War & Peace

Courts Quietly Move From “May” Convict to “Must” Convict Jury Instructions Over 40 Years

"The Dougherty case began in 1969 when nine pacifist Catholic priests and nuns broke into the D.C. offices of Dow Chemical Corporation to protest the company’s production of Napalm for the Vietnam War. There were similar antiwar protests being staged elsewhere during the period, including the cases of 'the Catonsville Nine' (who burned draft board files), the 'Baltimore Four' (ditto), the 'Harrisburg Seven' (tried for mentioning the possible kidnapping of Henry Kissinger in intercepted letters), the 'Milwaukee 14' (tried for burning draft records), and the 'Harrisburg Seven' (tried for planning to arrest Henry Kissinger for waging an illegal war [..])." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCourts Quietly Move From “May” Convict to “Must” Convict Jury Instructions Over 40 Years

Jeffrey Tucker: Thank You, Russia?

"I’m as glad as the next guy that 'we' won the Cold War. But sometimes you just have to wonder: What was the point of those 45 years of nuclear stalemate? All that time, we were told that this was a mighty struggle between individualism and collectivism, between freedom and tyranny, between capitalism and communism. But at the end of the day, once everything has shaken itself out, it is Russia that is providing sanctuary to our best citizens. Is this some sort of strange dystopian novel? Well, yes, and it has a name: Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJeffrey Tucker: Thank You, Russia?

U.S. gives seal of approval to Egypt’s new leaders

"Supporters of deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi prepared for confrontation on Friday, and the United States said Egypt’s military had been 'restoring democracy' when it drove him from office. Thousands were gathered in two Muslim Brotherhood camps in Cairo, defying warnings from the new army-backed government to abandon their protest or face action from security forces. Mursi, an Islamist who became Egypt’s first freely-elected president in June 2011, had faced weeks of street demonstrations against his rule. The turmoil has left Egypt more polarized than at any time since U.S.-backed autocrat Hosni Mubarak was toppled in 2011." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. gives seal of approval to Egypt’s new leaders

Al-Qaeda Backers Found With U.S. Contracts in Afghanistan

"Supporters of the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan have been getting U.S. military contracts, and American officials are citing 'due process rights' as a reason not to cancel the agreements, according to an independent agency monitoring spending. The U.S. Army Suspension and Debarment Office has declined to act in 43 such cases, John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, said today. 'I am deeply troubled that the U.S. military can pursue, attack, and even kill terrorists and their supporters, but that some in the U.S. government believe we cannot prevent these same people from receiving a government contract,' Sopko said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAl-Qaeda Backers Found With U.S. Contracts in Afghanistan

After the Manning verdict, four big issues remain untouched

"Mr. Manning’s lawyer, David Coombs, was ambiguous: 'We won the battle, now we need to go win the war... Today is a good day, but Bradley is by no means out of the fire.' WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, himself a fugitive and holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, described the verdict on Twitter as 'dangerous national security extremism.' If reflecting on what to make of the verdict seems difficult, consider this. The most critical issues of public policy raised by the Manning case have yet to be broached." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAfter the Manning verdict, four big issues remain untouched

Committing War Crimes is a Duty; Reporting Them is a Felony

"Prior to his trial, Manning was held for nine months in an especially severe form of solitary confinement that involved forced nudity, sleep deprivation, and persistent abuse. His treatment, which constituted torture, won him a reduction off 112 days from the prison sentence he will receive for the supposed offense of exposing officially sanctioned crimes. If Manning had been a war criminal, rather than an honorable soldier who exposed war crimes, his pre-trial confinement would have led to dismissal of the charges against him – or his sentence being overturned." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCommitting War Crimes is a Duty; Reporting Them is a Felony

Guilty of Aiding the American People

"The 'aiding the enemy' accusation presumed that Manning’s distribution of classified material assisted al Qaeda. Actually, the information helps Americans by exposing U.S. war criminality. War criminality ranks among the most important types of government wrongdoing warranting transparency. We cannot debate foreign policy without knowing about its indecencies. What U.S. forces do abroad can endanger Americans at home. Some see the leaks, not the crimes, as the true scandal, but the Muslim and Arab world already know of these atrocities. The American people need to understand what U.S. occupations are like." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGuilty of Aiding the American People

For Congress, ‘it’s classified’ is new equivalent of ‘none of your business’

"The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence reportedly gave its approval last week to an Obama administration plan to provide weapons to moderate rebels in Syria, but how individual members of the committee stood on the subject remains unknown. There was no public debate and no public vote when one of the most contentious topics in American foreign policy was decided. Members of both the Senate intelligence committee or its equivalent in the House were difficult to pin down on their view of providing arms to the rebels. The senators and representatives said they couldn’t give an opinion, or at least a detailed one, because the matter was classified." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFor Congress, ‘it’s classified’ is new equivalent of ‘none of your business’

Who Really Started the Korean War?

"We were fighting on behalf of Syngman Rhee, the US-educated-and-sponsored dictator of South Korea, whose vibrancy was demonstrated by the large-scale slaughter of his leftist political opponents. For 22 years, Rhee’s word was law, and many thousands of his political opponents were murdered: tens of thousands were jailed or driven into exile. Whatever measure of liberality has reigned on the Korean peninsula was in spite of Washington’s military presence. When the country finally rebelled against Rhee, and threw him out in the so-called April Revolution of 1960, he was ferried to safety in a CIA helicopter as crowds converged on the presidential palace." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWho Really Started the Korean War?

Eight killed by latest US drone strike in Pakistan

"A US drone attack on a house in the town of Miranshah killed at least 8 people. The 8 were as almost always happens, called terror suspects. The attack happened during the Iftar dinner breaking the Ramadan fast immediately after sunset. The town is in the North Wasiristan tribal region. Two missiles hit the three room structure." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEight killed by latest US drone strike in Pakistan