Chossudovsky: "Wipe Israel Off the Map"!!

The inflammatory statement that Israel should be "wiped off the map" attributed to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, "was never made" by him, a distinguished Canadian economist says. In a recently released book, entitled:  Towards A World War III Scenario: The Dangers of Nuclear War. To begin with, says Professor Michel Chossudovsky of the University of Ottawa, the words were not those of Ahmadinejad, when he uttered them on October 25, 2005. Rather, he was quoting the late Ayatollah Khomeini, and the point of Khomeinis thrust was not to wipe Israel, the nation,"off the map", but to change the Israeli regime, which is far different. "The rumor was fabricated by the American media with a view to discredit Iran's head of state and providing a justification for waging an all-out war on Iran," Chossudovsky writes. Examining the actual quote word by word, Ahmadinejad said in Farsi: "Imam ghoft een rezhim-e ishghalgar-e qods bayad az safheh-ye ruzgar mahv shavad." Readers will recognize the word "rezhim-e" which translates into English as "regime" and will note that the word "Israel" does not appear in the quotation. What Ahmadinejad did use was the specific phrase "rezhim-e" which is a reference to "the regime occupying Jerusalem." As for wiping Israel "off the map," the word "map" is "nagsheh," and it was not contained anywhere in Ahmadinejad's speech. "Nor was the western phrase wipe off ever mentioned," Chossudovsky writes. "Yet we are led to believe that Irans President threatened to wipe Israel off the map, despite never having uttered the words map, wipe out, or even Israel." The full Ahmadinejad quote translateddirectly into English is "The Imam said this regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time! 

RT: Women, Children, Among 18 Afghan Dead in NATO Strike!

A NATO airstrike in the eastern Afghan province of Logar has killed 18 people, including women and children, local officials report. A NATO spokesperson said a team had been deployed to investigate the claims of civilian casualties. Local officials said on Wednesday that the pre dawn strike on a house in eastern Logar province killed five women, seven children and six men, some of whom may have been militants. AFP news agency also released a photo with victims piled into the back of a vehicle. Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai issued a statement on Thursday, saying all 18 people killed in a NATO air strike on Wednesday were civilians. The Afghan president has called the incident "unacceptable." NATO forces insist that at least some of the victims were militants and have sent an assessment team to investigate the case. Local villagers are now reportedly driving the bodies to the capital of Logar province to protest the NATO strike, which they say hit a house in the district of Baraki Barak. ISAF released a statement, confirming a pre-dawn operation aimed at the capture of a Taliban leader in Logar. "During the operation, insurgents attacked the Afghan and coalition troops with small-arms fire and a grenade," said the NATO statement. In response, alliance forces "returned fire and requested a precision airstrike." Meanwhile, multiple blasts killed 22 people and wounded at least 50 others, as three suicide bombers blew themselves up in the southern city of Kandahar on Wednesday. One bomber detonated a three-wheeled motorbike filled with explosives,police said. Then, as people rushed to assist the wounded, two other bombers walked up to the scene and blew themselves up. The attack took place about five kilometers from the main gate of a massive military installation run by NATO, and some 500 meters from an Afghan military base. 

RT: Panetta Admits US at War in Pakistan!

Hold the phone, anti-war activists. President Obama says that American troops are done with Operation Iraqi Freedom and their episode in Afghanistan is almost over. Now, though, it looks like the US is calling its operation in Pakistan an actual war. Only one day after American officials announced that US troops executed an alleged al-Qaeda higher-up with a drone strike in Pakistan, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters on Wednesday that America's fair-weather ally is indeed serving as a battlefront in the War on Terror. "We are fighting a war in the FATA, we are fighting a war against terrorism," Secretary Panetta said this week. Panetta was referring to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, a region in northwest Pakistan that is currently the scene of American airstrikes. Since well before the top-secret raid and execution of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden brought US troops into Pakistan, the American military has tried time and time again to sugarcoat its activities overseas. Despite being an at-one-time top ally of the United States, Pakistani officials have continuously condemned the US over Uncle Sam's continuing air strikes with unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones. Now, after years of trying to re-develop those deteriorating ties with Pakistan, the United States' top military man flatly called his country's operations in FATA an actual war. To put it simply, this might not be good news for anyone. While Panetta's comment came only a day after the Pentagon confirmed that al-Qaeda's "number-two in command," Abu Yahya al-Libi,was executed with a drone strike in the FATA region, it also coincides, coincidently, with a statement made by another former CIA official. Robert Greiner, the one-time head of the CIA's counter-terrorism center, tells reporters this week that America's mishandling of drone attacks is creating a safe haven for terrorists.    

The Ulsterman Report: Barack Obama's Domestic Drone Program!

A newly discovered United States military document appears to outline an already underway comprehensive drone program within the United States that includes sections on "Target Training" and "Force Protection". Obama loves those drones. He has made them a personal priority above all else. The question that is also the answer to so much of this then -is WHY? So having Obama so oddly focused, not just focused, he gets excited visually. The guy gets off on it and he ain't even hiding that fact anymore, but some are repulsed by it. They've done video reviews you know, of the missions. The drones. The kills. The president you mean? He watches videos of the drone attacks? Yeah, like it was, like it was porn. I can't emphasize. I don't think I'm painting a clear enough picture here for you of how this thing has people really freaking out inside the administration. It's good on one hand, because it's got more of them willing to talk, but the fact it's gotten this bad, these drones, an American president who has the video sent up to his personal study so he can watch them over and over again. As I said, it was like porn. I can't emphasize. I don't think I'm painting a clear enough picture for you how this thing has people really freaking out inside the administration. It's good on one hand because it's got more of them willing to talk, but the fact is it's gotten this bad!

Alexander Higgins: Obama Bombs Women and Children, the Civilian Police!

A shocking new tactic is emerging on the battlefield in the War on Terror, which involves first bombing targets, which is then followed by the bombing of first responders attempting to help the victims of first bombings, and then finally bombing the funeral were people are gathering to mourn the victims. Obama's new tactic of targeting funerals and first responders attempting to help the victims of first bombings, and then finally bombing the funeral where people are gathering to mourn the victims. Obama's new tactic of targeting funerals and first responders was first revealed in a shocking report from The Bureau of Investigative Journalism in February. At that time the tactic of bombing funerals or first aid responders was first revealed in a shocking report from The Bureau of Investigative Journalism in February. At that time, the tactic of bombing funerals or first aid responders was known only to have been used separately from each other. The three-day bombing spree, that started this Saturday in Pakistan establishes a pattern in which the repeated use of these tactics in conjunction with an attempt to flush out a single target from hiding. The bombings so far are confirmed to have killed at least 27 people and started with two separate attacks. The first was the dropping of 6 bombs on two individuals said riding a motor bike. The second attack involved bombing a mosque during worship, in an attack that destroyed nearby houses, which followed multiple strikes on homes the previous day. When police and first responders attempt to retrieve the wounded from the wreckage, they were bombed. When private gatherings to mourn the dead were held, the public funeral was bombed by the Americans, and those gatherings were bombed as well. 

Lawrence Sellin: Hitler's Generals and American Politiciansy

At the end of World War Two, German army generals denied any knowledge of the Holocaust and the massive atrocities committed on the Eastern front. They were lying. Between 1942 and 1945, British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) recorded no fewer than 64,427 private conversations between captured German generals and other senior officers while held in the comfortable accommodations of Trent Park house in the north London suburb of Cockfosters. As it turned out, the conversations were only of limited usefulness toward the conduct of the war, but they did supply a wealth of information on the nature of the Nazi regime and the actions and opinions of the highest ranking officers in the German military. Sonke Neitzel, a professor at the University of Manz, has edited a volume of key extracts from the tape-recorded discussions, "Tapping Hitler's Generals. Transcripts of Secret Conversations 1942-45." Over the three years during which the recordings were made, the mass murder of Jews, the shooting of hostages, the burning down of churches filled with victims and a range of other war crimes against Russian and Ukrainian civilians are acknowledged and described. There is no longer any doubt about the complicity of the German general staff in some of the most horrendous atrocities of the 20th century. Why did they do it? Contrary to the conventional wisdom, many German officers favored the rise of Adolf Hitler because he promised to increase their own power and prestige. Not surprisingly, the subsequent reluctance of German generals to challenge Hitler's atrocities stemmed largely, not from fear, but from the risk of losing that power and prestige.   

Russia Warns Israel Against Attack on Iran!

The secretary of the Russian Security Council has warned against the consequences of an Israeli strike on Iran, calling for the resumption of talks over Tehran's nuclear energy program. Nikolai Patrushev told the Rossiya-24 TV channel on Tuesday that the consequences of a military attack on Iran will be "absolutely negative" for Israel and many neighboring countries. He urged the international community to continue negotiations with Iran, rejecting claims that diplomacy has been exhausted over the Iranian nuclear issue. It is wrong to conclude that all opportunities and all the existing potential have been exhausted. Negotiations should continue, Patrushev said. The Russian official also said that Moscow acknowledged Tehran's right to develop peaceful nuclear energy. This comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday blasted Western powers for faling to halt Iran's nuclear energy program. Netanyahu said that the demands that the P5+1 placed on Iran during the recent negotiations were inadequate. "The Iranians were only asked to stop 20 percent enrichment of uranium. That doesn't stop their nuclear program in any way. It actually allows them to continue their nuclear program," he said. Iran and the P5+1, Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States plus Germany, wrapped up their latest meeting in Baghdad on May 24 after two days of negotiations. Both sides agreed to hold another round of talks in Moscow on June 18-19. A day before the latest round of the talks in Baghdad, Netanyahu had urged the world powers in the P5+1 group to "show determination, not weakness" and take a tougher stance on Iran. Israel has repeatedly threatened Iran wit a military option in a bid to force the Islamic Republic to halt its peaceful nuclear program, which has been closely monitored by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).