''kill the Boer'' (4)-FARMERS MURDERS-CRIME IN S.A.

Date Posted: Sunday 04-Apr-2010
In the light of the deliberate murder of Eugene Terblanche, let me point you to some very important links on this site. Here is our farm murders page: [Pics] Gore: Very gruesome: Farm Murders in South Africa (from 1994-2007)

NB: A Transvaal Agricultural Union official was interviewed today. He said that in recent months (no doubt since Julius Malema, the Head of the ANC Youth League has been busy in public with his race hate mongering), that farm murders have increased from one every 25 days to one every 18 days. So the campaign of attacks on whites has most definitely been increasing for months now. President Jacob Zuma has defended Julius Malema's hate speech and the ANC is going to court to fight a court ruling which bans Malema from singing "Kill the Boer" in public. The ANC wants him to be allowed to sing this. On this very weekend that Eugene Terblanche was murdered, Malema is in Zimbabwe on official ANC business meeting with Robert Mugabe and apparently, the Zimbabweans are now also singing "Kill the Boer". There are definite moves towards racial confrontation going on here.

I put up this challenge directly to President Jacob Zuma. If he is intent on murdering us whites and engaging in a race war, then stop skulking around. Be a man, for once, come out and say so, and we'll meet you without any preparation with whatever weapons we have at hand. See: S.Africa: 2010: Attention: President Jacob Zuma - Do you want a Race War with the Afrikaners IMMEDIATELY?

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BRUTAL MURDERS ON FARMS: THE TOTAL PICTURE 1991-2001

Year	Attacks	Murders
1991	327	66
1992	365	63
1993	442	84
1994	442	92
1995	551	121
1996	468	109
1997	434	84
1998	827	145
1999	834	136
2000	902	142
Jan-Oct 2001	809	106
TOTAL	6401	1148

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[9 Graphs] How Nelson Mandela brought Crime & Murder to South Africa

(LAST PART ONLY)

Now murder is an interesting crime. It is also the most sensitive crime and the one the Government is most likely to cover up. Murder can also be a way of assassinating one's opponents. There is a proven link in revolutions between murder and assassination. Terrorists and Liberation Movements in many countries around the world have used murder and crime as a way of hiding their revolutionary activities. They not only use crime to obtain funds, but also to despatch troublesome people. Note how murder climbed quietly and constantly and exploded upwards even until and shortly after 1994. Then it settles down a bit. Or does it? Or have some of the figures been fiddled? We'll discuss that later.



Now we see in the combined graph below, all the crimes. I even inserted the release of Nelson Mandela in 1990 - and tried to position the column exactly there along with the elections in April 1994. So looking back over the trends we can see:-

1982 - The borders are open, ANC infiltration begins in a big way...

1987 - Violence and terror hits its peak...

1990 - Nelson Mandela is released...

1994 - Nelson Mandela and the ANC come to power.

All these points in time, showing the rise in power of the ANC (even when the White Govt was talking peace and handing over power)... coincide with ever more violence. In short... as the ANC's power grows... so do almost all forms of crime.



Jim Peron's statistics only go up to 1997. Even under Mandela, crime was stressing people out and most people who have left this country and emigrated elsewhere have cited crime as the reason. Now you can see why 1 million out of the 5 million whites who left... had good reason to. Even non-whites have left South Africa since 1994!

But as crime was getting worse under Mandela's rule, and then Jim Peron's book came out (which the Govt quietly removed from bookstores) ... the Government became rather concerned about their "image". They weren't so much concerned about actually combatting crime - but about everyone's "perceptions" about crime. So in 2000, they did a strange thing - they put a moratorium on the release of crime statistics. From 2000, until the present time (March 2007), the Govt has never again released crime statistics like they did in the past. They simply keep all crime under wraps for a year and then they release it. From 2000 onwards they also started counting it differently and they changed all sorts of categories. The fudging of crime statistics probably started on a smaller scale prior to 2000 but in 2000 they had to control it very firmly. From then onwards (it should come as no surprise to us), crime has officially been "going down". Pretty much everybody in this country believes the Govt is lying about crime. That's no secret. Everyone can see it. But I wish to make two points:-

1) What might the real crime levels actually be like now?

2) And how does crime compare, even with these fudged statistics, with what it was in the 1970's and 1980's?

I searched the Internet a bit and found two well acknowledged sources of crime statistics.

The one is the Institute for Strategic Studies.

Click here for ISS Crime Statistics.

The other is the South African Government itself.

Click here for the South African Govt Crime Statistics page.

I took the statistics - the fudged ones from Govt, and modified 3 of the crime categories (going back to 1995). And this is the result.

Here is burglary. I have an arrow at 2000, when the Govt officially and openly started suppressing, editing and changing the crime statistics. It should be no surprise that "crime went down". Firstly notice the general upward trend of burglary in S.Africa. If one were to extrapolate it, one could guess that by now, 2007, we should be having about 500,000 burglaries annually as opposed to the 300,000 maximum recorded in those statistics. (Note: Many people in S.Africa do not report all crimes except in order to get a case number for insurance purposes). Secondly, even the fudged crime statistics are extremely high - in fact - higher than at any time during Apartheid including "the struggle/war/revolution".



Look at car theft statistics when modified by the official, fudged, Government statistics - taken in a historical context. The blue arrow is when the moratorium on crime statistics was implemented by the ANC in 2000. Not surprisingly, thereafter things "improved". But look at a clear trend in car theft which goes as far back, in a flat straight line as 1984 - even back to 1982. Extrapolate that... and the figure is shocking. Compare it to the fudged figure. We can: (a) Say that the fudged figure is a LOT lower than what the real figure probably is. (b) Even the fudged figure is still higher than before the ANC came to power.



Murder statistics are the most sensitive statistics of all. They are the crime figure that worry people the most. So they show a consistent downward trend since 1997 - but people will question that. You will notice that even according to official statistics, murder increased well after the ANC came to power and officially it peaked in 1996/7. It went down a little and then started going UP again... and then, in kicks the moratorium on crime statistics... The blue arrow is when the moratorium kicked in and the fudging began. I did a bit of a thumbsuck and guess and my arrow points to 30,000+ murders a year. International studies have shown that S.Africa is 8 times more violent than the average country on planet earth. The USA with 300 million people worries about 16,000 murders. S.Africa with an official population of 45 million has an official murder rate of over 18,000 (fudged). The reality is probably 30,000 or even higher. Dan Roodt was using the figure of 30,000 back in 2003. I'm not sure the source he obtained it from, nevertheless, I think many would say that it is a pretty reasonable assumption.

I recently contacted the regional manager of a very big nationwide security company asking if he could give me an indication of crime in my suburb. He said, according to their records "crime doubled in the period 2005-2006". When I asked him to elaborate more, he did not respond further when he realised I had a website. So although my extrapolations on these graphs may seem scary... it is possible... that the reality is even more frightening!



These days, people are turning out in huge numbers to protest against crime. People have been begging for a return of the death penalty for years. The Government ignores them. One group of people sent 30,000 petitions directly to President Mbeki. (He says out of control crime "is just a perception"). More recently I heard of 80,000 people signing a petition, and one organisation promising to collect 1 million signatures to give to government. Crime is a huge issue in S.Africa and yet, NOBODY has dared to take numbers, such as I have here, and put them into graphs and studied them - because perhaps - that is the most shocking exercise of all!!

By the way, Nelson Mandela loved releasing criminals as does the current Government. One year, Nelson Mandela said he would "give the country a present" and the present was the release of 9,000 criminals. In recent years enormous numbers were released. In one series of releases they were talking of letting 63,000 criminals go. I posted that story on my website quite a long time ago, along with TvNews photos. Here is the link to the story:- Click here for the story of the release of 63,000 criminals.

I would like to co-operate with anyone who can source better and more accurate data. I have wondered if anyone in one of the larger security or insurance companies would be prepared to anonymously release some of their data. I would like to see statistics for the last 10 years because it is these years which are the most worrisome.

But when crime in S.Africa is looked at in a historical context, it brings home a completely different picture showing what this country was like and how things have changed in a way which I think few expected - most definitely not anyone outside this country.

Finally, if anyone wants to take some of these pages with statistics and wishes to expand/grow the spreadsheet with additional data and then send it to me - feel free to do so. Just drop a line on the "Contact us" page of my website.

I hope this spurs people on and helps them to see and understand the state of this country. Jan.

''kill the Boer'' (3)

S.Africa: EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: The Murder of Eugene Terreblanche was DEFINITELY a Planned Assassination....

Date Posted: Sunday 04-Apr-2010

A friend of mine phoned me up with a most stunning fact he has spotted in the newspapers. He used to be in Military Intelligence decades ago, and scanning newspapers was his daily job.
He told me this. He said, that according to the newspaper reports the 21 year old and the 15 year old who murdered Eugene Terreblanche, killed him AND THEN PHONED THE POLICE TO SAY THEY'VE KILLED HIM "IN SELF DEFENCE".
My friend said: Where on earth do you hear of instances, especially in South Africa, on a farm, where the murderers phone the police to say "come and get us". They have every opportunity on earth to escape and they didn't. They're young, they are in a remote area, they could very easily have melted into the townships and never been found (we have so many unsolved murders).
And, when the Police arrive they already have their story ready and the story is they killed him because he did not pay their wages.
My friend, who is no conspiracy theorist said to me: Jan, you've been saying this for YEARS... and here it is.
He was also talking that these 2 guys will get big pay-offs for the murder of Eugene. That's why they will go to jail, because they know they'll be looked after, they'll get a nice soft landing. The monies and favours have probably been agreed on for them and their families out of some secret black budget, etc. Rest assured, these guys went in there, did the job, murdered him and this was just the next step in the procedure.
Now ask yourself WHY they would want to be caught? Here's the reason: It is utterly crucial that they carry out the next step in the plan which is: ANC RACE HATE PROPAGANDA AGAINST AFRIKANERS AND WHITES BY WAY OF USING EUGENE TERREBLANCHE AS THE EXAMPLE.
So now the newspapers and court rooms will be filled with the following line, which goes: "We poor blacks are constantly being abused by these racist, white Afrikaner trash, and (sob) poor us, we were so poor and this horrible man refused to pay us... and in desperation we killed him because we have had enough of this endless abuse by these racist white scum. (more sobs)" Then everyone goes: "Tut, tut..." shame poor black guys... that piece of white racist sh*t DESERVED TO DIE... he got what he rightfully DESERVED.
But this is propaganda, and here's where it gets even more insidious. I wrote about this stuff in my book, Government by Deception (2001). I wrote about "Semantic Warfare" and I wrote deeply about propaganda. In there I mentioned that you also smear people by association. So, killing ET has interesting consequences. Because ET has been demonised over the years and has a high profile as a "white Neo-NAZI racist", he fits a nice "profile" that is quite well established in the minds of foreigners, Liberals, etc. He is seen as the "typical Afrikaner" - which he is not. But he has become the IMAGE of how others perceive the Afrikaner to be.
So now when he is killed like this, with this excuse, the next step, is a generalised SMEAR CAMPAIGN against ALL AFRIKANERS and then to a lesser extent, all whites. That's the next step for these 2 young blacks. (Heck, at this rate, maybe the ANC would like them to appear on Oprah where, like that Bobbit woman, they can explain how this white racist maltreated them and why they were JUSTIFIED in the "RIGHTEOUS KILLING" of ET).
This is a campaign, and I have warned before, when the ANC wants to come after us, they will smear us. They need to tell everyone how evil we are BEFORE THEY KILL US, so that when they do kill us, then everyone quietly goes along and says: The white trash of South Africa DESERVED TO DIE. THIS WAS GOOD.
The ANC will be using all their organs to spread this racist propaganda about ET across the world. It is crucial that they smear us. The ANC is planning other things for us.
Incidentally, Julius Malema, Racist, communist attack dog, and personal mouthpiece of Jacob Zuma and the ANC, happens to be outside the country at this time. Malema claims whites want to kill him. Isn't it interesting that he is outside the country as we speak? I mentioned before what a crybaby coward he is, and I suspect that the crybaby coward Malema was spirited out of this country (on tax payer money to Robert Mugabe!!!! Yes!)... just in case some whites decided to pop him. I'll bet that as part of their plan they needed to ensure Julius's safety and so they sent him out of the country on an appropriate mission - which itself will be in the next article I am about to post.
It all smells to me like a plan that came together.
I would like to know more about the 2 blacks who murdered ET. How long did they work for him? Is there any evidence he did not pay them in the past, etc? What can we find out about the black people who worked personally for ET.
Posted By: Jan
AfricanCrisis Webmaster
Author of: Government by Deception

http://www.africancrisis.co.za/Article.php?ID=73544&

''Kill the Boer'' (2)

S.Africa: 2010: EXCELLENT: Thanks for your support in my challenge to President Zuma on a RACE WAR - NOW!!!

Date Posted: Sunday 04-Apr-2010

Well folks, you have certainly stunned me. I did not expect it. I thought a lot of you would regard me as a kook for doing it. However that article I did where I stated the case about having a racial war RIGHT NOW if President Jacob Zuma wants it... WOW... you folks voted in support of me in a way I never expected.

I am absolutely stunned and delighted that so many of you just gave me the thumbs up on that one. I had wondered how others would feel.

To sum up: If President Jacob Zuma is planning a clandestine race war and genocide on us, then he must say so like a man (if he is a man), and we'll fight him with no preparation whatsoever, and with whatever we have at hand RIGHT NOW. We must not give in to their garbage terrorism. The murder of Eugene Terreblanche was terrorism and assassination. He was probably assassinated as a message to us in the hope that we'd all cower if one of our most prominent and staunchest leaders dies.

But folks, we must never give in to that sort of trash. Let Jacob Zuma and Julius Malema all know that for every one of us that falls, ten will be ready to take his place. I hope that a 100 "Eugene Terreblanches" now stand up to be counted.

If President Jacob Zuma wants a black on white race war, he must just say the word.

I hear that Julius Malema has been in Zimbabwe and the ZIMBABWEANS HAVE BEEN SINGING: KILL THE BOER!!! Yeah... right now... this weekend.

Another friend of mine said to me also: This is Easter Weekend, a most important holiday for Christians, and a most appropriate time to strike the Afrikaners who are largely Christian.

This was terrorism or provocation... whichever.

The ANC can jump around as much as they please and say its an accident but its NOT.

I hear that a representative of the Transvaal Agricultural Union was interviewed and he said that in recent months (since Julius Malema started his race baiting), farm murders have increased from 1 every 25 days to 1 every 18 days.

So there you have it... they have been stepping up their attacks against us for months now.

Folks, if you want to do something positive, get on websites, blogs, forums or your cell phone... and spread the word of the ANC's racial moves against us.

Julius Malema is no goon - he is the FACE of race war. He is leading the charge because if President Jacob Zuma leads the charge the whole world won't believe it and even they will be utterly disgusted. However, if Julius Malema leads the charge it won't make the ANC look that bad. However, Malema was laughed at by Liberals who thought he was a clown, and then the ANC structures and Jacob Zuma had to come in to give his image a boost, to send the clandestine message to the blacks that: THIS GUY IS WORKING WITH OUR OFFICIAL BLESSING.

To hell with this. If they want war, then they must just say so. I think if they want war to start, we must rise to the occasion and fight back with whatever we have and not flinch.

Get involved, get active...

We will discuss the ANC's long range plan for genocide and Mugabe-style moves on us on tuesday.

Anyway, thanks again for those of you who supported me and for your spirit. That's the way it should be. We must not sit here and let them think we will cower in fear at their every utterance. They have been provoking us unceasingly for months now, and I think we must make it clear to people in the outside world who has been provoking us for no reason at all.
Posted By: Jan
AfricanCrisis Webmaster
Author of: Government by Deception

My all time favourite movie quote is from the Dwarf in Lord of the Rings:
"Certainty of death, small chance of success... what are we waiting for?"

http://www.africancrisis.co.za/Article.php?ID=73556&

''Kill the Boer''

IMPORTANT: S.Africa: 2010: Afrikaner Leader: Eugene Terreblanche Murdered

Date Posted: Saturday 03-Apr-2010

Eugene Terreblanche, leader of the South African far-right group AWB (Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging) was found murdered on his Ventersdorp in the North West on Saturday evening. He was 69.
AWB spokesman André Visagie reports Terreblanche was found in his bed, beaten with pipes and other blunt objects while he slept at approximately 18:00 South African time.
He was still alive at the time but died an hour later.
Police arrested two Black farm workers, a 16-year-old and 21-year-old, who apparently had gotten into an argument with Terreblanche earlier in the day.
He was also alone on his farm named Villana, or "the home of Anna". Visagie said that Terre'blanche's only security were his dogs which were "neutralized".
Visagie said Terre'blanche was beaten so badly "he didn't look like Eugene anymore".
For many, Eugene Terreblanche defined what it is to be a "Boer". It was his life's goal to reclaim the Boer Republics, the Transvaal and Orange Free State.
Terreblanche's murder comes at a time when a South African high court has banned public singing of the ANC battle song, "Kill the Boer," for its incitement of violence against a specific ethnic group. ANCYL leader Julius Malema may still face hate speech charges for his recent leading of a group of students in singing the song.
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COMMENT: Kafrids came in  South Africa AFTER the boers, expanding from  Senegal and killing all the other African people (as Bushmen). So  ''South Africa belongs to its indigenous people'' means the Boers. But ''kill the Boer'' is not the song  of Kafrids but that of the West Powers that struggled with all of their strength to kill the rich and  orderly state of South Africa.

Asassinations in the occupied West Bank-Israeli journalist to go on trial

1. Israeli journalist to go on trial for treason over leaked papers

Mya Guarnieri

April 3, 2010 TEL AVIV // Anat Kam, 23, an Israeli journalist, goes on trial this month on charges of treason and espionage for leaking classified military documents to another Israeli journalist, who is now reportedly staying in London to avoid prosecution. Ms Kam was detained in December and is under house arrest, but a gag order imposed by the military has meant there has been little news of her detention, at least not in Israel. Prosecutors are allegedly seeking a 14-year sentence for Ms Kam, although because of the media blackout, there has been no comment from the government or the military on the case. The gag is unusual in that it not only bans the Israeli media from reporting the details of Ms Kam’s arrest, but it also imposes a complete blackout on the fact that she has been detained. Her arrest came to light early last month. It quickly spread through blogs and social media sites. But out of concern that the publicity might harm her case, and for their own personal freedom, most authors took their posts down. Many have speculated that Ms Kam’s arrest is linked to a 2008 story in Haaretz that cited classified military documents ordering the targeted assassination of Palestinian militants – in direct violation of a 2006 Supreme Court order. Ms Kam is alleged to have photo-copied the documents while working in a top general’s office during her mandatory national service a few years earlier, and supposedly passed those documents to the journalist, Uri Blau, who wrote the Haaretz story. Mr Blau left Israel in December, around the same time that Ms Kam, then a reporter at the news website Walla, was arrested. Mr Blau initially went to China, but is now reportedly in London. Some have said he is the one Israeli authorities want and that Ms Kam is the scapegoat. Dov Alfon, the editor-in-chief of Haaretz, has said the suspected connection between Mr Blau and Ms Kam is "absurd". Haaretz and several other media outlets have challenged the media blackout and their appeal will be heard in a Tel Aviv court on April 12, two days before Ms Kam is to go on trial. "Haaretz asked the court to lift the gag order, not just in the public interest but also to allow us to defend ourselves from this absurd allegation," Mr Alfon told the Jewish Telegraph Agency, a US-based news agency. "More than a year passed between the publication and her arrest, a year in which Uri Blau published several other front-page articles criticising the army’s conduct." A source with intimate knowledge of Ms Kam’s case confirmed that the state’s charges involved Mr Blau’s article. The source added that Ms Kam had been arrested because of activities that allegedly occurred during her army service, not during her work as a journalist. Eytan Lehman, one of Ms Kam’s lawyers, said he could not confirm or deny any details. The gag order, he added, was imposed at the request of the prosecution and has been respected by his client and him. "All of the leaks did not come from our side," Mr Lehman said. "We can only suspect that they came from the other side." "While the gag is valid, I cannot speak about the case," he said. "But I can say that it brings up very important issues of free speech and freedom of the press." These values, Mr Lehman said, are cornerstones a democratic state. "This case has a lot of importance in that aspect." The wall of silence surrounding Ms Kam’s detention has drawn sharp criticism from some journalists and free press advocates. Lucie Morillon of Reporters without Borders, the Paris-based press freedom group, said: "We are worried by this gag order, we are calling for it to be lifted." Ms Morillon said it was "ridiculous" that while the rest of the world is talking about the issue, the Israeli media must remain silent. "It’s a violation of free speech to prevent the Israeli media from discussing this issue," she said. Orly Halpern, a freelance journalist and Middle East analyst based in Jerusalem, agreed. "I am very worried that Israel would arrest a journalist – or anyone for that matter – and prevent people from knowing about it. These are the actions of an oppressive regime, not a democracy," Ms Halpern said. "Israel should have some kind of a protection for whistle-blowers," another Israeli journalist said. "Even if they go against the state or the system, what [Ms Kam allegedly exposed] was the army breaking the law." The journalist, who asked to remain anonymous, said the blackout was one of the most worrisome aspects of the case. He said there had been an increase in such orders recently.

2. The So Called 'Only Democracy in the Middle East’

by Gilad Atzmon

April 3, 2010 In Israel, the so called 'only democracy in the Middle East’, a journalist has been held under house arrest since December for leaking a story of Israeli barbarism. In the Jewish Democracy another prominent Journalist had to run for his life for telling the truth about Israel’s murderous policies and its chief war criminals. The Guardian reported today that Anat Kam, 23, an Israeli journalist "has been under secret house arrest since December on charges that she leaked highly sensitive classified military documents that suggest the Israeli military breached a court order on assassinations in the occupied West Bank." Seemingly, in the 'Jews only democracy’, people are put under house arrest even when they are trying to suggest a breach of the state’s High Court’s orders. (Even kosher citizens) Anat Kam, 23, goes on trial in two weeks on treason and espionage charges and could face up to 14 years in jail. In the 'democratic’ Jewish state, a court-imposed gagging order is preventing media coverage of the arrest and charges in Israel. I am left puzzled here as it seems Israelis can be prosecuted for reporting illegal activities. A Haaretz leading journalist, Uri Blau, who has also been linked to the case, has had to escape Israel. He is now in London, apparently for fear he will be targeted for his reporting. In November 2008, Blau reported in Haaretz that the IDF had been carrying out assassinations of Palestinian militants in the West Bank in contravention of an Israeli high court ruling, which said efforts should be made first to arrest suspected militants rather than assassinating them. According to Blau the IDF chief General Gabi Ashkenazi allegedly approved the assassination operations. The Haaretz piece was accompanied by copies of military documents but it was approved by the military censor before publication. I am here to suggest that if America still insists to 'democratize the world’, it may have to start with its 'best ally’. Time may also be ripe for Neocon British Foreign Secretary David Miliband who advocates 'liberal interventionalism’, to face the fact that the Jewish state, the state that lists him as one of its Propaganda (Hasbara) authours, is no less than a Tyranny inspired by a deep Talmudic intolerance. 3. Israel Gags News on Extra-Judicial Killings By Mel Frykberg RAMALLAH, Apr 2, 2010 (IPS) - An Israeli journalist remains under house arrest and another lives abroad, after they broke news on Israeli undercover units carrying out assassinations or "targeted killings" of non-combatant Palestinian political opponents. Anat Kam, 23, who used to work for the Israeli news site 'Walla’, was arrested last December for allegedly copying secret Israeli Defence Force (IDF) documents during her compulsory military service. These documents outlined how Israeli assassination squads would plan the killing of Palestinian political leaders and fighters months beforehand and then pass their deaths off as "mishaps" during "failed" attempts to arrest them. Uri Blau, a reporter from the daily 'Haaretz’, then wrote a piece on the copied documents and is refusing to return to Israel from Britain fearing that Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, the Shin Bet, will arrest him if he does. Due to a military gag order the news has remained suppressed even as Israeli journalists fight the suppression order in court. The news was broken several days ago by Donald McIntyre from Britain’s 'Independent’. The controversy has highlighted Israel’s extra-judicial killings which violate international law and have caused death and injury to thousands of Palestinian civilian bystanders despite the country having no death penalty. Israel’s judiciary has approved "targeted killings" but only of militants who were allegedly involved in carrying out or planning armed attacks against Israeli soldiers or civilians both within the Palestinian occupied territories and in Israel proper. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) in Gaza says that during the period September 2000 to March 2008, 500 Palestinians suspected of being involved in military resistance to the Israeli occupation were executed. However, the "collateral damage" during the assassinations included another 228 civilian bystanders - 77 of them children. Eleven Palestinians have been assassinated in the last two years. "Israel is using disproportionate force. Civilians are paying the price. In the overwhelming majority of cases the targeted individuals could have been arrested and brought to trial without being killed. Many of them have been killed in cold blood," Jaber Wishah from PCHR told IPS. "International law’s right to life says that state authorities are obliged to follow due process when they are in a position to arrest individuals," says Michael Kerney from the Ramallah-based rights organisation Al Haq which researched and documented many of the killings. "Everybody is entitled to a fair trial and no state can dismiss this," Kerney told IPS. Some of those targeted have included individuals who were "pardoned" by the Israelis after having agreed to give up armed resistance to the occupation. Last December three pardoned members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a military offshoot of the Palestinian Authority (PA)-affiliated Fatah movement, were shot dead in Nablus in the northern West Bank following the death of an Israeli settler. According to their families and the subsequent investigations of human rights organisations they had already surrendered and were unarmed despite Israeli claims that they had refused to surrender. "By failing to produce any evidence linking the targeted individuals to attacks allegedly committed by members of the Palestinian resistance, as well as failing to utilise peaceful means in order to arrest and detain suspects, the soldiers assumed the role of both judge and executioner," reported Al Haq. Furthermore, unarmed Palestinians, who have not been involved either politically or militarily in resisting the occupation, also continue to die in what some have called deliberate premeditated murder. Several weeks ago four Palestinian teenagers were shot dead amidst dubious circumstances in two separate incidents in the villages of Awarta and Iraq Burin near Nablus. According to medical reports they were shot at close range with live ammunition after clashes between Palestinian youngsters and Israeli soldiers had broken out. However, the individuals concerned had not been involved in the clashes according to several investigations carried out by Al Haq, PCHR and Israeli rights group B’tselem. One was shot in the back and another had a bullet lodged in the back of his skull despite Israeli soldiers saying they had only used non-lethal ammunition. The Israeli military police declared they would investigate the incidents following contradictory testimony given by the soldiers involved. However, when IPS visited one of the sites a week later with family members, approximately 20 spent cartridge cases, bloodied gloves, a saline solution kit and other bits of evidence lay on the ground undisturbed. None of this is new. Israel has a history of assassinating political opponents predating its official establishment. ---In 1944, the Israeli terrorist group, the Stern gang, assassinated Britain’s Lord Moyne, the military governor of Egypt, accusing him of interfering with Jewish migration to Palestine. ---In 1948, Count Folke Bernadotte - a Swedish diplomat who had secured the release of 15,000 inmates from Nazi concentration camps while he was vice-president of the Swedish Red Cross – was also murdered by the Stern gang. Stern gang members believed Bernadotte, as the U.N.’s Palestine mediator, to be too sympathetic to the Arabs. Yitzhak Shamir, later to become an Israeli prime minister, was one of the Stern gang’s leaders. "Since the outbreak of the second Intifada, Israel has increasingly avoided accountability for the serious violations of the human rights of residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip for which it is responsible," says B’tselem. "This avoidance is seen, in part, in its policy not to open criminal investigations in cases of killing or wounding of Palestinians who were not taking part in the hostilities, except in exceptional cases, and in its enactment of legislation denying, almost completely, the right of Palestinians who were harmed as a result of illegal acts by Israeli security forces to sue for compensation for the damages they suffered."

Baghdad suicide blasts target embassies; 35 dead

Baghdad suicide blasts target embassies; 35 dead

By ADAM SCHRECK and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press

April 4, 2010 BAGHDAD — Suicide attackers detonated three car bombs near embassies in Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 35 people and wounding more than 200 in back-to-back attacks, authorities said. The bombings came two days after a chilling execution-style attack by gunmen who raided homes south of Baghdad, killing 24 people, many of them believed to be anti-al-Qaida fighters. The rise in bloodshed after a relative lull deepened fears that insurgents will seize on the political turmoil after last month's indecisive parliamentary elections to sow further instability. Sunday's blasts went off within minutes of each other — one near the Iranian Embassy and two others in an area that houses several embassies, including the Egyptian Consulate and German Embassy, said Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, a spokesman for the city's operations command center. Security forces shot and killed a man wearing a suicide belt before he could detonate a fourth bomb-rigged car near the former Germany Embassy, which is now a bank, al-Moussawi said. It was not immediately clear how many people from the embassies were among the victims. Several Iraqi guards at the Egyptian Consulate and one Iraqi guard at the German Embassy were killed, authorities said. Guards at the Egyptian Consulate opened fire on one of the attackers as he drove toward them, but were unable to stop him before the blast hit concrete barriers, al-Moussawi said. Four Egyptians working at the consulate were wounded by shrapnel, according to Egypt's Foreign Ministry. "These explosions targeted diplomatic missions," al-Moussawi told The Associated Press, saying the death toll was likely to rise. "It's a terrorist act." Multiple, coordinated bombings in the capital have become a hallmark of al-Qaida in Iraq. The force of the blasts shook buildings and rattled windows in the center of the capital. AP Television News footage showed civilians outside the Iranian Embassy loading casualties into police vehicles and ambulances. Stunned victims in bloody clothes fled the scene as smoke rose. One man was cradling a small girl wearing a white dress in his arms. Hassan Karim, 32, who owns a clothing shop in Baghdad, said the first blast shattered windows and knocked all the shelves off the walls. He ran outside after the second explosion just minutes later. "I saw children screaming while their mothers held their hands or clutched them to their chest," he told the AP. "Cars were crashing into each other in streets, trying to find a way to flee." U.S. military spokesman Capt. Jay Ostrich said American forces, including explosives disposal teams, were assisting Iraqi troops at the government's request. He said the U.S. military is "ready to support any further requests for assistance" from Iraqi authorities. Police officials said at least 19 people were killed outside the Iranian Embassy and at least 16 were killed in the other explosions. Some 215 people were reported wounded. One of the police officials said many of the victims were employees at a state-run bank near the Iranian Embassy. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. "The explosion happened at the embassy gate, targeting visitors and Iraqi police," said Iran's ambassador, Hasan Kazemi Qomi. "There was some damage to the embassy building but no employees were harmed inside." Calls to the other embassies rang unanswered. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said one of the German Embassy's guards was among the dead. There have been increasing concerns that insurgents will take advantage of the postelection period to further destabilize the country. The March 7 parliamentary elections failed to give any candidate a decisive win, and many fear a drawn-out political debate could spill over into violence and complicate American efforts to speed up troop withdrawals in the coming months. Sunday's explosions occurred shortly before 11:30 a.m. after a number of far smaller blasts overnight and early Sunday. One of those earlier blasts, believed to be caused by a bomb underneath a parked car killed one civilian and injured nine others, according to police.

Iraq snapshot - March 16, 2010

Iraq snapshot - March 16, 2010

The Common Ills

Tuesday, March 16, 2010.  Chaos and violence continue, the counting of ballots continues, the US military announces another death, Gen David Petraeus is not in favor of repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell (despite what some outlets are 'reporting'), he did offer curious remarks re: the draw-down, in DC peace activists are gathering, and more. Today the US military announced: "CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq -- A United States Division - North Soldier died of injuries sustained in a vehicle roll-over while conducting a patrol in northern Iraq, March 15. Three other Soldiers were injured and evacuated to a military medical facility where they are currently being treated. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense. The names of service members are announced through the U.S. Department of Defense official website athttp://www.defenselink.mil/releases/, The announcements are made on the Web site no earlier than 24 hours after notification of the service member's primary next of kin. The incident is under investigation."  Two service members were announced dead over the weekend (see yesterday's snapshot) and with today's announcement, the number of US service members killed in the Iraq War should be at 4385.  ICCC has only 'discovered' one of the weekend deaths and not yet discovered today's so their count is currently4383. Should this continue for long, we may switch to either AP or DoD's count.  Staying with today's violence . . . Bombings? Jim Loney and Robin Pomeroy (Reuters) report that twin Mussayab bombings have resulted in at least 8 deaths.  BBC News adds, "Police told the BBC the devices - a type known as "sticky bombs" - had been magnetically attached to the underside of two minibuses carrying passengers." Reuters notes a Baghdad sticky bombing left three people injured and 2 Baghdad roadside bombings left five people wounded. Lin Zhi (Xinhua) notes that the death toll for yesterday's Falluja bombing increased by 1 (to eight, twenty-five is the number wounded). Alsumaria TV also notes the death toll is eight from the Falluja bombing. Shootings? Reuters notes 1 Iraqi soldier shot dead in Mosul and, dropping back to Monday, 1 Mosul store owner shot dead in his store. Iraq wrapped up Parliamentary elections Sunday March 7th.  The counting of ballots continues. Alsumaria TV reports, "Iraqi Parliament constitutional term ends today."   At Inside Iraq, an Iraqi correspondent for McClatchy observes, "It looks that our politicians want to design a kind of democracy that fits their demands and wishes regardless the wish of millions of people who voted only to have a real national government that can provides their basic needs which they have been waiting to gain for decades."  On today's Morning Edition (NPR), Quil Lawrence spoke to a dairy farmer in Falluja, Suhaib Munaim, who "believes that the Americans are trying to impose sitting Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and the votes won't make any difference." Quil notes that belief. With no sense of irony and with no sense of responsibility. Quil has repeatedly hailed Nouri as the winner for over eight days. If people in Iraq see Nouri as the US choice, maybe US reporters in Iraq need to take some accountability?  Monday March eighth -- the day after voting concluded -- Quil Lawrence took to Morning Edition. Steve Inskeep: Well let's remember here, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's party was trying to maintain control of the government. That was one key question here. Do you have a sense about whether he succeeded? Quil Lawrence: He seems to have done very well. I'm talking to people all over Baghdad as well as hearing reports from friends in the south -- but it's probably not possible for him to form a government without a couple of allies. [. . .] The elections were for the Parliament. That's what the people voted for.  The Parliament then decides who is Prime Minister.  The votes had not been counted -- not even a partial return from even one province but there Quil and Steve were gas bagging on how Nouri would maintain control.  Golly, Quil, why might Iraqis think the US wanted Nouri?  Thursday on All Things Considered (NPR) -- or maybe All Things Except The Facts Considered -- Michele Norris and Quil spoke. Michele Norris: Fivce days after the polls closed in Iraq's general elections, the first preliminary results were released today and they confirmed what many had predicted. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appears to have done well, but not well enough to form a government without convincing a few of his opponents to join with him.  And, as NPR's Baghdad correspondent Quil Lawrence reports, that won't be easy. Maliki's closest opponents from the secular bloc of former Prime Minister Ayad Alawi have already started claiming fraud. Quil Lawrence: About 12 million ballots are being counted and then entered into two separate computer systems in a building deep inside Baghdad's Green Zone. Almost two days later than expected, Iraq's electoral commission announced results in only five of the eighteen provinces based on less than 30 percent of the votes from those provinces. Grasp that. With less than 30% of the vote in 5 provinces -- not even half the vote in half the provinces -- it was time for more gas baggery about how Nouri was a winner!  It never ended.  It never stopped. Live by the gas baggery and you can die by the gas baggery.  We didn't engage in it, we're not going to now.  The ballot counting at present -- about 80% of the votes counted according to Reuters and McClatchy's Hannah Allam and Laith Hammoudi via Christian Science Monitor note that the votes counted make up 79% -- has the race much tighter than anything NPR informed of you.  Gas bagging served no one.  It was a waste of time.  It will be a waste of time regardless of the outcome of the vote. Reporting isn't let's all make like we're on MSNBC talking to/shouting at Chris Matthews.  In engaging in the gas baggery -- NPR was only one outlet to do so -- many messages were sent to Iraqis.  The first was that the US wanted Nouri as prime minister.   On this week's Listening Post (Al Jazeera), Richard Gizbert observed, "As they scan their new media landscape, Iraqis are under no illusions about what they see. They know the channels covering the elections had their favorite candidates as did the newspapers."  He was speaking of Iraqi media.  But Iraqis have every reason to think what they see in their media is similar to what goes on elsewhere.  Please note, now forgotten, the HUGE number of young, first-time voters in this election.  This was their moment and the Western press failed them.  If the US press wanted to set an example of how to report on an election -- which includes facts and objectivity and distance -- they failed.  Iraqis paying attention to the Western coverage learned that you don't need results before calling an election and that you could run with anything -- facts be damned. I have no personal preference on who is prime minister.  I'm not Iraqi.  But I know it does matter to them -- as it should -- and I know they got cheated by the Western press.   Vote counting continues, that is known. Also know is that Iraq's minority populations are targeted non-stop.  This includes Iraq's LGBT community.  At the end of last month, David Taffet (Dallas Voice) reported on Iraqi refugees Yousif Ali and Nawfal Muhamed who were in Dallas speaking about what they'd experienced in Iraq ("being kidnapped, raped, robbed and stabbed in Baghdad") for the 'crime' of being gay. After being designated refugees  by the United Nations, the US granted asylum to the two men.  Last Thursday, the US State Dept issued "2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" which noted the persecution of the LGBT community in Iraq: During the year there were reports of discrimination and violence against gay men and lesbians, mostly by nongovernmental actors. Press reports in April indicated that approximately 60 gay men had been murdered during the first four months of the year, most of them in Baghdad. According to UNHCR, during the year approximately 30 boys and men from Baghdad were murdered because they were gay or perceived to be gay. On April 4, local and international media reported the discovery of the bodies of nine gay men in Sadr City. Three other men were found tortured but alive. Numerous press reports indicate that some victims were assaulted and murdered by having their anuses glued shut or their genitals cut off and stuffed down their throats until they suffocated. The government did not endorse or condone these extra-judicial killings, and the MOI publicly stated that killing men or lesbians was murder.  On May 29, Muqtader al-Sadr, leader of the JAM militia, ordered that the "depravity" of homosexuality be eradicated. Although he publicly rejected outright violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) individuals, reports attributed the killings of gay men to radical Shia militias, as well as to tribal and family members shamed by the actions of their LGBT relatives. Authorities had not announced any arrests or prosecutions of any persons for killing, torturing, or detaining any LGBT individuals by year's end. Last May, Paul Canning explained , "The campaign started in 2004, following the religious decree of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani that said gay mena nd lesbians should be 'punished, in fact, killed . . . The people should be killed in the worst, most severe way of killing'. Since then Iraqi LGBT has received reports and information of over 600 LGBT people killed.  But Iraqi gays and media reports say that the killings have massively escalated since the end of 2008." We'll stay with LGBT issues but move over to the US for a moment.  Gen David Petreaus appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee (as did Adm Eric T. Olson).  The general was asked about Don't Ask, Don't Tell -- the current policy in the military which is supposed to translate as 'If you are gay, you can serve but you cannot discuss your sexuality or personal life or loved one or much of anything.  If you do, you're kicked out of the miltiary. Oh, but your surperiors can't ask  you if you're gay.'  Allegedly, President Barack Obama is going to keep a campaign promise and end Don't Ask, Don't Tell.  Not anytime soon.  Maybe at the end of the year Ranking Member John McCain: Finally General Petraeus and Adm Olson do you believe that Don't Ask, Don't Tell needs a thorough review before action is taken? Gen David Petraeus: Uh, Senator, my position is . . .  Can I -- can I give my statement on that? Ranking Member John McCain: Yeah. We're short of time. But please go ahead. Chair Carl Levin: Well how long is this statement? Gen David Petraeus: About eight minutes sir. Ranking Member John McCain: No. No. Gen David Petraeus: Well look sir  this is not -- this is not a soundbyte issue. Chair Carl Levin: I understand. Ranking Member John McCain: It's a pretty straight forward question, though. Chair Carl Levin: We respect -- we respect -- believe me the thoughtfulness that you are applying to it, we've read your public statement but an eight minute answer unless someone else wants to use all their time for it, I'm afraid would violate the spirit of our rules. I would suggest however that if nobody asks you that question and their time is used for that purpose that you make that part of the record. But someone may well ask you. I just don't -- because of our time limit -- to take  eight minutes. With that settled -- or seemingly settled -- Adm Olson was asked (by McCain) and he spoke a few words (but didn't press the button on his microphone) while nodding his head indicating "yes."  Which, based on McCain's question, means he does believe a review is needed.  After that, Petraeus jumped in. Gen David Petraeus: I believe the time has come to consider a change to Don't Ask, Don't Tell but I think it should be done in a thoughtful and deliberative manner -- that should include the conduct of the review that Secretary [of Defense Robert] Gates has directed that would consider the views in the force on a change in the policy and it would include an assessment on the likely effects on recruiting retention morale and cohesion and would include an identification of what policies might be needed in the place of a change and recommend those policies as well. Chair Carl Levin: And as I believe you said in my office the likely effects could go in either direction.  The likely effects could go in either direction, I believe you told me, either negative or positive Gen David Petraeus: It could. It could. That is what was said.  Some outlets are declaring Petraeus supports the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. That is not what he stated.  He stated he supports a thorough review before anything is done.  And Levin's remarks at the end really nail that down -- which may be why they're not reported.  Petraeus has only endorsed the study.   We'll return to the hearing later in the snapshot.  Yesterday Marcia wrote about Jene Newsome who was dischared from the Air Force for the 'crime' of being in a loving relationship with another woman.  Robert Doody (ACLU's Blog Of Rights) provides background on how the police, while in Jene and Cheryl's home, saw their marriage certificate and dropped a dime on them with the Air Force. As Marcia rightly points out, this is NOT the compromise that was agree to in the early nineties.  Don't Ask, Don't Tell needs to be tossed out (and all who want to serve should be able to). But it is the law now and it's not Don't Ask, Don't Tell, But Snitch.  Jene's rights were violated under the policy.  She did not go public with those she served with.  She followed the policy and she's been punished for following the policy.  Marcia notes this: Congress.org has a page where you can contact your members of Congress to let them know where you stand on Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Congress.org's Ryan Teague Beckwith provides an update, "After a week, more than 2,500 letters were sent, with 64 percent opposed to changing the policy and 36 percent in favor of ending it." Between those numbers and the obvious reluctance on the part of many (put Petraeus on that list), the repeal is not a "done deal."  And while it's in effect, it's not fair to expect Jene or anyone else to follow it but not demand that the superiors follow it.  A snitch calls?  So what.  It's really not your business and, in order for you to make it your business, you have to be in violation of the policy because a 'tip' that leads to questioning means you violated the Don't Ask aspect of the policy. Meanwhile 2011 looms around the corner. The Iraqi air force is not ready (as has been noted since 2007). The Congress continues to complain about the administration not sharing a withdrawal plan with them. (Michele Flournoy always offers such lovely excuses.) And people are beginning to grasp that if the US government wanted troops out of Iraq, they'd be out by now. Just last week, the Afghanistan War was debated on the House floor and the bill being voted on would have pulled all US troops out of Afghanistan by . . . the end of this year. And yet our 'antiwar' (or at least 'antidumbwar') Barry O's done damn little. Well that's not fair. He's done an amazing job of embracing and continuing the policies of George W. Bush. Michael Schwartz asks "Will the U.S. Military Leave Iraq in 2011?" (Huffington Post): Like so many others who have been following the recent developments in Iraq, I do not have a settled opinion on what will happen to the US military presence there between now and the end of 2011, when the Status of Forces Agreement calls for the withdrawal of all troops (not just "combat" troops). For me, the (so far) definitive statement on this question by Obama was his 2006 election campaign statement at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, where he firmly asserted the need to maintain a (approximately 50,000 strong) US "strike force" in or near Iraq to guarantee US interests in the Middle East, to allow Washington to move quickly against jihadists in the region, and to make clear to "our enemies" that the US will not be "driven from the region." (I am attaching that document, which I still think is the most explicit expression of his thinking on this issue.) In that statement he said that this force could be stationed in Iraq, perhaps in Kurdistan, or in a nearby country (despite the absence of nearby candidates).   Since taking office he has neither reiterated nor repudiated this policy, but his actions have made it very clear that he is unwilling to sacrifice the 50k strike force, even while he has also said he would abide by the SOFA and remove all troops from Iraq by the end of 2011. In the meantime, Gates and various generals have released hedging statements or trial balloons (see the recent Tom Dispatch article by Engelhardt) saying that the 2011 deadline might be impractical and that various types of forces might stay longer, either to provide air power, to continue training the Iraq military, or to protect Iraq from invasion. Any or all of these could translate into the maintenance of the 50k strike force as well as the five (previously labeled as) "enduring bases." Back to Congress on Iraq. The 'deadlines' for draw-downs and withdrawals were addressed in the Senate Armed Services Committee this morning in testimony from Gen David Petraeus.  Also offering testimony was Adm Eric T. Olson.  "By September 1st the US combat mission will end" in Iraq declared Committee Chair Carl Levin speaking of the planned draw-down.  That something more might be coming was probably most noticeable with Petraeus' prepared remarks which, typed, ran 56 pages. Wait, he didn't read the whole thing outloud, did he?  Olson noted that he'd submit his prepared remarks for the record and just make a few brief statements to which the Chair replied, "That'll be fine."  Did Petraeus read his entire prepared remarks?  No.  He declared, "I too have submitted a written statement for the record and will summarize it here."  He declared that.  As opposed to everything else which he read word-for-word from a prepared statement.  That is correct.  Petraeus showed up with a 56 page statement and also with a written statement that was supposed to be more 'off the cuff' and 'brief.'  Brief?  Eighteen minutes and thirty-four seconds after he began his opening remarks he used the phrase "In conclusion."  A minute and sixteen seconds later, after referring to "our troopers" when he meant "troops" and "unvavering" when he meant "unwavering," he was finally done.  Finally.  Nearly 20 minutes for an opening statement? In his written remarks and read-aloud-but-written (opening statement) remarks, he gave what he always gives.  For example, does he ever speak of Iraq without offering "but the gains there remain fragile and reversible"? Senator Joe Lieberman noted that phrase as well. And during his exchange with Lieberman the issue of the draw-down was raised.     "[. . .]" indicates I'm not interested in Joe Lieberman's Happy Talk of the illegal war and have edited him out. Senator Joe Lieberman: [. . .] whether it is still going to be possible or we should desire to draw down to 50,000 American troops in Iraq by September 1st of this year?  It's obviously not a goal, a draw down required by the Status Of Forces Agreement with Iraq. It's a good goal but I'm sure -- you'd say -- you'd be the first to say, we don't want to arbitrarily go to it if we think there's risk of a reversal as a result. So give me your sense at this moment of whether we'll be able to get down to the 50,000 by September 1st?   Gen David Petraeus: I think we will be able to do that, Senator. I think that in fact we may reconfigure the force a bit over what we were originally were thinking it would look like say four months or so ago. We're constantly tinkering with it There's a possibility we may want to keep an additional brigade headquarters, as an example, but then slim out some of its organic forces and some of the other organic forces elsewhere. Headquarters really matter in these kinds because they're the the element of engagement. And if indeed we think there's a particularly fragile situation say in a certain area in the north, we might do that. And that's something we are looking at. But we still believe we will be able to stay on track to get down to that 50,000 figure. Lieberman stated that would mean there would be a 7th Brigade headquarters and Petraeus agreed and that it would be somewhere around Kirkuk. Kat 's going to cover some of the hearing at her site and  Wally will cover another exchange on the numbers in Iraq at Rebecca's site tonight.    Switching to Suzy Sority, the New York Times' Matthew Longo.  A pampered child who, like all the brown nosers who came before him, goes for the easy applause from the adults by attacking other students.  (Let's hope those undergraduates caught what the prissy grad student had to say about them.)  Apathy, Matthew Longo has discovered it and it's here, in River City, right here in River City, with the young!  They're apathetic and so disconnected from the war, unlike him, Longo wants you to know.  It's the apathy of the young, he insists.  So much easier to blame the people than to offer a media critique, right?  Iraq disappeared from the media radar some time ago and only resurfaced in the last two weeks as a means for gas bagging over the (unknown) election outcome.  But blame the people and not the media.  What the brown noser can't find, Cindy Sheehan (Cindy's Soapbox) sees in DC: Well, I have good news for all these people who have been lamenting over the lack of young people in our Peace Movement: they are out here at Camp OUT NOW on the lawn of the Washington Monument.     We set up our Peace Camp today (Obama flew over us in his helicopter twice) with very little glitches, except a few involving our permit and the Park Police. For the very first, very cold day, we had a solid 50 people, and the best news is, 25 of them are college students, and one of my organizers is a senior at Catholic University.   Today as I observed the young people interacting with each other and the other activists, I felt such energy and a renewed sense of real hope. For some people, the struggle for peace has lasted decades, even for me. I have been working so hard for almost six years now. Students for a Democratic Society aren't apathetic. They released the following last week: Funk the War 9: Bad Romance         Student power against Obama's recession empire           Funk the War, light the bed on fire, and break free from this bad romance!     Washington, DC. March 19, the 7th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq.   Student mutiny against the War on Terror: Fund Education, Not War & Occupation. Obama's got us singing like Lady Gaga, "I want your love and all your lover's revenge." Thousands of anti-war youth fell in love with Obama and dropped everything to build his campaign. He seduced us with promises of hope and change from Bush's abuses, all the while refusing to give up his lust for the War on Terror.               We've been together a while now and Obama keeps expanding the War on Terror in the Middle East and Central Asia. He's taking advantage of record youth unemployment and skyrocketing college costs to drag young people into a war we've got nothing to gain from. More soldiers trapped in the War on Terror are committing suicide than ever before. Obama, "Baby, you're sick."                        March 19th is the 7th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq and the occupation's going strong. It's time to Funk the War, light the bed on fire, and break free from this bad romance.                        "Walk, walk, fashion baby, work it!" DC SDS is calling for a massive student power dance party against empire to disrupt the corporate-political war machine in streets of the capital city. We refuse to let another year of war in Iraq and war on our youth pass by without resistance. Join us in the streets and help build an unstoppable student & youth anti-war movement in 2010.                      Assemble your crew, practice your moves, and throw on them dancing shoes. We'll be hosting anti-imperialist education events, direct action trainings, dance floor mayhem, and smaller actions in the lead up to March 19th. Get in touch if you'd like to attend or host an event or if we can help support your resistance efforts: strategic planning, action trainings, logistical support, we'd love to help. We'll see you in the streets.            Upcoming events in Washington, DC: [. . .] * March 19: Funk the War: Bad Romance     * March 20: Mass march against the war; Funk the War post-action meet-up       More information:     visit us on the interwebs at dc-sds.org     email: funkthewar9@gmail.com phone: Sam 202-436-2075; Rachel 609-529-6415      Most likely, the problem isn't the students Matthew Longo encounters; the problem's Longo himself. March 20th, in DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles, marches against Obama's continued wars will take place.  The wars continue. In an essay entitled "Changing the Dynamic" (World Can't Wait), Debra Sweet nails it. By refusing to force Bush out of office in disgrace -- he didn't even have the threat of impeachment hanging over his head (thanks, Nancy Pelosi) -- we're now stuck with this cloud of 'normalcy' lingering over his policies which Barack Obama has embraced and continued. Read the essay. We'll note this from it on what you can do: You can join in and support this resistance now.   Sustain World Can't Wait's work! Help spread this national movement.    Join in protest Saturday March 20, marking the 7th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. Washington DC, noon, The White House, or other cities nationwide.   Become a War Crimes Watcher; help bring the Bush era war criminals to justice by protesting wherever they appear publicly.   Get involved with the We Are Not Your Soldiers Tour, bringing Iraq & Afghanistan war veterans into high schools to help students resist recruiters.   Finally, TV note.  NOW on PBS begins airing Friday on most PBS stations (check local listings):    There are places in the world where the success of a soap opera is measured not just in TV ratings, but in human lives. On March 19 at 8:30 pm (check local listings), NOW travels to Kenya, where ambitious producers and actors hope one such TV show, "The Team", can help foster peace amongst the country's 42 official tribes. During presidential elections two years ago, tribalism-influenced protests in Kenya left almost 1,500 dead and nearly 300,000 displaced. Tensions continue today over issues including extreme poverty and widespread corruption. In "The Team", soccer players from different tribes work together to overcome historic rivalries and form a common bond. The hope is that commonalities portrayed in fiction can inspire harmony in the real world. Early reaction to the show's inaugural season is promising. "I was very surprised to see how Kenyans want change, how they want to live in peace and the way the responded to us," Milly Mugadi, one of the show's stars, noted during a local screening. "There were people from different tribes talking about peace and how to reconcile with each other... they opened up their hearts." John Marks, whose organization Common Ground produces versions of "The Team" in 12 different countries, is cautiously hopeful. "You don't watch one of our television shows and drop your submachine gun," explains Marks, who says he was inspired by the influence of "All in the Family" on American culture. "But you can change the environment so it becomes more and more difficult to be in violent conflict." Can this soap opera for social change really make a difference in stopping violence? Next on NOW. http://thecommonills.blogspot.com/2010/03/iraq-snapshot_16.html

An angry Iraqi voice

Crucifying Iraq

Hussein Anwar, The Mesopotamian

January 24, 2010 Before reading this post and/or start reading this blog (if you are a new reader) I would like to tell you first that I do not give a fuck of what you think...what ever it is that you think. If you do not like what I say and/or feel uncomfortable reading the content here...then get the fuck out of here, straight and simple. Now we can get down to work. Recently I hear things here and there about the elections, De-Ba'athification, excluding Individuals, groups, parties, alliances from the so called Iraqi Elections...etc Biden arrives to scold the kids. Iran forging the elections. The Fear of the return of the Ba'ath Party (at least partially). U.S. plays the angel role saying "we do not interfere in Iraqi issues. The De-Ba'athification is an Iraq matter." Oh how romantic, how noble, how democratic...oh how nice of you not to interfere in Iraq's business. Let me get this straight...SUPPOSEDLY...The Ba'ath Party is no longer wanted in Iraq by the Iraqi people because it committed crimes against humanity. If this party is not wanted by the Iraqi people...why do the kids in the Green Zone fear Ba'ath participation in the elections? Why did they suddenly go nuts...go mad, arresting people here and there, excluding 500 participants, and any suspects to be Ba'athist and/or friends of the Ba'ath? Why do you fear this participation? If you guys did a better job than the Ba'athists then you must take it for granted the Iraqi people wont vote for the Ba'ath Party or friends of the Ba'ath including Alawi, Mutlag...etc supposedly that also you guys run the elections, forge it the way you guys want. (BTW...Alawi and Mutlag are the cleanest of the worse among these puppets, there is a house dog and a street dog, they are both dirty but the house dog is just a little bit cleaner than the street one. Don't get me wrong...I am not saying that they are so patriotic, loyal to Iraq and want what is best for Iraq, they all came at the back of the American Tanks.) You should know that Alawi was a Ba'athist and Mutlag too...most of the current so called Iraqi Parliament were Iraqi Ba'athists. They do not want this Party to participate, they do not want these people to participate in the elections because they know they will win the elections or at least take half of the seats in the parliament. Oh and now Biden Afandi sent by the Black owl Obooma...says "excluding a number of people from the elections is none of our business." Oh I see...who the fuck was preaching Democracy all those years? who was Anti-Dictatorship (the famous term you always use"? Who asked President Saddam Hussein to run the country more Democratically, Run FREE ELECTIONS, ALLOWING OTHER DEFECTOR PARTIES TO PARTICIPATE? Who? Wasn't it the same guys from the White House...OOPS Sorry it recently became the Black House. And now that cheap piece of shit the Anglo-Saxon Zionist puppet Biden says it is none of our business and we do not interfere... Why don't you say that YOU want these Iranian Puppets?You want these Shi'ite fanatics to destroy Iraq and finish the job? Why don't you say You and Iran are Allies and partners in crime and all this heat show going on between you two is a play you demonstrate for the world? You guys make me sick... Biden just came to have lunch in Iraq and leave? throw two statements and leave? Don't try to convince me he came to Iraq just to say the Iraqi elections is not of the US's business... The US is silent on the crimes committed in Iraq by the Iranians... Sunni Genocide... Prisons stuffed with thousands of Iraqis, majority Sunnis... More than 9 secret prisons only in Baghdad... Iraqi Ministries and especially the Ministry of Interior is run by Persians...who speak PERSIAN and only recently got the Iraqi Nationality...17,000 Iranians appointed as high officials in the Ministry... All these crimes in Iraq comitted by the Iranians, Americans, or the Israelis resemble Crucification of Iraq... All those three are not only Anti-Ba'ath but ANTI-ARAB... You motherfuckers are crucifying Iraq...for what? FOR EVERYTHING IT HOLDS ABOVE AND BENEATH IT... It is a war for OIL...a HOLY WAR just like Barbara's Bastard said... It is a war against Islam A war against the Arab Nation... It is a War against EVERYTHING WE RESEMBLE AND OWN... IT IS ABOUT ERASING THE ARAB IDENTITY ONCE AND FOR ALL... You *** know all that...you very well know it... You are silent about it because Iran is finishing the job for you FREE OF CHARGE... You guys are Cheap as dirt...

Obama Expands Military Involvement in Africa

Obama Expands Military Involvement in Africa

Analysis by Daniel Volman*

WASHINGTON, 2 Apr (IPS) - When Pres. Barack Obama took office in January 2009, it was widely expected that he would dramatically change, or even reverse, the militarised and unilateral security policy that had been pursued by the George W. Bush administration toward Africa, as well as toward other parts of the world. After one year in office, however, it is clear that the Obama administration is following essentially the same policy that has guided U.S. military policy toward Africa for more than a decade. Indeed, the Obama administration is seeking to expand U.S. military activities on the continent even further. In its FY 2011 budget request for security assistance programmes for Africa, the Obama administration is asking for 38 million dollars for the Foreign Military Financing programme to pay for U.S. arms sales to African countries. The administration is also asking for 21 million dollars for the International Military Education and Training Programme to bring African military officers to the United States, and 24.4 million dollars for Anti-Terrorism Assistance programmes in Africa. The Obama administration has also taken a number of other steps to expand U.S. military involvement in Africa. In June 2009, administration officials revealed that Pres. Obama had approved a programme to supply at least 40 tonnes of weaponry and provide training to the forces of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia through several intermediaries, including Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, and France. In September 2009, Obama authorised a U.S. Special Forces operation in Somalia that killed Saleh Ali Nabhan, an alleged al Qaeda operative who was accused of being involved in the bombing of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998, as well as other al Qaeda operations in east Africa. In October 2009, the Obama administration announced a major new security assistance package for Mali - valued at 4.5 to 5.0 million dollars - that included 37 Land Cruiser pickup trucks, communication equipment, replacement parts, clothing and other individual equipment and was intended to enhance Mali's ability to transport and communicate with internal security forces throughout the country and control its borders. Although ostensibly intended to help Mali deal with potential threats from AQIM (al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb), it is more likely to be used against Tuareg insurgent forces. In December 2009, U.S. military officials confirmed that the Pentagon was considering the creation of a 1,000-strong Marine rapid deployment force for the new U.S. Africa Command (Africom) based in Europe, which could be used to intervene in African hot spots. In February 2010, in his testimony before a hearing by the Africa Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson declared, "We seek to enhance Nigeria's role as a U.S. partner on regional security, but we also seek to bolster its ability to combat violent extremism within its borders." Also in February 2010, U.S. Special Forces troops began a 30-million-dollar, eight-month-long training programme for a 1,000-man infantry battalion of the army of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at the U.S.-refurbished base in Kisangani. Speaking before a Senate Armed Service Committee hearing in March 2010 about this training programme, General William Ward, the commander of Africom, stated "should it prove successful, there's potential that it could be expanded to other battalions as well." During the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Ward also discussed Africom's continuing participation in Ugandan military operations in the DRC against the Lord's Resistance Army. Despite the failure of "Operation Lightning Thunder", launched by Ugandan troops in December 2008 with help of Africom (included planning assistance, equipment, and financial backing), Ward declared, "I think our support to those ongoing efforts is important support." And in March 2010, U.S. officials revealed that the Obama administration was considering using surveillance drones to provide intelligence to TFG troops in Somalia for their planned offensive against al-Shabaab. According to these officials, the Pentagon may also launch air strikes into Somalia and send U.S. Special Forces troops into the country, as it has done in the past. This growing U.S. military involvement in Africa reflects the fact that counterinsurgency has once again become one of the main elements of U.S. security strategy. This is clearly evident in the new Quadrennial Defence Review (QDR) released by the Pentagon in February. According to the QDR, "U.S. forces will work with the military forces of partner nations to strengthen their capacity for internal security, and will coordinate those activities with those of other U.S. government agencies as they work to strengthen civilian capacities, thus denying terrorists and insurgents safe havens. For reasons of political legitimacy as well as sheer economic necessity, there is no substitute for professional, motivated local security forces protecting populations threatened by insurgents and terrorists in their midst." As the QDR makes clear, this is intended to avoid the need for direct U.S. military intervention: "Efforts that use smaller numbers of U.S. forces and emphasise host-nation leadership are generally preferable to large-scale counterinsurgency campaigns. By emphasising host-nation leadership and employing modest numbers of U.S. forces, the United States can sometimes obviate the need for larger-scale counterinsurgency campaigns." Or, as a senior U.S. military officer assigned to Africom was quoted as saying in a recent article in the U.S. Air University's Strategic Studies Quarterly, "We don't want to see our guys going in and getting wacked...We want Africans to go in." Thus, the QDR goes on to say, "U.S. forces are working in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, Colombia, and elsewhere to provide training, equipment, and advice to their host-country counterparts on how to better seek out and dismantle terrorist and insurgent networks while providing security to populations that have been intimidated by violent elements in their midst." Furthermore, the United States will also continue to expand and improve the network of local military bases that are available to U.S. troops under base access agreements. The resurgence of Vietnam War-era counterinsurgency doctrine as a principal tenet of U.S. security policy, therefore, has led to a major escalation of U.S. military involvement in Africa by the Obama administration that seems likely to continue in the years ahead. *Daniel Volman is the Director of the African Security Research Project in Washington, DC. He is the author of numerous articles and reports and has been studying U.S. security policy toward Africa and African security issues for more than 30 years.