The future is here, corporations who know the US military (and other countries, too) love nothing better than finding new ways to kill “enemies” (via McClatchy Newspapers): After a U.S. airstrike mistakenly killed at least 15 Afghans in 2010, the Army officer investigating the accident was surprised to discover that an American civilian had played…
Showing all posts tagged Afghanistan
Just what the world doesn’t need; US politicians telling us what to read online
This is the inevitable push by the “war on terror” crowd who have no problems with war propaganda from our side – the glorious fighting machines of Israel, America, Britain or the West – but the evil enemy must be silenced: American congressmen are calling on Twitter to block Taliban propagandists from the micro-blogging site.…
We have seen the future and it is polluted with drones
Tiny drones, massive drones and drones that can think like humans. This Washington Post feature explains how governments and private companies are set to make billions in the coming decades. Civilians suffering under drones? Ignored: In 1980, Abraham Karem, an engineer who had emigrated from Israel, retreated into his three-car garage in Hacienda Heights outside…
Drones won’t be bringing freedom to anybody anytime soon
Many in the corporate press love to luxuriate over drones, those seemingly silent and deadly killers against America’s “enemies”. The reality is rather different, explains Nick Turse in TomDispatch: According to statistics provided to TomDispatch by the Air Force, Predators have flown the lion’s share of hours in America’s drone wars.… As of October 1st,…
Afghanistan should watch out; vulture capitalists on the prowl
Although it receives little media coverage, Afghanistan has vast energy reserves. This is perfect for foreign firms to exploit a very vulnerable country. This story on ABC highlights the Australian role in this sordid activity: Afghanistan wants more Australian help – not from the military, but from Australian mining companies – to kick-start a post-war…
This is how Western forces gather “intelligence”
Human Terrain Systems is the term with private companies increasingly hired by the US army (and Australia) to use anthropologists and other related fields to gather “intelligence” in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. 21st century warfare (privatised, of course): More about this film here.
Understanding humanity in the back of an ambulance
My friend Benjamin Gilmour, author of the wonderful new book Paramedico… – he works alongside ambulance workers across the world – speaks on commercial Australian TV and mentions US crimes with drones against the people of Pakistan:
Private mercenaries set to continue reign in Afghanistan
Sigh: Afghan President Hamid Karzai scrapped on Sunday a March 2012 deadline he had set for the closure of private security firms, giving them until September 2013 to operate in the country. Karzai, a frequent critic of private security companies, has previously set dates for the cessation of their work in Afghanistan, but each time…