BATTLE OVER ARIZONA'S IMMIGRATION LAW

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THE WOODWARD REPORT
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Hillary Clinton Says White House Will Sue Over
Arizona Immigration Law

Senator Hillary Clinton

While President Obama and Attorney General Holder have yet to announce a decision, Secretary of State Clinton has announced it for them. The White House will initiate a lawsuit against Arizona over their controversial immigration law. Clinton asserts that the primary reason for this is that that the White House and Obama believe that the federal government should be making immigration policy and not individual states. The law which enjoys approval of 58% of Americans and 70% of Arizonans has come under fire for promoting racial profiling. However, Arizona’s Governor Jan Brewer insists that the law is simply enforcing current federal statutes and no person can be investigated unless they are detained for a prior legal violation.

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Saudi Arabia gives Israel clear skies to attack Iranian nuclear sites



Saudi Arabia has given Israeli fighter jets the green light to use their airspace to carry out bombing raids against Iranian nuclear sites. “They have already done tests to make sure their own jets aren’t scrambled and no one gets shot down,” said a U.S. defense source in the region. “This has all been done with the agreement of the U.S. State Department.”


Despite world perception that only Israel and the West are gravely concerned with Iran’s nuclear program, other Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan are seemingly fearful of the rogue regime as well. This explains the willingness of the Saudis to grant airspace to Israeli aircraft.


In addition to the clear skies granted by Saudi Arabia, Israel has taken other steps to prepare for a possible attack on Iranian nuclear sites. They have recently sent missile-class warships and at least one submarine capable of launching a nuclear warhead through the Suez Canal for deployment in the Red Sea within the past year, as both a warning to Iran and in anticipation of a possible strike.

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Too Big To Fail Lives Despite Reform Bill

Paul Volcker

Paul Volcker, the head of Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, appeared Monday on CNBC stating that the centerpiece of the Obama Administration’s campaign to end Too Big To Fail, the notion that the nation’s megabanks will not automatically be bailed out when in dilemma, will not come to fruition.

Volcker, a former Federal Reserve Chairman appeared on the program with William Isaac, the former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, who added that the legislation is "not going to prevent the top five banks from being saved."

"We will save them," Isaac said. Speaking about a potential future financial crisis, the former bank regulator said that Congress "would jump in with more legislation to bail out those banks. I don't have any doubt about that," he added.

The criticism from two former top bank regulators also echoes recent remarks by Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher, who argues that the bill doesn't come close to ending TBTF. Rather, he believes the nation's megabanks either need to significantly shrink, or be broken up.

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China’s Military Threatens America: ‘We Will Hurt You’

The Flag Of China

In February, Chinese Colonel Meng Xianging promised a “hand-to-hand fight with the U.S.” sometime within the next 10 years “when we’re strong enough.” “We must make them hurt,” said Major-General Yang Yi this year, referring to the United States. “Every nation has a right to defend itself and to spend as it sees fit for that purpose, but a gap as wide as what seems to be forming between China’s stated intent and its military programs leaves me more than curious about the end result,” said Admiral Mike Mullen this Wednesday. Last month, a Chinese Admiral launched a three-minute rant that asserted “everything that is right with U.S. relations with China is due to China; everything that is wrong is Washington’s fault.” “Admiral Guan was representing what all of us think about the United States in our hearts,” a senior Chinese official told the Washington Post. “It may not have been politically correct, but it wasn’t an accident.”

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Defense Secretary Gates: Iran could fire 'hundreds'
of missiles at Europe



US intelligence has shown Iran could launch an attack against Europe with "scores or hundreds" of missiles, prompting major changes to US missile defenses, Pentagon chief Robert Gates said on Thursday. "One of the elements of the intelligence that contributed to the decision on the phased adaptive array was the realization that if Iran were actually to launch a missile attack on Europe, it wouldn't be just one or two missiles or a handful," Gates told a senate hearing.

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Alert Issued for 17 Afghan Military Members
AWOL From U.S. Air Force Base



A nationwide alert has been issued for 17 members of the Afghan military who have gone AWOL from an Air Force base in Texas where foreign military officers who are training to become pilots are taught English. The Afghan officers and enlisted men have security badges that give them access to secure U.S. defense installations. "I can confirm that 17 have gone missing from the Defense Language Institute," said Gary Emery, Chief of Public Affairs, 37th Training Wing, at Lackland AFB. "They disappeared over the course of the last two years, and none in the last three months."

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White House and BP Agree to $20B Fund,
Minor Progress Made on Spill

President Barack Obama

On Wednesday BP top brass met with President Obama and agreed to pay $20 billion over four years to an independent party and immediately identified $20 billion in U.S. assets that could be liquidated should BP not be able to pay on time. In addition, BP received no assurances that the ultimate economic damages would not be higher and remains liable for all individual and state claims in court. The fund is completely separate from any environmental damages, which the Obama administration says could top $30 billion. On Thursday, BP Chief Tony Hayward was hauled before the Hill and was lambasted by Congressmen for the disaster in the gulf. He denied being involved in any key decision making processes regarding the oversight of the disastrous well. But while the White House and pundits are championing the $20B fund and are taking pleasure in the demoralization of the BP chief, the oil continues to flow into the Gulf. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is especially concerned because of a recent stoppage of barges ordered by the Coast Guard. They stopped the barges because they needed to confirm that there were fire extinguishers and life vests on board, and were unable to contact the people who built the barges. Nine days ago he ordered the barges to begin vacuuming the crude oil out of his state’s oil-soaked waters. Wednesday, against the governor’s desires, the barges sat idle. He asserted that one of the biggest problems in the clean up is that there seems to be no one in charge. Fifty-nine days into the crisis, it still can be tough to figure out who is in charge in the Gulf. "They promised us they were going to get it done as quickly as possible," Jindal said. But "every time you talk to someone different at the Coast Guard, you get a different answer." After Jindal strenuously made his case, the barges finally got the go-ahead yesterday to return to the Gulf and get back to work, after more than 24 hours of sitting idle.

Photos By: RD/Leon/Kabik/Retna