US officials are continuing to jump on board the proclamation that the Iraq War has ended, with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates going from yesterday’s comments to a firm declaration today that we’re “not” at war in Iraq any longer.

The whole administration seems to have settled on this narrative, but the real bump in the road remains how simply untrue it remains. The war is not over and for the 50,000 troops, despite official claims that they will “do an awful lot of training,” this is still very much a shooting war.

In fact while President Obama was giving his “time to turn the page” victory speech, US troops in full combat gear were taking part in an attack on a northern Iraqi village. They no doubt would have been surprised to hear that there is no war in Iraq.

Violence is on the rise, hundreds of Iraqis have been killed since the “last combat brigade” moment and US troops continue to engage in combat missions, with the subtle difference that they are never called “combat missions” anymore. Within that difference, it seems, a whole war can be hidden.

In Pakistan, flood survivors line up for drinking water.

Photo by Nicholas Brooks/Oxfam

As the world comes to terms with the mind-boggling scale of the tragedy in Pakistan, many Americans are asking what we can do to aid the flood victims.

Some may hesitate to contribute to flood relief because we associate Pakistan with qualities we don’t admire—nuclear proliferation, religious fundamentalism, the oppression of women, and a corrupt and powerful military. But the people of Pakistan are more likely to be the victims than the perpetrators of these problems, and above all else, they are fellow human beings in dire need.

So how can we distance ourselves from the qualities we don’t like while offering solidarity to the people of Pakistan?

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by Michael Carmichael, Global Research, Aug 31, 2010

While the Republican right will be leading their Anti-Mosque Rally at Ground Zero in Manhattan this September 11th, Dr. Terry Jones will simultaneously launch what he hopes will become a global Anti-Muslim crusade from his modest church in Gainesville, Florida.

by James Petras, Dissident Voice,  September 1st, 2010

Any serious effort to understand the extraordinary influence of the Zionist power configuration over US foreign policy must examine the presence of key operatives in strategic positions in the government and the activities of local Zionist organizations affiliated with mainstream Jewish organizations and religious orders.

There are at least 52 major American Jewish organizations actively engaged in promoting Israel’s foreign policy, economic and technological agenda in the US (see the appendix). The grassroots membership ranges from several hundred thousand militants in the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) to one hundred thousand wealthy contributors, activists and power brokers in the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). In addition scores of propaganda mills, dubbed think tanks, have been established by million dollar grants from billionaire Zionists including the Brookings Institute (Haim Saban) and the Hudson Institute among others. Scores of Zionist funded political action committees (PAC) have intervened in all national and regional elections, controlling nominations and influencing election outcomes. Publishing houses, including university presses have been literally taken over by Zionist zealots, the most egregious example being Yale University, which publishes the most unbalanced tracts parroting Zionist parodies of Jewish history.¹ New heavily funded Zionist projects designed to capture young Jews and turn them into instruments of Israeli foreign policy includes “Taglit-Birthright” which has spent over $250 million dollars over the past decade sending over a quarter-million Jews (between 18-26) to Israel for 10 days of intense brainwashing.² Jewish billionaires and the Israeli state foot the bill. The students are subject to a heavy dose of Israeli style militarism as they are accompanied by Israeli soldiers as part of their indoctrination; at no point do they visit the West Bank, Gaza or East Jerusalem.² They are urged to become dual citizens and even encouraged to serve in the Israeli armed forces. In summary, the 52 member organizations of the Presidents of the Major American Jewish Organizations which we discuss are only the tip of the iceberg of the Zionist Power Configuration: taken together with the PACs, the propaganda mills, the commercial and University presses and mass media we have a matrix of power for understanding the tremendous influence they have on US foreign and domestic policy as it affects Israel and US Zionism.

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10 killed in Indian-held Kashmir

Daily Times, Aug 31, 2010

SRINAGAR: A nine-year-old Kashmiri boy was killed and several protesters were wounded by police fire in Indian-held Kashmir, while troops killed nine suspected militants trying to cross the Line of Control (LoC) on Monday.

A nine-year-old boy was killed when police opened fire to disperse stone-throwing protesters during an anti-India demonstration in Anantnag district on Monday evening, police said. Security forces fired tear gas and gunshots as hundreds of residents held protests and clashed with police, a police officer said on condition of anonymity. The boy was killed and 15 people were injured in the shooting, the officer said. Thousands of people came out to protest the killing, the officer said.

Injured: Hundreds of people defied a curfew in Srinagar to demonstrate against Monday’s shooting, chanting “Go India! Go back” and “We want freedom”. Police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. Six people were injured by police fire. Police said the incident occurred when a group of protesters hurled stones at its personnel and shouted slogans. Residents denied there were protests when the shots were fired. Doctors said one of the injured was in serious condition. Two of the wounded were relatives of senior pro-freedom leader Yasin Malik.

Militants: Meanwhile, the army claimed it had killed nine militants who were trying to cross the LoC. “The army has foiled a major infiltration attempt by killing nine militants who were trying to infiltrate into (Indian-held) Kashmir from across the LoC,” said army spokesman JS Brar. Agencies

By Jeffrey Blankfort, Counterpunch, Aug 31, 2010

This coming week we will witness the latest challenge for the man who is arguably the most extraordinary double agent in the Middle East. What is unusual about Mahmoud Abbas, or Abu Mazen, as he was known when his fellow Palestinians had yet to take his measure, is that most of what he does for his Israeli and US masters he does in plain sight.

To which of the two he is most beholden will be determined during his upcoming visit to Washington for the latest chapter in what has euphemistically been referred to as the “peace process” since it was launched in the aftermath of the Oslo Agreement.  The odds are it will be Israel. In Oslo, it should be recalled, Abbas, as the chief Palestinian negotiator, played Neville Chamberlain for Tel Aviv, agreeing to surrender occupied Palestinian land with a view toward putting a permanent end to Palestinian resistance and, immediately, to the first Intifada.

If any reader still harbors the illusion that Oslo was anything but a sell-out by the Palestinian leadership, Abba’s negotiating counterpart, former Israeli military intelligence chief, Shlomo Gazit, put that notion to rest on the evening of November 17,1993.  When challenged during a speaking engagement at Congregation Beth Shalom in San Francisco  by an angry questioner who compared the agreement to that signed with Nazi Germany in Munich in 1938, Gazit calmly replied that while he was reluctant to make such comparisons, “if it’s another Munich, we’re the Germans and the Palestinians are the Czechs.”.

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[Editor’s Note: As noted below, Blackwater changed its name to Xe Services last year, but is commonly still referred to by its former name.]

Not too long ago, a wave of concern had swept through Pakistan when the local media began screaming about Blackwater’s growing infiltration in the country and its dubious activities. The mounting pressure to expel this infamous US defense contractor put the Zardari government in a corner. It could neither ignore public pressure nor displease its benefactors in Washington. In the end, it chose to vehemently deny these stories. Pakistan’s interior minister, Rehman Malik, said publicly he would resign if Blackwater is found operating anywhere in Pakistan, as if his resignation would be a great loss for the people.

Blackwater founder Eric Prince giving testimony during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in October 2007.

These stories were also denounced as false propaganda by US officials. Responding to accusations that the US Embassy was sponsoring Blackwater, the US Ambassador, Anne Patterson, insisted that “Blackwater is not operating in Pakistan.” She claimed that Pakistani journalists were “wildly incorrect,” and blamed them for compromising the security of US personnel in Pakistan. Secretary Clinton, during her visit shortly thereafter, also dodged questions on the subject.

The information that has now emerged proves the fear of the Pakistanis to be correct. Not only has Blackwater been working in Pakistan, but it grows stronger by the day.

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