Imperial Hubris

Tear Gas, A Deadly Chemical Weapon, in Bahrain

"This week we read from Britain’s Foreign Secretary that Britain is shipping gas masks to the Syrian rebels. I believe that this is so that the rebels can more freely use chemical weapons against the Syrian government forces. To understand why I say this, we need to connect a few dots. We know that Bahrain has made intensive use of tear gas, enough to kill many civilians and protesters. The United States and Great Britain have supported Bahrain’s government for decades, and they supported the most recent suppression of protests. Britain has supplied Saudi Arabia with many weapons, including tear gas, which were weaponized and used in Bahrain." Continue reading →

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Nasser Al-Awlaki: The Drone That Killed My Grandson

"The missile killed him, his teenage cousin and at least five other civilians on Oct. 14, 2011, while the boys were eating dinner at an open-air restaurant in southern Yemen. I visited the site later, once I was able to bear the pain of seeing where he sat in his final moments. Local residents told me his body was blown to pieces. They showed me the grave where they buried his remains. I stood over it, asking why my grandchild was dead. Nearly two years later, I still have no answers. The United States government has refused to explain why Abdulrahman was killed. A country that believes it does not even need to answer for killing its own is not the America I once knew." Continue reading →

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Amendments To Block Unauthorized U.S. Military Involvement In Syria And Egypt Introduced

"Representative Massie offered two amendments to the House Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 2397) requiring congressional authorization to use taxpayer funds for military or paramilitary purposes in Syria and Egypt. 'Since our national security interests in Syria and Egypt are unclear, we risk giving money and military assistance to our enemies,' said Rep. Massie. 'The Constitution prohibits the President from unilaterally spending American taxpayer dollars on military operations without congressional approval. The American people deserve an open debate and an up-or-down vote by their elected officials on these important issues.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmendments To Block Unauthorized U.S. Military Involvement In Syria And Egypt Introduced

US preparing for military action in Syria, top US general says

"Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Obama administration is deliberating whether or not it should use the brute of the US military in Syria during a Thursday morning Senate hearing. Gen. Dempsey said the administration was considering using 'kinetic strikes' in Syria and said 'issue is under deliberation inside of our agencies of government.' US officials have previously said Washington is considering implementing a no-fly zone above Syria, and last month the Pentagon left a fleet of F-16 fighter planes and its Patriot anti-missile system on the border of neighboring Jordan." Continue reading →

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Lindsey Graham: Boycott the Soviets Again!

"In his hyperventilated desperation to punish Russia for not sending NSA leaker Edward Snowden back to face life in the American gulag system (another irony) he wants to go back to 1979 and boycott the Soviet Olympics! Out of any ammunition or even logic, Graham is all bluster: 'At the end of the day, if they grant this guy asylum, it’s a breach of the rule of law as we know it and is a slap in the face to the United States.' How dare Russia not follow our laws! What a slap in our face! More ironies drip from the Graham Plan, however, as the original US boycott was meant to embarrass the Soviet Union for its 1979 invasion of Afghanistan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLindsey Graham: Boycott the Soviets Again!

The United States Should Quit Meddling in Egypt

"Liberal demonstrations have claimed that the Obama administration had supported the Brotherhood and its former President Mohamed Morsi. Yet the Brotherhood has claimed that despite the U.S. government’s neutral rhetoric during the latest crisis—calling on all sides to rein in violence from their supporters—American diplomats secretly pressured the Brotherhood to resign itself to Morsi’s ouster by the Egyptian military, re-enter the political process, and thus legitimate the coup. Both sides are correct. How can this be?" Continue reading →

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Afghani accused of murdering and torturing civilian blames U.S. commanders

"He blamed the murders on three Americans, whom he named as Dave, Hagen and Chris, and whom he said were fluent in Afghanistan’s two main languages Dari and Pashto. 'I was simply a low-rank translator and did not have authorisation to roam around inside the base, or (go) to interrogation sections,' the report quoted Kandahari as saying. He did admit to 'slapping' and 'kicking' the detainee allegedly shown in the video reportedly obtained by Afghan intelligence agents, according to the report. US investigations have found 'no credible evidence' to substantiate any allegations of abuse by either NATO or US forces, a military spokesman told AFP on Tuesday." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAfghani accused of murdering and torturing civilian blames U.S. commanders

Ex-Military General Dynamics Contractor: ‘I Hereby Resign in Protest Effective Immediately’

"I have served the post-911 Military Industrial complex for 10 years, first as a soldier in Baghdad, and now as a defense contractor. At the time of my enlistment, I believed in the cause. I was ignorant, naïve, and misled. We have become what I thought we were fighting against. Recent revelations by fearless journalists of war crimes including counterinsurgency 'dirty' wars, drone terrorism, the suspension of due process, torture, mass surveillance, and widespread regulatory capture have shed light on the true nature of the current US Government. I have always believed that if every foot soldier threw down his rifle war would end. I hereby throw mine down." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEx-Military General Dynamics Contractor: ‘I Hereby Resign in Protest Effective Immediately’

Colorado town considers licensing bounty hunters to shoot down drones

"A six-page petition circulated by a resident says that the threat of surveillance from drones — regardless of who is piloting them — is a threat to 'traditional American ideas of Liberty and Freedom'. According to the proposed ordinance, which will be considered by the town council at its next meeting on Aug. 6, prospective bounty hunters can get a one-year drone-hunting license for $25. Proposed bounties will be $25 for those turning in the wings or fuselage of downed aircraft and $100 for mostly intact vehicles. To collect the bounty, the wreckage must have 'markings, and configuration … consistent with those used by the United States federal government.'" Continue reading →

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Eric Margolis: Spying Run Amok

"Europe’s politicians are loudly denouncing the US. But Britain, Germany, Italy, Holland, Spain and Belgium signed secret pacts with the US decades ago allowing NSA and CIA to spy on their citizens, and to share intelligence with Washington. The Soviet-run Warsaw Pact had a similar structure: the East bloc’s security agencies became 'little brothers' of KGB. No other nation mounts such an intensive worldwide electronic spying operation. Spying on EU trade negotiators discussing banana quotas has nothing to do with so-called terrorism. The real 'national security' issue involved here is the security of hypocritical politicians and career bureaucrats." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEric Margolis: Spying Run Amok