Taliban Militants and the Drones in Pakistan
Reports of the deaths of 'Taliban Militants' killed by rocket attacks from unmanned drones in the Pakistan border areas appear regularly in the media. These drones are targeted by military personnel sitting at computer terminals in the United States. One wonders how these technicians can possibly distinguish between ordinary citizens and combatants, between male and female, between adults and children. And somewhat miraculously, and obviously erroneously, every death inflicted by these drones then becomes that of 'Taliban militants"? This is reminiscent of the Vietnam body counts and the figures now are just as ludicrous as they were then. Whilst these remote operations ensure there are no American casualties they equally ensure unanimous antagonism towards the US (and their allies) in these border areas, and hence support for the Taliban. This indiscriminate slaughter from the air combined with the knowledge that these drones are taking off from Pakistan airfields is adding to an already large amount of anti US feeling in an already unstable state. The ridiculous ease with which 'terrorists' recently attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore and the continuing disruption by 'militants' of supplies heading for Afghanistan are further indications of a state bordering on collapse. As with the bankrupt big banks in the US perhaps Pakistan is considered too important a state to be allowed to fail.
The Troops Out Now Coalition condemns the recent announcement that President Obama has ordered 17 thousand more troops to Afghanistan. The people voted overwhelmingly for an end to war and occupation. The world demands that it end. Most importantly, the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine demand that it end. .. Escalating the war in Afghanistan is a betrayal of the faith that the people put in the new president to stop Bush's war on the world. We demand: No new troops! Immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan! Money for Human Needs Not War!
The ALP & the Afghanistan War
Can anyone spot the difference between the current Labour government policy and that of the former Howard Liberal government on the war in Afghanistan? If there is any difference it is miniscule. If anything Labour appears more 'gung ho' and hawkish about Afghanistan than its predecessor. The military adventures of the various US governments(and their NATO allies) appear to still be followed blindly by our own. Has anything changed much since Harold Holt's "All the way with LBJ" made more that 40 years ago at the beginning of the escalation of troop numbers in Vietnam? We elect new governments to bring about change, but the bureaucracy with its entrenched advisers - and the same advice - often remains the same. One wonders whether there is anyone in the Labour government (or its administrators) that has any knowledge of the history of previous military adventures in Afghanistan. Does Labour think that the situation will be any different to that experienced by the Soviet Union in the 1980s? At times we wonder if the ALP is what one wag called just 'Another Liberal Party'.
The (Good and Bad) Middle East War News
1. About half the US supplies passing through Pakistan get burgled. 28.1 antiwar.com
2. The Afghan government has condemned a raid by Australian troops which killed 5 children. antiwar.com 15/2
3. President Obama has announced that US 'combat' troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of August 2010. 50,000 troops will remain (down from a peak of 140,000) in Iraq at least until the end of 2011 and possibly afterwards. various 1/3
4. Muntadar al-Zeidi, the journalist who threw his shoes at George Bush, has been sentenced to three years jail. antiwar.com 13.3 (this sentence has been reduced to one year - a year more than our war criminals. ed)
5. A Gallup poll in the US has found that 42% now think the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan was a mistake. This compares with a 9% response to the same question in 2001. antiwar.com 19.3
6. Former Iranian President Mohammed Karzai has used his recent visit to Australia to tell the government to pull its troops out of Afghanistan. ABC 26/3
7. Demonstrations in numerous Iraqi cities burned American flags on the 6th anniversary of the Iraq war. 22.3 antiwar.com
Media News (formerly the Murdoch Boycott)
1. News Corp made a $US9.7billion loss in the last quarter. (ABC 7/2) Is the boycott taking hold?
2. "(Tony) Blair has lately found a safe media harbour - in Australia, the original murdochracy. His interviewers exude an unction reminiscent of the promoters of the "mystical" Blair in the Guardian of than a decade ago, though they also bring to mind Geoffrey Dawson, editor of The Times during the 1930s, who wrote of his infamous grovelling to the Nazis: "I spend my nights taking out anything which will hurt their susceptibilities and dropping in little things which are intended to sooth them." With his words as a citation, the finalists for the Geoffrey Dawson Prize for Journalism (Antipodes) are announced. On 8 February, in an interview on the ABC, Geraldine Doogue described Blair as "a man who brought religion into power and is now bringing power to religion." She asked him: "What would the perception be that faith would bring towards a greater stability .[sic]?" A bemused and clearly delighted Blair was allowed to waffle about "values." Doogue said to him that "it was the bifurcation about right and wrong that what I thought the British found really hard" [sic], to which Blair replied that "in relation to Iraq I tried every other option [to invasion] there was." It was his classic lie, which passed unchallenged. However, the clear winner of the Geoffrey Dawson Prize is Ginny Dougary of the Sydney Morning Herald and the Times. Dougary recently accompanied Blair on what she described as his "James Bondish-ish Gulfstream" where she was privy to his "bionic energy levels." She wrote, "I ask him the childlike question: does he want to save the world?" Blair replied, well, more or less, aw shucks, yes. The murderous assault on Gaza, which was under way during the interview, was mentioned in passing. "That is war, I'm afraid," said Blair, "and war is horrible." No counter came that Gaza was not a war but a massacre by any measure. As for the Palestinians, noted Dougary, it was Blair's task to "prepare them for statehood." The Palestinians will be surprised to hear that. But enough gravitas; her man "has the glow of the newly-in-love: in love with the world and, for the most part, the feeling is reciprocated." The evidence she offered for this absurdity was that "women from both sides of politics have confessed to me to having the hots for him." John Pilger (see excerpts from article below)
Feedback from the last issue & other local happenings
Donations received from JR of Swifts Creek, DW of Brookville and BB of Benambra
Quote
"Many American analysts are saying that America's real economic collapse could come by the end of this year. "It will come to be known as 'The Crash of 09', they say. Others... are predicting its physical collapse too. There's no doubt that the country is up the dirtiest of imaginable creeks without a paddle. But what's amazing is that America remains mired in stunning denial, continuing to make bad situations worse with useless bailout plans and messing around with the world instead of facing up to the reality that its time as a hyper-power is up, that's its economic system has failed and that its only recourse is to end its adversarial doctrine and get out of its lost wars as painlessly and honourably as possible." Humayun Gauhar 7/4/09 The Nation
The Black Flag of Illegality by Uri Avnery
Too Many Overseas Bases by David Vine
The Fifth Aghan War - Tilting at Afghan Windmills by Brian Cloughley
Fake Faith and Epic Crimes by John Pilger
Gaza
Our position on the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has consistently been a return to the 'green line' and we have supported the Israeli peace group Gush Shalom. The recent blockade, bombing, and invasion, highlight much that is wrong with a belligerent, imperial Israel. A de facto war has been pursued against the Palestinian population in Gaza for many months with the blockade of both the Israeli and Egyptian borders. This could not have been done without the connivance of the Americans, especially with regards Egypt, where currently (4/1) pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been suppressed. International humanitarian aid efforts in boats carrying essential medical items have been blocked by the Israeli navy on several occasions. Whilst noting the David and Goliath aspect of the conflict where Palestinian mortalities are 100 times that of the Israelis, we condemn all violence. But Israel should seriously consider the effect of their actions on world opinion. "It is ironic that two generation ago it was the Jews who were persecuted by the Nazis making 'Auswitz', 'the holocaust' and the 'Warsaw ghetto' household words. The Jewish people then had the almost unanimous support of a world horrified at their treatment and plight. Now the state of Israel is the modern day 'pharaoh' and those downtrodden by the tyrant (state) crying out to be 'released' the Palestinians." An Israeli victory - like the previous war in Lebanon - will be a Pyhrric victory.
The Last (& Biggest) of the War Criminals Departs
The war criminals - Bush, Blair & Howard - are now all removed from power. But we are still stuck in the both of the Bush wars - Australia in particular in Afghanistan. Britain is at last withdrawing troops from the south of Iraq in January. But the Labour party which, through the leadership of Tony Blair, put Britain in the Iraq invasion and occupation, is still clinging to power. The Rudd government has shown no inclination to withdraw from Afghanistan (the PM recently referred to the Taliban as 'insurgents') and their withdrawal from Iraq was in many ways deceitful as there is still a substantial number of Australian servicemen and women in Iraq including on the naval frigate in the Persian Gulf. Fortunately for the latter (and the earth) the threat of extending the war to Iran has cooled considerably and now appears most unlikely. It will be interesting to see how the new administration of Barak Obama performs - he promised to get out of Iraq and increase the military effort in Afghanistan. It all appears to be one step forward and one backwards as far as the peace movement is concerned. And with the war criminals one wonders how long we will have to wait before they are roundly and universally condemned for their crimes.
The (Good and Bad) Middle East War News
2. Canada has announced it will definitely leave Afghanistan by 2011. (var. 12/11) (This is the third time Canada has announced a deadline for the withdrawal of troops. The earliest was in 2005. ed)
3. Lord Bingham - a senior British judge - has "attacked Britain and the US over their 2003 invasion of Iraq, describing it as a serious violation of international law." ABC 20/11
4. The "US has spent somewhere in the realm of $5.5 trillion creating its enormous nuclear arsenal..." (Antiwar.com 20.12)
6. 100,000 people protested against the war in Gaza in a massive rally in the town of Sakhnin in northern Israel. Antiwar.com 4.1
7. "More than 100 prominent Australian Jews have condemned Israel's incursion into Gaza as "inhuman, superfluous and abominable." Melbourne Age 6/1
Media News (formerly the Murdoch Boycott)
"The ABC's decision to choose Rupert Murdoch as this year's Boyer lecturer demonstrates the moral and intellectual decay of the ABC. Murdoch, arguably the most powerful media mogul in the world, has more than enough opportunities to spruik his one dimensional view of the world in his media outlets. The gelding of the national broadcaster by the Howard government was achieved by Howard stacking the ABC Board with neo-conservative members whose reputation was forged in Murdoch's sheltered workshop The Australian.... When the definitive history of the ABC is finally written, the appointment of Rupert Murdoch as the 2008 Boyer lecturer will be seen as the low point of the taxpayer funded national broadcaster's history". Joe Toscano Libertarian Workers for a Self Managed Society.
Feedback Donations/Subscriptions received from BB of Benambra, LC of Wonthaggi, N&IS of Wonthaggi & JN of Mallacoota. Correspondence received from Johan Scheffer MP, ED of Bairnsdale,& Hills Peace Group Belgrave.
Some Pre-war Economic Predictions
Predictions in the 'dismal science' are impossible to make although sometimes commentators get it right. In an article published on the net in November 2002 I noted that "housing and consumer booms in the US" were occurring and that their dollar was "grossly overvalued". Writing nearly 6 months before the actual invasion took place I predicted that the: "longer the (Iraq) war goes on the more depressing the effect will be on the US and World economies. Damage to oil infrastructure in Iraq or in other oil producing countries, or even political instability... will force the price of oil up. The longer this damage caused by the war, or related wars, riots (and) political turmoil continues, the worse the economic effect will be. There is no doubt that a medium term war or longer would be disastrous for both the American and the world economy. If the US economy falters and eventually deflates it will effect us here as well. Huge increases in oil prices are not factored in to our government plans. Thus assuming that the US and world economies falter then so will Australia's. The dream run of good growth that has helped the conservatives through the last two elections will end.." Today the price of oil has tumbled from the high of $145US earlier this year to around $40US. This collapse in oil prices has nothing to do with the wars - which continue - and everything to do with the collapse in consumer demand and the end of the housing boom. The note on the "grossly overvalued" US dollar implies a collapse in its value too, which has not so far occurred. However with each US government 'bailout' of giant banks, mortgage and insurance houses, and with continuing deficits of unimaginable size this devaluation of the 'holy dollar' becomes more likely. The costs of military adventures and maintaining o/s bases will become prohibitive.
Supply Lines to Afghanistan Threatened
Approximately three quarters of the supplies for the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan come via Pakistan and through the Khyber Pass. This supply route is now threatened both in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In Pakistan upwards of 200 trucks and other supply vehicles have been destroyed in and around Peshawar during December. Over 10,000 Pakistanis have demonstrated against the use of Pakistan as a supply route. (Antiwar.com 20/12) Pakistan drivers are now refusing to drive the US supply trucks to Afghanistan (ABC 17/12) although due to the lucrative payments per trip many of them are still doing so. On December 21 three Pakistani drivers in their empty petrol tankers were killed in the Khyber Pass when returning to Pakistan. A long supply route through hostile territory may severely limit President Obama's planned expansion of US troop numbers in this war. As of the new year the pass is currently closed as Pakistan carries out military operations in an attempt to make the route more secure.
ARA February Program PO Box 780 Morwell VIC 3840 inquiries@araustralia.org
Now the Cost of War Really Matters by Kevin Zeese
Moderation in the Pursuit of Justice Is No Virtue by Joseph L. Galloway
Kabul 30 years ago, and Kabul today. Have We Learned Nothing? 'Terrorists' were in Soviet sights; now they are in the Americans'. by Robert Fisk
The Difficulty of Being an Informed American by Paul Craig Roberts
How Bin Laden Bankrupted America: The five ways by Jon Basil Utley
A New Cold War and the Nuclear Winter Recently a subscriber voiced his concerns about the current aggressive US tactics in the former Soviet republics. With their disastrous 'world oil strategy' they appear to be confronting Russia in a number of areas. The recent short war in Georgia / Ossetia is an example of this. The US strategy certainly appears to be overplayed and the containment of Russia may be the start of a new "cold war'. Examples of containment includes the attempt to ring Russia with missile defence shields (Poland) and increasing the membership of NATO (Ukraine, Georgia again). From the invasion of Iraq onwards the US foreign policy seems to have had about as much direction as a headless chook. The threat to use nuclear weapons, both by the US and Israel, is reminiscent of the early 1980s. It is also a reminder that the outcome of any war between nuclear powers is most likely to be a nuclear winter with the consequent annihilation of most, if not all, of humanity. If this threat is not the ultimate in 'terrorist' threats I don't know what is. See also ICAN campaign below.
The US Economy in Freefall? The media is still ignoring the economic burdens the US government has placed on itself (and others) with their disastrous adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan. Noble prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has called Iraq 'the 3 trillion dollar war'. The oil price based inflation most western countries are currently experiencing was quite predictable and also a direct result of the wars and the loose monetary policies used to finance them. And although the price per barrel has recently dropped to around $US80 it is still between 3 and 4 times the price before the invasion of Iraq occurred. The US has only been able to continue the wars by printing money and by borrowing from abroad. But these policies are now causing the US economy to implode with the collapse of the housing market and a number of large mortgage and banking institutions - some now possibly rescued by the US Federal Reserve. In rescuing the absurdly named Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae mortgage institutions the debt of the US government has been doubled in a very short period of time. Despite this the US dollar remains propped up by the Asian giants - China and Japan. But to many commentators the question is not whether the US dollar will collapse, but when. With each day the US will find its foreign wars increasingly more expensive to prosecute. Eventually the Asian giants will decide to stop the flow of good money after bad and then the wars and even the US domination of the planet will come to an end. Dave Lindorff (Counterpunch 17/9) wrote: "The good news is that, if the US economy collapses, the Pashtun farmer in northeastern Pakistan, the Iraqi shopkeeper in Fallujah, the Iranian worker in Tehran, and the peasant in Venezuela, will no longer have to worry about being bombed or having their children mowed down by a US helicopter gunship. The US would no longer have the funds to pay for such foreign wars. And because a collapse of the US consumer economy would also drag the rest of the world into a prolonged global slump, perhaps reminiscent of the 1930s, we might actually see a significant enough drop in carbon emissions from idled cars, factories and power plants that the global warming catastrophe that is threatening us all will be significantly delayed, giving humanity time to come up with a serious long-term response."
The (Good and Bad) Middle East War News
1. Reports indicate that the US may play a reduced military role in Iraq from June 2009 and withdraw all troops in 2011. (27/8 various)
2. Amidst financial crisis the US Congress passed a trillion dollar 'stop gap' defence bill. (antiwar.com 28/9)
3. US forces continue to violate the sovereignty of Pakistan with cross-border raids in pursuit of 'suspected' Taliban. (antiwar.com 28/9)
4. Australian troops have inadvertently shot dead Afghan District Governor Rozi Khan. (various 8/10)
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
A recent ICAN pamphlet stated: "The abolition of nuclear weapons is possible, necessary and increasingly urgent." It noted that a "staggering 73% of Americans and 63% of Russians support the complete elimination of nuclear weapons" and that the "US alone spends $40 billion each year on its nuclear weapons." World wide Russia has 15000 nuclear weapons , followed by the US with 10,000, France with 350 and the UK with 200. Israel, Pakistan, India, China and possibly North Korea are all members of the 'nuclear club'. ICAN noted "nuclear weapons are "capable of destroying the entire planet in a matter of hours" and that "several thousand nuclear weapons are kept on hair-trigger alert - ready to be used within minutes". A nuclear bomb the size of the Hiroshima warhead dropped on a city today could kill over a million people. Surely it is time to turn our swords into ploughshares. Visit the ican website
The Murdoch Boycott & other Media News
1. In an interesting article entitled "Stifling Soldiers of Spin" (The Age 20/7) Tom Hyland wrote: "...Australian journalists are being beaten at their own game. By allowing their job to be largely controlled by the ADF (Australian Defence Forces) they are reporting Afghanistan with their eyes shut. Ultimately, the public are the losers" and "The ADF's news control is all-encompassing and costly - about 200 staff with a budget of more than $22 million produce what public affairs experts call 'strategic shaping tools'. They're shaping public opinion. It's called spin."
2. "I doubt that in the last five years Americans tuning in to their television news have ever been able to see a single report from Iraq that gave a view of what the bases we have built there look like or cost. Although reporters visit them often enough and, for instance, have regularly offered reports from Camp Victory in Baghdad on what's going on in the rest of Iraq, the cameras never pan away from the reporters to show us the gigantic base itself. More than five years after ground was broken for the first major American base in Iraq, this is, it seems to me, a remarkable record of media denial. American bases in Afghanistan have generally experienced a similar fate." Tomdispatch.com
Feedback & other local happenings Donations received from BL of Ensay, PO of Swifts Creek, S&VMcC of Cassilis, BW of Gymea Bay and BB of Benambra. Correspondence received from ED of Bairnsdale, SB of Corryong, BMcP in Vietnam and MO'B of Swifts Creek. IGPN has changed from being issued every month to approximately every quarter.
The Baby Killers by Richard Neville
I keep promising myself not to mention the wars for these reasons: the invaders couldn't care less about their crimes or their critics, my friends think I've become a ranting bore and many of today's citizens have more pressing worries than the serial massacres of toddlers in badlands. Bad stuff keeps happening. It keeps being denied. And is soon forgotten. From the very first days of the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, the US air force has specialised in dropping bombs on family compounds supposedly containing 'militants'. Often they are not at home, unlike the women and children and elderly, whose bodies are eventually spread on the ground in preparation for a mass burial, while the Pentagon issues a curt 'regret'. Then it bombs the funeral. It's happened more than once. Another target is wedding parties. Back in July 2002, snug in their AC-130 bombers, American pilots wiped out a celebration in Uruzgan province, killing 48 civilians - mostly women and children - and injuring 117 locals. It's happened more than once. It happened again this July, when a US missile strike slaughtered 27 guests in Nangarhar province, 19 of them women and children. When locals arrived at the scene to care for the injured and collect the dead, four more bombs were unleashed, killing the bride and two of her relatives. It's been much the same in Iraq and Pakistan, though barely reported. (Full article)
Why Afghanistan is Not the Good War by Ron Jacobs
How Foreign Policy Affects Gas Prices by Rep. Ron Paul. We've heard how the value of the dollar affects gas prices and indeed the price of everything.... But how does foreign policy affect gas prices?
Going on an Imperial Bender: How the U.S. Garrisons the Planet and Doesn't Even Notice by Tom Engelhardt (4/9/08)