The Spy Cables 2-26-2015

26, February 2015                             The Spy Cables

In what has been widely described as the largest intelligence leak since Edward Snowden, Al Jazeera has begun releasing a series of spy cables from the world’s top intelligence agencies.

In one cable, which is eerily similar to the CIA/Bush administration fabricated reasons for going to war in Iraq, the Israeli spy agency, Mossad, contradicts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s own dire warnings about Iran’s ability to produce a nuclear bomb.

Former Mossad chief, Meir Dagan publically stated that a war with Iran would be a bad idea, a very bad idea. Other Israeli security officials have expressed frustration by Netanyahu’s rhetoric on the Iranian nuclear threat, accusing him of "messianic" political leadership pushing for military action.

J Street has carried out a full page ad in the NYT – “Presidents of Israel, and the US, five former Israeli ambassadors, dozens of elected officials and major Jewish leaders, all say : Postpone the Speech.”

The leaked cable is a huge embarrassment for Netanyahu just as he prepares his highly controversial US visit.  

Weaponized Drones 2-23-2015

23, February 2015                Weaponized Drones 

It is a matter of great concern to learn that the Obama’s administration intends to sell US made - weaponized drones to foreign allies. Under the new policy American firms will be able to sell drones under “proper use” guidelines which are “classified”. Such fuzzy language is subject to enormous abuse. For example, what would stop such allies using drones for extrajudicial killings? Would these remote killing machines be used to neutralize ‘enemies of the State’ in countries like Bahrain and Saudi Arabia?

There is little doubt that the controversial policy stems partially out of U.S. military corporations desire to tap into the $6 billion global arms market.

William Hurting of the Center for International Policy called the drone exports "one of the Obama administration’s worst policy decisions," adding: "regardless of what guidelines are established for their use, history tells us that once the United States transfers a weapon to another nation it is extremely difficult to control how it is used. The U.S. should be reining in its own drone strikes, not making it easier for other nations to use them." The administration appears to have forgotten the inherent dangers supplying weapons to weak allies such as the Iraqi military. In October 2014, ISIS fighters overran the Iraqi military capturing a huge cache of US weapons. Other US airdrops meant for the Iraqi Kurds were ‘accidentally’ airdropped into a territory controlled by ISIS.  

Religious Conversions 2-20-2015

20, February 2015                 Religious Conversions

After taking a pounding at the Delhi Municipal elections garnering a scant 3 seats to the anti-corruption party, Aam Aadmi, Prime Minister Modi needs to reboot and take stock of his election promises.  Swept with near hysteria after his election, the Indian people are impatiently waiting for meaningful change. Sadly, Modi has greeted the mounting violence and forcible conversions of India’s minorities to Hinduism with a deafening silence.  Attacks on churches have not been condemned by a nation supposedly proud of its historical secularism. Muslims and Christians have been coerced or promised money to convert by the fringe elements of the Hindu nationalist right. Christian churches have been firebombed and ransacked including St. Sebastian’s Church in East Delhi which was burned and St. Alphonsa’s Church in New Delhi which was vandalized. Mass conversions continue; 200 Muslims were converted to Hindus in Agra last December and 100 Christians were ‘persuaded’ to reconvert in West-Bengal last January. An urgent plea by Catholic Bishops’ of India has urged the government to take swift action to protect and secure Christians in their own country. Hard-line Hindu nationalist groups, such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (V.H.P.) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (R.S.S.), openly boast of their determination to ‘purify’ the nation to become 100% Hindu. Currently 80% of India are Hindus. Sikhs have so far been ignored possibly because of their ‘fierce militant traditions’. Buoyed by Modi’s victory, Hindu nationalists have sought to set the agenda and have even gone as far as proposing to rebrand India as ‘Hindustan’.

The V.H.P. is reportedly planning to convert 3,000 Muslims in Ayodhya this month. They hope to resurrect strong religious sentiments by ‘reawakening’ the destruction of the Babri Mosque in 1992 which resulted in 2,000 deaths. Alarmed by the embers of religious intolerance, President Obama reminded “India will succeed so long as it is not splintered along the lines of religious faith.”

His advice struck a raw nerve among many Indians resentful of Obama’s admonition coming at a time when blacks and Native Americans have increasingly become the target of police brutality and violence.  Perhaps, an example of the ‘pot calling the kettle black’ – no pun intended!

Obama’s Visit to Stanford University 2-17-2015

17, February 2015                  Obama’s Visit to Stanford University

It is no accident that the Titans of high technology chose to shun President Obama’s visit to Stanford University. It seems that Obama’s plea to have private industry become partners in thwarting future cyber-attacks ignores the CIA and the NSA’s dark history. In his book, ‘Lords of Security Lords of Secrecy: America’s Stealth Foreign Policy’, author Scott Horton, argues that the security agencies have grossly abused their power to enhance their own position in Washington and have thereby subverted the democratic process. Outgoing Democratic Senator Udall called for a purge of top CIA officials implicated in the abuses, including the firing of the current director, John Brennan. According to Kaspersky Lab the NSA has embedded spying devices deep inside hard drives in computers around the world targeting government institutions, oil and gas firms and the media.

President Obama would do well to heed the observation of the famous German sociologist, Max Weber, who wrote “that national security bureaucracies will use secrecy to cover up their mistakes and errors, and as a result, incompetent people will invariably rise to the top”.

NO to Endless War 2-13-2015

13, February 2015                 NO to Endless War

Cognizant of the mounting American opposition to endless war, the new Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF) proposed by the White House includes fuzzy language promising ‘no enduring offensive ground combat operations". This ignores the reality of 3,000 US forces already on the ground. The AUMF also includes a provision that would allow US ground forces "to take military action against ISIL leadership". Congress appears to have forgotten the prior 2001 AUMF which granted George Bush carte blanche permission to wage his ‘war on terror’, which destabilized much of the Middle East and intensified hostility towards the US. The birth of the terror group, ISIS was a direct result of the US invasion of Iraq. President Obama followed with his assault on Libya which has plunged the country into civil war. Obama’s drone wars have killed hundreds of civilians in Pakistan and Yemen which is also teetering on civil war.  Bombing Muslim countries foments an enduring seething hostility towards the US and only serves as an unending recruitment for ISIS.  We have allowed our war manufactures to flood the Middle East with billions of dollars of weapons to our “allies” including our Saudi Arabia, who have been funding our enemies including terror groups behind the 9/11 attack. I urge concerned citizens to write to your representatives and demand “NO” on new war authorization and a repeal of the 2001 War Authorization.

Brian Williams 2-8-2015

8, February 2015                    Brian Williams

Brian Williams’s precipitous fall as NBC’s network anchor is a sad testimony of its obsession to project their newsmen as modern day super heroes into the line of fire - real or imaginary - to beat out their rivals and improve their ratings. Contrast Williams with Richard Engel of CNN who exposes himself to incredible real risk reporting from the hotspots throughout the world.

Brian Williams was a larger than life charismatic, charming and talented newsman who had no need to inflate his resume.  It was ironic that he might have escaped scrutiny but for a Chinook crew member who was actively engaged in a real firefight – who challenged Williams’s false account.

Unfortunately, lying has become endemic. Leaders of our biggest financial institutions told a lot of lies, and suffered no consequences. Elected leaders of our nation told a lot of lies that led our nation into a protracted, expensive and deadly war -- a war that led directly to the birth of Al Qaeda and its progeny, the ISIL -- and those leaders suffered no consequences. Remember Phil Donahue whose show was cancelled because of his opposition to the invasion of Iraq?   

The modern heroes of journalism, the truth tellers, suffer jail time and heavy fines – Alayne Fleischmann (exposed the financial shenanigans at JP Morgan), James Risen NYT reporter who exposed the NSA’s massive wiretapping. Editors and reporters have repeatedly raised concerns of the lack of access and transparency undermining journalism. It’s time to embrace truth-telling and shun falsehood.

American Sniper 2-7-2015

7, February 2015                   American Sniper

Movies and propaganda share a disturbing intimate relationship. The blockbuster movie, American Sniper, perpetuates the stereotype of Arabs dressed in sinister garbs battling a handsome sniper plucked from Middle America.  The real Chris Kyle was shown to be galvanized to action after being incensed at the 911 attacks and responding to the crude propaganda of Bush Cheney that Iraq was somehow responsible. Determined to seek vengeance he enlisted to wage war on the ‘savages’ and found himself and his buddies in a hell-hole, Fallujah. The movie shows soldiers kicking doors to find the elusive Saudi, Bin Laden (wrong city, wrong county).

Chris Kyle soon becomes a highly skilled sniper and becomes a larger than life persona to his buddies.   

Sadly, the film eulogizes the killing of Iraq insurgents ignoring the obvious fact that Iraqis were merely resisting an occupying force. “American Sniper” on one level is also a celebration of gun culture. The real Chris Kyle was shot to death while the script was being written. He had volunteered to help a troubled veteran, Eddie Ray Routh, who had a history of violent behavior and was an apparent victim of post-traumatic stress. Kyle felt the best way to get him to relax was to take him to a shooting range. While they were there, Routh turned his gun on Kyle, and one of Kyle’s friends, killing them both. War is so easily waged and plays havoc on veterans psyche and their families. A staggering 22 veterans commit suicide every day.

Ukraine 2-4-2015

4, February 2015                   Ukraine

Putin has become the new whipping boy, the new Saddam Hussein, the piñata beaten by the US media onto the march to a new proxy war with the big bad wolf, Russia.

Gorbachev is right - we have started a new Cold War encircling our old nemesis with military bases and missiles and vilifying Russia for any resistance.  We have encouraged a coup in Ukraine, a coup that is wildly anti-Russian, and deeply hostile to the welfare of ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine who have lived there for centuries.

The separatists are not fighting in Kiev, but the Ukrainian military is fighting and killing ethnic Russians. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have accused the Ukrainian military of committing war crimes.

In perhaps a careless unguarded moment, President Obama admitted that the CIA was directly involved in  the ouster of the former democratically elected government in Kiev.  Following crippling sanctions, which only hurt the poor (remember Cuba, Iraq), the Obama administration -  fearing a back lash from war hawk Republicans, has promised to send military weapons to Kiev which would surely only intensify the conflict.

America should back off and let Merkel (who speaks Russian) and Putin work out the details of a peaceful settlement – a federal system giving far more autonomy to eastern Ukraine allowing it to preserve its language and culture.  The agreement should include a provision that Ukraine would maintain its independence from Russia and NATO.