The Talk Show American

THE TALK SHOW AMERICAN: 01/01/2006 - 01/08/2006

Saturday, January 07, 2006

New evidence on Saddam's WMDs?

Intelligence Summit to unveil secret recordings

A former intelligence analyst currently working as a civilian contractor will unveil publicly what he believes to be recordings of Saddam Hussein's office meetings discussing his program of developing weapons of mass destruction at an International Intelligence Summit in the nation's capital next month.

The highly confidential audio was overlooked when it was found in a warehouse along with many other untranslated Iraqi intelligence files, according to the contractor. The recordings are very significant because they may contain audio of Saddam's secret intentions regarding weapons of mass destruction, he says.

Prior to 9/11, intelligence experts were convinced that Iraq was involved with weapons of mass destruction. However, no concrete evidence was found in the three years after the beginning of the Iraqi war.

The contractor who obtained and reviewed these tapes of historical significance plans to release them to the public Feb. 17, 2006 at the Intelligence Summit, a non-partisan, non-profit conference open to the public, scheduled to be held at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, Virginia.

Following the presentation by the contractor of what he discovered, a panel of experts will discuss ways to verify if the tapes were actually recorded by Hussein. The procedures will include voiceprint analysis and other technical means of voice verification.

New Saddam Documents Detail Terror Training

The Bush administration is preparing to release never-before-seen documents captured when U.S. forces liberated Baghdad that chronicle the extensive training of thousands of radical Islamic terrorists by Saddam Hussein's regime.

"The secret training took place primarily at three camps in Samarra, Ramadi, and Salman Pak," reports the Weekly Standard's Stephen Hayes, who adds that the operations began two years before the 9/11 attacks and were "directed by elite Iraqi military units."

The existence of these documents, and the nature of what they describe, has been confirmed to the Standard by eleven U.S. government officials, Hayes says.

If true, the documents represent a bombshell finding that shatters the claims of Iraq war critics who have maintained for three years that Saddam Hussein had no connection whatsoever to Islamic terrorism.

More intriguing still is the documentation on Salman Pak - a camp previously described by Iraqi defectors as the location of airline hijacking dress rehearsals that bear a striking resemblance to what took place on 9/11.
Hayes reports that the materials currently being reviewed for release include photographs, handwritten notes, typed documents, audiotapes and videotapes - plus information recovered from compact discs, floppy discs and computer hard drives.

Taken together, the material chronicles a massive operation that trained 2,000 terrorists to attack Western interests each year from 1999 to 2002.

The volume of material examined so far represents the tip of the iceberg. Of the 2 million items recovered from Saddam's regime, just 50,000 have been thoroughly translated and analyzed.

"Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has convened several meetings in recent weeks to discuss the Pentagon's role in expediting the release of this information," the Standard says.

"According to several sources familiar with his thinking, Rumsfeld is pushing aggressively for a massive dump of the captured documents."

The Weekly Standard has the story

Clinton Scheme Gave Iran Nuke Blueprints

In a hairbrained scheme that was personally approved by then-President Clinton, the CIA deliberately gave Iranian physicists blueprints for part of a nuclear bomb that likely helped Tehran advance its nuclear weapons development program.

The allegation, detailed in the new book "State of War," by New York Times reporter James Risen, comes as the Iranian nuclear crisis appears to be coming to a head, with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urging that Israel be "wiped off the map" and his government announcing last week that it will resume uranium enrichment on Monday.

Reports Risen: "It's not clear who originally came up with the idea, but the plan [to give Tehran nuclear blueprints] was first approved by Clinton."

Beginning in February 2000, the CIA recruited a Russian scientist who had defected to the US years earlier. His mission: Take the nuclear blueprints to Vienna to sell them - or simply give them - to the Iranian representatives for the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Dubbed "Operation Merlin," the plan was supposed to steer Iranian physicists off track by incorporating design flaws in the blueprints that would render the information worthless.
But in what may turn out to be one of the greatest foreign policy blunders of all time, Operation Merlin backfired when the Russian scientist spotted the design flaws immediately - and even offered to help Iran fix the problems.

Risen said the Clinton-approved plan ended up handing Tehran "one of the greatest engineering secrets in the world, providing the solution to one of a handful of problems that separated nuclear powers such as the United States and Russia from rogue countries such as Iran that were desperate to join the nuclear club but had so far fallen short."

Friday, January 06, 2006

Iran skips Vienna IAEA meeting

Iran's delegation to the International Atomic Energy Agency abruptly left Vienna Thursday without attending a meeting in which delegation members were to explain the reasons behind Tehran's planned resumption of its nuclear program, IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said.

"The meeting today was supposed to be about the clarification of Iran's 'R&D' (research and development) intentions in restarting their nuclear program," Fleming told CNN in a phone interview.

Iran's Atomic Energy Organization announced Tuesday it would restart its nuclear research program on January 9 to put idle atomic researchers back to work.

An IAEA statement Tuesday said Mohamed ElBaradei, the director general, acknowledged the right of Iran "to the peaceful use of nuclear technology."

"However, he continues to call on Iran to take the steps the IAEA requires to resolve outstanding issues regarding the nature of Iran's nuclear program," the statement said.

"In the meantime, Dr. ElBaradei also calls on Iran to take voluntary measures to build confidence, and enable the resumption of dialogue with all concerned parties."

Al-Qaida Says U.S. Troop Reductions a Victory for Islam

Al-Qaida's No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, said in a videotape aired Friday that the United States' recent decision to withdraw some troops from Iraq represented "the victory of Islam."

Al-Zawahri, wearing a white turban and gray robe and seated next to an automatic rifle, waved his finger for emphasis as he spoke in the two-minute excerpt aired by Al-Jazeera.

"I congratulate (the Islamic nation) for the victory of Islam in Iraq," he said.

Al-Zawahri apparently was referring to comments last month by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who said President Bush had authorized new troop cuts below the 138,000 level that prevailed for most of last year.

Rumsfeld did not reveal the exact size of the cut, but the Pentagon said the reductions would be about 7,000 troops, about the size of two combat brigades. The Pentagon has not announced a timetable for troop reductions, but indications are that the force could be cut significantly by the end of this year.

"You remember I told you more than a year ago that the American withdrawal from Iraq is only a matter of time, and here they are now ... negotiating with the mujahedeen," al-Zawahri said.

"Bush was forced at the end of last year to announce that he will pull out his forces from Iraq, but he was giving excuses for his withdrawal that the Iraqi forces have reached a good level."

Bush has not offered concrete details about bringing troops home but said Wednesday that "possible adjustments" would be discussed with Iraqi leaders if progress continued on security and political efforts.

Al-Zawahri said the American forces "with their planes, missiles, tanks and fleets are mourning and bleeding, seeking for a getaway from Iraq."

"Regarding your withdrawal timetable ... you have to admit, Bush, that you have been defeated in Iraq and are being defeated in Afghanistan and will be defeated in Palestine," he said, speaking calmly but forcefully.

NY Times Facing NSA Leak Indictment?

The New York Times reporters who broke the Bush "Spygate" story, as well as the paper's top executives who approved its publication, face the very real prospect of criminal indictment by the Bush Justice Department - a lawyer involved in the 1971 Pentagon Papers battle is warning.

With a full-blown Justice Department investigation now underway, Harvey Silvergate tells the Boston Phoenix: "A variety of federal statutes, from the Espionage Act on down, give Bush ample means to prosecute the Times reporters who got the scoop, James Risen and Eric Lichtblau."

Silvergate represented several parties in the Pentagon Papers litigation, a first amendment battle royale that pitted the Nixon administration against the Times, the Boston Globe and the Washington Post 35 years ago. The Watergate scandal's rising tide, however, swamped then-Attorney General John Mitchell, prompting him to abandon plans to prosecute the three papers.

This time, says Silvergate, the White House and the Old Gray Lady appear to be on an unavoidable collision course.

"Even Executive Editor Bill Keller and Publisher Arthur 'Pinch' Sulzberger Jr., could become targets," he predicts.
Silvergate says he's amazed that the prospect of criminal prosecution hasn't generated more controversy, especially since "such an indictment could be brought in short order."

The mere publication of the Times story on Dec. 16 could be considered a crime, he warns, and charges could be filed even before the DOJ probe ferrets out the identity of the leakers.

To be sure, Silvergate is no fan of the Bush administration - and says the Times was right to blow the lid off the secret surveillance program. He warns that any upcoming prosecution would be the product of "a vengeful White House concerned not so much with disclosure of national secrets as with revelation of its own reckless conduct."

Still, the Pentagon Papers veteran predicts that the Times' defense would be no slam dunk - especially since Keller and Sulzberger were personally warned by President Bush in an Oval Office meeting last year that publication of the story could damage national security.

Most Senate Dems Took Abramoff Cash

Nearly ninety percent of Senate Democrats took money linked to disgraced "Republican" lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to a list compiled by the Republican National Committee.

Though reporters continue to insist that the Abramoff imbroglio is "a Republican scandal," 2008 Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton took more than $12,000 in tainted cash.

Compared to the party's 2004 standard bearer, however, she's a piker. John Kerry raked in nearly $100,000 in Abramoff-linked donations.

In fact, 40 of the party's 45 U.S. senators made the Jack Abramoff dishonor roll, including:

� Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), who received at least $22,500 in Abramoff-linked cash.
� Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN), who received at least $6,500 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE), who received at least $1,250 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), who received at least $2,000 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), who received at least $20,250 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), who received at least $21,765 in Abramoff-linked cash.
� Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), who received at least $7,500 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), who received at least $12,950 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND), who received at least $8,000 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ), who received at least $7,500 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), who received at least $14,792 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), who received at least $79,300 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), who received at least $14,000 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who received at least $2,000 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), who received at least $1,250 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), who received at least $45,750 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI), who received at least $9,000 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Jim Jeffords (I-VT), who received at least $2,000 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD), who received at least $14,250 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), who received at least $3,300 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator John Kerry (D-MA), who received at least $98,550 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), who received at least $28,000 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT), who received at least $4,000 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), who received at least $6,000 in Abramoff-linked cash.


� Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT), who received at least $29,830 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) Received At Least $14,891 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), who received at least $10,550 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), who received at least $78,991 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), who received at least $20,168 in Abramoff-linked cash.


� Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) Received At Least $5,200 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), who received at least $7,500 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR), who received at least $2,300 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), who received at least $3,500 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), who received at least $68,941 in Abramoff-linked cash.


� Senator John Rockefeller (D-WV), who received at least $4,000 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO), who received at least $4,500 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), who received at least $4,300 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who received at least $29,550 in Abramoff-linked cash.


� Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), who received at least $6,250 in Abramoff-linked cash.

� Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), who received at least $6,250 in Abramoff-linked cash.

Clinton NSA Wiretapped Top Republican

During the 1990's under President Bill Clinton, the National Security Agency conducted random telecommunications surveillance of millions of phone calls daily under a top secret program known as Echelon.

But according to at least two people familiar with the spy operation at the time, some of the surveillance was far from indiscriminate.

In a February 2000 interview with CBS's "60 Minutes," NSA operator Margaret Newsham revealed that the agency's listening post in Great Britain was involved in monitoring the phone calls of at least one top Republican on Capitol Hill.

Questioned by "60 Minutes" interviewer Steve Kroft, Newsham recalled how she learned of the illegal surveillance:

"I walked into the office building and a friend said, 'Come over here and listen to--to this thing.' And he had headphones on, so I took the headphones and I listened to it, and I looked at him and said, 'That's an American.' . . .
Ms. Newsham remembered, "It was definitely an American voice, and it was a voice that was distinct. And I said, 'Well, who is that?'

"And he said it was Senator Strom Thurmond."

Until his retirement from the Senate in 2002, Thurmond was a frequent critic of the Clinton administration, who played a leading role in the 1998 impeachment drama - though there's no known connection to the decision to wiretap the South Carolina conservative.

During the same program, however, Kroft consulted with Mike Frost, who worked for Canada's version of the NSA for 20-years.

Asked if it was commonplace for the NSA to monitor the phone calls of top U.S. politicians, Frost told CBS: "Of course it goes on. Been going on for years. Of course it goes on. That's the way it works."

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Democrats Benefited from Abramoff Contributions, Too

The National Republican Senatorial Committee said Wednesday that 40 of 45 members of the Senate Democrat Caucus have taken money from lobbyist Jack Abramoff, his associates and Indian tribe clients.

Abramoff pled guilty Tuesday to conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion. He also plans to implicate a number of U.S. lawmakers and congressional staffers in a bribery scandal.

Among those named by the NRSC as the worst examples of "Democrat hypocrisy" for taking money from Abramoff and his associates are: Sen. Byron Dorgan, (D-N.D.) who received at least $79,300; Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who received at least $45,750; Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who received at least $68,941 and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), who received at least $6,250.

Dorgan is among the lawmakers who have already returned campaign donations or given those donations to charity.

N.Y. Times: NSA Acted on Its Own

The National Security Agency acted on its own to expand its domestic surveillance operations after 9/11 � without the formal approval of President Bush.

In the weeks following the terrorist attacks, the N.S.A. � whose mission is to eavesdrop on foreign communications � moved to identify terror suspects within the U.S. by easing restrictions on domestic eavesdropping, according to the New York Times.

The eavesdropping included tapping into some of the nation�s main telecommunications arteries in search of terrorist activity.

The new revelations concerning domestic surveillance have come to light in an October 11, 2001 letter � declassified on Tuesday - written by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to Lt. Gen. Michael V. Hayden, then head of the N.S.A.

Following a classified briefing on N.S.A. surveillance activity, Pelosi � who was the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee at the time � wrote: "I am concerned whether, and to what extent, the National Security Agency has received specific presidential authorization for the operations you are conducting.�
Hayden�s reply indicated that the N.S.A. had received no such authorization from the president.

Hayden wrote: "In my briefing, I was attempting to emphasize that I used my authorities to adjust N.S.A.�s collection and reporting.�

Administration officials say Hayden had acted on the authority previously granted to the N.S.A. by a 1981 intelligence directive known as Executive Order 12333, the Times reports.

In 2002, President Bush signed a new executive order authorizing the N.S.A. to tap the private conversations of Americans suspected of having links to al-Qaida.

Hillary Clinton Campaign Acknowledges Violation

Hillary Clinton's 2000 Senate campaign committee likely violated the law when it underreported $1 million-plus in campaign contributions from Hollywood mogul Peter Paul, according to a four-year investigation by the Federal Election Commission.

The FEC found "there was probable cause to believe New York Senate 2000 and Andrew Grossman, in his official capacity as [the campaign's] treasurer, violated 2 U.S.S Sec 434(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 and 11 C.F.R. Sec 102(c)(8)(i)(A)."

"On December 13, 2005, a conciliation agreement signed by Andrew Grossman was accepted by the Commission," the FEC said.

Under the agreement worked out with the campaign, "New York Senate 2000" will pay a $35,000 fine and amend its public reports to show that Paul's share of production costs for a gala Aug. 13, 2000 Clinton fundraiser were understated by $721,895.

The FEC agreement represents a significant victory for Mr. Paul, who - beginning in June 2001 - has repeatedly alleged that Mrs. Clinton and top officials with her campaign deliberately underreported his contribution to her Senate bid, which was the biggest of its kind in U.S. political history.
Mrs. Clinton's campaign finance director, David Rosen, was acquitted last year on charges that he knowingly filed false reports with the FEC related to Paul's Hollywood event. But this latest agreement suggests that other campaign officials may be responsible for the same kind of violation.

In a message posted Thursday to his blog, peterfpaul.com, the one-time Hillary supporter urged the authorities to follow up on the FEC findings.

"Now that Hillary's treasurer admitted to making the false FEC reports that David Rosen was indicted and tried for, will the Justice Department act?," Mr. Paul wrote. "Will Hillary's role as a co-conspirator, colluder and aider and abettor be reviewed by the Office of Public Integrity and the Senate Ethics Committee, along with her role in misleading the federal investigation that led to Rosen's indictment rather than Grossman's?"

Meanwhile, campaign officials staunchly maintain that Mrs. Clinton was not involved in any illegality.

"This agreement makes clear that there was no violation of federal election law by the Hillary Rodham Clinton for Senate Committee in connection with the August 13, 2000 event," campaign lawyer Marc Elias told the New York Sun.

Hillary Clinton Caught with Abramoff Cash

Unlike many in her party, 2008 presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has been silent about the influence peddling scandal erupting around lobbyist Jack Abramoff, whose plea bargain with the Justice Department is said to have more than a few on Capitol Hill quaking in their boots.

Now we know why.

Turns out, Mrs. Clinton is among the dozens of Democrats who accepted Mr. Abramoff's tainted contributions.

Clinton spokeswoman Ann Lewis told The Buffalo News on Thursday that "after examining our records we found two contributions for $1,000 from tribes which have been clients of Jack Abramoff in the past."

News of Mrs. Clinton's Abramoff connection comes the same day that her 2000 Senate campaign acknowledged it violated Federal Election Commission regulations by hiding hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash given by Hollywood mogul Peter Paul.

All this transpires against the backdrop of the Clinton campaign finance scandal of the late 1990s, where millions of dollars of illegal Chinese campaign cash found its way into Democratic Party and Clinton legal defense fund coffers.

The consequences of those transactions dwarf anything expected to emerge from the Abramoff imbroglio.

After Chinese intelligence and U.S. aerospace mogul Bernie Schwartz plied the DNC with donations, the Clinton Commerce Department permitted Schwartz's company, Loral, to share missile guidance technology with Beijing.

The result? By the end of the Clinton administration, China's nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile fleet was able to reach every city in the U.S.

Jobless Claims Plunge to Five-Year Low

The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in more than five years last week, providing strong evidence that the labor market is shaking off the effects of a string of devastating hurricanes.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for unemployment benefits dropped by 35,000 to 291,000, the smallest number since Sept. 23, 2000, when the economy was in the concluding months of the longest economic expansion in history.

The decline of 35,000 claims was much better than Wall Street had been expecting and bolstered the belief that the labor market is on the mend after a rough period in the fall when Gulf Coast hurricanes caused the loss of more than 600,000 jobs over a period of four months.

The total for weekly jobless claims was far below the peak of 435,000 set the week ending Sept. 17, a period when the number of job losses attributed to Hurricane Katrina totaled 108,000.

The government stopped tracking the impact of Katrina, Rita and Wilma last week because the weekly increase in storm-related layoffs had dwindled to slightly more than 1,000. But for the four months that the storms were tracked, the combined number of layoffs blamed on the hurricanes totaled more than 600,000.

The better-than-expected improvement in the layoff picture for last week was certain to raise hopes for a solid performance in job growth for December.

Analysts are predicting that the economy probably created 200,000 new jobs last month, with the unemployment rate probably holding steady at 5 percent. That would follow 215,000 new jobs in November after two months in which job growth had stalled because of the onslaught of massive layoffs in Gulf Coast states.

Economists are predicting that 2006 will represent another year of steady growth in jobs of around 175,000 per month. That reflects their belief that the economy will keep growing at a solid pace this year as business spending to expand and modernize production facilities offsets expected slower growth in housing sales and overall consumer spending.

Supreme Court Says U.S. Can Move Padilla

The Bush administration won a temporary victory when the Supreme Court ruled that Jose Padilla, who was held for 3 1/2 years as an "enemy combatant," can be transferred to civilian authorities in Miami.

The justices' decision Wednesday overruled a lower court, which had attempted to block the transfer in a rebuke of the White House.

Padilla, a former Chicago gang member who was arrested shortly after the September 2001 terrorist attacks, will be released from military custody to face charges in a civilian criminal court.

The Supreme Court said it would decide later whether to consider a broader appeal by Padilla challenging President Bush's authority to order the indefinite detention of suspected terrorists. The case has been set for review at a private meeting of the justices on Jan. 13.

Major Terror Plot Against U.S. Ignored by MSNM

The mainstream U.S. media outlets have failed to report a major terrorist plot against the U.S. - because it would tend to support President Bush's use of NSA domestic surveillance, according to media watchdog groups.

News of a planned attack masterminded by three Algerians operating out of Italy was widely reported outside the U.S., but went virtually unreported in the American media.

Italian authorities recently announced that they had used wiretaps to uncover the conspiracy to conduct a series of major attacks inside the U.S.

Italian Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said the planned attacks would have targeted stadiums, ships and railway stations, and the terrorists' goal, he said, was to exceed the devastation caused by 9/11.

"U.S. terror attacks foiled,� read the headline in England�s Sunday Times. In France, a headline from Agence France Presse proclaimed, "Three Algerians arrested in Italy over plot targeting U.S.�

Curiously, what was deemed worthy of a worldwide media blitz abroad was virtually ignored by the U.S. media, and conservative media watchdog groups are saying that is no accident.

My impression is that the major media want to use the NSA story to try and impeach the president," says Cliff Kincaid, editor of the Accuracy in Media Report published by the grassroots Accuracy in Media organization.
"If you remind people that terrorists actually are planning to kill us, that tends to support the case made by President Bush. They will ignore any issue that shows that this kind of [wiretapping] tactic can work in the war on terror.�

"The mainstream media have framed the story as one of the nefarious President Bush �spying on U.S. citizens,� where the average American is a victim not a beneficiary,� commented Brent Baker, vice president of the Media Research Center, a Washington, D.C.-based organization dedicated to encouraging balanced news coverage, "so journalists have little interest in any evidence that the program has helped save lives by uncovering terrorist plans."

The Associated Press version of the story did not disclose that the men planned to target the U.S. Nor did it report that the evidence against the suspects was gathered via a wiretapping surveillance operation.

Furthermore, only one American newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer, is known to have published the story that the AP distributed. It ran on page A-6 under the headline "Italy Charges 3 Algerians.� The Inquirer report also made no mention of the plot to target the U.S. - although foreign publications included this information in the headlines and lead sentences of their stories. Nor did it advise readers that domestic wiretaps played a key role in nabbing the suspected terrorists.

One obvious question media critics are now raising: Did the American media intentionally ignore an important story because it didn't fit into their agenda of attacking President George Bush for using wiretapping to spy on potential terrorists in the U.S.?

"It's clear to me," says AIM's Kincaid, "that they're trying their best to make this NSA program to be an impeachable offense, saying it is directed at ordinary Americans. That's why they keep referring to this as a 'program of spying on Americans' - whereas the president keeps pointing out it's a program designed to uncover al-Qaida operations on American soil."

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Secret services say Iran is trying to assemble a nuclear missile

Document seen by Guardian details web of front companies and middlemen

The Iranian government has been successfully scouring Europe for the sophisticated equipment needed to develop a nuclear bomb, according to the latest western intelligence assessment of the country's weapons programmes.
Scientists in Tehran are also shopping for parts for a ballistic missile capable of reaching Europe, with "import requests and acquisitions ... registered almost daily", the report seen by the Guardian concludes.

The warning came as Iran raised the stakes in its dispute with the United States and the European Union yesterday by notifying the International Atomic Energy Authority that it intended to resume nuclear fuel research next week. Tehran has refused to rule out a return to attempts at uranium enrichment, the key to the development of a nuclear weapon.

The 55-page intelligence assessment, dated July 1 2005, draws upon material gathered by British, French, German and Belgian agencies, and has been used to brief European government ministers and to warn leading industrialists of the need for vigilance when exporting equipment or expertise to so-called rogue states.
It concludes that Syria and Pakistan have also been buying technology and chemicals needed to develop rocket programmes and to enrich uranium. It outlines the role played by Russia in the escalating Middle East arms build-up, and examines the part that dozens of Chinese front companies have played in North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.

But it is the detailed assessment of Iran's nuclear purchasing programme that will most most alarm western leaders, who have long refused to believe Tehran's insistence that it is not interested in developing nuclear weapons and is trying only to develop nuclear power for electricity. Governments in the west and elsewhere have also been dismayed by recent pronouncements from the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has said that Holocaust denial is a "scientific debate" and that Israel should be "wiped off the map".

The leak of the intelligence report may signal a growing frustration at Iran's refusal to bow to western demands that it abandon its programme to produce fuel for a Russian-built nuclear reactor due to come on stream this year.

The assessment declares that Iran has developed an extensive web of front companies, official bodies, academic institutes and middlemen dedicated to obtaining - in western Europe and in the former Soviet Union - the expertise, training, and equipment for nuclear programmes, missile development, and biological and chemical weapons arsenals.

"In addition to sensitive goods, Iran continues intensively to seek the technology and know-how for military applications of all kinds," it says.

The document lists scores of Iranian companies and institutions involved in the arms race. It also details Tehran's growing determination to perfect a ballistic missile capable of delivering warheads far beyond its borders.

It notes that Iran harbours ambitions of developing a space programme, but is currently concentrating on upgrading and extending the range of its Shahab-3 missile, which has a range of 750 miles - capable of reaching Israel.

Intelligence Panel Had Clue About Spying

Congressional intelligence committees had at least a hint in October 2001 that the National Security Agency was expanding its surveillance activities after the 9/11 attacks, according to a letter released Tuesday by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

The California Democrat had raised questions to Gen. Michael Hayden, then the NSA director, about the legal authority to conduct the eavesdropping work.

In the October 2001 letter, Pelosi said she was told in a briefing that month that the agency "had been operating since the Sept. 11 attacks with an expansive view" of its authorities "to the conduct of electronic surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and related statutes, orders, regulations and guidelines."

"I am concerned whether, and to what extent, the National Security Agency has received specific presidential authorization for the operations you are conducting," Pelosi, then the top Democrat on the intelligence panel, wrote Hayden.

But it appears that Hayden may have at least alluded broadly to the new surveillance work with a wider audience of House and Senate intelligence committee members during the classified October briefing. According to Pelosi's letter, Hayden spoke about the agency's new posture to expand its operations.

Hayden, who is now the nation's No. 2 intelligence official, told Pelosi he wanted to clarify ambiguities. "In my briefing, I was attempting to emphasize that I used my authorities to adjust NSA's collection and reporting," he wrote on Oct. 18, 2001.

The subsequent crucial sentences of the letter, released Tuesday, were blocked out for security reasons.

Key parts of Pelosi's letter were also withheld. For instance, one sentence indicates that the NSA was forwarding intercepts and other undisclosed information to the FBI without first getting a request.

Media Report Miracle Mine Rescue -- Then Carry the Tragic Truth

In one of the most disturbing media performances of its kind in recent years, television and newspapers carried the tragically wrong news late Tuesday and early Wednesday that 12 of 13 trapped coal miners in West Virginia had been found alive and safe. Hours later they had to reverse course, often blaming the mix-up on "miscommunication."

For hours, starting just before midnight, newspaper reporters and anchors such as MSNBC's Rita Cosby interviewed euphoric loved ones and helped spread the news about the miracle rescue. Newspaper Web sites announced the happy news and many put it into print for Wednesday right at late deadlines. "They're Alive!" screamed the banner headline in the Indianapolis Star. Even the Los Angeles Times, three hours behind on the West Coast, carried the front page headline: "Suddenly There is Joy: 12 Miners Found Alive." The Boston Globe at least added a qualifier to its banner hed: "12 Miners Reportedly Found Alive."

In many cases, the same papers stopped the presses later, after tens of thousands of copies were printed and distributed, to carry the correct report. USA Today, for example, printed an update under the headline: "Official: 1 Miner Survived."

Some editors blamed officials, including the governor, for misleading reporters. In reality, rescuers had only confirmed finding 12 miners and were checking their vital signs. But what leaked out to anxious family members was that 12 were found alive. According to some reports, the coal company knew that the early reports were false 20 minutes after they started circulating, but did not quickly correct them.

A coal company spokesman later explained, ''Let's put this in perspective. Who do I tell not to celebrate? I didn't know if there were 12 or 1 [who were alive].''

The Washington Post story by Ann Scott Tyson, which appeared on the front page, opened: "A dozen miners trapped 12,000 feet into a mountainside since early Monday were found alive Tuesday night just hours after rescuers found the body of a 13th man, who had died in an explosion in an adjacent coal mine that was sealed off in early December."PROGRESSION OF AP HEADLINES

Families Say 12 W.Va. Miners Found Alive (11:59 PM)

12 Trapped W.Va. Miners Found Alive (12:34 AM)

Singing Erupts After Miners Found Alive (2:49 AM)

Families Say 11 of 12 W.Va. Miners Dead (3:06 AM)

Miners Reported Alive After Blast Are Dead (4:08 AM)

12 Confirmed Dead in W.Va. Mine Blast (5:26 AM)

Feds Vow Full Probe of W.Va. Mine Blast (6:58 AM)

Jubiliation [sic] Turns to Anger, Outrage (7:20 AM)


Later in the story, she even added this explanation: "The miners had apparently done what they had been taught to do: barricaded themselves in a pocket with breathable air and awaited rescue."

The New York Times story on the Web by James Dao was also headlined with no doubt raised: "12 Miners Found Alive 41 Hours After Explosion." The story, which also ran in print on Page One, pulled back a bit from reporting the news as proven fact: "Forty-one hours after an explosion trapped 13 men in a West Virginia coal mine here, family members and a state official said 12 of the miners had been found alive Tuesday night.

Key Events in the W.Va. Mine Explosion

A timeline of key events in the Sago Mine explosion:

Jan. 2:

_ An early morning explosion traps 13 miners underground, but rescuers cannot enter for nearly 12 hours because dangerous levels of carbon monoxide are being vented.

_ Rescue crews finally enter the mine on foot for fear of sparking another explosion.

_ The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration sends in a rescue robot, but it's abandoned after getting stuck in the mud.

Jan. 3:

_ Rescuers keep pushing deeper into the mine shaft.

_ A mine executive is "very discouraged" by air quality tests, which show carbon monoxide levels measured 1,300 parts per million, exceeding the maximum safe level of 400 parts per million.

_ Gov. Joe Manchin says it will take a miracle to find the missing miners alive.

_ One body is discovered in the mine. The prospects of finding anyone alive appear increasingly bleak with no signs of life.

_ Shortly before midnight, family members say they have been told that the other 12 miners are alive, 41 hours after the explosion.

_ One miner is in critical condition at a hospital, and was "unconscious but moaning" when he was brought to St. Joseph's Hospital, a doctor says.

Jan 4:

_ Three hours after word the miners had survived, the mine company's CEO makes a stunning announcement that news of 12 survivors was wrong. Just one person survived, he says, explaining the wrong information was a miscommunication between rescuers and the command center overseeing rescue efforts.

_ Chaos and fights break out in the church where the families had gathered to wait, says John Groves, whose brother Jerry Groves was trapped in the mine.

12 Confirmed Dead in W.Va. Mine Blast

In a stunning and heartbreaking reversal, family members were told early Wednesday that 11 of the 12 trapped coal miners found were dead - three hours after they began celebrating news that they were alive.

The devastating new information shocked and angered family members, who had rejoiced with Gov. Joe Manchin hours earlier when a rumor began to spread that the miners were alive. Rescue crews found the first victim earlier Tuesday evening.

"About the confusion, I can't tell you of anything more heart-wrenching than I've ever gone through in my life. Nothing," Manchin said.

The sole survivor of the disaster, identified by mining officials as 27-year-old Randal McCloy, was hospitalized in critical condition early Wednesday, a doctor said. When he arrived, he was unconscious but moaning, the hospital said.

"It's sorrow beyond belief," International Coal Group Chief Executive Officer Ben Hatfield said during a news conference.

"That information spread like wildfire, because it had come from the command center," he said.

Three hours later, Hatfield told the families that "there had been a lack of communication, that what we were told was wrong and that only one survived," said John Groves, whose brother Jerry Groves was one of the trapped miners.

"There was no apology. There was no nothing. It was immediately out the door," said Nick Helms, son of miner Terry Helms.

Chaos broke out in the church and a fight started. About a dozen state troopers and a SWAT team were positioned along the road near the church because police were concerned about violence. A Red Cross volunteer, Tamila Swiger, told CNN people were breaking down and suffering panic attacks.

Company officials waited to correct the information until they knew more about the rescue, even as people celebrated false news.

"Let's put this in perspective. Who do I tell not to celebrate? I didn't know if there were 12 or 1 (who were alive)," Hatfield said.

Key Events in the Abramoff Investigation

Here is a timeline of key events in the Jack Abramoff investigation:

2005:


Dec. 13-22: Five members of Congress - Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla.; Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.; Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.; Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont.; and Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. - return or give away campaign donations they received from Abramoff.

Dec. 15: Abramoff associate Adam Kidan reaches plea bargain with federal prosecutors on fraud charges arising from a 2000 deal to buy casino boats.

Nov. 21: Abramoff associate Michael Scanlon, a former aide to Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, pleads guilty to conspiring to bribe public officials.

Oct. 5: David Safavian, former chief of staff of the General Services Administration, is indicted on charges he made false statements and obstructed a federal investigation into his dealings with lobbyist Abramoff.

Aug. 29: Abramoff pleads innocent to Miami fraud charges.

Aug. 11: Abramoff and associate Adam Kidan indicted by a Miami federal grand jury on fraud charges in the casino boat deal.


2004:

Sept. 29: Abramoff refuses to answer questions from the Senate Indian Affairs Committee about his work on behalf of American Indian tribes and casino issues. The Senate committee's staff concluded after a seven-month investigation that Abramoff and his business partner, Michael Scanlon, had charged six tribes in six states a total of $66 million for lobbying and may have manipulated at least two tribal elections to ensure they would get contracts with tribes.

2003:

Abramoff donates more than $100,000 to President Bush's reelection campaign.

2000:

Abramoff and Kidan purchase the SunCruz Casinos fleet of gambling boats. According to the 2005 Miami indictment, prosecutors say the pair faked a $23 million wire transfer to make it appear that they were making a significant contribution of their own money into the deal. Based on that transfer, lenders Foothill Capital Corp. and Citadel Equity Fund Ltd. agreed to provide $60 million in financing for the purchase.

Abramoff plea bargain to bring corruption probe to Congress

A plea agreement between prominent lobbyist Jack Abramoff and federal prosecutors is expected this week, bringing a wide-ranging corruption probe to the doors of Congress, according to sources close to the investigation.

Abramoff, who collected millions of dollars in controversial fees from Indian tribes with interests in the gambling industry, reached a tentative deal with prosecutors in a Washington-based investigation late last week, according to one of the sources. The lobbyist has given expensive gifts to several members of Congress, including Rep. Tom DeLay, of Sugar Land, and prosecutors are examining whether lawmakers improperly aided Abramoff clients in return.

Barring a last-minute snag, the terms of Abramoff's plea bargain were expected to be announced in Washington as early as Tuesdat or Wednesday. People close to the case spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Abramoff also was working toward a deal with prosecutors in South Florida on an indictment there that was to go to trial next Monday, according to a source. A federal judge in South Florida has a hearing set for today in the case. Abramoff was charged with fraud in connection with the takeover of a fleet of gambling ships.

By reaching an agreement with Abramoff, federal investigators would gain the ultimate insider witness in a probe into favors the one-time king of Washington lobbyists gave members of Congress and possibly their staff members.

The terms of the plea deals, and whether they will be formally announced separately or together, could not be determined Monday.

Attorneys for Abramoff could not be reached for comment Monday. An Abramoff spokesman repeatedly has declined to comment on the investigation.

Bush Gives Away Abramoff Donations

President Bush's re-election campaign will give the American Heart Association thousands of dollars in campaign contributions connected to lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the White House said Wednesday, as the government pressed forward with a broad-ranging corruption investigation.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Wednesday that Abramoff, his wife and the tribal associates that he helped win influence on Capitol Hill donated thousands to the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign. Donations to charities has been the policy in similar situations in the past, McClellan said.

Abramoff raised at least $100,000 for President Bush's 2004 re-election effort, earning the honorary title "pioneer" from the campaign. It was unclear how much exactly the campaign would be giving to charity since McClellan referred questions about the matter to the Republican National Committee, which did not immediately return phone calls about it.

McClellan said Bush does not know Abramoff personally, although it's possible that the two met at holiday receptions. Abramoff attended three Hanukkah receptions at the White House, the spokesman said.

In a plea agreement with government prosecutors Tuesday, Abramoff has agreed to tell the FBI about alleged bribes to lawmakers and their aides on issues ranging from Internet gambling to wireless phone service in the House.
The full extent of the investigation is not yet known, but Justice Department officials said they intended to make use of the trove of e-mails and other material in Abramoff's possession as part of a probe that is believed to be focusing on as many as 20 members of Congress and aides.

"The corruption scheme with Mr. Abramoff is very extensive and we will continue to follow it wherever it leads," said Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher, head of the Justice Department's criminal division.

Court papers in Abramoff's case refer to an aide to then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay who helped stop anti-gambling legislation regarding the Internet. Abramoff, the papers state, paid the staffer's wife $50,000 from clients that benefited from the actions of the staffer, identified by a person close to the investigation as Tony Rudy, DeLay's former deputy chief of staff.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the probe is ongoing. Rudy did not return a phone call Tuesday at his lobbying firm.

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Harry Reid Caught in Abramoff Plea Deal?

This morning's announcement that Washington super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff has reached a plea bargain deal with the Justice Department has reporters salivating over what they hint is going to be a Republican mega-scandal.

But it turns out that the most prominent player in Abramoff's web of influence was reportedly none other than the Senate's top Democrat, Harry Reid.

In a little noticed story in November, the Associated Press revealed that Reid had accepted tens of thousands of dollars from an Abramoff client, the Coushatta Indian tribe, after interceding with Secretary of the Interior Gail Norton over a casino dispute with a rival tribe.

Reid "sent a letter to Norton on March 5, 2002," reported the AP. "The next day, the Coushattas issued a $5,000 check to Reid's tax-exempt political group, the Searchlight Leadership Fund. A second tribe represented by Abramoff sent an additional $5,000 to Reid's group. Reid ultimately received more than $66,000 in Abramoff-related donations between 2001 and 2004."

Questioned about the donations last month by "Fox News Sunday's" Chris Wallace, Reid immediately turned testy.

"Don't try to say I received money from Abramoff. I've never met the man, don't know anything," he insisted.

When Wallace protested: "But you've received money from [one of his Indian tribe clients]," the top Democrat shot back: "Make sure that all your viewers understand - not a penny from Abramoff. I've been on the Indian Affairs Committee my whole time in the Senate."

When the Fox host pressed again on the Abramoff-linked donations, a flustered-sounding Reid continued to stonewall, saying: "I'll repeat, Abramoff gave me no money. His firm gave me no money. He may have worked a firm where people have given me money. But I have -- I feel totally at ease that I haven't done anything that is even close to being wrong."

Monday, January 02, 2006

Blanco orders remodeling just after storms

Office tab: $564,838

Some members of the governor's staff will return from the three-day holiday on Tuesday to newly renovated offices at the State Capitol.
Shortly after the two hurricanes, Gov. Kathleen Blanco decided to renovate some of her staff's offices. At the time of her decision, Blanco also was hinting at deep budget cuts to state programs and the possibility of laying off 20 percent of the state workforce.

The project cost $564,838.

The newly refurbished office space on the sixth floor of the State Capitol includes hookups and mounts for two flat screen televisions, Swedish granite countertops, walnut paneling and frosted laminated glass. The floor, which will not be accessible to the public, was redesigned to add three new offices, a conference room and file storage areas.

About 20 members of the governor's staff � who focus on constituent services, children's issues, women's policies and other functions � will work on the newly restored floor.

Concerned about the perception of fixing up their office space while slashing others' spending, Jimmy Clarke, Blanco's chief of staff, said Friday the governor's top aides considered not fixing the 6th floor.

But the sixth floor project was bid six days before Hurricane Katrina came ashore near Buras on Aug. 29. Clarke said he became concerned that the state could be sued successfully if the restoration project were shut down.

"We certainly would not have initiated this work post-Katrina and Rita," Clarke said. "Given all that the state faces at this time, these renovations would be a very low priority."

Bush Contends Spying Program Vital, Legal

President Bush strongly defended his domestic spying program on Sunday, calling it legal as well as vital to thwarting terrorist attacks, and contended the leak making it public had caused "great harm to the nation."

"This is a limited program designed to prevent attacks on the United States of America and, I repeat, limited," Bush told reporters after visiting wounded troops at Brooke Army Medical Center. "I think most Americans understand the need to find out what the enemy's thinking."

In Washington, lawmakers are preparing for hearings to consider Bush's domestic spying program.

Four senators _ two of them Republicans _ indicated Sunday that congressional hearings were appropriate for considering Bush's assertion that he had constitutional and congressional authority to authorize domestic wiretaps without a court order in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"In the first few weeks we made many concessions in the Congress because we were at war and we were under attack," said Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. "We still have the possibility of that going on, so we don't want to obviate all of this. But I think we want to see what, in the course of time, really works best."

This From The Power Line:

UPDATE: If the program is as the President described it, and the interceptions are carried out overseas, then it is outside the scope of FISA. See the definition of "electronic surveillance" to which that statute applies, 50 U.S.C. Sec. 1801(f):

(f) �Electronic surveillance� means�
(1) the acquisition by an electronic, mechanical, or other surveillance device of the contents of any wire or radio communication sent by or intended to be received by a particular, known United States person who is in the United States, if the contents are acquired by intentionally targeting that United States person, under circumstances in which a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy and a warrant would be required for law enforcement purposes;

(2) the acquisition by an electronic, mechanical, or other surveillance device of the contents of any wire communication to or from a person in the United States, without the consent of any party thereto, if such acquisition occurs in the United States, but does not include the acquisition of those communications of computer trespassers that would be permissible under section 2511 (2)(i) of title 18;

(3) the intentional acquisition by an electronic, mechanical, or other surveillance device of the contents of any radio communication, under circumstances in which a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy and a warrant would be required for law enforcement purposes, and if both the sender and all intended recipients are located within the United States; or

(4) the installation or use of an electronic, mechanical, or other surveillance device in the United States for monitoring to acquire information, other than from a wire or radio communication, under circumstances in which a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy and a warrant would be required for law enforcement purposes.

Iran Threatens 'Crushing' Response If Attacked

Iran warned Sunday of a "crushing" response if its nuclear and military facilities are attacked by the United States or Israel.

Top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said, however, talk of such an attack most likely is "psychological warfare."

"Iran has prepared itself...they will get a crushing response if they make such a mistake," Larijani said on Iranian television late Sunday.

Larijani said Israel would "suffer greatly" if it launched an attack.

"If there is any truth in such talks, Israel will suffer greatly. It's a very small country within our range."

Our (defense) preparedness is a deterrence," he said.

He also said a Russian proposal the two countries enrich uranium on Russian territory could not ignore Iran's right to carry out enrichment at home.

"It's not logical for a country to put the fate of its nation at the disposal of another country, even if it's a friend. You can meet part of your fuel needs from abroad."

"But is there a guarantee that nuclear fuel producers won't play with you over price or other things? History and experience show that if you don't have technology, you will damage your independence," he said.

European news media have indicated in recent days the United States is preparing its allies for a strike against Iran's nuclear and military facilities with the aim of curtailing Iran's nuclear program.

Reports of a strike escalated after comments by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who called Israel a "disgraceful blot" that should be "wiped off the map" and his call to relocate Israel to Europe or North America.

German media: U.S. prepares Iran strike

The Bush administration is preparing its NATO allies for a possible military strike against suspected nuclear sites in Iran in the New Year, according to German media reports, reinforcing similar earlier suggestions in the Turkish media.

The Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel this week quoted "NATO intelligence sources" who claimed that the NATO allies had been informed that the United States is currently investigating all possibilities of bringing the mullah-led regime into line, including military options. This "all options are open" line has been President George W Bush's publicly stated policy throughout the past 18 months.

But the respected German weekly Der Spiegel notes "What is new here is that Washington appears to be dispatching high-level officials to prepare its allies for a possible attack rather than merely implying the possibility as it has repeatedly done during the past year."

The German news agency DDP cited "Western security sources" to claim that CIA Director Porter Goss asked Turkey's premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan to provide political and logistic support for air strikes against Iranian nuclear and military targets. Goss, who visited Ankara and met Erdogan on Dec. 12, was also reported to have to have asked for special cooperation from Turkish intelligence to help prepare and monitor the operation.

The DDP report added that Goss had delivered to the Turkish prime minister and his security aides a series of dossiers, one on the latest status of Iran's nuclear development and another containing intelligence on new links between Iran and al-Qaida.

DDP cited German security sources who added that the Turks had been assured of a warning in advance if and when the military strikes took place, and had also been given "a green light" to mount their own attacks on the bases in Iran of the PKK, (Kurdish Workers party), which Turkey sees as a separatist group responsible for terrorist attacks inside Turkey.

Goss's visit to the Turkish capital followed the rising international concern over recent statements by the new Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Israel should be "wiped off the map," denying the existence of Holocaust, and suggesting that Israel's Jewish population might be re-located to Europe.

In a December 23 report, the DDP agency quoted an anonymous but "high-ranking German military official" telling their reporter: "I would be very surprised if the Americans, in the mid-term, didn't take advantage of the opportunity delivered by Tehran. The Americans have to attack Iran before the country can develop nuclear weapons. After that would be too late."

The DDP report also said that several friendly Arab governments, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman and Pakistan, had also been informed in general terms that the Pentagon was preparing contingency plans, including "the option of air strikes," in the event of the new Iranian government precipitating a crisis.

Arab diplomatic sources have told United Press International that they have been given no briefings on any policy change beyond President Bush's "all option are open."

CHECK THIS OUT TOO:
'US planning strike against Iran'