The United States military is drawing down its forces in Iraq and is still eager to engage with the press to show that President Obama’s promise to reach 50,000 troops by the end of August will be met. Gen. Ray Odierno, the top commander in Iraq, held a briefing with reporters this week. The military opened a prison transfer ceremony to reporters on Thursday. And embeds with units are still available.
But there appears to be a clamping-down on spontaneous interactions between soldiers and the news media.
Speak No Evil: A Post-McChrystal Press Clampdown
Army: Record number of suicides for June
Soldiers killed themselves at the rate of one per day in June, making it the worst month on record for Army suicides, the service said Thursday.
There were 32 confirmed or suspected suicides among soldiers in June, including 21 among active-duty troops and 11 among National Guard or Reserve forces, according to Army statistics.
De-classified Vietnam-era Transcripts Show Senators Knew Gulf Of Tonkin Was A Staged False Flag Event
Over 1,100 pages of previously classified Vietnam-era transcripts released this week by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee highlight the fact that several Senators knew that the White House and the Pentagon had deceived the American people over the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident.
It would take over thirty years for the truth to emerge that the Aug. 4, 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident, where US warships were apparently attacked by North Vietnamese PT Boats – an incident that kicked off US involvement in the Vietnam war – was a staged event that never actually took place.
Israel firm charged in nuclear case
An investigation in the United States has charged a US-based Israeli company with attempting to export nuclear weapons-related material to Israel.
The investigation conducted by the Bureau of Industry and Security says Israeli company, Pelogy, attempted to export controlled goods to Israel, India, China and South Africa. It says in the case of Israel and India, the goods could have been used to make nuclear weapons.
'Ten big media lies' about Israel
Michel Collon, a Belgian journalist and author, in his book "Israel, let's talk about it," has slammed European media over decades of "lying" to people in order to support Israel.
The first lie is that Israel was established in reaction to the massacre of Jews during the World War II.
This notion is completely wrong. Israel is in fact a domineering project which was approved in the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, in 1897, when nationalist Jews decided to occupy Palestine.
US army heat-ray gun in Afghanistan
A newly-developed heat-ray gun that burns the skin but doesn't cause permanent injury is now with US troops in Afghanistan. The Active Denial System (ADS) is a non-lethal weapon designed to disperse violent crowds and repel enemies.
It uses a focused invisible beam that causes an "intolerable heating sensation", but only penetrates the skin to the equivalent of three sheets of paper.
Vatican: attempted ordination of women is a "grave crime"
The Vatican revised its in-house rules to deal with clerical sex abuse cases Thursday, targeting priests who molest the mentally disabled as well as children and doubling the statute of limitations for such crimes.
Abuse victims said the rules are little more than administrative housekeeping since they made few substantive changes to current practice, and what is needed are bold new rules to punish bishops who shield pedophiles.
Ex-Justice official: CIA interrogators used unauthorized techniques on detainees
CIA interrogators exceeded legal limits on harsh interrogations of al-Qaeda detainees during the Bush administration, according to a former top Justice Department official who was interviewed by congressional investigators.
House Democrats said Thursday that Jay S. Bybee, who headed the department's Office of Legal Counsel, told them in May that he never approved a number of interrogation techniques used on detainees in CIA custody. Techniques his office did approve -- such as waterboarding, the simulated drowning of terror suspects -- were used too many times on detainees, Bybee told investigators.
U.S. paid Iranian nuclear scientist $5 million for aid to CIA
The Iranian nuclear scientist who claimed to have been abducted by the CIA before departing for his homeland Wednesday was paid more than $5 million by the agency to provide intelligence on Iran's nuclear program, U.S. officials said.
Shahram Amiri is not obligated to return the money but might be unable to access it after breaking off what U.S. officials described as significant cooperation with the CIA and abruptly returning to Iran. Officials said he might have left out of concern that the Tehran government would harm his family.
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