Not much, no. In fact, what’s remarkable about the Western intervention is the complete lack of understanding who is fighting for what and why. Calling for democracy is essential, of course, but what else? Barack Obama’s recent speech backing the war was all about protecting civilians and America not willing to watch massacres take place.…
Showing all posts tagged Pakistan
At least the Guardian didn’t ask US how to proceed over Wikileaks
Unlike the New York Times: A few days before the cables’ release, two senior figures from the US embassy in Grosvenor Square called in to the Guardian‘s London offices for a chat. This discussion led to a surreal transatlantic telephone call on Friday 26 November – two days before launch. Alan Rusbridger agreed to ring…
Reporting the occupation; voices in Jaipur
Today I chaired a session here in Jaipur, India at the literature festival with three men who know something about war and conflict. Brit Rory Stewart, New Yorker’s Jon Lee Anderson and the Washington Post’s David Finkel. We faced a packed audience – hundreds in an outdoor tent with overflowing crowds hanging out as far…
Hersh on who really controls the world
Honesty is such a rare beast in journalism. Perhaps that’s why it takes a master who doesn’t fear a corporate overlord to silence/intimidate (ignore the petty intro): DOHA, Qatar—David Remnick, call your office. In a speech billed as a discussion of the Bush and Obama eras, New Yorker journalist Seymour Hersh delivered a rambling, conspiracy-laden…
War crimes are the secrets nobody discusses
Sick of corporate journalists simply repeating government talking points? Are we “winning” the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? The embedded mindset is alive and well. Dahr Jamail is a notable exception, independent reporter for years. Some choice comments from his recent interview with Truthout: A3N: How do they [mainstream media] address the argument that exposing…
Tunisia shows bankruptcy of US supporting brutes
Former long-time CIA officer Bruce Riedel wonders what the US should do in the Arab world in light of the upheavals in Tunisia. What about the people living in US-backed dictatorships across the region, or is the only concern how poor little Washington may handle it? Barack Obama’s challenge in Egypt will be to avoid…
Notes from today’s speech in Sydney to support Wikileaks
Today’s rally in Sydney was a good event, attracting around 1000 people, all of whom wanted to show solidarity with what Wikileaks stands for; transparency and real free speech. My speech addressed the often complicity of the mainstream media in keeping government secrets away from the public. They want to be gate-keepers, close to power.…
David Hicks shows us what we became after 9/11
My following book review appeared in yesterday’s Sydney’s Sun Herald newspaper: AUTOBIOGRAPHY Guantanamo: My Journey David Hicks (William Heinemann, $49.95) Reviewed by Antony Loewenstein Almost 10 years after the Bush administration launched the ”˜”˜war on terror’’, the victims of the policy remain largely voiceless. The unknown number of civilians murdered by Western bombs have no…
A disaster aka Afghanistan
The kind of letter that Western leaders need to read and appreciate. As the war in Afghanistan fails tragically, blood is on their hands for continuing to pursue imperial policies in a broken land: To the President of the United States: Mr. President, We have been engaged and working inside Afghanistan, some of us for…
Australia likes the role of regional bully rather well
No wonder Australia is so upset over Wikileaks; released cables show a government keen to keep military options (aka US fire-power) on the table. And Canberra’s enthusiasm for special forces in Pakistan is another worrying sign that “fighting terrorism” knows no limits, legalities or bounds: Kevin Rudd warned Hillary Clinton to be prepared to use…