Stephen Lendman

In May 2010, Israeli commandos committed premeditated murder. They killed nine humanitarian activists in cold blood. They did so in international waters. They were trying to bring vitally needed aid to besieged Gazans. Israel wants them isolated. It wants them suffocated. Slow-motion genocide is longstanding policy.

A Human Rights Council investigation followed. It criticized

Israel's "outrageous attack on aid ships attempting to breach a blockade on the Gaza Strip." It called doing so "piracy, (an) act of aggression, (a) brutal massacre, (an) act of terrorism, (a) war crime, (a) crime against humanity, unprovoked....unwarranted....atrocious, (and) brutal." It said onboard humanitarian activists were "peaceful, innocent, noble, unarmed, (and) defenseless." Attacking them "was unnecessary, disproportionate, excessive, inappropriate and resulted in the wholly avoidable killing and maiming of a large number of civilian passengers." "Israel made "a deliberate attempt....to suppress or destroy evidence." Its own version of events was fabricated. Fake videos and other falsified materials were used.

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William Blum

Over the past four decades, of all the reasons people over a certain age have given for their becoming radicalized against US foreign policy, the Vietnam War has easily been the one most often cited. And I myself am the best example of this that you could find. I sometimes think that if the war lovers who run the United States had known of this in advance they might have had serious second thoughts about starting that great historical folly and war crime.

At other times, however, I have the thought that our dear war lovers have had 40 years to take this lesson to heart, and during this time what did they do? They did Salvador and Nicaragua, and Angola and Grenada. They did Panama and Yugoslavia, and Afghanistan and Iraq. And in 2012 American President Barack Obama saw fit to declare that the Vietnam War was “one of the most extraordinary stories of bravery and integrity in the annals of military history”. [1]

So, have they learned nothing? When it comes to following international law, is the United States like a failed state? The Somalia of international law? Well, if they were perfectly frank, the war lovers would insist that the purpose of all these interventions, and many others like them, was to keep the atheists out of power – the non-believers in America’s god-given right to rule the world – or to at least make life as difficult as possible for them. And thus the interventions were successful; nothing to apologize for; even the Vietnam War achieved its purpose of preventing that country from becoming a good development option for Asia, a socialist alternative to the capitalist model; precisely the same reason for Washington’s endless hostility toward Cuba in Latin America; and Cuba has indeed inspired numerous atheists and their alternatives for a better world.

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Bill Van Auken

John Brennan with Dianne Feinstein, the chairman of the Senate
committee on intelligence. (Photograph: Yuri Gripas/Reuters)

The hearing conducted Thursday afternoon by the Senate Intelligence Committee on the nomination of President Barack Obama’s counterterrorism advisor John Brennan as director of the Central Intelligence Agency served to whitewash Washington’s drone assassination program.

In their questioning of Brennan, both Democratic and Republican senators declared their support and admiration for the CIA and their backing for the “war on terrorism,” while ignoring or skirting the deep-going ramifications of the Obama administration’s arrogation to itself of the authority to order the extra-judicial killing of US citizens.

Not a single member of the committee subjected Brennan to criticism or even harsh questioning, and there was no indiction that any of them would vote against his confirmation. In that sense, the hearing provided a vivid measure of the sharp shift to the right by the entire political establishment, and the Democratic Party in particular, after four years of the Obama presidency.

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Herbert W. Titus & William J. Olson

Exercising a power that no prior president ever thought he possessed — a power that no prior president is known to have exercised — President Obama admitted that he ordered the execution of American citizens, not on a battlefield, based on his belief that they were involved in terrorist activities. It is known that at least three U.S. citizens, including a 16-year old boy, were killed on the president's order in drone strikes in Yemen in 2011.

As the worldwide drone program ramps up, there have been increasing calls for the president to reveal the basis for his claimed authority. Only a few weeks ago, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon denied both the ACLU's and New York Times' requests under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain any and all legal documents prepared in support of the president's claim of unilateral powers. While Judge McMahon was concerned that the documents "implicate serious issues about the limits on the power of the Executive Branch under the Constitution and laws of the United States, and about whether we are indeed a nation of laws not of men," she felt constrained by precedent to withhold them. Now, a bipartisan group of 11 senators has written a letter to president Obama asking for "any and all legal opinions" that describe the basis for his claimed authority to "deliberately kill American citizens."

However, not until the Senate began gathering information for hearings on John Brennan's confirmation as CIA director has public attention finally been focused on this remarkable presidential usurpation of power.

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Andrew P. Napolitano

After stonewalling for more than a year federal judges and ordinary citizens who sought the revelation of its secret legal research justifying the presidential use of drones to kill persons overseas – even Americans – claiming the research was so sensitive and so secret that it could not be revealed without serious consequences, the government sent a summary of its legal memos to an NBC newsroom earlier this week.

This revelation will come as a great surprise, and not a little annoyance, to U.S. District Court Judge Colleen McMahon, who heard many hours of oral argument during which the government predicted gloom and doom if its legal research were subjected to public scrutiny. She very reluctantly agreed with the feds, but told them she felt caught in "a veritable Catch-22," because the feds have created "a thicket of laws and precedents that effectively allow the executive branch of our government to proclaim as perfectly lawful certain actions that seem on their face incompatible with our Constitution and laws, while keeping the reasons for their conclusion a secret."

She was writing about President Obama killing Americans and refusing to divulge the legal basis for claiming the right to do so. Now we know that basis.

The undated and unsigned 16-page memo leaked to NBC refers to itself as a Department of Justice white paper. Its logic is flawed, its premises are bereft of any appreciation for the values of the Declaration of Independence and the supremacy of the Constitution, and its rationale could be used to justify any breaking of any law by any "informed, high-level official of the U.S. government."

The quoted phrase is extracted from the memo, which claims that the law reposes into the hands of any unnamed "high-level official," not necessarily the president, the lawful power to decide when to suspend constitutional protections guaranteed to all persons and kill them without any due process whatsoever. This is the power claimed by kings and tyrants. It is the power most repugnant to American values. It is the power we have arguably fought countless wars to prevent from arriving here. Now, under Obama, it is here.

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Wayne Madsen

President Obama ran for president in 2008 on a promise of closing down the U.S. prisoner detention center at the U.S. naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Recently, Obama went back on his word by ordering closed down the State Department office in charge of closing down the detention camps. On January 22, 2009, two days after Obama was sworn in as president, he issued an Executive Order that stated; «The detention facilities at Guantánamo for individuals covered by this order shall be closed as soon as practicable, and no later than one year from the date of this order.» Four years later, the Guantánamo detention centers remain open…

Shortly after Obama was sworn in for his second term, the State Department announced the special envoy for closing Guantánamo, Daniel Fried, was being reassigned and would not be replaced. Adding insult to injury, the Obama administration named Fried as the head of U.S. sanctions policy, which includes the over five decade long economic blockade of Cuba.

Obama clearly has other plans for Guantánamo that have nothing to do with closing the book on a shameful American legacy of maintaining a tropical gulag in the Caribbean Sea.

The Obama administration clearly foresees as political change coming to Cuba during his second term. Just as the United States used its bases in West Germany and West Berlin to facilitate NATO’s absorption of East Germany and the other Eastern European nations, it sees Guantánamo as a salient within Cuba to transition the socialist island nation back into an American «banana republic», akin to Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, and Guatemala. It is for such a reason that the United States has remained in illegal possession of Guantánamo Bay more than a decade after its 99-year lease expired. For the United States, Guantánamo or «Gitmo» as it is known to U.S. military personnel, is a forward base for U.S. imperialism in the Caribbean and, more widely, in Latin America.

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Dave Hyland

John Dines, an undercover police sergeant, as he appeared
in the early 1990s when he posed as John Barker, a pro-
tester against capitalism

Undercover police officers working for Britain’s largest force used the identities of dead children and issued fake passports in their names.

Scotland Yard said it is investigating “past arrangements for undercover identities used by SDS (Special Demonstration Squad) officers”.

The Guardian reports that the Metropolitan Police authorised the practice for covert officers infiltrating protest groups without consulting or informing the children’s parents. Over three decades, officers went through national birth and death records in search of suitable matches, the newspaper said. The creation of aliases resulted in officers being issued with official documents such as driving licences and national insurance numbers.

On Sunday night, Scotland Yard said the practice was not “currently” authorised. It also announced an investigation into “past arrangements for undercover identities used by SDS (Special Demonstration Squad) officers”.

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Stephen Lendman

LRAD Sonic Weapon The LRAD, another sonic weapon,
has been used successfully to disperse protestors.

State terror is official Israeli policy. Community incursions, assaults, and other violent incidents occur daily. Palestinian suffering follows. They have no rights. Peaceful demonstrators are attacked.

In August 1967, Israel issued Military Order No. 101 ("Order Regarding Prohibition of Incitement and Hostile Propaganda Actions," as later amended).

Public or private political gatherings, assemblies, processions, or vigils of more than 10 Palestinians without permission are prohibited. Any attempt to "influence public opinion….in a manner liable to harm public safety or public order" is considered lawless. Publications "contain(ing) material with political significance" are banned. They include printed, photographed, recorded, filmed, online, or other materials. Displaying national symbols is prohibited. Military commanders have full authority. They "may empower any soldier or police officer….to exercise his powers in accordance with this order." "(A)ny soldier shall have the authority to use the force necessary" for enforcement.

Violators face up to 10 years imprisonment, a heavy fine, or both. Palestinians have no legal right to demonstrate, express views freely, or engage in nonviolent peaceful protests. Police state terror confronts those who try. Palestinians' rights are systematically denied.

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Gilad Atzmon

A poorly-written but still revealing briefing was published a few days ago by J-BIG. J-BIG may sound like an Israeli penis enlargement clinic but is in fact an acronym for Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods - a Jews Only political organisation set up to promote Jewish interests amongst Palestinian solidarity in general and the BDS movement in particular. The briefing was apparently published in order to “help BDS campaigners to defy the accusation of antisemitsm” and to explain “how the charge of antisemitism applies (actually) to Zionism itself.”

It doesn’t take long for an intelligent person to grasp that Zionism is fuelled by anti-Semitsm. In fact, early Zionists were candid enough on occasions to admit that the enemies of the Jews may actually have a point.

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Bill Van Auken

What is spelled out here is a presidency which has arrogated to itself the “right” to act as judge, jury and executioner in carrying out secret assassinations of American citizens as well many thousands of other human beings around the globe. The overturning of any limitations on this power of life and death lays the groundwork for a police-state dictatorship.

A confidential Justice Department white paper on the legality of “lethal operations” against US citizens made public Monday night argues that virtually unlimited power is placed in the hands of the American president to order the assassination of perceived enemies of the state anywhere around the globe.

While spelling out certain conditions that would purportedly make the targeted killing of an American citizen legal—such as the target being an “operational leader of Al Qaeda or an associated force” who poses an imminent threat of violent attack and whose capture is not feasible—the paper goes on to provide arguments that essentially render these conditions meaningless and non-restrictive.

As if that were not enough, the term “associated force” is defined so broadly that a member of virtually any armed movement deemed hostile to US interests can be targeted. Moreover the paper specifically states that while the conditions it presents are “sufficient” to make such a state killing legal, the absence of one or all of them does not mean that an assassination would be illegal.

“This paper does not attempt to determine the minimum requirements necessary to render such an operation lawful, nor does it assess what might be required to render a lethal operation against a US citizen lawful in other circumstance, including an operation against … a US citizen who is not a senior operational leader of such [Al Qaeda] forces.” it states.

In other words, the document leaves the selection of assassination victims—including non-Al Qaeda opponents of US imperialism—to the discretion of the president and his military and intelligence operatives.

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Stephen Lendman

Throughout his tenure, Obama governed lawlessly for the monied interests that own him. He's waged no-holds-barred war on humanity. Strategy includes homeland tyranny, fear-mongering, saber rattling, hot wars, proxy ones, drone ones, domestic political ones, geopolitical ones, financial ones, anti-populist ones, sanctions, subversion, sabotage, targeted assassinations, mass murder, cyberwar, and more.

In May 2009, Obama prioritized cybersecurity. He called cyber-threats "one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation." "America's economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on cybersecurity." He ordered a top-to-bottom review. A Cyberspace Policy Review report followed. He waged cyberwar on Iran. He did so cooperatively with Israel.

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Nicolas J.S. Davies

By selecting its senior officials through “legalized bribery” within a superficially democratic system, the United States has developed a more sophisticated way to institutionalize and justify ever-expanding plutocracy, militarism and war crimes.

One family stands out as playing exactly that role in the political career of Barack Obama: the Crown family of Chicago. The importance of this relationship in Obama’s career exposes some of the roots of his subservience to the government of Israel, his threats of aggression against Iran, his expansion of the JSOC/CIA targeted killing program, and his unswerving commitment to record military budgets in a time of economic and fiscal crisis.

Americans who went to the polls in 2008 believing that a vote for Barack Obama was a vote for peace, now face the prospect of a presidential election in which both major party candidates will be openly wedded to endless war, cold-blooded “targeted killings,” record military budgets, and the systematic violation of U.S. and international law.

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Stephen Lendman

On February 1, Hillary Clinton ended her tenure as Secretary of State. John Kerry was sworn in to replace her. Two recent articles discussed him. One called him a reliable imperial warrior. The other said he's Israel's man at State. He was chosen to further America's imperium. He'll do what he's told.

He supports global wars. He endorses unchallenged US dominance. Hardline administration policies will continue seamlessly on his watch.

Throughout his Senate tenure, his pro-Israeli voting record was impeccable. His support is unwavering. He endorses strengthening Israel's security. He values America's special relationship. He backs generous financial and military aid. He calls Jerusalem "Israel's indisputable capital." He favors moving America's embassy there from Tel Aviv. Doing so is illegal. In 1947, the UN declared it an international city. It remains so today.

He's no friend of Palestine. He called Arafat a failed leader and unfit peace partner. He supports militarized occupation harshness. He's comfortable with settlement expansions. He's silent about stolen Palestinian land. Dispossessed Palestinians don't bother him. Nor does stealing their resources. He deplores Palestinian liberation. He supports wrong over right. He's against humanitarian missions to besieged Gaza.

After Israel's May 2010 Mavi Marmara massacre, he said Israel "has every right in the world to make certain weapons are not being smuggled in." Activists on board had none. They brought food, toys, stationary, kitchen utensils, mattresses, towels, construction materials, and other vital items Gazans need. Other blocked and successful missions did the same thing. Kerry knows but won't say. Nor do other US and Israeli officials.

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Stephen Lendman

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a meeting
of the "Friends of the Syrian People" at the MFA Con-
ference Center July 6, 2012 in Paris, France.

She may become America's 45th president. Humanity may not survive its 44th. The fullness of time will tell.

She was Washington's 67th Secretary of State. She served from January 21, 2009 - February 1, 2013. She's arguably America's worst. From 2001 - 2009, she was US Senator from New York. In 2008, she challenged Obama for the Democrat party's presidential nomination. Supporters urge her to run again in 2016. She's noncommittal. When asked, she says "I am not thinking about anything like that right now." She also said she'll "do everything (she) can to make sure that women compete at the highest levels, not only in the United States but around the world." Husband Bill urges her to run. Some suspect she already made her move.

With or without her support, a "Ready for Hillary" political action committee was formed. It's raising money for 2016. Campaigning never ends. America's electoral season is seamless. Hillary for 2016 T-shirts are on sale. Friends of Hillary Facebook send regular messages. When launching her 2008 campaign, she said "I'm in to win." Insiders say she hasn't changed her mind. In 2016, she'll be 69.

In December, she scored high in public approval. A Washington Post/ABC News poll showed 57% of Americans support her presidential ambitions. Over 80% of Democrats back her candidacy.

Two-thirds of US women do. Two-thirds of Americans give her high marks as America's top diplomat. She scored higher than any previous Secretary of State in 20 years of polling. In four years, she visited 112 countries. She traveled nearly a million miles. She self-promoted everywhere. She has larger than life ambitions.

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Stephen Lendman

Israeli soldiers stand guard next to a road sign showing the
distances to Jerusalem, Baghdad, Damascus and other lo-
cations, at an army post in the annexed Golan Heights.

Israel and America are longstanding imperial partners. Washington OK's naked aggression on Syria. Doing so declared war. Admitting it may or may not follow later. Events require close watching. Disturbing ones occur regularly.

Late Sunday, Tyre, Lebanon was rocked. A suspicious explosion occurred. Lebanon's Future TV said an "Israeli aircraft might have detonated an electronic transmission device. Hizbollah cordoned off the area."

Lebanon's NNA news agency said "Israeli aircraft did not leave Lebanese airspace over the South all through the day."

Lebanon's Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour said "Israeli jets continue to invade Lebanon's airspace every day. We must stand up against the Israeli attacks but not just with calls, statements and condemnation." Overflying another country's airspace without permission violates international law. Israel does it regularly. Lebanon is violated multiple times daily. Doing so is longstanding.

Tyre is in southern Lebanon. It's about 12 miles from Israel's border. Lebanese media accused Israel of striking. Reports followed days of IAF "mock raids." Some claim Israel targeted a Hezbollah listening post. Others said a communications site. Hezbollah reported the strike. Later its initial account changed. It now blames a "stun gun" or stun grenade. Little more is known at this time. Israel maintains silence. What follows bears watching.

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Stephen Lendman

Munich's Security Conference is held annually. This year marks the 49th session. Dozens of countries participated. Hundreds of world leaders attended. They included heads of state, foreign affairs and defense ministers, as well as other senior figures. Active engagement was prioritized. Current and future security challenges were discussed.

In 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin took full advantage. He pulled no punches. He sharply criticized US foreign policy. He called it:

"very dangerous (in its) uncontained hyper-use of force - military force - in international relations, force that is plunging the world into an abyss of permanent conflicts." US imperialism, he stressed, "overstepped its national borders in every way." "(U)nilateral illegal actions have not resolved any single problem. They have become a hotbed of further conflicts." "We are seeing increasing disregard for the fundamental principles of international law....No one feels safe! Because no one can feel that international law is like a stone wall that will protect them." "Of course, such a policy stimulates an arms race. The dominance of force inevitably encourages a number of countries to acquire weapons of mass destruction."

Putin also addressed a "unipolar world." He called it one

"in which there is one master, one sovereign. And at the end of the day, this is pernicious not only for all those within this system, but also for the sovereign itself because it destroys itself from within." [He added that] "We are constantly being taught about democracy. But for some reason those who teach us do not want to learn themselves."

America deplores democracy at home and abroad. It prioritizes unchallenged dominance. It demands what it says goes. Russia supports peace, not war. It favors diplomatic conflict resolution.

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Christoph Dreier

US vice president Joe Biden (R) greets Israeli Defence
Minister Ehud Barak (L) on the second day of the 49th
Munich Security Conference at Hotel Bayerischer Hof
in Munich, Germany, 02 February 2012. More than
400 foreign and defence policy heavyweights were to
discuss Mali, Syria and other global trouble spots. The
Munich Security Conference (MSC) brings together
some 400 guests - a dozen heads of state and govern-
ment, 70 ministers as well as leaders from defence and
business, including the arms industry. (Credit: EPA)

This year's Munich Security Conference, held over the weekend, took place against the background of the re-colonization of the Middle East and Africa by the US and its European allies. It was an unabashed affirmation of the type of naked imperialist domination of these regions that characterized the first half of the 20th century.

Even as the meeting was underway, French President François Hollande was making a celebratory visit to France’s former colony Mali while French troops and war planes continued to attack insurgent-held territory, and British Prime Minister David Cameron was holding talks with UK-backed leaders in Algeria and Libya.

For three days, leading political, military and defense industry representatives of the major powers, along with invited officials from other nations, met to discuss current and future military operations and geo-strategic issues. The conference demonstrated the consensus among the major imperialist powers, led by the United States, for an expanded political and military drive to install puppet governments and seize control of critical natural resources across the Middle East, Central Asia and the African continent.

The tone was set by US Vice President Joseph Biden, who delivered a bellicose speech singling out as targets of US and NATO aggression nations ranging from Syria, Iran and Yemen to Somalia, Mali and the rest of North Africa.

Some 400 participants from nearly 90 countries were invited to the privately organized conference, which has been held for the past 49 years at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich. Among those taking part were Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and, for the first time, representatives of the Western-backed Syrian opposition.

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Stephen Lendman

It shouldn't surprise. Washington and Israel are longstanding imperial partners. Significant regional operations are jointly planned. It's done well in advance. It's for strategic advantage. Operations are part of a greater regional agenda.

On February 1, TIME magazine headlined "The Fallout from the Air Raid on Syria: Why Israel is Concerned," saying:

"Israeli warplanes struck several targets inside Syria overnight Tuesday, including a biological weapons research center that was reportedly flattened out of concern that it might fall into the hands of Islamist extremists fighting to topple the government of Syrian president Bashar Assad, Western intelligence officials tell TIME." "(O)nly two airstrikes" were publicly reported.

One alleged Israeli warplanes targeted a weapons and munitions convoy heading for Lebanon. Previous articles discussed what happened. They asked why would Assad send vitally needed weapons and munitions to Lebanon? He needs all he can get. If reports were accurate, evidence would have corroborated them. None was forthcoming. What's Israel up to? Is something else going on? Is it trying to provoke Syria to retaliate? Does it want to entrap it in all-out war?

Doing so would mean Syria's demise. Attacking Iran might follow. So could regional and global war potentially.

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Stephen Lendman

Since last weekend, Israel attacked Syria multiple times. Doing so was premeditated, unprovoked aggression. Fundamental UN Charter provisions were violated. Israeli officials refused comment. For days, America was silent.

On January 30, anonymous US officials said Israeli officials informed Washington in advance. Make no mistake. All significant regional belligerent actions reflect joint US/Israeli policy. It's longstanding.

On January 28, Paul Joseph Watson headlined "Hacked Emails Reveal 'Washington-Approved' Plan to Stage Chemical Weapons (False Flag) Attack in Syria," saying: British security company Britam Defence admitted hacking "but denied that the emails released….were genuine." A German hacker supplied the leaked emails. Qatar's involved. At issue is crossing Obama's "red line." Doing so is cause for US/NATO intervention.

False flags are a US tradition. Israel prioritizes them. They're Big Lies, but who knows. Official reports and media scoundrels claim otherwise. They're pretexts for planned aggression. Longstanding US policy involves replacing Assad with subservient puppet leadership. So far, proxy war rages. Full-scale intervention may follow.

US officials, other Western ones, and Ban Ki-moon failed to condemn Israeli aggression. More on Ban below.

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Bill Van Auken

Israel’s bombing of a Syrian military site on Wednesday has ratcheted up the danger that the Western-backed civil war in Syria will spill over into a broader regional conflagration.

Unnamed US officials cited by the New York Times claimed that the target of Wednesday’s dawn air strike was a military convoy carrying arms that were supposedly destined for Hezbollah, the Shia political movement and militia in Lebanon.

The Syrian government, however, said that air strikes were directed against a military research center in Jamraya, in the Qasioun mountain range about three miles west of Damascus. It said that two workers at the center were killed in the bombing and five others were wounded.

“Israeli warplanes violated our airspace at dawn today and directly struck one of the scientific research centers responsible for elevating the resistance and self-defense capabilities in the area of Jamraya in the Damascus countryside,” Syria’s military said in a statement published by the official Sana news agency.

The Syrian regime charged that the air strikes had been facilitated by coordinated attacks on the part of the US and Western-backed “rebels” against the country’s radar networks and air defense systems.

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