Blowback

How Goes the Global War on Terror?

"The U.S. military and the CIA are good at deposing dictators and wrecking countries. They are bad at defeating an operation like al Qaeda. Their incompetence is matched only by that of the government that has set the war policies and determined grand strategy. How’s the GWOT going in America? Americans are the losers. The cost of the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan is anywhere from $2.4 trillion to $4 trillion. Civil liberties have been curtailed. Police have been militarized. Privacy has deteriorated. A police state apparatus has been installed. Economic progress has vanished." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow Goes the Global War on Terror?

Ron Paul: Why Are We At War In Yemen?

"The US government is clearly at war in Yemen. It is claimed they are fighting al-Qaeda, but the drone strikes are creating as many or more al-Qaeda members as they are eliminating. Resentment over civilian casualties is building up the danger of blowback, which is a legitimate threat to us that is unfortunately largely ignored. Also, the US is sending mixed signals by attacking al-Qaeda in Yemen while supporting al-Qaeda linked rebels fighting in Syria. This cycle of intervention producing problems that require more intervention to 'solve' impoverishes us and makes us more, not less, vulnerable. Can anyone claim this old approach is successful?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: Why Are We At War In Yemen?

Ted Koppel: ‘Can You Imagine A Day When We’ll Be Without The TSA?’

"'The terrorists have achieved more with one phone call than we have achieved with all our response,' Koppel said. 'Terrorism is imply the weapon by which the weak engage the strong,' Koppel said. 'They cause the strong—in this case us—to overreact. We are the ones who went into Iraq and spent about a trillion and a half dollars doing it, losing 4,500 men and women, god knows how many tens of thousands injured. We are the ones who created a bureaucracy. The TSA has what—57,000 people operating within the TSA? Can you imagine a day when we will ever be without that bureaucracy? All imposed upon ourselves.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTed Koppel: ‘Can You Imagine A Day When We’ll Be Without The TSA?’

U.S. Drones Kill More Than 30 in Yemen; School Targeted in One Attack

"'The drones are killing our people, killing our children, and destroying our homes,' one man said, as he sat among the sheared rebar and crumbled concrete that was once his village. Another man related that after he picked up his daughter from school to take her to a doctor’s appointment, Hellfire missiles fired from U.S. drones destroyed the clinic. He grabbed his daughter and ran back to the school to take cover. Before he got there, though, the school was obliterated by a second missile. His daughter was struck in the back of the head by debris and she bled to death in his arms. 'What did my daughter ever do to them?' he cried. 'She was eight years old.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Drones Kill More Than 30 in Yemen; School Targeted in One Attack

Yemen: American Foreign Policy in Action

"Yemeni security forces have been put on high alert amid warnings of an imminent attack by al-Qaeda in Sana’a, as the US and Britain withdrew embassy staff and urged their citizens to leave the country. BBC Arabic quoted a Yemeni security source as saying 'extraordinary and unprecedented' security measures had been taken, with armoured vehicles deployed at the presidential palace and other sensitive government and foreign installations in Yemen’s capital. Dozens of al-Qaeda operatives were said to have streamed into Sana’a in the last few days, apparently to take part in a terrorist attack, the BBC said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYemen: American Foreign Policy in Action

Get Ready for Endless Bogus Terror Alerts

"It didn’t take long for the pushback following outrage over revelations that we live in an all-encompassing high-tech Stasi police state. Edward Snowden made his revelations known exactly two months ago today . The government has responded by concocting yet another vague and unsubstantiated terror threat it describes as the most serious since the September 11 attacks. The latest terror alert is a precursor of things to come." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGet Ready for Endless Bogus Terror Alerts

U.S. Officials: Al-Qaeda Developed Liquid That Turns Clothes Into Explosives

"Two senior U.S. government sources who have been briefed on the terror threat that prompted the U.S. to close embassies across the Mideast and North Africa this week, told the network that clothes dipped in the liquid become explosive devices when dry. One of the U.S. officials described the new generation explosive as 'ingenious,' while another said it would be undetectable under current security processes. The liquid explosive is believed to be the brainchild of the Yemen-based affiliate Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the officials told ABC News." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Officials: Al-Qaeda Developed Liquid That Turns Clothes Into Explosives

When Did U.S. Start Warring in Yemen?

"Quick research suggests that Bush authorized making war in Yemen around November of 2002. That was the time of the first drone strike. Obama intensified the war in 2011, following up on his earlier intensification in 2009. Even a CFR publication by Micah Zenko (Reforming U.S. Drone Strike Policies) is highly critical of drone warfare and recognizes that retaliation grows and anti-U.S. groups enlarge as the U.S. increases its violence. Today’s headlines say that the recent 'terror' warning applies specifically to Yemen. The U.S. has advised Americans to leave Yemen. Bush escalated the fighting, although the U.S. was unsure who bombed the Cole." Continue reading →

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NSA defenders: embassy closures followed ‘pre-9/11 levels’ of ‘chatter’

"Saxby Chambliss, who was briefed by the vice president, Joe Biden, last week, said he believed the intelligence had been gathered by the NSA using foreign surveillance powers granted under section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. 'This is a good indication of why they [the surveillance powers] are so important,' he said. His defence of the NSA was echoed by another Republican, Lindsey Graham. Asked by CNN host Candy Crowley whether Americans were right to be frightened, senator Graham said: 'It is scary … the NSA programme is proving its worth yet again.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNSA defenders: embassy closures followed ‘pre-9/11 levels’ of ‘chatter’

Yemeni Engineer Begs Obama to Stop Murdering His Family with Drones

"Last year, Salem Ahmed bin Ali Jaber, a respected Muslim cleric in Yemen, gave a speech denouncing al Qaeda. Representatives from Al Qaeda came to speak with Jaber and his cousin in a private meeting. During this meeting, they were all incinerated in a drone strike by the United States. Jaber’s brother-in-law, Faisal bin Ali Jaber, has written a letter, distributed by human rights group Reprieve, begging Obama and Hadi to stop killing innocents in these drone strikes and warning that they are making enemies of the very communities they claim to be trying to protect." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYemeni Engineer Begs Obama to Stop Murdering His Family with Drones