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Tag: Endless War

Trump’s Pick For Nat’l Security Adviser Is An Islamophobic Former Army General

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

Michael Flynn, a military veteran who was once a key player in the U.S. intelligence state, is likely to have an integral part in setting foreign and domestic policy in the administration of President-elect Donald Trump.

If Flynn accepts Trump’s reported offer, the retired lieutenant general’s strong Islamophobic views could be a signal that the incoming president intends to follow through on anti-Muslim policy promises he made on the campaign trail, from increasing surveillance of Muslim communities to forcing Muslims to register in a national database.

Speculation has swirled for months about Flynn’s potential role in Trump’s White House. An advisor to the Trump campaign, he was reportedly considered as a possible candidate for vice president, but the latest rumors coming from inside the Trump transition team suggest he is a likely choice for national security adviser.

Despite Trump’s promises to “drain the swamp” and keep lobbyists out of his administration, Flynn’s consulting firm has been linked to a Turkish corporation with ties to the Erdogan government.

Noam Chomsky: US Commenced Plan To Dominate ‘Grand Area’ Of The Globe After WWII

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

World War II marked a crucial turning point for U.S. empire building and the growth of global capitalism, according to the historical analysis of noted political philosopher and scholar Noam Chomsky.

Chomsky examined U.S. domination of world affairs in “Who Owns The World?,” a speech he delivered at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2012. In May, he published a book, “Who Rules The World?,” which examines similar themes.

He revisited the topic in a recent conversation with Zain Raza, a senior editor at the independent media outlet acTVism Munich. An excerpt from that conversation was published on Tuesday as part of acTVism Munich’s “Reexamining History” series.

US: Let Saudi Arabia Investigate Its Own War Crimes, Russia Requires Int’l Investigation

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

A State Department spokesperson called for Saudi Arabia to be allowed to investigate itself over airstrikes on a funeral, which is a potential war crime, while simultaneously advocating for an international investigation into Russia’s actions in Syria.

On Saturday, the U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition waging war in Yemen bombed a funeral in the capital city of Sanaa. At least 140 people were killed and over 500 others were injured in the airstrike, which human rights experts warned likely constitutes a war crime. Some reports even suggest the Saudi coalition targeted the funeral repeatedly, so as to injure or kill rescuers coming to the aid of the victims of the first airstrike.

Speaking at the United Nations on Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry called on Russia and Syria to face a formal investigation over possible war crimes committed in the Syrian civil war. No similar investigation into Saudi Arabia’s actions in Yemen will be forthcoming, however, according to State Department spokesperson John Kirby, who addressed the issue during a press briefing on Tuesday.

Poking The Bear: Dems & Reps Court War With Russia By Supporting Syrian No-Fly Zone

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

During Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate, Republican nominee Gov. Mike Pence called for a no-fly zone in Syria, a sign of growing bipartisan support for a measure that military experts have warned could ultimately provoke war with Russia.

It’s an alarming prospect that comes amid rising tensions between the two superpowers, and some suggest it could even lead to a devastating exchange of nuclear weapons.

“The United States of America needs to be prepared to work with our allies in the region to create a route for safe passage [for humanitarian aid] and then to protect people in those areas, including with a no-fly zone,” Pence saidduring a discussion of the crisis in Syria and a proposal for creating humanitarian “safe zones.”

Why Veterans With PTSD Are Turning To Cannabis

Posted in Journalism, and The Establishment

When Dr. Sue Sisley, a lifelong Republican, was just beginning her residency at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Phoenix, she refused to believe her patients when they told her about the healing potential of cannabis.

“I’ve always been interested in cannabis as a social justice issue and a matter of public policy, but I was never able to embrace it as medicine until these veterans really taught me how,” Sisley told me.

Sisley was “highly dismissive and judgmental” of marijuana at first but, over time, as more and more veterans shared their experiences, she started to accept its therapeutic potential.

Now, not only does she regularly treat multiple conditions by prescribing legal medical cannabis as an Arizona-based family physician, she’s part of a team involved in the first government-funded study to examine the effectiveness of cannabis in treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in vets.

Most Americans Would Rather See $38 Billion Invested In Vets & Education Than Israeli Military Aid

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

The announcement of a massive new aid package recently offered to Israel isn’t sitting well with many Americans, who would rather see the money used domestically, according to a new online poll.

On Sept. 14, the White House announced a Memorandum of Understanding under which the United States will provide Israel with an unprecedented $38 billion in “security assistance” over a ten-year period, between fiscal years 2019 and 2028. At about $3.8 billion annually, the deal marks a significant increase from the current levels of foreign aid to Israel, which total more than $3.1 billion each year.

“The majority of the proposed spending is for Foreign Military Financing to provide Israel advanced and upgraded jet fighters, to continue developing Israel’s missile defense systems and to purchase other U.S. weapons,” Grant Smith on Tuesday, director of the Institute For Research: Middle Eastern Policy, wrote in an analysis published by Antiwar.com on Tuesday.