Military
MEPs will vote this week on a resolution condemning EU Member States’ complicity in the covert US drones program. The resolution condemns the extrajudicial killings resulting from drones strikes, notes an increase in strikes in recent years in places like Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, and demands full transparency from those Member States that possess drones technology. The strikes represent both a violation of the sovereignty of targeted countries and spread terror among the civilian population, says the resolution; they are therefore illegal under international law. The text further criticizes the “opaque and unaccountable” nature of drone strikes, concluding that they pose a grave threat to global peace and security
The U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will cost taxpayers $4 trillion to $6 trillion, taking into account the medical care of wounded veterans and expensive repairs to a force depleted by more than a decade of fighting, according to a new study by a Harvard researcher.
President Barack Obama violated his own rules for the use of drone strikes in a December 2013 strike on a wedding procession in Yemen that killed 12 people, a new report from Human Rights Watch says. The US military initially claimed that the procession was actually members of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, then admitted it was a wedding procession, but claimed that most of the people killed in the attack were members of the terrorist organization. But Human Rights Watch says, “The procession also may have included members of AQAP, although it is not clear who they were or what was their fate.” The group went on to say that there is no evidence that members of the caravan posed an imminent threat, and that killing them was a violation of international human rights laws. RT’s Meghan Lopez speaks with investigative journalist Ben Swann about US drone policy and whether the attack was a violation of Obama’s own stated rules.
A U.S. drone strike on a recent wedding procession in Yemen — that left 12 people dead and at least 15 wounded — raises serious doubts about the Obama administration’s claim that so-called targeted killings do not harm civilians, charged Human Rights Watch in a report released Thursday. Entitled A Wedding That Became a Funeral: US Drone Attack on Marriage Procession in Yemen, the 28-page report demands that the U.S. government investigate the incident and publicly account for any slaughter of civilians or violation of international law.
Government-sanctioned, counterfeit history seems to be the norm. What are schools teaching our children about US wars – causes and crimes?
Despite claims that Al Qaeda is on the run, a new report shows that Al Qaeda is actually stronger than ever. In this video, Ben Swann takes a look at why that is and what it means for America’s foreign policy.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has publicly acknowledged the supposedly covert CIA drone program. The CIA has denied a Freedom of Information Act request made by the ACLU about details of its targeting killing program. But Clapper indirectly acknowledged the CIA program at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday
Pentagon leaders are keeping quiet on why the head of U.S. Special Forces ordered pictures of deceased al-Qaeda chieftain Osama bin Laden destroyed. Eleven days after the 2011 US elite forces raid that resulted in the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, the head of US special operations ordered the destruction of all photos of the corpse or for them to be given to the CIA, new evidence shows.
It appears the Obama administration is once again considering whether or not to use a drone strike to assassinate an American citizen living overseas. But, are they following the drone strike rules published by the White House? Watch this video to see why Ben Swann says that despite the appearance of a NEW drone strike policy… nothing has actually changed.
The National Security Agency is using complex analysis of electronic surveillance, rather than human intelligence, as the primary method to locate targets for lethal drone strikes – an unreliable tactic that results in the deaths of innocent or unidentified people.
Ben Swann talks about the standing ovation given to Army Ranger Cory Remsburg during President Obama’s SOTU address. Swann points out that Congress and President may be clapping for Remsburg but are doing nothing to actually honor veterans.
Talking at a US Army demonstration of autonomous weaponized robots at Fort Benning, Georgia, experts said that “ten years from now, there will probably be one soldier for every 10 robots. Each soldier could have one or five robots flanking him, looking for enemies, scanning for land mines.”
Abby Martin remarks on the anniversary of President Eisenhower’s farewell address, citing his warning to the American people of the danger of the military industrial complex
Abby Martin speaks with ANSWER Coalition coordinator Eugene Puryear about the deadly state of Iraq, highlighting the ongoing wave of violence and instability that’s plagued the city of Fallujah for decades. Puryear: “I think the key factor that we have to mention is that the occupation of Iraq by the United States fundamentally destabilized the country.
What was science fiction a couple of decades ago is now everyday reality. But it’s not only computers and smartphones — the progress has brought us new war machines — unmanned drones striking from the skies are no surprise for anyone today. But what has the progress of warfare prepared for us in the coming years?
