Middle East

Trump said Obama needed war authority from Congress. Will he ask for it now?

"A senior administration official told reporters on Friday that the president acted pursuant to his authority under Article 2 of the Constitution, which makes him commander in chief. And, the aide said, top officials including Vice President Mike Pence are in 'constant contact with congressional leaders.' On Thursday night, Trump laid out conventional U.S. rationales for unilateral military action in a way that suggests he does not see a need for formal authority from Congress." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTrump said Obama needed war authority from Congress. Will he ask for it now?

Trump Betrays Trumpism: Syria in the Crosshairs

"Twenty-four hours after the alleged incident – with the United Nations still refusing to say whether there had been a gas attack, or, if so, who is responsible – the President of the United States does a complete turnaround, ditches a campaign promise, and takes us to the brink of a greatly expanded war in Syria." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTrump Betrays Trumpism: Syria in the Crosshairs

The Anarchists vs. the Islamic State

"The YPG is not your typical ethnic or sectarian faction. Its fighters are loyal to an imprisoned guerrilla leader who was once a communist but now espouses the same kind of secular, feminist, anarcho-libertarianism as Noam Chomsky or the activists of Occupy Wall Street. The Kurds are implementing these ideals in Rojava, and that has attracted a ragtag legion of leftist internationals, like Belden, who have come from nearly every continent to help the YPG beat ISIS and establish an anarchist collective amid the rubble of the war – a 'stateless democracy' equally opposed to Islamic fundamentalism and capitalist modernity. They call it the Rojava Revolution, and they want you." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Anarchists vs. the Islamic State

30 Years After Saddam Hussein, Now U.S. Bombs Kurds To Smithereens

The Pentagon has admitted to an airstrike that is believed to have killed more than 200 civilians in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, at the edge of the autonomous Kurdistan region. In the 1980s, Kurdistan was targeted by Saddam … Continue reading →

Continue Reading30 Years After Saddam Hussein, Now U.S. Bombs Kurds To Smithereens

The Trump Laptop Ban and What It Means for Air Travel

"Middle East airports and passengers are grappling with new U.S. and British rules barring laptops and other electronic gadgets in carry-on luggage. Both governments prohibited large electronic devices in the cabins of flights headed to their countries. In announcing the rules, officials cited security reasons but didn’t supply many specifics." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Trump Laptop Ban and What It Means for Air Travel

U.S. has lost sight of $70 billion in cash sent to Afghanistan [2011]

"A blistering audit released Wednesday found that untold amounts of American taxpayer dollars are vulnerable to winding up in the pockets of insurgents, and blames both countries for a dysfunctional tracking system. How bad is it? Afghan President Hamid Karzai has barred U.S. government advisers from the Afghan central bank, according to Treasury officials who called the bank a 'hostile' environment. Nobody is writing down the serial numbers of the cash flying through customs at Kabul International Airport. And the U.S. is having trouble identifying financial crimes because Afghan officials are reluctant to prosecute." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. has lost sight of $70 billion in cash sent to Afghanistan [2011]

Millions in CIA “ghost money” paid to Afghan president’s office [2013]

"Tens of millions of U.S. dollars in cash were delivered by the CIA in suitcases, backpacks and plastic shopping bags to the office of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai for more than a decade, according to the New York Times, citing current and former advisers to the Afghan leader. The so-called 'ghost money' was meant to buy influence for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) but instead fuelled corruption and empowered warlords, undermining Washington's exit strategy from Afghanistan, the newspaper quoted U.S. officials as saying. 'The biggest source of corruption in Afghanistan', one American official said, 'was the United States.' The CIA declined to comment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMillions in CIA “ghost money” paid to Afghan president’s office [2013]

How the US sent $12bn in cash to Iraq. And watched it vanish [2007]

"The US flew nearly $12bn in shrink-wrapped $100 bills into Iraq, then distributed the cash with no proper control over who was receiving it and how it was being spent. The staggering scale of the biggest transfer of cash in the history of the Federal Reserve has been graphically laid bare by a US congressional committee. In the year after the invasion of Iraq in 2003 nearly 281 million notes, weighing 363 tonnes, were sent from New York to Baghdad for disbursement to Iraqi ministries and US contractors. Using C-130 planes, the deliveries took place once or twice a month with the biggest of $2,401,600,000 on June 22 2004, six days before the handover." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow the US sent $12bn in cash to Iraq. And watched it vanish [2007]

US secretly sent plane with $400 million in cash to Iran

"President Barack Obama approved the $400 million transfer, which was the first payment of a $1.7 billion settlement resolving claims at an international tribunal at The Hague over a failed arms deal under the time of the Shah. The Iranians were seeking more than $10 billion at arbitration. Because existing US sanctions ban American dollars from being used in a transaction with Iran, officials said the money was procured from central banks in Switzerland and the Netherlands, and an unmarked cargo plane loaded with wooden pallets of Swiss francs, euros and other currencies were flown to Iran." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS secretly sent plane with $400 million in cash to Iran

Iran to be hooked up to global banks in weeks; U.S. investors still banned

"A nuclear deal between world powers and Iran led to the removal of the curbs on Tehran's banking, insurance and shipping sectors last weekend, as well as restrictions on oil exports. But for Iran to resume business with the global banking world - for the first time since 2012 - its banks need to be linked to overseas lenders on SWIFT. The system is used to transmit payments and letters of credit. Many international sanctions relating to Iran's nuclear program were lifted but most involving U.S. measures remain in place. Non-U.S. banks may trade with Iran without fear of punishment in the United States but U.S. banks may not do so, directly or indirectly." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIran to be hooked up to global banks in weeks; U.S. investors still banned