Month: July 2009

Breaking from Obama’s strategy of “moving foward”, Attorney General Holder mulls appointing a criminal investigator into the CIA torture practices of the Bush administration … Probe of Alleged Torture Weighed (Washington Post) … as revelations emerge that information was withheld from House and Senate intelligent committees for 8 years under direct orders from Cheney: Cheney…

Insurgency may soon become secondary issue in stabilizing Iraq: Kurds Defy Baghdad, Laying Claim to Land and Oil (NY Times) “Unlike the Tibetans, Uighurs do not benefit from a well-defined U.S. policy supporting their political rights, autonomy and cultural identity”… The Right Way To Help the Uighurs (Washington Post) …Meanwhile, the streets were relatively quiet…

Blamed by China for the Uigher riots, a Muslim woman entrepreneur insists that her people want “what I want, … they want freedom….” The Mother of the Uighur Movement (Washington Post) … meanwhile, Uighur Muslims must abandon their lives in Urumqi or continue to live in constant fear of reprisals from the Han majority: In…

Imprisoning the innocent: “If, for some reason, he’s not convicted for a lengthy prison sentence, then, as a matter of legal authority, I think it’s our view that we would have the ability to detain that person,” – Pentagon general counsel Jeh Johnson: Indefinite Detentions Are Backed (Washington Post) US forces begin to understand the…

Despite cutting Internet and cellphone service, the Chinese government has been unable to control the violent uprising: New Protests in Western China After Deadly Clashes (NY Times) Under fear of prosecution, Mousavi promises new tactics and protests “within the framework of the law” … Mousavi Promises To Continue Protests (Washington Post) … Meanwhile, Iranian take…

Both sides blame the outbreak of violence on each other in a protest leaving 800 injured and hundreds arrested: 140 Slain as Chinese Riot Police, Muslims Clash in Northwestern City (LA Times) As Israel obtains permission to use Saudi airspace to attack Iran, Biden refuses to condemn a hypothetical attack… Closer to an Israeli Strike…

Despite accusations Mousavi is a  “foreign agent” working for the United States and a member of a “fifth column” determined to topple Iran’s Islamic system of governance … Iranian Details Alleged Fraud (Washington Post) … the influential Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qum released a statement of supporting Mousavi’s accusations of fraud: Leading Clerics…

Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, a hardline cleric and supporter of Ahmadinejad, claims the accused “made confessions” and will face trial… Detained Iranian British Embassy Employees to Face Trial, Cleric Says (Guardian) … Meanwhile, with a US ally now leading the IAEA, Ahmadinejad should expect little support from the international community: Iran’s Ahmadinejad Faces Diplomatic Isolation (LA…

Recently unclassified interviews with Hussein illustrate his obsession with a perceived Iranian threat: Hussein Pointed to Iranian Threat (Washington Post) “Much of the destruction was wanton and deliberate, and was carried out in a manner and circumstances which indicated that it could not be justified on grounds of military necessity.” – Amnesty International… Israel ‘Wantonly…