Congresman Calls for Investigation into White House Aid to Bin Laden Raid Film
August 10, 2011 No Comment
Is the Obama Administration inappropriately disclosing classified data to movie producers in the hopes of getting a film about the killing of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden released before the 2012 election? That is the question that Congressman Peter King (R-NY) is asking after word got out that the White House is giving inside information about the military raid that killed bin Laden earlier this year to the creators of the Oscar-winning film “Hurt Locker.” “This alleged collaboration belies a desire of transparency in favor of a cinematographic view of history,” King wrote in a letter addressed to officials at the CIA and the Department of Defense which asked for full details on the government's involvement with the film. The Defense Department acknowledged the collaboration in an interview with the Wall Street Journal: Col. David Lapan, the Pentagon spokesman, said that the Defense Department was providing assistance to director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal, the team leading the bin Laden project for Sony Pictures. But Col. Lapan said that no classified information would be provided to the filmmakers. “It is the violation of the law to provide classified information” to people not cleared to receive it, Col. Lapan said. Getting an accurate view of history is not the motivation of the White House, according to liberal New York Times reporter Maureen Dowd who broke the news earlier this week, saying that it is part of an Obama campaign “proxy” strategy to make the president look tough: The White House is also counting on the Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal big-screen version of the killing of Bin Laden to counter Obama’s growing reputation as ineffectual. The Sony film by the Oscar-winning pair who made “The Hurt Locker” will no doubt reflect the president’s cool, gutsy decision against shaky odds. Just as Obamaland was hoping, the movie is scheduled to open on Oct. 12, 2012 — perfectly timed to give a home-stretch boost to a campaign that has grown tougher. The moviemakers are getting top-level access to the most classified mission in history from an administration that has tried to throw more people in jail for leaking classified information than the Bush administration. It was clear that the White House had outsourced the job of manning up the president’s image to Hollywood when Boal got welcomed to the upper echelons of the White House and the Pentagon and showed up recently — to the surprise of some military officers — at a C.I.A. ceremony celebrating the hero Seals. Now that the film has been confirmed officially by the Defense Department, it's worth recalling NBer Tom Blumer's previous post which made the point that the same White House that was reluctant to offend Muslims back when Osama was killed seems to have no problem now with a “cinematic end-zone dance in front of the entire world.” Full text of the King letter is below: The Honorable Gordon S. Heddell Inspector General Department of Defense 400 Army Navy Drive Arlington, VA 22202-4704 The Honorable David Buckley Inspector General Central Intelligence Agency Washington, DC 20505 Dear Inspectors General Heddell and Buckley: I write to express concern regarding ongoing leaks of classified information regarding sensitive military operations. As reported in a New York Times column on August 6, 2011, Administration officials may have provided filmmakers with details of the raid that successfully killed Usama bin Laden (UBL). According to that report, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. and movie director Kathryn Bigelow received “top-level access to the most classified mission in history” to produce a movie about the raid, due for release in October 2012. Reportedly, a Hollywood filmmaker also attended a CIA ceremony in honor of the team that carried out the raid. The Administration’s first duty in declassifying material is to provide full reporting to Congress and the American people, in an effort to build public trust through transparency of government. In contrast, this alleged collaboration belies a desire of transparency in favor of a cinematographic view of history. Special Operations Command’s Admiral Eric Olson stated that the May 1st raid “was successful because nobody talked about it before, and if we want to preserve this capability nobody better talk about it after,” and that his operators’ “15 minutes of fame lasted about 14 minutes too long. They want to get back in the shadows.” Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen stated that “It is time to stop talking,” as “We have gotten to a point where we are close to jeopardizing the precision capability that we have, and we can’t afford to do that. This fight isn’t over.” Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates stated that “Too many people in too many places are talking too much about this operation, and when so much detail is available it makes that both more difficult and riskier” for such missions in the future. Leaks of classified information regarding the bin Laden raid have already resulted, according to a June 15, 2011 article in the Washington Post, in the arrests of Pakistanis who were believed by local authorities to have assisted the CIA with the May 1st raid. Further participation by JSOC and the Agency in making a film about the raid is bound to increase such leaks, and undermine these organizations’ hard-won reputations as “quiet professionals” − reputations important for their continued operational success. And, the success of these organizations is vital to our continued homeland security. Therefore, I request an investigation and classified briefing regarding this matter from the Defense Department’s and CIA’s Inspectors General, including but not limited to the following: What consultations, if any, occurred between members of the Executive Office of the President, and Department of Defense and/or CIA officials, regarding the advisability of providing Hollywood executives with access to covert military operators and clandestine CIA officers to discuss the UBL raid? Will a copy of this film be submitted to the military and CIA for pre-publication review, to determine if special operations tactics, techniques and procedures, or Agency intelligence sources and methods, would be revealed by its release? How was the attendance of filmmakers at a meeting with special operators and Agency officers at CIA Headquarters balanced against those officers’ duties to maintain their covers? How will cover concerns be addressed going forward? What steps did the Administration take to ensure that no special operations tactics, techniques, and procedures were compromised during those meetings? To the extent possible to determine, how many human intelligence sources and how many Agency intelligence methods have been compromised due to leaks about the May 1st raid? What effects have these compromises had on the CIA’s collection capabilities? Will Agency participation in a film about the bin Laden raid add to or exacerbate the effects of these compromises? If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Matthew McCabe, Senior Counsel for the Committee on Homeland Security, at (202) 226-8417. Thank you for your time and consideration of this request. Sincerely, PETER T. KING Chairman
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Rumours that France could be stripped of AAA credit rating prompts drop of around 400 points on Wall Street Share prices in Europe and North America were back on the slide after France became the latest country to be sucked into the deepening debt crisis. Amid rumours that France would follow the US in being stripped of its AAA credit rating Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said plans to reduce his country’s budget deficit would be announced within the week. Fears that French banks were in difficulties meant that the rally in shares prompted by the US Federal Reserve on Tuesday proved to be shortlived, with markets resuming the pattern of heavy selling seen since late July. Britain’s FTSE 100 index suffered its fourth fall of more than 100 points in five days, dropping 158 points to close the day 3% lower at 5007 points. Despite Tuesday’s gain of 95 points, the FTSE 100 has now dropped by 866 points since July 29, wiping a total of £226bn off the value of the UK’s biggest quoted companies. Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average continued to fluctuate wildly, with Monday’s 635 point fall and Tuesday’s 430 point rise followed by a drop of around 400 points by yesterday lunchtime in New York. The jittery mood sent investors piling into the safe havens of gold and bonds. Bullion rose to a record high, briefly breaking through the $1,800 an ounce level, while bond yields in both Britain and the UK dropped sharply on expectations that dismal growth prospects would result in ultra-low interest rates for two years. In London, the interest rate on 10-year gilts fell to 2.47% in the biggest one-day drop since the Bank of England announced in March 2009 that it would pump £200bn of electronic money into the economy through quantitative easing. Mervyn King, the Bank’s governor, said Threadneedle Street had become gloomier about the economy’s prospects over the past three months and expressed concern about the recent market turbulence. “There are a number of headwinds to world and domestic growth, not least the private and public debt overhang. And these headwinds are becoming stronger by the day,” King said as he revealed that the Bank had trimmed its growth forecast for the UK to around 1.5% this year and 2% in 2012. He added that in the view of the Bank’s nine-strong monetary policy committee “the weakness in activity was likely to be somewhat more persistent than previously expected”. Against a backdrop of an economy that has grown by less than 1% in the past year, City analysts said there now appeared to be little chance of borrowing costs rising until the end of 2012 at the earliest. King also stressed that the Bank would consider a fresh round of quantitative easing should there be a risk that the weakness of the economy pushing inflation significantly below its 2% target. King said: “The greatest risks to the prospects for global demand come from the euro area and the substantial challenges faced by several member countries as they seek to ensure the sustainability of their fiscal positions and preserve the stability of their banking systems.” His comments came as the French government denied that it was about to have its debt downgraded while one of the country’s biggest banks, Société Générale was forced to put out a statement insisting it was not in distress after its share price dropped by 20% at one point.Jean-Louis Nakamura, chief investment officer, asset allocation group at Lombard Odier Investment Managers, said: “The current economic environment is showing us that while both the United States and eurozone have budget problems, the two aren’t comparable. While the US suffered a one-off political problem, it doesn’t have a deeper institutional issue. In contrast, the eurozone’s structures for coping with its debt problems at the relevant monetary union level aren’t even in place, let alone operational.” France Europe United States Dow Jones Stock markets Larry Elliott guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Rumours that France could be stripped of AAA credit rating prompts drop of around 400 points on Wall Street Share prices in Europe and North America were back on the slide after France became the latest country to be sucked into the deepening debt crisis. Amid rumours that France would follow the US in being stripped of its AAA credit rating Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said plans to reduce his country’s budget deficit would be announced within the week. Fears that French banks were in difficulties meant that the rally in shares prompted by the US Federal Reserve on Tuesday proved to be shortlived, with markets resuming the pattern of heavy selling seen since late July. Britain’s FTSE 100 index suffered its fourth fall of more than 100 points in five days, dropping 158 points to close the day 3% lower at 5007 points. Despite Tuesday’s gain of 95 points, the FTSE 100 has now dropped by 866 points since July 29, wiping a total of £226bn off the value of the UK’s biggest quoted companies. Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average continued to fluctuate wildly, with Monday’s 635 point fall and Tuesday’s 430 point rise followed by a drop of around 400 points by yesterday lunchtime in New York. The jittery mood sent investors piling into the safe havens of gold and bonds. Bullion rose to a record high, briefly breaking through the $1,800 an ounce level, while bond yields in both Britain and the UK dropped sharply on expectations that dismal growth prospects would result in ultra-low interest rates for two years. In London, the interest rate on 10-year gilts fell to 2.47% in the biggest one-day drop since the Bank of England announced in March 2009 that it would pump £200bn of electronic money into the economy through quantitative easing. Mervyn King, the Bank’s governor, said Threadneedle Street had become gloomier about the economy’s prospects over the past three months and expressed concern about the recent market turbulence. “There are a number of headwinds to world and domestic growth, not least the private and public debt overhang. And these headwinds are becoming stronger by the day,” King said as he revealed that the Bank had trimmed its growth forecast for the UK to around 1.5% this year and 2% in 2012. He added that in the view of the Bank’s nine-strong monetary policy committee “the weakness in activity was likely to be somewhat more persistent than previously expected”. Against a backdrop of an economy that has grown by less than 1% in the past year, City analysts said there now appeared to be little chance of borrowing costs rising until the end of 2012 at the earliest. King also stressed that the Bank would consider a fresh round of quantitative easing should there be a risk that the weakness of the economy pushing inflation significantly below its 2% target. King said: “The greatest risks to the prospects for global demand come from the euro area and the substantial challenges faced by several member countries as they seek to ensure the sustainability of their fiscal positions and preserve the stability of their banking systems.” His comments came as the French government denied that it was about to have its debt downgraded while one of the country’s biggest banks, Société Générale was forced to put out a statement insisting it was not in distress after its share price dropped by 20% at one point.Jean-Louis Nakamura, chief investment officer, asset allocation group at Lombard Odier Investment Managers, said: “The current economic environment is showing us that while both the United States and eurozone have budget problems, the two aren’t comparable. While the US suffered a one-off political problem, it doesn’t have a deeper institutional issue. In contrast, the eurozone’s structures for coping with its debt problems at the relevant monetary union level aren’t even in place, let alone operational.” France Europe United States Dow Jones Stock markets Larry Elliott guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Rumours that France could be stripped of AAA credit rating prompts drop of around 400 points on Wall Street Share prices in Europe and North America were back on the slide after France became the latest country to be sucked into the deepening debt crisis. Amid rumours that France would follow the US in being stripped of its AAA credit rating Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said plans to reduce his country’s budget deficit would be announced within the week. Fears that French banks were in difficulties meant that the rally in shares prompted by the US Federal Reserve on Tuesday proved to be shortlived, with markets resuming the pattern of heavy selling seen since late July. Britain’s FTSE 100 index suffered its fourth fall of more than 100 points in five days, dropping 158 points to close the day 3% lower at 5007 points. Despite Tuesday’s gain of 95 points, the FTSE 100 has now dropped by 866 points since July 29, wiping a total of £226bn off the value of the UK’s biggest quoted companies. Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average continued to fluctuate wildly, with Monday’s 635 point fall and Tuesday’s 430 point rise followed by a drop of around 400 points by yesterday lunchtime in New York. The jittery mood sent investors piling into the safe havens of gold and bonds. Bullion rose to a record high, briefly breaking through the $1,800 an ounce level, while bond yields in both Britain and the UK dropped sharply on expectations that dismal growth prospects would result in ultra-low interest rates for two years. In London, the interest rate on 10-year gilts fell to 2.47% in the biggest one-day drop since the Bank of England announced in March 2009 that it would pump £200bn of electronic money into the economy through quantitative easing. Mervyn King, the Bank’s governor, said Threadneedle Street had become gloomier about the economy’s prospects over the past three months and expressed concern about the recent market turbulence. “There are a number of headwinds to world and domestic growth, not least the private and public debt overhang. And these headwinds are becoming stronger by the day,” King said as he revealed that the Bank had trimmed its growth forecast for the UK to around 1.5% this year and 2% in 2012. He added that in the view of the Bank’s nine-strong monetary policy committee “the weakness in activity was likely to be somewhat more persistent than previously expected”. Against a backdrop of an economy that has grown by less than 1% in the past year, City analysts said there now appeared to be little chance of borrowing costs rising until the end of 2012 at the earliest. King also stressed that the Bank would consider a fresh round of quantitative easing should there be a risk that the weakness of the economy pushing inflation significantly below its 2% target. King said: “The greatest risks to the prospects for global demand come from the euro area and the substantial challenges faced by several member countries as they seek to ensure the sustainability of their fiscal positions and preserve the stability of their banking systems.” His comments came as the French government denied that it was about to have its debt downgraded while one of the country’s biggest banks, Société Générale was forced to put out a statement insisting it was not in distress after its share price dropped by 20% at one point.Jean-Louis Nakamura, chief investment officer, asset allocation group at Lombard Odier Investment Managers, said: “The current economic environment is showing us that while both the United States and eurozone have budget problems, the two aren’t comparable. While the US suffered a one-off political problem, it doesn’t have a deeper institutional issue. In contrast, the eurozone’s structures for coping with its debt problems at the relevant monetary union level aren’t even in place, let alone operational.” France Europe United States Dow Jones Stock markets Larry Elliott guardian.co.uk
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Metropolitan police’s director of public affairs put on extended leave until police hacking enquiry is over Dick Fedorcio, the Met’s director of public affairs and internal communication, has been put on extended leave until Scotland Yard’s investigation into phone hacking is over. He has been in the post for eleven years, but he was criticised last month for hiring Neil Wallis, a former deputy editor at the News of the World, as a consultant. Wallis has been working in a PR capacity since leaving the paper in 2009. He was arrested as part of the Operation Weeting inquiry in July. Fedorcio gave Wallis a two-day a month contract to assist the Met’s press office in October 2009. Fedorcio told the Home Affairs select committee that he would not have hired Wallis had he known he was to be arrested. He also said he had not asked Wallis about phone-hacking at the paper before hiring him. The close ties between News International, which owned the title until it was shut down in July, and the Met, have prompted concerns about the intimacy of the relationship between the two organisations. The Independent Police Complaints Commission is currently investigating his dealings with Wallis. Scotland Yard sources have said the hacking investigation is likely to run into next year. Phone hacking Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers Metropolitan police London Police James Robinson guardian.co.uk
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enlarge Credit: Daily Kos Super Congress McConnell and Boehner have made their choices for the very troubling Super Congress: House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have announced their selections to serve on the new so-called Super Committee — the panel called for in the debt limit bill that’s been tasked with reducing deficits by at least $1.2 trillion. McConnell’s picked his Whip, Jon Kyl (R-AZ), as well as conservative freshman Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), and arch-conservative Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA). Boehner tapped Reps. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), chair of the GOP conference, and the caucus’ top message man; Dave Camp (R-MI) chair of the Ways and Means Committee, which controls tax revenue; and Fred Upton (R-MI), whose powerful Energy and Commerce Committee has broad jurisdiction over just about everything other than taxes, but particularly health care. As head of the majority party in the House of Representatives, Boehner was asked to name the committee’s GOP co-chair, and for that he chose Hensarling — an extremely conservative member who in recent weeks falsely characterized the debt limit fight as a consequence of spending policies enacted by President Obama and past Democratic congresses. By quite a ways, most existing debt is the result of GOP policies, or bipartisan initiatives like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hensarling served on President Obama’s fiscal commission, headed by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, but ultimately opposed their recommendations, because they included higher revenues. But across the board it’s difficult to fathom any of the six Republicans on the committee agreeing to significant new revenues. All of them have signed Grover Norquist’s anti-tax pledge. We didn’t get one super Progressive from the Senate side and we still don’t have Pelosi’s picks, but do you think Reid’s picks will hold up the bill if there are no revenues added? All these Republicans have sworn their hatred for tax increases or revenue increases that in their minds—appear to be tax increases. And how is Pat Toomey? As former President of the far right anti-tax group Club for Growth, Toomey’s a lost cause. At an American Enterprise Institute event several weeks ago , he insisted zero dollars in new tax revenues. Not even if every dollar was matched by nine in spending cuts. Not even a single dollar. If all six members were like him, it would be perfectly safe to bet on immediate, unbreakable gridlock . I just don’t see how this ends well for American families. Jed has some ideas on what Obama should do , but I don’t see it happening. Austerity is in with the cool kids even with new polls from CNN and Reuters coming in saying Americans want taxes raised on the wealthy. Reuters released a poll today finding that Republicans and the Tea Party are “bearing the brunt of public blame” for the debt ceiling mess, after a period during which GOPers and conservatives refused to entertain any revenue hikes as part of the compromise. The Reuters poll also found that the public, in roughly equal numbers, wants to proceed with a mix of spending cuts (49 percent) and tax increases (46 percent). That mirrors a new CNN poll that found that a strong majority, 63 percent, wants the new Congressional committee to reduce the deficit by raising taxes on the wealthy — more than the 57 percent who want spending cuts. And Gallup today found the same : Sixty six percent want the debt reduced with high-end tax hikes, versus 59 percent who want spending cuts . There’s no way Republicans raise taxes on the rich. The CNN poll is interesting because it says this: A CNN/ORC International Poll released Wednesday also indicates that the public doesn’t want the super committee to propose major changes to Social Security and Medicare or increase taxes on middle class and lower-income Americans. This poll shows the confusion Americans have about government spending. Every poll we see says Americans want to raise taxes on the wealthy. That’s pretty easy to understand. Then they say don’t mess with Social Security and Medicare. Not a shock there either, but then they still want spending cuts. And by a 57 to 40 percent margin they say the committee’s deficit reduction proposal should include major cuts in domestic spending. But cuts in defense spending get a mixed review: Forty-seven percent would like the committee to include major cuts in military spending, with 53 percent saying no to such cuts. Nearly two-thirds say no to major changes to Social Security and Medicare. And nearly nine in ten don’t want any increase in taxes on middle class and lower income Americans. They want cuts because the beltway media goes on and on about spending and deficits. Obama and his administration does their part by saying we have to tighten our belts and pushes his Grand Bargain, but when Americans have tangible proof on how important federal programs help their lives, they want to keep them and not cut them. Fox News’ Megyn Kelly is the latest example of this: Megyn Kelly Defends The Family Medical Leave Act KELLY: Are you doubling down? No, no, no, no. Are you not taking those remarks back? Is maternity leave according to you a racket? GALLAGHER: Well, do men get maternity leave, Megyn? I can’t believe I’m asking you this — KELLY: Guess what, honey? They do. It’s called Family Medical Leave Act. If a father would like to take three months off to take care of their newborn baby, they can. GALLAGHER: All right, let me give you an explanation. I was drinking that day. KELLY: Now you’re more along the path I expected. Just in case you didn’t know — just in case you didn’t know, Mike, I want you to know that the United States is the only country in the advanced world that doesn’t allow paid — doesn’t require paid maternity leave. I happen to work for a nice employer that gives me paid maternity leave but virtually no — the United States is virtually the only advanced country that doesn’t require paid leave. If anything, the United States is in the dark ages when it comes to maternity leave and what is it about getting pregnant and carrying their baby nine months that you don’t think deserves a few months off so bonding and recovery can take place, hm? Now how does these picks by the GOP reflect what the American public wants?
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Campaign calls for fashion houses to stop using sandblasting, a technique for producing denim with artificially worn look Three of Italy’s best-known fashion houses are being accused of refusing to stop selling “killer jeans” that threaten the lives of workers in the poor countries where they are produced. The Clean Clothes Campaign began pressing in February for leading fashion manufacturers and retailers to ban sandblasting, a technique for producing denim garments with an artificially worn look. The large amounts of silica dust produced can lead to silicosis, a potentially lethal pulmonary disease. The process was banned in Turkey in 2009 after evidence was produced to show that 46 former sandblasting operators had contracted silicosis. Almost 34,000 people have put their names to a petition drafted by the Clean Clothes Campaign and made available for endorsement on the website Change.org . The campaign’s Italian spokeswoman, Deborah Lucchetti, said a number of well-known designers, manufacturers and retailers had already eliminated sandblasted denim clothing from their collections. They included including Levi’s, H&M and C&A. In Italy both Gucci and Versace had responded favourably. Gucci in particular was “responsible and advanced … mature.” But Giorgio Armani, Roberto Cavalli and Dolce & Gabbana had not budged, Lucchetti said. “In these seven months, they are the only companies that have remained totally indifferent.” The campaign has singled out Dolce & Gabbana for special attention. Lucchetti said the Clean Clothes Campaign made a practice of notifying companies before they were targeted. “Dolce & Gabbana telephoned me to say thanks for the information and that it did not interest them. I was pretty surprised. This is a serious issue. People have died because of sandblasting,” she said. In a statement issued on 5 August, Change.org accused Dolce & Gabbana of having “deleted posts on its Facebook wall after Change.org members posted messages demanding that the company ban sandblasting”. None of the three companies named by the Clean Clothes Campaign could be reached for comment. Italy Europe Fashion Ethical business John Hooper guardian.co.uk
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Syrian opposition and western diplomats say unconditional call for Assad to go would have far-reaching implications The United States is poised to shift its position on Syria by calling on President Bashar al-Assad to step down because of the violence he has inflicted on his own people and his failure to implement meaningful reforms for the last five months. Barack Obama could issue the demand as early as Thursday in a speech that will mark a dramatic departure in the Syrian crisis. Until now US policy — echoed by Britain and its EU partners — has been that Assad must lead a transition or get out of the way. Now, for the first time, the US president will tell him bluntly to go. In previous statements Washington has described Assad as “illegitimate” or “part of the past”. The White House on Wednesday decried Assad’s “heinous actions”, and spokesman Jay Carney said: “We are all watching with horror what he is doing to his own people.” Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the UN, said on Wednesday that Washington had evidence of “crimes” in Syria and was ready to use it to step up pressure on Assad. “He has lost his legitimacy … and Syria would be a better place without him,” Rice said. “We are looking … to lend support to the people of Syria who have the same aspirations for freedom and democracy that we have seen in so many other parts of the world.” Syrian opposition sources and western diplomats predicted that an unconditional call for his departure would have far-reaching implications, though it would likely be couched in terms of US support for the aspirations of the Syrian people. The precise timing and content of a presidential statement was still under discussion — partly because the US wants a full account of Assad’s six hours of talks on Tuesday with Turkey’s foreign minister, Ahmed Davotoglu, officials said. The British and French governments are considering their response amid doubts in Whitehall about the wisdom of the US move. It was unclear whether the US would also recognise a Syrian opposition government. Unlike in Libya, where the opposition is based in Benghazi, the Syrian rebels have no base inside the country and are divided on key issues. US media have reported in recent days that the White House is more eager to make the announcement while the state department is more cautious about the ramifications in the likely event that Assad ignores Obama’s call. In continuing violence on Wednesday, 17 people were killed in raids in Homs, al-Jazeera reported. New attacks by security forces were also reported from the north-eastern city of Deir Ez-Zor. Citizen journalists working for Avaaz said there had been nine fatalities there and two near Deraa. The Turkish ambassador to Syria visited Hama, scene of recent heavy civilian casualties, where his presence reportedly led to the cessation of attacks by security forces. The envoy reported that tanks and heavy weapons were being moved out, Davutoglu said in Ankara. Saudi residents in Syria were reported to have been arrested in apparent retaliation for Riyadh’s criticism of Assad, who King Abdullah described earlier this week as presiding over a “killing machine”. The US also imposed sanctions on Wednesday on the state-owned Commercial Bank of Syria, its Lebanon-based subsidiary and the largest mobile phone operator Syriatel. The US treasury said it was “taking aim at the financial infrastructure that is helping provide support to Assad and his regime’s illicit activities”. Signs of a shift in US policy came from the state department on Tuesday. “The message from 2009 was if you are prepared to be a reformer, if you are prepared to work with us on Middle East peace and other issues we share, we can have a new and different kind of partnership,” said spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. But “that is not the path that Assad chose.” The US estimates that 2,000 people have been killed during the protests. A state department spokesman declined to comment further except to say the US wanted to raise the pressure on Assad. Syria Bashar Al-Assad Barack Obama Arab and Middle East unrest US foreign policy Obama administration Middle East United States Ian Black guardian.co.uk
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Liberal bias is rampant among the media, but there is no more tangible example of it than in how the media treat Conservative women. The
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Lawrence Donegan, the Guardian’s golf correspondent, assesses each hole of the season’s final major Paddy Allen Lawrence Donegan
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