8 US CIA Agents, 5 Canadians Killed in Afghanistan -- News from Antiwar.com

8 US CIA Agents, 5 Canadians Killed in Afghanistan -- News from Antiwar.com

Forward Operating Base "Gym" Actually a CIA Surveillance Center

by Jason Ditz, December 30, 2009

More details have emerged in this morning’s perplexing story, in which a suicide bomber attacked what officials called a “gym” on a military base in Khost Province, killing eight Americans the military identified as “civilians.”

Now US officials admit that all eight Americans slain in the attack were actually CIA agents, adding a reason why the Haqqani network was so quickly blamed, as CIA drones have been bombing the Haqqanis in North Waziristan for over a year.

Moreover, the “gym” at the Forward Operating Base was actually being used as a CIA “operations and surveillance center,” explaining the conspicuous lack of military personnel harmed in the attack.

One former CIA official was quoted as saying the attack was “the nightmare we’ve been anticipating since we went into Afghanistan and Iraq,” adding that the CIA agents operating in the warzones often lack adequate protection.

Exactly how the bomber was able to infiltrate the base and reach a secret CIA facility was unclear, and some suggested that the attacker may have been affiliated with one of the Afghan groups working on the base.

In addition, five Canadians were killed on patrol in Kandahar Province. The five, four soldiers and an embedded reporter were killed when their armored vehicle hit a roadside bomb.

Finally, though details were not readily available, a Jordanian army captain was slain in Afghanistan, the first death among Jordan’s tiny Afghan contingent since the war began.

Homeland Security Chair: Lap Bomber Could Block Gitmo Closure -- News from Antiwar.com

Homeland Security Chair: Lap Bomber Could Block Gitmo Closure -- News from Antiwar.com

Homeland Security Chair: Lap Bomber Could Block Gitmo Closure

Failed Attacker's Amazing Clout Grows

by Jason Ditz, December 28, 2009

For a man whose major accomplishment is setting his own lap on fire with a condom full of explosives, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s influence on American policy both foreign and domestic has positively exploded.

Not only has he managed to force a major crackdown by the TSA, including a virtual ban on laptop computers and most carry-on luggage, he is also setting the stage for a war against Yemen based purely on his claims that he was there at one point.

But if that wasn’t enough, House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) now says Abdulmutallab may further delay President Barack Obama’s already broken promise to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.

Several Republican Congressmen have also chimed in, declaring the lap bomber as reason enough all by himself not to close the detention center, essentially ever. Can one man really have this much power?

Adding to the fuel to keep the facility open, ABC News even claims that a pair of former detainees are to blame for the plot. The logic is convoluted: two former detainees were shipped to Saudi Arabia for “art therapy” and eventually went to Yemen, where officials say they joined al-Qaeda. Abdulmutallab has apparently been to Yemen and claims to be in al-Qaeda. Somehow, this “connection” has been seized upon eagerly, and with the bombs already falling on Yemen (for weeks before the attack, for what that’s worth) the need to manufacture a ex post facto justification has pundits in high gear.

Ampatuan patriarch gave Arroyo big win that fueled his rise to power - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Ampatuan patriarch gave Arroyo big win that fueled his rise to power - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

By Manny Piñol
Philippine Daily Inquirer

(The writer is a former journalist, a three-term governor of North Cotabato, and incumbent vice governor of the province)

THE POLITICAL POWER AND influence of Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr. reached great heights in the 2004 presidential election when he engineered a lopsided victory in Maguindanao for President Macapagal-Arroyo against popular actor Fernando Poe Jr.

It was undoubtedly a feat that won for Ms Arroyo the presidency, never mind the charges of massive cheating. The fact remains that the patriarch of the Ampatuan clan used every means foul or fair to show to Malacañang that he could deliver.

This ensured his own political ascendancy, until the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people. His family has been tagged as the mastermind of the worst political violence in the nation’s history.

Ampatuan ran unopposed for a second term as governor of Maguindanao in the 2004 election.

In 2005, the President endorsed the candidacy of Ampatuan’s son, Zaldy, for governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). It was, in fact, a political anointment.

The young Ampatuan handily won over Datu Ibrahim “Toto” Paglas III, a former mayor of Datu Paglas town who was supported by Muslim civil societies and many Mindanao political leaders, including myself.

As ARMM governor, Zaldy Ampatuan facilitated the realization of his father’s political plans. New towns were created out of four to five barangays to allow political underlings to dip into IRAs (internal revenue allotments).

Ampatuan also attempted to create a new province, Shariff Kabunsuan, where he had intended to establish a new political arena for the Masturas and Sinsuats, thus eliminating these two influential and powerful political families from Maguindanao.

He also worked for the creation of a third province for the Mangudadatus and the Paglases, obviously to make sure that there would be no more threat to the Ampatuans in Kabuntalan Valley.

Court scuttles partition

But Ampatuan’s plans backfired. I did not agree to his idea of yielding the town of Pikit in North Cotabato to Maguindanao to satisfy the land area requirement for the third province. The Supreme Court also rebuffed the ARMM legislation creating the new province, saying it was not within the powers of the regional government.

Ampatuan’s advisers used the court decision on the Shariff Kabunsuan case as a reason for him to resign as governor of Maguindanao. Zaldy Ampatuan later appointed his brother, Sajib, as Maguindanao acting governor and his brother, Akmad, as acting vice governor.

According to insiders, the plan was actually to allow Ampatuan to run for a new term again in 2010 as he had not completed his third and final term.

The appointment of Sajib was reportedly protested by his brother, Andal Jr., the patriarch’s favorite son who wanted to be governor. This almost led to a family tragedy as Sajib, according to reports, instructed his men to stop Andal Jr. at all cost.

In spite of his legal setbacks, the elder Ampatuan continued to wield power and amass wealth beyond imagination.

Amassing great wealth

For a politician who backed out of a plan to run for Maguindanao governor in 1998, purportedly because “he only had P30 million in his war chest,” it is mind-boggling how Ampatuan Sr. and his family could have accumulated such wealth in just eight years.

The misuse of the IRA in the ARMM areas is public knowledge. Most politicians in the area consider the IRA as their own personal funds, a reward for their political victories, which also cost them tens of millions of pesos.

It is not surprising to hear of stories of town mayors within the region living outside of their towns for the whole period after the election and coming back only during election time to buy votes and win again. Then, they will disappear again.

But the IRA alone, even including that of the ARMM, would not be enough for Ampatuan and his family to amass so much wealth within such a short period of time.

There are suggestions that a flourishing illegal drug trade in the region was behind the wealth, but this seems unbelievable.

What is believable is a moneymaking scam which involves the connivance of national officials with local government units. It is called “downloading” and it involves the transfer of funds from the different departments to provinces and municipalities through facilitators who get between 40 percent and 50 percent of the amount for them and their patrons.

With 40-50 percent already taken off, what usually happens is the projects will never be implemented.

Blood in their hands

Among the most notorious departments linked to this scam are the Department of Agriculture and its agencies, including the National Irrigation Administration; the Department of Public Works and Highways, through the road right of way settlements and the Road Users Board; and the Department of Agrarian Reform, through the VOS (voluntary offer to sell).

Congressional funds have also been identified as the source of the Ampatuan wealth.

The biggest contributor to the Ampatuan cash cache is reportedly the agriculture department. In fact, there are reports that shortly before the massacre, a P50-million fund was downloaded by the department to Maguindanao.

Ampatuan Sr. and his local government units were the most preferred destinations of these fund transfers because of his perceived influence at the top echelons of government and his capability to cover his tracks.

Now that he is out of power, it would be interesting to know which agencies of the government transferred funds to the ARMM and Maguindanao, and how much. The people in these agencies have the blood of the massacre victims in their hands.

Aquino solidifies lead - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Aquino solidifies lead - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

But Roxas, Legarda in close race for VP post

By Christine Avendaño, Cathy C. Yamsuan, Cyril Bonabente, Inquirer Research
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:22:00 12/22/2009

MANILA, Philippines—Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III consolidated his “sizeable” lead in the presidential race, but Senators Loren Legarda and Manuel “Mar” Roxas II were locked in a close fight for the vice presidency, according to the latest Pulse Asia survey.

Forty-five percent of 1,800 adults interviewed nationwide from Dec. 8 to 10 said they would vote for Aquino if elections were held at the time.

Nearly 50 million Filipinos will select a president, a vice president, nearly 300 lawmakers for the two houses of Congress and more than 17,500 local positions in the May general elections.

Considering the survey’s margin of error of plus-or-minus 2 percentage points, Aquino’s rating was virtually the same as the 44 percent he got in a similar survey in October.

“The support for Senator Aquino remains virtually unchanged,” Ana Maria Tabunda, chief research fellow of Pulse Asia Inc., said in a statement, comparing the latest results with the previous survey.

Way behind Aquino were Sen. Manuel “Manny” Villar Jr. (23 percent, up 4 points) and deposed President Joseph Estrada (19 percent, up 8 points).

At the bottom were former Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. (5 percent, up 3 points), Sen. Richard “Dick” Gordon (1 percent), and evangelist Eduardo “Bro. Eddie” Villanueva (1 percent).

Other presidential candidates got less than 1 percent each.

Escudero factor

Tabunda said it was possible that votes for Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, who announced on Nov. 24 his decision to drop out of the 2010 presidential race, went to Estrada and improved his rating.

“While it was expected that votes for Escudero would be proportionately distributed to the remaining presidential candidates, support for Villar did not go up that much, possibly because of his party’s decision to support the senatorial campaign of Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. and militant party-list Representatives Liza Maza and Satur Ocampo,” Tabunda said in an interview.

Marcos is the son and namesake of the late dictator who jailed Ocampo and other political activists during martial law.

Pulse Asia asked respondents to choose from a list of 15 presidential, 15 vice presidential and 80 senatorial hopefuls. They were allowed to make up to 12 senatorial preferences.

Last week, the Commission on Elections approved the certificates of candidacy (CoCs) of eight presidential aspirants, the CoCs of eight vice presidential hopefuls, and the CoCs of 58 senator wannabes.

Vice presidential race

Legarda gained 14 points (37 percent), closely following Roxas (39 percent, up 2 points) in first place in the vice presidential race.

They were followed by Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay (14 percent, up 1 point), former Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chair Bayani Fernando (2 percent, up 1 point) and actor/TV host Edu Manzano (2 percent). It was Manzano’s first time to be included in the survey.

Tabunda said that unlike Aquino who had a big lead over Villar and Estrada, “Roxas’ lead over Legarda is more precarious because there are no corruption allegations against her.”

Estrada was convicted of plunder in September 2007, but was later pardoned by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Villar has been accused of double funding the C-5 road extension project.

Tabunda said Legarda’s 14-point increase could also be attributed to her environmental advocacy, the relevance of which has been highlighted by recent Copenhagen talks to fight global warming, and to a more active campaign.

“Legarda made herself scarce when she was still being considered a presidential candidate. But after finalizing her decision to run for vice president … she has been more active on the campaign trail,” Tabunda said.

Senatorial race

In the senatorial race, 14 had a statistical chance of winning. Six of them were reelectionists and four were former senators.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada of Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) was No. 1 with 55.1 percent, followed by Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. of Lakas-Kampi-CMD (52.7 percent) and Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago of the People’s Reform Party (51.4 percent).

Former Senate President Franklin Drilon of the Liberal Party (LP) (48.4 percent), Sen. Pilar Juliana “Pia” Cayetano of the Nacionalista Party (43.1 percent).

Former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto of the LP (43.1 percent), Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile of the PMP (42.7 percent), former Sen. Sergio “Serge” Osmeña III, an independent candidate, (40.2 percent), former Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (40.2 percent).

Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (31 percent), Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto Guingona III of LP (28.5 percent), Jose “Joey” de Venecia III of PMP (24.3 percent), Sen. Manuel “Lito” Lapid of Lakas-Kampi-CMD (23.1 percent), and Muntinlupa Rep. Rozzano Rufino “Ruffy” Biazon of LP (22.9 percent).

Thrust into limelight

From a political lightweight with no significant achievements in his 11 years as a legislator, the son of the late democracy icon Corazon Aquino was thrust into the limelight when his mother died in August.

Senator Aquino took advantage of the massive outpouring of emotional support for his mother to catapult himself into the national consciousness. He announced his candidacy in September.

Aquino’s camp was elated about the latest Pulse Asia survey results.

“The survey results validate our belief that the Filipino people continue to support our campaign for an honest government,” said lawyer Edwin Lacierda, Aquino’s spokesperson.

Lacierda said the survey results came at a time “when our many opponents are desperately trying to bring us down through lies and black propaganda.”

He said the results proved that “their dirty tricks are not working.”

For his part, Roxas, running mate of Aquino, said Aquino’s lead reinforced their bid “to fight for a straight, honest and clean government which the country badly needed.”

Villar doing better

“I’m happy with the results. We are on target,” Villar said at the Laurel House in Mandaluyong City. “There’s still four and a half months to go.”

He said his campaign would focus on the value of hard work—“sipag at tiyaga”—which was also his slogan when he ran for senator in 2001 and 2007.

“I remain confident, especially now that there are fewer candidates. The choices in the future surveys will be clearer,” he said. “I will not run for president if I’m not sure of winning.”

Too early to tell

Estrada remained confident despite merely placing “third” in the survey, saying “it’s too early to tell.”

He said it might even be “a disadvantage to peak this early” in the surveys with more than five months to go before the May elections.

“Come February or March, that’s when we will really know, because by then 90 to 80 percent of the voters would have already decided,” Estrada said when reached on the phone Monday.

Estrada’s reelection bid has been challenged in the Supreme Court.

A spokesperson of Teodoro said the presidential election was more than four months away.

“We are confident that his ratings will climb dramatically as more Filipinos get to know his program of government, his character and his integrity in public office as the epitome of the new generation of high-achieving Filipino leaders,” Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay said in a statement.

Gordon said his survey numbers would improve greatly once people become aware he was gunning for the presidency.

“When people find out that I am already a candidate for President, this survey is going to change, because they are now going to look at a real candidate with a real track record and a record of leadership and integrity,” Gordon said in statement.

He noted that the survey was taken immediately after the CoCs were filed which he said was when people “were not quite sure whether I was a candidate until on that day.”

Legarda pleased

Legarda expressed confidence that as the campaign period neared, she would emerge on top of the vice presidential race.

“I am very pleased with the results of this latest survey. It validates my belief that a green platform is precisely what this country needs, and that the Filipino electorate approves of my efforts in pushing a pro-environment agenda,” Legarda said in a statement.

Legarda is the running mate of Villar.

Asked about his own rating that saw him tying with Legarda, Roxas could only say that “it goes with the campaign.”

“For the past two to three months, I have been concentrating on the campaign for Senator Noynoy and this January when the campaign period starts, the results would surely change,” he said. With reports from Reuters and Agence France-Presse

CHR slams journalists for attack on Ampatuan - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

CHR slams journalists for attack on Ampatuan - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

By Nikko Dizon
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:42:00 12/21/2009

MANILA, Philippines—Even suspected mass murderers like Andal Ampatuan Jr. have rights.

Leila de Lima, chair of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Sunday slammed media men for going “overboard” on Friday when they attacked the alleged mastermind of the election-related massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao Nov. 23.

The dead included 30 news people, making the incident the world’s largest slaughter of media practitioners and the Philippines the most dangerous place on earth for journalists, after such conflict zones as Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“Yes, overboard. Expression of outrage can be done without physically harming the object of outrage. Without rule of law and restraint, we will all descend to a society where atrocities and vigilantism become a way of life,” said De Lima in a text message to the Inquirer.

Angry journalists mobbed Ampatuan as he was being led out of the Department of Justice (DoJ) by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) after his preliminary investigation on multiple murder charges.

A photographer struck Ampatuan in the head with his camera.

The NBI said it would review its security arrangements for the mayor of Datu Unsay town who reportedly sustained injuries in the incident.

“Irrespective of what we think or feel, everyone has human rights, even suspects and convicted criminals. Violators of the law have limited rights but have rights nonetheless. The only limitations are those set by law, such as restrictions to right of liberty on account of detention,” De Lima said.

However, she stressed that anger at those who broke the law or were charged even with heinous crimes did not justify violation of their rights.

Presumed innocent

While individuals have freedom of expression, to express their outrage and to condemn Ampatuan, he also has the right to be presumed innocent, De Lima said.

“If journalists feel he should have no rights, they may be justified in saying such. But in so far as the mechanisms for justice are concerned, there is no alternative to respecting the accused’s rights. Lady justice is blind to public sentiment,” she said.

The Quezon City Regional Trial Court will hold at Camp Crame on Tuesday the first hearing of multiple murder charges against Ampatuan, Supreme Court spokesperson Midas Marquez said Sunday.

Senior State Prosecutor Leo Dacera also told the Inquirer that investigators had completed evidence to charge Ampatuan with 57 counts of murder, after receiving the latest results of investigations on 17 other victims.

Among those killed were the wife and two sisters of Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu, who were in the convoy that he had sent to file his candidacy for governor of Maguindanao against Ampatuan.

190 under investigation

The NBI and the Philippine National Police (PNP) have also filed multiple murder charges against 190 people in the DoJ, including Ampatuan’s father, Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., and several other members of the powerful political clan.

Senior State Prosecutor Rosanne Balauag, chair of the DoJ panel conducting the preliminary investigation, told reporters on Friday that it had 60 days to decide if there was probable cause to elevate the case before the court.

Sigfrid Fortun, lawyer for the Ampatuan family, has told the panel that his clients will not answer the police and NBI allegations.

Transfer of Ampatuans urged

In General Santos City, the local council on Thursday approved a resolution opposing the continued detention of the Ampatuans at the headquarters of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), saying that they should be confined at the place where they would be tried.

Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and three of his brothers are detained at the CIDG facility in General Santos on rebellion charges. Their father is being held at a military camp in Davao City on the same accusation.

Also facing rebellion is Ampatuan Jr., who is confined at the NBI detention facility in Manila.

Vice Mayor Florentina Congson told reporters that the detention of the Ampatuans in the city did not only put to risk the security of the city but also showed insensitivity to the feelings of the victims’ families.

“We all know that the families of many journalists killed in the Maguindanao massacre are residing here. I think it is unfair that the Ampatuans are being detained here,” Congson said. With reports from Norman Bordadora in Manila, and Aquiles Zonio, Inquirer Mindanao

2 million troops have deployed since 9/11

2 million troops have deployed since 9/11

By Michelle Tan - Staff writer, Marine Crops News
Posted : Friday Dec 18, 2009 16:30:29 EST

In the eight years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, American troops have deployed almost 3.3 million times to Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Defense Department data.

The numbers, as of October 2009, show that more than 2 million men and women have shouldered those deployments, with 793,000 of them deploying more than once.
Here’s a look at how the numbers break down by service:

• Army. More than 1 million soldiers have deployed since the beginning of the wars. These 1 million soldiers have completed 1.5 million deployment events, with 352,700 deploying more than once.
In October, 172,800 soldiers were deployed to the war zones.

• Navy. More than 367,900 sailors have deployed since the beginning of the wars, with 147,200 deploying more than once. In all, the sailors have logged 595,700 deployments.
In October, 30,000 sailors were deployed.

• Marine Corps. More than 251,800 Marines have deployed since the start of the wars, completing 392,900 tours. More than 106,400 have deployed more than once.
In October, 20,900 Marines were deployed.

• Air Force. More than 389,900 airmen have deployed since 2001, with 185,500 going more than once. In all, airmen have completed 771,400 deployment events.
In October, 31,500 airmen were deployed.

• Coast Guard. More than 4,370 Coast Guardsmen have deployed since 2001, with 650 deploying more than once. The Coast Guard has 5,333 deployments on file, and in October, 438 were deployed.

US Attacking Yemen After All -- News from Antiwar.com

US Attacking Yemen After All -- News from Antiwar.com

Cruise Missiles Hit Multiple Sites in Concert With Yemeni Govt

by Jason Ditz, December 18, 2009

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Just one day after a very public denial that American forces were in the process of attacking sites in Northern Yemen, President Barack Obama ordered multiple cruise missile attacks on sites across the tiny, coastal nation.

The air strikes were coordinated with the government of President Ali Abdallah Saleh and the attacks left 120 killed, many of them civilians according to witnesses. President Obama called Saleh after the attack to “congratulate” him on the killings.

The Yemeni government denied any US role in the attacks, despite American officials’ admissions. This is largely in keeping with the Saleh government’s policy, as they angrily denied reports of Saudi attacks in the north as a myth even as the Saudi government was giving a press conference detailing the attack.

One Yemeni official however claimed that a local al-Qaeda “deputy” named Mohammed Saleh Mohammed Ali Al-Kazemi was slain, and that “scores” of al-Qaeda members were killed in the assorted attacks.

The conflict with al-Qaeda is just one of many conflicts currently going on in Yemen, including an enduring separatist movement in the south and an increasingly violent insurrection in the Shi’ite north. Technically Wednesday’s State Department denials appear to have been accurate, as the missile strikes were in a completely unrelated conflict from the one they were accused of taking part in.