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Lawyers Slam Trial Plans for 'Terror' Detainees 6/26/03
The Pentagon's plans to try detainees at the Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba and elsewhere for terrorism and war crimes fall far short of minimum international due process standards, according to two major U.S. human rights groups and legal experts.
The invisible from The Independent, 6/26/03
The human cost of the 21st century's first war is already enormous. In addition to those who have died, staggering numbers have been detained around the world in violation of their human rights and international law. Paul Vallely investigates their fate, and asks whether this suspension of due process in the name of defending democracy can ever be justified.
Commentary On An American Gulag: (Jewish World Review) The United States confirmed it is holding children under the age of 16 at Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In keeping with the other shadowy facts about this camp, it is not clear how large the children's wing at Camp Delta has become. Before the Marine guards launch a Toys for Terrorist Tots campaign, it is time to get some answers about our government's plans for the growing number of detainees, including children, held in Cuba. [The following story was written by Jonathan Turley, a conservative Georgetown law school professor with a focus on constitutional rights.]
Stability and Support Operations: The following is a nice document explaining various military terms in relation to military conflicts from globalsecurity.org. I suggest you check it out.
In war's wake, no further combat roles seen for women: (The Washington Times) American military women saw their most extensive combat action ever in a major war in Operation Iraqi Freedom. But their expanded role has not spurred calls in Congress to open up even more combat roles to women, as happened after Desert Storm 12 years ago. Both the Senate and House armed services committees, which write military laws and policies, passed 2004 defense authorization bills this spring without any amendments debated or passed to expand women's war missions. "I think that the stories you've seen and what you hear from commanders is that women did their jobs and did them very well, working side by side with men," said retired Marine Lt. Gen. Carol Mutter, who is chairman of the Pentagon's Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. "And my answer is, what else would you expect? This is what they were trained to do." The Defense Department has yet to collect statistics on pregnancies and injuries in the field to give some indication of whether more women in combat puts stress on unit readiness. Some legislators also want to look at the effects mothers going to war have on children.
Special forces 'prepare for Iran attack' from The London Evening Standard, 6/17/03
British and American intelligence and special forces have been put on alert for a conflict with Iran within the next 12 months, as fears grow that Tehran is building a nuclear weapons programme.
How cotton farmers pay price of cheap US imports: The massive subsidies paid to American cotton farmers are destroying the businesses of producers in west Africa. It costs three times more to produce one pound of cotton in the US than in Mali. But Mali and other countries are being swamped with cheap US imports, and so far their pleas to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have gone unanswered. n 2001, $17m (about £10m) in subsidies was paid to just 10 American farms. Every acre of cotton farmland in the US attracts a subsidy of $230. Last year, cotton subsidies amounted to almost $4bn - three times the sum given by the US to treat HIV and Aids in Africa.
Minnesota Veterans On The War In Iraq Are "Concerned": Now that the invasion of Iraq has begun, all of us have a new cache of emotions to go with our opinions. Since veterans of military service have played such a vocal role in both supporting and--to a surprising degree--opposing this war, it seemed an appropriate time to visit the vfw and American Legion Posts around the Twin Cities and talk to some of the vets there. Many of the people we talked to declined to have their opinions published. Some others preferred to give only their first names. What follows is a sample of what we heard during this thoroughly unscientific survey, conducted from last Wednesday night, an hour after President Bush announced the onset of war, to last Saturday afternoon. For a complete transcript of all the interviews excerpted here, go to citypages.com. Saturday afternoon, VFW Post 295, South St. Paul. Dan Smoot, a 51-year-old Vietnam vet, is wearing a red, white, and blue VFW baseball cap and red, white, and blue jacket. [POSTER'S NOTE: The following was published some time ago but offers some interesting perspective on veterans. Look to future posts for more veteran perspective, pro and con about US foreign policy.]
Bush accused of censorship over global warming risk: The White House has again angered the green lobby by censoring and re-editing a government report to play down the threat of global warming and the contribution made to it by industrial and vehicle emissions. The report was commissioned in 2001 by Christine Todd Whitman, the outgoing head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), whose two years in the job have seen a string of disputes between an increasingly disillusioned agency and the pro-business Bush administration. It is due to appear next week but only after initial drafts were altered heavily by the White House, eliminating suggestions that human activities were at least partly responsible for climate change and warnings of the danger this could pose to health and ecosystems. The final version omits references to a widely accepted 1999 study showing how sharply temperatures had risen over the previous decade, compared with the 1,000-year pattern. It cites a controversial later study, partly financed by the oil industry, which disputes these findings.
US oil giant faces court battle over Burma violations: One of America's most powerful oil conglomerates looks likely to get its comeuppance in court over its overseas business practices after spreading a trail of misery through a small rainforest village in the Tenasserim region of Burma in November 1994. When the Union Oil Company of California, or Unocal, started working on a gas pipeline project there, it con-tracted out security operations to the Burmese military regime; and that was when the horror began.
U.S. Portrayed As Arrogant in Global Poll: LONDON -- A sampling of public opinion in 11 nations finds many see the United States as an arrogant superpower that poses a greater danger to world peace than North Korea. President Bush failed to impress 58 percent of those questioned by pollsters for a British Broadcasting Corp. broadcast Tuesday night. They said they had a fairly unfavorable or very unfavorable view of the American president. If the American respondents were removed from the sample, the number rose to 60 percent.
Heavy hand of America fans the Taliban embers into life from The Guardian, 6/18/03
"The Taliban are getting stronger and stronger. This is because US troops are misbehaving. I want my bodyguard's killer brought to justice. I'd also like my son back."
Pipeline's Profits May Bypass Africans 6/17/03
When construction began three years ago, the participating oil companies, the World Bank and the U.S. government all said the project would set a new standard for Third World energy projects, which historically have enriched corrupt rulers and multinational companies while often deepening poverty.
Afghanistan: U.S. Risks Losing the Peace, Says Key Group from OneWorld.net, 6/19/03
Just as the United States is struggling to deal with major post-war headaches in Iraq, its efforts to pacify Afghanistan, appear to be unravelling, according to a new report by a key group of experts sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and the Asia Society.
Powell Calls for Multilateral Pressure on North Korea
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell told an Asian security forum today that "no issue is of greater urgency" to the United States than North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons. He continued to reject North Korea's call for bilateral talks, saying it must be handled in multilateral negotiations that include North Korea's neighbors.
Nuclear-armed Iran 'intolerable'
US President George W Bush has said that the world will not accept the development of nuclear weapons by Iran.
"The international community must come together to make it very clear to Iran that we will not tolerate the construction of a nuclear weapons. Iran would be dangerous if it had a nuclear weapon," he said.
Two Women Set Selves on Fire at Paris Rally: PARIS (AP) -- Two Iranian women set themselves on fire Wednesday during a protest in Paris against a major raid at the offices of an Iranian opposition group, police said. It was the latest in a series of dramatic protests in Europe against Tuesday's crackdown on the Mujahedeen Khalq, which is accused of terrorism by the United States and the European Union.
U.S. Pushes U.N. to Probe Iran Nukes: VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- The United States pushed members of the U.N. nuclear agency's board Wednesday to take tough measures against Iran for allegedly failing to honor promises to provide more information about its nuclear program. The United States has asked the International Atomic Energy Agency to adopt a resolution declaring Iran in violation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. But it is having trouble rounding up the support it needs, a Western diplomat said on condition of anonymity.
Freed Guantanaom Detainees Recall Despair, Agony: KABUL, Afghanistan, June 18 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Freed after long months of despair and agony, two detainees who were detained by the U.S. at Guantanamo spoke about the unspeakable conditions they suffered along with other prisoners, a leading U.S. newspaper reported.
U.S. seeks Asian aid for ship searches: PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Secretary of State Colin L. Powell sought Asian support yesterday for a new U.S. policy of interdicting suspect North Korean ships on the high seas, and North Korea threatened "immediate physical retaliation" if its vessels are stopped. "As you look at what happens on the high seas with respect to piracy, drug running, shipment of weapons of mass destruction, you can see that there could be a broader agenda for discussing maritime security," Mr. Powell told reporters on his plane during the flight to Phnom Penh, where he is to attend a security meeting sponsored by the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). [POSTER'S NOTE: The US has announced and is pursuing a policy that would violate international conventions regarding the Law of the High Seas, which is respected by practically everyone throughout the world, even many authoritarian regimes.]
"President" Bush Assails Iraq War Skeptics:President Bush expressed escalating impatience yesterday with skeptics of his claims about Saddam Hussein's arsenal of chemical and biological weapons, setting a confrontational tone for an upcoming congressional inquiry.
Missing 727 airplane could lead to terrorist attack, US officials say: The Boeing 727 had not budged from its parking place at the airport in Angola's capital city for 14 months, so when the jetliner started taxiing down the runway, the men in the control tower radioed the pilot for an explanation. There was no reply from the cockpit, even after the plane rumbled to a takeoff into the African skies.
Afghans' uranium levels spark alert from The BBC, 5/22/03
A small sample of Afghan civilians have shown "astonishing" levels of uranium in their urine, an independent scientist says.
America's Shameful Legacy of Radioactive Weaponry from Common Dreams, 6/13/03
Disturbing new evidence puts the US military's use of radioactive weaponry in the spotlight, casting doubt on the Bush administration's upbeat estimates on civilian war casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq. A study by the Washington, D.C. based Uranium Medical Research Center (UMRC) suggests coalition forces used Afghanistan as a testing ground for radioactive weaponry, thereby placing generations of civilians - not to mention US service members - at unspeakable future risk.
Former Aide Takes Aim at War on Terror from The Washington Post, 6/16/03
"The administration wasn't matching its deeds to its words in the war on terrorism. They're making us less secure, not more secure," said Beers, who until now has remained largely silent about leaving his National Security Council job as special assistant to the president for combating terrorism.
UN Security Council Renews US Troop Immunity from War Crimes Court Despite Annan Warning from Agence France Presse (via Common Dreams), 6/12/03
The UN Security Council renewed a one-year exemption for US peacekeeping troops from prosecution by the International Criminal Court, despite the opposition of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Army chief retires with parting shot at Rumsfeld: FORT MYER, Va. (Associated Press)--''And so I say one last time, my name is Shinseki and I am a soldier--proud of it.'' With that trademark expression from an Army chief of staff who defined himself as a simple soldier, Gen. Eric K. Shinseki on Wednesday bade farewell to a career that spanned five decades, from the jungles of Vietnam, where combat cost him part of a foot, to the halls of the Pentagon, where he fought bureaucratic wars until his final hours as chief of staff.
Suicide bomb training in Afghanistan from MSNBC, 6/12/03
Afghani Interior Minister says militant groups targeting foreign troops....
U.S. Rapped for Campaign Against New Global Court by Evelyn Leopold, Thu June 12, 2003 03:55 AM ET
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - On the eve of an expected U.N. vote on the new global criminal court, human rights groups accused the Bush administration of using "unconscionable tactics" to undermine the tribunal rather than prosecute mass murderers in the 21st century.
EU Support for International Court Damaging Trans-Atlantic Relations from Fox News (Fair and Balanced!)
The United States has warned the European Union that its promotion of the International Criminal Court is putting more strains on trans-Atlantic relations.
America's Global Role by George Soros, from The American Prospect, 6/4/03
I was... in favor of the removal from power of Saddam Hussein.... I would like to see regime change in many other places.... Yet I am profoundly opposed to the Bush administration's policies, not only in Iraq but altogether.
U.S. Seeks Exemption from War Crimes Court from Common Dreams, 6/9/03
With U.S. troops deployed in more countries than ever, the Bush administration is pressing the UN Security Council to exempt all U.S. troops and officials from the jurisdiction of the new International Criminal Court (ICC) for a second straight year.
And You Thought the War Was Over from Common Dreams, 6/7/03
Despite Colin Powell saying Saddam Hussein was the biggest user of chemical weapons since the First World War, the greater culprit was in fact the United States. From 1961 to 1974, the United States admits that it dropped 72 million liters of chemicals on Vietnam, most of it Agent Orange with a super-toxic strain of dioxin called TCCD.... A Canadian environmental science company, Hatfield Consultants, has discovered that the dioxin hasn't dispersed.
Bush's Nuclear Hypocrisy Encourages Proliferation from Common Dreams, 6/8/03
Even as Bush joined the G-8 leaders in Switzerland on June 2nd in saying that the spread of nuclear weapons was "the pre-eminent threat to international security," his political operatives and allies were back home ramped-up for a nuke building bender.
The 'Buffy Paradigm' Revisited
A Superhero and the War on Terror
"I tried to convince them that the teen social satire show Buffy the Vampire Slayer was mocking the War on Terror.... Little did I know that in real life anti-terrorism strategists were pointing to Buffy as an example of what not to do. Just three weeks after 9/11, a forty-two-page report by Anthony H. Cordesman on "Biological Warfare and the 'Buffy Paradigm'" was issued by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C."
Does The USA Intend To Dominate The Whole World By Force? Chomsky interviewed on the Amesterdam Forum from ZNet, 6/2/03
[Chomsky] says, following the war in Iraq, the US is seeking to dominate the world by force, a dimension in which it rules supreme. And he warns this policy will lead to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and terror attacks based on a loathing of the US administration.
The Bush Administration's Attacks on the United Nations from The Project Against the Present Danger, 2/14/03
[O]ver the past thirty years, the United States has vetoed over 50 Security Council resolutions, more than all the vetoes by all other members of the Security Council during that same period combined.
The United States and the International Criminal Court from Human Rights Watch
The United States of America was one of only 7 nations (joining China, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Qatar and Israel) to vote against the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in 1998.
Arms Control: Chemical Weapons Convention from Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
In May of 1998, the [US] Senate approved legislation that would restrict international inspections of chemical sites in the United States.... Critics of U.S. policy argue that the Senate's action effectively kills the treaty, opening the door for others, including states that may be actively involved in the production of chemical weapons, to keep their activities in this area secret.
