What Somali pirates explain about imperialism

My following book review appears in today’s Weekend Australian newspaper: Imperialism still casts a dark shadow over modern Africa. Former colonial powers France, Britain, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Germany largely spend their aid dollars in nations they used to rule. Oxfam France’s Christian Reboul told The Guardian this makes sense for Paris “because the former…

Dirty Wars is the best book of 2013

Jeremy Scahill’s stunning investigative book, Dirty Wars, is the most compelling book… of the year. Green Left Weekly asked me to name my best book of 2013. Easy choice: The corporate media are filled daily with stories of “terrorists” being killed, captured and droned in the far corners of the globe. Since 9/11, the Bush and…

Jeremy Scahill gives background to Somalia's Al-Shabab

The horrific attack on the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi continues to generate headlines around the world. But what’s the background to the attacks, who are Somalia’s Al-Shabab terror group and what’s been the position of US and Kenyan intervention in the region? Jeremy Scahill, author of the recent book Dirty Wars, tells Democracy Now!…

The secret war in Somalia

Ghaith Abdul-Ahad is one of the finest war correspondents in the world (see Iraq). His latest report is from Somalia, a truly hidden war and a most brutal one. Why is some of the world now caring about the country? A minister explains: For the first time in many years the international community is interested…