Posts by StephenLendman:
America: Addicted to war
August 15th, 2013America: Addicted to War
by Stephen Lendman.
It’s been that way from inception. America’s history reflects violence. It’s blood-drenched. It glorifies war. It does so in the name of peace.
America believes war is peace. It’s part of the national culture. Eventually it’s self-destructive. Today’s super-weapons make the unthinkable possible.
Hyman Rickover knew. He knew decades ago. He founded America’s nuclear navy. In 1982, he told Congress:
“I do not believe that nuclear power is worth it if it creates radiation.” Then you might ask me why do I have nuclear powered ships?”
“That is a necessary evil. I would sink them all. I am not proud of the part I played in it. I did it because it was necessary for the safety of this country.”
That’s why I am such a great exponent of stopping this whole nonsense of war. Unfortunately limits – attempts to limit war have always failed.”
“The lesson of history is when a war starts every nation will ultimately use whatever weapon it has available.”
“Every time you produce radiation, you produce something that has a certain half-life, in some cases for billions of years.”
“I think the human race is going to wreck itself, and it is important that we get control of this horrible force and try to eliminate it.”
In his Der Ring des Nibelungen operas (the Ring), Richard Wagner portrayed his apocalyptic version. He did so musically. Gotterdammerung (Twilight of the Gods) prophesied the end of the world.
Einstein feared it. He didn’t know what WW III weapons would be used. He said “World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”
Bertrand Russell was an Einstein contemporary. He knew. He warned. No one listened. He asked:
“Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war.” It’s the only way to live in peace. The alternative is annihilation.
The choice is clear. The wrong one assures disaster. America’s heading humanity toward it. A slow-motion train wreck looms. The big one. There’s no second chance. There’s no coming back.
Historian Harry Elmer Barnes (1889 – 1968) once said:
“If trends continue as they have during the last fifteen years, we shall soon reach this point of no return, and can only anticipate interminable wars, disguised as noble gestures for peace.”
Historian Arnold Toynbee worried about WW III. Only pigmies in remote jungles, apes and ants might be left to carry on “the cultural traditions of mankind,” he said.
According to HG Wells:
“If we don’t end war, war will end us.”
Mushroom shaped cloud finality threatens humanity. Enough of them cause nuclear winter. They block out sun for years. Doing so ends life on earth. It’s possible. It’s chilling. It’s not science fiction. It’s real. It bears repeating. There’s no coming back.
America wages permanent wars. It does so against enemies it creates. During the Cold War, Active Defense and AirLand Battle prepared strategies for how America would fight.
Soviet Russia was targeted. Today’s it’s modern day Russia. It’s China. AirSea Battle targets both countries. More on that below.
In 1998, US Space Command: Vision for 2020 discussed America’s grand strategy.
In 2000, DOD Joint Vision 2020 called for “full spectrum dominance” over all land, surface and sub-surface sea, air, space, electromagnetic spectrum and information systems.
It did so with enough overwhelming power to fight and win global wars against any adversary. Nuclear and other mass destruction weapons would be used preemptively.
In 1961, General Curtis LeMay believed nuclear war with Soviet Russia was inevitable. He wanted thousands of missiles launched preemptively.
He called retaliation against major US cities a small price to pay.
At the same time, General Lyman Lemnitzer urged a surprise nuclear attack strategy.
Jack Kennedy expressed disgust. He walked out of a National Security Council meeting. He wanted none of it. He told Secretary of State Dean Rusk: “And we call ourselves the human race.”
Secretary of Defense McNamara categorically rejected LeMay and Lemnitzer. He should have fired them on the spot. Other extremists then and later urged the same lunacy.
Crazies have great influence today. Today’s weapons make earlier ones look like toys. Armageddon could happen.
Life on earth could end in a day. It’s possible. It’s frightening. Rogue states can’t be trusted. America most of all.
Eisenhower warned “against the acquisition of unwarranted influence.” He named the military-industrial complex. “The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist,” he stressed.
Militarism writ large is the national pastime. It’s a national addiction. The business of America is war. It’s multiple wars. It’s permanent ones. It’s ravaging one nation after another.
It’s doing so for wealth, power, resource control, and unchallenged global dominance.
America never was the “land of the free and home of the brave.” It’s a war on humanity society. It’s a “let ’em eat cake” one.
It’s an out-of-control rogue state. It’s ideologically over-the-top. It spends more on militarism and wars than the rest of the world combined.
Doing so lets war profiteers gorge themselves at the public trough. Doing so makes peace impossible. Warrior nations eventually self-destruct. Nations that live by the sword die by it. America’s no exception.
According too Navy Live, Air-Sea Battle (ABS) “is designed to develop force over the long-term. (It) seeks to provide decision makers with a wide range of options to counter aggression from hostile actors.”
It targets China and Russia. It “reflects the US commitment to maintaining escalation advantage during conflict and sustaining security and prosperity in the global commons.”
It’s “interoperable air and naval forces that can execute networked, integrated attacks-in-depth to disrupt, destroy, and defeat enemy anti-access area denial capabilities.”
Paul Craig Roberts quoted Amitai Etzioni. He asked “Who Authorized Preparations for War with China?”
“The Pentagon has concluded that the time has come to prepare for with China, and in a manner well beyond crafting the sort of contingency plans that are expected for with a wide range of possible confrontations,” he said.
It’s a “momentous decision.” It hasn’t received proper attention. America’s posture is largely Pentagon driven.
It “stands out even more prominently because (a) the change in military posture may well lead to an arms race with China, which could culminate in a nuclear war; and (b) the economic condition of the United States requires a reduction in military spending, not a new arms race.”
“The start of a new term, and with it the appointment of new secretaries of State and Defense, provides an opportunity to review the United States’ China strategy and the military’s role in it.”
“This review is particularly important before the new preparations for war move from an operational concept to a militarization program that includes ordering high-cost weapons systems and forced restructuring.”
“History shows that once these thresholds are crossed, it is exceedingly difficult to change course.”
In September 2001, Congress approved the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). It did so for “the use of United States Armed Forces against those responsible for the recent attacks launched against the United States.”
Carte blanche war-making authority was granted. America’s war on terror began. It’s waged on humanity. It does so out of control. It targets manufactured enemies at home and abroad.
It calls independent nations existential threats. Russia and China are targeted. They represent America’s final battleground. Challenging them risks WW III.
Obama’s no peacemaker. He’s a cold-blooded warrior. They threatens humanity’s survival. His 2010 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) reflects Bush era strategy.
It’s old wine in new bottles. It “reserves the right” to use nuclear weapons preemptively. America’s only enemies are ones it invents. Peace is verboten. So is disarmament. They’re both non-starters.
Washington targets more nations to destroy. It invents reasons for doing so. It threatens humanity in the process. Preemptive nuclear war assures it.
America’s lunatic fringe may launch what cooler heads deplore. Elements in it have mushroom shaped cloud delusions.
Nuclear war assures turning planet earth into an uninhabited wasteland. Toxic proliferation already is destroying life slowly.
In a generation or decade perhaps only beetles, bacteria, fungi, and other microoganisms will remain. Ernst Mayr (1904 – 2005) was a noted evolutionary biologist.
He called human intelligence no guarantee of survival. No species ever destroyed itself. Humans may be the first. Planet earth’s increasingly contaminated.
Eventually a threshold of no return is crossed. It may be closer than most believe. Mushroom shaped finality may arrive sooner.
Higher intelligence does more harm than good. Imagine ending life on earth for wealth, power and dominance. Imagine what no one should risk.
Imagine the unthinkable. Imagine ending life on earth. America rage for war makes it possible. It’s as simple as ready, aim, bombs away.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached atlendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
America and Germany: Longstanding Espionage Partners
July 25th, 2013
by Stephen Lendman.
A previous article discussed Stasi. It was East Germany’s secret police. It was one of the most repressive state apparatuses in modern times.
Its infamous reputation speaks for itself. It’s reincarnated in new form. Given today’s state-of-the-art technology. It’s worse now than then. The previous article said the following:
On July 7, Der Spiegel headlined “Snowden claims: NSA Ties Put German Intelligence in Tight Spot.”
“They’re in bed together,” said Snowden. NSA partners with foreign intelligence in other countries. Its “Foreign Affairs Directorate (BND)” does so.
It’s done in ways to “insulate their political leaders from the backlash.” It’s precautionary in case people learn “how grievously they’re violating global privacy.”
BND/NSA cooperation is far greater than previously known. At issue are serious violations of Germany’s privacy laws. According to Der Spiegel, NSA provides “analysis tools.”
They’re for “BND’s signals monitoring of foreign data streams that travel through Germany.”
Besides other areas, BND focuses on “the Middle East route through which data packets from crisis regions travel.”
Der Spiegel said “BND pulls data from five different nodes that are then analyzed at the foreign intelligence service’s headquarters in Pullach near Munich.”
Gerhard Schindler heads it. He “confirmed the partnership during a meeting with members of the German parliament’s control committee for intelligence issues.”
Snowden told Der Spiegel that German outrage over NSA spying was pretense. Both countries work closely together. Relations are longstanding.
Current operations far exceed Stasi’s. They’re conducted with technological ease. Decades earlier spying was crude compared to today’s.
Modern methods operate in unprecedented ways. Virtually everyone can be monitored everywhere at all times. Nearly everything about targets is known.
Almost nothing’s too secret to escape scrutiny. There’s no way to hide. There’s no place to do it.
On July 20, Der Spiegel headlined ” ‘Prolific Partner:’ German Intelligence Used NSA Spying Program,” saying:
Chancellor Merkel lied. It didn’t surprise. She does it repeatedly. She “and her ministers claim they first learned about the US government’s comprehensive spying programs from press reports.”
“But SPIEGEL has learned that German intelligence services themselves use one of the NSA’s most valuable tools.”
BND and its Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) intelligence agency collaborated with NSA. Secret documents reveal it.
They show BfV “was equipped with a program called XKeyScore intended to ‘expand their ability to support NSA as we jointly prosecute CT (counterterrorism) targets.’ ”
“The BND is tasked with instructing the domestic intelligence agency on how to use the program, the documents say.”
It’s a “productive espionage tool.” It’s able to “retroactively reveal any terms” targeted persons type into search engines.
It’s able to receive “full take…unfiltered data…including” communications content. It can do so over a period of days.
Documents show up to “500 million (monthly) data connections from Germany accessed by the NSA.” XKeyScore collects much of it.
German/NSA cooperation “recently intensified.” BND’s Schindler expressed an “eagerness and desire” to do so. According to NSA:
“The BND has been working to influence the German government to relax interpretation of the privacy laws to provide greater opportunities of intelligence sharing.”
In 2012, Germany showed a “willingness to take risks and to pursue new opportunities for cooperation with the US.”
In Afghanistan, BND was NSA’s “most prolific partner.” The relationship is longstanding. It’s hard-wired. Merkel lied. Anger expressed over US spying was fake.
She knows what’s going on. She’s involved. On September 22, German federal elections are scheduled. Voters will choose Bundestag representatives.
Merkel’s coalition needs up to 300 or more seats to retain power. Until NSA spying and Germany’s involvement were revealed, easy reelection was expected.
She’s seeking a third term. Perhaps she won’t get it. Earlier polls showed her ahead. Voters may have second thoughts. They’ll decide if she’s a spent force. In weeks we’ll know.
In the meantime, expect more revelations. On July 19, Der Spiegel headlined “Greenwald: ‘Explosive’ NSA Spying Reports Are Imminent,” saying:
Expect them in a few days. They’ll be the next shoe to drop. They’ll be “more explosive in Germany” than previous reports.
They’ll tell more about BND/NSA cooperation. Greenwald said he’s got around 9,000 to 10,000 top secret documents. He’s had them for weeks.
He’s been analyzing them. Some documents are “extremely complicated.” He’s living in Rio de Janeiro. CIA has a “robust” presence there.
He’s worried about his safety. He feels “threatened in the sense that there are very prominent American politicians and even American journalists who have called for (his) arrest, who have called (him) a criminal.”
Possession of top secret US documents jeopardizes his safety. He’s got multiple copies. He maintains regular contact with Snowden. They use “encrypted chat technologies.”
German/NSA cooperation isn’t at the same level as Britain, Australia, Canada or New Zealand. It’s the “next tier where they exchange information all the time.”
It’s intensifying. BND’s Schindler’s eager to do so. Perhaps Germany’s heading for joint NSA cooperation matching any other country.
A Final Comment
On July 18, the Electronic Frontier Foundation headlined “House Judiciary Committee Rails Against Domestic Spying,” saying: House Judiciary Committee members “grilled” government witnesses. It was more show than tell. Obama officials “hid behind secrecy.”
Grilling belies congressional sincerity. Congress, the courts, Obama, and administration officials are co-conspirators. It shows in legislation enacted.
It shows in court decisions. It shows America’s current state. Washington’s criminal class is bipartisan. It includes High Court justices.
Police state lawlessness replaced constitutional law. Full-blown tyranny’s a hair’s breadth away. America’s no longer safe to live in. Universal monitoring persists.
It’s official policy. Corporate bosses are complicit. Democracy’s a convenient illusion. So is freedom. It’s on the chopping block for elimination. It’s practically gone already.
Doing the right thing is criminalized. Press freedom’s up for grabs. On July 19, The New York Times headlined “Court Tells Reporter to Testify in Case of Leaked CIA Data,” saying:
The US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Times writer James Risen must do so. It said First Amendment protections don’t cover “unauthorized leaks.”
Federal District court Judge Leonie Brinkema held otherwise. She got it right. She supported press freedom. She called it First Amendment “reporter’s privilege.” Obama’s DOJ claims it doesn’t exist.
Appeals Court Chief Judge William Byrd Traxler wrote the majority (two/one) ruling, saying:
“Clearly, Risen’s direct, firsthand account of the criminal conduct indicted by the grand jury cannot be obtained by alternative means, as Risen is without dispute the only witness who can offer this critical testimony.”
“There is no First Amendment testimonial privilege, absolute or qualified, that protects a reporter from being compelled to testify by the prosecution or the defense in criminal proceedings about criminal conduct that the reporter personally witnessed or participated in, absent a showing of bad faith, harassment, or other such non-legitimate motive, even though the reporter promised confidentiality to his source.”
Risen vowed to go to prison rather than testify. He may end up there. He’ll appeal to the Supreme Court. Odds of winning are slim. The Court’s stacked with right wing extremists. They’re largely comfortable with police state lawlessness. It shows in their rulings.
Risen may first ask for a full Fourth Circuit ruling. His lawyer Joel Kurtzberg said: “We are disappointed by and disagree with the court’s decision. We are currently evaluating our next steps.”
Fourth Circuit’s Judge Roger Gregory “vigorous(ly) dissent(ed).” He called the ruling a threat to investigative journalism, saying:”Under the majority’s articulation of the reporter’s privilege, or lack thereof, absent a showing of bad faith by the government, a reporter can always be compelled against her will to reveal her confidential sources in a criminal trial.”
“Whatever the limits of who may claim reporter’s privilege, it is clear that Risen – a full-time reporter for a national news publication, The New York Times – falls into the category of people who should be eligible to invoke the privilege.”
“The majority exalts the interests of the government while unduly trampling those of the press, and in doing so, severely impinges on the press and the free flow of information in our society.”
Friday’s ruling set a precedent. It applies only to the Fourth Circuit. It’s important. It includes Maryland and Virginia. It’s Pentagon, CIA and NSA headquarters.
Risen’s case pertains to information in his 2006 book, “State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration.” It’s about Bush era CIA tactics. Clinton also.
It involves “trick(ing) Iranian scientists by having a Russian defector give them blueprints for a nuclear triggering device that had been altered with an error.”
It “portrays the operation as reckless and botched in a way that could have helped the Iranians gain accurate information.”
In December 2010, former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling was called Risen’s source. He was indicted on Espionage Act charges.
According to Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, since 1984, 17 journalists were jailed for refusing to testify or disclose sources.
Police states operate this way. America’s by far the worst. For sure it’s the most reckless, outlandish and dangerous.
Israel’s Duplicitous Prisoner Release Offer
July 20th, 2013
by Stephen Lendman.
Israeli agreements, offers, and other concessions aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. Pledges made are systematically broken.
It happens virtually every time. Rogue states operate that way. Israel’s one of the worst. It’s a democracy in name only. It never was one. It’s not now.
It’s contemptuous of non-Jews. It believes Muslims are subhuman. It shows in how it treats them. Racism is institutionalized.
Persecution is standard practice. Apartheid is longstanding. So is brutalizing, lawless, militarized occupation. Nothing ahead suggests change.
Peace is a convenient fiction. It’s been stillborn for decades. John Kerry is Israel’s man at State. He represents its interests. He spurns Palestinian rights. He claims otherwise. He does so duplicitously.
On Friday, he concluded his sixth regional trip since February. Palestinians wish he’d stay home. He lied claiming success. Certainly not for them. At a Friday Amman press conference, he said:
“I’m pleased to announce that we’ve reached an agreement that establishes a basis for resuming final status negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis.”
“This is a significant and welcome step forward. The agreement is still in the process of being finalized so we are absolutely not going to talk about any of the elements now.”
“Today, however, I am hopeful. I am hopeful because of the courageous leadership by President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu.”
“Both of them have chosen to make difficult choices here and both of them were instrumental.”
It’s hard imagining how he avoided not choking on his words. They’re meaningless. They’re duplicitous. They disguise one-sided Israeli support. They reflect same old, same old for Palestine.
Kerry’s announcement followed four days of discussions. Palestinians want peace talks based on pre-1967 borders.
Netanyahu categorically refuses. So do most other Knesset members. They’re hardline. They’re fascists. They reflect Israel’s most extremist government ever.
They deplore peace. They endorse violence and instability. They prioritze brutalizing occupation. Kerry fully supports them. Don’t expect him to explain.
So-called peace talks are duplicitous. Palestine’s legitimate government is excluded. Imagine holding talks without one side. It shows what Palestinians face.
It’s been this way for decades. Nothing suggests change now. Palestine’s illegitimate president Abbas represents Israel. His 2005 election was rigged.
His term expired in January 2009. He refuses to call new elections. He’s a longtime Israeli collaborator. He sold out at Oslo. He did so in subsequent agreements.
Israel doesn’t negotiate. It demands. It wants unconditional surrender. Abbas yielded before. He’ll do it again. He’s well compensated for betrayal. Who said crime doesn’t pay?
In the next week or so, PLO negotiator Saeb Erakat and Israeli’s Tzipi Livni will begin preliminary talks in Washington.
It’s the worst possible place besides anywhere inside Israel. They’re locations meant to intimidate. Abbas and Erakat make it easy. They’ve sold out so many times before. This time won’t be different.
Israel claimed to offer a good will gesture. It never did before. Its dark side assures none this time.
According to Strategic and Intelligence Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz:
“There will be some release of prisoners. I don’t want to give numbers, but there will be heavyweight prisoners who have been in jail for tens of years.”
He added that settlement construction will continue. Ending or curtailing it’s out of the question. Final status issues won’t be resolved.
Why hold discussions in the first place? They’ll accomplish nothing. They’re a waste of time. Issues Palestinians want resolved won’t be considered.
Abbas shamelessly agreed not to sue Israel in international courts. He won’t pursue ICJ justice. It’s the one venue offering Palestine a chance. It’s off the table.
Israel’s prisoner release offer is far less than what meets the eye. Key is how long they’ll stay free. It’s how they’ll be treated back home. Freedom comes with a price.
In October 2011, Israel released 1,027 Palestinian political prisoners. It did so in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Addammer said an “indeterminate number of prisoners released in the exchange have since been re-arrested for various periods of time.”
Military Order 1651 permits canceling amnesty. It’s done based on secret information. It spurns judicial fairness.
Former prisoners face false charges. Israel claims they violated amnesty terms. They’re rearrested and imprisoned. They’re forced to serve out their terms.
At times, new charges are filed. Justice is a four-letter word. Palestinians are denied it entirely. Thousands of its best and brightest rot in Israeli gulag hell. Release for many is temporary. Longterm incarceration is commonplace.
No one in Palestine is free. Once arrested, they’re marked for life.Israel monitors released prisoners relentlessly. It harasses them and their families ruthlessly. Settlers get financial rewards for killing them.
They’re further compensated for distributing flyers calling for their murder. Israeli security forces aid and abet them.
Former prisoners explain what they endure. They’re targeted mercilessly. Israeli police and security forces harass them.
Their homes are raided. Their families are terrorized. Their friends are watched. They’re summoned for questioning. Their movements are restricted.
In November 2011, Sumoud Yaser Karaja spoke for others, saying:
Shin Bet interrogators threatened him. They said “Israeli intelligence watches every move (he) makes.” They’ll “keep watching until they can put (him) back in prison.”
“And when (they) do get (him) imprisoned again, (he’ll) spend (his) whole life inside and will never be able to leave.”
Imagine being charged with terrorism for the wrong reason. Palestinians are targeted for wanting to live free on their own land in their own country.
Millions of Palestinians endure this. Liberation remains a longstanding dream. Maybe some day. Not now. Not as long illegitimate leaders like Abbas represents them.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached atlendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
His new book is titled “Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity.”
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