Democracy Now - 22 jun 2011

An alternative daily newschannel. One hour with news as you do not see it elsewhere. http://www.democracynow.org Headlines for Jun 22, 2011 - Obama to Announce Limited Afghan Withdrawal - Bahraini Activists Sentenced to Life Terms - McCain, Kerry Propose Retroactive, Year-Long Libya War Authorization - Gaddafi Forces Attack Rebel-Held City - 27 Killed in Southern Iraq Bombing - Syrian Forces Kill 7 Protesters - Al-Qaeda Members Reportedly Stage Prison Break in Yemen - U.S. Mayors Endorse Antiwar Measure Drafted by Activist Group - Senate Confirms Panetta as Pentagon Chief - JPMorgan Pays $153.6 Million to Settle Fraud Case - Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Enters GOP Presidential Race - Clinton Backs Saudi Women on Driving Ban Protest - Thousands Protest Austerity Measures in Europe - Ban Elected to 2nd Term at UN - 2,400 Detained in U.S. Immigration Raids - FDA Unveils New Cigarette Warning Labels Special reports - Former CIA Agent Glenn Carle Reveals Bush Admin Effort to Smear War Critic Juan Cole Former top CIA counterterrorism officer Glenn Carle has revealed the Bush administration sought damaging personal information on Juan Cole, an academic and prominent critic of the Iraq war, in an attempt to discredit him. Carle says the Bush White House made at least two requests for intelligence about Cole, whose blog "Informed Comment" rose to prominence after the Iraq invasion. Carle refused to carry out the request. In a joint interview, Carle and Cole join us to discuss the explosive revelation and why Cole is now calling for a congressional investigation. "I think I was targeted because this was a propogandistic administration … full of people who thought they could pull the wool over the American people's eyes," says Cole. "The Bush administration was starkly at odds with the intelligence community as a whole, the CIA in particular, and the nation intelligence council even more so," Carle says. "I do know the context of tension and hostility between the Bush administration and the intelligence community, and, more broadly, any critic of their policies." - Obama's Afghan War Military Drawdown to Leave U.S. Occupation at Pre-Surge Levels President Obama is expected to announce today a withdrawal of up to 10,000 U.S. troops by the end of the year. Under the plan, the United States would still have some 67,000 troops, plus thousands of contractors, in Afghanistan at the start of 2013-the same total as before last year's surge. "[U.S. Defense Secretary Robert] Gates said that he thought if the United States brings the hammer on the Taliban again and again through the next year, then maybe they may be able to force them to the negotiating table and in some sincerity some time over this next 12 months," says our guest, University of Michigan Professor Juan Cole. "But how likely is that, really?" - Obama Faces Bi-Partisan Opposition for Refusal to Seek Authorization for Libya War President Barack Obama has overruled top administration lawyers and decided he has the legal authority to continue involvement in the NATO air war in Libya, without congressional approval. Our guest, University of Michigan Professor Juan Cole, who supports the Libya operation, says Obama needs authorization from Congress in order to continue. "Not doing that has damaged the legitimacy of the war in the eyes of the American people," says Cole. - Obama Limits Criticism of Ongoing Arab Spring Violent Crackdowns in Syria, Bahrain The Obama administration has issued minor criticism of human rights abuses against peaceful protests by President Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria and the monarchy in Bahrain. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton just recently said the conflict in Yemen would end only if President Ali Abdullah Saleh "steps down." We speak with University of Michigan Professor Juan Cole about why the United States has not been more vocal in supporting these pro-democracy movements in a region of strategic importance. - Former CIA Agent Glenn Carle Draws Agency Censorship With Chronicle of "War on Terror" Interrogation We speak with Glenn Carle, who served 23 years in the Clandestine Services of the Central Intelligence Agency. Carle's book, "The Interrogator," has just been published and tells the story of one of the most secret and sensitive CIA interrogations during the "war on terror." Carle says he took part in the interrogation of a "high-value" al-Qaeda target kidnapped off the streets at an undisclosed site in the Middle East. The book chronicles this interrogation and Carle says that CIA censors initially tried to redact nearly half of the book's first draft, which was still published with significant blacked-out omissions. http://www.democracynow.org

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