008. He has been stranded in Gaza since he came in after January’s breach of the Gaza-Egypt border lines amidst a crippling Israeli closure of all Gaza’s crossing points since June of last year….

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Naim holds WHO responsible for worsening conditions in Gaza
Palestinian Information Center
The health ministry in the PA caretaker government has held the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international institutions, which hoist slogans of a hygienic environment on the world health day, responsible for worsening health conditions in the Gaza Strip as a result of the siege. Addressing a press conference held in front of the Shifa hospital in Gaza city on Monday, Naim questioned the credibility of such slogans at a time the health services were collapsing in Gaza before the very eyes of the world….

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April 7, 2008: 5 US Soldiers, 51 Iraqis Killed; 143 Iraqis Wounded
Margaret Griffis, Antiwar.com
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki set aside any pretense of democracy by ordering the Mahdi army to disband or face banishment in upcoming elections. At least 51 Iraqis were killed and 143 more were wounded today. Also, five more American soldiers were killed. One American soldier was killed by an IED during a routine road clearing operation in Baghdad yesterday. A second soldier died in a previously reported attack in Diyala province. Another soldier had died in that attack and four soldiers were wounded as well. Today, two American soldiers were killed in Baghdad in a rocket-propelled grenade attack, while a third U.S. soldier was killed in an IED explosion…

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Child abduction by IOF
Sabbah’s blog
This letter is a new example of Israel terrorism: My cousin Asef Jameel Awwad is 15 years old boy kidnapped 2 days ago by the Occupation Army and released after more than 30 hours of abduction. The story started on monday after noon when 2 jeeps entered our village, and were stoned, then soldiers found Asef in the street and arrested him immediately. they beated him on the spot in front of the other boys. then they threw him in the Jeep and left immediately. we tried to find out where did they took him but failed. During 30 hours of detention, they took him to Army camp and he was beaten and tortured by 4 soldiers. During the night he spent in detention, they left him all the night outdoors despite the low temperature…

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Secret US plan for military future in Iraq
Document outlines powers but sets no time limit on troop presence
Seumas Milne, The Guardian
A confidential draft agreement covering the future of US forces in Iraq, passed to the Guardian, shows that provision is being made for an open-ended military presence in the country. The draft strategic framework agreement between the US and Iraqi governments, dated March 7 and marked “secret” and “sensitive”, is intended to replace the existing UN mandate and authorises the US to “conduct military operations in Iraq and to detain individuals when necessary for imperative reasons of security” without time limit. The authorisation is described as “temporary” and the agreement says the US “does not desire permanent bases or a permanent military presence in Iraq”. But the absence of a time limit or restrictions on the US and other coalition forces – including the British – in the country means it is likely to be strongly opposed in Iraq and the US….

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Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini accuses USA of massacre in Basra
Australia.TO
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini criticized the U.S. forces’ actions during the recent developments in Iraq, saying, “Unfortunately the U.S. forces took advantage of the situation and massacred people in Basra.” The United States has sought to resume cancelled discussions with Iran. In an official letter received through the Swiss embassy in Tehran, Washington has requested for a fourth round of Iran-U.S.-Iraq talks….Hosseini also confirmed that an Iraqi delegation traveled to the Islamic Republic and held talks with officials here. “We called on all the parties involved to exercise self-restraint,” he said, adding, Iran will do everything to help establish security and stability in Iraq…

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Religious leaders tell al-Sadr to keep militia intact
CNN
Iraq’s top Shiite religious leaders have told anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr not to disband his Mehdi Army, an al-Sadr spokesman said Monday amid fresh fighting in the militia’s Baghdad strongholds. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki demanded Sunday that the cleric disband his militia, which waged two uprisings against U.S. troops in 2004, or see his supporters barred from public office. But al-Sadr spokesman Salah al-Obeidi said al-Sadr has consulted with Iraq’s Shiite clerical leadership “and they refused that.” He did not provide details of the talks…

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Palestinian child killed when rammed by settlers’ vehicle near Nablus
IMEMC Staff Report
Palestinian medical sources reported on Monday that a 15-year old child of Salim village, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, was killed after a settler rammed his vehicle into him near the Alon Moreh settlement. Medical sources identified the child as Shareef Eshtiyya. He was crossing a bypass road with his sheep after herding them east of the village. His body was moved to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus. Adly Eshtiyya, head of the Salim Village Council, stated that the settler fled the scene after killing the child and five of his sheep…

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* * * NOT SATIRE * * *
‘Report on Sept. 6 strike to show Saddam transferred WMDs to Syria’
Jerusalem Post
An upcoming joint US-Israel report on the September 6 IAF strike on a Syrian facility will claim that former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein transferred weapons of mass destruction to the country, Channel 2 stated Monday. Furthermore, according to a report leaked to the TV channel, Syria has arrested 10 intelligence officials following the assassination of Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh…

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11,000 prisoners to go on mass hunger strike on the Palestinian prisoner day
Palestinian Information Center
More than 11,000 Palestinian prisoners announced their intention to go on mass hunger strike in all Israeli jails on 17 of April on the occasion of the Palestinian prisoner day in light of the serious violations exercised by the Israel prisons authority against their human rights. The prisoners accused the concerned international institutions of neglecting the Palestinian prisoners’ file and renouncing their responsibilities for protecting prisoners’ rights…

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Destroying Public Education in America
Stephen Lendman
Diogenes called education “the foundation of every state.” Education reformer and “father of American education” Horace Mann went even further. He said: “The common school (meaning public ones) is the greatest discovery ever made by man.” He called it the “great equalizer” that was “common” to all, and as Massachusetts Secretary of Education founded the first board of education and teacher training college in the state where the first (1635) public school was established. Throughout the country today, privatization schemes target them and threaten to end a 373 year tradition…

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Should Khalid Sheikh Mohammed be set free?
Mike Whitney, ICH
Should Khalid Sheikh Mohammed be set free? It’s a difficult question, but it deserves a serious answer. Here’s why. The only reason the Bush administration has decided to conduct a trial for Mohammed, the alleged terrorist mastermind of the attacks on September 11, is because they feel confident in the outcome. It’s a slam dunk. There’s no chance that the perpetrator of the biggest act of terrorism in American history will be found innocent. Bush thinks a Mohammed conviction will be a vindication for his kangaroo courts (Military tribunals) at Guantanamo Bay as well as reinforce the belief that the president has the inherent right to arbitrarily imprison anyone he chooses if he brands him an enemy combatant. It is a cynical power-play meant to increase presidential authority while further undermining fundamental legal protections…

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Iranian Public Sees Reduced U.S. Threat
Jim Lobe
While still distrustful of U.S. intentions, the Iranian public believes that the threat posed by Washington has diminished over the past year and favours increased exchanges between the two countries, including direct talks on stabilising Iraq and other issues, according to a major new survey released here Monday by WorldPublicOpinion.org (WPO). The poll, which included person-to-person interviews with more than 700 people across Iran during the first half of February, also found strong domestic support for Iran’s nuclear-energy programme, with more than eight in 10 respondents insisting that it was “very important” for Tehran to master the uranium enrichment process to produce fuel for its nuclear plants…

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ZIONISTS SHUT DOWN THE ONLY VOICE FOR PEACE ON ISRAELI AIR WAVES
Desertpeace
There WAS one radio station in Israel that WAS dedicated to bringing Palestinians and Israelis together. One station that 95% of the time played music and the other 5% was dedicated to talks with people on both sides of the fence, literally… BUT NO!!!! The zionists DO NOT WANT US TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE OTHER SIDE….. God forbid it leads to Peace…. then what would they do??? A government destined to destroy any chance of Peace, any movement leading towards it, and of course the entire nation of Palestine in the process…

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Iraqi Resistance Report for events of Monday, 7 April 2008
Translated and/or compiled by Muhammad Abu Nasr, member, editorial board, the Free Arab Voice.
In a dispatch posted on its Arabic website at 8:34am Tuesday morning Beijing time (4:34am in Baghdad), the Xinhua News Agency reported that 40 Iraqis had been killed or injured in exchanges of mortar fire in eastern Baghdad on Monday afternoon according to an Iraqi regime security source. Xinhua reported a source in the Iraqi Interior Ministry as saying that the US base in ar-Rustamiyah in southern Baghdad was the target of three mortar rounds. The Americans in the base then responded by firing three mortar rounds at the source of the incoming fire. The American shells, however, fell amidst houses in the residential al-Amin neighborhood of eastern Baghdad, killing nine civilians and wounding 31 others…

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