Bill Van Auken
WSWS

It is indisputable that similar indictments could be leveled against [the US,] US-backed regimes and allies in the region. That no such indictments or arrest orders have been issued only underscores that the International Criminal Court is a pliant tool of the US and the other major imperialist powers in pursuit of “regime change.”

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi Monday as NATO’s bombardment of Libya continued into its 100th day.

In addition, the ICC handed down arrest warrants for the Libyan leader’s son Seif al-Islam Gaddafi and the Libyan regime’s intelligence chief, Abjullah al-Sanoussi.

The orders were issued in response to a 74-page indictment handed to the court in May by ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who based the charges of crimes against humanity largely on testimony of the so-called rebels aligned with NATO and claims made by Western security agencies.

While maintaining the pretense that Gaddafi and the other two charged are innocent until proven guilty, the ICC presiding judge Sanji Monageng of Botswana said on Monday that there existed “reasonable grounds to believe” that Gaddafi and his son are “criminally responsible as indirect perpetrators” of the killing and repression of civilians. She maintained that similar grounds existed to believe that Sanoussi bore responsibility for directing alleged crimes, in particular in the suppression of anti-government resistance in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi last February.

The arrest order alleges that “following the events in Tunisia and Egypt which led to the departure of their respective presidents in the early months of 2011, a State policy was designed at the highest level of the Libyan State machinery and aimed at deterring and quelling, by any means, including by the use of lethal force, the demonstrations of civilians against Gaddafi's regime which started in February 2011.”

Concretely, it charges that, “within a period of less than two weeks in February 2011, the Security Forces killed and injured as well as arrested and imprisoned hundreds of civilians.”

More »

Stephen Lendman

Sting operations not only entrap bogus terrorist suspects, but
worse, they wreck vital community trust.

Instead of pursuing criminals, Homeland Security, the FBI and Justice Department prosecutors embrace racist radicalization notions to entrap innocent victims despite no plot or crime except ones they invent.

By now, the familiar storyline sounds more like a film plot than criminal indictment, especially when Muslims are involved, and the most recent case repeats the same scenario used last December.

Then it involved Antonio Martinez, aka Muhammad Hussain, accused of plotting to attack an armed forces recruiting center. An undercover FBI agent lawlessly entrapped him, supplying an inert bomb, then stopping him after he allegedly tried to detonate it by remote control. A previous article discussed him, accessed through this link.

In fact, like dozens of others, he was maliciously ensnared by an FBI orchestrated sting operation, entrapping him to declare another war on terror victory. Innocence or guilt doesn't matter, just the illusion that America is now safer when, in fact, each conviction assures greater insecurity, leaving many to wonder who's next.

Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif (aka Joseph Anthony Davis) and Walli Mujahidh (aka Frederick Dominque) are the latest victims, a June 23 Justice Department press release headlining, "Two Men Charged in Plot to Attack Seattle Military Processing Center - Defendants Sought Firearms and Grenades to Attack Complex where Enlistees Report," saying:

Arrested on June 22, both men were "charged by criminal complaint with terrorism and firearms related charges....Unbeknownst to the defendants, the weapons were rendered inoperable and posed no risk to the public. (They) initially planned an attack on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, but later changed targets. (They) intended to carry out their attack with both grenades and machine guns."

Other bogus plots involved surface-to-air and stinger missiles, automatic weapons, bombs and other explosive devices, as well as other heavy firepower beyond the ability of ordinary people to obtain even with help. Yet indictments suggest it's simple for anyone to get them over the counter or by other means.

More »

Adnan Al-Daini

Leaving: “hordes” of bankers are reported to be quitting state-
owned banks because of curbs on bonuses.

Vince Cable, the British Business Secretary, is trying to shame executives of major companies in Britain to moderate their pay and bonuses. The British Guardian is reporting (23-June-2011) on a speech he made to an audience of leading city investors in which he said: “It is actually outrageous that last year median earning for FTSE 100 chief executives rose 32%, whereas the share index rose only 7% - and average employee pay rose by less than 2%, barely half the rate of inflation”. Cable added “Average pay for the bosses of the top 100 companies has leaped to 120 times that received by an average UK employee from 45 times in 1998”.

These figures are enough to enrage anyone with an ounce of humanity in their soul. So what does he proposes to do about this nasty form of capitalism? His answer: new rules to compel companies to make public the pay packets of top bankers and top executives as a multiple of an average UK employee wage. Get real Mr. Cable. They will not be shamed or deterred by exposing the obscenity of their wealth.

The dictionary defines empathy as “the capacity for imaginatively sharing in another’s feelings or ideas”. The “moneymen” have zero empathy with those struggling simply to survive the extreme hardship ordinary people are experiencing. Lest we forget, these “moneymen” are the ones who had the effrontery to demand huge bonuses to add to their massive salaries, after their institutions were rescued to the tune of billions of dollars by the taxpayer following the financial meltdown caused by their greed, incompetence, and casino-type banking.

More »

Stephen Lendman

Israel keeps exerting pressure to block humanitarian efforts to deliver vital to life and other essential aid to besieged Gazans.

Endorsing Israeli lawlessness, the State Department issued a June 22 "Travel Warning - Israel, the West Bank and Gaza," saying in part:

"The Department of State warns US citizens of the risks of traveling to Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, and about threats to themselves and to US interests in those locations," adding "avoid all travel to the Gaza Strip."

Access the full statement through this link.

On June 23, Secretary of State Clinton added:

"We do not believe that the flotilla is a necessary or useful effort to try to assist the people of Gaza. And we think that it's not helpful for there to be flotillas that try to provoke actions by entering into Israeli waters and creating a situation in which the Israelis have the right to defend themselves."

Defend against whom she didn't explain or that Gazan waters belong to Palestine, not Israel. Moreover, delivering humanitarian aid is essential until Gaza's blockade is ended, a crime against humanity Washington funds and supports.

This week, "Freedom Flotilla II - Stay Human" sails to Gaza. Neither Israel nor Clinton will stop it, but they're trying by blocking its departure or planned interdiction surprises if it comes.

The US Boat to Gaza (The Audacity of Hope) is one of 10 participating ships, now blocked by Greek officials, saying the vessel is unseaworthy, a spurious claim with no validity.

More »