Readers beware; we are being taken for a ride.The same people that falsified information and led us to war with Iraq are now doing the same with Iran.The war advocates told us it was a “Slam Dunk” that Iraq had WMD and was a threat to the US with it tons of chemical and biological weapons, and Colin Powell gave a UN report which turned out to be totally false. We drank the Kool-Aid and found ourselves in a war that cost over 4,000 Americans lives, and claimed about 1.2 million Iraqis.
The same folks who gave us the Iraqi Kool-Aid are offering you Iranian Kool-Aid. The idea that Iran is a threat to the US or Israel, is ludicrous. Iran is completely surrounded by US bases in Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan,, Turkmenistan,Bahrain, Uzbekistan,US Persian Gulf Navel fleet, and Israel with its illegal nuclear arsenal of between 200-400 nuclear weapons.
Although Iran is the most closely observed, regulated, monitored, nation in the world, with human inspectors, intensive electronic surveillance by the International Atomic Energy Agency, and US satellites observing activity in Iran, not one shred of evidence has been found by the IAEA, or the US intelligence agencies that Iran is developing nuclear weapons.
The National Intelligence Estimate concluded that Iran gave up is nuclear weapons program in 2003, and Mr. El Baradei, head of the IAEA, has said there is no evidence whatsoever that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon, while the new incoming leader of the IAEA, Yukiya Amano, recently said that he has not seen any hard evidence that Iran is trying to develop atomic weapons. Both have been ignored.
The latest controversy is over the “secret” facility to enrich uranium.According to the initial Nuclear Non Proliferation Agreement, Iran need not notify the IAEA of such construction until the facility is 6 months from completion.It will be completed in about one year and Iran, according to the rules, has agreed to allow access by inspectors.
The entire matter of nuclear weapons could be resolved if the US and Israel would agree to a treaty establishing a “Nuclear Free Middle East Zone”.The US and Israel have been the only two nations to balk at the idea, effectively killing the notion each time it has been floated over the last few years. Three weeks ago, but not covered by mainstream media, the UN nuclear assembly voted 100-1 to support the idea of a Nuclear Free Middle East.Israel was the only nation voting against the idea and the US abstained. What is wrong with a Nuclear Free Middle East?
The hypocrisy against Iran would be laughable were it not leading to war.While talking about possibly attacking Iran, who according to US intelligence and the IAEA has no nuclear weapons program, we ignore the elephant in the room (Israel) with an illegal nuclear arsenal. Israel has refused to participate in the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty and has refused to allow any inspectors into their nation, but clamors the loudest for an attack on Iran. On 10/4/09 Mr. El Baradei said: "Israel is number one threat to Middle East". His statement was not reported by mainstream media. Additionally both Pakistan and India have nuclear weapons and do not belong to the NPT, nor have they allowed any inspections while we look the other way.
Iran is in the cross hairs just as was Iraq, and is being put in the same impossible situation.We demanded that Iraq prove they had no WMD, while now demanding that Iran prove they do not have a nuclear weapons program, likewise an impossible task.
So the Kool-Aid is being forced down your throat by war mongers; I urge you not to drink it. Do we really need another endless war?
As one who supports the concepts of freedom, independence, and the right of self determination, I am puzzled by the reaction of the world’s major nations to the declaration of independence that recently came from Kosovo.
First to recognize the independent new nation was the US, who you may recall initiated a 78 day brutal bombing of Serbian infrastructure including bridges, schools, hospitals, trains, farms, communications and water systems, in an effort to help the people of Kosovo secure their freedom. Next the French stepped forward to welcome the independence of Kosovo, and the British were also prompt to congratulate the newly independent Kosovo.
But wait! In 1861 when South Carolina and other southern states seceded from the US, the federal government argued that states did not have the right to declare their independence, and the bloodiest war in the history of the nation was fought to prevent a section of the US from gaining independence. During the bloody conflict the US begged foreign nations not to recognize the independence of the Confederate states of America. Imagine our horror if another nation decided to bomb us for 78 days during our civil war?
When the Philippines demanded their independence from the US at the turn of the last century, a brutal war occurred that dragged on for years causing the deaths of unknown thousands while US troops employed water boarding. Why did we not rush to recognize and grant Philippine independence?
France, a former great colonial empire was shocked when its colony of Algeria declared their independence from France in 1954. The French refused to grant independence and fought a brutal war from 1954-1962, doing everything in its power to kill the concept of independence. The French were extremely cruel and estimates suggest as many as one million died in the struggle for independence. At the end of a brutal war, France finally agreed to recognize Algerian Independence. Why did France refuse to grant Algeria independence?
But wait! Fast forward to the 1992 Algerian elections when no party gained a majority and a runoff election was required by law. When it became apparent that Islamists would win the upcoming democratic election the army stepped forward to cancel the elections, and the Algerian army was given a wink and a nod by the US government. So much for self determination!
Great Britain congratulated the people of Kosovo upon claiming their independence, but it was Great Britain who killed hundreds of thousands of Irish who wanted, struggled and fought for their independence for hundreds of years?? Wasn’t it Great Britain who resisted the breakup of its world colonial empire with incredible brutality in India and other places around the world?
So the great powers who slaughtered millions in an effort to stifle independence around the world, now champion the people of Kosovo. I am confused! Have the great powers, enlightened by the concept of independence, changed their ways, or do they have a sinister motive?
The recent incident off Iran with three small Iranian speedboats committing an alleged act of aggression (frighteningly similar to the 1964 Tonkin Gulf alleged incident that led to the deaths of 57,000 US soldiers) against the US navy, needs comment. We now know of course that the infamous Iranian video presented by the Pentagon was altered, and a voice was dubbed into the video, but that aside I offer the following for your memory. Do readers recall the destruction of Flight IR 655, an Iranian commercial jet loaded with 294 civilians, mostly women and children by the US navy? Most Americans have long forgotten it, but rest assured the Iranian families of the 294 will never forget. This commercial jet was shot down by missiles launched from the USS Vincennes, destroying a passenger liner on a regularly scheduled flight. First the US insisted it thought it was being attacked by the Airbus 300 and responded, and then the US said it was confused and thought the passenger liner (Airbus 300) was an F-15. The Vincennes was a highly sophisticated electronic surveillance ship and hardly could it confuse an Airbus 300 with an F-15. That would be like you confusing a mouse with an elephant. To add insult to death, the Captain of the Vincennes was given the Legion of Merit medal for (for killing 294 civilians????) and President Reagan refused to apologize for any action committed by his country. Iranians will never forget nightly news videos of children's bodies being recovered from the sea.
So Bush has warned against the "act of aggression" and threatened serious consequences if it occurs again. An "act of aggression"???????
“Blowback”, a term meaning unintended consequences of a foreign policy, is evident in Pakistan, and the US is largely responsible for the Pakistani turmoil.
The US has supported and propped up a very unpopular military dictator for the past eight years by giving him billions to strengthen his military and maintain his power. Despite polls indicating that almost 70% of the Pakistani people want Musharraf to leave the country, we have continued to insure his presence. Pakistanis are well aware the only reason Musharraf survives is because of US financial backing, and he is seen as another US stooge. Strong anti- American hatred has developed among Pakistanis for our continued support of their dictator, while preaching democracy to the world. Extremists in Pakistan have become the leaders of the anti- Musharraf anti-American resistance. The US refers to these extremists as Al Quada, but they are haters of the US government for maintaining a military dictator in their country. There have been five attempts to assassinate Musharraf, and at one point he was guarded by US personnel because he could not trust his own people.
The extremists tapped into the anti-American, anti Musharraf hatred, and unrest has prevailed in Pakistan over the past 6 months. Apparently the US finally figured that the dictator could not survive indefinitely and so US administration went to plan B. Benazir Bhutto living in exile was selected to be the next leader of Pakistan by the US government, and she was coaxed out of exile and promised US support if she would return to lead her nation. Her fate was sealed when Condoleezza Rice finally persuaded Bhutto to return to Pakistan because it was seen as American régime change. Pakistanis were unwilling to trade one US stooge for another and some apparently decided to eliminate Bhutto.
Because the US has backed a dictator who suspended the constitution, arrested rivals, censored media, and imprisoned thousands, anti-American hatred in Pakistan is “blowback”. The assassination of Bhutto is just another unintended consequence of a failed foreign policy and unfortunately now things could really get out of control in Pakistan.
Isn’t it about time the US citizens pay attention to foreign policy, and force administrations to be moral and democratic around the world?
In 1993 the World Trade Center was attacked the first time and the plotters came very close to bringing the Trade Center towers down. Few citizens realize that the plotters and planners of that event publicly said two important things. First they told the people of American and the world, why they attacked the WTC, and they also told the American people that they would be back for a second attempt. Both statements were largely ignored by mainstream media and the US public was kept uninformed. In 2001 the plotters returned to bring down the towers, and once again they told the US public why, but once again this was ignored by mainstream media.
Since 9/11 there have been at least 5 five taped messages from Osama Bin Laden and in each of the taped messages he explained why the towers were targeted, and yet his warnings and reasoning were not coved by media. Repeatedly Osama Bin Laden and other terrorists have sent messages to various news sources which contain an explanation for their hatred, but the media has failed to inform the US public of the reasons for the deep hatred people have for the US.
The common thread found in all recorded messages is the unbalanced, immoral, deadly, policy towards the Palestinian people. Repeatedly the American people have been told why the attackers are willing to sacrifice their own lives to inflict death in America, and repeatedly the US public has not been informed of their intent.
A review of US policy towards Palestine/ Israel is in order to better understand why the US is under attack. The US public was shocked in October of 1983 when a Marine barracks in Lebanon was destroyed with the loss of 241 American lives. Predictably their was an emotional response directed at the Lebanese people by the US public, without understanding, or being told by media of the events leading up to the bombing of the Marine barracks. The US public was told that the Marines were in Beirut on a peace-keeping mission, which only added to the public's anger at those who killed US soldiers. The public however, was not aware of a Civil War in Lebanon between Muslims and Christians for political power. The US had backed, both politically and economically, a right wing unpopular government in Lebanon, and prevented the Lebanese people from instituting a popular government. When the Civil War occurred, the US allowed Israel to enter the fray, invade Lebanon, and slaughter possibly 20,000 civilians. With Israeli and US backing, a right wing puppet government was established to carry out the wishes of the US and Israel, but assassinations of the installed leaders by those who resented outside interference, resulted in more violence. The US entered a civil war in Lebanon by siding with the Christian right wing faction, and used the firepower of the battleship New Jersey to lob 2000 pound shells (size of small cars) into the hills of Lebanon, killing civilians. It was because of our involvement in a Civil War, and the killing of Lebanese civilians by US forces, that led to the retaliatory bombing of the marine barracks.
Additional anti American anger resulted because the Lebanese people knew that the US supplied, and supported Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, and saw this alliance as destructive to democratic movements in Lebanon. Middle Eastern people began to view Israel and the US as a team working to subvert the will of the people, and to bring anarchy and chaos to the Middle East.
Recently Israel invaded Lebanon once again, and brutally launched an illegal aggressive war on innocent civilians. The entire infrastructure of Lebanon was destroyed and thousands of innocents were killed. The invasion occurred because 2 Israeli soldiers were kidnapped, an incident used by Israel to justify its barbaric assault on an entire nation. Mainstream media neglected to point out that Israel has “kidnapped” and imprisoned thousands of Lebanese without any accusations, trial, or legal representations. As the assault continued, the Prime Minister of Lebanon went on TV and publicly wept for his people and his nation, and begged the world to demand a cease fire. Not only did the US give Israel the wink and nod to begin the assault, but continued to wink and nod as US made weapons, given to Israel, were used for the slaughter. It was the US who prevented the UN from demanding a cease fire, and it was the US who provided the one million cluster bombs used on civilians by Israel. The media can successfully fool the US public by hiding the facts, but cannot fool the mothers and fathers whose children were slaughtered by the invasion. This marked the second brutal invasion of Lebanon by Israel.
Meanwhile in Palestine the daily killing of Palestinians continued, while the world’s attention was focused on the war in nearby Lebanon. According to UN statistics, since the real turmoil in Palestine began, there have been 4228 Palestinians killed versus 1024 Israelis. Despite living under a brutal illegal occupation, Palestinians managed to hold a very democratic election monitored by international observers, with Hamas getting control of the government. Immediately the US and Israel balked and announced no funds would go to Palestinians until they renounced Hamas and drove them from power. Both Israel and the US are trying to bring about a coup, with the intent of overthrowing a democratically elected government, and restoring the unpopular US/Israeli puppet. The coup is to be achieved through starvation and deprivation of the masses, which would generate conditions intolerable for the Palestinians. As long as the Palestinian people cling to their democratically elected Hamas they will continue to be starved by the US and Israel.
Because of inhuman conditions, including starvation, Palestinian infighting resulted which almost led to civil war. Many observers predicted Civil War due to the intolerable conditions, and many predicted this was the goal of US /Israeli policy all along. Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and a meeting of Palestinian factions was held in Saudi Arabia, with the goal of forming a unity government by compromising on many important issues. Both the US and Israel have insisted all along that peace negotiations between Israeli and Palestinians could only occur through a unified government, but once, to the dismay of some, a unified government emerged, the US and Israel threw up another roadblock and obstacle to any peace negotiations. Israel and the US demanded the unity government meet 3 conditions as a prelude to any peace talks. The demands were: 1) the unity government “recognize" Israel’s right to exist, 2) Palestinians must honor past treaties, and 3) Palestinians must renounce violence. Israel and the US maintain there can be no progress until those demands are satisfied. Mainstream American media never discussed the issue of Palestinian recognition of Israel’s right to exist, so an illustration is needed to understand the plight of the Palestinians. Suppose your neighbor took 75% of your property through force, and then demanded you recognize his right to exist on your property. Would you? Could you??? It would amount to a concession that his taking of your land is legal. In Israel’s case, the world community has repeatedly declared Israel’s seizure of Palestinian land to be illegal. The international community had declared the seizure of land to be a violation of both the Geneva Convention and the United Nations Charter, and has publicly condemned Israel for its violation of international law. It is allowed to openly violate international law because it has the backing and protection of the United States, and if Palestinians “recognize” Israel, in effect they are recognizing an illegal seizure of land. Israel has been condemned more times by the UN than any nation in history, and the US has used it’s veto power in the UN an additional 39 times to protect Israel from even more condemning resolutions.
Readers should also note that none of the 3 conditions demanded of the Palestinians have been met by Israel. Israel has refused to recognize the right of Palestinians to have a state, Israel has walked away from numerous previously agreed upon treaties, and Israel certainly has not renounced its policy of violence. One might think that any fair minded media outlet might include this in a balanced treatment of the situation.
Although mainstream media in this country avoids any serious discussion of the Palestinian problem, thus keeping the US public totally uniformed, the Arab world is acutely aware of both the horrible situation of the Palestinians and the nature of the problem. As long as the US continues to support a totally one sided, repressive, and incredibly cruel policy towards Palestinians, the country must be prepared for more retaliation and revenge. As none of this could go one without the blind US support of Israel, the world holds the US responsible for the ongoing tragedy of the Palestinian people. Media and politicians appear to be willing to continue to sacrifice American lives to maintain a disastrous policy for the US public. Perhaps it is time for politicians to do what is best for the American public.
The tragic news from Palestine is being delivered by mainstream media without factual accuracy, so readers must be mindful that relevant information is being withheld from public consumption.
In January an election took place in Palestine at the insistence of the US and Israel, which, according to international observers, was incredibly democratic and fair. To the dismay of both the US and Israel, Hamas was the clear winner carrying a majority of the seats in the Palestinian Parliament, and who immediately suggested they were willing to renew the unilateral one year truce with Israel. Israel and the US however, teamed up to punish the Palestinian people for voting the "wrong way”. Israel began by withholding tax revenue legally belonging to Palestinians, which constitutes thievery, while the US announced a policy of preventing any aid to Palestine and a policy of starvation. Both the US and Israel had underestimated the political strength of Hamas, and were now determined to bring about the downfall of the newly elected government. Both major powers calculated that without any government infrastructure, in one of the most oppressed regions of the world, public unrest and strife would lead to the collapse of the Hamas government. The policy of starvation and deprivation by Israel and the US did not work. The US then ratcheted up its attempt to foment civil unrest by giving military aid and training to the party that had lost the election (Abbas and Fattah). Despite the rhetoric about spreading democracy in the Middle east, when democracy prevailed the US and Israel did their best to overthrow the democratically elected government.
Both Israel and the US argue their actions are justified because Hamas refuses to accept the existence of Israel; however Israel has never recognized the legal right of Palestine’s existence. Hamas and Israel are strangely enough locked into the same untenable position with respect to recognition of one another. For Hamas to recognize Israel’s right to exist would infer that Israel’s confiscation of Palestinian lands is legal. If your neighbor illegally took part of your property you would be foolish to recognize his right to do so. Meanwhile Israel cannot recognize the legal right of Palestine to “exist”, for that would imply that Palestine would have legal recourse to the illegal confiscation of Palestinian lands.
Israel then unilaterally arrested leaders of the elected Hamas government (imagine Russia arresting members of the US Congress) and imprisoned elected officials. Over 30 Hamas leaders were arrested, including the Prime Minister of Education, members of the Parliament, and mayors of four towns. Last month Israel attempted to assassinate Hamas politician Khalil al-Hayya in Gaza, killing seven members of his family causing Palestinian rage. By denying any money to the Palestinian people, by arresting leaders of the newly elected government, by supplying the losers of the January elections with weapons, money, and military training, by attempting to assassinate elected politicians, the US and Israel created the "perfect storm" for civil war in Palestine. Now both the US and Israel sit back and watch Palestinians kill one another. Causing civil war and unrest represents a short term victory for the US and Israel, but will undoubtedly have long term “blowback” consequences.
The US government, mainstream media, and big oil, (who sleep in the same bed) have done their best to demonize Hugo Chavez, the outspoken leader of Venezuela. Chavez threw big oil companies out of Venezuela and nationalized the nation's oil because foreign oil companies were raping the oil resources. He argued that oil proceeds should be used to help the poor and has attempted to redistribute wealth by providing the poor with free food, medicine, and education, paying for his social programs with oil money. Additionally this past winter he offered oil to the poor in the US at discount prices. Meanwhile Exxon-Mobil earns mind boggling profits of one hundred million dollars per day. What has Exxon-Mobil done for you? Who then, would you like to see end up with your gas money; the poor or Exxon-Mobil? President Bush is indignant because Chavez would not renew the broadcast license of a TV station that participated in an attempt to overthrow him, and some US politicians are highly critical calling it an infringement of the right of free press and refer to Chavez as a dictator, forgetting he has faced the people five times in elections. We can only speculate as to what Bush would do if CBS participated in an attempt to overthrow his administration. We know what he has done to news outlets that do not give the slant he wants. In November of 2001 the US dropped a 500 pound bomb on the Al-Jazeera news station in Kabul, bombed their office in Baghdad in 2003, and imprisoned numerous reporters with one still being held at Guantanamo because we did not like what they were broadcasting. We also know through leaked British memos, that Bush wanted to bomb their main headquarters in Qatar but Tony Blair talked him out of it. None of this bothered the ardent free speech advocates who are so critical of Chavez. I am confused; do you call this "double standard" or "hypocrisy", or both?
