US Arms Falling Into Taliban Hands For Use Against American Troops 19 May 2009

[CLG_News]

Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens For Legitimate Government
19 May 2009
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Breaking: Israeli jets strike Gaza 20 May 2009 Gaza Strip struck after militants fired a rocket into a house in the southern city of Sderot. Israeli planes bombed the area six times, targeting underground tunnels used to smuggle goods into the besieged territory. In other raids they targeted armed men belonging to Hamas, according to the Islamist group.

US Arms Falling Into Taliban Hands For Use Against American Troops 20 May 2009 Of 30 rifle magazines recently taken from insurgents’ corpses in Afghanistan, at least 17 contained cartridges, or rounds, identical to ammunition the United States had provided to Afghan government forces, according to an examination of ammunition markings by The New York Times and interviews with American officers and arms dealers. The presence of this ammunition among the dead in the Korangal Valley, an area of often fierce fighting near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan, strongly suggests that munitions procured by the Pentagon have leaked from Afghan forces for use against American troops. 

Mullen: 2 years to turn tide in Afghanistan [Could be a whole lot longer, since the US is arming both sides.] 18 May 2009 The nation's top military officer warned Monday that the deaths of Afghan civilians caught up in U.S. combat operations could cripple President Barack Obama's revamped strategy for the seven-year-old [illegal] war. "I believe that each time we do that, we put our strategy in jeopardy," Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said. "We cannot succeed ... in Afghanistan by killing Afghan civilians." Mullen said additional forces and new tactics can help the United States turn a discouraging tide in Vietnam Afghanistan.

KBR, Halliburton Accused in Investor Suit of 'Reign of Terror' 15 Mar 2009 KBR Inc. and Halliburton Co., two of the largest contractors to the U.S. military, were accused by a pension-fund shareholder of paying bribes, making false claims and operating as criminal enterprises. Executives of both companies engaged in a "reign of terror" that involved paying bribes in Nigeria, overcharging the U.S. government for services, accepting kickbacks, engaging in human trafficking and concealing a rape of an employee, according to the complaint filed yesterday by a pension fund. [Let us not forget what US troops had to endure from Cheney's KBR terrorists: Poisonings, electrocutions, spoiled food and pathogen-laden water.]

Senate Committee to Review Bonuses Paid to KBR for Deadly Electrical Work 19 May 2009 The U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Committee (DPC) will hold an oversight hearing at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 20, to examine millions of dollars in bonuses paid to KBR, Houston, for electrical wiring work on U.S. Army bases in Iraq that has been linked to the electrocution deaths of at least two, and perhaps as many as five, U.S. soldiers and contractors in Iraq.

GQ report blames Rumsfeld for military delay after Katrina 18 May 2009 A report on the GQ magazine Web site is quoting unnamed former Bush administration official as blaming former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for many failures, including a delay in military assistance in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The report says "in speaking with the former Bush officials, it becomes evident that Rumsfeld impaired administration performance on a host of matters extending well beyond Iraq to impact America's relations with other nations, the safety of our troops, and the response to Hurricane Katrina." 

I did not say Cheney killed Benazir: Hersh 19 May 2009 US journalist Seymour Hersh on Monday contradicted news reports published in South Asia that quote him as saying a "special death squad" made by former US vice president [sic] Dick Cheney had killed Benazir Bhutto. The award-winning journalist described as "complete madness" the reports that the squad headed by General Stanley McChrystal had also killed former Lebanese prime minister Rafique Al Hariri and a Lebanese army chief. "Vice president Cheney does not have a death squad.

'He was tortured into making false statements that were relied upon to start the Iraq war, and when that became too embarrassing he was disappeared' to a rights-abusing country. 'Mystery surrounds prison death of terrorist whose testimony was key to Iraq invasion --Human rights organisations and Islamic groups have questioned whether al-Libi's death was suicide. 19 May 2009 The Islamist terrorist who was the key source of the false intelligence used to trigger the US and UK 2003 military invasion of Iraq has been found dead in a Libyan prison cell. Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi allegedly committed suicide by hanging in the prison where he was being held in the Libyan capital, Tripoli. Yasser al-Sirri, an Egyptian who runs the Islamic Observation Centre in London, said al-Libi was a "true Muslim, and Islam prohibits committing suicide". Clive Stafford Smith of Justice, a group of British human rights lawyers, said: "We are told that al-Libi committed suicide in his Libyan prison. If this is true it would be because of his torture and abuse. If false, it may reflect a desire to silence one of the greatest embarrassments to the Bush administration." 

Democrats plan to nix $80 million to shut Guantanamo 19 May 2009 President Barack Obama was dealt a setback on Tuesday by fellow DemocRATs in the Senate who said they would strip $80 million from a war funding bill for closing the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay. The move follows criticism from Republicans and even some Democrats that Obama should have first submitted a plan on what he planned to do with the approximately 240 terrorism suspects being [illegally] held at the prison at a U.S. naval base in Cuba. 

IDF bombs south Gaza after Qassam hits Sderot 20 May 2009 Israel Defense Forces warplanes on Tuesday attacked the southern Gaza Strip near its border with Egypt, several hours after a rocket fired from the coastal territory exploded in the yard of a western Negev home. An IDF spokesman said Israel targeted four border tunnels and two sites in Gaza where weapons were produced, in response to rocket and mortar fire aimed at Israel from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. 

'Israel will have to take on Iran alone once Obama's efforts fail' 19 May 2009 Israel will be forced to take on Iran's contentious nuclear program alone once U.S. President Barack Obama's overture for dialogue with Tehran fails, an Israeli official said on Tuesday. The official was quoted by Channel 10 as saying that Obama's insistence on engagement with Iran would force Israel to make a "difficult decision" on the matter by the end of 2009. 

Netanyahu ignores US calls to halt illegal building 19 May 2009 After going down a collision path with the US president over Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian lands, the Israeli prime minister gets a dressing-down on the issue by senior US lawmakers. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry said Tuesday that he frankly brought forward the issue when visiting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the committee's members. 

US denies supporting anti-Iranian terrorists 19 May 2009 The US Defense Department has denied that the United States is supporting Kurdish terrorists conducting operations against Iran. During a visit to Iran's Kordestan Province on Tuesday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said that the US is supporting terrorists on Iran's western borders. "The United States is promoting terrorism beyond [Iran's] western frontiers... They [the US government] directly finance operations and organize terrorist movements to undermine the Islamic Republic," Ayatollah Khamenei stated. 

Army captain pleads guilty in Iraq theft ring 18 May 2009 An Army captain pleaded guilty Monday to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of military equipment from an Army base in Iraq and selling it to a businessman there. Elbert W. George III, of Suffolk, Va., faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court to a single count of conspiracy to steal government property.

US to send $110 million in emergency aid to Pakistan 19 May 2009 US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced on Tuesday that the United States was sending 110 million dollars in emergency aid to Pakistan to help displaced civilians there. Clinton, who detailed the aid package at the White House, said that the money would ease the plight of about two million Pakistanis who have fled fighting [and US drones] in the country’s northwest Swat Valley, reports the Associated Press. 

7/7 bomber tracked by intelligence officers since 2001 --Chances to prevent 7/7 attacks were missed 19 May 2009 Police and the MI5 spy agency likely missed chances to identify the key men behind the 2005 London bombings [an inside job six ways to Sunday], but could have done little more to halt the attacks given their limited resources, lawmakers said today. A detailed report into what was known before the attacks, which killed 52 people on three subway cars and a bus, reveals how one of the bombers was tracked by intelligence officers as early as 2001. 

US pharma-terrorists poised to make a killing even grander than Bush's 9/11 cronies: Companies could vaccinate 4.9 bln against H1N1 -WHO --'Partnerships with the private sector are absolutely vital.' 19 May 2009 Companies could potentially turn out 4.9 billion doses of vaccine against the new H1N1 [Fort Detrick] influenza strain within a year under the best-case scenario, World Health Organization officials said on Tuesday. WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan told reporters after a meeting with 30 pharmaceutical companies that WHO was working to secure supplies of vaccine for poor countries in case of a pandemic. [See: Baxter working on vaccine to stop swine flu, though admitted sending live pandemic flu viruses to subcontractor 26 Apr 2009.] 

Prison Outbreak? 4 More Have Swine Flu At Rikers --Bloomberg Confirms Latest Cases, Says 4 Others Are Probable For Virus 19 May 2009 Four inmates at Rikers Island have been confirmed to have the swine flu and four more are considered probable for the virus, Mayor Michael Bloomberg confirmed Tuesday morning. "Correction and health officials are monitoring the situation and preparing to implement additional health screening and where needed, isolation of ill inmates," Bloomberg said. 

Number of H1N1 cases nears 10,000 19 May 2009 The number of confirmed H1N1 flu cases worldwide is nearing 10,000, the World Health Organization said Tuesday morning. The swine flu outbreak has sickened 9,830 people and caused at least 79 deaths -- mostly in Mexico, the organization said. The actual number of people affected may be higher, as it takes time for national governments to confirm cases and report them to the global body. In the United States, at least 5,469 cases of swine flu have been reported, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Court: White House doesn't have to turn over e-mail records --The decision was a victory for the Bush regime, which sought to shield its internal communications. 19 May 2009 A unit of the White House that was accused of misplacing [destroying] perhaps millions of office e-mails does not have to make its records public, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. In Tuesday's decision, the appeals judges -- David Sentelle, Thomas Griffith and Raymond Randolph -- were all named by Republican presidents.

RNC Chairman Urges Stronger Attacks on Obama 20 May 2009 Seeking to reassert himself as a party leader, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele yesterday implored GOP members to stop "navel-gazing" and sharply attack President Obama. His early tenure marred by a series of gaffes, Steele continued a recent re-emergence into the public fray, declaring Obama's first several months "a reign of error" in a speech to RNC members, and adding that the Republican "renaissance has begun." 

Obama takes aim at climate-warming car emissions 19 May 2009 President Barack Obama took aim at climate-warming greenhouse gases on Tuesday and ordered the struggling auto industry to make more fuel-efficient cars under tough new national standards to cut emissions and increase gas mileage. Obama said the standards, announced at a White House ceremony attended by auto industry and union leaders, would reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and give five years of cost certainty to the auto industry.

GM bankruptcy plan eyes quick sale to gov't 19 May 2009 General Motors Corp's plan for a bankruptcy filing involves a quick sale of the company's healthy assets to a new company initially owned by the U.S. government, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday. The source, who would not be named because he was not cleared to speak with the media, did not specify a purchase price. 

Exploiting The Credit Card Law Loophole --Card Issuers May Hike Charges and Interest Rates Before New Regulations Take Effect; Borrowers Who Pay In Full Targeted 19 May 2009 The Senate passed a major reform of gift to the credit card industry Tuesday that clamps down on arbitrary fee and interest rate increases. But even after President Barack Obama signs the bill, the law won't fully take effect for nine months. That's a nine-month loophole, and as CBS News reports, consumer groups are concerned the credit card companies will use the time to hike up interest rates and fees while they can. 

US, states sue Wyeth over drug prices 19 May 2009 The US Justice Department and 16 states have joined two whistleblower lawsuits against Wyeth, alleging that the drugmaker has defrauded the government of hundreds of millions of US dollars. According to the lawsuits, filed in a federal district court in Massachusetts, Wyeth avoided paying hundreds of millions of US dollars in rebates due to state Medicaid programs -- which provide health insurance to low-income families or people with disabilities -- for its Protonix Oral and Protonix IV stomach acid drugs. 

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Previous lead stories: Donald Rumsfeld covered Iraq briefing papers with Biblical texts 17 May 2009 Donald Rumsfeld, the former US defence secretary, provided George W Bush with top secret intelligence briefings on the Iraq war that featured cover pages adorned with Biblical quotes. According to a report in GQ magazine the religious texts were imposed over pictures of the US armed forces engaged in the war. 

Barack Obama attempts to ward off disastrous military air strike on 'nuclear' Tehran 18 May 2009 President Obama will seek today to persuade the hawkish Israeli Prime Minister that the White House’s recent overtures to Iran should be given time to work and that an Israeli military strike against Tehran could trigger disaster. 


Supreme Court Rules Former Detainee Abuse Lawsuit Cannot Proceed --Court Sends Mueller, Ashcroft Lawsuit Back 18 May 2009 The Supreme Court ruled today that former attorney general John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller may not be sued by Arab Muslims who were seized in this country after the 2001 terrorist attacks and allege harsh treatment because of their religion and ethnicity. The court ruled 5 to 4 that the top officials are not liable for the actions of their subordinates absent evidence that they ordered the allegedly discriminatory activity. Javaid Iqbal was held in solitary confinement in a section of a Brooklyn prison known as Admax-Shu, for "administrative maximum special housing unit," where he said he was subjected to numerous beatings and strip searches.

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CLG Managing Editor: Lori Price. Copyright © 2009, Citizens For Legitimate Government ® All rights reserved.
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