23 March 2012— Information Clearing House
Worrisome Security Council Presidential Statement on Syria
By Stephen Lendman
Washington’s longstanding policy wants pro-Western leadership replacing Assad. All means will be employed to achieve it, including war. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30898.htm
Israel and US Disagree on Timetable for Iran Attack
By Associated Press
Barak said that 2012 is a “highly important” year for a possible strike and speculated that the timeframe for a “surgical intervention” – a precision hit on Iranian targets – is not a matter of weeks, but it is not a matter of years either. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30905.htm
Special Report – Intel Shows Iran Not Nuclear “Threat”
By Reuters
Tehran does not have a bomb, has not decided to build one, and is probably years away from having a deliverable nuclear warhead. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30900.htm
Nuclear Watchdog Chief Accused of Pro-western Bias Over Iran
By Julian Borger
Former officials warn of parallels between IAEA approach to Iran and mistakes over Iraq‘s supposed weapons of mass destruction. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30899.htm
US’ Double Standards
China Daily Editorial
Once again the United States is trying to throw its weight around and impose its unilateral vision on other countries. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30901.htm
The Burial Of Our Species
The Roads Leading to Disaster
Must Read- By Fidel Castro
Does anyone by chance think that the United States will be capable of acting with the independence that will keep it from the inevitable disaster awaiting it? http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30897.htm
‘Belambai’ is Afghanistan’s ‘My Lai’
By Paul Rosenberg
Both Vietnam and Afghanistan were lost wars from the very beginning, as futile as they were immoral, begun by men abysmally ignorant of history, culture and geography.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30895.htm
An Administration Gone Rogue
No money for undeclared wars!
By Rep. Ron Paul
Who is to blame that Congress as a body will not stand up and demand that the president treat the Constitution as more than an anachronistic piece of paper, or merely a set of aspirations and guidelines? http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30894.htm
Obama Guidelines Permit Data on U.S. Citizens to be “Held Longer”
By Sari Horwitz and Ellen Nakashim
The Obama administration has approved guidelines that allow counterterrorism officials to lengthen the period of time they retain information about U.S. residents, even if they have no known connection to terrorism. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30893.htm
Big Brother On Campus
By Michael Gould-Wartofsky
From breaking up Occupy protests to spying on Muslim students, homeland security is targeting college kids.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30896.htm
Biden to Latin America: Drop Dead
By Peter Passell
The laws of economics show why the United States has little chance of victory in the war on drugs.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30902.htm
‘Big Government’ Isn’t the Problem, Big Money Is
By Robert Reich
Progressives must take back our economy and our democracy from a regressive right backed by a plutocracy that has taken over both. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30903.htm
Paul Ryan’s Focus on Dignity
By Greg Kaufmann
Ryan hands out about $4.4 trillion in tax cuts that primarily benefit the very best off, and pays for it with $4.15 trillion in spending cuts to programs that primarily benefit the poor and middle class. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30904.htm
US kills 29 people in Yemen: U.S. warships shelled suspected al Qaeda hideouts in southern Yemen on Thursday, days after a Yemeni terrorist cell tied to the group claimed responsibility for the murder of an American citizen. http://bit.ly/GT9suS
US drone attack kills 30 in south Yemen: Remote-commanded unmanned US warplanes, so-called drones, targeted alleged al-Qaeda bases in south Yemen, in the city of Zinjibar, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens of others. According to eyewitnesses, not only alleged bases were targeted, but US missiles were launched also against vehicles driving through the city centre. http://bit.ly/GWUWRQ
Landmines kill 10 in northern Yemen battle zone: – At least 10 people were killed by landmine explosions on Friday in a part of northern Yemen where Shi’ite Muslim fighters and tribal militiamen have fought running battles for months, the defence ministry said. http://bit.ly/GJrW0v
Street protests across Yemen demand trial of ex-president for deaths of demonstrators: Tens of thousands of protesters streamed into city centers across Yemen on Friday, demanding that their ex-president be stripped of immunity from prosecution and be put on trial for the deaths of demonstrators during the yearlong uprising. http://wapo.st/GTbTLF
4 security members killed near Baghdad:
Four Iraqi soldiers and policemen were killed when defusing a bomb in a suburb of Iraq‘s capital Baghdad on Thursday evening, an Interior Ministry source said. http://bit.ly/GTmOKd
Army deserters kill two Syrian soldiers, capture 18 in attack near Turkish border: Syrian anti-government fighters killed two government soldiers and captured 18 others, including two officers, in an attack on a Syrian army unit on Friday near the border with Turkey, Al Arabiya correspondent reported from the Turkish side of the border. http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/03/23/202602.html
Kurd militants threaten Turkey if it enters Syria: Turkish Kurd militants threatened on Thursday to turn all Kurdish populated areas into a “war zone” if Turkish troops entered Syria, a sign the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has allies in Syria may be taking sides in the conflict there. http://reut.rs/GHENhy
10 militants killed in suicide attack on mosque in Pakistan:
At least 10 militants were killed and several injured when a suicide bomber today targeted a mosque inside a base of the banned terror group in the Khyber tribal region of northwest Pakistan, officials said. http://bit.ly/GJopBy
4 Pakistani soldiers killed: Gunmen ambushed a Pakistani paramilitary checkpost on Friday, killing four soldiers and abducting four others in the southwestern province of Balochistan, officials said. http://gulftoday.ae/portal/6327ec19-8a03-4457-a037-d01cabf457ea.aspx
US soldier charged in 17 Afghan murders: Bales “could” face the death penalty for 17 counts of murder with premeditation, along with six counts of attempted murder against additional civilians in Kandahar province, US forces in Afghanistan said in a statement. http://bit.ly/GJpmdU
Afghan villagers live in fear of another massacre: “Are the American soldiers coming back, papa?” This is a question Fateh Mohammad hears almost every night. He and his family live in Zangabad, a small village around 40 kilometers away from Kandahar. http://bit.ly/GKicqW
U.S. general backs plan to pause Afghan drawdown in 2013:
The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan on Thursday indicated that he believes there should be no American troop drawdowns in 2013, leaving the total at the 68,000 who will remain following scheduled withdrawals this year. http://wapo.st/GNkzp5
Western countries scramble for Afghan exits: As international forces prepare for withdrawal from Afghanistan, Western countries are already in talks with Afghanistan‘s Central Asian neighbors to bring their troops and military equipment back home. http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/NC23Df03.html
Karzai says West to fund army for $4b a year: Karzai told a graduation ceremony at a military academy in Kabul: “It’s set that post-2014, for the next 10 years until 2024, the international community, with the U.S. in the lead and followed by Europe and other countries, will pay Afghanistan security forces $4.1 billion annually.” http://bit.ly/GLVLzw
West tensions against Iran worse than 2011 quake for Japan: Tanaka: Former executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) says Western tensions against Iran could hit Japan with an economic impact greater than that from the March 2011 earthquake. http://www.presstv.ir/detail/232925.html
More $ for Israel:
U.S. Congress supports additional funding for Israel’s Iron Dome systems: Meanwhile, the House Foreign Affairs Committee has questioned continued funding for the Palestinian Authority http://bit.ly/GTiJ6R
Would-be Spy for Israel Gets 13 Years in Prison: A former government space scientist was sentenced Wednesday to 13 years in prison after admitting he tried to sell space and defense secrets to Israel in what turned out to be an FBI sting operation. http://mnstr.me/GGNPdW
US journalist fired after calling Israeli occupation ‘brutal’: A veteran American journalist has been fired after referring to Israel‘s occupation of Palestinian and Syrian land as “brutal.” http://bit.ly/GKiwWv
French intelligence chief: Toulouse shooter arrested by Israel Police in 2010 for possession of a knife: He said that French intelligence tracked him and investigated to see if he is suspicious, but found that he had not been engaging in any ideological activism or religious activity. http://bit.ly/GRadn2
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French President Sarkozy Sees Opportunity for Censorship, Seizes It: President Nicolas Sarkozy of France has begun calling for criminal penalties for citizens who visit web sites that advocate for terror or hate. “From now on, any person who habitually consults Web sites that advocate terrorism or that call for hatred and violence will be criminally punished,” Sarkozy was reported as saying. http://bit.ly/GHc4iZ
Army Sgt. Robert Bales to be charged with 17 counts of murder: Bales’ civilian attorney, John Henry Browne, said Friday without commenting on the specific charges that he believes the government will have a hard time proving its case and that at some stage in the prosecution his client’s mental state will be an important issue. http://wapo.st/GJ9eJY
Internet rumours of coup in China: The rumours of a military coup in China continue on social media. So much so that on China‘s version of Twitter, Weibo, the word ‘coup‘ has been censored. The latest rumour I have heard is that artillery was being moved to the capital from a nearby province. http://itv.co/GKhBFY
Damaging coup rumours ricochet across China: Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of reporting on China in the past few days. Coup rumours ricocheted back and forth, most over the internet, but some were picked up by western newspapers. China‘s microblogs were awash with speculation. Hard facts were non-existent. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-17476760
Tuareg rebels take Mali town, threaten 3 more:
Tuareg rebels on Friday threatened three strategic northern towns, including the famed ancient city of Timbuktu, as leaders of the two-month-old rebellion took advantage of a power vacuum caused when government soldiers stormed the presidential palace and ousted the democratically elected president. http://bit.ly/GJvCTV
Rights groups warn of Libya’s shaky peace: Human Rights Watch said it documented killings, torture and forced displacement by militias of innocent civilians or people suspected of sympathies with the late leader Moammar Gadhafi. http://bit.ly/GRv66h
Global ‘water war’ threat by 2030 – US intelligence: Nations will cut off rivers to prevent their enemies having access to water downstream, terrorists will blow up dams, and states that cannot provide water for their citizens will collapse. This is the future – as painted by a top US security report. http://www.rt.com/news/water-conflict-terrorism-rivers-239/
NSA Chief Appears to Deny Ability to Warrantlessly Wiretap Despite Evidence: The former NSA official held his thumb and forefinger close together. “We are, like, that far from a turnkey totalitarian state,” he says. http://bit.ly/GFL8dr
How the rich took over airport security: Security checks were one of America‘s most democratic places — until rich passengers got their own speedy lines http://www.salon.com/2012/03/22/how_the_rich_took_over_airport_security/
Cost Of War
Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered In US War And Occupation Of Iraq “1,455,590“
Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America’s War On Iraq: 4,801
Number Of International Occupation Force Troops Slaughtered In Afghanistan : 2,933
Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan
Total Cost of Wars Since 2001
$1,314,889,622,775
The New Dark Age 
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