a Reuters Report just issued about an hour ago said that the Pentagon denied reports that Pakistani troops fired on two U.S. military helicopters after they crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan and forced them to turn back. Pakistani security officials said U.S. helicopters were fired upon near Angor Adda, a village in the tribal region of South Waziristan where officials say U.S. commandos in helicopters raided a suspected al Qaeda and Taliban camp earlier this month.

"(I) cannot find any mission that correlates to the report I saw out of Pakistan. I can't find any (military) report of helicopters being fired upon," Whitman said.

I am betting that they did fire on the Americans. - Liz

 ALSO Oil prices plunged below 93 dollars a barrel on Monday, reaching the lowest levels since February, on the prospect of weaker demand for energy amid a worsening global financial crisis in the wake of Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy, analysts said.Brent North Sea crude for delivery in October tumbled by more than four dollars to 92.84 dollars

How much more, not only can our nation, but the world, stand of Republican leadership.

MCCAIN = MORE OF THE SAME

Some comments to "Ethnic Cleansing in Iraq" yesterday said things such as 'read up before you post!'

I was a national security consultant to the Department of Defense at a time when that meant I took my martinis "shaken not stirred." Under contract to the DoD, I co-authored a conflict prediction study forty years ago that set forth today's MidEast situation with perfect accuracy. Yesterday's commenters implied I don't understand the MidEast. In fact, I predicted it 40 years in advance, perfectly! Which made me the only Presidential candidate who actually has foreign affairs competence. My writings here are not from readings, but from hands on experience.

 I met the Shah, and spent time with the CIA controllers who lived in the palace "furnishing advice" on his every act. The Shah was our puppet, owned lock, stock and barrel. British MI-6 created the Shah by kidnapping him when they killed his father for collaborating with Hitler, and MI-6 agents raised and educated the Shah. Our CIA took him over in the 1960s. Yes, he used torture. Duh! Iran is in Central Asia!

Everyone between Poland and China uses torture as casually as Columbia University undergrads deprive their opponents of the right to free speech and freedom of assembly.

Jimmy Carter ordered our CIA out of Iran and cut off all support and supplies. The Shah had the most modern Air Force in the world, all state of the art American technology because Iran was the armored firewall protecting Arabia and oil from takeover by the USSR, with whom they shared a long, and viciously battle torn border.

When Carter cut off replacement parts and withdrew the thousands of American contractors who maintained the advanced technology air force, armoured brigades, and communications systems, Iran's military was rendered immobile within weeks.

When Carter withdrew the hordes of American intelligence gatherers, the Shah lost much of his knowledge of the Russian sabateurs infiltrating Iran and who were organizing, supplying, paying salaries to, and training the so-called "popular uprising."

Every day there was military action of both Soviet organized phony internal "rebels" as well direct small scale invasions by USSR secret police groups operating in every poluation center inside Iran. As soon as Carter crippled Iran's military, death loomed large.

The Ayatollah Khomeni lived in exile in Paris financed by the USSR. Just as we had CIA sitting alongside the Shah every day, Soviet Russia had agents walking beside Khomeni all day long, every day. Iran was the biggest prize of the Cold War. Remeber, this was immediately after the Soviet/China alliance whupped us in Vietnam.

As soon as the Russian terror squads verified that Carter really had, with monumental stupidity, removed all support from the Iranian government so that the Soviet guerrillas could operate inside Iran with impunity, Soviet agents took control of the Tehran aerodrome, and chartered, using Russian bank accounts for payment, an Air France plance to fly Khomeni back into Iran while a US Air Force plane flew the Shah to safety.

Ever since then Russia and Iran have functioned as a single weapon against American interests.

Iran controls the "democratically elected" government of Iraq. Iraq's President and his top officers have large personal offices in Tehran! They shuttle back and forth getting their instructions from the Ayatollahs.

This is no different from the way the Chinese Communist Secret Service had a so called "Arkansas restauranteur" with an office and satellite dish accross the street from the White House. That "restauranteur" was never vetted for White House access by the Secret Service but had a special, one of a kind pass, that let him run in and out of the White House and barge in unannounced on Bill Clinton's meetings. He was Clinton's best friend and confident. When the "restauranteur" was supoened by Congress, he boarded a plane to Hong Kong and nobody including our CIA has been able to find him.

Intelligence agencies have enormous influence behind the scenes of all governments. How do you think French President Sarkozy got together with the Russian President on 90 minutes notice and negotiated a Treaty that let the Russinas do anything they want in Georiga and still be in compliance with the Treaty?

And Sarkozy loves Nobama.

WHY THE SUNNIS FEEL BETRAYED

We promised them a role in the Iraqi government if they fought on our side against Al Quada. Now the Iraqi government is not embracing them, but exterminating them. And the Iraqi government has its real offices in Tehran. The President of Iraq commutes to his Tehran office for instructions from his masters before making any decisions.

The Iranians hate the Sunnis as much as Pakistan hates India. Fallujah was the site of a massacre of Shiites by Sunnis many centuries ago. For Shiia, the annual pilgrimage to Fallujah ranks almost equal with the pigrimage to Mecca, for Shiia to reiiterate their hatred of Sunnis and reinforce their desire for vengeance. US public television regularly broadcasts coverage of this annual Shiia convention to pledge vengeance against the Sunnis. Nobama's withdrawal makes it possible.

Indeed, today's news reports that Shiite Extremist Muqtada al-Sadr is rousing his militia to protest our withdrawal as too slow.

We are following the Nobama timetable to leave Iraq, so the Iranian Shiites can exterminate their enemies for ten centuries, the Sunnis.

When I was thinking about the fate of Pakistan last night, an old adage “. . .the more things change the more they remain the same . . . ” drifts across my mind like a hauntingly familiar ghost.  Amost 10 years ago an article titled Oh Pakistan appeared in the 1999 October issue of The Economist.  The article was written  a few days after General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s new military leader, had taken charge:

“Pakistan has been in such a mess for so long that it is tempting to conclude that the country is doomed. It was created in the chaos of partition, and torn since birth between conflicting cultures. It has a tribal social structure, an Islamic ideology and a legal and political system that is British in origin. Islamic and secular law battle each other. Tribal loyalties distort the democratic process. Shia and Sunni Muslims shoot each other on the streets. From the west, Afghanistan’s Taliban spill into Pakistan and bolster the growing ranks of its fundamentalists. On the other side of the country, the perpetual conflict with India over Kashmir helps destabilise domestic politics. In response to one mess or another, the generals have ousted politicians before, in 1958, in 1971 and in 1977.”

The same words could be used to describe Pakistan today, ten years later.

 CELEBRATION IN THE STREETS
FROM Agence France Presse

ISLAMABAD, Aug 18, 2008 (AFP) - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced his resignation on Monday in the face of looming impeachment charges, ending a turbulent nine years in power for the key US ally.

The former army chief, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, had been under huge pressure to quit before the coalition government launched the first impeachment proceedings in Pakistan's 61-year history.

Celebrations erupted in several cities after the announcement, with people dancing in the streets, although the country's political future -- as well as Pakistan's role in the US "war on terror" -- now is far from certain.

"After viewing the situation and consulting legal advisers and poltical allies, with their advice I have decided to resign," a grim-faced Musharraf, wearing a sober suit and tie, said in a televised address to the nation.

"I leave my future in the hands of the people."

from Agence France-Presse

"ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan's ruling coalition tightened the screw on President Pervez Musharraf Sunday, saying that it had readied impeachment charges against him and was giving him two days to stand down.

Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar told AFP that "the charge sheet will be presented in parliament by Tuesday." Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said a day earlier that Musharraf had to decide on quitting "by today or tomorrow."

The coalition finalised the charges on Sunday after intense deliberations and would present them on Monday to the alliance's leaders, Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif, Information Minister Sherry Rehman said. . . "

_______________________

Musharraf said that he will wait until the impeachment motion is filed before choosing a course of action.

I also read in the Pakistan News that Condoleezza Rice said on Sunday that granting asylum to embattled President Pervez Musharraf was not under consideration by the United States.

Musharraf says he will not step down. Instead he will face impeachment.

This morning’s Hindustan Times reports that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf rejected reports that he would step down before the launch of impeachment proceeding against him, saying that he was prepared to face the motion in parliment in a “democratic spirit and in accordance with the constitiution.” The beleaguered President also made it clear that he had no intention of using his powers to dissolve parliament.

Well, all that remains to be seen. My guess is that if the impeachment proceedings do not meet with Musharraf’s approval that he will dissolve parliament. The consequences of that will be a revolution in Pakistan.

AND THIS WEEK, OUR CONGRESS WILL TAKE US ONE STEP CLOSER TO WAR WITH IRAN.  We have yet another Bill to protest:  H.Con.Res.362 which is paralleled by a similar Senate bill. 

As far as I'm concerned this is just one more step closer to nuclear war.  If Congress is so stupid as to think that threatening nations works, then they don't know any more than the Bush Administration.  They have learned nothing.  If they think that Israel can launch an attack on Iran and not face serious retaliation from Pakistan, they have not been paying attention for the past month to the Pakistani and Iranian alliances that have been forming.

CALL YOUR CONGRESSMEN NOW.  NO MORE THREATS.  SIT DOWN AND START TALKING.  NO MORE STEPS THAT LEAD TO AN EVENTUAL ISRAELI OR US ATTACK ON IRAN.  STOP THEM NOW.   NO ON HON.Res.362.

Monday 23 June 2008

by: Maya Schenwar and Matt Renner, t r u t h o u t | Report

President Bush in Germany on June 11 emphasized that "all options are on the table" when discussing taking actions against Iran if it is found to be researching or developing nuclear weapons. Expected to arrive on the House floor this week is a non-binding resolution that leaves the door open for a military blockade of Iran.
(Photo: Johannes Eisele / Reuters)

A non-binding resolution to demand that President Bush impose "stringent inspection requirements" on trade with Iran - language that leaves the door open for a military blockade - will likely come to the House floor this week, according to sources close to Congressional leadership. The legislation, H.Con.Res.362, which is paralleled by a similar Senate bill, has gained bipartisan support rapidly, with more co-sponsors signing on by the day. Once it hits the floor, it's bound to "pass like a hot knife through butter," a staffer in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office told Chelsea Mozen of the nonprofit Just Foreign Policy.

    Trita Parsi, co-founder and president of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), concurred, saying passage may happen as early as Tuesday. . .

SOURCE: Please read.  There is much more detail.  Then call  your congressional representative tomorrow and say NO on 362.

http://www.truthout.org/article/congressional-resolution-demands-bush-act-iran

That's a good question, isn't it?  Fred Kaplan of SLATE asked that question in March of 2005.  A lot of good people have been asking relevant questions for a long time and no one--espeically our Congress, seems to be listening, much less answering.

In 2005, the USA sold no less than 12 F-16s to Pakistan.

According to Kaplan " . . .  First, right after President Bush told the Pakistanis that the sale was on, he called the Indians to assure them he would take a well-disposed look at their weapons wish lists to redress the resulting imbalance. The unfolding dynamic is thus predictable: Pakistan orders still more weapons to compensate for India's new purchase; India buys more to match the ante; and on the ratcheting goes, the tinderbox swelling. . . "

The F-16C/D model which Pakistan received can carry atomic bombs under its wings.

Fred Kaplan who wrote this article is also the author of "Daydream Believers:  How a Few Grand Ideas Wrecked American Power."  A book worth reading if you want to learn how the neocons have almost destroyed our nation with the Iraq War.

 http://www.slate.com/id/2115965/

From the Friday, June 13, 2008 issue of Jamadi-- The News International, a Pakistani paper

 Pakistan protests to U.S. and NATO OVER AIR STRIKE

PARIS: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has held important meetings with U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice and NATO Secretary General here. In the meeting, Qureshi protested to U.S. and NATO over air strike in Mohmand Agency.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting between Rice and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Paris, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Richard Boucher said Condoleezza Rice has expressed regret over the death of Pakistani soldiers in Mohmand Agency.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi also held meeting with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and termed coalition air strike into Pakistani territory as a provoking act. NATO Secretary General expressed regret over the incident.

MY COMMENTS
Our military "accidentally" kill 11 citizens of another country with whom we are not at war, a country who is tenuously our ally, and a country who has nuclear weapons and the best this sorry excuse we have for a president can do is to have the U.S. Secretary of State to "express regrets" to their foreign minister FOUR days later?

What was that you said about impeachment?  Bush and his entire administration are endangerments to life as we know it on this planet.  I can't understand why our Congress is not able to comprehend this.  We would be much safer if a baboon were in charge.  Oh wait a minute.  I guess I'm mistaken.  It appears that a baboon is indeed in charge of this country.

Bush continues to tour Europe to drum up support for another lie: that it is imperative to attack Iran and/or to allow Israel to attack Iran so then we can "defend" Israel.

It is even more disgusting that this tour is paid for by American taxpayer dollars (the ones of us to whom the tax loopholes don't apply, the ones of us who actually do pay the percentage which by law were supposed to pay)

If you are not calling both of your senators and your US Representative every day and telling them that you expect them to block Bush from attacking Iran, then you are not doing all that you can for your country.

First of all an attack on Iran would be a crime against humanity since Iran poses no real and imminent threat at the moment or even for the next 5 to 10 years for either the USA or Israel.   And second of all, because of our eroding relations with Pakistan who do have nuclear weapons, it is highly likely that Pakistan would come to the defense of Iran and obliterate Israel.  Pakistan does have that capability today.

Bush has been such a fool and a liar with Iraq, why should we trust him to use any better judgment or control in regard to Iran?

Take a good look at Pakistan's capability and then call your Congress people.  You might also mention the value of impeachment as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkNns9KaqJU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12F-aAzcYWw&feature=related

Here are videos from Pakistan that we Americans should pay attention to and then we should call our Congress people and tell them to do what they can to smooth things over with Pakistan in regard to this latest incident.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9BjsoQcZWg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12F-aAzcYWw&feature=related

 APJune 12: Pakistani protesters hold a banner reading 'Rulers and generals of Pakistan, give a tit-for-tat response to American missile attack.

In case you wonder about "tit for tat"... Unlike Iran, who has no nuclear weapons, Pakistan does.  Do you think that George Bush might have at least enough intelligence to realise this and formally apologise and extend some kind of hand to the families of these people who were killed by American military in "friendly" fire? I think Congress should act.  It is becoming more obvious by the day that Bush wants to stir up conflict in the Middle East.

Pakistan has lodged a strong diplomatic protest, saying the bombing of the Gorparai post in the Mohmand frontier region on Tuesday was a "completely unprovoked and cowardly act."