The relentless US-led drone war against “terrorists” in Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and beyond rarely examines who is actually being killed. President Obama has massively expanded the global program. This weekend saw a Drone Summit held… in Washington DC that highlighted this still largely secret war. A keynote speaker was the leading investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill…
Showing all posts tagged United States
Shadow of Bin Laden continues to haunt
The life and times of Osama Bin Laden post 9/11 remains shrouded in mystery. During my recent visit to Pakistan, I spent time with Shaukat Qadir, a retired Pakistani Army Brigadier, who personally investigated the story behind Bin Laden’s killing last year. This lead story in the Guardian by Jason Bourke adds more details to…
Serco is determined to do one thing worldwide; turn a massive profit
If more evidence was needed of the global menace that is British multinational Serco (via Salon): On April 4, Barbara Harms’ boss forced her to attend a meeting about why she shouldn’t join a union. The two-hour, on-the-clock meeting was run by Michael Penn, a professional anti-union consultant. Harms says Penn told workers that “you’re…
Role of Taliban central in Afghanistan (whether the West likes it or not)
Intriguing interview in The Daily Beast that highlights the internal struggles within a movement that has beaten the US and its allies in Afghanistan: Not so long ago,… Agha Jan Motasim… was one of the most important men in the Afghan Taliban. That was before he was sacked as head of the ruling Quetta Shura’s political committee—and…
Who has power to fly drones inside the USA?
Electronic Frontier Foundation is digging: This week the… Federal Aviation Administration… (FAA) finally released its first round of records in response to… EFF’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit… for information on the agency’s drone authorization program. The agency says the… two… lists… it released include the names of all public and private entities that have applied for authorizations to fly drones…
Private military and intelligence still alive and well in Afghanistan
My following investigation appeared in Australian publication Crikey last week: The private security compound is on the outskirts of Kabul, along the road to Jalalabad, a notorious strip of highway, the landscape is predominantly industrial, with shipping containers set against a string of mountains on the horizon. Several logistics companies sit behind these concrete walls”‰—”‰this…
War business in Afghanistan
My following investigation is published by Lebanon’s Al Akhbar: Since the US invasion in 2001, Afghanistan has seen multiple private armies take control of the country’s security sector. The private security compound was on the outskirts of Kabul. Situated along the road to Jalalabad on a… notorious strip of highway, the landscape was industrial with sun-drenched…