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Summary: U.S. Politics Congressional sources, as well as several senior officials with national Jewish organizations, said that many officials in Washington are unhappy about the way in which Israel used cluster bombs in Lebanon, the Jewish Forward reports. The Bush administration's proposal to bring leading terrorism suspects before military tribunals met stiff resistance Thursday from key Republicans and top military lawyers, the New York Times reports. President Bush said the CIA's secret network of prisons had used lawful interrogation techniques, was fully described to select members of Congress and led directly to the capture of a string of terrorists, but a review of public documents and interviews with American officials raises questions about Bush's claims on all three fronts, the Times reports. Many of the harsh interrogation techniques repudiated by the Pentagon on Wednesday, including stress positions, sleep deprivation and extreme temperatures, would be made lawful by legislation put forward the same day by the Bush administration. The proposed legislation would provide retroactive immunity from prosecution to government agents who used harsh methods. Human Rights Watch issued a couple-dozen reports during the Lebanon war, some sharply critical of Israel for killing civilians, and has had to fight a rear-guard action to maintain its standing among American Jews, The Nation reports. Orthodox Jewish households are being targeted in Brooklyn in Congressional races in which candidates running against Yassky and Towns have criticized U.S. support of Israeli policies, Jewish Week reports.
Iran Reuven Pedatzur, writing in the Israeli daily Haaretz, suggests that it is possible to build a stable system of future nuclear deterrence between Israel and Iran. Mohammad Khatami, the former president of Iran, speaking at Washington's National Cathedral on Thursday evening, urged religious tolerance and political dialogue. He repeated his government's position that Iran is prepared to discuss its nuclear program, but without the precondition of freezing its enrichment of uranium.
Iraq Baghdad's morgue almost tripled its count for violent deaths in Iraq's capital during August from 550 to 1,536, appearing to erase most of what U.S. generals and Iraqi leaders had touted as evidence of progress in a major security operation to restore order in the capital. Roadside bombs in Iraq rose to record numbers this summer -- to about four times as many as in January 2004 -- as tips from Iraqi citizens warning of the bombs and attacks have dropped sharply amid a flaring of sectarian violence.
Lebanon Israel's naval blockade of Lebanon ended today. Israel had formally lifted its air blockade late Thursday, leading to a stream of commercial planes landing at Beirut's international airport.
Palestine Gaza has been reoccupied, writes Gideon Levy in Haaretz. It is in its worst condition ever. Since the abduction of Gilad Shalit, the Israel Defense Forces has been rampaging through Gaza, killing and demolishing, bombing and shelling, indiscriminately. In large parts of Gaza, there is no electricity. Israel bombed the only power station in Gaza, and more than half the electricity supply will be cut off for at least another year. There's hardly any water. More than ever, Gaza is also like a prison.
Afghanistan A NATO commander said Thursday the alliance needs as many as 2,500 more soldiers and additional aircraft for sweeps in southern Afghanistan, acknowledging that officers were surprised by the force of the fight being mounted by resurgent Taliban militia.
In this issue: U.S. Politics 1) Senators Seek Curb on Cluster Bombs - Jewish Forward 2) Lawyers and G.O.P. Chiefs Resist Proposal on Tribunal 3) Questions Raised About Bush's Primary Claims in Defense of Secret Detention System 4) Interrogation Methods Rejected by Military Win Bush's Support 5) Israel Lobby Watch - The Nation 6) Israel Now Key Issue In Brooklyn House Races - Jewish Week Iran 7) Let them have nukes - Haaretz 8) In Washington, Ex-President of Iran Calls for Tolerance Iraq 9) Body Count in Baghdad Nearly Triples 10) Army Faces More Roadside Bombs Lebanon 11) Israel's Naval Blockade of Lebanon Ends Palestine 12) Gaza's darkness - Haaretz Afghanistan 13) NATO Calls for More Troops in Afghanistan
-------- Robert Naiman Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org