International Politics and Economy

Chris Woods writes at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism: US officials are claiming that an internal Pakistani assessment of civilian deaths from US drone strikes – obtained and published in full by the Bureau – is ‘far from authoritative.’ The secret document was obtained by the Bureau from three independent sources. It provides details of […]

al-Qaeda

Pakistan: 20% of US Drone Victims are Civilians, 12% are Children (Woods)

Juan Cole

Exclusive: Leaked Pakistani report confirms high civilian death toll in CIA drone strikes Chris Woods writes at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism: A secret document obtained by the Bureau reveals for the first time the Pakistan government’s internal assessment of dozens of drone strikes, and shows scores of civilian casualties. The United States has consistently […]

Islam

Are Extremist Buddhists in Burma attacking Helpless Muslims? (Walton)

Juan Cole

(Author title: “Matthew Walton: A Primer on the Roots of Buddhist/Muslim Conflict in Myanmar, and A Way Forward” ) Matthew J. Walton writes at ISLAMiCommentary Recently Myanmar has been in the news for more than just its surprising political reforms and nascent transition from military rule. Violent attacks—mostly by Buddhists against Muslims—have occurred in cities […]

Iran

Top 10 Reasons Americans should Dismiss Israel’s Netanyahu on Attacking Iran

Juan Cole

The Iranian electorate did about the most cruel thing possible to uber-hawk Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. It replaced former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with an eminently reasonable and personable successor, Hasan Rouhani. The Israeli and American politicians who desperately want to fall on Iran the way a hungry lion does on a lamb had […]

Domestic Surveillance

Top Ten American Steps toward a Police State

Juan Cole

The police state, a term first coined in the mid-19th century in German (Polizeistaat), is characterized by a standing political police, by intense domestic surveillance and by restrictions on the movements of citizens. Police states are on a spectrum, and unfortunately in the past decade the Unite States has moved toward police-stateness in small but […]

Domestic Surveillance

Mueller: FBI Drones on US Soil, used ‘Minimally’ (Young Turks)

Juan Cole

FBI director Robert Mueller admitted Wednesday that the FBI sometimes deploys drones over US territory. Cenk Uygur reports: Cenk points out that if the Bureau can use the drones minimally, there is no check on them being used extensively, and he evokes Orwell’s image of Big Brother.

Drones

US Drone Operator says, ‘I became a sociopath’, regrets 1626 Killings (Lest we forget)

Juan Cole

Lest we forget (from last summer): Brandon Bryant is haunted by his career as a drone contract killer for the US government. Drone operator: ‘I became a sociopath’, regrets 1626 assassinations.

CIA

Syria, NSA Spying, Popular Mobilization and History: Cole Interview in La Prensa (Ricky Martinez)

Juan Cole

Interview with Juan Cole by Ricky Martínez (These are the English notes of the interview rearranged in pyramid form; they were translated and published in a different sequence in Spanish at La Prensa of Panama City). Many thanks to Mr. Martinez for a wide-ranging conversation! RM: How is Syria different from Libya? Syria is different […]

al-Qaeda

Gitmo comes Home to America: Torture, Gag Orders and Legal Dirty Tricks have Corrupted the System (Brittain)

Juan Cole

Victoria Brittain writes at Tomdispatch.com A four-month hunger strike, mass force-feedings, and widespread media coverage have at last brought Guantanamo, the notorious offshore prison set up by the Bush administration early in 2002, back into American consciousness. Prominent voices are finally calling on President Obama to close it down and send home scores of prisoners […]