War & Peace

Russian report on chemical attack indicates similarity with rebel-made weapons

"Probes from Khan al-Assal show chemicals used in the March 19 attack did not belong to standard Syrian army ammunition, and that the shell carrying the substance was similar to those made by a rebel fighter group, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated. The samples taken at the site of the March 19 attack and analyzed by Russian experts indicate that a projectile carrying the deadly nerve agent sarin was most likely fired at Khan al-Assal by the rebels, the ministry statement suggests, outlining the 100-page report handed over to the UN by Russia." Continue reading →

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We Must Not Be the World’s Policeman

"No one appointed the United States the world’s policeman. The government’s founding document, the Constitution, does not and could not do so. Obama and Kerry have tried hard to invoke 'national security' as grounds for bombing Syria, but no one believes Assad threatens Americans. He has made no such statements and taken no threatening actions. He is engulfed in a sectarian civil war. Inexcusably, Obama has taken sides in that civil war — the same side as the Syrian al-Qaeda affiliate — but still Assad poses no danger to Americans. Bombing would make him more — not less — of a threat." Continue reading →

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Jacob Hornberger: Who’s Really Getting Punished?

"It’s not just the Syrian troops and 'collateral-damage civilians' who will bear the cost of Obama’s punishment of Assad. Also paying the price will be us — the American people — who will continue to suffer the consequences of military empire, a national-security state apparatus, and an interventionist foreign policy. Our punishment will come in the form of continued destruction of our freedom, inner peace, harmony, and economic well-being at the hands of our own government." Continue reading →

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Syria: Nobel Peace Laureate Tells Her Account of What She Witnessed

"Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Mairead Maguire tells her account of her visit to Syria. While Maguire was in Syria she discovered that the people the U.S. are funding are violent groups and do not want peace in Syria. Her her view is that Syria is being used as a proxy war by the U.S., Great Britain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar." Continue reading →

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Senate-crafted Syria resolution riddled with loopholes for Obama

"Senators on Wednesday tried to write a tight resolution authorizing President Obama to strike Syria under very specific circumstances, but analysts and lawmakers said the language still has plenty of holes the White House could use to expand military action well beyond what Congress appears to intend. 'Wiggle room? Plenty of that,' said Louis Fisher, scholar in residence at the Constitution Project and former long-time expert for the Congressional Research Service on separation of powers issues. Mr. Fisher pointed to the 1964 resolution that authorized a limited response to the Gulf of Tonkin, but that ended up being the start of an escalation of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSenate-crafted Syria resolution riddled with loopholes for Obama

Do Humanitarian Concerns Give the U.S. A Right to Bomb Syria?

"Nancy Pelosi suggests that the U.S. should bomb Syria to save children. Does the U.S. have a right to defend children in Syria by bombing government installations? Even if some international lawyers devised some new sort of argument in support of U.S. bombing by basing it on some humanitarian rationale, the U.S. would still have a very difficult case to make. The U.S. has basically forfeited even such an imagined or hypothetical right by its earlier actions of supporting the rebel side. If it bombs Syria now, it is part of a pattern of having chosen the rebel side." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDo Humanitarian Concerns Give the U.S. A Right to Bomb Syria?

US Senate panel approves use of force against Syria

"President Barack Obama's plan to conduct punishing military strikes on Syria passed its first congressional hurdle Wednesday, paving the way for a full Senate debate on the use of force. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved an amended resolution 10-7, with one senator, the chamber's newest member Edward Markey, voting present, that authorizes US military intervention with a 90-day deadline and bars American boots on the ground for combat purposes. 'What we've done today is a step in the right direction. I hope it makes a safer world,' said Senator Dick Durbin. The chamber's number two Democrat voted against the war in Iraq, but he insisted that 'this is different.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS Senate panel approves use of force against Syria

Florida man cites ‘Bush doctrine’ after pre-emptive killing of neighbors

"Lawyers for a Florida man this week cited President George W. Bush’s pre-emptive war in Iraq and the 'Bush Doctrine' as a defense after their client killed two neighbors and attempted to kill a third on Labor Day. According to officials in Titusville, Woodward had snuck up on his neighbors while they were having a Labor Day barbecue. Police responding to the scene found that Gary Lee Hembree, Roger Picior and Bruce Timothy had all been shot. Hembree and Picior were later pronounced dead. Blake survived, even though he had been hit 11 times. In their motion, Woodward’s attorneys claimed that the victims had called him names and threatened to 'get him.'" Continue reading →

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Secret U.S. documents reveal Al-Qaeda has anti-drone operation

"Al-Qaeda’s leaders have set up cells of engineers to try to shoot down, disable or hijack US drones, The Washington Post reported late Tuesday citing top-secret US intelligence documents. The Al-Qaeda leadership is 'hoping to exploit the technological vulnerabilities of a weapons system that has inflicted huge losses against the terrorist network,' the Post said online. The Al-Qaeda commanders are keen to achieve 'a technological breakthrough (that) could curb the US drone campaign, which has killed an estimated 3,000 people over the past decade,' the Post reported. [Drone strikes] have taken a toll among civilians in those countries, something that has fueled anti-US sentiment." Continue reading →

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Matt Drudge Breaks Up With Republicans, Joins Libertarians

"Matt Drudge, the founder of the enormously popular conservative news aggregator DrudgeReport.com, tweeted today that since there are no real differences between Democrats and Republicans the only two real political parties are Authoritarians and Libertarians. 'It's now Authoritarian vs Libertarian,' Drudge tweeted. 'Since Democrats vs. Republicans has been obliterated, no real difference between parties...' Drudge also asks his followers why anyone would still vote Republican. 'Who are they?!' he asks. 'Raised taxes; marching us off to war again; approves more NSA snooping.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMatt Drudge Breaks Up With Republicans, Joins Libertarians