Antiwar

At least 13 people were killed, and another three were wounded in recent violence: A Turkish operation against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (P.K.K.) in Gara and Qandil left six guerrillas dead. A Peshmerga colonel and his companion were killed in a shooting Sulaymaniya. An ISIS attack on Abbara left one militiaman dead and one civilian wounded. A civilian was shot dead at a Samarra checkpoint. One person was shot dead in Muqdadiya. A dumped body was discovered in Shatrah. Gunmen in Amara wounded a security member. A government employee was wounded in a shooting in Abu Saida. In Kirkuk, a militant was […]

An “honest mistake” is buying your partner the wrong perfume or copying someone into an email chain by accident. It is not firing a drone missile at a car, killing 10 civilians – and doing so when a small child was clearly visible moments earlier. And yet, a supposedly “independent” Pentagon inquiry this month claimed just such a good-faith mistake after US commanders authorized a drone strike in late August that killed an Afghan family, including seven children. A US air force general concluded that there was no negligence or misconduct, and that no […]

On October 21, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced the issuance of a military order designating six prominent Palestinian human rights groups as “terrorist organizations.” Gantz claimed that they are secretly linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a socialist political group that Israel considers, along with most Palestinian political parties, “a terrorist organization.” The Palestinian organizations included in the Israeli order are Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights, Al-Haq, the Bisan Center for Research and Development, Defense for Children Palestine, Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees. Considering the significance […]

The US supports nearly 75% of the world’s dictators, autocracies, monarchies, military regimes, etc., with weapons, military training and money. Please remember this the next time someone tells you the US should do X or Y because such and such a nation is bad… Comparing Freedom House’s list of Not Free nations* to FY 2020 US overseas weapons sales, military training and financial assistance**, we find that of the 57 nations considered undemocratic, 42 receive weapons, training and/or money for their military and security services. This means 74% of the non-democratic nations of […]

On Friday, November 19, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered a scolding and patronizing lecture to Africa. Blinken blamed increasing extremism and authoritarianism for endangering democracy and human rights on the continent. He seemed to make American military aid to Africa contingent on improved behavior. Left unsaid was that returning under America’s wing is not the flight path to taking democracy off the endangered species list. Recent research by V-Dem, the Swedish based organization that tracks countries’ level of democracy, reveals the well hidden truth that the US and its allies account for […]

The world seems in chaos, a dream come true for Washington’s War Party as it continues to press for a battle or two on every continent. However, this campaign for perpetual intervention and endless war by the Blob, as the foreign policy establishment is known, has lost public support. Even President Joe Biden, a captive of the conventional wisdom for nearly a half century, turned on Neoconservatives and liberal interventionists, withdrawing from Afghanistan. Before him President Donald Trump publicly trashed leading hawks, denounced US “aggression,” and admitted that America wasn’t so different from other nations in killing foreigners. The War Party’s […]

US foreign policy has been consumed by hawkish obsessions in the Middle East for the last thirty years, and the next decade promises more of the same. Despite repeated claims over the last decade that the US is “retreating” from the region, one administration after another keeps our country mired in its conflicts and rivalries. There is a conventional view that every president since George W. Bush has sought to extricate the US from Middle Eastern conflicts, but the record shows that each one has recommitted the US to fighting and supporting unnecessary and […]

At least 11 people were killed, and another seven were wounded in recent violence: In Baghdad, gunmen killed a public employee and wounded his driver. A police officer was shot dead by unknown assailants in Zaafaraniyah. A soldier was killed, and three more were wounded, during a clash near Buhriz. A bomb in Sinjar wounded a woman. Another bomb, in Badush, wounded a civilian. Turkey announced killing three members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (P.K.K.) in northern Iraq. And, later, announced the deaths of four more. A bomb near poultry farms outside of Bani Saad killed one person and wounded another. […]

A report in Covert Action Magazine from the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic in Eastern Ukraine describes grave fears of a new offensive by Ukrainian government forces, after increased shelling, a drone strike by a Turkish-built drone and an attack on Staromaryevka, a village inside the buffer zone established by the 2014-15 Minsk Accords. The People’s Republics of Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk (LPR), which declared independence in response to the U.S.-backed coup in Ukraine in 2014, have once again become flashpoints in the intensifying Cold War between the United States and Russia. The […]

Belarusian autocrat Alexander Lukashenko has cleared out the encampment at his border crossing into Poland, where thousands of Middle Eastern migrants had been living in squalor. Last week, that border crossing was the site of clashes between asylum-seekers trying to push through the razor wire and Polish troops resisting with water cannons. While the crisis between Warsaw and Minsk has not ended, it appears to have been temporarily eased. Behind the clash was the recent election in Belarus that the European Union saw as fraudulent and Lukashenko’s interception of a commercial airliner to kidnap […]

It is increasingly apparent that America’s political and military elites are almost never held to account for their blunders or even outright crimes. The latest episode is the Pentagon’s multi-year campaign to conceal information about a March 2019 airstrike in Syria that killed as many as 64 civilians, including women and children. Despite the New York Times’ expose, there is no indication that the individuals responsible for that atrocity or the subsequent cover up will face any serious consequences. The military’s behavior in that case is essentially the same as its obfuscation and reluctant backpedaling about the August 2021 drone strike […]

Though their long histories of wishing America would leave them alone and of trying to assert their own democratic voice are uniquely their own, the recent story of American interference in Haiti and Ecuador seem to be following the same plot. Act I: The Coup In Haiti, this act has been reprised a number of times. When the people of Haiti longed to elect Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power, the CIA, with the authorization of President Reagan, funded candidates to oppose him, according to William Blum in Killing Hope. When the people of Haiti surmounted American […]

A new defense budget looms. Maybe we’re running out of wars to fight, but no matter. The proposed figure before Congress is bigger than ever: $778 billion. How fascinating – and how irrelevant – that the vote is scheduled just a few days after the New York Times published its investigation of a U.S. airstrike in Baghuz, Syria two and a half years ago, which the Defense Department had been desperately trying to cover up. America, America . . . shall we celebrate our country, boys and girls? Here’s a passage from the story: […]

Can’t America ever walk away? Like an abused spouse, Washington keeps returning to the Middle East and prostrating itself before vicious dictatorships, antediluvian monarchies, sectarian oppressors, lazy looters, and selfish aggressors. Washington’s latest kowtow to all came from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin when he spoke on Saturday before the Manama Dialogue, a security conference in Bahrain. The host government is one of the most brutal oppressors in a region in which even nominal democracies – Israel and Lebanon – leave large sections of their populations disenfranchised and oppressed. Bahrain is an authoritarian Sunni monarchy which rules over a majority Shia population. […]

Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) may as well declare the 1984 doublespeak maxim, “Freedom is slavery,” as she cites women’s rights in support of subjecting them to forced military conscription. Her amendment – requiring female Americans to register with Selective Service – is now attached to the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which has passed the House and awaits a vote in the Senate. While some hail this a milestone for equality, its ramifications extend far beyond symbolic gestures. The last time Washington exercised the draft, over 58,000 of America’s sons died in […]

On November 15, US president Joe Biden and Chinese president Xi Jinping held a “virtual summit” covering a number of subjects and resulting, for the most part, in banal public pledges of “cooperation” to “ease tensions.” Biden, however, managed to score a double own goal on the subject of Taiwan by simultaneously justifying bad US foreign policy and endorsing Beijing’s false “One China” claim. On one hand, the US has neither any obligation nor any good reason to continue guaranteeing Taiwan’s de facto independence from the mainland regime. Taiwan is not a US state. Taiwan […]

At least 17 people were killed in recent violence: In Jalawla, a sniper killed two soldiers as they were looking for the bodies of militants killed in an airstrike. A soldier was killed near his Abu Saida home. Gunmen killed a civilian in Hatra. Five militants were killed in airstrikes in Diyala province. Two militants were killed in Wadi al-Shay. Turkey claimed to have killed a leader in the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (P.K.K.) during an unspecified campaign. Five others were killed during airstrikes on Hakurk. Author: Margaret Griffis Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering […]

As a people represented by our government, what gives us the right to go into other countries and indiscriminately assassinate people? Do we think that “American exceptionalism” gives us that right? How would we feel if the roles were reversed? Families around the world are merely trying to live their lives in peace as much as we are here in America. As a Vietnam War veteran and seeing the ravages of war from that time forward, I have become a member of two organizations, Veterans for Peace and World Beyond War. At the end of September, I traveled to Indian Springs, […]

On November 15, US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met for a three and a half hour virtual discussion. Though little of real significance was accomplished, for talks held with a hope of cooling a second cold war, that both sides simply described the talk as cordial is significant. But there were important differences between the approaches of the two leaders. Biden did reaffirm a commitment to the One China policy, and XI did reaffirmed that China “will strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification.” And both stressed the need to establish […]

The revelation, a few years ago, that the US National Security Agency (NSA) has been conducting mass surveillance on millions of Americans has re-ignited the conversation on governments’ misconduct and their violation of human rights and privacy laws. Until recently, however, Israel has been spared due criticism, not only for its unlawful spying methods on the Palestinians but also for being the originator of many of the technologies which are now being heavily criticized by human rights groups worldwide. Even at the height of various controversies involving government surveillance in 2013, Israel remained on the margins, despite the […]

Newly inaugurated President Joe Biden gave Americans hope of a major change in US policy toward human rights in general and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in particular. He promised to treat Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, responsible for numerous crimes and atrocities, as a well-deserved “pariah.” When Biden spoke at the State Department shortly after taking office he told the assembled foreign service officers: “We’re also stepping up our diplomacy to end the war in Yemen, a war which has created humanitarian and strategic catastrophe. … This war has to end, and to underscore […]

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Back in 2007, in his first piece for TomDispatch, retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and historian William Astore focused on the proliferation of self-congratulatory ribbons and medals on the chests of America’s generals. Here, for instance, was General David Petraeus at that time — and keep in mind that, before he commanded the 101st Airborne Division during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, he had never even been to war. As Astore put it then, “I counted nine rows [of ribbons] on Petraeus’ left breast during his Congressional hearings. […]

The Republican Party’s foreign policy is increasingly defined by hostility to China above all else. Whether it is current Republican members of Congress or candidates seeking election in next year’s midterms, there is unanimity on the need for a more aggressive and combative China policy. One looks in vain for any elected Republicans urging caution or restraint on this front. We have seen similar marches of folly before, and we know that they lead those that embark on them to ruin. Foreign Policy recently reported on some of the hawkish Senate candidates that hope […]

American journalists typically have portrayed themselves as the public’s “watchdogs” monitoring the behavior of elected and appointed government officials. In the foreign policy arena, the mainstream news media have failed spectacularly at their self-proclaimed mission. Indeed, such journalists have rarely even made a credible effort to perform that task. Too often, they instead have become either useful idiots for promoting an interventionist U.S. policy or even willing propagandists for government officials who push Washington’s aggressive role in world affairs. A flagrant preference for US foreign policy activism (even outright militarism) has characterized the vast majority of press accounts over the […]

At least six people were killed, and another was wounded in recent violence: Four militants were killed in Wadi al-Shay. Another two militants were killed in Albu Mifrij. A bomb in Tal Afar wounded a civilian. Author: Margaret Griffis Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering Iraqi casualties for Antiwar.com since 2006. View all posts by Margaret Griffis Source link

Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Christina Goldbaum of The New York Times are clinging to platitudes and generalities in their recent report about the threat of ISIS-K in Afghanistan. The article is, at best, a semi-official government press leak. It largely passes over Washington’s role in forging much of the crisis, while absolving the government of any current wrongdoing. The authors arrive at the meat of the report by the fourth paragraph. “In the two months since the Taliban took control of the country, the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan… has stepped up attacks across the country, straining the […]

Biden administration diplomats are wandering Europe warning about a potential invasion of Ukraine. It makes one wonder if the Biden crowd – it is unclear who, if anyone, is in charge of the administration these days – is hoping for a fight over Ukraine. Perhaps “a splendid little war,” as the Spanish-American War was called, would provide a patriotic bump in public approval. Washington cites an apparently ominous Russian military buildup near Ukraine. This sounds like a repeat of Russian maneuvers in the Spring, which caused enormous wailing and gnashing of teeth within the Beltway but came to nothing. […]

At least three people were killed, and another nine were wounded in recent violence: A bomb in Wadi al-Shay killed a soldier and wounded another. A police officer was shot dead in Abu Saida. In Nasariya, unknown assailants threw a grenade at a gathering. Three people were wounded. An explosive device in Shakha wounded three children. Two people were wounded during a mortar attack on Qara Tapa. An ISIS leader was killed during an operation in Rutba. Author: Margaret Griffis Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering Iraqi casualties for Antiwar.com since 2006. View all […]

President Biden says that America is “opening a new era of relentless diplomacy.” Apparently, that does not include Latin America. Recently, the US has unleashed a number of aggressive moves across the region. Venezuela American aggression against Venezuela has not lessened under the Biden administration. “There hasn’t been a single positive sign,” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says, “None.” The Biden administration continues the Trump administration policy of recognizing Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate president, it continues its deadly sanctions and it continues to pursue “an effective policy that can restore Venezuela to […]

At least four people were killed, and another five were wounded in recent violence: Two militiamen were killed during a clash in Amerli. An old bomb in Baaj killed a shepherd. Three soldiers were wounded when a bomb exploded in Wadi al-Shay An operation left one militant dead and two wounded. Author: Margaret Griffis Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering Iraqi casualties for Antiwar.com since 2006. View all posts by Margaret Griffis Source link

The US military establishment seems set to start a new Cold War with China, Russia, and every other country it can paint as an enemy. As with the first Cold War, it will not be complete without an arms race. This is exactly what is happening right now with various programs being implemented by the US government. Currently, the US has not produced any new nuclear warheads since 1991, and the assembly lines at the Pantex plant (where almost all US nuclear weapons are assembled) have laid dormant for decades. This may soon […]

Those who are not familiar with how Israel, particularly the Israeli military occupation of Palestine, is actively and irreversibly damaging the environment might reach the erroneous conclusion that Tel Aviv is at the forefront of the global fight against climate change. The reality is the exact opposite. In his speech at the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow, Israel’s rightwing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett pushed the Israeli brand of “innovation and ingenuity” to “promote clean energy and reduce greenhouse gases.” Israel uses this particular brand to sell everything, whether to promote itself as the savior of Africa, to help governments […]

At least four people were killed, and another five were wounded in recent violence: Two militiamen were killed during a clash in Amerli. Four more were wounded. At least one civilian was killed, and another was wounded as well. The clashes erupted during a search for two fishermen who were killed by ISIS militants. Gunmen killed a security member in Zubayr. Author: Margaret Griffis Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering Iraqi casualties for Antiwar.com since 2006. View all posts by Margaret Griffis Source link

Sunday marked one year since Americans elected Joe Biden president. And on his first year report card, Americans give him a failing grade. Only 48% of Americans approve of Biden’s performance. Biden may have received a failing grade, in part, because on several key foreign policy issues, he has done nothing. And on the few he has, he has made things worse. Middle East On the key Middle Eastern question, an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan still has not made it onto Biden’s to do list. It is simply not a priority of the Biden administration. […]

Recently, this column offered a critical analysis of the state secrets privilege. Last week, the government twice brought it to new lows. Here is the backstory. A legal privilege is the ability of a party in litigation to keep a communication from the court and one’s adversary because of a public policy determination that the free flow of information in certain private communications is a higher good than its public revelation. Common examples of this are the patient-physician privilege, the priest-penitent privilege and the marital privilege. In all three examples, legislatures have decided that because […]

In 1954, Congress passed, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed, a bill transforming Armistice Day – November 11, a post-World-War One celebration of peace – into Veterans Day, a celebration of warriors. Personally, I stick to the original name and the original purpose in my observation of the holiday. Looking at the numbers involved, though, it’s little wonder I find myself swimming against that particular tide. In 1860, the US armed forces comprised 27,958 soldiers, sailors, and Marines. That figure jumped by six figures each year throughout the Civil War to a high of 1,000,692 […]

Political relations between Moscow and Beijing appear closer than ever. The Chinese and Russian militaries are cooperating. Although the two authoritarian giants aren’t likely to embark upon a campaign of world conquest, Washington has done much to bring together unlikely partners in opposition to US policy. Americans should remember history. In summer 1939 Germany appeared increasingly determined on war. Britain and France hesitated joining the Soviet Union to contain the Nazi regime, since Joseph Stalin also was drenched in blood. Poland doubted that Soviet troops would leave as readily as they came if invited in. Still, the allied powers were certain […]

The conceit that America is “the indispensable nation” has been a core assumption of US policymakers for at least the last thirty years. The idea of American indispensability has served as an excuse for the US to interfere in many other countries’ internal affairs and to wage illegal wars in the name of “maintaining” international order. As then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright infamously put it, “But if we have to use force, it is because we are America; we are the indispensable nation. We stand tall and we see further than other countries […]

Activists from Palestinian groups recently designated “terrorist organizations” by Israel’s government expressed outrage and resolve Monday following revelations that their phones were hacked with Pegasus spyware, and amid the exposure of a sweeping facial recognition surveillance campaign in the West Bank by Israeli occupation forces. “It’s difficult to describe the feeling of invasion and intrusion into privacy,” Ubai Al-Aboudi – one of six Palestinian activists whose cellphones were found to be infected with Pegasus, a spyware manufactured by the private Israeli company NSO Group and used to target journalists and dissidents around the […]

At least 12 people were killed, and another nine were wounded in recent violence: Two militiamen were killed, and five more were wounded, in a bombing near Kirkuk. ISIS militants killed two fishermen and wounded three more at Zarga Lake. In Hatra, militants killed a militiaman. An ISIS attack in Adhaim left one soldier with an injury. Turkish airstrikes killed two members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (P.K.K.) in the Hakurk area. Four more were killed in Matina. A suicide bomber was killed in Tarmiya. Author: Margaret Griffis Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering […]

U.S. Attorney and Special Counsel John H Durham’s laborious investigation into the origins of allegations that Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign illegally colluded with Russia’s government finally seems to be bearing fruit. In the latest development, a federal grand jury indicted Igor Danchenko, who was the primary researcher for claims that went into the Steele dossier, a compendium of salacious rumors and reports that Russian intelligence had obtained highly compromising material on Trump, causing him then to conspire with Moscow to help defeat Hillary Clinton and to otherwise serve Russia’s interests. Danchenko […]

Nuclear weapons are terrible, but that gives them greater deterrent power. However, few of America’s allies have them, so Washington has promised to fight potentially multiple nuclear wars on their behalf. It is a great deal for countries that have spent decades cheap riding on the US. With the Biden administration involved in a “nuclear posture review” and a National Security Council meeting scheduled this month on the issue, a variety of allied powers are afraid that President Joe Biden will adopt a “no first use” policy or at least narrow the circumstances (so-called “sole purpose”) under which he would use […]

At least five people were killed, and another 12 were wounded in recent violence: A drone attack on Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s residence in Baghdad left six security members wounded. Kadhimi was unhurt. Security forces deployed throughout Baghdad afterwards, and Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called on the army to take control of the country. Militia groups, however, took to social media to mock what they said was a fake assassination attempt. Elsewhere in Baghdad, a civilian was shot dead in Sadr City. A hand grenade tossed near a school in Abu Dsheer left two civilians with injuries. In Jurf al-Nasr, a […]

Antiwar activists on Thursday accused the Biden administration of throwing fuel on the flames of the Saudi-led war in Yemen after the US State Department notified Congress it approved a new $650 million missile sale to the repressive Middle Eastern monarchy. Defense News reports the Pentagon said the Saudi government requested to purchase 280 AIM-120C-7/C-8 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles and 596 LAU-128 missile rail launchers in a deal that would also include spare parts, support, and logistical services. The missiles would be fitted to Saudi warplanes including Eurofighter Typhoons and McDonnell-Douglas F-15s. “Meanwhile,” […]

At least three people were killed, and another 90 were wounded in recent violence: Three people were killed in Baghdad, and about 90 more were wounded, when security forces fired into a crowd of demonstrators. The pro-militia group was protesting the loss of parliamentary seats in recent elections. Although it was security forces who fired on the protesters, a security source said about 30 of the wounded were security members. Author: Margaret Griffis Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering Iraqi casualties for Antiwar.com since 2006. View all posts by Margaret Griffis Source link

At least two people were killed, and another six were wounded in recent violence: In Baghdad, gunmen killed a government engineer as he left work. A militiaman died of injuries sustained during a foiled attack in Khanaqin. Three militiamen were wounded, and a number of militants were killed, during a clash in Rutba. In the Hamrin Mountains, two militiamen were wounded during an operation. A security member was wounded during a clash in Abu Saida. Author: Margaret Griffis Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering Iraqi casualties for Antiwar.com since 2006. View all posts by […]

In recent weeks, Saudi Arabia has made a number of subtle moves that are intriguing from both a regional and a broader Second Cold War perspective. Long a reliable friend of the US and, in recent years, an increasingly reliable friend of Israel, Saudi Arabia has recently made several exploratory moves beyond the boundaries of its relationship with Israel and several significant steps outside its relationship with the US. Regional Moves Saudi Arabia’s recent foreign policy moves within their own region suggest an intriguing and potentially significant shift in alliances in the Middle East. […]

Originally posted at TomDispatch. In 2006, Newsweek dubbed him “a rising star” and one of the “Jedi knights who are fighting in what [Vice President] Cheney calls ‘the shadows.’” The particular Jedi knight being touted to the skies was Army General Stanley McChrystal, then running the Pentagon’s super-secret Joint Special Operations Command. And such language only multiplied, when, in 2009, he was put in charge of the Obama administration’s “surge” in Afghanistan, which would reach 100,000 U.S. troops. How could you blame the reporters, since they were, after all, in love. No wonder […]

We’re out of Afghanistan. Good. We should have gotten out before. Our involvement there was America’s longest war, longer than the Civil War, World War I and World War II combined. We accomplished little good and plenty of bad. Tens of thousands killed. A trillion dollars spent. Now the Taliban wear American uniforms and fly American planes. Hawks say, “If we just stayed a little longer … “ It’s not true. Yes, there had been a drop in violence in Afghanistan. But that did not mean we were winning. The Taliban were just waiting because former President Donald […]

The international uproar in response to Israel’s approval of a massive expansion of its illegal settlement enterprise in the occupied Palestinian West Bank may give the impression that such a reaction could, in theory, force Israel to abandon its plans. Alas, it will not, because the statements of “concern,” “regrets,” “disappointment” and even outright condemnation are rarely followed by meaningful action. True, the international community has a political, and even legal, frame of reference regarding its position on the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Unfortunately, however, it has no genuine political mandate, or the inclination to act individually or collectively, to bring […]

During the past three weeks, some unexpected government events occurred, exposing more government crimes and lies. In the Supreme Court, the Department of Justice claimed that while the government knows about torture during the presidency of George W. Bush, nevertheless, because the U.S. is still at war, it can refuse to provide documentation of the torture to Polish prosecutors who are trying Polish intelligence agents for torture committed in Poland at the direction of the CIA. The DOJ told the court the US is still fighting against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The government not only […]

The US government has made a habit of threatening other countries with military attack if they fail to do what Washington wants, and in some cases the other country finds itself under attack even when it has complied. Iraq disarmed and ended its unconventional weapons programs, and then it was invaded anyway in the name of “disarming” it. The Libyan government dismantled its programs only to find itself targeted a few years later for other reasons. Iran fully complied with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for several years, and only began reducing […]

As if President Joe Biden didn’t have enough trouble to deal with, he now is supposed to rescue imprisoned Americans around the globe. Last weekend relatives of a couple dozen citizens and residents held overseas sent an open letter to the president demanding action. Organized by the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation – journalist Foley was kidnapped a decade ago in Syria and later murdered – the letter lamented that “Every day we wonder how much longer our loved ones must endure their captivity, not knowing when they will return home, and not being able to fully understand the efforts the […]

Recently, the Biden administration announced that they had no plans to withdraw US troops from Syria. Given the backlash Joe Biden received from the military establishment after the withdrawal from Afghanistan, this was not unexpected. Despite Trump’s multiple attempts to do so during his administration, he ultimately yielded to the Israel lobby, Saudi businessmen, and arms manufacturers who are always behind these kinds of wars. With Biden’s history of solidly being a pro-war, establishment Democrat, any near-future withdrawal from Syria was a lost cause from the start. All of this will be at the cost of millions of Syrians who will […]

The Biden administration’s surprisingly confrontational stance toward the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on both trade and security issues has led to considerable comment in the news media. Some commentators even contend that Biden’s China policy is little more than “Trump lite.” That reaction is understandable, even with respect to the bilateral trade relationship, since the administration has retained many of the tariffs and other restrictive measures that President Trump imposed. Policy continuity is even more evident on security issues, especially Washington’s policy regarding Taiwan. Trump took several steps to boost U.S. diplomatic […]

At least five people were killed, and another two were wounded in recent violence: Security forces killed four militants in al-Aith. In Kirkuk, security personnel killed one militant and wounded two more. Author: Margaret Griffis Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering Iraqi casualties for Antiwar.com since 2006. View all posts by Margaret Griffis Source link

Originally posted at TomDispatch. TomDispatch regular Ann Jones begins her moving new piece this way: “I know, I know. It’s the last thing you want to hear about. Twenty years of American carnage in Afghanistan was plenty for you, I’m sure, and there are so many other things to worry about in an America at the edge of… well, who knows what? But for me, it’s different. I went to Afghanistan in 2002, already angry about this country’s misbegotten war on that poor land, to offer what help I could to Afghan women. And little […]

Sometimes really smart people are really stupid. Not just stupid, but malign. Such is the case of Sen. Ted Cruz. The presidential wannabe joined many seemingly principled Republicans in opposing Donald Trump in 2016, but then did the ritual political pirouette and kowtow, submissively embracing Trump’s presidency. Little is more dangerous than burning ambition in someone both unscrupulous and intelligent. Now Cruz is attempting to prevent the State Department from doing business with the world in response to the Biden administration’s sensible decision not to wreck relations with both Germany and Russia. Simultaneously reckless and arrogant, his actions demonstrate that he […]

“When elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled.” So warned Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte in his address to the UN General Assembly on September 22, 2020. He was referring to the consequences for East Asia of a conflict between the US and China. Fast forward to October 2, 2021, about one year later, and the first patch of grass has been stomped on by the U.S. elephant, trudging stealthily about, far from home in the South China Sea. On that day the nuclear-powered attack submarine, the USS Connecticut, suffered serious damage in an undersea […]

Violence across Iraq during October left 130 dead and 83 wounded. At least 149 people were killed, and 110 more were wounded during September. Militant-related violence left at least 42 civilians, 19 security personnel, and 18 militants dead. The wounded consisted of 51 civilians, 24 security personnel, and one militant. The conflict between Turkey and Kurdistan Workers’ Party (P.K.K.) left 47 guerrillas dead and three wounded in Iraqi territory. Three Turkish soldiers were killed, and another was wounded. Also, a Turkish drone attack killed one civilian and wounded three more. At least 11 people were killed, and seven were wounded in […]

US Navy photo of inside of one of the 20 massive jet fuel tanks inside Red Hill, Oahu, Hawai’i While the US Navy continues to argue that US national security requires that its 80-year-old leaking 20 story underground jet fuel tanks remain open, I argue the opposite – that for US national security reasons the 200-million-gallon facility be closed down before a catastrophic leak destroys the potable water supply for 400,00 residents of Oahu. Once the aquifer is contaminated by a predicted major fuel leak, it cannot be flushed out or be rehabilitated. US Navy officials […]

Originally appeared at the American Institute for Economic Research. The world is a mess, and conservative politicians talk about increasing “defense spending.” This has obvious appeal. After all, who can be against defending the country? The problem is that most of America’s military outlays have nothing to do with defense. From 1789 to 1947, the US had a Department of War. So when Washington seized half of Mexico’s land and grabbed both Cuba and the Philippines from Spain – which required years more of combat to suppress local opposition – there was no implicit […]

The US is growing impatient waiting for Iran to return to the JCPOA nuclear talks, which is odd since they’re the ones who left the agreement, and they’re the ones who have done nothing to return to it, including returning the required sanction relief. Secretary of State Antony Blinken admonished Iran and said that “time is running short.” US special envoy for Iran Robert Malley warned that there is a “shared impatience” between the US and its allies as they wait for Iran. But as the US grows unfairly impatient, Iran is growing increasingly […]

Twenty-one Israel-based civil society groups on Sunday joined Palestine defenders around the world in condemning the Israeli government’s labeling of six Palestinian advocacy groups as terrorist organizations, calling the move “an act of cowardice.” Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s “designation of prominent Palestinian civil society organizations, among them our colleagues in the Palestinian human rights community, as terrorist organizations is a draconian measure that criminalizes critical human rights work,” the groups said in a statement. “Documentation, advocacy, and legal aid are fundamental activities for the protection of human rights worldwide,” the statement continued. […]

When Joe Biden was declared the winner in the US elections last November, expectations in Ramallah were high. A Biden Administration, compared to the brazenly pro-Israel Trump Administration, would surely be much fairer to Palestinians, was the conventional wisdom at the time. Hence, unsurprisingly, Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, was among the first world leaders to most enthusiastically congratulate Biden. “I look forward to working with the President-elect and his administration to strengthen the Palestinian-American relations and to achieve freedom, independence, justice and dignity for our people,” Abbas said immediately after the results were announced. Contrastingly, the then-Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin […]

At least 15 people were killed in recent violence: Eight Sunni civilians were killed in an apparent revenge attack in Nahir Imam, one day after another attack left 15 dead in nearby Rashad. Homes and the healthcare center were set on fire, and farmlands were destroyed. There are also reports of wounded and displaced civilians. An attack in Salah ad Din left two soldiers dead. Several others were wounded. In Barwana, ISIS gunmen killed two policemen. ISIS killed a soldier in Daquq. Two militants were killed in Tarmiya. Author: Margaret Griffis Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and […]

At least 22 people were killed and 33 more were wounded in recent violence: An ISIS attack near Muqdadiya in Rashad left 13 dead and 25 wounded. One militiaman was killed, and two more were wounded, during an attack at a security point between Saidiya and Khanaqin. Near Mosul, a bomb killed a soldier and wounded another. An I.E.D. killed a man in Gatoun. Three people were wounded, one a security guard, in a blast near the court in Abu Saida. In Baghdad, a fight between security personnel and protesters left one militiaman with injuries. Also, a journalist has gone missing. […]

It certainly looked that way last Friday as Israel’s defense minister – who has been presented as a force for moderation in an Israeli government led by the settler right – declared six leading Palestinian human rights groups to be “terrorist organizations”. The move effectively outlaws the most prominent organizations in the Palestinian human rights community. Despite the eternal bonds so often lauded by Israeli and US officials, President Joe Biden’s administration appeared to be caught off-guard by the announcement, despite claims from Israel that Washington had been forewarned. Israeli officials were […]

Nearly two centuries ago President James Monroe ordered the world’s powers to stay out of the Western Hemisphere. The still young American republic, which lacked a serious navy or army, thereby compounded the hubris of its earlier claim to be creating a novus ordo seclorum, or new order for the ages. Although among the states targeted by Monroe, the United Kingdom turned out to be America’s greatest ally in deterring intervention by other powers. London had the world’s finest navy and wasn’t inclined to encourage competing powers’ imperial ambitions. Moreover, Latin America never was an arena of great power conflict. The […]

The US is not obliged to defend Taiwan, and because of that China hawks have been agitating for at least the last year to make an explicit security guarantee to protect Taiwan against attack. Last week, President Biden made another unforced error when he affirmed that the US has a “commitment” to defend Taiwan when it does not, and his White House immediately clarified that he didn’t really mean what he had said. Sloppy and careless presidential rhetoric can create misunderstanding in foreign capitals, and it can also create opportunities for hard-liners to […]

Joe Biden’s administration seems determined to surpass its predecessors in taking actions that are certain to antagonize Russia. In just the past two weeks, the United States and its NATO allies have gone out of their way to provoke Moscow on four separate occasions. Such irresponsible behavior exacerbates already dangerous tensions with a nuclear-armed great power. Washington set a belligerent tone with its choice of a special envoy to the Kremlin in what was supposed to be an effort to repair badly frayed bilateral relations. Instead of selecting someone who was at least tolerable to Russian leaders, the administration sent Under […]

Only two months ago Washington’s 20-year Afghan experiment in nation-building collapsed both suddenly and ingloriously. The Biden administration would like to forget the entire disastrous experience. President Joe Biden is not to blame for the disaster, however. The three previous administrations sought to make Afghanistan’s government and military in America’s image, rather than as representatives of the Afghan people. Moreover, argued Baktash Ahadi, a former interpreter for U.S. forces, Washington “mistook the Afghan countryside for a mere theater of war, rather than as a place where people actually lived,” while relying upon the […]

The Pentagon’s offer of “condolence money” to the relatives of the ten people (seven of them children) who were killed in the final U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan – originally declared righteous and necessary – bears a troubling connection to the government’s ongoing efforts to get its hands on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and punish him for exposing the inconvenient truth of war. You know, the “classified” stuff – like Apache helicopter crewmen laughing after they killed a bunch of men on a street in Baghdad in 2007 (“Oh yeah, look at those dead […]

At least five people were killed and two more were wounded in recent violence: Turkish strikes targeting Kurdistan Workers’ Party (P.K.K.) guerrillas in northern Iraq, left three dead. Old ordnance exploded in Najaf, wounding two children. A stray bullet killed a man at a wedding. A prominent ISIS militant was killed during a clash in Rutba. Author: Margaret Griffis Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering Iraqi casualties for Antiwar.com since 2006. View all posts by Margaret Griffis Source link

“Sanctions,” Iran’s new president, Ebrahim Raisi, told the UN General Assembly, “are the US’s new way of war with the nations of the world.” At least nineteen countries are currently besieged by the economic warfare of US sanctions. As when they wage military war, the US is willing to accept the high civilian cost of sanctions. In their book Why Civil Resistance Works, Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan cite studies showing that sanctions “often harm the civilian population more than the targeted regimes.” Being interviewed about US sanctions on Iraq, Madeleine Albright, then US […]

Within just a few days, the United States will once again make its case in a UK court that it has a right to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be tried under the Espionage Act, in what remains this century’s most dangerous attack on global press freedom. These hearings, taking place on October 27 and 28, are an attempt to appeal the decision that Judge Vanessa Baraitser made earlier this year to not extradite Assange to the United States because it is likely he will commit suicide if subjected to the inhumane conditions of […]

At least six people were killed and three more were wounded in recent violence: Two children were killed, and another was wounded, when old explosives were blew up in Tal Afar. In Badush, gunmen killed a civilian. A security member was shot to death in his Khalis home. Two policemen were wounded during an ISIS attack in Abu Khamis. A Turkish strike targeting Kurdistan Workers’ Party (P.K.K.) killed a senior member. Security forces killed a militant in Qara Jokh. Author: Margaret Griffis Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering Iraqi casualties for Antiwar.com since 2006. […]

The pro-Israel crowd on social media was quick to pounce on award-winning Irish novelist, Sally Rooney, as soon as she declared that she had “chosen not to sell … translation rights of her best-selling novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You to an Israeli-based publishing house”. Expectedly, the accusations centered on the standard smearing used by Israel and its supporters against anyone who dares criticize Israel and exhibits solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian people. Rooney’s laudable action was not in the least “racist” or “antisemitic”. On the contrary, it was taken as a show of support for the […]

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Let me make my own position on China all too clear. I’m distinctly “soft” on that country. I always have been. After all, it represents a remarkable civilization, one I studied in graduate school. Among my greatest regrets is never having visited there, never having made it to the Great Wall or any of its other memorable historical landmarks. China has indeed “risen” from the nightmare of the nineteenth and much of the twentieth centuries to become one of the two great powers on this planet, which is, I think, a […]

On October 19, 96-year-old Irmgard Furchner appeared in a German court to answer charges of aiding and abetting 11,412 murders. The murders took place between 1943 and 1945 at the Stutthof concentration camp, where a much younger Furchner worked as secretary to the camp’s commandant. A day before Furchner’s indictment, Colin Powell, the US government’s 16th national security advisor, 12th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and 65th Secretary of State, died at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center from complications related to COVID-19. Seventy-six years after the end of World War Two, governments […]

Everyone who followed the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan was horrified by the drone attack, called a “tragic mistake” by the Pentagon, which killed ten members of a single family, including 7 children. Zemari Ahmadi, who worked for Nutrition and Education International, a U.S.-based aid organization, became the target because he drove a white Toyota, went to his office, and stopped to pick up containers of clean water for his extended family. Those actions, deemed suspicious by the drone surveillance program and its human handlers, were enough to identify Ahmadi falsely as […]

One of the key events which is often talked about in western (particularly American) histories of the Cold War is the rearmament of Germany. During the early 1950s as the Cold War was ramping up, the West German military was rebuilt following its dissolution at the end of WWII, which ultimately culminated with the country’s entry into NATO in 1955. This is talked about in a positive light in most history lessons, as if it was a sort of democratic response to the communist takeover of Eastern Europe during the late 1940s. At the same […]

Reprinted from The Nation with permission from the authors. The single best option for reducing the risk of nuclear war is hidden in plain sight. News outlets don’t mention it. Pundits ignore it. Even progressive and peace-oriented members of Congress tiptoe around it. And yet, for many years, experts have been calling for this act of sanity that could save humanity: Shutting down all of the nation’s intercontinental ballistic missiles. Four hundred ICBMs dot the rural landscapes of Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wyoming. Loaded in silos, these missiles are uniquely – and […]

The Biden administration concluded its very long review of US sanctions policy this week, and the results were woefully inadequate. Judging from the review and the administration’s record so far, there isn’t much reason to expect a significant change in the frequent use of broad sanctions. The sanctions review has dragged on all year, and in the meantime the US has kept in place all Trump-era sanctions imposed as part of the failed “maximum pressure” campaigns on Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, and most recently on Syria. The administration’s refusal to offer even token sanctions […]

Anti-war advocates on Monday warned that U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin would be making a dangerous strategic blunder if he suggests that Ukraine and Georgia have a welcome mat toward full integration into the NATO military alliance – a move critics say would dramatically increase the risk of war between Washington, D.C. and Moscow. According to The Washington Times, Austin will signal that NATO is holding an “open door” for Georgia and Ukraine as he visits the two nations and Romania this week. “We are reassuring and reinforcing the sovereignty of countries that […]

Bill Clinton’s administration made a geopolitical mess in the Balkans during the 1990s by instigating and leading military interventions in both Bosnia and Kosovo. Periodically thereafter, the United States has succumbed to the temptation to interfere diplomatically in the affairs of that chronically dysfunctional region. Now, several of Washington’s mini-state “allies” and their advocates in the United States are pressing the Biden administration to take a more active role again. It is imperative that administration officials spurn that campaign. The latest lobbying effort to get Washington more deeply involved in the region’s parochial squabbles came in the form of an October […]

The Israel lobby appears to be readying for a campaign to root out left-wing academics in the UK critical of Israel’s continuing oppression of the Palestinian people – echoing its efforts against the previous leader of Britain’s Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn. As with the attacks on Corbyn, the assault on academia is being led by the Jewish Chronicle, a UK weekly newspaper that speaks for the most ardent supporters of Israel among the UK’s Jewish community. The move follows the lobby’s success this month in pressuring Bristol university to sack one of its professors, David […]

North Korea is carrying out one missile test after another lately, at the same time indicating (or is it?) interest in talks with South Korea about reducing tensions. Late last month North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles from railways over the Sea of Japan, violating UN prohibitions and raising alarm bells in nearby countries. It followed up with tests of long-range cruise missiles, a hypersonic missile, and a new antiaircraft missile. Do these tests amount to a higher level of threat from North Korea, or to a show of strength that might be preliminary […]

Hardline Islamists have taken control in Iran, nuclear negotiations with Tehran have stalled, the Saudis and Israelis are restless, and talk of military action against Iran is rising. Such is the price the world is paying for the Trump administration’s criminal incompetence. Remember the halcyon days when Donald Trump proclaimed himself the world’s master negotiator but was easily played by foreign interlocutors? He tore up the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action limiting Tehran’s nuclear activities and insisted that “maximum pressure” would soon bring Iran’s mullahs crawling to Washington begging for sanctions relief. Secretary of […]

At least two were killed in recent violence: In Hammam al-Alil, gunmen killed a generator operator. The body of a man who was kidnapped a week ago was discovered near Rashad. Author: Margaret Griffis Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering Iraqi casualties for Antiwar.com since 2006. View all posts by Margaret Griffis Source link

At least 17 people were killed in recent violence: Turkish operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (P.K.K.) left 13 guerrillas dead. A policeman was shot dead in Zummar. In Khalis, a dumped body was found. An old landmine killed a farmer in Haji Omran. In Choman, a man was killed when the old mortar he was handling unexpectedly exploded. Author: Margaret Griffis Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering Iraqi casualties for Antiwar.com since 2006. View all posts by Margaret Griffis Source link

I’ve just read through three of the most boring but potentially most important documents around. One is the War Powers Resolution of 1973 which you can print on 6 pages and is what’s referred to as existing law even though it’s violated as routinely as air is breathed. Another is a war powers reform bill that has been introduced in the Senate and seems very likely to go nowhere (it’s 47 pages), and the third is a war powers reform bill in the House (73 pages) that seems virtually certain to go nowhere. […]

Monday, October 11, marked the official closure of the U.N. Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen (also known as the Group of Experts or GEE). For nearly four years, this investigative group examined alleged abuses suffered by Yemenis whose basic rights to food, shelter, safety, health care and education were horribly violated, all while they were bludgeoned by Saudi and U.S. air strikes, drone attacks, and constant warfare since 2014. “This is a major setback for all victims who have suffered serious violations during the armed conflict,” the GEE wrote in a statement the […]

Language is politics and politics is power. This is why the misuse of language is particularly disturbing, especially when the innocent and vulnerable pay the price. The wars in Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern, Asian and African countries in recent years have resulted in one of the greatest humanitarian catastrophes, arguably unseen since World War II. Instead of developing a unified global strategy that places the welfare of the refugees of these conflicts as a top priority, many countries ignored them altogether, blamed them for their own misery and, at times, treated them as if they were criminals and […]

“Three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead.” ~ Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) Last week, President George W. Bush’s torture regime reared its head in an unusual argument before the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2002, Abu Zubaydah was captured by a militia in Pakistan and handed over to the CIA, which brought him to Poland where, under the supervision of CIA agents and American psychologists, he was brutally tortured until his removal to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba in 2006. The Bush administration argued that Zubaydah was a high-ranking member of al-Qaida […]

At least two people were killed, and two more wounded in recent violence: A bomb at the Baghdad home of a militia leader left two people with injuries. In Kirkuk, a farmer was killed when a bomb exploded underneath his car. A militant was killed in Nineveh province. Author: Margaret Griffis Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering Iraqi casualties for Antiwar.com since 2006. View all posts by Margaret Griffis Source link

The military budget is going to be cut. That will cause enormous wailing and gnashing of teeth in Washington. The generals will promote fantastic disaster scenarios. The military-industrial complex will deploy more lobbyists. The Neoconservative Greek Chorus will declaim more loudly. All will insist that the international environment is more dangerous than ever. That America faces greater peril than before. And that the U.S. military must be greatly strengthened. Again. However, after squandering $8 trillion on the Global War on Terror the interventionist establishment lacks credibility for a political reprise. Even more important, the […]

Originally posted at TomDispatch. It’s hard to imagine how I would have done my work at TomDispatch over the last decade without one crucial resource: Brown University’s Costs of War Project. After all, that website has offered a remarkable look at America’s misbegotten twenty-first-century wars. Since it was launched in 2010, it’s been a constant source of crucial information on this country’s forever wars — with a focus on their costs (in every sense of the term). If you visit that site now, for instance, you’ll find out that a reasonable (if breathtaking) […]

The United Nations body responsible for monitoring and recording human rights abuses effectively abandoned the people of Yemen last week. In a 21-18 vote with seven abstentions, the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) refused to extend the mandate of an independent investigation into war crimes committed by all sides in Yemen. Since its establishment in 2017, the Group of Eminent Experts (GEE) had served as a limited mechanism for holding war criminals in the conflict accountable for their outrages against the civilian population. The Saudi government had fought against the establishment of an […]

Ukraine is Washington’s most worrisome security client in Europe. U.S. leaders are incurring grave risks to America in support of a country that is notoriously corrupt and increasingly authoritarian. Worse, Kiev engages in abrasive conduct toward its much larger, more powerful Russian neighbor, apparently assuming that Washington has Ukraine’s back. However, Ukraine is not the only client that belongs in the category of useless and potentially dangerous US security clients. An even smaller dependent, Georgia, also fits the description. And as with Ukraine, Georgia has the potential to entangle the United States […]