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while pushing their agendas. Critical Concern was created to express other unheard viewpoints to ponder
Pakistan
Next Stop Is Pakistan t does appear that for some Pentagon brass, including Defense Secretary Leon Panetta; the CIA under former U.S. Central Command and Afghanistan commander General David Petraeus; and top Republican and Democratic politicians that, indeed, Pakistanis next on the target list of nations that will soon be feeling the military muscle of the United States.
For Our Allies, Death From Above On Monday, he was killed by a C.I.A. drone strike, along with his 12-year-old cousin, Waheed Khan. The two of them had been dispatched, with Tariq driving, to pick up their aunt and bring her home to the village of Norak, when their short lives were ended by a Hellfire missile. And Tariq’s extended family, so recently hoping to be our allies for peace, has now been ripped apart by an American missile — most likely making any effort we make at reconciliation futile.
A Precursor to War? As Washington Renews Military Threats Against Iran, Cyber Attacks Escalate By Tom Burghardt When Stuxnet appeared in dozens of countries last year, targeting what are called programmable logic controllers (PLCs) on industrial computers manufactured by Siemens that control everything from water purification and food processing to oil refining and potentially deadly chemical processes, researchers found it was designed to harm only one specific target: PLCs processing uranium fuel at a nuclear facility in Iran.
Israeli Leaders Seen Pushing for Iran Strike Israeli Cabinet officials are under pressure from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak to support the possible use of armed force against Iran, Haaretz reported on Wednesday.
History Repeating Itself: U.S. Hawks Hover Over Iran William Echols Whether calls for war against Iran are meant to placate American allies in the Middle East who cannot stomach its supposed nuclear ambitions, are an attempt to reassert US dominance in the oil rich region, or are the last signs of a flagging empire lashing out in self-denial, those who are longing for it to be morning again in America might very well expedite its imperial twilight.
Folly of Attacking
Iran VideoVeteran New York Times correspondent Stephen
Kinzer, retired General Robert Gard, Iranian-American scholar Trita Parsi, and
USA Today reporter Barbara Slavin explain the need for the United States today
to use real diplomacy instead of military force in its relationship with Iran.In 1953, the United States violently intervened in Iran by ousting the
democratically elected government of Mohammad Mossadegh and installing the
shah's military regime. This backfired spectacularly in 1979 when religious
militants gained power through a popular revolution and 52 U.S. diplomats were
taken hostage.
Israel's Window to Bomb Iran Ray McGovern - In my view, an attack on Iran would have a two-fold purpose: (1) to set back Iran’s nuclear development program and infrastructure, and (2) to mousetrap Washington into an even closer military relationship with Israel.
FBI Account of "Terror Plot" Suggests Sting Operation While the administration of Barack Obama vows to hold the Iranian government "accountable" for the alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington, the legal document describing evidence in the case provides multiple indications that it was mainly the result of an FBI "sting" operation.
Lawmakers Press for More Aggressive U.S. Posture on Iran Members of a key House of Representatives panel on Friday pressed for a U.S. policy that focuses on penalizing Iran rather than pursuing still-unrealized hopes for direct dialogue with Washington's longtime antagonist.
Iraq
Iraq by the Numbers8 years, 260 days since Secretary of State Colin Powell presented evidence of Saddam Hussein's biological weapons program
8 years, 215 days since the March 20, 2003 invasion of Iraq
8 years, 175 days since President George W. Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech on the USS Abraham Lincoln
$60 billion in US expenditures lost to waste and fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001
0 weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq
Iraq eager to see U.S. troops leave Eight years after U.S. troops overthrew Saddam Hussein, there is little enthusiasm among people on the street for a sustained U.S. presence.
U.S. Scales Back Diplomacy In Iraq Amid Fiscal And Security Concerns America's fiscal troubles are dictating a drastic scaling back of plans for diplomatic, economic and cultural programs once deemed vital to steadying Iraq, building a long-term alliance and prying the country from Iran's tightening embrace.
Iraq May End US Military Ties in December, Hire Private Trainers “When we buy equipment, there’s a possibility that training could go ahead on ‘commercial’ terms,” Dabbagh insisted, saying Iraq was still willing to discuss a deal “without immunity” for US trainers beyond the date.
APNewsBreak: US drops keeping troops in Iraq a senior Obama administration official in Washington confirmed Saturday that all American troops will leave Iraq except for about 160 active-duty soldiers attached to the U.S. Embassy.
Are We Really Done With Iraq? As the United States draws down, the massive amounts of military equipment, such as predator drones and other intelligence sensors used in the war, will be positioned in nearby Turkey, according to senior administration officials.
The Wrong Occupation by Kathy Kelly "Occupy Together" efforts proliferating across the world may yet help young friends in Afghanistan find reasons for hope. Innocent youngsters may not be forced to feel that their world is crashing.
Afghanistan: America's 9/11 War. Selected articles and videos a compendium by Global Research of selected articles and videos (2010-2011) on Afghanistan which document the causes as well as the dramatic consequences of the US-NATO led war on an impoverished country of Central Asia
Coffee shop serves comfort to troubled vets - CBS News Video features Coffee Strong 10/26/2011
CBS News video: Coffee shop serves comfort to troubled vets - Jorge Gonzales' Lakewood based coffee shop
How the War on Terror Militarized the PoliceArthur Rizer and Joseph Hartman, The Atlantic "In an effort to remedy their relative inadequacy in dealing with terrorism on US soil, police forces throughout the country have purchased military equipment, adopted military training, and sought to inculcate a 'soldier's mentality' among their ranks. Though the reasons for this increasing militarization of American police forces seem obvious, the dangerous side effects are somewhat less apparent."
Greg Palast Tracks the Vultures of the 1 Percent: A Truthout Interview Here's the no-bullshit confidential inside info on British Petroleum, on nuclear industry clowns and killers (I've got their files), on the globalization master-spiders ... the stuff you won't see on CNN about bribes, babes, beatings and a coup d'etat.
A 51st State for Armed Robotic Drones Dave Swnason, War Is a Crime: "Under this plan, 7 million acres (or 11,000 square miles) of land in the southeast corner of Colorado, and 60 million acres of air space (or 94,000 square miles) over Colorado and New Mexico would be given over to special forces testing and training in the use of remote-controlled flying murder machines. The U.S. public, just like the public of any foreign nation where new U.S. bases are being planned, was told nothing."
WikiLeaks Honduras: US Linked to Brutal Businessman Since 2009, beneath the radar of the international media, the coup government ruling Honduras has been collaborating with wealthy landowners in a violent crackdown on small farmers struggling for land rights in the Aguán Valley in the northeastern region of the country. More than forty-six campesinos have been killed or disappeared.
How Did Our Oil Get Under Their Sand? While we have the illusion of choice in our politics, the only real consistency in policy-making is Washington's commitment to war and oil, and increasingly often, war for oil. Libya was the oil dealer to Western Europe, but the market for oil is global. And oil is the prize, not democracy. This is why John McCain praised Gadhafi in 2009 for his peacemaking efforts, and applauded his death last week. It's also why our military is increasingly extended across the world in oil-rich regions.
The Price of Power: Congress for Sale to the Highest Bidder Uniquely among legislatures in the developed world, our Congressional parties now post prices for key slots on committees. You want it - you buy it, runs the challenge. They even sell on the installment plan: You want to chair an important committee? That'll be $200,000 down and the same amount later, through fundraising.
It’s Official: Glyphosate used on GM crops found in US rivers, rainfall Glyphosate, the chemical ingredient of Roundup herbicide, and its breakdown product aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) are frequently found in rainfall and rivers in the Mississippi Basin, where most GM crops tolerant to glyphosate are grown, according to findings by the US Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS reports that glyphosate use rose by more than eightfold, to 88,000 tons, in the 15 years to 2007, further eroding the myth that GM crops reduce chemical use.
Why Iceland Should Be In The News, But It Is Not As one European country after another fails or risks failing, imperiling the Euro, with repercussions for the entire world, the last thing the powers that be want is for Iceland to become an example.
Hypocrisy knows no limits by Mazin Qumsiyeh Obama celebrated the killing of Gaddafi. He did not talk about Gaddafi's cozy relationship with the US and the west for the past 8 years including torturing people for the CIA.
UN torture investigator confirms no access to Bradley, condemns solitary confinement NEW YORK — Juan Mendez, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, confirmed yesterday that the Department of Defense has blocked his requests for an unmonitored meeting with PFC Bradley Manning, the accused WikiLeaks whistle-blower. He told reporters gathered at a U.N. General Assembly committee on human rights that he would be issuing a report on Bradley Manning’s case “in the next few weeks.”
Where Are They Now?: 7 Protest Songs With Legs Throughout American movements music has been a source of both personal and collective empowerment - a tool used to bridge the apparent distance between individuals, to remind each other we're stronger together than alone.
Government by Death Panel David Sirota, Op-Ed The point here is that politicians never have to make up stories about death panels that don’t exist when we’re living in the age of government-by-death-panel.
Senate Report: The Last Big Corporate Tax Cut Did Not Create Jobs a report issued this week by the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, led by Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), gives lie to that logic with its stark findings that a notable recent effort to create jobs through corporate tax cuts created a multibillion-dollar corporate windfall that did not trickle down to America’s workers, and did not create new jobs.
FOCUS: America's Child Death Shame Over the past 10 years, more than 20,000 American children are believed to have been killed in their own homes by family members. That is nearly four times the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Rediscovering Civil Disobedience Our individual silence is a form of acquiescence, and we speak volumes not only through our action but also through our lack of it. “There comes a time when silence becomes betrayal,” proclaimed Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as he took a risk and spoke out forcefully against the War in Vietnam.
