Middle East

Americans protest against US terror drone attacks

"A group of American activists have staged a protest outside the CIA headquarters to voice their anger against Washington’s ongoing use of terror drone attacks. The use of terror drones as a weapon of war is an isolated method, raising many ethical questions in addition to political and legal concerns. The UN has condemned the US assassination drone strikes, saying they pose a challenge to international law. Hundreds of people have been killed in drone attacks in northwestern Pakistan's tribal areas since the beginning of this year. In Yemen, over 300 people have been killed in the airstrikes in the southern regions of the country so far in 2012." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmericans protest against US terror drone attacks

Kill Lists Will Continue

"What media attention there has been has focused far too narrowly on the lists maintained by the White House and National Security Council that include American citizens. The reality is that kill lists have metastasized across the government to include the Pentagon and the CIA and are symptomatic of a transformation of U.S. foreign and defense policies. They have all become part of a ten year government created master plan to confront Islamic fundamentalism worldwide using drones and special operations teams, with little or no consideration for the local conditions that have led to the rise of religious extremism nor any concern for the consequences." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKill Lists Will Continue

Petraeus Resignation Smells Funny

"What could be so bad and threatening that a 'national hero' like General David Petraeus would admit to the horribly embarrassing and personal extra-marital affair just to divert attention and thus exit the game relatively intact? (Sometimes admitting to something terribly personal can provide a kind of vaccine against further probes). Seems right-wingers feel it is a way to avoid having to testify over CIA failures in Benghazi in September. Possible. I wonder whether that horse is indeed cold after Republican beatings. And I am a bit skeptical that Benghazi was anything resembling what it was portrayed." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPetraeus Resignation Smells Funny

Syria’s Assad to West: ‘I Am Tougher Than Gaddafi’

"Bashar al-Assad has taken to the Russian airwaves to tell the world that he’s in Syria to stay—and to warn the West and its allies of dire consequences if they try to force him from power. There have been predictions that the reelection of U.S. President Barack Obama might pave the way for more aggressive American action. Members of Syria’s notoriously fractured opposition are convened in Doha this week as part of a U.S.-sponsored effort to create a new and improved body that would be a more credible partner for foreign governments in providing the rebellion with support." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSyria’s Assad to West: ‘I Am Tougher Than Gaddafi’

Neo-Con Revenge: Post-Election ‘Attack Iran’ Machine on Overdrive

"US sends drone to spy on Iran, as it has done continuously for years, no doubt collecting targeting data to assist in US/Israeli attack on Iran. Iran reportedly fires at drone gathering targeting data to assist US in bombing Iran. US astonished at Iran's 'aggression' toward US drone gathering intelligence to assist a US attack on Iran. US shocked that the Iranians would have the gall to respond to US hostile gestures in the region. Oh but it was in international waters! Imagine the US response to an Iranian drone operating in international Gulf of Mexico waters off of Florida." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNeo-Con Revenge: Post-Election ‘Attack Iran’ Machine on Overdrive

4 More Drones! Robot Attacks Are on Deck for Obama’s Next Term

"Civil libertarians rightly point to Obama’s reversals on expanding warrantless surveillance; the indefinite detention of terrorism suspects; military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay; prosecuting whistleblowers; and embracing an expensive definition of the war on terrorism’s executive powers. But there’s little evidence that Obama will change course. The evidence is staring everyone in the face. Obama has elevated a practice of stealthy robotic warfare to the tactic of choice for U.S. security priorities, and built around it a system that operates it practically on bureaucratic inertia." Continue reading →

Continue Reading4 More Drones! Robot Attacks Are on Deck for Obama’s Next Term

Obama Bombs Yemen Hours After Winning Reelection

"Not even a full day had passed before newly reelected President Obama ordered another drone strike in Yemen. 'A U.S. drone strike targeted a group of al-Qaida militants on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Wednesday night, killing at least three terrorists, government officials said.' The drone war violates both domestic and international law, and the Obama administration’s vehement disdain for transparency in government is the only thing keeping it from public and legal scrutiny. Beyond the law, it’s terrorism." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama Bombs Yemen Hours After Winning Reelection

Pakistani flagmakers may see boost in sales after Obama victory spurs more effigies

"Demonstrations against Washington’s programme of missile strikes against suspected Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants are common in Pakistan, and no protest is complete without a Stars and Stripes being sent up in flames. Nadeem Shah, the owner of a flag business in Rawalpindi, the twin city of the capital Islamabad, said he expected more drone strikes — and more protests. In Rawalpindi, US flags start at around 120 rupees ($1.25) but in Nadeem Shah’s shop 1,500 rupees will get you a three-square-metre number in cloth." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPakistani flagmakers may see boost in sales after Obama victory spurs more effigies

Israeli PM ordered strike on Iran in 2010

"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak in 2010 ordered the army to prepare an attack against Iranian nuclear installations, though the order was later rescinded, Israeli television said Sunday. According to private television Channel 2, the order was not implemented due to opposition from the army chief at the time, General Gabi Ashkenazi, and from then Mossad chief Meir Dagan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIsraeli PM ordered strike on Iran in 2010

US and the Chalabi-ization of Syria

"Concerned that US/Saudi/Israeli/Qatari-supported al-Qaeda rebels in Syria look too much like, well, al-Qaeda members, the US has announced that it prefers to create a whole new opposition in Syria. If what is claimed by the US administration and is amplified in the subservient Western press is true -- that the vast majority of the Syrian people are fighting with or supporting those seeking to overthrow the Syrian government -- why on earth would it be necessary for the United States Department of State to gather its allies together in Qatar to create a Syrian opposition?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS and the Chalabi-ization of Syria