News and Analysis (1/12/07)

Security chief has close ties to Washington and is given free passage by Israel:

· Hamas Rallies Supporters Against Fatah Strongman (Reuters)

Negroponte claims the al-Qaida’s operational and network relationships are getting stronger:

· Pakistan Rejects Claims Al-Qaeda Strengthening on Its Soil (AFP)

Gates says Iraq can avoid unwanted additional troops by meeting “military, political, and economic” benchmarks…

· U.S. Officials: More Troops Help if Iraqi Gov’t Honors Commitment (Washington Post)

… but at the front it’s a different story:

· U.S. Unit Patrolling Baghdad Sees Flaws in Bush Strategy (Washington Post)

Human Rights Watch charges that U.SA. violations of human rights undermines the effort elsewhere:

· U.S. Has Lost Credibility On Rights, Group Asserts (Washington Post)

“In testimony during his court-martial, Hunsaker said … he knew it was illegal, but thought he was doing a greater good by killing detainees who might have been al-Qaeda agents in Iraq”:

· Soldier Gets 18 Years in Killing of Detainees at Alleged Al-Qaeda Site (Washington Post)

Dissenters “denounced Mr. Carter’s best-selling book, ‘Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid,’ for its criticisms of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians” and, ironically, “took issue with comments Mr. Carter has made suggesting that Israel’s supporters in the United States are using their power to stifle debate on the issue”…

· Carter Center Advisers Quit to Protest Book (NY Times)

… Paul Craig Roberts has a different take:

· Jimmy Carter Speaks Truth to Propaganda (antiwar.com)

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