Africa

Paul Craig Roberts: Obama’s Expanding Kill List

"If the Obama regime is on the side of the government, as in Algeria, it will kill the rebels opposing the government. If the Obama regime is on the side of the rebels, as in Libya, it will kill the government’s leaders. Whether Washington sends a drone to murder Putin and the president of China remains to be seen. The elasticity of the Kill List and its easy expansion makes it certain that Washington will be involved in extra-judicial executions of those 'associated with terrorism' over much of the world. Americans themselves should be alarmed, because the term 'association with terrorism' is very elastic." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: Obama’s Expanding Kill List

U.S. deploys Predator drones, 100 Air Force personnel to Niger

"The United States has deployed several Predator drones to Niger to fly surveillance missions in support of French forces in Mali, a US defense official said Friday. The unarmed robotic aircraft are flying out of Niamey at a base with a 100-strong contingent of Air Force personnel, the defense official told AFP on condition of anonymity. President Barack Obama announced earlier on Friday that the US troops were sent to the West African country to provide 'support for intelligence collection and will also facilitate intelligence sharing with French forces conducting operations in Mali, and with other partners in the region.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. deploys Predator drones, 100 Air Force personnel to Niger

A City of Fear: A Visit to Timbuktu after Its Liberation By French Troops

"Colonel Gèze set up his headquarters in a camouflage tent across from the runway. Following the airstrikes by the French Air Force, his men entered Timbuktu without meeting any resistance. The colonel still feels a little uneasy about their speedy victory. Gèze can't say how many people were killed in the air strikes. His soldiers didn't take any prisoners, either. Still, even though the jihadists have left Timbuktu, Gèze hasn't defeated them. Perhaps they have gone to Mauritania or Algeria. The officer shrugs his shoulders. 'We're keeping our eyes and ears peeled and are questioning our informants,' he says. 'The Islamists have to be hiding out somewhere.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA City of Fear: A Visit to Timbuktu after Its Liberation By French Troops

Senate committee chair: U.S. will likely have more active military role in Mali

"The United States is likely to play a more active military role in Mali, where French-led forces are battling Islamist rebels, after the country holds elections, the chair of a key Senate sub-committee said Monday. Washington has been providing intelligence, transport and mid-air refuelling to France, which launched its intervention last month, but cannot work directly with the Malian army until a democratically elected government replaces current leaders who came to power after a coup." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSenate committee chair: U.S. will likely have more active military role in Mali

America’s Secret War in North Africa Behind Benghazi Attack

"Behind closed doors, President Obama had given his counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, carte blanche to run operations in North Africa and the Middle East. In 2012, a secret war across North Africa was well underway. With JSOC, Brennan waged his own unilateral operations in North Africa outside of the traditional command structure. The aftermath of one of these secret raids into Libya would have grave consequences for all of them. SOFREP believes the Benghazi attack on 9/11/12 was blowback from the late-summer JSOC operations that were threatening the Al Qaeda-aligned militant groups (including Ansar Al-Sharia) in Libya and North Africa." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmerica’s Secret War in North Africa Behind Benghazi Attack

Obama administration wants to put Algerian militant on secret ‘kill’ list

"Senior members of President Barack Obama’s administration want to put the mastermind of last month’s attack on an Algerian natural-gas facility on a secret 'kill' list, The Wall Street Journal reported. Adding Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar to a US list for targeted killing would entail a significant US military expansion into northwestern Africa, the newspaper said, citing unnamed US officials. It would mean extending drone strikes and other lethal counterterrorism operations to the region, the paper added." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama administration wants to put Algerian militant on secret ‘kill’ list

Pepe Escobar: War on terror forever

"It's now official - coming from the mouth of the lion, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey, and duly posted at the AFRICOM site, the Pentagon's weaponized African branch. Exit 'historical' al-Qaeda, holed up somewhere in the Waziristans, in the Pakistani tribal areas; enter al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). In Dempsey's words, AQIM 'is a threat not only to the country of Mali, but the region, and if... left unaddressed, could in fact become a global threat.' With Mali now elevated to the status of a 'threat' to the whole world, GWOT is proven to be really open-ended." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPepe Escobar: War on terror forever

Eric Margolis: Just Back From The Mideast – And I’m Really Worried

"The Mideast is stumbling into one of its most dangerous crisis in decades. This region is always tense, but right now a series of separate conflicts are rapidly beginning to intersect. We see the Mideast, North Africa and the Sahara buffeted by revolutions and counter-revolutions. Old colonial powers France and Britain, and the US, are trying to reassert their domination in the region. The jihadist are back. In a brazen act of war, Israel launched airstrikes on Syria last Wednesday in a clear attempt to worsen the crisis in that war-torn nation and challenge Syria’s ally, Iran." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEric Margolis: Just Back From The Mideast – And I’m Really Worried

Pepe Escobar: The Real Currency, Gold and Energy War in Mali

"Have you heard lately of the meme of a currency war that’s going on? Well, Pepe Escobar, the 'roving eye' correspondent of Asia Times, tells you about the real currency, gold and energy war that is now raging in Mali, as the overall Global War on Terror needs new battlefields to perpetuate itself as 'The Long War.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPepe Escobar: The Real Currency, Gold and Energy War in Mali

Ron Paul: US Action in Mali is Another Undeclared War

"Where does the president get the authority to become a co-combatant in French operations in Mali, even if US troops are not yet overtly involved in the attack? How did we get to Mali? Blowback and unintended consequences played key roles. When the president decided to use the US military to attack Libya in 2011, Congress was not consulted. The president claimed that UN and NATO authority for the use of US military force were sufficient and even superior to any kind of congressional declaration. Congress once again relinquished its authority, but also its oversight power, by remaining silent." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: US Action in Mali is Another Undeclared War