A reminder, in case it was needed, that the actions of the US need to be exposed rather than hidden. Our job, as citizens, is to demand transparency from governments, not meekly accept “top secret” because officials say so: The Pentagon warned the U.S. Senate and House Armed Services Committees that the website WikiLeaks.org “intends…
Showing all posts tagged Iraq
The greatest irony of Western policy
My following article appears today on the wonderful literary journal Overland’s website during its Subscriberthon: After the US mid-term elections, President Barack Obama is severely weakened by the rise of the Republicans. His unwillingness or inability to pursue true justice and peace in the Middle East will only be worsened. Indeed, GOP House Majority Leader…
Wikileaks want to redefine “global history”
Stand by: The WikiLeaks website has announced it plans to publish nearly three million more secret US documents in its next mass release of confidential material, The Daily Telegraph learned. It would be seven times larger than its release last month, when it posted some 400,000 secret documents about the war in Iraq on its…
What a bankrupt war breeds
The massive growth in private mercenary companies since 9/11 is exposed with yet another investigation. But the end result? More outsourcing to unaccountable companies who are desperate for wars to continue and expand. Killing is a good business: An Australian-owned security company has been accused of a litany of abuses in Afghanistan – including theft…
Washington’s global footprint is as subtle as the BFG
We often hear about the military industrial complex, but what does it mean in practice? Exhibit number one: The construction projects are sprouting like mushrooms: walled complexes, high-strength weapons vaults, and underground bunkers with command and control capacities — and they’re being planned and funded by a military force intent on embedding itself ever more…
More weapons, more profits, more death
The privatisation of war is a growing phenomenon across the world. It’s rarely examined (Jeremy Scahill is a notable and noble exception). And now here’s David Ignatius in the Washington Post on the brave new world of killing “terrorists” and not telling anybody about it: A new arsenal of drones and satellite-guided weapons is changing…
Do we care where we send the most vulnerable?
Many Western states are very keen to prematurely return asylum seekers to their country of origin despite the inherent dangers. Afghanistan or Sri Lanka yet safe? Of course not, but at least it’s one less problem for the government. And now this: Two asylum seekers who were deported to Baghdad and claim they were tortured…
Nir Rosen; a journalist’s job is to investigate and challenge power
Nir Rosen talks on Democracy Now! about his new book, Aftermath: SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: And what’s happening right now in Iraq? There’s been a long stalemate following the parliamentary elections in March. You were in Iraq many times since 2003, and you documented very closely, for example, Muqtada al-Sadr and the Mahdi Army. Where does…
Assange loves and loathes the MSM
Julian Assange of Wikileaks tells Al-Jazeera about his group’s relationship with the mainstream media. Intelligent discussion on a serious news network: