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by Dr. Gary G. Kohls
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Global Research, March 15, 2008
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– 2008-03-14
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Global Research Editor’s Note In a bitter irony, Colin Powell, who was responsible for the coverup of the My Lai massacre acceded to a “brilliant” career in the Armed Forces. In 2001 he was appointed Secretary of State in the Bush administration. Although never indicted, Powell was also deeply implicated in the Iran-Contra affair. It is worth noting that Colin Powell was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time of the Gulf War, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of retreating Iraqi soldiers in what British war correspondent Felicity Arbuthnot entitled “Operation Desert Slaughter”. “The forty two day carpet bombing, enjoined by thirty two other countries, against a country of just twenty five million souls, with a youthful, conscript army, with broadly half the population under sixteen, and no air force, was just the beginning of a United Nations led, global siege of near mediaeval ferocity.” In the words of General Norman Schwartzkopf who led Operation Desert Slaughter “‘There was no one left to kill’… There are been many US sponsored My Lais since the Vietnam war. Michel Chossudovsky. Global Research, March 15, 2008
Although there was a serious attempt to cover-up this operation (which involved a young up-and-coming US Army Major named Colin Powell), those who orchestrated or participated in this “business-as-usual” war zone atrocity did not deny the details of the slaughter when the case came to trial several years later. But the story had filtered back to the Western news media, thanks to a couple of courageous eye-witnesses whose consciences were still intact. An Army court-marital trial eventually convened against a handful of the soldiers, including Lt. William Calley and Company C commanding officer, Ernest Medina. |
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Coverup of Extensive War Crimes: 40th Anniversary of the My Lai Massacre
March 16, 2008
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\Suddenly, a Dangerous Turn
March 16, 2008The Smirking Chimp, March 15, 2008
Robert Parry
Two seemingly disconnected events have created a suddenly dangerous turn regarding the future of U.S. wars in the Middle East.
One was the abrupt resignation of the person who has been the biggest obstacle to a U.S. military strike against Iran, Admiral William Fallon, the chief of Central Command which oversees U.S. military operations in the volatile region.
The second is the ugly direction that the Democratic presidential competition has taken, with Hillary Clinton’s campaign intensifying its harsh rhetoric against Barack Obama, reducing the likelihood that he can win the presidency – and thus raising the odds that the next president will be either John McCain or Sen. Clinton, both hawks on Iran.
Throughout the campaign, Clinton has mocked Obama as inexperienced for his desire to engage in presidential-level diplomacy with Iran and other adversarial states. And she recently judged him as unqualified to serve as Commander in Chief, while declaring that both she and Sen. McCain have crossed that “threshold.”
The cumulative effect of Clinton’s attacks on Obama’s qualifications – combined with her campaign’s efforts to turn many white voters against him as the “black candidate” – has buoyed Republican hopes for November.
Anti-war demo draws thousands
March 16, 2008RINF.com, March 15, 2008
Thousands of anti-war protesters rallied to demand Britain withdraw its troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Activists urging an end to Britain’s role in overseas’ wars gathered in Trafalgar Square, central London, for a march on parliament.
The protest, organised by the Stop the War Coalition, was called to mark the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Demonstrators called for no US attack on Iran and for an end to the “siege” of Gaza.
Organisers in London estimated up to 40,000 people joined the protest. Police said no arrests were made. They estimated numbers at 10,000.
The London protest was one of a number taking place in countries around the world on Saturday, organisers said. Protesters heard speeches from the leaders of a range of groups including CND, and the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign.
Former Labour cabinet minister Tony Benn said: “The troops in Iraq have caused devastation. It’s the same in Afghanistan.”
Green MEP Caroline Lucas called for the Prime Minister and his predecessor to be prosecuted for war crimes. She said: “Tony Blair and Gordon Brown should be tried for war crimes at the international court in the Hague.
“They need to know you cannot bomb your way to peace.”
Former CND leader Bruce Kent described the protest as an “orchestra of peace”.
“I think the common agreement is for a peaceful and just world. I am speaking about nuclear weapons but the war in Iraq is part of the same campaign.”
Accountability for the Iraq War
March 16, 2008We have been engaged in an illegal war in Iraq for five years – and there is no accountability.
It is beyond doubt that our leaders lied us into this war – and there is no accountability.
More than four thousand American and coalition soldiers are dead – and there is no accountability.
Tens of thousands of American and coalition soldiers are seriously wounded – and there is no accountability.
Our surviving soldiers are coming home traumatized from the war without proper medical and psychiatric care – and there is no accountability.
More than a million Iraqis, mostly civilians, have been killed in this war and countless others wounded – and there is no accountability.
More than four million Iraqis are displaced as internal or external refugees of this war – and there is no accountability.
By using so-called “depleted uranium” weapons, we are poisoning the earth, air and water of Iraq, causing serious health problems to Iraqis and coalition soldiers – and there is no accountability.
America has become a nation that tortures – and there is no accountability.
America has become a nation that spies on its citizens – and there is no accountability.
America has become a nation that hides the body bags of its soldiers killed in action – and there is no accountability.
We are spending $12 billion a month on this war – and there is no accountability.
Reputable economists calculate that this war will cost American citizens more than $3 trillion – and there is no accountability.
This war is burdening unborn generations of Americans and Iraqis – and there is no accountability.
This war has brought respect for America to its lowest ebb throughout the world – and there is no accountability.
The war in Iraq has stretched our military forces to the breaking point, making us far less able to cope with real threats to our security – and there is no accountability.
The war in Iraq has been a training ground for terrorists, making us far less safe – and there is no accountability.
Accountability means holding to account those who are responsible for a war that is illegal under international law – in this case, it means holding to account those who have been irresponsible and criminal in their behavior. It means holding to account George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell and others. It means not just their disgrace, but trials to bring them to justice.
This is not a partisan issue – it is an issue of responsibility and accountability and, at a deeper level, an issue of restoring our decency, our dignity and our democracy.
Americans must hold those responsible for this war to account.
David Krieger is president of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.
Tibet protest crackdown claims up to 100 lives
March 16, 2008Telegraph, UK, March 16, 2008
By David Eimer in Beijing
Burnt-out overturned cars were scattered along the streets of central Lhasa on Saturday morning.
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| Telegraph TV: Tibet riots |
Along with still smouldering shops they had been set alight by protestors on Friday night – a clear sign of the scale of the violence of the demonstrations, as well as the anger of Tibetans who are demanding an end to Chinese rule.
The normally picture-postcard setting of the Tibetan capital had been transformed into something akin to a war zone. And like all war zones, there were reports that some, perhaps many, were dead. Two separate witnesses said more than 100 Tibetans had been killed.
Plumes of smoke rose above Lhasa’s buildings yesterday, as eyewitnesses reported that soldiers from the Chinese army, the PLA, had replaced police on the streets. The troops had formed a cordon around the Barkhor neighbourhood, the historic old quarter of Lhasa and the site of the protests, to prevent people from entering or leaving the area. Tanks and armoured vehicles, sporadically firing tear gas, rumbled down streets normally packed with visiting Tibet pilgrims.
Reviving Vietnam War Tactics
March 15, 2008Tom Hayden | The Nation, March 13, 2008
The top counterinsurgency adviser to Gen. David Petraeus in Iraq advocates practicing a “global Phoenix Program,” alluding to the notorious Vietnam-era CIA operation that provoked a worldwide uproar because of the detention, torture and execution of thousands of Vietnamese.
The mainstream media has never reported on the use of the “global Phoenix program” in Iraq, perhaps because the explosive terminology has largely disappeared from the writings and résumé of Lt. Col. David Kilcullen after he first being referred to it in a forty-eight-page strategy paper, “Countering Global Insurgency” published in the obscure Small Wars Journal in September-November 2004.
Kilcullen, an Australian PhD who served for twenty-one years in the Australian army, was the “chief adviser on counterinsurgency operations” to Petraeus in planning the 2007 US troop surge. He also served as chief strategist in the State Department’s counterterrorism office in 2005 and 2006, and has been employed in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa and Southeast Asia.
US Military committed War Crimes in Fallujah
March 15, 2008
Open Letter to the International Criminal Court of Justice
Spencer Spratley | Uruknet, March 14, 2008
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Global Research, March 14, 2008 Prosecutor To the Most Honourable Judge Luis Moreno-Ocampo, I am writing your honour to ask that the International Criminal Court of Justice investigate allegations that American military forces committed war crimes in Fallujah, Iraq in the year 2004. The crimes which allegedly occured there are numerous and disturbing to any sane, decent, and moral human being. There have been numerous reports that American military forces used chemical weapons during the assault on Fallujah (namely, white phospherous). It also appears that the American military killed large numbers of unarmed civilians (including many infants and young children). There have also been allegations that American miliatry forces denied or delayed medical care to the residents of the town of Fallujah. In addition, you may be aware that video footage exists of an American soldier shooting a wounded, unarmed Iraqi man in the town of Fallujah. There is also video and audio of an Apache helicopter pilot being given the order to “take out” a large number of unarmed people running down a road in Fallujah. And, surely, the destruction of so many homes, businesses, and mosques was unwarranted, a complete “overkill”, and constitutes a war crime. It left very large numbers of civilians homeless, without a livelihood and forced to face the painful reality that their places of worship lie in ruins. The links which follow are but a few of the sources and foundations for these allegations. I implore your honour, in the name of decency and justice, to open an investigation into this matter and bring to justice any, and all, individuals who are found responsible for commiting war crimes and crimes against humanity. 1) In Dahr Jamail’s website, ” MidEast Dispatches” http://dahrjamailiraq.com/, he provides a gallery of 72 photographs that he himself took in Fallujah. The gallery can be found here: http://dahrjamailiraq.com/gallery/album28?page=1 2) The Centre for Research on Globalisation website http://www.globalresearch.ca contains video of an Apache helicopter killing unarmed people who were running down a road. The video can be found here: http://globalresearch.ca/articles/FAL409A.html 3) There are two documentary videos which document what happened in Falujah in 2004. One is called “Fallujah: the Hidden Massacre”. In this video, a member of the Americna military recounts how the order to use white phospherous was broadcast over radios. The video also offers evidence of other crimes. Here is a link to the video: The Seond video is entitled, “Fallujah, Operation Phantom Fury” and can be found here: 4) The following article from the Guardian newspaper also presents a compelling account of what happened in Fallujah in 2004: 5) The following is a link to the Democarcy Now website which contains video evidence of the execution of a wounded Iraqi. The linked page also contains a discussion between Amy Goodwin (the host) and attorney Jules Lobel of the Center for Constitutional Rights about potential crimes committed in Fallujah. Here is the link: 6) This is another video which documents the execution of a wounded person in Fallujah: 7) The following is a video in which Dahr Jamil explains what happened in Fallujah: 8) And yet another video which documents the crimes committed in Fallujah: 9) This news article contains eyewitness accounts of what happened in Fallujah, including reports of American soldiers shooting at ambulances. The article appeared in the NewsWales website: 10) The following website also contains information about a variety of crimes committed in Iraq since the beginning of the invasion: I believe that there is sufficient evidence to launch an investigation into what happpened in Fallujah, Iraq in 2004. I pray that you will agree and take all necessary steps to ensure that justice is served. Thank you for your time and consideration. I have sent copies of this email to four individuals at media outlets and research centres as well as three private citizens due to a fear of retaliation by the United States governemnt. Sincerely, Spencer Spratley |
Vichy Democrats: Pelosi and the Politics of Collaboration
March 15, 2008Counterpunch, March 14, 2008
By DON SANTINA
As the Bush Administration’s economic stimulus plan sailed through Congress last month, a few Democratic senators timidly raised objections to the legislation that Nancy Pelosi’s House had approved, particularly in relation to certain provisions deleted by the House. These provisions, which would have provided critical assistance to people most hard hit by the continuing recession included an extension of unemployment insurance, expansion of food stamps, and rebates to the working poor whose incomes fall below the radar of income tax requirements.
They lost.
“There’s no reason for any more delay on this,” House Speaker Pelosi said as the Senate approved the plan.
In a not-surprising move earlier in the legislative process, Pelosi had surrendered those provisions during a joint session with president’s budget crew. It was not surprising because in her fourteen month reign as Speaker of the House, Pelosi has collaborated incisively and repeatedly with the policies of the Bush Administration.
The term “collaboration” is popularly considered to be a construct of WWII, but the phenomenon is certainly older than Judas and threads through recorded history to its penultimate high point in Vichy France after the German conquest in 1940. In Vichy France, the collaborators appeared in basically two forms: active and passive collaboration with the German masters. Simply stated, the active collaborators identified Jews and resisters for the Nazis to take to the concentration camps, and the passive collaborators watched it happen and made excuses about why they could do nothing about it.
State Dept: Criticism of Israel = Anti-Semitism?
March 15, 2008In the most recent edition of its annual “Contemporary Global Anti-Semitism” released Thursday, the State Department — and hence the U.S. government — moves ever more closely to a long-standing neo-conservative tenet: that criticism of Israel or Israeli policies often, if not always, equals anti-Semitism. The report also suggests that comparing Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories to South African apartheid — as former President Jimmy Carter did in his 2006 book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid — also amounts to anti-Semitism. And it focuses on the United Nations as a breeding ground for anti-Semitism as expressed through criticism of Israel, another major neo-conservative theme that has intensified sharply over the past five years, notably through the efforts of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, the National Review Online and the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page.
Breakthrough in Canadian Indigenous rights flashpoint
March 14, 2008Amnesty International | 14 March 2008
An Indigenous Canadian community’s longstanding campaign to stop clear-cut logging on its land has prompted a multinational paper company to stop buying wood fibre from the area.
On 27 February, Boise Inc announced that it would “stand in support of Amnesty International’s recommendation” and not buy any wood fibre from the traditional territory of Grassy Narrows First Nation in northwest Ontario until the community has given its consent to logging.
“Boise has done the right thing,” says Craig Benjamin, campaigner for the human rights of Indigenous peoples for Amnesty International’s Canadian section. “The company has set an example that we hope other companies and the Province of Ontario will follow.”
The Anishnaabe people of Grassy Narrows rely on the forest for hunting, trapping, harvesting food and other activities central to their culture and their livelihood. In 1873, they signed Treaty No 3 with the Government of Canada, recognizing that they had the right to pursue those activities throughout their traditional land use area.
