war on terror

Obama's Justice Pick: Waterboarding Is Torture

$Attorney General-designate Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington Thursday, January 15, 2009, before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination. \"Waterboarding is torture,\" Holder said, in the dramatic opening salvos of the hearing. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)$

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama's choice to run the US Justice Department, Eric Holder, drew a line under Bush administration anti-terror policy, calling waterboarding torture.

Attorney general designate Holder also said at his Senate confirmation hearing that the Obama team, which takes office Tuesday, was already taking steps to prepare the closure of the Guantanamo Bay "war on terror" prison.

Posted in torture, war on terror

David Miliband Expands on Criticism of 'War on Terror' Phrase

$Foreign Secretary David Miliband, speaking at a press conference in Mumbai on Thursday, delivered a sharp critique of outgoing US President George W. Bush's foreign policy, declaring the concept of a \"war on terror\" was \"mistaken.\" (AFP/Sajjad Hussain)$

MUMBAI - The foreign secretary, David Miliband, today declared that the use of the phrase "war on terror" as a western rallying cry since the September 11 attacks had been a mistake that may have caused "more harm than good".

Posted in war on terror, War/Empire

'War on Terror' Was Wrong

The terrorist attacks in Mumbai seven weeks ago sent shock waves around the world. Now all eyes are fixed on the Middle East, where Israel's response to Hamas's rockets, a ferocious military campaign, has already left a thousand Gazans dead.

Posted in war on terror

Tom Friedman Offers a Perfect Definition of 'Terrorism'

Tom Friedman, one of the nation's leading propagandists for the Iraq War and a vigorous supporter of all of Israel's wars, has a column today in The New York Times explaining and praising the Israeli attack on Gaza.

Posted in war on terror, free gaza, Israel/Palestine

Obama: Declare an End To 'The War on Terror'

The Middle East looms large for Barack Obama, and in Washington it's clear that the seething arc of crises from Gaza and Lebanon through Iraq and Iran into Afghanistan and Pakistan won't let Obama ignore the region from Day One. Starting today, and continuing for the rest of this week, I'm presenting a series of pieces about Obama's Middle East. Today, we start with the so-called War on Terror.
Posted in beyond obama, war on terror

Bagram, Worse Than Guantanamo?

NEW YORK - While millions know that the administration of George W. Bush has left Barack Obama with the job of closing the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, relatively few are aware that the new president will also face a similar but far larger dilemma 7,000 miles away.
That dilemma is what to do with what has become known as "the other GITMO" -- the U.S.-controlled military prison at Bagram Air Base near Kabul in Afghanistan -- and the estimated 600-700 detainees now held there.

Posted in torture, war on terror, Afghanistan

How Hypocrisy on 'Terrorism' Kills

Israel, a nation that was born out of Zionist terrorism, has launched massive airstrikes against targets in Gaza using high-tech weapons produced by the United States, a country that often has aided and abetted terrorism by its client military forces, such as Chile's Operation Condor and the Nicaraguan contras, and even today harbors right-wing Cuban terrorists implicated in blowing up a civilian airliner.

Posted in war on terror, Israel/Palestine

Seasonal Forgiveness Has a Limit. Bush and His Cronies Must Face a Reckoning

'Tis the night before Christmas and the season of goodwill. The mood is forgiving. Our faces warm with mulled wine, our tummies full, we're meant to slump in the armchair, look back on the year just gone and count our blessings - woozily agreeing to put our troubles behind us.

Posted in after bush, cheney, Equality/Justice, guantanamo, torture, war on terror

9 Is Not 11: (And November Isn't September)
We've forfeited the rights to our own tragedies. As the carnage in Mumbai raged on, day after horrible day, our 24-hour news channels informed us that we were watching "India's 9/11." And like actors in a Bollywood rip-off of an old Hollywood film, we're expected to play our parts and say our lines, even though we know it's all been said and done before.
As tension in the region builds, U.S.
Posted in war on terror, India

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 9, 2008
10:00 AM

CONTACT: The Real News Network
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Pakistan Under Pressure

WASHINGTON - December 9 - Saeed Shah investigates origin of Ajmal Amir Qasab, only gunman caught in Mumbai attacks
The Indian government has announced that they believe the attacks in Mumbai were organized by people based in Pakistan. India's Foreign Minister, Pranab Mukherjee is demanding that the government of Pakistan take action in apprehending suspects wanted in connection with the Mumbai attacks stating, "Now we have asked..for the hand over and arrest of those persons who have settled in Pakistan."

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Posted in war on terror, Pakistan