Tag: Iraq

August 18, 2016

US Targeted Killing Rules Conflate Legality and Politics

In January 2013, President Barack Obama promised to make the rules for the United States’ targeted killing program “more transparent to the American people and the world” because “in our democracy, no one should just take my word for it that we’re doing things the right way.” Three and a half years later, a Freedom… Read more »

February 1, 2016

Want Endless War? Love the U.S. Empire? Well, Hillary Clinton’s Your Choice

Hillary Clinton likes to extol her foreign policy credentials, particularly her experience as secretary of state. She attaches herself to Barack Obama’s coattails, pledging to continue his policies. But she is even more hawkish than the president. Like Obama, Clinton touts American exceptionalism, the notion that the United States is better than any other country…. Read more »

February 18, 2015

Obama to Congress: Rubber-Stamp My Perpetual War

As President Barack Obama presented his proposed Authorization for Use of Military Force(AUMF) to Congress, he declared, “I do not believe America’s interests are served by endless war, or by remaining on a perpetual war footing.” Yet Obama’s proposal asks Congress to rubber-stamp his endless war against anyone he wants, wherever he wants. Obama has… Read more »

October 17, 2014

US Government Sanitizes Vietnam War History

For many years after the Vietnam War, we enjoyed the “Vietnam syndrome,” in which US presidents hesitated to launch substantial military attacks on other countries. They feared intense opposition akin to the powerful movement that helped bring an end to the war in Vietnam. But in 1991, at the end of the Gulf War, George… Read more »

September 18, 2014

Obama Declares Perpetual War

President Barack Obama escalated the drone war he has conducted for the past five and a half years by declaring his intention to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, or ISIL. Since August 8, Obama has mounted at least 154 airstrikes in Iraq. He will send 475 additional US troops,… Read more »

June 19, 2014

Obama on the Brink: War or Peace?

Once again, we are poised on the brink of a war that could violate US and international law. President Barack Obama faces a critical decision: will he meaningfully pursue a peaceful solution – even collaborating with Israel’s archenemy Iran – or will he succumb to pressure from the hawks responsible for destabilizing Iraq during the… Read more »

August 7, 2013

Bradley Manning’s Revelations Saved Lives

This is a historic verdict. Judge Denise Lind correctly found Bradley Manning not guilty of aiding the enemy because the evidence failed to establish that Manning knew information he provided to WikiLeaks would reach al-Qaida. A conviction of aiding the enemy would have sent a chilling message to the news media that if they publish… Read more »

June 8, 2013

Bradley Manning’s Legal Duty to Expose War Crimes

The court-martial of Bradley Manning, the most significant whistleblower case since Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers, has begun. Although Manning pled guilty earlier this year to 10 offenses that will garner him 20 years in custody, military prosecutors insist on pursuing charges of aiding the enemy and violation of the Espionage Act, that carry… Read more »

January 31, 2012

The Haditha Massacre: No Justice for Iraqis

“They ranged from little babies to adult males and females. I’ll never be able to get that out of my head. I can still smell the blood.This left something in my head and heart.” -Lance Cpl. Roel Ryan Briones Last week, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich was sentenced to a reduction in rank but no jail… Read more »