Frank Freeman's Diary, January 2006

The UK government said it had considered, as reported by several papers today, using satellite spy-in-the-sky technology to check on householders properties re. council tax liability, but has not gone ahead with the idea.

The new petro-imperialist agitprop year kicks off (shamefully, in The Guardian)...

Secret services say Iran is trying to assemble a nuclear missile
Document seen by Guardian details web of front companies and middlemen
Ian Cobain and Ian Taylor, The Guardian (UK), 4 January 06

'The Iranian government has been successfully scouring Europe for the sophisticated equipment needed for a nuclear bomb, according to the latest western intelligence assessment of the country's weapons programmes.

'Scientists in Tehran are also shopping for parts for a ballistic missile capable of reaching Europe, with "import requests and acquisitions ... registered almost daily", the report seen by the Guardian concludes.

'The warning came as Iran raised the stakes in its dispute with the United States and the European Union yesterday by notifying the International Atomic Energy Authority [sic, for Agency] that it intended to resume nuclear fuel enrichment next week. ...

'The 55-page intelligence assessment, dated July 1, 2005 [!], draws upon material gathered by the British, French, German and Belgian agencies [no doubt the contributions are 90 percent British] ...

'It concludes that Syria and Pakistan have been buying technology and chemicals needed to develop rocket programmes and to enrich uranium. It outlines the role played by Russia in the escalating Middle East arms build-up, and examines the part that dozens of Chinese front companies have played in North Korea's nuclear weapons programme. [N Korea, as I've commented before, is a separate device designed to target China.]

'But [of course!] it is the detailed assessment of Iran's nuclear purchasing programme that will most alarm western leaders ...

'The assessment declares that Iran has developed an extensive web [in which the petro-imperialist agents, as ever, mirror their own spider's-web] of front companies, official bodies, academic institutes and middlemen dedicated to obtaining — in western Europe and in the former Soviet Union — the expertise, training, and equipment for nuclear programmes, missile development, and biological and chemical arsenals. ...

'The document lists scores of Iranian companies and institutions involved in the arms race. It also details Tehran's growing determination to perfect a ballistic missile capable of delivering warheads far beyond its borders [propaganda designed specifically to galvanize the "recalcitrant" Europeans behind the upcoming invasion].

'It notes that Iran harbours ambitions of developing a space programme, but is currently concentrating on upgrading and extending the range of its Shahab-3 missile, which has a range of 750 miles — capable of reaching Israel.

'... The next generation of Shahab ("shooting star" in Persian) should be capable of reaching Austria and Italy.'

This report, which the Guardian admits was produced in July 2005, is a pulling-together of already-published guff (some by the Guardian) of alleged Iranian pursuit of nukes and Europe-reaching missiles. See October 2005 diary, under 8 October (Guardian report), and 16 October (Telegraph report). Clearly it is being knocked together in preparation for the start of the invading season; but why the Guardian should so avidly report it is unclear to me.

For even more guff from the same report, see Ian Traynor and Ian Cobain, "Intelligence report claims nuclear market thriving", The Guardian (UK), 4 January 06.

My Usenet posting "Why Has the UK Guardian Become a Mouthpiece of Invade-Iran Agitprop?"

Iran intelligence is not trustworthy
Prof. John Sloboda, Oxford Research Group, letter to The Guardian, 6 January 06

'Your front-page coverage of Iran's alleged nuclear activities (Report, January 4 [i.e. the above report]) suggests that you have not learned the important lessons from Iraq. After recent intelligence failures [continuing repetition of this term is cowardly hypocrisy] over WMD, editors should be doubly wary of "leaked intelligence", its timing and the motives of those who provided the information. [They'll be rehashing it once more for Saudi Arabia.]

'Your coverage of a secret services report about Iran's nuclear ambitions contains little new. It is mainly rehashed information available from public sources. [They could make a whole career — in fact hey are — out of writing dodgy dossiers] It is well-known that the Iranians are trying to develop long-range missiles that are capable of carrying nuclear warheads. [It was well-known, too, it could be remarked, that Poland was planning to invade Nazi Germany.] What the article fails to point out is that they are a long way from achieving this. [This sounds familiar from Iraq.] Dual-purpose companies are also nothing new. If there was one useful purpose the article could have served, it would have been to name the companies listed in the report. [Even better, it could have listed the 60 — or is it 80? — countries infiltrated by the army of 100,000 Qaeda agents.]

'There are many reasons to be concerned about Iran's nuclear programme, but the UK and EU must also be held to account for the failure of their diplomatic efforts to curb Iran's nuclear development. Your publication of this material helps those who seek to demonise Iran, makes peaceful resolution of the dispute even more difficult, and means that proper scrutiny of the failure of EU and [!] US policy has once again been avoided.'

The following allegations may indicate CIA efforts to incriminate Iran and Russia in one blow ...

CIA Gave Iran [Nuclear] Bomb Plans, Book Says
Josh Meyer, Los Angeles Times, 4 January 06

'WASHINGTON — In a clumsy effort to sabotage Iran's nuclear program, the CIA in 2004 intentionally handed Tehran some top-secret bomb designs laced with a hidden flaw that U.S. officials hoped would doom any weapon made from them, according to a new book about the U.S. intelligence agency.

'But the Iranians were tipped to the scheme by the Russian defector hired by the CIA to deliver the plans and may have gleaned scientific information useful for designing a bomb, writes New York Times reporter James Risen in "State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration." ...

'Even before the book's release Tuesday [3 Jan. 06], its main revelation — that President Bush authorized a secret effort by ... the National Security Agency [NSA] to eavesdrop on unsuspecting Americans without court-approved warrants — had created a storm of controversy when it was reported last month in the New York Times in an article coauthored by Risen. [See December 2005 diary, under 16 Dec. 05 etc.] ...

'The book says the CIA worked with the U.S.-based defector to concoct a story about how he was destitute, but in possession of valuable nuclear weapons blueprints that had been secreted out of Russia.

'CIA officials had concerns about the man's temperament, Risen says, but sent the defector and the blueprints to Vienna anyway, with orders to hand-deliver them to someone at Tehran's diplomatic mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, the U.N. nuclear watchdog [duh!].

'His CIA handlers never imagined that the Russian defector would tip off the Iranians to the fatal flaw that they had hidden deep within the blueprints. But that, the book adds, is exactly what the Russian did, in part because the CIA failed to send anybody to accompany him out of fear that it might make the Iranians suspicious.

'The book does not say whether Iran used the plans, but reports that a senior Iranian official visiting Vienna appears to have taken them immediately to Tehran after the defector dropped them off. ...

'"Iran has excellent scientists and any information related to weapons designs could move its program ahead," said a European nuclear weapons expert, who refused to allow his name to be used because his government prohibits comments on nuclear weapons or designs.

'David Albright, a former weapons inspector for the IAEA, agreed ... that the plans could have shaved many years off Iran's nuclear effort. ...'

US blunder aided Iran's atomic aims, book claims
Julian Borger, The Guardian (UK), 5 January 06

'... In an excerpt from State of War, printed today in G2, the author ... writes that the abortive operation misfired when a Russian defector ...'

The article says the handover of the plans happened in February 2000 ...

The imminence of an Iranian invasion also seems to be heralded by an article ("Bush administration finalizes military attack on Iran") by allegedly-ex NSA man Wayne Madsen, which looks to me like a disinformational diversion and justification. Apparently on Madsen's website on 2 January 06, someone put copies on the Usenet the following day, e.g. on uk.politics.misc, etc.

The article claims that "The U.S. attack on Iran will primarily involve aviation (Navy, Air Force, Navy-Marine Corps) and special operations assets". Similar diversionary claims were made vis-a-vis Iraq during the course of 2002, where the only realistic option of full-scale invasion was launched in 2003. The same will be true for Iran.

Madsen's article also says that primary targets will include Iran's missile and nuclear-related facilities, thus subtly inferring justification of the attack. Anglo-Saxon intelligence has been, as with Iraq, building up a litany of chimeras — long-range missiles, nukes (and terrorist attacks) — to set the scene for invasion. The approach is not so ham-fisted as with Iraq; this time they're only saying the Iranians are developing such weapons.

More outre is the article's claim that the attack "may involve tactical nuclear weapons" — muscle-weakening preliminary propaganda that was used before the 1991 Gulf War too.

Best of all is the claim that Burma is moving its capital 200 miles to the north (which it is) to avoid monsoon-carried radioactive fallout from a nuclear strike on Iran. Is this tailored to give the impression that invasion theorists are, after all, just a bunch of "chuckle-headed conspiracy weirdos"?

America has no need to resort to weapons of mass destruction to conquer oil-rich minnows ....

As for a full ground invasion. The US already has 160,000 troops in Iraq, more than at the time of that invasion, far more than needed to hold down the country — many times the number of British troops in the southern sector, for comparison. It has more close by, in other Persian Gulf locations. And that, of course, only speaks for acknowledged troop numbers ...

Michel Chossudovsky published a similar article, "Nuclear War against Iran", containing the same knee-weakeners about a "plan" to use low-yield nuclear bunker-busters against Iranian "nuclear" targets, on his Global Research site. Israel is here alleged to be a major player — again.

Before the Iraq invasion, Israel offered to allow US forces the use of its territory as a "gateway" to invade Iraq — a "gateway" which would have required trampling across Syria and/or Jordan in the process.

Dubai's ruler Sheikh Maktoum has died on a visit to Australia. He was in his sixties. Maktoum was also the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, the UAE, of which Dubai is a member.

'TELEGRAPH[:] The [UK] Government was accused of compiling a DNA database "by stealth" as police reported a rapid rise in genetic profiling.

'GUARDIAN[:] The DNA profiles of nearly 40% of UK black men are on the police's national database — compared with fewer than 10% of white men.'

'At least two people in eastern Turkey have died of bird flu, in the first cases outside southeast Asia.

'The country's health minister said a 14-year-old boy who died last weekend was found to have the disease, despite earlier results indicating otherwise [my emphasis].

'The boy's sister, who had also tested positive [when was that?!], died early on Thursday [today]. A third sibling has symptoms of bird flu.

'This would be [would be? Isn't the writer in fact sure?] the first time the HSN1 strain has been found outside Asia, where at least 70 have died.'

There were mysterious air crashes in the region just before the Iraq invasion. (See January 2003 diary, under 8 Jan. 03; cf. May 2003 diary, under 26 May 03.)

This time, will a bird-flu quarantine be declared there, as cover for support of an Iran invasion? (If so, giving the lie to another claim of Madsen's article, referred to above, that Turkey won't support such a thing.)

Israeli PM Ariel Sharon, 77, is in a "serious condition" after seven hours of surgery for a stroke.

In mid December, Sharon suffered a couple of little disappearances, the second of which was "for treatment for a mild stroke".

Before this, Sharon had abandoned his Likud Party to found a "centrist/socialist" party to adopt a conciliatory approach to the Palestinians. New elections are due in March.

'... Three children from Dogubeyazit have died this week, at least two of them from the virulent H5N1 strain. ...

Mehmet Ali Kocyigit, 14 and his two sisters Fatma, 15 and Hulya, 11, have all died this week.

'Tests carried out in a UK laboratory confirmed that Mehmet Ali and Fatma died from the H5N1 strain, which has killed more than 70 in south-east Asia and China. ...

'Despite no evidence that the disease has begun to [this is what's known as the optative case] spread between humans, locals have sought treatment at a poorly-equipped hostpital in the town.

'The World Health Organisation has attempted to play down fears of the disease ...

'A WHO spokeswoman in Geneva said the bird flu outbreak had been contained in one Turkish province and there was "no need for excessive panic" [how much panic does she recommend?].

'Twenty people remain in hospital in Van, a larger city in eastern Turkey, under treatment for suspected bird flu. ...

'Turkish Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker says at least four new outbreaks of bird flu in poultry have been confirmed in the eastern provinces of Igdir and Erzurum and the south-eastern province of Sanliurfa.'

In the case of Iraq, the US and UK bombed the infrastructure for 11 years before the invasion. Iran will be a relatively tough nut to crack. US/UK may regard access to the country from the adjacent occupied states of Iraq and Afghanistan as insufficient ...

In the UK, people who fail to take up identity cards will be fined up to £2,500.

The Sunday Telegraph calls the scheme "A tax on being alive" (or is that "Attacks on being alive"? I only heard the review on BBC Radio 4).)

Another UK Sunday paper remarks that Orwell's nightmare vision of 1984 is coming true.

Iran has removed seals from its nuclear research facility in the centre of the country. It says it has done so with the agreement of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and in the presence of officials of the IAEA.

You have to wonder if Iranian President Ahmadinejad is in the pay of the Americans. :-)

'A Yemeni man accused of being Osama Bin Laden's bodyguard has appeared before a military tribunal at the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

'Ali Hamza al Bahlul, who has said he is a member of al-Qaeda, went before the tribunal's pre-trial hearing four years to the day since the camp was set up. ...

'The pre-trial hearing against another man, Canadian Omar Khadr, 19, was also scheduled to convene on Wednesday [yesterday].

'Mr Khadr has been accused with murdering a US medic with a grenade in Afghanistan when he was only fifteen.

'Their cases have gone ahead even though the trials of other Guantanamo detainees have been halted while the US Supreme Court decides if US President George W Bush has the authority to establish such tribunals. ...

'Amnesty [International] said 500 detainees continued to be held without charge or trial at Guantanamo Bay and repeated its call for the facility to be shut.

'Amnesty said there were mounting allegations of appalling conditions, torture and ill-treatment of detainees at the camp. ...

'Amnesty UK's Campaigns Director, Stephen Bowen, called the situation at Guantanamo Bay "shocking".

'"There's no middle ground regarding Guantanamo. It must be closed and there must be an investigation into the dozens of torture reports that have emerged since 2002," he said.'

'It is "highly probable" that Iran will be referred to the United Nations Security Council over its nuclear programme as a result of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers, [UK] Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said.

'Top of the agenda at the meeting in Berlin will be calling an emergency meeting of the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency to discuss referral — which could lead to international sanctions against Iran. ...'

'The meeting comes days after it was revealed that Iran had broken UN seals in order to restart its uranium enrichment activities, which the Tehran regime insists is for civil power-production activities. ...'

And we need have no doubt that the UK lapdog will follow faithfully at the heels of its American master, wherever that leads — into Iran, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, World War III ...

'The removal of the UN's nuclear watchdog's seals at Iranian nuclear facilities is not a violation of international law, the Russian foreign minister said Thursday [today].

'"The seals were removed in the presence of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who must accept an invitation from a country to be present at such operations," Sergei Lavrov told the Ekho Moskvy radio station. ...

'Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that his country does not need nuclear weapons.

'At a news conference in Tehran, Mr Ahmadinejad said they were needed only by people who "want to solve everything through the use of force". ...

'The US, UK, France and Germany are threatening to refer Iran to the UN Security Council, which could impose sanctions. ...

'Mr Ahmadinejad told reporters Tehran pursued an active foreign policy which sought peace, based on justice.

'He criticised the "double standards" of Western countries which already had [huge arsenals of] nuclear weapons, and attacked "arrogant rulers" for causing suffering. ...

'Washington, Israel and many European powers distrust Iran [LMAO], partly because it had kept its nuclear research secret for 18 years before it was revealed in 2002. [And if it hasn't produced nuclear power or weapons after 20-odd years, and there "isn't the prospect of it doing so for years" yet, is there any prospect of it doing so in the foreseeable future?]. ...

'Tehran has always said it has the right under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty — which it has signed — to research energy for peaceful purposes.'

The UK government has suffered a "major defeat" in the House of Lords over its identity-card plans. Peers questioned the costs of the scheme. The government claims it will be self-financing.

They could have held up gassing the Jews, too, by querying the costs of the scheme. And Fuehrer Hitler too, would no doubt have claimed that it would be self-financing.

The UK government has suffered another defeat in the House of Lords over its Terrorism Bill (cf. above, yesterday). Peers voted against a criminal charge of "glorifying acts of terrorism".

'The UK [surprise, surprise] has taken a hard line on an Iranian offer to continue discussing its nuclear programme, indicating major powers disagree on how to proceed. ...

'Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says a compromise offer [which the Iranians have previously rejected] is still on the table which could see Iran sending uranium to Russia for enrichment ...

'Iran has offered to return to talks with the EU-3 of France, Germany and the UK.

'But on Tuesday the UK Foreign Office appeared to reject both that offer and the Russian compromise.

'Unnamed Foreign Office officials [ah, those celebrated unnamed Foreign Office officials again] were quoted by news agencies as saying the Iranians were stalling.

'The UK, France and Germany [who are obviously concerned to position themselves to lick up the scraps from their Master's table] are calling for an urgent meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ... on 2-3 February.

'The IAEA could refer the issue to the UN Security Council, which could in turn decide to impose sanctions [or preferably provide another resolution calling for unspecified measures which, like its predecessor vis-a-vis Iraq, can be used as the pretext for the US and UK to invade], but Russia and China appear wary of imposing an embargo. ...'

'Nine Iraqi coastguards have been detained by Iran after a clash on the Shatt al-Arab waterway which marks the Iran-Iraq border, officials say.

'Basra Governor Muhammed al-Waili said the Iranian Navy had attacked the coastguards after they boarded a ship believed to be smuggling oil. ...

'The reports of this incident are untrue," a spokeswoman for Iranian Charge d'Affaires Hasan Kazemi-Qomi said. ...

'Iran detained eight British servicemen for three days in 2004 after they allegedly strayed over the maritime border. The UK claimed the men were "forcibly escorted" into Iranian territorial waters.'

And in the same year, there were also British claims of Iraqi border violations [!!!] by Iranian Revolutionary Guards (Pasdaran).

For Heydrich's fabrication of border incidents as the pretext to invade Poland in 1939, see my Usenet posting
"Iran 'detains' Iraqi coastguards", 17 Jan. 06.

For evidence that Heydrich was behind the Reichstag Fire, see the link "The Reichstag Fire" at the bottom of my home page.

'[US] federal lawsuits were filed Tuesday [today] seeking to block President Bush's domestic eavesdropping program, which civil rights groups call unconstitutional electronic surveillance of American citizens.

'The U.S. District Court lawsuits were filed in New York by the Center for Constitutional Rights and in Detroit by the American Civil Liberties Union.

'The New York suit, filed on behalf of the center and individuals, names Mr. Bush, the head of the National Security Agency, and the heads of the other major security agencies. It challenges the NSA's surveillance of persons within the United States without judicial approval or statutory authorization.

'It seeks and injunction that would prohibit the government from conducting surveillance of communications in the United States without warrants.

'The Detroit suit, which also names the NSA, was filed with the ACLU along with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Greenpeace and several individuals. ...'

Thanks to "hummingbird" on the Usenet for drawing my attention to this article:- John-Paul Flintoff, Beware of the thought police", The Sunday Times (UK), 18 December 2005

In the UK, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has drawn up a report on its investigation of the Menezes shooting on the London Underground last year. But it's a secret; we aren't allowed to know it yet.

The person who singled out Menezes was a member of the "SRR", the "Special Reconnaissance Regiment". This was allegedly created, out of the SAS, just before two of its alleged members (otherwise called SAS men) were caught by police in Basra, disguised as Arabs, with an alleged carload of explosives and a detonator. (They in turn then claimed they were investigating police corruption.)

Is the "SRR" a front/cover for the existing special forces of terror? Who have now evidently combined operations of domestic and foreign terror-conspiracy.

The "SRR" is said to have absorbed the the "FRU", the "Forces Reconnaissance Unit". This was another "shadowy special-forces unit" who, in conjunction with MI5, was said by the UK paper The Independent to have given hi-tech explosive technology to ... the IRA in the early 1990s? Technology later supposedly supplied by Iran to terrorists in the British-occupied sector of Iraq to blow up British soldiers. (See October 2005 diary, under 16 Oct. 05, second Independent report.)

In both cases, we see apparent facets of the same plot to incriminate the Iranians, as one — and only one! — pretext to invade the next oil target.

'Fort Carson, Colo[rado] — The judge [Col. Mark Toole] hearing the court-martial of an Army officer accused of killing an Iraqi general rejected an attempt Wednesday [today] to open the hearing during testimony from classified witnesses. ...

'... Attorney Steve Zansberg, representing the Associated Press, The Denver Post and The Gazette of Colorado Springs ... referred to a Washington Post report that [the Iraqi general, Abed Hamed] Mowhoush had been beaten by interrogators linked to the CIA [my emphasis]. ...'

'Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that she will shift hundreds of Foreign Service positions from Europe and Washington to difficult assignments in the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere as part of a broad restructuring of the diplomatic corps that she has dubbed "transformational diplomacy [as she diplomatically calls PetroReichsPolitik]." ...

'As part of the change in priorities, Rice announced that diplomats will not be promoted into the senior ranks unless they accept assignments in dangerous posts, gain expertise in at least two regions and are fluent in two foreign languages, citing Chinese, Urdu and Arabic as a few preferred examples.

'... As a first step, 100 jobs in Europe and Washington will be immediately shifted to expanded embassies in countries such as India, China and Lebanon. ...

'Officials said that ultimately as many as one-third of the 6,400 Foreign Service positions could be affected in the coming years [my emphasis]. [Already after the Iraq invasion, the US greatly expanded its embassy in Baghdad.] ...

'Under the plan outlined yesterday, Rice will expand the U.S. presence by encouraging the spread of new one-person diplomatic outposts, now located in a few cities such as Alexandria, Egypt, and Medan, Indonesia. "There are nearly 200 cities worldwide with over 1 million people in which the United States has no formal diplomatic presence," Rice said. "This is where the action is today."

Al-Jazeera has broadcast an audiotape, purportedly of Osama bin Laden, threatening attacks on the American "homeland". The tape is of poor quality. The US government has pounced on the tape as justification for their "War On Terror".

Overheard when phoning the CIA for more info: "Right, who's going to be Bin Laden today?" :-)

'CASABLANCA[ the usual suspects, presumably], Morocco, Jan. 19 — The voice of Osama bin Laden was heard for the first time in more than a year Thursday [yesterday], saying new attacks in the United States were being prepared but offering a "long-term" truce if U.S. forces withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan [watch this space ;-)]. The tape quieted speculation that his long silence meant he was dead.

Addressing the American public on an audiotape delivered to the al-Jazeera television network, the al Qaeda leader noted antiwar sentiment in the United states [thus conveniently tarring them with the Qaeda brush; as he did with Kerry and the Democrats in November 2004] and said that a withdrawal would allow the opposing sides [backing Bushite propaganda in implying that the ramshackle Qaeda bogeyman is on a par with the might of the world's only superpower] in the conflicts to "enjoy security and stability."

'... Vice President Cheney told Fox News channel: "It sounds like it's some kind of ploy. ..." [right on, Dick, it's your petro-imperialists' ploy] ...

'[And it goes without saying that] U.S. intelligence analysts have judged the tape to be authentic, an intelligence official said. Bin Laden speaks in a low voice; the sound quality is generally poor. [Why do we never hear of other analysts' comments on the authenticity or otherwise of these Qaeda tapes?]

'It is the first time since December 2004 that a recording of bin Laden's voice has surfaced. The intervening 13 months was the longest stretch of silence from bin Laden since before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.

'During that period, bin Laden's prominence in Islamic radical circles had been eclipsed by that of two other figures: his Egyptian deputy, Ayman [al-]Zawahiri, and Abu Musab [al-]Zarqawi, the Jordanian fighter and insurgent leader in Iraq. [The others in the three-man Punch-and-Judy show.]

'Zawahiri, al Qaeda's leading theoretician and political strategist, has released at least eight recorded statements in the past year, including an audiotape last September in which he sought to squash rumors that bin Laden was dead or incapacitated. ["Osama" tapes are for fools and yellow-fever victims to believe. Zawahiri videos are for connoisseurs and those only in the early stages of the disease. Their quality is much better than those of the boss, though they can probably be faked to this standard too. So why the disparity? "Hey, those Osama tapes are obvious fakes. But, wow, the Zawahiri videos must be real!!" ... Alternatively, Zawahiri (unlike Osama) is still alive in a secret CIA prison somewhere.]

'Zarqawi, an occasional rival who has irked al Qaeda's original leadership with some of his tactics, regularly releases statements on the Internet [do we see any good-quality video or voice recordings of this tool? no] and asserted responsibility for orchestrating the hotel bombings in Amman, Jordan, last November. ...

'"Every audio or video tape is potentially traceable by intelligence services," said Paul R. Pillar, former deputy chief of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center. "We hope they will make a mistake, but they are extra cautious. ...

'Al-Jazeera reported that the 10-minute ["bin-Laden"] tape was made in December, but the network did not offer specifics. The recording, however, contains a number of clues.

'For instance, bin Laden refers to an alleged plot by the Bush administration to bomb al-Jazeera's headquarters in Qatar, [Bomb your own shop-window that "justifies" the imperial War Of Terror? Not likely. Still, it looks good.], which received coverage in British newspapers in late November. (The White House has denied any such plot.)

'He also mentions antiwar sentiment in public opinion polls and comments by Bush that it is better to fight terrorists abroad so Americans do not have to face them at home. [Bad news here. The country is run by them.] ...

'Michael Scheur, former head of the CIA unit dedicated to hunting down bin Laden, [the Bin Laden Issue Station" a unit under the Counterterrorsm Center,] ... said he interpreted [!!] bin Laden's remarks as a threat to make a repeat attack on Washington. He said al Qaeda "failed to hit the Capitol building and destroy the Pentagon" in 2001 and would likely [!] try again, pointing out the parallels to al Qaeda's first attempt to blow up the World Trade Center in 1993 before returning to finish the job eight years later. [ The Bin Laden Issue Station", founded by Scheur in 1996, may well have been a CIA cover for running the Qaeda show itself. In which case we can interpret this as a direct threat by the CIA. Though, as in the first "try" on the Pentagon, we can be sure no top brass or vital structures will be destroyed. They need these for empire-construction.]'

In the UK, extremist Muslim cleric Abu Hamza, on trial for incitement, has said that he had several meetings with MI5 and the police in the period 1997 - 2000.

'DUBAI, United Arab Emirates [another Anglo-Saxon satellite], Jan. 20 — Just a day after Osama bin Laden resurfaced in a lengthy [yesterday's Washington-Post report (see above said it was a 10-minute recording] a new recording by his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, appeared today [yesterday, 19 Jan. 06, presumably], praising the "martyrs of holy war" in Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories and elsewhere.

'The Central Intelligence Agency confirmed today that the voice on the 18-minute audiotape, posted on an Internet forum that has carried Al Qaeda communiques before, was Mr. Zawahiri's. ...

'It was not immediately clear when the recording was made ... There was no mention, either, of last week's [CIA] missile attacks by the United States on a Pakistani village in the country's remote northeast, where Mr. Zawahiri was thought to be attending a dinner. Mr. Zawahiri appears not to have been present, but his son-in-law and two senior members of Al Qaeda are believed to have been among those killed, Pakistani officials said. ...'

Iran has started to shift its financial assets out of Europe in anticipation of "UN sanctions".

The Shias have just failed to get an overall majority in the Iraqi parliamentary elections.

Google has refused (my hero!) to hand over "sample" records to help the US government investigate "child pornography".

Judge Samuel Alito has been selected by a Congressional committee to sit on the US Supreme Court (subject to the probable ratification of Congress). This will give a right-conservative majority to the court.

'(CNN) — In his initial report to the Council of Europe on alleged secret prisons run by the CIA in eastern Europe to question terror suspects, a Swiss investigator said there was evidence of the "outsourcing" of torture by the United States, adding it was likely a number of Europe nations or their intelligence agencies knew about it.

'"It has been proved — and, in fact, never denied — that individuals have been abducted, deprived of their liberty and transported ... in Europe, to be handed over to countries in which they have suffered ... torture," said Swiss Senator Dick Marty in a written statement.

'Last month, the group Human Rights Watch said it had "not reached final conclusions about CIA operations in eastern Europe," but had collected information that the CIA airplanes traveled from Afghanistan in 2003 and 2004, making direct flights to remote airfields in Poland and Romania, and sometimes passing through other European nations.

'While admitting there was no formal, irrefutable proof of the existence of secret CIA detention centers in Romania, Poland or nay other country, Marty said there was "a great deal of coherent, convergent evidence pointing to the existence of a system of 'relocation' or 'outsourcing' of torture."

'U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack on Tuesday [today] afternoon called the report "old ground having been plowed."

'"Same old reports wrapped up in some new rhetoric," he said. "There's nothing new here."

'McCormack repeated [nothing new here either] what U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she told European leaders on a trip to the continent in December. "The United States does not torture. We respect the sovereignty of our European friends and allies." ...'

'The UK is expected to send 3,500 extra troops to Afghanistan in April or May, bringing the total there to more than 4,000, the BBC has learned. ...

'Defence Secretary John Reid is to address MPs on the matter on Thursday [tomorrow]. ...

'It is thought 16 Air Assault Brigade will be involved because they are currently involved in a major training exercise in the UK in preparation. ...'

'WASHINGTON — As the Bush administration pushes to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council, many members of Congress are advocating get-tough approaches and say military force should remain an option to thwart Tehran's nuclear ambitions. ...

'[Condoleezza] Rice has shied away from discussions of possible U.S. military action, saying the United States is focused on a diplomatic course. But she has consistently said President Bush reserves the right to use any option, including force. ...

'"If you eliminate the threat of military action, the possibility of it, then there's no way to secure compliance," added Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-N.y., a House International Relations committee member. ...

'Sen. John Mccain, R-Ariz., said diplomatic efforts mist be exhausted before turning to the "last option," the use of force. [Again, a repeat performance of Iraq.] ...

'Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., vice chairman of the House International Relations Committee, said: "We need to use the diplomatic means very, very aggressively." [Load their diplomatic pouches with C4 and throw them at the Iranians?!] ...'

In what looks like a repeat show of the (rather obvious) disinformation campaign about British troops before the invasion of Iraq,

A Pentagon report by a "retired army officer" says that the US Army has been overstretched to breaking point by its commitments around the world. Another report, commissioned by the Democratic Party, makes related remarks.

And, as was the case the British government before the Iraq invasion, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has denied the "findings".

Before the Iraq invasion, various reports were made of the poor supply and state of British materiel. This culminated on the eve of the invasion with a claim that British troops in the Gulf were actually "going hungry" due to food shortages! That took the biscuit.

US military stretched to breaking point
Julian Borger in Washington, The Guardian (UK), 26 January 06

'The US army is being stretched, by its deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan, into a "thin green line" in danger of breaking before the insurgents are defeated, claims a report commissioned by the Pentagon.

'Andrew Krepinevich, a former army officer who wrote the report, said that the army could not sustain the current pace of deployments ...

'Mr Krepinevich, who runs a Washington thinktank, the Centre for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, also suggested the administration lacked a clear strategy. ...

'The secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, said that he had not read the report, but said from what he heard of it, "It's just not consistent with the facts."

'Mr Rumsfeld said that there were 1.4 million Americans currently in active service, of which only 138,000 were in Iraq [my emphasis; I couldn't agree with Dummy more!]. He said the army was in the process of being streamlined, to create a more agile and combat-ready force.

'However, a group of Democrats issued their own report yesterday accusing the Bush administration of putting "our ground troops under enormous strain that, if not soon relieved, will have "highly corrosive and potentially long-term effects on the force". The report, presented by Senator Jack Reed, the former secretary of state, Madeleine Albright and Bill Clinton's first defence secretary, William Perry, called for an increase in deployable army forces of at least 30,000 troops [now that will make little difference to the 1.4 million; so what do they have in mind?]. It argued that there was a danger that America's enemies could exploit its vulnerable state. "Although the United States can still deploy air, naval, and other more specialised assets to deter or respond to aggression, the visible overextension of our ground forces could weaken our ability to deter aggression." [This sounds like disinformation designed to cover up the potential of a full-scale invasion of Iran. In which case these "opposition" Clintonites are collaborating with petro-imperialism.]

'Mr Rumsfeld rejected the claim, saying: "The force is not broken ... It is not only capable of functioning in a very effective way. In addition it is battle hardened. It is not a peacetime force that has been in barracks or garrisons." [Don't overdo it, Dummy! You'll give the game away.] ...'

Cf ... US military 'at breaking point' BBC News online, 26 January 06

'The US military has become dangerously overstretched because of the scale of its operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, two reports have warned.

'One, by former officials of the Clinton administration, said the pressure of repeated deployments was very corrosive and could have long-term effects.

'The second, ordered by the Pentagon and yet to be released, reportedly calls the army "stretched to breaking point".

'The US defence secretary dismissed the claims as out of date or misdirected.

'About 138,000 US troops remain in Iraq, on top of deployments to Afghanistan and Kosovo.

'The study commissioned by Democratic members of Congress listed former Defence Secretary William Perry and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright among its authors. ...

'It accused the Bush administration of having failed adequately to assess the size of force and equipment needed in post-invasion Iraq, creating "a real risk of "breaking the force'."

'The report also warned that the lack of a credible strategic reserve "increases the risk that potential adversaries will be tempted to challenge the United States". [Germany was under comparable threats, for instance by the Poles in 1939.]

'The second study, conducted for the Pentagon by military expert Andrew Krepinevich, suggested that the military at its current rate of deployment might not be able to outlast the insurgency in Iraq. ...'

This drivel, which should fool no-one, is a little game which they feel the urge to play as they prepare regardless to invade the next oil target.

'A day after Google's buggy censorship of sites for Chinese-users was revealed, the search giant has responded by fixing its filters so topics such as beer and jokes are no longer deleted.

'An investigation [link] published Thursday [yesterday] by CNET News.com showed that Google's new China search engine not only censored criticisms of the Chinese government, but went further than similar services from Microsoft and Yahoo by targeting sites related to teen pregnancy, alcohol, dating and homosexuality.

'On Friday morning, however, those previously verboten sites became available through Google.cn [link]. That brings Google's filtering in line with blacklists used by Microsoft and Yahoo. ...'

'Saudi Arabia has recalled its ambassador to Denmark in a row about cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed published by a best-selling newspaper.

'A Saudi government spokesman said the ambassador had been recalled for talks following Denmark's failure to deal with the insults to the Prophet.

'Some of the cartoons in Jyllands-Posten last September depicted him as a steroetype of an Islamic terrorist.

'The paper said it was testing the boundaries of expression about Islam. ...' 27 January 06

'Iran's Revolutionary Guards chief Saturday [today] warned the United States and Britain that Iran would respond with its missiles if attacked ...

'"The world knows Iran has a ballistic missile power with a range of 2,000 kilometers," Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi said on state-run television. ...

'Iran's improved version of Shahab-3 missile can strike more than 1,300 miles from their launch site, putting Israel and U.S. forces in the Middle East in easy range. ...

'Iran's Revolutionary Guards [Pasdaran] are a separate organization from the regular armed forces. founded after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the Guards have their own air, naval and ground components.

'Safavi also accused U.S. and British intelligence services of provoking unrest in oil-rich southwestern Iran and providing bomb materials to Iranian dissidents. [My emphasis.] He said the U.S. and Britain were behind bombings Jan. 21 that killed at least nine people in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, near the southern border with Iraq where 8,500 British soldiers are based.

'"Foreign forces based in Iraq, especially southern Iraq, direct Iranian agents and give them bomb materials," he said.

'Safavi said Iran was monitoring dissidents and their alleged links with the U.S. and British forces.

'"We are aware of their meetings in Kuwait and Iraq," he said. "We warn them (U.S. and Britain), especially the MI6 and CIA [my emphasis], that they refrain from interfering in Iran's affairs." ...'

I've just learned of the death, on 23 January 06, of the right-wing satirist Michael Wharton, whose "Peter Simple" column, "Way Of The World", appeared in the British paper the Telegraph for decades.

Colonel Blitzenburger, whose own no-nonsense opinions have helped immeasurably to fortify us during the War On Terror, has already expressed his sympathies. "This Brit guy was real solid .... even if he was a kike," he commiserated.

However, the People's Government of George W Bush has said his death "Can be only a gain for the world proletariat ... he was a vigorous and determined agent of imperialist tyranny".

A Iraqi girl/woman has died "of bird flu" in the Kurdish zone, near to the Turkish region where four have already done so.

Further evidence, perhaps, of the "flying death" being prepared for Iran, in which this region (Iraqi-Turkish) will play a role.

All they need now is an outbreak of bird flu in western Afghanistan ... and perhaps to the north, in Turkmenistan.

Oh yes, and if it spreads to Iran they can send in the troops to fight the virus!

The US, Britain and France have agreed a proposal with Russia and China to ask the International Atomic Energy Agency to refer Iran to the UN Security Council over its nuclear programme. The US, Britain and, apparently, France, wanted referral to be immediate (cf. above, under 17 January 06). But a "compromise" to bring the other veto powers Russia and China on board will now defer the move until after the IAEA has made its report in March.

But, as Spengler noted, even when — as with Rome, apparently — the World Superpower will not of its own accord adopt its role of empire-creator, the force of history still impels empire-formation. The Romans did not create their empire, Spengler alleges; it created itself and forced the Romans to give it their name. "Imperialism will out, even in a process such as this."