10,000 Turkish troops cross into northern Iraq to strike against suspected PKK targets

"This is a question of implementing the following: embedding American advisors with Iraqi combat troops. That's the wording. Meaning, the war won't go on; it'll be more of a civil war, more of an El Salvador or Afghanistan type war. Number two, trainers: 20,000 trainers embedded in the Iraqi security forces, police, interior ministry, so on. Number three, security contractors: there are at least 17,000 Blackwater-type Americans who are security contractors. And you can go on. Special forces, intelligence units, etcetera. Hillary Clinton has said we need to keep a certain percentage of troops there to deter Iran. Barack has been, as usual, the most sophisticated and nuanced, but there's absolutely no question that he will be leaving behind thousands of American special forces to engage in something. "

Are assumptions about Iran wrong? Noam Chomsky is a professor of linguistics at MIT. He is the author of over 30 political books dissecting U.S. interventionism in the developing world, the political economy of human rights and the propaganda role of corporate media.

Malalai Joya, 29, is the youngest member of the Afghan Parliament. She was elected to the Wolesi Jirga in September 2005, winning the second highest vote in Farah province. She has received international recognition and been the target of numerous death threats due to her outspoken criticism of warlords and drug lords in the central government.

As contributing editor for The American Conservative and Sun Media, and Founding Committee member of The Real News Eric Margolis says: "The reason I was drawn to [The Real News] was the fact it seemed to me to be the voice that I and many others had been looking for."

Based in New Delhi, Aijaz Ahmad is The Real News Network Senior News Analyst and Senior Editorial Consultant and political commentator for the Indian newsmagazine, Frontline. He has taught Political Science and written widely on South Asia and the Middle East.