Lawfare – Features

Jordanian spy’s presence in Afghanistan shows America’s enemies collaborate

By Robert Fisk

(source: Cape Times, January 07, 2010 Edition 1)

In the vast American embassy in the hills outside the Jordanian capital, Amman, a senior US Special Forces officer runs an equally special office. He buys information from Jordanian army and intelligence officers – for cash, of course – but he also helps to train Afghan and Iraqi policemen and soldiers. The information he seeks is not just about al-Qaeda but about Jordanians themselves, about the army’s loyalty to King Abdullah II as well as about the anti-American insurgents who live in Jordan, primarily Iraqi but also Iraqi al-Qaeda contacts with Afghanistan.

It’s easy to buy army officers in the Middle East. The Americans spent much of 2001 and 2002 buying up the warlords of Afghanistan. They paid for Jordanian troops to join their own occupation army in Iraq – which was why the Jordanian embassy in Baghdad was ruthlessly bombed by Washington’s enemies.

Read More »Cape Times oped

Dr. Eyad Al-Sarraj, the founder of the Gaza community mental health program, announced Saturday that the international Palestinian campaign to break the siege intends to collect one million signatures from Gaza citizens and submit them in a document to the UN general assembly in order to urge it to take immediate decision to end the unjust siege on the Gaza Strip.

According to Sarraj, the document, which will be sent to the UN General Assembly on the occasion of holding its regular session, confirms that the Israeli siege violates the international system of human rights and international humanitarian law as well as the fourth Geneva convention which obliges Israel to respect civilians in time of war.

The document also underlines the destructive impacts of the Israeli siege on all aspects of life in Gaza in addition to the Palestinian people’s right to resist the occupation, the siege and racism.

The document calls on the international community to assume its humanitarian and legal responsibilities and to take a decision criminalizing the Israeli siege and compelling Israel to end its mass punishment imposed on the Gaza people.

Meanwhile, the European campaign to break the siege affirmed Saturday that the new sea trip to break the Israeli siege on Gaza will start in the last week of Ramadan coming from Cyprus.

Anwar Al-Gharbi, the head of Rights For All Association and a founding member of the European campaign, stated that the boats this time will be carrying 150 personalities including European lawmakers and international figures in addition to a number of journalists and doctors.

MP Jamal Al-Khudari, the head of the popular committee against the siege, reported that the direct losses of the industrial sector is estimated at more than $70 million per month in addition to $10 million indirect losses as a result of the Israeli ban imposed on the entry of raw materials into Gaza despite the truce agreement.

MP Khudari explained that Israel has been barring the entry of raw materials and factory supplies for more than a year which led to the closure of 3,900 factories and workshops, and the unemployment of about 70,000 workers.

The lawmaker pointed out that Israel is also seizing Palestinian goods at its ports despite they were imported legally after paying all duties and taxes.

He added that these Israeli arbitrary measures contradict the fourth Geneva convention and all principles of international law, calling on those who have living conscience to stand by the paralyzed industrial sector in Gaza.

Khudari called on Egypt, in its capacity as the truce broker, to pressure the Israeli occupation to allow in all seized raw materials and supplies to Gaza.
 
(PIC)

Read More »One million signatures to be sent to un to urge it to end Gaza siege

By Ray McGovern

(source:  www.truthout.org) 

 Thank God for Helen Thomas, the only person to show any courage at the White House press briefing after President Barack Obama gave a flaccid account of the intelligence screw-up that almost downed an airliner on Christmas Day.

After Obama briefly addressed L’Affaire Abdulmutallab and wrote “must do better” on the report cards of the national security schoolboys responsible for the near catastrophe, the President turned the stage over to counter-terrorism guru John Brennan and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

It took 89-year old veteran correspondent Helen Thomas to break through the vapid remarks about channeling “intelligence streams,” fixing “no-fly” lists, deploying “behavior detection officers,” and buying more body-imaging scanners.

Read More »Answering helen thomas on why they want to harm us

By Dr Firoz Osman

(source: Star + Daily News)

The gathering of 47 nations at the Nuclear Security Summit in the US has one unstated purpose: to limit the development of nuclear energy to countries serving the Western alliance.

Most experts agree that the "threat of nuclear terrorism" is virtually non-existent at present. The objective is to make Iran, perhaps the only nation-state obstructing total domination by the Western powers, buckle under to sanctions, or even a military nuclear attack on its territory.

Read More »Nuclear summit aims to protect west