Middle East

Egypt holds Swiss teacher over ‘terrorist name’

"A Swiss primary school teacher from the canton of Bern who went to Egypt for a holiday is being held there on suspicion of being a terrorist because of his name. Rolf Künti, 29, went to the North African country with a colleague for a one-week holiday. But on the day of his planned return to Switzerland he was detained on Monday at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport where he was told by customs he was banned from leaving, according to Swiss media. 'They told me that my name was that of a terrorist if you translate it into Arabic,' Künti is quoted as saying by 20 Minuten, the online news site." Continue reading →

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When Homeland Security Theater goes Off-Script

"The FBI, whose chief occupation since 2002 has been the manufacture of ersatz terrorism plots, induced Tounisi into an act described as providing 'material aid' to a foreign terrorist group. If he is convicted, he will be found guilty of carrying out the Obama administration's official policy without official permission. He is not the only American presently facing the prospect of imprisonment on this charge. The administration has filed felony charges against a US Army Veteran from Arizona named Eric Harroun, who traveled to Syria to join the fight against Assad." Continue reading →

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After U.S. Troops Leave, Armed Drones Will Patrol Afghanistan’s Skies

"One of the major elements of Afghanistan’s air war will remain after most U.S. troops have headed home, the U.S. military command confirmed today. Armed drones, operated by the U.S., will remain over Afghanistan after 2014. Western Pakistan, the epicenter of the U.S. drone war from 2009 to 2011, experienced a surge in U.S. drone strikes at the beginning of this year. Those drones are under the control of the CIA, and U.S. military officials believe that’s likely to remain the case even if the Obama administration takes away many of the CIA’s drone operations, since there is no declared U.S. war in Pakistan. Those drones are flown from Afghanistan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAfter U.S. Troops Leave, Armed Drones Will Patrol Afghanistan’s Skies

Yemeni activist condemns ‘terror’ of drone strikes in emotional speech to senators

"'In the past, what Wessab villagers knew of the U.S. was based on my stories about my wonderful experiences here. The friendships and values I experienced and described to the villagers helped them understand the America that I know and that I love. Now, however, when they think of America they think of the terror they feel from the drones that hover over their heads ready to fire missiles at any time.' Al-Muslimi described drone strikes as the 'face of America' in Yemen and warned they were creating anti-American sentiment. He gruesomely described how civilians were often killed by drone strikes on small villages." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYemeni activist condemns ‘terror’ of drone strikes in emotional speech to senators

Christian Bishops Kidnapped by US-Allied Syria Insurgents

"Today, Syriac Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Archbishops of Aleppo, Yohanna Ibrahim and Paul Yazigi, were kidnapped by US-allied Islamic insurgents in the village of Kfar Dael as they were 'carrying out humanitarian work'. The two high-ranking Christian bishops were outspoken in warning about the threats to the religious balance in Syria posed by the Islamist extremists who have received the weapons provided by Saudi Arabia and Qatar with US transport support via Croatia. The US-backed rebels regularly violate the sanctuaries of Christian churches in their pursuit of a Syria ruled by Sharia law." Continue reading →

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“The Kill Team”

"Americans, anxious to believe that the paramilitary forces going house-to-house in Boston were agents of civilian protection, also refuse to look the ugliness of the 'kill' and 'kick-ass' culture of the U.S. Armed Forces and modern American policing. Anyone who saw footage and photos of the searches in Watertown can see instantly that the average resident was seen by the police to be just as much a 'terrorist' as Dzhokar Tsarnaev. A new documentary, 'The Kill Team,' looks at the lives of young American soldiers who murdered people in Afghanistan literally for sport." Continue reading →

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After Boston: Arrest Kerry and the Neo-Cons!

"The perpetrators are said to be radical Chechen Muslim extremists. The same types the US has just announced it is stepping up funding to in Syria, to the tune of $130 million. In fact, the Chechen extremists feel such a strong kinship with the US-allied insurgents in Syria, that many of them have made the trip to Syria to fight alongside their fellow Jihadis. Secretary of State John Kerry, who announced the increasing support for the Syrian rebels, should be indefinitely detained by the US government without charge or trial for 'substantially support(ing)...associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAfter Boston: Arrest Kerry and the Neo-Cons!

Syrian opposition leader resigns, castigating global ‘inaction’

"Khatib’s renewed threat to quit, almost a month after he first tendered his resignation amid recriminations over the choice of a perceived Muslim Brotherhood nominee as rebel prime minister, threw the opposition into fresh disarray as debate about the wisdom of arming it intensifies. In Istanbul, the United States pledged to double its aid to the armed opposition, including additional non-lethal military equipment. But it again held back from agreeing to opposition calls to arm the rebels, amid mounting concerns that weapons deliveries might fall into the wrong hands in a conflict in which Al-Qaeda has played a prominent role on the battlefield." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSyrian opposition leader resigns, castigating global ‘inaction’

Chechen Terrorists and the Neocons

"Rudy Giuliani pompously claimed on national TV that he was surprised about any Chechens being responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings because he’s never seen any indication that Chechen extremists harbored animosity toward the U.S.; Guiliani thought they were only focused on Russia. Giuliani knows full well how the Chechen 'terrorists' proved useful to the U.S. in keeping pressure on the Russians, much as the Afghan mujahedeen were used in the anti-Soviet war in Afghanistan from 1980 to 1989. In fact, many neocons signed up as Chechnya’s 'friends,' including former CIA Director James Woolsey." Continue reading →

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Iraq executes 21 men in one day on ‘terror’ charges

"Iraq put 21 men to death on Tuesday, a senior justice ministry official told AFP, the latest in a series of mass executions that have drawn international condemnation. All of the men were Iraqis and had been convicted on anti-terror charges, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The latest executions brought to 50 the number of times Baghdad has carried out the death penalty so far this year, despite widespread calls for a moratorium on the country’s use of capital punishment. Justice Minister Hassan al-Shammari insisted last month that Baghdad would continue to implement the death penalty." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIraq executes 21 men in one day on ‘terror’ charges