The Palestinian Holocaust in Gaza

A Repugnant New Form of Fascism

by FIDEL CASTRO

[I] think that a new, repugnant form of fascism is emerging with notable strength, at this time in human history when more that seven billion inhabitants are struggling for their survival.

None of these circumstances have anything to do with the creation of the Roman Empire, around 2,400 years ago, or with the U.S. empire which, in this region only 200 years ago, was [aptly] described by Simón Bolívar, who exclaimed, “…the United States appears to be destined by providence to plague America with misery in the name of liberty.” England was the first true colonial power to use its dominion over a large part of Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, North America, and many Caribbean islands, in the first half of the 20th century.

On this occasion I will not talk about the wars and crimes committed by the United States empire over more than 100 years, but will only state what it wanted to do to Cuba, what it has done to many other countries in the world, and only served to prove that “A just idea in the depth of a cave is stronger than an army.”

History is much more complicated than everything I have said, but that is the way it is, in broad strokes, as the inhabitants of Palestine know, and it is likewise logical that the modern communications media reflect the news which arrives daily, as has occurred with the shameful, criminal war in the Gaza Strip, a piece of land where the population lives in what remains of what was independent Palestine only 50 years ago.

The French agency AFP reported August 2, “The war between the Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas and Israel has caused the deaths of close to 1,800 Palestinians,… the destruction of thousands of homes, and ruined an economy which was already weakened,” although it does not indicate, of course, who initiated the terrible war.

Added later, “… As of Saturday at midday the Israeli offensive had killed 1,712 Palestinians and injured 8,900. The United Nations was able to verify the identities of 1,117 dead, in their majority civilians … UNICEF counted at least 296 dead minors.”

“The United Nations estimates …some 58,900 persons homeless in the Gaza Strip.”

“Ten of the 32 hospitals were closed and another 11 damaged.”

“This Palestinian enclave of 362 km² does not have the infrastructure needed for 1.8 million inhabitants, above all in terms of the provision of electricity and water.”

“According to the IMF, the rate of unemployment surpasses 40% in the Gaza Strip, territory subjected to an Israeli blockade since 2006. In 2000, unemployment was 20%, and in 2011, 30%. More than 70% of the population depends on humanitarian aid during normal periods, according to Gisha.

The Israeli government declared a humanitarian truce in Gaza at 07:00 GMT on Monday, nevertheless within a few hours, it broke the truce attacking a house, injuring 30 persons, in their majority women and children, and an eight-year-old girl died.

In the dawn hours of this same day, 10 Palestinians died as a result of Israeli attacks in all of Gaza and the number of Palestinians murdered has already increased to 2,000.

The killing has reached the point that, “French Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius stated this Monday that Israel’s right to security does not justify the massacre of civilians taking place.”

The Nazi genocide of Jews outraged people all over the world. Why does this government believe that the world will be insensitive to the macabre genocide which today is being perpetuated against the Palestinian people? Perhaps it is expected that the complicity of the U.S. empire in this shameful massacre will be ignored?

The human species is living in an unprecedented stage of history. A clash between warplanes or warships which are closely watched, or other similar events could unleash a conflict with the use of sophisticated, modern weapons, which could become the last known adventure of Homo sapiens.

There are events which reflect the almost total inability of the United States to face the world’s current problems. It can be stated that there is no government institution in that country, no Senate, no Congress, CIA or Pentagon which will determine the final outcome. It is truly sad that this should happen when the dangers are so great, but the opportunities to move forward are so great as well.

When the Great Patriotic War took place, Russian citizens defended their country like Spartans, underestimating them was the worse error made by the United States and Europe. Their closest allies, the Chinese, who like the Russians achieved their victory on the basis of the same principles, constitute today the earth’s most dynamic economic forces. Countries want yuan and not dollars to acquire goods and technology, and increased trade.

New, indispensable forces have emerged. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – establishing links with Latin America and the majority of countries in the Caribbean and Africa struggling for development – constitute the forces which in our era are willing to collaborate with the rest of the world’s countries, without excluding the United States, Europe or Japan.

Blaming the Russian Federation for the in-flight destruction of the Malaysian airplane is a stunning oversimplification. Not Vladímir Putin, nor Serguéi Lavrov, Russia’s minister of Foreign Relations, or any other leader of this government would ever come up with such nonsense.

Twenty-six million Russians died in the defense of their homeland against the Nazis. Chinese combatants, men and women, inheritors of a millennial culture, are people of uncommon intelligence and an invincible spirit of struggle. Xi Jinping is one of the strongest and most capable revolutionary leaders I have met in my life.

[The world deserves—needs—and has, far better leadership than that of the United States.]

Fidel Castro’s column appears in Granma.

The war cabal in Washington

A. Cordesman: Architect of wars. (Credit: Radio Free Europe)

Patrick Martin

[W]ith a series of air strikes beginning Friday and continuing through the weekend, the United States has gone to war again in Iraq. This new imperialist military adventure has been launched in defiance of overwhelming popular opposition and without a shred of legal or constitutional authority.

The decision to launch a new war was made by a handful of strategists of US imperialist policy within the military/intelligence apparatus, in league with the corporate and financial elite. It was made behind the backs of the American people, who have absolutely no say in the policies, including going to war, that impact their lives.

President Obama’s Thursday night announcement authorizing the launching of air strikes and other actions against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) came just one day after Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies published an analysis calling for an escalation of US military operations in Iraq. Cordesman and his Washington DC think tank occupy a prominent place within the network of intelligence and military strategists who determine US foreign policy.

Cordesman and his like are involved in a permanent conspiracy against the wishes and interests of the broad mass of the American people, in which the president serves as executor and front-man. Their decisions to launch wars and subvert targeted foreign governments are dutifully approved by the leaders of both big business parties in Congress. The corporate-controlled media is assigned the task of dispensing propaganda and disinformation in support of militarism and war.

Opinion polls show that 71 percent of the American population regards the 2003-2011 Iraq War with hostility. But what the vast majority of the American people think and feel has no bearing on the policies and decisions of the key actors in Washington.

There is no longer even the formality of public hearings, debate or a congressional vote. No explanation is offered as to how and why a country that had no Al Qaeda presence until the 2003 invasion, supposedly carried out to fight Al Qaeda terrorism, has been largely overrun by an Al Qaeda offshoot. There is no explanation for the terrible squandering of Iraqi lives, with over a million killed, and American lives, with tens of thousands killed and wounded, or the waste of trillions of dollars to finance the slaughter.

The politicians and media are silent on the role of the CIA in promoting and aiding ISIS and similar Al Qaeda-linked forces and using them as proxy fighters in the US wars for regime-change in Libya and Syria.

Obama’s speech announcing the decision on Iraq was a demonstration of contempt for the views of the American people. He went on national television at 9:30 p.m. on a Thursday night, with no advance notice. The timing was determined in part by the need to begin the bombing before he left Saturday morning for his three-week holiday at a millionaire’s estate on Martha’s Vineyard.

Obama made only the most perfunctory arguments on behalf of the resumption of air strikes. Only the most uninformed and naïve can seriously believe that the US government is moved by concern for the fate of innocent civilians—particularly after the month-long spectacle of Israel incinerating the people of Gaza with bombs and missiles supplied by the United States.

The president’s other professed concern, the “lives of American citizens” at risk at the US consulate in Erbil and the embassy in Baghdad, is a formula for unlimited military aggression. The US government has facilities in every major city in the world. In the case of local military clashes, the normal practice is for such outposts to be evacuated, not defended by force. To do otherwise would mean American military intervention in every armed conflict on the planet.

Military officials told McClatchy News Service, “There is probably some gray area” in the new US war in Iraq, indicating that the aims go far beyond the “limited” intervention described by Obama Thursday night. They noted that the most recent “limited” mission undertaken by the Obama administration, in Libya, ended in the overthrow and killing of the country’s longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

Obama admitted in his speech that renewing military operations in Iraq was deeply unpopular, particularly among those who voted for him in 2008 as a professed opponent of the war launched by President George W. Bush. He repeated a worthless pledge not to send combat troops, and then argued, “America has been able to make the world a more secure and prosperous place.” This absurd claim applies least of all to Iraq, a country largely destroyed as a functioning society by three decades of US bombing, economic blockade and military occupation.

The White House indicated it would send Congress an official notice under the War Powers Resolution that combat operations have begun in Iraq. But Obama aides said no congressional authorization was required because Obama had legal authority to order the use of force to protect American troops in Iraq—the troops he sent to Iraq less than two months ago to serve as a trip wire to justify further US military action.

Earlier this year, White House aides testified before Congress that the president as commander-in-chief had the power to order US military action anywhere in the world, including the invasion of a country, without any congressional authorization. The renewed bombing in Iraq represents an assertion of this untrammeled and quasi-dictatorial power.

Obama declared Saturday that the intervention in Iraq would go on for months, if not longer. It thus represents an open-ended commitment of the military and financial resources of the US government. Tens of billions of dollars will be thrown into the furnace of war to secure the interests of American imperialism in the vast oil resources of the region.

Who will pay the price? The Iraqi people, through death and devastation, and the American people, who will be told, once again, that there is “no money” for jobs, pay raises, pensions or other social benefits.

The renewed military intervention in Iraq is only one component in a far broader imperialist agenda. Obama’s so-called “pivot” to Asia does not mean shifting the focus of American imperialism from the oil-rich Middle East to a confrontation with China. It means adding the Far East to the Middle East, Central Asia, Ukraine, Libya and countless other areas where US imperialism is preparing to carry out aggression.

The continued control of a cabal of CIA, Pentagon and think tank conspirators, operating in conjunction with the American financial oligarchy, over US political and economic affairs poses a mortal danger to the future of all humanity.

Patrick Martin is a senior commentator with wsws.org, information organ of Social Equality Party.

Eastern Ukraine: War Dispatches

The Voice of Sevastopol » News » The South-East of Ukraine » War in the South-East Online 08/09/2014 Chronicle

War in the South-East Online 08/09/2014 Chronicle

Posted by Ayre от

23-19, information from the headquarters of the People’s Army of DNR: for the last three days several sabotage and reconnaissance groups of punishers were disarmed by militia fighters. The purpose of these groups consisted in acts of terrorism – including bombings in the city of Donetsk.

At the moment, the threat is eliminated. Terrorists destroyed.
Also information received that near Krasnodon (LPR) militia captured two groups of saboteurs. Those had just prepared to shoot a mortar at Molodogvardiysk.

22-11, Overview of combat situation from militant Prokhorov (at 19:33 GMT)

Well I suppose the Krasny Luch panic has passed? Ukrainians only shell the city – 17th mine, center, Gagarin st.

With Miusinsk it is little harder – in the southern part of the city there are no militias, but this is due to the specifics of the city – it is situated in the pit, and everyone incoming from the south can be shot easily from the terricones to the north.

Shelling of Gorlovka continues – now from Dzerzhinsk. A couple of hours ago, the men of Bezler from “Vasilyok” covered battery of Ukrainians in this city.

In Panteleymonovka there still are not larger units, so it is early to speak about the encirclement of Gorlovka groups by Ukrainians, though there was fighting in Krasny Partisan in the afternoon.

By the way, border guards in Melovoye were fired-undermined, 4 wounded.

22-05, There are reports that the militia was forced to retreat from a strategic height, the mound Saur-Mohila (DPR). “Only five people remained combat-ready at Saur-Mohila, who continued to keep defense. They called the fire of our artillery to themselves three times… At some point, the height represented a serious tactical interest, since it is the dominant height. But as soon as we had begun to use artillery against our enemy actively, the tactical significance of the height shrunk. “

21-59, Kyiv authorities continue to destroy infrastructure of Novorossiya purposefully.

Ukrainian Air Force struck near the station Karakhash (Anthracite). Funnel diameter is about 3 meters. Railway track and power lines are severely damaged.

Also, the Ukrainian army artillery struck the building where the Lugansk Energy Association (LEA) is situated. In the video, eyewitnesses reported that before the shells hit directly in the building, Ukrainian gunners had fired a number of sighting shots, and then began to hit directly targeting the building of LEA.

21-40, To the west of Krasny Luch, due to the militia battalion, villages Vakhrushevo and Khrustalny were released. Heavy fighting was near Mospino near Donetsk.

21-34, Summary of militia Staff of MoD DPR. 08.09.2014 20:20 GMT
Fierce fighting continues in the area town of Krasny Luch and in the town itself, as well as in Miusinsk. So far, the attempts to unlock way communication between Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics failed.

Enemy develops offensive in the Ilovaysk using a large number of tanks and other armored vehicles. Currently fighting is on the western and south-western outskirts of the city.

During the day, the enemy has been repeatedly shelling the north-western outskirts of Donetsk. The firing was at the residential quarters. Also residential sector in the village of Yasinovataya subjected to artillery strikes, there are civilian casualties and destruction. The enemy took the town Diakovo again. “

21-07, Ukrainian troops in the east are in need of replenishment due to defections, and the military does not want to engage in combat with Nation Guard, told the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada to RIA Novosti on the condition of anonymity.

21-04, under the rubble of a destroyed house in the afternoon in Donetsk were a woman with a child.

20-40, Krasny Luch, a video filmed at 19-00

Download File

19-11, Intelligence:
UPD 2: During the day, there was shelling in Donetsk. Ukrainians failed to enter Krasny Luch, they were finally defeated from the outskirts; their attempts (in the form of two attacks with armored vehicles) to enter the city were brutally suppressed, and units were forced to move with great losses far beyond the edge of Krasny Luch.

Also an attack aircraft was shot down over Krasny Luch, the pilot did not survive.

Izvarinsk pocket is cleared up.
UPD 3: 18:10 (GMT) Howitzer began shelling the area of Topaz.

18-45, The consequences of yesterday’s shelling of Donetsk by Ukrainian army. Dormitory and school after firing

18-40, Posted by I. Strelkov (at 17:45 GMT)
“According to intelligence (not verified), a joint attack cleared Krasny Luch from Ukrainians. Our Reconnaissance is fighting towards Miusinsk from the east. From the west Battalion of «Tsar» clears up Vakhrushevo and Khrustalnoye. Heavy fighting is near Mospino.
The situation is changing constantly. There is fight in Luch again. “

18-13, continuing attacks in Luhansk:
In Novoya Kondrashovka near Stanitsa Luganska (LPR) Ukrainian troops fired at kindergarten with “Grad”. There is a huge crater in the yard, where there is still not completely exploded shell of MLRS. Two women killed. Shrapnel cut the neck of one of them. This was reported by «Novorossia” agency.

16-09, At 15-50 (GMT) 4 shells exploded on mine Lidievka, Kirov region of Donetsk. Rockets have come with a loud rustling, according to the sound – from the airport.

15-58, reports from the front:
1. Krasny Luch has not been taken by junta, there are fights in the city, from the south of Miusinsk was a breakthrough. Militia pulls up forces to clean up the city and eliminate rushing group.
2. The height of Saur-Mohila itself is left by militia, junta gets stronger on the southern slope, but they cannot take the height until heavy fighting is going on, artillery works actively on both parties.
3. Enemy was knocked out from Miusinsk, there is clearing up in the suburbs. The main reason of the breakthrough is the lack of antiarmour equipment in the depth of the militia forming, in the rear cities there is mainly infantry with small arms, which finds it difficult to fight with erupting tanks.
4. There is not overall encirclement of Donetsk, but right now there is intense fighting on the communications. In case of militias defeat in these battles, operational encirclement of Donetsk and Gorlovka can become real. Outcome of the battles in the next 2-3 days will have not only operational but also strategic implications. Strelkov points out quite correctly at the growing threat.

15-57, in Donetsk a civilian died as a result of direct hit in the Kirov region. In addition, Ukrainian projectile damaged the railway crossing near the village Gornyak. In the mayor’s office it is noted that the first half of the day on August 9 in the city passed in stress.

Donetsk, Buslayeva st. after firing by Ukrainian army, August 9, 2014

15-53, In the afternoon aviation worked in Krasny Luch – tax office bombed (this is the headquarters of the militia), the recruitment office and there are a few hits in standing next high-rise buildings and the private sector. Fighting of high intensity was on the outskirts of the city.

15-30, Ukrainian army is shelling the area of the railway-station in Donetsk. black smoke rises over the district.

15-10 Overview of combat situation by militant Prokhorov for 14:27 (GMT).
“The Punishers shelled Donetsk at 5 am with artillery and Grad rockets.
At 6 am, there began artillery attacks in Krasny Luch.
In the area of Boko-Platonovo of the town Anthracite Ukrainians made air strikes.
Around 8:50 GMT firing at Pervomaisk and Irmino started again.
About Krasny Luch: In fact, the enemy has not passed further than the shaft #160, and the town is being reinforced. There was ground fire from an airstrike in the town. There’s really difficult.
Speaking of “taking” of Saur-Mohila by Ukrainians – they had another Epic Fail (failure). This is what can be obviously seen. “

13-40, Summary of militia Staff of MoD DPR on 08/09/2014 at 12:10 GMT
“During the evening before and this night a large force of the enemy entered Krasny Luch and mostly took the city. Enemy also occupied villages Vakhrushevo, Khrustalnoye and Bokovo-Platovo. Division of the Lugansk Republic Army from the Cossack National Guard of Kozitsyn mostly fled from the city without a fight. Battle for the city is continued by only militias. Thus the enemy has completed the encirclement of Donetsk-Gorlovsk group of Novorossia army and heads the offensive to Anthracite. Our units counterattack the enemy from the south, in the area of Novopetrovsk, and fight with units of the National Guard and Polish PMC defending in the area.

In the night a large column of the enemy was destroyed by artillery units of DPR militia north from village Panteleymonovka.

This morning the enemy launched an attack on Ilovaisk. Thanks to the measures taken in advance, the column of the enemy brought forward in the area of Dobropolie was attacked at the time of deployment and completely destroyed. The enemy suffered huge losses in manpower and equipment. On our side, there are no losses.

Today at 6 and 6.30 am local time the enemy fired several times at Donetsk city, shooting at the plant and the residential quarters. There is destruction. Data on victims is not currently received. “

13-27, in Kiev region of Donetsk there are several craters, at least three five-story buildings damaged, garages burned. About wounded, dead there is no information yet.

11-57, powerful explosions in the Putilov region of Donetsk reported, as well as a big fire in the area of the Putilov market.

11-44, Intelligence:
For the last three days the junta has been striking not only Donetsk but also regional centers and small towns and villages (Gorlovka, Yenakievo Makeyevka, Anthracite, Verovka etc) with artillery.

Since early morning several artillery strikes at Putilovka, Azotnoye, Yenakievo closer to Verovka, Yasinovataya have been made by the junta troops.

Militia divisions retaliated on Donetsk airport and Peski. In the morning there were artillery strikes and airstrike on Anthracite.

UPD: 11:00 (GMT) in the area of Shirokoye (Donetsk), there is a series of explosions.
UPD 1: 11:15 (GMT) Artillery strikes continue to hit in Shirokoye, the militia is trying to suppress the artillery of the Ukrainian army located at the airport.

9-01, The network has video of the S-300 in Kiev. It is allegedly filmed on August 8

Sanctions for Russia and a Green Light for Israel to Continue War Crimes

(CREDIT: BLACK AGENDA REPORT)

by BAR editor and columnist Ajamu Baraka

The U.S. is a rogue state whose organs of government at every level are controlled by war criminals and their cheerleaders. That includes “the new liberal darlings Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren” who “give moral and political support to Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity.” Meanwhile, Washington prepares for war against Russia.

Sanctions for Russia and a Green Light for Israel to Continue War Crimes

by BAR editor and columnist Ajamu Baraka

“A logic that asserts that the Russians are morally and politically culpable in Eastern Ukraine, also condemns the U.S. as morally culpable for the war crimes being carried out by Israel.”

The moral duplicity in the U.S. political class is breathtaking. Squeezed in between news stories of the ongoing slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza, U.S. President Barak Obama announced expanded economic sanctions against Russia for its’ alleged support for what the media calls “pro-Russian separatist forces” in Eastern Ukraine. The U.S. action could not have been a more dramatic illustration of the cognitive dissonance and ethical double standards of the Obama administration and the U.S political class.

This action comes on the heels of unanimous resolutions from the U.S. Congress that placed the blame for the Israeli attack on Gaza on Hamas and defended Israel’s actions as legitimate acts of defense. The U.S. Congress’ resolutions stand in stark contrast to the United Nation’s Human Rights Committee vote to conduct an investigation into war crimes in Gaza, as well as positions by Amnesty International and international law and human rights scholars and activists from around the world who determined that the Israeli military assault on Gaza violated most of the norms of international humanitarian and human rights law.

Members of the U.S. Congress and most of the corporate media missed what is obvious to many around the world—charges of Russian support for anti-government forces in Eastern Ukraine are still at the level of allegations, while the military support for the state of Israel is a matter of public record. And since it is undeniable that war crimes are being committed in Gaza, applying the same logic that the U.S. applied to the Russians, a logic that asserts that the Russians are morally and politically culpable in Eastern Ukraine, also condemns the U.S. as morally culpable for the war crimes being carried out by Israel. However, being morally and politically culpable becomes irrelevant when imperialist power translates into impunity for crimes against humanity.

By consigning Palestinian humanity to a lesser category, Democrats, Republicans and still too large a sector of the U.S. population, have once again demonstrated contempt for international law, human rights and a basic tenant of humanitarian principles – the equal value of all human life.

“A process that can lead to a just solution of the Israel/Palestine issue can only be facilitated by the international community (international meaning beyond the U.S. and Europe).”

While people throughout the world are reacting with justifiable revulsion to the inhumane brutality of the Israeli military machine, U.S. politicians, including the new liberal darlings Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren give moral and political support to Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity, positions that further solidify the status of the U.S. as a rogue state. A status of illegality that is embraced as a badge of honor for most U.S. politicians when it comes to Israel. As Harry Reid, the top Democrat in the U.S. Senate asserts – defending Israel is not an partisan issue but an “American principle [8].”

Therefore, a permanent solution to the conflict will not come from the U.S. or political forces internal to the Israeli colonial state, and with over 80% of Israeli civil society in support of the current military assault on Gaza, nothing of any value toward justice will come from that sector either. This means that a process that can lead to a just solution of the Israel/Palestine issue can only be facilitated by the international community (international meaning beyond the U.S. and Europe).

However, in the short-term, ending the carnage in Gaza should be the immediate priority. The Joint declaration [9] by international Law experts on Israeli’s Gaza offensive represents a framework for that. In that statement they call for the international community:

“…to take action in the spirit of the utmost urgency to put an end to the escalation of violence against the civilian population of the Gaza Strip, and to activate procedures to hold accountable all those responsible for violations of international law, including political leaders and military commanders. In particular:

All regional and international actors should support the immediate conclusion of a durable, comprehensive, and mutually agreed ceasefire agreement, which must secure the rapid facilitation and access of humanitarian aid and the opening of borders to and from Gaza.”

Yet, tragically for Palestinians, as long as Israel and the U.S. are not forced to recognize Palestinian humanity and can violate their rights and dignity with impunity there appears to be no end in sight to Palestinian suffering. After three weeks of air strikes, naval and land bombing, and a barbarous infantry assault, the request from Israel to the U.S. to replenish its depleted munitions, a request granted by the Obama administration, is a grotesque reminder of the criminality that conjoins both counties and condemns more Palestinians to death and destruction.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ajamu Baraka is a human rights activist, organizer and geo-political analyst. Baraka is an Associate Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) in Washington, D.C. and editor and contributing columnist for the Black Agenda Report. His latest publications include contributions to two recently published books: Imagine: Living in a Socialist USA and Claim No Easy Victories: The Legacy of Amilcar Cabral. He can be reached at info.abaraka@gmail.com [10] and www.AjamuBaraka.com [11].

Source URL: http://blackagendareport.com/content/sanctions-russia-and-green-light-israel-continue-war-crimes

U.S. “Humanitarian” Bombing of Iraq: A Redundant Presidential Ritual

DISPATCHES

U.S. “Humanitarian” Bombing of Iraq: A Redundant Presidential Ritual

By Glenn Greenwald 8 Aug 2014, 10:23 AM EDT

Associated Press, December 1, 1990:

New York Times, January 17, 1991:

CNN, December 16, 1998:

New York Times, December 17, 1998:

CNN, March 1, 2003:

Time, John Dickerson, January 28, 2003:

CBS, March 22, 2003:

The Daily Beast, July 24, 2014:

New York Times, this morning:

International Business Times, January 2, 2014:

There are several brief points worth noting about all of this:

(1) For those who ask “what should be done?,” has the hideous aftermath of the NATO intervention in Libya – hailed as a grand success for “humanitarian interventions” – not taught the crucial lessons that (a) bombing for ostensibly “humanitarian” ends virtually never fulfills the claimed goals but rather almost always makes the situation worse; (b) the U.S. military is not designed, and is not deployed, for “humanitarian” purposes?; and (c) the U.S. military is not always capable of “doing something” positive about every humanitarian crisis even if that were really the goal of U.S. officials?

The suffering in Iraq is real, as is the brutality of ISIS, and the desire to fix it is understandable. There may be some ideal world in which a superpower is both able and eager to bomb for humanitarian purposes. But that is not this world. Just note how completely the welfare of Libya was ignored by most intervention advocates the minute the fun, glorious, exciting part – “We came, we saw, he died,” chuckled Hillary Clinton – was over.

(2) It is simply mystifying how anyone can look at U.S. actions in the Middle East and still believe that the goal of its military deployments is humanitarianism. The U.S. government does not oppose tyranny and violent oppression in the Middle East. To the contrary, it is and long has been American policy to do everything possible to subjugate the populations of that region with brutal force – as conclusively demonstrated by stalwart U.S. support for the region’s worst oppressors. Or, as Hillary Clinton so memorably put it in 2009: “I really consider President and Mrs. Mubarak to be friends of my family.”

How can anyone believe that a government whose overt, explicit policy is “regime continuity” for Saudi Arabia, and who continues to lend all sorts of support to the military dictators of Egypt, is simultaneously driven by humanitarian missions in the region?

(3) “Humanitarianism” is the pretty packaging in which all wars – even the most blatantly aggressive ones – are wrapped, but it is almost never the actual purpose. There are often numerous steps the U.S. could take to advance actually humanitarian goals, but those take persistence and resources, and entail little means of control, and are thus usually ignored in favor of blowing things and people up with Freedom Bombs.

(4) Note how even the pretenses of constitutional democracy are now dispensed with: there is a reasonable legal debate over legality, but in essence: the President has the power to order bombing of Iraq because he decides it should happen.

(5) Perhaps having Israel and the U.S. simultaneously bombing Arabs in different countries – yet again – will create some extremely negative consequences?

(6) This above-documented parade of “Saddam-is-worse-than-Hitler” campaigns was surrounded by stints of U.S. arming and funding of the very same Saddam (the same, of course, was true of the Taliban precursors, Gadhaffi, Iran, Manuel Noriega, and virtually every other Latest Villain who needed to be bombed; the US was roughly allied with ISIS allies in Syria and American allies fund ISIS itself). The propaganda has gone from “pulling babies from incubators: as bad as Hitler” to “rape rooms: worse than Hitler” to the new slogan: “worse than al-Qaeda!” What’s left?

For quite some time, it was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – the democratically elected president of Iran who left office peacefully at the end of his term and who never actually invaded anybody – who was The New Hitler. As all of this demonstrates, there certainly are some heinous, violent people in the world: often including America’s closest allies and the ones who unleash the violence documented here, as well as those at whom that violence is directed. But perhaps some perspective and serious skepticism is warranted the next time we’re relentlessly bombarded with messaging about The New Greatest Villainous Threat in History – and especially manipulative accusations that opposition to U.S. military attack is indicative of support for those New Villains – as a means to secure acquiescence to the next bombing campaign.

(7) Maybe this and this, rather than humanitarianism, is a more significant influence in this new bombing campaign? Targeted strikes against ISIS is obviously not remotely the same as a full-scale invasion of Iraq, but whatever else is true, and whatever one’s opinions are on this latest bombing, it is self-evidently significant that, as the NYT’s Peter Baker wrote today, “Mr. Obama became the fourth president in a row to order military action in that graveyard of American ambition” known as Iraq.