From the UK’s Sky News:

‘Time For Iraq Pull-Out’

Thursday March 29, 2007

Iran has published another letter allegedly written by Leading Seaman Faye Turney in which she supposedly calls for British forces to withdraw from Iraq.

The letter also asks the British Government why it allowed the British captives to stray into Iranian waters.

And it goes on to say the group is being treated well by the Iranians.

Analysts immediately doubted the validity of the letter, saying the wording was not likely to have been thought up by the 26-year-old sailor.

The letter coincided with the release of new footage of the 15 Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines being seized by Iranian gunboats in the Gulf.

In the video clips, gunshots are heard and a helicopter is shown hovering above inflatable boats in choppy seas.

Vessels close in on Royal Navy boats then the 15 captured Britons are shown seated in an Iranian gunboat.

The arrest footage was preceded by a senior Iranian officer using maps to explain how the Britons had “crossed into Iranian territory”.

But the UK has maintained the crews were in Iraqi waters and were wrongfully seized.

Iranian TV had previously shown video footage of the detainees eating and talking.

That broadcast featured an interview with L/S Turney in which she confessed – probably under duress – that the Britons had been at fault.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said it was a “disgrace” the way L/STurney, a mother of a three-year-old girl, was shown on TV.

“We are going to have to step up pressure not just with them in the UN and the European Union, but see what further measures are necessary to get them to understand it’s not merely wrong but only going to result in further tension,” he added.

This is getting interesting.

Where is Amnesty International?

Where is the UN?

The new video footage from Iranian TV can be viewed here.

From a shocked New York Times:

Iran May Delay Captured British Sailor’s Release

By ALAN COWELL

LONDON, March 29 — Iran today withdrew plans to free one of the 15 British sailors and marines it had seized on March 23, the only woman detained, insisting that Britain admit fault before she is released.

Iran also leveled new accusation against Britain, alleging that the seized military personnel had intruded on Iranian waters several times before they were detained.

Britain, for its part, said it would seek United Nations backing against Iran in the dispute, despite the delayed release of Ms. Turney, a 26-year-old mother of one.

The Iranian Mehr news agency quoted a military commander, Alireza Afshar, as saying the release of Ms. Turney, had been suspended because of the “wrong behavior” of the British government. Iran’s foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, attending a meeting in Saudi Arabia, has insisted that Britain must admit fault in the dispute to end the standoff, the Associated Press reported.

The escalating dispute turns on rival claims about where the British sailors and marines were when they were seized. Iran says they were more than 500 yards inside its territorial waters, but Britain produced satellite navigation coordinates Wednesday to support its contention that the sailors were 1.7 nautical miles inside Iraqi waters on patrols approved by the United Nations and the Iraqi government.

The IRNA news agency quoted an Iranian naval official today saying that the Britons, in two inflatable, high-speed patrol boats from the H.M.S. Cornwall frigate, had entered Iranian waters several times before they were seized. The Iranian official was quoted as saying Iran had film, taken by the Iranian coastguard, of the alleged intrusions.

The Royal Navy has said the sailors were “ambushed” as they completed an inspection of an Indian-flagged merchant ship in Iraqi waters.

IRNA also quoted from a letter sent by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the British Embassy in Tehran demanding British guarantees not to intrude into Iranian waters in the future.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran severely protests against the violation of its territorial waters in the Persian Gulf and, while underlining the importance of international laws and respect for the sovereignty of nations, cautions the London government of the consequences of such violations,” the letter was quoted as saying.

Initially, Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council had indicated the captive might still be freed if Britain retreated from its intention to seek United Nations backing. He said that “if we are faced with a fuss and wrong behavior” Seaman Turney’s release “would be suspended and it would not take place.” …

Is anyone outside of the New York Times surprised that the Iranians want to milk this for as long as possible?

Regular readers will recognize some familiar names in this piece from Waco, Texas local NBC affiliate KCEN-TV:

Anti-war group in McLennan County loses it’s corporate status

Mar 28, 2007

A nationally known anti-war group in Mclennan County has lost its corporate status with the state, and a former member is calling for an investigation.

Officials in the Texas State Comptroller’s office said the Crawford Peace House hasn’t handed in required paperwork in nearly a year.

The Crawford Peace House is no longer an organization in the eyes of the state, and why that’s happened is coming into question by former members.

Their questions began in the summer of 2005, when the nearly bankrupt Crawford Peace House gained national attention as the rallying point for Cindy Sheehan and other anti-war demonstrators near President Bush’s ranch.

According to members, donations to the organization came pouring in at that time.

“There were buckets of money that came in. There were thousands and tens of thousands that came in. In cash and in checks.

[Reporter] You saw this? I was there. I’ve been there. I watched them collect it,” former member Sara Oliver said.

Oliver said she and other members were told by directors roughly $700,000 in all was donated.

Several years later, Peace House officials tell NBC 6 News there’s now only about $11,000 in the organization’s account.

The state needs to see the paperwork, and according to the state Comptroller’s office, the Crawford Peace House was delinquent in doing that in May of 2006, and still hasn’t done it.

Its corporate charter is now revoked.

“Why? Because we’re just not responsible about doing it, I guess. I can’t answer that. I would like for someone to come and volunteer for us to do that work for us,” Peace House Board Member Kay Lucas said.

Lucas showed NBC 6 News a non-specific budget for August of 2005, of less than $300,000 and another for an Easter event in 2006.

When asked about specific numbers and receipts, Lucas said she didn’t have any available.

She also said the delinquent status for filing was in part due to paperwork being sent back.

“The IRS was asking us all these questions that I just did not know how to answer,” Lucas said.

The directors at the Crawford Peace House may have yet another problem on their hands.

They may not be able to use the name Crawford Peace House.

In documents obtained by NBC 6 News, it turns out Oliver has also filed for the name.

She said if members want to continue using the organization’s name, they must answer her questions about where all the money has gone.

“To get that back; they have to go to court. And if they want to go to court, they can go to court. And my attorney will explain to the judge everything that happened and ask for a full investigation,” Oliver said.

Right now that’s something that Kay Lucas said she isn’t willing to do.

A spokesperson for the Texas Comptroller said if a Texas corporate charter is forfeited, officers or directors can become personally liable for any debts incurred by that entity.

One of the directors of the Peace House is Cindy Sheehan.

Cindy Sheehan at the unveiling of her monument at the Crawford Peace House.

Of course these anti-Semitic folks hated America even before they heard of Cindy Sheehan:

Indeed, the founder of the “Peace House” is an Iraqi named Hadi Jawad.

So it’s about time some of these frauds got busted.

Hopefully Cindy is next.

(Thanks to NavyCopJoe for the heads up.)

From Memri via YouTube:

My transcript of her remarks:

My name is leading seaman Faye Turney. I come from England. I serve on Foxtrot 99. And I’ve been in the Navy for nine years. I live in England but present –

I was arrested on Friday 23rd of March. Obviously we trespassed into their waters.

They were very friendly, very hospitable, very thoughtful, nice people. They explained to us why we had been arrested. There was no aggression, no hurt, no harm. They were very, very compassionate.

Note that the Iranians were so “compassionate” they even provided Seaman Turney with a hijab.

And never mind that all of this is a direct violation of the sacred Geneva Conventions.

Those only apply to the United States.

From the Washington Times:

Enlarge

Dems: More lawyers needed for Bush probes

By Jon Ward

March 27, 2007

House Democrats are set tomorrow to bring in private sector lawyers — at a cost of up to $225,000 over the next nine months — to help committee staff investigate the Bush administration.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr., Michigan Democrat, has drawn up a contract with Washington law firm Arnold & Porter for help in his investigation of the firing of eight federal prosecutors last year, according to an unsigned copy of the contract obtained by The Washington Times.

The contract specifies that Arnold & Porter will subcontract with another firm, Deloitte & Touche, to "assist Democratic members of the Committee on the Judiciary with issues related to the termination of U.S. attorneys by the Bush administration, possible misrepresentations to Congress, interfering with investigations and matter related thereto."

The House Judiciary Committee already has as many as 30 paid staff positions, not including staff of subcommittees, aides said.

The committee’s contract is for a sum "not to exceed $25,000 per month, plus authorized traveling expenses," and is set to expire Dec. 31, 2007.

The contract specifies that Irvin B. Nathan, a partner at Arnold & Porter, will be "principally responsible" for the contract.

The contract also specifies that two Deloitte & Touche employees — Michael Zeldin, a former independent special prosecutor in the early 1990s, and David K. Gilles, a former Treasury Department official — will become part of the House investigation.

Republicans denounced the move as "scandal-mongering."

"It doesn’t take a quarter-million dollars and an army of lawyers to conclude that U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president, unless you’re a Democrat with a political dog-and-pony show to produce," said Brian Kennedy, a spokesman for House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican.

"If the goal is to distract from the fact that Democrats have no long-term agenda, they’re going to need an outside PR firm, not lawyers," Mr. Kennedy said.

Rep. Rahm Emmanuel, Illinois Democrat, defended Mr. Conyers’ decision.

"He has said to the White House, ‘We want the truth. Help us,’" said Mr. Emmanuel, who chairs the House Democratic Caucus. "Our goal here is to get to the truth, and every day is a new day when it comes to the White House and their story."

A judiciary committee spokesman did not return a request for comment.

The White House also declined to comment.

Rep. Henry Waxman, California Democrat, who has headed countless investigations as chairman of the oversight and government reform committee, said he could not recall ever paying for outside legal help.

"We usually rely on staff," Mr. Waxman said.

Mr. Conyers, a 21-term congressman, heads one of two congressional committees that is currently investigating President Bush’s firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year…

Of course this time everybody expected the Spanish Inquisition. But who imagined that the Democrats would have to hire more lawyers?

Why not save money by hiring pretend lawyers, since these are only pretend crimes?

From the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) agency:

OVERVIEW

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funds programs that help people living in the West Bank and Gaza lead healthier and more productive lives.

Since 1993, Palestinians have received more than $1.7 billion in U.S. economic assistance via USAID projects – more than from any other donor country.

MISSION HEADLINES

February 13, 2007
USAID Responds to an Urgent Request for Blood Bags in Gaza
January 12, 2007
USAID Funds a Waste Removal Project in Tal El Sultan
October 26, 2006
New Mission Director for USAID West Bank and Gaza
October 11, 2006
USAID Funds Construction of New Maternity Floor at the Holy Family Hospital
October 6, 2006
American Food Aid to Palestinian People Expands
September 18, 2006
USAID Provides Scholarships to Over 2000 Palestinian Students
August 22, 2006
USAID Repairs Damaged Water Networks in Gaza
June 16, 2006
US Government Supports Gaza Outpatient Service
June 8, 2006
American Food Aid to Palestinian People Continues
May 16, 2006
U.S. Provides $800,000 worth of Medical Supplies for Palestinian Patients

Other topical missions include:

How Does a Man Measure Success?

October 2002

USAID’s first major project in Gaza, named Gaza Stormwater and Wastewater Management, was a $40 million, four-year effort to prevent the winter flooding of streets, homes and businesses with combined sewage and rainwater. "In my opinion, this project was an outstanding success. Six raw sewage discharges to Gazan beaches were eliminated. A wastewater treatment plant was constructed to treat all Gaza wastewater – the first such plant anywhere in the Palestinian Territories. And a large area cluttered with garbage was converted into a stormwater infiltration area to allow groundwater recharge rather than the traditional flow of this precious fresh water into the Mediterranean Sea.

This may sound like tech talk to anyone who isn’t an engineer but what it means in plain English is not only were we able to save water, a rare natural resource in the region, but we were able to stop the flooding of Palestinian streets and buildings – something that had gone on for decades in Gaza City. I believe it would be hard to overestimate what this change has meant to local families and businesses."

The stormwater infiltration area Chuck mentions here with pride had a further noteworthy feature. Working in close cooperation with the Palestinian Water Authority, USAID envisioned a beautiful park, fully landscaped with trees and grass, a soccer field, picnic areas and a children’s playground to be constructed over the top of the stormwater infiltration area. In 1999, this dream became a reality when the Palestinian American Friendship Park was officially opened by the Mayor of Gaza. Any visitor today to the Park, whether coming on a weekday afternoon or on the weekend, will find the playground and soccer field filled with running, laughing schoolchildren. He or she will also see families sitting and eating together in the picnic areas, grateful for a few hours respite from their overcrowded homes…

And:

Rafah Sewage Treatment Plant Back in Business

September 15, 2004

RAFAH, Gaza — United States Agency for International Development (USAID) this week completed the renovation of the aging Rafah Wastewater Treatment Plant, eliminating the danger of sewage flooding in this densely populated area.

USAID provided the sewage treatment facility with a permanent power supply, two new pumps and assorted electrical equipment, which will allow it to function continuously and efficiently. More than 50,000 people, whose health and welfare had been seriously endangered by the regular flooding of raw sewage, benefited from the project.

Since October 2003, USAID has funded 20 emergency and quick impact water projects designed to respond to water and sewage emergencies in the Gaza Strip. The projects cost a total of $2.3 million and benefited five Gaza municipalities with 385,000 people.

The projects included the laying of 15,000 meters of sewer pipes and 21,700 meters of water lines in Gaza, the installation of six pumps in wells and treatment plants, the provision of excavators, generators, transformers and tools to five municipalities.

And:

USAID Funds a Waste Removal Project in Tal El Sultan

January 12, 2007

Tal El Sultan, Gaza Strip – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is assisting in the removal of a hazardous solid waste dump in Tal El Sultan neighborhood in Rafah. Through this $25,000 emergency assistance program, USAID is responding to a serious health threat to the residents of Tal El Sultan. The cleanup, which started on December 19, will improve the environment and quality of life for 30,000 people.

The Tal El Sultan waste removal project is part of USAID’s $28.2 million emergency assistance program, Rafeed. This program enables USAID to respond promptly to the immediate humanitarian and emergency needs of the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza.

Since 1993, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have received more than $1.7 billion in U.S. economic assistance via USAID projects to combat poverty, improve health and education, create jobs and promote good governance.

Indeed, we are now even funding the Palestinian President’s Hamas guard.

But will we ever hear any mention of what the US is doing for Palestine from our watchdog media?

From those enablers of terror at Reuters:

Palestinian security forces loyal to President Abbas take part in an exercise in Gaza March 27, 2007. Members of Abbas’s presidential guard eligible for U.S.-funded training and equipment will be screened in advance for militant ties, U.S. documents showed on Wednesday.

U.S. to vet Abbas’s forces before training begins

By Adam Entous

Members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s presidential guard eligible for U.S.-funded training and equipment will be screened in advance for militant ties, U.S. documents showed on Wednesday.

The Bush administration is trying to allay concerns raised by some U.S. lawmakers and Israeli officials that a portion of the $59.4 million program for the presidential guard could inadvertently benefit militants from al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which is linked to Abbas’s Fatah faction, or Hamas.

The groups are considered “terrorist organizations” by the United States and Israel.

Under the program, the United States will provide $14.5 million for “basic and advanced training” for the presidential guard and $23 million for non-lethal equipment.

Another $2.9 million in U.S. funds will be used to upgrade the presidential guard’s training facilities, including a sprawling new base being build in Jericho, in the occupied West Bank.

A U.S. government document, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, said members of the presidential guard will undergo a series of local background checks before receiving any U.S.-funded training.

Their names also will be run through terrorism databases maintained by the FBI and the State Department.

In addition, Israel will be able to screen individual trainees before they are allowed to travel to Jordan for U.S.-funded training.

A Western diplomat close to the U.S. program said the screening process would create a “firewall against any terrorists becoming part of this program.”

But it was unclear whether the safeguards would satisfy U.S. lawmakers and Israelis.

Presidential guard recruits already undergo screenings by local commanders. Some recruits have been dropped or moved to other branches, either because they are affiliated with non-Fatah groups or their family members are, Palestinian sources say.

The Israeli army has raised objections in the past to U.S. plans to equip the presidential guard with more advanced body armor and other battle gear.

The $59.4 million security program was scaled back from an initial $86.4 million after Abbas agreed to form a unity government with Hamas Islamists.

Less than two weeks old, the new government is already showing signs of internal strain.

Factional fighting has flared up in Gaza and Abbas’s appointment of one of Hamas’s long-time foes, Mohammad Dahlan, as national security adviser, has stoked tensions.

The U.S. security program includes $3 million for Dahlan’s office.

Why are we funding the training of Palestinian soldiers?

Why are we giving aid to Palestine at all? But if we must, wouldn’t it be better spent on sewage treatment plants?

It will be flushed down the toilet anyway.

From the thoroughly blasé reporters at Reuters:

Militants attack Iraqi, U.S. forces with chlorine bombs

FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) – Insurgents with two chlorine truck bombs attacked a local government building in Falluja in western Iraq on Wednesday, the latest in a string of attacks using the poisonous gas, the U.S. military said.

It said 15 Iraqi and U.S. soldiers were wounded in the blasts and many more suffered chlorine poisoning.

“Numerous Iraqi soldiers and policemen are being treated for symptoms such as labored breathing, nausea, skin irritation and vomiting that are synonymous with chlorine inhalation,” a U.S. statement said.

It said no Iraqi or U.S. forces were killed in what it called a “complex attack” using mortars and small arms as well as the truck bombs.

Chlorine gas was widely used in World War One but its use in insurgent attacks in Iraq has particular resonance there. Saddam Hussein attacked Kurdish areas with chemical weapons in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war.

Earlier Iraqi police said two car bombs exploded near an Iraqi checkpoint outside a U.S. military base in Falluja, killing eight Iraqi soldiers.

U.S. spokesman Lieutenant Shawn Mercer said the U.S. statement referred to the same incident but he could not confirm the deaths of the Iraqi policemen.

“Iraqi police identified the first suicide attacker and fired on the truck, causing it to detonate before reaching the compound,” the U.S. statement said.

“Iraqi Army soldiers spotted the second suicide truck approaching the gate and engaged it with small arms fire, causing it to also detonate near the entrance of the compound.”

U.S. commanders and the Iraqi government have blamed al Qaeda militants for several recent attacks using chlorine gas in Anbar, a restive mainly Sunni Arab province in western Iraq…

But the terrorists aren’t using weapons of mass destruction.

From an ever hopeful Associated Press:

Shiite cops reportedly rampage vs. Sunnis

By SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD – Shiite militants and police enraged by massive truck bombings in the northwestern town of Tal Afar went on a revenge spree against Sunni residents there Wednesday, killing as many as 60 people, officials said.

The gunmen began roaming Sunni neighborhoods in the city, shooting at residents and homes, according to police and a local Sunni politician.

Ali al-Talafari, a Sunni member of the local Turkomen Front Party, said the Iraqi army had arrested 18 policemen accused of being involved after they were identified by the Sunni families targeted. But he said the attackers included Shiite militiamen.

He said more than 60 Sunnis had been killed, but a senior hospital official in Tal Afar put the death toll at 45, with four wounded.

The hospital official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, said the victims were men between the ages of 15 and 60, and they were killed with a shot to the back of the head.

Police said earlier dozens of Sunnis were killed or wounded, but they had no precise figures, and communications problems made it difficult to reach them for an update. The shooting continued for more than two hours, the officials said.

Army troops later moved into the Sunni areas to stop the violence and a curfew was slapped on the entire town, according to Wathiq al-Hamdani, the provincial police chief and his head of operations, Brig. Abdul-Karim al-Jibouri.

“The situation is under control now,” said al-Hamdani. “The local Tal Afar police have been confined to their bases and policemen from Mosul are moving there to replace them.”

Tal Afar, located 260 miles northwest of Baghdad, is in the province of Ninevah, of which Mosul is the capital. It is a mainly Turkomen city with some 60 percent of its residents adhering to Shiite Islam and the rest mostly Sunnis.

The violence came a day after two truck bombs shattered markets in the city, killing at least 63 people and wounding dozens in the second assault in four days. After Tuesday’s bombings, suspected Sunni insurgents tried to ambush ambulances carrying the injured out of the northwestern city but were driven off by police gunfire, Iraqi authorities said.

The carnage was the worst bloodshed in a surge of violence across Iraq as militants on both sides of the sectarian divide apparently have fled to other parts of the country to avoid a U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown, raising tensions outside the capital…

Will it never end?

From the wire services:

Palestinian women react after raw sewage erupted from holding pools and swept through a village in the northern Gaza Strip March 27, 2007. At least three people died and 15 were injured, Palestinian hospital officials said.

A Palestinian woman walks next to open sewage after raw sewage erupted from holding pools and swept through a village in the northern Gaza Strip March 27, 2007.

A Palestinian paddles his boat in sewer waters in the Bedouin village of Umm Al-Nasr after a water treatment reservoir burst, flooding the village in the northern Gaza Strip. At least four Palestinians drowned in the tsunami of raw sewage.

Palestinians walk next to open sewage after raw sewage erupted from holding pools and swept through a village in the northern Gaza Strip March 27, 2007.

General view of Palestinian houses flooded by raw sewage that erupted from holding pools and swept through a village in the northern Gaza Strip March 27, 2007.

Palestinians inspect their houses after raw sewage erupted from holding pools and swept through a village in the northern Gaza Strip March 27, 2007.

Palestinians gather after a cesspool embankment collapsed in the village of Umm Naser, in the northern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, March 27, 2007. An earth embankment around a cesspool suddenly collapsed Tuesday, spewing a river of sewage and mud that killed four people and forced residents to flee from this village in the northern Gaza Strip, officials said. A local official blamed shoddy infrastructure in Umm Naser, a town of 3,000, for the disaster.

Meanwhile:

Palestinian members of the Hamas security forces perform during a graduation ceremony in Gaza March 25, 2007.

Palestinian security forces loyal to President Abbas take part in an exercise in Gaza, March 27, 2007.

Palestinian militants from Hamas march during a graduation ceremony at a training base in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, March 27, 2007.

There were reports of Gaza’s decade-old sewage problems growing dangerously worse almost a month ago. But apparently nothing has been done about it.

The Palestinians have their priorities.

From a discouraged Reuters:

U.S. says caught Iraq car bombers blamed for 900 dead

Tue Mar 27, 2007

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – U.S. forces captured two leaders of a major car bomb cell responsible for attacks that killed around 900 Iraqis, mostly in the Shi’ite district of Sadr City in Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.

It said in two separate statements that the two men were caught during operations in Adhamiya, a mainly Sunni Arab area in northern Baghdad, on March 21.

“It is estimated that since November, the car bombs from this cell have killed approximately 900 innocent Iraqi citizens,” one of the statements said.

It said another 1,950 had been wounded….

U.S. military spokesman Major Steven Lamb said the two men were part of the same cell but he had no information on whether they were linked to al Qaeda or another insurgent group…

The first of the two suspects was captured when U.S. forces noticed his vehicle weaving in and out of traffic and his driver ignored signals to stop.

The second was detained around seven hours later after U.S. forces received “actionable intelligence” that led them to stop a passing vehicle, the statement said.

The Democrats had better get on the stick and end this surge before it brings peace to Iraq.

From the Saudi outlet Al-Madina, via MEMRI:

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal (center-L) and (R-L) Prince Abdul al-Rahman, Prince Muteb, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef, Prince Sattam, and Prince Muqren, the brothers of Saudi King Abdullah, wait at Riyadh airport to welcome Arab leaders, March 27, 2007.

Saudi Advisory Committee Member: Over 500 People with Extremist Views Have Recanted

March 27, 2007

Dr. Muhammad Al-Najimi, director of the civil studies institute at King Fahd Security College and a member of a Saudi Interior Ministry advisory committee that dialogues with extremists and persuades them to recant their views, told the Saudi daily Al-Madinayesterday that over 500 people with extremist thoughts had been released from custody after passing an advisory committee examination to determine that they no longer hold such views.

He added that nine of those released had not recanted, and were rearrested.

Who says the Saudis aren’t serious about the war on terror?