will petraeus testimony signal attack on iran?

from paul craig roberts: The London Telegraph reported that “British officials gave warning yesterday that America’s commander in Iraq will declare that Iran is waging war against the US-backed Baghdad government. A strong statement from General David Petraeus about Iran’s intervention in Iraq could set the stage for a US attack on Iranian militiary facilities, according to a Whitehall assessment.”

The neocon lacky Petraeus has had his script written for him by Cheney, and Petraeus together with neocon warmonger Ryan Crocker, the US governor of the Green Zone in Baghdad, will present Congress next Tuesday and Wednesday with the lies, for which the road has been well paved by neocon propagandists such as Kimberly Kagan, that “the US must recognize that Iran is engaged in a full-up proxy war against it in Iraq.”

evidence in 9/11 damages cases is restricted

from nytimes: The federal judge hearing damages cases filed by families of Sept. 11 victims has tightly restricted evidence that one family may present at the first trial.

The judge, Alvin K. Hellerstein of Federal District Court in Manhattan, ruled Tuesday that he would exclude some of the plaintiffs’ more sensational and speculative evidence in the trial, which is to begin next month...

Judge Hellerstein ruled that the jury would not be allowed to see photographs of at least one of the hijackers and Dr. Ambrose separately passing through a security checkpoint at Dulles International Airport, where the flight originated.

Judge Hellerstein also said he found a wide array of other evidence inadmissible, including the testimony of people who received phone calls from loved ones aboard Flight 77 before it crashed; the testimony of a burn victim inside the Pentagon; testimony from a victim’s daughter about a note from the victim to her husband that was found at the crash site; and photographs of body parts.

blackwatergate: erik prince testifies before congress

from raw story: The chairman of Blackwater USA, which is facing intense scrutiny over the deaths of a dozen Iraqi civilians last month, defended his private security contractors working in Iraq, while Republicans worked to paint the hearing as little more than an attempt for Democrats to score partisan points.

In sworn testimony Erik Prince, a former Navy SEAL who founded Blackwater, acknowledged that his guards sometimes will fire first on Iraqis in an attempt to prevent "potential car bombs," although he insisted the contractors follow a strict protocol before resorting to lethal force.

The House Oversight Committee met in the wake of a Sept. 16 shooting during which Blackwater guards are alleged to have been unprovoked when they opened fire on a crowd of Iraqis, killing between 11 and 20 civilians. Details of that incident were not directly addressed Tuesdsay in order because of fears such a discussion could taint ongoing investigations by the FBI and State Department. The shooting drew intense scrutiny to the company and provoked Iraq's government to move to expel its contractors from the country.

Several committee members pressed Prince to clarify the rules of engagement and standard operating procedures that govern Blackwater guards. A report released Monday by the committee's Democratic staff found that Blackwater guards fired first in more than 80 percent of the 195 "escalation of force" incidents since 2005.

Although Prince said they only use force defensively, Blackwater guards have the authority to fire on "potential car bombs" that they deem to be a threat. Because insurgents have devised such effective weapons in targeting US troops and contractors with explosives-packed vehicles, contractors view every car that gets within 100 meters as a potential threat, Prince said.

"The bad guys have figured out how to make precision weapon," he said. "You take a car, you pack it with explosives, and you find a suicidal person who wants to drive it into the back of a convoy."

The following video is from CNN.com, broadcast on October 2, 2007.

Prince outlined several steps beginning with Blackwater convoys sounding air horns and flashing their lights and sirens and firing "non-lethal" flares at vehicles approaching at high speeds. If cars continue to approach, he said, guards will sometimes fire at an approaching vehicle's radiator or windshield, away from passengers, and if that fails to stop them Blackwater guards will open fire on the driver.

Prince said Blackwater guards follow the rules of engagement that govern State Department and Defense Department security contractors, although he specified that American troops are held to a different standard.

"We do not have the same as a US soldier at all," he said.

related: blackwater connected to bush admin & pentagon issues blackwater new $92m contract

petraeus will betray us

from raw story: In their opening statements Monday, the top Republicans on the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees turned their sights toward a liberal group's advertisement in the New York Times today.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), vying for the party's presidential nomination, said he was "aggravated" by the full-page ad purchased by MoveOn.org, which asks whether Petraeus will "Betray Us" in his testimony Monday.

MoveOn cites reports by The Associated Press, The New York Times, and The Washington Post that indicate the administration's measures of progress are inaccurate and incomplete.

"Most importantly, General Petraeus will not admit what everyone knows: Iraq is mired in an unwinnable religious civil war," MoveOn's ad said .

Hunter accused Democrats of spending the last week "prepping the battlefield" by questioning Petraeus's credibility, and he called it an "outrage" that there were suggestions the general couldn't be trusted.

"He's going to give us the one thing we ask, and that's a candid independent assessment," Hunter said.

Hunter's Republican colleague, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), called the ad "outrageous and deplorable," and she accused MoveOn of coordinating with Democratic lawmakers to undercut the testimony.

Top Democratic Senator Joseph Biden said on NBC that he did not agree with the sentiments of the advertisement, but also disagreed with Petraeus's expected conclusion that the current troop surge in Iraq was working and should be extended, according to Agence France Presse.

"I really respect him, and I think he's dead, flat wrong," Biden said of Petraeus on NBC television.

"The truth of the matter is that ... this administration's policy and the surge are a failure."

update: protesters shout 'war criminal' at petraeus

petraeus to testify before senate on september 11

from thinkprogress: The much-anticipated Senate testimony of Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, regarding the situation on the ground in Iraq has now been scheduled for September 11th. Petraeus’ testimony will accompany a September 15 status report from the White House that is expected to be a key moment in the debate over American involvement in Iraq.

The timing of Petraeus’ testimony was first revealed by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) this morning in a conference call with conservative bloggers. According to the National Review’s Jim Geraghty, McCain said he had “been told” Petraeus would testify on the 11th: "The calendar I’ve been told is that Petraues testify 11th. We’re off September 13 and 14 for Rosh Hoshannah. The Senate debate will begin September 18th."

rumsfeld changes course, will testify on tillman death

from raw story: Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld will testify at a Wednesday hearing on the friendly fire death of Army Specialist and former NFL player Pat Tillman.

"In a late breaking development, Secretary Rumsfeld will appear before the Oversight Committee tomorrow," stated a release from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

The release was confirmed by the Oversight Committee's Republican staff.

Earlier, Raw Story reported that Rumsfeld had "a conflict," and had submitted answers to questions for the record.

No explanation was available at press time for Rumsfeld's change of heart.

update: rumsfeld denies tillman cover-up
from eontario: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has denied that he was any part of a cover-up to hide the truth as to how Pat Tillman, former NFL star and Army Ranger, died during battle.

When Tillman originally died it was not revealed truthfully how it all happened. The truth finally came out thogh that the death of Pat Tillman was actually due to friendly fire. A House committee was hard at work on Wednesday but was told by Rumsfeld that he was no part of the cover-up to hide the truth.