News, Analysis and Action on U.S. militarism in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Iran

In-Depth Analysis, continued
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• The 2012 national security budget requested by the White House is nearly twice the requested Department of Defense budget of $676 billion. When adding budget requests for Homeland Security, counterterrorism, intelligence, veterans' benefits, pension benefits for military and civilian DOD employees, interest on debt, and some "unknowns", the total for national security is an estimated $1.3 trillion. See: The Real US National Security Budget: The Figure No One Wants you to See


• The Obama administration has been "conspicuously quiet" on violent government response to protesters in Yemen and Iraq, in contrast to unfriendly governments like that of Iran. See: US Silent as Iraqi Regime Cracks Down


• Defense Secretary Gates, speaking at West Point, said that "the odds of repeating another Afghanistan or Iraq...may be low." The future will be fought with air and sea power. See: Gates Warns Against More Wars like Iraq and Afghanistan


• In Obama's State of the Union address in January 2011, he made misleading comments about progress in the war in Afghanistan. He claimed that the war is against al-Qaeda, when al-Qaeda has left Afghanistan; that fewer Afghanis are controlled by the insurgency when the Pentagon's 11/2010 biannual report to Congress shows no change in extent of insurgent control (38%). The number of insurgent fighters has risen, violence has increased, coalition casualties are at an all time high, and 1/4 of our national deficit since 2003 is attributed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. See: State of the War in Afghanistan: The Good, the Bad, and the Inaccurate


• The US surge in southern Afghanistan, beginning February 2010, has failed to reverse insurgents' momentum and has increased civilian insecurity there through air strikes and greater insurgent attacks in Helmand Province. 2010 was the worst year of the war for war-related civilian deaths. See: On Anniversary of Marjah Push, Escalation Strategy Still Failing


• American political strategy in Afghanistan has been subordinated to military and intelligence operations. The author sketches the history of the U.S. passing up opportunities to engage with the Taliban in serious negotiations. It's past time for the U.S. to shift to "diplomacy aimed at reinforcing Afghan political unity, neutrality, civil rights and social cohesion." See: U.S.-Taliban Talks


• This comparison of U.S. and China’s 2011 budgets for military and clean energy investments reveals that the U.S. has a ratio of military to clean energy of 41:1 while China’s is that of 2 1/2:1. The U.S is being left behind in solar and wind energy gains. See: Military vs. Climate Security: US and China Worlds Apart


• Despite heavy pressure and manipulation by armed forces, President Eisenhower cut the military budget by 20%. After Eisenhower, the “militaristic alliance” within the administration (DOD, State, CIA) pushed the White House into war in Vietnam. 9/11 was a boon for the militaristic alliance: special ops in many countries; CIA drone war in Pakistan; long war in Afghanistan; doubling of military budget between 1998 and 2008. See: From Military-Industrial Complex to Permanent War State


• The writer traveled to Afghanistan in December 2010 with Voices for Creative Nonviolence. 2010 was the year of the largest number of soldiers, humanitarian workers and citizens killed since the start of the war in 2001. At least 120,000 Afghans have been internally displaced in horrific refugee camps over the last 1 ½ years. The Taliban has grown about 5-fold since 2006; Kabul “feels like a prison.” The Administration’s December review of the war is delusional. See: The Tragic US Strategy in Afghanistan


• As Congress begins debate on the federal deficit, Representative Kucinich pleads that they debate the current wars and the more than $1 trillion they have added to the deficit. Guns have stolen butter from the economy. See: Kucinich: What Will We sacrifice for These Wars?


• Lockheed Martin, a giant weapons corporation, penetrates all of government with contracts won from more than two dozen federal agencies and with facilities in 46 states. It ranks #1 for contractor misconduct; and it tops congressional lobbying and campaign contributions. It is the epitome of Eisenhower’s warning of armaments contractors dictating national policy. See: Is Lockheed Martin Shadowing You?


• This article traces the history from World War II onward of generals stepping into the revolving door from military to the defense industries, revealing the increase over time. The author recommends that a required period of 10 years between military and defense work be inaugurated to minimize the conflict of interest. See: Solution: Fixing General Disgust


• The ratio of military to climate security spending varies widely between the United States and China, the top two economies for climate changes emissions, Climate change spending to military spending for China is $1:$2.5; for the US it is $1:$41. See: Military vs. Climate Security: US and China Worlds Apart


• The mainstream news media did not cover a major demonstration against the war in Afghanistan in which veterans played a prominent role and in which 135 protesters including many veterans for peace were arrested. The demonstration coincided with a poll in which 60% of Americans stated that the "war is not worth it" and also with the White House report on "progress" in the war in Afghanistan. In other words, the major media conspired to cover up the anti-war demonstration and arrests. See: New Black-Out in DC: Pay No Attention to Those Veterans Chained to the White House Fence.


• It's a "must" for US presidents to sustain the "national narcissism" of US exceptionalism. As to President's Obama paean to "the finest fighting force in the world," the author, a retired lieutenant colonel and military historian, disputes its accuracy. As for George Bush's claim that the military is "the greatest force for human liberation the world has ever known," the writer claims that " the pen has...been mightier than the sword." See: Freedom Fighters for a Fading Empire


• The US had two purposes in giving NATO a major role in the war in Afghanistan: to focus US troops on the planned war in Iraq and to re-invigorate NATO which was weakened after collapse of Soviet Union. See: How Afghanistan Became a War for NATO


• An interview with the Congressional Progressive Caucus policy advisor on the war in Afghanistan reveals a more critical review of the war in Afghanistan at the end of 2010 than from the White House. The key points: war profiteering by the private defense industry which has been empowered by the two recent wars; military efforts at development fail and fuel insurgency. Development must be done by independent agencies working with local councils on the ground. See: A Real December Review for Afghanistan


• In 2010 the CIA fired two times the number of drones into Pakistan as in 2009, killing two times the number of people as in 2009. Most target the Haqqani network, Thirty years ago the US trained Haqqani to fight a proxy war against the Soviet military. an effort which cultivated the Taliban. And Haqqani was offered a post in government after the 2001 US invasion. As with Saddam Hussein, past supported allies are now enemies. See: CIA Drone Strikes Kill 25 in Pakistan


• The New START treaty was ratified by the Senate in late December and, perversely included $185 billion over the next decade for modernizing the U.S. nuclear weapons production complex and delivery vehicles. The author suggests that the most promising route for activists is not the treaty route but to mobilize to block nuclear "modernization." See: After New START: Where Does Nuclear Disarmament Go From Here?


• We have a billionaire military and a pauper democracy," writes Nicholas Kristoff, in which the military has more people in its marching bands than the Department of State has foreign diplomats. The US defense budget equals almost all of the rest of the world's put together, while the cost of 1 US soldier in the Afghanistan war could build 20 schools in Afghanistan. See: The Big (Military) Taboo


• The Afghan war has never been a big story for US news, never rising 4-5 percent per year since 2009; and it was ignored during the November 2010 mid-term election.  Some blame "war fatigue" on the part of the public; others, the few news resources in the field. History is likely to judge negatively the paucity of journalism and the lack of tough questions in news stories.  See: Afghan War Just a Slice of U.S. Coverage


• The US-touted "progress in southern Afghanistan is at the price of greater antagonism to foreign troops. There has been large-scale demolition of houses, in violation of Geneva Conventions, tactics which will feed the cycle of revenge and rejection of the government. Apparently, Americans have to destroy the villages to make them safe. See:Gains in Kandahar Came with More Brutal US Tactics


• DynCorp, exposed for sex trafficking in Bosnia in 1999 and for distributing a rape video in Colombia, has been involved in using boys in Afghanistan for entertainment. DynCorps recently signed the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers which prohibits sex exploitation, including prostitution and sex abuse. The company also belongs to a trade group whose code of conduct prohibits the same. See: It's deja vu for DynCorp All Over Again


• There are only a few years over the last 50 in which military spending did not increase over previous years, whether the US was at war or not, whether Democrats or Republicans governed The US spends more on the military than the next 15 largest military budgets combined. See: What Ike Got Right


• In a recent commissioned poll, 55% of Afghans stated that they want US forces out of their country and 73% oppose the airstrikes even if they help defeat the Taliban. See: Afghans Overwhelmingly Want US Troops Out - and Soon


• " The DoD has not passed an independent audit in 20 years." A Veteran government fraud investigator outlines a solution for assessing and controlling the inflated, fraudulent costs of private military contractors (PMCs): a special team of top government auditors appointed by the secretary of the Department of Defense to "scrub" the PMC contracts for waste, fraudulence,and "fat."  Congress could mandate that the audit be done and hold oversight hearings.  The solution addresses military waste, but not militarism per se.  See: Solution: The Pentagon Continues to Overpay for Everything; Let's Fix It  


• In two articles, national security correspondent for The Nation magazine, documents the shadow wars being conducted by US military in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia without Congressional oversight. The Obama administration has expanded the Bush policy of the "world is the battlefield" with more intensive Special Forces counterterrorism operations in a larger number of countries (from 60 under Bush to 75 now). Training of militaries in other nations is often a cover for lethal action. Scahill poses the questions of: whether U.S. security is strengthened or diminished by these covert military operations and what is the role of Congressional oversight in these shadow wars. See: On Behalf of Afghan Families, Journalist Testifies before Congress and The (Not So) Secret (Anymore) US War in Pakistan


• This article captures the complexity of Afghan women's plight: endangered by the instability of war, fearful of a return of the Taliban rule, and left out of government meetings with warring factions. See: Afghan Women Fear Loss of Modest Gains


• President Obama signed a waiver from the Child Soldiers Prevention Act in order to sell weapons to 4 countries using child soldiers - Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Yemen, citing "national interests" as the reason to continue providing military aid to them. See: White House Says Child Soldiers Are O.K., if They Fight Terrorists


• Wikileaks reveals many incidents of Private Military Contractors' (PMCs) reckless killings in Iraq with impunity. PMCs now number up to 40,000 in Iraq and Afghanistan, with security duties equivalent to soldiers. The State Department is not prepared for oversight of this "civilian surge" of PMCs. See: Wikileaks Iraq War Logs Reveal Private Military Contractors Killing with Impunity


• The war in Afghanistan has drifted into the realm of the invisible in the United States, with mid-term election politicians and media avoiding it and with the deficit commission and deficit debates ignoring it. See: Kandahar: The Latest Casualty of an Invisible War


• While Americans fight over whether the job stimulus program was too big or too small, the U.S. government has allotted nearly $1 billion for a mammoth embassy in Kabul, on the scale of the "Vatican City" - size embassy in Baghdad, and refurbished a counterpart in Islamabad, Pakistan. Taken together the 3 imperial embassies function as "command and control" centers in the greater Middle East. See: The Stimulus Package in Kabul


• In this set of related articles on the plight of women in Afghanistan and the US/NATO war there, three key points are made: 1.) the US/NATO war and the corrupt Karzai government strengthen the Taliban; 2.) negotiating with the Taliban for peace "completes the circle of warlordism and fundamentalism in Afghanistan"; and 3.) real change in Afghanistan will only come from a national anti-fundamentalist and democracy-loving movement built by Afghanis with world solidarity and support. See: Afghan Women and the War: Landy/Harrison, Malalai Joya, Nicholas Kristoff


• The US, which sells to Pakistan, is now selling to India, a boon which may be a "sales lifeline" for US weapons contractors. See: Wealthy and Worried, India Is Rich Arms Market


• The United States is stepping up American military presence across Asia and into the Indian Ocean, with more military exercises with Australia, Singapore, and Indonesia. See: US to Step Up Military Presence Across Asia, Into Indian Ocean.


• The Wikileaks document released in late October underestimated the number of Iraqi deaths in the US-lead war there, according to the MIT Center for International Studies. The most rigorous study of "excess deaths" from the war found 650,000 deaths from violent and non-violent causes as of mid-2006. Many more deaths followed this period from an escalation of violence and severe breakdown of health and hygiene systems. See: Wikileaks Docs Underestimate Iraqi Dead


• The Campaign for Peace and Democracy statement on US policy toward Iran opposes the US-led campaign to impose harsher sanctions on Iran and the threat of war. The sanctions and war threats only strengthen Ahmadinejab, and they expose the hypocritical American policy of possessing nuclear weapons and tolerating nuclear weapons with friendly countries while threatening a country which has none. See: End the War Threats and Sanctions Program Against Iran - Support the Struggle for Democracy Inside Iran


• While the Vietnam War produced legions of critical books for the anti-war audience, recent books (some published by the Pentagon) on the war in Afghanistan focus on how to improve doctrine, strategies and tactics in order to win and are devoid of considerations for the "moral basis for the war," "All of this suggests that perhaps if we stopped celebrating 'rough men,' " concludes the author, "we could all sleep easier." See: How the Pentagon Tries to Influence What Books You Can Read About Afghanistan


• Extensive research at the University of Chicago's Project on Security and Terrorism, which examined over 2,200 suicide attacks across the world from 1980 to the present, found that "more than 95 percent of all suicide attacks are in response to foreign occupation" and not Islamic fundamentalism or any other comparable ideology. American wars and occupations in Afghanistan and Iraq make Americans less safe - "in fact, they are the heart of the problem." See: It's the Occupation Stupid


• US policy in Afghanistan - both increase in air strikes and night raids and psychological operations to sow distrust within Taliban - is spurring a new generation of more extreme Taliban. See: Killing Reconciliation: How US Policy Undermines Peace in Afghanistan


• CIA drone strikes in Pakistan have become an adjunct of the US war in Afghanistan, with increasing latitude to use "based on inference rather than hard evidence." The number of deaths from drones since early 2008 is estimated between 1,109-1,734, with only 66 leading militants killed. A recent survey in the FATA region of Pakistan reveals overwhelming popular opposition to the drone strikes, growing anti-Americanism, and increasing recruitment of new militants. (Afghanistan-US Report Shows Drone Strikes Based on Scant Evidence http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=53194) Despite this, the Washington consensus, increasingly based more on showing measurable results that winning hearts and minds, is shifting from counterinsurgency to " bombs, missiles, and special-operations raids." See: This Week at War: The Biden Plan Returns


• Citing the FATA region survey in his speech on the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, peace veteran Tom Hayden states that modest like the Peace Corps (operating independent of US military) are far more important than the military model in regions of the world like the FATA tribal lands of Pakistan. See: The Peace Corps at 50


• In the Peace Exchange Bulletin, Tom Hayden has given best estimates on American casualties in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, including soldiers and contractors killed and wounded and military suicides, as well as total projected direct and indirect costs of the wars. See: The Costs of Iraq and Afghanistan


• The court case of 14 anti-war protesters who trespassed on the grounds of Creech Air Force Base on April 9, 2009 to protest U.S. Drones may turn into a referendum on drone warfare. Ramsey Clark, Col. Ann Wright, and Bill Quigley of the Center for Constitutional Rights testified on their behalf. The judge's verdict is expected on January 27, 2011. See: A Peace Movement Victory in Court


• A new Senate report on oversight of private military contractors (PMCs) in Afghanistan found failures in vetting, training, and supervising of DOD contractors. They are larger in number than US forces there; and almost 1/4 are armed. PMCs are generally unaccountable for crimes; some are insufficiently trained, and others have ties and funnel money to warlords and Taliban. See: Senate Urges Pentagon to Rein in Afghan Contractors


• This excerpt from Ann Jones' new book, War Is Not Over When It's Over: Women Speak Out from the Ruins of War, gives a deeply moving account and analysis of the link between the violence of war and domestic violence perpetrated by men traumatized by war. See: Violence Rages on Well After the Conflict Is Over -- How War-Time Torture Can Turn into a Life of Domestic Violence


• The recent sadistic assault of Afghanis is a sign of the breakdown in US soldiers in Afghanistan and Pakistan, induced by the personal destructiveness of war itself. According to the writer, we are at a moment of moral progress like that of the slave trade abolition in the 19th century. People recognize that war does not solve problems, it only perpetuates them. The alternative is to live lightly on the earth, diplomacy, and unarmed intervention. See: How to Replace the War System


• President Obama signed an Executive Order imposing economic sanctions on Iran for human rights abuses. Yet, there is no Justice Department action on Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld for illegal detention and torture of "war on terror" detainees in Guantanamo Bay and other sites. The Justice Department has also thwarted efforts in courts to win awards for victims of US torture, under the reasoning that the lawsuits pit human rights against national security. See: Obama Targets Iran for Human Rights Violations and Shields Bush Officials for Engaging in Same Abuses


• US military strategy in the Muslim world includes illegal (and never debated in Congress) mass assassination "unequaled in world history," conducted by Special Operations forces, CIA drones, and private espionage networks. It is a reckless short-term tactical strategy at the expense of longterm security. See: Mass Assassinations Lie at the Heart of America's Military Strategy in the Muslim World


• Peace talks involving Taliban are underway in Afghanistan. Why is the US waging a military offensive in Kandahar rather than pursuing diplomacy? Is it, as the author suggests, "because keeping the war going will armor the Pentagon from spending cuts?" See: Afghan Talks: A Delicate Moment


• Over the past 10 years of US military occupation and war in Afghanistan, the status of Afghan civilians with respect to food security, infant and child mortality, women's rights, drug use, Human Poverty Index, and Human Development Index have worsened. The one positive change is the number of children in school, although more than 1/2 are still not in school and most are girls. See: For the People of Afghanistan, Things Have Gone from Bad to Worse


• If anything the $3 trillion estimate total costs for the war in Iraq underestimated its true costs. The opportunity costs of the Iraq War -- that is, what may have been the impacts of no Iraq War -- include, potentially : a shorter war in Afghanistan, lower oil prices, smaller federal deficit, less severe global financial crisis, and more money for job stimulus. See: The True Cost of the Iraq War: $3 Trillion and Beyond


• A bipartisan report argues that the U.S. should stay with the withdrawal timetable for Afghanistan (begin July 2011) and intensify diplomacy and development. A protracted war, already the longest in U.S. history (9 years) and costing $110b per year, will likely increase Taliban recruitment and further threaten the U.S. economy. See: Calls for Change of Strategy in Afghanistan Grow Louder


• Many analyses of the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops and alleged "end" of the U.S. war in Iraq deconstruct the administration message and expose the slavish media coverage.


• The real transition underway in Iraq is from Pentagon to militarized State Department deployment. See: National Anti-War Coalition Calls for Complete Withdrawal from Iraq


• The surge in private military contractors into Iraq for armed services creates grave concerns about their accountability for crimes. See: Another False Ending: Contracting Out the Iraq Occupation


• The appearance of military to civilian responsibility in Iraq is, in fact, not likely to be true. The U.S. will likely renegotiate a post-2011 security agreement with Iraq to allow combat troops to stay in Iraq. See: Obama Plays Down Plan for Post-2011 Iraq Troop Presence


• A realistic look at post-war Iraq, in which 53 billion US dollars were spent in reconstruction of energy, water and wastewater infrastructure has little to show. Iraqis have less electricity per day than in 2003, the government is not functioning and not paying bills, and about 60% of doctors have fled the country as part of the "brain drain." See: Iraq Withdrawal: Amid Heat and Broken Promises, Only the Ice Man Cometh


• The role of media in coverage of the war was to rehash public officials statements and avoid geopolitics. The end of the Iraq war is a "re-branded mini occupation of Iraq." See: Media Manipulates the "End" of the War in Iraq


• An analysis which internalizes all of the real costs of assuring oil and gas for consumption, including the costs of US military presence and wars waged in the Persian Gulf as well as government subsidies for the industry and environmental pollution costs of production and use, concludes that the true cost of gas is $15 a gallon. See: Gas Is Really Costing Us about $15 a Gallon


• The primary government-supported jobs program is the military, including 1.4 million active duty, nearly 1 million in reserves, and 1.6 million in the military industrial complex. Congressionals have balked at any cuts in the defense budget of unnecessary/outdated weapons, to protect jobs in their districts. The result, argues Robert Reich, is a "covert" military job employment program with no civil sector counterpart in education, infrastructure, etc. -- the real security of our country. See: Our Only Existing Jobs Program Is the Military - An Insane Way to Keep Americans Employed


• The author poses 5 pointed "What If" scenarios to stem the metastasis of Washington militarism: ceasefire and withdraw in Afghanistan, blue ribbon commission to streamline the intelligence maze, elimination of all secret and private armies, 50% cuts in defense budget, abolition of department of homeland security. See: 5 Radical Ideas to Transcend Washington's War Mentality


• Two years investigation into US programs and private companies working on homeland security, counterterrorism, and intelligence since 9/11 found an "unwieldy enterprise spread over 10,000 locations." The problems uncovered include redundancy; secrecy and turf issues; and so much data that no one can see the big picture or prioritize problems. See: Top Secret America


• In this many layered historical analysis, Noam Chomsky catalogues the scale of the current expanding U.S offensive capacity in the Gulf Region against Iran -- enough to destroy the infrastructure of the country. He concludes that the nature of Iran's threat to the U.S. is that Iran's move to form regional partnerships undermines U.S. power in the region. See: Chomsky: is the U.S. Gearing Up for the Destruction of Iran?


• The longest war in U.S. history is worsening. 2010 has been the most insecure and deadliest year in war in Afghanistan. More than 1000 civilians have died this year, 61 percent in insurgent attacks. June was the worst year for US army suicides, with an average of 1 per day. See: Don't You Know There's a War On?


• After World War II only two liberal democracies kept faith in and pursued war to assure national security: Israel and the United States. For both, wars pursued have sown seeds of national insecurity and provided no concrete political advantage. Not losing wars has replaced winning wars: Victory is chimera. What is the point of waging war if it doesn't work, queries the author? See: The End of (Military) History


• This article, written by a retired lieutenant colonel, presents seven factors that "make constant war an American near certainty" and seven critical recommendations for "capping the wellsprings of war," focused on budget, militarization creep in US society, bringing war dollars home, and banishing myths that sell war. See: Hope and Change Fade, but War Endures  


• The House voted to fund $33 billion more for the war in Afghanistan, with strong but failed attempts to tie the funding to a withdrawal timetable and to spend the $33 billion on redeploying troops out of Afghanistan. See: Losing in Afghanistan


• The illegal US invasion of Iraq is compared to the British denial of sovereignty to American colonies. The Obama administration should stay on track for withdrawal of combat troops by the end of 2011, despite pressure to the contrary by the military. See: On Fourth of July, Let Iraq Go and War in Iraq Defies U.S. Timetable for End of Combat


• US use of drones for killing has widened into a drone war with unknown numbers of civilians. The risks involve stimulating the 40 some countries with drone capabilities to follow suit and a "Play Station mentality to killing." See: America Detached from War


• Wars of the future will increasingly include child soldiers, drones, and private military contractors. The low cost of weapons such as drones and AK 47s and their availability on the black market make civil conflict in rogue states, among warlords, etc highly possible. See: Peter Singer on Child Soldiers, Private Soldiers and Robot Soldiers


• The report of the UN Special Investigator on Extrajudicial Killings called on governments to lay out rules for conducting drone attacks, publish figures of civilian casualties, and prove that they attempted to capture suspects without killing them. It's unlikely the report will have any impact on the CIA drone war in the AF/Pak region. See: UN Criticism Not Likely to Stop CIA Drone Killings


• A bipartisan group of legislators and policymakers, The Sustainable Defense Task Force, has formed to make the case that "unrestrained military spending is a danger to the budget." They are lobbying for nearly $1 trillion in military budget cuts, targeting "overpriced, underperforming weapons" which function as boondoggle jobs programs.  See: The Military Money Pit


• The military of Somalia, of which an estimated 20% are children as young as 9, is substantially armed, trained and financed by the United States as part of its war on terror in the Horn of Africa. See: Children Carry Guns for a U.S. Ally


• In what appears to be the war model of the future, the Air Force us stepping up its drone capabilities with plans to increase substantially the number of drone analysts. See: Military Taps Social Networking Skills


• Skepticism is mounting among the US public, foreign policy specialists and top military officials about the US-NATO war in Afghanistan, with the rate of military casualties climbing and the failure of the "clear, hold, build" strategy in the recent assault on Marja. See: Obama's Afghanistan Strategy: The News Is Bad


• Two complementary analyses reveal the secret expansion of U.S. Special Operations forces into 75 countries (up from 60) in the regions of South Asia, Horn of Africa, Middle East and South America. Their goal is to "take the fight to al-Qaeda" using unilateral pre-emptive and retaliatory strikes, as well training and fighting with military in many countries. President Obama is committed and more involved than the previous administration in this "secret war" with the "world as battlefield." He has requested an increase in Special Operatives' budget, citing the Congressional authorization in 2001 after September 11 as the legal basis for expanding the war against al-Qaeda. The military anticipates no State Department interference and is gaining more freedom of movement in countries, without consultation with ambassadors. According to some critics, including the UN, US authority under both international law and the 2001 Congressional authorization, is highly questionable. See:
  • US 'Secret War' Expands Globally as Special Operations Forces Take Larger Role
  • Obama Is Secretly Deploying Elite U.S. Forces to Countries Across the Globe


• Mid- and low-level CIA employees oppose the agency's drone program in Pakistan and expect that it will cause "blowback" for the following reasons: 1.) imprecise criteria for drone targets and resultant deaths of civilians fuel anger and function to serve as a recruiting tool for Pakistan Taliban and al Qaeda; and 2.) perception of Americans who used unmanned weapons as cowards.   See: CIA Drone Operators Oppose Strikes as Helping al Qaeda


• At least 1/2 million displaced Iraqis are living in squatter camps around cities there, without water, electricity or health services -- a direct result of poverty and joblessness caused by the Iraq war and war-exacerbated ethnic and fundamentalist violence.  The U.S. has grave responsibility to address "the greatest humanitarian problem facing Iraq." See: Half a Million Displaced Iraqis Face Grim Future in Squalid Squatter Camps 


• This article on US use of drones in Pakistan concludes that it's time "to stop bombing and start talking."  The effectiveness of drones is highly debated; the CIA use of them in Pakistan is against international law; and they threaten to cause "blowback" from greatly increased Pakistani hostility. See: Of Drone Wars and Buffalo Urine


• This penetrating analysis of US wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan uncovers the desperate flip-flops in US policy toward each country and the vision-less escalation of the wars in the face of no other considered options. The author compares the conduct of the wars to British Petroleum's series of failed technical fixes for the oil hemorrhage in the Gulf of Mexico. See: Obama's Flailing Wars: A Study in BP-Style Pragmatism


• The peace process conference organized by the the Afghan Government and set for May 20 in Afghanistan, will include 200 women among the 1200 delegates - a result of much pressure from Afghan women.  The peace process requires the commitment of every involved party, including the United States.   Nonetheless, the U. S. is planning a major military offensive against Kandahar.  The majority of Kandahar citizens and leaders oppose the U.S. military offensive. See: Afghanistan: Talk About Offensive


• An assessment of the Obama administration's recent reports, pronouncements and actions indicates that the US government feels a) threatened by the potential of attack from al-Qaeda to China, and b) the need to invest in greater military defense for national security.    In particular, there is administration concern about China's growing economic prowess which is perceived as more of a threat than Russia's nuclear weapons.  U.S. military planning is focused on surrounding China with an anti-ballistic missile system, despite the fact that China has a military budget which is 5-10% that of the U.S.  See: Look Out, Obama Seems to be Planning for a Lot More War


• Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House and Senate, demanding an exit strategy and timetable for U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.  The 9-year war has killed tens of thousands of Afghanis; and more than 1000 U.S. soldiers, military contractors, and aid workers.  It has no clear mission nor basis in US national security, given that Al Qaida has left Afghanistan.  See: Demand an Afghanistan Exit Strategy


• President Obama has authorized scores of assassinations by drones, most notably in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Critics cite the practice as violating the US constitution and international law. See: Kucinich: White House Assassination Policy Is Extrajudicial


• Despite US rhetoric at the Nuclear Security Summit, the US is continuing to invest billions in nuclear weapons research and development and to support the current policy of limited but essential role for nuclear weapons as well as "first use" of nuclear weapons.  April 30-May 2, activists from all parts of the world will meet in New York City for a conference and march dedicated to a nuclear-free world, including no nuclear power plants.  They will advocate support for the Nuclear Weapons Convention submitted by Costa Rica to the UN in 2007 which calls for abolition of all nuclear weapons. See: The New Anti-Nuclear Movement


• Interviews with U.S.soldiers who were stationed in Iraq reveal that killing of Iraqis was often random and sadistic.  Rules of Engagement (ROE) from commanders changed "as frequently as underwear." Soldiers reacted out of fear and with total destruction in a situation charged with "profound ideological distortions," a situation that was "prone to sustained atrocity."    See: Iraq War Vet: "We Were Told to Just Shoot People, and the Officers Would Take Care of Us."


• Using US national defense policy and analysis, this article argues that the US will conduct "ritual" drawdown of combat forces in Iraq while leaving in place US troops, mercenaries, and 5 sprawling military bases.  This post-war occupation will assure a controlling military presence in that region of the world. See: Operation Enduring Operation


• There is a gap between the US military rhetoric of winning over Afghan civilians and the reality of night raids by Special Op forces, which have increased 4-fold from May to December 2009 and have caused a spike in civilian deaths.  The night raids violate the privacy of the home and provoke singular anger and resentment among Afghan civilians. See: McCrystal's Support for Raids Belies New Image 


• Thirty years of war in Afghanistan have resulted in the country becoming the world's first economy fully dependent on production of and trade in a single illicit drug.   Opium production, catalyzed by the CIA's covert war in the late 1970s, has funded Afghan militants in every war since. Today Afghanistan produces 93% of the world supply which accounts for 53% of GDP.  The solution to turning around the narco-state is not continued war; rather it is serious rural re-development through small-scale farming project. See: The Opium Wars in Afghanistan 


• The Pentagon operates like the Vatican, this piece argues, in secrecy regarding budget; and it is ruled by a "well-insulated church of like-minded believers administered by tightly-wound powerbrokers."  It's in need of a secular Vatican II.  See: The Pentagon Church Militant and Us: The Top Five Questions We Should Ask the Pentagon 


• With no public or Congressional debate, some in the Pentagon are propounding a 'Long War' doctrine, which will engage the US in a 50-80 year war against insurgents in an "arc of instability" reaching from Europe to South Asia. See: The 'Long War' Quagmire


• The winners in the 7-year Iraq war are the military-industrial-complex and the intrusive national security regime in the US. Up to 1 million Iraqis died, 4 to 5 million are refugees, damage to vital infrastructure such as water supply and wastewater treatment facilities is lasting, and Iran has gained a foothold in the southern part of the country. See: Vanity of Vanities: The Iraq War Seven Years Later


• Women bear a double burden from the the 7-year US-led war and occupation in Iraq. They suffer personally from lack of security which has heightened for women with the surge of conservative Islam in law and society and from the structural insecurity and destroyed infrastructure which afflict the war-torn country. See: Why the US Occupation Makes Iraqi Women Miss Saddam


• News accounts about the US military surge in Marja in southern Afghanistan, which were fed to newspapers by the Pentagon, distorted the size and significance of Marja, Not a city or even a town, Marja is an agriculture district with a series of famers' markets. The disinformation was straight out of the Army's counterinsurgency manual intended to portray a dramatic picture of a strategic offensive that would represent a historic turning point in the 8-year old war. Waging a war of perception, in other. words. See: Fiction of Marjah Was US Information War


• In a vote forced by Representative Kucinich's war powers resolution, an overwhelming majority of the House including a majority of Democrats, voted to authorize the war in Afghanistan. See: Congress Votes for War, 65 dissent.


• A large number of babies with birth defects have been seen in the Fallajah Hospital in Iraq over the past few years. Although the cause is speculative, most of the babies were born to mothers living in the neighborhood of Falluja most intensely hit by American bombs and shells during the US offensive there in 2004. The rubble from the bombing was bulldozed into the nearby bank of a river used for local drinking water. See: The Cost of War: Disturbing Story of Falluja's Birth Defects


• One of every 3 killed by US drones in Pakistan is a civilian. See: One in Three Killed by US Drones in Pakistan Is a Civilian, Report Claims


• The 2011 budget of $3.8 trillion is extremely vulnerable due to: high, untouchable spending on defense and militarized national security (23%); low domestic spending (11%) on education, environment, science research, housing, transportation, and so on. which is subject to future cuts; and overly optimistic projections about unemployment rates. See: Jo Comerford: A Titanic Budget in an Ocean of Icebergs: Will the USS Budget Go Down?


• Twenty percent of the war budget in Afghanistan goes to aid (training police and army, agriculture, schools), distributed by 3 government agencies: DOD, State, and USAID. No one agency has a central list of war aid contractors and aid projects; nor is there central oversight of the contracts - easily leading to waste, duplication of effort and fraud on the part of the private war aid contractors. See: As Afghanistan Contracting Surges, Who's Following the Money?


• The U.S. military is drawing up a contingency plan to delay the withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq, because of political instability and increased violence there. This contradicts President Obama's public statement that the combat mission in Iraq will end by August 31, 2010. Iraqi sovereignty not U.S. military security should be the governing principle for the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. See: Iraqi Withdrawal in Danger


• The Pentagon is re-branding the US role in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan as something other than war in an attempt to create the illusion that we are not engaged in war. Yet, the largest defense budget in history, which is making its way through Congress, suggests otherwise. See: Obama's Pentagon Rebrands Iraq War, Rolls out PR Offensive in Afghanistan


• We are more likely to die by driving to the store or being struck by lightning than by a terrorist attack. Yet the carefully constructed "fear of terrorism" has resulted in excessive presidential power, a media addicted to the bizarre and sensational, and the Democratic Party defending its reputation by asserting that it handles terrorist threats as effectively as Republicans. See: Cars, Riptides, Lightning -- All More Likely to Kill You Than Terrorists.


• A recent Weapons of Mass Destruction commission report drew wrongful and misleading conclusions, according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. The commission exaggerated the likelihood of and capacity for a bioterrorist attack. The solutions proposed by the commission are to invest greater resources in research on bioterrorism agents, whereas the primary public health security needs --including infectious disease, animal diseases, national disasters and the capacity to handle them - are left to trickle down benefits. See: Biological Threats: A Matter of Balance.


• The authoritarian structure of the US military trumps the democratic civil system of justice when it comes to trying soldiers for illegal killing or torturing of civilians or detainees of war. Senior officers or high-level civilians in government give the illegal orders to kill/torture, yet the "little people" are prosecuted (in trials shrouded in secrecy) while the high-ranking are protected. Moreover, soldiers are selected "at random" for prosecution in order to manage the image of the US military as "better than the enemy"; often the worse crimes and atrocities never see the light of day in court records. See: The US Military: A Mindset of Barbarism Part 1 and Part 2


• In 1990, the U.S. accounted for 37% of the global arms trade By 2008 the U.S. had a "global monopoly on exporting tools of force and destruction" - accounting for nearly 70% of the market in weapons. The DOD and weapons lobbyists are seeking to revise the minimal bans on weapons export to gain even more market share in arming the world. See: America's Global Weapons Monopoly: Don't Call It "the Global Arms Trade"


• President Obama's 2010 defense budget is good news for the military industrial complex. Further, the president has called for a 3-year freeze on domestic program spending, but the Pentagon is "exempt from the proposal." See: Obama's Budget Calls for Billions in New Spending for Drones


• Peace talks between the Karzai administration and ex-Taliban increasingly reveal that ex-Taliban want a government based on Islamic Sharia law in which religious scholars exercise ultimate power. (See: Peace Talks May Follow Ex-Taliban Mediators' Plan ) Afghani women, however, state forcefully (and with endangerment) that women are being abandoned and "sacrificed" at the altar of "national reconciliation." See: Complicities


• The Obama administration has adopted the Bush/Cheney policy with respect to suspected terrorists: They can be targeted for assassination, and the whole world is our battlefield. The U.S. is involved in joint military operations with Yemeni troops and has killed dozens of people, with 1.) no declaration of war; 2.) no public debate; and 3.) arguably no Congressional authorization. See: Presidential Assassinations of US Citizens 1/27/2010


• The new defense strategy on which the White House's new defense budget ($708 billion) is based includes increased numbers of special operatives, drones, and helicopters for future multiple and diffuse threats - suggesting unlimited possibilities for military engagement. Pentagon spending has grown by 70% since 2001. See: New Defense Strategy Envisions Multiple Conflicts


• In a study entitled "Quick Impact, Quick Collapse: The Dangers of Militarized Aid in Afghanistan" published by Oxfam and 7 other aid agencies, the NGOs describe western military development aid in Afghanistan as often producing shoddy, "feel good" projects which have no community input. The report also heavily critiqued the use of military aid to offer food and other resources in exchange for information from hungry and impoverished Afghani civilians.


• This article traces the U.S. pre-war schemes to control Iraqi oil, the resistance on the part of the Iraqi government, the recent Iraqi oil development contracts with many other countries, and the hostility to U.S. presence which resulting in many insurgent attacks on pipelines: In other words the complex web of events in Iraq generated by the U.S.-led war and continued military presence. See: Whatever Happened to the Neocons' Grand Schemes to Control Iraq's Oil?


• The White House has submitted a defense budget request for $708 billion for fiscal year 2011. It is the highest defense budget in history and represents an increase of 3.4% in the Pentagon's 2010 base budget. See: 'Peace Prize' President Submits Largest War Budget Ever.


• The same military who lobby US lawmakers also escort and help fund Congressional trips abroad. This positions the military to influence the Congressionals on defense appropriations and appointments. See: Military Helps Fund Congressional Trips 1/19/2010
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  Over the past 5 years, the US Air Force and CIA have dramatically increased the number of drone flights and attacks. A 40-year Pentagon plan forsees a surge in increasingly armed, autonomous, supersonic drones that will rule the skies. See: Robots Will Soon Do All Our Killing for Us 1/25/2010
  
• 
  Thousands of Iraqi children are being born with deformities and cancer in cities which were heavily-bombed with DU-contaminated British and American weapons. See: Cancer -- the Deadly Legacy of the Invasion of Iraq 1/6/2010
  
  
• Defense spending for weapons, supplies and military results in job loss over time, an issue ignored by the media.  The current rate of defense spending is estimated to result in a 1.8 percentage point reduction in GDP spending over 20 years, costing 2 million jobs.  See: Massive Defense Spending Leads to Job Loss
  
  
• "What happens to women is not merely 'a women's issue,' it is the central issue of stability, development and durable peace" in Afghanistan, writes activist journalist Ann Jones.  The condition and rights of Afghani women have worsened due to the public violence of the war and worsened domestic oppression, condoned by the Marital Rape Law recently signed by President Karzai.  Military aid for development is "delivered from men to men"; and "to send more troops is to send more violence."  Back home, as the Obama administration debates the request for more troops and extending the war, the worsened plight of women is off the table. See: There's No Hope for Afghanistan If Women Aren't Involved


• This condensed history of insurgencies and political conflicts in Vietnam, Pakistan, and Kashmir concludes that what brings insurgencies "to a halt [is] the withdrawal of the foreigners."  History's lesson for the United States, the author argues, is to: 1.) get the boots on the ground out of Afghanistan; 2.) support Pakistan in bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table; and 3.) demonstrate by our actions that the US is willing to live with Muslims in a multicultural world.  See: Obama, If You Get Afghanistan Wrong, It Could Derail Your Presidency -- Here's How to Get It Right  
• The "unintended consequences" of focusing the war against terrorism in Pakistan are potentially lethal: nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists, surge in terrorist organizations, new "9/11s", weakening of Pakistani government, and heightened tension between Pakistan and India.  See: Why Obama Has No Business Trying War in the Nuclear-Armed Powder Keg of Pakistan 
• New signs emerge of a growing U.S. presence -- some say "occupation" -- and expansion of the counterinsurgency war in Pakistan.  The evidence includes more aid to Pakistan; a huge new U.S. embassy being planned; and growing numbers of private military contractors, including DynCorp, hired to set up a security network that parallels Pakistan's intelligence agency.  See: US Push to Expand in Pakistan Meets Resistance.

• Co-founder of CODEPINK: Women for Peace, Jodie Evans, recently interviewed Afghani women members of Parliament and activists.  This article conveys their passionate conviction that Afghanistan needs women's education and economic development not more US soldiers and not more protracted war. See: Afghanistan: Will Obama Listen to the Women

• The debate in Washington over increasing US troops in Afghanistan vs. increasing the number of trained Afghan soldiers and police misses the point.  The Afghan people want peace, and foreign troops "bring death and destruction wherever they go." See: There's Virtually Zero Percent Chance of There Ever Being a Real Afghan Army -- So What's the Pentagon Talking About? 

• The Monsanto Company, which manufactured Agent Orange used in the Vietnam War and which sells the herbicide Roundup for spraying in Colombia, is war profiteering in Iraq and Afghanistan, this time with GMO seeds. See: Monsanto in Iraq and Afghanistan 9/4/09

• Why would senators and congressionals continue to support an unpopular in Afghanistan?  About 80% of their campaign funds come from outside their districts, from industries such as defense.  See: Why the Wars Roll On: Ban Campaign Money from the Outside District  
  
  Despite lower arms sales worldwide due to the global recession, the United States has increased its sales and market share of weapons and dominates, by far, the global market with 68.4% of all arms sales.  See: Despite Slump, U.S. Role of Top Arms Supplier Grows 
  
  The War in Afghanistan suffers the same problems as the failed war in Vietnam and then some: local corruption, unpopularity (there and here), elusive enemy, and approximately 1/6 the number of military personnel needed. See:   Afghanistan: What Are These People Thinking? 09/10/2009
  
  The projected costs of ongoing military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan could pay for the estimated costs of health care reform.  This article describes the nonviolent campaigns being planned to pressure the government to choose the Common Good over Common Destruction.  See: Health Care vs. Warfare: The Future Costs of the Afghanistan War

• There is no plan in place, nor exit strategy for the US war in Afghanistan.  Nor is our purpose in being there clear, given the mission creep from neutralizing al Queda to nation-building. See: Holbrooke Projects Long Occupation of Afghanistan, Pakistan

• Suicide bombers are not unique to the East. The West has its own tradition, with "suicide missions" throughout the history of warfare.  Only our acts are called "heroic" and theirs "barbarous"; Hiroshima was a " legitimate military traget" for the US atomic bomb whereas September 11th was a horrific "crime against humanity"'; a vest of explosives is heinous while Predator missiles are clean, accurate and focused.  See: Western Jihad: Yes, We Have Suicide Bombers, Too, We Just Call Them Heroes

• Rethink Afghanistan is an incisive 5-part documentary released in 2009 by Brave New Foundation on the key issues involved in this war.  The series addresses: the folly of US military escalation; the war's risk of de-stabilizing Pakistan, a country with nuclear weapons; the staggering costs of the war; the faulty assumption that the war can liberate Afghani women. 

• The vaunted U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, also named "National Sovereignty Day," is far from the end of U.S. military and economic presence in that country.  Up to 50,000 U.S. troops and thousands of military contractors remain in Iraq; and Iraqi oil and gas fields are opened to foreign firms. See articles: A Withdrawal in Name Only, and Iraq's 'National Sovereignty Day' is U.S.-Style Hallmark Hype

• Rules of Disengagement: What You Can Do to End Illegal Wars.   June 13, 2009. The new book, Rules of Disengagement, examines the reasons military men and women have resisted the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a scale of resistance within the military not seen since the Vietnam War.  It analyzes legal and constitutional rights issues of dissent against war for civilians and military and also exposes the ways in which military training is dehumanizing and promotes racial and sexual violence.

• Ann Jones, the Afghan Reconstruction Boondoogle  01/112009. In the long run Afghanistan needs services not soldiers. During the past 7 years, the US has built a network of military bases and prisons in Afghanistan while the reconstruction aid system is corrupted with virtually no economic and social development results.
  
  The Cost of the War in Afghanistan An overview of the human and economic costs of the war in Afghanistan, with a table displaying the tradeoff of war in Afghanistan for social and environmental services in the US.
  
  
• "My Son Is a Murderer" -- The Gut-Wrenching Realities Facing Military Moms    Military mother and author Susan Galleymore interviewed mothers in Iraq and the Middle East as well as U.S. military mothers to reveal the devastation and despair of war from the perspective of mothers. 5/20/2009
  
  
• The Disease of Permanent War The decline into "permanent war" degrades democracy; fills the coffers of military industries; and drains the domestic economy of investment in health, education, infrastructure, and environment. 5/18/09
  
  
• The articles by Tom Hayden (Understanding the Long War) and Howard Zinn ( Changing Obama’s Military Mindset) provide critical historical and political analysis of the Obama administration’s involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

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