The Tension Wire for Fri. 30 June

TENSION NEWSMAKERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

This image made Thursday, June 29, 2006 from an undated video distributed by U.S. government contractor IntelCenter, shows an undated still photo, left, of Osama bin Laden alongside a video of the late chief of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The 19-minute audio message by bin Laden pays tribute to al-Zarqawi, and was posted on an Islamic militant web site.

BREAKING NEWS
Israel warns: free soldier or PM dies

HEALTH
Study: Money Won't Make You Happy

SPORTS
German, Argentine players scuffle

Argentines lament rub of the green after World Cup loss

INTERNATIONAL
EU Diplomats Warn Ankara: Accession Talks May Be Stopped If Ports Don't Open

AMERICAS
Report: Get ready for post-Castro Cuba

IRAQ
Bin Laden tape backs Zarqawi on killings

Bin Laden Hails Slain Al-Zarqawi As 'Lion'

AFRICA
Ten killed as police quell march in DR Congo

AU shuns Somalia Islamists as tension grows

Islamists claim authority over all of Somalia

MIDDLE EAST
Ain-Al-Yaqeen - June 30, 2006 - Article 9

Israel, Palestinians on alert for Gaza pullout

Reformists sweep vote in Kuwait; women lose

Women lose out in Kuwait vote

Annan Calls on both Palestinians and Israelis to Take Measures to Defuse Crisis

Egypt: Hamas Agrees To Release Hostage

Gaza Troubles May Affect Israel Withdrawal

ASIA
ETimor's PM urges supporters to fight at polls

Report: Rocket Wounds 10 at Afghan Base

Japan and U.S. Warn N. Korea On Missile

Bush, Koizumi Warn N. Korea Against Test

U.S. Sells F-16s to Pakistan

Tags: Daily, terrorism, Middle East, Iran, IAEA, nuclear, Arab, Islam, Bush, UN, U.N., United Nations, United States, Iraq, War, Military, terrorism, Operation Iraqi Freedom, coalition, Asia, Europe, Somalia, Korea, Russia, economics, East Timor, World Cup
Global Tags: Washington DC, News and Politics, News, Politics, Current Events, Current Affairs, Life, Culture, Tension

USA Today Corrects NSA Wiretap Story

COMMENTLINES
The USA Today, in a note to readers, issued a correction to their 11 May 2006 NSA wiretap story saying that the call database is not as broad as reported:

"Based on its reporting after the May 11 article, USA TODAY has now concluded that while the NSA has built a massive domestic calls record database involving the domestic call records of telecommunications companies, the newspaper cannot confirm that BellSouth or Verizon contracted with the NSA to provide bulk calling records to that database."

However, reminiscent of Rathergate, USA Today stands by the story, even when it is found to be in error. From an AP story published today:

"But [USA Today] spokesman Steve Anderson said "this is an important story that holds up well. At the heart of our report is the fact that NSA is collecting phone call records of millions of Americans."

NEWSBYTES
A note to our readers
(USA Today) -- On May 11, USA TODAY reported that the National Security Agency, with the cooperation of several of America's leading telecommunications companies, had compiled a database of domestic phone call records in an effort to monitor terrorist activity.

USA Today: Call Database Not So Broad
WASHINGTON (AP) -- USA Today acknowledged in a "note to our readers" Friday that it could not establish that BellSouth or Verizon contracted with the National Security Agency to provide it with customer calling records, as the newspaper had previously reported.

NEWS SOURCES
Lawmakers: NSA database incomplete
WASHINGTON (USA Today) -- Members of the House and Senate intelligence committees confirm that the National Security Agency has compiled a massive database of domestic phone call records. But some lawmakers also say that cooperation by the nation's telecommunication companies was not as extensive as first reported by USA TODAY on May 11.

NSA has massive database of Americans' phone calls
(USA Today) -- The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the arrangement told USA TODAY.

Tags: Bush, Hayden, NSA, terrorism, United States, spying, Domestic Surveillance
Global Tags: Washington DC, News and Politics, News, Politics, Current Events, Current Affairs, Life, Culture, Tension

Images: Combat Camera, Fri. 30 June

AL ASAD, Iraq - A humvee cruises up a dusty slope during a perimeter patrol June 21. Being the primary source of transportation for the Marines of the Perimeter Patrol Teams with 2nd Platoon, E Company, 1st Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, Marine Wing Support Group 37 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, the humvee helps them accomplish their responsibilities of keeping the surrounding areas around Al Asad secure and free of any threats. Photo by: Lance Cpl. James B. Hoke

AL ASAD, Iraq - A UH-60 Blackhawk crew chief observes his helicopter for any problems that may stop them from completing their mission at Al Asad, Iraq, June 15. The soldier is with 82nd Medical Company, Marine Aircraft Group 16 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. Their mission is to provide aerial medical support to all personnel in the Western Al Anbar Province of Iraq. Photo by: Staff Sgt. Chad McMeen

Persian Gulf (June 29, 2006) - A Sailor assigned to the “Screwtops” of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron One Two Three (VAW-123) cleans the wings of an E-2C Hawkeye on the flight deck aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65). The Enterprise Carrier Strike group is currently deployed as part of a routine rotation of U.S. maritime forces in support of the global war on terrorism and conducting maritime security operations (MSO) in the region. MSO helps set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment as well as complement the counterterrorism and security efforts of regional nations. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Milosz Reterski (RELEASED)

Newport News, Va. (June 30, 2006) - Artist Rendering - A conceptual rendering of CVN 78, the first of a new generation carrier design, CVN 21, for the US Navy, underway at Northrop Grumman Newport News. Construction is slated to begin in 2007. Innovations for the next-generation aircraft carrier include an enhanced flight deck with increased sortie rates, improved weapons movement, a redesigned island, a new nuclear power plant and allowance for future technologies and reduced manning. U.S. Navy Illustration courtesy Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipbuilding (RELEASED)

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Tags: War, Military, terrorism, Middle East, Operation Iraqi Freedom, United States, coalition, photography, photo, photos, pictures, images, photojournalism, Combat Camera, Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom, Iraq, Navy, Army, Air Force, Marines, Marine Corps
Global Tags: Washington DC, News and Politics, News, Politics, Current Events, Current Affairs, Life, Culture, Tension

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Terrorists Five; America Three

A US Army soldier in a cell block at Camp Delta at Guantanamo Naval Base.
COMMENTLINES
The liberal justices of Supreme Court swing a decision for the terrorists. Reading Thursday's opening salvo in the Washington Post provides us with some food for thought:

"The Supreme Court today delivered a stunning rebuke to the Bush administration over its plans to try Guantanamo detainees before military commissions, ruling that the commissions violate U.S. law and the Geneva Conventions governing the treatment of war prisoners."

The ruling is not so much a defeat for the Bush administration as it is a loss for America in the war on terror. Why must EVERYTHING done by Bush in the interest of homeland security always be seen by the mainstream media through a political lens if in fact the media is not liberally biased?

The political frame of reference continues in Friday's Post:

"Now the Supreme Court has struck at the core of his presidency and dismissed the notion that the president alone can determine how to defend the country. In rejecting Bush's military tribunals for terrorism suspects, the high court ruled that even a wartime commander in chief must govern within constitutional confines significantly tighter than this president has believed appropriate."

Another piece in Friday's Post echoes similar prejudices:

"Brushing aside administration pleas not to second-guess the commander in chief during wartime, a five-justice majority ruled that the commissions, which were outlined by Bush in a military order on Nov. 13, 2001, were neither authorized by federal law nor required by military necessity, and ran afoul of the Geneva Conventions."

If we are to take the decision at face value and assume that plain-clothes terrorist combatants deserve consideration under the Geneva Convention, then we must also conclude that the Marines currently charged with killing civilians in Haditha acted correctly and should be released immediately. If non-uniformed combatants in a war zone are no longer regarded as spies and plain-clothes constitutes a uniform for soldiers, then everyone dressed as a civilian within a war zone can be deemed a combatant.

The simple solution to the ruling is for the GOP dominated congress to pass legislation that will allow action:

"Congress' options include everything from legalizing the administration's proposed military tribunals to using the U.S. court system or enacting laws that, as Justice John Paul Stevens recommended, use military courts-martial as a template."

The hearings have already been set:

"Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said he would introduce legislation after the July 4 recess that would authorize military commissions and appropriate due process procedures. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., introduced a bill Thursday that did essentially that."

It will be interesting to see if the Democrats get behind the decision and call for a 'Terrorist Bill of Rights.' With a press that always sees such things through the political prism, such a mistake would surely mark the downfall of those Democrats.

As for now, the court's action will have little effect on detainees.

PRIMARY SOURCE
Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld.
184 pages. When reading, pay particular attention to the dissenting opinions, as they speak to how the decision will affect the country.

CONSERVATIVE OPINION
An Outrage
By The Editors of the National Review
(NRO) -- The Supreme Court’s decision to impose by judicial fiat a treaty that no politically accountable official would dare propose — a one-sided compact wherein the United States gives elevated due process to al Qaeda’s terrorists while they continue slaughtering civilians and torturing their captives to death — is an abomination.

5 wrong justices
By John Yoo
(USA Today) -- By putting on hold military commissions to try terrorists for war crimes, five Supreme Court justices have made the legal system part of the problem, rather than part of the solution to the challenges of the war on terrorism. They tossed aside centuries of American history, judicial decisions of long standing, and a December 2005 law ordering them not to interfere with the military trials.

Five, Wrong
By John Eastman
(NRO) -- The Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, enacted last December, gives the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., exclusive jurisdiction to review habeas-corpus petitions from the terrorists detained at Guantanamo Bay. The act also expressly provides that, other than that court, “no court, justice, or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider . . . an application for a writ of habeas corpus filed by or on behalf of an alien detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba . . .” Legislative word-smithing does not get much clearer than that. Equally clear is Congress’s authority to restrict the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court; Article III, Section 2, of the Constitution describes that the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is subject to “such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.”

NEWS REFERENCES
Congressional Hearings on Guantanamo Set
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court's rebuff of the Bush administration's Guantanamo military tribunals knocks the issue into the halls of Congress, where GOP leaders are already trying to figure out how to give the president the options he wants for dealing with suspected terror detainees.

Supreme Court Rejects Guantanamo War Crimes Trials
In 5-3 Decision Justices Rebuke Bush's Anti-Terror Policy
(washingtonpost.com) -- The Supreme Court today delivered a stunning rebuke to the Bush administration over its plans to try Guantanamo detainees before military commissions, ruling that the commissions violate U.S. law and the Geneva Conventions governing the treatment of war prisoners.

A Governing Philosophy Rebuffed
Ruling Emphasizes Constitutional Boundaries
(washingtonpost.com) -- For five years, President Bush waged war as he saw fit. If intelligence officers needed to eavesdrop on overseas telephone calls without warrants, he authorized it. If the military wanted to hold terrorism suspects without trial, he let it.

High Court Rejects Detainee Tribunals
5 to 3 Ruling Curbs President's Claim Of Wartime Power
(washingtonpost.com) -- The Supreme Court yesterday struck down the military commissions President Bush established to try suspected members of al-Qaeda, emphatically rejecting a signature Bush anti-terrorism measure and the broad assertion of executive power upon which the president had based it.

ALSO SEE
Europeans Cheer Ruling on Guantanamo Trials

World Skeptical Over Guantanamo Ruling

Supreme Court Blocks Guantanamo Trials

GOP Senators Push for Military Tribunals

Bush Vows to Pursue Detainee War Trials

Tags: Counterbalance, Media, Journalism, Daily, Middle East, Islam, Bush, United States, Iraq, War, Military, terrorism, Middle East, Operation Iraqi Freedom, coalition, Democrats, Republicans, Al Qaeda, al-Qaida, Supreme Court, Hamdan, Rumsfeld
Global Tags: Washington DC, News and Politics, News, Politics, Current Events, Current Affairs, Life, Culture, Tension

US Interstate Highway System Turns 50

Russell MacCleery, 93, seated, smiles, with Executive Councilor Ray Burton, left, and Peter Thomson of the Highway Safety Commission, Thursday, June 29, 2006, in Concord, N.H., as they get ready to commemorate the 50th anniversary of interstate highway system. Burton lead a small caravan of antique cars up New Hampshire's I-93 to celebrate the June 29, 1956 signing of the bill by President Eisenhower that created the Interstate Highway system.

COMMENTLINES
Thursday marked the the 50th anniversary of America’s Interstate Highway system, the nearly 47,000 miles of pavement that links almost every part of the continental US.

As a kid riding with my parents on frequent trips up and down the east coast, I remember an incomplete Interstate 95, with detours where the asphalt had yet to be laid.

As I grew up, so did the pavement. Cities grew farther out into the suburbs and a whole culture of highway life on US 1 and 17 slowly died as it gave right-of-way to the new exit-ramp culture spawned by the limited-access interstate.

The story of the federal interstate system is very much linked to story of the baby boom generations, with all of the same promise and problems ... successes and failures.

NEWSBYTES
What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been
The federal interstate highway system is celebrating its 50th anniversary. How it’s changed us—for better and worse.
June 29, 2006 (Newsweek) -- If you’ve ever felt like you were born to be wild, if you’ve ever headed out on the highway looking for adventure and whatever comes your way, you know that the interstate can represent freedom, promise and possibilities. But for others, those same roads represent darker forces—an overuse of fossil fuels, the depopulation of America’s inner cities, urban sprawl.

The Superhighway to Everywhere
Now 50, Interstates Moved America Into Another Lane
EXIT 275, INTERSTATE 70, Kan. (washingtonpost.com) -- There were no Wal-Marts in 1956, no Ramada Inns or Best Westerns. Cross-country travel most often meant the railroad and only about two-thirds of adult Americans had a driver's license.

Eisenhower's 'autobahn' at 50
(CSM) -- On June 29, 1956, President Eisenhower signed a bill to build the Interstate Highway System - a dream of his since he crossed the US in 1919 and, later, after he saw Hitler's autobahn. Little did he know what 46,876 miles of expressways would do.

A Half-Century Legacy
(Forbes) -- America's Interstate Highway System is 50 years old.

After 50 years, the interstate highway program has earned an early retirement
By Ron Utt
(Heritage Foundation) -- As the interstate highway system rolls through its 50th anniversary this week, pundits have filled the air with accolades to its contribution to America’s transportation and economic development. Most Americans view it as a successful government program that has provided a half a century of major benefits, with more to come for our children and grandchildren. Never mind that it was way over budget—expected to cost $25 billion when it was authorized in 1956, the final bill for the interstate highways was $128.9 billion.

Tags: Interstate, Driving, Highways, Highway, Travel, Traffic
Global Tags: Washington DC, News and Politics, News, Politics, Current Events, Current Affairs, Life, Culture, Tension

More Iraq WMD News

US soldiers walk against the sunset in Iraq.
COMMENTLINES
Reuters has reported that Lt. Gen. Michael Maples, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, stated that the U.S. military has found more Iraqi weapons in recent months, in addition to the 500 chemical munitions reported by the Pentagon.

Also of note, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee accused US intelligence chief John Negroponte's office of downplaying the significance of chemical weapons finds in Iraq.

Today's news breaks the mainstream media's radio-silence on recent news about Iraq WMD finds.

NEWSLINES
"I do not believe we have found all the weapons," he told the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, offering few details in an open session that preceded a classified briefing to lawmakers.

NEWSBYTES
US forces have found more Iraqi WMD, says general
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The U.S. military has found more Iraqi weapons in recent months, in addition to the 500 chemical munitions recently reported by the Pentagon, a top defense intelligence official said on Thursday.

House intelligence chief berates Negroponte on WMD
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee accused U.S. intelligence chief John Negroponte's office on Thursday of downplaying the significance of chemical weapons finds in Iraq.

Tags: Middle East, Islam, Bush, United States, Iraq, War, Military, terrorism, Middle East, Operation Iraqi Freedom, coalition, Democrats, Republicans, Al Qaeda, al-Qaida, WMD
Global Tags: Washington DC, News and Politics, News, Politics, Current Events, Current Affairs, Life, Culture, Tension

Counterbalance for Thu. 29 June

THE BUZZ OUTSIDE THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA


COMMENTLINES

On media and politics:
In Bush Seeks to Use Media Leaks to His Advantage, the Washington Post says that Bush and the GOP are using for political advantage the swelling outrage over recent media leaks that disclose national secrets:

"[President Bush's] comments at a Republican fundraiser in a St. Louis suburb yesterday, combined with new moves by GOP congressional leaders, showed how both are working to fan public anger and reap gains from the controversy during a midterm election year in which polls show they are running against stiff headwinds.

Democrats, for their part, denounced Republicans for trying to divert attention from issues such as the Iraq war and high gasoline prices, and some terrorism experts said the White House is exaggerating the damage."

Here again, liberals fall victim to their own talking points when they blame the Bush administration for not being tough on terror and then do everything possible to prevent Bush from pursuing terrorists.

On politics:
Columnist Burt Prelutsky says when millions celebrated the death of terrorist mastermind Zarqawi, one group of Americans was absent from the party. It's not easy being a liberal these days.

In the war on terror:
The liberal justices of Supreme Court swing a decision for the terrorists. Reading the opening salvo in the Washington Post provides us with some food for thought:

"The Supreme Court today delivered a stunning rebuke to the Bush administration over its plans to try Guantanamo detainees before military commissions, ruling that the commissions violate U.S. law and the Geneva Conventions governing the treatment of war prisoners."

The ruling is not so much a defeat for the Bush administration as it is a loss for America in the war on terror. Why must EVERYTHING done by Bush in the interest of homeland security always be seen by the mainstream media through a political lens if in fact the media is not liberally biased?

If we are to take the decision at face value and assume that plain-clothes terrorist combatants deserve consideration under the Geneva Convention, then we must also conclude that the Marines currently charged with killing civilians in Haditha acted correctly and should be released immediately. If non-uniformed combatants in a war zone are no longer regarded as spies and plain-clothes constitutes a uniform for soldiers, then everyone dressed as a civilian within a war zone can be deemed a combatant.

It will be interesting to see if the Democrats get behind the decision and call for a 'Terrorist Bill of Rights.' With a press that always sees such things through the political prism, such a mistake would surely mark the downfall of those Democrats.

NEWS REFERENCES

NEWS AND POLITICS
Bush Seeks to Use Media Leaks to His Advantage
Attack on Newspapers Continues as Some Democrats Accuse White House of Trying to Divert Attention
(washingtonpost.com) -- President Bush rallied Republicans with another attack on the media last night, in remarks that highlighted efforts at the White House and on Capitol Hill to gain momentum from recent disclosures about classified programs to fight terrorism.

POLITICS
Why it's not easy being a liberal
By Burt Prelutsky
(townhall.com) -- It was inevitable that while most of the civilized people of the world, including millions of Iraqis, celebrated the death of Zarqawi, there was one significant group that pooh-poohed the happy occasion. I refer to those notorious party-poopers, American liberals.

THE WAR ON TERROR
Supreme Court Rejects Guantanamo War Crimes Trials
In 5-3 Decision Justices Rebuke Bush's Anti-Terror Policy
(washingtonpost.com) -- The Supreme Court today delivered a stunning rebuke to the Bush administration over its plans to try Guantanamo detainees before military commissions, ruling that the commissions violate U.S. law and the Geneva Conventions governing the treatment of war prisoners.

Tags: Counterbalance, Media, Journalism, Daily, Middle East, Islam, Bush, United States, Iraq, War, Military, terrorism, Middle East, Operation Iraqi Freedom, coalition, Democrats, Republicans, Al Qaeda, al-Qaida, Supreme Court
Global Tags: Washington DC, News and Politics, News, Politics, Current Events, Current Affairs, Life, Culture, Tension

Flooding Impacts Northeast

A construction worker looks over the area where a leak in the Lake Needwood Dam caused flooding in Wheaton, Maryland, June 28, 2006.

Water rises above the pedestrian sidewalk along Potomac river near the George Mason bridge in Washington D.C., June 28, 2006.

A view of the rising water of the Potomac river in Washington, with the Kennedy Center (R) and Watergate building in the background, June 28, 2006. Two days of heavy rains have caused local evacuations and three deaths in the Washington metro area.

NEWSBYTES
The Roar, the Screams -- And the Silence of Death
(washingtonpost.com) -- Black water was churning so hard around his tractor that Jimmy Grossnickle thought he, too, might be swept away.

Hundreds of thousands flee Northeast floods
At least 10 dead as streams rise from New York to Virginia
(CNN) -- At least 10 people were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in the U.S. Northeast as major rivers and their tributaries overflowed their banks Wednesday.

After the Deluge, Death and Debris
Leaky Dam Threatens Md. Houses; 3 Killed, 2 Teens Missing in Frederick
(washingtonpost.com) -- The historic rain that battered the Washington area claimed its first flooding victims, forced additional evacuations and endangered a dam yesterday, even as the weather front finally released its stubborn grip on the region.

Images

In Pa., Residents Evacuate As Flooding Strains Levees
Swelling Rivers Force 200,000 to Seek Higher Ground
WILKES-BARRE, Pa., June 28 (washingtonpost.com) -- Nearly 200,000 people in Pennsylvania were forced to evacuate their homes Wednesday, after officials worried that levees holding back the Susquehanna River here could fail because of sustained floodwater pressure and torrential rain.

200,000 Ordered to Evacuate Due to Floods
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) -- Officials worried about pressure on the town's levees ordered up to 200,000 people to evacuate the Wilkes-Barre area after the Susquehanna River was swelled by a record-breaking deluge that has killed at least 12 people in the Northeast.

US floods recede in Pennsylvania town, New Jersey on alert
WILKES-BARRE, Pennsylvania (Reuters) -- Floods in the Susquehanna River receded early on Thursday, lifting the threat of catastrophic flooding in the historic town of Wilkes-Barre, but water was still rising in parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Tags: weather, storms, flooding, photography, photo, photos, pictures, images, photojournalism
Global Tags: Washington DC, News and Politics, News, Politics, Current Events, Current Affairs, Life, Culture, Tension

Images: Combat Camera, Thu. 29 June

RADWANIA MEDICAL MISSION, IRAQ (PART 1)

Iraqi army soldiers from Forward Operating Base Constitution prepare to assist in a medical operation in Radwania, Baghdad, Iraq, June 24, 2006. The Iraqi soldiers are working with the U.S. Army soldiers from Alpha Battery, 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery, during the medical operation. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin L. Moses Sr.

U.S. and Iraqi army soldiers load up in vehicles to conduct a medical operation in Radwania, Baghdad, Iraq, June 24, 2006. The Iraqi soldiers and the U.S. soldiers assigned to Alpha Battery, 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery are providing free medical assistance to help the local citizens. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin L. Moses Sr.

U.S. Army Sgt. Samuel Chapin extends security wire across a road near the site of a medical mission in Radwania, Baghdad, Iraq, June 24, 2006. The operation is being conducted by Iraqi soldiers and U.S. soldiers assigned to Alpha Battery, 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin L. Moses Sr.

U.S. Army Sgt. Karlo Endaya assembles poles for a tent to be used during a medical mission conducted by Iraq soldiers and U.S. soldiers assigned to Alpha Battery, 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery, in Radwania, Baghdad, Iraq, June 24, 2006. This will be the last medical mission the U.S. soldiers will conduct before returning to the United States. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin L. Moses Sr.

U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Christopher Nolan gives out toys to children before the start of a medical mission being conducted by Iraqi soldiers and U.S. Army soldiers assigned to Alpha Battery, 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery in Radwania, Baghdad, Iraq, June 24, 2006. Nolan is a combat photographer from the 1st Combat Camera Squadron, Charleston Air Force Base, S.C. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin L. Moses Sr.

U.S. Army Sgt. Zachary Booner unloads supplies from a truck so U.S. and Iraqi army soldiers can hand them out to citizens during a medical mission in Radwania, Baghdad, Iraq, June 24, 2006. The mission is being conducted by Iraqi soldiers and U.S. soldiers assigned to Alpha Battery, 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin L. Moses Sr.

U.S. Army Spc. Jessica Grider helps unload supplies from a truck so U.S. and Iraqi army soldiers can hand them out to citizens during a medical mission in Radwania, Baghdad, Iraq, June 24, 2006. The mission is being conducted by Iraqi soldiers and U.S. soldiers assigned to Alpha Battery, 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin L. Moses Sr.

An Iraqi soldier (left) and a U.S. soldier unload supplies from a truck to be handed out to citizens during a medical mission in Radwania, Baghdad, Iraq, June 24, 2006. The operation is being conducted by Iraqi soldiers and U.S. soldiers from Alpha Battery, 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin L. Moses Sr.

Tags: War, Military, terrorism, Middle East, Operation Iraqi Freedom, United States, coalition, photography, photo, photos, pictures, images, photojournalism, Combat Camera, Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom
Global Tags: Washington DC, News and Politics, News, Politics, Current Events, Current Affairs, Life, Culture, Tension

From Amazon.com:
War Photography
Combat Photography

Israeli Executed, Hamas Leaders Arrested

Israeli soldiers prepare their tanks for battle on a field in Mefalsim area on the Israeli-Gaza border June 28, 2006. Israeli artillery pounded the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday as troops and tanks prepared to widen an offensive designed to force Palestinian militants to release an abducted soldier.

Israeli soldiers rush to reload a 155mm mobile artillery unit firing towards Gaza from Nahal Oz at the border of Israel and Gaza strip June 28, 2006.

Israeli soldiers detain Palestinian men during a military operation in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 28, 2006.

Eliyahu Asheri, an 18-year-old Jewish settler from the West Bank settlement of Itamar, is seen in this undated photo released by his family on June 28.

COMMENTLINE
Compare the actions of Israel to those of the US: In America, president Bush is criticized for not coming down hard enough on terror. Yet liberals and many Democrats, armed with the left-media, do everything in their power to prevent Bush from pursuing terrorists.

NEWSBYTES
Hamas Leaders Arrested; Israeli Executed
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- Israeli forces arrested the Palestinian deputy prime minister and dozens of other Hamas officials early Thursday and pressed their incursion into Gaza, responding to the abduction of one of its soldiers.

AP Video: Israel Expands Gaza Raid

AP: Q&A on Israeli Military Operation in Gaza

Israel expands Gaza offensive
Jets buzz Syrian president's home; body found near Ramallah
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israel increased pressure on the Palestinian Authority and Syria Wednesday, sending warplanes over the country home of Syria's president and expanding its campaign to rescue a kidnapped soldier in Gaza.

Israel finds body of missing settler: source
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Israeli troops have found a body they suspect is that of a Jewish settler whom Palestinian militants claimed to have abducted earlier this week, security sources said on Thursday. Video

Militants 'kill' Israeli settler
(BBC) -- A Palestinian militant group has reportedly killed a young Jewish settler who it says was seized on the West Bank.

Israel hunts down Hamas leadership
(Aljazeera.Net) -- Israeli forces have rounded up dozens of Palestinian Cabinet ministers and lawmakers from Hamas, increasing pressure on militants to release a captured Israeli soldier.

Israel arrests Palestinian minister
(Aljazeera.Net) -- Israeli soldiers have arrested a member of the Hamas-led Palestinian government in the West Bank city of Ram Allah, Palestinian security officials say.

Tags: Israel, Palestine, Middle East, Hamas, terrorism, War, Military, photography, photo, photos, pictures, images, photojournalism, Syria
Global Tags: Washington DC, News and Politics, News, Politics, Current Events, Current Affairs, Life, Culture, Tension