War
-
Russian General: “We Are At War” By General Leonid Ivashov
What is happening in Ukraine and Syria is a project of the West, a new type of war: in both places you see a clear anti-Russian approach, and as is well known, wars today begin with psychological and information warfare operations. . . Kerry and Obama are encouraging in Kiev what they harshly repress in… Continue reading
-
Drone Wars: UK Becomes New Pakistan? Live Drone Training Flights Target Local Residents
Drone Wars UK understands that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will announce on Monday (24 Feb) that live training flights of the Watchkeeper drone will begin over Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. Continue reading
-
The Privatization of War: Mercenaries, Private Military and Security Companies (PMSC) By Jose L. Gomez del Prado
Private military and security companies (PMSC) are the modern reincarnation of a long lineage of private providers of physical force: corsairs, privateers and mercenaries. Mercenaries, which had practically disappeared during the XIXth and XXth centuries, reappeared in the 1960’s during the decolonization period operating mainly in Africa and Asia. Under the United Nations a convention… Continue reading
-
More than 2,400 Dead as Obama’s Drone Campaign Marks Five Years
Five years ago, on January 23 2009, a CIA drone flattened a house in Pakistan’s tribal regions. It was the third day of Barack Obama’s presidency, and this was the new commander-in-chief’s first covert drone strike. Initial reports said up to ten militants were killed, including foreign fighters and possibly a ‘high-value target’ – a… Continue reading
-
US embarrassment “trumps British justice” in drone victim’s case By David Swanson
The Court of Appeal today ruled that, despite Mr Khan’s arguments being “persuasive,” they accepted the British Government’s claims that the case should not proceed as “a finding by our court that the notional UK operator of a drone bomb which caused a death was guilty of murder would inevitably be understood…by the US as… Continue reading
-
Mark Steel: How ‘leftie’ academics hijacked the Great War
Now the centenary of 1914 has got going, we should do as British education secretary Michael Gove suggests and celebrate the First World War, instead of taking notice of “left-wing academics”, who complain it was a regrettable waste of life. Continue reading
-
First world war: an imperial bloodbath that’s a warning, not a noble cause By Seumas Milne
They were never going to be able to contain themselves. For all the promises of a dignified commemoration, the Tory right’s standard bearers held back for less than 48 hours into the new year before launching a full-throated defence of the “war to end all wars”. The killing fields of Gallipoli and the Somme had… Continue reading
-
Nuclear Issues: Words and Deeds (II) By Andrei Akulov
On January 3 Defense Ministry spokesman said the Russian military plans to test around 70 types of rocket and missile weaponry at a major testing site this year. According to Colonel Igor Yegorov, the Ministry’s spokesman, the testing program at the Kapustin Yar range in southern Russia will include about 300 launches of rockets, missiles,… Continue reading
-
Nuclear Issues: Words and Deeds (I) By Andrei Akulov
Has the US really «lost interest in nukes»? Does Russia boost its potential without any reason or provocation? Does this argument hold water? Or is it a retaliatory measure on the part of Moscow to keep up the existing balance? A cursory look at facts will help to make a judgment… Continue reading
-
U.S. Human Radiation Experiments Covered up by Public Broadcasting By William Boardman
When the military scientists of an advanced technological nation deliberately explode their largest nuclear bomb (and 66 others) over Pacific islands and use the opportunities to study the effects of radiation on nearby native people, which group is best described as “savage”? And what should you call the people who prevent a documentary about these… Continue reading
-
The A-Z of Drones 2013 Part 1 By Chris Cole
Phase two of the UK government-industry programme, ASTRAEA, which aims to open up UK airspace to civil drones, came to an end this year. While the drone lobby is keeping up the pressure the public remain extremely sceptical. News that British drones may be heading to Africa came as a big surprise, and will no… Continue reading
-
Dead Poppies: When Remembrance Becomes Militarism by Lesley Docksey
The ‘Remembrance’ poppy grew out of WWI and became a symbol for that dire and catastrophic war. Catastrophic, that is, for those British men who died (725,000) leaving widows and orphans behind, or the 1.75 million wounded, half of whom were permanently disabled and unable to work or support their dependents. The British Legion was… Continue reading
-
Here’s your "safer world"…By Manlio Dinucci
While the West brags this week about having stopped the military nuclear development programme that Iran ended definitively in 1988, Manlio Dinucci reminds us that the production of nuclear weapons in the world has never ceased. So we’re being offered the celebration of a public relations victory to mask the nuclear reality. Continue reading
-
Unrestrained jingoism to characterise UK’s marking of World War I anniversary By Julie Hyland
Who would believe that anyone, save a sociopath, would propose that the upcoming 100th anniversary of World War I should be cause for national celebration? Cameron’s proposal is extraordinary even by the jingoist standards of Britain’s ruling elite. While World War II has long been a patriotic staple in Britain, 1914-1918 has occupied a different… Continue reading
-
America’s Chemical Weapons: Hypocrisy, Conspiracy and a Forgotten History By Felicity Arbuthnot
Since the fairy tale about weapons of mass destruction that can be launched against Western targets “within forty five minutes” is well past it’s sell by date, the trans-Atlantic hasbara industry has dreamed up a new Grim Reaper for Syria, their latest quarry: chemical weapons. Continue reading
-
Germany Says No to Weaponized Drones By David Swanson
Germany had planned to buy a fleet of “Euro Hawk” killer drones — perhaps in an effort to bring the European Union up to speed with certain other Nobel Peace laureates. But something happened on the way to the celestial colosseum. Continue reading
-
Hiding behind the Cenotaph, Cameron will seek to re-write history By Adam Ramsay
The First World War plays a key role in our national story: a warning against violence, to be wary of our leaders. With his 100th anniversary events, David Cameron is seeking to change that. Continue reading
-
Amnesty Intl. Tries to Explains Why It Won’t Oppose All Drone Murders By David Swanson
Shah [of Amnesty Intl] explained that AI cannot oppose all drone strikes in an illegal war, because Amnesty International has never opposed a war, because doing so would make it look biased, and A.I. wants to appear to be an unbiased enforcer of the law. But, of course, an illegal war is a violation of… Continue reading
-
Got His Gun — Lost His Legs, Arms, Penis By David Swanson
Ann Jones’ new book, They Were Soldiers: How the Wounded Return from America’s Wars — The Untold Story, is devastating, and almost incomprehensibly so when one considers that virtually all of the death and destruction in U.S. wars is on the other side. Statistically, what happens to U.S. troops is almost nothing. In human terms,… Continue reading
-
Shock Doctrine' Americana: Endless War as the Ultimate Business Model By William Astore
There is a new normal in America: our government may shut down, but our wars continue. Congress may not be able to pass a budget, but the U.S. military can still launch commando raids in Libya and Somalia, the Afghan War can still be prosecuted, Italy can be garrisoned by American troops (putting the “empire”… Continue reading
The New Dark Age 