Empire Under Obama, Part 4: Counterinsurgency, Death Squads, and the Population as the Target by Andrew Gavin Marshall

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by Andrew Gavin Marshall
Writer, Dandelion Salad
andrewgavinmarshall.com
Originally published on The Hampton Institute
October 30, 2013

While the American Empire – and much of the policies being pursued – did not begin under President Obama, the focus of “Empire Under Obama” is to bring awareness about the nature of empire to those who may have – or continue – to support Barack Obama and who may believe in the empty promises of “hope” and “change.” Empire is institutional, not individual. My focus on the imperial structure during the Obama administration is not to suggest that it does not predate Obama, but rather, that Obama represents ‘continuity’ in imperialism, not “change.” This part examines the concept of ‘counterinsurgency’ as a war against the populations of Iraq, Afghanistan and spreading into Pakistan.

Michael Parenti and Philip Giraldi on Capitalism and Empire

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with Michael Parenti
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Michael Parenti Blog
www.michaelparenti.org
October 8, 2013

roseanneworld on Oct 6, 2013

Roseanne Barr and Kathleen Wells KCAA 10 6 13 Michael Parenti Philip Giraldi Part 1

Selling an Invasion? Consult Joseph Goebbels by Felicity Arbuthnot

by Felicity Arbuthnot
Writer, Dandelion Salad
London, England
September 26, 2013

“The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world. Lies will pass into history.” George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair, 1903-1950)

Since the US-UK project on Syria is back, invoking Syria’s President as Hitler – as previously, Slobodan Milosevitch, Saddam Hussein, and Colonel Quaddafi in earlier “Crusades” – it is instructive to note how the ludicrous claims mirror the strategy of Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s  Reich Minister of Propaganda.

Proof of Obama’s Cheap Words: Bahrain by Finian Cunningham

by Finian Cunningham
Writer, Dandelion Salad
East Africa
Crossposted from PressTV
September 25, 2013

Image by Al Jazeera English via Flickr

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week, President Barack Obama delivered his usual barrage of myth and mendacity concerning the role of the US in the world.

Some commentators have since swooned at the possibility of dialogue between Iran and US and a new era of diplomacy – all because of a few positive-sounding words uttered by the American president.

Bloody Weekend Explodes Washington’s Contradictions over Al Qaeda and War on Terror by Finian Cunningham

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by Finian Cunningham
Writer, Dandelion Salad
East Africa
Crossposted from Strategic Culture Foundation
September 23, 2013

It was a busier and bloodier weekend than usual for Islamic extremists linked to the Al Qaeda franchise, with hundreds killed in bomb and gun attacks in Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen and Kenya, as well as the ongoing war in Syria, where the same brand of jihadists form the dominant fighting groups trying to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Revisiting “Red Lines” by Felicity Arbuthnot

by Felicity Arbuthnot
Writer, Dandelion Salad
London, England
September 20, 2013

“Two centuries ago, a former European colony decided to catch up with Europe. It succeeded so well that the United States of America became a monster, in which the taints, the sickness and the inhumanity of Europe have grown to appalling dimensions.” Frantz Fanon, 1961. (1925-1961)

The “Indispensable Nation” Threatens Another War Against Children by Felicity Arbuthnot

by Felicity Arbuthnot
Writer, Dandelion Salad
London, England
September 17, 2013

Image by World Can’t Wait via Flickr

“I wonder now how the foreign policies of the United States would look if we wiped out the national boundaries of the world, at least in our minds, and thought of all children everywhere as our own. Then we could never drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, or napalm on Vietnam, or wage war anywhere, because wars, especially in our time, are always wars against children, indeed our children.” (Howard Zinn, 1922-2010)

Noam Chomsky: Instead of “Illegal” Syria Threat, U.S. Should Back Chemical Weapons Ban Worldwide + Chomsky on 9/11

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Dandelion Salad

with Noam Chomsky

democracynow on Sep 11, 2013

www.democracynow.org – In a national address from the White House Tuesday night, President Obama announced he is delaying a plan to strike Syria while pursuing a diplomatic effort from Russia for international monitors to take over and destroy Syria’s arsenal of chemical weapons. However, Obama still threatened to use force against Syria if the plan fails. We get reaction to Obama’s speech from world-renowned political dissident and linguist, MIT Professor Emeritus Noam Chomsky.

“The Russian plan is a godsend for Obama,” Chomsky says. “It saves him from what would look like a very serious defeat. He has not been able to obtain virtually any international support, and it looked as though Congress wasn’t going to support it either, which would leave him completely out on a limb. This leaves him a way out: he can maintain the threat of force, which incidentally is a crime under international law. We should bear in mind that the core principle of the United Nations charter bars the threat or use of force. So all of this is criminal to begin with, but he’ll continue with that.”

Chris Hedges and Rania Masri on Obama’s Syria Address + Gareth Porter: White House Culled Points in Released Intelligence Report on Syria

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Dandelion Salad

TheRealNews on Sep 11, 2013

Pt 1: Scholar Rania Masri and writer Chris Hedges respond to President Obama’s Major Syria Address

Beyond Fitna (2008)

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Dandelion Salad

Warning

This video may contain images depicting the reality and horror of war/violence and should only be viewed by a mature audience.

Valasr (Moarya / MohammadNHG) on Apr 23, 2011

The film, which was directed by a group of Iranian filmmakers and produced by the Islam and Christianity Nongovernmental Organization, is a response to Dutch politician Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam documentary “Fitna”.

Opposition to Iraq War May Save Syria by David Swanson + Gareth Porter: US intelligence has no hard proof Assad used chemical weapons

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by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
warisacrime.org
August 29, 2013

Evidence of “weapons of mass destruction” is “no slam dunk,” U.S. officials are saying this time around, reversing the claim made about Iraq by then-CIA director George Tenet.

Ralph Nader: It’s Easy To Be Resilient When the Alternative is Surrender

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Dandelion Salad

with Ralph Nader

The Public on Aug 22, 2013

A conversation with Ralph Nader on his beginnings as an activist, the current state of American democracy, and the need to confront the challenges facing our society moving forward.

Recorded for The Public, in Toronto Canada. For more interviews with the likes of Noam Chomsky, David Sedaris, Jean Vanier, Chris Hedges and more visit http://www.thepublicradio.org.

Saudi Arabia Sponsoring Terrorists Who Kill Muslims by Finian Cunningham

by Finian Cunningham
Writer, Dandelion Salad
East Africa
Crossposted from PressTV
August 17, 2013

As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan came to an end this year, Saudi King Abdullah marked the occasion of Eid al-Fitr with a “generous” donation.

The Saudi monarch revealed that the oil-rich kingdom was donating $100 million to the United Nations’ Center for Counter-Terrorism, based in New York.

Two Births: A Gilded Arrival and a Poisoned Legacy by Felicity Arbuthnot

by Felicity Arbuthnot
Writer, Dandelion Salad
London, England
August 13, 2013

Image by Larisa Epatko on PBS NewsHour via Flickr

” … war in our time is always indiscriminate, a war against innocents, a war against children.” (Howard Zinn, 1922-2010)

On 22nd July two babies were born – in different worlds. Prince George Alexander Louis, son of Britain’s Prince William and his wife Catherine, arrived in the £5,000 a night Lindo Wing of London’s St. Mary’s Hospital, weighing a super healthy 8lbs 6 oz.

Vijay Prashad: International Law and “The Responsibility to Protect”

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Dandelion Salad

TheRealNews on Aug 10, 2013

In the final segment of Paul Jay’s interview with Vijay Prashad on Reality Asserts Itself, the subject is the undermining of international law and military interventions in the name of human rights.