
Quo Vadis, Homine? Are ye Sapiens or failed species?



Oliver Stone on the Untold U.S. History from the Atomic Age to Vietnam to Obama’s Drone Wars. Academy Award-winning Oliver Stone has teamed up with historian Peter Kuznick to produce a 10-part Showtime series called "Oliver Stone’s Untold History of the United States"... Video clip: http://disc.yourwebapps.com/discussion.cgi?disc=149495;article=142982 ...drawing on archival findings and recently declassified documents, the filmmakers critically examine U.S. history, from the atomic bombing of Japan to the Cold War, to the fall of communism, and continuing all the way through to the Obama administration. Contrary to what’s taught in schools across the country, the filmmakers found the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were militarily unnecessary and morally indefensible. They also suggest the Soviet Union, not the United States, ultimately defeated the Germans in World War II. And, they assert, the United States, not the Soviet Union, bore the lion’s share of responsibility for perpetuating the Cold War. The filmmakers also found U.S. presidents, especially in wartime, have frequently trampled on the Constitution and international law, and they note the United States has brought the world dangerously close to nuclear war by repeatedly brandishing nuclear threats. The first episode of the series aired Monday night on Showtime. For more about this series and the companion book, we are joined by Stone and Kuznick. Guests: Oliver Stone, 3-time Academy Award-winning director and screenwriter. A Vietnam War veteran, he has made around two dozen acclaimed Hollywood films, including Platoon, Wall Street, Salvador, Born on the Fourth of July, JFK, Nixon, W., South of the Border and Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps. Oliver Stone has now co-written a 10-part Showtime series called Oliver Stone’s Untold History of the United States. The first episode launched Monday night on Showtime. It features a companion book with a similar name. Peter Kuznick, professor of history and director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University. He is the co-writer on a 10-part Showtime series called Oliver Stone’s Untold History of the United States. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM6RqlnTryA&feature=autoplay&list=TLQ3fZR66fqsk&playnext=1 More excellent VIDEOS about "America the beautiful": http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=16K6m3Ua2nw#! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QPKKQnijnsM Cheering enslavement and deception Bostonians fall for the feds' con game, just like Americans did on 9/11 By John Kaminski pseudoskylax@gmail.com https://therebel.org/kaminski Thousands of people in greater Boston took to the streets late last night cheering the false flag operation that kept them imprisoned in their own homes for the better part of two days while federal agents led local police on a mission of vigilante justice against two young patsies set up to take the fall for the Boston Marathon bombing. It was an ominous foreshadowing of America's immediate future. One of the patsies was murdered by police in a late night firefight; his younger brother hid in a boat bleeding from wounds parked in a suburban backyard before ultimately surrendering to an army of lawmen. He remains in serious condition in a Boston hospital, while a federal "interrogation team" prepares to question him. As estimated half million people over a wide swath of greater Boston were commanded to remain in their homes and not to answer their doors during the feverish manhunt for the pair of young Russian immigrants the feds have fingered as the bombers on Boylston Street. Late Saturday night (4/20), however, a legendary Internet YouTuber (DAHBOO77) released footage of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the younger of the two brothers who is now in Deaconess Hospital, leaving the scene of the bombing WITH HIS BACKPACK STILL ON HIS BACK, followed by frames of someone suspected being a member of "The Craft" (presumably affiliated with both the infamous Blackwater group of mercenaries and the U.S. federal government — and God knows what other terrorist organization that are routinely praised as freedom fighters and defenders of American-style liberty by the mouthpiece U.S. media) fleeing the post-bombing chaos in Boston WITHOUT HIS BACKPACK . . . giving the most conclusive evidence yet recorded that this tragedy was clearly a federal false flag operation . . . . . . and making the lockdown of nearly a million civilians and consequent terror mayhem operation a total hoax perpetrated by the entire spectrum of U.S. law enforcement agencies. View it for yourself if YouTube hasn't already censored it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjocGidSLJw Massive public gatherings such as sporting events in Boston have been canceled for the past few days, and those gatherings that were held were marked by ostentatious displays of grateful patriotism, notably at a pro hockey game where everyone sang the national anthem so emotionally it was shown on all the networks to further prevent people from thinking about the killer cops who engineered the whole operation. The newscasts, as usual, have been shameful. There is no longer any difference from what the government says and what the media say. Those of us who have done the research know that everything the U.S. federal government says is a lie — from the 9/11 tale which the government says was pulled off by Muslims in caves in Afghanistan using people to fly complex jumbo jets into precise targets, and about whom it has been proven these so-called hijackers couldn't even fly small airplanes. Precious few brainwashed Americans know that everything since the beginning of the 20th century has been a lie, from the assassination of President William McKinley in 1900 right up to the cynical invasion of Syria in 2012, with America using the same people who it blamed for 9/11. All the patriotic histrionics of recent days are as much lies as the CIA-Mossad controlled law enforcement types who concocted this Boston Marathon terror "drill" (which was actually announced before and during the race, according to reliable witnesses not employed by the cops). One further blunder occurred on the day the FBI announced that that Tsarnaev brother were the "suspects" they were looking for, and that was the announcement earlier in the day that they had found another suspect, leaked the news to one of their flunkies at one of the corrupt TV networks, and then scrapped the idea when they realized blaming Second Amendment patriots mysteriously connected to Al-Qaida (which is another cynical CIA fantasy) just wasn't going to fly again. The government has, once again, been caught red-handed scheduling a terror drill and producing an actual terrorist incident with the deaths of innocent people resulting from it. Yet, due to the brainwashing power of an utterly corrupt media, thousands of people came out into the streets cheering and singing, praising the behavior of the police who had ordered them imprisoned in their homes, for shooting an innocent young college student and killing his brother Tamarlan, both of whom had been demonized as assassins. Not one of those cheering ever asked themselves if a suspect in a crime is actually guilty of that crime. To all those mind locked people who cheered, the blood of an innocent was just as good as the blood of the guilty. But in these sad, last days of America, everybody's guilty until proven innocent, which is proof positive that those in control of our government, these insane liars, have absolutely turned America upside down. They are the very homegrown terrorists they claim to want to eradicate. If we are to survive, all these cynical and corrupt authority figures, who gained their posts through the corruption of a poisoned system, must be disempowered, neutralized, arrested, convicted and executed for their capital crimes. To all those people seen cheering police state behavior by the police, it should be known that your day is coming, and sooner than you think. Soon you will be falsely charged with a crime, pursued by police, and possibly shot down in the street. And when that happens, crowds will cheer your death wildly, even though you've done nothing wrong. Just like they did for Tamarlan, a 26-year-old husband with a 3-year-old child, and his little brother Dzhokhar, 19, a promising pre-med student at a Massachusetts state college. This is what America has become by reading newspapers, watching TV, and believing what they said without making it your business to find out if they were really telling the truth — because they weren't, and aren't, and never have been. And one other thing. All those people who have been unfairly imprisoned, insanely tortured, and unjustly murdered during the last dozen years — all because of the false flag 9/11 lie — were innocent, just like the Tsarnaev brothers, whose death and injuries the brainwashed American populace now so enthusiastically cheers. The big sleep BROUGHT TO YOU BY COPS POSING AS TERRORISTS When are we going to wake up, sheeple ? By John Kaminski https://therebel.org/kaminski http://johnkaminski.info Will we ever be able to see how our government deliberately turns our joyous days into tragedies, and now has advanced its criminality into killing innocent people as part of a drill to show us why we have to be frisked, molested or irradiated at every public event we attend? It's not exactly new stuff, this Boston Massacre Marathon Drill. For those who still haven't gotten the message, the Boston Police have admitted and numerous witnesses have observed that before the bombs that killed and maimed hundreds of happy observers of an innocent road race that the authorities were conducting an anti-terror drill during the race. The bombs that went off on that sunny, happy spring afternoon prove beyond doubt — and once again, for the hundredth time — that it is our government that are the terrorists, and they're not out to protect us — they're out to kill us — and rob us and enslave us — while they demonstrate this demented need for security as they themselves create the terror. How many recent examples do you need? How about Sandy Hook and Aurora, two psyops that are riddled with questions the government will never answer? We don't really know if any of those human beings the cop-controlled media said were killed were actually killed at all, but we do know that if anyone actually was killed — like Adam Lanza and his mother — they were doubtless killed by cops posing as terrorists. We don't know if James Holmes actually killed anyone in that Colorado theater complex. We have certainly never seen him in a condition to kill a fly, never mind people. Drugged into a stupor and not permitted to explain what he knew to the public is all we've ever seen of him, with all of his history provided by our cop-friendly media. Anybody who was killed in these so-called terror events was killed by cops, just as so many innocent people are murdered these days by these rampaging thugs in uniforms. The so-called Sandy Hook massacre was clearly a psyop. A top ranking cop even came out and said anybody who challenges the official version of events could be put in jail, verifying the lies he was spewing. They switched the license plate on the mysterious red van and attached it to Adam Lanza's Honda. Why would they do that, except to cover up their crimes? But this kind of deception is not exactly new stuff. In fact, when you look closely at these phenomena — all of American history, at least throughout the 20th century and probably longer than that— is exactly the same kind of false flag operation, emotionally blackmailing the populace into something they don't want to do that is not in their best interests. Think about this, people. Think about the string of catastrophes that have plagued the public mind and diminished the public's health in recent memory. Hurricane Sandy? First storm you ever saw with an uncanny S-turn in the worst possible location precisely predicted five days in advance. And then think back to Hurricane Katrina, when they had to bomb the levies to get the necessary disastrous effect. The Gulf Oil Spill, on which the same people who run the government made billions by betting the disaster would happen. Or the crotch bomber and the shoe bomber, and the prosecution of drugged and duped drifters that led us to getting cancer or being sexually molested at airports and other public venues. The Boston Marathon Massacre is the next step in this adventure. Now we'll have to be groped — "to protect the public" — at every public event we attend. We all are tempted to believe that these false flag psyop events are some kind of new phenomenon. Oh, the feckless, badly educated masses consider them to be real enough, and consequently believe what the government tells them, which makes them want to go out and shoot the nearest Muslim, or their next door neighbor who talks about the Second Amendment. But this activity is not new. It is the essence of American history — leaders foisting a scam on all of us because they have received giant bribes to do so. The Boston Marathon Massacre stands as merely the latest in a seemingly endless series of deceptions that stretches back through time — Aurora, Sandy Hook, and "killing" Osama bin Laden, the mere mention of whom takes us back to the granddaddy of all American political lies, the 9/11 massacre, which our government refused to let us investigate authentically because it was the trigger that led to the needless deaths of millions of people, which our government wanted to happen. This is perhaps the most stunning example ever of cops posing as terrorists, and as we can adduce from the events on Boylston Street in Boston on Patriots Day, continues today stronger than ever. Will we ever wake up and see the spreading scam for what it is? When you put everything into context and take the wider view — the biotech food, the toxic geoengineering, the mind-dulling fluoride, the carcinogenic radiation, the poison medicine, the legal system that is a cross between the Mafia and an African tribe of cannibals, a school system with all the relevance of a daytime TV soap opera, and a media absolutely uncritical of our killer government, the answer is clearly no — we will not wake up, even as we know we are perishing by the minute. "The Big Sleep" is the title of a 1939 mystery novel by Raymond Chandler and a euphemism for death. Full of characters who hide their ulterior motives and kill anyone to advance their warped goals, it is a condition that engulfs us today. The only way the world can escape this imposed amnesia, already so well advanced throughout the world, is to immediately evict and execute all those elected officials who continue to participate in this colossally big lie, who willingly assist in this gigantic terror hoax as a way to get temporarily rich in the deepening twilight of humanity's slide toward oblivion and extinction. Enforcing bogus laws, planting evidence, and intimidating the innocent, the cops are today's terrorists, and the dupes they deceive into the taking the fall are you and me, and all the other millions of oblivious stooges who refuse to see what they're doing. ---------------------------------------------- John Kaminski is a writer who lives on the Gulf Coast of Florida, constantly trying to figure out why we are destroying ourselves, and pinpointing a corrupt belief system as the engine of our demise. Solely dependent on contributions from readers, please support his work by mail: 6871 Willow Creek Circle #103, North Port FL 34287 A World Without Capitalists Is Necessary Mathaba.net by Frank Scott The unemployment rate in the USA is down to just over 8%. This is evidence that we are in a recovery from a recession. But that rate is actually higher than it was when this particular recession began. The patient’s temperature has gone up, a sure sign that the patient is getting better. Huh ? Living under the rules of a profit and loss religion in a market church controlled by private clergy, almost anything negative can be made to sound positive, especially to those who have not yet felt the full impact of a disintegrating political economy. But those who are experiencing its worst aspects find no relief in academic jargon about structural or cyclical problems , stagnation , supply/demand curves, unemployment blips and market equilibrium. None of this helps them find jobs or borrow enough money to pay their rent, mortgage, food bills or education loans. And as those people are not only in the USA but in the rest of the world, the global nature of the problem makes it more clear that a solution is far beyond a particular nation state and concerns all of humanity. An old admonition to act local but think global has come to mean far more than was originally intended. Then it had almost nothing to do with economics but now, if we don’t think and act economically we may assure failure for the planet and all its inhabitants. That’s us, whatever market terminology may be used to hide that fact behind national, racial, religious or other divisive identity group labels that help keep power in minority hands. And that minority is doing better than ever, in the short run, amassing more power and money than any past godlike royalty in what were supposed to have been more primitive societies. How much has really changed since ancient times when peasants and slaves were ground underfoot so that royal families and their wealthy sponsors could live lives of luxury ? Not much, in essence, though the material standard of living for workers became what was called middle class and assured far more material comfort than previous generations of common people enjoyed. That lasted until the present breakdown began decreasing the income of more people at a faster rate so that the wealth of less people could increase at a greater rate. What kind of system is this ? This kind: If people are murdered in wars, that is good for the weapons business. If illness and disease run rampant that is good for the medical business. If natural disaster ravages communities and kills people, that is good for the construction industry and the burial business. Such are the realities of the cold blooded economics by which the people of the world have been organized for hundreds of years. A profit for one always means a loss for many. The idea of keeping people healthy, safe, secure and alive is reduced to the private force of doing so only if they are able to create profits for those selling health, safety, security and life itself to the highest bidder in the market. If we can’t afford to buy those things and charity does not exist for us, we can just drop dead. Millions of us do, and not only in bloody wars which profit the war makers. Many of us starve for lack of food while others have to go on diets because they eat so much. Many of us sleep in doorways, on the street or under bridges, while dogs and cats have their own rooms in comfortable homes. None of this happens because of individuals who are thoughtless or cold hearted or murderous, although such do exist. But in a system which dictates that profit must be created in a market sale, the owner of a private firm that makes band aids can be the nicest person on earth but still only profit and prosper if lots of people are bleeding. The social concept of doing all that is possible to avoid bleeding would be terrible for his private business. That is the case for every single human endeavor in the capital dominated religious belief system of the market, an anti-human, anti-social core of political economics that is threatening the future of all people all over the world. Criticism and rebellion to such injustice is the history of humanity but today it is growing far beyond the national minorities previously involved in such struggle. People organized to obey authority, work for others to survive, live in physical poverty or shop in moral poverty and vote for employees of wealthy rulers when allowed to and call it democracy, have remained unorganizable for the kind of change now necessary for the survival of humanity. But as the critical conditions grow worse, new methods of communication among the people are helping bring more rebellious response to this old order of great wealth for the few at cost of crippling poverty and debt for the many. Under the threat of potential social collapse, environmental destruction and radical revolution, those who reap the greatest profits are exploiting, ravaging and murdering at insane rates in mindless desperation to maintain their power and wealth. That cannot continue and is no longer tolerable to billions of human beings nor the planet’s natural support system. All over the world of capitalist anti-social democracy, the collapsing structure has brought about calls for austerity from the rulers and their paid minions in government. This means further losses absorbed by the majority so that even greater profits can accrue to ruling minorities. Establishment philosophers of mass culture operating through corporate media still have enormous impact as they explain why the present reality is all that exists and must be experienced without substantial question. But when increasingly painful economic conditions for more people combine with increasingly dangerous conditions for much of the natural environment, the complex of events called material reality take on a new meaning well understood by growing numbers who face that reality in all its harshness and are less influenced by misinformation, propaganda and economic fairy tales. Thus, many world citizens, even while their governing powers continue representing capital, wars and injustice, are rejecting the ugly burdens forced on them by their rich overlords. Elections in some places are small indications of change but far more indicative than the voting process which is still under the control of capital, are the rising multitudes all over the world all aiming for the same goal: a new world based on democratic power exercised by people taking action as members of the one and only human race and not simply as parties, religions, sects, cults or other labeled divisions which serve to keep minorities in control of majority created wealth. Those tiny minorities are the capitalists who somehow own the fantastic wealth produced by enormous majorities of previously divided people. The divisions still exist and the power still is in the hands of those minorities whose days may be numbered, but so are those of humanity as well if action is not taken to create the world of democratic equality which has been the stuff of wishes and dreams but must become reality. Or else. Doomsayers and doubters are in abundance and are to be expected, even when they are not on the payroll of the ruling minority. It’s easy to look at the state of the world and surrender to present reality. But that is only possible for those not yet suffering the ever increasing misfortune of dependence on a political economics of profit for a few through loss, pain and misery for most. It is not just time for social change activists but for all citizens of the world’s 99% to heed the words quoted at the beginning. An end to the reign of minority capitalism is necessary to save the earth and all its people so that we can begin a human society offering hope for all and not just some. Netanyahu Says War is Peace by Stephen Lendman – mathaba.net, 09.11.2012 He sounds like Obama. He has delusions of Big Brother. He's turning Israel into Oceania. He believes freedom is slavery and ignorance is strength. Rogue leaders think and govern that way. Netanyahu's one of the worst. Reelect him and he may destroy the Middle East and Israel with it. In January, Israelis have their say. They can banish this menace and be done with him. Don't bet they'll do the right thing. They're almost as out of touch with reality as Americans. They're also indifferent and dismissive about threats to their welfare. People who do little or nothing to protect themselves against rogue governments lose freedom and security. They're also easy propaganda targets. On October 30, Haaretz headlined "Netanyahu: Israeli strike on Iran nuclear plants will only serve to calm Mideast," saying: Destabilization won't happen, he claimed. How so, he didn't explain. He makes stuff up. Israelis smart enough to know better believe it. "Five minutes after (an attack), contrary to what the skeptics say, I think a feeling of relief will spread across the region," he claimed. "Iran isn't popular in the Arab world, far from it. Some governments in the region, as well as their citizens, have understood that a nuclear-armed Iran would be dangerous for them, not just for Israel." He wants people to forget that over 100 participating NAM nations convened in Tehran. Doing so expressed support. Perhaps they're tired of Israel and Western nations targeting Iran unfairly. Attacking the Islamic Republic now perhaps would engender world wrath. Israel's security would be jeopardized. Washington may make more enemies by partnering in a blatantly illegal act. Don't think the wrong thing won't happen. Odds favor war, not peace. NAM's final communique opposed it. It contained around 700 clauses. Topics addressed included: • opposition to the misuse of human rights; • global nuclear disarmament; • opposition to racism and Islamophobia; • support for Iran's peaceful nuclear program; • opposition to US sanctions; • opposition to outside interference in Syria's internal affairs; • support for national sovereignty; and • solidarity with and support for Palestinian rights. Israel and America are on the wrong side of reality. Together they menace humanity. Iran threatens no one. Its nuclear program is peaceful. Its neighbors know it. So do American, European, and Israeli leaders. Admitting it would undermine their regime change agenda. Netanyahu's world vision is megalomaniacal. He's pushing Washington to partner in attacking Iran. Odds favor it. Obama, Romney and party leaders pledge unabashed support for Israel. It's been steadfast for decades. Call it a special relationship from hell. At issue is how much longer. On many vital issues, the Israeli tail wags the US dog. What benefits Israel strategically doesn't always help America. Increasingly, Israel is more liability than ally. It's time Washington recognized reality and cut the cord. James Petras once said "(t)he US-Israeli relationship is the first in modern history in which the imperial country covers up a deliberate major military assault by a supposed ally." He referred to the 1967 USS Liberty attack. Israel bombed and strafed it. Dozens of US seamen were killed. Around 170 were wounded. The vessel was heavily damaged. Israel got away with murder. It wasn't the first or last time. From then to now, the relationship strengthened. Today more than ever it threatens world peace. Media scoundrels conceal it. It's time to reveal what's been denied too long. It's time to cut ties and move on. Immanuel Wallerstein sees it coming. Since at least 1967, he said: "Support for Israel in every possible way has been a centerpiece of U.S. foreign policy….Few dare challenge it." "But the 'few' are beginning to get more open support from military figures, who suggest that Israel’s politics are dangerous in terms of U.S. military interests." "Will the pervasive support of Israel continue unabated in the coming decade or two? I doubt it. Israel may be the last of U.S. emotional commitments to fade. But fade it almost surely will." Only the fullness of time will reveal when. It won't surprise other Israeli analysts when it happens. They predict the same thing. So do thoughtful Israeli leaders. With electoral priorities in mind, Netanyahu claims an Iranian threat for political advantage. Fear is a powerful motivator. It works every time. Few take the trouble to learn what's true or false. Lemming Israeli voters may buy NetanyahuSpeak and reelect him. They'll be impressed if he firms up Western support. At the same time, they oppose war on Iran, at least unilaterally. Propaganda repeated ad nauseam usually changes opinions. It's in low gear now. Expect it revving up post-Israeli elections. War next year may happen. Tehran expects it. It's ready to respond in kind. Some believe Israel's October 24 attack on a Khartoum arms factory was prelude to attacking Iran. The distance from Southern Israel to the Sudanese capital is about the same as to Iran's Natanz and Fordo facilities - about 1,800 km. London's Sunday Times said eight Israeli F-151 planes carried out the raid. Other reports said four planes. Sudan's Information Minister, Ahmed Bilal Osman, said: "The sophisticated warplanes and weapons used in the attack are available to no country in the region except Israel." Israeli aircraft struck the facility. It was heavily damaged or destroyed. Sudan blamed Israel. IDF missile debris was identified. Israeli officials refused comment. Sudan reserved the right to retaliate. Mossad-connected DEBKAfile (DF) claims the plant produced Iranian surface-to-surface Shehab missiles. It said Israel's "Air Force has a long record of preemptive attacks (on) an enemy’s long-range missiles in the early stages of a conflict." Saying so perhaps suggests something big is planned. DF said high-ranking Iranian military officials inspected the damage. Iran's Revolutionary Guards know much about Israel's ability to strike short or long-range. If, in fact, they're in Sudan, they may learn more. Satellite images confirm an air strike. Large craters were visible. Sudan's Yarmouk military complex was targeted. Allegedly missiles produced for Iran were destroyed. Israel claims Sudan supplies Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas with weapons. Netanyahu is committed to confrontation over diplomacy. He wages daily war on Palestine. If reelected, expect the worst against Iran. Uniting with Avigdor Lieberman makes it more likely. Bastard Obama wants state-sponsored murder legalized By Stephen Lendman – mathaba.net “Democrat” Obama constitutes elevation of murders to a higher level. He wants more evil. He accelerated work to develop explicit rules for the targeted killings of “terrorists” by unmanned drones, he wants standards and procedures established. In other words, he wants murder legalized. Washington designates anti-war/imperial opponents "terrorists." He wants new rules giving him clear authority to murder them. Israel designates Palestinians wanting to live free from occupation and state terror the same way. Rogue states operate that way. Obama wants new standards in place. He wants cover for governing illegally. He wants fundamental US and international laws overridden. He wants tyrannical authority. He wants final say. He wants diktat power to be the last word. He wants to be judge, jury and executioner. He wants it codified and made legal. Times writer Scott Shane earlier called drone killings an effective "war on terror" policy. He's comfortable about permitting what US and international laws prohibit. His view differs marginally from Times editorial policy. Last May, The Times headlined "Too Much Power for a President," saying: Obama thinks "the shadow war on terrorism gives (him) the power to choose targets for assassination, including Americans, without any oversight." That policy "is very troubling." Times editors don't oppose drone killings. They're wary about one person having diktat power to order them. They're mainly concerned about Americans. Other people matter less. US citizens deserve due process, they said. Apparently they believe Americans are more equal than others. At the same time, they're concerned about a "perpetual war on terror (permitting) lethal force against anyone" for any reason. Times policy stopped short of drawing inviolable red lines. Murder is illegal. US and international laws are inviolable. They're clear and unequivocal. Times editors tried having it both ways. On the one hand, they said: "A unilateral campaign of death in untenable." On the other, they added: Obama "should publish clear guidelines for targeting to be carried out by nonpoliticians, making assassination truly a last resort, and allow an outside court to review the evidence before placing Americans on a kill list." Legitimate courts don't pronounce death sentences without trials, proper legal representation, due process, habeas rights, and overall judicial fairness. Maybe Times editors forgot. Internal discussions continue, said Shane, about whether remote-control killing should be freely exercised or used as a last resort against designated enemies. He also ignored fundamental rule of law principles. Spurning them constitutes tyrannical governance. Failure to explain what's too fundamental to disregard makes editors and journalists complicit. Media scoundrels support America's worst crimes of war and against humanity. Aggressive wars are cheerled. Enormous numbers are slaughtered. Retail killing does it selectively. Murder is still murder. Extrajudicial killing by any means is lawless. Leaders governing this way are tyrants. They should be outed, condemned, and punished. Remote-control drone killings are especially troublesome. A report jointly prepared by Stanford University's International Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Clinic (SU) and New York University School of Law's Global Justice Clinic (NYU) titled "Living Under Drones" explained. Drone killings are indiscriminate. Nameless, faceless victims are murdered. Most are noncombatants. They threaten no one. Many are women and children. Legal experts say drone killings outside war theaters set a dangerous precedent. Claims about making America safer are false. Evidence shows only 2% of victims are high-level combatants. Collateral killings facilitate anti-American recruitment. SU/NYU's report said Washington must conduct "a fundamental re-evaluation of current targeted killing practices, taking into account all available evidence, the concerns of various stakeholders, and the short and long-term costs and benefits." A "significant rethinking (is) long overdue." Policy makers can't ignore civilian harm and counterproductive impacts much longer. Perhaps what's happening abroad is planned for America. On February 3, the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (HR 658) cleared both houses of Congress after differences between Senate and House versions were resolved. On February 14, Obama signed it into law. It authorizes domestic drone spying under provisions to test and license commercial drones by 2015. Estimates of up to 30,000 UAVs could overfly America by 2020. Privacy issues are at stake. Much greater ones could follow. Targeted killing could be universally ordered. US communities could become as unsafe as foreign ones. Once policies head down a slippery slope, anything can follow. Despots solidify power this way. Post-9/11 police state laws threaten Americans. In 2010, "unlawful enemy combatants" became "unprivileged enemy belligerents." Language changed but not intent or lawlessness. In 2011, by executive order, Obama authorized indefinite detentions and military commission trials for anyone he designated for any reason or none at all. Americans are as vulnerable as aliens. Provisions of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) hardened executive power. They authorize military arrests and imprisonment with or without charges. Everyone, including US citizens, is vulnerable. The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) called NDAA authorization "one of the greatest expansions of executive power in our nation's history, allowing the government to lock up citizens and non-citizens without the right to fair trials." Presidents now have unchecked authority to arrest, interrogate and indefinitely detain law-abiding citizens if accused of potentially posing a threat. US military personnel are authorized to arrest and indefinitely detain anyone globally, including US citizens. No one's safe anywhere. Due process, civil protections, and judicial fairness are null and void. Presidents may order anyone arrested and imprisoned for life without charge or trial. Special Forces Death squads and CIA-operated drones kill designated aliens and US citizens abroad. They're targeted and murdered for any reason or none at all. Summary judgment means no arrests. No Miranda rights. No due process. No habeas protection. No trial. Just death by presidential diktat. Obama decides who lives or dies. Anyone called Al Qaeda or accused of terrorist connections gets marked for death. Kill lists compile names. Obama's "disposition matrix" includes terror suspects, covert plans to kill them, and in some cases sealed indictments and/or extradition requests. Obama has final say. Suspects are guilty by accusation. Counterterrorism adviser John Brennan functions as his maestro of murder. He collaborates on who lives or dies. Innocence is no defense. Inviolable laws don't protect. Advancing America's imperium alone matters. Human lives, democratic values, and fundamental fairness don't count. Anything goes is policy. Obama wants it codified and made legal. Imagine what's ahead in term two. -- Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago Al-Qaida More Established in Libya Under U.S. War Against Democracy At U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Dennis Kucinich questions new U.S. ambassador who said he lacks intelligence on Libya, confirming his lack of expertise on Libya, while he was unable to answer any of the important questions put to him... "The presence of Al-Qaida grows in Libya every day, they're certainly more established than we are", Lt. Col. Wood told the Committee in answer to Dennis Kucinich question as to whether Al-Qaida is more established in Libya since the unwarranted U.S. war against Libya. Lt. Col. Andrew Wood is a Utah National Guardsman who was "leading a security team" in Libya until August and is one of those who complained to the U.S. State Department about its lack of willingness to provide more security because it would send the wrong political statement, i.e. that the U.S.-led war was not at all welcomed by Libyans. In spite of the repeated requests by U.S. officials to Hilary Clinton's State Department, the U.S. regime figures including Vice President Biden continue to deny any awareness of such calls for help coming from the U.S. agents. The statements came after the U.S. State Department official Kennedy said he could not answer the question as "he lacks intelligence", a fact which was confirmed in front of the Committee. Kennedy said he believe that security measures in place at the "embassy" were sufficient. The terrorist sponsor "ambassador" Stevens, however, did not ask for more U.S. troops, and commented that Benghazi officials believed the city was becoming safer, towing the U.S. State Department political line which was devoid of any reality. Kennedy also could not give an answer to the question of how many Surface-to-Air Missiles capable of shooting down civilian airliners are present in Libya. Another analyst was able to confirm that there are 10,000 to 20,000 SAM's unaccounted for in Libya that can shoot down any aircraft in the region. Representative Kucinich had given a speech confirming that Libya was stable and peaceful prior to the unwarranted U.S.-led war against Libya and the suspension of the Libyan Jamahiriya direct participatory democracy. His speech came in response to the unlawful U.S. ambassador Kennedy who had said that U.S. values and interests are at stake in Libya. "Really!?" Kucinich retorted, saying that anyone would have thought that the U.S. would have learned the lessons of over 10 years war in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere and the consequences of U.S. intervention. He said those consequences are increased anti-U.S. militancy and activities world wide. He said that the U.S. Congress had done nothing to stop these many wars. Kennedy replaced the previous unlawful U.S. ambassador who along with three other U.S. agents supporting the overthrow of democracy, socialism, peace, stability and justice in Libya, was returned to the U.S. in a coffin. The U.S. has since attempted to pin the blame on anyone other than the Libyan resistance which is waging Jihad against the occupation of the country by proxy of heretics, criminals, stray dogs and rats, in the service of their foreign masters who wish to again have unfettered access to steal Africa's resources. Kucinich confirmed that the way to stop the deaths of U.S. ambassadors is to stop U.S. interventions in other countries. When the US security personnel were evacuated after the events of September 11, 2012, the occupation regime's U.S. puppet and later world's shortest serving Prime Minister Mustafa Abushagour told U.S. media: 'We were surprised by the numbers of Americans who were at the airport. We have no problem with intelligence sharing or gathering, but our sovereignty is also key.' At that point many more people were awoken to the extent of the integration between the large numbers of US intelligence and the competing militias in Benghazi which blew wide open these facts, as well as their own political puppets in Tripoli being kept in the dark, which further weakened their position in attempting to hold on to power. The Hearing before Congress failed to bring out the important role of the U.S. intelligence agents in Libya in the coordination of the present war in Syria using the same Al-Qaida mercenaries under the control of the C.I.A. Now there are at least 1,700 militia groups attempting to rule the country with each neighbourhood dominated by a faction that went into the business of using weapons as a means of gaining access to resources. After the death of "Ambassador" Stevens, US citizens were alerted to the existence of what the State Department called 'security incidents.' But the 230 'security incidents' over the past year were the tip of the iceberg of the massive destabilization and killings that had occurred as the Libyan resistance mounted against the terrorist regime's militia. Black skinned Libyans from Tawergha were expelled from their community and more than 30,000 displaced. Even the usual spokespersons for Western imperial missions had to speak out as pro-U.S. Human Rights Watch joined in the condemnation of the rule of the militias. Human Rights Watch brought out a 'Report Rule of Law or Rule of Militias' bringing into sharper focus some of the outstanding questions of the role of these armed marauders all over Libya. In June one of the Qaddafi loyalist militia took over the Tripoli airport in full view of European airlines flights which were delayed and stuck on the tarmac during the incident. With Benghazi separated from the Tripoli occupation regime, oil companies have been competing to establish deals and presence there, and it was in this context that Stevens had gone to Benghazi to negotiate quiet oil deals for his backers away from public scrutiny. As noted by analyst Horace Campbell: US oil companies did not want to be left behind in this new insensate struggle, hence US diplomatic efforts were now directed at Benghazi. Christopher Stevens had been appointed ambassador of the United States to Libya in January 2012 and arrived in Tripoli in May. When the uprisings had started in February 2011 and the French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy was going into Benghazi to mobilize support for French interests, Chris Stevens was one of the first US diplomatic personnel to be on the ground in Benghazi. He had served as a 'Special Representative' to the Libyan Transitional National Council from March 2011 to November 2011 during the NATO intervention. Prior to this period he had served as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Libya from 2007 to 2009. At that time, Stevens described Gaddafi as an 'engaging and charming interlocutor' as well as a 'strong partner in the war against terrorism.' Chris Stevens belonged to that section of the US Department of State that was very knowledgeable about the movements of militia members between Benghazi, Libya, and the current war against the Assad regime in Syria. Libyan Islamists from the Eastern region comprise the largest single component of the 'foreign fighters' who are playing an ever more dominant role in the war being waged in Syria with the aim of toppling the government of President Assad. According to some estimates, they comprise anywhere from 1,200 to 1,500 of approximately 3,500 fighters who have been infiltrated into Syria from as far away as Chechnya and Pakistan. ... The purpose of Wednesday's hearing of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee was to examine security lapses that led to the killing in Benghazi last month of the US ambassador and three others. What this hearing confirmed was what many knew; that there was no real 'consulate' in Benghazi, but a vast intelligence and private contractors web for the CIA and the oil companies. It was the testament of Charlene Lamb before Congress that gave away the fact that the 'facility' in Benghazi where Christopher Stevens and three others lost their lives was not a diplomatic facility. The events surrounding the death of Ambassador Stevens exposed the USA in Libya at a number of levels. First, the role of Stevens exposed the hypocrisy of the so called 'war on terror'. Second, the evidence pointed to the integration between US intelligence and the militias. In the testimony before Congress, Charlene Lamb told US law makers that the intelligence compound depended on the militia in Benghazi known as the 17th February Brigade. Lamb, Deputy Assistant Secretary State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, told Congress on October 10 that in terms of armed security personnel, there were five Diplomatic Security agents on the compound on September11. 'There were also three members of the Libyan 17th February Brigade' - a reference to the Libyans hired to guard the American compound. The third level was the jockeying between French, British, Italian and US oil companies over political dominance in Benghazi. Traditionally, the Italians had been a force on the ground in Libya but during the NATO operations French, British and WE operatives muscled out the Italians as junior partners in the imperial operation. As the diary of Ambassador Stevens showed, he was opposed to the presence of official State Department personnel because of the integration of the private contractors, the intelligence operatives and the militias. Earlier in June there had been an attack on the intelligence facility that was called a 'consulate,' a June 6 bomb attack on the Benghazi consulate, a June 11 rocket-propelled grenade attack on a convoy carrying Britain's ambassador to Libya, and an August 27 State Department travel warning noting the threat of car bombings and assassinations in Tripoli and Benghazi. However, despite these attacks Stevens argued to the State Department Bureau of Diplomatic Security that the matter of security should not be entrusted in the hands the Marines who usually guarded US diplomatic establishments. Stevens took this decision to 'show faith in Libya's new leaders,' according to the Wall Street Journal, which wrote: 'Officials say Mr Stevens personally advised against having Marines posted at the embassy in Tripoli, apparently to avoid a militarized US presence.' The operations of the CIA in Libya had backfired. The plan of the Republicans to make political capital out of this incident had backfired and the entire world was brought closer to the multiple roles of the US military, private contractors, intelligence operatives and oil companies in Libya. The number of CIA operatives in Benghazi was also a revelation to the 'provisional' government in Libya. When the US evacuated their personnel from Benghazi, the Libyans were surprised and wanted greater accountability from the US about their operations. However, for the US intelligence community, the major question was damage control. 'It's a catastrophic intelligence loss,' a US official who had been stationed in Libya told the New York Times. 'We got our eyes poked out.' - Source: AllAfrica.com Prior to the war on Libya, Al-Qaida was non-existent in the country with its few supporters under lock and key and Libya was the first country to place Osama Ben Laden Inc. on an Interpol wanted list, seeking for his arrest. However, Bin Laden and his (so called) "Al-Qaida" were just C.I.A. assets... Predicting Protracted Hard Times America under either party is no fit place to live in. Expect the worst of times ahead. Duopoly power plans it. On November 6, vote independent or stay home... by Stephen Lendman It works the same way every time. Bad policies assure bad results. Prioritizing short-term profits jeopardizes long-term gains. Force-fed austerity when stimulus is needed is madness. So is harming economies, communities, and ordinary people to save banks. Chickens eventually come home to roost. We'll know when they arrive. Perhaps it'll be sooner than imagined. Money power in private hands assures it. The Fed and other major central banks bear full responsibility for monetary madness. The late Bob Chapman warned about easy money, market manipulation, reckless speculation, counterproductive fixes, and unsustainable debt causing today's crisis. He predicted an eventual house of cards collapse. Only its timing remained uncertain. He's not around to see what won't be pleasant when it arrives. It's too early to know for sure, but monetizing debt/excess money printing may have hit a wall. One economist suggests Bernanke can't do much more in the mortgage market. He's harming banks more now than helping them. Net interest margins "face the mother of all squeezes." The Fed's beginning to lose influence. Production is down. Hiring plans are weakening. Layoff announcements suggest many more to come. Main Street America has been in Depression since 2008. Reality for most people is dire. Things aren't improving. They're worsening. On October 17, economist Paul Craig Roberts headlined "America RIP: Death of the Middle Class, Offshoring of American Jobs," saying: New millennium opportunity "disappeared. Middle class jobs are scarce. Indeed, jobs of any kind are" hard to get. Most are low wage, few or no benefit ones. Households need two or more to get by. "The lack of jobs, especially high value-added, high productivity jobs, is the reason real median household income has declined and the distribution of income has worsened. Without rising real household income, there cannot be a consumer economy." Roberts repeated his earlier prediction that America is being third-worldized. A decade ago he expected it in 20 years. It might arrive sooner than he thought. The combination of militarism and permanent wars, prioritizing imperial dominance, and shifting wealth mindlessly to corporate favorites and America's 1% at the expense of people needs assures a future best lived elsewhere. "A country so poorly led can do nothing but decline." What about an entire continent cratering. Financial analyst Graham Summers explained what few of his peers will touch. European banking problems are huge. The Eurozone's largest banks are insolvent. On average, they're leveraged 26 - 1. Lehman was at 30 - 1 when it collapsed. European nations are bankrupt. Debt to GDP including unfunded liabilities is 875% for Greece, 549% for France, 418% for Germany, 364% for Italy, and 244% for Spain. For the EU overall it's 434%. For America it's 400%. "(B)ankrupt banks (operate) in bankrupt countries," says Graham. "The entire financial system is based on the assumption that European sovereign bonds are still risk free." "So you have bankrupt nations selling bonds to insolvent banks, which then" lever 26 - 1. It's madness and ignored by mainstream observers. Europe is doomed, believes Graham. It can't "get out of this mess unless the entire union (grows) at over 10% for a decade." Now's the time to prepare for trouble, he stresses. Central banks may have no magic bullets left. They're scared to death but won't admit it. He adds that Spain is way beyond saving. Collapse is coming. The euro is doomed. The EU will eventually break up. Reality may arrive within a few months or less after America's elections. It makes no difference who wins. Neither party advocates growth stimulating policies. Bipartisan complicity assures worse times ahead. Why voters elect these scoundrels they'll have to explain. Other analysts also forecast impending market trouble. Some think 2008 will pale in comparison. The late Bob Chapman predicted it years ago. He said expect protracted/unprecedented hard times. Don't bet against him being right. What's coming only time will tell. Hindsight provides the best insight. Advisor Perspectives Doug Short says prepare for up to a 51% financial market decline. Profits are being squeezed for the first time in three years. Revenues are on a similar glide path. Perhaps they're precursors of things to come. Euro Pacific Capital's Peter Schiff says what happened in 2008 "wasn't the real crash." The "real (one) is coming." Economist Robert Wiedemer warned about 2008. He's alerting people now to expect worse. Financial author Harry Dent expects up to a 60% market decline. "We have the greatest debt bubble in history. We will see a worldwide downturn. And when you are in this type of recessionary environment stocks should be trading at five to seven times earnings." Before the 2008 crash, hedge fund manager John Paulson made about $20 billion shorting the US housing market. Now he's betting heavily against the euro. Investor Jim Rogers warns about an impending "Financial Armageddon." He expects it post-US elections. He's extremely critical of monetary madness. The world is "drowning in too much debt," he stresses. The Fed, ECB and Bank of England bear most responsibility. They've abused their "license to print money." America's $16 trillion debt comes to over $50,000 for every US citizen. "The solution to too much debt is not more debt. What would make me very excited is if a few people (in government) went bankrupt." Obama and Germany's Merkel especially promote dangerous policies. They create an illusion of economic stability. In reality, they only buy time. "Mrs. Merkle has an election next year. Mr. Obama has (one) in November. The Americans and the Germans - they want to do everything they can to hold the world up until after" electoral season ends. "It's going to be bad after the next election." How bad remains to be seen. An influential economic team expects serious trouble. They discovered a "frightening pattern." It looks catastrophic. According to Money Map Press chief investment strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald, "What this pattern represents is a dangerous countdown clock that's quickly approaching zero. The resulting chaos is going to crush Americans." Global economic trend forecaster Chris Martenson also suggests catastrophe, saying: "We found an identical pattern in our debt, total credit market, and money supply that guarantees they're going to fail," he said. "This pattern is nearly the same as in any pyramid scheme, one that escalates exponentially fast before it collapses. Governments around the globe are chiefly responsible." "And what's really disturbing about these findings is that the pattern isn't limited to our economy. We found the same catastrophic pattern in our energy, food, and water systems as well." Everything could implode at the same time, he thinks. "Food, water, energy, money. Everything." He also worries about America's debt level, saying: "For 30 years - from the 1940s through the 1970s - our total credit market debt was moderate and entirely reasonable. But then in seven years, from 1970 to 1977, it quickly doubled." "And then it doubled again in seven more years. Then five years to double a third time. And then it doubled two more times after that." "Where we were sitting at a total credit market debt that was 158% larger than our GDP in the early 1940s….By 2011 that figure was 357%." It's now around 400% and rising. Kent Moors is an energy expert. He advises world governments on energy-related matters. He also serves on two State Department energy task forces. "Most frightening of all is how this exact same pattern keeps appearing in virtually every system critical to our society and way of life," he said. "It's a pattern that's hard to see unless you understand the way a catastrophe like this gains traction. At first, it's almost impossible to perceive. Everything looks fine, just like in every pyramid scheme." "Yet the insidious growth of the virus keeps doubling in size, over and over again - in shorter and shorter periods of time - until it hits unsustainable levels. And it collapses the system." Most Americans are uneasy but don't understand the true dangers they face. They never do until it hits them hard. For many it's irreversible. According to Fitz-Gerald: "If our research is right, Americans will have to make some tough choices on how they'll go about surviving when basic necessities become nearly unaffordable and the economy becomes dangerously unstable." "People need to begin to make preparations with their investments, retirement savings, and personal finances before it's too late." Few do, and what works best isn't easy for most people to fathom. Worst still is too few have much, if anything, to sustain them. On October 28, Global Research published "37 Facts About How Cruel This Economy Has Been to Millions of Desperate American Families." It makes grim reading. Millions of households have few, if any, savings. The net worth of nearly one-third is "zero or less than zero." Poverty is rising exponentially. America's middle class is disappearing. Over "41% of all working age Americans are not working." Labor force participation declined dramatically because jobs aren't available. Once unemployed longer-term, workers become non-persons. They're no longer counted in BLS employment surveys. One-fourth of working Americans earns sub-poverty wages. America has the highest percentage of workers earning low pay than any other industrialized economy. Costs are rising dramatically. Earnings haven't kept pace. Total US consumer debt rose 1,700% since 1971. Student loan indebtedness exceeds a trillion dollars. Millions of Americans can't afford to retire. At the same time, homeless shelters and food banks can't keep up. Demand is growing at a time Washington, states, cities, and smaller communities provide less and plan more cuts. Bad as things are now, they're getting worse. When public need keeps growing exponentially, government officials turn a blind eye. Where this ends, who knows. Expect much tougher times ahead. Washington's duopoly doesn't care. Obama scorns human need. Romney matches him blow for blow. Both represent money controlled America. They serve its aristocracy. It's corrupt, unprincipled, and contemptuous of democratic values. It preys on ordinary people callously for personal gain. Corporate empowerment, wealth and privilege alone matter. America under either party is no fit place to live in. Expect the worst of times ahead. Duopoly power plans it. On November 6, vote independent or stay home. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net *Chimps with machine guns* THINK ABOUT THIS WHILE YOU'RE WAITING AT YOUR NEXT TRAFFIC LIGHT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO5TNU3fiJo After watching this video, don't tell me there aren't animals who are smarter than humans. Which species would you prefer to have patrolling your neighborhood? Just imagine the revenge the dead souls of animals might wreak on their human killers if they could. But surely they wouldn't, because they're animals, utterly purposeful and pragmatic, doing what they do because they do it in the grace of God's holy sunlight. Whereas humans kill anything that moves, ever trying to scrub the shifting shadows from their own concocted dreams. Sickness abounds in the world and in ourselves. It is in our nature to heal the sick — we don't need to be taught that. It's intrinsic, and all animals possess this trait. Team players in the sport of life. Somehow everything that lives knows there is only one species of baby, although some species go ahead and eat them anyway. Each new invention takes us further and further away from ourselves. We define ourselves today in the context of the electronic conveniences that shape our behavior — always driving us apart and seldom bringing us together except through the interface of contracts or the sale of a prized toy. Our abstractions have robbed us of our knowledge of ourselves. No longer able to build a house, skin a bear or even live a sensible life, we have been shorn of our very survival necessities. We traded them in for a big TV. Our connection to natural life has been severed by technological conveniences, made us flabby and unable to survive in the wild as any other animal does naturally and with mystic grace. That force we call God has given them everything they'll ever need for a fruitful life. What every other animal on this planet can do, we cannot do — survive in the wild. We have been imprisoned by our own technological abstractions, and are poisoning the world. Our contraptions and contrivances have trapped us in a paralyzing miasma — we're doomed to sucking on the big mechanical welfare teat forever! Because cunningly manipulated technology has made feeble slaves of us all, unable to care for ourselves even as we ingest the popular public products that hasten our demise. I've long held the notion that the principal threats to our own survival are inside ourselves, miscellaneous misperceived boobytraps that have been installed in our brains, by people we would not really like to meet, people like Bernays and Kinsey and Bella Abzug, not to mention Pope Leo the Khazar and Rabbi Kook the Elder — who just turn your stomach when you think about what they've done. So who are the real chimps now? The Americans, hands down. They've pissed away paradise trying to keep up with their neighbors, and now all are demented and bleeding on the spearpoints of the mass projected Jewish marketing of poisoned products. You name it — it's poison. From petrochemical to nuclear to biotech to, now, neuronal nanomanipulation — all poisons — all meant to diminish us, for purposes of more convenient control, into minimally conscious reflexively conditioned droids — and frankly, I think most of us are pretty much in this condition already. Fear the Flavenoid, baby! Eschew the Adderall. Airport goons make molestation a way of life. Cops on steroids taze grandmothers. Doctors prescribe known poison, keep the real cancer treatments from the people they would cure. Kids worship our boys in uniform, which both helps and makes it worse when they come home dead. The chimps are coming. Your life insurance premium just went up. It's not the enlisted chimps we have to worry about — they're just trying to get a Green Card, free dental, and a college education. Although they will kill you to protect their investment because that's what they've been ordered to do by their Christian evangelical generals. It's the hired chimps, that Blackwater bunch that is always changing its name... yes, it's the hired chimp spooks — and most especially the ones who are imported from somewhere else for specific tasks, because if your license plate lights up the wrong lights on the wrong switchboard, you could be blown to bits by a stone drone bone without additional notice in circumstances that are now becoming increasingly regular. Think about this while you're waiting at your next traffic light. This is the true Obamacare — to be blown away by a drone in heavy traffic. Most important, it's the guys who hired the chimps who should be the constant focus of our investigations, the button pushers who hire the candidates with no verifiable history to inflict their rapacious pronouncements upon a perpetually puzzled populace. Wonder why that is no longer. It's the schools, who for a long time now have trained only chimps with machine guns. Chimps with machine guns. A new nickname for the U.S. Army, as well as every cop in the country, all mindlessly taking orders from the people who are trying to destroy all nations rather than the ones who are trying to save them. Chimps with machine guns. Dig it. Dig it deep. Let the soothing comfort of your patriotic security seep deep into your chemically compromised bones. Don't wait for the light to change. It already has. ---------------------------------------------------------------- John Kaminski is a writer who lives on the Gulf Coast of Florida, constantly trying to figure out why we are destroying ourselves, and pinpointing a corrupt belief system as the engine of our demise. Solely dependent on contributions from readers, please support his work by mail: 250 N. McCall Rd. #2, Englewood FL 34223 USA. www.resist.com/kaminski/kaminskiconnection.html http://johnkaminski.info Predatory Capitalism Failed Mathaba.net by Stephen Lendman Independent observers knew it long ago. Today's global economic crisis provides added confirmation. In 2008, a staunch champion of the system expressed second thoughts. More on him below. An ideology based on inequality, injustice, exploitation, militarism, and imperial wars eventually self-destructs or gets pushed. Growing evidence in America and Europe show systemic unaddressed problems too grave to ignore. They remain so despite millions without jobs, savings, homes or futures. Imagine nations governed by leaders letting crisis conditions fester. Imagine voters reelecting them despite demanding change. OWS aside, one day perhaps rage will replace apathy in America. The latest jobs report alone provides incentive enough to try and then some. On May 4, the Labor Department reported 115,000 new jobs. It way overstated the true number. Official figures belie the dire state of things. At most, two-thirds the headline total were created. Even that's in doubt. Most were low-pay, part-time, or temp positions with few or no benefits. Decades ago, workers would have avoided them. Today, there's no choice. The report also showed economic decline. Expect much worse ahead. In 2008, Main Street Americans experienced Depression. It rages today. Poverty's at record levels. Real unemployment approaches 1930s numbers. Dire conditions are worsening. Announced job cuts are increasing. Hiring plans are down. Compared to year ago levels, they're off 80%. Income is stagnant for those lucky to have work. The private diffusion index measuring growth fell sharply month-over-month. The unemployment rate decline reflects discouraged workers dropping out. They want jobs but can't find them. The Labor Department considers them non-persons. They're not counted to make official figures look better. Moreover, the broad based Household Survey showed employment dropping 169,000. It was the second consecutive monthly decline. The Labor Department uses a "population and payroll concept adjusted" calculation. Doing so tries to compare monthly payroll and household figures. The measure plunged 495,000 in April after dropping 418,000 in March. The calculation represented the largest back-to-back decline since late 2009. At 63.6%, America's labor force hit its lowest level since September 1981. Since then, population totals grew from 229 million to about 312 million today. The state of the nation today reflects lots of people facing few jobs, and no policy to create them. The employment/population ratio stands at 58.4%. Alone, it represents a shocking testimony to failure. So do other data. Long-term unemployment remains near record levels. Credit deleveraging continues. Housing's in its worst ever depression. Prices keep falling. Inventories of unsold homes are huge. Foreclosures are at epidemic levels. State and local downsizing continues. Personal income suffers. Conditions are bad and worsening. On May 4, Pimco's Mohamed El-Erian headlined his Financial Times article "Confirmed: America's jobs crisis," saying: "Friday’s US jobs data sound a warning that should be heard well beyond economists and market watchers." Americans with jobs have poor ones. Wage growth is stagnant. Purchasing power can't keep up with inflation. For ordinary Americans, secular income headwinds blow at gale force strength. Crisis conditions today make "a mockery of the published unemployment rate of 8.1 per cent....The economic implications are clear." At a time, Europe's recession deepens, America's declining. Risks are increasing. A "potential (austerity caused) year-end 'fiscal cliff' (may) suck out some 4 per cent of GDP in purchasing power, and do so in a disorderly fashion." Instead of addressing crisis conditions responsibly, political Washington campaigns for reelection, and plans huge domestic budget cuts when stimulus help is needed. Main Street Americans are pushed to the edge. Potential "social consequences" suggest "the possibility....of a lost generation." Unemployed teenagers "face the risk of going from being unemployed to becoming unemployable." Today's reality is bleak. It reflects "a multi-faceted unemployment crisis that politicians, both in America and Europe, are failing to comprehend, unite around, and respond to." "I worry greatly that facts on the ground will unfortunately warrant future analyses to be even more disheartening." Alan Greenspan's Too Late to Matter Mea Culpa As Fed chairman for nearly two decades (1987 - 2006), he engineered today's crisis. Some call him the Maestro of Misery for good reason. Those benefitting most sing his praises. In 2008, he had second thoughts. A longtime Ayn Rand disciple, he strayed noticeably in October 2008 House testimony. Her libertarian views influenced his. She championed regulatory free markets. So did Greenspan. He practiced what she preached. Perhaps House Oversight and Government Reform Committee members couldn't believe their ears. He acknowledged his worldview failure, saying: "You know, that's precisely the reason I was shocked, because I have been going for 40 yeas or more with very considerable evidence that it was working exceptionally well." While trying to have it both ways, he admitted his faith in regulatory free markets was shaken, saying: "I made a mistake in presuming that the self-interests of organizations, specifically banks and others, were such as that they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders and their equity in the firms." "The Federal Reserve had as good an economic organization as exists. If all those extraordinarily capable people were unable to foresee the development of this critical problem...we have to ask ourselves: Why is that? And the answer is that we're not smart enough as people. We just cannot see events that far in advance." In his book "Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country" William Grieder called Greenspan one of "the most duplicitous figures to serve in modern American government." He used "his exalted status as economic wizard (to) regularly corrupt the political dialogue by sowing outrageously false impressions among gullible members of Congress and adoring financial reporters." His ideology was hokum. Somehow he managed a Columbia doctorate without its dissertation requirement. His economic consulting firm flopped. It faced liquidation. He closed shop to join the Fed after serving earlier in the Reagan, Nixon and Ford administrations. His background in government got him his job. His inability to forecast made him a perfect Fed choice. So did his reliability to serve monied interests over populist ones. Saying he got it wrong after the fact hardly matters. Where was he when it counted. In 2006, Bernanke replaced him. He made a bad situation worse. Since 2008, he more than tripled the Fed's balance sheet from about 6% of GDP to 20%. His day of reckoning approaches. Perhaps in future congressional testimony, he'll address his own shortcomings. Doing it when it counts matters. After the fact turns memoirs into best-sellers. His cross to bear and Greenspan's could fill volumes. Millions their policies harmed won't line up to buy them. How can they? They're broke, on their own, out of luck, and unreceptive to hear defrocked Fed chairmen say they're sorry. If so, they'd have done it right in the first place. VIVA ICELANDIA !!! This is a glaring example of what the power of the people is when they are united under a common and beneficial purpose... BRAVO FOR THE PEOPLE OF ICELAND!!... THE GREEKS ARE LOOKING AT THEIR SUCCESS and perhaps might mirror it.... World Run by International Loan Sharks/Banksters will not be a happy or secure world... That only a FEW on top should party while the others slave for them is not how it is meant to be... TAKE ICELAND'S PEOPLE'S SUCCESS as an EXAMPLE that can be well DONE... Iceland’s Amazing Peaceful Revolution – Still Not in the News Iceland’s peaceful revolution is a stunning example of how little our media tells us about the rest of the world. Read details about Iceland’s wonderful social evolution at DailyKos, here . Another article is on Bloomberg.com ICELAND (GP) – No news from Iceland? Why? Last we heard, people were rising up and overthrowing the bankers. Then, no news on the television or newspapers for two years. What happened? Why won’t the papers and TV tell us how the bankers successfully crushed or minimized another rebellion? Because… THEY DIDN’T! This time, the people won. The people of Iceland have overwhelmingly risen up and forced their government puppets of the banks to resign. Primary banks have been nationalized. The debt scam imposed by Great Britain and Holland money printers was declared null and void. A public assembly has been created to rewrite Iceland’s constitution. The best part is, all of this happened without violence or bloodshed. A whole country’s revolution succeeded against powers that created the current global crisis without a shot being fired. A very good reason exists for the apparent failure of television and newspapers to provide any publicity on this unprecedented event: what would happen if the rest of the EU and the United States took this as an example? The following is a summary of the facts: 2008 – The main bank of Iceland is nationalized. The Krona, the currency of Iceland devaluates and the stock market halts. The country is in bankruptcy 2008 – Citizens rise up at Parliament and succeed in forcing the resignation of both the prime minister and the effective government. New elections are held. Yet, the country remains in a bad economic situation. A Parliament act is passed to pay back 3,500 million Euros to Great Britain and Holland by the people of Iceland monthly during the next 15 years, with 5.5% interest. 2010 – The people of Iceland again take to the streets to demand a referendum. In January of 2010, the President of Iceland denies approval, instead announcing a popular vote on the matter by the people. In March, a referendum and denial of payment is approved by popular vote of 93%. Meanwhile, government officials initiate an investigation to bring to justice those responsible for the crisis. Many high level executives and bankers are arrested. Interpol dictates an order to force all implicated parties to leave Iceland. An assembly is elected to write a new constitution (based on the Denmark’s) to avoid entrapments of debt based currency foreign loans. 25 citizens are chosen — with no political affiliation — out of the 522 candidates. The only qualifications for candidacy are adulthood and the support of 30 people. The constitutional assembly started in February of 2011. It continues to present ‘carta magna’ from recommendations provided by various assemblies throughout the country. Ultimately, it must be approved by both the current Parliament and the one created through the next legislative election. In summary of the Icelandic revolution, we saw: -resignation of the entire corrupt government of the country, -referendum enabling the people to determine their own economic system -incarceration of responsible parties. Have we been informed about this through the main stream media? Has any political program on radio or TV commented on this? Not that I’ve seen. The Icelandic people have demonstrated a way to beat the international Money Printers and Controllers of information. The last thing entrenched Usurers would want is for you to think you could also free yourself from their grave chains....

Another Foiled False Flag

Mathaba.net

by Stephen Lendman

Wikipedia defines false or black flags as "covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities."

"The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is: flying the flag of a country other than one’s own. False flag operations are not limited to war and counter-insurgency operations and can be used during peace-time."

Big lies substitute for truth. Stories are fabricated. Media scoundrelspromote them. At issue is heightening fear for planned policies. Pretexts are needed for militarism, imperial wars, and homeland repression. If and when people learn they were duped, it's too late to matter.

It's an American tradition. Incidents are strategically timed. Innocent victims suffer. So does everyone living under heightened national security state conditions.

Threats are manufactured. States of emergency are declared. Rule of law principles are discarded. Unchallenged dominance alone matters. Wars on humanity follow. Big lies facilitate them. False flags play their part.

Here we go again. This one's a sequel. Perhaps Hollywood blockbusters will follow, first the original plot, then the latest. More on the earlier one below.

On May 7, AP headlined "US: CIA thwarts new al-Qaida underwear bomb plot," saying:

Agents foiled "an ambitious plot by al-Qaida's affiliate in Yemen to destroy a US-bound airliner using a bomb with a sophisticated new design around the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden, The Associated Press has learned."

AP described an upgraded underwear bomb plot. Like the earlier one, it was "designed to be used in a passenger's underwear, but this time" US officials called it "more refined."

On May 7, the FBI issued a brief statement, saying:

"As a result of close cooperation with our security and intelligence partners overseas, an improvised explosive device (IED) designed to carry out a terrorist attack has been seized abroad."

"The FBI currently has possession of the IED and is conducting technical and forensics analysis on it. Initial exploitation indicates that the device is very similar to IEDs that have been used previously by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in attempted terrorist attacks, including against aircraft and for targeted assassinations."

"The device never presented a threat to public safety, and the US government is working closely with international partners to address associated concerns with the device."

"We refer you to the Department of Homeland Security, including the Transportation Security Administration, regarding ongoing security measures to safeguard the American people and the traveling public."

The device contained no metal. It's not clear if body scanners could have detected it. Officials said an alleged Yemen-based bomber hadn't yet picked a target or bought plane tickets. CIA agents seized the device before he had a chance. The suspect wasn't identified.

AP learned of the plot earlier but agreed to White House and CIA requests to delay publishing because intelligence operations were ongoing.

On May 8, the White House and FBI confirmed AP's report. Deputy national security council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said Obama knew last month. "The disruption of the IED plot underscores the necessity of remaining vigilant against terrorism here and abroad," she said.

"While the president was assured that the device did not pose a threat to the public, he directed the department of homeland security and law enforcement and intelligence agencies to take whatever steps necessary to guard against this type of attack," she added.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesman Matt Chandler said:

The latest plot "demonstrates our adversaries' interest in targeting the aviation sector." Protective "layers" are thus used.

They "include threat and vulnerability analysis, pre-screening and screening of passengers using the best available technology, random searches at airports, federal air marshal coverage, and additional security measures both seen and unseen."

"It's not clear who built the bomb," AP reported. Authorities "suspect it was the work of master bomb maker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri." A Saudi citizen, he's one of their most wanted. Earlier he was imprisoned and released.

He's reportedly in Yemen with his brother Abdullah. He's another Saudi most wanted. Washington claims they're both Al Qaeda connected. He's blamed for earlier bomb plots.

On March 24, 2011, the State Department included Ibrahim on its terrorist watch list. He's also on an Interpol Orange Notice one. It "warns police and other international organizations about potential threats from disguised weapons, parcel bombs, or other dangerous materials."

Washington considers Yemen strategically important. It's mostly for its location near the Horn of Africa on Saudi Arabia's southern border, the Red Sea, and Bab el- Mandeb strait.

It's a key chokepoint separating Yemen from Eritrea. Around three million barrels of oil pass through it daily. The Gulf of Aden connects to the Indian Ocean. Since 2009, Obama waged drone war on the country. CIA and Special Forces operate on the ground. Death squads are deployed.

America's at war with Yemen without declaring it. Predator drones escalate killing. Media scoundrels say little. Yemen gets attention when foiled bomb plots are claimed. They're pretexts for stepped up measures there and at home.

Washington's targets are global. US citizens share risks with foreign ones. Waging war on humanity leaves no one safe. Everyone everywhere is fair game. Any place could erupt in free-fire zone violence. Anyone can be accused of terrorism or conspiracy to commit it.

America's hegemonic ambitions threaten humanity. Too few at home understand. Public ignorance and indifference let Washington get away with murder. It's a global killing machine to remove all challenges.

The Earlier Underwear Bomber False Flag

It was fake like the sequel. In December 2009, US officials claimed Nigerian citizen Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab traveled to Yemen, got Al Qaeda training, and explosive PETN chemicals.

Supposedly he tried using them to blow up an Amsterdam-Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day. In fact, he was a fall guy for a jointCIA/Mossad/India Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) false flag.

The same alliance staged coordinated 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Dozens were killed and hundreds wounded. They also were behind former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's 2007 assassination.

The same issue then remains US policy now. Destabilizing and balkanizing Pakistan is planned. It's also perhaps intended for Afghanistan and Libya. Iraq is already divided. Always it's for easier control and exploitation.

Abdulmutallab was a convenient patsy. He was used to facilitate America's war on Yemen. Britain denied him an entrance visa. His name was on a State Department terror watch list.

Yet he wasn't on a No Fly List. He paid cash for a one-way ticket to Detroit, checked no luggage, had a US visa but no passport, and was helped onboard by a "well-dressed Indian" gentleman (a RAW agent) to facilitate Washington's scheme to use him as a convenient dupe.

His PETN was virtually harmless. It was technically deficient, failed to go off properly, and had fire cracker strength. Following the incident, Washington's war on Yemen escalated and enhanced airport screening began. Full body scanners the ACLU calls "virtual strip search(es)" are used. [link] [link] [link] [link] [link]

False flags create opportunities to advance America's imperium. They also facilitate its war on dissent. In May 2011, three key Patriot Act powers were extended for another four years. Little debate assured swift passage. As a result:

(1) Unlimited roving wiretaps continue unchecked.

(2) Section 215 pertains to alleged suspects. It authorizes government access to "any tangible item." They included financial records and transactions, student and medical records, phone conversations, emails, other Internet use, and whatever else Washington claims essential.

(3) Alleged suspect organizations and individuals can be surveilled, whether or not evidence links them to terrorism or complicity to commit it. In other words, police state powers to monitor anyone for any reason or none at all remain unchecked.

Racial profiling and waging war on Islam got boosts. Abdulmutallab benefitted Washington at his own expense. Expect the underwear bomb sequel to provide more.

Washington will take full advantage. Perhaps Obama has another war in mind.

A Final Comment

On May 8, The New York Times headlined "Rare Double Agent Disrupted Bombing Plot, US says."

Most likely it's double-dealing official lies and misreporting. According to Times-speak, a Saudi intelligence agent "infiltrated (a) terrorist group and volunteered for the mission, American and foreign officials said Tuesday."

Washington claims he provided an "innovative bomb" designed for "aviation attack." The Times reported the story without checking for reliability. If official sources say it, accounts follow true or false.

The agent is back in Saudi Arabia, The Times said. CIA agents were involved.

What's true or false isn't clear. What's certain is another false flag for reasons similar to previous ones. They repeat well-timed for strategic advantage.

They're manufactured to look real. Media scoundrels headline them. Most people don't know they've been had. The scam repeats because it works. No wonder America gets away with murder and much more.

==========================================================================

WHO WAS OSAMA? WHO IS OBAMA?
by Michel Chossudovsky

While the President and Commander in Chief of the United States of America, Barack Hussein Obama "celebrates" the first anniversary of the alleged death of bin Laden, the substantive issue as to WHO WAS OSAMA BIN LADEN remains unheralded. (Remarks by President Obama in Address to the Nation from Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, see video at foot of article)

Through lies and fabrications --which he intends to use in his election campaign-- president Obama`s carefully scripted speech upholds a world of total fantasy, in which "bad guys" are lurking and "plotting acts of terror". Meanwhile, Islamic "jihadists" are said to be threatening Western civilization.

Each and every statement in Obama's May 1st speech at Bagram Air Force base regarding the role of Al Qaeda is a fabrication: (below are excerpts from Obama's Remarks in italics, author's comments are indicated inside square brackets [ ] ):

It was here, in Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden established a safe haven for his terrorist organization

[Osama bin Laden was recruited by the CIA, Al Qaeda was set up with the support of the CIA. Osama's safe haven was protected by US intelligence] .

It was here, in Afghanistan, where al Qaeda brought new recruits, trained them, and plotted acts of terror.

[The Mujahideen were recruited and trained by the CIA. America's ally Saudi Arabia financed the Wahabbi koranic schools, Ronald Reagan praised the Mujahideen as "Freedom Fighters". Unknown to the American public, the US spread the teachings of the "Islamic jihad" in textbooks "Made in America", developed at the University of Nebraska]

It was here, from within these borders, that al Qaeda launched the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 innocent men, women and children.

[Obama is referring to the tragic events of September 11 2001. To this date there is no evidence that Al Qaeda was involved in the 9/11 attacks. Moreover, confirmed by CBS News, on September 10, 2001 Osama bin Laden had been admitted to a Pakistani military hospital in Rawalpindi, courtesy of America's ally Pakistan. Did he coordinate the 9/11 attacks from his hospital bed?]

And so, 10 years ago, the United States and our allies went to war to make sure that al Qaeda could never again use this country to launch attacks against us.

[The 9/11 attacks was the justification for waging war on Afghanistan on the grounds of`"self defense". Afghanistan was said to be harboring Al Qaeda and was, therefore, complicit in an outright act of war against the USA.

The fact of the matter is that the Taliban government on two occasions in the weeks following 9/11 offered (through diplomatic channels) to hand over Osama bin Laden to the US Justice system. President George W. Bush refused the offer of the Taliban government, intimating that America "does not negotiate with terrorists".

NATO went to war in support of the US, invoking Article Five of the Washington Treaty. The latter states that an "act of war" against one member of the Atlantic Alliance is considered "an act of war" against all members of NATO under the doctrine of collective security.]

Despite initial success, for a number of reasons, this war has taken longer than most anticipated. In 2002, bin Laden and his lieutenants escaped across the border and established safe haven in Pakistan. America spent nearly eight years fighting a different war in Iraq. And al Qaeda’s extremist allies within the Taliban have waged a brutal insurgency.

[The whereabouts of Osama bin Laden have always been known to US intelligence. President Obama conveys the illusion that US-NATO forces and their intelligence operatives could not find bin Laden. In the words of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (2002), "it is like searching for a needle in a stack of hay". The alleged Al Qaeda safe haven in Pakistan serves as a pretext for waging drone attacks against alleged terrorists in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

President Obama also intimates that Al Qaeda operatives equipped with stinger missiles and Kalashnikovs had managed to outsmart the US-NATO multi-trillion dollar military machine.]

But over the last three years, the tide has turned. We broke the Taliban’s momentum. We’ve built strong Afghan security forces. We devastated al Qaeda’s leadership, taking out over 20 of their top 30 leaders. And one year ago, from a base here in Afghanistan, our troops launched the operation that killed Osama bin Laden.

[A lot has been written on this issue. No proof as to the identity of the person who was allegedly killed by the Seals Special Forces In the words of Paul Craig Roberts; "The US government’s bin Laden story was so poorly crafted that it did not last 48 hours before being fundamentally altered..." ]

The goal that I set -- to defeat al Qaeda and deny it a chance to rebuild -- is now within our reach.

[There is ample evidence that Al Qaeda (a US sponsored "intelligence asset") is still alive and fully operational. Officially, the goal is to "defeat Al Qaeda". Unofficially, Al Qaeda is supported covertly by US intelligence.

Since 9/11, Al Qaeda has developed into a multinational entity with "subsidiaries" in various geopolitical hotspots around the world.

In Libya and Syria, Al Qaeda brigades are the foot soldiers of the US-NATO military alliance. Wherever the US military and intelligence apparatus is deployed, Al Qaeda is present:

Al Qaeda in Iraq, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Libya Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), Al Shaabab (Somalia), Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) (Army of Mohammed) (Pakistan), Jemaah Islamiya organization (JI) (Indonesia) Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, etc. (See US State Department Foreign Terrorist Organizations, United Nations Security Council, List of individuals, groups, undertakings and other entities associated with Al-Qaida Al-Qaida Sanctions List)

In a bitter irony, in all these countries, US intelligence is covertly coordinating the activities of Al Qaeda affiliated groups. Officially counterterrorism consists in fighting the "Islamic jihad" Unofficially through covert operations, Western intelligence supports their "assets" including terror entities on the US State Department list.

Moreover, these various terrorist organizations are now being used in US-NATO covert military operations against sovereign countries (e.g. Libya and Syria). According to Israeli intelligence sources:

"NATO headquarters in Brussels and the Turkish high command are meanwhile drawing up plans for their first military step in Syria, which is to arm the rebels with weapons for combating the tanks and helicopters spearheading the Assad regime's crackdown on dissent. Instead of repeating the Libyan model of air strikes, NATO strategists are thinking more in terms of pouring large quantities of anti-tank and anti-air rockets, mortars and heavy machine guns into the protest centers for beating back the government armored forces."(DEBKAfile, NATO to give rebels anti-tank weapons, August 14, 2011)]

Who is or was Osama?

An "intelligence asset", namely an instrument of the CIA used to justify the "Global War on Terrorism".

It is worth recalling that on September 14, 2001, both the House and the Senate adopted a historical resolution authorizing the president to "go after" countries which "aided the [9/11] terrorist attacks"

The president is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.

Today in 2012, there is ample evidence that:

1) Al Qaeda was not behind the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.

2) There is also detailed evidence that agencies of the US government as well as NATO, continue to support and "harbor such organizations" [Al Qaeda and its affiliated organizations]. In Libya, the "pro-democracy" rebels were led by Al Qaeda paramilitary brigades under the supervision of NATO Special Forces. The "Liberation" of Tripoli was carried out by "former" members of the Libya Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG). The jihadists and NATO work hand in glove.

These "former" Al Qaeda affiliated brigades in Libya were the backbone of the "pro-democracy" rebellion.

3) There is evidence that the WTC towers were brought down through controlled demolition, raising the possibility of complicity and cover-up within the US government, intelligence and military. (See the writings of Richard Gage,Undisputed Facts Point to the Controlled Demolition of WTC 7, Global Research, March 2008, see also video, Richard Gage Controlled Demolitions Caused the Collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) buildings on September 11, 2001, Global Research)

Who is Obama?

A political liar and a war criminal.

Obama's scripted speeches are slanted distortions. Realities are turned upside down. Acts of war are heralded as peace-making operations...

Ironically, the text of the September 14, 2001 Congressional resolution (see above) does not exclude judiicial action and criminal investigation directed against the US-NATO sponsors of international terrorism, including president Obama, who have used the tragic events of 9/11 as a pretext to wage "a war without borders" under the humanitarian banner of the "Global War on Terrorism" (GWOT).

Obama versus Romney

In the election campaign opposing Barack Obama to Mitt Romney, Osama and the "threat of Al Qaeda" will be "center stage".

Supported by carefully crafted public relations campaigns, each of the presidential candidates will present --within the realm of a world of sheer fantasy-- their "Al Qaeda -Global War on Terrorism platform" to the American people. In this ritual, Al Qaeda becomes the central talking point of the campaign; all real major issues including the economic crisis, poverty in America and the devastations of war will be conveniently side-stepped.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=30654

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlxJXfdemW8&feature=share

THE NEW TYRANNY: Does The West Have A Future?

by Dr. Paul Craig Roberts

Living in America is becoming very difficult for anyone with a moral conscience, a sense of justice, or a lick of intelligence. Consider:

We have had a second fake underwear bomb plot, a much more fantastic one than the first hoax. The second underwear bomber was a CIA operative or informant allegedly recruited by al-Qaeda, an organization that US authorities have recently claimed to be defeated, in disarray, and no longer significant.

This defeated and insignificant organization, which lacks any science and technology labs, has invented an “invisible bomb” that is not detected by the porno-scanners. A “senior law enforcement source” told the New York Times that “the scary part” is that “if they built one, they probably built more.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that “the plot itself indicates that the terrorists keep trying to devise more and more perverse and terrible ways to kill innocent people.” Hillary said this while headlines proclaimed that the US continues to murder woman and children with high-tech drones in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Africa. The foiled fake plot, Hillary alleged, serves as “a reminder as to why we have to remain vigilant at home and abroad in protecting our nation and in protecting friendly nations and peoples like India and others.”

FBI Director Robert Mueller told Congress that the fake plot proves the need for warrantless surveillance in order to detect--what, fake plots? In Congress Republican Pete King and Democrat Charles Ruppersberger denounced media for revealing that the plot was a CIA operation, claiming that the truth threatened the war effort and soldiers’ lives.

Even alternative news media initially fell for this fake plot. Apparently, no one stops to wonder how al Qaeda, which has become so disorganized and helpless that it is on the run and left its revered leader, Osama bin Laden, in a Pakistan village alone and unguarded to be murdered by US Navy Seals, could catch the CIA off guard with an “undetectable” bomb, to use the description provided by Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Dianne Feinstein, who was briefed on the device by US intelligence personnel.

Notice that the Secretary of State has committed the bankrupt US and its unravelling social safety net to the protection of “India and others” from terrorists. But the real significance of this latest hoax is to introduce into the fearful American public the idea of an undetectable underwear bomb.

What does this bring to mind? Anyone of my generation or any science fiction aficionado immediately thinks of Robert Heinlein’s The Puppet Masters.

Written in 1951 but set in our time, Earth is invaded by small creatures that attach to the human body and take over the person. The humans become the puppets of their masters. Large areas of America succumb to the invaders before the morons in Washington understand that the invasion is real and not a conspiracy theory.

On clothed humans, the creatures cannot be detected, and the edict goes out that anyone clothed is a suspect. Everyone must go about naked. Women are not even allowed to carry purses in their hand, because the creature can be in the purse attached to the woman’s hand.

Obviously, if the CIA, the news sources, and Dianne Feinstein’s briefers are correct that defeated al-Qaeda has come up with an “undetectable” bomb, we will have to pass through airport security naked.

If so, how will this be possible? If each airline passenger must go through a personal screening by disrobing in a room, how long will it take to clear “airport security”? I doubt there is any place in North or South American that the traveller couldn’t drive there faster. Or perhaps this is an answer to depression level US unemployment. Millions of unemployed Americans will be hired to view naked people before they board airliners.

As the Transportation Safety Administration division of Homeland Security has taken its intrusions, unchallenged, into train, bus, and highway travel, are we faced with the total collapse of the clothing industry? Stay tuned.

A couple of years ago a noted philosopher wrote an article in which he suggested that Americans live in an artificial or virtual reality. Another noted philosopher said that he thought there was a 25% chance that the philosopher was right. I am convinced that he is right. Americans live in the Matrix. Nothing that they know or think that they know is correct.

For example, our non-truth-telling “leaders” continually declare that “Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East.” This myth is one of the many reasons rolled out to justify American taxpayers’ declining incomes being taxed to provide the Israeli government with the means to murder Palestinians and steal their country.

Israeli democracy a myth you say? Yes, a myth. According to news reports compiled and reported by Antiwar.com (May 8), the September 4 Israeli elections have been cancelled, because the “opposition leader Shaul Mofaz is joining the government.”

Mofaz sold out his party for personal power, a typical politician’s behavior.

Mofaz’s treachery produced protests from his followers, but, according to news reports, “israeli police were quick to crack down on the protest, terming it ‘illegal’ and arresting a number of journalists.”

Ah, “Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East.”

In truth Israel is a fascist state, one that has been in violation of international law and Christian morality during the entirely of its existence. Yet, in America Israel is a hallowed icon. Like Bush, Cheney, and Obama, millions of American “christians” worship Israel and believe it is “God’s calling” for Americans to die for Israel.

If you believe in murdering your opponents, not debating with them, dispossessing the powerless, creating a fictional world based on lies and paying the corporate media to uphold the lies and fictional world, you are part of what the rest of the world perceives as “The West.”

Let me back off from being too hard on The West. The French and Greek peoples have shown in the recent elections that they are unplugging from the Matrix and understand that they, the 99%, are being put by their elites in a position to be the sacrificial lambs for the mistakes of the 1% mega-rich, who compete with one another in terms of how many billions of dollars or euros, how many yachts, collections of exotic cars, and exotic Playboy and Penthouse centerfolds they have as personal possessions.

The central banks of the West--the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and the UK bank--are totally committed to the prosperity of the mega-rich. No one else counts. Marx and Lenin never had a target as exists today. Yet, the left-wing is today so feeble and brainwashed that it does not exist as even a minor countervailing power. The American left-wing has even accepted the absurd official account of 9/11 and of Osama bin Laden’s murder in Pakistan by Navy Seals. A movement so devoid of mental and emotional strength is useless. It might as well not exist.

People without valid information are helpless, and that is where Western peoples are. The new tyranny is arising in the West, not in Russia and China. The danger to humanity is in the nuclear button briefcase in the Oval Office and in the brainwashed and militant Amerikan population, the most totally disinformed and ignorant people on earth.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=30799

America's Lost War

Mathaba.net

America's Afghan war is lost and illegal. The Bush administration got no Security Council authorization or congressional declaration of war.

by Stephen Lendman

International law expert Francis Boyle said Congress passed a War Powers Resolution Authorization. Doing so gave Bush "blank check" power "to use military force against any individual, organization, or state" at his discretion.

International and constitutional law be damned. Waging war on Afghanistan "is clearly illegal. It constitutes armed aggression. It is creating a humanitarian catastrophe for the people of Afghanistan."

It's also a lost cause. Pentagon commanders know it. So does Lt. Colonel Daniel Davis. In an unclassified report and more detailed classified one, he explained ongoing disastrous conditions.

From his own firsthand observations and what others told him, he concluded that America's war failed. It can't be won. Official statements conceal hard truths. He witnessed "the absence of success on virtually every level."

Every area he observed firsthand "all over Afghanistan....the tactical situation was bad to abysmal."

Sunday, April 15 highlighted his assessment. The New York Times tried but failed to downplay Taliban success and US failure in an article headlined, "Afghan Forces Quell Attack; Few Civilians Are Killed."

In fact, Taliban forces rocked Afghanistan. Coordinated attacks struck strategic targets in Kabul and at least three other Eastern provincial cities. Jalalabad's airport was attacked. So were police stations and other government facilities.

Beginning what it called its "spring offensive," high profile targets included government buildings, the Parliament, presidential palace, and foreign embassies.

Calling the attacks "complex," The Times admitted they "immobilized much of Kabul" and other areas struck. "Life slowly returned to normal," it continued. A "remarkably small number of civilians" were killed.

Hamid Karzai blames a NATO "intelligence failure." At the same time, he praised Afghan security forces. Given their ineffectiveness, it's how knowing for what.

According to US ambassador Ryan Crocker, the attacks showed how America's forces are still needed. His comment was revealing. America needs violence and instability to justify its presence. Peace and calm means staying isn't warranted. Expect none any time soon.

Interviewed on CNN, Crocker said Washington's embassy was on lockdown. Like The Times, he downplayed the attacks. He stopped short of admitting that Afghan security forces and America's can't contain Taliban determination to expel an unwanted occupier.

If Sunday didn't prove it, what will? Throughout the day, well-planned, coordinated attacks used rocket-propelled grenades, explosives, and other weapons effectively.

Parliament and adjacent areas were struck. So were NATO headquarters, Karzai's presidential palace, and foreign embassies. Among them were Britain's, Germany's, Japan's and Russia's.

The British ambassador's residence was struck. So were two hotels, including Kabul's Star Hotel. Fighters used rocket-propelled grenades, other rockets, hand grenades, other explosives, heavy machine guns, lighter weapons, and suicide vests.

Fighting raged for 18 hours. In ten and a half years of war, it was the most dramatic example of Taliban determination to prevail, and America's inability to stop them.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said attacks were preceded by two months of planning. Dozens of fighters were involved. "We are strong, and we can attack anywhere we want," he said. On Sunday, he proved it. The whole world saw what America's scoundrel media tried, but couldn't downplay.

Comparisons to Tet

April 15 is reminiscent of January 30, 1968. It was Tet Offensive day one. North Vietnam army regulars and NLF fighters launched nationwide attacks.

Three and a half years into the war, it turned the tide. It showed determined freedom fighters can prevail over the world's mightiest military, though they alone didn't do it, nor could they declare victory after weeks of bloody conflict. More on that below.

Carefully planned, Tet lasted two months. Fighting was fierce across South Vietnam. Strategic targets were struck, including the heart of Saigon, Hue, and around America's Khe Sanh base.

Vietnamese called years of struggle "The War against the Americans to save the nation." They never wanted war, their nation divided, or Washington as an enemy. Imperial arrogance had other plans from end of WW II. Liberation came only after 30 years of conflict.

May 1954 Dien Bien Phu defeat ended French involvement. America's exit took another two decades.

On January 30, 1968, three and a half years after America's August 1964 Gulf of Tonkin resolution, thousands of Vietnamese soldiers and NLF guerrillas stormed Banmethut, Kontum and Pleiku.

At the same time, they invaded 13 of the 16 provincial capitals throughout the Mekong Delta. US forces were caught off guard and stunned. America's Saigon embassy was penetrated. So was the presidential palace, a radio station, ARVN headquarters, and General Westmoreland's own Tan Son Nhut airbase compound.

America's Bien Hoa air base was assaulted. Over 20 aircraft were either destroyed or damaged. Surprise gave fighters an advantage. Saigon experienced chaos.

Tactics varied from area to area. Most Saigon fighting ended in days. In Hue, it raged for weeks. It became one of Vietnam's longest and bloodiest battles.

After two months of conflict, Tet ended in defeat. Years later, Vietnamese won the war. Tet was decisive. It turned the tide. It showed US vulnerability from freedom fighter determination to prevail. They didn't succeed alone. American anti-war activism made the difference. So did Congress.

Vietnam Era Anti-War Activism Absent Today

In the 1960s and 70s, students, workers, middle class households, academics, and others rallied effectively against war. In 1968, their efforts peaked. With a 36% approval rating and 26% on Vietnam, Johnson became a lame duck. On March 31, he announced:

"I shall not seek, nor will I accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president."

Despite his Great Society accomplishments, he was finished, a broken man. He became a shadow of his former self, a once bigger than life figure in Congress and as president. In January 1973 at age 64, he was dead.

Beginning in early 1965, anti-war activism gained momentum. Efforts included protest rallies and marches, university "teach-ins," other campus activities, and an April 17, 1965 Washington rally, drawing up to 25,000. A later one drew half a million.

Numerous events followed. Thousands participated. In October 1967, a two-day march on the Pentagon attracted national media attention. Activists advocated draft card burning.

Today's military is all-volunteer. But no one forces young men and women to enlist. A Main Street Depression pressures them. Better to be unemployed than dead, maimed, or psychologically traumatized.

Perhaps a voice today like Martin Luther King's could persuade them and rally nationwide anti-war fervor. His spirit's badly needed. No one matches what counts most. Nor has a new millennium Daniel Ellsberg exposed today's lies like his Pentagon Papers revealed.

If they did, who'd publish them? Not The New York Times and Washington Post. What they did in 1971 wouldn't likely repeat now.

Perhaps today's Internet can substitute effectively. Revealing vital truths and spreading them is crucial. It's step one to arousing public passion for peace. If sustained, anything is possible.

Congressional Authority to Wage or End Wars

Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution authorizes only Congress to declare war. It also has power to end them. It controls funding. It can supply it or cut it off.
Article I, Section 7, Clause I says:

"All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other Bills."

Either House may originate an appropriations bill though the House claims sole authority. Either House may amend bills, including revenue and appropriations ones.

Congressional appropriation power is key. Cutting off funds ended Vietnam fighting. Early critics like Senators Mike Mansfield, Frank Church, William Fulbright, Albert Gore Sr., and Stuart Symington spoke privately for the most part. They didn't act.

Congressional debate then changed things. Under Johnson, it began ineffectively. Under Nixon, it gained traction. By June 30, 1970, the Church/Cooper amendment stipulated no further spending for soldiers, combat assistance, advisors, or bombing operations in Cambodia. It was the first congressional budgetary act limiting war funding.

Others followed. In 1972, the Church/Case amendment ended funding for America's Southeast Asia military operations. Time for a face-saving withdrawal was permitted. House passage didn't follow Senate action. It slowed, but didn't defeat anti-war efforts.

In June 1973, Congress passed another Church/Case amendment. Beginning August 15, war funding ended. Nixon's veto was overridden. The War Powers Act followed.

It gives presidents the power to act unilaterally for 60 days in response to a "national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces." It authorizes another 30 days to disengage, short of congressional assent to continue.

On April 30, 1975, America's Vietnam involvement entirely ended with a humiliating Saigon embassy rooftop pullout. With sustained anti-war fervor, replicating that in Kabul, Baghdad, and Libya can happen.

Afghan, Iraqi, and Libyan Jamahiriya freedom fighters keep resisting. With effective US public support, Afghan fighting and occupation can end. Iraqi and Libyan liberation struggles can succeed. Syrians can be free from Western-generated violence. Iran can avoid it.

Anti-war activism ended America's Vietnam involvement. Why not in today's theaters of war and occupation! Popular resistance must reawaken. Sustained public pressure can prevail!

A Final Comment: Ending a Lost War

In his 1995 book, "In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam," former Defense Secretary McNamara wrote: "....we were wrong, terribly wrong. We owe it to future generations to explain why."

In 1965, he knew the war was lost and said so. He told Lyndon Johnson: "I don't believe they're ever going to quit. And I don't see....that we have any....plan for victory - militarily or diplomatically."

He spoke privately as escalation increased dramatically. He knew the futility and lawlessness, but went along anyway. When it was too late to matter, he explained. Johnson also knew but continued a war he couldn't win. It cost him a second term and shortened his life.

After multiple post-9/11 wars, occupations, and others planned, public resistance can replicate what ended America's Vietnam involvement. It's high time that happened!

Aroused people power can defeat America's imperial arrogance if it decides enough's enough and tries!

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago, can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net

Why Breitbart Died

It seems, everybody now knows why Andrew Breitbart mysteriously dropped dead at the age 43 after eating in a certain restaurant...... OMG

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/05/17/The-Vetting-Barack-Obama-Literary-Agent-1991-Born-in-Kenya-Raised-Indonesia-Hawaii

First, that peculiar CIA bastard Obombo concocted a fake birth certificate, thus illegitimately participating in the presidency campaign... then he beastly destroyed the state of Libya and triggered Libyan Holocaust of 50-60 thousand murdered innocents... His only friends are similar ugly, dirty bastards and swindlers Cameron, Sarkozy, Howard, Rasmussen, Berlusca, Abdullah Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan bin-Shaitani, Netanyahu and Kremlin clowns Putin and Medvedev...

So we might take a hint made by Andrew Adler of the Atlanta Jewish Times with specific understanding. What's the difference of that Kenyan murderer Bardak porco Obombo from his bloody degenerate predecessor George Chimp Bush von Schwein ???.....

Global Bastards: Largest hoax perpetrated upon the citizens of the United States in over 200 years!

Dishonorable Disclosures. Published on Aug 15, 2012 http://www.apfn.org/apfn/obama.htm

by OPSECTeam ( http://www.youtube.com/user/OPSECTeam )

Syria and Iran in Focus

by Stephen Lendman - Mathaba.net

America's longstanding agenda targets both countries. Israel wants regional rivals removed. Washington wants independent regimes replaced by pro-Western puppet ones.

All options are considered, including war. For months, saber rattling targeted Tehran. Multiple rounds of sanctions were imposed. Stiffer ones are considered. More on Iran below.

For 15 months, Syria's been wracked by Western-generated violence. No end of conflict appears likely. Constitutional reform and democratic elections don't matter. Neither does majority pro-Assad support.

Washington's comfortable dealing with democrats, despots, or anything in between so long as regimes serve its interests. Otherwise they're targeted for removal. International law is a non-starter. So are fundamental US statute laws and America's Constitution.

Since early last year, Western and regional nations armed, funded and trained insurgents. US, UK and perhaps other Special Forces actively aid them. So do CIA and MI6 operatives.

Al Qaeda elements actively participate. Washington uses them strategically as enemies and allies. At times, it's done simultaneously in different parts of the world. Scoundrel media reports don't explain. Regurgitating official lies are featured.

Last year, Russia accused Western nations of illicitly arming Syrian insurgents. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said:

"Nobody is commenting on it and no one is admitting it, but the facts are impossible to contradict. Weapons are being smuggled intoSyria from Turkey and Iraq."

They're also supplied by other nations. So are mercenaries used to depose Assad.

On May 16, Syrian officials reported a truck seized with hidden weapons in al-Raqqa province. Numerous times other elicit caches were discovered.

In late April, Lebanon's navy intercepted a Sierra-Leone registered ship carrying arms and munitions. Heavy ones bound for Syrian insurgents included machine guns, artillery shells, and rocket-propelled grenades.

Last February, Itar Tass reported a Russian secret services source saying "(h)uge batches of small arms and munitions for the Syrian Liberation Army's troops are supplied from Lebanon (by opposition March 14 alliance elements), Iraq and Turkey, but unofficially, not through (their) governments."

"The supply list includes submachine guns, machine guns, sniper rifles and antitank grenade launchers."

Lt. General Leonid Sazhin said "the scenario that has already been developed and administered by the United States and (its) NATO allies, mainly France, Britain and Turkey, as well as the monarchy regimes from the Cooperation for the Arab States of the Gulf, in particular Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, is being implemented in Syria."

Qatar's actively involved. So are Jordan, Libya and Israel. Doing so is illegal. International law prohibits interfering in the internal affairs of other countries except in self-defense.

On May 15, the Washington Post headlined "Syrian rebels get influx of arms with gulf neighbors' money, US coordination," saying:

Insurgents got "significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks." Coordinated by Washington, Gulf states (notably Saudi Arabia) finance them. Opposition elements, US, and foreign officials confirm what's ongoing.

Obama claims Washington's not supplying weapons and munitions directly. Be skeptical. He's a serial liar. Nothing he says is credible. Directly and/or indirectly, administration officials are very much involved. America orchestrated the insurgency from inception.

According to an unnamed State Department official:

"We are increasing our nonlethal assistance to the Syrian opposition, and we continue to coordinate our efforts with friends and allies in the region and beyond in order to have the biggest impact on what we are collectively doing."

Washington maintains direct contact with insurgent leaders. "Many officials now consider an expanding military confrontation to be inevitable. Material is being stockpiled in Damascus, in Idlib near the Turkish border and in Zabadani on the Lebanese border."

Large supplies are flowing. One opposition figure said "(s)ome areas are loaded with weapons."

Washington officials met with Eastern Syrian Kurds. Talks included "opening a second front against Assad's forces that would compel him to move resources from the west."

When NATO meets in Chicago this weekend, discussions will include anti-Assad strategy.

Syrian "(o)pposition figures said they have been in direct contact with State Department officials to designate worthy rebel recipients of arms and pinpoint locations for stockpiles...."

Pentagon officials prepared military options. They include destroyingSyria's air defenses. In fact, if air strikes begin, all strategic sites will be targeted. Libya's model will be replicated. Mass deaths and destruction will follow. Increasingly it looks likely.

Target Iran

The RAND Corporation think tank has considerable influence on USpolicy. Operating like a shadow government, it supports militarism, imperial wars, and technocrat run world government.

Nonetheless, its new report warned against attacking Iran's nuclear facilities. Titled "How to Defuse Iran's Nuclear Threat," it argued for "diplomacy and economic sanctions," not militarism.

"An Israeli or American attack on Iranian nuclear facilities would make it more, not less, likely that the Iranian regime would decide to produce and deploy nuclear weapons. Such an attack would also make it more, not less, difficult to contain Iranian influence."

RAND notes Iran's regional "appeal" as an anti-American, anti-imperial, anti-Zionist "bastion." Attacking its nuclear and/or other sites would enhance its influence. It believes the hawkish Israeli approach:

"rests on a faulty assumption that a future, post-attack Middle East would indeed be free of a nuclear-armed Iran. In fact, a post-attack Middle East may result in the worst of both worlds: a nuclear-armedIran more determined than ever to challenge the Jewish state, and with far fewer regional and international impediments to doing so."

It recommends supporting current and former Israeli officials arguing against military strikes. It suggests bolstering US/Israeli "security cooperation and intelligence sharing." It believes pressuring Iran non-belligerently can weaken "its capacity to project power."

A future Iranian regime may view Israel differently, it says. Washingtonshould try convincing Iranian people that America "cares about Iranas a nation, not merely a problem to be solved."

"Iranian people offer the surest hope for a future Iran that is more amenable to US interests."

Attacking its facilities "would make it more, not less, likely (to want) nuclear weapons."

Four RAND contributors produced the report, including:

(1) Former US Assistant Secretary of State James Dobbins. He directs RAND's International Security and Defense Policy Center.

(2) Dalia Dassa Kaye, senior RAND political scientist and Pardee RAND graduate school faculty member.

(3) Alireza Nader, senior RAND international policy analyst focusing on Iranian politics and foreign policy.

(4) Frederic Wehrey, senior RAND policy analyst focusing on Persian Gulf security.

Whether their assessment and recommendations influence US and/or Israeli policies remains to be seen.

What their report omitted is significant.

Iran's nuclear program is peaceful, not belligerent. Nothing proves otherwise.

IAEA inspectors discovered no evidence suggesting weapons development and/or production. Neither did annual US intelligence assessments as recently as March 2012.

Discussion of Israel's nuclear arsenal was excluded. So was its willingness to use it if feel threatened. Israel's a global menace. Belligerence and violence reflect official policy.

Palestine's been illegally occupied for 45 years. So has Syria's Golan. Lebanon was attacked in 1978, 1982, 1993, 1996, and 2006.Southern Lebanon was illegally occupied for 18 years. Israel still holds Ghajar bordering Golan and Sheba Farms. It's valued for its water resources.

For over 40 years, Israel lawlessly violated Lebanese territory. Daily overflights occur. Lebanon's justified in fearing more war. So is Gazaafter Cast Lead.

In 2007, Syria's alleged nuclear site was bombed. Evidence of an existing one was suspect and inconclusive. At the time, IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei said its experts analyzed satellite imagery. They concluded that the building struck was not a nuclear facility.

Despite just cause, Damascus didn't retaliate. In 1981, Israeldestroyed Iraq's Osirak reactor. Neither did Baghdad.

Israel's involved in arming and destabilizing Assad's government. It's longstanding agenda calls for regional hegemony. Balkanization and belligerency are policies to achieve it.

Iran hasn't attacked another nation in over 200 years. It threatens none now, including Israel. Claims about wanting Israel wiped off the map are spurious. Calling it a sponsor of regional terrorism are false.

Israel and America threaten world peace, not Iran or Syria. That should be issue one. RAND didn't mention it. Instead it discussed defusing a nonexistent Iranian nuclear threat.

Urging diplomacy and sanctions, not belligerence, misses the point. Political solutions should always be policy. So should welcoming nonbelligerent states into the family of nations, ending repressive sanctions, and working for world peace.

Influential groups should support policies conforming to international law. They should oppose and denounce belligerent, lawless, destructive, or counterproductive ones. RAND and others like it fall short on all counts.

Top Ten Implications of the Damascus Bombing

07/19/2012 by Juan Cole

The West instilled his grave clowns in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, now trying the same scheme in Syria...

The bombing of the Security Headquarters of the Baath government of Syria on Wednesday killed the Minister of Defense, the deputy Minister of Defense, and the Assistant to the vice-president and head of crisis management office Gen Hassan Turkomani. It wounded the Minister of the Interior (i.e. head of the secret police) and a member of the national security council. Some reports said that also wounded was Hafez al-Makhlouf, a cousin of the president on his mother’s side of the family and a key security figure. The Makhloufs, especially Ramy, are the business wing of the al-Assad cartel, and their billionaire ways were among the sources of discontent that provoked the uprising.

What does this bombing mean for Syria and the Middle East?

1. It demonstrates that the rebels have sympathizers in high positions within the regime. The bomb had to have been planted by an insider. This situation reminds me of the American dilemma in Vietnam, where we now know that many high-ranking Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) officers were in fact sympathizers with the Communists and basically double agents.

2. It follows upon this conclusion that the al-Assad regime is unlikely to be able to emulate the Algerian military, which crushed the Islamic Salvation Front in a brutal civil war from 1992 through the early zeroes of the present century. Some 150,000 Algerians are said to have died in the dirty war, with atrocities on both sides. But when the smoke cleared, the junta was still in control, and its favored secular civilians were in office. In all that time, the Muslim fundamentalist opposition never laid a glove on any of the high officials or officers. But the Algerian elite closed ranks against the Islamic Salvation Front, having a cultural set of affinities and a common source of patronage in the state-owned oil and gas sector.

If the rebels in Syria can reach into the Security HQ this way, and assassinate the highest security officials of the regime, that ability does not augur well for Bashar al-Assad’s ability to win the long game, as his counterparts did in Algeria.

3. The targets of the bombing were likely intended to send a message to Syria’s minorities. The minister of defense, Daoud Rajha, was a Christian. The Christian minority, which could be as large as 14% of the population, has been on the fence during the revolution, and some actively support the secular nationalist regime because they fear Muslim fundamentalists will come to power. Rajha’s assassination was intended to warn them to join the revolution or at least get out of its way. Likewise, Assef Shawkat, the deputy minister of defense, was an Allawite Shiite and was married to Bushra, the sister of Bashar al-Assad. If it is true that Hafez Makhlouf was wounded, he was another prominent Allawite. The rebels are largely (with significant exceptions) Sunni Muslims, from the majority community that has not typically held its fair proportion of high office.

4. The rein of terror unleashed by the Allawites on the Sunni rebels, using Ghost Brigade death squads, has backfired big time. Many Sunnis formerly allied with the regime have turned on it, including at the highest levels. The defection of the Sunni Tlass family, who had dominated the ministry of defense and regime business interests for decades, is a straw in the wind here.

5. The rocket-propelled grenades smuggled to the opposition by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as part of their proxy war against Iran, are allowing the rebels occasionally to kill tanks and take down helicopter gunships. The more such weapons they have, and the more sophisticated they are, the more they help level the playing field for the rebels.

6. Defections and desertions of Sunni enlisted men and low-level officers could accelerate in the wake of the bombings, as soldiers become convinced that the regime will eventually fall. They won’t want to risk their lives fighting for a ship that is anyway sinking, and won’t want to risk being seen as war criminals in the aftermath.

7. The economic disruptions in the capital could be decisive. With the rebels now fighting in districts like Midan and Tadamun, the Syrian business classes are not going to be making any money for a while. Since for them, the purpose of the Baath Party is to throw them licenses and government contracts, they will turn on it if it is unable to satisfy their needs.

8. The fall of the Baath regime in Syria would leave Hizbullah high and dry. Its rockets and other weapons, and some of its communications and code-breaking abilities, depended on Syrian help. The leader of the Hizbullah Shiites of south Lebanon (a neighbor of Syria), Hassan Nasrullah, gave a speech Wednesday unapologetically supporting the Baath regime and sending condolences to the families of those killed. If the regime does fall, the new government is likely to have a grudge with Hizbullah for a while. The downside of any weakening of Hizbullah is that it could encourage Israeli expansionism in South Lebanon, as in the 1980s and 1990s (Israel’s leaders have long wanted to steal the water in south Lebanon’s rivers).

9. On the other hand, the Muslim Brotherhood is a significant force among the rebels, and it likely will play an outsized role in a post-Baath Syria. It has ties to the Muslim fundamentalist party, Hamas, which dominates the Gaza Strip. Hamas could therefore become and more formidable adversary for Israel, if it is supported by both the Egyptian and Syrian branches of the Muslim Brotherhood.

10. Given the proliferation of medium weapons among the rebels, the longer the civil war goes on, the more likely these arms are to flow into Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq, enabling small guerrilla groups in those countries to challenge the status quo. If the Baath hangs on for years rather than months, the whole region could see more decades of instability. That is why Jordan just declared martial law and has begun turning back refugees at the Syrian border. That is why Israel’s security establishment had an urgent meeting Wednesday, and why Syria’s other neighbors are watching developments there with anxiety and suspicion.

www.juancole.com/2012/07/top-ten-implications-of-the-damascus-bombing.html

Juan Cole is a Professor of History at Uni Michigan, fluent in Arabic, Urdu and Farsi, and has testified before Congress on Middle Eastern issues.

Obama Planning More and more War

by Stephen Lendman

Mathaba.net

America's favorite pastime isn't baseball. It's war, permanent imperial wars that won't end in our lifetime Dick Cheney said earlier.

America is addicted to war. One nation after another is ravaged and plundered. Unchallenged global dominance is sought.

Who's next- Syria? Iran? Washington's long knives target both countries.

On June 29, AP headlined "US, Russia fail to reach agreement on Syria, jeopardizing Annan plan to end crisis," saying:

Before heading for Geneva, Hillary Clinton and Sergey Lavrov met in St. Petersburg. Differences between them weren't resolved.

Washington demands regime change. Moscow wants Syrians to decide who'll lead them. Lavrov said:

We "agreed to look for an agreement that will bring us closer based on a clear understanding of what’s written in the Annan plan that (all) sides in Syria need an incentive for a national dialogue."

"But it’s only up to the Syrians to make agreements on what the Syrian state will be like, who will hold (government) jobs and positions."

Putting a brave face on intractable differences, Lavrov hoped Geneva discussions would move closer to resolving Syria's conflict peacefully. "But I am not saying that we will agree on every dot."

Kofi Annan proposed unity government. Government and opposition members would be included. Elements seeking belligerent change would be excluded.

Russia and other major powers expressed support. Washington insists Assad must go. He told Iran's IRIB channel 4:

"We, in Syria, do not accept any model that is not Syrian and national, regardless of whether it was imposed by superpowers or proposed by friendly countries."

"No one knows how to resolve the problem in Syria as well as we do, as Syrians….so, any model that comes from abroad is unacceptable regardless of its content."

At the same time, he thanked Russia, China, and other countries for trying to resolve things peacefully to restore stability.

On June 30, America, Russia, China, Britain, France, Turkey, Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar met in Geneva. Moscow wanted Iran there. Washington rejected Tehran's participation.

Reports late Saturday said world powers struck a transitional government deal. What part Assad would play remains unclear.

Russia says Syrians must decide who'll lead them. The deal struck has no preconditions.

Ahead of word from Geneva, insurgent leaders rejected transitional government with Assad in it. Earlier they spurned peace initiatives. They take orders from Washington.

Expect little more now than earlier. America won't tolerate peaceful resolution. Regime change depends on violence and instability. What's next remains to be seen.

Iran is also targeted. On June 25, Aviation Week (AW) headlined "Raiding Iran Triggers Discussion of When and How," saying:

"Evidence is mounting that the U.S. defense community and the Obama administration view 2013 as the likely window for a bombing attack on Iran's nuclear and missile facilities."

"It could be earlier, timed to use the chaos of the Syrian government's fall to disguise such an attack, or later, if international negotiations with Iran stretch out without failing completely."

"But there is evidence that Iran's intransigence over shutting down its uranium-enrichment program will not buy it much more time."

"The tools for conducting an attack are all operational."

Proponents in and outside America suggest Iran already conducted one or more nuclear tests in North Korea. Corroborating evidence didn't follow claims. They're baseless like other accusations about Tehran menacing the region.

Debate continues in Washington. To attack or not attack? If so, when? Electoral priorities dictate policy. Three unnamed retired senior war planners offered views. Comments were as follows:

"I think it would take an extraordinarily dumb move on the part of the Iranians to force U.S. kinetic interventions before the U.S. presidential election (by abandoning negotiations)."

"Israel has fewer reservations (about attacking) given the recent solidification of their government."

The most politically opportune time would be 2013 or 2014.

"The assessment I'm betting on is continued watching, but with U.S. forces close to action."

An attack "would employ a totally stealthy force of F-22s, B-2s and Jassms (joint air-to-surface standoff missiles) that are launched from F-15Es and (Block 40) F-16s."

Other advanced weapons and radar jamming devices would be used.

"We should give Iran advanced warning that we will damage and likely destroy its nuclear facilities. It is not an act of war against Iran, the Iranian people or Islam."

"It is a pre-emptive attack solely against their nuclear facilities and the military targets protecting them. We will take extraordinary measures to protect against collateral damage."

The above comment doesn't square with reality. An attack means war. Launching one assures many deaths. Vast destruction will occur. Civilian infrastructure and military targets will be struck. War planners know what's involved. The pattern repeats from one conflict to the next.

At a February Israeli security conference, Lt. General (ret.) Dan Halutz (former IDF chief of staff) said Iran's nuclear program shouldn't be used as an excuse for Israel to attack unilaterally.

"The military option should be last, and it should be led by others." He meant Washington, but Israel would be involved.

Another issue is Syria. It has surveillance and air defense capabilities. Damascus shares information with Tehran. Attacking Iran involves possible routes over Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Israel.

Syrian radar would detect it. Ousting Assad denies Iran advance warning.

According to America's Israeli ambassador Daniel Shapiro, Washington is ready to act if diplomatic talks fail. The military option is "not just available, it's ready," he said.

"The necessary planning has been done to ensure that it's ready. The international community has been notified."

According to US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta:

"The fundamental premise is that neither the U.S. nor the international community is going to allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon."

"We will do everything we can to prevent them from developing a weapon. We have plans to be able to implement any contingency we have to in order to defend ourselves."

Cyberattack is another option. According to US Lt. General (ret.) David Deptula:

"It depends on what the objectives are. What we want to be able to do is to get our foes to act in accordance with our strategic objectives without ever knowing they have been acted upon. Operations in cyberspace allow that to happen."

It's well known that Iran poses no nuclear threat. Claiming otherwise is red herring cover for regime change.

Its program is peaceful. It complies fully with NPT provisions. US intelligence and IAEA inspectors confirmed it. In contrast, Israel is nuclear armed and dangerous. It menaces the region and beyond. It passes under the radar unmentioned.

On June 21, Haaretz headlined "As nuclear talks fail, US experts urge Obama to weigh military option on Iran," saying:

Forty-four US senators wrote Obama. They want pressure, not more dialogue. They listed specific demands. They include shutting down Tehran's heavily protected Fordo facility, halting uranium enrichment above 5%, and shipping amounts above it offshore.

They urged options including military action if Iran doesn't comply.

The House Armed Services Committee heard testimonies on "Addressing the Iranian Nuclear Challenge: Understanding the Military Option." According to former Senator Charles Robb:

"The dual approach of diplomacy and sanctions simply have not proved to be enough. We need the third track, and that is credible and visible preparations for a military option."

"We are not urging Israel to take unilateral military action against Iran nuclear facilities, but we need to make their capability to do so stronger so that Iran will take that threat more seriously."

"We are not advocating another war in this region," he claimed. His comments, of course, don't square with reality.

Washington and Israel plan joint military exercises this fall. They were scheduled earlier but postponed. Called "Austere Challenge 12," it's expected to be the largest scale operation between the two countries.

Last March, Senator Barbara Boxer (D. CA) introduced S. 2165: United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012. On June 19, it was reported to committee. On June 29, it passed by voice vote.

HR 4133 is the companion House bill. On May 9, it passed overwhelmingly. John Dingell (D. MI) and Ron Paul (R. TX) cast the only "no" votes.

Paul called the measure "another piece of one-sided and counter-productive foreign policy legislation. This bill's real intent seems to be more saber-rattling against Iran and Syria, and it undermines U.S. diplomatic efforts by making clear that the U.S. is not an honest broker seeking peace for the Middle East."

"The bill calls for the United States to significantly increase our provision of sophisticated weaponry to Israel, and states that it is to be U.S. policy to 'help Israel preserve its qualitative military edge' in the region."

"While I absolutely believe that Israel – and any other nation - should be free to determine for itself what is necessary for its national security, I do not believe that those decisions should be underwritten by U.S. taxpayers and backed up by the U.S. military."

Paul added that the bill won't help America, Israel, or the Middle East. It implicitly authorizes greater US regional intervention at a time wars ravage it.

War with Syria and/or Iran will follow, he believes. According to Haaretz, Washington and Israel "continue preparations for striking Iran's nuclear facilities... A senior Israeli official said Netanyahu has decided to attack Iran before the US elections in November."

The US-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act reaffirms America's "unwavering commitment to the security of the State of Israel as a Jewish State." It's also to ensure its military strength.

House co-sponsor Eric Cantor (R. VA) said:

"This bill reaffirms Israel's right to defend itself against threats and puts Congress on the record about America's long-standing commitment to the US-Israel strategic relationship, a unique and special relationship founded on shared interests and shared democratic values."

"This bill recognizes the profound threats the U.S. and Israel face in the region and reiterates our commitment to standing side by side with Israel during this pivotal and dangerous period of transition and instability."

Following passage, AIPAC said: "This vote is a testament to the broad, bipartisan support of the American people for bolstering the ties between the US and our ally Israel."

"The United States benefits greatly through enhanced cooperation with Israel, and this bipartisan bill recommends new avenues for the US-Israel relationship to grow and strengthen in the fields of missile defense, homeland security, energy, intelligence, and cyber security."

Congress recently voted to increase military aid for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system. Israel gets more annual aid than all other nations combined. Most goes for military purposes.

Both countries are imperial partners. Together with Britain, France, other NATO allies and regional ones, they threaten humanity !!!

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Heading for Economic Collapse

Sane outlook at collapsing Capitalist economy

by Stephen Lendman - Mathaba.net

The late Bob Chapman predicted it years ago. So does Paul Craig Roberts. It could "destroy Western civilization," he believes.

Untenable political and financial decisions put US and European economies on a collision course with disaster. Bailouts and market manipulation delay the inevitable.

A tipping point approaches. Only its timeframe is unknown.

Money power runs world economies. Wall Street and giant European banks run Western societies.

"Financial deregulation converted the financial system into a gambling casino", says Roberts. Zero interest rates destroy household savings. Media scoundrels suppress ugly truths.

Western governments letting banking crooks scam the system for profits "is a system that is headed for catastrophic failure."

Bad news keeps getting worse. Public acknowledgement arrives late. Moody's June 21 downgrade of 15 major banks conceded what's been known for years.

Giant Western banks are zombies. They're insolvent. Taxpayer funded bailouts alone keep them operating. Moody's warned last winter than downgrades were coming. So-called stress tests suppress more than they revealed.

Ellen Brown calls the "derivatives casino a last-ditch attempt to prop up a private pyramid scheme." It's slowly crumbling under its own weight.

JPMorgan Chase is considered America's most stable bank. Brown calls it bankrupt. Evidence, she says, shows it's acknowledged $2 billion loss perhaps exceeds $30 billion.

Roberts explained that America's five largest banks hold $226 trillion in derivative bets. For example, JPMorgan's total assets approach $2 trillion. Its derivatives holdings exceed $70 trillion. Its risk capital is about $136 billion.

Its "derivative bets are 516 times larger than the capital that covers the bets."

Goldman Sachs "takes the cake," says Roberts. Its $44 trillion in derivatives speculation "is covered by only $19 billion in risk capital."

In other words, its bets are "2,295 times larger than" cash on hand covering them.

Derivatives bets by America's five largest banks exceed US GDP over 15-fold. Corrupt politicians allowing it assure eventual economic collapse.

Banking executives are serial liars. After Moody's downgrades, Citigroup and Bank of America officials said its action failed to reflect "safeguards" in place for years.

Roberts destroyed their argument. So did Brown and other independent analysts.

Moody's and other rating agencies long ago lost credibility. They failed to acknowledge the sub prime crisis until headlines revealed it.

They bogusly call toxic assets safe in return for large fees and big profits.

They're called lagging, not leading indicators. They're many days and dollars short. They're part of the dirty game that scams ordinary people.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Gerard Cassidy said Moody's "action is five years too late."

Stanford University Professor Anat Admati called its downgrades bad news at a time bank "balance sheets are very fragile."

Credit Agricole Securities analyst Mike Mayo said America doesn't have a coherent solution to its banking crisis. Will actions like Moody's make it safer, he asked?

Saying the jury is still out, he doubts it. He also called Thursday's downgrades "unfortunate four years after (a) crisis" that's deepening, not improving.

Evidence shows troubled global banking conditions. Central bank liquidity injections alone prevent collapse. They're running their course. Each new round helps less than previous ones. Ahead they'll be ineffective at a price too great to bear.

They've bailed out banks at the expense of economic growth. Recovery is more distant than earlier. Speculators alone profited. Good times they alone enjoyed are ending.

Economic data show it. The closely watched Markit Eurozone purchasing managers composite index matched May's 46 read. It showed production contracting at the steepest level since June 2009.

Its flash measure dropped from 45.1 in May to 44.8 in June. It reflected a 37-month low. Markit's chief economist, Chris Williamson, said the flash reading "rounded off the weakest quarter for three years."

China's flash PMI fell to 48.1 in June. Manufacturing contracted for the eighth consecutive month. The Fed slashed 2012 and 2013 US growth. Growing numbers of companies are cutting revenue and profit estimates.

Germany's ZEW confidence index plunged to -16.9 from 10.8 in May. It's the largest monthly decline since the 1998 LTCM/Russian debt default crisis.

Moreover, its Ifo business confidence index hit a two-year low, and Italy's consumer confidence plunged to its lowest level since 1996.

US initial jobless claims are rising. On June 21, they reached a 2012 high.

Slowdown is gaining speed. Economic underpinnings look wobbly. In June alone, about 70% of economic reports showed weakness.

The Fed's Operation Twist extension underwhelmed analysts. Officially it's called the Maturity Extension Program. It exchanges short-term debt for longer term holdings. In theory, it's to lower interest rates on 10-year Treasuries. In early June 22 trading, they stood at 1.63%, a near record low.

Housing remains in Depression. In the week ending June 15, mortgage purchase applications plunged 8.5%. Companies keep cutting planned capex expenditures. According to the latest Architectural Billings Index, commercial construction keeps contracting.

Down 22% from their highs, commodity prices entered bear market territory. Oil prices hit an 18-month low. It signals weak demand. Brent fell 8% in one week. It's down 30% from its earlier high.

US factory output reached an 11-month low. Eurozone business activity dropped for the fifth straight month. At a 48.5 read in June, Germany's PMI shows contraction. The Fed's June Philadelphia manufacturing index contracted sharply to -16.6 after dropping 5.8 points in May.

The Jolts (Job Opening/Labor Turnover) survey showed job openings plunged 325,000 in May. It was the steepest drop since Lehman's September 2008 collapse. Only twice before in the past decade did it decline that much. All major categories were affected.

New hires decreased for the second straight month. They're lowest since July 2011. Again all categories showed weakness.

Layoffs keep increasing. Cuts rose in three of the past four months.

Data revisions are mostly negative. Peak levels were reached months ago. The full impact of how weak things are has yet to hit home. So-called recovery is illusion, not reality.

Europe's economic condition is grim. Bailing out Spain gets harder. Economist Jack Rasmus estimates its banks need at least $300 billion, not the publicly announced $78.75 billion.

He added that hundreds of billions more are needed to rescue Spain's regional and central governments. At issue is who'll supply it. Sick economies can't solve their own problems.

Eurozone ones look to Germany for help. It bears the greatest burden when it's economy is weakening.

Italy's troubled economy combined with its 12-month 29% of GDP sovereign financing burden means it can't contribute much.

Europe's PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) combined with troubled France have a combined public debt of 200% of Germany's GDP. Its own debt to GDP ratio is 80%.

Simple math says it can't backstop the Eurozone. Bailouts can't continue forever. Debt burdened economies head for collapse. Adding more hastens the timeframe.

Troubled Eurozone economies are so weak that cross-border bank-to-bank lending dried up. ECB chairman Mario Draghi calls inter-bank lending "dysfunctional." It's "not working," he said. As it goes, so does business lending altogether.

Rasmus said these developments show deepening crisis conditions. He blames wrongheaded policy measures.

Austerity when stimulus is needed hit hard. Government revenues are down. So is consumption. Business spending keeps falling. Debt keeps rising. A looming train wreck approaches.

Why should households and economies bear the burden of bailing out crooked banks? Why are too big to fail ones allowed to exist? Why do ordinary people put up with politicians scamming them for personal gain? Why do they elect new bums in place of old ones?

When conditions exceed threshold levels too painful to bear, maybe they'll react the way they should have years ago.

A Final Comment:

On June 19, the Global Europe Anticipation Bulletin (GEAB) issued a "red alert." Global conditions are "negative, even catastrophic," it said.

The second half of 2012 may "mark a major inflection point of the global system crisis...."

Day of reckoning time approaches. Putting off "the inevitable comes at a high price...."

"The shock of the autumn of 2008 will seen like a small summer storm compared to what's" coming. The "world system" will be "shaken."

GEAB predicts a conversion of geopolitical and economic shocks. They include more Middle East wars, Afpak chaos, "Gulf countries swept away in the turmoil," America's economy in free fall, major bank insolvencies, and money printing madness ended because it no longer works.

Early summer perhaps is the calm before the storm. If GEAB is right, it won't be pleasant on arrival.

____________________________________________________

USA: Assassination Nation

Fifty Years of US Targeted Kill Lists: From the Phoenix Program to Predator Drones

by Doug Noble

“A broad-gauged program of targeted assassination has now displaced counterinsurgency as the prevailing expression of the American way of war” – Andrew Bacevich

This spring the US drone killing program has come out of the closet. Attorney General Eric Holder publicly defended the drone killing of an American citizen, while Obama’s counter terrorism czar John Brennan publicly explained and justified the target killing program. And a New York Times article by Jo Becker and Scott Shane chronicled Obama’s personal role in vetting a secret “Kill List.”

This striking new transparency, the official acknowledgment for the first time of a broad-based US assassination and targeted killing program, has resulted from the unprecedented and controversial visibility of drone warfare. Drones now make news every day, and those of us who have been protesting their use for years have heightened their visibility in the public eye, forcing official acknowledgment and fostering worldwide scrutiny. This new scrutiny focuses not only on drone use but also, and perhaps more importantly, on the targeted killing itself – and the “kill lists” that make them possible.

This new exposure has set off a firestorm of reaction around the globe. Chris Woods of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism told Democracy Now! “The kill list got really heavy coverage … newspapers have all expressed significant concern about the existence of the kill list, the idea of this level of executive power.” A Washington Post editorial noted that “No president has ever relied so extensively on the secret killing of individuals to advance the nation’s security goals.” Becker and Shane of the Times pronounced Obama’s role “without precedent in presidential history, of personally overseeing the shadow war …” And former president Jimmy Carter insisted, in a recent editorial in The New York Times, “We don’t know how many hundreds of innocent civilians have been killed in these (drone) attacks, each one approved by the highest authorities in Washington. This would have been unthinkable in previous times.”

Really ?

In fact, US assassination and targeted killing, with presidential approval, has been going on covertly for at least half a century. Ironically, all this drone killing now offers us a new opportunity: to pry open the Pandora’s box hiding long-held secrets of covert US assassination and targeted killing, and to expose them to the light of day. What we would find is that the only things new in the latest, more publicized revelations about kill lists and assassinations are the use of drones, the president’s hands-on approach in vetting targets, and the global scope of the drone killing.

Those of us in the Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones, Code Pink and other groups protesting US drones for years have correctly focused on the use of drones as illegal, immoral and strategically counterproductive. We have abhorred the schizophrenic ease of remote killing, the uniquely frightening horror of a drone strike, and the unavoidable (even intentional) killing of countless civilian “terrorist suspects” in “signature strikes.” We have also warned of the proliferation of drones in countries around the globe and of their procurement by US police forces and border patrols, for surveillance and “non-lethal” targeting.

But drones are not the only, or even the most important, concern. It’s the targeted killing itself, past and present. In this article I start to unravel what the latest demands for transparency should lead us to investigate fully: the fifty year history of US assassination and targeted killing that has resulted, quite directly, in the present moment. Those who are mortified by the latest revelations of Obama’s kill list have much to learn from a more comprehensive, historical perspective on US killing around the globe. Who knows: Perhaps someone in Congress might even be prodded to do what Senators Fulbright and Church did in years past: hold hearings on this continuing execration taking place in our name. Until then, what follows is an introduction to this ongoing horror story.

Section 1 of this article briefly reviews the lethal history of the US Phoenix Program in Vietnam, the original source of subsequent US counter terrorist tactics and strategies. Section 2 revisits briefly the well-worn history of US kill lists and assassinations in Latin American countries, followed by the somewhat less-well-known history of US kill lists and assassinations in countries on other continents. Section 3 traces the direct legacy of Phoenix, even its explicit resurrection by the key architects of the US targeted killing programs in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in a growing number of “countries we are not at war with.”

One point of clarification and definition. It is well known that in recent history the US has orchestrated assassination attempts, both successful and unsuccessful, on major world leaders. Examples include: Lumumba under Eisenhower, Castro and Diem under Kennedy, Gaddhafi under Reagan, Saddam Hussein under Bush, and Allende under Nixon. The term “assassination” is typically restricted to such killings of political leaders, and President Ford’s executive order banning assassination applies only to the assassination of foreign heads of state. The focus of this article is different. Here we discuss the US-generated kill lists used over the last half century, under direct presidential authority, for the targeted killing of thousands of civilians suspected of being or harboring terrorists/ insurgents, from Vietnam to Guatemala, from Indonesia to Iraq, right up to the present day.

The Phoenix Program

The US Phoenix Program was a secret, large scale counter terrorist effort in Vietnam. Developed in 1967 by the CIA, the Phoenix Program, called Phung Hoang by the Vietnamese, aimed a concerted effort to “neutralize” the Vietcong Infrastructure (VCI) consisting of South Vietnamese civilians suspected of supporting North Vietnamese or Viet Cong soldiers. The euphemism “neutralize” meant to kill or detain indefinitely. Then CIA Director William Colby, while insisting in 1971 Congressional hearings that “the Phoenix program is not a program of assassination,” nonetheless conceded that Phoenix operations killed over 20,000 people between 1967 and 1972.

Phoenix targeted civilians, not soldiers. Operations were carried out by “hunter-killer teams” consisting both of US Green Berets and Navy Seals and by South Vietnamese Provincial Reconnaissance Units (PRUs), units of mercenaries set up for assassination and “counter terror.” A Newsweek article in January 1970 described Phoenix as “a highly secret and unconventional operation that counters VC terror with terror of its own.” Robert Kaiser of the Washington Post reported Phoenix being called “an instrument of mass political murder…sort of Vietnamese Murder Inc.,” designed to terrorize the civilian population into submission.”

Until 1970 the computerized VCI blacklist was a unilateral American operation. After the devastating 1968 Tet offensive, South Vietnamese President Thieu declared: “The VCI must be eliminated… and will be defeated by the Phoenix program.” Phoenix became a ruthless “bounty hunting” program to eliminate the opposition. The US and South Vietnamese created a list of tens of thousands of suspects for assassination. These names were centralized and distributed to Phoenix coordinators. From 1965-68 U.S. and Saigon intelligence services maintained an active list of Viet Cong cadre marked for assassination. The program for 1969 called for “neutralizing” 1800 a month.

The VCI blacklist became corrupted by officers inserting their personal enemies’ names to get even. Due process was nonexistent. Names supplied by anonymous informers showed up on blacklists. CIA Director Colby admitted in 1971 that the blacklists had been “inaccurate.” Few senior VCI leaders were caught in the Phoenix net. Instead its victims were typically innocent civilians. A Pentagon-contract study found that, between 1970 and 1971, ninety-seven per cent of the Vietcong targeted by the Phoenix Program were of negligible importance. By 1973, Phoenix generated 300,000 political prisoners in South Vietnam. Military operations such as My Lai used Phoenix intelligence; in fact, the My Lai massacre, hardly an isolated incident, was itself a Phoenix operation.

Apologists have offered rationales for Phoenix that sound eerily similar to those used to defend current drone attacks. Phoenix was typically referred to as a “scalpel” replacing the “bludgeon” of search and destroy, aerial bombardment or artillery barrages. Alternatively, it was called a precision “rifle shot rather than a shotgun approach to target key political leaders … and activists in VCI.” Military historian Dale Andrade explains, “Both SEALS and PRUs killed many VCI guerrillas – that was war. They also inevitably killed innocent civilians – that was regrettable…. but (Phoenix) operations were much more discerning than the massive affairs launched by conventional …forces. That fact was often lost in the rhetoric of assassination and murder …”

Phoenix was created, organized, and funded by the CIA. Quotas were set by Americans. Informers were paid with US funds. The national system of identifying suspects, the elaboration of numerical goals and their use as measures of merit, was designed and funded by Americans. One former US Phoenix soldier conceded, “It was “heinous,” far worse than the things attributed to it.”

Kill Lists from Phoenix to Latin America

The US intelligence community formalized the lessons of the Phoenix Program in Vietnam by commissioning Project X, the Army’s top-secret program for transmitting Vietnam’s lessons to South America. By the mid-1970s, the Project X materials were going to armies all over the world. These were textbooks for global counterinsurgency and terror warfare. These included a murder manual, “Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare,” which openly instructed in the assassination of public officials, and was distributed to the Nicaraguan Contras. Another manual, “Human Resource Exploitation Training Manual,” was used widely in Honduran counterrorism efforts.

Use of the Project X material was temporarily suspended by Congress and the Carter administration for probable human rights violations, but the program was restored by the Reagan administration in 1982. By the mid-1980s, according to one detailed history, “counterguerrilla operations in Colombia and Central America would thus bear an eerie but explicable resemblance to South Vietnam.”

What follows is a brief sketch of the widespread application of US-promulgated Phoenix-derived reigns of terror, kill lists, and death squads throughout Latin America and beyond. Much of this is familiar territory to many activists and scholars, and is merely the tip of the iceberg, but it merits review as a backdrop for the current context of kill lists and targeted assassination.

US KILL LISTS AND ASSASSINATION IN LATIN AMERICA

The U.S. Army’s School of Americas (SOA), started in 1946, trained mass murderers and orchestrated coups in Peru, Panama, Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico. The SOA trained more than 61,000 Latin American officers implicated in widespread slaughter of civilian populations across Latin America. From 1966-1976 the SOA trained hundreds of Latin American officers in Phoenix-derived methods. Between 1989-1991 the SOA issued almost 700 copies of Project X handbooks to at least ten Latin American countries, including Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Guatemala, and Honduras. In 2001, SOA was renamed Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC), but peace activists know it as School of Assassins.

The CIA trained assassination groups such as Halcones in Mexico, the Mano Blanca in Guatemala, and the Escuadron de la Muerte in Brazil. In South America, in 1970-79, Operation Condor, the code-name for collection, exchange and storage of intelligence, was established among intelligence services in South America to eradicate Marxist activities. Operation Condor promoted joint operations including assassination against targets in member countries. In Central America, the CIA-supported death toll under the Reagan presidency alone exceeded 150,000. The CIA set up Ansesal and other networks of terror in El Salvador, Guatemala (Ansegat) and pre-Sandinista Nicaragua (Ansenic).

Honduran death squads were active through the 1980s, the most infamous of which was Battalion 3–16, which assassinated hundreds of people, including teachers, politicians, and union leaders. Battalion 316 received substantial CIA support and training, and at least 19 members graduated from the School of the Americas.

In Colombia, about 20,000 people were killed since 1986 and much of U.S. aid for counternarcotics was diverted to what Amnesty International labeled “one of the worst killing fields.” The US State Department also supported the Colombian army in creating a database of subversives, terrorists and drug dealers.

In Bolivia, Amnesty International reported that from 1966-68 between 3,000 and 8,000 people were killed by death squads. The CIA supplied names of U.S. and other foreign missionaries and progressive priests.

In Ecuador, the CIA maintained what was called the lynx list, aka the subversive control watch list of the most important left-wing activists to arrest. In Uruguay. Every CIA station maintained a subversive control watch list of most important left wing activists. From 1970-72 the CIA helped set up the Department of Information and Intelligence (DII), which served as a cover for death squads, and also co-ordinated meetings between Brazilian and Uruguayan death squads.

In Nicaragua, the US provided illegal funds to the Contras, and Marine intelligence helped maintain a list of civilians marked for assassination when Contra forces entered the country.

In Chile, 1970-73, CIA-created unions organized CIA-financed strikes leading to Allende’s overthrow and subsequent suicide. By late 1971 the CIA was involved in the preparation of lists of nearly 20,000 middle-level leaders of people’s organizations, scheduled to be assassinated after the Pinochet coup.

In Haiti, U.S. officials with CIA backgrounds in Phoenix-like program activities coordinated with the Ton-Ton Macoute, “Baby Doc” Duvalier’s private death squad, responsible for killing at least 3,000 people.

For over thirty years the US military and the CIA helped organize, train, and fund death squad activity in El Salvador. From 1980-93, at least 63,000 Salvadoran civilians were killed, mostly by the government directly supported by the U.S. The CIA routinely supplied ANSESAL, the security forces, and the general staff with electronic, photographic, and personal surveillance of suspected dissidents and Salvadorans abroad who were later assassinated by death squads. US militray involvement in El Salvador allowed “the lessons learned in Vietnam to be put into practice … assisting an allied country in counterinsurgency operations.”

In Guatemala, as early as 1954, the U.S. Ambassador, after the CIA-orchestrated overthrow of the Arbenz government, gave to the new Armas government lists of radical opponents to be assassinated. Years later, throughout Guatemala’s 36-year civil war, Washington continuously to supported the Guatemalan military’s excesses against civilians, which killed 200,000 people.

US Assassination Programs Exported to Other Countries

In Indonesia, 1965-66, the US embassy and the CIA provided the Indonesian military with lists of the names of PKI militants, which were used by Suharto to crush the PKI regime. This resulted in “one of the worst episodes of mass murder of the twentieth century,” with estimates as high as one million deaths.

In Thailand, in 1976, the new junta used CIA-trained forces to crush student demonstrators during coup; two right-wing terrorist squads suspected for assassinations tied directly to CIA operations.

In Iran, the CIA launched a coup installing the shah in power and helped establish the lethal secret police unit SAVAK. The CIA and SAVAK then exchanged intelligence, including information and arrest lists on the communist Tudeh party. Years later, in 1983, the CIA gave the Khomeni government a list of USSR KGB agents and collaborators operating in Iran, which the Khomeni regime used to execute 200 suspects and close down the communist Tudeh party.

In the Philippines, in 1986, Reagan increased CIA involvement in Philippine counterinsurgency operations, carried out by more than 50 death squads. In 2001, before 9/11, the Bush administration sent a unit of SOF to the Philippines “to help train Philippine counter terrorist forces fighting against Muslim separatists” within groups like Abu Sayyaf. After 9/11 US-Filipino cooperation was stepped up and the ongoing separatist conflict was cast, to the benefit of both sides, as “the second front in the war on terror.” In Feb, 2012, a US drone strike targeting leaders of Abu Sayyaf and other separatist groups killed 15 people, the first use of killer drones in Southeast Asia.

A “global Phoenix Program”: drone targets worldwide

“A global Phoenix program would provide a useful start point for a new strategic approach to the Global War on Terrorism” – David Kilcullen

IRAQ

Despite the US-perpetrated counter terrorist slaughter in Latin America and elsewhere in the 1970s-1990s, the US Special Forces debacle in Mogadishu in 1993, popularized in the film Black Hawk Down, severely impacted US willingness to use Special Forces in counter terrorist missions for the next decade. But then, after 9/11, things changed drastically. On September 17, 2001, President Bush signed a secret Presidential finding authorizing the C.I.A. to create paramilitary teams to hunt, capture, detain, or kill designated terrorists almost anywhere in the world. The pressure from the White House, in particular from Vice-President Dick Cheney, was intense, and in the scramble, a search of the C.I.A.’s archives turned up – the Phoenix Program.

In July 2002, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld sent an order for a plan to make sure that special forces could be authorized to use lethal force ‘in minutes and hours, not days and weeks.’” Rumsfeld prompted Bush to authorize the military to “find and finish” terrorist targets. Here he was referring to “the F3EA targeting cycle” used in anti-infrastructure operations by Special Operations Forces. F3EA, an abbreviation of find, fix, finish, exploit, analyze, utilizes comprehensive intelligence to “find a target amidst civilian clutter and fix his exact location . . . . enabling surgical finish operations … to catch a fleeting target.”

Lt General William (Jerry) Boykin, Delta commander in Mogadishu, deputy undersecretary for Defense for Intelligence and a key planner of the Special Forces offensive in Iraq, announced, “We’re going after these people. Killing or capturing them … doing what the Phoenix program was designed to do, without all the secrecy.”

Back in 1963, the CIA had supplied lists of communists to the Baath party coup so that communists could be rounded up and eliminated. Now, forty years later, it was the Baathists’ turn to be rounded up by Special Forces and CIA and executed. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the U.S. military notoriously developed a set of playing cards to help troops identify the most-wanted members of Saddam Hussein‘s government, mostly high-ranking Baath Party members. Less well-known was the secret targeted killing of thousands of Baathist civilians by US Special Forces.

Seymour Hersh wrote in 2003 that “The Bush Administration authorized a major escalation of the Special Forces covert war in Iraq. … Its highest priority (being) the neutralization of the Baathist insurgents, by capture or assassination. A former C.I.A. station chief described the strategy: “The only way we can win is to go unconventional. We’re going to have to play their game. Guerrilla versus guerrilla. Terrorism versus terrorism. We’ve got to scare the Iraqis into submission.” The US even hired thousands of contract killers previously responsible for US-sponsored extra-judicial killings and death squad activity in Latin America. The operation—called “preëmptive manhunting” by one Pentagon adviser—had, according to Hersh, “the potential to turn into another Phoenix Program.”

Global Phoenix

In 2009, the Office of the Secretary of Defense sponsored a paper by the National Defense Research Institute entitled “The Phoenix Program and Contemporary Counterinsurgency.” The paper notes, “The persistent insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan have generated fresh interest among military officers, policymakers, and civilian analysts in the history of counterinsurgency. The Phoenix Program in Vietnam—the U.S. effort to improve intelligence coordination and operations aimed at identifying and dismantling the communist underground—is the subject of much renewed attention.”

The paper continues, “As the United States and its allies shift their focus to Afghanistan and weigh counterinsurgency alternatives for that country, decision-makers would be wise to consider how Phoenix-style approaches might serve to pry open Taliban and Al-Qaeda black boxes.”

Two key architects of the current Phoenix-style global counterinsurgency efforts by the US are David Kilcullen and Michael Vickers. David Kilcullen has been counterinsurgency advisor to two former Middle East commanders, General Stanley McChrystal (formerly head of Special Operations) and General David Petraeus, now CIA Director. Michael G. Vickers, made famous in the book and film Charlie Wilson’s War about the CIA’s anti-Soviet Afghan campaign of the 1980s, is currently Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, wielding such vast authority over the US war on terror that, according to a Washington Post profile, Pentagon colleagues refer to as his “take-over-the-world-plan.”

Kilcullen wrote in a much-quoted 2004 paper entitled “Countering Global Insurgency” that “Counterinsurgency campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq have reawakened official and analytical interest in the Phoenix Program.” He proposed that “a global Phoenix program would provide a useful start point for a new strategic approach to the Global War on Terrorism,” one which would focus on “interdicting links between jihad theatres, denying sanctuary areas, isolating Islamists from local populations and disrupting inputs” from others.

Vickers issued a Phoenix-style directive in December 2008 to “develop capabilities for extending U.S. reach into denied areas and uncertain environments by operating with and through indigenous foreign forces or by conducting low visibility operations.” “It’s not just the Middle East. It’s not just the developing world. It’s not just non-democratic countries – it’s a global problem. Threats can emanate from Denmark, the United Kingdom, you name it.” According to a Washington Post profile, “the most critical aspect of Vicker’s plan targeting al-Qaeda-affiliated networks around the world involves US Special Forces working through foreign partners to uproot and fight terrorism.” US military and Special Operations forces would “pay indigenous fighters and paramilitaries who work with them in gathering intelligence, hunting terrorists, fomenting guerrilla warfare or putting down an insurgency.”

Pentagon colleagues have said of Vickers, “he tends to think like a gangster.” Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell revealed that getting Bin Laden in Pakistan was Vicker’s “baby,” and “more than anyone else in the department, he drove the issue.” In 2011 New York Times Vickers summarizes his strategy: “You make a deal with the devil to defeat another devil.” “I just want to kill those guys.” Such is the megalomaniacal mission underlying the US global war on terror, its kill lists and worldwide program of targeted assassination.

Killer Drones Revisited

“Engaging in any assassination blurs the line between the good guys and the bad.” It is also “a proclamation of weakness and an admission of failure.” – John Jacob Nutter, The CIA’s Black Ops

The purpose of this article is to reframe the current attention on killer drones and Obama’s “kill list” within an historical perspective. The goal here is not to discourage the escalating protest against killer drones or against Obama’s targeted assassination program around the globe. As stated at the outset, the unprecedented visibility of these nefarious activities and of the outraged public response to them is precisely what is needed at this time. This heightened awareness also affords a perfect opportunity to revisit the extraordinary history of US assassination and targeted killing that has led directly and explicitly to these activities.

Focus on the drones alone will not be sufficient. For even the major counter terrorist mastermind David Kilcullen himself, an avid proponent of the global targeted killing program, has argued against the use of drones. In a 2009 New York Times editorial he argues that “The goal should be to isolate extremists from their communities; (they) must be defeated by indigenous forces…Drone strikes make this harder, not easier.” He adds, “The use of drones displays every characteristic of a tactic – or, more accurately, a piece of technology – substituting for a strategy, (with minimal understanding) of the tribal dynamics of the local population. This creates public outrage and a desire for revenge.”

Scholar Maria Ryan, in a 2011 article entitled “War in Countries We Are Not at War With,” writes: “In 2006 the Pentagon announced that it had sent small teams of Special Operations troops to US embassies to gather intelligence on terrorism in Africa, South East Asia and South America. There is, then, a covert side to the Global War on Terrorism that is not visible and not currently knowable in the absence of whistleblowers, leaks, or things gone wrong.”

The heightened public attention paid to drone killing might very well, in time, lead to some welcome success in curtailing their use. But too narrow a focus on the US deployment of Predator and Reaper drones might also distract us from other forms of Phoenix-derived targeted killing still being perpetrated globally – and covertly – by our Assassination Nation.

Illegitimate Sanctions on Iran

Mathaba.net

by Stephen Lendman

Washington bears full responsibility for imposing illegitimate sanctions on Iran. Other countries are pressured to agree. Doing so harms their own interests.

Heavy-handed US bullying largely gets its way. Rule of law principles and norms are violated. At issue is advancing Washington's imperium.

America's 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) lets presidents claim unusual and/or extraordinary foreign threats, declare a national emergency, and regulate commerce accordingly.

Presidents have taken full advantage deceptively, unjustifiably, and illegally.

In November 1979, Washington seized $12 billion in Iranian government bank deposits, securities, gold, and other properties. They included $5.6 billion held by overseas branches of US banks.

A full trade embargo followed. In January 1981, it was lifted under provisions of the Algiers Accords. Most Iranian assets were unblocked. Nonetheless, Iranian Assets Control Regulations remained in effect.

For decades, Washington ruthlessly targeted Iran and its people. It continues relentlessly today. More on that below.

Ronald Reagan imposed Iranian sanctions. Fraudulent pretexts were used. They included claiming Tehran supports international terrorism and aggressively acts against Persian Gulf shipping.

Reagan's 1987 Executive Order (EO) 12613 embargoed Iranian goods and services.

In March 1995, Clinton's EO 12957 prohibited US involvement with Iranian oil development. His 1995 EO 12959 substantially tightened sanctions further. His 1997 EO 13059 prohibited virtually all trade and investments with Iran.

In 1996, the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) became law. In 2006, it was renamed the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA).

It prohibited US and foreign oil development investments. Violators face stiff penalties. They include denial of Export-Import Bank of the United States help, rejection of export licenses, and a ban on all or some violating company imports.

In 2008, banks and other US depository institutions were prohibited from processing transfers between Iranian and non-Iranian banks.

In 2010, America's Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act (CISADA) became law. It extended sanctions imposed by the 1996 Iran Sanctions Act. It punishes companies doing business with Tehran's oil sector and went further.

Section 103 prohibited importing certain Iranian foodstuffs and carpets. Other provisions banned other Iranian product and service imports directly or through third countries

Exporting goods, technology, or services are prohibited, including from offshore locations. Some humanitarian related exceptions were made.

Overall, US individuals and companies located anywhere are prohibited from engaging in dealings of any kind. They include purchases, sales, transportation, swaps, financing, or brokering transactions related to goods or services of Iranian private or government origin.

On July 1, an EU oil import embargo took effect. It covers crude oil, petroleum and petrochemical products, oil related businesses, equipment and technology, selling Tehran's refined products, new investments, and dealing with its central bank.

Europe buys up to 20% of its oil from Iran. Ending it means greater strain on economically stressed countries. Higher prices exacerbate problems.

Washington granted India, Malaysia, South Korea, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Taiwan waivers. In March, other countries got 180-day exemptions. Currently, 20 nations have qualified waivers.

Japan increased its Iranian oil purchases. China relies on Iranian oil and buys it freely. So do other nations. On August 1, the House overwhelmingly (421 - 6) passed the Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Human Rights Act of 2012. The Senate passed it unanimously. Doing so mocks rule of law legitimacy.

New sanctions imposed include punishing financial institutions, insurers, and shippers involved in helping Iran sell oil. Previous loopholes were closed. An illegal embargo was tightened.

Prohibitions were enacted against companies involved in mining uranium with Iran; selling, leasing or providing oil tanker services; or offering insurance to the National Iranian Tanker Company.

Overall, the measure penalizes anyone involved with Iran's oil, petrochemical, or natural gas industries. Earlier sanctions imposed were hardened.

Ahead of the House vote, Obama ordered new sanctions on Iran's energy and financial sectors. By Executive Order he prohibited foreign financial institutions from doing business with Iran. Violators face stiff penalties.

Specifically, Iran's oil, petroleum products, and petrochemicals were targeted.

Separately, the Treasury Department sanctioned China's Bank of Kunlun and Iraq's Elaf Islamic Bank for providing financial services to Iranian banks.

Beijing reacted furiously. Relations between the two countries are strained. Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Washington violated "norms of international relations."

"The U.S. has invoked domestic law to impose sanctions on a Chinese financial institution, and this is a serious violation of international rules that harms Chinese interests."

Sanctions and International Law

The General Assembly's 1974 Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States says no nation may use or encourage use of economic, political or other measures to coerce another country to to subordinate its sovereign rights in any way.

Under Part IV, Section 1, Chapter III, Article 54 of the Protocol 1 Additional to the Geneva Conventions (1977):

(1) Starving civilians during war is prohibited.

(2) Attacking, destroying, removing, or compromising indispensable items is prohibited. They include foodstuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies, irrigation works, and other essential products, services, and facilities relating to them.

UN General Assembly Resolution 44/215 (1989) prohibits political and economic coercion against developing countries.

It specifically covers trade and financial restrictions, blockades, embargoes, and other economic sanctions. It calls them incompatible with UN Charter provisions. They adversely affect the ability of nations to function politically, economically and socially. They harm civilians most.

The International Conference on Nutrition, World Declaration on Nutrition, Food and Agriculture Organization, and World Health Organization (1992) recognized the right to access nutritionally adequate and safe food as a fundamental right.

US Code defines international terrorism as follows:

A. "violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State, or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or of any State;

B. appear to be intended -

i. to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;

ii. to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or

iii. to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and

C. occur primarily outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States...."

The US Army Operational Concept for Terrorism (TRADOC Pamphlet No. 525-37, 1984) shortens the definition to be "the calculated use of violence or threat of violence to attain goals that are political, religious, or ideological in nature....through intimidation, coercion, or instilling fear."

Crimes against humanity breach fundamental international law. Civilian populations must be protected at all times.

Illegitimate sanctions harm human rights grievously. They violate international laws and norms. Targeting nonbelligerent countries ups the ante.

On July 31, Iranian lawmaker Seyyed Hossein Naqavi Hosseini denounced Western sanctions, saying:

"The sanctions in the area of health and similar fields are a violation of human rights, and can be legally pursued."

On July 29, Iranian Presidential Center for International Legal Affairs head Majid Jafarzadeh said Tehran will take legal action against America and European countries.

"The complaint will be registered and pursued soon, based on international regulations," he said.

Ron Paul calls Iranian sanctions an act of war. The New New England Journal of Medicine called them "a war against public health."

They also violate World Trade Organization (WTO) provisions. WTO members may curb trade with other nations for security reasons. Doing so on dealings with third countries has no legal legitimacy.

Iran is nonbelligerent. It's lawful and non-threatening. Its nuclear program complies fully with Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty provisions.

Challenging Washington in the WTO's Dispute Resolution Mechanism would likely succeed.

Francis Boyle urges Iran to sue Washington, Britain and France at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) if they refuse to negotiate directly and continue making belligerent threats.

Add Israel and make it a quartet. It menaces the region.

In early July, Boyle told Press TV if someone refuses "to talk to you, sue them, and then they have to talk to you."

If Washington won't engage in direct negotiations, "Iran should sue at the World Court, protect itself, and then by means of the World Court proceeding, force negotiations which Iran can do."

If crisis conditions escalate, Iran should also sue Britain and France, said Boyle. It should request an "emergency hearing," and use it to prevent war or other belligerent acts.

A restraining order could be gotten. It would prevent "any type of blockade to prevent the imposition of further economic sanctions and pursuit of additional ones".

Blockades are acts of war. Multiples rounds of sanctions targeting vital state functions have similar effects if pushed too far. Ones in place now violate fundamental human rights.

They're illegal. Iran should sue. Unlike the International Criminal Court, ICJ rulings are more measured and just. It called Israel's Apartheid Wall illegal.

It ruled for Nicaragua during Washington's Contra war. It condemned American terrorism against its people. It awarded Managua $17 billion. Reagan administration officials ignore it. They then blocked Security Council enforcement.

Nonetheless, a precedent was set. It was repeated against Israel. Iran stands a good chance of prevailing. Proceeding posthaste is wise.

Mad Dog Leaders Threaten Humanity

Mathaba.net

by Stephen Lendman

Israel is very much involved in Washington's war on Syria. At issue is destroying another independent state, murdering thousands, planning more wars, and threatening the entire region and beyond.

Iran is next in line. Sabre rattling combines with war by other means. It includes sanctions, subversion, instability, cyberwar, targeted assassinations, other disruptive actions, and relentless scoundrel media vilification and fear-mongering.

On August 3, Haaretz headlined "King Bibi in trouble." Poll numbers show a 60% disapproval rating. It's not for institutionalized militarism and belligerence. It's about new budget cuts hardening neo-liberal harshness.

Most Israelis are fed up with what harms their well-being. Their narrow definition omits likely blow-back from regional wars and more planned. Conflict rages cross border in Syria. If attacked, Hezbollah can respond in kind.

Key is whether Israel plans bombing Iran's nuclear facilities. Doing so is lawless, madness, and self-destructive. Nonetheless, heated rhetoric suggests it's possible.

On August 2, Haaretz headlined "Ex-Mossad chief said what should be clear to everyone - Israel has never been so close to attacking Iran," saying:

According to Ephraim Halevy, "if I were an Iranian, I would be very worried about the Israeli talk about a possible attack, because Israel's threats sound serious and credible to me."

No longer publicly active, he may or may not know what's planned. Haaretz said he's not "another establishment stooge." Nor is he "gung-ho."

He's wise enough not to reveal state secrets. Perhaps he commented because someone asked. Once a Mossad insider, always one. Iranian officials will parse his comments carefully.

On August 1, Mossad-connected DEBKAfile (DF) headlined "Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Warns Iran's Top Leaders: WAR IN WEEKS," saying:

Before Friday, July 27 prayers, he "summoned top Iranian military chiefs for what he called 'last war council.' "

DF claims he told them "we will be at war within weeks." Allegedly he ordered high alert readiness, fortifying Iran's nuclear facilities, and retaliatory responses.

Only high level insiders know Israeli intentions. Sabre rattling and inflammatory rhetoric went on for years. It's heard regularly now. So far, belligerence hasn't follow bluster. Whether things now are different remains to be seen.

On August 3, Haaretz headlined "As Netanyahu pushes Israel closer to war with Iran, Israelis cannot keep silent," saying:

"Why aren't ministers and defense officials standing up right now, when it is still possible, and saying: We will not be a party to this megalomaniacal vision, to this messianic-catastrophic worldview?"

As important is why militarism, belligerence, and denigration of Muslims define Israeli policies. Why is war institutionalized?

Why does a nation treat one-fifth of its people like fifth column threats? Why are non-Jews persecuted? Why do decades of occupation repression continue?

Why do only elitist Jews matter at the expense of all others? Why does a tiny state threaten other regional nations? Why do world leaders permit it? How can any responsible official contemplate catastrophic war if launched?

Haaretz suggests "Netanyahu has a historical mindset (and) outlook under which....Israel is 'the eternal nation' and the United States" is just one among many.

In other words, "(w)e are everlasting, we are an eternal people, and they, despite all their strength and power, are merely temporary and ephemeral."

Megalomania and delusions of grandeur define this type thinking. Past leaders governing this way perished by the same sword they lived by. It always turned out that way.

Tiny Israel is a dot in an ocean of justifiable resentment. One step too far may bite back harder than what Netanyahu and others around him imagine.

His governing style is autocratic, said Haaretz. He thinks he holds Israel's destiny in his hands. He may end up fiddling while it burns. His hermetic world-view rigidity may end up its undoing.

He'll take an entire nation and others over a cliff with him. Perhaps he'll end up like Caligula. Delusions of grandeur and tyrannical harshness got him assassinated. His own Praetorian Guard did him in.

Netanyahu heads Israel's most extremist ever government. It’s racist, repressive, elitist and fascist. Democracy is more hypocrisy than real.

Hard-liners around him share his vision. Most Israelis want peace, not war. They have no say. Their fate hangs in his hands. It's their country, their security, and their future.

Don’t they understand the consequences of attacking Iran? Have they no sense that "bomb or be bombed" rhetoric is belligerent bombast? Don’t they know destructive policies sometimes follow?

Iran threatens no one. It's nuclear program is peaceful. Every Israeli and Western leader knows it. Saying otherwise hides dark side intentions.

Why don't knowledgeable people speak out? Why don't opposition officials do it? Why don't they stand up for what's right? Why don't they stop this madness before it's too late?

Have they no sense of the stakes? Don't they care enough to try? Are loyalty and daily priorities more important than survival? Are millions of Israeli lives and others in the region unimportant?

Why haven't Israelis protested publicly en masse? Why won't they act in their own behalf?

Poet Hayyim Bialik (1873 - 1934) once wrote about "with heart's blood and marrow pay(ing) the price of the blaze." A century later he'd have had weapons of mass destruction in mind.

A Final Comment

IDF chief of staff General Benny Gantz believes Iran won't develop nuclear weapons. He's concerned about launching an attack. He called Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other Iranian leaders rational. They're not dangerous extremists bent on war.

Netanyahu is mirror opposite. He said governments make policies, not generals. Their job is taking orders and obeying. Other times they're asked for advice. Prime ministers and cabinet members can accept or reject it.

George Clemenceau once said "war is too important to be left to the generals." In Israel, some have more good sense than politicians. The same holds for America. Delusional leaders can't wait to shed more blood.

Gantz calls unilateral Israeli action ill-conceived. Other current and past IDF generals and intelligence officials share his view. Many in America feel the same way.

Instead of waging wars, preventing them should be prioritized. When leaders able to cause mass destruction behave like delusional mad dogs and pigs, stopping them matters most.

Israelis Against War on Iran

by Stephen Lendman - mathaba.net

Polls show most Israelis and Americans oppose war with Iran. Political leaders pay no attention nor ask why Iran, with or without nuclear weapons, would strike Israel or any other country?

Iran hasn't attacked another nation in over 200 years. It threatens none now. It's not developing or producing nuclear weapons. Washington, Israeli, and most other world leaders know it.

Iran's nuclear program is red herring cover. It's used as pretext to replace an independent state with a subservient pro-Western one. It's also about furthering Israeli regional dominance.

Waging full-scale war on Syria and/or Iran is madness. War with either country is all lose, no gain, and potential catastrophic consequences if things spin out of control. Warmongers push ahead with plans anyway.

Israel will be gravely affected if they're implement. Why else would most Israelis oppose war and Netanyahu for threatening it. Last spring, hundreds marched in Tel Aviv against it. They chanted anti-Netanyahu slogans and railed against AIPAC.

They never went away. Expect them back. They're joined by many others. On August 16, Haaretz headlined "Hundreds of Israelis petition IDF pilots: Refuse orders to bomb Iran, saying: Tel Aviv law professors Menachem Mautner and Chaim Gans joined them. Petition language calls attacking Iran a "highly mistaken gamble."

Besides fundamental legal issues, at best it will delay, not destroy, Iran's nuclear program. Doing so also exacts "an exorbitant price."

Petition language said "No."

"Certainly, this is not a simple option. It involves profound professional and moral dilemmas, and carries the risk of losing a career which is important to you and also the possibility of being prosecuted."

"Nevertheless, it is your duty to consider most carefully and seriously the possibility that by saying the little word 'No,' you will be rendering an important and vital service to the State of Israel and all who live here. This service would be infinitely more important than blind obedience to this particular order."

The petition also explained that bombing Iran's nuclear facilities involves irradiating large areas. Doing so harms civilians. "Israel as a country, as well as those carrying out the bombing might be charged with war crimes."

Professor Gans explained why he signed the petition, saying: "It is clear that the consequences of (war on Iran) would be destructive in every possible way."

Haaretz said Physicians for Human Rights-Israel and senior Israeli "health establishment" doctors wrote Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. They oppose war. They expressed fears of unavoidable catastrophic consequences.

They said "we will be the ones you will seek out to heal and put together what you have broken. We call on you: Don't break. First do no harm."

On August 16, Israeli Ynet News headlined "Flurry of petitions against strike on Iran," saying:

Resistance to war appears growing. Twenty IDF reserve officers wrote Netanyahu. They expressed concerns like others. Imminent dangers focus minds on what's not previously considered.

Hopefully it's a good sign. It better be in dealing with sociopaths impersonating leaders. Netanyahu and Barak are two of the worst. No one's safe with them in charge.

On August 15, Richard Silverstein wrote about "Bibi's Secret War Plan." He published "an important leaked Israeli government document." A "trusted source" sent it. He's a "former Israeli government minister." He got it from an IDF officer.

He sent it because he and his source oppose war. He revealed it to expose Israeli leadership plans "to take Israel to war." His "mission" is to prevent it. He said no Israeli official denied the authenticity of what he revealed.

His source said he normally wouldn't leak this type document. "These are not normal times," he explained. "I'm afraid Bibi and Barak are dead serious."

Silverstein calls them a "two-headed warrior." Monster would be more appropriate. Virtually no "senior (Israeli) military or intelligence officer wants this war." It's unlikely current officials wrote the leaked material.

"It feels more likely it came from….national security advisor Yaakov Amidror, a former general, settler true-believer, and Bibi confidant." Barak acolytes perhaps also were involved.

Material was prepared for Netanyahu's eight-member security cabinet. They stand "4-3" against war. Bibi's pitching recalcitrant ministers. He's manipulating them to go along. His argument is that Israel can wage "a pure technology war" with few Israeli casualties.

His "sleight of hand" omits a certain Iranian counterattack. Silverstein calls what Netanyahu and Barak have in mind a "product of the Israeli dream factory."

It manufactures threats and clean strategies to address them. It never produces what's promised. Mission accomplished may be catastrophic. This genie can't be rebottled if unleashed.

Silverstein translated from the original Hebrew. Key portions are as follows:

"The Israeli attack will open with a coordinated strike, including an unprecedented cyber-attack which will totally paralyze the Iranian regime and its ability to know what is happening within its borders."

"The internet, telephones, radio and television, communications satellites, and fiber optic cables leading to and from critical installations—including underground missile bases at Khorramabad and Isfahan—will be taken out of action."

"The electrical grid throughout Iran will be paralyzed and transformer stations will absorb severe damage from carbon fiber munitions which are finer than a human hair, causing electrical short circuits whose repair requires their complete removal."

"This would be a Sisyphean task in light of cluster munitions which would be dropped, some time-delayed and some remote-activated through the use of a satellite signal."

"A barrage of tens of ballistic missiles would be launched from Israel toward Iran. 300km ballistic missiles would be launched from Israeli submarines in the vicinity of the Persian Gulf."

"The missiles would not be armed with unconventional warheads [WMD], but rather with high-explosive ordnance equipped with reinforced tips designed specially to penetrate hardened targets."

"The missiles will strike their targets—some exploding above ground like those striking the nuclear reactor at Arak–which is intended to produce plutonium and tritium—and the nearby heavy water production facility; the nuclear fuel production facilities at Isfahan and facilities for enriching uranium-hexaflouride. Others would explode under-ground, as at the Fordo facility."

"A barrage of hundreds of cruise missiles will pound command and control systems, research and development facilities, and the residences of senior personnel in the nuclear and missile development apparatus. Intelligence gathered over years will be utilized to completely decapitate Iran’s professional and command ranks in these fields."

"After the first wave of attacks, which will be timed to the second, the “Blue and White” radar satellite, whose systems enable us to perform an evaluation of the level of damage done to the various targets, will pass over Iran."

"Only after rapidly decrypting the satellite’s data, will the information be transferred directly to war planes making their way covertly toward Iran."

"These IAF planes will be armed with electronic warfare gear previously unknown to the wider public, not even revealed to our U.S. ally. This equipment will render Israeli aircraft invisible."

"Those Israeli war planes which participate in the attack will damage a short-list of targets which require further assault."

"Among the targets approved for attack—Shihab 3 and Sejil ballistic missile silos, storage tanks for chemical components of rocket fuel, industrial facilities for producing missile control systems, centrifuge production plants and more."

Despite a detailed battle plan, USC Chemical Engineering Professor Muhammad Sahimi explained flaws. Current Iranian Revolutionary Guards head Mohammad Ali Jafari addressed what he called the over-centralization of command and control.

He divided Iran into 31 districts. Each operates independently. To succeed, Israel would have to destroy or disable all. Doing so seems unlikely, especially before Tehran can respond defensively.

If Israel strikes, Netanyahu's waging the last war. Iranian generals learned from Saddam's mistakes. Even with "new tricks" up his sleeve, Netanyahu doesn't know his adversary, its defenses, its structure, and overall preparedness to hit back hard. Attacking Iran assures no winners.

A Final Comment

On August 15, The New York Times suggested a window of opportunity exists to avoid war. Uzi Dayan was quoted. He formerly served as IDF deputy chief of staff. He's Moshe Dayan's nephew. He said:

"This window is closing, but if the United States would be much clearer and stronger about the sanctions on one hand and about what can happen if Iran won’t make a U-turn - there is not a lot of time, but there is still time to make a difference."

On August 13, Dayan met with Netanyahu and Barak privately. They discussed current security issues. Iran was topic one. A media blitz awakened Israelis to the impending danger. They responded by opposing war.

Dayan thinks Netanyahu/Barak saber rattling has a purpose. It's pushing Obama to do more. It's about imposing more punishing sanctions than now in place. The only way is by creating a likely military option.

Both Israeli officials also want Washington leading an eventual attack. They're uncertain how successful Israel can be alone. America's might could make the difference. No matter that war with Iran assures no winners.

Dayan added that Netanyahu and Barak will choose war "only if they feel that there is no other way. They will do it only as the last, last thing, but then they will be pretty determined about it."

Once again, The Times suppressed what readers most need to know. It bears repeating. Iran has no nuclear weapons program. It threatens no one. Attacking nonbelligerent states violates fundamental international law.

Nations doing so stand guilty of war crimes. If large numbers of civilians are harmed, add crimes against humanity. If numbers run into the millions or close to it, genocide charges are warranted.

Responsible journalists would explain and condemn what they tacitly or overtly support. Failure makes them complicit in crimes too grave to ignore.

The American Way

by Stephen Lendman – mathaba.net

Past and present leaders reveal the soul of their nations. Arguably America never had one. Current domestic and foreign policies provide convincing evidence.

Police state harshness targets defenders of right over wrong everywhere. National resources go for militarism, belligerence, and making super-rich elites richer. Corporations are licensed to steal, exploit, and plunder.

Wars ravage one country after another. Humanity is ruthlessly destroyed. Battlefields shift from one theater to another. Gangsterism writ large reflects official policy. Syria is ground zero.

Months of Western generated violence left thousands dead, many more injured, and countless numbers displaced. Nothing deters America's war machine madness.

Bloodlust defines it. Dominance matters most. Body counts mount. Rule of law principles and democratic values are considered quaint and out of date. Stomping on people is policy.

Concern for human and civil rights is off the table. Winning hearts and minds was never America's game. Crushing the will to resist is more important. Repression enforces the message harshly. Death squad diplomacy eliminates non-believers. Where it ends, who knows!

Despite ongoing direct and proxy wars, hawkish US lawmakers want more. John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman are three of America's worst. Peace they believe is abhorrent.

Death squad massacres in Syria aren't enough. As a 2008 presidential candidate, McCain's advocated bombing Iran. "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran," he sang on his "Straight Talk" tour to the tune of a popular Beach Boys song.

Lunatics like this run America. Now McCain wants more. So do Graham and Lieberman. They're not alone. On August 5, the Washington Post gave them op-ed space. Together they headlined "The risks of inaction in Syria," saying:

Provide "robust assistance" to opposition fighters. Establish and reinforce safe zones. Use "airpower and other unique US assets."

Damn the risks. "(I)naction carries" greater ones. "(S)trategic" aims matter most. Failure to intervene more aggressively "jeopardiz(es) both our national security interests and our moral standing in the world."

Fact check

Official US policy calls for replacing all independent governments with pro-Western ones. War is America's national pastime. Dominance alone matters. Sovereign rights can't be allowed to interfere.

Washington planned war on Syria years ago. It's orchestrating events on the ground. It's been involved from day one. It's recruiting, arming, funding, training, and directing mercenary killers.

It's not good enough so let's bomb, say McCain, Graham and Lieberman. With these type lawmakers influencing policy, don't bet money on humanity surviving. Don't expect America to renounce war. Don't imagine embracing democratic values is planned.

Hunker down for worse to come. Get involved and try to stop it. Syria is about to go up in flames. Iran is next, then other nations. No good ending comes from this. Wars beget more of them. Permanent ones assure self-destruction.

Perhaps America will take humanity with it. It's not far-fetched. Partnered with Britain, other key NATO allies, Israel, and regional despots, chances of armageddon are too high to risk.

Chances for homeland tyranny are virtually certain. Militarism writ large heads it there. It's closer than most people imagine. It's not pretty now. Expect much worse ahead. It could come any time.

Battleground Syria could shift venues to America if popular resistance erupts. Daily violence and atrocities there could become commonplace domestically. Some neighborhoods already experience low intensity versions of what could easily ratchet higher.

Hammering one country after another draws it closer. Former State Department official Anne-Marie Slaughter mimicks McCain, Graham and Lieberman. Halting Syrian violence depends on increasing it, they believe.

People like this run America. They're interviewed on US television. They're given feature op-ed space. Earlier, Slaughter called for "no-kill zones." Pentagon officials call them "buffer zones." They're ground-based no-fly zones. If established, they assure full-scale war.

Slaughter supports no holds barred escalation. On July 31, her Financial Times article headlined "We will pay a high price if we do not arm Syria's rebels," saying:

She wants that and more. "It is time for bold action," she said. She suggests Libya 2.0. Go for broke, she urges. Other hawks echo her sentiment. "Syrians will remember those who remember them," she said.

The longer fighting rages, the greater Assad's support grows, the more America is hated.

Syrians aren't stupid. They know what Washington did to Iraq and Libya. They know what's gone on in Afghanistan since 2001. They understand that wherever America arrives, death, destruction, and unspeakable human misery follow.

If Washington wins, they lose. They're willing to die to prevent it. America plans full-scale war. Imagine how many more will die. Imagine the vast destruction. Imagine any nation ravaging others. It's the American way.

Permanent wars are waged for wealth, power and dominance. At the same time, homeland needs go begging. Out-of-control militarism heads America for tyranny and ruin. Along the way, millions suffer and die.

Obama follows in the tradition of previous warrior presidents. Over time, stakes and risks grow exponentially. State-of the art weapons threaten everyone. Obama's National Security Strategy "reserve(s) the right to act unilaterally if necessary to defend out nation and our interests."

In other words, preemptive wars with weapons of mass destruction is policy. Obama claims it's "to keep the American people safe (and advance the nation's) values and ideals." It threatens other countries to bend to Washington's will or else.

In the process it destroys freedom. Chalmers Johnson called war profiteering "the most efficient means for well-connected capitalists to engorge themselves at the public trough."

Expect more of it, he warned. Expect tyranny to replace democracy. Expect hell on earth so globalists can control it. Maybe they'll destroy it instead.

Amerika’s Future is Death
By Paul Craig Roberts

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32237.htm

"The day we see truth and do not speak, is the day we begin to die" (Martin Luther King)

August 20, 2012 -- "Information Clearing House"

Conspiracy theories have now blossomed into what the smug presstitute media calls a “conspiracy culture.” According to the presstitutes, Americans have to find some explanation for their frustrations and failings, so Americans shift the blame to the Bilderbergers, the Rothschilds, the New World Order and so forth and so on.

Readers will not be surprised that I disagree with the presstitutes. Indeed, the conspiracy culture is the product of the presstitute media’s failure to investigate and to report truthfully. I am certain that the Western media is worse than the Soviet media was. The Soviet media devised ways for helping the public to read between the lines, whereas the Western media is so proud to be confidants of the government that they deliver the propaganda without any clues to the readers that it is propaganda.

Americans have been fed lies by “their” government and the government’s presstitute media for so long that it is not surprising that Americans increasingly believe that there is a conspiracy operating against them. Millions of Americans have been evicted from their jobs, careers, and homes while the crooks who stole from them run free and bankroll the presidential candidates. The world as millions of Americans knew it has come to an end, and no one has been held accountable. The explanation that Americans get from the media is that it is their own fault. They bought houses they shouldn’t have bought, and they didn’t train for the right jobs. It is not unreasonable for Americans to conclude that a conspiracy is operating against them.

Americans are told that “their” government cannot afford to help them because of the budget deficit and the burden on our grandchildren. But Americans see the trillions of dollars that are lavished on banksters, on wars, and on Homeland Security. Why is a police state and another attack on another Muslim country more important than keeping Americans in their jobs and in their homes?

The 11th anniversary of 9/11 is less than a month away. Will the presstitute media remind Americans that the government has spent $6 trillion of Americans’ money in out-of-pocket and already incurred future costs as the expense of invading and trying to occupy Afghanistan and Iraq, all to no effect except to enrich the managements and shareholders of the military security complex at the cost of destroying the reputation of the United States and putting Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block?

No, of course not. The spiel will be about our brave troops who are fighting and dying to make the world safe for democracy and women’s rights. Washington will wrap itself in the flag and exhort Americans to “support our troops” in the orchestrated war of the day. Hitlery Clinton still gets on the moral high horse and rails at China and Russia, but all the world sees is hypocrisy. No one, not even Washington’s puppet governments, any longer takes Washington’s moralizing as anything more than a mask for domination by force alone. Democracy, Washington declares, comes out of the barrel of a gun.

Today moralizing is all about money, but not for the 99%. The 99% cannot find good jobs or earn anything on their savings, because the economy is run for the 1%. University graduates cannot get jobs and pay off their student loans. Retraining for the millions of Americans whose jobs were shipped offshore or filled by foreigners brought in on H1-B visas has proved to be a fraud, as there are no jobs for the retrained displaced long-term discouraged American work force. The official jobs projection by the US government is that few university graduates are needed in the work force, so the old mantra that “education is the answer” is just another lie from the Ivy League economic departments who sell the establishment’s lies for money.

Any American citizen accustomed to travel America’s “wide open spaces” prior to 9/11 must be astonished by the sudden rise of the intrusive Homeland Security, a gestapo-sounding name if there ever was one. Porno-scans and genital feel-ups have spread from airports to bus and train stations and to the public highways, despite the absence of terrorist events. No one in their right mind could possibly think that a 90-year old grandmother in a wheel chair is a terrorist whose diaper needs to be checked or that blond and blue-eyed parents would have strapped a bomb around their 5-year old daughter’s waist. No one except the gestapo Department of Homeland Security.

Even some of the gullible flag-waving patriotic conservatives are beginning to wonder about all the security. The reports that the Department of Homeland Security has ordered 750 million rounds of people-killing ammunition are puzzling even those conservatives who have been taking vicarious pleasure in the slaughter of “towel-heads.”

Why does the Department of Homeland Security need enough ammunition to shoot every American 2.5 times? Why is Homeland Security equipping itself with full-body armor? Why is Homeland Security acquiring new laser technology that can “instantly know everything about you from 164 feet away?” A new army manual for “Civil Disturbance Operations” describes how the military is to be used domestically within the US to put down protests, confiscate firearms and kill citizens.

The police state that is being constructed in “freedom and democracy” America is without parallel in history. When the only terrorists are dupes organized by the FBI, it is clear that the purpose of the police state is not to protect Americans from Muslim terrorists. The purpose of the police state is to terrorize US citizens.

It is not only Homeland Security that is being militarized. The government reported that a large ammunition order was made by the National Weather Service, later updated to have been the Fisheries Office. If you are surprised at this, why has the Social Security Administration ordered 174,000 rounds of hollow-point bullets?

Lists of Homeland Security’s ammunition order are available online. Clearly, it is not ammunition for target practice. It is ammunition for killing people: hollow-point bullets for the military rifle, the M-16. Match grade bullets for .308 sniper rifles. 12 gauge shotgun buckshot and slug ammunition. Hollow-point bullets for .357 magnum and .40 caliber pistols.

As there have been no terrorist attacks in the US since the 9/11 attack (itself suspect by experts), except for those organized by the FBI, this massive purchase of firepower is obviously not to protect Americans from Muslim terrorists. So what is it for?

Perhaps this film (www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&hl=en&v=Gy7FVXERKFE&gl=US) explains what is in store for the American people who trusted “their” government. War protestors and critics of the government are being redefined as “domestic extremists” who can be arrested for aiding and abetting the enemies of the United States. If Americans wake up to the fact that they are being dispossessed economically, politically, and socially, while Washington is leading them into World War III, and take to the streets in protest, they will encounter extreme military force.

The liberal-left is even more delusional than the flag-waving conservatives. No matter what the government does, conservatives will come down on the government’s side. This is because conservatives confuse patriotism with support for the government, not with defense of the Constitution, a suspect document that coddles criminals, terrorists, and war protesters who cause America to lose wars. The liberal-left regards Obama with his half-black origin as a member of the oppressed class, personages endowed by the liberal-left with higher morality. The liberal-left continues to regard Obama as the redeemer even as Obama sits in the Oval Office approving lists of American citizens to be executed without due process of law. Not even Naomi Wolf can wake up the liberal-left.

Do not expect Congress or the presstitutes to do anything about the rapid concentration of power in the police state that Bush and Obama have created. Do not expect to be rescued by federal courts. Even if some judges are inclined to defend the Constitution from its domestic enemy, the courts are powerless if the executive branch does not respect the rule of law. Currently, the executive branch is ignoring a federal judge’s injunction against the indefinite detention of US citizens. The Department of Justice (sic) lawyers will not even answer the judge’s questions.

A gullible population is helpless if government decides to enslave the people. It is child’s play for government to discredit a people’s natural leaders and those who provide the people with accurate information. Most Americans have a very small knowledge base and very large ideological preconceptions. Consequently, they cannot tell fiction from fact.

Consider the case of Julian Assange. When the US government, angry that WikiLeaks had published leaked documents that revealed the mendacity and deceit of Washington, first struck out at Assange, support for Assange was almost universal. Then Washington put out the story on the Internet that Assange was an intelligence agent working for the CIA or the even more hateful Mossad. Both leftwing and rightwing Internet sites fell for the obvious lie. Here we have gullibility on the level with those who believed Stalin’s charge that Bukharin was a capitalist agent.

Once the libel of Assange began, it over-rode his clearance by the Swedish prosecutor’s office of sexual complaints made by the two women who seduced him. Seeing Assange on the ropes, a female prosecutor reopened the closed case, many believe at Washington’s urging. Feminists jumped in, demanding that Assange be punished for his seduction by women as he had obviously tricked or coerced them in some way.

It was like Dominique Strauss-Kahn all over again. Falsely accused of sexually assaulting a New York hotel maid, the Director of the International Monetary Fund, chased on two continents by celebrity-hunting women, was knocked out of the race for the French presidency and had to resign his IMF position. The New York police, trained by decades of feminist propaganda to regard every sex charge brought by a women as the absolute truth, were made to look foolish and incompetent when clear evidence emerged that the charge was fabricated in order to extract money from Strauss-Kahn and possibly in order to knock him out of contention for the French presidency.

Many websites and normally reliable commentators were taken in by the false story. The Washington hegemons and their presstitute media have been even more successful in fooling Americans about terrorist attacks, Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan, Syria, and Iran. What is astonishing is the fact that there have not been any attacks on America, despite the enormous provocations Washington has provided by murdering as many as one million Muslims, destroying three Muslim countries, conducting military operations against seven Muslim countries and preparing an attack on an eighth--Iran.

The President of Russia, whose thermo-nuclear ballistic missiles can remove the US from the face of the earth, stated for all the world to hear that Washington has the entire world in fear of its hegemonic drive. “No one feels safe,” said Putin. And certainly not the Russians with American missile bases on their borders and a Washington-funded disloyal and traitorous political “opposition” which serves as Washington’s fifth column inside Russia.

America, Putin acknowledged, wants to rule the world. But Washington is not going to rule Russia and China. If the current White House moron keeps his promise to Israeli prime minister Netanyahu that the US will attack Iran next June if Iran does not close down its nuclear energy program (a non-weapons program permitted to Iran as a signatory of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty), the White House will have opened the door to World War III. In such a war the US would not be immune from attack as it was in WW I and WW II. This time America could disappear in nuclear holocaust. If any of the world survives, people will be thankful for Washington’s removal from the scene.

Death is what “your” government in Washington, both Republicans and Democrats, are bringing you. Both parties are driven by the neoconservatives who believe that American hegemony over the world is worth nuclear war to accomplish. If these dangerous ideologues continue to prevail, life on earth has a very short-run prospect.

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Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was columnist for Business Week, Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate. He has had many university appointments. His internet columns have attracted a worldwide following www.paulcraigroberts.org

Drums of More War

Cast Lead and Pillar of Cloud represent skirmishes. Syria`s one on a higher boil. Expect full-scale war ahead. It could happen any time or perhaps next year.

by Stephen Lendman – mathaba.net

These conflicts portend more to come. Washington, Israel, and NATO plan them. Regional collaborators go along. One or more of them ahead may become targets.

They'll know, or should, when they're excluded from future plans. As a well-known poker saying goes: If you've been in the game a while and don't know who the sucker is, it's you.

Israel wants to be a regional hegemon. Washington seeks global dominance. Achieving imperial aims requires eliminating rivals and potential ones.

Syria tops America's target list. Hezbollah's on it as well. At issue is isolating Iran, then replacing its government with a pro-Western puppet one.

Next year could be more violent than recent previous ones. Obama's a lame duck. He's got nothing to lose. After all the harm he caused, half the country still supports him.

He conned them into thinking he's doing the right thing. He was picked to stay in office for that reason. Expect four more violent years at home and abroad. The last four were grim. What's ahead looks worse.

Henry Kissinger will be 90 years old next May. Last November, he said:

"If you can't hear the drums of war you must be deaf." He explained further. More on that below.

On November 23, Mossad-connected DEBKAfile (DF) said Obama's pledge to deploy US troops to Sinai convinced Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire deal.

Doing so sounds more like preventing peace than assuring it. Memorandum of understanding terms included:

"Opening the crossings and facilitating the movements of people and transfer of goods and refraining from restricting residents' free movements and targeting residents in border areas and procedures of implementation shall be dealt with after 24 hours from the start of the ceasefire."

"Procedures of implementation," of course, lets Israel manipulate them any way it wishes. Nonetheless, Hamas and 1.7 million Gazans think border and movement restrictions will be eased.

Don't bet on it. Israeli pledges aren't worth the paper they're written on. Neither are America's. Together they assure Palestinian betrayal.

US troops on Gaza's border adds an exclamation point. They're expected to start arriving next week. Siege will continue. Borders will stay closed.

Preventing Hamas from rearming is planned. Also maintaining isolated suffocating conditions. Netanyahu wants maximum pain inflicted.

Despite one-sided scoundrel media support and Israel's military might, he lost the battle of public opinion. David Hamas withstood Goliath Israel.

Fatah looked pathetic. Abbas is a spent force. Hamas leaders Khaled Meshal and Ismail Haniyeh look heroic. Palestinians may have more support now than ever.

Terror bombing innocent civilians aroused enormous worldwide anti-Israeli sentiment. Netanyahu wants revenge.

If bombing and shelling can't defeat Hamas, perhaps he'll enforce harsher than ever conditions by keeping borders closed and destroying Gaza's tunnel economy entirely.

DF said Obama plans "to accelerate the construction of an elaborate US system of electronic security fences along the Suez Canal and northern Sinai." At issue is preventing Hamas from rearming.

If Gaza's tunnel economy is destroyed, vital essentials won't get in. They include Israeli-prohibited construction materials for rebuilding.

Egypt's Morsi apparently agreed to US and Israeli demands. Clearly it shows what side he's on. Permitting Gaza's siege to continue and preventing effective Hamas deterrence strength portends ill for isolated Gazans.

Expect Netanyahu to take full advantage. Expect Washington to partner in his crimes. Expect continued suffering for 1.7 million trapped Gazans.

US/NATO/Israeli planned wars inflict enormous harm on others in the region. Kissinger weighed in on what he sees coming. The fullness of time will tell if he's right or wrong. His comments in part said:

"The United States is baiting China and Russia, and the final nail in the coffin will be Iran, which is, of course, the main target of Israel."

"We have allowed China to increase their military strength and Russia to recover from Sovietization, to give them a false sense of bravado, this will create an all together faster demise for them."

"The coming war will be so severe that only one superpower can win, and that's us folks."

"This is why the EU is in such a hurry to form a complete superstate because they know what is coming, and to survive, Europe will have to be one whole cohesive state."

"Their urgency tells me that they know full well that the big showdown is upon us. O how I have dreamed of this delightful moment."

Kissinger repeated what he said before about "controlling oil and you control nations. Control food and you control the people."

He omitted controlling money that controls everything. Perhaps he knows but didn't say.

"We told the military that we would have to take over seven Middle Eastern countries for their resources, and they have nearly completed their job."

The "last stepping stone (is) Iran which will really tip the balance. How long can China and Russia stand by and watch America clean up?"

"The great Russian bear and Chinese sickle will be roused from their slumber and this is when Israel will have to fight with all its might and weapons to kill as many Arabs as it can."

"Hopefully if all goes well, half the Middle East will be Israeli."

"Out of the ashes we shall build a new society, a new world order; there will only be one superpower left, and that one will be the global government that wins."

"Don't forget, the United States, has the best weapons, we have stuff that no other nation has, and we will introduce those weapons to the world when the time is right."

Kissinger's worldview was always Dr. Strangelovian. His resume includes global wars, genocidal slaughter, mass destruction, replacing democrats with despots, and advocating involuntary eugenics as well as other ways of eliminating useless eaters.

How he's "dreamed" of a final solution "showdown." What he has in mind almost makes Hitler look saintly...

He was born Heinz Alfred Kissinger in Bavaria in 1923. It was months before Hitler's failed Munich beer hall putch. Weimer Germany then existed. Hitler's January 1933 rise to power ended it. Kissinger's family was Jewish. In 1938 they fled Nazi persecution. They got out just in time. They lived briefly in London before arriving in New York. As they say, the rest is history.
[by the way, Putin is his loyal vassal]

Hopefully Kissinger's vision proves false. His world isn't fit to live in. If conflict plays out as he believes, it may be destroyed in the process.