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President Obama’s Second Term: Selling Death and Buying Assassins In the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia
James Petras
Introduction
As President Obama enters his second term with a new Cabinet, the foreign policy legacy of the past four years weighs heavily on their strategic decisions and their empire-building efforts. Central to the analysis of the next period is an evaluation of the past policies especially in regions where Washington expended its greatest financial and military resources, namely the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa.
We will proceed by examining the accomplishments and failures of the Obama-Clinton regime. We will then turn to the ongoing policy efforts to sustain the empire-building project. We will take account of the constraints and opportunities, which define the parameters resulting from imperial military ambitions, Israeli-Zionist influence in shaping policy and the ongoing anti-imperialist struggles. We will conclude by examining likely polices and outcomes resulting from current strategies.
Obama in Jerusalem
by Stephen Lendman
Rhetoric doesn't reflect policy. What matters most is what Obama means, not what he says. His agenda affirms one-sided Israeli support. He spurns Palestinian rights. He's done so throughout his tenure.
He's not about to change now. Palestinians have no friends in Washington. For sure they have none in high places.
Obama's their enemy. His words ring hollow. How can a warrior president be taken seriously?
Lawless NYPD Spying on Muslims
by Stephen Lendman
Post-9/11, America declared war on Islam. Muslims became public enemy number one. They're stereotypically portrayed as culturally inferior, dirty, lecherous, untrustworthy, religiously fanatical and violent.
Doing so turns truth on its head. It also violates the Constitution's First Amendment. It guarantees religious freedom. It means free from persecution.
It's rhetoric, not policy. Muslims are scapegoated for political advantage.
Unbreakable US/Israeli Ties
by Stephen Lendman
Longstanding US/Israeli ties remain firm. Obama's visit reinforces them. It does more.
It assures continued support. It endorses hardline extremism. It affirms occupation harshness. It lets Israel do what it pleases.
America's special relationship does more harm than good. It's wrongheaded. Israel is more strategic liability than asset. So are other regional allies.
Internalizing Our Own Oppressionion
By Larry Pinkney
“What matters is not to know the world but to change it.” –Frantz Fanon
“Those who do not move, do not notice their chains.” –Rosa Luxemburg
Oppression, more often than not, is both physical as well as psychological. Moreover, oppression has many forms and manifestations. Unfortunately however, while many manifestations of oppression are readily recognized, its causal factors often are not. The physical and psychological oppression of everyday ordinary Black, White, Brown, Red, and Yellow people is based in systemic economic, social, and political exploitation. In other words, the causal factors of this oppression are by systemic design.
Washington Supports Venezuelan Opposition
by Stephen Lendman
It's an open secret. Throughout Chavez's tenure, America supported opposition candidates. Quasi-government agencies did so. They're at it again now.
They include the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), National Democratic Institute (NDI) International Republican Institute (ISI), USAID, and Development Alternatives. They supply millions of dollars. Doing so interferes lawlessly in Venezuelan elections.
On this tenth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, a reminder, according to the UN charter, the invasion was illegal
by chycho
The war in Iraq is not over, not by a long shot. For decades to come we will have to deal with what the United States and its allies have unleashed.
It’s anyone’s guess if those responsible for this war of aggression (crime against peace) will ever be held accountable for their crimes, what we do know however, is that the decision to invade Iraq has transformed the global political landscape (emphasis added):
“Kofi Annan, declared explicitly… that the US-led war on Iraq was illegal. Mr Annan said that the invasion was not sanctioned by the UN security council or in accordance with the UN's founding charter. In an interview with the BBC World Service… he was asked outright if the war was illegal. He replied: ‘Yes, if you wish.’
“He then added unequivocally: ‘I have indicated it was not in conformity with the UN charter. From our point of view and from the charter point of view it was illegal.’…
Cave in Obama puts Social Security and Medicare in budget deal
Michael Collins
(Washington, DC 3/22) Yesterday we found out that President Barack Obama put Medicare and Social Security in the budget deal mix; timely but not thoughtful. What a profile in cowardice. Maybe not. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that cutting these two programs is part of the Obama Money Party agenda. That's the elegant explanation and explained below.
Here's what Bloomberg reported (thanks to Lauren Hallahan's list for the tip):
"President Barack Obama told Senate Democrats that they should be open to changes in entitlement programs to achieve a long-term budget deal, according to several lawmakers who attended a meeting with him on Capitol Hill today." Bloomberg, March 21
Social Security does not contribute to the deficit. In fact, without the annual appropriation of Social Security funds , cash flow for the government would experience serious cash flow prolems. Each year, Treasury takes Social Security tax revenues to fund the general budget. Treasury leaves an IOU promising to repay beneficiaries down the road. The promise is guaranteed by the "full faith and credit of the United States of America." Who would take the word of the (s)elected "crooks and liars" given all the betrayals we see on a regular basis?
Jesus [Christ], Dorner and Bin Laden: Patsy, Terrorist, or Savior
By Robert Singer
A coincidental look into the lives of the 3 most wanted terrorists in history.
terrorists plural of ter·ror·ist, Noun
A terrorist is a person who uses terrorism in the pursuit of political aims.
There is neither an academic nor an international legal consensus regarding the definition of the term "terrorism." Various legal systems and government agencies use different definitions of "terrorism." These difficulties arise from the fact that the term "terrorism" is politically and emotionally charged. [From Wikipedia]
- Christopher Jordan Dorner [Why do so many assassins/terrorists have 3 names?] a violent domestic terrorist and author of numerous versions of a “manifesto,” in 2013 stars in the recent episode of rampage killing TV, at age 33. News Services Fake Dorner Manifesto, Quick-Shooting Police Mistake Little Women for a Big Man
Quoted in the LA Times: "I don't want to hurt you, I just want to clear my name." Does this sound like something a violent domestic terrorist would say?
[Note the details in the wanted poster to the right. Build: Thin, Remarks: “He is left-handed and walks with a cane." Footnote [1] explains why the CIA would knowingly release a confession video with an overweight, fat nosed actor writing with his right hand.]
- Usama Bin Laden [3 names], a violent international terrorist and kidney dialysis patient, in 1990, stars in the “First Bin Laden-Related Terror Attack in US,” at age 33. In 1998 Bin Laden makes the FBI’s most wanted list for his suspected role in the bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa. Finally in 2001, Bid Laden is chosen [by the CIA] to be the leader of al-Qaeda and the leading character in the 9/11 “attack” on America from his bed in a Pakistani military under the jurisdiction of the Pakistani Armed Forces with close links to the Pentagon. [2]
Quoted in the LA Times: “We hate your freedoms but we do not mind establishing a long-term truce between us and you.” Does this sound like something a violent international terrorist would say?
We Must Not Fail Wikileaks Whistleblower Bradley Manning
By Kevin Zeese
Bradley Manning reading his plea statement in court
As I sat in court last Thursday at Fort Meade, watching Bradley Manning take responsibility as the Wikileaks whistleblower, two things struck me: (1) his thorough intelligence fueled by intellectual curiosity and (2) his empathy for other people when so many in war had lost their humanity.
This was the second time I had heard Manning testify. The first was his testimony about the abusive pre-trial incarceration he suffered for one year while being held in a cage in Kuwait and in solitary confinement in the Quantico Brig. I’ve now seen him testify for a total of 15 hours.
His testimony leads me to wonder: what would have happened to Bradley Manning if we had a decent educational system that included affordable, preferably free, college education so that young people weren't driven to the military for economic reasons? What could Bradley Manning have given the country if he had been able to pursue his interests and natural talents? Would Manning have joined the military if the country was honest about how the US Empire operates around the world?
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