The heavy propaganda for an Iraq War waged by the Bush administration and the Blair government in 2002-2003 came back to haunt the Anglo-American alliance on Thursday when the British parliament voted 285 to 272 not to authorize a military strike on Syria. While the government of Prime Minister David Cameron could theoretically have proceeded […]
Eight things to consider before intervening in Syria (ECFR)
Anthony Dworkin, Daniel Levy and Julien Barnes-Dacey write for the European Council on Foreign Relations: 1. What are the goals of intervention? All statements coming from the western leaders most likely to undertake military action (US, UK and France) suggest a narrow focus on chemical weapons (CW), rather than action designed to sway the overall […]
Rush to Western Strike on Syria slows, but does not Stall
What is known is that during heavy bombardment of Ghouta in Rif Dimashq on August 21, rockets were fired that did not explode and instead released gases that killed several hundred people, most of them non-combatants, and injured hundreds of others. US intelligence agencies released an intercept on Wednesday showing that after the attack, a […]
NSA Spying Abroad isn’t OK Either (Kurzman)
Charles Kurzman writes at ISLAMiCommentary: Caption for graphic: NSAW SID Intelligence Oversight (IO) Quarterly Report – First Quarter Calendar Year 2012 (1 January – 31 March 2012) – Executive Summary, May 3, 2012, compiled by Kurzman from pages 5-6 of 13. http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/national/nsa-report-on-privacy-violations-in-the-first-quarter-of-2012/395/ Many Americans were upset to learn this month that the National Security Agency […]
The Kosovo Fallacy and Syria (Axworthy-Cole Debate)
I was on the CBC’s excellent The Current to discuss former Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy’s proposal that Western action in Syria should resemble the Kosovo campaign of the 1990s. I disagreed, pointing to the many differences between the two situations I come in about halfway through. Click on the image below to go to […]
US Protected Iraq at UN from Iranian Charges of Chemical Weapons Use
Reprint edn., from my article in Truthdig, where you can find the hyperlinks giving the documentation. I thought these findings by Joyce Battle from the documents she FOIA’ed ad posted at the National Security Archive worth revisiting given the current controversy over Syrian use of chemical weapons: In the 1970s, Iraq under Baath Party dictator […]
Oceans Turning Acid with CO2 at Rate Unseen in 250 million Years, Threatening Further Warming (Queally)
Jon Queally writes at Commondreams.org In both a new study published Monday and in a newspaper interview over the weekend, German marine biologist Hans Poertner warns the world that the crisis of ocean acidification—an intricately woven aspect of global warming and climate change—is now happening at a rate unparalleled in the life of the oceans […]
Kerry signals US Intervention in Syria, but to What End?
Secretary of State John Kerry strongly suggested in remarks on Monday that President Obama has concluded that the ruling Baath regime in Syria was responsible for poison gas attacks last Wednesday that reportedly left hundreds dead, including non-combatant women and children. He further suggested that the Obama administration intended to respond in some way to […]
Gulf Arab Press Condemns Alleged ‘Bloody’ Chemical Weapons attack in Syria (OSC)
The USG Open Source Center translates or paraphrases comment in the Gulf Arab press on the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Baathist regime. Note that these governmental establishments are Sunni, Wahhabi or Ibadi and often have a hostile attitude to Shiite Islam and Iran, and generally support the rebellion against the regime, […]
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