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Summary: U.S./Top News 1) In his speech outlining the new U.S. strategy in Iraq, President Bush promised to "seek out and destroy" Iranian networks that he said were providing "advanced weaponry and training to our enemies," Alexandra Zavis and Greg Miller write in the Los Angeles Times. He is expected to strike a similar note in tonight's State of the Union speech. For all the aggressive rhetoric, however, the Bush administration has provided scant evidence to support these claims. Nor have reporters traveling with U.S. troops seen extensive signs of Iranian involvement. The article notes that in addition to the lack of evidence, some of the claims of U.S. officials are highly implausible, such as the claim that the government of Iran is backing Sunni insurgents who are responsible for most attacks on U.S. forces.
2) Sen. John Warner, former chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, endorsed a resolution opposing President Bush's buildup of troops in Baghdad, as some of the most loyal Republicans scrambled to distance themselves from the President's policy, the Washington Post reports.
3) Democratic lawmakers who stray too far from their constituents could find themselves facing primary opponents financed by unions, trial lawyers and political activists, AP reports. Anti-war activists led by groups such as MoveOn.org and Win Without War have already mobilized, pressuring Democrats and Republicans to denounce President Bush's troop boosting plan for Iraq
4) Retired General Wesley Clark has been smeared by right-wing Jewish groups as an anti-Semite for expressing concern that the Bush administration is going to launch a war with Iran, writes Matthew Yglesias for the American Prospect. Yglesias notes that if Clark's statements had been made by a supporter of the Bush Administration's policies, there would have been no charges of anti-Semitism.
Iran 5) Senior Israeli politicians and analysts appear to be preparing the Israeli public for military conflict with Iran, reports Anne Penketh for the Independent.
6) Iran is barring 38 nuclear agency inspectors from entering the country in retaliation for a United Nations resolution aiming to curb Iran's nuclear program, the New York Times reports. The head of the Iranian Parliament's committee for foreign policy and national security said Iran planned to continue its cooperation with the agency, and that Iran would remain a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. An I.A.E.A. spokeswoman said the agency was confident it could continue to monitor Iran's nuclear program. "There are a sufficient number of inspectors designated for Iran, and the I.A.E.A. is able to perform its inspection activities in accordance with Iran's Comprehensive Safeguard Agreement," she said.
7) A ranking Iranian diplomat on Monday said the chaos of Iraq was spilling over into his country, spreading a destabilizing influence to its Arab population, the Los Angeles Times reports. The assertion by the Iranian consul in Basra runs counter to the Bush administration claim that violence and instability flow the opposite direction - from Tehran to Baghdad.
Iraq 8) A senior Iraqi defense official said a private U.S. security company helicopter was shot down over central Baghdad Tuesday, AP reports. On Saturday, a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter was downed northeast of Baghdad and 12 service members were killed. A Pentagon official said there was evidence in the wreckage that it may have been shot down by a surface-to-air missile.
9) Palestinians living in Iraq have been warned that they will be killed by Shia militias unless they leave the country immediately, the Sunday Telegraph reports. Shia militias are stepping up their campaign to drive out Iraq's 20,000 remaining Palestinians – half the estimated 40,000 living in the country at the start of the war.
Lebanon 10) The Hezbollah-led opposition cut roads across Lebanon to enforce a strike Tuesday aimed at toppling the Lebanese government, embarrassing officials ahead of an international aid conference, Anthony Shadid reports for the Washington Post. The conference has become a centerpiece of the government's economic plans.
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- Robert Naiman Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org