Prepare For Armageddon
Posted: October 24, 2011 Filed under: Economy, II Cold War, Imperial Power, New World Order, World Hegemony, World War III | Tags: China, CIA, Contractors, Dajjal, Libya, NATO, Pakistan, Russia, Zionism 7 CommentsMost frightening of everything in this FSB report, however, is the reply Putin gave to Russia’s top generals yesterday when asked what preparations should be made and he answered…. “Prepare for Armageddon.”
We will do it with or without you, US tells Pakistan
by Raja Mujtaba
Published: Oct. 21, 2011 – Veterans Today
Armageddon (commonly known as the battle against the anti-Christ) according to the Bible, is the site of a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or symbolic location. The term is also used in a generic sense to refer to any end-of-the-world scenario.
According to some Muslim and Christian interpretations, the Messiah will return to earth and defeat the Antichrist, Satan the Devil, in the battle of Armageddon. According to the Muslim belief, it would be Imam Mehdi who would precede Prophet Jesus who would fight the one eyed beast called Dajjal (Anti Christ).
Making wars is biggest industry in U.S.
Posted: August 30, 2011 Filed under: Illegal Occupation, Imperial Power | Tags: Bush, Contractors, Multinational Corporations, Obama's Wars, USA 1 Comment• Time for Iraq withdrawal of U.S. troops to extend
• Afghanistan withdrawal to be put back to 2012
• Major U.S. corporations to benefit by hundreds of billions
by William Rivers
Published: Aug. 29, 2011 – China National News
A pair of vitally important news reports were lost recently amid a blizzard of stories about the gyrating stock market and a rogue East Coast earthquake.
The first came from US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who announced that a deal had been struck to keep US forces in Iraq beyond the oft-publicized December 31st withdrawal deadline and into 2012, contrary to Mr. Obama’s promises. Not long after, a spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki came forward to say hold on, wait a minute, nothing along these lines has been agreed upon as yet, and negotiations are still ongoing.
The “War On Terror” Is A $6 Trillion Racket, Exceeding The Total Cost Of World War II
Posted: July 19, 2011 Filed under: Economy, Imperial Power, War on Terror, World Hegemony, World War III | Tags: Contractors, Military Industrial Complex, Obama's Wars, Pentagon, US Military Spending 3 Commentsby David DeGraw
First Published: Jul. 06, 2011 – Amped Status Report
When Obama launched his re-election propaganda campaign to trick the American public into thinking that he intends to end the Af-Pak War, he said that the “War on Terror” has cost $1 trillion over the past decade. While that is a staggering amount of money, he was being deceitful once again.
As you may have heard, a newly released study by the Eisenhower Research Project at Brown University revealed that the cost of the War on Terror is significantly greater than Obama has said. The little passing coverage the study received in the mainstream press cited $3.7 trillion as the total cost, which was the most conservative estimate. The moderate estimate, which the mainstream media ignored, was $4.4 trillion. In addition, interest payments on these costs will most likely exceed $1 trillion, which brings the total cost up to at least $5.4 trillion. The report also states that the following costs are not even included in this total:
The US isn’t leaving Iraq, it’s rebranding the occupation
Posted: August 5, 2010 Filed under: Illegal Occupation | Tags: Blackwater, Contractors, Iraq, Multinational Corporations, Obama's Wars, Oil 5 CommentsObama says withdrawal is on schedule, but renaming or outsourcing combat troops won’t give Iraqis back their country
by Seumas Milne
Published: Aug. 04, 2010 – Guardian
For most people in Britain and the US, Iraq is already history. Afghanistan has long since taken the lion’s share of media attention, as the death toll of Nato troops rises inexorably. Controversy about Iraq is now almost entirely focused on the original decision to invade: what’s happening there in 2010 barely registers.
That will have been reinforced by Barack Obama’s declaration this week that US combat troops are to be withdrawn from Iraq at the end of the month “as promised and on schedule”. For much of the British and American press, this was the real thing: headlines hailed the “end” of the war and reported “US troops to leave Iraq”.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The US isn’t withdrawing from Iraq at all – it’s rebranding the occupation. Just as George Bush’s war on terror was retitled “overseas contingency operations” when Obama became president, US “combat operations” will be rebadged from next month as “stability operations”.
Profiting From Haiti’s Crisis
Posted: January 22, 2010 Filed under: Imperial Power | Tags: Contractors, Haiti, IMF, Multinational Corporations, Shock Doctrine 11 Commentsby Benjamin Dangl
Published: Jan 21, 2010 – Uruknet.info
US corporations, private mercenaries, Washington and the International Monetary Fund are using the crisis in Haiti to make a profit, promote unpopular neoliberal policies, and extend military and economic control over the Haitian people.
An Undisciplined Defense: Understanding the $2 Trillion Surge in US Defense Spending
Posted: January 20, 2010 Filed under: Imperial Power | Tags: Contractors, Obama's Wars, Pentagon, US Military Spending 5 Comments(full text .pdf file with charts and appendices) (executive summary) by Carl Conetta, PDA Briefing Report #20, 18 January 2010.
by Carl Conetta
First Published: Jan. 18, 2010 – Project on Defense Alternatives
Review of the Report
Since 1998 the Pentagon has spent more than $6.5 trillion. More than $2 trillion of this sum was above the levels set in 1998. But only half of the $2 trillion in added funds was for recent wars and military operations. Among other things, the surge in spending has allowed the Defense Department to re-inflate its workforce to Cold War levels. And almost all the expansion is contractor labor.
These are among the findings of two 18 January reports on the dynamics of recent defense spending from the Project on Defense Alternatives, a small think tank with offices in the Washington area and Cambridge, Massachusetts.
US Mercenaries Set Sights on Haiti
Posted: January 20, 2010 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Blackwater, CIA Coups, Contractors, Haiti, Multinational Corporations, Shock Doctrine 11 Commentsby Jeremy Scahill
Published: Jan. 19, 2009 – The Nation
We saw this type of Iraq-style disaster profiteering in New Orleans, and you can expect to see a lot more of this in Haiti over the coming days, weeks and months. Private security companies are seeing big dollar signs in Haiti thanks in no small part to the media hype about “looters.” After Katrina, the number of private security companies registered (and unregistered) multiplied overnight. Banks, wealthy individuals, the US government all hired private security. I even encountered Israeli mercenaries operating an armed checkpoint outside of an elite gated community in New Orleans. They worked for a company called Instinctive Shooting International. (That is not a joke).
Now, it is kicking into full gear in Haiti.
Order Out of Chaos: CIA, Blackwater Responsible for Bombings, Assassinations in Pakistan (With Video)
Posted: November 16, 2009 Filed under: Imperial Power, World Hegemony | Tags: CIA Destabilization Operations, Contractors, Obama's Wars, Pakistan, You Tube Videos, Zbigniew Brzezinski 12 Comments
by Kurt Nimmo
Published: Nov. 15, 2009 – Infowars
Newspapers in Pakistan have accused the United States of using Blackwater and other agencies to conduct bombings and targeted assassinations in the country, according to MEMRI translations. MEMRI is a neocon propaganda outfit with connections to Israeli intelligence.
“Evidence of the private U.S. security firm Blackwater’s involvement in the targeted killings of high-ranking Pakistani military officials has been found,” reports Haftroza Al-Qalam, a Pakistan weekly published in Urdu, one of the two official languages of Pakistan. “According to a report in the Urdu-language magazine Haftroza Al-Qalam, the recent killings of Pakistani military officials represent an old method used by Blackwater in Iraq and South American countries.”
Pakistan media and other sources have reported on a Blackwater presence in Pakistan since 2008. “The notorious US security firm Blackwater has reportedly established a presence in the restive tribal belt on the Afghan borders to help the FBI and CIA track down Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants allegedly hiding there and protect USAID projects,” Aamir Latif reported for IslamOnline.
The Obama Administration is Actually Increasing the US Presence in Iraq
Posted: September 14, 2009 Filed under: Illegal Occupation | Tags: Contractors, Iraq, Obama, Obama's Wars, US Army Leave a commentby Michael Schwartz
First Published: Sep. 13, 2009 – Huffington Post
US presence in Iraq is actually growing.
Believe it or not, the U.S. presence in Iraq is growing under the leadership of antiwar president Barack Obama. A recent Washington Post by reporter Walter Pincus explains that when U.S. troops are “withdrawn,” their jobs are taken over by……mercenaries — the notorious “contractors,” who are hired for fabulous sums of money to sustain the huge U.S. presence there.
NEWS (Last Updated: Mon. Sep. 14)
Posted: September 11, 2009 Filed under: Economy, Illegal Occupation, Israeli Apartheid | Tags: 9/11, Afghanistan, Contractors, Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Latin America, Obama's Wars, Oil, Pakistan, Palestine, Venezuela Leave a commentIsraeli Apartheid (Last Updated: Mon. Sep. 14)
Palestinian dies of Israeli bullet wounds
Mon. Sep. 14 – Palestinians hold Israel responsible for the death of a 25-year-old Hebron (al-Khalil) resident injured by Israeli bullets last month.
‘Israel plans to grab more Arab land’
Sun. Sep. 13 – Palestinian sources say Israel is working on a new settlement plan that is equal to the grab of nearly 140-thousand acres of Arab land near Jerusalem (al-Quds).
Israeli gunman opens fire on Palestinians
Sat. Sep. 12 – An Israeli gunman has shot and wounded two Palestinians in East Jerusalem, where Tel Aviv continues to expand its settlement activity despite international opposition.
Chavez accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza
Thu. Sep. 10 – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has described Israel’s deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip as an attempt to exterminate the Palestinians.
Israeli court orders demolition of Palestinian homes
Thu. Sep. 10 – Israel’s High Court has ordered the demolition of what it terms as “illegal constructions” built by the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Shocking figures from Gaza war
Wed. Sep. 09 – A human rights group says the deadly Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip killed at least 773 Palestinians who had not taken part in any military activities.
Israel steps up harassment of defiant village
Wed. Sep. 09 – Over the past three months, Israeli forces have increased nocturnal raids on Palestinian towns, breaking into civilian houses and kidnapping non-combatants.
Israel pushes ahead with Jerusalem settlements
Wed. Sep. 09 – Israel pushes ahead with plans to build hundreds of homes in East Jerusalem, despite warnings that the move could threaten stalled peace talks with Palestinians.
UN: Gaza Offensive May Cost Palestinians 4 Billion Dlrs
Tue. Sep. 08 – The Israeli occupation military offensive in the Gaza Strip in December and January caused four billion dollars of losses to the Palestinian economy, a UN think tank said Tuesday.
UN blames Israel for blocking food aid to Gaza
Tue. Sep. 08 – As Israel claims its imposed siege on Gaza is for security reasons, basic foodstuffs are being blocked from reaching the impoverished strip.
Israel’s new settlement ‘brushes out peace’
Tue. Sep. 08 – The Israeli government faces condemnations over its decision to erect hundreds of housing units in the illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Israel defies world, pledges to build more
Mon. Sep. 07 – Despite increasing international concerns over Israeli settlement activities Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will authorize construction of ‘hundreds of new homes’ in the West Bank.
Israel enters Gaza, kidnaps shepherds
Mon. Sep. 07 – At least four Bedouin Shepherds have been arrested after a special Israeli army unit stormed a village in the northern Gaza Strip.
EU: Illegal Israeli settlements must stop
Sun. Sep. 06 – The European Union has called on Israel to scrap plans to build new settlements in the West Bank, saying the settlements are ‘illegal’.
Israeli soldiers kill Gazan teenager
Sun. Sep. 06 – A Palestinian teenager has succumbed to death because of grave injuries he suffered after Israeli soldiers opened fire at him in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Obama’s Wars (Last Updated: Mon. Sep. 14)
US seeks to fragment Iran and pakistan
Mon. Sep. 14 – A former Pakistani intelligence chief asserts that the ultimate goal of the United States in Pakistan is cutting out a ‘favorable state’ out of parts of Iran and Pakistan to run its regional operations.
September 4 NATO strike killed 69 Taliban, 30 civilians
Mon. Sep. 14 – An Afghan government-appointed commission finds that at least 30 civilians were killed in the US-led air strike on September 4 in an area of northern Afghanistan.
US drone attack kills 5 in Pakistan
Mon. Sep. 14 – A US drone has fired missiles in the tribal belt of troubled northwest Pakistan, killing at least five people and injuring several others, officials say.
Blast kills 4 in Pakistan’s Baluchistan
Mon. Sep. 14 – At least four people have been killed in a landmine explosion in southwestern Pakistan, as violence continues to take its toll in the conflict-riddled country.
Gunmen kill policeman’s sleeping family in Iraq
Sun. Sep. 13 – BAGHDAD – Gunmen broke into the home of a Kurdish policeman in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk while he was away early Sunday, killing his wife and three children as they slept, authorities said.
2 killed in attack on Pakistani troops
Sun. Sep. 13 – ISLAMABAD – A bomb blast killed two paramilitary troops Sunday in Pakistan’s Khyber region, where security forces are pressing ahead with an offensive to secure a major supply route for foreign forces in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan claims two more US soldiers
Sun. Sep. 13 – A roadside bomb has killed at least two US soldiers in troubled eastern Afghanistan, where insurgency has skyrocketed over the past months.
Violence in Afghanistan claims 50 lives
Sun. Sep. 13 – At least fifty people, including 32 civilians, have been killed in a string of attacks across Afghanistan in the past two days.
Taliban kill 7 Afghan policeman, including chief
Sat. Sep. 12 – Seven Afghan policemen including a police chief have been killed after gunmen attacked their checkpoint in Imam Sahib district in Northern Konduz province.
Giant US military base in Iraq under attack
Sat. Sep. 12 – A giant US military base has come under mortar attack as the war-ravaged country is being rocked by a string of deadly bombings.
ICC to probe war crimes in Afghanistan
Fri. Sep. 11 – Media reports said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization — which includes US and other western troops — could potentially become the target of an ICC prosecution.
Twin blasts kill 4, injure 30 south of Baghdad
Fri. Sep. 11 – At least four people have lost their lives and 30 have sustained injuries after two consecutive bomb explosions ripped through a popular market south of Baghdad.
Car bomb explosion kills 8 in Iraq’s Kirkuk
Thu. Sep. 10 – A powerful car bomb explosion in the restive Iraqi oil-rich city of Kirkuk has claimed eight lives Wednesday, police say.
Gates: US won’t abandon Afghanistan, Pakistan
Thu. Sep. 10 – The US defense secretary states plans for a long-term stay in Afghanistan, claiming US has learned a lesson from the past and will not abandon the country again.
Attack on NATO base kills two people
Thu. Sep. 10 – A bomb attack in a NATO base in Afghanistan has reportedly killed at least two civilians and injured several foreign troops and local residents.
Truck bombing kills 17 in Mosul
Thu. Sep 10 – A deadly truck bomb explosion in a Kurdish village near Iraq’s northern city of Mosul has left more than 17 people dead and at least 25 more wounded.
US suffers 4 more casualties in Afghanistan
Wed. Sep. 09 – With insurgency on its peak in Afghanistan, Taliban insurgents kill four American soldiers and 10 Afghan troops in the troubled east.
Canada loses 2 soldiers in Afghanistan
Tue. Sep. 08 – Two Canadian soldiers serving under ISAF command in Afghanistan have been killed in the southern part of the country, a Canadian official has confirmed.
US troops ‘raid’ Swedish charity hospital
Tue. Sep. 08 – A Swedish aid agency has accused American troops of storming through one of its hospitals in Afghanistan, breaking down doors and tying up staff, searching for wounded ‘Taliban fighters.’
Bomb blast leaves 5 dead in volatile Baquba
Tue. Sep. 08 – At least five people have been killed and 20 others injured in a suicide bomb explosion in the city of Baquba, the capital of Iraq’s restive Diyala province.
US drone kills seven in NW Pakistan
Tue. Sep. 08 – A US drone has fired missiles on two houses in the tribal area of North Waziristan in Pakistan, killing seven people and injures five others.
Baghdad rocked by bombings, attacks
Tue. Sep. 08 – At least one civilian has been killed and fifteen others injured in a recent spate of lethal attacks in the disrupted Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
Explosion hits Kabul’s international airport
Tue. Sep. 08 – A strong explosion has been reported at Kabul’s international airport, killing two Afghan civilians and injuring four foreign soldiers including three Americans.
Renewing Blackwater contract illegal – IAF legislator
Mon. Sep. 07 – BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: A lawmaker from the Sunni Iraqi Accord Front (IAF) said renewing the contract of the private U.S. security firm Blackwater, which killed several Iraqis in al-Nusoor incident in 2007, would be running counter to the law.
Gunmen kill 5 in Iraq’s Mosul
Mon. Sep. 07 – Five Iraqis, including a two-year-old child and her grandmother, have been killed in a series of shootings in the restive northern city of Mosul.
Taliban attack claims another US troop
Mon. Sep. 07 – Another US soldier has been killed in a roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan, bringing to 184 the number of US troop fatalities in 2009.
Fatal rocket attack kills 3 in Kabul
Mon. Sep. 07 – A rocket attack in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul has claimed three more civilian lives, as violence continues to take its toll in the strife-ridden country.
Car bomb kills 7, wound 16 in Iraq
Mon. Sep. 07 – A car bomb explosion in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi has left at least 7 dead and 16 others wounded, police have reported.
‘US building mini-Pentagon in Islamabad’
Su. Sep. 06 – Pakistan’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam blames the US for problems facing the country, saying Washington is trying to change Islamabad into its military base.
More dead in renewed Iraq violence
Sun. Sep. 06 – A series of bomb attacks across strife-plagued Iraq have reportedly taken the lives of many civilians and inflicted injuries upon several more.
Poland suffers another casualty in Afghanistan
Sun. Sep. 06 – Amid insurgency on its peak in Afghanistan, one polish soldier has been killed and five others injured after a bomb exploded near their military convoy in the east of the country.
More News (Last Updated: Mon. Sep. 14)
Morales: US planning coups in L America
Mon. Sep. 14 – The Bolivian president has accused the United States of planning coups in Latin America after Washington reached an agreement with Colombia over military bases.
Survivor: On 9/11, blast hit WTC before plane
Sat Sep. 12 – One of the 9/11 survivors claims that a huge interior explosion preceded the plane crash into one of the buildings hit during the catastrophic attacks.
On 9/11, Putin warns against Iran war
Sat. Sep. 12 – On the eighth anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks that ignited a war on Iran’s neighbor, Afghanistan, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says an attack on Iran would be “dangerous” and “unacceptable.”
US lawmakers to vote on cutting gasoline delivery to Iran
Fri. Sep. 11 – The US House Committee on Foreign Affairs is likely to vote next month on imposing sanctions on Iran’s gasoline imports, according to the committee chairman.
In US, nearly 40 million people in poverty
Fri. Sep. 11 – Nearly 40 million people in the US have lived below the bread line last year as the recession snuffed out jobs and dragged down incomes.
Israel: Deployment site for US missile shield?
Thu. Sep. 10 – The United States may pick Israel over Eastern Europe as the deployment location for the partial installation of its controversial global missile defense shield.
US leads world in weapons sales
Tue. Sep. 08 – The United States snatched the lion share of the global arms sales in 2008 which amounted to more than two-thirds of all foreign armaments deals, a government report says.
UN: Over 1.5 million displaced in Somalia
Tue. Sep. 08 – Over 250,000 people have fled violence in Mogadishu since May, bringing the total number of displaced within Somalia to over 1.5 million, the UN says.
New deals cement Iran-Venezuela alliance
Mon. Sep. 07 – Iran and Venezuela sign three cooperation agreements in the fields of medicine, oil and trade at the end of President Hugo Chavez’s two-day visit to Tehran.
Iran, Venezuela vow to form anti-imperialism front
Sun. Sep. 06 – As relations between Iran and Venezuela continue to blossom, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Tehran and Caracas are determined to form a united front against imperialism.
George Bush’s third term as president? You’re living it now
Posted: September 10, 2009 Filed under: Human Rights, Illegal Occupation, Imperial Power | Tags: Afghanistan, Contractors, Obama's Wars, Pakistan, Torture 1 Comment
by David Swanson
Published: Sep. 02, 2009 – Stop the War Coalition
It sounds like the plot for the latest summer horror movie. Imagine, for a moment, that George W. Bush had been allowed a third term as president, had run and had won or stolen it, and that we were all now living (and dying) through it. With the Democrats in control of Congress but Bush still in the Oval Office, the media would certainly be talking endlessly about a mandate for bipartisanship and the importance of taking into account the concerns of Republicans. Can’t you just picture it?
There’s Dubya now, still rewriting laws via signing statements. Still creating and destroying laws with executive orders. And still violating laws at his whim. Imagine Bush continuing his policy of extraordinary rendition, sending prisoners off to other countries with grim interrogation reputations to be held and tortured.
NEWS (Last Updated: Sat. Sep. 05, 2009)
Posted: September 3, 2009 Filed under: Economy, Human Rights, Illegal Occupation, Israeli Apartheid | Tags: CIA, Contractors, Gaza, Hugo Chavez, IAEA, Internet, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Obama, Obama's Wars, Palestine, Swine Flu, Torture, US Army, USA Leave a commentIsraeli Apartheid (Last Updated Sat. Sep. 05)
EU, US condemn Israel’s settlement approval
Sat. Sep. 05 – The US condemns an Israeli plan to endorse the construction of hundreds of housing units as part of Tel Aviv’s settlement expansion in the West Bank.
Israel OK for new settler homes outrages Palestinians
Sat. Sep. 05 – JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel will approve construction of West Bank settlement homes before it considers a freeze sought by Washington, a top government official said on Friday, sparking Palestinian outrage.
In August, 63 Palestinians kidnapped by Israel
Fri. Sep. 04 – The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) says that in August, a total number of 63 Palestinians have been kidnapped from the West Bank by Israeli soldiers.
Israeli fighter jets bomb Gaza Strip
Fri. Sep. 04 – Israeli warplanes have launched an attack on the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian and Israeli officials say.
Israeli tanks invade Gaza, meet resistance
Fri. Sep. 04 – Israeli tanks and bulldozers have invaded the eastern border areas of the Gaza Strip, destroying cultivated agricultural Palestinian land.
Israel to build new houses in settlements
Fri. Sep. 04 – JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will approve hundreds of new housing units in West Bank settlements before slowing settlement construction, two of his aides said Friday, in an apparent snub of Washington’s public demand for a total settlement freeze.
Palestinian Children Murdered by IDF Snipers
Thu. Sep. 03 – Mohammad Riyad Nayef funiral, age of 14, he was murdered on Saturday in Al-Jalazun refugee camp.
East Jerusalem Shuts Out Thousands of Palestinians on Holy Day
Wed. Sep. 02 – Thousands of Palestinians were turned away at West Bank checkpoints leading into Jerusalem by Israeli security forces as they tried to attend Friday Ramadan prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque.
No halt to settlement policy: Israeli minister
Wed. Sep. 02 – An Israeli cabinet minister has categorically confirmed that construction and expansion of illegal Jewish settlements in and around Jerusalem (al-Quds) will continue.
Palestinian woman speaks of jailhouse abuse
Wed. Sep. 02 – A female Palestinian detainee has recounted how she was under continuous interrogation, intimidation, and abuse for 14 days by Israeli soldiers and interrogators.
Israel using arrests to silence Palestinian journalists
Wed. Sep. 02 – The PMC condemned the Zionist action after Israeli soldiers kidnapped journalist Seri Sammour on August 31 in a raid on his house in Jenin in the north of the occupied West Bank.
Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian in West Bank
Tue. Sep. 01 – RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – A Palestinian died overnight in an Israeli hospital after being shot by Israeli soldiers, Palestinian medical workers said on Tuesday.
Palestinain girl complains to ICC over Gaza war
Tue. Sep. 01 – A 15-year-old Palestinian girl has demanded the International Criminal Court to probe into the Israeli three-week war on the blockaded Gaza Strip.
Despite mounting pressure, Israel ups settlements
Mon. Aug. 31 – Despite mounting international pressure on Tel Aviv, Israel has accelerated settlement activity in East Jerusalem (al-Quds) in the first half of 2009.
Israeli warships bombard Gaza fishing boat
Mon. Aug. 31 – Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli warships bombarded Palestinian boats off the Sudaniyya shore north of Gaza City on Monday morning, according to Nizar Ayyash, head of the Fishermen’s Union.
Israel built 150 housing units in eastern Jerusalem in six months
Sun. Aug. 30 – OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)– An Israeli organization monitoring the Israeli settlement drive in eastern Jerusalem has revealed that the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) had built at least 150 housing units in occupied Jerusalem, particularly in the Old City.
Israeli aircraft bomb building in Gaza Strip
Sun. Aug. 30 – Israeli aircraft have bombed a building in the Gaza Strip, the latest in a series of attacks which killed four Palestinian and injured several others in the past week.
Egypt calls for settlement freeze in Jerusalem
Sat. Aug. 29 – Egypt has called on Israel to freeze settlement activities in occupied East Jerusalem (al-Quds) before the resumption of any peace talks with the Palestinians.
U.S. drops demand for Israel building freeze in East Jerusalem
Fri. Aug. 28 – According to both Israeli officials and Western diplomats, U.S. envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell has recognized the fact that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cannot announce a settlement freeze in East Jerusalem. The officials said the U.S. will not endorse new construction there, but would not demand Jerusalem publicly announce a freeze.
Merkel: Israeli settlements, obstacle to peace
Fri. Aug. 28 – German Chancellor Angela Merkel says Israeli settlement building in Palestinian territories must stop before peace can be established in the Middle East.
Israel planning to build 150 homes for Jewish settlers in Arab neighborhood in Jerusalem
Fri. Aug. 28 – 750 settlers are expected to move into the new houses, joining the existing 2000 settlers living in Arab-Palestinian neighborhoods.
The Israeli military kidnaps 13 Palestinian civilians from the West Bank
Fri. Aug. 28 – Israeli troops kidnapped 13 Palestinian civilians on Thursday during pre dawn invasions targeting a number of West Bank communities.
Obama’s Wars (Last Updated Sat. Sep. 05)
French soldier killed in Afghan bomb explosion
Sat. Sep. 05 – One French soldier from the NATO-led coalition forces has lost his life and nine others have sustained serious injuries after an improvised explosive device struck their vehicle in Afghanistan.
Afghans mourn dead under outcry of NATO bombing
Sat. Sep. 05 – KUNDUZ, Afghanistan (AFP) – Afghans on Saturday mourned the dead from a NATO bombing that killed scores of people and renewed an outcry over civilian casualties at the hands of Western troops in an eight-year war.
US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,339
Sat. Sep. 05 – As of Friday, Sept. 4, 2009, at least 4,339 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
Another British soldier falls in Afghanistan
Fri. Sep. 04 – A roadside bomb explosion has killed a British soldier in the troubled southern Afghanistan, bringing to 211 the overall British fatalities in the war-ravaged country.
Bomb attacks claim 7, injure 100 in Iraq
Fri. Sep. 04 – At least seven people have been killed and nearly one hundred others injured following a series of bomb attacks across war-torn Iraq on Thursday.
Body handed over in Iraq confirmed as British hostage
Fri. Sep. 04 – LONDON (Reuters) – British experts have identified a body handed over in Baghdad as security guard Alec MacLachlan, one of five British hostages seized in 2007, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Thursday.
Officials: US to Add 14,000 Combat Troops in Afghanistan
Thu. Sep. 03 – In what seems to be just the latest move in the ongoing US escalation in Afghanistan, Pentagon officials have indicated that they intend to swap out 14,000 support troops in favor of another 14,000 combat troops, which they called “trigger pullers.”
Contractors Outnumber U.S. Troops in Afghanistan
Thu. Sep. 03 – Civilian contractors working for the Pentagon in Afghanistan not only outnumber the uniformed troops, according to a report by a Congressional research group, but also form the highest ratio of contractors to military personnel recorded in any war in the history of the United States.
More militants killed in NW Pakistan
Thu. Sep. 03 – Pakistani security forces have killed 16 more militants and arrested 35 others on the second day of an encounter in the Khyber region of north western tribal belt.
CIA refuses to release torture documents
Thu. Sep. 03 – The CIA has refused to release further documents related to its controversial rendition, detention and interrogation of terror suspects
IRAQ: Monthly death toll highest in over a year
Wed. Sep. 02 – Violence in Iraq produced the highest death toll in 13 months as August was marred by a series of suicide bombings in northern Iraq and a high-profile attack on two government ministries in Baghdad that stoked concerns that security was deteriorating with the removal of most U.S. forces from Iraqi cities and the approach of national elections in January.
A total of 456 people were killed in attacks in August, including 393 civilians, a number far lower than the figures at the height of Iraq’s civil war in 2006 and 2007 when Iraq’s monthly death toll sometimes soared past 2,000.
US support for Afghan war at all-time low
Wed. Sep. 02 – The support of Americans for the war in Afghanistan has fallen to its lowest level since the US-led invasion eight years ago, a new poll has found.
Two UK soldiers killed in Helmand
Tue. Sep. 01 – Two British soldiers are killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan, bringing to 210 the total number of UK troop fatalities since the operations began in 2001.
Afghan bombs kill two US soldiers
Mon. Aug. 31 – Kabul , (AFP) – Bomb attacks in Afghanistan killed two US soldiers today as the commander of 100,000 Western troops in the country called for a revised strategy to defeat Taliban insurgents, the military said.
The soldiers from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force were killed in separate improvised-explosive device attacks in southern Afghanistan, the military said in a statement.
US military still holding 9,000 Iraqi prisoners
Mon. Aug. 31 – The US military still holds about 9,000 Iraqi detainees, despite the fact that it is obliged to release or hand over the custody of all Iraqi prisoners under a Washington-Baghdad interim security pact.
Bomb blast sets NATO trucks ablaze in Pakistan
Mon. Aug. 31 – With insurgency at its peak in Pakistan, a powerful bomb blast in the country has set ablaze several trucks loaded with supplies for US forces in Afghanistan.
Blast kills 14 police recruits in Pakistan’s Swat
Sun. Aug. 30 – MINGORA, Pakistan – A suicide bomber killed at least 14 police recruits Sunday in Pakistan’s Swat Valley in the deadliest attack since the army regained control over the northwestern valley from the Taliban, an official said.
Attack on American patrol kills 2 Afghans
Sat. Aug. 29 – KABUL – Officials say two Afghan civilians were killed and 21 wounded when a suicide bomber detonated explosives near a group of American troops.
Truck bombs kill 16 people in Iraq
Sat. Aug. 29 – BAGHDAD – Two truck bombs struck separate communities north of Iraq’s capital on Saturday, killing at least 16 people in the latest attacks that indicate insurgents are targeting relatively unprotected areas as security forces focus on defending the cities.
NATO chief: mission to last ‘as long as it takes’
Fri. Aug. 28 – ANKARA, Turkey – NATO’s mission in Afghanistan will last “as long as it takes” to ensure that the country is secure, the alliance’s new leader said Friday during a visit to the Turkish capital.
August deadliest month for US in Afghanistan
Fri. Aug. 28 – KABUL – An American service member died in a bomb blast in Afghanistan on Friday, making August the deadliest month of the eight-year war for U.S. forces.
US Copter Opens Fire on Afghan Medical Clinic
Fri. Aug. 28 – US and Afghan forces, backed by a US Apache helicopter attacked a medical clinic in the Paktika Province of Afghanistan yesterday after receiving reports that a wounded Taliban commander had “sought treatment” at the facility.
2 American soldiers killed in Baghdad bombing
Fri. Aug. 28 – BAGHDAD – The U.S. military says two American soldiers have died of wounds sustained during a roadside bomb attack in the Iraqi capital.
Swine Flu Hoax (Last Updated Thu. Sep. 03)
Obama to spend another $2.7 bln to fight H1N1
Thu. Sep. 03 – WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration will spend an additional $2.7 billion to buy swine flu drugs and vaccines, just days after White House science advisers called the pandemic “a serious threat to our nation.”
CDC Warns Neurologists To Watch For Nerve Disease Following Swine Flu Shots
Thu. Sep. 03 – The CDC has followed in the footsteps of British health authorities by warning neurologists to look out for cases of the nerve disease Guillain-Barre syndrome caused by the swine flu vaccine.
Fox News Poll: Majority Think Swine Flu Vaccine Deadlier Than Virus
Sat. Aug. 29 – According to a Fox News poll, the majority of respondents think that the swine flu vaccine is deadlier than the actual virus itself, emphasizing the growing momentum in the revolt against government plans to institute mass H1N1 vaccination programs.
More News (Last Updated Sat. Sep. 05)
27 Iranians in world’s top scientists list
Sat. Sep. 05 – Twenty seven Iranian scientists have been named among the 100-member-list of the most prominent scientists in the world, the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) has announced.
Iran says US nuke documents ‘forged’
Sat. Sep. 05 – VIENNA – Iran accused the U.S. on Friday of using “forged documents” and relying on subterfuge to make its case that Tehran is trying to build a nuclear weapon, according to a confidential letter obtained by The Associated Press.
U.S. Lost 335,000 Jobs in August and 5.9 Million Jobs in Past Year
Thu. Sep. 03 – TrimTabs Investment Research estimates that the U.S. economy lost 335,000 jobs in August, which is nearly 50% more than the current consensus estimate of 225,000 jobs lost. In the past twelve months, the U.S. economy has lost 5.9 million jobs, the largest annual job loss in records dating back to 1970.
Amnesty Intl. urges Obama to lift embargo on Cuba
Wed. Sep. 02 – Amnesty International has called on President Barack Obama to lift the 47-year-old embargo on Cuba In order to redefine US relations with Latin America.
Iran, Pakistan to complete gas pipeline by 2013
Tue. Sep. 01 – Iranian and Pakistani officials have agreed in principle to complete a long awaited multi-billion-dollar gas pipeline project by 2013.
Russian Professor: US collapse likely in 2010
Tue. Sep. 01 – A Russian academician says the demise of the US is imminent, arguing that the likelihood for the US collapse by July 2010 is more than 50 percent.
Blackwater trains mercenaries in Philippines
Mon. Aug. 31 – The notorious US private security contractor, formerly known as Blackwater, uses a Philippines location to train mercenaries for Iraq and Afghanistan operations.
Cheney wants skeleton kept in closet
Mon. Aug. 31 – Former US vice president Dick Cheney has branded an inquiry into suspected CIA prisoner abuses as ‘political’, saying he might refuse to speak with a prosecutor investigating the case.
Serious fraud complaints double in Afghan vote
Mon. Aug. 31 – KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan’s election fraud watchdog said on Sunday it is probing 567 allegations of abuse it considers serious enough to affect the outcome of the Aug 20 vote, more than double the number announced two days ago.
Obama Administration Seeks “Emergency Control” of the Internet
Mon. Aug. 31 – As the Cybersecurity Act of 2009 (S.773) wends its way through Congress, civil liberties’ advocates are decrying provisions that would hand the President unlimited power to disconnect private-sector computers from the internet.
Iran ’scores points’ on IAEA report despite US pressure
Sat. Aug. 29 – “As he (IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei) says in paragraph 26, Iran has cooperated with the agency, improving the safeguard measures in Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz,” Tehran’s IAEA ambassador, Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh, told Press TV.
S. America calls for expulsion of US troops
Sat. Aug. 29 – The leaders joined voices in expressing concerns about the presence of foreign forces in the region that might pose threats to the sovereignty of the bloc’s Member States – a reference to a recent military pact between the United States and Colombia.
US denies giving up missile shield plan
Fri. Aug. 28 – Washington has denied reports that it was abandoning a plan to deploy defense missile shield bases in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Castro: US aims to overthrow Chavez’s government
Fri. Aug. 28 – Fidel Castro has accused the US of seeking to overthrow Venezuela’s government and to establish power through its future military bases in Colombia.
After 7 months, Obama’s approval rating 50%
Fri. Aug. 28 – After seven months in power, US President Barack Obama’s approval rating has plunged to its lowest level, according to a new poll.
Animal House in Afghanistan
Posted: September 2, 2009 Filed under: War on Terror | Tags: Afghanistan, Contractors 3 Comments
by Daniel Schulman
Published: Sep. 01, 2009 – Mother Jones
Drunken brawls, prostitutes, hazing and humiliation, taking vodka shots out of buttcracks— no, the perpetrators of these Animal House-like antics aren’t some depraved frat brothers. They are the private security contractors guarding Camp Sullivan, otherwise known as the US Embassy in Kabul.
These allegations, and many more, are contained in a letter sent to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday by the Project on Government Oversight, which has been investigating the embassy security contract held by ArmorGroup North America (a subsidiary of Wackenhut, which is in turn owned by the security behemoth G4S). The contractor was the subject of a congressional probe earlier this summer that found serious lapses in the company’s handling of the embassy security contract, which internal State Department documents said left the embassy compound “in jeopardy.” Nevertheless, the government opted to extend the company’s 5-year, $189 million contract for another year.
The Rise of Mercenary Armies: A Threat to Global Security
Posted: September 1, 2009 Filed under: Imperial Power, War Crimes | Tags: Contractors, Iraq 7 Comments
Help White House Thwart Peace Movement
by Sherwood Ross
Published: Aug. 31, 2009 – Global Research
The growing use of private armies not only subjects target populations to savage warfare but makes it easier for the White House to subvert domestic public opinion and wage wars.
Americans are less inclined to oppose a war that is being fought by hired foreign mercenaries, even when their own tax dollars are being squandered to fund it.
“The increasing use of contractors, private forces, or, as some would say, ‘mercenaries’ makes wars easier to begin and to fight—it just takes money and not the citizenry,” said Michael Ratner, of New York’s Center for Constitutional Rights. “To the extent a population is called upon to go to war, there is resistance, a necessary resistance to prevent wars of self-aggrandizement, foolish wars, and, in the case of the United States, hegemonic imperialist wars.”
The U.S. Invades and Occupies Pakistan
Posted: August 31, 2009 Filed under: Imperial Power | Tags: CIA, Contractors, Pakistan 9 Comments
by Talha Mujaddidi
Published: Aug. 30, 2009 – Pak Alert Press
We are watching it happen in the streets. The recurring nightmare has become a grim, new reality for the people of Pakistan. After watching the horrors of the U.S. invasions and occupations of Iraq and neighboring Afghanistan for 8 years, the “war on terror” has finally arrived in The Land of the Pure. Obama is fulfilling his campaign promise to Pakistan. The sudden arrival of U.S. marines, U.S. military Hummers, the hired killers of Blackwater, houses barricaded for U.S. personnel in Islamabad and the construction of the world’s largest U.S. “Embassy” are terrorizing this nation of 180 million people. The U.S. slaughter and destruction in Iraq and neighboring Afghanistan for the last 8 years warn them of what may lie in store for them, their families, their land.
Blackwater founder accused of killing Iraqis
Posted: August 29, 2009 Filed under: War Crimes | Tags: Contractors 2 Comments
Published: Aug. 29, 2009 – Press TV
The head of the US ‘security contractor’ Blackwater, Erik Prince, is accused of deliberately causing the deaths of more than 20 civilians in Iraq between 2005 and 2007.
The accusations were made by attorneys for Iraqis suing the US company in a federal court in Virginia, USA.
According to the attorneys, Erik Prince must be held responsible for the killings as he provided Blackwater agents with weapons and instructions to kill innocent civilians.
Meanwhile, the attorneys have also accused the company of covering up the killings and allegedly plotting to murder witnesses in the criminal probe.
Flushing Blackwater
Posted: August 28, 2009 Filed under: War Crimes | Tags: CIA, Contractors 3 Comments
by Jeremy Scahill
Published: Aug. 26, 2009 – The Nation
Blackwater, the private mercenary company owned by Erik Prince, has been thrust back into the spotlight by a series of stunning revelations about its role in covert US programs. Since at least 2002, Blackwater has worked for the CIA in Afghanistan and Pakistan on “black” contracts. On August 19, the New York Times revealed that the company was, in fact, a central part of a secret CIA assassination program that Dick Cheney allegedly ordered concealed from Congress. The paper then reported that Blackwater remains a key player in the widening air war in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where it arms drone aircraft. These disclosures follow allegations–made under oath by former Blackwater employees–that Prince murdered or facilitated the murder of potential government informants and that he “views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe.”
Obama uses Blackwater in drone killings…
Posted: August 22, 2009 Filed under: War Crimes | Tags: Contractors, Obama 10 CommentsPublished: August 22, 2009, Press TV
The Obama administration has retained services of the notorious Blackwater guards to carry out drone attacks in Afghanistan, a new report reveals.
Despite controversial records of indiscriminate civilian killings in Iraq during the Bush administration, the shadowy US-based paramilitary security company has continued its ongoing relationship with Washington under President Barack Obama.
A fresh report by the New York Times revealed on Friday that Blackwater USA has been contracted to work with the unmanned Predator drones that carry out assassinations and terrorize villages in eastern and southern Afghanistan and the border regions of Pakistan.
Blackwater: CIA Assassins?
Posted: August 21, 2009 Filed under: Imperial Power | Tags: CIA, Contractors 33 Comments
by Jeremy Scahill
In April 2002, the CIA paid Blackwater more than $5 million to deploy a small team of men inside Afghanistan during the early stages of US operations in the country. A month later, Erik Prince, the company’s owner and a former Navy SEAL, flew to Afghanistan as part of the original twenty-man Blackwater contingent. Blackwater worked for the CIA at its station in Kabul as well as in Shkin, along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, where they operated out of a mud fortress known as the Alamo. It was the beginning of a long relationship between Blackwater, Prince and the CIA.
Now the New York Times is reporting that in 2004 the CIA hired Blackwater “as part of a secret program to locate and assassinate top operatives of Al Qaeda.” According to the Times, “it is unclear whether the CIA had planned to use the contractors to capture or kill Qaeda operatives, or just to help with training and surveillance.”
Iraq, Afghanistan still Blackwater playground…
Posted: August 19, 2009 Filed under: War Crimes | Tags: Contractors Leave a commentThe notorious US-based ‘Blackwater’ guards continue armed operations in Iraq, under a different name, delivering security for US subjects and facilities.
A State Department official told The Nation that Blackwater, renamed ‘Xe Services,’ is currently operating in Iraq under the name of “US Training Center” and will continue its armed presence there “at least until September.”
Blackwater was ordered out of Iraq shortly after its heavily armed operatives killed 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad nearly two years ago.
“Authorized personnel under that task order are permitted to continue carrying weapons until that time,” said a State Department diplomatic security official who spoke on the condition anonymity, according to the leftist weekly magazine published in the US.
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