ANDRE SHEPHERD: Yes, that is correct. I left the military base in Katterbach in April 2007 and never returned. This is AWOL. It’s slightly different than desertions, because with AWOL you always have the intent to return, you know, back to your post after a certain amount of time, and with desertion, that means you permanently quit the military. And as of right now, I’m still currently considered as AWOL, but, you know, given the circumstances [inaudible], I’m quite sure that that status has changed to desertion.


AMY GOODMAN: And so, how did you actually apply? Have you applied in any way to the US government?


ANDRE SHEPHERD: For AWOL or for…?


AMY GOODMAN: No, to apply for asylum in Germany.


ANDRE SHEPHERD: Oh, OK, OK. Now I understand. OK, well, basically what you had to do was go through the reception center, which I went to in Giessen a few weeks ago, and formally declare myself as an asylum seeker. And then, you know, they take care of the paperwork and everything. And then you are designated as an asylum seeker, upon which you are enjoyed limited rights, you know, for living in Germany until such time as the hearing comes and they make a decision on whether or not they will grant you full rights to asylum.


AMY GOODMAN: Why didn’t you apply, Andre Shepherd, for conscientious objector status?


ANDRE SHEPHERD: It’s for several reasons, but the main overall reason is because in the US, conscientious objector only pertains to individuals that are against every single war of every form. It doesn’t matter if it’s offensive, defensive, limited action. It doesn’t matter. The problem is, for me to actually go and apply for conscientious objection, I would actually have had to lie, because my belief is that the armed forces are there for defense of the nation, like let’s say an example like someone decides to invade California, you know, and the military is called up to go and repel whatever forces invaded the land. Of course I would take up arms and go and defend my land, because they breached our borders. This is OK. But as soon as I would use that as an argument in my conscientious objector application, it would be automatically rejected, because it goes against the first tenet of the rules of objection.


The second thing on there is that you have to, you know, live the lifestyle. From what I’m reading, you know, in AR600-43, you have to live the lifestyle that supports your beliefs. I’m still trying to figure out exactly how that would work, because the way it’s written, I’m assuming that even if you, like, do things like, you know, play videogames or watch war movies, you know, anything that advocates war, that wouldn’t support your lifestyle, you know, of your beliefs. And it’s up to the soldier to prove that these beliefs are sincere. So it’s like next to impossible.


The other and most compelling reason is the case of Augustin Aguayo. At the same time that my unit was scheduled for the second deployment, Augustin Aguayo’s case was big in the media, particularly in the Stars and Stripes magazine. This guy was the most pacifist soldier I have ever seen, you know, and he applied for conscientious objector status. I mean, the guy had never even loaded his weapon in a war zone. And the way the military treated him and, you know, summarily rejected his application and saying that he wasn’t sincere about his beliefs and everything, and they wanted to put him in handcuffs to send him back to Iraq. And he ended up, you know, serving time, because he finally went AWOL, because normal channels of conscientious objection were closed to him, and there’s like no other alternative to not going to combat duty. So this told me right away that this was not the way to go in terms of solving this problem, because I knew that, one, the CO would be rejected, and two, that it would cause too many problems, not for myself, but also for the unit, as well, especially if word got out that this was going on.


AMY GOODMAN: We will link on our website, democracynow.org, to our interviews with Augustin Aguayo, who joined us right before he turned himself in in the US military in Los Angeles and then went back to Germany—well, had been back in Germany, where he had gone AWOL and ultimately was freed, after being imprisoned. And we’ve talked to him extensively about his reasons for applying for CO status.


I wanted to turn from Andre Shepherd, who—I hope you’ll stay on the line with us—to Elsa Rassbach, who has been here in Germany for some eighteen years, moved from the United States. Elsa, can you give us the lay of the land? You’ve been a longtime antiwar activist here in Germany, Germany having more US military bases outside the United States than any place in the world.


ELSA RASSBACH: Yes. Actually, I’ve been here in two stints. One was during the Vietnam War, and one has been since 1996. And in the Vietnam War, when there were a lot of GI newspapers in Europe and Germany and many soldiers deserting to Sweden and so forth, the German peace movement was critical in that effort reaching soldiers.


And now what has happened is that, you know, Germany is still occupied, really, more than sixty years. Germans are very grateful for the liberation of Germany by the US, but on the whole, the majority do not approve of how the US are using the bases here for these wars. And there are more bases here than any other country outside the US. There’s 68,000 soldiers stationed here. The US is consolidating in Europe to sort of six mega-bases. Five of them are to be in Germany, and one is in Vicenza. Ansbach area, where Andre was stationed, is supposed to be one of them, is supposed to be the big fighter-helicopter base. In addition to that, there are two Central Commands in Germany. Germany is the only country with the Central Commands, you know, reporting directly to the Pentagon, like we know CENTCOM is in the US, and so forth, but the EUCOM, which covers all of Europe, Soviet Union, Turkey, that’s in Stuttgart, used to include Africa, but now they’ve created AFRICOM. That’s also in Stuttgart.


AMY GOODMAN: Because no African country would accept them.


ELSA RASSBACH: Exactly. But why—and the Germans—you know, it’s a difficult situation for them. They do not want to be ungrateful. They also are—but they have—for years now, there has been a strong opposition building also to the use of the bases here. You haven’t seen demonstrations like you have in Vicenza, where they were trying to enlarge that base in a middle-class area. You do see in Ansbach, where Andre was, one of the liveliest movements also against the base there, because US wanted to expand that base, and they had a petition in which they said—it was sent throughout Germany—that German soil should not be used for aggressive war. And many Germans feel that that should apply to the US also.


AMY GOODMAN: We went to Ireland and to Britain and learned—met the Shannon antiwar activists, because most soldiers went through Shannon airport before going to Iraq. But that’s changed?


ELSA RASSBACH: Well, yes. I understand there’s still some going there, but I believe, partly as a result of protest in Ireland, they shifted that. That’s mainly going through a commercial airport in Germany, in Leipzig, in the former East Germany. And that also is becoming the focus, the Leipzig airport, of activity here in Germany. And there are activists who go and watch how many soldiers go off through there.


But in addition to the soldiers routed through Germany to Iraq and Afghanistan via Ramstein Air Base or Leipzig or also the commercial airport Hahn near Frankfurt, there are soldiers, you know, as you know, permanently based here. It’s considered their home, within US military law. In Schweinfurt, for example, where Augustin was, that was considered his permanent base. They have had the—Schweinfurt had the largest death rate of any soldiers. They have—also, they’re creating—all of these bases create environmental damage in the German community. The Germans are paying also for a portion of the costs of the bases. And the citizens’ action against the expansion of the Ansbach base, where Andre was—

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AMY GOODMAN: Explain where that is in Germany for viewers and listeners who don’t know.


ELSA RASSBACH: OK. That is in Bavaria. It’s about—it’s a bit north of Nuremberg. And one of the things they’ve done, actually, is they’ve made these huge bases in very outlying areas. I don’t know if it’s deliberate. It’s harder for activists to get to them. Grafenwohr is the biggest training base. It’s about an hour and a half from Ansbach also, and it has, you know, less—you know, just about a thousand Germans in the area.


AMY GOODMAN: Speaking of Nuremberg, the German constitution says Germany cannot engage in any offensive war.


ELSA RASSBACH: It doesn’t just say Germany. It says there shall be no preparation of aggressive war from German soil. And there have been several citizen petitions also with related to Ramstein Air Base, that it doesn’t say that only the Germans may not do it. It says there shall be no preparation of aggressive war from German soil.


AMY GOODMAN: Do you travel to US bases?


ELSA RASSBACH: Oh, yes. I go to US bases often, and we have a whole—both the American Voices Military Project and also the War Resisters’ International, and in Germany we have the networks of people near all the bases, and there’s also other anti-base networks. We’re all working together on this.


AMY GOODMAN: What do you do there?


ELSA RASSBACH: Well, among other things, we are organizing—and we’ve had for some time—that information be distributed to soldiers. We have these GI Rights Hotline cards. They’re just the same, really, as they are in the States. They have a hotline phone number on here, where soldiers can get information. This is the number here. I don’t know if you can see it. But this is—anyway, but many people in the States will have seen—oh, excuse me. Many people in the States will have seen these cards. Here we have also links to different organizations, like Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out. But basically, most people, if they would call the US, they would also be routed to Military Counseling Network in Germany, which is the Mennonite counseling organization that is part of the GI Rights Hotline Network. And so, that’s one thing we do, among other things.


We do demonstrations in front. We’ve invited Iraq veterans right to Ansbach in May. There were four US Iraq Veterans Against the War who did a week-long campaign there, as well.


AMY GOODMAN: Coming up is the sixtieth anniversary of NATO, and I know there are major antiwar plans. Barack Obama will then be the official president. I expect that he would be going there. Where is all this taking place?


ELSA RASSBACH: Yes, this is taking place on the border between France and Germany, in Strasbourg on the French side and Kehl on the German side, and the whole province of Baden-Baden. And Strasbourg is where the European Parliament is. In fact, Strasbourg is where we even had a resolution for asylum in 2006 heard by—the Green and the left parties helped organize that. We were involved, and all of the organizations we’ve mentioned here were involved in that.


And there is a plan—this is the whole focus, really, of the German peace movement, to a large extent, as far as they know, to the European peace movement this spring, which is to say that no—the slogan is “no war, no NATO.” There is no reason for NATO to continue. NATO was an alliance against the Soviet bloc and the Warsaw Pact. It’s in the NATO statutes that they are—NATO is only defensive. It’s not supposed to be going elsewhere. And since the end of the Cold War, it has been used now to justify the Afghanistan war, the aggressive stance, the missile defense shield in East Europe and the kind of aggressiveness developing to the Soviet Union—or the former Soviet Union, to Russia and so forth. And it’s also used to justify—it’s the only justification why Germany allows these bases to be used for the Iraq war. Germany didn’t agree with the Iraq war. It’s because of the NATO alliance. So this is being challenged now.


AMY GOODMAN: I want to end with Andre Shepherd.


ELSA RASSBACH: OK.


AMY GOODMAN: Andre, how much contact did you have with the antiwar movement, both German and US? Is this a support to you now? Were you able to get access to their information? Or, as you said, did most of your information come from your own research on US military bases in Germany?


ANDRE SHEPHERD: Well, I got into extensive contact with the antiwar movement through the Military Counseling Network, who I’ve been in contact with for the last year and half, actually the entire time I’ve been AWOL. As of right now, I am a proud member of Iraq Veterans Against the War for the last month or so. I have connections with—you know, connections with Connection e.V. I’ve spoken with Courage to Resist. And there’s a whole myriad of other peace organizations, like the Tübingen Progressive Americans for Peace and, you know, many others such as that. So there’s a really huge support network that we’re working together with to try to—


AMY GOODMAN: Are you afraid of being picked up, as Augustin Aguayo was? Now, of course, he was on a US military base in Germany, but ultimately, well, you know, picked up by US military when he was first taken. Then he went AWOL. Are you concerned about this?


ANDRE SHEPHERD: As of right now, there’s a little bit of concern, but I am hoping that the Americans will respect the Geneva Conventions and will not, you know, create a possible international incident by trying to pick me up and bring them under their jurisdiction while this process is ongoing.


AMY GOODMAN: And the next step in your application process for asylum here in Germany?


ANDRE SHEPHERD: Currently, I am waiting for a hearing so I can argue my case with my lawyer, Dr. Reinhard Marx. And we will present our case in the most comprehensive fashion that we can. And then we will see what the initial decision will be.


AMY GOODMAN: Well, I want to thank you both for being with us. Andre Shepherd, speaking out for the first time internationally about his application for political asylum here in Germany. And thank you to Elsa Rassbach. Your website, if people want to get in touch with it.


ELSA RASSBACH: We don’t actually have a website, but you could go to the Munich American Peace Committee, that’s part of the American Voices Abroad Military website. Sorry.


AMY GOODMAN: Thank you both for being with us. The US Senate has come out with a report on the former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Next segment, we’ll be joined by a German attorney who’s sued Donald Rumsfeld for torture.


Democracy Now.org

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Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., a group of antiwar activists held a shoe protest of their own on Wednesday. A group including CODEPINK members and antiwar veterans gathered in front of the White House. The demonstrators threw shoes at a man wearing a President Bush face mask and a jail uniform.


Iraq Protests Continue as Jailed Journalist Faces Charges for Shoe Incident
In other Iraq news, the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush will face charges of attacking a head of state. The journalist, Muntadar al-Zaidi, failed to appear at his Wednesday court hearing. Zaidi’s brother says he was too badly injured from abuse by Iraqi jailers to make it to court. Iraqis continue to support al-Zaidi in street protests. In Fallujah, US troops reportedly opened fire above the heads of a group of students rallying for Zaidi’s release. The students pelted the US troops with shoes and rocks. One protester was treated for gunshot wounds. In Baghdad, a resident said Bush should be put on trial, not Zaidi.


UN Halts Gaza Food Aid, Israeli Attack Kills Palestinian Civilian
In Israel and the Occupied Territories, the United Nations says the Israeli blockade has again forced it to suspend food aid to the Gaza Strip. The UN says “irregular border access” has prevented it from delivering wheat supplies. Meanwhile, a Palestinian civilian was killed and two others injured in an Israeli air strike on Gaza Wednesday. Israel says it was responding to Palestinian rocket fire.


Commanders Offer Obama Iraq Time Line Beyond Stated 16-Month Withdrawal Pledge
Top US military commanders have presented President-elect Obama with an Iraq withdrawal timetable that doesn’t match Obama’s campaign promise for a pullout within sixteen months. The plan, drafted by General David Petraeus and General Ray Odierno, would leave US combat troops in Iraq beyond Obama’s stated May 2010 deadline. Obama has said he intends to keep the sixteen-month pledge but would listen to his commanders’ advice. Whatever advice he takes, Obama’s plan would still leave tens of thousands of US troops behind in a so-called “support” role to the Iraqi army.



State Dept. IG: Iraq Could Ban Blackwater
The State Department Inspector General is warning the private military firm Blackwater Worldwide could lose its authorization to operate in Iraq next year. In a new report, the inspector general says there’s a “real possibility” the Iraqi government will deny Blackwater a license and ban it from the country. Five Blackwater guards were indicted earlier this month for the September 2007 massacre of seventeen Iraqi civilians in Baghdad.


Chrysler Extends Plant Closure to One Month
The struggling auto giant Chrysler has announced plans to close all thirty of its North American plants for one month. The company says workers will be able to supplement lost income through state unemployment and supplemental unemployment benefits. While all 46,000 unionized workers won’t see a paycheck, Chrysler will continue to pay top management. Chrysler engineer Dan Klein said he hopes to return to work.


US Accused of New Civilian Killings in Afghanistan
The US military is being accused of another deadly attack on innocent civilians in Afghanistan. Afghan officials say three family members were killed and another two wounded when US troops raided their home in the village of Kundi, near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan. The soldiers fatally shot the family’s father and mother and a male relative. A four-year-old boy was bitten by a US military attack dog.



Pentagon Prepares to Shut Gitmo
The Pentagon has announced it’s preparing for an anticipated order to shut down the Guantanamo Bay prison after Obama takes office next month. Officials have begun drawing up contingency plans, should Obama uphold his campaign promise to close the prison. Anthony Romero of the American Civil Liberties Union said, “This is an important first step toward turning the page on eight years of shameful policies that allowed torture and violations of domestic and international law.”

Rwandan Sentenced to Life in Prison in Genocide Trial
A UN court has sentenced an alleged mastermind of the Rwandan genocide to life in prison. A tribunal judge read the verdict against Protais Zigiranyirazo on Thursday.

Unidentified UN Judge: “The chamber sentences you, Protais Zigiranyirazo, to twenty years imprisonment in relation to the conviction for genocide on Kesho Hill, to twenty years imprisonment in relation to the conviction for genocide for your activities in relation to the Kiyovo roadblock, and fifteen years imprisonment in relation to the conviction for extermination at Kesho Hill.”

The UN court on Rwanda is wrapping up its prosecutions this month. It will convene until 2010 to hear all appeals.

US Opposes UN Declaration Affirming Gay Rights
At the United Nations, the General Assembly has approved a historic measure supporting gay rights worldwide. On Thursday, sixty-six countries voted to approve a declaration calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality and guaranteeing equal rights for gays, lesbians and transgendered people. Most of the support came from Europe and Latin America. The Bush administration refused to support the measure, joining Russia, China, the Vatican and several Arab states. Maxime Verhagen, the Netherlands’ Minister of Foreign Affairs, criticized the US objection.

Maxime Verhagen: “What we say is that Universal Declaration of Human Rights means that they have also to be applied for homosexual, bisexual and transgender people. And we are not saying that people should behave like certain people behave. We don’t say that we should apply a certain lifestyle. What we say is you don’t use this as an excuse to discriminate against them, to violate their human rights or to penalize them. So I hope that also the US will be the next time one of the countries who will support this statement.”

The Bush administration says it opposed the measure, because it could have been interpreted to override state bans on gay marriage. The declaration is the first on gay rights to be read in the General Assembly.



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Israel Threatens Attack on Gaza
Agence France-Presse reports Israel has launched a diplomatic campaign to gather international support for a major offensive on Hamas-ruled Gaza. In a letter to UN chief Ban Ki-moon, Israel’s envoy to the United Nations Gabriela Shalev said the Jewish state would respond to continuing rocket fire. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has ordered Israeli ambassadors around the world to emphasize that Israel “will not hesitate to react militarily if necessary” to protect its citizens. Livni, who is running for prime minister, said "Israel must topple the Hamas rule in Gaza and a government under my command will do just that.” The public relations effort came a day after Israel threatened a major offensive against Gaza. On Friday, Hamas said it would not renew a six-month truce with Israel.

Iran Closes Shirin Ebadi’s Human Rights Organization
The Iranian government has closed down the country’s main human rights organization, headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi. The Center for the Defense of Human Rights in Tehran was shut down on Sunday hours before it was scheduled to hold a ceremony to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The government accused the organization of carrying out illegal activities, such as publishing statements, writing letters to international organizations and holding news conferences.

Class Action Filed Against Pentagon over PTSD Treatment
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports a class-action suit has been filed against the Department of Defense, alleging that it illegally denied medical and disability benefits to Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The lawsuit said the Army failed to follow its own rules when it denied the services and payments to the veterans.



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GAZA CITY (Dec. 27) - Israeli warplanes retaliating for rocket fire from the Gaza Strip pounded dozens of security compounds across the Hamas-ruled territory in unprecedented waves of airstrikes Saturday, killing at least 155 and wounding more than 310 in the single bloodiest day of fighting in recent memory.
Hamas said all of its security installations were hit and responded with several medium-range Grad rockets at Israel, reaching deeper than in the past. One Israeli was killed and at least four people were wounded.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said "the operation will last as long as necessary," but it was not clear if it would be coupled with a ground offensive. Asked if Hamas political leaders might be targeted next, military spokeswoman Maj. Avital Leibovich said, "Any Hamas target is a target."
The strikes caused widespread panic and confusion in Gaza, as black clouds of smoke rose above the territory, ruled by Hamas for the past 18 months. Some of the Israeli missiles struck in densely populated areas as children were leaving school, and women rushed into the streets frantically looking for their children. Most of those killed were security men, but civilians were among the dead.
Said Masri sat in the middle of a Gaza City street, close to a security compound, alternately slapping his face and covering his head with dust from the bombed-out building.
"My son is gone, my son is gone," wailed Masri, 57. The shopkeeper said he sent his 9-year-old son out to purchase cigarettes minutes before the airstrikes began and now could not find him. "May I burn like the cigarettes, may Israel burn," Masri moaned.

In Gaza City's main security compound, bodies of more than a dozen uniformed security officers lay on the ground. One survivor raised his index finger in a show of Muslim faith, uttering a prayer. The Gaza police chief was among those killed. One man, his face bloodied, sat dazed on the ground as a fire raged nearby.
Later, some of the dead, rolled in blankets, were laid out on the floor of Gaza's main hospital for identification. Hamas police spokesman Ehad Ghussein said about 140 Hamas security forces were killed.
Defiant Hamas leaders threatened revenge, including suicide attacks. Hamas "will continue the resistance until the last drop of blood," vowed spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.


Israel told its civilians near Gaza to take cover as militants began retaliating with rockets, and in the West Bank, moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for restraint. Egypt summoned the Israeli ambassador to express condemnation and opened its border with Gaza to allow ambulances to drive out some of the wounded.
Protests erupted in the Abbas-ruled West Bank and across the Arab world.
Several hundred angry Jordanians poured protested outside a U.N. complex in the capital Amman. "Hamas, go ahead. You are the cannon, we are the bullets," they cried, some waving the signature green Hamas banners.
In Beirut, dozens of youths hit the streets and set fire to tires. In Syria's al-Yarmouk camp, outside Damascus, dozens of Palestinians protested the attack as well, vowing to continue fighting Israel.
Israeli leaders approved military action against Gaza earlier in the week.
Past limited ground incursions and air strikes have not halted rocket barrages from Gaza.
But with 200 mortars and rockets raining down on Israel since the truce expired a week ago, and 3,000 since the beginning of the year, according to the military's count, pressure had been mounting in Israel for the military to crush the gunmen.
Earlier this month, Israeli security officials told the government that militants possess rockets with ranges capable of reaching farther from Gaza than ever before, including the cities of Beersheba and Ashdod.
Gaza militants fired several rockets Saturday, including one that struck a new target, the town of Kiryat Gat. A missile hit on the town of Netivot killed an Israeli man and wounded four people, rescue services said. In Ashkelon, TV cameras showed people huddle against a wall as a rocket alert sounded.
Barak, the Israeli defense minister, said that the coming period "won't be easy and won't be short for the communities in the south (of Israel).
Israel declared a state of emergency in Israeli communities within a 12-mile (20-kilometer) range of Gaza, putting the area on a war footing.
The first round of air strikes came just before noon, and several more waves followed.
Hospitals crowded with people, civilians rushing in wounded people in cars, vans and ambulances. "We are treating people on the floor, in the corridors. We have no more space. We don't know who is here and what the priority is to treat," said a doctor at Shifa Hospital, Gaza's main treatment center. He hung up the phone before identifying himself.
Dr. Moawiya Hassanain, a Gaza Health Ministry official, said at least 145 people were killed and more than 300 wounded.
Frantic civilians drove wounded people to hospitals in their cars.
In the West Bank, Hamas' rival, Abbas, said in a statement that he "condemns this aggression" and called for restraint, according to an aide, Nabil Abu Rdeneh. Abbas, who has ruled only the West Bank since the Islamic Hamas seized power in Gaza in June 2007, was in contact with Arab leaders, and his West Bank Cabinet convened an emergency session.
Israel has targeted Gaza in the past, but the number of simultaneous attacks was unprecedented.

Israel left Gaza in 2005 after a 38-year occupation, but the withdrawal did not lead to better relations with Palestinians in the territory as Israeli officials had hoped.
Instead, the evacuation was followed by a sharp rise in militant attacks on Israeli border communities that on several occasions provoked harsh Israeli military reprisals.
The last, in late February and early March, spurred both sides to agree to a truce that was to have lasted six months but began unraveling in early November. In recent days, Israeli leaders had been voicing strong threats to launch a major offensive.


AOL News

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Israeli warplanes and helicopters have attacked the Gaza Strip for a third day in a row. More than 310 Palestinians have been killed since Saturday, and 1,400 have been wounded. Saturday was the deadliest day in Gaza since Israel’s occupation of the territory in 1967. Israel’s defense minister Ehud Barak said today that Israel was in an "all-out war against Hamas.” Israel has bombed every major town in Gaza, including Gaza City, Khan Younis and Rafah, and is now threatening to launch a ground invasion as Israeli troops and tanks move to the border. On Sunday, the Israeli cabinet called up 6,500 reserve forces. Overnight, Israeli warplanes bombed Gaza’s Interior Ministry and the Islamic University in Gaza City. A separate Israeli bombing killed four young Palestinian girls from the same family. Palestinian officials say at least twenty-two children have been killed and more than 235 children have been wounded since Saturday.

Israel: International Community Should Condemn Hamas
Israel says the attacks are necessary in order to stop Hamas from firing rockets into southern Israel. Earlier today, one Israeli died after a Palestinian missile hit the town of Ashkelon. Fourteen Israelis were wounded in the missile strike. The Israeli fatality is the second since the air strikes began Saturday. On Sunday, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Hamas should be condemned by the international community for firing rockets into Israel.

Tzipi Livni: “Excuse me, I cannot accept something like we call both sides to halt the violence or to stop the military actions. There is no ‘both sides’ in this. There is one designated terrorist organization which controls Gaza Strip, which spreads its agenda of hatred, that cannot accept our right to live.”

Hamas Accuses Israel of Causing a Holocaust
Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum accused the Israeli government of carrying out a holocaust of the Palestinian people.

Fawzi Barhoum: "Today is a holocaust and a massacre day that Livni had internationally and regionally campaigned for so she can commit to this holocaust and this massacre. This is a public massacre for our Palestinian people in Gaza. All the casualties and dead are policemen, women, children, elderly and civilians.”

On Saturday, the exiled political leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, called for a Third Intifada, or uprising, against Israeli forces. Hospital officials in Gaza say they are overwhelmed with the number of casualties. Hospitals have been unable to get needed medical supplies into Gaza for more than a year because of the Israeli blockade.

UN Calls for “Immediate Halt to All Violence"
Protests against the Israeli attacks have been held throughout the Arab world, Europe and the United States. The United Nations Security Council Sunday issued a non-binding statement calling for “an immediate halt to all violence” in the Gaza Strip and for Israel to open the border crossings for aid supplies.

Neven Jurica, UN Security Council president: “The members of the Council called for all parties to address the serious humanitarian and economic needs in Gaza and to take necessary measures, including opening all border crossings to ensure the continuous provision of humanitarian supplies, including supplies for food, fuel and provision of medical treatment.”

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Here in the United States, Republican and Democratic leaders voiced support for Israel’s actions. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “When Israel is attacked, the United States must continue to stand strongly with its friend and democratic ally." A White House spokesperson said, “These people are nothing but thugs. Israel is going to defend its people against terrorists like Hamas.” The Jerusalem Post reports the Israeli Air Force has been using a new US-made bunker buster missile in its attack on Gaza. Earlier this year, Congress allowed the Bush administration to sell 1,000 of the GBU-39 bunker buster bombs to Israel.


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The death toll in Gaza has reached at least 375 as Israel’s attack on Gaza has entered its fourth day. More than 1,600 Palestinians have been wounded and hospitals are running out of medicines and other products needed to treat them.

Israel Vows to Wage “War to the Bitter End”
On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israel is in a “war to the bitter end against Hamas and its kind.” Israel has rejected calls for a ceasefire, and Israeli troops and tanks continue to mass on the border of Gaza preparing for a possible ground invasion. Israel has declared the area around the Gaza border a closed military zone, ordering out journalists.

UN: 64 Palestinian Civilians Killed
Earlier today, Israeli warplanes dropped at least sixteen bombs on five government buildings in Gaza, destroying them and starting several fires. An Israeli air strike in northern Gaza killed two Palestinian sisters, aged four and eleven. The girls were killed when they left their house to dump the family’s garbage. On Monday, an Israeli air strike destroyed a home in the Jabalya refugee camp, killing five sisters. The five girls were between four and seventeen years old. In another incident, eight Palestinian students, ages eighteen to twenty, were killed while waiting for a UN bus to take them home. The United Nations said at least sixty-four Palestinian civilians have died since Saturday.

Four Israelis Killed in Palestinian Rocket Attacks
The Israeli attacks have not prevented Palestinian militants from firing rockets into southern Israel. On Monday, Palestinians fired at least seventy rockets, killing two Israeli civilians and a soldier. The dead included an Israeli woman in the town of Ashdod who was killed from shrapnel wounds while taking cover from incoming rockets at a bus stop. The Israeli death toll since Saturday now stands at four.

Israeli President Shimon Peres: “The situation is simple. Some of the Gazan people are saying ‘why doesn’t Israel respect the ceasefire?’ One may think that Israel started the fire. It didn’t start the fire. It’s not a symmetric fire. If the people in Gaza want to live in peace, if the people in Gaza want to enjoy free passages, there is a simple thing they have and can do: stop shooting.”

Ban Ki-Moon Accuses Israel of Using Excessive Force
At the United Nations, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon harshly criticized both Israel and Hamas. He condemned what he called Israel’s “excessive” use of force in Gaza.

Ban Ki-moon: “All this must stop. Both Israel and Hamas must halt their acts of violence and take all necessary measures to avoid civilian casualties. A ceasefire must be declared immediately. They must also curb their inflammatory rhetoric. Only then can dialog start.”

Israel Rams Activist Boat Carrying Aid to Gaza
Meanwhile, the Free Gaza Movement said one of its boats, the Dignity, was rammed by Israeli gunboats in international waters. Activists with the Free Gaza Movement are attempting to sail to Gaza with over three tons of medical supplies requested by Palestinian doctors. Passengers include former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney.

Cynthia McKinney: “There is a need for the medical supplies that are on this boat. There is a need for international attention. And perhaps most importantly, there is need for the people in the United States to understand that every piece of rubble that is there in that strip of land is caused by US weapons and the insistence on administration after administration of transferring weapons of mass destruction to parts of the world, and those weapons are then used to hurt and kill people.”

Kucinich Calls on UN to Investigate Israeli Attack
On Capitol Hill, Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich has called on the United Nations to establish an independent inquiry of Israel’s war against Gaza. In a letter to Ban Ki-moon, Kucinich wrote, “The attacks on civilians represent collective punishment, which is a violation of Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The perpetrators of attacks against Israel must also be brought to justice, but Israel cannot create a war against an entire people in order to attempt to bring to justice the few who are responsible.” Protests against the Israeli attack have been held across the globe. In Lebanon, tens of thousand of Hezbollah supporters rallied in Beirut to condemn Israel. In Egypt, thousands of demonstrators denounced Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for not helping the Palestinians in Gaza. In Amman, Jordan, protesters burned the American and Israeli flags. Here in this country,three women with the Atlantic Life Community were arrested outside the Israeli embassy in Washington on Monday. The women were arrested after they approached the gate of the embassy holding signs reading “Peace. Stop the killing” and “Stop the war on the children.”

Molotov Cocktail Thrown at Synagogue in Chicago
Chicago police are investigating an attack on one of the city’s oldest synagogues. A Molotov cocktail was thrown against the wall of Temple Sholom on Monday. The incident caused minimal damage, and no one was injured.

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Israeli Attack Intensifies; Tanks Enter Khan Yunis
Israel has broadened its attack on Gaza as Israeli tanks have entered Khan Yunis, Gaza’s second largest city. In northern Gaza, witnesses reported wave after wave of bombing strikes accompanied by gunfire from helicopters and artillery from land and sea. On Monday, Israel rejected European calls for a ceasefire.

Israel Bombs UN School, Three Killed
More than forty Palestinians were killed in Gaza yesterday, almost half of them children. Five civilians were killed early today when a shell fired by an Israeli ship hit their house. The United Nations said three Palestinians died last night when an Israeli bomb hit a UN school where hundreds of Gazans had sought refuge. UN officials say they provided their location coordinates to Israel’s army to ensure that their buildings in Gaza are not targeted.

Doctor: Most Palestinian Casualties Are Civilians
Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian doctor in Gaza, told the BBC that Palestinians civilians are being particularly hard hit.

Dr. Mads Gilbert: "The statistics are clear. Among the 2,400-2,500 injured, 45 percent are women and children. And then there are also all the civilian men. So the large majority of the injured, the victims, are women, men and children civilian. Among the the killed, 25 percent of the killed are children and women, and among the children, today, it was—this morning, it was 801 children either killed or injured. 101 children had been killed.”

Dr. Gilbert also criticized Israel for claiming there is no humanitarian crisis.

Dr. Mads Gilbert: “I ask, where is the international community, who has this big organization to come to disasters. We are two doctors from the West. Where are the others? They are not let in, because the Israelis say there is no disaster. Now, how can they know? They never came here, they never saw. They don’t care. So this is the worst man-made disaster for the time I can think of.”

Red Cross: Gaza Is a “Full-Blown" Humanitarian Crisis
Earlier today, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Gaza was now in a “full-blown” humanitarian crisis. Over the past eleven days, at least 573 Palestinians have been killed with more than 2,500 wounded. Four Israeli soldiers were also killed on Monday, bringing the Israeli death toll to eight. The Israeli military says the four soldiers died in two separate friendly fire incidents. Militants with Hamas continue to fire rockets into Israel. One struck an empty kindergarten in Ashdod.

Bush Refuses to Call for Ceasefire
On Monday, President Bush refused to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

President Bush: “And, finally, all of us, of course, would like to see, you know, violence stop, but not at the expense of an agreement that does not prevent the crisis from happening again. I know people are saying, ’Let’s have a ceasefire.’ And those are noble ambitions. But any ceasefire must have the conditions in it so that Hamas does not use Gaza as a place from which to launch rockets.”

Poll: Americans Divided Over Israeli Attack
A new public opinion poll has shown that Americans are closely divided over Israel’s actions. The Rasmussen Reports poll found 44 percent of Americans say Israel should have taken military action against the Palestinians, but 41 percent say it should have tried to find a diplomatic solution. Democratic voters overwhelmingly opposed Israel’s attacks by a 24-point margin. Republicans support Israel’s actions by a 35-point margin. The poll also found that more than half of Americans fear Israel’s actions will cause more terrorism against the United States.

Obama Defers to Bush on Gaza Crisis
On Monday, President-elect Barack Obama made his first comment about the situation in Gaza—ten days after Israel’s attacks began. Obama said he would not interfere in “delicate negotiations” by the outgoing Bush administration.

President-elect Barack Obama: “Obviously, international affairs are of deep concern. With the situation in Gaza, I’ve been getting briefed every day. I’ve had consistent conversations with members of the current administration about what’s taking place. That will continue. I will continue to insist that when it comes to foreign affairs, it is particularly important to adhere to the principle of one president at a time, because there are delicate negotiations taking place right now, and we can’t have two voices coming out of the United States when you have so much at stake.”

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki criticized Obama’s position.

Riyad al-Maliki: “Disappointedly, President-elect Obama refused to comment on the situation in Gaza, despite the fact that he commented on the situation on the bombing in Mumbai, in India. And we expected him really to be open and responsive to the situation in Gaza, and still we expect him to make a strong statement regarding this as soon as possible.”


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Five former Blackwater armed contractors pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal manslaughter and gun charges stemming from the 2007 Nisoor Square massacre in Baghdad, when Blackwater guards killed seventeen Iraqi civilians and injured dozens of others. The five are charged with fourteen counts of manslaughter, twenty counts of attempted manslaughter and one count of using a machine gun to commit a crime of violence. A sixth former Blackwater contractor has already pleaded guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors. Meanwhile, in a separate case, a Blackwater contractor who fatally shot a body guard of Iraqi Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi will reportedly soon be charged in the killing. The shooting occurred on Christmas Eve in 2006 in the Green Zone.

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When An Elder Passes On To Higher Life , Its Like One Of The Library Have Shut Down