Laura Flanders | Jeremy Scahill: Rising Up Against Empire and the Easter Uprising (Video)
Jeremy Scahill on drones, activism today, assassinations, and more.
John Kiriakou | Obama Should Demand FBI Director James Comey’s Resignation Today
The FBI’s ongoing, long-term incompetence has led to the deaths of far too many Americans. San Bernardino and Orlando are only the beginning. If the FBI can’t do its job, if its only counterterrorism successes are when it entraps hapless idiots who don’t know any better and who never had any intention of committing a terrorist act, it should be scrapped.
US Making a Deadly Mistake in Afghanistan, Says Former Diplomat
“Under General (David) Petraeus, starting in 2010, the U.S. initiated scores of airstrikes, as well as dozens of nighttime commando raids, daily against Afghan insurgent targets," he recalled. "Many of these strikes hit legitimate targets, but many more of them hit civilians. The surge in increase of public support for the Taliban in areas of the air and commando strikes is undeniable.”
I Am the Beggar of the World: Poems by Afghan Women
Hakimi: The title of the book, which was taken from this last landay, is an epigraph of the lives of women indentured from birth by a patriarchal culture. The perils they face in their homeland, however, are not only inflicted by the men in their society, but also, as many landays show, by foreign military forces.
Ann Jones | Afghanistan “After” the American War: Once More Down the Rabbit Hole
Tomgram: Ann Jones, The Never-Ending War. Jones has been remarkably, consistently, undeniably ahead of the curve on the conflict, a reality reflected in her revelatory look at the deeply personal costs of America’s second Afghan War in her now-classic book, "They Were Soldiers: How the Wounded Return from America's Wars -- The Untold Story." Tom Engelhardt
The Drone Papers | Part 5: Manhunting in the Hindu Kush
Devereaux: During his years of research, what Lewis uncovered in his examination of U.S. airstrikes, particularly those delivered by machines thought to be the most precise in the Pentagon’s arsenal, was dramatic. He found that drone strikes in Afghanistan were 10 times more likely to kill civilians than conventional aircraft.
Prominent Veterans Group Just Called On US Public to Say No to War
Letter: There is not a perfect solution to the tragedy of Afghanistan. War has been the norm for the people of Afghanistan for nearly 37 years. The answer to ending the violence there is political, not military. The U.S. must withdraw and give the nation of Afghanistan back to the people of Afghanistan.
Kathy Kelly/Buddy Bell | No Warlords Need Apply: A call for credible peacemaking in Afghanistan
Kelly: Recanting such threats and removing drones from the skies of Afghanistan during peace talks would inspire respect for the idea of peace processes. Rural populations -- the “constituency” of the Taliban in Afghanistan-- fear the drones and look for protection, making them vulnerable to recruitment by armed militias vowing to eject the foreign militaries.
Sonali Kolhatkar: We Have Failed Afghanistan Again and Again
Kolhatkar: In the 14 years it has occupied Afghanistan, America’s longest war has achieved mostly bloodshed. Despite spending billions of dollars—the U.S. offered its largest share of foreign aid to Afghans last year—there is little to show for it. Nearly $10 billion was spent on arming and training Afghan forces. But as the dismal state of the Afghan National Army shows, that money may as well have been poured down the drain.
Patrick Kennelly: The Unspeakable in Afghanistan
Patrick Kennelly writes from Kabul. By Patrick Kennelly VCNV.org December 17, 2014 I am sending this article on behalf of Patrick Kennelly who is representing Voices for Creative Nonviolence in Kabul. —Kathy Kelly The year 2014 marks the deadliest year in Afghanistan for civilians, fighters, and foreigners. The situation has reached a new low More
Noam Chomsky | The Sledgehammer Worldview
Closer to home it is harder to ignore the consequences of U.S. state terror. There is now great concern about the flood of children fleeing to the U.S. from Central America. ...Obama has proposed a humanitarian response to the tragic influx: more efficient deportation. Do alternatives come to mind? Monday, 07 July 2014 00:00By Noam Chomsky, More
Noam Chomsky | The Sledgehammer Worldview
Closer to home it is harder to ignore the consequences of U.S. state terror. There is now great concern about the flood of children fleeing to the U.S. from Central America. ...Obama has proposed a humanitarian response to the tragic influx: more efficient deportation. Do alternatives come to mind? Monday, 07 July 2014 00:00By Noam Chomsky, More