Endless War Archives - Page 7 of 8 - Kit O'Connell: Approximately 8,000 Words

13M Children Forced Out Of School By Western Destabilization Efforts In Middle East

A trio of children play soccer amid the stone walls and cobblestone streets of Palestine. March 28, 2014. (Flickr / Miriam Mezzera)

September 16, 2015

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13M Children Forced Out Of School By Western Destabilization Efforts In Middle East

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Years of war and unrest devastated education in the Middle East and North Africa, leaving more than 13 million children without safe or reliable schools across the region, according to a new report from UNICEF.

The report, “Education Under Fire,” which was released on Sept. 3, details the bitter cost of war on the future of millions of children. The report focuses on nine countries where millions have been displaced by near constant conflict and bombing since 2011.

More than 8,850 schools in Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen are unusable “because they have been damaged, destroyed, are sheltering displaced families or are occupied by parties to the conflicts,” the authors noted. Just in 2014, 214 schools were attacked in the region.

Julian Assange: US & Israel Planned To Overthrow Assad In 2006

Julian Assange at the Norwegian Conference on Investigative Journalism on March 20, 2010. (Flickr / Espen Moe)

September 14, 2015

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Julian Assange: US & Israel Planned To Overthrow Assad In 2006

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

Speaking from Ecuador’s embassy in London, Julian Assange revealed that the United States planned to overthrow the Syrian government as far back as 2006, several years before the start of the current crisis.

The founder of WikiLeaks took refuge in the Embassy of Ecuador in 2012. The premises remain under siege 24 hours a day by a large team of police to prevent Assange from ever stepping foot outside, at a cost to taxpayers that now exceeds £12 million.

The ongoing threat to his freedom hasn’t kept Assange from continuing his work revealing the dirty secrets of world governments. His latest revelations come in a Wednesday interview with RT in support of his new book, “The WikiLeaks Files,” published late last month.

Is The US Involved In 134 Acts Of War Or 0?

U.S. Army Soldiers from the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team engage in a firefight in Buhriz, Iraq, March 14, 2007. (Flickr / U.S. Air Force / Staff Sgt. Stacy L. Pearsall)

September 11, 2015

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Is The US Involved In 134 Acts Of War Or 0?

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

The United States could be fighting in dozens of conflicts around the world or none at all, depending on how one defines “war” or “conflict.” And despite repeated failures of U.S. military intervention to create global stability, American troops continue to be sent into more nations and more battles, usually without congressional approval.

Timothy McGrath, writing in September for MintPress News, made the claim that the U.S. is fighting between zero and 134 wars, depending on the definition of the word “war.”

The notion that the U.S. is involved in zero acts of war hinges on the premise that the country hasn’t officially declared war — with formal congressional approval — since 1942.

4 Million Muslims Killed In Western Wars: Should We Call It Genocide?

A U.S. Army Soldier from the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team kicks in the door of a building during a cordon and search in Buhriz, Iraq, March 14, 2007. (Flickr / U.S. Air Force / Staff Sgt. Stacy L. Pearsall)

August 18, 2015

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4 Million Muslims Killed In Western Wars: Should We Call It Genocide?

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

It may never be possible to know the true death toll of the modern Western wars on the Middle East, but that figure could be 4 million or higher. Since the vast majority of those killed were of Arab descent, and mostly Muslim, when would it be fair to accuse the United States and its allies of genocide?

A March report by Physicians for Social Responsibility calculates the body count of the Iraq War at around 1.3 million, and possibly as many as 2 million. However, the numbers of those killed in Middle Eastern wars could be much higher. In April, investigative journalist Nafeez Ahmed argued that the actual death toll could reach as high as 4 million if one includes not just those killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also the victims of the sanctions against Iraq, which left about 1.7 million more dead, half of them children, according to figures from the United Nations.

Donations Pour In To Cover Costs Of Whistleblower Chelsea Manning’s Appeal

An artist’s depiction of WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning as she see herself.

July 21, 2015

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Donations Pour In To Cover Costs Of Whistleblower Chelsea Manning’s Appeal

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

Lawyers for Chelsea Manning, the U.S. Army whistleblower imprisoned for leaking classified documents that revealed secret details of the United States’s military empire, will be better prepared for an upcoming appeal of her sentence after an ongoing, highly successful fundraising campaign.

Manning leaked hundreds of thousands of documents to WikiLeaks in 2010, revealing the inner workings of American diplomacy and warfare. Her leak included “Collateral Murder,” a video showing U.S. helicopters firing on and killing a group of people that included two Reuters journalists and a family of bystanders that attempted to rescue the victims. After the government subjected Manning to solitary confinement and other conditions many argue were torture, a military court convicted her of violating the Espionage Act and sentenced her to 35 years in prison in August 2013. She is currently serving her sentence at an Army installation at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

The alleged mistreatment is at the heart of an upcoming appeal of her conviction, but Manning and her supporters first needed to raise funds to mount a credible legal defense. Manning began tweeting in April, and later that month she tweeted a link where supporters could donate to her legal aid fund. Her appeal raised $40,000, but this fell far short of the needed amount.

The Obama Legacy: Inequality, Corporate Trade Deals, Worldwide War

President Barack Obama rests his head on his hand as he listens to his advisors. April 14, 2010. (Wikimedia Commons / White House / Pete Souza)

June 30, 2015

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The Obama Legacy: Inequality, Corporate Trade Deals, Worldwide War

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

An undocumented transgender woman interrupted the White House LGBT Pride celebrations last week, highlighting a rift between those who praise President Barack Obama’s accomplishments after two terms in office, and those who see a decline in freedoms and a rise in inequality as the real legacy he’ll be leaving behind.

The division between the perception of Obama’s achievements and the reality extends far beyond immigration and the LGBT community. Obama’s presidency has seen destructive Bush-era policies grow more entrenched, and new forms of repression have been added to American life.

With the Supreme Court legalizing marriage for all regardless of gender, many perceive an increase in equality for LGBT people as one of the main legacies of Obama’s presidency. But last Wednesday, Jennicet Gutiérrez interrupted Obama at one of the White House’s annual Pride Month festivities to demand better treatment for an overlooked portion of the community.

“President Obama, stop the torture and abuse of trans women in detention centers!” shouted Gutiérrez, who is an undocumented transgender Latina immigrant, before continuing: “President Obama, I am a trans woman. I’m tired of the abuse.”