Image by Josh Bartok via Flickr
with John Pilger
Frome Stop War on Nov 1, 2017
Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church
235 Shaftesbury Ave, WC2H 8EP London, United Kingdom
John Pilger: Media On Trial
David Petraeus
Robert Gates Conceals Real Story of “Gaming” Obama on Afghan War by Gareth Porter
by Gareth Porter
Writer, Dandelion Salad
crossposted at ISP
Washington
January 10, 2014
Criticism in the memoirs of former secretary of defence Robert M. Gates of President Barack Obama’s lack of commitment to the Afghan War strategy of his administration has generated a Washington debate about whether Obama was sufficiently supportive of the war.
But the Gates account omits two crucial historical facts necessary to understanding the issue. The first is that Obama agreed to the escalation only under strong pressure from his top national security officials and with very explicit reservations. Continue reading
Empire Under Obama, Part 4: Counterinsurgency, Death Squads, and the Population as the Target by Andrew Gavin Marshall
Image by sandy_sanders via Flickr
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.
Documentary Exposes US Role in Iraq Sectarian Conflict + Revealed: Pentagon’s link to Iraqi torture centres
Warning
These videos may contain images depicting the reality and horror of war/violence and should only be viewed by a mature audience.
TheRealNews·Mar 15, 2013
Maggie O’Kane, Executive Producer, tells the story revealed by the Guardian documentary about the role of Col. James Steele in supporting torture, death squads and brutal sectarian conflict during the height of the Iraq war. Steel’s reports went directly to Rumsfeld and Cheney.
Gareth Porter: The Petraeus Myth
Image by Dandelion Salad via Flickr
with Gareth Porter
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Dec. 11, 2012
TheRealNews·Dec 11, 2012
Gareth Porter: America needed a war hero but his “achievements” riddled by half-truths and pure propaganda.
Continue reading
Kucinich: National Security State Spying on Americans + General Petraeus Must Testify Before Congress
Image by Free Press Pics via Flickr
Nov 14, 2012 by DJKucinich
The National Security Agency routinely collects 1.7 BILLION emails, phone calls and communications every single day. Any kind of digital communication can be recorded and stored. Where you were when you wrote an email, where the recipient was when it was read, the text of the message can all be stored in enormous facilities like the $2 billion dollar Utah Data Center which contains four 25,000 foot facilities containing rows of data servers. They have to pump 1.7 million gallons of fluid through the facility every day just to keep it from overheating.
Gareth Porter: UN is not doing a responsible job tracking civilian deaths in night raids by Special Ops + Army Officer’s Leaked Report Rips Afghan War Success Story
with Gareth Porter
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Feb. 10, 2012
Image by Dandelion Salad via Flickr
RussiaToday on Feb 10, 2012
Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai has accused NATO of killing eight children in an air strike on the country’s territory. The incident adds to the already strained relationship between Afghanistan and its Western allies.
Last week the United Nations released a report stating there had been a rise in civilian casualties in Afghanistan from 2,790 in 2010 to 3,021 in 2011. It noted that most deaths were caused by insurgents.
US Afghan Kill/Capture Campaign Targeted Civilians + How McChrystal and Petraeus Built an Indiscriminate “Killing Machine” by Gareth Porter
with Gareth Porter
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Sept. 28, 2011
TheRealNews on Sep 28, 2011
Gareth Porter: US used cell phones to track targets, but knowingly killed and captured civilians
CIA’s Push for Drone War Driven by Internal Needs by Gareth Porter
by Gareth Porter
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
crossposted at IPS
Sept. 5, 2011
WASHINGTON, Sep 5, 2011 (IPS) – When David Petraeus walks into the Central Intelligence Agency Tuesday, he will be taking over an organisation whose mission has changed in recent years from gathering and analysing intelligence to waging military campaigns through drone strikes in Pakistan, as well as in Yemen and Somalia.
But the transformation of the CIA did not simply follow the expansion of the drone war in Pakistan to its present level. CIA Director Michael Hayden lobbied hard for that expansion at a time when drone strikes seemed like a failed experiment.
Ninety Percent of Petraeus’ Captured “Taliban” Were Civilians By Gareth Porter
by Gareth Porter
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
crossposted at IPS
12 June, 2011
Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr
WASHINGTON, Jun 12, 2011 (IPS) – During his intensive initial round of media interviews as commander in Afghanistan in August 2010, Gen. David Petraeus released figures to the news media that claimed spectacular success for raids by Special Operations Forces: in a 90-day period from May through July, SOF units had captured 1,355 rank and file Taliban, killed another 1,031, and killed or captured 365 middle or high-ranking Taliban.
Kucinich Challenges Claims of Progress in Afghanistan
https://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/
by Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich
Washington, Mar 15, 2011
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), author of H. Con. Res. 28, a bipartisan, privileged resolution to direct the President to end the war in Afghanistan by the end of the year, today sent fellow Members of Congress a letter challenging official claims of “progress” in Afghanistan.
See a signed copy here. See Kucinich address the floor here. [see video below] The full text of the letter follows:
Kucinich Continues to Rally Opposition to War
https://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/
by Congressman Dennis Kucinich
Washington, Aug 17, 2010
Challenges Petraeus’ Media Strategy to Delay Troop Withdrawal
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is challenging American and NATO forces commander General David H. Petraeus’ media strategy to shore up support for the war in Afghanistan. General Petraeus appeared on Sunday news shows and gave lengthy interviews to rally support for the war and to maintain troop levels. Kucinich, the leader of the movement in the Democratic Party to end the war in Afghanistan, who recently forced a debate and vote on ending the war, wrote to fellow Members of Congress urging them to consider America’s longest war as they meet with their constituents during the August District Work Period.
Afghan War: Petraeus Expands U.S. Military Presence Throughout Eurasia by Rick Rozoff
[tweetmeme source= “DandelionSalads” only_single=false]
by Rick Rozoff
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Stop NATO
Stop NATO-Opposition to global militarism
July 4, 2010
On July 4 General David Petraeus assumed command of 142,000 U.S. and NATO troops in a ceremony in the Afghan capital of Kabul. He succeeded the disgraced and soon to be retired General Stanley McChrystal as chief of all foreign troops in Afghanistan, those serving under U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A)/Operation Enduring Freedom and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
He now commands military units from 46 official troop contributing nations and others from several additional countries not officially designated as such but with forces in or that will soon be deployed to Afghanistan, such as Egypt, Jordan and Colombia. Neither the Carthaginian commander Hannibal during the Second Punic War nor Napoleon Bonaparte in the wars that bore his name commanded troops speaking as many diverse tongues.
West’s Afghan Debacle: Commander Dismissed As War Deaths Reach Record Level by Rick Rozoff
by Rick Rozoff
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Stop NATO
Stop NATO-Opposition to global militarism
June 24, 2010
On June 23 President Barack Obama announced the dismissal of General Stanley McChrystal, commander of all foreign troops in Afghanistan, and within hours Associated Press reported that the Western military death toll in the country had reached at least 80 so far this month, making June NATO’s deadliest month in a war that will enter its tenth calendar year on October 7.
McChrystal, appointed on June 15 of last year as top commander of all U.S. and all NATO-led International Security Assistance Force troops in the South Asian war zone – currently 142,000 with thousands more on the way – was to have led the largest assault of the war this month in the province and capital city of Kandahar.
Dennis Kucinich on Afghan Strategy: Bring our troops home
https://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/
by Congressman Dennis Kucinich
Washington, Jun 23
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today released the following statement after President Obama replaced NATO and U.S. Commander in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal with General David Petraeus:
“The counterinsurgency strategy is falling apart. The doctrine of counterinsurgency has broken down just as the chain of command has broken down. The Karzai Administration is broken by corruption. Our budget is broken. General Petraeus has served his country honorably, but we can’t expect a different outcome from a new general with the same old strategy. The only way to repair this mess is to get out of Afghanistan.
Dandelion Salad 