22, February 2012 YEMEN
It is an outrage that the Obama administration continues to defy international law by violating the sovereign air space of foreign countries. A disproportionate number of civilians in Pakistan, Afghanistan and more recently in Yemen are being killed giving rise to mounting anger towards the US. The so called ‘war on terror’ has become ‘a war of terror’ on innocent civilians.
Shrewd and corrupt leaders from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and now Yemen are capitalizing on our obsessive compulsive behavior of launching endless wars by enriching themselves at the expensive of US taxpayers.
Jeremy Scahill, the national security correspondent for The Nation reports in a cover story, that the US jihad in Yemen has given rise to an Islamist uprising and pushed the country to the brink of starvation. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, more than half of Yemen’s 12 million children are chronically malnourished. Unemployment in the country has reached 35 percent.
Scahill writes that Saleh is “a master chess player, and has milked counterterrorism as his cash cow.”
He constantly exaggerates the threat of al-Qaeda to ensure an uninterrupted supply of US weapons which he uses to neutralize his political opponents.
So why are we hosting this brutal dictator at the Ritz-Carlton? One of the protestors outside the hotel was, the Yemeni Nobel Peace Prize winner, Tawakkul Karman, who demanded that President Saleh be tried in the International Criminal Court for war crimes.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Afghanistan 2-12-12
12, February 2012 Afghanistan
A courageous whistleblower, Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis, offered a stark contrast to the sunny reports issued by General Petraeus who claimed that the Taliban's momentum had been "arrested in much of the country" and that progress was "significant."
Col. Davis returned from his second yearlong deployment to Afghanistan with a fervent conviction that the war was going from bad to worse and accused the senior military leaders of grossly misleading the American public. Now he is on a one-man crusade exposing the misstatements of the Pentagon and attempting to bring end to the disastrous conflict.
His outspoken comments have generated a fierce debate on the House floor and within the usually tight-lipped military establishment.
Predictably, the Pentagon has launched a coordinated smear campaign attempting to undermine Colonel Davis’s reputation and defuse his important message.
Rolling Stone magazine obtained Colonel Davis’ full unclassified report and posted it online. Its title, “Dereliction of Duty II,” is a reference to H.R. McMasters’ classic report of Vietnam. He rightly poses the rhetorical question, “How many more men must die in support of a mission that is not succeeding?" Let us raise our collective voices and demand an end to this senseless and immoral war. Let us heed the wise words of Ron Paul who has campaigned unequivocally that we should our temper and jingoistic tendencies to fight wars on foreign lands unless our security is threatened.
A courageous whistleblower, Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis, offered a stark contrast to the sunny reports issued by General Petraeus who claimed that the Taliban's momentum had been "arrested in much of the country" and that progress was "significant."
Col. Davis returned from his second yearlong deployment to Afghanistan with a fervent conviction that the war was going from bad to worse and accused the senior military leaders of grossly misleading the American public. Now he is on a one-man crusade exposing the misstatements of the Pentagon and attempting to bring end to the disastrous conflict.
His outspoken comments have generated a fierce debate on the House floor and within the usually tight-lipped military establishment.
Predictably, the Pentagon has launched a coordinated smear campaign attempting to undermine Colonel Davis’s reputation and defuse his important message.
Rolling Stone magazine obtained Colonel Davis’ full unclassified report and posted it online. Its title, “Dereliction of Duty II,” is a reference to H.R. McMasters’ classic report of Vietnam. He rightly poses the rhetorical question, “How many more men must die in support of a mission that is not succeeding?" Let us raise our collective voices and demand an end to this senseless and immoral war. Let us heed the wise words of Ron Paul who has campaigned unequivocally that we should our temper and jingoistic tendencies to fight wars on foreign lands unless our security is threatened.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
War Drums Getting Louder 2-5-12
5, February 2012 War drums getting louder
Israel continues to huff and puff threatening to launch a preemptive strike on Iran mindless of the potential loss of life and chaos that would follow. Such an irresponsible act of war would undoubtedly expose Israel to massive retaliation. Opposition to the repressive, autocratic Iranian regime would evaporate overnight as all Iranians of whatever political stipe would unite to defend their country. Israel’s increasing belligerence is a testament to our failed Middle East policies where we have allowed Israel’s blatant violations of international law and apartheid policies to escape unchallenged.
We are committing utter folly by encouraging Israel to embark on these reckless military adventures. Israel’s threat of an early strike is no accident. It is likely to occur when Obama is deeply engaged and preoccupied in his reelection campaign (remember Israel’s massive attack on Gaza occurred just before Obama’s first term inauguration). We cannot and should not allow this to happen.
Meanwhile Israeli propaganda machine to justify such an action is in overdrive. Moshe Yaalon, Israel’s deputy prime minister and minister for strategic affairs, made the preposterous claim that Iran has developed a missile with a range of 10,000 kilometers. Such statements have been dismissed by US experts as “wildly exaggerated.”
It’s time for Israel to halt its thuggish actions, assassinating Iranian scientists and launching bombing raids on its neighbors and open its own borders for inspection of its nuclear sites. Failure to do so will further isolate Israel and expose it to charges of monumental hypocrisy.
Israel continues to huff and puff threatening to launch a preemptive strike on Iran mindless of the potential loss of life and chaos that would follow. Such an irresponsible act of war would undoubtedly expose Israel to massive retaliation. Opposition to the repressive, autocratic Iranian regime would evaporate overnight as all Iranians of whatever political stipe would unite to defend their country. Israel’s increasing belligerence is a testament to our failed Middle East policies where we have allowed Israel’s blatant violations of international law and apartheid policies to escape unchallenged.
We are committing utter folly by encouraging Israel to embark on these reckless military adventures. Israel’s threat of an early strike is no accident. It is likely to occur when Obama is deeply engaged and preoccupied in his reelection campaign (remember Israel’s massive attack on Gaza occurred just before Obama’s first term inauguration). We cannot and should not allow this to happen.
Meanwhile Israeli propaganda machine to justify such an action is in overdrive. Moshe Yaalon, Israel’s deputy prime minister and minister for strategic affairs, made the preposterous claim that Iran has developed a missile with a range of 10,000 kilometers. Such statements have been dismissed by US experts as “wildly exaggerated.”
It’s time for Israel to halt its thuggish actions, assassinating Iranian scientists and launching bombing raids on its neighbors and open its own borders for inspection of its nuclear sites. Failure to do so will further isolate Israel and expose it to charges of monumental hypocrisy.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Haditha Massacre 1-26-12
26, January 2012 Haditha Massacre
Times magazine editor, Tim McGirk, first broke the story of the Haditha massacre in 2006. McGirk reported that a group of marines went on a rampage seeking revenge after the killing of Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas and slaughtered 24 innocent Iraqi civilians, including a 76 year old man women and children.
A large trove of documents, many marked “secret” were found among scores of other classified material at a junk yard Baghdad. The documents reveal extremely disturbing testimony that the Haditha killings were not an isolated incident. McGirk stated that "In some ways, this is one of the most grotesque episodes of the entire war in Iraq. And I’m afraid to say, this is part of our legacy”.
The tacit impunity that was granted US soldiers was in sharp contrast to the much stricter rules of engagement in Vietnam where scores of US soldiers received heavy sentences for war crimes. The long shadows cast by the Haditha massacre, the appalling sadistic abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and the frequent killings by Blackwater contractor operatives has cast an unflattering image of the US occupation and precipitated in the early expulsion of US forces from Iraq.
But what is a much greater travesty is the crimes committed by policy makers in Washington who were responsible for sending soldiers in war zones with bogus claims of WMD’s ,‘keeping America safe’, or condoning terror tactics to justify the nebulous ‘war on terror.’
Times magazine editor, Tim McGirk, first broke the story of the Haditha massacre in 2006. McGirk reported that a group of marines went on a rampage seeking revenge after the killing of Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas and slaughtered 24 innocent Iraqi civilians, including a 76 year old man women and children.
A large trove of documents, many marked “secret” were found among scores of other classified material at a junk yard Baghdad. The documents reveal extremely disturbing testimony that the Haditha killings were not an isolated incident. McGirk stated that "In some ways, this is one of the most grotesque episodes of the entire war in Iraq. And I’m afraid to say, this is part of our legacy”.
The tacit impunity that was granted US soldiers was in sharp contrast to the much stricter rules of engagement in Vietnam where scores of US soldiers received heavy sentences for war crimes. The long shadows cast by the Haditha massacre, the appalling sadistic abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and the frequent killings by Blackwater contractor operatives has cast an unflattering image of the US occupation and precipitated in the early expulsion of US forces from Iraq.
But what is a much greater travesty is the crimes committed by policy makers in Washington who were responsible for sending soldiers in war zones with bogus claims of WMD’s ,‘keeping America safe’, or condoning terror tactics to justify the nebulous ‘war on terror.’
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Guantánamo 1-11-12
11, January 2012 Guantánamo
This week marks the tenth anniversary of the opening of America’s notorious detention camp at Guantánamo Bay.
Many senior military officials now admit that Guantánamo and Bagram Air force Base prison, which has largely escapes media scrutiny, continues to intensify the anger towards the US and increases terrorism. These prisons were opened following intense pressure from the Bush/Cheney White House who had little regard for the rule of law, international jurisprudence and Habeas Corpus. Many innocent victims were caught in the wide dragnet following the raw emotions of 9/11. According to data released from the Freedom of Information Act, in 2001 planeloads of leaflets were rained down in Afghanistan offering huge bounties for turning in suspected terrorists. Many villagers collected these bounties to settle family and tribal disputes and enriched themselves beyond their wildest dreams. Incredibly 171 prisoners are still languishing in these prisons.
It is time President Obama and the moribund members of Congress restore “core constitutional values” (Obama’s words) by closing the prisons at Guantanamo and Bagram Air force Base and oppose the Defense 2012 National Defense Authorization Act that Obama signed on New Year's Eve containing a sweeping provision that makes indefinite military detention, a permanent part of American law for the first time in this country's history. This is not just unconstitutional - it's just plain wrong.
This week marks the tenth anniversary of the opening of America’s notorious detention camp at Guantánamo Bay.
Many senior military officials now admit that Guantánamo and Bagram Air force Base prison, which has largely escapes media scrutiny, continues to intensify the anger towards the US and increases terrorism. These prisons were opened following intense pressure from the Bush/Cheney White House who had little regard for the rule of law, international jurisprudence and Habeas Corpus. Many innocent victims were caught in the wide dragnet following the raw emotions of 9/11. According to data released from the Freedom of Information Act, in 2001 planeloads of leaflets were rained down in Afghanistan offering huge bounties for turning in suspected terrorists. Many villagers collected these bounties to settle family and tribal disputes and enriched themselves beyond their wildest dreams. Incredibly 171 prisoners are still languishing in these prisons.
It is time President Obama and the moribund members of Congress restore “core constitutional values” (Obama’s words) by closing the prisons at Guantanamo and Bagram Air force Base and oppose the Defense 2012 National Defense Authorization Act that Obama signed on New Year's Eve containing a sweeping provision that makes indefinite military detention, a permanent part of American law for the first time in this country's history. This is not just unconstitutional - it's just plain wrong.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Israel 7-31-2011
31, July 2011 Israel
The horrifying spectacle of Israeli troops raiding a popular theatre for Palestinian children breaking windows and arresting its hugely popular director is further proof of a deepening malaise gripping Israel. The Freedom Theater has been a great boon to Palestinian children living under Israel’s brutal apartheid system. Two of the theatre’s co-founders were surrounded by 50 heavily armed soldiers and forced to squat next to a family with four small children.
According to the ‘Economist’, every Friday and after school Israeli soldiers ‘fire tear gas and sonic bombs at Palestinian children in the village of Nabi Saleh. Children as young as eleven have been detained; many snatched from their beds and sent off to languish in Israel’s dark dungeons for months. Apparently, Palestinians – not even children - are afforded basic human rights that we take for granted in the US. Iran Segal, a settler at a Jewish Halamish settlement was heard complaining that “the soldiers don’t maim enough Palestinians.”
Predictably, there was no outrage shown by the ‘pro-Israel can do no wrong’ letter writing lobby. It is unconscionable that our lawmakers and administration continue to remain silent in response to Israel’s outrageous behavior.
I would readers to write to your lawmakers and demand that we end our military and economic support to Israel. Our own economy is in a free fall and there is no justification in sending billions of ‘deficit-dollars’ to enhance Israel’s already bloated military and encourage its continuous violations of international law.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Isreal 6-3-2011
3, June 2011 Isreal
Response to Letter of May 28, 2011
Ralph Bernstein (letter Daily May 28) complains my letter of May 25 was replete with ‘errors and distortions’. It is a pity Mr. Bernstein did not bother to elaborate, explain or challenge my assertions. He also makes the preposterous claim that I have remained silent to the appalling behavior of dictatorial Arab regimes. I would suggest Mr. Bernstein read my letters published by the Daily on 5 February (‘US propped up Mubarak’) and May 13 entitled ‘U.S. must embrace real democracy.’
60 years of unwavering support, diverting billions of dollars of US tax money to fund Israel’s massive war machine has brought enormous misery to the Palestinians and encouraged land grabs and unlawful settlements.
Israel’s draconian military decree 101 is being used to stifle peaceful dissent. .Peaceful demonstrators could face a heavy sentence up to 10 years in one of Israel’s prisons. The Guardian of London reported that Israel continues to use overwhelming brute force towards peaceful Palestinian protestors using teargas, stun grenades and live ammunition.
Peter Beinart, in the New York Review of Books, delivered a scathing criticism of AIPAC and other leading American Jewish organizations who have become “intellectual bodyguards for Israeli leaders who threaten the very liberal values they profess to admire.” He stated that “Zionism that emphasizes Jewish victimhood and allows no empathy for Palestinians is losing resonance with younger Jews.”
Blind defense of Israel’s policies is not an act of patriotism but an act of betrayal.
Response to Letter of May 28, 2011
Ralph Bernstein (letter Daily May 28) complains my letter of May 25 was replete with ‘errors and distortions’. It is a pity Mr. Bernstein did not bother to elaborate, explain or challenge my assertions. He also makes the preposterous claim that I have remained silent to the appalling behavior of dictatorial Arab regimes. I would suggest Mr. Bernstein read my letters published by the Daily on 5 February (‘US propped up Mubarak’) and May 13 entitled ‘U.S. must embrace real democracy.’
60 years of unwavering support, diverting billions of dollars of US tax money to fund Israel’s massive war machine has brought enormous misery to the Palestinians and encouraged land grabs and unlawful settlements.
Israel’s draconian military decree 101 is being used to stifle peaceful dissent. .Peaceful demonstrators could face a heavy sentence up to 10 years in one of Israel’s prisons. The Guardian of London reported that Israel continues to use overwhelming brute force towards peaceful Palestinian protestors using teargas, stun grenades and live ammunition.
Peter Beinart, in the New York Review of Books, delivered a scathing criticism of AIPAC and other leading American Jewish organizations who have become “intellectual bodyguards for Israeli leaders who threaten the very liberal values they profess to admire.” He stated that “Zionism that emphasizes Jewish victimhood and allows no empathy for Palestinians is losing resonance with younger Jews.”
Blind defense of Israel’s policies is not an act of patriotism but an act of betrayal.
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