Paula Zahn consents to the mass deaths of people of other nations...


The media promoted the illegal invasion into Iraq. They never raised doubt. There is a lot of money in such a venture. There is also the advantage of a stockholder of CNN, in that war that leads to confrontation of the Shia works to satisfy the ambitions of the Sunnis of Saudi Arabia. Promoting war in the unstable Middle East also provides opportunity to attack Israel and attempt to eliminate from the map of the region. Although there is rarely a time when Israel is not under the attacks of the regions complaints of one kind or another, the most recent complaints are a profound attempt to destablize the government of Israel in a way that says the country is not allowed to defend itself.

Winograd final report will 'sentence' country's leaders
By ANSHEL PFEFFER AND YAAKOV KATZ

The Winograd Commission's final report expected in the late summer will include full "personal recommendations" concerning Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, as well as senior ministers and IDF officers on their conduct during the Lebanon War, a source close to the committee said Wednesday.

The "partial" report to be published next month will contain a full judgment on the actions of Olmert, Peretz and former chief of General Staff Dan Halutz during the five-day period in July between the capture of IDF reservists Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser and the official decision to launch the campaign against Hizbullah....

... Regarding the individuals involved - Olmert, Peretz and Halutz - the decision was to deliver the "verdict" as to their actions but to reserve the "sentencing" for the final report, which would describe their actions throughout the war. The source didn't discount the possibility that other parts of the report might be published in advance of the final version.

HIZBOLLAH is a terrorist organization. It is Shia as well. The dynamics of the region, including those being killed in Iraq, has resulted because of Arab bigotry between the two major religious divisions. Rather than confronting the Sunnis, it has been all too simple for organizations such as Hizbollah to focus on Israel as a the enemy wishing to displace the nation and claim that area of the region as their own.

Israel has a right to defend itself. That is all that needs to be understood about the retaliation into Southern Lebanon. Hizbollah's rockets were killing the children of Israel. To scrutinize the methods of the Isreali military in regard to it's defense of the nation when it was completely abandoned by it's ally, is to continue to disarm a country in need of more allies everyday. The Middle East is in need of an ally such as it had with Bill Clinton. One committed to resolve the deadly dynamics of the region and not escalate it. The form of diplomacy that seeks resolve of all issues including the bigotry that exists against the Shia which radicalizes them.

U.S. failed to give Israel all drafts of UN resolution ending Lebanon war (click on)

By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service

The U.S. government failed to give Israel all the drafts of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 ending last summer's Lebanon war in real time, so Israel had to obtain some of the documents from other sources, Israeli government sources said.

The sources, however, said senior government officials ultimately did get all the drafts in time, and there were no delays or information gaps that impeded decision-making during the war.

According to some sources, Israel obtained the drafts not supplied by the Americans from intelligence sources....

...The resolution underwent several drafts, some tilted more toward Israel and others toward Lebanon, and these drafts affected Israeli moves during the war, particularly toward the end. As a result, it was critical for Israel to obtain real-time versions of the drafts. However, American-Israeli coordination on this issue was imperfect.

In particular, the second-to-last draft, which Prime Minister Ehud Olmert received on the morning of August 11, seemed to him much less favorable than the version on which he and Washington had agreed the previous night.

He later said this draft convinced him to launch a major ground operation during the war's final days in an effort to influence the Security Council. During these three days of fighting, 33 soldiers were killed.

IT SEEMS TO ME, the actions of Israel were manipulated with the lack of information it's leaders were looking from the USA and UN. No matter which way one looks, Israel and the region gets a bad rap by the West. Pawns.

The Paula Zahn hour about Vietnam was not about Vietnam, it was about promoting the Iraq War.

ZAHN: Ilario Pantano is a former United States Marine lieutenant who has been on the ground in Iraq, and has written a provocative bestseller called "Warlord: No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy" about his experiences there.

Welcome back.

ILARIO PANTANO, AUTHOR, "WARLORD: NO BETTER FRIEND, NO WORSE ENEMY": Thank you so much, Paula.

ZAHN: You have heard a number of Vietnam vets, including Senator Max Cleland, describe that they feel like they are reliving their Vietnam War experience through this war in Iraq.

What are the similarities you see?

PANTANO: Oh, I -- I think that there are several in the -- the way that Iraq has become the four-letter word for Vietnam.

But I think that Senator Cleland's remarks were particularly haunting, given his sacrifice, because, on the one hand, he feels tremendous pain and empathy for what's happening. And, on the other hand, his remarks and his actions are actually fueling a lot of the political division that is weakening our effort.

ZAHN: And -- and what do you mean by that?

PANTANO: Well...

ZAHN: What is he doing that -- that's spurring that on?

PANTANO: I think that there are some -- some very -- and I -- and I don't mean to diminish his motivations. I think that anybody who served his country with the honor and the distinction that he has, has every right to express himself. And I think that that comes from the best of intentions.

But I think that there is a political game of schadenfreude, where they are entrenched oppositions to various policies that, sadly, often delight when the other party fails. And you saw that, certainly, in Vietnam. He lived that firsthand 30 years ago. And, in a weird twist of irony , he now is on the other end of that.

ZAHN: So, to what extent do you really think politicians have compromised what is happening militarily in Iraq?

PANTANO: I think that the -- the blame for the decay of public sentiment can be... (CROSSTALK)

ZAHN: And we should make it clear that Max Cleland is not in power now.

PANTANO: That's -- that's correct, and a very important point.

But I think that the blame for -- in fact, I think that the reason we're even having this program tonight, asking the question, is this another Vietnam, can be apportioned fairly across not just politicos and generals, but, certainly, the media bears a -- a level of responsibility, as does the American people and their ambivalence and -- and their antipathy.

We do have a professional military fighting this fight. And I think that that's allowed the large majority of the population to become bored and disengaged. And now they are no longer understanding why.

And I just want to point out, we have seen some unbelievable statistics tonight comparing Vietnam casualty rates, numbers of troops in country.

ZAHN: Chilling numbers.

PANTANO: I would agree.

But what we haven't seen is, what's so interesting is that Vietnam, geographically, was insignificant compared to Iraq. And, yet, we committed five times the resources for five times as long, with five times the casualty rate. And, here, we're talking about Iraq, which is almost the crossroads of the Middle East and the center of our energy concerns, and we're -- we're uncomfortable to do anything similar.

ZAHN: You say the American public perhaps bears part of the blame.

That is one similarity with the Vietnam War, when the public tide turned. The -- the American public today, when polled, two-thirds of them will say they are adamantly opposed this war. They are engaged. They don't like this war.

How does that affect those men and women on the ground in Iraq?

PANTANO: I have to say, Paula, I -- I am so grateful that we still have men and women that are volunteering to do the hard thing, even when it's unpopular and when it's hard.

I mean, maybe I should rephrase that: especially when it's unpopular and hard. If George Washington had listened to his generals at Valley Forge complaining of men with frozen feet, or the colonists, two-thirds of which who wanted to give up, we would probably be doing this interview on the BBC, instead of CNN.

I say we have to push. ZAHN: Always good to see you.

PANTANO: Thank you so much.

ZAHN: Thank you so much your time tonight, Ilario Pantano.

When it comes to the home front, is Iraq another Vietnam? Coming up, we're going to take you back from today's computer-connected generation to the wild days of the '60s, and look at the media's role in covering the war, something Ilario just touched upon -- more when we come back.

PAULA ZAHN NOW is interested in promoting war in the face of the dynamics of the region which desperately needs clarification with goals for peace and inclusion of acceptance of the Shia as a religous authority within the Arab nations.