Egypt's Reign of Terror

by Stephen Lendman

Mark Twain once said history doesn't repeat. It rhymes. French history includes la Terreur (the Reign of Terror). Dickens called it the best and worst of times.

It began in 1789. It promised "liberte, egalite and fraternite. It lasted a decade. It ended a millennium of monarchal rule. It was socially and politically disruptive. It was violent.

The wrong people gained power. Jacobins initially were revolutionary moderates. They were patriots. They turned violent. Thousands were arrested. Civil liberties were suspended.

Laws passed designating counter-revolutionaries state enemies. Undefined crimes against liberty were charged. Orwell called them "thoughtcrimes."

Vigilante justice was imposed. Kangaroo tribunals pronounced guilt by accusation. Guillotine executions killed thousands. Promised liberte, egalite and fraternite was illusory.

Today's Egypt reflects earlier times. Its elected president was ousted. Junta rule replaced him. It's repressive, ruthless, violent, unrelenting and unforgiving.

Sweeping crackdowns continue. Muslim Brotherhood leaders are targeted. Hundreds were arrested. Others went underground. Everyone supporting MB is threatened. Police states operate that way.

Throughout MB's 85 year history, it suffered repression, arrests, imprisonments and torture.

It reinvented itself several times. It did so unsuccessfully. Popular opposition reflects justifiable criticism.

Freedom and Justice (F&J) party rule featured neoliberal harshness. Progressive taxation legislation was gutted.

F&J spurned a draft labor law. Passage would have guaranteed independent unionism. It promised free workplace elections.

F&J officials replicated Mubarakism. It sided with business. It proposed strike regulations. The International Labor Organization blacklisted Egypt. It did so for spurning core labor rights.

Morsi ignored court ordered stoppage of public enterprise privatizations. He planned doing so at fire sale prices. He spurned competitive bidding.

His November constitutional declaration enraged large sectors of society. He was accused of "Brotherizing" Egypt.

Ousting him reflected much more than misgovernance. Mubarak loyalists targeted him. They waged a destabilization campaign. They did so for months.

Parliament was dissolved. Police refused to maintain public order. Courts acquitted former Mubarak officials. In May, Reporters Without Borders designated MB leaders predators of press freedom.

It never targeted Mubarak the same way. State terror defined his rule. Constitutional rights were suspended. Emergency Law powers denied press freedom. They were widely detested.

Sweeping arrests were made. Mass detentions followed. So did torture. No quarter was given. Iron fist rule was policy.

So was guilt by accusation. Innocence was no defense. Military tribunals were farcical. Justice was systematically denied.

Activists, dissidents, Islamists, and anyone perceived threatening authorities were vulnerable to persecution, arrest and imprisonment.

Elections when held were shams. Death sentences were freely imposed. Freedom of speech, assembly and association were greatly compromised.

Egyptians hoped Morsi offered change. He disappointed. He fell far short of expectations. Mubarak loyalists took full advantage. For months, Morsi was demonized. He was delegitimized.

Criticism overreached. Anti-Morsi propaganda pilloried him. It far exceeded justifiable misgovernance claims.

Opposition National Salvation Front (FSN) officials allied with Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) generals. They did so with other Mubarak loyalists.

Ousting Morsi made things worse. Junta power terrorizes Egypt. State media ban independent journalists. Some television stations were shuttered.

Interim leaders instituted a ministry of information. Controlling the message is prioritized. Opposition elements are terrorized.

MB officials are prime targets. On August 20, Mohammed Badie was arrested. He's detained. He's MB's Supreme Guide spiritual leader.

Since 2010, he headed Egypt's international MB organization. He was a member of its governing council since 1996.

Badie's two top aides were arrested. Hundreds of MB officials and supporters are imprisoned. Egypt Interior Ministry confirmed Badie's detention, saying:

"Carrying out the decisions of the public prosecutor to arrest and bring forward the 'general guide' of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie, and through collected information and observation of movements, it was possible for the criminal search apparatus under the direction of Cairo's security (services) to arrest him."

He's charged with inciting violence and murder. On August 25, he'll stand trial. So will his two top deputies. They face kangaroo court justice. Guilt's already pronounced.

MB's Freedom and Justice Party said deputy leader Mahmoud Ezzat will replace Badie. He'll be temporary Supreme Guide.

MB's official English web site IkhwanWeb headlined "Anti-Coup National Alliance Calls for Boycott Campaign in Preparation for Civil Disobedience."

"The coalition of groups and movements defending democracy and constitutional legitimacy warns against dragging Egypt into civil war, urging a boycott of hostile military-controlled media and products made by all those who support the coup."

"Egypt is passing through the most difficult and dangerous conditions in its thousands of years’ history, which threaten its stability and unity and push it into a deadly spiral of violence from which there is no way out."

Security forces committed "heinous massacres. (T)he Egyptian people refused to succumb."

"(S)ecurity forces and thugs went mad. (S)nipers fir(ed) live (rounds) into unarmed crowds."

They did so from rooftops and police helicopters. They killed protesters in Abu Zaabal prison.

They did it "after torturing and burning them with poisonous gases. "They "committ(ed) war crimes and crimes against humanity - crimes against the sons of their homeland."

They "orchestrated a campaign of misinformation to demonize and dehumanize their opponents who still insisted on a return to legitimacy and rejection of the coup."

State controlled media support it. So do private media controlled by "dubious businessmen."

"They turned facts upside down, lied repeatedly, exposed their own lies, and even committed most reprehensible crimes against innocent Egyptians in order to cover up their earlier heinous crimes."

MB calls for mass civil disobedience. It urges:

• boycotting regime supportive media;

• boycotting businesses providing support and financing;

• boycotting products from supportive countries;

• "(e)scalating civil disobedience activities gradually, according to circumstances and events."

"You have only two options: submission or genocide."

"But our will is strong. We shall continue our non-violent struggle for the restoration of full legitimacy."

On August 20, The New York Times headlined "An Egypt Arrest, and a Brotherhood on the Run," saying:

"Egypt's authoritarian government has harassed and repressed the Muslim Brotherhood for most of its existence."

"But for the last three decades the authorities stopped short of touching the group's revered leader, the supreme guide, who oversaw the country's most effective social, political and religious organization despite its outlawed status."

Badie's arrest changed things. Most MB leaders are imprisoned. Others are dead, missing or disappeared.

Those still at large live on the run. "They change locations every 24 hours, avoid showing their faces at demonstrations or public places, and stay off cellphones for fear that they might be tracked." said The Times.

An unnamed MB official said:

"Asking about the structure of the organization now is like asking a dying man how his career is doing."

Harsh crackdowns continue. They exceed the worst MB experienced throughout its history. It augurs greater repression ahead.

Brute force controls Egypt. State terror is official policy. Longer term, millions of Egyptians support MB.

They're not going away. MB official Gehad el-Haddad said crisis promises "a new tier of youth leaders."

For now, things are disrupted. MB again needs to reinvent itself. It needs more than urging supporters to remain steadfast.

Believing Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) generals wouldn't kill Egyptians proved wrong. According to one observer:

SCAF head "Sisi is like a train now, and it will hit anyone and anything in its way. (T)he problem is that those people out there cheering for him don't understand that the train will get them next."

One Morsi supporter spoke for others. MB must resist, he said. "It's now beyond 'the principle of obedience' and the group. (N)ow it's about all the blood that was shed."

It's about an unacceptable imprisonment and torture alternative.

A Final Comment

On August 17, London's Observer headlined "Only democracy can end Egypt's bloody crisis," saying:

Egypt's on the brink. "For those who doubted the power of the country's post-revolutionary and unreformed 'deep state,' dominated...by the army, the judiciary and powerful economic interests backed by a servile state media, the events of the past week have been brutally instructive."

"The murderous crackdown on the Brotherhood's protest sit-ins following a previous massacre of supporters of the deposed Morsi has left hundreds dead."

Suggesting Morsi's ouster might restore democracy turns truth on its head. Reality is polar opposite.

Horrific massacres define junta rule. So does sweeping state terror.

"What is so dangerous right now is that neither side can conceivably triumph," said Observer editors.

"The Brotherhood is too big, too well entrenched in so many parts of Egyptian life that the notion that it can simply be stamped out is nonsensical."

"It might be bloodily repressed, but it cannot be snuffed out."

"The Egyptian military might believe that through excessive force it can return to the status quo ante of the Mubarak period, but the revolutionary dynamics have made that impossible."

World leaders bear much responsibility. They let SCAF human rights continue with impunity. They continue military and economic aid. They say one thing. They do another. Policy belies their rhetoric.

"(T)he message that needs to be delivered urgently is that, without a rapid demilitarisation of Egypt's politics and withdrawal of the army from the political stage, Egypt's crisis is only likely to deepen, while a return to a peaceful democratic transition will bring tangible rewards not just for the self-interested elites but for all Egyptians."

"That requires an inclusive and pluralistic political process that includes all sides, including the Muslim Brotherhood, a release of political prisoners, including that organisation's leadership, and the ending of a culture of impunity for acts of violence."

It requires world leaders to rethink their "muddled, disengaged and dangerous policy on Egypt that has flip-flopped wildly."

"It is all the more urgent because the alternative is a steep and violent descent into ever worse bloodshed."

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs Fridays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour

http://www.dailycensored.com/egypts-reign-of-terror/

Bradley Manning: Imprisoning a National Hero

by Stephen Lendman

We're all vulnerable. We're all Bradley Manning. His fate is ours.

Charging, prosecuting, convicting, sentencing and imprisoning him reflects the shame of the nation. It reveals its true face.

Previous article said American honors its worst. It spurns its best. It vilifies them. It persecutes them. It does so shamelessly. It does it irresponsibly. It does it repeatedly. It does it lawlessly.

War criminals win Nobel Peace Prizes. They're awarded Presidential Medals of Freedom. They deserve prosecution. They deserve prison. They deserve the hardest of hard time longterm.

When exposing crimes of war and against humanity is criminalized, justice gets turned on its head. Manning faces 35 years in prison. It's for acting responsibly. It's for doing the right thing.

He deserves high praise, not prosecution. He faces potential decades behind bars instead. Washington intends making it hard time. A previous article explained.

Imprisoning Manning shows America's true face. It exposes its dark side. It mocks judicial fairness. It conceals Washington's true agenda.

Mass slaughter, destruction and human misery explain best. So does waging war on humanity. It's doing it globally. It's targeting freedom.

America's no democracy. It never was. For sure it's not now. It's an out-of control pariah state. It's a rogue state. It's a criminal state. It's a tyrannical one.

Paul Craig Roberts calls it a "gangster state." It partners with likeminded ones. America, Britain and Israel represent the real axis of evil.

They're the greatest threat humanity faces. They're unmatched in human history. Their agenda threatens to end it.

They mock democratic values. They spurn rule of law principles. They operate extrajudicially. They pretend otherwise. They're unapologetic.

They threaten humanity's survival. They bear full responsibility for global wars. They plan more ahead. Human lives don't matter. They're are a small price to pay. Unchallenged dominance alone counts.

"(G)et accustomed to the police state," said Roberts. Imprisoning Manning's Exhibit A.

After Wednesday's sentencing, his lawyer David Coombs answered reporters' questions. Manning revealed nothing sensitive, he said.

"I think the damage there was an embarrassment there of having other people see that we don't always do the right thing for the right reasons."

This "might come as a surprise to some people."

"(I)f people actually look to (the) documents he revealed, they'll see that we don't always do what we should do and we're not always the country we should strive to be."

Manning thought "he (could) make a difference."

"How disheartening it must have been (to learn it) really wasn't always the mission."

"And we didn't always just kill bad people. Sometimes we just kill people because they were in the wrong place, and no one asked questions."

"And no one investigated to see if we do something wrong. And when we did do something wrong, we didn't come forward with that information."

"We didn't readily admit the mistake and say we're sorry and show how we're going to prevent this from happening in the future."

"We owe that to the American public. We owe that to the public that we go to protect, and to help them build a good country."

"And yet, we didn't do that. And so for Brad to see that, I think that is probably what accelerated his belief that the public needed to see this information."

John Paul Jones is called the Father of the United States Navy. He was a Revolutionary War naval fighter. He's known for having said "I have not yet begun to fight."

He said it in response to British Captain Richard Pearson. He asked Jones to surrender his ship - the USS Bonhomme Richard.

On October 31, 1936, Franklin Roosevelt announced his second New Deal. He did it during his reelection campaign. "We have not come this far without a struggle," he said.

"I assure you," he added, "we cannot go further without (more) struggle. (W)e have only just begun to fight."

Coombs ended his press conference the same way, saying:

"Please know that (Manning's) fight is not over."

Great struggles require longterm commitment. Quitting isn't an option. The stakes are far too great. They reflect much more than Manning.

Perhaps he best symbolizes what's wrong. There's so much more. Today is the most perilous time in world history. Daily events should scare everyone. Upside down reality threatens humanity's survival.

Lawlessness is rewarded, not punished. So is warmaking. Peacemakers are vilified. Advocating it is considered unpatriotic. It's considered sissy. It's considered wrongheaded. It's considered criminal.

Exposing crimes of war, against humanity and genocide risks prosecution. Doing the right thing's considered wrong.

Humanity's survival is threatened. It may not survive Obama's second term. Rogue governance bears full responsibility. Top priority is challenging it. It's doing so responsibly. There's nothing more important than that.

The Bradley Manning Support Network published his request for a presidential pardon. Chances are virtually nil. It's in letter form. It's passionate. It's powerful. It's sincere. It's morally and ethically principled.

It's polar opposite Obama. It reflects the highest form of patriotism. It'll be delivered to Obama at the White House.

At his press conference, Coombs read it aloud. It states:

"The decisions that I made in 2010 were made out of a concern for my country and the world that we live in. Since the tragic events of 9/11, our country has been at war."

"We've been at war with an enemy that chooses not to meet us on any traditional battlefield, and due to this fact we’ve had to alter our methods of combating the risks posed to us and our way of life."

"I initially agreed with these methods and chose to volunteer to help defend my country. It was not until I was in Iraq and reading secret military reports on a daily basis that I started to question the morality of what we were doing."

"It was at this time I realized that (in) our efforts to meet the risk posed to us by the enemy, we have forgotten our humanity."

"We consciously elected to devalue human life both in Iraq and Afghanistan. When we engaged those that we perceived were the enemy, we sometimes killed innocent civilians."

"Whenever we killed innocent civilians, instead of accepting responsibility for our conduct, we elected to hide behind the veil of national security and classified information in order to avoid any public accountability."

"In our zeal to kill the enemy, we internally debated the definition of torture. We held individuals at Guantanamo for years without due process."

"We inexplicably turned a blind eye to torture and executions by the Iraqi government. And we stomached countless other acts in the name of our war on terror."

"Patriotism is often the cry extolled when morally questionable acts are advocated by those in power."

"When these cries of patriotism drown out any logically based dissension, it is usually the American soldier that is given the order to carry out some ill-conceived mission."

"Our nation has had similar dark moments for the virtues of democracy - the Trail of Tears, the Dred Scott decision, McCarthyism, and the Japanese-American internment camps - to mention a few."

"I am confident that many of the actions since 9/11 will one day be viewed in a similar light."

"As the late Howard Zinn once said, 'There is not a flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.' "

"I understand that my actions violated the law; I regret if my actions hurt anyone or harmed the United States."

"It was never my intent to hurt anyone. I only wanted to help people. When I chose to disclose classified information, I did so out of a love for my country and a sense of duty to others."

"If you deny my request for a pardon, I will serve my time knowing that sometimes you have to pay a heavy price to live in a free society."

"I will gladly pay that price if it means we could have a country that is truly conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all women and men are created equal."

America isn't beautiful. It never was. It's not now. It's not the land of the free and home of the brave. Longstanding policies belie high-minded rhetoric.

Things are worse than ever today. Humanity's very existence is threatened. Dismissiveness increases the possibility of its annihilation. Mass activism alone has a chance to save it.

America believes war is peace. Regional wars may spread globally. Doing so is madness. Today's super-weapons make earlier ones look like toys.

Admiral Hyman Rickover's known as the father of America's nuclear navy. In 1982, he delivered the Morgenthau Memorial Lecture. He titled it "Thoughts on Man's Purpose in Life."

He discussed "some basic principles of existence, propounded by thinkers through the ages."

He highlighted responsibility, perseverance, excellence, creativity and courage. He said they're vital for "intellectual growth and development."

He asked: "How can we equate nuclear weapons and warfare with moral and ethical values?"

"Weapons of themselves are neither moral nor amoral; it is their use that raises the moral and ethical issue."

"In all wars, man has used the best weapons available to him."

"If history has any meaning for us, it shows that men will continue to use the best weapons they have to win."

"Throughout history, even when men have established leagues to prevent war, they have nevertheless resorted to it. Utopia is still beyond the horizon."

In testimony before Congress the same year, Rickover said:

"I do not believe that nuclear power is worth it if it creates radiation." He said he's "a great exponent of stopping this whole nonsense of war."

He repeated his Morgenthau Memorial Lecture warning, saying:

"The lesson of history is when a war starts, every nation will ultimately use whatever weapon it has available."

Before the nuclear age, wars didn't threaten humanity. Rickover knew things changed. The risk of mushroom shaped denouement is real.

Jimmy Carter was part of Rickover's nuclear navy. In 1984, he said:

"I wish that nuclear power had never been discovered. I would forego all the accomplishments of my life, and I would be willing to forego all the advantages of nuclear power to propel ships, for medical research and for every other purpose of generating electric power, if we could have avoided the evolution of atomic explosives.''

Waging peace matters most. Wars beget more of them. They risk greater ones. They risk mass destruction. They risk ending history.

Humanity must either end wars or risk annihilation. There's no in between.

A Final Comment

On August 21, the Center for Constitutional Rights condemned Manning's persecution. It issued the following statement, saying:

"We are outraged that a whistleblower and a patriot has been sentenced on a conviction under the Espionage Act."

"The government has stretched this archaic and discredited law to send an unmistakable warning to potential whistleblowers and journalists willing to publish their information."

"We can only hope that Manning’s courage will continue to inspire others who witness state crimes to speak up."

"This show trial was a frontal assault on the First Amendment, from the way the prosecution twisted Manning’s actions to blur the distinction between whistleblowing and spying to the government’s tireless efforts to obstruct media coverage of the proceedings."

"It is a travesty of justice that Manning, who helped bring to light the criminality of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, is being punished while the alleged perpetrators of the crimes he exposed are not even investigated."

"Every aspect of this case sets a dangerous precedent for future prosecutions of whistleblowers - who play an essential role in democratic government by telling us the truth about government wrongdoing - and we fear for the future of our country in the wake of this case."

"We must channel our outrage and continue building political pressure for Manning’s freedom. President Obama should pardon Bradley Manning, and if he refuses, a presidential pardon must be an election issue in 2016.

Ben Wizner heads the ACLU's Speech, Privacy & Technology Project. He addressed Manning's mistreatment, saying:

"When a soldier who shared information with the press and public is punished far more harshly than others who tortured prisoners and killed civilians, something is seriously wrong with our justice system."

"A legal system that doesn't distinguish between leaks to the press in the public interest and treason against the nation will not only produce unjust results, but will deprive the public of critical information that is necessary for democratic accountability."

"This is a sad day for Bradley Manning, but it's also a sad day for all Americans who depend on brave whistleblowers and a free press for a fully informed public debate."

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs Fridays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour

http://www.dailycensored.com/bradley-manning-imprisoning-a-national-hero/

Imminent US War on Syria?

by Stephen Lendman

Syria is Washington's war. It was planned years ago. It's about regime change. America wants pro-Western puppet leaders replacing independent ones.

Washington doesn't launch conflicts to quit. US-enlisted death squads are no match against Syria's military. They're being routed.

Fresh terrorists are imported from abroad. They're from dozens of countries. They're recruited continually. They replace depleted ranks.

Waging war requires selling it. Public support's needed. Big Lies substitute for truth and full disclosure. Wednesday's chemical attack was a classic false flag.

It's a setup. Syrian forces had nothing to do with it. A previous article explained. It quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich, saying:

"We're getting more new evidence that this criminal act was of a provocative nature."

"In particular, there are reports circulating on the Internet, in particular that the materials of the incident and accusations against government troops had been posted for several hours before the so-called attack. Thus, it was a pre-planned action."

It reflects "another anti-Syrian propaganda wave." Calls for force "heard from EU capitals (are) unacceptable."

America, Britain, France, other key NATO partners, Israel, and rogue Arab states are in lockstep. They're incrementally heading toward direct intervention. Big Lies facilitate their plans.

On August 23, Reuters headlined "Initial Western intelligence finds Syrian forces used chemical weapons," saying:

"US and allied intelligence agencies have made a preliminary assessment that chemical weapons were used by Syrian forces in an attack near Damascus this week, likely with high-level approval from the government of President Bashar al-Assad, according to American and European security sources."

They lied. They always lie. It doesn't matter. Waging wars depends on lies. Deception is longstanding strategy. Truth is systematically avoided. It's always the same way. It's no different now.

Reuters said sources spoke "on condition of anonymity." Initial assessments are "preliminary."

"Conclusive proof could take days, weeks or even longer to gather. (T)he apparent mass poisoning of hundreds of people appeared to have taken on a sense of urgency for the Obama administration."

"Obama called the incident a 'big event of grave concern.' " It demands US attention, he said. He stopped short of putting blame where it belongs.

No evidence suggests Syrian involvement. Its forces haven't used chemical weapons any time throughout the conflict. Clear proof shows insurgents used them multiple times. They're responsible for Wednesday's incident. Their fingerprints are all over it.

Western governments claim otherwise. So do supportive media scoundrels. Lies substitute for full and accurate reporting. Truth's turned on its head. It's standard practice.

Escalated war looms. Headlines suggest it. On Thursday, emergency meetings were held. National Security Council, Pentagon, State Department and intelligence officials met at the White House.

Further discussions are planned this weekend. Deciding what's next appears imminent. US allies will be briefed. What follows remains to be seen.

Headlines suggest trouble. Washington's preparing for war. On August 23, CBS News headlined "US preps for possible cruise missile attack on Syrian gov't forces," saying:

It "learned that the Pentagon is making the initial preparations for a cruise missile attack on Syrian government forces."

"We say 'initial preparations' because such an attack won't happen until the president gives the green light."

He's not there yet. How close remains to be seen. On Friday, he told CNN America's "the one indispensable nation." He lied saying so. Its war on humanity explains otherwise.

According to Obama, "if the US goes in and attacks another country without a UN mandate and without clear evidence that can be presented, then there are questions in terms of whether international law supports it, do we have the coalition to make it work, and, you know, those are considerations that we have to take into account."

Washington ignores international, constitutional and US statute laws. It ignores UN Charter provisions.

No nation may interfere in the internal affairs of others. Member-states are required to "settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered."

"All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations."

Article 51 only permits armed force in self-defense. It does so against externally generated aggression. It does it until the Security Council acts. It has final say.

Under no circumstances may one nation, or combination thereof, intervene against another without lawful Security Council authorization. Doing so is lawless aggression.

America, key NATO allies and Israel put their own priorities above inviolable laws. Peace is verboten. Wars rage without end. New ones are planned.

Syria's in the eye of the storm. It's being ravaged and destroyed. Escalated war may be imminent. It bears repeating. Doing so constitutes lawless aggression.

On Friday, CBS reported administration officials claiming "detected activity at known Syrian chemical weapons sites before Wednesday's incident."

It's "seen as possible preparation for Wednesday's attack. US intelligence agencies are now leaning to the conclusion that Syria did use chemical weapons."

Obama's "seek(ing) international support before taking large-scale action."

Former Joint Chiefs Chairman/Secretary of State Colin Powell told CBS News correspondent Bob Schieffer:

"In both Egypt and Syria, America has to take a much more, a much more clever role."

"We shouldn't go around thinking that we can really make things happen."

"We can influence things, and we can be ready to help people when problems have been resolved or one side has prevailed over the other. That's when I think we can play a role."

Powell's an unindicted war criminal. He bears much responsibility for war on Iraq. He lied. He did so numerous times. His infamous February 5, 2003 2003 Security Council speech led to war.

It was shameless deception. Later he admitted WMD claims were false. It was too late to matter. Plans were set. The die was cast.

Weeks later, America bombed, invaded and occupied Iraq. The cradle of civilization was destroyed. No WMDs existed. It was well-known but ignored.

A similar scenario's repeating against Syria. Escalated conflict looms. US Mediterranean forces are being enhanced. A fourth destroyer was added.

US warships are repositioning close to Syria. They're heavily armed. They're ready to attack if ordered. They await the command to do so.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said:

"The Defense Department has responsibility to provide the president with options for all contingencies."

"And that requires positioning our forces, positioning our assets, to be able to carry out different options - whatever options the president might choose."

He didn't elaborate further. Another unnamed Defense Department official said orders to prepare for military operations against Syria hadn't so far been issued. Whether they're imminent remains to be seen.

Rep. Eliot Engel's the ranking House Foreign Affairs Committee minority member. On Wednesday, he said:

"If reports are credible that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons resulting in the estimated deaths of hundreds of civilians, then clearly a red line has been crossed again."

"The US has two options: continue to largely stand on the sidelines as the regime slaughters its own people, or tip the balance of power against a brutal dictator by degrading its ability to attack civilians."

"If we are to salvage what remains of our credibility in the region, we must act soon."

On Friday, he urged Obama to order air strikes, saying:

"If we, in concert with our allies, do not respond to Assad's murderous uses of weapons of mass destruction, malevolent countries and bad actors around the world will see a green light where one was never intended."

On Friday, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Wednesday's incident "is not something that a humane or civilized world can ignore."

Ben Rhodes is Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications. On June 13, his duplicitous statement said in part:

"Following a deliberative review, our intelligence community assesses that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin, on a small scale against the opposition multiple times in the last year."

"Our intelligence community has high confidence in that assessment given multiple, independent streams of information."

"We believe that the Assad regime maintains control of these weapons. We have no reliable, corroborated reporting to indicate that the opposition in Syria has acquired or used chemical weapons."

"The body of information used to make this intelligence assessment includes reporting regarding Syrian officials planning and executing regime chemical weapons attacks; reporting that includes descriptions of the time, location, and means of attack; and descriptions of physiological symptoms that are consistent with exposure to a chemical weapons agent."

An unnamed former US official said Obama's credibility's at stake. It'll likely get him to use limited force. He'll feel obliged to do something.

Next week, US Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey will attend a high-level meeting in Jordan. It's been planned for weeks. He'll discuss Syria.

He'll do so with top military officials from Britain, France, Germany, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Italy and Canada.

On August 23, The New York Times headlined "Air War in Kosovo Seen as Precedent in Possible Response to Syria Chemical Attack," saying:

Obama's "national security aides are studying" NATO's air war. They consider it "a possible blueprint for acting without" Security Council authorization.

As explained above, doing so violates UN Charter provisions. It constitutes lawless aggression. It doesn't matter. Obama appears readying to attack.

All US post-WW II wars were illegal. So is Washington's involvement in Syria. Further escalation assures greater war crimes than already committed.

Warrior nations are unapologetic. America does what it pleases. Justifying the unjustifiable doesn't wash. Arguing for humanitarian intervention rings hollow.

In 1999, Clinton lied claiming NATO's endorsement was justification enough to attack Yugoslavia. Previous articles discussed what happened.

From March 24 - June 19, 1999, Operation Allied Force was unprecedented in ferocity. For 78 days, devastating bombing ravaged Yugoslavia. Around 600 aircraft flew about 3,000 sorties.

Thousands of tons of ordnance were dropped. Hundreds of ground-launched cruise missiles were used.

Nearly everything was struck. Massive destruction and disruption followed. An estimated $100 billion in damage was inflicted. A humanitarian disaster resulted. Environmental contamination was extensive.

Large numbers were killed, injured or displaced. Two million people lost their livelihoods. Homes and communities were destroyed.

Nobel laureate Harold Pinter called NATO's aggression "barbaric (and despicable), another blatant and brutal assertion of US power using NATO as its missile (to consolidate) American domination of Europe."

Lawless aggression became humanitarian intervention. An avenue to Eurasia was opened. A permanent US military presence was established. American imperialism claimed another trophy.

Perhaps Obama plans the same thing for Syria. War criminals act this way. Obama's one of the worst. His rhetoric belies his agenda.

When Washington wants war it's coming. Only its timing is uncertain. Whether Obama plans replicating Yugoslavia remains to be seen. Signs appear to suggest it.

A Final Comment

On August 24, Press TV headlined "Syrian army finds chemicals in militants tunnels," saying:

"Syrian army soldiers have found chemical agents in tunnels dug by the foreign-backed militants in a northeastern suburb of the capital, Damascus, Syrian TV says."

"The discovery came after the government forces surrounded a sector of militant-held district of Jobar on Saturday."

"Army heroes are entering the tunnels of the terrorists and saw chemical agents, Syria television said."

"In some cases, soldiers are suffocating while entering Jobar."

"It added that ambulances arrived in the region to rescue the people who were suffocating in Jobar and the area is now controlled by Syrian army forces."

"The Syrian army has vehemently denied allegations that it used chemical weapons against Takfiri militants in the suburbs of the Ghouta region, saying the accusations were fabricated to distract the visiting team of UN chemical weapons experts and to cover up militants losses."

On August 24, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) headlined "Suffocation cases among Syrian army soldiers as terrorists used chemical weapons in Jobar," saying:

Syrian soldiers experienced "suffocation while entering Joubar neighborhood in Damascus countryside on Saturday as armed terrorist groups used chemical weapons, an official source announced on Saturday."

"The source added in a statement to SANA that the staffs of emergency have rescued the soldiers with suffocation cases, indicating that "some of the injured are in a critical condition."

Syrian forces seized a warehouse. It contained barrels marked "Made in KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)." Protective masks were found. So were drugs used when inhaling chemicals.

"The Qatari-German Company for Pharmaceutical Industries (was) inscribed on them."

Evidence keeps mounting. Western-supported insurgents bear full responsibility for chemical weapons attacks.

Saudi Arabia's involved. So is America. Pentagon contractors are training insurgents in chemical weapons use. Washington's dirty war continues. Whether Libya 2.0 looms remains to be seen.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs Fridays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour

http://www.dailycensored.com/imminent-us-war-syria/

McCarthyism Writ Large

by Stephen Lendman

In the late 1930s and 1940s, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) targeted alleged communist sympathizers. Uncorroborated hearsay alone mattered.

Prominent Hollywood figures were named. Hundreds of actors, directors, producers, screenwriters, musicians, songwriters, and other artists were accused of communist sympathies.

They were blacklisted. Notable ones were called the Hollywood Ten.

They included screenwriter Alvah Bessie, screenwriter/director Herbert Biberman, screenwriter Lester Cole, director Edward Dmytryk, screenwriter Ring Lardner, Jr., screenwriter John Lawson, screenwriter Albert Maltz, screenwriter Samuel Ornitz, producer/screenwriter Adrian Scott, and author/screenwriter Dalton Trumbo.

McCarthyism signifies baseless slander, unscrupulous fearmongering, and political lynchings.

Communist hearings got headlines. They were televised. They were witch-hunt prosecutions. Harvard Law Dean Ervin Griswold called McCarthy "judge, jury, prosecutor, castigator, and press agent, all in one."

He personified evil. He targeted innocent victims. He ruined careers. He did so for political advantage. He called Secretary of State Dean Acheson "a pompous diplomat in striped pants."

He accused General George Marshall of being "soft on communism." With no proof, he claimed he had names of 205 known State Department communists.

He later said 57. He claimed they were passing secrets to Soviet Russia.

"The reason why we find ourselves in a position of impotency," he said, "is not because the enemy has sent men to invade our shores, but rather because of the traitorous actions of those who had all the benefits that the wealthiest nation on earth has had to offer - the finest homes, the finest college educations, and the finest jobs in Government (and the private sector) we can give."

He characterized enemies as "card-carrying communists." He called others "loyalty risks."

He vilified patriotic Americans. He did so for political gain. He created hysteria. He targeted anti-American books. He got them pulled from libraries.

He overstepped. He fell from grace. Publications like the Louisville Courier-Journal said:

"In this long, degrading travesty of the democratic process, McCarthy has shown himself to be evil and unmatched in malice."

In June 1954, he met his match. Army lawyer Joe Welch challenged him. He attacked his spurious accusation about one of his attorneys having communist ties. He did so, saying:

"Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or recklessness." McCarthy shot back.

Welch angrily interrupted, adding "Let us not assassinate this lad further, senator. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?"

Overnight, McCarthy's popularity plunged. Senate censure followed. It ruined him. In 1957, he died a broken man at age 48. He wasn't missed.

Obama exceeds the worst of Joe McCarthy. He heads America's police state apparatus. Rule of law principles don't matter.

Dissent's considered unpatriotic. Whistleblowing's criminalized. Unconstitutional spying's institutionalized.

Freedom's fast eroding. It's an endangered species. It's on the chopping block for elimination.

Wealth, power, and privilege alone matter. America's war on terror advances them. It rages against humanity. It does so abroad and at home.

State terror is official policy. Obama exceeds the worst of his predecessors. He's done more to subvert constitutional protections than any previous president.

He more than ever made America unfit to live in. Police state justice potentially threatens everyone. It's modern day McCarthyism writ large.

Merriam-Webster calls its earlier version "a mid-20th century political attitude characterized chiefly by opposition to elements held to be subversive and by the use of tactics involving personal attacks on individuals by means of widely publicized indiscriminate allegations especially on the basis of unsubstantiated charges; broadly: defamation of character or reputation through such tactics."

Oxford Dictionaries calls it "a vociferous campaign against alleged communists in the US government and other institutions carried out under Senator Joseph McCarthy in the period 1950-54."

"Many of the accused were blacklisted or lost their jobs, although most did not in fact belong to the Communist Party."

McCarthyism reflects "a campaign or practice that endorses the use unfair allegations and investigations."

According to Wikipedia, it's "the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for (verifiable) evidence."

The Online Dictionary calls it "the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative techniques, especially in order to restrict dissent or political criticism."

In January 2012, Obama's Justice Department charged former CIA officer John Kiriakou. It claimed he disclosed classified information to journalists. It said he violated Intelligence Identities Protection Act provisions. It accused him of "lying" to CIA's Publications Review Board.

He potentially faced longterm incarceration. In October 2012, he accepted plea bargain terms. They're sought and/or accepted for lesser sentences. Innocent victims take them to avoid harsher treatment.

Kariakou pled guilty to one count of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act. Other Espionage Act charges were dropped. He got 30 months in prison.

He thanked supporters saying:

"I'm headed to prison while the torturers and the lawyers who papered over it and the people who conceived it and the man who destroyed the proof of it, the tapes, will never face justice."

"And that's the saddest part of the story," he added. Unconscionable crimes reflect official policy.

Whistleblowers are targeted. Exposing government wrongdoing's criminalized. Doing the right thing's not tolerated. Police states operate that way. America's by far the worst.

On August 6, Kariakou headlined "Obama's abuse of the Espionage Act is modern-day McCarthyism," saying:

Convicting Bradley Manning of 1917 Espionage Act violations and charging Edward Snowden "under the same act are yet further examples of the Obama administration's policy of using an iron fist against human rights and civil liberties activists."

"President Obama has been unprecedented in his use of the Espionage Act to prosecute those whose whistleblowing he wants to curtail."

Doing so sends a chilling message. "Challenge us and we will destroy you." Doing the right thing risks prosecution. Kariakou recounted his own experience.

He "bl(ew) the whistle on the CIA's torture program." It's unchanged under Obama. Attorney General Holder declared war on whistleblowers.

Doing so "smacks of modern-day McCarthyism." Washington needs " 'ism(s)' to fight against."

Whistleblowers acting honorably are "accused of helping terrorists." They risk Espionage Act charges. They risk witch-hunt prosecutions. They risk long imprisonment. Perhaps they risk death.

Justice reflects tragedy and travesty. It's turned on its head. Civil liberties are vital to protect. Lawless government spying and other wrongdoing need exposure. "That should be the story," said Kariakou.

Professor Emeritus Norman Pollack discussed "The New McCarthyism." Fundamental human rights and civil liberties are undermined.

Obama's destroying them on his watch. He's dismantling rule of law protections. He denies "transparency." He prioritizes "opaqueness."

He rejects "people's right to know." He targets whistleblowers exposing government wrongdoing.

He demands "total conformity or, more realistically, passivity, as the war machine and its partner-in-destiny capitalist accumulation at the top roll on."

He's "contemptuous of basic Constitutional tenets affecting freedom of thought and association."

"The White House exists in a moral vacuum. That targeted assassination is fully entertained and practiced is at one with this phase of psychological-juridical control over the free expression of ideas."

"Both have reference to despotic ways of governance which have implications even beyond principles honoring privacy and free thought."

State terror threatens everyone. Humanity's endangered. Democracy exists in name only.

Much worse ahead is likely. Modern day McCarthyism harms everyone. It's the worst of all possible worlds.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs Fridays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour

From The Pen Of Peter Paul Markin- Looking For The Heart Of Saturday Night, Christ The Heart Of Any Night- The Songs of Tom Waits-Take Three

A link to a YouTube film clip of Tom Waits performing Looking For The Heart Of Saturday Night

If you, as I do, every once in a while, every once in a while when the norms of bourgeois push to get ahead and then what, push you off your sainted wheels, and get you into some angst-ridden despair about where you went off that angel-driven dream of your youth, not faded, tattered, and half- forgotten(but only half, only half, sisters and brothers, and need some solace, need to reach back to roots, reach back to the primeval forest maybe, put the headphones on some Tom Waits platter (oops, CD, YouTube selection, etc.- “platter” refers to a, ah, record, vinyl, put on a record player, hell, look it up in Wikipedia, okay).

If the norms of don’t rock the boat, the norms of keep your head down because you don’t want to wind up like them (and fill in the blank of the “them,” usually dark, speaking some unknown language maybe gibberish for all you know, moving furtively and stealthily against your good night) drive you crazy and you need to listen to those ancient drum beats, those primeval forest leave droppings maybe, that spoke of the better angels of your nature when those angel dreams, half-forgotten but only half remember, ruled your days. Turn up the volume another notch or two on that Tom Waits selection, maybe Jersey Girl or Brother, Can You Spare A Dime (can you?), Hold On, or Gunn Street Girl.

If you need to hear things, just to sort things out, just to recapture that angel-edge, that made you come alive, made you think about from whence you came and how a turn, a slight turn this way or that, could have landed you on the wrong side, things about boozers (and about titantic booze-crazed struggles in barroom, on beaches, in the back seats of cars, lost in the mist of time down some crazed midnight, hell, four in the morning, penniless, cab fare-less night) , losers (those who have lost their way, gotten it taken away like some maiden virginity, never had anything but lost, not those who never had a way to be lost), dopesters (inhaling, in solidarity hotel rooms among junkie brethren, down in dark alleys jack-rolling some poor stiff of his room rent for kicks, out in nighttime canyons flame blaring off the walls, the seven seas of chemical dust, mainly blotter, maybe peyote if that earth angel connection comes through, creating vision of long lost tribes trying, trying like hell, to get “connected,” connected in the campfire shadow night), hipsters (all dressed in black, mary mack dressed in black, speeding, speaking be-bop this and be-bop that to stay in fashion, hustling, always hustle, always moving), fallen sisters (sisters of mercy, sisters who need mercy, sisters who were mercifully made fallen in some mad dash night, merciful sister feed me, feed me good ), midnight sifters (lifting in no particular order hubcaps, tires, wrenches, jacks, an occasional gem, some cheap jewelry in wrong neighborhood, some paintings or whatever may be left in some sneak back alley, it is the sifting that counts), grifters (hey, buddy watch this, now you see it, now you don’t, now you don’t see your long gone John dough, and Mister three card monte long gone too ), drifters (here today gone tomorrow with or without dough, to Winnemucca, Ogden, Fresno, Frisco town, name your town, name your poison and the great big blue seas washing you clean out into the Japans ), the driftless (cramped into one room hovels, shelters, seedy rooming houses afraid to stay in-doors or to go outside, afraid of the “them” too ), and small-time grafters (the ten-percent guys, failed insurance men, repo artists, bounty hunters, press agents, personal trainers, need I go on). You know where to look, right.

If you need to be refreshed on the subject of hoboes, bums, tramps (and remind me sometime to draw the distinction, the very real and acknowledged distinction between those three afore –mentioned classes of brethren out in the railroad jungles in some Los Angeles ravine, some Gallup trestle, some Hoboken broken down pier, the fallen (fallen outside the gates of Eden, or, hell, inside too), those who want to fall (and let god figure out who made who fall, okay), Spanish Johnnies (slicked back black hair, tee shirt, shiv, cigarette butt hanging from a parted lip, belt buckle ready for action, leering, leering at that girl over there, maybe your girl but watch out for that shiv, the bastard), stale cigarette butts (from Spanish Johnnie and all the johnnies, Camels, Luckies, no filters, no way), whiskey-soaked barroom floors (and whiskey-soaked drunks to mop the damn place up, for drinks and donuts, maybe just for the drinks), loners (jesus, books could be written on that subject so let’s just pass by), the lonely (ditto loners), sad sacks (kindred, one hundred times kindred to the loners and the lonely), the sad (encompassing all of the above) and others at the margins of society, the whole fellahin world, then Tom Waits is your stop.

Tom Waits is, frankly, an acquired taste, but one well worth acquiring as he storms heaven in words, in thought-out words to express the pain and anguish of modern living, yes, modern living, looking for busted black-hearted angels, for girls with Monroe hips getting kicked out of proper small town hells and left for dead with cigar wrapping rings, for the desperate out in forsaken woods who need to hold to something, and for all the misbegotten.

Tom Waits gives voice in song, a big task, to the kind of characters that peopled Nelson Algren’s novels (The Last Carousel, Neon Wilderness, Walk on the Wild Side, and The Man with the Golden Arm). In short, the people who do not make revolutions, those revolutions we keep hearing and reading about, far from it, but those who surely, and desperately could use one. If, additionally, you need a primordial voice and occasional dissonant instrumentation to round out the picture go no further. Finally, if you need someone who “feels your pain” for his characters you are home. Keep looking for the heart of Saturday night, Brother, keep looking.