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Tag: Terrorism

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard Spearheads Effort To Cut US Funding To ISIS, Al-Qaida

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat from Hawaii, is spearheading a bipartisan effort to force the United States to stop arming extremist groups in Syria.

The bill, known as the Stop Arming Terrorists Act, would make it illegal for U.S. funds to be spent in ways that directly or indirectly support terrorist groups such as al-Qaida and Daesh (an Arabic acronym for the terrorist group commonly known in the West as ISIS or ISIL).

“The bill singles out ISIS, al-Qaeda, and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (the ‘rebranded’ version of al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front) and forbids support to them, their allies,” Jason Ditz reported for Antiwar.com on Thursday.

Gabbard is a distinguished veteran of the Hawaii Army National Guard who has served in the Middle East. In the House, she serves on the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees.

European Governments Want To Combat Terrorism With Prison Segregation, Solitary Confinement

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

British and French prisons may soon employ controversial methods like solitary confinement and ‘terrorist-only’ units in an effort to curb radicalization efforts in prisons and to keep inmates from turning to terrorism.

Compared to their overall populations, England, Wales and France disproportionately imprison Muslims. A study conducted in March 2015 found that the number of Muslim prisoners in English and Welsh prisons increased 122 percent between 2002 and 2014, while the total number of prisoners only increased 20 percent over the same time period.

And although French laws prevent an exact count of Muslims in prison, it’s estimated that as many as 70 percent of the country’s 67,500 prisoners are Muslim.

$6B Spent Fighting ISIS, 50,000 Bombs Dropped In Iraq & Syria, And Still No End In Sight

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

After two years of bombing, the U.S. recently marked a horrendous milestone in a war with no clear end in sight.

Vocativ reported that the American-led coalition in the Middle East has now dropped 50,000 bombs in the ongoing campaign against Daesh (an Arabic acronym for the terrorist group commonly known as ISIS or ISIL in the West) that began in August 2014.

The analysis noted that bombing has increased with time, peaking in June when coalition forces dropped 3,167 bombs on Iraq and Syria.

US Police Have Killed Nearly 9,000 Civilians Since 9/11

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Despite a number of high-profile attacks that have resulted in the deaths of thousands of Americans both in the United States and abroad, police continue to pose a far deadlier and more immediate threat to Americans than terrorists.

At least 8,882 civilians have been killed by police since 9/11. This figure is based on government data and civilian- and media-run databases of police killings, although experts agree that the true number could be far higher. By contrast, the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, still the deadliest act of terrorism committed on U.S. soil, claimed the lives of 2,996 people and injured over 6,000 others.

Even including the “Global War on Terror,” in which about 6,879 U.S. servicemembers were killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which were a direct result of 9/11, and more recent terrorist attacks like the San Bernardino shooting (14 deaths), the Orlando nightclub shooting (49 deaths), or even Thursday’s attack on Dallas police officers protecting a Black Lives Matter march (five deaths), those who receive public funds to “protect and serve” are proving to be deadlier than terrorists.

Deaths From Terrorism Increased 4,500% Since Beginning Of War On Terror

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

An analysis of terror attacks since 2002 suggests U.S. efforts to combat terrorism — i.e., the “war on terror” — have led to a dramatic increase in death and suffering from terrorism.

Published this year on Sept. 11, Paul Gottinger, a staff reporter for Reader Supported News, analyzed incidents of terrorism from George Bush declaring the war on terror in the aftermath of 9/11 through the present, and found a staggering 6,500 percent increase in terrorism. Gottinger, who used data provided by the State Department in his analysis, found that casualties have increased by 4,500 percent.

Countries occupied by or being bombed the U.S. military seem to fare worst of all:

How ISIS Oil Flows Through Turkey And Israel On Its Way To Europe

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

It’s widely recognized that Daesh (the Arabic acronym for the terrorist group often called IS, ISIS or ISIL in the West) depends on oil sales to fuel its armies. Until recently, it’s been less clear who is buying Daesh’s oil, and how it ends up in their hands.

However, recent reports suggest that the oil flows to Europe and Asia through a complex process that implicates allies of the United States like Turkey and Israel. The U.S. is also facing increasing criticism for its failure to target the terrorist group’s oil infrastructure in a serious way until recently.

Cam Simpson and Matthew Philips, writing in November for Bloomberg Businessweek, called recent U.S. attacks on oil trucks an attempt by the Obama administration to “quietly” fix a “colossal miscalculation.” Government experts now argue that the U.S. dramatically underestimated Daesh’s oil profits: