WARS ABROAD, WARS AT HOME
BLOWBACK: Does the US Military Incubate Brutal, Abusive Cops Along With Their Deranged, Disconnected Shooters?
Media spokespeople and politicians in both parties are working overtime to paint imaginary connections between the broad movement supported by millions of Americans to strip police of their traditional immunity and impunity for violent acts committed against civilians on the one hand, and the deranged, disconnected shooters of police in Texas and Louisiana. The real links they studiously ignore are that the Dallas and Baton Rouge shooters were both veterans of the unjust and murderous US military occupations of Afghanistan and/or Iraq, as are many of the police who commit violent acts against their fellow Americans after they return home. While the percentage of cops with military backgrounds is unclear due to the existence of special laws protecting police personnel, disciplinary and other records from prosecutorial and public scrutiny, the percentage of military veterans among police around the country is probably higher than any other line of work excepting civilian employees of the Pentagon, intelligence services and their contractors… Indications are that the Baton Rouge and Dallas shooters both had problems which are likely results of their military experience. By the same token, it’s not implausible to imagine that many violent and abusive former military members were in need of psychological help even before they became law enforcement officers. More
War Violence Comes Home
The U.S. has been fighting wars -- declared, half-declared, and undeclared -- for almost 15 years and, distant as they are, they’ve been coming home in all sorts of barely noted ways. In the years in which the U.S. has up-armored globally, the country has also seen an arms race developing on the domestic front. As vets have returned from their Iraq and Afghan tours of duty, striking numbers of them have gone into police work at a time when American weaponry, vehicles, and military equipment -- including, for instance, MRAPs (mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles) -- have poured off America’s distant battlefields and, via the Pentagon, into police departments nationwide. And while the police were militarizing, gun companies have been marketing battlefield-style assault rifles to Americans by the millions, at the very moment when it has become ever more possible for citizens to carry weapons of every sort in a concealed or open fashion in public… Of course, among the many things that have also come home from the country’s wars, Predator and Reaper drones are now flying over “the homeland” on missions for the Pentagon, not to mention the FBI, the Border Patrol, and other domestic agencies. So the future stage is set. Once you’ve used any kind of drone in the U.S. to kill by remote control, it’s only logical -- given some future extreme situation -- to extend that use to the skies and so consider firing a missile at some U.S. target, as the CIA and the Air Force have been doing regularly for years in places like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia. More
Friend of DPP Betsy Drinan in the Dot Reporter:
MY CASE AGAINST CHARTER SCHOOL EXPANSION
Continuing to grow the charter school movement without ensuring equity on all fronts contributes significantly to the further development of a two-tiered “public” education system. We already have gross inequities in terms of what is offered educationally across the various communities in this state. Do we really want to continue this stratification by expanding charter schools and depleting the budgets of our local school districts – whose schools welcome and educate any and all children? More
Are We in for Another Increase in Military Spending?
Certainly most Americans are not clamoring for heightened investments in war and war preparations… Actually, it appears that, when Americans are given the facts about US military spending, a substantial majority of them favor reducing it. Between December 2015 and February 2016, the nonpartisan Voice of the People, affiliated with the University of Maryland, provided a sample of 7,126 registered voters with information on the current US military budget, as well as leading arguments for and against it. The arguments were vetted for accuracy by staff members of the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees on defense. Then, when respondents were asked their opinion about what should be done, 61 percent said they thought US military spending should be reduced. The biggest cuts they championed were in spending for nuclear weapons and missile defense systems. When it comes to this year’s presumptive Presidential candidates, however, quite a different picture emerges. More
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NEW WARS / OLD WARS – What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
U.S.-Backed 'Moderate' Rebels Behead a Child Near Aleppo
Details conflict about which groups, exactly, comprise the “moderate” Syrian rebels funded by the U.S.-led coalition, but critics have long warned that fluid dynamics and shifting allegiances on the ground make it difficult to
predict which groups will be aligned with U.S. interests. Yet the Zenki movement was on the white list as recently as December 2014. A McClatchy report on the U.S.’s decision to stop payment and suspend delivery of weapons to rebel factions noted that the crackdown would not affect the Zenki movement and Harakat Hazm in Aleppo. As many as 1000 Zenki fighters were on the CIA payroll, according to the article. More
predict which groups will be aligned with U.S. interests. Yet the Zenki movement was on the white list as recently as December 2014. A McClatchy report on the U.S.’s decision to stop payment and suspend delivery of weapons to rebel factions noted that the crackdown would not affect the Zenki movement and Harakat Hazm in Aleppo. As many as 1000 Zenki fighters were on the CIA payroll, according to the article. More
U.S. Considers "Pause" In Supplies For Group Beheading Child
The five "individuals" who killed the child are members of the Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki, a group supported by the CIA as well as with Saudi money and weapons. The group issued a statement on the case. It called it "an act of an individual" and blamed the "international community" for its problems. While only one person does the cutting the video shows that the five "individuals" are clearly acting as a group, cheering Takbeer and Allahu Akbar during and after the beheading… We may expect, says the State Department, a "serious pause" in the delivery of new lethal U.S. weapons to the group… Moderate "Rebels" doing moderate head chopping of a sick 11 year Palestinian child, we will pause and then start the killing by supplying cluster bombs and other killing machines. More
Release of 28 pages begins to lift curtain on US-Saudi relationship
The US-Saudi alliance has been toxic for many years. Not only does this put the US on the side of a repressive absolute monarchy that oppresses its
own people –especially women and the Shia minority -- but the kingdom has also been a principal source for the funding of religious extremism and support for reactionary regimes throughout the Arab world. The Saudis are now leading a horrific attack on neighboring Yemen, the poorest country in the region, saughtering thousands of civilians and earning universal opprobrium for the use of cluster bombs in heavily populated urban centers (which we protested two weeks ago).
own people –especially women and the Shia minority -- but the kingdom has also been a principal source for the funding of religious extremism and support for reactionary regimes throughout the Arab world. The Saudis are now leading a horrific attack on neighboring Yemen, the poorest country in the region, saughtering thousands of civilians and earning universal opprobrium for the use of cluster bombs in heavily populated urban centers (which we protested two weeks ago).
MSM and Establishment: Meh. . .
In 9/11 Document, View of a Saudi Effort to Thwart U.S. Action on Al Qaeda
It is by no means a Rosetta Stone that deciphers the lingering mysteries behind the attacks. But it is also a far more substantial document than many American and Saudi officials — from the White House press secretary to some members of Congress to the Saudi foreign minister — tried to indicate in a flurry of news conferences and emailed news releases on Friday afternoon. And it was made public at a particularly troubled moment in America’s decades-long relationship with Saudi Arabia. The Senate unanimously passed a bill in May that would make it easier for families of Sept. 11 victims to sue the Saudi government for any role in the attacks. The bill is now being considered in the House… Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, quoted that assessment word for word on Friday, adding that the various leads that investigators pursued about top Saudi officials having a role in the plot “didn’t really turn up anything.” Adel al Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, echoed that sentiment hours later at a news conference at the Saudi Embassy, saying that all the allegations in the document “have been dealt with in the subsequent investigations and they have found that they were without merit.” “The surprise in the 28 pages is that there is no surprise,” he said. More
The Long-Hidden Saudi-9/11 Trail
First and foremost, here is what you need to know when you hear any member of our government say the newly released 29-page chapter from the congressional 9/11 report contains no smoking gun — THEY ARE LYING. Our government’s relationship to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is no different than an addict’s relationship to heroin. Much like a heroin addict who will lie, cheat and steal to feed his vice, certain members of our government will lie, cheat and steal to continue their dysfunctional and deadly relationship with the KSA — a relationship that is rotting this nation and its leaders from the inside out… For an Administration looking to dump some insanely incriminating evidence and have nobody take notice — doing it on Friday when Congress was leaving for their two-month summer recess was probably the best day anyone could have imagined… More than anything, please know this: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia provided operational and financial support to the 9/11 hijackers. That is a fact. And, the U.S. government has been covering up that fact for 15 years — even to this very day. And that is a crime. More
JILL STEIN: After US Airstrikes Kill 73 in Syria, It's Time to End Military Assaults that Breed Terrorism
This latest accidental atrocity in Syria ought to be America’s last. How long will it take before our government learns that bombs do not settle problems? How many more innocent civilians must die before our Commander-In-Chief finally realizes these “mistakes” are only making the problem worse? How many more hospitals will be destroyed and medical personnel and patients killed? How many more women and children must be maimed or killed by Hellfire missiles before the US grounds the drones in Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Syria? What will a potential President Clinton or Trump do as the War on Terror continues to “come home” to San Bernardino, Beirut, Paris, Istanbul, and Nice? ISIS – a direct outgrowth of the Clinton-supported US invasion and occupation of Iraq – is a force that feeds on the outrage of people on the receiving end of our disastrous, belligerent approach to foreign policy and national security. Clinton’s destruction of Libya added to the chaos by unleashing vast stockpiles of Libyan weapons that then became available to ISIS. More
The Only Way to Challenge ISIS
By refusing to accept the fact that ISIS is only a component of a much larger and disturbing course of violence that is rooted in foreign intervention, is to allow violence everywhere to perpetuate. Defeating ISIS requires that we also confront and defeat the thinking that led to its inception: to defeat the logic of the George W. Bushes, Tony Blairs and John Howards of this world. No matter how violent ISIS members or supporters are, it is ultimately a group of angry, alienated, radicalized young men seeking to alter their desperate situation by carrying out despicable acts of vengeance, even if it means ending their lives in the process. Bombing ISIS camps may destroy some of their military facilities but it will not eradicate the very idea that allowed them to recruit thousands of young men all over the world. They are the product of violent thinking that was spawned, not only in the Middle East but, initially, in various western capitals. More
US-Led Airstrikes Kill as Many Civilians as Nice Attack--but Get No Front-Page Headlines
A coalition airstrike reported on Tuesday that killed at least 85 civilians—one more than died in the Nice attack in France last week—wasn’t featured at all on the front pages of two of the top US national newspapers, the New York Times and LA Times, and only merited brief blurbs on the front pages of the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, with the actual stories buried on pages A-16 and A-15, respectively… By contrast, the Nice attack garnered multiple front-page stories in the New York Times and LA Times, as well as significantly more than 20-word blurbs in the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post. More
A Third of Nice Truck Attack’s Dead Were Muslim, Group Says
Kawthar Ben Salem, a spokeswoman for the Union of Muslims of the Alpes-Maritimes, said that Muslim funerals were being held for at least 30 of those who died during the Bastille Day attack, including men, women and children. The Paris prosecutor’s office, which handles terrorism investigations, said on Tuesday that all 84 people killed in the attack had been formally identified, meaning that the number of Muslim fatalities may be even higher. The number of people who were wounded was also raised, to 308 people. More
ISRAEL’S WOLF-CRYING ABOUT IRAN’S BOMB
A year has passed since diplomats from Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States; plus Germany) defied conventional wisdom and struck a deal aimed at both preventing Iran from getting the bomb and preventing it from getting bombed. At the time, the deal’s detractors were apoplectic; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “historic mistake” that would pave the way for Iran to obtain a bomb. But the world has not come to an end. Iran is not the hegemon of the Middle East, Israel can still be found on the map, and Washington and Tehran still define each other as enemies. These days, voices such as Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League, criticize the deal for having changed too little. More
The Arguments Change, but the Effort to Kill the Iran Nuclear Agreement Continues
Despite this record of compliance, efforts to destroy the agreement continue. Those efforts demonstrate that most opposition to the agreement has not been motivated by the ostensible reasons, and most of the actual reasons are not ones that would be satisfied or negated no matter how well and how long Iran conforms with its obligations… That opposition has centered in two overlapping places. One is Republican determination not to let Barack Obama have a major foreign policy success. The other is the objective of the right-wing Israeli government—with everything such an objective customarily implies regarding domestic U.S. politics—to keep Iran permanently ostracized and not to have anyone (especially the United States) do any business with it, and thereby to keep Iran forever as a bête noire that is portrayed as the “real” source of trouble in the Middle East, to continue to use it as a distraction from any other troubles the Israeli government prefers not to talk about, to make sure there will be no competition to Israel as supposedly the only reliable U.S. partner in the Middle East, and to keep a major regional competitor to Israel weak and isolated. More
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ISRAEL, PALESTINE . . . and the U.S.
Activists defeat anti-BDS legislation in Massachusetts
An anti-boycott amendment was withdrawn in the Massachusetts senate on 14 July following a campaign by Palestine solidarity groups. The amendment, which was tacked onto an unrelated economic bill, would have blacklisted individuals and businesses that engage with the Palestinian-led boycott of Israel. Amendment 133 was withdrawn within just a few hours of being proposed by Massachusetts State Senator Cynthia Creem. These bills are part of a growing wave of legislation promoted by state and federal lawmakers – and encouraged by Israel lobby groups and the Israeli government – to suppress activism related to the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign. Leading civil liberties groups and legal organizations have condemned such legislation as violating constitutionally protected rights of free speech and freedom of association. More
And, unusually, it was noted in the Mainstream Media:
LAWMAKERS PAUSE ON ANTI-BOYCOTT BILL FOR ISRAEL
Those free trips that lawmakers have been taking to Israel — paid for by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, a pro-Israeli lobbying group - are still haunting Beacon Hill. In both the state House and the Senate, two lawmaker offered — then quietly withdrew — amendments to the nearly $1 billion economic development bill last week that would crack down on companies which participate in boycotts of Israel for its treatment of Palestinians… JCRC, a registered lobbying group which has pushed the anti-boycott issue on Beacon Hill, has over the years squired state lawmakers for 10-day trips to Israel, paying any where between $4,000 to $6,000 for each member. Last December, 10 state senators participated in the tour, and the year before, a House contingent was treated to a similar junket. Even Attorney General Maura Healey, whose office could be drawn in to adjudicate the legal issues of the debate, took a free trip this Spring — funded by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the American-Israel Friendship League. That has raised the ire of peace activists who have called on the State Ethics Commission to crack down on what they see as a serious conflict of interest. More
TELL CONGRESS: Oppose 'Combating BDS Act of 2016'
As of yesterday, 29 Senators and 90 Representatives had supported this outlandish legislation. Click here to see if your Members of Congress have cosponsored this bill. This bill would “authorize” state and local governments to
unconstitutionally penalize entities such as nonprofit organizations and corporations for supporting the Palestinian civil society call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS). The Supreme Court has long held that boycotts and related activities to bring about political, social, and economic change are political speech, occupying “the highest rung of the hierarchy of First Amendment values.” As the Harvard Law Review recently concluded, “Supreme Court precedents make clear that attempts to disqualify contractors for support of BDS are foreclosed by the First Amendment.” Even though this bill might be unconstitutional, we still need to organize to oppose it. This legislation is designed to further encourage a country-wide effort by the Israel lobby to try to suppress BDS activism at the state and local level. Check out the RightToBoycott website we recently launched with member groups Palestine Legal and Jewish Voice for Peace. Find out if anti-BDS legislation has been introduced in your state and get the legal and organizing resources you need to mobilize to challenge it. Contact your Member of Congress today!
unconstitutionally penalize entities such as nonprofit organizations and corporations for supporting the Palestinian civil society call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS). The Supreme Court has long held that boycotts and related activities to bring about political, social, and economic change are political speech, occupying “the highest rung of the hierarchy of First Amendment values.” As the Harvard Law Review recently concluded, “Supreme Court precedents make clear that attempts to disqualify contractors for support of BDS are foreclosed by the First Amendment.” Even though this bill might be unconstitutional, we still need to organize to oppose it. This legislation is designed to further encourage a country-wide effort by the Israel lobby to try to suppress BDS activism at the state and local level. Check out the RightToBoycott website we recently launched with member groups Palestine Legal and Jewish Voice for Peace. Find out if anti-BDS legislation has been introduced in your state and get the legal and organizing resources you need to mobilize to challenge it. Contact your Member of Congress today!
There are 89 co-sponsors in the House – so far including NONE from Mass; 28 co-sponsors in the Senate, including Sen. Markey, but not Sen. Warren.
The coming battle over Israel in US presidential race
US-Israel policy has increasingly become a contentious and partisan issue. This is a product of two things; the confluence of a right-wing Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu with a Democratic Obama administration, and value-based voters' growing rejection of the apartheid reality on the ground, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea… while the progressive base of Hillary Clinton's democratic party are pushing for more evenhanded policy on Israel, Clinton herself has given every indication she will move in the other direction. This shift is likely to set up a battle in Democratic politics over the relationship with Israel. The future of the party - those under the age of 45 - have a strikingly different view of the situation than its older leadership. In this sense, Clinton is a leader of the party's past, pushing policies that will create tension with the party's future. Clinton has already committed to inviting Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House in her first month in office. Netanyahu, likely to still be the Prime Minister at the time barring a dramatic shift in Israeli politics, may well arrive in Washington alongside the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) convening that takes place every spring. More
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OTHER EVENTS
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CONTACTING DPP and Joining Our Work:
To make it easier to get involved with DPP, we've decided to publish contact info for our coordinators in every issue of this update. We will also regularly publish upcoming meetings of work committees, create a brochure or flyer about DPP, and greet new people at monthly meetings with an explanation of how we work. Here's how to reach them.
Facilitation Team:
Sydney Miller sydsail@gmail.com
Alison Gottlieb: asgottlieb1@gmail.com
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