Cenk Uygur, The Young Turks: “Four former Blackwater security guards were convicted Wednesday in the 2007 shootings of more than 30 Iraqis in Baghdad, an incident that inflamed anti-American sentiment around the globe and was denounced by critics as an illustration of a war gone horribly wrong. The men claimed self-defense, but federal prosecutors argued […]
Archives for October 2014
Top 5 Things More Americans will die of than Ebola this Year, including Guns
By Juan Cole The odd hysteria about ebola is being driven more by a media frenzy than the actual public health risks. Ebola is not the sort of disease that is likely to turn into a pandemic, becoming really wide spread. It is too hard to contract (it doesn’t spread by infected persons just breathing […]
WWI: Remembering how Europe Blockaded Lebanese Civilians & Killed 200,000 with Famine
BBC “Unknown to many, a third of the Lebanese population [then West Syria] died of famine and disease during World War One. BBC Arabic’s Carine Torbey recounts the horrifying story of the Famine of Mount Lebanon.” The famine of Mount Lebanon during WW1 – BBC News Note: Contrary to what Ms. Torbey alleges, the Ottomans […]
Are US Drone Strikes in Pakistan War Crimes? Only 12% of those Killed are Known Militants
By Rozina Ali Drone Strikes: The numbers don’t lie, except when they do By: Rozina Ali At a time when President Barack Obama has likened his new military strategy in Iraq and Syria to his drone programs in Yemen and Pakistan, disturbing new information has surfaced that damn drone strikes as indiscriminate in their effect […]
US Negotiator: All the Components of an Enrichment Deal with Iran are on the Table
By Golnaz Esfandiari The top U.S. negotiator in nuclear talks with Iran says Washington will not allow Tehran to obtain nuclear arms. Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman warned that an Iran armed with nuclear weapons could lead to an […]
Is Egypt’s Sinai going the Way of Syria? 30 Troops Killed by Militants
By Juan Cole The Arabic newspaper Ilaf reports that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has declared a state of emergency for 3 months in parts of the province of North Sinai after two attacks by Muslim radical groups in that province left 30 Egyptian soldiers dead. Ilaf says that al-Sisi is blaming Egypt’s intelligence services […]
You’ll be Surprised which Congressmen get Most Campaign Money from War Industry
AJ+ “War is a big industry in the United States, but who profits from it? AJ+ breaks down how much money was contributed by defense contractors to members of Congress in 2014 and exactly who got the bulk of that money.” These Congressmen Made A Lot Of Money From War – AJ+
Iraq: Are Senior ISIL Commanders already Defecting in Mosul & Tikrit?
By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | via Niqash.org Senior members of the Sunni Muslim extremist group, the Islamic State, have disappeared from Mosul and Tikrit. Sources suggest they defected for a number of reasons: they fear the end is nigh for their group, the threat posed by unhappy former allies who have already assassinated some […]
Double-Edged Sword: Can US overcome its Feelings of Exceptionalism?
By David Bromwich via Tomdispatch.com The origins of the phrase “American exceptionalism” are not especially obscure. The French sociologist Alexis de Tocqueville, observing this country in the 1830s, said that Americans seemed exceptional in valuing practical attainments almost to the exclusion of the arts and sciences. The Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, on hearing a report […]