Experts Doubt Drop In Violence in Iraq

The U.S. military's claim that violence has decreased sharply in Iraq in recent months has come under scrutiny from many experts within and outside the government, who contend that some of the underlying statistics are questionable and selectively ignore negative trends.

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Mr. President...Why the Big Smile?

OK, throw another $50 billion down the rat hole that is the Iraq occupation. It’s only money, if you ignore the lives being destroyed. That’s what the White House is asking for, in addition to the $147 billion in supplementary funds already requested. And why the smile on the president's face? Because Congress will give him the money he desires!How this farce can continue to be played out in the media, in Congress, in the Pentagon, and especially in Iraq, is beyond anybody's farthest stretch of what can be called, "sane" or "healthy." "Dysfunctional" doesn't say it powerfully enough. It's "sick."

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Airborne Nukes

Michael Hoffman of the Army Times is calling it an accident. The nuclear warheads were supposed to have been removed before the plane left Minot for Barksdale.

That's the offical story.

Lieutenant Colonel Ed Thomas of the Air Force pooh-poohed the concern over the "mistaken transport:"

“Air Force standards are very exacting when it comes to munitions handling,” he said. “The weapons were always in our custody and there was never a danger to the American public.”

Former intelligence officer Larry Johnson, blogging at TPM Cafe, had this to say, however,

Barksdale Air Force Base is being used as a jumping off point for Middle East operations. Gee, why would we want cruise missile nukes at Barksdale Air Force Base. Can’t imagine we would need to use them in Iraq. Why would we want to preposition nuclear weapons at a base conducting Middle East operations?
His final point was to observe that someone on the inside obviously leaked the info that the planes were carrying nukes. A B-52 landing at Barksdale is a non-event. A B-52 landing with nukes. That is something else.

Now maybe there is an innocent explanation for this? I can’t think of one. What is certain is that the pilots of this plane did not just make a last minute decision to strap on some nukes and take them for a joy ride. We need some tough questions and clear answers. What the hell is going on? Did someone at Barksdale try to indirectly warn the American people that the Bush Administration is staging nukes for Iran? I don’t know, but it is a question worth asking.

Depleted Uranium Weapons Turning Iraq Into Nuclear Nightmare

American use of DU is "A crime against humanity which may, in the eyes of historians, rank with the worst atrocities of all time." US Iraq Military Vets "are on DU death row, waiting to die."

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Germany foils 'massive' bomb plot

Three men have been arrested in Germany on suspicion of planning a "massive" terrorist attack on US facilities in the country, officials have said. It looks like police are still very capable of stopping terror attacks, even though the US is spending $1 billion per day to inspire them.

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Conscience of a Conservative

When Jack Goldsmith took over as the key constitutionaladviser for the Bush administration, he soon found himself at odds with the White House.This is the story of how a white bread neocon white guy who beamed into the Office of Legal Counsel from a Harvard Law professorship, got sick of BushCo and packed it in after one term.

And, from Glenn Greenwald,

It is critical to emphasize that Goldsmith -- like James Comey and John Ashcroft -- is no hero. He is a hard-core right-wing ideologue who continues to support many of the administration's most radical positions, including his view that Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions does not apply to terrorist suspects (the position rejected by Hamdan). And it was Goldsmith who ultimately approved of the modified (and plainly illegal) NSA warrantless eavesdropping program.

Moreover, Goldsmith explains that he had not even intended to address the NSA surveillance program in his book, but changed his mind once he was served with subpoenas by the FBI in connection with the ongoing criminal investigation to find out who the whistleblower was who alerted the country to this illegality -- an investigation which Goldsmith supports. As Goldsmith says: "I'm not a civil libertarian, and what I did wasn't driven by concerns about civil liberties per se."

Goldsmith is commendable only by comparison to the truly extremist and reprehensible likes of Cheney, Addington, Gonzales and Yoo. He is, by and large, a True Believer in the Bush "War on Terror" and in theories designed to expand substantially executive power. That is what makes his revelations all the more credible, and all the more disturbing. What he is describing is a band of deranged and lawless radicals who, during his tenure, ran our government and who, after they forced him out, continue to do so.

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Hillary Rolls On: Are Netroots a Paper Tiger?

Jeff Cohen isn't giving up yet. He's trying to rally the progressive Democrats with a call to arms against Clinton and the lobbyist/corporate elite Democratic leadership.He thinks part of the problem is forgetting history. It's important to remember how Clinton subverted the progressive agenda and weakened the Democrats to where the Republican revolution swept in in 1994.Hillary's failed health insurance plan has set the country back at least 15 years. What about the Telecommunications Act? What about NAFTA?

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