With the war in Afghanistan an unmitigated clusterfuck, it’s remarkable still how many voices in the corporate press talk about goals, achievements and possibilities (usually given by anonymous “officials”). American journalist Michael Hastings obtains a fascinating document recently that reveals the depth of the mess: Earlier this week, the… New York Times’ Scott Shane published… a bombshell…
Showing all posts tagged Afghanistan
Remember MSM role over war; what the state says we report
Post 9/11, it was Afghanistan. Then Iraq. Then drones over Pakistan. Bombs against Gaza. Counter-terrorism in Somalia and Yemen. Now the main target is Iran. The vast majority of corporate media hacks in the West hear a statement from Israel and America and simply report it without question. That’s called stenography. Salon’s Glenn Greenwald writes:…
In Afghanistan, America fiddles while watching 10 plus years of abject failure
It is remarkable that the most powerful military in the world is utterly incapable of beating insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. And for this we should be grateful, as Washington clearly needs to learn again, post Vietnam, that its desire to expand empire has limits. Nick Turse in TomDispatch: In late December, the lot was…
The secret contractor toll in Afghanistan; this is how we fight our wars
Strong piece in the New York Times that reveals some of the reality behind the Western war in Afghanistan. Increasingly privatised with no accountability at all, it’s a system that suits the powers that be very much. Corporations are making a killing and governments look like they’re hiring less staff. Almost the perfect definition of…
When Afghans move away from privatised thuggery (in theory)
After years of the US allowing Afghanistan to become a paradise for private mercenaries, Kabul is fighting back (though, to be sure, a government with no legitimacy at all): The push by Afghanistan’s president to nationalize legions of private security guards before the end of March is encouraging corruption and jeopardizing multibillion-dollar aid projects, according…
What the resource curse is doing to Bougainville in Papua New Guinea
My following investigation appears in Crikey today: The rusted air vent is deafening and a whoosh echoes around the pit. Copper-polluted water sits in a pool nearby and trees are starting to take over the graded hillside. Rocky, uneven ground is where locals pan for gold, hoping to find a few grams to make some…
At least MSM admits that CIA’s role is to ruin independent nations
This is classic mainstream “journalism” in the Washington Post. America has the right to intervene anywhere, haven’t you heard? The CIA is expected to maintain a large clandestine presence in Iraq and Afghanistan long after the departure of conventional U.S. troops as part of a plan by the Obama administration to rely on a combination…
NYTimes discusses future US role in Afghanistan but magically ignores mercenaries
This is typical corporate media reporting on “our” wars. Ideologically embedded New York Times reporters in Washington DC are handed information from the White House and essentially write a press release for the Obama administration. Any mention of the huge role of private contractors in Afghanistan, a group that will continue to grow, like in…
Just who is watching American citizens from the sky?
Very timely: Today,… EFF filed suit against the Federal Aviation Administration… seeking information on drone flights in the United States. The… FAA… is the sole entity within the federal government capable of authorizing domestic drone flights, and for too long now, it has failed to release specific and detailed information on who is authorized to fly drones within US…