Rogue State

Heated Rand Paul Vs. John Kerry Debate At Syria Military Action Hearing

"Madison was very explicit. When he wrote the Federalist Papers, he wrote that history supposes, or the Constitution supposes what history demonstrates, that the Executive is the branch most likely to go to war and therefore the Constitution vested that power in the Congress. It's explicit and runs throughout all of Madison's writings. This power is a Congressional power and is not an Executive power. They didn't say big war, small war. They didn't say boots on the ground, not boots on the ground. They said declare war. Ask the people on the ships launching the missiles whether they're involved with war or not." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHeated Rand Paul Vs. John Kerry Debate At Syria Military Action Hearing

Kerry’s Morally, Linguistically, and Historically Obscene Case for War in Syria

"Unfortunately for the politician who made famous the line 'How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?', Kerry's case in front of the committee was more a textbook example of how acting as the world's policeman for decades has warped the country's values, judgment, and even language. I counted at least seven moments that qualified in my judgment as obscene, exposing along the way the administration's empty and contradictory arguments for air-mailing death upon a regime that does not pose a direct threat in the United States." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKerry’s Morally, Linguistically, and Historically Obscene Case for War in Syria

U.S. denies missile test in the Mediterranean linked to Syria

"A missile test in the Mediterranean carried out by Israel and the United States on Tuesday had no connection to possible US military action against Syria, the Pentagon said. The joint military exercise, which came as Washington weighed punitive strikes against the Syrian regime, had been previously scheduled and was designed to assess Israel’s missile defenses, Pentagon spokesman George Little said in a statement. He added that the United States and Israel cooperate on various ballistic missile defense development programs 'to address common challenges in the region.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. denies missile test in the Mediterranean linked to Syria

U.S. steps up Pakistan surveillance: ‘black budget’ analysis

"America has delivered nearly $26 billion in aid to Pakistan over the past 12 years, with the money aimed at stabilizing the country and ensuring its cooperation in counterterrorism efforts, according to the paper. US spy agencies reported that senior Pakistani military and intelligence officials knew of and possibly ordered a broad campaign of extrajudicial killings of militants and other adversaries, the Post said. Public disclosure of the reports could have forced the administration of President Barack Obama to sever aid to the Pakistani armed forces. This is because of a US law that prohibits military assistance to human rights abusers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. steps up Pakistan surveillance: ‘black budget’ analysis

U.S. Officials Are Above the Law of Nations and Ordinary Laws

"With regard to Nuremberg ideas of law and sanctions against aggressive war, the U.S. government considers itself above all that. It’s a case of 'now you see it, now you don’t'. If the U.S. decides to bomb somebody and wants to mention Nuremberg as a justification (or its equivalent like a charge of killing one’s own people), now you see it. If it decides its own officials can get away with aggression against Iraq, now you don’t. The fact of the matter is that the U.S. government regards itself as a law unto itself. It is the supreme and only superpower, by virtue of which what it says, goes. And what it says is law, it also claims." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Officials Are Above the Law of Nations and Ordinary Laws

The State: Judge in its Own Cause

"Is this really a nation of laws, though? There’s an old legal principle, 'nemo iudex in causa sua,' which translated into English means 'no one should be the judge of their own cause.' But in fact all the laws theoretically limiting the state’s power are interpreted by — wait for it — officials of the state. The commission of the actual military, intelligence and diplomatic crimes themselves, the classification of documents that evidence those crimes, and the setting of civil and criminal penalties for revealing wickedness in high places — all these things are done by officials of the same government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe State: Judge in its Own Cause

“Absolute Immunity” for the “Supreme Crime”

"One week before whistleblower Bradley Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison for exposing war crimes, the Obama administration filed a petition with a federal court in San Francisco arguing that George W. Bush and his top advisers enjoy 'absolute immunity' against any potential criminal charges or civil liability arising from the Iraq war. At the Nuremberg Tribunal following World War II, aggressive war was designated the 'supreme crime,' and it was recognized that faithful execution of unlawful orders does not immunize soldiers for their actions in waging aggressive war. High-ranking officials of the National Socialist Party were sent to the gallows for the crime committed by Bush and his cohorts." Continue reading →

Continue Reading“Absolute Immunity” for the “Supreme Crime”

Glenn Greenwald: Obama, Congress and Syria

"The Congressional vote which Obama said he would seek appears, in his mind, to have no binding force at all. There is no reason to believe that a Congressional rejection of the war's authorization would constrain Obama in any way, other than perhaps politically. To the contrary, there is substantial evidence for the proposition that the White House sees the vote as purely advisory, i.e., meaningless. Recall how - in one of most overlooked bad acts of the Obama administration - the House of Representatives actually voted, overwhelmingly, against authorizing the US war in Libya, and yet Obama simply ignored the vote and proceeded to prosecute the war anyway." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Obama, Congress and Syria

Bombing Syria Is An Act of War

"2 years ago the president told Assad to leave office. Looking for the lowest-cost way to accomplish this objective (without explicitly using American forces), the president then supported the rebels covertly. When the rebels lost ground in the last year, the president looked for a pretext. The chemical event, no matter how it came to be, is that pretext. Although the president has tried to sell bombing as a limited one-time event in response to a chemical event, none of the major players believes this. They know that it is an act of war. The president further acknowledges that it is an act of war by seeking congressional approval." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBombing Syria Is An Act of War

Iran claims U.S. Congress not ‘authorized’ to authorize Syria strikes

"The US Congress is not authorised to green-light American military strikes against Syria as any such action would be in violation of international law, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday. 'Mr Obama cannot interpret and construe international law for his own (benefit),' Zarif told reporters after a late afternoon cabinet meeting, the ISNA news agency reported. 'Congress cannot authorise strikes (against Syria) and that attack would be in violation of international law,' he said, explaining that 'only the UN Security Council — under special conditions — can issue authorization' for the use of force to restore international peace." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIran claims U.S. Congress not ‘authorized’ to authorize Syria strikes