Sanders & Clinton Clash over Israel 4-17-2016

17, April 2016              Sanders & Clinton Clash over Israel

Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton clashed over U.S. policy towards Israel.

While Clinton parrots much of the traditional narrative, namely, unconditional support to Israel irrespective of its behavior, Sanders offers a more balanced approach vehemently opposing illegal settlements and the continuation of decades of military occupation which has devastated the lives of Palestinians.

In a recent interview he stated “peace will mean ending what amounts to the occupation of Palestinian territory, establishing mutually agreed-upon borders, and pulling back settlements in the West Bank.” He echoed the sentiments of  the international community, including the U.S. State Department and the European Union, in voicing his concern that Israel’s recent expropriation of an additional 579 acres of land in the West Bank undermines the peace process and, ultimately, Israeli security.

In a recent interview, Professor Joel Beinin of Stanford University was extremely critical of Clinton’s false narrative blaming the Palestinians for the violence in Israel. Beinin alleged that on balance Israel has been the aggressor throughout its history. For example, Israel has aggressively attacked its neighbors in 1956, 1967, and 1982. Beinin also stated that the occupation and settlements are illegal under international law and expressed profound disappointment with Clinton’s lack of concern for the aspirations of the Palestinians. He was also critical of the Clintons’ cozying up to the brutal Egyptian dictator, Mubarak who repressed the democratic aspirations of the Egyptian people for decades.

Fracking – Clinton’s legacy 4-14-2016

14, April 2016                      Fracking – Clinton’s legacy

What has largely escaped media attention is Hillary Clinton’s close ties to the fracking industry. As Secretary of State, her legacy is indelibly linked to this industry which contributes significantly to global warming, drinking water contamination and land destabilization (earthquakes). She travelled the world promoting American-style fracking. She established a new bureau with a staff of 60 plus promoting energy resources with a special focus on fracking. As a surrogate of American companies like Chevron, she sought to encourage countries like Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, and Bulgaria to partner with American companies to purchase fracking technology.

Sensing the winds of change, Clinton has said she would now defer to some states and municipal governments that might ban fracking and hoped for fracking that is environmentally sound and well regulated. Sadly, Clinton ignores the inconvenient truth that no such regulation exists. The federal government doesn’t even know how the extremely toxic, environmentally damaging methane is leaked from these fracked gas well sites.

The contrast with Bernie Sanders could not be starker. He has called for a national ban on fracking.

Egypt’s Repressive Policies 4-12-2016

12, April 2016                   Egypt’s Repressive Policies

We are paying a heavy price for coddling repressive regimes in the Middle East. Prior to General Sisi’s rule, we delivered $1.3 billion of military hardware to prop up decades of repressive rule of Hosni Mubarak. Since Sisi rose to power, a climate of terror has been unleashed; the country’s top human rights defenders are languishing in jail and have their bank accounts frozen.

Unconcerned with gross human rights abuses we continue to sell billions of weapons to all the Gulf States. Israel has also been the beneficiary of billions of economic and military aid in spite of its decades of harsh occupation and settlement expansion.

Outraged by the escalating repression, leading American Middle East experts — including two who served in the Obama administration —urged President Obama to confront President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. They condemned the  arbitrary imprisonment of tens of thousands of Egyptians and the use of torture and extrajudicial killings, including the brutal slaying of an Italian student believed to have been carried out by state security. There is little doubt that Egypt’s scorched earth policies are fueling much of the opposition. Tamara  Wittes, a fellow at the Brookings Institution was more forthright stating “Egypt is neither an anchor of stability nor a reliable partner.” Obama should heed these collective voices and call an immediate halt to military aid to such a repressive regime that has shown total disregard for human rights.

Drones strikes fueling more rage 4-12-2016

12, April 2016                Drones strikes fueling more rage

Yet another drone carnage occurred just over a week ago. Afghan officials say at least 17 civilians were killed by U.S. drone strikes in Afghanistan. The first strike hit the truck of a local elder killing the elder and 11 others. The second drone struck killed two people who were collecting their bodies. A third drone strike killed three more villagers who had rushed to see what had happened. Predictably, the Pentagon claimed there were no civilian casualties. This latest tragedy comes on the heels of a U.S. oversight office report which issued a damning indictment of Pentagon wastage. The report indicates that since 2002 $113 billion to reconstruct Afghanistan has largely been wasted. The report provides details of shoddily built structures, unsafe roads and hundreds of empty schools. U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko, who was responsible for the report, said, "Fifteen years into an unfinished work of funding and fighting, we must indeed ask, 'What went wrong?'" The $113 billion exceeds more than the total the U.S. spent on the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after World War II.

It is time to call a halt to our Afghanistan misadventure which has costs precious Afghan and American lives, and squandered billions. We are paying a heavy price for giving a blank check to the Pentagon in the mistaken belief that they are keeping us safe and winning the nebulous ‘war on terror’. Civilian deaths are fueling much of the insurgency. 

Drones strikes fueling more rage 4-12-2016

12, April 2016           Drones strikes fueling more rage

Yet another drone carnage occurred just over a week ago. Afghan officials say at least 17 civilians were killed by U.S. drone strikes in Afghanistan. The first strike hit the truck of a local elder killing the elder and 11 others. The second drone struck killed two people who were collecting their bodies. A third drone strike killed three more villagers who had rushed to see what had happened. Predictably, the Pentagon claimed there were no civilian casualties. This latest tragedy comes on the heels of a U.S. oversight office report which issued a damning indictment of Pentagon wastage. The report indicates that since 2002 $113 billion to reconstruct Afghanistan has largely been wasted. The report provides details of shoddily built structures, unsafe roads and hundreds of empty schools. U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko, who was responsible for the report, said, "Fifteen years into an unfinished work of funding and fighting, we must indeed ask, 'What went wrong?'" The $113 billion exceeds more than the total the U.S. spent on the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after World War II.

It is time to call a halt to our Afghanistan misadventure which has costs precious Afghan and American lives, and squandered billions. We are paying a heavy price for giving a blank check to the Pentagon in the mistaken belief that they are keeping us safe and winning the nebulous ‘war on terror’. Civilian deaths are fueling much of the insurgency. 

The Panama Papers 4-5-2016

5, April 2016               The Panama Papers

A document known as the “Panama Papers” has exposed the sordid details of how the rich and powerful hide their wealth by using tax havens to avoid paying taxes. It’s by far the largest leak in journalism history.  The world’s fourth largest offshore Panama based law firm, Mossack Fonseca, set up a massive global nefarious scheme to service their clients. Last Sunday, journalists released 11.5 million secret files from Fonseca’s database.

Thus far, the revelations have incriminated 12 heads of state and a number of other politicians, their family members and close associates, including friends of Russian President Vladimir Putin, relatives of the prime ministers of Britain, Iceland and Pakistan, the son of Malaysian prime minister, the Saudi monarchy and the president of Ukraine. The prime minister of Iceland has already resigned and more heads are sure to follow. Relatives of at least eight current or former members of China’s top ruling body are also mentioned. In a desperate effort of damage control, Chinese news groups were ordered to purge all references  of the Panama Papers. Panama’s “Snowden,” responsible for the leak, has not been identified, and has used an encrypted chat to communicate with the Munich-based Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, the prime recipient of the leak. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists spanning many countries set aside their usual competitive nature by printing their stories on the same day. This is journalism at its finest.

Nuclear Weapons 4-1-2016

1, April 206                             Nuclear Weapons

Hosting a nuclear security forum of world leaders on Friday, April 1 2016, offers President Obama a rare opportunity to follow through on his earlier pledge to reduce the stockpile of nuclear weapons.

Thus far, his efforts have been disappointing. According to the Federation of American Scientists, Obama’s record has been abysmal compared to other cold-war war presidents.

Surprisingly, President George Bush achieved a 50% nuclear stockpile reduction during his tenure, a percentage higher than all other presidents since 1945. Comparatively, Obama has achieved a disappointing 10% reduction of 507 warheads.

In his 2009 foreign policy address in Prague, Obama pledged to seek a world without nuclear weapons.

In 2011 he achieved a groundbreaking New START Treaty with Russia which mandated significant nuclear weapons stockpile reductions and inspection verification protocols. Since taking office Obama has persuaded the international community to reduce their stockpiles but following the 2011 treaty, the momentum has been lost.

For example, his administration has slashed the National Nuclear Security Administration non-proliferation budget by $339 million. To appease a Congress hostile to the New START Treaty he pledged a significant increase in weapons modernization to the tune of $1 trillion over 30 years. This is a tragic mistake. Obama could do far more to fulfill his Prague promise before his term expires.