William Blum

Boston Bomb Suspect Manhunt, New Images of Police Battle

What is it that makes young men, reasonably well educated, in good health and nice looking, with long lives ahead of them, use powerful explosives to murder complete strangers because of political beliefs?

I’m speaking about American military personnel of course, on the ground, in the air, or directing drones from an office in Nevada.

Do not the survivors of US attacks in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia, Libya and elsewhere, and their loved ones, ask such a question?

The survivors and loved ones in Boston have their answer – America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

That’s what Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving Boston bomber has said in custody, and there’s no reason to doubt that he means it, nor the dozens of others in the past two decades who have carried out terrorist attacks against American targets and expressed anger toward US foreign policy.[1] Both Tsarnaev brothers had expressed such opinions before the attack as well.[2] The Marathon bombing took place just days after a deadly US attack in Afghanistan killed 17 civilians, including 12 children, as but one example of countless similar horrors from recent years. “Oh”, an American says, “but those are accidents. What terrorists do is on purpose. It’s cold-blooded murder.”

But if the American military sends out a bombing mission on Monday which kills multiple innocent civilians, and then the military announces: “Sorry, that was an accident.” And then on Tuesday the American military sends out a bombing mission which kills multiple innocent civilians, and then the military announces: “Sorry, that was an accident.” And then on Wednesday the American military sends out a bombing mission which kills multiple innocent civilians, and the military then announces: “Sorry, that was an accident.” … Thursday … Friday … How long before the American military loses the right to say it was an accident?

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Stephen Lendman

Decades of liberating struggle will end. Palestine will again be free. One day. When, who knows.

He admitted it. He's not finished. He has lots more killing and destruction to do. He "will not hesitate to do what is necessary to defend our people," he said. In other words, he'll ignore memorandum of understanding ceasefire terms, maintain Gaza's siege, manufacture pretexts to eliminate Israeli enemies, and kill Palestinian civilians he calls threats.

On November 25, Mossad-connected DEBKAfile (DF) headlined "Middle East in high suspense for Gaza operation sequels."

America's beefing up its regional presence. Washington also approved Patriot missiles for Turkey's Syrian border. US military crews will man them.

Russian Institute for Oriental Studies expert, Vladimir Kudelev, said deploying them means "no-fly zone" protection. Imposing it circumvents Security Council authority. Doing so is an act of war.

Washington-led NATO incrementally inches closer to full-scale involvement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov fears militarizing the Turkish/Syrian border may spin things out of control. Libya 2.0 looms.

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John Pilger

"The Israeli state has successfully intimidated the BBC into pre-
senting the theft of Palestinian land and the caging, torturing and
killing of its people as an intractable "conflict" between equals."

Understanding the BBC as a pre-eminent state propagandist and censor by omission - more often than not in tune with its right-wing enemies - is on no public agenda and it ought to be.

In Peter Watkins' remarkable BBC film, The War Game, which foresaw the aftermath of an attack on London with a one-megaton nuclear bomb, the narrator says: "On almost the entire subject of thermo-clear weapons, there is now practically total silence in the press, official publications and on TV. Is there hope to be found in this silence?"

The truth of this statement was equal to its irony. On 24 November, 1965, the BBC banned The War Game as "too horrifying for the medium of broadcasting". This was false. The real reason was spelt out by the chairman of the BBC Board of Governors, Lord Normanbrook, in a secret letter to the Secretary to the Cabinet, Sir Burke Trend.

"[The War Game] is not designed as propaganda," he wrote, "it is intended as a purely factual statement and is based on careful research into official material... But the showing of the film on television might have a significant effect on public attitudes towards the policy of the nuclear deterrent." Following a screening attended by senior Whitehall officials, the film was banned because it told an intolerable truth. Sixteen years later, the then BBC director-general, Sir Ian Trethowan, renewed the ban, saying that he feared for the film's effect on people of "limited mental intelligence". Watkins' brilliant work was eventually shown in 1985 to a late-night minority audience. It was introduced by Ludovic Kennedy who repeated the official lie.

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Stephen Lendman

Grass touched the right nerves. He deserves praise, not condemnation. Nonetheless, he's vilified for discussing Israel's open secret. It's nuclear armed and dangerous. Iran is also threatened. Millions of lives are at risk. Grass explained. Denunciation followed. In America and Israel, whistleblowers are criminalized. Moreover, distinguished figures like Grass are maligned and declared persona non grata.

On April 8, Haaretz headlined, "Interior Minister declares Günter Grass persona non grata in Israel," saying:

On Sunday, Eli Yishai barred Grass from entering Israel for expressing views freely in his poem, "What Must Be Said."

He's unwelcome in Israel. Citing his Nazi past (at age 17 near war's end with Germany in ruins), Yishai said:

"Grass' poems are an attempt to guide the fire of hate toward the State of Israel and the Israeli people, and to advance the ideas of which he was a public partner in the past, when he wore the uniform of the SS."

"If Günter wants to continue publicizing his distorted and false works, I suggest he do it in Iran, where he will find a supportive audience."

If he lands at Ben-Gurion International Airport, he added, "burly policemen" will escort him on the first Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, or even better, Munich, for once following der Führer's orders.

Yishai heads the extremist right-wing ultra-Orthodox Shas Party. It's part of Netanyahu's coalition government. He also wants Grass' Nobel award revoked.

Ultranationalist Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called his poem an expression of "egotism of so-called Western intellectuals, who are willing to sacrifice the Jewish people on the altar of crazy anti-Semites for a second time, just to sell a few more books or gain recognition."

Lieberman's extremist background is notorious. Journalist Robert Fisk once called him "the worst thing that could happen to the Middle East." Other critics are as harsh. He's called an embarrassment, a disgrace to Israel, a regional threat, an abomination, a racist of the worst kind, and much more.

The same goes for Netanyahu and close Knesset allies.

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Stephen Lendman

Marty Peretz (Photo: Salon.com)

Major media scoundrel reports, commentaries, and editorials distort, misreport, censor, and suppress. Truth and full disclosure lose out. Readers and viewers deserving better are cheated.

The New Republic's (TNR) owner and former editor-in-chief Martin Peretz ranks with the worst. His columns exclude journalism the way it should be.

He's unabashedly pro-Israel, pro-war, and ideologically extreme on all issues mattering most. In December 2010, New York Magazine contributor Benjamin Wallace-Wells called him "a born belligerent (with) an extraordinary capacity for anger."

American Prospect contributor Eric Alterman said he "spread the virus of liberal self-hatred....(D)uring his reign (as TNR editor-in-chief, he's) done lasting damage to the cause of American liberalism."

"By turning TNR into a kind of ideological police dog, (he) tarr(ed) anyone who disagreed (with him) as irresponsible and untrustworthy." He did it based on (a) narrow and ideosyncratic....Israel-centric neoconservatism."

On Peretz's watch, no TNR editorial ever criticized Israel. Its interests alone matter. "Support for Israel," he said, is "deep down, an expression of America's best view of itself." He suggested Israel's worst crimes are justifiable, when, in fact, they violate fundamental international laws and norms.

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Stephen Lendman

Adnan Moussa holds a picture of his son Khader Adnan,
a senior member of Islamic Jihad jailed in Israel and who
has been on hunger strike for nearly two months, during
a protest in the West Bank city of Jenin on 13 February,
2012 in solidarity with his action and to demand the re-
lease of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

■ Murdering Khader Adnan
■ Khader Adnan's Heroic Struggle for Justice
■ Khader Adnan: Israeli Prisoner of Conscience
■ Israeli Political Prisoner Khader Adnan Near Death
■ Israeli Hanging Judge Sentences Khader Adnan to Death

Israeli state terror matches the world's worst. With Washington and Britain, they're axis of evil partners. Torturing Adnan to death shows it. His martyrdom won't go unnoticed.

On February 15, Palestinian faction leaders began supportive hunger strikes. Gazans erected a sit-in tent near ICRC's Gaza City offices.

Islamic Jihad leaders Sheikh Nafth Azzam, Ahmad Al-Mudallal, Dawood Shihab and Khader Habit joined with others and civil society organization members.

Al-Mudallal said striking "support(s) the battle of dignity of Sheikh Khader Adnan. This is the least we can do (for) this legendary symbol."

Palestinian Authority civil affairs minister Hussein al-Sheikh said PA officials were trying to free him and hold Israel responsible for his well-being.

Palestinian prisoner affairs minister Issa Qaraqa called for demonstrations, protest marches, and solidarity fasts throughout the Territories.

Hundreds of Palestinians began supportive hunger strikes. Many rallied in Gaza and West Bank towns. Ofer Prison detainees joined them. Israeli security forces attacked protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets. Palestinian National Initiative head Mustafa Barghouti was wounded in his foot.

Adnan's a political prisoner, detained since mid-December but not charged. On his 60th day without food, a mass call for action urged support to help free him. He symbolizes Israeli brutality, injustice and lawlessness. He inspired others saying:

"For every gram you lose from your weight, we gain a thousand grams in our dignity."

Many support him globally and responded. He hasn't yet slipped into coma, but remains perilously close to death.

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Gilad Atzmon

Could it be that Zionist caricature Alan Dershowitz has resorted to comedy as he desperately tries to win his battle against me and my book? What else could explain this intellectually retarded Zionist mouthpiece’s repetition of the same old lies? A few years ago Norman Finkelstein established that Dershowitz is a plagiarist, but now Dershowitz extends this infamous title - Now, he’s actually plagiarising his own phantasmic fibs!

Just a week before Hanukah, fancying himself as a bit of a music critic, Dershowitz described me as an ‘obscure saxophonist’. This was amusing enough, but yesterday Dershowitz elaborated on his notion of ‘obscurity’. In an embarrassingly unimaginative and vindictive article he called Chicago University Professor of Philosophy Brian Leiter a “relatively obscure professor of jurisprudence”. For a native English speaker (and a Harvard Professor) Dershowitz sure has a limited English vocabulary.

Professor Leiter’s crime was obvious enough: he stood up for freedom of expression and open debate. He defended Professor John Mearsheimer who has endorsed ‘The Wandering Who?’ and refused to bow to vile and relentless Zionist pressure to withdraw his praise for the book. To read Professor Leiter’s article click here.

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Gilad Atzmon

In the last year we have seen some so called Jewish ‘anti’ Zionists working hard to appease their Zionist brothers. Naomi Wimborne Idrissi attempted to run a clandestine operation within our movement. Sarah Kershnar of the IJAN attempted to jeopardise a Palestinian Solidarity conference, we saw the relentless Tony Greenstein harassing Richard Falk, John Mearsheimer, Lauren Booth, Dr Samir Abed Rabo, Sameh Habeeb and myself amongst many others. But now they are all rewarded.

The ultra Zionist, pro war, Neocon Harry’s Place decided today to thank its Jewish ‘anti’ Zionist “allies”. In an astonishing piece called A (small) Thank You to Anti-Israel Jews, Zionist Mouthpiece Anthony Cooper thanks his collaborators within our midst.

Cooper’s article reaffirms what we know for more than a while-there is a clear ideological, political and ethical continuum between Israel and some of the so-called Jewish ‘anti’ Zionists (AKA AZZ -Anti Zionist Zionists).

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Laura Stuart

It came as no surprise today that Paul Flynn M.P. apologised for doubting the British Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould's loyalty to Britain. It was also nothing new that Zionist blog comments stated that the apology was "forced and not genuine" or "not enough" or "not sincere", no one can ever satisfy the total submission to Israel demanded by Zionists.

This sudden change of heart is the most recent in a long line of people who have done a U turn under extreme Zionist bullying and harassment, the most noteworthy example being Richard Goldstone and his report into operation Cast Lead. In reality Paul Flynn's statement would indicate not that he has an issue with Matthew Gould being a Jew but his self professed Zionism and that his role in the Fox/Werrity pro attack Iran agenda is a cause for concern. The main issue for the Foreign Office appears to be that they might find themselves in contravention of equal opportunity employment laws.

It is interesting that here in the U.K. the Zionist bullying cells are still so effective, at least in extracting apologetic statements from Paul Flynn or the P.S.C. whilst over in the United States Zionist intimidation has so far not worked as Obama has refused to sack the American Ambassador to Belgium over his remarks about Israel's inability to make peace with Palestine was a cause of Muslim Anti Semitism. It is easily provable that Israeli attacks such as Cast Lead and on the Mavi Marmara were a cause of more attacks on Jews. However, for once Obama is standing firm, but as we know it is a question of how long before he falls.

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Anthony Gregory

The United States and Torture: Interrogation, Incarceration, and Abuse edited by Marjorie Cohn (New York University Press: 2011), 342 pages.

When I was a child in Reagan’s America, a common theme in Cold War rhetoric was that the Soviets tortured people and detained them without cause, extracted phony confessions through cruel violence, did the unspeakable to detainees who were helpless against the full, heartless weight of the communist state. It was torture as much as any evil that differentiated the bad guys, the commies, from the good guys, the American people and their government. However imperfect the U.S. system was, it had civilized standards rejected by the enemy.

In April 2004, the world was shocked to see photos exposing the torment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, one of Saddam Hussein’s most infamous prisons, which was taken over and used by the United States in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Well, most of the world was shocked. Some, mostly conservative commentators, dismissed or defended the barbarity, even comparing it to frat-boy hazing. Others were disgusted but shrugged it off as the work of a few bad apples, not something that should draw judgment down on the whole of U.S. policy and the brave men and women in uniform. Still others of us were horrified but did not see the mistreatment as any sort of aberration — we expected such torture to occur in a war of aggression, figured we had not seen the worst of it, and even argued that what goes on in America’s domestic prisons easily compares with some of the milder photos dominating the nightly news.

A national debate arose out of that scandal. More than one question was pondered: Do these photos depict torture? Is this an anomaly or a systemic problem? Who should be held accountable? Should torture always be illegal?

Over the next few years, more torture controversies came up. The question of whether water-boarding actually constitutes torture was particularly disheartening. Some defenders of the U.S. government said the United States should not and does not torture, but waterboarding doesn’t count. Others said that even if the United States does torture, it is doing so in service of a greater good.

We have actually come to the point where the rhetoric of Reagan’s day no longer holds: American exceptionalists and conservatives no longer claim emphatically that the United States does not and never will torture, as they did before (however disingenuously). An AP poll in June 2009 found that 52 percent of Americans thought torture was justified in some situations — up from only 38 percent in 2005. In Obama’s America, torture is now normalized.

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