[Peace-discuss] Just Foreign Policy News, August 11, 2006

[Robert Naiman]

Just Foreign Policy News
August 11, 2006

In this issue:
1) Markey Initiates Letter to Bush Against Weakening War Crimes Act
2) Retroactive War Crime Protection Proposed
3) Israeli Ambassador Grilled on Targeting of Civilians, Use of Cluster Bombs
4) Terror Arrests Play in Political Arena
5) Lieberman, on the Offensive, Links Terror Threat and Iraq
6) Ambassadors at U.N. Predict Mideast Vote Today
7) Israel Expands Offensive in Lebanon
8) Israel Asks U.S. to Ship Rockets With Wide Blast
9) Veteran Policy-Makers Fear Disaster in U.S. Course
10) The Fighting: Israel Holds Off on Drive to the North
11) Lebanon Sees "Major Progress" in Talks with U.S
12) Lebanon ceasefire plan in the balance
13) Opponents of 'U.S.-Israeli War' Set to Rally in D.C.
14) Antiwar Camp in Israel Comes Out of Bunker
15) The War Bush Isn't Fighting
16) Israel Hits Tower, Warns Of More Bombing
17) As Casualties Mount, Israeli Reservists Voice Concern Over
Inadequate Equipment, Training
18) New Iraq Books Paint Dismal Picture for Americans
19) Leftist Protesters Block Mexico's Main Tax Office

Contents:
1) Rep. Markey Initiates Letter to Bush Against Weakening War Crimes Act
Representative Markey's office has initiated a Congressional letter to
President Bush opposing the Administration's efforts to weaken the War
Crimes Act so that it would not cover abuses such as the sexual
humiliation practiced at Abu Ghraib. To ask your representative in
Congress to sign this letter, use this link:
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/justforeignpolicy.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=4981

2) Retroactive War Crime Protection Proposed
Pete Yost
Associated Press
August 10, 2006
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0810-04.htm
The Bush administration drafted amendments to the War Crimes Act that
would retroactively protect policymakers from possible criminal
charges for authorizing any humiliating and degrading treatment of
detainees, according to lawyers who have seen the proposal. At issue
are interrogations carried out by the CIA, and the degree to which
harsh tactics such as water-boarding were authorized by administration
officials. A separate law, the Uniform Code of Military Justice,
applies to the military. The Washington Post first reported on the War
Crimes Act amendments Wednesday.

3) Israeli Ambassador Grilled on Targeting of Civilians, Use of Cluster Bombs
Democracy Now
Thursday, August 10th, 2006
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/10/1339247
Israel's ambassador to the United States, Daniel Ayalon, was
questioned last Sunday in Washington DC as part of a press stakeout.
Sam Husseini of the Institute for Public Accuracy was there to ask the
tough questions. He grilled Ayalon on Israel's targeting of civilians
and use of cluster bombs in Lebanon, Israel's nuclear arsenal and its
lack of adherence to United Nations Security Council resolutions.

4) Terror Arrests Play in Political Arena
Adam Nagourney
Arrests Bolster G.O.P. Bid To Claim Security as Issue
August 11, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/11/washington/11politics.html
Republicans seized on the arrests of terrorism suspects in Britain
yesterday to bolster a White House campaign to turn national security
issues to their advantage this fall, arguing that the nation needs
tough Republican policies to protect Americans from threats from
abroad. The developments played neatly into the White House-led
effort, after Joe Lieberman lost on Tuesday to an antiwar primary
challenger, to remind voters of the threats facing the nation and to
cast Democrats as timid on national defense. The arrests were
announced less than 24 hours after Vice President Dick Cheney
suggested that Lieberman's defeat reflected the world view of a
Democratic Party that was not prepared to lead the nation in such
dangerous times. Cheney suggested in his remarks Wednesday that the
outcome of the Democratic primary in Connecticut could embolden "Al
Qaeda types."

5) Lieberman, on the Offensive, Links Terror Threat and Iraq
Patrick Healy And Jennifer Medina
New York Times
August 11, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/11/nyregion/11conn.html
Joe Lieberman seized on the reports of a terror plot yesterday to
attack Ned Lamont, his Democratic opponent for re-election, saying
that Lamont's goal of withdrawing American troops from Iraq by a fixed
date would constitute a "victory" for extremists.
"If we just pick up like Ned Lamont wants us to do, get out by a date
certain, it will be taken as a tremendous victory by the same people
who wanted to blow up these planes in this plot hatched in England,"
Lieberman said. "It will strengthen them, and they will strike again."
Lamont has called for removing frontline American troops from Iraq as
early as next July. Lieberman, running as an independent, opposes
setting a deadline.
Lamont denounced Lieberman's remarks, and some other Democrats and
political analysts questioned the senator's use of a national security
hazard to buttress a political attack. In a telephone interview
yesterday, Lamont said he was disappointed by Lieberman's tone, and he
questioned whether the war in Iraq had any bearing on terrorists'
designs on Western nations. Lamont also hit back by again connecting
Mr. Lieberman to President Bush. "Wow," Lamont said, after twice
asking a reporter to read Lieberman's remark about him. "That comment
sounds an awful lot like Vice President Cheney's comment on Wednesday.
Both of them believe our invasion of Iraq has a lot to do with 9/11.
That's a false premise."

6) Ambassadors at U.N. Predict Mideast Vote Today
Warren Hoge
New York Times
August 11, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/11/world/middleeast/11cnd-nations.html
Ambassadors negotiating a resolution to halt the fighting in Lebanon
reported agreement on a final text today and predicted a vote on it by
evening. Ambassadors had been upbeat Thursday about settling the
disputes over the text, but Thursday evening the accord was set back
by objections from Lebanon over the nature of the international force
that is to be sent into South Lebanon once the truce is declared.
Lebanon opposed the invocation in the text of Chapter VII of the UN
Charter, which gives peacekeepers the right to use broad military
firepower. The US and Israel believe that the international force that
goes into south Lebanon must be strong enough to prevent Hezbollah
from reoccupying the area. Nassir Al-Nasser, the ambassador of Qatar,
the Arab representative on the Council, said that revised language
shifts the emphasis to Chapter VI. That chapter sets up procedures for
peaceful settlement of conflict before the kind of military
enforcement envisioned in Chapter VII is resorted to. Al-Nasser
indicated that the Lebanese were now supportive and a vote would occur
later today.

7) Israel Expands Offensive in Lebanon
Associated Press
August 11, 2006
Filed at 1:38 p.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Lebanon-Israel.html
Israel launched an expanded ground offensive into southern Lebanon
Friday after expressing dissatisfaction over an emerging cease-fire
deal in the United Nations, government officials said. Prime Minister
Olmert and Defense Minister Peretz decided on the massive new ground
campaign after meeting for several hours, and Olmert's spokesman told
AP it had begun. A cease-fire deal being worked out by the U.N.
Security Council failed to meet Israel's basic requirements, such as
stationing robust international combat troops in southern Lebanon once
Israel withdraws, said the spokesman. It was not immediately clear
whether Israel was trying to pressure the U.N. Security Council, which
was expected to vote soon on a cease-fire resolution, or whether it
was really determined to send troops deeper into Lebanon. Israeli
defense officials said Israel was upset about apparent last-minute
changes that seemed to weaken the mandate of a multinational force.

8) Israel Asks U.S. to Ship Rockets With Wide Blast
David S. Cloud
New York Times
August 11, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/11/world/middleeast/11military.html
Israel has asked the Bush administration to speed delivery of
short-range antipersonnel rockets armed with cluster munitions, which
it could use to strike Hezbollah missile sites in Lebanon, officials
said. The request for M-26 artillery rockets, which are fired in
barrages and carry hundreds of grenade-like bomblets that scatter and
explode over a broad area, is likely to be approved shortly, along
with other arms. Some State Department officials have sought to delay
the approval because of concerns over the likelihood of civilian
casualties, and the diplomatic repercussions. The rockets, while they
would be very effective against hidden missile launchers, are fired by
the dozen and could be expected to cause civilian casualties if used
against targets in populated areas. Israel is asking for the rockets
now because it has been unable to suppress Hezbollah's Katyusha rocket
attacks in the month-old conflict by using bombs dropped from aircraft
and other types of artillery. The US had approved the sale of M-26's
to Israel some time ago, but the weapons had not yet been delivered
when the crisis in Lebanon erupted. If the shipment is approved,
Israel may be told that it must be especially careful about firing the
rockets into populated areas.

9) Veteran Policy-Makers Fear Disaster in U.S. Course
Jim Lobe
Inter Press Service
Friday, August 11, 2006
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0811-05.htm
Alarms are definitely on the rise here. And it's not just because the
British police arrested 21 people who were allegedly plotting to bomb
up to 10 jetliners between London and the United States. It's more the
sense that the growing number of crises in the "new Middle East",
proudly midwifed by the administration of President Bush, is rapidly
spinning out of control with potentially catastrophic consequences for
the entire region and beyond. The ongoing war between Israel and
Hezbollah -- not to imminent expansion of Israel's invasion of
southern Lebanon if it does not get a U.N. Security Council resolution
to its liking -- has, by virtually all accounts, inflamed and
radicalised the Islamic world and rendered a larger regional
conflagration much more likely.

10) The Fighting: Israel Holds Off on Drive to the North
Steven Erlanger And Warren Hoge
New York Times
August 11, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/11/world/middleeast/11mideast.html
JERUSALEM, Aug. 10 — Israel warned residents of southern Beirut on
Thursday to evacuate their homes even as it held off expanding its
military operation while diplomats sought to complete negotiations on
a United Nations resolution to halt the fighting.

11) Lebanon Sees "Major Progress" in Talks with U.S
Reuters
August 11, 2006
Filed at 9:58 a.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-mideast-lebanon-progress.html
Lebanese leaders made "major progress'' in talks with a top U.S.
official on Friday on a U.N. resolution to end Israel's war with
Hizbollah, a senior Lebanese political source said. "We are discussing
the details. There is serious and major progress that could lead to an
understanding in the next few hours,'' the source said. "There are no
more basic sticking points.''

12) US and France agree on UN Lebanon vote
Jonathan Birchall, Ferry Biedermann, and Harvey Morris
Financial Times
Published: August 10 2006 18:42 | Last updated: August 11 2006 20:11
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/8c1988aa-2895-11db-a2c1-0000779e2340.html
The US and France reached agreement yesterday on proposals to halt the
fighting in Lebanon even as Israel ordered a big new push against
Hizbollah guerrillas to begin.
A new draft UN resolution – which was expected to be voted on by the
Security Council Friday night - called for an immediate cessation of
hostilities, and for a "progressive" withdrawal of Israeli forces,
linked to the gradual deployment of the Lebanese army and a UN
peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.

13) Opponents of 'U.S.-Israeli War' Set to Rally in D.C.
Protest to Encircle White House
Opponents of 'U.S.-Israeli War' Plan Large Rally Tomorrow
Petula Dvorak
Washington Post
Friday, August 11, 2006; B03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/10/AR2006081001611.html
A protest of the "U.S.-Israeli war" is expected to draw "tens of
thousands" of people who plan to surround the White House tomorrow,
said Tony Kutayli, communications coordinator for the American-Arab
Anti Discrimination Committee, one of the groups helping coordinate
participants arriving from across the country. "Somehow, the story of
what is really going on is being lost," said Misha Galperin, executive
vice president and chief executive of the Jewish Federation of Greater
Washington. "We need to try and counter that to the extent possible,
to demonstrate our support." The group is not planning a
counter-protest tomorrow, and Galperin said he believes the event was
purposely scheduled on the Jewish Sabbath to thwart any response on
its part. But protest organizers said that most of their massive
mobilizations, such as the antiwar gathering in September last year,
are held on Saturdays to accommodate travel schedules for out-of-town
participants.

14) Antiwar Camp in Israel Comes Out of Bunker
The decision to expand the ground offensive galvanizes a dormant, wary
peace movement.
Laura King
Los Angeles Times
Friday, August 11, 2006
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0811-07.htm
A month into the war in Lebanon, Israel's long-quiescent peace
movement is suddenly issuing a ringing call to arms. Isolated and
beset by infighting in the first weeks of the conflict, the
still-small peace camp was spurred into action by the Israeli
government's authorization this week of a broader ground invasion in
Lebanon. Faced with the prospect of a bloody, drawn-out conflict,
mainstream peace groups that had refrained from criticizing the war
effort are urging a diplomatic resolution to what has already proven
to be a costly and complicated battle with the Shiite Muslim militia
Hezbollah. On Thursday, organizers of an antiwar rally in Tel Aviv for
the first time brought in what are regarded in this bookish country as
big guns: a trio of Israel's best-known authors. Amos Oz, David
Grossman and A.B. Yehoshua have all spoken out strongly against past
conflicts and wield considerable moral authority here. "The use of
more force now is not in Israel's best interests," Oz told reporters
before the rally. "The time has come to resolve this through
diplomatic means." Though it drew only several thousand people, the
rally had a much different tone than protests organized previously by
far-left groups. Absent this time were strident denunciations of the
government and the army. Instead, the protesters waved blue-and-white
Israeli flags as they shouted, "Negotiate now!" According to polls,
the war retains the broad backing of the Israeli public despite, or
perhaps because of, growing sentiment that the battle against
Hezbollah has thus far been a losing one.

15) The War Bush Isn't Fighting
Eugene Robinson
Washington Post
Friday, August 11, 2006; Page A19
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/10/AR2006081001312.html
When unsmiling agents at the airport take away your contact lens
solution, your toothpaste, and your cologne or after-shave, remember
Osama bin Laden. Remember the real war on terrorism that the Bush
administration and its allies decided not to fight, preferring
cowboy-style military adventures.

16) Israel Hits Tower In Beirut, Warns Of More Bombing
Hezbollah Rockets Kill 2 in Arab Village
Edward Cody and Molly Moore
Washington Post
Friday, August 11, 2006; Page A08
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/10/AR2006081000868.html
BEIRUT, Aug. 10 -- Israeli aircraft fired missiles at a radio tower in
downtown Beirut on Thursday and dropped leaflets warning residents of
the Lebanese capital that more extensive bombing, whose "painful and
severe results will not be limited" to Hezbollah fighters, is on the
way. The warning of more bombing of the city and the missile strike
generated a swell of panic among Beirut residents. Although some
speculated that Israel may be waging psychological warfare to gain
advantage in negotiations at the United Nations, many people here took
the warning seriously, recalling the weeks of Israeli bombing here in
1982. In the 30 days since this conflict erupted, Israel's bombing of
Beirut has been limited largely to the southern suburbs, where
Hezbollah has its base, while the downtown has been spared.

17) 'It's Hard to Have the Same Confidence'
As Casualties Mount, Israeli Reservists Voice Concern Over Inadequate
Equipment, Training
Jonathan Finer and Molly Moore
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, August 11, 2006; Page A10
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/10/AR2006081001537.html
As increasing numbers of Israel's reserve soldiers are ordered out of
their civilian jobs and to the front lines of combat, they are voicing
growing alarm over inadequate equipment and training in the face of
large-scale casualties in their ranks.

18) New Iraq Books Paint Dismal Picture for Americans
Claudia Parsons
Reuters
Friday, August 11, 2006
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0811-04.htm
"Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq" by Thomas Ricks
debuted at the top of the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list
last week. It argues there was no post-invasion plan and documents
serious errors in U.S. military strategy. Equally disturbing is "The
End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War Without End," by
Peter W. Galbraith, a former ambassador to Croatia and an adviser to
Washington's Kurdish allies in Iraq. He argues the U.S. invasion
destroyed hopes for a unified country of Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds
and calls for a partitioned Iraq. Calling America's grand ambitions
for the Middle East a failure, he argues Iraq is "in a catastrophic
civil war."

19) Leftist Protesters Block Mexico Tax Headquarters
Reuters
August 11, 2006
Filed at 10:26 a.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-mexico-election-protest.html
Two thousand leftist demonstrators blocked access to Mexico's main tax
office in the center of the capital on Friday in a fresh protest over
alleged fraud in the July 2 presidential election. Protesters waving
banners in support of leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador
surrounded the building, run by the Finance Ministry, and prevented
employees from entering. Leftists have targeted banks and highway toll
booths this week in protests to demand a vote-for-vote recount of the
election. Lopez Obrador's Party of the Democratic Revolution said the
ministry was in league with business groups that financed Calderon's
campaign. "The Finance Ministry is one of the key points in the
financing of the electoral fraud,'' said Marti Batres, head of the
party in the capital. Protests were stepped up after a court last
weekend ordered a recount of votes from only 9 percent of polling
stations, rather than the full recount sought by Lopez Obrador.
Electoral officials began the partial recount on Wednesday and are due
to finish by the weekend.

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Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org