Month: July 2011

Over eight years, the US troops fighting in Iraq have faced massive local opposition, as well they might as an occupation force overseeing a war which killed a massive number of civilians.

This would explain the surprise, then, when the New York Times led with the story “Iraqis Hope US Special Operations Commandos Stay” today. How could this possibly be true?

The short answer is, its not true. When you read the article you quickly realize that the hope of “Iraqis” is based entirely on quotes from a couple of military commanders who see a benefit in the continuing occupation, or at least see the writing on the wall and are getting out of the way of the moving bus.

Yes, a handful of Iraqis stand to benefit from continuing the disastrous US war for a few more years, but we have also seen massive numbers of Iraqis publicly protesting against them remaining. Putting these two samples side by side, does anyone really think the New York Times is reasonable in declaring this as an Iraqi “hope.”

Clearly not, but it seems to reflect the Obama Administration’s effort to spin the continuation as something only grudgingly granted to the pleading Iraqis. And whether that pleading is just a couple of people after months of administration haranguing, why should that get in the way of a good narrative?

In a must read piece for Al Jazeera, journalist Paul Rosenberg examines the transition of Obama from a figure of revolutionary hope and change to just another run-of-the-mill politician:

Things did turn out that way in exactly one case: the repeal of the military’s anti-gay “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. But in virtually every other instance, Obama’s influence has been much more reminiscent of the “practical”, if not paranoid side of Kennedy, who spent a good deal of time and energy trying to restrain the Civil Rights Movement, ever mindful of the negative impact that headlines of racial conflict would have around the world. Still, Kennedy clearly wanted progress on civil rights, both because he believed it was right, and because it was vital for gaining Cold War support in the Global South in the long run. He just wished the struggle was not so messy, even as his flamboyant spirit helped fuel that struggle, almost in spite of himself.

In 2008, at least, it could plausibly be hoped that Obama’s election would unleash a similar dynamic across a wide range of issues, encouraging idealistic pressure from below, even while struggling to contain it. But things have not turned out that way, as Obama has repeatedly undercut, sidelined or opposed the more idealistic enthusiasms of his base with a determined seriousness he rarely, if ever, displays against Republicans.

Perhaps Rosenberg’s most prescient statement was one focused on Israel:

Yet, as Bradley Burston, Senior Editor of Haaretz.com, so simply explained: “There is nearly nothing which more effectively delegitimises Israel – and makes Israel look more like an uncaring blockhead state -than does the siege of Gaza. The siege benefits Hamas in a thousand ways and Israel in none. But there is one thing that does the work of delegitimisation even better: attacking civilians in order to protect the siege.”

These should have been the words of Obama as well, if he actually were the “true friend of Israel” he now robotically proclaims himself to be. After all, we have a saying here in America, “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk”. Israel has no such friends in America today. Certainly not Obama.

Not only is that last little blurb applicable to Obama, but nearly all of Congress today. Whenever foreign policy is discussed and debated, whether it be in the halls of a think tank or in the Reagan national library, the focus is almost always centered around America’s relationship with Israel. And just as often as Israel enters the conversation is there a neocon or self-proclaimed liberal who announces their unwavering support for the small, Jewish country. It is, in fact, robotic to announce support for Israel, because to do so otherwise is political suicide.

The real friends of Israel are those chastising its leaders for engaging in a modern day Holocaust against the Palestinian people. It is the real friends of Israel that are trying to steer Israel away from attacking Iran, which could result in even more regional instability and insecurity. Neither Obama, nor Bush, nor Romney, nor Pawlenty, nor any mainstream political figure is a friend of Israel. They are the exact opposite: enemies pushing for its demise.

The young and still maturing Iraqi military and intelligence agencies have “launched a military crackdown on smuggling gangs, al Qaeda militants and Shi’ite militias responsible for recent attacks U.S. forces.” June was the deadliest month in Iraq for American soldiers in the past two years, a grim precursor of things to come if America does not meet its year end withdrawal deadline. Moqtada al-Sadr is seen as quite serious in his threat to reengage his Mahdi army against American forces if a full withdrawal does not happen by the end of the year.

One of the most important goals of the military crackdown was to secure Iraq’s borders:

“We are implementing a tight security plan including all outlaw groups. Part of this plan is to control Iraq’s border perfectly,” Moussawi said.

“The entry of illegal arms to Iraq is contributing to undermining security, whether the weapons are used against U.S. or Iraqi troops, in assassination operations or armed robbery.”

…

“The goal of this operation basically is to prevent the infiltration of weapons which are used to attack U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces,” the official said.

The focus is, of course, Iran. The Persian nation has been actively smuggling weapons and bombs into Iraq. Most of this is done using Iranian special forces who deliver these weapons to Shi’a militias.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in a Reuters interview last week, said Iran was “absolutely complicit” in the growing U.S. casualties in Iraq.

James Jeffrey, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and its Qods force special operations unit were supplying “significantly more lethal weapons systems” to some Iraqi militias.

“Of particular concern, at least to me, is the Sadrist movement. The AAH (Asaib al-Haq) and the Kata’ib Hizballah are basically nothing more than thuggish clones of their IRGC Qods force masters,” he told reporters in a briefing on Saturday.

Tensions over the Iranian nuclear (non)issue and now over Iraqi influence are coming to a boil. If aggressive behavior by both the Iranians and the Americans continue, an outright war between the two countries would not be all that surprising.

Update: I would like to apologize to readers of the blog for my error of fact and judgment. After reading some articles by Gareth Porter, I realized the magnitude of the fraudulent history of the United States government’s claims concerning Iranian arms smuggling into Iraq. As is such, I should not have put nearly as much faith in statements by Robert Gates without cold, hard proof.

I would also like to thank the readers who flagged this. I really appreciate the feedback as it helps me learn and develop more, especially as I am new to the site

Thanks to Nobel Peace Prize winner President Obama’s ramped up offensive in Afghanistan, Afghan civilian casualties are on the rise. While a bulk of the recent casualties have not been at the hands of America and the NATO coalition, one would have to believe that young boys and girls would not be stepping on bombs if there weren’t a foreign, invading force in the country.

Insurgents routinely seed roads and pathways with IEDs, or improvised explosive devices — their favored weapon against Western troops. But most often, those killed and injured by the hidden bombs are civilians.

Buried bombs killed 30 Afghans in a 48-hour span, in the latest grim illustration of the dangers faced by civilians as the season’s fighting heats up.

The latest casualties came Saturday in Zabul province, in southern Afghanistan, when a van filled with travelers struck a roadside bomb. Thirteen people were killed, including four children and four women, said a spokesman for the provincial government.

On Friday evening, two bombs planted close together killed four people in the rural Maruf district of volatile Kandahar province. One was apparently triggered by a donkey, and two people riding or leading the animal died in the explosion. Then two more people who rushed to the rescue were killed by the second bomb, police said.

The Taliban and other insurgents often plant bombs close together, in hopes of killing troops and those who try to help victims.

With the recent increases in combatant and noncombatant deaths, and a realization that the Taliban will have to take part in any meaningful reconciliation efforts, the time has come for Obama to immediately withdraw all troops from the volatile region. Neither the Taliban nor Afghanistan’s rigidly conservative brand of Islam are going anywhere anytime soon. Talk of democracy and central authority are downright antithetical to the culture and history of Afghanistan. How much more blood and treasure will Obama squander until the realization is made that this is a hopelessly futile war? We should find out by 2014, and even that’s a farfetched hope.

 

The “Audacity of Hope,” a Palestinian aid ship part of the commemorative flotilla, has been towed back to Greece. Despite the monetary and economic troubles that Greece is currently experiencing, the Mediterranean nation has enough funds to stop a peaceful group of several hundred activists to deliver much needed aid to the besieged Gaza Strip. The Greeks were more professional than their Israeli counterparts, who, in a raid last year  on the Mavi Marmara, killed 9, including an American citizen.

Greek commandos “surrounded” the Audacity of Hope with live weapons, boarded the boat, and eventually towed it back to a different port for fear of sabotage by Israelis:

The boat has not been free of sabotage attempts. On June 24, an annonymous complaint was filed against the ship’s “seaworthiness”. The Israel Law Centre (Shurat HaDin), took responsibility for the complaint in the Israeli press.

The Greek embassy in Tel Aviv put out a statement confirming that the Greek coast guard has enforced a decision by the Civil Defence to prevent all flotilla vessels from leaving Greek ports.

Greece’s Civil Protection Ministry said coast guard authorities had been ordered to take “all appropriate measures” to implement the ban.

It also said the “broader maritime area of the eastern Mediterranean will be continuously monitored by electronic means for tracking, where applicable, the movements of the ships allegedly participating” in the flotilla.

At this point, it is nonsensical for Israel to act like they are not acting to derail most, if not all, of these humanitarian flotillas. Some are even suggesting that Israel is using the fragile state of Greek finances to enforce the ban on the flotilla. To be fair, however, this cannot be corroborated until both Greece and Israel’s finances are made public record.