 Bush has charged the Pentagon with devising an expanded bombing plan for Iran that can be carried out at 24 hours' notice, it was reported yesterday. An extensive article in the New Yorker magazine by the investigative journalist Seymour Hersh describes the contingency bombing plan as part of a general overhaul by the Bush administration of its policy towards Iran. It said a special planning group at the highest levels of the US military had expanded its mission from selecting potential targets connected to Iranian nuclear facilities, and had been directed to add sites that may be involved in aiding Shia militant forces in Iraq to its list. That new strategy, intended to reverse the rise in Iranian power that has been an unintended consequence of the war in Iraq, could bring the countries much closer to open confrontation and risks igniting a regional sectarian war between Shia and Sunni Muslims, the New Yorker says...
http://www.guardian.co.uk
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Editor - 18:38:00 02-25-07
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 New species, warm water and whales: the Antarctic's secrets revealed by melting ice · Scientists research world sealed off for 12,000 years |
The seas around the Antarctic peninsula are among the most mysterious places on Earth - what life there is has remained largely a mystery, thanks to a thick cover of ice for the past few millennia. But the collapse of some of these ice sheets has given scientists a rare opportunity for access, and yesterday they revealed that they had found a thriving underwater world that is being transformed by climate change. As well as new species, the Census of Marine Antarctic Life (CMAL) project found more common ones that were able to survive in the Antarctic because the temperature of the sea is rising. Minke whales were discovered in large numbers. The scientists also spotted a rare beaked whale off the coast of Elephant Island - the famous refuge of Ernest Shackleton's 21-man crew after a doomed attempt to cross Antarctica in 1916....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/antarctic/story/0,,2021443,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12
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Editor - 18:36:00 02-25-07
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| Audit Assails Smithsonian Head's Expenses Report Finds Possibly "Lavish And Extravagant" Expenditures As Facilities Crumble. Does everyone have their hand in the cookie jar? |
Small's salary was increased from $356,000 in 2000 to $819,000 in 2005 and, according to Senator Charles Grassley who's investigating the Smithsonian's Board of Regents, that increase was without any apparent justification or benchmarks; In 2005 Small received up to $179,322 in additional compensation for housing costs, including a subsidy based on a fixed 30-year mortgage rate to occupy the house he already owns; Small is allowed premium first class travel (which is usually disallowed and/or deemed inappropriate for charities); Small's wife accompanied him to a Board meeting in China, expenses paid, then took a side business trip to Cambodia without him which she expensed for $5,764 — such expenses are supposed to be approved in advance, but this was not; Small booked a $14,509 charter flight from San Antonio, Tex., in 2001 when he could have flown first class commercial for $2000. Small then told the press that he'd paid for the flight out of his own pocket when in fact it ...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/25/national/main2511510.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._2511510
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Editor - 18:20:00 02-25-07
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| Rice Says Bush Won't Abide By Legislation To Limit Iraq War |
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged the Democratic-controlled Congress not to interfere in the conduct of the Iraq war and suggested President Bush would defy troop withdrawal legislation. But Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said lawmakers would step up efforts to force Bush to change course. ``The president needs a check and a balance,'' said Levin, D-Mich. Rice said proposals being drafted by Senate Democrats to limit the war amounted to ``the worst of micromanagement of military affairs.'' She said military leaders such as Gen. David Petraeus, the new U.S. commander in Iraq, believe the president's plan to send more troops is necessary. ``I can't imagine a circumstance in which it's a good thing that their flexibility is constrained by people sitting here in Washington, sitting in the Congress,'' Rice said. She was asked in a broadcast interview whether Bush would feel bound by legislation seeking to withdraw combat troops within 120 days...
http://www.kotv.com/news/national/story/?id=121151
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Editor - 17:57:00 02-25-07
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| US generals ‘will quit’ if Bush orders Iran attack |
SOME of America’s most senior military commanders are prepared to resign if the White House orders a military strike against Iran, according to highly placed defence and intelligence sources. Tension in the Gulf region has raised fears that an attack on Iran is becoming increasingly likely before President George Bush leaves office. The Sunday Times has learnt that up to five generals and admirals are willing to resign rather than approve what they consider would be a reckless attack. “There are four or five generals and admirals we know of who would resign if Bush ordered an attack on Iran,” a source with close ties to British intelligence said. “There is simply no stomach for it in the Pentagon, and a lot of people question whether such an attack would be effective or even possible.” A British defence source confirmed that there were deep misgivings inside the Pentagon about a military strike. ...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article1434540.ece
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Editor - 17:50:00 02-25-07
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| Israelis put Nablus under curfew |
Israeli forces imposed a curfew and conducted house-to-house searches for wanted militants in a major incursion in the West Bank town of Nablus. Army vehicles which entered Nablus early on Sunday surrounded several buildings including two main hospitals. The Israelis say they aim to counter "terrorist threats" in Nablus. The Palestinian Authority has condemned the incursion, which is one of the biggest Israeli operations the West Bank has seen in recent months. Nablus governor Kamal al-Sheikh demanded the Israelis lift the hospital blockade, to allow medical staff to carry out their work. Main routes into the city have been closed, witnesses say. Schools and a university in Nablus have been closed in response to the raid. There are reports of bulldozers piling up rubble on main roads, making them impassable. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6394295.stm
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Editor - 12:41:00 02-25-07
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