Abu Ghraib photos & “the freedom cowboys”

Shocking pictures have come to light revealing the extent of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib - and it’s much worse than anyone imaged.

Ref: journeymanpictures

The naive armchair warriors are fighting a delusional war

The French philosopher Michel Foucault notes that in all societies discourse is controlled - imperceptibly constrained, perhaps, but constrained nonetheless. We are not free to say exactly what we like. The norms set by institutions, convention and our need to keep within the boundaries of accepted behaviour and thought limit what may be touched upon. [...]

War Corrupts

War licenses destruction, breaking the bodies and land and will of the enemy. War is a condition that suspends human respect and care and authorizes destruction.

Americans accept the idea of war; we launch war on poverty and war on terror-invoking an abstraction seen as good to kill abstractions seen as bad. If poverty and terror [...]

Bush Calls on France for Help - War Without End

“We support the troops!” That’s the excuse the Democrats have given for continuing to fund Bush’s aggression against Iraq and Afghanistan. But, of course, war funding doesn’t support the troops. War funding supports an evil machine that chews up and spits out the lives and well being of the troops, along with that of hundreds [...]

PM: ‘I am fending off pressure to attack Gaza’

“I am fending off heavy pressure to launch a major ground operation in Gaza, and thus in the meantime am making do with civilian sanctions in order not to bring about an escalation.” These were Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s words to Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik last Wednesday during her official visit here. Their meeting [...]

America is Not at War, America is at the Mall

I recently came across a photo of a handwritten sign in a US military facility in Ramadi, Iraq. The sign read, “America is not at war. The Marine Corps is at war; America is at the mall.” The sign reflects a perception among many US soldiers and their families that the American people are not sharing [...]

What the Fuck is a Vietnam?’: Touristic Phantasms and the Popcolonization of (the) Vietnam (War)

America never declared war and the Paris Peace Agreement was never observed –there was no war and there is no peace. Even the charade following the My Lai massacre points to this. First the massacre was denied enough to have those responsible walking free. Then, after 30 years of forgetting, the limelight was turned on [...]

The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States

“In a speech at Columbia University, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defended Iran’s right to nuclear power but denied Iran was seeking to build nuclear weapons. Ahmadinejad’s appearance sparked widespread protests at Columbia. We speak with Trita Parsi, author of “Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran and the United States” and Baruch professor Ervand [...]

Washington Sees an Opportunity on Iran

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 — A year and a half after President Bush told top aides that he feared he might be forced someday to choose between acquiescing to Iran’s nuclear ambitions and ordering military action, the struggle to find an effective alternative — sanctions with real bite — is entering a new phase.
The speech at [...]

Pattern Cited in Killings of Civilians by U.S.

Newly released documents regarding crimes committed by United States soldiers against civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan detail a pattern of troops failing to understand and follow the rules that govern interrogations and deadly actions.
The documents, released today by the American Civil Liberties Union ahead of a lawsuit, total nearly 10,000 pages of courts-martial summaries, transcripts [...]