HEY, REMEMBER  ME?!

Same Old Robert Gates: The Poster Child for US Militarization

Melvin Goodman

 September 30, 2024
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Photograph Source: The U.S. Army – Public Domain

There has been a deplorable consistency in the remarks and efforts of Robert M. Gates over the past four decades.  In the 1980s, Gates was a major player in the falsification of intelligence regarding the Soviet Union, designed to justify unneeded increases in the defense budget.  In 1986, Gates had to withdraw his name from congressional confirmation for the post of director of the Central Intelligence Agency because the majority of the Senate intelligence committee believed he was lying about his role in the infamous Iran-Contra operation.

In lying about Iran-Contra, Gates was also protecting the role of then Vice President George H.W. Bush, who nominated Gates to be the CIA director in 1991.  Gates was confirmed this time, but not before garnering more negative votes from the Senate than any of his predecessors.  The hearings exposed Gates’ role in politicizing the intelligence on the Soviet Union, and I played a role in my critical testimony to the committee.  At least, President Bill Clinton subsequently ignored Gates’ efforts to be retained as CIA director; Gates set a record for the shortest stewardship of any CIA leader.

As secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011, Gates led the unsuccessful attempts of the military to achieve its goals in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gates was named secretary by President George W. Bush, and retained by President Barack Obama who didn’t want to make waves at the Pentagon.  Gates was particularly active in 2011 in trying to block the efforts of President Obama to reduce our military presence in Afghanistan.  Then vice president Joe Biden explicitly warned Obama about Gates’ efforts to thwart the White House and increase the U.S. military presence, which explains Gates’ criticism of Biden in his various writings.

Last week, the Washington Post, which supports greater defense spending and modernization of our nuclear forces, ran a long oped from Gates extolling the importance of increased defense spending and force modernization.  This essay (“Failures in Washington leave U.S. defense vulnerable abroad”) has become a frequent event in the Post.  It is important to understand Gates’ role in underplaying the military might of the United States and exaggerating the military might of potential adversaries.  Gates ignores the fact that the United States has military bases and assets in more than 700 nations, while China has one military base (in Djibouti) outside it’s zone of interest.  China faces 200 U.S. military bases and facilities in the Indo-Pacific alone.

The United State has more than 50 defense treaties and arrangements with foreign nations; China has one (with North Korea).  More importantly, the United States has been very successful in lining up assets in the Indo-Pacific region that encircle China and contribute to our policy of containment that China finds strategically threatening.  The Quad arrangement includes India, Japan, and Australia in support of U.S. policies.  The AUKUS arrangement aligns the United States, Britain, and Australia in policies that oppose Chinese interests.  Also, the United States has bolstered its military relations with Japan, and has diplomatically arranged for closer relations between Japan and South Korea in order to maintain pressure on China.

Yes, China has more naval ships than the United States (234 vs. 219), but the U.S. Navy has greater lethality and greater tonnage.  The U.S. ability to project power cannot be matched by any nation or group of nations in the world.  That ability is bolstered by 11 aircraft carriers in worldwide deployments; China has three aircraft carriers.  The United States, despite a lack of success in Iraq and Afghanistan, has nevertheless taken advantage of its use of the military to gain important experience.  China has used its military forces once in the past 45 years: a military campaign against Vietnam that didn’t go well for China in 1979. 

The same comparison could be made for the relative military strength of the United States and Russia, but in view of the miserable Russian performance in Ukraine it is not necessary to do so.  Just as China is encircled by U.S. allies, Russia faces NATO countries on its western borders. Gates has been wrong about Russia for the past 40 years, and in the 1980s he made sure that CIA intelligence was also wrong about the decline and ultimate collapse of the Soviet Union.  Sadly, he’s invoking an “axis of evil” (China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea) to justify unnecessary increases in defense spending.  The last president to invoke an “axis of evil” (Iran, Iraq, and North Korea) was George W. Bush; it didn’t go well for the interests and security of the United States.

Gates carries too much Cold War baggage to deal with the solutions to militarization.  He took credit for his role as secretary of defense for Bush to advance long-range missile interceptors in Poland and radars in the Czech Republic to “counter the Iranian missile threat to Europe.”  Gates dismissed the idea that Russia perceived this as “encirclement,” which it was, and employed the argument of the Iranian threat to southern Europe, which didn’t exist.  Gates prides himself for having had the support over the years from Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Joe Lieberman—three more Cold Warriors.  Like John Bolton and Richard Perle, Gates is a poster child for U.S. militarization and exceptionalism.

Melvin A. Goodman is a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy and a professor of government at Johns Hopkins University.  A former CIA analyst, Goodman is the author of Failure of Intelligence: The Decline and Fall of the CIA and National Insecurity: The Cost of American Militarism. and A Whistleblower at the CIA. His most recent books are “American Carnage: The Wars of Donald Trump” (Opus Publishing, 2019) and “Containing the National Security State” (Opus Publishing, 2021). Goodman is the national security columnist for counterpunch.org.

Volvo leads 50 firms urging EU to stick to combustion-engine ban

They argue the sector needs certainty to invest and support to meet EU goals

Volvo Car AB and dozens of industrial manufacturers urged Brussels to stick to a plan to halt sales of new combustion-engine cars starting 2035. But Europe’s biggest automakers are keeping quiet.

Fifty companies called on the European Union to keep the policy, according to a declaration shared with Bloomberg News. They argued that the sector needs certainty in order to invest and support to meet EU goals, but no backtracking.

“Electrification is the single biggest action our industry can take to cut its carbon footprint,” said Jim Rowan, Volvo’s chief executive officer. “The 2035 target is crucial to align all stakeholders on this journey and ensure European competitiveness.”

Rivian Automotive Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc., as well as IKEA of Sweden AB and energy company Iberdrola SA, were among the companies pressing Brussels to stay the course.

The EU’s emissions targets for cars have come under fire in recent months as manufacturers grapple with a slowdown in sales, particularly of electric models. 

For the first time, Volkswagen AG is considering shuttering factories, while the industry lobby warned of multibillion-euro fines for missing 2025 carbon goals.

Volvo itself recently abandoned a target to sell only fully electric vehicles by the end of this decade, walking back its EV ambitions due to waning demand.

Transportation is the only sector to see its emissions grow in Europe during the last 30 years — a trend that needs to reverse rapidly if the bloc is to meet its objective of a 55% cut this decade and net zero by midcentury.

Europe vs China

Proponents of the effective ban on combustion engines say the EU is behind the likes of China in producing EVs — especially mass-market vehicles — and must catch up. They argue that European automakers have delayed shifting to new technologies for too long, relying instead on sales of traditional autos.

Europe’s largest carmakers — such as Volkswagen, BMW AG and Stellantis NV — didn’t sign the declaration to the EU.

Italy, meanwhile, has ramped up pressure on the bloc to review the target.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said this month the policy was symptomatic of the EU’s “self-destructive approach” to rule-making. The country wants Brussels to bring forward a planned 2026 review to early next year and allow an exemption for biofuels.

Potential impacts of gas flaring in Soyo, Angola

Journalist Neusa e Silva travelled to Soyo to discover the potential human and environmental costs of gas flaring on the ground

View of the flaring towers from Praia dos Pobres, situated 2.28km from the Angola LNG complex, the largest natural gas exploration investment on the African continent.

 Photo: Neusa e Silva

Gas flaring associated with oil exploration in Angola has raised significant concerns regarding its detrimental effects on climate change and food security. Environmental experts warn that the practice may be contaminating local soils and water resources while simultaneously contributing to increased regional temperatures. In Soyo, a province in northern Angola, growing questions surround the security of community proximity to gas flaring projects and whether adequate measures have been taken to protect public health and the environment.

Ana Maria (a pseudonym) and her elderly mother, both residents of a neighbourhood near Soyo Municipal Hospital, shared their experiences with our reporter, Neusa e Silva. Although initially hesitant and wary of strangers, Ana Maria eventually agreed to speak about the challenges faced by her community. Soyo, a city in Angola’s Zaire Province, is home to approximately 260,000 people, many of whom rely on subsistence farming and fishing to sustain their livelihoods.

Ana Maria, like many women in the region, supports herself by farming and selling cassava. However, she highlighted the increasing difficulty of farming in recent years, attributing these challenges to two primary factors: rising temperatures and the rapid deterioration of crops.

“In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to farm,” Ana Maria explained. “The city has been getting noticeably hotter, and the vegetables and tubers in our fields are spoiling even before we can harvest them. This phenomenon has been intensifying for about five years, coinciding with the increased operation of the gas flaring towers nearby. During what used to be the cold season, the temperature hardly drops anymore. Our crops are rotting in the fields long before they should. It wasn’t like this in the past.”

Restaurants at Praia dos Pobres. Photo: Neusa e Silva

Oil production

Located in southwest Africa, Angola is one of the largest oil producers on the African continent. Oil production is the country’s main source of revenue, accounting for around 98% of export earnings and approximately 75% of the Angolan state budget. A significant part of these oil exports come from the provinces of Cabinda and Soyo, where the country’s largest oil exploration projects are located, both offshore and onshore.

When Ana Maria and other interviewees referred to the illuminated towers, they were referring to the two gas flaring towers located in the Angola LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) project complex, the largest natural gas exploration investment on the entire African continent.

This project is made up of the following national and international oil companies: Sonangol (Angola’s national fuel company with 22.8%), the American company Chevron with 36.4%, the French company TotalEnergies with 13.6%, Azule Energy Exploration (Angola) and Azule Energy Angola Production B.V.

Azule Energy is an autonomous energy company that resulted from the combination of the assets and workforce of BP Exploration Operating Company Limited (“BP”) and Eni International B.V. (“Eni”), each with an equal 50% stake, according to information available on its official website.

The Angola LNG consortium is dedicated to processing and receiving natural gas from different oil exploration platforms, and has the capacity to supply the global market with up to 5.2 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year, according to the consortium’s website.

Our reporting team contacted the management of the Angola LNG project to ask about the measures adopted to mitigate possible environmental damage and the impact on the population living near the complex. We were informed that, at the moment, it is not possible to visit the complex or grant interviews.

We also requested an interview with the official entities and the regulatory body, in this case the Angolan National Oil and Gas Agency, to find out whether the country has implemented measures to regulate and control the levels of gas flaring by operators, if any. However, as of the closing date of this report, we had still not received the promised answers.

In addition to Angola LNG’s facilities, Soyo province is home to other oil exploration projects, both offshore and onshore, operated by national and global companies.

Local farmers highlighted the increasing difficulty of farming in recent years, attributing these challenges to two primary factors: rising temperatures and the rapid deterioration of crops. Photo: Neusa e Silva

Land expropriation

Farmers Ana Maria and Helena Vanda Estevão told our reporter that the degradation of their crops began to increase about five years ago. But what is even worse for Ana Maria is that the land where some of the women grow their own food is being expropriated, without any justification.

“Yesterday, they told us to pull up the cassava in 15 days because the land has already been sold,” said Ana Maria. “No one has been able to explain to whom the land we planted was sold. All they say is that the second city of Soyo will rise in the place of these plantations. No one knows who the companies or people are who are selling or buying the land. We do not know if it is the administration that is selling it without informing the people, they have not said anything, nor have they announced anything on the radio or television,” she said.

Another place visited by the reporter was Bubu Island, a small fishing village, where we met Donã, a fisherman who has lived on the island since 2000. Donã shared that in the past, they used to fish in the waters around the island, but now there are almost no fish left.

“We don’t fish here anymore, now we go fishing in the open sea to catch fish. Some use nets, others use lines, in the open sea. But back then, we used to fish here with nets. We used to catch snapper and several other types of fish until 2007. Now, not anymore,” he said.

In a conversation with Angolan family physician Dr. Sandra Gabriela (pseudonym) about the risks faced by Soyo residents due to continuous direct and indirect exposure to gas flaring, she explained that in the short and medium term, exposure to gas flaring significantly increases the likelihood of developing cancer, inflammatory diseases, skin cancer and many other health problems. The burning of gas can also cause headaches, migraines, insomnia and nausea, the doctor said.

“Prolonged exposure can lead to liver damage, birth defects, cancer and even mental health problems,” said Dr Gabriela.

Donã, a fisherman from Bubu Island Donã, told the reporter that now there are hardly any fish left. Photo: Neusa e Silva

Climate risk and regional food scarcity

Experts indicate that gas flaring, associated with oil extraction, has severe impacts on soil contamination, a phenomenon frequently observed in oil exploration areas. In flaring zones, there is an increase in local temperatures, the release of toxic pollutants, and soil contamination. According to the latest Climate Risk Report for the Southern Africa region, the Met Office, ODI and FCDO have warned that the region is on the brink of a devastating famine crisis.

On April 22 2024, CARE, the Council for the Humanities, FANRPAN and the Rural Women’s Assembly reiterated the warning, calling for support from international donors.

To understand the relationship between these phenomena and natural gas exploration activities in Soyo, we spoke to environmental engineer Vanessa Mateus. In addition to our reporter’s on-site research, the journalist also asked an expert whether the gas flaring operations were considered harmful to the environment and human health.

Asked about the effects of gas flaring, Mateus said she was concerned about the safety of the distance between the gas flaring projects in Soyo and Cabinda and the surrounding communities. She noted that “although many projects in the concession phase are destined for areas without communities, agricultural activities or natural conservation areas, the lack of master plans at municipal or land-use planning level contributes to local disorder, bringing communities closer to the companies”.

She added that new neighbourhoods or houses are springing up every day near the companies, partly due to rural migration, as people looking for better living conditions are attracted to the areas where the exploration companies are operating.

Biodiversity is also at risk, she said. “In general, we can consider that there is significant loss and removal of biodiversity, as animals and plants tend to be more sensitive to certain impacts. The effects on air quality and natural watercourses are very difficult to control.”

Pollutants are carried by winds and are no longer just localised; they become regional and even provincial, she explained. “The same goes for leaks into rivers and seas, which are spread by currents and can have local, regional, or even provincial impacts.”


Individual flaring sites – Gas flaring volumes (mn m3/year). Source: World Bank. Graphic supplied

Increased production plans

At the end of last year, Azule Energy and its partners announced the laying of the foundation stone for the construction of the facilities of the New Gas Consortium that will operate in the city of Soyo. The press release, dated October 4 2023, states that “it will be the first non-associated gas project in Angola, with production scheduled to start in 2026, an investment valued at around 2.2 billion dollars”.

On the other hand, Angola LNG recently announced plans to increase its natural gas production. In a recent interview with Jornal de Angola, Angola LNG CEO Amilton Cunha said that the increase was the result of new investments underway, which will allow the company to receive more associated and non-associated gas from offshore platforms. Amilton Cunha highlighted that Angola LNG currently sends more than 50 ships loaded with products to the global market every month, reinforcing its importance in the energy scenario.

The CEO of Angola LNG highlighted the company’s social impact in the province of Zaire, where its social responsibility policy has contributed significantly to the provision of basic services, improving the living conditions of the local population.

Neusa e Silva is an Angolan journalist and international freelance correspondent based in Portugal. This investigation is part of the series “Burning Skies: Behind Big Oil’s toxic flames”, developed by Environmental Investigative Forum, a global consortium of environmental investigative journalists, in partnership with the European Investigative Collaborations network, and their partners Daraj, Source Material and Oxpeckers Investigative Environmental Journalism. This series was supported by Journalismfund Europe

Inside Myanmar with Jason Tower of the USIP

What happened in Myawaddy as the junta saddles up with China.

By Luke Hunt
September 30, 2024

Jason Tower is the country director of the Burma Program at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), where he closely follows Myanmar’s civil war, human trafficking, and the industrialization of scam compounds, which have spread across Southeast Asia in recent years.

He holds unique insights into what is happening on the ground in Myanmar and has authored several reports for USIP over recent years, which include dire warnings about the conflict and the impact this is having on the civilian population.

A veteran with two decades of experience in regional security, Tower also sounded the alarm on the growth of human trafficking and scam compounds in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, which are “rapidly evolving into the most powerful criminal network of the modern era.”

Tower spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt at length about the fall of Myawaddy to anti-regime forces in April and what actually happened afterwards in regards to the Karen National Union and the local Border Force Guard and why many in the rebel camps felt betrayed.

He also talks about the spectacular failures of the military on the battlefield and China’s expanding role in the conflict as it shores up its own financial and strategic interests – including its oil and gas pipeline that cuts across the country – by drawing ever closer to the junta and its leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.

This includes the complex relationship between the Arakan Army and the Rohingya in Rakhine state where the fighting has been brutal in recent months with the military desperately trying to hang on to what few areas it still controls.

New cost of living rallies planned in Nigeria


By Africanews 

Nigeria

Nigeria could see new rallies on Tuesday with citizens protesting against a cost of living crisis.

Named 'Fearless October 1', the demonstrations have been timed to coincide with Nigeria's 64th independence anniversary which falls on Tuesday, October 1.

Organisers told local media that rallies would take place in the capital Abuja, the port city of Lagos and in provincial capitals across the west African country.


Similar demonstrations rocked Nigeria in July and August, with protestors demanding the reinstatement of a fuel subsidy, and end to government corruption.

About two dozen people were killed in a crackdown by security forces, according to activists.

On his first day in office, President Bola Tinubu ended a decades-long fuel subsidy that had helped keep prices down. His government also twice devalued the currency, causing prices of just about everything to jump.

In an address to the nation, Tinubu defended his policies but made no concessions to the protestors.

All flights canceled at Brussels Airport on Tuesday due to strike

Security personnel will go on strike on Tuesday, October 1 and serious disruptions in operations are expected, say airport officials

Ata Ufuk Weker |30.09.2024 - Update : 30.09.2024



BRUSSELS

All flights scheduled for Tuesday at Brussels Airport in Belgium have been canceled due to a strike by security personnel, airport officials announced Monday.

The strike, set for October 1, is expected to cause significant operational disruptions, according to the airport's statement.

To ensure passenger and staff safety, airlines, in coordination with the airport, decided to cancel all outbound flights on Tuesday.

Affected passengers will be contacted by their respective airlines, and those with departing flights have been advised not to come to the airport.

While some incoming flights may still operate, there is a risk of cancellations, and passengers traveling to Brussels are urged to check their flight status.

The strike is expected to impact around 50,000 passengers.

Security staff have raised concerns about an increased workload and deteriorating working conditions. They are calling for improvements to the airport's infrastructure, public transportation options, and rest areas.

This strike follows a similar walkout at Belgium's Charleroi Airport on Sept. 12-13, which resulted in the cancelation of all flights due to strikes by employees in baggage handling, check-in, refueling, and security services.

*Writing by Merve Berker in Ankara

Takeaways from AP's report on how shrimp farmers are exploited as supermarkets push for low prices

An investigation focused on three of the world’s largest shrimp producers claims that as big Western supermarkets make windfall profits, their aggressive pursuit of ever-lower wholesale prices is causing misery for people on the bottom end of the supply chain.

ByDAVID RISING

 Associated Press
September 29, 2024


BANGKOK -- A new investigation focused on three of the world’s largest producers of shrimp released on Monday claims that as big Western supermarkets make windfall profits, their aggressive pursuit of ever-lower wholesale prices is causing misery for people at the bottom end of the supply chain.

The regional analysis of the industry in Vietnam, Indonesia and India, which provide about half the shrimp in the world’s top four markets — the United States, European Union, United Kingdom and Japan — is based on research done by an alliance of NGOs. It found a 20%-60% drop in earnings from pre-pandemic levels as producers struggle to meet pricing demands by cutting labor costs.

In many places this has meant unpaid and underpaid work through longer hours, wage insecurity as rates fluctuate, and many workers not even making low minimum wages.

Supermarkets linked to facilities where exploited labor was reported by workers include Target, Walmart and Costco in the United States, Britain’s Sainsbury’s and Tesco, and Aldi and Co-op in Europe.

The regional report brought together more than 500 interviews conducted in-person with workers in their native languages, in India, Indonesia and Vietnam — published separately as country-specific reports — supplemented with secondary data and interviews from Thailand, Bangladesh and Ecuador.

In Vietnam, Hawaii-based Sustainability Incubator investigators found that the workers who peel, gut and devein shrimp typically work six or seven days a week, often in rooms kept extremely cold to keep the product fresh.

Some 80% of those involved in processing shrimp are women, many of whom rise at 4 a.m. and return home at 6 p.m. Pregnant women and new mothers can stop one hour earlier, the report found.

In India, researchers from the Corporate Accountability Lab found that workers face “dangerous and abusive conditions.” Highly salinated water from newly dug hatcheries and ponds, tainted with chemicals and toxic algae, also contaminate surrounding water and soil.

Unpaid labor prevails, including salaries below minimum wage, unpaid overtime, wage deductions for costs of work and “significant” debt bondage, the report found. Child labor was also found, with girls aged 14 and 15 being recruited for peeling work.

In Indonesia, three non-profit research organizations found that wages have fallen since the COVID-19 pandemic and today average $160 per month for shrimp workers, below Indonesia’s minimum wage in most of the biggest shrimp-producing provinces. Shrimp peelers routinely are required to work at least 12 hours per day to meet minimum targets.


Switzerland’s Co-op said it had a “zero tolerance” policy for labor law violations and that its producers “receive fair and market-driven prices.”

Germany’s Aldi did not specifically address the issue of pricing, but said it uses independent certification schemes to ensure responsibly sourcing for farmed shrimp products, and would continue to monitor the allegations.

“We are committed to fulfilling our responsibility to respect human rights,” Aldi said.

Sainsbury’s referred to a comment from the British Retail Consortium industry group, which said its members were committed to sourcing products at a “fair, sustainable price” and that the welfare of people and communities in supply chains is fundamental to their purchasing practices.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers issued a statement calling the allegations in the report “unfounded, misleading and detrimental to the reputation of Vietnam’s shrimp exports,” citing government labor policies.

The NGO's report stresses that using middlemen to buy the shrimp obfuscates the true sources of shrimp that appear in western supermarkets, so many retailers may not be following ethical commitments they’ve made about procuring shrimp.

Only about 2,000 of the 2 million shrimp farms in the major producing countries are certified by either the Aquaculture Stewardship Council or the Best Aquaculture Practices ecolabel, making it "mathematically impossible for certified farms to produce enough shrimp per month to supply all of the supermarkets that boast commitments to purchasing certified shrimp,” the report says.

U.S. policymakers could use antitrust and other laws already in place to establish oversight to ensure fair pricing from western retailers, rather than imposing punishing tariffs on suppliers, says Katrin Nakamura of Sustainability Incubator, who wrote the regional report.

In July, the European Union adopted a new directive requiring companies to “identify and address adverse human rights and environmental impacts of their actions inside and outside Europe.”

Officials from Indonesia and Vietnam have met with the report's authors to discuss their findings and look for solutions.

Given the current disparity in retail and wholesale prices, paying more to farmers would not have to mean higher prices for consumers, the Sustainability Incubator report said, but it would mean lower profits for the supermarkets.

“Labor exploitation in shrimp aquaculture industries is not company, sector, or country-specific,” the report concludes. “Instead, it is the result of a hidden business model that exploits people for profit.”

___

This story was supported by funding from the Walton Family Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

 

Will Americans Pay for Israel’s Crimes Again?

by Connor Freeman Posted onSeptember 30, 2024

Originally appeared at The Libertarian Institute.

We should never forget that American civilians were blindsided twenty-three years ago this month when a small group of mostly Saudis and Egyptians hijacked our civilian airliners in a kamikaze mission that murdered thousands. Though none of them were Palestinian, the nineteen hijackers’ indefensible terrorist attack was motivated largely by Washington’s unconditional military, financial, and diplomatic support for Israel’s apartheid system, illegal occupations, and myriad atrocities in southern Lebanon as well as Palestine.

By design, that’s a crucial part of the story never included in the “never forget” file. Such a superficial catchphrase, bereft of any meaningful understanding of why the transformative attack took place beyond the usual “they hate us for our freedom” canard, is just cynical.

Our new national mantra was used to psychologically torment survivors, widows, orphans, and the broader public alike into reluctantly accepting or enthusiastically supporting inexcusable and largely predetermined government policies.

As with anything else in life, our affairs would drastically improve with an objective understanding of cause and effect. If we achieved a realistic worldview following that terrible day in September 2001, it would have been impossible for the likes of Vice President Dick Cheney to justify his ostensible solutions to the attack, which included the largest government crackdown on our inalienable rights and doubling down on the same murderous foreign policies that made our waking lives a nightmare.

On both sides of the aisle, our rulers systematically provoked the attacks, supported Al Qaeda fighters in various theaters throughout the 1990s, and failed their most basic obligation – given the regime’s monopoly on security services – to protect its citizens and their homeland.

Still, instead of being punished with life imprisonment, the government officials responsible for the carnage managed to convince the American people – this author included – that they should punish us with a massive police state, effectively eviscerating our constitutional rights forever.

If our citizenry was properly informed regarding our terrorist enemies’ means and ends, it could have rendered impossible Washington’s objective of manufacturing consent for its subsequent series of unnecessary, endless, multi-trillion dollar illegal wars in Afghanistan, across Africa, and throughout the Middle East.

Under the guise of fighting terrorism, these unconstitutional mass murder campaigns killed between four and five million people via direct or indirect violence, sending Al Qaeda recruitment soaring. The administrations of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden went on to actively support Al Qaeda shock troops in Washington’s proxy wars launched against the people of Libya, Syria, and Yemen.

Americans have been so apathetic, demoralized, and propagandized during the last twenty-three years that we are now, in fact, waging wars against groups like the Shi’ite militias of Iraq and Syria, Lebanese Hezbollah, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Yemen’s Houthis. These entities constitute the region’s foremost enemies of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State. But this, like Israel’s artificial intelligence programmed genocide, never seems to trouble the voter base of either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. We find ourselves in this absurd situation because our government is co-bylining a holocaust on our dime and in our name, unleashed on the Palestinian people by Israel, one of Al Qaeda’s regional benefactors in recent years.

Yet there is no outrage, no national scandal, nor even basic questions being asked. American protesters should be flooding the streets daily demanding answers as to why our government is again switching sides in the so-called “Global War on Terrorism” just so the IDF can safely torture, starve, rape, ethnically cleanse, and exterminate an entire nation of people whose land is coveted by the Israeli settler movement.

When American activists peacefully protest the illegal expansion of ethno-exclusivist colonies or U.S. citizen journalists cover other heinous crimes against the Palestinians, they are liable to be executed with IDF sniper rounds to the head, as occurred earlier this month. On September 6, in cold blood, an Israeli military sniper shot dead 26-year-old peace activist Aysenur Eygi during a demonstration near Nablus.

As if this were a scene in some dystopian novel, a White House occupied by Democrats predictably gave Israel a gentle tap on the wrist while the docile GOP “America First” movement did nothing.

While Israel wages a U.S.-backed war of genocide against Muslims and Christians living in occupied Palestine, its apartheid army concurrently bombs the people and infrastructure of Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran.

This is all headed in one direction: a likely surge of Al Qaeda terrorism at home and the final transformation of the United States into an overtly totalitarian state, all amid a massive and costly war involving multiple nations simultaneously with American troops suffering enormous casualties.

The coming nightmare will surely dwarf the catastrophes already caused by our government alongside its client states across the region this century.

In the name of Aysenur Eygi and the victims of the September 11 attacks, it is imperative that any “America First” movement worth its salt target the heretofore “ironclad” U.S.-Israel partnership. The American people must permanently cut off our government’s military, financial, intelligence, and diplomatic support for this parasitic pariah state immediately.

Connor Freeman is the assistant editor and a writer at the Libertarian Institute, primarily covering foreign policy. He is a co-host on the Conflicts of Interest podcast. His writing has been featured in media outlets such as Antiwar.com, Counterpunch, and the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity. He has also appeared on Liberty Weekly, Around the Empire, and Parallax Views. You can follow him on Twitter @FreemansMind96.

FASCISM IS CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Le Pen's future in the balance as French far-right officials go on trial for alleged EU funds misuse

The stakes are high for Marine Le Pen as she and other officials from the French far-right party National Rally go on trial over accusations of embezzling European Union funds

By NICOLAS VAUX-MONTAGNY

 Associated Press
September 29, 2024

PARIS -- The stakes are high for Marine Le Pen as she and other officials from the French far-right party National Rally go on trial Monday over accusations of embezzling European Union funds. The case has the potential to derail her political ambitions.

The nine-week trial will be closely watched by Le Pen’s political rivals as she remains a strong contender in the race to succeed Emmanuel Macron when the next presidential election takes place in 2027.

It comes as a new government dominated by centrists and conservatives just came into office in the wake of June-July legislative elections. Some observers expect the trial could prevent National Rally lawmakers, including Le Pen herself, from fully playing their opposition role in Parliament as they would be busy focusing on the party's defense.

Since stepping down as party leader three years ago, Le Pen has sought to position herself as a mainstream candidate capable of appealing to a broader electorate. Her efforts have paid off, with the party making significant gains in recent elections at both the European and national levels. But a guilty verdict could seriously undermine her bid to take the Elysee.

The National Rally and 27 of its top officials are accused of having used money destined for EU parliamentary aides to pay staff who instead did political work for the party between 2004 and 2016, in violation of the 27-nation bloc’s regulations. The National Rally was called National Front at the time.

Le Pen, whose party has softened its anti-EU stance in recent years, is denying wrongdoing and claims the case is politically driven.

“Parliamentary assistants do not work for the Parliament. They are political assistants to elected officials, political by definition,” she argued in her defense. “You ask me if I can define the tasks I assigned to my assistants; it depends on each person’s skills. Some wrote speeches for me, and some handled logistics and coordination.”

If found guilty, Le Pen and her co-defendants could face up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to 1 million euros ($1.1 million) each. Additional penalties, such as the loss of civil rights or ineligibility to run for office, could also be imposed, a scenario that could hamper, or even destroy, Le Pen’s goal to mount another presidential bid after Macron’s term ends. Le Pen was runner-up to Macron in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections.

She served as party president from 2011 to 2021 and now heads the group of RN lawmakers at the French National Assembly.

Despite her denial, her party has already paid back 1 million to the European Parliament, the Parliament’s lawyer Patrick Maisonneuve said. Of that amount, 330,000 euros were directly linked to Marine Le Pen’s alleged misuse of funds.


The legal proceedings stem from a 2015 alert raised by Martin Schulz, then-president of the European Parliament, to French authorities about possible fraudulent use of European funds by members of the National Front.

Schulz also referred the case to the European Anti-Fraud Office, which launched a separate probe into the matter.

The European Parliament’s suspicions were further heightened when a 2015 organizational chart showed that 16 European lawmakers and 20 parliamentary assistants held official positions within the party — roles unrelated to their supposed duties as EU parliamentary staff.

A subsequent investigation found that some assistants were contractually linked to different MEPs than the ones they were actually working for, suggesting a scheme to divert European funds to pay party employees in France.

Alexandre Varault, a spokesperson for the National Rally who was elected to the European Parliament in June, told The Associated Press that Le Pen will attend the first day of the trial, adding that he hopes for the acquittal of all the defendants.

Investigating judges concluded that Le Pen, as party leader, orchestrated the allocation of parliamentary assistance budgets and instructed MEPs to hire individuals holding party positions. These individuals were presented as EU parliamentary assistants, but in reality, were allegedly working for the National Rally in various capacities.

The European Parliament’s legal team is seeking 2.7 million euros in compensation for financial and reputational damages. This figure corresponds to the 3.7 million euros allegedly defrauded through the scheme, minus the 1 million euros already paid back.

During the 2014 European elections, the National Front won a record 24 MEP seats, finishing first with 24.8% of the vote, ahead of the center-right and the Socialists. This surge resulted in a substantial financial windfall for the party, which faced severe financial problems at the time.

An audit of the party’s accounts between 2013 and 2016 revealed that it was running a deficit of 9.1 million euros by the end of 2016. Yet, the party still had a cash balance of 1.7 million euros and had lent 1 million euros to Le Pen’s 2017 presidential campaign, while also holding 87,000 euros in loans to Cotelec, its funding association.

At the time, the party was also indebted to a Russian bank for 9.4 million euros, a loan taken out in 2014 for 6 million euros.

The investigation uncovered many irregularities involving prominent party members.

Thierry Légier, the long-time bodyguard of Le Pen’s father Jean-Marie, was listed as his parliamentary assistant. But his resume did not reference this role, and he made no mention of it in his 2012 autobiography. Légier admitted during the investigation that he was not interviewed and signed his employment contract without fully understanding his official role.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, who led the National Front from 1972 to 2011, will not appear in court alongside his former colleagues due to health concerns. Now 96, he was deemed unfit to testify by a court in June. He has 11 prior convictions, including for violence against a public official and hate speech.

He has denied wrongdoing during his time as party leader, stating that the “pool” of assistants was common knowledge. “I did not choose which assistants were assigned to me. That was decided by Marine Le Pen and others. I only signed the contracts,” he said.

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