Syria

By Dave Lindorff

Last week, a US federal district judge, Henry Kennedy, ruled in favor of a case brought by the survivors of the crew of the USS Pueblo, a spy ship captured by the North Korean Navy in 1968, who were held prisoner by North Korea for 11 months, and who were reportedly tortured in captivity. The judge awarded the men $65 million in damages from the state of North Korea.

Now I’m happy for the plaintiffs. Torture is flatly banned under international law, and nobody should be tortured under any conditions (whatever Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia may think). But let’s not ignore the irony of this ruling. In general, the federal courts have been incredibly reluctant about making such rulings against the US government for doing the same thing that North Korea did, or even worse.

Diplomats: Uranium found at suspect Syrian site
By George Jahn | Yahoo!News.com

Samples taken from a Syrian site bombed by Israel on suspicion it was a covert nuclear reactor contained traces of uranium combined with other elements that merit further investigation, diplomats said Monday.

The diplomats — who demanded anonymity because their information was confidential — said the uranium was processed and not in raw form, suggesting some kind of nuclear link.

But one of the diplomats said the uranium finding itself was significant only in the context of other traces found in the oil or air samples taken by International Atomic Energy Agency experts during their visit to the site in June.

By BBC

Watch video.

Thousands of people have held a peaceful demonstration in Damascus against an alleged US raid on a village that Syria says killed eight people.

Riot police armed with batons and shields surrounded the US embassy in Damascus, which closed due to what it said were increased security concerns.

The US state department and the White House have refused to confirm, deny or comment on the alleged attack.

The Syrian government has demanded an apology from Washington.

It also threatened to cut off co-operation on Iraqi border security if the US carried out any more raids on Syrian territory.

Unnamed US officials said the target of the attack was the leader of a network with links to al-Qaeda, smuggling foreign fighters into Iraq.

Damascus said it was doing all it could to stem any traffic of foreign fighters across the long and porous border.

Damascus Reacts to U.S. Attacks
By Shane Bauer, New America Media News Report

Damascus, Syria--"What is America doing?" my minibus driver asks me. "Killing innocent children and poor workers? It's bringing hate on itself."

"How did it feel when U.S. forces attacked your country?" I ask.

He looks at me and shrugs, saying, "What could I feel? It wasn't like I was surprised. America will attack anyone." He sticks out his hand, extending a finger for each country he names: "Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan, now Syria. They say they are liberating people in Iraq and bringing democracy to the Middle East? No thanks."

By Robert Dreyfuss, The Nation

A parallel new Bush doctrine is emerging, in the last days of the soon-to-be-ancien regime, and it needs to be strangled in its crib. Like the original Bush doctrine -- the one that Sarah Palin couldn't name, which called for preventive military action against emerging threats -- this one also casts international law aside by insisting that the United States has an inherent right to cross international borders in "hot pursuit" of anyone it doesn't like.

They're already applying it to Pakistan, and this week Syria was the target. Is Iran next?

Status of Forces in Iraq? Bring them Home!

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 27, 2008) -- After learning of reports that four U.S. helicopters conducted an attack inside Syrian borders on Sunday, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) denounced the attack and questioned its timing.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported on Sunday that four U.S. helicopters conducted an attack on the Syrian side of the border with Iraq in which eight people were killed. SANA reports stated that American helicopters raided the village of Sukariya, 340 miles northeast of Damascus, and then returned to Iraqi airspace. The Syrian government claims that of the eight people who died, four were children.

US special forces launch rare attack inside Syria
By Albert Aji | Yahoo!News.com

Excerpt: "A U.S. military official said..."We are taking matters into our own hands,"...four children..." (died) "...Syria's Foreign Ministry said..."Syria condemns this aggression and holds the American forces responsible for this aggression and all its repercussions. Syria also calls on the Iraqi government to shoulder its responsibilities and launch and immediate investigation into this serious violation and prevent the use of Iraqi territory for aggression against Syria," the government statement said.