Middle East

When Terrorism Comes Home

"Several observers have pointed out the similarities between today's savage attack in London, where a British soldier was reportedly beheaded by two men shouting 'Allahu Akbar,' and the gruesome recent attack by US/UK-supported Free Syrian Army Commander Abu Sakkar, who cut out and devoured his Syrian Army soldier victim's heart. That US overt and covert support of the insurgency in Syria, including its radical and al-Qaeda affiliated elements, is a known fact. But we know that eventually these US-supported Islamist radicals with Western passports will come home -- and now we have a better idea of what might be in store for us when they do." Continue reading →

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Michael Scheuer: As scandals deepen, Obama and Republicans will intervene in Syria

"Obama’s diversionary campaign — obscure impeachable offenses by launching an unnecessary war — will be abetted by Senators McCain, Graham, Lieberman, and dozens of other U.S. Senators and Congressman intent on war with Syria. Obama will use these useful idiots to convince the American people of three bipartisan lies: that (a) genuine U.S. interests are at risk in Syria; (b) Americans 'owe' the Syrian people U.S. dollars and blood to stop their suffering in a war they started; and that (c) Americans 'must' expend their dollars and kids to staunch the anarchy spreading in the Levant in order to protect our 'loyal and indispensable ally Israel.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMichael Scheuer: As scandals deepen, Obama and Republicans will intervene in Syria

AP chief to Obama: Spying on reporters is ‘an unconstitutional act’

"The Obama administration‘s decision to seize phone records from the Associated Press was 'unconstitutional' and sends a message that 'if you talk to the press, we are going to go after you', the news agency’s boss Gary Pruitt said Sunday. AP revealed last week that the Justice Department had obtained two months’ worth of phone records of calls made by reporters and editors without informing the organisation in advance. The move was an apparent effort by US officials to identify the source of a story about the CIA foiling an alleged terrorist plot by an al Qaida terrorist affiliate in Yemen." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAP chief to Obama: Spying on reporters is ‘an unconstitutional act’

Pentagon plans to fight ‘War on Terror’ for another 20 years

"Even after cutting off the head of al-Qaeda, the United States Department of Defense doesn’t believe an end to the war on terror is in sight. On Thursday, one Pentagon official predicted the mission against al-Qaeda could continue for another two decades. Speaking to the Senate Armed Services early Thursday, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations Michael Sheehan said the Pentagon has no plans to pull out of its almost 12-year-old war overseas. When asked for his take on how long the war on terror could go on for, Sheehan told lawmakers, 'At least 10 to 20 years.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPentagon plans to fight ‘War on Terror’ for another 20 years

From Petrodollar To Petrogold: The US Is Now Trying To Cut Off Iran’s Access To Gold

"The US is moving to broaden its 'blockade' efforts of Iran to the movement of pure gold into the Islamic Republic. The US-led embargo of Iranian crude succeeded in slowing the flow of petrodollars into the nation but as Foreign Affairs committee chairman Edward Cohen remarked, there is 'no question that there is gold going from Turkey to Iran.' While the official line from US elite such as Bernanke remains that 'gold is not money' it appears that increasingly other nations would disagree, as Cohen admitted, 'in large measure what we're seeing is private Iranian citizens buying gold as a protection against the falling value of Iran's currency.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrom Petrodollar To Petrogold: The US Is Now Trying To Cut Off Iran’s Access To Gold

Palestinians can now order Kentucky Fried Chicken via tunnel to Egypt

"Junk-food starved Gazans can now order KFC to go thanks to a new smuggling service which brings takeout from Egypt via a network of underground tunnels. It’s not exactly 'fast' — taking several hours to arrive, with the Palestinian delivery company behind it charging hefty prices to cover the cost of fuel and transport. 'Last chance to order for the Thursday 6:00 pm delivery is Wednesday night,' says the Yamama delivery firm on its Facebook page. Yamama then orders the meals, about 30 on a typical run, from the KFC outlet in the Egyptian city of El-Arish, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) away. There are no international fast food chains in Gaza." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPalestinians can now order Kentucky Fried Chicken via tunnel to Egypt

What About Karzai Cash Before 9-11?

"The entry below at History Commons (www.historycommons.com) includes a reference to a Vanity Fair article and the note that 'Blee hands Massoud a briefcase full of cash.' That would be before 9/11, given that Massoud was assassinated a couple days before 9/11. I've also seen references to Karzai being aligned with / working with Massoud in the years before 9/11. Did cash payments to people like this accelerate in July/August 2001, amidst intensified covert operations in Afghanistan or elsewhere in Central Asia?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat About Karzai Cash Before 9-11?

‘Flaky’ Syrian Chemical Weapons Evidence Does Not Deter Neo-Cons

"Case in point is today's NY Times op-ed by Bill Keller -- the same Bill Keller who cheered for the 2003 US war on Iraq, defended the lies of media-Goebbels Judith Miller, and wrote a love note to neo-con prince Paul Wolfowitz, calling him the 'Sunshine Warrior'. In today's piece, Keller tells us to ignore the fact that he helped lie us into war with Iraq, blithely calling it 'our ill-fated adventure,' as if it were some sort of Sunday drive gone wrong. Best to forget the millions whose lives have been destroyed in the war he pushed -- because he is back without shame to promote the next one." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Flaky’ Syrian Chemical Weapons Evidence Does Not Deter Neo-Cons

How the Iraq War Became a War on Christians

"The U.S. fails to recognize that the Islamist-Wahabbist commitment to eradicating Christian minorities today will result in the extinction of diverse modes of Islam tomorrow, a fact that is not lost on moderate Muslims. The objective of the Iraq War—to democratize the Middle East—may yet be realized. But democracy in the Middle East is proving less tolerant than the regimes it has succeeded. These democracies will not march ineluctably toward liberty and pluralism, as some naïve optimists continue to forecast despite the evidence, but will end in the ordered barbarism of Saudi Arabia, where punishments include beheading and crucifixion, according to Amnesty International." Continue reading →

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Karzai Says He Was Assured C.I.A. Would Continue Delivering Bags of Cash

"The use of the C.I.A. cash for payoffs has prompted criticism from many Afghans and some American and European officials, who complain that the agency, in its quest to maintain access and influence at the presidential palace, financed what is essentially a presidential slush fund. The practice, the officials say, effectively undercut a pillar of the American war strategy: the building of a clean and credible Afghan government to wean popular support from the Taliban. Instead, corruption at the highest levels seems to have only worsened." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKarzai Says He Was Assured C.I.A. Would Continue Delivering Bags of Cash