Antiwar.com Newsletter | May 17, 2013

IN THIS ISSUE

• Pledge Drive
• Top News
• Opinion and analysis

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This week’s top news:

UN General Assembly Backs Regime Change in Syria: The UN General Assembly has passed a non-binding resolution calling for the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad and backing the rebellion against him. The vote was opposed by Russia as well as a number of nations expressing concern about foreign intervention in Syria’s ongoing civil war.

US Steps Up Special Forces Operations in Afghanistan: The upcoming drawdown of U.S. forces in Afghanistan is being coupled with a significant increase in Special Forces deployments, including night raids.

Drone Strikes on Yemen Stoke Anti-US Sentiment: Anti-US protests are now a regular occurrence in Yemen, with demonstrators blasting the drone strikes and the large number of innocent bystanders slain in the attacks, warning the damage far outweighs the number of militants killed.

North Korea: Arrival of US Aircraft Carrier a Reckless Provocation: Weeks of threat and counter-threat between the US and North Korea came to an end in mid-April, but the arrival of the USS Nimitz, an aircraft carrier, looks to re-inflame tensions in the area.

Israel Stalls on US-Backed Arab League Peace Proposal: An Arab peace proposal, supported by both the U.S. and the Palestinian authorities, has yet to garner a response from Israel, with officials privately conceding their biggest fear is that the offer is sincere.

Opinion and Analysis:

• Justin Raimondo wrote about the War Party’s money machine, sexual assault in the military, and the bipartisan support for the police state.
• Kelley Vlahos interviewed documentarian Robert Greenwald on his latest film on the war on whistleblowers. At the blog, Vlahos wrote about sexual assault in the military.
• Ivan Eland lamented the political motivations behind the supposed Benghazi scandal.
• Phil Giraldi argued civil liberties are more at risk in the aftermath of the Boston bombings.
• Lucy Steigerwald wrote about the 1985 MOVE standoff, which ought to be just as remembered as the Waco siege.
• John Glaser criticized the endless war provided by the 2001 AUMF and published a piece at The Huffington Post on three glaring hypocrisies in Obama’s Iran policy.