Top US Commander: Wars Hurting Hunt for WMDs -- News from Antiwar.com

Top US Commander: Wars Hurting Hunt for WMDs -- News from Antiwar.com

Top US Commander: Wars Hurting Hunt for WMDs

Special Forces Spending Too Much Time Fighting Wars

by Jason Ditz, August 27, 2010

In a letter to the Senate Armed Services Committee, SOCOM commander Admiral Eric Olson has warned that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are significantly hurting the ability of his forces to hunt for weapons of mass destruction.

Fewer commandos are available for such hunts, Olson warned, because so many of them are committed to fighting these wars. He warned that the threat of terrorists getting WMDs “is greater now than at any other time in history.”

Olson had previously expressed hope that the effort could “be redoubled” as those wars wind down. But with the Afghan War seemingly lasting forever and the growing prospect of US troops staying in Iraq past 2011, it seems SOCOM will be fighting wars for quite some time.

SOCOM special forces have been seen in particular as being active in Afghanistan, where they are credited with having killed 365 “top Taliban commanders” in the past three months alone. Due to their secretive nature, however, it is unclear how many are deployed where.

Mullen: National Debt Is ‘Top’ National Security Threat -- News from Antiwar.com

Mullen: National Debt Is ‘Top’ National Security Threat -- News from Antiwar.com

Mullen: National Debt Is ‘Top’ National Security Threat

Insists Economy Must Grow to Support More Military Spending

by Jason Ditz, August 27, 2010

Speaking today in Detroit, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen took on the rare task of declaring what he believed was the “top” threat to America’s national security going forward. It wasn’t Iran, it wasn’t North Korea, it wasn’t even some ill-defined group of factions called “terrorism.” It was the national debt.

“The most significant threat to our national security it the debt,” Mullen insisted, adding that it is “so important that the economy move in the right direction” to pay for more military spending going forward.

“The resources that our military uses are directly related to the health of our economy,” Mullen warned. When lamenting that the US taxpayers will pay $600 billion in interest on the debt in 2012, Mullen noted “that’s one year worth of defense budget.”

Mullen’s visit was primarily aimed at pressing arms manufacturers to hire more veterans, adding that it was “patriotic” to integrate soldiers into the local work force and insisting that industry and military leaders share the same goals. He added that military funds to buy more weapons to arm more soldiers would be leveraged “as much as possible” to companies to hire veterans.

Petraeus: We’re Not Leaving Iraq -- News from Antiwar.com

Petraeus: We’re Not Leaving Iraq -- News from Antiwar.com

Petraeus: We’re Not Leaving Iraq

Pentagon Surprised to Hear Reports that War Ended

by Jason Ditz, August 19, 2010

As Obama Administration officials and a willing mainstream media report that yesterday was the end of the Iraq War it would likely surprise many that 56,000 US troops remain on the ground engaging in combat operations.

But it seems like the spin is even more surprising to the Pentagon leadership, as Gen. David Petraeus was pressed today on whether this was the right time to have left Iraq, and he said what he most likely wasn’t supposed to say.

“First of all we are not leaving,” Petraues insisted, adding that “there are 50,000 US troops that are remaining in Iraq” and that they retain an “enormous capability.” It is a capability that is tough to reconcile with the official story that these are all just trainers.

Gen. Petraeus could perhaps be forgiven for not being on message. After all, he is still getting his bearings as the new commander in Afghanistan and probably didn’t have time to catch the news on MSNBC.

But then Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell declared, on MSNBC, “I don’t think anybody has declared the end of the war as far as I know.” He perhaps missed the headlines across the American press declaring exactly that, and the number of Obama Administration officials crowing about the “promise kept” to end the war.

President Obama’s decision to select yesterday as the official “victory” day for Iraq appears to have taken a lot of people by surprise, not the least being all those troops still in Iraq and still fighting. But the Pentagon’s break with them, admitting that the war is still going on while the media-friendly celebration is still going on, certainly complicates the already ill-defined message.

Police torture video triggers outrage - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Police torture video triggers outrage - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Police torture video triggers outrage
By DJ Yap
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:48:00 08/19/2010

MANILA, Philippines—A TV news video of a holdup suspect allegedly being tortured by a Manila police precinct commander Wednesday led to his suspension and that of his 21 officers and an investigation by three agencies, officials said.

Tuesday’s ABS-CBN footage, shot with a cell phone camera, showed a naked and bound man, grimacing apparently in great pain on the floor of what was described as the precinct station on Asuncion Street in Tondo district.

A man identified as Senior Insp. Joselito Binayug, the precinct chief, was tugging at a string tied to the genitals of the victim, who remained unidentified, each time he failed to answer questions.

ABS-CBN said the man later died. Details on the victim have not been officially released. The Philippine Daily Inquirer tried but failed to get a comment from Binayug.

Chief Supt. Rodolfo Magtibay, director of the Manila Police District, said the person who shot the footage should come forward to identify those in the video but that he would understand if fear prevented this.

“There are other ways to build our case,” he said.

Magtibay said he visited the Asuncion precinct on Tuesday and found that it did seem to be the place where the video was taken.

PNP vows swift action

The incident was roundly condemned by officials of the Philippine National Police, Department of Justice and Commission on Human Rights who all decided to conduct separate investigations.

“Such actions do not have any place in an organization that espouses respect for human rights,” said PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa.

“Any form of brutality and abuse of authority by PNP personnel will not be tolerated and will be dealt with swiftly and decisively according to our own disciplinary rules and internal policy,” Verzosa added.

Senior Supt. Agrimero Cruz, PNP spokesperson, said all 22 officers had been relieved and their liability for violation of Republic Act No. 9745, or the Anti-Torture Act of 2009, would be investigated. He said the men also would undergo neuropsychiatric tests.

Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim said the precinct would be converted into an “outpost” while its members were being investigated.

“That’s inhumane. That kind of maltreatment of the suspect should not be countenanced,” Lim said.

Test case

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima described the scene caught in the video as a “ghastly sight.”

She said her department would investigate the incident and prosecute those involved “to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Torture cases are not exclusive to any one body or agency,” De Lima said in a statement. “A strong message must be sent to all those who would engage in torture that this practice will not be tolerated and will, in fact, be strenuously punished.”

According to De Lima, the incident could be a good test case for the Anti-Torture Act to see if it could be “an effective tool for greater accountability and diminished impunity.”

“There is no place within our law enforcement agencies for individuals capable of engaging in something so utterly worthy of universal condemnation,” she said.

Human Rights Commissioner Cecilia Quisumbing said a family had gotten in touch with her office to say that a kin missing since March “looked close enough” like the man in the video. She said she would help the family view the ABS-CBN video.

Since Jan. 1, 2009, 13 cases of torture against members of the military and the police have been filed in the Commission on Human Rights. With reports from Alcuin Papa, Marlon Ramos, Leila B. Salaverria and Mikko Morelos

Poll Shows Rising Public Opposition to Afghan War -- News from Antiwar.com

Poll Shows Rising Public Opposition to Afghan War -- News from Antiwar.com

Poll Shows Rising Public Opposition to Afghan War

Americans Generally Disapprove of Obama's Handling of the Afghan War

by Jason Ditz, August 12, 2010

A new NBC/Wall Street Journal Survey (PDF) shows a public growing increasingly pessimistic about the Obama Administration’s handling of a number of issues, including a major rise in opposition to the Afghan War.

Confidence is now plummeting, with 68% saying they feel “less confidence” about whether the war will reach a successful conclusion. Perhaps even more importantly, for the first time yet, the poll shows, the American public generally disapproves of the president’s handling of the Afghan War. The 44%-45% opposition was a stark drop in popularity of the war from five months ago, when they generally approved 53%-35%

This was even worse when the question was how President Obama had lived up to expectations on the war, with only 34% saying he had, and 57% saying that he had “fallen short” of what they were hoping for.

This suggests that the support, which had been buoyed by the December escalation and the promise of a July 2011 drawdown, has entirely evaporated already, likely in no small part because the president has disavowed that drawdown date, and the record death tolls in the nation.

The poll further showed an extremely pessimistic attitude on Afghanistan, with only 10% of Americans having a positive attitude compared to 58% having a negative attitude. Only Pakistan fared worse in the poll, with a 4%-61% result.

Interestingly enough, the poll also hints at the first stages of a renewed opposition to the Iraq War, with the poll showing a drop in the number of people who believed the war was somewhat successful and an increase in the number who believed it was very unsuccessful. Iraq’s death toll too has been on the rise, with July seeing the highest civilian death toll in over two years. While Iraq has largely been supplanted by Afghanistan in media coverage of overseas warfare, this suggests that Americans are starting to realize that the pretense of “victory” in Iraq has fallen far short of the reality, and may usher in even more opposition if, as US officials predict, the violence continues to rise in the near term.

‘Upbeat’ White House Faces Calls for Long Term Iraq Presence -- News from Antiwar.com

‘Upbeat’ White House Faces Calls for Long Term Iraq Presence -- News from Antiwar.com

‘Upbeat’ White House Faces Calls for Long Term Iraq Presence

Iraq's Chief of Staff Says US Must Stay Until at Least 2020

by Jason Ditz, August 11, 2010

The Obama Administration remains committed to spinning its redefinition of combat troops as “transitional forces” as the end of the combat mission, even though there is no doubt that combat will continue past this date.

But while the “drawdown” is of political expedience at the moment, reports suggest that there is little stomach for actually ending the war among US officials, and perhaps even more problematic, no Iraqi government in place (beyond a powerless caretaker government) with any vested interest in ensuring the 2011 pullout happens.

In fact the Iraqi Army’s Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Babaker Zebari today warned that, while the level of violence is already rising precipitously it will be even worse after 2011, if the US leaves. He is calling instead for the US to commit to the occupation fo Iraq through at least 2020, which is when, in his estimate, the Iraqi military might be ready to take over.

Though one might be tempted to dismiss Zebari’s comments as those of a single Iraqi soldier, they seem to jibe closely with the sentiment of the US State Department, which over the past few months has been openly trying to create a Second US Army, answerable to the State Department, which would continue the occupation of Iraq for years after, or perhaps at this point it should be couched as if, the current US Army leaves.

Reports: Obama Pressing Allies to Target Assange -- News from Antiwar.com

Reports: Obama Pressing Allies to Target Assange -- News from Antiwar.com

Reports: Obama Pressing Allies to Target Assange

Seeks NATO Allies to Find an Excuse to Prosecute WikiLeaks Founder

by Jason Ditz, August 10, 2010

A number of reports are emerging today suggesting that the Obama Administration is looking for a new approach in its attempts to crack down on whistleblower site WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange.

Julian Assange

Though Assange’s activities would almost certainly be protected in the US (in the same way media outlets were protected in releasing the Pentagon Papers), the Obama Administration is said to be pressing its NATO allies to look for some sort of law one of them might have on their books that would enable the prosecution of Assange for the leaks of classified military documents.

Officials have simultaneously tried to downplay the impact of the information contained in the leaks while claiming they pose an enormous threat to national security. While the leaks dropped US support for the war, officials have been largely successful in spinning providing the truth to the American public as an inherently malevolent endeavor, as one American Enterprise Institute blogger remarked: “The idea that Assange is not a journalist, but the leader of a criminal enterprise, is gaining steam—and the noose is tightening around the WikiLeaks founder.”

The selling of this narrative has come both in the form of smearing Bradley Manning, with media reports having portrayed him as a short, lonely, possibly homosexual loser with delusions of grandeur, and in the form of portraying Assange as having committed “treason” against the American war machine, nevermind that Assange isn’t an American citizen and wouldn’t seem to be under any obligation to show any patriotism.

But while it was clear from the beginning that administration officials sought to “make an example” of this case to discourage future people from coming forward with embarrassing truths, most assumed that Manning would bear the brunt of this “example.” Most took Admiral Mullen’s claim that Assange “has blood on his hands” as ironic to the point of absurdity, but not a real threat against him. It seems, however, that officials are willing to go further than this, however.

Most governments would relish a chance to silence Assange, who has embarrassed a number of officials over the years, but the narrative of government secrecy as patriotism and whistleblowing as treasonous and a little bit unmanly hasn’t caught on nearly so well abroad, where the feigned outrage against Assange does not appear to have leaked into the public opinion.

This would mean that some government would have to face public outcry in turning on Assange, which means the US will have to bring no small amount of pressure to bear to make anything happen. How willing are they?

Willing enough, according to one report, that the US military is talking about “revising” its relationship with Iceland to punish them for a recent law which provides protection to whistleblowers.

Any attempts to punish Iceland for supporting the notion of freedom of the press are likely to produce an international backlash, and President Obama will likely have a hard time convincing the rest of the world that a press for international censorship is reasonable in the name of an unpopular, nine year old war. And efforts to punish Assange will likely provoke a similar backlash, both against the US and whichever ally they can con into doing their dirty work.

UN Report: Afghan Civilian Deaths Up 31% -- News from Antiwar.com

UN Report: Afghan Civilian Deaths Up 31% -- News from Antiwar.com

UN Report: Afghan Civilian Deaths Up 31%

Public Executions by Insurgents on the Rise

by Jason Ditz, August 10, 2010

According to the UNAMA (United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan) report for the first six months of 2010, civilian deaths in Afghanistan actually rose 31% over the same period in 2009.

The UNAMA report stood in contrast to a separate report released on Sunday by the Afghan government, which claimed only a six percent increase in deaths over the first seven months of 2010.

The UNAMA report actually showed a slight drop in the number of civilians killed by NATO troops, attributed to a decline in civilians killed in air strikes, but a significant increase in public executions by insurgents.

As UNAMA’s data only runs through the end of June, however, and would not include several high profile incidents since then. The data does suggest that Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s efforts to curb civilian deaths may have been at least partially effective, though Gen. David Petraeus’ plans to roll back many of McChrystal’s measures suggest this may be a temporary gain.

US Predicts Increase in Violence in Iraq -- News from Antiwar.com

US Predicts Increase in Violence in Iraq -- News from Antiwar.com

US Predicts Increase in Violence in Iraq

Lt. Gen. Cone Blames Lack of Iraqi Govt

by Jason Ditz, August 09, 2010

US officials are predicting that the rising violence in Iraq is going to continue to trend higher throughout the month of Ramadan, which is scheduled to begin later this week, and that more high profile attacks are likely in the offing.

Lt. Gen. Cone

The prediction comes just a day after one of the deadliest weekends Iraq had seen in months, which prompted an admonishment by Gen. Ray Odierno not to “overreact” to the rising death toll.

Lt. Gen. Cone however said that the toll would almost certainly rise in the days ahead, as this had been the case on previous Ramadans. He also pointed to the lack of an Iraqi government, over five months after the election as a cause for rising violence.

US military officials had been trying, unsuccessfully, to downplay the rising death toll, claiming a minuscule July toll for civilians which was readily proven false. In reality, July saw the highest civilian toll in over two years in Iraq.

Swat Valley Taliban Aims to Capitalize on Flooding -- News from Antiwar.com

Swat Valley Taliban Aims to Capitalize on Flooding -- News from Antiwar.com

Swat Valley Taliban Aims to Capitalize on Flooding

Govt Mishandling of Disaster Fuels Militancy Among Locals

by Jason Ditz, August 09, 2010

With the Zardari government safely in the category of the major losers in the Pakistani flooding, a natural disaster of historical proportions, the Swat Valley Taliban, a minor player relegated to even more minor status after last year’s offensive, is looking to mount a comeback.

“This is the basic reason for militancy: anger at the government,” one Swati resident, Obaid ur-Rehman, told the Washington Post. “If we had a place to live, if we had food, if we had schools, there would be no militancy in Pakistan.”

Their homes destroyed, locals reported the only aid they have seen from the government was a helicopter dropping food parcels to them. The food turned out to have rotten and was inedible, leading the residents to throw the food at the helicopter.

Though Pakistan’s military has made some friends with rescue operations in the most heavily effected areas, the government’s aid has been sorely lacking, leaving Islamist factions one of the few groups on the ground providing meaningful support.

But even this aid is likely to be temporary, and in the long run the reality is that residents of the hardest hit areas could face years of rebuilding before even basic services are available again. In areas like Swat, torn by military offensives and lacking in services in the first place, the flood seems to have given the Swat Valley Taliban a recruiting tool that will be very difficult to overcome.

As Khadr ‘Trial’ Looms, Military Rules Disputed Confessions Admissible -- News from Antiwar.com

As Khadr ‘Trial’ Looms, Military Rules Disputed Confessions Admissible -- News from Antiwar.com

As Khadr ‘Trial’ Looms, Military Rules Disputed Confessions Admissible

Prosecutors Insisted Abuse Didn't Effect Confessions

by Jason Ditz, August 09, 2010

The Obama Administration’s military “trial” against Omar Khadr at Guantanamo Bay is expected to begin as soon as Tuesday, following a ruling form a military judge that the confessions made by Khadr are admissible.

Khadr, a Canadian citizen, was 15 years old when he was arrested. Now 23, he is charged with having thrown a grenade at US troops during the Afghan War, and is being labeled an “unprivileged enemy belligerent” to explain the charges, as throwing a hand grenade during a war is not generally considered a war crime.

Defense lawyers had argued that Khadr’s confessions should not be allowed because they came in the wake of threats of gang rape and repeated abuse during past interrogations. Prosecutors argued, and the judge agreed, that the threats were irrelevant to the confessions.

Khadr has previously indicated that he will boycott the “trial” because he does not want to help the US further its political goals. His eight year detention has been somewhat controversial, both because of his Canadian citizenship and his young age when captured.

In fact the military judge’s ruling today was just the last in a long line of attempts to block the trial by the defense, which had petitioned the US Supreme Court to suspend the trial on Constitutional grounds. The court declined to do so.

Even coverage of the proceding at Guantanamo Bay have become something of a controversy, as the Pentagon continues to restrict what journalists allowed to see the trial will be permitted to cover, citing “operational security concerns.”

Having virtually grown up in US custody, Khadr could face life in prison if convicted. The Canadian Supreme Court decided in January that it could not force the current Canadian government to seek his repatriation, but it remains possible that some future Canadian government may decide to seek the return of its citizen.

Gen. Petraeus Issues Air Strike Edict: No Strikes Near Civilians, Except in Secret Cases -- News from Antiwar.com

Gen. Petraeus Issues Air Strike Edict: No Strikes Near Civilians, Except in Secret Cases -- News from Antiwar.com

Directive Said to Be Little Changed From McChrystal's Version

by Jason Ditz, August 04, 2010

New US Commander in Afghanistan Gen. David Petraeus has issued new orders related to air and artillery strikes against civilians. The short answer is “don’t,” while the long answer is that troops shouldn’t use the strikes when they know civilians will be killed except in two cases.

While the existence of the two cases was not kept a secret, exactly what occasions under which the US troops would be allowed to deliberately kill Afghan civilians was kept a secret, citing “operational security.”

The wording of the directive was designed to be largely identical to the version from Gen. Stanley McChrystal, but added a clause about the importance of keeping Afghan security forces on hand at all times, and another about better training for US troops to actually apply the rules.

The last clause may be the most important, as despite McChrystal’s orders, a large number of civilians continue to be killed in US strikes. Gen. Petraeus is expected to make other changes to McChrystal’s rules of engagement, however, relaxing restrictions on combat near civilians. The move comes amid complaints that the efforts to avoid killing civilians are “harming morale.”

Sulu gov hurt in Zamboanga airport blast; 1 killed - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Sulu gov hurt in Zamboanga airport blast; 1 killed - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

By Julie Alipala, Abigail Kwok
INQUIRER.net, Philippine Daily Inquirer


ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines—(UPDATE 5) A man was killed while several others were wounded, including Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan, when an explosion rocked the arrivals area of an international airport here Thursday evening, authorities said.

An improvised explosive device (EID) caused the 6:15 p.m. blast at the Zamboanga International Airport, regional police commander Chief Superintendent Edwin Corvera said.

"We are still investigating if one of the casualties is the one carrying the IED," he said in a statement.

The explosion took place on the eve of US Ambassador Harry Thomas’ visit to this city. Philippine National Police Director General Jesus Verzosa was also set to visit Zamboanga City Friday.

Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat put the toll at one dead and at least 12 injured, one of them seriously.

"Initial investigation suggests the one who carried the bomb was killed in the explosion," he said in a ABS-CBN television interview.

Lobregat said Tan was "Okay."

"I saw and I was able to speak to him. He just suffered minor injuries," Lobregat told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone.

"We do not want to speculate at this time who the bombers are."

Lobregat said the blast occurred just after a plane from Manila had landed and as passengers were leaving the terminal.

Tan confirmed in a live television interview that he only sustained minor injuries.

The governor recounted that prior to the explosion, he saw a man standing near the arrivals area of the airport at 6:15 p.m.

Tan told GMA 7 “24 Oras” that the blast occurred less than a meter away from him.

“Nakita ko bumagsak na lang ‘yong tao at natanggal ‘yong ulo (Then I saw the man fell to the ground and his head was severed,” he said.

The suspected bomber, he said, was not among the passengers but was apparently waiting at the arrivals area of the airport, some 10 to 15 meters from the gate.

The American envoy was scheduled to visit some US-funded projects in the city, said Lieutenant General Dolorfino, the chief of the Western Mindanao Command.

“I don’t know if the Embassy will push though with the visit,” Dolorfino told the Inquirer.

Thomas, along with Gloria Steele, the new director of the United States Agency for International Development, were scheduled to visit Halfway House, which is jointly run by the Visayan Forum Foundation and the Philippine Ports Authority.

The airport is near the headquarters of US troops helping the Philippine military in its anti-terror drive in Mindanao, one of the strongholds of the Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf, a small group of Islamic militants on the US government's list of terrorist organisations.

The US military has had about 500 soldiers stationed in Mindanao since early 2002 to train local troops in how to combat the extremist group. However the US soldiers are not allowed to have a combat role.

The Abu Sayyaf is blamed for the country's worst terrorist attacks, including a ferry bombing that killed over 100 people in Manila Bay in 2004.

It has also conducted a series of kidnappings of both locals and foreigners in Mindanao.

In one of their highest-profile kidnappings, the group seized three American and 17 local tourists from a beach resort on Palawan island southwest of Manila in 2001.

They beheaded one of the Americans, and another was killed during a rescue attempt a year after the kidnapping. The third American was freed in the rescue effort.

Zamboanga is also one of the main cities on Mindanao island where a Muslim separatist insurgency has left more than 150,000 people dead since 1978. With reports from Agence France-Presse and Jeoffrey Maitem, Inquirer Mindanao