De Oorlogsstaat 69

Jason Miller is a 39 year old sociopolitical essayist with a degree in liberal arts and an extensive self-education (derived from an insatiable appetite for reading). He is a member of Amnesty International and an avid supporter of Oxfam International and Human Rights Watch. He welcomes responses at willpowerful@hotmail.com or comments on his blog, Thomas Paine's Corner, at http://civillibertarian.blogspot.com/.

In Information Clearing House schrijft hij: 'Exceptional Americans Manifest Their Destiny:

And to Hell with the Consequences... Contrary to the “catapulted propaganda”, Enron, Haditha, and Abu Ghraib were not isolated incidents or the work of a “few bad apples”. American savagery and oppressive behavior pervades our society and predates our nation’s birth. Building its patriarchal wealth on the backs of Black slaves and cheap labor while acquiring its territory through Native American genocide, predatory exploitation of non-Anglos, the poor, women, and the working class emerged as a pillar of America’s socioeconomic “success” before we even declared our independence.

With the advent of the Industrial Age, transcontinental railroads, and the rapid proliferation of Capitalism, an increasingly empowered young nation with an insatiable lust for more land, resources, and profits began to seek prey beyond its borders. At the close of the Nineteenth Century, the American Eagle spread its wings as it began mimicking the rapacious behavior of its Western European ancestors.With the sun finally preparing to set on the British Empire, the days of conquest and expansion dawned for the nascent American Empire. Pathologically hubristic notions like Manifest Destiny and American Exceptionalism served to dehumanize indigenous people to justify invasion, theft and murder as acts of necessity to bring civilization to “primitives”.In his latest book, Overthrow , former New York Times Bureau Chief Stephen Kinzer chronicles America’s exploits as an empire and imperialist nation.What is it that they are spreading?The Bush Regime’s launch of the Project for the New American Century with the invasion of Iraq was not really out of character for the United States. While it was certainly executed with more blatant disregard for international law than America’s previous imperial endeavors, it typifies the American sanctimonious belief that it can do no wrong.George Bush was simply reiterating America’s long-standing mendacious rationale for its exploitative behavior when he stated:“What I'm trying to suggest to you that this program is a part of a strategic goal, and that is to protect this country in the short-term and protect it in the long-term by spreading freedom.”Consider some of the freedoms the United States is spreading:1. Freedom to work under miserable conditions for a pittance.2. Freedom to exist in an environment permeated with depleted uranium.3. Freedom to sell precious resources to soulless multinational corporations at garage sale prices.4. Freedom to experience a Kafkaesque nightmare including arrest with no charges, no trial to determine guilt or innocence, the endurance of torture, and indefinite detention.5. Freedom to realize the inherent inferiority of one’s culture, religion, and language, and to cast them aside like sacks of rank-smelling garbage.6. Freedom to be maimed or killed if one dares to reject the “gifts” of these freedoms.America’s corporate media propaganda machine has managed to maintain a fastidiously manicured façade for many years. Despite appearing to exist as a champion of democracy, equality, freedom, and human rights, the reality of the United States was, and is, that its socioeconomic and governmental systems are racist, bigoted, ruthless and plutocratic in nature.' Lees verder: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13655.htm

Nederland en Afghanistan 88

De Washington Post bericht: 'U.S. Airstrikes Rise In Afghanistan as Fighting Intensifies.
In Response to More Aggressive Taliban, Attacks Are Double Those in Iraq War.

As fighting in Afghanistan has intensified over the past three months, the U.S. military has conducted 340 airstrikes there, more than twice the 160 carried out in the much higher-profile war in Iraq, according to data from the Central Command, the U.S. military headquarters for the Middle East.
The airstrikes appear to have increased in recent days as the United States and its allies have launched counteroffensives against the Taliban in the south and southeast, strafing and bombing a stronghold in Uruzgan province and pounding an area near Khost with 500-pound bombs.
U.S. officials say the activity is a response to an increasingly aggressive Taliban, whose leaders realize that long-term trends are against them as the power of the Afghan central government grows.
"I think the Taliban realize they have a window to act," Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin Freakley, commander of the 22,000 U.S. troops in the country, said in a recent interview. "The enemy is working against a window that he knows is closing."
But some experts believe that the Taliban, the fundamentalist Muslim rulers ousted by the U.S. invasion in 2001, have sensed an opening in the south as the central government in Kabul has failed to gain much influence there and as the United States prepares to transfer command to NATO.
"I think it is an attempt by the Taliban to preempt the changeover from coalition to NATO command," said Barnett R. Rubin, a political scientist at New York University. "They are trying to show that there is a war in the south and that the British, Dutch, Canadian or any other forces will have to take casualties and fight, not just patrol and build schools. They hope that this will have an impact on internal politics in these countries."' Lees verder:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/17/AR2006061700784.html?referrer=email&referrer=email

De Oorlogsstaat 68

Alternet bericht: 'A Father Speaks Out Against the Iraq War.

Imagine losing your child in a war based on lies and misinformation. On Father's Day, Fernando Suarez del Solar remembers his son.
His buddies in the Marines called him the "Aztec warrior." Jesus Suarez del Solar was one of the first Americans killed during the invasion of Iraq. On March 27, 2003 Jesus stepped on an undetonated U.S. cluster bomb and bled to death in a remote desert near Diwaniya. Jesus left behind his wife and 1-year-old son, his mother, three sisters, and a father who now speaks out against the occupation of Iraq. As a representative of Military Families Speak Out, a burgeoning organization of 1,500 families who call for an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq, Fernando Suarez tells high school and college students: Stay in school; don't be deceived by false promises from recruiters for Bush.
Fernando Suarez del Solar is a Mexican-born American citizen. With his wife and children, he immigrated from Tijuana, Mexico, to Escondido, California, where he delivered newspapers and worked at a Seven-Eleven store.
Paul Rockwell: How did your son lose his life in Iraq?
Fernando Suarez: On March 26th the army dropped cluster bombs outside a city. The next day my son's unit received orders to advance into the area. That's when he stepped on a cluster bomb.
Rockwell: Cluster bomb are anti-personnel weapons, with a failure rate of 15 to 20 percent. When they lie unexploded on the ground, like mines, they look like beer cans and are easy to step on. Did his commanders inform Jesus about cluster bomb drops in the area?
Suarez: He never received any information about the drop.
Rockwell: Was that a mistake, an exception to overall policy? Does the military put out fliers or warnings about cluster bombs in the area?
Suarez: No. What happened was, after my son was killed, the military in the area began to pay more attention. They publicized the accident.
Rockwell: I guess the Iraqi civilians, like kids playing in the fields, didn't get any warnings about left-over clusters?
Suarez: That's right.' Lees verder:
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/37487/ Of:http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/061806Z.shtml

Irak 93

De onafhankelijke Amerikaanse journaliste Katrina van den Heuvel schrijft: 'The Peace Race - The peace majority is real.

A CBS poll finds that 80 percent of Democrats believe the United States should have stayed out of Iraq, and more than 60 percent want US troops home as soon as possible. A Washington Post/ABC poll finds that 70 percent of Independents feel the war was not worth it, and 33 percent of Republicans agree. Even 72 percent of our troops believe US forces should leave Iraq in the next year. So what are so many Democratic politicians so afraid of? And how do we translate this majority into a politics of change for the 2006 elections and beyond? How do we send a message from the grassroots – the people outside of the beltway – that ending this war matters, and that the time to show moxie and conviction is right now? VotersForPeace has initiated the Peace Voter Pledge along with 18 other antiwar organizations – including United for Peace and Justice, itself a coalition of 1,400 local groups.
The pledge is focused on the Iraq war as well as potential armed conflicts such as that with Iran, and – using language crafted by The Nation in its cover editorial last November – it reads: "I will not vote for or support any candidate for Congress or President who does not make a speedy end to the war in Iraq, and preventing any future war of aggression, a public position in his or her campaign."
Linda Schade, spokesperson for Voters For Peace, points to a nationwide poll indicating that 67 percent of Democratic voters support or strongly support the wording of the pledge; 59 percent of Independents and a stunning 25 percent of Republicans support it as well.
"The Peace Majority is now here. Peace Voters are the new Soccer Moms," Schade said.
Peace Voters see how the war is undermining our security and causing a tragically unnecessary loss of life, while also depleting needed resources for healthcare, education, and the rebuilding of America.
Kevin Martin, Executive Director of Peace Action, expects hundreds of other groups to join in the Peace Voter Pledge effort. The goal is to obtain two million signatures in 2006 and Peace Action is aggressively promoting it online, while chapters and affiliates circulate it at local community events across the nation.
"Support for this war, or unwillingness to speak out against it, are both morally unacceptable," Martin said. "Democrats can't beat Karl Rove by offering no real alternative on this."' Lees verder:
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?bid=7&pid=92399 Of: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13661.htm

De Bush Bende 17

Het onafhankelijke Truthout bericht: 'Documents May Link Cheney to Halliburton No-Bid Iraq Contract.
Newly released documents raise questions regarding involvement of Vice President's office.

Washington, DC - Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that the Department of the Army, per order of U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo M. Urbina, has released to Judicial Watch approximately 100 pages of documents which detail the multi-billion dollar, no-bid contract awarded in 2003 by the Army to Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), a subsidiary of Halliburton Co. One document uncovered by Judicial Watch suggests the United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) may have publicly lied regarding the involvement of the Vice President's office in awarding the contract.
In an email dated April 22, 2003, Carol Sanders of the USACE, writes, "Mr. Robert Andersen, Chief Counsel, USACE, participated in a 60 Minutes interview today in New York regarding the sole source award of the oil response contract to Kellogg, Brown and Root.... Mr. Andersen ... was able to make many of the points we had planned." Sanders subsequently provided sound bites from the interview, including, "There was no contact whatsoever (with the VP office)."
This directly contradicts another email uncovered by Judicial Watch in 2004. The email, dated March 5, 2003, sent by an official of the Army Corps of Engineers whose name was redacted, stated, "We anticipate no issue [with the KBR deal] since the action has been coordinated w VP's office."
The newly released documents also prove the Department of the Army abused the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process by improperly invoking exemptions. One document, for example, includes a frank admission by an Army Corps of Engineer official: "I am copying you on this crap since I honestly believe the competitive procurement will never happen." The Army attempted to withhold this embarrassing document even though no appropriate exemption applied. It took the intervention of a federal district judge to force the Army to release the document.
"These new documents raise questions about the involvement of the Vice President's office in the controversial KBR deal. One has to wonder whether the Army was being forthright about the issue," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
Noting Vice President Cheney's prior relationship to Halliburton, Judicial Watch filed its FOIA request to obtain documents pertaining to the lucrative no-bid contract. The vice president's associations with Halliburton "raise concerns about the appearance of a conflict of interest or favoritism," Judicial Watch argued, "particularly since the contract was awarded to KBR without a bidding process and because the contract was not announced to the public until after it was approved."' Lees verder: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/061606Z.shtml
Zie ook: http://www.judicialwatch.org/5791.shtml

Israelisch Expansionisme 20

Aan de Israelische landroof komt geen eind. Electronic Intifada bericht:

'In 1967, the boundaries of Anata, located in the Jerusalem Governorate, extended over 30,000 dunums (7,500 acres) of land. [1] However, multiple Israeli policies affecting the town since then have led to its progressive loss. According to the Anata Local Council, upon completion of Wall construction, only some 2,300 dunums (575 acres) will remain for the use of Anata residents, the majority of which has already been built-up. Israel has appropriated or isolated the rest through construction and expansion of Israeli settlements, establishment of a major military base, and construction of the Wall and its “buffer zone”.Anata’s natural expansion is now restricted by “facts on the ground” created by Israel. Upon completion of the Wall, Anata and the adjacent Shu’fat Refugee Camp will be enclosed on 3 sides by the Wall. To the east, natural expansion will be prevented by a major road currently under construction, and, to its east, by the Israeli military base of Anatot. Hemmed in by physical structures on all sides, intense overcrowding is likely to occur as the Palestinian civilian population grows over time.The economic future of Anata is equally bleak. Some 45 per cent of Anata’s labourers depend on work in Israel, and a significant proportion of Anata residents rely on commerce that depends, in large part, on traffic in and out of the town. Completion of the Wall and further Israeli restrictions on Palestinian freedom of movement will contribute to a decrease in commercial trade and in overall income levels. The damage caused to Anata’s economy will be felt on a national level. Approximately 35 per cent of the Palestinian economy is dependent on Metropolitan East Jerusalem, which extends from Bethlehem to Ramallah. This metropolitan area is now being broken into semi-enclaves – of which Anata is but one – by the route of the Wall. The disintegration of Metropolitan East Jerusalem destroys the possibility of an integrated national economy and thus the possibility of a viable Palestinian state.While Israel has carried out its policies in the Anata area under a variety of pretexts, including “security”, the facts on the ground clearly indicate that these policies are part of a series of unilateral Israeli actions designed to sever the connection between Occupied East Jerusalem and other parts of the West Bank, to de facto annex Palestinian land and to impose a vision of “final status” that will impede the establishment of a viable, contiguous Palestinian state.' Lees verder: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4815.shtml

De Pro Israel Lobby 11

De Electronic Intifada bericht: 'Congress grossly misled about plight of Palestinian Christians.

In a letter to the American Congress on 13 June, Open Bethlehem’s chief executive Leila Sansour, a Christian from Bethlehem, expressed her community’s shock at the gross misrepresentation of the threat facing the Christians of the Holy Land. She urged Congress to pay heed to the plight of the oldest Christian community in the world. “We are disappointed by the resolution drafted by Congressman McCaul and Congressman Crowley purporting to act on our behalf. The resolution seriously misrepresents the situation facing Christians in the Holy Land”. The ill-conceived resolution accuses the Palestinians of discrimination towards their own Christian community – and does so without consulting any local churches or Christian organizations. The drafters of the resolution ignored the calls from churches in Jerusalem, as well as the overwhelming body of reports from international organizations warning of the devastating effect of the Israel’s system of closures, collective punishment and the construction of the wall. In the Holy city of Bethlehem, the wall forcefully expropriates most of Bethlehem’s valuable land and historic landmarks depriving many Christian families from their homes, links to their community in Jerusalem and their income. The Open Bethlehem campaign was created to address the state of emergency in Bethlehem with full support from the Patriarchs of Jerusalem and all Bethlehem Civil institutions. His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI received the first Open Bethlehem passport, lending his support to the campaign alongside international figures such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and President Jimmy Carter. Open Bethlehem is deeply encouraged by churches and church leaders across the US and by the work of those US politicians who have joined Rep.Henry Hyde in bringing the plight of Christians in Palestine to Congress and the people of the US. In a letter to the White House last Friday, Rep. Hyde stated that the Wall and expanding settlements are, “irreversibly damaging the dwindling Christian community."' Lees verder: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4811.shtml