Lebanon Throng Hails Hezbollah Chief, Who Calls Militia Stronger

Lebanon Throng Hails Hezbollah Chief, Who Calls Militia Stronger: "Hundreds of thousands of people stood Friday and chanted “God, God, protect Nasrallah.” It was the moment they had waited for: Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in person, declaring that his militia was stronger than ever and that no army in the world could force it to disarm.

...

“Whatever Sayid Hassan wants Sayid Hassan gets,” said Hossain Zebara, 29, using a title reserved for descendants of the prophet Muhammad. Mr. Zebara said it took him 24 hours to walk from his home in the southern part of Lebanon to be at the rally. “We came to show the American administration, the British administration, the French administration, that the resistance population is increasing, not decreasing.”"

(Via NY Times.)

France investigates bin Laden 'death' leak

France investigates bin Laden 'death' leak: French President Jacques Chirac said on Saturday he would investigate the leak of confidential French defense ministry documents containing a report that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is dead, and stressed the report had been in no way confirmed.

"I was rather surprised to see that a confidential note from the DGSE (General Directorate for External Security) was published and I have asked the minister of Defense to start an investigation immediately and to reach whatever conclusions are necessary," Chirac said.

"Secondly, speaking of the source of the information itself, this information is in no way confirmed."""

(Via Google News.)

Detainee Deal Comes With Contradictions

Detainee Deal Comes With Contradictions: "The compromise reached on Thursday between Congressional Republicans and the White House on the interrogations and trials of terrorism suspects is, legal experts said yesterday, a series of interlocking paradoxes.

It would impose new legal standards that it forbids the courts to enforce.

It would guarantee terrorist masterminds charged with war crimes an array of procedural protections. But it would bar hundreds of minor figures and people who say they are innocent bystanders from access to the courts to challenge their potentially lifelong detentions.

And while there is substantial disagreement about just which harsh interrogation techniques the compromise would prohibit, there is no dispute that it would allow military prosecutors to use statements that had been obtained under harsh techniques that are now banned."

(Via NY Times.)

Pres. Clinton Answers Charges That He Didn't Do Enough To Capture Bin Laden...

Pres. Clinton Answers Charges That He Didn't Do Enough To Capture Bin Laden... | The Huffington Post: "CLINTON: But at least I tried. That's the difference in me and some, including all the right wingers who are attacking me now. They ridiculed me for trying. They had eight months to try and they didn't...I tried. So I tried and failed. When I failed I left a comprehensive anti-terror strategy and the best guy in the country, Dick Clarke... So you did FOX's bidding on this show. You did you nice little conservative hit job on me. But what I want to know..

Read full transcript here."

(Via AlterNet.)

Iraq torture 'worse after Saddam'

Iraq torture 'worse after Saddam': "Torture may be worse now in Iraq than under former leader Saddam Hussein, the UN's chief anti-torture expert says.

Manfred Nowak said the situation in Iraq was 'out of control', with abuses being committed by security forces, militia groups and anti-US insurgents.

Bodies found in the Baghdad morgue 'often bear signs of severe torture', said the human rights office of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq in a report.

The wounds confirmed reports given by refugees from Iraq, Mr Nowak said."

(Via BBC News.)

Secret CIA Prisons in Your Backyard

Secret CIA Prisons in Your Backyard:
"Roychoudhuri: You quote 9/11 Commission member Jamie Gorelick in the book: "In criminal justice, you either prosecute suspects or let them go. But if you've treated them in ways that won't allow you to prosecute them, you're in this no man's land. What do you do with those people?" Based on the fact that it's so difficult to bring these people back out of this extralegal system, do you have any sense of where the rendition program is going?

Paglen: This is the crucial question that we are facing right now. Bush transferred a handful of guys to Guantanamo and acknowledged they were kept in these secret prisons. Congress has to come up with a framework to prosecute these guys. It's common knowledge that most of the guys at Guantanamo are nobodies. Many were turned in by bounty hunters. But the guys that Bush transferred to Guantanamo Bay are guys that everybody agrees are bad guys. The sticking point is that they have tortured them for years and the evidence against them is totally tainted by rendition and torture. These are guys that people definitely want to see put on trial. By moving them to Guantanamo Bay, Bush is basically challenging Congress and saying, "If you want to put Khaled Sheikh Mohammed on trial, you're going to have to retroactively authorize torture, rendition, and the black site program."

If Congress does authorize the president's version of the bill, they're not only retroactively authorizing torture, they're creating a legal framework for the future. That would create a system where disappearing and torturing people would become a part of the law."

(Via AlterNet.)

Only 25% in Poll Approve of the Congress

Only 25% in Poll Approve of the Congress: "With barely seven weeks until the midterm elections, Americans have an overwhelmingly negative view of the Republican-controlled Congress, with substantial majorities saying that they disapprove of the job it is doing and that its members do not deserve re-election, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

The disdain for Congress is as intense as it has been since 1994, when Republicans captured 52 seats to end 40 years of Democratic control of the House and retook the Senate as well. It underlines the challenge the Republican Party faces in trying to hold on to power in the face of a surge in anti-incumbent sentiment."

(Via NY Times.)

Drones, Blimps Lose Out in Border War

Drones, Blimps Lose Out in Border War: "For those of you hoping for hordes of drones and blimps to start patrolling the Mexican and Canadian borders, there's bad news this morning. 'After a face-off among large military contractors, the Boeing Company was picked by the Homeland Security Department to lead a high-tech effort to secure borders,' the Times reports. And unlike proposals from Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and others, Boeing's plan for the Secure Border Initiative, or SBInet, doesn't rely that much on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or airships.

'Boeing's proposal relied heavily on a network of 1,800 towers, most of which would need to be erected along the borders with Mexico and Canada. Each tower would be equipped with a variety of sensors, including cameras and heat and motion detectors," the Washington Post notes. Boeing teamed up for the project with an Israeli company that built a bunch of the imaging equipment used in Israel's controversial fence along the West Bank. That gear, Boeing said, would be less risky and expensive than UAVs or airships -- even though both have been used to watch over southern Arizona for illegals.'"

(Via a DefenseTech.)

Thai Prime Minister Declares State of Emergency

Thai Prime Minister Declares State of Emergency: "BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- The Thai military launched a coup against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Tuesday night, circling his offices with tanks, seizing control of TV stations and declaring a provisional authority pledging loyalty to the king.

An announcement on Thai television declared that a ''Council of Administrative Reform'' with King Bhumibol Adulyadej as head of state had seized power in Bangkok and nearby provinces without any resistance.

At least 14 tanks surrounded Government House, Thaksin's office. Thaksin was in New York at the U.N. General Assembly and declared a state of emergency via a government-owned TV station.

A convoy of four tanks rigged with loudspeakers and sirens rolled through a busy commercial district warning people to get off the street for their own safety."

(Via NY Times.)

Major Iraqi Al-Qaida Merger Rumored in the Works

Major Iraqi Al-Qaida Merger Rumored in the Works: "As-yet unsubstantiated reports have begun circulating on radical Arabic-language Internet chat forums that a major effort is now underway to bring the notorious Ansar al-Sunnah Army in Iraq officially under the umbrella of Al-Qaida's Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC). Active since at least mid-2003, Ansar al-Sunnah is one of the few Iraqi insurgent groups other than Zarqawi's Al-Qaida to openly advocate a pro-Bin Laden platform, to carry out suicide bombing attacks, and to distribute beheading videos on the Internet. According to the reports, discussions and "planning sessions" are currently being held in the restive western Al-Anbar province between representatives of Al-Qaida and Ansar al-Sunnah, with the ultimate objective of announcing their would-be merger during the coming month of Ramadan (approximately September 24 to October 23, 2006)."

(Via The Counterterrorism Blog.)

Cheney Biographer Launches Desperate Attack On Senate Intelligence Committee Report

Cheney Biographer Launches Desperate Attack On Senate Intelligence Committee Report : "In the Weekly Standard, official Cheney biographer Stephen Hayes attacks the recently-released portion of the Senate Intelligence Committee report that documents the fact that Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden were enemies, not collaborators.

The report’s conclusion deals a devastating blow to Hayes, who has previously declared “case closed” on the connection between Hussein and bin Laden and has authored on a book on that sole issue. Unsurprisingly, he strikes back against the Senate report with more deception and spin"

(Via Think Progress.)

How Bush Rules: Torture and The Quest For Unfettered Power

How Bush Rules: Torture and The Quest For Unfettered Power: "'We do not torture,' President Bush has said time and again. But Bush has approved techniques that are defined as torture under the Geneva Conventions. In fact, he abrogated U.S. compliance with Article 3 of the Conventions that specifically prohibits torture. Indeed, his then White House counsel and now attorney general Alberto Gonzales contemptuously referred to the Conventions as 'quaint.'"

(Via Think Progress.)

Senator calls for investigation of buried FCC study

Senator calls for investigation of buried FCC study: "Former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lawyer Adam Candeub claims that the government agency destroyed a 2004 study on the implications of local media ownership. The study, which revealed that locally owned television stations provide more local news coverage, blatantly contradicts the FCC's assertion that "commonly owned television stations are more likely to carry local news," an argument used by the agency to justify a position in favor of a hands-off approach to media ownership restrictions.

A surviving copy of the report ended up in the hands of California Senator Barbara Boxer, who supposedly received it "indirectly from someone within the FCC who believed the information should be made public," according Boxer spokeswoman Natalie Ravitzto. Boxer revealed the report to the public during a re-nomination confirmation hearing for FCC chief Kevin Martin. Both Martin and former FCC chairman Michael Powell have denied knowledge of the report, prompting Boxer to demand a full investigation."

(Via Ars Technica.)