In case you
missed it, Queen Noor of Jordan, Patrick Buchanan and Richard Haas (Council
on Foreign Relations) have a serious discussion concerning Washington’s
Israel policy.
Israeli War in Gaza - Part 1/video
Israeli War in Gaza - Part 2/video |
January 21,
UN moves to charge Israel with war crimes Several diplomats have reported that the commission would be led by the former British secretary-general of human rights group Amnesty International, Ian Martin. Takasu said the commission would later report back to the Security Council, which would then decide how to respond. Diplomats have expressed skepticism as to whether a Security Council inquiry would take place, saying they thought it unlikely that Israel's ally the United States, which has a veto in the council, would allow the 15-nation body to adopt the report as its own. Israel ready to launch “Aggressive War” against Iran In
the wake of Gaza, can the world afford to live with a nuclear Israel? AFRICOM: Did Washington engineer another disastrous African
military operation? By Tony Karumba – AFP 2.10.09 A couple of weeks ago, I wrote enthusiastically
about the tri-government military operation that Uganda, Congo, and Southern
Sudan were undertaking to root out the Lord's
Resistance Army (LRA).
Unfortunately, since then, things haven't been going well. The LRA managed to
survive the initial military onslaught, and went on to massacre as many as 900 civilians
since the military offensive began in mid-December. Joseph Kony, the group's
notorious leader, is still alive and well. (While the LRA's deputy commander
is set to surrender soon,
it was Kony's death or capture that was the main point of the endeavor.) Yet, just when this military venture was
about to fizzle out with its primary objective still not met, an interesting
piece of news, courtesy of the New York Times, has now thrown
the operation back into the spotlight. On Feb. 7, the Times reported
that the United States, through the Pentagon's newly minted Africa Command
(or Africom), was heavily involved in the planning of the operation --
supplying intelligence, supplies, and more than a million dollars in fuel
aid. (Continue) |
·
Israel Intends to “Instruct” Obama on U.S. Iran Policy · Does Zionism legitimize every act of violence? ·
U.S. expected to pressure Israel on settlement
construction · Washington Federal Debt Exceeds World GDP... ·
Marc
Faber: "U S will either default on debt or enter hyperinflation"
02-05-09/video ·
Hijacking
Catastrophe: Sorrows of Empire pt. 1/video An American Foreign Legion: Is the US Military Now an Imperial
Police Force? By William Astore –
TomDispatch.com As the Obama
administration begins to deploy U.S. troops back to the Iraq or Afghan war
zones for their fourth or fifth tours of duty, I remain amazed at the silent
complicity of my country. Why have we been so quiet? Is it because the Bush
administration was, in fact, successful in sending our military down the path
to foreign legion-hood? Is the fate of our troops no longer of much
importance to most Americans? Even
the military's recruitment and demographics are increasingly
alien to much of the country. Troops are now regularly recruited in
"foreign" places like South Central Los Angeles and Appalachia that
more affluent Americans wouldn't be caught dead visiting. In some cases,
those new recruits are quite literally "foreign" -- non-U.S. citizens allowed to seek a fast-track to citizenship by volunteering for
frontline, war-zone duty in the U.S. Army or Marines.
And when, in these last years, the military has fallen short of its recruitment
goals -- less likely today thanks to the ongoing economic meltdown -- mercenaries
have simply been hired at inflated prices from civilian contractors with
names like Triple Canopy or Blackwater redolent of foreign adventures. With
respect to demographics, it'll take more than the sons of Joe Biden and Sarah
Palin to redress inequities in burden-sharing. With startlingly few
exceptions, America's sons and daughters dodging bullets remain the progeny
of rural America, of immigrant America, of the working and lower middle
classes. As long as our so-called best and brightest continue to be AWOL when
it comes to serving among the rank-and-file, count on our foreign
adventurism to continue to surge. (Continue) ·
Is an empire necessary? Bring the troops home, from
everywhere. ·
Taking on the military-industrial complex (Pt.4)/video ·
Weapons programs re-branded as jobs programs/video ·
REPORT: Senior
US military officers targets of corruption probe ·
“Gaming” Our New President: Petraeus
'leaked' Iraq pullout plans: “The real story of the
leak by Petraeus is that the most powerful figure in the US military has
tried to shape the media coverage of Obama and combat troop withdrawal from
Iraq to advance his policy agenda – and, very likely, his personal political
interests as well.” ·
POLLS: Pulse of the Nation (RealClearPolitics.com) ·
Time for America to Get Small (by Eric Margolis, |