Month: May 2012

Taking the “scary Iran story” angle to a new low, a new report today reveals that Iran could theoretically make 5 nuclear bombs if it took all of its civilian uranium and dedicated it exclusively to weapons production.

The bulk of Iran’s uranium is enriched to 3.5%, the level needed to power the Bushehr plant, with a smaller portion enriched to 20%, the level needed to fuel the Tehran Research Reactor. All of Iran’s uranium is under surveillance per IAEA safeguards.

So to make those “five bombs” Iran would need to take every last bit of uranium they have, enrich it all to over 90% (weapons grade), figure out how to turn it into a weapon, test the weapon, and work out some sort of delivery mechanism.

By the same token, Iran could be accused of having “enough bacteria” to make a lot of bioweapons, or “enough chemicals” that if they mixed a bunch of them together they could probably make a lot of chemical weapons.

This is the level of “proof” people need these days. We saw a similar narrative with the NATO3 last week, charged with terrorism on the basis of a beer-making kit that contained “enough empty beer bottles” to theoretically make a lot of Molotov Cocktails.

As I was testing the beer yesterday at a Rockville, Maryland, Memorial weekend event, my eye was caught by a t-shirt with the following bilingual motto:

The black t-shirt was worn by a late 20-something with a military-style haircut. He was accompanied by his wife who was pushing baby stroller. I ambled around to get in front of the guy – his shirt had some type of unit logo but it was obscured by the baby he was holding up against him. Unfortunately, I did not have the ol’ Nikon D-40 hanging around my neck.

This “100 meters” warning sign was commonplace for U.S military vehicles in Iraq. I glanced at a few photos of such vehicles online and I wondered how close a person would need to be to read such lettering. Probably far closer to 100 meters.

But since the vehicles had the warning notice, any resulting killings of civilians were justified – because the victims should have known.

Shootings of innocent Iraqis at U.S. checkpoints and near U.S. vehicles were so commonplace that the military usually ignored the carnage. U.S. checkpoints were often poorly marked – turning them into death traps for unwary Iraqis. Here is one of the most iconic photos of the Iraq war, depicting Samar Hassan wailing after U.S. troops killed her parents at a checkpoint in Tal Afar in 2005.

Author Chris Hedges noted, “Troops, when they battle insurgent forces, as in Iraq, or Gaza or Vietnam, are placed in ‘atrocity-producing situations.’” Placing U.S. troops in hostile foreign venues with almost-impossible missions that practically guarantee that innocent people will be gunned down.

But congressmen ignored the carnage they helped spawn because they never ran into one of the “100 meters… or we’ll shoot” warning signs on Capitol Hill.

When I see Iraq vets proudly wearing the “100 meters… or be shot” slogan on their shirt or car, I can’t help wonder: Was this the guy who made Samar Hassan an orphan?

FWIW – Here’s a link to an essay I wrote last Memorial Day.

Antiwar.com Newsletter | May 25, 2012

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Continue reading “Antiwar.com Newsletter | May 25, 2012 | NATO3, War Inc.”

The State Department report on human rights says that U.S.-trained security forces in Mexico have “engaged in unlawful killings, forced disappearances, and instances of physical abuse and torture” in the U.S.-led war on drugs. Mike Riggs at Reason contacted the DEA looking for some sort of statement. Here is the email exchange:

Riggs: The State Department recently released a report on human rights abuses in Mexico. That report found that Mexican military and LEOs “engaged in unlawful killings, forced disappearances, and instances of physical abuse and torture” while fighting TCOs.

I was wondering if your office could provide me with a statement about the new report in light of Administrator Michele Leonhart’s earlier claim, made to the Washington Post, in which she said, “It may seem contradictory, but the unfortunate level of violence is a sign of success in the fight against drugs….[cartels] are like caged animals, attacking one another,” as it seems cartels are not the only people in Mexico committing violence.

DEA: We will let the State Department and Mexico speak to this rather than us

Riggs: If the DEA won’t comment on the report, can you at least tell me if Administrator Leonhart stands by her claim that the “the unfortunate level of violence is a sign of success” in the war on drugs?

DEA: She has been consistent that the violence represents the pressure cartels feel from Mexican law enforcement/military and the U.S.

Riggs: But [she] has no comment on violence perpetrated by DEA partners in Mexican military and law enforcement?

DEA: nope

It’s important to point out that Mexican security forces have been committing crimes with U.S. backing for some time now. And it is well known. Human Rights Watch back in November of last year released a report providing evidence that Mexico’s security forces participated in “more than 170 cases of torture, 39 ‘disappearances,’ and 24 extrajudicial killings since Calderón took office in December 2006.” And these are just what they could confirm.

“Instead of reducing violence, Mexico’s ‘war on drugs’ has resulted in a dramatic increase in killings, torture, and other appalling abuses by security forces, which only make the climate of lawlessness and fear worse in many parts of the country,” said José Miguel Vivanco of Human Rights Watch. What’s more, claimed the report, is that most of these crimes are committed with impunity. Security forces are by and large immune from any accountability for these actions.

President Calderon’s policy to deploy 50,000 Mexican troops and thousands more federal police officers – forces that are trained by the United States – has only increased the violence, which has left more than 50,000 dead since about 2006. The Mexican drug cartels –  which the Washington Post reported yesterday are at war with each other – have dug in their heels and terrorized Mexico with progressive cruelty following every increase in hardened drug war policy (directed by Washington, of course).

“George W. Bush backed Calderón’s militarization with a $1.8 billion package of helicopters, police training, and intelligence cooperation,” wrote The New Yorker’sSteve Coll recently. “Obama has continued the program.”

See other recent drug war coverage on this blog here, here, and here.