Ari's Freedom Switch

Drums Beat for War with Iran

2012-01-27T22:36:00.000-08:00

Driving home from work yesterday the radio blared the drums of war with Iran. I checked several blogs which posed a false flag operation on the U.S.S. Enterprise, a soon to be retired aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. HuffPo, FT, Haaretz, and Jerusalem Post ran pieces on looming war.

War is in the Air

2012-01-14T10:02:00.000-08:00

Haaretz reported the U.S. is preparing to back up Israel, should it strike Iran:

Largely as a deterrent to Iran, the U.S. has 15,000 soldiers in Kuwait and has moved a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf region.

Additionally, the U.S. has been pre-positioning aircraft and other military hardware and has accelerated arms transfers to U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf region.

The U.S. and Israeli war machines are attached at the hip. If we don't want Israel to attack don't rush them stuff or preposition military hardware for their use.

Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by telephone on Thursday and General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will visit Israel next week.

I thought this would happen on W.'s shift, but it waited for his near twin on national security, President Obama. Will Obama campaign on "don't change President's mid-war"?

King Obama Signs Indefinite Detention

2011-12-31T19:38:00.000-08:00

New Year's Eve saw President Barack Obama sign a bill allowing indefinite detention of Americans without charge or trial. Give the man his King George crown.

"2012 is going to be a better year. It has to be," said one New Year's reveler.

Nothing has to be, not in the global race to the bottom. 2012 is the new 1776.

Update 1-1-12: Congressman Mike Conaway (R-TX) voted yes on the the bill King Obama signed. Only four Texas Congressional reps voted no or did not vote. Congressman Ron Paul missed the vote on Dec. 14. Did Congress sign its own arrest warrants?

U.S. Israel Set Triggers for War

2011-12-30T20:51:00.000-08:00

What war will launch first, Israel's Round 2 on Gaza or Uncle Sam's blistering of Iran's military and nuclear capabilities? Three years ago President Elect Obama sat on his backside as Israel pummeled Gaza. This time he'll be in the Commander in Chief's seat, i.e. chief world tamperer.

Decisions are made by these people like Panetta, Hillary, Donilon at the national Security Council and General Petraeus. And I think this is a very aggressive group right now.

Is Thomas Jefferson Rolling in His Grave?

2011-12-26T20:01:00.000-08:00

Much changed between the third President of the United States and the forty fourth. President Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, would decry the hackles placed on citizens by the federal government. The war on terror would allow Americans in the U.S. to be detained indefinitely, renditioned, sent to Guantanamo Bay, or assassinated.

"The oppressed should rebel, and they will continue to rebel and raise disturbance until their civil rights are fully restored to them and all partial distinctions, exclusions and incapacitations are removed." --Thomas Jefferson: Notes on Religion, 1776. Papers 1:548

"As revolutionary instruments (when nothing but revolution will cure the evils of the State) [secret societies] are necessary and indispensable, and the right to use them is inalienable by the people." --Thomas Jefferson to William Duane, 1803. FE 8:256

The Executive Branch claims the right to label Americans as terrorists and dispose of them in the manner seen fit by the President. Sounds King Georgish. Congress paired with President Obama on this move, purposefully excluding court remedies for U.S. citizens.

Israel Still Building: U.S. Support Implicit

2011-12-19T21:17:00.000-08:00

As Israel announced settlement expansion of over 1,000 homes, President Obama bragged of his Israel bona fides. Not even a faint protest to echo the long sounding refrain...

Update 12-21-11: Top Jewish fundraisers stick with Obama. Does this give Israel a free pass?

Ehud Barak's War Framing

2011-12-11T19:28:00.000-08:00

Haaretz reported:

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak suggested that the Libyan conflict could have taken a different course if Muammar Gadhafi had declared at the outset that "he has three or four nuclear devices."

Gadhafi gave up his nuclear aspirations in return for legitimacy from the West. Gadhafi hired D.C. based lobbying firms, while money men courted Libya's cheap oil and billions for investing. Western politicians like Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson freed the Lockerbie bomber in return for oil deals.

So what is Barak trying to do with his fiction? He's saying Iranians won't have their Persian Spring if Iran gets a handful of nuclear devices. When he wasn't joking about female soldiers singing, Barak went on to say the clock is ticking.

Earlier this month, Barak said that an Israeli attack on Iran was not imminent. He has also said there were several months left in which to decide on such action.

For those keeping track of the PNAC score, here it is:

Iraq - check
Libya - check
Syria - in process
Iran - up next
North Korea - nobody wants it, no oil.

Gaza is back on Israel's radar. They did discover oil and gas offshore.

Libyan Justice for Gadhafi's Kid

2011-11-19T10:56:00.000-08:00

Reuters reported the capture of Muammar Gadhafi's son, Saif al-Islam, and the quandary of bringing him to justice:

Saif may know a lot of secrets that could damage the reputations of some in the NTC and the West.

For this reason Saif will end up like Manuel Noriega, shuttled from jail to jail, or like Saddam Hussein, broken, secluded and eventually executed. Western businessmen and their purchased politicians plotted with the Gadhafi's on access to Libya's billions in cash and oil resources. Those stories must remain untold. America's Government-Corporate Monstrosity will not tolerate having the curtain pulled.

It also won't put up with any American Spring. There will be no Tafir Square on public or private U.S. land. America's free speech doesn't include what Egyptians staked out under U.S. backed strongman Hosni Mubarek (now under threat from the ruling army).

Saif Gadhafi's free speech days are over. The question is how long he lives, after he is broken..

Peculiar Iran Update

2011-11-06T19:49:00.000-08:00

From The Jerusalem Post's Iranian Threat section:

A senior US military official said on Friday Iran had become the biggest threat to the United States and Israel's president said the military option to stop the Islamic republic from obtaining nuclear weapons was nearer.

The National Post cited the odd anonymity for the American military official:

“The biggest threat to the United States and to our interests and to our friends … has come into focus and it’s Iran,” said the U.S. military official, addressing a forum in Washington. Reporters were allowed to cover the event on condition the official not be identified.

Israeli President Simon Peres called Iran the greatest danger to Israel and beyond:

"Iran is the greatest danger, both for Israel and for the entire world," he told Druze leaders while visiting a northern Israeli village.

The list of "greatest danger" seers includes Frances Townsend, Condi Rice, Rep. Michael McCaul and Ret. Army General John Keane. Keane attended this summer's annual Bilderberg meeting, where war with Iran was a topic.

With an IAEA report due on Iran's nuclear weapons development, how far off are hostilities? Will Israel lead the attack or will it be the entire world? Stay tuned.

Update: WaPo says Iran at threshold of nuclear capability. WaPo Publisher Donald Graham is a regular Bilderberg attendee.

Netanyahu & Obama: Churchill Brothers?

2011-10-29T18:27:00.000-07:00

Now that NATO wrapped a bow around Libya, who's next for Western intervention? There's oil fields to tap and markets to open.

Some believe Iran is on deck, given Israel's recent prisoner swap which set the teams for the next conflagration.

“When people speak to you about a preventive war, you tell them to go and fight it. After my experience, I have come to hate war. War settles nothing.”
Dwight David Eisenhower quotes

Bush had Iraq, Obama's got Libya. Reds and Blues like war, selling it as the preventive kind (WMD, massacre of the people).

“I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it.”
Dwight David Eisenhower quotes

Rather than get out of the way, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu may be looking for his inner Churchill. Israel at least faces interim bomb attacks, albeit not from a mighty power.

Bibi's Churchill stance would drag Nobel Peace Prize winner Obama into any conflict. That is if Obama isn't seeking his Churchill, as America doesn't normally change presidents mid war. Coincidentally, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton trotted out that Iran is morphing into a military dictatorship.

Two evil dictators, Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gadhafi down, one rising military dictatorship to go. Nobody spins a narrative like the Western greed and power boys, and now girls.

Update 10-30-11: President Obama will build troop levels in the Persian Gulf, according to NYT.

Middle East Freedom Update

2011-10-01T13:18:00.000-07:00

A number of news stories reflect the dire state of the Middle East, at least on the Palestine-Israel front.. In one story a Palestinian official called Quartet Representative Tony Blair useless. Blair leaked a peace deal in December 2008, before Israel razed Gaza. After the white phosphorous and dime bombs settled, Blair pushed economic peace for Palestinians, implying that participation in the global economy would bring about conditions for peace.

The second story has the U.S. blocking $200 million in aid for the Palestinian Authority. The withhold is in retribution for Palestine requesting statehood from the United Nations. Stopping aid will drive the Palestinian Authority where in its search for aid?

Egypt and Libya have new governments with their hands full meeting domestic needs. Lebanon wants to avoid a repeat of Israel's brutal attack in summer 2006. Syria is in the midst of a low grade rebellion. That leaves three major players in the region, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Gaza's Hamas wants the Palestinian Authority to fight Israel in order to form a state. Which way will Mahmoud Abbas go? It has massive implications for the next war, currently in the planning stages. As for Blair, he has economic peace in spades.

Update 10-2-11: The Arab League said it would fill the U.S. funding gap. Israel continues pushing its Jewish state.

Two Faced Biden Faces Lack of Sleep

2011-09-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

The Economic Times reported:

The United States today pledged never to forget the enemy which was responsible for the 9/11 terror attacks in the country 10 years ago and said it will not rest till al-Qaeda is completely destroyed.

"We will not stop. You will not stop until al-Qaeda is not only disrupted, but completely dismantled and ultimately destroyed," Vice President Joe Biden told US soldiers at the 9/11 observance ceremony at the Pentagon.

That's odd, given America's role in growing al Qaeda by funding Bin Laden and the Afghan mujaheddin in their fight against the Russians.

"And along with the intelligence community and the law enforcement community, they relentlessly took the fight to al-Qaeda and its affiliates. They were prepared to follow bin Laden to hell's gate if necessary and they got him," Biden said.

Part of that relentless fight involved capturing al Qaeda on global battlefields and rendering them to Syria and Libya.

Biden's comment seem odder given America's partnership with al Qaeda in taking down Libya's Muammar Gadhafi.

One European official cited the dangerous combination. AFP reported:

Al-Qaeda's north African branch has acquired a stockpile of weapons in Libya, including surface-to-air missiles that are threatening air travel, the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator said Monday.

Add that a key Libyan rebel army leader was one of the rendered. NPR reported

The top commander in the Libyan capital is Abdel Hakim Belhaj, whose Tripoli Brigade had a key role in taking the city.

Belhaj was eventually captured by the CIA in Thailand and was sent back to Libya, where he says he was imprisoned and tortured.

Belhaj has played down his Islamist roots, although he has said he deserves an apology from the CIA for sending him back to Libya.

The United States will not rest? Two faced VP Joe Biden faces many sleepless nights.

Israel Leader Warns of Looming Multi-Front War

2011-09-05T19:30:00.000-07:00

The Jerusalem Post reported:

“After the ‘Arab Spring’, we assess that a winter of radical Islam will arrive and as a result the possibility for a multi-front war has increased including the potential use of weapons of mass destruction,”
OC Home Front Command Maj.-Gen. Eyal Eisenberg revealed.

War with Syria could derive from an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. Israel drilled on a multi-front war in April and will drill again with the U.S. on a major missile attack in early 2012.

Quartet Envoy Tony Blair gave this bold assessment regarding Israeli-Palestinian peace (Haaretz):

Blair said it was imperative for the parties involved to find a "framework for negotiations that will give both sides the sense that they are credible."

That's a low bar, even for Tony, who said Ehud Olmert had a peace agreement right before Israel razed Gaza.

"It is not in anyone's interest to carry on in conflict, when together in peace we can create so much for Israelis and Palestinians."

That's odd, given Blair's close ties to Western capitalists, who make plenty from war. Blair did push economic peace which capitalists love, especially the government subsidized version. New markets and energy resources can be obtained by force. Pro-Western leaders can be installed. Even those with a terrorist background will do, if they fit the current need. Next move?

Free to Rely on Russians

2011-08-24T09:24:00.000-07:00

The AP reported:

An unmanned Russian supply ship bound for the International Space Station failed to reach its planned orbit Wednesday, and pieces of it fell in Siberia amid a thunderous explosion, officials said

NASA is officially out of the space supply business, having eliminated the Space Shuttle program. Russia is the only supplier at this time. NASA lost space craft as well. After the Challenger explosion, NASA took an extended break to fix design problems. The question is how long before the Russians are ready to fly again.

How long before American-branded space contractors can do what NASA did? That remains to be seen.

Surgically Implanted Bombs in Terrorists

2011-07-06T16:45:00.000-07:00

Reuters reported via The New York Times:

Militants are showing renewed interest in using a bomb surgically implanted inside a passenger's body to blow up a commercial flight, though there is no indication an attack is imminent, a U.S. security official said on Wednesday.

It takes four to six weeks to recover muscle strength after surgery. Should a terrorist want to look like a normal passenger, while hiding a body bomb, a recovery period is necessary.

Terrorists would need the means to build a sterile bomb, keep it clean and implant it in the body in an operating room. Corporations and governments have these capabilities, much more so rag tag groups. Planting an unsterile bomb inside the body would likely result in infection or sepsis.

"The Department of Homeland Security has identified a potential threat from terrorists who may be considering surgically implanting explosives or explosive components in humans to conduct terrorist attacks," the advisory to foreign counterparts said, according to the U.S. security official.

Such a threat is likely to come from overseas rather than domestically, but precautions were being taken on both sides, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Homeland Security is prepared for this "potential", "may be" threat.

Transportation Security Administration spokesman Nicholas Kimball said passengers flying into the United States may notice enhanced security measures, including talks with them as well as pat-downs and "enhanced tools and technologies."

Do those include making 95 year olds remove their wound dressings? Maybe a little wound probing with a sharp pencil? Might that be avoided with a pre-flight MRI or CT scan? Should passengers carry the images and a doctor's note? Would that help post surgical patients safely run the TSA gauntlet? Maybe the best thing is to not fly at all.

Update 7-11-11: UK Telegraph reported on the successful detonation of a body bomb in October 2009. Why did this become a big story in summer 2011?

Ft. Knox to Hold Gadhafi's Gold?

2011-07-04T08:40:00.000-07:00

The Russians floated the idea that the U.S. jailed IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn because he found out there was no gold in Fort Knox. Information supposedly came from rogue CIA elements. This issue needs to be addressed by transparent and accountable leaders.

Suppose the U.S. is short on gold, where might they find enough to put on a good show for the public? Libya's Central Bank has 143.8 tons of Gadhafi gold.

Should Ft. Knox's vault ever be opened, who's gold might we see? Could it be the fool who entertained Western corporate interests and Bush/Obama dignitaries, also known as bundlers? There's no such thing as a half capitalist, much less a reluctant one.

Surely, gold is as traceable as cluster bombs and leaders voluntarily live up to their promises of transparency. That might be a stretch under our leadership corpora-whorehouse, ably passed from Bush to Obama, which leads us back to Dominique Strauss-Kahn. It's enough to make one gag.

Risk factor: The Ft. Know gold shown to the public might not be Gadhafi's. It could be a hologram, like our leaders.

Update 8-27-11: Gadhafi's gold could be with him in Zimbabwe, according to Mail Online

Sarkozy Warns of Chaos and Anarchy

2011-05-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

Two "democratically elected" leader quotes are below. The first is from French President Nicholas Sarkozy at the G8 meeting (reported 5-24-11):

Democratic governments "are the only legitimate representatives of the will of the people, to forget this is to take the risk of democratic chaos and hence anarchy."

The next is from President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a purveyor of military interventions on behalf of U.S. corporate interests (Anglo-American Oil) in Iran and Guatemala (United Fruit):

"I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it."

Military interventionist Sarkozy could learn from the past, but that's so trite, even passe for this crop of world leaders. Eisenhower stated:

Any man who wants to be president is either an egomaniac or crazy.

President Obama and Sarkozy led the race toward war on Libya. They claimed to act on behalf of defenseless civilians. However, their method for intervention, war, carries a huge loss of innocent lives. There are the direct deaths from off course missiles and unexploded ordinance, like cluster bomblets.

Add indirect deaths caused by conditions of war, lack of sanitation, safe drinking water, and access to food, medicines and health care. These cause the majority of civilian deaths, a fact well known by war makers. Iraq paid numerous prices for Western style freedom. One admitted by Secretary of State Madeline Albright was the death of 500,000 Iraqi children under UN sanctions and an imposed "no fly zone." That's a fraction of the total price.

Eisenhower came to rue war:

When people speak to you about a preventive war, you tell them to go and fight it. After my experience, I have come to hate war. War settles nothing.

Eisenhower also warned about the influence of the "military-industrial complex," which morphed in the current "government-corporate monstrosity," fed by decades on federal budget steroids. These factors intersect in NATO's Libyan intervention. Who knew a rag tag group of Libyan rebels had such impressive corporate skills?

Sarkozy's derided "social media" helped Middle Eastern citizens get their government back from U.S. allied dictators, however briefly. Sarkozy and Obama look like Eisenhower, before his hard earned wisdom. The corporate oriented War Brothers bear watching. Consider Eisenhower's words:

Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels - men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.

The neutral internet could be used for that very purpose by "democratic governments."

Update 6-12-11: President Obama sent his Assistant Attorney General and Internet lawyer to the Bilderberg Group meeting, where controlling the internet was clearly a topic. So much for democracies and free speech. Sarkozy believes speech "that matters" is by those in power.

Geronimo's Headdress at bin Laden EKIA

2011-05-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

The undoctored White House photo of the Osama bin Laden situation room shows a picture of Geronimo holding an Indian headdress.

The Independent reported:

It was on Sunday afternoon that the drama of at last netting “Geronimo” – the code name given to Bin Laden for the operation – began. Obama, Clinton, Gates, Donilon, Brennan and a few others huddled in the White House Situation Room. A video and audio link connected them to Leon Panetta, the CIA director in Langley, Virginia, who would talk them through what was going on in Pakistan in real time, beginning with the helicopters carrying the Seals clattering through the night sky and arriving above their target.

“They’ve reached the target,” Panetta began, according to one version reported by the New York Times. Minutes later, he added: “We have a visual on Geronimo.” Finally, they heard Panetta say: “Geronimo EKIA (enemy killed in action).” Still nobody said anything. Then Obama looked up and said simply, “We got him”.

This isn't the first time Obama stiffed Native Americans from a cultural perspective. Nor is it the first time the feds took an intense interest in Geronimo's headdress. Get the picture?

Birds of a feather flock together. Tom Donilon, Bob Gates ...

America's Military-Spying Complex Knotted at the Top

2011-04-27T13:34:00.000-07:00

The United States' warrior-spook culture got a giant boost from Obama administration announcements. CIA Chief Leon Panetta will take over as Pentagon Chief, while General David Petraeus will head up the CIA.

This is an interesting move, given the CIA's historical role in starting wars. Also interesting, White House officials leaked the changes, but officially refused to confirm them prior to President Obama's Thursday announcement. It's a sign of intelligence.

Also, Obama will appoint Bush's Middle East tamperer Ryan Crocker as Ambassador of Afghanistan, once again proving Obama is Bush's man.

Homeland Security: Threat of Fireworks Discharge "Imminent"

2011-04-22T22:28:00.000-07:00

The odds of dying from a fireworks discharge are 1 in 386,766. That's twice the odds of dying of a terror attack in a foreign country, 1 in 650,000. That risk of terror attack is even lower in the U.S.

Homeland Securities five level, colored terror threat system will be replaced by two threat levels, “elevated” and “imminent.” If America's terror system is the model, citizens are in imminent danger of being struck by lightning, odds 1 in 84,079.

For this citizens and their children are molested by airport security? There's a common link to this madness, Frances Townsend and Michael Chertoff. They personally profit from the inane system.

Update 5-3-11: The shooting death of Osama bin Laden did not change America's terror status. However, the official account did.

Clinton's Cluster Stand

2011-04-21T14:13:00.000-07:00

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came out against cluster bomb use. Reuters reported:

Speaking at a Washington news conference with visiting Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal, Clinton said: "Colonel Gaddafi's troops continue their vicious attacks including the siege of Misrata.

"There are even reports that Gaddafi forces may have used cluster bombs against their own people."

It's about time. Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama remained silent on Israel's use of cluster bombs in Lebanon in 2006 and Gaza in 2008-09. Can we get her to stick to her stance, by pushing U.S. participation in the worldwide ban on cluster bombs?

Key (cluster bomb) producing and stockpiling countries, including the United States, China, Israel, North Korea and Russia have not signed up for the international ban..

The U.S. tends to waffle, depending on who drops cluster munitions, in the case of ally Israel, and who builds them. Manufacturers in 2007:

Companies making cluster bombs in America include AeroJet, Alliant Tech Systems, General Dynamics, L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and Textron Defense Systems.

A protester once carried the sign: "Hey Hillary, It Takes a Village to Resist Imperialism." Can they show up at the Today show?

P.S. This author believes cluster munitions have no place in violent conflict, due to the high rate of unexploded ordinance.

Update 6-2-11: Reports suggest the U.S. Navy dropped cluster bombs on Misratah. America is a huge producer of weapons. Surely, whoever sold them knows the perpetrator and will share the answer in an open and transparent democracy.

Freedom to Have Domestic Drones

2011-04-18T10:33:00.000-07:00

WaPo reported:

By 2013, the FAA expects to have formulated new rules that would allow police across the country to routinely fly lightweight, unarmed drones up to 400 feet above the ground - high enough for them to be largely invisible eyes in the sky.

Such technology could allow police to record the activities of the public below with high-resolution, infrared and thermal-imaging cameras.

Senator Chuck Schumer wants unmanned Air Force drones unleashed in upstate New York. An Air Force representative said:

It is unlikely the drone ever will carry an armament load locally, but training missions will require crews to spot buildings and vehicles from afar. Department of Defense regulations prohibit the plane to be used for domestic surveillance, so any sighting of objects will be random.

Drones will be used for "disaster relief and homeland defense." How long before the predicable mission creep or one off incident?

When a U.S. Navy UAV helicopter disregarded its directions and errantly flew toward the U.S. capital it may have confirmed the concerns of many pilots, but it immediately engaged military officials who had pressing decisions to make. The 2 August (2010) incident put a runaway MQ-8B Fire Scout over populated areas near busy airspace. The head of the U.S. Northern Command and NORAD, Admiral Sandy Winnefeld, was watching “very closely” as the aircraft “headed right for the heart of the national capital region.” Commanders considered their options. “Do you let it run out of gas and hopefully crash in a farmer’s field or do you actually take action to shoot it down?”

As the one off already occurred, how long before creepy mission gets mission creep? When will America conduct its first domestic summary execution? What will the -A-ir Force payout to the victim's surviving relatives?

Update 4-21-11 U.S. armed drones are headed to Libya. Summary execution is a key element of Western freedom.

Update 5-7-11: The U.S. performed a summary execution of terrorist Osama bin Laden. MIT Professor Noam Chomsky weighed in on the act. Chomsky failed to mention the various stories offered by the White House regarding the raid. That seems to be another act, fictional drama for the masses.

Update 9-6-11: NPR did a story on drone attacks in Pakistan. "Started under the Bush administration, the strikes into Pakistan have increased fivefold under President Obama. Last year, there were 118." Since 2004 there have been 270. Obama loves summary execution

Middle East Freedom to Protest

2011-04-09T20:59:00.000-07:00

While the West wages war with Libya, let's check in on the state of freedom to protest in Middle East:

Egypt's ruling generals said on Saturday they were ready to use force to end protests in Tahrir Square after troops cracked down on demonstrators overnight and sparked violence that medical sources said killed two people. (Reuters)

Yemeni security forces fired on demonstrators in three cities yesterday, leaving many wounded (Bloomberg)

Massive protests calling for the ouster of Syria’s authoritarian president turned deadly again Friday, with witnesses and human rights workers reporting the deaths of as many as three dozen protesters across the country and the government saying for the first time that members of its security forces had also been killed. (WaPo)

In Jordan, a man was in critical condition after setting himself on fire Thursday in front of the prime minister’s office, in the first such act of protest there, emulating the action of a Tunisian vendor late last year that triggered a chain reaction of protests across the region. (WaPo)

Heavy security prevented fresh protests after Friday prayers in Oman's city of Sohar, where protesters camped out for over a month before security forces moved them out last week. Demonstrations in Oman have focused on demands for better wages, jobs and an end to corruption. Many protesters have demanded the state prosecute sacked ministers for corruption. (Arab Times)

Bahrain’s crown prince said he was committed to reform but warned there would be “no leniency” for those who tried to divide the kingdom, where weeks of protests were quashed by a fierce security crackdown. (Arab Times)

The Council on Foreign Relations weighed in:

“We’re obviously in a period of unraveling of the old, and violence is a part of that,” said Robert Danin, senior fellow for Middle East/Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). “But it’s premature to conclude that this is the new normal.”

CFR represents U.S. corporate interests, which historically used violence to open markets or get access to natural resources, frequently working with Middle East strongmen, the very subject of protests.

ExxonMobil CEO Alex Dodds emphasized Qatar’s most commercially beneficial characteristics in providing a stable political and economic climate to encourage the US to invest so heavily. (The Peninsula)

The old used violence and oppression to remain in power, frequently with America's blessing. But change brings opportunity.

The US government is sponsoring efforts to help activists in Arab and other countries gain access to technology that circumvents government firewalls, secures telephone text and voice messages, and prevents attacks on websites.

The State Department said it has already funded efforts by private firms, mainly from the United States, to develop a dozen different technologies to circumvent government censorship firewalls.

How can we get the version that keeps the U.S. government from spying on citizens? Can whistleblowers get the download? It might save their retirement benefits.

Update 4-19-11: Syria and Yemen security forces fired on demonstrators, yet again. Funerals ignite another round of protests, where government forces kill more people.

Update 5-27-11: French President Nicholas Sarkozy said at the G-8 meeting. Democratic governments "are the only legitimate representatives of the will of the people," he said. "To forget this is to take the risk of democratic chaos and hence anarchy."

Military Rule Enforces Egypt's Democracy 1.0

2011-04-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

Aljazeera reported:

Hundreds of army soldiers and Central Security officers stormed Cairo's Tahrir Square in the early morning hours on Saturday, firing shots into the air and beating protesters with cattle prods and batons to disperse a crowd of thousands, witnesses said.

Tens of thousands of people had flooded into the square in one of the largest demonstrations since former President Hosni Mubarak stepped down on February 11. They spent the day calling for the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which nows runs the country, to honour their demands, including prosecuting a number of former high-ranking regime officials and Mubarak himself.

Few leaders are held accountable for their nefarious deeds. Protesters were lucky to get the first round of protests without major blowback from strongman Mubarek. Hosni's henchmen are now in charge. Egypt is stuck at Democracy 1.0.

CIA Doesn't Wear Boots

2011-03-31T13:22:00.000-07:00

The Guardian headline read "Robert Gates: No U.S. boots on ground." Apparently, the CIA doesn't wear boots. Does Khalifa Hifter, who lived for twenty years within walking distance of CIA's Langley operation? What is proper footwear for fighting on the ground in Libya?

Meanwhile, a Chinese newspaper gave Gadhafi a chance to be heard: He offered an "oil threat" to nations involved in military action. Gadhafi is apparently unaware, the West always gets its oil. Look for NATO to level the fighting field for rebels, which requires people on the ground.

I'm sure they'll find a way to warn Gadhafi, giving him a chance to escape the country and war crimes prosecution. Does anyone have Gadhafi's shoe-phone number?

Libyan Chalabi?

2011-03-30T20:09:00.000-07:00

Three weeks before bombs fell over Libya, Iraq's Ahmad Chalabi opined in the WSJ:

The news from Libya is an all-too-chilling reminder of those dark days in Iraq. (Up to 330,000 Iraqi civilians were killed by Saddam's brutal tactics, which included using helicopter gunships to strafe neighborhoods and tanks to blast schools, hospitals and places of worship.) It is no coincidence that Gadhafi often mentions Iraq in his tirades. He knows how Saddam clung to power by sheer brute force while playing on the West's fear of instability.

The Libyan regime has already used aircraft against unarmed protesters, among other atrocities. That's why it is imperative for the United Nations Security Council to impose a no-fly zone over the most populous areas of Libya.

Two days before President Obama and allies implemented the Libyan "no fly zone", I wrote the following to a friend:

The U.S. had people in Afghanistan the day after 9-11, well before any UN resolutions. If we wanted to help Libya's freedom fighters, the CIA long had methods for doing so.

Once the no fly zone is established, it should take little time to decimate Libya's woeful air power, assuming Uncle Sam isn't lying.

The U.S. assessment of Libya's air capabilities:

"Only a small number of aircraft were actually flying. A Pentagon analysis of Libya's air capabilities shows the overall readiness of Libyan aircraft is poor by western standards and most aircraft are now dated or obsolete in terms of avionics or upgrades. Eighty percent of the air force is judged to be "non-operational and "overhaul and combat repair capability is also limited."

So what's next? U.S. et al control air space over part of a country with a heinous dictator. The global economy squeezes Gadhafi financially forcing his people to suffer, another humanitarian crisis. Ask Madeline Albright about 500,000 Iraqi children, who died due to lack of medicines and/or safe drinking water..

The U.S. might have credibility under human rights if it didn't summarily execute thousands of people via drone fired missiles or systematically torture prisoners of war (renamed enemy combatants), renditioning them to countries known for torture, like our ally Egypt.

Libya is a terrible situation. Gadhafi has long been nuts. It just looks like an early Iraq and we know how that turned out. I'd like to see the whole U.S. plan on Libya, not just the "humanitarian aid" marketing spiel.

Fitting the early Iraq analogy, the U.S. sent the Libyan version of Ahmed Chalabi to help Libyan rebels. Khalifa Hifter, a former Libyan military leader, spent the last twenty years living in a D.C. suburb. Newspaper reports make no mention of Hifter's work in the U.S. Did the CIA have Hifter on its payroll, like Chalabi? Did Hifter help the opposition set up a Libyan Oil Company and Central Bank two days after the UN Resolution?

WaPo reported:

Officials said Wednesday that President Obama has issued a secret finding that would authorize the CIA to carry out a clandestine effort to provide arms and other support to Libyan opposition groups.

NYT reported CIA operatives are on the ground in Libya, like they were in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Central Intelligence Agency has inserted clandestine operatives into Libya to gather intelligence for military airstrikes and to contact and vet the beleaguered rebels battling Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s forces, according to American officials.

AlJazeeraEnglish discounts the West's ability to influence Libyan rebel leaders:

NATO's nurturing of the Libyan opposition means only one of two: Afghanistan's Karzai or Iraq's Chalabi.

It looks more Chalabish at this point. Violence causes more violence. Military intervention kills, as do economic sanctions and no fly zones. The score for Iraq pre-2003, Saddam killed 330,000 Iraqi civilians, the West 500,000 Iraqi children. Secretary of State Madeline Albright found that an acceptable price to pay. I'm still waiting for the whole U.S. plan on Libya. It trickles out day by day.

Arming Unknown Libyan Rebels

2011-03-29T15:38:00.000-07:00

The Guardian reported:

The US and Britain have raised the prospect of arming Libya's rebels if air strikes fail to force Muammar Gaddafi from power.

At the end of a conference on Libya in London, Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said for the first time that she believed arming rebel groups was legal under UN security council resolution 1973, passed two weeks ago, which also provided the legal justification for air strikes.

America's envoy to the UN, Susan Rice, said earlier the US had "not ruled out" channelling arms to the rebels.

The British foreign secretary, William Hague, agreed that the resolution made it legal "to give people aid in order to defend themselves in particular circumstances".

The west's main Arab ally, Qatar, also said providing weapons to Gaddafi's opponents should be considered if air strikes failed to dislodge him. The Gulf state's prime minister, Sheikh Hamad Al-Thani, said the effect of air strikes would have to be evaluated in a few days, but added: "We cannot let the people suffer for too long."

Yet, the Pentagon said the unknown opposition may have Al Qaeda and Hezbollah elements. Are we back to "the enemy of my enemy is my friend?" That didn't work so well in Afghanistan. Who will the world arm to get rid of Gadhafi? That's if Gadhafi doesn't take the offer to leave, avoiding a war crimes trial.

Update: Libya's oil money can pay for rebel weapons, now that Treasury approved opposition oil sales.

Supporting Unknown Libyan Rebels (with an Oil Company & Central Bank)

2011-03-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

CSPAN reported:

When asked at the Defense Department briefing about who the opposition rebels are, Vice Admiral William Gortney told the press that he did not know. "We would like a much better understanding of the opposition but we don't have it," Gortney said. He said they are providing neither direct support nor is the U.S. "consulting" with those fighting Col. Gadhafi's forces.

So the U.S. Military doesn't know who is behind the new Libyan Oil Company and Central Bank? The U.S. Treasury is negotiating with the group. The President said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would meet with the Libyan opposition. He went on to say:

We will safeguard the more than $33 billion that was frozen from the Qaddafi regime so that it’s available to rebuild Libya. After all, the money doesn’t belong to Qaddafi or to us -- it belongs to the Libyan people. And we’ll make sure they receive it.

They established a new oil company and monetary authority a mere two days after the United Nations Resolution. Our Secretary of State clearly knows who "they" is, but the Pentagon doesn't? Bizarre. It's one heck of a conundrum.

Update 8-25-11: The U.S. plans to release $1.5 billion in seized Libyan assets to "relevant authorities."

Update 8-28-11: Libya's Rebel rulers promised to honor all legal oil deals.

Egyptian Revolution 1.0

2011-03-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

"We can see a national dialogue begin, where the government of Egypt must take concrete steps for democratic and economic reform."--Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 1-30-11

AhramOnline reported Egypt's scales tipped away from democratic freedom::

The Egyptian cabinet today approved a decree-law that criminalizes protests, demonstrations and sit-ins that interrupt private or state owned businesses or affect the economy in any way.

The decree-law also assigns severe punishment to those who call for or incite sit-ins, with the maximum sentence one year in prison and fines of up to half a million pounds.

“This law would only be implemented during times of emergency law and those draft laws would be presented to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to issue a decree,” Magdy Rady, spokesman for the cabinet told Ahram Online.

This rings of "economic freedom," not personal liberty. All an oppressive regime needs is a threatened state owned business to take away citizens' free speech rights.

Another loss of freedom is implied in the law, the monitoring of citizen communications. Otherwise, how would the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces know who called for or incited a sit-in?

The Egyptian Revolution will remain at 1.0, with no upgrades in sight.

(Thanks to EPJ for the lead)

Update 3-28-11: President Obama remarked in his speech on Libya. "There are places, like Egypt, where this change will inspire us and raise our hopes." Harkens back to "Hope & Change"...

Freedom Packages

2011-03-22T20:43:00.003-07:00

War with Libya: A British View

2011-03-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

Interview with George Galloway. A long line of Western leaders courted Gadhafi over the last five years. They don't like being made the fool.

Raising questions about who benefits from U.S. policy is a longstanding American tradition.

Where's Congress in War with Libya?

2011-03-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

The U.S. military struck Libya, alongside allied nations. They sent over 100 cruise missiles on the basis of Arab League and United Nations resolutions.. That foundation is already fracturing. WaPo reported:

The Arab League secretary general, Amr Moussa, deplored the broad scope of the U.S.-European bombing campaign in Libya on Sunday and said he would call a new league meeting to reconsider Arab approval of the Western military intervention.

Doesn't the Congress declare war under the U.S. Constitution? The Guardian reported the U.S. position:

Admiral Mike Mullen, who we reported talking earlier to NBC, has made more comments now to CBS on what the outcome could be in Libya to CBS.

He says it's a possibility the situation could end up in a stalemate with Gaddafi clinging on to power. Mullen said the air mission in Libya was "clear and limited in scope" but said the future was "very uncertain".

The chair of the joint chief of staffs, said on NBC's Meet the Press that he recognised the possibility that Gaddafi could stay on, adding "It's very uncertain on how this ends."

He later told CNN's State of the Union programme that the operation "isn't about seeing him [Gaddafi] go".

Mullen acknowledged he didn't have a definitive answer on the political situation but said Gaddafi was more isolated than after the no-fly zone and an arms embargo were enforced. He said Gaddafi was "going to have to make some choices about his own future."

An interesting aside, the following nations were identified as hostile to the U.S. by the Project for the New American Century: North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Syria. Obama has one PNAC adviser, Dennis Ross.

What are America's criteria for intervening in the Middle East-North Africa, given numerous dictatorial regimes with spotty human rights records? Once intervention is decided, what's the aim, from a militarily, political, economic and human rights standpoint? How can those be achieved while minimizing death and suffering caused by war and internal conflict? Maybe, Congress will answer these questions, when they get around to approving the war.

Update 3-22-11: The Constitutional question over authority to declare war is the subject of a NYT piece.