Archive for the 'Foreign Policy' Category
George Bush’s idiotic joke shocks G-8 world leaders
Author: Mark Tahiliani
President Bush has said some stupid things before but so far this is the dumbest statement he’s made so far. In July.
“Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter.” –George W. Bush, in parting words to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy at his final G8 Summit, punching the air and grinning widely as the two leaders looked on in shock, Rusutsu, Japan, July 10, 2008
That wasn’t all.
Mr Bush also faced criticism at the summit after Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, was described in the White House press pack given to journalists as one of the “most controversial leaders in the history of a country known for government corruption and vice”.
The White House apologised for what it called “sloppy work” and said an official had simply lifted the characterisation from the internet without reading it.
From Google News.
read comments (0)Our new Secretary of Defense - Iran Contra Scandal
Author: Administrator
Not necessarily the news
Author: Administrator
The US government is denying a Pakistani national the right to speak of the interrogation methods that the CIA used against him while he was held in a secret prison.
Lawyers of the Majid Khan, who graduated from a Maryland high school , have issued statements about the treatment Khan receieved from the CIA. These including making Khan and other detainees wear diapers, and drink contaminated water making them vomit.
According to Pakistan’s Daily Times Khan was picked up for communicating with Khalid Sheik Mohammed and was planning to poison US reservoirs.
Why are we preventing from talking?
From the Washington Post:
The government says in new court filings that those interrogation methods are now among the nation’s most sensitive national security secrets and that their release — even to the detainees’ own attorneys — “could reasonably be expected to cause extremely grave damage.” Terrorists could use the information to train in counter-interrogation techniques and foil government efforts to elicit information about their methods and plots, according to government documents submitted to U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton on Oct. 26.
They must mean the interrogation techniques are ou most sensitive US security secrets now that the government removed Iraqi nuclear research documents from the Internets.
Rice visits Iraq. Makes stuff up about situation there.
Author: Administrator
Condoleeza Rice visited Iraq on Thursday and, wearing a flak jacket and surrounded by armed guards, declared Iraq as ‘making progress’.
Upon coming into Baghdad from the air, her plane was forced to circle for 40 minutes until the gunfire or mortar rounds abated.
She then took a helicopter from the airport into the city to avoid the dangerous “explosive-strewn” highway to Baghdad.
Then electricity went out during her meeting with President Talabani - the conversation was continued in the dark.
Here’s more.
US supporting warlords in Somalia
Author: Administrator
“The US, terrified that Islamists allied to al-Qaeda are gaining control in Somalia, has turned to the kind of warlords who once dragged dead American soldiers through the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, as its new allies in the “war on terror”.”
From the Sunday Herald (independent newspaper in Scotland).
What is the Salvador Option?
Author: Administrator
“Following that model, one Pentagon proposal would send Special Forces teams to advise, support and possibly train Iraqi squads, most likely hand-picked Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and Shiite militiamen, to target Sunni insurgents and their sympathizers, even across the border into Syria, according to military insiders familiar with the discussions. It remains unclear, however, whether this would be a policy of assassination or so-called “snatch” operations, in which the targets are sent to secret facilities for interrogation. The current thinking is that while U.S. Special Forces would lead operations in, say, Syria, activities inside Iraq itself would be carried out by Iraqi paramilitaries, officials tell NEWSWEEK.”
What happened in El Salvador?
Author: Administrator
Civil war:
In the 1970’s El Salvador was governed by a military dictatorship. The El Salvador economy has suffered from a previous war with Honduras and towards the end of the decade was destabilized by guerilla factions and civil unrest. This culminated in 1970’s with a goverment suppression of riots that left 7000 dead.
This dictatorship remained in power through rigged elections until 1979 when the US supported a military coup. Another right-wing military dictatorship was installed. The US involvement comes from a foriegn policy preventing any increase in leftist movements in Central and South America.
On March 24th, 1980 Archbishop Oscar Romero was assasinnated by the US installed government for being a popular figure and critic of the military dictatorship. Civil war erupts.
The rebels are known as FMLN - a left-wing group. The US offers a massive amount of monetary support to the El Salvador dictatorship to fight the rebels.
Among the tactics that the US is suspected of using is the creation of Slavadoran death sqauds. A unit of specially trained police to eliminate both rebel and civlian opposition. (US government still denies this. There is an incredible volume of evidence for rebutting official US statements. Including the recent use of the phrase ‘Salvador Option’ to describe training Iraqi paramilitary.)
FMLN took power in 1991 and a new constitution was enacted. The civil war left 75,000 people dead; 8,000 missing; 1,000,000 homeless or exiled.
Rumsfeld Redefines Weapons of War
Author: Administrator
Iraqi insurgents use blackberries, coniferous cell pines, logs, caves, and your first born baby in modern terror fight.
“The Pentagon chief said today’s weapons of war included e-mail, Blackberries, instant messaging, digital cameras and Web logs, or blogs.”
“Our enemies have skillfully adapted to fighting wars in today’s media age, but … our country has not adapted,” Rumsfeld said.”
Saving the best for last:
“For the most part, the U.S. government still functions as a ‘five and dime’ store in an eBay world,” - Donald Rumsfeld on the US non-dominating presence int the US - Alqueraqiinsurgentnonfreedomtour technobattle.
American’s don’t believe there’s a war
Author: Administrator
“If you don’t think we’re in a war, then think again,” said Santorum, justifying President George Bush’s wiretapping procedures to listen in on possible terrorist conversations. “Most people don’t believe there is war. And the war could have been avoided. Now we’re in a war, but it’s a different kind of war.”
Ricky Santoratch on War
Read the rest of this entry »
The Salvador Option
Author: Administrator
The following article from Max Fuller examines the use of the ‘Salvador Option’ in Iraq. Namely, moving from fighting the insurgency with American and coalition forces to using ‘Special Police Commandos’.
Why the comparison to San Salvador? If you’re not familiar with the US involvement in El Salvador in the late 70’s and through the 80’s there’s no better resource than Noam Chomsky. Chomsky consistently uses El Salvador as the turning point in the United States sponsorship of terrorism abroad. Actually - sponsorship is too kind of a word for Chomsky.
This article linked to below the fold, by Max Fuller, draws corollaries between the US trained police commandos in Iraq and the rising occurence of mass graves in Iraq. Particularly intriguing is the locations in which these special forces are operating and the areas in which these mass graves are being discovered.