A welcome reminder that the Pashtuns, after defeating the Soviets in Afghanistan, have not forgotten the tactics used to defeat the once-mighty super-power: Looting of military convoys is nothing new in this part of the world. A few decades ago it was the Soviets who lost their AK47s, big fur hats and service medals. Pre-partition,…
Showing all posts tagged Pakistan
Analysis must not be a war casualty
My following article appears on ABC’s Unleashed: The Iraq war has virtually dropped off the media radar. The country remains far more dangerous than Afghanistan and yet Barack Obama’s “surge” against the Taliban and al-Qaeda is the biggest international story of the day. Even leading neo-conservative William Kristol writes in The Washington Post that Obama…
Americans want some quality time on their own (and the world says thanks)
The idea of American engagement around the world bringing greater stability and peace is highly questionable. Ask the people of Palestine, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and a host of other countries how they feel about Washington’s footprint. These results aren’t all that surprising. Perhaps some in the US will start to wonder what their country is…
Holding any criminal state to account, no matter how influential
This is truly fascinating and potentially important news. I have not read this in any mainstream news source: In an unprecedented decision, a Spanish judge has indicted five high-ranking Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials for their role in crimes of torture and genocide committed against Falun Gong practitioners. Among the defendants is former CCP head…
The US has no place in Afghanistan; get out now
Barack Obama is about to announce a troop surge into Afghanistan in a futile attempt to “win” the war. Yet another US President seduced by the rhetoric of the military and media elites. One of the bravest voices in that country is Malalai Joya. In the days ahead, when we hear from blow-hards who only…
Blackwater is a clear and present danger to us all
The latest on Blackwater, the US military contractor, is fascinating and is once again discovered by Jeremy Scahill: In an explosive new article in The Nation magazine, investigative journalist and Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill reveals the private military firm Blackwater is part of a covert program in Pakistan that includes planning the assassination and…
How the Israel lobby infects the brightest minds
Adam Shapiro, an award-winning documentary filmmaker and human rights activist, is currently working with the Free Gaza Movement. This is his latest article: One year ago, I watched election results coming in for Virginia’s Fifth Congressional District, where my friend and colleague Tom Perriello was challenging incumbent Virgil Goode, Jr. CNN kept flipping the winner…
How on earth did the wrong guys get Israeli weapons?
Israel has a world class arms industry, selling weapons to pretty much anybody. So this news is certainly curious: Use of Israeli-made light arms by militants against security forces in Waziristan has raised several questions amongst many recently. TheNation has learnt on good authority that militants are using Israeli-made light arms including “Uzi gun” and…
Silent but deadly US drone attacks are inspired by the Jewish state
I finally read Jane Mayer’s fascinating, recent piece in the New Yorker on Washington’s increasing reliance on Predator drones to kill “terrorists” and perceived enemies in Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere. I was struck by the constant references to Israel and the Jewish state’s influence on this insidious business: The advent of the Predator targeted-killing program…
Indonesia moves a little towards America, for now
Following my recent visit to Aceh in Indonesia, this piece in today’s Washington Post is particularly interesting (though highlights the seeming inability of the American corporate media to see the world in anything other than what benefits the US): In many ways, Indonesia — a nation of 240 million people scattered across 17,000 islands —…