Famous sycophant Tony Blair, now a $6-million-a-year consultant for JP Morgan, isn’t clear of his self-serving past just yet. During a supposedly secure hearing about his ties to the Murdoch scandal, a protester burst in to charge Blair with war crimes. And he is facing tough questions about newly revealed secret meetings with Libya‘s Gaddafi. [...]
Egyptians lineup to choose their president on May 23, 2012. (Aljazeera) By Hasan Afif El-Hasan Arab people are demanding democracy after living for decades under authoritarian regimes suffering systematic violations of their natural rights where injustice, impunity, police torture, battering and excessive use of deadly force were the norm. Ramzy Baroud put it [...]
Women rush to question Election Commission Officer Abdulla Fortia after he speaks about the rules for the upcoming polls [Al Jazeera/D. Parvaz] Tripoli, Libya - Buoyed by the winds of change sweeping the region, Libyan women are eyeing a far greater role for themselves after next month’s national assembly elections. The June 19 [...]
An Afghan Okinawa By The Afghan Peace Volunteers http://warisacrime.org/content/afghan-okinawa There is no U.S. troop withdrawal in 2014. We are ordinary Afghans wishing for peace, and we have eyes and ears and feelings of love and despair, so please read on. The Washington Post, in reporting the recent signing of the “U.S. Afghan Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement“, stated [...]
THE ROVING EYE Off with King Sarko’s head By Pepe EscobarHe posed in spectacular grandeur as the neo-imperial Liberator of Libya – only a few years after Colonel Muammar Gaddafi helped finance his 2007 election campaign with a cool US$65 million. Profiting from a mysterious alliance between the Holy Ghost and [...]
The Libyan Model and the Oxymoron: Class of 2012 Queen and King By David Swanson http://warisacrime.org/content/libyan-model-and-oxymoron-class-2012-queen-and-king There’s a new Atrocity Prevention Board in town, and its chief tool for preventing atrocities will be . . . wait for it . . . atrocities! What a breakthrough! And this clown is forming a tentative life partnership with an [...]
NATO vs. Rogues? By John Feffer Institutions rarely vote themselves out of existence. Not if they still have money in their budgets. Large institutions in particular have an almost genetic propensity to cling to life even after their reasons for being have vanished. That’s why I don’t expect NATO, which will [...]
Ghanem, 69, served under Libya’s late leader Muammar Gaddafi as head of the country’s national oil company [Reuters] Austrian police say former Libyan oil minister Shukri Ghanem was found dead in the Danube river near Vienna. Police spokesman Roman Hahslinger told Al Jazeera his corpse was found on Sunday morning floating in the river and [...]
The Grand Prix, Western Hypocrisy and the Gulf States By Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey April 21, 2012 “Information Clearing House” — Let us be perfectly clear. Qatar has emerged as the main western puppet State in the Gulf, while Bahrain receives favoured treatment despite a despotic crackdown on activists and Saudi Arabia, despite having a [...]
Jack Straw: civil action seeks to examine former foreign secretary’s role in Belhaj’s return to Libya. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Jack Straw faces legal action over Libya rendition claims Libyan commander Abdel Hakim Belhaj takes legal action against former foreign secretary, alleging complicity in his torture guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 18 April 2012 18.52 BST Article history A former [...]
The intentional misreading of UN security council resolution 1973 resulted in Nato’s predictably violent Operation Odyssey in Libya last year. The Logic of Unintended Consequences: The ‘Mess in Mali’ by Ramzy Baroud People from northern Mali march against the seizure or their home region by Tuareg and Islamist rebels, in the capital Bamako, April 10, 2012. [...]
The Dark Side of the West’s ‘Humanitarianism’ – How Nato Left Boat People to Die By Matthew Vella April 11, 2012 “Malta Today” – The 19 interviews by Goldsmiths researchers into the ‘left-to-die-boat’ ignored by Nato vessels in the Mediterranean in April 2011 has determined that 72 migrants were ignored [...]
Tony Blair said he was sure the rendition of Abdel Hakim Belhaj to Libya would be investigated. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Tony Blair has ‘no recollection’ of Libyan dissident’s rendition Blair, who was PM when Abdel Hakim Belhaj was handed to Gaddafi’s regime, defends Britain’s co-operation with Libya Richard Norton-Taylor guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 11 April 2012 14.28 BST [...]
Abdel Hakim Belhaj has been offered £1m in compensation by the government over his alleged rendition to Libya. Photograph: Francois Mori/AP Libyan dissident offered money to avoid MI6 appearing in open court Abdel Hakim Belhaj offered £1m in compensation over alleged UK involvement in his rendition to the Gaddafi regime Richard Norton-Taylor guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 10 April 2012 21.21 BST [...]
Perverts in Power: The Torture-Lovers Who Rule Us by Chris Floyd I. The ordeal of Fatima Bouchar, detailed by Ian Cobain in the Guardian, exemplifies the vile essence of the “Terror War” being conducted by United States and its abject satellite, Great Britain, against large swathes of the world’s population (including, increasingly, their own people). It [...]
Abdel Hakim Belhaj, centre, has said he was tortured after being arrested in 2004 [EPA] The British government approved the rendition of Abdel Hakim Belhaj, a prominent fighter during the recent Libyan uprising, to the former regime of Muammar Gaddafi in 2004, according to reports in the British media. Documents said to be found in the abandoned offices [...]
Fatima Bouchar, the wife of Abdul Hakim Belhaj. Both were detained in 2004 in Bangkok with the help of MI6 and rendered to Libya. Photograph: Irina Kalashnikova for the Guardian Special report: Rendition ordeal that raises new questions about secret trials In 2004, Fatima Bouchar and her husband, Abdel Hakim Belhaj, were detained en route [...]
Gareth Evans, former attorney-general and foreign minister in Australia. Photo Credit: London School of Economics Library/Wikimedia Commons Despite being ‘idolised’ as some sort of peace advocate Gareth Evans was a long way from anything like that description. The Australian support for the murderer Suharto is a matter of national disgrace, the stealing or at least [...]
Foreign policy problems Arabic News Digest Apr 9, 2012 France’s plans in Libya backfire as chaos drowns the political process, spilling into Africa Marine Le Pen, the radical National Front candidate for the French presidential elections, was right on the money when she said in a recent statement that [...]
Putting Syria Into Some Perspective By William Blum April 07, 2012 “Information Clearing House” — The Holy Triumvirate — The United States, NATO, and the European Union — or an approved segment thereof, can usually get what they want. They wanted Saddam Hussein out, and soon he was swinging from a [...]
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi could be tried and executed in Libya if the ICC‘s efforts continue to be resisted. Photograph: Rex Features Chris Stephen in Tripoli guardian.co.uk, Saturday 7 April 2012 19.53 BST Article history Libya is set to defy the United Nations by holding its own trial of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the country’s deposed dictator, without handing [...]
(Photo: Reuters) Military Intervention in Syria is a Bad Idea by Stephen Zunes Although the impulse to try to end the ongoing repression by the Syrian regime against its own people through foreign military . intervention is understandable, it would be a very bad idea Empirical studies have repeatedly demonstrated that international military interventions in cases of [...]
The Dangerous Mess in Syria Grows Murkier by Eric Margolis Syria’s murky, multi-level conflict continues to grow worse. So does public confusion here in the west as the US, British and some European media keep depicting Syria’s civil war as a simple passion play pitting the evil Asad regime in Damascus against mostly unarmed democratic protestors. [...]
The West will launch a package war against Iran, Syria and Hezbollah as soon as they decide what to do with the Iranian nuclear program, Abdel Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of a London-based Arabic newspaper told RT in an interview. Atwan also believes the West is not intervening in Syria because they [...]
The Assad family has ruled Syria for more than four decades, relying on ‘repression and injustice’ [AFP] As the Syrian revolution enters its second year, three scenarios loom on the horizon. However, as they say in Arabic: “their sweetest is bitter”. What started a year ago as a peaceful protest in the southern town of [...]
A Nato air strike in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, last June. Photograph: KeystoneUSA-ZUMA/Rex Features Nato must investigate civilian deaths in Libya, says Amnesty Campaigners say scores of Libyans were killed or injured in air strikes but Nato has not provided compensation Nato has failed to properly investigate or provide compensation for civilian deaths caused by its [...]
Margaret Thatcher and her husband, Denis, pose for another, later, Christmas card in 1988. Photograph: Rex Features Margaret Thatcher‘s 1981 Christmas card list gives an insight into the way Britain’s view of the world has changed over 30 years. Foreign heads of state who received seasonal greetings from Thatcher in 1981 included the Libyan dictator Muammar [...]
We ask you to arm Gaza too MARCH 14, 2012 BY OCCUPIEDPALESTINE 0 COMMENTS Aren’t the Arabs supposed to be as one body? Isn’t it forbidden for anyone to shed Arab blood, especially the Israelis? MEMO | March 14, 2012 News about Israel’s latest killing spree against the people of the Gaza Strip has only occupied a [...]
Syria: heralding a change in the international strategic situation? ERNESTO GÓMEZ ABASCAL* EVIDENTLY the Cold War ended in the final decade of the 20th century with the disappearance of the Soviet Union and the European socialist countries, but the U.S. plan of domination enshrined in the Project for the New [...]
French President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) greets Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, 12 December 2007, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, before their meeting (AFP Photo / Stephane De Sakutin) TRENDS:Libyan conflict TAGS: Election, EU, Sarkozy, Politics, Libya,Gaddafi, Finance, War Nicolas Sarkozy lashed out at journalists and rejected claims he took €50 million from Muammar Gaddafi to fund his 2007 presidential campaign before [...]
Refugees often have their passports confiscated, making citizenship verification difficult [EPA] Tripoli, Libya - At the battered terminal of Tripoli’s tiny Mitiga Airport, over 150 young men and women jostle to be repatriated home to Nigeria on Libya‘s Buraq airlines. This journey to Lagos is one of hundreds the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), that has [...]
24:08 CrossTalk: Occupy Globe (ft. Pepe Escobar) People are rising up against the authorities all around the world. Is this a crisis of the current political and economic system? What do these … by RussiaToday | 12,148 views Featured Videos 9:44 Pepe Escobar: US will continue to arm anti-government rebels in Syria after veto For several months [...]
Libya’s US-Backed Militias Terrorize the Country John Glaser, March 08, 2012 Print This | Share This | Comment | Antiwar Forum Los Angeles Times on how horrible Libya is post-U.S. liberation: Rising inter-tribal violence has left scores dead. About 100 people were reported killed last month when rival tribes battled with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades in the [...]
Netanyahu: Attack on Iran ‘Not a Matter’ of Weeks But Also Not Years Demands Iran Completely Abandon Enrichment of Uranium by Jason Ditz, March 08, 2012 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum Speaking today on Israeli Channel 10, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin [...]
As Libya’s eastern region of Cyrenaica declares its semi-autonomy from the central government, political analyst Pepe Escobar says no one will be intervening this time to stop a war among Libyan tribes should it kick off. The Cyrenaica region, with its center in Benghazi, the cradle of last year’s uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, [...]
There is clear and overwhelming evidence that the uprising to overthrow President Assad of Syriais a violent, power grab led by foreign-supported fighters who have killed and wounded thousands of Syrian soldiers, police and civilians, partisans of the government and its peaceful opposition.The outrage expressed by politicians in the West [...]
“Or Your Lying Eyes…” Truth and Fiction in the News Business by ALEXANDER COCKBURN If you want a sense of what could well lie in store for Syria, go no further than Anthony Shadid’s report from Libya in the New York Times for February 9. Shadid, a good reporter, describes a [...]
Faraj Swehli, commander of Swehli militia, said his men found official documents with the journalists [AFP] Two British journalists working for Iran’s Press TV, who were detained late last month in Libya, are suspected of being spies, the head of the militia which is holding them said. Faraj al-Swehli, commander of the Swehli brigade, said on Sunday [...]
When Barack Obama took the oath of office three years ago, no one associated the phrase “targeted killing” with his optimistic young presidency. In his inaugural address, the 47-year-old former constitutional law professor uttered the word “terror” only once. Instead, he promised to use technology to “harness the sun and the winds [...]
Hillary Clinton speaks to the press following the Friends of Syria conference. Photograph: Jason Reed/AFP/Getty Images Two weeks ago I met the Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu and we talked about the efficacy of the high-powered Friends of Syria gatherings – the latest of which took place in Tunis last weekend – in finding a [...]
Rumor and Anger Mount in Libya by Franklin Lamb Posted on January 15, 2012 by dandelionsalad by Franklin Lamb Featured Writer Dandelion Salad Tripoli, Libya January 14, 2012 This observer was stunned late last week when during a meeting in a Maghreb country with three high ranking former Libyan officials, among hundreds currently in hiding, [...]
“Or Your Lying Eyes…” Truth and Fiction in the News Business by ALEXANDER COCKBURN If you want a sense of what could well lie in store for Syria, go no further than Anthony Shadid’s report from Libya in the New York Times for February 9. Shadid, a good reporter, describes a [...]
After his release on compassionate grounds in 2009, the terminally sick Megrahi returned to Libya [EPA] Fresh scientific evidence unearthed by a Scottish legal review undermines the case against the man convicted of being responsible for the Lockerbie aircraft bombing, an investigation for Al Jazeera has found. The Scottish Criminal Case Review Commission (SCCRC) report [...]
The Imperial Way American Decline in Perspective, Part 2 By Noam Chomsky Part 1 February 15, 2012 “Tom Dispatch ” – In the years of conscious, self-inflicted decline at home, “losses” continued to mount elsewhere. In the past decade, for the first time in 500 years, South America has taken successful steps [...]
NATO: Caught in the headlights Read the second part of chapter five of Marwan Bishara‘s latest book, The Invisible Arab. Many of the reasons given to justify NATO intervention in Libya have turned out to be false [GALLO/GETTY] Editor’s note: This article is part two of chapter five, and the fifth of a [...]
Kenneth Roth, executive director Follow on twitter @kenroth © 2010 Sarah Shatz World Report 2012 By Kenneth RothThe sad truth is that the dominant Western policy toward the Arab people traditionally has been one of containment. Today many applaud as the people of the region take to the streets to claim their [...]
US Boots in Libya? 21 January 2012 link to article http://www.abdelbariatwan.com/USBootsinLibya.htm The US Administration has not denied reports that it dispatched 12,000 soldiers to Malta as a prelude to moving them to Libya in an attempt to put the deteriorating situation there under control. Arab satellite channel televisions have [...]
UN says the majority of detainees ”include a large number of sub-saharan, African nationals” [Al Jazeera] Aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has halted its work in detention centres in a Libyan city because it said its medical staff were being asked to patch up detainees mid-way through torture sessions so they could go back for [...]
UN says violent crime and fighting between rival armed groups have become part of Libyan life [File: GALLO/GETTY] Detainees from Libya‘s war held by fighters continue to be subjected to torture despite efforts by the provisional government to address the issue, according to the UN human-rights chief. Navi Pillay told the UN Security Council on Wednesday she was extremely [...]
Drowning in Hypocrisy By Paul Craig Roberts January 24, 2012 “Information Clearing House” — The US government is so full of self-righteousness that it has become a caricature of hypocrisy. Leon Panetta, a former congressman who Obama appointed CIA director and now head of the Pentagon, just [...]
