By Reuters

A man has appeared on Syrian state television saying Lebanese officials, including the son of Rafik al-Hariri, had forced him to testify falsely to a U.N. inquiry into the former Lebanese prime minister's assassination.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11163.htm

The analogy the administration is using for this invasion? Cambodia, which the Nixon administration accused of harboring North Vietnamese troops during the war in Southeast Asia.

http://www.counterpunch.com/hallinan11142005.html


From Information Clearing House

Syria has until 15 December to comply with the Security Council resolution or face further action.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4426902.stm


From Information Clearing House

Last year, U.S. intelligence agencies and military planners received instructions to prepare up-to-date target lists for Syria and to increase their preparations for potential military operations against Damascus.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10912.htm

The United States has cut off nearly all contact with the Syrian government as the Bush administration steps up a campaign to weaken and isolate President Bashar Assad's government, according to US and Syrian officials.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/110805J.shtml

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said in remarks published on Tuesday he would oppose the use of Iraqi territory as a launchpad for any U.S. military strike on Syria. http://tinyurl.com/7oon3



Arab League denies getting Syrian request for emergency summit :

The spokesman for the 22-member Arab League, Hisham Yusuf, on Tuesday denied getting an official request from Syria to hold an emergency Arab League summit to elicit the combined support for Syria in the face of the United Nations Security Council's resolution 1636, adopted Monday.

http://www.albawaba.com/en/news/190959



Another Trojan Horse from the UN?

It's happening all over again. This time Syria has received the kiss of the White House don just as laid-out in the 1996 neo-con rule book "Clean Break".

http://www.counterpunch.com/heard11012005.html


From Information Clearing House

A NY Times editorial today applauds the UN for supporting Washington's demands against Syria, saying: "The killing of Mr. Hariri and 22 others was an act of international terrorism and a blatant intervention in the political life of a sovereign state." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/01/opinion/01tues2.html

And of course the killing of hundreds of thousands of children in Iraq through sanctions and tens of thousands by bombs and bullets was not international terrorism. And the sanctions and wars were not "blatant intervention[s] in the political life of a sovereign state."

This is not just a matter of pointing out our rulers' hypocrisy. We all know every single Democrat of any stature in the party will echo the Times' rhetoric, facilitating succeeding acts of aggression by Bush, proving once again that the Democratic Party is not too cowardly to oppose Bush's warmongering -- they AGREE with it.

That's why, by the way, their joy at the Libby indictment is expressed solely around his getting caught for telling lies NOT because they disagree with the war crimes he was defending with those lies.

Remember all this when the 2006 Congressional elections come and liberals in the antiwar movement tell you to stop organizing and start hustling votes for Democrats.

Andrew Pollack


UNITED FOR PEACE & JUSTICE | 212-868-5545


From ufpj-news

China and Russia oppose the U.S. proposal to threaten Syria's government with economic punishment for refusing to cooperate with a United Nations probe of the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

http://tinyurl.com/bbpv3



Russia opposes UN action on Syria:

Russia, a long-term ally of Syria and a permanent Security Council member, has the power to veto any draft resolution.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4377148.stm



Mike Whitney: Assassinations in Lebanon:

Syria poses no threat to America's national security. We have no dog in this fight. The real threat is those who now operate freely within the foreign policy establishment, using the US military to further their own self-serving objectives of controlling Middle East oil.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10776.htm



Old whine, new bottle:

The UN ‘report’ on the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese PM, bears all the hallmarks of yet another set-up, no doubt ‘inspired’ by US pressure as part of the build-up to yet another Middle Eastern ‘adventure’.

http://www.williambowles.info/ini/ini-0371.html


From Information Clearing House

by Kim Petersen

The New York Times is having a heck of a time dodging scorn and maintaining any semblance of authenticity these days, apologizing for its Jayson Blairs, bogus WMD reporting, and Judith Millers. Even owner Arthur Sulzberger’s feet are being held to the fire now. Yet, the paper persists in its role as a stenographer for the US government. The Times’ coverage of the UN report by German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis on the slaying of Rafik Hariri, a former Lebanese prime minister, and 20 others, is a further example. It is of great importance to note that the Mehlis Report was exclusively an investigation into the possible involvement of Syrians and Lebanese in the assassination of Hariri. Excluded, a priori, with standard imperialistic manipulation of course, was the role of the powers that effectively benefited from the assassination...

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Oct05/Petersen1026.htm