Some recent gaffes or revelations (depending on your point of view) by Big Names in the media are providing more fodder for the always-eager conspiracy set. First is Seymour Hersh's latest in the March 5 New Yorker, "The Redirection: Is the Administration’s new policy benefitting our enemies in the war on terrorism?" Like most of his recent journalism, it is based overwhelmingly on anonymous, unverfiable sources. It argues that the US is cooperating with (Sunni) Saudi Arabia in covert activities aimed at beating back the influence of (Shi'ite) Iran and Hezbollah in the Middle East, and that a "by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda." This is a rather vague statement ("by-product" implies this "bolstering" is not an intentional policy). But in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer after the piece came out, Hersh went one step further, asserting that the US is directly aiding al-Qaeda-linked groups:

As the Darfur genocide enters its fifth year, and nearly two years after UN Security Council Resolution 1593 of March 2005 referred violations of international law in Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC), on Feb. 27 ICC prosecutors formally identified two of those responsible for slaughter—Janjaweed militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman (nom de guerre Ali Kushayb) and Sudan's Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmed Harun. Under Article 58 of the Rome Statute that created the ICC, evidence of crimes against humanity will now be submitted to the Pre-Trial Chamber, which will, in the words of the official summary of the Prosecutor's Application, “review the evidence submitted and decide how to proceed.”

Israeli forces re-occupied Nablus Feb. 28 less than a day after withdrawing from the West Bank city. From the afternoon of Feb. 25 to the morning of Feb. 27, Israeli forces imposed a curfew, destroyed ancient structures in the Old City, and killed a man, while searching houses, holding scores of families at gunpoint in single rooms in their own homes. On the morning of the 28th, Israeli forces returned to the heart of Nablus in a convoy of some 100 military vehicles, announcing through loudspeakers that the curfew was again imposed. Israeli forces occupied Rafidiya Hospital, conducting searches of the patients, as they did in the first two days of the operation dubbed “Winter Heat.” They then continued going house-to-house, searching for men on a "wanted" list accused of collaborating with Islamic Jihad. Dozens of Palestinian residents are being held at a makeshift prison in a school outside the Old City. (Palestine News Network, Press TV, Iran, Feb. 28).

The US and Italian ambassadors to Sri Lanka, Robert Blake and Pio Mariani, were slightly injured in an artillery attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on an air force base at Batticaloa, in the island's east Feb. 27. The LTTE expressed "shock and sadness" at the wounding of the diplomats, but said the government was to blame for not informing the rebels the envoys would be in the area. Sri Lankan military aircraft bombed "identified LTTE bases" in the Batticaloa district after the attack. The LTTE said a civilian teacher was killed and another wounded in the raids. (Bloomberg, Feb. 27) Meanwhile in Afghanistan, Vice President Dick Cheney was reportedly unhurt when Bagram air base came under attack during his visit to the base, also early Feb. 27. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the apparent suicide blast at the base's front gate, which killed two US soldiers and over 20 Afghans. Cheney is in the region to discuss resurgent Taliban/al-Qaeda activity with the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan. (Bloomberg, AP, Feb. 27)

Thousands of Serbs protested in front of the US embassy in Belgrade Feb. 27 against independence for Kosova, which has been under United Nations control since 1999. The protest, organised by the Serb National Council of Kosovo (SNV), drew some 40,000 people. Many came by bus directly from Kosova, carrying banners reading “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia”, "We won't give up Kosovo" and "Russia, help!" Some carried pictures of Vladimir Putin or signs calling for Moscow to veto Kosova's independence at the Security Council.

Oil rose above $61 Feb. 26 as UN Security Council plus Germany met in London to discuss tightening sanctions on Iran, the world's fourth largest exporter. Oil prices reached a high of $78.40 on the Lebanon fighting last July, and dropped to a 20-month low of $49.90 in January. Prices have risen steadily since late January. Analysts cite a tightening supplies—OPEC has twice cut output since November—and concerns over a possible disruption of Iran's supplies. (Gulf News, UAE, Feb. 27) The US is calling for further pressure following the expiration of the Feb. 21 deadline established by December's UN Security Council Resolution 1737 for Tehran to halt its nuclear program. Iran says the resolution is illegal since it violates its right to peaceful nuclear technology under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). (Press TV, Iran, Feb. 26)

In the last weeks of 2006, just before Washington's new escalation of the propaganda offensive against Iran, the Tehran government announced it is shifting its foreign currency reserves from the dollar to euro—and switching to the euro for oil deals—in response to US-led pressure on its economy. In the long-expected move, Tehran said it would use the euro for all future commercial transactions overseas. Tehran had been steadily shifting its foreign-held assets out of dollars since 2003. "There will be no reliance on dollars," said Tehran spokesman Gholam-Hussein Elham. "This change is already being made in the currency reserves abroad." (BBC, Dec. 18)

Archeologists warn that if the Sivand Dam in Iran's southern Fars Province is completed, precious relics from antiquity will be lost. The dam is projected to flood a gorge and an archaeological area called the Tangeh Balaghi. By increasing humidity in the environs, experts say the floodplain could also damage the nearby Pasargadae plain, which includes the sixth century BCE tomb of Cyrus the Great, founder of the first Persian Empire under the Achaemenid dynasty. Supporters of the Sivand project point to the hydroelectric power that the dam will generate for the area and possibilities for economic growth. The dam is slated to be completed this month, and the floodplain will take one year to fill. Teams of Iranian and foreign archaeologists are working feverishly to finish excavations at sites due to be flooded. A letter of protest against the project was has been issued by 30 organizations and parties—including the Association of Qom Seminary Researchers and Teachers, a reformist clerical grouping. The statement points out that the project would also flood traditional grazing grounds for nomadic tribes, and drown at least 8,000 trees—some of them 500 years old. Protests were held against the project Feb. 12 at the Energy Ministry in Tehran, and in front of parliament two days later. (RFE/RL, Feb. 23)