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.

Pakistan Drone Story Ignored Military Opposition to Strikes by Gareth Porter

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by Gareth Porter
Writer, Dandelion Salad
crossposted at ISP
Washington
October 25, 2013

The Washington Post on Thursday reported what it presented as new evidence of a secret agreement under which Pakistani officials have long been privately supporting the U.S. drone war in the country even as they publicly criticised it.

A New Kind of War Is Being Legalized by David Swanson

by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
warisacrime.org
October 22, 2013

Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr

There’s a dark side to the flurry of reports and testimony on drones, helpful as they are in many ways. When we read that Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch oppose drone strikes that violate international law, some of us may be inclined to interpret that as a declaration that, in fact, drone strikes violate international law. On the contrary, what these human rights groups mean is that some drone strikes violate the law and some do not, and they want to oppose the ones that do.

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.

Jonathan Landay: Insider Threat: Government Employees Urged to Tattle On Coworkers In Effort to Stop Classified Leaks

Dandelion Salad

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democracynow on Jun 25, 2013

www.democracynow.org – As the media focuses almost exclusively on Edward Snowden’s possible whereabouts, more details on the Obama administration’s crackdown on whistleblowers have come to light. A new investigative report has revealed the administration’s crackdown on leaks extends far beyond high-profile cases like Snowden or the Associated Press, to the vast majority of government agencies and departments — even those with no connection to intelligence or national security. For nearly two years, the White House has waged a program called “Insider Threat” that forces government employees to remain on the constant lookout for their colleagues’ behavior and to report their suspicions. It targets government officials who leak any information, not just classified material. All of this leads McClatchy to warn: “The [Insider Threat] program could make it easier for the government to stifle the flow of unclassified and potentially vital information to the public, while creating toxic work environments poisoned by unfounded suspicions and spurious investigations.” We’re joined by the reporter who helped break the story, Jonathan Landay, senior national security and intelligence reporter for McClatchy Newspapers. Landay also discusses his reporting that revealed how drone strikes carried out in Pakistan over a four-year period ran contrary to standards set forth publicly by President Obama.

Jeremy Scahill: Dirty Wars: Terror Begets Terror

Dandelion Salad

breakingtheset on Apr 29, 2013

Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr

On this episode of Breaking the Set, Abby Martin talks to Jeremy Scahill, investigative journalist and author of the new book and upcoming film ‘Dirty Wars’, an exposé on the expansion of American covert wars fought by US intelligence agencies and the Joint Special Operations Command. They talk about covert operations happening in countries like Somalia, Yemen, and Pakistan, where drone strikes and targeted assassinations are creating resentment of the US, and how the decline of journalism has prevented the American public from seeing the full story. Scahill also discusses instances of extra-judicial killings of American citizens, and the importance of understanding the roots of radicalization and the motives behind the concept of blowback against the US’ “Dirty Wars”.

Gareth Porter: Civilian Deaths from US Drone Attacks Much Higher than Reported

Image by Alex Garland, World Can’t Wait via Flickr

with Gareth Porter
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Aug. 22, 2012

Aug 21, 2012 by TheRealNews

Gareth Porter: New investigative work shows that civilian deaths in Pakistan, including from second wave attacks, higher than Pentagon reports

Kucinich Leads Congress in Demanding Accountability and Transparency for Drone Strikes + Obama’s Kill List

Dandelion Salad

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by Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich
Washington
May 31, 2012

Drone Killings a Stain Upon Our Nation

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) has opposed the use of combat drones against suspected terrorists abroad since the first known attack in 2004. In February 2006, he asked the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency to suspend the use of Predator drones citing the “high toll in innocent civilian life.” In the 111^th Congress, he sponsored a bill to prohibit the extrajudicial killing of U.S. citizens abroad in response to revelations that the Administration included U.S. citizens on its targeted killing list.

Rick Rozoff: U.S. Drone Attacks Are Targeted Assassinations + Reality of Obama’s killer drones exposed by Code Pink protest

by Rick Rozoff
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Stop NATO
May 1, 2012

Press TV
May 1, 2012

Rick Rozoff, manager of Stop NATO has criticized the U.S. drone campaign in other countries as “targeted assassinations” that aim “to kill particular individuals.”

Rozoff told Press TV’s U.S. Desk on Tuesday that the deadly airstrikes in Pakistan and Yemen are “a violation of every Geneva Convention.”

Drones: When is a Pullout not a Pullout? by Felicity Arbuthnot + The girl killed by Barack Obama + The Militarization of Boys

by Felicity Arbuthnot
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
London, England
31 January 2012

“ … the enduring power of our moral example, America is back.” (President Obama, State of the Union address, 24th January 2012.)

First the world was sold imaginary weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, General Colin Powell, at the United Nations in February 2003, asserting: “My colleagues, every statement I make today is backed up by sources, solid sources. These are not assertions. What we’re giving you are facts and conclusions based on solid intelligence.”

U.S. Probe of Border Attack Hardened Pakistani Suspicions by Gareth Porter

by Gareth Porter
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
crossposted at IPS
January 25, 2012

WASHINGTON, Jan 25, 2012 (IPS) – The Pakistani military leadership’s response to the U.S. report on its helicopter attack on two Pakistani border posts Nov. 26 assailed the credibility of the investigation by Air Force Brig. Gen. Steven Clark and expressed doubt that the attack could have been “accidental”.

The long-expected rejoinder, made public Monday, charged that 28 of its soldiers at two border bases were killed one by one long after the U.S. military had been told about the attack on a Pakistani base.

Rejecting Apology, U.S. May Hasten End of Pakistan as Client by Gareth Porter

by Gareth Porter
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
crossposted at IPS
Dec. 3, 2011

WASHINGTON, Dec 3, 2011 (IPS) – President Barack Obama has sided with U.S. military and Defence Department officials in rejecting a proposal by the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan for a U.S. apology for last weekend’s attack on two Pakistani border posts, and approving an investigation into the attack that won’t be completed until Dec. 23 at the earliest.

The White House and the military bloc are gambling that the lengthy investigation into the attack that killed 25 Pakistani troops will defuse popular Pakistani anger and that final report will allow the Obama administration to return to a more aggressive policy toward Pakistan in 2012.

Pak Border Post Attack a Big Loss for U.S. War Policy by Gareth Porter

by Gareth Porter
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
crossposted at IPS
Nov. 30, 2011

WASHINGTON, Nov 30, 2011 (IPS) – The U.S. military and the Barack Obama administration have been thrown into confusion by the attack on two Pakistani military posts near the border with Afghanistan Saturday morning, even as the attacks provoked the Pakistani government and military leadership into much stronger opposition to U.S. policy in the region.

Kucinich Calls for Reparations for Families of Pakistani Soldiers Killed by NATO

Dandelion Salad

by Dennis J. Kucinich
Washington D.C.
Nov. 28, 2011

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Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today released the following statement after Pakistani troops were bombed by NATO in the Mohmand district of Pakistan.

“Saturday’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) airstrike that killed 24 innocent Pakistani soldiers and injured many more near the border of Afghanistan has further strained the vital U.S.-Pakistan relationship, increased anti-U.S. sentiment abroad and placed our troops in Afghanistan in even greater danger.

Asia-Pacific: US Ramps Up Global War Agenda by Finian Cunningham

by Finian Cunningham
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
East Africa
17 November 2011

Like a schoolyard bully, President Barack Obama is flexing American military muscle as he currently sweeps through the Asia-Pacific region. The nominal impetus for the tour was the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held in Hawaii last week. But rather than discussing “economics” (the E in APEC), the salient focus for Obama and his entourage appears to be “war” – and in particular laying down battle lines to China.