Wikileaks remains utterly relevant to understanding our world. The evidence? … Yet more releases about US detainee policies since 9/11. Here’s Julian Assange talking about its importance on CNN:
Showing all posts tagged war on terror
Britain as the torture-endorsing nation
Fascinating new evidence in the Guardian: Within days of the 9/11 attacks on the US, the… CIA… told British intelligence officers of its plans to abduct… al-Qaida… suspects and fly them to secret prisons where they would be systematically abused. The meeting, at the British embassy in Washington, is disclosed in… a forthcoming book by the Guardian journalist Ian Cobain.…
Trying to tempt Anwar al-Awlaki with the lure of another wife
An incredible story, if true, that reveals one way Western agencies attempt to target extremist enemies of the state (apart from killing them with drones). The New York Times reports: The man with the wire-rim glasses and bushy beard, speaking calmly in American-accented English, is familiar from dozens of Web videos urging violent jihad against…
This is just what global peace needs, a greatly expanded CIA drone fleet
The Washington Post reports on the deepening of American attempts to prosecute its “war on terror” globally through the use of imprecise and legally questionable drone technology. It’s also a wonderful way to make countless new enemies: The CIA is urging the White House to approve a significant expansion of the agency’s fleet of armed…
What rampant vulture capitalism looks like in Afghanistan
Private security companies have been causing chaos in the country for years. It’s something I examined during my recent visit to the country and will be appearing in a book and documentary on disaster capitalism in 2013. Here’s just the latest example of of unregulated chaos (via UK Telegraph): The American military is investigating allegations…
How the US lost in Afghanistan against a guerrilla movement
More than ten years after 9/11, it’s still little appreciated how America and its allies have lost two wars comprehensively, Iraq and Afghanistan (though a friend today said to me that the former was a success, with any number of oil contracts going to North American firms). Here’s Gareth Porter in IPS with some fascinating…
America is blind in Syria
The lead story in today’s New York Times is comical. Almost. What’s clear is how little Washington understands the Syrian revolution, who is fighting and why. Its intelligence is clearly suspect and hardline Islamists are being strengthened. America learns nothing from history.… Afghanistan in the 1980s, anybody? Most of the arms shipped at the behest of… Saudi…
America’s (almost) silent drone war and mainstream media largely ignoring civilian murders
America’s unrelenting drone war in Pakistan and elsewhere receives little accurate media coverage. The reality of civilians living in these areas are often ignored. Instead, we’re told “militants” are being killed. But who is really telling us this? A friend, Justin Randle, recently attended the Imran Khan anti-drone march in Pakistan (his report is here…
You’ve been water-boarded but it’s illegal to talk about it
If you need the definition of Orwellian in the American “justice” system post 9/11, here’s the perfect example (via Pro Publica): In a motion… unsealed last week, the government proposed new ground rules for classified information in the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others charged with planning the 9/11 attacks. The new order says…
US peace group Code Pink in Pakistan protesting drone strikes
An Australian friend of mine was on this remarkable march and he’ll be writing something about it soon. It’s vital to raise awareness of the fact that US drone attacks are often indiscriminate and kill countless civilians. American peace group Code Pink, with whom I was in Cairo a few years ago for the Gaza…